New Baja Buddy Moves Stateside

The dogs in Baja are incredible. There is no select breeding going on here. In fact, the dogs are shining examples of not being bred for looks—they are mostly scruffy, bunches of mix and match pieces. Neutering is not a consideration. Certainly male dogs would not be neutered (a macho thing still very prevalent here) and the females are viewed as somewhat of a nuisance as they seem to get pregnant all the time. (I wonder why that is?) Unfortunately, females are often killed because of this.

What these dogs do have, however, is smarts. Most are raised outside and left to fend for themselves, so they either make it or don't. (One friend said they must know not to eat sea slugs. Nope. It's just that those that do, die.)

Since garbage is everywhere and dead cows on the side of a road are not uncommon, there seems to be enough for them to survive. They are savvy to cars, people and other dogs. If they aren't, they don't last. They aren't fighters as it serves no purpose. Not all seek people out, but they aren't skittish either, and will often come over for a pat. I've seen a couple with mange, however, so I always looks before I pat!

Of course, not all owners are oblivious. You can tell some are well loved, if somewhat neglected. Every once and while, you'll come across a little mongrel that is beautiful and you wonder where are its parents? Most of the dogs are on the small side (40 pounds and under).

The gringos have been instrumental in caring for many of the strays—of which there are too many. There is a loose organization of people who take in and foster them, paying for medical care and neutering as well as trying to rehome them.

A friend here is one of those people. She found a beautiful little girl with Dobie markings who at around a year old had already had one litter and when spayed, had eight little pups in her. But the dog, named Lola, was wonderful. Definitely smart, interested in people and in pleasing, with great doggie communication skills. However, Jeanie already had a dog and because of her current circumstances, couldn't have two, so was trying to find a forever home for Lola. Enter stage left—ME!

Meet Lola/K2, our new neighbor!

We have some wonderful friends and neighbors back in the states who lost their dog about three years ago. This past year they have hashed and rehashed whether to adopt or not. Their past dog was a handful, aggressive with other dogs and dangerous around children, so they wanted to be very careful before accepting another pup into their home. They do not board their dog, but depend on friends to care for their companion when they travel, which they do a lot and for extended periods. I told them I'd be on the lookout for just the perfect Baja dog for them.

I emailed them about Lola and sent pictures and added the kicker that in three days the foster parent was flying back to the states and could bring Lola with them. Quite an abrupt decision-making period, but with pictures and videos to view, and a time constraint on deciding, they chose to buy dog food, bed, toys and leash and welcome this sweet little girl into their hearts and home. They have renamed her K2 (they are climbers) and are blissfully in love.

Messing with Sea Slugs

I've written numerous times (search this blog or click here) about the danger of dogs ingesting sea slugs, sea cucumbers or puffer fish. The neuro-toxins they carry can kill a dog within 24 hours. No one has been able to tell me if that means merely nosing them is lethal, though I do know mouthing (but not swallowing) is.

Having been here about a month now, I've heard many personal reports of the what happens and it went from a vague, yet awful story to horrendous. I also mentioned the lack of success with Bella wearing her muzzle, so since the first couple of days here, she has not been on the beach and thankfully, she does not seem to mind.

The past two weekends there have been huge, local paddle boarding, wind surfing and kite boarding events that followed a Thursday-Sunday schedule. These are large fundraisers for the local areas. In our case, the La Ventana Classic raises money for the local schools and is critical in the community for acquiring much needed educational supplies and fixtures. We attended both and brought Bella, on leash without a muzzle.

In Los Barriles, the beach was spotless and we felt it would be good for her to learn how to deal with a crowd of people, children and dogs. In fact, she was stellar. Calm, curious, but not frantic to leave nor get in the water, which I had initially feared she might want to do seeing it so close. In La Ventana, after first checking out the beach where the event was being held, we determined it was also safe, and brought her there also.

Of course, you know where this is heading. At one point, Bella decided it would be fun to excavate the sand and began digging to China. Out of the hole, popped a dessicated sea slug which she immediately dive-bombed and began rolling on. It took only seconds. I hauled her back, shouted for my husband who was busy volunteering for the event and left. Luckily he had driven there with the dog while I had walked. We didn't know if she had touched the slug with any membranes—edges of her eye or mouth—or if bacteria was on her coat, could she ingest it via licking? We wanted to wash her down immediately.

The bath she received was the longest, must sudsy one she's ever received. We were careful not to spray forward toward her face, though it was also thoroughly and delicately cleaned. My husband performed like a surgeon. He was meticulous in how he handled her, the soap, water and direction in which he scrubbed and rinsed. The towel we dried her with was later bleached in a tub of water, then cleaned and dried.

That evening, we were invited to a friend's house for dinner and although they choose not to have pets and are very strict about shoes off upon entering, they understood the circumstances and allowed Bella inside. We had read and heard the progression of symptoms, so spent the evening watching her closely for jerky movements, unsettled behavior and nausea. Periodically, we'd call her to us from wherever she was in order to monitor her gait.

I had read that in humans, a symptom of neuro-toxin poisoning is a numbness in the mouth. I am a very light sleeper, so in the middle of the night, when I heard Bella licking her lips over and over, I sat bolt upright. We turned on lights, asked her to stand and walk, offered her water. How much was she licking? For how long? Were her eyes tracking? Her gait steady? We were a wreck!

Remember we are miles and miles from the nearest city where there is no emergency vet. If something was wrong we wouldn't have been able to do anything until the morning, then a 45 minute drive into town and fingers crossed we could get in immediately. There was also the very real issue of our rudimentary Spanish not being able to understanding them or them us. It was absolutely nerve-wracking.

Luckily, in the morning, Bella seemed fine although we continued to assiduously monitor her for the next 24 hours. It was a tough lesson, but luckily one where the outcome was positive. It just solidified our desire to keep her off the beach—no matter how clean it might look—as something nasty could be lurking below the surface.

Emergency!

This is a great article from the wonderful Bark magazine on how to lessen stress for yourself or your pet's caretaker in case of an emergency—and your absence. Heaven forbid this would ever be necessary, but living in a foreign country makes me very aware how critical these pointers are, especially as my Spanish is so rudimentary.

Last year my in-laws took care of Bella for a month in our absence. Luckily our mindset is similar enough that they would have done exactly as I would have in an emergency situation, But to ask anyone to make a decision for someone else to put down a dog would be gut-wrenching at best. I like the idea of using a health directive. This may not be necessary with family or friends, but would be very important if you are boarding your dog.

Having Bella with us on this particular trip still requires me to be prepared for the unthinkable. I have the name, phone and address of three different, recommended vets in the closest city. Bella is young and healthy, so her records consist of her recent shots. Yet I carry those records with me along with recent photographs of Bella from the front and side. She wears a different collar down here, both with our home information, but more importantly, the phone number of a friend who is local as we don't have a phone here.

When we were traveling with dear Lucy, who was so ill that last several years of her life, we not only brought her prescription drugs, but had backups...and again, names and numbers of locally recommended vets. (This can be found via the Internet if you don't know someone locally who can make those recommendations.)

This article offers some great advise to lessen the stress in an emergency situation. As much as you'd like to think nothing could ever happen, being prepared is insurance that a traumatic situation isn't insurmountable.

Breaking Rules on Purpose

All of us have been victims of silly rules. Rules can be made for bad reasons, but most are created with good intentions and then get tangled in themselves. I came across this link from City Dog/Country Dog regarding a shelter for abused women. The story tells of a woman who was saved from her abuser by her dog. Though injured, they were both able to escape and sought refuge at a local shelter only to be told that the dog was not allowed in. The woman refused to accept that and, thank heavens, the person she spoke with saw reason and allowed them both in.

The shelter is renovating their building so that women can now stay with their pets. The organization understands not only that some women will remain in an abusive relationship fearing for the safety of the pet left behind, but also the enormous therapeutic affect a pet provides for the psyche of the person to whom they offer sanctuary. Three cheers to them for recognizing that particular rule was no longer applicable. Another cheer for offering a separate area for those with pets, so that women, who might find dogs frightening, can be separated and avoid being further traumatized. What a great example of truly serving the needs of those who seek a safe haven in which to get back their lives.

UPDATE: More on this story here: The Rose Brooks Center.

Cactus Hiking

This area is nothing if not prickly. Many, many cactus of different varieties, bushes with thorns, prickers on the ground. I brought heavy-duty dog booties down with us for Bella's tender city feet, just in case...

Today we joined a group of women and their dogs (two miniature poodles and a scruffy pup of mixed heritage) for a hike into the foothills behind town. Of course, I didn't bring my camera. Sorry, no shots, but I promise to try and snap some pictures in the future.

I asked some of the people before we went if they used booties on their dogs and they just snorted. We were hiking dirt roads, not into the cactus per se, so Bella also went shoeless. If she was going to go into the brush, this was a perfect occasion to learn what things needed avoiding and I'm pleased to report that she managed beautifully. She loved the scruffy dog, was not particularly interested in the poodles, marched ahead of all of us and waited for me to catch up when too much distance accumulated.

We left around 7:30AM. Although I'm normally up then, I'm not really functioning, so it took some effort to get enough coffee under my belt to converse intelligently! The temperature was great...even somewhat chilly. We finished up two hours later and you could already feel that it was going to be a hot day. Bella's tongue was long, but she learned as a young pup to drink from a bicycler's water bottle (which I had brought for her), so at least, she had plenty of water. I ended up pouring my bottle into hers.

Now, back at Casa Bella (my name for our house), she's conked out on the cool tile floors until it's time to play again.

Hola from Baja!

We scrambled mightily and were able to bust out of Dodge shortly after Christmas.  Six days of driving including an overnight with family in San Diego, brought us to our new ( though temporary) casita late afternoon on the first. Ah! The relief of getting out of the car and the joy of having a wonderful, commodious house and yard in which to stay. All of us, Bella included, have slept like rocks getting on Baja time.

I had worked with Bella back at home training her to wear a muzzle so that beach walking would be possible. There were a series of warnings before coming here indicating a large influx of poisonous sea slugs on the beach and I didn't want my mouthy girl anywhere near them. Indeed, the beach is littered with them, though she has shown no interest. The muzzle, on the other hand, is a bust. She wore it at home begrudgingly but without incident. Here, she spent her time scrapping her nose through the sand trying to rid herself of the contraption. And let me tell you, the sand here is not soft and powdery, but small, sharp rocks. After two days and only two short walks, her nose was scrapped raw. Enough!

As the beach is not obliging anyway, there will be no more beach walks until they clear themselves of their poisonous contents. In the meantime, Bella and I have been exploring dusty back roads and loving it. She's off leash and minding well.

I am hoping next week to hook up with a group of women and their dogs to join them on their weekly early morning hikes. Bella is dog friendly and has already met many of her four-legged Mexican neighbors. There is one particularly scruffy little fellow whom she seems to be most enamored with. Unfortunately, we did not see him anywhere today. Perhaps tomorrow...

Our Internet connection here is quite "iffy," so though I will try to post regularly to fill you in on Baja life, my posts may be erratic.