Tunch is back and a little pissy. His tail is partially shaved from where they removed the fatty lump.
The stray I found yesterday has no issues with cats, which makes me more convinced she is someone’s pet who somehow got loose. She completely ignored the cats at the vets office, and after sniffing Tunch lost interest. She also has no chip.
I guess I am just going to have to hang “found dog” signs along the route I was traveling.
JenJen
Hey John, your local Craigslist would also be a good place to post your “found dog” notice. Your local newspaper likely places free “found” notices as well.
Good luck!!
ETA: Oh! Oh! And, is she knocked up or not?
Josie
What a relief she didn’t want to chase/attack Tunch. Pet tension can make for a very chaotic household. It has taken me a year to convince my dachshund mix rescue that she doesn’t want to kill the cats. Even now she tries once in a while to nip one behind my back. It’s as though she just can’t help herself.
Comrade Mary
Fatty lump at the base of his tail? I thought he was just in for dentistry. Damn, it’s a good thing you didn’t tell us yesterday.
Violet
Fatty lump? Did you tell us about that before and I missed it? Glad Tunch is okay.
Did the vet confirm whether or not the JRT is with puppies?
BSR
No chip = crappy owners IMO.
pika
I think I missed the fatty lump heads-up, too–so it’s just a fatty lump, right? And echoing Violet, is tempdog pregnant?
Chat Noir
Thanks for the update, John! Fingers crossed that you can find lost dog a good home. And loved the picture of Lily in bed from last night.
@Comrade Mary: My tortoiseshell has a lump over her right eye. It’s a benign watery thing but I’m trying to decide if I want to take her in to have it removed; her vet says it’s common in older cats. She’s going to be 11 next month so I’m not sure surgery is the way I want to go with her.
eemom
lack of issues with cats doesn’t mean she wasn’t abandoned.
How did she manage to get her collar off?
Sorry, it’s just that the bad people outnumber the good so overwhelmingly, especially when it comes to animals.
MaskedBandit
Good luck! Make sure to use Craigslist and maybe the local newspapers. After a particularly vicious and scary lightening storm, I found a high-energy, friendly pit-bull mix wandering without a collar. I put up “Found” signs everywhere, even hanging them on my mailbox. (There were no light-posts or telephone posts on my street.) It took about 2 weeks to find the owner… who turned out to live across the street.
John Cole
@Comrade Mary: It was just a fat deposit on the base of his tail tat had been there for 4-5 years and was slowly getting bigger. Not cancerous or anything and quite common (or so my old vet told me). Since he was going under, I just had it removed.
Elisabeth
But is she preggers?
eemom
the first place anyone whose dog got loose would look would be the animal shelter.
Violet
@eemom:
A rat terrier, which is similar to a JRT, that I used to dogsit, was a whiz at getting out of his collar. He was a magician, that one. The full body harness was in use for walks or else he’d be out of the collar and off the leash in under a minute.
Chyron HR
You removed Tunch’s fatty lump?
What’s left, just a Cheshire Cat grin?
jeffreyw
Jack came in the other day sans gps collar, I asked Mrs J if she had taken it off. Nope. He had shrugged it off. Fortunately, it wasn’t too hard to find.
Betsy
@Chyron HR:
Well-played.
Dog is My Co-Pilot
I am hoping she is someone’s pet and that someone didn’t just dump her. Our local paper will let someone place a free ad if you’ve found an animal you think might be someone’s pet. We had a couple dogs wander into our yards that we did that with, and the owners called both times to claim their dogs. You’re lucky she hopped in your vehicle. I’ve stopped for dogs on the road and most of the time they take off.
General Egali Tarian Stuck
@jeffreyw: That Jack is a canine Houdini.
Crusty Dem
I foresee great amusement further downthread. “Fatty lump” + Tunch = amusement for all (except maybe John).. EDIT: ok, upthread, too.
Glad Tunch is well.
demo woman
John, If you have the opportunity call the local vets in the area. One might remember the dog.
wonkie
Chron–that was my reaction. Then I read the the lump was on his tail, the only place where a fatty lump could be distinguished from the rest of the cat.
If John is looking for the owner of a purebred unspayed JRT he needs to figure out how to keep her out of thehands of people who will claim her in order to breed her. Upthread someone wrote that no chip meant irresponsible owner. I think unspayed means irresponsible owner. Maybe John should get her spayed before advertising her. Please do NOT look for the owner if she is pregnant! If she is knocked up that almost certainly means her owner is a back yard breeder and it definately means her owner was irresponsible. Just get her into a breed rescue.
I’m on the board of a dog rescue and the experience has made me deeply cynical about humans and their ability to care for animals.
Comrade Darkness
I woke up this morning with this jolting thought that John’s stray was pregnant by a German shepherd and needed some emergency surgery to get the puppies out and that upcoming expense was why she got dumped. Like I don’t have enough of my own crap to be worrying about . . .
schrodinger's cat
Poor Tunch! I hope you are feeding him sushi grade tuna, for everything he has had to deal within the past 24 hours.
Dog is My Co-Pilot
@wonkie: I totally agree with your last sentence about being cynical about most humans’ ability to care for animals. Back yard breeders and puppy mills are a huge problem, and there’s big money in it. We adopted a Pomeranian who was a puppy mill dog and no doubt she had just been used as a breeding machine to supply pet stores with puppies. I also volunteer for a couple rescue groups and I’ve lost all faith in most humans’ ability to treat animals well. John, I hadn’t thought that perhaps the dog you found (if she is in fact pregnant) could have come from a back yard breeder. In which case, it’d be best to not find the owner. I would agree, as well, that if she is unspayed, that is a sure sign of an irresponsible owner. You should contact local veterinarians to see if they might recognize her.
jeffreyw
@General Egali Tarian Stuck: Mrs J is obsessive about the collars, puts them on the dogs first thing every day, only takes them off late for recharging overnight. Jack is always ready to go out and guard the homestead so he’s often out after dark. Mrs J keeps an eagle eye on his location and gets nervous when he gets farther than 100 yards away. The main road is about 200 yards east and if he’s close to the road she hollers him in. He takes his sweet time coming back when she calls so if she’s really upset she will hand the receiver to me and tell me to yell for him.
Beeb
Foundhound sniffed Tunch = Tunch permitted himself to be sniffed = Tunch is a very tolerant cat. But we pretty well knew that already, since John yet lives. I hope you find her owner, JC. And if you do, I’ll bet they will have her chipped ASAP.
CaseyL
I’m still wondering why she was wet when John found her. If it wasn’t raining, could she have escaped from getting a bath? (That might explain the lack of a collar.)
Between the wet and the tail-between-legs, it sounds like she ran in a panic from something, realized she was lost, and was frightened even more.
schrodinger's cat
@Beeb: He is tolerant as long as he is obeyed. All hail Benevolent dictator, Tunch.
schrodinger's cat
@CaseyL: The plot, it thickens! The case of found hound.
satby
@wonkie: And a word about Craigslist and pets posted there: dog fighters claim lost dogs are theirs and “adopt” dogs to use as bait dogs while training fighting dogs. Be careful.
slag
Well, luckily, Tunch probably can’t move suddenly enough to incite the stray’s hunting instincts. So…that’s something.
shortstop
Hmmm, Cole is avoiding the question of whether New Dog is with pups. I hope he’s not saving this for blog sweeps week.
Sue
A bit of advice in your hunt for an owner. Do not put a description of the dog anywhere in your ad or posting. Anyone who calls needs to describe the dog to you, not the other way around.
Tony Alva
John Cole you are a good man despite your misguided politics, and a true friend to the animal kingdom.
@Chyron HR: Got there first and you get the worm. Well played.
@Tunch: Work that scar with the lady cats for all it’s worth. Glad you made it through okay!
Poopyman
Not much to add except for a couple of thoughts on the comments:
A JRT’s head is shaped to make collars fairly easy to slip off, so she might have done it herself.
She might have been hosed by an irate gardener if she was digging in someone’s yard. Pure speculation, of course.
Good news on both sides of the Tunch/Rosie meeting. Maybe Tunch’s aches and pains make him care less (at the moment), although that would be most uncatlike, in my experience.
And indeed, no word on buns in the Easybake.
JenJen
@shortstop:
Hahahahahaha!
pika
@JenJen: Oh, indeed: that comment wins the thread and the day.
CynDee
@JenJen: I’m sure you already know this, but be careful, John. Some people go around collecting animals to sell to experimental labs.
schrodinger's cat
@shortstop: He is protecting the maiden’s honor, since he is responsible for her now.
JenJen
@CynDee: I do realize that, and of course you have to be careful. But there’s also a chance the dog has her own family and they’re searching frantically for her. I don’t know how you go about making sure. Maybe just wait for a “Lost” ad to show up and go from there?
Comrade Mary
@John Cole: Ah, thanks, John. I had a cat with a couple of fatty cysts near her ear and eye, and we just had to keep watching to see that they didn’t grow too much. The vet called me once when the cat was under for planned dentistry and asked if I wanted the cysts gone RIGHT THEN, but I couldn’t make up my mind in time.
Mary
@schrodinger’s cat: He doesn’t want to tip of the anti-choice protesters who will inevitably show up when he takes her in for the termination/hysterectomy.
Randy P
@shortstop:
Heh.
“And later today, in a Very Special blog post…”
Violet
@Randy P:
I really hope the dog isn’t going to become the new spokesdog for the Candie’s Abstinence foundation after she’s had her puppies.
CatStaff
You might want to rethink naming the newcomer “Rosie.” Unless, of course, you really WANT to copy the names Charlotte named her daughters in SATC 1.
“Now we have a Lily and a Rose.”
schrodinger's cat
@CatStaff: How about a Turkish name to go with Tunch?
jibeaux
I’ve got some puppy/dog questions. We are finally thinking about adopting a puppy that needs a home. We have wanted a puppy (due to a bad experience last time with an older, larger dog who turned out to be none too smart, all but untrainable, and to nip at small children); a small to medium dog; and a short-haired dog. All in one dog, preferably. So this puppy has presented itself from some folks who rescued him as apparently a “terrier mix” and he’s obviously adorable. My husband, though, was getting pretty concerned reading the descriptions of JRT — which I think he most resembles, except for the color — and their reports of high energy, high barking, alpha dog tendencies, possibly not great for kids, which we have. Now as a child he had some sort of mutt terrier who was a wonderful kid’s pet, so he knows that you can’t determine what a terrier mix dog is going to be like based on some wikipedia description of JRTs, but is still a little nervous. We don’t really want to fail at 2 out of 2 dog adoptions. I guess what I’m asking is, first does anyone have a better idea of what kind of mix he might be? And if we are scrupulous about training and exercise, do you think his temperament will be just fine, or is it something of a crapshoot?
QuaintIrene
Jesus, Just when you couldn’t get more disgusted with human behavior.
Bob in Sheboygan
My wife and I think you, John, need to add the JRT to your menagerie if you cannot locate her owner. You can then keep all of us posted on her (possible) pregnancy and the birth of the pups. And how you got them adopted. Will keep the blog innertubes humming along for many months.
J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford
@jibeaux:
Corgi’s are great dogs. Not too big, not too small, great with kids and smart as a whip.
cletizia
sorry if this is repititious, but face it, “dude, you got a dog!”
eemom
let me third and fourth all the cautions above about the various species of human scum that might try to “claim” this dog.
The point about her not being spayed (if she is in fact pregnant, and WHY WON’T YOU TELL US??) is an excellent one.
Please, please be careful! Again, if she really did get lost from responsible owners, THE FIRST PLACE they’d look would be the animal shelter.
bemused
We seem to be some kind of magnet for lost dogs. Many times we’ve had dogs turn up at our house. Once I was in a rush to get to work but forgot something in the house. I left the driver’s door open as I ran back in the house. When I got back in the car, put it in reverse to back out & looked in the rear view mirror, I saw a very large German Shepherd sitting in the back seat. I almost had a heart attack. I screamed & jumped out of the car. I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing. After studying this situation for awhile & with the help of one of our kids, we managed to get a peek at her tag. Now we knew who she belonged to but she had no intention of leaving the cozy back seat. She even growled a little when we tried to coax her out. The owner wasn’t home so her son came over & finally convinced her to leave with him.
Another time we had two lost dogs that came together. I was not having any luck calling around to the neighbors so I made some posters to put up at the grocery store, banks, etc in the nearest town. I had one poster left & was walking by the local bar that afternoon & on impulse decided to leave the poster there. I showed the poster to several regulars sitting at the bar & in 5 seconds, someone knew who both dogs belonged to. I decided the next time I couldn’t find the owners of a lost dog, first I’m heading to the bar. The regulars seem to know everything.
asiangrrlMN
Good to know that Tunchie is safe and sound and that Ms. Rosalita is doing all right as well. Please keep us updated, and y’all are killing me on the breathless anticipation of blog updating for the pups shtick.
@jibeaux: OK, I have no idea what that dog is except just plain cute. What a doll-baby.
phoebes-in-santa fe
@John Cole: You found a fatty deposit on Tunch?
How in hell can you tell a fatty deposit from the rest of the fat on that cat?
Actually, I love large cats myself and Tunch is a beauty. Are you going to keep the dog? You should – if you can’t find the owner.
I just adopted a 10 month old piebald short hair to replace my 14 year old black cat who died during surgery last month. Freak accident. Anyway, “Robin Obama” gets along beautifully with my two other cats, one age 4 and the other age 14 (litter mate of the one who died). They all hang out together with very little fighting.
jibeaux
@asiangrrlMN:
I know, I’m kind of smitten against my better judgment. It’s the tail wagging that’s cracking me up — “I’m gonna eat you up, hello kitty brush, bark! bark!, take that! bite! bite!” — the whole while the tail is just wag, wag, wag.
licensed to kill time
Inquiring minds want to know – will there be a blessed event? Having puppies is really quite fun, the whole process of birth and watching them grow up. Do tell!
So, is Tunch just kind of pretending the stray doggie doesn’t exist? That’s actually a good sign, if so…far better than open hostility. Details, more details, please!
That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal
Good luck with this.
Along the same lines, I’m starting to try harder to find Ringling a new home. I just have too many cats, and the household would work better if I could find someone else to adopt her. Among other things, it would allow me to open the door and let the three I have left have the run of the whole house.
So, if any of the Twin Cities denizens around here no someone TRUSTWORTHY who would like a very sweet, if slightly odd, cat, please let me know. She would do better as an only cat, with her own people that she doesn’t have to share.
EDIT: Anyone who gets her also gets a free canvas butterfly chair. Just don’t expect to be able to use it yourself.
John Cole
Not trying to keep everyone in suspense- the vets were in surgery and we don’t know if she is pregnant. After spending some time with her, I think she might just be fat.
Svensker
Is Lily still disjointed about FoundHound?
robertdsc
This thread is nothing without pictures. Even Fidel Castro took pix from his hospital bed.
Glad to hear King Tunch is OK.
Larkspur
@jibeaux: What a cute terrier!
How good is your local humane society? I’m lucky to live in an area that has a comprehensive operation, and several behavior specialists. They assess the new animals that come in. Our county gets a lot because it’s wealthier than a lot of the more out-lying, more rural counties. They have more stray pets because in the rural areas, there’s a far lower rate of spaying and neutering, and we have facilities and people who want to adopt, so our county gets critters from all over.
So what I’m saying is that if you have a trustworthy, competent Humane Society, you might be able to bring the pup in for an assessment and a pretty good prediction of how he’ll do in your family. Plus, of course, then it’s off to puppy school for all of you. Good luck.
CatStaff
@schrodinger’s cat: Very well — I live to serve:
Gamze – charm, enchantment, magic
Gonca – mystery
Kovan – destiny, faith, fortune, luck
Nadide – saved and being secured; saved from hell and deserving heaven
Netice – wild rose
Nisa – blessing
Zehra – increasing, addition to family
Phoebe
@wonkie:
Absolutely!
She could have been a puppy mill breeder dog. Sometimes those get dumped.
asiangrrlMN
@jibeaux: I gotta tell you, as someone who definitely prefers cats to dogs and more, er, complacent animals to active ones, I would scoop that baby up in a heartbeat. He is adorable. And that bark! So sweet. Swoon!
@That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal: Oh, that’s too bad. I will ask around and see if I can find anyone looking for a single cat and butterfly chair.
@John Cole: Well, let us know if we are going to be surrogate dog uncles and aunts.
Comrade Darkness
@jibeaux: If it were me, I’d search for one of the puppy temperament/personality tests and perform that on the pup. We’re not a dog household, but our doggie friends swear you can pick out a winner every time. My sister adopted a dog that scored really well and it has turned out to be just the sweetest gamma dog in the world.
http://www.nrta.com/breedforfoundation/temptest.html
or more complicated one:
http://www.workingdogs.com/testing_volhard.htm
JCT
We adopted a dumped puppy mill breeder beagle — found wandering the road in New Jersey. We went to an adoption day and noticed that this *really* beatup looking little female beagle was wandering around and all of the puppies for adoption were running up to her like she was their own mother.
So we adopted her (the look on my husband’s face when he first saw her was priceless, as in “are you kidding??”) — she turned out to be a wonderful dog who had been treated so terribly. She used to hide her toys and treats for “later”. She fell in love with my 8-yr-old son and they slept all curled up together every night. But to our horror, 4 months later she was diagnosed with metastatic mammary cancer (very common in these unspayed breeder females) and one day we came home to find her paralyzed and had to put her down that evening. Terribly traumatic for everyone.
Damn these puppy mills.
Robert Sneddon
@J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford:
Corgis can be a bit temperamental — they’re cattle-herding dogs and can be a bit over-controlling with kids to the point of nipping. They train up well though, very intelligent, but I grew up with Border collie crosses on my uncle’s farm and I’m biased. A collie is the perfect dog for a kid IMO — smarter than the kid, more endurance than the kid, doesn’t mind bad weather or rough ground. The longer-coat variants are high-maintenance though.
wonkie
My advice is don’t get a puppy. The idea that one dan train a pup to be what you wantit to be is a myth. Also the idea that you know what you are getting when you get a pure bred is a myth. If you have a clear idea what temperament you want frm a dog, gthen start ressearching adult dogs in foster homes of dog rescues. Interveiw the people fostering the dog. keep looking until you find a dog that already exhibits in a family setting the attitudes and behavior that you want.
asiangrrlMN
@JCT: Aw, that is so terribly sad and sweet. At least she got to live out her short life surrounded by love. Thank you for giving her that.
fcc
You should have put up found posters first. Dogs are property.
I understand the desire to protect and comfort the animal, but it is not your animal. When the pets life is not in danger, finding the owner comes first.
fcc
Lysana
To close this thread on a sane note, he started by knocking on every door in a five-mile radius from where he found her. So clearly you’re new here.