Catching up......

Well, it's been a busy couple of weeks, even though there hasn't been much in the way of comings or goings. But there was a lot of interest in the boxer mix pups, and correspondence and application review for just them kept us pretty busy. We had a week of pretty lousy weather, which meant nobody could spend much time outside even if they'd wanted to. Nobody (except Tansy, who seems to be impervious to the weather) wanted to go out in the rain and muck even to potty, much less to play. Thank goodness for the recent break in the weather. Even though it was cold for a few days it was sunny and dry, and now it's warmed up to the mid-50's and it's still sunny and dry, so the dogs have been getting much more opportunity to spend time outside. When they get enough exercise/play time outside, they're all a lot quieter when they come in, and it makes life easier.

I took a little video of some of the little dogs out in the yard the other day. Pearl the puppymill poodle is the little white dog leading the chase, Bibi the puppymill cockapoo is the fluffy little black dog, Tansy's the bigger fluffy dog, and the other players include a couple of my personal dogs and a couple rescue dogs that aren't ready to be listed on Petfinder yet.



On Friday, I talked a regular - though sometimes reluctant - donor (my mom) into buying me a nice big Rubbermaid bucket with a wringer. Oh boy, I looooooooooove my new bucket! I had a smaller mop that I used with it Friday and Saturday and it worked pretty well, but the mop head is small and the handle's short, and it was still pretty hard work. But yesterday, I bought a commercial-grade janitorial-type mop with a big mop head and a longer handle, and this afternoon the floors are getting another complete going-over. Then I'll be able to just fill the bucket each morning and keep it out, for immediate and easy accident clean-up. My old regular bucket and Libman Wondermop just aren't heavy-duty enough for my needs, the new bucket and mop should make floor cleaning much quicker and easier, leaving more time for playing, training, and other direct interaction with the dogs.

I'm grateful for the advent of Spring. The warmer weather will also simplify husbandry chores. During the winter I can't fill the water buckets/bowls out in the yard using the hose. I fill two gallon milk-jugs at the kitchen sink and haul them through the house and out in to the yard, and fill the water dishes that way. It takes two trips each time they need to be filled, twice a day. But with the temperature above freezing, I can fill the water dishes from the spigot out there. It's also going to make crate cleaning a lot easier. During the winter, crate cleaning is a pain. I have to take the crate apart and put it, one half at a time, into my bathtub to rinse out/clean, then dry, then reassemble. Inevitably, I get dirty water all over my bathroom, so it has to be cleaned afterward. When the weather's above freezing, I can just haul the whole crate out into my driveway, rinse it out with the hose, leave it out there to air-dry, then haul it back in afterward. No disassembly or reassembly required most of the time, and no bathroom-cleaning afterward!

We did home visits for the three puppies yesterday. They'll be neutered on Thursday, and they'll be going to their new homes that evening. Duncan is going to a young couple, Bentley is going to a family with 3 children, and Brando is going to an amazing home with a lovely young woman and her large, dog-loving family. (Brando's going to be the most socialized puppy on the face of the earth, I think.) An added bonus is that both Brando and Bentley will be within easy driving distance of my obedience class in that area, so I'm hoping to see them both in class the upcoming term!

Sinatra, Cider, Frannie, and probably Geraldine will also be going in to be spayed/neutered on Thursday. I hope someone falls in love with Sinatra, soon. He's a wonderful dog, very affectionate and sweet, but he's a bit of a bull in a china shop and this little china shop is just not big enough for him. He'll be a great family companion and he'll probably settle easily into a new home, and with the one-on-one time he'll get in a home of his own he's going to be a really wonderful pet.

I can't believe we've had so little interest in Scooter, the little white poodle boy. He's a great little dog, very social, affectionate, and funny. He makes me laugh all the time. He has very little residual psychological damage from his life in the mill, and he's got such a happy, gung-ho attitude that any lingering shadow of his former life will soon be a thing of the past. He's young, no more than about 2. He loves other dogs, he's great with cats, and he'd probably be great with kids too. And he's a poodle for goodness' sake. I'd sure like to see him settled into a loving home.

Puppies!

I saw a post come through on the freecycle list for 4 male Boxer mix puppies. I got in touch with the people and made arrangements to pick them up on Saturday. I thought about stopping there on my way into town, but I went to town first and stopped there on the way home. As I was walking in, a pair of women were walking out with one of the pups, a fawn brindle and white fellow. If I'd stopped on my way into town instead of on the way home, I'd have gotten all 4. But I talked to the women about getting their new pup neutered, gave them info about the low-cost spay/neuter clinic, offered to drive him down there when I go, and gave them my card so they could contact me if they changed their minds about keeping him or had any trouble getting him settled in.

Here are the three boys I picked up:

Bentley

Brando

Duncan

The mom is a Boxer mix, they said with Beagle and Bassett, but nobody's got short legs and I don't see any Bassett influence. Beagle maybe, though. The dad is a small fawn Boxer mix, he looks almost purebred. There has to have been another dad, though, because both Duncan and Brando have soft, feathery coats. Maybe setter? Both adults have gentle, calm temperaments, that bodes well for the adult temperament of the pups. I talked to the owners of the mama dog about getting her spayed, and they're going to let me take her to the s/n clinic the next time I go.

Donovan, the cute little Shih Tzu boy is going to his new home this afternoon. I'm glad he's going - he just needs more attention and lap time than he was getting here - and I'm sure he'll be glad to be in a quieter environment where he can get more snuggles.

We had an incident this last week. Rudy, the 10-year old Rat Terrier mix, has always been a little crosspatch. He's just not a happy guy, and he's quite dominant. His previous owners probably let him do whatever he wanted, I doubt they told him 'no' very often. I pulled him from the pound the end of October, on impulse. I'd gone in to get Beanie the Beagle/Dachshund mix, and Rudy was in the next kennel run, skinny, dull-coated, and looking thoroughly miserable. When I found out he was already neutered and up-to-date on his rabies vaccine and would only cost me $20 to pull, I thought, "how can I leave him here? Poor little guy." So Rudy came home that day too.

The "miserable" look I saw at the pound has never left his face. He threatened to bite me on a regular basis and I knew he meant it, so I didn't push him. I didn't think he'd do more than nip, though, so I hoped to find him a nice quiet home with an indulgent senior citizen, where he could live out the rest of his life without being a threat to anyone. Earlier this past week, he refused to go outside with the little dogs. Instead, he stood in the kitchen and, looking me straight in the eye, peed on the floor. I scooped him up and went to put him in a crate, and he turned into Cujo, biting furiously and viciously. He nailed me in the heel of my hand, a deep tearing puncture, and he'd have gotten me several more times if I didn't have really good reflexes. That makes him not placeable, and I won't live with a dog that'll bite me like that. So he's halfway through a 10-day rabies hold, and later this week he'll be euthanized.

(Rudy must have had some nasty bacteria in his mouth, because even though I started Keflex immediately after he bit me my hand got infected. $120 for a doctor's office visit and a stronger antibiotic (Augmentin), and many hours of soaking my hand later, I'm healing. Still sore, but not infected any more.)

I've been bitten by one of my own dogs, but it was an accident - I was trying to break up a disagreement and he was aiming for another dog, not for me. He has a tendency toward redirected aggression - if he can't get to the dog he's ticked at, he'll turn around and go for whichever dog is closest to him. He rarely actually bites the other dog, it's mostly just noise, but if a human was between him and his target, they could get bitten. And that's why he's mine - 98% of the time he's a sweet, silly boy, I love him, and I'm willing to take the chance he'll bite me again, but he's not safe to place. If he - or any of my personal dogs - ever deliberately bit me with the intent and intensity with which Rudy bit me, we'd be on our way to the vet as soon as I could find my car keys. It would break my heart, but I'd do it.

I hate having to euthanize dogs, it's the hardest part of doing responsible rescue, but sometimes it has to be done. I firmly believe the public is entitled to safe dogs, and we won't accept owner surrenders with a bite history, and I won't pull dogs from the shelter that fail my temperament test. (I didn't temp test Rudy (though I doubt he'd have exhibited aggression at the pound, he was pretty cowed), I acted on emotional impulse. I should know by now that never turns out good.) Once a dog is in the program, if I discover s/he's not safe to place, I'll euthanize. At least Rudy has had 4 months of good food (he's gained a couple of pounds, his coat is glossy, and he's healthy), and he got a second chance. There's nothing else I can do for him, except buy him a couple of cheeseburgers at McDonald's on the way to the vet.

Bibi the mill cockapoo continues to make slow but sure progress. This past week she started approaching me when I was sitting, and doesn't shy away when I reach out to pet her. I sure do like her, I hope someone will see her potential and help her become the delightful companion I know she can be.