Spring and summer also bring-----fleas!

For those of you who don't own Rat Terriers, you may not know that this breed is very sensitive to chemicals and has numerous allergies.  I did not know this when I got my Satchmo, but I found out very soon afterward.

He is the only dog I've ever had that is allergic to his annual shots; he is allergic to topical flea medicines; he can only eat certain types of dry foods; and the list goes on and on.

Getting shots requires a preinjection of steriods and benadryl.  It took me almost 8 years to find a topical flea medication I can apply without having him walk into walls and not be able to get back up.  He throws up if I change his food or if I try new treats.  This is just one of the downsides to this breed.  The flipside is that Ratties are incredibly healthy and heal very fast.  At 10 years old, his lab work is all within normal ranges just like a much younger dog.  He still goes and goes and goes like the energizer bunny.

Ratties are also very independent, but that does not mean they are not loving and snuggle-buddies.  Each rattie will have its own personality, but as a rule, these dogs are very loving and loyal and love to cuddle in the bed under the covers.  I will say that housebreaking a rattie requires much patience and you have to develop a routine and then stick to it. 

For more information about Rat Terriers, visit my site, Rat-Terrier-Information.  You can get pointers on ways to train you rattie as well as watch some wonderful videos.

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The continuing saga of the feral cats.....

So, KT is finally becoming friendly enough that he wants to be scratched and petted.  He even lets me pick him up occasionally.  I want to take him to get fixed and his shots, but I am afraid that if I do, the other cat will freak out and leave. 

Speaking of the other one.  I have named her Ditto and she is definitely a she as I think she is pregnant.  Great!  More feral cats.   She is still very skittish and bolts if you get too close.  I am trying to find a place to fix her a box for birthing her babies, but I think she will just find another spot herself if I do.  I have been feeding her extra to try to ensure the babies are healthy. 

The surprise, however, is that there is a third cat.  This litter originally was 4 kittens.  One was run over in the apartment parking lot pretty soon after they were around.  Then there were three.  They played and slept and played some more, but one day there was just two, so I figured the third was run over too.  I was wrong.

I don't know where this cat has been, but it is exactly the same age and size as the two I have been feeding.  It even has the faint white spot on its neck that the other two have.  So, I have decided it is the long lost litter-mate.  It is really feral--hisses and bolts the minute it sees you, but it does come to eat at the bowl so I think I have a chance to calm it also.  Don't know if it is male or female, but I would guess it is male if it has been able to fend alone so long. 

Anyway, here are some new pics of the little feral kitties.  Satchmo and Austen are enjoying KT, who goes on walks with us every morning and plays with the boys' leashes.

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Spring brings squirrels!

Satchmo is a rat terrier and as such, he loves to hunt for "rats".  Since he has never ever seen a real rat, he finds make-believe rats everywhere and chases them.  Squirrels are his all time favorite prey.  He loves to chase them and bark at them.  What is even better is that they seem to love tormenting him just as much. 

I live in an apartments complex that has numerous ancient oak trees.  We probably have hundreds of squirrels, both old timers and newly born.  Satch has developed a "second sight" about when a squirrel is in the tree next to him.  He can find a squirrel in the highest branches and we all know that dogs don't have the best eyesight.

There is a big oak right in the middle of our yard and we have a large, fat, male squirrel that must winter over in that tree, because he has been there for the last two years.  Now whenever I take Satch outside, he goes directly to the base of that tree and sniffs all around then he will look intently up at the branches until I have to drag him away.  Heaven help us if he actually sees the squirrel.  Then no pulling will get him away from the tree and he will bark until he is hoarse.

It's funny but really its pathetic.  Here is a dog that wants to hunt and he lives in an apartment.  So sad!

 I just discovered the most wonderful rattie blog.  It is about Yodi, the three-legged rat terrier.  The pictures are delightful and the text is amusing.  I highly recommend a visit just to see the antics of this feisty little dog.
He redefines the "feist" that denotes rat terriers.

To read more about him and see his antics, click here

I have posted the entry that describes how he became a three-legged dog.  This is just after our recent brush with a loose and uncontrolled pit bull while we were out for a morning walk.  Dog on dog violence is never okay.  Do you suppose the owners of that dog helped pay for any of the care these pet owners gave to their precious little boy?  I'm sure they did not, but I can also assure you that the total cost was large.  Thank heavens we have people like Yodi's Mommy and Daddy in the world.
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Yodi's Accident
On June 27, 2003, at about 9 months of age, our rat terrier Yodi (12 pounds) was attacked by a loose pit bull that ran onto my parents' property just as we got out of the car. Yodi had to have surgery at an emergency vet to repair several tears and bite wounds on his chest. A few days after that surgery, we brought him to our vet in Sarasota, who kept him for a few weeks for observation, pain control, and a few procedures. Yodi was very weak and tired and when we went to visit him, he was often just laying down; he could hardly move around and sometimes could barely lift his head. Yodi's red blood cell count dropped severely so he received a blood transfusion from one of the technician's dogs, a Weimaraner. (He got big doggie blood, which helped him feel a lot better.) Yodi's left front leg was swollen due to trauma and the vets applied heat and massaged it in hopes of getting the swelling to go down. A large patch of skin/tissue was dying on his chest (where he had been bitten) and he had to have surgery to remove the decaying tissue. Days later, we learned that his left front leg still wasn't doing much better and we were referred to an animal hospital in Tampa. We took him up there for a consultation and learned that the tissue in the leg was dying, which was sending toxins into Yodi's body; the toxins were making him sick and weak and were entering his body too fast for his body to be able to fight them and heal himself. This left us with the decision to either amputate the leg and save Yodi's life, or let our little puppy go. The obvious decision to us was to amputate the leg. We didn't have second thoughts about it. The amputation was done on July 10th. We couldn't believe it when the vet called and told us that Yodi was sitting up in his cage and had even walked outside - all by himself - to go to the bathroom. We saw him two days after the surgery, and we were allowed to take him outside for a walk. We couldn't believe how well he was getting around. Especially because the last time we saw him before the surgery, he coud barely lift his head. We saw him a second time, about a week later, and he was actually gobbling up his treats, giving lots of kisses, and running and jumping on and off the sidewalk. His final procedure, a skin flap (skin graft) was done on July 21st to cover the large patch where the tissue on his chest had died and been removed. The day after that, July 22nd, he came home with us.

July 5, 2003 - (Beneva Animal Hospital, Sarasota)
This was the first time we got to see the stitches and scars from Yodi's first surgery. He had two incisions which were stapled, and one area that was just stitched up. We could tell that he'd lost a lot of weight. In some of the pictures you can see how swollen and bruised his left front leg was. The area under his arm that is black and bruised is the area where the tissue would decay and need to be removed.

For a very close, detailed picture of Yodi's injuries, stitches, and staples, click here. (It's not pretty, and might be hard for some to look at.)

July 12, 2003 (Tampa)
This was the first time we saw Yodi with 3 legs. I don't think any of us really cared about how he looked or that he had 3 legs - we were all so amazed at the way his health turned around. He was kind of groggy that day because he still had a pain patch on, but we were thrilled to see him walking. What a tough little doggie.

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With Easter here remember--Dogs cannot eat Chocolate!!

Image by cliffandally via Flickr

Easter is here and that means lots of chocolate candy lying about.  If you have dogs, please read this article below to learn why you must be careful with chocolate and dogs.  There is also a video that explains this for those of you who learn better by hearing information.  This is a serious risk for your beloved pet and I know I will be watchfull around the kids and look out for my best buddy, Satchmo!


Chocolate Toxicity in Dogs

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We've all heard it, "Don't give your dog chocolate it will kill him". We'll how true is it you're probably wondering. Do I have to rush him to an emergency vet if he ate one of my M&M's?

The truth is chocolate contains theobromine that is toxic to dogs in sufficient quantities. This is a xanthine compound in the same family of caffeine, and theophylline.

Toxic Levels

The good news is that it takes, on average, a fairly large amount of theobromine 100-150 mg/kg to cause a toxic reaction. Although there are variables to consider like the individual sensitivity, animal size and chocolate concentration.

On average,
Milk chocolate contains 44 mg of theobromine per oz.
Semisweet chocolate contains 150mg/oz.
Baker's chocolate 390mg/oz.

Using a dose of 100 mg/kg as the toxic dose it comes out roughly as:
1 ounce per 1 pound of body weight for Milk chocolate
1 ounce per 3 pounds of body weight for Semisweet chocolate
1 ounce per 9 pounds of body weight for Baker's chocolate.

So, for example, 2 oz. of Baker's chocolate can cause great risk to an 15 lb. dog. Yet, 2 oz. of Milk chocolate usually will only cause digestive problems.

Clinical Signs

Xanthines affect the nervous system, cardiovascular system and peripheral nerves. It has a diuretic effect as well. Clinical signs:

Hyper excitability
Hyper irritability
Increased heart rate
Restlessness
Increased urination
Muscle tremors
Vomiting
Diarrhea

Treatment

There is no specific antidote for this poisoning. And the half life of the toxin is 17.5 hours in dogs. Induce vomiting in the first 1-2 hours if the quantity is unknown. Administering activated charcoal may inhibit absorption of the toxin. An anticonvulsant might be indicated if neurological signs are present and needs to be controlled. Oxygen therapy, intravenous medications, and fluids might be needed to protect the heart.

Milk chocolate will often cause diarrhea 12-24 hours after ingestion. This should be treated symptomatically (fluids, etc..) to prevent dehydration.

If you suspect your pet has ingested chocolate contact your Vet immediately! They can help you determine the the proper treatment for your pet.

Here's the link for this article

Boys, 10 and 12, charged with dogfighting

Here's an article and a news video that breaks my heart.  What, exactly, are we teaching our youth about respect and the value of life?  I read this article because I was sure there was an error in the ages of the perpetrators of this vicious abuse; imagine my surprise when I was wrong.

How can such young boys be so twisted?  Where are they learning these things?  How can we, as a society, help prevent this from becoming full-fledged epidemics?  These boys have lost their humanity before they even knew what that was.  I am so sad.
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Two boys — aged 10 and 12 — have been charged with fighting, baiting and cruelty to animals after deputies say they discovered the boys were operating a backyard dogfighting operation.

A neighbor called deputies in Orange County after the boys dumped a dead dog on his property. When deputies arrived to ask one of them about the allegations cops say the boy picked up a puppy and started beating it until deputies forced him to stop, according to Fox News in Orlando.

Three dogs were taken from the property after they were found covered with wounds, spray painted and living in unhealthy conditions.
 

Winston, dog that chewed up police car, gets a break

Could you ever imagine vandalizing a police car with an officer sitting behind the wheel? Probably not. As a law abiding citizen, you know that the end result of that kind of behavior would mean jail time. However, recently, a canine named Winston didn't realize the true consequences of this kind of act. So, after chewing off the front bumper of a Chattanooga, Tennessee police car, he was detained and locked up in a shelter. The good news is that officials gave him a break and sent him home.

Even prior to meeting with a judge, the police and Winston's owner had come to an agreement. While in the shelter, this newly famous dog displayed a meek and mild personality - a temperament opposite to the one caught on camera on the day of the incident. (See video below.) As a result, the presiding judge agreed to let him go home on a few conditions.

The main conditions of Winston’s release were that his owner secure his fence better and also take his wayward pet to obedience school. Considering the world wide attention this incident got, the sentencing was easy. Both Winston and his owner were left off easy.