 |
The Mange Covered Nut
Nicole
I never think things through. So when I decided that our 6 year old Australian Sheppard, Lola, was lonely and needed a brother or sister, natually I went the next day to find one. And boy did I find one.
I couldn't resist Iris. She was a pitiful looking 3 pound mutt with strange white bumps on her head when I rescued her from a house that resembled a puppy mill. She was not being taken care of at all, so I decided to bring her home without asking the boyfriend or the other dog. I asked no questions about her health, just put her in the car and drove her home. Lola immediately rejected her and the boyfriend simply stated he wanted a boy dog. Iris had a bit of adjusting to do.
Well those white bumps got worse and worse - so bad in fact, that her skin was splitting open. Never having dealt with a funky-skinned dog, I tried to help by making the worst decision ever - taking her to a big box pet store retailer 'vet center' (which shall remain nameless). Poor little Iris had mange with a vengence. The 'veterinarian' informed me that Iris needed to take Ivermectin - a poison allegedly used to treat mange. Not knowing any better, I watched as the 'veterinarian' injected enough of this liquid into my little dog to knock out a horse. Something didn't seem right, but I didn't know any better.
Two hours later, Iris was drunk. She was swaying, falling down, eyes rolling back into her head. She had gone into toxic shock from the Ivermectin. She was rushed to the hospital and kept overnight. Thankfully she made it, but had to stay for two days and have her system flushed out. When I called the 'veterinarian' , she blankly told me that that was how they treated mange and they where in no way responsible. I went to the corporate office and got the same response. How silly of me! Because I chose to overdose my dog, rush her to the hospital, live in fear for two days that my dog was going to die - all for the low price of $1000 in treatment costs! People, go to a trusting and compassionate veterinarian! I will never make the mistake of taking any animal of mine to a big box quick-and-easy vet center - it almost cost my dog her life (and my wallet to be veeeryyy empty for a long time). It is unbelievable to me that people have jobs to care for others yet have zero passion for it.
Iris survived and is crazy as can be! Hence why we call her "The Nut" - that, and because she is oddly shaped like a peanut. She just celebrated her first birthday and as you can tell by her photo, she's been hard at work. Between destroying everything in site and bugging the crap out of her sister, who has since permanently moved under the bed to aviod her, she has a busy life. She's worth every penny!
|
|
 |
The Story of Savannah
Craig and Susan Black
It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we send each of you news of the passing of our beloved Savannah Jane on Monday, October 20th.
Savannah Jane came to us in November of 1999 as we were beginning our life together as husband and wife. She still remains the best wedding gift ever (even if it didn’t seem so at the time). Not only were we new at the marriage but both of us were busy at work planning for Y2K and the impending doom that many people thought was coming. She was only twelve weeks old and there were a few sleepless nights as we settled into our new routine.
For those of you that never had the pleasure of meeting Miss Savannah Jane we are sorry you never had the opportunity. She would bring a smile to the face of anyone and everyone she met. This included both friends and complete strangers.
Savannah Jane was known to her friends as “Savannah”, “Anna”, “Princess”, “Fatty or Fat Ass”, and in her later years “Princess Poots-Alot”. Those of you reading this know which of you gave her these nicknames. She answered to them all and contrary to what her Mom Mom thought; none of them had any impact on her self esteem.
She enjoyed the simple things in life and in doing so taught us a lot during the time she was with us. The most important of these is that there is always time for a nap! It didn’t matter where, on her bed, on the sofa, in the sunlight, any nap was a good thing.
Savannah loved to sleep in during the week and had to be repeatedly called to get out of bed in the morning. She considered these her weekends and she felt she should be allowed to sleep in. On the weekends she was always the first one up and if she thought you were sleeping too late would let you know it by giving you kisses until you were awake.
As a puppy she had a stuffed monkey that made realistic monkey noises when it was squeezed. We found out early on that stuffed animals aren’t the best toys for Rottweiler’s. That monkey spent many evenings on Craig’s lap, undergoing surgery to repair damage done during the day. Savannah also developed an obsession with socks. Not any sock would do. They had to be dirty socks and the dirtier the better. Doing laundry turned into quite the challenge and we learned to keep the socks out of reach unless we wanted to chase her to get them back.
Savannah loved to play and would chase her BRB (that’s big red ball) along the fence until she would collapse near exhaustion. She could destroy a basketball or soccer ball in record time by biting it until it popped. It got to be a game with us to see how long a new ball would last when it went into the backyard. We think the shortest time was 45 seconds. Her other favorites were the knobby ball with the squeaker and the glow in the dark balls. It didn’t matter that after the ball popped it wouldn’t hold air, she still loved to chase and chew them even if they wouldn’t roll. She also liked being chased around the house or around the dining room table. She was always kind enough to stop and wait for you to catch up if you were too slow.
Savannah shared Craig’s love of sweets and treats. An entire kitchen cabinet was dedicated to her cookies. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for a cookie. If you were in the kitchen or leaving the kitchen you had better have something from the cabinet for the Princess. “Get on your bed” was the last thing said before going out the door in the morning, sitting down to dinner, or going to bed. She would race to her bed and crane her neck looking for her cookies. She also shared Craig’s love of ice cream and would devour a Frosty Paw Ice Cream as a special treat.
Savannah’s favorite past time was “the ride”. It didn’t matter where we were going or how long it took. She just loved to go. We couldn’t say the word “ride” but instead would spell it out to keep the peace until we were ready to go. She was the best of navigators during these rides. Never content just to look out the window and enjoy the wind she would pay special attention whenever a turn was made. It was if she knew where we were or where we were going.
When we would travel the sight of the luggage or her backpack would send her into a frenzy. She understood that luggage meant not only a ride but also a visit to her Mom Mom and Pop’s to be with her buddy Nick. Sometimes this included a trip to the Lake were she got to go for boat rides.
She was a fearless watchdog and very protective of her Susan. This was unless you had a garden hose, vacuum cleaner or cat. She was also a good helper. She loved to chase the lawnmower, bark at the leaf blower, and bite any and all tools like rakes and shovels when being used to do yard work.
Savannah loved her Doctor Taylor and would perk up at the sound of his name or upon hearing his voice. It didn’t matter why she was at the Vet’s since it included a ride, a visit with Dr. Taylor and made her all better. Not a bad combination in her mind.
She was a great kisser and if you were anywhere near the floor you were fair game. She also loved to have her butt rubbed and would shake her rear end as if it would fall off.
She lived a great life and gave us so much. Words cannot express how much we miss her.
Craig and Susan Black
|
|
 |
Roo The Invincible
Jamey Dickerson
Roo was our first dog and she definitely gave us a crash course in owning a pet. A few weeks after we got her as a puppy she started constantly scratching. After running tests we discovered that she had demodex. We started with the many dips and baths to fix the problem and I was happy that I worked at an animal hospital. When she was about a year old we moved south and that's when her allergies started. Baths, fish oil, antihistamines, allergy injections, expensive foods - all of these together still don't alleviate the problem, but everyday we do what we can to make her feel more comfortable. She is a champ at taking pills and standing for a bath. While testing for allergies we discovered she was hypothyroid and would need to take another pill everyday for the rest of her life.
When Roo was 2 she was racing around like normal when she let out a huge scream. She could no longer bear weight on her left hind leg and when I brought her into work my suspicions were confirmed, she had torn her cruciate ligament. A few weeks and thousands of dollars later she had a metal plate in her leg. After weeks of physical therapy she was good as new - bionic even!
The worst came when she was 4, last summer. We were talking about how good she had become when she saw our cat dart across the road and took off, something she hadn't done in ages. Thankfully she made it across and waited for me to get to her on the other side but the car coming toward her was not paying attention, crossed the white line and hit her in her head. I rushed to her, scooped her up and raced to the car. I was worried she wouldn't make it to the ER which was 45 minutes away so I brought her down the street to the world's best veterinarian's house that I worked with. He set up a makeshift emergency hospital, and with me as his technician, and his wondeful wife scavenging through his house for medications, we stablilized Roo. She made it through the night and the next morning radiographs (which you can see under the "Veterinary Medicine in the 21st Century" blog) revealed a fractured jaw and molar. Her recovery was amazing and we are so thankful to have her in our life still.
Roo is 5 now and hopefully hasn't even lived half her life but if the next 5 years are anything like the first, then we are relieved to know we will have veterinary insurance that will cover her many, many expenses.
|
|
 |
Buffy the Frog Slayer
Geraldine
I was definitely one of those folks who would move to the other side of the street when I saw a dog walker. That had me moving along at quite a clip since I grew up and spent most of my life in Queens, New York. Even tiny dogs had me sweating - I was terrified! Six years ago my husband thought it would be a good idea for me to get over my fear and phobia by adopting a puppy. I hesitantly agreed. Since I knew nothing about dog breeds, I picked what I thought was the cutest -- a Brittany. One accidental backyard breeding later, I found myself mom to a most unruly, hard-headed 10 week old puppy. I was a "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" fanatic at the time and so she was crowned "Buffy the Bird Slayer". She ate her AKC papers within a couple of weeks.
So far, Buffy has:
Had demodectic mange and had to endure weekly dips and serious meds;
Overdosed on people drugs, having her stomach pumped during an overnight stay at the local emergency room;
Suddenly developed a terrible fear of thunderstorms, thus I have to keep a supply of doggie-downers for when the clouds roll in;
Had runs in with all sorts of bugs, small, fuzzy creatures and most recently a copperhead snake.
On a daily basis, Buffy takes her responsibility to patrol our water garden very seriously. I have a dead frog on my bedroom floor -- right at this moment -- that attests to her dedication. She killed his brother last night.
She's now "Buffy the Frog Slayer" and proud of it.
|
|
 |
Sparky
Anne
My husband and I got a call one snowy day from the Animal Rescue League in Boston - they didn't have a Boxer (which we were looking for), but they had a four and-a-half year old Boxer/Shepherd mix for us to meet. We spent time at the shelter getting to know him and immediately loved his personality. Knowing they had called us from a card filed with the shelter, his time on earth was running short. His warm brown eyes and lovely ears were captivating. We adopted him and took him home that day and thus began the love affair with Sparky.
As new owners, we took him to the vet for a consultation and complete check up. At the time (1997), I asked about pet insurance - I was told it was relatively new and was expensive and not comprehensive. I didn't get a policy and didn't think about it much....until later.
As Sparky matured our vet care costs were mostly associated with his yearly check up and routine heart worm and flea meds. Then the unexpected happened. Sparky had a seizure while on a walk in the woods one day. After a battery of tests, xrays, and ridiculous amounts of money, the vets were completely stumped as to what had occurred. About four years later, Sparky started having some serious issues and it was determined (after tons of tests, blood work, xrays, etc.) that he most likely had brain cancer. Our vets were so loving and caring and helped us through this difficult time. Sparky was a part of our family. He was our first baby and our three babies grew up with him. When I was pregnant with our first child, he would put his head on my stomach and she would kick him. He wouldn't move his head, it was as if he loved feeling her move too.
Our decision to euthanize Sparky was a difficult and very emotional experience. Our children knew he was sick and we had them stay with my parents. Our wonderful vets came to our house on a Friday evening in January of 2006. We had drinks and hors d'oeuvres and told stories about our beloved Sparky. Then after a few hours, they explained what they were going to do and how he would react. It was very peaceful and he was completely at ease. Our vets gave us such a precious gift by allowing us to do this at home.
After being introduced to and understanding the mission of VetCareComplete, I can only say I wish they were around years ago. Dr. Keith and Dr. AJ's commitment to helping animals get the quality care they need and offer coverage that their owners can afford and understand is compelling. We were fortunate that we had the discretionary income to pay for all of Sparky's needs including home euthanasia. VetCareComplete will change the landscape of healthcare for pets and will help to eliminate painful decisions owners must make as it relates to the life and death of the furry members of their families.
|
|
