A very old stray {The Old Fella Story}

[Dixie_Flyer]

Went camping this weekend at a campground on the lake, had not been there for a few years. Once there I began to walk around looking at the different sites when I noticed a very old dog. He just lay there until I got too close then he got up on three legs and hobbled away. Just judging I would say he is at least 11 years old. Well back to my story. The next afternoon he wanders into camp and just sits there looking. He looked so sad, so the wife got a bowl of our dog's food and put it down for him and he came over and ate. He then walked over to our dog and the two of them sniffed each other over and then they lay down together for the rest of the afternoon. That night he disappeared.
The next morning he was back and was a little more receptive of me. I looked at his injured leg and found that half of his rear foot was gone. It had healed and was not causing any problem except that he was walking on the stub that was left with no foot pad which causes him to limp. His front teeth were gone except for one canine tooth and it looked decayed. His eyes were tired looking and showing his age. He spent the rest of the day just laying around looking for a handout and by afternoon the campground host came around and saw him. I enquired about the dog and was told he had been there for three years and that most of the campers were tolerant of him and gave him food.
So what to do? Do you pick him up and bring him home or do you let nature take it course. He can't harm anyone, he has no teeth and he isn't a nuisance unless you don't like dogs, and no one seems to mind him being there. He is gentle and likes other animals as seen by his interaction with our dog. He still would not let me touch him but he would eat from my hand. Enough said, what would you do???

On June 28th 2008 Old Fella passed away of complications caused by bone cancer. Fella spent almost three years with his new family and became the icon of rescued old stray dogs. He will be greatly missed but his foot prints have been left in our hearts forever.

Now Charlie, the ten year old rescued Golden Lab has come to be a part of the continuing Old Fella story. (*Note, Charlie took his journey to Rainbow Bridge unexpectedly September 30, 2008)Suzie continues to charm her way into our hearts with her antics as she has grown from a puppy into a young lady. Togther they will carry on the Old Fella legacy. Come join us in their daily lives and be a part of the best feel good thread in RV.NET history. The legacy lives on.


HIghways Article Puppy Love

Old Fella Burke County Animal Rescue

[Dixie_Flyer]

Now that Mama is back to normal this morning I started giving her smaller doses of Joint Strong and leaving off the Metacam. The ID Science Diet dog food is not to her liking, but she eats it with a long tongue. I got an email form our intake coordinator there is an injured dog out in the county so I will go out this morning and see if I can find it and bring it to Dr. Ford.

[chemisd]

I never feed our dogs or allow water the day of travel. Just feel safer not to. And due to a problem with bloat with our other
GSD, I don't feed or water for about the first hour home either. We did that once as soon as we came home and within an hour we were rushing her to an emergency vet clinic.
Glad Mama is doing better.

[Code2High]

Sounds like it might be worth having a couple of tabs on hand (or just one!) for those unexpected trips when you haven't fasted her.

[dturm]

That's one of the indicated uses, not at all too strong. I'd try it, but be prepared for the cost 🙂

[Dixie_Flyer]

dturm wrote:
The new medication is Cerenia, made by Pfizer and has been out about a year. It's a great medication for vomiting - we use it for parvo puppies and it has helped stop the vomiting. It does come in tablet form, but is very expensive. We've used it mostly in severe cases where we had to get vomiting stopped and there were no other good options.

Doug, DVM

Would you recommend it for car sickness, or is it too strong a medicine for that? Suzie seems to do well if we don't feed her and give her the Rescue Remedy just before we leave, but if she eats anything or drinks water she will get car sick.

[dturm]

The new medication is Cerenia, made by Pfizer and has been out about a year. It's a great medication for vomiting - we use it for parvo puppies and it has helped stop the vomiting. It does come in tablet form, but is very expensive. We've used it mostly in severe cases where we had to get vomiting stopped and there were no other good options.

Doug, DVM

[kokosfriend]

my vet has said there is a new medication out for dogs who get carsick. You might check and see if your vet has it and whether or not it might work for those sudden trips with Suzie. I can't remember the name - have no carsick dogs - but could find out.

Barb

[Dixie_Flyer]

I am glad to report that Mama is back to normal. Her stool is firm and the test results from the Vet show negative as far as any parasites. Now we try to get her back on one of the meds and see how that goes.

We don't have any plans to travel until the Labor Day weekend and then that will be a short trip to Modoc, then October 16th we leave for Wytheville, Virginia for a week and then we go to Cherokee, NC for a weekend with the kids. The fur gang will be going with us so once again we will have crowded spaces in the truck and the camper. Saturday we decided to go to Augusta for a few hours and take care of some business we had there so we took Mama. Hobo, Suzie and Peaches. It was a last minute decision and for Suzie it didn't work out so well as she got car sick. Poor thing has to fast and do without water before riding. Needless to say she ate that morning and drank water so the Rescue Remedy didn't work for her.

Any way we now know beyond the shadow of a doubt that Suzie cannot eat or drink before riding anywhere. I hope Dan and Lori will be able to join us at Wytheville as we explore the back roads of Virginia. On a previous trip we traveled the back country and saw some beautiful scenery and some very interesting shops I hope to visit again. I found some of the best fig preserves and some other goodies to bring back home.

Hobo is really is making a lot of progress lately. She is becoming more self confident and will come to Sue and I just for a hug. Peaches and Izzie are doing well also. Life is great when all of the family is healthy and getting along and right now everything is great.

[lviars50]

Both my dogs does the same thing...runny bowels when we go on a trip..Vet told me to give them Pepto Bismol and it works for them..Ellie is Alfa dog and gets it much worse than Daisy
Lois

kokosfriend wrote:
My dogs get runny bowels when we go on a trip and they now get probiotics - FortaFlora. That seems to help restore the bacteria that the stress induced bowel problem lack. Perhaps something like that could help. Maybe Joint strong is destroying the good bacteria in Mama's bowel. Maybe there is a way to control the diarrhea and allow you to give the Joint Strong. Perhaps you can try other forms of gloucosamine chondrotin. Hannah did not get benefit from the G-C mix, so she had to take Metacam. Acupuncture will help.

Barb

[ElBigDodgeO]

I've been lurking lately and not participating, busy summer. But I'm going to go out on a limb to offer a suggestion on Susie's aggression issues. I think she is feeling the pressure of being Alpha dog and having to protect everyone. Mama and Hobo are big dogs, and a lot of responsibility for Susie. Mama has not been feeling well, now Sue has been down as well, and I think the pressure may be getting to Susie. Richard, I think it might be time for a sit-down between you and Susie to let her know that you are sharing the burden and helping her protect everyone, that she doesn't need to stress about it and go overboard, she is doing a great job and everyone loves her.

Just a thought.

Sandi

[Dixie_Flyer]

Code2High wrote:
Actually, moderate activity is recommended for arthritis, not rest.

The company that makes Joint Strong also makes Young At Heart, which has not as much glucosamine in it and ingredients aimed toward improving digestion. Worth a thought. Tig gets a combo of the two.

Is she okay now on the new food and without the metacam and JS? What is in the new food?

The new food is ID Science Diet changed from Great Life Buffalo meat Great Life Grain free dog foodDog Food. Suzie is doing very well in Great Life and loves it. I gave Mama her first dose of Metacam in over a week this morning, we are waiting to see how her system reacts to it.

[Code2High]

Actually, moderate activity is recommended for arthritis, not rest.

The company that makes Joint Strong also makes Young At Heart, which has not as much glucosamine in it and ingredients aimed toward improving digestion. Worth a thought. Tig gets a combo of the two.

Is she okay now on the new food and without the metacam and JS? What is in the new food?

[CA_POPPY]

dturm wrote:
We've been seeing more than the normal number of vomiting/diarrhea cases this summer. None have been "serious" and all have recovered with medication and without hospitalization. Wonder if there is a new flu strain or a particularly potent bacteria?? be

We've had our Rosie to the vet this week and he said the same thing you did, Dr Doug. Except that a client of his almost lost a 13 yr old dachshund with "whatever this is" that's going around. He also said it is especially prevalent at the local dog park, so obviously it's very contagious between dogs. Our girls don't go inside the dog park, but do sniff around the adjoining park. Also, I pet every dog that walks up to me, so maybe I ought not to do that? Might have passed something along to Rosie.

[Dixie_Flyer]

Poodle Power wrote:
Would Mama be content to ride in a wagon like Old Fella on the walks?

We are thinking along those lines, don't know yet how she would react to that, but we will find out soon.

[Poodle_Power]

Would Mama be content to ride in a wagon like Old Fella on the walks?