Family Photos

So my really awesome friend, Lydia, came to see us and take some family photos of us and all the doggies...here are a few of them:

Halloween - Puppy Style

So this year, Toby was my inspiration for pumpkin carving. It was mostly a last minute decision after I saw that cute email with about 10 dog breeds and pumpkins carved like their heads. I used the shepherd design and modified it slightly because Toby's ears flop over at the tips :-)

What do you think?

Wish us luck!

I have entered Ruby and Duma in the ASPCA's Adopt-a-Shelter-Dog Month contest for October.

This is the photo I submitted:

and this the description:

"Ruby was adopted from the local pound, after 3 months of recovering from illness, and Duma the cat found us one day. She refused to leave our backyard, then found her way into the house through the dog door. Don't tell anyone, but this cat and dog love to snuggle and give kisses to each other!"

If you want to enter your pets, follow this link: http://www.aspca.org/adoption/adopt-a-shelter-dog-month/asdm-photo-contest.html

2 weeks

Last weekend we were able to get a very good deal on a microchip for the Tob-monster (I will explain his new affectionate nickname shortly). He will get is 4 week booster shot of the distemper/parvo vaccine on Sat. Oct. 17, and then all that is left to finish his transformation to official 'house pet' is to get him neutered. We are planning to wait until the week of Thanksgiving so that I will have enough days off work in a row to supervise him (aka laugh at the poor little guys as he tried to navigate the house with an E-collar, but on the bright side, he will get to attend one, possibly two thanskgiving meals, so it won't be so bad).

On Sunday we visited his other 'grandparents' (aka Dave's mom and dad) and Dave's mom loved him. He was also very polite and didn't jump, or try to lick. He showed everyone (including some of the neighbors) how he plays soccer with a super-sized tennis ball. You can see a video here (this was actually taken at our house before we went to see Dave's parents).

After playing hard, Toby decided it was nap time, but he needed to keep his tennis ball close by :-)



And now to explain my earlier nickname of Tob-monster. So Toby likes to get up early, really early. I consider myself to be a morning person, rarely sleeping past 7am, and usually getting up by 6:30, or as soon as the sun starts shining through the curtains. But Toby has brought a new meaning to 'waking up early'. I am talking about before 5am...no alarm needed anymore. For a day or two, when he heard the radio on the alarm, he would fly (yes, pretty darn close at least) onto the bed and wiggle all over the place until I would get him and take him to the other room. Then he realized he could wake us up, no need to wait for the alarm. So even though I am a little bit tired, I have gotten a lot of things done before work this past week, thanks to Toby! And there is something relaxing about sitting in our guest room, reading a book and snuggling with doggies and kitties :-) I need to remember to bring the camera with me next time!

Tomorrow it will be official

So according to the Humane Society, if you find a dog and no one comes forward to claim it, the dog becomes yours after 7-10 days. I filed the 'found dog' report last Friday morning, and the lady told me that if I didn't hear from anyone by this Friday, he was our dog. I think that is cause to celebrate!

Toby has been such a wonderful addition to our 'zoo'. He doesn't chase cats (only occasionally barks at them to try and play) and he respects his elders (aka Snoopy). Dave and I took him with us last Sunday to meet my parents. Too say that he was a perfect angel at their house would be an understatement...he was truly amazing! He didn't jump, or try to lick, and for that matter, he didn't even seem to care that he was at a new house. He calmly laid down at Dave's feet in the house and waited for us to make the next move. Then he slept in the backyard for about 2 hours, and didn't even try to beg for food. It really is mind boggling that a 6 month old puppy could be so well behaved.
(looking angelic..hehe)
He really enjoys our morning walks and LOVES his toys. Just about every time you look at he, he is carrying something around the house (and on occasion, again, sometimes it is a shoe, so we have gotten better at putting things in the closet and closing the door). Thankfully he doesn't have the desire to 'chew to destroy' only likes to gnaw a little bit and drool a lot! So on the off chance that he does manage to get a shoe, there isn't any damage...just some moisture.

He is no longer afraid of the dog door. By Tuesday he had figured out that it was the ticket to not having an overflowing bladder! He had gone from 7am - 6pm on Monday without going outside, so as soon as Dave got home, he ran out the door and went for a while. Now that we don't have to worry about him being in pain from having to go to the bathroom and not being brave enough to go out on his own, it is much nicer to leave the house.

The only down side to Toby learning how to use the dog door is that he likes to go outside after we have gotten in bed and then he starts barking at random things. So at night, all doggies go outside one last time, then we close the dog door. Thankfully no accidents have occurred.
(burst of energy captured on film)
This Saturday, Toby will meet his other 'grandparents' (Dave's mom and dad) and then we will hopefully go to a pet adoption event on Sunday to socialize him some more and get him micro-chipped.

Have a great weekend!

Look who we found...

I definitely can't say I am surprised, but we couldn't be happier than we are now knowing we picked Toby up off the streets!

This little guy is a very quick learner who seems older than he really is. I have no idea why a cute guy like this would be wandering along the frontage road (at least there is a fence to prevent access to the freeway), but he didn't have a collar so we took him home with us. He sure smelled (must have been rolling in road kill), but he handled bath time like a champ. He was very skeptical of me pouring water on him, but he quickly gave up fighting and rested his chin on my leg (I was sitting on the edge of the bathtub) so I could soap him up. I found about 4 large ticks a few smaller ones, but he doesn't seem to have any other issues.

I dropped him off with my vet's office this morning and the vet called to say that she thinks he is only 6-8 months old, but in very good health. He is now vaccinated against rabies and the dreaded distemper (Dave and I agreed that we would never allow another dog to go without that very valuable shot), and hanging out at my vet's until I can pick him up after work. Ruby and Amy really seem to like him, and we haven't had a problem yet.
(the foot in the air is really funny)
Toby needs to learn how to use the dog door. I don't think he has ever been inside of a house before, or even walked on a leash, for that matter. He would cautiously walk through the dog door if I held the flaps open (it is super scary because it has two flaps and goes through the wall!), but would jump back at the noise and motion of the flaps anytime one of the other dogs went through. He somehow managed to get outside in the middle of the night, though, because I found he casually laying on the back porch where he had gathered a yard-work glove, and 2 toy squirrels that had been in the house. He happily greeted me and came inside once I opened the door!

I filed reports with PACC and Humane Society, and one said give it 5 business days for someone to come forward, the other said 7-10 days. So by next Friday if no one has come looking for him, it looks like we have gained another dog!

Animal Photos - June 13

Snoopy - just woke up from one of her many naps

Ribbon - her general outlook on life :-)

Gretta - in one of her cat post houses

Ruby - trying to sleep

Duma - looking scared...even though she wasn't

Amy - half smiling, always happy

'new kid on the block'

Italian Greyhound?

Well, 'Diesel' (according to his tag) the Italian Greyhound was found wandering through our neighborhood. The phone number on his tag is disconnected, so for now we wait and see if someone puts up signs.

I will be taking him into our vet clinic tomorrow morning to see if he has a microchip, but I have my doubts because he doesn't have a rabies license on his collar either.

It was a little bit of a rocky start to get our dogs to calm down and stop chasing the 'fast moving object' that was Diesel. But by last night, after we managed to eat dinner, he spent his time laying on the couch next to us. He weighs in at a whopping 15 pounds...I think one of my cats weighs that much, or possible more, yet the cats are scared of him. He doesn't seem to even notice the cats...so that is good.

Hopefully he behaved himself today, since we leave him in the bathroom for fear that Amy, our greyhound/pit mix (ironically enough, one greyhound goes after another), would injure him.

I will try to update tomorrow and let you know if he has a chip.

On another note, I have not heard back from PACC after sending in my letter and backup paperwork, and when I called today, the lady was not at her desk, so I left a message. I am not holding my breath that I will get a call back. Next Tuesday could be interesting because I need to go pay Snoopy's yearly license fee...so I will try to talk to them about the Brook issue.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Letter to PACC

I finished my letter to PACC on Sunday and sent it off to them on Monday afternoon along with all the receipts from our vet and the emergency vet. You can read my letter below, and also the letter from the emergency vet.

I'll let you know if I hear from PACC. I will be going out there sometime in the next week because I have to pay the rabies license fee for Snoopy, so hopefully I will hear something before I drive out there, or I will ask to meet with Jayne to talk about it.


Page 1


Page 2


Letter from Vet

Weekend House Guest

Last night we welcomed a four-legged house guest. She will be staying with us through the weekend. Everyone, say 'hi' to Beckett, the newest dog to grace the blog!
Beckett is a 9-year-old Bull Dog. Her mom, Jen, is the daughter of some friends and they had a family gathering to attend. Beckett is a very funny "little" (compared to ours) dog. She immediately found the toys scattered around the room, and even created a toy (the lid of the toy box).

After all that playing, it was time for a nap.

Dog Books & More

I added a list to the right of some animal books I have read and recommend. Most are dog related, but there are a few about cats too!

If anyone has read any of these, I would appreciate your feedback :-)

Day 17: Goodbye

Brook was so trusting and amazing it is difficult to express all the ways we grew to love her in such a short period of time. It still brings tears to my eyes now as I write this, more than 24 hours later. Veterinary Specialty Center of Tucson was so kind and made us feel as best as possible. They even moved us from a standard exam room to one with carpet, and nice chairs, and a view of their garden area with fountains. It brought us a little bit of peace to know that others care as much as we do, and no matter how long a life is on this planet it is just as precious.

I would also like to share my thoughts from our drive to the vet clinic on Sunday morning:

You will never understand until
You carry an animal when it cannot walk
And are patient and calm
For as long as it takes

You will never understand until
You hold food in your hand
Simply so this frail animal
Will eat enough to stay alive

You will never understand until
You have given everything
You possibly can
And then a little bit more

You will never understand until
You have made a difference
In just one life
But it will repay you forever

But those of us who do understand
Admire those who continue to help
And know the toll it takes
But also the amazing gift of love


Also, Dave has another blog where he has shared his thoughts: From last Thursday, and from yesterday

I really enjoyed meeting people through this blog, and plan to continue updating, but the focus will obviously be a little different. I will give more background on us and our pets in the coming days and plan to add links to pet related articles and animal welfare information.

Day 16: Saturday

Brook had an even more decreased appetite. We tried some herbal remedies from the rescue group Cold Wet Noses (I highly recommend adopting from them; what a great group of people!) to try and alleviate the body tremors, but it didn't work, unfortunately. We got all but the Valley Fever test result back from our vet on Saturday and everything was negative. All the tests showed was a low white-cell count, which means her body was not currently fighting off an infection.

After reading more about distemper, one of the symptoms that jumped out was "thickening of the foot pads". You may remember reading a post from only a few days of Brook coming home that I was giving her a foot massage with some non-petroleum jelly to try to soften her foot pads. At the time, nothing seemed unusual. They were just a little bit rough so I figured she must have been running around in the desert prior to arriving at PACC.

Now, it became obvious that her body was growing more skin starting on the large foot pad (like the palm of our hands) and working its way towards her toes. This is one of the severe signs that only appears from distemper (as far I had read).

Brook didn't eat very much at all, and tried to get away from us each time we would attempt to syringe feet some wet food. I decided it wasn't worth making her time more miserable, so we stuck to offering the bowls of ensure type drink. She would still go outside with me and pee, but could barely walk without stumbling.

Late on Saturday night, my husband and I talked and knew it was time to call the vet. You truly have to love dogs and always remember that they do not care what day of the week, or what time it is. It is a beautiful thing to not live by a clock and I believe it proves how much animals have on us in that department. Nevertheless, I called the emergency vet clinic on La Canada, just South of River, to ask what they charge for euthanasia. Not like that would have really mattered, but I am one of those people that needs to know information before I appear in a situation. It was no different than taking her to our vet on Monday, and we just couldn't let this go one any longer.

Day 15: Two weeks from adoption date

We are back to Friday (thankfully) and it has been exactly two weeks since I adopted Brook. I think it is safe to say that her life has changed drastically, some for the better, and unfortunately, some for the worse.

Last night she quickly lapped up and entire bottle of store brand "ensure" vanilla drink. She loved the stuff and I am so happy I found a link to a "ask the vet" website where a vet tech had suggested this to someone else whose dog was not eating. So we also gave her some Hill's Prescription A/D canine/feline wet food mixed with water. We were able to get her to eat about 30ml, so thought that was good and didn't force her to eat anymore. She also took her amoxicillin liquid without much problem.

We thought since she had been "cooped up" all day at the vet, it might be nice to let her get some fresh air. We walked outside and then carried her about 5 houses down the street. She is so calm and sweet, that she just rested her head on my shoulder. The body spasms subside slightly while she is eating or concentrating on something, so we hope she will be able to get enough rest to overcome those.

The vet not only gave her 1 liter of subcutaneous fluids (so those are still slowly being absorbed by her body), but also an antibiotic injection, a B vitamin injection, and a rimadyl injection. All of these combined perked her up a bit, but we were cautious to not let her over-exert herself. She is shaky/wobbly on her feet, so we made sure the bowls of food/water and bones in her room are moved to the edges to give her enough space to move around on her own without getting injured.

For now she doesn't show any interest in dry food, or wet food, but will swallow when we give her soft/liquid food. She drank another half bottle or so of the nutrition drink before we all went to bed last night.

I woke up multiple times in the night worried about her. The first time was about midnight, and when I first woke up I freaked out because one of our other dogs, Ruby, was laying on the bed between Dave and I and for a split second I thought she had somehow gotten into the room where Brook was (I must have been dreaming about sitting with Brook). Since I was awake, I went to check on little Brookie, and she was fine. Just laying there, mostly peaceful, sleeping. She opened her eyes and wagged her tail. I stayed with her for a minute but then went back to bed. I woke up again maybe 30 minutes later (no idea why), so it was sort of a rough night. I hope tonight will be better.

Dave has officially earned the nickname of "dog nurse" because he was so sweet and willing to take his "birthday day" off to stay with Brook and keep feeding her every few hours. That little dog sure has got a lot of people supporting her. I know she is extremely grateful!

So back to today; so far she drank another nutrition drink (quite willingly, yeah Brook!) and licked about 20ml of wet food mixed with some water out of my hand. She took more of the drink about 9am and Dave helped her to eat more wet food with the syringe. He'll be trained in animal feeding in no time!! :-)

I will try to update tomorrow so that everyone following the story can know how Brook is doing. Thank you to everyone for their kind thoughts and wishes and it is really great to know that this blog is reaching so many people.

News from the Vet

Well, the vet said Brook was not too dehydrated, but she has lost almost 5 pounds because she is not eating. Dave and I are heartbroken and unsure of how to proceed. For now we have asked the vet to take blood and run a full panel to check organ function. The valley fever test will have results early next week. When I pick Brook up from the vet later this afternoon, I will be getting a few cans of specialty wet food from the vet. It is very high in vitamins and nutrients so that everything that goes in her body will be used. I will probably have to syringe feed her. At least I have done that before with cats at an animal shelter (and dogs don't have claws and sharp teeth like cats, so that is a bonus).

Dave has graciously offered to take time off work tomorrow (he gets 8 hours of paid time because it was his birthday Monday, but it fell on a holiday, so his boss said he could take a different day). We'll see how everything goes tonight, but I believe he will work half a day, so that Brook won't be left alone for 9-10 hours...only about 5.

I have done a lot of reading on distemper and most of it is not good at all. Here is a useful link for those who are curious:

http://www.animalhealthchannel.com/distemper/index.shtml

I think my biggest question about all of this is: why doesn't the county immediately vaccinate all dogs with the distemper/parvo vaccine? Yes it is a cost issue, but couldn't it make their dogs more adoptable because they aren't sick?

Spring Garden Safety

For all of you out there who want to put your green thumb into action, take a look at this list of plants that are poisonous to dogs:

For your pup's safety, fence off your spring garden from the rest of your dog's stomping ground. Otherwise, your gorgeous greenery may pose serious health risks for your pooch.

Problem plants and flowers: If consumed, many garden picks can be poison to your dog, including autumn crocus, azaleas, bird-of-paradise, buttercup, Christmas rose, daffodil, day lily, iris, oleander, foxglove, morning glory, mountain mahogany, lily of the valley, rhododendron, and periwinkle.

Vegetable-patch pitfalls: Onions, chives, and garlic, which pets find quite tasty, contain compounds that can cause anemia. The leafy green parts of potato plants also can be toxic.

Frightening fruits: The seeds or pits in apples, plums, cherries, peaches, and apricots contain cyanide, which can cause seizures.

Chemical concerns: A 3- to 4-foot wire-mesh fence should keep your pooch from munching on your garden favorites. But if you think there's even a slight chance that your pup could jump over or dig under the fence, treat your plants, flowers, vegetables, and vines with products that are pet-safe. All-natural fertilizers and organic weed killers are available at many nurseries. And along with keeping your best friend out of harm's way, you'll be protecting the environment.

Source: http://www.dogage.com/care/tipoftheweek.aspx

Distemper Facts

I sure hope they can find something else wrong to prove it isn't distemper.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canine_distemper

Day 14: Thursday - back at the vet

Brook is not doing better. Plain and simple, unfortunately. She has lost her appetite completely, except for vanilla ice cream. I don't want to feed her to much though fearing that it could upset her empty stomach, or that the cold could make her stomach/body spasms worse. I brought her back to the vet this morning and we are awaiting test results. They will be doing a full blood panel and expect the results no later than Saturday. Also, the valley fever test will be back by Monday. Please pray for peaceful sleep for Brook so that her body has a chance to fight whatever this is.

Day 13: Wed - unforgiving illness

This morning was pretty rough. At about 5:30 I went to Brook's room and she greeted me with a happily wagging tail. I must say that dogs are amazing at hiding their true feelings and problems. I know that she feels like crap, but through it all she manages to greet me with a tail wag. She was laying on the floor and the humidifier had stopped producing steam. I believe it ran low on water, but she wasn't laying by it anyway, so I don't think it would have made a big difference.

I refilled the humidifier tank and put Brook back on the futon. Her nose was blocked up again, but after maybe 10 minutes of sitting with her and making her lay by the steam it started to soften. We took a quick trip out front to go potty. She finally pooped (it has been probably 2-3 days), and it was mostly solid (only a little diarrhea). She is very wobbly on her feet; she can walk, but sways from side to side. I haven't figured out if it her body is weak from lack of food or if she has another illness.

I mentioned all these symptoms to the vet yesterday and they believe she could have valley fever. If it gets worse, or she hasn't shown improvement by Saturday morning, she will be going to the vet again. I have an appointment for our oldest, Snoopy, for routine vaccinations, and they said it wouldn't be a problem if Brook came along too. They would start by testing her blood, and possibly do a culture of the mucous. I sure hope it doesn't come to that because I don't want her to suffer anymore. Also, the medications to treat valley fever are costly.

Through all of this, Brook has remained very calm and always looks at me with the clear, trusting eyes. I think this is why it hurts so much to watch her have trouble breathing and not wanting to eat. She trusts me completely to help her and right now I just don't know what else to do. It also stinks to not be able to stay home with her for the next few days (if only working wasn't required).

I tried to get her to eat this morning; I heated up one of the leftover containers from last night; she wouldn't eat. I even tried putting a piece of egg her mouth, but she spit it back out. Same with the ground beef. A few minutes before I left the house this morning, I offered her some yogurt, but she didn't want that either. I gave her the liquid antibiotics and had to leave. I hope she decides to eat again tonight, or I am not sure what we can do.

Day 12: Tuesday

Tuesday morning, we woke up to Brook having trouble breathing again. One of her nostrils was completely blocked by mucous. Her nose dries out and the mucous hardens and then she can barely breathe. It sounds like she is whistling through her nose and her breathing is very labored. I set to work with a towel soaked in hot water to try and soften it up. It helped a little bit, but her nose is getting to the point where it is so raw, that is is starting to crack a little bit inside her nostrils and bleed. For this reason, Brook is not too happy with us trying to clear up her nose.

I got her to eat a scrambled egg and she drank some water. Then I had to leave for work.

When I got home last night, after stopping at the vet to pick up liquid amoxycyline, and to Walmart to buy a humidifier and some ground beef, I found Dave sitting with Brook. Her nose was almost completely blocked up again and she looked very sad. We quickly set up the humidifier and I used the hot towel to try and relieve some of the mucous in her nose again. Once the humidifier started producing steam, it really helped to clear up her nose. She laid on the floor, and just let the steam go by her face. We moved her onto the futon so the steam would be more direct at her nose and face. It finally loosed up her mucous and I was able to gently use q-tips to clear out her nose.

I cooked up about a 1/4 pound of the ground beef, then as it cooled, cooked a scrambled egg. I also mixed in half a can of wet dog food (those small cans that are the size of cat food cans). She happily ate about 1/4 of the mixture I created.

I left it with her for a little while and came back about a half hour later and she ate a little bit more. I packaged up the rest into two containers so it would be easier to eat them up for the next meals.

Day 11: Monday

This morning, Brook did not want to eat any dog food, so we gave her the pill and then offered her some lunch meat. She only ate half a piece. Not more than two hours later, she threw up. Yellow bile and a little bit of food remains from the previous night. She seemed very upset about this, so I just cleaned it up and sat with her for a while. She is already suffering enough with not feeling well, and if there was a way she could have gotten outside, I know she would have. I went to the grocery store later in search of some different foods that she might be interested in. We ended up with some cottage cheese, eggs, and plain yogurt.

She willingly ate the cottage cheese (just a few spoonfuls to make sure she didn't get sick again). Then she ate an entire scrambled egg, licking the bowl over and over even when it was gone. I was a little weary of giving her any more food just to make sure it didn't come right back up. We withheld the doxycyline to give her stomach a chance to settle down. Ever since she threw up her stomach has been having spasms. It is like she has the hiccups but they don't follow through. Her whole body jumps, whether she is standing up or laying down. I only hope it subsides soon so she can truly rest.

Day 10: Sunday

After discovering that we were putting a pill in her food, Brook became more concerned about finding the pill and spitting it out. I had to put the pill in her mouth and make her swallow and then we fed her lunch meat to make sure the pill was getting into her stomach.


Checking out an edible nylabone.

She has no interest in dry food right now, but ate a half can of wet food. Her nose is getting to be stuffy again, even though we had thought it was clearing up.

Day 9: Relapse

Last night, Brook had no interest in dinner (some wet food and rice) even though she has been eating all week without a problem. A day or two ago it seemed like she was really getting over the kennel cough, but her nose is back to being green (not as bad as the original sickness though). She still didn't want to eat this morning, but tonight she showed interest in a new kind of wet food (this time we didn't add any rice either).

She has also discovered the antiobotic pill in her food (I suppose another sign she is doing better) and knows how to eat the food and spit the pill back out! So I have to resort to the old fashioned way...sticking pill down doggy's throat and rubbing until she swallows. Then we have to make sure eats something because the vet warned us that doxycycline is harsh on the esophagus. She wanted to make sure the pills never get stuck in Brook's throat, or it could cause other problems.
We are also trying to introduce some bone-type treats. We figure it must be boring sitting in a room all day with nothing to do, so maybe Brook will decide to try one of the treats tomorrow.

She is turning into a bit of a snuggle bug. She enjoys laying on the futon in the bedroom and also really likes it when one of us sits or lays with her. Also, since she seemed to be feeling a little more ill the past 24 hours, I helped her up onto my lap, and she actually liked it. She just lays on her side, puts her head on my arm, and relaxes.

The other thing that seemed to help her breathe a little better was to wipe her nose with a warm, wet rag (not sure why I hadn't tried that sooner). For now, her nose is clear and she isn't having a trouble breathing. The coughing seems to stay away as long as she doesn't move much. The minute we stand outside (so she can go potty), she will start to cough again. Hopefully by next week, she will be all better health wise.

Day 8: We chased a Bird!

Well, this morning was off to a good start. Brook noticed a bird sitting on the sidewalk one house up the street from ours...and then she decided to run after it! I figured, 'why not' and ran with her. We got past the driveway (by this point the bird had flown away, so no animals were harmed) and then Brook turns around and looks at me with the expression that said "was I supposed to do that?" I reassured her that everything was fine and we turned around and walked back to our house. She was quite happy this morning, wagging her tail and then she went bonkers for the lunch meat I gave her with her pill...jumping around and licking my hands, even after the meat was gone. Only to have a life as simple as a pampered pooch! :-)

Day 7

"People need to realize that they don't need a super-hero cape to make a difference in one animal's life...just a heart!"

I can't wait till next weekend when Brook is done taking antibiotics so she can meet our other dogs (as long as her nose is cleared up). She has seen the cats and doesn't seem to care about them, so that is good :-) They also don't seem bothered by her, just curious.

My oldest dog, Snoopy (the 16 year old) can't figure out why I step over two baby gates and disappear a few times a day to a part of the house where she is not allowed. Even with her failing eye sight (cataracts) and failing hearing, she always seems to know that I have walked out of the room and follows me. I don't think she will mind having Brook around since Brook is so calm and quiet. I can't wait to post photos of all the dogs together :-)


Snoopy (in her younger years, 2003)

The two younger dogs, Ruby & Amy, are excited every time they see Brook through the baby gates. Amy is about 2 years old, by our best estimate, and Ruby is about 3. Ruby was a rescue from PACC in 2006...she was very thin and had to be on antibiotics for 3 months for tick fever, after she had been treated for a cold (aka kennel cough). We learned quite a bit about tick fever, and were very relieved after getting another blood test from our vet to find out that Ruby had completely fought of the disease. She will always be at risk for a relapse if she gets bitten by an infected tick or does not get enough nutrients, but we are not concerned about that since she lives inside and always gets dinner. To find out more about tick fever, follow this link: http://www.sunrisepetclinicaz.com/tick_fever.html. Ironically enough, this was the vet clinic where Ruby's foster dad had taken her 3 years ago to double check the diagnosis he had received from PACC.


Ruby (after Dave added a background)

Amy was a stray dog that we found in our old neighborhood two years ago August 14th (so 2007). It was early in the morning (before 6am) and Ruby and I were walking around the neighborhood. I believe it was a Monday, or Tuesday, and the previous Saturday night I had seen a dog running loose, but it was dark and very scared, and I was not about to chase it. Well, I truly believe it was the same dog that re-appeared that morning. She was still very scared, but at least I could see she was foaming at the mouth or anything, so I wasn't worried about approaching her. Ruby and I ended up sitting in the middle of the street and Amy crept very slowly towards us. As soon as we could reach her, I grabbed her by the collar and then noticed she was literally hopping with fleas. One of my neighbor's was outside, so I asked him to take Ruby so she wouldn't get the fleas too. Amy came home with me, a bit reluctantly, and she got a bath in the backyard to get rid of the fleas. I took her to my vet and she stayed there all day while they worked to track down the owner. Amy had a microchip, but it had not been registered. It is truly amazing to me how many people will pay for a microchip, or adopt a dog with a chip, and then not take a few minutes to make a toll free call, or go online, and register the chip FOR FREE.


Amy (playing with her "moo")

Oh well! Long story short, they finally got a call back from BARK (Baby Animal Rescue Koalition) who had found Amy and her two brothers as 3 week old puppies abandoned in a wash. They had adopted her the moment she was old enough to be spayed, but she didn't even have a rabies shot at that point. I was asked by the BARK volunteer what I was planning to do with the dog, to which I responded, "Not give her back to you because you couldn't find her a good home to begin with!" So that is how Ruby and then Amy joined our family.