Moonlight and Mayhem

The animal shelter in Glen Rose, TX is full, and the following dogs are running out of time. Most are small, or on the small side of medium. Many are puppies under 12 weeks old. If these dogs cannot find foster or forever homes, the shelter will have to start euthanizing because they have no more space.

Please share this information with anyone you know who might have room in their home and in their heart, and if you can help, please email adoptions@shelter2rescue.org, text LIZ at (214) 616-6128 or contact KIM at (817) 233-9109.

Transport help is available.

This link has pictures of ALL the dogs: http://fototime.com/inv/3008214D5E6A70F.

This link has video of the pointer/boxer puppies: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrOmsZwtoRs.

Dogs with the word SAFE after their names have found homes or space in rescue.

Toby

TOBY is a victim of divorce. 9 years old and her former owners left her at the shelter when they divorced and poor Toby cannot understand how one day she was at home and the next day was homeless. We know, given her age, its a long shot, but she doesn’t deserve what has happened to her, and she still has lots of living to do…if she just gets the chance.

Destiny

DESTINY is very loving little girl who only weighs about 30 pound, and this is not her first time on the danger list. She was removed from it when the adoption coordinator discovered that she was pregnant, so that she could have her puppies. There are three, and they all have that “smush face” boxer look. Kim says:“If you can help Destiny and her pups, please act quickly. They are about two weeks old – Destiny is about a year…..and let me crawl around in her pen with her babies…..very trusting!”

Maggie

MAGGIE is a border collie girl and is about a year old. She is HW Negative, has been wormed, and had 5-way and Rabies vaccinations. She is a little timid, but warms up quickly. She is a precious girl. Can anyone help her?

Grant

GRANT is a big beautiful blond boy, with one partial blue eye. He is not quite sure how he ended up in the shelter and is a bit overwhelmed by it all. He’s only about a year old and weighs about 60 lbs. He looks like a lab/golden mix.

Tanya

TANYA is a little girl….15 or so lbs….we think she might be a terrier/heeler mix. She is only about 8 months old and has a lovely temperament. She loves to cuddle!

Blue

BLUE is a little boy, maybe 25 lbs, and just a year old. He has had all of his shots, including rabies. He is precious and look at those stunning blue eyes. Very sweet boy.

Boxer-Pointer Puppies

These Boxer/Pointer Puppies are beyond precious. There are four of these boxer pointer mix pups…..3 girls and 1 boy…..and one of them has the most beautiful green eyes. At only 10 weeks old, they sure do need to get out of the shelter fast. Can you help them?

Husky-Lab Puppies

These 9 Little Husky/Lab Pups are 9-week-old, tiny little fluff balls that need to get out soon. Please help them.

Diana

Diana is a roughly 5-month-old little shepherd mix girl. She is a little timid at first, but she does warm up when she’s given a bit of time. She cuddles and hugs you when you hold her. So sweet…

Susie

Susie is a little 12-week old-shepherd mix pup. Precious little face…..with a tan body.

DAISY MAY

Daisy May (SAFE!) is a purebred german shepherd. She’s about 7 years old but looks and acts much, much younger. She is SPAYED, UTD to vaccinations, including rabies, and has been on heartguard. She is very gentle, and a smart girl.

FRECKLES

Freckles (SAFE!) is such a character and a shelter favorite! Fluffy and friendly, she loves people, kids, and other dogs. She’s about 3 years old; is spayed and has had her 5 way vaccination. Her pictures do not do her justice – she is really beautiful. She is also a small girl as well.

OSCAR

Oscar (SAFE!) is an 18-month-old Chi-weenie…sweet temperament…weighs about 12-15 lbs.

If you can save even one of these precious lives, please call or text Liz at (214) 616-6128, or Kim at (817) 233-9109. Transport help is available.

When we left the house on the first Sunday in February, I had no intention of adopting a puppy. I mean, we’d talked about getting another dog, but always said, “Zorro would kill us if we brought a dog into the house.”

But I erred, you see. I allowed Fuzzy to go to Petsmart unsupervised while I went to buy sewing notions for my mother’s birthday.

“You have to come here,” he said.
“Why?” I asked – this was via text. “Are there dogs?”

As most Petsmarts do, our branch of choice was hosting a rescue group, Shelter 2 Rescue, and they had dogs like crazy, mostly medium and large dogs, and one sleepy, mouthy baby boy.

“I’m busy,” I said. “We’re not getting another dog right now, remember? Zorro’s sick, and…”

“I know,” he said, “But he’s cute. You have to see him. Here, I’ll send a picture.”

So he did. It looked like this:

Fuzzy said, “He looks like Cleo. Come see.”

So I went, and saw. And a few minutes later I had my arms full of squirmy puppy, all scented of baby shampoo and corn chips (puppy feet smell like corn chips). And after Max tried to eat my earring, I knew I liked him.

We weren’t sure though. A puppy is a lot of work, and we had Zorro and Cleo already. We signed up to be a foster home, and set up an appointment for a home visit, and I kept thinking about the puppy.

A few days later, friends came over for coffee, and I kept saying, “I think I want him.” I’m not sure if I wanted to be talked out of or into it, but I emailed the shelter folks, and said, “If the black and white puppy hasn’t been adopted yet, we’re interested.”

And so, the next week, we took home BLUE, who was a foster blue heeler, and Max, the puppy. (He came with the name, and I’d always wanted a dog named Max, so we kept it.)

That was a month and a half ago. Max the Monster Pup^TM, is now almost 20 pounds of dog, is bigger than Cleo, and is eating everything in site. We’re not quite sure what he is – some people have said pit bull / heeler, and some said Boston terrier / heeler. Our vet agreed with the latter – he’s too lean to be a pit mix, and at nearly four months and not yet twenty pounds, while he seems big to us, he’s small for that breed. (While some have said they don’t see heeler in him, that’s the one part of his lineage of which we’re certain. His mother was a blue heeler.)

Sadly, he’s not the brightest of boy puppies. Cleo was doing tricks at his age, and Max is still learning his name. He’s not cuddly, but will “check in” with me every few minutes, and greets me with kisses, when he’s not smugly carrying off my slippers.

He doesn’t take the place of Zorro, of course, but he has made the transition easier.

Miss Cleo

Meet Cleo.

I don’t believe in buying pets from pet stores, with the possible exception of fish. Miss Cleo was adopted from a shelter operating through Andy’s Pet Store in San Jose, California, long after they’d stopped selling puppies. She’s a mutt, but her dominant breeds are Jack Russell Terrier, Chihuahua, and Cocker Spaniel. We often joke that every single small, neurotic dog has been compressed into her form.

Cleo was my first experience with a puppy, or at least, my first as an adult. She was eight weeks old when she came home with us, and had been alone in her x-pen all day, as her smaller, more docile sister had been the first to be adopted, and her two brothers were in a separate x-pen. I was wearing a black and white sweater the day we went to look at her, and she hooked her tiny claws into the wool, and never let go. To this day, she is extremely clingy with me.

Cleo has a bit of an aggressive streak, and she’s a fear barker. Also, she just LOVES any excuse to bark. We’ve worked with trainers, and just hired a new one to work with her even more. She doesn’t bite (except the vet), but she’s very loud despite being only 22 pounds, and can be intimidating.

We often call her Miss Cleo, to remind her to behave with better manners. It doesn’t work. Much.

Cleo will be nine in April.

Zorro Dog

Meet Zorro.

Zorro was found wandering the streets of San Jose, CA in the fall of 1998, during a major rainstorm. My stepfather brought him to me because he thought I’d fall in love with him. He was right.

When we got Zorro, he had no language, no collar, no tags. He weighed just five pounds, and every rib was clearly visible even though he has a double coat. He was skinny, wet, cold, and infested with fleas. He crawled into my lap and went to sleep five minutes after I met him.

After he was clean, warm, and dry, we called the various animal shelters and attempted to find his owner. No such luck. We decided to keep him, and had him vaccinated, microchipped, and neutered. During the week before the neuter appointment, he earned his name, because his facial markings were dark enough then that they looked like a mask, and he was leaving his own mark everywhere.

Six months after we adopted Zorro, I was on my way to work one morning, when he collapsed in what I later learned was a grand mal seizure. Thus began my education in canine epilepsy.

For three years his seizures escalated from every few months, to every other Monday, from one, to clusters where he’d have seizure after seizure for 24 hours. It got so bad, that at one point we were advised to put him down. Finally, in 2001, we found a vet who combined traditional drug therapy with acupuncture and Chinese herbal therapies. It took another six months, but by 2002, he was seizure free.

With the exception of a phasic seizure or two during the last year, he hasn’t exhibited any signs of seizures, however, he is a compulsive licker, of anything he can reach, especially my feet, and such behavior is usual for epileptic animals.

In October, 2006 Zorro was diagnosed with a stage three heart murmur, while he was kenneled during a trip out of town. He was put on a blood pressure medication, and seemed stable.

In December, 2007, Zorro developed an abscessed tooth. Dental problems are extremely common in small dogs, and usually go hand-in-hand with heart disease. (This is true in humans as well.)

In January, 2008, it was determined that Zorro’s heart murmur was more advanced – a stage four – but that he was stable enough for dental work. Because of his history of epilepsy, he has to be masked for all surgery, anyway, not knocked out with injectable drugs.

In February, 2008, Zorro had four teeth removed.

In May, 2008, Zorro’s heart murmur had progressed to stage six of six, and his heart had enlarged to the point that it was pressing on his trachea, causing a cough, especially at night. We added lasix to his enalapril. Lasix is a diuretic often used in racehorses.

In November, 2008, Zorro had a lung infection, and we were advised to prepare ourselves for the fact that one morning, he won’t wake up. His heart murmur wasn’t worse, but his lungs were filled with fluid. We increased the frequency of his lasix, and put him on VetMedin and a two-week course of antibiotics. For two days he refused meds and food. Then he decided he’d had enough of being sick and resumed normal patterns.

As of January, 2009, Zorro still has heart problems, and as a fourteen-year-old dog, his time is short, but his blood pressure is good and his lungs are clear. We’ve been reminded that he could leave us at any time, but that until he acts sick, we should treat him like a healthy dog.

I used to be able to pass for sane. Really. And then last week, Fuzzy texted me from the pet store while I was shopping for my mother’s birthday present at the fabric store next door:
“Come here,” he wrote.
“Why?” I asked, “Is it adoption day at Petsmart?”

It was.
Now, understand that we visit the pet store every couple of weeks to buy dog food for Zorro and Cleo, and stock up on bully sticks and see if there are any cool toys we just have to have. Often, we also look at the dogs that are up for adoption, since Petsmart lets local rescues bring in their animals.

Most of the time, several rounds of the chant “We have two already” do the trick.

But then there was Maximus. He’s being referred to as a Boston Terrier, though he really isn’t one, entirely, which means when he’s grown he’ll be roughly Cleo-sized. He’s male, which is good, because Cleo won’t mesh with another female, but Zorro’s indifferent, and he’s only a puppy, so pretty malleable.

We didn’t take him immediately, of course. He’s a puppy after all, and (see above) we have two already. We actually filled out a fostering form, but I was obsessing about the puppy. It felt right. I didn’t even know his name was Maximus until after we’d been approved to take him, three days later.

In the meantime, there’s Blue, who is currently on death row at another shelter, that Shelter 2 Rescue works with. We weren’t expecting to foster quite so soon, but he’s out of time, and so cute – he’s a blue heeler mix – that we had to get him out.

So on Sunday our menagerie grows by two.

Well, it’s never boring at our house.