GOODBYE 2009…FULL SPEED AHEAD TO 2010!
Another year has come and gone. It was a year packed with lots of memories. Some I’ll cherish forever, and some I wish I could forget. LOL Looking back though, I can honestly say that I’ve learned something from all the experiences, both good and the not so good.
Our old foster boy Zack is back again. He’s here just for the week while his family is out of town. He still is just the same old Zacky boy. Incredibly stubborn, yet, endearing.
He will be here till either Friday or Saturday, so I guess his stay is actually nearly over. He fits in so well that I don’t really notice that we’ve got an extra dog here most of the time. Zoe doesn’t share my opinion though. She thinks that Zack could go back to his home anytime now and the sooner the better. LOL
It’s nice to be able to have him visit occasionally and see that his new family just adores him. It’s definitely one of those happy endings that you hope for so much in rescue. Makes me glad that we had the privilege of playing a small part in helping him find his great family.
I’m running around like a chicken with my head cut off, once again. Twist, Raven, Layla, Angel (the foster sheltie) and myself are packing up and heading out to go to an obedience trial in Farmington this weekend. Well, Angel’s not going to the Obedience trial, she is just going back to Sheltie Rescue of Utah, since they are now back from their trip to Bucharest, so her brief stay with us has come to it’s end.
I’m really hoping that Raven will be able to finish her CD this weekend. She got her first leg at the Sheltie Specialty at the end of April, so she only needs two more. Twist is just entered on Sat. of this trial to see if our work on the broadjump has improved to the point that he might be able to qualifiy in Open for the first time. I’m a little nervous. Ok, I’m a lot nervous. Obedience always makes me more nervous that agility does, for whatever reason. I love it though.
Layla is going along to have a lesson tonight, so I’m really looking forward to that. It’s always nice to see if we are making progress and then what areas still need our attention. Anyway, hopefully we’ll have lots of good news and some pictures or some video to share when we get home…
A couple of people have asked about how Rogue is doing since we let her go for an evaluation to our friends at Sheltie Rescue of Utah. So, here’s a brief update of what I know.
As of yesterday, she was beginning to settle in to the point that she was beginning to play with another one of the Shelties in the house. That’s good news! She’s being just a little tricky about trying to eat her treat without getting the pill inside, but they are experts at making sure that the dogs are getting their meds, so I’m sure that’s a temporary problem. They tell me that she is being a really good girl, and that she has been easy to have at the house. 
I guess she’s like a shadow following Barbara around. (I kind of expected that). So, that’s about all I can update you on at this point. I know that she’s in very capable and caring hands!
After hearing from the vet about Rogue’s meds this time around, I find myself frazzled. It’s been 5 months since we started medicating Rogue, and even though I tend to be a pessimist…I think I set my hopes too high. I really thought that we’d be seeing some very noticeable progress by now, and so yesterday in frustration I called our friends at Sheltie Rescue for some advice. I know that they won’t sugarcoat things for me, if I ask for an honest opinion and I also know that they have a ton more experience dealing with anxious dogs than I have. So, here is what we talked about.
Of course, when I’m more rational, and my own nerves and emotions are less raw I had already considered that we may just not have found the correct medication for Rogue. We talked briefly about that. We also talked about the fact that sometimes the changes that these meds bring about are small enough that on a day to day basis I may not be noticing them, but that they may be accumulating more than I think. Also very possible.
I have some concerns about whether our home environment is adding to Rogue’s anxieties, so we talked about that. We talked about whether she might thrive in a home with more stable routine. Having the boarding kennel here means that some days I’m in and out of the house dealing with clients quite a bit, and that seems to stress her out.
Then another possibility was presented. I have to say that I was pretty unsure about it at first, but the idea is growing on me. They mentioned letting Rogue come stay with them for a time to give us a break from the situation and to give them some time to evaluate Rogue. After talking this possibility over with my husband, we both agree that this may be just what all of us need. A little break.
So, once they get back from the Sheltie Nationals in a couple of weeks, Rogue may get to for a short stay at the SRU house. That is, unless there is some radical development with this latest dosage change in her meds. In the meantime I want to express my gratitude for both Barbara and Jim giving of their time, (of which they have none to spare), and their continuing offer of support and help for Rogue and for us.
The only update that I have right now is a more of a medication update than anything else. We still don’t seem to have found just what she needs, so we got an email from Dr. Overall yesterday saying that we can try giving her 20 mg. of Amitriptyline in the mornings now, and then keep the evening dosage at 10 mg. We can try this for 10 days and if we don’t see any improvement than we may need to try something else. So, today will be our first day with the new dosage.
This day has been a long time in coming, sadly. We have a “rescue/sanctuary” (that I will leave unnamed) in our area that was started by a very well intentioned, intelligent, caring person. However, in the last couple of years her good intentions have outweighed her reasonableness. As a result, she has taken in far more animals than she can care for properly.
Our all breed rescue has tried helping her take dogs to adoption events, only to have her take in more dogs than she adopted out. Ugh!!! The local shelter even got to the point that they quit allowing her transfer animals out into her program. Unfortunately, nothing has helped. When she couldn’t transfer them out into her program she would volunteer to transport them to other rescues, and then not deliver all of them. Incredible! It just absolutely must be like an addiction. That’s the only way it makes sense to me.
Finally, (not because she realized she was in over her head), but because the “rescue/sanctuary” was in violation of our kennel licensing laws, and because of the conditions the animals were in, the dogs were being taken to the shelter today. The animal control officer we spoke to today told us that they even found the bodies of a couple dogs that has died in the last few weeks!
The really frustrating thing is that even at this point, she seems to be in denial about the situation that she has put these dogs in. She even called the person in charge of adoptions with our rescue and asked her to get some of the dogs out and let her have them back! The answer is NO WAY!
The shelter took in about 16 dogs today. Unfortunately, while that would be plenty, in reality it’s just the tip of the iceberg. The low estimate of dogs she had in her care was around 50, so we’re missing a quite a few at this point! We know that animal control left 3 that she claims as her own personal pets, and 6 more that she says her daughter will pick up and take to the Salt Lake area in the morning. That’s still only got us to 25. We know for sure that she has moved a quite a number of the smaller breed dogs to some friend’s houses. How animal control will deal with that, I don’t know. They said that at this point, they are just going to keep a very close eye on her. I don’t know how successful that will be!
Anyway, it’s just a sad day for rescue in our area. I really wish this situation could have had a different ending. 
We don’t seem to making any headway with our work to lessen Rogue’s anxiety or reactivity, even though we’ve adjusted her meds. To recap: 7 weeks of fluoxitine at 1mg dosage which was an error (fortunately on the safe side). Then we changed it to 10mg of fluoxitine daily for two weeks, which made her more aggressive towards the other dogs, and now we are closing in on 5 more weeks at 5 mg. daily. We’ll re-evaluate again at the first of March.
Frustration and impatience. Those two words would describe how I’ve felt about this process with Rogue lately. Well, and then guilt. Probably those three would sum it up. They usually come in that order too. I’ve been reading and re-reading the consult and protocols that we got from Dr. Overall, and this phrase always gets me, “these are the dogs who show you the type of person you can – but never expected – to become.”
When I first read that statement I thought, “yep, living with Rogue will reveal good qualities about us that we didn’t know we had.” How egotistical! LOL What I overlooked was that it was going to reveal many more negative qualities about myself than positive ones as her stress and anxiety wears on me. As we work through this process, I’m beginning to think that it’s more about being willing to see the flaws in your character and being willing to work to overcome them, to become a better person. Just my thoughts for today….
Well, another year has come and is nearly gone already. I don’t know where the time goes anymore! It’s been a year full of great accomplishments, a big loss, some continuing struggles and new beginnings. Wow, we really crammed alot into a year! LOL
Zoe earned her MACH, to become the first Sheltie in Utah to have that title. She also qualified to go to the AKC National Agility Championship in North Carolina in March, and we’re really looking forward to that trip!
Twist tried his paw at regular obedience this year, and in his first Novice Obedience class, took first place and earned the High in Trial at the Utah Sheltie Specialty! Woohoo, Twist. He went on to finish his CD in September. Now we’re working on moving into Open Obedience!
Raven took a break from competing in agility for most of the year, but she did try Rally Obedience at the Utah Sheltie Specialty, and she qualified first time out. She’s entered in an agility trial in Jan., so we’ll see if the break from competition and the training we’ve been doing have paid off. In the meantime, she says that she doesn’t mind just chilling out and chewing on a bully stick.
2008 was a great year for Penny! She got to try out for a tv commercial, and even though she wasn’t chosen, we had a great time! Of course, now she thinks she’s a star and we’re just staff that here to serve her. LOL
We said goodbye to Jessie this past August. It was an unexpected loss, and she is greatly missed!
Our attempts to help Rogue overcome, or at least manage more successfully her anxiety issues…continue. The last year has allowed us to meet some wonderful people. I feel really grateful to have found such great support and guidance as we work with Rogue. We hope that 2009 brings more progress for Rogue.
As for Lucy, she’s enjoyed another year of being Lucy. There’s really not much more you can say. To Lucy it’s not the end of one year or the beginning of another…it’s just a wonderful day to be alive!!!
Lastly, I guess it’s time to admit that the little foster girl, (formally known as Lucy), has found her permanent home, with us. I knew there was a reason we hadn’t done any fostering for several years! LOL For obvious reasons, we’ve changed her name. My husband got to re-name her, and he’s chosen “Layla”. I looked up the meaning of the name and it’s “dark beauty”, so I guess he did a pretty good job, for just pulling a name out of the air…he doesn’t overanalyze naming like I do. Hehe. I don’t know that I’d describe her as a beauty just yet, more of a cutie at this point, but I’m sure she’ll grow into the name.
So, I guess that about sums it up!
We have some of the more portable equipment in the house right now because the weather isn’t letting us do much agility outside. The baby apparently thinks that the tunnel is dual purpose and that it makes a pretty comfy bed. LOL
