A Dog Rescuer’s 12 Days of Christmas

A Dog Rescuer’s 12 Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
A donation to save a dog’s life.

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Two transport vans
and a donation to save a dog’s life.

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Three bags of kibble,
two transport vans,
and a donation to save a dog’s life.

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Four puppy mill closures,
three bags of kibble,
two transport vans,
and a donation to save a dog’s life.

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Five Goldens rescued,
four puppy mill closures,
three bags of kibble,
two transport vans,
and a donation to save a dog’s life.

On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Six finalized adoptions,
five Goldens rescued,
four puppy mill closures,
three bags of kibble,
two transport vans,
and a donation to save a dog’s life.

On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Seven abusers fined,
six finalized adoptions,
five Goldens rescued,
four puppy mill closures,
three bags of kibble,
two transport vans,
and a donation to save a dog’s life.

On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Eight thankful tail wags,
seven abusers fined,
six finalized adoptions,
five Goldens rescued,
four puppy mill closures,
three bags of kibble,
two transport vans,
and a donation to save a dog’s life.

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Nine seniors rehomed,
eight thankful tail wags,
seven abusers fined,
six finalized adoptions,
five Goldens rescued,
four puppy mill closures,
three bags of kibble,
two transport vans,
and a donation to save a dog’s life.

On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Ten new volunteers,
nine seniors rehomed,
eight thankful tail wags,
seven abusers fined,
six finalized adoptions,
five Goldens rescued,
four puppy mill closures,
three bags of kibble,
two transport vans,
and a donation to save a dog’s life.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Eleven foster families,
ten new volunteers,
nine seniors rehomed,
eight thankful tail wags,
seven abusers fined,
six finalized adoptions,
five Goldens rescued,
four puppy mill closures,
three bags of kibble,
two transport vans,
and a donation to save a dog’s life.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Twelve spay and neuters,
eleven foster families,
ten new volunteers,
nine seniors rehomed,
eight thankful tail wags,
seven abusers fined,
six finalized adoptions,
five Goldens rescued,
four puppy mill closures,
three bags of kibble,
two transport vans,
and a donation to save a dog’s life.

Season's Greeting and remember Spay and Neuter your Pets!

You were given a Life!

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house,

not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

in hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

with nary a thought of the dog in their heads.

And Mama in her kerchief and I in my cap,

knew he was cold, but who cared about that?

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

the dog must be loose; he's into the trash!

The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow,

gave the luster of mid-day to objects below.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,

but Santa Claus with eyes full of tears.

He unchained the dog, once so lively and quick,

last year's Christmas gift, now thin and sick.

More rapid than eagles, he called the dog's name,

and the dog went right to him, despite all his pain.

Now DASHER, now DANCER, now, PRANCER and VIXEN!

On COMET on CUPID on DONNER and BLITZEN!

To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall!!

Let's find him a home where he'll be loved by all!!

I knew in an instant there were no gifts this year.

For Santa had made our mistake very clear.

The gift of a dog is not just for the season,

we had gotten a pup for all the wrong reasons.

In our haste to think of a gift for the kids,

there was something important that we had missed.

A dog should be family, and cared for the same.

You don't give a gift, then put it on a chain.

And I heard him exclaim as he flew out of sight,

"YOU WERE GIVEN A GIFT!! YOU WERE GIVEN A LIFE."

Author Unknown

Possible Calendar Pictures..

Ok I know the deadline is the 30th but I can't choose... it is too difficult. So which picture do you think should go in the Addison Dogs Calendar?



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Pictures, Pictures...

I need some pictures of Raider for the Addison Dogs calendar so I have been taking lots of pictures! The pups had fun and so did I but would be nice to have three arms, one to throw a ball and two to take pictures..

                             I totally am in love with the first one with Caley and Raider.

Raider is sticking his tongue out at me.

Where did the ball go...

 My Girl

 Look at those ears lol

She is patiently waiting for me to throw the ball.

 Are you sure you threw the ball out there, I don't see it..

 Got it!!



Chauncy 8 weeks post ACL surgery

This is Chauncy at 8 weeks post Traditional ACL Repair. He is still on restrictions. He only goes outside on leash and we are still not allowing him to do stairs but he was cleared for stairs 2 weeks ago. But since we have the ramp there is no reason for him to do stairs. He is doing two 20 mins walks a day although that won't happen today, too much rain. He got a short one before the sky opened up and we beat it inside..

Lots of pics

I took lots of pictures today, practice, practice, practice! I think my guys are getting a little tires of it but I am having so much fun with it. it is Addison Dog Calendar time so I need to get some good ones of Raider.. there are some great ones here and I cannot choose.. Help me out folks, tell me what you like!

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Dogs, Water and Kids..

Caley my senior lady at 11.5 yrs.. No photoshop here at all. I am learning to use my camera and lenses!!  I love this picture of her.

I know I can get it, it is not worth jumping in for.

  YES we want it!!!

Emma is getting a drenching !

But Aselin will tell you that "if you hang out with wet dogs you will get wet"

 Throw it already!

Learning new things with my camera..

Aselin spent the day with me and we had a girls day. We had lunch with Lois and then we went to the beach and I got to practice a new technique with my camera called Bokeh..  When my friend Mariah posted some pictures on her site and they are totally awesome by the way, I loved the faded technique she used for the background.. You can see some of her pics at Bunch We Lunch with on facebook. She has spread her wings and is doing family pics now as well as the amazing dog pictures. She is in Toronto and I so wish she was closer to capture my Lab crew..
Anyway I spent some time practicing today and it came out pretty well I think. Of course having a cute subject really helps.. Next time I will try it out with the pups..

Getting the all important sand and water mix just right!

 Rinsing the sand off..

She was looking at periwinkles..

Just having fun...

The mix is almost right.

The water keeps leaking out!!

What sand!

 hmmm nuff said!

just need a little more sand..

Chauncy's Progress

I took this video on Sunday day 13 post op. He did fantastic even if I do say so myself. He doesn't do this well all the time but he is making great progress.

Outside on his potty breaks he does really well. Inside he tends to keep it up more than he does outside but that is normal.

The last day or so I have been able to stay in the living room with him rather than stay in the bedroom. He is doing great but he is one sad looking puppy and I feel guilty but he is not allowed to jump up on anything so until we get the all clear from the surgeon he stays on his beds.. or mine since it is on the floor...

Can I please get on the couch beside you... I love you!!

9 days Post Op

 

I think Chauncy's incision looks GREAT for 9 days post op. I wore the soft e-collar on him until I was sure he would leave it alone and he has so goodbye collar.. He is doing great being confined while I am at work. Bill takes him out for potty breaks on a leash. He is using his leg a bit outside but less so inside the house. He doesn't move around the house much at all. So for now that's good I guess. No walks yet, just potty breaks..

5 days Post OP

Well Chauncy is doing much better today, he has made steady progress this week. The swelling is almost completely gone and the incision looks great!

I was putting a mattress in the living room and sleeping there with him and the other pups. I covered the furniture with laundry baskets so he could not get up on them but he kept getting up and standing by the bedroom door which was closed of course as we don't want him jumping up on anything. I had to put him in the gated area anyway so I finally decided on Thursday to turn my bedroom into a crate.. I took the mattress off the frame ( well cleaned out what was under the bed first ) and put an area rug down on the wood floor to keep him from slipping and covered the rest of the floor with rubber backed mats. Now my evenings are being spent in the bedroom with the pups.. It's safe and I don't have to worry about him jumping up on anything so I don't have to sleep with one eye open.
Going to be a long summer!

ACL modified Flo Technique

Chauncy had the modified Flo Technique yesterday to repair his ACL which he ruptured on Jun 11th. The radiographs at the time of surgery showed minimal degenerative joint change and the expectation is he will develop arthritis and only time will tell how much.

He was not a happy camper at all on the short trip home.. He hurt and he let us know it. He developed diarrhea about 1/2 hr after getting home and that was certainly not pleasant for him. I suspect from intra-operative injectable NSAIDs which he was not supposed to have because of his reaction to them especially injectable anafen in the past. It is routinely given so I think it got slipped in. We had a rough first night with only Tramadol for pain. I iced him non stop last night, just rotated the sites so not to do any tissue damage. That helped, I know it did.. Thanks Karen.. if not for you I would not have started it when I did.

This picture is was taken just after I brought him home last night, he is a lot more swollen today.
With regular Tramadol and hourly icing he is doing better today. Emma and Aselin both came to help me look after our boy. Thank heavens for great grand kids no matter how young they are.

The Ruff Wear Harness I got when he injured his leg has been very helpful and I highly recommend it for anyone who has a dog with an acl injury.


This is an excellent resource for Canine ACL issues and repairs. 

Canine ACL issues

Tomorrow is surgery day

Well tomorrow is surgery day for Chauncy.. I am looking forward to it and not looking forward to it.. We have had a terrible time with the NSAIDS, he just does not do well on them at all and so far Anafen, metacam and previcox have caused him diarrhea and vomiting. I had to stop the previcox, the diarrhea just got too much and that is the last thing he needs after surgery. I had to increase his tramdaol dose last night and iced him up several times but he was more comfortable at least. It is easy to tell when he is in pain as he starts to lick his knee and then takes it in his mouth, and will refuse to get up and go out when I take the other dogs. He won't even move when I hold his leash up.. I hate this, hate seeing him in pain.

ACL surgery

Well the surgeon confirmed what our Vet said and we booked Chauncy for repair surgery next Monday. We are going with the traditional repair. Chauncy's weight is perfect, I have the ramp in, rubber backed mats are all down and he is being crated to lesson the risk of damage to his joint. Rob feels he is a good candidate for this repair and he has done lots of these and I trust him.. Keep my boy in your thoughts.

ACL issues

Poor Chauncy, my Vet is pretty sure he ruptured his ACL, he has the classic drawer sign. It is a little more than a week and he is still not weight bearing on it. He is using his toes to balance with it a bit though. We have an appointment with the surgeon on Monday to see what he thinks and see how soon we can get it fixed it that is indeed what he thinks is needed.
We had to stop the NSAIDS as he had a nasty side effect, diarrhea and then vomiting from the metacam and also from anafen. Paula put him on tramadol and he seems ok with that. You can tell so easily when he needs it, he licks and then will chew at his knee.. So I am trying to prevent that by giving it morning and evening. He is spending his days in the crate and he is doing so well with that.

Bill hurt his leg yesterday and spent hrs in the ER, so is on crutches doubt the crutches will last long, he hates them.. We were supposed to build a better ramp today since it looks like we will need it long term. So with Bill's directions I am using the chop saw and it is looking pretty good! Just waiting for the drill to charge up so I can finish putting it together.

Chauncy injured his leg..

Hard to get a picture of him but you can see he is holding it up. He is totally non weight bearing. I am worried he blew his ACL out. 
I took the dogs all for a swim like I have done several thousands times and they all ran ahead and by the time I caught up a the wharf he was already limping.. 30 seconds out of my sight, and of course it was Sat. afternoon. So crate rest, pain meds and icing. I got a Web Master Harness or rather my husband drove to Enfield for it. It was either that or wait 3 weeks for one to come from the US. It is a very good harness and will allow me to get him in and out of the car easier and support his leg. I have a Vet appointment tomorrow with Paula so we will see. I am really hoping for a soft tissue injury!!!
He is being such a good boy and is doing fine in the crate even though we have not used one for years..

Dog Philosophy

If you live by these dog rules, you will be a happier person!
There's a lot we humans can learn from dogs. If you live your life by the same philosophy that dogs do, you will be much better off in life. In the wild, animals fight only for two things, not a fancy car, not clothes or jewelry, they just fight for food or a mate, everything else they get after that is just pure happiness.

 
1. Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joy ride.
2. Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
3. When loved ones come home, always run and greet them.
4. When it's in your best interest, always practice obedience.
5. Let others know when they've invaded your territory.
6.Take naps and always stretch before rising.
7. Run, romp and play daily.
8. Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.
9. Be loyal.
10. Never pretend to be something you're not.
11. If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
12. When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.
13. Delight in the simple joys of a long walk.
14. Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
15. Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
16. On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
17. When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
18. No matter how often you are criticized, don't buy into the guilt thing and pout. Run right back and make friends.

Look what a Dog with Addison's Disease can do!

Didn't I tell you that a dog with Canine Addison's Disease can do Anything!!

Aidan the dog with Canine Addison's disease competes in the AKC National Agility Championship in Lexington Virgina.

I am including some notes that Karen wrote on her Facebook page about Aidan's run at the Nationals.

Karen & Aidan

"Aidan walked in like he owned the place, and paid heed to nothing but his tug, his mom, and the rabbit meat in my pocket.  Same ol' Aidan, no matter what.  A dog of his caliber is rare, priceless."

We stepped to the start line, and Aidan waited for the signal, and handled as well, or better, than ever before.  Too bad I didn't!

 I pushed him past jump 3, and after checking in with me, he proceeded to the tunnel.

We regrouped and finished what I felt was one of the best runs ever.  I was proud to be show casing my little whippet.

No problem with the weave pole entrance, running A frame was perfect. 

Every turn was graceful and efficient.  I couldn't have asked for better. 

I felt like we were dancing, our bodies practically singing with motion inspired harmony.  Our time was respectable, considering the error, and I was left thinking of what could of been, but happy as well with what was.

Aidan was diagnosed with Canine Addison's disease just over a year ago. His Mom Karen is incredibly devoted to her furkids and was devastated when she diagnosed Aidan with Primary Typical Addison's disease ( yes Karen is a Vet ). She figured his agility career was over and she knew how much he loved it. Karen sought out the Canine Addison's Support Group on Yahoo and we quickly changed her mind about what Aidan could do.. She switched Aidan from Florinef to percorten and has never looked back. 

When I asked Karen if I could post Aidan's pictures on my blog, her reply was, "Absolutely, I want all to know that these are awesome dogs that just happen to have Addison's."

Karen also has some video of Aidan run at the Nationals that I will put up as soon as I have it.

ADogs ROCK!!