Some Good Kids

Life continues marching onward at the Garden. There has been a lot of staff shuffling in DogTown over the last month or so and we lost Lupie to another area, so for the time being, it is just Jake and I at the Garden. We have some candidates coming out starting Monday to do their two week evaluations for several open caregiver positions, so hopefully we will have a third person in the next month or two. Before Lupie left us, I hijacked her camera for a night and downloaded some of the photos she has taken during her time at the Garden (and some that I took with her camera). Since I feel like everything is pretty redundant a lot of the time, I don't often get inspired to write much on the blog, hence the increasingly long spans between posts. So, today, I decided to do some photo posting!

This is Finn (and I). Finn will always hold a special place for me because I found him. One day around Easter as I was getting ready to leave for work his little head popped around the back bumper of my car and looked to me for some help. He had no collar and didn't look familiar but he was very friendly so I looped a leash around his neck and called animal control. (Side note: Just because I work at BF doesn't mean I can bring any dog or other animal I find up to the sanctuary. We have to call animal control and they do a five day hold and if they don't find the owner or the owner surrenders the animal, then often times they come up to BF, but we always have to follow that protocol.) While we waited for the animal control officer to come pick him up we sat in the driveway. After about 5 minutes of him sitting at the end of the leash he looked over at me and I patted my leg and before I knew it he was sitting in my lap licking my face. Animal control was able to find his family, but they didn't want him anymore, so a few days after finding him, I ran into him in Old Admissions when I was dropping off a "pull dog" for the night. After he was neutered, he came to live at the Garden and we became instant buddies. He was a little crazy in the run, he would try to herd the dogs in the neighboring runs, so I started taking him to lunch in the staff room.

This is Finn after a half hour of fencing in the rain and snow. . . wouldn't you love to have that come running in your door! Another caregiver, Andy, has an Australian Shepherd and he immediately took a liking to Finn. He kept saying that he wanted to adopt him but he wasn't sure if he should or not. Finn had three different applications come in on him but for various reasons they all fell through. When I found out that the third application was a no-go, I told Andy to put in the papers and figure out the details later. The next day he put in his application and within a week, he took Finn home. I still get to see Finn occasionally when Andy brings him to work and he is doing great.

This is Jimmy. He is an amazing dog that I had been taking to lunch with me last fall because he would compulsively run a large circle in the outside part of his run. There was a very distinct track worn in the sand because he did it so much. While I was home for Christmas, he was adopted and went to his forever home. I had no idea there was even an application on him, so I got a phone call on Christmas day saying that Jimmy was leaving to go home and I about fell over. He is doing great in his home and has actually developed the ability to alert his mom when her blood sugar is getting too low. Shortly after he arrived, her husband was out of town and Jimmy's mom let her glucose level get too low and lost consciousness, Jimmy stayed with her pawing at her hands and face and licking her to get her to wake up. If he hadn't been there, she may have been unconscious for hours. On a few occasions since, Jimmy has started exhibiting behaviors that are abnormal for him, licking her hands and whining, and she will check her sugar and sure enough, each time he starts doing these specific things, her sugar has been low. We all knew he was an amazing dog when he was at BF and now he has a great life with people that love him dearly and he is taking good care of them, too.

I came in one morning to find this mess in run 5. About two minutes before this photo was taken, Buster Blue was just sitting at the gate looking all innocent, seemingly trying to say "I really have no idea how this possibly could have happened and I certainly had absolutely nothing to do with it!" But he couldn't contain himself for long and by the time we got back with the camera he was back to further dispersing the contents of what used to be a bed. Everyone has to have a little fun sometimes!

This is Pilot. He is a very cool and incredibly handsome Plott Hound that lived at the Garden for almost a year. He arrived at the Garden shortly after I did and he was repeatedly looked over for adoption because he could be quite strong, stubborn, and rambunctious. But he is also very sweet and loves to have his back end scratched.

He, too, got adopted while I was on vacation, this time in April. There were adopters coming out to meet Buster Blue and when they did the dog intros with their dogs, Buster was a little overwhelmed by their ten-month old puppy that had a boundless supply of energy. They got along fine, but after a while, Buster was jumping up on things to get away from Stains because he was still trying to play with Buster. The people were a little hesitant about Buster because they were worried that, since he had three legs, he might not be able to keep up with Stains energy level and they were really looking for a dog that could help burn off some of that puppy craziness on a daily basis. They saw Pilot while they were at the Garden meeting Buster before the intro and asked if it might be possible to do an intro with Pilot, just to see if he got along better with Stains. The intro was a 45-minute, no holds barred playfest and wrestling match. They didn't stop playing the entire time and everyone knew Pilot was the right dog for them. Lupie took this photo the day he left, since I wasn't there to say good bye in person. They renamed him Steak, apparently they have a thing for "S" names, they also have two ferrets name Split and Splat. He is doing great and he and Stains are always together and up to something. And don't worry about Buster, he got adopted about a month ago to a very nice couple that was looking for a dog that might be able to be a therapy dog. They are hoping that he might be a good candidate for therapy work in VA hospitals and with people that have had to have limbs amputated because he gets along just fine with only three legs.

Not Just Another Day . . .

Thanks for the good thoughts, Clair. They travel faster than your average mail, so they got here pretty quickly!
It was an interesting week this week. On Wednesday evening I was working until 6 pm and as I was just finishing things up around the Garden I heard a couple of the other caregivers on the 6 pm shift chattering on the radio. They were the two caregivers on either side of the Lodges and I was surprised to hear them because I was running a bit late and figured I was probably the last one around. One asked the other to please come to lodge 7 to look at a dog. A couple minutes later there was a call to see if anyone from the clinic was still around. Unfortunately the clinic staff usually goes home around 5 unless there is an emergency, so there was no answer. Then they asked if there was anyone left in DogTown. I answered that if they needed me to, I could try and reach the on-call vet, since there aren't phones in the individual lodges. They asked me to please call and then asked if I might be able to come look at the dog, Akila; they thought she might be bloating, but neither of them had seen a bloat before, and they wanted another set of hands and eyes. I drove up there and it seemed pretty clear to me, and them, that something wasn't right and based on how hard her stomach was, I agreed that it was probably a bloat.
The on-call vet said she would be right up and to meet her at the clinic. I drove Akila down to the clinic while her caregiver finished up the meds for the rest of the dogs. Once the vet and one of the techs got there, they confirmed that she was bloating and needed emergency surgery. However, they were having trouble reaching any of the other vet techs to assist with the surgery. So, Akila's caregiver and I were drafted into service to help with the little stuff during the surgery. While the tech prepared the surgery room for the procedure, we helped hold Akila so that the vet could place the catheters. Then, once she was sedated, we helped move her into surgery and while the tech was getting probes and nodes attached and the vet was scrubbing, they handed me the clippers and I shaved her abdomen for the procedure. By the time they were ready to start the procedure, another vet tech had arrived, so I just stood back and watched the surgery and fetched various tools and things when necessary.
Just before she stared cutting, the vet warned us to get out if we started feeling light headed, even a little bit, because a lot of people get a little woozy and think they can muscle through it and two seconds later they are on the floor and she didn't have time to be worrying about the people in the room, she had to focus on the dog. At that point it was about 6:45 and I hadn't eaten since noon and I was getting quite hungry so I was a little nervous that I might be the dork that passes out in surgery, but I didn't get woozy or nauseous once! Not when she pulled out chunks of fat and cut them out so that she could get to the abdominal cavity, not when the large intestines started pop out a little bit, or when she pulled the small intestine out to inspect it, not even when she pulled the entire spleen out of the body cavity to check for a pulse and inspect it - I did not pass out! I didn't even get nauseous when they were draining the contents of the stomach . . . I am pretty proud of myself here.
It was actually really interesting. I have been wanting to see a bloat surgery since I got here, but it isn't really something you can schedule, so when the opportunity presented itself, I ignored my hungry stomach and stayed to watch. As far as I know, Akila is doing well. She came through the surgery fine and did not have to have her spleen removed. When the vet initially pulled it out, it was the color of an eggplant (it should look about like a tongue) but by the time she was ready to close her up it was more of an Easter purple kind of color, heading back in the direction of pink. It was a good catch on Akila's caregiver's part, her only hint that something was wrong was that Akila wouldn't come to the fence for a meatball at the end of the day. It was a very cool learning experience and I am happy that Akila is okay. I am also very thankful to the vet for letting me observe the procedure, it was so interesting.

A Life Well Lived

Well, I have been putting this post off for a while now . . . for 40 days to be exact. On Saturday, April 10, 2010 at about 4:45 pm I said my final good-bye to Brenda. She was surrounded by people that love her and I miss her everyday. She lasted longer than any of our other dogs that had been diagnosed with lymphoma and it was a testament to her spirit that she held on, happily, for as long as she did. She was her same sweet and feisty self right up until the very end. I am grateful that we didn't have to watch her take a slow and painful decline until she was no longer the dog we knew and loved. We had lunch together on her last day and many others came from all over the sanctuary to see her smiling face one last time. It was the only time during her long fight that she really seemed like she was getting uncomfortable. When I took her out on Thursday, she was still spunky and curious; there had been more and more signs over the preceding weeks that we were probably getting close to the end, but it was all physical. There was never a change in her personality, she never stopped being happy to see her family of people and she definitely never stopped looking for a cookie! But, in spite of her great personality and drive to squeeze everything out of every moment, her body was no longer in the fight. She was a wonderful dog, sweet and funny with a personality that filled the room and a tongue always ready for a good, sloppy kiss. She seemed happy and, I suppose, that is all we can really hope for. (All photos copyright Allison Martin.)

Girl's Night

First of all, I suck at this. I am going to stop making passing promises of more posts later when I have more time and motivation. They will happen when they happen and we are all going to have to accept that.

Now to the post, back in January I took Brenda on a sleepover and while there were some hiccups in the experience, she had a great time. As it worked out, I ended up doing the sleepover during the worst winter storm of the season. I was staying in one of the BF Cottages because Brenda is not allowed to leave the property due to her bite history (she can go on car rides, but she isn't allowed out of the car off property). She appeared to have a magnificent time, she loved the couch and the beds and despite her weakening back end, she had quite a time launching herself on and off the furniture. There was a power outage, the TV didn't work, and there was no wireless or cell service, so I did a lot of reading. There was a land line but it had a cordless phone, so when the power went out in the middle of a conversation with my Mom, I decided I might as well head to bed . . . at 8:15. Brenda really enjoyed all the cuddle time and I am so glad she got to have a nice night out, I wish I could have enjoyed it a little more myself, but we had a nice time together. She slept next to me on the bed all night and wasn't very excited when I made her get out of the warm bed in the middle of the night to go potty - twice. Every time we would head back to bed, she would have to take a few minutes to rearrange the bedding exactly to her specifications. I had a great time with her, I wish she could be in a home for whatever time she has left. (All photos copyright Allison Martin.)

Birds

I have a few photos I wanted to share tonight. I will try and write up another post soon about my recent sleepover with Brenda and post some of the (many) photos I have taken when I am hanging out with her.


When I left my house the other day to go up and get Brenda for an outing, this little roadrunner was hanging out in the front yard. I went back inside because I forgot my camera and when I came back out he was wandering down the driveway.

Then it ran across the road (go figure) behind my car and into the yard across the street . . .

. . . where it proceeded to climb a tree, not very gracefully.

When I got up to the sanctuary, I took Brenda for a little drive down to Angel's Landing and we wandered around for a while and then just sat in the car and enjoyed the view and she got some good belly rubbin's. While we were in the car, this flock of turkeys made their way down from the canyon walls and started grazing on the horses' leftover hay. I don't know how many there were exactly, but I can count at least 16 in this photo. When I got out of the car, they all started nervously meandering back to the canyon wall. I am sure five minutes after we were gone they were right back to the buffet.

(Photos copyright Allison Martin.)

Moving

Well, a lot has changed since I last posted. I moved back in with my friend Carissa - in a different house where I have my own room. I have mixed feelings about it, I spent the last year living alone for the first time in my life and I really liked the freedom to do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted without the concern of disturbing a roommate. However, with all the pet sitting I have been doing, at times if felt like I was paying $500 a month for an oversized storage unit and I almost felt guilty for taking up such a nice little house that somebody else could really use - especially in Kanab, land of overpriced, craphole rentals. So, I have bid farewell to the solo living thing for a while and am actually enjoying the company of a roommate, and her dogs. Since I last wrote (I know, bad blogger!), there have been a lot of adoptions from the Garden. While I was on vacation over Christmas, three dogs, including two of my favorites, were adopted. Bo Bo went home on Christmas Eve to a family here in Kanab, he was one of the Spindletop dogs that came to the Lodges last February (Sweet Freedom post) and then moved over to the Garden a few months ago, where he quickly became a favorite of visitors and myself. Jimmy went to his forever home on Christmas Day, he was a very special little guy to me; he had developed a tendency to run in a large circle at the back of his run, probably to deal with the stress of the shelter life. If made me so sad to watch him constantly circling in his run, so I decided to start taking him to the staff room with me for lunch every day. It was a good way for him to get out of his run for a while and be around people, which is all he ever wanted, I am so happy he is home, but since he left on Christmas Day, I didn't get to say good-bye. We also had a little three-legged cattle dog mix, Penny, that got adopted between Christmas and New Year's Day. And on top of all that, a dog that arrived at the Garden while I was gone, Yadon, was adopted the day I got back to work. I have been taking a new girl with me to lunch since I got back. Cassie is a very high energy dog and we are having a difficult time getting weight on her because she spends so much of her day running along a fence line. We have a new program at the sanctuary training dogs to be Search and Rescue dogs, there are a lot of guidelines that the dogs have to meet in order to be considered for the program and I think Cassie would be a great candidate, as do many of the other people that know her. She has an incredible toy drive and very high energy (evidenced by all the running), she is young and, other than being skinny, she is healthy. At this point, the only variable that we don't know about is her hips, which will need to be x-rayed before she can be admitted into the program. Originally, she wasn't going to be able to be in the program at this time because there were already two dogs in the program, but one of them isn't doing so well, so I got a call yesterday that the trainer running the program was going to come by the Garden today to assess Cassie as a potential candidate today. So I have my fingers crossed for her that her assessment went well today and her x-rays come out clear. She needs a job so badly and it makes me so sad to watch her running all day long.

I know this has been a weird, rambling kind of post, I will try to do better next time. I have Internet access at my house now, so I should be able to get more regular about posting in the future.

(All photo's copyright Best Friends Animal Society.)