Dog Bless You

Coda is a Husky. He is the nephew of Bear, my first Husky, the son of Bear's sister Maya, and Rusky is the Father. Sadly, Rusky was stolen from his home some time ago and has never been found - a heart breaking story of the dog theft here in Namibia.

Coda belonged to a wonderful friend, who sadly wasn't able to keep him with her in Windhoek, and he stayed in Marienthal with her family. Coda developed Demodex mange when he was quite young, and it sadly never cleared up, so he would go through phases of almost recovering and looking good again and then it would break out and he would scratch himself to pieces again. 

Here are some photos of when I found him in Marienthal, whilst visiting with him. He had been on his own for a while with no one to dip him, and the Demodex had flared up again. He was full of sores, scratching himself until he bled, and some wounds had gotten infected and were oozing pus.  As you can see, the poor thing was a mess and very depressed. He was sore, irritated and itching, bleeding and infected. It was poisoning his system and causing him to be very depressed and miserable all round. He had almost no fur left on his face and front legs, and open 

wounds where he had scratched and chewed himself raw. He wouldn't come to me and had very little interest in humans at all, as I think he was being driven mad by the pain and itching. I spoke seriously to his owner, and said that she must make the decision to either put him down or give him to me, but either way he couldn't keep on living in the state he was in, as she wasn't able to look after him and keep him with her. Together, we made the decision to let me take him and bring him to Windhoek with me. 

The trip back to Windhoek was hysterical - four people, luggage and a dog squashed in a Polo doing 160 down the highway whilst I prayed for my life! And everyone else's of course, but they seemed used to it. I am not used to either small cars or going that fast! :-) And so Coda was the first dog that we took on. We got him back to Windhoek, and he tried to eat Nala as one of the first things that he did! Horrified, he got a big hiding and cowered away from us like he was beaten which made us feel terrible, but had to be done as my cats are my children too.

So we were left alone. Coda had no issues with Bear or Kita and generally ignored them, although they were madly interested in him and wouldn't leave HIM alone. I made an appointment with the vet and took him over almost immediately as they had an opening - this was before we knew that he had Demodex. Dr Beggs looked at him, did a skin scraping, and said it was the Demodex. What a relief - not contagious to my dogs, treatable and he would soon be healthy! We had to dip with Ectodex once a week, and put him on a three week course of antibiotics and cortisone and de-

wormed him. Off we went home, happier and thinking that our solution wasn't that far off really. This was on the 30th of August 2013. 

Then, we went to bed with bated breath and hoped for the best - that he wouldn't eat a cat and that everyone would survive the night and there would be no issues. At first he cried for ages, and then slept next to my bed. We washed him that first Saturday morning with normal shampoo, just to clean him up as he was filthy and full of muck and blood. Dr Beggs wanted to give the 

antibiotics and cortisone to start working before we started dipping with the Ectodex, as its quite strong. So the bath was first, and we waited for the meds to start working, as he bit and scratched himself constantly until he bled. I was almost in tears watching him constantly go crazy from the itching and pain. He adopted my couch as his bed, and got blood all over it constantly as his wounds leaked everywhere. He was a mess.

We fell into a routine - I didn't leave him alone as he chased cats when he could, and we watched him closely. He cried every night for the first week when we went to bed. During the day he was fine and there was no crying, but at night he chunked like a baby for his friends in Marienthal. It was heart-breaking, but luckily after a week it stopped and he settled into his new home.

Walking him was another story - rather a funny one. As I walked Kita and Bear every morning at around 5:30 to 6am, I had to carry on doing so. The first morning, he was on his couch and ignored me, so I skipped off without him quite 

happily. I wanted  him to settle in properly and develop some trust in me before taking him out to be walked in the bush as his previous Mum said he would run away as fast as he possibly could and he could not be trusted off lead. I have never walked my dogs on lead, so I was rather dreading this while story. On the second morning, he had clearly wised up and I found him waiting at the gate of the house - I had no choice, so out came the lead and collar and off we went, praying for the best. He howled in excitement the entire 7 kilometers to where we walked - over-joyed at being out of the house.

Well, it was a nightmare. He pulled, I pulled back. He fought me, I fought back. He took off running and hit the end of the lead so hard that it ripped my shoulder out and into my neck, and I had an instant blinding headache and pins and needles down my arm into my fingers for two days. On another day he jumped out the car window and on reflex I grabbed the rope - he smacked into the side of the car and I rope burnt my entire hand. Every day was hell - the pulling, hurting me, fighting me. I would get angry and upset, and he would get worse. I would lose it and give him a smack - he would cower like an abused pup and I would cry in heart break at the fact that I had even gotten annoyed enough to smack the poor kiddo. This went on and on - and we almost developed a routine - I would walk him on a long rope with the end around my waist, looped around itself and the slack in my hand, so when he started running I could anchor myself and his weight wouldn't instead hit into my hips instead of my arms and neck (I broke my neck when I was sixteen so it's a problem!) and so the fight would go. 

He ran away when we opened the gate and would have to be chased through the streets, whilst we prayed no one would catch him, steal him, or that he would be hit by a car. He stole food off the counters, chased cats, ignored me totally, and then the real tragedy happened: we came home after being out for an hour to find blood all over the couch. He had bitten Nala in the face - my tiny, gentle cat that was terrified of everything in the world. It took us ages to find her and then to get her off the roof where she had been hiding. Off to the vet we went - luckily they think that he jaw was just fractured and they stitched her face up. She ate soft food and hid in the bedroom for weeks - it took months for her jaw to heal and hid on the roof permanently - my heart broke for her.

We decided to give Coda to a new home as I couldn't cope with the pain that Nala was going through and didn't want to subject her to a life of terror and hiding when she had been my first baby ever in Namibia. We put up notices everywhere, but now even five months later, I have had one call from someone that originally thought I had pit bulls for sale, so I assume he was in the dog-fighting circles, and would never give a dog to a person like that, no matter how distraught I was. There was one other lady that called and wanted him to breed with her dog, but as I don't agree with breeding Huskies when no one knows how to look after them, I said no. He's also been neutered, so that fixed that problem.

I gave up on the walking after he bit Nala. I couldn't cope with being hurt every day, and after he bit my baby I didn't see him in the same golden glow that I had before - I was devastated that I had done that to my little kitty. I let him out the car and watched him disappear - my theory was that if he runs, so be it. If he gets hit by a car on the main road or shot by a farmer, that's just the way it was going to have to be. I couldn't cope any more and that was that. 

He ran like he had never run before - a bat out of hell tearing through the bush and gone in a split second. I walked Bear and Kita and prayed for the best. We got back to the car, and sat and waited. Bear went wandering again, and Kita stayed with me. Eventually, half an hour later he came back, panting and foaming, and jumped in the bakkie with a big happy smile. We went home. The next day, the same thing. He ran until he was so exhausted he was quivering and he panted for the next three hours on the tiled floor. He ran himself almost to death every day - he would disappear and I would sit in the car waiting

and praying he would survive. There were days 

when he would disappear for so long I thought I would never see him again - and I would get surprisingly upset about it after all the drama he had caused in my life.

That's enough for today - more tomorrow about the first Dog Bless You rescue!

At this moment, our pack numbers seven. Allow me to introduce them to you.

The cats are as follows: 

Lucifer; rescued from SPCA as I walked in to look for a kitten for a friend of mine and couldn't leave him there. He was a tiny ball of nothingness that had been abused on the beach by kids. I took him home, and originally we thought he was female and named him Lillith. On closer inspection by the vet, we discovered he was male and changed his name to Lucifer as he was a little hell-cat. Unfortunately, Luci has lost aggressive attitude, and his wonderful blue eyes are soft and gentle. He became "Luci" instead and is a wonderful little mite that bites your toes in the mornings when he wants affection. He is very timid and doesn't show himself to many people.

Nala is the first cat that we ever adopted, the day after I landed here from the UK. She was at the Cat Protection Society in Windhoek, and was so beautifully fluffy with the most enormous ears on the planet, and we just loved her immediately. She is the one that dislikes all humans and other animals, even her own cats that she has grown up with - everyone apart from Kita. She adores Kita and plagues her daily and wants nothing more than to cuddle with her, as you can see in this picture to the right. She is never happier than when she is cuddled up to her Kita and purring her head off. She is terrified of everything in the world, and spends her days now hiding on or under the deck. The bedroom window stays open permanently for her so she can come and go as she pleases. She is a very tiny little thing and has real issues - we are sure she is dumb, deaf, blind, or just all three. She falls off things and walks into things all the time, poor mite.

Zazu is our third cat, and we took him the same day that we picked Nala from the CPS, as he was such a retard I knew no one else would take him so I couldn't leave him there. He is an ugly monster of a cat with a personality like no other - he is a very special boy. He is hugely fat, loud,  and obsessed with food. He steals, trips you up constantly, screams like a demon, and never gives anyone any peace. He doesn't give a damn what dog is walking through the house or if they try bite him - as long as there is food around he's there! He sleeps on me at night, and if it's too hot, he reaches out a paw and touches me. He's an angel. With a very big mouth. 

I had wanted a Husky forever, and took Bear as a four-week old puppy when we were living in Swakopmund. I don't agree with taking pups so young, but I was told that unless I came to fetch him they would courier him to me. So I went to fetch him. He was so tiny he fitted in one hand! He is my special child, and I love him more than words. He is arrogant, forceful, bossy, dominant and tries to take me out as Alpha all the time. He is a terrible hunter, and has killed a sheep and taken on goats and cows and God knows what else. He is a terror, but you will never find a better behaved Husky (for the first three weeks after a big hiding anyway!) We have a bond that I on't think I will ever be able to replace, and he makes me smile and laugh every day. He bites me when I try brush him, fights when I bath him, runs away when he finds something to chase and his dominance over every other animal gives me grey hairs! But he is my first Husky and I will love him always and with all my heart!

Beautiful Kita we took on as a four-month old puppy. When the Akita's were first born, I said to Pio "I want one." He said "No, I want a bull terrier if we're going to get another dog." I just love puppies, so  I hunted for a pup for him and couldn't find one for love or money. All those months later, there were still Akita's available and we went to look at them. We took bear with as he had to decide who he wanted to live with as well - it was a buddy for him. Kita was our first love of the two pups that were left and we took her home, to Bear's disgust at the time. Now, they are inseparable and don't go anywhere without the other. Kita is insecure and scared without her Bear and looks for him constantly when we walk. She is a rather large mutt, weighing in at 38 kg's at the moment, and is a great big cuddle-bug. She doesn't like new people and growls at everyone - her aggression and protective instincts are getting worse daily - but with us she is the most wonderful and lovable dog we have ever had. She woo's like an owl and talks constantly! Our Fatty-Boo! 

Coda is the first rescue of Dog Bless You, and you will find his entire back-story posted next. I am still working on that and will do it in two parts as we have a very long story with him. In spite of all the trouble he has given us, the nightmares, the tears, the heartbreak and the anger, Coda has turned into a wonderful boy. He in gentle and unlike Bear, doesn't exert dominance over everything that moves. He welcomes new animals happily and easily, and he was also the first dog that Kita liked and accepted immediately with no issues. HE is affectionate, and has a personality that I would liken to a joker. He storms through the house, jumps onto the bed, goes crazy and kicks and squirms then bolts off to jump over all the couches and generally go crazy. Sometimes he just stays for cuddles and then he REALLY cuddles. He also seemed to take to the latest rescue (news still to come) with a fiercely protective instinct and guarded her for hours, keeping Bear and Kita away from her. It was amazingly warm-hearted of him.

 

 This is the pack (before Coda) all on my bed. Nala, Zazu, Luci (just hiding behind Kita but you can see the little white spot showing), Kita and Bear all on my bed enjoying a peaceful Sunday morning. I love that all my animals were safe and secure enough to all sleep together and to enjoy it - even Zazu was cuddling with Kita in this picture, and my big girl allows it. Bear doesn't. Ever. So this is the original pack, before rescues and Huskies with problems registered on my radar, and before Dog Bless You was born. Now, it's a new year and time to begin new things, and with the way things have gone lately, it seems that it is becoming a reality without me 

pushing it. It is now time to register a charity and to get the whole project off the ground - slowly but surely. We don't rush things in Africa. Why do today what you can do tomorrow ... 

I created this blog over a year ago, with the view to one day being able to start a Husky rescue centre here in Windhoek, as people seem to struggle with the concept of Huskies and how they must be managed. 

A Husky is not an easy dog to manage - they are strong-willed, arrogant, working dogs and can get aggressive and destructive if they're bored. If they're happy, however, they are the most wonderful dogs on the planet and have so much character and love in them.

Not everyone is lucky enough to be in my situation where I am often at home as that is where I work, and I also MAKE the time to walk my dogs daily, to play with them, to brush them, to bath, treat, take them to the vet, and do everything that must be done to keep a dog happy and healthy. They cost a fortune - but I will gladly give up everything for them. It doesn't matter how busy I am - my dogs get walked six times a week at around 6:30pm every evening - and the reward that I get from being able to do some exercise, breathe some fresh air, and simply watch them going crazy with enthusiasm and running for the love of running is a reward that no matter my mood, I smile and am happy.

So Dog Bless You was born out of pity for the Huskies that I see here that are locked in yards, that don't get walked daily when they are so terribly bored, and aren't looked after or have medical problems due to in-breeding and other issues. I remember it took me ages to decide on a name, and I probably poached a name from someone else on the internet, but I loved it and chose it. My dogs are a blessing to me, and should be to everyone that owns one. 

Most importantly, and what I remember every day, is the Ten Commandments:

1. My life is likely to last only ten to fifteen years.

Any separation from you will be painful - 

Remember that before you get me.

2. Give me time to understand what you want from me.

3. Please your trust in me - it is crucial to my well-being.

4. Do not be angry at me for long and do not lock me up as punishment.

5. You have your work, your entertainment, and your friends. 

I have only YOU.

6. Talk to me sometimes. Even if I don't understand your words,

I understand your voice when it is speaking to me.

7. Be aware of how you treat me, I will never forget.

8. Remember before you hit me that I have teeth that could easily hurt you,

But I choose not to bite you because I love you.

9. Before you scold me for being uncooperative, obstinate, or lazy,

Ask yourself if something might be bothering me. 

Perhaps I am not getting the right food, or I have been out too long,

or my heart is getting old and weak.

10. Take care of me when I get old;

You too will grow old. Go with me on difficult journeys.

Never say "I cannot bear to watch" or "Let it happen in my absence."

Everything is easier for me if you are there, even my death.

Remember that I love you.

This is so true. I see how they greet me when I get home, and know that they missed me. When I ask them something that they don't want to do, there IS always something that scares them or that they don't like (or, in Bear's case, he's hunting and just doesn't give a damn about me). When I do give up the fight and trust that they will come back, learn to love me, trust me back, or whatever the situation is, I have seen immediate results from that simple action which has taught me that they trusted me long before I trusted them. They forgive so quickly, how can we stay angry? They do have us and love us unconditionally - I hate being away from my kids. I talk to them all the time and I will get a slow wag of the tail from Bear, a woo from Kita, the occasional happy hop from Coda, and a never-ending stare from Cady ... And they don't forget, ever. Bear has bitten me when he got a hiding - proof that he could break my arm if he wants to. But he chooses to be gentle when warning me that he doesn't want to be smacked or that he hates being brushed and I should rather bugger off and leave him alone. Dogs have moods and issues as well and these should always be taken into account - they just might not UNDERSTAND what you want from them. They might be sick. They might be feeling under the weather - just like we do.

And yes - take care of them when they get old. I can say no more on that one, as hard as it is. Dogs are a blessing - angels walking on earth. They are selfless, loving, kind, forget quickly and love even after you hit them. We could learn so much from the animals that walk around us. 

On a happier note, after all this time, I will finally start updating the blog on the progress with our first two rescues, Coda and Cady. I will look into registering a charity as they're eating me out of house and home, and post photos of how they love their walks - off lead! They are two happy stories that have amazed me in little ways every day. 

Here's to Dog Bless You! May you always have such a blessing in your life!