discovering herself

Sometimes it's a metaphor, but in this case, I mean it pretty literally.  Charmin appears to have discovered her reflection in our full length floor mirror for the first time today.  At first, she seemed to think it was a door-- she kept trying to walk into it, head-butting her own reflection.  The mirror has some lovely nose-prints now.

The mirror is upstairs, meaning she also discovered how to go up the stairs in our house.  However, she has yet to discover how to come down them.  I had to carry her back downstairs twice, which she was a good sport about.

I started reading about Amish puppy mills yesterday, which is where Charmin came from.  Truman's mother also was, sadly, a puppy mill dog from Arkansas.  Apparently, to keep the massive groups of dogs from barking too loudly, they have a method of "de-barking" the dogs, which means hammering a metal pipe down the dog's throats to destroy the vocal chords.  I respect cultural differences and all, and I get that not everyone views dogs as friends the way I do, which is fine.  For some people it seems acceptable to treat them as livestock.  Unfortunately, we treat livestock pretty horrendously.  If they were treated like the animals on my great grandparents' farm, I could deal with it.  But when they don't get medical attention for oozing sores and exposed bones and eyes falling out of sockets, and when they get carried around by the leg because the farmer doesn't really want to touch them, I think that goes beyond treating them like animals.

Charmin is awesome

You would not believe what an awesome, sweet dog this is.  I'm a little spoiled by extremely friendly, attached, cuddly little dogs, so I can't say I totally fell in love with Charmin's laid back manner immediately.  But after a weekend with her, I am pretty amazed at the way this sweet little girl rolls with whatever changes come her way, and how easily she has adapted to our dogs and our home.  She is so low-key, but also interested and curious.  She likes to follow me from room to room, but not in a clingy way.  She's just so relaxed.  When faced with new experiences, like stairs, she is a little apprehensive, yet open-minded and willing to give it a try with some encouragement.  And she has made very fast, good friends with Harriet and Truman.

Charmin

This is Charmin, our new foster dog guest.  She is a Shar Pei mix (she looks to me like a mix between a Shar Pei and a Shiba Inu), who was rescued from a puppy mill.  She is 2 or 3 years old, and was rescued by an organization called Luv4K9s.  As I understand it, she has only been out of the puppy mill for a month or two, and considering this, she is adjusting beautifully!  She's a little distant and uncertain of people reaching for her, but she will take treats from my hand and will let me pet her if we don't startle her.  She is doing very well in the house-- she's calm and laid back, but social with the other dogs.  She loves chewing on toys, and quickly discovered the dog toy basket in the living room.

She is of course available for adoption-- already fixed and up-to-date on shots.  For more information about Luv4K9s or how to adopt Charmin, visit their website.

always be prepared

I recently bought a new car.  This is the first new car I have ever owned.  And it's little-- a Fiat.

Days after purchasing the car, we stumbled upon tiny, tragic Tank (Possum/Oliver/Dodger/Terrence/whathaveyou) and this obnoxious woman walking by on the sidewalk was insisting we have to take this dog because she couldn't take it. "Just pick it up and put it in your car!"

"Well, I just bought a new car," I said.

She acted appalled at me. "Your car?! Who cares! This dog is going to get hit by traffic."

She was rude. But she had a point. I mean, no, I didn't want a flea infestation in my car, possible ringworm spores or who-knows-what, potentially risking the health of my own dogs and me.  But this was a matter of life and death for this little guy.  Why she "couldn't" do anything is beyond me, but I could do something.

So I picked up the dog, wishing I had rubber gloves, and put it... in my trunk.  To be fair, my trunk is safe and significantly roomier than a crate, and while I felt like a criminal putting a dog in my trunk, it was the safest option for the 10 minute drive home, where I set up a safe place for him in the garage.

But the dilemma prompted me to think of the supplies I wished I'd had ready in my car.  So this week, I assembled a dog-helping kit for my car.

It needed to be small so it didn't take up much room in my tiny car, and I didn't want to spend a lot of money.  So I tried to use things I already had and inexpensive, multi-purpose, compact items.  So here it is.  Everything (except the blanket) fits inside of a Swiffer Wet Mop refill container.  Build your own with the following materials.

1. Plastic container -- I repurposed a Swiffer Wet Mop container with lid, but any container works.
2. Plastic poncho -- to serve as a tarp for protecting seats from wet feet and such.  I already had this collecting dust in a closet.
3. Sealed bag with a handful of treats -- for luring dogs out of dangerous situations.
4. Small can of dog food -- with a pop top lid (unless you also happen to store a can-opener in your car.) I spent about $1 on this.
5. Little bottle of water -- I bought a case and stored the rest in the basement. The entire case cost about $3.
   
6. Looping "animal control" leash -- for any sized dog, no collar required.  Goomers, kennels, and vet's offices often buy these in bulk. I asked my vet if I could buy one from them, and they gave it to me for free.  You can also find them for purchase online.
7. Spoon -- for mixing up food.
8. Rubber can lid -- in case you have leftover food.  I got a set of 2 at PetSmart for $3.99
9. Small plastic container -- stores extra plastic bags, collars, rubber gloves; serves as a water dish.  2 for $1 at Target.
10. Container lid -- to serve as a food dish. Came with the container.
11. 1 large and 1 small collar -- Goodwill happened to have a bunch of unused pet supplies one day, so I got these for less than $2 each.
12. Self-adhering bandage -- $3 from PetSmart
13. Sealed bag with 4 rubber gloves -- the supply that prompted this whole endeavor.

Not pictured: 
gauze/bandage -- for use with the self-adhering bandage (I have yet to purchase this or steal it from another first aid kit)
blanket -- to store in the trunk, along with the kit.

So, there it is.  Total cost to me: $14
(This includes some purchases that were not used in the kit, like the entire case of water bottles and container lids that came in a set of 2, but does not include the cost for things I already had on hand, like rubber gloves and the spoon.)
Total value, probably about $16 (plus the blanket)

It fits neatly in my tiny trunk, alongside a blanket.  I included an inventory list on the front so that I can replenish any supplies I end up using. (Because I'm a librarian. Cataloging is important to me.)  I didn't even mean to make everything blue, but I like that it turned out so visually cohesive.

And now I have emergency supplies, not only for my own dogs, but for dogs that I encounter on the street who need help.  I am not advocating approaching strange dogs, which can certainly put you in danger.  But if approached by a dog in need, being prepared for the situation can make it safer for everyone.  Since I seem to find myself in these situations lot lately, having some supplies on hand made sense.

Ta-da!

too many goodbyes

Well, little Tank has been handed over to the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center.  He is apparently very old, and they did not have much hope for his health, so unfortunately it seems they decided to put him down.  I'm pretty bummed that I couldn't do more for him, but I'm also glad that I could provide him with a safe, comfortable place to rest during his last days, giving him food and water and respite.

On the way home, the song I'll Fly Away by Gillian Welch came on my ipod (which was on shuffle).  I heard this song shortly after dog Lucy died, and it always made me picture her romping and frolicking happily through a sunny field of green grass and wild flowers.

I guess now she has a playmate.  Rest peacefully, little Tank.

(And Lucy.)

straydar

Straydar: n. (strā-dahr): The unintentional ability to spot stray or unaccompanied dogs or cats when driving, walking or during one's lunch hour at work, prompting the need to always have a leash and pet treats in the auto. This may also include the ability to have pets brought to one by others who are aware one has this ability. There is no cure once one becomes afflicted with "straydar".

urbandictionary.com

Apparently, that's a thing.  I know, because I seem to have come down with a classic case.  Examine the symptoms and history:

• I suspect I inherited the gene from my dad, who once found a litter of three puppies at the laundromat of our apartment complex when I was 4 or 5.  It was a Saturday morning, I was watching the Smurfs, and my dad walked in with a box of puppies.  I was giddy.  Of course, they ended up being taken "to the pound," but that's how it began.

• My own straydar seems to have lay dormant for most of my life, until I adopted Lucy, a lhasa apso from some friends when they could no longer care for her.  

• When her life ended sooner than it should have years later, my then-boyfriend purchased a puppy from a pet store, over my staunch objections to the likelihood that the puppy came from a puppymill.  Turns out, he was from a classic puppymill, but that's another story for another time.  Regardless, when then-boyfriend dumped me and ever so responsibly realized "wait, I can't take care of a dog!" I won custody.  That is how my beloved Truman came to be mine.

• Years later, I was living with my then-fiance (now husband, Bryan) and Truman, when a frightened little poodle-mix emerged from the woods across the street from our house.  Fate, along with a little human and animal intervention, saw to it that we took her in and cared for her, and eventually, she joined our family too.  Harriet's full story is here.

• I came to realize the full extent of my love for dogs, and my passion for helping them, so I became a volunteer at SICSA, a local organization that is just plain awesome.  

• One day my sister called me, having found a tiny Maltese wandering busy streets and getting honked at.  My sister was leaving town so dropped off the dog with me.  The dog was clearly someone's pet, well cared for, but without a collar and with an unregistered microchip.  But knowing where the dog was found, I used my super-librarian skills, mixed with a little facebook stalking prowess, and tracked down the owners.  They came to pick her up within less than 6 hours of her arrival.

• I fostered two amazing and adorable tiny puppies, Mo and BB, for three weeks.  No sooner had wonderful adoptive homes for them (just this past weekend) do we arrive at the present situation...

• Yesterday.

We were meeting friends for breakfast at a restaurant called Tank's near downtown.  It was raining, and as I pulled up, we saw a little Pomeranian hobbling down the street.  He approached people without fear, but as we got closer, could see he was severely matted and looked worse than Harriet had when we found her.  While Bryan & I were trying to decide what we could do, some awful woman entering Tank's started hounding us about what we were going to do, saying the dog was going to get hit by a car and we had better take her, and of course she couldn't take the dog, but demanded we do something now.  I had just gotten a new car and didn't have a blanket in it yet, so I put the dog in my trunk to avoid flea infestation.  (This sounds bad, but the dog seemed quite comfortable and safe.)  I drove it home, penned him in in the garage with blankets, water, and food, and headed back to breakfast.

He's still in the garage, and I think he's injured, and I've been trying all day to figure out how to get him the care he needs.  I'm still working on this, so I will continue the updates.

P.S. I'm calling him Tank.

UPDATE: After this post, I ended up changing the name of this blog, from "Help for Harriet" to "Straydar."

Good bye, little ones!

tiny little BB

slightly less little BB

BB has been adopted by a lovely family with a black dog to remind her of her sister.  I got to talk to the adopters, and had the chance to tell them some of how smart BB is, how she seems to learn really well with clicker training, and we got to hug her and hold her one last time.  I hope you are happy in your new family BB.

Mo, on the other hand, I absolutely know will be happy in her new family, because I used to be roommates with them.  Two of my former roommates, who are now engaged, were able to adopt Mo, and I am so happy I will get to see what she grows up to be like.  She'll be living down in Cincinnati, but hopefully we can set her up for play-date-reunions with Truman every once in a while.

Mo, whose name will likely be changed

UPDATE: Mo is now known as Molly.