Annie Digs a whole to China and Gets a Bath!

I was studying for a test and Annie was obviously bored, she kept staring out the back door and I finally gave into her, opening the door to let her out to play. I checked on her a few times and she was fine, exploring the quickly disappearing snow mounds.

I realized about an hour had gone by and I decided it was time for my little Annie to come inside. I went out and called her to me, no response. I didn't panic because I could hear her dogtags jingling from under the new deck. I just couldn't see her. Then, low and behold as I look under the deck, I see her little bob tail poking up. She dug a hole under the deck about a foot and a half deep. I have no idea what she was going after but she was a mess.



So in comes the little dirty dog, and man.. was she dirty. Look how pathetic that little dog looks. You could see she wasn't too happy with her "pigpen" look but I think she had fun digging that hole. Her Jack Russell roots really came out in that dig. I wonder if there's a fox under the house somewhere! If there was, Annie would find it.



Anyway, long story short, Annie got a bath and now she is all pretty again. She's great in the bathtub. You can tell she's had experience with a groomer. Probably at the Rescue Spa where she spent that past year at. Clean at last! She even did the little happy dance (maybe she was just trying to dry off). Happy Dog!



How could you not love this little happy dog? She's the best. I meant to mention that she is having fewer nightmares. They are almost gone. Also, she doesn't wolf eat anymore. She takes her time eating which shows me she knows she isn't going to run out of food anytime soon. Good dog!

Annie gets her teeth brushed! And Tiger, the nemesis!

Annie and I have bonded so much, she just sits by my side when I am in the house. I feel bad about this but I realize that is where she wants to be for the time being. I want her to feel comfortable in this house, comfortable enough to explore and roam around. I think she is worried that I'm a chapter in her life, maybe I am reading too much "humanism" into her little doggy brain. Maybe it's just more she just needs more time to adjust or maybe this is how she is. Either way, I'm ok with it.

Tiger, Annie's 11 year old Beagle sister (that's Tiger's picture above left)continues to try to dominate the house as the alpha dog. An example is training, I can't practice Annie's training without Tiger trying to be the center of attention. Also, all three dogs have a plentiful supply of rawhide chews, toys and the like. I noticed Annie growling at Tiger, well for good reason. Tiger was trying to abscond with Annie's rawhide chew. I looked over where Tiger had been laying, she had a bunch of them stacked up. I think she thought it was a fire sale! Probably just jealous or trying to save up for a rainy day.



Long story short, I got home.. let the dogs out, they had a great time exploring the melting piles of snow and then fixed their dinner. I take Ginger, the almost 15 year old Jack Russell, fighting leukemia but doing well, into another room so she can eat her dinner in peace. I come out and all the sudden Tiger and Annie break out into a full blown fight. I have no idea what it was about, I know they were looking forward to getting fed as well. So, I blurted out the loudest "BAH" I could muster and they didn't stop, I did it again and added the hand clap this time, they still didn't stop. Finally, Annie submitted but Tiger wouldn't let up, I had to use my legs to block Annie from her. To say the least, dinner wasn't had for a while. Ginger had a great meal but Tiger and Annie watched from the "puppy playpen" where I had put them both together to realize I was the pack leader. Annie got to eat and Tiger had to watch, further sign of her pecking order on the pack list.

The sad part about my Tiger is that I have always protected that strong independent spirit of hers. She's a great dog who has been spoiled for many years. Her AKC registered name is "Will's Flying Tigress" because when she was a puppy, she literally flew around this house and had the longest little puppy fangs I have ever seen on a Beagle. She's going through her own adjustment issues with Annie her, not to mention she has some hip issues and the vet thinks she might have Cushings Disease. Poor dog.

It will all work out in time. I look at how far they have all come in the almost two months that Annie has been with us and wow.. we've all come through with some scars and bruising but we're better off for it. My Dad said that Annie has brought new life into this house, he's right. The other day, she cracked me up by coming in from outside and taking off through the house again at eighty miles an hour. Cracks me up every time she does it, I equate it to, she's a happy dog! I hope so.

Tonight, I finally followed through on something that has bothered me. I know how important it is to brush a dogs teeth but I have never been good at it. With all of my previous dogs, I gave it a shot and finally gave up. With Annie, I am determined to make sure she gets her teeth brushed at least a couple of times a week, I would really like to do it once a day after she's had her dinner but, it's a goal.. not sure I'll hold to it.

So, she got her teeth brushed tonight. She hated the toothbrush but she tolerated the finger brush. Emphasis on tolerated, I know it was a first attempt and more of an exercise in familiarizing her with the process but.. we did it. So on Thursday, February 18th, 2010, mark it down on your calendar's people, Annie got her teeth brushed. Let's hope we stay up on it. She seems kind of depressed tonight but I think that has more to do with the fight with Tiger than the tooth brushing episode. Time to close and hit the hay. It's almost been two months, hard to believe but worth every minute and gray hair! This little dog has a great home, two months ago she barely had any human contact. I keep hoping that she doesn't remember those hard times.

Annies Survives the Blizzard of 2010!!

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Yup, that is little Annie girl after the blizzard dig out, she survived the Blizzard in style Poor little dog is so well potty trained that she couldn't decide where to go. She finally decided to go under the new deck off the back of the house. I have no idea how she found her way under there in three feet of snow, but she did. Then, I had to find a way to get her out. Sometimes, I think we humans think too much. I finally realized that when she was ready, she would come back up and guess what, she did; wagging that little nub tail of hers all the way. She is a happy dog. I really hope that she doesn't remember her past. The picture below is Annie waiting out the storm in her new dog bed. I think she was bored but at least comfortable by all accounts!



I think her nightmares might be more from ghost pain where the breeder most likely, amputated part of her tail. Jack Russell's typically have the end of their tail removed, so they have the appearance of a shortened "handle". The Jack Russell has been bred to chase fox into their holes, so the hunter back in the day would grab the little tenacious Jack Russell by their tail to pull them back out. The tail on a JRT should be the width of a human hand. Whoever cropped Annie's tail took a little too much off. She just has a cute little nub

When I see her wake up snapping and growling, it's always at her tail. That's what I mean when I say she is having nightmares. Now that I have witnessed it for almost two months, I am starting to think that she has ghost pain or maybe bad memories of her tail being cropped. I have a sick feeling they did it while she was awake which is probably a common practice. I can't imagine someone even doing that to a puppy and want to think about it even less. If only I could save all the puppies at the pound. At least I can try!

Speaking of which, faithful Annie's Blog readers, I have decided to buy a mini van so I can do the transport of rescue dogs for Shih Tzu and Furbaby Rescue runs. I am going to wait until April when the new 2011 Toyota Sienna comes out. The new 6cyl model is already out but I want the 4cyl because it gets much better mileage. 26mpg Hwy for a big vehicle like that is impressive. Better than my FJ Cruiser but not nearly as good as my Corolla at 41mpg. Gotta be as green as you can. I need the bigger vehicle to transport the kennels the resuce pups are transported in. Poor dogs. It's a shame they have to go through that but they way I look at it, it is a journey to a much better life. I think my little Annie would agree with that. Just look at that picture in her new dog bed. She's loving it.

I'm surprised how much she likes the snow. Today, I shoveled off the new deck and the entire time, she was out and about the back yard, the three feet of snow did not get in her way. I knew it was cold for her but I decided to let her play because I can't take her for her walks and this was a good way for her to burn off some of that Jack Russell energy. They are high energy dogs. That's why I enjoy them so much. They are like little dogs that have ADHD. I think if Annie were a human, she would talk a mile a minute and multi-task better than anyone I know. ADHD isn't all bad, at least not with Annie. I feel fortunate that I have her.

We are expecting more snow. I work for the school system so we have been off since last Friday. Annie is amazingly loyal and I think we have definitely bonded. I don't make a move that she is not right there with me. Ginger, my other JRT, now 15 has always been like that too. I think I might have written about this so if I have, I apologize..My dad made a comment when I stopped by the house one night when I first got Annie, "there's something special about those dogs (Jack Russell's)." He's right. There is. But again, I think all dogs are special. So more snow, and more time off from work and more Annie time. Life is good!

She is getting along great with the cat, Caesar. I think he thinks he is a dog any way. Ginger and Tiger raised him from when I rescued him at 10 weeks. He's a black cat and I remember the lady at Petsmart told me, not many people adopt black cats because they bring bad luck. I have never been a believer in that stuff and honestly, he's the best cat I have ever had. Annie thinks so too, she loves to chase him and then run from him. She really is coming into her own. She plays with the dog toys now, it's funny to watch. She gets all excited and runs like a little ferrari dog through the entire house like a little nut, cracks me up.

Until next time!

Annie Swallowed a Rock and Chases the Snow!

Thursday night, I get in from work late. I feed the dogs and as usual take Annie for a walk. It was a cold night so I did the right thing and bundled her up in her bulky warm sweater. I think she hates wearing it but at least I knew she'd be warm. It was in the mid 20's, around 10pm and windy so she needed it. I bundled up too, I probably looked like a hood.

So, I decided to drive down to the local park to give her a change of scenery. We get out of the car and the place is deserted. Suited me fine because I was really self conscious about people seeing me walk this little dog with a big sweater on her. Cracks me up what I do for these dogs. The only other vehicle in the parking lot was a police car which was good. We started out on our walk and the cop pulls up to me and asks me what kind of dog Annie is.. "is that one of those Jack Russell's?" I tell him she is and then he says, "I really couldn't tell with that big sweater on her, nice dog though.." and he drives away. Amazing the attention that little dog gets. I might put her in commercials. I'll have to see about that!

So it is really dark, cold as I mentioned, wind is howling.. and after about a mile, it was time to go. We hustle back to the car and I'm unlocking the door when I feel a tug on the leash. I look and see Annie is trying to get to something on the ground, she wouldn't let up and before I know it, she's got it in her mouth and swallows it! It was BIG and it looked hard, like a rock. I actually think I heard it "clink" on her teeth, not sure. All I kept thinking was, this is going to mean a vet visit for sure. I told her to drop it, then try to pry her mouth open but she had locked her jaws so that was hopeless. I finally get her mouth open and whatever it was..rock or cigar butt or whatever.. is gone.

I get her in the car and drive home. In my driveway, I see this huge tow truck backing up and someone is at my door, knocking. They obviously are not getting an answer. Then, the cell phone is going off. I park the car and I realize this is the tow truck for the motorcycle I am donating to the local animal shelter. At 1045 pm? After about a half an hour, the motorcycle is driving down the road on the back of the tow truck and I wave good bye to any future motorcyle adventures. One bad spill was all it took to snap me out of it and besides, the Baltimore City Animal Shelter will benefit from it's sale proceeds. I used to have Bulldog club meetings there, those people are great and really care about helping the animals that are brought in. Worthy cause for sure.

Back in the house now, I go on the internet and did a web search what to do if "my dog swallows a ... rock, a candy bar, ...a cigarette.." There's all kind of information out there on the net. Good stuff. So I learned about how to make your dog throw up using hydrogen peroxcide but that had to be done in a certain time frame and I wasn't sure I wanted her to throw up something that might be sharp and damage her trying to throw it up. I finally decided to call the emergency vet in Annapolis. They were a big help, I told them what happened and they told me it would be best to watch Annie for different symptoms. So, I did. They told me if she started acting lethargic, in pain, distressed, lost her appetite or vomited to bring her in immediately.

Friday morning, she was fine. Ate a good breakfast, went out and did her business and all was good. I went to work leaving her plenty of water and her typical snacks. I came home just in time to see her wretching and getting sick. My heart sank and I picked up the phone and called the vet. I called the wrong vet and got Greater Annapolis Veterinary Hospital. My regular vet was already closed but GAVH still had appointments on Friday night. I put Annie in the car and felt really bad when I realized she was shaking. She's normally a little trooper in the car so I knew she wasn't feeling good at all. We get there and they take us right in. The intake tech was great, loved Annie and Annie loved the attention. Then the vet comes in and gives Annie a thorough check up. I explain to her what has happened and she gave me a great deal of comfort telling me that she does not believe Annie has a blockage but ate something that didn't agree with her. She did not recommend an Xray but told me she could do one if I needed peace of mind. I asked her what she would do if it was her dog and she said, just watch her for the next 24 hours, she should be fine. She precribed pepcid and off we went. I slept well that night.

We woke up the next morning just in time to see the snow start falling down. I put the dogs out when there was about 2 inches of snow, remember we were only supposed to get a "dusting" .. yeah right we ended up getting 8 inches. Anyway, Annie runs out, steps in the snow looks up, starts barking hysterically and runs back inside. I cracked up. Funny dog. I need to remember she's spent her previous year and a half down in the south, Texas and Florida. She's seen it before but only after it's fallen, she hasn't really seen snowfall yet so I guess it took her by surprise. I put Tiger out, her Beagle sister and she followed. She watched Tiger and then decided the snow was something to play with than be afraid of. She had a blast. Ran around like a little nut, rolling in the snow, digging in the snow, just a little wack. I let her play in it until she came back to the door to be let in. She had to be cold but she had a good time.

All's well that ends well. Annie is happy. I keep thinking.. how could this little dog spend almost a year between a high kill shelter and the rescue kennel? I guess I shouldn't complain, she could either have been killed as she did have a "put to sleep" date assigned or she could have been adopted by someone else. I hope she thinks that I was worth the wait. I will spend her entire life time trying to prove to her that I was. She sure was. All of my dogs have been special in their own way, Annie is no exception. She's a wonderful little dog full of personality. A month ago I was worried I made the wrong decision, I know now that I didn't, I truly believe now that she was meant to be here, she's a perfect fit.

More next week!