*Update Sam's Profile is up -- Saved a life yesterday, and now I need to save my carpet!!

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Update#2: Sam's profile is up. If you know anyone in the Ottawa area please share: http://www.hopefulhearts.ca/adoptables/2013-139.htm

Update with Pictures.

Yesterday I went to a certain shelter to scoop up a sweet boy that was about to be sentenced to the gas chamber (yes that's right, :-(  the gas chamber). Not sure how anyone could deem this sweet special boy as unworthy of being put up for adoption but they say black dogs take too long to get adopted so they don't try.  Other than having black fur, which is apparently a grave crime, he is amazing. Sweet as pie, trained, obedient, cuddly, playful, friendly with my dogs and cat, ... perfect. And when he got home, he was STARVING.

I was told by the rescue I'm fostering him for that when the dogs are scheduled to be euthanized they don't bother feeding them anymore. (They also don't bother walking them it seems as he had peed and pooped in his cage and wasn't cleaned up. So he got a good bath when we got home.)

He ate up a whole bowl of food, and then took all of winston's and sophie's leftovers. I stopped him eventually but man he was so hungry I felt sorry for him. Even after eating some of the homemade chicken parmasean dog buscuits that Sophie and Winston made for him ;-) he was still famished. I tried to offer him Peanut Butter in a kong as a bedtime snack but he wasn't interested in PB. So I popped more of the homemade treats into the kong and put him in his crate. He was fine at first but started making a fuss halfway through the night. I caved and let him out. I kept him in my room instead. He went out in the yard before bed and again at 1am so I thought he should be good till morning.

I woke up this morning to the sound similar to the the last bits of ketchup being squeezed out of the bottle. 'Torrential' is the only way to describe what occurred in my bedroom this morning (and then subsequently all over my back yard).

After going through constant bouts of diarrhea with sophie for her first year or so I know I should have known better, but this guy needed all the love (and food) he could get and I couldn't say no to a little extra food and leaving him in a crate just seemed so mean after all he's been through.  Anyway, he is resting now and feeling much better, but I have a literal 'sh!t storm' to clean up in my bedroom. I am tempted to just brun my bedroom to the ground and cordon it off permenantly. I'm not really sure how I'm ever going to sleep in there again, and I may end up with PTSD when this is all done, but I will go out today and finally buy myself a steam cleaner. I don't think a simple spot bot is going to do as I have a lot of area to cover. I'm thinking of getting a more powerful upright carpet cleaner like the Hoover Power Scrub Delux Cleaner or something along those lines.

I know from previous discussions that the spotbot is well recommended, but does anyone have good bad experiences with upright carpet cleaners? ...anyone know where I can get a hazmat suit? ...

Otherwise, words of sympathy and encouragement are welcome to help me get through the clean up. This is not going to be a fun day (although, totally worth the experience of saving a life!)

[Sheila & Finnley]

I'm sorry about your bedroom carpet. In time you will recover. The part of your story that really made my blood boil, was that this shelter, lets the animals that are sentenced to be euthanized, suffer starvation, and sitting in their own waste, before finally being tortured to death by gas. That is even more sickening to think of.

I'm so glad you had the heart to save him. I know he wouldn't have done his extreme colon cleanse on your carpet if he could have helped it.

Hugs to you Sherri ♥

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Makes my blood boil too. I can't even really process it right now. It's sick.

'extreme colon cleanse'. Now that's one way to look at it.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

You've got good advice, just wanted to offer my sincere thanks to you for saving a life.  I cannot believe they starve them before euthanizing.  Makes me sick.  I just don't get it.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Thanks Allyson. I hope Charlotte and the fur kids are doing well!

[Adina P]

What a kind hearted person you are!
But oh my that carpet.  I think I would be tempted to just rip out the carpet entirely and start over.  We have a steam vac.  I really am neutral on it.  I don't know if it exists or how high the temp on mine gets, but I would want something strong enough so that the steam alone would KILL germs.  Not sure if that is possible with carpet.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Thanks Adina. Replacing the carpet with laminate flooring is under serious consideration.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I would recommend against laminate if you're likely to have any "spills" you may not be aware of right away. I have it in my kitchen and though overall it has held up well, there are some places where the seams have swelled from puddles, not dog related, of various kinds.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

You Guys Are Awesome! You are always always always there for me when I need support!  thanks for all the helpful tips and ideas.

The main reason I chose to work with this rescue is because it focuses on special needs cases - older dogs, sick dogs, dogs about to be gassed, palliative care, etc. I don't think things are normally this 'bumpy', and they said it's rare that they send in a foster to pick up a dog (especially a new foster) but they made an exception for me because a) the situation was desparate, and b) I've been actively involved in the events committee so I've gotten to know the leadership. They knew I would be flexible and dedicated enough to handle it. I'm not an official foster, just trying to help out in a tight spot. I recently said i was considering it for the new year and I guess they jumped all over it. Me and my big mouth ;o)  ... but it's worth it.

I'm pretty much over the shock of the poop mess and I have a solid plan going forward. I'm fairly sure there are no fleas or anything. I'm pretty convinced the poop was a food issue. He was only in the shelter for a few days and based on his intake form and temperament he seemed to be somewhat well cared for before then.

I can't wait to be able to show you his picture. You will all fall in love. :o)

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Sherri,

I've found going straight to good food is just fine.  We use Acana, and the foster's were put on Acana straight from the start. The problems lies with the treats.

Just use Acana food for small treats for a few days.  It works.

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

Sherri, you are an angel!  How lucky for this baby to be in your hands and loving home!

[jenn D]

Sherri, I had to feed jake a mixture of rice, pumpkin and plain cooked chicken for the first week. All the transitions along with what he was dealing with prior to coming here just sent his digestive system over the edge. For jake,I felt like getting his bowels under control helped so he could focus on acclimating to his new environment. We are pulling for you! And jake says hurray for rescuing a fellow black doggie!

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

thanks Jenn. this is exactly what I'm going to do.