Tuesday 29 September 2009

Jasper/Balthazaar: Prince of Budadogs?

Jasper/Balthazaar (he remains unnamed) is now officially the Prince of Budadogs (Ben being the "King" obviously :p) After spending a tick-ridden day in my arms and even charming Kris on Skype we decided that he might be the new additi0n to our family that we have been not-so-actively-but-rather-wait-till-he/she-shows-up looking for:).. for now anyway... Kris still has to meet him obviously.. and until then he stays in fostering with yours truly:)

Bad Karma

Today when Caroline was in pathology (3rd year practical) someone stole our Budadogs wallet from where we hang our stuff in the Patho building. The wallet was lying in her handbag on the bench. It is a brown, leather purse with a gold zipper.
Caroline had just been to the clinic to pay for Andrè`s operation thank God, but there was still about 35.000 ft in it. I can`t believe someone could be so malicious as to take it. The money was to pay for food for out fosterdogs which we ordered and has arrived today....

It isn`t easy business getting into the pathology buliding and finding your way to the changing area so really it can`t have been anything but a student who has taken it....
If someone sees it lying around or sees anyone using it please let us know! (we`ll add a photo)
Thanks!

Monday 28 September 2009

Puppy lost/Puppy found




Today Caroline and I found a puppy at the side of the road at Ullò. About 2 km from the large animal clinic a small dog was zig-zagging in the middle of the road and almost got run over several times. We stopped to try to coax it in but unfortunately the dog was too shy. I whisteled a couple of times and was about to get into the car again when a puppy (now Jasper) bounded out into the middle of the road. I sat down and he bounced right into my arms. Cars had stopped behind us and we weren`t about to leave him there on the side of the road where he certainly would have ended up as roadkill. There were only fields from which he came. So, we took him with us in the car.

Later we saw the small dog again, still looking restless and uneasy but he/she could not be coaxed. Obviously there are alot of loose dogs around in the country, but dogs that are familiar with their surroundings do not run frightened up and down the main road.

We took Jasper home and to the vet. He is aprox 4 months. We rang the university clinic but they say its impossible to know from where these dogs come. The vet said he caught a lucky break; I agree.

We picked 25 ticks off him and he is quite a thin, big-boned and lanky puppy who looks abit like a foxhound. He is currently sleeping on my bed and will need a fosterhome if anyone is interested :)

Sunday 27 September 2009

Dogs for fostering



Newest addition to Budadogs in need of fostering!
Leah: a sweet, good natured leonberger mix female in need of fostering. Very cute head on her! Aprox 1 year old

New dogs for fostering







We have new dogs arriving this week all in need of fostering.

Martha (top) : Viszla female, 10 weeks old found on the motorway outside Bp. Extremely kind, calm natured girl. A balanced puppy. beautiful.

Dexi: 2 year old terrier mix, small/medium size. Shy and tender, needs some work to come out of his shell so lots of love for this boy.

Elvira the diamond




There`s a diamond in our midst and her name is Elvira!! She is a 4 kg odd little mix of a puppy, full of life and joy. She will be handed over to us next week and going to her new fosterhome:)

Thank God for Wonderful fosterhomes





(From the top: Pia, Daisy, Russell and Tilly).

Saturday: Caroline and I went to Dunakeszi to collect our dogs from kennels going into fostering; Kaia, Daisy, Russell, Tilly and Pia. Daisy is much better after her babesia treatment and Kaia is coming out of her shell a whole lot, she was already like a different puppy after a week in kennels. Tilly is just a sweetheart showering kisses and Pia cries for cuddles and snuggles :) Poor Russell however is the most fearful boy I have ever met... He is not the kind of dog who could go to just any fosterhome so I was truly relieved when our hard-core fosterparent Louise offered to take him. I love the fact that even when the dog is lying on the ground urinating all over himself paralyzed with fear and she has to carry all 20 kg puppy into her apartment because he is too scared to walk, she still isn`t fazed!!! That IS hard core! :)
Today Russell is already coming out of his shell aparantly (with a little help of his new friend Konrad aka Archie) wagging his tail and asking for cuddles. Although they have not yet ventured out of doors I think it is only a matter of time before he gets the hang of things poor baby.

Wednesday 23 September 2009

Star power!




Our newest addition Tilly truly has star power don`t you agree!? Nevere have I seen magnificent markings like these :)

Tilly is now leaving her litter and is in need of a fosterhome. She is a sweet spaniel mix, kind and loving, 3 years old. Anyone interested in fostering this little Starlet, let me know! budadogs@gmail.com

Tuesday 22 September 2009

"Stormful" heights: A happy story




Storm was one of our first dogs over a year ago. He came to us via another organisation who had been contacted by his owner saying that if the dog was not collected he would be put to sleep.

Storm is a black lab/giant schnauzer mix and when we went to collect him we were
informed he had been tied on a chain his entire life and he had never been on a leash or a walk; he was 1.5 years old! He literally could not be restrained, his energy levels were unimaginable! I have held the end of many a leash, but never have I experienced such force! He was fat, understimulated and a hormonal atomic bomb!!

Storm lived up to his name. My mum even told me - "Don`t call him that, Anouska! It will be a self fulfilling profecy!"

Storm was at kennels after a failed attempt at fostering. And at kennels he stayed for months... and months... Thankfully the kennel owner is an experienced trainer so his manners did not go awry, but even at kennels he gave them a run for their money quite literally. Finally Storm was ready for travel but nowhere near ready for adoption!? He hadn`t even learned to walk on the leash! An aquaintance of mine Sunniva in Oslo agreed to foster him and also attend an obedience course. And being the charming fluff-ball he is he did not leave the fosterhome at all :)) Alot of hard work and perceverence has gone into moulding this unpolished diamond and I commend Sunniva for her work! Storm now goes by the name "Little Gorilla toe"because even at the age of 1.5 years his little feet were soft as puppy toes. No wonder - they had hardly been used!

I love the little Gorilla toe and he lives just down the road from us in Oslo:)As is evident from his photo`s it certainly is a dog`s life as far as he`s concerned! :)

Monday 21 September 2009

Doggie Zen





Caroline and I have finally moved in together, fine-tuning the logistics of running Budadogs in the process :) We are happy campers and try our hardest to maintain a certain amount of peace in our home, considering the mayhem that generally hits us once we go out the door :)

Sunday 20 September 2009

Sunday - Not even time to go to bed?

Today has revolved around getting dogs into their fosterhomes. It might sound easy... but it`s actually extraordinarily time consuming and its pretty hard work to coordinate 6 dogs in one car, even if it is the invincible "Budacar" with the wonky hole in its head.
Caroline and I went to the kennels and collected Rosie, Scout, Sebastian, Fredrik, Mamaluga and "Andrè the beautiful". Then the dogs had to be driven to their respective fosterparents with leashes, feed, spot-on, dewormers, antibiotics, shampoos etc. etc. etc.

but first they went to the vet for bloodsamples. Ironically enough the most peaceful part of our day.

The dogs:

"Double trouble" Fredrik and Sebastian are delightful! They both have new parents waiting for them in Norway and hopefully will both be able to travel in October.

Rosie from saturdays rescued pack is the calmest, sweetest most precious girl I ever met.

Mamaluga
is tender and soulful with the eyes of a bear-cub. A year on a 1 meter chain has left him with virtually no muscles and he is so malnourished its painful to see, but he still offers kisses and snuggles.

And Andrè.... Andrè is so beautiful I want to cry. His leg hurts him, but he still prances like an arabian stallion. On tuesday he will be operated an I cant wait. I am so proud of all our dogs!! :))

We are tired. Sunday isn`t the day of rest you always hope it will be. But then again,

Why have a day of rest when you can have a day of saving lives?

And then there was the day that Jack the Hungarian streetboy went up, up and away!


Jack aka Brage is living with my husband Kris in Oslo until we find him the ideal home. They go to the office together, chill out in front of the tv, go fishing and on rare occasions also fly to the mountains in a little seaplane, apparantly! :))

Sunday... still not day of rest

Saturday :
Caroline and Mandeep went to Heves to rescue 7 dogs that had been abandoned at an old army camp. The dogs were in relatively good condition, but extremely shy. One dog would not approach inspite of the treats on offer. Budadogs took 5 dogs.
Rosie, Daisy, Kaia, Russel and Scout. All dogs seem to be sheperd mixes, Kaia is only 5-6 months old and most likely Daisy`s daughter. They were brought directly to the vet for bloodtesting and vaccinations and they`re all heavily infected with worms which they are being treated for. Scout, Rosie and Kaia have fosterhomes but we still need someone to volunteer for Russel and Daisy.
All 5 dogs are shy and obviously not too accustomed to walk on leash, but they are sweet and placid and need some rehab and TLC.

The bloodtest results came back today and 4 dogs are healthy but Daisy is Babesia positive; our first babesia infected dog. (Tick-borne disease). This is a reminder to everyone with dogs in Hungary how important it is to prevent ticks with anti-flea collars or spot-on and to update them regularly. Daisy will get a shot of Imizol today and further intensive medical treatment. The vet told us that had she not been rescued yesterday she would most likely be dead within a week.

Andrè our beautiful greyhound was also brought back from Heves and to kennels overnight. He will go into fostering today which we are very happy about! :)

Dog-rescue








Thursday 17 September 2009

Photos















Proof of life:















Markus the German Falaffelbubble (top) and Lars The Hungarian Hoolahoop

Budadogs unravells new rare breeds: Hungarian hoolahoop and German falaffelbubble!

Markus and Lars flew today with Ina, the poor darling. With crates, passports and clean and shiny the boys headed north for their final destinations (Bodø and Haugesund). Upon arrival Ina went through customs to clear the dogs which is standard procedure with all travelling pets; showing their passports, microchips and charming little faces as we have all done a hundered times before with our dogs. However there was one sticky obstacle: mr. Border Control. Mr. Border Control was very caught up in his economic skills and he was was quite sure these dogs had to pay import tax. You see, they were quite obviously purebred dogs, and where was the contract of purchase? Ina explained that we are vet.students, we fly dogs all the time from Budapest-Oslo and Oslo-Budapest (in fact our dogs should have a "frequent flyer" discount) but mr B. Control was ademant. no contract of purchase - no passage without payment. (Is this blackmail?) His explanation was that for all he knew these dogs were purebreeds of great financial value and we were obliged to pay a 25% import tax of the dogs original value. But what happens if the dogs value is a negative one?

Upon explanation that these dogs were homeless, found by students on the streets of Budapest they asked for the proof of this. The proof is in the passport, but to mr B.Control the passport was of no validity due to its international nature (it was not a "norwegian passport" which I find to be quite racially discriminating).

When Ina told mr B.Control to take a look at the dogs and see for himself that these particularly handsome youngsters were quite obviously not purebred (Lars looks like a Red-Neck and Markus looks like something out of fraggle-rock) he claimed to have no knowledge or interest in breeds and thus her point was null and void. And additionally he still had that greatly relevant point about the nationality of their passports!!?

After realizing she was getting nowhere fast Ina agreed to pay 1000NOK per dog to get them through (25% of the minimum value). This is absolutely humbug but seeing as we have actually paid the money and I do realise it will never be returned to us I would at least like to announce our new incredible breeds of dog (apparantly): with Lars representing the fiesty yet charming, energetic and cuddly Hungarian Hoolahoop and Markus representing the exceptionally rare, sweet and soulful German falaffelbubble! (also known as "the Urinator").
This is what I officially name them and I demand it be written into their passports! (But they`re not Norwegian, so obviously not worth the paper they`re written on right?) Baaah... Humbug

And on a more serious note: We will accompany the dogs with a veterinary statement explaining their origin and economic value.

Tuesday 15 September 2009


Mamaluga!!


Today Zsanett went to great measures to rescue 1 year old Leonberger mix Mamaluga from his owners where he was chained, malnourished and without shelter in the backyard. Over several weeks Zsanett has been feeding and treating him and finally we managed to free him from his despair and he will travel to kenneling tomorrow. Mamaluga is a sweet, soft boy who sorely needs a fosterhome if anyone is interested...

Good news!


Truls (pictured) and Viktor were tested further for the strain of Dirofilaria and thankfully both have D.repens which is the cutaneous version and treatable, so both dogs will commence treatment asap.

Viktor has an enlarged prostate and low liver count so he will see an ultrasound specialist on thursday. Fingers crossed for their swift recovery!

Sunday 13 September 2009

Brage strikes a particularly handsome pose


Brage is now a popular name because each time he reacts to it he gets a treat. The treat doesn`t have to be at all interesting; a pellet of dog-food will do because this is a particularly greedy curly piglet!

Brage (Jack) was found on the streets last christmas and has had abit of a tough one as regards the fostering process. Being the opinionated man that he is, he ran a few rings around his first fostermums until they decided they couldn`t handle him. After that golden-solid Catherine took him in and gave him the stability he needed until he travelled. We really did hope that his home would last and I was so clear about the fact that he would be a challenging project as regards other dogs. This time there will be no mercy. Only people with an extraordinary interest in canine characters may apply ;)

The return ofJack!! aka "Brage"






Sometimes an adoption doesn`t work out the way we hoped. Although we go to great lengths to try to make the optimal match between dog/owner we can`t expect the ending to always be rosy. Thankfully (and touch-wood) we have had very few incidents of this sort and Jack is only the 3rd dog returned to us.

Jack (now "Brage" because he doesn`t seem to enjoy his name Jack very much) was adopted early May. We have always known that he doesn`t like other dogs much. Being a pure-bred Pumi he has the somewhat anti-social gene and additionally he has probably missed out on the critical socialization periods in his life. Accordingly Brage does not like other dogs and makes it known. His new owner was prepared to work with this, but after attending courses etc over the summer she became increasingly frustrated and decided to give him back to us. Brage is now living with my husband Kris in Oslo, sleeping in his bed, attending business meetings and hanging out at the office. Brage is a kick-ass cool dog with a mind of his own. He has lived with Kris for a few weeks now and after we get to know him abit more on a personaly level we will work hard at finding him a home that will apreciate this absolute bundle of joy - "warts and all". he will need a home where new dogs will not be a stressor in his life. That said he can get on well with females in the household but this Pumi is a one-man-band!

Congratulations Catherine and Konrad! :)


Hard-core fostermum Catherine has finally got a dog of her own and her love has settled on bouncy fluff-ball KONRAD! So happy for you Catherine! :))

Banjo the Happy boy!


Banjo came out of kennels today and into fostering! Hopefully he responds well to the change of scenerey :)

Blanka charmed!


Blanka (or Frida as her new name is) charmed 5th year vet-mum and has now officially been adopted! We wish them all the best! :)

Truls!! Don`t bite the hand that feeds you!

Trying to do 10 things at once has it downfalls and ended with not a thorn in my side but a dog in my thigh.

Caroline and I have adopted sunday as "efficiency day" due to little traffic in the streets so it`s an excellent time for running around like headless chickens. We arranged to meet Truls, Viktor and Kasper (and their fostermums ;) at the uni gates to take the dogs for bloodtests. Viktor and Truls needed a new bloodtest to differentiate the type of microfilaria they have and Viktor also needed an ultrasound due to his disastorous liver-values.

While Caroline stayed with Viktor (the dog) and Viktor (the vet) and the ultrasound machine I rushed back with Truls and Kasper. They strolled peacefully side by side but when fostermums aproached Truls decided Kasper wasn`t such a cool dude after all and lunged for him latching himself onto my strategically placed thigh in their midst. I though nothing of it until I saw the hole in my trousers. So now that Truls and I have exchanged fluids I must trot along to the doctor tomorrow for all the necessary vaccines etc. bla bla bla. It`s my third time... I`m becoming a pro at this! Dogs seem to have enjoy taking a chunk out of me! (Haven`t had rabies vaccines yet though. Don`t want them either unless absolutely necessary)

Saturday 12 September 2009

Every cloud has its silver lining



On a happier note, Claire (top) and Patrick arrived safely at Oslo airport with Eve this afternoon and were handed over to their anticipating owners. Both dogs have endured a long summer together at kennels and truly deserve their new enviroments. Both dogs have gone to active, dog-loving families and we can`t wait to hear about their progress.

R.I.P Ludde...


Our trip to Illatos was bittersweet. Because we try to help the sick and truly unwanted dogs it involves an inevitable amount of heartache.

Ludde was sick and had been at Illatos for 3 months. He had a bloodtest when we took him out but was emaciated and walked with a strain. Today he could not walk at all and Grace and Caroline took him to Viktor (our vet)this morning. It turned out that the poor little boy had intestinal tortion, had most likely not eaten at Illatos for several weeks and his intestines were herniating. Additionally his teeth had all fallen out, he was deaf and in great pain. There was really nothing we could do for this 12 year old boy and he was put to sleep this afternoon. I can`t believe he has been kept in this condition for so long in a kennel.

Friday 11 September 2009

Illatos day!

Caroline and Maud went with Zsanett to Illatos to take the largest amount of dogs we have taken from Illatos so far. It is a big day for us because we previously have only been allowed to take dogs individually. The girls spent all day getting the dogs, taking them to the vet for bloodtesting ( general + we test all our dogs for Borrelia, Babesia and diro/microfilaria) and they were also dewormed and treated for external parasites. The dogs in need of vaccination updates were given this. At 3 o`clock the girls had arranged to meet new fostermums at the university gates and all 6 dogs went into fostering, which is brilliant.

Illatos day, new name, new life!

Viktor is a 2 year old male who has been at Illatos for 2 months. He is not a big fan of other males and has not had anyone interested in adopting him from Illatos. He looks to have been a relatively well-kept boy.


Truls is one of 10 viszla mixès brought into Illatos this week. They were confiscated from an apartament in Budapest and were kept in horrific conditions. Truls was going to be euthanised this weekend. Hopefully he will respond to rehabilitation but we will see. The dogs have not been socialised.
Tommy is a little dachshund mix, aprox 5 years old. He is a sweet and uncomplicated boy and we expect him to respond well to fostering. He is being fostered with Lisa.
Ludde is a 10 year old spaniel mix male who has been at Illatos for 3 months. He is sick and will need extensive treatment. We hope he can recover; time will tell...
Lisa is a sweet but shy 1 year old girl. She is playful and forthcoming and we expect her to come out of her shell quickly in fostering
Baba is a large 7-8 year old male, very thin. He has been at Illatos for 3 months and was going to be euthanised this weekend.