Send Good Thoughts/Prayers for Edward

Hi everyone!

If you're still following Edward's story, please send him some good thoughts and/or prayers. This morning I got this email from his poor dad:

Just wanted to send a quick update to let you know
that Edward had to undergo emergency surgery last
Wednesday. I noticed that Edward was unable to stand
up by himself or use his legs so I took him to the
animal hospital where he was admitted overnight.
After an MRI, they noticed he had a disc rupture,
where part of the spinal cord and appending cartiledge
breaks off and lodges itself into a different area of
the spinal cord, suppressing it and leaving him
paralyzed. He underwent surgery and he's home now,
although in a lot of pain =( He's slowly beginning to
walk again though his recoup will be about 2-3 weeks.

Just wanted to let you know that he's OK and will be
back to normal in a short time.

Edward's dad is a hero for giving him the surgery, and our family as well as Young At Heart is wishing Edward a speedy recovery. Poor, poor puppy!

We love you, sweet-eared Edward! Feel better, baby!

KP

A Buddy Update!

I can't believe that Buddy was adopted so recently. It seems like he's been with his family forever, and in this update from Buddy's mom you can get a sense of how well the family is doing.

Hooray for Buddy!

***************

Yes, everything is going great!!! We love our "Budster". He is so adorable and sweet. He keeps us laughing with his antics. As you said, he loves to ride in the car and accompanies us frequently on the way to and from school, on errands, etc. He loves to play ball and runs after it down our long hallway. He sleeps on the floor in our bedroom now (originally we had him in his crate all night but after a while figured it wasn't necessary) and likes to "read" to [Buddy's girl] at night with me before bedtime.

I took him to the vet in Jan. and they put him on an eye ointment 2x/day for his "red eye" condition. He also takes a Chondroitin/Glucosamine supplement daily for his luxating patella. I try to walk him at least once daily but during the frigid days we've had to settle for indoor exercise. Finally, I took him into the dog groomer about 3 weeks ago. He got a shampoo, blow dry and a "Cocker" cut! He looked so funny originally 'cause his little head was so small compared to his large body after being closely cropped. But now he's grown out quite nicely and has gotten much of his curliness back.

He is truly a sweetheart, and we love having him as our dog!

Here are some recent photos. Enjoy!!!

Hope all is well with you. Thanks for a great dog!

*************

We miss you, Buddy! We are so, so happy that you're happy. Your family rocks.

xoxoxoxo
KP

P.S. - See referenced new photos on the side there!

Buddy Goes Home

Last night Buddy went to his new forever home with his mom and his seven year old girl.

This pup has been difficult to say goodbye to and we're all mourning a little bit, particularly Bruno.

But Buddy will be happy and loved and the center of all attention, which is perfect for him.

Good boy, Buddy. We'll miss you.

xoxoxox

KP

A Slight Change of Plans

Okay,

Buddy is still cute and adorable and everything. We still love him very much.

Unfortunately he and Bruno were sumo wrestling last night and things escallated and Bruno got nipped on the lip. It was slight, Bruno didn't notice at all (because he's not so down with the noticing stuff) and everyone is just fine. However, in looking at Buddy's face afterward I'd have to say that Buddy has HAD ENOUGH OF THE ENDLESS WRESTLING.

Add that to the new family meeting last week where Buddy decided he just didn't like the look of the perfectly lovely dog who came to meet him, and I'm thinking that maybe Buddy has just been through too much to go to a home with another dog.

It's so hard to make the calls on this, because there might be a dream family for Buddy out there with a mellow dog that he would totally love, but when you've been through what Buddy's been through what with the different rescues and being ditched by your family and moving from place to place, maybe you need to be adopted by a mom and/or dad who has the time to give you a little one-on-one attention until you're secure about your place in the world again.

Buddy is not a dog's dog. Bruno is totally a dog's dog and wants dogs around all the time, but Buddy is far more interested in the human hands that throw balls and the human laps that provide seats and the human voices that make him feel safe. Until last night I would have said that Buddy would do well with another dog, but after last night I now don't think we want to take the chance.

So that's kind of sad, but hey, this is why we foster. Buddy is getting more comfortable and is now able to let his less perfect side out. What we do is we work with that to try and comfort him and we watch and report so that we meet our end goal of a happy Buddy and a happy family.

If you're interested in having one baby who needs your attention and love and care desperately, and who will in turn give you back his whole entire puppy heart, then Buddy's your boy. Why not fill out an application to meet him?

KP

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM THE BUDSTER!

Hello everyone!

I hope you had an awesome Halloween! Ours was great. My foster brother and I dressed up a little with fancy collars and then, like, a THOUSAND people rang the doorbell. I had so much barking to do and protecting the house! It was awesome!

I'm feeling all better from when I was sick and I no longer go potty in the house. That's made life much more calm. I'm sad that the lady who came on Saturday wasn't my forever mom, but she had a dog that I did NOT take to. Stupid dog. I didn't even care that he was sweet and unassuming. I DID NOT LIKE HIM.

Bruno, I like. Many other dogs I like. I did not like that dog for sure!

So I get to stay at home and rip the guts out of my woobies and throw woobie fluff everywhere. I chew rawhides and eat and drink and go outside and wrestle hard with Bruno. He's a big guy, and when we play tug he could totally fling me into the atmosphere, but instead he pulls just enough so that I know we're still playing.

Mom says that when we play it sounds like we're disembowling each other. Stupid mom, we HAVE to yell and snarl like that. Otherwise we're not cool. I'm totally cool.

Do you love me? Then go to Young At Heart Pet Rescue and fill out an adoption form today!

Wuffs to you!

Buddy

Still Available

It didn't work out this weekend, Peeps. Alas, we're still looking for Buddy's forever family.

If you think that family might be you, please go to Young At Heart's website at:

http://www.yahpetrescue.com

and fill out an application there.

I, myself, am not all that sad that Buds is with us for a while longer. Last night my son and the two dogs raced through the house like a small, noisy herd of elephants for a half an hour. Then all three passed out in the deep sleep of the exhausted innocent.

Marvelous!

KP

Ten Days Later - Happy to be Sad

Buddy's potential adoptive mother is coming to see him on Sunday. She's bringing her other two dogs and some family members to make sure everyone has a chance of actually getting along.

If Buddy goes home on Sunday it will be two weeks since he first arrived. Two weeks is all the time we got with Good Dog Buddy.

The home is fabulous, darlings, and the mom is absolutely dedicated to her dogs. He'd be leaving our house for countless doggy delights.

At the same time I feel like it was too little time with such a good soul. I'll miss him so much.

Here's hoping you find your perfect forever home, Mr. Buddy! You totally deserve it.

KP

(Of course, there is a lab in the wings. Saving puppies is a job that's never done!)

The Words Has Been Spake

Those famous Poopyhands words, "We could keep him".

Oh, those words, those words; we've said that about every pooch who has come through our doors. Some, admittedly, earlier than others, but eventually every pooch has warmed our hearts and life has settled in and we've fallen in puppy love.

Buddy is a record-timer. The only pooch faster to reach don't-want-to-adopt-out status was Luke. The reason it's not a done deal is because we cannot have three dogs, so we'd have to stop fostering and we don't want to do that yet. That is the sole reason that he's not permanantly Buddy Poopyhands.

Buddy had only one accident in the house yesterday and he had two dry nights. Fully dry. He's on the lower not-as-good dose of antibiotic and we get the major stuff today. I anticipate that by Wednesday he'll be house pee free once again.

His behavior is exemplary and he had a bath yesterday during which he was either shockingly compliant or frozen in horror. Either way he was easy as pie to clean and has lost a lot of that kennel smell and he was delighted afterward to be clean, running around and shaking his coat.

He spent an hour yesterday chasing everything my son could throw for him, and racing through the house like a teensy elephant.

He adores dragging all the woobies that Bruno has ever owned into the middle of the livingroom floor, so I'll get up in the morning and it's like a dog toy firework has gone off. It's incredibly cute. He was toyless for so long that he's making up for it now.

We love him, and if you think you'd love this bundle of cocker spaniel adoration, you should let YAH know and fast. Because he might get snapped up before you can get an application in. And it might be by us.

Take home Buddy and his Blankie!

Get him while he's hot!

KP

P.S. - Luke's mom recently sent me an update and had this to say about working with the YAH rescue:

I'd like you to tell prospective adoptive parents that this experience has been truly rewarding for all of us. Luke has brought us much joy, companionship and unconditional love. It seems like he knows what he's been through and is so grateful to have someone to take care of and love. He is not someone else's dog that we've agreed to take care of. He is, most definitely, our dog.

We would adopt a senior dog again in a heartbeat and will do so in the future. Krissy, you and YAH are the best - thank you for bringing us Luke.

Testimonial! Shweeeet!

Nothin' a Horrible Infection Can't Fix

Oh, my, Peeps.

It goes like this: On Friday The Troublmaker (husband) called and told me that Buddy had peed in the house. Then he did it again. Then again. Then again. While my husband was home and while he was being regularly let outside.

That can mean behavioral problems, but we hadn't seen it the first or second day. The folks who rescued Buddy were also adamant that he was FULLY housetrained. It was either true or a case of "Thou doth protest toomuch, methinks".

It's not unusual for rescued dogs to have bladder infections when they come out of a pound or kennel situation. Their whole world has been turned upside down and, for the same reason that they become food hogs, they start to hold everything a little too long. They just aren't sure when they'll be able to go.

When Buddy came to us he had an eye infection and an ear infection. In most cockers (though they are prone to it) you can do some preventative maintenance and at least avoid the worst of it. Unfortunately, when they are neglected those floppy ears and buggly eyes get really icky. Poor things.

So Buddy came to us with an eye infection and an ear infection that we've been treating (and which will be cleared up before he goes to his forever home), and it looks like he's got a bladder infection for a Trifecta of Foster Doggy Suck.

The good news is that we started him on antibiotic Friday night. Four hours later he was perked up and today he had three accidents in the house. As opposed to about fifteen the day before. This points, reassuringly, to illness being the cause of indoor piddling. Hooray! Something fixable!

The amusing news is that since he's been on the antibiotic, his personality has gone from "hold me, hold me" to ZOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!

That's right, he's not calm, he was just feeling really really crappy. Now that he's feeling better he's all about tearing through the house at top speed, wrestling, and his games of fetch have become a lot more fierce.

I now have doubts that listing him for an under seven kid is a good idea. He's just as rambunctous and full of play and vim and vigor as they said. Now that he's not all infectified up it's all GO GO GO GO GO!

I'll tell you what, it's wonderful to see. He's a delight. If you want a fun dog, this is totally a good dog for you. He has energy and personality and sass and is a ton of fun. He'd be a great compainion dog for another active dog.

Go Buddy! We're so glad you're feeling better! Go go go you!

KP

P.S. - He's also incredibly smart. He's learned three new tricks, the best of which is how to sit still for medical treatment, and he's learned that dogs live upstairs and cats live downstairs. We've stopped having to use the baby gate to keep him upstairs, even when he'd really like to join us downstairs. He just waits patiently.

Three days, and he's already got the routine and new tricks down.

He's a clever boy.

Buddy Introduces Himself

Hi everyone!

My name is Buddy. My foster mom said that I should post here and let you guys know a little bit about me.

It's been a rough few months, I don't mind telling you. My mom and dad just left me at a place and I don't know why. I spent a lot of time stuck in a crate. Why? I'm a good dog! I don't do anything bad! All I want is time with people and a tennis ball? Don't you love fetch? Because I love fetch!

Then a few days ago the nice Dawn lady brought me to where I'm staying now. I really, really like it here. At first I was kind of scared because I didn't know if they'd be taking me out again, but it's been three days and I'm starting to worry a lot less.

My foster mom is very gentle when she gives me the eye drops and ear drops I need (my old parents let my eyes and ears get bad) and so I sit very, very still and let her do it. Then I run to my blankie and rub my face all over it like crazy! AGH! EYE DROPS AND EAR DROPS!

But then I get cookies! For being a good dog!

Let me tell you about my blankie. I love it. My foster mom said that it was mine and I could keep it, but she didn't expect me to love it so much. What's not to love?? It's fuzzy and soft and warm and when I lie on it I feel safe. No matter where it is in the house I know that it's a spot I can go to and relax and not be bothered. I'm very attached to it.

My foster brother is a nice guy. He scared me at first because he's so big, but now we're used to each other and I know he's not going to bug me. Sometimes we do sniffies in our faces because we're starting to be friends. It's nice to have a friend.

They have a cat here. I chase him. HaHAH!

Mostly I'm just trying to soak up some of the love I've been missing. My parents didn't pay a lot of attention to me toward the end, there. I have the feeling that things could have turned out a lot worse. Instead I'm at a nice place with a mom and dad and kid who speak gently to me and pet me and give me treats.

Also, my fosterboy spends a lot of time playing fetch with me! I love that!

I'll let you know how things go. Thanks for reading.

Buddy

*****

Hi! This is Buddy's foster-mom.

We were told that Buddy was a super-speedy crazy dog, but we haven't experienced that at ALL. What we've got is a quiet, friendly lap dog who is happy to play fetch but is also happy just to lie at your feet.

I have a sneaking suspicion we're going to be able to approve him for a house with younger kids. He's mellow and lovely with my three year old.

KP