Adoption History

So you’ve decided to adopt a pet. You’ve already bought all the food, dishes, and other accessories. The pet you’ve picked seems so cute and cuddly, but all of the sudden the pet flips out!! It’s like some Jeckl/Hyde change that you never expected. That’s what happens when you don’t get the entire history of the pet you’re planning on adopting. If you don’t believe this can happen, consider the story of Lucy.

Lucy was a Doberman pinscher/ Labrador retriever cross who was days away from being euthanized. Her original owners had to surrender her after she started showing signs of aggression towards their baby. However, in the 11th hour, an acquaintance of the owners rescued her and took her home. Lucy was scared to be in a new home, so she showed her nervousness by growling at people and the other dogs. Understand that this behavior sometimes happens when you change a dog’s surroundings and routine. In this case however, growling was the first red flag Lucy exhibited. During her two week stay with her rescuer, she became very attached to him. It got to the point that other people couldn’t approach him without Lucy growling and bearing her teeth. Now, it should be noted that the rescuer made many efforts to correct Lucy’s escalating behavior; some corrections were more effective than others. It takes time to learn aggressive behaviors, so it makes sense that it takes as much, or even more time to change undesired behaviors.

After two weeks, Lucy’s rescuer came to the conclusion that he couldn’t keep Lucy due to other demands on his time. He felt he had the experience to work with a difficult case such as Lucy’s, but he didn’t have the time she deserved to retrain her. He contacted a few animal rescues to find her a new “forever home”. News of Lucy’s case soon made it to Green Oak Veterinary Clinic. Doc was looking for a Doberman or Doberman cross to adopt for her daughter since her previous dobie had to be put to sleep last summer. Lucy was an interesting case, and the veterinarian and her family felt they had the experience to deal with any behaviors Lucy presented. They would soon learn how wrong they were.

Lucy arrived at the clinic with the vet’s daughter for a physical and temperament test. She passed both quite well, and she was driven to the vet’s home. First, Lucy was introduced to the resident dogs and given a tour of the house. She seemed to do well here too. Lucy was very smart and learned the schedule quickly. However, she exhibited her guarding and dominance behaviors again. She attached herself to Doc’s daughter and growled whenever someone approached. They also discovered that, where food was involved, Lucy was extremely aggressive to anyone near her kibble. Growling, bared teeth, and a tensed body warned everyone to say away. This event put serious doubt in the family’s ability to work with Lucy without getting hurt.

On her second day at the new house, Lucy figured out how to get into the garbage can in the kitchen. Normally, the owner would only have to raise his or her voice at a dog who was doing that to let the dog know garbage picking was not appropriate behavior. Lucy was a totally different story. She was smart enough to open the can, and there was no way she was going to give it up. The vet’s daughter tried to correct Lucy’s behavior and keep her from eating something that might be harmful. Unfortunately, she couldn’t get near enough to the garbage to push it away without endangering herself. She tried to use a cane to push the can away from the dog, but Lucy lunged at the piece of wood. That act cemented the family’s and vet’s decision that Lucy was much more dangerous than they thought. She was too hazardous to keep in the house.

Once Lucy was transported to the clinic for emergency boarding, Doc decided to get to the bottom of this story. The information she received before bringing her home and Lucy’s actual behavior just didn’t add up. The next step was to call the vet who was listed on the medical files that came with Lucy. That phone call cleared up a lot of the blank spaces in Lucy’s story. The vet stated that Lucy had had behavioral problems for years. The original owners had tried Bark Busters training and behavior therapy to no avail. To protect their baby, they kept Lucy in the master bedroom. This only enforced her protective aggression. The vet also told Doc that he had recommended that Lucy be euthanized more than a year ago after she had attacked a greyhound without provocation. Armed with this information, Doc contacted both the rescue that worked on Lucy’s case and the man who rescued Lucy in the first place. The rescue group decided they could not take Lucy back into the rescue because they didn’t want to be liable if Lucy injured someone who adopted her. The man who rescued her from euthanasia before was angry that he hadn’t been given the whole story. It was explained to him that euthanasia was the vet’s recommendation. He strongly objected, but he decided that he couldn’t take Lucy back. Later that day, Lucy was put to sleep.

Lucy’s story had a terrible ending, but it teaches a valuable lesson. When considering pet adoption, make sure you get a complete history of the pet. Collect as much information as you can so that you won’t be surprised by unknown behaviors or medical problems. Also, make sure that you can dedicate enough time to take care of the animal you adopt. Different animals need different amounts of grooming, attention, and training; make sure you understand these needs before adoption. Ignoring your pet’s needs only allows your pet to make their own rules, and the resulting behavior can be dangerous.

Picture Palooza 2

Rory is not pleased.

How can you say no to this face?

a rare occasion of gizmo being calm!

Diamond is a bit cross eyed

Angus is ready for his close up (Recently Adopted!)

Tony B looking dashing.

Happy New Year!

don't forget to add vet care to your new years resolutions!

Picture Palooza

Check out some of these hot shots of some of our favorite furry friends!

Angus loves a good lap

I can has interwebs?

Eddy ready to pounce

Olli and I lounging at home after a hard days work

Tashi visits Santa

Sasha planning to take over the world...or at least the food bin

Sam and Kaluha cuddling

Ferd lookin a bit grizzled after a bath

If you would like to see your pet on here, send us a picture at greenoakblog@gmail.com

Welcome!

Happy Holidays!

Green Oak Veterinary Clinic was founded in September 2005 by Dr. Lisa Lembke, DVM MS to serve clients throughout South East Michigan. Dr. Lembke has 25 years of experience working with shelters, rescues, and the people who adopt and love these animals. The clinic serves both private clientele and multiple rescue organizations. We are always happy to help with your cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, reptiles, rodents, or any other pet you may have!

We would love to share our stories, knowledge, pictures and occasional videos with everyone. We welcome everyone to ask questions and comment!



We always have cats available for adoption; dogs and other animals are occasionally available. We are listed on Petfinder!
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/MI605.html

Ask The Vet

Ask The Vet:
by Lisa Lembke DVM MS

My pet’s coat this winter is really full of dandruff and static. What can I do?

The dry air and heat inside the house during the winter are responsible for the static and, to some extent, the dry skin. For dogs, static can be reduced by spritzing the hair coat with a dilute solution of crème rinse and working it in well. Any product that is safe to use on a person can be used safely on your dog. Crème rinse should not be used on cats because grooming behavior will cause them to swallow the product.

The flakiness in both dogs and cats can be reduced by bathing—though caution should be exercised in bathing a cat. It is safer to wrestle a bag of razor blades than to bathe certain, shall we say, fractious, cats. Your veterinarian can help you with this task by doing the bathing for you, using a sedative or even an anesthetic to make the experience more pleasant for the cat and the bather. Clean the haircoat and skin with an emollient, conditioning shampoo. Be sure to rinse all the shampoo out thoroughly, else the residue itself may make the skin problem worse. If you can’t bathe your dog at home, some pet stores have pet grooming areas where a raised tub, grooming products, and drying equipment are available for a fee. The store may require that your pet be current on rabies vaccination, and also current for kennel cough for dogs.

Nutritional supplements are available to improve your pet’s skin and coat quality from the inside out. In the winter, nutritional needs change. Your pet needs supplemental, high quality essential fatty acids in the diet. Your veterinarian can recommend an appropriate essential fatty acid supplement that will help maintain healthy skin and fur, without causing the animal to become overweight.

If little black crumbles, like ground pepper, are part of the dandruff picture, fleas are probably present, despite the cold weather. The flea problem was very bad in summer and fall this year, and many pets still have these little pests present in their fur and in their bedding. If you have found black dandruff, blot some of it up with a damp paper towel. If the damp towel blushes red around the crumbles, this confirms the black stuff is flea dirt. Consult your veterinarian for advice treating the pet and the environment for fleas. Ridding your pet of fleas will improve skin health and coat quality, and eliminate the scabs and chewing behavior caused by flea allergy.