Foster Dog News, Personal Dog Update, and a Recommendation

We’re still waiting for word on a transport date for Bippity-Bop to make her way eastward, but since I’ve restarted this blog, I thought I’d stick to my new Thursday posting habit. (I’m sure you missed me expected me to take up space in your inbox today.)

X-Port Paws has decided to keep Bippity in the boarding/foster situation in Texas for another week to be certain she is healthy enough to travel. At her vet appointment last week she was infested with fleas/ticks and running a fever. She also tested positive for Ehrlichia (but negative for heartworm!). Ehrlichia is a tickborne disease that is very treatable but must be monitored. Bippity has been started on a course of Doxycycline. This week her fever is gone and her energy is back.

https://fb.watch/ceGrcMwrTZ/

If she continues to do well, she’ll get another distemper vaccine next week and arrive in Virginia on Good Friday. Lots could happen between now and then. I’ll post updates whenever I get them on my Facebook page and on the Another Good Dog facebook group.

Bippity is about a year old, just 26 pounds and according to her caretaker she is sweet and friendly. If you know anyone looking for a pup like this, encourage them to reach out to me. Like Dippity, I expect there to be plenty of takers.

Meanwhile, let me give you an update on the happenings here. All three dogs have adjusted to living in town, which means we have gotten in the habit of keeping our shades pulled so they can’t see people/dogs/anything happening on the sidewalk outside.

Gracie still finds it necessary to stand outside on the back porch and bark into the wind. Thankfully, our only close neighbor is a mortgage company, so as long as she keeps her shouting to afterwork hours, no one seems to mind. She’s fourteen now, so the bigger part of her day is spent snoozing in places she isn’t supposed to snooze (on the green chairs that suck up her long hair and refuse to let it go no matter how much vacuum power I apply or on the rug in the bathroom which camoflauges her hair holding on to it until an unsuspecting wet foot gets out of the shower.). We try to walk her at off hours, as she erupts in a fit of barking/coughing whenever she sees someone on the street.

Fanny loves to go for long walks in town at sunrise and after dark when the sidewalks of Woodstock are rolled up. Otherwise, we take quick trips to the stop sign at the end of the street and then hustle back. We also make regular jaunts to the dogpark to chase frisbees, plus take agility class every Wednesday afternoon (her favorite hour of the week). We’re still looking for a friend with a pool to invite her for swimming, but for now the river works. She is my athlete who is happiest ‘working’ on the agility equipment or chasing down flying objects (and bunnies).

Otis is running for mayor of Woodstock. He greets everyone, prancing along the sidewalk on high alert, his tail going like a windshield wiper anticipating greeting his constituents. He loves to walk at noon to flirt with customers seated at the sidewalk tables outside the café or waiting on the lawn talking on cellphones outside the courthouse. He is getting better with his dog reactivity, but not without a lot of effort/preparation from us. This morning we took three detours to avoid passing another dog on the sidewalk and still popped out from Lawyer’s Row and ran smack into an incredibly well behaved cattledog who simply stared at Otis’ freak out and then trotted back to her owner.

Every once in a blue moon I am asked to evaluate a dog product for my ‘fans’ (that’s you, like it or not). Most of the time, I say no because that’s not what this blog is about, but this time I said yes because it was something I hoped would help Fanny, my skinny, picky eater who, as previously mentioned, is the athlete in the family and really needs to take in more calories.

A representative from Bully Max asked if we would try a new all-natural food they are launching. It’s called Instant Fresh and is a dehydrated, fresh, powder formula made of human grade ingredients. You add water, wait and serve. They sent me two bags, plus some other goodies to try.

I used it as a food topper for Fanny’s regular meal and a small bit on Gracie’s (she’s picky too so I wanted to see what she thought). I didn’t put it on Otis’ because he’ll scarf up week-old Alpo as happily as anything else (not that I feed him Alpo!). You can feed Instant Fresh like you would wet food, but as I already knew it was out of our price range, I didn’t want to go overboard. Gracie and Fanny LOVED it, gobbling it up happily. I’m always trying new ‘toppers’ or additives to get Fanny to eat and many work for a few days and then she’s back to her indifference, but she loved every last ounce of both bags of Bully Max Instant Fresh, and it showed on how good she looked.

She also loved the Bully Max tug toy that accompanied our box (Gracie claimed the beautiful dog bowl). If you’ve got a picky eater, especially a dog that struggles to keep to a healthy weight, Bully Max Instant Fresh just might be your ticket.

That’s my honest opinion. (And I wasn’t paid for it.) I promise this won’t become a product review site, but when I find something that works, I’ll share it with you because I know you love your dog just like I love mine and want the best for it.

Hopefully, I’ll have news of the imminent arrival of Bippity Bop this time next week! I got word yesterday that she received her health certificate so is cleared for travel!

Until Each One Has a Home,

Cara

For information on me, my writing, and books, visit CaraWrites.com.

If you’d like regular updates of all our foster dogs past and present, plus occasional dog care/training tips, and occasional foster cat updates (!) be sure to join the Facebook group, Another Good Dog.

And if you’d like to know where all these dogs come from and how you can help solve the crisis of too many unwanted dogs in our shelters, visit WhoWillLetTheDogsOut.org and subscribe to our blog where we share stories of our travels to shelters, rescues, and dog pounds.

If you can’t get enough foster dog stories, check out my book: Another Good Dog: One Family and Fifty Foster Dogs. Or its follow up that takes you to the shelters in the south One Hundred Dogs & Counting: One Woman, Ten Thousand Miles, and a Journey Into the Heart of Shelters and Rescues.

I love to hear from readers and dog-hearted people! Email me at carasueachterberg@gmail.com.