All better!

Minnie's anal sac absesses are now all healed and she's back to her chipper self. I'm so glad. The poor baby really suffered. I'll be sure to go to the vet's in October and have one of the vet assistants there give her a good squeeze! I'm also going to increase the fiber in her diet. Hopefully this will make her poo-poo's harder so that the sacs won't fill up as often as they have been. Yucky!

Getting Better...

It's been one week ago today that I had to go to the vet for my fanny, and I think it's getting better. It still bothers me some, but I've felt like playing the last few days so it must be going away. At least I hope so. Mommy is still shoving those little round icky things down my throat and putting burny stuff on my boo-boos, but she said it has to be done so I can get better. She said my pain thingys are all gone, so that's one less round thingy to have to swallow. Hooray! Well, at least I get a treat after I get all those nasty things done to me.

Mommy says she does it so I can get better. Humans sure have a funny way of showing you they love you sometimes, don't they?

Minnie's Story

Minnie has a very sad beginning. She spent the first 6 months of her life in deplorable conditions in a puppy mill in Angola, New York. The metal cages were filthy and stacked to the ceiling. She had next to no contact with people or her littermates. She was covered in feces, her beautiful fur was overgrown and matted and she was full of fleas and ticks. The Erie County SPCA busted the puppy Mill in July of 2003 and seized over 90 dogs and other animals as well. After being cleaned up, removing the insects and being spayed, Minnie was placed in foster care for 2 weeks and then released back to the SPCA. My landlords downstairs, the Rendas, adopted Minnie the day after their dog Toby died from cancer.

There were immediate problems. Minnie was terrified of the Rendas youngest son, Anthony. He was the only member of the family she didn not like. It was a mystery because Anthony would never hurt her. Anthony wooed Minnie with sweet talk, promises of walks, and hot dogs. Nothing worked. She would bark and growl at him and run away. We suspected that some young man at the puppy mill must have been especially unkind to her. Anthony felt so bad Minnie was afraid of him that he would cry! Eventually, the Rendas decided to give Anthony his own dog. They returned to the SPCA and Anthony chose a 3-year-old shepherd & bloodhound mix that the shelter said would probably get along with Minnie. Of course Duchess, the new dog, was a lot bigger than Minnie was!

The Wednesday after Duchess arrived, Diane, my landlord, knocked on my door late evening and told me that Duchess had bitten Minnie! They had rushed Minnie to the vet immediately after the incident. Minnie was lucky. She had no internal damage even though the vet said the bite was not a play bite-- it was a bite to kill. Diane said she saw Duchess actually pick up Minnie in her mouth! Minnie let out a scream that Diane said she would never forget in her life. After the vet visit, the dogs were kept in two separate rooms until their fate was decided. I went down with Diane to visit Minnie. She was lying pathetically on Dianes bed with puncture marks on her belly. A rag with a little blood on it lay nearby. I felt so bad for her. She had already gone through so much.

Diane asked me if I wanted Minnie because she did not want to give her back to the SPCA, nor did she want take out an ad and have her go to a stranger. I was working at the time and gone from 7 AM until 5:30 PM at night. A long time. But I wanted her so much. Diane said maybe I could try it out and see how it goes. Otherwise, she was going to give her to her sister. Well, that night after much agonizing, I went down and asked Diane if I could please have her. She was delighted and did not charge me anything for Minnie, even though she had paid $200 for her! She was just happy she was going to a good home with someone she could trust. I told her she could come up to visit her, too. It ended up that Minnie only had a couple of accidents in the house while I was at work, even though I would not have minded if it happened more than once. I kept her in the kitchen and the linoleum floors were nothing to clean up.

When the day came for the Rendas to give Minnie to me, her husband Tony and daughter Janine brought her upstairs to my place. Diane did not have the heart to show up. Both Tony and Janine cried and I told them they could still visit her. But still, they were giving up their dog. My feelings were mixed. I was so happy to have her, but my heart broke for the Rendas. I cannot imagine how painful it must have been to give up a dog as wonderful as Minnie. I thanked them repeatedly and assembled for them a thank you basket of snacks for their kindness. I found out later that it was Anthony who had suggested that his mom give Minnie to me. What a blessing!

That was January 2004. I have had Minnie since then and I have also moved. I cannot describe how much I love her and am happy to have her. It has always been my dream to have a dog of my own and God in His goodness dropped Minnie right into my lap (where she loves to sit, by the way)! She is overly submissive when I approach her, rolling onto her back and she sometimes even shies away. She is skittish around children and other dogs. I reassure her without trying to baby her too much and I am planning to enroll her in obedience classes when I save up the money to help socialize her and build up her confidence.

Well, that is Minnies story. I know it was long, but I feel the tale of any dog that has been rescued from a life-threatening situation and delivered into a happy, loving home is worth telling. I would to God that every animal had such a happy ending. With the love, loyalty and forgiveness they show, Lord knows they all deserve it. Please support your local pound, SPCA or dog shelter with your finances, time or resources. Educate friends and family about puppy mills. Give the Minnies of this world the chance for a life that they deserve. Thank you for reading Minnies story!

Lovely Day For Walkies

Be-yooo-tiful day here in Western New York. I took Minnie for a walk in Sheridan Park and she really loved it.

She would run ahead on her retractable leash and I would hide behind a tree. I peeked at her when she wasn't looking. She'd look around to find me and then come bounding around the tree and running up to me with a big happy smile on her face! Now that's a smart dog. She knows good and well I'm on the other end of that leash! LOL! I also love how she looks up at me once in a while we're walking with that same happy smile on her face! It's like she's saying, "This is fun, isn't it mommy?! Isn't it fun?" Or she could be saying, "I'm having a great time, mommy! Are you having fun too?"

I've started to add brown rice to her food to try to firm up her stools, but they were still the same consistancy, which is actually fine. I'll have to buy some more tomorrow and experiment with it, adding a little more to her food at a time for a while. If that doesn't do the trick after a while, perhaps I'll try a teaspoon of Metamucil. Minnie eats Neutro Max dog food, which is a very good brand of food. I don't mind paying a little extra for it. I just get the big bag and it lasts three or four months.

I'm so glad Minnie enjoyed herself today! When she's happy, I'm happy! :)

Booty Blues, Cont'd.

Minnie seems to be a little better today. The vet said it takes around 10-12 days for something like this to heal.
I'm taking very good care of her though, doing everything the vet said to do. I really hate giving her the iodine, but he said it would help the wounds heal.
Poor Minnikins! :(

Booty Blues

Poor Minnie! I had to take her to the vet Thursday because she has been toying with her rear end. Well, it's happened again. She has an abcessed anal gland! This has happened before, about a year or so ago. I read up on this and apparently it's a common problem with small breeds.

The vet had to empty it, which caused her a lot of pain. :( Then he gave her an injection of antibiotics and gave me some in pill form to give to her twice a day. I also got her some pain pills and I bought a cone collar from a store because she started to pick at it again. I have to put iodine on the area twice a day, which I HATE to do because I know it burns her :( But that's what the vet said to do. I wet a washcloth with warm water and hold it to her bottom as well to help it drain. She likes this. I imagine it feels very good. Then I finish up by gently rubbing some antibiotic cream on it. Afterwards, I have to keep an eye on her so she doesn't lick at it. When I'm in the tub or have to leave, I put the cone on her. Poor thing-- she doesn't come to me when I call her now because she thinks I'm going to mess with her butt! Heck, I wouldn't come either! I have to physically go and get her. Well, it's for her own good and she'll get over it.

I hope this works because if it doesn't then she would have to have some kind of surgery to empty out the anal glads more completely, if I understood him correctly. I'm resolving to have her glands emptied by one of the girls at the vet's office every 3 months. My groomer won't do it and I won't, either. Let one of the girls at the vet's do it because they will do a better job than I ever could. Having her anal glands removed is a total, absolute, last-ditch effort. Worst of all, my mom had to pay for everything since I'm out of work. I hate that. I wish I could pay for it myself.

Well, I'm just grateful that I was able to have it done and hopefully Minnie will get better. She's not a happy girl right now. :( I read up on anal sac problems online and apparently her stools need to be harder, which means I need to add more fiber to her diet. Different sites mentioned Metamucil, a , Grape Nuts cereal, etc. It also mentioned brown rice, so I gave her some yesterday and today and she really liked it! I'll have to keep an eye on her poo-poo.

One of the many joys of being a pet owner! ;)