Bosley's Page
This summer, on the 4th of July, a stray bassett mix strolled up as we were outside grilling supper. He was pretty skinny and covered in ticks, so I fetched some food and water for him. He ate three bowls and would have eaten more but I was afraid to give him any more; he wouldn't let us come close enough to touch him then. Since then, every couple of weeks he strolls up the driveway, I feed him, and he moves on. I've tried to sit with his food bowl and pet him while he eats. He's gotten better about it and actually let me pick off most of the ticks a month or so after he first started coming around. He showed up again this past Sunday and was so skinny it was sickening; had a bad case of worms, some sort of eye infection, and his ears were so raw on the inside that he'd cry when he'd scratch them and come away with blood on his paws. I couldn't let him go again; I was afraid that as skinny as he was, we wouldn't see him again. So we made him a comfy house and put him on a cable. I figure we'll feed him for a week and doctor his wounds as much as we can, and in a week we'll let him go; if he stays, we'll take him to the vet and have some real "doctorin'" done. Here are some pics from his first day:
I've never seen bones sticking out this much. I'm not saying there aren't worse cases out there, just that I've been fortunate not to have seen them.
His eyes were so sore the first day that he could barely open them.
That's not eyeball you see; that's the membrane around his eye, swollen over halfway up the eyeball and a very dark, angry red color.
He wouldn't let us touch his ears the first day, but you can see that even the outside edge is bloody, open, and oozing.
Bosley's Second Day Here
No pictures today, but he's improving! Still burying his food but seems to love the clean straw in his doghouse. A little peppier today. I contacted John at Dr. Johnson/Dr. Mehringer's office, and he gave me some ointment for the eye and reccommended a half an aspirin a day for the leg pain and generous doses of Neosporin for the ears. He also said not to Frontline him until the worms are gone and the weight comes up.
Bosley's Third Day Here
Look how much better his eyes are doing! The redness and swelling is reduced enough he can see!
He scarfs up his supper without burying any now.
I know it's only been three days, but I think he's gaining weight already.
After all the Neosporin, the sores on the inside and outside of his ears are much improved.
He's a long, happy boy :)
His right leg seems to bother him, so on the vet's advice, he gets a half an aspirin once a day and it seems to help.
The Neosporin seems to be helping; the sores on the inside of his ears are vastly reduced and much less weepy, and the overall skin is pink again instead of such an angry red.
Inside the other ear; this side had a bigger open area but seems to be scabbing faster.
He also gives puppy kisses now; not to mention a lot of bouncing around and wagging the tail when we come home. I hope he sticks around; he's going to be a good boy.
Day Eight Update
Bosley's coming along very well! I let him off the cable Saturday and he stayed all day; he's putting on the pounds. We'll have to watch him closely so he doesn't get fat, lol. He hopped up in the truck and took a ride into town and did very well in the truck. He did take off sometime Saturday night, but returned Sunday afternoon. Sunday evening, Nathan opened the door and let him in the house; after a walk around to check things out, Bosley hopped up on the couch like he'd done it a thousand times before. Shelby was a little put-out as he stole her usual spot, but she moved to the love seat with Bailey. When bedtime came, he trotted back to the bedroom with all of us and promptly chose the prime real estate in the center of the bed for his own. This is Gurney's spot and she wasn't happy about it, but she dealt with it. Unfortunately, Bailey still insisted on sleeping on the bed too, and since he always sleeps curled up with me, I had to sleep on my side all night to accommodate them. I awoke with a crick in my neck from sleeping weird, but Bosley was still snoring away in the same spot. We don't know if he's housebroken or not; he gets plenty of potty breaks when the others go out and he didn't mess overnight. I didn't trust him to stay inside all day, though, so before I left for work he went back to the cable. After work, he was more than ready to come right back inside, and is sleeping at my feet as I write.
On a bad note, this weekend I think I may have found where he came from. While out backroading with a friend, we came upon a "home" about 5 miles from our house where I noticed a dog in the driveway that I thought was dead and starting to decay. Then it raised its head; this poor dog has no muscle on its bones whatsoever. It's sickening. There was a second dog there that had a missing rear paw and the remaining leg hanging loose; it appeared healed at a glance, but I don't know of any vet that wouldn't have taken most--if not all--of the remaining leg, so I'm going to doubt that they had it professionally taken care of. There is also a pup that looks to be a shepherd mix, bony with the huge wormy belly. I stopped and knocked on the door; I heard someone moving around inside, but no one answered. I spotted a bowl of water outside and a pile of some sort of cat or dog kibble poured in the driveway. I'm assuming there's some reason they're not eating it, or maybe it was recently poured and not a constant source of food. I was going to dump a bucket of food in the yard but didn't want to be seen 'meddling', so I came home and emailed the humane society for someone to at least go check; I know the laws suck and probably say that if food is provided there's nothing to be done, but in my view, if a dog is eating normally and gets into that condition, not providing vet care is NEGLECT and you don't deserve to have the animals. If I haven't heard anything by tomorrow noon, I'm calling the sherriff to see if there's anything they can do. If not,...well, let's not go into details in case they're incriminating.
I've lost count...day 12, maybe?
Boz looks ever so much better. In the last week he has had a couple minor accidents in the house, but he's not been inside long enough to get on a schedule like the other dogs. You know how, by going the same time every day, your body gets used to going at such and such a time? Dogs are like that, too. Other than that, he's been a very good boy and loooooves to be in the house, but is equally ecstatic when he gets outside time too.
I have decided that we're going to try and find Boz a forever home; four dogs in our tiny house is just too much, and I don't personally believe in keeping dogs penned up outside all the time. He would hate that anyway. If you're interested, please shoot me an email at firebird96ta@aol.com and we'll chat about it. I'll have to have you sign something stating you'll bring him back if you ever decide you can't care for him, and I'd like to meet you and have you meet him before any final decisions are made. The perfect home for him would be somewhere with a doggy door and a fenced-in yard for him to come and go as he pleased; I understand that this type of home is not always available, so if you don't have that kind of setup but are still interested, let's talk. I think Boz would benefit from some obedience classes, simply because he just doesn't know many commands yet (come, stay, go away, etc.). This gorgeous sweetie just wants to be loved on!
Gettin' the 'play' back!
Just a quick update; Bosley's doing GREAT and full of energy. His weight is back up to a perfect level, he's been Frontlined, ears and eyes are all clear, and only needs a half an aspirin every couple of days for his achy legs. We've got to do another round of wormer, though. He's getting very playful; absolutely loves their afternoon 'free' time in the yard. Usually we'll take a toy or two and all of us will go hang out so they can run like fools. He especially likes to pester Bailey until Bail runs; for a long, short dog, Boz is quick! He's really protective of his toys and will growl ferociously if you try to take it from him; I don't think he'll bite over a toy, but I'd imagine he would if you tried to take food from him. He's still hogging the bed at night; he's getting a lot better about listening when it's time to come back in the house, mostly because he takes a bit longer finding just that special place to do his business and he knows he's gotta do that before he comes in. Anyway, we spent a good two hours at playtime last night since they were all going hardcore; here's a pic and a video (cell phone vid, so pretty poor quality, and turn your sound down, lol!)
Bosley gets to stay...he has a job!
Before Boz came to be with us, we had a horrible problem with Bailey chewing up stuff when we were at work. Since Boz has been here, Bail has only chewed up an empty treat bag that I left on the counter. On weekends, when I get to spend time with them, I've noticed that every time Bailey gets off the couch and looks like he might want to get up to something, Bosley attacks him and they have a puppy wrestling match in the living room floor. They drag each other around, tugging on toys; Boz holds Bail down and chews on his ears, then they race through the house knocking things over. It's madness, but he's getting to be one of the family.
Part of the family now!
Bosley's definitely one of the 'kids' now. He and Bailey are practically inseperable; he has claimed his own spot on the bed; and he's become a mama's boy. :)
