We are (Almost!) Approved to Adopt a Puppy; Meanwhile, Poor Beatrice Dog Recovers from Sedation

Max!!! Photo Source: Tweet by SOAR Doggy Rescue

Today I received a call from Andra, the director of SOAR Doggy Rescue.  After asking me a few questions about Beatrice and how well she got along with other dogs, she said that she had reviewed our adoption application, and we were approved to adopt Max!...well, almost approved.  There are 2 steps left: the contract, and the home visit.



Let's start with the contract.

SOAR's adoption contract states (among MANY other things) that the dog will live inside as a companion, the dog will always wear a collar or harness made of leather or nylon (never a chain), and the dog will never be leashed without supervision.  If, for whatever reason, we can't keep the dog, we are not allowed to sell or give the dog away; instead, we are required to give the dog back to SOAR--for free.  (Yes, the contract specifies that the dog must be returned for free.  Who are these people trying to freakin' sell their dogs to an adoption agency?  Seriously, people?)

Photos of Max from 3/30/2015.  Source: SOAR's Facebook Page.

But this is the most interesting part of the adoption contract:

Rescuer reserves the right to follow up on this adoption, to inspect the animal and where the animal is kept, for the sole purpose of determining compliance with the terms of this contract by making a personal visit to the premises of the adopter at any time during the first year after this agreement.

This is how you know that you REALLY love dogs: you give a rescue group the permission to do surprise inspections of your home. In writing.  You make this promise IN WRITING.

Photos of Max posted by SOAR' on their Facebook page, 4/18/2015

This brings us to the first home inspection: instead of us going to pick up Max, a representative of the rescue will be bringing Max to us, so they can check us out and supervise the first meeting between Beatrice and Max.  What I'm wondering is whether or not they'll let us keep Max if Beatrice doesn't behave well when she meets him.

Speaking of Beatrice, my sweet baby has had a really rough day!  2 weeks ago, I took her to the vet because her paws were inflamed--due to allergies, as it turned out.  During the exam, the vet noticed that her left ear canal was completely blocked by a big ball of wax, so he sent me home with a bottle of doggie ear cleaner to flush it out.  I followed his instructions, but to no avail: the ball of wax was still there when I took Beatrice back for her follow-up exam this morning.  The vet decided it was time to move on to Plan B: sedate her so that he could remove the blockage.

When I went to pick her up after the procedure, I got to speak to the vet again.  Apparently, he had been wondering why flushing her ear hadn't helped at all; it wasn't until he went to pull the wax out that he realized it was because it was too hard to be dislodged by the ear cleaner.  He let me touch what had been stuck in her ear through a plastic bag; I can't imagine having something that hard stuck in my ear canal.  It had to hurt.  I surprised that I didn't see her shaking her head or scratching her ear more often.

The vet also said that her eardrum was intact, but it was white and wrinkly, as if it had been sitting in fluid.  I interpreted this to mean that her ear canal was well and truly blocked, with nothing getting in, and nothing getting out.

Beatrice clearly hasn't been feeling well since she was sedated.  She hasn't been stumbling or bumping into things, but she's been moving much more slowly than usual, and her gait seems a little off to me.  She keeps dozing off with her head tilting at funny angles and/or her tongue lolling out of her mouth.  Just look at this picture I took this afternoon:

Needless to say, that is NOT her usual pose!

At one point, she fell asleep with her eyelids open, but with her eyeballs rolling back into her head.  It looked SO bizarre.  I tried to take some photos, but it was difficult to get the camera at the right angle.  You can kind of see how she looked in this shot:

Can you see where her left eyeball is rolling back into her head?

She's been whining much more frequently than usual.  For several hours earlier this evening, she would cry until I pet her, or at least rested my hand on her back.  If she was just being a diva, then resting my hand on her back wouldn't be enough to make her stop whining. I can really tell that she feels sick and wants to be comforted.  Poor, poor girl.

"My mom made me endure torture at the vet's office, and all I got was this damn bandanna."

According to the notes that the vet sent home, she should be feeling a lot better by tomorrow.