Throw Away Animals

We have a dog in the system now that was "kicked out" of his home because his owner got married and his new wife's doxie doesn't get along with Cozmo. Cozmo is a Great Pyrennes mix. Housetrained, leash trained, very sweet. The owner dumped him on his "grandparents" and they called ARF. They will keep him for a couple of more weeks and then they are going out of town, so that means Cozmo will go to a shelter.
ARF doesn't have a space for him. He won't tolerate a crate and he has been known to fight with small, bossy dogs.
It's infuriating to be in this position. But it happens all too frequently. Instead of taking responsibility, people dump dogs and cats as if they are not living creatures. Cozmo seems lonley and confused. They show him on Saturdays for half a day at PetSmart and he seems to be asking, "Why are we here? When am I going home?"
Breaks my heart.
If people could dump their unruly kids on volunteers like ARF, there would be tens of thousands of kids asking, "When am I going home?" The only thing that keeps a lot of people from dumping their kids is the social stigma and the law.
Pets aren't so fortunate.

Toot, Toot, Tootsie

It's been a big week or two for older and the less fortunate dogs we have been tending to in ARF. My oldest foster -- a dear snoodle named Tootsie who records say is 10 and maybe 11 years old -- was adopted. Toots has congestive heart disease. She often acts like a much younger dog -- an 8 year old, perhaps. I have adopted her out twice before to senior citizens who kept her a year or two and then asked ARF to take her back because they could no longer care for her.

I always took her back with no reservation because Toots is a good girl. I just felt terrible for her. It seemed that no one in the extended families wanted to take her in. That is bothersome to me. You would think that a son or daughter would take in a family member in need.

This time I had decided Tootsie was staying with me unless someone very special came along, which I sincerely doubted would happen.

But it did happen. Along comes a nice woman in her late 50s, early 60s who has had dogs with cancer and congestive heart disease before and has no problem letting them live comfortably with her until it is their time to depart. She e-mailed me about Toots and I e-mailed back, thinking that would be the end of it. But she persisted. She filled out an application and met Tootsie. Toots had just come from the groomers and was looking especially gorgeous with purple toe nails and a purple bow in her hair. Also a hot pink and purple scarf around her neck. The lady liked her and decided to adopt her.

I just received an e-mail from her that Tootsie has settled in quite nicely. Toots was always good about that. Bless her. She said that Toots does a happy poodle dance when she comes home from work. She said watching the dance and how Tootsie runs around and barks happily makes her think she is a much younger dog.

It makes me think that there are many, many special people in this old world.

Don't shop! Rescue!

ARF to the Rescue!

ARF members have been Rescue Rangers extrodinaire lately. One little dog, named Koehler after the doctor who helped patch him back together, is now available for adoption. He came to us with a badly broken pelvis and leg. Veterinarians and plastic surgeons (!)worked hard on him and pieced him back together. He is a sweet guy anyone would love.

Another little dog was rescued after ARF members saw it hit by a car in heavy traffic on a main street in Tulsa. They stopped traffic long enough to pick up the wounded, unconscious, 4 pound dog. They rushed him to Bent Arrow Veterinary Clinic. He came to and stirred, but was in great pain. His leg was broken in a couple of places. ARF footed the bill and he was put back together again. "Lucky" is recovering nicely and up for adoption.

What can you say about people who will go above and beyond for innocent animals who are caught in traffic, scared, hungry, helpless? The motorist who hit the little dog didn't even tap his brakes and kept on trucking. Thank heavens for people who give a darn and stop to help. And for the wonderful veterinarians and other medical personnel who donate their time and discount their fees to help rescue groups like ARF save more dogs from being euthanized.

The ARF president helped round up a pomeranian that was loose in traffic around a shoppping mall in Tulsa. When she finally caught it, she was shocked to see that it had an ARF tattoo. She checked the ARF line and, sure enough, the new adopter had left a message about how her new dog had slipped from its harness and had raced off. She returned the pom to the owner with a stern warning about cinching up a harness or collar so that the dog is secure but not uncomfortable.


This month is Spay and Neuter Month. Please spread the word to spay and neuter pets. Do a good deed this month by making a donation to a rescue group like ARF or telling your veterinarian that you will pay for a spay/neuter for a client the veterinarian feels needs financial help to do the right thing for his/her dog or cat. You will earn your stars in heaven and become a RESCUE RANGER yourself!

Heartworms Heartache

My next foster dog will be a little chihuahua mix that I'm calling Tuffy because he will have to be tough through the next few months. He is heartworm positive. The Tulsa Shelter picked him up and asked ARF to take him on. This means he would be euthanized if Animal Rescue Foundation didn't step in to save him. The call went out and I answered it. I can't stand to hear about any chihuahua being euthanized. Tuffy is at the veterinary right now. They are giving him his vaccines and starting him on heartworm preventative to kill the baby heartworms first before they tackle the adult heartworms.

Heartworms are transmitted through mosquito bites. They are preventable if you give your pet a heartworm preventative every month. In Oklahoma, we suggest that people keep their dogs and cats on heartworm preventative all year long because of our weird weather. You never known when you will see a mosquito! People with inside pets should keep their animals on HWP because mosquitoes come inside and they can also land on pets and bite them while on walks or outside going potty.

Once you allow your dog or cat to contract HWP, you are in trouble and so is the pet. Heartworms are fatal in cats. So say bye-bye to your cat if she/he comes up positive with heartworms.

In dogs, the heartworm treatment is fairly aggressive. If the dog is older and sickly, he/she won't live through the treatment. Young dogs can make it through, but it is tough and the whole treatment takes about three months. And the treatments are not free! Get ready for a hefty veterinary bill.

I feel sorry for little Tuffy even though I haven't even met him yet. No one was looking out for the poor, little fella and now he must suffer for it. He has been neutered, so that tells me that he was someone's responsibility at one time. Someone who was irresponsible.

The first dog I fostered was heartworm positive and that was a trial by fire! Believe me, I wondered what I had gotten myself into as I struggled to keep a young, rat terrier mix quiet and calm after she had been treated for heartworms. She wanted to race about the backyard and jump and leap at squirrels. I couldn't allow this because if her heart pumped too hard, it would pump the bits of decomposing heartworms into her blood stream and that would kill her. I got her through it, but just barely! She broke two or three knick-knacks in my living room and beheaded a statue in my back yard. I had her on a retractable leash and she bolted. The leash went taut and cut the head off the statue. I was just glad my fingers hadn't been cut off. I have never used a retractable leash since then.

If you don't have your dog or cat on heartworm prevention, make an appointment today to have your pet tested for heartworms. If given a clear bill of health, then buy some HWP. You don't want to put your dog through such an ordeal when it is so easily prevented. And heartworm preventative will literally save your cat's life.

New Year, New Dog

I have Breeze now, a dog who looks like so many dogs running wild in the country. Throw-away dogs. Common, ordinary, not so pretty dogs. Breeze is a brindle, terrier something or other. She is young, bony, and a free spirit. She comes....sometimes. She loves to eat, although she stays thin. I feed her twice a day and I can still see her hip bones jutting out, although her spine does have a layer of fat on it now.

She loves to eat pooh.

Oh, how I fret over pooh eating dogs! One or two of mine try to sneak around and eat it. Breeze LOVES it. She grazes out there, seeking it. With the snowfall and icky weather, I have not been on pooh patrol, so there is plenty out there right now. As the snow melts to reveal it, Breeze is in pooh heaven. She runs when I approach, shaking my finger and telling her "No. Don't eat that! No!" She grabs it and gobbles on the run. I had made great progress with Slim, stopping him from eating pooh, but Breeze has renewed his bad habits and now he is at it again.

I have heard many tips on how to stop this and I have tried every one of them. The best is to go on poop patrol and keep it picked up. With 7 or 8 dogs here, that is a BIG job, but necessary.

When you take on pets, you take on the icky stuff that goes with them. Just like when you have a baby, you know you are going to be up to your eyeballs in poop and throw up, so get used to it! Better yet, prepare for it!

Of course, all the goodness they bring with them should more than make up for the inconveniences and yucky stuff. The tail wagging, big doggy smiles, racing about, chasing squirrels, gazes of adoration. That's the good stuff. I try to remember that when I chase Breeze to no avail as she swallows another mouthful.

Yuck. Don't you DARE try to lick me, you bad dog! Anybody want to adopt a sweet, gangly, multi-colored, pooh-eater? Huh? Anyone?

Terrible Terrier Squeal

I have a rat terrier mix that I love, but I don't love her terrier high-pitched squeal/scream. That ear-piercing shriek that is like a rusty knife. When I bring home a foster dog or Gypsy sees a squirrel or any other exciting thing, she does that horrible pain-inducing scream.

Naturally, I scream back at her to SHUT UP! Lot of good it does.

When neighbors approach the fence to tell me the latest -- the Nelsons are moving, Sadie Hunter's son finally visited her, the Bakers got a new dog, etc. -- I can hardly hear them because of Gypsy's screaming. I can stop it only by picking her up and holding her while I warn under my breath, "Shut your mouth!" I'm sure my neighbors think I'm nuts to be fostering dogs when I can't even keep my own under control. No matter if Gypsy has seen these neighbors numerous times and enjoyed being petted by them, she does the scream until I pick her up and make her shut her dogfood hole.

It really is her only major flaw, though. I adore her. She looks me right in the eyes and I can see the love she has for me in there...in those chocolate brown eyes. So what's an ear bleed here and there when you have a dog who can melt your heart with one long look?

Think Before You Adopt

The more I read about breeds and their characteristics, the more in tune I am when I consider placing dogs in specific homes. Recently, someone who has a rabbit wanted to adopt a dachshund that has already shown a burning need to chase cats and tear into them. When I explained that doxies are prey hounds and it is in their DNA to hunt small game, she said she thought she would train the dog not to bother the rabbit. Yes, but could she accomplish this before the doxie killed the rabbit and did she really want to put her poor rabbit through such an experiment? She wasn't convinced, but I was certain I wasn't sending a dachshund to her apartment.

Then there are the elderly sweethearts who are nearly blind but insist that they want black puppies. Puppies! Why do they insist on dark colored dogs that are younger than three? If you tell them that a dog is four or five, they invariably say, "Oh, that's too old." Too old??? You are 83, legally blind, hard of hearing, and you use a walker most of the time, but a five year old dog is too old for you. Delicately, I ask, "What will happen to this dog if you are hospitalized or no longer can live alone?" They usually answer, "I'm doing fine. If I go into the hospital, I will board the dog." In the past I have asked if a daughter or son will take the dog to keep it in the family, but I don't bother to do that anymore. Those who believe their children will take the dog should they have to be in the hospital or a assisted living facility are usually wrong. The dog comes back to us.

Most dogs do show signs of stress when they are bounced from home to home. They like to belong to a pack. The pack represents security; the pack is their family. Remove your whole family and plop you into a strange place or with a new family and wouldn't you be stressed? Often, dogs are taken to a shelter or veterinary first where they languish, confused and depressed and anxious, for days and weeks before being adopted or placed in a foster home. Either way, they are usually distraught and it will take several weeks -- perhaps months -- before their old personalities reappear. Unfortunately, humans are impatient and expect a dog to settle in like a pair of worn slippers. No fuss. No muss. A perfect fit for their households. When it doesn't go this way -- which it rarely does -- they call us with complaints:
"He pissed on the carpet."
"He chewed up my slippers."
"She won't come to me when I call for her."
"She growled at my husband."
Oh dear, I think, those darn dogs are behaving like dogs! How dare they!

Before you adopt, research the breed and take a good look at your house. Are you and your abode ready for a dog and are you certain of the breed or mixture of breeds you want?

It's a big committment. You are saving a life and adding a new member to your family. It's personal. Very personal.