Hands On! A Wellness Exam for Your Dog

Lassen (Gail Roberts) demonstrating that she enjoys her exam.

A few years ago our local sled dog club hosted Iditarod Veterinarian Dr. Jerry Vanik, 
for an amazing and informative two-day workshop. 

The best information he put forth was to teach us how to give our own dogs a quick
daily exam. It only takes minutes, and might save owners a lot of money as well as
the life of their dog. He said that it's a vet's pet peeve to examine a dog, find a lump, 
ask the owner how long it's been there, and the owner answers that they hadn't a
clue the dog had a lump. To him, it was as if the owner never touched the
dog!

So onward on how to go about giving your dog an exam, even though you might not have
any medical training! You will want to do this when the dog is drowsy, perhaps
before bedtime. Your dog will come to enjoy these short sessions of all-body massage. 

Start by looking at your dog: 
Its face: are the eyes bright, the whites “white,” with no discharge, pupils the same in
both eyes? Is the nose cold and moist, no discharge? Ears clean and pink inside, no odd
smell?  Peer into the mouth. Are the teeth white? No cracked teeth evident? 
Gums pink and moist (not sticky, which indicates dehydration)? Is tongue normal pink?

Look at your dog's body. Legs: do they look symmetrical? No lumps, bumps, scrapes
evident? Look at the dog's rear end, lift tail, check for lumps, discharge, or worms that
might be stuck to hair there. 

Now hands on the dog: 
With dog's head forward, use both your hands simultaneously to
feel your dog from its head, along its neck, to its shoulders, down both front legs
at the same time. Then along the backbone, then the sides, then the abdomen of the
dog. Then hands on the dogs hips, feel down each hind leg. You are feeling for
anything that doesn't feel symmetrical: lumps, bumps, scrapes, skin problems like
hot spots. The point is to discover anything that doesn't fit the symmetrical
pattern. The bonus is that you will get used to seeing and feeling your dog when it
is normal, thus your senses will be alert should the time come when something is
not! And while you're at it, be alert for fleas and ticks. Ticks can easily hide in
thick Siberian fur and they can be the cause of some really nasty ailments. If you
find a tick, use tweezers, or better yet, a SOS-SRF tick key to pull it out. Flush
it or definitely kill it. Another way to dispose of a tick is to trap it between a fold of 
sticky tape and dispose of it. You don't want it reproducing in your home or yard. 
Part the hair and check the skin for flea feces (black specks). 

Then pick up and inspect each of the feet. Look for cracked pads, cracked or injured
toenails, including dewclaws.  

I found two lumps on my own dogs doing this. One was benign, one was not. A life 
was possibly saved because a cancerous lump was found early.  It was hidden 
behind his elbow, and not evident when just looking at the dog. The hands-on 
exam found it. So don't hesitate; make the "hands on" exam part of your daily routine!

Fundraising: It's How We Do What We Do!

Cheryl Dawson's "Kindness Shawl" and Polya, source for some of the yarn. 

We are pleased to announce that our SOS-SRF Spring Auction will begin on Monday, 
May 6, and will run until Sunday, May 12, 9 PM EDT. Items will be available for preview 
beginning April 29. The lovely shawl, pictured above, will be offered by Cheryl Dawson, 
spinner, knitter, and SOS-SRF Board Member. Cheryl told us the story about the shawl:

"The shawl is called a "Kindness Shawl" because the owner of a yarn company in Madison, 
WI, designs every year in January a new shawl pattern. For every shawl begun in February 
and finished in March that is posted on a special site for record-keeping, she donates to 
some special small cause that she and her supporters choose. This year the requirement 
was that the shawls be donated in some way, either to a charitable cause or to someone 
needing a special gift. I did mine with a combination of one of her luxury yarns containing 
merino wool, cashmere, and nylon, and a yarn spun by myself from my now-departed 
Polya. The shawl has not yet been blocked but should be a generous wrap to keep 
shoulders very warm. This is no lacey cover-up; this is a serious shoulder warmer."

Special Easter Promotion! If you donate $10 or more before April 30, SOS-SRF will donate 
one (or more) of our plush toys to Dr. Bear's Closet a program run by the Children's 
National Health System in Washington, DC. For every $10 donated, we will donate a 
stuffed husky. It's a win-win-win situation - you get an income tax receipt, we reduce 
our stock and a child in hospital gets a cute stuffed husky toy. Please use the link on 
the right hand side of our website to make your donation. 

Amazon Smile This program from Amazon can be accessed through the following link: http://amazonsmile.com. When you register with Amazon Smile you choose a charitable organization (as recognized by Guidestar) and a percentage of any purchase 
you make on the Amazon Smile site is donated to that organization.

We are also a member of iGive http://www.igive.com/html/refer.cfm?memberID=315700&causeID=19764. When you make purchases at over 700 stores through their site, we earn a sales commission. That money goes to rescue groups to help with extraordinary expenses required to bring a rescued Siberian Husky back to good health and give it a chance of finding a forever home.

Support SOS-SRF just by shopping at Fred Meyer with your Rewards Card. All you have to do is link your Rewards Card and scan it every time you shop at Fred Meyer.
Click here https://www.fredmeyer.com/topic/community-rewards-4 to read more and link
to us - number 91956.

Renee's Garden Seeds: We are still partnering with this company that specializes in herb, vegetable, and flower seeds and starts. At check out, enter our code FR981F in the coupon code box and we will receive 20% of your purchase.
 

Keeping Cool! Here Comes Summer!

Silly Siberians!