Tuesday, April 21, 2009

a blog award

Jackson, the superduper great dane, has passed along the Honest Scrap blog award! To accept, Rah needs to list 10 honest things about himself. In addition to listing the 10 things, we must pass this award on to seven other blogs.

So, our ten... (unfortunately with no pics - I can't get the pics to embed in the right place!!!!!)

1. Rah is a rescue dog - he was adopted from DRU on April 29, 2005 - the day I fell in love with the big blue puppy! He originally belonged to a Jamaican gang and was found wandering the streets with a collar embedded in his neck, but animal control sent him to DRU which is where I found him!

2. I actually considered for a brief moment returning Rah to rescue, because he was SO BAD when I got him - he didn't sleep for DAYS (really - NOT AT ALL!) and he chased my cats, whined and sighed all the time, and would NOT lay down in bed! And then, on the fifth day, Rah fell asleep. FINALLY.

3. Rah is a blue dobe - which means he is afflicted with CDA - color dilution alopecia. He has a genetic disorder that results in an abnormal distribution of the color pigment in his hair shafts, a dry patchy hair coat that falls out easily, and a general baldness to his coat that will continue to get worse. He has a fairly mild case all things considered, and looks good for an almost 4 year old blue.

4. Rah does, however, have severe allergies. When I was in MA, it wasn't noticeable, but once we got to NJ it became clear that he was chewing his legs raw and scratching himself silly. He saw multiple dermatologists and I diagnosed him with environmental allergies, mostly to molds and mites of all kinds. He lived on antibiotics for over a year, all different kinds - he had recurrent resistant skin infections, including MRSI (methicillin resistant staph intermedius), and I even had to put him on steroids. He is finally well controlled with cyclosporine, which he will be on for the rest of his life. It just costs a ton. Like, a TON.

5. Rah Rah lives with 4 cats, but he would gladly chase and eat any cat outside - his prey drive is a little too high.

6. That being said, Rah is a little afraid of cows, especially when they moo!

7. Rah cannot help himself from stealing food and countersurfing. No matter how much training I put on this dog, I do not think anything will stop him from stealing food, opening the trash can, and eating food/cleaning dishes in the sink. Rah is incorrigable. IncorRAhgible.

8. Rah's best friend is Berlin, and he luffs her lots. She is the only dog that can come near him when he eats, she can lay on him when he is sleeping, and she is just allowed to do a ton of things that Rah would NEVER let another dog do. She's golden in his eyes.

9. Rah light and shadow chases. It's a really bad habit, and if it was allowed to go out of control it would easily become OCD - laser pointers, reflections off watches, DVDs or any metal - shadows in front of lights - he will chase any of them and he's been known to spend HOURS (the entire length of a movie) staring straight up at the ceiling waiting for the lights to come back. My tv is 5 feet in the air so he can't make shadows in front of it, and I have dark curtains preventing light from coming in and making shadows because of him. And forget the cat laser pointer...

10. If Rah is not plotting how to get some food, he is playing with a tennis ball. His teeth are already worn down from them, and he adores them to death. The only thing that comes close to them in terms of squishability (because he loves to chomp the balls in his mouth) is Cuz toys - but they HAVE to be orange. And his tennis balls HAVE to be green - he will not chase or retrieve other colored balls, and he will seek out ONLY the orange Cuz and/or other rubber toys, and ignore the rest.

and I tag...

save the pit bull, save the world
Never Say Never Greyhounds
Good Whippet
She's Got the Look
manymuddypaws
DigItFetchItHerdIt
Days at Daybreake

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