My latest guest star: Tibor the Border Collie (or "How I Became a Seeing-Eye Human")

Oh Emily, I hope that the surgery was successful and that Tibor gives you a nice, quiet Tuesday. Your friend is a giant sausage (replace sausage with the saltiest language imaginable and that's what I'm saying).

 

Oh dear, I'm sorry you find yourself in this position. Just not right. Take care of yourself and rest as much as you can. Kongs will be a lifeline. I suppose there are some clicker training things you could try that aren't physically taxing for you - things like shake paw or having him do "doggy push ups" - sit, lie down, sit, lie down, etc. These will all be trickier with his sight problem but it would give you something to work on with him. Keep us posted!

 

I'm glad to hear your hospital check-up went well. Don't overdo it, though. If Tibor becomes a problem and you need more rest it's your turn to do the phoning and ask for help. Hope it's all ok, though.

 

We have a saying here, Its not the cheek, its the courage. I don't how she could do this to you. Please try and see if anyone can help you with him until you are feeling better.

 

Ciao tutti!

It is the great and mighty Tibor here, the dog from Romania who inexplicably speaks rather good English with an Italian accent. No, it does not make sense. Don't ask so many questions. I'm Border Collie (mix) and therefore smarter than you.

So. I am back with foster lady #3. It's "amore, amore, amore" all day long with foster lady #2, but she just took me for a passagiata yesterday evening and dumped me unceremoniously, without so much as a "I will miss you forever and ever, Tibor my love", on foster lady #3's front doorstep.

Honestly, the nerve. Leberkäse sandwiches every day can only make up for so much. Plus foster lady #3 says bread from those deliziosi German-style pannini makes me itch and gives me stomach problems. Do not tell foster lady #3 this, but I have just a little feeling she may be right about that. What mierda! What is the point of being a dog if you cannot eat ANYTHING you want, I ask? Peccato. Too bad.

I was not too happy to be back with foster lady #3. She is booooorrrring. She sits all day in the same place. What is she doing there? And if she HAS to sit in one place all day, why cannot she use her one hand to pet me all day? What could she possible do with TWO hands at once? Do not humans have a spare hand just to pet us dogs with? Porca miseria!

Where was I? Yes, back with foster lady #3. She DID feed me two Kongs filled with wonderful goodness. She HAD washed my bed so it was lovely and soft as a fluffy nuvola (that's cloud to you).

So things were going RELATIVELY well until she grabbed me, wiped me with a wet towel, sprayed me with "Eau de Figue" and then brushed, brushed, brushed. D'accordo, the brushing was A-OK (it is HOT here in Germany right now and I could lose some fur) but the perfume? No, no, no and NO! She said I smelled like an ashtray. Again. This I do not understand. I do not smell anything, but I'm sure I smell of flowers and sunshine...not cigarettes. Foster lady #3 did say it wasn't my fault and apologised for the dousing, but - per favore! - CAN there be any excuse of treating the great and mighty Tibor this way? No, no and NON.

Our morning was pretty calm. A walk, a lot of weeing. A lot of sniffing with my purely decorative nose (it IS rather adorable). But I didn't quite feel myself. Foster lady thought it was because of all the changes, but I just felt tired and the rug looked comfortable.

Then something bad happened. I started to shake all over. My feet curled in and I had to lay down. I was flopping like a big fish out of water and drool was coming out of my mouth. I didn't understand what was happening AT ALL. Foster lady came and sat next to me and held me on her lap. She talks a lot anyway and (again) she wouldn't shut up. But you know, this time, it was kind of nice. Like she thought everything was normal so I shouldn't worry either.

When I stopped shaking, she wiped up my face and gave me some water. Then she made sure I didn't run into anything when I tried walking around the house. That I DID appreciate. Nobody wants a coffee table concussion right after experiencing their own personal terramoto (that's earthquake to you).

I got lots of extra pets and cuddles and to show I was grateful, I only wee-ed 15 times on our evening walk instead of my usual 25 times. Wasn't that bravo of me? Don't say I cannot be nice to the little people. And I may like foster lady #3 a little more now. She may not feed me Leberkäse sandwiches and she may be entirely too obsessed with how I smell, but she did alright in a crisis. Plus she sure can fill a Kong. Sigh. Deleeecious Kongs, how I love you!

Signing off for now, the great and mighty (and slightly shaky) Tibor.

 

Oh no, Emily, you don't have to go looking for your troubles.
Are you both OK? x

 

Are you and the poor dog ok? Did i read that right? Is he known to have seizures?

 

Yes, Tibi had some sort of grand mal seizure this afternoon and in fact just a few minutes ago had a much smaller one. Poor guy.

I didn't know this was an issue for him, but I'd had a poodle with epilepsy in the past so knew what I was looking at. My biggest worry was that it would increase the pressure in his bad eye and it would cause problems for him. But it didn't seem to affect the eye, so that was a relief.

I called my vet as soon as he was stable from the first seizure. They have also treated Tibi and called him a "Baustelle", which means "construction zone". I had no IDEA all the stuff that was wrong with this poor dog. I do now, because the vet gave me an earful. Anyway, as far as the vet knew, he'd never had a seizure before. She said that we don't worry about the first one, it's when he's had more than one that I need to bring him in. Good enough.

I'd texted my friend with the rescue group yesterday and told her I needed help with Tibi for a little while longer yet, but she'd not gotten back to me. I texted her again after his seizure and again after talking to the vet. She called me back this evening. Today was NOT Tibi's first seizure, he also had one each with foster lady #1 and foster lady #2. This would have been helpful to know. Like when I asked about his medical issues when he first came to me so I'd know how to care for him. Sigh.

Oh well. Not Tibi's fault. My friend will talk to the vet later in the week to see about next steps regarding the seizures.

No additional help is forthcoming in taking care of him, so I'm doing minimum walks and maximum Kong and petting time. He's going to be bored, poor dog, but he's safe, well fed and getting lots of affection. We'll just see how we continue to rub along!

 

Urgh!
How are you sounding so calm?

 

I'd say "good drugs" but I stopped taking those on Saturday. Maybe I should start again?

I'm probably naive, but my poodle used to have 2-3 seizures a month and it never affected him in a permanent sense - otherwise he was healthy and the effects of the seizures were temporary. So it's not really something that freaks me out to see, though of course I wish they didn't have to go through it. Now, if I find out that this could be life-threatening to Tibi, THEN I'll start to panic. But for the moment, it's just another part of his "construction zone" to work on.

 

So.....what realistically is the Rescue's long term plan here?
So many health problems for anyone to take on. I know there are people out there, but they are not coming around every day.

 

I'm sorry they gave treated you so badly surely they must realise you are too unwell for this kind of emotional trauma. I'm angry that they have not told you about his medical problems because they have put him in danger and possibly you too? I don't like it when good kind people are treated like they have treated you. Does he have a brain tumor? one of my beloved cats went blind had seizures due to this.
You sound calm but I suspect it's the calm before the storm?I'm just so sorry

 

I just don't know what to say...I guess I am annoyed with the rescue which isn't very helpful.

I admire how calm you sound....does that mean in reality you are like the mad duck legs under water? hmmm...I hope you are OK..

 

The rescue certainly doesn't seem to be playing fair at all, neither for Tibor nor for you. It would be just as you're not at your best that Tibor manifests an extra problem. Poor dog - how is anyone supposed to help if all the issues aren't made clear? It's lucky you're so calm and practical, Emily, but make sure you look after yourself too.

 

Emily I have said it before, you are too nice. I think the rescue is not playing fair by you or Tibor. They need to have a plan for Tibor and stop putting everything on you. Can you speak to the boss of the rescue? Point out to them, you are too ill to even walk Tibor.
Try and rest, look after yourself because they are not going too. Goodnight.

 

Wondering the same thing. I feel sorry for Tibor as life has dealt him a bad hand (though it could be worse...). Sadly for him he does not have an abundance of "furever-home ready" features.

And he reeks of cigarettes too. You truly are a saint.

 

I really wish for him a home of his own, with no "foster" attached as a pre-fix, but odds are he will end up like most of their rescues do these days, in permanent foster care.

The truth is, this rescue group used to deal with all sorts of dogs. They'd bring in transporter-loads from Romania and adopters would be waiting. There was a mix of puppies, young dogs, healthy and a few "special cases". The ones not pre-reserved would go into foster homes and usually be adopted out within several months and then the next transporter would be arranged.

For the last two years, however, I've noticed that they take 1-2 dogs at a time, 1 or 2 times a year, and they are always "construction zones". Old, sick, missing limbs. They currently have three "new" fosters, of which Tibi is one - and he is far from the worst case health-wise.

This is really admirable, but it is very expensive. My friend told me yesterday that the special needs case they rescued last December has cost them 5.000 EUR so far, he is still in a foster and they expect them to pass away before this December. Their goal in these cases is not really to find a permanent home, but to give a dog who has had a miserable life a comfortable and happy end to that life, whether it is a week out of the shelter or a year.

I find myself being sad for the young healthy dogs which are put down in the shelters because they are passed over in favour of the more dramatic "construction zone" cases - feasibly you could rescue and re-home 5-10 younger healthier dogs for every severe problem dog which gets rescued instead. But who is to say which dog is more deserving? Is it better to rescue one old and sick dog instead of multiple young and healthy dogs? What happens when you essentially take a foster home out of circulation because now that spot is taken by a "permanent" foster dog? Maybe most rescue groups DO focus on young and cute and the rare groups who go for the hard cases (like this one here in Regensburg) are a different kind of life line and it isn't an "either/or" situation at all. This is really my hope.

I'm leaving in a month's time, so I made that very clear (again) to my friend yesterday so that Tibi will have a place - hopefully a permanent foster - by the time I go. She seemed to hear me, but I'll just keep that message on repeat until a plan is in place for him.

And strangely enough, when it comes to rescue, miracles do seem to happen. Toby - a dime a dozen Bodeguero with Leishmaniasis - adopted by a great family in the UK. Normally a dog like that is simply put down and doesn't even get into rescue - but that little man landed in the clover. I don't share @catrionas FB photos here on the Forum as Toby's (now Alf's) news isn't mine to share, but let's just say it's obvious he is a happy, healthy little man who is very loved.

So I'm ready and willing to be absolutely proven wrong and see Tibi adopted by a real family.

 

Nope, now he smells delightfully of Roger & Gallet Fleur de Figue. Spritzing him was not the act of a saint (poor Tibi) but self-preservation.

 

Yes, this is what I'm none too happy about either. But I do feel better now that I've talked to the vet personally. Hopefully the unhappy surprises will be fewer now!

My friend IS the boss of the rescue.

Yes, despite this person being a friend and a good person, I'm also disappointed (yet not surprised) about how it's all rolling out. I now understand a lot more about why many of their long-standing foster homes have fallen off the map in the last couple years.

But this is SO COMMON in rescue, honestly. It was one reason that I was so impressed with Toby/Alf's rescue group, Dog Planet in Cadiz. Same difficulties, a vastly different approach. I'd definitely foster for them again, but I would have to think long and hard of taking another dog from the group here in Regensburg.

 

After the last couple days of excitement, today is going remarkably well. I think I was very stressed going up to my surgery, so Tibi was annoying more than he should have done for that reason. Now that the surgery is over and I'm finally starting to feel better today (one week out), I feel I'm taking good baby steps to being more Zen about Tibi. I've given up on turning him into blind super dog and my goal is simply now to keep me safe (no passing out on walks), to keep him safe (no seizures on walks) and to instil some basic consistency in walking and doggie manners.

He's going to be a little bored in the house. It won't kill him and it won't kill me either.

And not that I am glad that he had the seizures yesterday, but somehow this is given me more patience with him for the other stuff. As long as he is not having a health issue, I can deal with a bit (a lot!) of un-necessary wee-ing on the medieval masonry.

Of course, I'm not promising my new-found enlightenment will last, but at least it's working for today.