The Crazy Dog Lady

is what I am sure family and friends are saying right now. I shudder to think what the neighbours are saying. It is a good thing I am out there helping the neighbours with my snowblower. I hope they remember these days, when the snow is gone and the dogs are barking.

I have made the offer to keep these two doxies while their daddy is away. I don't know this person, he is a total stranger. He is a civilian going over to Afghanistan in a support position. He is scheduled to leave Feb. 15. My friend who is being deployed at the end of March has a guardian for her golden.

I had also offered to help out another stranger who need somewhere for her cat to stay for 4-8 weeks while she transitions her life. I offered to help, if no one else came forward. Yup, you got it. No one else came forward. Pussy cat arrives next weekend. This could get interesting.

I have made one condition to my offer of help to these two doxies; they must be spayed and neutered (they are currently both intact). This is the only way I can even consider taking them in. Otherwise, it is a recipe for a dog fight.

It is all in the timing. Our rescue has also been contacted about taking in 8 dachshunds. A breeder has developed a nasty, quick acting, terminal cancer and she is trying to provide for her furkids while she still can. There is no way I can handle 7, even I recognize that.

So, we shall see how the paw count develops at our house over the next couple of weeks: our current 5 dogs and 1 cat, or 6 dachshunds and 1 cat, or the current crowd, plus one of the breeders doxies and a cat???!!!

You can't save them all, you can't save them all, you can't save them all .....

but why not???

Ok, I am just frustrated and venting right now. Our rescue has received a call from a man who is most likely going to surrender a bonded pair of 3 yr old dachshunds. Perfectly happy, healthy, well loved pets. Why??? Because he is about to be deployed to Afghanistan and has no one to care for them while he is gone. The US has a foster program where civilian families volunteer to foster deploying soldiers' pets for the duration of their tour. Why isn't there anything like that in Canada? We have a rich history of peace keeping, but we don't look after our troops' family members who have fur (or feathers, or scales)?

I have a friend who is about to deploy to Afghanistan also. She is blessed to have friends who will care for her golden while she is gone. Her golden knows these people and is quite happy to spend time with them. He has been having sleep overs with them in preparation for her departure. I hear about so many of her colleagues who are not as blessed. Many can't find rescues with space and their beloved pets go to pounds and a very uncertain future. These men and women are sacrificing and risking a lot to help others, why can't we offer a little help to them?

This is a bonded pair, they can't be separated. Adoptions are slower in these economic times, let alone trying to place a pair. And my heart aches for this man who has to give up his beloved furkids.

Another of our foster homes could take Angel, which would leave me with my 3 and my handicapped foster.

6 is too many, 6 is too many, 6 is too many ........................it's only 6 months ............. 6 is too many ........ hmmmmmm ????????????

Pogo's dapple eye

Here is a close-up of Pogo's eyes (click on the photo to enlarge it). One blue eye and one brown eye are a sign of the dapple gene. You can see how the blue eye is mishapen as well. Of course we love him all the same.

Heidi Break thru !!!

There was no time to grab a camera.

Heidi has been building up her strength and she has been able to walk some in the house. We have been going to chiropractic for almost a year and acupuncture for about 4 months now.

Heidi is not in pain, she is a happy girl, but has never been big on playing. She loves to destuff her toys and will chew on a rawhide or cow hoof, but has never been big on playing with the other dogs.

Well, the other night "the boys" were being their usual silly selves and doing zoomies in the living room/dining room. (Zoomies for those not familiar with the term is when dachshunds go silly and race around the house in circles). They were chasing each other, overtaking each other and having a great rough and tumble time expelling some pent up energy. Heidi watched them for a few seconds and then positioned herself at the narrowest point in their circuit, where they could not escape her. As Valentin came zooming by, Heidi pounced on him, FROM A PLAY POSE !! She stood with her front bowed, diaper in the air and held the pose until Valentin came by. After she pounced on him, they had a good wrestle and tussle together.

This is the first time Heidi has EVER done that in the 2.5 years that she has been with us. I have no idea what came over her, or if she will ever do it again, but my little girl felt good enough and had enough strength and muscle control to be a "normal" dog for a few minutes. It would have been wonderful to have captured that on video and be able to send it to her former foster mom, but there wasn't time and, frankly, I was in shock. If she ever does this again, the camera is now at the ready so that we can share with Mardy how Heidi continues to build on the start that Mardy gave her.

Dachshund wannabe

Life has gotten a little busier in our household. We are up to 20 paws at the moment.

As I posted in December, I was away at a puppy mill seizure in Quebec. Well, the last two dogs left from that seizure came into our rescue just over a week ago. I am fostering one of them, a dachshund wannabe or a chi-wiennie.

She has a dachshund body with the head and legs of a chihuahua. She was named Angel because of her ears. Angel has dachshund sized ears that stand up like a chi's; one of the volunteers thought they looked like angels' wings, so Mary Beth named her Angel. (I still say that she could receive satellite TV with these ears. I am surprised that her neck and small head can support these ears). The vet guesses her age to be around 6 yrs old.

Angel is very skittish about people. She is much more comfortable around my gang, than around me. It took some time before I could move her from the "safety" of the exercise pen in the basement up to the main floor. I would go downstairs and just sit beside her pen, reading or crocheting. I would "chat" with Angel, but not look at her or pay particular attention to her. Slowly she got used to me enough that she would eat while I was in the room. In the beginning, Angel would be interested in her food bowl, but would not make herself vulnerable enough to eat while I was around.

Angel is pretty good about urinating on her pee pads, but she has not quiet figured out yet that ALL bodily functions should happen on the papers. One thing she has taken to very early on and very well, is her nice, soft, comfy bed. It is definately her security place.

Angel had another little break thru tonight. For the first time, she took a treat from my hand. It was a slow process, she had to work up to it and I could not look at her while she approached, but she did finally touch my hand with her nose and gently lick off the treat. I had to stay on the other side of the baby gate as well. She still jumps and skitters to the opposite corner of the area when I change her pee pads, or fill her water bowl. It is a little dance that we do, so that she is always in the furthest corner away from me. It breaks your heart to see how afraid and unsocialized she is. But she has come a long way in a very short period of time. She definately has the potential to make a loving and loyal companion.

The owner has not surrendered the dogs from the seizure; this is going to be decided in the courts, so I am not comfortable posting her picture here at this time. Depending upon which way you look at her, she morphs between looking more chi and highlighting her doxie body. Her bark is definately that of a chi. Angel has only recently found her voice here and she does not use it that often. Mostly after my guys start up the chorus, she will join in.

If you are counting, then Heidi, Pogo, Valentin and Angel total up to 16 paws. Yes, I am an accountant. The last 4 paws belong to another foster, a special needs doxie like Heidi.

Add to it all, a broken snowblower, year end at work as well as for the rescue's books, and you get an idea of life in our household at the moment. I am seriously considering sending flowers and a Get Well card to my snowblower - I ache all over from shovelling.

Well, I am off to tuck everyone in for the night,