BHRR’s Albert’s HWT came back negative and his bloodwork was good. He was neutered on Tuesday January 26th and everything went well. The one testicle that we thought was enlarged turned out to be normal and his other one underdeveloped. It was not cancerous though and a huge sigh of relief. When Sean dropped him off that morning, the Hospital had a nice run all comfy and set up with padding and blankets and my heart just feels so good about the level of care my animals receive here and I work with some of the best people there! Additionally, he had his teeth scaled plus polished, given a convenia injection(antibiotics) for his gums and his ears were flushed out four times to get them even remotely cleaned. He was such a good boy and certainly continues to charm all with his precious personality! Before I took him home that night, I gave him a subq injection of buprenorphine for comfort and his boy temp was still a bit low 37.2 degrees. I also micrcochipped him and not a peep he made. When I got him home, he was very ‘flighty’ and a bit nervous about going inside and my heart twanged for he went through so much stress that day at the Hospital. He is healing well and eating a bit better. His weight was 43.3 KGs when neutered, so down .5 of a KG from when he first arrived and on Saturday, it was the first day that he came into my bedroom to actually hang out with me and have a bit of a snooze(and he did settle down eventually and after two pees..) and I was so proud of him for being able to do that. He actually looked like he was smiling as he snoozed in the sun streaming in from our wall of windows in the ensuite. He is very rarely trying to hump the other animals these days and PPSS is one of his latest ‘victims’ which to BHRR’s Potter’s delight is NOT him! Poor PPSS, almost every dog wants to hump him and with BHRR’s Storm in heat(Day 14), BHRR’s Albert has not appeared to be be overly affected by any possible smells that might be around. From coming from a BYBER, at any given time, there was bound to be at least one female in heat at any time, so probably part of his lifestyle. The girls here are very interested and ‘excited’ over BHRR’s Storm and she remains completely segregated from BHRR’s Albert plus my 2 intact show boyz, who are pretty much clueless and I want to keep it that way! A huge test for BHRR’s Albert is going to be at our upcoming BHRR’s Mini Open House in how he handles that many people in his environment. I am prepared to give him some room and a ‘safe’ spot in our bedroom when he needs it for with the progress that he is making, I do not want to do anything to set him back. I am learning to read him better and better and his eyes tell me a lot more than they did when he first arrived. I told Sean that I honestly would not mind if someone did not open up their heart to him for he has big part of my own soul already and he is such a fantastic boy. I tell Albert every day that *I* want him and that I love him and I care and I can see past age and what abuse over time has done to his body and spirit. He is just a huge cutie and I am so enjoying getting to know him! The TV still terrifies him though.

So much to update on blogs, especially with BHRR’s Dana, Shiva, Albert and Mindy yet I just have to share this! Today, when I came back from putting the wee ones on the school bus, BHRR’s Albert actually ‘skipped’ in joy when he saw me! YAY! YAY! YAY! He was very ‘flighty’ after he was neutered etc. earlier this week and this is HUGE! I so adore this ‘ol man. 😀 With the plunging winter temps, needless to say; he had two accidents in the house this AM and he has not had any in quite some time. Understandable the more that he gets used to having comfort including blankets(which we are still looking for more comforters/duvets if anyone might be so kind as to consider helping BHRR’s Albert) and fresh water and plenty of food plus love and warmth, that he shall be reluctant to go outside on days like this. What a huge step forward for BHRR’s Albert with that level of emotion being demonstrated.

I took BHRR’s Albert to work with me Friday night and once again, I had to ‘lift’ him into the car as he was just ‘paralyzed’ with fear. He traveled really well and his weight was 43.9 KGs(96.58 pounds) and I would like to see him around 100 or so pounds. Yes, he is a small male yet nicely porportioned for his size. I still need to get a height on him yet I am thinking no more than 30″ maximum, most likely less. I was very impressed with how he was around all the new sights, smells and people and blood was drawn(I did not get a chance to do this at home earlier this week as I wanted) for a HWT and CBC. He received a full exam and his heart plus lungs sound great and honestly, he is in fantastic shape, considering his past life. He was not comfortable enough to want to pee at the Hospital though. Many dogs are that way. We brought out a rubber mat for him to stand on for the slippery floor is hard on his feet plus the longer he stands, the weaker his hind end becomes BUT it is so much better than when he first arrived. YAY! GO ALBERT! The Vet felt so sad over his history and that he had not even been given a name. He has his share of ‘battle’ wounds to his face and feet. Oddly, enough for a BYBER dog, his front dewclaws had been removed yet it was not a ‘pretty’ job with the scars they left behind. He had begun to shake his head a bit in the week hours of Friday AM and so the Vet looked closer at them and understandably they were filled deep down with black/brown gunk. When I bathed him last Sunday, with all that he had gone through to get to BHRR plus the nail trim I gave him; I only surfaced cleaned his ears. The ear cytology did not show any mites and when he is under for his neuter; scheduled for Tuesday January 16th; barring any abnormal bw results; we will clean his ears really well at that time. I have not been ‘forcing’ or ‘pushing’ Albert with handling and therefore had not as of yet, looked closely in his mouth yet tonight(and boy does he have bad breath the poor soul), I lifted up his lips slightly and his teeth are not so lovely; something we expected. He will need a dental at some point in his future. We will take a closer look at his teeth etc. while he is under for his neuter. What I also had not had the opportunity to look closer at was what I had thought was a skin tag and one other Vet thought the same and it turns out that upon much closer examination(as I have not really pushed his boundaries with too much touching/feeling this week in examination) is that Albert has two of his nipples really out of normal shape. Nothing the Vet was concerned about or felt needed to be removed. He won over a few hearts tonight at the Vet Hospital with his gorgeous ‘white’ face and demeanor. It was also noted how he would stay ‘around’ me and would come up to stand behind me if he was unsure. PROGRESS! We are bonding. Tonight when I got him home, he also was quite content to allow Sean to pet him until Sean’s arm was feeling tired and then he would look at Sean with a slight head turn but avoiding looking directly at him and this is Albert’s way to ask for some more petting! Which Sean obliged by changing arms! He is more flightly around Sean and is much more comfortable around me at this time yet I work with him daily and for long periods of time. The Vet also agreed with me that Albert is going to make a great companion to a home that has very few steps or lives in an apartment and is happy to take him for some strolls out and about and just to enjoy Albert’s company for Albert makes a wonderful creature to be around. I am very confident at this time that Albert will make a really good recovery emotionally in time, lots and lots of time and patience plus consistency. I could see in his eyes that he was nervous about leaving here and he got into the car much better on his own when we were leaving the Hospital(with some tush boosting as his hind end is weak) and was almost ‘relaxed’ coming home and when we got home, he was ‘happy’ in only a way that Albert can express himself right now yet it was in his eyes. He was not so ’emotionally’ detached and shut down as he was at the Hospital. It almost broke my heart to put him into one of the large runs for he did not wish to go. YET, I came back and came back again and then we came back home and that was a very positive thing for Albert. As I told Sean tonight, it matters not to me if a right matched home does not come along for Albert for he has a deep piece of me and he can snooze in the sun along with our almost 11 year old Kona throughout the rest of his days if that is how things work out to be and he can enjoy the country life as he does like to explore when we go for our short walks. BHRR is not about bringing in dogs and pumping them out to homes as fast as we can. It is about doing right by each and every dog that comes into our program(s) and knowing that if they do not ever have a right matched home come along; that we are content and thrilled to have them stay with us or in a perma-foster home living a great life. Though, we have to be honest that it is hard to see some dogs like BHRR’s Dana plus BHRR’s Shiva still here due to them being ‘black’ for they truly do not ‘need’ us anymore and while we are thrilled to continue to have them here with us; it would be lovely to see them being Queens in a right matched adoptive home. BHRR’s Albert is now snoozing in his crate and we send out a plea once again that if anyone has any gently used duvets/comforters they would not mind donating to BHRR’s Albert, we would be grateful. It is going to take some time to get him to feel ok on a Costco dog bed and as for a Kuranda bed, we are not even going down that road right now with how it makes him shy. I cannot wait for people to meet him at our upcoming BHRR’s Open House and in less than a week, I cannot believe the physical plus mental improvement Albert has done, so much more than I could have hoped for! I am sure many are going to feel the way I do when you meet him, just want to pull him close and just hug him tightly. AND Shawna, you could not have picked a better name for ‘Albert’ suits him beautifully! On a side note, if I did not mention it in another blog, he met the two bluez boyz CH’s last night and things went well. Nothing I was going to force and Albert was very aware they were not altered and they were aware that something was ‘different’ with him yet all lied down and napped quietly. During the height of an excitement filled day, I  would not allow such interactions between them all yet at night when things are settled, all is peaceful. Once Albert is neutered, I am sure things will be great. I also know that BHRR’s Potter is quite enjoying that ‘he’ is no longer the ojbect of Alberts affection…it is BHRR’s Porridge and as short at Albert is and as tall as Porridge is(almost 40″ at the whithers); Albert tries to make it all work. Porridge is none too happy that ‘he’ is the new target of love in Albert’s life but Potter is much happier now! Albert does not attempt to hump all the dogs all the time anymore and he is also interested off and on on spayed BHRR’s Mindy too right now. We continue to work on that de-programming.

BHRR’s Albert has been integrated with all the dogs except BHRR’s Storm naturally plus the two blue CH’s. He did think BHRR’s Porridge was a mighty ‘fine’ dog to want to try and mount yet Porridge was not too keen on that AND poor BHRR’s Albert was the recipient of both BHRR’s Mr. Parker Paws plus Porridge wanting to play with him and their big ol’ paws almost knocked him right off his feet. All is going well. He is still not eating great yet day by day. Tomorrow, we are at the Vet and we will see what all of his tests results shall show. If he proves healthy, I would love to neuter him plus remove that skin tag soon. He was also very brave today and went right into the bedroom and up to the two bluez boyz, who I had put in crates and all was really good. I will try to take some new pictures of him shortly. THANKS to everyone that hads donated over the past week to THE OTTAWA DOG BLOGS BHRR FRIEND TO THE ANIMALS DRIVE and if anyone has gently used duvets/comforters that they would not mind passing along to BHRR’s Albert, it would be so appreciated. As mentioned in his previous blog, he is scared of the dog beds plus the Kuranda beds just terrify him right now and I have four nice big blankets in his crate at this time and some piles around the house yet we could use more if anyone would not mind donating some for BHRR’s Albert.

I think tonight was HUGE for BHRR’s Albert FOR he would not let me go to the bathroom by myself, he was right in there with me and for anyone that owns a Dane, you know that this is ‘DANE 101’! 😀 He has followed me for the past day going into the same area that I have gone in the house or outside yet not too close yet he keeps me within his sight. He even will now turn his head if I stop petting him to just look towards me yet not directly to say ‘I like what you are doing yet am not sure how to ask for more’. The TV just sets Albert to running. It is so sad. I try to not talk to him too much yet just enough so that he feels ‘ok’ yet not overwhelmed. Night times are very special for Albert and I for when all the other dogs are tuckered out; he will just sit next to me as I sit quielty on the couch and I just lightly pet him. He still paces and paces at times and wants to get back into his crate yet today I did the ‘tough’ love and locked the crate closed so that he could not retreat in there and hide from the world. While I am quite content to work at baby steps and at his own pace, we have to start somewhere and that means getting Albert into the world of the ‘living’ and while I am not going to set him up for failure; I am going to work on those boundaries. The new ‘out’ I have given him is leaving my front door open, chilly I know, yet it gave Albert a place to go and come at will and that must be a first for him. Right now, he will come in and go near me and then go into the main area and then go to the open door, down the few steps and then back in and repeat over and over and over again; learning that he can come and go and while he cannot get into his crate at this moment; he has a place to ‘escape’ to be it into the main area or outside. He is not fond of the dark outside and he is going to need a coat yet I would not attempt in putting anything like that on him(one his balance and strength and two; his mental state) right now. He will have his crate back shortly and every day, I shall take it away from him twice right now for a period of time, building up his confidence that nothing is going to hurt him AND this is not going to happen overnight. 7 years is a long time to overcome and in that, patience, time, consistency, love, obedience are going to be my best allies in showing Albert that there is much pleasure and joy in this world and I am determined that he shall be given the best lives possible now that he is at BHRR. For those that have been asking, I see no reason at this time, at some point in the future NOT to put him up for adoption yet even if that does not happen, BHRR’s Albert is going to have a safe spot at BHRR for the rest of his days. I am quite protective of him and he is going to take me on such a journey and one that I am going to feel really blessed and lucky if he ever truly ‘lets’ me in to what you can see deep in his eyes. Survival has forced him to ‘shut down’ and may his new life at BHRR rehab him to the best that he can be and open him up to such joys that lie within his reach. I am really smitten with this dear sweet old man and I am sure he is going to teach me a bundle too. THE other great news for today is that he has not had one accident in the house NOR humped a dog and though new dogs have been introduced to his world; that will come.

BHRR’s Albert has now been integrated with BHRR’s Mindy, Hamilton The Newf and Mr. Parker Paws. ALL is going well. Just 5 more to go. 🙂

Before I went to bed in the wee hours of this AM, I introduced BHRR’s Albert to PPSS last night and other than one attempt to hump him(PPSS is over 36″ tall and Albert is around 30″ – will measure), did not bother again. Though, he kept looking at BHRR’s Potter who made a fast beeline for my couch and me! So, other than 8 dogs here; BHRR’s Albert has been fully integrated. He has obviousy not met BHRR’s Storm and has not been introduced to BHRR’s Parker, Porridge, Hamilton The Newf, CH. Dyceman, Multi CH. Bronson nor CH. Tain and now BHRR’s Mindy. When we have a dog come in like BHRR’s Albert, it really brings to light, what we just ‘take’ for granted. Things like the TV do not ‘scare’ me yet it terrifies Albert. 😥 The sound of the dishwasher, a rocking chair rocking, the telephone ringing are all so foreign to sweet Albert and he rushes to his crate and safety. My heart strings are really being wrenched with this dear old man. He does get very animated when he sees his reflection in the oven door or in a mirror and wags his tail and will bump the mirror or oven door with his nose in animation. It is so CUTE! I am a wee bit worried about him as he has not eaten today at all. He did have a normal poop, just inside the door AND he did ask to go out. SO that was huge. I gave him a really yummy knuckle bone and a treat yet they have remained untouched in his crate. He wants to spend the majority of his time either pacing or sitting way back in his crate. 😥 While I refuse to feel pity for Albert as that is not in his best interest; my heart is definitely pouring out in understanding of all that I can imagine that he has gone through and why he is the way he is. I keep telling Albert that there is no rush and that he is now safe.

BHRR’s Albert had a good day. Took him most of the day to finish his breakfast and his crate has turned into his ‘safe’ spot and if a noise frightens him, he will go into his crate and sit at the back of it. 😥 If you tell the other dogs to not play so rough, Albert also tends to react and go to his crate. Poor boy. He has been successfully integrated with Guinness, Windsor and Kingston today and has shown no interest in mounting them but poor Potter, man, Albert sure wants to ‘love’ on him. 🙄 Today, BHRR’s Potter also developed a bit of this ‘tude of ‘my mommy is watching, you can’t touch this’ and that is not to his benefit at all. The number of times I have run outside barefoot in the snow to ‘save’ him and one time I did not get there before Albert did and Albert’s one nail caught on Potter’s stump as he was trying to mount him and as Potter’s Vet told me about his own Boxer; the healed skin just tore like paper. Apparently, Boxers healed skin can take to re-injury quite easily for some time after it has healed. Now, Potter is sporting about 2.5″ of injury on his stump as the freshly healed skin just tore right open in one area. I have pictures to post of BHRR’s Potter’s stump from before XMAS and January 13th and now I will also post pictures from today. Albert did nothing out of meanness, he is just doing what he has done his whole life. Potter on the other hand, is much more subdued with his ‘tude and is close to my side. I had not taken Potter off his antibiotics as of yet and we shall continue that course. Tomorrow, we will integrate Albert with another couple of dogs, except of course, BHRR’s Storm due to her being in heat. He is a nice old chap, quiet and the really sad part is that he has no concept of a treat. He just leaves them in his crate. 🙁 He did poop in his crate overnight. I took him out around 3:00 AM before I went to bed and when Sean was up by 6:00 AM, there was an accident yet he has not had another accident in the house since. You just want to hug and squish him yet while he wishes to be ‘around’ me, having not had touching or affection, he is not sure what it is all about and it makes him ‘flighty’ or he will lower his head and tremble. Baby steps Albert. Baby steps….one moment at a time dear old man. I cannot wait for people to meet him at the Open House and will have to take things slow so that he does not become overwhelmed with all the people and our dogs milling around. I might have him out first and then when things get busy, just let him go to his ‘safe’ spot and take in the sights and sounds from there. We will see how things go. The next Open House is not until February and a lot can happen with his progress and I will let Albert call the pace.

BHRR’s Albert has arrived and I have added 8 pictures to his slideshow from today. He has such a ‘junkyard’ ear crop, the dear sweet old man. 🙁 He had his nails trimmed and considering that he had not had this done his whole life; he was really good and I got more off than I thought I could. He had a bath yet will need more for he was so smelly(he also pooped in the crate that his transporter had him in) and poor Mason and I drove home with our windows open for poor BHRR’s Albert was the worst smelling rescue we have had in a long time. My heart went out to him. 😥 Sean calls him ‘Mr. Mazda’ and his sole goal is to ‘mate’ with every animal he can find. He is a ‘tiger brindle’ Great Dane and I love love love the white that age has brought upon his face and coat. He is so handsome! He has been successful integrated with BHRR’s Dana, BHRR’s Shiva, Cherokee, BHRR’s Potter(who is not too impressed to be thought of as a girl by BHRR’s Albert) and our Kona. He is quite submissive at this time yet very persistent in wanting to breed. Not surprising considering his history. He has a skin tag that I shall also be removing, full of pressure sores, callouses and he has another growth like tumour that I will also biopsy on his one front leg. I have yet to get in his mouth and I have put him on Sentinel plus am deworming him. He is lacking complete muscle tone in his hind end, has something really wrong with that right back hock and foot(more so than the left hind leg) and has no clue about love, play or affection in interacting with humans. He had no name his whole life. 🙁 Well, NOW he has an identity and we will work on the rest. TONIGHT, he shall sleep on his first soft bed in almost 7 years of living, he has had something small to eat and he has drank some and puked it all up and we so look forward to getting to know you! His intergration with the rest of the males here shall be very slow. He has already poooped and raised his leg to pee on our dining room table and let the housebreaking begin! When I first saw BHRR’s Albert in his crate on the back of the open flatbed truck; he ‘had me at hello’ as it is said. I looked into his slightly cloudy eyes and just wanted to scoop him up and hold him close to my heart. He walks so slouched and obviously has been kept quite confined. He is slightly nervous of Sean, ‘flighty’ and we have a long way to go. I will draw blood tomorrow and have Sean bring it in to do a full CBC on him plus a HWT and also a stool sample. His overall body weight is not too bad. A little thin yet he also has ‘old man spread’ as I call it and with some proper exercise, he should tone up much better. His hips are not as bad as they could be and right now he is quite emotionally ‘shut down’; which has allowed me to get those nails plus bath done and after a battle of wills, I won and he was showered and so was I a bit 😛 and then after another slight struggle, into a crate he went, had a snack and had a bit of a rest. He has had so much excitement since he arrived and I am sure he will konk out for the night really well. I think he feels like he is in spayed harem heaven right now with the altered females here! Unfortunately, none of the girls are putting him in his place, so he continues to want to hump them and yes, poor Potter who is quite vocal in expressing himself about how he feels about this kind of attention. The spray bottles are out in full force as we work on de-programming him and neutering him is going to help. He is going to make a home a great companion and this is one of those dogs that we would consider in an apartment(no stairs) for he is just quite mellow. He is most taken with BHRR’s Dana, much to her chagrin and giving her full credit, she is handling him and herself beautifully. I do wonder if he shall ever be able to stand completely upright with that poor hind end of his. 🙁 I have added to pictures of BHRR’ Albert below. HOW could anyone say that a dog like BHRR’s Albert is not worth assisting truly is a loss to me and how could someone say that he is any less deserving of having funds donated than any other dog in our program is a bit shameful. He needs just as much help, if not more than many dogs out there and I hope that people will continue to donate so that BHRR will be able to help many more ‘Alberts’ out in the world for there are thousands of them in need of reputable/quality rescuing.

BHRR’s Albert – Day of Arrival – January 17th, 2010 *please consider donating

I have BHRR’s Albert booked for exam etc. on Friday January 22nd, 2010. Cannot wait to meet him tomorrow!

We finally made contact with each other and due to schedules; we will be unable to hook up to collect BHRR’s Albert until Sunday January 17th and we will be meeting in Renfrew. We have also received another call to assist a female GD in Sherbrooke, QC and I am going to try and find out more details on her.

I was unable to make a connection with the contact person for Albert on Saturday night and then yesterday, with an emergency; our paths still did not cross. I left another vm at 8:00 AM today with this person in the hopes that we can meet-up for BHRR to assist this Great Dane. If I do not reach this person today; the next opportunity for BHRR to bring in this Great Dane(which I am told is still at the puppy miller) would be on Sunday January 17th. I hope I hear something soon for we would love to assist him.

I was to meet the ‘contact’ person for BHRR’s Albert today to pick him up yet I have not heard word. I left a vm last night and shall try again a bit later this AM as it is only 7:30 AM right now. They did not wish to bring him to their shelter so he would be coming directly from the puppy mill and hopefully, I can make a connection as BHRR would love to be able to assist here as we do have a spot available.

BHRR’s Albert is arriving on Sunday January 10th, 2010. I will be driving to get him on Sunday. He is from the recent relinguishing of dogs from a Puppy Mill in Quebec. We were contacted by the Western SPCA of Quebec to see if we would assist. He is estimated to be around 7(we will age him when he arrives) and had no name.  😥 THANKS so much Shawna for helping me come up with a name! As BHRR believes in rescuing the next one in need and it is not about gender, age, colour, health status; BHRR’s Albert is coming into the BHRR family! I have been told that he is a very light Brindle type of colour, so not sure if he is a Tiger Brindle or a Fawn Merle but we will find out! He will require lots of vetting including microchip and neutering. NOT YET AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!!!