Runnin' with the BIG Dogs!

I know..its fuzzy and you can hardly make out who is leading the pack .... It's ME!!!

Demon Dogs on the loose!  I'm the cool one in front!



My first snow.....look at me ma.....I kinda look like Santa!  get it...the white beard!



What the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks? 

Me Again......Just hanging out!

Hello. Me again.  I've had a crazy busy week.  We've all been busy cleaning up since Santa left.  Me?  I've been busy playing with my toys.....and running in the cold, white stuff that seemed to just appear over night.  My coat is too big so I just ripped it off and kept running.  I think my mom is trying to find a new coat for me - one that has a real fastener - not just velcro.  I heard my mom cursing that she didn't listen to my TFM and bring the coat home I was wearing while staying on the farm!  Live and learn! 



Don't be fooled....he's not as big and tuff as he appears!  He's bad too.  My mom is always putting him in time out....for jumping up on the counter, for taking my toys, for trying to eat Maggie Mae's food!  He doesn't bother with me.....I growl and posture.....when he comes near my bowl.  I don't care if my mom or foster sister Aubry pick up my bowl....but no way....not the Big Guy! 



Me and my Maggie Mae.  She adores me.....gosh....who doesn't!  hee, hee, hee! 

fuzzy picture I know....but I just love sleeping with my Maggie Mae!

Merry Christmas - Look what Santa left for me!

So I have to be honest....when my mom said that we all had to go to bed early because some big fat hairy guy was coming over for a visit....I was like....whatever!  I couldn't understand why we couldn't eat the cookies she left on a plate by the fireplace!  She told me to BELIEVE!  Heavens~ I'm not even tired!  I'm a pretty good watch dog....so Santa BEWARE!  I'm gonna bark up a storm if he doesn't throw me a cookie!



I'm a BELIEVER!!!  Oh my gosh......I slept right through Santa's visit.  I know he stopped by though....the cookies were gone and he left a ton of presents!  Even for me!  I just can't believe it - I'm one lucky dog!




I love Christmas!  I don't understand all the paper wrapping - but I sure do love ripping it off the presents!  I also got to help my foster sister~!   Lucky dog....Lucky DOG!



WOO-HOO!  Look at me.....what a wonderful day!  I got presents, toys, treats and I even got to the pancake my foster sister dropped on the floor before my big fat brother got to it!  I'm the MAN!!  Thank you Santa!



And the Winners are.... #44, #365, #702!!!!!!

I am pleased to announce that the winning ticket numbers are #44, #365, and #702!!!
Congratulations and Merry Christmas to one and all!  I am so grateful for all of the well wishes, the enourmous ticket sales, and outpouring of love.  It is an honor to be a bullmastiff and to be loved by so many!  I would personnaly like to thank Micky Niego for the generous donation of the one-of-a-kind designed and hand made stunning beaded collars!  You Rock!!!

The winners are:  #44 - Karen;  #365 - Jan; #702 - Lindy
(The last names have been omitted to protect the winners from countless dogs hanging out on the front porch hoping to receive a new collar!) 



Ok mom.....I've picked the winning numbers - can I get out of the bathtub now?



What.....pick a couple numbers?  I don't get it....I'm in the bathtub with bells, a xmas tree, and hundreds of little cards with numbers written on them.......what is going on mom?  I usually have to be in here with a bunch of warm water and soap!  I think I kinda like the no water thing!



No Internet Access!

Tiny Tim asked me to post for him....he and his foster mom haven't had internet access since right before Christmas Eve!

He wanted everyone to know that he's VERY grateful to all the people who donated toward his surgeries, or bought raffle tickets.  He was hoping to get one of those fancy collars for himself, so I promised him that when he's all grown up, he can call Auntie Micky and order one for himself in his favorite colors.

He and his foster mom hope to be able to post his Christmas stories soon - the cable guys are due there today.

Training Session

What the heck is this mom?

Is there something in here for me?

dang it.....

Got it...look at me!

I'm so spoiled!

Hanging out on my Foster Mom's lap!

Me and My older twin!

Me and My Foster Sister!

I'm so spoiled!

Hello from Philadelphia - Go EAGLES!

Hello everyone.  Here I am, back in Philadelphia with my foster family.  We watched the Eagles whip (ok....not really) the Giants!  I was so confused about who to root for...my foster mom is a Giants fan but the rest of the folks in the room where EAGLES fans!  I was so excited....I got to sit on the couch a lot and even on the laps of many a fan!

My "kin" folk (1.5 yr old bullmastiffs) Maggie Mae and Linus had to sit on the floor!  Ha ha ha!  Don't be fooled....I paid for it later when we all got really great bones and the big dogs kept taking mine!  Thank goodness my foster mom kept a watchful eye and put me in my crate with my tasty bone!

My human sister (age 3) Aubry is so excited to have me back home she had to lay in my crate with me this morning while we watched cartoons.

I hope to make my TFM proud of me today now that my foster mom has been given instructions from my TFM on how to set up my crate and xpen.  The new set up allows a guy like me some freedom....to lay around in comfort and a seperate place to do "my business" when necessary!  My TFM is the BEST!!!

New Skills!

Hi All - Tiny Tim here again!

I have some exciting new skills to share with everyone.  First, I have discovered the great doggie delicacy, frozen bunny poop.   I found some yesterday, and the TFM figured it was accidental, so she didn't worry too much about it.  I proved her wrong today.  Oh so wrong.  I am not only as fast as a Whippet (well, OK, as fast as a slow Whippet), but I am as good on scent as a Bloodhound.  I can follow those bunny tracks all over the yard, and I do it FAST.  So fast,  the TFM (she's old) can't always catch me, and I gave myself a tummy ache this afternoon.  She suggested that perhaps I should consider training as a search and rescue dog, instead of just being a BAD dog.  Foster moms have no sense of humor.....

My other new and exciting discovery for today is that I am quite an accomplished digger.  My favorite spot to dig is in the corner of the couch once I'm finished playing with my toys, but I also do a pretty good slash job on the TFM's legs when she least expects it (like when I look like I'm about to settle in for a nap).  I worked on my digging technique a bit outside today too, now that the ground isn't quite as frozen as it was a few days ago.  I love learning new things, don't you?

Here I am, on the couch with my stash of today's favorite toys. 

Letter to Santa

What a BIG day I had today!  I went to the Post Office and put my letter into the special box for mail that goes directly to Santa at the North Pole.  It was right on the counter as you go in the door, so it was easy for me to reach, because I'm a big guy!  

After I mailed my special letter, I got to meet the guys in the Post Office.  The TFM said it's a tradition around here - all the Bullie foster kids go to meet  "the Js".  It's a good place for us to get some socialization (she helped me spell that) and it's always a fun outing for us.  Plus, I got treats there today, so I'm hoping that I get to go back again tomorrow.  

I've been a little bit bad today, so I think it's probably a good idea that I know more people just in case I need rescuing again!  You know how the TFM has been boasting about my great housebreaking skills?  Well, I was good just until she helped me write to Santa (you can't type to Santa - you have to write, and it's hard for me to hold a pencil and also I didn't have spell check!).  Now that my letter is on its way, I'm showing my true colors.  I managed to pee and poop about a thousand times in the house today, but not once in my bed, so the TFM said she won't kill me just yet.  I think she probably won't kill me at all, but she might intercept Santa before he gets down our chimney, so I hope I'm back with SK before Christmas so I can still get my wish instead of a stocking full of coal.

Here are some pictures of me with my new friends.  I met some of their customers too, but the TFM said we couldn't make everybody pose for pictures because it's the holiday season and people are busy. 

TGIF - Tiny Tim!

The foot and leg

    A few people have requested pictures of Timmy's leg and foot.  Please don't be upset by the look of it - it doesn't seem to bother him at all, and it's definitely not painful for him.   Having three legs doesn't hold him back a bit.  Even if it did, he more than makes up for it with brains.  He's one of the smartest little critters I've come across.  What a hoot he is.  And AMAZINGLY good about his house-training.

Don't Buy That Snuggy!

Seriously - put it down. Don't be sucked in by the commercials.  Adopt ME instead.  I'm a champion snuggler, and SO much better looking than some limp old blanket.  And I even purr a little bit, especially when I'm tired.

I had another interesting day here at the farm.  It was yard clean-up day, and I got to help.  My job was to zip back and forth in front of the TFM while we looked for poop.  It was very cold, but I had my coat on, and I was a good scout and only tripped her once.  Good thing I'm fast and can get out of the way because she's pretty old and clumsy, plus she was carrying a rake and a big scoop.  I never knew there was so much outside space, and we only did a few areas this morning.  Gee - a kid could collapse from exhaustion around here.

So, I had a nap, and then I had lunch and played outside for a little bit and then played a LONG time inside on the couch with my new Christmas toys.  I got a raccoon with a bottle inside - everybody knows that Bullmastiffs hate raccoons, so I honed my killer skills and practiced chomping his little coon bones to dust.  You should see that plastic bottle.  I think the TFM will have to replace it in the morning.  

The TFD took today off, so us guys got to hang around quite a bit together.  There was a guy here fixing the big gate across the driveway too, and I got to meet him.  I think I'm very popular - I seem to have a lot of friends.  

The phone rang several times today too - almost all of the calls were for me.  Everybody was checking up to make sure that I was OK after my surgery - like a tough guy like me wouldn't be?  I'm just peachy!

I'm not sure what we have planned for tomorrow, apart from a visit to the Post Office where I'm sure I'll make some new friends.  

I want to thank everybody for helping me get my surgeries.  I wish I could pick a winning ticket for everybody who buys one, but I don't think that's possible.  I'm gonna try though!

Off to bed!  Sweet dreams, everybody.

I'm BAAAAACK!!!!!

Greetings Everyone (doesn't that sound sophisticated?)

I'm back from my adventure at the Blairstown Animal Hospital.   Among other things, I was tutored there (or something like that) so I guess maybe that's how I learned such a big word.  They did some stuff with my fangs too, and then fixed that big bump I had in my tummy, so now I'm all sleek and smooth (well, except for where I have all my cowlicks!).  They took a lot of pictures of my legs and my spine and stuff, but it all happened while I was asleep so I don't really remember very much about it.

After I woke up though - boy - what a great time I had!  Everybody carried me all over (tee hee - they thought because I'm little and have a bad leg that I can't walk, and I didn't want to seem ungrateful, so I didn't tell them they were wrong).  I was the BEST patient they ever had - everybody said that.  Well, they said I am the cutest, and that probably means the best, right?  I was SO good - not one accident while I was there, and I ate all my meals and took all my medicine and was happy and good natured the whole time.  It wasn't really hard - everybody fussed over me and played with me and I had loads of fun.  

Then today I went home with the TFM.  She's very proud of me too - I was great for the long car ride (naturally) and I haven't had a single accident since I got home.  She says I'm her favorite boy.  I keep my crate nice and clean and I love to hang out in there with my stuff.  I play nicely with all my toys so that nobody feels left out, and I carry them back and forth between the love seat and my crate.  I'm not much for lying on the floor - I really like to be comfortable.  I'm not a picky eater, and now that I know I can have a drink whenever I need one, I don't gulp down water by the gallon.  I sip delicately and savor each mouthful.  Sorta.   TFM just loves it when I kiss her and snuggle in her lap, so I stop playing every so often to do that and make her happy.  

I'm going to bed now.  I had a long day and need a good rest.  I'm still "recuperating" (she helped me spell that) and need to have a good sleep overnight so I can play again tomorrow.  Check me out in my red coat - pretty spiffy huh?

Post-op update

Mr. T is spending the night at the hospital, just to be safe, since he had a number of procedures performed today.  He came through his surgery with flying colors though - not to worry!

I'll be speaking with his doctor tomorrow when I pick him up and will report his findings.  I'm really hoping Timmy can keep his leg.

My guess is that by the time he gets back from the clinic he'll be a completely spoiled little monster.  Every update has mentioned the fact that he's being carried everywhere, lest his feet touch the cold ground or one of the big dogs frighten him.  Hmmmm.  It sure seems like he has the entire staff wrapped around his little paw - hard to imagine that any work got done there today since everyone seemed to be busy carrying Timmy around somewhere! 

He'll be back blogging tomorrow.  He's far more interesting than I am.  More photogenic too, so I expect there will be some photos as well.

Thanks so much to everyone who has contributed to Timmy's vet fund!

And thank you!

Me again - I wanted to thank the wonderful people who have made contributions on my behalf.  It's nice to know that there are people out there who really care about me - and who haven't even met me!  Wish the people who gave me up had cared just a little bit.  I might have four good legs if they did.  Magoo said I should make lemons from soda or a purse from a pig nose or something like that - anyway - that's what I plan to do - make the best of my new life as a special boy.

I hope I get to meet everybody really soon.  Until then, we'll just be blog buddies!

WOOF!

Another day, another adventure

Here I am again!  I have SO much to share about my day today but first, let me announce that I had a DRY NIGHT!  Not bad for a kid who lived in a garage for his whole life, right?  I had a couple of accidents when I arrived at my "holiday home" yesterday but then my temporary foster mom attached an ex-pen to my crate.  After that, I was very careful to keep my bed nice and dry, and once I figured out that I got to go out a lot I didn't even use the towel she gave me for "emergencies".  I was as dry as dust from 11:00 last night until 5:00 this morning, and then I kept my area spotless after breakfast at 7:00 until I left for today's exotic destination - the vet's office.

I was VERY cool about the whole thing, and I wore my Christmas collar so that everybody would know how special I am.   I sat on the scale and I weigh a whole 42 pounds - isn't that awesome?  When SK got me I only weighed about as much as a feather from a really small bird - I was so hungry.  She took care of that though!  I've been eating 3 or 4 times a day for the past few weeks and I'm nice and solid now.  There were lots of other dogs there, and I really wanted to play with the little black puppy across the room, but we were a little bit rowdy and some of the older dogs were just old grinches, so we had to stop and "behave".  Boo, hiss.

All the nice ladies at the front desk made a BIG fuss over me and one special one is making a very generous contribution to help me get the surgeries I need.  Then I went in to meet - gulp - the VET!  Well, he turned out to be a very nice man, and below I have some pictures of us together - me and my personal physician - just like a king or emperor or something.  I'm SO lucky.  He gave me a good examination and we all decided that I'm probably 5 1/2 months old, not 4 1/2.  He went looking around for my festivals (or something like that anyway) and couldn't find them, so I guess that's why I'm staying overnight there because tomorrow when I'm sleeping they're going to look around some more for them so they can remove them.  Very weird, I  know.  Beats me what the goal is!  I'm also going to have my hernia fixed (whatever that is) and have some baby teeth removed (who would have thought that a person could have too many teeth???) and then I'll get a vaccination and a microchip (I hope that's like a potato chip because they said I had to skip breakfast - uh oh - NOT good). 

After that, my doc is going to take some pictures of my leg.  I'm a little embarrassed because it doesn't match the others, but Dr. Leal and the TFM assured me that I am very handsome and that nobody even noticed that I had a bad leg.  I'm that cute, I guess!   Then when I wake up, everybody in the whole clinic (and there are lots of people) will be there to fuss over me and spoil me.   

The TFM brought along some of my toys and bones, and I also have a nice red coat.  It's going to be really cold and windy this week, and she didn't want me freezing to death when I'm outside.   Did I metnion that I'm working hard on my housetraining?  I'm SO successful, too.  It's nice to be clean and dry - people like you a whole lot better this way, and I love to be picked up and snuggled.  So, if I'm repeating myself, it's only because I'm so smart and so proud of my accomplishments!


Here are my pictures of Dr. Leal and me - aren't we a handsome pair???  I'm the one in the red collar, in case you were confused.  My friends here at the clinic said they'd call with updates tomorrow.  Underneath my pictures, the TFM said she'd give some details about my leg.  I don't want to think about it, so I'll let her tell you and I'm not going to look.  Wish me luck tomorrow!  I'm not scared because I know I'm in good hands now and I'll be doing great real soon.

Love,
Tiny Tim 

Temporary Foster Mom here:  As I suspected, Timmy's leg deformity is NOT the result of a birth defect but an injury.  Responsible breeders don't leave puppies alone with their moms because that sort of thing can happen in a heartbeat.  Responsible breeders would also have taken the little guy IMMEDIATELY for vet care.  Then again they would have fed him more than once a day too.  Amazing.  Anyway, had he received appropriate care at the time of the injury, Timmy would have been fine, but now we're facing some difficult decisions.  We'll know more after the x-rays tomorrow.  Because he actually does use it a bit, there's a chance that with surgical intervention, he could have a "peg-leg" - it would be serviceable, but not fully functional.  Whether or not that is a viable possibility remains to be seen after the diagnostics.  Unfortunately, amputation might well be the only appropriate route for this brave little puppy.  Still, 3-legged dogs lead perfectly normal lives, and I personally know one who runs and trains agility every week.  

He is, however, facing a minimum of two days of surgery - one to address his current needs (like neutering, dental, repair of his umbilical hernia, etc.) and the second to address his leg.  What a terrible ordeal for such a baby to have to face.  At this point though his future is looking bright now that he's in our hands and getting the medical care he needs.  Next step is the perfect new home once he's all recovered.  Assuming I can wrest him from the clutches of his new-found friends and caretakers at the vet clinic!  He'll be a spoiled little beast when he comes home.





 

I may be small.....

Hi Everybody!  I'm so happy to meet you!  My name is Tiny Tim, and I'm the latest (and probably greatest) brindle kid to hit ABA rescue.  I've chosen red to write in because it's Christmasy and so am I!!!

My "temporary foster mom" will give you some background (because I'm too small to know all these big words) and then I'll be back....

Tiny Tim was surrendered to us about 2 weeks ago by his breeder, at the age of 4 1/2 months.    He has a deformed right hind leg - I really hope it's a birth defect because then it would have at least been painless, but looking at it, I'm afraid it might have been caused by an injury, which would have been horrible for this little guy.  Naturally, he was NEVER seen by a vet.  Until he went to SK in Philly for fostering, he'd been living in a garage 24/7 with his parents, fed once a day (not a typo) between 6:00AM and 6:15 AM.  He got water then too.  What a kind and generous caretaker, huh?  Food and water, once a day for 15 minutes.  For a puppy.  Because of this Tiny Tim is small of stature, having basically been starved for much of his brief life, too, in addition to being left without vet care with a bad leg.  He's here with me in NJ for vet care, which we assume will most likely involve surgery of some sort.  Once that's attended to, he'll be returning to SK in Philly for his recuperation before being offered for adoption.   He'll be neutered and vaccinated, de-wormed, chipped, and have his umbilical hernia repaired as well.  As you can imagine, this will be an expensive undertaking, and a difficult one coming right on the heels of all the dogs we took in from VA.  At the moment, we have two females in the area awaiting adoption, plus 4 other girls and one male who aren't ready for placement just yet but will be soon (I hope). 

Here I am again.  I hope everybody understood all that stuff because I didn't - I think it might be scary, so I'm not really paying much attention.  I do understand that I'm a really lucky little kid because I'll be getting cared for now and I won't have to suffer for years and years like some of the dogs that ABA Rescue helps.  Not that I'm suffering.  I spent a couple of weeks with my really cool foster family in Philly - that would be SK (the mom),  Aubrey (my human sister) and Maggie and Linus, the best brother and sister a kid could have; we won't talk about the cats because - ick - who would want to?

I had a super-exciting day today - I went in the car, and then I stopped at a mall and went INSIDE to the pet shop and visited with everybody in there. I think I must have met at least 100 people and I got a holiday collar and my antlers and I even got to pick out some tasty bones to chew on - I was SO proud, and everybody told me how wonderful I looked.  People didn't even notice my leg!  Then I had another car ride, and got out on a farm with a big grassy field.  I played outside for a little while, then I had LUNCH (yup - us kids are supposed to get 3 or 4 meals a day, and I've been eating up a storm since SK got me, and have gained lots of weight already).  Then I was a VERY good boy and asked to go out again.  I peed and pooped, and as soon as I finish writing this and attaching my pictures, I'm going to take a nap.  I'm exhausted!


If anybody wants to help with my vet expenses, please go to our (I'm proudly part of ABA rescue now, you know) website at www.bullmastiff.us/rescue and donate using the PayPal button - say it's for me, Tiny Tim, and I'll send you a Christmas card!


And if anybody wants to get on what I bet will be a really, really, really long list to adopt me, make sure you have an application on file and then let my foster mom SK know at skcalkins@yahoo.com and she'll make sure we stay in touch.


Enjoy my pictures - aren't I just the cutest baby????