Sunday, December 28, 2014

Day two with our new family member, Gus.



I had forgotten to tell all of you a little about what we were told about Gaston’s previous life; he was somewhat of a street urchin in his vagabond days prior to being caught by animal control.

First of all he is not local, he is from Collier County, where Naples and Marco Island are, and they could not find a microchip on him so he was micro-chipped while there, and shaved due to severe matting so bad his left eye could not be seen, and at first they foolishly thought he was a six year old, which the veterinarian in Arcadia in Desoto County later determined to be false, according to his teeth and other markers of how they tell such things…they dated his birth date as June 4, 2013!

Gaston was determined to be mostly Havanese with some Shih Tzu in him, which are two very nice combos in the doggie world.

Both are non-allergic and non-shedders much like Bichon Frise.

In fact if you would like to know where Havanese originated from it would be Havana Cuba, and mainly the information has the:
"The Havanese, a breed of Bichon type, is the national dog of Cuba, developed from the now extinct Blanquito de la Habana ("little white dog of Havana"). The Blanquito descended from the also now extinct Bichon Tenerife. It is believed that the Blanquito was eventually cross-bred with other Bichon types, including the Poodle, to create what is now known as the Havanese. Sometimes referred to as "Havana Silk Dogs", this was originally another name for the Blanquito de la Habana.
The Havanese is small in size and sturdy in structure with a tail carried over its back and ears that drop and fold. The coat is abundant, long, and silky and comes in all colors.[3] The Havanese has a spirited personality and a curious disposition, and is notable for its springy gait, a characteristic that distinguishes the breed from all others.[4] The Havanese is considered an ideal family pet and a true companion dog.[3] They are highly adaptable to almost any environment. Because of their strong social needs, Havanese will not thrive in an environment where they are isolated for several hours each day.”
Thanks to:




He has a couple of medical and behavior issues.

In Arcadia they did neuter him.

And so he is on antibiotics from that surgery and also since they said he has a mild urinary tract infection.



The behavior issues are common in puppies but he must be what that show called “arrested development” only in some areas with mouthing trying to teethe on you and so we have his soft toys and Nylabones with us when he sits on our laps.

The other issue that is a bit frightening is that whenever we are eating or preparing food he barks and growls at us.

Hubby took him into the garage to prepare one of our containers to accept the large quantity of milk bones we bought today at Pet Supermarket when we went to also attain the Purina Pro Plan food they had him on and new bowls etc. He removed the lid from the pond fish food and began to eat, and when Hubby tried to stop him he became vicious and tried to bite him and so Hubby took the broom and put it in between him and the fish food and pushed him away gently… we both feel he had it very rough on the streets and no one knows what he might have been through, really…so we need to understand that and be patient with him.

He is constantly hungry and goes both ways quite often, and has had only two indoor accidents; both not a big issue since our home is most all ceramic tile and easy to clean.

Other than that he slept in bed with us all last night and cuddled lovingly, and we did take him to the History Park for the Farmer’s Market today after we all had been to Pet Supermarket together he was fine in there and greeted all other dogs in there and people, as well at the park.

He is friendly to everyone, so this food thingy appears to be an aberration that we have to contend with at this time and perhaps someone can tell us how to try to help him realize that we will make sure he has food. Maybe after a few weeks he will not feel concerned about where his next meal is coming from?

He was de-wormed too at the vets and had gotten all his necessary shots including rabies and he is good until next year for those and tested for heartworms, which was negative and started on preventative medication and we were given that for a few months but we still have eight months left of Skipper’s.

They have the separate monthly flea meds too; Skipper’s heartworm medication has that included.

Once finished with his anti-biotic he will be seen again by the Arcadia doc for free to make sure that he is okay!

We have been given a number to call for any questions.

And the woman who arranged the adoption will be stopping by this week with coupons for food and other necessities… They sure know how to take care of their adoptees this Canine Castaways. Org.



His behavior in the garage was so over the top and so unlike him in all other ways, we have to figure out how to help him.







As you can see he is now less crazy and more laid back; I think it is because we pooped him out with his walking around at the Farmer’s Market and so we nixed going to Fishville too, besides there were no handicap parking spots for us and yes we did look, but it's Sunday.


On the plus side he has learned to come to his new name GUS!

And he perks up for TV shows and seems to be watching and loves music in the car rides while crated. And he can play fetch with the tennis ball. So I suppose “arrested development” is a bit too harsh as a DX, since he is quite smart, it only appears he has gaps in his socialization, not with people or children or other dogs just the food thingy and that we will have to find a way to change that into a more positive way; I hope so anyway…crossing my fingers.



On that note of my usual desire for hope allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask all of you to kindly count all your blessings and share all your overages with you know who and we will too!



And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

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