Porkchop Update

[SandyNY]

Time to fill you guys in on all the not-so-good news. I have been off line due to isp and although i don't want to fill with bad news, many people here have been very helpful with porkchop so feel you deserve to know what has been going on. I had 2 dogs and 6 cats before porkie came into the picture as a foster. i had been back to the specialsit doctor because i was afraid that he was filling up with urine again - which he wasn't but i was taught how to cathaterize him. he has quite a bit of muscle tone and the specialist said that trying to express him with him resisting may actually cause bruising of the muscles - - he felt i should be cath.... well, all this came about immediately following the death of my female dog. something happened in my male dog - suddenly he attacked porkie without provication or warning.porkie was not hurt - noone got physically injured. i don't know if he thinks that porkie had something to do with the female being gone or what - there was a shifting in the pack order with the center missing anyways ... But i had to take porkie back to the humane society to live out his days... he cannot be safe here. i had both dogs in the yard and there was no toys, no chews, no nothing near us and i had porkie in his walking harness when my dog tried to attack him-- so that meant i could not keep it from happening again even with me there. and i can't see living without being able to have both dogs with me - how would i even get one out the door without by passing the other? too impossible. porkie loves the people at the shelter, and he loves the company of people coming and going...so, in a sense, i think it is an even trade for him.. he cannot get cathaterized or the more involved medical care, but he is very happy there also.i did get help from doggone wheels and adjusted his wheelchair so it fit better and he was more willing to use it. he is such a good dog and i am deeply saddened that he is always paying the price for others mistakes.my male dog is not having any problems with the cats or people- so it was definately a dog thing. my cat with 101 medical diagnosis, Baby Clyde, was very attached to the female dog. he started to have bloody urine before she passed - he would get up in the night when she coughed and go to her side, so he already knew she was not well. he continues to suffer bloody urine over 20 days later. i know that sounds horrible and like i am neglecting him, but there is just so much vets do for this ... none of it very helpful. he is on his second antibiotic, prescription food which i am not entirely sure is the correct food decision,... he has chronic viral condition and intussession and these things are worsened by stress- if he had to stay at the vet office even overnight it just may kill him. i tell him he isn't allowed to leave me now, i have been thru enough loss lately. i know that is selfish. one day at a time with that one to see how he can manage.he misses the dog, but he is only 3 years old so hopefully he will decide to fight this out. his personality has changed but he is adjusting slowly, i think. i had such big plans for porkchop; i miss him terribly. i will say here - and never again- because i know people don't mean to sound harsh but everyone says how it is such a relief for me not to have to care for him or how i had taken on too much with him - and that is so far from the truth that i have to bite my tongue so as not to scream at their well-meaning comments.it is true i didn't know what i was in for - my vet insisting he should be euthanized, uncooperation all around; but that is life and that is the stuff that was troublesome and hard - the dealing with the piddle is small stuff. (OK, i had days that laudry seemed like a never ending battle, but that doesn't mean i wanted to get rid of him. just like you people with your own pets get rundown some days with laundry or treatments or setbacks or a combination of things with the disability-- but that doesn't mean you want out of it, you know?) Anyways, sorry to be such a downer. we had this big neighborhood garage sale weekend here and i had so looked forward to having porkie out there meeting and greeting everyone...but it couldn't be. when i do get a new isp and get back on line i will get some of his pictures up! Wish i had a possitive note to end on...

[CarolC]

Hi Sandy, I had to take a cat back to the shelter one time. He kept attacking my senior cat. He wanted to be top cat. The problem was, we already had a top cat in the household. This went on for months and finally my senior cat began to get sick. I was afraid I would lose him. It was to the place where I was sleeping on the top bunk with the senior cat at night because the other cat couldn't get up there. The vet recommended I take him back. The senior cat had been with us for over a decade. I know how you feel--torn. You take them in feeling pets are for life, then something happens that is beyond your control. I still felt I had let him down. The day after my senior cat passed I went back to the shelter with the intention of re-adopting the white cat. He wasn't there--it had been several years already. I know you would keep him if there was any way, and that feeling of commitment will stay with you. You only do as much as you can do. That's all you can do. Other people don't have to understand.

[sarah]

Yes. I have a black lab and he is constantly getting attacked. My neighbors leave their dogs loose, even though I asked them to keep them on a lead. It irritates me so much, especially when I go to go on a walk with Bear and the first thing he does is look in the yards of the two dogs. It's like they think I am wrong, there is a leash law. I don't understand. My mother in law actually got chased by the one dog that is always loose and the owners saw it happen and they could care less.

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

It's true, I get so many aggressive dogs around Allicks, to know her is to love her, even w/4-leggers. But they can sense a "weakness" and the primal urge to attack kicks in. Yeah, we have to be careful, and I let the folks whose dogs threaten her have a piece of my mind! My 4-leggers at home either take care of her, ignore her, or get their butts kicked by her (she's a fiesty little so-and-so 6 mos old now, and about 30-35 lbs)The ones who are a danger spend the day outside and away from the others.

[SandyNY]

Yes, having a lot of trouble accepting the gsd's actions - and forgiving him for changing everything. I was also told that maybe he was attacking because porkie was unhealthy ... i saw things changing slightly after the death of the one dog so i seperated the two dogs and watched thier interactions very carefully and controlled. they got along well , even playing together. instead of panicking, i went into prevention mode when the gsd did attack. i laid on top of porkie to protect him and ended up grabbing the gsd's upper jaw with one hand and lower jaw with the other hand and hanging on until he calmed down. it was indeed very terrifying and i couldn't believe after i got inside the house and started to check porkie over that my own hands were not damaged!
and my pack is a bit different in that the cats and dogs are intermingled. the cat who is ill and was always with the female dog, he used to swat the other cats and they never touched him. i thought it was because he was the baby - my baby. but it seems that it had more to do with his protection of his counterpart, the female dog. now that she is gone, and he is ill, the other cats are attacking him! the cats play- attack each other but baby cries and gets very upset when they "attack" him. my little female is the worst lately - biting into his back and not stopping when he yells. brats! ( this 6 lb female cat also likes to jump up and attack the gsd as he trots by - so she is not mentally balanced!)
anyways, thanks so much for your support. thanks for sharing and letting me know that you know what it is like. I feel like an idiot as i swore i wouldn't take porkchop back, but who could have known? and it would be worse if i kept him here and he got seriously injured.

[CarolC]

Hi Sandy, The more I thought about it the more I realized, you must have been scared to pieces when that happened. It's a good thing you were able to get it under control. Why can't the whole world love who we love? During the past 6 months I have gone through an entire thing of pepper spray and several sets of nerves due to being charged by other dogs while walking my disabled dog. I thought it was just a "small dog" problem. They see a chihuahua and think it is a cat or opossum--prey. But my best friend thinks it's because she's disabled, because of the way other dogs used to act around her dog that had something wrong with it. I don't know. You see on the wildlife programs how wolf packs gang up on sick/weak pack members. Anyway, I hope you came out of it OK and I'm glad Porkcop is safe. Now you are left with the work of accepting this in your dog and forgiving or understanding, once you are over the disappointment.

[CarolC]

...that was very brave. It sounds hazardous, but it must have been the right thing to do at the time. Supposedly gripping the upper muzzle of a dog is a way of asserting dominance. My friend used to have a Rhodesian Ridgeback, and a number of times I saw him open his mouth and close his teeth on top of his dog's muzzle in a play bite. It was a very secure, well-socialized dog. My friend is as gentle as you could imagine, but the dog knew who was alpha.