THIS BEAUTIFUL DOG NEEDS A HOME...YESTERDAY

He just can't stand waiting for a treat.



I met him today. He is a very plump stray and no one has come to claim him and that troubles the staff because he is so well cared for.

He's been on death row for three weeks and he is desperate seeking a home because there is almost no time left. Maybe 3-4 days. He is absolutely so full of personality - sweet, playful (I think he's about 2 years old), LOVES treats, sits nicely, and probably is a perfect gentleman and for sure, a perfect companion. He is already neutered. I think he's part Border collie and maybe Australian shepherd (I've had both and they are wonderful dogs), Or maybe collie or Lab. His coat is smooth but his tail is a brush. He's handsome and he's stolen my heart, can't you guess. Because he is neutered, his adoption fee is low. His ID number is: A041462

He is at the Bay County Animal Control shelter in Panama City, FL on highway 231. Ask for Tracy when you call. The number is 850-767-3333. Leave your information if you get a recording. The staff is fully capable of shipping this dog to you by air (we have a local airport and the weather is perfect), or if you are some distance away without an airport, we can probably figure out a transport relay. Work with them. They are great.

Please, please, PLEASE FIND ROOM IN YOUR HEART FOR THIS SWEET BOY. He has a whole lifetime left to devote to you.

Tonight is Halloween -

The spooks and ghouls stay away from my neighborhood - we are too rural for that. Besides - you never know on these warm nights, unless you have a really good flashlight, if the snakes are out, too.

So here I sit - after dinner, with a few of the dogs - may download some photos. My grandchildren are being escorted through their neighborhood by their mother. Grandson is into Scooby Doo or Spiderman and granddaughter is a witch tonight.

Holly, my Australian Shepherd is in recovery and well on her way to being whole, if her femur on the hind leg stays in the socket. Her lacerations are healing but the one under her "arm" in what would correspond to our armpit, is healing from the inside finally. She is flushed twice daily. Penrose drain came out last week. I found her on the bed yesterday.

Holly is a blue merle, blue-eyed Australian Shepherd who was viciously attacked by my female German Shepherd three weeks ago. I don't know what sparked it, but I think it may have been something about the water hose. They both love it, and I had filled the waterer by the wellhouse. I left them alone - heck - I've kenneled them together, but when Holly didn't come in around 7 p.m. I looked for her under the tool shed. She didn't want to come out. But she managed, and could barely walk. Left leg rear was twisted grotesquely around her right rear just above her foot and the gashes on her front leg had stopped bleeding. When I discovered the gaping hole under her "arm" I could see into her body between ribs and skin. It was awful. I gave her something for pain and she was taken to the vet's first thing in the morning. The only ER vet we had was two hours away. She made it through the night (I slept next to her on the floor) and through the surgery. Holly is about 10.

Maya now wants to get her. And Holly is afraid. Separation is the best thing to do; Maya came as a rescue a year ago. She'd been to a few homes and the animal control shelter. I can't put her down. So there will have to be a muzzle on her at all times in the house when Holly is fully recovered.

She is also looking at the possibility of having more surgery. Ka-ching. The first was approximately $700. And while I am not arguing the price, although I don't think putting a leg back into the socket warrants that cost, I am very grateful to the doctor's skill, maybe he could've presented us with the alternative while she was out on the table. That is, removing the head of the femur and letting the ligaments and muscles take over. Had a cat hit by a car once, and he had to have that done. Never had a problem with his leg. So if it dislocates again, she will have to have that. Estimate to follow.

I'm just very happy to have her getting well. She isn't a kisser. But she kissed me the other day and again tonight. She is from working stock. She was also a rescue from a couple in Georgia who didn't realize the beautiful puppy needed a job, and thus she came to me in a prong collar and never went in a crate again.

TODAY I RESCUED A DOG...

Ever notice that changing photo widget on the left sidebar which are adoptable dogs from the Bay County Florida Animal Control facility, not too far from me?

It is, unfortunately, a high kill shelter, but the staff and the director, Jim Crosby, love rescuers and rescue organizations. Anyway - I saw this little Boston face, and called about her because she is a tripod - somewhere in her past, she has lost a front leg. Well, that's ok. Someone would want a five year old with a disability - a perfect therapy dog, especially working with amputees. Maybe at the veterans home off Star Avenue.

I made them promise not to euthanize her, and I went today to see her. She's not five. Maybe 50 or 60 but certainly not five. Her owner is incarcerated. I guess he gave her to someone to care for, and they weren't treating her well, and she was confiscated. She had absolutely NO chance in heaven or hell. She has a growth on one hind leg that hangs and swings on a small attachment. That will come off. She is homely. She has a gray face. She is a little heavy because she must rest. Walking is tiresome. I suspect she has heartworm. Why not? She has old scars on the left flank. Big scars. There may be a bb in the middle of her face just above her eyes. An old wound. She's had skin problems - probably a severe flea allergy. I bathed her in medicated soap and she got the Adams spray treatment. But she's a tail wagger, and tonight she barked at a passing car on the street. She has rested on a clean sleeping bag all day. I think I'll call her Granny.

If you are reading this post and live in the Panama City, FL area, the Bay County Animal Control has some wonderful dogs available. My heart broke because there are two absolutely beautiful male purebred Boston terriers there. One looks like a big version of my Sophie. The other is smaller. They are in perfect condition.

There is what is listed as a male Lab mix. HE'S HAUNTING ME. His coat is lush, thick and wavy. He's black, which makes his chances of adoption slim. There's white on his chest. He bounced and bounced so high and hard, begging me to free him, that I think his exuberance could be channeled into frisbee or flyball - something athletic. He looks to me like more of an Australian Shepherd/Border Collie mix. Less like a Lab. He doesn't deserve to die. If you read the beginning of this blog, you will find an entry on black dogs. Black dogs are never adopted. The best dogs I've ever had were black. And one was a Border Collie. I have an Aussie, and she is faithful, smart and great to have around.

There are purebred Chihuahuas, a Dalmation, and a terrier with whiskers - maybe wire haired fox terrier and JRT cross or maybe some rat terrier thrown in. So cute. Still looks like a puppy. So hopeful. All of them are so hopeful.

If you have the time, please go see these beautiful dogs, who will, if not adopted, be euthanized and incinerated. They don't deserve this. If you know someone in rescue in Bay County, or even in Alabama - please tell them that this facility is rescue friendly.

The number of the BCAC is 850-767-3333. You can leave a message. You can save a life and you can enrich yours.

A poem for the rescuers...

There are seven dogs in residence and three cats.
Blade's owner beat him severely when he was a puppy and I got him through another
rescuer when he was not quite a year old. He is now past middle age and he weighs 145 pounds.
Buffy, a Wheaten Terrier mix was found by trying to place two Anatolian Shepherds from here, though they were in a high kill Los Angeles shelter. I got them adopted, but on the same page was this winsome face with sad eyes. Through contacts on the internet, she was sprung from the shelter, spayed, made her recovery with a new friend in CA and flown here. Delta Dash was the carrier. She made the trip fine.
Australian Shepherd, Holly, was another internet find. Her owners didn't understand Aussies, especially from herding lines, needed room. The fluffy puppy (a Christmas gift) was fitted with a prong collar, which they didn't know how to use, and it accompanied her in the bag of belongings when we picked her up in Georgia. Kept in various crates all day long until she came here, Holly is a stunning blue merle with blue eyes. (I'm a sucker for dogs with blue eyes.)
Bernie was a street urchin, probably part Shih-tzu. A fuzzy wanderer he, (do you believe there is an acre here and he has to be walked on a retractable leash?) and I eventually had to catch him in a live trap on a bitter March night baited with Limburger cheese.
Roxy was a giveaway Boston, and the eldest of the crew at 11. She is in her Mardi Gras costume that was taken off and put away forever. She hated it.
Maggie was a giveaway Boston, a brindle sable, and she is a sweetheart. This is her third home from which she'll never leave.
Sophie, a Boston, was purchased, and she is nearly six months old. There was no alternative - couldn't find a rescue.
Vern is a red tabby who was left behind when the renters across the street vacated. I took him home and he is content to lie on my desk on a folded towel under the lamp, all nice and cozy. Sweet Pea is an ancient Siamese, an older adult when rescued under the same circumstances as Vern. She potters around, deaf, lame, and maybe slightly vision-impaired. But she's not ready to leave any time soon. Dottie was dumped here twice at the gate. I found her a home, and the people dumped her back here. Sophie thinks Dottie's a Boston, too. All are wonderful with the dogs and Sophie and Pea often keep each other warm, cuddled in a basket.
To all the rescuers of dogs, cats, exotic birds, farm animals, we save and rehome on our journey through life - and I've been all of the above - this poem is for you with my heartfelt thanks for easing their pain and suffering and healing the unseen scars.

Here in this house...

I will never know the loneliness I hear in the barks of the other dogs
'out there'.
I can sleep soundly, assured that when I wake my world will not have
changed.
I will never know hunger, or the fear of not knowing if I'll eat.
I will not shiver in the cold, or grow weary from the heat.
I will feel the sun's heat, and the rain's coolness,
and be allowed to smell all that can reach my nose.
My fur will shine, and never be dirty or matted.

Here in this house...
There will be an effort to communicate with me on my level.
I will be talked to and, even if I don't understand,
I can enjoy the warmth of the words.
I will be given a name so that I may know who I am among many.
My name will be used in joy, and I will love the sound of it!

Here in this house...
I will never be a substitute for anything I am not.
I will never be used to improve peoples' images of themselves.
I will be loved because I am who I am, not someone’s idea of who I should
be.
I will never suffer for someone’s anger, impatience, or stupidity.
I will be taught all the things I need to know to be loved by all.
If I do not learn my lessons well, they will look to my teacher for blame.

Here in this house...
I can trust arms that hold, hands that touch...
knowing that, no matter what they do, they do it for the good of me.
If I am ill, I will be doctored.
If scared, I will be calmed.
If sad, I will be cheered.
No matter what I look like, I will be considered beautiful and known to be
of value.
I will never be cast out because I am too old, too ill, too unruly, or not
cute enough.
My life is a responsibility, and not an afterthought.
I will learn that humans can almost, sometimes, be as kind and as fair as
dogs.

Here in this house...
I will belong.
I will be home.

(author unknown)
Please visit your local shelter, browse through the lists at www.petfinder.com, or look up specific breed rescues in your state. I promise you...these animals know somehow that you have rescued them, and they will repay you every day for the rest of your life, with love, good humor, and companionship.