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Hi! This is Bridget, the latest pup my husband I rescued from certain death. She's 4 and a half mos. old; terrier mix; female (will soon be spayed after recovering); and lives now at Howling Hill Farm in W. Central Alabama with our other 38 puppies/dogs. All but three were also rescued from one place or another. Bridget, two other puppies, and three kittens had all been "dumped" at a bridge by our house before or on Aug. 31st, which is the day my husband first spotted one puppy on his way home from work. He pulled over to get the puppy, but she took off into the woods. It was then that he spotted one kitten, which also took off when he tried to get too close. After we ate, I took some Puppy Chow and Kitten Chow to them, only to discover that there were three puppies (two terrier mixes and one white Heinze 57) and two kittens there! I had plenty of food, so I put it in three different spots, and thought I could get close to them. No way! I was more worried about the kittens at first, since there are coyotes in our area, not to mention other dogs, so I came back home with a live animal trap. I put in a can of cat food, and before I could get to my truck, it had sprung. So, home I came with "Magic" and "Tabitha"!!!! The next night I went back again to feed them, and lo, and behold, there was a third kitten!!!! I have tried to catch that kitten with every possible type of food I can think of, but still haven't gotten her yet! I will, tho'! :-) I know all of this won't be on the page with the photo of Bridget, but I just thought I'd give you the whole story of her rescue, anyway. Hope you don't mind! Monday night, or rather early Tuesday morning (I go to feed them around 1a.m. - not much traffic out then) I got there around 2 a.m., and as usual, called them. Blondie, which is what I started calling the white puppy, and the black and white terrier, were right there, as was the kitten, for their food. But, from back into the woods came a mournful cry and wail, and I knew immediately that something was wrong. I eased myself through the brush going along side the bridge, and when I pointed my flashlight into the woods, could see the other terrier struggling to get up, but she couldn't. I stood there for a while trying to figure how to get back there, cos there was a bog in front of me, but then Blondie and the other terrier stepped in. Yup, they actually showed me the way to get to Bridget without getting wet, or falling into a sinkhole!! At first I thought her back was broken because it didn't seem like she could move her hind legs, and she wasn't in any pain at all. And, I knew that I couldn't carry her out by myself, either, and fight the vines and brush and hold a flashlight. So, I called my husband from my truck phone, told him what was going on, and he was there shortly. Well, when we went back into the woods to get her, she had moved about 15 feet from where I had left her, and we noticed that she could move her hind legs!! I have a key to my vet's, so we took her there for the rest of the morning (it was 5 am by then), and I'd go back when they opened. I thought that perhaps she'd been bitten by a snake, but also thought it was more than likely that she had tick paralysis. And yup, that's what it was!!!! Well, my vet and I got all the ticks off of her, and since she was running a fever of 103, she was given a shot, and I took home a bunch of pills to give her. We have a pen built just for something like this, and I put her in it Now, the biggest deal about this is that had I not gone there when I did, she most likely would have drowned. Hurricane Georges was headed our way, and the area that she had been in gets completely flooded when we get a lot of rain, which we did. The name Bridget just came to me later that day (a bit apropo, don't ya think?), and she was literally saved at the bridge from goin to "The Rainbow Bridge"!!!!! I just got back (9:30 CDT) from taking her temp again and giving her more food and a pill, and I'd like to report that her temp is back to normal, and she can now stand and support her own weight!!! :-) Most likely, come this time tomorrow, she'll be able to walk again, altho' it may be a bit unsteady at first. So, that is the story of Bridget, and altho' we need another dog like we need a hole in the head, there's always room for more!!!!! And incidently, a new chat room at Acme Pet started Sunday night with that name, and I'm the host. It was a small crowd, but new chat rooms always start with a small crowd. It should be bigger next time. Looking forward to seeing Bridget's photo on your web site, and I'd like to say that it's a very nice web site, too! Bluburd
To: pets2000@yahoo.com (Don) Subject: A HAPPIER BRIDGET!!!!! Hi, Don! I've attached two new photos of Bridget, and of some of her "new-found" buddies. I know that there's another dog in the first photo with her,but do you know just how hard it is to take a photo of one dog when you've got at least 25 others wanting in the picture? Seems most of the dogs are quite hams when I bring the camera out!! Bridget is in the center of the first photo, and Kristmas just *had* to be in it, too. She fit in with the pack just fine! Anyway, after Bridget was brought to Howling Hill Farm, she was put into a pen my husband, Chuck, built just for new dogs or puppies we took in. It's got a large Igloo dog house in it (filled with nice, fresh hay), a covered roof, and plenty of room for moving around, and doing doggy business when needed! Since she was running a low fever at the time, she was on one 500mg tetracycline pill three times a day. Every two hours, though, I'd get into the pen with her, and we'd just "talk". It didn't take long for her to eventually get over her fear of being touched, and even started to paw play with me, and talk puppy talk! My vet had told me to dip her in half-strength Paramite, but considering all that she had been through, I didn't want to put her through any more trauma than neccessary. So, I just covered her from head to foot with flea and tick powder, and she didn't mind that one bit. In the afternoon after the 4 a.m. rescue, I happaned to look out the window, and she was sitting up all by herself! I went into the pen, and picked her up so that she was standing on all four legs. She was able to do that, but being a big 4.5 month-old puppy, she still couldn't get up by herself yet. But, come the next morning, she was standing by herself and definitely wanted *out* of that pen! While she had been in it, the other dogs all had to check her out, but not once did one of them growl at her,or she at them. So, out of the pen she came. After some butt sniffing, the other dogs just wandered off, and she went with them. It wasn't long before she and three of the other pups around her age became best buddies, and would play together for hours on the front lawn! Come feeding time, she no longer ate in the pen, but joined the "trough trashers". And as you can see from the photo, she fits right in with the pack! So, now the once abandoned and scared puppy has become a people-loving pup, and not only puppy talks to us, but also likes to take our hands in her mouth when we're walking. And once again, another puppy rescue ends happily ever after!!! :-) Now, to just catch the other two pups and the kitten.......That **is** going to be a challenge, but come h-ll or high water, I will catch them!! Take care! Bluburd 10-25-98 |
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