After some first-night confusion, Hank is settling in nicely. He still is getting used to my wheelchair, and traffic noise, but I think in another week, he'll be just fine with the chair.
Thank you so very much for sending him to me. He is so sweet! He's so far refused to get on the bed with me, even with the blanket on. I'm sure he'll adapt. I'd love to snuggle with him.
Just wanted you to know he's doing really well in adjusting to his new home. Thanks again for making it possible. Julie in Kenosha, WI
Hank is here! Arrived approx. 7:30. What a sweetheart! Right now he's curled up on his blanket, I think he's a little confused about why he's here, and where his mom and dad are but, I'm sure he'll be OK after a bit. He doesn't seem to mind the wheelchair much. I'll just have to teach him to walk on the left side, so his leash doesn't get caught in the wheels. I love him already! We'll get along just fine. He doesn't seem to know his name very well. Is there something else you called him?
Anyway, be assured that he will be safe and loved.
Thanks so much for everything! Julie Siepler in Kenosha, WI
April 17, 2015
My Name Is Hank, a letter to Julie, my new Mom
Hi, my name is Hank, and I am a good dog. First, thank you for adopting me. I want to tell you about myself, so my foster Dad is writing this letter for me.
From the time I was a puppy until I was an adult dog I lived with my first family. They said I was a good bird dog and my human Dad would take me hunting every year when I was a young dog. My Dad got sick and over the next 5 years or so, until he died, we did not get to go hunting anymore. That was a long time, so I have pretty much forgotten how to hunt, but I still like to sniff all the smells outside when I go on walks. Because of my human Dad's sickness, I didn't have a lot of interaction with other dogs or humans. I was more of a working dog, living in an outdoor kennel, not a house pet, but my family made sure I was fed and had water. After my human Dad died, my family could not care for me any more so they asked NBRAN to take me.
A foster family lived nearby, so they drove and picked me up and took me to their home. I have been with my foster family for about 8 months. My foster family has 3 other Brittany dogs, so I have been socializing with them a lot. I was a little timid at first, but soon adapted to my new home. For the first couple of weeks in my new foster home I had to modify one of my behaviors. I was an intact male dog living with 3 other neutered male dogs, so I felt it important for me to leave my scent everywhere, to tell my new family who I was. My foster Mom and Dad quickly corrected me if I tried to mark inside the house. They cleaned up everything if I did leave a mark. My foster Mom made me a belly band from a length of cloth and some Velcro with a moisture pad inside it. I would wear the belly band and that would prevent me from peeing inside the house. The combination of wearing the belly band and getting neutered at the Vet has pretty much eliminated my need to mark my indoor living areas. You can watch me closely for the first few days in your house, so that I don’t revert to my old marking ways, but I think I don’t have the urge to mark my territory any more.
If my foster family dogs get too noisy or start play fighting, I move over to my foster Dad and feel safe at his side. Most of the time I am a very quiet dog. I hardly ever growl or bark or even talk much. The main sound I make is a high-pitched whine when I am nervous or afraid. My foster Dad says I am squeaking. He calmly tells me everything is OK and I usually stop whining right away, particularly if I can see him. Although my foster family walks me on-leash, when they let my leash go, I have never tried to run away. If I see my foster Mom reach into her pocket, my foster Dad will let go of my leash so I can run to her for a treat. Mom always has treats for good dogs. I am not particularly picky when it comes to treats. I like cheese, carrots, green beans, and even pieces of kibble for treats. I like treats—a lot. I tend to gobble up my treats, so if you offer me a treat with a flat hand, I won’t be likely to nip your fingers. Recently my foster Dad took me to Dairy Queen and bought 2 small soft-serve cones of vanilla ice cream. I don’t think I had ever seen or eaten ice cream before, but I followed my foster Dad’s example and licked that ice cream down as fast as he did. I like ice cream a lot.
Since my eyesight is getting a little weak due to my age, I stick close to my foster Dad, so I don't lose him. Sometimes on walks my foster Dad runs ahead of me and I quickly run to catch up to him. Sometimes when I am indoors, I get a little bit afraid of dark doorways and stairways. I stand still and look at them, but I am afraid to move through them. If I hear my foster parents telling me to "come" and to "go slow" they can coax me to go through those scary places. Sometimes just turning on a light will help me see better and lose my fear. At bedtime I sleep at the foot of my fosters' bed along with the other 3 Brittanys. This lets me stay close to my foster Dad at night and I like that a lot.
I do like to be petted and you can touch me anywhere--I especially like to have my head petted and my belly rubbed. My foster Dad trims my toenails and I will watch him carefully to make sure he does it right, but he does it quickly and gives me a treat afterwards. I am a good dog. I have learned to "shake" my right paw on command, as well as "sit" and "down". Hand signals help me do my tricks. A hand pointed down with the back of the hand facing me tells me “down.” A hand with the palm facing me, and then rotated at the elbow upward tells me to “sit.” A hand held in front of my chest like a handshake will tell me to “shake.” Treats help me to remember my commands too. My meals are breakfast and dinner and my foster family gives me a cup of Taste of the Wild dry dog food at each meal. At meals I also get a half teaspoon of peanut butter. The peanut butter is mostly a treat, but my fosters have been using it to give me a glucosamine chondroitin pill once a day to counter any joint pain that an older dog like me might have. I don't think I have any joint troubles, so I don’t really need this pill. The peanut butter is just good practice if I ever need to take a pill. I also like to drink water. If I get carried away at the water dish, just tell me firmly, "Hank, that's enough!" and call me over to you and tell me to "Sit". Oh, and since I am an older dog, I need to go out to pee usually about every 2-4 hours, but particularly after I eat or have a big drink a pee break after 2 hours is a good idea. Depending on my mood, I may poop once or twice a day. If I go out to pee just before bedtime, I can sleep a good 8-9 hours without having to go outside again. Don’t be surprised if I start to pee almost immediately after I go outside—it is probably a habit I formed while living in an outdoor kennel.
I love my doggie blankets as they tell me where I am allow to lay down. My foster parents put my blankets in my doggie bed and on the floor in the living room where they want me to rest in the evening. If I am really tired out, I can curl myself up into a ball and fit on a blanket that has been folded into a square, 2 feet to a side. Yes, I'm a good dog.
I am sure you will notice that I have 2 cosmetic issuers: skin tags and a lymphoma. Like some older dogs I have little, 1/4 inch bumps in different places of my body. These look almost like pink colored dog ticks, but they are just skin tags. They don't give me any trouble, but once in a while I will scratch one with a thorn or tree branch and it will bleed a little, but it will heal up quickly without any special attention. I have one skin tag over my left eyelid that could probably be removed, but so far it doesn't bother me. Over my left chest I have a fat deposit, a lymphoma. The fosters' Vet did a needle biopsy and confirmed it was just fatty tissue. The Vet suggested to just watch that it doesn't impede my leg movement. If that happens a Vet can removed the fat deposit in an operation. My fosters had the Vet give me a dental cleaning and extraction, so my teeth are in very good shape now, although I don't have quite as many teeth any more. I did well during the long dental operation and my recovery was quick. I really don’t miss the teeth that were pulled and I can eat anything. In preparing for my trip to Wisconsin, I visited the Vet to get all my papers and he said I was in very good shape and agreed that I may be closer to 10 years old than 12-13 years old.
I'm a good dog. I will try to adapt to your house quickly and since you don't have any stairways, it should be pretty easy for me to do so. It did not take me long to learn my fosters's house layout and their routines. Don't be surprised if I get closely attached to you. I try to stay close to the humans who take care of me. My foster Dad called me his shadow, and I liked that.
I promise I will try very hard to show you what a good dog I am. Thank you again for adopting me.
Hank--a very good dog.March
At the request of a potential adopter we visited the Greyhounds' kennel cat. Hank was as uninterested as he could be. We even went back just to be sure. Couldn't care less.
February 8, 2015
13 black disgusting teeth gone.
February 1, 2015
Hank can curl himself onto a dime on these cold winter nights. He certainly enjoys having a soft blankie under his bum.
Hank got along just fine with Baron and 4 grandchildren and 3 extra adults in the house. He's very good about not bolting through an open door, too.
October 7, 2014
Heart murmur is mild or stage 1. In other word defiantly something to be noted and monitored but does not need medication right now. Neutering first then teeth.
As far as HW goes, well it could be that he was fortunate enough not to be bitten by an infected mosquito. There again he may also be some what immune due to being an outdoor dog all his life.
Paul and Gambol went rabbit huntin; Hank wanted nothing to do with the gun whhich makes it really hard for me to believe he was a "good hunter" at any time in his life. He probably has the ability to hunt like all Brits naturally, but was traumatized at some point by gun fire.
Sept 25, 2014
He is a very sweet boy. He slept through the night for the last 2 nights. He races over the wood floors to get to the safety of rugs or his blankies, which we have spread all over. Paul doesn’t let him go down stairs yet, but he’s getting better at up. He doesn’t have a clue about his name. We could call him Paul or Bob or Buddy and get the same result as when we call Hank. I wonder if the hunter used a whistle or some other signal to get the recall or if he's just deaf. He is still wearing the boy band. It must be working because he slipped out of it and he tried to mark a corner wall. He didn’t get the wall, but there was a puddle on the floor. Paul doesn’t crate him when he leaves the house; Hank is confined with the other 3 in the dogs’ room with the open crates. Sometimes we’ll find him in a random crate and sometimes not. He’s always fed in his crate, however. We’ve seen no food or possession aggression. We can take the food dish or a bone away while he’s attentive. He was probably given a bowl of food to last the day since he often doesn’t finish his (1 cup) serving. We take it up shortly after he seems finished. He’s not starving.
September 22, 2014
He did stairs for the first time today. I think the other 3 just swept him up.
Hank made it through the night in a crate until about 3:30am. We took him out but he wanted company for the rest of the night. It’s a new room every time he comes into it, and he has to check every corner. He settles eventually. We traded off shifts. It all worked out. Hank needs company, human or canine. I can’t tell which he prefers, yet, but I think it’s male. Dad bought Hank from a breeder in 2002 so that would have made him a puppy. I think he hunted for about 5 years. “He was a good hunter or Dad wouldn’t have had him. (ominous music in the background)” Then Dad declined and couldn’t hunt in about 2007-8. So he’s been in various stages of neglect for a long time but certainly on his own with minimal care for the last year. Five+ years is a long time to remember the words. He definitely knows no. He’s more comfortable with us now and he’ll jump up for a pet. He also greedily eats our good food in the bowl, on the floor, or offered as a treat. Alpo is OUT. OF. HERE. I think I’ll make a trip to PetCo today for a belly band that fits. I made one but it’s not exactly right. We never leave him unattended unless he’s crated. If he doesn’t make an improvement with this issue in a day or 2, I’ll probably need more than one to wash and wear.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
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We’ve got him: 30 lbs of Alpo, his NBRAN release signed, and $100 appreciation check. He’s a bit overweight, a lot out of condition since he could hardly get ¼ of our normal walk, a bit matted, and kind of scared right now. He’s also intact, and he’s marking all over the place. During our walk he developed some blood on/in his nose but we don’t know where that came from. He doesn’t have bad breath, but his teeth are rotten. He does have some moley things on his eye lids, and his eyes are weeping. He probably has some arthritis. He has a fist sized fatty mass under his left front leg that seems to be between his skin and ribs. Doesn’t seem painful. |
