# Santa came early and left me a little "care" package...



## Mona (Dec 15, 2009)

For the whole story, and because I am too tired and lazy to rewrite it all, I am just copy/pasting from email correspondence

*This was from last night....*

Just before supper tonight, Chris told me about a dog that came here and I wish he had've told me sooner! Now it's probably too late! It was a reserve dog I guess, and he and Randy (a friend of ours) had moved the couch and loveseat into the garage today so I could clean the carpet before the new furniture comes. Anyway, after they put the furniture in the garage, Chris left the garage door open as he had to go back in there to work. He (we) put up several thousand bags of frozen shiners (minnows) last month, and he had to package them by putting 100 baggies of them into a larger bag, just so they were easy to count as someone was buying 3000 baggies of them. Anyway, he was down there working when Randy showed up to help, so he left some bags of frozen minnows on the garage floor, up against the freezer. After they were done putting the furniture in there, they came in and had coffee. Then Randy left, and Chris went back down to finish up bagging the frozen bags of minnows. When he went down there, he said there was a reddish brown dog...kind of a "hunting hound" looking type with short hair. She was laying on the couch they had just put in there, and had eaten some of bags of frozen minnows. He told her to get down and he chased her off as we do to so many reserve dogs that come along, not really thinking more of it. He said she was skin and bones and tits hanging like it had recently had pups. He assumed likely all had since died, by judging by the condition of her. He never even mentioned anything to me until just before supper and then said he really shouldn't have chased her off, but should have shot her, as she is not going to make the night he didn't think, but he was not thinking clearly at the time as he was frustrated with what he was doing as things were not going as smoothly as he had planned. When he told me this, it was well after dark already, but I had him go down to see if she may have went into one of the portable garage shelters to maybe curl up and die in there. He said she had gone down the road, but he agreed to go and look anyway. Nothing there though. So after supper I brought down a big blanket, some dog food and water that I placed in a heated water bucket. I left all this in the garage, hoping she would maybe come back looking for more food (minnows). I put it all in the garage and left the door open, hoping she will come back, so I can at least TRY to help her, but Chris said he is certain she was VERY near death.




I feel so sad...was in tears just thinking about that poor thing, as I KNOW she must have been very bad off for Chris to have even mentioned he should have shot her instead of shooing her away, as he HATES the thought of having to do anything like that. Keep your fingers crossed that she comes back!

*This is all from this morning BEFORE I went to the vet with her...*

I went out last night before I went to bed to see if she was back in the garage again, and she wasn't, BUT, something had been, as the food that I had left was mostly gone, but there was no sign of her, so I wasn't sure if it was her or a fox or what that had been eating the food. This morning, Chris had to go to Fort to take the car in, and he stopped at the garage, I am guessing to check for her. We have an intercom from there to the house, so I told him to lock the talk button into place so I could hear anything that goes on in there should that dog show up. He said something I didn't understand, and so I told him why I wanted him to do that. Then I thought he said he is not sure if she is alive or dead, but thinking dead. I said "WHAT? Is she there?" He siad yes, she was laying on the couch again, but when he touched her, she wouldn't move, so he thought she may have already very recently died, although she was not hard or frozen yet. I said I'll be right there and went running down. I shook her and she would not move, but we could see she was breathing! I told him to wrap her in that green wool blanket I had brought down the night before and carry her to the house for me, so we could at least warm her up and see if we can help her. He did, and then he had to go. She smelled SOOOOOOOOO bad, that I had no choice but to get her into the tub. I just used the hand help shower thing to bath her. She is so weak, she really doesn't stand. I got her all cleaned up, sprayed her for lice and fleas, and closed her in the bathroom. I am scared because of my puppies here! But I cannot *not* help her! She is burping a lot so I am concerned about that, not knowing if it is because she just ate the food and got something into her belly or if it is a twisted gut or maybe some disease. I called the vet, he suspects she was "on her way out" when we found her this morning, and he said the burping and belly full of gas is likely from her scavenging garbage wherever she could find it to try to stay alive. I gave her two Lopatol (dewormer pills) and some Nutrical. He said to feed and water in small amounts to build her up slowly and not over-indulge. He said I can give her Pepto Bismol 3 times a day, 1 tablespoon each time, so see if that will help settle her tummy/gas problem. He also suggested feeding her puppy food and/or canned food as it is easier to digest and more nutritional value. I have her locked in the bathroom right now, and I went in and she is sleeping, saw me, just layed there but wagged her tail. I gave her a bit of water, then I talked to her and patted her while there and she seemed to really enjoy the attention. I am scared to put her outside to go to the bathroom for fear she may take off. I think I will put her in a 30" tall 8 panel ex-pen I have for Monkey that I use for Chihauhua pups etc. throughout the years. I think she will be OK!! She is BEAUTIFUL! I have named her "Irish", in part due to her deep Irish red coloring and partly due to her "Luck of the Irish" for actually being alive yet this morning for us to help her!

*OK, now this is all new, since I got back from the vet this afternoon...*

She has scabs here and there all over her body, I am assuming from a bad case of fleas and/or lice, but I treated her for that first thing after her bath and trimmed her nails too. Then when I was back in there trying to comb out a bunch of gooey patches, I noticed what looked like a puss filled blister on the outside of one of her back tits. As I manouvered her around to get a better look, I saw puss just OOZING from a different spot, between her two back tits. I packed some toilet paper in there, and it soaked up a large amount of puss. I did it a couple more times, and decided then I better get her into the vet!

She has a bit of a cough, almost like she had a drink of water and it went down the wrong way, but doesn't cough hard or often. They considered Blasto, as it is common in this area, but they xrayed her and her lungs looked good...thank God! The puss, well that was oozing from a hole between her two back tits, and all I have to do for that is to soak it with hot compresses several times a day, then strip the milk from the teats...it (the milk) was coming out all yellow today, but is white tonight! UGH! What a mess! While she was laying on the examining table awaiting them to come get her for her xrays, I noticed goop running from her vagina too, so I told the gal I thought the doctor should come and see her again about that, as I feared maybe Pyometra. The vet thought not, but took swabs, and then later thought it could be, so she just said to monitor her closely to ensure she does not go off her food and water and become real lethargic, and watch for color and fever as well, and if anything like that happens, get her in ASAP! They wanted to spay her to get rid of that, but they felt the risk was too high that she would not make the sugery in the poor shape she is in, so it os booked for Jan. 6, and we hope she'll have a few added pounds and recouperated some by then. AND, they even told me the xrays today would be paid for by them, and they would also help some with the cost of the spay as they sometimes do that for rehoming of pets that are abandoned or whatever, so I was thrilled with that offer! Now I just hope and pray she will be OK. I think she will, as she is already alot more alert after just 12 hours. One thing I did notice, is that now that she's "thawed out", the puncture in her left hind quarter seems to be causing her some pain, so maybe they will have to reopen that and cut away something and reclose it, but I am guessing they cannot do that until she's spayed either. They did not even want to vaccinate her today because of her condition! She is one two kinds of meds now to fight the infections in her body.

She actually looks worse in person, as the flash kind of glared off of her and didn't show just how thin she really is!


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## TangoMango (Dec 16, 2009)

Awww, she looks like such a sweetheart. Sending healing thoughts her way..

Mona, you are AWESOME!


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## LittleRibbie (Dec 16, 2009)

Mona, your the best!! Just look at how comfy she looks in her towel. I bet she hasnt felt that good in a long long time. She sure picked the best house in the neighborhood to take a little rest. I love her new name. I hope she heals quickly,

Heidi


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## Katiean (Dec 16, 2009)

Your story made me cry. I was thinking of Sammie (my rescue cat). Sometimes they just know who will help them. I am so glad she came into your life. I hope she will recover well for you.


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## bluetaterbaby (Dec 16, 2009)

God bless you! You have such a compassionate heart. I'm so thankful you were able to help this precious dog. She is beautiful and I pray she makes it because I just know she'll be a wonderful addition to your family. Such a shame that she's had to suffer so much. God provides. What a wonderful vet!


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## mydaddysjag (Dec 16, 2009)

Shes beautiful, good luck with her. Give her a good petting for me.


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## Jill (Dec 16, 2009)

MONA


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## Charley (Dec 16, 2009)

Awww...It is so sad to imagine what she has gone through. I hope she continues to improve for you and glad that she was guided to your home for help.


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## Connie P (Dec 16, 2009)

Oh Mona - Bless your heart girl!









I am sitting here wondering about her pups. That is just so sad.

You are an angel and she is going to thank you over and over and over again.


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## TheCaseFamily00 (Dec 16, 2009)

I'm so glad she found you



. Please keep us updated on this pretty girl. Have you thought of any names?


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## bevann (Dec 16, 2009)

She is beautiful.She is a Red Bone Coonhound and my SO has several of them.There was a movie about them many years ago,Where The Red Fern Grows.Main dogs were Dan and Little Ann and we have 2 named after those dogs.Good luck with her and God bless you for taking her in.the black stuff from vagina sounds like from dead puppy in there.Hope your vet can get her going again.They are very nice dogs.Like any hunting dogs they are high energy.Keep us posted.


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## Aristocratic Minis (Dec 16, 2009)

What a lovely hound. She looks like a real sweetheart. You are an angel to help her.

I'm an old dog lover, for sure. What has her temperature been running?

I'm sure you already know these things, but what I'd do is feed a number of small meals throughout the day. Keep her hydrated. We often make cream of chicken soup for our dogs when they are sick or even good chicken broth. We will put food in a blender to make it easier on a sick stomach.

Blessings to you on taking care of "Irish."


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## Marty (Dec 16, 2009)

I was just going to say she looks like a Red Bone too. Well Mona you did us proud yet again. You are really something. Got to wonder about those puppies. I'm betting they are close by. If you set her loose, maybe she will lead you to them. I hope you can find them. Looks like you've got a faithful friend there who loves you!


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## Crabby-Chicken (Dec 16, 2009)

Ohhhhh poor girl. I am so happy you got to take care of her. The last animal that showed up here and my husband said " DO NOT FEED IT, it won't leave" is here now for the last 9 years. And he loves her as much as anyone. Sometimes you just gotta do it.


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## minie812 (Dec 16, 2009)

She sure has beautiful-soulful eyes. If I was a tad closer she could come for a visit. Love the hounds


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## Miniv (Dec 16, 2009)

What a beautiful hound dog she is........ Bless you for taking her and giving her another chance.

Did she recently have pups?


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## kaykay (Dec 16, 2009)

Wow what a story. Has me in tears. Bless you for caring about her and taking her in. Sending prayers that she recovers quickly

kay


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## miniwhinny (Dec 16, 2009)

Oh Mona,

You are AWESOME











What a beautiful girl she is


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## Mona (Dec 16, 2009)

Thanks everyone!



She is such a sweet girl. I feel sorry for her when I have to make her go out to the bathroom. I literally have to push her outside through the doorway. She's probably thinking, "NO WAY am I going out there...I have been out in that cold long enough, and now I have the warmth of this house, and I am not leaving!"



But she will soon learn that she will be let right back in again. BTW...for those that do not know where I am, I am in Northwestern Ontario, just across the border from Minnesota, so you know our temps are extremely COLD this time of year, and when I found her, temperatures have been around the -30C, but windchills of close to -40! FAAAAAAR too cold for ANY short haired dog, and I cannot believe she lived through it, I really can't!

*Connie, Marty* and others, yes, I too wonder about the fate of her pups, but I know for a fact they are not "out there" somewhere. Her tits were not FULL of milk like they would have been in she still had pups nursing. Her vulva is also still fairly big and puffy, so her pups may not have been more than a few weeks old when she "lost" them, but if I thought there was ANY hope, I would be searching for them. She would not have left them had they been alive.

*TheCaseFamily*, yes, I have named her name "Irish" because of her deep Irish Setter type of red color, as well as her having the "Luck of the Irish" in getting help before she died.

*Bevann*, that is neat that you mention her breed and that movie. When I was telling my daughter about her yesterday morning, I told her she reminded me alot of that "Little Anna" (I guess I had the name wrong though! LOL) in Where The Red Fern Grows that we had seen before, so I guess my memory served me well! Also, the discharge from her vagina is not black, it is a kind of beige color. They xrayed her and there were no puppies in there.

*Aristocratic Minis*, when the vet took her temp yesterday, it was normal. (which I was surprised about as I thought with all her infections she would surely have a fever!) Yes, I have been mixing canned food with dry puppy food and feeding several small meals a day. Yesterday and overnight I really monitored (limited) her water intake so she would not take in too much at once, but today I have left the bowl down for her to drink at her leisure, as she is not woofing it down as she was yesterday.

*Miniv*, yes, I believe she did recently have pups, but I also believe they are long dead. Either the puss in her milk killed them or they froze to death, but even though her teats are big, it does not appear anything has been nursing for some time, as they are not "full", but can still get some milk out...not completely dried up yet.

Thanks everyone for your kind words, kind thoughts and prayers for Irish. We WILL get her through this! Thanks all for your support! And yes, I will keep you all updated on her progress...happily!


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## Marty (Dec 16, 2009)

Hey Mona, just an idea for you:

Got any foal blankets? Put one on her when you want her to go out to the bathroom.

Amy is such a weenie like that too. She will not go outside to potty if its cold or wet no matter how bad she has to go unless I put her blanket on. I've actually had to walk her outside in the rain under the umbrella more than once!


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## Vertical Limit (Dec 16, 2009)

Mona, you are an angel! Irish is just beautiful




and I am praying for a happy ending!

Carol


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## Reijel's Mom (Dec 16, 2009)

She's absolutely lovely, bless your heart



!

BTW, I woulda kicked my husband's BUTT if he woulda shooed off a dog looking like that - it woulda been World War III around here



!!!


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## REO (Dec 16, 2009)

I have tears in my eyes! Thank God you have her! It's a miracle she found you when she did and came back. Thank you for being you and being her Angel!

She's beautiful!!!



And so are you!





{{{{Hugs}}}} for you and Irish!


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## Miniv (Dec 16, 2009)

Marty's suggestion of a foal blanket (or sweater) is a marvelous idea!!!

I think it's interesting that I just helped adopt out a very young blue tick hound at our shelter's adoption event at Petco last Saturday. The coon hounds are NOT a common breed. She was an awesome dog.......very calm and loving. I'd never been around a Coonhound before and she was my responsibility for the day. (And yes, she got adopted!)


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## Mona (Dec 16, 2009)

Reijel's Mom said:


> BTW, I woulda kicked my husband's BUTT if he woulda shooed off a dog looking like that - it woulda been World War III around here
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well, you can kick mine too then! I have also shooed MANY away! These dogs are most often like feral dogs. They are not fed, so have to hunt (sometimes by themselves, sometimes in small packs) to survive. They are fleas and lice from head to toe, are loaded, and I mean LOADED with engorged ticks in the summer, are all skinny and just left to multiply and fend for themselves...they say this is why there are no cats on the reserves, because the dogs end up killing them for food



, and I believe it, because it's true, you rarely see a cat there. We have had problems with them running deer through our property and also going after my horses from time to time, and have even had to shoot some because of that. Believe me, these dogs are far better off dead! I cannot be bringing these dogs all home, and I surely don't want them hanging around here to pass disease/worms/fleas/lice/mange etc. onto my dogs, so no, I sure won't be upset with him chasing off dogs. Yes, I was VERY upset about this one after he told me the condition she was in, as I knew she was at death's door, but if he would have just told me there was a dog here, on the couch in the garage and he shooed it off, and ended the story there, I would not have tried helping it, and I would have been happy that he did shoo it along it's way. It was because he said she was in such poor condition, that he thought he would have been kinder to end her suffering than to shoo her away.

I have taken in many of these dogs that wander in here over the years....from pups to adults, and have gone to the expense of getting them healthy, treating them, and getting them fixed and then rehome them, but no, I surely cannot afford to do this on a regular basis, nor would I want to. There are just some "special" ones that come along, and they call to my heart enough to do something. So no, I am not an angel, and I do turn my back on so many, but that is just a part of life...I am not going to take from the health and welfare of my own dogs to help others that are poor candidates for adoption. You and others may feel it is "cold" of me, and think less of me and my husband for turning our backs on so many and shoo them along their way, but I go to sleep at night knowing I do help to save some, and those "some" are better than none.


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## KanoasDestiny (Dec 16, 2009)

Oh Mona, you're the best! I'm so glad that you decided to take her in. She looks like she really needed someone to care for her, although adding more to the family can always be a bit stressful. All three of our dogs and two of our three cats have been strays that made their way into our hearts and home. I truly believe some of us wear invisible signs on our forehead that tells animals in need that we care.


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## Reijel's Mom (Dec 16, 2009)

Mona said:


> Reijel's Mom said:
> 
> 
> > BTW, I woulda kicked my husband's BUTT if he woulda shooed off a dog looking like that - it woulda been World War III around here
> ...



Wow, didn't see that coming based on my comment, I really didn't mean to offend, but ok then.


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## Mona (Dec 16, 2009)

Reijel's Mom said:


> Wow, didn't see that coming based on my comment, I really didn't mean to offend, but ok then.


Reijel's Mom, I am sorry. Whern I read your post, the "keyword" that I missed was _LOOKING_. I misinterpreted it to read that you would have kicked his butt for chasing a stray dog off...period. I missed the part about looking in that condition. And although I did not kick his butt for it, he knew I was disappointed that he did not tell me sooner! He knew he did her wrong in chasing her off in her condition, but that was after the fact, and then it was too late. Again, my apologies to you. I AM sorry.


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## Reijel's Mom (Dec 16, 2009)

Thanks, Mona - I don't begin to think that 1 person/family should try to take on all the strays in your area, actually I think that is probably how some folks become hoarders!


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## Filipowicz Farm (Dec 16, 2009)

Bless you Mona for helping this dog. I Love the name Irish.


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## Allure Ranch (Dec 16, 2009)

_[SIZE=12pt]She's a beautiful dog and looks like she still has plently of life in her eyes.... Your vet needs to be commended for helping with some of the expenses as well. To often when they can, they don't. So kudos to both you and them.[/SIZE]_


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## Sterling (Dec 16, 2009)

What a beautiful little girl and what a wonderful gift you have given her this Christmas!! Keep us posted on her progress,,,I hope she does well.


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## Matt73 (Dec 18, 2009)

Awwwww. What a lucky girl to have found you, Mona



I hope that all goes well for her from here on...That she gets over all of the infections and gets strong and happy and healthy. She couldn't be in better hands (((Hugs)))


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## HGFarm (Dec 19, 2009)

Ok, I do not like hounds, but she is a beautiful dog and her coat is lovely. What a horribly sad story and I am glad you are helping her. Yes, just like Sammie the cat, she knew where to go for help and showed up for a reason!!

Poor thing, I could not have ignored her either- especially in winter when it is so cold. I can't imagine what she has been through and obviously belongs to someone, but I can tell you what list they are on with me for allowing her to get in this condition. That is just wrong!!

I hope she continues to improve. Without further problems I am sure she will bounce back, poor girl. Maybe she didnt know where to go if her pups died, for help. I truly feel she was sent to you Mona!!

Keep us posted how Irish is doing and post pics as she improves. That is just too sad- her eyes just killed me in your pics. She is begging for help.


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## Birdmomjb (Dec 20, 2009)

Bless you for helping this lovely girl. I get a lot of strays here and can't turn them away eather.

Jan


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## RobinRTrueJoy (Dec 20, 2009)

Aww, Mona, you have a good heart. Irish is lucky to have found you and just in time. You are doing a good thing. Thank you for taking care of her.

Robin


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