I may have bitten off more than I can chew...

I have been behind on posting & for very good reason.

Rocky is doing fabulous! His one tumor-looking growth is nearly undetectable. His obscured eye seems to be getting better, too! No interest on him yet, but we are scheduled to bring him to 2 events where he will get some great exposure (thanks to his Hound Gear vest). Saturday, April 30th is the Pawz for Japan fundraiser & Saturday, May 7th is the annual Anti-Cruelty Bark in the Park. I'm very excited about both!

Last Thursday, I attended a special informational session at Chicago Animal Care & Control about Safe Humane's Court Case program & volunteering at the shelter. I made the mistake of taking the 'tour' of one of the court case pavilions. Pavilion F & G are where court case dogs go & remain until a rescue pulls them. I saw this BEAUTIFUL, 6 month old, indescribably colored, young female pittie with a bandage on her hind leg. Her coloring, we now know, is called blue fawn. A divider separated her small space from her pure blue brother. This sweet girl was limping around in her excrement & the look in her eyes was that of looming depression. Her cage card said that she & her brother were abandoned in an apartment. They shouldn't even have been 'court case dogs' because there was no one charged! Of course, I went home that night & could think of nothing else, so I planned to visit her the next day & get her out of her cage for some fresh air & human contact. 

Scary car ride!

When I returned on Friday, I was saddened to see she was in the exact same filth that she was in the day before. I took her out of her cage on Friday, April 22nd & never looked back. She spent a little time at work with me where she was a big hit & then we headed home.    

Chillin' under the desk on some BDUs



A puppy is alot of work. 2 puppies is INSANE! Maybe 2 puppies that are super young & fit in the palm of your hand are easier. But these 2 lugs at about 30 lbs a piece... not so much.



Mocha's 1st night home

                                        There have been a few 'explosive' potty training accidents & a bit of chaos for the first few days, & even a few domestics. But at the end of every night, when we are all cuddled up on the couch, the look of love & gratitude in Mocha & Rocky's eyes are worth all of it. These 2 cuddle up several times a day & my heart swells. Their ability to love & forgive is amazing. Our few days of annoyance or aggravation equals a future & a lifetime of love for these deserving babies. 

Ying & Yang



Mocha's injury is minor. We are getting a splint for the leg this week & she should heal without a problem. Rocky gets neutered tomorrow & Mocha gets spayed next week. We are already meeting a potential adopter for Mocha tomorrow (fingers crossed). She will move into her forever home quickly as her different coloring makes her unique. People love the unique ones! Rocky met a man on a walk the other day who recognized his value despite his odd look & expressed interest in adopting... I am anxiously hoping he gives us a call!

                                    "The Rescuer's Creed"

I promise I will take your unwanted animals.
I will heal their wounds, their diseases, their broken bones.
I will give them the medical attention they need and deserve.
I will nurture their starvation, and give them a warm place to sleep.
I will spay and neuter them, vaccinate them against the diseases that can harm them.
I will treat them and honor them.
I will buy them toys, blankets, balls, and teach them to play.
I will speak softly to them.
I will try to teach them not to fear, not to cry, and not to hate.
I will whisper sweet, kind, gentle words into their ears, while gently trying to stroke their fear, their pain, and their scars away.
I will face their emotional scars and give them time to overcome them.
I will socialize them, potty train them, teach them to be obedient, show them dignity, and hold their paws, and stroke their ears if they have endured too much and walk them over the Rainbow Bridge,
BUT most of all I will teach them Love. ~Author unknown

The face of a fighter & heart of a lover.

Hubby made the mistake of saying 'dogs are like kids. The biggest adjustment is going from 1 to 2. Anything after 2 is all the same.' The very next day I went to the shelter.

First, I viewed a female puppy that was so terrified, she cowered in the corner & wouldn't even look at us. It broke my heart. The next was another female pup that had eaten poison in her front yard & the owners didn't want to spend the money for a vet to treat her, so they relinquished her. The last was a boy pup in medical. This was my first time back in the medical section of the shelter. I can almost appreciate a shelter dog being stuck in the medical section. It's a smaller room with closer quarters & much more human interaction & attention for the obvious reasons. This boy was a 5 month old, male, white & brindle pit with the most distorted looking face I had ever seen. I knew immediately that out of the 3 I had seen, he was the one who needed out of the shelter the most! He had been there for 2 months after coming in as a stray with extensive, fresh injuries to his head. For 2 months, he was only made comfortable & given antibiotics. This boy needed medical treatment beyond that & wouldn't receive it until a rescue funded it.
I went back & picked him up to bring him home 3 hours later. After the obligatory vomiting on the car ride home & a much needed bath at Canine Corral, he was finally in foster. We were given some great ideas for names (Nikao, Popeye & Elwood, just to name a few), but decided on Rocky after Rocky Balboa because he face appeared so beat up. It is heart wrenching to look at, but his spirit & personality tell such a different story (pictures forthcoming...).


Rocky's 1st night home


The next day, we both took off of work to take Rocky to the specialist in Fox Lake. We were sad to find out there is nothing to be done. It is only a guess that he was bitten by a large dog at some point. The puncture on one side caused his eye socket to shatter & so he is barely able, if at all, to see out of his left eye. The puncture on the right side appears to have gotten infected then healed into an abscess so there is a large tumor looking thing on his right side. There is a chance as he gets older, that both issues will diminish.  He is not in any pain or anything, so onward we move!

Rocky is an absolute doll & I think I say that about ALL of our fosters! He likes to play rough with his foster sister, Stella. They recognize that they are the same breed, so when they play, it is ON. He has become very attached to the both of us. He cries when one of us leaves the room. We are working on housebreaking, which will be easier starting this weekend once we have full use of the fenced in yard again. He is a grazer when he eats... that is very rare in our house. All of our dogs eat like it's their last meal. He walks AWESOME on his leash & is working alot off leash, as well. He prances very proudly when he walks & has no idea that his looks are a bit different. When it is just us & him, he just loves to snuggle. He will actually lay his snout over your face or snuggle in the crook of your neck. Words can't describe how sweet Rocky is. His uniqueness will hopefully attract the perfect home for his adoption!

In other fabulous news, Stella is going to her forever home this Sunday!!! A couple (friend of a friend) met her over the weekend & fell in love.  They don't have any young children & Stella's future mom doesn't work, so Stella will be lavished in the love & attention she deserves all day long!  Although we previously thought her last 2 adopters were 'perfect', I am certain that for Stella, the 3rd time is the charm.  As the only dog in the house, Stella will behave perfectly & not be distracted by other dogs.

Lastly in updates, my fertility doctor came back from vacation & decided to proceed with the methatrexate.  She said there was a pregnancy, but it wasn't developing properly & they could not determine where it was located (uterus or fallopian tube).  I won't go into detail about the injections, but if I have to give myself DAILY shots in the muscles above my butt for IVF, I am in trouble!  As always, if insurance cooperates (& they should after 4 failed pregnancies), IVF will begin in June or July. 

In the meantime, a new garage, a new dining set, a new pup to train & adopt, plus an upcoming trip to Vegas... I can't complain :-)

'Nothing in the world that's worth having comes easy.'

A series of unfortunate events...

I know that's a movie title, but it very much describes one of my days last week. It was one of those days that went from bad to worse real quick.

First, I've been in a 'holding pattern' with this 4th pregnancy. My hormone levels continued to rise slowly on their own, but nothing can be found on an ultrasound. Again, we heard, 'let's just wait & see' from the doctors.


Where is my forever home?


On what we thought was a good note, we were going to complete Stella's adoption. A couple wanted a companion for their 7yr old pit. We watched Stella & Buster play beautifully for over an hour.  Not even 5 minutes after we started on our return home, I received a frantic call from the woman that we needed to come back... the dogs had gone 'ape shit'.  Her words.  So we asked what happened.  The man was sitting on the ground petting both dogs.  The dogs started to play.  After a few minutes, the man decided 'he' didn't want them to play anymore & tried to get in between them to stop them.  We, by no means, are experts on dogs.  But we have learned Stella's triggers. And we went over them thoroughly with the adopters.  She has a past & she has fears.  Once she feels safe & trusts us, those triggers diminish.  The biggest no-no is getting between her & another dog- especially pulling them apart by collars.  I don't know if she feels threatened or is trying to protect her human or the other dog, but we have recognized that & manage accordingly.  We drove home with Stella feeling failed yet again. 

As we got out of the car at home, I realized Stella didn't have 'just' 1 or 2 bit wounds, the whole left side of her face was pretty chewed up.  Off to Dr. B to make sure she didn't need stitches.  Luckily, she did not.  Some antiseptic spray & antibiotic pills & we were good to go.  UNTIL the receptionist next door from the law firm walked into the vet's office.  She told the vet that she was by herself next door & there was someone sawing something by her alley side window.  She didn't know who he was & he said he was replacing her air conditioning unit.  As it is second nature, my husband went over to check it out to insure she was safe.  I would say only 50% of the time does he carry off duty.  Today was one of those days.  Here is how the scene played out for me... I was talking to the vet assistant & seconds later, I heard 3 shots.  I looked at the vet assistant & said 'those are gun shots'.  She plainly stated (in a heavy polish accent), 'no, no, they are just working!!!'.  My instinct was confirmed when Dr. B walked in through the rear entrance with his eyes the size of oreo cookies & said 'call the police'.  I dropped Stella's leash & ran through the office as I tore through my purse looking for my off duty weapon (my purse pistol as I call it).  I haven't been actively on the street for almost 2 years, but training (& fear for my husband's life) took over (my husband's account of my arrival is very amusing).  When all was said & done, everything & everyone was okay.  It turns out, a heroin addict, felon did in fact steal the commercial air conditioner off the back of the building.  When my husband walked out of the door, this guy had just lifted it by himself into the trunk of his car. For those of you that know my other half, he is not small in stature... & neither was the thief, adding the fact that he was probably high.  My hero husband announced who he was & confronted the thief.  The fight was on & my husband had already drawn his weapon.  3 shots were fired, no one was hit except the car & when I ran outside, the car had already fled.  The homeland district responded quickly & caught this moron on the expressway (a beige sedan with a commercial air conditioning unit in the open trunk is not very stealth!).  The day of disappointments turned into a night of exhaustion.  I think it took 3 days for my heart to return from my stomach to it's intended spot. 

I believe everything happens for a reason.  Had our events of the day gone 5 minutes in either direction, everything would have been different.  In the meantime, the Chicago media highlights the poor decisions made by a couple of officers that do not represent the majority of a great department.  Yet, no one recognizes the heroics of off duty officers on a daily basis.  I guess that doesn't make good entertainment. 

Always carry off duty & always go home safe.  It may be your own life you save or that of an unknown citizen.  How many of us think... 'that would never happen to me'...?

'When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.'