Tackling the Challenge, Pt 2

Continuing onto the next three bullets, these are primarily all training issues: potty training or housebreaking, dealing with expectations, and redefining the command + action = something good equation.

Starting with potty training, this area is one Lisa has trouble with. I have to openly admit that I had a lapse in my reasoning and began to trust her too much. Subsequently, I got stung by that false assumption. Following the puppy methodology of potty training, we started out doing really well. Then, I let the team down. I falsely believed she was getting the hang of this and tested her too soon. Now, we're back on track and happily, we've not had a true Lisa accident in the house in over 7 days (as of June 15). Yay! I say a true Lisa accident because she had a case of the dire rears and those cannot be counted against the team's overall performance. Poop, especially those of the dire nature, happens. Thankfully and knock on wood, Lisa doesn't have any incontinence issues, although she has done some submissive tinkling here and there. I feel like we should have an OSHA sign up that says how many days we've gone without an accident. Did I mention it was important to celebrate the small victories? It is very important!

As far as the expectations go, Lisa doesn't understand that she is expected to behave in a certain manner when indoors. For this reason, I'm glad she's here with me instead of boarding at a kennel. It would be impossible to teach this anywhere else, but in a home environment. It's probably worth mentioning that Lisa only in the past week has actually started responding to her name. A name wasn't even a concept she even knew existed. I didn't choose her name, the SPCA did in attempt to make her more marketable. To be honest, I don't even call her Lisa; I call her Lise (pronounced like lease for a new lease on life), but for consistency sake, we'll stick with Lisa.

In my house, Lisa does have my dogs to watch, but I've found that she hasn't been paying them any attention when it comes to picking up cues. Yet, one more developmental area she's been deprived in. We all know that a dog can teach another dog something faster than we humans ever could. Still, she doesn't have this basic tool in her toolbelt. That leaves it up to us to teach her not to scratch the walls, not go in the house, when its okay to relax and lie down, etc. Let me be clear, these are not the same expectations we place on children. I don't expect my dogs to be perfect little gentlemen, they're not going to be, because they're dogs. Dogs will do what dogs will do, which includes bark, jump, sniff, chew, eat, drool, lick and a myriad of other verbs all associated with dog behavior. Still, there are certain expectations placed on a dog when they become a part of household. Lisa needs to understand that with the blessing of a new life does come a little bit of responsibility. ;-)

Lastly, redefining the Command + Action = Something Good equation is one that will take the longest to acheive. It will take time and consistency to show Lisa that good things do come from humans. It doesn't always have to be bad. We already have a solid bridge to build upon since she doesn't have a fear of people. She readily walks up to anyone she sees and waits for them to pet her. If you stop, she not so gently reminds you with her paw that you've seemed to have stopped and she didn't give you leave yet. We are so lucky that both mill girls, Penny and Lisa, didn't have a fear of people. While Lisa uses people for affection, Penny, in the beginning, didn't see a need to fraternize with people. Still, one more way mill dogs are psychologically traumatized and handicapped by their experiences. Truthfully, in that environment, you can't blame them for anything; they are a true product of their environment. In the few days she had fostered with me, I already saw a change in her opinion.

While we have this bridge with Lisa, she does have a bit of an alter ego, too, Lady Freeze. Lady Freeze shows up whenever Lisa is concerned, stressed, unsure, or unwilling. This freezing stance is another mill dog defense mechanism. Another of her quirks, she would not go through the door ahead of me. She waits until I go first, then if she feels comfortable which could be 15 or more seconds later, she'll go. While I do my best to accommodate her, I can't leave the back door open and simply wait for her to make up her mind (goes back to the expectations). When the dogs go out, ALL the dogs go out and we go out together. Same for coming back inside - we do it together. Having the option of remaining inside while everyone else is out, is not available, nor is it up for discussion. Areas like this is where you have to be gentle and reassuring, but also firm and insistent. The rules are the rules and again, this still tracks back to teaching expectations. There is a fine balance between empathizing with the dog and where he or she has come from and providing the leadership and guidance all rescue dogs need. It can be dangerous to give the dog, too much leeway because you feel sorry for them. Dogs are after all the consummate opportunists and will capitalize on any situation they can. Give them an inch and they'll take a mile. It's not wrong for them to be this way, it's a survival instinct. However, guardians of these dogs, we have to be careful not to give away the farm.

In redefining her definition of the equation, I use myself as an her example. I'm teaching her a heel of sorts, by patting the side of my leg, I do this each time I start walking away and I want her to follow. Additionally, I'm careful to do this at her eye level. Mill dogs generally don't look up at people although Lisa again with the help of the "Watch Me" command is making more and more eye contact. When she does follow me and gets close enough for me to touch her, she'll get her reward, praise followed by a minute of pets and affection. Of course, every time I pat my leg, the boys coming running over and try to do a heel, too. We have quite the circus going on at my house!

Tackling the Challenge

In the last post, I described the framework of Lisa's training challenge. In this post, I'll talk about the plan for tackling it. To summarize her challenges;

• Senior dog
• Hearing & Vision Impaired
• Mobility and Coordination Need Improvement
• Has No Concept of Expectations
• Not Potty Trained
• Doesn't Understand Command + Action = Something Good
• Needs Constructive Mental Stimulation
  
• Deprogramming 11 Years of Experiences
• How to Just Enjoy Life as a Dog

While this laundry lists seems long and daunting, it can be broken down quite easily. The first three bullets are entirely physical. The next three are based purely around training, while the last three are a bit ethological.

Starting with the first three physical bullets. There's not much to be done about Lisa being an older dog other than make sure she's as healthy as she can be. Second, her hearing and vision impairments present challenges in training. For a hearing impaired dog, you can't always give verbal corrections, especially when a dog doesn't even know what a correction is or why it is being given. Lisa is a prime example of this. She has a penchant for scratching at my walls. I don't understand the behavior, but she will just walk over to a few choice walls in the house and start scratching away. She will also do this same behavior in her crate and on the floor, too. This behavior is unacceptable in a household environment, so corrections and redirection must be given. Just like with a puppy, you have to physically instruct them first, while providing a verbal cue, i.e. No scratching. Catching the behavior before it starts is even more imperative; I think you gain more ground by catching them a half second before they start. It surprises the dog every time, "How'd they know I was gonna do that?" "Hey Buddy, you're not the only one who observe and take notes around here!" :-)

Conversely, hollering from across the room, "No scratching!" isn't going get very far with a deaf or partially deaf dog. Sadly, shining a light doesn't do much to alert a dog whose vision is impaired. Lisa can see, she just can't see that well, She tends to lose track of people and sometimes where she is. It takes her a second or two to reorient herself. For awhile, I wasn't sure if she could hear at all, guess she's was just practicing that Beardie "You talking to me?" discriminating hearing. Creativity is the key to overcoming both of these obstacles.

Lastly, her mobility and coordination are areas that have been under rehabilitation since she came under my care. Our walks up and down my sloped yard, plus a trip up and down the stairs, intermixed with very short neighborhood walks to build stamina have all worked wonders. Lisa is stronger. She has short spurts of puppy-like running. Her front legs flail up in an almost pouncing sort of way when she runs. It's so cute. To help with coordination, Calvaletti poles seemed like a good idea. After all, it's what we use to train both horses and puppies to learn foot placement. Some balance exercises were also thrown into the mix as were agility exercises. Agility exercises consisted of her trying to keep up with me as I trotted or walked just a foot or two ahead of her. I would snake a few times through the yard around obstacles and such. Her job was to follow me. These I've kept to a minimum as building strength was the first priority. Once the strength has built up enough, then I can focus more on building better coordination and stamina.

The Training Challenge

Training Lisa has taken on a life of its own. Her hearing and eye sight add new elements to an already challenging situation and test my skills as a foster mom. In earlier posts, I mentioned that Lisa and Penny were adult "puppies". In many ways, they are and in equally many ways, they're not. Puppies tend to learn the 'action equals result' equation quickly, not so with Lisa. To look at this through her eyes, Lisa only knows this equation equals bad for her. My husband and I, along with other people Lisa has met, are working hard to change her definition of this equation and show her a different kind of result.

Often when I go to pet her, she'll squeeze her eyes tight and wince. My Tedi used to do the same thing when he came here a year ago. I tell Lisa the same thing I did Tedi, "Sweetie, we don't hit here." It also reminds me to start petting her under the chin or on the sides of the body FIRST. Eventually, they learn that motions towards the top of the head aren't going to be painful. It's a reflex; in addition to being hit, Lisa was grabbed by the scruff to be pulled from her cage. This method is common handling practice for mill owners when moving the dogs around to different pens. When "directing" Lisa, I've been careful to use very light pressure on her collar to encourage her to move in the direction I need her to go.

Since Lisa does not understand the concept of receiving a treat as a reward for a desired behavior, I've had to be more creative in this area. Lisa loves to be petted, so instead of using treats as a reward, we're using praise combined with a good lovin' on. Using affection as a reward instead of a treat is no different than using a toy on a dog that's toy-focused. Eventually, I'll be able to bridge the treats in, but for now this works. I'm careful to not push her too hard or expect too much from her. Mill dogs are almost feral in a way and operate somewhat on instinct. Lisa has survived by being stronger and more adaptable. She's gotten this far in life with the skills she has. Now, we have to take those skills, whatever they happen to be, cultivate them and expand upon them. Additionally, we need to deprogram her. Deprogramming 11 years of behavior and bad experiences won't happen overnight. It will take time, patience, understanding, and above all love.

A Journey of a Thousand Miles

As Lao-Tzu said, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step," so is my journey with Lisa. Her growth continues to impress me. Each day, I'm tickled when she doesn't do something she used to do before or does something entirely new. One of her cutest behaviors is rolling. She will pick a spot either on the tile floor or the carpet, flop down and roll on her back. She'll spend anywhere between 10-15 or more seconds kicking her feet up in the air and do what I call "giggling" all the while. It is absolutely the greatest thing I've seen her do, but don't let her catch you watching or she'll stop. If she sees me watching her, she'll flip back over and get this look on her face as if to say, "ignore what you saw, you didn't see me do that." I love seeing her act like a dog and enjoy something so puritanical as rolling on her back.

Lisa has become quite expressive with her face. I've noticed her scowling when I get her to do either something she's not sure about or something she outright doesn't want to do (i.e. go outside because it's hot out there). Her scowling look consists of her furrowing her eyebrows. Of course, I've seen the stressed look more than I'd care to. That wide eyed look with a mouth stretched in an almost fake smile-like pant is hard to see on a full coated dog, but on a shaved down one those signals ring out. She does wag her tail when she feels like it. The ears perk up once in blue moon; they mostly hang down or go back depending upon the situation. I try not to put her in stressful situations, but through the course of the day she's bound to run into them. Continual assurance, lots of love, and understanding are what will get us over those rough patches.

Rehabilitating Lisa

Rehabilitating Lisa has been and is a rewarding challenge. She continues to amaze me. Her personality grows a bit more each day as she discovers who she is for the first time in her life. It's wondrous to see.

In preparing to do serious rehabilitation work, I looked online for some help. The site I mentioned in an earlier post, A New Start On Life (ANSOL), has helped give me a foundation to build upon when working with Lisa. On the outside, Lisa seems well adjusted. She doesn't hide, run, or pee submissively. However, that is on the outside and to the casual observer. Lisa has a big problem: she doesn't know what she doesn't know. When working with Penny, the first mill dog, I referred to her as a 6 year old puppy. In actuality, it's much worse. Penny, Lisa and mill dogs like them are "special needs" dogs. Not only are Penny and Lisa physically weak, they're developmentally weak. Their brains have never been exercised and like muscles in the body, if you don't use it, you lose it. In their case, they never had to begin with which makes matters that much worse. It just compounds the challenge that we've already begun.

Lisa's physical condition has returned to what it was before the surgery. She's gained some weight, about a pound or two and she looks better overall. She doesn't look drawn like before. Her rib cage is still distended, but at least when you run your hands over her there's a little something between the skin and bones. My physical therapy exercises are beginning to pay off. Lisa's gaining strength in her limbs. Her muscles felt like jelly before, now they're starting to feel a little firmer. I rotate around what exercises we actually do. Sometimes, its reps up and down this slight incline in the yard. Other times, it might be a leisurely stroll down my driveway. Now that the stitches are out, I've added stair work which also meant training a completely new concept. This feat was accomplished with the trail of treats strategically placed on the treads. Teaching her to go up was easy - to go down, not so much. Although, if you actually watch a dog go down a set of stairs like those in most houses, it's really a controlled fall down them. All of this we're taking very slowly.

Two Weeks Later

Two weeks following Lisa's brush with death, she continues to do well. Her incision is pretty much healed and she's got a spring in her step like I've never seen before. You can tell she really feels better. I was slow to wean her off her pain medication since she had both mouth and abdomen procedures done I didn't want her to be in any discomfort. Unlike us 2-leggers, our 4-legged companions prefer to suffer in silence and never let on that they're in pain.

In observing Lisa, I noticed she would sometimes fall. Not just fall down, it was like someone ripped the rug out from under her feet. Splat! She would go crashing down on the floor. At first, I thought she wasn't getting any traction on my tile and wood floors; she did slip a lot and it wasn't all the time, just once here and there. However, that changed and it became a little more frequent. When she fell outside on the grass in the same manner as she did in the house, I scratched my head. Hmmm....ear infection, perhaps? She had been scratching at one ear; again, not enough to warrant another visit to the vet. Prior to her surgery, she had been seen by 2 vets in the past month (both my own vet and the SPCA's); no one ever commented about her having an ear infection even though it is extremely common in mill dogs. The ear didn't smell bad; it smelled like an ear should. It also was relatively clean, a little waxy, but clean, nonetheless.

As I continued to observe her, I noticed her trembling just prior to falling. I also watched the manner in which she fell. Of course, these were instances when I could not come to her aid and prevent it from happening. Being the knowledge junkie that I am, I get on the Internet and start doing some research into canine vestibular disorders. Vestibular disorders are nothing new to me as I was diagnosed last year with both Meniere's Disease and Migraine Associated Vertigo. Lisa kind of acted the way I do when I'm feeling dizzy or off balance. Regardless, her falling episodes kept getting worse. Instead of the 1 or 2 a day, it would be 5 or 6 a day. She still wasn't scratching at her ear other than just the occasional scratch.

Her follow-up appointment at Angel Vet was due and she needed to have the staples removed, so I figured this was a good opportunity to ask the vet about this. While we didn't meet with Dr. Hassler, we did meet with Dr. Lane. Dr. Lane did a full neurological exam on Lisa; he even took her outside to walk so he could get a better idea of what she was doing. He spent a lot of time with us. I talked him through her situation and we discussed various diagnoses, ear infections, pinched nerves, brain tumor, etc. Our conclusion was she possibly had an inner ear infection; that combined with the lack of muscle tone and poor coordination skills were making it hard for Lisa to keep her feet under her. Ear drops were prescribed and Dr. Lane did a geriatric blood panel on her. The results of the blood test which came back a day later were fine.

Dr. Lane suggested Lisa do underwater therapy on a treadmill. While in any normal situation, his suggestion would make logical sense. However, try as they might, most vets and their staff don't understand puppy mill dogs - not really. It's not their fault. How could any reasonably sane individual who has a true love for animals understand puppy mill owners and what they put those dogs through? Keeping a dog in small cage for its entire life, never allowing it to run, jump and play and be...umm a dog? It's unconscionable! Despite numerous pictures of these horrid places, my brain still cannot comprehend the concept. I digress. Getting back to Lisa and the underwater treadmill, my first thought was probably not a good idea for her - perhaps when she's rehabilitated more and understands that nothing bad is going to happen, maybe... Right now, we'll just keep walking in the yard. ;-)

Lisa's Recovery Continues

Lisa continues to improve and each day I see something new and different. Her appetite continues to return to its pre-surgical vivaciousness and her activity level, while not overwhelming to begin with, is also increasing. This first week following I've been very careful to not over exert her, but at the same time I've been getting her to do small physical therapy-type exercises in the backyard.

She is so weak and has absolutely no muscle tone in her legs. Physical therapy right now consists of walking up and down some of the moderately sloped sections in my backyard. When her stitches are removed, we'll be able to work a little harder on this. For now, we need her to get all better. She's been doing a good job of leaving her stitches alone; I've only needed to use the e-collar just a few times.

Perhaps the best part of her recovery is the glimpses I keep getting of a budding personality in her. I had a few peeks at this prior to this dreadful bloating incident happening, but now that I've spent more consistent time with her I really get to see this sprouting personality a little more in depth. It makes me smile because for the first time in her life, she's no one's cash machine.

The First 72 Hours

The hours following GDV surgery are critical. This time is almost as critical as the surgery itself. For Lisa, she would be no different than any other patient. Her surgery occurred at 6 or so in the evening; we were instructed to pick her up at 9 when the vet's office closed to transport her to the emergency vet's office for overnight observation. Later that night, we picked her up. I could hardly contain my tears of joy at seeing her. I tried to keep my composure as post-op instructions were conveyed.

The first 24 hours are probably the most crucial of the 72 as the risk of recurrence is high along with a host of other complications. Lisa's outstanding performance during the surgery gave her a good fighting chance going into the 72 hours. I had eerie chill run down my spine though as I filled out the DNR form for Lisa. This question was something I had never given a moment's thought to, other than, "Of course, I'd do whatever," as the standard answer. However, this question wasn't about me. It was about Lisa and I had to be honest and do what would be best FOR HER. My answer was to do what was reasonable and that I had to be contacted if anything further needed to be decided. Thank the Lord, the staff did not have to use that form! Lisa made it through the night in terrific shape. We had to pick her up at 7 AM and take her back to the vet's office for observation during the day.

We would keep this routine up for one more day before she was discharged. Her condition kept improving each day despite her not having an appetite. Can't say I really blame her - given what she just went through, not sure I'd have an appetite either. Plus, the medication probably wasn't helping. Finally, Saturday night we were able to bring her home. It was such a relief to do that. Now, we could really work on her getting her better. By Sunday afternoon, Lisa started taking her first bites of food - some boiled chicken and rice mixed with a teeny bit of canned pumpkin.

Tragedy Strikes and a Miracle Happens

Taking Lisa back to my house for the night was relatively uneventful. My boys, Tedi & Tyler, are incredible foster brothers. While intensely curious about the newcomer, they still gave her space as if almost sensing Lisa was special. Penny also briefly stayed at my house prior to going on to her new family, and that was Tedi's first time acting as foster brother. I was quite impressed by him having never seen him in the role prior. Tyler, the other Son of Anarchy, is very experienced at dealing with these "other dogs" and naturally does a great job. Lisa was very cautious about the house. She liked walking around it though. Walk here, walk there and back again. Not being a housebroke dog, this activity keeps you on your toes!

The next morning off to the dog dentist we go! Lisa handles the car okay, although you can tell it's a new experience for her. I don't think she's made up her mind if she likes it or not. Lisa's time at the dentist goes by quickly and I get the call to pick her up. On our way back home, I hear her in the crate beginning to vomit - or at least the sounds of that. Getting the car off the freeway, I get to safe spot, stop and check on her. When I look, there's nothing there - no vomit, no bile, just some saliva. She had stopped so I figured perhaps she's carsick and with an empty tummy, there's nothing there to come out. I give her a few minutes and she seems fine otherwise so I get back on the road and head home.

We get back to the house, I put her in the crate and begin to make dinner when I hear those same sounds again. Gosh, she's gonna throw up again. This time, she seemed panicky. I kinda figured maybe it was a reaction to the anesthesia and she was having a hard time recovering (not knowing where she was, confusion, etc.) so I take all the dogs outside. It was then I got my first definitive warning sign -- I saw excessive foamy drool and saliva on the corners of her mouth. I called the dentist's office - got their voicemail. I called the surgical tech's cell phone number that he gave me - got his voicemail. I turn around and Lisa had walked a little bit away from me, when I caught up to her I saw her stomach and entire midsection was blown up like balloon. OMG!!!! She's BLOATING!!

I had never in the 18+ years of ever having dogs never had a dog bloat on me before. Thankfully, I recognized the symptoms as quickly as I did. Guess I did retain some of those wonderful health articles I read each month in the Bagpipes! When I re-tell this story, I tell people I panicked. I literally had a panic attack. Now, I'm not one who panics, I leave that to others. I'm a person of action, while others are standing around with their hands on their faces and mouths open. Well, I must have mentally smacked myself in the face and told myself to get it together, cuz I snapped out it somehow! I grabbed my trusty iPhone, got to the web and typed emergency vet and my town's name. I didn't even spell the name of my town correctly, but Google figured it out what I meant. The first hit was a vet's office not 10 minutes from house. They were still open and specialized in emergency situations having 2 e-vets on staff. I called them and told them I had a dog that's bloating and we're coming in!

Don't ask me how I drove there, but I did. I've driven in emergency situations before and frankly, I don't like it. I do remember taking my Toyota Highlander off road for a bit on the short hike over there. At Angel Veterinary Center, we were met by Doctor Hassler. She immediately went to work on Lisa, whose poor tummy looked like it was going to explode it was stretched so tight. She looked like she was pregnant. Xrays confirmed bloat, but not the usual images were seen. After several attempts at inserting a gastric tube failed, the Dr. Hassler's initial diagnosis was confirmed, Lisa's stomach had twisted the opposite direction. Emergency surgery was needed to save her life. With prayers said, I agreed to the surgery.

My husband joined me at the vet's office and together we waited and prayed. I couldn't help but cry as I sat waiting for any news. I refused to believe that God would bring Lisa this far only to have it all end like this. "I know you have something special in mind for her, Lord." I kept praying. If you know anything about dogs and bloat, you know there's a 50/50 chance they'll survive the surgery and that the dogs still aren't out of the woods even if they do survive the surgery. Not knowing her previous health history and knowing that her age was working against us, the odds were not stacked in our favor. Some might have just put her down rather than go through with the surgery, but I saw so much potential left in her I had to give her that chance. With the odds stacked against her, I never gave up hope or faith that she would pull through.

The door opened to the exam room and Doctor Hassler appeared. She had a calm look on her face so it was hard to read how things went; gotta love the professionalism. Lisa had not only survived the surgery, she did flawlessly throughout it. There was no damage done to her stomach or spleen. There was very little fluid in her stomach, too. She was stapled stem to stern, but she made it over the first major hurdle. Thank you, Jesus!

Lisa's First Week

When doing rescue work, I generally don't foster at my home. However, there are certain exceptions to this rule. Penny and Lisa were both fostered at American Pet Spa. I thought it might be a good transitional place for the dogs before bringing them into a house. Here, they would receive increased positive socialization, both with humans and other dogs. This magnificent kennel does a wonderful job of caring for the animals that board there. The staff are phenomenal from the owner on down. They are so generous to me with my fosters and allow me to come and go at will. While my fosters are there, I go and visit them every day. Spending time with them allows me to get to know their personality and better define what their forever home should look like. In addition, we work on training or socialization, too.

With Penny off to her forever home, I was now free to concentrate exclusively on Lisa. Each day with Lisa was better than the day before. She was noticeably weak in a muscular sense. This weakness gave her an old lady-like waddle. Her sense of smell was impeccable. She had taken a huge liking to one particular kennel attendant and could follow his scent trail. I'd let her walk around and lead me where she wanted, she took me right back to the employee break room where he had just been. Lisa left an paw print impression on everyone she met. I say this figuratively and literally! If you stop petting her, she paws you to continue as if to say, "I didn't say you could stop." Of course, we're reinforcing this behavior by continuing to pet her, too! :-)

Lisa is special girl; she is so gentle, except for when she wants you to pet her. The owners of the kennel had taken a special interest in Lisa; I held a glimmer of hope that they might adopt her, but no. Having just lost their older dog, I can understand. They did give Lisa a brand new bed to sleep on, for which we are ever grateful. Lisa would have stayed a bit longer there, but she needed to have her teeth examined by a dog dental specialist. The masses in her mouth were of major concern to my vet and myself. The dog dentist did wonders for Penny's mouth and helped to get the extensive periodontal disease under control. Lisa had an appointment with the dentist the next day, so she had to check out of the kennel. It was a tearful parting for all involved; that's what rescue dogs do to you.

Meeting Lisa

While fostering Penny, I was able to finally pick up Lisa. She had been at the SPCA for nearly 2 weeks since I found out she was there. Apparently, Beardie Rescue had never been an "approved" rescue group with the shelter so we needed to fill out paperwork. The SPCA also did a site visit to my house to see where I foster my dogs, etc. While it seemed like red tape, I'm glad they actually take these precautions. Who knows I could have been a hoarder! LOL

With all the appropriate boxes checked, Beardie Rescue was able to spring Lisa. The day I went to pick her up was a dismal day. It was raining heavily with some fantastic thunderstorms in the area. Not exactly the best conditions for meeting a dog, but Lisa took it all in stride. I quickly found out she did not like the rain and wanted no parts of it as she firmly planted all four feet and wouldn't budge. I picked her up and carried her to my car; I don't like standing in the rain either. :-)

Lisa's condition was far worse than Penny's. Lisa only had 5 or 6 teeth, which were in bad shape, and these lumps all along her gums where her other teeth used to be. Other issues included a skin infection, ear infection, and rectal polyps. Like Penny, she had been shaved down and was underweight. It was obvious poor Lisa had been bred several times, her rib cage was distorted from carrying litter after litter. We believe Lisa to be around 11 years old. However, this estimate is largely based on her teeth. Given their poor condition, she may be closer to 10. While Lisa's age is a major factor, the untreated ear infections are more than likely the cause of Lisa's hearing loss. Additionally, Lisa's vision is compromised due to her cloudy eyes. From her years of living in nothing but a small metal cage, Lisa has no muscle tone in her legs and very little coordination. Consequently, her balance suffers as she attempts to move around. When she's confident in her footing, look out! She takes off trotting!

Like Penny, she, too is an explorer always on the move. However, while Penny is adventurous, Lisa is not. Lisa is extremely cautious about any new environments. Again, this behavior is not surprising coming from a mill dog. Lisa tends to freeze and stand absolutely motionless until she's sure it's safe to move. Same goes for any examination of her. She stands absolutely still. As I would find out through my own research into the rehabilitation of mill dogs, this behavior and others is commonplace. To understand it, you need to see things through the eyes of the dog. I found this site extremely helpful in understanding where a puppy mill dog comes from in their approach to life on the outside.

Lisa has a sweet spirit about her: an old soul. You can tell by looking in her eyes that she's lived a life harder than some people, but yet she doesn't harbor any ill feelings against humans. In fact, it's just the opposite. She seeks them out and all she wants is for you to pet her. And don't you dare stop!

Beardie Rescue Jumps Into Action

Quite often I find myself perusing Petfinder.com's website looking for Beardies. On this occasion, I struck gold. There were 2 girls at the SPCA in McKinney, TX. Utilizing Beardie Rescue resources in North Texas, myself along with several others worked to get the girls released into the Beardie Rescue's custody.

The first girl we were able to get released was "Wookie", now named "Penny". Penny was thought to be 6 years old. Special thanks to Kim Semyan for springing Penny and setting her up with boarding until I could come and pick her up. Penny had periodonatal disease, was underweight, and had ear infections in both ears. Her shaved down coat showed every bone in her body. However, Penny had spunk. She was a very determined girl who was not swayed by the recent changes in her environment. Sadly, most puppy mill survivor dogs don't come this way.

Penny's outgoing nature made her curious about everything. You could almost see the thought bubble above her head reading, "What's that?" It was so wonderful to see her running in my yard and enjoy just being a dog for the first time in her life. She was no longer someone's cash machine any more!

Penny lives with her forever family in Austin, TX along with her new Beardie brother and best friend George. She's been keeping the family on their toes when it comes to housebreaking since living inside a house is a competely new concept to Penny. She hasn't quite mastered the whole inside verus outside concept yet. This confusion is very common with mill dogs and takes time and patience to undo all the years of conditioning.