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 :)

New Kid at Home

Ten days ago, a friend of us asked our help. His dog was missing (he lets her roam freely on the street), and the dog was rounded up by the shelter people and brought to the shelter. Only the dog was not in the shelter.
The people there didn't let him in to look for the dog, as they couldn't take responsibility if the dogs would attack him.

So we went to the shelter and the guy in charge did let us in. Probably he felt we wouldn't take no for an answer. As a place, it is not a bad place, there is a large enclosure where there are all together and covered booths where they can go in at night or when it rains. The new comers are in cages.

We went in every corner. There are 260 dogs there and it was a lovely experience to walk among them. They only want to be loved and petted and pushed their heads under our hands. We both felt extremely relaxed and it was a surreal experience to be among so many dogs, we constantly had a furry head under our hands and we petted them while we searched for our friend's dog, it felt very natural and zen :) We never found our friend's dog. It is a mystery  what happened to her. Probably nothing good.

And then it happened. I came eye to eye with this little guy. And I was lost.
He was pretty far away and in a cage but he kept looking at me. When I cam to his cage he licked my hand and was so very sweet.
This happened on Thursday  last week and the whole weekend I could't put him out my thoughts. So on Monday we went back to the shelter to get him.

And then we heard that we couldn't till he was castrated. They don't give not neutered dogs or puppies. It is quite a dictatorial measure, but o.k. we said, let's have him neutered.We were told to come back the next day, he would be operated first thing in the morning.
So we came on Tuesday, and of course, it hadn't happened.
The vet has a lot to do, they told us. He is responsible for the shelter AND for the slaughterhouse. This is of course, a most bizarre form of multitasking. I mean, somebody with the stomach to witness the slaughter of sheep and cattle, is no friend of animals
We had our vet call the shelter vet, asking to release the dog on our word that we would have him neutered. To no avail. Apparently the vet has a basis salary and a bonus for his ministrations, so we decided to wait till the vet arrived.
In the mean time we chattered with the employees there. One told us that he worked as a butcher in the slaughterhouse and was commissioned to the shelter when there was no work in the slaughterhouse.
A group of English women come everyday to bring extra food. They were struggling with the heavy sacks while the employees smirked.
At last, at 2.30 PM the vet arrived and told us to leave a phone nr. We would get a call when it was done. I didn't want to leave the dog any day longer. Between our first and second visits, the dog had deteriorated visibly. So we talked and talked to the vet till he gave up and mumbled 'I can better do it now than make them understand'.
Estella was a great help with this. She wasn't enthusiast about bringing an other dog in house, we surely have enough, but she cajoled with the vet till we had him.
So the dog was brought to the 'operation room', and the vet, with a cigarette hanging from his lip proceed to operate on him. At the last moment we heard that he had to get a tag in his ear as well. After a lot of talking the man just shaved his ear and held the tag on the ear for the photo. Based on that rapport he gets paid. The rapport also says that he is fully vaccinated, but the butcher told us that they had no vaccines.
So, after all these adventures, we got the doggy wrapped in an old newspaper and we took him home, minus his nuts. We got zero post-op advise, it is good that we have collars, meds and experience, but the vet didn't knew that, he just couldn't care less.

We have a routine when we get a new dog. Usually it starts with a bath, treatment for internal and external parasites, vaccines, and when the dog is over all these shocks, the neutering. This all takes about a month.
Now it is harder for the dog. We thought that it was an old dog, he has white hairs all between the black, but he is young, with very white teeth.

The next day we had an scare, blood in his poop. We rushed him to our vet, thinking of course of parvovirus, but he tested negative. He has a bad intestinal infection and  has now prescription food. We hope that he will get better soon and we are very happy that we have him.

We named him Tommy.