How I Killed Mitzi!
In 1999 we had another Jack Russel, Mitzi. A lovely little mate she was too. She died when she was but 1 year old!
One day I noticed she was drooling a lot and that she wasn’t passing any faeces. This went on for a few days so a visit to the vet was called for. We were in France at the time so language was, to a certain extent, a problem.
The first vet we visited was just about to leave to go on holiday and obviously wasn’t all that interested. Instructions were to stick some soap in Mitzi’s bottom and that should sort it. It didn’t. We then visited another vet who made an x-ray and discovered that Mitzi’s intestines were blocked and the blockage couldn’t pass through her hips. An operation was called for. The vet confirmed the diagnosis by sticking his finger up Mitzi’s backside whereupon she turned on him. He’d obviously hurt her. I realised later that when he did that he’d most probably damaged her gut, that’s what killed her.
The next day we returned but little Mitzi had died from a ruptured gut in the night. If only we’d gone to the vet we now use maybe she’d be alive today but we didn’t. I stroked her little body, already cold and stiff, and realised I’d let her down. We were devastated. Something I’d given her had caused the blockage so learn from my mistake.
I’d got a marrow bone for Mitzi and “parboiled” it, therein lies the problem. When Mitzi, with much enthousiasm ate the bone it crumbled and those crumbs then got together in her gut to form a block of, for want of a better word, “cement”.
Daisy is Mitzi’s half sister and she never gets bones of any sort.
Beware!
Damages awarded after a broken bone caused by slipping on dogshit.
MARSEILLE – The Marseille council must pay damages to a woman who, in 2001, slipped on a dog’s turd and broke a bone.
This was the judgement of a court in the city of Marseille. The French newspaper, Libération, reported on Tuesday that the court had refused the demands of Mrs. O. in 2007, they agreed with the council who argued that a pedestrian who practised normal care could have avoided the faeces with a simple “slalom” movement.
Safety.
The judges, however, now decided that the council had not carried out their responsibilities by making sure that the pavement was cleaned regularly, something which is demanded to assure safety for pedestrians.
The case is not yet closed. An expert must now decide how much Mrs. O. shall be awarded.
(Translation Mike Hayes, © original ANP)
Source nu.nl
Dogphorisms
I once ate three pairs of my owner’s panties and didn’t barf them up till a day later. Hat trick!
This and many more silly things to be seen at Dogphorisms.
A Dog Is What It Eats!
When Daisy was a young dog she suddenly had excema between her toes. When I showed it to my friend in the village, the local farmer, he asked what I was feeding her. Then I gave her heart every day, she loved it. She was crazy about it but therein lay the problem. The farmer told me that heart every day was too one-sided so we went over to proper dog food and the problem quickly disappeared.
After she’d been sterilised she put on a lot of weight quickly, suddenly she was up to 8.5 kilo. I should point out that we were not that disciplined when it came to the little extras she got from us so a stronger regime was needed. When I mentioned to the vet that Daisy had one meal a day, in the evening, she suggested that twice a day would be better for her. So we divided the rations by two and served and breakfast and dinner and combined with no (less) extras she started slimming down.
After her two recent operations for “breast” cancer she lost even more weight and now weighs 6 kilos which is, according to the vet, the perfect weight for her. I once saw a Jackie in France that looked like a square cushion with a leg at each corner. It was a restaurant dog so there was always too much food and I wonder what his health was like.
Never forget that our pets, when given the wrong food, can get the same health problems we get; diabetes, heart problems, blocked arteries. So be aware of what you put in their diet and that human food is usually bad for dogs.
Having said that, a couple of times a year – Daisy’s birthday, International Animal Day – she gets a 12 ounce entrecôte. I chop it big but she still downs it in a minute!
Here’s a piece from an interesting article on dog’s food. You can read all of it and more at:
Healthy Dog Diets
It is the responsibility of the dog owner to provide healthy food for his/her dog. After all, your pet is part of your family. A nutrition-deficient diet will lead to serious health problems for your dog, including diarrhea, vomiting and behavioral problems. It is therefore essential to look after your dog’s diet, and feed it the necessary foods for its optimal health.
1. Giving your dog a variety. Feed it with lean meat, cheese, vegetables, dried fruits, dog biscuits and raw knuckle bones.
2. Include garlic in your dog’s food. Garlic fights harmful bacteria and strengthens its immune system. Add finely minced fresh garlic to its food. Most dogs like the flavor of garlic, so you might want to make garlic biscuits for your dog as well. Google for the recipes.
3. Adding fiber. Add a small amount of wheat bran to your dog’s diet as it cleans up the intestinal tract and thus prevent constipation.
All The Best For 2010
To start, The Dog Blog would like to wish you a happy and healthy 2010.
For many families the Christmas dinner wouldn’t be same without the bird and when our Daisy realised what was going on we couldn’t get her out of the kitchen. Bon appetit.
A Christmas Message From Daisy
Where is Belle?
My neighbours in France had a major alarm Monday last week. Belle, their Cairns Terrier, had disappeared. They discovered her absence late in the afternoon and it was dark. The younger son went straight up to the forest thinking that Belle had maybe decided to go hunting. I went round the village with a torch and later to another part of the forest to look but no luck. There at the edge of the forest it was completely silent, no little dogs barking or crying. Just a deadly silence.
Tuesday the other son arrived and the two of them went up to the forest and spent several hours searching for Belle. I went up to another section but again the silence ruled, “Belle! Belle!”. No response.
Wednesday my neighbour came home from a business trip. His little dog was gone! He cried. A large man who makes Pavarotti look small, he mourned his little dog. The conviction was that Belle had been stolen. It had happened before in the village, strangers passing who decided that another’s dog was theirs!
Thursday evening a knock on my door, it was the younger son. “Bon Noël”, he said. I thought he meant because it had started to snow but no, “Belle is back!”. Happiness reigned. It appeared that somehow or other Bell had got herself locked in an uninhabited house. Luckily she was found by one of the ladies from the village. Three days without water and food but Belle was so happy to be home again.
So remember, make sure all gates and doors are secure. make sure you know where your dog is and get the vet to give him a chip.
Kleine Belle
Dog Lost – Amazon.co.uk
Faith, The Two-Legged Dog!
This dog was born on Christmas Eve in the year 2002. He was born with two legs and of course couldn’t walk when he was born, even his mother didn’t want him.
His first owner didn’t think that he could survive and was thinking of ‘putting him to sleep’ but then his present owner, Jude Stringfellow, met him and wanted to take care of him. She became determined to teach and train this little dog to walk by himself……She named him ‘Faith’.
In the beginning, she put Faith on a surfboard to let him feel the movement. Later she used peanut butter on a spoon as a lure and reward for him for standing up and jumping around.
Even the other dog at home encouraged him to walk. Amazingly, only after 6 months, like a miracle, Faith learned to balance on his hind legs and to jump to move forward. After further training in the snow, he could now walk like a human being.
Faith loves to walk around now. No matter where he goes, he attracts people to him. He is fast becoming famous on the international scene and has appeared on various newspapers and TV shows.
There is now a book entitled With a Little Faith being published about him. He was even considered to appear in one of Harry Potter movies.
Jude Stringfellew has given up her teaching post and plans to take him around the world to preach that even without a perfect body, one can have a perfect soul.
Faith standing tall.
See more photo’s at Faiths photo page.
Daisy has cancer!
A few weeks ago I discovered a couple of large lumps on my Jackie’s tummy. It gave me quite a shock.
A visit to the vet confirmed our fears, Daisy had cancer. Luckily x-rays showed that the cancer hadn’t spread so an operation was needed.
Because Jackies are small the operation had to be carried out in two steps. First the righthand side and several weeks later, December the 7th, the left side. Thank goodness it’s all behind us now and Daisy is the bossy little bitch we know and love.
Dogs love having their tummy scratched and stroked and at the same time you can check to make sure that they’re ok. So do it regularly.
Daisy after the operation.
Some lovely doggy things.
I think you’ll all like these.
The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue
Anonymous
There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.
Ben Williams
A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.
Josh Billings
The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.
Andy Rooney
Anybody who doesn’t know what soap tastes like never washed a dog.
Franklin Jones
If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man.
Mark Twain
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.
Roger Caras
If you think dogs can’t count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then give him only two of them.
Phil Pastoret