Hi SallyO! What part of NJ are you in? How long did you need a sitter for? Let me know. My cell is 6094892823
Report on my last 6 weeks….>> update: photos
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normally I do not post very much here but now I felt like writing about my last 6 weeks with the dogs, bad things happened and I felt like I need to write it off.
It started 6 weeks ago, our yard is very well fenced ofcourse, it was such pretty weather that the dogs were outside, we made dinner and before we were ready to have it I checked the dogs and they were all playing outside, so I decided to let them stay in the garden, when we finished our dinner about 20 minutes later I heard a car hit it's brakes and a loud "thumb" :eek: just in front of our house, we rushed outside and there was Jenson standing on the streets …....... he managed to escape through a tiny hol ein the fence, then dug under the neighbours fence and ran out on the street..... we rushed to the vets and what a miracle, he had no broken bones and no internal bleedings, but he was hurt very very bad, his shoulder still is not what it is supposed to be but it is getting better day by day allthough i am not sure if he will stop limping completely. My my I can still cry when I think of that day and how much luck he had, he must have had a guardian angel or a dozen of them on his shoulders.... the car was damaged too but the people did not care they were totally in shock and felt so sorry for Jenson.....
then a few weeks later a neighbours cat was in our garden and I did not knew it, ofcourse he should not come on our property but it did, so the dogs got him, luckily I was in the garden too and I managed to stop the dogs going after it, to save the cat, the cat was badly injured but did survive after a vet visit he had no broken bones or bad wounds but his lung colapsed, good thing is he does not dare to come in our garden anymore.
then yesterday I got the news that the male ibizan hound I was ready to import from spain, after a long search I found this male which would have been a major gain for my breeding and the ibizan hound bloodlines, but now burglars broke into the house and stole 8 dogs and this one included, ofcourse the breeders are devistated this is so terrible, I only can hope that these dogs will be treated well by the burglars but I am afraid this will not be the case after all :-((((((((((((((((
then Kalusha , 9 1/2 years now starts to get a bit senile....sometimes it is very funny as she thinks she is a pup again, but other times she is agitated very quickly and then I have to watch her with the other dogs as she gets very snappy then, and that is not always tolerated from the other dogs ofcourse.... also she acts sometimes very silly, does not understand what you mean or forgets what she was about to do, staring into nowhere for quite some minutes etc. but she still is going strong and at the moment it goes quite well, i just have to give her some more rest and it helps a lot when I take her on the longs walks 5 times a week instead of 7 times.
fortunately it is not all bad news, there were some fun things happening, small things though but if you can not appreciate those small things , life is not worth anything without them.
Solar, my oldest ibizan hound female, found a chicken in the woods....she brought it to me, alive and kicking, Kalusha wanted to kill it but solar did not allow that, and she was looking and barking at me "take my present, got is specially for you!!! " I did not knew that to do, but felt like I could not leave it in the woods all alone , so i took the chicken, which later appeared to be a rooster, with me and gave it to a local animal farm.
Then our galgo Barry really thinks he is an ibizan hound, he tries to jump with the same ease through the bushes but he can not do it so after a walk in the forest he comes back with all these scratches >lol<
and a couple of days ago, something really unique happened, I made a walk in the woods just with my ladies, I kept solar on the leash as she was still in season but Kalusha and solars daughter smitthy were allowed to walk off leash, Kalusha comes in handy now at her old age as she is quite obedient now ( good hopes for basenji owners !!! ) and when smitthy is out of sight I tell her to fetch her and she does, but this time they both ran away!! then I heard this truck blowing its horn .........I though , a truck??? here in the woods????? as the road was way too far away for the dogs to go there that fast and besides that, the truck sounded really close, then I saw this truck coming out of a path, i saw it was the kind of truck that comes to pick up the treelogs..... I though he is coming to me to tell me he hit my precious ladies ....but no he drove to the next path and then behind the truck I saw 4 roe deers strolling completely relaxed....and there they were too :smitthy and kalusha , strolling behind the roe deers like they form 1 pack... i called them completely flabbergasted and they came running happy towards me , it was such a weird walk that day.
Oh and ofcourse Jenson is feeling quite well and is allowed to come on the long walks again and 3 times a week he is allowed to run off leash again, he and barry really missed their daily runs together :-)))
well that was my report on my last 6 weeks, I hope I did not bore you... -
Marianne what a time you have had. I am so glad Jenson is ok i can imagine your blood turned cold when you heard the car brakes and the thump.
Is there no treatment for Kalusha ?, i think our Vets do offer something for pets going senile but not sure what it is or if it works.
I am sorry to hear the Ibizan Hound you were going to import has been stolen, how awful for all the Dogs.
Glad you managed to save the Chicken, it was lucky to survive.
Your walk in the woods sounds interesting, a pack of Dogs and Deers -
thanks Shelley, and my blood stillturns cold anytime I hear a car brake or a screeming sound on the streets, even if I KNOW for sure that my dogs are with me in the house or in the garden….you can imagine that my blood turned cold as well the other day when I heard the truck blow its horn in the woods, but that walk was something indeed anyway, very bizar!
I talked to my vet about Kalusha, they do not have a treatment from what they can assure it works, it is very uncommon here in the netherlands to treat dogs for it , but with more rest she is doing a lot better, so we keep it up that way and see what the future brings for her.
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Marianne.. your month and a half has been full of happenings..I am so sorry to hear about Jenson getting out, and getting hit by a car, I know the sound well, Otis got hit by a car when he was just 4.5 months old..horrible, thankfully he didn't get hurt and I am glad to hear that Jenson didn't either, at least not hurt bad.
The chicken story is funny, good girl for not tearing it up..my dogs would've.
I know how hard it is to watch your once lively pup get senile, we just last year had two dogs cross the rainbow bridge due to age and health issues combined.
It isn't easy to see them get old..keeping my fingers crossed Kalusha has lots left to give and get..Take care and stay sane..
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Marianne, hang in there. What a few weeks - lots of turmoil, sadness, frights. I'm sad to hear the Ibizans from Spain were stolen.
Deep breath, and hopefully things will turn around for you.
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You've had a difficult 6 weeks and so much bad luck - I do hope that Jensen is recovering now. I can imagine how you feel when you hear a car braking now.
It must be frightening to have dogs stolen - I do hope they get them back and that you have some success in finding another Ibizan that meets your need.
I can't remember if Kalusha is a Basenji or an Ibizan? If a Basenji, it is unusual for senility to set in at 9and 1/2. Has she been checked for infection - a high temperature can cause an imitation of senility?
At least you've had some amusement for part of the time. I think the rooster must have nine lives like a cat!!!
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thank you folks, for the nice words
@ Patty : I will find another "old lines " ibizan for sure, it will be difficult but some litters are born recently so my hopes are on those pups, I just really hope that these stolen dogs will be treated well, but I am afraid not :-(((((
Kalusha is a basenji, last year march she had a major surgery as she had an agressive form of milkgland tumours, in 2 weeks they were there and grown very large, the vet was surprised too, so she needed surgery and she recovered very well and was a complete other dog!! so playful and cheerful and happy. SHe has no infections or things like that, I was afraid it would be a brain tumour but the vet assured me it was not and she could explain me very well why not so I trust on her, and now I am giving her more rest and she is doing much better, I hope she will stay with us for a long time, but we take every day as a present anyway, no matter how old a dog is with those accidents and illnesses happening we really should enjoy every day together and be grateful for it, and I do not mean that in a depressive kind of way but just how we should take our lives :-))
about the rooster : the next time one of my dogs catches a chicken or a rooster alive I can put it with the neighbours chickens as they told me :-)))) but I think the chance of getting a close encounter in the woods again with such an animal would be VERY small haha
anyway Ibizans are meant to fetch the prey and retrieve it alive to the hunter, allthough most ibizans kill the rabbit by shaking it for a short but firm time. The hunters do not want the dogs to tear the prey apart or damage it too much as the prey will not be suitable for consumption that way.
SOlar once adopted a duckling by the way, she treated it as her puppy and also started to give milk…...it was so cute, unfortunately I was not able to keep the duck so I had to bring it to the bird shelter, but I could do that not in the weekend as the people were away so I took care of it together with Solar, but when we brought it to the shelter together Solar was devestated and did not want to eat for a whole week :-((( -
I hope the next few weeks will be less exciting! And I am so glad Jenson is OK, and all the other dogs too.
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goodness, sounds like you're way overdue for some good luck!
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this was the bruising after 2 days….and it went worse! so for a couple of days we called him Jenson "Bruise"Willis
scarface….
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Aw.. Poor Jenson.. I hope he's feeling much better already..
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My goodness, that's a nasty bruise… never seen one that bad on a dog before, but I can see how worrying it would be. I'm so glad your canine family is still together and safe, despite it all.
That's also very chilling to hear about the Ibizans getting stolen. I hate to wonder about the kind of black market that deals in stolen pedigree dogs. I imagine the burglars targeted the breeder specifically for her dogs? Seems like your everyday thief would find it too difficult to make off with live loot!
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Poor little guy…:( I'm sorry Jenson was injured - that is quite the bruise.
I've been away so just saw this thread. I'm sorry things have been so rough lately. When it rains, it pours, huh?! Hopefully a string of good luck is coming your way - sounds like you are due some!
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Poor boy, I hope he is doing better now.
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Hope things take a turn for the better for you and the "kids". Prayers to you!
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thanks all!!
Jenson and Kalusha both have a "rest-day" today, jenson was very active in the woods the last couple of days, so his limping got a bit worse, and Kalusha was totaly confused yesterday, so time out for one day for them both!That's also very chilling to hear about the Ibizans getting stolen. I hate to wonder about the kind of black market that deals in stolen pedigree dogs. I imagine the burglars targeted the breeder specifically for her dogs? Seems like your everyday thief would find it too difficult to make off with live loot!
well the "raterno's"that were also stolen is not even an official recognized dog, only in spain they are recognized as far as I know, and the Ibizans are not of high value there as well as they are quite common type of dog, ofcourse the pedigreed ibizans are rare, even in spain, but they did not steel the pedigrees with them, so we have really no clue why they have been stolen and it really looks like they knew what they were after because they targeted this breeder indeed.
It makes it even worse that these 2 male ibizans were from their last litter, they are older people and did not want to breed anymore and now these last pups are stolen