Diary of a Foster Mom

Miss Maleah went to her forever home

missalli — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 02:59:09 +0000

Well - it happened! Miss Maleah went to her forever home where she is absolutely adored. They are a lovely family who love the Great Pyrenees breed, and fell in love with Maleah immediately. She made sure it happened with her head rubs and sweet, charming ways…it was inevitable.

She blossomed from the ugly ducking to a beautiful swan…a true princess. Here she is en route to her new home, as pretty as a picture. I miss her dearly, but I am so very, very happy for her. She was a special, special girl.

Those Darn Allergies

missalli — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 02:36:41 +0000

Sept 15, 2007 - It’s been a while since I chatted, but both Maleah and myself…as well as the other dogs and pretty much everyone in the southeast region of the United States…have been battling those darn allergies. Gotta love the ragweed, etc. I’ve had a stuffy head and watery eyes, and Maleah’s had the goopy, red eyes. She’s handling it much better than I am, however…of course I think at this point pretty much nothing stops her!I was petting her and admiring how beautiful her coat was and how incredibly soft! It’s like silk! Let’s hear it for great holistic food! It’s so white (minus the times she wrestles w/the dogs, aquiring lots of slobber on her coat, followed by a good roll in the dirt), and it’s quite lovely. She agrees, as she’ll show her fancy fanny off by strutting around and striking a pose when she stops to sit…and let me tell you, the girl knows how to strike a pose!

She is sooooo funny when she plays with you!! She hops and bounces all around, does tons of puppy poses…she acts VERY puppy! It’s hysterical! I hope to get a vdieo of her goofing off because it’s quite comical! I love to watch her…she has this huge grin on her face, jumps all over the place…I’m amazed at her level of agility! We have quite a big time playing and hopping about.

I’ll get more pictures up soon. Her coat is thickening a lot now, and as mentioned before, looking lovely. She LOVES to have her picture taken anymore…she knows she looks good! Here is one that I took the other day because she had such the ‘tude with the leg stuck straight out and “pointed toe” (picture isn’t the best quality b/c it’s from a cell phone). She has soooo much personality!

Another day of fun

missalli — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 05:50:56 +0000

August 28, 2007 - Well, everyday Maleah gets more active and full of personality. At this point she has no fear and is living life to it’s fullest! She has a very healthy appetite, she’s got an entire body full of hair, she’s playing until her little heart’s content, and she’s even flirted with a few of the male dogs. She has a grin on her face almost always, and those pretty eyes are full of excitement and happiness. She trots around, prancing rather, and her feet actually look big!

She’s such a doll - you can’t help but just hug her all of the time. She loves her kennel/crate and I often walk into the room and find her sprawled out inside, snoozing after a hard days play. She loves nylabones and stuffed toys, and when she’s very excited and playful she’ll gallop around the house full circle, tail wagging and her feet flopping on the groud with absolutely no grace. I love watching her! She’ll run outside, as well, as hard as she can, chasing the other dogs or being chased. She can actually move pretty fast, too! Then we, of course, have the bark that comes out, for she has to let the cars know she’s a Great Pyrenees!

I looked back at her pictures and was amazed to see her the way she was when she first came to me…even though I saw her w/my own eyes, touched her naked skin, bathed her, hugged her, medicated her…it still seems a bit surreal. I’m so glad that I couldn’t resist those eyes…she’s so worth it!

Little Miss Maleah

missalli — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 00:56:29 +0000

August 18-2002 - Well, Miss Maleah has certainly opened up and become a typical, funny, playful dog. She is constantly making me laugh…as well as repeat myself. She tends to think she doesn’t have to listen. ;-) I can just see her mind spinning…”I’m Maleah…I don’t have to!” She always adds this sassy little smile, so she’ll make sure to look cute when she’s misbehaving. I told her the other day that she is rotten…she looked at me with the “I know!” look and pranced into the other direction.

She has so much fun with the other animals. She ruuuuuuns around the yard, pretending she’s the before mentioned 200lbs. She barks at cars and birds now without running back upon the deck for reassurance. She has a few best friends, like Abby, Bogey, and Ellie Mae. I’ll find them playing, Maleah dancing around and hopping…she has the funniest hop. She, of course, has no coordination, but she has the best time doing it!

She’s enjoyed her outings and makes a point to love on everyone. She looks sooooo good with her entire body covered in hair. She’s not gained any weight, but noone is eating as they normally do with the heat being so extreme. Even in the air conditioning we all just want to be lazy! Her coat is soft, however, and I’m constantly petting her, amazed at how silky it feels. Let’s hear it for Pyr determination and quality food and supplements!

She’s a charmer, that’s for sure. She grins almost 24/7. I truly feel blessed to have her in my life.

The Bark

missalli — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 21:25:31 +0000

Let me just tell you that frail, tiny little Miss Maleah has an ENORMOUS bark! She sounds like a Pyrenees! :-D She sounds like she’s 200lbs! Then she grins at you and acts like she’s a lap dog. She’s so funny!

What a silly girl

missalli — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 02:44:27 +0000

August 4, 2007 - Miss Maleah…she is SO funny!! She is now completely full of herself! I have new pictures up, and you’ll see her big smile and her silly self up on the counter helping herself to some Captain Crunch! It was hysterical - it’s like she knew exactly what it was, and after spotting it, she darted toward it and promptly stuck her front paws on the counter. I, being the strict mother that I am, said “Maleah, no - you do not get on the counter!” and grabbed the camera before I made her get down.

Her hair is growing and she’s looking great. Her eye seems to be improving, as well. I’ll get it checked out again, and hopefully all will be solved. It’s not perfect yet, but it’s better. She loves the new Pyrenees and wants to play with her…she wants to play with everyone! But with the new girl…she’s sick, as well, and it’s almost like Maleah is reassuring her.

She is so very, very playful and has a big smile on her face all the time. She is quite the prancer, too, as she dances around the house, even runs and plays with the other dogs. She has this funny little thing where she’ll bark for me, and then when I come to her and “ask what she wants”… she does this hop-skip and tears off around the house! She comes back just-a-grinning!

I love seeing her like this…knowing she’s loved and enjoying the sunshine, the backyard, the hugs, kisses, food, other dogs, toys, etc…she’s alert, vibrant, joyful, and excited about each day. It’s so great to know she’s happy and loving life…she’s a strong little girl.

Good and Bad news

missalli — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 06:31:51 +0000

July 29, 2007 - Well, today was both good and bad, as suggested in the title of this post. When Maleah came out of her crate she had difficulty getting up. She couldn’t walk properly and ended up not putting any weight on her left leg. I’d hoped it was b/c it simply fell asleep, but long story short - it wasn’t. I also noticed her ulcerated eye bleeding when I gave her the eye meds. Double Bads! So, I took her into the Emergency Clinic where, thankfully and by the grace of God, one of my vets was working! Yeah!! Very good, Good! The diagnosis was a tick born disease! UGH!! BAD!!! However, it’s easy to treat and we caught it early. GOOD! Her eye, however, did look worse, and was bleeding, despite the 2 previous meds. Bad. However, tomorrow he will get a big time med that is supposed to do wonders, so I’ll stop by his clinic to pick it up. Good!! To boot he said that she looked much better than she did when I first got her - Good!! AND…she’s up to 62.2 pounds!! that’s 14lbs she’s gained, total!! Another GOOD!!! So, ultimately the “goods” outweigh the “bads,” and she will be fine in the end. I just felt terribly bad for her and kept thinking, “poor gal…she just keeps on taking the punches.” But, she’s doing well and ate big at dinner, took her first round of meds, and is resting comfortably in her crate. She’s so funny, though…she got mad at me today b/c I told her NO. She turned her head away and ignored me…I mean REFUSED to look at me. However, when I presented a treat to her a little while later…she loved me again! Good!

Problem…

missalli — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 06:10:23 +0000

July 27, 2002 - Yes, there is a problem regarding Maleah…I’m having difficulty walking sometimes because Maleah rubs her head against and in between my legs too much, tripping me.

She is so silly! She’s been puppy playing a lot lately. She looks at you boldly, then PLOP! Her front end is on the floor and butt is straight up in the air!

She’s extremely smart, too…she plastered her head on Auntie Glenda’s leg and acted real pitiful…resulting in lots of baby talking, pettings, and smoochies from Auntie Glenda. Sucker!!!!

She comes to life more and more every day. She’s even got a tad big of arrogance…I LOVE IT!! The others are merely “dogs.” ugh…peasants, they are….

Oh Maleah…you have such character….

Pictures!

missalli — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 08:58:02 +0000

July 23, 2002 - Pictures are finally up of Maleah, day 21! Check out all that hair on her head! Yipee!! You can also see the ulcer on her eye. I’m giving meds 3x daily…saying prayers it will heal…we’d like to avoid any possible chance of surgery!

That Girl!

missalli — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 06:11:45 +0000

July 23, 2002 - So much has been going on that I’m a little behind on posting, but I do have lots of goodies to share! First, Maleah is now up to 53lbs!! That’s a whopping 5lbs she’s gained! At first I thought…is that all? And then I realized how I had to start off feeding her in such small amounts, and how her meds, colitis, and kennel cough curbed her appetite for quite a while, and I realized it actually was quite a bit considering all the time it took for those things to take place. So yeah, I think it’s great!!

We had to go see Doc, for Maleah has an ulcer on her eye. I’d been treating it appropriately, but for some reason it kept getting worse. So we had a quick trip to the vet where we received a different antibiotic, in hopes of ridding the ulcer. The first one should have done it, but the little bugger is stubborn. So Doc tried another. He also found the scarring of an old ulcer on her other eye, poor gal. Doesn’t seem to bother her, but I thought, geez…the poor girl has been through even more in her short life.

I wish you could have seen her at the vet…she had a BALL!! She pawed the technician for more attention, rubbed all over her, rubbed all over Dr Houlberg, went up to everyone that came into the reception area wagging her tail and greeting them happily, and even made sure to poo, pee and sneeze all over the exam room. She wanted to let them know she felt at home, you know….

But my goodness she had blast! Then we stopped to visit some of my foster parents, where she jumped out of the car and absorbed the attention. She apparently thought a lot of the foster daddy b/c she wanted to follow him inside vs stay outside w/me or the other foster mommy…Gee thanks, Maleah! Hey!! Remember me???

It was good to see her having so much fun, though. In fact, when we got home, I opened the car door to let her out…and she paused…looked at me…blankly, I might add…and promptly laid down, refusing to go inside. I said “C’mom, Maleah! Let’s go inside!” and she turned her head away. Apparently she had so much fun that she wanted to continue her adventures and have a fun filled Friday night! I finally had to pick her up and carry her inside, where I swear she laughed at me for coming to her beck and call.

Yesterday, she actually JUMPED UP on me! Yep! She was all waggily and playful, and she jumped up on her hind legs to hug me! I was on the phone with a friend and said “OH MY GOODNESS! SHE JUMPED UP ON HER HIND LEGS AND PUT HER FRONT PAWS ON ME!” I LOVED it!!!

She is eating like a horse…LOL! She gets very impatient if I take too long, too. She will practically knock the bag over to get my attention, and then wolf it down…then crash and snooze when her belly is full. She is prancing around the yard more than ever these days, and full of playfulness! She looks great, too…you’d not believe the amount of hair on her head considering it’s only been a few weeks and that she was in the condition she was…it’s super!!! I do have pictures that I will post as soon as I can. Her skin looks great, and Doc agreed!

Miss Maleah is so full of herself…YEAH!!!!!!!!! I love watching her blossom and love it when she rubs that (now) furry head up against me. She’s surely half cat…but she’s so affectionate that way, and is pawing more and more for your attention. She’s even dancing and being a little playful. I’m so happy for her…she is SUCH a darling girl! If I can get the video to load properly on the page, I’ll put in on there to show how she rubs up against you…it’s simply too cute.

What a great girl…so inspiring. Each day her spunk grows and she gets funnier and more alive. I wish I had her stamina and determination. Perhaps one day she’ll tell me her secret.