Here is an update from Wilmington … our girl formerly known as Thelma is on the left and in pink!
Thanks Donna
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HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!
from CAE, BOO BOY
and LULU GIRL.
THEY ARE LIKE A HERD OF
ELEPHANTS, RUNNING
THROUGH MY HOUSE ….
BUT THEY ARE MY HERD !
I wanted to give everyone an update on adoptions today. Our volunteers today were: Debbie, Laura, & Maura have been there since Donna left. We also had me, Ashley and her hubby Chris, Becky Ruff & Linda Myello came in as well. Also a friend of mine who has been there once before, Amanda, hung out with the littles and kept them company.
Adoptions!
Jennifer Jordan from
Stuart and Wendy Pinholster from
Tricia Shehan from
Lisa Luken and her husband Karl came to look at Charlie an SP (Linda Myello, a/c). They really liked our sp Lily, the
Heather Cosky from
Thank you to all of the volunteers who were there today – it is most appreciated.
We had two great adopters come in on Saturday. I was behind on issuing invitations so we’ll get caught back up next weekend so that will increase I’m sure. We have so many wonderful dogs up for adoption. It is a pleasure to watch them find their homes.
The Penny’s from Heaven went home today. This mother/daughter team of shih tzu’s named Big Penny and Little Penny were adopted by Bob and Ann Miles of Kernersville NC. Funny story - at 7:45 AM my phone rang and it was the Miles. They had a 10:30 appointment and were running just a tad bit early - they were already in Gaffney! That’s not a “tad bit” that’s THREE HOURS! Now all of you that know me are laughing out loud right now because you know I Don’t Do Mornings. Laura and I had barely gotten through our first cups of coffee much less up to the kennel. I begged them to please go get breakfast, we were NOT ready! They did fortunately and then arrived right on time just as we were finishing Big Penny’s second bath (she promptly got out of the tub and rolled in the dirt after the first one). It turns out that Bob was so excited he miscalculated the mileage and assumed they had almost 100 more miles to go then they really did and he wanted to make absolutely sure they got here on time. The Miles met a few other of the shih tzu kids but the Penny’s had their heart from the start.
Here is our first update:
Donna, your pennies are doing great, they have adjusted to being here alot better than we thought they would and quicker.
I’m sending you some pictures. Big penny is (penny) and little penny is (missy). We put them in the sunroom last night and had a crate for them, but they didn’t sleep in it, Bob got up at midnight and went to check on them and they were on their beds not on their blanket I made them in the crate. After he checked on them he went to get a drink and opened the frig and they came alive barking as if someone had broken in. I laid in bed laughing, Bob went back and talked to them and they were ok, they slept all night without any problems. Penny is becoming more Bob’s dog and Missy is more mine, They are learning so quick what they can and can’t do.
They are eating good also. When we got home yesterday it was as if they knew this was their home, they had to check out every inch of it.
They got on the bed in the quest room twice yesterday and now they hardly even go in that room.
We could have looked for months and not found a better match for us and you were right to keep them together.
Thanks for all of your help
Ann
After that was a long lull - the next adopters were not due until 4. With Sue Wortman and her friend, Anne Powlas and Christa Cahill and Laura and Marah here, we knocked cleaning out in record time and Marah and I got several bathed and groomed. Laura stayed busy updating our dog tracker (adoption counselors, we are almost caught up with that and hope to have it to you within the week). As a rare, rare treat on adoption day, we also got to come down to the house as a group and enjoy a leisurely lunch. It is always so nice to share a meal with friends.
Then at 4, the Brown’s from Raleigh NC came in. I do believe Annette would move here if Jerry would let her. She had to meet and greet every single small poodle we had. The dogs lapped up the attention and after a tough, tough decision making process, Annette and Jerry selected Leo, an apricot mini, as their new best friend.
To cap off the day, Lannie just called and they are home. His father was taken off the respirator on Wednesday and out of ICU on Thursday. All looks good for a recovery from his injuries.
I won’t lie, it has been a long, tough week without our primary kennel cleaner here. I want to especially thank the volunteers who came out to help - Ashley, Mary Nice, Melinda Horn, Sue and Anne and Christa and Laura and Marah. I do not know how I would have gotten through the week without your unselfish giving of your time. Thank you.
No incoming this weekend but there will be this week. We’ve spoken for 3 at the Greenville shelter and 3 at the Spartanburg shelter.
Donna
Dear friends
As most of you know, on April 29, 2008 Carolina Poodle Rescue received an email from the Fayetteville Tn shelter about a standard poodle that had been left in their overnight drop box. When I made the first call to the shelter, I was told that a rescue in Nashville had spoken for him and one of their volunteers actually planned to adopt him for herself.
24 hours later, I got another call that the rescue and the adopter had backed out and Waldo was now ill with stress diarrhea. Could we hurry and get him out? Obviously the shelter wasn’t agreeing with him. A volunteer was also going to take him to the vet to get some meds. Meanwhile, Bunny started the transport arrangements.
24 hours after that, on May 1, we found out the worst. Waldo had parvovirus. Lethal to puppies, Waldo was not a puppy and at least had a fully developed immune system but his test came out heavy for the virus. Treatment for parvo is expensive and time consuming and the disease itself causes the infected poodle to be highly contagious for several weeks after an outbreak. Most dogs with parvo are destroyed, for the sake of keeping those others around them healthy. Shelter personnel called to tell me the bad news. The shelter volunteer was talking so fast and was so upset, it took me three tries to make her understand what I was telling her -
CPR didn’t care that Waldo was sick. We had fought parvo before and won, we would do it again. We could and would take financial responsibility for Waldo. CPR would pay the bill, figure out the isolation protocols and we would take care of Waldo. She was floored. So was the vet staff when I called them and told them our treasurer, Beth Jancse, would be calling them with payment information. I got the vet on the phone to get a medical update and asked what his white blood count was today. She had not done a CBC yet because of costs. She was overjoyed that I wasn’t only authorizing a blood panel, I was insisting on it. Now she could work without being blind.
Three days later, Waldo was ready to be released. We found a local dairy farmer, Sharon Duncan, that had an empty stall away from her other dogs and a very large heart and Waldo went to live on the farm for a week or so. Our excellent vet in Tennessee was making a trip to South Carolina on May 9 and would give Waldo a ride down.
We put out the request for help and you responded - boy did you respond! Assistance in many ways came flowing. It was wonderful. So, we set up our brand new isolation pen and got ready for Waldo.
Meanwhile, back on the adoption committee, a couple from Florida had recently lost their standard boy. Their standard girl was lonely. They found our website and applied to adopt a standard poodle. Their application came in on 5/4/2008 and I received the completed and approved application from adoption counselor Anne Raduns on 5/8/2008. I called The Spicer’s to discuss our available dogs and went through the boys we had but nothing seemed “right.” Sherry would tell me later that I said it almost as an after thought. “Oh yea, then there’s Waldo.”
If you could see ears perk up through the phone, I would have seen Sherry’s. “Who is Waldo?” she asked. So I told her the story. He wasn’t officially up for adoption yet because he was still in isolation and not yet neutered but that didn’t deter Sherry. I don’t believe she ever even thought about another dog after hearing of Waldo.
The Spicer’s (Phil, Sherry and Demi) arrived at Dreamweaver Farms on the 31st in their motor home. They spent a considerable amount of time with the now no longer contagious Waldo and .. Demi approved. The family spent the night Saturday night here and Sunday left to go to a family function with a promise that they would be back in 10 days, giving us time to have Waldo’s neuter taken care of. Last Tuesday, 6/10, they arrived back at Dreamweaver Farms and made Waldo officially theirs.
From homeless to endangered, from endangered to rescued, from rescued to adopted and now a cherished companion and friend. Waldo’s story is a bit more dramatic than most but it’s still a familiar tale. Thank you our supporters, for helping us help those who can not help themselves. Thank you for your generosity that allowed a dog like Waldo a second chance at happiness.
Thank you Sherry and Phil and Demi for bringing Waldo into your home and your hearts. Please keep us updated. I can’t wait to see how he grows.
Donna
Email from The Spicers:
To all of you who were involved with Waldo’s care, Sherry and I have difficulty coming up with adequate words to express our thanks to each of you who were involved in getting Waldo to where he is today. As you will read, Waldo is well on his way to becoming a significant citizen in the Spicer family and it is because of you that he will move into
adulthood and an extremely happy environment.
Sherry and I have had a good deal of experience with canine pets during our life but we have never had a puppy so intelligent, has such significant potential, exuberance in all he does, yet is so loving. Both Sherry and I know that this love, when he lays his head in our lap, licks our hand or lies at our feet looking up at us with those large brown eyes is also meant for you, if you were here with him.
Please know that Waldo will never lack for love from our family and friends, will always have the very best in medical care and will always be included in the center of lives. In closing, please remember when you are tired or wondering if your efforts make a difference that your efforts have given us his life as a gift and we pledge our best efforts to justify your significant efforts to get him to us!! You have made a difference and do every single time you pour your attention, expertise, gifts and love on a dog who has been abandoned. They need you!!!!!
With warmest personal regards and thanks to all of you,
Philip & Sherry Spicer
Waldo’s first week as a Spicer
On June 10th 2008(Tuesday)
We picked Waldo up from Donna’s Carolina Poodle Rescue Farm, in Jonesville, SC. We arrived at the farm after lunch. Waldo was pretty sure he recognized us from a week ago. He is very shy and even though he loves being inside the coach, when he is outside he will not come to us. We threw the ball and he loved chasing it but would not bring it close to us. We left him in the coach with Demi and had dinner at Donna and Wayne’s home. We were only gone for an hour, he was fine when we came back.
He is afraid of the leash and needs to be coaxed into coming close enough to put it on him. Demi likes and hates him. She thinks she should get all of the attention.
Wednesday the 11th
We leave for Blairsville. Waldo learns that the coach can be a little bumpy and it is best to stay down. He is very curious and watches everything and everyone. It is a long day, we stop often. He knows if you put the leash on him he gets to go outside and he loves that. He has his own blanket and seems to just know its his. He sleeps on it from the first night, no mistakes in the house. When we get to Blairsville, late in the day, they eat dinner and go outside to meet the neighbors. He greets everyone with caution. He lays next to Demi on the living room floor, his back to hers, then he rolls over on his back with feet in the air. He puts his front legs on Demi and she adjusts her feet to be on him. They sleep this way a long time. It’s been a long day so we go to bed early. Demi lays down on his bed, as to say “I am the head dog” he listens to her, she goes
to her bed and again he sleeps through the night with no mistakes.
Thursday the 12th
Waldo wants to go out about every hour. He has learned he likes grass, he even likes the leash. His world is expanding so fast we can hardly keep up with him. He still scares pretty easy, but is getting better. He knows the air conditioner goes off and on. He learned the TV makes noise and he really likes it, there are dogs and people on it. He has learned there are lighting bugs and he can’t catch them. He has learned there is a moon in the sky and it totally fascinates him. He has learned the neighbors are really nice people and he is not afraid of them anymore. He walks so fast on the leash we almost have to run to keep up with him. He goes from one side of the road to the next smelling, smelling, smelling. He can’t seem to get enough of anything, especially of loving on him. He sees something on the next street and barks, I tell him shhshh and he gives me a
low growl, I tell him “good dog”. He looks back and starts to bark at whatever he sees, I say no Waldo shhshh—he does the low growl. He is really smart and ready to learn. We are going to start training him as soon as he is confident that his world is solid and nothing is going to happen. He is a little more shy with Philip, but they are working on that. Any loud noises and not so loud for that matter makes him run. He is so strong. He loves knowing his dry food is there 24/7 sometimes he just goes and checks it out. He is having good bowel movements, twice a day. We are looking for a fenced dog park so we can let him run. So much energy in him.
Friday 13th
We learned to ride in the car. That is a little more like a crate with glass, Waldo doesn’t think he likes the crate that moves. He likes the idea of sleeping wherever he wants to. It rained and Demi is afraid of storms, even heavy wind storms. Demi was glad Waldo was not afraid, she laid down next to him and put her head on him. They stayed that way for a long time. He learned the word no today and is pretty responsive
when you say it, just not to strong, or he runs and hides. He slept in the living room and ask to go out to potty.
Saturday 14th
Waldo learned to sit today and will do it for mom, with dad it is hit or miss. He also takes snacks from your hand now. He stays in protection mode and when he sees someone coming into his property, he has a wonderful BIG bark. He has
also learned he gets canned food one time a day and will do a little dance and talk to you, he loves his food.
Sunday 15th
It’s too hot to go outside, but he has learned the fan and air conditioning are a really good thing. He now goes back and forth to the door if he wants to go out, he likes mom or dad or both will let him go out. He has met so many people and dogs he can’t keep up. He loves everyone but stays his distance.
Monday 16th
Its hot again today so other than in the AM he stays inside where it is cool. Long walks in the early morning are what he loves, so many smells he doesn’t know which to smell. He met a man he doesn’t like, but then Demi doesn’t either. We are pretty sure that they are right. Waldo has learned sit and down. He really doesn’t want to stay at either command, but we are coming right along with our learning. He definitely knows his
name and seems really happy that everyone knows him by name and they pet him also (something he really likes now). He got his first dental bone today, but had to watch Demi to know what to do. He is trying to taste everything, eatable or not. This too will he learn.
Tuesday 17th
Waldo does not like any part of water to wash him. I bought a foam shampoo to use where he wets on himself. I told him this is one fight he will not win. He is now walking about 2 miles a day, and at a fast pace. We want to get him, and us, up to 5 miles a day. He loves Bob and Rhonda now, still is a little jumpy with loud noises or fast movement. He now only barks at people that he doesn’t know or like. Cows are an everyday site. We think he has gained some weight but we aren’t sure. We are going to take him to a local vet and get him sit up with them. We are hoping that since they also board dogs that he will let us let him run out back two or three times a week. We have called and checked in three states for dog parks (fenced) within 45 minutes, so far we have found none. Blairsville has a dog park with a walking trail but no fenced area for them.
The Paw Jam Festival on Saturday was fantastic! I know the two people who started the festival six years ago, and I’m going to contact them to find out how many booths and displays were there. My estimate is maybe 80 booths and we were well displayed and held our own with the others.
Now that we (Courtney, Dave and I) know what the festival is like, we’ll know how to do things a bit better next year. one of the interesting things I observed was that for the breed rescue booths, it was a gathering place for friends from all over the state. people who had adopted through them are using the Festival as a way to meet again, and see how the rescues are doing. The Great Dane Rescue booth next to ours probably had a dozen friends who met there! I’d like to see participation with our adopting families next year: Which we should be able to do, with more advance notice and planning.
Some photos are attached however I will also be burning and sending a CD with photos of the whole event so you might get a feel for the scope of Paw Jam. It is pretty amazing!
To recap the Festival’s purpose and set-up:
* Non-profits are allowed to have a booth to disseminate information at no charge
* For profit booths selling pet related items paid a booth fee
* Fantastic bands donate their time — groups play from 11 am - 9 pm
* Something for everyone! booth examples are microchip booths, disaster rescue booths, breed rescue booths, animal emergency services, and lots of our local non-profits like Friends of Felines, the Animal Control shelters, etc.
* Examples of the for-profit items are t-shirts, dog collars, bandanas, dog charms and jewelry, pocketbooks and bags made with dog fabrics, pet portraits, and dog costumes/clothes.
* Lots of other booths were companies who like pets and have a good community feeling to do these events like Carolina First Bank, TalkPR Advertising Agency, and a great church group with young girls who sponsored a tent with plastic swimming pools for the dogs to take a bath in to cool down, and hoses to spray the dogs off. Just sweet little girls who love dogs, and spraying water was something they knew they could do!
* They sold raffle tickets for baskets stuffed full of goodies, like free grooming, free doggie play, and toys
* They had several food booths — Chic-Fil-A, a hot dog booth, a hamburger booth,and a BEER GARDEN!
* The whole time the festival is going on, you have these great bands playing on a huge stage with a great sound system, with the river as a backdrop on one side, and the USS North Carolina Battleship as another backdrop.
* People could go in at 8 to set booths up: gates opened at 11
* People attending paid a $5 gate fee to enjoy the event and music
* My understanding is the funds raised from booth rentals and gate fees are distributed equally to the non-profits after expenses are paid.
* Fantastically organized, good planning: there is a stretch of trees on one side of the field. any booth like breed rescues where they felt animals would be present were given the primo spaces under the shade trees. although it was hot as hell, the trees gave good shade, and there was sort of a soft breeze coming off the Cape Fear River.
Cae, David and Courtney did a great job of pulling this together! Donna and Beth sent a pamphlet via email. David made a wonderful notebook flip chart presentation about CPR. It had photos downloaded from the website showing pictures of who was available for adoption. Equally as great was all the info about CPR itself! He had photos of the building, of the field with dogs running in play, photos inside the building, and a bit of history of CPR included. It was very informative for people who stopped to chat.
Cae donated printing 200 copies of the pamphlets, and the printing of several other handouts that were developed. she also designed a poster with photos supplied by Beth. Considering this was all done long distance, with some of it being done last minute, we had a very good and presentable booth. we were VERY lucky to find a great worker at Kinkos who worked until 11:30 pm getting a 10′ banner done for us! Cae will be responsible for writing a thank you note to the store manager at Kino’s, letting him know how invaluable his employee’s services were.
* David went to the Festival at 8 am, located our space, and put up a tent loaned to him from a neighbor
* Cae arrived at 9, with table decorations, banner and printed materials. David and Cae did the set-up, and were ready for visitors when the gates opened at 11
* Most people who stopped by came to say how much they’d loved a poodle in their earlier years, or relayed something about their mother or grandmother’s poodle. Poodle stories were limitless! David was an excellent spokesperson for CPR — he easily found a way to get on a wavelength with everyone who stopped by.
* We started a little notebox with people who came to speak for a particular reason — like one woman whose sister is CPR’s illustrator that designed the logos!
* One organization, the one who does animal rescue after devastating storms like Katrina, stopped by and brought CPR an entire box of (20?) dog breath mints as a gift.
* Courtney got there around noon with their two poodles, one a rescue from the Pender County Animal Control, and the other is a CPR rescue.
* A wonderful story to share: two women strolled by with t-shirts on (THAT REMINDS ME OF SOMETHING, IN A MINUTE) from the Pender Animal Control Society. Courtney stood up to speak to them. I was sitting in a chair watching all this from the rear. as Courtney stood up to go talk to them, her Pender rescue’s tail started wagging as fast as it could go. Courtney was talking to this woman, telling her that she had adopted
* The t-shirt thing: do ya’ll have them available for sale? if so, I know Courtney, David and I would all like to buy one, just for personal use now. BUT when the event is held next year, we need to be identifiable to others. almost every booth had recognizable t-shirts on to identify them. Speaking of t-shirts, you should have them for sale, in cool colors, all the time. Everybody who works for you, and every single adopting family, would buy them. Just another way to make $10 here and there.
I’ll be glad to get pricing on some for you. We’ve got two great companies here who are as cheap as anything you can find on-line.
* Cae left about 1, and Courtney and David manned the booth until it closed, at 6 pm. that was a huge labor of love, to stay in the heat and be talkative and informative to everyone who stopped by. when it closed, they packed up all the tables, coolers, chairs, handouts and tent. It was a LONG day for the two of them. Cae was home, crashed, and stayed that way until Monday morning. (am sorry that health prevents too much exertion — the running around getting materials on Friday, and setting things up, did me in for about 30 hours. sorry). A million thanks to David and Courtney for doing everything they did!
I know Courtney, David and I love our pets, and we are each now connected to CPR for giving us the poodle baby that is such a part of our lives! we are each impressed with the CPR organization, and we are now committed to helping you grow and continue to excel. we will do anything within our powers to help you.
Cae will be mailing a package to Donna — with the banner, and all the left-over printed material that should be stored until someone else needs it — along with the box of dog breath mints! Paw Jam was fantastic, attended by thousands even in that dreaded heat! Count us on board for the next year!!
Courtney, David and Cae
Hello everyone
All adoptions are special, but some adoptions are just magic. We had one of those this Saturday when Maggie the standard poodle found her loving home with Heather and Cindy of Atlanta GA.
Heather is a long time standard poodle owner and Cindy told me privately that when they lost their standard just before Christmas, “Heather just hasn’t been the same.” Well all that changed yesterday when Heather and Cindy visited our kennel and met every single standard we had here. I think any of our guys would have been happy to go home with Heather and Cindy, but after meeting and greeting, Heather asked me who needed a home the most, who was going to be hard to adopt. With that question, we narrowed it down to Paulie and to Maggie and Oprah. After further discussion of lifestyle and that Cindy is interested in adding a small dog to their household, we settled on Maggie who had really taken to both of the ladies.
As you can see, the rest is history. Maggie practically drug Heather out to the car once she realized that she was really going for a ride so we took our final pictures with Maggie right where she wanted to be - heading off to a new adventure.
We have many newbies in our kennel today also. Nellie the apricot standard puppy found as a stray in lower SC is here now and is going to be fostered by Becky and Natasha in Newberry after we get her skin issues resolved. Franklin the parti standard (stray from Durham NC) is bouncing his way around the kennel now. He’s a great dog who hasn’t met a stranger anywhere and unfortunately can climb our 4′ fences. Dottie and Doolittle are the cutest pair of mini kids who need a new home and then we have the gentle giant Pogo, an apricot standard who is one of the biggest boys we’ve ever had here. The kennel is full - as it should always be.
As for the rest of the rest of the week, special thanks to so many volunteers who gave their time and talents to help at the farm this week. The list includes Ashley and Gwen, Janet and Kena, Christa, Laura and Marah and Barbara and her granddaughter, and Becky and Natasha, and several others who helped with transports. If I have left anyone out, please accept my apologies. You are our unsung heroes. For our many remote volunteers who make phone calls, handle interviews, update the database, transport, home check and all the other labors of love that it takes to get one of these guys into good homes, thank you! Without you we could not exist.
The sun is finally shining again. The birds are starting to sing again. Dreamweaver Farms actually thawed out a bit today. Winter may not be completely gone but this week is going to be a tiny but much appreciated hint of spring. I hope each of you have a great week.
Darla is found to fuss at us another day, but sweet Meghan and Hannah say goodbye
Friday night was something I don’t want to relive anytime soon. Little black baby girl, now known as Hannah, would not eat. I was using a syringe to get a diluted karo syrup and evaporated milk into her every hour. My driver was being held up at his pickup and he was calling me every hour so the timing worked out pretty well to keep me awake and worried on two fronts. Good thing, as it’s difficult to get good sleep while you’re curled into a whelping box with a phone on one side, and mama dog and her babies on the other.
At about 3:30 am, I couldn’t do anymore. I had managed to get all of 4 cc’s of mixture into baby Hannah through the night and I think half of that went on the floor, on her chin or on me. If I had been able to get my eyes open enough to drive to the emergency clinic, I probably would have but I couldn’t. I had done the best I could. Laura planned to be up by 6:30 and take back up the feedings. I called my contact in San Francisco and relayed all the hassles we were going through to him, told him I was having to turn over the reins and let him take over. I laid down and don’t remember anything further until 6:30 am.
I am an 8 hours of sleep per night kind of girl. Restful, complete sleep. Going all day on 3 hours was just not my cup of tea but somehow and with Laura’s and Marah and Wayne’s help, I managed to get through Saturday although I don’t know how.
Wayne put on his heavy boots and his jeans (which is quite a sacrifice when it is 100 degrees out) and set out in search of Darla. He walked and stalked our property, Samson and Salvador in tow. Laura had gone up early and let out the kennel crew and came back to bottle feed Hannah and I tried to fix all of us breakfast, pancakes, while solving yet another crisis with my poor driver.
Now, besides needing sleep I need to be wealthy enough to hire a cook because that is another skill that I am only so so at, especially on a night lacking in sleep and with two phones going off every few seconds. About 9:30 I was still trying. Wayne came in from the search for Darla, discouraged but not deterred and took over the job of pancake making that I was botching so badly. I nursed a cup of coffee and tried to think. If I were a crotchety little old lady toy poodle out for a stroll, where would I go?
Downhill. I would go downhill. Towards shade and water, of course. If Darla is anything, she is a creature of comfort first and foremost. She would want to be comfortable. I told Wayne my thoughts and he took off again to go walking through the woods. It didn’t take long before a grinning Wayne was back with a tiny, fussy toy poodle tucked under his arms. Darla had been downhill, under the brushes, heading towards water and advising the world that she was on her way.
Meantime, back at the ranch err poodle farm, we had adopters enroute so I went back to the kennel. We had two scheduled and a third made an unexpected stop. Suzette, a little mini mix who was found wandering in a national forest in NC, found her perfect home with Nora from Charlotte. The Ponder’s from Spartanburg didn’t find their fit yet, so we are going to keep working with them. A local family who had been seeking a standard poodle stopped in, met Job the black standard puppy, and rushed home to fill out an application.
After the adopters left, I started back to the house. It was late, I was tired and I wanted only to feed my kids, feed me and sit down. It was not meant to be.
I was collecting dogs and Marah was in the living room babysitting puppies and watching tv. Wayne was, I assumed, out working in the fields because I had heard the tractor earlier. I started corralling dogs in crates and chatting to Marah. I mentioned to Marah that I needed to go find Meghan, my special black standard poodle girl and would be right back.
When Marah heard that, she came in the kitchen and very seriously, she asked me to sit down. I did, and looked at this sweet child’s face which was showing so badly that she had something to tell me and didn’t want to.
She was right. What she had to tell me I didn’t want to hear. Wayne had found my Meggie girl out in the fields. She was stretched out and he thought she was asleep. She was - the final sleep. She looked just like she did in the carport on a lazy summer day, legs out but with the telltale froth around her mouth that we had come to know meant she had a seizure. Otherwise, there was not a mark on her. It happened some time between 10:30 am and 2 pm.
For those who don’t know the story of Meghan, Meg was an epileptic. When she came to CPR two years ago, she was 9 months old. I was her 5th home. She was on 90 mg of phenobarbital per day and was basically a zombie. Candace still talks about finding her in the fish pond, her mind so fogged with the drugs that she could not figure out how to get the few steps up that would get her out of the water.
She had been doing so well. She had a bit of a pain episode a couple of nights ago but I gave her a rimadyl and it calmed her right down (which it did not always do, sometimes I had to resort to an extra phenobarbital). But no seizures, at least not in my presence, in several
months.
Meghan had become as close to normal as I had ever seen her in the last couple of months. She would make eye contact. She was a confirmed begger at the table. Her favorite was peanut butter. I could put a bit on her tongue and she’d lick and lick and lick and thoroughly enjoy herself. There was very little in the way of food she did not like and I had actually had to cut her kibble down to 2 cups because she had put on a bit of weight. Not unhealthy, but you definitely could not see any ribs. She had even started enjoying being petted and would come up and ask for affection, something it took her a long, long time to want to do. She never did like being petted around her head but did like having her back rubbed. She loved to follow me up the driveway and try to get me to play
with her. She did zoomies with total abandon.
It is possible that Meg had a massive seizure. Or she could have had a regular seizure and then since she was outside that she had heat stroke right after. She usually recovered pretty quickly from a seizure, in less than 5 minutes, so I can’t figure out how that could happen. Or if she got overheated playing this could have brought a seizure on. I will never know. It was too hot and we had no way to preserve the body so
Wayne dug her grave and we put her to her rest.
I am attaching the last two photos I have of Meghan. These were approximately two weeks ago. Our local grooming school invited CPR to come and bring standards for the students to groom. Meghan had progressed to the point where I felt comfortable bringing her and that she would do well. As you can see, she was acting just like any other dog on a grooming table. She had no issues.
And now you know that we saved Darla to fuss another day, but we lost Meg and now Hannah in the process. Life starts and life ends.
Life in these bodies and on this plant is a journey. It is a circle also, a merry go round and each of us is somewhere on the turning. For Hannah’s sisters, it is the beginning. For sweet Meghan and for Hannah, it is the end of here and the beginning of better elsewhere. I know this, yes I do. But I always prefer the saying hello to the saying goodbye.
God Speed my Meggie girl. I will see you at the Bridge. I miss you so badly and it hurts to not have your special and sassy presence to chase me up the hill. Take care of little Hannah for all of us, okay? We never got to know her well. Find Julia. She will show you what to do with a baby and she will take care of you. Your mind is healed now and you can do anything you want to.
Hello babies Beth and Amy and Jo and Meg (we’ve named them for the characters in Little Women). Your journey is just now begun. I will cherish watching you grow.
It was quite a week at Dreamweaver Farms last week. The highs have been incredibly high. The lows have been crashing and crushing. We have had life. And we have had death. Full circle.
It started when an owner, I suspect a byb’er who was in over her head, brought us a standard poodle she could not care for. Reportedly pregnant (and we get a lot like that and sometimes they are and sometimes they’re not). CPR policy is we do not breed, but we also appreciate life and will not abort, we settled in to wait it out and see if there really were puppies. The kennel is full so mama dog (now named Ramona) came to the house with me.
We didn’t have to wait long.
Wednesday was set to be a good day. Anne Raduns (that’s ocalalawyerchick to most of you) and her family were coming from Florida. I was so excited and couldn’t wait to finally meet Anne in person. We have emailed and phone called so much that I felt, as with so many of you, that I knew her even though we had never met. Anne and her husband and the entire poodle crew arrived and we spent a happy morning touring the property (on foot - and wearing out the spoiled Florida poo’s). Then it was time for lunch. Anne and Dennis had brought bag lunches since there are sooooo many restaurants around here LOL. Laura’s daughter, Marah, was spending the week with us and so we sent Anne and her crew back up to the kennel office (read air conditioned kennel office) to wait for us and Marah and I went to pack our bag lunch and meet them in the office.
I buzzed upstairs, as usual, to do a quick check of email. It would be quite a while before I made it downstairs.
“Marah! I yelled, “PUPPIES…go get Anne right now!” Of course Marah instead came barrelling up the stairs, too, as I don’t think she quite believed me. There was mama dog, with two little pups, one apricot and one cream, tucked up under her. Well, I know that SP litters are never just two and so we had a long ways to go yet.
There was just no way I was leaving her while this was going on. Not that I could do anything but pace, boil water and get my cigars ready, but I was not leaving anyway. Marah backed out and lit up the hill to the kennel at warp speed, faster than I believe anyone has ever gone before. Next thing I knew, all three were back and were peering over my shoulder at our mama dog nurturing her new baby girls.
Two hours later, two more babies made their appearance, both of these little ones black and two MORE girls. It was now 3:30 and I had called the vet several times already because of the initial delay. He said not to worry, but that if nothing else came to get her here by 5:30 so they could x ray.
We (me, Marah, Laura, mama dog and four puppies) were on the road at
5:15 since Ramona had shown absolutely no signs of going into labor.
Good thing we did. The x rays showed one pup left, positioned perfectly in the birth canal and going nowhere fast. Dr. Grantham and Dr. Sief both feel that Ramona has been bred so many times that she just doesn’t have much muscle left and had no energy to do the pushing. We’re going to “fix” that in a few months (pun intended) but right now we had one more baby in trouble. The docs did their thing and gave Ramona drugs to help finalize labor, and also sub-Q fluids and B12 shots to boost her system. The baby would either be born in the car on the way home, sometime in the very late hours as babies or prone to do or, worse case, if the baby had not come by the morning we were instructed to get mama down there pronto. The pup was most likely already gone and mama would have had an emergency spay.
Little cream colored lady made her appearance in the truck on the way home. Whew! You have never seen a bigger comedy of errors. There I am in the back seat of my quad cab truck - a backseat which seemed roomy until you mix one human, one in labor standard poodle, and a laundry basket with 4 puppies that mama standard wanted to climb into while full in delivery mode. Laura was driving and she’s never driven my truck before.
With me in the back seat squealing “she’s coming, she’s coming” and Laura trying to drive a vehicle that is about 12 times bigger than hers and trying very hard to keep her eyes on the road when all the action was in the backseat, and Marah twisted around to try to help and mama trying to give birth and climb in the way too small for her basket at the same time, well it’s a wonder we didn’t end up in the ditch or stopped by the police. We definitely had to look very strange.
Fortunately things then settled down to normal for the rest of the evening. Well, normal for a poodle farm.
Thursday, mama and babies were thriving.
Friday, Tami came down and we noticed that one little black pup was no longer doing so well. Tami worked with her and we got her back on the milk bar. Laura and I had gone over Friday to help a fellow rescue group do some work with their dogs so we didn’t get back until well after 9:30 pm. That’s when I noticed that Darla was missing. Darla is a cream toy poodle who is at least 97 years old. She sleeps a lot and when she’s awake she’s usually fussing at someone or other. She goes out, does what she has to do and then comes right back in. It made no sense. Wayne and I searched and searched while Laura was nursing the puppy. Do you have any idea how incredibly dark it can be out here at night? We couldn’t see her, couldn’t hear her. No fussing, no scolding, no sign at all.
Where could she be? Wayne and I finally knocked off close to midnight and I took over nursing the baby. I had a driver running a run and needed to stay up anyway to help monitor his progress.
Tomorrow…….the circle of life.
Here is little Dudley, adopted last weekend.
Dudley was a throw away dog. His previous family had 2 legged children and put poor Dudley outside. I am attaching before pictures so you can see what he looked like when we made the emergency trip to Tennessee to get him. At some time in the past, and no one seems to be able to tell me when, his front paw was completely crushed. That was no accident.
He sure looks content now, don’t you think? Hooray for Dudley! And thanks to Vanessa for opening her home and heart to Dudley.
Donna
Dudley Before Pictures:
Here is a message from Vanessa that came with the photo she sent: Everyone slept thru the night last night!! I’ll let everyone know how it goes at the vet tomorrow. I’ll have to get a can of green beans tonight and I’ll try that as a treat for Dudley and Rufus (probably myself too) we could all stand to lose a few pounds! This is the only picture I have for now, but more will follow I promise. Please ignore the unkempt hair/clothes/house. Thanks to everyone for all of your help with everything. If you could send me the info on the retreat, I’ll check my schedule and try to make it out there. — Vanessa
Poodles Rule!
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