The Doginsons

For dog lovers - info and smiles

Teacups exist in cupboards, not Chihuahuas!
Taco Dog Graphics - cool stuff!

Gizmo was in pretty bad shape when I saw him at the Delta Humane Society in Stockton, CA. He'd been hit by a car and was covered with road rash. In place of his left eyeball was a grape sized swelling. "If he lives", they told me, "He'll be a maladjusted snappy ankle biter." I waited a month until he was healthy enough to bring home and I continued to monitor his eye for another 5 months. After about a year of love and patience, he became a mild mannered, well behaved member of the family. He has earned the nickname of "Novio" for his ever loving devotion.

NEWSFLASH!!! 9/4/02 GIZMO ATTACKED BY ROTTWEILER!

I had taken Gizmo, Daisy and Zorrita to the Stockton Animal Shelter for low cost rabies vaccine and registration. As we approached, a Rottweiler broke away from her master and ran towards us, snarling. I had Daisy on her own leash and Zorrita and Gizmo on a leash splitter. As the Rottie approached, I yanked the kids heavenward, but Gizmo's bodyweight broke his harness. The Rottie now had Gizmo in her mouth and shook him violently like a little rag doll. The Rott's owner was able to subdue his beast and she dropped Gizmo who was now terrified and bleeding. A good samaritan took the girls' leashes from me while I chased after Gizmo.

Animal Control witnessed the attack and I believe they wouldn't let this man register the Rottweiler. He said he'd had enough; he was getting rid of her. A spectator expressed interest in the Rottie, even after AC and I pointed out the gash in Gizmo's shoulder. The Rottie's owner said she was not aggressive to humans, which I guess is a good thing, because the woman who wanted her appeared to have daycare children with her at the shelter. What a freakin' dumbass!!!

The Rottie's owner waited with me (Rottie was now in his truck; I didn't care if it was 100 degrees outside, the beast couldn't be controlled!!!) until the vet administering the rabies shots could check him out. The gash to his shoulder barely missed his jugular vein. I rushed him to his regular vet who gave him a penicillin shot and put 2 staples in the 1 1/2" gash in his neck. The Rottie's owner *claims* he'll reimburse me. Luckily it was only 60 bucks and a lot of love for an already frightened, neurotic little dog.

Daisy was found roaming the streets of Manteca, CA in the 100+ degree heat. I knew she was a senior Chihuahua by her grey face, but I fell in love with her happy demeanor. In my mind, she's like Peter Pan because she'll always be 12. She came with a luxating patella, a kneecap problem common to toy breeds. She appears to be injured or disabled, but she doesn't know she has only 3.5 legs to run on.

DAISY UPDATE: While playing on 12/21/01, Daisy fell over, screaming in pain. Her left hind leg was pulled up tight against her body, much like a bat folds its wings. I rushed to to the ER vet, where I was told that she'd snapped her cruciate tendon, which is also associated with the kneecap problem mentioned above. The vet splinted her leg and told me, "Because she's so tiny, she might develop enough scar tissue in that area to not need surgery." So far that's what has happened. She's back to the status quo of walking on 3.5 legs. The surgery is about $300 and it's always risky to anesthetize an old dog. We agreed to work together to keep her pain free with the status quo for the rest of her natural life.

UPDATE FEBRUARY 27, 2002: Daisy was rushed to the vet 3 times in 4 days, starting 1/24/02. She couldn't keep anything down and my little chowhound refused to eat. She's still not back to 100%, although she is eating and playing her Diva role with Gizmo. She dropped from 5 lb. to 3.8 lb., but she's slowly putting weight back on. She's hit a little snag in the road to recovery; as of 2/26/02 she has a hotspot from her elbow to her shoulder and a low grade staph infection in her ears. I think her vet's put a shunt in my WALLET!

SUMMER, 2002: Daisy is coming to the end of her twilight years, although she's still a happy, affectionate, loving pet. I found out on 8/29/02 that she is in the beginning stages of congestive heart failure which is currently being controlled by medication. In a nutshell, congestive heart failure is when the heart enlarges and is not able to function effectively because the lungs are filling with fluid (hence, congestion). The vet told me she might live another few months. I was heartbroken. When I rushed her to the vet on 8/29/02, I thought her coughing was due to eating some carpet fuzz or something equally as innocuous, not that she was hacking up stuff in her lungs. =0(

Zorrita was a habitual stray in my apartment complex, always allowed to roam without ID, without a way to defend herself against the danger of cars and roaming out onto I-5. After returning her to her owners in November, I discovered this sweet, docile, loving furbaby was made to sleep in the mud, or a plastic trash can turned on its side with water and leaves in the bottom, with no fresh water to drink. The apartment manager told me that she'd caught the little dog and put her away when her "humans" weren't even home. This time some well meaning children brought her to me, her tummy abraded from all the flea bites. Her owners have moved to a new unit, so I decided to give her a new home. Her humans have made no effort to find her and I can't in good faith return a devoted companion to a life of neglect. This little mini Arctic fox lookalike has melted my heart.

PS - After much debate about what to name my little arctic fox lookalike, I asked a Spanish speaker what "Fox" was in Spanish, since she has Mexican roots. "Zorrita" means "little female fox".

You think putting on a condom is tough? Try doing it with PAWS!! Spay, neuter and ID your pets!!

Hugs, wags and noselicks to all.

Email: LilHawkee@aol.com