No Amputation for Zoe

Enjoying our warm, sunny weather

She is the cutest puppy!

We have a second opinion on Zoes' leg and he feels that it is just fine the way it is.  Both joints work and she uses it without any trouble.  This is what the first vet told us too.  So Zoe gets to keep her leg.  Will she get adopted with a crooked leg? Who knows? I have really bonded with this puppy even though she is a challenge.  She is very smart and learns quickly.  She likes other dogs and is finally settling down some.  She is only 7 months old - I can't expect too much.  We have been having some great weather here in upstate NY.  Zoe is enjoying it!

Zoe Foster

Zoe - showing off her bad leg

Zoe is still here and probably will be as she has had no interest.  The rescue owner wants to have her leg amputated because she thinks she will get adopted that way.  I hate to have it done unless it is truly needed.  She walks and runs and jumps just fine with it.  I am thinking of taking her to my vet for a 2nd opinion, but will have to pay for it myself.  Zoe also is very jumpy and very mouthy.  I normally train my dogs with positive reinforcement, but that did not work for Zoe's biting so I am ashamed to say that I resorted to a nose tap and that is working much better. I know her behavior comes from being in the shelter her whole life until she came here. It is hard to get the pups that have been in the shelter for so long because they are so crazy. She is a smart little pup and has learned sit, down and touch quickly.  She has not mastered loose leash walking yet, but she is not a strong puller so walking her is not an issue.  I am trying to get her trained well in case she is not adopted and ends up staying here.  I actually have thought of keeping her,  but that would put an end to fostering as there is just not enough room in my house or money in my pocket for another dog.  It might be nice to have the same dogs in the house for a while and just be able to work with them.  Lexi and Lacey both need some training time too.  I will have to think on this.

Everyone Misses Whitley

It is very subdued at my house this morning.  I think all the other dogs are missing Whitley.  I know I am.  He went to a good home with a guy that will love him.  Way out in the country in an old farmhouse that needs a lot of work.  It is such a good place for Whitley.  He went crazy when we got there and was dragging me all over the place because there were so many good smells.  Then he went over to Will (his adopter) and sat down and they seemed to just bond.  It really was good. Will has been living alone for two years since his last dog died and really needed another dog.  I think they will make a great pair.

Fingers Crossed for Whitley

Whitley is one of my foster dogs.  He has been here almost eleven months now.  I have pretty much given up hope of finding him a home.  The poor guy has some issues - leash reactivity, fence fighting, pacing if he feels anxious, scared of loud noises.  It took me about eight of the eleven months to learn how to handle all his issues so everyone can live peacefully here.  All except the fence fighting - once he's engaged there is not much I can do until the dog on the other side of the fence is taken in.  Not a lot of adoptability here.  But ----- there is someone interested in him and I have explained all his issues and he is still interested.  Single guy - lives way out in the country in an old farmhouse - no other dogs.  This would be a good place for Whit and he so needs his own person.  I am keeping my fingers crossed and praying alot that this is his day!
I know I will cry if he gets adopted, but I know in my heart that he would be better off somewhere that has more space and isn't so noisy. That's another pitfall of fostering - getting attached.

Whitley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pitfall of Fostering

Lucky Dog Rescue posted a blog about fosters backing out and sending dogs back to her.  I posted a comment and I thought I would write about it here. 

Fostering dogs is not always an easy thing to do.  I have had 17 dogs come through my house in the last 15 months.  Most of them have had intestinal infections. This is a lot of yucky cleanup for several days and a trip to the vet to see what is going on.  I have had all kinds of worms and coccidia. I have had to put my dogs on Interceptor year round because the worms are now in the soil in my yard and apparently can live for a long time.My carpet bit the dust late last fall and my kitchen floor is not far behind.  There are puppy teeth marks on most of my furniture.  I have had dogs with broken legs that required amputation and I have had puppies with severe mange that required long term treatment.  Last summer I had two pups that I agreed to take temporarily because they were becoming kennel crazy - they were not a lot of fun when they got here.  Add to that the underlying stress of always worrying about how this is affecting my own dogs and I can understand why some fosters send their dogs back to the rescues.  We have had it happen to our rescue.  Sometimes a dog is not safe around other dogs or children and they have to go back.  You never know what a dog is going to be like until you have it for several days. No one told me any of this when I started fostering, probably because no one would foster if they knew what was coming.  Some days I think I am insane for doing this.  And then I adopt out another dog to a great family and immediately e-mail the shelter that we pull from in the south and tell them I have an empty crate - send me a dog.  Not everyone is cut out for fostering - I am glad that I am.

EVACUATING EIGHT DOGS IN A FLOOD

We had a flood here on September 7 & 8.  It was a pretty scary time.  On Wednesday I decided to stay home for the day since my son was with my mom. It rained and rained - actually it had been raining since Sunday.  I was watching tv and they started issuing flood warnings for flash flooding.  Pretty soon they were saying the river was going to flood, but it would be minor.  Within a couple of hours the neighborhood across the creek from us had flooded and the river flooding was major.  I tend to be paranoid so I started packing up dog food and water and by dark I had my car loaded and ready to go.  We didn't get much sleep and I left with four dogs at 8 am on Thursday - about an hour before they came and told my hubby he had to leave.  So he put the other four dogs in his truck and we all stayed at my moms.  It was very crowded and we had to keep five dogs on the enclosed porch as they tend to be jumpy so I can't have them near my mom.  Luckily, we did not flood, but many people who have never been flooded before lost everything.  This was our 2nd 100 year flood in five years.  The doggies did pretty well considering they never all go bye-bye in the car at the same time.  Hubby took four of them home the next day, but I had to stay at my moms for FIVE days because she lost power and with her dementia she was totally out of it.  Zoe and Zena both had terrible cases of the runs and I spent most of my time cleaning up after them.  It was not a fun time.  Thank God we used to camp alot so once I got fuel for the coleman stove I was set.  It was a little hard with no tv and no computer.   I always wondered how it would go if we ever had to evacuate with all the dogs and aside from me screeching orders at my hubby, it went pretty well.  We are all happy to be home again, but 1000's of people lost everything they had.

This is the floodwall that saved our neighborhood. Normally you would not be able to see the creek in this picture.

Whitley and Lexi having a wrestling session after we all made it to my moms.

Maddison waiting for it to stop raining so someone will throw the ball for her.

Dutchess hiding - she was the only one really upset by the whole thing.

Zena and Zoe checking things out

Missy was in the house with my mom - she is her favorite.

Zoe and Zena and a Broken Leg

 

 

 

 

Zoe and Zena

Zoe and Zena arrived yesterday.  We got an e-mail on Friday night late telling us that Zoe had been limping and they had an x-ray done showing that her right leg had been broken at some point at the growth plate and this is how it healed.  Our choice was to have them send her or leave her behind where she would be headed for the back door.  So now she's here and we will be getting the leg checked to see if anything can be done about it at this point.  These pups were from a litter of seven and five came to our rescue and into foster homes.  I think the other two went to Maryland.  They are five months old and have spent the last three months in the shelter in a 10x6 foot kennel.  It is amazing how good they get along with people.  Unfortunately my dogs are not as welcoming as they usually are and have been kind of standoffish and aloof.   The pups keep trying to make friends with them, but they pretty much just get ignored.  The only one who will play with them is Whitley who is the last dog I would expect too. They are not potty trained at all so we are going thru a lot of paper towels and Nature's Miracle.  And it has been raining non stop since they got here.  They have no manners at all and get into everything!  We are working on that.