Introducing the fam

The Fam

I thought I would take a moment to introduce you to some of our children. They are a constant source of entertainment. We had furry kids long before we made the human child. We constantly have dogs in and out because they move in, and then move on to rescue.

Joni the Singing Dog

Joni came to us in early October of 2016. She was part of a litter at PAWS in Tazewell County. Joni had suffered a blow to the head that was most likely inflicted by her mother. I received a call about her because she had been screaming for a couple hours, and they needed help. I took her home with me, bottle fed her through the night, and called our vet first thing in the morning to get her in. She had been screaming all night and appeared to be having seizures. Dr. Taylor sedated her immediately to calm her down and proceeded with the exam. Because of the screaming, she couldn't hear her lung or heart sounds. Once she calmed down, Dr. Taylor was able to hear a heart abnormality. She would call Virginia Tech in the morning to get her in for a more thorough heart exam. In the meantime, we were given medication to help with the seizures and keep her calm.

After running several tests and Virginia Tech, it was determined that Joni had a very rare defect called Tetralogy of Fallot, meaning four different heart abnormalities happening at the same time. It was determined that her mother had likely tried to kill her because she knew something was wrong. Joni's prognosis isn't great. She can not see well and she is on a beta blocker for the rest of her life to try to keep her hematocrit normal. She is content and she loves to sing. When she hears music she howls along with the singer. She is a pretty incredible little dog!

Click Here to see a video of Joni singing.

Harley, aka Dumples

Harley is a ten year old English Bulldog. An ACO in our county said he had found him on the side of the road and took him home so he didn't have to go to the shelter. We later found out that he was actually a gift to his daughter from an ex-boyfriend, and her new boyfriend didn't want him around because the dog was clearly a threat, and would remind his girlfriend of her ex.

Harley is pushy, stubborn, and a little bit mean. He is still mad at us for removing his testicles and fights daily to maintain his status among the ladies of the house. However, due to his constant snot and drool, he doesn't seem to impress them, so he resorts to eating contests with the other boys. He always wins, but then the girls are taken aback by his gluttony, so he can't win for losing.

Hattie, aka the crotchety old lady

Hattie was at @rhondak 's house. I can't remember why we had gone over there, but there were several dogs in the living room, and Hattie was curled up in the corner looking extra pitiful. She played us like a fiddle. We asked Rhonda if we could take her home and she said yes. For over two years now she has been under foot. Sometimes, we forget she is even there, until she attacks one of the other dogs because they got a little too close. She smells like sourdough bread and feels like a toad. She is our resident grandma and we love her dearly.

I'm going to stop there for now. We have quite a few introductions to make, so I will post three at a time.