Dodger aka Kringle Update!

Before

Now

Dodger aka Kringle came to Lil’ Paws Maltese Rescue from Town Lake Animal Shelter on 12/19/06. Dodger was turned in for causing a child to have an allergic reaction to him. Unknown to his previous owners, Dodger had Sarcoptic mange and Demodex mange. Both types of mange are very treatable.

Sarcoptic mange is contagious not only to other animals but also humans. Even though Sarcopitic mange is easily treated, it can be very painful. Dodger came to us with a great personality and not allowing his illness to get him down.

Dodger found a wonderful family that adopted him and loves him unconditionally. I wanted to share an update from Dodger’s family!

It's a very different story now for "the Dodge-man", "Doderini",
"Fluffer-nutter". Not only does Dodger have many different names of
endearment, he invites a love-fest on most occasions. He's been to a
ranch in south Texas, with my book club, where everyone fought over the chance to love on him! He's gone to the wedding of his big "brother" in St. Louis where we regretted he was not in the wedding party because he is so handsome. One of the first words spoken by his 15-month old "cousin" was "Dodgey". His next adventure is a trip to the mountains of New Mexico where he will be able to run free in the great outdoors. When he has the opportunity to run free in safe environments, he is so happy to be "all dog". He will often come to rest at a high point and put himself to work as our watchdog.
Dodger has a very long walk every morning with me and a friend. He follows perfectly on his leash. After his walk he plays with his cat-sister, Scout. They get along great and have invented many different games. He still loves toys and taking toys out of his toy basket. He loves to play fetch and has learned to let go of the ball rather than try to play "tug-of-war"--a bad habit he may have learned from his 9 foster sibling dogs! He loves to chew on rawhide bones. He is playful and mischievous, but also listens when you tell him "no". Most recently at “grandma's" house he had everyone in stitches when he dragged a stuffed teddy bear, larger than him, from the top of grandma's big bed all the way into the living room. Somehow he figured out how to drag the teddy bear to the edge of the bed, nose it to the floor, jump after it, and drag it in to show us! After two times, we had to stop these antics and he was very obedient. Dodger has a walk with his Dad every evening before supper. He loves to hang around the kitchen when we cook and knows that when the refrigerator door opens, he might be asked to perform a trick in exchange for a small bite of cheese. He knows: "go to your spot", "sit", "down", and “stay". Dodger now weighs over 14 pounds. He has a shiny, soft white coat and he is in perfect health. After a full day, he loves to cuddle with one of us in the lazy boy. He knows when it's time for bed and hops into bed with us, politely taking up only a little bit of space and resting quietly until we say its morning and time to get up. In short, we refer to him as the cutest, smartest, best dog in the world. In order to share Dodger's gifts with many others, my plan is to get some professional training with him so that he can be certified to be a Therapy dog. I hope to start that in October.

In Memory of Ginger

Today (7/24/07) our long term foster, Ginger aka Gin Gin crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. Ginger came into Lil’ Paws in November 2006. She was found by a good samaritan on the east side of Austin. Ginger had obviously had several litters of puppies in her days out on the streets. She also was extremely malnourished and had a horrible skin condition which caused her to itch and to have tough black skin. Ginger’s mouth was full of leaves, twigs, and cigarette butts (obviously what she had to eat).
After coming into her new foster home that late night, Ginger was very scared and shy. Her foster mom took her to the vet to be spayed and given vaccinations. She was tested for heartworms (was surprisingly negative), had a dental, and her skin was treated. At first, Ginger kept her distance from everyone, but after about a week, she started to become attached to her foster Dad, Perry. She would follow him everywhere and look at him adoringly! In the coming months, she began to bond with the other members of her foster family. Ginger's foster parents worked with her continuously for the 8 months that she lived with them, helping her learn about trust and how to be part of a family. They loved her dearly, regardless of the behaviors she showed.
Now Ginger will no longer have to suffer or remember the bad life she had before coming to Lil’ Paws. Her foster parents will never forget the little ‘paw waves” she would do for them when she wanted something. We love and miss you, Gin Gin.