BCSP Report – Week 13

Bollinger County Stray Project Report March 28-April 3

This yellow Lab female has been with us over three weeks and will be spayed and up for adoption this week. She is very high energy and requires a family that is dog savvy and knows basic obedience or she will drive you crazy. She is more interested in being loved than chasing a ball. Great with other dogs and strangers. Needy gal needs another dog to occupy her and an active family or person who can wear her out. Call Marilyn at 573-722-3035. Adoption fee will be $300.

This yellow Lab female has been with us over three weeks and will be spayed and up for adoption this week. She is very high energy and requires a family that is dog savvy and knows basic obedience or she will drive you crazy. She is more interested in being loved than chasing a ball. Great with other dogs and strangers. Needy gal needs another dog to occupy her and an active family or person who can wear her out. Call Marilyn at 573-722-3035. Adoption fee will be $300.

A surprise development regarding the three missing Catahoula dogs that evidence suggested were stolen or let loose on Easter Sunday. The dogs were found a day after the Banner Press article appeared in last week’s paper.

I will report any updates as permitted or fitting that will not affect the sheriff department’s investigation.

This past week we accepted a 12 pound male Dachshund Rat Terrier type dog from the Essex area after receiving a call from Helping Hand’s Veterinary Clinic. A Stoddard County resident asked for help for the dog which she had cared for about two weeks, saying she found him that morning severely injured.

She had been calling the dog Yoda.

She thought Yoda had been attacked by a dog. However, injuries indicate he had been hit by a vehicle.

Yoda had road rash. Road rash is when the bruising in the impact area is visible. A dog attack looks much different where open wounds are involved.

Yoda had no dog spit on his body. There is a distinguishing smell on a dog that has been attacked by another dog. Also there was no dried sticky saliva on his body: a sign of a dog altercation.

Yoda’s radiographs show at least one broken rib, at least four serious breaks of the Pelvic area and a BB stuck in a rib. There were no teeth marks, no puncture wounds in the area of the broken bones. The breaks are pretty typical of what I have seen from impact injuries such as being hit by or run over by a vehicle.

He had no head wounds other than a cut on the lip, but his groin area wounds are unlike any had seen before. He was ripped open but no marks to match a bite were visible on his back side.

I must mention that it is common when a dog is injured and screams that other dogs in the area may attack the screamer, even if the injured dog is “their friend”.

That is one of the hardest of behaviors for me to accept or understand about dogs. This behavior also explains why a chained dog who loves a family’s child will maul that child when it is wrapped in the dog’s chain. The child may scream and thrash trying to get out of the stronghold of the deadly chain.

I saw Yoda before we spent money into saving him. He was like a zombie however he was not aggressive, even when suffering unbelievable pain. So Amanda gave me a quote for his medical expenses and we had a sponsor agree to pay his bills.

The next day he had surgery to clean up the wounds and suture those that could be. Other’s needed to be left open to drain.

I picked Yoda up at closing time on Friday. Since then he has had some daily improvement, albeit slight. He had lost a great deal of weight in a very short time.

He ate about a tablespoon of food late Friday night but would not drink. Saturday he would not eat or drink so I started to force feed him sticky a/d food and give him Pedialyte with a 12cc syringe, 24cc’s each setting several times a day.

He still would not eat or drink on his own Sunday or Monday morning.

I also gave him mineral oil to help with his early bowels. They need to be soft and to easily empty since this little guy was in so much pain in the back half of his body. He has so little strength to be standing and straining too.

I have given him two B-12 injections and an iron injection too. Yoda has received pain killers and antibiotics daily as well.

A big improvement is that he has been able to stand and actually started to walk on Saturday night. He took three steps on his own.

He urinated in his bedding the first night. I expected that and lined his open top pen with potty pads as well as laid a pad under his white cotton flannel bed sheet. I changed his sheets every two hours that first day and twice his first night.

With open wounds it is important he has sterile, white cotton bedding which can be bleached.

Monday morning I covered the deck with white sheets, made a shaded area for him to lie under two lawn chair. I turned on a small fan to keep him cool because the brick of the house was making the deck pretty warm. At 1:00 when I looked out the window to check on him I saw him trotting on a wobbly track back to his bed after walking about three feet away to tinkle!

“Progress,” I thought. It looks like this guy has more heart to survive and to keep himself clean than he lets on to me.

Now, if I can just get him to eat and drink freely on his own. That would be a real sign he wants to live and he has the fight to do so.

His right rear leg seems to have severe nerve damage. IF that is so, and the leg will not function, the leg may need to be amputated. That would lead to more challenges for us to care for him since the breaks on the pelvic are bad on both sides of his hips. He would likely need to use a cart to move any distance.

Right now I feel like we need a miracle for little Yoda and guardian angels to pull him through this challenge. I also need some sleep…so we are hoping that the laser treatments he will be getting for healing and pain management may be beneficial.

Accepted strays and relinquished pets (Facebook FB)(8): 

… Litter of 5 Jack Russell and Cocker Spaniel type pups, 3 red, 2 black, all females 7-9 weeks of age. I think they are from two litters.

… Golden Retriever, Coonhound female pup returned: not ready for a pup.

Adoptions, return to owner or placed in other rescues (11):

… Black Lab male mix pup accepted last week went to a St. Charles rescue.

… Black and Tan Coonhound mix female stray went to same above rescue.

… Two Heeler type mix stray pups went to same above rescue.

… Terrific: Anatolian Shepherd type male pup that survived Parvo in January, adopted by a Leopold family.

… Tiger Tabby: Brindle Husky mix female, with us since October of 2014, went to be a therapy dog for a returning military hero who has been deployed to Afghanistan , Iraq, and Cuba.

… Walker Coonhound female, Duck Creek Delilah, was adopted by a Stoddard Co family who lost their pet Walker several weeks ago. This dog has heartworms and we will pay for the vetting for her spay and shots, they pay for her HW treatment.

… Return to owner three Catahoula male dogs, subject of last week’s story.

… Return badly neglected dog to owner’s ex-wife after a Good Samaritan found and helped the severely matted and flea laden pup.

Cat calls:

… FREE, several cats: age over 1 year, all spayed or neutered house cats.

Dogs with Heartworm (HW), Ehrlichia, special needs, or that were euthanized: 

… None.

Calls requesting assistance for dogs we did not admit:

… Asked to take a very active Lab mix with anxiety issues. Searching for a rescue.

… Taking back a 9-yr old mini Schnauzer whose owner died of cancer.

… FOUND Aquila area late March: male and female Heeler mix pups, white / red spots.

Miscellaneous and contact info: 

We had 35 dogs and pups at our home 4/4/16.

Need help to find your pet? Do you have a stray camping out in the yard? Don’t wait, call us at 573-722-3035 or email photos at ace@clas. net.

Need help to find your pet? Do you have a stray camping out in the yard? Don’t wait, call us at 573-722-3035 or email photos at ace@clas. net.

We LOVE Buchheits! Donate a buck or more at the Jackson store for dog food and supplies when you shop. Also, Second Time Around in Marble Hill is taking donations for the Stray Project. Monetary donations are accepted at the Bollinger County Veterinary Service, Marble Hill Coop, Buchheits, and the MH Town and Country.

Stray Project monetary donations accepted at the Marble Hill Coop. We purchase de-wormer and other supplies at the Coop and donations are greatly appreciated.

Please be advised that the Bollinger County Stray Project is not the county or City of Marble Hill dog catcher. When you have a stray we try to help and can usually offer solutions. Patience is required of the caller towards our ability to find and implement a solution. I wish we had a magic wand but we don’t and can’t always help the callers in a manner they may demand of us. Remember, we are volunteers and help as time and space allows.

Offer a stray water on day one and food day two or three. Call if missing a dog or if you have a stray. We don’t always have room but we may have a solution to help you and the stray.

Dumping dogs is a form of abuse and against the law. Please report animal abuse or neglect.

Please do the following when your pets are expecting or caring for a litter: offer any pregnant dog small-breed-puppy-food the final 1-2 weeks before delivery and while the pups are nursing. Give those mothers all the food they want: bowls full all day and lots of fresh water available all day. Cats need kitten food. Free feed the higher calorie food during the nursing stage to help mom make milk and maintain her own body mass. Babies need to be de-wormed as young as 1-2 weeks, then every 7-10 days until age 10-weeks or older if in a confined environment with re-infestation concerns.

Thank you to the County Residents who have continued to support the Bollinger County Stray Project. 

Check out our available pets at Petfinder.  Call 573-722-3035 about our adoptable pets.

If you suspect an animal is being neglected or abused, call the Humane Society of Missouri Animal Cruelty Hotline, 314-647-4400 or 800-383-9835 or you can make a confidential report on line at Humane Society of Missouri.

To understand when an animal is being abused or neglected in the state of Missouri read the following link:http://asci.uvm.edu/equine/law/cruelty/mo_cruel.htm