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Baby, Mama and Grandma Basset Thrive in New Homes

CAPS rescued three Basset Hounds, Grandma, Mama and Baby, from Tammi Namken’s facility in South Dakota on May 1, 2003. Ms. Namken had sent Baby Basset to another puppy mill for use as breeding stock. She was returned after a couple of months because of her deformed elbows. Four-month-old Baby Basset had a bad cough when she was rescued. Ms. Namken gave her away because of her elbows. She no longer wanted 18-month-old Mama Basset because she had given birth to a puppy with deformed elbows. Ms. Namken also agreed to give CAPS investigators 8-year-old Grandma Basset because the dog was no longer producing large litters.

Kansas City-based Mid America Basset Rescue sent volunteer Jim Bly to South Dakota to pick up the dogs from CAPS investigators. Jim and his wife, Chris, fostered the three Basset Hounds. They recently formed their own rescue organization, Western Missouri Basset Rescue.

Baby Basset, now called Beatrice, had severe Mycoplasma pneumonia, which was not properly diagnosed until she came to Fort Collins just before Christmas 2003 to live with APS President Deborah Howard. She recovered from the pneumonia but has some scarring on her lungs. She has congenital luxation of the radial heads of both elbows.

Tim and Lori Sanders of Tonganoxie, Kansas saw Grandma Basset, now called Millie, on WMBR (ABC affiliate in Kansas City, MO) Television’s Adopt-a-Pet segment. They went to see her at the Bly residence in Kansas City, Missouri. All of the rescue Bassets ran out to greet the Sanders with the exception of shy Millie, who hid in a hallway. Despite Millie’s fear of men, she seemed to like Tim who petted her in the hallway.

Eric Whitaker and Rebecca Goodvin adopted Mama Basset, now called Grace, on June 7, 2003. They drove from their home in Lincoln, Nebraska to the Bly home. They were immediately drawn to Grace, who was outgoing, enjoyed playing with the other Bassets and the Bly grandchildren and was very protective of Beatrice.  

An Update on Beatrice (formerly Baby Basset)
By CAPS President Deborah Howard

Beatrice sunning herself on her deck

Beatrice in the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Baby Basset, now named Beatrice, has been living with me since December 23, 2003. Her veterinary bills were more than $2,400. Beatrice had been coughing since we rescued her from the puppy mill, and the veterinarian in Kansas City gave her one antibiotic after another without suggesting that she see a specialist. When I spoke to this veterinarian on the phone, he said he thought it might be a chronic problem, but didn’t know what it was. I knew at that point that it was imperative to get her to Fort Collins, which is blessed with some of the finest veterinarians in the country because of the CSU Veterinary School. Luckily, Jim Bly is a truck driver, and he was heading to Denver. CAPS member Christine Gavlick, who has two Bassets of her own, was kind enough to pick up Beatrice at the truck stop. Beatrice stayed at the Gavlick house for a couple of days.

An internal medicine veterinarian did a scope of Beatrice’s lungs on the day after Christmas. She had mycoplasma in the lungs, which caused pneumonia. The pneumonia is gone, but she does have some lung scarring. She runs up the stairs, chases our red heeler mix and wrestles with him. Beatrice is also seeing a holistic veterinarian, who recommended supplements and vitamins to boost her immune system and help prevent arthritis. She had some minor demodectic mange, which responded very well to Neem-Col, an Ayurvedic spray.

Beatrice also has congenital luxation of the radial heads of her elbows. She walks with a limp and it is difficult for her to go on walks. She seems to do well running short distances because of the momentum she gets from all four legs. A top orthopedist from CSU recommended surgery to remove the radial head if her elbows become really painful. The surgery, which costs $2400 per elbow, isn’t necessary at this point because she isn’t experiencing any pain. Massage therapy – Beatrice has a pro bono canine massage therapist – and acupuncture seem to help quite a bit.

Beatrice is a very sweet, congenial dog who loves to hug, kiss and sit in your lap. She walked in the Fort Collins St. Patrick’s Day Parade with High Country Basset Rescue. She wore a large stiff white bow with green shamrocks and insisted on walking at the front of the group of Bassets. Beatrice walked close to the sidewalk where people were sitting so that they could hug and pet her. Toward the end of the walk, she started to slow down, but she refused to ride in a wagon and insisted on walking the entire length of the parade and even back to the parking garage. She recently participated in the 1.5 mile Annie Walk, which is a dog walk and fest to raise money for children’s library books, and the First Annual Pooch Plunge. Dog were allowed to swim for two hours on the evening of August 22 at Fort Collin’s City Park Pool, which was recently renovated into a children’s pool. More than 450 dogs participated.

An Update on Grace (formerly Mama Basset)
As told to Deborah Howard by Rebecca Goodvin

Grace

Grace is getting along fabulously!  She loves to go for walks and greet new people and dogs on the way.  She's hard to resist. There are people in the neighborhood who come out of their houses to greet her when we're walking by.  There are several other Bassets in the neighborhood, and she gets very excited when sees them.  Grace also loves going to the Lincoln Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings.  She soaks in the smells, but most of all she likes to find a shady spot where lots of people will walk by and stop to scratch her tummy and behind her ears. 

We don't have children, but Grace is excellent with them. A little girl, about 2-years-old, at the Farmer’s Market climbed out of her stroller to pet Grace. The girl’s mother asked if we had kids and commented on how sweet and calm Grace was with her daughter.  Perhaps, Grace and children get along so well because Grace is kind of kid-sized anyway. 

Our friend has been terrified of all dogs since a childhood dog-bite experience.  We are slowly working on increasing her comfort with Grace, who is perfect for this kind of work because she knows when to be calm.  Last week my friend took the big step of feeding Grace a biscuit. When Grace is older, we would love to train her for certification as a therapy dog so that we can visit children's hospitals together.  Grace is in great shape. Routine visits to the vet indicate that she's a happy, healthy girl.

An Update on Millie (formerly Grandma Basset)
As told to Deborah Howard by Lori Sanders

Millie is afraid of children and most men, including our two young adult sons.  We have a 4-year-old granddaughter who adores Millie, but Millie tries to avoid her. In fact, she once jumped over our coffee table to get out of the way of our granddaughter. She has been close to my husband ever since he made friends with her at the Bly house, and they spend evenings together while I am at work.  Millie was quite timid around a group of teenagers decorating our Christmas tree. She wanted so much to participate that she tried to overcome her fear by hiding under the tree.

When Millie first met our St Bernard, Buford, she snapped at him and ran away. After that, they became good friends.  Before Millie came to live with us, Buford was depressed because of the death of our Malamute and wasn’t very active. He now romps and plays with Millie and tries to keep up with her in spite of his arthritis.  It is amusing to watch them running through the house, especially while Millie is scooting around corners. 

During a storm, Millie shivers. She will follow people, even my sons, around the house and sit with them. Millie will also overcome her shyness and come up to people if they are petting Buford.

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