JULY 5, 2021
This is Croix. He was supposed to be a short stay, but bought himself a little extra time in Crazy Town with an Independence Day seizure.
Croix, I suspect, is another dog who fell victim to the “pandemic people” when he was an impressionable pup and they were bored. He came skittish and with no skills; used.
I’m glad he came to me. Not only do I have a LOT of seizure experience, I have a whole pack to show him how to dog.
JULY 10, 2021
Croix and I made several trips to the vet this week and he tested positive for…drumroll… Lyme. It only took 1 visit to figure out that Croix’s had a humdinger of a bad time at the vet before we met, and he doesn’t think they should be touching him. The staff and I were equally blindsided by this revelation.
My sweet, gentle, fluffy buddy and lover of belly rubs gets really scared when anyone tries to touch him in the vet’s office, and this includes me—the belly rubber!
I had only known him about a week before we went to the vet that day, not nearly long enough to build the kind of trust we needed to have already established, so we signed up to return the following day with the “chill protocol” on board, which is a series of meds you give in advance of the appointment to hopefully take the edge off and allow him to remain awake but sedated during the visit. As we drove to the second appointment and I saw a squinty-eyed, stoned looking black and white floofy head nodding off in the backseat, I knew it was working. He was sound asleep by the time we arrived.
Whelp – it turns out Croix’s fear is bigger than the meds, and they ended up having to anesthetize him in order to do the physical exam and draw the labs, and he STILL reacted a little. He, however, DID manage to finish ALL of the peanut butter before drifting off to sleep with a little left on his nose.
We were the problem patients that day. We were the bottlenecks in the system. We were the people that make other appointments run behind. I always try to do my part, yet there I was caught off guard in uncharted territory; unhelpful. But the staff was so kind to us and very patient with our scared boy. They had 3 emergencies come in while we were there and they still wouldn’t let us leave until they felt it was safe to take Croix home. And our doc, who was quite busy, took the time to do something she didn’t have to do: she told me how to help him overcome his fear of the vet and she offered to help us.
So, I’m taking her up on it! While he’s being treated for Lyme, we’ll also be popping in to see our friends at Lee Hill Animal Hospital between appointments — just for treats and pets — to start developing a positive association with the vet’s office and to help Croix build skills he needs to be successful in his furever home.
I am grateful for this new experience and for the education and support I have received from our friends at the vet!
JULY 18, 2021
Croix can’t get enough of that Rio lovin’ and I can’t blame him!
Truth be told – Croix welcomes all givers of love (except veterinary, but we’re working on that) and spends a good bit of his time weaseling his way into laps, campaigning for affection. He’s especially fond of belly rubs, but is happy to receive all forms of doting.
He’s about halfway through his second week of treatment for Lyme, and we have an appointment this week to recheck his labs and see how his kidneys are doing. We brought Ellen along on a vet “field trip” last week which went well. They both went in and got a bunch of treats and then we left. Positive experience.
We are working on some other things at home, but I’ll tell you about those another time.
Rio is MVP of my foster program!
JULY 22, 2021
Some people might call this bad manners, but for a guy who got an abysmal start to life and used to shrink every time I tried to touch him, I’m gonna go ahead and call it progress.
Oh, Croix Boy!! You are becoming a proper dog!!
JULY 24, 2021
Rio attended another session of Mom’s amateur hydrotherapy at Hope’s pool yesterday. We’ve been hard at it making progress in the water. The two canine pals had so much fun, they begged for a sleepover.
We brought Hope home with us and it was just as well because last night our Croix Boy started Phenobarbital for his seizures. We needed our girl for support, and she delivered as only The Hopers could.
Croix’s labs this week showed slight improvement in some areas and marginal-to-no improvement in others. He’s anemic; his kidney function is iffy. It is hard to say whether untreated Lyme is the culprit for all or part of what ails him, or just an unhealthy history, but while we work to correct these issues, we are starting the medication to tell his brain cells to stop having seizures, and then we’ll ween him off.
As the former mom of an epileptic dog, I was surprised to learn that it is one “problem” brain cell that causes seizure activity, and if not properly treated, that one cell will light up other brain cells and cause a seizure “domino effect”.
In light of dilute urine, we’ve done (and are doing) a water deprivation test to help to reboot his kidneys and get them to concentrate urine the way they should. Early markers are showing some improvement, but I will continue this work and take samples for testing in the coming weeks. Ironically, the test they’re performing is what’s called a specific gravity. It’s something I learned a lot about in chemistry class, and is a test I used to create some experiments for Rio’s weird swallowing issue.
Dogs with vector-born illness are more likely to develop chronic kidney disease, so I’m trying hard to take exceptionally good care of him. And I couldn’t do it without our friends at the vet, who call me more than anyone else does, because they’re always looking out for us; always there to help me be a better mom.
Everyone send your love to our Croix Boy!! Don’t worry— he’s getting extra, extra pets these days!
JULY 27, 2021
Croix has decided that the early mornings are another perfect time for me to join him on his futon and administer copious amounts of chest and belly rubs.
Today I brought my computer and schoolwork, and Croix delighted in giving me all the answers, but they didn’t come free!
He’s a genuinely sweet soul who needs TLC and time— time to heal, time to trust, time to set new expectations of humans; time to start writing a new story with a lot more affection than he once knew.
August 19, 2021
I have been waiting all day to be able to report in on our very best Croix Boy!
This morning we went in for a blood draw. Generally those are short, sweet, and painless appointments, but given Croix’s history, it takes us a little longer.
Our first vet visit together revealed that my sweetest, belly-rub-loving boy has such a fear of the vet that we had to come back the following day with sedatives on board, and they still had to anesthetize him to draw the labs.
Since then, we have been working on lots of skills in the background, building confidence and learning to trust in humans. The other thing we’ve been doing is getting used to wearing a muzzle.
I never even considered that muzzle work would be part of my foster program at the outset, but it has proven to be a valuable skill on more than one occasion. In Croix’s case, properly exposing him to the animal hospital setting and developing a solid plan for calm vet visits is as important to his future as working on his health.
Following that rough first visit, we’ve had several subsequent appointments which showed some progress and helped alter our routine, and today Croix NAILED IT!
It was a team effort. The vet tech called me earlier in the week to discuss our plan, and like clockwork today we showed up, I did my part, she did her part, and Croix did his. It was like a well-choreographed dance. Aside from mild panting at the outset, Croix did not exhibit a shred of fear today. He laid in my lap in the cutest muzzle I could find, and was eating shredded cheese off my leg when the formerly scary stranger entered the room, and for once had no trouble with her touch. As she drew his blood, I rubbed his floof and told him he was a good boy and before we knew it, poof, it was over. I’m so proud of him, I could spit!
In school I learned about fear-free veterinary practices, and our team exceeds even those standards. They have bent over backwards to help him feel at ease, once even allowing us to enter through the back door—me carrying Croix, the staff carrying all my things: a purse, a medical file, and, as always, a fresh bag of dog poop.
Behaviorally we are gaining traction. I hope I can say the same about his medical status when his labs come back.
Either way, BIG CHEERS FOR CROIX!!!
AUGUST 27, 2021
As we all know, The Croix Boy has been a bit of a medical conundrum. He arrived in early July and was supposed to only stay a week, but a seizure on Independence Day extended his stay in Crazy Town and started us down a diagnostic rabbit hole at the vet.
He’s made tons of progress from the first visit where he was so scared we couldn’t even get blood. Behaviorally he is a completely different dog than the timid and broken spirit who arrived here. He’s learned how he should be touched and treated and that no one will hit him here. He picked up the boundaries of the yard so quickly, he doesn’t need a leash. He won’t leave his turf, and he bounds around the perimeter of the yard proudly protecting his land from the ever growing colony of my neighbor’s semi-feral cats while we are outside. I can count on him to be waiting for me at the door when I come around with Rio. He is reliable and predictable and a joy to have in Crazy Town.
Medically speaking, we treated him for a skin infection, anemia, parasites, and Lyme; we are successfully treating his seizures with phenobarbital, and we’ve seen a few labs turn around. His fur which was missing and coarse when he got here has grown back, and a diet rich in omegas has given him a coat that is soft and fluffy.
However, several kidney-function-related labs continue to sit in the “iffy range” and our rescue has reached its financial limits. Nevertheless, at my request our vet spoke with a specialist and they determined that the most cost-effective next step should be an ultrasound of his kidneys. An ultrasound could tell us whether he has anatomical or physiological abnormalities, a tumor, cyst or abscess, kidney disease and other problems I don’t even know about.
As a foster mom, it has always been of paramount importance to be transparent with potential adopters and I do not intend to ever budge from this conviction. I believe it is unfair and unscrupulous to both the human and the dog to withhold information, even if unsavory, just to get an adoption. My goal is to find the right homes for the animals in my care and that cannot be done with hidden cards.
In this case, I simply feel like I don’t have enough “cards” and that my job is not quite done. We’ve come too far to quit now, and I cannot in good consciousness refuse diagnostics that may be able to help my Best Boy Croix, so we are getting the ultrasound. I have $200 in donation money to put toward the $500 goal and I’m just going to cover the rest.
But I know from previous mistakes this may be a situation where some of you sweet people want to help/bail me out, so I am providing my PayPal and Venmo accounts for anyone who feels so inclined to go in with me on an ultrasound.
The big question is going to be: will they do an ultrasound while Croix is in my lap? Because he thinks that is the safest place to be when we are at the vet!
AUGUST 29, 2021
Croix is feeling mighty smiley after hearing about how much we all love him and care about his renal health. With the help of so many of you, we are on our way to Ultrasound Town and have a call in to the vet to schedule it!
The gal behind the camera is pretty grateful, too, but her smile just can’t compare to the Croix Boy’s!
Thank you all for being in our corner. Thank you for being there every time I have needed help. It means more to me than you’ll ever know, and it will make a huge difference in the life of our best boy, The Croix The Croix!
SEPTEMBER 14, 2021
I think it’s officially ultrasound day! Our original appointment was last week, but it was cancelled due to a COVID exposure.
Today seems to be the day, though!
Once again our vet’s office has bent over backward to ensure this is a successful procedure for Croix, especially our beloved Victoria. While most dogs are just dropped off first thing in the morning and picked up later in the day, we all agreed that wouldn’t work for our boy. We have come so far in overcoming fear of vet and general timidity that I just felt like the drop-off route might hinder our progress. Plus, I’m the only human he really trusts here, and that’s a pretty important person to not have at least sitting in the parking lot, ready to lend moral and emotional support at any moment!
Anyway, we started the chill protocol last night as we’ve done so many times, and we got here first thing this morning to get the paperwork over with and make a plan with the staff. The ultrasound company won’t be here for a bit, but I pre-sedate Croix in the car ahead of bringing him inside, so we needed to be here early to do our routine.
Victoria, who has been our hero and our rock, came out to inject him with an additional
sedative, and our vet came to listen to his heart as Croix slept, tongue out, flopped over the center console of my car. It was determined we are a go for anesthesia and, given my background as well as Croix’s medical history, of course I approved the optional IV catheter.
As of this writing, we have successfully gone inside, gotten the IV AND a cool shark “bandaid”, and are back in the car as the vet’s office has 3 concurrent emergencies and thankfully we are not one of them.
I will report in later, but for now I’m going back to my role as leader of the Calm Squad as we await the next part of the process…
Big love for Croix today, and big thanks to you who made this day possible. You make me a better foster mom!!
SEPTEMBER 14, 2021
It was a long day, but I am happy to report that all went well which, given the circumstances, is a bit of a relief.
The doctor performing the ultrasound noted that Croix’s kidneys fluoresced abnormally, and she strongly recommended several other lab tests to which I agreed. I don’t have all the details yet and some results are still pending, but overall I think it’s safe to note that no major renal concerns were brought to my attention today. Full report is forthcoming.
What I want to write about tonight is not all the technical stuff, but the person who saw us through, who in so many ways is the reason we’ve made it as far as we have clinically and behaviorally, and her name is Victoria and she is my hero. (Croix says she’s his hero too! )
Victoria was on duty the first time we arrived at the animal hospital. She and I learned of Croix’s fear of the vet together and she’s been going out of her way to support us ever since. While other people were quick to jump to conclusions about him, Victoria jumped in to help, suspending judgement in favor of shrewd observation and assessment. She asked me questions, and she answered my questions, and she made an emotionally challenging situation easier by being kind and curious to both Croix and me.
We’ve seen Victoria’s smiley face at every appointment since, and she continues to be a champion for our sweet, quirky Croix. She has taught me and worked with me to make comfort plans, even calling days ahead of a blood draw to discuss our approach for the upcoming appointment, and then — that’s right — remembering and executing the plan as discussed! She has proven over and over that she is competent and reliable and a rockstar of human being. She has heart and grit.
Not everyone at the vet can earn the trust of a scared Croix Boy. [For the record – he isn’t ever aggressive or mean, in case you are wondering —not even when he’s freaked. He just gets nippy when he is touched the wrong way because Croix was likely abused and he is extraordinarily sensitive to human energy and touch, and moreso when he’s at the vet.] I never had to defend him or explain that to Victoria because she too has been studying him since that first day and continued to tweak her approach until she reached success. She is responsible for all of our calm appointments and today she even drew Croix’s blood in my backseat so we didn’t have to sedate him a second time, and I’m not even sure she was still on the clock.
Croix is the sweetest, most obedient, reliable dog in this house and he has stolen my heart, but he’s also thrown us a gazillion curveballs and Victoria saw us through every one. Few people would rise to the occasion like she did, so tonight she’s winning the first ever unofficial Ani’s Orphans GOAT Award as the MVP of Team Croix!!!
I gave her my card and I think she’s going to check out the blog, so if anyone feels compelled to love her up in the comments, there’s a chance she’ll read it.
PHOTO DESCRIPTION: Hunched over Croix on the surgical table, I heard a baby crying nearby. I peered into the treatment area through the little window in the door as Victoria cared for a litter of tiny sick kittens. She smiled as she performed the necessary treatment measures and then kissed each one on the head before returning it to the nest. She didn’t know I could see her, but being a voyeur to such love and integrity healed a bit of my jaded heart.
SEPTEMBER 19, 2021
Croix thinks it is so much fun to earn treats with his friend Rio, and Rio, despite many sensory adversities, ALWAYS knows when there are treats!
OCTOBER 3, 2021
This boy is suffering the consequences of getting into the food bins.
Should have a medical update this week, but as far as
Croix knows, everything is GREAT except for his tummy ache.
OCTOBER 10, 2021
Smiles at the dog park!
NOVEMBER 18, 2021
Well, guys, my sincere apologies for keeping you wondering so long about Croix.
The short of it is that Croix, despite all his prior medical oddities, is perfect.
They couldn’t find a thing wrong with his kidneys, adrenals, or anything else they looked at during his ultrasound. We did labs and follow up labs and PCA tests and cultures, and they all say he’s fine.
The Croix Boy is just about weaned off Phenobarbital and has had no seizure activity.
Over the course of his foster we’ve treated him for Lyme, anemia, Leptospirosis, seizures, and the original reason he came here: a little skin problem. We built trust and overcame fear-related hurdles at the vet, learned to wear a muzzle, and established a safe and effective approach to vet appointments that I will pass along to his furever family and which will help him for the rest of his life. We studied his renal function labs and urinary/drinking habits and I measured how much water he was intaking every day. I used this information to conduct two water deprivation tests with follow up urine samples to try to help his kidneys better concentrate urine.
I’m always inspired by a dog’s ability to heal and Croix’s story is one of healing. He came here an anxious, sketchy mess. At first the only way he’d approach me (and therefore accept pets) is if I crouched down on his level. I had to do that to leash him also or else he’d cower. Croix learned how to be touched here — he learned safe touch, loving touch, gentle touch — because that’s what he taught me he needed. He learned how to vibe with other dogs and be part of a pack. He **and we are sorry for this** found his never ending love for car rides in the back seat and THE DOG PARK. The dog park gave Croix exposure to many humans and many dogs, which was good for his rehab, but Duff McDuff gives working dogs like Croix a place to DO WORK! After a while Croix, the once shy boy, decided it was safe to abandon his herding job if it looked like a human had some treats. And because he knows EXACTLY how to earn one, he can now be seen making a beeline across the field and sitting proudly, nose to the sky, at the foot of the person with the food. He’d wait 5 minutes if you made him, but nobody would, because he’s too damn perfect when he’s poised for a treat, his regrown floof blowing in the breeze. Croix loves to feel proud.
He’s sharp as a tack. He hasn’t needed a leash since about the second day he was here (that was the start of July if you don’t remember — he was just going to be here a week. ) He knows the boundaries of the yard, and runs the perimeter, chasing cats off the property, while Lenny and Ellen watch with envy from their leashes. Rio even leaves the yard in search of fresh kitty turds, but never the Croix. When he believes it’s time to go to the park, he circles the car like a little clown fish who never leaves its spot. In the mornings while I’m doing the bathroom shift with the loons, Croix is on his own. I trust him to do his thing, and then, after a few laps, he waits at the door while I finish with the others. Sometimes he even opens the door for me as I am often carrying Rio. He is expressive and responsive and eager to please. He would do so well on a farm, or any other big piece of land, where he could do his work every day and also get lots of treats and gentle affection, which he’s decided he NEEDS!
It seems like he’s not far from being ready to find his furever job…
DECEMBER 14, 2021 ADOPTION ANNOUNCEMENT
All my Christmas wishes have come true!
Croix The Croix The Very Best Boy … got … A JOB ON A FARM! He was adopted by humans who have experience with and appreciation for his breed mixture —extraordinary animal people, knowledgeable people, good people; two human beings who are as deserving of Croix as he is of them. And if that wasn’t enough, Croix also got a goofy sister named Luna and even horse friends!
Croix goes by Roy in his new life and is as happy as everyone at Crossroads Ranch. I imagine those who sign up for riding lessons may get a peek at that floofy-headed smile I love so much, and perhaps that’s what it’s going to take for me – vestibular patient and lover of the safe, solid ground, to get on a horse.
I’ve been fortunate to meet a lot of amazing people because of fostering, and they continue to come out of the woodwork at adoption times. Roy’s humans taught me about Aussies and Border Collies; they gave me medical topics to research and in turn helped me grow as a person and as a medical foster. I am better for having crossed paths with them and what they taught me will help me better care and advocate for dogs like The (former) Croix Boy. Further, they are the perfect fit for Roy. I felt it in my heart and it was easy to let go knowing they are better equipped to give him the life he deserves, and they will. They made all my wishes come true this season.
I am looking forward to visiting the farm and getting out of my comfort zone…maybe when it’s warmer.
Congratulations, my sweet boy. And thanks to his wonderful adopters for helping me keep a promise to another dog who just needed me for a little while (relatively speaking, of course.)
JANUARY 28, 2023
“You’re gonna keep this dog, right? No one is going to adopt him.” – Vet
“This behavior is not his baseline. He’s only just learning kind human touch; he’s sensitive. We don’t know where he’s been or what he’s endured. I haven’t known him long.” -Me
“You’ve got your hands full. He’s aggressive” – Vet
“He feels threatened in this environment and he doesn’t like the way you just tousled his head.” – Me
“Biters are dangerous.” – Vet
—————————————————————
Who remembers ‘Croix The Croix The Very Best Boy?!’
His family was my gift of last Christmas, they labeled him Roy, and he’s not only happy AF, but thriving at Crossroads Ranch. I know this because his mom keeps in touch and makes me laugh on the regular.
Herding dogs are highly sensitive to motion and more inclined to reflexively nip BY DESIGN. They were bred to use their mouths to motivate swarms of sheep to move in unison — one dog can do the work of a dozen farmers — but skills often show up as behaviors out of context. You can’t ask a dog to turn off their hardwiring. Not even at the vet. They can’t and they won’t.
But you CAN find an adopter who understands and respects their breed and who will spoil the working dog with a job and thus a fulfilling and meaningful existence.
Then they’ll live happily ever after, just like Roy and his sister Luna.
MAY 14, 2023
Roy (formerly Croix) and his sister Luna (short for lunatic lol) running up to report that ROY HAS graduated from needing his muzzle when he goes to the vet!
More than one person told me I’d never find him a home, but when I wrote his bio, I asked the universe for exactly who I thought he needed.
They answered.
Roy and his family are living large on Crossroads Ranch in a more perfect existence than I could have ever dreamed. They get him. They understand him. I knew he would be safe there.
What I didn’t know was that I’d get to be on the sidelines for his story; that his mom would include me in all the milestones and funny moments and updates on his life.
Roy’s been gone almost 2 years and Crazy Town still cheers for every win. And we always will.