Rags From Rags to Riches....Saul Gets Lucky
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Saul |
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Saul is no longer available. He will be going to his forever home March 19th.
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March 20, 2008
Good afternoon Debby,
Just a short update from yesterday afternoon through 1 P.M. today. We went
directly from your place to our veterinarian to have a record in the vets
file and to have Saul checked for worms as you suggested. His name, weight
(17 pounds), color, chip number, and other pertinent information are now on
file with Dr. Leadbetter. He had his blood drawn for three tests (Including
the worm test). We now have a twelve month supply of heartworm medicine.
Went home from there to his new surroundings. To say the least Saul was
quite anxious throughout the rest of the day and evening. He kept urinating
on the floor. Even though we took him out quite often.
We didn't ask you if he was house trained or not. Is he? I assume he is not.
Or he is having a relapse because of the neutering and change of scene. He
didn't eat anything except for a couple of treats last night. He did drink
enough water. Because the weather is nice we left the back door open for
Saul to go in and out whenever he wanted to until the sun went down. We kept
him on the tether and continued to take him out about every thirty minutes.
At 10 P.M., we put him in his crate for the night and he whimpered a few
times then went to sleep. I arose a little before 6 A.M. and he was still
quiet until I entered the kitchen where he slept. Saul let out a few ear
shattering threatening barks before he realized it was someone barely
familiar to him. I immediately took him out to the back yard for his deposit
moment. He loves being outside.
When Charlene came into the kitchen this morning, Saul barked at her a
couple of times as well. Than I guess he recognized her. He has eaten about
five pebbles of the dog food you gave to us and that is all. I did give Saul
one bacon strip (Dog food) this morning while teaching him to sit and lie
down on command. After breakfast, we took Saul to the park for his exercise
(Ours too!). I think he enjoyed the park but there were numerous new sounds
that he was trying to figure out what they were. We're now home and Saul is
playing in the back yard.
A question for you. If you are still open to your offer to clip Saul, we
would take you up on it. Charlene wanted me to have him clipped when you
asked how we wanted him trimmed but I thought it was too early. However, it
appears the weather is quite warm and I think Saul would be more comfortable
with short hair. Maybe an inch long or similar to his mother's cut in
her picture. The nose and chin could be shorter than his mom's.
March 20, 2008
Hi
Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2008 6:26 PM
Subject: Saul
Thank you for the Sauley Man update. Please continue to update me...daily
if possible during these transition days.
He does love being outside! Especially after the past several months up
here in snow country. It's been a quick in-and-out for all the dogs.
Today, the dogs here enjoyed several outings lasting far beyond the quick
in-and-out. For the purpose of him being introduced into your house,
assume he's not housetrained and use the method Vickie has so clearly
described in her article (included in the info I sent). Saul was
housetrained and lived as a house dog the first half year of his life. He
is probably the cleanest kennel dog I've ever had; certainly of the group
residing here now. I am guessing his frequent urination of the floor is
due to nerves. Is he squatting and urinating? Or lifting his leg on
vertical surfaces? The former is definitely caused by nervousness. The
latter could be territory marking...in which case, Vickie's approach
should take care of. For the transition, a belly band could be used if the
urination is creating a problem with housekeeping. Remember, the best
housetrained dog often reverts during a major transition. Saul will learn
from your guidance and training. Measure the success with baby steps. For
example, perhaps tomorrow he won't be so nervous. Help me understand
something...he's on the tether, right? Even when he's urinating on the
floor? If so is the tether tied to you? If Saul is urinating in this
situation, it is definitely nerves!!
Regarding feeding. I suggest you prepare him breakfast, offer it to him
for 10 minutes and then pick up what he hasn't eaten. Even if it's
nothing. He is used to dry kibble mixed with some goodies...like
leftovers. Bacon will suffice! Mix the kibble with warm water, goodies,
let sit for 10 minutes and offer it to him. He does fine with
self-feeding, which I use when I'm gone and Samantha is feeding the dogs.
But, his routine has been 'doctored up breakfast' with a night time treat.
I will be happy to give Saul a hair cut. My schedule is at the shop, so
I'll need to get back to you on what will work for me. The first Thursday
of every other month, I come into the shop for a short day, grooming dogs
that belong to two different families 'down the hill' as we say up here
'on the mountain'. I would be delighted to have Saul join that group, if
regular grooming is something you're interested in.
I'll get the photos downloaded off my camera and share soon.
March 20, 2008
Hi
We have had a wonderful day. Saul has been tethered to one of us all
day. We took him on 2 walks. He loved it! I was afraid to give him
much in the way of table food, but I did give him a little bacon, a little
bit of sausage. I was worried it would up set his tummy. He is really so
sweet, and I am sure we have very many fun days ahead. I am sure that
Dave will want to e-mail you with his take on the day. We are going all
ot what we have read and it seems to doing well.
Charlene
March 21, 2008
Good Evening Debby,
Our Pastor, who has a Shih Tzu (14 years old), made a special point
of visiting with Saul at about 4 P.M. Thursday. He thought that Saul
looked like Jesus.
Saul had a busy evening on Thursday after my last e-mail. We had 9 people
over for bible study. Every Thursday Saul will get an opportunity to visit
with a few of our Church members. He handled the evening reasonably well.
He did bark at two of the men while we were conducting class. Don't know
exactly what prompted him to bark at those moments. After Bible study,
Saul, Charlene and I watched the 10 o'clock news and then Saul retired to
his crate. He whimpered a few times and clawed at the door for awhile. I
had to put him in a different location in the kitchen. He finally settle
down and we all went to sleep. At 2 A.M. he was barking, so I went in the
kitchen to investigate the reason. I really believe it was because the
water softener (In the utility room adjacent to the kitchen.) had just
cycled for regeneration. I comforted him and shortly all was well. At 6:25
A.M., I awakened him for a trip to the backyard while I take a shower,
shave and make coffee. Then, as will be the routine, I eat breakfast and
he learns tricks for some treats. Now I have to leave on Friday mornings
to volunteer at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, so Charlene takes
over as servant to Saul.
Saul remains tethered or very close to one of us at all times. Has not a
mistake in the house for the past two days. Just Wednesday when we brought
him home. He has picked up two toys on a few occasions to give them a good
shaking.
Saul did get a little sick (A little bile) this afternoon but it didn't
seem to slow him down. He ate some dog food tonight while we ate our
supper. Drinking plenty of water. I walked him around the block a couple
of times this afternoon.
As you can fathom, he hasn't been able to just have a day by himself with
his new owners. But that will come!
Good blurb. I'll download the three pictures of Saul that we have on the
camera and send them to you. You name the time and we'll have Saul there
for his initiation haircut. I did some acclimation to the electric
clippers training with Saul last night and will continue so that he
doesn't climb out of his skin when the times comes. Gave him a pretty good
brushing this afternoon. Like our our previous Lhasa, Saul can leap the
three steps from the dining room into the family room.
Have a good evening,
David (And Saul and Charlene)
March 21, 2008
Debby,
You are so kind! Your blog is very interesting. Not enough time to read
all of it tonight, but I will after Easter Sunday.
Saul barked last night about 2:00 A.M. Dave got up to see what was the
matter. Couldn't see any thing or hear anything that would upset Saul.
This happened 2 more times and Dave got up and went to see again what the
matter was. Nothing. This morning he said " I know what happened' the
water softener went off at 2:00 A.M. and it is LOUD. Saul was doing just
what he should and that is letting us know that something was not
right" Way to go Saul! I feel sorry for him, people have been here
almost non stop to either see him or for Bible Study. Everyone knows how
much we loved Bogie and how hard it was on us when he was hit by a car
and killed. It is as if we had a new child when we got Saul. Our Pastor
gave us doggie treats when we told him that we had found a dog and came
over yesterday to meet Saul. It was funny because he said that Saul
looked like Jesus, I said I think he looks like a wise monk. Saul looked
at us both as if to say "people are so silly". He (our pastor) has a dog
that he loves very very much and is getting up there in age. We all worry
about the day when little Dustie is no longer with us. We will have a
busy Easter, so if I don't e-mail you till Monday I hope you will
understand.
Charlene
Debby,
Happy Easter. I hope you received a chocolate bunny in your Easter basket
left by a long eared Lhasa this morning. I must admit you are an ambitious
individual with the scrap-booking, gallery and so on. I read some of the
snow trekking stories about Bhutan that are accessible through links on
the URL you sent. Interesting and challenging. Sounds like something I
would like to do but can't afford.
THE SAUL UPDATE: Saul was left alone in the kitchen and laundry room for
two hours and one and a half hours this morning and again for 4 hours this
afternoon without any mistakes on the floor. Now that is encouraging! He
is a charm. I went to sunrise services early this morning. And then
Charlene and I went to church from 9:00 A.M. to 10:30 A.M. Then at noon we
went to visit a friend of ours who is in the hospital. From the hospital
Charlene and I went directly to her sisters' home for Easter dinner. We
returned at about 4 P.M. Shortly thereafter, Saul and I took a walk (1.2
miles) to deliver a package to an elderly (95 years old) friend. Saul
loved the walk but not all of the hubbub that accompanies it. Noisy vans,
cars, big dogs in yards, and just plain city life. I can't say as I blame
him. By the way, he loved to play in the snow (Must be that Tibetan
breeding instinct in the Lhasa Apso) but the snow disappeared as quick as
it came.
Saul still seems a little anxious. Still adjusting to the surroundings I'm
sure. Sometimes he barks at things moving outside in the yard while he is
sitting in our family room. By the way, I'm not concerned about the water
softener barking incident. This just confirmed that he is aware of the
normal versus the unusual. And no Saul won't always sleep in the crate nor
will he always sleep in the kitchen. He will probably graduate to the end
of our bed. So far, the only bad habit I've noticed thus far is scratching
at doors when Saul thinks he should be on the other side of it even when
we are all on the same side of the door. I think this can be overcome with
time.
This morning at sunrise service, our Pastor told some of the congregation
about the Lhasa (Saul) that looks like Jesus. Must have been that Tibetan
music you indoctrinated Saul with when he was young. While I'm authoring
this email, Saul is in the family room with his girl friend (Charlene).
What a life!
Still on the sit and down training routine. Two weeks maximum for Saul to
learn or I send him in for a brain transplant. I think he will do just
fine!
Again, Happy Easter,
David and Charlene
----- Original Message -----From: LhasaLhady@aol.comSent: Saturday, March 22, 2008 7:42 AMSubject: Re: Saul
Thank you both for your emails. I so appreciate them! As we discussed the first time we met, my ability to let go, my ability to place dogs like Saul, allows me to continue work as a breeder. However, this doesn't stop me from caring or loving dogs that are no longer with me. I am always anxious during the first several weeks of a transition. I want all involved - human and canine - to be happy with the situation. Sometimes, if needed, I'm able to give a bit of advice that may help. For these reasons, I am grateful you're keeping me informed.My printed schedule is at the shop, so I will need to get back to you Monday evening or Tuesday morning about options for a haircut.About Saul barking at the water softener...some questions first. Will he always be sleeping in his crate in the kitchen? (That is fine.) If so, is there a way to program the water softener to come on during the day? We don't have one, so I don't know if that's an option. He may get used to it as a normal household noise, but years ago when our walkout basement served as the dog room, some of the dogs would sound alarm when the Firey Monster started breathing. A few of them never did accept the furnace as a normal part of their environment!I look forward to photos of Saul. I'm taking a Library of Memories course which has to do with scrapbooking organization. During the course of this, I should come across more photos of Saul, including that puppy photo I mentioned..him in the garden. My eventual goal is to have a special page on the website for each dog. You can get the idea if you go to the Galleries area of the website. Within each Gallery is a postcard (and a list of those dogs I haven't yet made a postcard for). If you click on the dog's name, you'll see that dog's pedigree and possibly an 'art' piece of the dog. If you click on the dog's face, you'll go to a scrapbook page of that dog. Lots of work to do!Jesus? It must be the long hair framing his face and the beard?? I hope his environment here didn't effect his religious beliefs. He's been living under prayer flags and listening to Tibetan monks, including some chanting!
Do join us on the blog and have a lovely Easter.
5/31/2008
Hi!
we would like to bring Saul in for his "new do" on Thurs. March 27th. We
would like to have the "do" that his mother has in her picture that you
gave us. Dave and Saul have out doors for about 2 hrs this morn. Saul
loves it but is is full of dead debris left from winter, so Dave is
grooming him. Again he is really a sweet dog. He took to our 8 year old
grand son and wanted more that anything to sleep with him. (our couch
pulls out into a bed) and our grandson, Joey pulled it out about 7:00 and
Saul wanted to be on the bed with Joey. It was real cute and sweet. Joey
and his family have 2 dogs. Joey is a very sweet and kind boy, maybe Saul
picked up on that. Where ever Joey was Saul wanted to be. Again it was a
very sweet thing to watch. I can't wait to see how the great squirrel
hunter looks in his new "do"
Charlene and Dave Busby the proud parents of the Great White Squirrel
Hunter
Yes, we would love to come, but we are going to a family reunion leaving
on the 20th of June. Mr. Saul is wonderful! Such a good boy! we take
him with us every where we can. we are taking him with to Neb for the
reunion. He still prefers to sleep in his "bedroom" than on the bed with
us. He has learned lots of tricks and seems to be very happy. I have
taken to calling him Mister Saul but most of the time we just call him
Mister. He loves table food. He loves past any kind. When I make it I
make him his own bowl, a few days ago I fixed him an egg and a small
breakfast sausage ( all cut up) by the time I sat down to eat mine he was
looking at me as if to say" seconds" please It is so hard to tell him no.
What a cutie! . I never give him to much table food because I am afraid
he might get sick But he get lots of treats. He loves to take walks and
play, you should see him run around the house and one of us on his heels.
We get down on the floor and roll him over and just play in general. He is
so much fun! He is our baby!
Love,
Charlene