Anything is possible....

I've lived my life with the mindset of "Anything is possible if only you believe it is"... And our Barkley is a prime example of this mindset...

We found Barkley like this in a shelter on April 27th... One of the TLC volunteers had spotted this Pitty mix and was determined that he was not going to die on her watch... Kathryn not only went to the shelter to pull him out, she came in every three days for his bathing with special medicated shampoos...  Kathryn took him to the vets for all of this appointments and she also came to the rescue shop and went through the training we had done with a trainer...

And on a personal note?  Barkley was a handful... correction... dumptruck-full to lift up and into our grooming sink at the rescue shop for these baths... He weighed almost a hundred pounds and while he never fought the lifting, that is a LOT of weight for us women to lift up 3' off the ground and then into the grooming sink!

Barkley was with us for three and a half months... His demodex was a bugger to get rid of!... Because we are set up for small dogs, rescuing Barkley tested our abilities to function 'out of the box' as a rescue shop as well!  But because something seems impossible when it arrives on your doorstep is not a reason to say it can't be done!...

And when we had the photos done for the 2014 TLC Pitty calendar, Barkley was the choice to be our Santa shot... Isn't he gorgeous??!!!

Yep, anything is possible if only you believe!  Yes, Charlie Brown, there is a Santa!

As Always,
Linda

P.S.  If you believe you are too busy, too tired, too old or anything just too-something to be a part of the change in Ventura County for No-Kill, Kathryn just turned 69 years old, she has an active social life with the Red Hat Society and her children, grandchildren, donating time and energy to TLC... She is also our Special Events Coordinator and has put together several fundraising events this past year that helped to keep our doors opened and the electricity on.

P.P.S.  You can read Barkley's journey with TLC HERE.

Spotlight on Barkley

Barkley fulfills a promise that I made earlier in the year - that we would save one large breed mix each month at TLC... And Barkley is pretty BIG at 100 pounds... A Mastiff/American Bulldog mix, Barkley came to us in pretty bad shape but was rescued from a high kill shelter by his 'doggie fairy godmother', Kathryn... 

And a special note from Kathryn here about Barkley:

I come into the shop every morning to feed  Barkley and to take him out for his morning constitution and his leash training. This particular morning I fed him before I took him out. For some reason I happened to stay by his crate to watch him eat. After a few minutes, Barkley paused, looked up at me and he wagged his tail a few seconds, and then proceeded to finish his breakfast. It was if he were saying, "Thank you. I really enjoy this breakfast." I think if  Barkley could have smiled, he would have, but I saw the smile in his heart and in his eyes.

After breakfast I took him out for his walk. His favorite spot is the fountains at the far east end of the mall. He likes to walk through the water and drink from the fountain. He likes to look around and see what's going on and a group of children caught his eye. He watched them for awhile, and with a gentle, "Let's go, Barkley" from me, we started up again.

Now we are at the other end of the mall by the grassy area and the koi pond. Barkley likes to rest on the grass in the shade of a tree. He loves to drink from the fountain, and he never fails to that go  "commando" and scoot on his belly. I guess it feels pretty good and scratches his tummy. He also rolls around on his back like he is doing snow angels. When he was on his back, I decided to give his chest and tummy a good scratching. I am not kidding when I tell you that Barkley got really still, shut his eyes and stretched out his hind legs. He stayed that way until I stopped scratching. I wonder what went on in his little mind.

Today as we were resting, I had Barkley put his paws up on the bench where I was sitting. He put his paws up, and immediately came over and put his paws on my lap and gave me a great big goobery kiss. I guess that made him so happy and he jumped down and bowed at me to play. I took his cue and started to tussle with him. He was soooo happy and started to prance and bow. What a loveable happy goober he is.

What a difference from the dog we rescued that was in so much pain from the swelling of his paws  and the mange that was never taken care of.  He is getting more beautiful every day. He tells me that he is happy.

Another beautiful life and soul is saved. He will make someone a wonderful gentle, loyal companion.

Barkley appeared on Fox11 yesterday with Lori and as you can see, he is one gentle giant!

The "Titans"... smile...

Barkely napping

As we interact and learn more about Barkley, it is essential to us that we fix any bad habits and teach him new, good ones... Because of his massive size, he needs to be a dog easily controlled when he eventually gets adopted down the road... 

Intact dogs are not always easy to handle or live in a community environment - one of the factors county shelters deal with day in and day out...  Because all incoming dogs in TLC are quarantined when they are fresh out of the shelter, Barkley's movements were restricted greatly until we knew he was not ill or bringing in anything contagious...  

There was nothing unusual about this TLC procedure - all new dogs are kept in either one of our 6 isolation units, 8 large intake units or in the case of moms one of the 17 units we call 'window boxes' (or WBs)... If they are ill, we treat them and get them healthy until they have free access around the rescue shop... Many dogs come in with upper respiratory illnesses and need confinement, medications and twice daily nebulizer treatments until we can eliminate the URIs... 

But because of Barkley's large size, we had to make special accommodations... (smile)... And he is still VERY much a puppy... He also needs to be monitored and learn how to interact with dogs much smaller than he is... It is a process that takes time and dedication or it simply does not work... 

Momma is my dog and she too came in as a shelter dog, VERY pregnant with her 5 month old daughter, Koda... We followed the same procedure and then just prior to delivery, she came to our home and birthed her puppies... Once she was all done with that aspect of her life, Momma 'adopted' me and my family... Many followed "Big Momma" (AKA LemonCello) through our blog and FB pages as her puppies grew up and one by one, became adopted and went onto their own furever homes...

Momma asleep under my desk at the rescue shop

Once it became apparent Momma had adopted me, and I finally agreed (although I am not really a big dog person), I was determined that Momma's training would be stepped up and she'd become certified as a therapy dog... 

I have done this numerous times with MUCH smaller dogs (like 5 pounders) but throughout my career I have been asked to provide much larger sized dogs that are not put off by wheel chairs, moving doors, smells of living assisted facilities, etc... Momma is now in step 2 of 4 to becoming a master certified therapy dog... And we continue her training on a daily basis...

And because of Momma's threatening look, she has become an unbelievable ambassador to folks afraid of these 'bully' breeds... She comes with me to the rescue shop every day I work, greets folks through the swinging gate at the rescue shop and comes home with me each night... And yes, she snores as badly as my husband does at night!  And they do NOT do it in unison either, so I do have increased sleepless nights since Momma became part of our lives!

I knew ahead of time that Barkley's arrival at TLC would not only be a challenge to the rescue and its volunteers, but to me and even moreso, to Momma... She is very much a gentle giant, but she is incredibly smart and in tune to my body language now... She is almost hard wired to me and my thoughts - to the point it is scary... Because she has free roam in the rescue shop, it was critical that the meeting of these two 'titans' was under controlled environments because if the two of them did not get along, none of us could stop a dog fight should it break out... And because Barkley cannot be neutered until we are ahead of the demo, all of this caused me a lot of worry and concern... 

I questioned myself if the bond between her and I was as strong as I believed it to be... I questioned myself if my training efforts had paid off enough for her to tolerate Barkley around without aggression... And because he still has testosterone flowing through him, would he recognize the canine manners he needed to respect Momma's position and authority?  Lots of questions and worries I had prior to authorizing TLC to pull Barkley and save him... 

Once Barkley cleared medical procedures, we allowed the two titans to meet each other only under controlled, scheduled situations... Thankfully, we have several really good dog whisperers who volunteer with TLC, so it was easy enough to accomplish... 

Barkley asleep with his head on my foot

Until Barkley in his puppy ways, decided to break through not one, but two gates put up... And we had an unscheduled and unmonitored meeting between the two titans... 

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE TIME... I see Barkley come barreling around the corner and directly into my office, knowing that Momma was out and about the rescue shop... UT OH... MAJOR UT OH TIME...

Momma gave me just one look as in, "Is this OK for him to be doing?  If not, I WILL take care of it!" (and I knew she would)... I returned the look - "It's fine... Easy, Momma... Be nice..." (and she was)... 

The question we now face is who has the spot underneath my computer desk to nap it... Traditionally it has been Momma's (and it is not a big spot at all)... My office is actually a big closet, with 3 filing cabinets, a desk, my chair and a very small area to move around in... As in 3' wide and 5' long... Not a lot of space for two titans to move around in... And NOT a place I want to be if they decide to argue with each other!

This experience has been good for both of them... Barkley is learning large dog canine manners and it tests the training I have done with Momma... You never, EVER let down your guard with two large titans of this size and you must always be vigilant with any two dogs together, no matter their size, age, breed or disposition... Dogs are dogs and just like us humans, never 100% predictable... 

But as long as Barkley needs all of this extra medical and TLC are, it is essential that he continues moving forward to a dog that responds correctly and appropriately with any situation presented to him... We owe it to Barkley and to the new furparent that eventually adopts him!

Barkley and Momma together in my small office at TLC's rescue shop

Bathtime for Barkley

Barkley & the Bathing Brigade

After seeing the vet on Monday, we changed the scheduling for bathing Barkley with the medicated shampoos... We normally bathe demo dogs every two days for the first two weeks so we can get ahead of the condition, but the vet felt once every three days would be sufficient... 

Kathryn normally comes in just once a week on Thursdays as part of TLC's "Bathing Brigade" but she agreed to be in charge of Barkley's bathing if we rescued him... So on Tuesday she arrived early to do his bath - it takes a LOT of time to do with Barkley because he's so big and so much extra stuff needs to be done... 

Barkley is really a good sport about all of this though... He's now at 85 pounds so it takes two of us (female) volunteers to lift him into our wet grooming station at the rescue shop... Someone grabs the front half of him and the other half is lifted by someone else... Most big dogs do NOT like being lifted up and off their feet, so this is not only a challenge because it is not something they are accustomed to (or enjoy like little dogs), plus you have all of that weight to lift (and safely)...

Kathryn and Barkley... sharing secrets!

Barkley has almost come to enjoy this aspect of his new life though... He gets lots and lots of massages as we wait the 10 minutes for the medicated shampoo to do its work... And sweet talk... Cuddles... Treats as he waits... 

Thankfully, we buy this medicated shampoo by the gallon, even as expensive as it is... And we had it in stock to take on the 'Barkley Bath' every three days... 

At TLC we have two grooming stations - one wet and one dry... We have several groomers as volunteers and the stations are set up according to their standards and needs... 

We have a custom made insert for the wet grooming station that normally stays in place - it is better on your back because we bathe a lot of small dogs so you are not having to lean into it and then and down when bathing... In Barkley's case, we have to remove the insert, disinfect the entire tub first and then lift him into it... So it really does become a major process to bathe just one dog like Barkley... 

All done! Until 3 days from now!

The bathing brigadiers as they are called, are organized and trained by one of our senior volunteers, Teri... She keeps the grooming supplies replenished (out of her own pocket) and the volunteers scheduled... They generally come in (one a day) after the shop is opened and cleaned... They work through our dogs and puppies, one by one, so that each TLC dog is bathed at least once every 10 days... It is a complicated system, so we are grateful that Kathryn stepped up and took Barkley on as her special bathing project!

The bathing brigade is another module of the TLC's rehabilitation process... Most dogs don't care to get wet or being bathed... And we INTENTIONALLY ask the brigadiers to not push through dogs like a production line... We ask them to take time and cuddle, reassure the dogs this is a good thing... And at the end - nice, warm and dry - we have special treats the dogs just love... So with a few baths, they all come to look forward to their baths... By the time they are ready for adoption, their new owners don't struggle with this part of the adoption process...

Just another one of the unseen aspects of TLC and what we do!  If you have time to devote once a week, we'd love to have you become part of TLC's bathing brigade.  If you don't know how to professional bath a dog, we have professionals that will teach you... All the tools and supplies are provided... You just need old clothes, dedication and a desire to help us all march towards the victory of No-Kill in our communities!

 

Update on Barkley

I took Barkley in to see Dr. Richmond at Caring Hands on Monday and what a trip that was!... (smile)... Although I drive a quad dually, Barkley took up two thirds of the front seat of the truck!... And "move over" is apparently not a command he knows yet... When he sits up aside of you, his head is so gosh darn big, it blocked the entire view of my right hand mirror!

He doesn't necessarily want to hang his head out the window, but he certainly does want to drool all over it... We had a few double takes at stop lights when people looked over casually and saw that big ole head of his looking back at them!

Barkley now weighs 82 pounds and Dr. Richmond thinks he should gain between 5 and 10 until the ribs stop showing... Unfortunately, she believes he's had demo since he was born and he'll need to be on meds the rest of his life once we find his maintenance dose of ivermectin... Thankfully it is not an expensive medication though...

He's got an awful infected ear on the left and it is so swollen, he probably can't hear out of it at all... I'm guessing the infection is what has spread into his eyes 'cause those canals are all interconnected... The vet put him back on antibiotics twice a day, the medicated baths every three days, ivermectin every morning and the medication for his ears twice a day as well...

She believes Barkley is about 18 months old and a Mastiff/American Bulldog mix...

We like to buy a certain kind of treat at our vets that is only 2 calories and the dogs at the rescue love them... They come in big barrels and I usually pick up about 10 jugs each time I go there... I had items in the back seat that were going to the shop, a 50 pound bag of special dog food for Barkely, a new set of bowls for him, etc... So my back seat was pretty well full already... 

I got out of the truck and turned to open the back door so we could load up the treats and Barkley decided to jump across the back of the front seat and into the back seat --- amid all of the stuff already there!... I tried to get him to jump back into the front seat, but he wasn't having it... 

Eventually we had to half empty the back seat, coax him out, walk him around the truck and then get him back up into the front seat on the passenger's side!... What a goober he is!... I climbed back into my side of the truck and we had to go through the 'move over, Barkley... I gotta drive and you are hogging my side and yours too!' all over again!... 

He's gotta either learn how to share or how to drive!  One or the other... LOL...

Barkley the Beautiful has arrived

About 2 weeks ago, I got an email from another rescuer (who routinely saves big breeds) concerning a Pitty with demo... I get a LOT of emails every day and at least 25 times a day I have to say, "I'm sorry, but we don't have room" or "No, TLC can't save (take) this dog"... We just have only so much room and there are SO many dogs dying each day... (sigh)... 

I'm known for taking demo dogs from the shelters, so I wasn't surprised she'd contacted me on this dog...  She's the one who found BabyLove long ago and brought her to our attention... After we pulled the dog and I told her that BabyLove's demo caused her to "seep blood like sweat", she and I both commiserated with each other on how anyone could allow a dog to get into such bad shape without seeking veterinary care for their pet...

And then we both rejoiced with great love and joy when BabyLove found such a FANTASTIC new furever home with two very loving furparents... They renamed her 'Vida" which means 'life'...

My 'recipe' for dealing with demo is not anything that special but the combination of two very good vets and their years and years of experience in treating this...

... You would think by now we would stop seeing dogs showing up in high kill shelters with demo, right?  Sadly, no... And demo is the kiss of death for dogs in shelters for few folks want to adopt them, believing it is contagious and/or too much work and money to bring a dog back to a healthy state... But they still keep showing up and the majority of them die in the shelters...

I called the shelter when I got the email on Barkley and was told they were not sure yet if it was sarcoptic mange (which I do not pull) or demodex... But that the dog was aggressive and on the list for the vet to check out later that day (if he could)...

A day or two later, I got an email from one of my volunteers with Barkley's impound photo (to the left)...

He was coming up adoption two days later on the 21st and could we consider rescuing him?...

I called the shelter again and they confirmed it was indeed demodex and not sarcoptic mange, that he was under medical care but had no one interested in him... Later that day, yet another volunteer asked me about this dog... Kathryn is part of TLC's Bathing Brigade and now familiar with bathing dogs with demo, so I started giving serious consideration to saving this dog...

Although TLC is a small dog breed rescue, last year I made a promise that we would save at least one Pitty a month in 2013... We work off of the kill lists and as the breed most dying in our shelters is the Chihuahua mix, what we do is the hardest thing in rescue - saving the dogs that are most apt to be killed and what is most common in our communities (even less are adopting as well)... The 2nd most common breed to die in the shelters are the bully breeds - they may not even be a Pit Bull, but just look somewhat like one... They get passed by, their time runs out and they die... While shelters can physically hold 3 small Chi mixes longer, that same space is needed for just one large breed... So things did not look that good for this guy...

And I was reminded of my promise to save one Pitty each month in 2013... Saving Momma and her daughter, Koda, then Momma's 9 puppies, 11 of my 12 promises were kept and it was only April... (smile)... 

Later on that day, I was working on some things for Momma and browsing through her photos... She had a pup in her litter that I always liked - PoppySeed - and who I felt was the pick of the litter... He had a black helmet with a white stripe right up the center and cute as cute can be...

PoppySeed had tendency to always jump out in any photo I took of him... In this photo below, PoppySeed is in the upper left... His little foot is stuck out like a celebrity's hand with the paparazzi - "NO MORE PHOTOS, PLEASE!"...  (smile)... Although I loved the experience of seeing Momma's puppies born and raising them until another foster took over at 5 weeks, I sure was glad when they all got speutered and adopted...

And as I saw this photo, I thought to myself that this guy in the shelter was once and cute like PoppySeed... Now this dog was being thrown away like yesterday's newspaper because he had demodex... So I told our volunteer if there was no one willing to step up and save Barkley, TLC would...

This past Monday, Barkley was on my checklist to call the shelter and see if someone had saved him... Although he had become available the day before,

he was still sitting at the shelter and the clock had started ticking on him... (sigh)... Kathryn spoke to me again about Barkley and said she'd be willing to make the drive to Lancaster if need be...

We had another large dog (Laika) at the time we were trying to get to Ben Lomand, which is up above Santa Cruz... And at the time, I was thinking either Paul or I would have to make part of that drive to meet up with Laika's new furever home on Saturday... You can only be in so many places at the same time, ya know?

So, I took Kathryn up on her offer to transport this dog from Lancaster to the rescue shop if we needed her... As it turned out, another TLC volunteer was going to Madera yesterday, and they were able to meet the new adopter... HURRAH!!! for Laika (now renamed Chaska - Native American for 'Sun Goddess')... Chaska's new fur mommy is extremely familiar with GSDs and Dutch Shepherds, so this was a great furever home... Chaska looks pretty happy despite an almost 5 hour drive, huh?

Back to Barkley... I digress here... LOL... I spoke to the shelter again about Barkley and they told me there was a 'CTA' on Barkley (commitment to adopt) and 2 IPs (interested parties)... They had spoken with the man interested in adopting Barkley and he confirmed he'd pick up Barkley on Friday... But that I should call back Friday evening to make sure Barkley had left the shelter...

In the meantime, Kathryn had spoken to the person who held the first IP and the person didn't want to actually pull the dog, but wanted a rescue to do it... She'd foster, but didn't want to be legally responsible for the dog... As a back-up plan, we put a large kennel in Kathryn's car in case she needed to make the drive to Lancaster the next morning early...

And as anal retentive as I am, I put the note on my list of things to do and called back at 5:30PM on Friday evening... Sadly, Barkley was STILL at the shelter... UT OH...

That damned clock was ticking louder now... This is how dogs die in shelters... I put out an SOS to the TLC volunteers to see if someone could cover my opening shift at the rescue shop and when no one could, I asked Kathryn to make the trip to save this dog...

Alas, the two other interested parties did not show up at the shelter for Barkley and thankfully, Kathryn was there to save him... And when she arrived back at the rescue shop with him, I was shocked at just how bad his demo was... Initially I thought he was a blue - that's how dirty and dusty he was... I took him for a walk about to gauge his temperament immediately...

He's spooky but he's gentle... Barkley has a Mastiff head but a Pitty body... And it is obvious that a male abused him... He arrived in a bit of shelter shock and as I am walking and observing him, I'm trying to decide just how much he will allow us to do without pushing him into further shelter shock... I noticed the open sores on his butt and face and figured anything we did was going to be a relief for him, but I didn't think we could lift him off his feet and up into the groomer sink without causing him even more distress...

So, you do what ya gotta do, ya know?  Another great bather and volunteer (Arissa) joined in, bringing out buckets of warm water, towels, wash cloths, etc. and we started the first medicated demo bath right outside the back of the rescue shop...

What a gentle boy he is... He stood patiently as we applied the medicated shampoo and massaged him all over his body... The demo is bad... My guess is it started about a year ago and just moved all over his body... There are secondary infections going on in places, so we already started antibiotics as well...

He's had poor nutrition for awhile and several of his nails are split lengthwise along the vein... Plus his paws are really swollen from the demo and it is down in between his toes, causing it to bleed... It is especially bad on his front feet and I can't imagine having to walk on those swollen feet with split nails as well...

He was so, so good about all of it though... At one point with two volunteers massaging him and working the dead skin and fur gently, he half closed his eyes in an expression of "ahhhhh, that feels good"....

How in the hell do you allow a dog to get this bad? ::shaking head in disgust here::  What is wrong with people?  These dogs - big or little - have souls and give unconditional love without question... Who doesn't have a heart and can let a dog get into this bad of shape?... grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Even Barkley's face is stripped of fur and leathery from the ravages of demodex... As we gently rubbed medicated salve into the areas of his face we could not use the medicated shampoo on, the crevices of his jowls are almost painful to touch as you pick them up gently with your fingers and work the meds into the innermost areas... 

But through it all, he was as patient as can be... Never fussed one time and stood there... We had a lead on him, but did not need to use it once throughout this hour long process...

And that is good, because for the next few weeks, this process will need to be repeated every two days as the dead skin comes off (gently) and the hair follicles are massaged back to life... The antibiotics and meds will do their work from the inside, but without tending to the outside as well, it could take months to get this boy back into shape...

Most vets refuse to neuter or spay a dog in this shape because the anesthesia can cause demodex to revert back to the shape you found the dog in, plus the lower auto immune system impedes the healing process allowing for greater infections if they go ahead and speuter a dog... Our vet will have to make that decision however...  Barkley is NOT aggressive, so I see no reason to push hard to get a neuter done right away...

Once we did all of our TLC stuff, we took Barkley to his new area to settle down, eat and relax a bit... That was a lot to go through in a very short period of time yesterday...  But he got the full spa treatment by two of TLC's best bathing volunteers!  When I die, I want to come back as a TLC dog! 

Barkley does not look very big here, but he is about 85 pounds... He could easily stand to gain another 10-15 pounds, but that will need to be decided by our vet as well... I'm just speaking from personal experience here...

Now onto the next hurdle to overcome - meeting Big Momma!

By this time, Paul had made it back to the rescue shop after performing his TLC duty for the day... I put Momma on lead and had Paul take her while I put

Barkley on lead... Despite having at least 20 pounds on Momma, Barkley spooked right away... I don't believe Barkley was used as a fighter (despite the open sores on his nose), but I do believe he was intimidated by men and/or with other large Pitty mixes...

For Barkley to be brought to TLC's adoptable standards, he has to behave and listen as well as Momma does... We have time, of course, but best to judge the interaction of the two of them as soon as possible...

Barkley got his official walk about with Momma yesterday and they did well together... He picked up my commands right away and relaxed enough for me to walk the two of them together...Momma wasn't too happy at first, but she got with the program quick enough...

For now, Barkley is safe and loved... He goes in to see our vet this upcoming week so that a plan of action can be established for his complete rehabilitation and care beyond what we have already put into place... In the meantime, he got a HUGE knuckle bone that he immediately took into his bed and started chewing on...

He's such a good boy and it was not his day to die... Not on our watch anyway!

As they say, 'stay tuned' for more updates on Barkley!