Special-Needs Pet of the Week: Maggie

It's been a while since we've featured Barbara Techel's wonderful posts on special-needs dogs here, but going forward we'll do our best to feature these sweeties on the blog most Tuesdays. — Janine K.

What is your pet's name?

Maggie

How old is your pet?

She is two years old as of September 21st.

What is your pet's physical challenge?

Maggie is blind. I think some days (though rarely), she can see shapes. It scares her terribly on days like that and she doesn't leave my side. But most days she sees nothing.

What is your pet's favorite thing to do?

Maggie's favorite thing to do is play in the water sprinkler when it's hot. She also loves to cuddle and oh, there's the belly rubs — can't forget those.

What do you love most about your pet?

What I love about Maggie is how she is so sweet and ready to go and do anything with me despite her blindness. She's incredibly smart. She also gives the best kisses!

What has your pet most taught you?

I don't know if she has really taught me this, but special-needs dogs are just that, special. Everyone should open their home to a special dog. Her blindness has taught me to see things differently and how she adapts to things is amazing. She's always happy.

Anything else you'd like to share?

It took a while for us to figure out that Maggie couldn't see. She was in a swarm of little black puppies. All rolling around and falling over etc. But it started to show when she would bump into the walls or fall into the food dishes as she got a little older. I took her to the vet and they did a quick look and said "Yup, she's blind. Will you be putting her down?" Um. NO! I WILL NOT! My now EX-vet didn't even want to discuss what was wrong. They just dismissed her. (I still do not know why she's blind; it really doesn't matter.) Maggie does perfectly well here with me and her parents and brother. She knows this house and yard, every inch of it. I keep the chairs pushed in and things out of the middle of the floor. She has no problems. Her food and water are in the same place all the time, she goes right to it.

When we go outside, she runs like the rest of the pack. Most people don't believe she is blind, and they wouldn't have known if I didn't tell them. If I think shes going to run into something I yell "CAREFUL" and she stops. "EASY" means slow down. I can direct her through the woods (we walk on the hill every day) by telling her easy, over, wait for me, etc.

If we are on a strange trail she stays next to me, Mica, Timber, or One Ton. They all look out for her and will get between her and a bank or tree. Its truly amazing to watch those dogs watch out for her.

We do have a few issues we had to work around — it's not all easy. I have to watch out in the yard when the dogs are running. The others will swerve around me, but Maggie has ran me over a couple times (clipped my legs as she goes by) and down I go. Then she comes back and kisses me 'cause she's sorry.

I've wrapped my clothesline posts in snow fencing in case she hits them. Its not pretty, but it keeps her from getting hurt too much. We still get bumps and bruises some days but as she ages it doesn't happen so much anymore.

She is slow to warm up to strangers. She does best if they don't try to touch her right away. But if given time to listen to them and be around them, soon she's laying on the ground, belly up, going "Rub my belly!"

Pictured Above: Maggie with mommy, Mica, daddy, One Ton, and brother, Timber

P.S. If you care for a special-needs pet and would like your pet featured, e-mail Barbara through her website. Send a photo and she will forward the questionnaire for your pet to be featured in an upcoming post.

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A Shih Tzu in Peru: Part Two – Machu Picchu

Yesterday we brought you part one of Helen Fazio and her dog, Raja’s adventure in Peru. In part two, our travelers make their way into the Incan citadel Machu Picchu — a place that is usually paws-off for pets. –Janine K.

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Is hiking through the famous archaeological excavation of Machu Picchu in Peru better for your dog than hiking in the local nature preserve?

No, if you consider that dogs are not picky and enjoy any outdoor activities. Yes, if you, like many who visit Machu Picchu, believe that the location of the lost and found Incan citadel is a cosmic intersection of energy lines in the South American Andes.

I think it’s a bit of both, combined with the fact that my dog, Raja, hates being left behind at home when adventure calls.

What is Machu Picchu? Around AD 1400, an Incan leader began constructing an elegant, architecturally brilliant imperial citadel in the Andes Mountains of present-day Peru. There were fountains, drainage systems, temples, ceremonial altars illuminated by the rays of the dawning sun, a palace for the ruler, and palatial tombs for his ancestor, with mummified advisers sitting in their own sacred houses.

There were servants’ quarters, and a field for games and processions. All roads were made of granite blocks cut with handheld hard stones, as the Inca had no wheels, no bronze, and no mechanical inventions.

By 1500, the Incas had inexplicably abandoned the site. For hundreds of years, the jungle overgrew the roads and walls and farmers grazed pigs among the rocks until American academic and adventurer Hiram Bingham rediscovered Machu Picchu in 1911. A century later, the restored citadel is Peru’s most famous heritage spot.

Dogs are not permitted at Machu Picchu, but they aren’t exactly prohibited, either. Look, nobody takes pets up there. It’s hard enough to get yourself to the gates of Machu Picchu, let alone transport a doggy. They just aren’t covered in the entry rules.

The Andean spectacled bear, the chinchilla, the viscacha, and the llama might roam at will at Machu Picchu. This is their native turf, and nobody tries to keep them out. I suppose that to prohibit a small dog seemed almost ridiculous at the gatehouse.

To get to Machu Picchu, you might start in Lima, Peru’s capital. Then you might fly southwest into the Andes to Cusco. Personnel at LAN Airlines may or may not be receptive to your dog traveling in cabin, but pets are officially permitted by the airline, although you may have to explain that to the staffers on duty that day.

NEVER book a pet in cargo on a South American airline. Many cargo holds are not pressurized, and the lack of oxygen at Andean flight levels is prohibitive. If your dog can’t fly in cabin, you two will have a long hike from Lima to Cusco.

You will need to stay a few days in Cusco to adjust to the altitude. Cusco is at 12,000 feet. Pace yourself as you amble about town, visiting some of the glorious sights. You can purchase oxygen shots in local shops if your dog’s tongue looks blueish. Raja is a Shih Tzu, which originated in mountainous Tibet. He was fine, but a Chihuahua from low-lying Acapulco might need a little whiff now and then.

Next, you will have to take a train to Aguas Calientes, the closest town to the site of Machu Picchu, unless you decide to take minibuses to the base of the Inca Trail and walk for four days to Aguas Calientes. A twenty-minute bus ride up switchback roads will get you to the gates. Enjoy the oxygen-rich air at around 8,000 feet. Suddenly you will feel almost great again.

Most visitors try to drag themselves out of bed at 4 a.m. to take the earliest transport to the gates of Machu Picchu to see the sun come up. That said, the sunrise illuminates the deliberately positioned altars and reflection points on only a few days each year, so you may be shivering outside the gate in the dark for two hours with no reward. Leaving at 6:45 a.m. is just fine.

Most of the travel guidebooks are incorrect about the Machu Picchu experience. Guards do not hassle you. Your checked items are not rummaged through. You may carry your own bottled water and a snack. Your Shih Tzu remains unmolested.

All visitors should know that the restoration of the buildings has been authentic and minimal. Unlike many restored ruins, Machu Picchu has no garbage cans, gaudy signage, quaint decor, or restrooms. Once you enter, you are like the ghosts of the Incas, roaming at will. You could easily get lost, dehydrated, or starve. Carry in what you need and carry out your trash. To access some remote trails, you must sign a register and cross your name off when you return. That way, if you get into trouble on a steep ledge, somebody might search for you later when they get around to it.

How about Raja? I’m convinced that Machu Picchu was one of the high points of his life, literally and emotionally, even though he did spend a lot of time with his blue bunny firmly clamped in his jaws. (Well, I watched him and he watched Blue.) He got far less personal attention than he usually does in his travels. Machu Picchu is the main attraction, and a traveling Shih Tzu with a coif seems almost unreal among the stones and heights. “Did those people have a fluffy dog in a travel tote? No, I’m probably seeing things.”
As for the tote … Machu Picchu is a perilous city. Its steps are steep, irregular, and worn by the elements. At almost every turn, you could step a little to the right or left and plummet at least 40 feet, while some ledges would get you back to Aguas Calientes on the banks of the Urumbamba River below in seconds. Until we reached the topmost agricultural levels where the jungle meets the corn terraces, Raja wasn’t putting a paw down. We go together, or not at all.
After we returned home from Peru, Raja’s naps involved more activity than before. He rolls on his back and paws the air. He sniffs and occasionally barks in his sleep. I think he’s dreaming about the Andes and his adventures in the lands of the Incas.

About the Author: Helen Fazio and her dog, Raja, blog on pet travel and related topics at www.traveldogbooks.com. In their first book, The Journey of the Shih Tzu, Raja tells the wolf-to-woof story of the development of this amazing breed. They are working on forthcoming titles.

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Live-Stream Our Top Dog’s Keynote Speech Tomorrow

Dogster founder Ted Rheingold is in Atlanta, GA, for this year’s Barkworld Expo and will be helping get the conference off on the right paw with a session on “Passion and Persistence,” two things he knows a lot about, having started Dogster (and Catster) from scratch more than seven years ago.

His talk will run from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. EST tomorrow, September 30.

We’ll be getting up early and tuning in from the West Coast. Hope you’ll join us!

Live video by Ustream

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Yogurt, lasagne, meatloaf: If it’s not one thing, it’s another

(Cross-posted from my personal blog at GoodFaithRanch.com)

A few weeks ago my 14-year-old Sheltie, Drew, started to increase his drinking and decrease his eating. Shortly after, my veterinarians confirmed my sad suspicion: My dog’s kidneys were shutting down.

As deaths go, kidney failure isn’t a bad one. A couple years ago my father faced the choice of dying of kidney failure or liver cancer, and after being completely informed about them both, he chose the former and refused dialysis. He passed peacefully at home a few days later, and I’m still in awe of his brave decision to choose the time, place and manner of his demise.

Of course, that’s what many of us do with our companion animals, and I’ve seen enough people bungle the decision to know how difficult it is. Over the years I’ve made the decision for all of my own animals and a few belonging to friends and family. I’ve come to believe that I won’t personally make a Hail Mary pass for myself or anyone else, animals included, and that I would rather help an animal to the other side a week early than a minute too late.

That said, I truly believe in hospice. For people and for pets.

I recently wrote for Vetstreet about the hospice movement in veterinary medicine, focusing on Nancy Hurley, a woman who had cared for her own 14-year-old Sheltie for months after a diagnosis of cancer in the dog. She and her husband had to have Savannah euthanized on the day Drew entered a state of hospice, a situation which I found incredibly powerful, as if Savannah’s fight had moved across the country to my own dog.

Hospice is often about managing pain, and I’m glad that I’m not having to do that with Drew. I went through it with my retriever Heather a couple years ago, and it wasn’t easy for either of us. Like Savannah, Heather had cancer, and like Savannah, I had to let Heather go when we couldn’t control the pain any more.

For Drew, hospice is considerably less stressful. Every morning he gets 500 ml of IV fluids, delivered from a bag hung from my dining-room chandelier through a needle to a spot under the skin and over his shoulder blades (top picture, but you have to squint a little to see the clear IV bag). Drew usually falls asleep on a towel on the table while getting his fluids, a process which, thanks to a nifty product called a pressure infuser, takes just a few minutes. A couple weeks after starting with daily fluids, Drew’s kidney values are normal. It won’t last, I’m told, but it was very good news indeed to get last week.

While Drewbie doesn’t mind the fluids at all, we are having one hospice difficulty: Getting him to eat. Pets (and people, for that matter) with end-stage kidney disease typically don’t have an appetite, and not eating can hasten their deaths — rather quickly, I’m told.

Drew is on a prescription appetite stimulant, but it doesn’t seem to help much. He is also getting a little medicinal marijuana (legal here in California), which appears to help with nausea but not with appetite, at least for Drew.

Typically, he’ll eat a little of something really yummy for a couple of days, then stop. Rare roast beef, deli turkey, yogurt with peach slices, beef lasagne, pasta with beef balls, cheese, baby food, apple slices with peanut butter … I’ve been rotating through them all. I’m afraid the other dogs and I will put on some weight snarfing down the leftovers when Drew walks away from something he ate happily the day before.

Friday night, my housemate (Ed Murrieta, who’s a writer and a trained chef) made him a special meatloaf, after Drew showed enthusiasm for store-bought meatloaf from the Whole Foods takeaway counter. That’s a picture of it. It’s made from ground turkey, Honest Kitchen‘s Embark dehydrated raw food and Nuzzles treats, eggs, and my friend Jill Gibbs’ JillCookies, chopped fresh tomatoes, grated apple, and cheese.

Today, Ed’s experimenting with some sort of baked liver puree.

So far, so good …

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Dogster Mourns the Loss of Lucy, Our Community Hound

Today was a tough one for us at Dogster HQ. Some of us woke up to text messages from our wonderful Community Manager, Lori, telling us the time had come to send her beloved Basset, Lucy, to the bridge.

Lou, known to us as “The Pretty Little Lady” at the office, was a spunky sweetheart of a senior. At 13, she was well beyond the life expectancy of her breed, and you couldn’t tell from looking at her.

She’d suffered through glaucoma, deafness, blindness, and the removal of both eyes — but still she still kept her head up and managed daily trips down two stories of rickety steps to Lori’s backyard, where she dug and howled in sheer delight. Lor would tell me how Lou had this “secret life” out there in the garden with nothing but dirt, grass, and three dozen smells.

Lucy had her own cat. How many dogs can say that?

“Cow,” a tame-ish feral from Golden Gate Park, became an extended part of the family after many feedings, and he grew to love Lucy and call on her on most days. Lor would laugh recounting the times he’d sneak into the house at daybreak and meow and meow until Lucy stirred, and then he would purr like a wild thing and rub up against her.

Lucy loved to be carried like a baby. She was small for a Basset Hound, and her mom would scoop her up into her arms so easily and deposit her into the arms of unsuspecting co-workers. I remember that one day at our old office, when practically everyone had a turn holding Lou this way. She was completely content being adored, her paws never touching the ground.

So today is a sad one.

Lou headed to the vet’s office for that one final appointment late in the afternoon. Her final meal was grilled steak. We are heartbroken for her mom, but grateful for all the kind words our community has written for her on Dogster and on Facebook.

As soon as the news broke, I found myself suddenly googling “sympathy flowers pets” and was greeted with scores of condolence gift ideas. But everything seemed hollow and manufactured and cheap in light of this loss and I closed my browser.

Dogsters, how do you help a good friend through heartache like this? What do you do when there really, truly, are no words?

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Government-Mandated Dog Training: Cool or Crappy? Discuss!

Earlier this year, a law was proposed in metropolitan New York City that would require all dog owners to pass a mandatory, state-regulated “obedience course” for dogs. I remember, when the highly controversial law was announced, logging into my Facebook and e-mail accounts and receiving lots of messages from clients and colleagues who were extremely excited about this, seeing it as a fantastic way to legitimize professional dog training to the pet-owning public.

While I believe it was a noble effort by lawmakers to reduce the number of dangerous dogs and bite incidents in NYC, this is a law I just can’t get behind. Here are just a few of the reasons I believe that similar laws should be avoided or dramatically changed before implementation in any community:

1. State regulation of approved schools/instructors — It’s very important that pet owners realize not all trainers are created equal and that no training is often preferable to bad training. What sort of screening guidelines would be in place for eligible training companies? There are a great many “professional” trainers that I would not allow to touch or train my dogs under any circumstances.

2. Such a law could make pet owners resent training. — I find that the clients who are most enthusiastic about training are the most successful. A well-trained dog never does the bulk of its learning in the classroom — for training to be effective, it must be worked on at home, throughout the dog’s life. If people resent the fact that they MUST do training, they are unlikely to follow through with it.

3. “Obedience” classes are not for all dogs. — Just because a dog may know how to sit and lie down on cue does not mean it is a safe dog who doesn’t present a bite risk. In fact, most of the aggressive dogs I work with already know sit and down. Obedience classes are not the best learning environment for dogs with real aggression issues; allowing such dogs into group classes without laying down significant layers of behavior modification puts all dogs and humans in that classroom in jeopardy.

4. Knowledge, for people and dogs, is a “use it or lose it” enterprise. — I started learning French in 6th grade and continued studying it through college. Years later, I can’t have a coherent conversation. Similarly, an obedience certificate today does not mean that your dog is necessarily less likely to bite someone three years from now!

As an alternative, I’d love to see owners given incentives and positive reinforcement for being proactive and making training a priority. Potential incentives could include:

• discounts on homeowners’ insurance policies
• discounts on pet health insurance policies
• exemptions from breed-specific legislation (an issue worthy of its own blog topic!)

What are your thoughts on the issue?

About the Author: Casey Lomonaco graduated with distinction from the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training and Behavior, and is a member of the following professional organizations: APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers), CGC evaluator — AKC (American Kennel Club), TDF (Truly Dog Friendly), and the No-Shock Collar Coalition.

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Have a Pawesome Weekend!

We hope your weekend is overrun by mischievous, unbearably adorable pupsters like the ones in the video below:

P.S. Whoever recorded this vid had some movie or something going on in the background — it’s pretty loud, so do turn down your sound. But that does not spoil the cuteness!

P.P.S. That’s it for the Dog Blog this week. Catch you Monday!

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