Wishing For Cooler Weather

Rowe-Quinn was 3 months old when I volunteered to foster him. I really wanted to pick a female from the litter of 3 that were at the founders place. But, something about this boy drew me to him.


It was his face and his personality



This is where he liked to nap in the beginning



He was special from the start



RQ was so good with the younger fosters



He never 'ran' with them though



But he gave them confidence



Taught them



and napped with them

When he was 4 months old I had him x-rayed for hip dysplasia and sure enough. The reason he wasn't running with the pups was the fact that the bones in his hips were malformed and rubbing bone on bone and it hurt.

He's pain free at this time with homeopathy and supplements, daily walks & good raw food. I'm so glad he's with me.

Too Hot To Play Outside

I was looking through my photos for puppy photos of my fabulous five! I don't have any of Sookie or Alissa and Sugar was 2 when she came to live with me. Here's Rascal:





Just a pup when he first came into rescue



It took him at least a year before he trusted me



But slowly he gained confidence



He matured & became elegant

 He still shies from me if I move too fast or if he thinks he's in my path. But funny! Yep he's a goofy boy and I love him.

My Son's Weekend Get Away = Cheezmoe's In 'da House

This evening Cheezmoe found an itty bitty piece of rib bone (cow's rib, not human) in the backyard. She's been gnawing on it for about 15 minutes.

She turned her back for a moment and Rowe-Quinn stole it. Giving Cheezmoe a throaty 'grrrrr' (he's got nothing to back it up, but he is bigger and older).

Surely he'll be giving up soon.....



You let him have it!!



I'm going to pretend not to watch.



He's losing interest I can tell.



Where'd Cheezmoe go?



One more throaty warning from Rowe-Quinn



Thank you Grandma T

I apologize for the doggie bile on the doggie bed. No worries, it's dry and I'll brush it off outside one of these days.



Plenty Of Hot Walks

My dogs look forward to their evening (and only) outing everyday. Every now and then I will skip an evening, but I can't deal with my self-imposed guilt when the evening winds down and they realize that all chances of going out are gone.


Rowe-Quinn Without An Outing



Rascal's Bored

 So you see, I can NOT skip their outings. If it's hot, cold, raining or otherwise unpleasant for me, too bad ~ they're getting their outings!

Told You... More Photos Of Dog Fun

Sometimes this is all I could get, a butt.

Sometimes a tail and a butt.



...and more butts.

It's just so much darn fun for the dogs and myself.

My Own Personal Dog Park

The piece of property is owned by one man that is hardly ever home. The property is fenced and is a wonderful alternative to bicycling with my dogs. They can run, sniff, explore, smell grass, eat Hackberry tree leaves (I'm not sure why they like those, but they do).


Rowe-Quinn

Below, just to give you an idea of the size of this yard. It's almost a whole lot sitting on 3 lots.

We don't have grass in our puny yard, so this is really a treat. The only real down-side is there are fleas over here. 

Rowe-Quinn enjoying the grass.

So, I've treated once with diatomaceous earth and will do it again before we go over there again. Sugar especially enjoys exploring the balconies of the uninhabited apartments.



Sugar loves stairs



Rascal and Alissa



Rascal pulling out all the stops



Quinny never really runs-just trots really fast



Alissa

One more ~ Sookie watching Sugar on the balconey.


 

Rascal's New Haircut-Before & After

Rascal Before His Haircut



Rascal After

I didn't take a whole lot off, but I am really new at doing this and the dogs of mine that do get a trim accept it with no problems. I really think that they love the one-on-one attention.

I Almost Forgot To Post Quinn's 'After' Photo!

I think he looks terrific, well, except maybe for his tail..I was going for a pompom (I know - duh)I don't know..... I think he looks really good. Don't get me wrong, I love his wooly looks, and gorgeous mane but this is Texas afterall. Sooo hot.

I can hardly wait until I've done this a few more times. Hopefully I will get better at it.

Rowe-Quinn Is Six Years Old

It was my Rowe-Quinn's 6th birthday on the 24th of February. Six years doesn't seem like very many years, but he's a trip.

From this goofy looking bespectacled little 4 month old pup that cried so hard after being neutered you would have thought they were torturing him.

He's been with me through 2 husbands and we're on my 2nd boyfriend now. He's traveled from Texas to Louisiana and back with Sookie, Alissa, Rascal & me. He was a wonderful puppy sitter.Now he's just a little bit grumpy and picks fights with Rascal who can take him and has caused him considerable pain. But Rowe-Quinn is a great dog that endures his bad hips with Glucosamine, fish oil & baby aspirin. We occasionally try homeopathy to help his own body deal with the deteriorating hip bones. And, it mostly helps. He adores his walks and trots peacefully along side me on my bike. He's been a 'talker' since he first came to live with me and that is always a joy. I'm hoping we have quite a number of years together as he definately has MY heart.

A Small Change In The Way It's Been Working

Not at all about dogs, my son is starting this new temporary job at the same place I work. I'm hoping things will go smoothly as he will be carpooling with me.

There was a time when this would cause me grave anxiety as he hasn't always been the 'best' son.

I will be coming home for lunch as usual and adding a stop to take his little pittie girl, Cheezmoe out for a quick walk.

He assures me he'll be ready to go when I come to pick him up. I trust him.

Alissa & The Vet

Although I've been feeding my dogs raw food for only about 4-5 months, they've been doing wonderfully. One of the things I read (thanks Glenda) was that carbohydrates are problematic for anyone (or animal) diagnosed with Epilepsy. Another great reason for feeding my dogs raw meat and meaty bones. I've been able to cut back on her dosage of this (in my opinion) heavy-duty drug.

Alissa needed to see her vet, Dr. Farmer, in order to get her perscription for Epilepsy (phenobarbitol) refilled.
The vet was amazed that we've cut her already 1/3 the dosage perscription into a half of that!

Her general exam went great. They've got an amazing vet tech there named Dwayne, Alissa stopped shaking while his experienced, mature arms were wrapped around her. You see, Alissa is very shy around new people. Very shy. With Dwayne's arms holding her while Dr. Farmer checked her ears, her heartrate, her temperature, etc. she remained calm and comfortable.

I recommend the Animal Medical Center to anyone that is looking for a new veterinarian that is low cost, sensitive, caring, and that has a wonderful staff.

Rowe-Quinn, The Beginning

In the beginning, Rowe-Quinn had no name. He came from the countryside outside of Austin somewhere. The director of German Shepherd Rescue committed to taking three (photo left, Ossa, Quinn & Rhea) of the GSD mixes, apparently there were a total of six. Mixed with "god only knows" what.


This is a photo of Quinny before he had a name and a bath. He was a happy lug of a puppy. Didn't mind what was going on, just wanted someone to "talk" to! Now, normally I lean toward fostering females. I guess because they aren't quite as obstinate. I knew he was special from the start. He was a thinker, more than a doer. He potty trained in like one day! He never chewed a thing that wasn't meant to be chewed. He never bothered the older dogs in the house.


Like this:

Above is a photo of Alissa in the background, Rowe-Quinn in the middle and Rascal in front looking at the new pup.

To be continued...........

Rowe-Quinn To The Emergency Vet!!

Anal gland abcess! What the heck is that? No really, I've known about the condition, just never with my dogs! Heck, I just trimmed hind quarter hair last week. I didn't notice his butt licking, which, he'd never really done very much before this. I mean, yea, okay, I noticed once or twice that's why I trimmed him. I thought he had matts so this is why I gave him a trim. He hadn't been particularly sensitive in that area then. Well, that wasn't it.


Friday evening, he was yipping, screaming while outside trying to do his business! He couldn't go!!! So, I tried a warm water and epson salt compress. The gland was so taut and hot to the touch. There was no way he was going to let me try to express it.


So, I checked the funds on my debit card, called to get a quick estimate from the emergency vet clinic, got $100 more from my boyfriend and off we went. Poor Quinn, he thought we were off on a great adventure.


The people at the clinic were quite wonderful. The vet was very sensitive and informative. I also found out that Rowe-Quinn weighs 83 lbs! I think he needs to cut back a little on the dog food, increase his fiber, and exercise more. I've been a little slack with his (and the other's) daily walk.


So, back at the clinic. I had two options; one was he could be anestisized and the lancing, and flushing could take place while he was under. Or, he could be given a pain killer and kept awake. Yes, cost was a factor and so I opted for the pain killer. I really didn't want to leave him there over night. He's my baby and he knows it. OMG, he was crying out like a little terrier puppy! I kept telling myself that, "no way was that Quinny". He's an 80 lb dog for crissakes. Well, then the crying stopped, the vet came out and all would be well. I signed the papers, got his pain meds and antibiotics and at 12:30 am we headed home. He was in pain and tired and I was just tired.


It's Sunday as I write this. He's not eating very much so I blended in some meat juice and green beans with his regular dog food. He has to eat. The incision seems to be healing alright. There's no swelling and the redness has all but disappeared. I believe we are recovering. Rowe and me both.