Vet Trip For TRex

Centerfold Boy ;)

TRex has issues with a disc in his neck, it mostly flares up in the cold weather.   I try to keep a shirt on him when it gets to be that time, but it didn't seem to help this year.    I waited it out a few days because he really seemed to be getting better, but then it would get worse again.    When he moved his head a certain way, the poor guy would cry.     TRex reminds me of Joey when he was younger.   Joey was always go - go - go  talk - talk - talk and it was exhausting!   Then, when he would feel bad I just hated how QUIET he was.     Same with TRex, I missed him being his obnoxious self.   :)     While the vet examined him, he was an ANGEL - it's hilarious.   The dog is totally bipolar.    You would have thought he was an 8 week old kitten at how sweet he acted.    Well .... this is .... until she gave him a shot.    He didn't take his eyes off her after that.   :)     He got a steroid shot and some pain meds and some prednisone.    It worked like a charm last year, with only one flare up so I'm hopeful it will be the same this year.    I specifically asked that we not run XRays since he'd experienced this in the past and I didn't want to cost our group money if it was unnecessary.

While we were there, we saw a woman who had these two beautiful Irish Setters she had pulled out of a shelter in Illinois the day before they were to be euthanized.    They're both underweight, but quite sweet and really beautiful.    They're 4 year old brothers and seemed very happy at their change in luck.    Their new human didn't know if they'd been strays or confiscated due to neglect.     It's always so great to hear such happy stories when you're in a vet's office.   

Frank and JoJo

Today I pulled out some sweaters for the dachshunds and I can't wait to take some pictures tomorrow.     Suzie and Tina are pretty in pink and Bonham got a red, white and blue patriotic sweater.    Burton is such a nut, going at full speed constantly I don't think he needs a sweater.    Bonham already hates going outside in the cold weather.    Whenever I try to get him to go outside, even if I go out as well - he turns right back around as soon as he realizes "Baby, It's Cold Outside."   :)   I'm hoping the sweater helps because when it's cold I don't like carrying dogs up and down steps either!

I gotz a cute tung too!

Here's a picture of Bonham in his Tank Top I had him in earlier.    Joey protested, though, because it was too girlie.   It said "Dig It" on the back and had purple ... it could have been a Jimi Hendrix Tshirt!  :)     Tomorrow at the adoption event I'll have all 4 dachshunds with me.   I was thinking about bringing Natsumi too, but I don't know if I can handle her too.  

Maybe some of these guys will find a home tomorrow ... I'm sure PetCo is going to be crowded.    Bonham is not the only dog our group saved from the life of a puppy mill.   I think our group came back with a total of around 17 dogs.      As I've said before, they're the lucky ones and they're all looking for homes.

I just wanted to send a shout out to Walgreens Take Care Clinics.   I just felt worse and worse so I finally decided to go to one yesterday.   I was in and out within an hour, it cost only $65 and she was able to electronically send my prescription to Schnucks since it would be free there.    AND they called me today to make sure I was feeling better.       Pretty cool, eh?

Zsa Zsa & Eva

 Two of my former fosters, a pair of poodle sisters are coming back to the group after having found a home last July.   These two girls are classic puppy mill dogs - very skittish, very fearful of men and just plain not sure of their place in the world.    They had been adopted out twice before their final Mom, Sara, decided to adopt them and kept them together.    It was one of my proudest moments in fostering history - I had actually found a home for these two girls together.     They both can be very sweet, but Eva is terrified of Joey so she hid under my bed the entire time he was here.    Zsa Zsa would come out and give kissies like crazy so I knew they could show affection and bond with a human.

As usual, when I have a bonded pair I am unable to separate them.    There are many people in our group who feel that the personalities of the dogs shine through when they're no longer relying on each other for support.     But I guess I'm just too stubborn and couldn't fathom separating two dogs that seemed to really need each other to survive.    I always thought Zsa Zsa and Eva were a particularly pitiful story.    When they came to us, they were immediately scheduled for a spay surgery.     One of the sisters was already under anesthesia when it was discovered she was pregnant and the puppies couldn't be saved.     It was determined the other sister was not healthy enough to carry her puppies to term so they had to be aborted as well.      Both of these dogs mourned the loss of their unborn pups.    If I hadn't seen their behavior and demeanor  in the weeks after their surgeries, I might not have believed how pronounced their grief was.    I always felt like I let them down in some way, maybe the one sister COULD have carried her puppies.    I just know that I know longer go to the vet that encouraged us to make  that decision.

Unfortunately, Sara's cats are having some serious health issues and she has to give up Zsa Zsa and Eva.   She's really heartbroken about it and has asked that I guarantee they be kept together.   Right now, I can't give her that guarantee because I won't be the one fostering them when they get back into the group.    I don't have room right now, actually nobody does.    We usually work it in the group that whoever was the original foster will take their foster back.    It just doesn't always work out like that.    Sara had actually contacted me this past July and asked me if I could adopt them from her and I had to tell her no.   I can't adopt any more dogs, I legally have the limit under my name in the city.  I can not add another dog to the roster.    In fact, they might have to be boarded until room opens up.   And when it does open up, I can almost guarantee that it will be in different homes.

I think it's wonderful that our contract states that we will always take a dog back from someone if things don't work out in 3-5 years.    In fact, they HAVE to bring the dog back to us.   Sometimes I wonder, though, if we weren't an option if the people would try harder to find a solution themselves.

I received an email from Sara this evening begging me to keep them together because they will die apart.  She even offered to pay someone $150/month to keep them together.     I haven't seen Zsa Zsa & Eva for over a year now so I'm able to have a little bit of  detachment.    It's hard, but if someone gives their dog up they really don't get to say what happens to the dogs anymore.   

I really hope it works out.    Today has been a really positive day.  I found out that my background, criminal and drug testing all came back clean so I've been officially cleared to start work on Monday.   What a relief!   My unemployment is running out and Christmas is bearing down on me.    I am so excited that I'll be able to have cash on hand again.    I'll miss spending so much time with my dogs, but they really do sleep most of the day away so I think they'll be able to nap without my presence.  :)     Also when I opened a box of Halloween Dots I found only red ones - my favorites!   Maybe this is proof that Zsa Zsa and Eva will find their happily ever after?   I sure hope so ..

Election Day

WOW - it happened.   Missouri actually passed Proposition B.   I really didn't know if it would happen or not.   What's strange is a lot of people in the media were surprised at how close it was.  I guess they weren't paying attention to the fear mongering lies being spread throughout the state by the opposition.   I saw in the very early days of the campaign how people I like and volunteer with were even misinformed.   I knew at that point we had an uphill battle.   I think everyone "in the trenches" knew it was a tough fight and every single vote really did matter.    That's why those of us who volunteered came off maybe as a bit rabid about it.     We posted letterers to the editor, we commented on lettersand/or articles that we didn't agree with, we handed out literature, we put signs in our yards and we even added a signature to our emails "Vote Yes on Prop B."   I mean, we did every little thing we could do to help get the message out.   In my case, I also made sure my  Mom had a ride to the polls so she could cast her vote.

Monday night I was actually on the computer researching how many registered voters there are in Missouri and how many people were expected to come out and vote so I could calculate how many votes we needed.  :)     I promised myself I would not get down about the results until the final tally because I knew in my heart of hearts that it was a battle.

Yesterday I also stood outside my polling place and handed out literature while I had my puppy mill girl, Jingle, with me      Another woman was stumping for Ed Martin who came out heatedly against Prop B.    She had all sorts of anti Prop B literature with her, but you know what?   She had never once read the proposition.   I was offended by that and I was also offended that this woman from North County came to MY South City polling place to spew her lies.     Only one person was nasty to me when I tried to hand literature to him - it was this old man who said he was a "judge."   When I tried to give him the literature he said "NO, HELL NO!"    What an ass .... it's times like this where I hate always taking the high road.   Sometimes it is just so not satisfying to be the better person.   But, I knew as a representative of the proposition I couldn't do anything but smile and walk away.   AARRGGHH      Oh well, I hadn't voted yet so I went ahead and voted "no" for every male judge up for re election.    Boy I showed him, didn't I? ha

When I went to bed last night, the results were pretty close and Prop B was losing.    Everyone on TV was giving it a death sentence.     Maybe it was lucky I've got a gnarly sinus infection so I'd rather sleep than get all worked up.    But I wasn't really too stressed about it.     I reminded myself to wait until all the precincts had reported. ;)     But around midnight, it was so weird - Suzie came in and woke me up to get in my bed.     She usually does this around 2, so I figured this was a "sign" to check out the vote and sure enough - we were actually up to 51% "YES" with only 4% not reporting.     So, to wake up this morning to 52% - what more can I say but WOOHOO?!!    And for all those naysayers who keep saying "It barely passed by 52% ... well that's what we call a simple majority BABY!"  :)

Today was the day that both Burton and Bonham said goodbye to their little reproductive man parts ... as expected, Bonham is having a worse time.    He actually was too hyper after his surgery so now he's very swollen and bruised.  :(    Burton is doing quite well, but I expected him to - he's the younger one.    I need to give Bonham anti inflammatory and antibiotics for the next week and ice his "area" up in the morning and night. 

Belated Happy Halloween

One of our jack-o-lanterns

I love Halloween.    Usually I go all out and have a major decoration fest, covering my yard with tombstones and spiderwebs and zombies and anything else.     But with Joey camping a couple of weekends in October and me not feeling well, I ended up going pretty low scale this year.    But I still made time to carve some pumpkins!    I went ahead with the "puking pumpkin" this year.    I think I was trying to horrify my neighbor, but I'm sure she didn't even notice it.  

Hopper the Little Devil

A spectacular decoration in our "hood"

Our neighborhood is great for trick or treaters.    At the last minute, Joey decided he wanted to go ahead and go out instead of just handing out candy.     Leading up to Halloween, I tried to talk him into it because I think at 13 he can no longer go.    But he kept saying no ... until 6:00 last night. :)   We have tons of masks from years past, so it was pretty easy for him to throw a costume together.   Not me, though.    I had no time to prepare!  UGH  I just wore my "Happy Hollow  Weenie" tshirt with the skeleton of a dachshund on it.     I love Halloween in my neighborhood - for blocks all around people go all out on Halloween.   They invite their friends over and pretty much have a party handing candy out.    It's so much fun for kids and adults like and it's great to have a feeling of community.     Of course, my neighbor doesn't even pass candy out - does that surprise you? :)    I took one of our dogs with us for Trick or Treating.   Hopper still had his devil costume on, so it worked perfectly well.

Bonham my beautiful boy

Bonham is still doing really well.   He's a major snuggler.   He loves being held while he

 sleeps.   He's also a HUGE grunter.   I love that about dachshunds - they make the funniest sounds.     I just had him outside and I had to carry him up the steps and he just grunted the whole time.    "Kim, uggggg I don't ugggg like the uggggg cold uggggg and the dark uggggg."    I need to work on taking more pictures of him because he is so beautiful.     People are kind of making fun of me because I keep raving about this dog - but you really have to see him in person to just see what I'm talking about.   So far, I have not gotten a picture that does him justice. 



Roscoe says:   Just try it, DOG, I dare ya!!



Bonham and Burton are soooo different.    But both are so wonderful.     They haven't decided who is dominant and take turns showing the other who is boss.    I keep changing my mind who's King of the Dachshunds.   :)    Burton still has a lot of puppy left in him and is just a fun little nut.     He is obsessed with being in my cat's bed that stays on the computer desk.   This is fine if Roscoe is elsewhere, but it's not too smart if he's not.   Burton just can not keep from jumping up on my lap and onto the desk.    I think it's a combination of wanting something that isn't his and not being able to bear having attention on him.     He is so funny.    Whoever adopts him will delight in his antics and will find a lot of happiness with him.    Whoever adopts Bonham is going to love how much he loves being with his human.    He seems to always want to be touching me.    He's so sweet.   He hasn't given any kisses yet, but he has reached up to let me know he wants me to pick him up.     Both boys are scheduled for their neuter surgeries on Wednesday.     I've got a marking war going on in my house so that will be a relief.   However, their testosterone doesn't leave their system for a while ... we'll see how long that takes.

The Lucky Ones

TRex the Bat and Jingle the Mummy

Today a few of us got together and had an informational table at Treats Unleased in Chesterfield about Proposition B.     We took only dogs with us that came from Missouri's puppy mills.   We had leaflets we were giving out and so many people said "I don't need one, I'm voting yes!"    The dogs we had with us were either our own dogs or dogs in foster from puppy mills and they were all dressed up for Halloween!    These dogs are most definitely the lucky ones.    If they haven't already found their forever home, then they are at least spending their time in a home with people who love them and will give them food so they're not hungry, water that they're not thirsty, and a warm bed to sleep in.

Victoria the Pumpkin

It was a really nice morning and it felt good.   It  felt  like we're doing our part for these dogs.    Honestly, in my mind I can not comprehend why anyone would be against Proposition B here in Missouri if they truly UNDERSTAND the measure.     Every argument I've heard against is just plain not true.    People are saying it's the first step in making eating meat illegal or not allowing hunting, or they completely exaggerate the proposition like there'll need to be the same amount  of room for two chihuahuas as there is for 50 dobermans, etc.      In truth, this is only about dogs and the dumb argument about the chihuahuas is absolutely a lie.    First of all, the measure doesn't affect anyone with less than 10 breeding adult animals.    Secondly, the cage measurements required are based on the SIZE of the dog.      If an intelligent person reads Proposition B, they will see clearly that it's about treating dogs humanely.   It's not asking for crazy out of this world measures.     Just simple things like enough food, clean water, rest between breeding cycles and veterinary care.     One of the favorite arguments against Prop B is that sufficient laws are already on the books here in Missouri.    That's really not the case, unfortunately, because these current regulations can not be acted upon by law enforcement - only the department of agriculture.   And these "amazing laws" are staying - they're not going anywhere.    They will just be easier to enforce and the consequences will be more than a few bucks to pay in a fine.     If these laws were really so strong and strict, do you think the majority of puppy millers in our nation would randomly choose Missouri as their home?   Do you think it might be our magnificent ocean views or mountain ranges that are attracting them?   No it's because it's easy to make a buck in Missouri by treating dogs horribly for a profit, and easier to get away with it.     Did you know currently the Department of Agriculture requires a vet visit to each breeder once a year.   BUT ... he or she (THE VET!!)  isn't even required to examine one dog?    What's the point?

Radar the Pumpkin and Heather the Ski Bunny

Yesterday and today were part of a HUGE puppy mill auction sell out in Mexico, MO by a very notorious family here in Missouri.     An expose was done on them on Fox 2 News (See the Story From July, 2010) that showed the puppy store they owned was stocked by a puppy mill that was often non compliant with Missouri laws ... but still in operation with over 1000 dogs!   When this came out, their landlord actually wouldn't renew their lease for the puppy store and they've chosen to go out of business.     Because of their notoriety, rescues (and breeders) from across the nation converged on Mexico, MO the past couple of days with their sights on these dogs.       Here's the coverage from Fox 2 last night.

Unfortunately, the Amish were in full force and was outbidding rescues by hundreds of dollars.    The Amish are one of the worst puppy milling cultures in the United States.   In fact, one of my friends in our group Becky constantly gets emails from various Amish millers saying "Come pick up this dog by tomorrow or I'm shooting it."    I'm sad to say they had very deep pockets this weekend and went home with a lot of dogs.    Maybe in a couple of years Becky will get one of those emails and we'll be able to help them out at that time.



Meet Bonham



For now, let's concentrate on one of the brand new lucky ones.     I personally picked up this beautiful "red wild boar" smooth coat male dachshund from Becky last night.    He is very sweet and mellow and spent almost the entire night last night playing with Burton.    They kept me up like crazy!    I understand why people get so caught up in bloodlines of certain breeds when I see a dog like this.    He is just plain majestic.    I was trying to incorporate Prop B into his name and I was going to name him B-Ber.    But JTK the law abiding tween male that he is, is incapable of having anything that might remind him of Justin Bieber IN OUR HOUSE.     So, I had the brilliant idea to go with Bonham because it's part of the name of Tim Burton's wife.    Hence, a little bit Halloweenish and it starts with B.   Plus, I just like saying "Bonham and Burton" together. :)     Bonham is 5 years old and has the teeth of a 15 year old.    He's probably considered a "tweenie" because he feels VERY solid.     I don't think he weighs less than 11 lbs which is the cutoff to be considered a minature dachshund.



No longer known as "S24"



Now if you ever have any question that a dog from a puppy mill is anything but a commodity - more akin to a piece of lumber or a bale of hay than a sentient being, here's a photo of the tattoo on Bonham's inner ear marking him for life as a serial number.    As of today, Bonham has a real name and he will most assuredly live the rest of his years out in dachshund deserved luxury.



One of those weeks ...

Yeah, it's been one of those weeks that brought a poster to mind I had when I was a teenager.   Actually, I think every teenage girl on the planet probably had a similar poster.  ;)  

I've been feeling under the weather for a while.   Just when I thought I was getting better, I ended up feeling worse than ever last night.    It's my usual May & October issue with allergies that end up turning into some sort of infection.  And with no insurance and no job - I'm not up for spending at least $125 for a Dr visit and some meds.  boohoo    I'm very disappointed because I was going to go to a very well publicized puppy mill auction tomorrow.    It's an auction of one of the most notorious millers in Missouri.   This miller had a pet store and an expose was done on them showing exactly where the dogs came from - a puppy mill with over 1000 dogs.     Rescue groups from across the country, Canada and even Europe are working together to get as many of these of 800+ dogs out of the system.     The sad thing is, many of them have been in the mill since 2000.     10 years and all they've known is the life trapped inside a cage.   That's so unthinkable.     There's worry among rescues that these dogs will be very hard to place and we might be taking on a lot of financial liability.   But you know what, we're in it to help the dogs.   And right now we'd better walk the walk if we're going to talk the talk about Proposition B.   And I'm happy to say our little group will be represented at this auction, I just won't be one of the volunteers in attendance.

My computer is also still messed up.   The virus is gone, but I can't access the Internet right now.  blech.    Joey received ISS (in school suspension) from a teacher he has had a very difficult time with.   She speaks with a heavy accent, she teaches math, she won't allow questions in class and it's just not a conducive environment for Joe to learn in.   Yeah, I'm the blind Mom who sees no wrong in their kid.   Actually, I do see wrong - I just don't see what he does as Wrong as others do.    Why do you think he was written up?  Because he said his teacher could be a "professional statue" ... sigh ... there are so much worse things a 12 year old kid could do.    My neighbor turned me into the health department AGAIN for having too many dogs.   The last time this happened I was hysterically upset.    This time I'm just pissed.   I knew something would happen because I had a nasty note on my door a couple of weeks ago saying that I left my hose on and it leaked into her basement and ruined her throw rug.      I have to admit, I googled "how to secretly mess with your neighbor" last night.     Nothing came up good and even though I am sorely tempted I wouldn't  do anything.   I really do believe in what goes around comes around and I'm terrified if I do something intentionally crappy to someone my luck will get even worse.

Today I had a fun day taking my drug test for my new job.    The first time I "provided my specimen" I didn't get it to the fill line as needed.     I am very uncoordinated when peeing in a cup - it was a monthly ordeal when I was pregnant with Joey.    Well, when I took my pee cup out to the medical assistant, she started sloshing it around to see if it was full enough.    When they decided it wasn't, they had a little committee of 3 of them asking me why I couldn't pee enough.   I lied, of course, and told them I spilled some instead of saying half of it when all over my hand.    One was really rude "How could you spill it?"    Well, it IS possible considering the precarious situation and ickiness.     So I'm told if I don't submit a sample within 3 hours I will automatically fail the test.   I asked them why I couldn't just add to the pee I already had and they told me because they test it onsite, it all has to be the same temp.   (Anyone got a microwave!?! ha)   So.... for the next hour I sit in my little exam room and chug water every five minutes.   I was so freaked out that I wanted to make sure I really had to pee and the girl kept checking on me every 10 mins which did not relieve any amount of stress.   AARRGGHH

So, there was general applause when I peed aplenty.    But here's where it gets really good.    I don't know why, but they choose my pee to teach someone how to do one of these tests.     And ... you guessed it!!!  The girl screwed up, invalidated the test and they had to send it off to the lab anyway.    Oh yeah, they ended up pouring a bunch of my pee out so and if they had just taken the first batch and sent it off I would have an hour back of my life.    There's gotta be a lesson in all of this somewhere .... right?    Until then, baby - I'm hangin' in there!  :)

1000 Clicks

We get weekly updates from Petfinder showing the number of views each dog available for adoption through our group receives.   In the past month, Natsumi has received a weekly average around 250.    That means, someone actually clicked on her picture and read her bio 250 times in a 7 day period.    The one thing the report doesn't tell us the number of users.    Theoretically, this could be 250 single people viewing her or one person obsessively viewing her 250 times in one week.

No matter how it shakes out, I don't understand why she hasn't been adopted.    I NEVER have fosters that are viewed over 200 times in a week.    That frenzy is usually reserved for puppies or rare breeds.   Saburo was getting around 90 a week, which I am thrilled with and TRex averages less than 30 a week.

At first it seemed that Natsumi's rise in popularity began with her being spotlighted as a "Dog of the Week" by our dedicated blogger, Elisa.   I figured it would be a blip in the graph of views but it would go back down to my usual foster average.    But, it hasn't.      She's right below the heavy hitting puppies every single week.   :)

Now that I have accepted that she's a popular view, I'm curious as to why I have her still.    She is such a hit at any event she goes to.     She's so cute and so sweet.    I have to guess it's her vision problems that make people nervous.     I had a hard time watching her the first few days she was here, there was something so pitiful about her bumping into things.    But she doesn't do that anymore and she acclimated amazingly quickly and well.   I just can't move things around too much or she gets very nervous when there's an unexpected obstacle in her way.

She is so sweet and mellow.   I have to put eye drops in her eye twice a day and I just have to say "Natsumi, time for eye drops" and she goes right over to her favorite dog bed and lets me put them in.   These eye drops cost about $46 for a large bottle and they last about 7 months.     I'm keeping the faith and I have to believe one of those 1000 clicks will result in Natsumi finding her forever home.