Sunday, September 25, 2011

Fun Timez!

Hi, itz me, the Ted! Yesterday, foster mom sayed "Ted, pick up your toys, we are going to ourfriendzhousefordinner". Well, to make long story shortz, I really liked going to ourfriendzhousefordinner. I got to sniff something called the speakerz (they were talking to me!), wrestled with the dogz there and when I got tiredz, I made myzelf comfortablez. See, thiz is me at ourfriendzhousefordinner:

I hope you get to do fun thingz like I do! Luvz, Ted

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Pocket Border Collie Seeks New Home

Hi, I'm Scarlet. My foster mom calls me a pocket border collie because she just scoops me up all the time for snuggles or if I'm bein' naughty. After years with no love from anyone, I really like this. She can carry me all around on one arm! But not for too long, she says I'm as heavy as a sack of potatoes, which must weigh around 25 pounds, 'cuz that's how much I weigh. She says you have to meet me to see how darn tiny and cute I am.


Here I am with my foster dad holding me. I'm showing off my patented Tongue-out, that I do when I'm tired or relaxed. It makes my foster family giggle.
Off to herd my foster siblings....someone has to do it!
-Scarlet

Friday, September 16, 2011

Kep's Weather Report

Kep just checked the weather report and it is going to be a gorgeous weekend.

Not too hot, partly sunny, lightly breezy...a beautiful end to the summer.


He'll be out and about, running through the trees and playing with his frisbee. He hopes you all have plans that are just as exciting!

Friday, September 2, 2011

On Aggression and Thyroid

Murphy's Story

This quirky, ball obssessed border collie landed in our lives in the fall of 2008. He wasn't without issues (who is?!) but we were smitten. When not chasing after balls or showing off his Lassie like qualities, he would climb on our laps, wrap his paws around our necks and give kisses galore. We took him to classes, played agility and laughed when a tennis ball landed in our bed at 6am sharp every morning.


But then this summer, something changed. First, we noticed an extra growl here and there. Then the snarls came. And later on, we would find ourselves cornered in random places by a dog whose hard stare would make your blood freeze. We knew something was very, very wrong.

A routine physical revealed nothing. Luckily, we and our vet were aware of the evidence linking sudden, unpredictable aggression to thyroid issues. We mailed Murphy's blood to dr. Dodds at a California based non-profit organization Hemopet specializing in thyroid issues (www.hemopet.org).

It only took a couple of days for the results to come back, and we were astonished to find that despite no clinical signs other than the aggression, Murphy was at the end-stage of hypothyroidism. His values were up to ten times lower than they should be for a dog of his breed and age!

Within 48 hours of simple treatment with inexpensive thyroid meds ($5-10 a month), Murphy was back to his old self. His eyes softened and we stopped seeing the freezing, growling and snarling that were a frequent occurance before the treatment.

We are incredibly thankful to have our sweet, mushy border collie back, but we wonder how many dogs die needlessly because people are not aware of the link between thyroid issues and aggression. Please spread the word.

Murphy's family

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Ted's week at glance

Lazy mornings in bed


Quality entertainment


Fine cuisine


Spa treatments (bubblez anyone?)