Ruby will be a surgeon, probably of the plastic variety some day. How do I know? Look carefully at the pictures of some of her toys. Noitce that all the noses and eys have been very carefully removed with great surgical precision. The small mouse (foreground) is really Chicken’s (our cat) toy. Ruby stole it to operate on the eyes. She is not quite finished with it yet. The two long threads where eyes once were are , of course, the optic nerves. They are removed only in stage 2 of the surgical procedure. The mouse will have to come into the hospital again at some later date for this. The rubber Snoopy toy (middle) has a gaping hole where the nose once was. No nerves here, so the nose was just removed all at once. The toy on the far side is an Aardvaark, Ruby’s first and favorite toy. Naturally it has had multiple plastic facial procedures and resembles an aging Hollywood actress.
Charlie, Ruby and me are pretty much staying indoors now. It has become really hot and humid every day now. So today we had nothing better to than watch TV, and think about the way it used to be.
Didn’t TV commercials used to be a minor annoyance? Like mostly programmng and a few (2 or 3) commercials every now and then? Is it only I who finds them to be a major problem now? Don’t they have 8 or 9 really annoying, loudmouth screaming commercials every 6 or 7 minutes of programming? Who decided tht a commecial must be really irritating (like spinning cars, constant flashing from 1 scene to another, etc). Is this supposed to make it more noticeable?
Some recommendations:
Never watch a single commercial – ever. You can leave it on, but at least mute it and look away from the TV.
Always have a backup channel such as a news program that you can switch to when your program is interrupted by a commercial. Better, have several, or do what I do – never really watch any one program – just keep flipping til something catches your eye – then watch til another commercial comes on. Are you going to tell me that there is any one program that is so riveting to you that you can not afford to miss the first second when it resumes after the commercial break? If so (like a mystery, I guess), then at least mute the commercials and kind of look out the corner of your eye to see when the program resumes.
All commercials are dangerous in the sense that they are misleading you – yes every single one!
There is one type of commercial that can be very dangerous, and can even kill you (in my opinion only, I have no proof). These are the pharmaceutical company commercials for prescription drugs. They always give, in really fast talk, or really small print, the potential side effects. They always say “Ask your doctor about ________” In my opinion, this sort of advertising should be outlawed. Yes the required disclaimers and side effect list are there, but these commercials are also frequently very misleading. Your doctor is not likely to be fooled, however, and hopefully not likely to be at all swayed in his treatment approach, just because you tell him you saw something on TV – but I can not guarantee it -especially if many patients are telling him/her the same thing over and over.
Charlie and Ruby romp with Nikki, Tyler, and Stewie at a friend’s house. Nikki is the Keeshond with the summer cut. Tyler is the huge Collie. Stewie is the dark-colored dog. You know Charlie and Ruby. Not only is our friend’s yard larger than ours, but the wbole perimeter is fenced. This makes for great dog play. Charlie was able to get up to running speeds not possible at our house. We had a barbecue luncheon, and the steaks were spectacular. Of course, the whole thing was really planned for the dogs; they are our children.
I don’t really have anything new to say about Ruby and Charlie. As you know they are both rescue dogs. As you also know Scruffy and Major were also rescue dogs. I can only tell you that there is nothing that quite compares the satisfaction of saving a dog, watching as that dog becomes adjusted to his new life, and then watching as that dog becomes the happiest dog in the world. I think that both Charlie and Ruby are now the happiest dogs in the world.
Please ask yourself if you have room for one more dog and consider adoption of whatever breed or mix you desire. Of course, I highly recommed Keeshonds and Beagles.
Please see previous post below this one about the KSRF calendar. Its proceeds benefit rescued Keeshonden.
Please also visit the Keeshond Community blog to see Keeshonden available for adoption (click on link in right margin of this blog). This site is run by Yoshimi in Japan. The information about Keeshonden in the US is in English.
Also, if you look back at previous posts on this blog, you will see a couple of success stories about rescued Keeshonden (Beau and Maya). You will also see posts about dogs who were in need of adoption, but I never heard any further information. Usually, I am afraid to follow up on these, because I dread what I might hear or not hear. I leave them posrted, just in case.
The 2010 Keeshond Sunshine Rescue Foundation Calendar is formatted and being proof-read! Shortly it will go to press, and that means time for ordering at the special pre-order discounted rates will expire.
The KSRF calendar is packed with captivating stories of Keeshonden who have found new lives through rescue, beautiful photographs of some of the most amazing Keeshonden on the planet, a special tribute to our Keeshond Rescuers of the Year, the Rachael Jensen Veterinary Professional Award recipient, and a special section devoted to honoring our beloved Kees who have traveled to the Bridge.
Proceeds from sales of this calendar go for medical care of rescued Keeshonden.
Charlie has many good habbits and some bad ones. This is just a strange one. In the summer, I wear sneakers without socks sometimes. Sometimes I take the sneakers off and leave them under the coffee table when I am resting on the sofa. Charlie aways lies down under the coffee table when I rest on the sofa. Recently I have noticed that he likes to sleep there with his snout buried inside one of my sneakers. This is OK except, sometimes if I put the sneaker back on a bare foot, there is a damp spot on the insole.
Yesterday Ruby went to the vet to have teeth and nails done under general anesthesia. I am always very concerned when someone (human or animal) is put under general anesthesia, so I started the day a little concerned for Ruby. I was relieved to see that she tolerated the procedure well and was her usual self upon return from the clinic. Later in the day we noticed that she was not bearing weight on her right rear leg. I immediately said that this has to have something to do with the procedure. Did she jump off an examining table and hurt her leg, or some such thing? Karen thought it had more to do with the nails or something else in the paw itself. Ruby is such a good girl. She recognized that we were trying to help her, and calmly volunteered her paw for us to examine. Suddenly she let out a blood-curdling scream (Beagles can do this when in pain). I noticed that she screamed when Karen at trouched her thigh, and that it had nothing to do with handling of the paw. I touched her in the same spot – another scream! I looked at her carefuly and it was obvious now that there was a swelling a about the size of a half baseball on the outer aspect of her right thigh above the knee. She was not weight bearing at all, and I feared that she had dislocated her hip, torn a ligament or pulled a major muscle. Thoughts of surgery to repair whatever the damage were beginning to weigh on my mind. “Freaking out” might describbe how I felt at the moment. We rushed her to the vet ER.
The receptionist looked at Ruby and said that the swelling was obvious. Ruby was limping but now was bearing weight on the leg. The receptionost immediately asked if Ruby had received any IM injections for the tooth and nail procedure. Karen said she had. The receptionist’s immediate diagnosis was a severe injection-site reaction. Suddenly it all made sense to me and I became much calmer. I never thought to ask Karen about an injection and so never entertained a diagnosis of simple soft-tissue inflammation. The vet agreed that this was all due to the injection, and there was no need to do X-rays (Ruby was bearing weight and walking with a mild limp). He did say that this may not be so benign an occurrence and could develop into an abscess or sever infection.
Ruby was out this mornig to do her business and seemed to have a fairly normal gait on the way out and back. I was not really up yet and only saw this from an upstairs window. Now she is asleep on the bed and I don’t want to disturb her to look to see if the swelling has gone down. I am not too concerned now because of the dramatic improvement in mobility. I’ll keep you posted.
Update
It’s several hours later and Ruby is up and about. I have now examined her thigh, and the swelling is almost gone.
For all you aspiring clinicians, this case points out the importance of getting a proper history to make a diagnosis. Unfortunately, I did not know that dogs necessarily get an antibiotic injection , or even where it would be given, for the procedures that Ruby underwent. Had I asked this simple question, Ruby could have been spared the additional trauma of going to the ER. If you read my book, you know I diagnosed Scruffy’s old dog vestibular synderome. What I did not include in the book was that I had also diagnosed Major’s Cushing’s disease. (If you scroll way back on this blog to a post called “Coronation of a Queen”, you will see a picture of Major and learns something about him. You will also see why he was really responisble for my adopting Ruby.) Anyway, you can also see why I am somewhat ashamed that I missed Ruby’s simple diagnosis completely.
You may recall that I spent some time describing Scruffy’s physical attributes in what has now become the most widely accepted book for the Keeshond breed standard (Scruffy the Legend, of course). I knew very little about the breed when I wrote the book, and remarked that I was sure that the traits I noted belonged to Scruffy, but was not sure if they all fit the breed.
One thing I mentioned in the book was Scruffy’s favorite sleeping position: upside down with rear legs pointed to the ceiling and front legs off to one side parallel to the floor. I have now seen that one of Yoshimi’s Keeshonds (not sure if it was Leo or Jade) also prefers this position. Yoshimi and I call this the KSP (Keeshond sleeping position). We know that not all Keeshonds use it; Charlie, for example, never does. I also know that other breeds occasionally also use it. Anyway there seem to be two variations of the position. The first (usually for young inexperienced dogs) is only done next to a wall, and one rear leg is propped up against the wall for support. Only mature dogs can do the freestanding version without wall support.
I have now noticed another characteristic that bothScruffy and Charlie have (not sure about Leo, Jade or any other Keeshond). I will call it the Keeshond tail pocket (KTP). The Keeshond tail is carried over the back and rests on the back. Where the tail rests, a shallow, but fairly permanent depression is left in the hair on the back. It is quite visible if the tail is lifted or allowed to drape downward like in a non-Spitz dog. In Charlie, the depression appears to be of much lighter color than the surrounding almost black fur.
I think these to traits have been largely missed in previous breed descriptions and need to be made a part of the breed standard.
My wife, Karen, is walking for the 4th year in the 2 day, 40 mile Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. Help her reach her goal of $3,000 and support the fight against breast cancer. Make a secure online donation http://tinyurl.com/kar2009
My wife, Karen, is walking for the 4th year in the 2 day, 40 mile Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. Help her reach her goal of $3,000 and support the fight against breast cancer. Make a secure online donation 