Bow wow baby!

It's been a few weeks since I last updated. So far 2012 hasn't been very good to me. Pardon my language but I feel like I'm standing at the bottom of turd hill and shit just keeps coming at me. The good news is my finger is healed, I still have a weird little lump and it's tender when you put pressure on it, other than that, it's good.
I had planned on having my store stocked up last week but... well let me tell you the craziness I went through last week. I went to the humane society and I found a great little dog who we've named Jackson.

Jackson, the first moment we met

On the 3rd day of this little guy being home with me he started showing signs that he wasn't feeling well. I immediately called my vet and rushed him in. I explained to doctor that he was typically borderline hyper, super friendly and that morning he acted depressed and he vomited a little and his gums were pale (because I am one of those people that checks everything and I know pale gums isn't a good thing especially when they were red and they went to a pale pink). The doc gave me all kinds of reasons why it could be happening, an obstruction, a change in food and then I tuned her out and I insisted on a parvo test, she doubted parvo but ran the test. 10-15 minutes later she walked back into the exam room and gave me the news, he was positive for parvo. I luckily caught it before it progressed to far. After going over treatment plans I just flat out asked "what would you do? if this were your dog, what would you do?" My vet and vet tech looked at each other and looked at me and both agreed that I should treat him at home. This terrified me. They said considering it was me (maybe because I'm overly protective,  ridiculously anal and controlling lol)  they were confident that I could do it, that was what they would do. Considering he came from a shelter and into my home, putting him back into a kennel type environment would probably depress him and he wouldn't want to eat also no one would be there in the evenings for him. So they set me up with a special food and anti vomiting pills and anti diarrhea pills and home we went. I spent about a week sleeping on the sofa with him at my side, feeding him small finger fulls of food and giving him pedialyte with a syringe every hour around the clock 24 hours a day. I had my alarm set on my cell phone to go off every hour so at night I was catching 30-40 minutes of sleep every hour if I was lucky (seriously I was so tired I was incapable of having a complete thought). I kept him from vomiting, the pills were a great help, I also literately held him like a baby and walked the floors petting his face to calm him down to try an stop the vomiting when the nausea would set in, it worked. I looked and felt like hell. I just kept thinking, this poor baby can't die on me, his life was completely in my hands. Today is day 9 and it's been a rocky road, but he is doing well. Lucky for him I was observant and acted immediately when I saw the first signs of trouble. He is eating and drinking on his own now and is doing much better, he gets tired easy and still has moments of nausea which I control by talking and petting him through it, his gums are still a little pale but over all he is doing really well. He's completely spoiled and knows I am his momma. This sweetie pie follows me everywhere I go. He has a lovely collection of toys and couldn't be a happier little dog. He still has a long way to go with healing from this mess but his outlook is good.

Jackson and I watching TV and enjoying some cuddle time

This is one very happy doggie :o)

My vet said he's about 6 months old and not a rat terrier as I had thought he was but he's a mountain feist, of course I had to google it because I was clueless as to what a mountain feist is, well it turns out they were bred to hunt squirrels. This spring and summer should prove interesting, I have a pecan tree and 2 peach trees in my yard and we are plagued with a huge squirrel population.I should add that treating him at home was a huge savings money wise, I saved $700.00 (the vets estimate for treatment was $850) which at the time I would have certainly paid, but so glad I didn't have to. Jackson got lucky because I knew the signs and I acted on the first symptoms. If you get a puppy or a young dog and they show symptoms that include depression, lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea and loss of appetite get your pet to the vet immediately and ask for a parvo test, do not take the "lets wait and see" approach, it's better to be safe than sorry. Typically the parvo virus will land your dog in the hospital hooked up to an IV and there is a good chance your dog will die. The sooner it's diagnosed the better off you and you pet will be.
Jackson was picked up as a stray and was in the shelter for 6 days before I adopted him. I have no doubt in my mind that the previous owners weren't very nice to him, if you raise your voice he pitifully cowers, he's a hoarder, he collects every sock, shoe, tool, roll of tape and camera bag he can find amongst other things and drags it back to his bed.

Toilet paper thief

He had one accident in the house, pretty good considering he acts like he's never been inside of a house. I would venture to say that given his activity level, his prey drive and his mischievous puppy ways, he's probably been screamed at, whooped and tossed outside. He's a lot to handle especially if you think small dog = lap dog and that this little guy would be content just laying around. WRONG. I promise you that my phone conversations pretty much go like this, "Hey how are NO! you? I'm good NO! did you watch that show NO! last night? Wasn't that the funniest NO! thing you ever saw?" It's like I've developed tourette's syndrome.

Jackson on his blanket with his froggie, the first time it went "ribbit" it scared the hell out of him.

Now that he's got his bounce back in his step, I'm making sure he gets lots and lots of indoor and outdoor exercise, I've taught him to play fetch and come when called which comes in real handy for burning energy.
 
So on top of dog drama, I've been working! woohoo! I had to relocate my operation from my basement studio to my kitchen table so I could be with Jackson around the clock but I'm happy to say, I have a kiln full of dunk mugs and a table full of more work in progress. I have so much pottery to glaze and fire it's ridiculous, hand built, thrown and molded.