Animal Chatter

Another movie with a cute dog, a yellow lab to be precise was released on Christmas Day, and I just know that after everyone sees it, they will be rushing out to get themselves a lab, just like the one in the movies. It happens every time a movie is released about cute dogs or cats.

After 101 Dalmatians was released, thousands of people were rushing out to buy these cute spotted creatures. Breeders were going crazy over breeding their poor females and couldn’t keep up with the demand. Then, the puppies grew up into not so cute spotted little puppies anymore, and the rescues were overrun with Dalmatians. California alone reported that their shelters took in close to 3000 Dalmatians alone in 1999, which was approximately a 200% increase of Dalmatians passing through those shelters from years before.

Much the same happened after the release of the Air Bud movie, however, since Golden Retrievers have a disposition that’s a little easier to handle then Dalmatians or Jack Russell’s or other breeds that have shown up on the big screen or in your living room they didn’t overwhelm the shelters quite as much, but, the poor breeding quality did become a problem.

So, let’s examine this. Having been a yellow lab owner in my life, and having worked with labs just about my entire adult life, I can tell you that while these dogs are very sweet by nature, they are also strong, stubborn and extremely playful and not necessarily the sharpest tack in the box. This may or may not be the dog for you, but please, do not go out and get it just because it was so cute in the movie. Before you decide on any breed of dog, study it well and access what your needs and limitations are for your standard of living, don’t add to the Marley and Me dog buying impulse.

Do you travel with your pet? Do wish that the airline would be accomodating? Well, now theres one that truly cares about travelling with your pet, Jet Blue. Jet Blue gladly accepts small animals on both domestic and international flights in the cabin. With their new Jet Paws program, it will walk you through from beginning to travel time to make it much easier for both you and your pet. To kick off their new program, Jet Blue is having a contest, the Jet Blue Look alike contest.. If you have a pet that looks like you, take a chance to enter and win some fantastic prizes.

Normally my blogs are general in nature, but todays blog is going to be more personal, sort of a little bit of memories, which I’m sure a lot of you will unfortunately be able to relate to.

A little background about my German Shephard Kaiser to set the premise. Kaiser was born on a farm in Kentucky with 11 siblings to a man that didn’t want them. For all practical purposes they had no human contact. Food was thrown at them, and that was about it. A friend of mine came to know of their plight, and took the entire litter. Kaiser of all of them was the most bashful and would need a lot of human touch and companionship. Since I was a dog groomer and had my own business, I could take the dog to work with me daily and introduce him to a lot of new people, so she asked me to take him, which I gladly did.

The first couple months were very hard for both Kaiser and me. He was so scared, he would hide under the end tables and not want to come out, and I would lie on the floor beside him and talk and talk and extend my hand in friendly gestures. I would take him to work with me everyday, and he would hide in the corner of the car the entire way, often soiling himself or throwing up. We worked through this, and eventually he enjoyed his car rides and even came to like going to work with me. He wasn’t over friendly with the customers, but he loved their dogs. Much to humans chagrin, dogs will always pick another dog over a human, they are pack animals, and other dogs are their preferred pack.

When he was two years old, we adopted a companion for him, an abandoned Rottweiler named Zeus. They became instant friends and best buddies. They played together, ate together and slept against each other, they were inseparable. When Zeus had to have disc surgery and couldn’t walk for months, another blog in itself, Kaiser laid with him and took care of him, and gave him comfort.

But alas, in August of 2007, Kaiser was diagnosed with bladder cancer. While there is no cure for this cancer, and no surgical procedure to be done on him, all we could do was treat the symptoms from it, not the cause. He was put on antibiotics and I also had him on a plethora of holistic medicines as well as Knox gelatin for his nose bleeds. He would be asymptomatic for a bit and then show symptoms of this killer disease again  The house was adorned with plastic table cloths because he would frequently urinate everywhere. Eventually, we put a belly band on him which held a pad for accidents and dripping. I would highly recommend this for anyone who is experiencing any type of urinary problems with their dogs.

Christmas was approaching and we were all holding our breaths that he would make it through. I couldn’t bare the thought of losing him yet, and especially at what is to be such a joyous time of the year. My daughter who lives in Indiana with her family decided to visit us in Florida for the Holidays, to see Kaiser one last time, and say their goodbyes. He was fading rapidly, but when they arrived it was like they brought a miracle with them.

Their stay was going to be short, just 4 days, but long enough to accomplish what they came for. Upon their arrival I noticed Kaiser perked up. He ate and played and played and ate everything from pizza to donuts. His ball was never more then a couple feet from him, and he enjoyed every minute that he had left. He was a sight to behold, the Kaiser of yester years. A bittersweet moment for all of us, none the less, he brought us through the holidays with joy.

The morning they were leaving, he lay in the bedroom doorway watching them, lifting his head occasionally for a kiss or pat, but nothing more. From then on, the disease took its final toll, and Kaiser would not be spreading anymore holiday cheer. It was back to reality, his last hurrah was gone. Unable to even get up, or wanting to get up for a drink of water or go outside, he had given it his all, and gave us our Christmas miracle. He was euthanized at home the following day.

1. Make a donation to your favorite Animal Rescue group in the receivers name or ask that your Christmas gift be a donation to that rescue.
2. Donate some time at your local shelter. Just walking the dogs and cleaning the litter box is a huge help.
3. Purchase some items for you local shelter or Rescue Group or give them a gift card to Target or Wal-Mart.
4. Sponsor a pet. Many Shelters and Rescue groups have pets that cannot be placed in homes, or are in need of expensive surgeries the rescue can’t afford, but you can sponsor that pet and give them the gift of a healthy life.
5. Look through your stack of blankets and towels and rugs at home, many of these can be used at your local shelter or Rescue group. They go through a lot of these items and are expensive to purchase.
6. Check with your local shelter or rescue to see what kinds of foods and treats they feed, if nothing in particular, take them a couple 50lb bags of food and treats. Some shelters and rescues use the same food all the time, so be sure to check with them before purchasing any.

Many of you probably remember the problems I had with Scatman, my 32 year old horse last winter. Towards the end of winter, he was having a hard time getting up. I put him on some loranthus powder and that seemed to help a bit. One day though, he couldn’t get up, so I gave him a Dex shot and half hour later he seemed fine. I had the vet out and we did a steriod shot directly into his hock. Hopefully, his hock has healed itself and we won’t have any problems this winter, but just to take extra precautions, I bought him some Whinny boots.

These so remind me of the old leg warmers I wore during my "flash dance" days. I haven’t received them in the mail yet, hopefully I will within a day or so because the weather here is turning cold. I’m really hoping that these will help keep his hocks warm and we won’t have any repeat of last winter. I know I could keep him on Bute, or even do the steriod shots again, but I really don’t want to, if I don’t have to. Hes such a good old guy, and so lively and still so full of himself, that I can’t even think about something like this having to end his life. 

So, heres to hoping that the Whinny Boots do their job, and Scatman is saved from the cold of Winter, well, the moderate cold of winter, as cold as it gets in Florida.