OZZIE & MARLEY NEED A HOME

Dear all,

Would appreciate it if any of you could give Marly & Ozzie a good home for 18 months or so. They need a good and loving home together as their owners are currently abroad.

Marley is an 8 year old female while Ozzie is a 7 year old male, both are mixed breed. They both have good temperaments.

Please contact me, Natasha, if you can look after these two lovable dogs.

Email: natasha@axtrasynergy.com
Tel: 016 322 8816

No crank calls or spam please...

OF DOG FIGHTS AND DOG BITES!!!

I have just been bitten, quite severely by Husky Boy...not that he intended any aggression towards me though. It was an accident...

See what had happened was that Lucky escaped from inside the house as I was taking the laundry out to dry. And in 2 seconds Husky Boy attacked him, and they started fighting. Cleo came to help Lucky and I somehow managed to get Cleo back into the house. And then in trying to separate Lucky and Husky, Husky Boy bit me in the leg (my left calf to be precise) and then in the left forearm. Luckily for me Lucky then diverted his attention and so he let go. After some doing I managed to get Lucky back into the house. It was only then that I realised how severe the bites were as there was blood everywhere on my porch, and blood was still pouring out of my arm and leg.

I still didn't feel the pain then. I quickly ran my arm and leg under the garden tap for a few minutes, and then quickly rushed in to see if my Lucky was alright. After a quick look over I realised that Lucky was a really lucky dog. He was okay although Husky boy had gotten him by the scruff of his neck twice!

It was only after I knew that Lucky was alright did the pain set in. The blood was still streaming down my leg and arm. I rushed upstairs to wash my wounds some more and quickly sprayed some antiseptic solution on. There was some weird stuff coming out of my leg. I put some gauze and micropore tape on and somehow managed to drive myself to the clinic! It was quite hard actually cause I drive a stick shift!!! So the left leg needed to work quite a bit on the clutch, and the pain was beginning to really get to me.

Anyway I had to get 6 stitches in total on my leg, 3 on the front of my leg and 3 on the back of my leg! It's the first time I have ever had stitches and I think I collected quite a few!!! And the doc told me that the weird stuff coming out was actually the fat tissue from my calf. Yuck!!!

I am quite annoyed actually cause it means I can't walk or drive for the next week or so... When I said walk I meant take Cleo & Lucky for their hourly long morning walks. Bah!!!

So what prompted Husky boy to attach my Lucky??? Well Lucky has always anoyed Husky from inside the house, by barking at him through our windows and grilles. And nipping Husky Boy's ears every now and then if Husky Boy lay too close to the grilles. So I guess it was pay back time. And I really had to get Husky Boy off my Lucky cause he may have killed him. Sigh... I wished so hard that these two would get along... But they just don't. I think it's also due to the fact that they both are males and are therefore quite teritorial!

On another note, here are some important things to remember if you are ever bitten by a dog.

1. Remain calm
2. Make sure you wash your wound as thoroughly as you can
3. If you have antiseptic, put that onto your wound, and cover it with a gauze and plaster.
4. Get yourself to a doctor ASAP to have it looked at (and stitched if necessary), and GET a Tetanus shot!

Right I am going to stop typing now cause it's really hurting my left hand. Well that's my story for today...

RAINBOW BRIDGE FOR RESCUED DOGGIE

Dear all,

The rescued doggie with the broken leg has been put to sleep. It was a very difficult to decision for me to make, but it was for the best.

His blood test came back on Friday evening and all his vital organs were severely damaged and his blood count was very low. He probably would not have survived the surgery, and even if he did, he would not have survived the post surgery medication.

I went to see him before he was put to sleep, and said a little prayer for him. I hope that he will find a better place on the other side of rainbow bridge where no one can hurt him anymore.

I am still very upset with having to make this decision, but am even more upset that there can be humans that are so heartless as to run over a living being and just leaving it to suffer on its own. This poor boy would have died a slow and painful death if I hadn't found him when I did.

The only consolation that I have is the fact that at least his last days were spent in a place where he was cared for with no pain, and that he had some peace and quiet and some decent food.

RESCUED DOG

Dear all,

Here are the pictures of the dog I rescued earlier this morning. The pictures are a bit bad as the dog was in a funny angle and I didn't want to use a flash cause that would just traumatise him further.

He is resting at my vet's place and has started on a course of anti-biotics to prevent the leg from getting infected. He has eaten twice already, but my vet (Dr Jon Singham of Hayward Animal Clinic) is feeding him small amounts at a time because he is very emaciated and therefore may not be able to digest the food properly.

He’s in quite a state at the moment and the vet has not been able to do much with him yet. He is very very frightened, and we think that he was run over by a car and left for dead. His left foreleg is broken completely, so we will have to amputate his leg at the shoulder.

Before we can do that we will need to do some bloodwork to check his blood count and to check his liver, kidney etc, and also to test for heartworms. If he’s all clear then we can proceed with the amputation. I will only go ahead with this only if someone takes him after that, cause I can’t board him indefinitely and he will need a forever home.

Another vet friend of mine, Dr Lynette Low of HillPark Vet, has agreed to look after him post op for a bit till he is somewhat better and can go to his new home.

Okay guys, will really appreciate it if one of you out there could either foster or adopt him. I really wish I could do it myself, but I don't have the space as I already have 3 dogs now, Cleo, Lucky and Husky Boy. Please come forward to help. I think he will make a good companion...

Please call me at 016 322 8816 or email me at natasha@axtrasynergy.com if you can find it in your hearts to take this fella in...

Thanks so much...

URGENT: FOSTERER NEEDED!!!

Dear all,

NEED YOUR HELP!!!

Saw an injured dog while walking Cleo early this morning. Tried to approach it but it started running. It has a broken leg and needed immediate attention. Anyway managed to rescue it with the help of the SPCA who have graciously sent it to my vet, Dr Jon Singham of Hayward Animal Clinic. Will be going over there as soon as I can to take a look at it and see what needs to be done.

Need someone to foster the dog while we try to find someone to adopt it. Unfortunately cannot take it in myself as I already have to look after Husky Boy and my own two, Cleo and Lucky. And as I live in a link house, I am afraid I can't have any more dogs...

PLEASE HELP!!! If you can take this dog in, drop me an email at natasha@axtrasynergy.com

Will post a picture up as soon as I manage to take one.

Thanks guys!

IS A DOG FOR YOU?

A recent incident has prompted me to write this particular post. I shan't mention what happened as there may be parties that would be incredibly upset with me if I did.

Anyway, many people think that having a dog is a whole load of fun - which it is. But they often forget that having a dog(s) means HUGE responsibilities!!! And these responsibilities should not be taken lightly!!!

Before getting a dog, there are 2 important things to think about:

1. COSTS

Food - good nutritious food is expensive,

Grooming supplies (shampoo, brushes, tick and flea prevention solutions etc),

Health supplements

Suitable Shelter for your dog if it's an outdoor dog and

VETERINARY bills.

Your dog needs yearly vaccinations, heartworm prevention, deworming, and regular check ups once every 3 months at least. These are expensive and may not be the only veterinary cost especially if your dog is not as healthy as it should be.

2. TIME

Do you have time for your dog? Your dog needs to be walked daily, and more importantly you dog needs to have TIME spent with you!!!

Other than that, you need to spend time looking over your dog on a daily basis (a quick 10 minute check at least) to ensure that your dog is healthy and has no problems. You need to check their ears, fur and skin to ensure that they are tick free, eyes, paws, teeth etc... Because it's always easier to prevent a problem than to cure it.

You must be able to wash and groom your dog (plus blowdry your dog esp if it's long haired or double coated) on a weekly basis to prevent ticks and fleas (it's easier to prevent ticks than to get rid of them once your dog is infested with ticks!!!), to keep your dog's skin healthy and to keep your dog from smelling bad. I mean I am sure that all of you shower on a daily basis right?

You must also have time to keep your compound clean (if you dog is an outdoor dog) to prevent your dog from picking up infections of any sort.

These are only 2 main points that you have to consider before even thinking of bringing a dog into your home... There are a whole load of other points to consider because a dog is for life!!!

So guys please don't bring a dog into your home if you can't afford it and more importantly if you don't have the time to ensure the well being of your dog!!!

CLEO: MODEL CANINE CITIZEN

We (Natasha & Douglas Lim) like to think that our darling Cleo is a Model Canine Citizen. I think our view is that of all proud parents - be it parents of real kids or furkids.

In any case, we are of the opinion that having Cleo is a million times better than having a real kid. She is so well behaved that we often forget that she is a dog... We also sincerely believe that she understands every word we say... so much so that we have started to spell things to prevent her from getting excited unecessarily... esp the word W A L K

Anyway here are some pictures of Cleo, which demonstrates what a good girl she is...

Cleo snoozing next to our invitation cards as we're writing them out...

Cleo relaxing on the covered sofas out of the way of the workmen who were painting the house... She didn't bother them at all...

Cleo and Douglas catching 40 winks...

UPDATES ON THE HUSKY - MALAMUTE

Hello everyone,

It has been sometime since I last posted. Been extremely busy with looking after the Husky, and work too. We have decided that he is in fact an Alaskan Malamute as he is far too large to be a Husky. However we're stuck calling him Husky Boy...

Husky Boy is doing well and his foot is healing nicely. His very large open wound which spanned his entire paw has now shrunk to the size of a 5 sen coin... he does tend to get quite excited at meal times and loves to play now that he is feeling better. This doesn't help the condition of the foot though. So we try to keep him as quiet as possible.

He has put on 2kgs since he arrived at my house which is great as he was literally skin and bones. His ear infection has cleared up too. Cleaning his ears were quite a chore and I had to use like a dozen Qtips for both ears each day as the infection was really bad. His stomache infection has also cleared which is a good thing.

Shalina, the vet, that rescued him has decided to adopt him, and he will be going to his new home as soon as he is well enough... Will try and post some new pictures of Husky Boy when I can.