Something seemed not quite right

[mweinstock1]

thanks Tracy..i wasn't sure if it was appropriate here for me to do that. i feel much better now that that's cleared up.

i'm going to go and send that email now..i just cannot seem to get anything finished today..dave will be home any minute and i have an inbox full..still..i've been on here all day..it never empties out!! my fault..i'm always looking for things to subscribe to of interest and then they keep coming and sit..waiting..got to run,.dave's home.

love ya, hugs, MINDY

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Mindy, I'm enjoying learning more about you, and also being reminded about details that had slipped my mind.

When it comes to Parsley, you have done everything right, and now there is a little dog out there named Parsley who needs a loving home and that should and will be with you. Once you take her to the vet, he/she will be able to give you a good idea of her age just by her teeth. You know all that already. It's hard sometimes when posting in a Forum to convey all the minutiae so that a casual observer fully understands the situation.

We'll all just plug along together. Also, as Tracy said, this is your thread and if you veer off in a different direction, that is just fine.

Keep us posted on Parsley!

[mweinstock1]

Thanks Deb..and here is an update for everyone.

more news i received..first i guess i should say..i have an appointment to meet with the fostering woman at Petsmart-where i first saw Parsley to finalize the adoption papers this saturday at 1pm and then of course bring Parsley home..the best part!!

i had asked her if she felt she was ready..and she said that without a doubt she is. that she has a confidence level ..she is comfortable exploring on her own, stealing toys from her sibling, but does not mind being out of her sight. she said they play wonderfully together, but also she plays nicely by herself. She said Parsley is the more outgoing of the two , her sister she said is more cuddly and snuggly.

Then she told me more, she said she will be boosted with DHPP today, and then told me she has been treating both puppies for Coccidia.{she never mentioned it to me before}.and the last treatment is saturday morning...and she said so this is good timing.

now i looked it up..a protozoan infestation. common in puppies and kittens. that the medication does not kill the organism but stops it from reproducing..the remainder of the organisms come out through the intestines-from the feces. not contagious to humans. i'm thinking that means if Parsley has accidents in the house..which is quite normal..that fastidious clean up of feces..with ammonia..which is what's said to work on coccidia..while bleach/water solution works for parvo, since the feces still has live protozoa i think within it..am i correct? i'm concerned about the cats becoming infected with coccidia..is that a possibiity after Parsley has already finished treatment if i am so careful with feces clean up?

now also woman said she had the two pups for over two weeks...that she had quarantined them both for that amount of time..as parvo virus is in the stools for two weeks following an infection..and i must be thinking of that. it's not that way with coccidia. so here i am confused again. she quarantined them both for two weeks, and yet she said Parsley never was symptomatic just the other day. what is the truth in this? i plan to have her feces checked for parvo virus when we get to the vet. -hope they can get feces..if we are coming directly there from the petsmart. read below as i am adding this after that part. i hope i can even get an appointment for saturday. may need to wait till monday.

i called my vet. the machine is on..no one is in the office. i left a message saying about adopting a puppy this saturday and hoping she had an opening for 4pm this saturday as i'd like to bring her in to be checked out before bringing her home just to be sure she is ok and have a few things checked out and get her on a schedule for what she needs worked out.

i also need to find out just at what age and weight i can begin with flea treatments. i want to be extra careful about that but again that's all she needs is an infestation too-though it is getting cooler outside..all the bugs are out now. she will be inside most of the time except for some playing with us and her walks ..but i don't want her to pick up anything either.
but i also understand that she is so young.. but as you say the vet can be more sure with a check of her teeth. i checked the date i saw her at petsmart and it sure has been over two weeks since then. as i saw her the 11th and 12th of september at that petsmart national adoption weekend. petsmart had said she was 5-6 weeks old then..woman says she was 4-5 weeks old then. so let's just say she was five weeks old then..then on october 3rd that would make her 8 weeks old i think could be a week less or a week more if one or the other of them was wrong.

i'm so excited i am almost beside myself already with joy..and the way i have been feeling that is great!!! haven't felt so good in sooo long..

say a few prayers for me please..one.. is for Parsley that she is going to be fine...no active parvo virus..no coccidia. and that she will adjust well to her new family and home. dave and i will certainly do everything in our power to see she is happy and healthy and so loved.
two..that my doc tomorrow is willing to order and monitor this new med i want and need for me and that is works to ease the pain i've been in without creating major side effects. i really appreciate it alot. thanks everyone.

God Bless, hope everyone has a wonderful day, love, Mindy

[Deerie me]

Fingers crossed for Parsley's vets visit and fingers crossed for your medication.

[mweinstock1]

Tracy, thanks so much, that means so much. my toes are crossed as well..lol.

i had asked the woman if Parsley already had a collar..as i do not have one as of yet..i do have a leash..and i do not know what size collar to get either. but she did not answer that question in the email.
do u have any idea? a small maybe--- do u think? for boxer/beagle..maybe 7-8 weeks old or so. and what kind should i get ..i really don't know. definitely not a choker..but one that adjusts..? or one that just stays put at one size? i don't even remember what we started with with buffy..that was so long ago. plus i don't think she ever looked this tiny..she had all that fur. only when we bathed her could you really see how small she was! she disappeared in front of your eyes.

i'm going to have a baby in the house again..oh my goodness..YES!!! and I CAN'T WAIT TILL SATURDAY!!

I printed off lots of that picture of Parsley i put on here and i am going to be sending them out to my family and friends in other states and also showing it to my friends at the moose lodge here. She is so precious and adorable.

I do want everyone to know..we will be changing her name. Don't know what her name will be yet..will keep you posted.
a name of a spice..just does not do it for me..her sister is rosemary..i wonder if her other sibling..the woman did mention another one i think..is she or he sage? just kidding, i'm in some mood..think i'm chomping at the bit if u know what i mean. Saturday can't come fast enough for me now.

well i best be getting myself ready.dave is home and he is out in the backyard..digging up my old rainbow butterfly bush and my two rose bushes of sharon that kicked in all the heat we had..the company sent me new ones..replaced them..and then he going to plant the new ones..in the same spots..we have been getting alot of rain..in fact the g round is so muddy..it will be very easy to get into the ground now. Virginia soil has alot of clay in it so it can be very difficult to plant in..so we're very thankful for the rain. and for the last two weekends he's been raking out the front lawn as we need to reseed and then fertilize too. just one bit of raking out to do left and then we can reseed and fertilize--he did all the raking out..i may help throw seed and fertilizer or we may just borrow the spreader from our neighbor..which seems alot easier and faster. i think this has got to be finished within the next two weeks as this is best time to plant i was told..otherwise we are only going to have a dirt lawn in front..and that is not good. not for all the halloween and christmas decorations i have planned to put out there. won't look right at all. plus seeding after winter..in the spring i hear is not the best time.

when dave is done planting the tiny bushes we are going out to dinner so i must get ready.
have a great evening. God Bless, hugs, love, Mindy

[Deerie me]

Aren't you meeting her at Petsmart? You could get one then when Parsley is with you.

I love the name Parsley. There was a children's programme when I was a kid called "The Herbs" featuring a lion called Parsley. He was a very friendly lion.

http://www.davethewave.co.uk/theherbs/

[4 the Dogs]

Hi Mindy...coccodia is very contagious and can be hard to get rid of. If you do take Parsley home before seeing the vet, do not let her interact with the kitties or let the kitties near her feces. If you see the vet, make sure (as I know you will) you tell him about this latest news too. This lady sounds confused, overwhelmed or something...
I'd ask her, even insist, for her to give you any kind of records she has that shows when she gave the puppies what for your vet to review.

If you are picking her up at PetsMart, you should be able to get a collar there. I might start with an adjustable one as Parsley will be growing guickly and you don't want the collar to become tight. You'll need to check it weekly.

But 2 more sleeps till you bring Parsley home!! YAY!!

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Mindy, when Henry was a puppy, he managed to pick up Giardia which is an intestinal parasite. Because pups are growing so quickly, it is very hard to totally eradicate some forms of parasites until either the frost hits and/or they slow down a bit in their growth spurts (around six months).

I believe Phyrie went through Coccidia with Kiba for the first few months that he was at home with her.

Either way, both parasites will give the puppy diarrhea which makes the housetraining part more difficult. They're excrement must be completely discarded immediately. The way that this parasite is transmitted is quite easy...all another dog or animal has to do is manage to get a little in their mouth...usually by sniffing droppings left behind. Adult animals can be cured quickly of this as long as they are not in contact with any feces of the infected dog. Oliver developed it after Henry came home and we had a very hectic summer last summer.

Follow the vet's instructions on that, once it's been determined that is in fact occurring. The colder weather is your friend as the parasites can't survive frost.

I would also strongly caution you against using any topical flea treatment on a puppy. It is not necessary unless there is an outbreak or influx of fleas in your region, or your puppy is going to come into contact with a lot of wild animals. In the unlikely event that the puppy picks up fleas, treat them immediately (follow vet's instructions).

As far as a collar is concerned, I would suggest you buy one of the ones that doesn't have predetermined holes just for the first few weeks. Buy a small one. They are quite inexpensive and do up with a buckle whereby the prong pushes through at any point in the webbing of the collar. That will suffice until the pup is a bit older and you can select something more permanent.

Good luck for Saturday!


ETA: I just saw Kris' post above mine and apparently we are in agreement.

[mweinstock1]

Hi Lots of great information, thanks Tracy, Kris, and Deb. i appreciate it alot.

First of all, time is changed for today. Dave has to work till 2pm..they told him late yesterday, he told me last night..so i emailed back to the woman and asked if we could make it later..so we are meeting at 330pm today instead. TODAY'S THE DAY I'M BRINGING MY FOREVER FURBIE HOME!!

i did speak to receptionist at animal hospital and did make an appointment..but first one they had was for monday at 830am. so will be bringing Parsley home first after all before any kind of checkup.

i was told that on contract would be her list of vaccines etc that she's had..but i will most definitely make sure it is all included so the vet can see what she's had..illnesses and all. meds, shots, everything, i want symptoms there too..but will i get those i do not know. guess i will see for myself if she has diarrhea, is running around when we walk her, or is listless, or if she is coughing, vomiting or what exactly is going on with her as i don't really know what to believe or not. you know what i mean..whether she had parvo or didn't..or does she still have it possibly..i had wanted to have her stool checked for it right away. but that is not contagious to humans or cats. with coccidia, lady told me it was parvo that stayed in feces for two weeks..that i had it mixed up..well i don't think so..as parvo is only contagious to other dogs i think..and dangerous for the puppy itself...whereas coccidia protozoa doesn't die from the meds given..they just stop reproducing..and are shed thru the intestines by the feces and i read those feces are contagious..i think for about two weeks..but the time is not the issue..i think she is mixed up all together..or trying to confuse me..first of all she never even mentioned the pups had coccidia..till she mentioned she was able to go h ome on saturday..now why would she way she was ready to go home if she still had contagious feces and she knows very well i have two cats.

i plan to keep them as separate as possible..i have a large crate for the puppy as want them to get to know each other by smell and sight not without something between them..safer and i think less stressful for all of them. and i would definintely be cleaning up any feces immediately...but if all it takes is a sniff of an area...than there is a huge isssue here. it means that there is not a way to take the puppy out of crate without having a chance of the cats being exposed..as it does take a second or two to get supplies to properly clean the area where the feces was...and if it is coccidia the lady says with ammonia..is the only thing that kills it. with parvo it is bleach and water solution..so how do i know which to use..without a vet check first to determine exactly which illness might be causing the diarrhea..obviously i cannot go with her saying she was asymptomatic about parvo..that she didn;'t have it..cause orignorally she said she did and then had just said she'd been quarantined for it for two weeks. maybe i'm just geting nervous...worried...i just do not want the cats to get sick..and i hoped that Parsley was over both illnesses ..at least where if i cleaned up the feces quickly..nothing could be caught..but if u can only sniff the area...am i maybe reading into that a bit much....do u mean the feces..or just the area after the feces are cleaned up well with ammonia? and that's only if she should accidently go to the bathroom quickly before we can get her ouside with her leash..we plan to take her ouside often.--possibly it wouild be a good idea to paper the hallway and then put up the puppy gate at the end of that and close all the bedroom doors for short periods of time..so then she wouldn't need to be crated so much until monday. she could run around more..it is a very very long hallway. she can have lots of toys there. hoping of course both cats don't jump the puppy gate to join her in the hallway..as that would defete the purpose wouldn't it of keeping them somwhat separate until we know more of what we are dealing with.

i quess i need to decide that it is all going to work out ok. because i am going to drive myself nuts going back and forth on this. we can only take precautions and go from there and watch Parsley's actions as that will give us the real clue to how she's doing. The rest we will find out when we get to the vet on monday. and i do plan to tell the vet EVERYTHING! as well as have her review what the linkady will have given to me.
that does sound like the best kind of collar for now since she definitely will be growing quickly and will be needing another one soon.

i saw the neurologist yesterday at my va medical center. and he did order the new med for me that i wanted and he is going to monitor it for me as well..he said to me..if the other one is not working at all for pain control then why are you still on it..and i said..well ther other doctor eve n wanted to increase that med again and refused to give me a new med istead. so he said well u are off it now..i am going to titrate you down slowly..and mail you out the new medication..lyrica. when we got all done..as he did several other things for me...he was absolutely wonderful i will see him every 4 months. anyway..i called my other docs office..and did the automated phone systme..and cancelled my next appointment with her. i do not plan to see her again. period. the neurologist has said he will monitor and refill the new med-lyrica, titrate down the old med..cymbalta till i am off it...and monitor and refill the other two meds...one he always orders for me and one the other doctor gives me...so i have no need to see that other doc..and why would i want to see a doc that does not hear a word i say,so ignores me and goes ON to do what she wants to anyway...well thinks she was going to till i went above her head-i let her think what she wanted after a bit..i got tired of talking..and decided let her yap..and after our appt had been up just made that call to see the other doc yesterday. quess her rude awakening will cone when she sees that our next apt is cancelled and that i do hav the med she would not roder for me ordered and am being dcreased and slowly weaned off the med she wanted to increase. i think she is going to have a fit. well if i don't stand up and be an advocate for myself who is going to be? i know what kind of pain i am in..she cannot feel i t and obviouisly she doesn;'t seem to want to hear about it either, but i was not about to waste any more time on a med having to value..having been on it for two months already without even slight improvement and only actually getting worse. seemed the only logical thing to me was to go off of it and try something else.

and so..thanks so much...as prayer number two..it worked so well...crossing fingers and toes worked too..lol. splendidly.
now hopefully when i get the new med..it will work and not give me issues..i hear u can gain weight onit..but..i will have to work hard not to let it do that to me..that would stink. but if gives me good pain relief..i am going to find somehow to exercise more..aha walking our puppy....good idea...built in family exercise.

i will get back to everyone as soon as i can...with more news. of our new Family ADDITION..our FOREVER FURBEE...God Bless, hugs, love ,Mindy

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Mindy, you do have a lot on your mind!

First of all, let's start slowly...if the puppy has an "accident" in the house, and you clean it properly (with bleach or ammonia) that will surely kill any germs. Since your home has "hard surfaces" you are able to clean them, unlike grass wherein the germs could possibly hide in a tiny piece left behind.

Secondly, plan to take Parsley out every 20 to 30 minutes to housetrain. The minute she wakes, outside; after eating, outside; after playing, outside; after 30 minutes of nothing, outside. Praise, praise, praise her when she does well and ignore it if she has an accident. Always use the same door to go out so she will learn where to go to ask.

Thirdly, you have your vet appointment for first thing Monday. Remember to bring a fecal sample with you. Use a snack size ziploc bag (or something similar that enables you to pick up the sample without touching it with your bare hand) and obtain the "freshest" one.

Lastly, ENJOY YOUR NEW PUPPY!!!! I also think Parsley is a cute name.

I'm glad to hear that you have found a new doctor that you like and things are improving in that area.

Surely you must be home now with the new puppy and I can't wait for an update.

[Phyrie]

As Deb said, my Kiba was infected with coccidia when he first came home. I didn't know it, and since I was changing his food over, I didn't worry about the diarrhea, at first. As a result, Kiba wasn't diagnosed for a couple of weeks after he came home. By that time he was thin, although not dehydrated.

The big problem with these intesinal parasites is re-infection. If Parsley really does have coccidia, you will want to keep her on-leash for potty, so she doesn't nose the ground and re-infect herself. You're correct in that you don't completely get rid of it, but the problem with puppies is that their immune systems aren't functioning at top speed. An adult dog can (and does) carry the parasite with no ill effects, but not so a puppy.

[mweinstock1]

Hi, I can finally get online and tell everyone all the news..my computer internet access wasn't working only local service since saturday afternoon. figures. began working last night..but had no time then to write a book..as u will see soon. lol.

Oh yes..i've got my FOREVER FURBIE..FINALLY. We've named her RUBY. what a cutie pie. lady actually told me she's had her since sep 2nd..before she even got to the petsmart weekend thing..and she was at least 10 weeks old..when i went to vet on monday am..he took one look at her teeth and saw molars growing..and said she is maybe 12-14 weeks old. not so tiny after all...and everyone of us were so concerned she was leaving the nest so soon..because of misinformation and miscommunication from fostering mom.which she had gotten it straight from the beginning. but all's well that ends well.

Ruby sleeps thru the entire night! even thru the first night in her crate. what we do..is about what u say..i'll take a day and explain my system..soon as i wake up..and i get up early...by 530am at latest..i take ruby out or dave does while other fixes her food and water..then she comes in and eats and goes right back out again..eliminates. while dave and i are having breakfast she is in crate having a nap or playing with her toys..todaY she has taken to chewing up the few newspapers i have put in her crate too..lol..but i put them in just in case she might need them in middle of night..and once she dumped water bowl..only give her a bit at a time and refill it..and then she barked at the turned over bowl as if to say..i need more..what's up with that. ha ha. she's so funny. her favorite toys are the cats toys.their mice..she carries them around in her mouth..and i even put one in her crate with her..it has wheels on it..though she has many many toys i have bought just for her..and she likes several of them already too and also has a bone she enjoys chewing on. in the crate i also bought her a nice soft bed for the back corner to go on top of the sheepshin rug..just in the back half of the crate. front half is one side with mat with bowl for food and water..only in there when she is actually eating..though i give her water more often...and other part has newspaper. toys are all over in there..as she moves them to suit her..plus now she actually moves the whole bed everywhere too.

anyway, after nap or playtime she is outside again..for quite awhile..going to bathroom and then playtime outside.she of course stops here and there for another leak if need be.we clean up her feces with bags and paper towels and dispose of it. so yes it is in and out frequently. now cats...first day..they took a good look at her as we put her in her crate. smokey our gray cat seemed a bit nervous but other than that she seemed ok. she walked around carefully watching and got closer and it seemed fine. just watching. but not too close. bandit on the other hand. came right up to the edge of the back side of the crate and crouched down to get a good look at ruby. and ruby let out a growl and barked at bandit. bandit took off for the hills. -well for the other corner of the room to be more exac t..seemed scared and didn;'t know what to make of the whole situatiion. she hhe veas been keeping her eyes peeled ever since and a good distance too. today, bandit was on the kitchen center island..just watching and we had the puppy loose..we were watching her closely..well smokey and her kind of got real close...like three feet apart to be exa c t..Ruby wanted to play with smokey. Ruby seems to like smokey. smokey seems to still want to keep her distance for now..cause i do not think it went over very well..ruby was dancing back and foth..u know how pups crouch down and then come up and jump up and down..wanting to play...real excited..kind of urging you on. well smokey let her know by hissing..a number of times to get lost in the traffic..lol..well when we use the laser for smokey and banidt we also call smokey twinkle toes..as she is a fast dancer...well ruby got close with her dancing around near smokey and smokey started her dancing..pretended to swat ruby..she didn't actually swat her.i didn't see her connect her paw to ruby, and ...i heard no whine or cry..but i think she kind of told ruby what she needed to know cause ruby went into her open crate all by herself for safety for a minute only i think. smokey had gotten her message across.

i did bring a fresh stool sample to the vets office.in a baggie..picked up with paper towels. and she still had cocidia. he said it probably wasn't treated with best stuff or not enought. so he put her on two week dose of "albon" 2.5ml daily. i am dispensing it to her in a syringe..she took it very nicely for me last evening. he also put her on a multivitamin.she takes thatnicely too. chews it right up. do u know the lady had actually given ruby her first treatment with frontline plus before she brought her to me? i mentioned it to the ver..and he said their are no ticks right now till february...and she wormed her three times..but when she wormed her..she did not wormn for whips or some other kinds of worms..and though he doesn't see them in her stool..the sentinel product has heartworm preventative in it as well as a flea treatment preventative in it..as well as it is good for all worms..not just the few she did it for. so more inclusive a product..so he wormed her with that yesterday too. he also did the bordetella. he also said that while he did not feel she has parvo and she did have the vaccines as wel..she did not have the corona vaccine included in the shots she gave her..so he will have to begin again with the vaccines next time..as she gave her noninclusive vaccines. figures. he said she does not have ear mites and her heart and lungs are clear and sound good.and she should grow to be between 40-60 pounds probably.

lady told me once she has her rabies shot..sometime she thinks in january someone will be contacting me..and tell me to bring her to their spay clinic and they will spay her and microchip her as part of the fee i paid for her. i just have to pick her up the following morning. she also said something i was not thrilled about..that really right now i am really considered untill that is done to be fostering her.but upon my check i put that i adopted her. if they think for a minute that i will give her back at all they are sadly mistaken after all this. i hope they don't try anything funny..have u heard of anything like that?

i got ruby the cutest pink collar and leash. dave laughed...he said pink!!

ah yes...one thing i need help with..dear ruby..has a issue..we need help with..she loves to steal cat food..either the canned friskees of smokeys or the dry food does not matter to her..even after she has just eaten five minutes before. if we let her out to play in the living room and are not fast enough i can hear her lapping it up and yell no..and she will run..tail between her legs..away from that food..but that is not the answer cause it happens again and again..like 4 times already and with coccidia is not good for cat food in her diet..she will get bloody diarrhea vet said. cats have had their food there for a long time..where could i move it..not up in the air. she has not been into the cat litter as of yet..thankfully.and i am definitely on the watch..but she is fast..only time she actually ate a whole dish of wet food was when i was in bathroom and dave was watching..he said NO and then put her in her crate. with me i am waiting..so i hear a sound and yell right away no..and off she goes away from it..as she knows she does not beling there..but when she gets bigger and we are not at home and she will be on the loose she has to know that is not her food..is that going to be a constant battle? anyone else deal with that? and how?
just checked on everyone..cats on window seats..ruby sleeping in her bed in crate soundly. well she was..i just heard her yawn. she must have heard me walk by..lol..boy she h as good ears.
she is so smart she already knows which door to come back into..and walks up the deck stairs to come back inside too. in fact...sometimes when she wants me to bring her inside and does not want to be out anymore..she will try to take me towards that way herself!!--all the way from the backyard up part of the stone driveway..then up the deck stairs. she is so smart. and she has not had even one accident in the house..i do not count her peeing on the paper twice in the crate..as that is what it is there for..that was probably my fault for not getting her out fast enough.
also vet said with cocycidia..with older animals..there is really nothing to be worried about..it really only bothers kittens or puppies.-just to clean up the feces well. --did i say we see him again in three weeks..he will recheck her stool then.october 25th in the am. Ruby is just about 10 pounds now.

i am so happy..she is so wonderul an so adorable and cute..and a joy. i am hoping both cats turn around..especially smokey cause i see ruby would really like to play with her. smokey has always been a nervous cat..so it will take her time..she just needs time i think to watch ruby from a slight distance. i know u have to let them develop their own relationships but i cannot let them fight..as i do not want to hurt each other...i would have stopped it if i saw it going any further..just as i do when smokey and bandit get in a tiff..i say enough and get up and each of them goes off their own way..usually after each has swatted each other once, but ruby is jsut a puppy..if she was grown..she would be big enough to stand up bigger..and then i highly doubt they would s tart with her.plus she i don't think has a clue why they won't play with her. though she gave banidt what for herself..when she scared her half to death by growling at her..i didn't think a sound like that could come out of a small puppy..i think i was in shock myself..and poor bandit i felt bad for her.,she was just investigating..the newbie.

well...i quess this is all to be expected.i'm not too concerned..no harm has been done..and they will certainly work it out..and i will keep my eyes open so no one gets hurt in the process of building friendships. puppy calls time to go out again...

have a great evening, God Bless, love and big hugs, Mindy
p.s sloppy kisses from Ruby too!!

[Deerie me]

Congrats on getting Ruby.

I have a constant battle with the cat food too. I feed mine in the bathroom upstairs. The dogs are only allowed upstairs occasionally under supervision but they always make a bee line for it. I would move the cat food up high on a counter if you can.

[Margie-Rex's Mom]

Hooray for Ruby!!! Congratulations on your new baby.

I agree with Tracy - move the cats' dishes up higher if possible. My Prospero used to have his own dining room chair for his food. The dogs knew not to go near his chair...he would remind them if they forgot.

[lynners]

lady told me once she has her rabies shot..sometime she thinks in january someone will be contacting me..and tell me to bring her to their spay clinic and they will spay her and microchip her as part of the fee i paid for her. i just have to pick her up the following morning. she also said something i was not thrilled about..that really right now i am really considered untill that is done to be fostering her.but upon my check i put that i adopted her. if they think for a minute that i will give her back at all they are sadly mistaken after all this. i hope they don't try anything funny..have u heard of anything like that?

When my rescue had a litter of puppies, the puppies were placed on modified foster contracts and were not finalized until after they were spayed or neutered. For the girls this was around 6 months, for the boys 8 months. During this time, adopters had to keep us updated at least once a week on the puppy's training, health, and other progress. We only place our dogs in homes that use humane training methods. By requiring updates and keeping close tabs, we were able to curb any potential behaviour problems that were occuring because of the inexperience of an adopter, or misconceptions that may have had in regard to training.

Many rescues and shelters have mission statements that say they always adopt sterilized and microchipped dogs. The mention of you fostering until she is spayed could have just been language she used so that, if something WERE to happen, they are covering their butts and still acting under their mission statement.