I did it again....

[catarina77777]

Dear Anne,

I just happened to see those pics you posted of Dovik! How cunning! His eyes say so much. I wish I could have him; but my cats would freak out!
Always,

 

[gayle]

Dear Anne:

Glad to hear that Dovik does not have the dreaded cancer. Here in Michigan, we have a "deer tick" that spreads the Lyme disease to both humans and animals. I have heard that it does take some time to recover from this. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.

Has hubby settled down yet? How are the cats doing with the new family member? I think that with a lot of love and rest that Dovik will recover.

I wish there was something that I could do to help you, but Israel is land, ocean and more land away from the States.

Good luck and god bless, Gayle

 

[Anne]

Well, the good news is that he's getting better. It may be too soon to tell, but I think he's going to make it. The vet never said he was going to die, just that it was a possibility.

The bad news is that he is apparently more lively than he seems. He spends the nights sleeping in our porch (the nights are warm and our house it so tiny that we had to let him sleep outside). A few hours ago our next door neighbor came over to inform me that our semi-alive dog broke into his fenced yard and killed several chickens and rabbits!!! He also jumped into their fish pond and killed several fish and damaged the pond!!!

I felt so embarrased! Dovik has caused several hundreds of dollars worth of damage! I promised to keep him indoors from now on until we find a home for him. Fortunately that was a very nice neighbor who said he doesn't blame the dog and knows what's it like to have a dog that does these kind of things.

What really scares me is that if this dog likes to kill rabbits, maybe he is dangerous to the cats?

 

[catarina77777]

Dear Anne,
OMG!!! I can't believe this sweet dog would do that, however; he is a DOG...they do these types of things...I have no idea what to tell you about the kitties. I had a dog that was a pit bull and she hated everything but my kitties. Well, she was very protective of my family and I was very happy about that; until she ran into my Mom and broke her leg...then I had to find a good home for her. Until this very day, I feel so guilty about giving her away. My Mom's leg was shattered though I couldn't take the chance of her running into it again while she was rehabiliting. I really do pray that you find a good home for him...you must be exhausted with concern!
Always,

 

[debby]

Oh Anne....are they sure it was Dovik who did the damage? I am so sorry to hear of it, and of his tick disease, it does sound like Lyme disease. I hope you can get him to stop wrecking havok in the neighborhood, and get some treatment for his disease. What an awful position to be put in. My prayers are with you.

 

[sandie]

My goodness, what a dilema. Its hard when you want to help and you have limits. I have no idea if they have lymes disease in Isreal. It can be fairly serious here in the states. If it is lymes disease, they usually treat it with an inexpensive antibiotic. I would even send you some if you needed it!! I know in third world countries they have something called tick paralysis. It is more serious. I will put a link up here about it. I hope he recovers okay. I am sure with some training and love, he will stop hunting. You just dont know how long he was without a home and he probably had to hunt to eat!!

http://www.ullavet.com.au/tick.html#Treatment

 

[catarina77777]

Dear Anne & Sandie,
Ya know Sandie, that's so true that he may have had to fend for himself for so long!!! I had no idea that there was medication out for Lymes...thank the Lord for you Sandie! You never cease to amaze me!!! Anne all my prayers for Dovicks recovery...and Bless you all too.
Always,

 

[lucy cat]

With any luck the owners are looking for him at the shelter.

Originally posted by Anne
You know how it is that strays come over to you and there's nothing you can do but take them in and help them?

Well, so far it's been mostly cats, but today the stray happened to be a bear-size dog (a mixed German Shepard + Golden Retriever). My mother-in-law almost fainted and was very close to declaring me officially insane...

I talked her into letting me keep the dog in the yard (we live in a small house in their very large backyard), at least until hubby come home this evening and we can get the poor guy to a shelter.

I know that hubby will also freak out when he sees our guest. He always suspects me of secretely wanting to keep all the strays I find as pets. He's perfectly right too... But he is also right about us not being able to keep another pet, especially now that we have our new dog Bambi. Pets are a huge expense...

My heart breaks. He seems to be such a good natured giant (doesn't go after cats and generally relaxed). Chances are we won't be able to place him in a no-kill shelter and he will have to go to the SPCA where they will probably put him down

I try telling myself that this is better for him then the certain cruel death he faced on the streets. He's starved (I fed him and he ate so much!), full of ticks and nearly got run over on the main road (that's where I found him).

Life can be so cruel to animals!

 

[Anne]

I think what he has is called Ehrlichiosis in English (check out this link: http://www.comvet.com/html/ehrlichiosis.html). If I followed the vet then this is a kind of Lyme disease that dogs get.

Yes he is on antibiotics - the pills cost us roughly 40$ because he needs a high dose for 20 days. Thank you so much for your offer to send some Sandie! I don't think we could've waited though. He really was in a bad shape.

He's getting better and better. I now have him under my supervision at all times. He spent the night locked in our bathroom. I read somewhere that crating dogs is okay so I figured keeping him in one room may also be fine.

I'm not angry with him - it's not his fault that he hunts. It just means that his owners need to keep a better eye on him.

As for shelters - there are no no-kill shelters for dogs in Israel. Taking him to the shelter would mean having him put down, so we're keeping him here for now. The cats are very stressed about the whole thing and I guess we are too. I do hope we'll find a good home for him soon.

 

[Anne]

Not only is Dovik doing better (boy, what an apetite

), I have probably managed to find him a home! I've sent out emails with his picture and story to everyone I know (in Israel that is) and so far 4 families said they'd be interested. Two of them said they'd be willing to take him in no matter what (I threatened that he will be going to a shelter and put down if no one wants him).

So now there are people coming over this weekend to see the sweet old bear! I think this will have a happy ending after all. Thanks everyone for your prayers and support! I'll keep you updated.

 

[airprincess]

Anne that is such great news!! i'm so happy that he's going to finally have his very own home. That is so wonderful for you and your husband to take him in, care for him and find him a place to live.

 

[kittykratz]

This brings tears of joy to my eyes. Dovik is so lucky to have run into you!! Good work!!

 

[debby]

Oh Anne!! That is wonderful news!!!!!

 

[catarina77777]

Originally posted by Anne

(I threatened that he will be going to a shelter and put down if no one wants him).

[/b]

You sly thing you!!! LOL.... yep

 

[kaaren sander]

Great news, Anne! I'll be anxious to hear how it works out. Hope he finds a wonderful home with people who truly love him. Dogs are so responsive to love and attention!

 

[airprincess]

so what's the word? did dovik get adopted?

 

[Anne]

Not yet... Of the four potential adopters, I turned one couple down on Rene's advice because they were going to leave him home alone for 14 hours a day. Another person found out that his landlady doesn't allow pets (and she has a dog! go figure!). That leaves two more people. One of whom I have been unable to reach these past 2 days and the fourth said that unless we found a home by Thursday, he'll be taking him in for sure.

I just hope he ends up in a good home by the end of this week! The cats are my main concern as I think Mishmish is vwey stressed over his presence.

 

[catarina77777]

Dear Anne,

I don't know how you do it...you and so many other members on here! God Bless All of you! I'm so lucky to have met you all. My prayers are with you.

Deepest Appreciation,
Always,

 

[sandie]

I am sure theres someone out there just right for him. There is no way he could be led to you for no reason!

 

[Anne]

Well, listen to this one...

Hubby just climbed the ladder to my office (I mentioned somewhere that we're re-doing the stairs to the office which is on the second floor - so I have no access to my regular email). He went to check the email from the last 3 days. Turns out that more than 20 people have emailed that want to adopt Dovik!

In my original email I asked people to forward the message to people they know to help me find a home. Well, apparently this has turned into a chain letter

More and more people are getting it by the day and my guess is it has reached several thousands in one week!

Now, I'm trying to figure out a plan to rescue at least one more dog that I know of who needs a home and then try to convince as many people as possible to adopt at shelters.

This is so heartwarming on one hand and so frustrating on the other - to think that there are great homes out there who will take an animal in need and they're not doing anything about it unless someone send that animal to their mail-box.