Bad news

It has been too long since my last post, but my chair is still broken down and my insurance company is refusing to pay for it to be fixed. They have all kinds of excuses but most of them are lies! They keep saying it is not repairable and there are no parts for it. I have spoken to the manufacturer of the chair and was told that yes it is fixable and there are parts for it. It would cost far less to pay for the repairs than to get a new one. In the mean time, Sedona is not being worked with this power chair and is forgetting things she has learned already.I may have to get a lawyer to get this situation taken care of. I also had a major situation that ended up in another hospital stay. I was not feeling well and apparently had pneumonia and didn't know it in August. I passed out and found my self on the floor ,wedged between Sedona's and Cheyenne's crates. I could not get up off the floor. I kept trying to pull myself up using the crates but I just did not have the strength to pull my self up from the floor.I found my self in big trouble.I laid on the floor for 5 days before someone came to help me?? The dogs got into the dog biscuits and the garbage and anything else they could find and when all the water buckets were empty after 3 days, they got the lid up on the toilet and drank that water. I had no food or water or medications for the whole 5 days. I don't know how I survived but I did.I came home to a horrendous mess in the house, which was made worse by Johnny who was supposedly taking care of the animals but did a terrible job. I had not had any house keeping help in 2 months as my house keeper was sick in the hospital at the time.My house was messy and the dogs made a bigger mess and Johnny did also make it worse. Some of the dogs had diarrhea from all the garbage they ate and he took them to the vet without ever calling me to consult on what to do. I had medication for this but he put the charges on Carla's rescue account at the vets and created a very large vet bill.He did not even ask Carla's permission to do that.Then when Animal control showed up at my door,which was after I had the house cleaned up,thankfully, the officer said every thing was satisfactory except for Shaman who was very thin, and had hair loss from his allergies and she wanted him to be seen by a vet. She also wanted the dogs to be treated for ticks. Johnny had not picked up the tick dip when I had asked him too before all this took place. I explained that Shaman had severe allergies and had special food and vitamins and meds for this. He was not given any of that while Johnny was supposedly taking care of the dogs. There was plenty of food there for the dogs but Johnny just fed them milk bone biscuits in stead of their food. He got a rescue to deliver 4 large bags of food for the dogs but he kept 2 for him self and never opened the food for my dogs.Carla said she would take me and Shaman to the vets and then Johnny stepped up and volunteered to do it. He said that I did not need to go and I told him exactly what the officer wanted. He again put the charges on the rescue account and had the vet do every test under the sun ,driving the vet bill up to $450. All the tests came back negative.He has been telling people how bad the situation was. He took pictures of my house  and put them up on the Internet. He told people how bad things were and that I should be put in a nursing home and not be aloud to live in my house or have my animals. He had all sorts of people come into my house to see the mess.H e told any one that would listen to him from the pharmacist to the people at the pet store where I buy the food for my Bearded Dragons. He has called the agencies that I got services from so now I have no services, no help. He never told me that the outside water spigot was leaking and I did not realize it until I had a large puddle in my front yard. I never use that spigot to fill the water buckets. I use the shower hose to fill them . He is the only one that uses it. Now I realize that things do wear out but he could have told me that it was leaking and I would have gotten a plumber to fix it right away. My water bill was over $1000 ! He has done a lot of damage to me and left me is such a financial crunch that I have had to go with out food and medicine just to pay my bills.This is exactly what he wanted to do so he could get my dog. He thought that Animal Control would take them away from me so he could go up to PACC and adopt Nici. That did not happen. I did voluntary give up 2 of my huskies and the Akita mix puppy because I just could not take care of that many dogs at that time.That left me with 3 dogs. Shaman, my retired guide dog and Nici, my current working guide dog and Sedona.I have severed the friendship as friends don't do to friends what he has done to me. I am still trying to recover financially from this.I have at least gotten the vet bill paid off and the water company did lower the bill do to hardship,but I have to give then $150 each month untill the bill is paid in full and if I am late -paying it,they will shut off my water. I still have not been able to get any services. My friend Nick, who is like a son to me has been the only one helping me around the house and yard, with things that need to be done. Carla takes me places when she can, but with out my power wheelchair, I can't get out to get my meds or food or to Dr, appointments, when Carla isn't able to take me. I am stuck in this house! Poor Sedona is not getting trained so that Nici can retire.I can not believe that Johnny could  do this to me ,just to get my Nici? Johnny knew that I was not feeling well, but he waited 5 days to check on me? I laid on that floor hoping and praying that some one would come. I almost died. I would never have waited to check on a friend if I knew they were sick, and in fact, I have checked on several friends including Johnny. I still miss the dogs I gave up but, they have been adopted. I recently rescued a Dutch Shepherd from the Casa Grand Pound. I have given her to Nick to replace the puppy that I could not care for when I first got out of the hospital. Her name is Jade and I am training her to be a PTSD service dog for Nick.Jade really loves him and Nick loves her.She is a much better candidate for service work that the puppy was. I hope that things get better here soon.  to be continued..................

It has been a long,long time

Sedona has been well started on her formal guide training and has done very well. When you bring out the harness, she will put her head right in and when it is on, she becomes a different dog. She is calm and ready to go to work, She is very good walking by my side and guiding me, when I am able to walk, and very good with my manual wheelchair. We have been in grogery stores,pet stores, restaurants and other stores,and she is very good. She gets distracted by people petting her though.I have a sign on her harness, but people just ignore it and pet her any way. Even while I am telling them to not pet her because she is working. They just don't care, they keep on petting her.I just have to keep working on her people distractions.My power wheelchair has been broken down for about 5 months now. The Preferred Home Care has had the chair sinse May and brought it back yesterday. It is still not fixed right.They did not change the batteries and did not check the belts that drive the chair. If the belts are frayed,they could break. If they need adjusting so they don't slip, well all these things should have been done and they were not done.Shoddy workmanship!!! The joystick box is still off. When you try to change the speed, it jumps around from speed to speed.so I still can't take it out. I could get stuck some where again. Poor Sedona is going to have to start at the beginning again with this chair. She gets nervous when cars whiz by us as they come pretty cloise. I have to roll it on the side of the street as there is not room enough for the wheelchair and the dog on the side walk. She has to get used to this. We are still working on overhead obsticles and people distractions.I need to work Sedona with the power chair,but I can't do any thing until it is fixed. I am not happy about this situation.  I have also been training a PTSD dog for a friend. She is a Shepherd / Akita cross and is 6 months old. She is such a good puppy and is learning fast.Nick loved her when I brought her to see him for the first time. Her name is Cheyenne and she loved Nick also. She is a very happy puppy with her tail going all the time. Soon, Nick will be able to work with her so they can bond. I am kept quite busy working with 2 dogs, but it is what keeps me going.  To be continued............

Very Sad News

Monday morning, on August 8, 2016, my beloved Wanagi Passed away. She was lying next to my bed and all of a sudden, I heard this blood curdling , in pain cry. I jumped off the bed to see what was wrong. Wanagi just lay there unresponsive, I called my friend Carla and she rushed over and she and another friend helped get Wanagi in the car. On the way to the vet, I had thoughts of my beloved Nala in my mind.As we sat, waiting for the vet to come out, I was wondering if this was the same thing that killed my Nala.I was right. It was the same tumor on the spleen that burst.Wanagi also had the tumor around her heart.. There was nothing that could be done for her , so she was put to sleep. She is no longer suffering, and I have her ashes. Neither  Nala or Wanagi had any signs they the were sick. It was just very sudden . My heart is broken.  This has left a huge hole in my heart. Rest in peace, my sweet, loving, presious Wanagi. I love you. To be continued.............

Sedona is now working with my power wheelchair

Johnny and I took Sedona to PetsMart and worked her with my manual wheelchair. She did very well. I used  a piece of PVC pipe and ran a short leash through it and hooked one end to the dog and the other end to the wheelchair.. I had hoped that this would keep her feet safe from being run over by the chair. Well, so much for that. She still got her toes crunched twice, but after that she learned not to get her feet so close to the wheels. I have been working her around the block with my power wheelchair now and she is doing great. No crunched toes either. This gives her some much needed running exercise. She has slipped her collar several times and gotten away from me while taking her out of her pen. She ran around with the other dogs,but I think they are still too ruff with her.I don't want her to get injured so I will wait until she gets a little bigger before I let her play with the other dogs. To be continued..........

Sedona's training is going well

Sedona's training is progressing very well. I have fazed out the treats when she sits and lays down as she does not need them . She sits and lays on cue with no treat incentive. She really prefers verbal praise and some petting.We are working on the stay command. She will stay for a short period and she will stay when I put her in her crate,while I close the door. She no longer tries to run out of the crate.She does not mind being in her crate and she is very good when in it,but she would rather be out running around in the living room playing with her toys and getting tummy rubs from me. This puppy is so energetic! she is the most energetic puppy I have ever had. She wears me out some times.I love her and she is a very sweet puppy. She is also very smart.We are working on her house manners and obedience and socialization. She has a long way to go before we get to the guide training but I know she will make it. I am so glad I got this puppy.I am enjoying raising her and she is the second puppy I have raised to be a service dog.Lily was my first. Nala,Shaman and Nici were all older when I got them and even though they made great guide dogs,it is nice to be able to take the time to raise a puppy to be a special working dog. There is a lot of satisfaction in it.Shaman was still somewhat a puppy at 10 months,when I got him and he worked out wonderfully. I am still working him occasionally to keep him happy.Nici is working well and when Sedona is ready to work as a guide,I will transition her in to the work by alternating them. When Nici is ready to retire, Sedona will take over.  To be continued...........

We took Sedona to PetsMart for socialization.

My friend Dave and I took Sedona to Petsmart for some socialization last Friday. Sedona was so good! She even sat 3 times when I asked her to,with all those people and dogs around her.She was wearing her red bandanna that says she is a future guide dog. She looked so cute! Johnny took some pictures of Sedona on Monday.I know she will be a great guide dog.She is so smart. She knows sit and down and she walks on a loose leash most of the time,till she sees something exciting. My house keeper,took a picture of Sedona at Christmas time. She has grown quite a bit since then. She is such a good puppy.    to be continued................

Shulamith went back to the rescue that she came from.

Shulamith went back to the SanTan Valley rescue that she came from. They finally had room for her. Maybe they will have better luck finding a home for her. At least now she has good house manners and knows how to sit and lie down on cue.I hope they can find the right home for her..to be continued.................

I don't know what to do with Shulamith

I placed Shulamith with what I thought was a great home.I spent a lot of time going over her issues with other dogs and cats. I thought they understood that she can't be around other animals. Well......when they went to PetsMart to buy a crate and other things they needed,they took Shulamith with them . After I spent all that time explaining her issues with other animals,they took her to Petsmart. She went after another dog and the man got bitten trying to separate the dogs.Are people deaf or just stupid? How much plainer can you get when you tell them,she eats cats and hates other dogs.Well, she is back. Not even gone one day and she is back. I just don't know what to do with this dog. I want her to have a good home,but I just can't seem to find that home.Is there no one out their that wants a beautiful spayed female German Shepherd,current on all shots, that needs to be the only pet in the family. Some one that will love her and treat her with kindness and patience and work on her training and KEEP HER AWAY FROM OTHER ANIMALS????????  I just don't know what to do with her now that she has bitten . She never bit any one while she was in my home. She is really a people dog. But when she is around other animals she will go after them.   To be continued............

Sedona is learning very fast

Sedona is walking on a loose leash and is well on her way to being house broken. The only time she goes in her crate is if I don't get her out in time.She has learned to sit on cue even with out a treat. We are now working on the down command. She also comes to me when I call her name.When I put her in the crate, she has learned to stay while I am closing the door. She used to try and run out when I was closing the door but now she stays.She loves to play with all her toys and has discovered the squeaker in the toys and she squeaks them non stop when she is out running around the living room. She lays on the blanket under the computer desk and chews on her white bones and squeaks her toys. Then she will start running around and tossing her toys in the air and catches them and runs some more.She has a multi colored bird and a Santa and and a squirl and a teddy bear. She also has a tennis ball,a hard rubber ball,a pear shaped hard rubber ball and a spiked dumbell and a hard rubber donut shaped toy. Do you think she has enough toys? She is now eating the small milk bones and she loves them.She has been having loose stools on the Taste of the Wild, Pacific Stream, puppy food, so I am changing her over to Purina Pro Plan ,Sensative Skin and Stomach. Max, my old Border Collie, RIP, did well on this food . He had digestive issues and that food really helped him. Sedona does not have any skin problems but maybe it will help her digestive issues. I am also giving her a probiotic and that is helping some.She has a vet appointment to get a stool sample on Monday.   To be continued............

Shulamith is back

Shulamith was returrned to me. The man that took her did not do as he promised. He did not find a trainer to work with him and the dog.Evidently, he bought a cheap harness and put that on her and removed the collars I gave him with the dog. Of course he had no control on a very energetic, strong dog and she pulled him down.He returned the dog with out the collars so now I have to go buy a new collar for her.Right now I have a collar on her that was Shaman's and it is really too small for her. My friend Johnny and I put up some chain link fencing so I can keep her away from my other dogs. She is still being advertised so I hope the right person will want a very nice German Shepherd that need some more training and some one to love,and show patience with her. She deserves to have a nice home with someone who will really care about her and that has no other animals.    to be continued...........