Save Dogs

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Goldie's home in Los Feliz was not the right match.  These past weeks have been a whirlwind for both him and me.  Though Goldie loved his new basset hound friend Byrdie, he was a little too puppy-like for my friend's mom to handle.  This is good though, because we hadn't finalized the adoption and this is what the trial period is for. 
To make a long story short, he spent a couple of days at the Los Feliz Animal Hospital because I was in Lake Tahoe and he couldn't stay at that home.  The receptionist at the animal hospital fell in love with him and wants to adopt him.  Yeah!!!!   She knows all about the breed because she has a female pit bull.  I'm going to do a home check later this week and update everyone again.  Meanwhile, Goldie has gained weight and is looking like a nice young fellow.  (My little baby is growing up!)

On a personal note, I was in a job at a dog daycare for just over two weeks and I quit after seeing some serious animal neglect.  I'm working on a small essay about dog daycare facilities and how to evaluate their safety and quality--it's pretty scary what goes on behind closed doors.  Plus, the facility that I worked in is publicized as being one of the best in LA.  I quit after realizing that even I wouldn't feel safe bringing my dog there when I went out of town.

Hope everyone is well,
Jon
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A New Beginning

Goldie has moved into his new house in Los Feliz.  The adoption isn't yet official, but it looks very promising.  His new Mom has changed his name to "Red".  I miss him but I'm also so relieved that he has space to run and play.  I'm going to wait about 2 weeks before finalizing the adoption just in case he doesn't adjust well; sometimes new owners have "buyer's remorse" if the dog has an accident inside or chews an antique.

Meanwhile, I've begun a new job as a manager at an upscale doggie daycare.  I will update again very soon...things have been so hectic the last couple of weeks with Goldie's new home and my new job.

Here are a couple of pictures of Goldie aka Red at his new home:  (click to enlarge)

Adoption Update

Goldie might have found a permanent home.   It turns out that the first application for Goldie is from a high school friend's mom, who lives in Los Feliz.  What a small world!   She has one basset hound named Byrdie and is looking for a doggy pal for her.  Goldie visited the house this past Monday and really loved the place.  He and Byrdie played a little bit but mostly Goldie explored the gigantic backyard and sniffed around the house.  It is a perfect match because Goldie is very submissive and is happy to let Byrdie be the "top dog".  At one point they galloped around the living room about three times and then played tug-of-war for a short while. 

Next Friday (the 18th) Goldie is going for a trial stay at his new home.  This is a period before we finalize the adoption to make sure that Goldie does well in his new home.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed because this would be a dream adoption.  Goldie would be in very caring hands if he moves to Los Feliz.  Meanwhile, he had his first dog park experience this week and he was so well behaved.  He played with dozens of different size and breed dogs and never once got into trouble.  If a dog snaps at him, he will just walk away and does not retaliate.  I've always preferred submissive dogs because they can be easier to train and deal with in social settings.

Here a picture of Goldie and Byrdie:

Don't Howl For Me Argentina

Here is Goldie sleeping peacefully in his crate.  He hated his crate at first and I assume he associated it with the animal shelter and being abandoned.  He would howl and whimper and it was pretty rough for both of us at the beginning of this week.

I sometimes take a sleeping pill called Restoril when I have bouts of insomnia and when I called Dr. Schwartz about Goldie's sleeplessness, he said, "I like to use a medication called Restoril for dogs".  Yes!!!!!  I didn't even have to get Goldie his own prescription.  We both take the same dose and we can both sleep now. 

Of course, I would never recommend medication for a dog without a just cause.  There were a number of reasons that the veterinarian and I decided that Goldie needed some extra help adjusting. 

He needs as much rest as possible to finish healing from his surgery.  He also needs a firm routine to help reinforce the training that I am doing with him.  Goldie is temporarily on a course of Clomicalm, which is the only FDA approved medication to treat separation anxiety in dogs.  It is made by Novartis, which is the same company that makes Ritalin, Lamasil, and other well known medications.  I hate the idea of "drugging" a dog to act a certain way.  But the great part about Clomicalm is that it doesn't sedate Goldie or change his personality.  It merely eases the anxiety he feels when he is left alone.  With positive reinforcement, Goldie will learn quickly that neither I nor his future owner will abandon him.  I plan on using the Clomicalm for a couple of more weeks until Goldie feels secure in his new environment and at peace with his new found freedom.

Home

Goldie is back at our condo and he's loving it.  His staples were taken out and his wound is healing nicely.  Check out his photo album because I uploaded several new pictures of him at our place.  Right now, he is sleeping beside me on the couch.  He has a lot of pent up energy from being at the veterinarian's office for a week, so we take him out often and play lots of fetch.  I'm exhausted and little bit stressed, but as time goes on it will get easier.  He is such a loving dog and I'm hoping that next week I can take him to an adoption event.  Thanks again for all the comments and generous donations.  We are just past the halfway mark for the donation goal on Amazon.com

Please continue to visit and leave comments--I read them out loud to Goldie (and he pretty much looks at me like I'm crazy).    _Jon_

Almost Home

To read Goldie's story from the beginning, scroll down to the bottom of the page and work your way up. =)   Also, please e-mail if you are interested in adopting Goldie.

Goldie is almost healed!  He looks fantastic and has gained almost 5 pounds.   I think Friday or Saturday is when I can pick him up from Overland Veterinary Clinic.  I brought him dog toys today so that he has something to play with in his kennel.  Here is a picture that I took of him today...

Isn't he the cutest?  And he is very spoiled now.  He gets all the dog treats and yummiest dog food at the vet's office because he still needs to gain a few more pounds. 

Stay tuned and please keep donating...even $5 is a big help.

1,000 Hits

The little munchkin Goldie is still being looked over at Overland Veterinary Clinic; he will be there until his sutures come out, which should be later next week.  Both Dr. Schwartz and Dr. Shane said that Goldie is oblivious to his physical state and he wants to play and run around!  Also, his de-worming process has gone smoothly and now he can get fattened up.

"Save Dogs" has reached 1,000 hits in the 10 days it's been on-line.  As Goldie recovers and eventually finds a home, I will start broadening my posts to cover all aspects of dog rescue (including featuring more dogs).  Another cool thing is that searching Google for "save dogs" shows this website ranked number 2 or 3 out of over 6 million pages!

Have a safe weekend.
Jon

p.s.  Happy Birthday Mom!

Goldie's Angels

Tonight it's just a quick update.  Goldie is still at the vet's office recovering, but he is in good spirits.  I want to thank everyone for following Goldie's story and opening your hearts to him.  He is a very lucky dog!  In just a couple of weeks, $625 has been raised to help with Goldie's bills. A majority has been donated by close family and friends, but also by generous (and anonymous) visitors from the web.  I want to thank the following people for their donations:  Lea and Tripper, Chad, Adam,  Mom and Dad, Johanna, Jay, and all the anonymous donors in cyberspace.

Back To The Vet

 Goldie's stitches/staples were still bleeding last night and this morning.  He's going to stay at the Vet until they can get his wound healed more.  They are also going to de-worm him using a very strong medication called Drontal Plus.  Here a "camera phone" picture of him in my car right before going back to the doctor.  Poor little dog!

Creepy Crawlers

I discovered two ticks on Goldie tonight and....drum roll please....ROUNDWORMS!  No more kisses for him now.  I'm going to have to purchase another $50 dollars at least in de-worming treatments.  Plus, roundworms are transmissible to humans.  Who knows if my dog Sunny has caught them too?  The good news: it can't get much worse than this.

But, all of these problems are temporary.  And every time I look in Goldie's soulful eyes, I know it's all worth it: the bankruptcy, the worms, and the smell of poop everywhere.  Goodnight for now.