Where in AL did Brett come from? Saw on your website it was a "high kill shelter". I've heard gsp owners (my vet and a guy involved with SE GSP rescue) say that there aren't "too many" GSPs around here so not many wind up in rescue. Just curious....he's soooo cute.

The tornados came across Northern Alabama (just south of Huntsville and Decatur) a couple nights ago. Five dead and about 150 homes damaged (or destroyed). Very bad. The sirens went off about 3 am and me, hubby and dogs were huddled in our half bath under blankets and pillows. Poor Salley was wedged betweeen the toilet and the wall and Zipper didn't want to go in at all--hubby was pushing him inside. LOL now that I think about it but very scary. The tornado went very close to our house (it was up in the air at that time, thank God) but everything was black and still and my ears were popping from the pressure changes. Officials say the tornado was 1/4 mile wide and was on the ground for about 20 miles. UGH-I hate living in such a storm prone area, I'm sooo not used to it, even after 6.5 years.

Large male GSP available at the Beadle County Humane Society in Huron South Dakota.

I sponsored him for 4 months because I couldn't handle that many dogs.  But he is VERY friendly and just needs a home.  I think he is close to a year old.

I wish I would have contacted Lisa.  Just didn't think of it in advance.

Well, I AM finding out more info, but I best keep what info I have to myself till I get to the bottom of this, so when I get the chance to "crack em" all will be on up and up.  It's their periogative if they choose to work with rescue groups or not.  THAT is not that part that bothers me.  It is their professionalizm that is left to be said.  Boy, if WE did something wrong, they'd be all over us like no bodies business...so we have to do this right, legally, first.

Brett was with me for last two days getting heartworm treatment. That poor boy, whined non stop till I had him leveled out on rimadyl.  Nasty treatment.  Had a guy approach me for an unalterd dog for breeding, NO WAY JOSE.  People just dont' "get it", no pedigree papers + nonscalant adopter = more unwanted puppies.  So nope, no way.  He just made it to the top of my Do Not Adopt list.

And in yesterdays mail, a SURPRISE from Petco!  We were chosen to be Tree of Hope 2007 Rescue, and the letter included a check for $1529-  WHOOHOOO, now we have the moola to have every dog lymes tested forever and then some!  We feel so proud to be chosen. Tells me all our efforts DO pay off.     

Well, we got lemonhead Wills last weekend.  I get him on Sunday for neuter appt on Monday, plus I have a home visit to do with him on Sunday.  Have one dog/adopter meeting Sat, two on Sunday, then the website to redo!  Man alive wish I could afford a maid!  Miracle's third birthday was celebrated Monday, pix on website, yup; complete with Little Debbie's!  Maggie's health continues to slide downhill....I've had her 9 years, and we aren't sure how old she was when we adopted her, so she's anywhere between 11 - 13 yrs old?  She coughs alot, is weezing, can still pull herself up and go on all fours tho, even tho I know her hips are very bad and hurt. She waits to be boosted up the three stairs from back door to kitchen after potty.  She's had the fluffy poops for three weeks, and now I see some blood in there!  Just lovely.  Went out today to get another pump sprayer for bleach water to clean the back yard, as the snow/ice melts, more layers of dog poop are in there, it's disgusting....so I gotta keep up with it, and bleach.  Got some cool sample floor mats from www.fishsoxx.com of gsps a couple weeks ago.  Gave one to our vet, kept one for myself, gave one to my ex, cuz the two GSPs in the pic look like his.  He wanted to stop after work last night to take Maggie home for the night, but is on second shift, so I did not want him getting everyone all riled up in the middle of the night and Maggie is on her phenolbarbital regiment, twice a day, 5AM - 5PM...and he probably would not set his alarm to give her the 5AM one....and he said he wouldn't...so he did not come for her.  I told him it's time to decide on final resting place for her, when the time comes.  And he hates discussing that stuff.  I want her cremated, so she can stay with me and go with me in the end....he will probably suggest burying her by Kate in his back yard, and I'd rather not.  Hard enough to go over there to be with Kate when I need, I really don't want two of my dogs there.  But we do share custody of her, so we have to come up with a joint decision.  And rather do it now, then at the last minute.  Who knows she may keep kicking years yet, but I feel in my heart that this is her last year.  She's not giving me "the eye" yet....so I just keep helping her around.  But it's taking a toll on both of us.  Sheesh, new knee, new butt hole, I got so much money into that one dog, it's not funny...but she's my baby...so I'd do anything to keep her around a little longer.  Luckily she's had no further seizures.  Have a 9 mo old female surrender to get outta up north and get to a foster  home across the state.  And Jefferson Co Humane called they have a young male we can have.  AND a lady called in the city last night that MAY have to surrender her 4 yr old female.  But she's  not sure yet, and wanted more info on how rescue works. So I spent an hour on the phone with her.  Rescue is a never ending job from the minute you wake up in the AM till the time you finally go to bed at night...and even then it's hard to shut your brain off.  It's not a gravy job.  We have vols putting on a show in a new location next Sat; a location we need more coverage in, and a great location to place dogs.  However, it's a fund raiser for Food 4 Africa?  HUH?  Why food for Africa?  Why not food for homeless in USA?  Why not food for rescues and shelters?  I don't get it....but I sent in our booth space fee, just to see if we CAN get more exposure in the area.  So now I'm scrambling to get a second show box together to ship up there.  Never ends...  Hope all is well with all of you?       

Zip, zip.....been busy as all get out. Adoptions have slowed up.  But I was out last weekend, showing two dogs.  Have AL Brett moving in for the Easter holiday, so had to get him an Easter basket too ya know.  He goes in for neuter on 4/1, then he'll be ready to hit the road.  The 9 mo old female we pulled in last weekend, came with pedigree papers, nothing to special IMO.  And it turns out she will be two in May.  Someone wasn't keeping track.  She's missing an upper tooth, and her jaw is crooked.  I asked the surrenderer about those things, and he thinks she chipped that tooth out on a bone a few weeks ago.  He commented her jaw was always crooked.  Whatever, she's a sweet very little girl and very birdy.  Working on another male in Jefferson Co shelter, he's all white with lots of ticking.  Very nice looking.  Have foster secured for him.  My vols up north have decided to fire up their own Northern WI GSP Rescue, so I'm helping them get set up.  With both of us covering the state, should work well.  Cross over will not be an issue.  If she needs help, I'm here, and vice versa.  Working on a 10 mo old all liver female surrender too in IL.  IL gave me permission to poach.  So all we need to do is hook up with owner, get transport figured out.  I hear there is a female in Coulee Co (where Duke came from), so waiting on pix of her as well.  Adoptions may slow up, but people dumping GSPs never do.  My Maggiemum goes back to the vet Thurs PM.  She's coughing a very nonproductive cough still, and weezing, has had the shits for a month, been living on immonium AD.  I had to put her back  on her benedryl (even tho didn't really want to with her on phenolbarbitol now), but her eyes were showing signs of allergies, dripping brown goo.  Her feet have been bleeding again.  I dunno if the coughing weezing business is part of the outgoing party favors, but I have to find out.  She is not telling me it's time yet.   But I gotta drop some more money to find out.  I still keep thinking congestive heart failure....even tho her EKG says nope.  Something ain't right.  She is still eating and drinking, and pulling herself up right.  So I watch and wait.  If I adopted her in 1999, and who knows how old she really was then, she could be 11-13 yrs old by now.  I wish there were a magic pill to roll back the years...but alas, there isn't.  Miracle is good, Jim is good.  Bella comes for the month of April while her mom goes to Fort Bragg to bring her hubby back from Iraq....then they may wanna find Belly a boy toy.  Our lemonhead Wills got neutered yesterday and it's not stopping him any, his foster mom emailed me he was treeing a squirrel this AM.  The vet thinks he is a year old.  He was hysterical on a home visit Sunday.  They had a 7 yr old son, with a balloon, and generally I say GET THEM THINGS AWAY FROM MY HUNTING DOGS...but I thought what the hell...let's see what happens....and of course Wills popped it, never flinched or peed on their floor.  But the wife wanted nothing to do with a slightly potty trained, young dog.  The husband kissed and hugged Wills as we left.  I know he wanted him...but it has to be a total family decision or the dog will suffer.  So Wills is back with his foster mom for now.  And I can hardly believe Easter will be here this weekend!  I gotta get GSP bunn pix on website, remove shamrock heads....  tehe.  Have a good one all.

Well, the Easter weekend started off quietly enough, cept for the 20" of snow we got Good Friday into Sat AM.  Then Sunday AM, let the dogs out and noticed Alabama Brett ate some carpet at the back door.  So off to emergency we went.  They took Xrays, showed the carpet and a staple in his tummy and intestines.  Made him throw it up, dunno if staple still in there or out yet.  It's very strange...all the sudden he starts gag relexing, then hits the floor obsessively to lick or eat anything.  He had just been to the vet March 10th for eating 1/2 a blanket.  The emergency room vet thinks it's behavioral...I'm not so convinced yet.  Brett will be a $700- dog by the time we are done with him, between work done in Alabama, the kennel cough, the heartworm treatment, twice now for his stomach, and I still gotta get him altered and shots and chip.  So you win some, you loose some!  He is such a really nice boy, to all of us he's totally worth it, unless this is behavioral, then it's only a matter of time before he eats something that will kill him.  I'm riding it out, hoping it will work itself out.  Had a guy from MN beg us to take his adopted from WI shelter in Nov. 3 yr old GSP cuz he's gun shy.  When I told him to alter the dog first, then I'd work on it, he stated he cannot afford it!  So I called the shelter, cuz I know they have a return policy as well as a neuter contract.  I'm told they will contact the guy and get their dog back, at which point I'll bail him out, and find him a home.  Heck if the guy can't afford the dog, then he should never have driven 250 miles to adopt him sight unseen, bird testing not done...  he told me he lives in his heated garage with outdoor kennel access.  I relayed all that to the shelter, so let's see what they do with the info now.  Never ends....gotta call from my adopter in Florida last night, their neighbor has homing pigeons who are on their house, crapping all over her roof.  So her husband told the guy next door he's got till today to remove his pigeons or the pellet gun comes out.  I can only imagine the mess. She also told me he has a rooster, who he takes in a doggie crate out weekly, probably cock fighting...  so she's been in touch with the local police about this.  Obviously the rooster is a winner, or he'd be bringing back empty carrier every time...  sick.... 

Lisa,

My first GSP, Sport, did a very similar sort of thing for many years.  The obsessive licking of the floor was usually an indication he was getting ready to throw up.  If I let him outside he would literally attack the yard, eating as much grass as he possibly could.  Which, of course, usually ended up with him throwing up anyway.  My vet could never figure out what was going on with him - they looked at me like I was crazy when I described what he did.  About the only thing I could think of was he needed more roughage in his diet (like grass?), so I started adding a couple of pieces of lettuce to his food.  It didn't stop the behavior entirely, but it seemed to cut it down quite a bit.  He was on Eukanuba Lamb & Rice for pretty much his entire life (14 years), mostly because the boxer I had at the same time had a sensitive stomach and that was the best food for him.  Easier to keep one kind of food around.

Larry

Thanks Larry!  Well, I got the latest update on Mister Trooper from Arkansas (remember, Miracle's dad, the spinner?):

Trooper actually chased after a bird the other day at the dog park. He's turning into a bird dog. Also had company over the Easter weekend and he only freaked out a little. He actually stayed downstairs and sat while my sister and niece were in the room. Big step for him. Talk to you later. connie

Rock n Roll Mister!  Whoohhaaaa!  Just a little prozac, and he's come a long way....