Airplane But No Visits...

Well, its only a "half airplane" but you get the idea. Scarlett's ears are just a little shy of the perfect length, so when she looks up they tend to fly straight out. She doesn't know it, but she had a cousin back in Mississippi whose ears did the same thing. Her name was Cessna for the same reason...

In the way of updates, we are now about five days into the treatment and all is still well. However, we are going to hold off any visits for a while because it is so important that Scarlett stay calm. Perhaps this fall she can finally have that "Welcome to Austin" party with all her new friends that Aunt Keisha is planning. But for now, its Rockwood Lane only for this little foot.

Scarlett's Treatment

Thanks to all that have been calling and asking about Scarlett's treatment. She is about four days in now and so we are starting to see...and she is definitely starting to feel...the effects. I have been told that each dog reacts differently. In her case, she is doing a little coughing (more of a gag reflex) but mostly you can tell she feels something is wrong. She startles herself from sleeping or resting and has some quick spurts of energy. Then she has a few minutes of shaking, almost a shuttering or purr, like a human getting the chills. It subsides after a few minutes and she remains calm the whole time. She is such a trooper.

Half the folks I have talked to say days 3 to 7 will be the worst, other predict 7 to 10 days. Regardless, we will be on edge for at least several weeks. Thanks again for all the notes and questions about the treatment.

PS - In between naps I am still trying to get a picture of Scarlett's signature look..."airplane ears." More on that later...

Goodbye Worms...

Big day today. Scarlett went back to the vet clinic for her first (of two) heart worm treatments. Since her case was so advanced, her treatments will be spaced one month apart. That means this little Beagle of energy has to stay calm for a total of 12 weeks, starting today. Yikes.

So far she is doing great, but that's probably because she is on a little pain medicine. Check back next time and see if our luck on that holds out.

And oh yeah, for those of you that wonder how an 18 pound dog can hog the entire couch: here is the photographic proof. She starts curled up next to you on the side. Then she slowly moves her head toward the back and begins to gently press her hind legs against your side. Next comes the full-on kick. Finally, she is laying across the entire depth of the couch so you can't lay down at all. Nice work.

Updates from the First Week...

So much to tell...so many pics to share. I guess our biggest news so far was today's trip to the vet. Based on the recommendation of Hound Rescue, we took Scarlett to see Dr. Mark Cotnam (Texas Aggie Class of 1976). She did well with her first visit and is scheduled for the first of two heartworm treatments next Thursday. She will need to be very calm from then until a couple months after her treatments to be sure we limit the side affects and get her back to full heath. And oh yeah, she tried to take down a pretty good sized boxer in the waiting room and basically laid down the law with the vet techs when they tried to cut her toe nails.

Now for the fun pictures:

First up, a nice head shot for all you potential agents out there. This is Scarlett modeling her "chillin' on the couch" pose.

Please note the sqeaky ball tucked carefully under her right ear, and the plush blanket of the scarlett variety.

Scarlett is also doing very well around the house and so we experimented with letting her roam on her own for a couple hours this afternoon while we were out. Of course, the dog door was closed then so she could not get to the yard. She did very well, thank you. And she is even getting better around the garden hose!

If she had visited my parents house I would say she learned this trick from their dog, Snickers. He likes to sit inside (in the AC) with his head hanging out the dog door so he can still monitor the situation outside. Scarlett has started to do the same thing, expect that she isn't big enough to be on both sides of our door given that it goes through the wall.




This brings me to another good shot. Here Scarlett is multi-tasking. She is both eating her dinner AND defending the backyard. As you can see, her bowls are strategically located in front of the glass doors so she can see every move those pesky birds and leaves make. She even gave us a show in the afternoon when the cable guy was working on the house next door...climbing around the trees in their backyard without even asking Scarlett for permission first. The nerve.

Two more pictures to share and then I am done for tonight. First, you will see a picture of poor Mr. Squeakers. He has only been on the scene since Sunday and already he has lost one whole side of stitches. Lori will be making emergency repairs this weekend. And last but not least, a picture of Scarlett sound asleep on the couch losing ground by the second...

Likes and Dislikes

After our first night and full day together, we now have a pretty good list of likes and dislikes for little foot, otherwise known as Scarlett...

Likes: our crate. Lucky for Lori and Jimmy, Scarlett does not mind going into her crate during the day as long as one of her favorite toys is in there with her.

Dislikes: staying still for a photo. Thus, the blurry action shot of Lori and Scarlett that is posted here.

Likes: looking between the planks in Mrs. Foley's fence. There is something over there moving, Scarlett is sure of that. She just can't quite figure out what it is. That means Jimmy needs to get to Lowe's this weekend and fortify the base of the fence!

Dislikes: the hose Jimmy uses to water the backyard gardens. In case you are wondering, Scarlett can get across the backyard, through the dog door, and into her crate ("safe place") in less than 4 seconds given the right motivation. And that motivation is apparently the sound of water going through the hose on the other side of the yard.

Likes: sleeping on her own bed next to (not in) Lori and Jimmy's bed. Amen.

Dislikes: sharing her favorite toy with you when she is settled onto her end of the couch. Yeah, we need to work on that one.

Rockwood Beagle has arrived!!!

We made the trip to San Antonio earlier today and picked up Scarlett, our Beagle. As you can see, she didn't have too much trouble finding a nice place to sleep in our car on the trip back home to Austin.

Its been quite a day for all of us. So far, Scarlett has been given a new name (at least, we think this will be her new name), traveled to Austin, explored our back yard and the entire house, and mastered our two-flap dog door.

Right now, she is sleeping in the living room while Lori and Jimmy get a little work done in the back office. She had a nice dinner of lamb and rice, courtesy of her foster mother, Denise. This week will bring our first trip to the vet and many more adventures I am sure. Stay tuned...

Below are some more photos from day. We hope you enjoy.

Scenes from the first back yard scouting mission...

It took a few minutes for Scarlett to make it back as far as the tree (half way), as she was not sure what was in all those shadows....


...but soon she was pointing at everything that was a potential trouble-maker. In this case it was the hammock, which squeaks when the wind blows.


The nose was down to the ground most of the afternoon, so many new smells.


And then she heard the birds across the fence in Mrs. Foley's yard. Too much excitement for one afternoon so we needed to go inside for a while.

If we have a good home...

...the beagle will come. This Sunday, in fact. We will be traveling to San Antonio to pick up our beagle, a three year old female rescued by Hound Rescue of Austin and San Antonio.

No, she isn't a puppy, and yes, she has a past. The city picked her up as a stray and based on her size thought she was only six months old. Before even checking her teeth, they gave her all the regular puppy shots, including a heart worm treatment. Unfortunately, she was already heart worm positive and so she had a bad reaction. Enter the Hound Rescue.

"She" is currently named Libby, but everyone agrees this isn't going to be her "forever" name, and so we, as her "forever" family have some thinking to do...