9/3/14 7:17 PM

No, not the toys.

But getting a pup from Local pound/ASPCA.

I ask because my SIS in her empty nest with her gals in college got a dog the other day. She paid 75.00 but they refund it when you bring the receipt for the
spay/neuter from the vet.

Well, brings the old gal to vet to check out and see about spaying, and low and behold, Parvo. Explains the lack of eating and messy outings beyond stress of things the pound told her was common. She does not want to return the dog. I guess she feels the dog needs her more than before.

So now she is going to go into debt, with over night stays and IV fluids and nutrition. Yikes!

I feel so bad for her and the situation, not to mention if one dog from the pound has Parvo, probably a lot of them do.

Sigh!

9/3/14 8:32 PM

My daughter spent 5k on her 13 year old cat last year.

9/3/14 8:35 PM

Did she take advantage of social media to gain donations etc. My Sis is going to have to do that as single mom/house has her budget a bit too tight for what this may become. Feel so bad for her and the little pup.

A riding buddy in NJ had something similar. His pup had over $4k in surgery costs with complications and Spookster did not make it. But he and his wife had combined incomes 5x what my Sis makes.

9/3/14 9:42 PM

At the one where Linda volunteers, all animals are spayed or neutered, given a medical exam, isolated for a few days while they adjust and given a full behavioral evaluation, all of it before they are put up for adoption. The adoption fees are higher, but at least you know the physical condition and temperament of the animal before you adopt it.

9/4/14 8:16 AM

Your sister has a good heart. I don't have any experience with Parvo, hope it clears soon. You get attached to dogs and it would be really hard forego needed treatment.

Even healthy dogs have health needs. One of my dogs gets expensive food so he can pee (unobstructed by bladder stones) and the other gets expensive Sea Cucumber Jerky to help the arthritis in her 13 1/2 year old hips (don't laugh, it works, or at least it appears to work well enough that I'm sticking with it).

9/4/14 8:47 AM

You would never know that by watching those two characters......but then again knowing how often he makes you get up to let him out maybe the food works TOO well LOL

9/4/14 5:01 PM

He has to go out 50 times a day because of squirrels and chipmunks, real and imagined. He actually only pees a couple times per day, but for about 5 minutes at a time.... It was awful though when he got stones, Dalmatians are somewhat prone to that. Kit Kat needs to go out periodically to get filthy with pond muck.

Vet medicine is pretty sophisticated now. The special food stopped the stones right away. Every year this time he gets allergies and itches like hell, but a low dose of prednisone stops that cold. Don't like to give him more than necessary, but it sure works. And the jerky showed results right away.

9/4/14 8:33 PM

My neighbor has a sweet heart old Rottie that he has to get up a few times a night. Because if he allows the dog to sleep through he gets so stiff he can't get up for 10 minutes and then stands there for another 10.


My Grey can't get up into the car solo anymore. He is approaching 11, and this last 5-6 month has age catching up with him. He is slow getting up these days as well. Greyhounds usually snap up in a blink. They do everything fast! [Like quick Carl, remember that?]

If anyone feels up to it for it, here is the link to her campaign for raising money for "Save Puppy Sophie from Parvo" http://www.gofundme.com/du4dtc

My older sister set it up, the dog rescue nut. ;)
What she posted in the link is right on. It is for $1000.00, 1/2 way there, and she is over $1300.00 spent at the vet already FWIW.

If anyone can thanks... I am going to After tonight's ARCH credit, if you get my drift...

9/5/14 3:41 AM

Large dogs age faster than small ones. I had a Golden that was gone do to suspected bone cancer at 10 while our Jack Russell is still going like a puppy at 9 and has many years ahead of her.

WRT sick pound puppies. My daughter is vet tech and sees them all the time. Living in pound conditions for very long can pretty much kill a dog. If you go that route be prepared to PAY to make the pet a healthy member of your family.

She got a kitten not long ago that carried a bad case of ring worm. Everyone in her family got eaten up by the fungus.

She is lucky because all she pays for is the drug costs to rehab the critters she picks up.

The other downer for pound puppies is you never know what to expect WRT the behavior of the dog. With pure breeds half of what you get is the look and background use of the breed, the other half is the disposition. People pretty much know what to expect out of a Golden, Lab or Jack Russell (NUTS). You don't have any idea how a mutt will act. I have breed dogs because of that very thing. BTW our JRT is atypical, she is a LAZY dog, well binary, if turned on she goes crazy otherwise she is sleeping.

9/5/14 5:42 AM

A detailed explanation from the original owner and a detailed behavioral evaluation help to eliminate surprises. The experience of the shelter employees when feeding and walking the dog can also be very valuable. It's pretty common for shelter dogs to have some psyche problems, but abandonment issues in particular typically fade over time. It seems that the biggest problems are that people adopt dogs that were never properly trained or socialized and are clueless as to how to train them. I've seen some great animals come back to the shelter repeatedly simply because their adoptive owners don't understand canine behavior and how to integrate the dog into their family (pack).

I would say that 99% of "dog" problems are actually "owner" problems.

9/5/14 6:27 AM

My dogs are fully integrated into the family pack. Kit Kat is the leader, Remy is her Lieutenant, and I am the Domestique.

Rick can vouch for that.

They are also known as "Bonnie and Clyde."

9/5/14 9:15 AM

At least you know you place in the pack.

I am the Alpha, which was a little more of a task with Benelli, the 98 lb hound. But even more important for the well being of all beings involved. Alas, next month will be 3 years since cancer took him @ the same age Tiger is now. Big dogs, and the racing life with the hounds plays a part I guess as well.


I am in the no more dogs mindset with him showing obvious signs of next to last legs. But we know how that goes.

And with the hounds it is tough because they tend to be 4-5 we yo can adopt one, so you have them for that amount less of a window kind of. But two years, 12 years, you miss the hell out of them when they go to heaven. Benelli and I had 'the' connection. It took me a long time to warm up to Tiger anywhere near that, But we got there, now his time is dwindling it appears.. Sigh! Dogs!

9/5/14 9:43 AM

Fun with your dog LOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YoB8t0B4jx4