Anatolian Shepherd Dog

It's been a while since I posted a new blog so I figured I would let you all know what has been happening. This year at Mystic Anatolians, we are expecting a bunch of new arrivals. Some have already arrived! Mystic's Atakan Of Clear Creek (Atakan) and Laurel Haven Lotus Evora (Lotus) made their long journey home in the beginning of the year. We made a road trip from Pennsylvania to Alabama and then to South Carolina and then back home. It was a long and tiring trip but well worth it. We tried to drive straight through but couldn't make it. After being awake for over 24 hours we did have to stop at a hotel for about 3 hours to sleep. We did arrive home safely. We had several close calls during the trip. Georgia was pretty scarey to drive through. It was very heavy traffic in pouring down rain and in what seemed like a bad area. We were approached at a gas station in broad daylight by a couple of men to borrow money for drugs! They were even going around looking in everyone's vehicles. We got out of there quick! I also hit a patch of black ice in Virginia and lost control of the truck but I was able to hold it steady until we made it over the ice. Thankfully we were not the car in front of us that hit the same ice patch and spun out into a bank which smashed up the whole front end of their car. I'm glad we stopped and slept right before that because if it was still the night before, I don't think I would have been alert enough to stay on the road. There were several other accidents along the way too and thankfully we were not involved. All in all it was a good trip but a long and tiring one. Lotus and Atakan settled in nicely and were little angels during the trip.

We had a nice time meeting with Jim and his wife and spending some time with them. They are wonderful people and I really enjoy visiting with them. Seeing all the puppies bouncing around and his beautiful dogs was a bonus! I got to finally meet Tina from Laurel Haven when we picked up Lotus. She is a wonderful person also and I really had a good time talking with her and her daughters and meeting all the goats there at her farm. It was bittersweet leaving Laurel Haven. It was sad on their part to say goodbye to Lotus but also they know she was going to a good home. They almost made me cry too! Don't worry Tina....you'll get plenty of pictures and updates! Both Jim and Fay and Tina and her family are like a part of my family now. We all share a love for these animals and I will always stay in contact with them no matter what.

Now, Atakan is a wonder. He is such an intelligent puppy. When I first put the collar and leash on him for the first time. He pranced right along side of me like he knew exactly what to do. He was so good for his first time. He did well the whole trip when I would get him out on the leash to potty. He was also incredibly laid back. Once he got home, his personality really came out. He's a spunky little guy and so full of energy. I've never had a puppy want to keep going so much at this age.  Normally they want to sleep but NOOO not him! He keeps going and going. He's like the energizer bunny. He's also a little baracuda. He is getting a little better with that since he's beginning to learn. He has a boot fetish and also loves my pant legs. I have holes in my pants from him hanging on! He is starting to calm down on the pant/ankle play. I took him in for a full health exam once he got home and he checked out perfect. I got a microchip for him and the doc thought maybe I would be squimish about him crying while implanting it. I stayed since I knew it wouldn't bother me. This little guy didn't even flinch or cry. It's like he didn't even feel it! He's also taught himself to use the dog door to run in and out. He learned that in a matter of days and now goes outside to potty. Once in a while he'll have an accident in the house but he knows to go outside. If I catch him, he'll go running out that door so fast because he knows he's not allowed to go in the house. He's doing very well on the housebreaking so far.

Everyone is adapting fine to the changes with the new additions. The older dogs are very accepting of the puppy and have taken on their roles with him. Raven and Kazara are like mother's to him while Pasa and Tayyar are like the rambunctious older siblings who like to play and get into trouble. They all watch out for him and make sure he's ok. Lotus is also adapting well to her new herd. The herd is adapting to her too. There was some head butting and shoving around at first like to be expected but all are finally settling in. I still monitor feeding time to make sure she gets her fair amount of food. She's a tough little cookie and is holding her own very well. The dogs have even noticed the new goat arrival. They noticed her immediately after checking out the new puppy. Raven is in awe of her and is so facinated. All of them are very interested in her. Atakan is slowly being introduced to the goats as a puppy. He's doing very well. He's gotten his share of head butts and shoves but he picks himself right back up and shakes it off. They are teaching him to respect their space and he's beginning to listen to them. I take him to the barn with me every time I go out and he runs around at first but then settles in and watches the herd. He's so proud sitting there watching them. I think he will end up being a good guardian of them someday once he's older.

In the meantime since being back from the trip, I did an all day rescue transport for the ASDRL. It was a wonderful experience and I love to be able to help out when needed. It's been non stop going for us. It's been very hectic around here. One of these days this site will get updated with all the updates and pictures that I have ready to put on here. As you may have noticed, there are some other goat kids that are on the site that I have not mentioned. They will be arriving home later this year, maybe in the early summer sometime. We are thinking May maybe. I did get to see and hold Maverick and Apache while at Laurel Haven Farm and they were both adorable. I wish I could have brought them home too but I know they had to stay there with their mom's until they are old enough. Another new little girl was also born yesterday. I have not had time to put her picture or information up yet so keep watching for that to appear. Her name is Laurel Haven Eden. She's a beautiful, flashy buckskin pattern doe. She's not the last one coming either! Keep an eye out for more updates!  This is just the beginning of the year!

Now on a more serious note. For the last several days Kazara has been acting a bit out of sorts. At first I thought maybe she was just becoming moody realizing the pup was here to stay. Saturday night she refused to eat any of her food. She ate on Sunday. Monday night she got really picky over her food but did eat some of it. She never finished it which was odd. She also got really moody around the pup and had all of her hackles raised. I did not trust her or her body language so it was bed time for the pup. Tuesday morning she refused to get out of bed which was odd. She laid in bed with me and just left me hold her which was also really odd. She's not one that wants to be cuddled for long periods. She'll pull away rather quickly. I just thought she was craving attention so I just held her. She finished her food Tuesday morning from the night before. Tuesday evening after work, her and Raven went outside and Raven got all happy and wanted to play like normal. Kazara just walked around with her head down and not getting all playful like normal. Kazara left out a loud cry which didn't seem right. She then refused to eat her food once again. This time she just laid down and barely moved. She wouldn't even pick her head up to try to eat. We tried to pick her head up and she'd cry some more. Eventually she did eat but only by being hand fed since she did not want to do anything except lay there. I tried feeling all over her to see what was wrong and every time I was by her head or neck she'd cry out. This definately wasn't Kazara at all. Something was wrong.

I took her to work with me today thinking maybe it was a tooth problem since it seemed more like her mouth bothering her than her neck but I wasn't sure. The docs examined her first thing this morning. They immediately came to the conclusion that it was not her mouth and it was pain in her neck. We ran a full blood panel on her and also tested for Lyme/Heartworm. We wanted to cover all bases before sedating her for neck xrays. The blood work came back and I got a devistating answer. Kazara was diagnosed with Lyme disease. I was surprised but then again not so surprised. Pennsylvania is one of the top states of Lyme cases. I never vaccinated them due to not knowing if the vaccine really helped. I've always heard about them still getting Lyme even if vaccinated. I did not want them to be over vaccinated and only wanted them have the neccesary vaccines. Some people ask why not use a flea/tick repellant? It's very, very rare for me to have flea problems. The last flea problem I had was many years ago when I brought in a rescued dog that was covered in them. In all the years of me ever owning dogs, I've been very fortunate to never really have flea issues. As for the ticks, we've never had any problems with ticks either up until the last 2 summers. For some reason the past 2 summers have been bad around here. I've tried using a topical medication before to repell them but with the way these dogs rough house, they all grab each others neck areas and backs while playing, that it made all of them sick enough to vomit. I said no more! I've been thinking lately with seeing the increase of Lyme cases coming in at work to get them tested and possibly vaccinate against it but then again I wasn't sure whether to fully trust the vaccine. I was one that thought it was a slim chance of it happening. What are the chances of 1 tick out of hundreds actually carrying Lyme to bite one of the dogs? I feel like a bad owner. I love these dogs so much that I'd lay my life down for them but I was stupid and didn't do something to help somehow protect them. I feel so horrible that my girl is sick now. I feel so guilty and have so many what ifs running through my head. What if I would have done this? What if I would have done that? Why her? Why us? Would it have helped? Would this have happened? I can't answer these questions and I don't know if anyone can. All I can do is hope and pray that she will be ok.

We are now treating her for her pain and for the Lyme. It'll be about a 3 week treatment for the Lyme. The pain seems to be going away a little. She's more perky this evening and is now holding her head up unlike before and actually getting up and walking around wiggling her wheel of a tail. We're hoping this treats this disease and she can live a normal and happy life. She could have been infected months before showing any signs. We'll never know when it happened. Some dogs bounce back and do great and then others have problems and can relapse again. I just really hope and pray that this does not happen to her and that she won't be in anymore pain or have any more complications from it or anything more serious going on from the disease. I hope she can make a full recovery and be back to herself again with no ongoing problems. We are following through with this treatment to see how she does and if she's not back to normal, maybe something more serious is going on. Only time will tell.

All of the others have appointments and check ups coming up and they will all be tested for Lyme also. As long as they come back negative, I will most likely start the vaccine on them to hopefully prevent this from happening again. I'm still leary of it but if it may possibly help somehow then I will do it. Atakan will be started out as a pup on it but the older ones all need tested. After discussions with the doc we are holding off right now on testing the others and not jumping the gun. They will all be tested within the next month or so. I should have results for all of them by March and we'll know if Kazara is the only one or not. I'm really hoping that none of the others have this either. If they do, they have not shown any signs yet but like I said before, it could be quite a while until they do show any signs of it. We are hoping that everyone is ok and that Kazara makes a full recovery. I will keep you all updated on how everyone is doing.

Please take a word of advice. Don't think that this won't ever happen to you. If you have a way to help prevent it, then please do it. Some may live in higher risk areas than others. I don't think it really matters where you live. If you have ticks in your area, then it's a possibility. I didn't think this immediate area that I live in was a high risk area either but now Kazara has it and I know it's here so I will take all precautions so that it will not happen again. I have been a mess all day blaming myself. It rips me apart inside knowing that one of my beloved dogs is sick like this. This has been a blow to our family and all we can do is hope for the best.

I will keep updating on how everyone is doing. Keep checking back for other updates also on the new additions. I'm ending this by saying, go hug your dogs. They give you so much love and devotion and you mean the world to them. Give them the same kind of love back. Lots of Anatolian leans and hugs to all of you. Take care and watch over them as they watch over you.