packer is here

the husband had told me he was 13 or 14 yrs old (husbands never know the right age) but he is in fact 10. it is a good thing he got the age wrong because i would have turned him away before i even saw him but now i am glad i didn't.

packer came with all of his paper work, right back to the puppy mill who bred him in illinois. his front feet are deformed, (poor breeding or arthritis? whatever, he walks on the side of his feet) he is completely blind and honestly he looks 3 times the age of copper who is now nine. people have no conception of the sheer size and true horror of the puppy millers. i saw an auction website this year and there were literally hundreds of animals being sold off at auction from just a few breeders, it was sad. and your average pet seeking person is just so unaware. these folks purchased him from someone local i think when he was around six months of age.

he is off to the vet on wednsday to check the pressure in his eyes because they are bulging a bit and i am afraid it is glaucoma which is very painful if not treated.

he is quite afraid (for a beagle that is, which is totally different then terror to a poodle) he has already discovered the big cat food bowl and i had to put it up because it looked like he was going to try to eat it all. he is currently sleeping on my sofa in my private animal free den with about 6 cats, a poodle and his head on my pillow.

he is a nice little dog and we will start him on metacam for the arthritis in his sore little feet and then we will wait for the perpetual beagle opportunist-optimist to take over and then he can take over saints.

greg called from powell river. the dogs were moved from the vets to a boarding kennel. he went to see them and said cleo is quite sweet but mugsy reacted by barking and lunging at the wire. they will be sedated before being crated for the long trip home and i hope they do ok with the sedation and i wish i was there to watch them in case they don't.

i will be glad when everyone is here and settled...one dog in, two more to go and then we are closed to all admissions (except the FeLV cats who arrive in early october) while we re-gain our equilbrium.

and i got into rescue because.....?????