Vetcetera Vincent Meets Helen: Dolittler’s first YouTube contribution!

January 16th, 2008  

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OMG... too cute.

I see Helen's litter box is right there... does she need it that close? Has she tackled stairs yet?

The more I hear of her, the more I think she's just perfect for my hubby who's missing his cerebellar hypoplasia cat who passed away in May. I was originally concerned about the dogs, but she certainly doesn't seem stressed by them!

Hmmmm....

jaspersrescue January 16th, 2008 10:57:00 AM

Yep. She needs everything right there. In fact, she needs to stay confined with her litterbox, food and water in the same spots or else she gets confused. In this flick she was moved to the chaise for a little stimulation.

Dr. Patty Khuly January 16th, 2008 11:07:00 AM

Very cute!

Gina Spadafori January 16th, 2008 11:22:00 AM

Very cute. I assume that after the video ended, Helen didn't slap/cut Vincent? LOL

Diana January 16th, 2008 02:17:00 PM

Very cute, Vincent is a doll! He wants so desperately to get her to play! I watched it twice, the second time I cracked myself up by not thinking that Helen is deaf&blind, just aloof! I imagined her mind thinking along the lines of "you're a dog. I will not respond to your advances"...lol....very dry, ala Lucille in Arrested Development.....I digress.........

Helen looks very calm and comfy. How big is Vincent? He appears much smaller than most Frenchies I've seen.

Cutie-patooties!

Amy in Somerville January 16th, 2008 03:58:00 PM

20 play-bows later..... :-)

Deanna January 16th, 2008 04:02:00 PM

Vincent is almost a year and a half old and he weighs less than 20 pounds. He is, indeed, a small Frenchie. Could be that tube-feeding for the first eight weeks of his life ensured his runt status (he was a cleft palate pup).

Dr. Patty Khuly January 16th, 2008 04:22:00 PM

I know this isn't what most of you think, but I can't help imagining how frightening the world must be to Helen, whose only input is scent, vibration, and touch. She never knows what is coming until it is right in her face, and she has no control over what happens to her. I wonder if what appears to be calm is actually "learned helplessness" and depression, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_helplessness

Linda H January 16th, 2008 05:18:00 PM

LOL! If Vincent could talk, it looks like he'd be saying "Mommmmm! Why won't she won't play with me?!!"

Despite Helen's issues, both of them should be happy to have such a quiet relationship. Ella and Mojo have the ability to make this house sound like a three-ring circus when they play...

Stacy January 16th, 2008 05:50:00 PM

Linda has a valid point (to wonder if everything causes Helen fear) and that her aloofness may be learned helplessness. However, I doubt it. The key element of learned helplessness is repeated unpleasant punishment or other trauma, which Helen has not ( I don't beleive) experienced. She simply lives in a sensory void. I believe individuals in her condition may suffer as much (if not more) from lack of stimulation than too much.

Marc January 16th, 2008 06:01:00 PM

Marc, I hope you are right about Helen, but the experiences need not be punishing or traumatic to create learned helplessness. The experiences must be aversive, but they need not be extreme. Helen must be frequently startled by unexpected intrusions on her very restricted world, and I'm sure that is not a pleasant experience. The primary causation for learned helplessness is randomn aversive experiences that the victim feels she has no control over. In the original experiments, dogs that experienced unpleasant shocks that they could learn to turn off did not have lasting psychological effects. Dogs that experienced the same shocks randomly developed learned helplessness and acted depressed. So I guess a pertinenet question is whether or not Helen feels like her behavior has some effect on what she experiences.

I think the issue of stimulation is important too. I think finding a balance between giving an animal like Helen beneficial stimulation without scaring her would be difficult. And it would even be difficult to know if you are succeeding.

Linda H January 16th, 2008 11:04:00 PM

Interesting point Linda (now I feel awful....). Dr. Patty, does Helen seem to like a little stimulation? She seems very content and peacful.

Amy in Somerville January 17th, 2008 09:34:00 AM

Amy: I've been considering this problem since I first met Helen. I considered euthanizing her at the very beginning over the same fears LindaH voiced. But Helen's gradual improvement stayed my hand. Moreover, she seems to interact with us. She'll often trill when petted and we always make sure to let her smell us first before opening her cage. She'll always sit close to the opening of her cage so as to smell as much as possible and she recognizes some people more readily, preferring some over others. Consequently, I have a very hard tme believing she's living in constant learned helpless fear. But I cold be wrong. There's no way to know for sure how any other creature feels, much less one living in a state so far from our own experience.

Dr. Patty Khuly January 17th, 2008 10:51:00 AM

Are Frenchies always so goofy?!!? I've never seen one in action before, and now they're on my "maybe some day when I can have a dog" breed list!

Anna January 17th, 2008 12:41:00 PM

Anna, if you like goofy, check out this video of some of our Airedales in the obedience ring :-) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcSqyKUjjYU

Linda H January 17th, 2008 01:10:00 PM

Oh wow! This was adorable!! Vincent is SOO cute. Without the explanation about Helen, I would have just thought she was being a typical cat!

Tammy January 17th, 2008 01:43:00 PM

Too cute!!!!! I love Vincent; he was so curious about her, but didn't try to hurt her. You would never know that Helen was disabled. She's absolutely adorable. A little miracle.

Jayne Bersok January 17th, 2008 02:23:00 PM

Thanks for the reply Dr. Patty. I couldn't imagine you not putting Helen's well-bring first and foremost. Afterall, you chose to save her life and take on her care......

That being said, it wouldn't be the first time I laughed at something inappropriate! ;)

Amy in Somerville January 17th, 2008 02:23:00 PM

She is beautiful and he is just as cute as can be. Thanks for sharing. J

Jules January 17th, 2008 06:31:00 PM

Yes, Anna, they're usually that goofy. (Though I like to think that Vincent is extra-special goofy.)

Dr. Patty Khuly January 17th, 2008 06:42:00 PM

Thanks so much for sharing this!!! They are too cute. I do hope Helen finds her forever home, she deserves it.

Julie January 18th, 2008 12:29:00 AM

I can't stop watching it and looking up pictures and videos of Frenchies. I think I'm in love! Oh, how I wish I could have a dog, but luckily I'm responsible enough to know that my tiny apartment life and my level of commitment means that it's not the time at the moment. Although when the time DOES come, I'm sure I'll fall in love with whatever dog captures my heart at the shelter.

Anna January 18th, 2008 10:05:00 AM

FYI.... If you feel that some lil Helen is suffering, you are probably wrong. Go to www.rollingdogranch.com and see some other critters with her problems and more that are getting the very best out of life. Maybe even more than we fully sighted, fully hearing humans do.

Shelly January 18th, 2008 11:31:00 AM

Really cute. If you have the patience you can get a kick out of Vincent's expressions by watching the video on a computer with dial up. It stops every few seconds so you can catch all the cute expressions.

Barbara January 18th, 2008 01:54:00 PM

I was wondering about Helen and scared to ask. Nice to see her.

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