Dogs Hope

Petfinder comments

2005-09-19T17:35:00.000-07:00

I have been very happy to hear petfinder.com mentioned several times on the national news lately. They are doing a heroic job of trying to match up Katrina pets with their owners. They also help thousands of other rescue dogs get adopted - including mine.

The petfinder site is pretty busy right now, so I have loaded some of Karla's new pictures of my dogs on my Dogs Hope flickr account. Karla sent me a cd with more than 100 of the pictures she took last week - many of them are outstanding. It will take me a while to get them on the various sites. You can still search the Dogs Hope Petfinder site to look at my dogs. I just decided to hold off loading the pictures for a day or so.

Update on Dogs Hope Dogs

2005-09-18T10:41:00.000-07:00

Reposted from my spaces site:

In case you aren't familiar with my rescue - we are located in North Carolina. Most of the dogs are English Pointers, some of them are German Shorthairs, and several are dobermans. I have something like 35 to 37 dogs to care for right now. People ask me to take more dogs every day. It is very hard to say no, but this many dogs is already very hard to care for properly - they are beautiful and healthy, but I spend all of my time when I am not at the library or driving to and from work or asleep caring for them.

If you are thinking about getting a dog - please consider getting a dog from a rescue - the only way we can save more dogs is to place the ones we already have. My dogs almost all came from animal shelters where they were going to be put down. They had reached the end of their time.

Here is the update:

I have my new camera, but the same old story of being too busy to even take it out of the box. So pictures eventually.

The dogs are hanging on pretty well - hard time for them and me too because of my irregular hours at the library. Yesterday was catch up on kennel cleaning day. I spent the entire afternoon until dark scooping kennels - six hours of scooping in 90 degree heat. Got it all done. I also gave heartworm preventative - a bigger job than you might imagine because I use a liquid that has to be measured out, and I have to document each dog, and also make sure he or she really eats his medicine-laced food. Some of them get little sandwiches made with mighty dog or cat food - yum.

Anyway, kennels clean (they are working on getting them back to normal already), and I also listened to NPR on my nifty radio headset while I was doing them.

Charlie continues to have problems - his illness has affected his joints, especially in his elbows. He is happy and active, but I try to keep him crated quite a bit because he needs to rest those joints. He has gained enough weight so that I now have him on normal food - not puppy food. Antibiotics continue.

Rusty - my cancer boy - is still doing fine, very sweet and loving. Still getting his cottage cheese flax oil mixture and his curcumin. The tumor is growing, but slowly.

Belle, one of my very shy little girls, is coming out of her shell. She loves Emmie - sweet little pointer who ran away earlier this year. She is also playing with Archie - new guy with fabulous temperment - and Charlie.

Everyone else is as happy as they can be. Jennie chewed up my good tennis shoes. I was angry at first, but then decided she did me a favor. She ruined them just enough so that I can still wear them, but not in public. So I can use them as kennel shoes without worrying about what I step in.

We are having a drought - Mother Nature's revenge - trees are dying, but I don't really feel right even mentioning this in the light of what others are going through. This is the 2nd hottest September on record for our area. I did turn the air conditioner back on - just too miserable without it. Dogs said thank you.

More pictures added to Antique Dog Photos, plus (thank you adopters) there are some really nice new photos on the Dogs Hope Adopted Dogs flickr site. I may not have mentioned that some of these photos are going to be used in a book about dog photography. I will add details as I learn them.

Dog blog to visit

2005-08-04T14:37:00.000-07:00

Bankok Street Dogs You must see this.

Danny says hello

2005-08-04T10:56:00.000-07:00

Danny says hello
Originally uploaded by Dogs Hope Adopted Dogs.

Hi from Danny. His mom has decided to start working on the Dogs Hope blog again. She didn't have a good way to put pictures on the blog before, but now she has Flickr. Danny is one of quite a few dogs in foster care at Dogs Hope in North Carolina.

Mom promises to start working on the rescue blog - she has another blog too. More about Dogs Hope dogs soon.

Still here

2004-08-26T09:58:00.000-07:00

I didn't mean to neglect this blog for so long. I got really sick for a while - now even though I am fully better - I am still catching up.

Rescue never sleeps. Practically never anyway. I was able to muddle through caring for my dogs while I was sick, but it was an ordeal.

I do have a few more training tips and advice - probably unwelcome, on how folks can keep problem dogs they are always asking rescue to take. I will try to post these up today or tomorrow. Meanwhile, I have four new dogs at my house, now 30 dogs - way too many - so the never sleeps part is more true than most people could imagine.

For a complete rundown on the status at Dogs Hope - check out my other blog -
Judithsviews.

Being out from work (paying work at the library) for a while gave me a chance to slowly do a little cleaning and clearing out in the basement. Right now the situation is better than it has been for a while, although the average restaurant inspector would still probably condemn my kennel kitchen - the dogs think it rocks, however.

Well, better get back to boring stuff for a while.

Training Tips for Problem Dogs 1

2004-06-30T11:06:00.000-07:00

About twice a month I get a desperate e-mail from someone who has decided to give up their dog because it has a behavior problem. Since I already have more dogs than any reasonable person should have, I attempt to counsel these people into how they might keep their dog.

Most of the problems are solvable, although I am not sure that the majority of people are willing to make the effort.

At any rate: I am happy to share what I know.

Here is part of my reply to a person who worries that his dog, which lives in an invisible fence, will bite workmen who come to the house. The dog does have a place inside (but apparently not a crate) and goes to private obedience training.

>>I think you should get this dog a secure outdoor enclosure where he can be when you have workmen around. I have nearly 30 dogs. I had to get a AMR meter put up so that the power reader wouldn't come in the yard. If other people come in, it is by invitation or appointment. I have pens and safe places for dogs that would bite the power guy or anyone else coming in the yard.

Read this: Military Training for Dogs

I found this link with a google search on "keep the dog" "problem dogs" - you can try this to see other tips. Note: the quote marks are for phrase searching in google.

I know (from an e-mail list) the person who wrote this article. There are some parts of it which might not apply to your dog (such as rolling him onto his back). It sounds like he is possibly a fear biter (he is trying to protect himself), so you don't want to put him in a position where he feels even more insecure, but you do want to get him to work for every reward - including his food.

It sounds like he has way too much freedom at the moment. The only dogs I have trouble with at my house are the dogs which have a lot of freedom - my whippets and one of my shorthairs (she goes crazy during thunderstorms and tears up crates so I have to leave her loose in the house). My other dogs are always crated or in their pens. They are all extremely happy and well behaved.

I did successfully rehabilitate a fear-biter (he bit me) and he got along fine for his entire life. This took a long time though and lots of patience.

I based my training on the ideas in this book -
JELLY BEAN vs. DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE

http://www.dogwhisper.com/book-jekyll_and_hyde.html

The book is not really well written, but it has fantastic tips on working with problem dogs. It is based entirely on positive reinforcement.

Here is another situation:

A person wanted me to take his dog which was jumping out of his six foot fence. A simple solution to this is to hotwire the top of the fence - with a visible wire. There is a product called FidoShock Fence Controller which will safely discourage going over or under a fence.

Unfortunately when people decide to give up their dogs they generally don't want to hear how they could solve the problem. Our society has made it way to easy for people to dump unwanted pets - rescue is actually part of the problem, in my opinion, although in some cases we do take dogs from owners, especially if we think the dog would be better off.

But these two cases just mentioned here are homes which might possibly be willing to make the effort. Worth a try.

Dog Island Hoax

2004-06-25T12:02:00.000-07:00

I found this site by checking for links to my informational Dogs Connections Web site. They have a link to my site. I wasn't really taken in by the claims of Dog Island - do they really think an animal lover would be thrilled to learn that 10,000 rabbits are released as food on an island which acts as a sanctuary for unwanted dogs? But the site is very slick, very pretty.

Anyway, I got around to researching it today. Here is the link.

We have just been warned, at work, that we are under a tornado warning. We are not to leave the building. Of course I am worrying about the dogs I left outside, especially Tristan - he doesn't have any shelter other than the cover over his pen - he started chewing up his new dog house as soon as I gave it to him so I took it out.

I'm living life in the fast lane - while drinking coffee to stay awake - I have to pick a new rescue boy tonight from Albemarle and be in Gaffney SC tomorrow morning at 9:30 (about 95 miles from me) to get Margit. Meanwhile...

Two potential adopters bailed out - more on this later. I'm going to put up guidelines on how to not waste rescue workers time on my application form.

New boy coming

2004-06-24T12:09:00.000-07:00

Against reason I have decided to accept yet one more pointer into my rescue. A friend who helps dogs from a nearby county shelter sent me his pictures. His face is so sweet. I just can not bear the idea of him going into the gas box (which would have happened at tomorrow morning). This shelter euthanizes (not the correct word but that's what they call it) nearly every animal in the shelter on Fridays so that they won't have to take care of them over the weekend.

What to do about this? I don't know. I called the shelter to try to get some information about the dog, but it was clear after a few minutes of talking to the animal control officer that he was on the defensive (they couldn't possibly tell me if they had a pointer, they can't be expected to know about breeds and they don't have pure breed dogs). I don't expect this guy to be purebred, but who knows, and quite frankly, I don't care. He is a beautiful soul, young, there is sweetness in his eyes. His name will be Patch - he's getting out of "Jail" tomorrow. He will be on the petfinder site as soon as I have had a chance to evaluate him.

Lots of folks think they can shop around and find the perfect dog. I know, and I know from much experience, that most dogs are perfect. Sometimes it takes a bit of patience and a bit of training.

My strong, difficult boy, Tristan, is starting to come around. He has graduated from having to wear the pinch/prong collar (I had to use this collar on him as I was in considerable joint pain from him jerking me about. As soon as I started using the collar, I began to feel better). He is now walking on a loose lead sometimes and he goes into his crate without a problem. It just takes time. Wonderful boy. A few more weeks and he will be perfect.

New Life

2004-06-23T10:14:00.000-07:00

I've taken my little Margit to be spayed. This poor little soul is so terrified, but I think it is best to get it over as quickly as possible in case she is pregnant (possible). There is no way I can handle puppies. I think she will be ok with time - already she got loose out of the pen and went for a run in the yard - brave - some of them take weeks to venture past the back of the house.

We desperately needed rain and now we have gotten it. This is the hardest time for me - mud everywhere and nothing I can do about it. The dogs have dug holes in the pens and pushed the gravel around the edges so that the water can't get out. It is very messy and depressing. I am only leaving them out for short periods of time - yet they still get covered in mud. Fortunately, their short coats shed the mud almost as soon as it is dry.

The snake bite victims are now doing fine, no more swelling or pain. I have not seen the culprit again, but I am checking all of the dog houses before I take the dogs out to the pens. I found a place which sells repellent, so that is going to be the next step.

I'm going to see if I can get some images onto this page - link to them on my other server. Later.

Snake bite update

2004-06-22T09:29:00.000-07:00

I wish I didn't have to write any more on this topic. Fortunately Megan and SanJay (the dogs who were bitten last Thursday night) are both doing well.

I did a little more research because I am terribly concerned about this situation. Yesterday I went to pick up some donated food from the humane society. The volunteer who helps with the food told me that a local government official's two dogs had just tangled with a snake and one of the dogs died. They killed the snake, so it was verified as a copperhead.

However, I am now almost certain that "our" snake is a Timber Rattlesnake - rare in this area but I do live in their range. I'm not so concerned for myself, but I absolutely do want to be able to put my dogs outside safely. Unfortunately, or fortunately however you want to look at it, the habitat around my house and yard is ideal for all kinds of creatures. There are very few mammals - the odd squirrel - perhaps due partly to hawks. But now there are many bird species. At night my yard is littered with a variety of toads - dozens of them hopping all over everywhere. I also have turtles, skinks and anoles in abundance. So snakes fit right in.

For now the dogs will have to take turns in the big pen out in the front - although there was a small mottled snake there last summer who was probably this one's relative or a copperhead. My shorthair, Jack went insane over this snake, but I got him, Jack, out before he got bitten. I also (and I feel guilty over this still) killed two black rat snakes last summer. I should have left them, but they were eating up my baby chickens. I've decided against any more baby chickens at least until I retire from my job, so that snake temptation is no longer there.

For the rest of the summer I will be wearing heavy boots. I have to work outside even in the worst weather - like this morning when I had to take all of the dogs in and out in about two hours of hard rain - you just have to do it and not complain.

Sigh...

And this morning a friend sent me pictures of a beautiful pointer in the local shelter. There are just too many of them for me to be able to take them all, but I already let one down from the same shelter not so long ago (in a week when I took in three more). So I will let this haunt me for a day or two and then maybe go get him out.

Snakebite victims up date

2004-06-19T10:38:00.000-07:00

Both SanJay and Megan are doing fine. Megan's arm is still swollen up to the elbow, but she is walking on it with no limping. SanJay only has a tiny bit of swelling on his paw. I am keeping them on Benedryl ("dose rate of about 1mg per pound of body weight" twice a day). Megan is going to stay on antibiotics for about a week.

By the way, I am not proposing that anyone practice do it yourself veterinary medicine. I have had quite a bit of experience (unfortunately) with these snakebites, so I pretty much know what to do and when to seek the help of the vet.

Last summer one of my small Jack Russell mix rescues was bitten on the throat and then one of my very senior shorthairs was bitten on the chin. Both of these were much more serious than the bites SanJay and Megan got. Both dogs went to the vet and were treated intraveneously with benedryl and steriods, and then put on a course of antibiotics.

I'm happy to report that the very brave little terrier killed that snake about two weeks later. I am now beginning to regret adopting her out, although she has a very good home.

Several years ago one of my German Shorthairs, Rita, got bitten on the face. Her whole head swelled up. We went to the vet immediately for emergency treatment. The vet did not prescribe antibiotics, which I now think might have prevented the subsquent infection. Over the next few weeks nearly all the skin on top of Rita's head and ears sloughed off. It was a horrible hideous infection. It took several weeks for her to recover. After this I had her spayed. For some reason the spay triggered off a false pregnancy (verified by the vet). Poor Rita then got a terrible mastitis infection in her breasts, a result of the snakebite. These snakes have a huge load of bad bacteria in their mouths. Rita stayed on a very expensive antibiotic for four months but finally recovered with no lasting effects.

Anyway, I don't want to take any chances with Megan, so I am watching her closely. She is enjoying the attention and getting to stay inside in the air conditioning - she usually stays outside during the day.

Mother Nature Strikes Back

2004-06-18T12:38:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer that I do not endorse the ads at the top of the page. I am very sorry to see an ad for buying puppies online. If you don't know about puppy mills, here is some excellent information. I will probably have to change my profile in order get the ad changed. Pooh.

Dogs Hope Rescue is located in a wooded area - many acres of woods although I only own a small portion of this. My house and the dog pens are surrounded by woods literally on all four sides except for the driveway. This is all very wonderful, but it comes with a price. The woods is also home to many creatures, some good and some not so good.

Unfortunately a copperhead snake has taken up residence next to, or actually in one of the dog's pens. Last week two of the dogs got minor bites, one a bit worse than the other. Last night, right before dark, I heard a commotion of barking, went out to investigate and heard something in the corner of the pen that sounded almost like rattling. Then I saw the snake - he was brown blotched, so unlikely to have been a rattlesnake. Anyway, I quickly went into the pen and managed to get two of the three dogs out and thrown through the door to the basement. By the time I got back to get the next one, SanJay, he didn't come and then he dic come but limping and holding his paw in the air. Got him in and went for the fourth dog, Megan who stays in the adjacent pen. She was also limping and holding her paw in the air.

I've been researching snake bite, and recently learned that dogs don't generally die from copperhead bites. Two dogs last year were bitten, seriously, and did get very ill. One of them did just about die, but a few weeks of antibiotics and other medications pulled her through. So anyway, I didn't totally panic last night.

I gave both of them Benadryl (Diphenhydramine antihistamine) and put them in their crates. Then I fixed their food, thinking that if they ate, they weren't too seriously bitten. Both dogs ate, but lay down holding their paws up in the air obviously in pain. From my previous experience last year, I had learned that it is a really bad idea to give pain medicine to a dog who has had a snake bite (it interferes with other medications), so they had to just tough out the pain - which is serious.

I called the emergency clinic, which said bring them in immediately. Well, I still had about 15 dogs outside to deal with, so this was virtually impossible, so I started on my usual chores - except faster than usual - checking on Megan lab, and SanJay pointer every few minutes. SanJay's paw swelled up significantly.
Anyway, by the time I had the other dogs in and fed, these babies were still doing ok, so I decided to wait until this morning to make a decision about the vet.

SanJay's paw was much improved by this morning - hardly any swelling or limping, so I was not too concerned about him. Megan's entire leg was really swollen though. I gave both dogs more benedryl. Megan also could walk without much limping and would let me examine her leg. I think she was really enjoying the extra attention and I put her in a different pen - no more snake.

Anyway, I had to participate in an event at work this morning, so I ended up starting her on antibiotics and just coming on to work - of course I have been worrying all day, but I do think this bite, since it was on the leg and not on her face or throat (like my dogs last year), was not too serious.

Now, what to do about the snakes? The only plan I have so far is to clear the leaves and other woods debris out from around the edge of my fence (not easy to do in 90 degree weather) and to put up a spotlight on the side where the snake has been hanging out.

There are a few useful sites up where you can learn about snakebite and dogs. If you live in an area where they have rattlesnakes - not taking the dog to the vet is not and option - go immediately. Other snakes also are far more serious than copperheads.

I will be sure to update this as soon as possible. It happened at the worst possible time - I have to work tomorrow too - Saturday, and there is no option for getting a substitute.

Rescue - the Basics

2004-06-16T10:16:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, before I got really involved in rescuing dogs, someone wrote to me and said she thought it would be really cool to have an animal shelter. Already at this point there were probably some 30 animals at my house, so I had a fair idea of the amount of work involved in maintaining them. The person was not impressed enough to reply when I explained the 105 hour work week with no days off. People seem surprised when I tell them that you have to take care of your dog 365 days a year. There are no vacations unless you can afford to board them. With multiple dogs this becomes impossible. I can honestly say that I have not had a single day off from doggie care since 1985. I did board part of the crew in order to go to my stepfather's funeral in 1990, but I took nine dogs with me.

Here are the basic chores:

1. Taking dogs in and out
2. Feeding
3. Scooping
4. Crate cleaning
5. Floor sweeping
6. Shopping for dogs
7. Vet trips
8. Transport - pick up new fosters
9. Networking - with other rescues, potential adopters
10. Interviewing prospective adopters
11. Home visits
12. Recycling
13. In the leftover time I do chores for the house - these are always low in priority as my mother will attest.

Most of my dogs stay inside (crated) during the day while I am at work and at night. I have nine dog pens and need twelve to accommodate all of the animals, so I have to walk them in and out. With the exception of my three "upstairs" pets, all of the dogs are walked out to their pens on leashes. This takes about two hours or more a day. Some of them are easy to handle. Others put up a battle and drag me along.

Training is a constant activity. I have a background in dog training. I have attended many classes and seminars and put titles on three dogs - now I don't have time for these fun activities, but I still train every dog at least to the level of good leash manners.

The dogs get fed twice a day. This means I serve up about fifty pans of chow seven days a week. The eat a mix of dry and canned, and some are on custom diets. Obviously the corollary to this is that I also have to scoop pens and the yard on a regular basis. When it rains, like it is right now, this becomes a really unpleasant task. It is essential to keep up, or it becomes overwhelming.

Be next chore, which I don't do as much as I should, but which also has to be done regularly is cleaning out the dog's crates and changing their bedding. Messy dogs benefit the most. Dogs that are good don't get clean bedding as often. Not fair, but there is only so much time. Taking care of the kennel is very much like the place where I work - management by crisis. Puppy soaks her bed, she gets new papers.

Papers - My mother saves these for me. I have also on occasion practiced "dumpster diving" because it is hard to get enough newspapers for the entire kennel. I used to use blankets, but it is nearly impossible to keep up with washing them and I can't afford to buy new ones all the time. Only the really good old dogs that don't chew or otherwise mess up their blankets get to have them.

Floor sweeping - the pups bring in half the back yard it seems, and also rip up bedding, so there is a constant need for dusting and sweeping - I'm always behind on this chore.

Shopping for dogs - food mainly. Sometimes I can get donated food, but I have to go pick it up. Otherwise I buy huge bags at the local Sam's club. Either way I have to bring it in - which means hauling it down the hill beside my house in a wheelbarrow. During the ice and snow last winter, I had to store it in big containers in the front yard, but usually I keep it inside. Unfortunately I have also managed to bring in a few mice. The cats and I are working on this problem, but it is ongoing.

Funding - none other than me. Lately I have had some success at adoptions, so the adoption donatations help, but generally this money is used entirely on veterinary fees.

Vet trips. Every dog that comes into my rescue program is updated on shots, heartworm tested and spayed or neutered. They also go in for updates on shots, and of course any illness or trauma. Sometimes I get a break and don't have to take one for a while, but I probably average two vet visits a month. I don't add up the costs, it would be too discouraging.

Transports. I didn't use to do this, but now that my rescue is pretty well established, I seem to be making quite a few trips to pick up dogs from area shelters. I've recently had a lot of work done on my old van with the hope it will get me there and back. Last year I think I drove about about 1250 miles on rescue "runs".

Networking: E-mail, phone calls - daily. We are all trying to keep each other informed about dogs in need, sharing ideas, etc. The Internet has saved countless animals, but it also makes me aware of the huge magnitude of the problem with unwanted dogs.
I only vaguely knew about this before, but now they have pictures, you see their faces. It is very hard to say no to a beautiful animal if it is at all possible to do something about it.

I'll talk about the adoption process later.

Recycling - packaging of dog food containers, cans and boxes. I always seem to have a van load of recycling.

Tomorrow I am getting another dog....

Because It's Time

2004-06-14T12:20:00.000-07:00

When I first got started on the Internet, it was with Bitnet (Because It's Time Network). This was in the spring of 1992.

Because of my interest (well, life's passion) in dogs, I joined a list called Canine-L about the second day I had my account. Most of the people on the list were either librarians (like me) or techies. The quality of the information shared on the list was incredibly high. Later, after the Internet took off, the list became a more chatty social gathering (and I left it). In the meanwhile, I got inspired to focus on putting this new communication medium (electronic) to the service of helping dogs, and the people who care about them. With this blog, I hope to continue doing so.

Last fall I began a weblog called Judithsviews. This is a more or less work (library) related blog, so I have tried very hard to keep off of the topic of dogs - with mixed success. The blog has evolved into a tale of my animal family to some extent. One of the key characters is my German Shorthaired Pointer Heather. Anyway, I need to have a place to talk about dogs and especially the rescue work I do with them.

Let's see how this goes.