Help us Raise Money for Rocky's heartworm treatment

Please visit our eBay auction store. The proceeds from sales will go to pay for Rocky's heartworm treatment. Thanks!!

Another new Addition to our Pack!

Well, now we have another dog. About 3 weeks ago a stray followed my husband and our other dogs home from their walk. The dog was very sweet and so happy to see us. And he wouldn't go away! He didn't have a collar and we noticed there were marks around his neck where the hair was gone. He was very thin. He looked like he may have been neglected or abused. He had lots of small patches of hair missing all over him leg and face. One side of his muzzle was missing most of the hair. But he was a very pretty dog, other than being in really bad shape at the time.

We finally decided to take him into our back yard and bathe him and give him flea treatment. After we came out and he was laying very calmly on our front lawn. He really needed the bath and flea treatment. Especially since it looked like he might have some allergic skin problem, probably related to flea infestation. He did not appear to have mange. He only had patches of hair missing. Probably from chewing and scratching.

That was an interesting experience. Having a strange dog in our back yard, hosing him down. And basically not knowing anything about him. We were cautious. But he was wonderful. Not a bad vibe from him the entire time we were scrubbing and hosing.

I contacted several rescue organizations and no one had room to take him. Sharon at Mittens and Mutts did respond and say that if we would foster the dog she would let us bring him out to PetSmart or Petco and show him for adoption. We didn't even know if the dog was healthy or not. We didn't even know if he had a rabies shot. He had not even been checked out by a vet. Anyway, so we keep the dog for what we think will only be a few days.

They have a "wellness clinic" at Banfield in PetSmart on Tuesdays and Wednesday. So I had planned to take our new found friend and let them look at him and at least get him a rabies shot. Well, by the time Tuesday came, my husband had already started getting attached to the "big dog". So he went with me to the vet. By this time we had also found a vet that we could get a neuter certificate from and had made an appointment for the new dog to get neutered. It was only going to cost us about $20 after the lady at Two by Two animal rescue offered to help us with half the cost. We thought this would help him get adopted faster. We didn't know that big black dogs don't get adopted. : (

So, off to the vet we go. On the way there, my husband tells me that he thinks maybe we should just keep him. The big black dog, at our townhouse. My response was to just wait and see what the vet says about him and we will decide from there. Well, to cut this long story short. The new doggy was heart worm positive. We asked that they do x-rays to see how bad. It is not that bad, so we are having him treated and he is now the newest member of our family.

At this point I told my husband, "No more!". There will be no more animals coming into this house. I love them all dearly. Even the new guy. BTW, whose name is "Rocky". But I can only handle so many. And the 4 dogs, 2 cats and 50 fish are just about too many. I am up to my eyeballs in pets. We aren't even out of training with our first two and now we have to start training two more. We are going to try and start them with the basics on our own. They are both very smart. I knew that Jackie, the Jack Russell, would be very smart. But the new doggy is just as smart. And he is not as hyper. At least he isn't right now.

The picture above was taken on the day he found us. He does look much better now. His coat is starting to fill in nicely. He really isn't gaining much weight yet. But I think that has something to do with the heart worms and the fact that he is not "fixed" yet.

Intermediate Obedience

Intermediate obedience training is awesome and the dogs are doing great. We are so proud of them. And so is the trainer. She told us that we were in her "hall of fame" because we have come such a long way with our dogs. They don't bark as much and act so much better in the store. We have 4 more weeks of intermediate and then we will probably move on to a click-a-trick class. I would love to get them into some more difficult tricks.

And little Princess Jackie is learning to sit. That is a big accomplishment for her since she still doesn't have a lot of mobility in her front right leg. In fact, the trainer noticed that her back right leg turns out. So it is really starting to sound like she was hit by a car and that is the reason she had so many injuries when she was found. It is really lucky that she healed up so well. She didn't have any broken bones when we adopted her. Only the absess on her tail and the limp from what we thought was just her front right leg. But now she runs and plays hard with the rest of our dogs. She doesn't seem to notice that there is any problem with her legs. She is such a joy. I think we are lucky to have each other. Adopting her was one of those things that was just meant to be.

Graduation Pictures

Quincy

Spike

Beginner Obedience Training
Graduation Pictures

Aren't they Precious!!

Donate Cell Phones for Shelby Humane Society

Cell Phone Donation Link

Well, we made it through beginner's......

We graduated beginner training last week with our Schnauzer Spike and our Mix Quincy. Tonight we start intermediate training with a whole new group of dogs. This should be interesting since Spike still doesn't know how to act in public. And with the two of them, they just feed off of each other. So it is like a barkfest every time we go into that store. They always know it is us as soon as we walk through the door. :)

Wish us luck!


- T
www.ourlifewithmultiplesclerosis.net

Obedience Training Graduation!

Tomorrow night two of our doggies graduate from beginner obedience training. Hopefully!!! I am not really worried about Quincy (the older mixed breed). But our baby, Spike, the Mini-Schnauzer still has a lot of problems. I'm hoping that the intermediate training will help him work through them. The trainer has a doorbell that she uses in the intermediate training! That should be very exciting; since they both freak out when someone rings the bell.

Our new addition, Jackie, is adjusting very well. Her injured tail has healed, and the hair has grown back so the bend in it is barely noticable. She is such a sweet doggy. Except when it comes to the cats. That is another story. But we are working on that too. And things are getting much better in that area all the time.

- T
www.ourlifewithmultiplesclerosis.com

Pets for Life Newsletter

Subscribe to the "Pets for Life" newsletter offered by the Humane Society of the United States. Just click the link below to subscribe.

https://community.hsus.org/humane/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=14606133

You can also visit my website at:
http://www.ourlifewithmultiplesclerosis.com

All of my Babies!!!

Well, almost. I have a lot of fishes too. But it is hard to get them to be still for the camera. :) You have already seen the newest addition to our family in a previous post, so here are my other doggies and kitties. I love them all so much!!!







Aren't they all just adorable? I'm a proud mama!
So Please...


- T
If you want to know a little more about me, you can visit my website at:
http://www.ourlifewithmultiplesclerosis.com

On CNN.com - Deschanel: The sad truth about dogfighting

I just read an article on CNN.com. It was written by Emily Deschanel of the television series "Bones". She is a human rights activist and spokesperson for the Humane Society of the United States. In the article she conveys feelings I am sure are shared by many animal lovers in America. Dogfighting is wrong!! And we want it stopped!!

We all love animals (or at least most of us do)!

This blog has been created in the wake of the Michael Vick dog fighting incident.

ASPCAs response to the Michael Vick case

Adopt a pet at the ASPCA Adoption Center

I would like to think that everyone in this world loves some type of animal. Whether it be a Schnauzer in your house or a hound in your yard, fishes in your aquarium or reptiles in your terrarium. Animals are a huge part of our daily lives and I can't imagine living without them.

Not necessarily with the Vick incident in our minds, my husband and I recently adopted a rescue dog. She is a sweet Jack Russell Terrier (full blooded) who was obviously abused in some way. She has several injuries that should heal very well and we expect her to be a normal little Jack Russell once she recovers.

Out of all of the scenarios we came up with about what may have happened, I have decided to give her a story. If she could talk I believe this is what she would say. "I used to be a mommy to a bunch of little puppies, but they kept taking them all away from me. Then after I was too old they put me out in the street and told me to fend for myself because I was no longer profitable for them. I was on my own for a while, taking handouts and scrounging in garbage for food. Once I got into a fight with a wild animal and I was injury pretty badly. I recovered from my injuries and was out again, on my own fending for myself. Then I was hit by a car and it hurt my shoulder and broke my tail and I had a really bad limp. Then, finally, someone rescued me from the side of the road and took me in. They cared for me and fed me. They gave me medicine and made sure I had a warm place to rest. They could not keep me, so they gave me to a woman who found me a nice home with other animals to play with and really nice people to love me. Now my life is good." The end...

Here is the little one that we adopted from the rescue.



Always love and protect your friends and companions. - T