One of the most heartbreaking things a rescuer comes across is a dog that you are too late to save. I met one such dog two days after my beloved Gonzo died in my arms. Still grieving for my dog, I happened upon a starving, sick shepherd mix in the middle of the road. I had seen him several times and knew that he didn’t have a home. I could tell he had been hit at least once recently as his neck was covered with dried blood. He had fear in his eyes and his body was tired and full of pain. He would just lay in the middle of the road when a car would come, looking like he hoped to be run over for the final time.

I called my husband who helped me get him in the truck and rushed him to my vet, who confirmed my worst fears…he was too far gone to save. I was so heartbroken, I wrote a poem for him to express my sadness. This poem is dedicated to that poor dog and to every dog that has been discarded or abandoned.

In Memory of A Stray

I came upon a dog today,

He had no one, for he was just a stray.

With no direction he did roam,

Unloved and unwanted, he had no home.

Visibly hurting, sick and afraid,

Nowhere to go, so in the road he laid.

Hungry and thirsty, starvation was near,

While others passed, I couldn’t leave him here.

His mind filled with fear, his body with pain,

My heart broke for him, alone in the rain.

With help I was able to load him in my truck,

This poor, wretched creature who was down on his luck.

He seemed to enjoy those last few miles,

With the wind in his face, I believe there were smiles.

He was too weak, too hurt, too sick to be saved,

At least I could give him relief that he craved.

It didn’t take long before peace he found,

As my tears fell silently too the ground.

Here on Earth, he never felt love,

Surely he will find it up above.

I came upon a dog today,

He’s free at Rainbow Bridge, this precious stray.

As I sat down to write this review of SitStayFetch I started thinking about how I got to the point that I needed a book on how to train dogs. It all started when I got married, now you see I like dogs well almost all animals actually but my wife is a dog fanatic. She absolutely loves dogs, her brother once said she’s step over a dieing person to pet a dog. Though that’s not entirely true it’s pretty close. For those of you that are dog (or pet) lovers I’m sure you understand.

Because my wife goes nuts (ok…maybe just moderately crazy) whenever we see a stray dog on the side of the road or someone calls and tells her they have a puppy or dog that needs help, I end up with another mouth to feed. Now please don’t take this the wrong way, I love my wife and I certainly like the dogs that show up but some of them aren’t always the best behaved.

So over the years we’ve had to do the best we could when it can to working with the dog’s we brought into our home, sometimes we have been successful others…well we did the best we could. My wife has taken some of them to obedience training, we’ve tried just about every method there is for dog obedience training and read literally hundreds of books on how to train your dog and we can never really tell how the dog will turn out.

A friend told me about SitStayFetch, she told me it was one of the best book she had ever read on dog obedience training. Let me tell you, the information in Sit Stay Fetch is priceless, the methods of training have made a huge difference in the behavior of the dogs that are now with us.

If you are like us your dog is more like a family member than a pet. It can be very frustrating for both our dogs and me when we can’t get on the same page SitStayFetch has changed all that. Here is just a sample of some of the behavioral problems included:

Aggression
Biting and nipping
Destructive behavior
Digging holes
Car chaser
Disobedience
Barking

Daniel Stevens has also added a section in SitStayFetch the covers common health issues for you dog.

Fleas & ticks
Bad breath
Worms
Flatulence
Heart worms

My experience with SitStayFetch has been remarkable. I’ve learned more in just a few days than I have in all the time I’ve had dogs. As soon as I started applying the dog training techniques in it SitStayFetch, I had great results.

We currently have 5 dogs and I need all the help I can get, SitStayFetch is that help. SitStayFetch works great with puppies as well, one of my wife’s co-workers picked up and abandoned pit bull puppy that was about 7 weeks old and brought it to my wife. Gabby is now one of the best behaved dogs you will ever find.

If you’re having behavioral problems with your dog then you owe it to not only yourself but also your dog to read SitStayFetch.

For more information on how to properly train your dog please visit:

The
Pooch Place - SitStayFetch

Hi everyone. Goldie here. I’m on a mission to tell every dog owner and future dog owner about the evils of heartworms. This is something I know first hand, and I don’t want any other dog to have to go through what I went through.

Unfortunately, Heartworm Disease is not something us pups can protect ourselves against. It is, however, something our humans can protect us from. Here’s a little background on the evil heartworm:

Now, I’m no veterinarian, but I’ve learned a few things from my vet and from my mom, who has done a lot of reading on this subject. Heartworms are transmitted to us dogs by mosquitoes carrying heartworm larvae. The mosquito gets the larvae from biting an infected dog, so as you see, it’s a vicious cycle.

Now after the larvae (the technical term is microfilariae) enter the dog’s bloodstream, they migrate in the body for several months while growing into mature worms. These adult worms can be as long as 12 inches and live for 5 – 7 years! And, one dog can have as many as 250 worms! Gross! I can’t believe I had these things living inside me!

The adult worms live inside the heart, lungs, and associated blood vessels. They reproduce and have baby worms. The severity of the disease depends on the number of icky worms present as well as how old the dog is and how active she is. These evil worms work to destroy the dog’s heart and lungs and can even damage the liver and kidneys.

Okay, here’s the part I know from experience. In a dog infected with heartworms, you probably won’t even know there’s anything going on in the early stages. Later on, you may notice a cough and your precious doggy may not be as active as she normally is.

In a bad case, you’ve got the cough and fatigue, plus the dog will have trouble breathing and may even pass out! During a veterinary exam, the doctor may notice abnormal lung and heart sounds, enlargement of the liver, among other things. If left untreated, heartworm disease will end in a miserable death for the poor doggy.

I had heartworms while I was pregnant and boy, you talk about not feeling good! Don’t worry, though, dogs cannot transmit heartworms to their puppies, other dogs or people.

As nasty as all this sounds, heartworm disease can be treated. It’s best if you catch it in the early stages. That way the treatment is more effective and less difficult for the dog. Unfortunately, mine wasn’t caught until it was a severe infection. In severe cases, it is much harder on the dog.

If you read part two of my story, you already know the treatment almost killed me twice! The only drug approved for use in dogs to eliminate the adult heartworms is an organic arsenical compound. Sounds scary, right? It is! Most treatments require one to three injections of this deep into the muscle tissue of the back. Talk about painful!

The dying worms can get stuck in the blood vessels and make the dog really sick, or even kill her! After all the adults are killed off, then the vet will go after the babies. This is less intense.

Now, after all that, you might be asking me, “Goldie, what can I do to ensure that my precious doggy does not have to go through this?” I’m glad you asked. There are many, many options out there for heartworm prevention.

There are daily and monthly options that are easy to give to us. Some of us even think the monthly pills are tasty! Your veterinarian can suggest one that is right for your dog. Heartworm disease used to just be a problem in the warm South and coastal areas, but now, cases have shown up all over the country.

I take heartworm prevention year-round, but again, your veterinarian can tell you if you need prevention year-round or seasonally. You have to get the preventive from a veterinarian, but don’t think of it as a bother, think of it as saving your best friend from a miserable disease! Also, your vet will want to test the pooch before starting them on prevention, and will recommend a regular testing schedule.

Heartworms are nasty, horrible creatures, but us doggies do not have to suffer from them! Please, all doggy parents, talk to your veterinarian about how you can prevent them in your beloved companion. Every doggy parent that gives their furbaby heartworm prevention is helping to achieve Goldie’s Dream – the dream of all doggies having loving homes, and the care they need!

jo

**Heartworm information gathered from personal experience and the following websites:

http://www.heartworm society.org/CanineHeartwormInfo.htm

http://www.homevet.com/petcare/heartwor.html