Month: April 2006

I took Frost with me when I was going to work at the Vet Hospital on Friday April 28th and while we were there, I re-weighed him and he is NOW 55.4 KG(121.88lbs)!!!! WOOHOO! I also had his Electrolytes re-done and they are STILL NORMAL!!!! I was so overcome by emotion, I thought I might cry. 🙂 A lovely couple that was at the Vet Hospital that night with one of their own pets; said that they would send a special word upstairs for him. What amazing kindness! I would like to see Frost put on at least another 15+ pounds as at a whither height of just under 40″; he is still painfully thin. One of my best memories of Frost on our drive to the Vet Hospital was that with the warmer weather back again; he could stick his head out of the sunroom. THIS is one of his most favourite things to do and he turns more than one head while we are driving!!!! I had the best warm glowing feeling in seeing him have so much fun and experiencing such joy in doing that!

Frost has now passed the 4 month miracle making mark! However; he had a really bad slide about 10 days ago when the weather began getting warmer and he turned purple on me due to lack of perfusion. He is now back up on his feet yet my worry is that with the summer quickly approaching which means hotter temperatures; how is Frost ‘T’ going to fare…….. We do have A/C inside yet we continue to support his ‘quality’ of life over ‘quantity’ and yet I find it hard watching him run outside in the warm weather fearing what might happen. It is time to bring him in for some Electrolyte testing as well as to obtain a new weight for he has put on some more since our return. There is a comparison picture of him below from December to April, what a difference!!!! And one of him sleeping….what a dream!

I took Samson to the vet today as I am most concerned about his foot. He now weighs 57.6KG(126.72 lbs) which is down 10.1 kgs(22.22 lbs) from last November and that is a ideal weight for his frame. We did an X-Ray of his foot just to be sure there is no tumour and his bones are fine. The vet advises to keep doing what we are doing and plugging away with our treatment. I also discussed Samson’s recent loss of bowel control sometimes when getting up. This started before he was on the antibiotics yet it is possible that they have exacerbated the problem. The vet also did a ‘neuro’ test on Samson and he was not even aware the one of his hind feet had been turned under and back. Samson has had a weaker hind end due to the plate and with his age yet time has now given him some loss of sensory in his his hind end and that also causes him to wobble a bit when he walks and especially tries to run. This is not abnormal in a dog of his age nor with the fact that he does have a plate in his leg. Samson had impeccable leash manners and is such a friendly, social boy. He drove into the Vet Hospital with his head resting on my 3 year old’s lap. He really liked the treat McDonald’s gave him after our visit! 🙂 Since his BM’s are loose right now, also a possible side effect of the antibiotics; we have him on Flagyll for the next 5 days at 4 pills a day. It is going to take a very special home for us to let Samson go to due to his age related issues along with his Thyroid. As long as Samson retains a high quality of life; we are going to continue to support, spoil and love him to pieces. I truly wish people could truly ‘see’ Samson for who he is.

Mazda is now here safely and there are many people very happy to see her finally where she belongs. The support for us has been beyond appreciative in ensuring that we had the resources we needed in following this Legal matter through. Mazda came in a harness that was a bit too big for her and also allowed her to try and do her ‘houdini’ routine. She is now sporting a collar donated to Rescue just for her. Until today, we had not even known what she looked like and she is a beautiful girl. Her facial bone structure is FABULOUS!!! Mazda will not ‘listen’ to anyone if they do not show her the correct manner of handling. Even though she is very treat motivated, those treats are not needed in ensuring that her leash manners are good. With the correct tone and control on her leash; she walked wonderfully with me. She has no qualms about running circles around anyone not ‘aware’ of what her game is. She is positively brilliant and I am going to have so much fun with her! She is very social with tail wagging and had no issues just coming into our home and ‘taking’ over! 🙂 She is “Queen” Mazda and she has already been comfortably drinking and eating. She knows the name of ‘Mazda’ vaguely and she could afford to lose a few pounds. I believe she is older than 1 years of age and we will see if the Vet concurs. Her nipple condition suggests that she has either already had a heat or at least one litter in her life. She was a little intimidated in seeing some of the other dogs as she was put into her crate(she is crate trained); yet she is settling in well. She will be going to the Vet on May 5th with Dodger whom she has made a fast bond with and will be microchipped, HW tested and we will do cytology slides on her to determine her cell stages in respect to when it will be safe to spay her. She will be put on Sentinel and de-wormed shortly. Right now what comes to mind when I think of Mazda is ‘ball of fire’ with her. It is her fascinating and intelligent mind that makes me think this and not her energy level for that has been quite normal for a Dane. THERE is so much to learn about her and I can’t wait!

S. Smith, Ontario, CDA

You do have a stellar program….. So, for now I will live vicariously through your website and celebrate when your ‘kids’ can leave your haven and find a new forever home or when they cross the Rainbow Bridge knowing they were loved and cared for. All the best…

Merrilee Bauman, IN, USA

I was reading about some of the dogs, again, on your website, and they all have beautiful write-up’s (and I want to take them all home). You do a wonderful job with all your animals.’

Cathy, Brampton, Ontario

I just love visiting your website, it really is wonderful….I’m happy to hear that you were able to get Mazda in your program.

Natalie, OH, USA

You are an amazing person to dedicate your life to these animals. I cannot thank you enough for what you are doing.

S. Smith, Ontario, CDA

Hi Gwen – thank you for sharing Athena’s story with me. You have been professional in all your correspondence with me and you run a program to be very proud of. When I was making my decision to support rescue programs your program is at the top of my list…..From the pictures of Athena and Sean you could see the bond and I can understand how hard your decision was to make and I believe from everything you write it was done in keeping with your mission. When you wrote me, acknowledging her crossing Rainbow Bridge and knowing where she’s resting -how can her star not shine brightly! Wishing you and your family (animals included) the very best life can bring.

This Dane has now been relinquished and is now being safely fostered as we organize her transport for this weekend. Her foster parent’s state that she has been just fine with their cat, their dogs and even their kids. We have also been told that it looks she is ready to go into heat, so like Gracie she will not be spayed until her heat is over and her uterus has a chance to return to normal. We also do not know what exposure Mazda has had with any intact males while in the home of this individual; so we will monitor her situation closely. We look forward to her arrival. We will post updates and pictures when we are able too.

I have left a message with the Lt of the Police Department. I have also been in touch with Legal in moving forward. Lt. Davis did get back to me later today and I now have the Police Report #60-05528 filed in Richfield, OH (Summit County) and he will be sending me a copy of the report and I will post. He has offered up whatever services they can provide to assist us, even with it being a Civil and not a Criminal matter. He has also given me contact information for the local Civil Prosecutor. Legal will be sending out a Letter of Demand to Comply to this person, tomorrow as she declined to comply when the Police met with her and we have looked into filing suit in both ON and OH as it is unknown as to which court will best be determined to handle the case. We have also been in discussion with Legal as to the damages caused and what else we should be suing for settlement such as our legal costs and other associated fees with this case.

We are now in touch with the police over this Great Dane as the person who signed her over is now trying to sell the dog to one of her neighbours. The signed OS contract along with all email documentation has been sent to the Police Department. I have been advised that they will be sending out a patrol car and will be in touch with me tomorrow. The person thinks because we do not have the original contract that the police or the Civil Prosecutor for the City Animal Control will not be able to assist us. We have been advised differently. We have a copy of the OS contract with her signature on it. We will post updates as we can. We have a temp foster home lined up for her and her transport is being arranged for this weekend.

The sore on Samson’s foot has become worse. We have moved from Cephalexin to Clavamox in order to get the infection under control. We also have some new pictures to post and will do shortly.

The person that was suppose to meet us @ 5:00 AM today with Mazda did not come. Therefore, she is not in our program and with three other Danes on our waiting list in urgent need to get into our program; we are trying to get her here this weekend, April 22nd.

It was a lovely afternoon spent with everyone and Zane was the Great Dane chosen as a good fit for their home, though it was hard for them to leave Lady and Boba. I am very happy for them and for Zane. So, Boba is still available for adoption.

It was a lovely afternoon spent with everyone and Zane was the Great Dane chosen as a good fit for their home, though it was hard for them to leave Lady and Boba. I am very happy for them and for Zane. So, Lady is still available for adoption.

BHRR’s Mazda – Female Brindle Great Dane, cropped ears, utd on shots, approximately 1< years of age and not yet spayed. (April 2005). We are told that she is not housetrained. We will get a better approximate on age and her health situation when she arrives. We have been told that she was seen thrown out of a moving vehicle a week+ ago. She will be arriving April 16th.

We have a BHRR approved family coming on Friday April 14th to visit and to stay for a BBQ. Boba, Lady and Zane are being considered as their possible new addition and when they are here; it will be best determined who is the ‘right’ fit for their home.

We have a BHRR approved family coming on Friday April 14th to visit and to stay for a BBQ. Boba, Lady and Zane are being considered as their possible new addition and when they are here; it will be best determined who is the ‘right’ fit for their home.

Lady came with me to the vet today’s and she was a FABULOUS ambassador greeting clients all day. When I asked her to go ‘lie’ on her blanket; she went over and lied down on her blanket. She was my very unobtrusive shadow all day. She weighed in at 38.8 Kg(85.36 lbs). She could use another 10+ pounds. She has a red ‘rashy’ type area on the inside of one of her back legs that has gotten larger since her arrival. The vet believes that it could be a ‘play’ incident that she might have been licking at and is now a bit irritated. I will be using Panalog cream on it. Lady was microchipped and we did a HW verification test. The results of that test should be back shortly. We confirmed that yes, she has been spayed as well. I could feel the ‘scar’ line yet wanted to just be sure! Lady became a little ‘grumpy’ wit the vet after the tests and showed some possessiveness towards the blanket I put down with some of the other employees and was a bit possessive of me. With a reassuring touch and a firm word; she settled down really well. Her right eye has a mark on the inner lid that the vet has said that either she was born that way or it had been injured at some point in her life. Her eyesight is fine and she is in really great shape. A few of her teeth are also slightly worn. Lady had really wonderful leash manners walking her down the laneway today as I am parking my car towards the end due to all the ‘mud’; and she had her first introduction to our horses. She was only slightly nervous and was very calm. Lady is a very well adjusted Dane and should be ready for that new home within the next couple of weeks.

I will have to get a new height measurement on Fancy soon for as leggy as she was before, she is that much more ‘all legs’. Fancy’s barking and jumping has greatly diminished and her leash manners have really improved. She still gets her ‘moment’s’ of stubbornness when she does not want to go or do something that she does not want to do, yet things are flowing much more smoothly Fancy has turned into a real ‘comfort’ queen and loves being spoiled plus pampered.

I will be bringing Lady with me tomorrow to the Vet when I go to work as I had to cancel her appointment today. I was running late due to a last minute organized consult meeting with legal over a recent issue that has come to light and then I got my car stuck in our lovely ‘spring’ laneway of mud and blew a front tire at that. Lady quite enjoyed the long muddy trek home playing in mud puddles! I did not necessarily enjoy the bathing of her afterwards thought! 🙂 Lady has now been integrated with 9 other dogs to date. I have begun to notice that Lady is a bit possessive of her food bowl when she is eating towards the other dogs. We will be working on that with her. She is still thin yet putting on the weight slowly.

The spot on Samson’s foot is not any better and so we have become antibiotic treatment on him. We are also covering it with either a sock or taping it up with gauze and vet wrap when we are not present to help ensure that he does not worry at it.