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"Saying Goodbye" to Patrick (Paddy) |
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My sophomore year in college at Texas A&M, I set out to the animal shelter to get a puppy. The one I fell instantly in love with, was a one of kind unique akita/aussie mix looking dog. He was about 8 weeks old, and a ball of fluff. He was my buddy in college through late nights of studying, partying and dating. When he was a year old, he won first place in the costume contest at Messinah Hoff Winery. I had dressed him in a toddler bird costume, and all you saw as he sniffed the ground was this big bobbing bird head. Everyone had made these elaborate costumes and were quite upset I think with my Target costume.
Patrick went on to Albany, NY with me after college where he loved the snow. He later got to live in Cleveland, OH and Boston. He went through all the dogs and cats I brought home and through the happy times and the bad times. I even remember when one time a guy broke up with me on my birthday, and Patrick and I went to bonfire
together. He was there by my side for 13-1/2 years. Eight months ago, he was diagnosed with a type of bone cancer in his jaw that is known to stay fairly localized, but is very aggressive and takes over the tissue quickly. There was nothing medically we could really do for him due to the location of the cancer. He probably should have been gone quicker, but we did everything we could holistically and nutritionally to build up his immune system to fight the cancer. But it was getting to be too much even though he would have kept fighting for me.
Yesterday, we took him to my veterinarian friend’s farm in Winnie, TX. with our other dogs, Katy & Kane. Paddy got to chase some chickens and even jogged after a horse. He went for a little swim and just had a few hours of pure fun for a dog. It was great to see him get excited for a bit. We were able to put him to rest right in front of her little lake while the birds were singing overhead. It was so peaceful. It was perfect for my Paddy. I know many of you did not get to know him because he was not a daycare dog, but he was my buddy all these years and I will admit my favorite. So this is goodbye to Paddy, who will always be remembered. |
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SICK DOGS AND DAYCARE: |
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Please do not bring your pooch to daycare if he/she is coughing, vomiting or has unusual loose stool. Unfortunately, having a social dog, you will experience socials diseases on occassion. It is our job to keep it to a minimum. But if anything is out of the ordinary at home, please do not put other dogs at risk, by bringing them to daycare.
We did have about 2 dogs a week for the past three weeks come down with vomiting. None of the vets that saw the dogs thought it was anything contagious, and 3 of them were diagnosed with 3 different things. So either it was a coincidence or it was a little contagious bug that some dogs were not resistant.
We clean the facility from top to bottom inside and outside every day, which will keep things from spreading each day, but once your dog is exposed by another dog to anything in daycare or at the dog park or just walking down the street, it is up to their immune system to fight it off. Some things are spread through urine and feces and saliva and others are spread through the air. So we don't want anyone freaking out over social diseases, but we want you to be aware and cautious when you think your dog might be sick.
Although the Mutt House is into all natural care for your pet and encourages you to do your research before getting all of those vaccines every year, please ensure you do these few things:
-Have your dog tested for intestinal worms every 6 months if you have them in social environments, sooner if your dog is experiencing loose stool or you visually see worms in stool or vomit.
-Ensure your dog receives their heart worm preventative every 6 weeks.
-Ensure your dog receives some sort of flea treatment every month.
-Ensure your dog is checked out by a veterinarian at least once a year.
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DROP OFF/PICK UP TIME CHANGES: |
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We have been re-working our hours of operation to make it easier for our customers and staff and for cleaning purposes. We started by extending naptime during the week to 11:30AM-1:30PM. That gives us more time to do a mid-day clean outback, gives the dogs more rest time and our staff a lunch break.
Starting next week, we will change drop off /pick up times. If you need to drop your dog off earlier on the weekdays, you will need to arrange that ahead of time. We have very few dogs dropped off before 7AM, so we will make exceptions when needed. So just drop me a line if that is when you need to drop off.
New Drop Off Hours: Starting Sunday April 9th:
Mon-Fri: Drop Off (7AM-10AM), Pick Up (4-7PM)
Sat/Sun: Drop Off (9-10:30AM), Pick Up (3-4:30PM) |
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HOMES NEEDED FOR DOGS: |
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We have had some great success the past 6 weeks. Butterscotch, now named Tessa, was adopted by one of our employees and is being completely spoiled. Allie, now named Emma, was adopted by Harley's mom, and has fit perfectly into the family. Mooshoo is doing a trial run with a family and so far seems to be doing well. We still need to find a home for Sandy and Raymond.
Sandy is great for someone who does not have an active lifestyle and likes to hang out on the couch a lot. She has her spurts of energy, but is a total couch potato. She is about 4 years old and 35lbs.
Raymond is still very puppy like and playful, and we are working on the potty training. He is about 8 months old and is a white spitz mix.
Let us know if you have anyone interested in meeting these two wonderful dogs. |
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WHAT'S UP at the Mutt House? |
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NEW LOGO
We now have an official logo for the Mutt House. We will be overhauling the website and working on getting everything printed up with our new logo that you see above.
NEW WATER SOFT SYSTEM:
We have installed a water softner system at the Mutt House. This means better drinking water for the dogs and better for their skin when we bathe them.
NEW AIR CLEANING SYSTEM:
We have also installed a UV system on our HVAC unit to help kill bad things in the air.
NEW CAMERA VIEWS:
We now have one camera for each play room bringing you better views of your kiddos playing.
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