An ode to Kitty Crackhead

There's been a lot of hype and talk of Sweetie lately (she's basically a celebrity).  Therefore, my parents keep reminding not to forget about Kitty.  Initially I brushed their comments off (because of course I have NOT forgotten about Kitty Crackhead), but perhaps they were talking from experience. I mean, I came about 3 years after my sister (Sweetie came 2.5 years after KCH) and I have photographic evidence that my older sister, Kimberly, was not always overly pleased with my arrival.

Although the picture to the right suggests interest and intrigue, other photos show Kim with a scowl of pure disdain (not sure why because I'm pretty awesome).  That's the look of when an only child becomes an older (or in Kitty Crackhead's case, older younger) sibling. (I love you Kimmae!).

To be honest, since the addition of Sweetie, not much has changed.  Kitty is still queen bitch...err...queen bee in the house.   Overall, the transition has gone even better than expected (mainly thanks to Sweetie), but Kitty still feels the need to smack Sweetie upside the head every once in a while, for no apparent reason.  Fortunately Sweetie is a sweet old soul and doesn't really do much about it.

I would say that Kitty's episodes of lashing out irrationally are due to the new addition to the house.  However, she's always done this (part of the reason she earned her name), so KCH is just being KCH.  Now time for an ode to Kitty Crackhead.

Kitty came into my life in October of 2011, about 6 months in to my internship at OSU.  I had wanted a cat for quite a while, but decided I would wait for one to find me. One night when I was working an overnight emergency shift, a young adult, skinny, somewhat angry looking stray cat came in for an injury to her left forelimb.  This cat had been taken care of by a neighborhood of people who gave her some food and dewormer.  Unfortunately, no one was willing to step up when she injured so she was turned over to OSU Vet school.  Because of massive cat overpopulation and a general dearth of funds for stray animals, most injured cats end up being euthanized.  Indeed, Kitty was injured.  She was dragging her left forelimb, but the limb had sensation and she didn't seem to be in any pain.  While my colleague and I were discussing what would inevitably happen to her, we took her into a small room to let her move around, at which point she immediately hid in a sink.  I remember the moment her eyes peered above the lip of the sink and made contact with mine, at which point she immediately hid again.  Anyone who knows me well can imagine what I did next - naturally, I cried.  I didn't want this cat to be euthanized.  I didn't care if her limb had to be amputated (come on, I'm an oncologist - we love 3 legged animals!) - this kitty was coming home with me.

The first night (or rather day, since I was working overnights) Kitty came home with me she seemed so tired, but thankful to be in a quiet, dry, safe place.  Because she was a stinky lady off the streets, she slept wrapped in a towel on my bed and hardly stirred for hours.  She purred and accepted pets and scritches and seemed very content with her new life.  For the next 4 weeks, she had to be locked in the bathroom to recover from her injury (which we deemed to be neuropraxia - basically means the nerve is intact but not transmitting signals), after which she was nearly back to new (and about 3 lbs heavier).   During the time of bathroom isolation, Kitty and I went through a regular morning dance in which I tried to avoid stepping on her (in my bathroom the size of a closet) and she tried to weave in and out of my legs.  She quickly learned it was not safe to jump into the toilet or running shower; however, she never learned that mommy steps on me when I weave in and out of her legs while she is trying to do things.

Since this time, Kitty has developed in to a wonderful companion.  Like me, she is a creature of habit. She always greets me right out of the shower at which point, we have extensive morning conversations. When I get home, she always chirps her delight (and goes to town on a scratching post).  She recently has taken to sleeping under the covers with me and is a pro at determining when I really need to get work done, at which point she sits on my lap or book/paperwork/computer.  Of course she has earned the name Kitty Crackhead due to her wild antics of running around at 2 am in the morning (which only includes running across my face), hiding under the bed so she can attack my feet when I get up in the middle of the night and screaming if I don't feed her within 5 minutes of rising.  But just as crack is addictive (or so I hear), the Crackhead is as well.  I've posted two videos of KCT - video on the top is a few days after her injury.  The video on the bottom is a thank you video to my colleagues in cahoots who encouraged me to adopt Kitty.

So this brings me to reason #5 why senior dogs (and senior animals in general) rock!

What you see is what you get!

Don’t get me wrong – who doesn’t love puppies and kittens?  NOBODY!  Puppies and kittens have the perfect combination of furry, big eyes, big belly, rolly-polliness that makes your voice (well, at least mine) go octaves above its normal register.   Is there anything cuter than puppy breath or the high pitched “mew!” of a kitten?  Nope!  But do you know what is less cute than that?  Kittens climbing your curtains or puppies chewing your favorite pair of Jimmy Choos.  Ok, who am I kidding, my navy blue Crocs.  In addition to all of the delights that come with puppy and kitten ownership, there are also a lot of questions.   Will my puppy like other dogs or enjoy digging large holes in the backyard?  Will my cat find great joy in peeing outside the litter box ?  Although puppies and kittens need homes just as much as senior animals, adopters must be prepared for personality traits, both good and bad, that may develop in the future.   If you relinquish a puppy because it’s peeing in the house or chewing your futniture – you’re an idiot; it’s a puppy – give it time and more training.

Once again, I must hake a disclaimer that all older dogs aren’t perfect and all puppies and kittens aren’t the spawn of Satan.  However, before I got Sweetie, I was told she was a sweet, but lazy (stinky and chubby) lady.  And guess what, Sweetie is a sweet, but lazy, stinky and chubby lady!  With Sweetie, the best surprise of all was that there weren’t any surprises!

Ok, now let the Sunday morning cuddle session with the two legged creatures continue!

Foster failure :-)

Well it seems that my recent blogging activity has been about as erratic as my emotions.  As some of my coworkers, friends and family know, the last 48 hours or so have been a roller coaster of emotions, which ultimately culminated in...A FOSTER FAILURE!

On Friday afternoon, I received an email from the head of the rescue saying there was an approved adoption application for Sweetie.  Upon reading that email I felt like I was going to cry, vomit and poop my pants all at the same time.  Fortunately, only the crying part happened and I immediately ran to Tamra's office (Tamra = foster mentor/crazy girl that got me in to this!) for advice.   Tamra was not there, so I proceeded to ask every person I came in contact with (probably about 20 people throughout the afternoon) for advice on the situation.   However, I knew that even if one hundred people all told me the same answer, I had to do some soul searching and decide myself.

On Friday evening, I had a moment in which I imagined what it might be like to be a parent to a two legged child.  I looked at Sweetie and thought: "I never want her to be sad, lonely or in pain a day in her life."  While I knew there were likely many houses that could become a home to Sweetie, I knew I had to be the one to make sure her sad days were over (although Sweetie is so chilax I'm not sure she has had many sad days).  To make a long story (with LOTS of tears) short, it had to be me.

So it's official.  Sweetie is now Sweetie Brown (not Sweet Brown - ain't nobody got time for that!) and she will spent the rest of her days with me.  Hopefully those days will actually be years.  However, whether they are days, months or years, I will strive to make them as wonderful as possible for Sweetie.  I'm not sure who posted this comment on my Facebook, but they said that Sweetie will..." make the good days great and the bad days better."  In the 3 weeks I've had her, that has been so true and I'm so thankful that I stumbled across this wonderful lady.

To celebrate the wonderful day (officially 3/22/13), Sweetie and I made a trip to Mutts and Co, where she got her official (steelers) name tag (and a nice blue rain coat since she basically goes everywhere with me).  And at the end of the weekend, I have one tired and happy pup to call my own (and KCH is giving me the stink eye right now...) :-)

Love, love me too! You know I love you!

It's been a while since my last blog, but as I always like to tell my clients (for people not in the veterinary profession, that means owners of pets - because dogs and cats always forget their wallet when they go the vet's office!) - no news is good news!

Sweetie was officially introduced to society yesterday at Mingle with the Mutts (debutant ball of the doggy world).  Sweetie, along with another dog from Central Ohio Dog Rescue League - Spice - was  wonderful.   While other dogs were barking, jumping and chewing on things, Sweetie and Spice sat quietly and patiently while they waited for attention.  Of course Sweetie didn't get as much attention as the other dogs and even a family that came looking for an "older dog" inevitably gravitated towards the puppies.  This isn't my first rodeo, and I know that it takes longer to rehome a senior dog (and Sweetie can sleep in my bed for as many nights as she needs!).   At the end of the two hour event, Sweetie and I did some shopping in the shelter store (see picture) as I didn't want Sweetie to feel unloved (because she is perfect!).  I felt so happy that Sweetie was coming to my house to spend the rest of the afternoon sleeping on the couch, rather than the cold floor of a shelter.

In general, I try not to anthropomorphize things.  While I don't doubt that dogs and cats experience pain and have feelings, I don't think they stress about their winter weight or worry for hours after they took a big dump on the new white carpet.  However, I see the picture below and wonder what senior dogs think as an endless train of people pass their run at the shelter. Perhaps they used to sleep on someone's couch and were left behind when their family moved away.  Perhaps they enjoyed long walks before they got "too old."  In such situations, I cannot help but think about all the years these sad eyes have seen.

So, now I will break my rule about anthropomorphizing and tell you reason #6 why senior dogs rock:
Older dogs still have so much love to give.

One of my vet school fosters, Sylvia, landed in the shelter after her owner died. She quickly came to our house still confused about the sudden loss of her life-time companion.  Her eyes said it all - she was scared, panicked, confused and spent most of the day staring out front door, which we suspected was owner seeking behavior.  However, in the days and weeks that followed, the look in Sylvia's eyes changed from fear to trust and eventually, to love.  Did Sylvia forget about her previous owner?  I think I've seen enough youtube videos showing dogs reuniting with their owners (particularly war veterans) to know that's not very likely.  She simply had more love to give to me and my roommates. And when she found her furrever home, she had even more love to give to her new two legged companions.

Senior dogs are good at many things including sleeping, letting you sleep, cuddling, enjoying sunsets, leisurely walks.  But above all, they're best at giving love. <3

What a difference a bow makes!

Many of you have already seen Sweetie's glam shot, but for those that haven't, feast your eyes on his pretty lady!  This picture is just too cute for words!  Unfortunately for you, I rarely am at a loss for words, so let's continue...

This past saturday, Sweetie, along with a dozen or so other dogs, got primped up and went for a photo shoot with a local photographer, Claudine, dog lover and owner of Simply Dog Photography (http://www.simplydogphotoblog.com).  Aside from being "tots adorbs!" take a moment to think about the actual impact of these photos.  Quite often, photos of dogs in shelters look more like the picture shown below.  This is not necessarily due to a fault of any person, but more likely due to limited resources, staff and quite simply, way to many homeless animals.  For many people, they don't even want to look at this photo, let alone adopt this dog (Brownie), as it's a harsh reminder of what life can be like for many homeless animals.   So what Claudine is doing, other than taking jaw dropping, awww-inspiring, ridiculously cute photographs - she is saving lives.


Even despite Instagram's ability to make everyone look a little better, I'm no photographer. Fortunately, at this time in my life, I was able to open up my home to Sweetie and help in that way.  So how can you help animals in need?

Under Facebook pictures of animals in need on Facebook, there is quite often comments (which I have been guilty of leaving) such as "I would love to, but I can't with my work schedule" or "So cute, but my pack is full."   So next time you or I make that comment, let's think of ways in which we can help.  Claudine is kind enough to donate her gift of photography.  Here are some ways that you could help:

1. Trying to lose some winter weight? - donate time to walk dogs (or if you're already in great shape - socialize kitties) at a local shelter.  Everyone (two legged and four legged benefits from a little TLC).
2.  Doing some spring cleaning? - any old towels, sheets, blankets could surely be used at a local shelter or rescue group.
3.  Are you technologically savvy? - volunteer to help a shelter or rescue start or improve their website
4. Own a business? - donate 5% of your proceeds to an organization on a given night
5. Rich? - giving money never hurts (and if you're tall, dark and handsome - call me :-)

Bottom line, saying "I can't help" is a big fat lie.  Like Claudine, we all have gifts and services to offer to make the world a better place.

Please feel free to write down more ideas in the comments section below - I'd love to hear how you have or plan to help homeless animals!

It's tiring being so cute!

We had such a fun afternoon at the dog park!

I met so many nice people (and dogs too!).   When a woman sat down on the bench to drink from her water bottle, I jumped right into her lap!

I really enjoyed the sun and the warm weaaaaaaa.......

YAAAAAAAAAAAWN!!!! I'm a pooped pupper!

And I'm out.  Good night!

Thug life

In the words of T.I. Sweetie says she's "been thugging all [her] life, can't say [she] don't deserve to take a break..."  Ok, perhaps the name Sweetie doesn't give her much street cred, but she rocks the sideways hat and badass grill with the best of them (the hat was one of the many stops I had to pull out this afternoon to help the Buckeyes win the basketball game...I'm only a little superstitious).

In reflecting on the last week that I've had Sweetie, it's been quiet uneventful.  In the past, coming home to the foster pup was always a surprise.  Was I going to find that the dog had pulled a Houdini and gotten out of her crate (China, a pittie) or come home to find the dog gone, having busted through a screen (Kota, a mastiff)?  And don't forget the never ending poop and pee presents!  In contrast, Sweetie was and still is, perfection.  She's a great companion - in the house, in the car, on a walk.  She's just happy to be living life.

And that brings me to reason #7 why (adopting) senior dogs rock.
#7: When you adopt a senior dog, you save a life.   So many people overlook older dogs at the shelter and as a result, they are often at the top of the euthanasia list.  Just before I got Sweetie, I had inquired about fostering a little 12 year old mixed breed dog.  I posted something on facebook (asking if the dog could be cat tested), only to find that my post and the dog's picture was gone a few hours later.  It turned out that the dog had been euthanized.  It was a hard lesson but unfortunately, this is the reality for many older dogs that set paw in the shelter.   When there is no more space, someone has to go and it's often older dogs.

By adopting a senior dog (or any dog for that matter), you may actually be saving 2 lives - the dog you adopted and another dog that gets the spot on the adoption floor (or in the foster home).  You get a companion and save two lives at the same time - not a bad day's work.

 

Coming soon - pictures of Sweetie's photo shoot!

The dilemma - dog person or crazy cat lady?

It's been a busy week, so Sweetie and I are hanging in tonight - wild, I know.  Since catching some of the Oscars the other day, I've been wanting to watch Dallas Buyers Club.  However, Sweetie is having a professional photo shoot tomorrow, so she requested that we watch reruns of America's Next Top Model (she actually referred to it as ANTM) so she can figure out what poses work the best for her.  So far we've discovered that drawing attention to her neckline with a bandana or diamond necklace would take attention away from her waistline.   However, this is the best pose she's got - we have a long night of work ahead of us...

Since my last blog, I realized I've been going through a bit of an identity crisis over the last two and a half years.  Shortly after I adopted Kitty Crackhead in October of 2011, I discovered an unforeseen love/obsession with cats.  This included typical crazy cat lady things such as watching endless cat compilation youtube videos as well as purchasing (several) cat articles of clothing.  I have grown up with dogs my whole life and always considered myself a "dog person."  However, I whole heartedly jumped into the world of the crazy cat lady (I mean, I'm almost 30, single and writing a blog about a "pet" on a Friday night).  However, since fostering Sweetie, I find myself straddling the fence between being a "dog person" and "crazy cat lady."  Therefore, I figured I could address this dilemma by making a list of Kitty Crackhead's likes and dislikes, as compared to Sweetie's.

Kitty Crackhead's likes:
1. Cat food
2. Trying to stealthily hide herself so she can attack me unexpectedly

Kitty Crackhead's dislikes:
1. Belly rubs
2. Butt scratches
3. Cats
4. Most dogs
5. Car rides
6. Some people
7. Vacuums
8. Hair dryers
9. Washer and dryer
10. Winter

So, this probably makes it sound like Kitty is an evil crackhead, which in fact she is not almost 25% of the time.  However, it's interesting to see some of the behaviors that I adore in cats would be completely unacceptable in dogs.    Am I a cat lady or a dog person????? - screw deciding.  I'm both!

You don't need opposable thumbs to hit the "Like" button!

This has been a crazy week so this will be short.  Currently Sweetie is helping me finish my soft tissue sarcoma lecture for the veterinary students tomorrow.   By that I mean she is passed out and snoring while I talk aloud and make animated hand gestures.

Some part of being a foster mom is paying attention to the quirks of your furry friend.  So, over the past several days, I've been quietly tabulating Sweetie's likes and dislikes.  Here's what I've got so far.
Sweetie likes:
1. People
2. More people
3. Dog food
4. Human food
5. Breakfast
6. Dinner
7. Wondering why she doesn't get a lunch
8. Belly rubs
9. Butt scratches
10. Sleeping (preferably on furnitures or beds)
11. Snoring
12. Grunting
13. Dogs (big, small, short or tall)
14. Car rides
15. Running around like a maniac in the dog park
16. Showing off her sweet grill (i.e. smiling) - see picture (stolen from Becky Maxwell :-)
17. Cats (but thinks Kitty Crackhead is cray-cray).

Sweetie dislikes:
1. Strawberries
2. Windshield wipers - really, this is more a cautious and reasonable level of concern.  I feel that I can sympathize a bit as I was pretty scared of car washes as a child.   I think this problem can be easily managed by not adopting her to a home in the Pacific Northwest.

Sweetie says it's well past bed time so I'll paw off for now!

When life gives you a foster dog, take a nap.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love a good nap.  Not your 20 minute, ready-to-go, power nap, but your 2 hour, drool-all-over-the-pillow, wake-up-in-a-bad-mood kind.  Today I had a bit of a headache coming home from work, so I laid down at 6 to take a snooze.   When I got Sweetie, I had resolved to not let her on the bed, as this was the once place that Kitty could go if she needed to feel safe from Sweetie (my bed is a few inches shy of requiring a step ladder to get in to).  Well this resolution lasted only slightly longer than most new years resolutions, and surely enough, Sweetie joined in nap time.  Not surprisingly, a chance to be lazy while spending time with a human was right up her ally!  She was so content with our nap time, she hardly budged when I got out of bed and turned on the lights (photo 1).  It wasn't until I shook a bag of treats that I caught the attention of her cute, tailless bum (photo 2).  (Sweetie would also like to state for the record that photo 1 is not her best angle and that her foster mom sucks at sticking to her resolutions).

So this is a nice segue to the #8 reason why senior dogs rock - SENIORS FOR SENIORS.

Many two legged seniors lives quiet lifestyles involving light physical activity, spending a lot of time at home and most likely, napping ;-)  Some seniors may be seeking companionship after the lost of a spouse.  In 2003, my paternal grandmother lost her husband and love of her life, unexpectedly.   After this lost, she sought companionship in the form of a dog.  In a not so wise decision, the local shelter adopted out a young, feisty border collie to my 80 year old grandmother.  While this clearly wasn't the best thought out plan, this border collie provided my grandmother with many years of kisses, laughs and most of all, happiness (my grandmother is still alive but her four legged companion, Duffy, is not).  Shelters and rescue groups are becoming increasingly aware of the mutual benefit that comes from pairing two and four legged seniors.   For many seniors, adopting a dog may also help their health as pets have been shown to reduce stress, depression and even blood pressure!  So although a senior dog may not be the best match for you (I'm not sure why, who doesn't love a good nap and a well trained dog!), it may be a perfect fit for someone you love!

And I dedicate this post to my grandmother - I don't have a picture of her with Duffy, but this is a picture of her doing something she also loves - watch Steelers football!!!!!!

VET'S Office = VeryExcellentTime

Today, Sweetie accompanied me to work.   Since I'm a veterinarian, this meant going to the vet's office - GASP!!!! PANIC!!!!! ANXIETY ATTACK!!!!  Oh wait, this is Sweetie we're talking about, not your average dog.  For Sweetie, the vet's office = a VeryExcellentTime.  Sweetie was SO happy to make dozens of new two legged and four legged friends.  She charmed every person that she met (as I expected) and took a special liking to the greyhounds that can often be found hanging out in the bloodbank (and they are more like aliens, than dogs ;-)

I was actually working in the lab today, so I set Sweetie up with a nice comforter and went to the lab to do some work.   I came back at lunch time to find her cuddling with one of the pet sitters.  The pet sitters are a group of undergraduate students that come to socialize and spoil dog and cat patients.   They tend to gravitate towards Oncology since 1. our patients are the best and 2. they deserve a little extra love.  No, Sweetie was not a patient of the Oncology service, but she sure got some extra love (and some extra treats, which like her foster mommy, she doesn't need!)  She got these notes from the pet sitters:


So the vet wasn't all fun and games.  Wait, scratch that.  For Sweetie it was all fun.  Part of the fun was visiting the ophthalmology service to check out her gooky left eye and to serve as the demo dog for the new rotation of students (which means I got a free consult...thank you ophthalmologists!)   They determined that she has dry eye in her left eye, which means this eye is not producing enough tears.  This is not uncommon in dogs, particularly smaller breeds.  Based on the changes to her left eye, this has been going on a while.  However, she can still see just fine and it likely doesn't cause her any discomfort.  However, we will be starting her on an eye drop to stimulate tear production so she stays happy and comfortable!

Being a demo dog, getting so many treats and belly rubs and making so many friends....someone is exhausted!  What a fun day! (in case you can't hear it...this is a video of Sweetie snoring!)

School of the Hard Knox

All is still well and I will make this a quick update given the long list of things I need to get done today.  Many of you may have already seen this video since it was posted on Facebook, but here it is again. It melts my heart to see this youthful, playful side of a dog that has undoubtedly been through a lot over the past week.  After this, she enjoyed romping around with my neighbor's Bassett hound.  She liked running around but was clearly intent on befriending my neighbor.  She likes dogs, but she LOVES people.

Sweetie and Kitty had their first up-close interaction and I could have scripted it play by play. They were both in the (tiny) kitchen as I was getting dinner ready for both of them.  Kitty got bold and decided to rub against Sweetie.  As Sweetie was not expecting it, she jumped a tiny bit, to which Kitty hissed and ran away.   However, Kitty is increasingly interested and is currently closely watching (from about 3 feet away) Sweetie snooze in her chair.  I think they'll be good friends in a week or so.

And reason #9 why senior dogs rock:

Only senior dogs have grills THAT sweet.  If she gets a dental, I'm going to request a metal grill that says "Hard Knox" (since she came from Knox County). :-p

Day/night 1 and reason #10 why senior dogs rock

FREEDOM RIDE!!!

So day/night 1 with Sweetie went even better than I could have hoped.  I picked Sweetie up at Knox County Animal Shelter in the afternoon, after which we commenced a couple hours of stops and errands (Thanks to Central Ohio Dog Rescue League for making this happen!!).  First stop was at the vet school where I checked out her goopy, left eye.  Not sure exactly what is going on (tear production seems fine, no ulcer), but the eye clearly has had a chronic problem and I'm hoping the ophthalmologists will do an unofficial (read: free) consult on Monday :-)

After a few more stops and a few more hours, we finally arrived home for the moment of truce - Sweetie meeting KCH.  Kitty did her standard puffed up/Halloween cat upon seeing Sweetie and Sweetie could not have cared less.  Sweetie doesn't seem to care about Kitty's existence.  Given how calm Sweetie is, I imagine that Kitty will be rubbing on her and claiming Sweetie as her own in no time.  However, I cannot guarantee that Kitty will not try some ninja moves to remove Sweetie from her favorite chair (see picture).   This chair is absolutely Kitty's favorite resting spot (and unfortunately, scratching post) and it now seems to be Sweetie's permanent hang out.  I guess Kitty will have to relinquish to one of her other spots which include the top of the chair, the arm rests of the couch, the top of the couch, the window sill, the coffee table, my bed, my desk chair, the laundry hamper.  Tough decisions.

To make a not long story even shorter, Sweetie ate her dinner, did her business outside and slept like a baby (in Kitty's favorite spot).

So this brings me to my list of top 10 reasons why senior dogs are awesome.

Reason #10: HOUSEBROKEN
Whether you want to call it housebroken (which is apparently going out of vogue), potty trained or not pissing and crapping in my house, this is an awesome advantage of having a dog that has already lived in a home.  This doesn't mean that all dogs coming from a home are housebroken or dogs that haven't lived in a home can't be easily housebroken.  However, Sweetie clearly knew where and when she supposed to do her business and held it 7 hours overnight. (didn't wan to push it longer than that on the first night!)  This, in combination with her predilection for chairs/couches, shows that she's likely pretty used to the life of a house dog.  

It's too early to claim victory, but the thought of not going through gallons of carpet cleaner or coming home to some unexpected "gifts", is awesome.  Yes, senior dogs rock!

I'm a sucker (and thank you Central Ohio Dog Rescue League)

Well, it's been six years since my last foster dog and my last foster dog blog,  How did I get sucked back into the wonderful, whirlwind world of foster?  Let's just say it was the mission of a not-be-named coworker of mine (cough, cough...Tamra...cough, cough).   This unnamed coworker has been trying to find me a foster that would work (mainly one that did not want to chase or eat my kitty, Kitty CrackHead) to no avail.  As a result, I became a bit trigger happy (perhaps not a good metaphor to use when talking about dog rescue, but you get the idea) and nervous about bringing a foster dog into my home.   Then, two days ago, she texted me about "Sweetie," a senior dog that had ended up at a shelter in Knox County, Ohio after her owner had died.  She was surrendered along with her doggie housemate, who quickly went to a Husky rescue, leaving Sweetie behind.

I immediately harked back to my vet school fosters, (Sylvia, Wally Katie) a handful of whom were senior dogs had been surrendered to the shelter after the death of their owners.  Imaging a senior dog living out its last days, weeks, months or even yeas in a shelter is heartbreaking and my roommates and I were lucky enough to give these senior dogs a second chance and ultimately find them a furrever home. It didn't take long for us to realize that senior dogs rock!  Therefore, this blog is dedicated to senior dogs and in particular, my old fosters - Sylvia, Wally and Katie (who are no longer with us) - and the wonderful people that opened their hearts and homes to these special dogs. 

Katie

Wally (left), Sylvia (right)