A Miracle . . .
As some of you know, my beloved dog Pepper (small terrier mix) suddenly went missing on the Johnson Ridge trail September 4th. The trail runs a ridge (between 4,000 to 5,500 feet elevation) about 30 miles up the Beckler River outside Skykomish. John Lockwood and his dog Cloudy and I hunted for Pepper all day and my wife (Yvonne) and I slept in our car at the trail head that night. Early the next morning John came back up and helped us hunt that day. Labor Day I hunted all day, took the rest of the week off from work and continued to hunt for him. We posted signs at the trailhead, the Ranger Station, and other places and gave out business cards to hikers and campers and continued to pray.
This weekend (14 days later) I was getting ready to go back up on the ridge for the last time when a Forest Ranger called me Saturday morning (September 18th). A woman who was grouse hunting on Johnson Ridge saw Pepper that morning and contacted the Ranger Station for help with catching him - she had been trying for about an hour. I had left a poster at the Ranger Station so they recognized the description as Pepper and called me. Yvonne and I took off for Johnson Ridge. The Ranger gave the woman our cell number and she keep us posted as we were driving (albeit poor reception due to the mountains). She finally trapped Pepper under a log, wrapped him in a blanket and called to say she would meet us at the Ranger Station - Yvonne and I were both crying with joy.
We rushed him to an emergency Vet because he was about half his normal size (he could almost walk out of his harness and his collar). It was like picking up a skeleton with some skin and hair dangling from it. The Vet said he did not think Pepper had eaten for the two weeks, but fortunately found enough water. Rain is the only water source on Johnson Ridge this time of year. How he escaped the predators (coyotes, bobcats and cougars) is truly part of this miracle. He was about 18 lbs. when I lost him. He weighed 10 lbs. at the Vet's.
Pepper and I have hiked together for several years. It is (was?) his most favorite thing to do. He would check my clothes every morning in hopes that I was dressing for a hike. Although he is an obedient dog, on all hikes he wore a harness with two sleigh bells so I could hear him because sometimes the underbrush is so thick that I can't see him. Johnson Ridge however, is a beautiful open old growth trail with very little underbrush. Of all the places we hike (about 50), I would rate Johnson Ridge as one of the safest, but Pepper (with the bells) suddenly (in less than 30 seconds) disappeared and neither John or I heard those bells. Therefore, Pepper will be on leash (as required on most trailhead signs) from now on if he still wants to hike. He hated the leash and I did too, but its not worth it. As difficult as it was for Yvonne and me, Pepper suffered far more due to not being leashed.
Pepper is also chipped. On the way down to the Ranger Station, his rescuer called the 1-800# on Pepper's chip ID tag attached to his collar and when we got home that night there was a message from AVID letting us know that Pepper had been found and how we could locate him. We already had him because of the poster left at the Ranger Station, but had that not worked the chip would have still gotten us to Pepper. Most Vets or animal shelters can chip your dog.
Celebration of Electricity!
By: Karin Parish
The weather outside has been frightful since the end of November 2006. The rain, flooding, winds, power outages, fallen trees, mud slides and snow, just makes you shake your had and wonder if the Bermuda Triangle has relocated to the Pacific Northwest.
The power outages and storms have just pummeled us all. Our Holiday Party was cancelled due to: NO POWER. I was so looking forward to the party, as I had the best gift to exchange! We extend our thanks to the Wyatt’s who prepared, decorated for the festivities and opened their home to us. Down the drain all that work went!
Several of our club members live in the Duvall, Woodinville, and Renton. These poor folks were out of power for almost 9 days. Our Membership Chairman, Jeanette, became a new roommate at Sandy & Robert Davis’ home for over a week. Jeanette, Cyndee Lockwood and the Populin’s were the very last to get power! How depressing is that!
I know how much I appreciate Thomas Edison when the power comes back on. I do think they need to dedicate a specific holiday to Edison! Lord knows we dance around with glee and merriment when you hear the power surge to the circuit breakers and your refrigerator motor rev up. There is nothing more exciting than that sound after 4 to 9 days in the cold and dark!
I live on Whidbey Island and we were hit with 90 mile an hour winds. I have three giant pine trees on my property that I love. I call my Douglas fir’s “my Christmas Trees”. Since the severe winds the pines are starting to look more like palms!
After listening to the news commentators earlier in the day warning that you should not to sleep in any part of your house that is near a tree, I rethought the sleeping arrangements.
The weather forecasted the winds hitting the island at gusts of 90 mph. I had to smirk about the word “gusts”. To me the definition of a gust is similar to the word “poof” – not 90 mph hurricane winds!
During the past three storms, I also had a Scottie rescue and was babysitting a 7 mo old Scottie whose owner’s were on vacation in South America. I had six dogs to worry about. The aftermath of the hurricane Katrina disaster with the stranded dogs faces across the TV screen still haunts me. I vowed that would never be put in that position. I did rethink a disaster plan that I used for power outages and the severe storms we have had and I thought I would share it with you.
Disaster Plans: With power outages and risk of the unforeseeable that are not an “evacuation” situation. I decided to make sure I had enough dry dog food for a week, and bottled water, gas in the car, and money from the ATM machine. I discovered, you should always have $100 stashed somewhere, because when the power is out no one takes credit cards.
Calm Before the Storm: My first worry was having calm dogs through the whipping winds outside. I administer “rescue remedy” by Bach Remedies.
I use rescue remedy quite often for rescues with anxiety. This is a homeopathic remedy that can be used on humans as well as animals and there is no conflict with other meds, or any side effects or feeling being in a drugged state (I know I tried it). You cannot overdose on it. It comes in spray form (which is easier to administer) or a vial with glass eye dropper. I suggest drops on top of the dog’s nose and they lick it off (its just easier to administer). I have had anxious dogs almost bite the glass dropper in half while trying to pry their mouths open. Spray is easier to use but much more costly and hard to find.
It takes approximately about 30 minutes to take hold and lasts about 6 hrs at which time it needs to be reapplied. You may also add two drops to water bowl and it refreshes their calm state throughout the day. I always have a vial with me in the car and at home. It’s perfect during fireworks, storms, thunder and severe winds.
Rescue Remedy can be found at your pet shop (not Petco or Petsmart) or a health food store or vitamin shop. I do not recommend substitutes because I don’t know if they will perform as well. A vial is approximately $10, and spray is higher. If you can’t find it locally, you can buy it on Ebay. (make sure it is by Bach Remedies)
Rescue Remedy has been used in England for since the 80s and I actually kept hearing about it for the last four years through Westie Rescue in Texas and Minnesota & Wisconsin. They use it all the time when new rescues come into a foster home with other dogs, and they are edgy and distraught. I swear by the stuff. I used it on Shannon “the terminator” for the first four months to alleviate dog fights. Yes, the vision of beauty has an attitude and can easily go into *lock and load* over another female Westie that she views is in her “space”.
Can you hear me now?
#1) My biggest plan of action for the high winds was to crate all the dogs and put a leash on top of each crate. I put them in the bedroom with me. In the event of a tree falling on my house at 2am, or some other disaster, I would know exactly where all the dogs were and have access to them for immediate evacuation. The hardest thing to accomplish in an emergency, is trying to get a frightened dog to come to you and out of harms way.
#2) My second idea was to get a jingle bell and snap it onto the D hooks of their collars. I got this idea from Howard and Gwen who had the bells on their dogs collars during the holidays! It’s a great way to know where the dogs are in the dark. Even if you have a flashlight, you can’t always see where the dogs are. The upside of this idea is that you can hear the dogs during a power outage, especially when you let them out in the yard for toilet duties in blackness of the night. The downside is if they have an itch… the jingle can drive you nuts!
I had a bunch of little lanyard snap hooks I bought a while ago at Michaels (in the kids crafts section). They are fabulous because you can also snap ID tags and swap out collars and tags easily without fussing with those circular things that you need power tools to get on and off the collars.
#3) A third idea, as an alternative to “bells” is to fasten the “flasher lights” to their collar. This is a simple strobe light kind of item which is sold in several catalogs, at pet shops and on Ebay. You can push a button on the strobe and it flashes while they are outside. It does require batteries and is more costly than bells.
While outside in the pitch blackness of the night, you are able to see the flashes all over the yard. It looks a lot like Martians have landed, and is quite amusing when you have six dogs outside flashing. Caution: note that some of the flashers are made for dogs 40 lbs and up. The standard flasher, it is like putting an anchor around your Westie’s neck. Be aware of the size when ordering out of a catalog. Flashers do come in smaller sizes, and that is another great idea for a power outage.
#4) Baby wipes. I can’t say more about these things. It’s a fast wipe of a dog butt, it is a fast clean up of a mess on the carpet after you pick up the accident with paper towels, its easy to grab when you have a lantern and a flashlight, and it smells good. It wipes paws that walked in dog poop or mud, and another fast cleaning on a hard surface or a throw rug. (It cleans computer key board’s great too!)
Baby its cold outside: The photo at the beginning of the article is little Shannon who does not like the cold. We were out of power for four days and the temperatures dipped to 29 degrees outside, 41 degrees inside. She prefers to be warm all the time. During the outage, I called all the dogs to go out to pee at about 6:30 am, and she would not come out from under the covers! She blinked at me and yawned. I had to physically go get her, and she still wasn’t too thrilled about this whole idea, she was perfectly fine under the covers and she had no intention of moving anywhere to do anything.
Some dogs like to be very warm and some don’t mind cold. I purchased baby t-shirts (size 9 mos and 12 mos) to help Shannon keep warm. They are easy to wash. I suspect a lot of her issues with the cold may be due to her being abandoned on the street in the wet and cold and fending for herself in freezing temperatures before she was picked up by the shelter.
I do believe Shannon was perhaps a supermodel in her last life, because I have never seen a dog that is this euphoric about baths, hair styling, blow dryers and outfits! My friends say she has more outfits than Barbie!
On that note, we hope you stay warm and dry. Share some of our stories with us or some tips you found useful in emergency situations.
GROOMING SEMINAR
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