Puppymill Awareness Day

Yesterday was Lancaster's Puppymill Awareness Day at the Intercourse Community Park. It was a PERFECT day for an outside event--clear blue skies, cool with a light breeze and the beautiful sun shining down on the day. Nick, Tink, and I went to help with the NEBTR table which Amy and Mike from the Rescue headed up. It was wonderful to finally meet them and Gracie and Amanda and Tom as well as their Starla and Rascal. A few other members stopped by including Tiff and Janice and some others who i can't recall by name.

Gracie and Rascal

Amy created paws forever kits that create a permanent clay impression of your pups foot. I believe they will be available on the NEBTR website at some point. Tink and I did some baking (ok, i baked and Tinker taste tested.) Peanutbutter treats, banana biscuits, and dehydrated sweet potatoes were on the list. We also had some cooling collars that another member, Victoria makes.
creating a paws forever print : )

There was quite the turnout to the event with lots of rescues present including the Frenchie rescue network, coast to coast daschunds, 2 boxers groups, bassets, a transport crew, the Lancaster Humane League, a Schiztu rescue among others. Whole foods provided a free organic and vegan lunch that was quite tasty.

Gracie giving love to Tinker

Part of the awareness day was a march through intercourse protesting and raising awareness about the cruelty and reality of puppymills. There are so many Amish run mills in the area. People need to become aware of the fact that if you buy a dog from a petstore you are supporting a mill and all the atrocities associated with a mill. There is legislation that is in the house and senate right now trying to change rules and regulations concerning the overall housing conditions of the dogs, but nothing is going to change unless people voice their concern and do something about it. Animals are not a crop and should not be treated as a product.

Anyways, it was a great day for networking, meeting some neat people, hearing amazing stories of great dogs, enjoying the beautiful weather, working to raise awareness of the mills, and taking steps to stop the ways mills currently function. I certainly learned a bit through the entire day and am very greatful that we were able to attend.

Tink would have slept all day on my lap if we let her! She was a great sleepy spokesdog for the Boston Terrier! She actually did fantastic yesterday (no surpise there.) I would also like to point out that I have an amazing husband. Not only did he come along, but he worked hard at the table selling the available items and he enjoyed it. Hopefully there will be a time when we won't need a day like yesterday, but until then we will plan on attending and helping out in any capacity we can.

Here is the link to the awareness day for those of you who would like more information.

Vet Visit

So Sunday afternoon Tink was given a star to chew on and she did so very happily and willingly. However, later that evening, i noticed she was sore on the left side of her mouth. It proceeded to become more sore monday and tuesday and we called to make a vet visit for thursday morning. It was so bad that Tink wouldn't let me near her mouth without putting up quite a fuss. And as you know, Tink doesn't show when she's in pain very often. So if she's squirming and causing a fuss it's gotta hurt something fierce! Well wouldn't you know, wednesday evening as I'm examining her mouth for the umteenth time, I see some gunk coming up from her enflamed gum line. I grab the squirty thing that we used when we had our wisdom teeth removed and managed to clear her gums with some warm salt water. Of course, 9pm the day before the morning appointment.

We take her in this morning just to be sure since we are heading up to MA first thing tomorrow morning. Dr. Haver takes a look at her with a smile on his face-she's wearing her little red riding hood outfit. He looks in her mouth as I explain what we did the night before and he says "yup, that would do it. Looks good now." He showed me that her gum line is receeding and will probably have a tendency to get stuff stuck in it (and consequently be quite painful.) Apparently the salt water or hydrogen peroxide is a good thing to help flush it out and seemed to be something that we can take care of at home (amazing!)

While we were there though, he took the time to look her over, check her spine and neck, and of course comment on how great she looks: "she could be a poster child for curves" he said. Just under 15lbs the same perfect weight she's been at for about 2 years now.

I also showed him 2 bumps on her belly and unfortunately they are mammary tumors---the same ones she had before. A purist would remove them immediately, but being practical, he told me to keep an eye on them like we did with the others and if they change to get her in right away. I asked about her heart murmur and he said it was a grade 2. I believe last year it was a grade 1, but a grade 2 still does not clinically affect her health in any way-- no fluid in the lungs, no coughing or anything like that.

It always feels good to hear the vet say how great Tink's coat looks and how great she looks overall both inside and out. I mean, we know she's wonderful, but it's always nice to hear the professional's opinion.

So while we cleared Tink's mouth up last night, it was still a very information and worthwhile visit and now we can head up to MA without any concerns!

Bath Time!

Penny spent monday night here with Nick, Tink and Me while her mommy and daddy had a night at a local B & B. Tink needed a bath, so I decided giving Penny one would be a good idea too. The brightest part was putting them in the tub together : )

Every things ok so far... no one's wet!

Oh please help us!

maybe a treat or two?

They were both so sad and pathetic looking when wet! Fortunately they both survived and are clear and happy girls! We loved having Penny around and I think Tink was searching for her after she left on tuesday!

Penny comes to town : )

Mom, Dad, Larry, Katie, & Penny came down to visit and spent Labor Day weekend with the Rowe family at the cabin! It was a wonderful time with everyone (and I forgot my camera!) We came back and Penny enjoyed Tink's toy box. Here are some pics of Penny enjoying a bully and an old marrow bone!

Jimmy the Chinchilla

Several weeks ago now, we Chinchilla sat for a friend! We think that Tink thought it was a puppy as it scampered around her and sat under her. She started to lick Jimmy one time and since Chinchilla's aren't supposed to get wet we thought that was a bad idea and stopped her. Jimmy was so fast, Tink's little nose just kept switching directions on the couch as he would jump over her and run under her little legs : )

Quick rest

Piggy back ride

Say cheese!

Oh the places she'll sleep...

So the Little One has plenty of beds to sleep on, but so often after nesting them for 10 minutes or so, she finds a patch of floor to sleep on (or a throw pillow). Here are some of the places we've caught the Little One resting : )

A symphony of sleep

Notice the 2 beds in front of her

This feels just right

Stretch it out

Cool by the cooler

So cute!

Stupid Camera had to wake me up!
(Actually I can never sneak up on her, as soon as she smells me, she's up--
quite literally her little nose quivers like a bunny's and it's all over!

Tink & Vicki

Gotta love my husband's sense of humor....

snuggling with a not so impressed Tink

I realized that with my parents in Kiev Russia for 2 weeks, i would need to do a better job of keeping up with current events around here.... so here's to an attempt at more pictures!

Tink & Nick

Another great photo op!

What a handsome guy and his cute dog!

I wonder if they're busy this weekend....

She's apparently lacking her sense of humor tonight...

Mushrooms, anyone?

I love this man!!!

Tink and the Giant Mushroom(s)

Out in the field behind our apartment is this patch of huge mushrooms- I couldn't help but snap a few pictures of them!

and some artsy pics of the little one

the mushroom

the mushrooms in relation to Tink

Under the mushroom

Ok, it's a mushroom, i get it

Gracey Update

Just wanted to let everyone know that last weekend Gracey (Tiff's previous foster) went to her forever home. Apparently it is a MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN!! Congratulations to Tiff for all her hard work with her and for finding the perfect forever home. Gracey will enjoy all the finer things of a doggie's life from now on!

Rescue and adoption works! (and it's good for your heart!)

Gus and his new life

There's a rescue group called "No More Tears" that pulls dogs from puppymills that the millers don't want and are going to shoot. Laura contacted Tiff and NEBTR to see if we had room. Laura and some other people went into several lancaster county mills on saturday morning and pulled 12 dogs. Most were poodles, but there were also 2 puppy mixes and a Boston. The poodles were in terrible shape. One guy I saw had legs that were so bowed from being in a crate his entire life, that he could barely walk, never mind walk on a leash. This Boston however, was from a "less severe" mill and only stank and had bugs all over him. THESE DOGS ARE WHY YOU DO NOT BUY DOGS FROM A PET STORE. These are the breeder dogs the millers use and the general public never sees. They keep them in terrible conditions and then toss them (or worse) when they are no longer of any use to them. (ie: unable to reproduce.)

What a happy guy! Gus is about 5 years old and we're guessing he weighs 30-35lbs. He's a stocky more bully type BT. I picked him up in Paradise saturday morning from Laura and her crew. I turned the corner around the van and there he was sitting with a friend. He was Jumping and happy and giving kisses to each new person he met. I was pleasantly surprised! We took him back to Tiff's place and immediately threw him in the tub for a bath. He jumped out at first, but once he realized it was water and warm he placed his big butt right under the faucet and kept it there! He had a great coat and teeth, his nails aren't terrible and he smelled so much better when we were done.

Being an unaltered puppy mill male he has the urge to mark everything. He tried to mark Odie through the baby gate one time; in the crate he went! So Lindsay (she was up visiting for the weekend VERY close by) and I took a trip to petsmart for a belly band and a harness as he loves to pull as well. It was so funny to see him try to mark after the belly band was on him. He would lift his leg in great pleasure and then abruptly put it back down with a "hey, that's not so fun" look on his face.

You can't tell by these pictures, but he loves to jump. He has mastered jumping the baby gate, so i'm not sure what Ron and Tiff are planning for that. He's heading to the vet tomorrow for a check up and then after that he'll be good to mingle in small amounts with her crew.

Gus is a smarty pants. In the short time we were with him, he learned that he if wanted to be pet, he needed to sit not jump all over Nick. (Nick took to the not so little guy very quickly! He did awesome work with him this weekend!) Gus has a big heart and just wants to be with people. He has quite a bit of energy, but i think he's going to settle quite nicely once he's in a routine and figure life out a little more. He scarfs down the chicken and rice quite quickly and has been managing to hold it down without vomiting (he did vomit 3x sat morning before I picked him up.) Sunday morning however, he was acting like he needed to go out. God is so good, I got him out in time as he relieved himself quite explosively. That would have been a mess in Tiff's immaculate kitchen!

Gus is going to make someone a GREAT family dog with some basic obedience and lots of consistency! If your heart and family has a home for this guy please contact NEBTR for an application. There is a link to the website of the side of the blog.

I am so glad that we had an opportunity to help with transport and the initial stages of fostering this weekend. One of these years we will have our own place and will be able to foster our own little guy!

the 4 BT Circus!

Nick, Tink and I house sat and doggie sat from some friends this weekend. They have 2 great BT's, Lilo and Odie. We got their on friday afternoon. Sat morning I had plans to pick up a boy from a lancaster puppy mill with the rescue. His story will follow in the next post. Needless to say we had quite the weekend.

We had all 3 dogs in bed with us friday night before we actually went to sleep.
Lilo loves to bury under the blankets and Odie loves to cause trouble!

Nick took this pic on his phone.
Apparently Odie was emitting noxious gas at this point in time as well

Tink and Odie, bookends

It wasn't uncommon to find Odie laying on top of Tink or invading everyone's space. And boy does he like to chew!

Lilo had LP surgery done on both knees 2 weeks ago which is why, I just realized she's not in any couch pictures. She is not allowed to jump or do stairs or run just yet. We also helped her do some physical therapy exercises to help strengthen her legs.

Friday night after Lilo and Odie were in their boxes and we were sleeping, Tink sat up at about 2:30 and refused to lay down. Nick took her out to pee and still she sat up in bed. So I went downstairs to get the water bowl and as I'm coming back up, Tink is puking on the bed. Tink has only puked 1 other time the entire time we've had her. It certainly wasn't on the "usual" what's wrong with Tink list. So we throw those sheets in the wash and move from the guest bedroom to the master bedroom. 5:30 that same morning, Lilo starts whining. I let her whine for about 15 minutes and realized she may need to go out. Nick took her out and sure enough, a mess outside. Nick takes Odie out then and both slip under the covers until just about 8am. Poor guys. We were all able to at least get a little sleep that night!

Sat to be continued in next post....

It's the most swimmiest time of the year....

last Sunday Tink was invited to swim with some of her friends again! She doesn't like the water very much but it's certainly good exercise!

Taking it easy

Look at her go!

Gabe stealing someone's toy i'm sure : )

Taking a break

Tink swam for a good 20 minutes (off and one of course). She doesn't like to use her back legs very much, but every once in a while she would kick with one and turn unexpectedly in a new direction (which of course sent me scurrying as she was inevitably heading towards the wall)

Louann and some others go swimming with the dogs every sunday afternoon, so I'm sure we'll be heading out there every couple of weeks or so!

Catching Up...

So once again, much time has slipped by without so much as a post over here. Tinker's social calendar has been somewhat quiet, but will be picking up over the summer with swimming and other fun activities.

A few weeks ago, Tink and I wend over to Kaye Ames to help with a Delta Society animal testing day and we were able to catch up with Louann and Gabe a several other teams that we haven't seen in a while. Tink really had the tough part--sitting there and looking cute : ) It was me who made some noise with the walker/wheel chair and was asked to pet several very friendly and cute dogs (and one cat.)

Father's day weekend we traveled up to MA to visit with my family. It was beautiful weather and all the dogs were around, yet the only camera used was on Nick's new (enV2) cell phone--i'll have to see if i can get him to download the few pics that he took of Tink in the sun!

Tink's back end appears to be a little more sore lately (well, she has more "uncomfortable" days or moments than i like to see)... I did get some "Sore no more" linament from my mom and it does seem to be helping to alleviate some of the pain (along with all the other internal supplements that she's been taking. And hopefully we'll both be to Nancy's for another acupuncture treatment in July too.
She seems happier though lately with the beautiful weather than she has been in the past few months as well. She contentedly wanders the house rather than relentlessly pacing and generally settles in for the night more easily (maybe that's because lately she's been settling in OUR bed rather than HERS : )

Long walks in the evening, marrow bones on sunday afternoons, twistix chewies and hotdog treats while getting her nails clipped have been the pattern lately.

I took Tink out this morning for our usual walk. It was beautiful with the sun shining, a light breeze, no humidity, and only a touch of dew left in the grass. Tink wandered around sniffing so confidently, so content and carefree. She reminded of times when we used to wander daily without looking at the clock so desperately, hurrying to get to the next "thing" on my to-do list. Realizing this made me smile and feel slightly sad all at once. Fortunately, I was able to shed my to-do list and Tink and I were able to wander aimlessly for our walk this morning without me feeling the need to walk a certain distance or get to a certain point. It was quite lovely and aimless. Tink once again reminded me that life is too short to rush through it getting from point A to point B all the time without ever really enjoying the journey. So while it may be someone counterproductive, I am going to give a more concerted effort to take my time outside with her in the beautiful weather and enjoy the beauty that God has given to us in nature and in my darling little boston terrier whose tenacity and steadfastness never ceases to amaze me.