Long over due

(these photos taken Thursday 5/28)

This is Trophy.


As you know his birthday was this month. But since Baxter/Blooper (I'm trying to change his name, but not everyone in the house is onboard from here on out i will refer to him as B) had just arrived and our birthday visit was delayed until this week. After a successful trip to the Grateful Dog Bakery we came home with this box of goodies!


Don't they look yummy?


They are.


Yes I've tried them. I don't like the carob frosting as much as this one (i can't remember if it's vanilla or peanut butter). They're dryer than human cupcakes, but that's what makes them for dogs, ya know. :-P


Everyone lines up for dinner and i divided the treats so everyone could try both frosting.


Toady's dish. I only have 4 bowls in raised feeders, so poor Toady was vanquished to the floor. i don't think he minded.


Since it was his [belated] birthday i let Trophy have a quick early bite.


and they're off!




unfortunatly this was the last picture i got as i GREATLY underestimated Shiner's inability to chew his food and he started choking and since i don't yet know the doggy first aid protocol for choking, i started panicing and reached down his throat to scoop out most of the food he was gagging on until the piece of cake he had swallowed whole had passed thru and he could finish dinner. I about died. it took me a good two hours to stop shaking. Needless to say i'm REALLY glad that my new job requires us to learn doggy first aid and i CAN'T WAIT to learn.

Shiner was fine, altho he was a bit miffed about losing some of his dinner. Needless to say we will be handling birth/gotcha day treats a bit differently in the future (perhaps i will put the pupcakes in the food processor first).


(these photos taken today)

B is still learning the fine art of group picture taking. He's either sulking because he thinks Qwill is going to get all the treats.


Or he's making crazy faces (to Trophy's horror!)


or he's staring at the ceiling (unfortunately he does that a lot. he has an OCD about lights on the ceiling)


Eventually i get lucky and snap one that's just right, even if B looks a bit worried.

Update you've been waiting for

I was holding off on updating for a few reasons, 1. because i have no new photos (sorry!) and 2. Baxter is limping and i've been trying to figure out what to do about it.

B runs well with Trophy. He doesn't like when Trophy gets super excited at the beginning of runs, but i'm confident that with time, more exposure to Trophy and that behavior and more exercise in general he can overcome it. Once they're running he doesn't have a care in the world. He reminds me a lot of Koda who took to this new "job" instantly. He just knows that he is supposed to run infront of me and keep the line taught.

the bad news is that ever since our run Sunday and tossing a few frisbees later that day - B has been limping badly on his rear left leg. I'm trying to come up with how i'm going to pay to get it x-rayed, and what that means for him in general.

The truth of the matter all boils down to - if he can't run with Trophy he can't stay here. If i wanted to run a dog with hip dysplasia (if that's what's wrong with B) i have two dogs already to do so, i really don't need a third!!! It could be just a soft tissue injury (pulled muscle, or a strain) which should heal on its own with a few more days cage rest, unless it's severe.

Anyway, my point is, if i x-ray his hips and he has hip dysplasia the reality is that i need to put him up for adoption. BUT can i justify spending the money for x-rays if i'm not keeping him?

It's a hard question to face and I'm torn in different directions. He's been limping for two days. I'm putting him on cage rest till Saturday (my next day off). if he's still limping then we schedule a vet appointment and i beg for money on the street corner (lol).

I really want to keep him.

He's fitting in very well here despite his dog aggressive past and he's working thru his issues with *surprisingly* little training from me. He's worked thru his fear of the clicker. He chooses to RUN WITH Trophy and no ATTACK Trophy while doing it. The question now relies on if he PHYSICALLY CAN run with trophy, and if he can ever play frisbee again.

cross your paws and fingers that he can become the fourth BrokenButt, and not the third dog with a broken butt in this house. :(

(to R, J, B &D who asked about the broken butt thing, Qwill and Shiner, my first and second dogs, have hip dysplasia. I jokingly refer to them as The BrokenButts. My pack name is the BrokenButts, since technically their butts are broken. :P )

BUT for some SUPER GOOD NEWS:
I WAS OFFERED A SECOND JOB AT CAMP BOW-WOW!!! I START TOMORROW!!! This greatly reduces my stress over financial issues, and I'll get to play with a big group of dogs while at work! I'm so excited! :)

I think Baxter's found his forever home!

I'll keep you pretty much in suspense for now. more updates tomorrow. it's past my bedtime!

Amazing news to report!

I came home from my 9 hour work shift today to find 3 dogs loose in the kitchen: Qwill, Shiner, and BAXTER! He was unmuzzled, untethered, and playing fetch with my sister while bumping noses and walking by the other two boys! We are taking things even more slowly introducing him to Trophy (who can be a bit too IN-YOUR-FACE for some dogs), and it will be a VERY long time before he is formally introduced to Koda (who has enough issues of his own) but his progress thus far is AMAZING! He hasn't even been here two full weeks!!

I am so excited! And the two books i ordered to learn more about treating reactivity and dog-dog aggression arrived in the mail today. They are "Click to Calm" by Emma Parsons and "FIGHT! A Practical Guide to the Treatment of Dog-Dog Aggression" by Jean Donaldson. I'll let you know what i think of them :)





And finally, I have a job interview tomorrow with a doggie daycare and overnight boarding facility. It would only be a part time position to start, but I'm SUPER excited and hopeful anyway as the less hours i have to work at my current job the BETTER!!! Cross your paws for us!

Baxter and his Frisbee

Baxter loves to play frisbee.


He's actually pretty good at catching them, but i didn't get any good catches on film.


can you really say "on film" when your camera is digital? what are we supposed to say instead? hmm... must ponder that...


Such focus


He knows how to keep his eye on the disc!


rawr!


nom!


If you have never checked out "Just Another Dog Blog" i highly suggest you do. She has two border collies, Bella and Kate. The following photos are my tribute to Kate, who, try as she might, just can't catch the ball. We lovingly refer to this as "pulling a Kate" so if you hear me mention it in the future, now you know why!







Silly boy. He also LOVES to play with the Jolly Ball. Probably more so than the frisbee, but since he slobbers all over it and then rolls on it trying to catch it he ends up all slobbery and grass stained, so i prefer frisbee to this game.








That's a good Border Collie right there - nice and tired!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TROPHY!

Hard to believe he lived this long, considering all the trash bags, paper towels, stuffing, fleece toys, toy parts, and hair he ate along the way..... but we did. Can't imagine life without him now! Love you Trophy-Dophers!

Trophy's 1st Birthday from Lexi Dvorak on Vimeo.

A short update

This is Baxter:


He


REALLY


Likes


To


Play


With


His


Sheepie!


Oh, he likes to play ball too. And is very photogenic. :)


Had our appt with my vet today I'm happy to tell you his is heartworm NEGATIVE. What a relief that was! More cute photos of him tomorrow. :)

He's here!!

Just one pic for today. We have a long road ahead of us with this guy and getting him settled and accepting of other dogs, but the fact that i finally (albeit temporarily) have a prick eared dog that will play ball for hours (more than Koda even!) is wonderful fun!! I'm going to try him on a frisbee tomorrow too.

More pics tomorrow, I'm exhausted now.

To answer some of the questions i've been asked in comments:

-the border collie he cam in with was adopted already from the shelter. i don't know if he also had issues with other dogs or not. It is a shame they couldn't be adopted out together.

-no, the American Border Collie Association has not been contacted, at least not by me. I've been involved in BC Rescue for over 18months now, starting with the adoption process and moving to the fostering side of things now. I network with many of the individual BC rescues via forums, and have never heard of anyone contacting the ABCA. In fact if you go to their website they make ZERO mention of rescue.

-i have not contacted Best Friends in Utah, as it is very far away, and I would prefer to have an All Border Collie or Herding breed dog rescue take him in. Placing these dogs in forever homes can be a complicated process since many people think they want a border collie, yet the dog is completely wrong for their family - usually because they are so hyper active. Border Collie rescue and herding breed rescues (aussies, cattle dogs) have more experience with the breed's individual needs and the experience in matching dogs to homes. Not saying that Best Friends isn't a great place for a dog to end up. Not at all, they do amazing work.

-i have sent e-mails to both border collie rescues that are in Ohio, and have not heard back from either yet. When trying to place a BCmix that was in Tiffin, which is where BuckeyeBCR is located we heard that their foster homes are full. I do not have first hand confirmation of this.

again, thank you all so very much for helping me get Baxter out of the shelter. Keep your paws crossed as he goes into the vet tmw for a heartworm test! paws crossed for negative results!

THANK YOU!

I don't think i can ever say THANK YOU enough this week! The response has been OVERWHELMING! $350 raised to help Baxter! I am leaving the donate button up on my previous post in case anyone still wants to contribute, all additional money raised will be donated to the rescue group that takes him in!

Baxter will be sprung from the shelter tomorrow when i get there after work, and I will update everyone with new pictures then.

THANK YOU!!!

Please Help Me Save Baxter

Hello dear readers,

I promise not to make a habit of this sort of post, but this is a very deserving cause.

I would like to introduce you to Baxter,


Baxer is a 5 year old pure bred Border Collie who was surrendered to the Lake County Ohio Dog Shelter when his elderly owner could no longer care for him and his 8 year old border collie companion. It is evident that Baxter and his companion were left to themselves for much of their lives. Due to having very little socialization with dogs, his chances of adoption from the shelter are near Zero. I fully believe that his issues can be turned around with an experienced hand and positive training.

Baxter has very little time left and needs to be pulled from the shelter ASAP - before Wednesday. However, due to parental restrictions i can not foster Baxter long term, and am working desperately to find a rescue with foster space for him.

And, unfortunately, financial restrictions due to Qwill's untimely run in with a ball-possessive dog and a trip to the vet for wound cleaning and antibiotics (which deserves a post of its own at a later time) means I may not have the necessary resources to pull him in the first place.

I know times are troubled right now my friends, I know some of us are penny pinching and cutting back, but this dog desperately deserves a chance.

Any collar purchases made at my etsy shop (http://loveofqwill.etsy.com) from now until Wednesday will go 100% to saving Baxter's life. Every dollar will make the difference between life and death, so if you can only spare $1, I am including a donate button at the bottom of this post. Please consider a donation. Baxter's pull fee is $95, which covers the extensive vetting and neuter from the shelter. Anything extra raised will cover food costs, vet costs, and will as a donation to the rescue who steps up and can take him in.

My sincerest thanks from the very bottom of my heart go out to anyone who can help me save this dog. Please repost and link to this entry as much as necessary. I am truly sorry if this entry offends anyone, that is not my goal at all, just trying to save a dog who has pulled on everyone of my heart strings. A dog who needs a second chance.

Update: we have raised $35 so far to help save Baxter! Thank you to everyone who has donated so far from the bottom of my heart! Please keep spreading the word!

Update 6:55pmEST: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Over $300 in donations so far to help me save Baxter! I am blown away by the kindness shown by every single person who has donated, posted, twittered, and spread the word about this beautiful dog! I have never felt more humbled by your kind, selfless acts and I know i have said this before but TRULY I THANK YOU FROM THE VERY BOTTOM OF MY HEART!!! I am crying tears of absolute joy and elation from knowing that even tho a rescue has not yet been found, he is going to be safe! I am trying to send an e-mail of thanks to each individual who has donated, but my mail box is overflowing, so forgive me if i miss you, you are truly appreciated!