This is an archive of the Major email updates

Picked up Major on Sunday, he did well on the flight and was reluctant to leave Karen. He was very calm and relaxed on the drive home. I went to the store and got some pork chops, cottage cheese and rice. We hand fed him little pieces of pork chop and he seemed to really enjoy that. He got along with the two sight hounds fine, but there was alot of tension between him and Stryker. If one was out, the other was in their crate. Mentally he seems well adjusted, he immediately filled the vacant K9 position of huggy-velcro-lap-dog. He actually waits until I sit on the couch and then gets so close as to actually pin me to the arm of the couch. I keep the grooming rake at hand and brush him when he is near me. Physically he is emaciated, has eye infections with runny mucous, his nose flues are crusted shut, his testicles are covered in dead skin and dirt, he has some skin problems, and he smells very bad.

Day 2 (Monday)

He has found the food dish and seems to understand the concept of free feed, in that he does not attempt to eat everything in the bowl all at once. He got some more pork this morning. I brushed him out and got enough hair to make another dog. It brought up alot of dander and dead skin. I had not planned on bathing him for a while, but since he likes to be so close I decided I had to. I washed him with Nolvasan which will help his skin. He looks and smells much better now. He basically disappeared when I wetted down his coat. I used olive oil to clean away the crust on his nose and flushed his eyes with saline. Now that he is feeling better some of his personality has come out. He is very friendly and has some play drive (will play by himself) but has no interest in fetching. It has become apparent that he was not kept in a house. He demolished the garbage and pulled things out of the sink and has marked several times in the house. He drags his tail through his feces when defecating so he needs to have his tail cleaned every time he empties. I don't know if that is just the way he is, or if he can not lift his tail. He was able to get out of his crate this morning and of course got in a fight with Stryker. Neither one is hurt and Stryker was the victor so now they are out together but it is like an armed camp. This must be what the Cuban Missile Crisis was like. Major looks away when Stryker is near if in the house, or moves away if in the yard. Stryker accepts that and doesn't push his dominance. I changed Majors crate so there will not be another instance of his being out with out my knowledge.

Day 3 (Tuesday/morning)

Major slept downstairs last night, out of his crate and managed to pull a glass out of the sink and it broke when it hit the floor. He did not get any cuts. About 2 hours after that he managed to pull the garbage can off the counter so he spent the rest of the night in his crate. The other dogs slept upstairs with me as usual, but this morning not a single one of them would come downstairs. It's the first time Stryker has refused a come command. Finally I got them all down stairs and the two hounds flew into their crates and have not come out. Stryker and Major are walking on egg shells. I have never seen two dogs work so hard at ignoring each other. Major has marked in the house 3 times in the 2 hours since I got up. He does not seem to make the connection between the correction from me and the activity that brought it on, even though they occur simultaneously. Looks like the bath and olive oil for his nose worked very well. He seems much more comfortable and he looks and smells much better. I have attached some pictures.

Day 3 (evening)

After a long day with mom learning NUMEROUS new lessons such as; "just-because-the-refrigerator-door-is-open-doesn't-mean-you-can-eat-whats-in-there", Major seeks solace from Dad. (AKA sucks up to Dad). See photo below.

Day 4

Major goes to the vet today. He will be neutered, get his teeth cleaned, get his ears cleaned, get his hips x-rayed and have a full blood pannel and lab work up.

Day 5

As you know Major went to the vet yesterday morning. The vet said he had ear infections, respiratory infection, hook worms, severe advanced arthritis in his hips, no displasia, and that he was about 20 pounds under weight. He would not do the neuter or teeth cleaning becuase Major was too weak to tolerate the anesthesia. He wanted to keep Major over night so he could do IV antibiotics and fluids and because Major had a high temp. He did clean his ears, do a full blood pannel and x rayed his hips. I went in this morning to visit Major and take him his rice-pork-cottage-cheese-dog food meal. I loved him up, groomed him and toook him for a walk. His fever is down and he was in good spirits and I think he actually recognized me. I also gave him his first dose of de wormer. The doctors are going to look at him again today and call me if I can come pick him up this afternoon. Attached are two pictures, in the first one you can see how his ear is shaved to be able to get to and treat a puncture wound, probably from his fight with Stryker. The second picture shows Major vacuuming up his special dinner.

Day 6 (evening), Day 7 (early)

Major came home from the vet at around 1300 hrs.(10/24) He is in the best condition I have seen since I got him. He was so happy to get home he started playing with a ball when he got in the house!! He is on Cephalexin, Rimadyl, Cosequin and Strongid. He loves his special food mix so much I just have to mix the pills into his food and he snarfs it right up. He is learning to be patient with the cleaning and treatment of his ears. As I am sure you all are aware, when you try to teach a dog something, they often put an interesting spin on what they thought you were trying to teach them. Well, apparently Major's take on my corrections for marking in the house were translated by him to mean, "OK I understand, don't pee on things when you can see me do it". I must say, Major learned to beg right away. He holds his own with the two pros, my sight hounds. He has already learned to eat off a fork!! I know you police K9 handlers out there are cringing, but remember, Major is retired and it's his time to get spoiled!! Major had his first visitors last night and boy, did he like that!! He's like a politician on election eve, making the rounds and pressing the flesh. Heck, if there had been a baby here, I am positive he would have kissed it. Looks like he is going to be quite the ham. I have been doing T-Touch with him, focusing on his hips. I think today we will start on the walks. The area around my house is perfect for re-hab in that it has clear paths through the woods, as well as off the path options where there are downed logs and other low key obstacles. Perfect for improving coordination and muscle tone with out undue stress. Pix attached!!

Day 8 Sunday

Well, I have to be honest, I was very afraid that Major would not come back to me from the vet. He seemed so down and had so much physically wrong, I didn't know if he could, or would, fight to stay around. Well, he did and I can happily tell you he is improving by the minute. If it were not for the tension between him and Stryker I could honestly say everything was perfect. I have addressed this tension by never letting the two of them out at the same time. Once Stryker and I go back to work, both of them will have 100 percent more "out of crate" time.

I left Major and the two sight hounds out together AND alone, yesterday. I took Stryker with me to do the shopping chores and when I got back 2 hours later Major and the two sight hounds were all happy and well. That is an important step as that is going to be the norm when Stryker and I go back to work.

The stairs to the bedrooms in my house are very very steep, the risers narrow and the stair case itself curved. It is a hard obstacle for a 100 % physically capable dog. It is not safe for Major. He went up the stairs yesterday and I had to help him down. He would have fallen otherwise. I myself have fallen down those stairs, so I know. What that translates out to is that major has to sleep downstairs at night. I do not allow him on the stairs. So, if any of you want to volunteer to visit and sleep on the couch with Major, come on over!! My friend Lucy from Vermont can tell you how comfortable the couch is!!

Major has started to do "real dog" things, like greeting us enthusiastically in the morning. Henry (husband) nick named him "Major-underfoot" this morning. Apparently Major gave it his all, and followed Henry everywhere, "talking" to him and pushing his head into Henry's hands. When I came down this morning I found Major sitting at attention in front of the closed bathroom door, where Henry was shaving. He was so intent on this duty he didn't even hear me come into the room. I had to call his name, then I got my share of Major love.

I used up the Pork-cottage-cheese-rice-dog food meals, so I made a new batch. This time its scrambled eggs with a dash of pepper and garlic, mixed with beef au-jus and rice and cottage cheese. Major seems to like it!! (grin). We went out for another walk today and Major is currently sound asleep in his box. He loves it out in the woods. When he approaches an obstacle like a downed log, he seems to be deciding if it would be easier to go around it or over it. If the log is short, he goes around. If it's a long one, he jumps it. When he gets wrapped up in scents, I take his distraction as an opportunity to go hide, then call him and he has to come find me. He likes that game. Pix attached!!

DAY 10, OCTOBER 29

Major has several complaints about his new home:

1) These people are under the impression that they do not need my doggie-assistance NOR my doggie-snot, on every single thing they do. Not even when they take a bath or work on the computer. I even tried to share and dropped my dirty toy in the bath water, what a ruckus.

2) It's my house, what is the problem with peeing all over it?

3) They insist on petting and talking to the other dogs here. If I think I am the only dog, then I AM THE ONLY DOG.

4) I only get two, just two, walks a day. Other wise I am stuck in a 1/2 acre yard.

5) We are a pack here, right? So if I give them permission to eat all of my food they want, why do they get so upset when I try and eat out of the refrigerator?

6) I drink water with gusto, and it goes everywhere, any dog would be proud of that. However mom got rather upset when she slid off the toilet seat at 3 am this morning, because it was so wet. And why do they always pee in my water bowl anyway??

7) The greyhound is all right, but that Ibizan Hound thinks she is the queen of the universe. She called me a "classless non-sight hound", what ever that means.

DAY 14

Stryker and I went back to work on Oct 30th. Attached is a picture of how Major spends his day, while Stryker and I put in our daily, grueling, 10 hour shift.

Wed Nov 6

Took Major to the vet Monday and got his ears cleaned again. Weighed him while I was there, he has gained 7 pounds. That's an average of 1/2 pound a day since his arrival. I'm going to give him another week on the fat rich diet, then spend a week tapering off and he should hopefully round out at about 95 pounds. That is about 5 to 10 pounds under weight, but both the vet and I think it is best due to the weakness in his hips.

We have settled into a routine now and Major seems very happy. I still do not let him and Stryker out at the same time. Major and Jaqi have become good buddies. Star is not a "good buddy" kind of dog, with her it's a matter of "levels of toleration", unfortunately Major does not show up on her chart. See photo.

November 8

I seem to be getting the hang of this "indoor living". I like to try things, explore and all that. I now know that if all the other dogs run out of the house when they see me do something, it was something I wasn't supposed to do.

I have been told, and I can understand, that I am not allowed to touch mom's tooth brush when she's using it. What I don't understand is why I can't chew on it when she is not using it.

You'd think she would appreciate the tremendous talent necessary to remove that toothbrush from it's holder. Just look at the pictures if you don't believe me.

December 5

Dear All

I am sorry to tell you that Major was euthanized today at 1715 hrs. He was neutered on 11/26 and since that time had exhibited altered behaviors. Mostly benign things like seeming disoriented and confused one day and fine the next. On 11/30 he was out in the yard with Jaqi and for no apparent reason lunged at her with teeth snapping. She got out of the way and was not hurt. Sun Mon and Tues I had friends down to do a cadaver training seminar and he was fine those three days.

Today I had two officers over for lunch and let Major out to meet them and he acted frightened and would not approach them. I asked him to get in his box and it seemed like he couldn't find it or didn't understand the command. He kept whining, pacing and shying. I had to catch him to put him in his box.

After they left I was upstairs on the computer and Star came up with blood all over her face from skin tears and puncture wounds. I cleaned her wounds and let her go in the living room and Major came off the couch and attacked her again.

I called Karen to let her know what had happened, and that I could not keep Major because of this behavior. Karen suggested he might have had a mild stroke from the surgery. Thinking back on the last 10 days since the surgery I am sure that is what happened. We both agreed euthanasia was the kindest thing for Major.

I want to thank you all for the emotional and monetary support you extended to Major and me. Before 11/26 he was a happy dog well on the way to sound health and a comfortable retirement. At least he got some small portion of what he deserved.

I held him in my arms and he went out of this world peacefully and with dignity.