WendyM

Some good news for Little Henry! There are a couple of rescues interested in taking him in now, and it is a matter of what is best for him and how we might be able to get a transport arranged. Will keep you posted as things firm up...thanks to all for the offers of help and concern about this pup!

Thanks for the cross-=posting! :-) I did contact Mo-Kan, and a couple of other more regional/local rescues about Henry, but no one has any foster space identified as yet for this pup. :-( The shelter knows I am trying to find rescue (and I have worked with them in the past), so that may be why they are saying he is headed to a rescue group. Nothing firm as of yet, but keeping my fingers crossed!

Okay! It's official...Molly has a new home! Her new owners will be meeting me to pick her up tomorrow. They are a great middle-aged couple who have a large backyard, but plan to spoil Molly as a house dog. :-) The man (Don) lost his Aussie dog to old age about a year ago, and has been missing her terribly. He and his wife had decided it was time to look for a new dog, when they heard about Molly. They both fell in love with her and filled out the adoption contract...so she will be going home with them this weekend. HOORAY!! Although Molly ended up staying in Arkansas, it was Martha in Florida's offer to foster her that enabled us to get the wheels rolling to get this dog off her chain and into rescue -- thanks Martha! AND thanks to Leslie for going to get sweet Molly, and meeting me in Carthage, MO for the transport. Thanks also to the generous people who donated money for Molly's vet expenses (she is fully vetted now, shots/rabies/HW test/ neg. for worms/ and spayed with a dental cleaning and extractions) After she gets her stitches out from the surgery, she'll get a good bath and a grooming too -- well on the way to being a pampered house dog. All this after years of hard work being a stock dog down on the farm, and then those lonely years of being left on a chain. What a great happy ending for Molly! Here are a couple of shots of Don and her meeting up...he was a big guy (about 6'4") and he petted her SO gently! What a smile! Wendy M.

Update on Molly!! Got a call this afternoon from the Vet's office, and Molly has come through her spay surgery just fine! She also had a full dental cleaning, and they ended up pulling a couple of teeth that were bad. They also looked at the crooked front canine and said that although it wasn't really a healthy tooth, it appeared solid and didn't seem to be causing Molly any problems, so they left it in. I have some *more* good news to share, but want to post it with photos later tonight! -Wendy M.

Lots of good information about the types of anesthesia, thank you! I will talk more with my vet about what would be best for Molly, and I am willing to pay extra to have her safe and get her through this surgery as smoothly as possible! I have scheduled this spay for the 14th (a Friday) and wondering if that was a bad call, because they are going to keep her overnight and that would be into Saturday, when they are shorter staffed. It has been suggested to me that it would be better to bring her home that evening where I could watch her, rather than leave her at the vet clinic, since there is not 24 hour staffing there. But the procedure will be in the morning Friday...and if I got her home that evening, and something happened it would be a 20 mile trip to the emergency vet from my house, and a bit further to the vet's office (if they were open when I needed them) Seems like if she was at the vet's and something was amiss, it would be better? This foster dog is very special to me. She was rescued from a really bad situation where she was chained outside in the cold and mud, with no access to shelter. Molly loves people and is such a sweetheart, despite her previous conditions. I want to make her life better, not worse, and pray that there are no complications from this decision. I agree that the prospect of uterine infections later in life is scary, and I am doing this spay so she can be adopted into a forever home and be a healthy and happy girl the rest of her life! -Wendy M.

Thanks for the comments and advice....and it is exactly along the lines of what my vet said. She wants bloodwork and a urine (same day) sample, and also gave me some antibiotics to start Molly on a few days BEFORE the spay surgery. The issue of pain management was also of concern, and Molly will be getting Rimadyl afterwards. My vet wants to do an IV/catheter with fluids during the spay to support her system, as well. She will stay overnight at the clinic so they can monitor her stitches the first 24 hours, and then I will bring her home. She is an outdoor dog, but likes her new bed and staying warm...it is all new to her to have a roof over her head and a warm place to stay! Any other thoughts about how to manage her afterwards? She is not crate trained, but may be feeling lousy enough not to mind being crated, and I am guessing that she should only be pottied on a leash for a few days. What other experiences have people had with older dogs getting this surgery? Sorry to be a "nervous nellie" about this, but I have heard from several people recently who had young females spayed and had complications, ranging from hernias to reactions to the stitches, to skin reactions to the antibiotic cremes used...makes me kind of paranoid about it I guess! Really, I feel badly for putting her through all this at her age, but realistically, I can't adopt her out without being spayed. :-( What is the anesthetic that is supposed to be better? Does anyone know the name of it? I can ask my vet about that too.. -Wendy M. My sweetie foster girl Molly !

Thanks for your comments and insights! I am taking her to my vet this afternoon to have her health evaluated, and pending those results then will probably schedule a spay surgery for her. Really, I am pretty nervous about it because of her age and also because I have had BC's with bad reactions to anesthesia before. :-( Will let everyone know what the vet says later... Wendy M.

Hi All, Well, my newest senior foster gal, Molly (the one who was a working stock dog and ended up chained in the mud for the past few years) is NOT spayed. She is 10 years old and in apparent good health. I am concerned about adopting her out without being spayed --but is it really necessary at that age? I've called my vet and she should get back to me by the end of the day, or tomorrow perhaps, but wondering if there was anyone on the boards who had experience with this. Thanks! -Wendy M.

For that poor puppy and for all the animals in the world, here is a prayer from a great and compassionate man: A Prayer for Animals Hear our humble prayer, O God, for our friends, the animals, especially for those who are suffering; for any that are lost or deserted or frightened or hungry. We entreat for them all Thy mercy and pity, and for those who deal with them, we ask a heart of compassion and gentle hands and kindly words. Make us, ourselves, to be true friends to animals and so to share the blessings of the merciful. - Albert Schweitzer Wendy M.

Hello, I hope I am posting this in the right place...if not, please move it! I was looking at my BC female, Kira's pedigree and noticed that her mother, Lass ABC 38664 was bred by Kathy Conner of West Plains, MO. She and Larry Conner are also listed as the breeder for Lass's Father Bob ABC 22785, and her Grandfather Roy AIBC 86542. Does anyone know or know of Kathy Conner? Is she still breeding Border Collies, and still in Missouri? Just curious...my Kira is a wonderful dog, and her mother Lass was a great working stock dog. I did "google" Kathy's name, but didn't come up with much information. Lass was born in 1993, so it was a while back... Thanks for any information that anyone might be able to provide, or a direction to pursue this. Wendy M.