Old Friends Senior Dogs

It takes a village to rescue an Old Friend....

2013-01-24T19:50:00.001-06:00

It is always amazing to me how much goes into rescuing one dog, but at the same time that it works and that it works well most of the time. There is a quiet network of volunteers that comes to life when a dog (or other animal in other rescues) needs help.Without these behind the scenes volunteers and caregivers, we would not be able to do what we do. We are the facilitators, organizing a wonderful group of people who are already there, ready to help.

Facebook has been a powerful tool for animal rescue. By allowing all people who are interested in a cause, in our case senior dog rescue, to come together easily in one place many more dogs can be saved. Our Facebook friends are instrumental in getting the word to us and in getting the word out that volunteers are needed.

Take first, as an example, a rescue that is in progress right now. Sheila is a 14 year old border collie mix. Her human has gone to college and she is not being properly cared for by the remaining family. We were made aware of the situation by the now in college owner who was concerned about poor Sheila living on a chain. Sheila is in a town three hours from us, transport help is necessary. Sue will bring Sheila half way, I will meet her for the other half of the trip. From there Sheila goes to our vet. Dr. Benner and Staff are always there for us, no matter who and when we bring them in. They take wonderful, loving care of almost all of our Old Friends (unless they are just too far away). Sheila will stay there for a night before she goes to her forever foster family. Jerry and his family will take care of Sheila for the rest of her life. They will give her an opportunity to live happy, loved and comfortable for however long she has left.

In the case of Bennett and Arty, a 13 year old Yorkie mix and an 11 year old Papillon, there was a much larger distance to travel. Penny picked them up at the shelter in the Chicago area and held them for a night. In the morning, Penny met Brigit who took Arty and Bennett to a small airport. Arty and Bennett were flown from Louisville, KY to Lebanon, TN by another non-profit rescue group called Pilots-N-Paws. Pilots of small planes donate their time and their planes to help animals in need to get from one location to another. Until we needed them, we didn't even know they existed. From there Arty and Bennett were fully vetted and are now living here at the Sanctuary.

We wanted to get Ellie from the sanctuary in Mount Juliet, TN to her forever foster home in Indianapolis, IN. This is over a five hour drive one way. We put out a plea on Facebook and were able to find two wonderful volunteers to help with the drive. We had a three legged transport: Mount Juliet, TN to Bowling Green, KY (us), Bowling Green to Louisville, KY (Tina) and Louisville to Indianapolis (Becky). The transport went flawlessly and that night, Ellie was with her new family and foster Mom Cyndi, settling in.

These are only a few examples, each dog that we bring into our program goes through a similar, but always different, process.

Think for a moment about the IMPORTANT people who might be involved from the point that a dog needs rescue until that time that they are safe:

1. Shelter volunteer or worker or Surrendering owner (may be someone no longer able to care for a dog, or someone who has found a dog)
2. Our Facebook friends who are involved in spreading the word
3. Transport Volunteers
4. Veterinarian and their staff
5. Sometimes a boarding facility is used for an interim period
6. A Forever Foster Family
7. Last but not least, our Donors who help us to afford care and vetting for all of our Old Friends, both at the Sanctuary and in Forever Foster Homes for the rest of their lives.

Without any of these people, we would be unable to , or seriously restricted in, doing what we do.
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE INVOLVED!! YOU ARE ALL AWESOME!

looking back on 2012....

2012-12-31T23:46:00.000-06:00

Has it only been a year? It's amazing, the rest of our lives seem to fly on by, but the past year has been so busy and we have come so far with Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary, that it seems like much more than that.
For a few years, the idea of starting a senior dog rescue has been developing in our minds. It kept getting clearer and clearer, the name, the ideas, the implementation.... Michael and I had been volunteering with another rescue group, and although they are a good group with great intentions, I knew that we could do so much more on our own. Besides that, the seniors needed us. That was where our hearts pulled us.
For the first few months of the year we talked more and more about a "senior dog sanctuary" the name "Old Friends" (the idea from an old Simon and Garfunkel song) and just how it would work. In mid-March, I had one of those defining moments, it was time...
By mid March, I had set up a facebook page, a website and a blog. After inviting friends to join, we had under 20 "likes" but we were on our way. It would be a slow start, but by the end of 2012, we are strong with over 4300 likes. Facebook has proven to be an amazing tool in spreading the word about what we do and in finding out about dogs who need our help.
In April, we started to work on our legalities and on becoming an official non-profit organization. We filed our paperwork and by the end of April we were a registered non profit Corporation in Tennessee, Old Friends Senior Dogs Inc.
On April 26, our effective date of incorporation, we had thirteen dogs with us at the Sanctuary. Two of them were, and of course, still are, Ginger and Gracie, our protector and recreation director. The other twelve ranged in age from nine to over fifteen, and averaged out around 13 years old.
By May, we were getting the word out very slowly. Early in the month, a friend of ours who had lots of other friends in rescue, put up a Facebook post about us, talking positively about what we do. This was our first push. Our Facebook friends grew to over 50 (WOW!) and as a result we rescued Zuzu, who we consider to be our first Old Friend at Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary.

Through May and June, I meticulously worked my way through the paperwork required to file our application to become an IRS registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We worked on our plan for that time and did not feel comfortable soliciting donations or volunteers until we had that completed. We are thankful to those who donated, in spite of our not having received our 501(c)(3) prior to verification of our status. As it turned out, our effective date of non-profit status was April 26.
Over the July 4 weekend, the paperwork was ready to send in. I had gone over it time and time again. We had heard stories of applications taking up to a year to approve due to questions and things that were a little bit out of line. We wrote the check and sent it in....and waited.....In the meantime we were really starting to set our goals and deciding how we were going to achieve them.
It was early August when we received our first acknowledgement from the IRS, they had received our application (the check had been cashed weeks before) and were reviewing it. The letter said that we would hear from them again and that we could expect to be contacted within 90 days. UGH!! We settled in for a long wait.
In early August, we took in one more senior dog, Lucky Penny. She is a fifteen year old hound/German Shepherd mix. Although skinny and sickly when she got here, she is a beautiful senior girl now. She is completely deaf and almost blind and doing great.

On August 22, our long (not) wait was over! Without any further questions or delays, we received our determination letter from the IRS. Old Friends Senior Dogs, Inc had an effective non profit date of April 26. We were ready to rock!!
We were ready to solicit donations and volunteers. At the very end of August, we placed our first Forever Foster Dog, Bandit. We were now one step further on our way to achieving our dream.

In early September, Princess Leia joined us at the sanctuary. She was originally thought to be a senior in need of a hospice home. Once she went to see Dr. Benner, we realized that she was under six years old and had had a terrible beginning to her life. Although she only lived for three more months before she passed on to the Rainbow Bridge, she had a huge impact on our hearts and our will to continue to do what we do. She had a chance to live a "normal" life, and although it did not last long, we were able to allow her to have some of the good life.

At the end of September, Arty and Bennett flew in via Pilots 'n Paws from Chicago to Lebanon, TN. We were impressed with the network of volunteers that allowed us to so easily take in two dogs from a Chicago Shelter. Arty and Bennett are a lively little pair with TONS of bad habits (but we love them).

In October, we were pretty quiet. We temporarily took Bandit back from his Forever Foster Home so that he could have an enforced rest period after continually injuring his back. After seven weeks he returned to his Forever Foster Home and has been doing well ever since. We also took Max into our program at this time. Max is a big lovable black dog, but unfortunately no one has agreed to Forever Foster him. He has been in a temporary foster situation for three months. We are anxious to find him a permanent placement. He is over twelve years old and needs a place to curl up and relax. He is unable to stay here with us because he gets stressed out with lots of dog activity. He will do best in a home with only a few, if any, other dogs.

Also in October, we placed our second Forever Foster Dog, Gracie. The placement is a match made in heaven. When Gracie went to her new home for the first time, she looked at us as if to say "can I stay, pleeeease, can I stay here?"

In mid October, Rannie, our nine year old Beagle, went to the Rainbow Bridge after having battled liver problems since mid summer. She had been with us for almost all of her nine years and we miss her crazy energy and smiling face.

In early November, Michael and I went to a workshop at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah entitled "How to Start an Animal Sanctuary". We signed up for the workshop in early April and it was finally time to attend. It was a life changing experience and completely energized us in our goals and dreams.We were able to come home with a solid path to follow. Instead of trimming our dreams, we fortified and expanded them!
Soon after we returned, Asteroid, our little papillon Old Friend, passed to the Rainbow Bridge after a brief illness.

In mid-November, after his rest period, Bandit returned to his wonderful Forever Foster Home where he was happy with his friends Flower and Cotton. Keller, who is blind, had been rescued by a Smyrna police officer, and came here from that same Foster home where Bandit returned. He was sharing the recovery room with Princess who had been there since September when she came to us.

They enjoyed one another's company on walks but tended to get a bit "argumentative" when left alone together so they continued to share the room with a divider in the middle. Princess was making great strides. She was starting to play ball and enjoy cuddling and walks. She ran a little and even wagged her tail.
Princess's progress came to an abrupt stop and she began to lose weight. Her previous life had done irreparable damage to her internal organs and she was unable to overcome that damage. On December 8, Princess passed peacefully to the Rainbow Bridge in my arms. She was at least able to discover that life didn't have to be bad.
In early December, our third Forever Foster Dog, Ellie, a sweet as can be senior Beagle, went to her Forever Foster Home. She has three new sister Beagles and is settling in nicely.

Later in December, our sweet thirteen and a half year old Maggie, who'd been with us for almost a year, went to the Rainbow Bridge. She did well up until the last day when something inside her gave out suddenly.

By the end of the year, we had lost six Old Friends. Rosie and Ozkar passed early in 2012. We miss them all, but we know that they were happy while they were here.

December went out in a flurry of activity. During the last week of the year, Peanut, our fourth Forever Foster Dog went off to his new home.

At the same time, we brought in three more Old Friends. Biscuit is deaf and blind, Meisha is a cute as can be little Pug and Dolly is a mellow girl who just wants a place to rest her sweet bones. We expect to place one or two more Forever Foster Dogs early in January 2013.

At the end of the year, we have nineteen Old Friends at the sanctuary, two of whom we expect to have in Forever Foster homes very soon. We have Four Old Friends in Forever Foster homes and one in a Temporary foster home. We have rescued thirteen dogs since April 26, our official start-up.

We feel that 2012 has been a very successful year for Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary. We are through the first steps and on our way to achieving our goals through 2013 and beyond. I will elaborate on those goals in a future blog post. We are excited and ready to move ahead!

remembering The Princess

2012-12-22T21:08:00.000-06:00

Princess Leia

Just a few days ago, we said goodbye, way too soon, to Princess Leia. She had only been with us for a little over three months, but in that time had made a big imprint on our, and a lot of other folk's, hearts.
Our first view of Princess was laying on the floor at a rural animal control facility.

She was thought to be a senior dog and we took her as a hospice case. Once we got her to our Dr Benner, we found out that she was relatively young, under six years old. She was covered with fleas and with scars from a terrible and unknown past. She was severely dehydrated and her eyes were almost entirely covered by her third eyelid. We were unsure of whether she would survive a week. Amazingly enough, she began to make progress. By her second week she had gained almost 10 pounds and was eating and drinking healthily.

Princess continued to make progress a little bit at a time. It was so exciting to see her run down the driveway or to lay down in the grass and bask in the sun. We were starting to think of her as being a dog in recovery rather than one in hospice. More than that, we were completely taken by this little girl's spirit and will to live. We started to envision a full, happy life for her. A life that she hadn't come anywhere near in her past.

Every day, Princess would do things that seemed like great strides. One day she ran happily down the driveway, another she kicked up the dirt after she peed. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but it really was something to see. Her tail was coming down from tight against her belly to straight down in back. One day we were sure that we even saw a little wag.
By early November, Princess was about to make her first trip out into the world, away from OFSDS. We were on our way to Utah for a workshop and Princess was on her way to what would be a spa vacation with a trusted friend of ours. We thought that Princess was doing great because we had seen such progress, but our friend, Tonia, was taken aback at the obvious distress that Princess had been through.
Princess had a true vacation with Tonia. She was pampered and happy. Princess was truly treated like royalty. We got this picture and knew that she was having the time of her life.

When Princess Leia returned home, she made great progress very quickly. We were very optimistic that she was going to someday be a "regular" dog able to live a good life like any other dog. She climbed up on the couch to sleep for the first time in mid November. She would climb up there often after this.

At Thanksgiving, Princess was really starting to enjoy her life. While our Grandsons were playing in the yard, she showed an interest in playing fetch. For the next hour, she played fetch and for the remainder of her life, she enjoyed a game of fetch everyday.

Right after Thanksgiving, Keller came to live with us. Keller, blind but gentle, seemed to be the perfect roommate for Princess Leia. She had been taking walks regularly with Bandit and with other dogs, but had not had close contact with any dog on a regular basis. Keller and Princess got along great on walks, but after a couple of "disagreements" were separated while they were alone. She still seemed to really enjoy his company on walks and we felt that she was getting some great socialization with him. We expected that they would be great friends eventually.

Little did we know at this time, Princess had internal problems that were fighting her as she was getting psychologically stronger and stronger. A couple of weeks after Thanksgiving, Michael commented that Princess looked as if she were losing weight again. Her appetite was good, but she was not able to keep her weight. I weighed her and was shocked to see that she had lost several pounds since a few weeks before. We brought her to Dr. Benner for a checkup and her blood work did not show any obvious problems. An x-ray showed that her liver was much smaller than it should have been. We scheduled an ultrasound for a few days later.

She never made it to the ultrasound. She quickly stopped eating or drinking at all, we had to syringe feed her and give her subcutaneous fluids several times. She was getting more and more disorientated and her problem could not be identified. We are convinced that the abuse and distress from her life before us had caused insurmountable damage to her internal organs.

I spent a lot of time just laying with her for those last few days. In the middle of the night on December 7, Princess called to me. I went to her and lay with her in her bed and she passed so peacefully on to the Rainbow Bridge.

We miss Princess and we especially miss the dreams of having her enjoy a long and normal life. She was starting to enjoy being part of a family, doing the things that dogs enjoy doing. The life that she came from caused too much damage to her physical body, and she could not recover from that. We are thankful for the short time that we had with this sweet girl. We wish that it were longer, but at least she had a short chance to enjoy her life and was able to see that living didn't have to be a terrible thing.

We will never forget The Princess.

Reflections on DogTown... and a couple of tips from the experts.

2012-11-18T18:13:00.000-06:00

While at Best Friends Animal Society, we spent quite a bit of time in DogTown. With about 500 dogs at any given time, we were impressed and it warmed our hearts to discover that each dog is treated as an individual. New dogs are fully vetted and evaluated and then carefully placed with a dog who is considered likely to be compatible with him or her. Over several days, the dogs are put together during the day while a caregiver is monitoring their relationship and then they are separated at night until they prove to be a good match (or not in which case a new match is tried out). The enclosures are huge with a heated/cooled indoor area for each run. Some dogs are housed singly if they are not able to live closely with another dog. In the Old Friends area, dogs live in groups of up to four dogs. In one case, Layla, one of the Vicktory dogs (rescued from Michael Vick), was uncomfortable with other dogs at all. She has been moved to the Feathered Friends area of Best Friends where she lives as a companion to the caretakers there. She is very happy and loves people and the attention she gets.


A picture of us with Layla. We visited her a few times. She is as sweet as can be.

The folks in DogTown are the experts on dog care. They work within a sensible budget as all of us in rescue do in order to make the money go further in order to give each dog the best care possible while leaving funds for expansion and emergencies. They have found the best ways to deal with some basic problems in dog care. Here are three tips that we got that we have already used or will use soon at OFSDS.

1. Front clip harnesses: Most of the DogTown dogs are walked by volunteers, many even by young volunteers. I don't know about you all, but we have been through just about every type of harness that we can find and nothing is exactly right. They are either too flimsy, the dog can climb out of them or they are difficult to put on the dog. Most of the dogs that we walked at DogTown had a front clip harness, it pulls from under the dog's chin and keeps the dog from pulling because when the dog pulls it tends to turn them to the side. The harness doesn't have to be super tight and is extremely easy to put on. It is made of standard leash materials and is thus very durable. We bought one for Gracie and have tried it out. It works like a charm. Here is a link to the one that we got for Gracie: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009ZBKG4/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00


Zeus, modeling his Easy Walk front clip harness.

2. For the food inhalers in your family: Simple, simple, simple solution for the dog who eats their food before you even put it down. Take a $5 stainless steel anti-tip bowl and flip it over. The food goes around the center and the dog has to slow down to get to it all. We have already started using this for Bandit and it has made a world of difference. The meal that took him three seconds to eat now takes a minute or more. Another solution used at Best Friends is to spread the food out in a muffin tin.

Slow feed dish

Bandit eating more slowly than before

3. Raised bowls for larger dogs: I thought that this was very clever. We will use this idea whenever we have the need for a raised bowl. It is a cutout plastic bucket with a stainless steel bowl set in the hole.


A taller or shorter bucket could be used depending on the dog

The Best Friends Animal Society Experience....

2012-11-14T10:10:00.000-06:00

It's not easy for us to leave all of our Old Friends, and we sure don't do it often. If we leave, it's got to be for something really special or we aren't going to go. Last April, we planned that something special and have been waiting (im)patiently ever since. Last week we sent the Princess on a spa vacation of her own, packed Arty and Benny off to the resort, got a whole family to take care of our remaining Old Friends and headed off to Kanab, Utah and Best Friends Animal Society for a week long workshop on starting and running an animal sanctuary.
Let me tell you.... it was worth every minute of the wait.
Kanab, Utah is a very small town (population around 5000) far from anywhere else but nestled in the midst of some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.

The view from the dining/workshop area in Angel Village

Best Friends Animal Society has been in it's current location since 1984 and started on a shoestring budget with a vision that has grown into it's present day mission to "Bring about a time when there are no more Homeless Pets". This mission spreads far beyond their Sanctuary in Utah. Best Friends has discovered that the way to fulfill this vision is to build a network of partners throughout the world that each does their small part. They have called this the No More Homeless Pets Network. Through education, which includes workshops like the one we attended, the folks at Best Friends share the knowledge that they have gained in the past 28+ years to help others to build their own sanctuaries, rescues and other types of organizations dedicated to supporting the Best Friends Mission. OFSDS will be eligible to join this network in April 2013.
When we registered, we were excited when we read that founders of Best Friends would be giving some of the presentations during the workshop. We were overjoyed when founders Faith Maloney and Jana de Peyer were with us for nearly the entire workshop. They generously and openly shared their experiences and details about Best Friends throughout their growth and as it is now. There were also many other workshop presenters who work in various rolls at Best Friends. All had valuable information to share. We came away at the end of the week completely overflowing with ideas, new tools and tons of energy and enthusiasm.
Our week started with a two part tour of the Best Friends Sanctuary. They house about 1700 animals, comprised of dogs, cats, birds, horses, pigs, bunnies, wild animals for release when possible and other various animals. Throughout the week we had sessions on strategic planning, fundraising, finding and keeping volunteers, adoptions, talking with the veterinarians, dog training and evaluation and much more. We also spent two mornings in Dogtown and the Old Friends section of Dogtown working with the caretakers and walking dogs. It was an amazing week. While this workshop in no way made us experts in any of the areas we covered, it has helped to steer us in a more well defined direction.

This post is the first of a short series of posts over the next several days about some of what we took home from the workshop. While our mission and goals have changed very little, we will be refining our strategies and setting a more defined plan while the workshop and our thoughts are still fresh in our minds. I will share that with you all as we progress.
Below are some of the pictures from animal areas other than Dogtown. I will go into more detail about the dog areas in the next few days.

I was fascinated by the pigs - here's a potbelly

Cute but BIG

The birds were beautiful - they live for 80-100 years. More than a lifetime commitment

Horse fields

Pilots N Paws and the travels of Puffy and Bennett

2012-09-29T23:07:00.000-05:00

We first heard about a senior (10-12 year old) Pom (was Arty now Puffy) who needed rescue on September 20. This adorable little guy was in danger and in need of a way out of Hammond Animal Control. We agreed to take him into our program. He would stay temporarily with Bandit's foster family until we could find him a forever placement.

Our first sight of Puffy, who could resist this little guy?

Next day, we found out, Puffy had a friend who also needed a way out. We pondered on it a bit and decided that we would take him too. This was Bennett, a little old (13 years) guy who also needed a retirement home. He was coming with Puffy....


Bennett, with his little grandpa sweater

They were coming from Hammond, IN (not far from Chicago) to Mount Juliet, TN a seven hour drive, but we would somehow get them here....We discussed transports, and last weekend, Penny told us that the little guys were going to be flown in!
I had never heard of Pilots N Paws until now, if you haven't either, it's worth a look at their website, or their facebook page, it is a wonderful organization. They are a non-profit, 501(c)(3) like us, and are a network of pilots who donate their time and planes to transport dogs from an area where they have no chance to another where they can be adopted, or put in a rescue. Pilot Tom and his daughter Chandi volunteered to bring the boys from Columbus IN to Nashville. To get the boys from the shelter to Columbus was a three hour drive early this morning which was done by Penny and Brigit. There were lots of dedicated folks involved in this transport!
When the plane landed, the first thing that we saw was little Bennett sitting on Chandi's lap looking perky and happy. Puffy took the trip in the backseat in his kennel. Both flew very well...

Tom, Chandi and Bennett right after landing in Lebanon TN

Tom and Chandi with both of the boys

and then they were with us :)

Our original plan had Puffy being temporarily fostered by Bandit's foster family. We went directly there to see how everyone would get along. Things weren't too bad, but the boys started to get a bit testy with one another. It may have been the result of three as of yet un-neutered males in one space. (this is being fully remedied on Thursday). We decided that it might be better for us to bring both boys back with us for the week. While we were there we got some shots of everyone together. We hadn't seen Bandit in a few weeks and he is doing amazingly well.

Bennett, Bandit and Puffy

Bandit, Puffy and Flower

a sniff fest with the neighbor dog

The afternoon was filled with walks and arranging. We separated the boys for tonight but will start to work them into the rest of the OFSDS family tomorrow. They both walked very well on a leash and get along well with one another. They had a good dinner and off to bed. Enough for one day.....
We are looking for forever placements for both of these boys. They are so sweet and adorable. We don't think that it will take long for someone to fall in love with them.

Bennett

Bennett and Puffy

Puffy

Transformation....

2012-09-15T15:02:00.000-05:00

One of our goals at Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary is to strive to raise awareness of the joys and challenges of living with senior dogs. In this post, I am going to discuss one of the biggest joys in fostering or adopting a senior dog which is watching and being a part of the transformation from sad shelter, stray or neglected dog to happy family dog.
Here are a few of our shining stars so far:

LEO


Leo 3/16/12


Leo 8/24/12

LAYLA

Layla 8/4/11

Layla 7/15/12

BANDIT

LUCKY PENNY


Lucky Penny 8/7/12

Lucky Penny 9/15/12

PRINCESS LEIA


Princess Leia 9/7/12

Princess Leia 9/15/12

An Old Friend's Retirement Budget

2012-09-11T08:42:00.001-05:00

You may look at the ChipIns on our website and wonder where we come up with the estimated costs to care for an Old Friend in the Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary program. We have given this a lot of thought.... the numbers for one year are based on the following:

1. Vetting: the average Old Friend will have an initial vet visit when they arrive. At that time, they will get a check up, all of their basic vetting, shots and preventatives. There will often be a problem to address at this time:
estimated cost $130
2. Preventatives: we use Trifexus for heartworm and flea protection. It is given monthly.
total cost $120
3. Two follow up vet visits during the year. Some will have none, some will be back 3 or more times. Lucky Penny had a visit just last week for a urinary tract infection.
estimated cost: $200
4. Medications: many of our old Friends are on some type of medication or another. Very few are on nothing at all.
estimated cost: $240
5. Food: we feed Nature's Select because it is a good quality food and they give us a good discount as well. (plus, as an added bonus, they deliver)
approximate cost: $250
6. Extra food, treats, etc: $150

Total cost estimate: and this is very conservative. I have not added in anything that would be out of the ordinary for any senior and/or disabled dog that we take in.

$1060 per year

This is why our ChipIns are set at $1000 for a year's costs for a dog in our program.
We also rely heavily on general donations to pay for general supplies and maintenance.

Please Donate... as much as you can or want to. Every bit helps. We have so many plans for the future but can not proceed without your help.
So.....here's a link to donate to our general fund. If you would like to donate to a specific dog, please go to our website click here to Sponsor an Old Friend

All of the donations made to Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary go to the care of dogs who were brought into our program after April 2012. We have already committed to taking care of the needs of the dogs who were here before that time.

Princess Leia - the dog previously known as Yoda..

2012-09-08T22:37:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning, three separate people asked if we could help "Yoda" a poor dog who was only looking for a place to live out his last days in a comfortable place. It was truly a hospice case, but that is what we do, and we felt particularly strongly that we should check on this boy. Bandit's foster Dad had even offered to help with fostering if necessary... we knew that we couldn't say no.
Here is the photo and description that we responded to:

This old boy is going to live his last days @ Greenbrier Animal Control....

We braced ourselves for the worst. At the very least, we would be able to give him a comfortable place to rest his head for those last days. We hoped that it would be better than that.
At Greenbrier Animal Control, we met one of the truly good people in this world. Randy, the sole animal control officer in Greenbrier, TN met us at the shelter in the midst of a bad day and between multiple emergencies. Randy not only maintains the day to day operations of this small, capacity 10 dogs, animal shelter, but has worked to develop a network of rescues and volunteers that has resulted in only one euthanasia this year. Because of limited resources and horribly high counts of owner surrenders, strays and other homeless dogs, rural animal controls have traditionally had the highest kill rates of any of the shelters. The successes of Randy and the network who works with Greenbrier AC, are incredible and commendable. Yoda would have, that very day, have been the second euthanasia of the year.
When we met "Yoda" who had up until yesterday been laying on the concrete floor, "he" was standing at the door of his kennel waiting for us. Good start....Randy immediately realized that a mistake had been made and that Yoda was indeed a female. Keeping with the Star Wars theme, we renamed her Princess Leia.
We thought that we would have to carry her to the car, but when we put a leash on her, she followed us right to the car and Randy helped her in. She remained passive and non-agressive. We noticed that poor Princess Leia had some serious issues. Her eyes were covered with a white shroud and only a slit of pupil showed, she had scars and sores all over her body, she was very slow and cautious and behaved strangely with labored breathing and strange periods of extended spacing out. On the ride to OFSDS, she curled up in the foot well behind the passenger seat of the car and waited...
When we arrived at our final destination, Princess climbed resignedly out of the car. She was easily led into our recovery room and spent the next hour or so checking out her new digs. She would walk around the perimeter of the room, then would sniff (but not drink) at her water bowl and then sniff (but not eat out of) her food bowl. She made several of these rounds of the room. Soon after we took her for a walk around the yard then she went back and tried to get some sleep.

first walk through the yard

look at her poor eyes....

Her first attempt at sleep


I wrapped a comforter around her and gave her a toy and she slept

This morning, Princess woke up better than yesterday. She went out for a short walk and walked around her room some more. In the late morning we took her to see Dr. Benner to find out what was really going on.....
The news was much better than we had anticipated! Yes, Princess is not perfect. She was covered in fleas, has hookworm. Dr B feels that he reason that her eyes look so bad is because she is severely dehydrated and her third eyelid (dogs have them, we don't) is covering her cornea to protect it. She got SubQ fluids while she was there (and we got a lesson in SubQ fluids that may come in handy some day), de-flea, and wormer and came back with antiobiotics, steroids and more wormer. We are waiting on shots, preventatives and spay until she is stronger. She is probably middle-aged rather than a senior citizen.
Although we do not want to focus on what was in favor of focusing on what can be, it is possible that this poor girl was a bait dog or had had been attacked by another animal in her recent past.

eyes are still bad, but we are hoping they get better soon

she is actually starting to enjoy her walks

Tonight, Princess took her walk and peed while she was walking, a first. She has eaten two hot dogs today (one with hidden antibiotics), but will still not eat her food. She is friendly and seems to love the company of humans. We are thrilled with the progress of this "hospice" dog.

Bandit - the First OFSDS Forever Foster Dog!!

2012-08-31T00:04:00.000-05:00

Today Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary, for the first time, placed a wonderful senior dog in an amazing Forever Foster home. We are so excited to now be doing what we set out to do at the beginning of 2012. At that time, we decided to create Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary as a non-profit organization with the goal of providing Forever Foster Homes to dogs who were unadoptable due to age and/or disability. It's been a long path, but finally we are here.
Just this past weekend, we first visited Michael, who was willing to Forever Foster an Old Friend. Once we saw what a loving home he could offer, we immediately started working with him to find the right dog to fit in with him and his three sweet dogs. After seeing the following video of Bandit, it was decided that this poor, sad, old (10-12 years old) dog would be the one.

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He was coming from Daviess County Animal Shelter in Kentucky. It was a three hour drive each way, and, thankfully, Mandi, a volunteer for the rescue group that works with the shelter, was able to meet me half way. This is a dedicated group of volunteers. They were also responsible for helping to get Penny to us a month or so ago.
Just moving Bandit from one car to the other was a challenge.We had to load the poor, pained boy onto a blanket and then transfer him onto a doggy bed in my car. He was so scared.
I brought Bandit directly to our vet, Dr Benner, at Village Veterinary Hospital in Mount Juliet. Bandit was feeling extremely bad by this time. He screamed when he was picked up in his bed for transfer inside. It was necessary to use a muzzle because Bandit was lashing out from the pain. Dr Benner determined that he has a disc problem and was able to isolate it to the middle of Bandit's back. He gave Bandit a steroid shot and a pain killer. It was such a blessing that Bandit was finally getting some relief from his pain.

Although the original plan was for me to bring Bandit directly to Michael from Village Vet, I did not feel comfortable bringing him anywhere at this point. He was highly stressed, in a lot of pain and completely immobile. I felt that rest was what he needed so I brought him and a medicine cabinet of drugs back to OFSDS and put him in our recovery room. It was very difficult to move him alone. He had made a mess in his bed and needed to be moved out of the bed so that it could be washed. Just rolling him off the bed onto a rug on the floor was a chore. At this point I was very worried.
For the next few hours Bandit just lay on the rug, sleeping on and off. I was so afraid for him.

At dinner time, I was able to hand feed him his medications with his dinner (Tramadol-Pain, Cephalexin-antibiotic and Prednisone-steriod). Thank goodness his appetite was still good. It was the only encouragement at that time.
I checked back on him often, occasionally softly petting his head. His legs and feet were very tender and he would scream if I touched them. At about 11pm, I went back to check in on him and HE WAS SITTING UP!

Over the next hour or so, he actually got himself up and walked a little bit to relieve himself in a far corner.
We all went to bed and this morning, Bandit got up to eat breakfast and then lounged back into his bed until the afternoon.

This evening he would move to his Forever Foster Home. We wanted him to get on with his life.
After dinner and a short walk in the grass. We lifted Bandit into his bed in the Cruiser and he was on his way. When we got to his new home, he took a short walk around the yard and waited to meet his new family. When his new brothers and sisters came out to greet him, he was thrilled. His tail wagged and there was sniffing all around. It was hard to believe that this was the same dog who, just yesterday, couldn't even get up by himself.
It was a bit of a challenge getting him up the three stairs to the house. We put a rug under his mid-section and helped him to climb. He really wanted into the house so he was eager to help. He immediately ran in, found the food and water bowls and began sniffing, in true hound dog style.

He was checking out his new digs. In just a few minutes, Bandit knew that he was home. He has canine friends and a wonderful Forever Foster Dad. Bandit will live here for the rest of his life, but Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary will take care of his vetting and basic needs. In this way, we hope to be able to find Retirement Homes for as many as possible of the sweet seniors who face euthanasia every day because they are unadoptable due to unknown vet costs and limited remaining life.
Here are a few more pictures of Bandit with his new family.

If you can spare a little bit to help with Bandit's vetting and basic needs, please ChipIn to Bandit's Retirement Fund. Anything at all is greatly appreciated. We will not take on new dogs into the program unless we are certain that we can support our existing Old Friends for the remainder of their lives.

We're an OFFICIAL Non-Profit now!

2012-08-23T22:29:00.000-05:00

For the past few months we have been waiting for our papers to come through. The papers that would make us "official" - the papers that will make it possible to ask folks to make tax-free donations - the papers that will give us discounts - the papers that will allow us to apply for grants - the papers that will allow us to rescue more senior dogs!!

Well..... today we got our determination letter and we are so excited. We are now a recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with an effective date of exemption of April 26. We feel that now is the TRUE START of Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary!

Here's how the process went.....

After some time with dog rescue, working with the wonderful folks at Middle Tennessee Golden Retriever Rescue, we began to realize that our real passion lies with the older dogs. Maybe because we are getting older, we felt a special camaraderie with the oldies, those who were down on their luck in their retirement years.

Slowly our dream started to take shape and earlier this year we decided to act upon it. We began to plan and dream, dream and plan. In March, we decided that we were going to make our dream a reality.

Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork.....
We had to fill out paperwork.

First we had to become a non-profit corporation in the state of TN. We decided to get some help from our friends at Legal Zoom for this part of the process. We had to get a mission statement together and bylaws. Then it took about a month, but by the end of April, we were incorporated as Old Friends Senior Dogs Inc. in the state of TN.

Next was the fun part. We had to fill out the IRS form to file for 501(c)(3) non-profit status. I decided to tackle this part of the job myself. It would cost hundreds of dollars to have someone else do it and Legal Zoom gave us a great book to guide me along the way. It took me until the first of July to get everything figured out and ready to go. This application was many, many pages long and required attachments galore to answer essay questions and to clarify various items. I was so relieved to bring it to the post office.

Then the wait began. I had heard that it could take as long as six months to get a determination letter, with lots of questions along the way. I was nervous... Around the end of July, we got a letter from the IRS. False alarm. It said that they had received our application and that it could take as much as 90 more days for a determination or for it to be assigned to someone for further review.

Again we waited.....

So, you can't imagine how excited I was to see another, thicker, envelope from the IRS in the mail today. Opening it was the best part. I think that we were actually pretty fortunate to get through the process as quickly as we did.

Now the REAL work begins! It is just what we have been waiting for.....

New News on some Old Friends

2012-08-19T21:31:00.000-05:00

It's been a very busy couple of weeks here at Old Friends. That coupled with computer issues (UGH!) has kept me from keeping everyone updated. Some of the news is very good, none is terribly bad, so here goes....

Toby

Toby had an annual physical... he has lost 9 pounds since last year and still has a few to go. He is doing great, no problems to speak of. Dr. B thinks that he is younger than the 12 years that we were told by his previous owner because he is so spunky and doing so well.

Lucy

Lucy was on Prednisone and antibiotics after a blood test showed that she was anemic and had high white blood count. She also had lost weight since last year, even though she eats like a horse. Her follow up blood test showed that everything was back to normal. She does have some new mammary masses that will have to be removed. She was diagnosed with grade 0, simple, mammary carcinoma earlier this year.

Layla

Layla went for an annual exam and to our surprise showed up as heartworm positive after having had a negative test last year when she came here and having been on preventatives since then. The worms that she now has are a year old and there are no new worms because she has been on preventatives. She is asymptomatic, so we have decided to continue her on preventatives and to let the adult worms die naturally rather than put her through the "fast kill" treatment. Other than that, we have perhaps gone a little overboard in helping her to gain weight since she came to us last year as a frighteningly skinny girl. We are working to get a few (5-10) excess pounds off of her over this next year.

Rannie

Rannie has been acting and feeling well since she was sick and we found out that her liver enzymes were high and treated her for that. Unfortunately, her levels have not improved. We are going to put her back on Denamoran, at a lower dosage than she was at after her sickness, to see if that will improve her count over time. If not, an ultrasound may be necessary to determine what is happening.

Lucky Penny

Lucky Penny has been doing great. She is eating well and has gained a couple of pounds. Some of her hair is growing back in and she has gone from moving at a sloth-like speed to a normal pace. She likes to follow us around from room to room. She is still a little itchy, and needs medicated baths and ear cleanings, but getting better. House training is going extremely well. She has gone all day without an accident. She has figured out how to use the doggy door so she can go out when she needs to. She's a smart girl.

Charlotte

Charlotte has continued to do quite well since she was switched from Novox to low dosage prednisone for her mobility problems. Her activity level and speed have both increased.

Hunny Bunny

Hunny Bunny has been shining star in the improvement category recently. She had been having severe mobility problems, often falling down and needing help to get back up. No matter how much we cut down on her food she was not losing weight and her future was not too promising. Switching her from Novox to low-dose prednisone helped her some, at least she was having a better time walking once she got up, but still she was not doing very well. At her annual physical, she was given a blood test and we found out that she was hypothyroid. Just a few days after starting on Soloxine, she had very significant improvements. She is getting up and down much more easily and walking quickly through the house, even off of the throw rugs. She is doing the "bunny hop" when she goes to her room for dinner. She is brighter in her eyes and we are pretty sure that she has already lost a couple of pounds. We have even been able to take her "bathing suit" (diapers) off during the day because she has had the energy and will to get up and go outside to relieve herself. She has even taken to barking at Leo.... it's annoying, but it shows that she now feels good enough to think about more than just getting up. We are very happy for her.

Everyone else is doing well. Exams are over for the moment, until Maggie goes in November. This doesn't mean that we'll be strangers to Dr. Benner and Village Vet. In between, we will be following up on some of the issues above.

Lucky Penny Update - Good News and Bad News

2012-08-09T21:15:00.000-05:00

Penny makes herself right at home

Today the lab results came back on Penny's bloodwork. Everything was checked. The good news is that most everything was normal. The bad news is that one thing was not normal. Penny is Heartworm Positive. She is not symptomatic, so hopefully the heartworms have not done much damage. Because of her age and condition. Penny can not be treated for heartworm using the most agressive, "fast kill" method. This treatment would kill all worms, adult and microfilariae, but could put her health in even more danger. We will instead use the "soft kill" method which involves giving heartworm preventative which will kill the microfilariae and keep new worms from growing. The adult worms already in her system will not be killed, but will die once they live out their life which can be two or more years. The decision was made as the "lesser of two evils" as the best choice for Penny. In a future blog post, I will discuss heartworm disease further.
On the brighter side, Penny is beginning to settle in and her personality is coming out. She moves from chair, to doggy bed, to couch and then to the floor. She enjoys being able to choose her place. Penny is sleeping a lot, but enjoys her slow but steady walks and having company. Our one dog welcoming committee, Gracie, spent some time with her today and they were calm and comfortable together. We are going to move Penny upstairs on Saturday when we will be here with her all day long.
A Dawn and then a medicated bath really cleaned Lucky Penny up and brought out her true, rich, German Shepherd like, colors. She is a pretty girl and will be quite beautiful when all of her hair grows back in. She was a real trooper and didn't complain at all. She enjoyed the attention.
Lucky Penny is eating well, so we expect that she'll get some meat on her bones quickly. She gobbles down the homemade stew that I make for all of our dogs to supplement their kibble.
Sweet Penny still needs a Forever Foster Home. Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary will pay for all of her vetting and basic costs for the rest of her life. Penny will fit in well with any calm, loving family. Until Penny finds her Forever Foster Home, Old Friends will not be able to take in any more senior dogs as we are now full.

on a walk

taking a bath, letting the medicated shampoo soak in

all cleaned up

drying off

final touch up

Lucky Penny has Arrived!

2012-08-07T21:37:00.002-05:00

Our first meeting with Lucky Penny

Late last week, we found out about a poor 15 year old girl who had been dropped off at a high-kill Kentucky shelter by her owners. She needed immediate rescue because at her age and in her condition, she would be first on the euthanasia list since she was surely un-adoptable.
Her name was Penny. We renamed her Lucky Penny because she was so fortunate to have people who cared enough about her to contact us. We were able to meet her half way today to get her here to Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary.
We were thankful to Sherri, who brought Lucky Penny halfway to us, cutting a six hour round trip in half. Penny took a potty and water break and easily got into the car on her way to Tennessee. About an hour into the ride, she started to make a low, moaning howl, like a cross between a cow and a howl. It was loud! We surmised that she was trying to tell us something and took her for a walk in a park on the way home. After stretching her legs and relieving herself again, she was back in the car and quiet for the rest of the drive. We figured out that she is completely deaf, she doesn't react to any sounds however loud.
Lucky Penny is so skinny. Her sides are collapsed in and her ribs are prominent. She needs some good food inside of her. Her skin is in terrible shape. Tomorrow when she goes to Dr Benner, we will find out why. We guess that she is a Shepherd/ hound dog, maybe beagle, mix. The fur that she does have is coarse and straight with
German Shepherd coloring. She is small though, probably not much more than 40 lbs. We will weigh her tomorrow when she's had some rest.
She is staying in our "rehab room", a large, cordoned off area in the cool downstairs with couch, sunlight and soft music (which she can't hear anyway) we suspect that she may be in rehab for a little while, but we hope to be able to let her socialize with the rest of the gang very soon. We hope to find her a Forever Foster Family soon where she will be able to settle in and live the rest of her life in comfort.
So far she is sweet and she is tired. She took short walk after dinner and it completely wore her out. She stayed right with us though.
Here are some first day pictures of Miss Penny. I will update again tomorrow after Penny has visited Dr. Benner.
A few minutes ago, I went downstairs to check in on Lucky Penny. She has found the couch and was sound asleep (last picture).

Meeting Lucky Penny

At the Pit Stop

Sweet little girl with Michael

She loves to be petted

This little bed is very nice.....

But this couch is even better :)

Prednisone - a miracle drug for Senior Dogs?

2012-07-31T11:31:00.000-05:00

Hunny Bunny

Let me start this post by saying.....I am not a veterinarian nor an expert on this subject, however, right now we have five dogs who are taking prednisone, for some completely different reasons, and it has been beneficial for all five of them. I was compelled to do some research and this post is a summary of our experiences and what I have learned.

The Old Friends who are on prednisone right now are:
Rannie - for elevated liver enzymes causing loss of appetite. The cause is still unknown. Although the enzyme levels are not down, they are not up either and her energy level and appetite are back to normal. Also taking Denamarin.
Lucy - her blood work showed anemia and high white blood cell count. She is now back in normal levels. Also took antibiotics.
Charlotte and Hunny Bunny - both are on a low dosage maintenance level of prednisone to help with difficulty walking because of back and/or joint pain due to arthritis. Their improvement has been significant. It works much better for both of them than carprofen, which also has potentially dangerous side effects.
Maggie - for allergies. She is scratching less and her ears are staying clear.
It is amazing to me that one drug can do so many things.....

Prednisone is a synthetic steroid, used for animals and humans, that lessens inflammation and lowers the body's immune response. Because of these effects, it is useful for a variety of senior dog problems. It's use is not to be taken lightly, as there are as many potentially dangerous side effects as benefits, but, if used correctly, it has significant quality of life improvement potential for the senior dog. With senior dogs, our decisions weigh more heavily toward quality of life than quantity of years, so, although a strong consideration still, long term side effects are of lesser importance than they would be for a middle aged or younger dog.

Before taking prednisone, the dog must be stop taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs), such as carprofen (Rimadyl, Novox and others) for several days. Using these drugs together or without the waiting period can have a fatal reaction. Always, a veterinarian should monitor any changes in medication.

Prednisone is started at a higher dosage and is either decreased over a period of days or weeks until it is no longer used or it is tapered down to an, as low as possible, maintenance dosage. The reason for this taper down is that prednisone is similar to cortisol, a hormone naturally produced by the adrenal glands. While taking prednisone, the adrenal glands will reduce the cortisol that they produce. If the prednisone were to be suddenly stopped, the dog's body would have withdrawal symptoms. By gradually decreasing the dosage of prednisone, the adrenal glands are given the time to resume their normal functions.

There are many possible side effects of prednisone, especially with long term or higher dose usage. The risk of side effects must be balanced against the benefits of use. In senior dogs, the scale tips toward quality of life issues, since without quality of life, quantity is not important. In the case of Hunny Bunny and Charlotte, they are barely able to stand up or walk without prednisone. Other options, such as carprofen, have not been as effective and carry their own risks. Both of them are also on a glucosamine/condroitin supplement that may or may not be helping, but it is inexpensive and without adverse side effects. Lucy took prednisone for a specific problem and is currently being weaned completely off of it.
Some of the side effects of prednisone include relatively minor issues such as increased hunger and thirst, but can also cause ulcers, muscle loss and personality changes. It suppresses the immune system and can reduce the resistance to other diseases. In the most severe cases it can cause a susceptibility to diabetes due to metabolic changes or can cause canine Cushing's disease which is caused by a hormonal imbalance.

Prednisone is administered for the treatment of numerous diseases and conditions, including, but not limited to, allergies, inflammation from arthritis and back problems, auto-immune disease, asthma and tumors. In senior dogs, it can offer a significant quality of life improvement that often outweighs the risk of side effects. In a younger dog, risks and benefits must be weighed differently. Your veterinarian is your best source for information on medication and it's usage. Prednisone, like any medication, should only be given to your dog as prescribed by your veterinarian.

These are a Few of our Favorite Things - Beds

2012-07-29T15:32:00.001-05:00

I think Gracie might be more comfortable with her head ON the bed

I just took a bed count in our house; we have two human beds and ten dog beds. I should correct that and just say we have twelve beds.... the humans don't sleep on the dog beds, but the other two are first come, first sleep. Of the ten dog beds, five are conventional pillow beds, very popular with the smaller dogs and occasionally one of the big guys will cuddle up. The other five are Coolaroos, a camp cot type, off of the ground, indoor/outdoor bed.
Coolaroos are great. They have no stuffing, so there is no temptation to rip them to shreds and pull the innards out (thank goodness, we are past that stage with our gang). They are lifted off of the ground and are made out of a porous weatherproof fabric that allows both air and water to flow through. We have had some of them for several years and they still look nearly as good as they did when they were new. The one on the back porch is a favorite in cooler weather, even right after a rain. One of the ones in the house is placed right over an air-conditioning vent and the air comes right up through it. Guess which is the favorite Coolaroo in the house in the summer. Added bonus, they are very inexpensive...only about $35 for the large (golden retriever) size and, if necessary, you can get a replacement cover for under $20.

Gracie helps to assemble a new Coolaroo

Even Hunny Bunny occasionally uses the outdoor Coolaroo

Belly prefers a pillow, it fits her Princess image

Gracie is flexible in her sleeping preferences

Zuzu enjoys the sun on the back porch

Sometimes the human/dog bed gets a little crowded

Rosco

2012-07-28T23:53:00.000-05:00

Rosco was adopted from Nashville Humane Society in 2003 by our son when he was still a college student. Rosco was only about two years old at the time and we fell in love with him when he got up into the chair in the office at Nashville Humane. After a walk around the block, Jason knew that Rosco was the one. However, it was no surprise that a few years later, when lives changed, Rosco became our dog. We wouldn't have had it any other way.
Rosco has always been a little on the cautious side. For the first week he was afraid of the ceiling fan in Jason's room. He is a worrier, starting out with a concerned look, then a whine then a full bark when things didn't seem right. He's still the first one to start any type of mass hysteria about absolutely nothing.
Rosco has the most wonderful donut tail. It does a complete 360 degrees and then some. His tail tells of his moods. When we had Reggie here a few years ago, Rosco's tail went straight down for a few weeks. Soon after it drooped, Reggie pulled a power play that worked up to a severe attack on Rosco that ended up with a bad bite to Michael's hand and a new foster home for Reggie. A few days after Reggie left, Rosco's tail was doing a full circle again. When Layla first joined our family, Rosco was unsure and again, down went his tail. Once he realized that she was going to be a friend, the tail was up and around again.
Everyone loves Rosco. All of the other dogs want to be his friend, big and small. He is kind to newcomers; when Ginger first got here no one wanted to have anything to do with her because she was timid and unsure of herself. Rosco was the only one at that time (Gracie wasn't here yet), who spent time with her and made her feel at home.
Rosco is now older, about eleven years old. He was recently diagnosed as hypothyroid and was put on medication. Since the medication he has lost almost 10 pounds and is much more active than he has been in a few years. He's much more relaxed, but still likes to get everyone stirred up over not much.

Rosco in 2006

Rosco and lifelong friend Rannie

Asteroid loves to cuddle up to Rosco

Rosco and Charlotte

Coprophagia - a Post in Bad Taste

2012-07-22T19:13:00.000-05:00

Warning: if your stomach is easily turned you may not want to continue to read this post….

No pictures will be included.

Today, in an email conversation, the subject of Coprophagia came up….. what’s that? You might ask.

Here’s the Webster’s definition: the eating of feces that is normal behavior among many animals

NORMAL!! You say….NORMAL??? Why in the world would any animal, especially my cute and perfect dog who is fed the best food, groomed to perfection and trained with the best trainer, want to EAT POOP?? What in the world is normal about that!?!? If you Google it, it is referred to as a disorder, a problem and a disease. Then you will find multitudes of reasons for it to occur and just as many home remedies and cures that you can purchase. The bottom line is: No one ever told your dog that it is disgusting to eat Poop!! If it tastes good, they are going to eat it! Try putting a pound of hamburger on the ground in the back yard and see if they leave that there for long.

Now don’t get me wrong…. I’m just as grossed out as anyone else when I see our perfect Lucy Lu chowing down on a fresh pile of poo. I pick up poop every time I go outside the door just to avoid having to have this vision implanted on my brain. It is not unusual to see me running through the yard with a rake and scoop in my hands yelling “Lucy/Daisy/Charlotte, Whoever NOOOOOOO”. Just today, and I am not joking about this just for comic relief from this subject, I was outside eating an ice cream cone and saw Daisy just getting ready……I ran for my rake and scoop, and with an ice cream cone pointing straight out of my mouth since my hands were full with the rake and scoop, I was running across the yard to try to beat her to it. Michael, just coming around the corner, got a real kick out of this and said something about wishing he had his phone handy for a picture. I’m glad that he didn’t.

There are many articles that address this subject with conclusions and recommendations and I think that I can address some of those items based entirely on experience. Face it; we have a lot of experience with more than 25 dogs over the last 25 years, not including foster and visiting dogs. I’d say about 20% of them were partial to eating poop to some degree.

. 1. Your dog eats poop because it is not getting a balanced diet. Not true. We feed our dogs the best foods on the market as well as a home cooked stew of fresh meats and vegetables. Maybe the good diet just makes their poop taste better.

2. Add pineapple, pumpkin, spinach or garlic to your dog's food to make the poop taste bad. First of all, I actually add some of these foods (not garlic, garlic in high enough dosage can be toxic to your dog) into my stew for their nutritional value and it makes no difference at all. Face it; what doesn’t taste good to one dog is going to taste great to another. Do you and your best human friend like the same foods?

3. You can train your dog to not eat poop. Maybe you can get your dog to not eat it when you are watching, but what happens when your back is turned. Try this. Put a sandwich on the edge of the counter. Your dog is probably trained to leave that sandwich alone as long as you are there. Leave the room for a few minutes and see what happens……

4. Exercise your dog. Boredom causes poop eating. I have watched my most active dog, running through the yard at full speed while playing and having a grand old time, come to a screeching halt when she passed by a warm, fresh pile of poop.

To show how desperately some people want to try to get their dog to stop eating poop. Read the following recommendations, taken directly from a training website. Does this seem a little extreme to you?

· Another method (I haven't tried this one) which you could adopt is to slice your dogs poop length wise and lace it with tabasco sauce or cayenne pepper (don't laugh, apparently it works).

Come on now…. I sure wouldn’t try this one either (just imagine).

· In some cases fitting a muzzle to your dog may help to break a feces eating habit. This method is suitable in times when your dog is off leash, like at the beach or local dog park.

Ahhh yes….. let’s muzzle up the dog and have a nice trip to the beach or dog park. No fun for the dog and everyone at the beach or dog park is going to think that your dog is a vicious biter.

· Use the power of "negative association" through the use of a choke or prong collar. Fit your dog with the collar and every time he goes to eat poop give a short sharp tug on the leash. This correction will quickly teach your dog that eating poop is not a pleasant experience.

Sorry, not even discussing this one.

What works best?…..Clean up your yard. There are going to be some oversights, but if your yard is usually clean, you probably won’t see them. Don’t stress, but you may want to limit mouth on mouth kissing with your dog if you know that she has this habit. Finally, don’t forget THEY’RE DOGS!

In all seriousness - if your dog has a change of eating habits, including after a food or medication change, it is best to seek the advice of your vet.

These are a few of our Favorite Things - Toys

2012-07-11T19:01:00.000-05:00

With as many dogs as we have and have had, we've tried a lot of products. Some have been good....some have been awful. In a series of posts, over time, I will share with you what we have found to be the best of these products. These are completely unsolicited posts; just passing along tips that may save you from all of the $$$$s in bad purchases we made on the way to finding these products.
Toys.... it sounds easy. When Ginger and Gracie got together, they liked to play with toys. First thing.... we were off to PetSmart to buy them an assortment. Squeaky toys, plush toys, rope toys, hard rubber toys, nylatoys.... lots of toys. The house quickly started to fill with fluff, bits of cloth body parts, strings and pieces of rubber. They performed squeakerectomies and fluffosuction with great skill. By the end of the day the only thing recognizable was the snakeskin print on a shred of what was a velour snake toy.
In addition to being a mess, these little pieces of toy now became choke hazards and had to be picked up quickly.
Next thing I did was google "indestructible toys". How could I lose? It sounded like a plan. Below is the "worlds Tuffest soft toy" after only about an hour (still - this is one of my all time favorite photos).

It lasted about two more days. When you have multiple dogs on the same toy at the same time going in different directions, it is the ultimate toy test.
Along the way, I came across the "guaranteed tough" Zogoflex toys by West Paw. By this point, I was pretty skeptical of any guarantees or testimonies to toughness, but i figured it was worth a try.
The bumi was our first try... it did great until Toby came along.

Bumi pre-Toby

Bumi post-Toby

Still, the Bumi was the best so far so we tried another Zogoflex toy, the Hurley. If you know Lucy, you know Hurleys. 50% of the time, Lucy is carrying one or another of our family Hurleys. We have one of every color, and in two years, not one has been destroyed. (we have, however, lost two. We think that Rannie buried them).They get pulled, chewed, dropped, thrown... no damage whatsoever. They are squishy so they satisfy the chewing urge and are are great for pulling and yanking.

Pulling and stretching

one isn't enough for "Two Things" Gracie


Toby having fun


Lucy's classic pose

they just can't take life seriously

Recently, West Paw came up with a new Zogoflex ball toy called the Jive. It is as popular as the Hurley and is loved by a different group of Old Friends. It's also indestructible and great for the ones who like to hold something in their mouths. Layla, Daisy and Toby especially like it. One warning though, they bounce. We live on a hill and one has already bounced over the fence into oblivion.

Daisy protects her Jive

Zuzu

Layla keeps her Jive close

Weathering the Storm

2012-07-09T20:02:00.000-05:00

There are not many pictures with this post. It all happened in the dark... well, most of it, except when the lightening flashed.
We haven't had any rain in this area in several weeks and temps have been above 100 degrees for the last two weeks, so the rain was a welcome sight. The lightening and thunder, however, were not so popular.
We have never really had any super stormpobic dogs, we still really don't, they calm down quickly when the storm has passed. There wasn't much sleeping going on when the storm was here though.
Soon after laying down, the storms started. Leo barked, Zuzu whined, Layla paced. I was petting Leo and Maggie off the side of the bed with Rosco tight up against my back and asked Leo if he wanted to come up on the bed. Within seconds, he was tight up against my front and I couldn't move. I was Leo's thundershirt. In the meantime, Belly was between our pillows and Asteroid was pressed against my head. We heard a ruckus at the bottom of the bed and Charlotte needed help getting up at the foot of the bed. Soon after, Gracie climbed up and then there were six. Even with a king sized bed....not much room for humans. In the meantime, Layla was pacing around the bed and Zuzu was alternately whining and, when we reassured her that things were ok, thumping her tail next to the bed. Maggie was in the Coolaroo on one side of the bed and Rannie was in the Coolaroo on the other side of the bed. The rest of the gang was sound asleep....
After the storms had passed, everyone went to sleep and slept soundly though the night. All was well....except - where did Michael go? Squeezed right out.
We are expecting more storms tonight. I hope that they're over before bedtime......

The MTGRR Connection

2012-07-04T18:08:00.002-05:00

If you've noticed that there are a lot of Golden Retrievers (or Golden Retriever wannabees) in our group, it's not a coincidence. A few years ago, we adopted our Crazy Gracie from Middle Tennessee Golden Retriever Rescue (MTGRR). We were at a point in our lives where we were looking for somewhere to volunteer our time and efforts. The rest of our life had gone from crazy and full time, taking up all of our time and energy resources, to calmer and more flexible, allowing us to redirect our focus in new directions.The volunteers and folks who were (and most still are) running MTGRR were a dedicated, sincere and organized group. We felt that we had found the right place to volunteer our efforts.
We started off doing transports and home visits and a few months later MTGRR had a desperate facebook plea for a foster home for Bandit, a 15+ year old Golden/Pyr mix who was dropped at a shclter and needed to find a new foster home ASAP. We said yes.
Bandit had some dementia which caused him to wander aimlessly at times. He stayed up all night pacing, maybe from some pain or other discomfort. He had trouble getting up and down and walking on the hard floors, but still seemed happy. He walked with the other dogs and took dips in the wading pools with them.

Bandit sitting with Ozkar and Charlotte

Cooling off in the pool


Bandit did have some happy days with us

This happiness only lasted a few weeks. Soon after, Bandit's health deteriorated quickly. He had extreme difficulty getting up at all and once he did, he would pace for hours day and night. Bandit was obviously in pain and after medication changes didn't help at all it was obvious that it was time to help him to go to the Rainbow Bridge.We were thankful that we had been able to provide him with those last few happy weeks.
While some folks would have been put off by this situation, we were shown that there was a need for foster homes for the old, disabled and un-adoptable dogs who were pulled from bad situations and brought into rescue. It was easy to find homes for young and middle aged, healthy dogs, but not for these equally deserving seniors. We had found our calling.....
Just a month later, and almost exactly two years ago, we fostered and within three days, adopted Lucy. Ten year old Lucy (Doggy Perfection) was rescued from a terrible hoarder situation and was not expected to live. Once she was treated with IV and antibiotics for weeks by a vet tech who volunteered for MTGRR, she needed a home where she could recuperate and join a real doggy family. She has been thriving here ever since. Lucy is the most amazing inspiration to anyone who meets her. After living for most of her life in deplorable conditions, she she is a happy, well adjusted girl now.

Lucy's signature smile

Romping through the grass on her first day here

Lucy with her favorite toy, the hurley

In late 2011, we took in Rosie, a pretty 15 year old in the MTGRR program who needed a new foster home because her wonderful foster family would be traveling. Rosie didn't take well to changes and needed somewhere where she could settle down and get comfortable. Rosie was completely deaf and had all the stiffness that came with her age. Even so, she was a happy girl who wanted nothing more than to follow her people around and be petted and scratched. Rosie thrived and lived with us for 15 months before going to the Rainbow Bridge earlier this year. She was happy until then, but in only a few days completely lost her ability to stand up so we knew that it was time to let her go. There are so many things around the house that are still a reminder of Rosie, like the extra wide stairs and the wall to wall throw rugs. I think of her tilted, smiling face often.

Rosie's first day here

Rosie (second from right) and friends begging for sunflower seeds

Beautiful Rosie a year later

Just over a year ago, Bo and Daisy Duke came from a county shelter as a bonded pair. Bo was 11 and Daisy was 13. They were surrendered by their owner and had lived together for their entire lives. MTGRR wanted to keep them together as this transition was difficult enough for them without having to be split up. After their vetting, Bo and Daisy didn't have a foster home and we agreed to keep them here. They stuck together like glue for the first few weeks, Bo learned the doggy door, Daisy learned the doggy door, Bo slept in the dining room, Daisy slept right next to him. After a month they were just starting to feel comfortable apart and with the other dogs. Exactly a year ago, on 4th of July weekend, Bo was not acting himself. On Saturday he wasn't eating as well as usual and by Monday morning he couldn't even stand up. We rushed him to the emergency vet and he had an attack and passed on the examining table. It was determined that he had cancer in his lungs that had finally caught up with him. When we came home without Bo, Daisy was confused. She smelled things that Bo had touched and wandered aimlessly for the day. At that point, Daisy became a permanent member of the Old Friends Family. She was brought back to her happy self by the rest of the gang and has lived here happily ever since. For a 14 year old girl, she is doing great. She still chases the ball (but Gracie gets it) and loves a good roll on her back.

Bo and Daisy together

Beautiful Daisy Girl

It's mine, all mine....

A little less than a year ago, MTGRR rescued Hunny Bunny, a 15 year old "maybe there's some golden in there" dog from a rural shelter. She was a cute, sheeplike, round furball who just needed a place to stay and a family to rub behind her ears. Honey was cute, but her outside life made her a less than desirable housemate. She had changed foster homes multiple times in just a few weeks and was headed to a vet's office to board until another place could be found for her. She came here. Hunny Bunny still has her issues; she forgets to go outside sometimes to go to the bathroom and gets stuck in strange positions due to her extra large turn radius and inability to get up from all surfaces. She needs regular supervision and doesn't eat well with others. That's ok, she's doing fine here. Our paper towel budget is higher than the average family and we've learned how to work with her other problems. We are constantly working to get the weight off of her and keep it off as it makes it so much easier for her to get around. She is using the trail of throw rugs through the house to get around as she often has trouble getting up from a hard floor. Just a month or so ago, Hunny started to bark, something that she had never done before. She's using that skill more and more lately. She's a funny Hunny Bunny....

pretty Hunny Bunny

Hunny Bunny sits so funny


enjoying the outdoors

Beautiful Maggie was adopted by MTGRR a few years ago to her "forever" home. Just this past winter, at almost 13 years old, she was surrendered back to rescue because the owner moved and only took his other, younger dogs. We took her in at Old Friends, first to foster and then, once she showed how much she liked the company of the rest of the gang, we adopted her. Maggie came to us with skin and ear issues and a bag of strange food. We put her on our "sensitive senior" diet and most of her allergies have gone away. She is an opinionated girl with a big mouth sometimes, but deep down is as sweet as can be and is super easy to live with. She loves a roll in the hay in the backyard and sleeps in the doorway. All she wants from us is scratch behind the ears and an ice cube or two. Although Maggie gets along well with everyone, she doesn't do so well at feeding time, which gets her to her room before anyone else. Maybe that's her plan.

Maggie loves to roll in the hay

Happy with her friends


beautiful Maggie

In closing, we love our MTGRR dogs and truly value our relationship with MTGRR. While we are building Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary, we intend to stay involved with MTGRR as well. They are a wonderful group of people with good hearts and we are proud to be associated with them. We are thankful to them for allowing us to be involved and in showing us the way to our true passion in life. Senior Dogs....

Bathtime.....

2012-06-28T20:31:00.004-05:00

There's nothing like a cold bath in the backyard when it's 105 degrees outside. Some of the gang know this and make themselves available for bathing, some of them prefer to avoid the hose area until they are led there. The Golden Retrievers tend to belong in the first group. The webbing on their feet is probably the first clue that they consider water their friend. As soon as the water comes on, Gracie starts circling, Lucy coyly peeks around the corner and Daisy and Maggie are ready and waiting. It's too bad that the first thing that Daisy and Maggie do after their baths is roll in the dust (dust + water = mud and we know that they like that)
Next comes Gracie, she has run past the bathing spot several times waiting her turn and now she has it. Gracie loves her bath and goes into a crazy, playful run right after, cooling down and trying to get the rest of the gang worked up. Toby plays hard to get, but once he is getting wet, stands still and enjoys. Lucy comes easily and picks up her hurley and walks happily off aftterwards. Layla acts like she is shocked that I would dare spray her with soap and water, but takes it peacefully and goes off to lay in coolness in the dining room (yes, the dining room, it took a couple of hours for the inside of the house to dry off after this bathing session). Hunny Bunny doesn't smell so funny anymore, which is a good thing. The rest of them either hit the last bathing session (last time temps climbed into the big numbers) or will catch the next session. I finally dried off too... now everyone is cool and clean, asleep in the house, catching the air conditioning where they can....

Daisy rolling in the dust

after the bath

Toby and Daisy

Layla too

Toby's wet head

Daisy cool and happy

the bath wore sweet Hunny Bunny out

Home again, Home again....

2012-06-22T17:07:00.001-05:00

There's no place like home.... that's the absolute truth. For the first time in over five years, I have been away from my gang for over a week. It's not easy leaving 15 dogs, most of which have some sort of special need or another. Michael was gone with me for most of that time, so we had to put them in capable hands.
For the first couple of days, I had visions of every type of catastrophe I could think of happening while we weren't there. I imagined waterbowl malfunctions, Hunny Bunny rolling down stairs, Charlotte hiding in the shadows not willing to take her pills, Asteroid causing serious injury to our petsitters, Ginger unifying the gang to create a dog-only version of Orwell's Animal Farm .....you get the picture. At feeding times the first couple of days, I was focused on my cellphone waiting for a call describing these disasters and more. On the second day we checked in and , guess what, everyone was doing great and having fun. No problems at all.... After that, I relaxed and enjoyed myself. I still felt a little pang of relief after every feeding time when no call came....
Homecoming was amazing, Michael had already been home for a couple of days, so it may have been over the top if both of us came home together. First, Sentry Ginger caught sight of me sneaking down the boardwalk. It wasn't long before I was surrounded by the whole group; giving me toys, playing among themselves, jumping, barking and best of all smiling :) everyone looks maaavalous....
The only casualty of our extended absence was one Coach tennis shoe, recognizable only by the color of the shards in the yard....Oh well....I'm debating throwing the other one out the back door so they can play with that one too. Is that bad training?

I was so excited to be home that I forgot to take any homecoming pictures. We tried to reenact the homecoming today, but I just couldn't drum up the same excitement (especially in 95 degree temps). Here's a couple of group shots anyway.

they're at least coming my way

I couldn't even get this group to look at me today

we have a (Rescue) dream....

2012-06-01T22:28:00.000-05:00


Front: Hunny Bunny, Lucy, Toby - Back: Daisy, Rosie

Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary is the next step in what we have been doing for quite a while now. It stems from a love for senior dogs and a growing obsession to help these less desirable, but most deserving dogs. We started out simply as adopters of some more needy dogs, going from 7 to 15 dogs over the past few years. We are now at our maximum, both with space and finances, until we put together a plan and thoughtfully work to make Old Friends a bigger entity, able to rescue more senior dogs.
Our home based sanctuary is based on a deep belief that each dog is healthiest and happiest living as an inside dog in a home environment as part of a loving family in their golden years. Stability is important for the senior dog and moving is very difficult for these dogs. For this reason, they need a long term placement, committed to them for the rest of their lives.
This year is setup year.... we plan to stay as we are while preparing for the future. We are in the process of becoming a recognized 501(c)(3) charity. This will free up more funds to spend on the dogs and will give us credibility in the rescue world. We will be able to solicit tax-deductible funds and will be able to put money toward sanctuary related projects more easily. We will be able to get discounts on food and products that are available to non-profit groups.
Later this year, we are going to attend a week long workshop on setting up a sanctuary at the amazing Best Friends Animal Society in Utah. We intend to learn from the best!
We have many ideas but are not sure which of them will eventually come to fruition. Throughout this year we will put together a long term plan that will change as we grow.
I will revisit our plan again toward the end of the year to see how it has changed. Here are some of the long term goals that we would like to accomplish as we grow.

Get a network of lifetime foster homes to allow us to take on more senior dogs into home environments.

Emphasize work with senior humans to accomplish this goal.

Develop dog related fund raising projects.

Become expert and develop a network of experts on senior dog specific subjects.

Present workshops/specific lectures on senior dog related subjects.

Work only with dogs who are unable to find adoptive homes through other rescue due to age or age/disability.

Get another home environment (facility) staffed by volunteers to allow us to provide a home for even more dogs (the BIG dream).

Maintain a facebook page, blog and webpage to share our experiences, what we have learned and what goes on day to day with our Old Friends.

a Study of Noses

2012-05-28T09:41:00.002-05:00


from bottom left: Rosie, Toby, Ginger, Gracie

Dog noses are so much more advanced than people noses....they are amazing! They are thousands to millions of times more sensitive than ours, depending on breed.
Here's some interesting information about dog noses from Dog Breed Info Center, "Understanding a Dog's Senses", <http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/articles/dogsenses.htm>

When dogs smell something they are not just registering a smell, they get an entire story. They can smell pheromone, which is not only found in the urine and fecal, but on the skin and fur. From this they can tell a lot about another dog or human including if they are male or female, what they ate, where they have been, what they have touched, if they are ready to mate, if they have recently given birth, or had a false pregnancy, and what mood they are in. They have even been known to smell cancer on people, alerting them to it and saving their lives. This means when your dog smells another person, tree that another dog has peed on, pant leg that another dog has rubbed up against, or chair that someone has sat in, they are actually reading a story, not just smelling an interesting scent. While a human will smell something like spaghetti sauce as one smell, a dog smells each individual ingredient. Unlike humans, dogs can move their nostrils independently, allowing them to know what direction a smell is coming from...
Puppies have heat sensors in their noses to help find their mother during the time when their eyes and ears are closed. These sensors disappear by the time they are adults.

Dog's noses look pretty amazing too. I have put together a collection of all of the noses (dog noses that is) at Old Friends for you to compare.

Asteroid

Charlotte

Daisy Mae

Ginger

Gracie

Hunny Bunny

Layla

Leo

Maggie

Rosco

Zuzu

Belly

Lucy

Rannie


Toby