Fostering notes from Dad:

Yeah, I love writting diary entries through the eyes of the dogs. On a more serious note, now that I have fostered Spirit for a couple of weeks, its time to fill in potential adopters more about Spirit.

The Crate:
Spirit does quite well in the crate. I usually toss a treat into the back and in he goes to lie quietly. His routine has settled into something like this; He overnights in the crate with the door shut. My two sleep in crates in the same room with the door open. (Cause I trust them around the house.) In the morning he gets about an hour romp before I go to work. Spirit spends from morning to lunchtime in the crate. I go home for lunch, let the dogs play and then he gets to go to work with me for half a day.

There are times when he gets crated when we are just hanging in the house. Those might be 10-15 minute things, to settle him down just after playing outdoors, if I am in the shower, or need to do something else without a dog under foot!

One day, I was caught up with a project at work. Poor Spirit had to go from 8-am to around 4-pm without a break. He looked calm when I finally showed, but he did pee in the crate. That is the first time, and was definetly MY FAULT for breaking his routine and making him go that long without a break.

Around the House:
Spirit has peed in the house just once, or at least we suspect he did. The fire alarm went off, and we all dashed upstairs to check things out, and when we came back, just a few minutes later there was this wet spot on the floor... And ALL the dogs are looking like; "I didn't do it." Hmmm...

He has had a few pee accidents at work. All of my dogs have had accidents at work early on.

Spirit is a floor dog like the rest of mine. This means he is not used to getting up on the furniture. Also the dogs are not allowed in all rooms of our house. He still wanders into No-Dog areas, but is not too bad about it. I think he'll get it soon.

None of mine counter cruise, but Spirit does point his nose up at the counter at times. So far, no counter crusing and no trash can tipping either. (If YOU adopt him, be sure to keep up the good habits!!!) Spirit has not shown much interest in chewing furniture, but he is VERY interested in shoes and clothes! Keep a good supply of dog toys around for him to focus on.

My dogs are pretty mellow indoors, just a bit of horseplay now and then. Spirit is quickly learning to follow their lead. So, he is wide open outdoors and pretty calm inside.

On lead:
He walks well on lead, very polite. I have not had much opportunity to walk him along our surburban streets much. I did today, and he is still very frightened of cars. Hang onto that lead near the road!

Food:
Canidae kibble garnished with Merric wet food.

Outside:
Spirit has yet to show any sign of wander lust. He has dug a hole or two in the yard, but nothing like he was trying to tunnel out. He is eating a few bushes. (Maybe he is a Liberal, and hates all Bushes!)

Obedience:
He is in a mild form of 'Nothing in Life is Free'. He has to Sit before getting food and going inside or outside. He lays calmly on the kitchen floor with the others and waits for us to finish dinner before getting his. While I am working on manners, I have not yet worked on actual obedience. I hope to get more into Stay and Come soon.

His big bad habit for now is "Gate Crashing", that is trying to slip through the door any time it is open. I really want to work on that since it is a safety issue!

As I type this he is laying quietly at my feet, tired from a half-day romp. I always said, a tired dog is a good dog!

25% Less Mess?

Nope!

Dad thought he had the best sales pitch to help find my furever home. He reasoned that since I only had three legs instead of the four, that would mean 25% less mess on the kitchen floor. One less paw to print, right? He made a big deal about that at the adoption stand.

Perhaps he didn't account that the three legs were still holding 100% of my weight, meaning each paw goes into the mud 33 1/3% more than the normal paw. So, while my foster brother might be named Manfred Muddipaws for his mud tracking, I actually take the cake where it comes to tracking mud into the kitchen. And I leave darker footprints too!

Just goes to show what happens when you put a brain into a monkey...

The Big Stick.

I have discovered the most WONDERFUL toy!

I have been given so many things since I moved into my new foster home. I've got a food bowl that's my very own. There are treats everyday. I know Bones. Dad has bought me new toys, but the older ones living here half chewed are more fun!

But like the Pet that plays with the box his Birthday gift came in, I have found on my own, my favorite toy. Its a stick. Not just any stick, its more like a small log. I can barely lift it, but I manage and then I run all over the yard wth it, getting tripped up by it more often than not. Ahh what fun, and its Cedar too! Grreat to chew and freshens my breath.

Its got chew marks all over it. Dad wonders if I am whittling my own peg leg.

So long "BOYS"

Time to go already? Seems I've hardly gotten to know you, yet here we part company. I know not where you go, but for the time being at least, here I stay.

Wonder what they do with used Nuts anyway? Biohazzard? Fish food? Who knows?

Dad says the other dogs will like me a lot more soon.

Spirit

I bark a heart felt thanks to humans John, Esther, and Kimberlee (who later named me!) for saving my life. There is a special place at The Bridge for all of you. I promise now, I will be one of the many to grrreet and honor you on the day of celebration when we are re-united!

It was John that discovered me in horrible condition at the Pound. He just happened to be in that day taking pictures of Pound animals for his rescue site: Witt Animal Website. Seeing my plight, he called Esther and Kimberlee to come ASAP get me out! I would have suffered a slow death over the weekend if they had not come.

The girls rushed me to see Dr Taylor at the Wythe Co. Animal Clinic. She did everything she could. In addition to my leg, it was discovered I had Parvo virus. In the end, the leg had to go, and my body could then turn it's attention to the Parvo fight. I made it, but they say it was a very close thing!

For the humans, there remained the matter of the small vet bill. It was only $138 for barking out loud, but the county refused to pay it! Into my life came another benefactor, Sarah who paid the bill out of her own pocket!!!
(See my Bio for details.)

John was so mad at everything that happened, he created the Justice for Spirit Petition. It has over 600 signatures! Please feel free to bark your opinion and sign it!

It was Sarah who kept me as I healed from my sickness and surgery. Then it was time to find a furever home. Only problem is, there's not a lot of call for tripod dogs out in the country! What to do? Finally Sarah decided I needed to move to the big city to find my new home. She arrainged for me to travel to Richmond, Virginia to be put in the care of AARF dog rescue.

It was there I met my foster Pets who I hope to live with until I find my furever home. There are three of them and two other dogs.

adopt 08 contest:

Beginnings 7/07 - 10/07

Actually I began life on four wheels just like most of us. I am hardly more than a pup now, yet my puppyhood seems a lifetime ago, and a world away. I can't remember Mom's name, don't even recall how many brothers and sisters I had. My first couple of months were just normal puppy stuff that any country dog could bark about.

One fine autumn morning me and my pals were out exploring. We had been straying farther and farther from home base over the past several weeks. So many new things to discover! One of us discovered rolling in cow pies, another found a neat creek to splash in. It was a time of fun and exploration.

This day, we discovered what I later learned was called; 'The Road', and 'Cars'. Now we had all chased off a rabbit or two before, but these Car things were fast! They made funny blarring noises when we chased them too. We were having a blast trying to catch one, and had no clue of the danger. I went after one of them and before I knew it, I was attacked! It bit the heck out of my leg. It felt like it was on fire it hurt so much! The bone was showing through my skin. I don't even know how I made it back home, I just did it.

That was when I discovered not all packs took good care of their members. My humans did nothing! No Veternarian, no nothing, not even a bullet to put me out of my growing misery. Over a week went by and my leg kept getting worse. I grew sick and feverish. There came a time when I couldn't even get up to eat or drink.

Finally my humans took action. The whole litter was loaded up in the car and off we went... TO THE POUND!

I arrived at the shelter as a bag of skin and bones with a compound fracture of my back leg ozzing pus. My foot was swollen to twice it's normal size, and I smelled of sickness and infection.

Now the Pound is not a nice place. They have a tough job to do, that no one else wants, which is to house and dispose of unwanted animals. Some Pounds have money and doctors, and some don't. This one had neither. I shudder to type this, but the kindest thing they could have done would to have been to euthanize me right away. Obviously that didn't happen since I am still barking this, so just what did they do?

Nothing!

I was kept in a common pen with my siblings, too week to move as they romped all over me. Once again, humans didn't keep their end of the bargan. see (The Pact of Fire) My time in this world was running out. I was fading away and often dreamed of The Bridge.

The next day my new life began.
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Dad's edit for adopt 08 contest:

Need you ask what adoption (rescue) means to me? How many forms of abuse and neglect can you spot in this single diary entry!?!

I want to be a part of the solution to any part, and/or all of this...

David

Before Dogster

From the 'Justice for Spirit' on-line petition:

Spirit, a 3-4 month old mix breed puppy was found on the morning of Saturday October 6, 2007 at the Wythe County Animal Shelter with a compound fracture and severe infection of the rear left leg. The shelter received the puppy in this condition on Friday October 5, 2007. Neither the previous owner nor the Wythe Co. Animal Shelter provided medical treatment to the puppy. The Animal Shelter was responsible by Virginia state code 3.1-796.68. to provide medical treatment. See pictures and read more at www.je923.com/misc/puppy.html. The puppy could have been euthanized to prevent the suffering. The Wythe County Administrator admits their fault. I want the immediate dismissal from their jobs all those responsible for the needless suffering of this puppy. He was left in a pen with his siblings and mother and could not get to food and water due to his condition and was very weak and dehydrated. If not found by an outsider would have suffered all weekend long.

The Rescue...

I have been taking pictures at the Wythe Co. Animal Shelter since 12/22/04 and putting them on my website at www.je923.com. On 10/6/07 I went down to take pictures of the dogs that where available for adoption. I was told by an employee at the animal shelter that one of the puppies looked like it had a broken leg.

The leg was indeed broken and badly infected. I asked if the puppy had received any medical care and was told no, it wasn’t in the budget. I stated, isn’t it a state law?

The employee sort of shrugged. The employee said the puppy had been hit by a car while the former owner still had it and medical care was not given. The owner surrendered it and 6 other dogs and puppies a few days after it was hit.

I was told the puppy was not going to be allowed to be adopted. My wife went back down a little while later and asked about adopting the puppy. There was an animal control officer there with the employee and they let my wife have the puppy, no paperwork was filled out.

My wife took it to the Wythe Co. Humane Society and the puppy was taken to the Wythe Animal Clinic in Wytheville. The vet said the puppy was very weak and might not live through the weekend due the infection caused by the compound fracture and that parvo was a threat as well. They would feed it through Sunday and if it looked like it was ok
would remove the entire rear left leg on Monday 10/8/07. The outlook is not good for the puppy my daughter named Spirit.

Why did this 3-4 month old puppy lay in a filthy pen untreated and suffering?

Animal Control was required by law to provide medical treatment or at the very least could have euthanized the animal to prevent this prolonged suffering. These are the people who are supposed to be our animal control officers? They are supposed to investigate animal neglect?

They are guilty of breaking the very law they are supposed to uphold. There is no excuse for this. You can see pictures of Spirit at www.je923.com/misc/puppy.html. They are graphic and may not be suitable for kids. I may not be allowed to take pictures any longer by bringing this out.

I think all those who are responsible should be removed from their jobs at the very least! They broke the law!

That’s my opinion.

John Witt