Noelle has the chicken pox...

Dogs can get the chicken pox, right?  I am sure that is what it is, because tonight she suddenly had these bumps all over her body.  They appeared out of nowhere, all at once.  So I guess it could be an allergic reaction, but she didn't do or eat anything out of the ordinary all day.  Therefore, I've ruled out all possibilities other than chicken pox.  I'm planning to tell the vet that when I take Noelle in tomorrow to confirm the diagnosis.  I'm sure the vet will appreciate my help.   

In other news, Mira is doing great - she has gained weight, is eating and drinking on her own now, and appears to be on her way to a full recovery. 

And now, for your viewing pleasure, a few scenes from the adoption event this past weekend...

  There were four golden retreiver/yellow lab mix puppies available for adoption. 

I couldn't stop taking their pictures.

They were just so sweet and cuddly. 

Even when they glared at me for keeping them awake.  They have an adorable glare.

There were several other dogs and puppies there too.  I didn't take any pictures of them.  I was too busy trying to get the puppies to wake up and glare at me some more. 

Update on the kittens

I'm sorry to say that "Spot" did not survive, and he has now joined his brothers at the Rainbow Bridge.  He fought hard, but even with medicine and force feeding, his little body just couldn't fight off the parasites. 

We finally have a definitive answer on what caused the kittens to become so sick.  They tested positive for a parasite called tritrichomonas foetus.  It causes diarrhea and while it can affect both adults and kittens, it is usually not fatal.  However these kittens are so young and frail that they just weren't strong enough to survive.   Regular dewormers and antibiotics don't work against this parasite, and we actually had to order the only medicine that is shown to be effective against it from a pharmacy several states away.  They are sending the medicine by overnight mail, so hopefully it will get here later today in time to help the last surviving kitten - the one I was temporarily calling "Trickster" (because she was always escaping from her room).

I've officially named her Mira.  It's short for Miracle... because that is what she needs.  Not only does she need to survive these parasites, but the medicine we will be giving her to help her fight them off is very dangerous and known to cause neurological problems so I will be monitoring her closely and if she has any side effects we will have to quit the medication.  Thank you all for your well wishes - I will keep you updated on how she is doing.

On another note, I have some happier news to share.  Last night I met with a lady who is interested in adopting Casey.  She met Casey and everything went really well, and she will most likely be taking him home next week!

I explained to Casey that he was going to be adopted and get to live with a wonderful new mom.  I was hoping the news wouldn't be too hard on him and he wouldn't mind going to yet another new place.  I shouldn't have worried.  He said "Next week??  How about right now?!"  Oh wait, nevermind.  That was my husband Dave who said that.  But Casey did seem excited to hear he would get to live with the nice lady he met tonight.  Or perhaps he was just excited at the thought of getting away from Remi and Noelle and Tripoli and Ziggy.  Either way, he is one happy dog. 

Zigginess

First I would like to thank all of your for your kind words and support. Spot and Trickster are hanging in there, and if we can get through the next few days, they have a good chance of recovery. Your friendship and well wishes really mean a lot to me - thank you!

Now today I'd like to talk more about Ziggy. He intrigues me. Ziggy is unlike any dog I have ever fostered. In the past three years, I've fostered 96 dogs or puppies. And none of them have even come close to matching Ziggy in terms of, well, Zigginess. Yep, that's a real word - if you look it up in the Dog Foster Mom dictionary, you'll find this entry:

 Zig'gi-ness n.

1. Exhibiting a lack of wisdom or good sense; foolish. See Synonyms at silliness.

2. Ludicrously or whimsically comical; clownish.

3. An indefatigable chewer.

Its hard to pinpoint what exactly it is about Ziggy that makes him special. When we first got him, my husband claimed Ziggy was mentally challenged. But I knew that Ziggy was intelligent - he quickly learned some basic commands. However I am still considering the possibility that he has a learning disability. And possibly a nutritional deficiency - something to explain why he has to constantly have something to chew on. I've fostered a lot of puppies, and almost all puppies chew quite a bit- but Ziggy is by far the worst of them. He is either sleeping, eating, or chewing. Even when we go on long walks and he is very tired, he still can't resist picking up a stick to chew on as he walks by. I have never seen anything like it. But even that is not what makes him so special. It's more to do with his strange behavior. For example, a few days ago as we walked around the neighborhood, I was walking Ziggy, Casey and Noelle together. When we passed a couple walking by, Noelle tried to head over to them to say hello and become their best friend. Casey wagged his tail in greeting and waited to see if they would acknowledge him. Ziggy glanced at them, saw they had nothing to chew on, and kept going right on by. That's not so strange - a lot of dogs will mostly ignore strangers. But then we passed a man mowing his grass. And Ziggy got so excited, I had to physically drag him away. In fact, at one point when I wouldn't let him go toward the guy, he just laid down on the ground and refused to move or look away from the man and the lawnmower. Even as I dragged him down the street, he continued to look over his shoulder at the man mowing his grass for almost an entire block, until the man was out of sight. This wasn't a single occurrence. The scenario has repeated itself several times since then. We also have some maintenance being done to our subdivision street, and Ziggy will sit in the yard as close as he can get to them and just watch them for hours.  If kids are out playing in the street, or people are walking by, he ignores them.  But the people working on the street have some heavy machinery they are using to tear up the concrete.  So I think I've figured this much out about what Ziggy is thinking.... People alone - ignore them. People with power machinery - JACKPOT!! I just don't understand why. It's one more clue in the puzzle that is Ziggy.

Although Ziggy doesn't usually behave like a normal dog, I love his little quirks. He is almost ten months old already. I've had him since last December, and even though I joke about his lack of prospective adopters, I do think he'll get a home other than mine eventually. He has actually been showing a lot of improvement in the past couple of weeks in regard to not chewing on people. If he keeps this up, he may be adopted sooner rather than later. I'm trying to prepare myself for that eventuality. I'm not sure what I'll do when he finds a home. Cry? Throw a Party? Probably both.

When Fostering Is Hard...

I try to keep most of my posts happy and upbeat, so I will warn you in advance that this post is not a happy post. Feel free to leave now and come back tomorrow, when I will hopefully have something more cheerful to share. Really, it's okay.



Alright, so if you're still reading, I'm sorry to have to share this bad news. Two of my four foster kittens have died. I am very worried about the other two kittens. The vet has done some tests and they have a parasite - either giardia or something that starts with a "t" that I can't pronounce. They're on medication and I'm just hoping they pull through. We'll have additional test results in a few days, but in the meantime there is not a whole lot they can do for the two remaining kittens.

Logically I know this can happen when fostering young kittens.  I know there was nothing more I could have done for them, and its not my fault they died.  I know this logically.  But emotionally I am heartbroken.  They were my foster cats.  They were supposed to have a happy life with a wonderful new family someday.  I never even gave them real names. 

This one I called "Little Black One".  He was my favorite of the four.  He was the most cuddly and always the first to greet me when I came in the room.  He had little fuzzy black hair all over that always seemed to look all askew. 

This one I called "Socks".  There were two gray tabbies in the litter and this one had white on her feet, like little white socks which is how I was able to tell them apart. 

"Little Black One" and "Socks" are gone now.  Please say a prayer for the other two kittens - "Spot" and "Trickster".  These are the temporary names I've been using for them.  I don't want to lose them too.

---

I debated sharing this news.  I want this blog to be a happy, fun place to visit.  But I also know many of you are friends who really care about my foster animals and would want to know.  I absolutely love fostering dogs and cats, and I love sharing my experiences with you, but sharing the story for every pet I foster means including both the good and the bad.  And losing a foster pet is the absolute worst part of fostering that there is.  But I will try to make tomorrow's post something more upbeat.  Perhaps there will even be a new Ziggy story soon.   I don't know about you, but Ziggy can always make me smile. 

Relaxation

On Saturday after the flea market I collapsed on the couch and didn't move for several hours. Then I took a few pictures of the dogs, ate some kettle corn, and went back to the couch where I remained for the rest of the evening. Fortunately the dogs were tired from being at the event all day too.

This is Casey. He looks happy to be back home, don't you think?  Greeting people all day is hard work!

Remi got to visit the event for a few hours, and it really tired him out.  He wasn't on his best behavior and got sent home early.  I think he knows he is in trouble. 

You might think that having only three legs would make Tripoli get tired more quickly.  But this three-legged dog can hop all over, all day long, and still have energy to wrestle and play at the end of the day! 

Noelle was the only dog that didn't get to go to the event. This made her very sad.

I think if she keeps working on her "woe is me" look, someday she'll be as good at it as Mayzie! 

Ziggy only barely made it in the door before collapsing in the laundry room. Of course he made sure to pull the lid off of the recycling container before collapsing. Even when he is too exhausted to stand, he's never too tired to chew on something.

Back to reality...

Saturday was our Flea Market fundraiser, and it went very well.  I was amazed at the number of volunteers who were there to help - people donated flea market items, homemade baked goods, and various supplies.  Many people showed up to help set up, sell food, help with the adoptable dogs, and just lend a hand wherever was needed.  Thank you so much to everyone who helped to make this event a success.  We raised a lot of money for the dogs and cats, and we couldn't have done it without you.

A special thank you goes out to my fellow event coordinators - Lisa, Julie and Shuma.  They spent hours and hours planning this event and making it such a success.  You probably know that fundraising is one of my least favorite things, but these women actually made the whole experience fun.  I'm even a little bit sad that its over.  Although now I can get back to my normal schedule of taking care of my fosters and writing blog posts and sleeping.  I have missed that.  Maybe now I'll even find time to name these guys.... or girls.... as soon as I figure out which they are. 

Choices

Given the choice between a Nylabone, a real deer antler, and a sterilized bone, Noelle chose to chew on the plastic cup.  You'll notice that wasn't in her original list of choices - but that is probably what makes it so much fun to chew on. 

I believe this is Noelle practicing her best "who me?" look.  She may be suggesting that she has really been busy chewing the deer antler under her front leg, and the cup just happened to end up right there in front of her somehow.  

Rotating toys is one good way to keep each toy "new" and your dog interested in playing with it.  We do a lot of rotating toys around here, although I'm not sure how much it helps.  In the short 3 minutes that I've been working on this post, I've been interrupted twice three times in order to take away my cell phone, a shoe, and now the TV remote, from Ziggy.  You would think I would have this house puppy proofed by now, but at the rate Ziggy is growing, it's getting harder to find safe places to keep things!

Fun with puppies

I was going to write a very informative post about puppies. I was going to include information like why a puppy or a dog will always pull against the leash when they aren't used to it.

I was also going to include helpful information on teaching a puppy to come when called and to walk nicely on a leash. But then I got distracted looking at all the puppy pictures I've taken recently. Pictures like this one.

And I started coming up with silly ideas, like fun games you can play with your puppy.

WHAT?? My tail is gone?!?

Doesn't he look concerned?

Oh wait...there it is. Whew.

Yep, I'm very easily amused.  So then these next pictures started me thinking of fun things you can tell people about your puppies.

Cover the puppy's eyes and tell people that the puppy is playing hide-and-go-seek with his friends. Then start counting out loud.

I think it'd be a great way to get people to leave you alone if they were bothering you. 

Here's another option.  Tell everyone that your puppy is very religious.

This works best if your puppy has a double white cross on her chest.

I also came up with some fun things you can do to your puppies.

Give a puppy a whole bunch of peanut butter so his mouth gets stuck closed.

Then tell him jokes to make him smile.

Just to be clear, I didn't really do that to any puppies. The puppy just naturally looked like that. Really.

And with all the entertainment the puppy pictures provided, I never got back to the informative part of the post. I'm sorry. I'm easily distracted. Maybe tomorrow I'll come up with an informative post.  But probably not. 

Tripoli - Superhero in Disguise?

Faster than a speeding Remi...



more powerful than a pit bull named Noelle...

and able to leap small vehicles in a single bound....(or not)


It's Tripoli, the Tripawd Wonder Dog!

I continue to be impressed by how well Tripoli gets around. In fact, he has enjoyed wrestling and playing with the other dogs, and in spite of only having three legs, he usually wins their mock battles. It's a constant source of embarrassment for my husband, who is so proud of his tough girl Noelle, to see her constantly bested by a three-legged dog.

I recently learned of a website just for Tripawds (three-legged dogs) and their owners. It is a great resource for anyone who has a three legged dog, or is considering amputation as a way to treat canine osteosarcoma or other cancers. I especially enjoyed reading some of the comments submitted by readers as they shared how kids have reacted when seeing a Tripawd for the first time. You can read the comments here.

And here is a very short video of Tripoli in his alter-ego disguise (doing nothing much at all).

Pixel Was Adopted!

Pixel was adopted at PetSmart on Saturday. I am happy for her that she found a home - but a bit sad for me. She is a very sweet, wonderful kitten and I miss her already.

Ziggy, for some reason, was not adopted.  I know, it's surprising - I was sure this would be his week.  Okay not really - I was pretty sure it wouldn't be his week, and I was right.  But he did have one person look at him.  Unfortunately she was there at the end of the day, when Ziggy is tired and stressed out and being his most misbehaving self.  I suggested that if she saw him when he wasn't tired and stressed out, she would like him more.  But then I referred her to his Fan Page so she could find out the truth about Ziggy.  So I probably won't be hearing from her again.  Nice lady from PetSmart - if you read this - you don't really have to be a lumberjack to adopt Ziggy - although if you have any trees growing in your house that you need chopped down, Ziggy just might be the dog for you.

Sunday Scoop: Fundraising

Many rescue groups like the one I volunteer with survive solely on donations.  They are completely volunteer run, so no paid employees.  Every penny they take in goes directly to help the animals.  The biggest expense by far is for vet bills.  Even though there are many wonderful veterinarians out there who will offer a reduced cost for rescue groups, the expense is still very great.  Part of the cost can be recovered through adoption fees, but a much larger part needs to come from donations and fundraisers. We don't get money from large groups like the Humane Society, or from the government.  It all comes from individuals making small donations at adoption events, or from the various fundraisers we try to hold in the community. 

I recently signed on to help with a Flea Market fundraiser, and it's been a huge amount of work, but I have been fortunate to work with several wonderful people who have made the whole experience much more fun than I expected.  I am looking forward to the event, which will be held this Saturday.  If you live in the area, please come check it out!

Silly Saturday

Noelle once again made it onto the Pitter Patter website.  This is one of Noelle's puppy pictures.  I thought she was trying to see what the cats found so intriguing about the cat tree.  But the great writers at Pitter Patter had a much more interesting idea of what might be going through Noelle's head at the time...

SHOULD'VE TAKEN THE STAIRS

Disappointment

Disappointment is a constant part of rescue. I hear it in the voice of people when I talk to someone who wants to turn in an animal and I tell them I don't have room. I see it in the eyes of the shelter dogs when I walk by their kennels without time to stop and visit with them. But more than any other time, I feel it when one of my foster pets is returned. It feels like I failed. And I know that returns are a part of rescue. We can't see into the future and know what is going to happen. We just have to do our best to place our fosters into homes with responsible people who are a good match for that foster pet. Unfortunately sometimes even when we do everything right, the home is still all wrong.


Six weeks ago I adopted out Casey Jones to a family who seemed perfect. They had another pet and were responsible pet owners. I did the vet check and the home visit and could not find any reason at all to think it wouldn't be a perfect fit. And for six weeks everything was fine. Then I got a voice mail message that Casey had attacked the other dog in the home, and he "had to go". I contacted them and said while I would of course take him back, I was willing to go to their house and evaluate the situation to try to determine what happened and if anything could be done to prevent it from happening again. They didn't give me details, but I don't understand how Casey could have lived with this other dog for six weeks without a problem and then just attacked him without provocation. Dogs have a reason for their actions, even if we don't know what it is, and I wanted to help them figure it out. I was very nice in my message, and was feeling bad for them that this had happened. Until I found out that instead of replying to my message they took Casey to the nearest animal control facility and left him there. And I am furious with them for claiming to love Casey and then doing that to him. Because if they had just called me and said "no, he has to go immediately", I would have left work and driven over to pick him up right then. Instead I got a call from the shelter just before the shelter closed, so Casey had to stay there overnight. It would have been so easy for these people to do the responsible thing and hold onto this dog they claimed to love for 24 hours while we communicated and worked out a plan to return him. The shelter told me the husband wanted to just open the door and let the dog run loose to get rid of him but the wife insisted on taking him to the shelter, so I guess I should be grateful for that much.
The good news in all of this is that Casey is now back with me, where he is truly loved, and he'll have another chance for a much better home. Hey Frankie Flirter Furter (sorry, Puddles is a bad influence) - today is the 14th and I now have 14 dogs and cats at my house. But I think we're going to try to reverse the numbers now, because otherwise I will soon be homeless with thirteen dogs and cats (my husband will keep Noelle and send the rest out the door with me)! And then we'll come knocking on your door - all fourteen of us - and your mom and dad might not appreciate that.

Introducing the Nameless Kittens

It's been a very crazy couple of weeks.  So crazy that I haven't even named the four kittens I took in last week.  Some people like to hold off on naming new foster pets until they know more of what they are like.  But I like to name them as soon as I meet them.  Sometimes I even name them before I meet them.  I just like them to have names!  And yet somehow I've had four kittens here for almost a week and they are still nameless.  So since I don't want to hold off on introducing them any longer, I'll just have to fill in the names later.  Here are the four new kittens.

The all gray tabby kitten

The gray tabby kitten with white socks

The black tabby kitten

The white with black spots kitten

These guys are adorable and hilarious.  And they bring the total number of cats and dogs in my house up to 13.  Which makes me too busy to have time to name them.  But it does leave me enough time to play with them and laugh at them and annoy them. 

Here is what my daughter's bedroom looks like immediately after setting out some canned cat food. 

It's a lot of fun to have so many cute cats and kittens around. Until it's time to clean the litter boxes. Then it's all drudgery. Because nine cats/kittens can create a lot of... oh never mind. Just take my word for it - fostering is not all fun and games. I am never more aware of this than when I try to plan for a vacation and find someone to watch 13 dogs and cats. For some reason, most people already seem to know that fostering is not all fun and games. They want a lot of money to do what I do every day for free. And I wonder if I am in the wrong business. But then I look at these lives that I have saved, and I know every minute (even the minutes spent cleaning litter boxes) is well worth it. And no amount of money could replace the joy that I find in saving these kittens' lives. 

Introducing Pixel

I had arranged to take in four kittens from someone who's cat had a litter and she couldn't keep them.  As I drove to meet her, she asked if we also had room for a five-month-old kitten (one remaining cat from the momma cat's previous litter).  The lady said the rest of the litter had either run off or been hit by cars or attacked by dogs and she was afraid the same thing would happen to this cat.  The five month old cat, which they were calling Rat, was very sweet.  She and the four kittens were living in the lady's van - the lady just left the door open so the momma cat could come in and out to feed the kittens.  I offered to take the momma cat also, but the lady said she wanted to keep her, but that she would get her spayed so she wouldn't have any more litters.  So that is how I wound up with Rat and four five-week-old kittens.  I changed Rat's name to Pixel, and quickly fell in love with her. 

Pixel is doing great so far.  She is beautiful and sweet and gets along well with the other cats.  She likes to play with feather toys and will happily stalk and chase that feather all over the place until I get tired of dragging it around.  She's been to the vet and is in perfect health, so I am hoping she can get adopted quickly, before I get too attached!

Getting Ziggy Adopted (or not)

As you know, I'm always looking for new ways to get Ziggy adopted. I thought perhaps a new picture would help, so I looked through my pictures from Saturday's adoption events, and found the perfect picture to get him adopted.

Okay fine, this isn't really Ziggy. But I guarantee you that when this guy hits the website, the adoption applications are going to start rolling in. If only I could figure out a way to make Ziggy actually look like this. Maybe I could try a curling iron on his hair?

If that won't work, perhaps I can use this picture.

This looks a little bit more like Ziggy, and he'll probably generate some interest on the website as well. If I dye Ziggy black, and tug on his ears to make them longer and floppy, it might just work.

No? It won't? Okay. How about this one?

If I lie and say he's not a pit bull, and he's not deaf, and he doesn't chew on everything constantly, I bet he might have a chance to get adopted based on this picture. I like this picture. He looks handsome and calm and he's not chewing on anything. It lasted approximately 4.8 seconds. Then he returned to his normal Ziggy behavior.

Chewing on me.

Looking goofy.

Barking.

And doing whatever it takes to get treats. Because Ziggy is all about treats. Just look at his focus.

This kind of focus is supposed to make him easier to train. And perhaps if his trainer wasn't as goofy as he is, he'd be better trained by now.

Oh well - at least we have fun together.