Toby makes a discovery

Why, yes, I do fit through the cat door!

Foster 8: Toby (aka Snoop)

Our 8th foster's prison name is "Snoop" but he seems to be a Toby to us. Here's his writeup:

My name is Toby, and I am a one year old Vizsla/Beagle mix.

I get along great with the other dogs in my foster home. We run and play around the house for hours. Sometimes I even forget that they are three times my size—I only weigh about 20 pounds.

Something else I love to do is snuggle! Every night I climb on to my foster mom’s lap to sleep while she watches television. Sometimes she even picks me up and carries me around. I think this is great!

There is one other thing I love to do, but my foster parents don’t like it so much. I don’t know what the big deal is—that furry white hairball meows at me all the time. He is just begging for me to chase him around the house.


Okay, so there might be one other thing I do that my foster parents don’t love. I howl when I am lonely. I am part beagle though—what do they expect from me? In my humble opinion, I am the perfect dog and these minor “issues” just add to my overall charm.


Toby is neutered, housebroken and is ready for his forever home. He has been waiting patiently since March, 2008.

Foster 6

We've named our new foster Laney Boggs, but she's less of a dog and more of a small black bear. She's stout - part Rotteweiler. I like to think the other part is Bernese Mountain Dog. Every morning, when I let her out of her crate, she crawls into my lap... all 60 lbs. of her. She's got a little growing to do yet, I think.





Plus, Gracie Ann (finally) got adopted!

Foster 5.5?

Gracie Ann is back; apparently she's become the boss dog at the shelter, so she needs some time on the outside to get rehabilitated. Here's 30 seconds of her playing King of the Hill on the furniture with Buddy - you'll notice that she's winning.

Dog eat dog

Caption: A vicious 6-month-old Puggle puppy, known as Tony the Corkscrew, attacks an innocent victim in Columbia, Mo. on Dec. 27, 2007.




Tony is our fourth foster, a pug/beagle mix (aka the "designer breed" puggle). We grabbed him right before Christmas because the shelter was getting overwhelmed.






A man of taste, in addition to eating American Pit Bull Terriers, Tony also likes to sample the occasional blanket.

Heidi update

Columbia Second Chance was able to take in Heidi and get her taken care of. They think it isn't cancer, but a salivary gland infection. Apparently it's healing up quite well and she's now listed on their Web site as adoptable.

Hooray!

Gracie Ann

Hmmm, this is quickly becoming my foster dog log...

Here's Gracie Ann. Our third foster dog, she's been with us the longest because of a series of health problems beginning with kennel cough.

If you look at the full size version of the picture above, you'll also see that her one eye is a little red. It became very eventually. Now she has to wear an Elizabethan Collar, or e-collar (so named because, like Al Bundy, Elizabethan-era Brits were prone to scratching themselves and, thus, needed to wear these crazy collars).

Also, she keeps breaking it, so now it's pieced together with duct tape. It's pretty hilarious looking in a pitiful sort of way.

A home for Pepper Blossom

Pepper has already been adopted! We'll get another foster dog later today - some sort of Doberman mix.

Foster Dog!

This dog needs a permanent home!

A few weeks ago we sent in an application to become dog foster parents for the Central Missouri Humane Society. A short training session later, and our first foster dog arrived yesterday, Pepper Blossom.

CMHS is smart. They start you off with the easy dogs.

Pepper (or Peps, or Peppy, or Pepsid AC, or The Peppinator) is just getting over a case of kennel cough. She is incredibly sweet and likes to stretch out across your lap on the couch or in the bed.

Even more importantly, all of the dogs and Hank have been receptive of Pepper. We were a little worried they wouldn't be happy with intruders, but they've been excellent.

Pepper is active, happy and thoroughly enjoys wrestling with Buddy (which is a godsend for Bailey who, frankly, is getting sick of babysitting the little punk). And she is currently trying to eat a cardboard box...

...ok... I've stopped her.

Congratulations, Pepper! You've rightfully earned a place on Stuff My Dog Ate.

Behold the cardboard box:

Gold Bond: Now not just for old folks!

Gold Bond's "triple action relief" is now no longer just for old people. It also helps Bailey -- the lab/golden mix who seems to be allergic to everything including herself -- get some much-needed temporary relief from itching. A little powder on the ears and toes goes a long way, though she does leave a trail of powdery white footprints in the kitchen nowadays.

As an added bonus, Bailey now smells vaguely like a convalescent home crossed with menthol cigarettes, which, for a dog, can be a good thing.

"Help! My dog ate __________ " or "How to make Snuggles hurl chunks"

Okay, so I'm a big nerd. I look at Web statistics nearly every day to see where both of my visitors came from the day before. I do this even if I'm too lazy to post something.

Nerdery aside, it seems lots of you find the blog searching Google for variations on a single theme: "dog ate __________." ("Dog ate sock" is the most popular, despite none of my dogs actually consuming a sock... though they do like to haul them out of the dirty laundry and carry them around.) So I thought maybe you would like some actual useful information.

First, a disclaimer: If your dog swallowed something you think may be dangerous, call the vet or the ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center - 1-888-426-4435. (There may be a fee.) I am not an expert, just a guy with dogs that eat a lot of crap they shouldn't.

There are basically three kinds of harmful things a dog can swallow:

1) Stabby things - like paperclips and chicken bones
2) Poo stoppers - like socks, pantyhose and bears
3) Poisons - like chocolate and antifreeze

The most important step is prevention. Just don't keep stabby things and poisons (including chocolate, nuts and leftover hotwings) laying where your dogs can reach them.

Okay... so obviously sometimes dogs get into things they shouldn't despite our best efforts, as demonstrated by the time Bailey reached into the kitchen sink and ate an entire pound of ground beef. And, as demonstrated by this blog, poo stoppers are everywhere. Even toys intended for dog usage can quickly turn into stomach fodder.

What then?

In most cases, you should induce vomiting. However, don't do this if:
1) They swallowed something sharp
2) They swallowed something caustic such as Drano or cleaning products
3) They are having seizures or convulsions
4) They swallowed a petroleum product
5) It's been more than two hours since they swallowed it

In the above cases, contact your vet immediately!

How do I induce vomiting?

Find a bottle of hydrogen peroxide - that stuff you put on cuts that gets all bubbly - and a teaspoon. Hold the dog's mouth open and dump two teaspoons in. The dog will probably gag or otherwise try to spew it on you, but make sure most of it goes down.

Now, wait ten minutes. If they haven't barfed yet, you might need more (Buddy has been known to need several tablespoons-worth before). You can give them one to three teaspoons more every ten minutes. Repeat up to three times.

If that doesn't do the trick, call your vet.

Some things your dog shouldn't eat that you might not know about:
Chocolate
Grapes/raisins
Pennies (The zinc coating is toxic)
Macademia nuts
Beer/Hops (doesn't hurt all dogs, but small amounts can be toxic to others, especially Greyhounds)
Onions (also garlic, though onions are worse)

She's not fat, she's my Bailey

Went to vet today.
Weighed Bailey.
She's lost over 10 lbs!

The secret:

• Diet
  
• Excercise (In the form of a younger dog - Buddy - who is enamored with her and won't leave her alone)
  
• Thyrotabs

It's a much healthier weight for the old girl.

Happy Memorial Day!

A day late... or so...
(At least Memorial Day used to be May 30.)

For your viewing pleasure, here're Buddy and Bailey hogging the backseat of the car on a trip to WashMo. Xena, meanwhile, is sleeping curled on the floorboards, pouting between bouts of nose-nudging my elbow while I drive, trying to find a way to ride shotgun on Amanda's lap.

Disguise

Amanda, when did we get a Shar Pei?

Pedicure

Well, hi there Buddy. Why the long face? What's that? Is there something on your nail? Is it ketchup? Is it blood? Is it... Oh christ... it's nail polish! Did she try to give you a pedicure?



First the gonads, now this... it's a hard knock life.

Laid to Rest

From the box it came in:

"MEMORY FOAM
TermoPedic Temperature Smart Pet Bed
2 Inch Memory Foam
Temperature Smart
Relieves Pressure
- Adjusts to body heat and weight
- Ideal for dogs with arthritis & hip dysplasia [BOTH? Poor dog!]
- Machine washable zipper cover

Try it!
You've got to feel it to believe it!

Hypoallergenic"






I think the Memory Foam forgot.

Three catnip mice...

Three catnip mice.
Three catnip mice.
See all their entrails.
See all their entrails.
They were intended for Hank the Cat,
Xena sliced them open like Mortal Combat.
Did you ever see a dog as vicious as that?
Three catnip mice.

Bon Appétit

Mailbox Pleasantries

Happiness!



(Regarding Pet Photography.)

Battle Royale

SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY! In the cagematch you'll never forget... hailing from Columbia, Missouri... XENA the SPEAGLE. Watch her face off with the vicious rookie, Maddie MAD DOG! Witness a battle royale the likes of which will never be see again! And following the show, MONSTER TRUCKS! Tickets unavailable through your Ticketmaster outlet.

(And you thought American Pit Bull Terriers were tough mutts.)