THE great news is that we can now let Samari off leash when we go outside for walks on the property for he is recalling well. Of course, this is not done in Cletus’ presence for the two of them are characters and develop ‘selective’ hearing! We are working on that. He has really come out of his shell. His new home will have to understand that Sam will most likely have a large ‘set’ back when leaving us yet with lots of love, patience and consistency; I am positive that he will not take long, especially with Cletus the ‘goob’ by his side to begin facing the world with his head held high. Sam has been doing quite well in public settings and with lots of comfort plus reassurance by us; he is showing more confidence. He is still fairly ‘velcro’ in public yet at home; he ventures quite happily from our sides to explore. He does tend to keep an eye on us though and we just call out that we are here and that things are ok.
Month: August 2005
Tonight we said our good-byes to Amazing Grace. As we do with all of the animals at Birch Haven, we have brought her body home to lay rest in our special place overlooking the spring fed pond surrounded by beautiful flowers and trees. She is now pain free and tonight we mourn. Tomorrow we will honour her for I will create her memorial page and upload some of the pictures we have taken of her. A candle burns brightly in our house at this time as I cry for the world has lost a very precious creature tonight. As I always say; hug your loved one’s tightly for we do not know what tomorrow might bring.
I am very saddened to write that our Amazing Grace is extremely ill. On top of everything else she has a very aggressive bacterial skin infection and her body is just not strong enough to fight the battle she has such as cancer of that one leg with the lump embedded deep into the bone. Her blood count is very low and her body is simply just shutting down. We have made the very difficult decision to put her to sleep tomorrow night to end her suffering. Please keep her in your thoughts or light a candle in her memory for she is truly a very special and sweet girl.
We are still waiting for the test results to come back for our Amazing Grace. She is so very sad and it is extremely hard to watch her like this. We were told it could take up to a week to hear anything. When I was working at the Hospital yesterday, I did not see anything in her file, so we continue to wait.
Sam has made his biggest break through to date! HE is wearing a very loose collar! And, of course, only doing so in our presence for we would never leave him unattended in one. We have been slowing working with leashes and leaving them lying around and then over time touching him gently with them over his body. He has had been fine for the last while with me gently looping the leash over his neck and moving about. Then we moved to collars and tonight he accepted us putting on the collar and with lots of praise and lots of leans on his part, he is now prancing about! We have not yet tried tags or other ‘danglies’ on the collar and will work on that at a later date. As previously, stated; I am very comfortable if Samari only wears a harness yet he is going to be adopted with Cletus and be around other dogs that wear collars; and at one time; he will easily see those collars come off and be put back on. I do not desire to see him ‘bolt’ or panic over that. I want to see him comfortable around them and while he is still a little nervous when he first sees a collar come out to be put on one of the other dogs; he no longer runs and even shows interest now. We are always talking gently and softly and Sam is responding. The most important thing is to go slow and at Sam’s pace. He has also turned into quite the bed hog! 🙂 WHICH is just fine Sean says! Sam is one of the softest dogs I have ever touched. He is like soft velvet and these days, I am positive that I see him smiling. He and Cletus are going to be very hard to let go yet this is why I started BHRR in the first place(to help those that need us) and we now know that Sam is going to be ready to be adopted sooner than we originally thought. Cletus is to be greatly credited for that and it will have been a true pleasure to have had my heart touched by these two boys. I believe that I am giving them the strong foundations they need and we hope to place them in the best match possible spoiling home to ensure that their healing/understanding plus acceptance continues over the course of their lifetime.
M. Phillips, NY, USA
Gwen, Thank you very much for doing all you have for that sweet girl.
Maureen Bergman, PA, USA
They are very blessed to be with you, Gwen. I am grateful to have you as a contact and I value your input. Thank you again so much for your kind words.
Amazing Grace is now home and I have begun treating her left eye with antibiotics. She was such a GREAT patient at the Vet Hospital and really made a wonderful impression on the staff. Her needle aspirates and the biopsy will be sent off to Histology at Guelph University for analysis yet with two Vets having taken a good look at her, they fear that the news will not be good on that one fungal type lump embedded to the bone. We also await the results of her bw. She was happy to see me yet when I put her into her ‘house arrest’ pen; you could tell her spirits really dampened down. I spent a couple of hours just sitting and lying with her to keep her company and to comfort her. We see many nasty things in rescue and while I am torn with each of them; Grace has really made a huge impact on me and I have shed many tears as I have held her. She has no mean bones in her body and just would like to have constant human loving and a canine friend or two to romp with. Her desires are very simple and I hope to fulfill them for her. Her name truly suits her for she handles herself with a poise and grace that I will forever remember. She only had to go under sedation to do the biopsies. Her results should be back within a week and it might prove to be her last week. How utterly tragic.
We are still looking for that ‘right’ home/family match for Snowball. In the meantime, she has made Zane her new best friend for she was very sad after Henry left in June. Zane looks so much like Henry and is young, playful and perhaps reminds Snowball of her best friend Henry. These days, Snowball loves playing with Cherokee the most and now with Zane here, she seems to be really thrilled with having another playmate. Tonight, she was zooming in our rec room with Zane & Cherokee and it was great to see! She just loves people and while I am going to be just delighted when her new home comes along; I am going to miss her energy, silly ways and big heart.
We have made the final decision that Sam will only be adopted out with Cletus. They are meant to be together. We have reduced their adoption fees by $50.00 each to make the financial cost to the new adoptive family less. All monies will then be put back into Rescue to try and help the next one(s) that need us.
Amazing Grace was at the vet’s tonight and she will be staying overnight to have a biopsy tomorrow AM. We could not find anything in the fluid/cells that we drew from her lumps under the microscope yet the Vet strongly suspects a very aggressive, highly untreatable fungal infection and he is unsure about the one lump that appears attached to her bone; perhaps a fungal infection that has now imbedded itself into her bone. IF it is in her bone, then her prognosis is very poor. Her coat and skin is also indicative of a very bad and recent flea infestation. She was so friendly and great when we did her exam and cut her nails etc. SHE so badly wanted to play yet she is considered contagious with this fungal problem and just a ‘play’ nibble that pierced the skin of a human or another dog ‘could’ not ‘will’ cause the infection to spread. We liken it to AIDS in that hugs and kisses are not going to spread the infection. If we had pricked ourselves with a Hospital needle that we used on her to draw blood; then yes; we are at ‘possible’ risk of this ‘suspected’ infection. It is not going to mean that we will stop affection, loving and spoiling her. The vet gives her a 50/50% chance of being able to be treated for this and the success of that treatment is even lower. While she is treated, if we even are able to make the decision as the biopsy will determine for sure just what type of lump directly on the bone is and fungal infection she has; she has to be kept under ‘house’ arrest which pains her greatly. She is lonely and very confused and sad. She has bad hygromas and abscesses that have ruptured. Despite everything, she is a lovely girl and I am very saddened to think that she might not make it through. Furthermore, Grace had no issues being in Athena’s presence while we went to the vet’s office yet we could not allow her to play. We will update when we know more.
Sam let me gently loop a long leash around his neck last night without any stress. He did not even try to tuck in between my legs. He was not even wearing his harness and we went for a short walk. I have not yet worked with collars with him and I can only keep saying how proud I am of Sam and how fast he is adjusting and I know that it is more to do with Cletus than myself. His leash manners are really good and he is now starting to lean less into me when we do go for a walk. It is only when he is unsure of things that he gets really close to me for safety and reassurance. It is to be expected that when he is adopted that he will have setbacks. Patience, consistency, routine and lots of love is what Sam needs to become adjusted to his new surroundings. He cannot be rushed and he will be adopted to a home that is experienced with Great Danes as he is very sensitive to correction, ‘checks’ and even a raised voice can ‘crush’ him. He is getting better listening to the kids yell, run and scream in joy and just lies there watching them with a curious, slightly interested look now instead of showing some shyness of their flighty movements. We had company over this weekend and he felt comfortable approaching them on his own account AND I am so jealous for he gave Cathy kisses!!! Actual kisses!!! 🙂 He knew that he had his ‘safe’ spot to go to if at anytime he was uncomfortable.
Amazing Grace ate about 80% of her food today and that is an excellent sign! Her stools are also firm and well formed. She is lonely for she is under ‘house arrest’ as we call it and cannot interact with any of the other animals until we know exactly what she has. She is very loving to Sean and I and we are spending as much time as possible with her. AND she loves her small strawberry or raspberry ice cream treats! She really is a nice, sweet and loving girl and I look forward to getting to know her more. Her paperwork indicates that she is about 4 years old yet we suspect she is much younger. Once she has seen the vet and has had her manicure, pedicure, bath, bw, exam etc.; we will take our own pictures of her as SHE is a stunning girl, just a beauty! She is turning prematurely grey on her muzzle and it adds such a light to her colouring. She is scheduled to see the vets on Tuesday August 16th.
‘BHRR’s Snowball’ – Female, 2 years old (Oct. 19th / 03) Harlequin GREAT DANE, Purebred, spayed, Microchipped, utd on shots, hw-, on HW preventative. She is a small (weighed 37 KGS(81.4 pounds) on Wednesday February 16th), yet a very well in proportion female, housebroken, some basic obedience, good leash manners, crate trained, rides well in vehicles, great with other dogs + cats and children and loves adult men & women. She has been owner surrendered due to a move and the new locale will not allow them to keep her. Snowball is ‘high’ energy and LOVES to play and run. She is an ‘excite barker’ and will bark to greet you when you come home. Other than that, she is very quiet. She will be placed in a home where there is at least one other dog. Snowball knows such signs as ‘good’ ‘girl’, ‘come’; ‘no’ ‘sit’ and ‘shhh’ etc. She will need someone that is going to be willing to spend the time necessary to continue to work on her basic obedience. SHE is very TREAT motivated and very very intelligent. She also loves her food so her new home will need to make sure that she retains her ‘girlish’ figure! 🙂 She will not be adopted to a home where there are children under the age of 12 for Snowball requires lots of love, attention and should be the only ‘baby’! I find Snowball to be an absolute riot to be around as her zest for life is positively contagious. NO ONE can feel down for long when being in Snowball’s presence for she will ‘clown’ you out of your sadness!
BHRR’s Amazing Grace – Adult, Female Black Great Dane. She was brought in by the Dog Wardens in Ohio as a stray. She is believed to be between 2-4 years old, utd on shots, HW-, fecal normal, microchipped, last known weight was just under 97.6 pounds(August 2005), very thin, unaltered and has had pups in the past. She is also housebroken. She has lumps or even tumours on her legs and the Vet at the shelter in Ohio said they looked to be Cancerous. We have read that she might have allergies and also a cut on her one foot. We were asked to assist this special girl for no one should die alone and if it is determined that she does have Cancer; she will be held in my loving arms when it is her time to go. She has now been pulled from the shelter and we have been told she is very sweet. However, she did have an incident with another female Dane in the home that she was in so we will have to monitor her when she arrives to determine if she does have any aggression issues or she was under ‘stress’. She came to us from Lebanon, Ohio on Sunday August 14th. Her vet appointment has already been scheduled for Tuesday August 16th.
For the first time since Samari’s arrival, HE slept on the bed last night cuddled with two other dogs and Sean. Sean has been sleeping in one of the guest rooms with Sam to give him some extra loving. Tonight, Sam had his best play session to date. He was running with three other Great Danes and Guinness outside and having an absolute blast. He was wagging his tail, running and jumping and doing the zoomies! It was fantastic! Sam continues to demonstrate to us no aggression in respect to his bowls. He is now interacting daily with 11 other dogs inside and outside of the house and is doing awesome. We will test him with pig ears within the next week. While we are still learning a lot about Sam and his needs; we have determined that he will only be adopted to a home that currently has at least one other dog that Sam feels he can truly bond with and/or he must be adopted out along with Cletus. They are very special to each other.
I dropped by the Vet Hospital on my way home and Sam’s bw is normal and he is HW- The vet stands by his assessment that Sam’s coat condition plus the look of his skin under the hair is due to a recent flea infestation. It is amazing the difference that Cletus has made to Sam. For the last two nights, the two of them have done nothing but play! Sam is learning how to play like a dog and Cletus is now showing him about toys and pull ropes etc. Right now, Sam is very interested yet he does not quite seem to know how to play with them. While Cletus is teaching Sam all the great things about being a dog, he is also teaching him not so good things, like that there might be wonderful things hiding in the garbage! 🙂 Up until August 2nd, Sam would not go to the bathroom outside, no matter how many times we took him out. Now, he is finally showing us that he is housebroken. Tonight, Sam will get his first bath with us!
Sam went to the vet tonight. He weighs just over 114 pounds, had a manicure, pedicure, full exam, bw and a hw test. We have confirmed that the microchip can be read and will have to determine what ‘brand’ of chip it is for it currently is recorded back to AL and should Sam ever become lost; we do not desire to have him transported all the way back there. Sam was given Drontal+ for tapeworms and hookworms and it has been determined by the vet that his coat(we did not bathe him as of yet for we wanted our vet to see his coat condition) is due to a recent infestation of fleas. He is now on Sentinel and his body condition is great. We are going to wait to decide if we should be doing X-Rays on Sam as he does not show any joint problems and we will find out what his bw indicates as well. I brought Cletus with me to the vet for ‘confidence’ boosting for Sam and Sam did amazing! He went without hesitation on the weight scale, allowed us to cut his nails with minimal issues and looked towards Cletus for reassurance when it came to his bw. He did lean on myself and the tech yet he showed so much confidence in himself as he was handled by strangers. I am so proud of him! Cletus has done more for Sam than I think I could ever do in boosting him up and their bond grows stronger every day. Sam lets Cletus and Cherokee eat and drink from his bowls without any problems and he has not shown any aggression or possessiveness at this time towards anything. Sam is going through doorways and using stairs without any problems at our place. We will continue to monitor and once Sam is out of his ‘honeymoon’ period test his behavour appropriately. Tonight Sam decided he was ready to meet our 204.91 pound male English Mastiff and so we let them go face to face and everything went well. Within a short period of time, they were both lying down close to each other. Sam also met one of the Golden Retrievers tonight again, and while he was ‘ok’ he was not as comfortable around him. Klondike respected Sam’s wish for ‘space’ and everything was fine.
‘BHRR’s Samari’ AKA Sammy- Black Adult Great Dane(age estimate 1.5 (January 2004); weight was just over 114 pounds on August 2nd. Samari is housebroken, microchipped, shots utd and was treated for HW before coming into our program. We re-did the HW test and he is HW-. We have introduced Sam to our small female GSx and he has been fine. He has shown no aggression or possessiveness towards his food or water bowls with her either. He allows her to lie next to him just gently touching bodies. He also LOVES Cletus(another Dane in our Program). Sam might never feel truly comfortable around more than one or two dogs, size aside; and he would be adopted out accordingly. He is actually somewhat afraid of cats, good with geese, swans & he has been fine with our own children( 5 & 2 ). We were told that he did not get along with the one older male Dane that was in the home that he was initially adopted out to from the shelter in Alabama. He has been described as very ‘sweet’ and ‘submissive’ and he startles at things or people unknown plus loud noises. He was a bit unsure about doorways and is a little awkward on stairs yet now he is doing just fine with them. His confidence and emotional levels are greatly improving. Being on a leash terrifies him so we will be working slowly with Sam on that one. Ginnie, his former FosterMom purchased a harness for Sam and it has greatly reduced his stress. Sam might always have to wear a harness over a standard collar should he never feel comfortable enough in one and that is just fine. When he first arrive and he caught sight of the long lead line we have clipped to the side of the house, you could see and feel his terror. He was also afraid of the water hose for the garden plus the vacuum cleaner in the house. With great reassurance, Sam showed trust in us that these things were not going to hurt him and he is now walking by them more confidently. He is working on learning his name and when comfortable in his surroundings will try to wander off and does not ‘recall’ very well. He has been called a wonderfully sweet dog and will require lots of patient loving in working with him. We will assess and test his behavour after he settles in and is vetted. We will be running the usual bw on Sam and specifically testing for any thyroid concerns plus looking to see if he possesses any possible allergies. Sam’s vet appointment is on Tuesday August 2nd. He was abandoned at the Fort Rucker Army Base in Alabama, USA.