Rescue Journal

tricks of the trade

Carol  ·  Feb. 6, 2008

quicky, 2 second assessment tools for dogs when you are running out the door late for work to rule out death, injury and unhappiness.

1. if someone tells you that so and so did not eat their lunch...how do you quickly rule out imminent looming death?

offer a kraft cheese slice, if they greedily eat it, they will be ok til you get home.

2. someone is not weight bearing and holding their leg up in the air. how do you know if they sustained serious injury or are just looking for some sympathetic acknowledgement?

grab a box of peak freen cookies and walk away...if they suddenly follow with all four feet on the ground, chances are good they are not permanently disabled.

3. someone is laying in their bed and giving everyone the "sad" eye...how do you know if they are truly depressed or if maybe they just did something bad that you don't know about yet?

open the fridge and peer deeply within, a depressed dog would ignore this golden opportunity, a naughty one will have his or her face shoved in there right beside you in 2 seconds or less.

Comments

Marisa

LOL!! That's hilarious, Carol. Unfortunately I can't use this advice with my cats. They NEVER pretend anything than what they are. Why waste precious energy on faking out humans when a good swat to the head keeps us in line just fine.

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Nicole

not sure how i missed that! a late congratulations, she looks very sweet.
i had a stray senior sheltie at my house over the weekend that was running down victoria drive in vancouver, but he wasn't too friendly, as in, 'don't even think about touching me.'

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Jean

Hi Nicole. Belle is a senior (12 year old)sheltie I adopted in early December - you'll see her on Brindle in Happy Endings (Senior Sheltie Girl in need) or on my blog (http://mylifewiththecritters.blogspot.com). She is totally deaf, arthritic, and subject to pancreatitis - and a total sweetheart. She's also very good a faking being dead or dying - until the cheese comes out. LOL
And,in typical little sister fashion, she follows Caleb and Charley around everywhere like a shadow.

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Jean

Ha ha! Good one, Carol! Yes, I also use those tricks with Caleb and Belle to check their health status. Oh, and it works with potbellied pigs, too. Scotch has been refusing to come out of his stall recently.....but a fresh banana or a handful of cherries and he changes his tune really quickly, so I know it's nothing more serious than the winter blahs!

Can't say I blame him - there's lots of days I look out the window and would prefer to stay in bed too. Will winter ever end?

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