Puppy Love

Puppies.

How could you not love them?

Well, except for all that pooping, and peeing, and yipping and biting. I mean besides that they are perfect.

And this little one has been perfect for me.

As most of you know, I was devastated after the loss of my beloved Orlin. He didn't have a lot of flash or bang going for him, he was the kind of dog that was like your favorite pair of jeans.

The whole family/pack went through the grieving process, but then one day you start to get that itch. That even though I was going to wait 6 months, I had the urge to head over to the shelter.

I talked myself out of it, but kept having this urge to go look. Strangely it wasn't to find a replacement for Orlin, but my heart hearkened back to a dog a room mate long ago had. His name was Jasper and he was Chi x Jack Russel. And even though he was a little goofy for me, Chief loved him. Princess loved him. Molly loved him.

I realized I wanted whatever new dog that came in to fill Jasper's place. But how to find a dog so uniquely silly yet restrained (so as not to hurt Chief)?

That night I was outside, looking at the stars, like Orlin used to love to do, and I asked.

I said out loud (thank goodness we don't have close neighbors) "Orlin, you need to give me a sign, buddy. Tell me what to do."

Then of course Princess and Molly got into a little scuffle and I didn't think about it until the next day I went to work and was putting my key into the lock when everyone shouted "Don't!"

"Why not?"

"Because I found a Chihuahua puppy and he's running around!"

Um, ya. He was Chief and Princess' color but if he had been a tri color, he would have looked just like that dog, Jasper.

I knew at the very least I had to foster him.

I got home with this new puppy (tentatively named Oliver by the tech that found him) and the other dogs were freaking out, barking, Princess snarling... What to do...

Then I flashed on LJ (the flame point kitten... see blog post here for more info :-)

If we could get Elvira to accept the kitten by calling him "Baby Lance" what about for a puppy?

So there I am, going "Look, it's Jasper!"

All the dogs cocked their heads. But he's the wrong color...

"Jasper got a dye job!"

Um... he's acting kind of weird.

"So did Jasper."

True, true.

I set him down and he has been little Jasper ever since. He even likes the name (he will kiss you furiously if you say "Jasper, Jasper, Jasper"). He even has a rap name... Jaspy "J"

I have no idea if we will be his forever home right now, but puppies. You can't live without and you sure as heck can't walk around the house in the dark without getting a little 'surprise' with them!

D.O.G. the dog that defined my career!

And before we get into the story, I know D.O.G.'s parents would want me to tell you it is pronounced "D-O-Gee," NOT dog!

You see they found her on the front step one morning as a little tiny puppy. No one else around. No neighbors with Dachshunds. Just a D.O.G. the front porch. She got her name because my clients had a toddler and would spell D.O.G. in front of him so he wouldn't get too attached. Then when they decided to keep her, he shouted out, "Yeah! We get to keep D.O.G.!"

And she was the cutest, sweetest dog in the universe. She would run right up to you, wagging her tail..."Hi, I'm D.O.G. and I love you." Then plant a kiss on your nose.

But back to my career. I mean I knew I wanted to be a vet. They call people like me 'neo-natal veterinarians' since we pretty much knew in the womb we wanted to treat animals.

There are those teenage years when your mind wonders and you start looking at other options. Not very seriously of course, but still you are a teen, ya know?

It was during one of these periods when tragedy struck D.O.G. Her Mommy was holding her in her arms when a Labrador (yes, a Lab, shocking as that is) jumped up and attacked poor D.O.G.!

I won't go into the details but D.O.G was horribly injured. Mommy ran her in and we promptly did surgery, but let me tell you there were complications and we were not at all sure D.O.G. was going to make it.

While she was recovering from anesthesia, I held D.O.G. in my arms and prayed as hard as I could that she would make it.

Still groggy and in so much pain I can't imagine, D.O.G. looked up, and said with her eyes "I'm D.O.G. and I love you." Then she kissed me.

Whatever doubt I may have had about my career evaporated. I knew in that singular moment that I wanted to be just like my mentor. I wanted to be the person that Mommies and Daddies ran to when everything seemed lost and, at the very least, try to save their precious babies.

D.O.G. did great. She never looked back from that surgery and recovered faster than any of us could have guessed. She wasn't even afraid of Labradors!

So thank you D.O.G. for making sure I stayed the course. I hope I have lived up to both my mentor's and your standards.

Mind Control... It's not just Chief!

I knew Chihuahuas were manipulative, and I thought Chief particularly gifted with his mind control.

You know, the times when I was walking across the room, telling him that he couldn't control me with his mind only to realize that I was taking him outside just as he had asked! Those mind control powers.

But I met another Chihuahua with possibly even greater powers.

"Gazpacho"!

She was so cute and sweet in the room. She had a broken tooth that we needed to fix, but besides that everything was great!

Except I kept forgetting to write down her orders! My poor tech kept saying...

"Dr. McCray didn't you want to give Gazpacho an antibiotic injection."

Why, yes, of course!

Then two minutes later... "Weren't we going to do a heartworm test?"

Why, yes, of course we need to!

This went on and on. Everything I had said I wanted to do in the room, whisked away from my mind.

I apologized to the Gazpacho's mom. "I am not usually forgetful like this! I am so sorry!"

"Oh, don't worry about it. Gazpacho has incredible mind control powers!"

Both my tech and I started to laugh. We talked about Chief's mind powers all the time.

Once I knew what I was dealing with, I combat Gazpacho's hazing of my memory. As hard as she tried though, she still got all the medicine she needed!

Now I know to guard myself (and have my tech take PLENTY of notes) whenever Gazpacho's around.

Frick & Frack

For the New Year, I thought I would tell you a tale of... two mutts.

Who knew they would possibly save one of my client's life?

You see my client had lost her cat and had decided to not to replace her beloved feline. She and her husband were retired and really looking forward to traveling.

They had dreamed for decades about heading to Europe, Alaska, Costa Rica. The further away, the better. They wanted to stay for weeks at a time, really immersing themselves in the culture.

When she came back to pick up her kitty's ashes we said what we both thought would be our final good-bye.

Um... ya... until later that day.

My client went to spread her cat's ashes at a nearby beach when she heard whimpering from some bushes. There were two tiny puppies! They were skinny, filthy and starving!

Our course she rushed them to me.

And oh boy did they have a LOT of health problems, but oh boy were they cute!!! They were some kind of poodle, Jack Russell, Heinz 57 kind of puppy. All fluffy on the head and all wirey everywhere else with little short noses but long ears.

I started to go over our option but didn't even get humane society out of my mouth when she said she would take full responsibility and at the least foster the pups until they were adoptable.

For once, I actually thought this client meant it. I mean, I had been hearing for years about these elaborate vacations. They had brochures. They had travel insurance already purchased. They were serious. I fully expected to find those pups another forever home.

So my client went home with the two pups and about twelve different medications (and several cans of food). But every day was a new problem... with both of them.

Seriously it as if these two pups shared one body. If one sneezed, the other one sneezed. If one stopped eating, the other stopped eating. They walked in step. They played exactly the same. They came whenever the other was called.

So you can see how easy it was to name them Frick & Frack.

Then days turned into weeks.

These pups needed a LOT of care and attention but my client's first big trip to China was coming up. They had scant days before they had to decide to cancel the trip and eat the cost of the trip (the insurance covered a lot of contingencies but not super cute but fragile pups) or find the pups a new home.

My client's husband then started feeling a little ringing in his ears. He playfully blamed it on the pups constant yipping. But they saw it as a perfect opportunity to have him checked by the doctor. Maybe if he had an ear infection they would have a medical reason to cancel the trip and have it covered by the insurance.

Well thank goodness he went to the doctor. That ringing wasn't an infection, but a tumor on the bones in his ear!

Luckily it was caught early enough that they were able to do surgery to save not only his life but his hearing as well!

If it hadn't been for those pups and both of them wanting to stay home to care for them, my client may have ended up in a foreign country needing delicate, intricate microscopic cancer surgery! The doctors even said had it gone on much longer it could have broken through into this brain cavity!

So yes, Frick and Frack (who recovered as well as their owner did) possibly saved his life!

And even better yet, after the surgery and radiation therapy, my clients decided they still wanted to travel! But this time in an RV.

Now they and Frick & Frack cruise around the country getting to know our country's culture inside and out.

I get post cards from them several times a year. Each time with Frick and Frack sitting side by side next my client and her husband with a national monument as a backdrop.

They could not look any happier.

Life seldom turns out how you plan it (even decades in advance) but it feels like when you let animals into your heart, it turns out just fine! :-)

A Christmas Miracle

I have been lucky enough to have been witness to so many miracles involving animals, Christmas and otherwise, but I thought I would share one during this season that is near and dear to my heart.

Years ago a technician and good friend of mine was in a bad car accident with her sister. Her sister came away with a broken wrist and sprained ankle, but my friend had been thrown from the car.

Even when the police and EMTs arrived they simply couldn't find my friend. It was a cold Christmas Eve with snow on the ground and everyone knew if they did not find her soon (since it was clear she must have at the least been unconscious) we could loose her.

Everyone was combing the thickly wooded area when my friend's sister heard the tinniest mewing. While she wasn't in the animal field she had been around her sister enough to know that was a newborn cry.

So even though the cry was coming from the opposite direction her sister should have landed from the accident, she simply couldn't let a baby kitten die of the cold.

But when she followed the sound, she found a tiny white kitten curled up with her sister! Somehow the kitten had found her! She was named Christmas Miracle right there on the spot (although we usually call her "Chrissy" for short).

They rushed my unconscious friend to the hospital for emergency surgery, as I got the call about the kitten. Even though they were reluctant, after they heard the story, the hospital staff allowed me to try treat the kitten in their waiting room.

With my friend's entire family (she was Catholic, so there were A LOT of people) gathered around, expressing their love and appreciation that little baby kitten faded. You would have thought it would have been sad, but it was so joyous.

We all sensed that little creatures pure soul and her singular purpose was to come down, save my friend then be called home. Tears flowed but in gratitude (as they are right now as I write this).

When my friend awoke from surgery we told her the miraculous story.

She wasn't shocked. As a matter of fact, somehow in her traumatized haze, she had heard that kitten's cry and thought it was God letting her know everything was going to be alright. She didn't know what was going to happen but she said she wasn't scared.

That was over 15 years old. Now my friend and I live states apart and seldom see one another. She has gone on to become a registered tech and a mom. I get a Christmas card from her each year and each and every year there is a tiny note at the bottom...

"With ever loving thanks to Chrissy."

And each and every year I cry remembering that little white ball of fluff and how she saved my friend's life.

Even though I only knew you for a few short hours I won't ever forget you either, Chrissy. That I can promise you :-)

If you have a Christmas (or otherwise) miracle involving an animal share it below! That's use this season to celebrate the animals that changed our lives!

Rambo Rambunctious

Now if you didn't guess that was a Yorkie, I don't know what you were thinking! :-) LOL

If you thought the breed and name were weird, wait to you hear his story!

You see, my clients couldn't decide on a name for this little terrier. They wrangled over names like Twerp, Jazzy, and Pete. But nothing would stick. And he wouldn't come to any of them.

Now it wasn't like Rambo didn't have enough personality. He had TOO much. As a matter of fact one of his favorite things to do was to pick out his outfit for the day.

And yes, he was macho enough to pull off a pink sweater occasionally!

But the one that was his favorite was ... you guessed it a red head band and leather pants.

So one day he came in for some vaccines dressed up as I described. Well some of my other client's weren't as understanding and laughed at him.

Well, he barked right back!

In that moment we knew we had a true Rambo on our hands. Although we have to admit most times he gets called Rambie, but you get what we mean!

Do any of your animals like to get dressed up or had an unusual naming process? Comment on them below!!!

I hate to be a party-pooper...

Ok, I don't really hate it because it is my job to keep pets safe so as we head into this Holiday season I must put out my annual...

A Party-Poopers Guide to Keeping Your Pets Safe Around the Holidays

Do I wish I could tell you to decorate to your heart's desire and share every bit of holiday goodies with your pets? Yes I do.

However I took a silly oath to always put animal's health first so here is a list (long but not exhaustive) of things to think about during the holidays.

First and foremost do not feed your animals any holiday food. It is too rich and in the case of chocolate, it can be toxic.

Even be careful of giving your pets to many of their regular dog treats. Remember these treats are many times the animal equivalent of a candy bar. Give LOVE rather than calories.

When decorating, think as if you had a very rambunctious toddler in the house. What would they pull down? What would they put in their mouth. Yes, even seven year old, well trained dog will go for the popcorn on a string tree-trim.

When in doubt keep anything new to the household either up above a dog's ability to reach or in the case of a cat - LOCKED up. Even the water under the Christmas tree can be toxic, so keep it covered at all times.

Animals are creatures of habit. If their schedule is changed too much it can bring about stress which can result in behaviors that can go from annoying to downright dangerous. If possible try to keep feeding and exercise routines the same.

Don't expect your pet to be social. Some dogs love a good party. Others want to run and hide. Unless your pet is super social, create a room/crate for them - AWAY from the action! Get them used to this little den before the party to let them know it is safe. Some animals also like a TV or radio on to drown out the party noise and reduce their stress.

New animals especially can feel this social stress. And yes, they may be used to your family members, but maybe not ALL of them at once! When in doubt, create a 'den' space where they can relax during the festivities.

Ok, that wasn't too much of a downer, was it? LOL

If you have any to add, just leave a comment below and I may include it in next year's Party Pooper Guide! :-)