Home Zookeeper

As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve applied to be a foster dog parent. I talked to hubby about it and while he’s not as thrilled about it as I am he didn’t say no, which is as good as a yes in my book.

So now I’m starting to think about all the things I’ll need to do and how to act with a new dog who will be a temporary member of our pack.

Commenter, 14 Karat, who I’m guessing found me from Rachel Lucas‘ blog *grin* had a lot of advice and totally overwhelmed me. LOL Not that it takes a lot to overwhelm me.

Some of the advice seems completely opposite to what I had intended to do, which scares me! I welcome any and all advice and want this to be a conversation so I’m going to take some of 14k’s comments and give my thoughts. In no way am I discounting 14k’s thoughts or try to pick on her. Her experience is invaluable and I just want to learn!!!

“Plan to be at home all the time.”
That just isn’t going to happen. I work away from home 4 days a week. Luckily, my husband’s schedule varies so there will be times when he will be home while I’m at work. However there will be “away” days when we’re both gone. We don’t allow our own dogs to stay home by themselves for too many days in a row. They will either go to Daycare or grandma will come over to dog sit. We’ll probably ‘hire’ grandma to watch the doggies but I don’t expect her to handle a strange dog. We’ll have to have a family meeting about that. And of course it depends on the dog too.

“Avoid looking your new animal directly in the eyes for awhile.”
I totally get this one. However, what about establishing pack leadership? I’m used to disciplining my dogs, two of whom have only lived with us since the age of 8 weeks old. We flip them on their backs. We put our mouths over their muzzles, punishing them in dog language. I would never do this to a strange dog of course. But how am I supposed to establish dominance as the pack leader? I can’t let another dog get away with things that I wouldn’t allow from my own. So how do I do this?

“Make sure you are around the dog when it gets fed, and don’t let kids around until you are sure it won’t bite you at feeding time.”
No problem there. We feed all our dogs at one time and in their assigned areas. We don’t have kids so that’s not an issue. I had planned to train the foster dog the same way I did with Trooper and Kodiak. Quinn doesn’t have to work for her food. =) She’s an old lady.

Trooper is required to lay down and wait for his food until I release him. I don’t make Kodiak work all the time because it’s harder for him with his bad legs but if I think he’s being too excited or hyper I make him sit and “leave it” until I say “get it.”

Of course, these things took a few minutes (*grin*) to get them to do but are absolutely necessary parts of feeding 3 dogs at once. Plus I always feed Kodiak before Trooper so that Trooper knows he’s not alpha over him.

So I’m torn about how to feed a 4th dog. Do I make Trooper wait until I feed the new dog? I don’t necessarily want him to be “lower” in the pack than a new dog but I also don’t want him to think he’s alpha. We’ll have to create a separate place to feed the new dog and we have one of those moveable gate things that we can use in the kitchen.

“Keep the dog outside or in a kennel; don’t allow any foster animal on your furniture or on your bed.”
This one is one I’m not sure I can deal with. I want to train a dog who can become a family member for someone and to me that means being inside. All of our dogs sleep with us in the bedroom. They all have their “spots” on the floor but are allowed on the bed if they want (though Trooper is the only one who can actually jump that high and the other two don’t like it up there). I don’t anticipate letting a new dog up on the bed.

It will be difficult, if not impossible, to restrict the couch though. It’s pretty much FOR our dogs. In fact, Kodiak is curled up there right now sleeping soundly. Is it okay to restrict one dog when the other three don’t have those restrictions? Won’t that confuse them?

And the only time I anticipate the dog being in the outside kennel is when we are both away from home. The other three dogs will be in the house and the foster will be outside. The other alternative is to have the foster dog in the kitchen in either a crate (if we can properly acclimate them to a crate) or the moveable gate/fence thing.

We are one of those families who believe that family dogs belong inside with their pack. Unless they are a farm dog or something and even then I have a hard time seeing a dog constantly outside and not allowed to be part of the pack.

“No human food. Period.”
No problem there. I’m always yelling at hubby not to feed the dogs from his plate. It drives me bonkers!

“Provide only specific toys, and don’t tussle with the dog. If it seems aggressive at all it won’t be adoptable.”
I don’t tussle. =) Hubby does but I won’t let him with a foster. What do you mean with specific toys? You mean don’t let him share with the other dogs? Toys may present an interesting issue with us. Trooper LOVES his toys and he tends to try to take the other dogs’ toys. We actually have gotten pretty good at preventing this over time but he still has his moments. We’ll have to police this very carefully.

“Be careful about hugging your dog, since this can be seen as aggression.”
Gotcha. I hug my three dogs all the time but I didn’t start hugging Quinn until we were more used to her and she to us. I know she’d never hurt me. But I’d never hug a strange dog.

“Try to help the dog minimize exposure to behaviors the ancourage barking (for us it was people moving in a herd and really loud noises when they were kenneled. I had to build a privacy fence).”
Hmmm…I guess we’ll have to figure this out as it occurs. We’ve never had to deal with barking before because Huskies and Mals aren’t real big ‘barkers’ … they do talk though.

I’ve never had to deal with a barker. Other than when Trooper was a puppy in his crate - which we ignored for two weeks straight until it stopped. Our neighbors said they never heard anything. We may have to get advice on stopping a barker. I’ve watched the Dog Whisperer but I’m no Caesar. =)

“Try to use their name and touch them whenever you can.”
ABSOLUTELY!!!! Every time I’ve had a new animal I say their name constantly … all the time. When I got my new kitten I would sit there and pet it and say its name over and over and over again as I pet. Same with Trooper and Kodiak. Quinn came with her name. LOL

Phew…it’s a lot of information to digest. I’m nervous and excited at the same time. I already have chatted with our agility trainer and have permission to bring another dog along and we can pay a few extra dollars to have some training while I work with Trooper. I plan to practice walks and loose leash. Trooper is going to be very jealous. Ha! It’ll be good for him.

I look forward to a continuing discussion about this new adventure. =D

While most of us will be celebrating this 4th of July with BBQs, hotdogs, fireworks, and a cold drink or two…animals at our local shelter will be facing off with the clock. Don’t wait until after the holiday if you have plans to adopt.

Go visit today or tomorrow and bring a new family member home.

Herd County animal shelter in Georgia has the most beautiful little Siamese kitty. I wish I could bring her home! Trooper would enjoy her as a snack. She would make a wonderful companion, as would the other sweet kitties and doggies in danger of being put down this Friday.

And Saving Shelter Pets needs your help!!! They have 52 - FIFTY TWO - puppies to rescue and transport. That is a lot of sweet, adorable, and adoptable puppies to save.

Look at that face!!! My heart melts. If you can spare it, please make a special Puppy Promises donation. I donated $25 yesterday and wish it could be $2,500! So far, most of the sales from my Etsy shop have gone directly to SSP. Don’t tell my hubby!

Thank you Hounds Good for your hard work to find these animals homes or rescue. You have inspired me so much in the last few months and I put in my application yesterday to be a foster mom. =) I’m nervous but excited and hope that I can make a difference and save lives! The minute I get approved I am going to start blogging about our experience.

Oh and I’ll also be asking for help and advice!!! =D LOL You can be sure of that.

I would love to foster a dog. It would help me get that “new dog” itch scratched but not truly tie us to having 4 dogs full time. I *think*.

It would also be really hard for me to let go if I got attached. And I don’t see how I wouldn’t get attached. I get attached to the dogs at Agility and they don’t come home with me.

Ginger’s Pet Rescue is looking for volunteers to foster small and large dogs. She will be getting 10 small dogs (under 20 pounds) and several larger dogs (over 50 pounds) this coming weekend. Can you help?

Most of the dogs are under three years old, are spayed/neutered, and up to date on shots. I’d really like to foster one or two of the larger dogs. I need to talk to hubby about it first though.

We’ve never fostered a dog. We have rescued a couple of dogs off the road and held them until we found their owners…but we’re talking hours not days, weeks, or months. Fostering a dog is a big responsibility, but is something that can mean life or death to a dog stuck in a kill shelter.

Have you ever fostered an animal? Or do you know someone who has? What are some tips that you can share?

Do you think it would be traumatic for our other dogs to have a new adult dog enter the pack, only to leave it later?

Today in the Pacific Northwest it is in the 90s. It’s a “dry” heat, which means absolutely nothing to me except that I know humidity is just more miserable. We’re not used to this kind of weather though. Summer has been slow in coming, and while I was getting tired of clouds, this heat is no fun for me or the dogs.

Animals can so easily overheat in this kind of weather. I was sick to my stomach yesterday as I drove home. I saw two different trucks with their dogs in the back beds. The dogs looked absolutely miserable - completely out in the open with no shelter (not to mention no security…but that’s another topic altogether) and I presume no water. Their tongues hanging out, panting so heavily I just wanted to roll down my window and yell at the drivers. It was worse because it was stop and go traffic on the freeway - it just seems hotter surrounded by all that pavement.

I was thinking about those dogs this afternoon when I took Quinn with me to the Post Office. I’m sure someone thought I was being abusive to her - taking her out in this heat. What they don’t know is that Quinn LOVES heat. Seriously LOVES it. She will lay out on our deck even in the hottest weather and won’t come in unless we force her. She was born in a hotter climate (Spokane, WA has much hotter summers) but she’s still a black and white dog. She will come in panting like mad but she just loves it. I wonder if the heat feels good on her old bones.

Anyway, my point is that I know my dogs and I knew that she could handle the short trip to the Post Office. I left all the windows down (it wasn’t too busy so I felt safe doing that) and could see her from the post office as I waited in line. I watched her carefully and was prepared to go back out if she looked distressed. She didn’t even pant for the first few minutes. And she purposely stayed in the sun with her head hanging out the window. She’s so cute. By the time I got out to my car (no more than 10 minutes) she was panting (not heavily) but still in the sun with head hanging out. I offered her a drink of water from my water bottle and she wasn’t that interested.

I know how my dogs react to heat. I could never have taken Trooper or Kodiak on that short trip. Both would have been absolutely miserable. I also know Quinn’s limits and if I’d left her much longer she would not have been comfortable. All animals have different tolerances.

We can’t even walk the dogs in this weather. In 70 degree heat they get so hot that after we’re done they go immediately to their kiddie pool. Trooper and Kodiak spar to see who can get in and dig around the fastest. It’s hilarious.

Quinn rarely gets in the pool.

So now, in this heat, we have our small air conditioner (window unit in the bedroom) going full blast with the fan blowing on high and the dogs are still inside panting. Our house gets full on sun until around 4 p.m. so it heats up very hot. I need to get curtains to keep the sun out and keep the house cooler. The only reason we got the AC unit was for Trooper. Before we got it the house would get to over 100 degrees. With all his extra fur he’d probably get heat stroke.

While the dogs are miserable, my cats are in heaven. They love to sun bathe and at their new house with grandma I hear they are enjoying laying by the sliding glass door in the sun even in this hot weather. But even cats can get overheated.

Stay cool everyone!

I talk a lot about dogs here but I have a secret…I used to be terrified of dogs! I grew up with cats.

My mom tells a story about my dad, who did not want a pet, coming home and tossing a new kitten on the table and saying “here.” What a sweetie. LoL But I of course was in heaven. I’ve always loved cats. My mom brought one home once from the grocery store where someone was giving them away. I named him Izzy and he’s still alive 18 years later…though last I saw of him he was looking pretty ragged. Once I moved out he became an outdoor cat (much to my dismay) and the neighborhood Tom cat. He was a tough kid.

We had several other cats as I grew up but they didn’t survive long. One disappeared and mom told us that he probably crawled away and died…but who knows if another animal got him.

And of course my favorite kitty in the whole wide world was Sherbert. I was volunteering at the pound and he jumped from his cage onto my leg and it was instant love. He was the cutest little kitten and full of spunk. Of course my other two cats hated him but he grew up to be the boss. He had long orange hair and even won an award at a cat show as a kitten (though we didn’t make it a career…two shows was enough for us). Sadly, my sweet Sherbert snuck out of the house one night - he was too smart for his own good. He never came home. We found some fur and that’s it. I walked the neighborhood for hours and passed out fliers. I was desperate and sobbing.

I mention this just to show that I’m not all about the dogs…well, I am now, but I haven’t always.

So when I see kitties in need I get that longing to adopt again…though with our current Zoo it isn’t a good idea unless that cat is a Puma. =D I think Sherbert would have put Trooper in his place but Mischief and Jazmyn were too passive. They’re enjoying themselves at their grandma’s new home.

Then I found this amazing Home for cats and my heart just soared! An entire home just for kitties!!! I wish every unwanted kitty could live in their own home in peace and comfort. Old cats, sick cats, feral cats - cats that people don’t want or can’t take care of can live their lives.

If you’d like to donate to Caroline’s Kids your donation is tax deductible. They have some amazing expenses - they go through 2,400 pounds of liter a month!!!! WOW!

I wish I could do something amazing like this. My dream is to have a special farm where unwanted doggies can be safe and happy. Maybe one day.

A mini-moose that is…a sweet and deaf dog who is currently being fostered.

I can only imagine the challenges that having a deaf dog presents but as Quinn gets older I see us tackling some of those issues.

She’s either starting to go deaf or really is ignoring me. Which can’t be the case right? HAHAHAHA!

All dogs have value - even those with “disabilities” … a deaf dog is not a bad dog worthy of abandon. All dogs have their own challenges and Mini Moose’s just happens to be that he can’t hear the words you speak.

Anyhoo…I’m completely in love with Mini Moose. I wonder if I can convince hubby to let me adopt him. Anyone want to bet on it?

When you enter the house does your dog go a little nuts? Or does your dog go bananas?

Our dogs get really excited, but usually Quinn is just excited to be let outside to relieve her old lady bladder. Other than running to the back door to let her out I don’t greet my dogs in any exceptional way (usually). If they are acting extremely hyper I ignore them completely…not even saying hi until they calm down.

When I have to let them out of their kennel in the back yard they start jumping up and down (they seem to think they’re bunnies and not dogs) and yelping or howling. But until they sit down quietly they don’t get let out. I don’t say a word. I just stand there and look at them until they quite down.

My aunt was telling me about her dog, Lacey, and how cute it was that she misses her mommy so much. It turns out that Lacey was keeping my uncle up until all hours of the morning because my aunt was out late at an event. And when she finally got home Lacey followed her all around the house and wouldn’t let her out of her sight.

Cute? Maybe. But also unhealthy. The level of anxiety that Lacey felt was bad for her and bad for my uncle who had to get up at 5 a.m.

Of course, when my aunt got home she gave Lacey instant attention - petting and coddling her and reinforcing Lacey’s anxiety. And anxious dogs can become destructive dogs.

Being the quiet and shy person I am, I of course told my aunt that she should ignore Lacey when she gets home until Lacey is quiet and calm. We’ll see if that happens. Sometimes people LIKE the anxious attention their dogs give, thinking it’s cute and mistaking it for love. It’s actually quite unhealthy.

Giving our dogs (and cats) love sometimes means being tough. My mother in law thinks I’m mean when I make Trooper wait for his food…but he knows I love him and he knows that I am in charge. When I take him down (which I had to do the other day) when he growls at his brother at meal prep time I don’t do it to be mean. I do it to enforce my role as alpha and to express to him that he is NOT allowed to behave in that way.

I know that Trooper adores me and that I’m his “mommy” even though I am often strict with him. Sometimes it is kinder to be tough than to let dogs get away with things - and it helps their mental health as well as ours.

My heart is as big as can be when it comes to pets and animals. However, I think that logical dictates that some animals have more value than others. I do not value a fish as much as I value my dogs. I do not value the life of the stray, unneutered Chow that wanders my neighborhood more than the lives of my dogs and would kill that dog (if necessary) if he attempted to harm my pets. Though Quinn would certainly do her best to defend us all.

Likewise, human life (okay, most human life…there are some humans I wouldn’t value more than slug slime) should be valued more than animal life. If my house was on fire and my husband passed out I would do everything in my power to save his life first. If he were okay I would then do what it took to save my dogs without killing myself. If I were unable to save them I would mourn like nobody’s business, but I would continue living, and probably one day get more dogs. If my husband died, life would not move on in the same way.

What’s my point?

I believe that there is a point at which so called “animal rights” activists go too far. Acts of violence against humans or human interests do nothing to further the goal of making sure animals are treated fairly. I don’t want animals tortured for unnecessary purposes like testing mascara. But I do believe science has a commitment to discovering new and better ways to treat humans (and animals for that matter). Doing so humanely is important, but the extremists don’t want any scientific progress whatsoever if it involves the use of animals.

What about pound dogs and cats? I have heard stories of people “adopting” animals and then taking them to a lab to use in testing. I have very, very, strongly mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I absolutely hate the idea of a potential loving pet being taken to a lab and used for experimentation. On the other hand, is it better to allow these animals to be euthanized with no benefit because there aren’t enough homes for them all? At least with testing they may be part of a cure or discover to help us all.

I do not think that animal testing will end anytime soon, though it would be a wonderful thing if science could instead use computers to test their discoveries. In the meantime, PETA and animal rights extremists should work harder to get dogs, cats and other abandoned animals new homes. It will do a world of good!

Did you know? It’s Pet Adoption Month!

I’ve mentioned a couple times that we adopted Quinn and we found her through Petfinder.com. Hubby wasn’t so sure but I had fallen in love with her sweet face.

Though she was a bit skinnier back then. Ha!

Things to consider before adopting a dog:

Space - the amount of space you have available in your home and yard should help you determine the size and type of dog to adopt. Larger dogs don’t *always* need the most space. Some small dogs are so hyper that they not only need lots of exercise but space to run around. Whereas some big dogs are pretty lazy (not to mention any by breed here though ha!) and just need a small walk daily.

Time - Are you a busy person with lots of activities away from the house? Seriously think about your schedule before adopting a dog. If you can’t take the dog with you on most of your activities it may not be the right time to adopt. Dogs take a lot of commitment that people don’t always consider. Walking, training, playing, feeding, cleaning … all of these take time and energy so you need to be ready.

Fence - The number one requirement when we got Quinn was a good fence. She was an escape artist and had proved that several times over. Before we drove 5 hours to pick her up our house and back yard were inspected - the inspector walked the entire length of our fence to make sure it was adequate. (Of course, several months later our stinker girl tore off the bottom of several planks … so you never know!) Some dogs are really great about not leaving their yard but the majority should always be fenced in or at least not allowed out without supervision. If you can’t build a fence you may look into the invisible fences. But never leave a dog chained up outside alone. It’s cruel and dangerous.

Kids - Do you have any? How old are they? Some dog breeds are known for being great with kids and others … well, aren’t. The age and activity of your kids matters. Some kids are rowdy and others are more gentle. Consider how your kids will interact with a dog when determining the breed.

Money - I’ve written about it before. Dogs are expensive! Hubby and I feel like we’re practicing for human kids with all our expenditures on our dogs. Some are, of course, not necessary. We don’t *have* to spend on doggy daycare, grooming, or special fun toys. But some expenses are not optional - vet bills and food. If you want a healthy dog, feed the best food you can afford and do not skip or skimp on the vet visits.

Adopting an animal is such an amazing experience. You are literally saving two lives. The life of your new companion and the life of the dog who can take their place on the list or in the shelter. Without those spaces opening up…well the future for them is bleak.

There will always be dogs and cats available for adoption. Spread the word and encourage your friends and family to adopt.

I mentioned a few days (or has it already been a few weeks?) ago that all money earned from this blog is going to be donated to Saving Shelter Pets, a non-profit charity rescue organization that has captured my heart.

I think part of the reason why I feel so connected to them is because I actually get to find out what happens to the animals. I feel a connection with the animals and really do feel like I’ve made a difference. I know exactly where my donation is going.

A big props to Hounds Good for writing about them and their work on her blog so often because that is how I discovered this group. They just sent out an update in their newsletter and I wanted to share their progress because it is really exciting…and tangible. I like tangible results! =)

Total animals saved YTD in 2008: 294
Total Transports so far in 2008: 50

Their puppy litter rescue program tugs at my heart strings. If a mama comes in pregnant or with a new litter they request donations to sponsor the litter and mama. They also work to have the mama spayed after she’s taken care of her pups.

Total litters saved YTD in 2008: 28
Total Puppies saved in 2008: 153

It’s hard to resist those faces - and it kills me to think of any precious and innocent puppy having to be put down just because of lack of space.

They also have a program that I didn’t even know about - a heartwork treatment program. Heartworm treatment is expensive and for rescue dogs can often mean a death sentence. So far in 2008 they’ve treated 9 dogs for heartworms and saved their lives!

Help me support Saving Shelter Pets - all it takes is a couple of visits a week, or even better daily! I’ll try to write interesting, pet related things. *grin* It’s hard for me to NOT talk about my own babies but I’ll try hard to branch out.

~ Here’s to saving more pets! ~

Edit/Update: GOOD NEWS! Via Hounds Good all the dogs were saved in time! *happy wiggle butt dance!*

HoundsGood works with a shelter in Georgia. Unfortunately it is a kill shelter and is almost always full. Friday is the deadline for these sweet animals who deserve another chance. Can you help?

How can that shaggy face be resisted? These sweet dogs don’t deserve to die!

How can you help?

Forward this information to friends and family. Most dogs can be adopted anywhere in the country.

Live nearby? Offer to volunteer to transport or foster a dog. Know someone nearby? Ask if they can help in any way.

Pray. I believe in prayer and, while there are so many important things to pray for, I think that saving an animal’s life is worth praying for.

Let’s help these 11 sweet souls survive to the weekend!

Just a quick update…Quinn is doing much better. She’s still crying but I seriously think she’s doing it to get what she wants at this point. That whole positive reinforcement thing is so evident. =D She cries, she gets attention … ahhh…2+2 really does equal 4 doesn’t it? So she cries more. The little manipulator. *grin*

Does are smart like that.

Speaking of smart…Trooper continues to amaze me in Agility class and at home. He’s a wild Malamute with lots of energy but he seems to have started really using that noggin of his for good. On Saturday I took him to a new place!!! I loaded up on chicken and hot dogs first because I was a little nervous. It was a baseball game at a local college field and boy was it a brand new experience for him.

All the new sounds and smells … I could tell he was overwhelmed but he did so good. He’s so food oriented that every time I said his name he looked at me, which is excellent. He sat, laid down, and ignored other dogs when I asked him to. There was a 7 month old puppy lab who was very intent on meeting Trooper and that went well. There were also two small dogs and we met one of them. I always worry about Troop with small dogs as they are so…well, squirrel / cat like (no offense to small dog owners…I would LOVE to have a small dog but it’s not going to happen right now) and he has such a strong prey drive.

At one point I sat down on the last row of the bleachers and made him lay down and stay. That’s all…just stay and be a good boy. And he DID it!!! Anytime he tried to get up I’d say no and he’d lay back down. There were balls flying and being hit, announcers yelling over the speakers, people clapping and “woohooing” (including me!) … all of which at first made his ears go back and he head swivel around like a top … but after awhile he just got used to it and wanted his treats.

Of course, after 45 minutes the security guard came over and said we had to leave. They have a new rule that no dogs are allowed on the college property - which is SO lame. But I understand. They could be held liable if one dog attacks another. And we were ready to go anyway. We had a GREAT time and I was so proud of my boy. It was a totally new experience for him and he did great!

He’s going to have to get used to the clapping and large crowds if we ever do agility events. =)

Poor Quinn. Her grandma reports that she cried all day Friday. The vet didn’t send us home with any pain pills. So she lays there and cries this super faint absolutely pathetic whine. And she keeps licking herself …. ‘down there.’ She’s been doing that more and more but for some reason seems to be doing it more now. And crying. I hate the crying. She woke me up at midnight with her soft painful cry. =(

We don’t know how old she is…but she’s definitely up there in doggy years. We adopted her in 2002 and the adoption place estimated her age at 4-5. So if that were accurate she’d be 10-11 now. Good grief. She’s an old woman. Her ears have gotten salt and peppery - they used to be dark black.

We know she has arthritis in her back…she had x-rays a couple of months ago that showed it clearly. Plus she just moves slower. She does get excited and hop around once in awhile but not like her “Circus” days where she used to balance on her back legs and jump around. It was so cute!!! Now she sort of hops up and jumps her front legs up quickly and back down. Howling. She’s a howler.

Hubby came home today after a week away for work and she was SOOOO excited to see him. She missed him so much. She’s daddy’s little girl.

I hope that she’ll stop crying and not be in pain…I can’t tell if she’s crying because grandma did a little too much positive reinforcement today or if she’s actually in pain. Watching her age is so painful to us. I can’t explain how much she blesses our lives.

She really was a true rescue - she was in the kill shelter four times. The final time her family did not come to get her. She was an escape artist and apparently they got tired of paying the release fee. The shelter had a 7 day kill schedule. She was there 14 days. Her sweet personality won everyone over and they kept her around until a spot opened up in the local Husky Rescue. We found her on Pet Finder and drove more than 5 hours (10+ round trip) to introduce her to Kodiak and bring her home. She attacked him that night and drew blood, which I laugh about now. She is definitely the alpha female…he did try to take her bone so it was his own fault (I know…really it was ours for not thinking he’d try to get hers!). But she loves her two brothers and was amazingly motherly when we brought Trooper home. She didn’t bark at him once and only drew blood once when he tried to steal her dinner. Serves him right.

We love her so much. Please help us pray that she recovers and continues to live pain free and comfortably. We know our time together is limited.

At least that is how I feel. My poor darling little girl.

I know she hates going to the vet but she loves car rides. Her head out the window - she looks like she’s in pure heaven. Even as we arrive at the vet’s office. She jumps out and sniffs around and takes a little tinkle. And then when we go to the entrance she starts to pull back. *grin* She knows that she does NOT like going through that door. Nothing ever good ever happens through that door.

We love our vet though. If I didn’t I would not drive 30 minutes (45 on the way to pick her up…I hate traffic) just to go there. He does such a great job and is so great with all our animals (including the kitties).

In the exam room she starts to howl…the only way to keep her quiet is to rub her belly constantly, which, if the vet is running behind, can be quite tiring.

The nurse takes her temp (always a favorite event) and can’t even give Quinn a treat (no food prior to anesthesia). The vet comes in and looks at her teeth and confirms that she needs to get them cleaned. It looks like she may have Periodontal Disease.

So I leave my little princess behind and head home. I hate leaving her. It’s so strange to be home with just two dogs. It’s a whole different dynamic. And Trooper has no one to pick on.

At 4:30 I finally call to see if I can rescue Quinn and I head out into traffic. They close at 5:30 and as I sit in traffic I imagine that I won’t make it in time and how upset I will be if she has to stay there overnight! With 15 minutes to spare I walk in the office.

$450!!!

Good grief. Didn’t I just talk about spending money on pets? *giggle* I knew it was going to be up there but was hoping for more like $300. *sigh* I was just getting caught up on the credit cards.

She had to have one tooth pulled and some deep cleaning done on her teeth. He confirmed that she does have Periodontal Disease and will need to have her teeth cleaned once a year. It will also be helpful if we start to brush her teeth a few times a week. That ought to be fun.

But I think I’m going to start brushing all of the dogs’ teeth. I don’t want to have to go through this with the other two. I asked the vet if I could have prevented it and he said no, but it seems like if we’d brushed her teeth more often it may have helped. She is in the stage where it is not reversible but we can slow it down and treat it.

Bringing her home was difficult - mostly because I kept wanting to turn around and watch her. She was SO stoned and cute and out of it. She put her head out the window just like she likes and closed her eyes. Once on the freeway she laid down and fell asleep.

Getting her out of the car was a new experience. She’s never had a problem getting out of the car - it’s getting in that causes issues. But this time she cried and I had to coax her out. It broke my heart!!!

She got a little bit of her food and then Trooper and I went to agility. She was pretty out of it all evening. The whole situation was very stressful.

It just goes to show that prevention is so important!

As I was getting ready to leave work yesterday, I mentioned to my coworker that I had to take Quinn to the vet in the morning. It looks like her two front teeth might have holes in them right near the gums. I will update that story later.

We chatted for a few minutes and I lamented on watching my princess girl get older. I know she has to go over the rainbow bridge someday but we are doing our best to make that time far from now.

Somehow we landed on the topic of spending - probably because I was a little concerned about how much this vet trip would end up costing me. I mentioned that spending on pets is predicted to reach an all time high in 2008. In the billions! My coworker, let’s call her Sandy, said that she thought it was a shame how much people spend on their pets when there are so many starving people in the world. She thinks it’s completely wrong that people will spend $1,000 a night on “pet hotels” when that money could do so much good for others.

Hmmm…I tried to find a place charging that much, but as I’ve mentioned my search skills are pretty limited. I did find a couple that charge over $100 a night. A little steep for my budget but not necessarily breaking the bank.

Yes, there are starving people in the world. Very true. However, I always get nervous about trying to tell people how to spend their money. If someone wants to pay $1,000 a night for their little Poopsie to live a life of luxury who am I to tell them that they are wrong or unethical?

Do I think diamond studded collars are a bit much? Sure. But it isn’t my money.

I know that “Sandy” thinks that I spend too much on my dogs. But again, it’s my money to do with as I please. If I want to spend $100 or $1,000 a month on dog stuff then that is my right. I don’t feel like I can save everyone in the world who doesn’t have their basic survival needs met. I try to do my part via donations, but no one will solve the world’s problems just by giving their money away. It’s been tried.

What do you think? Do you feel guilty for spending money on your pets?