jealous sister...

So Miley has been watching the entire saga of nursing Gracie back to health with keen curiosity. But lately I think she's been getting a little jealous. If Gracie is on the couch with David or I, she will sit directly in front of us and more often than not, block our view of the television. I know she's a dog but I think she does this on purpose. Then, if you still don't give her attention, she will start pawing at you. First, your leg and then your arm. All the while moving closer and closer. She has no concept of 'personal space' and is constantly violating this unspoken rule. Eventually, she's got her front feet on the couch and is trying to slowly manuver herself between you and Grace. This, more often than not, means she's in your lap because there is no room between you and Grace. This routine worked for awhile but now she is getting more creative. Because she knows you will tell her 'no' when she tries to sit between you and Grace (unfortunately, this has turned into ON Grace occasionally), she has tried several different techniques. The first involved her attempting to lay on the armrest of the couch...keep in mind she's a 70 pound dog. After failing miserably (and occasionally embarrassingly) at this, she tried to feign indifference in a sad attempt at reverse psychology. For about a week, she spent nearly all of her time on the other couch and managed to take up most of it by stretching out on her back. This, I'm sure, was to show us that SHE had no room for US. Again, no response. This week, she's back to her 'hands on' approach. She is now putting her jealousy right out there and steals things from Gracie every chance she gets! It's not enough that she has 4 rawhides hidden in the couch and laundry basket. Nope, she's got to sit in front of Gracie while she's chewing on hers and wait until Gracie drops it for a second so that she can take it from her. She doesn't even chew on it for long! And, for her grand finale...she tries to pull Gracie's blankie right out from under her while she's sleeping!!! Or, sometimes, she will just do that Weim 'nibbling / pinching' thing they do when they are playing or frustrated to her blankie. I'm sure those of you with one of our little gray friends living with you in your home know what I'm talking about. It's the funniest thing to watch.
All to say, I'm trying to spend some quality time with Miley (in addition to the separate quality time I'm spending with the human kids). When do I get some quality alone time???
As I write this, Miley is sitting next to me looking at the computer screen and yawning. She's not very subtle with her opinions. Plus, the entire time I've been trying to type this, she's pawing my arm, nudging my hand away from the keyboard with her nose and has attempted to get on my lap a couple of times. I'm guessing she wants something...maybe a walk or playtime? On that note, I'll sign off and go spend some quality time with Miley outside while Gracie sleeps.
Have a great night!

come see Gracie tomorrow!!

Hey! Just wanted to remind everyone that Gracie will be at Orvis in Arlington tomorrow from 10 to at least 12, maybe 2pm. She would love to meet you! She is a busy puppy right now so be prepared. Last time, she was content to be held all day. Now, not so much. She wants to explore and chew, chew, chew! She's a very happy little girl and would love to give you some Weimie kisses...and maybe a nibble or two!
We will have adoptable Weims there, also. So if you or anyone you know is looking for the best breed, come see us!

Gracie makes her own dinner (video)...

I love this video of Grace. She is getting to be a handful and this video shows just what I mean. She is very curious and loves to get into things. We LOVE seeing her this active. It is such a big change from the day we brought her home (July 3). She could barely walk and had no interest in anything other than sleeping. If you get time, look at one of the first videos we took of her and you'll see what I mean. We are with her everyday so we don't see the differences as clearly as you all do. That's why I like to look at the 'old days' and see just how far she has come.
Her coat is shiny and she is finally growing in a new coat on her chest and underneath her chin. Her body had been conserving energy to keep the necessities running, i.e. heart, lungs, liver, kidneys...so her coat had suffered. You would never guess her past looking at her now. If you can, you have got to come see her this Saturday at the M & G. You will not believe how different she is. She's constantly busy and doesn't have as much time for cuddling (well, until she's tired...then she will find you and weave around your legs until you pick her up) so she's not as 'holdable' as she was at the last M & G. I can definitely see what Dr. Carroll was meaning by docking her tail for safety reasons. She's an accident waiting to happen with that thing waving around in the air! We are definitely Gracie-proofing the house so she can't get into anything that would hurt her.
We used to be able to scoop her up with one hand and tuck her under an arm to carry her. Now, she's a two-handed commitment and very wiggly. The girls are not going to be able to carry her around for much longer. That's a sad thought, they grow so fast! She had her first taste of ground beef and let me tell you, she's starting to remind me of a pirhanna! The combo of her needle-like baby teeth and the blindness turns her into a weapon when you are trying to feed her a treat that she doesn't get too often. She smells it and goes crazy! She is all over the place and when she gets near it, she just starts biting. I have yet another wound from that lesson learned. Moral: Put the food on the floor and tap by it so she can find it. Yellow caution tape is an option to be considered!
Enjoy the video!

18.4 and counting...

We took Grace to Petsmart today to find more chew toys in an attempt to keep her from chewing on us. While there, we weighed her and she is now 18.4 pounds! We usually weigh on Fridays so this was a couple of days later, but still, that was a 4 pound gain in 9 days. Incredible, or rather...Amazing!
Grace is doing really well. She is more comfortable getting around our house with every day and does not seem timid about exploring at all. We have made our bathroom her area when we are out and she seems to do well in there. She doesn't whine or scratch when we leave her in there. She will just lay on her bed. She's also extremely comfortable with our backyard. She has been running (yes, you read right) around our backyard! I would not have guessed we'd be seeing that so soon. We have also started to 'scent' things in the house. We are using a specific scent for doors leading outside, starting with the back door. She will hopefully associate this with going outside to potty and finding her way to the door. I've also added a bell on a ribbon to the doorknob so that she will learn to hit the bell with her nose when she wants to go out. She's only had a couple of accidents in the house and both have been in the kitchen close to the back door. She is a smart little girl and is picking up things quickly. It's just up to us to present things to her in a way she can process.
I tried her on the leash today in Petsmart and she did okay. She is fine until she doesn't want to go where you are going or gets distracted. Then she will plant herself firmly and refuse to go any further. She can be quite hard-headed! She was pulling bags of dog treats off of the shelves today. Once again, she drew alot of attention. Only, today it was because of how cute she is instead of how skinny and frail she looked. That was an awesome thing! We will be working on her acceptance of the leash and trusting us to lead her when she is on leash. This will make walks much easier. We haven't been exercising her so that she can conserve all of her calories but I think she's at a point where we can begin. I thought that she might have an issue with something pulling on her neck but she did fine. We have a harness and might try this to just see if she does better on that.
We had some loud thunder this morning and Gracie did fine. She woke up from her napping on my lap but was easily calmed and went right back to sleep. She doesn't seem skittish with loud noises and seems to take everything in stride.
She is quite the princess in our house, too. She still has 'her' pillows that are on the couch for her to nap with 'her' blankies. It's crazy, I know! She is just too irresistible when it comes to babying her. We aren't carrying her around, though. She is having to navigate on her own and seems to prefer it that way. She did not care for the wet grass or the rain when she went out to potty today. Maybe part of it was that she didn't realize what the rain was. I mean, it hasn't rained for awhile and with her being blind, it may have been a little weird for her. So, I sent Addie out with an umbrella to walk with her so she wouldn't get the worst of the rain. Otherwise, she might have been out there for awhile just circling. I know, more pampering...
Anyway, keep her in your prayers, they are working!!!
Next step is to get her spayed and to an opthamologist and neurologist to get a good assessment of her sight and any neurological damage. I can't believe it's already been a little over 3 weeks since we brought home that skinny, gray puppy...

come meet Grace this weekend...

Hey, just wanted to let everyone know that Gracie will be at the WRNT Meet & Greet at Orvis in Arlington this Saturday, August 1. The event will run from 10am to 2pm but Gracie will only be there from 10am to 12.
Come see our tiny girl who is not so tiny anymore!

bling bling for Gracie...

Well, Miss Gracie got her first official piece of mail the other day. It was a package and my kids just could NOT believe that it wasn't for them! I'm sure you have figured out from the pictures that she received the CUTEST collars. They are a gift from a fellow volunteer in the Weim Rescue. I'm not going to publish her contact information right now since I didn't ask her if I could. But, I will tell you that she makes them herself and does an AWESOME job! She has tons of items to choose from and I'm pretty sure she does leashes too. Gracie highly recommends her work and will now only
wear designs by 'Zamora's'...well, and Tiffany if anyone is looking
for birthday ideas ;o)
They are a touch big on her now (they would fit nicely around her tummy) but as soon as she's big enough, she will be stylin'! I've uploaded some close-ups of the collars to her Picasa Web Album. You can just click on one of the slideshows, which I'm sure you will be visiting today, and go to the album page to see them.
If you would like more information on the collars, email me or just leave a comment and I will get that info back to you after I've made sure I can give it out. I know, everyone is protective of information now-a-days, but you never know...a kook like me could find out where you live! AAGGHHHH!

is there a tooth fairy for super cute weim puppies?

I know some of you will find this totally gross...and that's okay.
I, however, have always been amazed at how tiny puppy teeth are! While showing David where Gracie's tooth had come out (this was the one I heard her crunch on and then, I'm guessing, swallow), we discovered another that was barely hanging on so we removed it. Trust me, it was really only barely still in her gum, she did not even flinch. Plus, I didn't want her swallowing another one. Anyway, I saved it because that's what I do, I save things. I wanted to post a picture of it for anyone who actually was lying awake at night wondering what a pulled tooth from a Weim pup would look like. So, now you know. They are super tiny so you start to wonder how the heck they hurt so much when they bite you!

And no, I'm not putting it under Gracie's pillow tonight. Mainly because that would mean the tooth would be under MY pillow and I find that somewhat disturbing. And yes, that means she is still sleeping in our bed and well on her way to becoming a spoiled little pooch! But honestly, don't you think she deserves to be spoiled????? :o)

question about toenails...

Okay, I need some audience participation on this one. The other night, David and I noticed that there is a dark ring around Grace's toenails at the base where they are growing out of the toe. It looks as if they are growing in dark (like most Weims). Right now they are very light, almost translucent. All we can guess is that this might be due to her extreme malnourishment while very young. I've included a picture (the best I could do with the wiggle-worm) for you to see what I'm talking about. Any thoughts would be welcome!

cute video of Gracie with big sis' Miley...

One more video! Gracie is really starting to interact with Miley. Maggie tends to steer clear of her at all costs so they don't interact much. Miley is very gentle with Gracie, too. They were lying on the couch this morning, head to head, and Gracie was biting at Miley. Miley mostly took it but occasionally put Miss Grace in her place so that she knew who was alpha. She had Gracie's head in her mouth at one point but never closed her mouth. She was just mouthing her. When Miley stopped, Gracie went right back to biting her ear and Miley just laid her head down. They are too cute together. I've got to get that on video for sure!

Gracie must be part baby alligator...video

Gracie is getting more and more active, which is great. But, I've forgotten how sharp puppy teeth are! No blood, but lots of scratches. She just likes to mouth all the time, especially when she is tired and needs to go to sleep but won't. It's kind of like having our own personal 'Shark Week'!
She lost another tooth the other day and we actually found that one. I've got a picture of it. It's so tiny! It will be in the next group of pix. Enjoy the video!

P.S. Get a load of those ears!!!

a word about pictures...

I just wanted to let you know that as I post new slideshows of Gracie, I'm going to remove the old ones. But, you will still be able to view them. When you click on the current slideshow, it will take you to Picasa Web Albums and to that particular album. Then, just click on the 'Grace.WRNT's Gallery' tab and it will bring up all the other albums.
Hope everyone has a great Sunday!!!

Gracie's pre-nap ritual

I finally got some footage of Grace doing her 'I'm-tired-but-I-don't-want-to-settle-down-enough-to-go-to-sleep' routine.
You know the drill...title is the link. Enjoy!

14.6 and counting...

First of all, let me apologize for this post coming so late after the last one. I really intended to get this up yesterday but time got away from me and now my house has been invaded by 'The Stripes'...you may know this as Strep Throat. That's the name Sydney gave Strep when she was 4ish. Anyway, things are never dull around here, that's for sure!
So yesterday, Gracie and I made our weekly trip to Dr. Carroll's office. The news was all good this time. Gracie weighs 14.6 lbs now. That's another 2 lb gain in 1 week! Yay for our tiny girl! She was awake when we went yesterday, which is new, so they all got to see how pretty her eyes are. Dr. C said she looked so good that we can stop the prescription canned food, which is great because it was starting to give her some REALLY smelly gas! She was rivaling her sister, Miley, and that is not a good thing. I finally found out what the 'prescription' part of the canned food is; an appetite stimulant. That makes perfect sense, too, because Gracie is RAVENOUS at every meal! If she misses a piece of food, it's best to just put it back in the bowl because with her blindness and the 'feeding frenzy' she gets into when eating, you do not want your fingers anywhere near her mouth! Anyway, she's on just Eukanuba lg breed puppy now and we are working our way up to 2 cups per day.
Gracie is a big girl now, too! She got more puppy shots and her rabies vac. We will administer the Advantage (heartworm/flea preventative) in a couple of days. He didn't want to overwhelm her body with the shots and the Advantage all in one day.
We were talking about her vision and I told Dr. C about how we really think she can distinguish changes in light. Thursday afternoon, she was out roaming in the house and I had left the front door open (we have a glass door, too, that was closed) which lets in a ton of light. She made it up to the front door from the kitchen which is about a 20 foot hallway. I was talking to a friend and half watching, but then I noticed she kept bumping into the glass door. She would walk around a bit and then try to walk through it again. I jumped on the chance to experiment with her and shut the door, cutting off the light. She immediately turned from the door and started to wander back down the hall! I really think she saw the light and thought it was a way out. She always migrates to the back door and will wander around in front of it. The back door is mostly windows and lets in a ton of light, too. Plus, she goes out that door to relieve herself all the time. I'm telling you, she is getting smarter and smarter every day!
I've been leaving her in our bathroom with doors shut and she is doing great in there. She's not confined by the crate and can wander. I leave her food/water in there and her bed. She knows where they are, too. David left her in there to get some water yesterday and he went back into the kitchen. Shortly after that, he said she came wandering into the kitchen! She had made it out of the bathroom, around a few corners to get out of our bedroom, through the living room and hall into the kitchen! She is amazing!
Anyway, I digress...again! Dr. C wanted to see her walk and said it didn't look like she was doing her high-stepping as much. He checked her eyes again with all the lights off. He said they are responding to light and a few other things about her retinas (don't ask me what, I was still euphoric from them telling me her weight and wasn't listening too closely) which I took to mean they didn't look extremely damaged. Maybe she might recover just a tiny bit of vision??? We will see. She definitely needs to see an opthamologist just so we will know. Then he had her walk around and left the door open to the back area of the office. She walked right through the doorway and around the hall. He commented on how she doesn't bump into everything like most blind dogs and she would walk up to a wall and stop. She did that a couple times until she came to a doorway and then went through that doorway. I'm not getting my hopes too high and I don't want you to, either, but it's SO hard not to!!! Please just keep praying that she continues to heal well.
I asked him about what kinds of toys we could get for her since she is definitely acting more like a puppy and starting to play more. You'd have to know Dr. C to really get the hilarity in this but he is so straight-faced all the time that I didn't catch it at first. Anyway, he said, "Well, I know there is a piano that they have for blind dogs...". My mind is making mental notes on where to get this piano made especially for blind dogs and then I'm thinking 'how do they play with that? it's not like they have fingers, etc'. Then it dawns on me that it could be a Stevie Wonder reference. Very funny! We stopped at Petsmart on the way home and got her some puppy chews and a puppy Kong in the shape of a bone so it can't roll away from her. We are really trying to key in on her sense of smell and hearing with everything we do with her. So far, so good. Miley, again, looked like I stabbed her in the back when I brought home new toys for Gracie and none for her. She just sat in front of Gracie watching and waiting for her to leave the new stuff alone long enough for her to snatch it.
We also talked about Gracie's pads and her slipping when she walks. She continues to get stronger every day and this helps, but her pad are so soft and smooth. Dr. C thought maybe the slipping was actually smoothing her pads, too. He didn't really know of anything to put on the pads and cautioned us about doing that. He mentioned booties, too, but then agreed that might make her more stressed when trying to walk and having something foreign on her feet. So, he suggested walking her more on sidewalk/pavement than the grass and hopefully that will roughen up her pads enough to give her some traction.
We got her scheduled for her spay surgery in one month and he will dock her tail at that time, too. We discussed removing the dew claws but he said that was really more for high energy dogs and he didn't think that Gracie was going to be that much of a high energy dog due to the blindness. So, that was nixed. He really felt the tail would be a safety issue for her. Again, due to the blindness. She could get it caught in something or knock things over. Good point, I hadn't thought about that. There goes my idea for attaching a little OU flag to it in the fall!
Well, that's about it for the vet visit. Good news all the way around! She is still really tired and sleeps alot but we are moving in the right direction. She knows us and is giving puppy kisses! She will rub her face on your face if you are holding her and give kisses (with tiny nibbles here and there). I thank God for getting Grace to us and watching over her. She is truly a blessed little Weim!

sticky paws...

So, yesterday David embarked on a search for something to put on the pads of Gracie's paws that will prevent her from sliding on wood/tile floors until she is stronger. The poor girl desperately wants to explore but can't stay upright for too long. She inevitably winds up splayed out on her tummy. Then she just gets frustrated.
So, I've tried wetting her pads with water which works, but only for a short period of time. We've tried to come up with something to put on our floor with no luck (at least finding anything economical). David was determined today. He was online and finally came up with an idea he was willing to try. We have the hair remover 'Nads' which is NOT a wax that you heat (for those that are already wondering if we tortured her with hot wax). It is thick and sticky and does not require any heating. I attempted to hold her still so David could put just a tiny smear of it on her pads. She is a squirmer and will kick and whine if you are holding her and she wants down. Anyway, David managed to get some on all 4 pads and we put her on the floor for a trial. It worked great!...for about 4 steps. By then, her pads had picked up enough dirt off the floor to make the sticky factor null and void. The Nads rubbed off easily, Grace didn't even notice when it was on or when we were rubbing it off. And now we are back to square one! We have thought about booties but feel that's not a great idea considering her blindness. We don't want to make her any more uncomfortable with walking.
We would welcome any ideas! Have a great day!

Gracie sleeping...and dreaming

Okay, here it is...just about the cutest video of Miss Gracie yet! I love this tiny girl!
Title is the link.

silly girl...

Just had to share this cute pic of Gracie that David took today. She was sleeping and opened her eyes right when he snapped it. Her eyes are really pretty and you can see them well in this picture.
She's doing great today. Eating, sleeping, playing a little, eating, sleeping, playing a little...and on it goes. She is really starting to act like a normal 15 week old puppy. Yay!!!
She's got some sharp teeth, though. I have my first Gracie wound and I don't mind at all.
I'm going to put up some video of her dreaming tonight (hopefully, You Tube is down right now).

a word about donations...

I've had several people ask where they could donate some funds to help with Grace's medical care. The Weimaraner Rescue of North Texas website ( www.weimrescuetexas.org) has a 'Donate' button on the right side of the home page beneath Grace's picture. This will take you to Pay Pal where you can make a secure donation to a fund set up specifically for Grace's care. She will likely be seen by a couple specialists once she is completely healthy in order to get a better assessment of her blindness and any neurological damage she may have. These specialists will cost money to see plus any testing they would want done. The donations will go towards paying for these doctors and her other vet care.

We have already received several donations in Grace's name. I want to thank you all for your generosity. Without you, our work would not be possible.

I've truly been humbled by the outpouring of concern, prayer and well wishes from all of you. Who knew one tiny gray girl could bring so many different people together? Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Three Dog Bakery appearance

I was so happy to see faces at this Meet & Greet on Saturday that had come specifically to see Miss Gracie. It truly warmed my heart...unless it was the 100+ degree heat! Grace was freshly bathed and looking alert when we left the house. Of course, like any baby, she fell asleep in the car fairly quickly. When we arrived (late as usual, sorry!), Grace perked right up and let everyone hold her and love on her. She would never turn that down, she is an attention hound! Some would say she is spoiled when they see her 'baby blanket' that goes with her everywhere and all the attention she gets but if anyone deserves it, she does!
The nice people at Three Dog Bakery gave Grace samples of their best and she ate every bit of it. She found the bin of flavored rawhides and was trying to pull one out. She didn't realize that the rawhides were longer than she was and probably weighed more than she did. Pictures of this are in the new slideshow.
By the time we left, Gracie was worn out. She promptly crashed in the car and slept the whole way home.
Thank you again to all those who came out to see either Gracie or any of the other wonderful weims that were there. Also, a big thank you to Three Dog Bakery for letting Gracie sample the fare and just being so nice to WRNT!!!

Video of Gracie on wood floors

I wanted to get this video up of Grace because she is getting stronger every day and I wanted everyone to realize how weak she was when she came to us. She was unable to stand on wood/tile floors due to lack of muscle tone. Every day she gets a little stronger.
Title is the video link.

12.6...

What a magic number that was to see on the scale today at the vet's office!!! Gracie has gained about 2 lbs. in a week! Many of you have said she is looking better but when you see her every day, it's hard to see the difference. We are heading in the right direction with the weight, for sure.
I asked Dr. C about her right ear and explained that she kind of cocks her head towards the right sometimes when she's walking her circles, which incidentally are only clockwise. He watched her walk and gave me the look that says, "You're not going to want to hear this". Basically, Grace more than likely has some neurological damage. He said that her 'high stepping' is a sign of the damage. The vet said it was probably nothing huge and that it would be very livable, but it still stung. And it's not like we weren't expecting this. I'm pretty sure any animal wouldn't be able to survive a strangulation that resulted in a cessation of breathing without some type of brain damage. I just hadn't heard it spoken out loud by a professional. She will be referred to a neurologist at some point down the road for an official assessment. But tonight, I'm not going to linger on that bit of news. There is too much good news!
So, she's put on weight and she is able to stay upright on wood/tile floor more often now. She can kind of catch herself on the slide down to the floor. If she slides to the floor, she still can't get up on her own, though. She is eating great and bowels are on track. Dr. C said to stick to the current feeding plan for now. We got some drops for her right ear, just to be safe. She's been sneezing some in the past couple of days. That concerns me about kennel cough. Even though she was vaccinated last Wednesday, July 1, it can take up to 2 weeks to present symptoms. We will keep a close watch for nasal discharge and coughing (which we haven't seen at all). Kennel cough is treatable (is that a word?) but with Grace's health being in such a delicate balance right now, we can't afford any infections.
Dr. C made a comment about how long her tail was and that it must help her balance. I told him that more often than not, it throws her balance off and sometimes, when she's turning a corner, it can tip her over. David and I kid that we're going to put a tiny orange flag on the end of it so that everyone will know when she's coming through! :o)
She's starting to act more and more like a puppy. She's mouthing more and I had forgotten how needle-like their baby teeth are! Ouch! She was pulling on her blanket today and on the whole, just looks more alert. She is in to EVERYTHING. She wants to explore all the time and gets very frustrated when she doesn't get her way.
On the way home from the vet's, we stopped at Petsmart and were stopped several times by people who wanted to see Grace. I kept feeling like I had to explain her situation so that people wouldn't think I was the one who was starving her. One thing we hear over and over is "It's great that you can do this. I don't think I could." Rescue work is very rewarding but sometimes it is difficult. For every happy ending there are many more that aren't happy. Countless volunteers have lived through heartbreaking experiences and come out of them wondering if they will be able to do it again...only to see another sad gray face with those haunting eyes pop up in their email needing transport, vet care, fostering or just human attention. We wish that there wasn't a need for any animal rescues, but there is. We don't like to see sick dogs but we do enjoy seeing them come to life in our care. We love to see a dog come out of it's shell and learn to trust humans again. We feel a sense of pride and satisfaction when we watch one of our fosters leave our home with their new family. We do this because if we didn't, who would care for the Gracies in the world?

God bless every one of the people in this world who take time to care for something in need, whether it be animal, human or a cause.

Gracie's circles...

Okay, I lied. Here's one more video. This is one of her doing donuts in our living room...plus a REALLY cute close-up of her sweet face at the end.
Remember, the title is the link. Enjoy!

video of Gracie...

If you've been wanting to see Gracie in action, click on the link. The video is on You Tube. I apologize in advance for the shakiness of the video. If you are remotely prone to sea sickness, you might want to take a Dramamine before viewing. I was obviously over-multitasking. I have a few more to upload but this has been an adventure to get the pictures/video taken this morning, upload everything to computer/web and then get everything on the website. All to say, I'm a little worn out and I'm missing some prime cuddle-with-Gracie time so I will get the rest up tomorrow.

The title of this post is the actual link...click on that.

come meet Gracie in person!

This Saturday, Grace will be at the Three Dog Bakery in Southlake from approximately 10am to 11am. WRNT (Weimaraner Rescue of North Texas) will be having a Meet & Greet at that location from 10am - 2pm. For those who aren't familiar with what a Meet & Greet is, the rescue brings out Weims that are currently being fostered so that potential adopters, as well as anyone who wants to experience the Weim in person, can meet them. Usually, all the dogs that attend are cleared for adoption. Obviously, Grace is not anywhere near adoption-readiness, so she will only be there for photo ops, signing pawprints and giving warm weimie kisses.
Sorry for the late notice, but after Monday, I wasn't sure if she would be able to make an appearance. But once again, Amazing Grace has defied the odds and is improving daily. It also doesn't hurt that when that girl gets tired, she just falls asleep on whoever happens to be near her.
So, if you've been lying awake at night wondering when you would get to meet this tiny weim, now's your chance!
Hope we see you there!

weim kisses and barbie houses...

Last night, Gracie gave her very first kisses to David! I'm guessing that the only reason I didn't include this in last night's blog is subliminal jealousy...and yes, that is probably a real psychological term. It's just buried in some obscure Psychology textbook at Oklahoma State University (no offense, David :o).
But, this morning I got my first Gracie kisses so it's all good.
She is just SO much more alert when she is awake today. It's great to see. She was even biting at my shirt! It took me a minute to realize what she was doing. I'm just not used to her even remotely behaving like a true weim puppy. It's a beautiful thing!!!

I'm sure you are all wondering how a barbie house fits into this. Well, I'm in the office which is where Addie and Sydney's 'Barbie Town' is located. The girls are laughing so I look to see what Miley is doing (because she is usually the cause of laughter). Well, Miley has some competition because Gracie is walking into the Barbie mansion through the front door! She didn't even bother to ring the doorbell...how rude. :o)

photos to come soon!

Alright, I had to post this quick message to let everybody know that I am diligently working towards getting some updated pictures of Miss Gracie. However, every picture I take is either completely blurry or blurry in parts...mostly the parts Gracie is in. :o) Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining that she is moving more, I just wish she would cooperate with the camera! After close to 30 pictures, I gave up worrying about what people would think about the quality of my photography.
I've got to run the girls (human ones :o) to an activity and then I'll be back at it later. I've got some video of her in the backyard and will put that up also.
Suffice to say, she is ALL OVER THE PLACE! The girl wants to explore all the time. Are their nannys for puppies?

round and round she goes...

Good evening, all! Today marks 1 week since little Gracie was pulled from the shelter in Houston. Alot has happened to our little girl since then! She is still sleeping alot but with more periods of awake time and activity. And by activity I mean she is starting to act more like a puppy. She is getting more curious about her surroundings and is trying to get out of her little enclosure. She is "talking" to us alot, now. Especially when she is not getting her way! :o) David and I have decided that 'Sassy' would have been an equally appropriate name for Grace. She doesn't like to be picked up when she is outside exploring. She will squirm and kick with her legs all the while groaning and whining. Oh, and all that stops as soon as you put her back on the ground. She is a mess!
She has a unique way of getting around the yard. She walks in circles that gradually widen. She responds to our cue word 'careful' that we say when she is about to run into something and will turn. She pretty much covers our entire yard, too. At first, we kept her on a leash when outside so we had some control over where she went. But, to be honest, I was getting dizzy! She was circling me and I was trying to keep watch so I was turning, too. At the point that I became nauseous the leash came off. I don't know how she doesn't get dizzy. I do wonder if she has some neurological damage due to loss of oxygen during the strangulation but she is able to walk in a straight line when being led. I am going to video her walking in circles around the yard and put it up for everyone to see. Hoping to get that done tomorrow...if all the planets align / kids cooperate / no other crisis arises...
Grace is not fearful at all which is both good and scary. Good because she is not letting her blindness slow her down but scary because she could easily get hurt. Does that sound too motherly? I can't help it, she is so tiny and frail, I just want to hold her and keep her safe all the time. Everything I've read always states (in clearly bolded letters) 'Do Not Baby Your Blind Dog'. When I told David this, he laughed because I baby our dogs with sight! But, I guess Grace is taking care of this all on her own. She won't let me hold her unless she is ready to be held. She seems to be heading down the road of independence (and typical Weim stubbornness!).
As for her health...
Grace is eating everything offered but we are still pushing water. She just doesn't seem to want to take the time to drink alot of water from the bowl. She drinks a little and then wants to wander off. This is probably due to her short puppy attention span but with her condition, we don't have the luxury of saying 'oh well, she'll drink when she's thirsty'. So, we continue using the syringe a few times a day which she absolutely hates. We have one more day of antibiotics and will see Dr. C on Friday for a re-check. We're hoping to see a decent-sized jump in her weight. David and I both think her body is looking smoother and less like a walking skeleton. She has been messing with her right ear and cocking her head as if it is either itching or hurting. She will try to scratch with her back leg and end up falling over because, again, she has no muscle tone to accomodate this. We've cleaned the ears and put some drops in but will have Dr. C look at it on Friday. Her lip is healing well, too. We've discovered some sores in between her toes, likely due to her toenails being too long and scraping against the sides of her toes. She only had 2 bowel movements yesterday so we'll see what the vet wants to do about that. Otherwise, we are making slow, but steady, progress.
Well, that's it for now. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for God's Grace. She is truly amazing! Take care and I'll post again soon.

not so worried...

Hi all, I truly had every intention of getting a post up last night with an update on her but the day got away from me. Sorry! We've made it out of the woods...again. I'm starting to feel like this forest we're in has small clearings with sun and blue skies but is still as thick and dark as it can be when you wander back into it. Grace is living up to her name, she is an amazing little girl. To look at her yesterday morning, you would have (as I did) thought she was at death's door but when David brought her home yesterday she just looked better. She still slept alot but some of the time she would pick her head up and listen to what was going on around her (usually chaos in this house). Her eyes opened at some loud noises but she just kind of took it all in stride.
From the vet...Dr. C said her anemia is what is making her so lethargic plus, he said her protein level is really low. He is having us double her dose of the vitamin gel (which she loves) and push water with a syringe if needed. He also sent off a stool sample to check for any remaining hookworms or other parasites. The water issue didn't turn out to be an issue at all. It was like a switch was flipped because she was one thirsty girl when she got home last night! We only had to use the syringe one time and she was not happy. She just pushed with her legs and groaned the whole time. I worked again last night but David said she ate her last meal at 10pm well and slept until about 6am when she started bumping around in her crate. Like I said, she made a 180 in a day. That is a bit scary, knowing that she can take a turn for the worse that quickly. Her system is so sensitive right now. We go back to the vet in a few days for a re-check unless she is just making huge strides in her recovery.
She was more interested in walking around the yard last night. She walks in circles when she's on the ground. We would love for this to be her way of mapping the area, however, we are not ruling out any neurological damage due to the strangulation. She doesn't do this when she's on a leash as much and will walk with you if you lead so I'm hoping that Amazing Grace will amaze us once more and prove she is intact cognitively. I know she is smart. She has already caught on to our word we use to let her know she is about to bump into something. If you say "Careful", she'll slow down and turn. I tried to get some video of her walking but my battery was dead. SO frustrating...we can put a man on the moon but we still have to use batteries. Anyway, I'll try to get that today and up for you all to see. It's interesting, though, she will do her circles and make it all the way over by the fence and when she hits the fence she will start working her way back.
She's doing great on finding her food bowl at meal time and eating. When we first got her, she had a hard time staying on task with eating. Her head would bob all around and she would lose where the food was. That seems to have fixed itself. Yea!
Earlier today, I let myself wonder what she will be like when she is healthy and strong. Then we will be dealing with a whole other set of issues! Addie and Sydney are loving how she will just lay in their laps and sleep. We all know how healthy puppies are...really busy, teeth that feel like tiny needles, nonstop energy until they crash, infamous chewing and general mischief! They might not enjoy that side as much. Once again, the health obstacle is overshadowing her blindness. But I know that issue is down the road (or waiting for us outside of these woods we're in) so we are preparing now. I, however, would gladly endure the razor teeth if it meant that Gracie was a happy, healthy Weim.
I have received lots of good suggestions and advice on working with a blind dog. Please know that if I haven't called or emailed you, I'm not trying to be rude. We just need to get Gracie healthy before we start tackling that issue. I can't say it enough...thank you, thank you, thank you for offering to help and believe me, I will be taking you all up on your offers!
Thanks so much for all the weim wishes and prayers! Keep checking back, I promise to not take so long to update the blog.
~Kelly and Grace

still worried...

So I explained to the girl who answered the phone at the vet's office why I was calling and they said bring her in...the sooner the better. It's a rush to get kids dressed, dogs outside, fight tears back and out the door only to realize that I'm on empty and have to get gas. UUUGGGHHHH!
We get there and poor Grace looks like she was poured into my arms. The techs come in and one says, "Are you sure you want them in here?" about my girls. I'd been doing so good to hold it together, too. I manage to choke out, "You think it's that bad?" and she said, "I don't know. I just thought you might not want them in here in case...". I agree and she was nice enough to take them to the lobby and find some coloring paper for them. By now there's no holding back, but I'm working on getting it back together. It doesn't help that Grace is all snuggled up in the blanket with her big pink paws sticking out at the top. She is just beautiful. She doesn't have a fever...good...and her gums "look good"...better... I'm standing there holding her just praying. I told that tiny girl, "You have to fight now. It's not time. Don't you leave us."
Right in the middle of me focusing on reading the poster with all the different breeds of dogs on it in an attempt to not get upset, David walks in. Thank you! He didn't even have to ask, he just left work and came. Did I mention I love him?
Dr. C comes in and wants to run some blood tests and watch her today. So, no news yet. They will call David. That's good because he will not be emotional and actually remember the entire conversation. I'll let you know when I hear something.

Worried...

Maybe this is the mom in me coming out, but after spending all night at work thinking about how much Grace slept yesterday, I'm starting to think it's too much. I know her body needs rest to heal, but David and I figured up how much time she was awake yesterday and I think we ended up with about 4 to 4 1/2 hours in a 24 hour time period. That seems like alot to me. She got up this morning, went outside, ate and went back to sleep.
Dr. Carroll's office isn't open until 8am so here I sit, counting down the minutes until I can call. David said she ate well and he gave her the vitamin supplement gel but she is just very lethargic. MK and I discussed her anemia last night and that's all I've been thinking about.
5 more minutes... Pray for our tiny girl. I'll let you know what happens...

Sleeping Beauty

Good Evening!
Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. We are all worn out, I swear it's like having a newborn in the house again. Although, now I have two little helpers...Addie and Sydney want to help take care of Grace all the time and argue over whose turn it is to hold her! :o)
The rest of Sunday was fairly uneventful. Grace does her weim talking (those of you who have a weim know how they groan) alot, especially when she is upset. We are getting to know her better and I think she is getting to know us, too. The first day, she was very restless and would just walk in circles in her area whimpering and groaning. She seems to be more comfortable outside in the grass than she is indoors. She tends to pick her feet up, kind of a high step, when inside but walks normally outside. This makes me think she spent most, if not all, of her time outside. She tries to get out of her area alot. She is a very determined puppy! We let her out once, to see what she would do and she couldn't stay upright. She has no muscle tone due to her emaciation and doesn't have the strength to keep her legs under her on smooth surfaces. They will slide out and she ends up on her tummy with all four legs splayed out. Then she gets frustrated because she can't get up and just kicks all of her legs (I can see the calories we just put into her being wasted on this!) until we pick her up. At some point, I might get a towel or some material of some kind to use a sling and help hold her up so that she can explore a little more. But for now, we are trying to conserve every calorie we can.
Grace went to her first 4th of July fireworks display with us last night...and slept through the entire thing. (We weren't close enough for them to be too loud for her.) She was an angel and everyone around us wanted to pet her and hear her sad story. If I had a nickel for every time I hear "How could someone do this to a puppy?"... I won't even get into that because it does Grace absolutely no good. What's done is done and we are focused on her future. So, on the whole, we plugged the rescue's website and Grace was the perfect little ambassa-dog. By the time we pulled into the driveway Addie, Sydney and Gracie were all asleep in the back seat.
Grace woke me up at 4am this morning bumping around in her crate. I took her out to pee and was too tired to try and settle her in her crate so I just put her in bed with David and I. She curled up right next to his head and went immediately to sleep. I woke up at one point and she was curled up on my shoulder in the crook of my neck...it doesn't get much better than that!
She's eaten well today and had 3 bowel movements (this is what we were shooting for). We're a little concerned about her water intake. She drinks after eating and a little here and there but not enough so we are using a syringe to push some extra water. Her body is in such a delicate state right now that anything could set off the balance. She does not like the syringe, either! She pushes your hand away and groans and whines the whole time. It's good to see some fighting spirit in her!
Today, she has lived up to the title of this post. She has slept much of the day. She wakes easily to eat and will go outside to pee and explore a little but mostly, she wants to sleep. I'm hoping this is a result of her feeling more comfortable in our home and her body is now trying to heal. She is still on an antibiotic and we are supplementing with a high calorie vitamin gel. I think she is just flat worn out. Everyone got a turn holding her today except me!
Lastly, I wanted to give you some details on her appearance. She has part of her upper lip missing on both sides of her mouth, the left one is pretty decent sized and the right is small. Both are still healing with scabs, so they aren't too old. She has some scars and bite marks on her ears / face / chest. Her dew claws and tail are intact. You can see every bone in her skeleton right now...every rib, every vertabrae in her back. Even her tail looks bony. She has beautiful eyes and just looking at her, you wouldn't know she is blind. Her ears are big, beautiful weim ears and always get wet when she is eating or drinking. Her coat is in decent shape but a little coarse and sparse in areas due to the malnutrition.
Like I said, we're watching her hydration and will probably call Dr. Carroll tomorrow is she is still sleeping all the time just to be sure he doesn't want to re-assess her anemia.
Keep God's Grace in your thoughts and prayers and thank you for checking up on us!

We have poop!

Hi all,Yes, it's true (and stinky :o), little Grace finally pooped this morning. And then proceeded to step in it and track it all around her small area we have set up for her. As I was happily cleaning the rug, my 2 weims were sitting there watching me and I'm pretty sure they were thinking, "How come when we do that she gets mad and yells at us?"

This is a big step forward for our tiny girl! It's a sign that her body is catching up a little. Couldn't see any worms and it was not loose. She got a bath, too, since she had stepped all in it. I put a towel in the bottom of the bathtub so she wouldn't slip. Worked out well and stayed in place once it was wet. Poor thing was worn out by the time all this was done and cold so we wrapped her up in a dry towel and heated another in the dryer to put over her. She fell right to sleep.

She slept all night in her crate and I woke up to her bumping around in it. Took her out and she peed right away and then wanted to walk around the yard for awhile. She bumps into Miley alot and Miley will just look at her. She ate breakfast well. She's on Royal Canine Recovery with Eukanuba lg breed dry mixed in. I got several cans from Dr. Carroll and was going to get the rest of the cans we would need at Petsmart but they wouldn't sell them to me without a prescription. I guess that's it for now.

Hope everybody has a fun and safe 4th of July! --

~Kelly Walker

Weimaraner Rescue of North Texas

http://www.weimrescuetexas.org/

7/3/2009

Grace travelled from Houston to Dallas today to the Walker Family. It was a long trip, but she slept most of the way. Her short periods of activity wore her out, but her tail was wagging and she seemed interested in her surroundings.

From the Walkers:
We are home and tired but Grace is a trooper. She saw Dr. Carroll today and has gone from 9.8 pounds on Wed to 10.5 pounds today. I don't care if it is re-hydration, she's moving in the right direction! She is a sweetheart and once again, the Weimaraner proves they are able to forgive the horrible things that humans do and love us anyway.
I believe she is 'God's Grace' and He is watching over this little one.
Stay tuned...more updates to come!!
Kelly

Meet Grace

The call came, as most do, from a shelter with a Weimaraner in need. But this call was different. This call was for a very special tiny girl. All of our rescue dogs come in with a story - usually it is a mystery that slowly unfolds as each day passes. This call was heart wrenching - a young puppy was brought to a shelter in bad shape. The victim of an accident. She was left outside on her own and became entangled with a chain or fence. When she was found, she was thought to be dead from strangulation, but she was revived. As usual, we did not receive the whole story about this girl. But we do know that she is blind. She is severely emaciated and had a horrible infection of hook worms. This little girl who after three and a half months of life weighs less than 10 lbs. There is more to her story and most of it we will never know. But the most important part of the story is just beginning......

The biggest challenge in rescue is to find a foster home for our dogs. Foster homes are the backbone of rescue and we would literally collapse without them. A plea was put out to our group and the Walker Family immediately offered to help this girl. After much thought, they came up with the name Grace for this little one. In the short time we have had her, there have been several incidents that have let us know that Grace definately has an angel looking after her.

Thank you to each of you who helped us find this girl who needs our help so desparately -especially the shelter workers who kept her safe in a crazy enviornment and called us to help her. Once she is stronger, she will need to see some specialists for assessment. For now, she needs some basic meds, some routines and training on how to communicate and acclimate to her new surroundings, good food and rest. The Walkers will update our site with Grace's progress. Please keep little Grace in your prayers