Horsefeathers!

Voted. Only three votes behind now. 8)

I'm pretty open minded and can actually kind of understand why you'd think you were rescuing pet store dogs, though I don't support it. However... [quote name='wrinkles']there are also rescues who over charge for dogs.....give them away for free..you know the costs of doing rescue arent all that high...[/quote] Define "over charge." The cost of rescue work can indeed be quite high. Even if you are fostering a healthy dog, there are vaccinations, heartworm tests, physical exams, flea control and prevention, spaying and neutering since no respectable rescue would ever let an intact dog go, not to mention quality food and every day expenses. However, many rescue dogs have health problems due to genetic disorders (bad breeding, another reason not to support pet stores and irresponsible breeders) or neglect. The list of things that often have to be done in rescue... heartworm treatments ($$$), various surgeries ($$$), treatments for skin problems, allergies, fleas, kennel cough, the list is endless, can all add up. I can say with all certainty that the cost of doing rescue isn't cheap. Me, personally, I do not give away my dogs for free. All of my fosters are current on vacs, heartworm free, free of any internal or external parasites, spayed or neutered, and will in the future be chipped. While I absorb the majority of the cost, I expect any potential adopter to be willing to show me some form of commitment by investing a little in the dog. I can promise you that, as a two person rescue group (me and spouse), we aren't making a profit. I just can't imagine what makes you think the cost of doing rescue is cheap. It's a vicious cycle. Many of the dogs in rescue were originally pet store purchases which supports the demand for even more pet store puppies. I think that's what AAP was getting at. I'm not getting into the whole Ori Pei thing since I really have no input on that one way or the other.

OMG, Jetta! I didn't think of how it would sound when I posted it. You're talking about a lizard, right? ROFL, I meant I got a new computer monitor. You haven't been here in a while, but everyone else is used to me bitching and carrying on about not being able to see on my old monitor. Basically, I was just being a jackass. :oops: Lmao, no, not a monitor lizard.

No, really, just go ahead and guess. Despise guessing games? HA! It's leetle and kinda tan colored. I never realized I could love another one of these so much so quickly. I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning just looking at it. I am SO in love! It's littler than any I've had before, but otherwise perfect. So far, the dogs seem not to have even noticed it. I guess they are so used to the comings and goings around here that it just goes unnoticed. I swear it was smiling at me as it greeted me this morning. Ok, you all know me so well, so by now I'm sure it's perfectly obvious that I've gone and gotten another... MONITOR!! HA! Now I can see!! :D :B-fly: :BIG: :multi: :klacz: :laola: And to keep this dog related (so I could sneak it onto the about dogs board :oops: ), Perry has the trots and Peaches is chewing on a bone. Cool, huh? 8)

I reckon I can offer some objective input about crates since I have about 8374928374023748 crates of different types and sizes laying about my house. I've always liked the wire crates better. I like that they are more open and the dog isn't so secluded. That might just make ME feel better rather than the dogs, but still... Also, with the wire crates, they have a tray that simply slides out if they need cleaning where a plastic vari style crate is harder IMO to clean. You either have to virtually climb into it or disassemble it totally. I figured that when the day came for me to get more crates (we refer to them as kennels), I would buy more wire kennels. I'm actually starting to decide I like the plastic vari kennels better. The thing that pushed that decision is that it contains, err, stuff better. When my dogs were sick with that recent e coli outbreak (and therefore projectile spraying stuff), or when they have the occasional tummy upset, they will get right to the edge of the open wire crates and puke or poop through the bars and outside of them, leaving a mess in the floor, smushed on the bars, sometimes on the dog in the kennel next to them, and still some in the kennel. With the pastic vari style kennels, it stays in the kennel. I mean, it's still a mess and a pain in the butt to have to haul the (larger) kennels out the door to be hosed out, but at least the dog can't projectile spray it everywhere else. Anyway, wire crates, good because they are airy and open and easy to clean (as far as sliding out that tray). Plastic crates, good because they contain any messes to one spot rather than having them spread all around. It's bound to happen that one day (likely will happen more than once), you're going to come home and find that the dog has pooped or puked in the crate. I have no experience with the meshy collapsible crates. I can see my dogs trying to eat them. Edited to add this: I just realized that (I think) the pastic vari style kennels come in different styles. Some of them have the "slots" on the top AND bottom half, therefore leaving it more open. The ones I have (and like) are totally enclosed on the bottom half and only have the openings on the top half. Nothing gets out of that kennel unless it goes out the gate and that usually doesn't happen.

Silly girl! And I thought Labs were the notorious eaters.

My dream is sort of backward. While I love all my critters dearly, I dream of the day when I can live like normal people with only two or maybe three dogs and a c@t instead of ten dogs and five cats like I currently have. I'd like to be able to take a vacation once in a while, or evacuate from an incoming hurricane without having to worry about major logistics headaches (did that one this past hurricane season). I'd still like to be involved with rescue, but more from an administrative or organizational position. More help with transporting which would be more feasible since I would be able to leave home for longer periods (I'd love to do more than just a few hours of a trip.... even a couple of days is fine with me). I'd still like to foster, but will probably try to get some kind of help and organization going so that I don't end up in foster h*ll. Something that will get the dogs more exposure so they aren't stuck here forever. While I intend to have fewer dogs, I intend to be more involved with them. I am planning with certainty to get involved in agility or competitive obedience and am still tossing the idea around of getting into conformation showing. That one's still up in the air, but I am for sure planning on the agility and/or obedience. Basically, fewer dogs, but more involvement. And I'm sure I'll still be grooming, barring any unexpected disasters. Within the next year or so, I plan to be grooming competitively (of course, I say that every year, but breaking my ankle last year really put a lot of my plans on a back burner). I'm definitely going into competition grooming.

Here's hoping Beaux is feeling better. A few of my dogs are having a round of upset tummies (thankfully, NOTHING like the last go round), but it seems to be passing quickly (no pun intended). My little Devin did have to go a round of antibiotics (again, poor little sensitive boy, one problem after another with him :roll: ), but he was feeling better within 24 hours of his initial injection. Perhaps it's just a little bug with your Beaux. I hope so and that he'll feel better soon.

Yeah, kinda like that. Surprised you remembered. :P :lol:

[quote name='scotty_lvr']Do you tip the guy who pumps your gas? or loads your groceries? or cleans your house? when does it stop really?[/quote] Actually, on the rare occasion I do have someone pump my gas or load my groceries, I do tip. I reckon I tip for anything that's considered a service, but only if the service was decent. I don't feel obligated to tip anyone, but will do it if I appreciate the service. For example, I usually pump my own gas or load my own groceries, but if the weather is particularly nasty, I'll "hire" someone to do it for me. Since I do appreciate that help, I'll tip to show my appreciation. That said, I don't think tipping is an obligation. It's a choice. I'm ok with the people who tip (of course), but I'm ok with people who don't. I set my grooming prices high enough to make what I need to make, so tips are just gravy, and I don't have to count on them.

[quote name='newfiemom']...a groomer does the same service as a hairdresser so they should be groomed accordingly. [/quote] Yes, please groom me when I do a good job. There's no telling what I'd look like at the end of the day if it weren't for the clients who show their appreciation by grooming me well. [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0YgA0A8EfqVXYgl35Oidq!IdjBvlEADp!a0a7FM6XFsObxumks5fHahApbkP5Er1n6PM*zyic4YmK0jNDiKtiwAopFIV2smELevsS2SJv8RCEvXlNTI18Y7lquPT0JFJq7uyeDSVDO85qIeECKFzYhA/dog%20laughing.gif?dc=4675403504549084446[/img]

[quote name='Baileysmom']personally I like human names for my dogs (within reason tho, Paul is stupid :wink: ) [/quote] My dog's name is Pauly! [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0YQAAAHIfzzmPoHbo*VO*k6YkVsjsui1KYGfqoPb3PGet0mEYsc71EksSfApXuugKjHdt1Ms4!cD27pQV8nrn8b*0s83Ytvdt2dts!NJwN1kBfq0xh1vIOIlUeJiJyudWRF5IXZkunH8!dvbDLY2Qeg/crying%20girl.gif?dc=4675436072349453090[/img] I like nerdy names these days; maybe it comes with age. I think my next male might be named Odafin (nickname Finny, or you could use Odie... I'm just not crazy about Odie since it's been overdone). Kinda like Odafin Tutuola, the tough guy cop on SVU with the geeky name. I just think it's cool. 8) I love assigning unfitting names to dogs. I am sure I will always have at least a Dobe and a Standard Poodle. In the future, my Standard will probably have a name like Spike or Killer or some such inane thing, while the Dobe would be something like Muffin or FiFi. :P

[quote name='hillside'] HF, you want to answer this one? :lol:[/quote] If you ask me on the right day, I'll say ONE is too many! [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0YQAAAH8fdzuPoHbo*VO*k6YkVsjsui1KYGfqoPb3PGet0mEYsc71EksSfApXuugKjHdt1Ms4!cD27pQV8nrn8Vj4rq6VAJyy03G9q5F!DlEQBrQ1EsXXqelpJTvEtU9iCbXugWc4DavzlgkjjI9lCw/crying%20girl.gif?dc=4675436072349453090[/img] We have ten dogs (and five cats), but no kids, so it works for us. I've cut my work hours way back from what they used to be and the dogs are only home alone for about 6 hours a day (between the time I leave and hubby gets home). We pretty much have a good routine going. What truly sucks is that when one gets sick, they all seem to get sick (anyone remember the recent e coli bout that went through my household?). We do a bit of rescue and we do occasionally foster (anybody want a goofy, lovable, three legged Dobe? Anybody...? :o ). They're all altered housedogs and, for the most part, get along well. We do not allow squabbling at all, no matter how minor it seems. We used to "let them sort it out" (assuming it wasn't too violent), but have discovered that it can progress into much uglier problems, so now we do not allow any kind of resource guarding, space guarding, or ANY kind of squabbling. We just have too many dogs to give it a chance to escalate and since the dogs pretty much know our boundaries and what we will and won't tolerate, they don't seem to have the urge to push it. Where we live, there is no limit on the number of domestic pets you can have. If we were breeding, we'd be bound by certain laws regarding that and have to have a kennel license. Since we don't breed, it's nothing we have to worry about. I would not try to have more animals than the law allows, though, if there WERE limits. I wouldn't want to take the chance of being found out and losing my pets, or losing my home AND pets. We have a decent sized fenced yard, so they do get plenty of exercise chasing squirrels and each other and running the fenceline chasing trucks (never cars, though, for some reason). It's probably not the life of luxury that a dog in a single or dual dog household might enjoy... for example, our dogs get dollar store bargain items and discarded thrift store toys rather than expensive designer doggie items, and we do a lot more "family" stuff like rolling around on the floor getting trompled and snurfed by them rather than a lot of one on one, but it works for us. They do get individual attention and we do like to think we are in tune with each dogs' quirks. We can tell without looking exactly who is walking through the kitchen by the way the steps sound, who is licking their feet, who just sneezed, and such things. While I love ALL of my dogs (and cats) dearly, I can honestly say that I don't think we'll ever have so many at one time again. It truly is a lot of work and we don't get to go on vacation much (read never) since the logistics and expense of kenneling so many dogs and cats and the fact that some of them are special needs animals with certain requirements makes it not even worth it to consider any kind of substantial vacation (not to mention not being able to afford it since critter care can be costly). I wouldn't give up a single one of them for the world, but I think in the future, we'll probably be limited to around 2 or 3(ish) dogs. I don't ever want to have more dogs in the future than I can feasibly travel with. At least, that's our intention. :-?

[quote name='StarFox']most of your posts have me laughing so hard I need to pee. Seriously HF I love the way you write. :lol:[/quote] My poor best friend... yesterday, I showed up at her house whining and bitching about how my morning had gone. She's always a good ear. However, she was also quite amused by my animated replay of the whole thing with full visuals and me acting the whole thing out because, well, I can't just talk with my mouth. Hand and body language are very important in the retelling of any story. I wanted to bitch and moan and she couldn't stop laughing at me doing the shiver shudder there's poo stuck to my bare foot hop on my bad ankle. :oops:

Poor Peaches... she's not still running from me like I have two heads, but she's still very scared of her "food bowl." Actually, for Peaches, we use a big c@t litter tray strapped to an overturned milk crate. She doesn't get an actual bowl because she just snarfs her food down in a few gulps, but scattering it out in a litter tray and tossing a ball in it slows her way down. This morning, she was slowed WAY down because she's too scared to eat, which you can't possibly imagine... Peaches? Gut almighty? I slid her collar off before feeding to avoid any more drama, but she's decidedly afraid of her "bowl." She'd snatch a bite and run to the door. I had to all but hand feed her. Oh well, this, too, shall pass, I reckon. :-?

Ooooooooohhhh, I just remembered... I lied when I placed one of my early fosters. At least, I think I lied. Buster was/is a Chow/Shepherd-ish mix. Well, he looked like any other Chow/Shepherd mix around here. I'm pretty sure there was some Chow in there, anyway, willing to bet on it if there were a way to prove it. The perfect home was lined up for him, but the lady was adamantly opposed to anything that even *might* be Chow, so Buster became a Collie/Shepherd mix :oops: . The lady took him and 120 lb Buster has been there for 2-3 years now living a life of luxury. I don't think she's ever even questioned the Chow aspect.

Pheh, I was so shook up this morning that I finally just left in frustration, though I did NOT go to work (went cell phone shopping instead). I wasn't frustrated with Peaches, but was just pretty unnerved at the entire morning's events, so I decided to give her time to cool off and me time to calm down since having me around the house shaking like a bird crapping peach seeds couldn't have been good for her already shaky morale. It must have worked because I had a great rest of the day and Peaches seemed good as gold by the time I got home this afternoon, glad to see me and all, and trying to flip me over with that shovel she has for a nose. I just hate that she seems to take everything so personally. It happens all the time... she trips over something or bangs into something and seems to "blame" the person closest to her, as if it were an intentional act of abuse. Oh well, we both survived the day and tomorrow is Friday, so if we can just get through that, it's a downhill slide (as opposed to a downward spiral?). Wish us luck!

So it's, what, 9:30 am my time. So far, my day has gone like this: Step BARE footed in poo someone drug in from outside (this is right out of bed... I'm not at my best right out of bed :-? ). Do the shiver shudder hop on my BAD ankle until I find something to get it off with. Realize that one of the cats has peed on the clothes I had laid out on the couch last night to wear today (cats have now lost the privilege to be out at night and will now be confined to their room which is the way it USED to be, anyway... now I remember why). Am making tea when the pitcher basically explodes. Tea all over me, the counter, the floor, h*ll, the whole kitchen. Hear an uproar and screaming to wake the dead and it's Peaches. A little insight to understand how this happened... for elevated feeders, we are basically using overturned milk crates with bowls bungeed down to them to keep them from sliding off. Never been a problem in all these years. Well, Peaches' collar somehow got hooked to the bungee strap (s hook) and that set into motion a chain of events that could best be described as comical... if it had happened to anyone else :x . Remember, Peaches is from an abuse case and is very easily spooked. She got hooked, food overturned, Peaches took off, milk crate attached to her neck, Peaches even more spooked, screaming like a banshee. All this time, I'm making the exploding tea and turn to try to figure out what's going on. I had to virtually sit on Peaches to get the thing off her because she was so freaked out and talking her down wasn't getting anywhere... she was already in a panic. I got the attached milk crate off her and let her outside because, let's face it, by then she's spraying pee and poo everywhere. Oh, great, my little wooden doodad thingy that hangs on my wall has fallen down and basically self destructed, my pictures are scattered across the floor among the wreckage and I now have a lovely fist sized hole in my wall where the corner of the milk crate went through. That's in addition to the tea droozlin's all over the kitchen which really doesn't look much worse than the half inch of mud that's been tracked in since it's raining. It looks right like we've been fighting in here. I can live with the broken stuff and even the hole in the wall... sheetrock is pretty easy to patch, anyway, and I can clean up mud and tea and poop and pee and whatever else I'm likely to find among the wreckage. The thing is now Peaches is sooooooooo spooked. She's since come back into the house, but she won't have anything to do with me. She's afraid of me, as if I did it to her. I can understand how she might think that since I was very abruptly trying to get that crate off, but I wasn't angry at all. Just trying to free her from her "demon" and it was just one of those times you couldn't talk her down. She was flailing and flipping and I thought she was going to hurt herself and it was like she couldn't hear me, so I basically pinned her down to get it off. She's bolted into her crate now and won't come out. I've laid on the floor in front of her and talked and soothed and bribed. I know it's serious because she won't accept treats and there can't be a more food motivated dog. It hurts my heart to know how much we've tried to build confidence in this dog and now she's back at square one. I've called my clients and cancelled today's appointments. I'm staying home. I can't leave Peaches here all freaked out and I also need to clean up this mess. It almost looks like a crime scene. If I learned one valuable lesson, it is to take Peaches' collar off when we feed her. :-? All this happened in the span of about 20 minutes. So how was YOUR morning? :-?

When our Penny bit a kid that was tormenting her, we told AC that she was a Boxer mix. It's not [u]really[/u] a lie since she was a Boxer/Pit mix. It may be unethical, but I didn't want to put a feather in the cap of the BSL people, or contribute to already skewed statistics. Penny was unstable and likely had some sort of neurological problems (the vet believes) and we eventually put her down. Her problem was NOT her "breed" or mix, so I did not wish to have her tossed in with a lot of other statistics that "prove" Pit Bulls and their mixes are inherently dangerous.

While I don't have much experience with laser surgeries, I've stood in on literally hundreds of traditional "knife" spays and neuters and very rarely see much blood. Usually, the ones in heat are the ones that will bleed a bit more if it's going to happen. I don't know if my vet is just very skilled, or if that's the norm (very little blood), but I'm comfortable enough with the traditional surgery to not spend the extra money for laser. I also see very little in the way of swelling or inflammation afterward. I'm sure it does depend on the vet a lot. I'm not saying that there aren't benefits to laser surgery vs. traditional surgeries. Only that, at least regarding a routine op like spay or neuter, I'm comfortable enough with the "old" way. PPG, the pre-surgery bloodwork in our clinic used to be optional for reasons you mentioned, but my vet has changed protocol and requires it on all surgeries, teeth cleanings, and just about anything that's going to be anesthetized. He just builds it into the cost of the surgery now instead of having it separate. We've seen young and seemingly healthy animals crash, though not often, and he has decided not to give people the option of declining the bloodwork. The surgeries will cost the same with it or without it now, and since it doesn't save money to decline it, no one does. Cost in our clinic for a spay on a small dog runs around $130-$150... not sure the exact amount since I get a discount and, to be honest, almost never look at my bill, anymore :oops: , but that's pretty close . That would include the bloodwork, anesthesia, pain shot, surgery and the subsequent re-check when the sutures are removed. I have to agree that what you're paying seems a lot more than I'd expect in a more rural environment and away from areas like NYC or LA.

My next "new" furniture will be cheap futons embellished with fitted coverings and foofy pillows. I was once considering leather, but I just don't think I want the stress of having to worry about it. One of my cars has leather seats which I thought was a grand idea when I got it. I figured it would be easier to clean with the dogs and all. It is, actually. It also has a puncture from Peaches. She wasn't digging at it or anything. She was simply jumping it or out of it. I reckon it was one of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time. Now I have to try to figure out how to get the puncture repaired before it starts tearing. :-?

:madgo: :bad-words: I don't know what this gal's problem is lately! For months, she stayed in my house loose all day long and never bothered a thing. Now it's like she's leaking brain cells! The other morning, when I was getting ready for work :morning: , I heard something going rrrrrrrrrrrrrripppppppppp, zzzziiiiippppppppppp, sssssssssscrunch... I checked and Peaches was on MY bed (where she's not allowed due to boundary training) shredding MY bedding :eek3: !! My favorite squishy king sized foof blanket was flying off the bed in pieces as if it were being fed through a shredder. AARRRRRRGHHHHHHHH! :bigcry: I don't know what her deal is lately! Matty, that's really clever about the peppermint thing, but I honestly don't think Peaches is confused as to what's acceptable to chew on and what's not. I mean, I truly think she knows that she's not supposed to be chewing up the furniture, but I can't understand why, after all these months here, she's going nutso. She's doing SO well in other aspects (no more of the dog aggression she had begun displaying), but now this ripping things up business... I just don't get it. There are puh-lenty of toys and chewies here and she usually makes good use of them. She's still in lockdown when we're not home. She no longer gets free run of the house when no one is there to monitor her. She's getting a very tough lesson in boundaries and behavior. It's such a shame because she has always been so trustworthy left alone in the house for several hours at a time until now. Could it be that my friend "ruined" Peaches? Maybe it's just that Peaches has been here long enough now for her "true" self to be showing? She's still lovable and affectionate and is not acting differently otherwise... it's just this destructo phase she's going through that has me puzzled (and admittedly frustrated). It's nothing we can't deal with and she's certainly not the worst thing we've ever encountered. I'm just puzzled at the seemingly sudden "rebellion." :niewiem:

BK, I'll certainly write. Consider it done.

Geez, I'm really sorry to hear that about Haley. I'm positive that whatever decisions you make will be based on love and compassion. The cart thing sounds doable in theory (but again, only you will be able to decide if she has decent quality of life). We had initially considered donating Rocco's cart to anyone who might need it (he was paralyzed in his rear and the cart was "front driven"), but since we now have Peaches and she only has that one rear leg, we've decided to hang on to it just in case anything ever happens to that one good rear leg. We've seen her take some ugly spills when getting excited running and trying to change directions too quickly, and I'm always so afraid she's going to injure herself. Your situation with Haley is really food for thought. I'd never even considered anything like bone cancer. I hope you guys get some best case scenario type of news. I'm just so sorry to hear you're faced with this. Good luck to you and best wishes for Haley.

We used to have a little deaf Yorkie and he was also pretty much blind as well (could only see very emphatic movement). Even with all that "against" him, he was able to kinda sorta learn more than we would have given him credit for. Dogs adjust amazingly well in the face of adversity. I reckon it's because they don't know how to feel sorry for themselves. To get his attention, we simply clapped really loudly, or stomped on the floor if in the house. His recall in doing that was probably better than any of my other dogs. He'd ALWAYS come if he "heard" you calling. He was pretty cool. In considering taking in special needs dogs, I'd take another deaf (and/or blind) dog in a second.