While I must admit that I was really not looking forward to heading back to the desert today, I am slowly getting more excited to see what has changed since I was last up at the Lodges. There was talk of trying to get Jerry Lee into a new group before I left. 
I hadn't really gotten to know him since I started at the Lodges, due in large part to the fact that his former run mate Coconut can be a little bit . . . bratty (or something else that starts with a "b") and she would get mad if he was getting attention and she was not.
A few weeks ago his eye started looking really bad, it was getting cloudy on one side of the eyeball and really blood shot on the other side and seemed like it was starting to bulge out of the socket a little bit. I took him to the clinic and they asked if we would be able to get eye drops in him, which I was not very optimistic about and then they said he needed them four times a day and I got really doubtful that we would be able to safely do eye drops so many times a day before he got fed up and decided to eat one of us . . . he is a pretty big dog, probably some kind of Shepherd Akita mix and probably in the 70-80 lbs range. When I told Terry and Jorge that we were supposed to get the drops in him four times a day, they both laughed and said we should just ask for the oral medication - Jorge said he would call at the end of the day the next day to find out if I still had all my fingers. So you can imagine everyone's utter surprise when Jerry Lee took the eye drops like a pro . . . sort of. He does take every evasive maneuver he can think of, but he also knows that there are treats involved in these encounters and inevitably the treats win out. This dog, whose assessment says that he is a bit head shy (doesn't like his head to be touched too much) and is especially sensitive about his ears, is letting us man handle his head several times a day to get it into just the right position for the drops. Just before I left, he went back to the clinic and now has two different kinds of drops that he needs twice a day five minutes apart, but not more of the four times a day stuff. I have been just so very impressed by Jerry Lee's patience through all of this - not once, not on a single occasion has he even made any hint of an aggressive move toward any of the caregivers, in spite of all the man handling, not even a little growl over the course of two weeks! A few days after the start of the eye drops, we decided to take Jerry Lee out of the run with Coconut and put him by himself until we could find him some new run mates. We were told that he is not very good with male dogs, but they have since tested him and he has done just fine with males and females, which means that he can probably go into a group run, which would be wonderful for him. The day after I left, I am told they tried him in a run in a different area of Dogtown with another male and a female, but the other male didn't like Jerry Lee and went after him (from what I have heard, Jerry Lee again just took evasive measures and didn't really fight back). I am excited to see what has changed with Jerry Lee since I left and to find out if he has found some new run mates yet. He is a really great dog and I am really hoping that we can find his forever home soon.
I hadn't really gotten to know him since I started at the Lodges, due in large part to the fact that his former run mate Coconut can be a little bit . . . bratty (or something else that starts with a "b") and she would get mad if he was getting attention and she was not.A few weeks ago his eye started looking really bad, it was getting cloudy on one side of the eyeball and really blood shot on the other side and seemed like it was starting to bulge out of the socket a little bit. I took him to the clinic and they asked if we would be able to get eye drops in him, which I was not very optimistic about and then they said he needed them four times a day and I got really doubtful that we would be able to safely do eye drops so many times a day before he got fed up and decided to eat one of us . . . he is a pretty big dog, probably some kind of Shepherd Akita mix and probably in the 70-80 lbs range. When I told Terry and Jorge that we were supposed to get the drops in him four times a day, they both laughed and said we should just ask for the oral medication - Jorge said he would call at the end of the day the next day to find out if I still had all my fingers. So you can imagine everyone's utter surprise when Jerry Lee took the eye drops like a pro . . . sort of. He does take every evasive maneuver he can think of, but he also knows that there are treats involved in these encounters and inevitably the treats win out. This dog, whose assessment says that he is a bit head shy (doesn't like his head to be touched too much) and is especially sensitive about his ears, is letting us man handle his head several times a day to get it into just the right position for the drops. Just before I left, he went back to the clinic and now has two different kinds of drops that he needs twice a day five minutes apart, but not more of the four times a day stuff. I have been just so very impressed by Jerry Lee's patience through all of this - not once, not on a single occasion has he even made any hint of an aggressive move toward any of the caregivers, in spite of all the man handling, not even a little growl over the course of two weeks! A few days after the start of the eye drops, we decided to take Jerry Lee out of the run with Coconut and put him by himself until we could find him some new run mates. We were told that he is not very good with male dogs, but they have since tested him and he has done just fine with males and females, which means that he can probably go into a group run, which would be wonderful for him. The day after I left, I am told they tried him in a run in a different area of Dogtown with another male and a female, but the other male didn't like Jerry Lee and went after him (from what I have heard, Jerry Lee again just took evasive measures and didn't really fight back). I am excited to see what has changed with Jerry Lee since I left and to find out if he has found some new run mates yet. He is a really great dog and I am really hoping that we can find his forever home soon.I am sure there will be many changes once I get back to the Lodges, two days away always means moved dogs or new dogs, so I can only imagine what may have changed after a week away. I'll keep you posted! I hope you all have a safe and happy New Year!
It is time to board the plane, please excuse any typos or other weird grammar, I didn't have time to reread it before posting.
(All photos copyright Best Friends Animal Society.)
1 comment:
Allison - I'd love to see a picture of you. I'm still keeping up to date with your adventures. I can easily visualize you working on tarp snow removal...
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