Mouse's Spey and recovery - the first day

Mouse went to the Vet yesterday and came home minus her reproductive organs. I am a big supporter of speying pets - it eliminates a lot of health risks, like mammary cancer in females, and prevents accidental litters coming into the world. 

They did it keyhole style so she only has two stitches in one fairly small incision, and another small incision with no stitches. It is much nicer to look at than the big zipper-scar that Barbie had when we got her. It is also less worrying that she is going to somehow burst herself open the first time she jumps in the air.

Turns out we didn't have to worry about Mouse jumping though. She is quite the sensitive little lass and was struggling to get on and off the couch last night as she was obviously feeling some pain. 

She showed a bit of a tendency to lick her stitches so I put a yard muzzle on her when I put her in her crate to sleep, and she seemed comfortable enough. The muzzle doesn't have a poop guard but she would have to press pretty hard to make her teeth reach her stitches, and I knew she wasn't going to do that. 

She is better this morning and can get on and off the couch by herself but she definitely isn't going to be running or jumping around. This recovery period is going to be easier to handle than I thought. The last female dog that I had speyed was a little Blue Heeler x Border Collie with very little sense in her head and it was very hard to keep her quiet. I think Miss Mouse will take things slowly. 

Here is a cute video of Mouse which encapsulates how happy she is finally having couches and beds to sleep on.

Foster Dogs doing the Job...

Mouse is a very smart little cookie. In fact, she is here right now helping me to write this blog entry.

It is hard to believe, I know, but not everyone here loves Mouse. Mittens smacked her across the nose and made it bleed all over the tiles in the kitchen. Mouse would like you all to know that she was just playing with Mittens and trying to make friends, but that Mittens was just being unreasonable and mean. Her nose is OK now, since she is young and fit and has super healing powers. 

Whilst we are still working on leash manners I have successfully trained her to sit!



Who said Greyhounds can't sit again?

She also goes into her crate on command though she much prefers the couch. She has not had any toileting accidents since that day right at the start when she peed on the dog bed.

She has worn out her grace period with Miss Barbie now and gets growled at if she does any trampling or invading of personal space. Barbie still lets Mouse do things she would not allow another dog to do.

Now I know my blog followers will be sad to hear this, but Mouse will not be here for much longer. One of the families that came to meet her on the weekend decided that she is the one for them. Perhaps her new forever family will send me some photos for the blog so that you can still get your fix of beautiful white Greyhound. 

Wordless Wednesday - Mouse hiding from the light

Adventures in the world of Mouse

We took Mouse to Pet Lover's Cafe yesterday to have a look at martingales. They didn't really have anything small enough so we just bought a couple of cat bowls and a bag of treats for the dogs. As it was a short drive, I decided that we should take the Honda Civic and let Mouse sit on the back seat for the first time. Until now I have been driving her around in the cargo area of my X-Trail, behind a cargo barrier.

It took a little while to convince her to jump in the back when we were heading out. I sat in the back with her to make sure she didn't stress out or try to climb into the front. She took a little while to figure out that the seats were nice to lie down on. She curled up next to me and even figured out that the arm rests make a good chin rest (something that Bender and Barbie know very well).

When we got to Guildford she happily jumped out of the car. She seemed to recognise the area, and we had been here two weeks before. She got some adoring pats from passersby. We went to the shop, and she kept trying to get us to buy a massive smoked leg bone. I think it may have been an elephant's leg, it was so huge. It was the type of bone Bender broke his tooth on so our answer was no.

She got back into the car no worries and settled down after a couple of minutes. We got home and she was firmly ensconced on the seat. She was not budging. I tried to get her out of the car and she simply flopped her head down onto the seat. In the end I had to push her out! I guess she likes car seats a little
too much.

The other strange thing she did today was stand in the hallway and bark at .... the toilet. I went to investigate the noise and found that Mittens had just awoken from a deep sleep in her basket in the laundry. Frou was in the lounge room with us and Bumblebee had just gone to his forever home. Mouse was still standing in the hallway, staring at the toilet. I inspected the toilet-room and could find nothing, not even a bug. I have no idea what she was barking at. Perhaps we have ghosts that only Mouse can see?

Good News for Bumblebee!

After almost three months, Bumblebee has finally found his forever home. CJ Animal Rescue did the home visit last night and it was all good. They are going to pick him up tomorrow and deliver him to his new family.

The best bit about it is that he is going to people I know - my friend's parents! Hopefully that means I will get some photos and updates about how he is settling in at his new digs.

We might have good news for Mouse too soon, although she doesn't get speyed until next Friday, so she will be with us for another couple of weeks.

Mouse and Bender are actually bonding, it's very cute to see how she puts up with him. I took this video of them playing tug-o-war last night.



It is going to be very quiet around here when we go back to the default of only 4 animals! I won't be fostering any more until at least July after these guys go as I will be going on a holiday. There will probably be more Greyhounds, though we shall see what comes!

Wordless Wednesday - Foster Harmony

Barbie's Moves

With Mouse around, Barbie has a ready made playmate. Mouse was a bit scared at the park at first, but she is very good with other dogs and soon came out of her shell. On their first trip to the park they had a high speed collision, and Barbie acted like she had a broken leg for a while. Mouse carried on as if nothing had happened. She is a little toughie. They were a bit more careful running together after that, but there was no bad blood between them.

Before Mouse came along, Barbie had to hope for other dogs to play with in the dog park. This video is from a few weeks ago when Barbie found this lovely friend to play with. I can't remember her name but she was very sweet and kept coming to me for cuddles.



Barbie and Mouse have their moments, they are not always best mates, especially when my affections are concerned. I think Mouse does look to Barbie for direction in the house and Barbie has been extra-tolerant of Mouse and her exuberant nature.

Bender's an old lumpy man

Bender had three lumps examined by the Vet this evening. She took a fine needle aspiration of two of them and concluded they were fatty lipomas which we need to keep an eye on. The lump under his collar is a wart-like growth and they will only take it out if it turns black or gets irritated. It's probably a good thing that Bender isn't often walked using his collar - we have a harness for him.

They did the lump check for free as well, which I think is a sign of an awesome Vet. I have been briefed to keep an eye on them and make sure they don't change. She also said that if he suddenly sprouts more lumps then bring him back as well.

He now weighs 30 kilograms, and the Vet said that was a good weight for him because he still has a waist. She wasn't concerned about him not eating as much as he used to as now that he is getting older he is moderating his weight himself. 

All in all, good news! 

Mouse's Non-Adoption Photos

Mouse pulls her lips right back when she is yawning. I haven't really noticed whilst hanging out with her, but these photos are evidence that she sometimes pulls very scary faces!

Mouse in her first weekend of domesticity!

Mouse has been here for four days now and she has already provided a lot of entertainment.

She is doing pretty well with the cats, Froufrou has decided that Mouse is definitely cat safe. Mittens is pretty mean to Mouse still, and Bumblebee does not like her at all.

Like a lot of Greyhounds who come straight out of a racing kennel, Mouse likes to collect things and put them on her bed.

She stole my sock right out of my hand while I was trying to put my shoes on.

She stole my PJ pants off the back of a chair and gingerly carried them to her crate.

She stole quite a few of Bender's toys and buried them in her bed so that he wouldn't come and take them when she wasn't looking.

We took her out for a walk in Guildford and when she was a bit overwhelmed, she stopped and plopped her little butt down on the pavement. She met a pug but I think she was a little bit scared of him.

She was really good at the cafe where we stopped for breakfast. The people sitting next to us admired her, and even saved a bit of bacon for her. She didn't eat it though, as she wasn't really sure what it was.

The house was full of new experiences for her, like a big, flashing thing in the lounge room with big talking humans on it. She watches TV actively every now and then.

She was scared of the ceiling fan when it was first turned on, but settled down after 15 minutes of intermittent staring.

She was scared of the vacuum cleaner for about 2 minutes before she decided it was fine and curled up on the couch with Bender and Barbie.

photo by Bender's favorite person, Kim P 

We took all three dogs on a couple of outings, they all came along to my friend's wedding rehearsal. The Greyhounds were very well behaved, but Bender did get a bit overexcited when he recognised one of his favorite people, who was going to be photographing this big day.

photo also by Kim P

I had the Greyhounds, and so we lined up in our positions to practice for the Big Day. Mouse saw her opportunity to cosy up with the bride and get some attention. 

photo by Kim P

Mouse needs a lot more leash time as at times she is like walking a trout down the street. She settles down and walks in a straight line if she has Barbie with her, as Barbie is such a good calming influence.

photo by Kim P

I have to go back to work today, and so things will change a little bit and Mouse will get to adjust to the regular, hum drum, life of dogs of a 9 - 5 worker. Hopefully she is so tired after these last 4 days that she doesn't mind.