Warning*** Long winded post to follow.
We have been fostering Hey Ready Freddy for two weeks now. He is quite the character. It has not been a dull moment since we picked him up on the 13th of this month. Last weekend we forgot to shut the utility room door, after getting the hound's food from our air tight 40lb containers (I am all about convenience folks, and these work great), 2 minutes after Freddy finished his meal, he snuck off to the utility room for cat box crunchies. Luckily, we noticed where he was quickly, but I was terrified and freaking out, so I called the emergency vet. All I could picture in my mind was the trouble that was soon to be stirring in his digestive track from that clumping cat litter. I immediately took up the bowl of water.
The emergency vet instructed me to call the Animal poison control hotline for advice. $60 for the consultation, but worth every penny. The Vet who answered my call gave me instructions on how to induce vomiting. Here are some handy items you should have around the house for emergencies like these: hydrogen peroxide, milk (or ice cream) and bread. Minutes after giving him this magic potion for induced vomiting, I was following Freddy around with a huge bowl in hopes that this would work. Thankfully, 10 minutes later it did. And boy did it STINK!!! In the short amount of time he had his head in the cat box, he devoured quite a bit of litter box crunchies. I have never had a hound or any dog for that matter eat crunchies from the litter box. We learned our lesson, but I don't think Freddy has, so we are being super cautious about making sure that utility room door is always closed. =)
We had another scary experience on Christmas evening. After a wonderful Christmas day visiting with family and friends, we came home let the pups out, fed them, waited two hours and then let them out for their final pee before bed, when all he** broke loose. Mitch did not realize it, and I was inside brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed, but there was a stray cat in the yard. Of course the hounds spotted this immediately and gave chase and at one point Freddy had a hold of the cat with his mouth. Mitch, being the animal lover he is, tried to come to the defense of the cat and got in the middle of the commotion. The cat was freaking out, scratched Mitch and then bit him (through his coat and jeans) on his arm and leg.. The cat had no collar on and got away, so can you guess what fun Mitch was doing the following day?
You guessed it....good ole rabies vaccine and shots. He says it was quite PAINFUL!! But it was a must, we could not risk the chance of the cat being rabid and Mitch getting sick. As you probably already know, once the symptoms for rabies set in, it is too late, and at that point it is FATAL.
He went to his PCP, but they could not do anything for him, so they sent him to the ER. 4 hours later, he left the ER with discharge instructions and a sore rear end. 2 shots in his arms and two in his arse. Poor Mitch! But the fun isn't over yet, nope, he has to go back tomorrow for his second shot, then again on Friday for his third, then a week later for his fourth shot and then two weeks later for the final shot. Mitch says next time, he is not going to come to the aid of the cat. I can't say I blame him. The good news is, the hounds were all fine, they were a little scratched up, but nothing that required veterinary medical attention, just a little hydrogen peroxide and Neosporin. =)
Other happenings over the last two weeks:
Elsa went to her forever home on December 11th and was officially adopted today. They fostered her with the intent to adopt. She is such a sweetheart and Mitch swears our fourth hound is going to be "an Elsa"! =) Yeah for Elsa!!!!
Zola came to stay with us a few days before Christmas.
Her mom had to go to Germany for a conference. What is the first thing Cueball did when she came in the house? Claimed her dog beds of course. I guess the 11 dog beds we have in the house and the 2 we have in my car just are not up to his standards.Zola stays with us a lot, so this is like a second home for her. She pays Cueball no mind and finds her own spot to lay down. She is a good girl. =) She will be visiting us again next weekend and will stay with us for a week. Can you find all five hounds?
Mitch and I both took last week off from work. We have been working hard on all three bedrooms in our house. First challenge was the spare bedroom upstairs, which was previously used as a storage/junk room. It is now a computer/sewing room and is coming along great. I just need to finish painting the legs on the sewing desk, which is in the garage now, hang some frames and then this room will be finally finished.
Second challenge was the our bedroom. By moving out the computer stuff and bookshelves, we were able to free up lots of space in our room. We finally have a bedroom that I am not embarrassed of. Now, I just need to purchase some new curtains and some nice bedding. We would also like to eventually have a matching bedroom set as well. One step at a time. ;-)
Lastly we worked on our guest bedroom downstairs. This was also once used as a storage/junk room. I have just a few more things to do in this room. The VHS tapes on the floor will be going to Goodwill, Mitch is going to put the shelving units that are in the corner leaning against the wall now in the closet, try to attach the foot board to the bed and I am going to go through the box on the floor near the doorway and put things away and then install handles on the dresser. I made a trip to Goodwill on Saturday. Yep, that Subi was packed to the max! We donated a lot of items and also threw away a lot of stuff. I have one more trip to Goodwill to make, which I will be doing tomorrow.
No before photos. You just got to take my word, all three rooms were a cluttered mess!
Okay, I have bored you enough with house projects, now back to hound news.
2008 was a record breaking year for adoptions for VAGA. I hope it was for all adoption groups! I also hope this momentum continues and grows even stronger in 2009. We sure had an awesome meet and greet today at the Newport News Petsmart. Freddy was working his magic on lots of folks, so paws are crossed for his forever home to be found soon and Cueball, who was our donation dog, had overflowing money pockets, which I had to empty twice during the 2 hour event! Love it when that happens!! It has been an awesome week. Back to work on Tuesday for me and Mitch. =(
Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!
Happy New Year!!!!!!
Isn't she a beauty? 
While I was in Fredericksburg, I brought back Elsa to foster for a little while. She just turned three so she is a little playful, but super sweet. She ADORES people. She is having a blast running around our backyard. When she is inside, she is mostly doing this.
Happy Gotcha Day Booyah!!! We love you and we are so thankful to have you in our lives!! We hope you have many, many more!! =)
