Rusty & His Amazing Progress!

Well, it's been well over a year since I adopted Rusty. He has lost close to 25 pounds (give or take), and my original estimation of his weight was, well, wrong - he wasn't over 90#, he was in the 80's. Now, Rusty is closing in on 60 pounds, and is looking so much more svelte than ever! I am amazed at how he has changed.

First, when I brought Rusty home, he was a terrible mess. He was awfully depressed, obese, matted, nails that were too long, breathing problems, plaque-coated teeth, and sores all over his body. I wasn't truly sure we would ever really bond, as his state of being was so inconsolable.

So, as I wrote earlier, I took him in to the back yard, down the steps, where he had, of course, diarrhea (which is common when dogs are taken out of their established environment and put into uncommon situations for them - a sign of discomfort and insecurity, I suppose). I cut as much matting off as I could, and I brushed and I brushed, and I brushed, until my back lawn was covered in clumps of hair, truly. I should have photographed it, but alas, my attention was on him.

Because he did have the diarrhea, he became, shall we say, messy. So I bathed him, as well, which also helped me discover fleas, bites, and sores about his abdomen. I was very depressed about this, but more about him and his helpless situation.

When I first saw him, he was like a low lying ottoman, in a smoke-filled room, with no yard, and no real space to move. I believe he had been eating tons of cat food (as there were cats there, as well), and hadn't been prone or led to any form of exercise or outdoor play. The owners were incredibly depressed, as well, having lost their jobs, and were in the process of being put into Section 8 housing. This meant giving away their cats, Rusty and a bird. There had been interest in Rusty, but once people saw him, they shied away because of his condition. So, the owners had pretty much accepted that they would have to put him in a shelter, where they were told he would be euthanized because no one would want him. I found this out the week I accepted him into our family.

I had to load Rusty in to the car to bring him home. He was quite, but afraid and quite tense.

Back to the rehab....

I also carried him up the stairs to the back deck, and brought him inside. I brushed his teeth, which were concrete grey. Ick. He kept looking at me, wondering who the heck I was, and why was I doing this to him. I kept speaking to him to reassure him. There was a dullness in his eyes, which concerned me, as well.

Then we went to Pup-A-Razzi, down the road, and they groomed him, and brushed him out. They also cut his nails, which were as long as my fingers! Of course, this was a few days later (I had to make an appointment), and after I realized this problem whilst walking him (which he didn't want to do, but after the first one, decided it was kind of fun - I walked him on a short one, then Skallywag on a longer one. When we came back from our short one, he began demanding to go with Skally on the longer one, and I figured, 'Sure, why not?!'

So, after many months of a diet change (we now eat Costco Brand Natural food - it's 1/2 the price of the premiums, and it's pretty much the same - tooth brushing, on a regular basis, walking daily, things have changed.

Remember when we would go to the park, especially the first week, it would be all he could do to muster the strength to get through across the field and into park? Then he'd lie down and just wait until we would go home. Of course, he might get up and pee, or poo, but that was it. Well. Well. Well. Now, he bolts out of the car, and may sniff with Sammy and Skally, but then, if I'm not quick enough to get the leash on, he darts across the field with a huge smile on his face to the park. And, once we're inside, he makes himself at home by sniffing around, going up to the people and greeting them, and their pups.

And he barks. Yes. I was told he didn't ever bark. 3 weeks after adopting him, he began to bark. He talks and let's me know everything that's on his mind. At home, though, he tends to be quieter, but at the park he demands (along with Skally and Sammy) that I run and run and run around and around and around, with them chasing me. He's becoming quite fast. He even intervenes with dogs he believes need rounding up.

Nipping - Well, he did nip me last spring, after he'd lost over 10 pounds, and I wasn't moving quickly enough. That hurt, and the bruising lasted over a month! He and I had a little chat about that, and now the nipping has all but vanished.

When my mum first saw him, she called him a piece of furniture. Now, he's really slimmed down, and she marvels at him. Last summer, my nephew, Damien, noted that he had semi-hard fat pockets on his shoulders. I hoped this would go away. They did.

His arthritis has also diminished. We used Spunk (a powder with enzymes, Omega-3's, condroitin, and glucosamine, and other goodads) and fish oil, which really seemed to do the job. Now, he occasionally gets the fish oil, but he's moving well on his own.

So, the depressing situation I acquired has become a fortuitous one. We've bonded, Skally and Sammy love him, as do I. At this writing, he is lying next to me, sleeping after our morning walk. He is almost always by my side (except this morning, when he decided we were going through one gate at the school, but we were continuing on, and after 5 minutes of waiting for him to see we weren't coming, we went after him; we found him slowly wandering up the sidewalk on the way home, and he turned and began smiling and wagging that we had come for him....Why he didn't turn around and come back, I'm not sure...but he is golldarned stubborn!!).

I am hoping he is a companion for years to come, as I wish it for Skally and Sammy, as well.

It would be wonderful to hear tips from people, on here, as well, about rehabbing dogs.

Sammy - a brief introduction to the little guy.

Wow! I'm actually writing another one on the same day! Go figure! Now, a little about Samson. Sammy is a Peke-a-Poo, and weighs in at about 16 pounds. He's full of very positive energy, and he's 5. Talk about confident! He adores Skally, but hogs the couch, and growls at her when she comes over to sprawl (you'd think there'd be more than enough room for the two of them, and me, but Nooooooo!) He has his stuffed Eyeore, which gets washed regularly, as Eyeore becomes quite soiled from all the lugging and tugging and tossing about in and out of the house. In fact, Sammy demands that Eyeore accompany us to the dog park - but the poor thing never leaves the floor of the backseat - which Sammy is very aware of, as when we get home, he runs around to the other side of the car in the garage, and waits for me to open the door to let Eyeore out. Possessive? We play with Eyeore a great deal, obviously. IN fact, I'll hide Eyeore around the house when Sammy isn't paying any attention (like in the mornings when I'm up, but he's still buried in the pillows on the bed). Then, when he does get up, and he's gone out to evacuate his fluids and solids, I'll ask him where Eyeore is. OMG! He takes off and recons the house! There is very little that isn't investigated - except where Eyeore really is - and that's usually very close to one or two of the places he's looked! Finally, he finds him and all is well in his little world. Sammy at the dog park. When I first received Samson, we went to Hazeldale dog park, and he just wanted out! Seriously. He did not like it at all - all those dogs were too big and scary! I figured it would be only a matter of time. So, we went to Gabriel Park (Summer area). Uh Oh. A dog came up to him to sniff, and Sam just took off like a bat out of Hell and in nano seconds he was by the front gate, having coursed through the entire park in what seemed one fell leap! So, we went to Summerlake. Of course, not many dogs were there (try none), and we walked twice around the lake in our typical figure 8 (which Skally demands as it is no great feat to do). I began noticing that Skally and Rusty were trying to keep up with Sammy on our usual morning walks. I take them off leash at the elementary school yard down the road, and did the same with Sam, praying that he wouldn't run away - and he didn't. He scurried about running as though he was in paradise; but he came when called, and gave the two others a spring in their step. One evening, after a rather warm, humid day, we went back to Hazeldale. How odd. There were two Italian Greyhounds there, Chuck and Chance, who proved to be a panacea for the little guy. He played with them for what seemed hours, and had no problems at all being there. I felt blissful. Since then, Sammy has taken on all dogs of all sizes, feeling quite confident. There's Cody, the husky, who growls and snarls and gnashes his teeth while we're coming through the gate - and when we enter, Rusty and Sam chase him all around the park. Sammy loves Cody, and he loves bullying him, as well. He has no fear of the other dogs. He goes up to them, waits, and when they give permission he gets right up to them. If they don't give permission, then he simply backs up and goes on his merry way. Lately, it's evident that we are now truly a family, with Sammy and Rusty. Skally, who usually keeps her distance from the rest of us (she did this, as well with Syd and Cubby, but still came over to the couch to rest), has decided after a 1.25 year hiatus, to begin snuggling on the couch - when Sammy allows her - or she lays next to me on the floor, and gets her loves. Rusty is always nearby expecting me to pet him, as does Sammy, and Skally, as well. But, after years of having 3 dogs, it's a pleasure to have them. Sammy adores Skally. He follows her around the park, and the yard, and she him - it's as though they're partners. I'm so blessed to have such wonderful dogs in my life. I hope they like me.... :)

A whole year! An entire year has passed since I last wrote in this blog. I can't believe I've been so remiss. Well, here's the scuttle-butt on what's happened in those 12 months: 1. Rusty's weight was down to 68 in July. That's huge. Our vet, Dr. Leddy, was amazed at the progress! 2. Fish Oil. Skally has been on Cod Liver Oil and her arthritis has really diminished! 3. Birthdays - Rusty turned 10 on August 16, Skally 14 on September 2, and Samson turned 5 on August 7. 4. Deaths - Our dear friend, S. Ann Baynton died the Friday after Labor Day from complications arising from her Bile Duct cancer. Her dogs, Daisy and Parker (a black lab that Skally used to play with, and her golden retriever) played with mine rigorously during that week, and the next, until the designated adopter came to pick them up. 5. Trips - we went to the beach with our friend, Dan LeBlanc and his brother Duane and Duane's family. We enjoyed a long romp on Crescent Beach where Skally, Rusty and Sammy played and played. They slept the entire way home! Yay! We also ventured to Port Angeles for Xmas, and oddly, Mom had already fallen in love with Samson. She just couldn't stop marveling at him and his very confident attitude. 6. Adoptions - We adopted Samson from our neighbor, Annmarie Doran, around the 1st week of August. Annie was moving to Las Vegas to care for her mother, so she took a leave of absence from work, and since the yard there was just cacti, and with the heat, she felt it wrong to bring him; we had known Sammy since he was a puppy, and the transition was pretty simple - although, he still has the habit of running over there and pooping and peeing in the yard. He also still sits on the back deck, looking down on her old deck, waiting for Frenchie to come out and bark with him and Skally. Okay. I know, Boring. But it's not. The last weekend, I decided we needed to go to Thousand Acre Park in Troutdale, if only to investigate this "incredible dog park" we'd heard so much of. Well, we found it - and thank goodness we had the gps! Samson and Rusty took off once we were in the dogpark part of the park, but Skally, who was low energy (she hadn't eaten her dinner or breakfast, but was still drinking water and eating chicken strips) lagged. We hiked down to the river, following all the other dog owners who were throwing balls for their dogs, or ran, or simply hiked. Skally, oddly enough, refused to go into the water - very uncommon for her. She wouldn't even drink! Rusty, of course, sated his thirst quite well. We then hiked back, thinking we were taking an alternate route to link up with the original trail. HA! This place is HUGE! We had no idea where we were. We had to have hiked at least 4-7 miles until we found the car (which we did, constantly asking directions from people who seemed to know). On the return home, Skally did her thing of keeping her head out the window, but when we got home, she dragged herself in and began shaking, sniffing, and refusing to lie down. Very odd behavior. Mom called, and I told her about it. She told me to call the vet immediately. I did. Jen, at Dr. Leddy's office told me to just watch her and she tentatively scheduled an appointment for 320. Well, after an hour, Skally had made it to the bedroom, and was resting comfortably. I brought her some chicken strips, and then brought her food to her. I also brushed her teeth (which she had angrily stopped me from doing earlier). She ate a good deal, and then went back to sleep. Now, a few days later, she's romping about, again. I'm not sure what happened, except she hadn't had any cod liver oil for a while, and with the windchill, and the amount of hiking, and her legs, probably aching from the drives to, around, and from Port Angeles, were very tired and sore...(because she spends 90% of the time with her head out the window - believe me, it's agony for her not to do this (for her and the rest of us!) We're about to head out for a walk after breakfast and some playing in the cold, frigid, 25 degree weather....my toes is froze! Happy New Year! I will endeavor to write more often and to keep a better pace on updating on events....recaps just don't do them justice, do they!?