Maui by small steps

Many of you already know that Aida and I love Siberian Huskies. If you did not, then count yourself as in the know now. We are owned by four of them, and we love the breed. We understand them, as well as one can understand Sibes. Naturally, that means we bring more than our share of Sibes into Pawfect Match Rescue. Since we know them, we can be better at fostering them and placing them into homes where they can be successful.

Sibes are NOT like most dogs. Not at all. I truly believe that most of them that end up in shelters are the result of people falling in love with the look, especially the pups, getting one, finding out what they are REALLY like between 6 and 12 months, and turning them in, setting them loose, or just losing them because the escape artist, well, escaped.

I read a statistic last year that claimed that of Sibes captured by animal control where they could determine the point of origin/owner, 40% of them were from different counties. They LOVE to run!

If you want to really learn about Siberian Huskies, and have a good laugh at the same time, check out www.homelesshusky.com. Anyone who applies to adopt a husky from PMR is required to read that site. If they still want a Husky, then we can talk.

So, what's with the title about Maui? Are we moving to Hawaii?

Nope. Maui is the new Sibe on the Block for PMR. We helped with a seizure of Huskies in South Carolina (seems like there are WAY too many Sibes in SC - I suspect lots of backyard breeders and puppy mills), and we took in Maui. We were expecting to receive a pregnant husky, but the woman doing triage either lied or was incompetent. Probably both. Maui is not pregnant. She is, however, heartworm positive, probably about 5 or 6 years old, and extremely shy.

Maui is drop-dead gorgeous. She is that white husky that fades slightly from white in the paws and legs to off-white at the shoulders, with a gorgeous peppering of brown and black in just the long hairs along her spine. Just stunning. Especially after a bath and some grooming (Housecall Grooming - cannot recommend them strongly enough, especially for huskies). She has brown eyes, and is very sweet.

But, she is painfully shy. We put her crate fairly close to the doggie door, and she goes in and out regularly. The first couple of nights she did not want to come in, and we did not want to risk her digging or jumping out. It took us quite a while to catch her, even with the choke points we have in our back yard. After that we left a leash on so we could catch her more easily. We left her out after a few days, and she clearly does not want to try to escape.

We have to give her antibiotics and ear medicine twice daily. The only way that happens is when she is in her crate. Otherwise, she won't let us touch her. Near, yes, but no touchie. She calmly and sweetly lets me give her the meds in her crate, and she never complains.

Actually, we have never heard her voice. Not once. Odd for a husky.

The good news is that Maui is starting to come out. Yesterday she roamed around the living room, as long as I stayed on the couch. If I moved, she was OUT the door.

Today, she came up to Aida and let her chin be scratched. That is a BIG step.

Stay tuned for more about Maui as she learns how to trust hoomins again. Oh, and visit her on our website at www.pawfectmatch.org. Since her treatments are going to be costly, you might consider a donation in her name too. Just sayin.

The Good Side

I have posted several blogs about the hard parts, the challenges, and the losses of rescuing dogs. As much as I talk about the need for balance, as much as I believe in balance as a central philosophical concept, I have been remiss in not presenting enough balance in these blog posts. For that, I apologize.

I suppose it is easier to be moved to words when the situation makes you sad, angry, or frustrated. There are definitely times of great joy and satisfaction that, in toto, more than make up for the sad times. I am going to spend some more time talking about the happy times.

The Max.

I have to start with Max. I get to hear a Max story about once a week, because Max was adopted by my friend and coworker Caroline. To say that they adore each other would be a gross understatement. They could not be happier with each other.

Max's story sure did not start that way, however.

The call started off typically. "Is this Pawfect Match dog rescue?" "Yes, ma'am, how may I help you?" "Well, we found this stray dog, fed it some, and now we need to find it a home... we don't want to take it to a shelter where they will put it to sleep..."

Only this call was different. These folks were calling from Wilmington, NC, on the coast over two hours away. They had placed Found Dog posters and ads locally, and taken him to a vet to scan for a microchip. He was sweet, they insisted, and they wanted us to take him in, based on a recommendation. Why us, why here? They have relatives here that knew of us.

I was hesitant. VERY hesitant. Hounds are very hard to adopt out. There are a LOT of them in shelters, mostly turned out by hunters in rural areas when that dawg jes don' hunt no more. But these folks had a twist for us.

They were from Houston, and getting ready to head home from vacation. Their flight home was from Raleigh Durham airport (RDU) so they were going to drive here anyway. If we would accept Max into our rescue they would bring him here on their way home, and make a sizable donation to us. A quick call to the Board members settled it (especially because one of them just loves those hounds). We agreed to take Max in.

As agreed, we met in a nearby parking lot, took pictures, exchanged information, and parted ways. Max came to my home for a bath, vaccination, microchip, flea and tick and heartworm preventatives, and nail trim. So far so good.

It did not take long for his foster mom to tell us how much she hated this dog. What a pain in the a%% he was. Loud. Obnoxious. Instigator. Lots of other terms I won't use here.

I was worried.

Then Caroline told me she was looking for a dog. She was fond of hounds, and saw Max on our site. I painted the nicest picture I could without downright lying. She said she wanted to meet Max. Her application was great of course, so there was just a meet and greet. Oh, and she has a cat. Sigh. This could not end well...

The home check went well. He was coming off a bout with diarrhea, and he seemed to just want to lay on one large doggie bed, but it was the cat's food, and not the cat, he found interesting. Caroline decided he was going to stay, and the rest of the family agreed.

I tiptoed into the office, just waiting day by day for the knock on my door. I was worried.

Then one day I stopped by Caroline's office. "Dave, I have to tell you about Maxie" she started. My heart sank, and I took a deep breath. Then she went on to RAVE about what a FANTASTIC dog Max is! He is a joy, and happy, and they love him, and he is great, and, and, and....

I was stunned. I was no longer worried.

Almost every week I stop by Caroline's office whether I have business with her or not. I get my weekly Max Fix. If I happen to miss a week, Caroline stops by MY office to share the newest Max story. Of course they're not ALL great - he nearly turned her into a paraplegic launching after a deer once, and disappeared up the trail, not to be heard from or seen.... until she found him at the end of the trail patiently waiting for her. He still goes in and out of bouts of diarrhea and some worm or another. But most, almost all, are stories of immense joy and deep love that make up for every pain we experience in this business of rescue.

Thank you, Caroline. And bless you, Max.

Dat was fun! Can we dooit agin?

Ring. Ring. "Hello, Pawfect Match Rescue."

"Uh yeah, is this, uh, paw... paw perfect match?"

"Yessir, this is Pawfect Match Rescue, how can I help you?"

"Yeah. I have two dogs in my back yard that were running loose, and one has a tag with your name and phone number."

"OK, thank you! What is the number on the tag?"

"550"

"Thanks, hold on a second, and I will look that up. OK, that is Carter. Is he a black and tan dog, sort of like a German Shepherd?"

"Yes ma'am, he and the other have been running around and are covered in mud. The other one does not have a tag."

"OK, great. Give me your address and phone number, and we'll have someone over quickly to pick them up." [contact information provided]

Heather called both phone numbers for the folks to whom we adopted Carter and his brother Wesley 8 months ago. No answer. Left messages. Then she called Dave to tell him what was going on, and to see if he could go get the dogs.

Google map is our friend. Printed out directions, called the friendly neighbor to ask him to secure the dogs until we get there. Grabbed two leashes and the GPS and out the door.

Oh goody, I am out of gas. Ah well, needed to fill up anyway...

As I pull up, the owners are loading Carter and Wesley into their van with the loud assistance of a precocious little boy, I guess him to be about 2 or 3 years old.

"Hi, I'm Dave with Pawfect Match. Are you [owner]?" "Yes, oh good. Glad to see you could get them back so quickly. So, mind if I ask how they got out?"

He sighed slightly, put his hands on the steering wheel, gazed into the distance. "Our two year old thinks that it is amusing to let the dogs out so we can chase them. We're working on the solution, but we're clearly not there yet..."

OK, that's a new one for me. Accidents, we've seen plenty. Dogs charging doors, you bet. Entertainment for the two year old, that's new.

They're safe again. Not sure about that little boy's behind tho - might be some time out coming up.

Why is it always the sweet ones?

Today the last chapter of Madison's story was written. She is no longer working hard for every breath, wondering why she does not feel so good. She has joined her siblings across the Rainbow Bridge.

But perhaps her story has an epilogue. Maddie's condition, which has been well documented, caught the attention of the excellent veterinarians at the NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine. With her records, those of her sister Tuscon, and those of Patience's pups and another litter in Pittsboro, they are going to publish a paper. Maybe this will help advance the topic of virally induced congestive heart failure in pups.

I smile to think of how happy Madison was this last month. After the last Updates that I posted about her, she did very well. She had one bout with shortness of breath, and the vets kept her overnight to get her stabilized and run tests. We changed her dosages and added one med (5 medications and 4 nutriceuticals) and she came home to her friends. Aida and I wrestled with the choice - do we keep her completely calm to help her heart and lungs, or do we let her be a happy puppy for the time she has left? Well, mostly both. We kept her times of high activity to a minimum, but let her be all the puppy she could be.

And she was. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyaI7Po2W1o

She hung off of Roscoe's jowels, and he played along. She did her best to convince the grumpy old Husky Kiko that play is a good thing (can't blame Kiko, though, as she is recovering from cruciate ligament repair). Gabriel was happy to roll on his back or play bow if she insisted that it was his turn. She even claimed a coveted spot on The Bed.

Maddie knew her name, and would come running if you called, body wagging. She loved her people. Especially Maia, who seemed to be the world's best chew toy.

She was one happy pup. Until last night. She started having problems breathing, and you could just see in her eyes today that she was not feeling well. We had an appointment with the vet to check on her status today, so that timing was good.

The news on the check up was not. The arythmia was much, much worse, and it was clear that the errant beats were being triggered from multiple locations. Her heart was even bigger, and now there was fluid leaking from her heart too. Maybe some time with lasix by IV would ease things for a day or two, but the story was clear. Madison's heart was not able to do the job her body needed it to do, and never would. She was not comfortable, and never would be again.

The vets and staff at the vet school are wonderful, and it was with the greatest of tenderness that they helped Maddie to breathe easily the last few times. She gave us a few kisses before she closed her eyes.

Play well, sweet sweet Maddie. We will miss you forever.

Updates

I have two updates.

First, we took Madison to the Vet School yesterday for a full cardio workup. The bad news is pretty much what we already knew - she has bad arythmia, and her contractile ratio (how elastic the heart is, so basically how well it pumps) is badly decreased. Her heart is full of scar tissue, which is not elastic and does not conduct the "pump now" signal. The vet there is wonderful, and everyone there just loves Maddie.

The good news is that they are guardedly optimistic about her prognosis. We will continue on her current meds, bumping the dosage up, and we will start with some new holistic meds to help balance the system out, especially the ion pumps associated with the heart muscle. She continues to play and love, looking for all the world like a normal pup, so we will give her all of the love she can handle. We will bring her back in 7-10 days to evaluate her heart again, perhaps with a Holter monitor. Cross your fingers.

Second, I told you back in May, in the blog Give the Boy a Break, about our precious Einstein. The poor guy just had one ding after another, and I asked God to give him a break. Well, Einstein had his break from pain - a couple of weeks ago several of his systems just gave out, and he crashed. The labs and evaluation made it clear that he was just not assembled according to the instructions. He was in pain, and was never going to recover. Einstein is now playing with the other pups over the Rainbow Bridge. He will will always have a room reserved in our hearts. Play well, little man.

The joys of Dog Laundry... and Toys!

One of the great joys of fostering dogs is that you get to hone your skills with the laundry. There is a load about every other day, sometimes more often, of towels, bedding, and toys to be washed. It is amazing how many of those squeaker and noise-making inserts in the toys survive a washing. They can't survive 2 minutes with a Husky pup...

Why in the world am I talking about laundry? Well, our newest foster, Koi, provided the incentive. Koi came to us, along with a couple of others, from a hoarder bust in South Carolina. As usual with dogs from cases like this, her coat was nasty, she stank to high heaven, and half of the fur has been bitten off of her ears by flies. After several days, we are still trying to settle her tummy down, but the diarrhea has not yet stopped.

What did Koi do? Well, Huskies are VERY curious dogs, and she just HAD to know what mom was up to in that little room. Ooooh - I see TOYS!! Clearly, investigation is in order.


Yep, thar's toys here! Ya'll come see!
















No Huskies were harmed in the making of this blog. And yes, Koi is happily chewing away at a squeaky toy right now, fresh from the dryer. I like my warm towel fresh from the dryer when I come out of the shower. Koi will take her toys fresh from the dryer, thank you very much!

The Circle is Complete

Back in the post called Circle of Life I told you about the wonderful event of the birth of Margo's pups. Ten live, one born dead. Cute little things, all brown and wrinkly.

What I have not done is tell you about the pups since then. It is a painful story, a learning experience, and it is not over yet.

Right after giving birth to her pups, Margo had bad diarrhea. That is not uncommon, especially in strays, since they ingest a lot when cleaning up the newly born pups. The problem was that hers did not stop for nearly four weeks. I mean it was EVERYwhere. Poor Aida, she cleaned it up almost every time, with several relief turns by Deanne, who came by to check the pups every day. Well, we gave her everything you can give a nursing mom, but it was clear she was "immuno-naive" - she had never seen a booster shot, or been dewormed.

The puppies grew, and ate, and peed and pooped, and eventually opened their eyes. We charted their weight, and swapped them around on the nipples to make sure everyone got their share. It all looked good.

Until right about four weeks. One of the pups suddenly showed signs of problems breathing, and was dead within an hour. Then another. And another. Within a few days, there were only five left, and we were talking with the two vets we regularly use. We had an expedited necropsy performed on one of the first ones to pass. We were horrified to learn that it was the same virus that killed all of Patience's pups! Could it be our environment?

Truth is, no one knows for sure. CPV-1 is very little understood. It is the other variety of the Canine Parvo Virus (type 2) that is too well known by every shelter and rescue, and by many owners of new pups. It is really rare. The biggest problem is that it is really only seen, as far as we know, in immuno-naive dogs, those who have never been immunized. It does not affect the adults, but it causes massive developmental problems in newborns, ultimately leading to congestive heart failure (CHF) and pulmonary problems. The pups have problems breathing, the heart quits. In the ones we looked at, the hearts were very poorly formed - the pups would have never thrived even had they not died of CHF.

With the CPV-1 information in hand, we went back to our primary vet, who contacted several other vets who specialize in cardiology, internal medicine, and viruses. It was all new territory, but they decided on a plan of action, essentially treating it as CHF. We got the meds and rushed home to start the treatment. Before the sun set that night we were down to two, Tuscon and Madison.

Tuscon and Maddie responded to the meds. They stayed active and playful - all of them were active and playful until minutes before they dropped dead. But this seemed to do the job. They were five weeks old.

At seven weeks, we had an echocardiogram and EKG performed, along with CBC and Chems blood work. Nothing alarming in the blood, but the echo and EKG told an unhappy story. Maddie's heart was badly damaged, and had lost almost a third of its contractile ability. Tuscon's was much better, but they both had arythmias. In addition, Maddie had a mitral valve defomity. Our hope was that with the meds, and prayers, their hearts would "remodel" as they developed, and the ectopic foci that caused the arythmias (probably from scarring) would go away.

We followed them as they played, checking breathing and heart rate. They ate well, and played. We checked with the Vet, he consulted with the other vets, and the consensus was to let them grow and monitor them. Don't change the med doses, just let them grow out of it. If they show signs of problem, up the dose again.

They played and chewed and peed and pooped and played and played for two more weeks. They're getting big - 17 pounds! Probably some Mastiff in there somewhere. On Saturday, July 4th, nine weeks and a day old, Tuscon slowed down, a lot. She was having problems breathing, her heart rate was up. We increased her dose by half, to catch up to her current weight. We debated taking her in, but decide to watch and see if the increased meds helped.

Sunday morning it was obvious that she was not better. Her heart was beating too fast. We took her to the Vet School Emergency Room, and they immediately set about stabilizing her. She was in superventricular tachycardia, and in danger. Vagal stimulation did not help. The Cardiologist arrived, and they set about getting her stabilized with calcium channel blockers and beta blockers. They started the echo, and learned right away that the left side of her heart was not working at all. Her heart stopped. They got it started again, but it stopped again. She was clearly in pain, and was not going to win this fight. They helped her out of her pain, and her heart stopped forever.

Yesterday I lost a friend. Maddison lost a sister and playmate.

Maddison is not in the clear yet. I am taking her in tomorrow to have her heart evaluated again. She is playful and active today, and eating well. Today. It may well be that her heart is already too damaged to carry her through a full life. It could be that he heart will remodel.

Maddie goes in tomorrow for an evaluation. I hope I have good news.

Because the Circle is complete for all of her sisters and brothers. Play well on the other side of that Rainbow Bridge, little ones.