Why people just dump a litter of puppies anywhere is beyond me. Granted, most shelters and rescues are filled to capacity right now, but leaving them off where they have shelter and food, regardless of the ultimate outcome, is better than what could have happened to the three litters we recently acquired.
The first litter, age 6 weeks, was dumped at a foreclosed home site. Fortunately for the puppies, Charlie Brown, Sally, and Lucy, a neighbor spotted them and turned them in to animal control. However, by this time they were literally skin and bones, had been eating their own waste to survive, and two of them had two feet in the grave and the other two feet on banana peels. We had gone to pick up another dog and spotted them. We could not leave them there in that condition, because with the over crowding, euthanasia would have been the result. They are alive today and are now thriving.
The second litter was left in an airline carrier crate which was left outside, while the owner left town for three days. A relative was supposed to come by and take care of the pups. No one showed up for two days, and there was monsoon like rain event. The puppies sat in the crate in their waste and water till someone called animal control. We were asked to help out because they needed special care. They were too weak to support their own weight and stained from the urine and feces they had been living in. Ethan and Ellie are also thriving and ready to look for new homes.
The third litter was dumped in a blackberry patch about 4 feet from a main roadway. The lady who found them routinely goes to pick wild blackberries and raspberries in that location. She figured that someone knew she was there about every 2 days and dumped them there figuring she would find them. She did manage to find homes for two of the three pups. We have Halle Blackberry, and she is teaching Goliath how to treat a lady.
The lady who found Halle said she called several organizations, and I was the only one who returned her call. One organization that she did talk to literally accused her of lying about finding the pups.
No matter how thin resources are stretched, no matter how full we are, I tell myself to not be judgemental, but rather be glad someone had the nerve to admit they needed help and a place to take a litter of puppies.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Goliath Update
Goliath went back to the vet yesterday and weighed in at 5.3 pounds. There is a chance that he might qualify for a grant to have his heart repaired, so we needed to make sure he was vaccinated and decided to do some preliminary blood work before we take him for the evaluation examination at the teaching hospital.
His blood work showed that there is no kidney or liver involvement which would compromise his chances for the surgery. That result allows us to go ahead with fund raising to pay for the rescue's part of the expense, which is the preliminary evaluation. We are praying that we get the grant for the actual surgery.
The miracle for the day is that Goliath can see! The right eye, which had been covered with what appeared to be a juvenile cataract, has cleared. The vet could see his retina and optic nerve. No wonder the little guy can find so much mischief to get into.
Meanwhile, he is learning to put his nose to the ground and "hunt" with Jessi, my 90 pound rott/lab. She lays down on the floor and allows him to play with her. He has met a few of the barn cats, goes for walks in the horse pasture, runs through the flowers and plays tug of war with the leaves. He is being allowed to be what he is, a playful puppy with a big curiousity.
His blood work showed that there is no kidney or liver involvement which would compromise his chances for the surgery. That result allows us to go ahead with fund raising to pay for the rescue's part of the expense, which is the preliminary evaluation. We are praying that we get the grant for the actual surgery.
The miracle for the day is that Goliath can see! The right eye, which had been covered with what appeared to be a juvenile cataract, has cleared. The vet could see his retina and optic nerve. No wonder the little guy can find so much mischief to get into.
Meanwhile, he is learning to put his nose to the ground and "hunt" with Jessi, my 90 pound rott/lab. She lays down on the floor and allows him to play with her. He has met a few of the barn cats, goes for walks in the horse pasture, runs through the flowers and plays tug of war with the leaves. He is being allowed to be what he is, a playful puppy with a big curiousity.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Will He Make it? - part 2
Goliath weighed 1.4 pounds by Monday morning when we got to the vet's office. He was eating and drinking, his motor skills were improving, his plumbing was working, and his eyes no longer had pus oozing from them. The examination revealed cataracts, which could be fixed at a later date.
Then the bombshell. Goliath has a PDA - patent ductus arteriosus - a hole in his heart which should have closed shortly after birth, but did not. We were told he would not grow as big as his brothers, and when he does grow, it will further compromise his heart function and eventually he will die. Our choice was euthanasia or allow him to live out whatever life he has left.
None of the people in that exam room wanted to see Goliath euthanized - it just wasn't a good day for a little guy who was fighting so hard to live to have to die. About that time, he started playing - doing what I call the puppy prance - and acting like a contender on American Idol. I asked the rescue coordinator if I could take him home and let him live till he either became so symptomatic that he couldn't be comfortable, or passed away on his own. She agreed.
Goliath will be eight weeks old in two days. He goes outside and plays in the grass,. follows me around the yard, and attacks my pant legs and shoe laces. He gives great lickies!!
We have been told that one of the veterinary teaching hospitals in the state sometimes does a PDA repair for charity, so we are checking that out. Meanwhile, little Goliath is sharing his love of life with everyone who meets him.
Then the bombshell. Goliath has a PDA - patent ductus arteriosus - a hole in his heart which should have closed shortly after birth, but did not. We were told he would not grow as big as his brothers, and when he does grow, it will further compromise his heart function and eventually he will die. Our choice was euthanasia or allow him to live out whatever life he has left.
None of the people in that exam room wanted to see Goliath euthanized - it just wasn't a good day for a little guy who was fighting so hard to live to have to die. About that time, he started playing - doing what I call the puppy prance - and acting like a contender on American Idol. I asked the rescue coordinator if I could take him home and let him live till he either became so symptomatic that he couldn't be comfortable, or passed away on his own. She agreed.
Goliath will be eight weeks old in two days. He goes outside and plays in the grass,. follows me around the yard, and attacks my pant legs and shoe laces. He gives great lickies!!
We have been told that one of the veterinary teaching hospitals in the state sometimes does a PDA repair for charity, so we are checking that out. Meanwhile, little Goliath is sharing his love of life with everyone who meets him.
Will He Make It?
Got a call from the local kill shelter at nearly 5 PM on a Friday night. They had confiscated a litter of 8 puppies from a neglect situation and one wasn't doing well. Could we take them?
All eight were boys - 7 of them relatively healthy, just needed food and wormer and some flea prevention. Number 8 was only a third the size of his brothers. His eyes were glued shut with pus, and his ribs were prominent. Took the pups home and got the seven settled in the kennel, and then took number 8 to the house where I put some antibiotic ointment in his eyes, got him some food and water. Because he was so much smaller, the thought that he might have a congenital defect of some sort nagged at me. He ate, drank, and snuggled up with a small stuffed toy for a much deserved snooze.
The antibiotic ointment did its work, and then I could see what looked like a cataract on his right eye, and a blip in his left. Not a good thing. First thing Monday morning he would go to the vet. We have to have a name to make the appointment, so we called him Goliath.
All eight were boys - 7 of them relatively healthy, just needed food and wormer and some flea prevention. Number 8 was only a third the size of his brothers. His eyes were glued shut with pus, and his ribs were prominent. Took the pups home and got the seven settled in the kennel, and then took number 8 to the house where I put some antibiotic ointment in his eyes, got him some food and water. Because he was so much smaller, the thought that he might have a congenital defect of some sort nagged at me. He ate, drank, and snuggled up with a small stuffed toy for a much deserved snooze.
The antibiotic ointment did its work, and then I could see what looked like a cataract on his right eye, and a blip in his left. Not a good thing. First thing Monday morning he would go to the vet. We have to have a name to make the appointment, so we called him Goliath.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Dayzee & Mason
Dayzee is a petite Manchester terrier mix with a wavy black coat and shiny copper brown legs and a topknot that we got from a local kill shelter. We knew of someone who wanted a small terrier with some spit, so we immediately contacted the lady, and she came out to meet her.
This woman had adopted a border terrier mix from us a couple of months earlier. Mason had been bitten by another dog when we got him, so when he developed a couple of "hot spots" no one thought too much about it. The vet treated him and he was healing nicely when she took him home. Unfortunately, the infection proved to be puppy strangles. It is rare, and it cost him his life.
Anyway, Dayzee got spayed and went home with her. A couple of nights later, upon returning home from work, she noticed her right eye looked "funny" in the dim light and took her to her vet. Dayzee had a juvenile cataract in her eye, and a blip on the left. The veterinarian gave her a grim prognosis - she would be totally blind in a year. She called me from the vet's office, and said she was bringing her back immediately.
I accepted her and apologized, explaining that our rescue does not have enough available funding to take every new rescue in for an examination immediately after intake. The woman told me she just couldn't afford it and would be in touch.
So, I scheduled a visit to our veterinarian and found the same diagnosis, but with one difference. He said that her other eye had a blip but was not crystallizing, and might never do so. Time would tell. In the meantime, she could see light only in the right eye, and surgery would fix it permanently. The cost would be around $3200. The rescue couldn't afford that, but decided to put her up for adoption with a special needs tag, and in the meantime try to raise money for the surgery.
Dayzee went to an on-site adoption last week, and a family came through and fell in love with her, and could care less if she is blind in one eye. They said they would deal with her vision problems and wondered if she would like riding in a pontoon boat. Dayzee hit the jackpot!
This woman had adopted a border terrier mix from us a couple of months earlier. Mason had been bitten by another dog when we got him, so when he developed a couple of "hot spots" no one thought too much about it. The vet treated him and he was healing nicely when she took him home. Unfortunately, the infection proved to be puppy strangles. It is rare, and it cost him his life.
Anyway, Dayzee got spayed and went home with her. A couple of nights later, upon returning home from work, she noticed her right eye looked "funny" in the dim light and took her to her vet. Dayzee had a juvenile cataract in her eye, and a blip on the left. The veterinarian gave her a grim prognosis - she would be totally blind in a year. She called me from the vet's office, and said she was bringing her back immediately.
I accepted her and apologized, explaining that our rescue does not have enough available funding to take every new rescue in for an examination immediately after intake. The woman told me she just couldn't afford it and would be in touch.
So, I scheduled a visit to our veterinarian and found the same diagnosis, but with one difference. He said that her other eye had a blip but was not crystallizing, and might never do so. Time would tell. In the meantime, she could see light only in the right eye, and surgery would fix it permanently. The cost would be around $3200. The rescue couldn't afford that, but decided to put her up for adoption with a special needs tag, and in the meantime try to raise money for the surgery.
Dayzee went to an on-site adoption last week, and a family came through and fell in love with her, and could care less if she is blind in one eye. They said they would deal with her vision problems and wondered if she would like riding in a pontoon boat. Dayzee hit the jackpot!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
On the Lighter Side
We have 42 dogs on the premises today, and since it is our wedding anniversary, my husband of 31 years is helping me with kennels so we can get done a bit earlier than usual and go out to dinner. Going out to eat, even fast food, is a real treat. We usually come in tired, dirty and longing a hot shower. By the time we accomplish taking the house dogs out and getting cleaned up, my husband is sitting at the kitchen table looking somewhat like a vulture waiting for some road kill.
Although our anniversary plans usually don't pan out as something always seems to happen at the last minute, we are hopeful. We plan on stopping by a friend's place to meet their new stray dog, a coon hound, and help make sure her barn is secure enough to house the hound till new arrangements can be made.
The dogs here are sharing in our festivities. I cooked extra chicken, so they are having baked chicken with their kibble and we have a 5 gallon pail of vanilla ice cream and enough cones to go around so they can have a little extra treat. After all, 31 years is worth celebrating.
Have a great day everyone!!!
Although our anniversary plans usually don't pan out as something always seems to happen at the last minute, we are hopeful. We plan on stopping by a friend's place to meet their new stray dog, a coon hound, and help make sure her barn is secure enough to house the hound till new arrangements can be made.
The dogs here are sharing in our festivities. I cooked extra chicken, so they are having baked chicken with their kibble and we have a 5 gallon pail of vanilla ice cream and enough cones to go around so they can have a little extra treat. After all, 31 years is worth celebrating.
Have a great day everyone!!!
What's the Right Thing?
"There was a drug bust, and we have two dozen pit bulls coming in and we can't keep these dogs because we have no room. Can you take at least four of them so we don't have to destroy them?"
That was the phone call last week. We, fortunately, had a little empty space and we have also become pretty good at what we call "creative kenneling", so we picked up a border terrier mix, a border collie mix, a four month old golden retriever mix, and an 8 week old cocker spaniel mix. All of them really nice dogs with no future if we weren't able to help out.
Now, I have no problem with pit bulls. They are good, loyal dogs, and unfortunately people have created lots of problems for them. However, what is the right thing here? The rescue organization we work with has been advised not to adopt out pit bulls or pit mixes because of liability laws. Finding homes for them with responsible owners can be a real problem. We have four pit mixes here right now, and the only people who have shown interest are folks that we would not approve to adopt.
So, what's the right thing?
That was the phone call last week. We, fortunately, had a little empty space and we have also become pretty good at what we call "creative kenneling", so we picked up a border terrier mix, a border collie mix, a four month old golden retriever mix, and an 8 week old cocker spaniel mix. All of them really nice dogs with no future if we weren't able to help out.
Now, I have no problem with pit bulls. They are good, loyal dogs, and unfortunately people have created lots of problems for them. However, what is the right thing here? The rescue organization we work with has been advised not to adopt out pit bulls or pit mixes because of liability laws. Finding homes for them with responsible owners can be a real problem. We have four pit mixes here right now, and the only people who have shown interest are folks that we would not approve to adopt.
So, what's the right thing?
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