Confessions of a First Time Foster

The BFCACT was contacted about four puppy mill Bichons that needed out of their situation asap. We agreed to take the four, one male and three females.

Our representative met the transport and took these sad babies directly to her vet. The dogs were thin, smelled horrible, had sores all over their bodies and were lethargic.

One looked pregnant.

The vet was appalled at the condition of these dogs. The male was in such bad condition that it was recommended he be put to sleep. The others were not out of the woods. These dogs had been starved.

The sores were from the poor condition in which these dogs were living. The vet would not allow the three females to leave. They were given IV’s, medication and fed every few hours.

Yup, one girl was pregnant and had an ultrasound. Yup, there were live puppies in there. We we worried that the pups would not survive due to our girl, Marti, being malnourished.

As soon as the other two girls were healthy, they were spayed. One was put into foster care but Bailey and Marti went to an experienced rescuer in New England to whelp and Foster. Within a week, Marti gave birth to four girls and a boy. Five fat, healthy babies!!!

Having been a puppymill girl without much care, Marti learned how to survive and adapt. She was dehydrated and would take water from her bowl to clean the puppies. She knows who has fed and will move the puppies around to make sure ALL get enough milk. The little piglets are moved to the side so the others can eat. This is truly a remarkable momma.

Below are pictures of Bailey. You can see curiosity and affection in her eyes, but also how she is still healing from her physical ordeal. She will be available for adoption via bichonrescue.org this week.

The cost to Bichon Rescue for the transportation and Vet care for these poor sweet dogs was close to $3000. Yes, three thousand dollars.

If you’ve done research about Bichon Frise as a breed, you probably noticed some mention of allergies. That’s the bad news. The good news is, many of those allergies are food-related, and therefore quite avoidable.

I took an informal poll of the Fosters to get the best brands and ideas. Here are some of their responses:

If you ask Lynn, the BFCACT Director, she will remind you that white dogs tend to be allergy prone. They should not be fed corn or gluten; you have to take the time to read labels. The good news is, most manufacturers and many stores now offer full label info online. Lynn is a real proponent of grain free foods.

Jackson now gets Castor and Pollux, the organic chicken, brown rice and flax kibble; I would have gotten the Ultramix but they were out of it. Neither one contains corn or wheat. When Jackson arrived, he was rubbing his face a lot, and also had an upset tummy. He was given to me with the remainder of the sack of food he had been given…Beneful, with the giant graphic of corn and wheat right there on the front of the bag. Not good for fluffs! Within a few days of switching foods, the rubbing, scratching and upset tummy went away.

Hadley is fed Nature’s Variety Instinct Grain Free Chicken dry dog food. Lucy gets the Instinct Chicken canned dog food which is also grain free. She is on canned food because she had struvite stones, so she gets canned to increase the amount of liquids in her system. [I] pour some of the juices from Lucy’s canned Instinct onto Hadley’s dry food. Both used to be fussy eaters, but no more. Plus Hadley’s thin, flyaway coat has developed into a lusher, thicker one (with the help of Omega 3 fatty acids, too).

Angel now gets Orijen, which is grain-free. Bitter Lily is reassured by the fact that the company makes the food themselves in plants in Canada — no risk of China-made food recalls here. “It is expensive and difficult to find, but for all three bichons together we serve only 1-1/2 cups a day.”

More of our Fosters offer their opinion and experience:

“California Natural, Innova, Evo. The important thing to mention is that I like Natures Variety Prairie…usually use Chicken but the Venison is another good choice”

“Charley…eats canned K/D to prevent a recurrence of calcium oxalate stones.”

“I feed my dogs California Natural - Low Calorie Dry Kibble. I cook my own chicken and add veggies and water and blend and freeze in containers and put a blop on their food.”

“I feed my bichons and all my fosters Regal Lamb and Rice. I sometimes add chicken broth (from whole foods or trader joes), green beans and carrots.”

“I also am a believer in adding organic chicken broth, chicken, green beans and carrots to my dogs ration of kibble. I cook up a batch of ‘doggie stew’ separate it into quart size containers and freeze. One container lasts me a week for my gang of 6. Additionally at the Jean Dodds seminar she told us that high protein is good but if we use grain free kibble she recommends a reduced fat formula particularly for aging dogs.”

“Solid Gold Holistic Blend - I feed it to all 4 of my dogs, ages 4-18, including my diabetic dog. They all get a little of Wellness canned food with the kibble. None of my dogs has any tear staining, and very little face staining.”

Ah yes, tear and face staining. Another bane of the little white dog.

If your Vet has verified that it’s not due to excessive tearing, abnormal tear drainage or another factor, staining could be due to problems with food. Many supermarket-grade foods have beet pulp or other pigments and colors that will add to the problem. It could also be due to water that has too much iron or minerals.

Should you give your dog vitamins? Not for Bichons. For example, supplementing Vitamin C can make urine acidic, and aggravate calcium oxolate stones. A good, balanced, premium food will have everything needed without the added expense of vitamin pills.

And never forget this list of Foods to NEVER Feed to Any Dog:
Alcohol
Apple cores (seeds are poisonous)
Bones that are cooked (they splinter)
Caffeine
Chocolate
Raw dough
Garlic
Grapes
Moldy foods, including aged cheeses
Mushrooms
Onions
Raisins

Yes, now. Do this now, because you never know — you might need it at a moment’s notice.

One of my friends is a Pet Tracker. She used to do Search-and-Rescue with her dogs, but these days she offers their talents to seek out lost pets. I might add, she has a very good percentage of positive results. But she couldn’t do a thing without a scent article.

She gave me this tip to pass on to all of you about keeping an emergency kit, including a scent article. We hope you never need it…but do this thing now!

For each dog or cat, you will need:

• Your Camera
• 1 or 2 Cotton Rounds/Discs (the kind sold next to cotton balls at the drugstore, not a piece of cotton fabric and not a cotton ball)
• A Ziploc Bag
• A Label, or Masking Tape to Label, and a Marker

First, take the camera and take some good, in-focus, close-up photos of each animal, against a plain background (such as a painted wall, or grass) in each of the following positions:

1. Sitting, facing the camera
2. Standing naturally, horizontal to the camera (nose at one side, tail at the other)
3. Lying down naturally, horizontal to the camera
4. Close up of the face

Please be sure to take these against a plain background, not against something busy like a plaid sofa. These, of course, are for a poster, and your holiday photos won’t pass muster. Ideally there shouldn’t even be a background on the poster; just the animal. Take new photos…do this thing now!

Now for the scent article. On each dog or cat, the ideal spot is between the shoulder blades; if you’ve ever applied Frontline or something similar, you know the spot. Take the cotton round and rub that spot five or six times (try to “cover” the cotton), then immediately place it into the Ziploc bag and seal it up, as airtight as possible. You can do more than one sample per animal if you like. The texture of the cotton round is perfect for picking up just the right amount of dander and scent to make it an individualized scent item.

If, however, you have applied Frontline or similar to the animal, wait 24 hours after the application to do this thing.

Do not put anything else in the bag with the scent article, and do not mark the scent article itself. If you want to mark the bag, use a separate label or a piece of tape to write on. Store them away, and we hope you never have to use them…but do this thing now, just in case.

One more thing…have your pets been microchipped? Are they wearing current licenses and clearly readable ID tags? If not…do this thing now.