Bagels, Parvo, and Notebooks

I guess I woke up sleep deprived, and still mad about my bagels, so I really didn't want any phone calls at 7:30 AM. Sleep deprived, because I am up half the night writing my posts on this blog.  As you have already seen, my life is insane, so there is no time to write during the day.  And my bagels... well that's a real sore spot for me, even tonight.

After a grueling day yesterday, Harry and I decided to stop at Panera for some soup and a sandwich.  On my way out, I decided to pick up a cinnamon crunch bagel and, one of my favorites, a chocolate chip bagel.   When I got home I threw my bags on the kitchen table before I  had to run downstairs as fast as I could to let Ellie and Cookie out of the TV room before Cookie could tear the door down.  You see, Cookie has separation anxiety, so we have to put her in the TV room with Ellie when we leave, so she doesn't destroy the house when we're gone.  This is a dog that went through a glass window when she was in a foster home, so it could be a problem if we just left her to do her thing.

When I came upstairs to feed the barking mob I noticed something on the floor by the large dog bed.  "Now, what have you gotten into?" I asked, reaching to pick up what looked like part of a paper bag.  The letters era were on what was once a paper bag.  "OK, Maddie, what happened to the Pan? I see the era, but you ate the Pan part of the bag, and you scarfed down the contents of the bag! You ate my cinnamon crunch bagel AND my chocolate chip bagel!  You vulture!  How does any living thing scarf down two hard bagels in a matter of minutes?  You're crazy!  How do I put up with you?"  I ranted.

Out of all the dogs, how did I know it was Maddie, you ask?  Oh, that's simple.  This is the dog that ate my daughter Jenny's prize winning apple pie a couple Christmas's ago!  This is the dog that grabbed the $20 filet mignon steak off the counter just before it was to go on the grill and finished it off in seconds!  This is the dog that has eaten my entire dinner  right off my plate in 10 seconds while I got up to get the salt!   Oh, it was Maddie all right!  The rest of the crew jumped on the big bed and shuddered while I went off on my tirade.

When I got up this morning my mouth was watering at the thought of those bagels that I would not be eating over a period of the next two mornings. So, I decided that I would just select a Butter Toffee Kureig cup to pop in my coffee maker and pass on breakfast. Then the phone rang.

"Who calls here at 7:30 in the morning?" I muttered.  "No one in their right mind, that's for sure... no one except Anita, that is."  That annoying computer chick in my phone was telling me something I didn't already know: "Call from animal control.  Call from animal control."
"Yeah, tell me something I don't  already know," I said smirking, as I picked up the phone before it told me one more time that Anita was calling me at 7:30 AM before I had one sip of my toffee coffee!

"Hello Anita," I said, rolling my eyes, dreading what her news was already this morning.

"We've got to get these puppies out of here as soon as possible.  They're going to get sick here.  Do you know of any foster homes?  They've been here too long, and we're supposed to transport them to NY, and if they get sick it's over.  Can you make some calls?  Not only that, but Anastasia has mange or something.  Crap!  She's losing her hair and looks terrible!  I don't know, but it looks like sarcoptic mange to me.  That's contagious you know!   I guess I can scrape her and have Nancy take it over to Dr. Roten and see what the blankety blank is wrong with her!  Can you believe those people? As if the dog hasn't gone through enough... "

  My head was spinning. I don't think she took a breath!  I considered pouring the coffee down the drain, and just losing the 50 cents it costs me to drink that cup of Kuerig every morning.  It was tempting to just go for the Moscato wine.  I put my head in my hands and said emphatically, "I have tried, but they all ignore me.  They hate to see my number come up on their caller ID. They, whoever "they" are, do not want to help us, so I don't know what do Anita.  As for Anastasia... I don't even know how to comment. I could seriously hurt those people!  Yes, I would have Nancy take the scraping to Cara, and we'll go from there. (Anastasia is another story... another post coming up soon.)  Who are we going to get to foster her if she has scabies?  No one with another dog, that's for sure!" I said  totally exasperated.

I promised Anita that I would continue to be a nuisance to anyone who would listen to my pleas for help for the dogs, and I would try to get the puppies out of animal control, but I wasn't optimistic. I was sick over Anastasia. I was livid, in fact. I slammed the phone down and went off again with no one but the dogs to listen me.


A few minutes later the phone rang again,  "Call from animal control.  Call from..."   "I know!" I said as I picked up the receiver.   "Well, it's scabies all right.  We'll put her on Revolution and hope someone will get the poor thing out of here.  "Oh, man," I murmured.  "What next?"

"One of those little puppies threw up.  It's poop doesn't look good. Maybe I should get it to the vet," she went on.

"Yup, I think so.   Good idea. Let me know what you find out.  The last thing we need is parvo!" I said shaking my head and sipping my  now cold coffee.  "You know, Anita, one day a funny looking vehicle will pull up to my house, and a couple of men wearing white coats will come through my door and take me away somewhere where there are no phones or sick dogs and all of this crazy stuff.  After they get me... they'll be coming for you!  See ya!"

" Call Ya back," she said.   Click.

"Yes, I know you will, Anita" I said under my breath as I hung up the phone. It wasn't much more than a half hour, and the phone starting it's annoying warning that Anita from animal control was calling again!

"What now?" I said as I picked up the receiver.

It's parvo!  Sh..!  Can you believe it?  Now what?  We have four more in this litter.  I don't know what to do now."

"Well, I guess all we can do is wait and see how the puppy does.  You know, and I know, that the rest may not get sick, or they could all come down with it.  Just hold off until we know."

"I guess so, " she said.

It was still morning, and I felt like I had been through a war.  I needed a phone number for a possible foster, and I looked in my huge purse to find my little note book, but it wasn't there.  Things disappear in that purse all the time.  Its like a sink hole or something.  I tore through the kitchen drawer, and I looked in the car, but no note book. " Have you seen my blue note book?" I asked Harry as he walked through the kitchen carrying two bird feeders full of seed.  "No,  I don't think so," he said heading for the back door.
" All my information is in that note book... all my phone numbers and information!" I exclaimed.
"I'll bet someone shoved it in a bag or something after the adoption on Saturday! If that's gone I'm doomed," I said, heading fore the stairs.

As if things weren't bad enough, now my note book was gone!  I needed to go in to town, and just as I was getting things together when the phone rang again.  This time it was a foster mom that had a litter of puppies.

" I have this darling litter of puppies," she said.  "They're so cute," but I think they have parvo or something.  They have bad diarrhea, and one threw up."

 La la la la la.  My mind was shutting down. I didn't want to hear anymore. Block it out now. Overload!

"Ok, take a sample to the vet , and see what he says," I said, numb by now.

"They don't act sick," she said.  "I don't get it."

"I don't get it either,"I thought as I hung up.  "I don't get why I do this!  There is something wrong with me!"

This time I called Anita.  "You want the bad news, or the bad news?"  I said as she picked up.

"What?" she said in a "I think I'd like to kill myself "voice.

"Joanne called. The puppies are sick. She's worried about parvo."

"Sh..!"

Harry and I went in to town. I didn't have anything good to say, and I was still fuming over my lost note book.  We bought tons of dog food as we usually do every week and finished our errands, and then we headed for the emergency vet to see Nikie and the parvo puppy.

I was happy to see Nikie, and he was happy to greet me and Harry.  He got right up and started wagging his tail.  As I looked down on him, all I saw was fur on bones.  When you run your hand down his back it is like touching a skeleton.  Harry looked up at me and shook his head.  "It's pitiful," He said. "I know. I've never seen anything like it. He's a Husky.  Can you even believe it?  I don't think he weighs 30 pounds!"

He is blind from the cataracts, but he sure knows that people are there for him.  I think he knows that he is finally safe. I read an article tonight in the paper that said his owners were probably dead a week or more before they were found, and he was tied outside in the terrible cold waiting to die himself.  They think it was a suicide pack, or a murder suicide. It sends chills down my spine just to think of what he went through.  He can leave the vet once they get his insulin regulated, but right now I have no one to take him.  I'm going out of town, so needless to say, I am very concerned about who will step up and care for him until I get back.  My friend Jackie said she will take him when she gets back in town, but we have a week to worry about.  More stress.

I went in to see the puppy. She was looking pretty punk, but the vet thinks she will pull through.  He thinks we caught the parvo early. I am calling her Hope.  She is a beautiful little girl that needs someone to take her home and care for her.  I have to believe that someone will come forward to help these precious creatures.  I just have to!

I have been getting some great feed back on my blog.  My vet was teasing me about posting some happy stories. I told him that I'm certain that they will come.  We have had some great things happen over the past 7 years. I reminded him that this is a diary of a rescuer.  The past few days have been not too good, but we wait for the good times.  Surely they will come.   I hope sooner than later.

I still haven't found my notebook!  I'm still ticked about that, but tomorrow is the adoption. Maybe it will show up.  It's 1AM.   I'm signing off.  Keep coming back!  Let me know you're here.