Howllo Fewllo Hound and Emma update lovers:

It is Sunday morning and the kids are still in bed. Emma is progressing. One day down 13 to go before we get the stitches removed. My Vet had a more difficult time with her procedure so he wants to keep the stitches in for 14 days instead of the normal 10. Hey, whatever. I am used to bad news. Chin up and face forward. Emma does not need a sour puss.

I have mentioned that Emma has gone out the dog door a few times but it has been with my help. This morning at about 3:33am (watching the clock) I felt Emma getting up. She walked very slowly over to her water bowl and drank a gallon (a lot). Then I heard her head down the hallway towards the dog door.
Ah, what a good girl. She did it all by herself! It’s funny how the sound of a dog door clicking can make one smile at 3:36am.

She was always a quick learner. Her determination is very powerful.

Oh yeah, the hospital room:

This is what it looked like yesterday and this is what it will look like pretty much all day today. My Mom has been a SAINT through all of these procedures. What ever Emma wants, Emma gets. I am usually back and forth but mainly I get to work in my office during the day.
I could do all of this on my own but……….Oh I shutter to think.

More progressing news later………Love, Cat, Chaps and Emma

P.S. click the picture and see how Grandma has Emma’s favorite toys tucked in next to her. Pretty sweet to have a Grandma like that!

Comments(7)

Howllo Fellow Hound and Lily Pad Serina Von Firstenburg Child lovers! Wow, that’s a mouth full! How I ever came up with that nick name I will never know! But something I do know, Lily changed my life forever on this day back in 1994.

I always loved the fact that she came to me on this
St. Francis of Assisi Day!

It was all very meant to be.

I always wanted 2 bassets. I had Chloe at the time and she was in desperate need of a playmate. I was excited about getting a rescue hound so I called Ohio Basset Hound Rescue. I had heard about them through the Bugler I think. I really cannot remember. Regardless, thank Dog I had heard of them!!!

So I called the number and a young guy answered the phone. He asked me what I was looking for and I told him that I was looking for an older female – red and white if possible since Chloe was a tri-color. He told me that his Mom ran the rescue but she was out of town for the weekend at the basset hound nationals which were being held in, of all places, Ohio! She was there trying to raise awareness for rescue hounds!

I thought that was totally cool and made plans to drive over to the nationals to meet her that next day. Of course it was sheeting sideways rain when I picked my parents up! My first nationals still stirs up the smell of wet hound dogs!

We had so much fun. I was in hound heaven being around all of those hounds. At one point we popped into the obedience trials and got a front row seat. A woman was working her hound and she had the entire room roaring with laughter. That hound wanted that little piece of liver in her hand in the worst way! He was doing his sit – stay routine and he would throw his head back and let out the most beautiful howl you have ever heard. He was a real character. I thought it was one of the cutest things I had ever seen. He got extra liver for that one.

I met the rescue woman and introduced myself, but she so busy. That was OK, I was going to call her later anyway.

I got home that night and listened to my messages.

The first message was the rescue woman’s son. He said: Hi Cathy, right after I got off the phone with you a woman from Belleview, KY called and said that she found an older, red and white female roaming in the projects of Newport. (I am thinking, OK, this is about the worst section of any section that is near me.) I told her about you and she said that you live about 20 minutes from her. I gave her your number so you can take a look at the hound. (I am thinking, could this be my hound?)

The second message was Lily’s guardian angel. She said: Hi Cathy, I got your name from OHBR and I was wondering if you want to come take a look at this pathetic hound. She is really skinny, stinky, and depressed however, I have a feeling there is a really good hound inside her soul. (I am thinking, OK this is my hound.)

I still had my rain coat on, I still had the keys in my hand, Chloe still needed a friend,………

I also had a hound who needed her soul to be rescued! Off into the rain with directions in hand I went to get my lost girl. I was really used to the smell of wet hound from the day’s events!

I saw her standing on the porch searching for something. I guess it was me! As I got out of the car and walked towards the porch the lady who saved Lily came out. I smiled at her and said, “Yep this is my hound”! She walked me to my car and helped me pile in my new girl. She had only had her less than a day but she still cried and said she was going to miss her. I totally get that.

My Mom and Dad came over the next day anxious to meet their new grand dog and I had not picked out a name yet. I asked my Mom, and without hesitation, she said, “Lily”. And Lily she was.

It was all very meant to be…..

She went from looking like this the day I picked her up:

To meeting her new Grandpa the next day:

To blossoming into a full blown beautiful Lily in just weeks. Ah, you can’t beat a great love story!

Anyone recognize the background?

More Lily stories later……Cat, Chaps and Emma

P.S. Lily enjoyed sitting on the couch watching me throw Chloe her toys! She was no fool! So much for a playmate! I guess a best friend is better any day!

Comments(13)

Howllo Fellow Hound and BOB lovers: Well, the really big show is over and the
BEST OF BREED IS THIS FINE FELLOW!

CH SHOWTIME’S SHOCK AND AWE is also known as “Sarge”. Sarge is one big boy! I would say he is about the size of Chaps. I have seen him show and he is one pretty boy. I had a feeling he was going to win. Here is the listing next to his picture on the BHCA site.

243 CH SHOWTIME’S SHOCK AND AWE. HP097393/02. 3/31/2004. DOG. Breeders: H. Haskell, M. & S. Chryssanthis and C. Wallen. By: Ch Foxglen Special Forces x Ch Rivendell Sanlyn Heaven Sent. Owners: H. & B. Haskell, M. & S. Chryssanthis and C. Wallen.

Congratulations Sarge! You sure shocked and awed the judges!

More about pretty boys later…..Cat, Chaps and Emma

Comments(4)

Howllo Fellow Hound and Emma Lovers: I hope I am not boring my readers with all of the Emma postings, but on the other hand, I know a lot of readers want to know how she is doing.

Emma slept through the night without any problem. I woke up about every hour to check on her and she was doing great and sawing logs, unlike her Mommy!

She ate her breakfast this morning and she drank a huge amount of water. She even went out the dog door! She is back in bed and resting.

She wants to be back to normal in the worse way. She is crying a fair amount.

Grandma is sitting with her right now so I can do a few things on my website.

I will be back later….Cat, Chaps and Emma

Comments(6)

Howllo Fellow Hound and keeping track of Emma lovers:

We are home. Emma was exceptional making her way into our home. She is so awe inspiring. Emma ate a half meal and I was able to give her some pain medicine. She has not moved from the dining room.

This is the side where the prosthetic was removed. As you can see there is some drainage, but her doctor told me not to wipe it away for obvious reasons. Wiping would cause pulling.

Chaps was besides himself because he was behind a gate for a bit. I decided to let him out and he did just fine. The new optivisor allowed him sniff around her a bit more freely. He quickly, took his place laying besides her.

A few friends and family have called but I am not answering the phone. Emma’s vet is calling tonight and I do not have call waiting. (I hate call waiting). So I am waiting by the phone to ask a few questions of her doctor. Her procedure was a bit more complicated than he had hoped for. He has instructed that Emma wear the opitvisor for 14 days instead of 10 days, which she did with the first eye removal.

Everyone at the vet office seemed to really love the optivisor. So far, so great!

More later…. I have to go wait by the phone.

Cat, Chaps and Emma

Comments(13)

UPDATE – EMMA’S DOCTOR JUST CALLED AND SHE IS FINE. HE GOT STARTED A BIT LATE. SHE IS RECOVERING AND I GET TO PICK HER UP ABOUT 6:00 TONIGHT, MAYBE A BIT EARLIER. THE PROCEDURE WAS A BIT MORE COMPLICATED THAN HE WANTED, BUT SHE IS DOING GREAT. TAKING OUT A PROSTHETIC IS DIFFERENT OF COURSE THAN TAKING OUT AN EYE. THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND KINDNESS. I AM GOING TO GO CHANGE HER BED AND GET HER ALL READY FOR TONIGHT.

I WILL TRY TO DO ANOTHER POSTING THIS EVENING. CAT

Howllo Fellow Hound and Surgery haters: Can there be a worse way to spend a day, or the 10 that follow it in the healing process? Well, because of the Optivisor, our healing process will be a zillion times better. You can read about the cool new product a few blogs below. I also link to their website.

Anyway, Emma is still in bed. I just hate that she has to go through this. It is just not fair. She does so much for everyone else. Did you know that her and I are raising money towards basset hound glaucoma?

Here is our Firstgiving page:

Emma Rudert raises money for basset glaucoma research

Well, I better go wake her up………….Sigh

I will keep everyone posted.

More later…Cat, Chaps and Emmers

Comments(8)

Howllo Fellow Hound and Breast Cancer Awareness Lovers: As many of you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Emma and I are huge supporters of this cause
for Humans and Canines.

I feel that we should acknowledge Canines in this month as well.

Look at this gal who was abused in a puppy mill. She now has massive breast issues that could kill her due to humans that treated her like trash in a breeding mill environment. Can you imagine how many times she had puppies?

Do you want to give a donation to her? This is a huge example of breast awareness.

To read more about how she was rescued, go to the next blog listing right below.

Here is her paypal address! CLICK HERE

End puppy mills!

EMMA WANTS TO BRING AWARENESS TO BREAST HEALTH IN HOUNDS!

STOP PUPPY MILLS! LET US ALL DO WHAT WE CAN.

Emma and I support Breast Cancer research in humans and canines!

More later….Emma and Mommy!

Comments(4)

Howllo Fellow Hound and You need to read this story lovers! It is really long, but well worth the read. It is awe inspiring and heart warming.

HERE GOES: JUST IN FROM WASHINGTON BASSET RESCUE NEWSLETTER

Sept 24

The 17 Bassets from the Missouri puppy mill closure arrived to WABR at 4pm. George, an ex long-haul truck driver and rescue volunteer, brought the doggies straight thru to Spokane from Minnesota, after help from Arizona & Iowa Basset Rescues. THANK YOU! We got them unloaded and into the big backyard at Hound Haven. They went for the water buckets to refresh themselves. Tails were down wondering what was up and if this place was safe. Within an hour, they were exploring and taking care of business. Sally, Terry, Ray, Mary, Jeannie, Jeff, Todd, Diane, Mike and Andrea showed up to help Pat (after working all day at their regular jobs) and started giving some serious, compassionate loving. Tails bounced up and you could start to see the gleam coming back to their sad eyes. Their awful chain collars with numbered kennel tags were way too tight, they were cut off and replaced by soft new Premier collars and name tags.

We leashed them up separately for dinner. Most ate; some were still too overwhelmed to eat (puppies devoured two bowls!). Awe is the only way to describe our wonderful volunteers – sitting with the hounds, hand feeding them, sweet talking to them, giving comfort, walks, ear scratches, belly rubs, pets and assuring all this was the beginning of a great new life.

Bowls were cleaned and dogs let off leash, mayhem ensued! They started playing, running, exploring the yard and enjoying these special humans that were being so kind and gentle, building trust.

One by one the newbies waddled into the big indoor Basset room, found soft raised beds and started settling down for their first night of freedom. The snoring was so LOUD, we could hear it from outside!

Sept 25 – It rained overnight, so early in the morning Pat was up checking on the dogs. The Basset room floor looked like a disaster zone from all the comings & goings thru the doggie door (muddy feet and a few accidents), BUT there were all these sweet happy faces and helicopter tails! Fantastic – all the dogs were having a ball running in and out showing what they had learned to do! They think this is so much better than being confined to a cold metal cage and concrete floor at the puppy mill they used to know as home.

Somehow, I got them all leashed up for breakfast without incident (amazing!). For those not sure about eating, I went around and put a big dollop of plain yogurt on their food. Zip, down went all the Canidae! I bet the other sweeties wish they had held out longer so they could have an extra treat too! Only one Momma dog is still not ready to eat (super odds with this large number) and she finally came around at dinner time.

KREM & KXLY news crews came over totojdjayi. .Andrea & Mary again to offer their loving hands. Please feel free to come over and share your time with these sweet Bassets too, we need help! These special fur-kids will give you tons of enjoyment and lots of slobbery snooter kisses! Seeing these houndys happy here truly speaks to what WABR is all about. Stay 30 min or hours, whatever you can spare, no one will be turned away!

These darlings have all been scheduled for their vet checks, spay/neuter, dentals and any other health needs they need taken care of over the next 3 weeks. So none of the new 17 are ready for adoption at this time, but that doesn’t mean you can’t fill-out an application, come over to visit and maybe fall in love with one (or two) new family members. We’ll get their individual photos and descriptions up on the website as soon as we can!

It’s so amazing these grown females have spent their lives as puppy producers and still have so much love to give; they’re real sweethearts who are starving for affection. They deserve to find loving, forever homes and be part of a family that will cherish them for the rest of their lives. Please consider bringing one of these sweet girls home in the future. Remember, puppies need A LOT of time during the day, aren’t potty trained, may chew and have other traits that an older dog has outgrown. These girls are ready to give you all their love!

Lastly, please consider making a donation – NO AMOUNT IS TOO SMALL! In rescue, every penny counts and we need every penny right now. After intake night, volunteers emailed family & friends to share about this adventure. One houndy helper has challenged everyone at their job to donate $17 – one dollar for each new dog. WABR is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent under the law. We accept PayPal online

or you may mail a check payable to WABR 7220 N. Haven, Spokane, WA 99217.

Please help us give these wonderful Bassets a second chance at happiness…..thank you!

P.S. A special Thank you from this angel girl who get’s her Mastitis taken care of.

DONATION INFORMATION AT THE LINK RIGHT BELOW!

http://www.wabr.net/donations.htm

More later……….How sad, Cat, Chaps and Emma

Comments(4)

Howllo Fellow Hound and E-collar, Victorian collar, and cone haters. A cone by any another other name is still the same!
THE TORTURE DEVISE!

I laid awake at night wondering, “can’t anyone make this piece of *bleep* better?” So, to answer my question I go to the all knowing GOOGLE!

I knew that Emma was going to need to wear a torture devise again after her history came to light. The eye vet said that she had congenital glaucoma. When he put her fake eye in, he did a check of her other eye and said her drainage angles were severely mal-aligned from birth. He told me that Emma was born with glaucoma.

So, GOOGLE led me to this Australian website: http://provizoraustralia.com/

I roamed over it with much anticipation and joy. Could there be something better? I had seen a few other products, but they were not suited for eye surgery. This one is designed for eye surgery!

I bookmarked it for future use! Well, the future always come faster than one thinks and before I knew it, Emma was needing the fake eye removed. I was kicking myself for not purchasing the Optivisor sooner!
I better get one fast and I needed it yesterday!

Come to find out, the Optivisor is not sold to the consumer!!!!!! It is only sold to eye vets. (There are not very many of them).

Here is how it went down!

****************************************************

I searched the Internet to no luck on how to buy one.

I e-mailed Australia and got a reply that they would forward my e-mail to the Canadian and USA rep.

The rep e-mailed me and told me about how they only sell them to eye doctors, But……………(did he say but?)

YES! He would be willing to send Emma one!

There are several reasons I am so happy.

1.) Chaps attacks Emma when she approaches him wearing an E-collar. It scares the holy stuff out of him which in turn hurts and petrifies Emma. (That really aids the healing process – Ugh)

2.) Emma has figured out her exact spacing in the home and knows exactly how to get around. The dreaded e-collar adds about 4 inches on each side of her head which means she is bumping into everything which means she is scared, which means I am a nervous wreck, which means you get my point. The new Optivisor hugs her head.

3.) Emma can eat and drink better with the new Opitvisor!

4.) Drum roll please…………..Emma can go out the potty door with the Optivisor!

Without further droning and blogging, here are the pictures of our Emma trying out the new Optivisor which arrived today!

We love you David!

Please note the lines on the plastic near her nose. I have snipped off the bottom one to adjust better to her snout for eating and breathing. I might have to snip off the second section. I will monitor that.

Look how streamline the shield is to the face. I think she is really going to like this much better. I know Chaps will.

LQQK!

Our girl even ate her dinner tonight with it on. Don’t get me wrong. She still would rather be without a devise, but the difference between this and the e-collar will save a lot of heartache.

Sometimes one gets a ray of light in a storm.

More Later…Cat, Chaps and Emma

Comments(16)

Howllo Fellow Hound and Emma update lovers: I just got a call from Emma’s vet and I was told she is first in line for surgery tomorrow. I always love to hear that! So, as far as I can tell, Emma will be having surgery tomorrow at about 9:00am.

Something kind of special happened to her today. A very nice person sent her something in the mail that will make her recovery, potentially, fantastically better!!!!!!!!!!

Keep checking back, because I have to show you a picture.

More about Emma later….Cat, Chaps and Our Girl.

Comments(2)