Here is our first adult foster dog, Sammie.
We have had her for only one night, and this is what I know about her so far:
1. She is about 2 1/2 years old. When she was rescued, she was living under a trailer, without food or human pack members to care for her. She had a severe respiratory tract infection that made breathing a struggle.
2. She has only one eye. I wonder what happened to the other eye.
3. A week ago, she had 11 puppies and only 3 survived. Sammie was too sick to produce milk, so the 3 surviving pups had to be given to another doggie-mom. I wonder if dogs feel any sense of loss when they lose all their pups.
4. Sammie's respiratory infection hasn't responded to treatment yet. I wonder how she manages to be such a happy dog in spite of the fact that she has to work so hard for every breath.
So I think Sammie is a wonder dog.
She slept in the crate for her first night, and wasn't very happy about it at first. Quite a bit of crying, so I took her out and carried the crate upstairs to the bedroom as we used to do for the puppies. Sammie was pretty pleased with that idea, and slept in the crate all night (no, not quietly because of all the "snorfing" - but no crying or trying to get out).
We went for a long stroll this morning, and Sammie learned to walk beside me on the leash instead of out in front. Also, I think she figured out that you need to finish the walk with the pack you start with, rather than changing direction each time someone passes by.
This afternoon we went to the vet and Sammie got a check-up to see where to go from here. There are lots of things planned to get her better physically, so her little tired body can keep up with her enthusiastic doggy brain. I think once she's feeling better, she'll even be able to jump into the truck. And as soon as she wakes up from her afternoon nap, she's going to have an oatmeal bath.
That's it for today!
We have had her for only one night, and this is what I know about her so far:
1. She is about 2 1/2 years old. When she was rescued, she was living under a trailer, without food or human pack members to care for her. She had a severe respiratory tract infection that made breathing a struggle.
2. She has only one eye. I wonder what happened to the other eye.
3. A week ago, she had 11 puppies and only 3 survived. Sammie was too sick to produce milk, so the 3 surviving pups had to be given to another doggie-mom. I wonder if dogs feel any sense of loss when they lose all their pups.
4. Sammie's respiratory infection hasn't responded to treatment yet. I wonder how she manages to be such a happy dog in spite of the fact that she has to work so hard for every breath.
So I think Sammie is a wonder dog.
She slept in the crate for her first night, and wasn't very happy about it at first. Quite a bit of crying, so I took her out and carried the crate upstairs to the bedroom as we used to do for the puppies. Sammie was pretty pleased with that idea, and slept in the crate all night (no, not quietly because of all the "snorfing" - but no crying or trying to get out).
We went for a long stroll this morning, and Sammie learned to walk beside me on the leash instead of out in front. Also, I think she figured out that you need to finish the walk with the pack you start with, rather than changing direction each time someone passes by.
This afternoon we went to the vet and Sammie got a check-up to see where to go from here. There are lots of things planned to get her better physically, so her little tired body can keep up with her enthusiastic doggy brain. I think once she's feeling better, she'll even be able to jump into the truck. And as soon as she wakes up from her afternoon nap, she's going to have an oatmeal bath.
That's it for today!
No comments:
Post a Comment