Day 38

Dos has been more chipper today than any day so far. Even after a bath (which she tolerated well, she doesnt like being tied up to anything, but the minute she starts getting the scrub down she's fine) and a car ride, (which she likes, once she gets into the car...she fights as hard as she can to stay out of the car) she pranced around the house like a puppy, following Francis and putting her head on my knee hoping for treats.


I'm excited that Dos has made a definite friend in the pack.

She and Francis have become inseparable. We take them on walks together, as with Dos' gimp and Francis' slow gait, they are a good match for speed.

When one gets up on the couch, the other gets up on the couch. When one goes to eat, the other drinks. When one goes to the end of the driveway to get the mail with me, the other follows.

Wherever Francis is, Dos is not far away.

Day 37-Dos--indoor hunting dog.

Dos definitely had me fooled, thinking she was not an agile create....as today, not only did she catch and kill a mouse in one fell swoop, she decided she was a full-fledged predator, and spent the morning stalking and catching a fly.


I was sitting in the living room, and I hear a rustling in the laundry room. There are some holes on the side of the house where little rodents get it, and I heard one wiggling around. (a house with 4 dogs should NOT have anything getting into the house, but the dogs are terrible mousers). Dos is lying on the kitchen floor, head between her paws, looking sleepy.

Suddenly, the mouse scurries from under the laundry room door, and into the kitchen. With ONE swift, graceful moment, Dos pounces on the mouse, scoops it up, promptly snaps its neck, and delivers it to me in the living room. She dropped it on my feet, and wagged her whole body like she had caught every mouse in the world.

I tried not to scream as the dead mouse hit my foot...so I channeled all of the pent up shrieking into praises for Dos for catching the mouse.


After that, Dos spent the remainder of the morning and most of the afternoon on the prowl. I could tell it made her feel good to have a job to do and be called a good girl. She dedicated herself to hunting a fly, crouching down like a cat and stalking it, pouncing on it, and repeating the process once it flew away.


Good girl, Dos! Doing dog stuff!

Day 36-Dos Vs. The Bathroom

Day 36-Dos decides to lock herself in the bathroom. 

She had been following me around the house all day, trotting along behind me. She was 'assisting' me in cleaning the house, by sniffing, and then tromping through, things I was sweeping up. So, naturally, she follows me into the bathroom when I swept in there..

Unfortunately, however, instead of following right behind me as I left, she shut the door. And then locked it...and then panicked. 

I hear her start scratching the bottom of the door. I call to her, to let her know I'm outside the door, and try to prevent her panicking futher. Bad idea. She starts howling.

I try to open the door with a credit card. I look for a way to take the door off the hinges. I try to pick the lock with a bobby pin (hey-it works in the movies!). I then went around the house to go in through the window...dragging our rickety old ladder, and trying to secure it on the uneven ground took me about 10 minutes in itself. By the time I had gotten up to the window and looked inside, my bathmat was destroyed, there was pee and dog poo everywhere, the doorknob was chewed up, and there was blood dripped over the floor. 

And there was Dos, watching me try to pry the locked bathroom window open with a flathead screwdriver. She was just sitting there, wagging her tail with a long trail of toilet paper hanging from her mouth.

And then it was my turn to panic. I tried to (unsuccessfully) remove the window, I continued to try to pry it open, I knocked on the glass (I'm not sure why, really).  

Finally, I give up on the window and go back inside. I try to pop the lock. I try to take the doorknob off.

Finally, it hit me that I could stick the screwdriver through the door jam and push the bolt back. BAM. Worked.

Dos trots happily out of the bathroom, toilet paper still hanging from her mouth, and puts her head between my knees....

But, she stopped 'assisting' with my cleaning, as I was wiping up mass amounts of dog poop and pee from the floor....

I still haven't been able to figure out whether or not the blood came from her mouth, one of her paws, or if she started going into heat. I checked her everywhere and she seemed fine...and the toilet paper didnt have blood on it, so its a mystery.

She's fine, though, and remained happy as a clam the rest of the day....and stayed far, far away from the bathroom.

Day 35

Day 35!!!

Jeeeeez! Day 35. Crazy!

Today is the first day I have noticed Dos' fur really starting to come in. There have been little bits and patches here and there, but it's really starting to be noticeable now. From a distance, you can tell she is a mostly white dog!

It's growing in thicker in some places, for sure. On her legs are a couple tiny spots where it's clumps of "real" fur! 

I think a lot if the growth has to do with that I upped the fish and flax seed and have been giving her 1000mg of fish oil per day.

On her face, the little stripe leading from her nose to the top of her forehead has filled in! 

I thought she was a beautiful girl before but now she's even more beautiful. :)

And one step closer to recovery!

Day 34-why canned pumpkin is your friend

Today is going to be graphic.

Today I learned that Dos cannot have certain kinds of treats. 

I was working on "sit" with her, and popped her about 10 of these little, bitty treats. I was out of homemade treats, and out of the "sensitive stomach treats" That Dos got before....so i used the "normal" training treats. tiny, minuscule treats. What happened afterwards was quite the opposite.

Dos had the worst case of doggie diarrhea I have ever seen. 

I'm talking middle of the living room then dragging it around and possibly rolling in it kind of diarrhea. I had just fallen asleep, sleeping out on the couch because she had started coughing again and I wanted to keep an eye on her-when I was jolted awake by the smell of horror. It looked like a mudslide in my living room. And kitchen ...and Dos looked like she had taken a loooong slide...with her back.

After taking her outside, cleaning her up and the house like crazy- she drank some water and curled up and fell asleep. 

Dogs get diarrhea for odd reasons, and usually it isn't long term or super serious, so I chalked it up to the treats irritating her stomach and once I was sure she was asleep I fell back asleep too. 

Until it happened again, and again, and once I was sure it was over, Michael came home and I woke up to him slipping on some.

And a trip to the store it was-canned pumpkin. Not pie filling- pure pumpkin. 

That is a dog with an upset tummy's best friend.  Shortly thereafter, everything was fine, and after a couple quick trips to the yard for the "runoff", things went back to normal and Dos will now be getting pumpkin for a treat, instead of store bought treats. 

Ill save everyone the agony by not including any pictures today...

And now I'm craving pie.

Day 33!

Dos' favorite day of the week! Dog food making day! After work, I came home to a wagging tail at the door. Five wagging tails, really, but Dos acts as if she hasn't seen me for years. She does this if I go outside for too long, too. 

Dos spent the next two hours with her eyes glued to me in the kitchen, next to the oven where she could smell her food cooking. 

During the grueling fifteen or so minutes it took for it to cool in her bowl, she stared at the table where it was.

Dos has had no training, or so it appears..and that doesn't surprise me in the least. (Anyone who lets their dog get that bad health wise obviously doesn't spend much time thinking about or caring about their dog) . She also is quite the scavenger. It's almost like having a puppy in the house, having to puppy-proof everything again. We haven't had to do that for so long, it's easy to forget that a dog who is likely used to only eating scrap food or scouring the floor for anything edible may not have a second thought about getting into things. 

Part of Dos' rehab is learning boundaries and the rules within her new pack-no getting in the trash, no taking things off tables, no eating an entire roll of toilet paper, no matter how delicious it looks. (She went straight after the toilet paper when I brought groceries home the other day, taking a roll and trotting off with it.)

So, while the food was cooling, I watched her, making sure to tell her NO each time she edged her little face up to the table or tried to climb up one of the kitchen chairs. I have to be very careful the way I tell her no, as she is very sensitive to any form of scolding.  Thankfully, gently setting her paws back down on the floor and telling her "no" in a quiet firm voice did the trick. After a few minutes, she patiently waited without trying to grab it off the table.

And when she finally got her dinner, she grunted and slobbered happily like a piggy.

Dos food: chicken, beef, salmon, brown rice, carrots, liver, a spoonful of peanut butter, a spoonful of yogurt, a fish oil pill, and egg-shell calcium powder.

I've never seen a dog so happy to eat!

(I'm going to delete some pictures from my phone tonight, so I can have room for more Dos pictures-sorry its only her dinner tonight..but I thought the "Dos eye view" would show you why she is so happy :)

Day 32-Final Determination on Pregnancy

Sitting in the waiting room of APA! while Dos got her X-rays was probably one of the most stressful moments since Dos has been with me. Previously, they had thought she was not pregnant, but needed to make sure, so X-Rays it was.


Dos got into the car, this time without too much fuss, but she insisted on riding shotgun. She really, really likes to look out through the windshield. She was very alert. She let out a few little grunts, too. Totally backseat driving!



They took Dos back to the X-ray room, and I waited in the lobby. I heard mention of maybe two puppies.
I then heard 'blurry' and 'retake.' At this point, I almost had a heart attack and was hoping the vet techs would be able to revive me.

Ten minutes later, they come out, with Dos wagging her tail, and declared her not pregnant. NOT PREGNANT! The first Xray had come out too blurry and had needed to be redone.

NOT PREGNANT!

So Dos' spay date is next Thursday, when I will drop her off at 8 am, and pick her up late in the afternoon.
I have dropped dogs off before to be fixed...but I know when I drop her off I will be a nervous wreck.


MOVING ON!

ONE MONTH MILESTONE!

Dos has made it to her first month milestone!!!!  31 days into recovery! 

SHE HAS MADE IT AN ENTIRE MONTH!!!!!!!!

      (Obviously done with the party hat)

From a month long treatment of antibiotics, mange treatments, eye infection treatments, assumed deafness, bacterial infections on the skin, full body yeast infection, swollen mouth,  an emergency vet visit, pregnancy scare (which isn't reaaaally over yet), shots, kennel cough, head tremors, at LEAST four baths, crazy skin exfoliations, to her first walk, her first meetings with strangers of different kinds, her first bark, her first time crawling up into the couch to find "her spot", her first interactions with the other dogs in her new pack, her first "playtime", to her now being eager to eat, eager to drink, eager to walk, eager to get on the couch and crawl into my lap, eager to be pet, and even feel comfortable enough to come to bed with the rest of "the pack". 

Dos has come a long way in just a month-and has had a team of people from all over the country(and beyond!) rooting for her, sending her well wishes and love, and following her story. A lot of people have come together to help this sweet little girl, and have endured her trials and successes right alongside her. 

Tonight, she will have her 2nd Heartguard pill (keeping the heartworms from getting any worse) and look forward to the second month of Dos' recovery and all that it will bring!

Thank you to everyone who has been with her along this journey, and I look so forward to sharing her next month long of growing, changing, healing, and continuing to learn how to be a dog.

Day 30!

We are one day away from Dos' month anniversary of the beginning of her recovery. Yyeeeow!

Today, Dos got reacquainted with my friend Nora, who is known as "The Austin Fur Whisperer". Nora is the one that gave Dos her first bath when she came to us. 

I actually was looking through old photos and found the picture of Nora giving her a bath. Dos could barely hold herself up, and as Nora was giving her the bath, Dos had slowly hoisted herself up onto the side of the tub to bury her head in Nora's apron. 

Nora has a lot of experience with rescue animals, and didn't even flinch or think twice about the possibility of contracting whatever infestation was on her skin.

Dos seemed to recognize Nora, wagging her tail as a dog does when they see an old friend. 

And! Today was Dos' last day of antibiotics! She is no longer on any medications! 

Of course, she is still getting fish oil and calcium supplements in her food, but that will happen for a long time to come, and for good measure, the rest of her life:)

Keep goin, Dos!

And no, not EVERY piece of food is or you, Dos-at least not coffee ;)

Day 29! Another Saturday!

Another Saturday for Dos-and almost a month!

Today I came across something from Dos' first day with us- something I had hidden away for reference and to never use with her so as not to bring up any bad memories for Dos.

I had placed in a bag the tie out she was brought into the kennel on. I've since cleaned it off, but the thing was caked in mud and smelled much like Dos did when she came to me..just the smell of it brought back the whole first day of her being at our house-and realizing how much better she has actually gotten. 

Essentially, it's about the length of two leashes tied together, but it's just one piece, and it has a clip on each end. 

I had no idea what it would clip to, I've never seen a lead like this...

It was wrapped around her neck since se didn't have a collar- and my guess it that she pulled all the way to the end of it because in he early days of her recovery there was a very obvious ring around her neck.

I just thought it was a weird find-just under a month of her recovery-just a reminder of her progress. I want to get rid of it, but I feel like there is a reason I should keep it-maybe just to destroy it the day she is cleared of heartworms.(one day, hopefully soon!)

Here's to almost a month with this little girl, this little pig walrus dog that has become a cuddly, ornery, happy, excited to be still alive little (big?) dog.

Day 28-Still might be pregnant?

Today,   I went down to APA to schedule Dos' spay.

Apparently, because she didn't have an x-ray done, there is still a possibility of pregnancy, so back to the vet on Tuesday we go, to get an x-ray and get a final answer on her pregnancy once and for all. So, again, I'll be a ball of stress until Tuesday when we can know for sure. AH!



Miss Dos is starting to regularly have more energy and want to be more active-and she's started gimping pretty hard on her right front leg. She had a limp when she came to me, but now it's more pronounced.Dos likes to keep me on my toes, for sure.

No matter how much she seems to want to investigate things and play, Dos does NOT like the yard. I can't really say I blame her. I don't like the yard much, either. It's a dirt yard from a combination of Texas drought and doggies running all over it.

Maybe she'll like it once we replant some grass....but for the time being, all she does is stare at me through the gate, or try to hardest to push through it.

She's a smart dog, and she tried to hop up on her back legs and nose open the latch....

Smart and ornery....

Day 27-thunderstorms and peanut butter..

OHow these posts keep not posting, Ill never know. Ah!

Day 27-wooowza almost 4 weeks.,

Dos had a pretty uneventful afternoon, snored on the couch,  rolled on the driveway, ate a late lunch. Rinse repeat.


Until the storms.

Dos, as I learned before, does NOT like thunderstorms. She silently shakes and buries her head between her paws. I imagine its from being outside in them so often.

Between her shaking an Francis shaking and whimpering, it was a sad sight. She tried to cuddle up to Francis, and rest her head on his. Francis accepted that for a moment, then shook her off to pace around. 

So for an hour of storms..I wrapped my arms around her and tried to make her feel secure. 

After the storms, Dos got a visitor! My very good friend Wayne came over and brought her some peanut butter. 

She liked Wayne, liked the petting, loved the peanut butter. When he gave her a spoonful of peanut butter, Dos ate it, and then proceeded to gaze at him for a long while, before going to the couch to take a nap. Wayne was the number one person I thought of to come over to meet Dos-as someone who dogs are naturally drawn to, and Wayne being a man with a big voice, I thought this would give Dos some further desensitizing to men . She was completely at ease-and happy, as she fell asleep with peanut butter all over her nose. :)

Day 26-Another Vet Visit

[sorry this post is up late!]

Day 26, another vet visit for Dos.

I think she's associating the car with things that she doesn't like, so she was being pretty stubborn when it was time to go. I tried to coax her in. I tried to bribe her in. I got in the car and patted the seat next to me.
Nothing. She's not terribly heavy (65 pounds at the vet-a 6lb gain!) but she made herself dead weight as I picked her up to get in the car.

I realized I left my keys in the house, so I ran back in to get them. Not even thirty seconds later I return to the car, and she is halfway out the driver's side window, stuck. Her big ol' belly was holding her up and her short legs weren't even touching the seat. She looked like a dog teeter-totter. She looked up at me and scoot-scoot-scooted right back into the car, and rested her face in the window, wagging her tail, like she was the most innocent thing in the world.

Yup, nothin' goin on HERE.;)

Once in the car, Dos settled in and perked up. She actually really likes riding in the car. She's the kind of dog that looks out the windows the whole time and takes it all in.

Once at the vet, she hopped out of the car (which I tried to prevent, as her bum right leg has been acting up all day.) She sniffed around and very willingly followed me into the APA office. 

The gave her a skin scrape, gave her another round of DHLPPC, and palpated for pregnancy.

THEY DON'T THINK SHE IS PREGNANT!! Just "filling in". Yay! She looks like such a large dog in pictures, but a LOT of the bulk on her is skin, and considering how low on nutrients she was a few weeks ago, she packed on the pounds in the past couple of weeks. 

Her skin scrape came back clear again, but they gave her something for it just in case, and sent us on our way. 

It was in-and-out, positive, great visit.  She's done with the cough medicines and the antibiotics are almost gone! Now, we just maintain her level of healthiness, keep an eye on her , and at some point her heartworm treatments can begin.

Ready to go home!

She's feeling SO much better. I feel like she's a different dog than what came to me 26 days ago. Her personality is showing more and more each day. DOS IS ORNERY!

Today was the first time I have had to scold her, and she did NOT take it well.

I was in the other room, and I hear a THUD come from the kitchen. In the kitchen I find Dos surrounded by the recycling, and chewing on foil that at one time had meatloaf inside.

All I had to say was, "OHHH, Dos, this is no," and she looked at me with those sad puppy eyes, looked at me like I had committed a cardinal sin, put her tail down, ducked her shoulders, whimpered a little, and scurried to her kennel where she hid while I cleaned up the knocked over recycling.

I have never seen a dog that sad, and I didn't even scold her in that stern of a voice. She's incredibly sensitive.

About half an hour later though, when I was going to bed, she followed me and the rest of the dogs into our room, crawled onto the bed and made herself comfortable, with her head on my shoulder. 

Day 25!

Today, while Dos waited for her lunch to be cooked (which was bulk homemade dog food - the smelliest, meatiest, squishy mess only a dog would love) Dos  had a visitor! 

Kim, the woman who won the name-it-win-it contest with Lucky Fiona collars, came over to meet Dos and even brought Dos a goody bag-a big bottle of fish oil, and two of the handmade collars-all of which had belonged to her late dog, 13 year old lab/retriever mix Bailey.  

Bailey passed on three months ago-On the day before the birth of her son, William. Bailey's sickness had been sudden- as was the birth of William, who was born early. I couldn't even imagine what an emotional week that must have been.

To pass on Bailey's collars to Dos, and the unused portion of a bottle of fish oil that also belonged to Bailey must have been both sad and cathartic. What a wonderful legacy to pass on. Dog people know how personal collars are...and she brought those collars to Dos, who is already way more comfortable in them-not to mention adorable. 

Dos loved Kim. She hasn't been overly interested or overtly friendly to strangers until today, but she required no warming up. She accepted love and pets the second Kim walked through the door. Kim was obviously a dog person-I feel like she might be one of those people that dogs just feel the energy from..even blind Francis, who has taken to shying away from strangers in the last couple of years wouldn't leave her alone. I think that with Francis being so comfortable made Dos even more comfortable, and it was a great great meeting people experience for Dos. 

And look at that baby!!!!!! Squee!

Dos was a happy girl all day, between meeting nice people that wanted to pet and love her to smelling meat cooking all day to taking a walk with her buddy Francis, I would say Dos has had a great day 25! 

I wonder if Dos knows the amount of people who have come together to root her on. Dogs are intuitive-so if she feels even a fraction of that love, that will keep her going. 

Tomorrow is Dos' next check up ..and that pregnancy test...wish the ol' girl luck..:)

Rest in peace, sweet Bailey. Thank you so much for passing your collars on to Dos.<3

Day 24!

Lucky Fiona Collars -"TIC-TAC-DOS", named by Kim of Austin, Texas.
Lucky Fiona Collars & Kim are donating a dollar per collar to Dos'  APA! medical fund for every Tic Tac Dos Collar sold.

Today Dos has been extra cuddly. To a point of being clingy. I don't know why today she just can't stand to leave my side-but every time I've left her in a room by herself she has frantically trotted after me. I fell asleep on the couch for half an hour ..and I woke up to her laying on me. 

Not only heavy, but stubborn..I was stuck like this for a while....


Something I have noticed  the past three or four days is that Dos seems to be filling out..a lot. That, and her mammary glands have thickened up. I am reallllllly hoping that it's just that she's gaining weight/maybe retaining water, maybe her doggy metabolism was slowed and her body is holding onto the nutrients .....I am just hoping she is not pregnant.

She has a vet appointment on Wednesday, where she will have a routine check up,second round of shots, another skin scrape.....and a doggy pregnancy test...


Ohhhhh my.

Day 23/homemade dog food & treats recipe

By Request: dog food and treats recipe: I have a local butcher who I have a 20 cents a pound deal with on his scraps. I had told him that after a LOT of research, I was interested in making my own dog food. Not only will my recipe for dog food benefit Dos, who of course has a lot of nutritional catching up to do, but the other four have their own needs. Francis, who is almost 14, has seizures, hot spots bad joints, and missing a lot if teeth will benefit from the softness and extra vitamins and proteins. Walter, who is 1 1/2, has joint problems due to being a large breed and, my vet speculates, some physical trauma before he made it to the shelter. He also has a very sensitive GI tract. Owen has allergies, and Ira just compulsively overexerts himself-so we have great candidates for a high-protein freshly made dog food. 

I came home this morning with  a lot of meat "byproducts" (fishbones, hearts, livers, meat scraps not pretty enough to sell-beef, chicken and fish) a bag of brown rice, a bag of carrots, a bag of frozen peas, potatoes and flax seeds. 

This is what I did, and I think it will be about enough to feed all five dogs dinner for a week.  

Boil the meat products. I had about three pounds of the various meats. The only bones in it were fishbones, that once cooked were soft enough to smash up.

I boiled everything until it was thoroughly cooked. I put the meat aside and used the water to cook the bag of rice. Throwing in the bag of carrots, cut into smaller pieces, the bag of peas, and four diced potatoes, I let it simmer until it was a big pot of mush and the water was almost nonexistent. 

I stirred the mush in with the meat and a half cup if flax seeds, and put it into a gallon bucket and put it in the fridge with a lid on. 

For a calcium supplement, I made "eggshell powder" by taking egg shells, boiling them just to make sure they were clean, and once dry, running them through a coffee grinder to make a powder. (And I used the eggs themselves to make the doggy treats).

I put the powder in a jar, and plan on giving them a half a tea spoon on top of their dinners. Dos, because of her previous breedings, will get a whole teaspoon with her dinner.

So! The doggy treats.. 

2cups rolled oats

3 eggs

1.5 c peanut butter 

1/2 cup plain fat free yogurt 

1 cup oat flour (I know that none of the dogs have a wheat allergy but this is what I had on hand. If your dog has a wheat allergy try oat flour instead)

Mixed it all up in a bowl, rolled it in tiny balls, and baked it at 350 for about 10 minutes. I think it made 30 treats.

I did try one......ugh. At least the dogs love them.

MY HOUSE SMELLED FUNKY during this whole process. Fish smell and peanut butter are a weird combination.

Dos was more interested in all of the kitchen smells than any of the other dogs. Her eyes got huge and she hopped a little each time she smelled a new smell. I gave her a piece of meat whole I was cooking and literally heard her gobble it. Like a piggy. I have never heard that much enthusiasm in my entire life.

This is the ravenous crazed pig-walrus look she gets in her eye when she knows it's little Dos' mealtime:)

And when I gave her the first cup of fresh dog food and one of the treats in her bowl, she ate so wholeheartedly that she pushed the bowl around the floor by licking it for 20 minutes after.

I think it was a success..

Dos was rearing to go for her walk tonight..another 10 minutes of sniffs.  I can't wait till she completes the heartworm treatment and we can go on little adventures..something tells me that she would really like to go play in some water or go camping..but she hasn't even started her treatment, so..all in due time..

Time is going by quickly..day 23! Are we really almost to a whole month? Wow.

Tomorrow, when I get to a real computer, I will post a super awesome special thing a collar company is doing for Dos. On my phone won't do it justice. 

Day 24, we are headed your way.

Day 22-Dos' Happiest Day So Far

Today was by far the happiest day for Dos so far. She had her chicken and cottage cheese breakfast on the porch, and she had a small bit of interaction with the kids next door to start off her day.

She is very interested in kids. She watches the neighbor kids play and doesn't take her eyes off them.

I haven't wanted them to have too much interaction with her until now, as I was unsure if it would stress her out too much given that she's still sick, regardless of how much better she is feeling. That, and  I wouldn't want them getting any mange mite bites. Being that her mange is gone and she's been in a generally chipper mood, I let the kids come say hi. They were a little afraid of her, kind if like they would be afraid of an elderly person in a nursing home. They sat near her but arent ready to pet her just yet. She sensed that, and after a few tail wags and sniffs, she backed up and just sat down and watched them. 

I think in her old life, the only attention she got was from a child-so it would be only natural for her to be drawn to them. 

Today, Dos had her first "real" walk. She kept wanting to go outside, and after going to the bathroom would pull towards the street a bit. I definitely didn't want her to get sunburnt, being as she has no fur, so around 8PM when the Texas sun wasnt so brutal, we went out for a short walk.

Dos can't have too much physical activity due to the heartworms, so we went on a slowwww 10 minute walk. 

She was like a new dog. Every time we would pass a house, she would bury her face in their grass and just breathe giant doggie breaths. She sniffed poles, she sniffed curbs, she sniffed the street-all in the same way. 

She saw a cat- and while she was Interested in sniffing at it, she didn't really seem to want to chase it or anything. 

The first few seconds into our dusk walk and she has found something really interesting in the grass to sniff.

Dos was exhausted from even her 10 minute walk..so those will have to be sparing. She's taking a nap right now, in her little house she loves so much-but Im sure she'll have energy again when she smells her dinner cooking:)9

(Ill try in a bit to upload the video-doesnt seem to be working.)

Day 21!

Technical difficulties didn't allow me to post yesterday-the day 21 update will be posted shortly :)

Day 20-and by popular request..Dos Facebook Page

As a precursor to Day 20 (which will be posted a little later...)
By popular request...a Dos Facebook Page.

Sadly, I just typed out a whole post on my phone and it froze up.
Ahhh.

Today, Dos surprised me in a few ways. 

One, she was nonstop playing with one if my dogs, Ira. 

Secondly-when we were sitting on the porch and a friend walked up the driveway, she alerted us with a huge bark and howl! Then, she trotted to him and wagged her tail and waited patiently to be pet-which shows an alertness and a little guarding instinct but also nonaggression toward strangers. That, and a growing trust in men in general, and a growing amount of energy. 

The best suprise of the day is that I've noticed that not only is she alread learning her name-but she is becoming very responsive to hand signals. She consistently responded to "go in your house," "lay down" and "go" and stay. Each time she did, I praised her like crazy and she just glowed with a sense of confidence in the fact that age was a 'good girl'.

Only one more day till the three week mark! How crazy!

Look at that tail go! Dinner is cooking-she knows.

Family dinner. 

Till tomorrow, folks. :)

Day 19

DAY 19! Yay! We're quickly making it to a month..I really can't wait until the month milestone. Go,  Dos, go!

Today, Dos got another Sebolux bath. This stuff is the stuff of miracles..I'm going to start looking online to see if I can get it without spending a million dollars, because this stuff is seriously working wonders for her. It's clearing up the scaly, crusted skin that's still left over, and it's taking away from the infected skin smell. (come on, antibiotics, kick it up a notch!)

She was very patient today for her bath. I spent a good forty five minutes scrubbing her and scrubbing her again. She really likes the attention, and even lifted up her back legs on her own so I could get to her belly.

As I was drying her, paying close attention to all her little wrinkles, I thought, this is like washing a fat baby.

And then it hit me...baby powder. I quickly researched using baby powder on dogs, and when I saw that I was in the clear, i carefully, as to not get any powder dust where she could breathe it in, I applied thel powder in all of her wrinkles, to absorb any dampness left over after drying. Hopefully, it will help prevent any more yeast infections while she's taking the antibiotics, at least on her skin.


I washed her bedding with bleach and Odoban that I got from work. I'm really trying to keep her and her environment clean and free of anything that could potentially breed any bacteria.

Dos had a little dinner date with Francis, our eldest furchild, who also benefits from taking fish oil and having a homemade meal at night. He's 13, and his joints are aching...so Omega filled dinner for two it was. Salmon, flax seeds, and fish oil (fish fish and more fish..my house smells like a shipmate from The Deadliest Catch) over brown rice.


Dos also seems to really like Francis because he is a very laid back dog, who doesn't 'over sniff' her. She's still getting used to the other dogs, who are all under 2.  Though she has been interested a bit in playing chase with them, she can only take so much activity. Francis, however, is chill. He is her companion and she seems relaxed with him.

Dos, right now, is in her bed, with her paws stuck out directly in front of her, crossed, like a lady.

Day 19 Dos-and so many more to go!

Day 18-Super awesome news!

I've been waiting to post this all day!

 

Dos isn't deaf!!!!!!! Perhaps the antibiotics cleared something up? Perhaps she has the energy to respond now? When I took her to the vet, she was totally nonresponsive to sound. Now...she can hear!

Other than that, nothing much else to report...Dos lounged around, watched me do some work, slept, snored like a trucker, and followed me around every time I moved from room to room. She has become my little shadow..I actually couldn't remove her from my lap for a good part of the afternoon.

She has become an incredibly cuddly, tail wagging, happy little girl.

This was about forty five minutes in to her on my lap.

 

 

 

Day 18! Time is flying. The antibiotics are dwindling, as are the rest of the medications, and with each day, small changes happen.  It seems that Dos was a whole other Dog 18 days ago, barely walking, dehydrated, red and irritated, and living a totally pained existence-and now...now she's wiggly (most of the time, she still sleeps a lot...but, dogs do...) happy, excited, very food motivated..and probably the most stubborn dog I've ever met...

But, that stubbornness, I think, is what kept her going for so long...I'm grateful for it.

Day 17

Day 17 has been stable for Dos. She has maintained her same level of energy the past couple of days..adding little hops and bops to her step. She definitely has a    little trot to her gait. 

She spent most of the day back and forth between curling up in her bed and following me around the house, stretching her neck up with her little ears flopping backwards to get pet. 

She has been REALLY eager about eating the past three or four days.She  doesn't seem to be the kind to eat and eat and eat-I've left food in her bowl between meals, and she doesn't stuff herself. . But she has been extremely anxious to eat this week. She was medicated for intestinal worms so it can't be that that's making her so hungry..hmm.

For doggy dinner tonight, I made a "family meal" for all of them-brown rice, carrots, chicken, salmon, flax seeds. They all five stared at me, never losing eye contact during the whole process. ..Dos especially..every time I would turn to reach for something, she would bop back on her back legs for a second with super wide eyes. I wish I could have snapped a picture of it..it was both hilarious and adorable.

Making dog food is actually fun. .and unlike making food for people, even if it smells horrible, they'll still eat it and appreciate it.

All five bowls- Dos' bowl is the one with the antibiotic, fish oil pill, kennel cough medicine, and cough suppressant in it..

The pack is ready to eat. 

And eat they did.. Enough to give them all full happy doggy bellies and make them tired.  .and all of them are spread out in the house asleep. 

Dos crawled up onto her spot on the couch-looking so, so. so at home.

Day 16

Dos had an eventful and happy day. Today was probably the most "doggy" she's been since she started her recovery. 

Dos slept curled up in her blanket on the couch all night. It was too cute and she was too cozy for us to usher her back to her bed..so we let her sleep there. When I woke up this morning she yawned a big yawn and wiggled down from the couch-going immediately to the front door. I don't think we will have to worry about any accidents with her or adult house training at all. 

Dos went potty and trotted back to the front door ready to eat breakfast-which she ate with gusto. 

She was having a happy, cuddly day until she realized it was bath time today-with her new medicated soap. She saw me bring out the hose and she put on the breaks. She is definitely over baths.  After a bit of coercing (by that I mean carrying her) she ended up getting one of the most productive baths so far. This shampoo took, I would say, seventy percent of the smell out of her. The APA vet prescribed it to clear out her hair follicles-"sebolux" shampoo I believe it is called..and I will be researching its wonders tonight. After her reluctant bath, and the 10 minute contact time the soap needed to work, Dos was ready for a nap..or to sort of sulk in her crate for an hour, upset about yet another bath taking away from her doggy naps on the porch. Her dog personality is starting to come through now that she is getting better-she's sweet, yet stubborn..and we found out today, playful,  yet on her own terms..

Dos has not been interested in toys. I got her a soft squeaky toy, just so she had something of her own..something to chew on if she ever got the notion. 

She hadn't.  She wasnt interested in ropes, bones, in stuffed toys. 

What she is interested in-is chasing  a ball...only if the other dogs are chasing it. Dos is competitive.  

Today was the first time she exhibited any signs of playfulness. The dogs have been introduced, yet before today she hadn't shown any real signs of interest aim them except for a quick sniff. 

But when the tennis ball went flying, along with the other dogs..(with the exception of Francis, who in his thirteen years has chased a ball one time) Dos went trotting after...complete with skidding under the table, lumbering after the ball. She only did this briefly-enough to display a need for a place in the pack with the other dogs. But, being as Dos is still not entirely well, she wore herself out in those few minutes. Those few minutes, however-were important minutes, in learning how to be a regular dog. 

Day 15

Having a bit of computer trouble-so the day 15 post will be in a few hours....so in the meantime, this is what my girl is doing now...

Update: Day 15! 

I'm updating this from my phone because my computer only likes to half cooperate, so the picture quality is going to be phone quality. 

Dos was in good spirits today-and feeling well. I had some friends over to meet her. Part of her rehabilitation process is learning that people are there for ear scratches and belly rubs and not going to hurt her or take her food from her-so a few of my friends (male AND female, as she seems to be wary of males) came over and showered her with love and pets. I had my friend Matty give Dos her dinner for an excersize in male trust.

She at first seemed wary but she soon warmed up after seeing that everything was ok. Then seeing that everyone wanted to pet her and give her love, she wagged her tail and couldn't get enough. 

She went to sleep curled up in a blanket on the couch, feeling full, warm, safe, and loved. .

Day 14....TWO WEEKS!

Today is Dos' two week milestone. I'm still so blown away that this has been two weeks. She's made so much progress thus far...I'm really excited to see where she'll be in two more weeks!

So, Dos appears to be housebroken. I honestly can't tell if she is because she just doesn't go to the bathroom much, and often I have to walk her around in the grass two and three times in the morning before she'll even go..but she hasn't gone in the house even once. I'm wondering if at some point, someone did have her as an 'inside dog'.....
I actually keep having these conflicting arguments in my head. Some part of me really wants to believe that her old owners just found her in the condition she's in, and didn't know any better-maybe they really, really loved her. Maybe the people who dropped her off actually saved her from a neighbor's yard and thought she was too sick to make it...but I know better. I know that every single ailment she has was brought on by long-term neglect-and the disregard they showed her when they dumped her off really does show how little they cared.  I keep making up different scenarios in my head, just so I don't get angry. I don't want Dos to pick up that negative energy, because when she coughs or has a hard time standing up or I see where she has scratched herself raw, I think of the people that dumped her off and how they DID THIS TO HER.
They caused this sickness in this poor, sweet, gentlehearted little baby because they just didn't CARE.

But I think I should put that behind me so Dos can, too. Focusing on getting her well and making her happy is what is important.

Ah, end rant...(sorry, that really all just needed to come out.)

But, on to the happier things of the day:

I went on an 'omega' spree for Dos today. Cans of salmon, flax seeds, and fish oil. I think the most difference I've seen in her the past couple of weeks, now that I look back and compare, has been when she's eaten fish. So-1/2 a can of salmon, 1tbs flax seeds, 1/2 cup of brown rice, 1/4 cup plain yogurt, an added 1000 mg of fish oil, overtop of dry dog food...and there you have it...Dos' dinner.(with a dash of all her medicines mixed in, of course).

She recognized that smell the second I opened the can. She bopped on over into the kitchen wide eyed and just wagged her whole body. She licked the bowl clean.

YUM.

With her belly full, she retired to her little bed for the evening. She really, really loves that bed. I can tell she is just loving having her own little space. She looks so happy in her safe,soft, little den.

I'm really excited to see where the NEXT to weeks takes us.:)

Day 13!

Wow. Day 13.  Has all of this really happened in just under two weeks? Wow. I feel like Dos has been here forever with me. Of course, I mean that in a most positive way.

She felt a lot better today. I was a little worried in the morning because she didn't want to get up or even eat-and I had to 'manually' get her to take her medicines this morning. Thankfully, working at the kennel has taught me how to do it fast and efficiently.

Here is a picture of *some* of Dos' medicine. This doesn't include her mange treatment shampoo (which, out of precaution, I'm doing tomorrow. In case there is even a small bit left that went undetected-I want to knock it out. I don't think it's an issue-but it can't hurt to be safe.

This also doesn't include the one-time medicines like the dewormer and the bordatella....and other normal shots.

Also included-Dos' skin & coat treats

I wish I would have kept the camera rolling, as once I sat down on the couch she tried to crawl into my lap. We have a 'no dog on the couch' policy (though that does get broken more often than I'd like to admit) but I wanted to see where she was going with it. She crawled up and looked like she wanted to sit on my chest-but then proceeded to walk on me, across my stomach, half-sit on my legs, and decide it wasn't the comfy spot she'd expected and waddled back to her bed..where she is curled up and snoring.

I still can't believe tomorrow will be two weeks.