Rescues

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Have you lost a dog?

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010


The poster was sort of like this, the same words and a nice looking Cairn.

On a poster,  the poster that helped start a week long  influx of Rescue opportunities and questions, early in March, following a year with very few Rescues.

The poster showed up in a small Post Office out near the Delta. I wonder if it was near the Wanted posters.  This poster read ”Have you lost a dog?” , the picture of very nice looking Cairn Terrier  and a contact phone number.  A club member just happened in the PO, saw the poster, took down the number and called me. I called the number and that adventure started.

Well, we will get back to that poster and that dog later.

But first, lets look at all of the Rescue questions and placements that came in during the last few days.

Cairn sized but what a nose!

1) Pippin, picked up by another breed group who decided he looked more Cairn than Scottie.
They were eager to pass him on.
We took him in.

Muffin

2) This e-mail showed up – “Muffin is a very happy, loving, and energetic dog. She is terrific with both people and other dogs, as I mentioned, she has proven impossible for me to completely house train. Perhaps the issue is me, perhaps it is the dog, but either way things are no longer working. I think she would do best with a family that can give her more attention and patience than I can provide…”

Sam - Ears are down but she could be a Cairn

3)I got an e-mail from another Cairn owner who had seen a picture of this dog and thought it looked like a Cairn. It included this note from the owner of the dog, Sam ” I was referred to you by xxx.  I have a border terrier mix that I would like to consider re-homing.  I was wondering if you had ideas on how/where to do this – I’m at a loss and want to make sure she gets into the right home.”

4) Another e-mail showed up later in the same week.  ”I am looking for a home for a stray I found (in the rain around Eastridge Mall in San Jose), that seems to be a Cairn or Norwich Terrier.  I’ve attached a picture.  I’ve tried to find his owner and no luck.  He’s about 15-20lbs, not fixed (yet) and seems to be in very good health and has no major (or even minor) behavioral problems, aside for some basic training and maybe some potty-refresher training.  From the condition of his teeth, he’s less than 2 years old, I’m sure.  His teeth are perfect and white with no decay.  I need to place him in a no-kill shelter, as I do not want this dog put down.  He’s truly a kindred spirit and deserves a chance.  I’m desparate and running out of time.  I already have a terrier mix and 2 cats in a 700 sq ft condo and can’t take any more.  Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.”

5) On Friday, I got a call from a shelter out in the Valley, they have a neutered male that is available for Rescue but not for adoption, just yet. No pictures yet.

6) Another e-mail from my Rescue InBox about the same time – “… regarding the puppy my mother would like to find a good home for.  He is a pure bred male, wheaten in color, has had all of his shots and is in good health.  He was born 10-23-09 and was purchased from a woman in El Dorado Hills.  I have been unable to contact her by searching both phone listings and web searches.  Duffy (the puppy) is very aggressive and bites and chews everything but he can also be very playful and affectionate.  My mother has tried various training techniques but has been unsuccessful in correcting the biting and chewing behavior – he is too much for her to handle.  He is partially housebroken, the rainy weather has prevented full training.  She has worked on paper training him as well.  We would appreciate your help in finding him a new home.  I can be reached at …..  My mother has hearing problems so it is best if you call me.  Thanks for your help.”

More on Duffy later…

7) Finally, on Monday, one of our breeders called.  She lives out in the county.  Some neighbor  may have had an issue with the number of dogs she has.  A county person showed up to look around and he said the dogs need to be licensed with the county.  He was quickly informed that all the dogs have always been licensed in the county and should not be an issue.  Well, they are just over due by a couple of weeks.  Normally, this should not be an issue, pay the fee for the new year and renew the license.  But either the pressure from anti-dog groups or the pressure to add  fee income to the General Fund had resulted in a major change in fees for  licensing of dogs in this county.  If the dogs are still in the show ring, the fee is $40/dog, not small change but maybe workable, if you still showing them in the ring.  However, if there is no immediate evidence the dogs are being shown and they are not altered, the fee is $150/dog.  These license  fees are simply too high for this breeder to manage.  Vet fees to alter the dogs would run $150+ for the males and $400+ for the females.  So, she is considering placing three  of her dogs.   Rescue could be a resource for a list of potential adopters.

So thats the background of our work by the second week of March in my small Rescue world.  Seven dogs to deal with or sort out.  Here is the progress as we move through the list, thanks in large part to the club members who stepped up, my Rescue Reserves.

1) Pippin has been placed.

3)A trip to see the #3 dog, Sam,  revealed a dog that may have some Cairn in her but she isn’t a Cairn.  In person she looks less like a Cairn than the picture suggests. I left the owner some options for placing her but she is now having 2nd thoughts.  This time I won’t take her problem for her, she gets to make the decision.

4) The dog in San Jose took a bit of  time. I had one of my Rescue Reserves try to make contact, she tried all weekend, no luck.  With Pippin gone, by Monday we had room  and could take this dog in if necessary.  But first, I wanted someone close to look at him to be sure he is a Cairn. Several calls were made with no response.  Finally this Monday morning, the lady answered my phone call, she was gone for the weekend and left the dog with a friend.  When she came back, she decided to keep the dog.  I reminded her that she could always contact me if there was an issue.  Things change all the time, I guess he is now able to fit in with that terrier mix and 2 cats in a small condo.  I won’t be surprised if I get another phone call in a couple of weeks.

5) The dog at the Valley Shelter, I contacted everyone who was on my list that might be close enough to look at this dog.  Trying to utilize my Rescue Reserves.  As always, the  people who might know better look at miscellaneous little fur balls and still ID suspect dogs as Cairns. (See the note about Buddy below.)  I have learned to be suspicious of dogs I can’t see.  The one person who was close enough to the shelte rjust couldn’t get there in time so we had to wait over the weekend.  Today, a phone call to the shelter confirmed that they  had “placed our little Cairn”.  I have no idea if this was a Cairn or not.  Trying to get some one to look them over before we commit can take several phone calls and a few days. This time it didn’t work but at least we know he has a home even if we don’t know he is a Cairn.

2)Muffin, this is the dog that has been a trying test for her owner.   He couldn’t completely housebreak her.  I asked him to contact the breeders since he said she was AKC registered.  I eventually found out I knew the names the breeders and over the past 5 years, both have died.  The ball is in my court now.  I told him I was working on it but on Friday I got a message of complete frustration. “I took her out for 20 minutes, walked and waited, then as soon as the elevator door closed, she squatted right there and peed on the floor”.  I sent a calming note but resumed my search for an adopter this dog with a little more zeal.  She moved to the top of my list of concerns.  Frustration can give bad results.  After many phone calls, I had two different people who were interested.  Since this would be an owner to owner, I just shared contact information.  Over the weekend I had several calls from one of the people who was interested but couldn’t make  contact.   Muffin now has a new home with  a  lady who experienced  enough to understand that getting a puppy is not realistic for people as they get old, both from the standpoint required training and from the constant hands on attention puppies need.  Not everyone understands that.

Remember the note above from the person who wants to place a puppy her mother has, Duffy?  Well, the e-mail address looked familiar.  I looked back at old rescue requests and sure enough, months before, there it was. I had gotten a request for a rescue dog for this lady’s mother.  I remember not wanting to place the rescue dog I had in house at the time.  The lady was over 80 and I was sure an active dog would have been too much for her.  I didn’t have any older sedentary dogs.  It is too bad that she insisted on getting a puppy.

From the note –…(Duffy)is very aggressive and bites and chews everything but he can also be very playful and affectionate…unsuccessful in correcting the biting and chewing behavior… too much for her to handle….partially housebroken.   I want to scream “He’s a 5 month old puppy”.  He isn’t aggressive, “He’s a 5 month old puppy”.  Puppies chew everything, including fingers.  Of course he isn’t completely house broken, “He’s a 5 month old puppy”.

On to chapter 2 of this Duffy adventure, I had a lady and her daughter come in to look at Pippin while I still had him.  It was clear to her that Pippin would be too much dog for her little Yorkie mix.  So, she took a pass, however I always keep names of potential adopters.  As I moved through my list, making calls for all of the dogs that suddenly invaded my Rescue space, her name came back up.  I called and gave her the contact number of the lady with the puppy.  She was very excited about the possibility.  Then, she was disappointed to learn that the puppy had been placed with a friend.  But wait!  A return phone call  a day later revealed that the new people already had a houseful but were just willing to help out their friend.  Given the information about someone else being really interested in the puppy, they quickly decided to surrender their new puppy to the lady on my list.  She was thrilled, she had to leave town for the weekend but by noon on Monday, I got a call, “I have the puppy!”   Duffy, now McDuff, is in a new home. Great and one more off of my list.

That gets me back to the dog at the top of the posting. Buddy, the subject of the poster. Not the dog in the picture on the poster, that is my dog.  Still,  it is because of the picture of a perfect Cairn that we, CTCNC Cairn Rescue became involved.  Why was a picture of a Cairn in the  poster?  Well, remember the remark I made about people who should know better?  The lady found this little guy under a dumpster in the pouring rain, took him in, got him cleaned up and fed.  After trying unsuccessfully to find an owner, she took him to her vet to get his shots and to neuter him.  She has no plans of keeping him but she knows what he needs.  While there, the vet told her it looked like a Cairn.  If the vet said he looked like a Cairn, he has to be a Cairn.  Not having a photo of this little guy, now named “Buddy“, she got a picture off the Internet and made her poster with it.  It is this picture of a nice looking Cairn that attracted the attention of a club member.

"Buddy"

Again, the Rescue Reserves went into action, a couple with a home near the dog went for a visit and took a camera. They met a very cute, energetic little guy, with a harsh coat but those ears , that face, and that tail don’t belong to a Cairn. Conversations with Border Terrier people suggests that he is a mix or a Border Terrier from a breeder who isn’t really interested in the look of the breed.  He does show excellent Earthdog instincts, typical of all Borders.

Today, “Buddy” is still with the lady who rescued him and brought him in from the rain but she is looking for someone who wants to adopt this fine little man. If you are interested, just send me a note. If they have children that want a dog to play with, “Buddy” is more than willing to take on that task.    As soon as I hear about any change in his status, I will update this blog.

Finally, that takes us to the last dogs on my list, the three dogs which the breeder wants to place.  I have sent one e-mail out and I have given her a list of possible adopters.  While I am not in the process directly, I will stay in touch to see what happens with these three purebred Cairns.  For now, it looks like two of them have homes lined up. They are not part of Rescue but they are on the list of dogs I follow to placement.

It’s been a short year but we have already surpassed the work done last year.  Of the the Even with all of this, Cairn Rescue had only been directly involved with a couple of dogs, one non-Cairn is looking for a home, and one purebred is on a short list to be placed.  All of the others have homes.  With an open slot today, I just wait for the next e-mail or phone call about a dog, or a poster in a Post Office about a Cairn that need to be placed in a loving home.

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From Champ, with love.

Monday, June 15th, 2009

Hi Terry:

Want to let you know that Champ is doing just fine. Has he had Heartgard? If so, when? If not, I’ll start him inasmuch as his test is clear.

We had a battle yesterday morning, and guess who won? We were walking and he was in the act of lifting a leg against some vine, and like a shot he was into the vine before I could stop him. He definitely had something in his mouth and I told him to drop it. Naturally he didn’t. So I grabbed him snarling at me, and held him down by his harness and opened his mouth, almost. No way was he going to open that mouth. Finally, I got it open, and finally fished out what he had picked up. A chicken breast bone. So he learned who was in charge, snarling and all. After that we calmly proceeded on our walk.

He is a neat dog and I am very happy to have him. He can’t chew his itches, so the raw areas are getting better. Also, I had medication from before and that has helped to heal it. We are getting along just fine. The cats, he ignores them and they ignore him. Found out he loves to play in the hose when I am spraying down the flowers. I wondered if he has been swiming? Anyway, last night, at my daughter’s, my granddaughter (who is a wheel chair person) and I were talking and I told her about how he loves to play in the water and he probably would swim. It suddenly dawned on me that they had a pond. He was outside with there Jack Russel Terrier (Rascal) and Rascal was standing looking into the pond. I took off and sure enough, he was in the pond and didn’t know how to get out. He was clawing at the edge when he saw me. I reached in and pulled, and out he came. He didn’t mind at all, then he and Rascal went back to chasing each other. He also ignored the cats at my daughter’s. He and Rascal had a tremendous time. He is in whatever room I go to, following close. I think you are right about someone trying to debark him. I guess I was meant to have him.

About a month later:

Thought I’d give you an update on Champ.

Champ is a GREAT dog! What a personality he has. The first couple of days, he didn’t demonstrate too much, but as he became surer of his surroundings and the house and the yard and the long morning and short evening walks, the more he blossomed. We’ve had a couple of tussles, like the chicken bone episode (and if there is a chicken bone somewhere in the grass, he’ll find it, so we stay out of the park and I watch his little nose like a hawk). But now he has learned already, what is allowed and what is not. What an intelligent guy he is.

His scratching has stopped and his hair is growing back in the areas he had chewed raw. He wore the cone while in the house for about a week, and although it is handy, it hasn’t been required since. He sleeps on the foot of the bed. I have him on a allergy diet, grain free. His weight is down to 20#. We had two housebreaking problems, done while I brushed my teeth in the morning, so now as soon as my feet hit the floor, out he goes. No more problem. At first he ignored the washed stuffed animal basket, but now he picks out what he wants and tosses it about. He has a blast barking at the dogs in the park behind the property. He loves to play in the hose when I am watering, but I must be careful not to drown him in his enthusiasm.

I would like to encourage those who are reluctant to go for a “used” dog to believe. Believe that they need a real home, they need proper food, attention and know that they are loved. Everything else will fall in place. I’ve been obtaining rescue dogs and cats since 1980, I’ve not regretted a single one.

Thank you for Champ.

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How old is too old?

Thursday, May 21st, 2009

Guess what? I’m not talking about how old a dog is, I’m talking about how old an adopter or owner is.  It is a tricky question, I’ve seen the many sides of it.

My wife has already dictated that there will be no more puppies in our pack.  Our youngest Cairn is closing in on 9.  If we got another puppy, it would live well into my 80′s and she doesn’t think we would have the capacity to deal with a Cairn at that age.  A part of the issue deals with the ability to groom and walk these active little guys.  Grooming requires flexible hands and the use of small grooming tools, arthritic hands can present a formidable barrier to holding the grooming tools for any extended period of time.  Since I don’t do the major part of the grooming, my vote has less value.  The whole issue is whether or not we could deal with younger dogs when they are more active and we are less so.

As you may know, most reputable breeders will take back “their” dogs if the owner needs to surrender them for some reason.  That is why Rescue will always ask the question when someone wants to surrender a dog. “Who is the breeder?’  The breeder still feels that the dog is theirs and wants to make sure it is properly taken care of.  A few years back, one of our club members who was still actively breeding, in a very small way, had a dog that was 14 years old returned.  Being a thoughtful breeder, he looked at the 14 year old that was returned, looked at his breeding stock, and did the math.  He immediately decided that he had bred his last litter.  At his age, well into his 70′s, and not in the best health, he wanted to be sure all of his dogs would have a home to come to.  He didn’t like making that decision but he felt that there was no other option from an ethical standpoint.  He loves his dogs, he loves the breed, deciding to not have any more puppies was a courageous decision.

On the other side of the same issue, I have seen breeders who couldn’t make that decision.  The love for the breed and a life time of living with and caring for these dogs can fog the decision making process.  As their health deteriorates, as their mental capacity disappears, their ability to care for their current pack disappears.  Then, add to that a delay in the decision to neuter dogs in the pack and soon an unplanned litter shows up.  The issues and problems compound.   The problems can multiply faster than the dogs and the ability to deal with them drops off dramatically.

But this blog is about Rescue, not breeders.   Well, what is the connection?

How old is too old for someone to adopt a dog?  Hmm. I guess it depends on the person, their mental and physical status, the age of the dog, and what other options I have when I am trying to place a specific dog.

The case in hand is “Champ”.  This little guy has had two visits with potential adopters, plus a visit from another dog, and after more than 50 days, he is still here.  On the plus side, his weight is falling into line, he is already under 23#.  Within the next month, he should be at the goal of 19-20# and a lot healthier for it.  He hasn’t shown any adverse effects from the harsh diet.  He doesn’t know it but there is real food in his future.

He tried his first sleepover after a prior visit from the potential adopter, who brought along her alpha bitch to see if they could get along.  They got along  just fine in our backyard.  After a weekend of mulling over the placement , he was sent off to be the member of a small pack.  Sadly, it didn’t last through the first night.  While they gotten along here, in our back yard, the alpha took exception to Champ lusting after her empty food dish, on her home grounds.  New home grounds, new rules. In the tussle, she suffered a wound to her foot.  Given that she would always be the alpha in that pack, we decided that she shouldn’t have to  live with the turmoil that the Champs was likely to generate over time.  So, he was quickly back home with his buddies.

One more attempt to place him looked good on paper and during the interview.  Over time, his sleepover introduced some tension between the couple that wanted to adopt him.  In my book, family always comes before the dog, I will find another adopter, so regretfully, he came back.

Champ had issues with their neighborhood community park and event center which backed onto their property.  It is very active, and some time things are going on at night.  Champ had to continually tell everyone that he owned all that he could see and they didn’t ask his permission to be there. Why didn’t they understand that? Bark, bark.

Part of the criteria for him to be adopted was that they wanted a dog with personality.  That he had, that he brought with him, in spades, but he also brought a penchant for constantly licking anyone who showed him any attention.  Like the cat that knows who the cat hater in a room is  and then rubs against them or jumps in their lap, Champ knew who really loved him and who was just putting up with him.  You can guess who he picked to use as his favorite licking block.  Early in this visit, I had gotten a small clue, well, maybe not a clue but at least a hint that something might not be perfect in Champelot.  I had placed two phone calls to check on his status after he went out, one the next day and then another about 3 days later.  Both times, the Licking Block answered the phone.  The calls were both very short, “yes, he is doing fine”, ” yes, he has enough personality”.  Usually these followup calls will get a very effusive response about the great little dog.  It didn’t happen with  Champ.

While I was disappointed, after the fact, I can recognize the issue. Excessive barking, night time barking, extreme licking were the reasons given but the real reason was that in a couple, both people need to be committed to a project dog or the dog  will always be represent a reason why the  two of them might  not agree with each other, about anything.  It was a good thing that the couple decided early on that he didn’t fit .  It is sad that he came back, but  he didn’t care, his buds are here.  And, we will find a good home for him.

It took all of 2 days for another call. This would just be a visit.  The couple lived in an area I would call “the country”.  Sounds like a good place for a barker.  While I didn’t consider him a problem barker if there is not an outside stimulus, I needed to remember his last placement issues.  I told the couple about his last placement and all of the problems  mentioned .  None were issues for them, they still wanted to come and visit and to asked to bring along their large dog, a border collie/Labrador mix.

We met in the park.  Champ did the typical Cairn vs Large Black Dog thing.  Still, the two of them managed to get past that, accepting of each other’s presence over time although not exactly friends.  So, I made offered to let their dog meet the rest of the pack at my home, in the back yard.  I walked over and they brought their dog.  Before LBD could get pat the side yard, Champ had to demonstrate to his packmates that he had a prize to show them.  He succeeded in getting them all riled up, actually tried to get to the LBD’s  hind quarters before being rolled by the LBD.  The visit was extremely brief, the LBD never got all the way to the backyard.

That could have been the end of the story butthe way I read the people, they just didn’t seem put off about the dog issues, they actually left while telling me that they were considering him but they would let me know.  Finally, I did get an e-mail which declined the offer to adopt him but their reason reflected a well considered reaction.  Barking, no issue, licking, no issue, harsh interaction with their dog, no issue, the issue was expressed by the lady who watched me deal with Champ at he park.  She would be the principal care giver, and her comment was “I would not be able to be as forceful as needed since he is so strong willed.”   A very honest evaluation.  She did say they would keep looking but a terrier would no longer be on their list. (Probably the same for the first couple.)

Too add to Champ’s tale, yesterday, my wife went out to the garage and spotted more tuffs of hair on the floor and a new area of pink skin showing on his haunch.   It isn’t fleas, not likely to be his diet given it’s blandness, could be boredom but not likely with 3 pack mates.  Maybe he just likes to scratch.  I don’t know.

Wait, what has all of this to do with “How old is too old?”?

The next call was from a lady who had adopted a dog directly from a prior owner which I had facilitated.  After a long year with a variety of health issues, her little guy had recently died of pancreatitis.  (My brother’s Cairn died suddenly of the same disease, so I had a personal connection with it.)

I knew from her e-mail that her little guy had received extensive vet care.   This is good, experienced with Cairns and willing to commit to Cairns. I got a follow up e-mail and then I made the phone call.  But first, I had one question that had to be answered.

“I see from your e-mail that you are 81 years old.  This dog is 5 years old and will be around for another 10 years.  What will happen when you are no longer able to care for him?”

“I have talked to my children, both are dog lovers and they have already agreed to take care of my dogs if I can no longer do it.  He won’t be put back in Rescue. He will always have a home.”

Super, she had already made arrangements before we had talked.  My favorite kind of response.  I invited her over.  She drove over, using a GPS to find me.  Another plus,  active and willing to still engage the world.  I gave her the latest news about Champ and his hair removal system, reviewed the barking and licking issues, plus anything else I could think of.   She went out back and evaluated Champ, I talked to her and evaluated her.  The hair loss was simply not an issue, she had been through it with the last dog and had the meds, the vet, and the Elizabethan collar.   She had been around German Shepherd rescues for 30 years.  She had Cairn experience.  She was active and ready to take on this project dog.  While we were on the outside deck, he tried to force his way past me, she quickly and forcefully corrected him, for his benefit, not mine.  Things are looking up.

Champ for his part, gave her an initial lick, just because, but he had one more thing in his resume to impress her with.  This lady has 3 cats, Champ demonstrated his acceptance of cats by walking right by our curious, 1 year old male cat, without blinking an eye.  There are other important things for him to deal with in daily life, c*ts are sort of OK.

Then tere was that last detail that impressed  me, Champ was put in a harness, placed in a doggie booster seat, seatbelted in, off to a new life.  All of the canned pumpkin, non-fat cottage cheese,and rice cereal were in his grocery bag, at his side.

So,” How old is too old?’

It depends, the bar gets higher as the years advance but with proper preparation, we may be able to work something out.  It depends on the person, their mental and physical status, the age of the dog, and what other options I have when I am trying to place a specific dog.  As always, it is about the dog, not the adopter.

May they grow old together.

( As a side note, a form authorizing the handling of your dogs if you are no longer able to take care of them is available on ctcnc.net.)

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One month and waiting…

Sunday, April 26th, 2009

Champ has been here for a month now and he is still waiting.  He is slow about giving up his extra pounds.  He has dropped close to 4# which is a lot but he has more to give up.  He has taken one good road trip to Ft. Bragg at Easter and survived that.  He did come back with fleas which created a separate problem.  He is apparently very sensitive to them and before I realized what was going on, he had removed hair from both sides of his waist.

We made the trip to the vet the next day because it never crossed my mind that he might have fleas.  My guys had a prior dose of Frontline Plus.  We are generally flea free around here and I thought I had treated him but apparently I did not.  The vet had given him a shot to alleviate itching 9 days prior so he was immediately suspicious and he flipped Champ over and found the first hitchhiker.  It could happened at Ft. Bragg, there are dogs there, we visited a dog park, plus my wife takes in bottle baby kitties and the fleas may have come in with the first litter of the year, who knows?   Still,I felt embarrassed that I had missed the cause but the solution was easy.  He got one more shot just to be sure he didn’t scratch too much and then I went home and broke out the Frontline.  I didn’t want to take a chance so everyone got dosed.

Champ at 24# and a bald spot

His pink bald spot is now black but the new hair is coming in.

The itching has stopped but the hairless patches are still evident.  It will take a couple of months before enough hair comes back in to cover them up.  But, it will happen, it is just hair.

We tried one sleepover with a potential adopter.  This should have been an ideal home but…  Champ is a very loving dog, willing to get along if the pack leader takes charge, unless there is a food issue.  I guess anyone who is being held on a very restricted diet might have an issue with food.  Anyway, this time, it was not the food so much as he went to the empty dish of the alpha bitch,who rightfully insisted it was her dish, and a tussle ensued.  Not a good thing because in that household, no one is allowed to challenge her.  Those are house rules and all dogs need to understand that house rules come before pack rules.  It may have worked out anyway but the  alpha  bitch was just too upset with his presence.  As a result, he came back before the first night.  We tried, but he is happy being back with his pack.

He has been part of another adventure, also.  The dogs can’t get access to underneath the house but the platform used to raise the heater off the garage floor does connect to the flooring so that there is an air flow from under the house into the garage.  It isn’t big but it does make visitors to the underhouse aromatically visible to terriers.  Anyway, the dogs have been raising hell with that area off and on.  There is no doubt that some creature has set up camp under the house.  I have no reason to go under there, it is just not easily accessible.  The only access is through a closet floor and it is a rather cramped place.  In the Spring, it could still be quite damp from the winter rains.  I only go there if necessary.  I do try to keep the side vents in place but some creature, probably a terrier, has systematically removed those that are on the side away for the garage.  I try to replace them on occasion but recently, the underhouse monster has literally thrown one aside and has stripped out some insulation I had put under the kitchen area years ago.  I found clumps of insulation tossed outside that vent,next to some rose bushes, and the dogs couldn’t done that.  I have suspicions but you never know for sure.

Looking for the underhouse beast.

The wallboard has be reduced by terriers seeking the underhouse beast.

Anyway, in the past week, my guys have killed 4 separate baby possums, on different nights, and brought them into the garage to show me.  Now, Riley, the old man is surely the hunter in chief but late  yesterday afternoon, my laid back pretty boy, Declan, kept going on for a long time but I looked but I never saw anything until I went into the garage in the early evening, before dinner and the prize was laid out on the floor and everyone was ignoring it.

I do have to tell you that I did have a major concern the other night.  I have a HavaHart live trap and I set it outside the vents on the other side of the house, protected from the dogs.  I was hoping for a possum mother in it come morning.  Over the years, I have caught 7 or 8 of them and released them in the wild, across the freeway so the traffic would protect us from further invasion.  About 9:30PM, the strong odor of skunk came wafting through the screen door.  I didn’t look that night, nothing I could do at night and I really didn’t want to know what might be in the trap.  In the morning, thankfully, the trap was empty and the skunk was just a wandering aroma, not a visitor.  Today, after 4 nights, the trap is still empty, the dog biscuit is still there but the peanut butter seems to be gone.  I may try a different bait the next time.

Where does Champ fit into this, well, aside from going in the bark and growl fest at the underhouse beast, his need for protein kicked in the other day.  Riley was in the garage strutting around with this possum child hanging from his mouth, he wouldn’t give it to me, that is a Riles trait.  At one point, he decided that I might have something else he liked so he dropped it in his crate to set aside for later crowing.  Champ was ever vigilant and immediately snagged it.  There was a small chase as Riles insisted it was his, it wasn’t a big scene, just one tug of war which Champ won.  As I approached Champ, his need for protein kicked in, damn the diet, he wanted to eat it.  He settled down and started to chomp down. I didn’t want him to add those calories so I went after him.  I told him to stop, he did.  I told him to Give, to my amazement, for a dog who doesn’t seem to understand Sit, he simply dropped it, right on command.  I disposed of it, thanked Champ for his diligence but no treat.  Extra loving doesn’t come with calories.

So, for those who have the problem, if they are looking for a dog who will be willing to help reduce the rodent problem, Champ is still here and waiting for you to call.  And, just so I don’t forget, he loves to kill the water coming out of a hose or a sprinkler.

Champ after the attack of the killer hose.

Champ after the attack of the killer hose.

Earlier, I sent out e-mails to 15 different people who expressed recent interest in getting a Cairn.  I got a single response asking where he was in residence but nothing else,o follow up.  A later inquiry didn’t work out, for good reason, the couple is older and a they need a calmer dog.  Another inquiry was put off by his size, their current Cairn is a petite female and they had issues with mega Cairn, all more the reason to get his weight down.

So, our mega earthdog in training is still here and waiting…

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