Betty Boo-Boo

You might remember, although if you don't I won't blame you because of the number of doggies we have :), Betty Boo-boo who we adopted last year.

She was in bad shape, one of the worst we've had, much worse than we initially thought.

Her hair has grown back beautifully, even though she is still rough around the edges it is a huge difference of how she was. Her hair loss was due to Mange which was also the source of a nasty smell. We also found a few bumps which turned out that it could turn in to cancer, those were removed. She had a cough for months (most likely kennel cough) which finally went away after several antibiotic treatments. On the bright side it turned out she was neutered already (while that was initially the reason why they did not want them to release her to us!), most likely in a different kennel or by a previous owner, but we did not have to put her through that.

Initially, I thought her legs were bad due to lack of exercise in the kennel but it turns out a skeleton problem, the vet thought it might be malnourishment during her puppy period or a birth defect. She kind of has a waggle-walk like a duck but further than that it doesn't seem to bother her. She still seems always surprised when she gets called, loved or pet, and she always has a wagging tail for us. She most likely is about 9 instead of 3 like they said, she has the start of cataract in her eyes, even though her eyes look clearer than when she first came. All this does make you more aware why we shouldn't go and buy puppies but help the forgotten bigger pups instead. Like always: adopt, don't shop :)

Number 10, again...

While I was away during my trip to Seferihisar, Mum called me on my last evening telling me 'I've sent you an email, did you see it?' I said 'no', and asked her what it was about, when she said 'just look at it and let me know what you think', I knew she was up to no good...
It was a adoption ad on Facebook... Of this little black fur ball. Who was in İzmir, 1 hour away from were I was but 3 hours from our home so I could pick her up on my return back home... I resisted for quite a while but Mum is a stubborn goat  *sigh* and she wanted her so badly as she looks like Elsie, her favorite doggie ever who we lost 3 years ago. FYI we adopted Olivia with the same excuse...

I called them but they did not want to release her without her being neutered first so I would have to go back 1 week later or so. This was on Sunday evening.

Monday afternoon, I just had driven 4 hours and was back home for just half an hour they called me back telling me I could pick her up anyway... aaarrgggggg

I rested on Tuesday and we went to pick her up on Wednesday, a total of 6 hours driving, I'm an angelic daughter which my mother will never admit. While the shelter was in surprising good shape...

The doggie was in a very bad shape, her fur was all matted and parts were gone leaving bald spots. She also smelt horribly and her eyes were all droopy and dirty.

Of course this does make it up for the long journey as black dogs (and cats) are already much less likely to be adopted, this sad girl didn't have much of a chance.

I groomed and washed her right after arrival and after that she wouldn't leave my side, she also wanted to meet the rest of the pack right away and she adjusted in a matter of hours.

We do not know her exact story and for now we are just letting her recouping, there were vets at the shelter but we will be taking her to our vet soon. Her legs are very thin with barely any muscle, I suspect she was in a cage for a while and the lack of walking didn't do her good. They all have a story non are very happy but we do our best to fix that :)

We called her Betty Boo -Boo :)

The love she left behind

Loosing Elsie a few weeks ago  was heart wrenching. You all know how much love, respect and tenderness we feel for all our dogs, but Elsie was more than a dog and more than a human. She was a little superior being, kind of an E.T., you know?

But when we saw an ad where somebody was looking for a new home for an other little black terrier, we knew that we would love her too. 

She was the  cutest little thing, the only problem was that this cutie lived in Ankara, about 900 km (560 miles) from our home, impossible to pick up by car.

I called the owner of the dog, a sweet lady who had to give her sweet Zeytin (Turkish for Olive) away due to a family issue. She clearly wanted to give her a good home and we clicked pretty quickly. Coincidentally a friend of ours was also in Ankara and would be coming back to our town in a few days, so we figured she could bring her. Unfortunately none of the bus companies accepted animals in the passengers compartment, only by the luggage, which is cold and airless, and as the bus drive would take 12 hours totally not an option.

Zeytin's owner was so convinced that she found a good home that she did not give her to anyone located near her and actually paid and send her to come by plane, which is just a 1 hours journey. We went to pick Zeytin up at the Airport (which is also a one hour drive) and waited for her arrival.
We were a bit worried how it would go, but Zeytin arrived well and was not cold or afraid.

Once out of her bag she dragged my mum through the airport to a green part and was curiously looking to us and her surroundings. Once at our car she jumped right in and was on my mum's lap the entire journey back, you would never have guessed that we just had met.

While she got used to us right away, introducing her to our pack at home took a while, but now she even plays with some and is already feeling completely at home.

On Sunday, 2 days after her arrival we went to the beach and took her with us, as she is so small she is very portable :)

She had the time of her life, running around and even jumping in the sea, it is a great experience to see a dog who had a rough time, recouping so quickly and enjoying life so much.

You might think we're crazy with already 10 dogs, taken a new one (again), but mum needed one who looks like Elsie and although I was not very enthusiastic of taken an 11th one, I am glad we did as she makes my mother smile again :)

Zeytin is very happy with her new home and surroundings, she now gets 24 hours attention, which is a huge improvement of her previous situation and has a lot of green to jump around in.

We also came across this on Pinterest, very appropriate for the occasion, you often hear people saying 'I will never have a pet again' when they loose one, well this furry guy makes some good points:

Dinner Time!

Some people might be wondering how life is with 11 dogs (it used to be 15). It is with lots of hugs, belly rubs and fur, they are like a bunch of little kids whom are total love junkies and we love it :)
We feed them twice a day and they always wait full of anticipation and as patient as possible although some make some impatient whining noises while the plates are prepared.

Look how cute they wait :)