Chubs - you are one lucky dog!

So, I have not posted since Jun 2008; I know, its Feb 2009. 7 months since my last post. One of the reasons is that not much has been going on around here with the dogs. From Jun - Jan it has been pretty quiet. No inquiries on Bert or Chubs. BUT, a wonderful couple asked about Chubs a few weeks ago.

They lost their boxer Duke and wanted to adopt another boxer. They asked about Chubs. It seemed like a good fit. They came to meet him one saturday morning. The only catch was that they have 2 cats and were concerned about how he would do. Well, I had no clue about him and cats. So we decided to visit their house in Milwaukee and have Chubs meet the cats for a morning, just to make sure that he would co-exist without harming the kitties. So we went the next Saturday to hang out. Chubs did pretty well. He was very curious, but did not bark or growl at the kitties, and showed no hackles or sign of aggression. So I asked the couple to sleep on it and let me know. The next morning they e-mailed and wanted to finalize the adoption. HOORAY! Chubs is a great dog. I was very excited for him. So the next week I proceeded to take Chubs to his new home. Along with Chubs and I, another GABR volunteer, my friend Carl, came with us. After the placement we were going to make an appearance at the Milwaukee pet expo, and then pick up a special case at MADACC in Milwaukee. So, the placement. Yes, it did not go as well as I expected. The minute we walked in the house, Chubs peed on the living room carpet. EEK! I took him out and he peed again. Well, this was interesting, because at that moment, I remembered that Chubs peed on the floor at my house the minute we returned from the visit to the couple in Milwaukee. So then, we were chatting and I told them that he had an accident Thursday. I came home from work and Chubs pooped all over his crate. Well, looking at his back end, realizing what the accident was all about, I figured out that his anal glad was having issues again, for the third time. (First time in Jun, second in Oct and now). As we were discussing his anal gland issues, and after I had cleaned off his back end, he went in the basement and proceeded to poop on their carpet. UGH! I think his anal glad kinda exploded. Not the best time Chubs! - I was thinking. The couple was so nice, I was very apologetic. So, after going through the paperwork and answering all the questions, I left Chubs in his forever home and went to the pet expo with Carl.

So, we got to the pet expo, Carl working his magic to get us out of the parking fee. And then Me getting in without a ticket, leaving Carl at the door to sneak in... he is so funny. We hung out with our friends, with fosters Fritz and Tina. Answered some questions, admired some mullets. It was interesting. So, then Carl, Kathy and I went to MADACC to see the special guy needing some TLC and a warm home.

We arrived at MADACC and we went back to meet Kathy and the boxer boy (no name yet). He was very cautious, very cautious of his surroundings. He wouldn't even walk on the ground. He had to be carried to the car. He slept all the way back to Madison from Milwaukee. Things went much better than expected over at Carl's house. He integrated as well as could be expected with the other 3 boxers. I just home he comes out of his shell and becomes adoptable.

Chubbs

WARNING: DO NOT READ WHILE EATING unless you have a strong stomach.

Chubbs came to us because a family who was renting a home had to move out due to the recent flooding in Wisconsin. He is a poorly bred guy, and around 4 years old. He is named Chubbs from his previous owners for a reason. He is pretty fat! All he does is pant like crazy. I guess that it doesn’t help that it has been pretty warm and humid outside lately and conveniently something is wrong with our air conditioner. Well, according to the previous owners, Chubbs have never been crated. To not complicate matters, we have to keep Chubbs gated in the hallway while we are at work. Well, he came to us on a Friday night. All weekend was fine – no big worries. He growled at Sadie a few times, and maybe once at Bert. Then Monday rolled around, the first long workday where he had to be kept in the hallway. I got home from work before A, usually he gets home first but he had a long day at work. I walked in the house, looked for Chubbs, he greeted me in the hallway, but I saw our bedroom door open. Well, apparently I had not closed the door good enough and he pushed it open. He laid on our bed all day. If that isn’t bad enough, I noticed blood all over the white sheets and drops of blood on the floor. I looked all over Chubbs and didn’t see anything wrong with him – and then I saw blood on his butt. Ick! He wouldn’t really let me get close enough to look. So I called the vet. It was going to be tough for me to take him in that night, I had a work dinner to attend in just a few hours from when I got home. But, I was worried about him, so I took him in. And am I glad that I did. He has an anal gland abscess. It is pretty icky. It is a hole, pretty big one, where his anal glad is and it is infected and bleeding. It is due to lack of expression – it could also be due to lack of cleaning, as he is a portly fellow and cannot get back there to clean up. Mmmm, just what you wanted to read, right? So we got home with our various ointments, antibiotics and pain meds and I made it to the work dinner on time. It is a slow road to recovery for him and if it doesn’t heal with what we have now, he may have to go under and have his glands cleaned out and medicine infused in the glands. I mean, this infection could lead to some serious issues if not taken care of properly. I will keep you posted. I hope that Chubbs gets down to a healthy weight and finds his forever home. He is a sweet guy. Pics to follow!

Have a great life Lancer Dancer

So, I placed Lancer this weekend in Milwaukee. It was a nice drive there, and a great visit. Lancer played and played with his new brother and cousin. He is in a great home. I will really miss him though. Even though he HATED being crated, he is a terrible counter surfer, he destroyed all toys, he would never come inside from the yard because he loves it out there, he barked at all the neighbors... the list can go on and on, but I love him nonetheless. I mean, none of us is perfect, right? There is on thing about him that I will never forget. I may have mentioned this before, but he always had the cutest look on his face looking out of the window. Whatever mood I was in, it always made me smile or giggle.




The way home from placing Lancer was a different story. The interstate back form Milwaukee was closed due to the bad storms that we had the week before. So I had to detour south west. Conveniently the detour took me right past my mom's summer house. I had lunch with her and we went shopping. Then I came home. Overall it was a good trip, but a really long day.

Here are more pictures of Lancer - he is so photogenic!

Skittish Sam

So, I have to rant a bit here. I got most of it off my chest yesterday by sending an e-mail my great friend Alabaster Mom. So the humane society called me. They have a 9 month old male boxer named Sam that they asked if we could take. Of course I said, what's wrong with him. I mean if he was perfect, they would adopt him out. So, he needs some TLC, which we can give him over the stinky cold shelter. His previous owner is in jail, for animal abuse. The guy held the dog up by the throat and punched and kicked him for peeing in the house. UGH UGH! That just really pisses me off. I mean, a poor defenseless dog, well - I guess the dog could have bit him, but then it would have been the dog's fault. Catch 22. So, the sister (thank goodness she doesn't have the same a-hole genes) called the cops who arrested this guy and threw him in jail. When I was at the shelter, there was practically no punishment for animal cruelty, and that was a few years ago. So, this guy had the dog for 3 months. I hope this was the first and only time the dog was beat. I doubt it, but I like to think as positively as I can about this stomach churning incident.

So today I went to the humane society and picked up the little guy - and I mean little! He is only 20lbs, skin and bones. He wouldn't come near me until I gave him 3 treats covered in cheese whiz. Then he just started warming up to me. I took him to meet another volunteer who is going to hold him until he goes to his foster home. He is soooo skittish. I know he will be Ok eventually, maybe he will always be afraid of strangers. We will find him a great home that will cater to his special needs.

Good Luck sweet Sam, the skittish guy who covered me in kisses and leaned his whole 20lbs on me after a few treats and some reassurance. I will think of you often.

For the love of MONA!

Mona was our first foster. She was a good dog, though she barked, ALOT. She was previously a rescue and was being returned due to the owner having to move into senior housing and Mona exceeded the weight limit. So we got Mona in August 2004. Mona got along great with all dogs. She was sweet, loved attention. One time I was out in the yard with the dogs and the neighbor was out with her dog and Mona felt compelled to meet the neighbor dog so she scaled the 4 ft chain link fence. Did I mention that she was 7-8 yrs old? Anyway the activity was so strenuous on her that as soon as she got to the neighbor's yard, she had to go no. 2. I felt kind of bad, so I ran over to clean up the mess. Well, I believe not too long after that she scaled the fence again looking for the neighbor dog.



So, we had Mona for a total of 8 months before she went to her forever home. The adopter's daughter came to pick her up, as he only lived a few miles from me, and I said, "bye Mona, I will miss you" and she didn't even turn and look at me. If she could talk she would say "Rub-a-dub-dub, thanks for the grub and smell ya later!" A wonderful retired man adopted Mona. They were 2 peas in a pod. Mona would protect him, sleep with him him in bed, play soccer in the yard while he coached her, she would step on his oxygen tube. They were meant to be together. Well, I think less than a year later I got a phone call from the adopter's daughter. She had to put Mona to sleep. Mona had Lymphoma and was not doing well. I was so sad, but very glad that Mona was able to be in her true forever home, enjoying the retired life before it was her time. Her adopter was devastated - he loved Mona so much, I completely understood. He wanted another senior Boxer from us - eventually he adopted Bryn. She came into rescue and gave birth to 8 puppies, Bryn was a senior girl - we were glad for her that this was it - no more puppies for her. He teats were all wrung out from all the litters. She went to join the retired life as well. Then, in year or so, I got an e-mail that her adopter was not doing well and we all hoped he would pull through. He did not and passed away shortly after. I was very, very sad. He was such a wonderful man and so generous, his daughter is such a wonderful woman as well. the apple does not fall far from the tree. Bryn now lives with his daughter. She is a lucky dog, though I am sure she misses him all the time.



In other news, the fosters are doing well. Lancer is as sweet as ever, no breaking out of the crate at all lately. Bert is really doing well. He is feeling better, less itchy, less drinking, more wiggling. I think, actually I know, that everyone is enjoying the weather. Today it is absolutely beautiful outside! Last night I was a little scared, there were tornado warnings and I was at a friend's house watching their dogs, as they had to travel out of town unexpectedly. I wasn't watching the news, I was watching all season 1 and 2 episodes of Dexter. the storm was loud and windy, but it blew over pretty quick. Also, A and I are watching Riley, another friend's dog, while they are out of town for the weekend. Riley LOVES hanging out here, he is an only dog. He and Lancer have been playing non-stop. He also engages Sadie in lots of play and even Bert likes him; Bert gives him kisses all the time.



I am quite worried about tomorrow. We are having alot of work done on the house in the next few months and tomorrow the demo for all the new siding begins. A and I both have to work, so we are thinking that we have to crate the dogs in the basement tomorrow. I mean, then they won't go nuts, well, will be less likely to go nuts all day while the crew is here removing all the old siding.

Well, its been a weekend about dogs, dogs and more dogs. I am beat - lots of naps helped. Wish up luck for the siding tomorrow! :)

Loooong Time!

So, its been a few weeks since I blogged. Not to make excuses, but I have been pretty busy. I started a new job the day I got back from vacation. Then I started SoftBall on Monday and VolleyBall on Tuesday. I have also been dog sitting for the neighbors for a few days.

But anyway, enough making excuses. So, things have been the same around the house with the fosters. Lancer is doing good. Y'know, he is so cute sometimes, well, most of the time. But when I leave the house, like when I am going across the street to dog sit, he looks out the window and watches me. He is a little too short for the window, so he rests his head on the ledge and all you see is the top of his white head, with these eyes looking all around. Every time I see him in the window, it makes me giggle.

Then there is Bert. He was losing all his hair, so we went to see Dr. Barb at the vet. He has a yeast infection on his skin. So, I am wondering how in the world he is getting all these skin infections. I mean, he was treated a few months ago for a skin yeast infection. The doc said that it is because his immune system is down. Well, since he has been on the anti-yeast meds, he has been looking much better. I also gave him a bath. I am GLAD I did, he was pretty icky. I think he liked it, but I couldn't really tell.
He is also on some medicine to help him with his skin - the doc thinks he is a mange dog. I do not know if it is helping or not, I guess that we will re-evaluate in a few weeks. He has been sooo happy lately, though. He loves to jump up and hug me. He only does that when he is happy. And he has been wiggling alot too - which is great. He is still leaking urine, and on meds for that, but thats not so severe.

No other news really to report. We got back our pics from the professional photography session and they are so great. We haven't made a decision regarding which ones to purchase, but we will soon!

I am including some pictures of our friends Boxers that we took on vacation in NC a few weeks ago, only b/c they are really cute! :)

The Vacation

So, after the puppy has gone to his forever home, A and I are taking a much needed vacation. We are going to Wilmington, NC for a few days. I think for foster homes, it is much more work to go on a vacation than 'normal' homes. Or, I guess just even homes with multiple pets. So, I had to drop Lancer off at another foster home 45 minutes away yesterday morning. Then, A, Sadie and I went to Chicago to have professional family pictures taken by a photographer that specializes in pet photography. We received a very generous gift certificate for our wedding from some great friends. This photographer is amazing. I am so excited to see the pics. Then we got home and I had to drop Bert off at a foster home 15 minutes away. Then, our girl Sadie went to stay with some friends of ours and their Viszla Riley (he's in love with Sadie but she just likes to boss him around, but he is fine with that).

But, alas, there us more to our adventure than just dropping off the pups with the WONDERFUL friends and foster homes who volunteers for us (it really means ALOT). We left Madison at 6am for a 9:33 flight. Then, 30 minutes from O'Hare, we hit traffic, stopped completed on the interstate. Then we had to exit because we HAD to go to the bathroom - I mean my bladder hurt after I went, it was that bad. I almost peed in the car. Well, we made it to the ticket counter by 9:30 - so we had to take a later flight, which in turn cased a later connecting flight, which was full. BUT, it wouldn't have mattered, because out 9:33 flight had a maintenance issue and didn't leave until 11am. But they wouldn't let us on the flight, which was fine because we were going to get to Charlotte at the same time. So, we are currently sitting at the Charlotte, NC airport waiting for the 6pm flight. But we don't even have it bad. Apparently the airline canceled a few more flights to Wilmington and people are stuck here. All the remaining flights for the day are completely full.

The NC Wedding

We are visiting our friends in Wilmington. They are expecting. I have been to Wilm for their wedding a few years ago. A has never been to NC. He has actually not been to alot of places. But, hopefully I will change that. Anyway, they have 2 boxers, Diesel and Dixie. I will post later and add pics of them. I have met Diesel, he is 6, but I have never met Dixie. She is a young'un. I am excited to have a fire at the beach and chill for a few days. Its sunny and 70-80s all weekend :) I am very happy.