Middle aged musings from farm & hearth
For the past two days, Chip has been feeling more “punky” than usual. He’s on lots of meds, and now has to take the necessary Ivermectin for the demodex, but his little body is having a hard time fighting off the infection. If you’re the praying kind…send a few his way, won’t you?
Thanks to your generous donations, Chip went back to the vet for much needed Xrays of chest and Hip. Turns out the hip looks fine and is just sore from being in a small metal crate while he was in Florida Kill Shelter and then vet down south. *sigh?!*…. His lungs do not show signs of pneumonia… perhaps asthma from poor living conditions. The meds that have to be applied to his skin appear to sting him when applied.. but they are necessary. He’s already been in Lorin’s whirlpool for Epsom salt and oil bath. Here he is this morning, chewing on a donated nylabone. She has beds in each room because he is still so emaciated he cannot comfortably lie on a hard floor.
So… How to get your dog to stop pulling when you go for a walk? As you all know, Ben is a dane, which translates to BIG FREIGHT TRAIN pulling on little old me when we go for walks. I hate choke collars, especially on a dane with very little coat hair. Traditional harnesses tend to make them pull against it, hence more strain on the walker. But THIS harness.. the Easy Walker… works like a charm. I mean, there is NO pulling. None. And.. it’s extremely humane. Nothing tugs at or pulls on the dog. Something about the way it’s designed (actually clipped to the leash on the front chest portion of the rig) gives the dog the feeling that he CAN’T pull, so he doesn’t. Or something like that. Ben has not pulled on me once since I started using this harness and it doesn’t seem to phase him at all to have it on. It’s not tight, fully adjustable, and comes in different sizes. I got it at a feed & grain store. ( I am not being paid to advertise this… it’s just a really good product so I don’t mind spreading the word. )
I went over to Lorin’s house and spent some time with Chip tonight…. he’s holding his own, showing more energy and for the first time since he arrived, wanted to PLAY!!…. The Vet says he’s not out of the woods yet but now has more than a fighting chance, and so he needs the stamina to withstand the Ivermectin treatments he will need to beat the mange.
To say Chip is a love is an understatement. This pup (approx. 6 months according to his teeth) is so gentle, so loving, so… ZEN-like… it’s astounding after all he’s been through. He seems wise beyond his age,too… YODA comes to mind…and I think that should be his name. He even looks like Yoda, although we hope for that to change. Chip, aka Yoda, is so clearly grateful for his new lease on life. He soaks up every bit of love you give him and returns it in spades. He already understands come, sit, and goes potty outside.
THANK YOU to all of you out there who have “chipped-in” to help this little guy. It makes my heart sing to think we know each other only through the blogworld, but have come to know each other enough to trust and care and contribute. It means the world to me, my cup truly runneth over.
This is what horrifies me…. there are people out there who would sit on their hands and watch their pup become more and more ill without doing a damn thing about it. And then when the situation is beyond the beyond…. they dump him. This is the story of Chip. He is now in the hands of Lorin of Dog days, where she hopes to rehabilitate him and eventually find him a forever home. He is a sweet and loving boy, hard to tell his breed or mix because of the lack of hair…possible lab or retriever mix?
He arrived the other day, exhausted – someone thought he was healthy enough to be neutered and then travel three days to get to CT (??) . He has been to the vet several times in the past few days and bloodwork indicates a LONG road of POSSIBLE recovery, but atleast, no organ failure. He now knows what it feels like to be cared for and loved, and to have grass underfoot and a bed to sleep in. Let’s hope he lives to enjoy a normal life.
There’s a special place in hell for those who torture animals, I can only hope.
I’ll keep you posted on his progress.
No pressure here, as my blog isn’t about money or asking for it. The economy sucks and we’re all tightening the belt. But if you are so inclined to help with Chip’s expenses, even a five dollar donation… a chip-in widget and web page has been set up for him. It can be found here…
What a day. One of the Top Ten on my list. Just awesome! Despite Irene’s impending threat, many volunteers and people looking to adopt dogs in need came out to support it. I am humbled by all the help we got setting up the site, running the event and by the amount of people who came out to meet the dogs and give them new and loving homes.
What can I say, Irene…. you’re not welcome here.
Weathermen are often wrong, we all know it’s true. A line from a young boy to his mother….
“Mom, when I grow up I want to be a meteorologist! You get paid to be wrong half the time, how cool is that!”.
I do get a kick out of the excited frenzy of weathermen when they have something big to talk about. Their energy is palpable! And they say the same thing… over…and over again, just to keep the excitement going. It only adds to the giddyness when they are filmed standing outside in the storm in their rain gear, wind and rain whipping in their face. Why do they do that, exactly, anyway? Because we won’t believe them if they’re not right out in it?
We’ve got Dog Days this weekend… hard to make the call on what we should have done… call it off? Try to get Saturday out of it and nix Sunday? The rescues were given the option to make the call, because they are, after all, traveling with their dogs to our site. Most decided…. LET’S DO IT.
And so we will.
If you’re the praying type (most often I’m not…. hypocrit that I am )…. send a few prayers our way.. that we find homes for all 80 or so of the dogs coming to our event on SATURDAY, since we have now abandoned hope for Sunday…. and that these selfless rescue crews arrive and return home safely. Those who are not local will be put up in area homes Saturday night and will ride out whatever part of Irene shows up here, returning to their regions after the storm.
Last night we had almost 80 volunteers sign up from our area, all for the love of the dogs. I’ve got goosebumps just thinking about it.
This old house looks so serene this morning. While the guys are putting all the outside furniture and fly-away objects in the cellar and the garden has been picked of anything that might be edible in the next week of window ripening, I grabbed the camera to capture the light.
Onward…
Millie’s Info…
Breed: American Bulldog Mix Color: Gray/Blue/Silver/Salt & Pepper Age: Adult
Size: Med. 26-60 lbs (12-27 kg) Sex: Female
I am up to date with shots.
Millie’s Story…
She was left locked in a crate outside the pound. Her behavioral traits – active, quiet, submissive, alpha etc.
She is the SWEETEST dog ever. Gets along well with other dogs. Submissive.Has the cutest little jingle to her gait!! Approx 5yrs old. (can you imagine having a sweet dog like this for five years and then leaving it in a crate at the pound’s door?)
If you’re local, come see Millie and many many other shelter dogs next Saturday & Sunday at Parmelee Farm. Also, don’t forget to stop by our Bid,Barter, Bake sale in front of Rocco Field Tomorrow 9-2.
Lots of planning, fundraising, organizing, donating, soliciting, bid-barter-baking going on around here as we get ready for the Dog Days Adoption Event next Saturday and Sunday….
Vanna is currently in foster, she originally came from a kill shelter and was saved by a good samaritan who saw a lovely little girl in her attitude. She is approx. 7 months old and appears to be a Jack Russell Beagle/hound mix. She’s just beautiful and sat on my lap for a solid hour during one of our meetings. She will be at the event looking for a forever home.
For those of you who are local, stop by our bid-barter-bake sale on Saturday in front of the ball field next to the library. We’ve got lots of goodies and gift certificate raffle items from local businesses. Some great tag sale items too!….
One of my favorite pleasures in life is the simple act of porch sitting, especially on a rainy day like today. It’s as if the porch beckons you to just sit for a while, stop the whirlwind that is life, and just observe, breathe, be still. How often do we give ourselves permission to do so.
We had a little porch with a slate floor at the front of my childhood home. I fondly remember sitting on the porch with a coloring book and crayons or cookies and milk, watching the rain come down. In the early years, the smell of my dad’s tobacco pipe, my mother’s music…usually Kris Krisofferson and Rita Coolidge, or Peter, Paul & Mary… Simon & Garfunkel.. playing inside on the record player. Those songs stay with me today… Who’s to Bless and Who’s to blame…. Silver Tongued Devil and I… Homeward bound… Bridge over troubled water..
Sometimes we’d have no choice but to watch the neighbors across the way as they sat on their porch… arguing… Joe and Virginia… an old Italian couple who kept a very tidy little house and garden. They couldn’t stand each other but oh, could they grow a mean tomato.
So while we’re sitting on my porch, let’s talk. Thank you all for your very conscientious and insightful comments left on my blog regarding goods made in the USA. We’re in a real predicament, we Americans. I truly believe this is one way we can answer our own problems. The government and big corporations arent’ going to do it for us, we need to take our own stand, send the message ourselves. Buy American whenever possible, buy local produce, frequent mom & pop shops and restaurants and forgo the chains… let’s just do it. I went to Bob’s yesterday to look for sneakers for my son. I saw lots of tops I’d like to buy for myself, all MADE IN CHINA. *sigh* It’s not going to be easy, but we can do it more often than not. It starts with just one simple act.
Plans for the next Dog Days Adoption Event at Parmelee Farm are under way. Three weeks to go, lots of funds to raise, plans to make, and things to bake for our Bid, Barter and Bake sale. The last one held in Essex was a big success.. $2,000 raised in one day, all paid for the Mystic Valley event last weekend, where ALL dogs were adopted. Amen. Thank you to my blog friends who donated to the cause. You rock! … For those of you who are local and reading my blog, if you’re a baker, or if you have a household item we can add to our Bid Barter Bake sale on August 20th, contact me at karenthisoldhouse@hotmail.com and I’ll be more than happy to pick up the baked item or household item the day before the sale. (August 19th).
I hope you’re all getting some respite from the heat and dry spells across the country… we’re seeing steady rain since last night around midnight and it is so refreshing, even for the horses.
This is what my kitchen looks like since the farm stand can’t open due to the weather.
