Great Danes are small!

Don't believe it? Look for yourself:

First week of Rabies Quarantine is behind us

We managed to get through the first week without any major problems, except that more skunks are turning up, just wandering through my yard and spraying away happily.

2 days ago I saw this calico cat sitting in the middle of the street. She looked dead, but was still moving. I wrapped her up in a blanket, took her home and examined her. She was totally messed up by another animal, lots of head trauma, bite wounds all over and she smelled unmistakably like skunk! I knew she was beyond any help, so I called Animal Control and they picked her up.

The rabies situation has really taken a toll in this town, or is it just me???

Well, we'll deal with it the best we can. I'm trying to keep my dogs entertained since they have no way of getting rid of their energy in any creative way, so it usually turns into aggression. Playing ball is one way, but mentally it's not cutting it either.

I bought a bale of hay today and let them have a go at that, now they got some warm bedding to sleep on too.

I still need a couple of large off the ground dog houses. Tractor Supply was sold out of Igloo dog houses with those thick rubber bottom, which would be the only alternative to an off ground dog house. The igloo ones at Walmart are falling apart just by looking at them, wasted 74 Dollars on one.

The real original igloos are hard to come by, I learned! If I was just handy enough to build my own dog houses, so they can be off the ground a bit, but I have 2 left hands.

If anybody reads this and is a bit handy and wants to donate some of his or her time for dog house building, contact me!!!

Serenity plus 5

Ready for an update?? I moved Serenity with her babies out of the cage into a pen..it was getting too crowded. I think I'm going to post her pictures on petfinder.com, since her adoption fell through :

Olivia and the Cats

Everybody loves Olivia! It's unbelievable!

One more week and Olivia will be spayed. One more time holding my breath while is at the clinic...

Olivia and Gremlin




Olivia and Rosy (Gremlin's sister)



Rosy was NEVER interested in dogs. She tolerated them, but that was about it. Now look at this!

Rabies positive

The results cam in today: positive for rabies .

I was told to rush my dogs to the vet and get them booster shots right away and keep them quarantined for 45 days, meaning no contact with anything living by myself and watching for any change in behavior.

So, Olivia and Sandy, the old ladies, were not exposed and can stay with me inside, but Butters, Honey, and Olliver have to stay outside for now because they not only stink, but they go nuts caged up in their round pens. This is not going to be fun...not at all.

Having said that, I AM glad that the skunk walked in on my dogs instead of 10 feet further into a yard where toddlers play. If one of those kids was outside and seen the skunk and approached it..can you imagine???

Then rather walk into the yard with the best protected dogs in the neighborhood!

Rabies Quarantine

This afternoon a skunk wandered into my back yard and my dogs, except the old ladies Olivia and Sandy, got a hold of her and killed her.

I wondered why a healthy skunk would walk into a yard full of dogs in the middle of town, when it occurred to me that she might not have been this healthy.

I called Animal Control and the dead animal was sent to Austin for rabies testing. I was told to expect the results in 3-4 days and to keep my dogs away from the public, quarantined basically.

Should the test turn out positive, I have to keep my dogs in quarantine for 45 days. That was so the last thing I needed. I had Olivia scheduled to get spayed for April 23rd, which I would have to re-schedule. I also decided it's better to return the 2 remaining Border Collie pups to the shelter, because I don't want them exposed here, even though the risk is virtually zero, since all my dogs are up to date with their vaccinations. Even my own rabies shots are current.

Scary situation, aside from the smell. I had to rip everything out of the backroom, where the dogs rubbed their faces into...carpet, blankets, chairs..what I couldn't wash, I had to trash. No way! Now I'm sitting in an empty room except an old couch and the desk with the computer. It'll do until something better turns up. I'm just glad we had put vinyl flooring down a few weeks ago and all I have to re-place are area rugs.



This is quarantine! Don't they look pitiful??

Olivia and her new friend Rosy

Rosy, the cat, never liked dogs very much. She tolerated them, because she grew up around them, but she was never particularly fond of them like her brother is. If he gets his paws on Butters, love is in the air!

So now Olivia comes into the picture and I'm watching this going on here for a few weeks now:

Today's Emergency

Our LalaLucy (black cat, 6) came crawling up to the house earlier today, crying. She had not been around for a couple of days, which is not unusual, because she sleeps in the neighbor's shed during the day. I'm used not seeing her since I'm not always outside or paying attention in the evenings.

To make a long story short, she had her tail amputated. Vet's guess: dog got a hold of her.

And there is only one dog running loose around here that I have refused to call animal control on so far, because it's a pit bull and he would have zero chance at the local shelter. Unfortunately that dog also killed a chicken this morning, so I'm afraid that next time I see him I will have to call it in. I cannot have a dog running around killing other animals even though just about every dog would go after a chicken and/or a cat .

Lucy has feline leukemia, as have all the cats that I adopted, which means that her immune system is compromised. She weighted only 4 lbs, lost half of her weight in the past 2 days and was dehydrated as well.

I wonder what really happened to her, but I guess I'll never find out for sure. All I know is that she will have to be an inside cat from now on. This is not going to be fun as much as she dislikes dogs.