Full Time Inside Puppy

HE DID IT!!!!

Eeyore is Flea Free!!!!

 He may now truly begin his training. We had one fill day of not seeing any live fleas on Eeyore or on his bedding... Just dead ones.

So with that, my kitchen once again turns into a puppy pen. For one not 10 this time.

our first foster dog was a pregnant one... what a great family!

 Here's Eeyore's new living quarters for the time being....


He is still so frightened of any change that he decided he didn't want to eat all afternoon. Which is really scary in itself because of the meds he's on and he's so thin, he cant afford to miss a single meal...


When we had the puppies, they liked to have something to lie on at the front gate... he hid too until I made my makeshift bed.... Then that was WAY more comfortable!

About 3 am he wandered around the kitchen exploring his new pad, ate his food and drank his water... and peed on the blue towels. which were promptly removed and replaced only to be peed on again an hour later. LOL Prednesone... gotta love it. There is a tennis ball in there as well... Miss Lexi is a BALL dog for sure and we always have a few tucked under a chair, couch, bed or corner somewhere. One made its way into the kitchen, and although I couldn't get a photo, you'll have to believe me when I tell you that after watching me play with the ball for a little earlier in the day, he walked over the the ball, picked it up and spat it back out. OK... this is good. There IS a dog in that scared little body!!!


This morning I woke up early and he was out like a light still (Yay! Late sleeping puppy!) So very quietly, not to wake him just quite yet, I climbed out of the pen to get something. I turn around and the little sneak jumped into my bed and made himself at home. LOL Is there Great Dane in this pup somewhere? LOL

Really??? My pillow hadn't even cooled off yet...

Update 7/31/15: I received a call today that day 1 inside the house was a success! I'm traveling this weekend so hubby is home with little Eeyore.... He stayed in hubby's lap for some time enjoying some petting time and when he had enough, he calmly got up and plopped down into his own bed. He's eaten all his food, took his meds, and seems not to terribly distressed that I'm not there. - I'm sure overnight will be interesting as hubby wont sleep on the floor like I do... I'll report tomorrow evening on how that went. LOL

Sleep INSIDE?

I know the title sounds a little weird, but when you have a "feral", "wild", "stray" puppy on your hands that is littered with fleas, and 2 adults that are very sensitive to flea bites, you have a disaster on your hands. My thought process.... you came from outside, we have NO odea of your bathroom habits so to keep things simple and cleanable, we'll make you comfortable on our screened in deck until you are flea free.... and with 2 fans... and with comfy bedding... and me for company. I believe he felt that was a safe place.

 BUT....little pup.... tonight you come inside!

Miss. Lexi (2 1/2 year old Golden Retriever/Shepherd mix)
meeting Eeyore for the very first time.

Sometimes when there are so many fleas you need many baths to kill them all.... He's had 2 baths with flea shampoo, flea killing meds and a good soaking to drown any that may have somehow stayed alive. 

I have a large garden style tub in my master bath and it was the perfect depth to allow for a makeshift dip... lol.... he just stood there... no dunking allowed. He did fantastically! He's not afraid of water in the slightest. Just sniffed the water and looked around in the strange room.

OK, I'll come out from under my warm towel for food.... if you insist.

 I warmed some towels in the dryer before bath time and rolled them tight to keep the heat in so he had some super toasty towels after coming out of the tub. Granted the water was warm (who likes cold baths?) but when your drenched head to toe, your skinny as heck, and you step out of the tub, who doesn't appreciate a nice warm towel?

I started giving him some puppy food and I don't think it agrees with his tummy since he would rather eat dry food. (okay) So not only did he have a nice warm massaging bath, warm towels, but he also had dinner ready to boot! 

Spoiled!!!

After all that and checking again for stray fleas, I think we got them all (probably not, but you never know) and we set up shop to call it a night.... yes, in my bathroom. 

I have been sleeping with him for the past 2 nights on my deck in a chair so I was thrilled to sleep on the floor for once. He seemed pretty happy I was there with him and actually curled up next to me for a while. After that the below photo is how I found him at 7:30 am.... still out like a light. LOL 

That is a relaxed pup. Finally!!!

Zzzzzzz.....zzzzzzz.....zzzzz

Flea Bath Day!

Now that Eeyore is here at the house and starting to get settled in, I wanted to let him start telling his story to you all, but he's still tight mouthed at the moment, so I'll be narrating for a little longer....

Today was bath day!

I wish I could have gotten a photo of the hundreds of fleas that was on little Eeyore. Just saying "hundreds" doesn't seem to put a picture into ones head of what it really looked like.... I could say that the inside of his legs and belly looked like someone sprinkled a bunch of live crawling sesame seeds, but still that really doesn't paint the picture I want.... without scouring the web for a photo of an infestation on another dog, lets just say that the soap suds were not white, but rust colored from the now liquefied blood feces of hundreds of fleas. Yah. that's pretty gross.

 Before bath time....

First things first, we need something to make sure he wont bolt when I bathe him... hmmm... all I have small enough is an old chain collar from another foster. It'll do I suppose. Cant wriggle out of this one at least. He wasn't pleased and offered no assistance.... lol







But we got it on...

After a quick rub-a-dub-dub from the hose it was lunch time!

A whole can of wet puppy food. He is a lot thinner than he looks in the photos. You could feel his hip bones very well. He needs to gain about 5 pounds to fill out even the slightest.












 Nomm.... Nomm... Nomm..... All gone. Good boy!







Ahhhh.... but I missed some places. He still had fleas. The flea medicine the shelters vet gave me was for dogs and puppies 6 months and older.... I think I'll hold onto that for a while and purchase some from my vet tomorrow. They will need his paperwork anyway for follow-up appointments.

Sooooo....... here we go again.....inside 

with warm water this time for a more relaxing bath with Daddy. 

He gives better baths...

.

Aparently.....

Time to come home

Eeyeore's life is SAVED!

 (literally)

Eeyore

Today, with the blessing from Maverick Pet Transport, I went back to the shelter to speak with Dr. Blankenship. She's the new Administrator at the shelter and is really shaking things up there. She was the head of the Vet Tech Program at Gaston College (right next door) and I couldn't think of a better person to take the position. You can see it in her... she loves the animals. After staying with Eeyore those past two days, knowing he was littered with ticks and fleas, I asked ifhe there was a way he could be sedated to have them all removed and all his blood work done. Because he was so afraid of humans, it was for his own safety and comfort.

Much to my surprise she agreed. Even though it would cost the shelter valuable funds, and a procedure like this is usually the responsibility of the rescue, she agreed to send him to one of their vets. WOW!!!!! I know how strict the shelter has to be with the limited funds they receive from the county, so this was a HUGE thing.

He was sent off that afternoon and I received a call a few hours later that he was on his way back for me to come pick him up. I was thrilled!

When I arrived there was something in the air of the office I couldn't place... I was told that he was still a little groggy, he was Heart-worm free, Lyme disease free, had anemia, was thin and weighed 24 pounds. He has a 103.7 degree temperature, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Me being naive and from the North, didn't know how serious that was. They all did. "He's got meds for it though and should recover fine." they said. Oh, Ok. I thought, then it's not too serious.... yah right! I couldn't have been farther from the truth. You see.... as you most likely know, but I didnt... RMSF is not something to play around with. in 3 - 10 days after being bitten by a tick that carries it, it causes Ataxia (Arthitis-like stiffness when walking [Which I observed in him but I thought his back end was just as sore as I was sitting on that hard concrete)], pinpoint bruising on the inside of the mouth and eyelids, Loss of apatite, Fever, Depression and a whole bunch of other nastier things. BUT Looks like it was caught in its early stage and will pull through with his treatment, but there is no guarantee he will be fully healed. He may still have times of stiffness and lethargy after a good play, but only time will tell and this is only day 3 and the 1st day of treatment.

If it were not for the generous heart of Dr. Blakenship at the Shelter for allowing him to be sedated for tick removal, and bloodwork, this would not have been detected and Eeyore would surely have died a painful death as the mortality rate of untreated dogs is 100%.

If your interested... watch this short video I found on another blog called elenanddogs. (http://eileenanddogs.com/2014/12/11/dangers-of-rocky-mountain-spotted-fever-for-dogs/)

One of her dogs had RMSF and she documented her progress....I feel this was exactly what Eeyore was displaying, but on a minor level. 

(if you have a hard time seeing a dog uncomfortable, please do not watch)

Day 2 - Decision Day

Sunday afternoon. The shelter is buzzing with volunteers cleaning the runs and washing bowls, feeding hungry barking dogs and making sure the laundry is finished. I was pleased to see my sign was still there on the door and he had slept on the blanket I provided the day prior. I brought in a new one and decided to settle in again. This time I brought a book. 

There was a little change in him, not much, but subtle. He seemed to calm a teeeeeeney tiney bit. Ok he was only a little farther away from his protective corner than he was the day before, but he turned his head and looked at me this time instead of only moving his eyes. 

My husband and I decided to nic-name him Eeyore because of the way he looked so sad and slouched over all the time. I loved Winnie the Pooh when I was young. I always seemed to take notice of how troubled poor old Eeyore was all the time. Aside from Pooh, Eeyore was my favorite.

Christopher Robin's Eeyore

 After 2 1/2 hours of sitting in one spot, on a thicker blanket this time, my bottom still hurt. I cant imagine what he was feeling. He still refused to move from that corner. I had tasty treats to give him and he wanted nothing to do with them, I even had a can of wet CAT FOOD.... still nothing. Sigh... Could this pup be helped??? I didn't know...

Until...

There! He felt comfortable enough (or exhausted) with me being around that he lay down and took a short nap. I was able to reach out and touch his tail without waking him. He still had his puppy fuzz. His adult coat hadn't even started to come in yet. This pup was very young, malnourished, covered in fleas and ticks, but wasn't so far gone that there was hope in him.

Then something else happened!!!

He stood up, glanced in my direction, Stretched those long legs of his and calmly walked to the outside run to say hello to his neighbor. He was still interested in me, and new I was still there inside, but I guess I wasn't so scary anymore. It was then I decided to suggest to Maverick Pet Transportation that this puppy can be saved and to ask if I may foster him.

Day 1 - Introduction Day

Hey there! For those that do not know who I am, my name is Daniele Summerfield, and I am the president of a sportbike club called the Dragoneez. Just like most motorcycle clubs, we enjoy giving back to the communities in which we ride. One of the ways we do this is through a program called Mutts-in-Rutts.

Mutts-in-Rutts 2015 

For the past 5 years, we have been collecting food, leashes, collars, bedding, towels, flea and tick supplies, as well as a plethora of other forms of donations from all over Gaston, Lincoln, and Mecklenburg counties to help out Gaston County Animal Care and Enforcement. I am a volunteer there as well. This time around, as the club was delivering this mid-summers donations, I was advised of a feral pup that was taken in earlier that morning and was extremely frightened. Of course, they know me well, and I had to see how far gone this pup was and if there was any way I could help it.

Quiet Please 

 It was clear this pup was so frightened that he wanted to run, but his muscles froze in fear. The poor thing hadn't a clue how to react. So he, like a baby fawn, stayed frozen hoping the scary thing will go away... I didn't. He showed no signs of aggression just confusion, so before going into the pen, I made a little sign... "Quiet please I'm scared"... For an hour and a half I sat in run M1, a little 4'x5' space, on a thin blanket...not moving.... quiet... non threatening... observing....

One extremely frightened 3 1/2 month old puppy

He was always watching me with one eye, but to dared not move away from his protective little corner. He could have ran into the outside run, but he didn't. He just sat and bowed his head in mental exhaustion. When it was time to go for the day and let the volunteers go enjoy the rest of their Saturday, I asked to be put on the schedule to go back the next day to be with him again....