The Shelter Shack

How many of you live with dogs and cats in your home? For those of you that have both, how many of you have dogs that enjoy eating cat litter? Both Charm and Daisy enjoy eating cat poop, and it’s been a constant source of frustration for me. I did switch over to a corn based litter a long time ago, because I felt it was a bit more consumption friendly than clay.

Having said that, I’m also trying various things to deter them from even getting into the litter box. Currently, the litter box resides inside a soft-sided crate and I have it wedged in the corner of the room. I didn’t think they could get to the entrance of the crate, but I was wrong!

My latest attempt was to install an extra tall baby gate with a small pet access door to the room that has the litter box. The small pet access door would let the cat come and go as he pleases, but would keep Charm out. I knew keeping Daisy out would still be an issue, because she’s small enough to fit through the pet access door.

So my next brilliant idea was to also install a regular sized baby gate at the entrance to the hallway which leads to the room with the litter box. This one would keep Daisy out, but not Charm. He can jump over this one. No worries though, because he can’t jump over the extra-tall one.

So between the 2 baby gates I thought I had my problem solved. I should know better than that! Charm’s one smart/determined dog. Check out the video below, and you’ll see why I’m back to square one. Does anyone have any dog-eating-cat-litter deterrent ideas that actually work? Please post in the comments below. I would love to hear about them.

Life is a journey with lots of ups and downs. As we go on this journey, the path we take isn’t always the easiest one, even for us dogs.  But we trudge on because we know there’s a purpose and the turn up ahead will lead us to where we’re supposed to be.

My journey certainly wasn’t an easy one. The first two years of my life are a blur, but I do remember being homeless and my fur being badly matted. But I didn’t let that get me down. I knew there was someplace better I needed to be. I just wasn’t sure where it would be or when I would get there.

Duke's First Day Home - September 11, 2002

The first stop in my journey was at a rescue group. They cleaned me up and ridded me of those horrible mats. I was starting to feel better about myself and my future. I had a good feeling that things were looking up for me.

On September 11, 2002 I met my Mom. The problem was she didn’t realize that she was my Mom. She was there to meet other dogs. I had to act fast! I stood up in my crate and flashed her the biggest smile I could muster. She smiled back at me and said I looked goofy all shaved down, but I was still cute. Then she left the room to visit with the other dogs.

I was bummed! I thought for sure that I had won her over.  I chilled out in my cage thinking I had lost out on my chance. Several minutes went by and the next thing I knew, one of the workers came in to take me outside. I thought it was just time for my potty break, but to my surprise there stood my soon-to-be Mom waiting to visit with me! Woo Hoo!

We had a blast out in the yard, and I made her laugh a lot. She still thought I looked goofy, but I had officially won her over! She put me in her car and off I went onto my next journey. I never had to worry about being homeless again.

I was totally devoted to her and the family. Grandma and Grandpa spoiled me rotten! Mom took me to see them every weekend.  Two cats already resided in the family when I arrived. Shortly thereafter, Daisy joined the family, then Charm and then Franklin. Not to mention a string of foster dogs coming in and out of the house.

You could feel the love at every turn, and it was the best 10 years of my life. But sadly, if you’re reading this now, I must tell you that my journey must continue on in another realm. I am no longer on this earth.  My body just could not function anymore. Walking was difficult, and I could no longer get myself up from a sleeping position. My kidneys were shutting down as well.

Mom was very heartsick watching my health decline, but she did the best thing in the world for me. She got me to a vet and they helped my pain and suffering go away. I was able to cross the Rainbow Bridge. She was there for me in those final moments, just like she was there for me over the last ten years.

Her heart aches for me. But rest assured, even though I’m no longer on this earth, I will continue to watch over her now just like I did for the last ten years. Thank you to everyone that helped me on my journey to find my way home. I love you all.

Brandy - In loving memory (1998 - 2012)

I started to write this post on May 8th. The day after my beautiful Brandy passed away. I didn’t get very far, as it was just too difficult to put everything into words. Now here I sit a little over two months later, and not only am I still struggling to find the words, but I still find myself preparing two plates of cat food instead of one. How can a house still filled with a cat and 3 dogs feel so empty and quiet?

Brandy battled kidney disease over the last several years, and she was alert and active up until the final days.  She stopped eating on Friday, and she progressively got weaker over the weekend. I knew it was time, and I didn’t want her to suffer, so I took her to the vets on Monday and had her put to sleep. This is never an easy decision to make, even when you know your pet is suffering. In a perfect world Brandy would have passed away peacefully in her sleep, but this isn’t a perfect world, and we as pet owners have to do what’s best for our pets. Which sometimes means making the decision to assist them to the other side.

Daisy and Brandy sharing the chair. An unusual occurance, and not one of Daisy's good hair days.

Daisy was with me at the vet appointment because she had medical issues that needed tended to as well. It’s a bit ironic that Daisy was with Brandy in her final moments, as Daisy hated Brandy for about 6 years of their lives. It wasn’t until Frankie was added to the family that Daisy started to come around and accept Brandy. Frankie’s cute little kitten ways won Daisy over instantly, and she started to realize that Brandy wasn’t so bad after all.

After Brandy passed away, I was sitting on the floor of the vet clinic holding her when Daisy decided to walk up to her. She sniffed Brandy and then licked her on the ears. It was very sweet, and it just made me cry even harder. I left Brandy with the vet clinic so they could cremate her, but I made sure to return home with the towel I was holding her in. I wanted to make sure I had her scent on something so that the “kids” would have something to sniff when I came home without her. I placed the towel in a crate which ordinarly Frankie avoids, but now I catch him sleeping  in it. The dogs sniffed at it and could sense something wasn’t right, but in general they were pretty unfazed by everything.

Double Rainbow

Probably the most peaceful thing that happened during this time was the day after her passing. I was working late and the weather outside was mostly overcast with some sun peaking through and a light rain. I looked out the window at work and saw a double rainbow. Not only was it a double rainbow, but you could see the complete arc for the brightest one. I’ve never witnessed a double rainbow nor a complete arc rainbow until that day. A feeling of peace washed over me and the only thing I could think of was that Brandy crossed the Rainbow Bridge and hooked up with her sister Sunny that passed away a few years ago. It was an experience I will remember for a lifetime.

One other thing I will remember is what I found when I got home from work the night of the double rainbow. I found a piece of black plastic on my living room floor. It was the back of a battery cover to one of my portable clocks. It had dropped behind some furniture in the bedroom, and I had never bothered to retreive it. Now here it was smack dab in the middle of my living room floor, and I have no idea how it got there. When I left for work the house was closed off in a way that Frankie was in the bedroom area and did not have access to the living room. The dogs were in the living room and did not have access to the bedroom. The logical side of my brain says that at some point in the last several days Frankie played with it and it ended up hidden under some furniture in the living room. One of the dogs must have kicked it out of its hiding place that day. The other side of my brain says that Brandy came back home and left me a present to let me know she’s okay. I prefer to believe the latter. What do you think?  Here’s a video of Brandy’s last few hours.

Charm just finished up a bath (he doesn’t like them), and decided to voice his opinion on whether his sister Daisy should get a bath too. Enjoy!

I just wanted to give you a quick update on Charm and Daisy. They both came home from the emergency clinic last week, and are doing fine. You would never know anything happened to them if it weren’t for their shaved legs from where the IV’s were inserted. They did have some diarrhea which was probably a side effect of the medication, but other than that they’re back to normal. Thank goodness!

This whole ordeal got me thinking about pet insurance and how, in this instance, it would have been a big help. This would not be the first time I’ve thought about pet insurance. I’ve looked into it in the past, but I’ve not pursued it because I felt like it would be a waste of money. There are so many things you should consider when you’re evaluating the different pet insurances, it can be overwhelming. This video offers a few things you should pay attention to while you review the different providers.

How to Evaluate a Pet Insurance Policy

Here’s another video that provides a very basic comparison of four different pet insurance plans.

Pet Health Insurance Comparison by VNN.com

When I was doing my research I did find one company (Pet Plan Pet Insurance) that would continue to cover conditions diagnosed while on the plan. They would do that as long as you continued to renew your policy and did not lapse in your payments. Sounds great right? It is until you read some of their fine print. The deductible you have with this provider is PER CONDITION per year. That means if your pet is diagnosed with diabetes and then later on in the year is also diagnosed with arthritis, you are paying two deductibles, not one. I also had to laugh when I read their policy on covering prescriptions:

“Coverage for prescriptions is included in all Petplan policies, provided that they have been prescribed by the treating veterinarian as treatment for an illness or accident and the illness or accident is not a pre-existing condition. All prescriptions must be FDA approved for pets, subject to policy provisions. Nutritional supplements and vitamins are not covered by the policy.”

They might as well have said that they don’t cover prescriptions. Notice the “pre-existing condition”, “must be FDA approved for pets” and “nutritional supplements and vitamins are not covered” statements. Many prescription drugs used in the veterinary world are FDA approved for human use, not pet use. For example, of the eight different things my pets are on, only one is FDA approved for pet use (Derramax), 3 are not FDA approved (Tramadol, Lactulose, Piroxicam) and the remaining four are supplements (Azodyl, Epakitin, Vetri-Liver and Dasuquin).

There is one other thing to be aware of if you’re thinking about pet insurance – You’re still responsible to pay the vet bill. Your vet will want their money upfront. That means you still have to cover the full amount of the bill at the time of the service. You will be the one responsible to submit all of the paperwork to the insurance company, not your vet. The insurance provider will reimburse you based on the terms of your agreement.

If you’re interested in doing further research, I’ve compiled a listing below of some of the different pet insurance providers I’ve found. I doubt this is a comprehensive list. I’m sure there are others out there. I don’t endorse any of the companies, nor have I researched each one. I just thought I’d provide you with a one-stop shopping list for those of you interested in researching further.

So do you think pet insurance is worth it? Are any of you already using pet insurance? I would love to hear your opinions on the topic.

Pet Insurance Providers:

• 24PetWatch
• AKC Pet Healthcare Plan
• Embrace Pet Insurance
• The Hartville Group, Inc. (This company is also affiliated with the ASPCA Pet Health Insurance, Petshealth Care Plan & Hartville Pet Health Insurance)
• Healthy Paws Pet Insurance & Foundation
• Pet Plan Pet Insurance (formerly Pet Plan USA)
• Pets Best Insurance
• PetFirst Healthcare
• PetPartners
• PurinaCare Pet Health Insurance
• Trupanion
• VPI Pet Insurance

Charm & Daisy Sleeping

The economy is tight and we’re all feeling the pinch. If you’re like me, you’re going along thinking that just maybe you’re finally getting ahead of the game, and then something happens that sets you two steps backwards. Well I took two steps backwards last night. Charm and Daisy have landed themselves in the emergency clinic. I came home from an adoption event last night to find an empty bottle of Deramaxx on the floor. Deramaxx is an anti-inflammatory medicine used to treat arthritic dogs. The medicine was for Duke and it was a recently refilled bottle, so it had 15 tablets in there.

I keep the bottle on the kitchen counter along with all of the other medicines the dogs take. They’ve never bothered them before, so I’ve never given two thoughts about it. Charm is the only one agile enough to prop himself on the counter to reach them. Everything in me said he was the one that consumed them all. He was even acting guilty. Even though my gut told me he consumed them all, I couldn’t rule out Daisy as I found the empty pill bottle in the dining room. She very easily could have joined in on the “fun”. The cats wouldn’t have gotten into it, because they were locked in another area of the house, and Duke wasn’t a likely suspect either.

I called the emergency clinic to see if I even need to be concerned. They told me to call the ASPCA Poison Control Center for advice. This is a 24 hour hotline that is operated by the ASPCA and staffed with vets. If you should ever need to call on them, be prepared to have your credit card handy. They charge a $65 consultation fee.

The Poison Control Center said that there is a reason to be concerned given the potential dosage that either one of them could have consumed. It can impact the kidneys and possibly cause ulcers. They did not recommend inducing vomiting because of the time frame that the pills could have been consumed. Deramaxx is a chewable tablet that dissolves into the system pretty quickly and chances are there was nothing left in the stomach to even throw up. They recommended I take both dogs to the emergency clinic and gave me a case number for the emergency clinic to reference for further treatment instructions.

Charm and Daisy will be at the clinic for at least 48 hours. They’re being given IV fluids to help flush out the kidneys, charcoal to help absorb the toxins and antacids to help with any potential stomach upsets. I called to check in on them this morning and the vet said they’re both doing fine. The one thing the doctor told me that concerns me a little is that Charm hasn’t wanted to eat anything. I’ve never known Charm to refuse food…ever.

Their blood work will be rechecked Tuesday night. If everything checks out okay they can go home that night. They’ll need to get their blood work rechecked 24 hours after that by their normal vet. I can’t wait for them to come home. The house feels empty without them. The wallet unfortunately feels empty too. But I guess that is a small price to pay in comparison to the permanent loss I could be feeling right now.

Here are some of the hard lessons learned from this experience:

• Never assume that just because you’ve never seen your dog get into a certain area or counter, then that means they never will. My dogs had never messed with stuff on the kitchen counter before, so I had a false sense of security with leaving the medicine there.
• Always keep medicine and poisonous household items locked up.
• Keep the phone numbers readily handy for your vet, your closest emergency vet clinic and the ASPCA Poison Control Center (888-426-4435).
• Save for a rainy day. Start saving now for emergencies, or get your pet’s signed up for pet insurance.
• Start planning for an emergency now. The ASPCA recommends you keep a first aid kit for your pet. The kit should contain:
  • A fresh bottle of hydrogen peroxide, 3 percent USP (to induce vomiting)
  • A turkey baster, bulb syringe or large medicine syringe for administering the peroxide
  • Saline eye solution
  • Artificial tear gel (to lubricate eyes after flushing)
  • Mild grease-cutting dishwashing liquid for bathing an animal after skin contamination
  • Forceps to remove stingers
  • A muzzle to protect yourself from harm
  • A can of you pet’s favorite wet food
  • A pet carrier