June 2017
We had an eventful month in rescue. Snow, who we would love to place, decided she wanted to move up in pack order, and she did it by picking a fight with Lily. One morning as they were coming in from the yard for the first time, Snow jumped her. We have had quarrels before, but this one was a serious fight. The result was a series of vet visits for Lily and a closed door between them ever since. Our lives have definitely changed, and we’re back to where we were in the days we had Shadow and Charlie. Worse, perhaps, because Shadow was blind and we could sneak Charlie by him. Both girls are as sweet as can be separately, but teeth are bared if they even see each other. At this point we’re trying to decide how to find Snow a home, but with a bite history we don’t feel comfortable with the liability issues. It seriously limits our ability to take more fosters. We have begun giving her a med that takes the edge off, and it’s helping, but we don’t expect the girls will ever be safe together again.
The newest development came about the time of the deadline for this report. It looks like Snow, who we thought was spayed, may still be intact. It’s possible she has a UTI, so we are going to see the vet this week for a determination. If she is intact it would explain a lot, but it will also create new questions about who she really is. The vet we called identified her and told us she is spayed, but if that’s not correct we don’t know much about her past. Snow’s coat is short, which we took to mean someone had shaved her in the past. Maybe not. It’s going to be interesting to find out what’s going on.
On June 6, Barb found a Sammy in the Coeur d’Alene shelter and called to leave us a message. By the time we got home and returned the call, she had picked up Selene, a ten year old girl with serious health issues. She has no tear production in her right eye, so it may be partly blind. She is overweight by at least 50%, maybe close to double what she should be. Her hips are weak, not surprising at that weight. But Selene’s most significant problem comes from dermatitis of the vulva, which has gone untreated, resulting in ulcerated skin in a very uncomfortable place. Barb drove her to Ellensburg, where she met Kathy, and Selene moved in here. We took her to our vet the following day where the techs cleaned her as much as possible. Her pain must be incredible because everyone in the clinic could hear her screaming. Our instructions were to wash the area every day and treat it, and we’re getting a similar reaction. It does seem to be getting better, and now we have a topical pain spray that numbs the area before we begin. She is on two antibiotics which seem to be making a difference. Kathy has been grooming Selene for short spells several times each day, and her coat is looking better than it does in this picture. There weren’t really that many mats; it was mostly dead undercoat that had never been blown or combed out.
This gives us seven dogs in the house. Our ideal number, if there is such a thing, is three or four. Seven means we are absolutely unable to take any more foster dogs. Either we have to find people to adopt directly from shelters or we have to leave dogs there. Of the seven, three are seniors, so we won’t have this number many more years, but in the meantime if you can occasionally foster a dog we’d really like to hear from you.
Herbie is still here and approaching 14 years old. Princess is nearly 13. We love our seniors, but we would really prefer not to end up having to keep all the old dogs here. We need people who can take seniors and make them happy in their final years.