firstly at the last minute i call the clinic to substitute animals...marshmellow is just a re-check, but daphne 2 is not weight bearing on one of her back legs. and apparently for some reason, i have booked THREE appointments for marshmellow...0940 this morning, 1230 this afternoon and sometime on monday...gee i guess i really wanted to get that re-check thru.
anyway...daphne got the morning one, we cancelled the 1230 altogether cuz i need to go to chilliwack this afternoon and do not want to drive twice into maple ridge.
i quickly do up the diabetics, check in with the staff, and grab the little daphne, put her in the front seat and wrap her up in fleece. we stop at mcdonalds and she eats all of her breakfast and at least half of mine. daxi's are really just elongated stomaches with feet and a lot of personality inside.
daphne is not happy at the vet, she is afraid...so being incontinent, she promptly poops on my lap. she barely manages her check over without turning into a jelly fish. but she has a sl. fever, a swollen foot and a messed up hip...query septic arthritis? she is on anti inflamatories and antibiotics, if she isn't better in about a week, we will look harder.
i drive her home and drop her off and head over to chilliwack....
and this is how filling out the spca rescue approved application went....
firstly i got lost, cuz i am still only using half of my brain, the other half is busy trying to figure out why i booked multiple re-checks for the same cat....maybe somehow, someone cloned me and there are now three of me running around?
i finally found my way there and started on the application...carol who truly hates paperwork, had to fill out a 4 or 5 page application...i got it done, but now i do have a cramp in my thumb because not only is my brain getting old, but so is my body. and apparently included in aging is my old fashioned, out of writing shape, thumb (remember i fast two finger type only)
my poor thumb hurt all the way home.
and no i did not pick up any extra animals.
lindsay has asked me to write something about transitioning a grieving dog into a new home. lets keep it simple...
1. treat him like he has always been there...with a few exceptions like i have listed below...
2. feed him every single crappy treat that he likes as often as you can.
3. leave him alone for a minimum of 5 times, in the first 24 hours and every day after that for at least 2 weeks. go stand in the driveway..pop over for coffee with your neighbor, slip down to the corner store and buy the new guy some ice cream. do not get him used to you always being there or he will develop separation anxiety when you finally leave.
4. wait for walks til he is fully settled in and totally comfortable with his new home....toss the ball around in the yard instead (but keep him on leash and close to you initally). i cannot count how many people lose brand new dogs cuz they insist on taking the poor freaked out buggers to the park on the very first day. wait til he is no longer afraid. (we don't even let our new guys go for field runs on our own fenced property til the panic stage is long gone and done.)
5. talk to him constantly..tell him about the weather, and how good the clean laundry smells...let him taste test while you are cooking dinner, you can kick him out of the kitchen if you want in a couple of weeks. but make him feel included in everything cuz here is the thing with re-homed dogs..mostly they were excluded, this is why their families are able to break the bond and let them go.
no one in their right mind (barring disaster) is going to cut off their right arm or send away their very best friend...so he has probably never had this before and it won't take him long to figure out how good it feels. and if by chance he did have this inclusion before...he really wants it back...so fork it over.
good luck...envision the dog you want and treat him like he is already there. he will do the rest on his own.
yay lindsay and hubby for providing this guy with a great (foster?) home!
(feel free to wax prolifically in the comments about your new guy!)
So grateful, Carol. :-)
Thank you!! These are gems, and many of them would not have occurred to me.
So glad for your experience. Thank you!