OK! I know that many have been waiting for an update on BHRR’s Mr. Parker. 😉 I thank everyone for their patience. I have been battling pneumonia and that has made it a wee bit harder to get all that needs to be done in as timely of a fashion that I would like. Mr. Parker arrived on Monday, thanks so much to Chelsea for paying for his pull fee and in all that she has done for Mr. Parker. His name is a very special one given to him by her. HUGE thanks as well to Deanna that contacted me offering to co-ordinate with Chelsea to pick up Parker on Sunday and bring him to BHRR. With both of our vehicles going out of commission the same day last Saturday; your email was a lifesaver..that and having brothers for one of mine has now lent us one of his as Sean works to get ours up and running again. Deanna picked up Mr. Parker and he had a sleepover with her and came to us on Monday. In the urgency to get Mr. Parker here as early as we could; he did not receive his rabies(which I am ok as due to his body condition; I would like to hold off on that). Here is what Deanna had to say about Mr. Parker when she first got him:

“I finally got to Scarborough and picked up sweet, goofy Parker! He’s SUCH a big puppy, and rather a stinky puppy – LOL. He’s eaten some supper, had a bath with two shampoos & long rinses (I think he’ll need two or three to get the stink out!! LOL), pooped & peed, and is being very good considering all he’s been through. He’s a beautiful pup!”

Here is what Deanna also had to say about BHRR’s Mr. Parker:

“…and he is fairly big-boned, too — his head, which I have to say is BEAUTIFUL, looks way too big right now compared to his poor emaciated body …. and OMG those huge flat feet (and fairly long nails). Btw, he was very good for me tonight when I bathed him — unsure of it at first, but willing to try (very easy to coax in there with me!) and once he realized it was kinda nice he relaxed and seemed to enjoy it. As I type this, he has settled in and is sound asleep in the big kennel we have in the sunken living room … but when he was awake a bit earlier he sure was eager to play!!! (Ocean thinks that’s GREAT – LOL; Gracie, not so much!! *g*).”

As bad as his body condition is; his feet are brutal and I already know that his right front leg bothers him and it also shakes. He has been here since Monday and I cannot thank Deanna enough for her pictures and I took many on Wednesday myself. It is always hard to truly show how emaciated an animal is when they have a black coat and Parker’s body condition is poor. His feet are just atrocious, the dear thing. For now, I am going to post two pictures, courtesy of Deanna of his feet and I shall post regular pictures of his feet to show the ‘changes’ as they occur.

As I have pneumonia, I am not working at the hospital this week and so, I am going to draw blood at home and have Sean drop it off on Thursday on his way to work to do a HWT plus a CBC etc.

As of Monday night; BHRR’s Mr. Parker had been fully integrated with 8 of the dogs here. His first ‘best’ friend was PPSS, no surprise there. 😉 His ‘second’ best friend who is NONE too pleased with his attention was Abbi and by the time Tuesday rolled around; Abbi had ‘set’ Parker straight and he no longer tries to hump her. She is so wonderful about her correction. So, Parker’s true second best friend is Porridge. I am not surprised for PPSS, Porridge and Parker all share the same mindset and brain patterns. GOOFY, loveable and goobers! 😛

By Tuesday night; Parker had been integrated with all but 3 of the dogs here and yes, I have the proof that he is fully integrated and interacting with Dyce. As many know, Dyce has been attacked by several Black and Black/Brown intact male dogs in the past and he gets very stressed around them. Correct integration is so important; I can never stress that enough and all my dogs are living in complete harmony. I am so proud!!!! 😀

By Wednesday night; Parker has been fully integrated with all of the dogs here and life is like it has never been any different at our home. Parker has just ‘settled’ in. So, yes, we have 3 intact males dogs in our home living in complete harmony. My one show boy shall be 2 years old next month, my other show boy shall be 9 months later this week and BHRR’s Mr. Parker that I believe to be around 15 months of age(March 2008). 🙂

When he first arrived with Deanna, you could see how quickly he had latched on to her(Deanna also mentioned that he was a great car traveller); and we had to use a little bit of ‘tough’ love to get him into a crate. He was also a wee bit worried when Deanna left. After she left, I took him out and was able to get him into the crate by myself with little persuasion(he is very particular about his treats and kibble) and on the third ‘training’ moment of putting him into a crate for a spell; I moved him from Dana’s to Ocean’s old crate and he went in like a pro and I have had no issues whatsoever since then. Parker is AWESOME sleeping in his crate. Other than some little sounds here and there; he is quiet as a mouse and is very patient. He has not had one accident in the house; yet he is a HUGE marker outside and my ‘gut’ tells me that this boy has bred in the past for he knows exactly what he is doing when he mounts. So, I will most likely be neutering him a wee bit sooner than later. 😛

Of course, Mr. Parker had no clue as to what his name was when he first arrived and as of Wednesday night; he not only knows his name but he sits on command for his food and treats. WHAT a smart boy.

With some coaxing last night; I managed to convince him that it was ok to come up on the bed to cuddle(he has decided that *I* now belong to him) and twice he came up(well, ok..I had to boost up the other half of him that he seemed to have forgotten about that was still on the floor…). The headpiece on this boy is WOW!

He has allowed me into his mouth and I can confirm as per what Barry also noticed when he was here Monday night that he is missing his one molar on the left lower side. It has not been extracted as far as I can tell. It is just not there. His tongue is one of the longest that I have EVER seen and he can create a lot of drool action and ‘sharing’ of drinking water with you with that tongue. 😉 He looks like he is always smiling when his tongue is out and you just want to smooch him. Yes, Sean and I already think he is ‘da bomb’ and he just melts your heart with his happiness and ‘not a mean bone’ in his body ‘tude. Which leads me to the part that he has just been terrified of Sean…sigh…Better today than it was on Monday but very tragic to see. I now have Sean feeding Mr. Parker two of his 5 meals.(Sean is away during the day so is unable to take the whole regime over yet I have decided to go to Arnprior and Mr. Parker was the deciding factor..for just like when Shiva arrived and I left to go to Ohio; this will make Parker and Sean dependent on each other for Sean will work from home and get to know each other and have me out of the picture).

You know that Parker has been abused for any huge sudden flighty movements make him flinch and cower and jump away and when I went to put my hand down to pick up the almost empty water bowl that he was drinking out of; he almost panicked and ran a few steps away and the expression on his face just made me sink to my knees on the floor in emotion. His expression(and he is very expressive with those eyes) was almost guilty AS if he felt HE had been caught doing something wrong in DRINKING water…OMG! HOW could anyone treat such a sweet creature this way. All I wanted to do was fill up the bowl to give him more water and he thought I was going to hurt him as he felt he was doing something wrong….I just welled up with tears and told him I was so sorry that he had been treated so badly and that I PROMISE that no one and I mean no one would ever deprive him of water, food or shelter or a soft bed or two or spoiling or love EVER again. AND no one would ever lay a hand on him other than in an adoring caress or touch. The Mr. Parkers of the world is ‘why’ we do what we do and I take that responsibility beyond seriously.

Yes, this update is long as there is so much to write and a Gwennie novel it shall be. 😛

I also had the opportunity; for Mr. Parker is already beginning to trust me; to feel those front feet and toes of his and his joints. Something is ‘odd’ about them. The bones are extremely long number one; abnormally long and they feel ‘bumpy’ and out of alignment; so I believe my initial suspicions are correct that he has healed fractures in those feet and toes. I have him on Ester C right now and shall have to go out and buy a lot more for between rehabbing Dana and Ocean; I am lower than I thought in my supply. I think that when I neuter him; I am going to x-ray those feet and see what we are really looking at for something is just ‘off’ with those bones in his feet. He has no heat or swelling and is not running a fever; so I am not worried about infections, HOD or Pano etc. I just cannot put my finger on just what is not feeling ‘right’ about those feet at this time yet I shall continue to play with them and he is already loving the massages I am giving his poor body and I can tell that right front leg does bother him some. I would almost lean to the idea that he was kept in such a cramped quarters that his bone development has been really affected. He was definitely not given proper food, nutrition nor muscle/bone development with exercise; that much I do know. So, I am being very careful about the level of exercise he is being given for he needs to build up his muscle properly. His body is completely lacking in tone and muscle development right now. We have a sand foundation and that is just perfect for his muscle building and those feet.

Watching Mr. Parker outside with grass is like watching a toddler see grass or flowers or trees for the first time. I felt like Porridge, Abbi and Dyce(I have pictures) were ‘showing’ him around and teaching him things about the ‘great’ outdoors. Just fascinating. I think tonight, I shall not even have him sleeping in a crate for he does not need it. I shall continue to feed him in a crate and do that while I am out(that is going to be a test to see if he has developed any SA) yet at night; he does not require one at this point. I believe that how Parker is now; shall be pretty much how he is when the ‘honeymoon’ period is over. He wears his heart on his sleeve this boy and everything he is feeling shows in his eyes, face and body posture.

I am sure that I am missing much here yet I shall leave this blog at this point and post the two pictures of his feet.

TRULY, thank you to all that have been involved in saving Parker. From Chelsea to Deanna to those that have donated money for food, Simone for his Kuranda bed, those that are donating fundraising items etc. On behalf of Parker; I thank ALL of you profusely for your kindness and generosity shall restore his body to the health and happiness that Parker carries within his soul. WE could not do what we do without all of you out there believing in our BHRR programs. This guy is so very unique and one of the gentlest, sweetest babies I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. I am beyond excited about the journey that he and I shall be taking over the next few months. He is going to TEACH me so much. Sean and I have already looked at each other and said that this is why Ocean was suppose to be adopted; so that we can help the next one that needs us and we are both going to fall hard for this boy….too.

BHRR’s Mr. Parker – May 3rd, 2009 -photos courtesy of Deanna