Voice of the Pack Leader

Post #34: Buster Leaves Us Too Soon

2011-12-26T12:53:00.000-08:00

Buster Leaves Us Too Soon

We are so sad to tell our fans and followers that Buster passed away shortly before Christmas, after suffering a sudden decline in health. We thought at first that he had injured a leg and would respond to a few days of rest and pain control, but it was soon evident that the situation was far more serious. A dedicated team of GSRA volunteers and vet clinic staff kept him comfortable through his final days and surrounded by love until the very end, and all were touched by his gentle spirit.

Of course, all GSRA dogs are equally worthy of finding loving homes, but it’s hard to deny that there was something special about Buster that went much deeper than his stunning good looks. We’ve tried to convey that in these blog posts, and I hope it has come through. My intent in this final post is to share some of my favorite memories of him.

No Barrier for Buster

This was taken shortly after Buster came to my home for foster care. I had constructed a barrier to keep the dogs out of the kitchen while I mopped the floor, and happened to glance up to see that my labors were being watched. Do you see a Buster-sized hole there? Me neither. This was an early indication that Buster had “opinions” about things and would apply his considerable determination to overcoming obstacles. Maybe there’s a lesson there for all of us.

GSRA's Top Model

Buster was proud at the reunion picnic to see so many people wearing “his” tee-shirts. If anyone isn’t aware, that’s him on the back of the blue tie-died shirts.

Buster's T-shirt

2011 GSRA Reunion Picnic

Another happy memory from the picnic was this wonderful photo of Buster with the rest of the Fab Five (from left to right: Tina, Buster, Georgia, Gunner, and Queenie). This so perfectly captures the work of GSRA that no additional words are needed.

Group Snuggle

During group snuggle time, Buster uses body language to tell us what he thinks about his place in the pack.

In late September Buster had what was probably a new experience for him: a hike in the woods to a river swimming hole. He was fascinated by all the autumn smells in the woods and kept up a steady pace for the two-mile round trip, which was a big walk for him. At the river, determination to follow his people took him into the water and swimming! He wore a look of surprise initially, but then soon relaxed and paddled around for a while. He also enjoyed lying right at the water’s edge and taking in the scene. Now that he’s gone and I no longer have his gentle presence in my home, I find myself remembering this day, Buster’s own perfect “moment in time.” One day, when the time is right, this is where I will return to scatter his ashes.

Buster's Perfect Moment in Time

The tragedy of loving these magnificent dogs is that we outlive them by so much. We dearly wish that Buster could have had more time in his new life, but he surely embraced the time he did have. Rest in peace Big Guy, you touched so many of us.

Post #33: Sweet Georgia Finds a Home!

2011-11-16T15:00:00.000-08:00

Sweet Georgia Finds a Home!

Hi Mom!!

Hey ya’ll I finally convinced my foster Mama and Dada that I didn’t want to go anywhere else that I was at my fur ever home! They agreed!!! I’m so happy I’ve been adopted and all I have to do all day is lay on my comfy bed and ROO ROO at mama when she comes to the door. Then we go play. I really like to take care of Mama with my sisters (no longer foster sis’s) we will really raise our voices when we are home alone with Mama (even if it is Dada coming through the door). I want to thank all my loyal fans who wished me well and donated money for our care, the rest of the Fab

Relaxing in the Sun

Five are doing great too. I got to see all my kennelmates at the 2^nd annual GSRA reunion. That was so much fun, but I got a little tired, there were so many pretty GSD’s there that it got a little overwhelming for me. But I stayed close to Mama and protected her. It was a tough job and I slept all the way home! Did you hear that “HOME”!

I am coming Mama!

From no longer foster mom:

We fell in love with sweet Georgia Girl and after I talked with the first potential adopters and realized that I might lose my sweet girl I couldn’t bear it. So we adopted her. She is an awesome 40^th birthday present!!! Georgia is now playing with toys and throwing them into the air! She is engaging my other dogs in play, and sticks her head into the fridge when I open the door. Georgia is a real part of the family! She no longer watches, but joins in.

Georgia's Toys

Thanks GSRA for taking in these awesome dogs and giving me the opportunity to bring Georgia out of her shell and be a 10 year old puppy.

Post #32: Buster Has News!

2011-09-25T02:08:00.000-07:00

Buster's been busy

Buster Has News!

Buster’s been a busy boy since you last heard from him! To begin with, he considered ALL the wonderful people who wanted to offer him a permanent home, and decided on the family that he wanted to “try out.” That trial adoption unfortunately did not work as well as we all thought it would, so Buster is back with me now and open to considering other suitors. ;-)

It remains extremely fortuitous that he went on trial when he did, though, because his potential adopter took him to the vet for a get acquainted visit. We encourage all adopters to do this during the trial period, to make sure they have an independent assessment of the dog’s health (i.e., have information from other than GSRA), and in this case we were both grateful the visit occurred and completely shocked by the outcome: the vet detected a softball-sized mass in Buster’s abdomen! This struck fear in everyone’s heart, of course, that we might lose this sweet boy to cancer so soon after offering him a life of ease. Two days later, an ultrasound test showed the mass was associated with his spleen but did not appear to have spread beyond it. Although not wonderful, this was actually the best news we could hope for at that point, because there was a chance that surgery could be curative.

Buster had a serious shave for his surgery

Buster underwent surgery the next day to remove his spleen and what indeed turned out to be a softball-sized mass. He came through the surgery like the champ that he is, but then the waiting began for the pathology results to come back. We would have to wait six long days, because of the Labor Day holiday…. Finally, the news we had all been hoping and praying for: NOT MALIGNANT! Woo-hoo! Many “happy dances” occurred among the GSRA folks in the loop on this! After a complete biopsy, it turns out that that big mass was nothing more than a big ol’ hematoma --- an overgrown blood clot. It most likely resulted from some kind of injury (and we hate to think too much about this), but it’s gone now and will cause no further problems. And an adult dog can get along very easily without a spleen.

Say "howdy" to this handsome boy
at the reunion!!

The cancer scare, surgery, and recovery interrupted the usual “settling in” things that occur during an adoption trial, so we extended the trial by a few weeks. It eventually turned out to not be a good fit, for a number of reasons, and the potential adopters were heartbroken to conclude this. Although disappointing, this is EXACTLY why we have a trial period in the first place; we don’t want either our dogs OR our adopters to be stuck in situations that aren’t ideal. So Buster is back in his original foster home now, settling in easily. We owe the lovely trial family a HUGE debt of thanks for seeing him through such a scary time.

Buster lost some of the gains we had made in his physical condition during the time he had to minimize activity after surgery, but we’re working on that again. You know, not seeing him every day during the time he was on trial allowed me to somehow lose sight of how INCREDIBLY handsome he is, not to mention sweet. I hope you get a chance to see him in the flesh yourself. He’ll be moseying around the GSRA reunion picnic on October 2^nd and would be most happy to make your acquaintance. ;-)

Post #31: We have Georgia on our minds.

2011-08-15T19:15:00.000-07:00

Just a few notes from Georgia’s mom.

Georgia and Foster Sis

Georgia has been with us for almost 2 months now, and has really settled into the routine, so I’m afraid I don’t have much exciting news to share other than that Georgia has finally realized she could bark without getting into trouble. When I leave I have to put her in her kennel which she isn’t too pleased about anymore and will give me some loud BARK BARKs to let me know she does not appreciate the fact that she has to be in the kennel.

I WILL get that bee!

She continues to eat well (but extremely slow or maybe her foster sisters eat too fast!) and rides great in the truck. She has taken several road trips with foster sister Tara. She walks great on the leash and we are starting to get longer walks in now that it is getting a little cooler in the evenings. Georgia is great at the Pets Mart, she has quite a few admirers, just about everyone we walk by has to stop and say how beautiful she is. Which of course I have to agree with!

Other than that she is enjoying the good doggie life that she deserves. I will get Georgia back on the blog soon so you can hear from her. Who knows she maybe on the website real soon!

Post #30: Queenie Goes to School

2011-08-08T04:45:00.000-07:00

Queenie Goes to School

Queenie, Jon and foster sisters

Queenie's been with us now a little over a month. While she has made huge strides in some areas (she's eating like a champ now!!) she continues to have issues with feeling comfortable in her own fur. It's like she doesn't know what she wants. Well, actually, she knows what she wants, it's just that her "wants" and real life, don't exactly mesh. If Queenie could have it her way, she would lay on the living room rug, at a vantage point where she could see everything that is happening in the house, but not be involved in it directly. She would never be left alone, she would never be crated or put in her dog pen, she would be allowed to chew anything and everything her heart's desire, her humans would be satisfied with her giving "drive by" kisses and not ask for any other attention from her and she would always have her sister Iris, the only creature she seems to really trust, right by her side. Hm...yeah, there are just a *few* problems with Queenie's ideal life :)

I am ok over here!

Whenever we are rehabbing a rescue dog there is always that balance you have to strike between letting them go at their own pace, but then also challenging them to reach further so they can actually make progress. You want them to feel comfortable, but you can't baby them. Every dog is different and every foster job requires that you learn what your dog can and can't handle so that you keep them moving forward in the direction of being ready for adoption one day. In this regard, Queenie has probably been our hardest foster case. She also came to us at a time when our house was already full (with 6 other dogs), so the amount of time we are able to spend with her has not been optimal. It was with these things in mind that we reached out to a fellow rescuer for help.

Queenie considering a dip in the pool

Enter Keith. Keith is not your average rescuer. In fact, he kind of fell into this rescue gig. He fosters and trains service dogs but in the course of his work he was put in touch with someone who could no longer care for their GSD. Long story short, Keith started working with the dog (Joe), contacted GSRA and Joe was rescued by GSRA. However, that experience prompted Keith to want to work more with the breed, especially more timid GSDs that would benefit from the kind of training he was familiar with. It seemed totally serendipitous that I worked with Keith to find Joe a foster home and then Keith wanted to work more with shy GSDs. I mean, what better subject could Keith hope for that our very own Miss Queenie? This seemed like the perfect win:win situation for everyone and so we agreed that Queenie would start visiting with Keith a couple of times a week to see how she did.

The first visit she had with Keith was last weekend. She went along with big sister Iris as we thought she'd feel more comfortable that way. Keith and hos family took Queenie, Iris and their dog Macy to Umstead Park in Raleigh and went for a hike. Keith reported that Queenie did GREAT! He noticed that she is a naturally curious dog who has all the traits of a great GSD. She is attentive, obedient, great on leash when directed how to walk and she has the kind of nose that picks up scents...and the drive to want to follow those scents!! He said her timid nature definitely gets in the way of her natural curiosity, but all the same he was very happy to see this side to her.

Queenie going to get the leash

Last Friday, Queenie went for her second visit with Keith, and her first on her own. Naturally, she was more nervous than the first time, but even so, Keith was very, very impressed with how she handled things. He worked with her on "waiting" at the front door before going out and he also continued to work with her on her issues with stairs (yes, she is still completely uncoordinated when it comes to either going up or down stairs!!). They went for lots of walks in a near by park and, once again, she had a great time sniffing things out. When we went and picked her up she was calm but very happy to see us. Today, however, was the best visit yet. Keith started out by trying to do some very basic obedience exercises with her but he said that she wasn't quite able to relax enough to the point where she could focus for these lessons. So he just let her be and let her hang out in the house and get used to new surroundings. He noticed that, when she would get antsy (as she often does during the night at home) she would start to almost panic and want to get outside. She paced, she jumped up on furniture, scratched at windows etc... Keith told us that taught her the word "NO" today in response to these antics. It seems obvious, I know, to want to reprimand a dog for this kind of behavior (especially when they are jumping at the windows hard enough that they could, conceivably break them), but until now, we have not been sure of whether or not she was ready for this kind of reprimand. In reality though, I don't think *we* were ready for *giving* this reprimand to our delicate (so we think) little Queenie.

This goes along with what I started off this blog by saying: it's really hard to know how to balance love and teaching when dealing with some foster dogs. Anyway, probably not surprisingly, Queenie didn't melt into a puddle of shaking fear, or self-combust with terror at being told "NO", she simply stopped doing what she was doing and went and laid down and observed... And what she saw made a big impression on her! Macy, Keith's Golden Retriever puppy who is in training to be a service dog, knows that, when she wants to go out, she has to pick up her leash and bring it to Keith. I guess Queenie had watched this a couple if times over the course of the morning and so, after her window antics hadn't gotten her the outside time she was hoping for, Keith said he saw her walk over to where her leash lay on the table. He said he watched Queenie look at the leash, look at Macy, look at the leash, look at Keith...and then she slowly picked the leash up in her mouth and looked at Keith. She didn't manage to bring it over to him but the message had been clear: Queenie was asking to go outside...please :) How about that???

When we went and got our little protege Keith talked to us about taking Queenie through the Canine Good Citizen training. He said that, in all honesty, he doubted she would be able to pass it, but he said the lessons and skills she would learn, and the self confidence she would gain during the training, would really help her develop. We are absolutely THRILLED with this idea. Imagine that, our little girl Queenie is going to school :)

Post #29: Buster Channels His Inner Dog

2011-08-01T04:11:00.000-07:00

Buster Channels His Inner Dog

Buster’s smile is brighter now that his teeth are clean.

Buster’s been with me for almost a month now. Much of my news on him isn’t remarkable in and of itself, but I hope anyone who’s been following this story will realize the wonderful milestones these events represent for Buster. First, a little medical news: Buster came through his recent dental cleaning and neuter with flying colors. He was still groggy from the anesthesia when I picked him up, but did me proud by trudging right up the ramp into the car. Good boy, Buster! See Blog post #23 for the backstory on how big a deal this is. ;-)

Buster likes the cool dirt under the deck.

As he’s figured out the household routine and become increasingly comfortable, it’s a joy to see normal doggie behaviors start to emerge. I first saw this when he started to recognize the sound of my car returning and would appear at the gate with the rest of the crew as I emerged from the garage, with his tail gently wagging. Then into the house through the doggie door to join the swirl of happiness that the pack is reunited! This joyful greeting when I return home is such a simple --- yet essential --- part of dog ownership for me. Has Buster ever gotten to participate in this before? Has a person been overjoyed to see him, too? I don’t know, and it hurts my heart to wonder….but I DO know the greeting ritual will be part of his routine from this day forward.

The Big Man likes to wrestle with young Chess

Buster has also started to play! I first encountered this as a bunch of thumping around behind me as I worked at the computer. Turning around, I was amazed and amused to see him “wrestling” with young Chester: shoving each other around with their shoulders, spinning to deliver a hip check, grinning (!), having a big ol’ time skittering around on the hardwood floor. Now, Chester is a big boy, too (90+ lbs), and has youth on his side, but he can’t yet take down the Big Man. ;-) They looked for all the world like a kid and a favorite uncle roughhousing on a weekend afternoon.

Outside, Buster’s play efforts are a bit clumsy, and could easily be interpreted by another dog as inappropriate/aggressive. But then how would you, as a mature adult, like to try to learn the rules of the playground? You probably wouldn’t find it very easy, either. Buster’s not at all interested in chasing a BALL, but he LOVES to chase another DOG chasing a ball. Of course, he’s not very fast, so watching this is much like watching a freight train gather speed and momentum. Imagine 100+ pound Buster lumbering toward you with a determined look on his face. Yikes! Chester sees this and decides to just keep on moving. ;-) Max ignored/evaded it for awhile, but then decided he wasn’t thrilled to have the big lug interfering in his game. So he screwed up his courage and gave Buster a stern correction! I held my breath, wondering what would happen next, and….Buster backed down, seeming to say “Oh. Well, pardon ME!” So, the lesson was learned, and we now know that Buster will both “get it” and “take it” when another dog points out his misbehavior.

Nothin’ like a good bone to chew on.

I bet I can make it through the doggie door with this…

Finally, Buster has also discovered the joy of a good bone. We’ve been having quite a conversation about whether bones should be enjoyed inside or outside, and we both have strong opinions on the matter. ;-) Although I prevail most of the time, his big maw can conceal a lot of things, so the bone does make it inside occasionally. He looks indignant when I take it away to toss it outside, but is too well-mannered to object.

Just hangin’ on the deck

So that’s what Buster’s been up to. Just happy living an unremarkable doggie life….

Post #28: Update from Georgia

2011-07-28T06:18:00.000-07:00

Georgia on the Prowl

Hey Ya’ll,

It has been awhile since I last blogged. I’ve been busy getting better! Dada says I’m an 11 year old puppy! The other night I saw this butterfly flying around me and I watched to see what it was doing! It just flew around and was so pretty. I also remembered that bumble bees had to be snapped out of the air! Those pesky bees bother Mama so I have to take them out! I love to watch my foster sisters play, and actually tried to join in. I think I scared them because I don’t bark. I do this GRRUUWWWWLLLMOOAANN thing and they think I want to fight instead of play.

Getting LOVES from Uncle Vic

I have to thank my Auntie Kara who is a GSRA volunteer and works at the Animal Hospital that got rid of that nasty cyst. The great doc and techs took such good care of me. I wasn’t able to meet Auntie Kara (she was visiting her human family) but she hooked me up with 2 bags of goodies. I wasn’t eating much at first and she sent Foster Mama home with all kinds of good doggie food to get me to eat! It worked! I’m eating all my food now except for 1 kibble! I leave it for Mama! She seems to think it is funny! Now all I have to do is keep my foster sisters from tearing up my new purple turtle from Auntie Kara until I’m ready to help in the destruction! I will keep you posted.

Boys needed some help!

I helped Dada and Uncle Vic fix the lawn mower today! Those boys really did need some help!

"Ok Georgia Girl can I have a few words!" WOOF WOOF!! OK Mama. Talk to ya’ll later!!

I can’t believe how Georgia Girl has come around now that she is feeling better! She is the happiest puppy ever! She is learning how to be a dog again and I can’t wait to hear her actually bark! We will keep you posted. I know Georgia will surprise me like she did when she climbed up on her own comfy bed!

Post #27: Gunner Living the Life

2011-07-22T09:48:00.000-07:00

Gunner Striking a Pose

Well it is the one month anniversary of Gunner entering foster care, and boy has this dog blossomed! He has gone from a frantic, scared boy to a well adjusted GSD. He has gone from a dog who has had no exposure to an inside life, or even a life with human interaction, to one that LOVES being inside, thrives on being with family, has numerous favorite places in our house, and has discovered the joy of playing with toys and other GSD's. Considering his very secluded life, he has the curiosity of a puppy. He is not scared of things, just cautious. He will look at me, then walk over and check things out. Over the past month, Gunner has become one of my pack, and is thoroughly enjoying being with his people, especially me. His favorite spot at bedtime is on our master bathroom floor, where its nice and cool.

Gunner in his "cool" place

He will come to check on me throughout the night, but always returns to the bathroom floor.

To sleep on the bed or not!

He hasn't quite figured out that a dog bed is meant to be laid on, probably since he has never had one before.

We have been taking daily walks, pretty much from day one. Since he was kenneled all of his life, he has no muscle mass in his back legs. With the walking, he is slowly building up those muscles, and is one of the first in line to go out for his walk!
Since Gunner was so nervous at first, we concentrated on having him adjust to our family and dogs, and left the obedience training to a later date when he was more settled. He is a smart cookie, and will sit before he goes for his walk, and is one of the first dogs to sit before being allowed to come into the house after his walk. He sits for his treats, and almost all of the other times that we ask him to now. He learned "leave it" pretty early on since he had no prior training or exposure, and some things dogs are just supposed to leave alone! In my opinion, it is one of the most important commands for a dog to know. He will leave it when asked every time. The "come" command is coming along nicely, and with continued practice, will continue to improve.

I don't really want to be out here!

Gunner was THE MOST difficult dog that I have ever had to house break! At first, it was just that he did not know better. All of his life he just went in the kennel. Now our house was considered his kennel! Then, it was because he was scared to leave the "safety zone" of our house. He would not go outside alone, and we would have to put him on a leash to get him to go out and do his business. Often times, it took 15 minutes of walking around in our fenced yard to entice him go. It was heart breaking to watch the fear in his eyes as we asked him to go away from his comfort zone, but we needed to get him over this hurdle. He would constantly try to go to the steps to come back inside. Finally one day, I decided that I would use treats to entice him to go outside off leash and praise him for that, then praise him when he went to the potty. Well, this strategy worked! We still have to tell him to go outside and do his business sometimes, but he will go out and be successful! I can now put my carpet cleaner away! I felt as if the heavens had opened up! Yay Gunner!

Did you see the size of that SQUIRREL???

Gunner and his friend

BFFs

Over the past week and a half, we have started leaving Gunner out of his crate when we leave the house. At first it was for an hour or two, and now it has graduated to about 6 1/2 hours. He has done very well, and has proven himself to be trustworthy so far. This is a big relief, since he never developed the fondness for his crate, and it was never considered his "safe" place. Gunner loves to run to our living room windows, which are the windows to adventure for our dogs. The squirrels and rabbits provide endless entertainment for them. I swear one of the rabbits main mission in life is to taunt them. The endless supply of neighbors walking keeps them stimulated as well.

I am pretending I don't know how good looking I am.

When Gunner goes for his daily walks, he gets socialized with some of the neighborhood dogs, neighbors, and children. What started out as aloofness has turned into curiosity, and now approval. He lets people pet him, and he acknowledges by a gentle lick on the hand. While Gunner will probably never be a dog that goes bounding up to people he doesn't know to greet them, he has become social and will approach them and allow to be petted. One thing for sure though, this boy stops people in their tracks to admire his true beauty! I had someone that drove past our street, turn around in their car to meet him. It is a pretty awesome feeling to be walking three big GSD's, heeled at my side, walking tall, proud, and gorgeous! I am so proud of how far my boy has come, and can't help but look back to that month ago when that frantic, scared boy came into our lives. His progress makes me beam with joy! He is a true blessing, and we LOVE him very much!

Post #26: My Fair Queenie

2011-07-20T06:51:00.000-07:00

My Fair Queenie

Beautiful Queenie

Queenie has made a lot of progress over the last week and it occurred to me that living with her, and teaching her all the wonderful things that life has to offer is a little like the story My Fair Lady. Queenie is a canine version of Eliza Doolittle (albeit with a little less spunk) and we are like Professor Higgins (but much, much kinder thank you very much!!). We have plucked Queenie out of a life that had little to offer her and have transported her to a world where everything is new, every experience is eye-opening and people are kind and generous. I'd love to think that, by the end of our tutelage, Queenie will make as dramatic a transformation as Eliza did in the movie, but I guess we will have to wait and see on that one. In the mean time though, both her Foster Dad and I are having a blast seeing her blossom into a happy, even-keeled young dog.

Queenie - Standing pretty

We've started taking her out places with us to expose her to some new places and people. Yesterday we went and visited another volunteer who had been looking after Queenie's sister Iris over the weekend. Iris was gaining some new experiences herself, so when we went to pick her up, we thought it would be a good opportunity for Queenie to come along and meet a new friend and be reunited with her sister. Seeing the 2 dogs recognize each other and react to being together again was really beautiful. Iris wagged her tail till we thought it might fall off and Queenie showered her sister with kisses on the muzzle. There's no doubt these 2 girls are bonded!! Queenie then spent a little time with the volunteer who had been working with Iris. He gave her some lessons on how to navigate the stairs (she is still leaping with abandon down them!!). It only took her a couple of minutes to catch on to what was being asked of her, and even though she was deathly afraid of taking those steps down, she did it. In those few minutes I saw just how intelligent and willing to please this sweet girl is - such a wonderful example of why we love this breed!!

Queenie keeping a close eye on us...from a distance

A couple of other "firsts" this week included being left uncrated in the main house while we went out to the gym this morning. We were both a little nervous about that experiment, but it went well - all pillows and rugs were still accounted for when we got back!! She also licked my breakfast plate for the first time this morning - I know, I know, not the greatest thing to teach a dog, but when you see dogs like Queenie just being a "dog"it really fills your heart with happiness. All our other dogs gather around when we are eating (especially breakfast) and know that there is a really good chance they will get to lick my plate at the end and take care of any egg I might have left behind. Well, much to my surprise today, Queenie joined the line of dogs sitting patiently for me to finish. So we went down the line - everyone getting a couple of licks to make sure the plate was completely clean. Queenie took her turn like a champ and was very conscientious in her cleaning duties!! It really made me smile. Which reminds me of another Queenie incident that made me smile recently. We decided to leave her out in "general pop" one night as she seemed very calm and her and Iris were snuggled together, so it seemed a shame to make her go downstairs to her "room". So, off we went to bed with clear instructions to all the dogs to be good. At about 2.00am I was woken up by barking. I knew instantly which dog it was (our alpha male) and I could tell just as quickly that something was not right. I turned the light on and looked downstairs and there I found quite the scene!! Iris and her brother were crowded on the stairs looking at me as if to say "we tried to tell her it wasn't right!!" and there, in the living room, was Queenie, wagging her tail and standing in the middle of destruction!! In the few short hours we had been asleep, she had torn down some blinds, chewed her foster Dad's wallet (no idea where she got it as I have gone looking for it before and never been able to find it!!!), torn to shreds a vintage shoulder bag, chewed some batteries, destuffed a cushion and somehow managed to remove her collar and rendered it useless by chewing off the clasp!!! Queenie was standing surrounded by all this mayhem wagging happily - apparently completely unawares that what she had just done was a MAJOR no-no!!! How could I be angry? I didn't want to be a buzz kill for her, so I just patted her and gave her kisses and then promptly put her in her room for the night!!! Of course, we'd already learned the hard way not to put any kind of rug or dog bed in with her - she is QUITE the artiste when it comes to mixed media consisting of rug fibers and pillow stuffing!! Still, its nothing that hasn't already been done a dozen or so times here, so there's really no harm done. And it kind of worked to her advantage as she got a brand new collar out of the whole episode!

Queenie's new collar

To complete the list of "firsts" for this week, today was the first time Queenie came with her foster Dad to pick me up from work - all on her own. When I came out of my building and saw her across the street I was struck by just how beautiful this girl is. She is tall and graceful and has just the perfect combination of colors from her parents (Buster and Susann). It took her a moment to realize who I was, but when she did she lowered her head shyly but pulled her foster Dad over to where I was. Boy oh boy was I a proud Mama :) Everyone was looking at her - I mean, how could you not? She did well with the attention, but was clearly relieved to also get back to the safety of the car. Still, it's these baby steps in her rehabilitation that make all the difference. I'm quite sure that it won't be long before Queenie is happily barking, "the rain in spain stays mainly on the plane"!! .....if you don't get this, look up My Fair Lady in Wikipedia :)

Post #25: Tina Learns to Eat

2011-07-14T13:42:00.000-07:00

Tina getting ready for her nightly walk

My name is Clementine, but the people who love me call me Tina, Tina Bear, Tina Toodles, the list goes on. Who knew humans were so silly? I didn’t! As I am sure you all know, I lived in a kennel all my life. It is hard to imagine now, but when I first got to my new home, all I wanted was to return to that kennel. The humans said it was bad, but it was the only home I knew and I was so scared. But, I have met so many nice humans since leaving the kennel; I can’t imagine going back now.

I need to thank a few people. First, I must thank my Angie. Yes, my new mom read the note you left me in my food. I was so upset that night, I didn’t understand the words at first, but I smelled you and that made it better. I must also thank all the wonderful people in GSRA that came out to the kennels and bathed us and walked us and showed us that a human’s hand means love.

Tina thinking about her blog

I asked my mom what I should write. Should I go back and tell everyone how scared and confused I was? How I just didn’t know how to be and it upset me so much? Or should I tell people how I am doing now and try to make people smile? My mom, being the silly person she is, said, let’s make people smile! She particularly likes to talk about my poop (I will explain later!)

Everything really started to change for me the day my mom took me to the vet. Asher, my friend, kindly volunteered to go with me so it was not as scary. But, I still didn’t know what was happening. Was she taking me to another home? Was I going back to the kennel? I can admit now, that I was scared. I was starting to like this new home and it broke my heart that I was leaving. Amazingly, my mom brought me back home! I was so excited that I decided to play with my mom and show her how happy I was. Well, that was a good thing! I made my mom laugh and I like that so much I now play with her a lot. I think she might get sad if I didn’t.

I could just eat this Stuffed Gator. Roll Tide!

I still would not eat. My mom was so upset I could tell. I couldn’t explain to her that my belly hurt and I was sick to my stomach. If only humans and dogs could communicate better. Finally, mom started putting the BIG pills down my throat. After she would put that pill down my throat she would kiss all over my face. I really like that, so I now take my pills like a champ and I get my kisses! Actually, mom kisses me all of the time. My foster brothers and sister say that is just something you have to get used to around here. I have NO PROBLEM with it, Bring on The Kisses!!!!!

Getting mom kisses with my brother Asher

I did feel sorry for my mom though. She tried all kinds of foods. She even made me eat some by putting it in a syringe. For days, that is the only food I ate. She tried so many different kinds of specialty dog food. She should have taken a picture. She bought two of every kind in hopes that I would eat it. But, I didn’t. Mom bought some canned chicken and I liked that! Mom said it wasn’t good for me, but let me eat it since it was the only thing I would eat. My mom is a vegetarian and she does not cook meat in her house. To the amazement of my Papa and foster siblings, mom went to the store and bought chicken! She boiled chicken and rice for me. But, I still wouldn’t eat it. Mom didn’t know that I don’t like rice. So then she just boiled chicken and she hand fed me. The plain chicken was what I needed to get my tummy working a little. I didn’t know what a big deal this was until my family explained that she would not have done that for anyone else! Wow! My mom truly loves me. It really is amazing because I am 9 years old and I am not sure that before GSRA I had someone to love me.

Napping

Well, my eating issues did not miraculously improve. All I would eat was one chicken breast a day. Not enough for a big girl like me my mom said. She kept trying can food, baby food, human food and she kept making me eat some with the syringe. I was starting to make that difficult for mom, so as long as I would eat a chicken breast she didn’t force me to eat. This went on for almost 2 weeks.

I was hungry, but I couldn’t explain to mom what I needed. I am not sure I even knew what I needed. I was in the kitchen with her one day and I was sniffing around. Mom thought maybe I was hungry. She opened a can of special high calorie food and let me sniff the can; I walked away. Poor mom, she was upset. When mom opened that can though, my foster brothers and sister came RUNNING!!! They said that mom just opened the best smelling stuff in the world. I saw them all sitting in the kitchen and I went back to see what all the fuss was about. Mom was feeding them all from a spoon. Each dog got a turn. I was standing there and mom offered me a turn; I said, “what the heck, when in Rome…” That made mom so happy! She kept going down the line, Asher’s turn, Dezzie’s turn, Harry’s turn, Tina’s turn… And each time I took my turn. Mom opened another can and kept the game going! Mom did that hugging and kissing thing again so it seems like I did a good thing!

The medication was starting to work. The doctor thinks I might have a stomach ulcer and that was causing me to get sick when I eat. I am still not eating enough and I do have special rules that must be followed!! In the morning I would like Beneful Prepared Meals, it took my mom A LOT of experimenting with different food to find that. I want it in the kitchen with my bowl on a soft towel. If I will not eat, I want my mom to get out a spoon and feed it to me that way. Oh, breakfast can never be before 9:30. I don’t eat before 9:30, don’t really like to get up before that. Some days I want lunch. On those days I will come into the kitchen and nose the pantry door. I like to keep mom on her toes so I change my mind about what I want for lunch. She sometimes offers me several different choices before I decide. For dinner, I like Beneful dry food. But, sometimes I want the Prepared Meals and I let mom know AFTER she has fixed my dinner. Last night I ate 4 cups of dry food. The day before I only ate 1 cup. Mom says that I need to eat at least 4 cups of food a day. I am working on it.

Last week, when I first started eating a little, my mom was on the phone with a group from GSRA. She was standing in the kitchen talking to them and I noticed the pantry door was open. Mom was busy and I thought a chewie was a GREAT idea, so I went into the pantry and helped myself. My mom got so excited!!! She did that hug and kiss thing again, she even cried a little when she got off the phone. Humans are VERY easy to please. I get a snack and they get happy!

One of Tina's Many Rugs

The other problem I had when I first came was terrible diarrhea, and then I stopped going to the bathroom all together. This REALLY worried my mom so she took me back to the vet. At the vet they ran all kinds of tests. When I go in to be spayed, they will check my spleen, which is too large and my intestines. But, a couple of days ago I finally went to the bathroom and my mom started jumping up and down and told me what a good girl I was for going “poopy” as she calls it. She even sent emails and posted on Facebook that I pooped. She and I are going to have a discussion about this. I am a proper southern lady and I don’t need her talking about my bodily functions!

Mom, I love you!

I could go on and on about life here. Every day I get more comfortable. I LOVE my mom. I just love her so much I can’t stand it sometimes. When she leaves I am starting to have something my mom called separation anxiety. She told me that isn’t good. She said that she will always come back so it is ok to relax while she is gone. She used to put me in the bedroom with another dog while she was gone. This morning though, I explained to her that I didn’t like that and I got to stay out with all the dogs. Another thing I do when my mom leaves is howl. I howl and cry until she comes home. Papa said that mama isn’t allowed to leave while he is home anymore. I guess my howling was a bit loud for him! Oops.

I never knew that life could be like this. Mom tells me that I have 100s of people to thank. I just don’t know why my life could not have been this good all along. Mom said that we can’t hate the person who had me before. She said that she feels sorry for him. She said that he had the opportunity to be loved unconditionally by 7 wonderful dogs. He didn’t know our love, our kindness, or our sense of humor. So, because of that she feels sorry for him, because he missed out on something amazing! Wow! My mom thinks I am amazing.

Well, it is almost time for my mom and I to get back to work. She works from her home office and I have a spot beside her desk called THE TINA SPOT. Sometimes Harry steals it, but it is usually all mine.

Tina going for a Jeep Ride

You will hear from me again soon, but in the meantime I will be going for walks, snuggling with my mom, hopefully getting some rides in the Jeep, and mostly just being a happy dog.

Post #24: Fabulous Five Update

2011-07-11T18:29:00.000-07:00

Georgia After Surgery

And another week begins! Lots has been going on with the Fab Five. The airwaves (or computer waves) have been burning up with emails shooting back and forth between all of us foster Moms. We even have a new name for ourselves - the FFFMs - or, Fab Five Foster Moms! It's like we are members of a little club - and quite a prestigious one if you ask me. It is truly an honor to be a part of the rehabilitation of these wonderful dogs. Lots and lots of wonderful mile stones in their quest to become "normal" dogs and quite a few hurdles also. Last week saw both Tina and Georgia in at the vets a couple of times. Georgia went in for a check up and ended up staying to have emergency surgery! What we thought was pyometria turned out to be a 2.5lb cyst on one of her ovaries!! No one saw that coming! It explains why Georgia was less than enthused about eating or drinking - the poor girl had no room in her belly to eat or drink much of anything. Even after the surgery she seemed to want to continue her hunger strike but luckily, through the persistence of her incredible foster Mom, she started to eat. Maybe she caught wind of our plan to take her back to the vet?? Whatever it was, we are glad she got her appetite back as she really needs to put on a few pounds to get back into tip top health.

Tina sending love to her loyal fans.

Tina is still kind of going back and forth with her health issues. She went to the vet last week and had a battery of tests done to try to determine why a) she didn't want to eat and b) why, when she did eat, it ended up shooting out both ends of her. Thankfully a whole of lot scary stuff was ruled out, but we never really got a clear idea of what the problem might be. At the moment we are going with the theory that it might be a stomach ulcer brought on by stress. She's been taking some acid blockers and a drug that helps line the intestinal wall to soothe it and that seems to have done the trick in terms of getting her to want to eat (and keep stuff down). Either Tina herself or her foster Mom will be writing more about these adventures later in the week. Wait till you hear all the food that was tried to get Tina to eat something. She had a veritable smorgasbord going on there for a while!

For the most part Queenie has been doing well. She's in a steady pattern of eating 2 big meals a day and I swear I can see her ribs starting to fade into a nice plump lining of fat. She's got a loooooong way to go before I'd say she is at her optimal weight, but at least we are on the right track. She is still fearful and untrusting in the house but each day things get a little better. She's got yet another new collar (she's definitely the "fashion horse" of the Fab Five) and I think this one has really captured her spirit. I'll post some pics and a full write up on her progress later this week. [Queenie is not pictured in this blog, she is preparing something special for her post; it is sure to be "fashionable".]

To the Event they went and the show they did STEAL!

The lads, Buster and Gunner, made their public debuts at the adoption event on the weekend and they were absolutely amazing. We were worried that they might be overwhelmed with being out in public and having all those people and dogs around them (this adoption event was one of the craziest and busiest we have had!!). We needn't have stressed ourselves though, both of the boys took it all in stride and seemed remarkably relaxed! Buster in particular seemed to be happy to be out and about. Naturally he drew a LOT of attention. You know how handsome he is in pictures, right? Well, when you see him in person, you realize that those pictures really don't do him justice. He is a total stud muffin! Apparently he got a lot of interest and had some serious inquiries into his availability. Yikes!!! Are any of us foster Moms ready to see their Fab Five Babies fly the coup??? Gunner also got a lot of attention. He's like a slightly smaller, goofier version of Buster and so equally as impressive when you see him in person. After seeing how well the boys did at the event I think I will plan on bringing Queenie to the next adoptathon. Last weekend's would have been too much for her at the moment, but I think in another month she will be ready for that kind of challenge.

Stand by this week for blogs on Tina and Queenie. Not sure what Tina will have to say, but I can tell you that Queenie's blog will include, amongst other things, the running tally of all the beds and carpets she has destroyed lately :) Oh yeah, our little artist LOVES working with textiles ;)

Post #23 - Buster Climbs a Mountain

2011-07-07T07:59:00.000-07:00

Buster Climbs a Mountain

The Mountain

As mentioned in Blog #18, when I first met Buster at the kennel, he was either unable or unwilling to climb the ramp into my car. Since I wasn’t able to lift His Bigness myself, I knew this was something we needed to work on while I was fostering him.

At 10 years old and with minimal opportunity to move around much in recent years, Buster has significant muscle wasting in his hips and rear legs. When he first arrived, he was noticeable wobbly on the back end when wandering around the yard. This seemed to improve by even the next day, though, as if he mostly needed to “work the kinks out.” By day two, he was following me up into the garden shed and back down.

Ramp UP

Ramp DOWN

The shed ramp isn’t either as steep or as long as the car ramp, but still, I was encouraged. So a few days later, we took another try at that. Buster approached the car eagerly but put on the brakes when he got to the bottom of the ramp. “No way!” he seemed to be saying. So we circled away and made another pass, but had the same result. It seemed to be the narrowness of the ramp that was bothering him, rather than the steepness (the shed ramp was much wider). Taking a little break, Buster looked for a way into the car that didn’t include the ramp. He actually put his front paws up on the bumper! I’d guess this is how he loaded for years, with a simple jump; but I’m afraid those days are over for Mr. Buster—as they are for most large dogs of that age.

So we circled around again to the ramp, and he surprised me by taking a few steps up! With one more pass and lots of encouragement, he got half way before stopping. Not wanting him to get that close without succeeding, I HAULED him the rest of the way. And then, with what little breath I had left (105.8 lbs, remember!), I jumped around and cheered in an elaborate show of what a good boy he was and what a great thing he had done. He seemed less than impressed….so we continued. He walked down the ramp with no problem, and we repeated the whole scenario again—complete with the stop at halfway, the haul, and the leaping around. Given that I had just had one of the better total body workouts of my life, we unloaded and called it “good” for the day. ;-)

A couple days later we tried again, and this time he went to the top with barely a hesitation! I did have to give him a little nudge at the top, but not enough to even make me breathe hard, which was a HUGE improvement over our last practice. I did the whole jumping around thing again, though, to reinforce how wonderful climbing the ramp is. So with this hurdle behind us, Buster is eager to get out and meet his public. He suggests the July 9 adoption event in Cary, so look for us there. He’ll be the big handsome one. ;-)

SUCCESS! He is on his way to the Adoption Event on Saturday and he is READY to meet YOU!

Post #22 - Update from Georgia Girl

2011-07-06T10:35:00.000-07:00

From Georgia Girl: Hey, Y’all! Foster Mama says since I’m feeling better I should update my loyal fans on how I’ve been doing! I’ve been fighting a stupid infection that took my appetite away and Foster Mama is giving me these awful tasting pills, (must be working though since I want to eat again). I’m only eating chicken still, which is way better than that dry kibble my foster sis’s get! I wonder how long I can get foster Mama to feed me the yummy chicken hehe!

Georgia after her bath

I love when Foster Mama gives me a bath and brushes me! I’ve had 2 already since foster Dada says I stink! I don’t know if I do but I sure do feel soooo much better after the bath!

Georgia and Skitty Kitty checking out the Pool

The other night Foster Mama started up this machine that made a stupid noise and then she started pushing it around the yard. At first the noise surprised me, but my foster sis, Skitty Kitty, ran towards the stupid machine and then started following foster Mama around. So I joined in, we did several laps following right behind her, but foster Mama kept going and going and we started to get tired and bored. So foster sis and me went and chilled out by the pool and just watched. Foster sis said we could keep foster Mama safe even though we were lying down because we could still see her!

You know that big comfy bed I used as a head rest in my first post! Well it is pretty dang sweet to lay completely on to take a nappy! I surprised foster Mama and Dada one night and just climbed up and went to sleep. Come to think of it… that big comfy bed is starting to look pretty good right about now…(yyyaaawwwnnn)!!!!!! See y’all later!

I am keeping an EYE on you Mama!

From Georgia’s Foster Mama: Georgia girl said it was ok that I write a line or two on her blog, so here goes. Georgia is starting to interact more and more with my other dogs! Great news! She still gets anxious when I leave so we got a kennel for her. She actually likes it and will sometimes go in by herself for some quiet time. She is coming along nicely and is so kind and gentle.

Post #21- A Foster Story: Updates from the Fellas - Buster and Gunner

2011-07-03T13:03:00.000-07:00

The Big Man Settles In

Uh-huh, uh-huh, and what happened next? I'm all ears!

Starting on night four, Buster decided there was no need for that nervous pacing at bedtime, so now he settles down right away with the rest of the pack, and we all have a peaceful night. He’s earned the right to be loose in the house, too, both at night and while I’m away. Seriously, have you ever seen a more dignified looking dog? Of COURSE he’s trustworthy.

He continues to take his self-appointed role of Supervisor-in-Chief pretty seriously. The other night I had to cut the grass, and Buster followed closely behind the entire time! Back and forth, back and forth, in 90 degree heat (which we know he doesn’t like!), making sure I was doing an adequate job. Later, he kept a close eye on my laundry skills. Whereas most dogs might give an interested glance into an open dryer door, Buster stuck his whole head in and took a good look around. And wouldn’t you know, I had left a sock behind; he will surely never let me forget this. ;-)

Buster takes a good look

We walk a little farther every day and continue to work at getting his nails trimmed back to a healthy length. Our next goal is to master the car ramp, so Buster can get out and about to meet his fans. Look for that report in our next update.

Buster has settled in so easily, with little of the anxiety the other Fab Five have struggled with. I can’t help wondering whether this is due to differences in personality, or perhaps because Buster experienced more varied living circumstances than the others did. We’ll never know, and of course it doesn’t really matter. Our focus is on the here and now, and our goal is to give each of these special dogs the brightest future possible.

Gunner Doing Well

Gunner continues to make good progress. He is learning how to play, and goes running through the house in the mornings and evenings picking up anything loose and running with it. He will take anything with a rope and shake it! He is starting to like tennis balls. He has been introduced to some of my family members in our house this weekend on separate days, and after initially avoiding them, will come to them slowly. He started protecting our house this week when someone came to our door, by letting out that wonderful deep GSD bark. He accomplished being able to go out into our fenced in back yard by himself. It's amazing how much open space can intimidate a kenneled dog. He was very unsure of our yard, and we would have to put him on a leash to get him to go outside . Now he feels comfortable to go running down the steps into our yard alone. Little steps, big progress! He ALWAYS likes to be close to our family, and gravitates to our older male GSD Brady. Usually our fosters become infatuated with our princess Jade, but I believe Gunner likes our older, calm laid back dog since he was kenneled with his mother his whole life. He often looks to my dogs for direction. He is still very gentle around my daughter and often looks at her in an inquisitive way when she starts playing in the house. He continues to dislike his crate :). We will work on introducing him to other children this week, and work on our sit command more. He already knows " leave it" and will sit about 60% of the times he is asked. He is VERY treat motivated, so combined with his smarts, should be easy to train now that he is relaxing more.

Post #20 - A Foster Story: Queenie is in the House!

2011-06-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

Queenie - I wish I knew how to ease your troubled mind.

Queenie's been with us now 5 full days. You know, having done this fostering gig for 10 years or so, I really thought I had seen and experienced it all. Not so :) Working with Queenie and trying to get her on some sort of even keel has been challenging. I kind of knew what we would be in for as I had followed Gunner's progress over at Val's and realized that these younger of the Fab Five had really been sheltered from everything outside of their little kennel worlds. Like Gunner, everything in the house is new and confusing to Queenie. She has the same mentality about stairs (walk up them, leap down them), crates (no way Jose) and sleeping with her humans (I don't necessarily want you to touch me, but I sure as heck ain't sleeping downstairs on my own either!). The biggest issue we have had to deal with though is her reluctance to eat. She is already so underweight, seeing her not eat consistently for the week she's been here has been painful and really worrying.

Queenie catching a few zzzzzs while Mom works on the computer

We have tried every trick in the book: dry food, canned food, human food, baby food... feeding her with other dogs, feeding her by herself....feeding her in a bowl, feeding her on a plate, feeding her by hand... - NOTHING seems to work more than once. Today was a break through of sorts in that she ate 4 small cans of a special veterinary food that is supposed to help dogs recovering from illness gain their appetite. Thank goodness it is the consistency of wet clay, because you can take a few fingers full and kind of smear it inside the dog's mouth to get them to eat it. Queenie doesn't seem too offended by this approach, and she seems to actually like the taste of the stuff so I looked up what it is made of....chicken livers!! Oh goody - my favorite! :)

Chicken livers simmering away...the smell was horrendous!

Still, if she finds it appealing I am all for feeding her more. So we went and bought 2 tubs of chicken livers, cooked them up in some water then pureed them into a gray, smelly kind of gravy. The other dogs were doing back flips for this stuff - it is seriously like puppy crack!!!!!! For her part, Queenie seems to appreciate my efforts (which have resulted in me losing MY appetite!!) and ate another can of dog food with this gross concoction poured over it. She seems to prefer to eat at night, so tonight we will mix up a bowl of hotdogs, boiled turkey and chicken liver gravy and see how that goes. I'll keep you all posted :)

Aside from the eating thing, Queenie is definitely showing signs of settling in. She has made friends with another of our foster dogs, Iris, which really makes us happy. Iris has been with us for a couple of months but is still not ready for adoption. Until Queenie came on the scene, I would have said that Iris was the most timid, troubled dog we have fostered. Sadly, Queenie makes her appear well-adjusted :( Still, it is so interesting that these 2 beautiful yet damaged girls have gravitated towards each other. Last night while we were watching TV, Queenie and Iris slept together in Queenie's dog pen (we built an indoor pen for her as we knew a crate was going to be too claustrophobic for her).

Queenie and her foster sis Freya

Queenie chillin' on the back deck

Before that, we found them lying back to back in the living room. Previous to Queenie coming to us, Iris was polite but distant from all the other dogs in the house. She kind of watched the goings on from the periphery. Now she seems to have found a kindred spirit. Just before I sat down to write this blog Iris alerted me to something outside the kitchen door with one, solid "woof!!". Iris NEVER barks, so this startled me to say the least. When I got up to see what it was, I found Queenie on the other side of the door looking in. Queenie has worked out how to get out the door, but she hasn't mastered getting back in, so she had inadvertently been left outside. I opened the door and let her in and the 2 girls trotted off to lay down in the living room. I was both flabbergasted and touched by the very clear dialogue of communication I had just participated in between the 2 dogs and myself. As I watch the friendship between these 2 dogs develop I get a very strong sense that it is no fluke that we ended up fostering them both at the same time. I hope these 2 girls can learn from each other that humans can be trusted and that there are good things out there in the world.

Post #19 - A Foster Story: Sweet "T" Takes on the Deep South

2011-06-29T12:47:00.000-07:00

If Tina was unloved in her previous life; those days are over now. From the moment I found out this wonderful dog was coming to live with me, I fell in love. When I first heard about this situation, I knew that two of the dogs were very old and didn’t have long to live. I offered to take in the oldest and give him a good life until the end; sadly Mr. Diesel did not get the chance. When I was told I could bring Tina home I was honored and very excited. Not only do I get a beautiful senior to love and spoil, Tina has a chance at a forever home with a family who will love her. As a foster, this is the outcome I always hope for.

I followed Tina’s story and searched her out in any pictures of the Fabulous Five I received. Everyone loved Tina, including me and I had not met her yet.

On Sunday morning, my friend and I drove up to a town in South Carolina and met Tina. The poor thing had thrown up in the car and was sick to her stomach. But, the first thing she did was give me a kiss. How amazing is that? A dog who has been neglected and has absolutely no reason to trust humans, accepted me at first sight.

Bringing in a foster dog is always stressful. What if the resident dogs and cat don’t like her? I have taken this dog all the way to Georgia, it isn’t like I can pick up the phone and say “guys it isn’t working, come get her!” Even though I knew my pack was accepting of fosters, I was still worried as I drove home.

Tina and Harry Chill'in after the walk

We arrived in Savannah with the temperature reading 99! Tina would have to make her introductions with my pack through three separate walks outside. These first introductions had to go well. Failed first intros can doom a relationship. We brought out my old guy, Harry Potter, the honorary GSD. They walked, Tina checked him out; all was well with the world. Then we brought out our saucy young female GSD, Dezzie. She likes dogs, but she lives in a house of boys and she is… well let’s just say, “high-spirited!” She was very curious about Tina, but Tina didn’t even look at our girl. Good play Tina! Make her think you don’t care.

Tina and Asher helping mom cook. "Want some hair with that?"

Then, the moment of truth…we have a 6 year old male Foster Failure (meaning I fostered him and on purpose failed to find him a home!), named Asher. He has a RAP sheet and a history of dog aggression. Even though in the three years he has lived with us he has become a new dog; it is ALWAYS a worry when introducing fosters. Do something wrong in the introductions and it is over! My husband brought Asher out and Tina transformed! The girl actually started wiggling!!! She was flirting with Asher! All she wanted to do was get to him! I had to use a lot of muscle power to keep her from running to him! Asher began walking with her. He had his ball in his mouth (typical jock) and played it cool. He didn’t even look at her! Of course Tina, being drawn to the “bad boy” persona, wanted him even more.
I didn’t know it then, but this was the beginning of a friendship that would become important in the days to follow.

Let me OUT!!!

All of Sunday evening Tina paced and paced. When I took her outside in the yard, she frantically looked for an escape. Inside the house she tried to claw through the front door. Even though the kennel where she spent 9 years of her life was no home, it WAS the only home she knew. Tina would have done anything to return there. When rehabilitating a dog, the worst thing you can do is feel sorry for them. You must live in the now for the dog to be able to get passed the past. But, this was so hard. It broke my heart to watch her trying to find home. She was so unsettled.

I wondered if she would ever calm down. My husband kept saying, “seven days” to me over and over again. I know that during the first seven days dogs change and build trust. I know this, but I had never, in all my years working with dogs, seen anything like this. To add to the stress, Tina refused to use the bathroom and she would not eat.

Monday was much of the same. She paced, tried to find a way out, but had moments of peace. She followed me everywhere and wanted to be with the pack, even if she preferred to be in a closet and watch the pack from there.

Pretty Tina

Tina has almost no muscles in her hind legs, so walking is extremely important. I first walked her with Harry Potter, my senior male. Harry is not a GSD and NOT a confident dog. Even though Tina seemed to like him, walking with him stressed her considerably. Since she liked Asher so much, I decided to walk the two of them together instead. WOW, what a difference. It was almost like Asher recognized the stress Tina was under and took it as his mission to be her protector. Each time I walk the two, Asher is all business, showing Tina that she is safe and that walks are good. They make a very impressive pair walking together. We were stopped several times on our walk. Each time, Tina was friendly and accepting of the people we met. She wants to love people and trust them. Again, Amazing!

However, as of Monday night, still no pee!

Asher and Tina go to the vet

Tuesday morning was the day of breakthroughs. Tina woke up and after 42 hours of holding it, went outside to relieve herself. CELEBRATION!!!!!! Tina had a vet appointment that morning and Mr. Asher; her protector, decided that he was going with her. Asher is an exceptionally strong 95lb dog and when he decides he is going somewhere, it is difficult to convince him otherwise. So, off to the vet we went. With Asher as her escort, Tina was very calm in the car and at the vet. The vet examined her and had a couple of concerns that we are going to address in the weeks to follow.

Turn around mom and I will get you again!

When we returned from the vet, I took the dogs in the backyard. As I was standing there I heard a strange little snapping sound behind me and then felt a tiny pinch on my toosh! I turned around and Tina had the goofiest, big grin on her face and she nipped me again! Tina was playing with me!! Instead of trying to find a way to escape, she seemed happy to be “home”. As the day went on, Tina ate some food, played with me some more and interacted with the pack. She had fun jumping on me and trying to “sneak up” on me to nip my butt! I started crying in the yard that afternoon. No matter how many times I see the transformation of a dog that has been neglected, it never ceases to amaze me! Tuesday was a GOOD day.

I am here mom!!

One of the funniest things Tina likes to do is get in the shower when I am finished. She watches with fascination and the minute I open the door, IN COMES TINA! I guess there is literally NOTHING I do alone anymore!

Why did you get out?

This morning Tina woke me up with kisses and asked to go outside. I am still in wonder trying to figure out how a dog who lived in a Kennel all her life knows to go outside to the bathroom, but I am not arguing! Now that Tina has begun to eat all the “fun” issues have started with upset stomachs and diarrhea. This is just an inevitable step in Tina’s recovery. I will continue to hug her and kiss her, comfort her when she throws up and let her nip my toosh all she wants.

The first three days with Tina have been amazing. Fostering a senior dog, to me, is the most rewarding experience. Every time I foster a senior I tell them they are my dog, they have a home with me unless I find someone better. I couldn’t love Tina more even if I had her since a puppy. She is one of my pack and I am honored that she is allowing me to be part of her life.

Tina and her new pack checking for squirrels

Tina has made amazing progress in three days. I can only imagine what will happen in the next four. I can’t wait to share the stories with you.

Post #18 - A Foster Story: Buster Joins a New Pack

2011-06-27T06:02:00.000-07:00

Handsome Buster

Buster and The Boys Meet

My two male shepherds and I met Buster at the kennel a few days before he moved to our home for fostering. They were all minimally interested in each other, which was the best kind of outcome we could have hoped for. My guys are neutered but Buster is intact, and it would not have been surprising for him to take exception to having two strange males enter his turf. But the Big Man couldn’t have cared less, he was far more interested in the still relative novelty of being showered with love and attention by people.

I left that night quite smitten with him, but with one or two unknowns about how easy it would be to foster him. First (and most pressing, after seeing the environment in which he had spent his entire life), I was wondering how easily he could learn that “inside,” where you don’t use the bathroom, now means multiple rooms in a house rather than just a 6’x6’ space. Second, I wondered how I was going to get him into and out of the car for transport (remember, he weighs in at 105 lbs!). I had brought my doggie ramp along to the kennel to try him on, and he wanted nothing to do with it. I couldn’t tell whether this was because he didn’t know what I wanted or wasn’t strong enough to walk up it, but this was clearly something we were going to have to work on. And finally, Buster hadn’t yet passed the “Cassie test.” Cassie is my senior female and queen of the pack, and if Cassie ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy! I was not all that worried about this last point after meeting Buster, but it was still going to be important for their first meeting to go well.

Buster Passes THE CASSIE Test!

So the big day came, and Andrea and Jon kindly transported Buster to me to help with intros. First thing, Buster and Cassie went for a little peaceful on-leash stroll, which turned out to be a completely simpatico non-event—to them anyway! To me, it was huge, and boded well for integrating Buster into the household.

Yup Mom! 105lbs can fit!

Then we went into the back yard to get reacquainted with the boys and start building habits about the right place to use the bathroom. So far so good, so into the house we went for supper and to settle in for the night. Any yes, despite my worries, he did fit through the doggie door!

Poor Buster had a rather nervous first night, with nothing familiar and none of his kennel mates around. I couldn’t bear to crate him, so I confined him to the kitchen and laundry room, with access to the doggie door. After an hour or so of pacing and going in and out the doggie door a dozen times, he settled down and rested quietly through the night—exhausted, no doubt. The next morning, there were no messes. Hurray! We went outside and he promptly did his business in appropriate places, so we were off to a great start as far as reliable house manners. I’ll spare you the rest of the weekend’s details about his bodily functions, but let’s just say he totally gets it.

Supervising Mom in the Garden

The rest of the first day was all wide-eyed wonder. He remains relatively uninterested in my dogs but is endlessly fascinated by my every move. Who knew I was so interesting? He follows closely at my heels and is an especially attentive supervisor of garden chores.

He quickly learned that a leash means a w-a-l-k (very exciting) and which door to position his big self in front of, but seems to think that every walk is “his turn.” Unfortunately, the other dogs also get turns, so we’re doing a lot of “Buster Shuffle” at the door. He manages to cajole me into several walks a day—short for now, until he builds up stamina.

In addition to walks, it seems that Buster has opinions about lots of things, and he’s happy to share them: yogurt (should be on the side, not mixed in), baby gates (inconvenient), faucets (fascinating), storm doors with weak latches (‘scuse me, comin’ through!). On short acquaintance, Buster shows every sign of having a personality as memorable as his stunning good looks. I look forward to sharing that with you as it emerges.

Post #17 - A Foster Story: Georgia's First Days in Foster Home

2011-06-25T05:18:00.000-07:00

This place is AWESOME!

Sweet Georgia Girl rode like a champ to her foster home! She sat on the seat for about 10 minutes then decided that the big comfy bed on the floor looked pretty tempting. After about 2 hours we arrived at our destination and it was time to meet the family. Introductions were made and since it was late it was time for bed. No need for a crate for this girl, she joined the pack and slept out in the open with the family. Since all this open space was new for Georgia it took her a bit before she relaxed and went to sleep. She sat so quietly and watched her foster sisters just find a spot and crash! She is so smart and after awhile of watching she was like “Ok, I get this, find a comfy spot and sleep”.

In fact, she watches her foster sisters and wants to be just like them. (Not sure if this is a good idea since her foster sisters could use a brushing up on their manners)!

Sitting pretty for Daddy, waiting for the ear rub.

I’m not sure what Angie told Georgia when they were saying their goodbyes, but it must have been “be a good girl”. Georgia fits right into the family routine and loves a good ear rub from her foster Dad. It is like she has been with us her whole life, not just a few short days.

WOW! Is this ALL mine?

Georgia loves the new yard that never ends. When we go out she likes to run all the way to the back of the yard smiling! Then looks back at me and runs back to me tail wagging the whole way. I’m pretty sure she has sniffed the whole place already!

Georgia just Chill'in

It is so funny watching Georgia Girl watch her foster sisters. By the second evening with her, she actually wanted to play fetch. (Well our version of fetch at least). Her big foster sister Paws (aka Skitty Kitty) will chase the ball but isn’t too good at bringing it back to me (I’m usually the one fetching). Georgia was watching this and was so curious that I tossed the ball low and slow away from her and she went after it! Slowly at first but now she is actually chasing, still working on what to do with the ball once she reaches it but that will come.

This picture says it all. This is the good life!

She does pace some in the house when she is unsure what to do. She tends to want to counter surf but corrects so easy with a gentle voice. We have seen her watching TV, in fact she went right up to the TV and put her nose on the screen, I think she realized the people couldn’t give her an ear rub so she walked away.

Sweet Georgia Girl is slowly coming into her own, each day I see more of her loving personality shining through.

Post #16 - A LIBERATION Story: Friday, June 24, 2011

2011-06-24T14:30:00.000-07:00

FREE AT LAST!!!!!!

No dog will be kept in these kennels again!

The last of the Fabulous Five have left the kennel! These runs will be taken down tomorrow and the kennel will be taken away on Monday.

Thank you to everyone who made this day possible.

Biggest thanks of all to Angie - the Guardian Angel of the the Sweet 7 Shepherds!! Diesle and Susann are looking down and wagging their tails with approval today!

From now on, all the blogs will center around the new lives of these dogs. In fact, stay tuned for an update from Georgia's new foster Mom..coming right up!

Post #15 - A Rescue Story: Tuesday June 21, 2011

2011-06-24T02:41:00.000-07:00

Angie with her girl Georgia

Georgia-Mae has left the building!!!!! Wow, wow, wow!!!!! It's been a long time coming, seeing these dogs get into real homes, but it's finally happening. Tonight it was Georgia's turn. She wasn't exactly sure what was going on but, in true Georgia style, she took it all in stride. Her new foster Mom, Sara, drove a long way to get her and I think it is safe to say that it was love at first sight when we saw Georgia for the first time. Sara had emailed me after the very first blog I wrote and asked if she could care for Georgia when she was ready to leave the kennel. She and her husband knew right away that Georgia was meant to be with them. After weeks of waiting, they finally got their girl tonight. As happy as we all were to see her get ready for her new life, there was also an element of bitter-sweetness for Angie. These dogs have literally consumed her life for the past few months. As much as she is thrilled that they are now moving on to greener pastures, she is going to miss them all terribly. I can only imagine. I know how I feel about these guys after seeing them only once or twice a week. For Angie, it's been at least 2 times a day, every day, for nearly three months. She sat on the floor of the kennel and said her goodbyes to Georgia who seemed to listen intently to all that Angie was telling her. Remarkably, as Angie was talking to her (and crying) Georgia climbed into her lap and laid down.

Georgia comforts Angie and says "I love you"

This was the first time Georgia had done anything like this - always being a little bit more reserved than the other dogs. There is no doubt that she could see her human was upset and she wanted to comfort her. Seeing Georgia try to comfort Angie like this was testament, once again, to the incredible spirit of protectiveness that dwells inside these noble dogs.

After we all said our goodbyes, we went to Sara's car and helped Georgia to get in. Sara had prepared well for her travel buddy. There was a huge, comfy dog bed on the floor in front of the passenger seat so that Georgia could either sit on the seat next to Sara, or lie on the dog bed for the ride home. Georgia didn't really know what to make of the car and I admit that, seeing her confusion, made me a bit upset. I knew she was going to be completely fine of course, but just the fact that she wasn't sure what was going on made me feel guilty. I wished I could have explained to her all the wonderful things that she was about to experience. (As a side note, the whole time we were trying to coax Georgia into the car, Tina was also trying to get in. I swear, that dog lives to ride...which is just as well since we will be going on a loooooooong car ride on Sunday to take her to her new home in GA!!). So off Georgia and Sara rode with us waiving madly and wiping away tears of happiness. The Fantastic Four are now the Terrific Three.

Georgia is READY to go!

On Friday afternoon, the remaining dogs will be moved out of the kennel. Buster actually had an interview tonight with his prospective Foster mom and her two male GSDs and everything went perfectly. All the boys were mellow and cordial with each other and so Foster Mom Carol will be welcoming Buster into her home on Friday night. Queenie will be staying with me for a while as we continue to look for a foster home for her. We already have 6 dogs, so, while Queenie will be loved and very welcomed at our place, we know she needs more individual care and training than we can offer. Still, for the time being, she has a nice, fluffy bed with her name on it waiting for her at our place. Tina will leave Friday afternoon and bunk with Angie until Sunday when she and I will drive down to SC to meet her new foster Mom. With the last of the dogs moving, it definitely feels like one chapter is ending, but with another one just beginning. All five dogs need medical care that we couldn't start until they were in homes where they could be nursed through their respective treatments. After that, the search will be on for their forever homes. There is still a LOT of work to be done in order to fulfill our promise to these dogs, but step by step we are getting there.

Even without having all the dogs in their foster homes, I feel tonight as if we have met our goal of bringing these dogs back to life, spiritually. I cannot tell you how much it THRILLS me to see the changes in these dogs each time I go out there. Tonight, Buster literally came barreling out of the kennel to say hello. Remember, this is the guy who was previously so shut down we couldn't get any reaction from him. Tonight he was agile (well, as agile as a 10.5 year old, 105lb boy can be!), his tongue was lolling out to the side with happiness and he was all about meeting the new people and new dogs. Tina pranced around as if she owned the place (kind of ironic when you think about it!!) and even sweet Queenie was a bit more relaxed. I wish there was someway to tell them that the best is still yet to come!

Post #14 - A Rescue Story: Voice of an Animal Control Officer

2011-06-22T07:25:00.000-07:00

**Editor's Note: This blog was written by the Angel Animal Control Officer, Angie, who originally came to these dogs' rescue.

Today started out like every other day of the last few months at the kennel where the “Fabulous Five” are currently living. There I was, feeding, cleaning and medicating the dogs. Making sure their runs were clean, making sure the water was fresh and trying to give each of these special souls enough attention to get them through the day while they are alone. None of this is new, as it has become my routine in the months that I have been caring for these sweet dogs. But yet, today I did something that I had never thought of doing before.

Buster gets an idea!

I was sitting down brushing Buster when he looked up at me with an intense stare that made me feel like he was trying to speak to me. Buster has this effect on me – he is so strong and seems to know all the secrets that have gone on within the 4 walls of the kennel. But today, rather than look at me with sadness or seriousness, he seemed to have a mischievous glint to his eyes. It was infectious! I felt like I knew EXACTLY what he had in mind!

Kennel with ribbons and pictures

So I stood up, walked to his kennel door and promptly yanked off one of the myriad of championship ribbons that covered his kennel door…. and threw it in an empty box. Then I yanked off another one…and another one! This felt good, and Buster seemed to be smiling in approval.

Close up of awards

So…one by one Buster and I removed every ribbon, every plaque and each trophy from around the kennel. After all, what had these prizes brought the dogs? Certainly not the companionship of a family, or a happy, safe retirement, or even a soft bed to lay on. I am sure that these items represented something good to the former owner. But to me, the person who came in and cared for the dogs LONG after they had been forgotten by their owner, they were nothing more than eye sores...not to mention the fact that poor Buster couldn’t even see out the door of his kennel because it was littered with so many ribbons and pictures! Somehow though, taking down the ribbons and trophies wasn’t quite good enough for Buster and I. So, we got another box and began to fill it with every single photograph of every single dog show result that was plastered to the walls of the kennel. These pictures didn’t show dogs being loved, or patted or cared for. They showed dogs in artificially stances, staring blankly ahead…kind of like the way the dogs used to look before they came to know what true human companionship and love were all about.

The past, packed up.

So now…the kennel walls are bare! No longer will these dogs (or I) be forced to look at these reminders of their past! Soon, they will all leave this place forever and begin to replace the sadness and isolation of this place with the happiness of loving foster homes and new experiences. Eventually the memories of this dark, dusty old place will disappear forever and be replaced with memories of days spent outside with their humans, long walks and nights laying by their human’s side! I cannot change their past, and sadly Diesel and Susann never left here in the way that I had hoped. But in their memory, and with love for them, I removed every shred of evidence of the past they endured for far too long!

My final act of the day was to rescue “Jaz”. There was a dusty urn of dog ashes on a shelf with a nameplate that stated “Jaz”. There was a note taped to it stating that this dog died in 2009 at the age of 12 ½. I decided that she too deserved to be rescued. At least Diesel and Susann got to know love before they crossed the Rainbow Bridge. This dog lived and died here – we have no idea what her life inside this kennel was like. So, in an act of love for all dogs that never know love and the security of a family and a real home…I dusted off the urn and carried Jaz home. Today, her ashes sit on my mantle. As soon as I am able, I will scatter her ashes on top of the highest mountain that I can find… right along with Diesel and Susann. I hope that they, just like all the rest, never look back.

Post #13 - A Rescue Story

2011-06-21T09:20:00.000-07:00

Well, I am very proud to announce that Buster, Tina, Georgia and Queenie have now been inducted into the "Friends of Kitties" Hall of Fame! Yes folks - all 4 of these incredible dogs passed their "cat-scan" without incident!

Tina passes the cat test!

We started off our testing yesterday with Tina - who we figured would handle the whole experience the best. Strangely, she ended up being the most freaked out by the little fuzzie monsters. I think she might also have been worried about being inside a house, and trying to walk on the wood floors. Remember, all of this inside stuff is new to these dogs and it will take some getting used to. To make matters a little more daunting for her, the home that we were at isn't your regular cat home. It was the home of the cat coordinator for a local animal rescue - so suffice to say, there were a LOT of test subjects running around the place. And believe me - they knew exactly how to put a big German Shepherd Dog in its place! After walking Tina around the cats for a while it was very clear that she had no interest in them (and actually preferred to stay away from them if possible!) and so we took her outside to recover and brought in Queenie. Queenie did a lot better than we expected. We figured she would have been the most wigged out as, well, pretty much everything wigs her out :) A funny side story though on her, before we loaded the dogs up to take the to the "House of Feline Terror", we were standing outside the kennel at their place and Tina was just ambling around off leash. She has NO interest in going far from us, she just likes to hang out, like one of the girls, and listen while Angie and I chit-chat. Angie also had Queenie outside and at one point dropped her leash. Well, sweet, timid, scaredy-pants Queenie saw the opportunity and BOLTED!!!! A few heart palpitations later though I realized all she wanted to do was run around the outside of the kennel. I forget sometimes that these dogs (well most certainly the young ones like Queenie and Gunner) have never had the chance to just stretch out their legs and zoom - like all young dogs should be able to do. So, given the opportunity, Queenie just wanted to run and run and run and run. You should have seen the ridiculous grin on her face and the way her tongue was lolling out the side of her mouth as she tore around the kennel. Sadly, as soon as we caught her, we had to kill her buzz by turning the hose on and washing the copious amounts of mud off her feet that she had accumulated by running through the quagmire at the back of the kennels. Don't worry Queenie - very, very soon now you will be able to run to your hearts content...and not worry about getting the dreaded hose at the end of it!

Queenie and one of the fluffy terrorists. Queenie refuses to
make eye contact - probably hoping it will go away!!

Anyway, back to the testing. Queenie popped into the house with very little trembling and quickly came face to face with a cat. She sniffed - it sniffed and that was pretty much it! We brought a selection of different colors, sizes and sexes of cats to her but none seemed even remotely interesting to her and so, with that, we took her back to the kennel with a score of A+ for cat friendliness.

Sweet Georgia - wouldn't hurt a fly or a cat, or a kid.

Next on the agenda was Buster and Georgia-Mae. As expected, Georgia was as sweet and as gentle with the kitties as she is with everyone else. She also got to meet some little humans in the house and she really seemed to like them. However, the thing that REALLY got her interest was the TV. Some cartoon was playing and she kept walking into the living room and just staring at the TV. I am picturing her settling into her new foster home, with an open box of dog cookies by her side (and not the low fat variety either!!) watching the soaps with her new foster Mom. I think this would be a perfect retirement scenario for Miss Georgia-Mae!

Buster listens to the cat jury.

Last but not least, we tested our Buster boy with the cats. For some reason, I was expecting that he would be the one to show a less than healthy interest in the cats. He has been feeling his oats more and more lately, showing his sense of humor and his renewed zest in life. I get the impression that he is going to be a lot of fun once he settles in his foster home. Anyway, we brought him in and immediately he zoned in on one of the cats that was sitting on the staircase. He walked right up to it and stuck his nose through the railings of the bannister while the cat stuck its nose back. Some mutual sniffing ensued and then the cat decided that the big dog was not very cool and so it raced up stairs. Buster thought he'd follow...all 105lbs of him...with me on the end of the leash! I don't think so Buster! So I redirected him to one of the other cats that was nearby and he made the fatal error of trying to sniff its butt. I don't know how familiar you are with kitty etiquette, but this is not considered a "polite gesture" and so Buster got a "whack" on his face with a full set of claws! This was a test in itself - i.e. would Buster react aggressively if the cat was aggressive to him?? Nope - Buster just sat down a little perplexed and I think made a mental note of what size and color that cat was and vowed never to go near it again!!! Instead he turned his attention to a creamy colored cat. He seemed most intrigued by the lighter colored cats - maybe he could see them better? He actually got under the dining room table to get a closer look at that one. He sniffed it, seemed satisfied and then came out from under the table. Then it was time for him to explore the house. We set off down the hall and, much to everyone's delight, a little trail of cats followed us. It was like they were curious where the big oaf was going. At one point they cornered him in the kitchen - some in front of him, some behind him it was enough to stop him in his tracks! I tried urging him to come to me but he was as still as a statue, not daring to move until someone picked up one of the cats and cleared his way. Mind you, on the way out of the house, he spied his little orange friend on the stair case and made as if he wanted to charge up the stairs at it. I think maybe he liked seeing it run :)I've no doubt that if the cat had turned and raised its paw Buster would have turned tail and run for the hills!

So the Fantastic Four (since Gunner left they can no longer be called the Fabulous Five!!) passed yet another test! I think it is very safe to say now that we have an excellent handle on their personalities - and all are quite stellar. These dogs, despite spending their days in an outside kennel, away from the house and a family, are wonderful with people, great with other dogs, tolerant of cats and patient with small children. Such wonderful personalities and spirits - so deserving of being part of a family. I cannot wait to see them in their foster homes (and eventually their forever homes), because its not just the dogs who will benefit from this - whoever the lucky people are who will be living with these dogs will also benefit. I'm telling you, these are some of the greatest dogs I have ever had the pleasure to be around. You will understand if you get to meet them :)

Post #12 - A Rescue Story: Thursday June 16th, 2011

2011-06-19T06:01:00.000-07:00

**This blog written by Gunner's foster mom**

Wow - what a difference a couple of days make! After our first horrendous night together, Gunner started to relax around my husband and my daughter the following day while I was at work. My husband even taught him to go down the stairs! Little by little he started to show that he wants to be where he can see the family, sometimes at the edge of a room, but always close enough to keep us in his sights. Tuesday night, which was our second night with him, he started to move closer to the family by laying by the chair in the den where we were sitting. That same night, before bedtime, he actually came into the den with our two dogs and me! Wow, was this really happening? He actually fell asleep on the floor with his new foster brother, sister...and mom (did I mention about the lack of sleep the night before???). When we all finally got up and continued to get ready for bed he took himself upstairs without any prompting from me so that he could be near us when I was putting my daughter to bed. I think it was at this moment that I got the true feeling that he wanted to be a part of our family! So, after all these warm and fuzzy moments with him, I had a dilemma - to crate or not to crate. I decided I didn't want to undo all the relationship building we had just accomplished during the night and so my husband and I chose to let him stay downstairs with a gate separating the living room and foyer off from the rest of the house. This way, he didn't have to stay in the crate, but was still separate from my dogs during the night when they would be unsupervised.... while we hopefully slept. We told ourselves that this would be the safest - and fairest - thing for all the dogs. However, when I got upstairs, Gunner let me know real quick that he wanted to be with his new family and started up with the non-stop barking and pacing. I opened the gate to the upstairs, just to see what he would do, and up he came. He slept on the floor close to our bed.... he slept like a baby all night long... my husband and I slept...and all was right with the world again.

Things have gone from good to better to GREAT following that. Gunner is amazing me more and more each day. He is calm in the house and follows me around. Stairs, no problem! If it's a matter of staying close to his family, he'll zip up and down without any issues! In our short time with him, we have learned that Gunner is one smart cookie! After only one night with us, Gunner had worked out the evening routine and now knows EXACTLY when it is going to be snack time for the dogs! We are walking him a fair bit each day to build up his muscle mass and exercise tolerance and he is learning quickly how to be a gentleman on the end of the leash. Since Gunner had only been kenneled (and forced to exercise in a 10 X 3 run), he had not developed the muscle mass in his hind legs like GSDs should have. So, we walk him a couple of times each day to slowly start building up those muscles. Yesterday, mu husband and daughter took him and our dogs for a nice long walk down the Greenway. He was sniffing all the different trees and grasses and enjoying the great life outdoors - this is pretty amazing given that just 3 days ago he was like a bucking bronco on the end of the leash and wasn't anywhere near close to being able to relax enough to sniff things!. After the walk, Gunner came home pooped out! Goodness knows this has to be the most exercise he has ever had in his life!

So little by little, we are seeing Gunner emerge from the shell of a dog we first met a couple of weeks ago. He seems to like to be touched more now, and always sits close to where he can watch us. He is eating well, is respecting my dogs’ space, is gentle but cautious around my daughter, and has given me cheek kisses! And the best bit?? I got a tail wag when he saw me first thing this morning, and he actually is smiling now! This makes everything worth while! It will still take Gunner a while to trust all humans, but with the progress that he has made in three days, I know he will be a stellar dog when fully rehabilitated! After he gets more comfortable, we will start focusing on some obedience training. Time, love, patience, and consistency are what this boy needs, and we are so happy to be the family able to give these things to such a deserving boy!

Post #11 - A Rescue Story: Monday June 13, 2011

2011-06-17T18:52:00.000-07:00

**This blog was written by the volunteer who took Gunner home**

Yay, I got to bring Gunner home tonight! The car ride from the kennel to my home went better than expected. Gunner sat there looking out all of the car windows at the cars and scenery and was pretty calm...until we hit 40 during a high traffic period! Once those big trucks started coming to our side, Gunner started to panic - pacing fast in the back of the car. Of course this was understandable given that he has never been in a car before. Even so, by the time we got home BOTH of us were pretty stressed out!

When Gunner entered our house, I can only imagine the sensory overload he must have experienced. Different floors, wide open space, ceiling fans, different noises, a thing called a TV, an active 8 year old child and the list goes on! Just being around people is a challenge for this boy. We always knew that Gunner and Queenie (the two youngest GSDs) would be the hardest to rehabilitate. Both these dogs have had extremely limited exposure to humans, other dogs, and life outside of the kennel. The older dogs had been show dogs, and even though it had been several years, they were at one point exposed to humans and dogs in the show ring. They'd also been handled, after all, they had to be tolerant of touch and well behaved in order to win all those ribbons that decorated their kennels. The young ones, however, had never entered the show arena, due to the fact that they were born at a time when the owners health had already started to decline. Despite all of this, and despite never having been in a house before, Gunner took everything in stride...well, almost everything - the stairs terrified him!! We got him to go up ok, if he was on a leash, but going down the stairs proved to be a different story. One or two steps might not have been a problem, but 8 stairs was terrifying. In Gunner's mind, there was no walking down, he would jump down. Just take a flying leap and clear all 8 steps at once! My husband caught him twice while he was airborne!

Gunner's first night was very unsettled. He is so hand shy! After being in the house a while and seeing how things worked (and seeing how calm our other dogs were), he would come to me and lick me on the hand, then walk quickly away. His way of handling stress is to pace, no doubt a learned coping mechanism he had to use while he was in his small run at the kennel. He also paced a lot in his crate when it was time for us to go to bed. None of us got much sleep. He pretty much demanded to be let out of his crate, but we knew we needed to ride it out for a while. When you first start crating a dog, it is like putting a child to bed and they start crying. You have to let that child cry for a while, otherwise, they learn real quick that if they cry, they will get picked up. The same goes for crate training a dog. You have to try and out last them sometimes. At the same time though, you have to know when it becomes too much, since crating needs to be viewed as a positive experience and the actual crate a safe place. Apparently Gunner had never read the dog journals we had about this topic as he wanted nothing to do with his crate, period! While we were laying there listening to him pace, whine, and bark, all the while our hearts breaking because we knew he was confused and scared, we suddenly heard a loud bang! We ran to see what was going on and, much to our surprise, Gunner was out of his crate looking up at us. The crate doors were closed, so how the heck? He did this once more before I finally let him win half way at 2:00 am. I brought my pillow on the floor in front of his crate and laid down with him, with my hand up on the crate door to offer reassurance. FINALLY he laid down in the crate at 6:40 am the next morning..... 5 min before I had to get up for work :(

This first night with Gunner was by far the most challenging time I have had fostering a dog. Considering it has been approximately 2 1/2 months since Angie has been going over to feed and spend time with the fabulous five, I can only imagine what Gunner was like when she first started going if he is still this anxious now. However, having seen the progress that the dogs are making, compared to how they were when we were first introduced to them, I am remaining positive and believe that Gunner, like the other dogs in the kennel, is a survivor and will one day thrive in a loving, patient home. That said, please pray that he sleeps tonight!!

Post #10 - A Rescue Story: Sunday, June 12th, 2011

2011-06-16T11:02:00.000-07:00

Buster, just too cute in his shades!

Tonight was a really special night. It was a milestone of sorts I guess. Tonight, Angie, Val and I left the kennel with HUGE smiles on our faces! Tonight, we had taken all 5 dogs together on their very first walk around the block. It was AWESOME!!!!!!!!! Tonight, we were just 3 friends taking our dogs out for a walk together. We weren't rescuers or AC Officers, and these weren't sad or neglected dogs. We were just regular people taking regular (albeit stunningly gorgeous!!) dogs out for a stroll. Man it felt good! We were all a little uncoordinated to begin with - the dogs aren't all that great on leash yet, but we got into a groove. Angie took Tina and Queenie, Val worked on Gunner, and I had Buster and Georgia. That first Monday when we had gone to wash the dogs (was it really just 2 weeks ago??) we had tried to walk Buster and Georgia down the street. Admittedly it was hotter than hot, but the weather notwithstanding, the dogs wanted NOTHING to do with leaving the property. Buster was so out of shape that we only got across the street before he had to sit down. And Georgia was just freaked out altogether. But tonight... Tonight it was a completely different story!! All the dogs were pulling - not to get back to the kennel, but rather to get out in front! I nearly burst out crying when Buster pulled me over to a tree to sniff and then mark. Yep - the sight of a dog peeing nearly brought me to tears!! You have to understand though, we have watched these dogs go from empty shells - where nothing piqued their interest or curiosity - to the point now where, to a stranger's eye, they look like every day normal dogs. THIS is what makes it all worthwhile. As Angie said - this was the pay off for all the dog poop she'd had to shovel over the last month!

So off we went on our tour of the neighborhood. At one point Angie decided to jog a little with Queenie and Tina. Gunner wanted to follow, so he and Val started to jog and at that point, Buster decided he needed to be in front and so he started to pull me to go faster. Neither Georgia nor I felt like jogging, but Buster is over 100lbs, so when he said "faster" we pretty much had to oblige. Looking back we must have looked so funny. Not exactly New York Marathon material :) We found a tennis ball along the route and Angie bounced it to see if anyone was interested. Gunner sniffed and licked it, so we took it back with us and Val is going to see if, once Gunner is settled, whether or not he'd like to play with it. Thus far in our work with these dogs we haven't even considered playing with them. It's all been about cleaning them, medicating them, planning the next move in their care. Tonight was just about enjoying them - and seeing them enjoy themselves. We came across some cats and squirrels - all at distances, so it wasn't easy to tell if any of the dogs had any interest in these other critters. We'll find out more in this area of of their personality when I take Neville - our test cat - down to meet all the dogs! That should be an interesting blog!!!

Georgia, Buster and I cut early from the walk as they were getting tired and we thought it best to increase their exercise tolerance slowly. Angie, Tina, Queenie, Val and Gunner however kept walking. Apparently, the further they walked, the better Gunner got on leash. He's a smart boy, so we know it won't be long before he gets the hang of "heel". Along the way, Gunner came upon a sprinkler in a yard. Gunner was so inquisitive that he had to go check it out. He stood there getting sprayed and tried to lick the water coming out of it. Yep - it's the little things that mean so much! Everyone got lots of cookies and kisses and hugs when they got back to the kennel. It was hard leaving them there when we had to go home, but at least tonight we knew that they had gotten some exercise and had seen new things that they could think about during the late night hours.

Post #9 - A Rescue Story: Friday June 10, 2011

2011-06-15T14:08:00.000-07:00

Find out how you can help at First Giving

Buster meets Casey

Losing Susann and Diesel yesterday was a hard blow for everyone involved with these dogs. In one day, we went from the Sweet 7 to the Fabulous 5 - funny how the names don't reflect the nature of what happened. Still, now is not the time to reflect on the unfairness of it all, we still have a LOT of work to do in order to get these dogs out of the kennel and into forever homes. It's with this mind set that we kicked ourselves into gear and arranged to go out to the kennel tonight to test all the dogs with dogs from outside their pack. Knowing that these guys had been isolated for so long had us all worried about how they might react to dogs they weren't used to. We had to know how they'd do though as all of our foster homes have at least one other dog (and a lot have cats...but cat-testing will be a story for another day!). So tonight we went out to visit the dogs and this time we brought some friends with us. The first test dog was Shannon's dog Kasey - a young GSD/pointer/something-or-other mix. Kasey usually does good with other dogs but if someone snaps at her, she will defend herself. For this reason, we started out slow.

Tina checks out Kasey while Queenie looks on

While Shannon walked Kasey around the yard Angie and I brought out Tina and Queenie. Tina took one look at Kasey and let out a bellowing bark!!!!! I think this is the first time I have heard them make a sound outside of their kennel. The bark couldn't have meant anything too bad in doggie language as Kasey didn't seem upset by it, so we just kept walking the dogs near each other and let them get used to the new smells. Eventually they made contact..... and everyone held their collective breaths....and the dogs.......sniffed butts and then walked away from each other!! Alrighty then....not exactly the explosive reaction we were thinking we might get, but no complaints here!! Kasey and Queenie were totally fine with each other - in fact Queenie seemed comforted by Kasey's presence when we took them for a walk together. For her part, Tina was still obsessed with the back end of things. I guess she had never smelled a spayed female dog before and couldn't quite work it out. We were actually filming the dog test to post online later, but ended up turning the camera off as we figured there was only so much butt sniffing that people wanted to see. Seriously - Tina spent a lot of time back there! But (no pun intended there) after she had concluded that Kasey was a) a dog and b) no threat, she pretty much ignored her and started checking to see which of the humans had brought treats for her! It was at that point that she discovered the opened hatch of our car.

Car testing Queenie

After that, Tina was only interested in one thing - getting in that car! She doesn't quite have the back leg strength to hoist herself up but with a little bit of help she was up and in and laying down in readiness for a ride....which she was sure was coming.....some time......."c'mon guys, you wouldn't leave a girl waiting would you???". Seeing Tina in the car prompted Queenie to also jump in to check things out. She wasn't quite as sure of the "fun factor" of the car but figured that as long as her roomie Tina was in there, it couldn't be too bad. None of us had the heart to make her get out without giving Tina her ride, so Jon took both girls for a cruise around the neighborhood with the windows down and the wind blowing through their hair. Tina was in HEAVEN!!!! This girl loves to cruise!!!!! When Jon brought them back, it was a struggle to get Tina out of the car, but eventually she complied with our wishes...once prompted with a few more sticks of Pup-peroni!

Just call him "Mr. Buster Cool"

Next we tested Georgia and Buster with Kasey. Once again, there was a lot of butt sniffing but other than that, no reaction. Both these guys seemed more interested in getting human attention rather than worrying about the new dog in the yard. Buster in particular seemed happy to have human company. Before tonight, he was pretty shut down and kind of a hard nut to crack. We couldn't tell if he was exerting his "alpha-ness" or if he was just a shy, reserved dog. Tonight though there was a distinct difference in him. He seemed more content - happier to hang out with people and get attention. He even let us put some sunglasses on him! Yes, I know, dressing up dogs can constitute a form of animal abuse but hey - look at the picture - he looked really cool (and I think he knew it!!). The Buster of a couple of weeks ago would never have allowed this kind of tom foolery. I think seeing the change in his personality really brought home to us the good that was being brought into these dog's lives.

Kasey flirting with Gunner

Last dog to be tested with Kasey was Gunner - young, handsome Gunner. If dogs could swoon then that is exactly what Miss Kasey did!! Whereas she had been a cool customer with the other dogs, when she saw Gunner she acted like a pre-teen at a Justin Bieber concert! She went into a play bow, she ran in tight circles, she flopped down onto her back and wiggled her body. Gunner *almost* looked as if he was going to play with her...in actual fact I think he was confused...and maybe a little startled! After all, this young boy has never had a playmate before. He has spent his whole life in a dog kennel with his Mom! I am sure seeing Kasey flirt with him like this was all very new to him. Hopefully though, he will learn quickly that these kinds of shenanigans are EXACTLY what young pups are supposed to do!

Buster was way more interested in Pup-peroni than Kasey

Shortly after Kasey arrived on the scene, Val and Fred had arrived with their 2 GSDs Jade and Brady. We proceeded to test all of the Fab 5 with these dogs also and, much to everyone's amazement, they all did fantastic!! Even Buster and Brady! We were especially concerned with how Buster might be with another male dog - being that he is over 10 years old and still intact! Some of it may have had to do with the fact that Brady is an extremely sweet, laid back boy, but seriously, Buster couldn't have cared less! After we had done all the formal testing and were just standing around we all marveled at how incredibly well-tempered all of these dogs are. I mean, for having been isolated for so long, they seem to just have really nice manners. This is going to make placing them in foster homes sooooooo much easier. I have to say, I really sighed a breath of relief when I saw their reaction - or lack there of - tonight.

So now we are one step closer in our quest to move these dogs into REAL homes. It seems like it is taking forever to get all these blasted ducks in a row, but I know we have to move carefully at each step. The more care and diligence we put in at this stage of the assessment, the better the placements will be when we move these dogs. I really don't want to see them being bounced from foster to foster, so we HAVE to get it right the first time...even if it takes a little bit longer. I think it seems so much more arduous because we are working with 5 dogs all at once. In actual fact, we are using the same process we use for all dogs we bring into the rescue. It's a lot of work, but I know we would all rather take our time to get these assessments accurate than risk placing one of these pups in a home they weren't suited to.

Next step - cat-testing!! Oh, I can't wait for that!!! :)

Queenie and Tina riding off, possibly for the cat-testing???

Post #8 - A Rescue Story: Thursday June 9th, 2011

2011-06-15T04:17:00.000-07:00

To find out how you can help, go to First Giving.

**Editor's note: This blog entry was written by one of our other volunteers, Jon, who went to support Angie and the dogs on the day that Diesel and Susann were sent to the Rainbow Bridge.

Diesel - Gone, but never forgotten

Susann - Free now to terrorize all the other female dogs in heaven!

Diesel enjoying the warm morning air

It hasn't even been a week since I first met these dogs during their medical examinations. The moment I saw them that day, I immediately loved them all. Sadly, it was also at that time that I also realized that two of these broken shepherds wouldn't get to see the wonderful future that was being planned for them. I believe so strongly that no dog should ever die alone. These animals who stand by us humans through thick and thin deserve to have someone holding them when their time comes to pass. It's the least that we can do. That's why I went today. I wanted them to know that their lives *mattered* to someone. That, even though we weren't able to prevent their suffering over the last who-knows how many years, we were able - and willing - to be there with them right until the very end. I wanted Diesel and Susann to pass knowing that they were loved.

Diesel, Angie, and Susann, Friends Furever

When I arrived today, Angie was walking Susann and Diesel was laying down in the garden enjoying a sun spot. The memory is vivid and some how comforting - the grass, the birds making music and the warm, humid morning air that let us know that summer was fast approaching. I talked with Angie for a time before the doctor arrived. Seeing how comfortable and relaxed the dogs were with her made it clear to me that these dogs were loved. As we stood talking, Diesel was restful but always intent on keeping Angie within sight. Susann wandered around sniffing the grass and flowers, but she never strayed far. The love that Angie felt for these 2 dogs (and all the dogs) translated into total trust on the part of the dogs - in their mind, as long as Momma Angie was there, nothing bad would happen.

Diesel enjoying his hotdog

My contribution to the day's event would come in the form of sausages. I'd already shared some with the other dogs still inside the kennel, but now it was time to treat Diesel and Susann to theirs. I unwrapped the snacks that I'd brought and gave these curious shepherds their first (I'm sure) taste of smoked sausage. Based on the speed with which they were devoured, I'd say they approved!

The doctor arrived and immediately set to work making both dogs comfortable. We started by keeping Susann rested in the shade and Diesel at a distance enjoying his sun spot. In only a short time though, Diesel decided he wouldn't have any distance between us and pulled himself to where Susann lay in Angie's arms. Susann had already passed but Diesel sniffed her and seemed satisfied that he understood the situation. He then lay himself down next to Angie and Susann for the last time.

Susann and Angie - 2 Unforgettable Ladies

We all know what the death of a loved one feels like. I'll only say that it's personal. How you feel and how you deal with it is yours to live with. It was an honor to be with these dogs when they passed. As hard as it was, I was glad I was there. I am so grateful for the kindness the doctor showed in handling Diesel and Susann today, and the gentle hands that both Angie and the doctor used in order to help them to their peaceful end. Diesel and Susann found their rest... and they were not alone.

Post #7 - A Rescue Story: Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

2011-06-14T11:56:00.000-07:00

Help us raise the money to help these dogs. Go to First Give to learn how.

We had our monthly GSRA Board meeting tonight and it was no surprise that the Sweet 7 were the main topic of conversation. I filled everyone in on what the vet found the other night. The main focus of the discussion was on what our options were with respect to Susann and Diesel. No one wants to see them come this close to getting into a "real" family environment, only to miss out because of medical complications. Since both Susann and Georgia had masses, we considered doing cytology on both and then waiting to see what the results yielded. Alternatively, someone suggested just removing the masses, and not doing any cytology and just accepting whatever time the girls had left. We're all comfortable with the idea of hospice care for some dogs - we've taken in dogs before that we knew were never going to leave their foster homes. In these cases, we do what we can to make them comfortable and then, when they tell us that they are tired and have had enough, we help them pass on - always in their foster Mom's arms and always with a lot of love and dignity. Maybe this is something we could offer Susann and Georgia? Then someone brought us back to reality and asked where would we find a foster home that could accommodate both Susann's cancer and her extreme aggression towards other female dogs. As is so often the case in rescue, even if the heart is willing, the head needs to step in and offer up the logistical road blocks that sometimes makes the best of intentions impossible. There are risks you are willing to take when you are dealing with your own dog, but when it is the rescue's dog, and the rescue's ultimate responsibility, there are so many other factors that need to be considered. I hate this part of rescue. I hate this part of being responsible to something other than the dog. But, this responsibility, and the actions it causes, is what has kept the rescue running for close to 20 years. So like it or not, some things just have to be accepted. With this mind set, we all agreed that Susann would need to be put to sleep. I cannot tell you what a cruel blow this is. Susann - the feistiest of all the dogs. The one that has the brightest glint in her eyes (albeit a somewhat devilish glint) isn't going to get the chance to live like a Queen in her very own family because the rescue can't accommodate her special needs. I think we all feel like we are letting her down.

We went on to talk about Diesel. When I left it, before the vet had examined him, we had talked about the possibility of trying him in a wheel chair. One of our volunteers has one that she isn't using and she was happy to bring it up for Diesel to try. But after talking with the vet on friday night and learning how withered Diesel is in the shoulder region, I explained to the Board that a wheel chair wasn't an option. More importantly than that though, is the status of his teeth and gums. That poor boy has GOT to be hurting. Every bite he takes has got to be excruciating. We can't let him go on suffering like that. He's so brave and so happy despite everything going against him. But even so, our mission is to end suffering, and there is no doubt in my mind that Diesel IS suffering - no matter how brave a face he puts on. At the end of our discussion, everyone was unanimous that Susann and Diesel needed to be put to sleep. I guess I will call the vet in the morning and see when it can be done. This isn't fair. This is the part of rescue that sucks.

Post #6 - A Rescue Story: Saturday, June 4th, 2011

2011-06-14T04:45:00.000-07:00

Help us raise the money to help these dogs. Go to First Give to learn how.

Just got back from hanging with the crew. It was as hot as Hades, but there are heaps of trees over at this place, so we were able to find some shade to sit under and love on the dogs. It was just Angie and I today. We talked about the vet visit last night. It was a long night - the vet was so thorough with each of the dogs. We got weights on them all, they all had a thorough exam of their body, eyes, ears and teeth. We drew blood for heartworm tests and we got fecal samples for everyone. On the whole, I guess you could say that the results of the vet exam were good. Everyone is heartworm negative - INCREDIBLE!!!! We had found some ivermectin in the kennel and it appeared that the owner had been treating them all pretty regularly. However, there was no indication of when the last doses were given, and the kennels back up to a pretty marshy-looking area and there are mosquitoes everywhere out there (my arms and legs are proof of this!!). The fact that they are all heartworm negative is just wonderful - I commend the owner for taking care of the dogs this way. The vet recommended we re-test in 9 months as it is possible, with the owner's declining health, that he may have stopped treatment within the last year sometime. Due to the life-cycle of the heartworms, the dogs may have been infected recently but won't show as positive until much later. But for now, we are doing the happy dance!

Buster Opens Wide

Georgia gets ready to have her blood drawn for her heartworm exam.

The physical exams were less pleasing. All the dogs show signs of muscle wasting and emaciation. The only exercise they have had in recent times (at least) is running up and down the runs in their kennel area. This has definitely taken a toll on the older dogs, but the young ones also. Then there are the ear infections - Queenie and Gunner have the worst cases. We tried to clean Gunner's ears but he was having none of it. He never got mean, but he made it very, very clear that he wasn't happy with being held or with having his ears touched. The last thing we want to do is give him a negative impression of people, so we backed off. Angie is able to get drops in the ears twice daily, so for now we will stick with that. The vet says that Gunner's body condition is close to being classified as emaciated. Thank goodness that is an easy fix with food and some regular exercise! Georgia has mild conjunctivitis and ear tip dermatitis. In fact, most of the dogs have the ear tip damage from the biting flies. The tips of their ears are covered in bloody scabs. The vet instructed Angie to pick the scabs off each day so that medicated ointment can be applied to the tips to help them heal. Poor Georgia also has severe gingivitis and tartar. She is going to need to be sedated for a deep dental cleaning. She also has bald spots on each hip bone area. Due to the fact she is also severely underweight, its possible that these are the beginnings of pressure sores. There is no bedding in the dog runs - just wood floors. Without any meat on their bones this is an awfully hard surface to lay on. I think of all the orthopedic beds laying all over the floors at my place and it makes me sad that these dogs - especially the older ones - haven't had any comfort like this. Sadly, at the end of Georgia's exam, the vet found a marble-sized tumor on one of her nipples. My heart sank. Being an older, intact female, the chances of mammary cancer are very high. The mass is oozing some blood but doesn't appear infected. It's small - which is a good thing - and it is limited to only 1 nipple. We'll need to think about how we want to handle this - biopsy? excise it? leave it and take chances? Clearly more Board discussions are needed!

Buster waits patiently for his exam

Queenie got a good report other than being emaciated. She is the thinnest of them all. She also has a cracked incisor that will most likely need to come out. We can do that when she is spayed. Tina also got a good report save for ear tip dermatitis and also a fractured tooth. The big boy Buster is a bit of a mess. He has severe wasting in the back end and his rear feet turn outward. He is extremely low in the back end - but the vet can't tell if it is due to lack of muscle mass or if he has a neurological issue. He responds fine when you turn his feet over (a test for neurological deficits), but he just doesn't look right at the back. He also has very low exercise tolerance. Today while I was out there I took him for a couple of laps around the back yard to get him moving. He did a lot better than when I was there last Monday, but he still has a long way to go. His eyes are very goopy and the vet thinks he has conjunctivitis. It could be from allergies as he has a thick, yellow discharge coming from them - it makes him look like he is crying all the time :(

Finally the vet got to Susann and Diesel - the 2 we have all been worried about. Susann's mass is large - easily a fistful. It involves quite a few of the nipples. It is hard and irregular - everything you DON"T want a tumor to be. It is clear to the vet what we are dealing with here. We were all kind of quiet when she explained what she was feeling. I can't help feeling that it is a cruel twist of fate that the dog who seems to have endure the neglect the best - in terms of retaining her personality and willingness to interact with people - is also the one who probably won't get a chance to experience the freedom we are hoping to give the other dogs. A couple of us REALLY love Susann - her fire-cracker personality is really funny. While Gunner was being examined, she was out roaming free in the kennel and she had her nose in everything the vet was doing. At one point, Gunner was struggling and growling as he didn't want his ears touched. Susann walked over to him and barked sharply right in his face as if to say, "stop it! You're embarrassing me! I brought you up better than this so sit still and let them look in your ears!!". Surprisingly, Gunner relaxed after this reprimand! Clearly, Momma knows best!

Peaceful Diesel waits for his turn to be examined

The last dog that the vet examined was Diesel. She agreed that he had all the signs of DM. He is occasionally able to get up on his back legs, but for the most part he is scooting himself around on his butt. We talked about the possibility of getting him fitted for a wheel chair. He has such a zeal for life - despite his broken body - that if there is a chance to give him some more time, we really wanted to try. Sadly, the vet does not think he has the upper body strength to be able to use a wheelchair. You can feel his shoulder blades and he has no muscle mass anywhere. Complicating things further is that when the vet looked in his mouth she discovered that all of his teeth are completely rotted. I have never seen anything as bad as this before! I have seen one or 2 rotted teeth before, but every, single tooth in his mouth was either brown or black. His gums were swollen and the color of bright, red tomatoes. When the vet gently pressed on his gums, blood and pus oozed from the gum lines around the teeth. How in the hell was this dog still able to eat? Maybe that's why he is so thin? The pain has got to be excruciating. Or maybe, the nerves are long dead - and so all he has left are these infected stumps? This was not a quick process of tooth decay. This had been going on for years. So somehow, with a paralyzed back end, rotted teeth, fly-bitten ear tips and some sort of corneal infiltrate in his right eye, Diesel just keeps trucking along. Happy as a clam with his new-found friend Angie. Bolstered enough by her love and attention that he has the gumption to try to fence fight with Buster :) Talk about the power of love!!

We ended the visit last night with lots of decisions that needed to be made. We all knew that this wasn't going to be an easy project, but with everyone working together with the dog's best interests at heart, I know we will do what has to be done.

Post #5 - A Rescue Story: Wednesday June 2nd, 2011

2011-06-13T05:26:00.000-07:00

Emailed the Board today and explained the situation with the 7 shepherds. Everyone agreed that this is a case that GSRA needs to take on, Yeah!!!! We discussed it agreed that the next step that should be taken is to get a vet out there to examine all the dogs and to see exactly what we are dealing with, health-wise. So I called the mobile vet that JACPL had recommended. She and I had a great talk. She is awesome. Very rescue-savvy and compassionate, yet realistic. Exactly what is needed here. She explained that she got her start with animals at a large, inner city shelter. She said she learned there that not every animal can be saved and, like me, that there are worse things than death. She agreed that we needed to do a full exam on each dog, take blood for heartworm check and do fecals - I explained that many of the dogs were extremely thin and so she is worried they might have gastrointestinal parasites. We also talked a lot about Diesel, the guy with probable DM and Susann, the girl with the big mammary tumor. She wanted to know how the rescue felt about the future of these dogs. I said we were hopeful, but also realistic. She understood. So, we are meeting out there on Friday night after work to have all the dogs examined.

I heard from Angie today and she said that she wishes I could have seen the dogs when she went out there yesterday. She said that every dog went to the door and nosed at it as if to say “can I go out today?” , “Are my new friends outside today?” . She was amazed that dogs that were timid to venture out before were all so dramatically changed! This is music to my ears!!!

Post #4 - A Rescue Story: Monday May 30, 2011

2011-06-12T16:23:00.000-07:00

These dogs haven't received this much attention in goodness knows how long!

Diesel

Diesel - you can see the way he lies that his back-end just doesn't want to work properly.

Diesel supervises in a sea of hair

Georgia - sleeping, but positioned for head rubs!

Georgia- post bath

Susann and her son Gunner in their run

Sweet Tina - all brushed out and ready for a bath

It's Memorial Day today. Rather than going to a cook out though, I - along with 6 other wonderful women - spent the day with the dogs...who we are now calling the "Seven Sweet Shepherds". It's a day that I don't think any of us are going to forget. This was my first chance to meet these dogs and their Guardian Angel Angie. The purpose of today's visit was to go and assess each of the dogs to see if GSRA would be able to take them into the rescue program. I really wasn't sure what I was going to find. It's never a good thing to find out that you have a group of senior dogs who appear to have spent the better part of their lives stuck in kennels being bred. I'll be honest, and I know a lot of people might not understand, but when Angie and I were talking on the phone the other day, we talked about the very real possibility that, for some of these dogs, the best we might be able to offer them is a peaceful passing. I always tell people that "rescue" comes in many forms, and for each case that GSRA becomes involved in, we owe it to the dogs to be honest and compassionate about what form of rescue we need to offer them. Meaning, sometimes, the kindest and most loving thing you can do for a dog (or any animal) is to end its suffering, but to do it in a way that the animal isn't alone, isn't afraid and doesn't suffer. Like I said, when I went to the kennel today, I was fully prepared to face the fact that some of these dogs might not make it out.

Meeting the dogs for the first time today was
both heartbreaking and heartwarming. I can't even begin to describe how shut down these dogs were when we first met them. They were like prisoners who had been kept in solitary all their lives. They panicked when we brought them out of their kennels and wanted to go back in rather than walk around. When we patted them and kissed them we got nothing - not a wag of the tail, not a glimmer in the eye, they didn't even try to get away - nothing! Three of us from GSRA, as well as a wonderful Mom and daughter team from Johnston County Animal Protection League (JACPL), and Angie and her partner spent 3 hours working on the dogs and their kennels. We brushed and combed the mats out of their fur, we washed them all (well, all but one who was just too freaked out by everything to be able to cope with a bath). Seeing what horrible condition these magnificent dogs were in was the heartbreaking part. The heartwarming part came though when we watched them come around - little by little - with the attention they were receiving. I watched o
ne in particular - Georgia - transform :) She was probably the most matted and dirty of the dogs. Not sure what caused the mats, but they were up and down her back and tail and it took Val and I ages to comb each of them out to the point that we could run a brush over her. She was completely stoic and patient throughout this process - even though I know it had to have hurt as we worked on those mats and tugged at her fur. After doing what we could, we washed her and then passed her on to Cathie for some "post-shower" brushing. While we were washing another dog, I watched Georgie as Cathie brushed and brushed and brushed her. Little by little, her posture started to relax..then her eyes softened.... and then she relaxed to the point that she laid down while Cathie brushed her. I swear, by the time the "spa treatment" was over she almost had a smile on her face. When we left today, Georgia was fast asleep in her run, but she was positioned such that her head was pushed up close to the door so that she could get rubs on her head as we said goodbye. Don't get me wrong, this wasn't some instantaneous "happily, ever after" transformation. By the time we all left this afternoon, the dogs were cleaner than they started out, but their spirits were still very much in need of help. Also, after being able to have my hands on them all and look them over clearly, it is really obvious that we need to get a vet out there to get a thorough examination of each dog.

I'm not sure exactly at which point during the visit today that we (and I say we because I think Val, Cathie and I were unanimous on this) decided that GSRA was "in" on getting these dogs the help they needed. Spending just 3 hours with those dogs has made all of us feel a huge responsibility towards them. Cate from JACPL knows a mobile vet who can help with the dogs and she is going to get in touch with her. Angie is already committed to caring for the dogs twice a day to make sure their runs are clean and they have fresh food and water. We left a whole heap of food there and I told Angie that, most likely, we would be able to cover the initial vet costs. I still need to notify GSRA's Board of Directors about all of this. Two of us that were out there today are board members, but there are still 7 others than need to sign off on our involvement. I left it with Angie that we would do whatever we could to help, but that we just had to take it day by day.

Recounting today's experience wouldn't be complete without a full run down on the cast of characters we met today. So here it goes:

* Diesel - approx. 10 years old. Almost definitely suffering from Degenerative Myelopathy (DM). Almost completely paralyzed in the back end. He is by far the most personable, probably because Angie fell in love at first site with him and has paid him a lot of attention :) He is very funny. He has this strong sense of self that I know Angie has encouraged. He wants to be wherever Angie is, and he likes to supervise. Very much an alpha male, when he sees the other males in the kennel he growls and pulls himself towards them barking. I am worried about what the future holds for this brave boy. This is the boy that Angie was called out for last year. He ended up having the infected toe amputated.

* Buster - approx. 10 yrs old. Might also have DM - or just muscle wasting. Sat down during our bathing and then couldn't get up to walk. I had to put a towel under him to support him to get him back in his kennel, but once in, he got up and started walking. Thanks dude - nearly put my back out carrying him! Did I mention that he is HUGE!! And handsome as they come! Gave gentle kisses at the end of his bath.

* Susann - 9 yrs. Feisty Mama!!! She has it in for all female dogs and apparently, in her day, was formidable about attacking them. I am sure if we hadn't kept a tight hold on her leash she would have tried to get the other girls today. Reminds me of Samantha-Jane in that "loveable psychotic bitch" kind of way. Has a massive mammary tumor that is almost certainly cancer.

* Georgia - 10 yrs. Love this girl :) Gentle, shy, sweet. Just a cute girl. Also seems very low in the back in a way that makes me worry about possible neurological isssues. After her bath, she went back into the kennel but stayed out of her run. She laid in a corner and just kind of watched the comings and goings. She's a deep one - it'll take some time to get to know her I think.

* Tina - 9 years. Didn't get to spend much time with her, so can't say much, but Angie really loves this girl. She seems very outgoing. Seemed to enjoy the attention.

* Gunner - 2 yrs old. DROP DEAD GORGEOUS!!! Stunning. Has a bad ear infection, but Angie is treating it with Ottomax and it is getting better. Couldn't get near those ears today, but he wasn't mean about it, just didn't want us touching them. They look the color of tomatoes inside, and very swollen. Makes me sick - they have got to be nauseatingly painful.

* Queenie - 3 yrs old - stunning. The least socialized of the bunch. Terrified of water and completely wigged out by being touched. We weren't able to wash her but we did brush her and tried to get her used to being touched. She's in a run with Tina and it seemed that having Tina near by helped her relax. Poor girl. It seemed like the big, wide world was just too much for her. All she wanted was to get back to the safety of her 3X10 dog run. So sad...this dog should be running, playing and acting like a typical 3 year old GSD. Not cowering down afraid of anything and everything!

All of the dogs have incredible temperaments when it comes to people. None show even the slightest bit of aggression - they are just scared and unsure. Sadly, the 2 youngest are going to be the biggest behavioral challenges as it appears they were born at a time when the owner was already declining in health and so hasn't had anything to do with them. We are unsure if they have ever even been out of the kennel before.

Bottom line, after today I realize just how much work is ahead of us if we are to take this case on. At the same time though, after meeting the dogs, I am 110% committed to helping them. Knowing the GSRA board like I do, and knowing how our volunteers feel about dogs - and senior dogs - I know everyone will be behind this mission when they find out about it. These dogs are EXACTLY what GSRA is here for!

Post #3 - A Rescue Story: Friday May 27, 2011

2011-06-12T08:36:00.000-07:00

Got word today that the owner of the abandoned show dogs has been committed to a long-term healthcare facility and that his wife is willing to sign over the dogs to the AC Officer. Thank goodness the dogs have been released!!!! Now we can really do something!!! I called the AC Officer, Angie, and had a great talk with her. She is one incredible lady! She has been going out to care for these dogs twice a day, every day since learning about the situation. Turns out, her involvement with this guy and his dogs goes back over a year. Apparently, early last year she got an anonymous call that a dog at this residence had a severely injured foot that wasn't being taken care of by the owner. Angie went by to check and found a dog (turns out it was the old boy called Diesel) with a severe infection of one of its toes. It was clearly not being treated so she ordered the owner to get vet care for the dog (interesting that it took an AC officer to get this guy to give routine, necessary vet care for one of his supposedly "champion" dogs!!). I am not getting warm and fuzzy feelings for this owner! Worse yet, Angie told me that all the dogs are in pretty bad shape - very thin, matted and filthy, ear infections, oozing eyes, and then poor Diesel who she says can barely walk at all. She said that the dogs are kept in these small kennels - most of them with 2 dogs in each kennel. She said they are raised up off the ground so that the dogs can never get dirty?? Why do I have the feeling that this guy cared more about the ribbons and trophies his dogs got him than the actual dogs? If he is such a successful breeder and shower, how come no-one knew about the situation these dogs were in? That they were not being cared for? Based on the fact that Angie was called out there on a neglect call early last year, this situation has been going on at least that long...though I suspect probably even longer. I actually asked Angie to clarify for me whether or not this guy was just another backyard breeder...she gave me the name of his show kennel. Nope - he's the real deal - member of the local GSD Club, awards up the ying-yang. So why then has it been left to an AC officer and a local rescue to take care of these dogs? Where are all the other GSD club members? Shouldn't they be supporting one of their "own"? What about the guy's family? If the dogs were so important to him, wouldn't they be trying to help? Weird!! Anyway, will know more soon. I am planning on meeting Angie out there on Monday with some of the other rescue gals to meet the dogs and help wash and brush them and give them some much needed love and attention. The story continues!!!

Post #2 - A Rescue Story: Wednesday, May 11, 2011

2011-06-11T13:27:00.000-07:00

Just got an update on the retired show dogs that need help. It's a lot worse than I thought. The pictures that were attached makes it look like the dogs are in some sort of outside dog runs?? I don't understand, I thought they were show dogs? Why would they be kept outside in pens? They look beautiful, but neglected. Here's the latest update from the Animal Control Officer who is caring for them:

Well, the weekend passed with poop scoopin and LOTS of brushing (with more needed!)

Turns out there are 7 dogs…3 males and 4 females. The one old male Diesel..has so much heart and is so sweet. But he really struggles with his back end. I love him and his sweet spirit but he is sad.

I found the AKC papers and these guys with the exception of 2 are all seniors. But don’t let the grey faces fool you…still active and in good health. EVERYONE needs basic brushes, baths and nail trims and I am working on that.

The wife is going to her lawyer to get power of attny. Right now the dogs are not free to be placed. I am hoping that it happens, but for now we are in holding pattern. Until something changes, they are safe and I will continue to care for them. I will keep you all updated unless you aren’t interested….if so, just let me know.

The reference to the one old guy who is having problems with his back end immediately makes me fear that he has Degenerative Myelopathy (DM). If so, and if he hasn't received proper care, he may be in serious trouble. I wonder what the other dogs are like? The dogs are still not free to be placed though, so what can we do? The fact that this one person, the AC officer, is going to such extraordinary lengths to help these dogs makes me want to jump in and offer to help in any way GSRA can. Do you know how many people (AC Officer or not) that would have just walked away from this? Whenever I see someone willing to go out on a limb to help a dog - without any guarantee that they will get help from someone - it makes me want to do whatever I can to support them. Maybe if more people knew they wouldn't be left alone in these types of situations they'd be more willing to help dogs they see on the side of the road, or being neglected in someone's yard, or being dumped at a shelter?

That picture of the dog looking right into the camera is pulling at my heart and conscience. These dogs need help.

Post #1 - A Rescue Story: Friday, May 6, 2011

2011-06-11T13:23:00.000-07:00

In amongst the usual pile of rescue emails today is one concerning a case that has really got me worried. Seems there is a kennel of GSDs that have been left unattended and neglected due to the illness of their owner/breeder. It's pretty local - but not sure how GSRA could help if the dogs are still legally owned by someone else. This is always a concern when we are notified about dogs (not already in shelters) needing help. This new case I just heard about sounds pretty desperate. An Animal Control Officer is currently caring from them, but she needs help. Here is what she wrote:

Ok..guys I am wanting to make you all aware of a possible situation that I might be needing some assistance with in the future.

I will not bore you with all the details but long story short there are 6 retired German Sheppard show dogs that might need placement soon. Their owner is an elderly man (77) that is suffering from dementia and health problems. The wife asked me a couple of years ago for help but the gentleman is very protective of the dogs and refused to allow me to take any. The wife is having him committed this afternoon for psych evaluation and I am going to feed and care for the dogs over the weekend.

I do not know the status of the dogs..ages ,sex etc. I do know that there is one older dog that appears to have either arthritis or dysplasia. I am hoping that if it comes to it, my “rescue friends” can help me with placing these animals. I will try and get some pictures this weekend.

Please let me know if you are willing to help if needed OR if you can offer any advice or assistance. If this gentleman is not sent to a nursing home, I still hope to convince him to relinquish a few dogs, so that he can better manage them. These are all friendly dogs and I would love to see them have at least a few years out of the kennels and in a pet home!

The weather is starting to get really hot... are these dogs inside or outside? If they are retired show dogs, they have to be well cared for, right?