Yah, it’s been awhile. No real excuse, just wandered off.  Gypsy and I haven’t been on many walks and we haven’t visited any more places for Therapy Dog Visits. So what have we been doing? As for Gypsy, he seems happy chasing the squirrels out of the backyard and playing with (or tolerating) Patches, Tramp, Bella and Molly. So what have I been doing? Mostly, helping the Taylor Jones Humane Society move into their new building. It’s around 3000 Sq Ft and was once a TV Repair shop. We had to remove all the carpet, grind off all the glue, paint, tear down walls and cut cement, install drains, erect the Kennels… it is quite a task turning a building into a shelter for dogs and cats. While all this is going on, caring for the animals they have. It’s not a large Humane Society; in fact, for a city the size of Abilene, it’s rather small but it’s a needed asset to the public. We hope to improve with this larger facility but a lot of work lies ahead. Building the Exercise Yard and all the other needed things on shoestrings and the occasional donations of other is quite a challenge. All of the members have put in many hundreds of dollars of their own money and thousands of dollars in labor and time.

Although not a typical day, this is how my day went:

This morning, I arrived in the early morning and began letting dogs out, one by one into the small fenced-in yard that I built last week. After that, I started working on the Kennels again, bolting the side panels to the wall. A visitor came in and after seeing one of our dogs on our KTAB TV spot, decided to adopt her. These are great moments that we all live for. Other members are cleaning, doing meds for heart worm dogs and preventing Kennel Cough. We keep the place very clean. Others are working on cleaning and caring for the cats. We have nice cages and later in the day, one cat was adopted. As I was working on the Kennels, I noticed that a Lab/Retriever mix named Scout, was wheezing and seemed to be in pain. I have worked hard with this dog as he was brought in with no training at all. He is friendly but very unmanageable. Over the weeks, I have reached a stage where he could actually be taken to the KTAB studios and shown on TV. Sadly, no takers though. His condition this day began to worsen and I decided that Scout needed to get to the Vet. Our Society President quickly agreed so I loaded him up in my pickup and took him over. While all this was going on, someone brought in 4 puppies. She ‘thought’ the momma was a Jack Russel but didn’t know what the father was. Whatever they are, I can’t see any Jack in those pups but they are cute. I arrived at the Vet and the news was bad. He was just fine that morning but somehow, in the next three hours, his belly and intestines had twisted causing massive bloat. If you ever saw the movie, ‘Marly and Me’, how Marly died, is the same way Scout went. It’s a problem with a small percentage of Labradors and Lab mixes. Scout was in great pain and after talking with the doctor, I made the decision to euthanize him. That really sucked but it was the right thing to do. Scout was not even two years old. I placed one hand and arm just in front of his front legs and the other hand and arm behind his back legs so as not to put pressure on his belly and lifted this 50 pound soft coated lovable dog to the table. It was quick and as is his name, Scout did not protest. Immediately after the injection, I bent and asked the Lord to care for him. That took only a few seconds and in those final moments, without a whimper, he was gone. All this reminded me too much of Buster but he died at 4 AM and no Vets were open to ease his passing. I think that memory will haunt me for a long time but I still believe that all that I can do for these animals honors Buster’s memory and will help me a great deal.

I now know that his passing has affected me much more deeply than I ever knew. I kinda went off the deep end. I now have five dogs and I let someone talk me into saving two kittens from, (before they were taken to,) the Pound. A Calico and a black and white cat that looks like he’s wearing  a tuxedo. With Gabby and Tux, (I hope to Carefully) teach Gypsy to leave cats alone. He’s good at that now but reinforcement can only help. We intend to resume the Therapy Visits but I want Gypsy trained much better and reliably so. Many of my friends at the Humane Society are Kennel Club members and will help me in this. Therapy dog visits are a risk as with any animal but the results, just as placing a dog or a cat into a new home, are rewarding and very, very right.

I’ll post more info and events as they happen. One more thing I did today: I went to McCoy’s Lumber to get some boards for the Kennel wall and saw that they were closing out stone three inch thick twelve inch by twelve inch stones that had the Texas outline with ‘TEXAS’ across a circle around the state. I will need to take it to an engraver for the words but it will make a fine marker for Buster’s grave, something long overdue. I’ll post a picture when it’s done. It’s said that anything posted on the Internet will be there for as long as Humanity is alive. I intend to have the website that is dedicated to Buster put on it as well.

Last winter, Bobbie Kay sat while watching TV and knitted a box full of stocking caps of all colors and was wondering what to do with them. She has done over 50! I thought of an idea that might help the Humane Society and she liked it. We plan to get blank cloth labels; we have no money to get them stitched, so we will have to use sharpies. On each, will be the name of one dog or cat that was adopted out by the Humane Society. Scout and any others that have had to be put down will be done in a gold sharpie and other than in this post, no one will know the significance of the Gold Name.

May the Lord bless them and keep you, Buster, Scout and all the others. Needless to say, Gypsy got an extra rubbing and hug from me this day.

Yes, it’s been a bit sense my last post but that’s because not much has happened. So, here is a rundown of the last few days. I made a big mistake at the SPCA the other day but let me start by explaining the beginning. I was helping out when this lady brought in a service dog. She was a trainer from Abilene Regional Medical center and had information about trials to be held later in August for the canine good citizenship certifications that would be happening soon. There are many steps and test in the evaluations and although I don’t think Gypsy is ready, for the $5.00 fee, it would be good exposure and would allow us to work on the week spots. His weakest area is with other dogs that he doesn’t know. So the SPCA folks told me to start bringing Gypsy up there so that we could work on the socialization program.  The next day, I brought him up and let him off the leash in the large yard area and went to pick out a dog from among almost a hundred to choose from. I remembered one dog named Chewy that was in the first kennel. I wanted a dog about Gypsy’s size and Chewy was it. To confirm my choice, I entered Chewy’s large kennel and played with her for awhile. She loves belly rubs and seemed fine so I let her out and into the yard. She made a B-line for Gypsy and those two went to fighting. It took awhile but I finally got them separated. Both were bleeding a bit but it could have been much worse. It was almost funny because they were looking at each other with me holding them back. It looked like they were thinking, “It’s waaaaay to hot to be doing this!” I told them both to be good and let them both go. In these situations, unless you have someone else to help, if you try to move one dog, the other will usually jump in and restart the fight. thankfully, Gypsy walked over to the wading pool and settled in while Chewy went on and explored the yard. She even went over and lapped water near Gypsy but the truce held. I let them cool down and then gently returned Chewy to her kennel. While inside, she let me examine her face as she had a few ‘scores’ from Gypsy. She seemed OK so I left to tell one of the workers what had happened. As it would turn out, the previous day, Chewy had climbed out of her kennel and killed two other dogs. That day, she was to be taken and euthanized as it is policy for any dog that attacks and kills another. I felt bad about that but understood. Those other dogs could have been someones kids. With no shame, it made me glad that I was a volunteer and not the vet or the person that made those decisions. My mistake has set us back a little further but onward we go.

On another note, MyPuppyMutts.Com is finally up. There you can see Gypsy being hugged by a resident at a local rest home. He was a big hit and all the lazy Lab had to do was just let people pet him and he handled that just fine.

rub harder!

Yes, it’s been a little while since my last post. I have been busy with the second stage of the Census. Those of you out in the boonies, we WILL find you! Putting 200 plus miles on the car per day but they are paying mileage and no, Gypsy stay’s home. Way Too Hot. OK, on to the fun stuff.

If anyone ever had a doubt to the good a rescued dog can do, I offer proof in pictures. Gypsy did a return engagement to the University Place Retirement Center and was a big hit. Bobbie and I enjoyed our visit and have a standing invitation to return at any time. So, without much more to write about, I’ll let the pictures do the talking. Thanks to Bobbie K for the Pictures!

Well, Gypsy has a new friend. Her name is Molly; a name I gave her due to how she came into our lives. Molly is the name I gave her after seeing her in the Pound. She is kind of beat up and as the story goes, he was ran over by a car. You can see the wound just above her eyes. She has nicks on other parts of her body and her jaw. She was listed as a male dog and my little discovery along with further investigation reveled that she had also been spayed. This brought her bail-out fee down to half. No one could tell me how old she is so I will have to consult my buddy at the SPCA and at Petsmart. Molly is a Parsons, (Jack) Russell Terrier. I suspect that she has a bit of internal bruising so I have tried to handle her with care. As you might expect, she is a bit skiddish but warmed up to Bobbie K and I quickly. Also, she gets along with the other dogs but she and Bella will have to work things out. Already, she was warning Bella away from me. Whew, that’s gonna be fun to watch as Patches grows up to be bigger than both Bella and Molly together.  OK, more info on her as she heals up. Right now, she’s sprawled out on the pallet beside me as I type this. Oh, one last thing; she is every bit the ‘Water Dog’ Gypsy is. SPLASH!

OK, on to Gypsy! Tomorrow will be his first Rest Home engagement. At 2 pm Saturday, we will be at University Place. This is a very nice Home that is very large with a beautiful atrium and we were invited to visit when I was doing the Census. I’ll post how the Visit goes. Bobbie K will come with me and I’ll see if she can get a few pictures. That’s about it, stay cool everybody!

Gypsy is a bone head! I KNOW he knows what I’m asking him to do! He has Stay and Sit; down to a T. In the Stay command, I actually got five minuets out of him! He’s now much better at not chasing cats or smaller dogs. BUT, he just doesn’t like the Lay command. He dislikes it so much that I tested him in a battle of wills between his stomach and obeying the command. Remember that with a Labrador, the eyes see the treat and the stomach says, GIMME! NOW! The pea-brain says, “OK, just this once, do what the silly human says.” So I put all this to the test. I took him into the kitchen and right in front of him, with Gypsy in the ‘sit’ position, I took his dog food bowl, opened a can of Alpo Chunky, (He loves the stuff), I cracked an egg over it and mixed in some milk and stirred. He’s about to go nuts but he is STILL in the ‘stay’ position. Now, before some one yells animal cruelty, he JUST HAD a pan of his normal dog food so his black hole of a stomach was fed. (He emptied the pan; it’s the size of a cake mixing (not baking) bowl.) Anyway, I mix all this together into one big yummy Goo and hold it up. Then, I flick a switch and on comes the soundtrack to the Ten Commandments. In a Moses “Let My People GO! voice, I give, The Command!

“Gypsy, Lay.”

The sound of a needle ripping across vinyl. “Twink Twink” The sound of big baby brown Labrador eyes blinking in complete angelic innocence.

But after a few moments, somewhere in the back ground, the drums of Clint Eastwood music starts. I think it’s the chimes theme from The Good The Bad and The Labrador.

I look closely at the eye ridges just above Angle Eyes and they twitch slightly. (Do you feel lucky? Wellllll Do Ya?)

I put the bowl up to my nose, (Ugh!) “Yummmmm! Laaaaaay Down.)

A slight twitching of a big black wet nose.

“Gypsy, Lay.”

The faint sound of dice in a Yatsi Cup. The front legs began to tremble. The stomach gurgling now in full rebellion yelling in Brave Heart Dolby 5.2 Surround Sound: “FREEDOM!”

“Oh well, I guess Patches would like this.” I turn my back.

Poppf! The sound of a body falling through the Gallows trap door followed by a whine mixed in with a promising, ‘you are soooo gonna pay for this Insolence! Feed Me Now!’

I place the bowl on the floor quickly retreating my fingers just in case he wants some extra protein. Ahhhhh Sweeet victory. I sometimes wonder if Aliens captured my dog and replaced his brain with that of a cat. Yes, he can be that stubborn.

After he has thoroughly inspected and found every last molecule, I take the bowl and rinse it out, placing it on the low shelf. Gypsy inspects it one last time before following me into the computer room. He stands on his mat, knowing what comes next. I get out a treat and without looking at him, I boot the computer while saying, “lay.”

Plop. No drama, down he goes.

I give him the treat and he eats it without any grumbling because in This room, things are somehow different. It’s cool and I don’t play music loud or none at all while I work on my book. It’s a sort of ‘back stage, or green room’ area away from the Big Outside. I guess the one thing I have learned from Gypsy is that in a Room of Equals, where you just relax in the company of someone else that you trust, this is a treasure beyond price. Master and Dog; but when both truly listen to the other, shared lessons are the ones remembered the best. The trick for the human is to note them for the blessings that they are.

Not much happening today because it won’t friggen stop raining!!! In between cloud burst, I took Gypsy to work, ( Be nice if I got payed for caring and playing with dogs and cats!) at the Rescue The Animals center. They OK’d my socialization training for Gypsy. This really means that I put him in the Big yard and pick out dogs with known temperaments and see what happens. But first, an update on Lucky of the Shallow Neck. This wonderful Lab Mix is doing well. His 360 neck wound is still open and will be for several weeks but it’s clean and he is happy to see any face that leans down to look in on him. They very carefully clipped his fur down to about an inch, burring it three inches to ether side of the wound and hand bathed him. On his first day, he and that wound was a hard smell as you can imagine but today, I carefully hugged him with my nose close to his neck and he smelled quite normal for a Lab mix in a kennel. That kennel gets much more cleaning than the normal excellent care all the over 100 concrete kennels get. I was hoping we could just keep him in the clinic but it was explained to me that he would actually be more vulnerable to infections there because of other dogs that are brought in with problems. In the ‘general population’ he will be happier with other healthy dogs around. He will never be lonely and forgotten ever again. Privately, I think that the owner or one of the staff will eventually adopt him. It would be great for Lucky to be the ‘spokes person’ dog but only time will tell about that. As for Gypsy, I have to keep reminding myself that the ASPCA facility is half hospital as well as a no-kill shelter. Dogs can catch things from other dogs just as in a human hospital but a LOT of bleach and soapy water is used here.

OK, Gypsy started out with introductions to Aphrodite, a large ‘Maraduke’ dog and an Australian Sheppard. A few growls but no problems. I’m very proud of him because he had to walk between the outsides of the kennels with a LOT of yapping, ‘It’s not fair! He gets to play and I’m stuck here in the kennel!’ upset dogs but not once did he charge any of them! I introduced and swapped out several more dogs and had good results. The only problem is a scratch on his nose from getting too close to one cat that was peacefully sleeping in a carrier, Ouch, but he didn’t try to eat the cat. We will try this for several days but the BIG test will be getting him to traverse between the inside kennels aisle. It is only two feet wide but around 30 yards long and those dogs can cause hearing damage! If you ever want 50 barking dogs for a ring tone for your phone, come here!

On some ‘Oh Drat’ news, because of all the rain and more expected tomorrow, the Wiener Dog Races this year out at Buffalo Gap have been canceled. This is a huge fund raiser for the ASPCA and a Lot of fun! I’m hoping that it will be rescheduled.  Just looked at the Weather Map and another storm is closing in.

Have a fun weekend everyone and stay dry!

Bitter Sweet Magic/ Hard Magic. (Warning! What you are about to read is very graphic.)

That’s the title of this blog today. Bitter Sweet Magic begins with Chicken Little and this blog begins and ends with her. Yes, I use that name for the last time. Today, I went in to check up on her but the events of Hard Magic took most of my time and I’ll get to that in a moment. I placed CW in the Quiet Room with a little black chiwawa to keep her company while I helped to deal with a crises. This morning, a call came in from Brownwood Texas. A citizen had found a dog wandering through the city park and notified local authorities. They called the Abilene ASPCA and transported the dog to the Center where he was rushed to the Vet. Bolt cutters were one of the surgical instruments used but NOT on any legs. This Lab/mix was once a happy puppy that someone had put a quite normal choke chain collar around its neck. These collars can be bought at almost any store and is used for training. Used in the correct manner, they are a safe and humane way to train any dog. A Lab puppy could wear a small collar for the first few months before a larger one would be needed. Oops, someone forgot to get a bigger collar. It is made of metal links and the dog is now full grown. Bitter good news is that the wound is so deep and grievous that all nerve endings in the neck are gone. The dog looks 2/3 decapitated because the Vet had to cut into the neck to remove the parts of the collar that skin had covered but is in little to no pain. I would have said, ‘put the dog down’.  But wait, the dog is in little to no pain and with a lot of care, he will live with one heck of a scar  but he Will Live and will be in no pain from his ordeal. His name is Lucky. On the floor, I held this dog’s head while our teck tried to find a vein to start a saline IV to get him hydrogenated but he was so emancipated that all she could do is inject saline by big CC tubes and needles directly under the skin. From there, it would refresh the cells and carry the moisture to the blood stream widening the veins. After about an hour, it worked. Lucky was ‘drunk’ with what the Vet gave him for the surgical removal of the collar but on his own, he climbed to his feet and staggered around the clinic getting steadier by the moment. This incredibly mistreated  dog, all the time we were working with him, as I held and talked quietly to him, while skilled hands worked, he never stopped trying to wag his tail. After all that, he could still trust. It was great that he could walk around because now, his body was above his legs and the veins were now hydrogenated enough to get that IV in. I lifted him up to the table. We inserted and wrapped the IV, tube and I lifted him off the table and carried him to his large and quiet cage. After getting Lucky settled, I talked with him for awhile, stroking his ears just like Gypsy likes. Soft boom boom booms of his tail striking that metal box echoed throughout the clinic. His environment will have to be kept very clean to keep the two-inch wide wound that completely encircles his neck, clean. Also, he has a one inch hole/rip in his left ear flap, thankfully healed. His blood was tested and he does have heart worms. Actually, even with all this, he has a great chance to make it. I hope he does because there is no one he will ever see that he won’t rip a tear of sadness and of joy in his story and wagging tale; of finally finding the kind of humans that God intended for him to teach, and to love.

Well, after all that, I cleaned up as best I could as did everyone and I went back into the main part of the show area. A woman came in saying that she was looking for a small dog. I took her on a walk of the cages but she just didn’t find what she wanted. We went back to the show floor and she saw CW in the quiet room with one of the children of the staff holding her and quietly talking. She watched and watched and asked about CW. I told her story and she just nodded and watched from the other side of the glass. She then asked if she could go inside. I let her in and she sat with CW for a very long time, quietly holding and stroking her. She came out and stated that she wanted her. I had told her that CW really needed a quiet place and someone that can keep her beside them while at home. She just nodded, not in a,‘of course you dummy!’ way, but in what I felt was a clear understanding of what CW needed. It was explained that CW couldn’t go home with her that day because she still needed spaying that was scheduled for next Tuesday. The woman filled out the paperwork and I offered to use her cell phone for pictures. For the first time, I got to see her smile. She thought that was a great idea. CW will get a home but not with me. From what I saw, CW clearly felt at ease in her arms but I knew that this was in part due to the others that had sat with her and my time with her. We did our job and the rest will be up to her.

Whew! Long Post! But now, as for Patches! I took her to the pound this morning, (relax, not as an In Mate! And… still no sigh of Littlebear.) So that the good people could help give me more info on what she is. And the best guess…..  American Fox-Bull terrier with a bit of lab/Bird dog mix. In short, The Great American MUTT. I took her with me when going in to help out at the center. I was glad she had water in the pickup because I was gone for a while. When I brought her in, everyone loved her. Her age was again placed at 3 to 5 months and without telling anyone what the pound told me, everyone came up with the same mix. The day ended well. Early in the morning I had visited the Plasma Center to make a bit of money so that I could get a hard plastic kiddy pool for Gypsy. Once home, I filled it up and instant wet Lab!

Have a great day everyone and Hug Your Dog! One last thing. The Story of Lucky and updates can be had by calling the Abilene ASPCA at:325-698-7722. They are open 1pm to 4 pm Monday through Saturday. Tomorrow is Shots Day. Patches and I will be in line to get them and her City Tag.

Robert L Sudbury

PuppyMutt Productions.

Author of: Bitter Sweet Magic/ Hard Magic. A Blog of Gypsy, My Lazy Lab.

Copyright: The Sudbury Company. July 6 2010.

Well, how things change! Bobbie and I went to the Rescue The Animals center to check up on Chicken Little, (Ugh, I hate that name.) There were several people waiting for them to open, it was after one pm. I got a student volunteer to come to the door and Oops: they forgot to tell the public that they would be closed on the fifth. Rut Row! as Astro would say. Well, things got a little more interesting. I asked that because I am a volunteer that helps out at the Mall store, if we could come in and check up on C.L. She did but before we went in, DOOM! A lady pulled up and had this… um…. well our best guess is a Fox Terrier Bird Dog mix. She is a pup about two months old and although probably won’t get as big as  a Lab, she will be tall. Anyway, she rescued her just south of Tye Texas, (10 miles west of Abilene.) There are a lot of cattle ranches out there and it is also Dump City for low life’s that need to get rid of unwanted pups. All these jerks would need to do is take them to the Abilene pound but I guess they can’t look an animal control officer in the eye. Although sad, these pups at least would have a three day to a week’s chance at getting adopted. Well, anyway, this nice lady said that the dog was covered in ticks and fleas but she had bathed her and had done the best she could but absolutely could not keep her. Sadly, once again, she is one of almost everyone that thinks that Rescue The Animals will take in strays. They can’t because if they did, the building would be stuffed! Again, Rescue the Animals RESCUES dogs and cats from the Pound. 40% need long term treatment and that clogs up the turnover because treating heart worm can take weeks to several months. OK, anyway, good ‘ol kind hearted me… but at least Bobbie was with me. We took the dog to Petsmart to see if they could help label the dog and the results we got back, we feel might be a bit off. They are insisting that there is a bit of Pit in her. Ummmm, could be and these people (the groomers) see dogs every day so they could be right; but I want a second opinion. So what say you? What is Patches? (Yep, Bobbie named her.) We can’t keep her because we… (Patches, quit with the Puppy Eyes, it ‘tant going to work!) She is already the size of a full grown cat. I put her in with Gypsy, Bella and Tramp. Result: Tramp, the Dirty Old Man, is cool with another fem, Gypsy really doesn’t care one way or another, but Bella… whooo, still early but if Patches gets near Gypsy’s size, look out. Right now, she’s all puppy, clumsy and generally shy. I think that if I cleaned her up a bit more, I could find a home for her because everyone at Petsmart, (customers) loved her. It was interesting to hear that three of them were their for almost the exact reasons we were; Found strays.

OK, Update on CW. I didn’t get to spend much time with her because of Patches but she seemed OK and I held her for awhile while Bobbie looked in on one of her favorites named Harley. This is the Sheppard/Collie mix that I told you about that jumps from the floor of his kennel to one side wall and then to the other side wall and then back to the floor. The kennels walls are concrete. Tomarrow, will be a regular day at the center and I will check on the fostering, (or deposit) on CW. Oh, and about a Name change. my niece has suggested, ‘Freedom’, thats a good contender. Another reader sent in something interesting and it is as follows:

The exact Hebrew used in reference to animals throughout the Bible is: ‘nephesh chayah’ or ‘living soul’. This is how the phrase has been translated in Genesis 2:7 and in four hundred other places in the Old Testament.

Nephesh Chayah- Living Soul. Interesting. I’ll have to find out how those words are pronounced.

Se ya, godda take Gypsy for his walk and I’d bet Patches ‘tant gonna like being left behind.

Rescued from ranchers with guns.

Happy Birthday Mary Kay! hope you had a good one!

Today, I helped out at the Mall booth again. I arrived at the Rescue The Animals center at 11 am and received some sad news. Their was a golden Lab named Sushi. She was a sweet dog that we had brought to the booth last week in an effort to find her a home but large dogs are hard to place. The day before, she was fine as we evaluated the dogs and fixed records that had missing information.  Sushi ran and played happy to be out of her kennel just like the other dogs. Yesterday a couple came in and had seen Sushi at the booth and wanted to take another look at her. I happily went to her kennel and let her out and saw that her belly was very bloated. We called the Vet but he was at an emergency call and couldn’t see her. Sushi did not seem to be in any pain and other than trouble finding a comfortable spot to lay on the floor, seemed fine. The vet was told about all the symptoms and didn’t think the situation was life threatening. I took her out into the yard and although she tried, she could not potty. We gave her a good laxative and could only hope for a messy kennel in the morning. She did not make it through the night and results show that she died of something that affects a lot of Labs. In the book, Marly and Me, that Lab died of a twisted stomach and that’s how Sishi died. I’m going to read up on this because of Gypsy. He’s fine and healthy but I’m going to see if keeping him on a certain type of dog food will help avoid this. Dry, moist, mix, whatever is needed.

OK, on a good note, my ‘ol buddy Dude, the hairless Chiwawa found a home! He was 5 years old and went into the lap of an 80 year old that really wanted him. After sleeping in my lap and accepting his new owner, he happily went off with her. He wasn’t the um… hansonist little dog but he made up for it with his calm and loving personality.

On another happy note, (really) after finding out of the passing of Sushi, I went to the kennel of the Chiwawa that I told you about yesterday; the one that has the burn scar.  I had to once again, step in and gently pick her up. We went into the office area and I sat in a chair holding her and talking to her. She stopped shivering and calmed down quite a bit but still seemed like a captive in my lap. After about an hour, I had to put her back because we needed to get to the Mall. Five hours later, we returned and I had a bit of time before closing so I went looking for her again. Magic. She saw me and although she didn’t run, she came to the front of her kennel. I opened the door and she quickly retreated. I eased inside and again, gently picked her up and we returned to that chair. I sat and petted her over and over and over again, very gently for about ten minuets. Someone came in the door and asked some questions and I had put my hand down on the arm rest. I soon felt a wet nose under my palm. For the first time, she wanted to be petted. Every time I stopped, she would nudge my hand and soon, she put her head on my chest, closed her eyes, lay down her ears and slept. I really would like to take her home but the foster paperwork has to be done by the chief administrator. I’m hoping to catch her on Monday and get that done. I Do Not need to be taking the time to rehab a dog! I Need to Find A Job! I guess I’ll just have to find a way to do both because every time I look at that long scar on her side…

Oh, the name they gave this dog…. Please have the gag bucket close by…. Chicken Little. If I get her, That will change. Those of you that are reading my little blog, sorry that their are no pictures yet because all my time with her has been spent holding her. Soon, I’ll get some pictures up. What would be a good name for a dog that almost died at the hands of a monster but has found the courage to trust again? Help me out!

Note: I can foster her for free but if I want to adopt her that will be costly depending on how she test for heart worms and other things that could incur long term treatment. I feel that I would be cut a deal but we’ll see.  Oh, and Gypsy? I think he knows that he might have to get used to a little dog that is the exact same color as a squirrel because he sniffs my shirt and gives me suspicious looks. Don’t anyone worry about Gypsy, he get’s his walk everyday, even in the light rain. His training is going slow but we’ll get there together and if CW, (No I will not say that name again!) makes a full recovery, what a story she could tell and the hope she could bring to a lot of people!

Everyone have a good 4th and let your dogs sleep in the house that night. Fireworks really bother them, even the ones you don’t hear, they do!

Robert

Ya know? I would much rather scoop puppy poop down at the ASPCA shelter than go to the Dentist! As it turned out, I did both. I didn’t think that I would feel like helping out after getting a tooth pulled but it was better than sitting home. Hard to look for a job when you talk funny from the numbing stuff they give you. MmmmY!M Mmmmobert mnd MmmmI Meed MMMa MMob!  ( Hi, I’m Robert and I need a Job!) The puppies understood me just fine, thank you! I also assisted in the cataloging of each dog. We would let a few out to run around in the yard and observe them and record their characteristics. Some were very shy, some were overly playful. (Rottweiler slobber from a 200 lb dog.) One hunting hound/bird dog that wouldn’t let anyone touch her. But I guess my magic moment was a 235 lb very old mama Great Dane. There was another magic moment but I’ll get to that one at the end. Princess was a very shy HUGE dog. Standing just on all fours, her head on her long neck, she could touch your chest. If she ever stood on two, she would easily be six feet tall. Very shy and would shy away from everyone. After shooing her out of her pen, there was a smaller side yard that was a bit quieter. After I got her into it and let her roam and sniff and take care of business, I just sat on the ground and eventually, she came just a little closer with every trip around the yard. They have a lot of dogs out there so time is limited. After about ten minuets, she came over to me and lay down, putting her huge long head in my lap. This dog had been rescued from very deplorable conditions. She was half starved with all ribs showing. It will take a while to  bring her back to full health. She is also a very old mama dog that was probably used as a puppy producer. Also, her teeth are bad and as with most ‘Marmaduke’ dogs, she drools. Yep, I got a lap full of slobber. She just lay there only panting while I scratched her ears and petted her. After about five minuets our time was up and she seemed to know this because she raised her bones to her feet and stood waiting for me to get up. I walked her to her kennel, no shooing was needed. She stood and watched as I took out the next dog, not barking as the others do, just watching, and waiting. I can’t see anyone ever paying the fees and taking this huge old dog home but the ASPCA shelter is a no kill shelter so I would guess that the Great ‘ol Danes suite is reserved for her for as long as she wants.

And the other magic moment? It was getting close to closing time and all 60 dogs had been let out and exercised, but one. She was a small Chiwawa (I never will learn how to spell that!) Hiding under the raised trampoline type beds the dogs sleep on. Those beds are not more than four inches above the concrete and she was hiding under it. She never barked when i lifted the bed up but ran in terror to the far back of the kennels. These are nice kennels about twelve feet long and three feet wide that have two openings from the front inner corridor and to the outside. This little dog ran and plaster herself against the outer chain link door shivering like a leaf but still, not a yelp or bark. And that’s when I saw the burn mark all the way from near her neck to her flank. It was an old wound that had healed well but I doubt much hair will grow there. I slowly approached and carefully picked her up tucking her head under my jaw, speaking to her as I did so. I knew that if I took her out to the big yard that she would be hard to catch or even find so I took her to the front and people seemed surprise that she would let anyone hold her. This shelter has a Quiet Room that is normally used to let prospective adopters evaluate and acquaint themselves with the animal or to bring in a family dog and see if the new dog will get along. We went to that room and just sat and talked for awhile. Of course, she had little to say but I was able to get her shivering to stop. It was almost closing time so too soon, i had to return her to her kennel. There is another Chiwawa that shares the kennel to keep her company. I walked all the way inside and placed her right back on the towel she was on when I first picked her up. The other dog was all over her licking her and snuggling her. I quietly closed and latched the gate. I’ll check on her tomorrow and hopefully she might be a bit better. Nobody knows how she got that burn and I really don’t want to know. What’s important is restoring trust. I was asked to consider fostering her. Well see how it goes for a few days before I decide anything. I’ll see if I can get some pictures tomorrow.