High upkeep dogs kept by LAZY IDIOT owners

[Luddly Neddite]

VIDEO: How Does Rescued Dog Look NOW?

Its a short video with a happy ending but, I've worked in rescue my whole life and have seen this kind of neglect before. One of the vets I worked with had a fur mat tacked up on his wall to show just how bad it could be. If you do rescue, friends and neighbors get to know they can call you for help.

I got a call from a neighbor who wanted to know if I was missing a dog, that she had found a smallish dog (she trained SAR, drug sniffers, police, cadaver dogs so anything smaller than a GSD, Belgian Malinois or a bloodhound was a small dog. I used to help her clip nails. Her enormous bloodhound would flop across my lap and slobber all over me while I clipped his nails by pinning one cutting edge against the floor and putting my whole weight against it).

Anyway, I knew he wasn't one of mine but told her yes, she could bring him by. When she opened her van door, I was stunned by what I saw. This poor dog was a walking cholla cactus. We could hardly make out his face and he was unable to open his mouth.

About cholla cactus (pronounced choy-ya) - there are several different types. The worst has nicknames lie "teddy bear cholla" and "jumping cholla". Watch this video for an idea of how vicious it can be.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmhkl27I4pw]Attack of the Teddybear Cholla Cactus - YouTube[/ame]

One of my own dogs once got a mouth full and I had no choice but to put my hand in his mouth and grab. My palm was then covered and we had a hell of time getting the spines out. Both my dog and I were sore for a long time.

Anyway, we agreed I'd bring him to her place shortly (after we each had fed our own) and see if we could do some clipping and cacti removal. We pulled a grooming table outside under a light and just started in own him. Nice surprise when friends arrived - one a dog groomer, the other worked for animal control.

(The dog groomer was transgender and the ac guy was gay. A strange couple but good people and since I had no plans to ask either of them to bear my baby, I didn't really care. Not my business.)

We just whaled on that poor dog. The four of us cut and trimmed and clipped and pulled out gazillions of cacti spines. What isn't really made clear in the above video is that cholla spines have really sharp and long barbs. You barely feel the spine when it goes in but pulling it out is extremely painful and the pain lasts for a long time. (I always wondered how poor desert animals coped with them.) What we had to do was torture for him but he took it without complaint. That is, until one of us nicked his ear. He cried out and snapped but the cut wasn't bad and we just kept on.

I took him home for a long long rehab. I called him Cholla of course. He was a fear biter. If you held on to his collar or if your feet got close to him, he would fly into a really vicious attack. It wasn't a little threat of attack. I mean,

I worked with him just a few minutes several times every day. I would sit on the floor and pull him by his collar. He would fight and try to bite and all the time I was gently petting him while telling him, "you can do this, you can unlearn all the bad you lived with. You can come back from that, I know you can do this" and I would pet him and coo and reassure and on and on it went.

I would make progress only to have him try again to bite me. I have a couple of scars where he did bite me. There were days when I said I can't and won't live with a dog I'm afraid of and I'm taking him to be put down. Then, I'd talk myself into trying again tomorrow.

Then one day, I came into the bedroom to find my then 3-4 year old grand daughter on her tummy on the bed and both her hands on Cholla's collar, pulling his face toward hers. IOW, the exact thing that made this poor damaged dog attack. My heart just sank through the floor because his teeth were right in her face.

And, his tail was wagging and he was kissing her face and cuddling with her and I get goosebumps remembering that moment. He did it. He did heal from that awful time and he became the most loving and loyal friend to all of us.

Cholla was with us for another 13 years. Over time, cactus spines would work their way out of his body. I would be petting him and suddenly run into what felt like a tiny stick poking through his skin.

There were times when I could see he was having a little internal struggle about whether or not he could hold up his end of that bargain, whether or not he could be a "good dog" or throw it all off and misbehave.

One day, out walking, we came across a rattlesnake crossing the road. Cholla was the only one of the dogs to approach him. I used my "I really mean it" voice and he turned and started back to me. Then, as though "the devil made him do it", he turned to go back to the snake. I could see the internal battle and thankfully, I won. The snake went on his way and so did we.

All my animals have been throw aways like Cholla but not one of them deserved to be thrown away.

I would really like to read other's rescue stories -

 

[daveman]

What an amazing story, Luddly. God bless you for your work with animals. Truly.

We've rescued a couple of stray kittens. They've become wonderful members of the family. Abbie is a small gray DSH girl, and her brother (we think) Chessie (short for Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad -- he looked like their sleeping kitten logo when he was little) is a DMH orange tabby.

Nothing so dramatic as what you've seen, though.

 

[hjmick]

Hell of a tale, Lud. Much respect for the work you've done and do.

Those before and after videos make me want to kick someone in the balls...

I'm a dog man. I love the unconditional love and joy dogs give no matter what. Every time you come home, it's the greatest thing in the world for them.

When I was a younger man, back in high school, I lived on a small ranch in Ventura county. It was not unusual for a person to find upwards of five or six dogs on our property, most of them strays we rescued from the side of the road. Two in particular stick in my mind, and Irish Setter and a Pitbull. I loved that Setter and the Pit was one of the sweetest dogs I ever had. I never understood how those two hounds wound up as strays...

When I left home I gave up the company of dogs for a time, then my second wife and I picked up a son at the pound shortly after we got married. A year later we got him a sister from the same pound. She's still with us. He left us a year and a half ago after fifteen years. I cried more that day than when my dad died...

Earlier this year we "rescued" another dog. I say rescued with quotation marks because the dog didn't really need rescuing. My mom breeds and shows Papillons, Jake here was her favorite but she couldn't keep two males. She wanted to keep him in the family so I volunteered. Best decision ever. He has breathed new life into our old girl and he has made my wife, who suffers from depression, happier than she's been in three years.

In fact, he is sleeping on my neck as I type this...

But I ramble...

My dogs have always been less pets and more a member of the family, I've never understood treating a dog otherwise, but who am I to judge?

Anyway...

I leave you with this, a link to one of the best comic strips I've ever found that explains dogs...

My Dog: The Paradox - The Oatmeal

Enjoy.

 

[daveman]

I'm not much of a dog person, but this is an awesome quote from one of my favorite authors:

“Dogs' lives are short, too short, but you know that going in. You know the pain is coming, you're going to lose a dog, and there's going to be great anguish, so you live fully in the moment with her, never fail to share her joy or delight in her innocence, because you can't support the illusion that a dog can be your lifelong companion. There's such beauty in the hard honesty of that, in accepting and giving love while always aware that it comes with an unbearable price. Maybe loving dogs is a way we do penance for all the other illusions we allow ourselves and the mistakes we make because of those illusions.”


― Dean Koontz, The Darkest Evening of the Year

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Thank you guys -

I'm more of a cat person too but its true that dogs love us no matter what. Some slime can kick a dog every day but that dog will save his life if he's called on to do it. They're just amazing and so many of them deserve so much more than we give them.

Dave, I used to read Koontz. I felt a real affinity for him because, like me, he was badly abused as a child. His dog(s) is a golden retriever and he has put goldens in some of his books.

hjmick - what I have often thought about dogs - and some may think this is weird -

If you have heard of "sin eaters" people who would be brought to the home of a recently dead person where gobs of food would be laid out on the body. The sin eaters eat the food and in so doing, they eat the sins of the dead so they can pass over to the promised land/heaven.

A psych researcher who specializes in child abuse, Lloyd deMause, wrote that abused children serve as "poison containers" -
The History of Child Abuse

From an almost science fiction pov, dogs are like that. They can and do take all the ugliness that we humans carry around with us, they absorb it from us and make us better for their being in our lives. That's badly explained but ...

I LOVE that link.

But, really, cats are just as paradoxical.

Love the bit about how dogs will eat damn near anything but - vegetables are surely poison.

Pity the poor dog who belongs to a vegetarian. I've always taught my dogs:
"You want a broccoli treat?"
"You want a medicine treat?"
"You want a carrot to chew?"

Poor dogs. All they hear is the t- word.

We have only two rules for our dog.
One, you don't go out the front door alone.
Out of the kitchen.

That's it.

Bet you can guess what the two things he really wants are.

If he's quietly told to leave the kitchen, we get "Yeah but I just need a little teeny drink of water, please oh please can't I please have a drink?" If we open the freezer, he simply MUST have an ice cube treat, which he eats half of because the cat takes it away from him and then we find the mostly melted cold water puddle with our bare feet.

The daily walk to the mail box is his favorite thing. So is going to the vet or to the kennel. Pretty much everything is his favorite thing. I love that about dogs.

Don't know why I've written so much about critters tonight. Thanks for reading.

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

You are a wonderful blessing, Luddley. Love your rescue stories. About a week and a half ago I found a missing greyhound on the side of the highway by where I live. I saw a lost poster on the stop sign up by my end of street so I pulled the sign down and called the owner. The sign said do not chase. Good idea. Greyhounds are fast. I had to go home because I didn't have my cell phone on me. ( I rarely know where it is - don't use it really ) so I went home contacted owner and her and daughter met me on the highway where I saw him. On the way I saw my husband coming home and said, come help me rescue this grey hound. Later he said he prayed that the greyhound was not headed to our house. lol. Once out there we saw another gal we know from the cattlemans association meetings - she was out reading meters - so she pulls up and watches - the grey hound came back out of woods and after about 45 minutes to an hour we finally got the dog and he was reunited with his owner.

I thought it strange the greyhound would not come immediately to the owner but she said it was an animal she adopted and although she had her for some years the dog had never been outside like that. He had been missing 3 days when I found saw him out there. The dog chose the child as the child was afraid of all dogs after being attacked by a pit bull. So when the greyhound walked over and layed his head in her lap the little girl said this is the dog I want, Mom. That was a sweet story to me so I was glad to see them reunited.

I have my kitten, Elijah, which I rescued in the middle of the road after she got hit by the back wheel of a dulie truck 3 cars in front of me. I turned around in the middle of traffic and she was sitting on the double yellow lines. I stopped my car and told the people behind me you are going to have to wait! Then the woman behind me yelled, the cat is behind your wheel! ( the cat had run under my car when I stopped to pick it up ) so I pulled her out from behind my wheel opened the back door, dropped her in and off we went. That was several months ago. Thanks to you I was able to feed her the right foods and get her back to normal - it took a while - she was less than a pound when I found her. Her name is Elijah Ollie and the middle name I use when she is acting "normal".. She is doing good. She is as wild as they come most of the time and runs like a streak of lightning but when she is tired she is almost sweet. She had her shots a while ago and also was fixed and the people at the vet said she is a gorgeous cat. I have to agree. She is quite a sight. She is mainly an indoor cat although she will go out on the patio she is very cautious when she walks out there and usually wants to come right back inside. I think that might still be a lingering effect from her trauma of being on the road that day. I have no idea what a kitten was doing out in the middle of a highway like that but she sure was fast even then she escaped because of how fast she is.. she is spoiled rotten as you can imagine. She sleeps in my room and has beanie baby toys ( 2 ducks and a teddy bear ) she carries around in her mouth. Those are my latest rescue stories... - Jeri

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Great stories Jeri. Isn't is just the best thing when a dog picks out his own human? I really do love that. Its like the thread posted about trusting your dog's opinion of people. I swear, they do have a 6th sense about people.

Your little Elijah Ollie got very lucky that day. They can be such rascals as they work to find their place in the pecking order. Just when you are just about out of patience, they are suddenly the dearest little lover.

Our Maine coon rescue kitten is just about a year old now and pure trouble in a fur coat. Drives our other cat crazy, gets scolded and then climbs up in my lap to pur and rub and head butt. Then, next thing I hear is Brodie yelling obscenities at him again.

Brodie is the cat we found huddled against the cement wall on a bridge. Just as I got to her, she made a dive through a drainage hole. If I hadn't caught her, it was a straight shot to the water below and there would not have been anything we could have done. We named her after Steve Brodie who supposedly jumped off the Brooklyn bridge and lived. If I ever found who threw her out of their truck and tried to trow her over and into the water - I swear, I'd kill them. She was only about 6 wks old in terrible condition and her little little face was badly lacerated and swollen from hitting the cement.

Thank you for sharing your rescue stories. I hope others will as well.

 

[whitehall]

Legend has it that you don't even have touch Cholla cactus to get a painful spine. The damn things jump out at you when you come near enough. I can only imagine a dog with a mouth full of the stuff.

 

[Mr. H.]

When we lived in country, I felt like we were a rescue mission.

Folks would dump their animals either down the road at the creek or at our doorstep.

We kept many, some of which bore litters. Always managed to find homes for them... some admittedly shady but I couldn't afford to feed those hordes. Although we've moved, to this day we have a dog and a cat who would have had no homes without us. Small Brown Dog and Uppity Cat are going on 14 and 12 respectively.

Respectively yours... Mr. H.

 

[Claudette]

Kudo's to you Lud.

Man. Its heartbreaking to know some folks are either ignorant or uncaring. Good Gawd. Who could let that dog get in the conditioin he was in.

My own dogs, pound puppies everyone, are well cared for and I've more than once picked up a stray on the side of the road and found the owner.

Hats off to you my friend.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Legend has it that you don't even have touch Cholla cactus to get a painful spine. The damn things jump out at you when you come near enough. I can only imagine a dog with a mouth full of the stuff.

There are several different kinds of cholla but yep, that's the one. Its called jumping cholla because it seems like it does jump on to you. It doesn't really. You do have to touch it but the slightest touch and you're covered.

Its also called teddy bear cholla because it looks soft and harmless.

Jumping Cholla - Opuntia bigelovii

When we lived in Tucson, we had xeriscaping in our front yard. Before we got the cholla taken out, some UofA students were playing ball in the street and one poor schlub, running backward to catch the ball ran into the cholla. We had the whole neighborhood out there with combs and pliers.

When I was a kid in the outback of Colorado, I remember a cabinet at the door of the classroom that held pliers. The school was up against a big hill that was known for the porcupines. We would hear the neighborhood dogs yelping and just knew to file out and take pliers as we passed the cabinet. We'd sit on the playground and pull porcupine quills out of the dogs. I can't imagine that sort of thing happening in schools today!

 

[Luddly Neddite]

When we lived in country, I felt like we were a rescue mission.

Folks would dump their animals either down the road at the creek or at our doorstep.

We kept many, some of which bore litters. Always managed to find homes for them... some admittedly shady but I couldn't afford to feed those hordes. Although we've moved, to this day we have a dog and a cat who would have had no homes without us. Small Brown Dog and Uppity Cat are going on 14 and 12 respectively.

Respectively yours... Mr. H.

Love those names. Small Brown dog and Uppity Cat. I can picture them. Only thing is, all cats are uppity. That's why they're called cats.

I remember the days when we didn't spay or neuter. When I was a kid, I had a cat who had three kittens, three times a year.

There are a lot of dog and cat heroes like you who take in those who show up at the front door. You may have thinking you didn't want these so-called "strays" but to them, you were a true hero.

We used to have dogs dumped at our place outside Tucson. Used to make me so mad. I remember one guy who actually pulled into our long driveway and dumped out a black lab. It was hunting season and when I yelled at him, he yelled "Bitch won't hunt" an drove away. We kept her but she was always terrified of loud noise.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Kudo's to you Lud.

Man. Its heartbreaking to know some folks are either ignorant or uncaring. Good Gawd. Who could let that dog get in the conditioin he was in.

My own dogs, pound puppies everyone, are well cared for and I've more than once picked up a stray on the side of the road and found the owner.

Hats off to you my friend.

You're another hero. Adopting from a shelter saves lives.

I would like to see a litter tax charged to breeders. More than 25% of the animals in shelters are purebred and more than 85% are younger than three years old. That means we're killing young healthy animals and breeders are part of the problem.

Kudos to you too.

 

[Sunshine]

If you live in KY 'strays' come up all the time. You feed them and eventually tame them. You don't necessarily want them. I had a cat once that I named 'screamer' because he didn't meow, he screamed. Well at least until he got something it his belly. Here, not so much. Out here, they just go feral.

 

[earlycuyler]

VIDEO: How Does Rescued Dog Look NOW?

Its a short video with a happy ending but, I've worked in rescue my whole life and have seen this kind of neglect before. One of the vets I worked with had a fur mat tacked up on his wall to show just how bad it could be. If you do rescue, friends and neighbors get to know they can call you for help.

I got a call from a neighbor who wanted to know if I was missing a dog, that she had found a smallish dog (she trained SAR, drug sniffers, police, cadaver dogs so anything smaller than a GSD, Belgian Malinois or a bloodhound was a small dog. I used to help her clip nails. Her enormous bloodhound would flop across my lap and slobber all over me while I clipped his nails by pinning one cutting edge against the floor and putting my whole weight against it).

Anyway, I knew he wasn't one of mine but told her yes, she could bring him by. When she opened her van door, I was stunned by what I saw. This poor dog was a walking cholla cactus. We could hardly make out his face and he was unable to open his mouth.

About cholla cactus (pronounced choy-ya) - there are several different types. The worst has nicknames lie "teddy bear cholla" and "jumping cholla". Watch this video for an idea of how vicious it can be.
Attack of the Teddybear Cholla Cactus - YouTube

One of my own dogs once got a mouth full and I had no choice but to put my hand in his mouth and grab. My palm was then covered and we had a hell of time getting the spines out. Both my dog and I were sore for a long time.

Anyway, we agreed I'd bring him to her place shortly (after we each had fed our own) and see if we could do some clipping and cacti removal. We pulled a grooming table outside under a light and just started in own him. Nice surprise when friends arrived - one a dog groomer, the other worked for animal control.

(The dog groomer was transgender and the ac guy was gay. A strange couple but good people and since I had no plans to ask either of them to bear my baby, I didn't really care. Not my business.)

We just whaled on that poor dog. The four of us cut and trimmed and clipped and pulled out gazillions of cacti spines. What isn't really made clear in the above video is that cholla spines have really sharp and long barbs. You barely feel the spine when it goes in but pulling it out is extremely painful and the pain lasts for a long time. (I always wondered how poor desert animals coped with them.) What we had to do was torture for him but he took it without complaint. That is, until one of us nicked his ear. He cried out and snapped but the cut wasn't bad and we just kept on.

I took him home for a long long rehab. I called him Cholla of course. He was a fear biter. If you held on to his collar or if your feet got close to him, he would fly into a really vicious attack. It wasn't a little threat of attack. I mean,

I worked with him just a few minutes several times every day. I would sit on the floor and pull him by his collar. He would fight and try to bite and all the time I was gently petting him while telling him, "you can do this, you can unlearn all the bad you lived with. You can come back from that, I know you can do this" and I would pet him and coo and reassure and on and on it went.

I would make progress only to have him try again to bite me. I have a couple of scars where he did bite me. There were days when I said I can't and won't live with a dog I'm afraid of and I'm taking him to be put down. Then, I'd talk myself into trying again tomorrow.

Then one day, I came into the bedroom to find my then 3-4 year old grand daughter on her tummy on the bed and both her hands on Cholla's collar, pulling his face toward hers. IOW, the exact thing that made this poor damaged dog attack. My heart just sank through the floor because his teeth were right in her face.

And, his tail was wagging and he was kissing her face and cuddling with her and I get goosebumps remembering that moment. He did it. He did heal from that awful time and he became the most loving and loyal friend to all of us.

Cholla was with us for another 13 years. Over time, cactus spines would work their way out of his body. I would be petting him and suddenly run into what felt like a tiny stick poking through his skin.

There were times when I could see he was having a little internal struggle about whether or not he could hold up his end of that bargain, whether or not he could be a "good dog" or throw it all off and misbehave.

One day, out walking, we came across a rattlesnake crossing the road. Cholla was the only one of the dogs to approach him. I used my "I really mean it" voice and he turned and started back to me. Then, as though "the devil made him do it", he turned to go back to the snake. I could see the internal battle and thankfully, I won. The snake went on his way and so did we.

All my animals have been throw aways like Cholla but not one of them deserved to be thrown away.

I would really like to read other's rescue stories -

That's pretty sad. Not picking on you, or trying to be cute, but some restraints on that muzzle would make your life more easy. I grew up hunting pigs behing dogs. Rarely, they would be deeply cut, or would tweal this or that. I would be the wound tender because I was the youngest, fattest, and slowest. I have found that a belt from a terri cloth bath robe works great around the muzzle. It won't dig in, and provieds enough binding to protect you from bites. Its also good for hog tieing the back legs. You then pin the neck with your knee being careful to NOT strangle the dog. It sounds aweful, but some dogs don't understand you are helping them, and just do what anyone slow do if you are hurting them which is fight back. The good thing is, you eva done faster, and normally the dog gets over it and gets baxk to loveing you.

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

Great stories Jeri. Isn't is just the best thing when a dog picks out his own human? I really do love that. Its like the thread posted about trusting your dog's opinion of people. I swear, they do have a 6th sense about people.

Your little Elijah Ollie got very lucky that day. They can be such rascals as they work to find their place in the pecking order. Just when you are just about out of patience, they are suddenly the dearest little lover.

Our Maine coon rescue kitten is just about a year old now and pure trouble in a fur coat. Drives our other cat crazy, gets scolded and then climbs up in my lap to pur and rub and head butt. Then, next thing I hear is Brodie yelling obscenities at him again.

Brodie is the cat we found huddled against the cement wall on a bridge. Just as I got to her, she made a dive through a drainage hole. If I hadn't caught her, it was a straight shot to the water below and there would not have been anything we could have done. We named her after Steve Brodie who supposedly jumped off the Brooklyn bridge and lived. If I ever found who threw her out of their truck and tried to trow her over and into the water - I swear, I'd kill them. She was only about 6 wks old in terrible condition and her little little face was badly lacerated and swollen from hitting the cement.

Thank you for sharing your rescue stories. I hope others will as well.

Yes our little Elijah Ollie is that way with our other cat Queen Esther. She is a very regal cat - we call her Essie - and she just tolerates Elijah Ollie because she knows it is still a kitten but I know she will be very glad when that thing grows up! I love the story of how you rescued Brody. Brody is living the good life now! I forgot to mention I rescued all my animals actually. I rescued Queen Esther at night in a parking lot. She was running wild with a pack of cats and she just stood out to me. I said to myself, alright, if she comes to me again - that is my cat - she did and I took her home! She has been the most magnificent cat I have ever owned and has even outdone another cat we rescued named Toby ( who is now living in heaven ) so Essie is quite a comfort in my life. My Bull was kind of a rescue as he could not be put out to pasture with the wild Bulls because he was a pet Bull and wouldn't eat the grass without cutting it. I still have to cut the grass for him before he will eat it. ( he is spoiled ) He was also on a bottle and the owner wanted him to have a home where he could continue to be a pet. He is no longer on the baby bottle now. He is huge but he is still my baby. I was told by a couple of ranchers that my Bull is the most beautiful bull they have ever seen in their life. I plan on entering him in a contest at the State Fair next year. He truly is a prize bull. - Jeri p.s I am about to get another baby bull ( God Willing ) and he is black with a black and white face and is a stunning specimen of a bull. Awesome body, The Sire and the Dam Sire were both prize bulls I believe ( The owner is no. 1 breeder for Winners in my state I believe ) He looks like a ghost in the face! Incredible face! You wouldn't forget him if you saw him. That bull has presence!

 

[Luddly Neddite]

VIDEO: How Does Rescued Dog Look NOW?

Its a short video with a happy ending but, I've worked in rescue my whole life and have seen this kind of neglect before. One of the vets I worked with had a fur mat tacked up on his wall to show just how bad it could be. If you do rescue, friends and neighbors get to know they can call you for help.

I got a call from a neighbor who wanted to know if I was missing a dog, that she had found a smallish dog (she trained SAR, drug sniffers, police, cadaver dogs so anything smaller than a GSD, Belgian Malinois or a bloodhound was a small dog. I used to help her clip nails. Her enormous bloodhound would flop across my lap and slobber all over me while I clipped his nails by pinning one cutting edge against the floor and putting my whole weight against it).

Anyway, I knew he wasn't one of mine but told her yes, she could bring him by. When she opened her van door, I was stunned by what I saw. This poor dog was a walking cholla cactus. We could hardly make out his face and he was unable to open his mouth.

About cholla cactus (pronounced choy-ya) - there are several different types. The worst has nicknames lie "teddy bear cholla" and "jumping cholla". Watch this video for an idea of how vicious it can be.
Attack of the Teddybear Cholla Cactus - YouTube

One of my own dogs once got a mouth full and I had no choice but to put my hand in his mouth and grab. My palm was then covered and we had a hell of time getting the spines out. Both my dog and I were sore for a long time.

Anyway, we agreed I'd bring him to her place shortly (after we each had fed our own) and see if we could do some clipping and cacti removal. We pulled a grooming table outside under a light and just started in own him. Nice surprise when friends arrived - one a dog groomer, the other worked for animal control.

(The dog groomer was transgender and the ac guy was gay. A strange couple but good people and since I had no plans to ask either of them to bear my baby, I didn't really care. Not my business.)

We just whaled on that poor dog. The four of us cut and trimmed and clipped and pulled out gazillions of cacti spines. What isn't really made clear in the above video is that cholla spines have really sharp and long barbs. You barely feel the spine when it goes in but pulling it out is extremely painful and the pain lasts for a long time. (I always wondered how poor desert animals coped with them.) What we had to do was torture for him but he took it without complaint. That is, until one of us nicked his ear. He cried out and snapped but the cut wasn't bad and we just kept on.

I took him home for a long long rehab. I called him Cholla of course. He was a fear biter. If you held on to his collar or if your feet got close to him, he would fly into a really vicious attack. It wasn't a little threat of attack. I mean,

I worked with him just a few minutes several times every day. I would sit on the floor and pull him by his collar. He would fight and try to bite and all the time I was gently petting him while telling him, "you can do this, you can unlearn all the bad you lived with. You can come back from that, I know you can do this" and I would pet him and coo and reassure and on and on it went.

I would make progress only to have him try again to bite me. I have a couple of scars where he did bite me. There were days when I said I can't and won't live with a dog I'm afraid of and I'm taking him to be put down. Then, I'd talk myself into trying again tomorrow.

Then one day, I came into the bedroom to find my then 3-4 year old grand daughter on her tummy on the bed and both her hands on Cholla's collar, pulling his face toward hers. IOW, the exact thing that made this poor damaged dog attack. My heart just sank through the floor because his teeth were right in her face.

And, his tail was wagging and he was kissing her face and cuddling with her and I get goosebumps remembering that moment. He did it. He did heal from that awful time and he became the most loving and loyal friend to all of us.

Cholla was with us for another 13 years. Over time, cactus spines would work their way out of his body. I would be petting him and suddenly run into what felt like a tiny stick poking through his skin.

There were times when I could see he was having a little internal struggle about whether or not he could hold up his end of that bargain, whether or not he could be a "good dog" or throw it all off and misbehave.

One day, out walking, we came across a rattlesnake crossing the road. Cholla was the only one of the dogs to approach him. I used my "I really mean it" voice and he turned and started back to me. Then, as though "the devil made him do it", he turned to go back to the snake. I could see the internal battle and thankfully, I won. The snake went on his way and so did we.

All my animals have been throw aways like Cholla but not one of them deserved to be thrown away.

I would really like to read other's rescue stories -

That's pretty sad. Not picking on you, or trying to be cute, but some restraints on that muzzle would make your life more easy. I grew up hunting pigs behing dogs. Rarely, they would be deeply cut, or would tweal this or that. I would be the wound tender because I was the youngest, fattest, and slowest. I have found that a belt from a terri cloth bath robe works great around the muzzle. It won't dig in, and provieds enough binding to protect you from bites. Its also good for hog tieing the back legs. You then pin the neck with your knee being careful to NOT strangle the dog. It sounds aweful, but some dogs don't understand you are helping them, and just do what anyone slow do if you are hurting them which is fight back. The good thing is, you eva done faster, and normally the dog gets over it and gets baxk to loveing you.

I can make a muzzle in a flash and have often used them with dogs I don't know. I used a muzzle on Cholla and, even though he never bit one, I always told the groomer to muzzle him.

Sorry I didn't mention that but the post was getting really long and I wanted to cut extraneous stuff.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Great stories Jeri. Isn't is just the best thing when a dog picks out his own human? I really do love that. Its like the thread posted about trusting your dog's opinion of people. I swear, they do have a 6th sense about people.

Your little Elijah Ollie got very lucky that day. They can be such rascals as they work to find their place in the pecking order. Just when you are just about out of patience, they are suddenly the dearest little lover.

Our Maine coon rescue kitten is just about a year old now and pure trouble in a fur coat. Drives our other cat crazy, gets scolded and then climbs up in my lap to pur and rub and head butt. Then, next thing I hear is Brodie yelling obscenities at him again.

Brodie is the cat we found huddled against the cement wall on a bridge. Just as I got to her, she made a dive through a drainage hole. If I hadn't caught her, it was a straight shot to the water below and there would not have been anything we could have done. We named her after Steve Brodie who supposedly jumped off the Brooklyn bridge and lived. If I ever found who threw her out of their truck and tried to trow her over and into the water - I swear, I'd kill them. She was only about 6 wks old in terrible condition and her little little face was badly lacerated and swollen from hitting the cement.

Thank you for sharing your rescue stories. I hope others will as well.

Yes our little Elijah Ollie is that way with our other cat Queen Esther. She is a very regal cat - we call her Essie - and she just tolerates Elijah Ollie because she knows it is still a kitten but I know she will be very glad when that thing grows up! I love the story of how you rescued Brody. Brody is living the good life now! I forgot to mention I rescued all my animals actually. I rescued Queen Esther at night in a parking lot. She was running wild with a pack of cats and she just stood out to me. I said to myself, alright, if she comes to me again - that is my cat - she did and I took her home! She has been the most magnificent cat I have ever owned and has even outdone another cat we rescued named Toby ( who is now living in heaven ) so Essie is quite a comfort in my life. My Bull was kind of a rescue as he could not be put out to pasture with the wild Bulls because he was a pet Bull and wouldn't eat the grass without cutting it. I still have to cut the grass for him before he will eat it. ( he is spoiled ) He was also on a bottle and the owner wanted him to have a home where he could continue to be a pet. He is no longer on the baby bottle now. He is huge but he is still my baby. I was told by a couple of ranchers that my Bull is the most beautiful bull they have ever seen in their life. I plan on entering him in a contest at the State Fair next year. He truly is a prize bull. - Jeri p.s I am about to get another baby bull ( God Willing ) and he is black with a black and white face and is a stunning specimen of a bull. Awesome body, The Sire and the Dam Sire were both prize bulls I believe ( The owner is no. 1 breeder for Winners in my state I believe ) He looks like a ghost in the face! Incredible face! You wouldn't forget him if you saw him. That bull has presence!

I love that you have pet bulls. I had a pet calf when I was a kid. We used to lay out under the orchard trees. I'd eat a pear and give her the next one.

I also had pet bum lambs. Sometimes ewes don't accept their lambs and big farms don't want to take the time to bottle feed. I rode my horse to the next farm to see their babies and ended up bringing two home. I remember I paid 50 cents each for them.

Good luck at the fair.

Have you named your new baby yet?

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

Great stories Jeri. Isn't is just the best thing when a dog picks out his own human? I really do love that. Its like the thread posted about trusting your dog's opinion of people. I swear, they do have a 6th sense about people.

Your little Elijah Ollie got very lucky that day. They can be such rascals as they work to find their place in the pecking order. Just when you are just about out of patience, they are suddenly the dearest little lover.

Our Maine coon rescue kitten is just about a year old now and pure trouble in a fur coat. Drives our other cat crazy, gets scolded and then climbs up in my lap to pur and rub and head butt. Then, next thing I hear is Brodie yelling obscenities at him again.

Brodie is the cat we found huddled against the cement wall on a bridge. Just as I got to her, she made a dive through a drainage hole. If I hadn't caught her, it was a straight shot to the water below and there would not have been anything we could have done. We named her after Steve Brodie who supposedly jumped off the Brooklyn bridge and lived. If I ever found who threw her out of their truck and tried to trow her over and into the water - I swear, I'd kill them. She was only about 6 wks old in terrible condition and her little little face was badly lacerated and swollen from hitting the cement.

Thank you for sharing your rescue stories. I hope others will as well.

Yes our little Elijah Ollie is that way with our other cat Queen Esther. She is a very regal cat - we call her Essie - and she just tolerates Elijah Ollie because she knows it is still a kitten but I know she will be very glad when that thing grows up! I love the story of how you rescued Brody. Brody is living the good life now! I forgot to mention I rescued all my animals actually. I rescued Queen Esther at night in a parking lot. She was running wild with a pack of cats and she just stood out to me. I said to myself, alright, if she comes to me again - that is my cat - she did and I took her home! She has been the most magnificent cat I have ever owned and has even outdone another cat we rescued named Toby ( who is now living in heaven ) so Essie is quite a comfort in my life. My Bull was kind of a rescue as he could not be put out to pasture with the wild Bulls because he was a pet Bull and wouldn't eat the grass without cutting it. I still have to cut the grass for him before he will eat it. ( he is spoiled ) He was also on a bottle and the owner wanted him to have a home where he could continue to be a pet. He is no longer on the baby bottle now. He is huge but he is still my baby. I was told by a couple of ranchers that my Bull is the most beautiful bull they have ever seen in their life. I plan on entering him in a contest at the State Fair next year. He truly is a prize bull. - Jeri p.s I am about to get another baby bull ( God Willing ) and he is black with a black and white face and is a stunning specimen of a bull. Awesome body, The Sire and the Dam Sire were both prize bulls I believe ( The owner is no. 1 breeder for Winners in my state I believe ) He looks like a ghost in the face! Incredible face! You wouldn't forget him if you saw him. That bull has presence!

I love that you have pet bulls. I had a pet calf when I was a kid. We used to lay out under the orchard trees. I'd eat a pear and give her the next one.

I also had pet bum lambs. Sometimes ewes don't accept their lambs and big farms don't want to take the time to bottle feed. I rode my horse to the next farm to see their babies and ended up bringing two home. I remember I paid 50 cents each for them.

Good luck at the fair.

Have you named your new baby yet?

Not yet but my Bulls name is Melvin the Magnificent. The new bull that is black with a black and white face I am thinking on - I'll know better once I get him but as he will be the tall, dark and handsome type I'm thinking Jehu, Josiah or Aaron. What do you think of those? I have a feeling he has a prophetic kind of future in front of him......

p.s. I need to correct myself, Luddley. Melvin did manage to eat a little grass without cutting it for him but it was really hard on him and he likes it better when its cut for him. He is eating hay now as its winter and the grass is gone. I am going to put a heater by his lean to and I might get him an electric blanket too but the President of the Rodeo told me last night not to pamper him too much as it will make him sickly. My girfriend puts blankets on all her horses when the temp. drops to 45 degrees outside. She also puts a heater out there for them. I think animals do get cold, you know.

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

Speaking of your pet calf, Luddley. I have a pet cow named Mona Lisa. She was another rescue because she was in with some huge red angus cattle on my friends ranch and she told me was starving because the other cows would not let her eat! She was rejected by her mother and was found out in the field as a small calf so they bottle fed her then put her out to pasture... none of the other cows would have anything to do with her! And bumped her off in a corner with nothing to eat! Poor thing!

I went out there to the field to have a look at her and she was the last one out of the gate. Man! When they swung that gate open those huge angus cattle just came through like a flood! I said, where is she?!

Then at the very end, there she was all straggly and muddly and stuff sticking in her hair - her hair was all frizzy and out of shape from lack of nutrition - her bones were showing - they said she kept to herself and didn't ever go near the other cattle when they were eating. I said, She's perfect! She is just like me! I'll take her! Well, they delivered her to us and she blossomed! I mean she absolutely blossomed like a rose out here! ( I should have named her rose bud! ) She loved it and my pet bull loved having a friend! He was like wow! Who is that? ( He is a very non judgmental bull, you know ) So anyhow, as she continued to eat and graze to her hearts content? She became a real beauty! I am not kidding! I gave her a bath and washed her up with the hose and her hair began to straighten up, the frizz left - she got a great color to her and I kept speaking life over her calling her my beautiful Mona Lisa......and today? She is a knockout! You should see her! Melvin is quite taken with her I can tell you that. -Jeri