Aw, Can We Keep Him???

Subject: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 12:18 PM

Aw, pore lil guy, cowering and whimpering on our back porch... a juvenile shepherd/maybe-beagle mix... sweetest lil thang! Dumped, I think, after his littermates probably found homes-- too clean to have been on the road long, too skinny to have been someone's dear pet, too old to have been part of a whole litter being dumped. I coaxed him out of his hidey place.... No tags, no reports of his loss on file with The Authorities. Vet appointment later today to evaluate condition/eye problem/age etc.

Doesn't know a thing about being with people, really, but learning real quick.... Calmest temperament I have ever seen in a dog. Smart eyes, but restful-- curls up to watch kitchen doings, submissive without being a fraidy-cat.

Other dog wants to be Auntie Ruby, and she's housebreaking him! "Look, we go out HERE to do this.... c/MON, we gotta GO..." Slept through the night like he owned the joint. She moved over when he oozed over onto Her Place. (Lonely dog, herself.)

So far, no puddles, either. For the moment he's sharing Ruby's corner, so although I have never crate-housebroken a puppy, that's the nearest thing to how we've got him. What I am doing now is letting them both out once an hour during the day, removing water about 8 PM so he doesn't fill up before we go to bed at midnight. We never did housebreak Ruby-- she just KNEW that business belongs outside the cave... Since her first day here, when she puddled in nervousness and we yelped NO and got her outside, not a single accident. Could we really have lucked into another smart dog?

He might replace our dear BJ dog who passed several years ago, who was just A Great Dog in every way. She had come to us when her owner died after a long illness at home-- a mature, bonded dog in need of a fresh start. To have two like that in one lifetime??? I miss her so much.

How do I convince Hardi, who was foolish enough to come get me when he came across the puppy as he arrived home yesterday, that this is our dog now?

~Susan

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 12:20 PM

Ooops! BS!

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: GUEST,MMario
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 12:31 PM

Obligatory Music Content...

How much is the doggie in the window......

ooooo....keep him!

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 12:43 PM

LOL, and yer gonna dog-sit to save the kennel bill during vacations, right?

I know-- This dog needs sponsors!

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: AliUK
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 12:55 PM

When I moved recently I had to leave my dog behind ( poodle/basset mix). She is with a very loving family, but that doesn´t mean I don´t miss her every single damn day. How can people abandon dogs?! Thank God someone dumped him on your doorstep WYS.

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: GUEST,Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 01:12 PM

I have always felt that these mutual adoptions are best. Both of my cats arrived on the doorstep at times when they needed help, no owners could be tracked down. They are the best cats I've had in many years. It's karma--that dog is yours. May you have many happy years together!

SRS

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: GUEST,Kim C no cookie
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 01:43 PM

Yep. That's how we got Sampson the Giant Puppy.

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 02:16 PM

Can you keep him? Hah! You're obviously laboring under the misconception that humans have a choice in such matters. Wrong! It's all the dog's decision. And it sounds like he's already decided to keep you.

Bruce

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 02:19 PM

Yes, but how can I be sure he'll keep Hardi too? I mean, do I just let the dog take over Hardi's recliner and settle it once and for all? Hurry back with the word-- Hardi's due home any minute!

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Bobert
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 02:28 PM

Geeeeeeze.... sniff....

(A single tear trickles down the bobert's hace and falls harmlessly upon his keyboard...)

Sniff...

Bobert

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Red and White Rabbit
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 02:39 PM

Do what I did - just tell Hardi "I'm keeping him!" I now have two Irish wolfhound pups!!

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: GUEST,MMario
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 02:43 PM

R&W rabbit - I hope you live in the country!!!!!

WYSIWYG - if it's to be, the pup will convince Hardi on his own...and I bet the pup wins.

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 03:12 PM

OK, I coached the pup. (He's so smart!) He's gonna say to Hardi, "Hey, wouldja rather have two Irish Wolfhounds? You seen how BIG they get???"

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: GUEST,MMario
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 03:48 PM

then he'll probably gaze up at Hardi wqith those soulful eyes pups have,

"Aunty Ruby said I could stay if I'm good. I can be good; honest"

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 03:56 PM

And I won't jump all over you like SHE does..."

Not me silly, RUBY!

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Marion
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 04:02 PM

LOL! Yup, the pup will convince Hardi, all right. Luke's dog Max looked for a long time before he found just the Right Boy.....

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 04:08 PM

I started teasing him last night about having dragged home a dog.... the last critter he "brought to my attention" (in need of rescue) was a nasty-tempered cat we kept (and Hardi enjoyed having in the mix) for years!

"Sure, honey, go ahead and crate him up and take him up the road to the SPCA..."

Bet he can't!

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: GUEST,Garydon
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 04:16 PM

It will be two weeks tomorrow that not one but two red-tick coonhound pups found there way into my home. An I suppose got the second one in. All I said was boy am I in trouble now and yes I have been ever since. (gratefully). So yes I suppose you can too. Go ahead and enrich everyones life some and see who appreciates it

Gary®

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 05:38 PM

When I was a teenager it was my mother told us to go catch the stray German shorthaired pointer that had been wandering in the neighborhood. Turned out she had probably been dumped because she had distemper. Before it was over she also had bronchitis and pneumonia, but she survived and was a marvelous pet.

SRS

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: GUEST,Kim C no cookie
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 05:52 PM

I think wandering animals have a 6th sense about who will take care of them. Someone already said, the pup chose you. Go with it. :-)

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Joybell
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 06:02 PM

We have just taken in a baby magpie who was terrorizing the little town near us. He (I think it's he but you can't tell with young magpies)was running after people and shrieking for food. He was just bones and feathers and he ate steadily for three days. Our friend the bird lady called him Godzilla. He has settled down to become a sweet and gentle pet but he will join the wild maggies within about six months. We are foster parents during Spring and Summer.

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 06:06 PM

Vet sez he's healthy (12 weeks) but need to be FATTENED UP so obviously, he's not in adoptable condition YET and so, it's way to SOON to take him into the SPCA..... but he's gonna be purty big, maybe I don't tell H that part??

"Yuh feets too big...." Who sang that???

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Amos
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 06:15 PM

You sure you're not thinking of "Your feet's too big!"?? I think it was Satchmo hisself if so.

A

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 06:18 PM

Keep him, darlin'- he needs the love!

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Joybell
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 06:18 PM

Mad at ya 'cause you're feet's too big!
I hate ya cause ya feet's too big!

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Blowzabella
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 07:29 PM

You got to keep him now - I couldn't ber it if this thread didn't have a happy ending!

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Sorcha
Date: 06 Nov 03 - 08:10 PM

Well, yesterday I found a little boy, but they wouldn't let me keep him......he looked like an angel. Hispanic, 4, mop of almost curly coal black hair. Running down the sidewalk in 30F weather in nothing but jockeys and shoes. Made hisself a escape, he did.....took him to the Cop Shop and finally located Mommie....he likes grape lollies......

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Leadfingers
Date: 07 Nov 03 - 12:14 PM

'Your Feets To Big' was Fats Waller as a matter of fact,and looks like you got took well. You aint got a new dog- The new dogs got you.

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: GUEST,Kim C no cookie
Date: 07 Nov 03 - 12:21 PM

The Beatles recorded Feets Too Big, way back in the early days.

Sampson the Giant Puppy continues to grow. His feet are as big as my hands. 'Course, my hands are small, but still...

Once you get him fattened up, see, then you won't want him to leave. :)

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 07 Nov 03 - 12:54 PM

Hardi named him Faulkner. One day at a time. Still no puddles!

(The dog that is)

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: MMario
Date: 07 Nov 03 - 12:58 PM

*chortle*

You realize that the above post is open to the inference that Hardi does puddle?

MMariowhobettershutupbeforehegetsuninvitedtovisitpuppies

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 07 Nov 03 - 02:43 PM

*Snerk* Maybe it's ME, didja eve thinka that? :~)

I'm teaching Hardi How to Tame a Dog (imprint!). His folks (mom) would never let him have one, and did all they could to convince him it would be a Bad Idea. His cat having already trined him how to fawn and make cute noises, it's not so hard to teach him Dog, it's like Hebrew and Greek. And ya know clergy gotta know H & G!

It was so cute watching them play with a tennis ball last night. I dunno which one is cuter.

Mmario, since when do you need an invite? When can you come over? Tonight? If so we will cook.... have some already-roasted lamb, I'm smelling INDIAN...... (not Korean!).... Ruby needs some attention tooooooo.....

~Susan

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Nov 03 - 09:27 PM

Sounds nice! Too bad I live several states away, and have never met either of you, or I might find my way over to play with a puppy, visit with Mudcatters, and eat lamb for dinner. And give the cat a scratch under the chin, of course!

Once you have named the dog, it is definitely YOURS. And consider yourself lucky that he named it "Faulkner" and not "Yoknapatawpha"
(as in Yoknapatawpha County, pronounced "Yok ´ nuh puh TAW ´ fuh"). For more Faulkner information, check this out.

SRS

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 07 Nov 03 - 11:01 PM

LOL-- I passed that link on to Hardi (who BTW does NOT know about this thread)--

Guess who came home after being gone all day, with a BIG bag of DOG TREATS and rawhide chews (including some for Ruby to keep her from imploding)! Faulkner went NUTS during the video, when a Bad Man started ordering people about-- F barked, ran to all the entrances of the house, growled, ran around objecting in general, and then went to share guard duty at the feet of The Keeper of All Treats-and-Friendly-Ear-Rubs! Amazing he had learned where the exits all are, having only been through two of them personally, but I did let him watch Alpha Hardi take the trash out this AM thru the 3rd door, so he could tailwag Hardi back in again!

Today was madcap mayhem every time I let the two dogs out of their corner into the house or their run. Chasing, wrestling, Ruby Hoobie Doobie with a crazed expression and ears screwed up into the full Kill Rat mode, but playing.... all day while they were in the corner for timeouts, I kept hearing this weird noise-- is that damned Faulkner chewing the wooden gate??? Every time I went to look they heard me coming and sat there with innocent eyes. "What?" So tonight I dancey-tippie-toe-snuck in there and caught them red-paweded-- wresting in the small space and bumping into the walls-- "who, US???"

Uh oh, I'm trapped in some kind of DogBlog!

And STILL no puddles, nobuddy, nowhar, nohow.

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Deda
Date: 07 Nov 03 - 11:21 PM

Great story. This past Memorial Day weekend I was kind of sucked into a garage sale in the mobile home park here. Then I was invited to look inside, where there was a swarm of adult cats, an overwhelming smell of uncleaned cat litter boxes, and two full litters of kittens. The first litter I saw barely had their eyes open, and there were seven or more of them -- but they were far too tiny to adopt. The other litter kitties looked big by comparison, so I took the cute, all-black extrovert who toddled over and said hi. Well, I couldn't really help it, y'know? I had to rescue at least one of these critters.

Of course I hadn't checked with my husband, and I knew my resident 13-year-old Spinster cat wasn't going to be any too pleased. I called my husband at work and said, "You know how every so often I do something kind of ... rash?" He wasn't all that amused. When I said I wanted his help naming the kitten he suggested I call it "Mistake". But he has warmed up, which would be much too strong a statement to make about Squimmy, the old lady cat. At first she was so furious she refused to speak to me for weeks. Now she's back on speaking terms with me, but she won't give Mooshie the time of day -- except to swipe at him when he tries to jump on her. He's terrible to her, and she's not much nicer to him. Husband (who really has a gift for names) now calls them Knuckle-Weenie and Queen Knuckle Floozie -- maybe figuring they're not quite highly evolved enough to be knuckle heads. Nevertheless I really love them both and I'm glad I have them. And I figure they'll warm up by the end of a Colorado winter in a single-wide.

Finally, I have to say that a lot of the best part of my upbringing was done by German Shepherds. And a mix is almost always better, nicer, and healthier than a pure-bred, ime.

May he bring you lots of joy!

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Sorcha
Date: 07 Nov 03 - 11:39 PM

Deda, did you call either Animal Control or the Health Dept about the cats in the home???? You should.......they are obviously out of control here.

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Nov 03 - 12:06 AM

My two cats chase each other and wrestle all of the time. I figure if they didn't like it they'd avoid each other. It's pretty funny, though they will wake me in the middle of the night if they decide to stop sleeping around my feet and wrestle instead.

The older white cat would groom the younger calico, but if he starts, she usually chomps on him. If one is on a chair and the other jumps up, it always means wrestling time (unless it's a really cold day and they decide to sleep near each other). Today the old white cat was making odd noises and I finally realized he was snoring. The calico must have wondered at the noise also, because she hopped up on his chair and gave him a few grooming licks just to check on him, then hopped back out of the chair when he woke up. They really are good together for a couple of strays.

SRS

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: LadyJean
Date: 08 Nov 03 - 12:19 AM

I knew a dog named Bailey, whod been abandoned at a supermarket. If you spoke sharply to him, he hid in a corner.   If you said, "Now Bailey, you shouldn't do that."
He desisted immediately. Bailey was one of the nicest most entertaining dogs I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. Faulkner sounds very much like him.

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: GUEST,pdc
Date: 08 Nov 03 - 01:05 AM

I have a neighbour with two cats: Bob, and Not-Bob.

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Kim C
Date: 08 Nov 03 - 09:20 PM

So I guess you're keeping him, huh, Susan? ;-)

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Bill D
Date: 08 Nov 03 - 09:37 PM

Faulkner came to stay awhile,
Made no puddles, made no piles.
Hardi bought some tasty treats,
And Susan will not taste defeat.
So with a new and playful hound,
K9 antics now abound.


the above is certified doggerel

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Deda
Date: 08 Nov 03 - 09:42 PM

Yes, Sorcha, I called the Humane Society pretty much as soon as I got home. They said they would look into it but I don't know what actually came of it. I think the people have since moved.

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Hrothgar
Date: 09 Nov 03 - 12:06 AM

When you get him nicely fattened up Susan ...













Do you want some good Korean recipes?

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Bassic
Date: 09 Nov 03 - 02:14 AM

This thread is crying out for a photo Susan!
I was "adopted" about 3 years ago by a full pedegree (so the vet says) white Persian Long haired Cat. She told me her name was Sally (from the alley) and she was MOST upset that she had been unable to bring her "papers" with her but that under the circumstances, she would be prepared to let the 3 existing cats remain at the house and has been here ever since. She is still fiercly independant but is obviously used to organising a large household and being in charge of "staff", it seems to come naturaly to her. I think that at some time in the past she may have been an actress as she does a fantastic impression of Blowfeld`s Cat in the 007 movies. All I have to do is say "Good eevenink Meester Bond" and unwelcome visitors start looking around nervously for the secret trap door that drops into the shark tank!! :-)

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 09 Nov 03 - 07:46 AM

LOL-- more later-- weekend is worktime.... thanks, all.

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 09 Nov 03 - 11:50 AM

First, I'd love for everyone who has posted to come over and meet Faulkner and stay around for some music. I've tried to post that several times, but my posts have disappeared. (???)

Second, the stories of your own Matches Made in Pet Heaven are adorable. I've been telling Hardi about them.

Hardi, BTW, shares with me a flair for the obvious, and has not mentioned F's leaving us for several days.

As some of you might know, I've been doing some pretty serious physical rehab after a long debilitation. The exercise I have been able to tolerate has all been aquatic... I have been extremely frustrated at not being able to do much on land, and the pool is not nearby gas-wise; I need more than one active period each day and everything I have tried has only set me back in the aquatics.

Gee, d'ya think I oughtta get a dog?????

Now that F is feeling more secure and well-fed, his true personality is emerging. :~) He's engaging and playful and QUITE active. (He also is still gratifyingly responsive to a firm "NO!") Keeping our house puddle-free and pile-free, and keeping our stuff unchewed, is giving me all the exercise I had been lacking.... I get to launch small but frequent leaps from room to room when F is awake and active and needs to busy his way around the place. :~) Of course we'll have to add short, relaxed leash exploration of the property when he seems ready to pay attention. Snow will be fun.

All this is not lost on Hardi who has been so supportive of my other rehab efforts. And since F successfully stayed dry this AM, while I was gone for several hours at church-- the longest daytime span we've subjected him to so far with water available to him-- now I can add the aquatics back in, starting tomorrow, because it means being gone about 2-1/2 hours each time.

I know we have a lot of agnostics and a few atheists around here, so I think I'll just leave it at this:


There is a Dog. :~) That ole Sugar Dog got her a pack, now.

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 09 Nov 03 - 01:54 PM

Ad: Escape the Planet Urine
Get the Help You Need to Stop Pet Urination Problems! Visit Us Now.

LOL!

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: GUEST,MMario
Date: 10 Nov 03 - 08:54 AM

*GRIN*

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 11 Nov 03 - 11:52 AM

PICTURE AS REQUESTED.

Not only did I get both dogs into it, it's a time-travel photo showing how big Faulkner will get!

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Sorcha
Date: 11 Nov 03 - 11:59 AM

Huh? Funny pic, but is it really Faulkner....??

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 11 Nov 03 - 12:23 PM

Gotcha!

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 21 Nov 03 - 08:40 AM

He's growing so FAST! And chewing everything in sight, including Ruby, who chews right back. Mmario, when are you coming over to see this?

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: GUEST,MMario
Date: 21 Nov 03 - 08:48 AM

it will have to be after Dickon's season (post Christmas)

*pout*

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 21 Nov 03 - 11:23 AM

Or a weeknight? Don't you feel a sick day coming on?

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 27 May 04 - 06:50 AM

RUBY AND FAULKNER

Thanks to MMario for the pix!

~Susan

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Sorcha
Date: 27 May 04 - 10:50 AM

Awwwwww.

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: GUEST,MMario
Date: 27 May 04 - 10:51 AM

the photos really don't do either of them justice.

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 May 04 - 11:01 AM

The pooch expressions are very sweet. My two cats, both originally strays, live such comfortable lives now that to look at them you'd never know they were skinny abandoned critters at one time. That's a good thing!

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 27 May 04 - 11:07 AM

No, the doggie smell does not quite come through, does it Mmario?

:~)

Faulkner decided that his AM porch time (when they eat in separate areas) was best spent ripping up a newspaper to strew all over the big front porch. BAD DOGGIE!

~Susan

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: JenEllen
Date: 27 May 04 - 11:27 AM

'Awww' is right....What a pair of cuties!

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 27 May 04 - 12:04 PM

Awww- I'll have to show the photos to my new sweet pooch, Rosie the Foxhound - she'll want to meet them!

Allison

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 05 Feb 08 - 04:22 PM

UPDATE

LOL, I forgot I started this-- helps keep the dog's age and arrival date straight, eh? :~)

Susan: "So lemme get this straight. Your policy is, no more than 2 dogs. If I want to add a dog, how many cats have to go? Which lap-warmer-- Atticus or Isis? And BTW, when was it you were gong to make Isis the basement cat?"
Hardi: "If Sadie goes, you can get another dog. Cats don't count."
Susan: "OK, so if Faulkner goes, then I can get another dog?"
Hardi, really disturbed: "Faulkner is NOT replaceable!"


This, from the avowed "not a dog person," who swears that when he sees F his first thought is always, "There's that damn dog again-- another mouth to feed." The same dog who has been getting 4 times as much ear/belly-rubbing since Sadie came to the house, because she shows what a GREAT DOG Faulkner is, every minute she's here.

And because Faulkner IS a great dog (who Hardi adores). He even gets fanmail, and has been mentioned on the radio for his hockey-discernment skills! (He's been incredibly patient with Sadie.)

Last night I dreamed that a little dog named Enid (!?!?!?!) came to live with us. ENID???? She sure was cute-- yellow minidog, sort of a rat terrier/corgi mix but with a miniature bulldog face (ug-leee?). Smart too; highly telepathic. Cat-sized. Enid.... oh Enid..........

~Susan

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 05 Feb 08 - 06:42 PM

I'd suggest laying off the cheese and altar wine before bed...

Enid ~ for heaven's sakes!!!

LTS

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 05 Feb 08 - 07:17 PM

I know. She CAME with that name, though. Maybe she is out there!

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Sorcha
Date: 05 Feb 08 - 07:56 PM

ROF! I've had stranger things happen.....and ALL my cats have arrived with names.

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 05 Feb 08 - 11:03 PM

Eeeeenid..... Eeeeenid.....

It was SUCH a weird dream.

Enid came along the sidewalk to a house like the one where my sister lives in the city of Chicago, and I was outside waiting for something (I forget what). This dog had, instead of a tag on her collar, a teensy cellphone just like the one Hardi gave me. I was really glad it was just like mine, because even tho it was so small I knew where all the featurtes were, even if the letters on the controls were too small to read. I thought I'd be able to auto-dial her owner on it, but the phone was prepaid and its "juice" had all been used up so it was no good, and therefore the dog was "legally" abandoned. (???)

Later in the dream my sister co-opted the dog when I wasn't looking, and was wondering how she would walk her, because in the city the big dogs go to one dogpark and the little dogs have to go to a different one. (???) (And she already has a biggish dog.)

I woke up before I could take the dog away from her!


Now, there WERE a number of things just before bedtime that I can relate to some of the elements in the dream, but the name-- Enid? Enid? NO idea where that came from.

Eeeenidddddd.......

~Susan

!!!???Enid???!!! Is that some subgenre of canid????

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 07 Feb 08 - 09:23 AM

Last night I dreamed that I was about to leave the houe on a busy day, to find an Asian lady in my kitchen who had come to clean. (We do not have a cleaning lady.)

It took several minutes to get that straight. Then I went to the laundry room she'd entered through, to get Faulkner who sleeps there now, to put him out safely in the dog run so he would not pull one of his great escapes. I didn't want him to get run over on our road. But it turned out she'd already let him escape.

I went on out to the back porch to see if he was there, because sometimes (IRL) he doesn't know he's actually loose right away. I saw him sniffing around on the ground, as I looked through the the bushes. So I started talking to him to keep him nearby, as I went off the back steps onto the ground to circle around to where he was.

As I went down and around, I began to realize that Faulkner is not that color, nor is he shaped like that, nor is he that small.

It was Enid, of course. She didn't know where Fualkner was. She was too busy to come in just then, herself.

I was so worried about Faulkner that it woke me up.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Mrrzy
Date: 07 Feb 08 - 09:40 AM

Man, I *so* want a dog.

I am also still trying to picture a basset/poodle mix - a boodle? Bassoodle? Short and curly?

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: GUEST,Darowyn
Date: 07 Feb 08 - 10:29 AM

A Poosett, a Poodasset?

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 07 Feb 08 - 11:08 AM

Enid story continues here:

Pets: Waiting for Enid. Eeeeeenidddd....

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 14 Feb 08 - 12:00 PM

I've had many dogs at many stages in their lives, but due to the vagaries of moving, accidental deaths, fostering others' dogs, etc., I've never had a dog (or cat now that I think of it) that was with me through its whole life cycle except Ruby, and in so many ways she was not really my dog.

So I find myself poignantly and acutely struck by Faulkner's aging. Oh, he isn't OLD yet, but he's slowing down into a mature, middle-aged dog-- a dog of wisdom. And he chooses to be more Hardi's dog than mine. SO why should I grieve?

The alone-time I spend with just F each day, and the time I spend with both F and young Sadie each day-- it just seems like I want to deeply savor every moment with him because since Ruby's passing, his mortality is palpable in a way I have never had to deal with before.

So it is with places and people I love. I had so much uprooting as a child that I never had time or slack to feel and re-evaluate each of those upheavals before the next one had to be survived. I try to follow Corrie tenBoom's wise counsel-- not to hold anything too tight because it will just hurt all the more when our fingers have to be pried off of them in due course. But I try to appreciate these dear ones deeply while I have them in my life, and I guess that is a way to pre-grieve what I know (logically) will someday be lost.


F is such a great dog, and he's been so patient and long-suffering with the indignities of Sadie's forays into playfulness. Last night he calmly wished to hang out, curled up in his dogbed, and wait for hockey goals (and goal-treat opportunities from Hardi). Sadie, OTOH, wanted to wrestle. The more resolutely F declined and politely curled his nose up into his belly, the harder she tried. Finally she pawed his head out of the curl, and so he indulged her with the lie-down-snapping game where they imitate bear fighting sounds until she gets tired out and runs off to flirt with someone or something else. But he never growled, bit hard, or laid his ears back.

I just love that dog... Even Hardi was affected by this dogly wisdom as well.


Here's to all the great dogs anyone has ever known and loved!

~Susan

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Leadfingers
Date: 14 Feb 08 - 09:25 PM

Susan - I have such LOVELY memories of Faulkner from 2005 - Reading how he selected Hardi and you really adds to the memories ! Thanks !

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 Feb 08 - 01:06 PM

Oh, I'm glad you found the thread! Faulkner-lore goes here and in the "pets favorite things" thread, so you can continue to follow him.

~Susan

Subject: Faulkner
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 Feb 08 - 01:23 PM

Terry, one of F's happiest joys is to play with old, laundered socks from people he has known and sniffed. Next time you're stateside, I hope you might post him a bag of ready-to-be-retired toys. I'll even wash them!

We discovered this when staying with my adult son, who F just loved the moment he met him. Simpatico. I had forgotten to take dog toys on the trip, and F was young and playful. Dave cheerfully knotted up some old socks for thee purpose. F has NEVER offered to chew our socks or shoes, before or after this-- he is never confused about What Is a Toy. Later Dave visited here, and brought F the next drawerful instead of throwing them out. F remembered the smell, the game, the whole thing, and continued to remember it all when the next lot came by mail. So feel free to participate!

:~)

Did I send you the URL to the posted F-pix? Can't recall.

~Susan

Subject: BJ
From: wysiwyg
Date: 20 Feb 08 - 12:36 PM

Faulkner has reached a new milestone-- he didn't ask, last night, to go to bed in either of his two preferred corners. He asked to come upstairs with us.

The logistics for that are not yet in place (his sleeping spot up there is right where we'd trip over him on our way to the loo), so as I went up early I left him downstairs for Hardi to put to bed. But he was loose in the living room to greet me when I came down this morning. So Hardi either left him there all night, or left him there when he went to the office-- or both. Of course there were no accidents, chewed furniture, or raided kitchen. The delay has been F's in the asking, not ours in the offering. I'll have to see if he asks to go to his corner when I leave the house, later today.

It seems that with Sadie's arrival, he's decided he's due for a promotion to the next grade level. And he certainly has more than earned it. But we never ask a dog to do what he is not equipped to do, nor what he doesn't want to do, unless the dog's safety is involved.

Last night I dreamed (again) that he was loose outside and about to get run over in the road that is very, very close to the front door.

That is ONE promotion Faulkner will never get-- being loose on the property. I will not require him to yield his need to run, run, run. Loose elsewhere safe, yes of course... but never on our road. I lost one great dog that way already, thanks to a careless mistake. F is great, and he's stolen my heart. But my BJ-- now there was a dog.


BJ was my first dog rescue. We'd planned to buy a house here, and the sale fell through for complicated reasons, but included in the sale was going to be the widowed owner's dog. BJ had been the dog of her just-departed husband, who had died a long and painful death at home. With BJ always at his side.

When I'd gone to see the house, BJ picked me out. I returned many times to measure, etc., and Cathy asked me if I wanted the dog since she herself planned to move into a small trailer with no running room. BJ was used to the hills around her house and with each visit, she continued to make me hers.

Well, when the sale had to be canceled, I said that I'd still like to take the dog. Cathy graciously agreed, and this was one of my first introductions to the heart of the people here. She was not our parishioner, you see-- just being herself with us. BJ had not really been her dog, as F now is not really mine. And she had seen BJ pick me out.

Cathy sold the house and moved during the month it took me to get back and forth between here and Chicago to complete our move. I drove a full-up vanload here, 12 hours with no stops except for gas, with our daughter and a cat tucked in among the boxes. BJ had spent that month tethered on the property adjoining "her" house, with a parishioner and dog-lover who did the best she could to keep BJ safe and well. It weighed heavily on me that this already-grieving dog was now tied, on a hill she had used to run, with none of her former home, people, and routines. So we swang by before arriving at the house we had rented, to pick her up. I'd saved one BJ-sized spot in the van, and packed a leash.

As soon as I got out of the van BJ had never seen, and quietly said her name, she went nuts on her chain until I got to her to leash her. She came along peacefully to the van, and hopped right in.

My step-dau and I, BJ, and the cat joined Hardi who had taken possession of the house in our absence, and we all spent a month welcoming our two sons "home" to the house from other-parent visitations, awaiting the delivery of our furniture and "stuff.". We camped in the house with the things I'd brought in the van, sleeping on the floors and lounging around on the thick living room carpet without a TV. First month in a new parish is a busy time, anyway. I miss that uncluttered time of summer sunlight pouring through the house!

BJ spent that month calmly shadowing me, riding along if I went anywhere, and curled up next to me on the LR carpet. She was still grieving, and sorting things out. We didn't ask anything of her. She eventually perked up and began to show us what a great dog she was.

I guess she was about 4 or 5. One of her great activities was that she would clean up not only her own dog toys, but anything left on the floor (if asked). We could strew newspaper secitons all over the room and she would bring each piece over to me for disposal, without shredding any of it or even puncturing the delicate newsprint-- just for the joy of bringing presents to her new mom.


It was BJ who taught me how to live with a dog. She eventually got pretty arthritic, but was always a gracious, playful, and loving dog.


I was up very late one summer night waiting for one of the boys to come home, while Hardi was out of town..... it had been a long and bad night with flashbacks of single-parent mode, during a time of extreme teenage rebellion. I finally gave up waiting for him to come home safe, and went up to bed exhausted. The other son helpfully let BJ out for one last piddle, and as I dropped off to sleep I guess I must have half-heard the front door open and close.... she usually was let out the back door.

[GRAPHIC text follows]

.... that's why, when I heard the awful THUMP a moment later through the open bedroom window, I instantly knew that BJ had gotten it in the road. Totally. Our son was horrified of course. It was he who immediately went out with a flashlight to look. He was coming back inside as I came downstairs.

A car-toss away from the road-killed groundhog in the middle of the road, he'd found BJ horribly lengthened, not a scratch on her, wound around the posts holding up a guardrail across from the house. She must have smelled that, gone to investigate, and been too sore and slow to get out of the way of the next car to hurtle down our drag-racing road. She was mostly black-- I'm sure the mortified driver never saw her. (He did stop to inquire.) I'm sure that it was instantaneous and that she never knew what hit her.

[end of graphic text]

My son asked for instructions, and followed them. BJ was wrapped in my favorite poncho, and he buried her the next morning near the pond out back.

That son also was in the throes of rebellion during that time, but he showed his true character in how he handled all that. And he never let a dog out loose again. Oh....! It's HIS socks Faulkner plays with, and it's him who offered to walk F when I went to visit, and of course by the time he offered to do that I had forgotten why he might take such care when I visit with a dog. I thought it was because I took such good care of his cat when he left for the Navy, in the intervening years.

But now I realize-- it was thanks to BJ's teaching of him, too.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 10 Jul 10 - 05:09 PM

Squeam Alert and Help Request

Faulkner will have a med-to-large, fast-growing lump removed and biopsied Monday morning. Front edge of rear leg. The vet (I know her fairly well) did not say any of the reassuring words we'd have heard if it's the kind of fluid cyst BJ used to sport.

I only spotted it a week ago, but there are already two adjoining lumps forming and growing. (This is all right after a chance Mmario visit-- so glad now they got good howdy time.)

He's taught us so much. I suspect AFGO is coming. I could use some PMs.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: frogprince
Date: 10 Jul 10 - 06:14 PM

Aww, man; the story of how you acquired Faulkner was from the year before I discovered the 'Cat, Susan, so I'm getting all this for the first time
(((((((Susan, and Faulkner)))))

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: gnu
Date: 10 Jul 10 - 07:08 PM

Awwwwww... I hope for the best Susan. T&Ps for youse and the pooch.

Sniff.

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Jul 10 - 07:12 PM

AFGO? Doesn't sound good, whatever that acronym is. Best wishes to the pooch! I've enjoyed reading about the construction of his play yard.

SRS

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Ebbie
Date: 10 Jul 10 - 07:24 PM

Susan, having just recently gone through bad-news-ultimate-outcome with my own, with all my heart I wish the best for Faulkner and you.

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: kendall
Date: 10 Jul 10 - 07:58 PM

Bobert, me too.sniff

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 11 Jul 10 - 08:46 AM

Thanks, folks, for the voices of compassion.

Yes I am having a hard time. But please know that I am using it intentionally and powerfully as an opportunity to pre-grieve (I've written about that dynamic here before), and my more pressing concerns (for which PMs would be much more helpful than posts) are:

a. Hardi will have hisseff a harder time with this one, than I;
b. I need info about making F as comfortable as possible so we can enjoy him as long as possible...

And in connection with Part B there-- SQUEAM ALERT on--

We understand that many dogs with this thing remove, themselves, what they can. I need info about THAT, but prefer for the sake of all of us that it not appear in the THREAD.

Squeam alert off, and off on A-daily-FGO,

~Susan
Maybe another membername change in the works there, LOL

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 12 Jul 10 - 09:53 AM

F always rides carsick, and also anxious, but we forgot to get Dramamine for motion sickness approved before taking him in for anesthesia, and it was too early to call them. So he traveled in for his biopsy in training mode, laid across my front seat with his head held [gently-firmly] down, and words of command to stay still combined with words of comfort to reinforce the self-calming behavior he showed in response to the stilled head position. He shook all the way but stayed kewl enough to not upchuck, which is what he worries he will do that makes him so anxious. I left Dramamine for the pickup ride though!

Sweet Hardi-- doing so many little things to make this better for Faulkner. Ydy F achieved chair status-- not WITH Hardi but IN his chair ON me. And couch status to, next to me. My chair is not big enough for F.

Lots of cleansing boohoos ydy. A good talk with our boarding kennel lady, who may not be able to take him for our vacay this year. Hm.....

~Susan

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Maryrrf
Date: 12 Jul 10 - 11:25 AM

Susan, having had to put a beloved canine companion down last year, I understand what you and Hardi are going through. You are doing all you can for Faulkner, and when the time comes, you will ease his transition to the other side. He is a lucky dog.

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 12 Jul 10 - 12:34 PM

F never USED to be a snuggle-dog. Oh he'd climb up on me after a long boarding period, and welcome to do it-- but he'd always hop down of his own accord pretty promptly. Got too hot too quick, we thought.

Now, he wants to play one minute, and snuggle the next. "I'm fine but I want you NOW." I could say he is doing it for us, but it's not true-- he started this much to my surprise about 2 months ago, helping himself into my spare bed where I was curled up reading one afternoon.

Beds have always made him nervous, before.... "Man smell here. Man say no doggeh on bed, even on momma side."

INTO the bed, not just on it, and stayed for hours. So I'm a little slow-- we always knew he was smarter, anyway.

Somebuddy PM Leadfingers for me eh, he's one of F's fans and favorite peeps. Apparently I just can't.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: LilyFestre
Date: 12 Jul 10 - 01:34 PM

When is Faulkner coming home?

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 12 Jul 10 - 02:39 PM

So, what were the lumps?
Were they removed?
Is he alright now?

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 12 Jul 10 - 07:21 PM

He's home and the dope is wearing off. He really does not like the party hat (has it on upside down), but he's SO GLAD to be home. Sticking orful close.

One lab result back is that the increased appetite is not probably feeding a big old abdominal tumor, but hookworms.

Biopsy due in 10 days when the stitches come out. The 6" incision along the front edge of his hinder-leg shows how far they went to see if they could get all the present lumps-- and F will not be doing surgery again. "Mommy, I didn't like that...." he sez, tired, suddenly-old head in my lap.

But the sad thing for him and Sadie is that Dog World is off limits to F till the stitches come out-- no play, no wrassle, no jumping. OTOH he enjoyed snuffling just now around the abandoned corn crib, and he'd have snapped up some rodent he was angling for in there if not for the QE1 ruff. I have a sitting spot there where he can snuffle to his heart's content, talk to the invisible neighboring barkers, and not run his ruff into the many tight doorways that section our lower floor.

One day at a time.

"Maybe they got it all."

~Lady DeNile

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: LilyFestre
Date: 12 Jul 10 - 07:28 PM

Sweet Faulkner, rest easy and know that you are surrounded with love both near and far.

Michelle

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 13 Jul 10 - 07:02 PM

F graduated to yard lounging today. While I paddled in the cold-puddle (opp. of hot tub-- see declut/acc thread), he laid out in full sun and processed his experience of ydy. With nightmares puctuated by deep sleep.

I know we needed to do it for him (and that we did not do it TO him). I feel fine about it- compassion, not guilt. But I also feel just fine about that being the last time we will put him through it. Ya know how cats usually hate to board, or be in a cage? Like that to him.

Lying in deep grass totally crashed out, my Big Hero Dog looked so small and flat.... in stillness he looked so weak. I had to work hard (I had good tunes in my ears) to only look at TODAY. He got up then to offer to play with Sadie thru the fence that separates the two sections of Dog World-- he can't play with her till his stitches come out, because she is rough and heavier/taller than he is. Also he is Top Dog. I do not think his pride could take it if she won a wrestling match. :~) He now waves his tail superiorly. "I'm just above playing, today, Sadie. You may look and sniff only," he says.

I'm so glad now that I had separated Dog World for my own use. A leash is not his thing, tho he and Hardi like to dusk-tour around the smelly bits in the yard (critter burrow zonbes). But I wish he'd come see me in the puddle-- he's afraid of the nice, cool screen room even tho it is totally open. It flaps, so he's worried because his silly ruff makes everything sound funny. "No," he said, "I do NOT care to drink your cute little pool. Bring me some cold Dog Water in a bowl this damn ruff can fit into, woman!" And I did-- we actually have one.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Leadfingers
Date: 13 Jul 10 - 07:50 PM

What did Bobert say 'Way Back Then' ? Sniff , wasnt it ? well SNIFF !!!!
I am SO Glad/Sad that I saw this thread - Maybe I can swing into your patch after Getaway ?

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Ebbie
Date: 13 Jul 10 - 07:51 PM

{{{{{Susan}}}}} {{{{{Faulkner}}}}} {[[{{{Hardi}}}]]] [[[[Sadie}}}}

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 13 Jul 10 - 08:15 PM

Eb must have really long arms. Sadie is almost a pony! :~)

Terry, yes, for sure. I am sure F will remember you. Bring him a sock please.

Mmario, if you are looking in, he wants one of your socks too. Or an old t-shirt.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 14 Jul 10 - 02:52 PM

HERE is the QE1 collar F just took off, which the vet assures me he MUST wear till the incision heals over... he is anxiety-licking not only the incision but anywhere he can reach... he was already licking the incision (and the shaved IV place) IN the collar, before it came off....

So... I punted. Not gonna trank and drive him for a new collar, not gonna make him go untranked, nononono... maybe if he doesn't settle she will send trank home? I'll leave THAT call to His Man. He's a hexpert in dealing with medical peeps/around corners and red tape.


So I took the gauze OUT of the QE1 and ran his wider, flat nylon collar thru the loops that hold it to the gauze tie they sent him home in (TOO silly BTW), and fastened it snugly under his chin (up where a Gentle Leader collar would ride), and made it tight enough to keep him from turning and trying to lick but loose enough for him to eat and drink and sleep in....

Which I can easily remove for short periods when we can hold his head, on-leash, and distract him with TV hockey and such (and ear rubs from the collars irritating!), and to eat and drink unencumbered if he gets with the program...

Because his chief joy as noted elsewhere is to GET WITH THE PROGRAM.

He had almost learned not to lick, with enough squirts of cold water and gentle-firm requests to STOP THAT. But he couldn't hep hisseff and he actually thrust his head into the newly re-manufactured collars in gratitude. And is once again fast asleep and dreaming the stress away....

He DID come into the scary screen room while I puddle-sat for a bit, and did enjoy being hand-fed his first real mouthfuls in the time since they sent him home.... so I can put him back in there later for a cool, breezy break....

He's not too sick or post-op to eat, he just gets finicky when he's worried.

In the meantime I had "urgent" ministry stuff I let go for the day, and a missing cat that lurked off prolly to die.....

But I'm fine, really I am! The fear is-- it's a reminder how GOOD I am at it and good ole God always uses whatever I'm good at and willing to do..... so, more AFGOs ahead, lovely.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 Jul 10 - 09:00 AM

The refabrication of the QE1 collar worked well, aS DID BRIEF FORAYS WITHOUT IF FOR RESPITE (oops, capslock) and we have a grateful doggeh.

I have to say though that having him in it is like taking away our week with the dog-- the logistics within our ministry schedule and household constraints add up to way too much "put him outside" time to suit us.... on the one hand I am grateful we will have decent info due to the biopsy, and maybe slow this thing down a bit by having taken out the "mother" lump.

But on the other hand it gives me the willies to think how lucky we have been even to have a dog with such a perfect temperament to suit our constraints-- how hard it will be to find another. The more the constraints affect him now, the nicer he is about it.

He LOVES being outside all summer, so he's fine with being away from US. But I'm just not spending my days the way my commitments would suggest I "ought"-- he's gone to the top of THAT list, for the duration.

Tomorrow, for instance, we have a long, LONG daytrip to fetch noncontaminated water from Dharmabum's home spring (TBTG for HIM). F will get car meds to come along. He has not gotten a lot of rides because of his perennial carsickness, but now.... he gonna rahd alawng and visit DB's place, partly because he knows DB and his smell. Tho DB will not be there, he WILL be there for next week's water trip and F will enjopy visitng a good friend he's known since pupdays.

He sure is sleeping a lot. This aftn I'll go sit out there with him, maybe take a toy. Tdy his part of Dog World also will get a sunshade-- an old table with a cracked top to let the breeze blow by him. Then he can hang out beside Sadie curled up in their usual under-tree spot, cuz he rather sit with her than me.

But I will take a ball, too! And I got fud! :~)

~Susan

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 Jul 10 - 07:11 PM

I hope it's just that he is still processing anesthesia-- sleeping too much (and too hard) and eating too little. I had to hand feed him ydy and today. Today he didn't really tuck in till Sadie was invited into his face to compete. But he will take treats, but he cannot eat them (play first is why) in his QE1 ruff. So I take it off and put it back on.

I would say that since he came home post-op he has eaten about a total of no more than 3 cups of kibble-- closer to 2. Not drinking much either, despite heat. (I'm fan-cooling him.) This has to change by tomorrow or it's very wet canned food to add flavor and water.

We see this with peeps discharged after surgery too, the lack of appetite. The less app you have the less you eat. The less you eat the less appetite. Vicious cycle. Usually takes calories to reboot it.

F is not one of those dogs who will eat when he is ready to eat. He's not finicky exactly, either, and doesn't insist on meat. He's just off, from time to time, usually for reasons I'm not smart enough to understand till I stumble onto a solution. Good ole hindsight, after much frustration-- AFGO.

Or tomorrow could be Mickey D-- he loves the occasional cheeburger. Might bring him one hoe when we step out later for ice cream. Dollah Burgah.

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: LilyFestre
Date: 15 Jul 10 - 07:35 PM

henour oogs are sick & won't at, they RARELY turn their nose up at peanut butter which then makes them thirsty so they get some water in.

Michelle

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Leadfingers
Date: 15 Jul 10 - 07:42 PM

I hope he settles down soon Susan !

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Ebbie
Date: 15 Jul 10 - 07:47 PM

When I had surgery a couple of years ago I remember that for days eating was not only too much effort but the sight of food was almost repulsive. A dog, surely, can have the same reaction.

The doctor assured me that he's never heard of anyone whose appetite did not come back. :)

Here's to Faulkner's returned appetite and to the hope that he comes roaring back to health for as long as he may have remaining.

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 Jul 10 - 08:18 PM

What Ebbie said!

PB-- forgot about that, thanks.

Terry-- he'll have special privileges with you: You dubbed him a potential pub dog when he was yet a . He likes beer. I think you should give him some.

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 Jul 10 - 08:20 PM

corrected post

What Ebbie said!

PB-- forgot about that, thanks.

Terry-- he'll have special privileges with you: You dubbed him a potential pub dog when he was yet a mere sprat. He likes beer. I think you should give him some. And then help us pick out the next dog. Then if you need a ride anywhere, I'll drive. :~)

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Jul 10 - 04:06 AM

Marty Feldman at the vet's with a pet that followed him home and has gone off its feed.

Valmai (Lewes)

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 16 Jul 10 - 05:41 AM

GUEST above was me.

Valmai

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: LadyJean
Date: 17 Jul 10 - 12:19 AM

I don't know about dogs, but when I had surgery it took me a week to get the anasthetic out of my system.

Reading about Faulkner's early career made me thing of something an old suffragist told me once. "They ought to take people who abandon their pets out in the desert and leave them there and see how THEY like it."

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 20 Jul 10 - 11:02 PM

Real eating today. MEAT is what got him to really tuck in.

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 22 Jul 10 - 10:53 AM

Stitches coming out today and biopsy results, about 1PM.

I've come to terms with whatever the news might (TBTG) be but hoping for a totally benign result.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: maire-aine
Date: 22 Jul 10 - 11:19 AM

Hoping for a good result.

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: MMario
Date: 22 Jul 10 - 11:33 AM

fingers toes and knitting needles crossed.

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 22 Jul 10 - 11:49 AM

And I'se keeping REAL BUSY.

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 22 Jul 10 - 01:52 PM

Those of you who know us well will understand that in a clergy household, things can be a little fragmented. This is one of those sorts of days. Fraggy but hopefully not snarky or overly scattered.

What I know, as of right now:

1. The incision healed well, the stitches are out, and they picked off a scab for him to lick as much as he cares to lick-- no more QE1.
2. The biopsy results are back and are good enough to clear F for boarding while we vacay (lvg Monday).
3. We will get the details on the biopsy results tomorrow afternoon, together (Hardi could not come today).
4. Hookworm, which they say has been making F so hungry this summer, can be treated affordably (two dogs) without worrying about treating the whole Dog World before we depart. Now to figure out who brought in the hookworm.... I'm putting my money on the late SamCat.
5. Frontline rules.
6. MudMagic (prayer) works.

TBTG, and off for a good long cold-puddle soak with our dog napping nearby,

~Susan
(more tomorrow)

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: gnu
Date: 22 Jul 10 - 03:58 PM

So far, so good.

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 22 Jul 10 - 04:43 PM

Time tmrw between 3-6PM.

This "one day at a time" sh*t really WORKS!

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 23 Jul 10 - 07:20 PM

Poor Hardi. He's grudgingly accepted that we will probably have to put up with Faulkner for a few more years.

LIPOMA-- benign fatty material that will probably recur but most likely remain benign. Pls PM if anyone knows more about them than that.

Our vet never heard of dogs chewing them off, BTW. The farm dogs here who do it are probably too tough to go to the vet.

I really believe that everyone's prayers and good thoughts made the difference. I know they did for me-- thanks, so much.

TBTG,

~Susan

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Ebbie
Date: 23 Jul 10 - 08:56 PM

Bless the pup.

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: LilyFestre
Date: 23 Jul 10 - 09:02 PM

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our dogs (labs) have gotten fatty tumors and we have been told the same thing...unless they are attached to the intestines or someplace like that, they can just be left alone (or cut off if you really think it's necessary).

I'm so glad to hear your news!!!!!

Puppy Power!!!!!!!!

WOOF!

Michelle

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 23 Jul 10 - 11:00 PM

I feel springs letting loose all over. I DID pre-grieve (it's never wasted), and now I'm just relaxedly happy to have time again. I know it's an illusion-- eventually we'll have to let him go-- but time!?!?!

I'll take it.

~S~

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: Leadfingers
Date: 24 Jul 10 - 04:38 AM

You must be SO relieved ! AS am I !

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 24 Jul 10 - 10:59 AM

Terry,

Well I was already perfectly fine, so now I'm just finer; I am sure Greg is as well. His mood of the last two weeks could not have had a THING to do with Faulkner!

(Can I sell you some swampland by any chance?)

More F video when we get back from vacay. I haz a videoze camera now.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: deepdoc1
Date: 24 Jul 10 - 05:42 PM

My fur-kid Sam had a 3 pound lipoma removed from his left side when it started affecting his gait. The vet folks called it his lil buddy. They are mostly smallish, but can occasionally grow large enough to take on a personality. Glad to hear of your reprieve.

Subject: RE: Aw, Can We Keep Him???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 24 Jul 10 - 06:20 PM

Eric... Eric Hearble.....

~S~