BHRR’s Volt in the latest snowstorm! A VIDEO!
My super happy rotten Rottie baby!
However, I am not so happy and am done with the ice and freezing rain and snow and cold….please bring on spring!!
Month: March 2019
BHRR’s Volt is soooooo excited! A VIDEO!
Why do you ask?!
We are expecting another 10 cms of snow, heavy at times tonight…..she just LOVES the snow and it has begun to fall!
Gwennie on the other hand is done…totally done with winter!
Once the snow passes through, another 25 mm of freezing rain is heading our way….then an additional 15 mm of rain.
We will update all shortly in re: to her specialist apt. held with Dr. Philibert last Wednesday.
AND to the few that felt she should have been put to sleep when she came into our care from having been electrocuted in her past home and was left untreated for two days, may you clearly now see the sheer joy of her living her best life daily!
May you now also see that she is worthy and we are going to keep helping her become healthy….one day and one Vet visit at a time!
Summit was not far behind though!
WTG!! Very proud of their target practise results!
BHRR’s Glacier was still snoozing away in the back seat at this point!
AND the moment BHRR’s Sleet *scented* off Kinsley when she got off the bus!
Immediate ‘hit’ on target! Yes!
Good girl BHRR’s Sleet!
Summit was still busy nuzzling me!
Summit & BHRR’s Sleet would like to gently remind everyone that our flash auction ends tonight – Friday March 29th @ 9 PM EST.
*this pic was taken as we waited at the end of our laneway for Kinsley*
Like many groups we have unexpected medical costs associated with several additions to our program and as a highly focused special needs rescue – especially with the Giants, those bills are running very high.
BHRR’s Connery saw Dr. Philibert today for his ortho consult.
We will be now moving to a neurological consult and will have an appointment sent up with Dr. Jull.
I had sent four video’s to Dr. Philibert of BHRR’s Connery walking, trotting and almost running plus the pictures of the x-rays that we took at the time of his neuter in February.
Per Dr. Philibert today:
“He seems to have mild muscle atrophy on his left hind limb compared to the right. However I cannot find an explanation on orthopedic exam. Radiographs of the hips look normal. The stifles are also normal although I see mild small flattening of lateral femoral condyles but that flattening is actually more obvious in the right stifle. The possible cause of this, if not normal for him, would be Osteochodrosis. But since there is no swelling or effusion and palpation of his knees is normal, I doubt it is a significant source of pain or lameness.
What worries me more is his wide stance on the hind legs, and poor placing of his hind feet. I recommend you have a consult with Dr Jull to see if he agrees that his problem may be more neurological, like Wobblers, and if it is, what work up would be needed.”
We are determined to keep quality of life first and foremost as a priority for him and will keep everyone posted as we can.
This photo is of him batting at me to rub his chest over taking a picture!
AND we now have 51 items in our latest flash auction to keep working on raising the much needed funds to pay for the mounting Vet Bills……
AND we will keep working to host flash auctions in our efforts to pay for the mounting Vet Bills.
Miss Volt was at the Vet today for her recheck.
She weighed 23.7 kgs(52.14 pounds).
Unfortunately, it was not the great Vet visit that we wanted….
1) She will have to have a tooth extracted yet the good news is that other than some scarring inside her mouth, she has finally healed up from the electrocution.
2) Her Vulva conformity issue has not improved with her growing. In conversing with two Vets today, it is not just a vulvoplasty that she will need and this has been discussed before…the folds around her vulva are very tight plus she has a lot of folds.
3) She is back on antibiotics and we will be using the Cortravance again.
I reached out after her apt. to Dr. Philibert, the Specialist who is seeing BHRR’s Connery tomorrow @ KAH and he has been so kind as to also fit BHRR’s Volt in to examine her.
I took pics today of her ‘female bits’ for her file and emailed them to Dr. Philibert.
Pictures I will not post here as Miss Volt should be allowed to have some modesty….
We drew blood today for her pre-op in preparation for her spay, ‘nip & tuck’ and whatever else Dr. Philibert may feel she needs.
So, our $11,000+ Miss Volt is seeing her Vet bills continue to mount as we work to get her healthy…..
So, we have added 3 more items to our latest flash auction and we will work to keep holding them as we can to keep paying off the bills of these amazing dogs…..
HERE IS THE LINK to see all of the amazing items – 50 that are currently up for grabs to help her and BHRR’s Barney.
AND this is what happens when your shoelace comes undone and you trip on it….falling on your tush!
You become ‘fresh meat’ for the extremely affectionate deaf/blind Dane Trio Puppies! They all think they are lap babies and want to be in my lap and snuggled plus lick my face….the problem is they are too big now.
AND there are three of them and only one lap of mine!
AND thanks so much Sean for taking a picture FIRST before coming to “rescue” me! LOL
I have to say though that one of my most precious moments is at night when BHRR’s Sleet comes on to my lap, puts her head on my shoulder and just wants to be held and rocked….it is so soothing to her. No matter how big she gets, we will continue to have this nightly moment of love!
I shall update after they have their latest recheck at the Vet today.
Happy Sunny Monday to all!
Another great walking pic of them.
Tell me how many hearing/seeing dogs, especially at the age of 5 months can walk so well all at once!
That is a lot of training, time, patience, love, understanding, structure, consistency, routine, knowledge and experience put into helping these deaf/blind Dane babies reach their full potential.
The Dane Trio – AKA my gorgeous Three Blind/Deaf Mice.
March 24th, 2019
5 months of age!
THIS is what your incredibly generous plus much needed support enables us to do.
They are all deaf/blind and we had to do double eye eneucleations on both BHRR’s Glacier & BHRR’s Sleet.
At this time, I only removed the one eye on Summit based upon detailed conversations with his Vet Team plus Specialist, Dr. Philibert. We all well know that we may end up having to remove that eye at some point due to continued chronic eye infections.
Today was a glorious day for a walk!
They are wearing their Wiggle Bumz collars!
We cannot do what we do without the truly amazing support of our friends, family plus supporters.
Thank you in not only believing in us yet in believing in all of these really inspirational special needs dogs that we are here to help live the best in quality filled lives.
Tomorrow, they are back at the Vets for their next recheck and we will be doing their next nail trims at that time too for as many who know me, know that I am always putting the dogs into the hands of others when they are ready! While it is a breeze for me to do their nails at home, even all by myself, I want and need them to keep being handled by others.
This is so important to help them become the most well rounded plus balanced dogs they can be!
Their training is going fantastic and they have been excellent students!
I think I need larger stuffies soon….what size comes after Giant?!
After a lovely outside play, a nice nap is in order…
The adorable ‘three blind mice’ AKA The deaf/blind Dane Trio.
They are 5 months old now!
Monday March 25th
Time: 5:00 PM
Location: KAH
~1.5 hours needed.
Happy sunny Sunday wishes being sent to all!
75% Lab / 25% Saint Bernard puppy, very visually impaired & after arrival he was diagnosed with Grand mal seizures. Attempting to reach his previous owner to obtain any information / prior knowledge that could help his Vet Team including Neurologist proved futile.
It is not that we would have turned our backs on him if we had known re: his seizure activity…it just would helped us be that much more proactive right from the start of his owner surrender in helping him.
We love the special needs, 98% of the dogs we help are special needs, it is why I Founded BHRR in 1996 to be there for those others cannot or will not….it is BHRR’s Barney’s well-being that we want as a priority.
We still need another $2,500 for his MRI and our next flash auction shall be helping him and also BHRR’s Volt who is back at the Vet next week herself.
Next week shall be a busy one as BHRR’s Connery sees the ortho Specialist & The Dane Trio pups are also back to see the Vet for their own next recheck.
I so adore BHRR’s Barney and we continue to work hard on controlling his seizures and he deserves everything great that the world can offer!
He is no longer sad or confused or abused….he is so cherished. Helping hands only…
We received another 15 cms of snow overnight and he is a hoot!
This is BHRR’s Meadow at KAH yesterday….those eyes….one day they will not be filled with so much worry……
BHRR’s Miss Meadow!
Today, at KAH, she weighed a fairly solid – some wiggling going on – understandable due to her level of anxiety 51.8 kgs(113.96 pounds). That she even went up on to the scale was a wonderful thing.
She is out of shape and lacks muscle tone yet that will come!
She did not have the best of nights, neither did The Boerskins yet we are used to that with a new rescue like her in the home. As her Vet said today, dogs like her ‘is not our first rodeo.’
I always tell my adoptive plus temp fosters in addition to my behavioural clients that as bad as the first night is, the second night is always worse and then there is that light at the end of the tunnel – you just have to hunker down and keep up the ‘tough love’ of passively ignoring and get into the house routine ASAP.
You cannot feel sorry for these dogs….you may want to cry on the inside, yet you cannot on the outside. You need to do right by them. You do not wish to create or enable SA behaviours and we start from the get go about teaching her to like herself and that it is important for her to have her alone time.
AND while today, I questioned a thing or two that happened at work, I do not ever question why I founded BHRR and why I am still doing this 23+ years later.
I only have to look at her and all the others like her over the years to know why I am still doing this.
I am extremely proud of her and as explained to one person today, a wagging tail does not mean that a dog is happy.
A low tail wag or a tail between the legs wag is not the sign of a dog that is 100% comfortable or happy. They are anxious, unsure and fearful. It is a communication sign to be cognizant of and to act appropriately.
Where the success was had in seeing that small low tail wag, is that her tail went from curled up to her belly and lowered as she began to feel a bit more confident and secure.
She remained panting and paced. These remain signs of a dog that is not 100% comfortable with what is going on.
She did eventually lick up some treats too. That was good!
She went from barking at all people to by the time I left, not barking at anyone. Yet, she did bark off and on in her run and that was very present throughout last night.
She has gone through a lot of change over the last 24 hours and this is a lot of stimuli she is being exposed too – car rides, people, dogs, sounds, sights and smells she has never had before.
She does not like getting into the car as that stresses her out – another understandable thing. However, in leaving the Hospital after work, it was just her and me and she did eventually put her front end in the car on her own and I hoisted up her back end. She is always tethered for safety.
She had a good exam – her Vet believes that she is not pregnant from examining her – yet, this is not 100%. We have moved forward with her bloodwork – what a good girl she was! – to do a pre-op plus her tickborne disease and heartworm testing.
I am waiting for her to give me a fecal sample to test. She has not had a bm since she has arrived yet with her minimal eating, not surprising. She is drinking better and better though!
Her Vet took her heart rate at two different times and it had greatly come down as she was becoming less tense.
Her ears were fine and her mouth will be looked at closely at a future Vet visit. There was no need to stress her out any further than necessary to get what was really pressing to be done today.
She began her vaccine protocol – rabies will be done later – and we will start de-worming her plus place her on flea/tick meds.
The earliest we could get her booked in for a spay – for if she ‘is’ pregnant, it would be super early – is April 3rd. I called LAH and their earliest is April 5th with Dr. Liston, so April 3rd at KAH it is!
This post is not a discussion as to if it is or is not right to be spaying a dog if they are pregnant. This Dane had babies when she was 10 months of age. Babies should not be having babies.
AND she is not going to be having any more babies if at all possible. There are so many dogs already in the world that need homes and many dogs are being put to sleep daily as there are not enough homes, that we do not need to be deliberately bringing into this world even more puppies.
AND in this case, we already know that any babies would be at big risk of being high special needs – the five that survived the last litter she had are all special needs – the three that I have are extremely special needs. The other five died from what had been told to us. Dad is a white Great Dane special needs himself.
This is a picture I captured of her today when leaving the Hospital.
Baby steps young lady….You will be just fine in time and as I said to some of the lovelies I work with, when we go back, you will be much more of an sassy goofy baby! It is in there, I already see glimpses. Your daughter is very much in your splitting personality image!
*NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION*
BHRR’s Meadow
March 17th, 2019
Sadly, my day did not yield what I hoped it would…..
After over 2 months of working so hard to investigate, research and then locate the Mama and as a result finding the Dad…then trying to get the parents of The Dane Trio Pups – whole story on how I found them on the Puppies blogs – with constant cancellations and re-scheduling, today was to be the ‘new’ day that I was to get both Danes.
I made the three hour drive and waited….and waited and waited some more. I kept their emerge temp foster homes updated and shared my anxiety and worries the more time ticked on by and still no Danes.
After almost 1.5 hours, no responses to my texts, calls or emails, I was getting ready to leave and then a vehicle finally pulled up. Like many o/s, the home did not want me to go to their place of residence and desired to meet in a gas station parking lot.
Yet, there was only one Dane inside, not two.
The Mama was inside, yet not the Dad(special needs white male).
I was told that in a couple of weeks, they would meet up for me to get the male.
This is the female – 15 month old heavily blanketed harle and extremely terrified. Undersocialised and I was also told upon pick-up that she did not like men. She has had very limited exposure to them.
We are calling her BHRR’s Meadow.
She came with a choke chain knotted on a lead and I asked the O. to place this martingale on her. It is a Wiggle Bumz collar that was won by Annette S. who then donated it so generously to BHRR. I then asked the O. to hook up my leash to the martingale, help get her into my car and distract her so I could tether her up for her safety….and mine.
She is SO scared and I spent the whole time on our long drive home, alternating between praising her for being such a good plus pretty girl, passively ignoring her and telling her that she will be ok.
By the time I got her home, I was able to remove the choke and knotted leash. I would like to shorten up the martingale a bit more yet I have invaded her space more than enough for now and she has tolerated things as well as can be expected so, it can wait another day.
I have tried to find out when her last heat was and if there was a chance she was pregnant again or if she is in a false pregnancy. I was not given any response to assist me in that area. She was housed with the intact male……
As scared as she is of me, she is ten times more of Sean and Mason.
This pic is one that Sean took when we got home – I was now her ‘safe person’ and she leaned into me and looked at me for guidance yet only barely in her absolute fear.
Her tail can be seen tucked up and this was before it reached her belly as that is where she wrapped it up tightly to.
I reached out to who was to be her lovely emerge temp foster Mama and we always have to take what information comes our way with a grain of salt and mentioned that perhaps we should switch up who goes to their home as this girl is going to need a lot of extensive rehabilitation.
She barks a lot with her stress and the one dog that seems to be ‘soothing’ her from a distance is BHRR’s Connery.
She is a long way away from being integrated with anyone….
Tomorrow, I will take her to work with me so that we can begin her vetting protocol and see if we can better rule out any possible pregnancy.
As soon as I saw her, I could see BHRR’s Sleet in her face and already I can see that Mama and daughter share some obvious similar temperament/behaviour traits.
We will post more as we know more and do promise to keep everyone updated re: the Dad – we did hear that he is blind yet, he mostly likely is deaf too. I worry about what health issues he has.
Today, was just not the day I had hoped it would be….I am distressed that I did not get both Danes yet I remain steadfast that BHRR’s Falco(the name that we are giving the Dad) will be safe with us in a matter of weeks too.
*NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION*
Also, a gentle reminder that our latest Flash Auction ends Tuesday March 19th @ 9 PM EST. HERE IS THE LINK!
BHRR’s Colt
ADOPTED!
This is adoption #416 for BHRR. Small & mighty we remain, 23+ years later. Focusing on the next one in need of us with each and every rescue.
BHRR’s Colt – you are right where I had hoped you would end up for when I learned the truly devastating news that BHRR’s Capone – adopted in 2017 – was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in late 2018, my heart broke for his Approved adoptive home and for all of us that adored him – I had stated to Sean(not a word said to this home for when they were ready they could reach out to us) that this is the home I wanted BHRR’s Colt in.
If/when said home was ready & if BHRR’s Colt was still with us, then we could talk more.
How cruel the fates were to steal BHRR’s Capone away so soon after he was adopted, yet, if you believe in fate also dealing some kindness, BHRR’s Colt is now where I feel he should be, in this BHRR Approved home!
That they would seek to adopt from BHRR again is special, that they would be so patient as we had to reschedule this home-visit is very understanding, that they would be open to meeting who I believe was such a strong great match for their home is humbling for they felt I got it so right the first time – they had been interested in a couple of other Danes when they first reached out in 2017, and they are wonderful dogs, yet not meant as good starter Danes.
This home gave BHRR’s Capone such an amazing life and tonight I was able to see even more pictures and have shared with me loving stories plus memories of him. The gift that was given to this home – charcoal portrait of BHRR’s Capone – is stunning. That
boy was so loved….so cherished and so missed.
No dog can ever replace another yet BHRR’s Colt will make his own big amazing paw prints in their hearts and they will give him an equally outstanding life.
Thank you to this fabu home for going through the adoption process again plus for everything you did for BHRR’s Capone.
BHRR’s Colt, I am so going to miss you as is your emerge temp foster mama also yet I am proud of you!
You have come far my dear handsome pony snorting dear man!
Now, I make the drive home and may tomorrow bring good news re: two Danes I have been fighting to save for over two months….
BHRR’s Colt!
It is time….time to make the drive to see if this is your right matched personality fit Approved adoptive home…..
As many may not be aware, his home-visit was rescheduled from Wednesday due to the extreme white out & ice conditons that hit our area.
What many others may not know is that it is not just my area yet many outlying areas that have been tragically and dangerously affected by all of the rain and thaw and yet more rain, including freezing rain creating terrible icy conditions.
It is not just humans that are being injured. Livestock have been lost and many animals are suffering injuries, quite a few serious, including death.
We are in a huge salt plus sand shortage in my neck of the woods and our home has been using straw and our great fall back has always been kibble. So, today, over many hours with our spikes on, we laid out yet another 700+ pounds of kibble on our drive plus laneway – almost 1 km long.
We have been paying for out of our pockets and stocking up on kibble to work to make things much safer here. Straw for the fenced in areas to help with their own safety.
To all of our neighbours, friends and family who are suffering the same horrible conditions, please know we are here to lend a hand.
We will update as we can re: BHRR’s Colt’s home-visit and a possible Approved adoption.
Colt
Adopted to his forever loving home (his story)
They are now 4 months of age and yes, they still like to Puppy Pile on top of each other for nap time!
I think I am going to need biggie Stuffies soon!
We are in yet another brutal snow storm right now.
15+ cms of snow and ice coming down and this is BHRR’s Miss Volt!
LOVING every minute of it….this is her when I said it was time to come in….She sat down and just looked at me.
The puppy stand off was ‘on’ and well, after some ‘conversations’ back and forth, she is now having a great snooze in front of one of the fireplaces!
What a hoot of a pup she is!
At her last Vet Visit, she weighed 41.8 pounds and her mouth is finally scarring up and her private parts are a lot less raw/irritated. She was able to have her first vaccines and continues to charm all that meet her.
I have spent a lot of time working with her skittishness and she now just takes the world by storm! That tail could not wag any harder or faster with her wonderful happiness at meeting new people and dogs etc.
When I tend to the horses, she loves to lay on the bales and just keep me company. She is truly a WOW pup!
She is NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION and when/if that time comes, as with all of our dogs, she will only be placed per a right matched personality fit.
Like quite a few of our dogs over the past 23+ years of operating, she is another popular one yet BHRR does not flip dogs, we do not place on a first come first served basis, we only place per right matched personality fit which has enabled us to have a second to none adoption success rate.
100% for over 10 years of operating and now 98% as we go through year 23.
For those interested in her, please do understand that there is only one of her and we must and will only do right by her!
We also want to sincerely thank everyone that has donated items to our flash auctions, shared the auctions and/or participated or may participate!
Your support in words, donations be it items or financial has meant more than you could possibly know.
BHRR’s Volts bills are close to $11,000 right now and she still has several more Vet visits plus procedures to come including addressing her vulva conformity issue – better as she has grown!
Her next Vet Visit is March 26th and we shall re-visit her mouth again and her vulva…lots of close monitoring going on.
Someone recently posted on our facebook page after seeing the Video re: housebreaking and if we are still paper training them. Here is my response:
We never paper trained BHRR’s Sleet or BHRR’s Glacier.
As Summit came to me super young – barely 6 weeks, he had pee pads for all of 24 hours for he picked up housetraining super fast. A friend of mine took care of him while I had to be away and she also found him really brill with his housetraining too.
Do the puppies still have the occasional accident, yes, but rare. They are only four months old and any accidents they do have is not their fault, it is the fault of the humans.
Like any new rescue, regardless of age that comes to us – for many 1, 3 or even older dogs often come to us not housebroken – they all go through the same training for housebreaking. After every play session, nap, eating or first thing in the morning or time-wise – we start at every 20-30 minutes and work our way in ever increasing time increments, they go outside.
We teach scent training and use a faint scent on the door we want them to use to ‘ask’ to go outside and it is a soft fruity scent. So, they learn on their own first by scent and then also by sensation – temp changes, breezes, sun, rain, snow etc.,
Most of these rare accidents will often be right in front of that door.
The Dane Trio rarely even messes in their crates either as I got up every couple of hours to let them out when they first arrived and now they sleep 6 hours straight wonderfully.
They all go out right before bed, are given their special yummy treats – often I will find them already in their crates waiting for me after I open up the door to let them back in and go get their treat, if I had not taken any with me when letting them back in.
What any dog needs is consistency, patience, time, structure, routine and clear open communication in a positive balanced learning and supportive environment.
In the mornings, they all now trot out the door and do their thing.
It was longer to teach then how to use the small ramp that Sean built for our mobility challenged dogs than it was to housebreak them.
Now, they think the ramp is a big game – up and down!
I always tell my behavioural and training clients, if you put all of the necessary efforts and work into things right from the start, you avoid bad habits developing.
We want dogs to be assets to home plus community and the Dane Trio are wonderful pups!
Someone recently posted on our facebook page after seeing the Video – and has not been the first time – re: their hearing and here is my posted response:
BHRR’s Sleet is 100% deaf
BHRR’s Glacier & Summit hear less than 5% – they can only extremely faintly hear some ‘tones’ and even then have no idea where it is coming from. They fall well under the definition of being defined as legally deaf.
It is the vibration they love of the squeaker & the mouth sensation of ‘squishing’ the squeakers.
They have a wide variety of toys that squish and crinkle and even rattle and some ball & KONG toys that even squeak.
They just loved this skinless stuffie that squeaked.
They have skinless stuffies yet none of them squeak and it is a new toy to them, so a big novelty.
I rotate toys every two weeks for all of the dogs to keep things fresh and stimulating.
Someone recently posted – and has not been the first time – on our facebook about how can I tell the Dane Trio Pups apart. Here is my posted response:
As the saying goes, ‘A mother knows’. They are all their own individuals with different personalities, likes/dislikes and they look quite different and are all uniquely their own dog. They are much more/different than just predominantly the colour of white.
They are all different sizes with BHRR’s Sleet being my small, feisty yet mighty girl and will take none of Summits’ ‘crap’. Such a beautiful girl. She is a survivor all the way. She is the most special needs of all three and no one better ever think about putting her into a bubble for she will burst out of it, offended and ready to prove to the world that she is no different than any other dog.
When things get too exciting for her or she feels overwhelmed, I have been the only one to be able to get her to sit, take the deep breaths in, re-collect and be able to come back and focus. When she is overwhelmed, she would grab and shake things to try and release her tension….she is so much better already.
She was really closed and shut in, frustrated that no one could understand or speak her language and now, she has been relaxing and being able to love life in ways that were once closed off.
She is a thinker, does not like to be told ‘no’ and can solve puzzles so fast. She is brilliant! She has done more for Summit’s bad boy ‘tude in a short period of time than I have done in many weeks. She so rules!
She has learned how to open xpens and crates and when she sets her mind to something….watch out!
She is a big risk taker….no fear this one!
She has taken a long time to love to snuggle and cuddle and now, she loves it and is alway crawling on my lap and laying her head on my shoulder. She loves to be rocked. Many special needs dogs can feel threatened by being held and I have worked very hard to demonstrate that touches are good and hands are loving and helpful, not hurtful.
She has had the most anxiety in the car almost from day one and so much improvement being made one baby step at a time.
BHRR’s Glacier is my ‘soft’ boy. Loves everyone and everything. He is happy from the moment he gets up to the moment he falls asleep. His world is full of so much sunshine and rainbows and happiness.
He is very smart in his own special way and he is incredibly loving.
He is my sensitive one. I have worked to build up his comfort and confidence and he is the follower, not the leader. Every time he does do something all on his own, he is praised and encouraged.
Due to his lowered confidence level, he has been the resourcer of the Trio and much patience, consistency, understanding plus time has and remains going into his training program in regards to this. Sharing the communal water bowls is pretty much a non issue now and the rest will come. He is only 4 months old and has already made wonderful progress. With no structure prior to myself getting them, it was a ‘fend’ for yourself mentality and now he is learning, we are here….we will take care of things and no one will lack for anything. He is learning he will get enough food and water and love and things will be ok.
If he could, he would be held in your arms all day, 24/7. He loves human contact and all of the dogs – his loves everything! – and he is the one that relies most strongly on finding my scent and needs to know I am ‘close to him & very around’ yet he is becoming more independent as learns that he is ok on his own four feet.
He is the one that will come to me to ‘tell’ me if one of his siblings has been doing something they should not – ie Summit grabbing a paper towel roll. He is getting so much better at being part of the mischief these days and that is fantastic!
He is honest and soft and so sweet. He just melts your heart in a million ways. He has a monkey side that we are seeing more and more of and he is getting much better at holding his own against his siblings.
We have been working on his excitement level for when he is excited, he wants to grab and jump and that is a big growing Dane. He is a big baby and so proud of his progress too!
Summit – he is my ‘bad’ boy! Very intelligent and loves being cuddled only on his terms and when he is done, he is done!
No fear for this boy! Another big risk taker and as he has been maturing, he is settling into a fine young man.
He was a bit of an inside out bully as I term it and he has come a long way with his manners and he is a star pupil – most days now!
If there is trouble to be had or mischief to be done, you can bet that this fine young man had something to do with it!
He is a delight mix of ‘old’ soul and bratty baby and I have a feeling that he was the one to ‘look’ out for his surviving siblings – 5 of them – and we have been working on showing him that he can be a puppy and let us be the ones to take care of him.
He can be so serious and grown up many times over. Pulls at your heart in some ways and it warms my heart to see him be a puppy.
I could write Gwennie novels about them all, all day long. They have their similarities yet they are very very much their own dogs.
It would be so wrong and it would be doing them an injustice to say they were all the same.
I am so proud of them all!
They are all treated and trained to help each of them reach their incredibly amazing full potential.
The Dane Trio VIDEO
4 months of age – March 9th, 2019
Today was so gorgeous that I began to do kitchen spring cleaning – right before the next big snow & ice storm hits tomorrow – 15+ cms expected! – and I had the whole kitchen dismantled with cupboards emptied, doors off, counter tops piled high as I wiped out, purged and got all tidied up again!
That being said, The Dane Trio kept me company and supervised my efforts!
They are never far away from me…..they always find me! They have been excellent pupils with their scent training!
AND like typical children, they all wanted the same toy – one that squeaks and was given to BHRR’s Connery by his emerge temp foster family! My three beautiful blind mice clearly stole it from him!
I will have to go out and buy The Dane Trio their own squeaker stuffies!
All I wanted to do is make a lunch snack and then load the dishwasher and my gorgeous Dane Trio just had to ‘supervise’.
They dragged toys and giant stuffies into the kitchen and got all settled in!
Sleeping on the job they are and no way am I going to be able to get into the dishwasher now to load it up!
Took me almost 25 minutes just to make a sandwich….and loved every minute of the adventure!
They are now 4 months of age and we will be posting our next flash auction shortly.
Happy Thursday to all of our friends, family plus supporters……
On a side note: I think my rugs are shrinking for no way can I accept that the Dane Trio babies are growing up!
The blind/deaf Dane Trio Puppies!
February 15th, 2019
This picture is one that I took after I got them home from their eye eneucleation surgeries.
Despite all of the comfy dog beds, they wanted to be by my feet as I prepared the other dogs’ night time snacks.
I had promised to update and while I would have liked to have done this sooner, they needed me round the clock.
As always, they have very detailed blogs for anyone that is still not familiar with their story and may think that we just decided to take out their eyes without just cause.
The day of surgery:
BHRR’s Glacier weighed: 20.9 kgs
Summit weighed: 23.2 kgs
BHRR’s Sleet weighed 19.1 kgs
I have already made an extremely detailed post re: Summit and he continues to do quite well.
BHRR’s Glacier – The specialist had the hardest time with his eyes.
They were extremely deformed and difficult to remove. BHRR’s Glacier had to have his eye sockets packed in efforts to stop the bleeding.
Dr. Philibert had felt at one point that he might wrap his face/eyes yet then decided that it may bother BHRR’s Glacier more.
BHRR’s Glacier was the only one – at that time placed on antibiotics also and all three puppies had their fashionable cones to work to prevent them getting at their own eyes, alter incisions and BHRR’s Sleet her umbilical hernia repair.
BHRR’s Glacier did not wake up from his anesthetic well. As soon as I heard the screaming, I went back, put my hand to his nose so he could scent off me and stroked his back and neck soothingly….in a matter of moments after some deep breaths, he settled, was given more pain meds and went back to sleep.
If ever there was a valid reason for scent training, this was it! I am ‘home’ to him and I mean ‘safety’ and he trusts that he will be ok.
More than one staff was in awe of how fast he picked up my scent and relaxed yet I have worked so hard preparing these puppies for this day…I had been working on them being near each other yet apart and having their Giant Stuffies for comfort and all three puppies ROCKED their very long day at the Hospital.
THEY just rocked it! They were calm and quite comfortable. VERY proud of them!
Not even 48 hours post surgery and BHRR’s Glacier bumped into the kitchen island and he, too began to throw some blood clots from his nose.
He managed to get his cone at just the right angle and pull out a couple of his sutures by rubbing…..
BHRR’s Sleet – she kept throwing big blood clots from her nose in post-op recovery and it was monitored closely.
Over the net 48 hours, the clots started to resolve.
She has been the most resourceful one and has managed to use her own cone to rub out some of her own eye sutures plus on her alter/hernia repair site.
So, Miss Sleet also went on antibiotics.
The first night, their IV ports were left in so I could administer their Buprenorphine via IV and I stayed with them all night.
The ONLY time I was away from them was to go to the bathroom and BHRR’s Sleet, the wee monkey managed to get at some of her Vet Wrap covering the PRN(IV catheter plug) off and then get the PRN out.
So, I came back a few minutes later to well….a small scene any horror movie would have been proud of.
So, a bigger cone was put on Miss Sleet and I pulled her catheter out.
AND it was ice packs all around from eyes to private parts and BHRR’s Sleet’s belly to work on getting the swelling down.
Their sutures were to come out between Day 10-14 yet they did not come out until today as being special needs, their healing process has been slow.
We remain incredibly indebted to all that stepped up to help contribute to their mounting Vet Bills.
With their ensuing Vet Visits, additional antibiotics, pain meds etc., we still owe $900 yet will continue to host flash auctions in our efforts to cover those bills.
AND, with BHRR’s Connery, BHRR’s Volt and BHRR’s Barney’s own pressing medical bills, not to mention myself managing to track down the mother of the Dane Trio and as a result, also finding their special needs father – still working on getting them into BHRR; we continue to battle huge bills yet are taking it one breath at a time……
FOR anyone that may think we did not know what we were doing when we had their eyes removed, you would be 100% incorrect. We are the experts with special needs Danes/Dogs as are their incredible Vet Team including their excellent Specialist.
They had a large team at KAH the day of their surgeries including three Vets, one being their Specialist, Dr. Philibert. They were in the best hands possible.
AND……
If anyone may consider donating an item to one of our upcoming flash auctions, please do email contactbhrr@gmail.com
If anyone may consider donating directly to the Vet Bills of these beautiful dogs; you can contact Kanata Animal Hospital 613-836-2848 directly as we have an account there
OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org(friend and family option please so we do not pay fees)
OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*Please note that yes, there is a different address for email transfer over PayPal.
For all of those that have been blessed to meet the Dane Trio puppies to date, remember how happy they were? Even being in such chronic brutal pain, battling constant eye infections?
WAIT, until you meet them now…….even more happy, healthy and normal to them and to all those that love them!
Remember, they did not know life as hearing/seeing dogs to begin with, this is their normal…..now, they will know a future pain-free too!
From our home to all of our friends, families plus supporters, warmest good night wishes are being sent!
BHRR’s Barney Update
75% Lab / 25% Saint
Not long after BHRR’s Barney arrived to BHRR, he became to have grand mal seizures.
In attempting to reach out to his previous owner, no response was had – not surprising – and we are scheduled to see a neurologist as part of the next steps.
All of BHRR’s Barney’s bloodwork had come back normal from what we had done upon his arrival to BHRR and the suspicion is that these seizures are trauma based.
May also explain his visual impairment, he is quite visually impaired yet, and as demonstrated in the one video we posted, is doing fabu with his scent plus touch training. As his confidence level increases, his comfort level and trust in himself also has increased and his movement, even in our 3+ acre fenced is almost completely natural now.
In what little information that I was able to obtain re: his previous vet history paperwork, there is not one mention of any visual concerns or problems at all….really odd for if his previous home ‘got him that way’ and had him at the Vet for exams twice(paperwork indicates they have had him since he was a pup – not 6 weeks as previously indicated), his Vet would would have noted it in the medical records.
LOVE this young man!!
AND we are still ISO: items for our next flash auction as BHRR’s Barney’s own Vet Bills continue to mount.
Please do email gwen@birchhaven.org if you may have something to donate.
As always, thank you from our hearts for any consideration!
