Wow! I have been lazy...

I don't know where the time has gone but I'm guessing it went to the dogs! Since November last year I have fostered, and found homes for, 10 huskies / husky mixes. That may be what has been taking up all my time.

The sweet red girl I have posted on my blog is Ireland. She and her five puppies were found abandoned on a rental property. She didn't have any food or water but she somehow managed to care for her pups without complaint. When she was brought into rescue, she only weighed 38 lbs. I thought I had been doing well with her because she'd put on 4 lbs since she came into rescue. I took her in for her spay surgery two weeks ago and she ended up losing 5 lbs. Her surgery was not pretty. Apparently, this girl has just been kicking out litter after litter because her uterus was so weak that it tore in half when the vet was removing it. Can you imagine? Poor baby took forever to start feeling better.

I am posting about Ireland in my blog because, although we have found homes for all of her babies, she hasn't had very many applications. The applications we have received were not very good which is why she is still in foster care. I can't understand why she hasn't received more interest. Who wouldn't want a girl who's great with humans of all ages and other dogs? She walks great on leash. She likes to play fetch, or her version of fetch anyway :o) She is an all around wonderful girl who loves everyone and everything (well, except cats, that is).

If you're reading this, thanks for letting me vent. Actually, I typed in an extremely long rant but deleted it because it was very negative :o( This is me not ranting :o)

Have a happy and healthy day. Walk a dog!

Bart's mom

(heading out for a walk right now with Bart, Ireland and Declan)

WOOO WOOO WOOO!!

Zsa Zsa is visiting with us for the week. I missed her soooo much! Zsa Zsa (who is now named Natasha) was a foster of mine for 4 months and was adopted early this year. She is the one foster I will always regret someone adopting from me. I so wanted her but since my house is small, I knew if I kept her, that would be one less dog I could help save.

Her new mommy asked me if I wanted to keep Zsa Zsa while they were on vacation over the Thanksgiving holiday. HELLO?!! YES!!! They came by this morning with Zsa Zsa on their way to the airport. I was very happy to see her although she has changed sooo much! Her undercoat is very thick now and is a creamy white color under her black outer coat. Since it is so thick, it shows through everywhere. She is blowing her coat in spots too so I broke out the undercoat rake today. I have quite the collection of Zsa Zsa fur now. (Why do I keep the fur? I will tell you why; Fur can be made into felt which can then be made into stuffed animals, like huskies!!)

She still comes up to me and lays her head in my lap (which I love!!)! She still woos when she is straightening up after stretching too. But she has developed a new habit...She sticks her paw in the water bowl before she takes a drink. While we are outside, it is too funny, inside is another story :o) I still love her regardless of how wet the floors get.


She does still love to play with puppies too. She spent most of the day playing with my 5 month old foster, Picasso. Picasso is understandably exhausted tonight.

Bart has really done it this time!

I took yesterday off work so I could get some cleaning done at my house before the window replacement dude showed up today. Things were going well. I had to vacuum and move things from in front of the windows so the window guy could actually get to the windows. No problem, right? I was in and out of the house most of the day, running to the store, going to my kids' school to meet with a teacher, and then the kids and I had dentist appointments in the afternoon. All sounds pretty normal, huh? Well, it didn't turn out that way.

When I leave the house, all of my foster dogs get crated but I let my Bart stay loose in the house to wander as he pleases. I completely forgot how upset he gets with me when I am in and out of the house all day long. HE didn't forget though and he decided to remind me just how upset he was with me when we left to go to the dentist. Here was my evening from about 5:15pm on....

We got home from the dentist, entered the house and found everything possible that could be gotten off the counter in the kitchen on the floor of the living room. Bart stood there looking at us like this was absolutely fine since he was ticked off and should be able to show it. We started picking up everything and found a whole slew of things that he should not have had if only he hadn't been ticked off: The insoles of the one pair of work shoes that still had insoles were out of my shoes and chewed almost beyond recognition; A package of strawberry, unfrosted pop tarts; Used tissues taken out of the trash; All of the dog food bowls, one of which still had some leftovers from one of my foster dogs breakfast; A stack of plastic disposable plates, shredded of course; And the real kicker (and the reason for this blog), to my horror, we found an empty Rimadyl bottle. I had this out on the counter because I have a puppy I am fostering who was just neutered. There we still about 8-10 pills in the bottle when I set it on the counter that morning, but now it was completely empty. I started freaking out. I called our vet and the first thing he asked was how many pills were in the bottle. Of course, I can't think or count at the moment because I am freaking out. Then he asked how long ago he did this. It had to be within the last hour and a half because we left the house around 3:45pm. He said to get a cup of peroxide and pour it down his throat! I was told to do this immediately and then to repeat in about a half hour, then give him a pepcid and bring him in for kidney and liver function tests in the morning.

Let me interject here to say that I have 4 other dogs in my home at the moment and two semi-responsible teenagers (I use the word responsible loosely here). My kids were supposed to be going around the neighborhood last night with our cutest little puppy to sell hockey tickets to the Indiana Ice/Green Bay Gamblers game that we are doing as a fundraiser in partnership with the Ice. Picasso, the cutest little puppy ever, is getting leashed and the girls are getting ready to go while I am on the back patio with Bart trying to force him to drink peroxide.

The process of removing a potentially life-threatening substance from the stomach of a dog goes something like this: 1.) Open a bottle of peroxide, hold in your hand and have at the ready to pour. 2.) Get your dogs' butt backed up into a corner, this is to keep the dog from backing up and making his escape. 3.) Straddle the dog and hold him with your knees to keep him from flinging himself to either side to escape. 4.) Stick your free hand into the dogs' mouth and pry open. 5.) Pour in a swallowful of peroxide. 6.) Let go of the dogs' mouth to allow him to swallow. 7.) Repeat steps 1-6 until a cup of peroxide has been ingested. 8.) Let dog run away from you into a fully fenced backyard to harf up the contents of his stomach. 9.) Inspect contents of stomach that have been harfed up in the backyard, then bag the contents and rinse the area thoroughly so none of the other dogs can eat it. 10.) Repeat steps 1-9 until stomach is completely empty. 11.) Give your dog plenty of water and a pepcid tablet. 12.) Monitor your dog throughout the night until your vet appointment the next morning.

I got to step 9 and realized I was out of peroxide (why don't I stock up on these kinds of things?) and needed to run to the store. I hear one of my daughters yelling out front for Vivi (one of my foster dogs who is going to her forever home Friday evening). Since I have no fence in the front of my house, I run like mad to get to through the house while yelling for my other daughter to keep an eye on Bart while he is harfing.

I grab my keys as I am booking through the house. I get out front and see Vivi a few houses down on the other side of the street. This isn't so bad, I think to myself. I will drive down there, open the door and she will just jump in the car because she loves to go for car rides. I drive down the couple of houses and the daughter who came with me opens the back door. We both yell out very convincingly, I thought, that we wanted to take her for a ride. She looks at us, grins as if to say, let me take you for a ride and runs down a few more houses. I drive to where she is, entice her again, she runs a few more houses down. I repeat these steps until I am about 2 houses from the end of the road which is a main thoroughfare and it is rush hour! I get out of the car, grab a leash from the backseat (leaving my car running, unlocked and sitting in the middle of the road mind you) and ask if Vivi wants to go for a walk. I turn away from her to see if she will come after me but, NO, she isn't having it and she runs across the busy street! NARROWLY escaping being struck by cars travelling in both directions!! I am screaming bloody murder now because she has me scared so badly, but thankfully she is running towards a soccer field where a game is being played. (I ran across the street too but I actually looked to see if there was anyone coming.) Surely the spectators will help me. But, NO! I cannot believe that a soccer field and bleachers full of people seeing a grown woman running after a husky waving a leash in the air and calling out a name (the dogs name, HELLO?!!!!) won't stop and help a person out and grab the freaking collar of the dog. What is wrond with people today. Two girls even leapt away from her, scared. How stupid is that? Every husky I have ever met has always been like "lick now, ask questions later." Anyway, while standing in the middle of the soccer field, thankfully the one not being used by soccer players, Vivi ran up to me, layed down on the ground and wanted me to pet her tummy. I grabbed her collar, attached the leash and started walking home. I guess at some point I threw my cell phone to my daughter who was with me and asked her to call my neighbor to go pick up my car from the middle of the street because as I was walking homr, I saw my car safely ensconced in my driveway, off and locked:o)

I am at home now and realize I still need more peroxide. I go to the store, get the peroxide and pepcid, come home repeat the steps listed above and finally I am able to rest (yeah, right!) and watch over my Bart baby to see how he does throughout the night - it was one long night.

Bart had his blood drawn this morning and sent out for his tests, now I am playing the waiting game. Did I get to him in time? How much did he digest? He better be alright!!!!!

Bart's Mom.
(harf bag anyone?)

I give up Meeshka!!!

I don't know how it is that Meeshka is communicating with my huskies but I really do give up! My huskies are digging their way so deep into my yard and no matter how many poo piles I move around to cover up old holes, new ones keep getting dug! (And deeper than the rest, I might add!)

I think I am finally coming to accept the hole digging, I just wish they would dig where I want them to dig. We have a trampoline and under that is where my first real foster started digging (the first foster I didn't adopt that is, although I did cry for three days after she was adopted and a few times after when I would get updates about her...). Why can't all the rest of them follow suit? I really want to have the lush. green backyard I had when I first started fostering. I guess those days are over. I am slowly accepting my fate (and the fate of my yard). Do you ever wonder what you were thinking when you first decided to foster anyway?

I thought I would take on "A" dog every few months and then be able to take a break in the travel season (summer, when I go visit my family) but that has all changed!! Last year when I was just fostering Bart, I took him with me to visit my Dad. He seemed to like him other than the fact that while we were there Bart, being the 75 lb monster he is would lay on the linoleum across the entrance to my Dads kitchen (he had 2 entrances, Bart would only occupy the most used entrance :o) That way he could stay cool and get lots of love. My Dad kept referring to him as a small horse. I don't know why, Bart is bigger than the miniature horses my mom's neighbor breeds. What is up with that?!!

How is it that anyone can be convinced my little lap dog, regardless of his size, is a miniature horse?!! Have you seen his picture? He is the sweetest little love bug ever known to man! I am not sure how I got to talking about my baby Bart when I was originally talking about the hole to China, but I guess it happens, huh?

I would attach photos of the hole but it is too humiliating that they have gotten away with it after all of my hard work moving poo!!!!

Please let it snow so I can stop filling holes!!

Bart's Mom!!!
(make the digging stop, please!)

The Original Party Animal

Who would have thought that Bart was not a party animal? Either that or he just doesn't like the way the hat makes his head look.

Why would I put a party hat on a dog you ask? Let me tell you; Petfinder.com is celebrating their 10th birthday and they are sponsoring a photo contest. I can't enter Bart's picture in the contest since he's already been adopted (by me of course) but I didn't want him to feel left out when I was taking pictures of his foster siblings in the hat. If you are interested in participating in the contest go to http://www.petfinder.com/petlovers/asdmcontest06.html but hurry because 09/30/06 is the last day to submit your entries!

Good luck to everyone who participates! It's a good thing that Bart can't participate because you know there isn't a cuter dog than my Bart in a Party Hat!

Bart's mom (proud as ever of my handsome little boy)

A new hole has magically appeared in my backyard.

I don't know how they manage it, or should I say he. It rained for two days, then we got cold weather. Apparently the water is sitting just below the surface because the hole isn't that big but my foster, Mac, had mud all over one paw when he came back in the house. How he got mud on just one paw? I have no earthly idea! He is just talented that way. Leave a 6 month old husky alone in the yard for 10 minutes and tell me what YOU find.

He was digging right next to the bricks I just put in along the fence line. Thank goodness I put those bricks in! I have found that it doesn't take a very deep hole for a dog to escape out of a privacy fenced backyard. (Maybe someone can explain to me some time how a 40 lb. husky can fit under a fence through a 4 inch gap.)

Bart's mom
(Just wondering...)

What went wrong?I thought I did everything right. I made sure that before I went to bed last night I let all the puppies out for the last potty before the 3:30am potty break. I am positive they went out at midnight. It was raining though and I didn't make sure they went off the deck and out into the yard but that was because I had to prepare all the food dishes for breakfast. Bart gets one kind, the puppies all get puppy food and Vivi gets another. (If you don't do it the night before, you spend countless minutes with whining, clawing, jumping puppies in the morning tearing your legs to shreds trying to get to the food before it is served.)

I go to bed only to be awakened about 45 minutes later to howling puppies who peed in their crates. I let them outside into the rain and go clean up crates. I re-line them with fresh newspaper. I let the puppies in, dry them off and re-crate them. I go to bed for 2 hours only to have to get up to tend to the puppies again. A repeat of the 1am performance. I get another hour of sleep. Low and behold, I am thrust out of a perfectly wonderful dream to screaming puppies! I repeat the last two middle-of-the-night acts and go back to bed. My alarm is set to go off at 5:30am. I usually hit snooze until 6am. Not today! I was up at the unholy hour of 5:15am. I didn't even get to hit snooze. By the time I got all the crates cleaned it was nearly time for me to be up anyway so stayed up.

Mondays are bad anyway. The puppies get used to having us here with them the whole weekend and letting them outside and staying out there with them. During the week, their whole schedule gets knocked sideways. They have to be crated all day while we are at work and/or school. They really hate that because then they have no alternative but to have accidents in their crates. Whereas, on the weekends we can take naps during the day with all the puppies out in the house and not one accident!

There was one bright spot in my day today though. A friend introduced me to www.despair.com knowing how much I like pain and suffering. This site was hysterical! It really brightens my day to read demotivational quotes and realize how much they seem like my own life! LOL

Bart's mom (cracking up in more ways than one!)