Leo (Tex 12-146)

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With love to all from "Pearl" Joey Courtney and Tim Stubbs"   With Love to all from "Pearl" Joey Courtney and Tim Stubbs

"happy Minnesota spring" and sign them "a former Texan"  Happy Minnesota Spring from a former Texan

 

April 13, 2012

Hello RAGOM fans! Meet Tex! He and his sister Clementine were rescued from a shelter in Texas. Little did they know that when they were picked up by their personal chauffer/valet/rescuer, Miss Devon, they were going to be starring in their own little Rescue Roadtrip video diary!

While on vacation in the great state of Texas, Devon found Clementine and Tex among a litter of five puppies in the Collin County animal shelter. The shelter had rescued them after they got a call about someone threatening to shoot them. These little fur-butts suffered from one of the worst cases of flea infestation the staff had ever seen. There were clumps of flea dirt as big as a dime and their coats and skin were in poor shape.

Willing to risk that her car might become a “rolling flea circus” Devon and her resident, Chaz, picked up the pups and started the long journey north. Each stop along the way was documented and production values – pee and poop – were carefully observed. They visited OK and KS, and even met some new friends along the way before it was time to stop for the night. Because the hotel only allowed two pets per room, Clem snuck in inside a duffle bag! By midnight, thanks to the barking and unpredictable squat-and-pees, they were in danger of being invited to leave, but managed to make it through! After a restful (?) night and sincere apologies to the staff and fellow travelers, they were off to Iowa and their foster home.

We have learned that all the other puppies from this litter have been taken in by local rescues. RAGOM would like to thank Collin County Animal Services for taking such good care of these sweet pups and entrusting RAGOM with their future. And, a huge thank you to Devon for the fun videos and amazing photographs, but most importantly for getting these sweet kids on the road to a great life as RAGOM dogs!

At a Glance #12-146

Mixed Breed Born: February 2012
Male Weight not specified

Status: Adopted

Profile

With love to all from "Pearl" Joey Courtney and Tim Stubbs"   With Love to all from "Pearl" Joey Courtney and Tim Stubbs

"happy Minnesota spring" and sign them "a former Texan"  Happy Minnesota Spring from a former Texan

 

April 13, 2012

Hello RAGOM fans! Meet Tex! He and his sister Clementine were rescued from a shelter in Texas. Little did they know that when they were picked up by their personal chauffer/valet/rescuer, Miss Devon, they were going to be starring in their own little Rescue Roadtrip video diary!

While on vacation in the great state of Texas, Devon found Clementine and Tex among a litter of five puppies in the Collin County animal shelter. The shelter had rescued them after they got a call about someone threatening to shoot them. These little fur-butts suffered from one of the worst cases of flea infestation the staff had ever seen. There were clumps of flea dirt as big as a dime and their coats and skin were in poor shape.

Willing to risk that her car might become a “rolling flea circus” Devon and her resident, Chaz, picked up the pups and started the long journey north. Each stop along the way was documented and production values – pee and poop – were carefully observed. They visited OK and KS, and even met some new friends along the way before it was time to stop for the night. Because the hotel only allowed two pets per room, Clem snuck in inside a duffle bag! By midnight, thanks to the barking and unpredictable squat-and-pees, they were in danger of being invited to leave, but managed to make it through! After a restful (?) night and sincere apologies to the staff and fellow travelers, they were off to Iowa and their foster home.

We have learned that all the other puppies from this litter have been taken in by local rescues. RAGOM would like to thank Collin County Animal Services for taking such good care of these sweet pups and entrusting RAGOM with their future. And, a huge thank you to Devon for the fun videos and amazing photographs, but most importantly for getting these sweet kids on the road to a great life as RAGOM dogs!

Updates

Sunday, May 20, 2012

 

Mr. Tex is doing great! He is turning into quite the handsome fella! Just to keep you updated on the score, so far it is Tex 3, Petunias 0.  He is currently in an epic battle with my rose bush (you would think there would be easier victims) and so far it seems to be a draw.   On the plus side, he was able to vanquish the DQ kiddie cup he got last week!  To give you a sense of how this guy operates, the other day he was racing around the family room, clipped his cone-of-shame on the end table, flipped onto his side, slid across the hardwood and careened into the dining table, bounced up and kept on going.  Thank goodness for us, he has since been able to ditch the cone which makes things a little more predictable!

WARNING:  If you have delicate sensibilities, you may want to skip the following story.  
So, in a busy household, especially with four dogs between the residents and fosters, they have to take attention when they can get it.  Over the years, my big dogs have learned if they follow me into the bathroom (I’m the only girl in the house), I will be stationary and hands-free for a period of time while using the toilet – which means scratching hands are available for them (Am I the only one who does this?!?)!  Just as they should, the puppies are learning from the residents, which means when Archie and Clyde follow me into the loo, Clementine and Tex are somewhere in the mix.  Quite naturally it happens that the little dogs squeeze in front of the big dogs as they are all clamoring for pets.  But!  All the sudden, I have a problem because I have four dogs who need love, and two available hands…  Let the squirming, nudging, and budging begin as they all vie for good position.  I have now developed this “drive-by” scratch strategy hoping that if I hit each of them with short, strong burst of pets, they’ll barely notice I’ve stopped before I’m back to them for another round (as I’m sure you know, the pot is a good place for strategizing).  Which brings me to this morning.  Everyone was following the script as normal, but my boys must have felt they needed a little extra attention today and so they were a bit more aggressive and seriously crowded the little dogs.   As they bulldozed their way forward Tex and Clem were squished against the base of the toilet, and both took what must have been the only exit available to them at almost exactly the same time. Yes, I AM going to go there.  As I sat and watched, two puppy heads popped up through the leg holes of my underwear, huge smiles on their faces, pleased they had clearly come up in the pole position, and ready to reap the benefits!  No, you don’t need a picture (I don’t normally take my camera to the facilities with me), your imagination will have to suffice.

If you would like to experience similar puppy antics rather than living vicariously through me, contact your placement advisor!

Thursday, May 3, 2012

There aren’t too many times when you can say it is a good thing that someone gained 10 pounds in two weeks, but this is one of those cases!  Tex is so hungry, he runs back and forth between food bowls knocking Clem out of the way as he snarfs mouthfuls from one dish, and then the other.  It doesn’t seem to matter how far away we put them, he has to make sure no one has access to something that he might like better than what he has in front of him!  At first I thought he might be a tiny little guy as an adult, but I’m starting to believe his size was more a reflection of his nutritional status than his genetics!

He is going to be a high-energy kid – thrilled to play ball, walk, run, wrestle, and tug anytime he can engage two-leggers or four-leggers in his games. As I would expect from a boisterous personality, he is handful in other areas as well – happy to chew on whatever is nearby, willing to voice his disapproval when he is tucked away from his peeps in the crate, and working hard to learn that people aren’t as lenient about ear, nose, leg and toe nipping as the fur-butts!  He is Exhibit A of the “Tired dogs are good dogs” theory and its corollary “Give me something to do, or I will find something myself”.  I think he will do great with a family that has an active lifestyle and/or another playful dog to keep him on his toes. 

The biggest requirement in his forever family (aside from the peanut butter!) is that they must truly want a puppy – and be willing to take on the joy and work that come with a 25 pound whirlwind.  He will be fine with or without a fence, and will be ok with dog-savvy cats who are willing to either play with him or put him in his place.  He loves kids, but will need consistency and patience to learn boundaries related to jumping and being mouthy. 

Tex has a one-on-one special session scheduled with the vet on Monday {wink}, and then he will be all ready to head out to his forever home!  Could that be with you?

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Hi Everyone!  Tex, here.  I’m finally feelin’ good enough that FM is willing to let me write my own stuff.  I wanted to write the last one, but she said something about puppies not bein’ too good with details.  Geez.  She should know, right?  She’s all about details – eat now, don’t eat then; eat this, not that; pee here, not there, and so on.  Oh well, it’s my turn now.  I’ll tell you what I am good with – ha!  I’m good with full body snuggles, keeping my crate clean, eating, and helping FM find stuff that has been left on the floor.  The two-leggers say I’m also good at giving my foster fur-brother Clyde “a dose of his own medicine”.  I don’t really know what that means, but I figure if I’m good at it I should probably let you know!

Me an’ my sister Clementine play great together and I love snuggling up with her at night.  She has been gone for a while at a place called The Clinic.  I went to The Clinic, too, for a few days, but I showed ‘em right away that I was a big strong boy and I got to come on home.  Guess Clem didn’t do so well (she is a girl after all), but I do sure miss her. I want to play so bad, I had to resort to desperate measures, as you can see here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R17tnQqjdWc&feature=youtu.be   .  That’s right.  I am playing with a cat.  It may look like I am having fun, but I’m just putting a good face on a bad situation, if you know what I mean. 

Now that I licked that stupid Parvo stuff, I am all ready to start looking for my forever family.  I do have a little cough and runny nose right now, but those don’t bother me at all. They might delay a sleepover FM has planned at the vet for me, though.  I don’t know what we are going to do, but it must be pretty special because I get to go all by myself!  Once I get past that I will be all ready to go!  I don’t have too many requirements in my forever home, but I guess I should tell you there is one deal-breaker.  If you do not have access to peanut butter, I am afraid we are not a match.  Beyond that, though, I am pretty flexible!  If you meet the PB requirement (I am flexible on the classic creamy/crunchy and Skippy/Jiff issues) and have room in your life for a special puppy who has had a rough start, I could be your guy!

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Mr. Tex has Parvo, a deadly, and highly contagious virus that is particularly cruel to young puppies. Any dog that hasn’t been vaccinated is susceptible to the disease, and in Tex’s case, the shots he received right before leaving Texas came too late to help.

During the first couple of days Tex was here, we got a glimpse of what an amazing dog he will be someday! He is sweet and playful, willing to snuggle or chase toys. Like his sister Clem, he likes to be right at our feet when we are walking. He loves playing with the big dogs, but will follow his peeps if he has to choose between the two. He does have a “voice” and barks when he is excited, though that seemed to lessen the more he settled in. He is not potty trained, but keeps his crate clean overnight and goes right away when we let him outside. In just two days he had learned to sit and to kennel when it was time.

Unfortunately, all of that stopped when we got up on Friday morning. Tex was listless. Despite yummy treats, he quietly turned his head to the side to tell me he was not able to eat. When he stood, he leaned against me, or the couch, or the wall for support. We rushed to clinic and the vet immediately ordered a Parvo test. Five minutes later, we knew he was positive for the disease, and the fight was on. Because Parvo is viral, pups have to battle the disease on their own with only supportive care. For Tex, that meant he was immediately placed on IV fluids, and started on anti-nausea injections. Antibiotics that were prescribed before he was diagnosed with Parvo were continued to limit his susceptibility to secondary bacterial infections. While these measures don’t directly affect the course of the disease, they help with symptoms and Tex is clearly feeling better than he was when he was admitted. It is too soon, and Parvo is too unpredictable, to tell if he is on the rebound.

I do visit the puppies daily, but I have to wear a gown and gloves to enter the isolation area where they are being treated. As soon as Tex sees me he claws at the front of the crate ready for some non-medical attention, while Clem lays quietly with her head on her paws, sometimes with a small flick of her tail to tell me she is glad I’m there. Despite the deadly nature of the disease, dogs who survive go on to live normal healthy lives. Our vets are hopeful this will be the case for Tex and Clementine.

It is heartbreaking to see little Mr. Tex with tubes and cones, especially after all he has already overcome. Know this devastating disease can be avoided with timely vaccinations! Please send good thoughts Tex’s way and keep on rooting for him! If you can help with the cost of his care, visit www.ragom.org to make a donation.