Lexy’s Little Angels Dachshund Hospice and Hotel

15/02/2025

Say hi to Eva, my newest foster (and a half). She is a lovely 5-year-old spayed female, sweet as she can be. She is an easy keeper, which is obvious by her body weight, so diet and exercise begin today. She was an apartment dweller so not much moving around. Once she gets comfy here she will run most of that weight off easily. Sedona, my fitness director, will see to that. We won’t be in a hurry to vet her, primarily because if she needs a dental she will have to lose some weight before she can undergo anesthesia, but she is pretty current on her care so no rush. And we won’t put her out for adoption until her weight loss journey has had a good start.

13/02/2025

Have you ever wondered if your donations really help and where they go? Let me tell you about my day yesterday.

Thunder had his second surgery to close his fistulas and clean his abscess. He was there all day. As I was waiting for the vet tech to bring him out a lady came in cradling a darling little pomchi. She was beside herself. Her little darling had been attacked by a pit bull who got away from his owner and she feared she was severely injured. This is a rescue dog and has only three legs, which is why she could not get away from the other dog. She had gone to the closest vet, who was closed, and our clinic was the next closest. When she was told the walk in and exam fee as well as maybe X-rays, etc., she burst into tears because she could not afford it. I was quickly doing math in my head adding up Thunder’s charges and your donations to see how much I could offer to help when a lovely gentleman who was waiting there for his dog offered to give $200 towards her vet bill. That plus the fact that Thunder’s charges were a bit less than I had anticipated enabled me to offer to pay the balance of her bill for her exam and X-rays. The little dog did not seem to be seriously injured or in pain, but after an attack like that you want to be sure there are no internal injuries. (Denise, I know this hits close to home) I left with Thunder with a clearly defined limit to the girls at the desk. They called me shortly after I got home, told me they sent her home with a broken rib and pain meds, assuring her owner she was okay.

If it had not been for the help you all provided to me for Thunder, I might not have jumped in. But rescue has a lot of sides to it, including rescuing a distraught owner whose world has come to a screeching halt because her baby is injured. So YES, your donations help in ways you never thought of. I thank you for your generosity always and hope to get the chance again to help someone out.

06/02/2025

This is a post from a friend of mine in the northwest. Please read it through in case it might save someone with a dachshund from the same experience.

WARNING! About a dental product for dogs that is sold as "safe & non toxic" & is in fact toxic, 4-Legger Mint Fresh All Natural Dental Powder Safe & Non-Toxic Vegan Dog Toothpaste.
Please pass this info on to all dog parents!! This is a long post, but please read it all.

We have had a very rough week+ with Frieda. A week ago Sunday ( 1/25) Frieda had 3 Grand Mal seizures in 12 hours, none of which were we able to stop with the Keppra & re**al va**um.

She is doing OK now, but the aftermath was rough, with so many seizure meds in her body & her body trying to rid herself of the toxins.

As brief as possible, Frieda's dental disease is bad & has been, but none of our Vets feel she could withstand anesthesia, so we have been doing the best we can with the nightly teeth brushing we have done since the day we adopted her. Her 3 left front teeth are quite sensitive & she started refusing the brush, but would allow me to rub my finger or finger wipe on those teeth. About a month ago, I had purchased this dental powder to have on hand when/if she refused the brush. The founder of the company started the company as a result of her own dog having urinary tract cancer due to environmental toxins so she founded a line of grooming products with clean, simple. organic & few ingredients.
I was super impressed & I was sold!!

In the weeks since I purchased the powder ( & didn't use it yet) I separately researched safe essential oils for calming ( Frieda is having panic attacks in the car now). There are several that are safe & several that are toxic. Peppermint Essential Oil is toxic. AND causes seizures!! ( which my vet confirmed)

Unfortunately, one of the 3 clean ingredients in this powder is Peppermint Essential Oil ( other 2 are sea salt & baking soda). She specifically addresses the safety issue of peppermint essential oil & all it's benefits & how her Essential Oils are the purest & unadulterated.

The night after Frieda's 3 seizures, & after her final 4 hour post ictal pacing when she finally collapsed from exhaustion to sleep, & I was trying to understand why the meds that are supposed to have prevented "Cluster" seizures ( that is more than 1 in 24 hours), did nothing. ( They have always worked in the 6 total secures she has had since August).

Then the light bulb went off in my head! OMG!! I had used the new dental powder for the 1st time the night before less than 5 hours before her 1st seizure & I suddenly remembered the smell of peppermint. My heart sank as I looked on the back of the bottle & immediately double checked & googled "is Peppermint Essential Oil safe for dogs" & my heart sank again as I read that yes, in fact it IS toxic. Toxic & can cause neurological issues AND seizures.

When we saw our vet the next day, she confirmed that "hell yes", Peppermint Essential Oil is extremely toxic & especially in case of a 9.5 #, elderly, medically fragile dog!! And it had been rubbed onto her gums & teeth, so it absorbed completely into her system. The Keppra & Va**um were no match for such a toxic substance!!

I was devastated, all of you know how much I love my Frieda & the we would & are doing EVERYTHING we can to keep her as healthy & happy as we can, despite all her many issues. Quality of life is the absolute top priority! And here, in trying to address her stage 4 periodontal disease, with a clean, safe & acceptable ( to her) product, I actually poisoned her. I failed her. those who know me also know that I research carefully & always have. How this one got past me, I don't know. But, honestly, the company in general has a good reputation ( my holistic vet said that, but did not know aobut the dental powder, only the shampoo & other grooming products) & based on her website & all the apparent care she took in developing her line of products, you would think she would have put in the effort ( no effort as the info is widely available with little effort.) to make sure she is not using a toxic ingredient & selling it as safe & non toxic.

I appreciate her care in sourcing her ingredients, & I am a huge fan of essential oil for many things, BUT I can get the best organic grapes there are or the best quality 80% dark chocolate & they would be of great health benefit to me, but deadly to my dog.

Then, I got REALLY angry. 4-Legger had emailed me previously a few times, asking me to leave a "verified purchaser" review & went on & on about how much they love pets & providing safe products. I had not left a review, as I had not used the product. I immediately went to the link & left a review, begging her to remove the product, issue a warning on the website & to reformulate the product. I also emailed her. I have received ZERO reply AND she removed my review.

I have contacted Pet Poison Control to let them know about this product. And now, I have to get the word out to as many pet parents as I can to warn them. I don't know what else to do.

BTW, It is not uncommon to find peppermint oil, extract or hydrosols in many of the high end, natural dental products, ( they all should stay away from using it regardless, as concentrations vary as does the weight of the dog) including the toothpaste I had been using, BUT, the difference is that Peppermint Essential Oil is SUPER concentrated, & in this specific product is 1 of only 3 ingredients. Who knows how much is in there????!!!! They don't say.

It is likely a 50 pound, young, healthy dog would not have any adverse reactions, but there is no warning , no instructions on how much to use depending on the weight, etc, etc. And why risk it at all????? Many of you reading this have dachshunds, do not go near it!!

So, PLEASE spread the word, DO NOT use 4-Legger Mint Fresh All Natural Dental Powder Safe & Non-Toxic Vegan Dog Toothpaste". And warn every dog parent you know (And cat, my vet said the peppermint essential oil would make a cat " seize its brains out", a direct quote from my vet.)

And if you have any other suggestions as to how/where I can get the word out that this product is dangerous & needs to be pulled immediately. ( aside from social media as I am only on FB)

Thank you for reading & please send your healing vibes to Frieda as she continues to come back form this horrible thing. It just shows you what a fighter she is. I am so sorry, my precious baby girl. 💔😢

22/01/2025

Well, the news on Thunder is mixed. He had his vetting and dental today. I suspected fistulas into his nasal cavity but it is worse…he has a huge abscess in the top of his mouth from rotten teeth and will require a second surgery in 3 weeks to close it once the infection is cleared. Very expensive! His bill is likely to be between $1500 and $2000. That is a hit to Lexy’s pocketbook that we cannot get back because we do not adopt dogs out but not a fatal one. Any donations would be gratefully accepted. You can use Zelle or PayPal at [email protected]. In any event, Thunder will be out of unimaginable pain and on the road to healthy.

UPDATE: According to Terri with Happy Tails, who took the dachshund from this same home in for her vetting, our vet said Thunder was one of his top five worst dentals he has done. The good news is Thunder seems to be out of pain for the most part, eating soft food, and taking his meds like a very good patient. He is a happy little guy and his spunky personality is really starting to show.

13/01/2025

Meet Thunder, our newest hospice dog. Nope, not a dachshund, but we won’t hold that against him. He is a 15 yo Chihuahua whose family fell on hard times, and while rescues were willing to take their younger dogs, they had no place for this old guy. He is in need of a complete vet work up…wellness exam, vaccinations, dental, bloodwork, etc., which is going to cost around $1000. But he is pretty healthy physically, so once we get all that maintenance vet work done he should be with us for a good while. He is a little quirky looking but that adds to his charm.

UPDATE: Since his dental his whole facial profile has changed. The lower lip is straight, the upper lip is nowhere near as lumpy and swollen, and he now has a very handsome face. Once all the swelling is gone I will post another picture so you can see how good looking he is.

28/12/2024

I just got some really neat disposable gloves to wipe down your dog in between baths. They have a light lemon verbena smell and lanolin and coconut oil and other good stuff for their skin and haircoat. They are well pre moistened so you can do a whole dog with one including their ears and paws. The coat comes out soft and shiny and not oily. I don’t believe in a lot of bathing unless they are really dirty or stinky so this is perfect, especially for smooth coats. I will try them on a couple of the longhairs tomorrow and see how they do but so far I really think these are a great idea. Perfect for a foster or one pulled from county who could use some spiffing up but maybe immersing them in water is not the best first step to friendship. The company website is

At HICC Pet®, we develop products that are designed for humans and formulated for pets. We discovered the brand in hopes of sharing natural and safe cleansing solutions with the world.

24/12/2024

The process of a dog fitting in and adapting to a new home is different for every dog. When these dogs arrive their mindset is that they have lost everything that was familiar…their home, their family, their buddies, their routine. No matter how we try we cannot know what is in their heart. We have to wait for them to tell us.

Some shrug it off and make the most of a soft bed, a kind hand, and a good meal. Others take a day or two. Still others take longer. I recently had two visitors come in who had never been away from home. They were pretty confused. I simply let them figure it out. Everyday they were a bit more relaxed. By day four they decided to try playing a little, ate a good breakfast, and by the afternoon were romping and playing with other dogs and ate a full dinner. In all this time I petted them when they allowed it or asked for it, fed them on a schedule, took them outside several times, and basically let them find their own way.

We cannot force these visitors to adjust. All we can do is show them love and kindness and let them make up their own mind. If you let them come to you, then being friends is their idea. So if you foster or adopt or get a new dog, give them the chance to come to you. Let them decide life is gonna be okay and you are their person.

19/12/2024

How is it possible to groom on a tiny little dog for 45 minutes, get a couple of handfuls of hair off, and she is twice the size she was? Such is the nature of a Pomchi. I bathed Sholo last week but after clipping and nails and such she was just over being handled so I skipped the comb out until she was in a better mood. She is a big old fluff ball now.

19/12/2024

RESCUE AND ADOPTION

When you see the word “rescue” attached to an animal organization, have you ever thought about what that means for the animals besides a home away from a bad situation? Let me walk you through it.

When an animal is “rescued” that is just the first step in a long line of things that will happen to that animal. At our rescue we have dogs surrendered to us for two basic reasons: the owner either is not able or willing to provide care for the animal any longer or the owner’s life circumstances have changed to the point where they can no longer provide a home. Behind those two reasons are a hundred others that owners use to justify surrendering a dog. We are not here to judge. Once the owner decides to surrender the dog, our goal is to get that dog into rescue as quickly as possible and begin assessing the needs. We also have people who call us to report a stray they have found and cannot keep. We take those dogs as well.

Rarely will a dog come to us in peak health, not neglected, and up to date on vetting and vaccinations. Those dogs require minimum testing for disease (heart worms, tick fever, valley fever) and a wellness exam, nail trim, and they are ready to be adopted. More often the case is much more dire. The animal is neglected, or old, or both. It has had little to no vetting in its life, or it is severely out of date, and the rescue has to start from scratch, which often includes spay/neuter, dental cleaning and extractions, vaccinations, worming, nail trim, treatment for skin or internal disease, testing for diseases and parasites, and a host of other emergent things that can be discovered during the vetting process. A rescue can anticipate spending $1000 for the basic needs and at times much more if treatment or surgery is required. So when we tell you the adoption fee, nine times out of ten we are losing money on that dog. The rare ones who come in fully vetted help defray that loss.

Now once the dog is ready and healthy for adoption, which can sometimes take months in a foster home, we begin matching applications. Those applicants are screened and interviewed, and if approved they move on in the process. Most rescues worth their salt require personal references and a vet reference that they will check, a home safety visit, and a meet and greet, especially if there are other animals already in the applicant’s home. Any rescue that does not take these measures is not doing it for the dog. If you are not willing to have your references checked, a home safety visit, and a meet and greet, then why are you applying? Would you adopt a child without expecting at least these measures? And if you are not willing, that tells us you have something to hide, which will get you off the list PDQ.

So adopting a rescued dog comes with good things. The dog comes to you fully vetted, evaluated by its foster for training needs like potty or leash training, and so grateful for a loving home. You have quite possibly helped save the life of a dog who might otherwise have been put to sleep or died on the streets or lived its whole life in less than ideal conditions in a home where it is an inconvenience, not a pet. But we in the rescue end have made a commitment to find the best homes for our dogs, and that takes some searching and questioning and checking. Please do not think we are being nosy…we are here for the dogs.

15/12/2024

Well, the holidays are almost in full swing, and we are filled for Christmas and New Year’s. It is going to be quite lively around here with 14-16 dogs coming and going over the next few weeks. Last year we had 22 and that was just too many so I made a vow to cut back this year. I am only one p**p picker, you know?

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of the friends and clients of Lexy’s Little Angels a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Your support and continued presence in our world means everything to me and the dogs. We have had several fosters go through here for Happy Tails and find wonderful homes. I had knee replacement surgery and my friends once again stepped up to help when I was a bit hobbled. We lost a few old friends this year…Tay and Heidi and Bailey (our oldest visitor) among others…and we remember them with lots of love at this time of year.

Each year brings new challenges as I age and the dogs age, but we have some youngsters in the pack that keep things hopping. The other significant thing I did this year was set up a trust for Lexy’s so that after I pass away there will still be money for donating to organizations in need until the estate runs dry, which hopefully won’t be for many years.

Enjoy your holidays and come visit in the new year. Surely you have a trip planned somewhere?!?!

Mari and the gang

25/11/2024

You all will remember Sholo, my blind Pomchi that I took in off the streets last year after she fell in a swimming pool at a downtown apartment community. She needed eye surgery, which went beautifully, and she has thrived and been a happy girl. She just had her wellness exam and annual blood work and everything is normal, normal, normal. Her blood counts are very good, her kidney and liver numbers are right where they should be, and my vet did not find anything concerning. We still think she is somewhere in the 12-13 year old range so she is a healthy happy girl. She got some icecream on the way home which was just perfect. She nearly needed a bath when we got home but she REALLY enjoyed the ice cream.

25/11/2024

Say hello to Sunshine, a red smooth coat male, and Hazel, a chocolate smooth coat dapple female. They came in from the same loving owner and are healthy, house broken, crate trained, leash trained, bomb proof with kids of all ages, and both around 4-1/2 years old. They are sweet and loving and listen well. Sunshine kind of likes to be the boss at first, even though he is little, but he gets over it quickly. Hazel is all about love and having a warm blanket to wrap herself in. Their vetting is nearly complete with a mani/pedi scheduled for Wednesday, and they will be ready to start meeting prospective new families. Right now they will stay together, but once they are settled we will do a trial separation with another foster to see if they are bonded or could go to separate homes.

25/11/2024

It is going to be a lively week at Lexy’s. We have acquired three new fosters from Happy Tails Dachshund Rescue, and pack therapy here seems to be doing them all good. I currently have eight permanent residents, and two visitors, with two more visitors coming in tomorrow. This is just about half of who is here. It is a really good thing I have a king size bed.

27/10/2024

Wow, grooming, grooming, grooming! I could make a whole other dog with the hair I stripped off of my long hair girls this week. I started with Sholo, who is a PomChi and all hair. She came out about half the size she started after about an hour of combing and brushing and detangling. On the other hand, had to use the vacuum on myself. Then little red Havasu, a long hair doxie. She is short and fluffy and so is her coat. She does not have the long silkie kind of hair…hers is long and curly. She does not really liked being combed but tolerates it. Then Princess, my Papshund. She has the Papillon silkie hair and HATES being groomed. I got her combed, the under-ear snags trimmed and one side of her bottom done for a sanitary cut and by then she was DONE so we stopped. Today was Yuma, who is a Chiweenie that I would bet had both long hair parents and just gets the thickest coat. I took a lot of hair off and she was very good. I wil do nails this next week and any bathing and clipping that needs done. By then it will be time to start back in on Sholo again.

15/10/2024

Well, here we are just a month out of surgery and doing okay. I mowed the orchard pasture and got groceries this weekend (yes, I picked them up and then carried them in the house). Not bad for an old lady with a month-old new knee. Still some pain and discomfort but overall doing well. My range of motion is up to about 0-120, and 0-125 is considered normal. My therapist is happy with my progress and continues to push me. This is certainly not something I recommend you run out and do on a whim. I contemplated this for years before I finally gave in, and for the first two weeks I was convinced I had made a terrible mistake. Recovery is taking a while…walking still with two canes outside of the house, though can get around with one inside. I realize at my age I won’t heal fast but I WILL heal…it just may take longer than I like. I am an impatient patient, kind of like my gardening…put it in the ground and I want flowers the next day.

Dogs have been great, but I think little Miss Havasu is nearing her time. She is only eating probably two out of three meals and moving very slowly these days, sleeping a lot. She is, after all, approaching 18. I tempt her with goodies in her food that she eats for a day or two then leaves. She still wants her cookies and will push her way in to get them.

We are finally having some cool weather so the dogs want to spend more time outside. We have had over 100 days of over-100-degree temps, so it is about time we cooled off. The fact that it is Mid-October and we are still irrigating and mowing and weeding means winter will be short and sweet before the heat comes back. We will be putting out pre-emergent early this year because if we get any rain the weeds will just take off since there has been no freezing to kill them off. Having more turf installed in the back yard where I pulled the big planter beds that were just rotting in place. That happens this week. I think that is it for the outside for a while considering how much dirt work and terrain work we did this past year. The dogs will be thrilled to have less rock and more “grass” to play on when they cannot go out in the orchard.

And that catches us up. After Nov. 1st I should be healed enough to take visitor dogs and fosters again without risk to life and limb. Holidays will be upon us soon and that is usually a very busy time for me. Looking forward to catching up with everyone.

05/10/2024

Life, and my knee, are doing well. I am just over two weeks out from surgery and got my staples out today. My therapist did quite a bit of manipulation of the knee today and got things nicely loosened up with less pain than I expected. Taking care of the dogs has been pretty easy and they have behaved for me, meaning they have stayed out of my way for the most part. I think the long run will prove this to have been the right move even if it has been painful and no fun at times. Thank you so much to
John and Terri Lindenmeier who have been my wheels for the last weeks. Thank you to Chris Ferguson who has helped my with chores and stuff around the house. It takes a village, and at my age that village needs to be strong and patient. I am sticking to my timeline of not taking any visitors until November 1, which I think will give me plenty of time to get strong and able to be on my feet more. If you have holiday plans and need someplace for your dogs, get your reservation in early…I am not going to take a lot of dogs. Love to you all for your patience with me.

21/09/2024

SURGERY UPDATE: All is well. I have a lot of pain but bearable. Had my first PT session today…ouch! Able to feed the dogs on my own, do daily chores, feed and dress myself. That is about the limit of my activities for now. Early to bed, lots of rest…this will get better!

19/09/2024

Afternoon of my surgery and doing fine. Been up walking twice. Pain is well controlled. If I am doing this well in the morning I may get to go home at midday. Yay!!