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Claire

Master Chef
Joined
Sep 4, 2004
Messages
7,967
Location
Galena, IL
I'm going crazy because I can't seem to find the pets line here. In the two years I've had my little rescue doggie, I got so much help; from my DC friends, my relatives, and various local dog trainers (I write a casual column for the local rag and they've called me to help). I cannot find the line. But it was funny, and I thought you'd enjoy, that people continually think she is some sort of pure bred hunting dog. I, personally, knowing she was picked up off the side of the road out in the Iowa country, rather suspect that she had a mommy who was some sort of hunter, who had a litter and her owner didn't want the puppies (there were a couple of other dogs looking like her in the same safe haven ad so think someone just dumped a litter). But this weekend a Bosnian friend was petting her and loving up to her, and DH went on line and found a site that looked like her. I'd seen pics of a German shorthaired pointer that looked like her, but way too big (Rosebud is 23 lbs). Hubby is starting to say she's an Istrian hound! how funny! Do we care? No. She's just Rosebud. But people are always asking us, so now she's officially an Istrian Hound! We declared the 4th of July to be her official birthday (close enough); she'll be two. I felt somewhat better when I read a memoir about a woman who adopted a dog recently (can't remember the name of the book) who said 8 months old was the worst year for dogs, like having a juvenile delinquent teenager. Made me feel like we done good, since that was her age when we adopted her.
 
It's made me realize that I have a couple of Senior kitties. Smudge is 12 years and Latté is almost 11. How time flies.

I'm so glad that Rosebud turned into the doggie you have now, I remember how trying she was at first.
 
Yeah, that first 8 months or so was really a trial, and we thought we'd have to give her up. Mostly concern for our older and children friends, because if she could leap up and bite MY nose (I'm quite tall), there's no way. We'd already decided she was ours before, but a few months ago we had to go take care of my elderly, frail parents for a month, and she was a doll. No one had a problem with her. Teenaged nephews were teasing her, and grand-niece (age 2) was about to visit, and I set them straight, with their parents, my parents and husband backing me up 100%. I don't care if she bites your nose off, but this child is coming, do NOT get her riled up. Period. She was a love-puppy and all is well.
 
Claire,

Lovely anecdote ...

We had chosen not to have anymore kit kats after our last two British Shorthairs passed away at the age of 22 years ... It was quite tough on us ... Felt, we lost our male children ... The Gals were torn up.

Now we have exterior foster care adopted 4 legged children:

1) Professor - a sepia and white Catalan Breed Donkey of 2 years
2) Rubí - an Andalusian Silver breed Donkey found on highway by the Vet who rescued her with a Rancher client ... According to her teeth and blood work, she is 11 yrs. old.
3) Equis: an Apoloosa horse that I ride, and the Vet who fostered him for us ...

However, it is too difficult for house pets, as we travel alot ...

Have a nice wkend.
Ciao. Margi.
 
We're going through some trials with our 9 year old German shepherd-border collie mix named Ollie. After our trip to Michigan for family wedding, I noticed that he was drinking all the time. Seemed to be going outside way more than usual and his breath had that ketone smell to it. He was diagnosed with diabetes this week. Had the instructions and he got his first (of many) insulin shots today. He lost over 12 lbs and is rather pitiful looking. Not quite back to his old self yet. He's such a sweetie and took the shot without any trouble. Hope we can this under control soon and he perks back up.
 
jabbur said:
We're going through some trials with our 9 year old German shepherd-border collie mix named Ollie. After our trip to Michigan for family wedding, I noticed that he was drinking all the time. Seemed to be going outside way more than usual and his breath had that ketone smell to it. He was diagnosed with diabetes this week. Had the instructions and he got his first (of many) insulin shots today. He lost over 12 lbs and is rather pitiful looking. Not quite back to his old self yet. He's such a sweetie and took the shot without any trouble. Hope we can this under control soon and he perks back up.

{{{{Ollie}}}}. Hope the treatments work, Jabbur!
 
We're going through some trials with our 9 year old German shepherd-border collie mix named Ollie. After our trip to Michigan for family wedding, I noticed that he was drinking all the time. Seemed to be going outside way more than usual and his breath had that ketone smell to it. He was diagnosed with diabetes this week. Had the instructions and he got his first (of many) insulin shots today. He lost over 12 lbs and is rather pitiful looking. Not quite back to his old self yet. He's such a sweetie and took the shot without any trouble. Hope we can this under control soon and he perks back up.

Mom had a one-eyed cat that had diabetes and she had to give him insulin every day. He got so he would crouch by his food bowl at the same time every day to get his shot first, then he knew Mom would feed him. Gopher was 12 years old when he was diagnosed, he died of old age at 22...10 years of insulin. He was a good cat!

Hugs for Ollie and I hope he bounces back to his old self.
 
Claire,

Lovely anecdote ...

We had chosen not to have anymore kit kats after our last two British Shorthairs passed away at the age of 22 years ... It was quite tough on us ... Felt, we lost our male children ... The Gals were torn up.

Now we have exterior foster care adopted 4 legged children:

1) Professor - a sepia and white Catalan Breed Donkey of 2 years
2) Rubí - an Andalusian Silver breed Donkey found on highway by the Vet who rescued her with a Rancher client ... According to her teeth and blood work, she is 11 yrs. old.
3) Equis: an Apoloosa horse that I ride, and the Vet who fostered him for us ...

However, it is too difficult for house pets, as we travel alot ...

Have a nice wkend.
Ciao. Margi.

Donkeys and horses? And I think I've had pet problems. On the other hand, you don't have to house train them!
 
One very endearing characteristic of Rosebud is her .... well, I guess it is insecurities. She was an abandoned puppy who was a three-time loser (abandoned, then taken in by one shelter. When time came that they had to have her space, they thought she was still adoptable, and found our county's no-kill shelter). From the start she strongly identifies her crate and her collar with security. She regularly goes into her crate when she's feeling low. When we're leaving the house she climbs in her crate and waits to be shut in (I more than suspect that if we didn't close the door, she still wouldn't leave the crate if we aren't there). When I take her collar off to groom her, she stares at it and wants it back. I guess everything that happened to her in life that was good before we got her, happened after someone found her on the side of the road, put in a crate, and collared her.
 
in order to have a horse or donkey for a pet, you'd actually take care of them.

are they really pets, or warm blooded toys?

btw, dental and blood exams are slightly less than educated guesses at age approximation, at best. ask the vet. unless you know an animal's entire history, care, and diet, dental exams and certain hormones or blood factors are shots in the dark.
 
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oin ordee to have a horse or dinkey for a pet, you'd actually take care of them.

are they really pets, or warm blooded toys?

btw, dental and blood exams are slightly less than educated guesses at age approximation, at best. ask the vet. unless you know an animal's entire history, care, and diet, dental exams and certain hormones or blood factors are shots in the dark.
When I brought a sr. Lab in to the vet, this was a boy that was left tied up at the HS after hours, slated for euthanasia, I asked the vet how old he thought this boy might be. His answer was "it doesn't matter how old he is, they all die at different ages." And, Benny got a wonderful home and lived another 3 years. I like to think those were the best years of his life.
 
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darn, you quoted me before i could correct my spelling. my phone sucketh for my big fingers.

that's nice, cws. i'm sure your doggie loved you for it.

but how does it relate to actual home care of a pet vs. paying someone to do it, much like having a nanny for your kids and only seeing them on weekends?
 
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I love to hear the rescue stories.

I look back and still can't believe how lucky we were to have had our rescue pup, Ozzie, in our lives for so many years. He was only about a year old when he adopted us :), and lived to the ripe old age of 17. He passed away in my arms last July. Ozzie was a loyal and faithful friend every single day of his life and we were so blessed to have had him share his life with us for so many years!

Here he is in the summer of his 15th year. :wub:
img_1158438_0_891fc88622ad623c754abf0351d95218.jpg
 
darn, you quoted me before i could correct my spelling. my phone sucketh for my big fingers.

that's nice, cws. i'm sure your doggie loved you for it.

but how does it relate to actual home care of a pet vs. paying someone to do it, much like having a nanny for your kids and only seeing them on weekends?
BuckyTom--I have personally assessed more than 100 dogs (shelter dogs, owner surrenders, which, I have to say, makes up the majority--why others should have to take responsibility for a person's unwanted pet is beyond me--don't get me started). Of those, only 4 had to be euthanized, and only 1 because of unadoptable/dangerous temperament. The other three had cancer, one of which was left by her owners when they moved and the neighbors fed her--she was in stage 4 of bone cancer when I got called by the shelter. I held her in my arms 4 hours after picking her up while the vet humanely euthanized her--oh, and $300 later. Why did I have to do that? I have personally fostered more dogs than I can count--I think it is 56, but I might be shy a few. I don't know how that equates to having s/one else do it. I have gotten phone calls in the middle of the night threatening to kill the dog if I didn't come and get it "RIGHT NOW." I've had people threaten to come and shoot me if I didn't let them adopt a dog (is it any wonder I have an unlisted # and don't use my name on forums, etc.?) As a foster and rescue volunteer, the only thing for which I ever received payment was if I paid a vet bill up front or, in a few cases, mileage (I drove 13 hours to get one dog--another one of my most favorite Saints), for that I got my gas reimbursed, not mileage. No, I don't know how come people would not have their pets with them--but then, I also don't understand a lot of things about how people care for (or not care for) their pets.I also don't understand why a person would call a stranger and demand that that person come and get the dog because it got in the diaper pail at 10:00 p.m. in the middle of a snow storm. Whoa. Little kitty I took in April is an example...not my pet/responsibility, but once I opened the door and let her in, she was my responsibility. And then there is that Saint Bernard that had to be chiseled out of the ice up in Inuvik...another sad story--but, in the end, she was adopted by a great family and spent the rest of her life as a "reading" dog (one of those therapy dogs that goes into schools and kids read to it).

There are those who believe we have "secret gardens" in our hearts. Buried in my secret garden are the dark stories about rescues I don't/can't want to share. The dogs I couldn't help. The ones that died in my arms, where all I could do was wash their feet, burn a candle, and sing to them while I waited for the vet arrive--brain dead, but not dead--oops, one of the black memories that should stay in my secret garden. Don't even go there with me--you don't want to--nor do I. I can go more rounds than you probably want to go--more rounds than most folks not involved with rescue care to go. And, I spent 10 years involved with rescue, so I have a lot of stories...many good, some bad, some really, really bad. And one of those good stories is currently sleeping with his 40 lb head on my foot. He's visiting for 10 days while his "parents" go on vacation. I'm so happy he's here!
 
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cws, i think you misread me.

you are EXACTLY the kind of person who loves and cares for pets, not toys. i'm sorry if what i wrote offended you but it certainly wasn't intended for you.

my family and i have adopted (in my lifetime) 1 adult dog, one pup that we fostered, 1 dog that was in the last stages of life, 2 seperate stray abandoned kittens, and 7 adult cats in all stages of life. we've only ever purchased 1 purebred cat, and 2 parrots over the years. we even adopted a turtle that was meant for food, and he now lives with 4 goldfish from church fairs. (i could shoot the people who give your 3 or 4 year old kid a goldfish as a pet. how do you say no? with proper care, they freakin' live forever, getting huge on turtle food!)

i've given years of meds including topical and oral, and im and sc injections to many of them, but have also had the horrible familial duty each time of playing god when it was time to put our last 4 beloved cats down in the past few years. it never is easy.

again, sorry about the miscommunication. i was trying to define a pet vs. an occasional dalliance with a kept animal. ask those deluded people how many times they've cleaned up poop, or wiped encrusted tear ducts, or dealt with parasites, or old age, or daily feeding and grooming, and so on in their home.
 
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CWS, there is a place in our hearts for anyone who helps to take what should have been a beloved pet to its maker. I have a friend who cannot do it for her own pets when the time comes. My husband and I bawl our eyes out, but stand by them, holding and loving. I know you helped me with Rosebud.

I don't know how else to say it. Adopt an appropriate pet when you are looking. Don't adopt a pet that you, in your heart, know that you cannot truly care for.

There is no such thing as a "free" pet. I paid $200 for my shelter dog. When I thought we couldn't keep her, I'd have given up that money with no problem. I was bawling my eyes out when I thought she couldn't live with the elderly and child friends I have. I cried and cried and cried. I'd signed an agreement with the shelter that I'd give her back and they could keep the money.

If you cannot afford medical care for your pet, don't get one. Period. You're endangering neighborhood pets, your children, etc.

Larger animals mean larger vet bills. So if your genitals are proportionate to your dog, look to the vet bills.

It took me several months, and advice from many DC and local column readers to get Rosebud to be a lover-ly doggie, but she is only 23 lbs. If I had to do it with an 80 pounder, someone would be in deep kimchee. At 17 lbs and 8 mos old, we could start a training regime. She is not, by far,a well-trained dog. But within the first year we had her, she cavorted with a German shepherd, two teenaged boys with problems, and a two-year old child. But it took work.

I don't believe anyone should take on a dog who isn't going to be dedicated to it.
 
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