Retired Dogs For The Blind

This lady filled out my question form for a Papillon pup. She found my webiste and my site is not on any search engines or listed on dog sites, so to me that seems odd... When I emailed her I said that if she wanted a puppy right now that I could help her find a breeder, she said she could wait until my next litter. I really know nothing about this lady and I'm pretty sure she doesn't know me... I emailed her asking how she found my site, she said she just stumbled across it...

Here's the form she filled out:

01 - First and Last Name = R****** F*****
02 - E-Mail = r*****@rebrontravel.com
03 - City & State = Prescott, A*******
04 - Are You Looking For a Papillon or Border Collie? = Papillon
05 - Male or Female? = Female
06 - What age? = Puppy (8-12 weeks)
07 - What are you planning to do with the puppy? = Family Pet
08 - What color do you prefer (Border Collie)? =
09 - What color do you prefer (Papillon)? = Red Sable, Sable, Lemon and White
10 - How Much Drive Do You Want In a Puppy? = Medium
11 - Do you own other dogs? What breeds and ages? = Just put down our 14 year old yellow lab. No other dogs in home.
12 - Do you Have Children? How Old? Have they been raised with Dogs? = No children in home.
13 - How many dogs have you previously owned? About them? = 4 Labs in the last 15 years. One was a career change guide dog from Guide Dogs for the Blind. Wonderful family pet. We loved her, and ust lost her at 14 years old. One Beagle 10 years ago, 1 Golden Retriever retired seeing eye dog, adopted at 8 years, died at 9.5 years.
We have always rescued dogs or adopted from the Guide Dogs for the Blind. They make wonderful pets but we are ready for a smaller pup. We want to take it where ever we go. We are retired and travel in our RV and want a companion to love.
14 - Have you ever trained and put titles on dogs? = Not for show. I have trained all my pups on leash, potty training...
15 - Are you finacially prepared to properly care for a dog? = Yes. We have the means to take very good care of our pets.
16 - How much room do you have? Is it secured? = We have a 2.5 year old home we built in the Arizona mountains, it is very secure. We have 4 bedrooms, and lots of room for playing. We only walk our dogs on a leash and go potty outside.
17 - Where will the puppy be kept/housed? = Inside the house at all times, or with us in the car or RV. It will sleep in our bedroom in either a crate or on the bed, whichever it prefers.
18 - While you are away, who will care for the puppy? = We will always have the dog with us. If for some reason we are unable to take her with us, we have a close family friend who stays at our house when we are gone, he loves dogs and would take very good care of her for us.
19 - If you buy a show puppy, who will show it? You? Handler? =
20 - Why do you think you make a good dog owner? = My husband and I love animals, we have always had a dog in our lives, and are really missing the day to day interaction, walks, laughs, and love from an animal. I think good providing healthy food, a good vet and plenty of exercise, in a loving environment is what makes a good dog owner.
21 - Anything you would like to share about yourself? = We are willing to come pick up the dog. We want a smaller one if possible, would prefer medium length hair, not long long hair if possible.
We do have one 15 year old cat who has been raised with 5 dogs, she thinks she is one. She adapts well to all animals we have brought into our home. She is the last in a long line of animals, we need some youth back in our house.
22 - Any questions you would like to ask me? = How much do you charge for puppies? When can they be spayed? Where are you located?
So, does these just seem weird or is she just some lady wanting a pet...?

Oh, some of it's stared out for personal reasons..
So, does these just seem weird or is she just some lady wanting a pet...?

Oh, some of it's stared out for personal reasons..
What's odd about it is this is just some random lady who, to me, seems like she has her heart set on a puppy from someone she doesn't even know...

She sounds great to me.

If all her animals have lived to a good age, chances are she takes good care of them. Many people opt for a smaller dog when they get older (especially if they want to travel.)

The fact that she is already thinking about spaying is a good indication that she is not some fly by night breeder.

Assuming the information is correct, I would happily let her have one of my foster dogs.

(She could have heard about you or your website somewhere....it wouldnt have to be through a search engine.)

2010-02-21 16:44:34 by Snip00 -Twidge is Major Pointed!

Chang Jo have served young pianist for 8 years. When he became 10 years old, he retired may of last year. Now, he is one of our familly and giving ...

I have my beloved Shihtzu, who is 15 years old, She is almost completely blind and is completely deaf, she is actually still healthy in body, but i have a 5 and 4 yr old male shihtzus and if you know Shihtzus ( sp ?), you know they follow you everywhere, I am retired and home a lot. When I am on my puter , she and the boys are on my bed, but when the boys go chase a ball inside the house, she thinks they are running after me and she wants to get up and go, but then can't find me, many occurrences like this and I love on her and scratch her to let her know I am here, She can't get the benefit of hearing " praise" like my boys do ? Suggestions as I know many of you dog people have been here and done this ;) thanks
I have found that Shihtzus , at least mine, have VERY poor sense of smell as their noses are so scrunched in, so her smell isn't helping, Even my young ones can't smell worth beans, can't even find their squeaky toy in the park when i throw it !@!!!!!!!!!!!

just keep doing want you are doing and keep her comfortable or can can put a lite lead on her and when the other dogs jump off your bed you can let her know that you are still there by pulling lightly on the lead so she knows that you are there then get up and pet her and you can also make a bed up next to your computer and put her in that so she can feel the vibration of you getting up

2009-11-11 07:15:25 by silly willy

My beloved German Shorthaired Pointer service dog has been diagnosed with a probable brain tumor. She had a seizure the beginning of July that started when she fell off my bed. We don't know if the seizure caused her to fall off the bed, or hitting her head on a metal trunk across from the bed started it. It lasted about 5 minutes, and I rushed her straight to the emergency vet clinic where they couldn't find anything wrong.

A month later, I had her scheduled to have a rotten tooth pulled, so I went and had blood work done since she is 9 years old. The blood work came back normal, she did fine through her dental surgery, and everything seemed as though the original seizure was a one-time thing.

About a month later, I noticed her staggering down the hallway when I came out of the bathroom. Naturally this was after vet hours, and I didn't see any point in dragging her all the way back to the emergency vet to have them tell me she was "normal" again, so I got her in the first available appointment the next Monday.

When the vet went to look in her right ear, Flecks acted like it was painful. This was not normal behavior for her. When the vet looked in her right eye, she said the nerves were not reacting to the light. When I asked if she thought this meant Flecks was blind, she said no. And I can wave my hand in front of her face and she can see movement out of both eyes. Unfortunately my vet has diagnosed a probable brain tumor. Without a CAT-scan or MRI (either of which would cost more than the car I own) we wouldn't know for sure, but this is the vet's best diagnosis.

She has now had 3 seizures, all about a month apart, and none of them as bad as the original one. I have retired her from being my mobility dog, and I'm in the process of training another one. The vet put her on phenobarbital, but she turned into a zombie, and it wasn't making that much difference. I now just have valium for when she has an active seizure. The vet says I'll know "it's time" when she stops eating or her seizures get worse. For now, she seems fine, and I'm glad I was able to find a "pet friendly" apartment so I could take care of her now that she's retired.

Here's the bad part. When she's gone, I'd like to be able to have her cremated and buried with my other dogs on my cousin's farm, but living on a disability budget is going to make that a real financial strain. It was suggested that I donate her to the local veterinary teaching facility so that they could learn from her illness. I'm actually not opposed to that if it will help another dog in the future, but I can't decide what to do about having her "with my other dogs".

I guess I need suggestions on finding a way to put a "piece" of her (not literally) with the others so that they can all be together again.
Just to add, my cousin's farm is in another state. It wouldn't be practical to haul all of her to be buried, especially in the middle of February with 2 feet of snow on the ground. I don't know when her time will come, I'm just looking for options... Would be nice if it was *years* from now.

I really do wish the best for you and your pet, and the time that you have left together.

I think it would be wonderful for you to donate her remains so that they can better treat other dogs in the future. I think that would be a very good thing to do.

I suggest that you bury her collar and tags if you would like to put a piece of her with your other dogs. Her collar and tags are something that were with her always, so that's a pretty important thing to a lot of people. I agree with the other poster as well on maybe burying her favorite toy, or putting a plant in her spot.

Whatever you decide, know that it is your decision, and whatever it ends up being, you're a good owner who cares greatly about her pets.

2008-09-02 22:01:40 by flecksable_flyer

Well, I read this manga quite a while ago, the genre included tragedy among other things.

Here's a summary:
Basically, the heroine (a girl who's name escapes me) is feeling very lonely because she has no friends and her parents don't pay much attention to her. One day, her class goes on this field trip to some dog center. At the center, a lady explains about guide dogs and how they're raised. She also explains how the kids can offer to "raise" a dog for a year. They would basically play with the dog for 365 days, and if the dog was 'guide dog material' then the dog would be taken away for blind people. Well, the heroine, because of her loneliness, goes ahead and adopts one of the dogs there. He's a big dog, with a golden colored coat (in this case, because the manga is black and white, the color would be white). The heroine names the dog Eye because Ai in Japanese means love. Well, basically the dog follows the heroine around, and she's not lonely anymore.

She and Eye go through many experiences, including this one time where she finds out that Eye is the perfect guide dog, meaning they are going to eventually take him away, and so she tells him to 'stay' on the side of a cliff. She plans to get a rock and hurt his leg so he's unable to become a guide dog. But in the end, the innocent and trustworthy stare that Eye gives her is too much, and she doesn't follow through with the plan. However, she get's too close to the cliff and ends up falling off. She awakes hurt with scratches all over, and is eventually found by Eye. She, crying, explains what happens to her dad, and he comforts her, saying that Eye has learned a valuable lesson of a guide dog, and that (the name escapes me) being that the guide dog disobeyed his/her master under good reasons. Only the best of the best guide dogs, her dad says, can master that skill.

Eventually, the heroine understands the situation and is ready to let go of her precious friend. However, they know that they will meet once more when Eye becomes too old to be a guide dog.

(okay, this summary is getting quite long, so I'll try to shorten it a bit but still include all the information)

Eventually, the heroine turns 16 years old, and all this time she couldn't forget about her precious dog. She's estatic today, because Eye is finally retiring and staying with her and her family. They meet Eye and his owner, and the heroine is content. However, that content doesn't last long.

The heroine is quite confused, and also sad, when she notices that all Eye does around her is sleep. However, when his blind owner comes around to check up, Eye is up and awake and wagging his tail. The heroine is hurt deeply, but calms down when he realizes the situation and explains that Eye must be very relaxed around her to sleep in front of her, because guide dogs were trained to never sleep when their owners needed help (or something like that).

Time pasts, and things happen. (I'm too lazy to explain but basically what happens is that the heroine sees Eye's former blind owner walking with a new guide dog. The heroine is furious that someone could replace Eye so fast, and gets mad at the owner. Eventually, everything is explained and yeah)

I should mention the former blind owner is a guy.

Well, Eye gets sick, and so the heroine takes him to the vet. Eventually, then find out it is a disease, with almost no chance of recovery. The former blind owner and the heroine try different methods of curing him, but none work. This one type of treatment seemed to have work, giving both of them a huge hope, but are only crushed when the treatment is actually furthuring Eye's pain. They can't bear to see Eye in so much pain, but their hearts won't allow them to put him to sleep. All they can do is hope.

His condition worsens, so he can't even stand anymore and he must use a diaper when he has to go to the bathroom.

Eye starts to look better, so the heroine and the former blind owner dress Eye up in a bee costume and take him to the vet one more time. Upon closing the door to the office when they're about to leave, for they must not disturb Eye while he's with the doctor, they see Eye standing up, looking the healthiest since a long time. Eye barks, and they know he's going to be okay.

However, what they don't know is that on that day, Eye dies. He used his last bit of energy to leave a happy memory for the duo.

~End of Summary

Wow, that was quite long... Yeah, sorry for the rant summary above. I can never seem to make a summary short enough to be a summary. I'm cursed to eternity. Well, yeah. I hope someone can help me find this manga! I've been looking for it for ages! But I can never seem to find it!

Thanks ahead of time! ;P

aww I absolutely love this manga, it's called: Eien No With

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/eien_no_wi th/

2009-07-01 22:08:18 by Midnight Wonder

My black lab just turned 4. She also is/was a totally housebroken dog. She never peed in my house and so it took me by surprise when she did that. The first few times I got angry with her--then I got suspicious that she could have a UTI and called the vet. The vet, after taking a urine sample and testing it, told me that my dog does not concentrate the urine. I had noticed that my dog drank more, but had attributed that to the heat we had. My dog is not only my pet, she is my guide dog since I am almost blind and I'd give the world for her. I went on the internet to see if there were any natural supplements to help her with this, but until my vet told me it could be Cushing's disease have I never heard of it. Is there anyone out there who is familiar with it and who could tell me how it gets treated and what side effects the treatment has? Naturally, I don't want to see her suffer--I want her to get well. I even considered a holistic approach--we do have a holistic vet in town. But, how do I know what works and how it affects her? Trying to get help from the agency that provided the dog is no good idea for me, because they will only retire her and tell me to get another dog. I don't want another one--I love this one!! Anyone out there who can help me with some advice? Websites won't help---I have a hard time navigating on them and a lot of the stuff in it I cannot see.
Thank you in advance

Cushings disease is caused by an over secretion of steroids produced by the body. There can be one of two causes. Primary cushing's disease is caused by a tumor in the adrenal gland located in the abdomen, just above the kidneys. Secondary cushing's disease is caused by a tumor in the pituitary gland located in the brain that secreted a stimulating hormone to make the adrenal gland secrete more steroids.

The classical signs of Cushings disease are increase in thirst, increase in urination, frequent urinary tract infections or skin infections, increase in appetite, increase in body weight or pendulous abdomen. It can cause liver disease, diabetes, ruptured tendons and ligaments (as in ACL ruptures), etc.

Usually when a blood chemistry panel is evaluated we can see elevations in the liver values, but 15% of dogs with Cushings will have normal bloodwork. A urine test can be performed to rule out Cushing's disease. A specine of the days first urine produced can be sent to a lab through your vet's office for a urine cortisol creatinine ratio. If normal, your dog doesn't have Cushings. If elevated, your dog was either stressed or has Cushings. The next step is to perform a series of tests that may require a hospital stay. The tests needed are an endogenous cortisol level, ACTH stimulation test, and a dexamethazone suppression test. These tests can tell us which organ (pituitary or adrenal gland) is malfuntioning or has a tumor and is helpful for prognosticating quality of life, and length of life as pituitary tumors tend to grow rapidly.

Medications can be used to suppress the adrenal gland from producing too much cortisol. Lysodren is a chemotherapeudic drugs used to destroy part of the adrenal gland so that cortisol secretions is lessened. Monitoring of cortisol secretion must be monitored via testing (ACTH stim test and/or dex suppression test). We also need to be sure that we don't cause the opposite to happen - too little cortisol secretion (called Addison's disease or diabetes insipidus).

Mainly, treating Cushings can be expensive. Dogs that are well controlled can have a good quality of life, although it may be shortened. Depending on the level of work your dog must perform, it may be a good idea to retire her as she may become unpredictible or inconsistant with her abilities.

Some vet feel comfortable treating Cushings disease, however a veterinary endocrinologist or intermal medicine specialist are the true experts as managing this complicated disease and can be found at many specialty hospitals and veterinary teaching hospitals.

2009-08-23 13:43:03 by roter chaot