[Dailydrool] Oops, forgot an update

[Carmen Kraus]

I should add to our update, I got distracted by the news and hit send 
too fast.....

Due to Curie's extreme reaction to loosing her bonded buddy we decided 
we needed to find her a friend, ASAP.  We have been ok'ed for 4 dogs 
where we are moving already (which is why this relocation took so long, 
had to find a place to let us bring everyone), so helping Curie was 
priority number one.  I searched for a basset who needed help, had to be 
a female due to Gus and his male dog issues and hubby wanted a younger 
dog.  So after a day of searching I came across a relinquish 3 hours 
(one way) from us.  Made a call.  She was either a puppy mill or BYB 
breeder surrendered to the shelter after the area enacted a few anti 
mill laws.
I took Curie with me but when we got there the girl we were going for 
had already been adopted.  The shelter manager directed me to another 
that All Ears Basset Rescue had been working to get pulled but had not 
found someone to step up yet.  I stepped up.  They had her labeled at 2 
years old.  She was in heat.  She was TINY, only 37 pounds.  She was not 
trained at all, house training or behavior.  Her boobs drug the floor, 
really, all 9 of them.  I thought she was maybe 5 or 6 years old.
And for the first time since we lost Tesla, Curie was quiet.  Blessedly 
silent.  She watched this basset.  Didn't act like she wanted to play, 
just watched while she begged for attention from the shelter staff.

I bailed that basset out /immediately/.

I named her Ada on the way home.  Since everyone here is science related 
in name, think Ada Yonath, Nobel chemistry winner in 2009.
She was spayed 6 days later, already about 2 or possibly 3 weeks 
pregnant and her uterus was in terrible shape, all kinds of scar tissue 
and infection.  Vet pulled 3 teeth, all either infected or worn down to 
the nerves (from itching so much we think).  She had to have a 'power 
wash' for her ears, as I couldn't work out the amount of impacted wax on 
my own.  Vet says she's 10 years old.
She is finally mostly house trained.  Mostly.  She's still tiny but vet 
wants to keep her near 38 pounds due to how tiny she actually is in bone 
structure.
She has a massive yeast and bacterial infection in her ears, vet thinks 
she has an allergy to ear mites and the yeast.  It's gone on so long she 
may be deaf on one side.  She's one heck of an itchy dog.  After a week 
of intensive anti yeast therapy she is starting not to itch so bad and 
is starting to play with Curie.  She is an escape artist.  She is a very 
very very active basset, especially for an older girl.  She keeps up 
with Curie and the cats.  She loves the cats too, all of them.  She 
climbs into the window constantly to sit with them.
She has learned that grass is good and is edible.  She has learned that 
she can sit on the couch if she wants to.  She does not however 
understand why she has to have a bath every other night or why her ears 
have to be cleaned out every morning.  She's getting better with me, at 
first I was the evil one, now she'll at least take a treat from me.  
Verbal commands are going very slow, visual commands are a little 
better, and she's not too fond of the leash.

She has officially hit pay dirt.  No more breeding.  No more cramped 
kennels.  Food on a regular basis (she's still getting used to that).  
And no more of whatever she had to deal with before that caused her to 
fear people.
She will in no way replace my Tesla, I'm still not ready for another 
companion but I think Tesla would approve of what we needed to do for 
her buddy.  I know Curie approves, she's eating and drinking again and 
has calmed down from the howling until her throat swelled almost shut or 
whining until she was hoarse or the wailing until she passed out from 
exhaustion.

If you'd like to see her:
http://www.krausdesigns.com/images/Dogs/IMG_0840a.JPG
http://www.krausdesigns.com/images/Dogs/IMG_0836a.JPG
http://www.krausdesigns.com/images/Dogs/IMG_0834a.JPG

Carmen and herd
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