Sasha, Maggie, and New Dawn Roses

Sorry to be M.I.A. lately. I have been taking a few photos, but they have been sitting in iphoto waiting for me to get around to editing them.

First one is Sasha. A pit bull puppy that came in last Friday.



She was adopted from the county pound. She's very lucky from what I understand, the rest of her family (parents, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles) were euthanized at the pound. They were taken from someone breeding them for fighting. That's second hand info,so it might not be true, but if you are looking for a pit bull puppy, you might call the pound and see if any are up for adoption.



Next up is Maggie. She came in yesterday for her checkup.




She might be my oldest canine patient at 15 1/2. (That's about 99 in people years.) She's a bit arthritic but still gets around fairly well with a little arthritis medication. I do cringe just a little when her owner calls on the phone and I recognize her voice, as I know that one day I'll have to put her to sleep. And I'm relieved to hear that she is calling for something else.

The family also had one of Maggie's puppy that I had to put to sleep a year or two ago. They live out in the country, in the woods, and the dogs stayed around. Sometimes in the yard. Sometimes in a kennel with dog houses. Sometimes under their back deck. Garrett was having trouble getting up and around as well.
If you drove up to their house, Garrett would often just bark from under the deck. It was too much trouble and effort to get up and out. So he would just be "guard dog under the deck".

They also didn't realize how scared of thunderstorms Maggie is, until Garrett was gone. Or she wasn't so scared with Garrett around, as she could snuggle up next to him, wherever he happened to be. Once he was gone, they would come home and find blood on the front door, where Maggie had broken her toenails clawing at the front door to try and get in, while they were away at work.


I have snapped a few photos this week of this rosebush next to my driveway.



It's an antique climbing rose, called New Dawn. It's blooming this week with a gazillion blooms. Being an antique variety, it's needs no upkeep other than pruning once or twice a year. It would probably bloom more if I kept it deadheaded. It's really pretty with its light pink blossoms. Notice all the buds in some of the photos waiting to bloom?