Sue's contradictions or how one foster dog taught a simple lesson

Sue

Sometimes, a foster dog comes into your life and turns all your expectations on their head. Sue was such a dog. Rescue's email asked me to foster a dachshund mix. Then, from the pictures I was forwarded, I realized I was actually getting what actually looked like a small Labrador. Picking her up from the rescue's transport van I was immediately informed that she was “a handful”. Finally at home, observing this small yet unexpectedly heavy (25lbs!) girl at play, I wondered about her personality because the rest of her resembled a serious bodybuilder. Not stopping there with surprises, Sue proved to be quite gentle, disarmingly affectionate, yet calm. Regularly flying up the stairs while almost knocking me off my feet, she would then lay at the foot of the bed, patiently waiting to be invited up. Rushing the main door to be let out, she would then lazily sit on the mat to peacefully observe wildlife in action. The only area of life where Sue was just Sue was her eating. That she did with complete and utter abandon. It was her, food, and the two had to merge together in under 4 seconds or less.

Spyke's broken leg or fostering a dog with medical issues

Spyke

Over the past 8 years I had fostered close to 80 young, old, huge, tiny, unkempt, pampered, terrified, aggressive and completely neglected dogs. Only twice I was asked to take in a dog in need of regular medical treatments.

Meet Spyke, leggy, adorable, one year-old Chihuahua mix. Somehow in his short lifespan, he’s had a misfortune of breaking his front paw in the most inopportune place - his “wrist”. Dogs essentially walk on their tip-toes, so this is the worst kind of injury since they constantly apply the weight on the trying to heal bone. So, similar to horses, many dogs never fully recover full use of their limbs.

I received an urgent text message from my foster coordinator in November, asking if I could take in a dog who’ll need weekly cold laser therapy treatments at the nearby animal hospital. Not knowing a thing about laser therapy, much less that it comes in cold or hot varieties, I agreed to do it as a trial run. Picking the little guy up at the following adoption event from his previous foster, I got a crash course in dog leg injuries. Spyke came to HART from West Virginia, where his owners dropped him at the shelter with an already dangling front paw. Taking pity on a friendly guy, shelter's vet tech stabilized it and called several rescues. Since HART works with a variety of veterinarians who can perform complicated surgeries, little Spyke got a second chance at life.

Goodbye Jackie or losing your foster dog

Jackie

It finally happened. One of my 80 plus foster dogs has passed away. The news came suddenly and two months after the accident, but they reached me nonetheless. My regular readers know that I foster more than my share of dachshunds, with little Jackie being the red standard of her proud breed. An absolute beauty at 8 years of age, she arrived with American Kennel Club papers, which meant at least three generations of her ancestors had their names and histories proudly inscribed in the official books. What Jackie also came with was her heartbreak at losing her family to unfortunate circumstances, which undoubtedly scarred and caused her distrust of people and at times other pets.

Any yet, even with that and an occasional very-dachshund stubborn streak, adopting her turned out to be easy. By a total fluke, as it often happens in rescuing animals, she was seen by her future family at a local homemade pie shop when a fellow foster brought her in after running an errand. With her husband away on business, Jackie's future lady of the house took her kids to the same exact shop to pass the time and enjoy the weather. Already having a dog of their own, a sizable basset hound, who has had countless surgeries to fix his back, this family was not looking for another dog. But seeing Jackie changed all that in an instant.

Giving up a pet (be it a dog, a cat or a gerbil)

Pistachio

Here we go. Another previously adopted dog has been returned. Their reason? Pistachio is just "too shy". Thank goodness rescues gladly take these dogs back before the "owners" think of other ways to get rid of them, as in passing it off to another family member or dumping it at the nearby shelter. So, this adorable, unbelievably loving, but "just too shy" dog is now back.

Did you know that most dogs are returned/given up within the first few months of their adoption. And, when it comes to the calendar, the month of March is the worst of all. Yes, three short months after all those heart-melting Christmas decisions, the teenage versions of same dogs and cats are brought back in numbers. The reasons are typically the same, ranging from "we are just too busy" to "our kid wouldn't walk/feed/clean up.” All in all, what was the peak of novelty has become a burden, a chore. Luckily, with time, rescues do find all these returnees new homes,  but at a heavy price to regular dogs who happen to find themselves in shelters at the same time. And by regular I mean, a Chihuahua picked up after getting lost and not claimed by its family or a Labrador Retriever, whose heartbroken owner had to suddenly give it up because of deployment. Overfull rescues can't take them in that week/month, so with the adoptions at their lowest, these dogs...perish. If your heart is set on getting a pet this holiday season, please ask yourself what reasons would make you return it. This short pondering will save a life.

When it comes to reasons for give up, being a dog with medical condition is not too favorable either. HART often sees emotionally overwhelmed families asking it to take their animals after vet bills have become so astronomical surrendering dog/cat to the rescue (with its own vet arrangements) is the last resort. Death in the family is another reason the dogs are let go. Earlier, I wrote about Tobe, the Spaniel mix, who found himself passed from one family member to the other until he found me. His owner wouldn't have dreamed of giving him up, but after she passed away of a terminal illness, Tobe was left in the care of her son, who after months of trying to find him a home finally brought it to HART.

Crowd-healing or how to introduce your foster dog to other pets

To a pack animal, fitting into a new group must be just a stressful as the first day of school is to the average human. Only, unlike us, dogs have centuries of built in “shortcuts” to rely on to ease them along the process. I see them use them first hand, so I’ll share my findings with you below.

First, find out you pup's history. Let’s take my most recent foster, Tippie. Her story is a simple one, but it will help explain her state of mind. Only 3 years old, she came to be rescued from a high kill shelter on the border of Virginia with Tennessee. A gorgeous miniature dachshund, with soulful eyes and a string of bad luck that almost got her killed, she must have gotten her start as a well-loved puppy. 

A tax man cometh or what to deduct on your tax return if you foster animals

April 15^th is just around the corner, which if you're a foster means it’s time to get your tax paperwork together. That’s right, over the course of the year, as you feed, clothe and buy bedding for your foster pooches and felines - you accumulate a small mountain of receipts in the process. If the rescue organization you foster for is officially recognized by the IRS as a Charitable Organization (you can easily find out by searching for it on the IRS' website) you get to add up all your numerous expenditures and deduct them as cash contributions on your tax return. See? Your government wants you to foster. Here’s what you can deduct:

What to do when your dog growls, eats shoes and flies on private planes

Meet my newest foster. Brownie is a one year old beagle and dachshund mix. Saved from a certain death, Brownie arrived to me on a small Cessna plane only hours after receiving his death sentence. This kid was lucky. A private organization called Pilots and Paws arranged for about 300 scared, shivering and completely unsure of who to trust dogs, to be flown in small groups from several high-kill shelters in North Carolina to rescues organizations in Northern Virginia. Brownie was one of fourteen taken in by HART, but unlike others on this life saving trip, he arrived without any written history as to how he ended up at the shelter. Not knowing what to expect, I took the little guy home to find out.

First thing I discovered: he is a growler. His upper lip would rise with intent of scaring anyone who approached when things didn’t go his way. Having experience with Chihuahuas, I knew what to do.

After firmly reprimanding him with my voice (never touching to prevent any biting reflex) I would commence my acting ignoring him altogether. Dogs are communal animals and hate to feel not part of the group. So he quickly learned to associate the displeasure in my voice with now quite terrifying to him feeling of getting abandoned. (Especially, having just experienced the granddaddy of all abandonments in North Carolina). Second thing I found out: he is a chewer.

Adopting an older dog or how Ms. Precious learned new tricks

Princess

What is age, be it in human or dog terms? A collection of remembered experiences? A slow accumulation of knowledge accompanied by a similarly slow dissipation of good looks? Why do we, humans, hold to a stubborn belief that older means less fun, beautiful, clever or worthy of chances we so easily afford the young? A couple of years ago, I happened to take in an 8 year old white Shitzu dog named Precious. She had already lived with several fosters and arrived with a myriad of instructions for her severe skin allergies that put her in a shelter in the first place, literally half naked. The foster girl before me took such excellent care of her skin that Precious was once again fully furry, but despite her improved appearance all she wanted to do is hide from people. Needless to say, this did not make her an adoption day magnet, until one Saturday a lady called Maria came in saying she wanted her and nobody else. After successfully adopting Precious she kept in touch, sending regular updates. My reasons for preferring older dogs are numerous, but I thought Maria’s own words would speak better to the mystery and special joy of adopting one. Here's Maria’s gorgeous letter:

The ears have it or how Sammy beat Sarcoptic mange

Sammy

Imagine: your ears have enemies, a small army of tiny microscopic insects looking to devour them one bite at a time. First, they burrow deep into your lobes then they start their painful feast. Not a comforting thought, right? Well, that is what many dogs live with every day. Sarcopic mange as vets call it is a pretty treatable skin disease if caught early. So, why are so many dogs continuing to lose their ears, tails and other parts of skinned anatomy to it every day? Because many owners don’t even realize their dogs have it. Moreover, professional veterinary tests give false negatives close to 70% of the time.

When it comes to battle with mange, shorter haired dogs are usually luckier. Tips of their ears are easily observable, so scaling and dryness are more detectable than in those with fur. In the medium to long haired dogs, owners get a nasty surprise of separating fur chunks well after the infection is on its way. 

You are the reason your dog barks (and generally misbehaves)

No, seriously, you are a huge part of it. Working with foster dogs, who have lost their original families, I notice a rather persistent trend. Dogs, who get that fresh chance at life, try to do everything in their power to be good, do right and take their behavior cues from their new owners without second thought. Sounds like a dream? Not quite. 

Most of us can only imagine the traumas and challenges our newly adopted canines have lived through before they met us, and like most warm blooded humans, we selfishly believe that we can love all the hunger, abuse, loneliness and plain horror out of their precious little souls. We believe we can achieve things in our own human way. This very conviction is the main reason why you see so many dogs suffering from its consequances. Human love comes in many shapes, so for some dogs it looks like heaps and heaps of dry kibbles and for others it ends up being oodles of knitted tutti-frutti hats and sweaters. Then, there are those of us who think that we can hug their troubles away. Dogs are treated like plush toys, squeezed and kissed on a whim be it at a dinner table or in moving vehicles. There are even those of us who claim parental rights naming them our furry “children” in multimillion dollar wills, while refusing to take even one vacation day for years, out of fear that being away would destabilize and ruin their fragile canine psyches.

Adventures in buying your pet food online: Mr. Chewy

I have to confess, in the day and age of being able to buy almost anything online, I had been a stubborn naysayer when it came to purchasing dog food that way. I did check out a few online stores, but always left convinced that I could find the same variety and better pricing at my local retail establishment. Even if that store was sold out of what I needed, I just substituted and went with a different store. Until, one day a month ago, I received a friendly invitation from one such online establishment to give them an honest try. “Mr. Chewy’s” is a rapidly growing dog and cat food/treat retailer I heard of before from people in the rescue community. Those who follow my blog know that I am a stickler for knowing what’s inside my dogs’ food after losing three beloved animals to the tainted with rat poison food scandal five years ago. I regularly scour the web for forums, rumors, reviews and opinions. I make note of any brands that make mine and foster dogs fat, irritable or lethargic. I regularly torture my vet with questions about any latest research. So, given the opportunity to buy dog food through Mr. Chewy’s with a coupon for $50 in return for a sincere review, I considered it and then immediately looked up the quality of food they offer.   

Weight loss for dogs: tips to help slim down your round fosters

"Not my dog!” I say, together with the 70% of dog owners* who refuse to admit their dogs are fat. My dog is cute, huggable, and attractively round! I play with her. I buy her toys. I spoil her with love. Until one day, I see her next to another of the same breed and the nagging thought creeps into the underbelly of my ironclad conviction. Many lives ago, when my dog was a wolf, gaining extra pounds was simply impossible. It took the whole pack to chase down any kind of nourishment. But, here’s a bit of good news: if I inadvertently helped her expand, then it will have to be I who will help her regain her svelte figure. 

What to do? Reduce her food intake? Get her onto an expensive veterinarian-prescribed diet? Talk to my pooch about her self image? No, the first step should be the understanding of what caused this change. In the dog community, there are three main reasons for weight gain in dogs:1) Just like with humans, lack of proper diet or exercise are key, 2) The dog’s metabolism and hormonal issues might be an underlying driver; and 3) Bet you didn’t know, but spaying and neutering has an almost guaranteed weight gain as its side effect?

Being a responsible dog owner, I went to the vet to identify which of the three culprits it was. The vet said it was

Grooming Blossom or you never know what hides under the fur

Want to hear a story about heartbreak mixed in with important bits on grooming? Here it is.

Blossom - the before pic

Every foster has one: the one dog that got away. Mine was little Blossom. Part Sheltie, part Pomeranian, she had a way of leaning against you when she wanted attention and picked up on how things worked after just one go. No heavier than 15 pounds, she came to the rescue, like so many other dogs, as a stray. Somebody obviously lost her in the rural wilderness of Virginia on the border with Tennessee, but why that somebody never looked for her will remain a mystery. Going off just one picture, I agreed to take her in, but by the time I arrived to take her home, I discovered a creature quite different from my expectations. She actually smelled, was extremely matted, and displayed a clear “stay-away-from-me” attitude.

Who knew: holidays can damage your pet

Had an interesting chat with my favorite vet just before Christmas. So much enlightening and comprehensive information! And even though some of us are already done with the holidays, lots or most of the information below will still be of interest for this year or the next. Who knew holidays are this fraught with danger?

Dangerous Foods -The following can be toxic to dogs: chocolate, raisins, grapes, macadamia nuts, garlic, onion, caffeinated beverages, bread dough, and sugar-free candy and gum containing artificial sweeteners.

        Chocolate - Can affect cardiovascular, nervous and digestive systems. Even people are affected by the caffeine in chocolate in different ways, so you definitely won't know how your poor dog will react to it either. The smaller the dog - the more immediate the reaction because of their low body mass.

     Candy and Gum (especially if sweetened with Xylitol)

What do you really want for Xmas?

Whether you are all done with your holiday shopping or are still rushing night after night in search of that one special gift - this short, but oh so poignant dog tale is sure to help. A very special thank you to a fellow blogger for posting. Here is to our pets, be they found or adopted, for reminding us what the Season is really all about. Enjoy!

I want to start seeing other dogs or how to socialize your dog

With Thanksgiving holiday now behind us and jolly memories of family and friends still fresh in our minds, let’s turn to socializing. Yes, more of it. We all need it, albeit in different doses. And that is no different for our four legged companions. Whether a foster or a regular dog owner, socializing your dog is important. And it doesn’t matter if your furry ward is a ready-made extravert extraordinaire or a shy, hide-under-the-couch-kind of recluse, it falls to you, his human to provide the interaction. 

You are probably thinking - I already do plenty. I play and pet, and I even share my couch. I offer intelligent baby talk when my face gets licked. The dog is obviously happy?

A war dog becomes a Hero Dog Awards finalist, no surprise there

A follow onto the War Dogs post earlier this year. Just found out that the American Humane Society and the Hallmark Channel teamed up for a great cause: to seek out, recognize and award Hero Dogs in all walks of life in America. Out of 453 nominated for this honor dogs, 8 were chosen to represent different Hero categories. Bino C152, the Military Dogs category nominee, illustrates all the incredible and extraordinary qualities these dogs exhibit every day, from their supreme focus on any given task to their unique ability to inspire the will-to-go-on, to pull through both in soldiers and in other dogs. After 11 years of non-stop service, Bino C152 is both an exceptional and a universal story of a fearless war dog who had already done so much and is doing more still. Watching his story, albeit short, makes you realize how amazing and devoted these furry soldiers truly are. Thank you Bino C152 for your service and your faith in us. You are already a winner.

Here are stories of other remarkable Hero Dogs finalists: Meet the top 7! 

Do you really want to herd me? The truth about fostering or adopting a herding breed dog

Humans are funny creatures. We complain and sigh over things we don’t have in our lives only to complain and sigh about them when we do get them. In a way, we never grow out of that awkward kindergarten stage when another kid brings a toy over which we immediately lose sleep wanting it, only to get bored the moment it comes in our possession. Over time those wishes must have become more elaborate for our needs got more complicated. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a dog that protects us? Let’s breed one whose teeth will scare the neighbors – be they people or wild boars? - Done! Or, wouldn’t it be great to have a dog so little it’s imprisoned by its cuteness into being its owner’s permanent companion? - No problem. The one that takes the cake in my mind is the working breed dog. Originally, it all came out of the basic need for help herding livestock. So humans designed these dogs to have superior intelligence and the ability to understand human language, while doing it all for just a praise instead of a regular paycheck. Sounds perfect? Apparently not. 

Rediscovering Padma or how to foster an unusual pet

Padma

Remember Padma? The Chihuahua - Basenji mix foster, who was found hiding in a barn after a snow storm? She got adopted by a family with four kids, only to be returned because her energy level and endless need to play overwhelmed them. To curb her destructiveness, kids' parents admittedly relegated her to a crate, where hours on end she grew more rambunctious and vocal. Long story short, she is back, now living with me and my dogs.

Looking at her frolicking, first thought that comes to mind is "Ah, to be that young again".

Here's jumping at you, kid or the tale of Molly landing in your heart

Molly

Here's a face of a stray to fall in love with. Molly, my “jumping” foster, stole hearts at every adoption fair she appeared at, which explains why she stayed with me only two weeks. Just adopted by a young couple from Alexandria, she is now looking to have a new life filled with every imaginable dog dream. Surprisingly, it is I, who is now acclimatizing to her not turning the house upside down. Literally bouncing from couch to couch, corner to corner, bed to ceiling and back, she was my favorite speedy-Gonzales foster with legs made of springs. 

I am sure Mr. Darcy (my resident cat-extraordinaire) probably won’t agree with my sentiment. Not after he experienced the fastest case of weight loss he’ll remember.