Weekly rundown
Update on Josie
Our featured pet a few weeks ago has had her vet visits and the results are not good. Josie has sebaceous adenitis. I found an easy to understand description on www.petmd.com:
Sebaceous Adenitis in Dogs
Sebaceous adenitis is a rare type of inflammatory skin disease that affects the skin glands of young and middle age dogs. This condition most commonly affects Poodles, Akitas, and Samoyeds, although other breeds -- and some cats (rarely) -- can also be infected.
Symptoms and Types
There are two primary types of sebaceous adenitis. One type occurs in long-coated animals, and the other type occurs in short-coated breeds.
The signs and symptoms of sebaceous adenitis in long-coated breeds include the following symptoms:
• Alopecia (hair loss)
• Odor along the hairline
• Small clumps of matted hair
• Casts forming around the hair shaft
• Hair that becomes dull and brittle or coarse
• Intense itching along the hairline and scratching
• Bacterial infections along the hair follicle
• Silver-white scales on the skin
• Clusters of skin lesions that form in certain areas of the head
Fortunately for our girl, she has hair loss but no odor and no serious infection - yet. She has hair becoming dull and brittle but otherwise her skin isn't infected - yet. It will be if we don't do something quick.
Following the advice of Dr. Robin Alexander of Piedmont Animal Hospital in Gaffney, were doing something. Josie was started on a 30 day round of antibiotics to help with skin infections that are lurking. She is also now on Vitamin A to support healthy skin and Dr. Alexander is also going to try a run of the drug cyclosporine and is researching the effects now. Last we are using a spray daily on her skin to help to hydrate and open up the hair shafts. It's all labor intensive but she's worth it.
I've also gotten some great advice and referral sources from the Poodle Club of America's Rescue president, Cindy Crawley. PCA's rescue foundation is studying the DNA and pedigrees of dogs with SA to determine the genetic markers so we can avoid this disease in the future. SA can be controlled. It cannot be cured. Josie will have this all her life.
Josie can be adopted to the right home who understands her condition and is willing to work with it. She is a classically regal standard poodle lady who wants to live the good life and be a partner and friend to the right owner. Is that you?
Inky finds a home
Last summer, I found myself reading an email about a "standard" poodle on Staten Island NY that needed a home. At 10, and with diabetes, no one in the family would care for the poodle and his owner was going into an assisted living facility that did not allow pets. (note to my readers - check out our Covenant Pet Care program. Don't get in this boat!).
It was one of those things that fell into place quite quickly. I am allergic to diabetic dogs. Really, I am. Actually not to the dog himself but to the daunting task of sticking a needle into a body twice a day every day. And doing it on schedule. Schedule is not my middle name. Ask anybody who has had to wait for me (that would be most of you) for if a dog needs me, I go in that direction instead and hope the humans understand.
But at 29 lbs according to the write up and vet records, and looking at the video, I felt he was a moyen and moyen's are often placed even with health issues. Further, I would not have to set up a transport because a previous adopter was sending her husband down to adopt another standard poodle. They live in Staten Island, Inky's location.
In that video, Inky looked straight into the camera and he clearly spoke to me. This boy had a lot of life left in him.
I set it up and imagine my surprise when George arrived with a bouncing - and grossly overweight miniature poodle. Hmm…..now I know why that video was shot from above. It made Inky look taller.
So he was here and I got his supplies out and started teaching everyone around me how to give diabetic insulin injections. Fortunately Inky is highly food motivated so shake a bag of treats and he'd come running for his share. Staying on schedule was a bit intimidating but with a little help from friends - mostly caregiver Olivia Millwood and Wayne the Dogfather, we got it done. Inky is a highly regulated diabetic. An hour one way or another did not send him into a diabetic crisis or crash.
Living on the farm was good for Inky. He went from 29 lbs to a svelte 15 lbs. He and the girls (Shardae, Princess and Sandy) would play for hours in the clearing beside the house. Running and romping were now daily parts of his life. He loved the barn. Horses are fascinating creatures that he can watch for hours. Inky can climb fences so we watched that carefully but after a time, he learned his boundaries and that the area around our farmhouse is his home unless mama was with and we would go for walks. He settled in and the only complaint I had was he actually lost too much weight.
In late September, volunteers Dennis and Melinda Horn came up with adopter Brenda LeFevre. Brenda adopted my first diabetic foster, Sophie Wilson. I had high hopes she had room in her heart for another diabetic. Sadly, the two did not click. Brenda went home with a sweet little shih tzu and Inky stayed with me. Little did I know that Inky had been making his own hand-picked connection that day. I would not find out about it for a couple of months.
I was setting up the 12 Dogs of Christmas list and had Inky on it, but I was not excited about it. Inky had proven himself to be stable, dependable and a lot of fun. He had a home here for life if he needed it. I took his name on and off the list a dozen times.
I don't remember now which came first - the email, the text or the Facebook PM. I got all 3 and the message was the same. Board member, adopter and volunteer Melinda Horn had finally told Santa what she wanted for Christmas.
The only thing on her list was Inky.
The Horns had decided no more dogs a long time ago but Inky had been working his magic. The day the group was up, Inky had spent all his time hanging out with Melinda as she worked on our memory stones in the garden. Melinda had never forgotten the gregarious miniature poodle. As she told me, they had a number of healthy and happy furkids. It was time to help one that wasn't so lucky.
When husband Dennis agreed that just one more was doable, Melinda then contacted me. Would I consider it? Of course.
That was late on a Sunday night. Melinda was here bright and early on Monday am . That's saying something - it's a 3 hour drive. I am not sure she slept. Thank you Dennis and Melinda for giving this sweet kid a great forever home.
New kids
There is something so stunning about blue eyes on a poodle. I think it is because we don't expect them. For years, the only blue eyed poodle I had seen was a sweet little mini mixed named, appropriately, Frankie. Blue eyes.
At least until this summer when a breeder somewhere in North Carolina started leaving blue eyed doodles in a shelter in startling numbers. We have received over 20 so far this year. Last week, four more came in.
One of these is Blitzen. Blitzen is not a poodle or if he is, he's a case of DNA that went rogue. Blitzen looks much like a golden retriever with some collie thrown in. He is easy to startle right now but he also will come forward to investigate these strange new humans he now calls his. It will be fun to watch him come into his own. I asked our animal control contact to try to find a golden retriever group for Blitzen but she asked me to consider him anyway. High praise - she told me we were the easiest group they work with. We do what we say we are going to do. Thank you volunteers for helping that reputation!
From the same group, we also welcomed Annika, Dagney and Ester. Two of these are very sweet and easy and one will need some work. Stay tuned as our caregivers work with this group to turn all of them into perfect pets.
Greta's cottage
Finally we got electricity! Work has been slowed by the lack of power but our local utility company, after a bit of prodding, finally got out and got us hooked up. Next week our maintenance team will lay the tile flooring, put the wallboards up, and finish resetting the door and change out the fixtures. Then all we will need is one new fence panel and Greta's cottage will welcome its first residents. Our goal is December 27 for that is the date of heartworm treatment for our first group and they will need a quiet place to recover.
As always - we need you
Ready to adopt? Our 12 Dogs of Christmas is in full swing. Please consider giving one of these very special pups a home.
If you can't or are not ready to adopt right now, considering becoming a patron. CPR is a safe place for dogs to wait and our patrons and never say no supporters are the ones who make it possible for Dreamweaver Farms and CPR to exist. We are funded solely on donations and adoption fees and the generosity of others. To become a patron or see other ways to help, visit our webpage at http://carolinapoodlerescue.org/giving.shtml.
Have a great week!
Donna Ezzell
Director
Carolina Poodle Rescue
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