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status/mood updated 17 days ago
Member since: 23 Dec 2007, Viewed: 1091 times
My Blog
Rescues and Shelters are Suffering
Many of you may already know this, the rescues and shelters nationwide are being slammed by large amounts of dogs and cats that are the collateral victims of the mortgage crisis. Many pets are either given up, or in some cruel cases, left in or around their abandoned former homes to fend for themselves. Some are even left locked IN the homes or chained up, alone, frightened, hungry, and thirsty. Some have even been found starved to death.
Please think about helping your local shelters and rescues in this time of desperate need, whether with your volunteer time, money or supplies. They are overwhelmed with the innocent victims of the crisis and need everyone's help. Everyone out there can do SOMETHING - even if it's to volunteer to groom or walk dogs, donate a small bag of dog food or kitty litter. "Every little bit helps."
Rico's lipoma is shrinking fast!
The lipoma (fatty tumor) on his right rib cage has been steadily shrinking due to his strictly-enforced diet regiment. For some reason, he is preferentially losing weight from the lipoma. At the rate it is shrinking, he may lose the lipoma entirely in a few months. This is great news, since only a few months ago our vet was talking about surgery if it got much bigger.
For those that want to try our "miracle" diet, we are using Verus kibble, raw baby carrots and celery, with occasional treats of frozen green beans. He rarely gets treats these days.
Beagin's Puppy
Last year we brought home a stuffed Sheltie as a room decoration. It lasted about 30 seconds on the back of the couch. Rico adopted it and loved it and it has become his "Big Puppy" and his nickname when he carries it around the house in his mouth is "Uncle Rico."
"Uncle Rico" takes his puppy duties VERY seriously. They have a regular schedule and route that they take around the house every evening after supper. They go "on patrol" and make sure to cover all of the rooms of the house before "Big Puppy" settles down by our feet with the rest of the Barks Brothers. Beagin has been so curious lately about Rico's "puppy" that we decided to get one for him.
Beagin spends most of his time taking "Little Puppy" away and putting him in places where he can be "supervised" by Beagin (like in his dog bed in the living room). If he gets in the way, Uncle Beagin swoops in and carries him to safety.
Makes one wonder what they really think about those stuffed Sheltie toys...
Dentals Done
Bailey and Dink had their dental cleanings this week with good results. Bailey's teeth stain very quickly, possibly from an enamel defecit. They ca\\are still healthy, but they look awful! So, we brush and add mouthrinses in the hope that someday, he will keep his precious CLEAN Sheltie smile. 
Dink also did fine, perhaps too fine. In the last two weeks, Bailey, Dink and Beagin all got their booster shots. Dink was the only one that didn't act all droopy from them. It turns out that he raided Banzai's (the arthritic Siamese cat) food dish and got all his aspirin-laced food! No wonder he felt fine! 
Rico goes for his bossters next week and for an evaluation of his lipoma. We may have to remove it, but there is hope that it might continue shrinking. It's not life threatening, but it is starting to throw off his balance a bit. He's had it for several years, but only now is if becoming a problem.
Stay tuned!
Bailey's Birthday
This year it was low key, as the humans in the pack are both sick with bronchitis. 
We gave him a nice treat bone and that was about it. Maybe we can find a small carrot cake for him over the weekend.
Meanwhile, we discovered that we know Dink was born in March 1998, but not the day. We're trying to decide what day to celebrate. 
Stay tuned!
Rescue: Great Thing to Do!
Thank you to all those that appreciate Rescue work and sent me messages on my Profile. My wife and I started in Sheltie Rescue in MO before we moved out to the East Coast. Our former site is still up at www.geocities.com/WalksWithShelties.
We are now members of Northern VA Sheltie Rescue (www.nvsr.org) and we can attest to how much fun and fullfilling it is to help dogs in need.
Danger: Rescue leads to owning many, many dogs! The temptation can be overwhelming! 
Shelties are like potato chips...you can't stop at just one!
Seriously, all rescues are short of volunteers, foster dog parents and funds. Please consider joining the rescue of your choice. There's a lot more to do than just the dogs...there's web site work, writing, accounting, you name it.
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