Houston Dog faces and 1 more

Gizzie on the left and Georgia below were minding their own business at Tanglewilde Vet Clinic when they were bombarded with pictures. This owner was so accommodating-the girls REALLY  just wanted to get out of Dodge and defeated our repeated attempts to photograph them together. 
One of them turns 11 this week!

Mikey and Missy were both adopted  by my wonderful bud Gretajean, both had heartworms(will people never understand the importance of prevention?) and both have this binkie addiction:)

These are their Halloween witch binkies. Mickey gets whichever one he can yank from under the computer table when Missy is otherwise engaged.

Bailey was incredibly patient for her nail trim. Richard her owner came by for a nail trim,which I do for 5.00-Greater Good sends lots of clients to me, thanks!. Then he asked to be shown how to do it. Kim my bud was visiting, so was quickly conned into helping:)

Chloe was patiently waiting her turn at Westbury Vet Clinic last month when the roving Pet Stuff Resale camera caught her. She looks about 4, she is really 13. She has a wonderful owner who did major research into vets after moving to Houston from New York. I very much enjoyed visiting with her and think she made a good decision in vets!

I really feel sorry for folks with real jobs that can't rove around as I do, so the dog faces are to add a little joy to your day. It is not by accident that most of them are "seasoned" faces, those are my favorite.

Oh, yea, this blog is supposed to also highlight items from Pet Stuff Resale for sale.......
Rocco was turned in to a shelter when his owners could not afford treatment for his broken leg.  All healed, he now needs a permenant home, all 4 lbs of him. He desperately hopes the Halloween costume finds a different home! It says Devilish Dog on the back which is 180 dogrees from his personality. He is one of the sweet, even quiet, chihuahuas, gets along with other dogs and even cats.

I will have items for sale(and a foster dog) at the Kingsland Blvd 30th anniversary Open House this Saturday 2-5 pm. 281-578-1506 is their number. Of course there will be a pet costume contest. I have a booth in Exam room 9. My cell is 817-480-8400 if you want to see what I am bringing.

Also share this blog with your buds if you like. A portion of PSR sales benefit
rescue animals.

Bunkbeds for dogs???? and 1 more

One of the fun things about my job is scouting for pet items and a non pet item jumps out at me and sez " I could be a pet________!" Cashiers at one of my regular haunts ask "What dog thing is this going to be this time?"

This bunk bed is a great addition to a multi dog or dog/cat home. I have found that dogs nest more together when elevated, which means they take up less floor space! Here they can nap on the lower bunk or underneath and food, toy and blankie storage goes on top bunk. This makes for a very organized pet area. 150.00 at Pet Stuff Resale(google to see bunkbed prices, wow!)-some delivery available

 I have also used a bunk bed frame only for cats and they LOVE to climb as well as scratch, keeping them off my wooden bed headboard.

The correct terminology is "repurposing". I just call it fun! It also adds to part of my mission to recycle whatever can be given another use.

This  dog/cat hidey(very small dogs/cats) was picked up by my pet stuff shopper Nancy. I am not sure I would have picked up on its possibilities.
Thanks to CAP thrift store volunteer Sandra who knew its original purpose;

from IKEA, it's for little boys rooms to store toy trucks and the like, hung from the loop. The neat thing for pet owners is that the whole back(or base now) is velcroed on, so easy to remove for cleaning. 3.00 at Pet Stuff Resale

Can you be open minded about pit bulls?



This is Bahrain, 4 months old, already neutered.

 Branching out from showcasing items from Pet Stuff Resale, in this post 2 foster dogs are being profiled. Citizens for Animal Protection is one of the few shelters that evaluates pit type breeds instead of automatically euthanizing or turning them away. Potential adopters are screened specifically about their interest in the breeds.
These two unrelated pups have mild upper respiratory infections and needed about 10 days in isolation.

The economy and fires have reduced adoption options so drastically that it will be even tougher than usual to place them. These two are protected by having a foster, but still need wide exposure to find them good homes. Please share this so I can take the next 2 dogs that need me.

He has NOT had an ear enhancement procedure!

Trying to showcase Bahrains freckles was tough; there are so many neat
smells in the woods to distract the dogs. I am not even guessing as to each ones primary breed.

Colonel is a 5 month old pit mix, also neutered. He is about 40 lbs and a little more macho right now than Bahrain, who is a 35 lb wuus.

Yea, they are both crate trained!

They both can sit on command and they have heard of "stay", but are convinced I can't possibly mean it. Many, many photos were taken to get just 2-3 with as little motion"blur" as possible.

Pet Stuff Resale saves a monkey during the Magnolia fires!

The unusual thing about the rescue is that I wasn't even aware of it until much later!


5 lb evacuee Honey B who is looking for a very quiet all adult home



Evacuee Bingo, very shy terrier mix, looking for an all adult home
with other dogs

After I evacuated for the 4th time, my neighbor called and asked if someone could borrow one of the dog crates in the front yard. (I confess, I had not unloaded completely, all of the things I sell on weekends should have already been back in the garage. It was Labor Day and I was lazy...) I immediately said anyone could have anything to help move their pets out.

A week after we returned some neighbors stopped by and wanted to buy the crate they had taken. They told me the crate meant they could save one more monkey; I was stunned as I had  forgotten about the crate and had just assumed whoever it had been was fleeing with a dog! They were able to get 6 out and before leaving released the 2 for which they had no room. Note: these are legally kept monkeys and have a neat habitat we can see from the road, but the monkeys did not want their pictures taken for this post.
It was very nice to have helped, even though totally by accident.

One of the things I should have done was have the dogs rabies certificates, but more importantly, have a picture of each one. I did not expect to get separated from them and wasn't but at noon on Labor Day I was in Brenham
with no clue that I would be evacuating by 6 pm.

There are still over 30 animals at Baker Vet Clinic in Waller that have not been reclaimed. If you have room, please consider one of them. They will not be able to keep them indefinitely.

Pet supplies I can personally recommend for fleeing a fire.

Evacuating with pets from any disaster is tough at best; I am extremely grateful to all of the law enforcement folks that made it orderly. It was also a major help that I had so many pet supplies on hand.

 I would have had crates for the dogs if I didn't already own Pet Stuff Resale, but probably would not have invested in this puppy pen before the Magnolia fire. It was such a major help it gave me the idea to share;the stress reduction was incredible. There was no worry about a scared dog backing out of a collar or otherwise getting loose or jumping out of the pen. It was used for feeding and potty both since it could be moved around. 75.00 at Pet Stuff Resale
 (It is not recommended to feed dogs together, especially when they are stressed, no matter how friendly they are. There was a time issue at that point, I stood right there and grabbed a dog as soon as the picture was taken)

The crate below is great for small dogs and cats, being able to lift them out thru the top is a big advantage. It is amazing how such small legs can brace against the traditional door. Vet clinics really like these for cats. Note, sometimes, the wire top pulls loose at the latches, I recommend anchoring with ties to prevent an escape. 17.00

Leo is a very shy dog on the best of days so NOT interested in modeling this next crate, a Kennel Cabin. He weighs 4 lbs; any bigger and this crate would not be appropriate. The crate on the right, also a Kennel Cabin, has a wire top with a small opening. I evacuated a Quaker parrot and a cockatiel together in it. It is also great for most other small mammals and reptiles. 12.00 each

The wee wee pads were a God send, a bud had just given them to me 2 days before; I did not realize their value in an evacuation until I was grabbing stuff in haste. They were great not only for crates but also on the truck seat for car seats when the dogs were not crated. Honey B said not to tell...just a little car sickness on the first day.

Evacuation was mandatory Monday, then Tuesday, then Wednesday. By then the dogs were thinking this was a new routine. I began this blog on Thursday and in the middle of typing and loading pictures, we all had to bolt immediately.We got NO notice due to the rapidity of fires renewing and I was not allowed back in until Sunday.

The only reason I still have a house is that a neighbor defied the mandatory evacuation, so was there when a spark ignited in his back yard, from probably a mile away. Firefighters could not have gotten there in time. I am so blessed. 

Everyone is fine and settled back in. Many thanks to Razelle and Mark Smith who housed all of us. I cannot express the importance of being better prepared than I was to leave with your pets on short notice.

Mature Houston dog faces in the crowd

Senior dogs just have personality with which NO puppy can compete! These two precious babies were adopted from PugHearts and their parents are active volunteers with that group. Emma is on the right and I confess I forgot her older buddy's name and it was a very cute one....They were spotted at the Greater Good spay/neuter clinic.

This elderly dachshund ended up at a shelter and has so many medical problems he is not adoptable so will be going to a very nice hospice home.
He has LOTS Of heartworms and intestinal parasites and the few teeth he has are in pretty bad shape. At about 15 years old he is still very spritely and being intact, wants to take on a few of the much younger dogs! He has probably never darkened the door of a vet clinic.....sigh

This laid back baby was also spotted at the Greater Good and his name is Tex(I think)

Yea, he is neutered and on heartworm preventioni!

I like to showcase older dogs and their happy endings and devoted owners..

Oops, a youngster snuck in the blog! This is Blue, a very nice and well behaved "pibble"as we like to call them in rescue! His owner was very nice during my neuter speech and had actually tried to get him in one day at the Greater Good, but was a little late. He promised to come back, possibly to avoid getting the speech from me again:) Blue, like many dogs, was not a fan of the camera....

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Can you pass the dog "drivers permit" test?

clients at Westbury Vet Clinic

Pet rescuers usually feel that people should pass a test before getting a dog:) How well would you do? Some of the answers seem SO obvious but I have seen every one of them in my years of rescue! You might be surprised.

1-Heartworms are caused by:
   a-fleas
   b-flies
   c-mosquitoes

Mosquitos is what many of us know, but heartworm ignorance is very high in Houston. I was recently told that they are caused by spoiled canned meat.

2-Soft sided totes are great for puppies and easier to carry than plastic crates..
   a-sure
   b-no
   c-well, 1/2 of that is true

Many soft totes  have been destroyed by sharp puppy teeth, from both the inside and outside, when one is  put on the floor, ie. left within chewing range. They particularly like the zippers!

3-It doesn't matter how you travel with a dog in your vehicle, as long as they are contained.
   a-sure
   b-no

It does matter-none of us leave home expecting to get into a car wreck, but if you are side swiped or rear ended, the impact of a wire crate will crush a dog. It has a slightly better chance of surviving if a plastic crate breaks apart. A loose dog becomes a rapidly moving projectile as well. I hope this never happens to you, but it could.

4-It's fine to get a puppy before your elderly dog passes away so you are no tleft without a buddy.
   a-yes, they will probably get along just fine
   b-no-it is way too much stress on the older dog and they feel pushed aside
   c-rarely and only if done very carefully can this be done


Bubbles still looking for a permanent home

 I am of the B category,  think it is very selfish to foist a rowdy puppy on most older animals. A middle aged dog is a much better "bridge" dog. A few people are dedicated enough to keep a puppy from harrassing a senior dog.

5- Females make better pets
    a-yes, they don't "hike"
    b-no, males are actually calmer
    c-no right answer-everyone has their preferences

Many people assume that females are better just because of the hiking issue. Males are more often euthanized due to this misconception. Many males do not and some females do or show other dominant
behaviors. Once neutered, males are often calmer. Please don't automatically reject the idea of a male based on that generalization.

6-Females need to have a heat cycle before spaying and motor oil can be used on mange are both so ludicrous that they don't even warrant a separate True/False section, but they are both still believed. You don't have to admit it if you assumed either is true:) Neither is.

Do you know of other often believed (non) "truths"? Please share them in the comments and share this blog with folks who may believe some of these misconceptions.  It's a diplomatic way to educate:)

(As always ,please advise me if you no longer wish to receive the blog from Pet Stuff Resale. I do not want to intrude. Please share with people who might be interested.)


Durango begins painful heartworm treatment with Dr Burda at Jester Plaza Vet Clinic