Everyone is still doing well.  They were given the all clear from our vet which is a huge relief to everyone!  We have been enjoying the slightly cooler weather, but where has the summer gone?  Goldzilla was a few weekends ago and Jimmy had a great time!  If you stopped by to meet him I am sure that you saw a wonderfully sweet and affectionate dog.  Jimmy loves to meet people – any time there is a chance he can be petted by many hands he is happy!

Jimmy has been continuing to do very well with the new medication regimen that we have him on.  We live quite close to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds so during the fair we were able to hear the fireworks that they did every night after the grandstand shows.  Jimmy would wake up each time but after a “Jimmy, go back to sleep” from us he did just that – while the fireworks are still going off.  I would call that a success.  We have had a couple of storms where Jimmy has needed a little extra help, but he is becoming more manageable all of the time.

Since we started fostering Jimmy, we have had several people interested in him and the questions are generally along the lines of – now that he is on all of these medications, he must be fine, right?  He must be a nice normal dog that might be afraid of storms but can still handle everything on his own.  I want to clarify that when I say Jimmy is doing great with the weather and is manageable, I am comparing this to when he has no medication in his system.  That is when he gets wild eyes and fights to get away from us during a light rain sprinkle and when we cannot leave him alone for even 10 minutes on a bright sunny day.

Here are some details of how Jimmy acts now depending on the weather so you can see what I mean by handling it well and being manageable.

A perfect day = a perfect dog.  Jimmy is up for a relaxing day on the deck sunning himself or up for a walk (as long as it isn’t too hot) or laying around watching you cook… He can be left alone for several hours generally with no issues.  I say generally because two recent incidents comes to mind not that long ago I left him alone for about 30 minutes and when I came home he had knocked over the baby gate and ripped a door frame off in our house – and not only ripped it off, but chewed it into little splinters.  Our best guess is that a semi-truck drove by and he thought it was thunder.  The other is when someone (all signs point to Jimmy) counter surfed and possibly ate a lot of medicine (see previous update).  But other than those flukes he is a perfect dog on a perfect weather day.

Overcast/mist/very light rain = Jimmy will be nervous but not scared or crazy.  He can sense the changes in pressure, so when rain or a storm is on its way he can tell.  On overcasts days or in the early part before the storm actually arrives he wants to stick close to us.  Jimmy will most likely be panting with his tail a little tucked, but he is not destructive at all or has to be restrained in any way.  Jimmy will go outside with just the other dogs (won’t require us out there with him) but doesn’t want to stay outside longer than he has too – he will paw at the door for us to let him in again.  Jimmy will eat his food with no problems and as soon as we sit down somewhere he is very likely to try and crawl in our laps (a sweet trait of his). 

If it is bed time with this type of weather he will sleep just fine.  We make sure to baby gate the bedroom door because if the weather gets worse our sign to know that Jimmy is up is him trying to knock over the gate which wakes us both up.  If it isn’t bed time and the weather starts to get worse without us noticing, step 1 for Jimmy is to remove the all of the rugs from the bathroom.  Step 2 is to go down in the basement and start looking for a safe spot which often results in some damage to our house.  He only gets to step 2 if we miss step 1.  So long story short – he is typically fine on dreary days, nervous, but otherwise fine.  We would never leave him alone on days like this, but don’t have to worry unless the weather moves into actual rain.

Rain = This is the gray area between a dreary day and an all-out storm, and Jimmy may act like he knows it isn’t going to be a big deal or might go into full freak-out mode.  There really isn’t a whole lot of halfway ground here.  Generally, if it is raining Jimmy will be ok staying with us on the couch.  At this point he will typically require constant petting and hugs but that will be enough for him.  If the rain starts to get heavier or any other weather element begins (lighting, thunder or hail) he move into the next category.

Thunder storms = When rain starts we are big fans of radar maps.  If it looks like we are in for a big storm where we will be in red areas for a while and we are getting close to bed time, then chances are good we will end up giving Jimmy his sedative.  When thunder starts Jimmy needs to be held.  He will shake violently, pant and try to go on his search for that non-existent safe spot.  Once we get him on the couch or bed and settled a little he tends to be pretty willing to stay put although I think he hears things we don’t, so occasionally he tries to get away when we haven’t heard thunder.  If there is another crack of thunder he will start to fight to get away but as soon as the thunder stops he is ok staying with you hugging him.  If lighting is flashing too he is almost more upset by that then the thunder itself, so we turn lights on in the evening so it is harder to see the lighting outside.  He will stop his panting every now and then to listen for the rain and thunder.  Music and TV help block stuff out, but he still hears it all.  Jimmy will not go outside, not eat his food/pills and requires close supervision until the weather dies down.  If it is near bed time we might give him an Ace if the storm looks like it will last a while.  Once the drug kicks in we can typically hug Jimmy between the two of us and manage to doze in and out.  We wake up when there is thunder and Jimmy tries to get away, and then can snooze after it quiets outside. 

When the worst part of the storm is over, and we are back to a moderate rain, Jimmy will sometimes go outside if it has been while.  And then will typically just act nervous until the rain ends.  If he has been given an Ace, then when the storm is over and he has been outside, he will come back in and will curl up into a little Jimmy ball and promptly starts to snore.  He will sleep the rest of the night or take a very long afternoon nap.  During really bad weather Jimmy cannot be left alone at all (if you have to go to the bathroom you take him with you and make sure the door is closed tight – remember, he can open doors) and for the most part requires active watching so he doesn’t go off and hurt himself and the house.

Tornado = thank goodness we hadn’t had to live through one with him and I hope we never have to, but I imagine it would just make future storm behavior worse for a while.

And then there are the freak occurrences, and we cannot figure out what is different about them.  But let’s say that we were up all night with him during a storm and he finally exhausts himself and passes out around 6 in the morning.  He takes a nice nap and wakes up at 9 and it is still raining hard.  Jimmy might go outside with the other dogs in the heavy rain even taking time to sniff around before doing his business.  As long as there is no thunder he continues to act like a normal dog for the rest of the day.  It cannot just be because he woke up to it, but… the mysteries of Jimmy.  I love that boy!!!!!!!!

We have also done the math on what his medications cost per month, so I have the rough break down here.  We try to only buy 1 month at a time for RAGOM dogs, so it might be possible to get a discount buying 3 months at a time…

For the stormy summer months = $113/month. 

·         Trazadone = $18/month (6 pills a day)

·         Thyroid Medication = $5/month (1 whole pill a day)

·         Adaptil Collar = $30/month

·         Composure = $60/month (4 chews a day)

·         ACE – not sure on this one, average 4 pills a month

For the wonderful winter months = $47/month. 

·         Trazadone = $8-12/month (expecting to do 3 or 4 pills a day)

·         Thyroid Medication = $5/month (1 whole pill a day)

·         Composure = $30/month (expecting to do 2 chews a day)

We know that Jimmy needs his medications to be a loved and wanted member of the family, so please take the expense of his medication along with any potential doggy day care needed into consideration when looking to see if Jimmy is right for you.  I have said it many times before and I will say it again – he can be a lot of trouble and hassle and the costs might add up, but what you will get in return is the sweetest and most loving dog ever!

Man, the thunderstorms just keep on rolling in.  Our garden and lawn love all of the rain, but Jimmy sure has been having a rough time and so have we with all of the sleepless nights.  It’s a good thing that he is so sweet! 

We have been having some problems with the medication that Jimmy is on not being enough to calm him like it used to.  We have noticed more and more problems with him during a storm where he will become super agitated and not calm down until it is over where he used to have his initial freak out but once the Ace kicked in would settle onto the couch with us for snuggles.   Through the beginning of June Jimmy was getting 1/2 of an Ace tablet and all was fine.  He would have his search for a safe place and then get sleepy and would accept comfort and love from us on the couch or his dog bed while the storm would wear itself out outside.  Then starting in June the 1/2 tablet didn’t seem to do as much for him.  It was taking him longer and longer to calm down, so we bumped it up to a whole tablet (in accordance to his prescription).  The whole pill worked just like the 1/2 pill used to.  Jimmy was manageable and if we knew a storm was inevitable and we gave it to him an hour or so before it hit he would sleep through the beginning rain too.  We take every opportunity to sleep during rain that we can – the time before Jimmy wakes up is precious.

Now the issue is that the whole tablet of Ace doesn’t seem to be doing the job.  Jimmy has been pushing through the sleepiness so he can panic and search for his safe spot.  After a discussion with our fantastic vet we have decided to increase his main anti-anxiety medication as well as try and supplement with some extra herbal/non-medicine remedies.  We are trying him on Composure which is a chew and our vet has had good luck using it on anxious dogs with used with other anti-anxiety medicine.  We are also trying him out with an Adaptil collar.  This is a collar that he will wear at all times and it releases calming pheromones.  The idea behind all of this is that if we can get Jimmy’s base anxiety down to a minimum, then when rain or a storm happens he will calm down quicker and be able to handle everything better.  We are going to try it for a couple of months to see if it helps.  Our fingers are crossed and we are optimistic!  Plus, at this point we are willing to try pretty much anything. 

This is Jimmy’s new medication regimen – instead of just getting his pills with breakfast and dinner we are going to be giving him his main anti-anxiety medication 3 times a day. 

5 AM / Breakfast – 200mg Trazadone (main anti-anxiety), Thyroxine (thyroid), Composure (herbal anti-anxiety), Coconut Oil (skin and coat)

1 PM – 200mg Trazadone (main anti-anxiety)

Dinner – Thyroxine (thyroid), Composure (herbal anti-anxiety), Coconut Oil (skin and coat)

9 PM – 200mg Trazadone (main anti-anxiety)

Adaptil Collar all the time (anti-anxiety) – releases calming pheromones

Thundershirt and hood (anti-anxiety) – as needed for rain/storms

Ace (sedative) – as needed for heavy rain/storms

 Happy Spring to the Golden Seniors from Anonymous

It has been a few weeks since Jimmy’s last update and it has been a busy time.  Jimmy spent 6 days at a sitters house while we were out of town on a short vacation.  It sounds like Jimmy was a wonderful dog when it came to getting along with their 9 year old golden and wonderful with all of the people, young and old, that he met.  Unfortunately there was a string of horrible weather while Jimmy was staying with them and he was not such a wonderful boy when it was raining and thundering.  During the first stormy night that they had, Jimmy was panting and pacing from room to room and it looked like he was finally going to settle down in the root cellar so the family went to bed.  Something set Jimmy off again and the family woke up to some noise – Jimmy had clawed a hole in some dry wall and did some damage to a wall with insulation covered tight in heavy duty plastic.  Fortunately I think the rest of the bad weather was during waking hours.  We want to thank that family for their patience and understanding with Jimmy.

We have had Jimmy for a while now.  On Wednesday, 6/24 Jimmy will have been a RAGOM dog for a year.  I cannot believe how time has flown.  He is a huge part of our lives.  And not just my life and my husbands, but my parents who have him over at their house 4-5 days a week and are pretty much our co-fosters, and our friends, family and co-workers who ask continually for Jimmy updates and stories.  Every time it starts to rain I get a lot of questions from people who want an update on where Jimmy is and how he is handling the rain.  There are a lot of people who love and care for that dog.

The down side to having had Jimmy for a while, I often feel like I have already said everything there is to say about him and that I just keep repeating it.  So let’s go over what we know about Jimmy and what he needs in a family…

It may seem like Jimmy is getting a lot of medication.  He is.  But we have found these medications are what is needed for Jimmy to be a loved member of the family.  Other than the first couple of days after starting his Trazadone again when he was a little sleepy, we have noticed no side effects from the different medicines.  What we have when he is on them is a dog who is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready for adventure when it is offered or perfectly content to sleep on the couch next to us while we watch TV.  What we have is a dog who can be left alone for several hours on a nice day without destroying our house.  What we have is a dog who will follow us, crawl into our laps and take comfort from hugs during rain instead of a rampaging around the in a blind panic (which is exhausting for all parties involved).

Jimmy loves people and will be a wonderful family companion.  If you have kids or grandkids in your life Jimmy would love to run after them as they play in the yard or go to watch their baseball or soccer games with the family.  Until he learns to completely trust his new family, that family will have to make sure that Jimmy will not be left alone AT ALL until he is settled and trusts his family (and that means not even an hour trip to the grocery store – although if it isn’t too hot Jimmy would love to sit in your car and wait for you while you shop – the dog loves car rides).  After he trusts the family they also need make sure that they will never leave him unsupervised when there is bad weather in the forecast.  Dogs can sense weather changes, so it is not enough to simply be home when the rain starts – Jimmy gets nervous well before that and WILL cause significant damage to your possessions and house if left alone (and potentially to himself). 

So that means that his adoptive family must have the financial means to put Jimmy in doggy day care or boarding or a solid support system in place that consists of family/friends nearby who can drop what they are doing at a moment’s notice and come hug Jimmy on a couch on those bad weather days or for a surprise spring storm.  If you are relying on the later, you have to realize that Jimmy needs a lot of love and if you work regular hours where you have to be out of the house he will sometimes need those family and friends frequently.  If you have someone willing to help during the rainy months please know that they might be needed often and you cannot feel bad if it is the 4th or 5thtime in a single week – Jimmy simply cannot be left alone during bad weather.  Winter really is his time to shine!!!!

These guidelines might sound extreme or unreasonable, but we know that this type of situation is possible and what we think is necessary for Jimmy to be a loved and valued member of a family and whoever adopts him needs to know what they are getting into – Jimmy is definitely a special needs dog.  I do know that this situation is possible, however, since Jimmy is living in a home now and doing fine.  I am gone at work from around 6am to 5pm and my husband from 1pm to 11pm (both Monday through Friday).  My parents live about 10 minutes from us and my dad picks Jimmy up on his way home from work around 1pm and brings him over to their house.  If there is bad weather that is going to be right around 1pm when my husband leaves and my dad can pick him up, my dad leaves work early (can you tell that my whole family is in love with this dog?).  If my dad cannot leave work early or has another required activity, then Jimmy is dropped off at PetSmart boarding on bad weather days before my husband heads to work and is there until I can pick him up on my way home.  We do our best to avoid putting Jimmy in boarding as the expenses for RAGOM do add up, but Jimmy is very destructive very quickly and we don’t want him to hurt himself (remember that he can also open doors – he is the reason we had to get the kind of deadbolts that require a key on either side of the door after he let himself outside in the middle of winter when we weren’t home).

On the good days we frequently leave Jimmy home alone with our other dogs for hours at a time.  We go out of a movie or run errands and he is perfectly fine.  But we slowly built him up to that time, starting with 10-15 minutes, then a half hour and working up from there pretty slowly.  He doesn’t seem to care a whole lot about the other dogs and enjoys alone time with us when the other dogs are outside, but he may find great companionship in them when we are gone though, we just don’t know.  I wish we could talk to them and find out what they are thinking.

We would love to talk to you about Jimmy.  I don’t know if I have ever met a more loving dog.  Any questions you have, we can answer.  We have known him for close to a year and have fostered him for all but 4 months of that time.  We have been through the good days and bad days of spring, summer and fall and then winter which are all good days.  Jimmy is totally worth all of the hassle – and I mean that.  We love him completely and he would be considered the perfect dog if it wasn’t for the storm anxiety. 

Jimmy has been at a number of meet and greets around the cities with his foster grandpa.  He loves going to them and getting all of that attention so we will make sure to keep getting out.  Stop by and meet him – Jimmy would love a pat on the head!

If you think that you might be able to accommodate Jimmy’s special needs or have any questions please contact your placement advisor.

We have had Jimmy bear back with us now for a few weeks and I wanted to provide some more detailedinformation and insight on the medications Jimmy gets on a regular basis.  I know that there are people, as well as vets, who think that Jimmy might not need all of the anti-anxiety drugs that he receives, however it is our experience that without the drugs Jimmy can be hard to live with.  Let me expand, Jimmy is the sweetest and most loving dog I know.  He will be your constant companion if you let him.  But we do know that Jimmy has very severe storm anxiety.  After spending as much time with him as we have, and knowing how long he has dealt with this fear it is very unlikely that it will ever go away. Onnice days, when left alone and not on any medication (with or without other dogs), he becomes destructive.  At this point we don’t know if it is separation anxiety or some general anxiety or just boredom turned into mischief (the last is unlikely because it can manifest in a 20 minute trip out for milk).  However, when Jimmy gets a steady dose of Trazadone (his main anti-anxiety drug) his behavior is that of a perfect gentleman.  Keeping this medication in his system is the way that Jimmy gets to be a part of a loving family without any resentment on the family’s part.  

When we first fostered Jimmy I spent hours and hours on the phone with the vet adjusting or changing his medications as needed.  We tried several long term anti-anxiety drugs but they weren’t working for Jimmy’s tummy or his behavior.  The nursing home had been giving Jim Jams Trazadone so that is what we went back to.  Trazadone is a quick acting anti-anxiety medicine – which means that it is in his system and working very shortly after taking is vs. having to be on it for months before it takes effect.  We started him at a low dose and eventually (with our vets approval) brought it up to 300mg twice a day.  When we reached that dosage he could be left alone with no problems, he was nervous but otherwise alright during rain only storms and would even run outside to go to the bathroom in a gentle rain.  We never noticed any glassy eyes, stupor state or excessive sleeping while he was on this high dosage.  I will say that dogs sleep a lot – it is what dogs do, but he certainly doesn’t sleep more than Sammy and Cinnamon who aren’t on any medication.  The second that Jimmy heard something that sounded like it might be an adventure or had the potential for getting a treat he was at our side, tail wagging, ready to go and happy as always with bright eyes.  

As we headed into fall and the rain became less and less we cut back on the Trazadone.  On nice days when Jimmy wasn’t going to be alone he would get a relatively small partial dose.  On nice days when Jimmy was going to be alone between when FD left for work and I got home (4-5 hours) he would get a full 300mg in the morning and then a partial dose with dinner since we would be around.  And then when winter came we kept his “alone” dose at 300mg but were giving him 75mg in the evenings or weekends when we were all home.  It was definitely a challenge finding what worked for Jimmy, and we definitely had a lot of things destroyed along the way but we got there.  

While adopted, on nice weather days Jimmy had been on no anti-anxiety drugs.  He was getting a dose of Trazadone (150mg - once) during a storm instead of the much larger dose we were giving him all the time.  However his behavior reverted back to that of when we first got Jimmy, especially on the nice weather days.  Working with our vet and based on all of the experiences Jimmy has had so far we strongly believe that Jimmy needs to be medicated in order to be a loved member of a family.

As for the medicine that Jimmy is now on… I want to emphasize that everything we have done with Jimmy’s medications has been done under the careful scrutiny of his vet.  Before changing or adjusting anything we have discussed every detail with her.

Now that we are fostering Jimmy again we wanted to get him back on the Trazadone that we know worked before.  We have a good support system in place with my parents loving Jimmy and living so close as well as PetSmart doggy day care right up the street from us, but being able to leave him alone on nice days is something we wanted to be able to do again.  So now with breakfast and dinner every day Jimmy currently gets 200mg of Trazadone and a medication for his thyroid – we had to cut back on the Trazadone since he has lost so much weight.  The vet that Jimmy went to while adopted tested his thyroid and found it to be running very low.  Jimmy now gets a pill for that twice a day.  This was a great find as the thyroid affects every cell in the body.  Apparently it could also be contributing to some to his anxiety.  Even if it isn’t, getting his thyroid balanced will be great for Jimmy.  Anyways, Jimmy beartypically eats the medicine with food but if not we put a little peanut butter on a spoon and put the pill on it and he eats it all up.   We have just started leaving him alone for short periods of time – starting with 10 – 20 minutes here and there.  Our accomplishment was that he has been left alone on a nice day, on full drugs, for an hour with nothing destroyed upon our return.  We will keep going slow but I am hopeful that Jimmy will be able to be left alone again for several hours at a time on nice days.

At his home while adopted he was also getting an occasional Xanax during bad weather instead of the ACE as their vet wasn’t comfortable with ACE.  We have him back on the RAGOMs vets recommended dose of ACE during a storm when Jimmy is very nervous – excessive panting, shaking, pacing, and searching for that elusive safe spot.  There are a lot of vets that aren’t comfortable giving dogs ACE, and I can understand why.  ACE is often used for non-invasive procedures that might be scary or uncomfortable for a dog, but that they still need to hold still for – like taking x-rays of hips to check for hip dysplasia.  It is a sedative.  I have been told by one vet that while under the influence of ACE the dog is still aware and scared but just cannot do anything about it.  And that sounds horrible.  Another risk with ACE is that the blood pressure can drop very low.  The RAGOM vet was hesitant to give ACE to Jimmy, but after trying several other types of anti-anxiety medicine and getting bad reactions out of Jimmy (either throwing up, diarrhea or behavior inhibitions – he started getting very aggressive with our other animals and stopped the second he was off the drug) it was concluded that ACE was the way to go.  The way our vet explained it was that we are already treating Jimmy’s anxiety with the Trazadone, and it is a heavy dose at that, and he just needs something to calm down instead of continuing to panic and work himself into a frenzy.  She was also worried that in a dog who is reactive to some medications like Jimmy was with the long term anti-anxiety medications, that the Xanax might be having the opposite effect on him – instead of calming him down it was actually making him more nervous.  We agree with her assessment – the one time we gave him a Xanax during the first storm after we got him back (before the RAGOM vet appointment) he didn’t appear to calm down at all after it was in his system but was walking into tables and door frames appearing to be dizzy or drunk and still very scared and nervous.

Jimmy only gets a partial dose depending on what kind of weather we are getting so we don’t need to worry about any blood pressure issues nor do we have to worry about him being aware and afraid but not being able to do anything about it – it is not enough to knock him out.  He gets just enough to calm down, realize that he is safe, and then take comfort from us without stressing his body more than he needs to.  Several times over the past few weeks Jimmy has gotten his partial dose at the beginning of a rain storm and then calmed down enough that he was a regular dog during the rest of the rain – even running outside to do his business.  The partial dose is also enough to help him sleep through the night.  My husband and I both work during the day, so being up all night with a scared dog is just not a situation that we can deal with all of time.  We dealt with it for 3-4 months when we first started fostering him but realized that there was no way he could be adopted if he was keeping everyone up all night every time there is a storm or rain.  Jimmy will still wake up if there is a big thunder crash, but will generally go back to sleep with a simple “knock it off Jimmy” when he scratches at the baby gate keeping the dogs in our bedroom. 

Phew!  That is enough for his medication explanation – I could keep going on about it but I won’t :).  We truly do believe that there is a family for Jimmy out there but there are certain things that he will require of a family.  Jimmy will require a family who is committed to keeping him on the drug regimen that we find works to keep him calm, or at least manageable, during all of the different times of the year.  He has been a lot of different anti-anxiety drugs but what we have him on now works.  We have had him for a long time and have seen him in lots of different situations.  We know what Jimmy is like and how he is likely to behave in lots of situations and with the help of our vet we have him on a medication plan that protects him, our house, and helps him live a good life.  For Jimmy’s sake we do not want him adopted and returned again – the next time he leaves us needs to be for good (and man, am I going to cry when that happens!!).

I cannot believe it has been over a month since my last update for Jimmy.  This is the longest we have had a foster dog and it feels so normal to have Jimbo around that I keep forgetting my foster duties.  He has been out to meet and greets all over the cities with foster grandpa.  Jimmy loves people so we know he has a great time out there.

We also didn’t have the names from the paw on Jimmy’s page for the last update – so a big thank you to foster grandma and grandpa along with Desiree 14-155.  Jimmy misses his storm cuddles with her, but we are all so glad that she found her forever family!!  And Jimmy really is a big hunk of love, isn’t he J

Time has been flying by.  We have good news to report on the weight front – Jimmy is down to 80 pounds!!!  He has so much more energy and he runs around the back yard after squirrels, and while he is still a long ways from catching them Jim definitely has more speed and stamina.  He can run as fast as foster dad now which is huge considering he couldn’t really walk for more than 10 minutes when he first come to us.  And Jimmy loves to egg Cinnamon on when she is running like a crazy girl.  Jimmy and Cinnamon have also started to play bity-face a lot more regularly.  It hasn’t gone beyond that, but he is still playing a little.  He has also picked up a couple of balls.  Jimmy still won’t chase them, but he gives them a few chews and then moves on to the next activity.

Jimmy Jammers has turned into a bit of a watch dog for us in the backyard.  For the first couple of months with us he really didn’t bark at all, but now when a neighbor is near the fence and the other dogs are barking he joins in.  I will go outside and ask “who is being a noisy dog” and Jimmy comes running with his little tail going, clearly excited that he was protecting me from the person next door.  He has such a sweet disposition!

Jimmy is in synch with the family routine.  We are starting to decrease his anti-anxiety pills on days when there are no storms and we haven’t noticed any difference in him.  He is often alone for a few hours with our resident dogs and does just fine.  We do have to put the garbage can away or he gets into it, but he doesn’t counter surf which is very nice.  Jimmy goes over to my parents about 3 days a week while my husband and I are both at work.  He has settled into their routine as well.  They currently have a little black foster puppy (Trackr 14-306) and we were a little worried about what he would do with the puppy, but he really just ignores him.  I love looking out at the sea of dogs sniffing around my parents backyard when I go to pick them up – 3 golden, 2 black and 1 white – there is so much love!

We had some people over for an early Halloween themed dinner and Jimmy was great!  He just went from person to person eating up all of the attention he could.  I have included a couple of pictures of him in his Halloween costume.  Mr. Jammers knows he is cute and doesn’t mind showing off.  It is so funny when I pull the dog’s costumes out because they all run over and want me to put theirs on first. 

Jimmy Jammers has also discovered how comfortable couches can be.  We have him come up on the couch when it is storming so we don’t have to be on the floor with him, and he watches the resident dogs jump up freely and has finally started to crawl up there himself.  Most dogs jump up and curl so their back is to the back of the couch and they can see the room, but Jimmy does it in reverse.  So if you say his name or he hears something he wants to check out he has to crane his neck around or tip his head upside down.  It is so funny to watch!

I do have a small complaint with Jimmy and that is that he always manages to lie down right in the middle of the kitchen exactly where I need to walk.  I would love to train our dogs to stay out of the kitchen, but our house is designed so that you have to walk through the kitchen to get anywhere, so there is no keeping them out all of the time.  Our resident dogs tend to lie down in the entrances to the kitchen so they can watch for falling food, but I haven’t been able to get Jimmy to do that yet.  He does hop right up if I tell him to move.  I think it must be all of that time in the nursing home where he had to get out of the way quickly, but then he waits for me to walk by and picks an even worse spot to settle down again.  Even so, I have to stop cooking pretty frequently and just give him a hug.  You cannot help but hug Jimmy when he is around.

Storm update – a couple weekends ago all of the dogs, Jimmy included, stayed at my parents’ house with me with.  My husband and father were out of town so I loaded up the dogs and we went to my mom’s for a girls weekend.  Jimmy was a little unsure that the evening was wrapping up.  He didn’t know if he should be looking for a free dog bed or if we were going to be going home.  As soon as the lights went out and I climbed into bed Jimmy realized that this is where we were sleeping and didn’t make a peep until the other dogs woke him up.  The best part was the next day.

That Saturday’s weather was interesting in that it was beautiful one minute and thundering and raining the next.  We were out in the pool during that transition (so clearly a couple of weeks ago, as you would be nuts to be swimming outside now).  The first roll of thunder came and Jimmy jumped a little at the door trying to get in.  We were talking to him from the water and he seemed to be calming down a little – thinking maybe it was a onetime thing.  Then another thunder clap happened and the rain started.   Jimmy definitely wanted to get inside, but instead of throwing himself against the glass door like he did during his first rain shower without medicine, he waited for me to get out of the pool and get my towel.  He followed me into the bathroom, and had one leg in the tub with me while I showered (he ended up wetter than if he had stayed outside).  Between the shower and the bathroom fan you couldn’t hear anything that was going on outside and Jimmy seemed to calm down.  When we got out the other dogs were inside too.  I have determined that my parent’s house is much more sound proofed than ours.  The rain was really coming down, but you couldn’t hear it, and Jimmy was fine.  The same with the rain that came during the night.  Jimmy didn’t hear it and he didn’t wake up.  Our bedroom at home is right under the roof – there is no attic or anything, and even with the slightest rain Jimmy can hear it and he needs comfort.  It was actually a nice afternoon.  He knew it was raining, but since he couldn’t hear it, it didn’t bother him.  Very interesting.

We did get a further tranquilizer from the vet for the storms at night.  It is hard with two people who during the day to have to stay up all night with a scared dog.  My husband and I would take shifts, but it meant that we would be drinking a lot of coffee the next day.  Our vet prescribed a very small dose of ACE with the hopes that in conjunction with his anti-anxiety drugs when Jimmy fell asleep at night he would stay asleep.  And it works.  We have only given it to him twice.  The second time we cut the dose in half and it still worked very well and he wasn’t at all groggy the next day.  Granted, we are running out of severe storms, so I cannot say how this will work if we had an all-night thunderstorm.  But I am hopeful that most sleep will be had by all with the help of ACE.

Even though Jimmy has made improvements in leaps and bounds in his storm anxiety we still believe that during a rain storm or anything with thunder he cannot be left alone (especially for the first few months in a new place), and must either have his family or sitter with him or be in a boarding or doggie day care facility.  He really has come a long way, but for the safety of Jimmy and the house he is living in, we believe this is best.

Jimmy is an incredibly loving boy.  We want him to find a family of his own, so if you have any interest, please let your placement advisor know and we can set up a meeting.

am a little surprised that we still have Jimmy.  I cannot say enough how sweet he is.  He totally loves attention and wants nothing more than love from his people.  Jimmy Bear is a gentle soul.  He is great with people of all ages from tiny children who can barely walk to the elderly (coming from a nursing home, this is to be expected)

Jimmy would love to have a family of his own who wants a true friend.  He would be great to take with you wherever you go, like to kids ball games, camping trips or cross country RV trips or on errands as he loves to ride in the car – he just hops up and sits or lies there quietly.  Jimmy loves walks, but doesn’t need tons of exercise to keep him happy (he can walk for 45 minutes now and keep up the whole time – go Jimmy!!!!).  He is only 8 years old, and a golden mix, so you know he has a lot of good years left, but he is definitely mellowed out and is more than happy to curl up next to you on the couch and watch a movie.  Jimmy just wants to be with you.

He is truly a fantastic dog and would make a great family pet or companion.  I know that a lot of people aren’t looking for a black dog, and since this is a Golden Retriever rescue, I can understand that.  But other than color, Jimmy looks just like a golden and feels just like a golden.  He has a great coat for petting, so soft and so far it has been tangle free with minimal shedding (which you golden owners know is a definite plus!) and when he loses his weight he is going to be a perfect size dog – about 60 pounds.  Mr. Jim acts just like a golden, wanting to be near his people, giving the golden paw and nudge.

I know that the storm anxiety probably seems like a big hurdle to overcome, but Jimmy has come so far.  He gets an anti-anxiety medicine with breakfast and dinner.  Jimmy has had no side effects to this drug, but it has helped calm him down if it does start to rain.  My husband and I have a 4-5 hour gap in the middle of the day where our work schedules overlap.  If there is a storm in the forecast he drops Jimmy and our dogs off at my parents’ house before work and I pick them up on my way home.  If my parents aren’t home or unable to watch them, we have been putting Jimmy Jammers in Doggy Day Care for that period.  I realize that a lot of people don’t have friends or family who can sit with their dog during a storm if they are gone, but the Doggy Day Care option works great!  Jimmy has a blast and comes home tuckered out. 

And an example of how far he has come with storms – when he first arrived if a rain shower with no thunder came through he would go on a bit of a rampage.  He would be panicked and looking for a safe spot, pulling on a leash and not accepting any comfort.  The other night it was raining pretty hard and our bedroom is right under the roof, so you can hear it very well.  Jimmy woke up 4 times.  The first 3 I woke up to him scratching on his dog bed, but I said “Jimmy, knock it off” and he stopped and went back to sleep.  The 4th time he was scratching near the door and we let him out.  The rain had stopped, but he had heard something that had worried him.  I opened the door to go in the back yard and Cinnamon scampered out and Jimmy followed.  The dog that first came had to be carried outside when the rain was over and once out wanted nothing more than to be back inside.  This Jimmy went out willingly.  He was still nervous and had his tail tucked, but he did his business and came back to the house with Cinnamon.  He realized that the rain was done and he went right to sleep.  The Jimmy that first came would have panted and paced for a couple more hours after the rain had ended.  And remember that we live in Minnesota.  Half of the year is blanketed by snow and there should be nothing to freak him out.

Those are a lot of the good things about Jimmy.  I should add that Jimmy-chunga (like a chimichunga – but Jimmy style – he loves his name and so do we) does still smell faintly of fish.  I don’t know what part of him has been missed in the numerous baths, but we are resigned with the fact that the smell will live on for the time being.  If you have any interest at all in Jimmy, if you just want to meet him to see if he really is as sweet as I keep saying, then come find us at a meet and greet or contact your placement advisor.  He is a great dog and he needs a family of his own.

Jimmy has been doing wonderfully.  Going from living in a nursing home, with people around all of the time, lots of rooms and hallways to explore and lots of treats to eat, to living in a small house with 4 other animals and two people has been a big change for Jimmy, but one that he has been adjusting to wonderfully.  I love Jimmy so much.  He gives these really great greetings in the morning where his whole body moves from side to side and you can tell that he is just thrilled to see you and wants nothing more than some love. 

Jimmy has had no accidents in the house.  I think his bladder is made of steel.  When he has to go outside we will come over and do a little dance in front of you.  It normally takes me a minute to figure out what he is doing, but if I ask "Jimmy, do you have to go outside" he throws himself down in a play bows and starts doing his full body wiggle.  You cannot help but smile and love him even more.  Jimmy will run out into the back yard with our other dogs, but doesn't make it more than 20 or so steps before he does his business.  He is also almost always ready to come back into the house when he has finished.  Our dogs like to be out and sniff and checkout everything in the yard, but Jimmy seems ready to go back and take a nap. 

 We have been getting him out for regular walks and he has been doing great!  He still has a ways to go before he can do really long walk, but we have been going for 1/2 to 45 minute walks without him dragging behind.  Such an improvement from when he first came to us.  Jimmy loves walks too!  He does great on a flat collar and really only pulls to get closer to a mailbox here and there.  When he walks with our dogs he is on a 5 foot leash and our dogs are on flexi leads, so they are out far in front of him.  He doesn't pull or look like he wants to be with them.  He is very content to stay near us on our walks.  That being said, he is very companionable with our dogs, but he hasn't shown any interest in playing with them.  He may get more playful as he continues to lose weight as we have definitely seen his energy increase over the past few weeks, but you never know.  We still haven't been able to get him to chase any tennis balls and I think our dogs are happy about that. 

We have been leaving Jimmy alone for longer and longer periods (up to 4 hours with everything fine).  We have been putting up some baby gates to keep Sammy and Cinnamon in the living room and Jimmy in the kitchen.  They can see each other and touch noses if they wanted through one of the gates.  Jimmy has been doing wonderfully.  He must just sleep the time we are gone and then is super happy to see us again when we return.  I know he can handle longer, but it will be something to work up to.  We have also had really calm weather lately which has been nice.  We were all in the backyard and we could hear a truck rumbling by that sounded a lot like thunder.  Jimmy tucked his tail and scooted towards the house, but the truck drove by and Jimmy listened for a while longer, decided it was okay and came back onto the grass with the rest of us.  The Jimmy that first came would have wanted to go in the house and pant for a half hour.  We are so proud of the steps this sweet boy has taken.