Lady May and Fissure Learn First Aid Fur Pets

Guess what happened last week? Lady May and Fissure both got to go to School!  That's Aunty Bonny and Uncle Lou's FurBuddy. Well they took a Furst Aid Course Fur Pets!  Princess MollyDawg  and I had to stay home though.

Lady May Meeting Lou and Bonny

Aunty Bonny came all the way from a place called Campel River or something. I just know that Fissure said it took 7 1/2 hours of driving to get here WOW eh? He got to go on a furry bote thing too. ("Whatever that is??) They were really tired when they got here, but we kept them up playing anyway!

Wow look at all the toys they brought ME!"

AND they brought a whole bunch of squeaky toys! But ONLY Lady May, well and Fissure, wanted to play with them! Oh and he buried one of my old stuffies, but we found it when he went home. Anyway my mom and Aunty Bonny came with us to the Furst Aid thing and we got to listen to a really smart Instructor lady named Heather Rankin who gives the WalksnWags First Aid Fur Pets
course. I'm not going to mention the things that happened to poor Heather on her way home when her car broke down. But I sure hope she gets it fixed with no problem. Oh dear oh dear! We are SO thankful for you coming so far out of your way to bring us this IMPORTANT Program! She's awful nice Mama Yvette and she even stayed over night at our house. We liked her so much that my mom took us outside so we couldn't jump up on her in the morning. Mom said she needed her sleep??? hmmm I dunno why, Heather said it would have been alright, I think?? Uncle Lou didn't mind if we jumped up on his bed in the morning.  Lady May didn't care cuz she wanted to show him that I had told her all about him and Aunty Bonny. So she wanted to give her love to them as well.
So anyway I'm sending you some pictures so you can see how good they learned their stuff. That way when/if you ever get an ingery she kin help to get u ready to go and see ur people doctor. We were reminded how important it is to make regular visits to our vet. AND if there's ever an ingery we are s'posed to get bandagaed up and get straight to the DOCTOR! I hope all the people know to do that as well. Oh and when they got home Lady may got to practice on me and Princess MollyDawg. She's not very good at it yet cuz ... well you know, it's that whole opposable thumb thing right? Yea.
Anyway my mom said she did so good I cud write you a letter

The temperature in town was totally HOT and it was sweltering in the gym at some points but they made out just fine. Fissure and Lady may got to take a break and go run outside and stuff so it was okay. It was really important stuff to learn.

Lady May says, "

Dawn brings Odie and Pepe'

There was two other lady's from our town who came to learn for their pets safety. There's some pictures of them as well. Dawn has two dogs, Pepe' who's a little tiny black one I think mom said she's a Habenero or something ( no Lady May that's a Havanese) and her brother is Odie, he's a Boovee eh or something. (No no sweet Lady May that's Bouvier, ((sigh)) Anyway there's pictures of them too. The other lady Doreen couldn't bring her little one but Heather said that's okay cuz she has some stuffies who need to be practiced on. (weird eh?) Mom said she was disappointed that more people didn't want to learn it. BUT she is SO happy and SO Thankful for the people who felt it was important to learn. She hopes everybody will get a chance to get some of this great training! Maybe ... one day ...Oh and Mamma Yvette, guess what? Heather even had a C-A-T Mana kin thing to work on hmmm I guess that's cool. But Im glad King wasn't there! 


Lady May really looks ingered eh?

So anyway here's a hole bunch of pictures that you can look at. I hope they make you smile. I sure had FUN learning this stuff.
Please take care of yourself Mama Yvette and remember to get regular VET checks!!
Oh and mom put some more pictures on her Photo bucket page here's the link to it.
More Uncle Lou an Aunty Bonny Photos

Emory Creek - What a Nice Visit With Aunty Jean and Eddie

An absolute MUST READ before reading this blog entry PLEASE visit http://mylifewiththecritters.blogspot.ca/2013/06/camping-with-eddie-royal-visit.html
My mom finally had a chance to sit down and have a look through some on her pictures of the visit we took with Aunty Jean. So she told me I could write up a blog now and add them here. I'm sure Aunty Jean thought I'd forgotten about the wonderful day we spent visiting her.
I'm sorry Aunty Jean, the time is just so scarce right now. 
I bet not everyone knows who my Aunty Jean is.  Well, you can read all Aunty Jean's wonderful stories and look at her amazing photography here on her blog. http://mylifewiththecritters.blogspot.ca/

Over the years since I was adopted, I've heard people say they love me and they all talk about how special I am... but... really, it's Aunty Jean who should get the pat and praise. The really important blog that she wrote was back in Nov. 2008 when she posted  Needed One Happily-ever-after Ending on her blog. Please click that link to read it. If it doesn't inspire you to adopt a dog I don't know what will.
I don't think I need to tell you how important it was that we finally had a chance to meet and hug each other. I know dogs can't cry to show their emotion. BUT...in my heart I was crying thankful, happy tears. Thank you so much for posting my story way back then Aunty Jean!

Come ON Let's GO!

When mom and dad were packing the car for us to go, Lady May was so happy about finally getting to go for a ride she jumped right in the trunk of the car and wouldn't get out.
Silly girl we had hours to go yet. It seemed to take ages to get there but mom said it was only 2 hours.

When we pulled up into the campsite there was no doubt in our mind that we were at the right place. Daddy looked over and saw Eddie right away.

We have company mom!

Mom giggled cuz she thought it was funny that we'd recognize 'the dog' before Aunty Jean. What's so funny about that??
Anyway our hearts were so happy to finally meet the person who was initially responsible for my mom and dad finding me. If it wasn't for Aunty Jean posting a story about me, mom and dad might never have seen my face.
I might never have this family.

We had such a nice day that day. It was very relaxing. Good food, good people, good conversation, good weather!
Lady May, Princess MollyDawg and I would really have liked to have been able to run and play with Eddie, and let him show us around the place but... well you know how moms and dads can be. (Overly Protective)

I guess this time it really was a park rule so I'm not allowed to blame mom and dad for making us stay on leash the WHOLE entire time. Sheeesh.
We'd like to return the favour and invite Eddie to come up to our neck of the woods and we'll take him for a walk through the trees and a splash in the creek.
We enjoyed our time so much. We listened to everyone talk about things in common. I just know we'll be keeping in touch. I'm happy about that. I really like Aunty Jean. Eddie seemed kinda quiet but I think he's cool too.  Maybe we'll get to meet Mitzi one day too, though I don't really want to meet Allie The C.A.T.!

Mom has put a slideshow together and posted it here for you. Please be sure to read the captions. Once we did our "Hello's" and "Nice to meet you's.", you can see what was most important!
Thank you for being in our lives Aunty Jean and for bringing us together!
If the slideshow has already started, you can refresh your page to have it go back to the beginning.
In case your browser doesn't want to play this slideshow, please feel free to visit my PhotoBucket link provided here
A Visit With Aunty Jean

A Visit With Queen Mya and Lacy

Just before we went to visit with Aunty Jean we had some visitors come to visit us at home. Steve and Jude Taylor brought Queen Mya and Lacy to see us. 

We've met them before but it's been since the TG 2010 Reunion.  This was the first time for Lady May.  We thought she would like to play with Lacy who seems to play with the same energy level but...  I think Princess MollyDawg's over exuberance kept Lacy a bit on the reserved side.

Still we had a great visit with them and mom and dad took lots of pictures. She'll be adding more to the album in the next few days.
Please feel free to check out the rest of the pictures in my PhotoBucket album
HERE - http://s422.photobucket.com/user/Katog/library/Queen%20Mya%20and%20Miss%20Lacy

 

Hey Mom, Did these dogs bring cookies?

Cool Queen Mya

Miss Lacy



Last week we spent an awesome day visiting with Aunty Jean and Eddie http://mylifewiththecritters.blogspot.ca/ and their good friends Ann and Ken at their Emory Creek campsite just out of Yale. I know she's going to be writing up a blog soon. I'm still finding time to go through the pictures that I took and want to post here. When I do I'll get a link to the album for you to view asap .

We also enjoyed a visit from Queen Mya a  Lady Lacy. I have a load of pictures of that visit as well. Ahh...  time oh time ....  where are you??

 I'll be writing a bit more later.
Hugs 'n Tail wags
King

Lady May Knows How To Speak Up!

I had to have TWO baths already! Can you believe it?!

We're starting to see the real Lady May shine through. She is a very soft tempered, well mannered little girl. 


Alright already, enough with the camera

She still has a tendency to shy away or recoil if someone raises a hand or moves to quickly in her direction. She recovers quickly with a soft word and gentle hand gesture to come. That's not to say she doesn't have a backbone. This little girl will definitely stand up for herself when her back is to the wall. 

We had Little Molly visiting with us for a few days. She can be a very intimidating and impolite girl at times. Lady May made every attempt to look away, move away and show signs to let Lil Molly know she needed to back off.  Mom was watching very closely to all the interactions between the two. Princess MollyDawg and I didn't like it when lil Molly kept bugging my new little sister, so I stepped in a few times and redirected lil Molly away. When that didn't work, Lady May didn't hesitate to use her BIG DOG WORDS to say "PISS OFF!" Wow! You go, Lady May!
That worked!!

Her confidence is beginning to show and I can tell that it wont be long until she feels at home with us. For now she still seems to miss her past life. (Why oh why do we dogs do that? We know it sucked!)
We think it must be very different for her to be in our family with no children around.  It must seem very quiet and that might take some getting used to. Lady May still whines for attention a lot of the time.  We have loads of different chew toys or play things to occupy us when mom and dad are busy.  She seems to want physical attention even when it's not play time. She seems to NEED her people present and attentive at all times.  You'll still need to learn this little sister. It may seem like mom and dad do not love you, but it's for your own good sweetie. You'll ultimately be a happier little girl when you can relax at any time, and enjoy just being with Princess Mollydawg and I. We will keep you company, you'll see.


I'll just stay down low so I can't be played with roughly.

Our children have come to visit us and met Lady May. Mom knows that there was a past issue with children before, so she was ready to be extra vigilant.  She didn't have to be, this time. Lady May stuck to her side like glue when the children were around.  Mom says this is an area we're going to walk slowly through together. One visit at a time,  one day at a time.  We want Lady May to feel comfortable and safe everywhere she is with us.

We have one big hurdle to overcome with Lady May. When she first arrived we met her for who she is and how she looked. Her left, front arm has been badly injured. So badly that it has atrophied from the shoulder. She was never given any medical care for it, when ever that incident happened. We think when she was just over a year old. She is now 3 yrs.
Her elbow and wrist bones are bent into a permanent hooked bend and the tendon has hardened to the point of no recovery. There is no rehabilitation that will correct this for Lady May. X-Rays have shown there is probably neurological damage that can not be undone.  She now has little to no use of her leg.  We are concerned that it may become a hazard to her while we are out and about. When we're walking it has hooked on her lead many times. We also do a lot of camping in wooded areas and mom and dad are worried it could become entangled in branches as well.  In our yard mom has lattice fencing around her flower beds. Lady May has already caught her leg inside one of the links while she was playing ball. It gave mom a real scare.  When she ran to free her paw, she realized this could happen in an even more dangerous place. While playing with other dogs it hinders her ability to readily free herself from certain holds. Does it hinder her quality of life?
A conversation with the good Dr. Ross was set up.

Look! I have new clothes!

Discussion around removing Lady May's leg has begun. He has suggested to keep it tied up inside a sort of sling or t shirt for safety. You'll see in the picture what we came up with.  Stay tuned for her full medical update soon.

Here's a link to Lady May's new photo album. http://s422.photobucket.com/user/Katog/library/Lady%20May
Mom still has to work on getting all the captions printed in and sorting them in a better order. You can still see how well Lady May is doing with us though. I've uploaded a video to YouTube so you can see her running in her new attire!
Hope you enjoy it!

I'm stylin' eh?

Lady May Is Settling In

Posted by The Princess MollyDawg
It seems my new little sister has quite a few stories about her past life that she is slowly sharing with us.  We are seeing many behaviours that bring tears to our eyes and make us shake our heads. Who'd give away this little treasure?

Arrival at Mission BC Feb 17 2013

At first glance we see her beautiful eyes and gleaming multicoloured coat. Outwardly she appears to be a calm and well adjusted little girl.
Not so.

This little darling has some hidden secrets that will break your heart in two.
Lady May has been a part of our family for only one month.
Mom and dad have been "going slow" with her.

We are allowing her to get a feel for our family. She has been meeting a few of our regular visitors on a one at a time basis. So far the meetings have, for the most part, gone well.  In a few days we are scheduled to have a visitor come stay for a few days. Although Lady May has met Little Molly, mom is planning on keeping a very close eye on things during her stay. I'll blog more when the visit is over.

I like Lady May. I'm sure if I take my time I'll be able to build a very close bond with her. She seems to be a very smart girl and listens to mommy very closely. When she's unsure of what is required, she stops and looks directly at mommy for further information. Mom doesn't use too many words with Lady May but instead uses lots of slow, easy hand gestures and gentle physical guidance.  Most of her words seem to come when she's praising good behaviour and offering food and goodies. Mmmm I love it when a new pack member comes in. There's always yummies to be had. 

Mom has her suspicions about what life was like for Lady May before she came into our family. We're seeing a lot of cowering, running for cover and excessive submissive behaviours.  I can tell that, even though she still needs a little more time and a few more lessons, she is a perfect fit for our pack.

We're sure Duchess put her up to this. We don't mind at all.

On the second day here, Lady May discovered Duchess Sammy's trolley.
Mom kept the quilts fluffed for us in case we wanted to use it, but, no one has since Duchess passed. 
As far as Lady May was concerned, it was a mighty fine bed that wasn't being used and so she hopped right in and called it hers! Very cool!

From Duchess Sammy - To Lady May

Mom and Dad also decided that Lady May needs her name added to her food bowl. We took our time and decided how we wanted to do that. It was another hard decision to make. Last week it was done and now every feeding time brings a smile to mom and dad's faces.

Slowly and methodically things are developing to meld Lady May into our family. She is not pushy and we like that. Princess MollyDawg has really surprised mom.  Normally there is only two that are allowed to share her mat. Squire Seven, who has been here since puppyhood and myself, her big and Majestic brother, of course. What a surprise it was to see Lady May simply and politely approach and calmly ask for a spot on the end of Molly's mat.  The Princess never moved a muscle nor flinched a hair on her body. She did however divert her eyes and reposition her nose on her paws to face away.  To my mom that spoke VOLUMES!  Lady May has been accepted by The Princess.

But don't be moving all around!

The Silence is Broken, We are Whole Again

 . . . She has left her place here on earth and has gone ahead to check things out over Rainbow Bridge. When she left us we thought we would never mend. We read poems and accepted the comfort of our friends and family. We cried over and over again. We kept her things in their places. No one touched them. Her special toys sat and were never played with.  Her bowl was wiped to remove the dust from it. Her trolley was fluffed but never slept in. A part of us felt we would betray her memory if anyone touched those things . . . http://duchesssammy.blogspot.ca/

Then the day came when mom wrote an inquiry letter to Yvette. Mom and dad had read about the new dogs that continued to come in to Turtle Gardens Rescue Society.  Mom was still writing updates for the ones who had found their happy forever homes.  She continued to scan through the blogs pages for those who she hadn't seen mentioned in a while.
That's when she came across Jan 19 2013 blog post with the little girl with the bent front leg picture again.
It read as follows:

"Lady is not adoption ready. When I took the call about the two dogs he mentioned that Lady was unique in that she was a three legged dog. I took that to mean she was missing a leg. Not so – she holds up her front leg as it is perpetually bent. Her shoulder has no musculature and I don’t know how it happened – an accident or genetic. Lady has an appointment with Dr Mike on Friday for evaluation. We will see what can be done for her – either way it sounds very extensive. She may be facing an amputation or a long rehabilitation. She is a sweet little dog and deserves the best that can be done for her."

But, those sad eyes did it to mom and she wrote a letter asking about where Lady was and if she was going through rehabilitation. She told Yvette  'someone' in Lillooet was interested in her and they knew all about  Lady's disability. Mom asked Yvette if Lady was scheduled for any sort of rehab, where ever Lady was. She didn't want to take away any opportunities Lady may have to gain strength in her leg. If she was placed in a home in Lillooet it would mean NO REHAB.
Yvette only places her dogs with families she really feels will match the dogs personality and needs. So she wrote back with all the detailed information necessary to fit a possible new home.

http://www.turtlegardens.org/blog/?p=35345 "... He took Lady in to Smithers for evaluation. Lady has been crippled for a very long time and Dr Mike didn’t want to inflict unnecessary pain to the little girl. Her shoulder has totally atrophied from no use – she would need massive rehabilitation to bring back the muscles and it would be quite painful. The amputation is also painful. She gets around very well just as she is. Her leg does not hurt her – she has no pain. He said he is sure she will be adopted as she is with my extensive network. He reads our blog too! How cool is that! So Lady came back home in one piece."

When dad came home from work that afternoon mom shared Yvette's conversation with him. "Lady May was not receiving nor was she scheduled to receive any rehab. She was heading to a new foster family in Vancouver on the next TG Bus Run. In two days!!"
It only took two minutes for dad to say, "Ask Yvette if we can bring Lady May into our home."  Yvette responded with a resounding, "YES, PLEASE!"  And so in only two days time we drove out to Cache Creek to welcome our Little Lady May into our home.

Nice to meet you Lady May

 
We're Heading Home!