MAC'S FIRST K-LASER TREATMENT

I took Mac in this morning for his first laser treatment. They were going to take him in the back but I wanted to watch and felt like Mac would be more comfortable with me in the room. So they set up one of the exam rooms. First, we all had to put on protective glasses. 

He started rotating the laser at the top of his spine and worked his way down, spending about 6 minutes.  Then he moved to his hips, followed by each of his knees (cranial cruciate ligaments). By then, poor Mackie’s legs were shaking… he had been standing up the entire time.  I was there 45 minutes so I’m guessing the entire treatment was 30 minutes, about 6 minutes on each area. 

Since it’s a heated laser, he could leave the laser in one spot but Mac didn’t seem to mind or feel any discomfort except he was scared. It probably felt good. I asked him if he could do my back when he was finished.  Ha! 

They said I might notice a difference tomorrow or the next day or that he could be very sore from the treatment.  I’ll see how he reacts to his afternoon walk or if he wants to go. He’s good about letting me know.  The next treatment is Wednesday. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wishing you peace, prosperity, lots of love & happiness in 2013.

NAUGHTY OR NICE

Santa knows who did this.

Merry Christmas from Beasley and all of my other Krazy Kritters!

JAZZ WAITING FOR CHRISTMAS

I think I’ll just sleep here until Santa fills the stockings.

K-LASER

When I took Mac to the vet the other day for his bi-annual blood panel, my vet told me he is trying this new innovative treatment called K-Laser. It’s little flashes of light to stimulate cell activity and increase blood flow, which increases circulation. It reduces inflammation, stiffness, speeds healing and provides pain relief.  He said the only thing your pet might feel is a little warmth so he keeps it moving. 

Lasers have gained popularity in the last few years because of their ability to treat such a wide range of ailments.  They are FDA approved and can be used on both humans and animals.  I read the brochure and also looked it up online. I read about a paralyzed dog with two ruptured discs that could walk again after 5 treatments. 

He would start out with 3 treatments the first week, 2 the second week, 1 the third and then as needed but probably once a week for a while.  The brochure said the majority of patients had more mobility within 12 to 24 hours after treatment. 

Mac’s back right leg has been wobblier than usual.  Petsmart quit carrying the Avoderm Senior so I tried a variety of other holistic foods, including Acana, which is wonderful but it has too much protein.  He just seems to walk better with the Avoderm. After contacting every nearby pet food store to see if they could get it for me, I am ordering it online.  It will take a while to get back in his system but between the Adequan shots, the Avoderm and now the K-Laser, I’m hoping to keep him walking for many more years.

BYE BYE PITTIES

When I got to the warehouse this morning, there were only 23 dogs left.  A few more had been transported to fosters or rescues since Monday.  I was so happy to hear that.  And then we found out that the rest were going to the next transition destination in finding their forever homes as well. 

A K9 psychologist came in today and was evaluating each dog.  I not sure how accurate his assessment was because they don’t like men for the most part.  But he took a few with him and so I was just grateful he took any.  Scotland, the president of ARC, is taking 4 with him to the East Coast, and the rest are going to a farm in Cheatham County, outside of Nashville, and ironically, the county they came from.

Since they will be outside, some of the volunteers were building mini shelters or sheds for them from what I understand and will continue to help with their care.  At least they will get to run around a little but will still be in crates for the most part.  And ARC will continue to try and find other Pit Rescues for them. 

Apparently, a lot of “rescues” heard about them and contacted ARC but they did a thorough check on each one and turned some down. Some people are both stupid and evil. A lot of the volunteers were teary because after working with the dog’s day-in and day-out, they developed a strong bond.  Probably a good thing I wasn’t there from the beginning. 

So today was mostly clean up.  They were still taking the dogs one by one into the changing station but the rest of us were putting together the transport crates, folding down the metal crates and carrying them out for storage, packing up food, bleach and other supplies to split up between a lot of the local shelters who helped out. 

I will only say, there was a lot of heavy lifting and when my laundry is done, I will be soaking in the tub.

For those who want to watch the small segment that was on the news, here’s the link:

http://www.newschannel5.com/story/20377175/rescued-dogs-starting-to-find-new-homes

 

BACK AT THE WAREHOUSE

I went back to Lebanon today to help with the Pit Bulls…. Good news! They are down to 31 dogs and a transport was supposed to come today from a Pit rescue in Arizona to pick up 4 more.  Operation Broken Chain has gone on longer than most, only because of the breed. Today is Day 26 but with each day, the dogs are becoming more socialized and are really starting to develop personalities.

I got to help feed them this morning.  Sheila distracted them while I put the food in and filled their water dishes. If there was poop by the door, which there always was, I cleaned it up until they could take the time to pull each dog out separately and really clean the pens out.

Gagger that I am, I almost threw up with every pen.  And so after 11, she was kind enough to offer me a new job.  I changed gloves and became the transporter for the rest of the day.  We would pick the crates up, load them on a flat dolly and roll them to the change-out stations. Pick them up again and carry them in.  And back to the floor after clean-out.   It took a lot longer today because they were really playing with the dogs and getting them to do minor obedience training.  So during the down time, we unfolded potty pads again and I did some sweeping and mopping under the crates after they were moved.

VET TIME FOR GARAGE KITTIES

It’s been a year since I trapped Midnight and Charley, so it was time to take them to the vet for their yearly shots. I just did the spay/neuter and rabies shot last year because there were so many cats.  But since they have been living in my garage and I have taken a liking to them, I am having them tested for feline leukemia and giving them all of necessary vaccines this year.

I wasn’t too worried about Midnight; I can pick her up and hold her.  I could probably even let her in the house. But baby girl, Charley, still won’t let me touch her unless she’s eating wet food or treats.  I did get her to purr once but only once.  So I’ve been feeding both of them in the cat carriers for the last week.  I stick the wet food all the way in the back and they go in and eat.  Same with treats.

So yesterday when they were eating, I planned on shutting the doors as soon as they went in.  Charley was just too quick for me and I ended up getting the crap bit out of my hand.  I tried for a half hour but she was having none of it. 

Midnight was a champion.  She did well with the blood test and she was negative for FL.  Then she had all of her vaccines and even started kneading the towel in the crate when it was over.  But when I brought her home and let her out, she went under the house and wouldn’t come out for a while so I’m sure it traumatized her. 

I’ll try again with Charley. I may have to trap her again. 

DAY 2 - DRY SHOES

It was pouring down rain today and the temp took a dive so I was hoping I would be able to stay dry.  Did our 9 am meeting and got right to work.  That’s after someone brought in fresh donuts.  Yum!  I haven’t eaten a donut in years. 

Since I got all of the bowls and Kongs washed yesterday, I spent most of the day unfolding puppy pads to line the crates with.  They go through so many of them because they clean the crates twice a day.  As soon as they finish getting them washed, dogs fed & watered, it’s time to start all over again.

I don’t even know how many boxes of pads I unfolded but took huge piles to each of the changing/clean-out stations and left the rest stacked on a table. When there were 2 stacks, both was taller than me, I went to the changing stations and got a new load of dirty dishes and more Kongs, yes…  some covered in poop, put them in the large buckets to soak for a minute before washing them out. 

It was kind of fun today because I watched Sheila socializing with the dogs. She would take them one at a time into a large pen, also covered with sheets, but there was a little cutout where I could see in.  She would get them to go through a tunnel, play with toys, fetch a ball, do circles, and jump over a box; giving them training treats each time.  They were all doing so well and so happy to have the human affection and one-on-one time.

The vet came in today and miraculously, out of all the dogs, only one tested positive for heartworm, which is being treated.  They have all been spayed and neutered now. 

Painturos brought lunch, pizza, spaghetti, focaccia bread, salad and lasagna, all without meat. I forgot to mention yesterday that the couple brought a lot of veggie stuff too all marked for those who don’t eat meat. I need to go up there every day just for the food.  Ha! 

All of the Beagles have now been fanned out to different shelters and rescue groups and there are only Pit Bulls left.  They should start hearing back from some different groups around the country now and hopefully, they will also start going to their next destination so they can further be rehabilitated and adopted out.  It’s going to be much harder for them because of the connotations associated with the breed and the fact that a lot of them were fought.

This lets me see what Beasley went through after she was rescued. It’s kind of stressful for the dogs to be crated up like that for so long – Day 17 – but so much better than where they came from.  They are getting human companionship, food, water, lots of treats and shelter. And if anyone local is reading this, they need puppy pads and hand soap.  There’s plenty of sanitizer but they are running low on pump soap.  And donations are always welcome at http://animalrescuecorps.org/

PIT BULL RESCUE UPDATE

Just got back from the Lebanon warehouse where the pit bulls are being temporarily housed from the fighting ring a few weeks ago.  Meet-up was at 9am and Dani, the onsite volunteer coordinator, gave us a quick briefing. 

I started the day by going outside and hosing off some of the crates that were poopy. Little did I know, the hose had sprung a leak that soaked me as soon as it was turned on.  Oh well, it was raining anyway.  When that job was done, I walked my soggy tennis shoes back inside to help with watering. 

Some of the dogs had drank all of their water, others had tipped their bowls so we filled those still right side up. In the crates with upside-down bowls, one of us distracted the dogs; the other hurried and turned it right side up or stuck a new bowl in the door.  We then used a plastic watering can to put through the crates to fill the water.

All of the dogs were lined up in rows with sheets or blankets covering their crates except the front.  There was cardboard or some sort of partition between each crate and in back of the crates in some cases so that none of the dogs could see each other.  None of them have been acting aggressive but because they had been bred to fight, this is the best way to do it. 

Some of them had no teeth because apparently, if a dog doesn’t show any ability or interest in fighting, they file their teeth down and just breed them.  When they are done, they hang or kill them in some other way.  I know…. Awful!  And these were sweet little guys.  Some of the puppies were just too cute (and noisy). 

So back to the squeaky tennis shoes.  One by one, we carried a dog crate into a back fenced-in area also covered in sheets, where we let them out, cleaned their crates, put fresh bedding, puppy pads, food and a new water bowl in.  We also gave them a Kong filled with peanut butter.  Since they are interactive toys, they entertain the dog for hours trying to get that peanut butter out.

Now I do almost consider myself a professional poop cleaner upper but I have to admit, I was getting a little “gaggy” from all the poop.  So I took all the Kongs and dog dishes from the day before and the ones that were being taken out during crate clean up. That was my job the rest of the day.  I washed old peanut butter out of Kongs, filled them back up and stuck them in the freezer.  Then I washed all the dog dishes – more poop – more gagging, but I had on my surgical gloves.  I dried them all, organized all the unused Kongs, stacked-up all the dishes so they were nice and clean to do the same thing all over again.  Washed out a few buckets and was proud of my little tidy space. 

Needless to say, there is a lot of laundry going on too.  In fact, since two of the dogs had kennel cough, they told us to wash our clothes right when we got home.  And I’ll shower before jumping into bed with my guys tonight. 

One of the things that really touched me was all of the supplies: toys, food, water, soft drinks, bleach, paper towels, you name it - people donated it.  In fact, I took in two cases of water and added them to the about 20 cases that were already there. They had a buffet style table in the office that has better food than my house, which I was grateful for because I didn’t have time to eat.  And at noon, this nice couple brought in crock-pots full of chili, 2 different kinds of taco meat, homemade salsa, refried beans, individually wrapped heated tortillas, lettuce and cheese, even homemade tortilla chips. And it was good!  I guess they’ll go back and get their dishes later.  Yesterday, someone brought in a bunch of pizzas.  Just to help out the volunteers. Thinking about it made me kind of teary on the way home. 

And during lunch, we all compared dirty carpet stories, the virtue of vinegar and who makes the best carpet steamer…..  It was a poopy great day!

FREE KITTY CATS

Okay, you all know I’m kidding but I have picked the Christmas tree up off the floor 3 times in the last week, re-hung lights, re-hung bulbs and there are still bulbs under the couch and behind the dryer. Those are the ones I know about.  I wake up in the middle of the night and can hear them batting the bulbs around.

Two nights ago, they broke the glass in a frame from a picture with words that my best friend gave me when I was going through some hard times over 25 years ago.  It has a lot of sentimental meaning.  Luckily, it’s only the glass that is damaged.  It was one out of three. Brolio is too fat to jump that high and George just wants to sleep.

Tonight, they knocked over a lamp on the piano.  Second time I have had to replace the shade and good thing I was home since the lamp was on.

I do love the little shits (yes, I’m swearing in a blog) but they are driving me nuts!  Santa might not fill their stockings this year.