3 more dog food bowls please

[Paul Sabucchi]

Just added another 3 rescues.
Got a 15 year old female toy Pincher, someone took her to a vet friend of mine to be put down, he refused because there was nothing wrong with the dog except for a fair few miles on the clock. She is the one in the duck dingy (if it was not made to float I would say we have touched rock bottom!)
Then there is a 7 year old setter from Sicily, was found unconscious and close to death mostly because of Leishmaniasis, friends of ours there managed to fix him but then had nowhere to keep him.
Then there is a sleek 3 year old from the local rescue, been with them since a puppy but always overlooked by adopters.
They have all taken very well to their new forever home and the multitude of new brothers and sisters

[Second Hand Pat]

Very cool for you to that Paul and beautiful new fur babies. Do the new fur babies have their forever home with you and your family? So how many do you have?
Pat

[rickztahone]

Super cute pic with the duckie lol

[LizStreithorst]

Thank God for people like you. All three look so happy.

[brewmaster15]

Paul, When I read stories like this have 2 main feelings.The first is angry disgust at the former owners for abandoning these animals. The other is happiness that theres people like you that care enough to not abandon them. There are people who should never have pets and then there are thankfully people like you.

Congrats on your new family members!
al

[Disgirl]

You are a very good man Paul! Lucky dogs to have been found by you.
Barb

[Pices]

I read once that with all the bad people we hear about, there are also just enough good people to give us hope. You are one of those people Paul. You make the world a better place.
Patty

[Paul Sabucchi]

Thanks, these rescues give back in spades much more than I give them. Current count is 28 rescue dogs (+3 I actually purchased) and 21 cats (got 3 new kittens a few weeks ago). I am just sad we can't really take in much more as we are pretty close to what we can keep in acceptable conditions (no one sleeps outside) and me and my wife can look after. On one hand it is positive that over here a dog/cat can be put down only if in incurable suffering or dangerous but on the other there are still far too many stray dogs, or abandoned or puppies born on the streets. Particularly in rural areas too few people are enlightened enough/willing to pay to have their animals neutered. Humane societies here still lack the means and organization required to really make dent. The situation is far better than it was decades ago but still a long way from ideal

[danotaylor]

Current count is 28 rescue dogs (+3 I actually purchased) and 21 cats (got 3 new kittens a few weeks ago)

WOW mate, that is simply amazing!! :angel: :angel: 1 angel for you, 1 for your wife :grin:

[Scribbles]

How wonderful! Congrats on the new family members. They all look very happy.

[LizStreithorst]

You're not the only one who needs another food bowl, Paul. I don't have as many as you and your wife but I brought number 9 home yesterday.

Her name is Vasha. She belonged to the frail old lady who gave me my Malti-Poo, Chacha. Despite the fact that the old lady is a devout Christian and they aren't supposed to lie, the old lady told me that Chacha a good dog. Chacha was a terrible dog. The first time I left her home she presented me with a turd on my marble top table...she was a vindictive pisser and shitter! I only whipped her little behind when she chased the cat and I had to whip it three times, each time a little harder, before she finally got the message, but it took me a full year to turn this 4 year old terrible dog into a 5 year old good dog.

Vasha is not like that. She has been kept in a pen for 9 years, although it may have been better for her when the old lady's husband was alive. They had a shoot made that they could pour her food in without going into her pen. The poor thing doesn't even respond to her name. I fell in love Vasha the first time I saw her over a year ago when I went to the lady's house to give Vasha a nail trim. The lady is now giving away a lot of her stuff. My thought is that she's thinks that she's close to the end of life. She finally gave me Vasha.

Vasha weighs 40 or 45 lbs. She seems to be in good condition. I took her to work with me today and gave her possibly the first bath she has ever had. Her coat shines now. I have an appointment with the vet Thursday for an exam, fecal, and heart worm test. She has a lump that looks like an umbilical hernia but doesn't feel with one. When it stops raining I'll try to get a picture of her. Even though she's a black dog with a white tip on her tail and 4 white feet I can see GSD in her. I wonder if you will see it too.

[Swedgin]

Jesus Christ. And people make fun of us for having five dogs and some other bits and bobs. How great of you to spend your time and money on this. Living the dream and making a difference.
Chapeau

[Paul Sabucchi]

Well done, I think we are hopeless fools but it fills my heart with joy to know the world is a better place because you are in it! We are trying our best to stick to the current lot at least for a little while as we have a fair bit of training to do (mostly recall) with the latest additions. Having said this we did say we would give shelter if there is no other closer option to a dog from the UK. She is a pit like dog and with the strict BSL laws there she has been in police kennels for over 2 years while her court hearing keeps getting postponed. Over there a dog does not need to be aggressive, just "look" like the wrong breed. We made a similar offer before for a similar case in Northern Ireland but the court just had the dog destroyed. Looking forward to photos of Vasha, do you have before and after the make over? How are you and the Chow? Take care

[Second Hand Pat]

Thank goodness the lady gave you Vasha Liz...in a pen for nine years and doesn't even know her name :( how sad. So glad she is in your care. One day I will tell you guys Klouse's story...my daughter's mini-horse.
Pat

[LizStreithorst]

She's not what anyone would call a beautiful dog. She has ugly double rear dew claws. I hate rear dew claws period, but double ones are always gross. I'll get good pics of her as soon as I can. I need a good head shot and a good profile. I won't take a pic of her from the rear. I didn't take a before of her but she looks the same except that her coat shines. I just used the same shampoo and conditioner that I use on most dogs I groom. She must not have had a bath for her entire life.

I know what you mean about not wanting to take in more dogs, what else can you do if you are the dogs last best choice. I feel less bad about taking this one in because she's 9 years old. I worry about the 7 month old mix that I took 2 years ago.

Saint Puppy and I are doing very well. Thanks for asking.

[LizStreithorst]

Thank goodness the lady gave you Vasha Liz...in a pen for nine years and doesn't even know her name :( how sad. So glad she is in your care. One day I will tell you guys Klouse's story...my daughter's mini-horse.
Pat

Pat, Please tell me Klouse's story. It will make my heart feel warm.

[LizStreithorst]

I took Vasha back to her pen at the old lady's house this morning. Very sad. I was on the heating pad yesterday even resting my back. Vash was on the bed nest to me. When I saw that it was getting dark we got up to lock the chickens in their house. I don't know what set her off but she got in full kill mode. Yelling at her had no effect. When she ran into the chicken house and grabbed a hen I ran in and tackled her. The hen got away but didn't come back all night long.

I beat Vasha and said NO!!! but she had no clue what I was beating her for. She ignored the beating. I had to drag her on her back by her front legs back into the house. She turned into her normal lady like self immediately. When I took her back she seemed just as happy to be back in her pen as she was living the good life here with me.

[Paul Sabucchi]

Sorry to hear that but sometimes no matter our best intentions it is just not feasable. One of our latest fosters (or should I say failed fosters as we are properly adopting him) does have a bit of a chase instinct after our runner ducks and some cats but he does not harm them once he makes contact. We have had 2 or 3 killed over the years and it is not an experience I want to repeat in a hurry. Take care

[Second Hand Pat]

Pat, Please tell me Klause's story. It will make my heart feel warm.

Here you go Liz...

My daughter growing up always wanted a "BIG" dog. At the time we already had dogs. So Diana grew up, went to college and meet Mike, her man friend. After college Diana went to work and a couple years into her working life she accepted a job transfer to Maryland. She and Mike packed up and moved. After living there a couple years Diana and Mike bought a house and it was time for her "BIG" dog. She did some research and decided on a Mountain Swiss dog and starting looking.

She actually managed to find one at a local rescue. So she and Mike went and meet the dog. He was calm, relaxed and huge. They liked him and decided to adopt him. So they make the arrangements with the rescue and bought him home a couple days later.....then all heck broke loose. At the time Klause was a under a year old but already 110 pounds or so.

Once home Klause turned into the energetic puppy he actually was. Apparently it seems the dog was sedated during their first visit with the dog at the rescue...oops but bad form. Diana fell totally in love with the dog and Klause fall totally in love with Diana but suddenly Mike had a competitor for Diana's attention.

So the good thing it appeared Klause was housebroken but the bad thing was what to do with all that energy. Plus Mike discovered that dog had one very bad habit. The dog would run tight circles around Mike and jump up on Mike and grab his tee-shirt. So the dog would liberally shed the shirt off Mike. So Mike and Diana had to figure out ways to drain the energy which helped to calm the dog. Two or four hour bike rides became the norm, sometimes twice a day. Adding a dog friendly pack allowed Klause to carry his own water. They slowly got a handle on the dog clothes shedding dance. Mike got a handle on on being the pack leader with Klause. Sometimes Klause would go into "protection mode" against Mike when Diana was around. I know there is other stuff Diana did not tell me as I suggested that she NOT get such a large dog due to health issues of large dogs plus not being a great fit for their lifestyle.

I finally got to meet Klause one Christmas. Klause had calmed down considerably and was more or less a decent dog. Having never been around a large dog I found Klause a bit intimidating plus Klause would run into people sometimes. Now I am not even five foot tall so a run in with a 130 pound dog would lay me out flat and perhaps sent me to the hospital. I did find my mojo with Klause and we get on quite well.

Since that Christmas Diana and Mike have moved back to Florida and we get to puppy sit every now and again. So I did not have grand babies but grand puppies instead.

A couple months ago Klause fell and started to limp. After a couple weeks Diana and Mike took Klause to the vet for x-rays. When Diana and Mike went to pick Klause up and get the results of the x-rays the vet said he has never seen such a bad set of knees and hips. :( Plus he said if he tried to fix one (knee or hip) it was make the other (knee or hip) worse. So the bottom line it was 20k to try and fix with no guarantees. This broke Diana's heart. So the bottom line the dog will be on anti-inflammatories the rest of his life. The vet gave Klause a couple of years of comfortable life and he is currently three. So Mike and Diana will enjoy him and be careful with him. Basically Klause ended up in the best situation possible.

Klause the mini-horse.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/778/31018680323_2d64e8aec5_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Pg1QZa)[/url] (https://flic.kr/p/Pg1QZa)

Diana and her doggy crew.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/615/31828310905_a0352bfebb_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/QuypX8) [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/129594174@N08/] (https://flic.kr/p/QuypX8)

[LizStreithorst]

That's a beautiful story, Pat. What a shame that a dog just 3 years old has such a short time left. He's a handsome boy.

Veterinary care is terribly expensive where you live. If you lived closer I would send you to my vet. He charges $800 to $1000 per knee and 10 years ago when he removed the femoral head on my Standard Poodle it was $800.

[Second Hand Pat]

That's a beautiful story, Pat. What a shame that a dog just 3 years old has such a short time left. He's a handsome boy.

Veterinary care is terribly expensive where you live. If you lived closer I would send you to my vet. He charges $800 to $1000 per knee and 10 years ago when he removed the femoral head on my Standard Poodle it was $800.

Liz, who knows how long Klause may live...hopefully longer then the vets suggests. Diana's other two pups are poodle/chihuahua mixes named Ben and Jerry. They are bothers and Jerry was born with rotated kneecaps (has bowed legs). Vet told Mike when the dog was two that Jerry needed surgery in order to be able to walk in later years. Jerry did not have the surgery (Mike couldn't afford it when Jerry was two) and today Jerry is 15 and walks fine. So who knows...
Pat

[Paul Sabucchi]

Wishing Klause all the best. In my experience if hips or knees are going to be a major issue you would notice by the age of 6-12 months. If he got to 3 years and just noticed then because he tweaked something then it should bode reasonably well. The really bad joints are those that are so mis-shapen they can pop out almost on their own. If his have not done so it is encouraging. His joints though may be still far from ideal and so wearing down the cartilage. As you have probably been told try and prevent him from putting weight on, reasonable exercise but discourage him from sprinting, jumping etc. Always happy to share what little I know

[Paul Sabucchi]

It's a hard life...

[Second Hand Pat]

Wishing Klause all the best. In my experience if hips or knees are going to be a major issue you would notice by the age of 6-12 months. If he got to 3 years and just noticed then because he tweaked something then it should bode reasonably well. The really bad joints are those that are so mis-shapen they can pop out almost on their own. If his have not done so it is encouraging. His joints though may be still far from ideal and so wearing down the cartilage. As you have probably been told try and prevent him from putting weight on, reasonable exercise but discourage him from sprinting, jumping etc. Always happy to share what little I know

I passed this on to Diana yesterday. It made her day. :)
Pat

[Paul Sabucchi]

You know when I said we were trying to halt taking in more dogs....it ain't working! The dog protection league begged me to take in another one, we were her last chance, bla bla bla... So here is Luna, 10 years old Collie cross, passed from pillar to post the last 4 years, 3 failed adoptions. Lots of weight to lose. Here she is this morning with Sandra and Dylan, the dog of the owner of the beach establishment (we have been borrowing him most mornings for the last 13 years)

[LizStreithorst]

That's very kind of you, Sue. Paul used to be around here all the time telling us about his house full of dogs and his home life. He was going through a hard time back then and then suddenly he quit posting. He is a retired veterinarian and a truly kind soul. BTW, my 6 dogs get bones, too. Bones are good for dogs.