Desmond

Well, we’ve added to the “family”.

Yesterday, Duane and I drove to the Seattle area to look at a Cavalier. I fell in love! So now we’re on our way home with Desmond. Ok, so it’s not my favorite name, but he knows it well, so Desmond it will be.

Desmond is a gorgeous Blenheim. For those who don’t know, Blenheim is one of the four accepted Cavalier colors. The background coat is a snowy white with patches of rich reddish-orange. His ever-wagging tail is like a “I surrender” flag. And he’s got big brown doe-like eyes that can melt any doggie person’s heart.

He’s been such a good boy with all the traveling. (We decided to stay the night and take the scenic drive home). We’ll see how he settles in once we get home and he meets the rest of the crew.

I feel very fortunate to have been able to get him; AKC registered, young, already proven and he’s OFA heart certified!  And I was able to meet one of his adorable puppies! 

 I’ve already got his first job lined up for him. Hmm…do I hear wedding bells? I’d like to invite you to the wedding of Miss Zoey and Mr. Desmond. May they live happily ever after and be blessed with beautiful, healthy babies. *smile* But that's down the road a ways. For now he just gets to settle in and become part of the family. Welcome Desmond!

CERFing!

Today I went CERFing! No, it wasn’t a sunny day at the beach surfing. This is a different kind. CERF is an abbreviation for Canine Eye Registration Foundation. In trying to produce healthy puppies we have our adults tested for inheritable eye diseases. And we’re very fortunate to have a wonderful eye clinic near-by with qualified veterinary ophthalmologists. Of course, “near-by” is relative. Everything is a bit of a drive from where we live, so having a specialist only two hours away is a good thing!

It was an interesting day.  Driving two hours one way with eight dogs in the car can be an experience. Yes, since it’s still cool weather and we have no shell on our truck, all the dogs rode up front with me. Of course most of them were doubled up in their crates, but they didn’t mind the company. And they were all so good; except one.  Pooh, my spoiled, rotten housedog that sleeps on my bed isn’t real good about being in a crate for any length of time.  So, needless to say, he lets me know when he’s not happy about it. Thankfully, he did settle down and sleep. 

 Since I have an interest in dog health and anything vet related, the exams were interesting for me. The doctor hooked up a monitor to his instrument so I was able to see a picture of the eye up close and personal as he was doing the exam. The dogs with brown eyes, (most all of them) were a beautiful orange color and the blue-eyed Aussie had red color to the eye….very interesting. The doctor pointed out the optic nerve also. The eye with the optic nerve and its branching veins reminded me of a fertilized chicken egg held up to the light. Oh, so interesting!

. And I’m happy to say that all eight dogs passed their exams with normal eyes!

China

Oh, that dog! There she goes again! I peered out my window just in time to see China barking at the horses. I raced from the window to the front door to call her in; but it was too late!

(I love Cavaliers! But the herding dogs will always have a special place in my heart. Our newest member of the pack, an eight month old toy Australian Shepherd; was at it again!)

In the time it took me to get from the window to the door, a mere second or two, the horse must have kicked and made contact with her head! I sprinted to the pasture as I saw her reeling around. My adrenalin raced as I quickly raced through the gate; but I slowed myself down and approached with caution. A dog in shock can be unpredictable. Her eyes were glazed as she stared straight ahead, body ridged, mouth clamped down on her bleeding tongue. I gently scooped her up and headed carefully back to the house where I placed her in a crate near the woodstove. Then off for a quick shower, knowing I’d probably be heading to town.

The vet for us is a good thirty five miles and a forty-five minutes drive from home. I have learned over the years not to rush to the doctor for every boo-boo that comes our way and with my background in veterinary assisting I have learned to do much doctoring myself. “But she was kicked in the head”, you say. Yes, and unfortunately, we’ve had to deal with that issue several times with our big dog, but I was a bit more concerned because of China’s size and age.

When I checked on her after my shower, she was banging on the crate door. “Let me out!” “Why am I in this crate?” she seemed to be asking. I let her out and watched her for a few minutes and besides an obvious mud smudge of her face and excessive drooling, she looked pretty good. I called the vet and talked with her, trying to refresh my memory on what to watch for with a head injury. And decided at that point to watch and wait. But after observing her restlessly lie down and get up several times, with her eyelids at “half-mast”, I opted for a vet exam and professional opinion. Thankfully, the vet found no major injuries, or fractures of any kind. But did prescribe an anti-inflammatory and pain medications for a few days. Whew!

 Like any good herding dog, China’s instinct is to herd moving objects; other dogs, children or in this case; horses. Unfortunately, for her the horse in question got annoyed with little yapping noises at his heels and decided to do something about it.  She was very fortunate not to suffer any ill effects from her accident. Thankfully she is not as fragile as her registered name “Grandview’s China Doll” implies. And hopefully, she has a bit more respect for the equines, though knowing herding dogs as I do, I doubt it.