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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.)

Posted in Rescues | 2 Responses »
Tags: Champ, Rescue, too old

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.

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.

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.

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…

Posted in General, Rescues | No Responses »
Tags: Champ, Rescue

“there’s a dog at…”

Thursday, April 9th, 2009

It is hard to explain to some people what and why we do what we do. Everyone has their own notion of what Rescue is. To some it is “there’s a dog at.. on the Internet at …, go and get it.” To some, it is “save them all”. To some it is “take care of the poor dog”. To some it is “take care of my problem”. We are some of those, we are none of those. We certainly are not the people to collect and try to place each and every dog that shows up on some web site, which might be a Cairn or a close relative.

In our small rescue world, we deal with Cairn terriers only. There is a whole world of rescue groups to deal with other dogs and other sizes. In fact, the size of dog we deal are part of what is frequently called the Under 25 list, that is a list of dogs that are under 25 pounds. Dogs in that size range are frequently easier to place. Many rescue groups will gladly take in dogs in this size range. There are a few Rescue groups that use placing dogs as a source of personal profit, in that case, a small purebred dog is like free money. We will never hear from them. Sometimes Cairns are referred to us by other groups or agencies but just as often they aren’t. Sometimes agencies recognize that we will take special care with a Cairn that they are struggling with and they will call. Sometimes we will just let them know we are out there and willing to help. Some times it is just a “come and get him”, sometimes we end up paying the same fees that an adopter will. But, if called, we will go and get the dog. Finally, there are a few shelters which only hold dogs for a short period of time, we depend largely on local people to advise us of those situations. If we hear about that kind of situation, we move quickly to get the dog.

Back to my subject, what it is that we do. We will rescue or take in a Cairn terrier when there is an overriding need, or if we are that single available contact. We do not go out looking for them, in person or via the Internet. Once we have taken a dog in, then the next part of our job starts because we want to be sure that Cairn terriers get placed in homes where they will be loved and not returned.

To some extent, that means we are not the Be All, End All for Cairn terrier rescue. We will not take in every Cairn terrier identified at every possible source. If an identified Cairn terrier is being held by an agency which is very capable of placing the dog with a good home, we simply don’t become involved. What we will do in that case is to figure out if we have had a request from someone who might have an interest in that dog and we will notify them of the situation but that certainly doesn’t mean that we are the only ones capable of doing that task. There are plenty of agencies which are very capable of doing that. We do have some specialized insight into the behavior of terriers, especially Cairns but someone else can figure that out, too.

Yesterday, I got a note from a club member who frequently works with us in Rescue in her area. “Hi, I thought I would let you know in case you have had inquires that there is cairn at the __ SPCA. Dogs are pretty safe there but I will keep an eye on him.” That is the kind of note I really appreciate. 1) she gave me a link so I could see a picture and read about the dog, 2) she has enough confidence in the agency to feel that they will do a good job in making a placement, 3) she will keep an eye on him and let me know if things change.

Jocko (4-7-09)

The first thing I did after looking at the link was to contact someone locally who was looking for a Cairn terrier. This is someone who has told us they are interested in adopting a Cairn and they have filled our our Request form and they look like a good match. The link says he is a mix but his picture belies that. With luck, our potential Rescuer will make a contact with the agency and end up with a fine looking dog. It is encouraging that the agency does a temperament test and they have evaluated this dog so he will be placed with caveats. We will not have handled the dog but we may very well may have facilitated and adoption. If it all works out, we have helped a fine looking Cairn terrier get placed in a home where he will be loved and not returned and some person has had their Cairn terrier itch scratched.

So, Rescue doesn’t always mean we have to have the dog in hand. In some cases, our job is only to sort through a list of potential adopters and try to find that right name, the right match to put the right dog in the right place. Sometimes it means that we made a guess and didn’t guess right. Sometimes it means we get lucky and a dog gets placed just because we were around. But almost always, it starts with “there’s a dog at…”.

Addendum:

I sent a note to 3-4 people in the area looking for a Cairn and told them about the dog in the picture. One replied immediately. She went in, decided that Jocko is a mix, but still liked him. She was seriously thinking of taking him home. While she was dithering about starting the adoption process, she walked down the aisle and spotted a wheaten Cairn male in another cage. He has been waiting for a permanent friend for 3 weeks. Bottom line, a 9 year old male is in the adopting process and will soon share a home with a little female who is pining for a departed kennel mate. Jocko is a nice looking and much younger dog, the SPCA will see that he gets a good home. This older boy has been waiting and the right person just showed up. A good day for Rescue.

Sometimes it means that we made a guess and didn’t guess right. Sometimes it means we get lucky and a dog gets placed just because we were around. But almost always, it starts with “there’s a dog at…”.

Posted in General, Rescues | 1 Response »
Tags: Cairn terrier, Cairn terriers only, Rescue

“He has papers”

Monday, March 30th, 2009

On occasion, some one will drop off a dog and say, “She has papers.” I will ask if they have contacted the breeder, it usually turns out they were never in contact with a breeder, but rather with just the seller. For most of these people, the puppy sellers, the puppy is a way to make a buck, just a commodity. Giving the new owner a certificate or other paperwork that shows the puppy as being registered with some group makes the puppy more valuable, or so it seems. Actually, the papers don’t do that, the parentage, the lines the puppy comes from, the pedigree makes the puppy more valuable.

If you Google “Dog Registry”, you will find many sites to get “papers” for a dog. Some are breed specific, some are for breeds or variants not recognized by AKC. Some serve a purpose for their breed or group beyond a registration. Some are just a place to buy papers. Those are sites that will gladly take your money so you can say your dog has “papers”.

At it’s core, AKC, The American Kennel Club, is simply a dog registry. But AKC is much more than that, and because their registration has enforceable guidelines, there is a specific value to being in their registry. In addition to the registry, they serve the dog world with a variety of services. They put on a very wide range of events, including most large, recognized dog shows. They offer you much more that a place to get “papers”. However, even those who are in the business of selling dogs for a profit can register litters with AKC if they meet the requirements.

So, AKC registration does not give your dog special powers. Even though the person selling the dog uses tones that suggest the AKC papers are as valuable as an original Gutenberg Bible, they aren’t. However, having a dog registered with AKC will give you the chance to look at their pedigree, their heritage, to see what kind of stock the puppy comes from. Ideally, you will want to see a recurring line of Champions in the line. Not every dog in the line needs to be a champion, but there should be a number of them back through the generations if you expect your dog to represent the breed, to measure up to the standard the judges use to evaluate dogs. Some dogs in the line won’t be a Champion, there may be some variation from the standard that is not genetic, something in their makeup that does not affect their ability to parent a quality pup. There are some excellent dogs that just don’t show well. There are also some champions that later show less than desirable traits. Having a dog with “papers” and quality in the pedigree will increase your chances of having a good dog. Just having “papers’ is just a talking point.

Champ as a young guy.

Just short of 3 months into the new year, we finally have a new rescue in residence. “Champ” comes with “papers”. But when the young lady, Lydia, who had to surrender him handed me a sheaf of materials, she never mentioned that he had “papers”. She was only concerned that she had to give up a great and loving dog. “Champ”, AKC registered, (Does that make him an AKC Champion?), is here but he probably won’t be here too long. All indications are that he comes from a very good place and the decision to release him to rescue is a good one. That is, he isn’t being released because he is or has a significant problem. On first glance, there is one issue to deal with, and it is obvious to the untrained eye. This young man comes in at 27#, my guess is that he will trim down to a 18-19#.

So, his origins, it looks like he came from a local puppy seller, that is someone who sells puppies to make money. Lydia has had him since 8 weeks old. He is now 5 1/2 yrs. old. He is active, eager, healthy and full of himself. He came to us because Lydia got a new job and, after 9 months of looking, she has not been able to find a place with a yard that fits her budget as a school teacher on the Peninsula. She did not feel it was right to keep this young guy in an apartment all day.

One side benefit for me, we have a dog next door that is a young female herding dog. She is a constant barker. My guys just ignore her when she barks. She doesn’t ignore me, as soon as I drive up, I hear the greeting bark. If I go outside, I hear a bark. If I open the back door, I hear a bark. If I try to work in the back yard, I hear a bark. That constant bark bugs me, I know she is just a dog so I don’t yell back but the new dog in the pack, Champ, is willing to give her a piece of his mind. He seems to be working very hard to impress me and to win my approval.

Day 1- the Biggest Loser candidate

We started Champ’s diet with his first meal. You need to understand that when you have a dog that is a food hound, who eats anything moving, if you cut back his volume, he will go after anything edible around. If the other dogs are eating at the same time, he is likely to go after the other dogs’ food if he finishes first. So, his menu is designed to give him a minimal amount of “good” food and a good bit of filler so he does not finish before his pack mates. His diet is 1/8 cup of kibble, two large tablespoons of canned pumpkin, two large tablespoons of non-fat cottage cheese, a large handful of dry rice krispies, and a number of raw carrots. When he faced that dish the first time last night, he wasn’t sure. He immediately pulled two small carrots and spit them off to the side but as he advanced through his meal, he found a large carrot which he happily chewed up. By tonight, he will be eating all of it. He’s a dog, he will eat anything.

Champ will be fed once a day, just like my guys, in the evening . He will get a half of a large dog biscuit when he gets up in the morning and then a strip of dried chicken breast when he goes into his crate at night. He will start to drop off those pounds quickly. Right now, his shoulders look like they belong to a pit bull. Last night, those shoulders made getting through the smaller dog door a challenge. My guys all slip through it easily. He will soon be able to get through it without a struggle. He will eventually look less like the broad shouldered pit bull and more like a slender whippet, with short legs, a harsh coat, a short upright tail, and “papers”.

Posted in Rescues | 4 Responses »
Tags: Cairn, Dog Registry, Northern Califormia, papers, Rescue

Rescue Road

Side trips down the road of rescuing Cairn Terriers in Northern California