Tell them what they don't want to hear

Lots of people buy dogs every year. Lots of people buy puppies every year. They get them from a pet store, or the newspaper, or Craigslist. They get them from a breeder that advertised their litter on the AKC web site. Every day.

So, what's wrong with this?

Doberman Health: vonWillebrand's Disease

On Sunday night/Monday morning I had the unfortunate experience of having quicked Elka's nail while trimming it. Other than Wednesday, it's rather become this week's theme, unfortunately. That's my life, no shortage of inspiration, I guess!

Part of the reason I've been talking about what seems like such a minor thing all week is the fact that her nail bled for so long. It was unsettling, to say in the least. I didn't think that it was life threatening, as I knew that Elka was a carrier for vonWillebrand's disease, but neither affected nor clinically affected. And then I realized that it was time to talk about vWD.

Rosie, puppy mill survivor, home seeker

This is Rosie.

Rosie is currently in Quebec, at Hopeful Hearts dog rescue. She was a dog seized from Paws "R" Us kennel, a Humane Society International operation that removed 500 dogs from a property and shut the business down. For good, I hope. Rosie apparently is positive for Von Willebrand's Disease, which essentially means that her blood does not clot as it ought to. Many Dobermans are carriers of Von Willebrand's, meaning they have the gene (which there is a proven test for, by the way), but are not affected by it. Being affected requires both copies of the gene, and complicates things like whelping (I would assume) and surgeries. Rosie there has been spayed, so one might assume that Hopeful Hearts took measures necessary to make sure that this was a safe procedure for her, probably by having banked blood available for Rosie in case she bled too much.

According to the Hopeful Hearts description, Rosie is a friendly and playful girl, and "Nosey Rosie" is apparently her nickname. A nosey Doberman, imagine a thing like that! She must be thrilled to finally be out of her puppy mill crate and out in the world, seeing and smelling all those things that she may not have even heard previously. The adoption fee for Rosie is $150 (I assume Canadian dollars, as that's where she is, but I'm not entirely sure) and if you're interested in adopting her, the email contact is adopting@hopefulhearts.ca .