Here's the PBS video--The Dogs are alright--about the Vick dogs

This video is posted here for those who don't know about or realize what went into saving the Vick fighting dogs.  This video shows the hope and help these dogs were given by just a few people; those who were supposed to be looking out for their welfare seemed to give up on them.

Satchmo is still having problems!!

We have an appointment to see a specialist on Monday. He had a grand mal seizure Tuesday morning and went to the vet where he spent the night having tests done.  All tests were positive and no indication of what caused the seizure.  He came home on new medications and a prescribed diet, which he hates.

This morning, while eating at the disgusting "special" food, he had another brief seizure.  This one was only for a few seconds and he was fine pretty quickly.  But, back to the vet we went and now he will go see a neurologist.  I'm really worried about my baby boy, but I keep trying not to borrow trouble.  I'll just wait to hear what the neurologist has to say. 

Anyway, I was thinking about Satch's recent health issues when I came across this article that reminded me of the tenacity and resilience of animals.  This article, though very sad, gives me hope for my Satch.  If you read it and want to help this little one, please click over and leave a comment.  The dog in this article deserves to get the same kind of care my baby is getting, don't you think?

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Tornado dog crawls home on broken legs

Mason finds his way back home after Ala. twister

Updated: Wednesday, 18 May 2011, 12:24 PM MDT
Published : Wednesday, 18 May 2011, 10:42 AM MDT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (CNN/WBRC) - A tornado picked him up and blew him away, but his will to live was so strong he crawled home on two broken legs and survived for two weeks before his family found him.

Meet Mason. It only takes one look to know he's been through a lot in the last couple of weeks. And while his happy but haunted eyes and halting crawl tell us something about his story, his owners helped the Birmingham Jefferson County Animal Control shelter fill in the rest.

On April 27, Mason was hiding in a garage in North Smithfield when a storm picked him up and blew him away. His owners couldn't find him and had about given up when they came back to their home and garage on Monday to sift through debris. They found Mason waiting for them on the porch.

"He's got two broken legs and they're distal radial unal fractures. They've not been able to be in alignment so neither one of them have healed so he had to crawl on two broken legs to get home," said Dr. Barbara Benhart with the shelter.

"This is probably the most dramatic we've seen as far as an injury in an animal that's survived this long. It's kind of tapering off, the amount of animals we're seeing because of the storm. For an animal just to show up on someone's porch after this time was pretty remarkable, especially with the condition he's in," added Phil Doster, also with the shelter.

Mason's owners asked the shelter to take him because they're not able to care for him while they try and piece their lives back together.

"For an animal to go through what he's gone through and not to be ugly, to be happy for any companionship is remarkable. We're honored to be part of his recovery," said Doster.
Now with a little luck and a lot of love, Mason may become a mascot for storm survivors, both on four legs and two legs.

According to WBRC , the hope is that after he recovers, Mason can return to his original family. If not, the shelter says they will find a home for him.

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Dramatic rescue of pitbull mix in river

Here's a video that shows the rescue of a dog from the flood swollen river in Michigan.  It is hard to watch, but the dog does get saved and sent to the vet.  She was hypothermic and about at the end of her rope when they pulled her out.

The dogs of Kayenta, AZ -- the saga of one person's drive to help abandoned dogs

This isn't the post I was going to make today.  I was going to talk about taking Satchmo to the vet this morning for his check-up and the exam of a small lump under his front leg.  However, I will post that later.  Instead, I'd like to post about a blog called Sharkey Pup.  On this blog, there are several posts that are about abandoned dogs in Kayenta, Arizona and one person who decided to do something to try to help them out. 

Please read this article below, then click over to read all the rest about the plight of these poor dogs.  There are several other posts, and I suggest you read them all and in order.  This woman is amazing and deserves our appreciation for going out of her way to help innocent animals.
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Burger King To The Rescue

As I drove through Kayenta, Arizona this past week I noticed something odd.  I passed the McDonalds and clustered around the front was a group of about five or six dogs. Same with Burger King and the gas station. Each location had its own group of dogs hovering in the sunshine. With three of my own in the car I didn’t have the opportunity to do anything but get gas and keep traveling. On the way back through, however, I made some inquiries.

 

As I pulled up to the window of Burger King’s drive-thru to get my Whopper Jr. I asked the gal at the window the story about all the dogs.

 

“They get dropped here from all over,” she said. “They’re all strays with no place to go.”

 

“Don’t you have a local shelter or rescue?” I asked. 

 

“Nope, they are on their own here.” She pointed to a larger brown dog just across the drive by the gas station. “That one over there was hit by a car about two months ago. Nobody took it to a vet, that’s why it drags its back leg around.”

 

I looked at the dog she indicated and at the others sitting or walking about. There was an Aussie that was obviously nursing pups she had hidden someplace. The other six or so looked cold and rightly so. It was below freezing at 2:00 in the afternoon.

 

“Where do they go when the temperatures get cold?”

“Wherever they can find to get out of the wind. They are lucky if the kids use them for target practice. At least they’re put out of their misery,” she replied.

 

I was shocked not only by the plight of all these dogs, but by the casual way she talked about them being used for target practice. I pulled into the lot, got out and counted the dogs then went back into Burger King and bought a hamburger for each – the largest I could buy. 

 

I walked out with the bag and all wary eyes were on me. There was snow on the ground but I imagined a good drink of water was also hard to come by. I got out the water bowls I always keep in my vehicle and filled them from the gallon I also haul with me. The dogs all looked at me, the injured one and the mother of pups kept to the back of the group. If they were going to get any food they’d need to be fed separately from the rest.

 

Unwrapping the burgers brought them all in closer, but still they were wary. I quickly threw all but two burgers further across the lot and approached the other two dogs. Setting the food in front of them I stepped back and they ate. My presence kept the rest of the pack away. When they finished I looked around. The others were drinking as if they hadn’t had a drink in weeks. I took one bowl over to the other two and let them drink also. The one that was struck by a car got up and wagged its tail and came close enough to let me stroke his head. He was dragging one leg behind him. The tears came as I sat there a minute giving this poor soul a bit of kindness. I’d have taken them all home with me if I could have but that was impossible. I wished I had a truck and trailer so that I could go back for them. I’d make it my mission to find some no-kill shelters for them, but those are hard to come by as more and more pets are abandoned. 

 

I made some calls today to the state of Arizona. There was no shelter within 100 miles that was willing to go rescue these animals. I felt helpless and hopeless thinking of them out in the sub-freezing weather.  My three were safe in Sandy's care.  They are among the lucky ones.

To read the rest of the story go here:
 http://www.sharkeypup.com/blog/blog/140111024523/The-Dogs-at-Kayenta---The-Story-Continues-by-Susan-R.-Stoltz.htm

Animal Rescue Organizations

I regularly receive emails from various rescue organizations.  I thought I would post some of those now for you to see the desperate need of these animals.  Please help if you can.  You can make all the difference for a small soul just by helping out.
___________________________________________________________________________________

Just look into Chloe's eyes. The pain and sadness are obvious. But there is also a glimmer of hope. Donate Today! Can you see it? In spite of the horror that this sweet kitten has suffered,you can tell in her eyes that all the good that's happened to her since arriving at Bideawee - the tender loving care...the nutritious food... the warm bed - have given her the hope she needs to keep going. Donate Today! Now I hope you'll look into your heart and make a generous tax- deductible donation to Bideawee today to help us give innocent, abandoned kittens like Chloe a second chance at life. You are the reason for her hope. Chloe was found taped inside a box outside an apartment building in New York City and left to die. Thankfully, a kind soul heard her weak cries and immediately brought her to Bideawee and asked if we could care for her. Chloe was emaciated, had diarrhea, and a horrible respiratory infection. Of course, we couldn't...we wouldn't turn our backs on a helpless pet. Would you? Chloe is now healing, adding weight slowly, and each day growing more comfortable in our adoption center. Soon we know that we will find a new home for  Chloe...a family that will care for her and love her forever. Frankly, Chloe is one of the lucky ones. Thanks to the kindness of a stranger she is now receiving the care she deserves. But there are hundreds of other kittens abandoned on the streets of our city right now. Pets that need us. Pets that need you. Right now, please make as generous a contribution as you can afford to help Bideawee help Chloe, and hundreds more like her who, without us, will die on the streets of our city. A gift today will make a real difference and we thank you for whatever you can do. Gratefully, Nancy Taylor President & CEO P.S. Chloe is safe now. But you and I both know that we must do more to help abandoned pets, especially with cold weather right around the corner. With your support, we can and we will. Please, donate now.

To contact us, please send us an email: Bideawee@bideawee.org.
Bideawee is funded 100% by private contributions. To help us
continue our vital work to help animals, please donate today.

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More on those cats!

Image via Wikipedia

Well, we now always have one of the black kittens sitting on the chair outside; every now and then the other will show back up and sit out there with the litter-mate, but then that little cat will disappear for days.

The one who stays on the porch, KT, is becoming friendly.  I still don't know if it is a boy or girl, but it will now rub against my legs and let me touch him/her to scratch its head.  I have even picked it up briefly.

It probably helps that we set canned food out twice a day for these little black fuzz-balls.  Hopefully, soon I will entice KT into the house and then I can see about getting medical care done.

My dogs, Satchmo and Austen, both seem oblivious to these cats unless they start darting around.  Then they want to go play with them.

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This is about cats...not Satchmo

Image by shannonpatrick17 via Flickr

I know this blog is about my dog, Satchmo, but I just have to talk a minute about cats.  I live in an apartment complex in Austin, TX.  As you may know, apartments are a veritable source of feral cats from people moving away and leaving pet cats, the industrial dumpsters filled with trash attract strays, etc.  So, there used to be a black female cat that "sort of" lived down the row from my house--(I say sort of because the elderly lady living there did not own the cat, she just felt sorry for her and fed her fairly often).  Anyway, this cat has had several litters of kittens in the two years I have been here.  The problem is that they are feral and yet they live up close to people.  What usually happens is the kittens either get run over in the parking lot, get eaten by wild animals (I've seen foxes, skunks, and snakes), or they go all wild and run off. 

Anyway, before this lady moved, there was a litter of 4 little black kittens living inside her car (which was never used because she was house-bound).  One was run over, another was killed because he was up inside a motor well when the owner started the car--but two remained.  My Satchmo has always loved cats and so he wants to go check on the kittens whenever we go outside, so I guess I was sort of familiar to these little babies.  So, when she moved, I began feeding them on my porch. 

It did not take even a day for them to find my food and start sleeping on the chairs outside.  So, recently, they have become quite curious about where Satchmo and I go when we go inside.  I frequently find them sitting just outside the door when I open it.  So, last night I put the dogs up in my bedroom and left the front door open for a long time.  These two little black fuzz balls cautiously came up to the door and then-----they came inside.  They were very frightened and bolted if you moved, but they stayed in the front area sniffing and looking for quite some time.

My goal with these two is to be able to capture them and take them to be sterilized and get shots before returning them to their current life as outside cats (unless they want to come inside again).  We'll see.  I don't know if this is possible, but I will keep trying.

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These dogs were rescued from a puppy mill in Young County just outside of Graham along with several others Friday afternoon by the Humane Society of Young County. 72 dogs were relinquished to HSYC. (Photo courtesy of the Humane Society of Young County)
72 dogs relinquished from puppy mill
by By Cherry Rushin
 (Posted Tue 03:36 pm)
newsdesk@grahamleader.com

A puppy mill just outside of Graham with an estimated 20 or more years of churning out dogs has been shut down for good.
“That’s part of the conditions. They’re under agreement with the Humane Society and Young County Sheriff’s Office, they’re subject to random unannounced visits to make sure they aren’t engaging in any activity like that again,” Chief Deputy Carl Magee said.
Magee and Kim Baxter, executive director of the Humane Society of Young County, confiscated 72 dogs Friday afternoon after receiving a call concerning the welfare of the animals.
“The animals seemed to be in poor health and crowded conditions. We found some matted, and kennels weren’t as clean as they should be ... The water dishes in the kennels were all frozen,” said Magee.
Baxter said the owners had numerous violations and in light of that decided it would be best to surrender the animals to the Humane Society. She added that not all of their animals were surrendered. The family kept eight house dogs but with stipulations.
“They have to come into compliance with all state laws regarding rabies vaccinations, and they have to coordinate through the Humane Society to get the remaining animals spayed and neutered,” said Magee.
Baxter said this is not the first time she was asked to investigate these breeders.
“We’ve had previous dealings with (them). We had another complaint on them and went out. They’ve been doing this probably 20 plus years to the best of my knowledge,” she said.
All of the animals were examined by Dr. Nick Burnham on Saturday. Baxter said several will need surgeries and further medical care.
“They lived in feces and a rodent infested environment,” Baxter said. “A rat jumped out at us when we were taking them. The smell of urine in the whelping trailer was overwhelming. There was no heat, only one space heater and three or four heat lamps in the whelping trailer, but as cold as it was, it was not enough.”
Baxter said several groomers volunteered to help with the rescued dogs and all of the animals that could be groomed were completed Saturday.
“The more we groomed, the more pregnant ones we found. There are probably eight to 10 pregnant dogs. They did nothing but produce babies ... they’re breeding for money with little concern for the animals. They breed them back to back and never give them a break,” she said.
Baxter said the response to the rescue has been overwhelming thanks to the story airing on Wichita Falls television, but the shelter can still use help caring for the animals.
“Right now, we really need monetary donations. We’ve got vet bills, and we’re going to continue to have expenses we’re going to have to pay out-of-pocket,” she said.
The shelter was closed Monday and Tuesday to process the animals. All are getting vaccinated, wormed and any other vet care they may need. Baxter said she hopes to start adopting them out this week.
“I think they’ll all be adoptable. There are some that weren’t very social because they hadn’t been touched much, but with love and patience, they’re coming around,” she said.
For those interested in adopting a dog, the adoption application is available on the HSYC Web site at www.humanesociety-yc.org. The breeds include Chihuahua, Yorkshire terriers, rat terriers, shih tzus, Lhasa apsos, Pomeranians and more.
Baxter said the shelter could also use bleach, paper towels, dog food, puppy pads, Fabulosa, laundry detergent and volunteers for bathing, brushing and loving the animals.
She said other shelters have offered to help. Representatives from the Wichita Falls shelter came Saturday and brought towels, blankets and food and offered to take some of the animals, but for now they are going to remain at HSYC.
Although the animals are now safe and will possibly find new homes, the breeders may not have heard the end of it.
“Kim and I are still working on the case and investigating, and once we finish our investigation, we’ll sit down with (County Attorney) Dane (Miller) and determine if we need to file any criminal charges,” said Magee.

Subscribers: Read all the news online

 

_________________________________________________________________________________

This kind of thing just plain makes me mad.  How on earth can a person live with himself?  I am so glad that someone finally stepped up and took control to give those dogs a better life.  How could they leave 8 of them in the care of these people?  As long as people will buy from these types of breeders, this "business activity" will continue.  When will we learn?  These are living, breathing, feeling beings and deserve to be treated with respect.  I know everyone is not an animal person, but surely people realize that we were given the job of caring for the animals of the earth and this is not how to do it.

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Foster a dog for the Holidays?

Cover of 101 Dalmatians

Here's a great idea.  I found this article and decided to post it in time for the Christmas holiday.  As a foster dog mom, I can tell you that knowing you are preventing a pet from the horrors of a cage in a shelter really is worth it.  I can also tell you that this author is quite right when she points out that you need to think ahead before you begin to foster, not all dogs are the same.  You need to think it through and get a foster animal that will fit in with your life and your lifestyle. 

If you work all the time, or you are gone quite a lot, then you may even think about fostering a cat.  There are so many animals in shelters that would love to spend time with a real family, even for a short time.  This is preferable to spending days on end locked away in a cage with other frightened animals.

So Happy Holidays!  Think about this, won't you?


********************************************************************************

 
The last time I wrote about Valerie Kennedy, the movie "102 Dalmatians" was a holiday blockbuster and Kennedy wanted to spread a message to shoppers:

Do not go out and buy a Dalmatian just because you like those movie dogs. That cute dotted puppy could turn into an unhealthy, hyperactive hound you'll soon discard.

Kennedy got in touch a couple of days ago with a different Christmas tune: Why not adopt a dog, even if it's just for the holidays?

Kennedy isn't suggesting giving pets as presents. Shelters are filled with barking Christmas gifts the recipient didn't want or couldn't handle.

But a foster dog is different from a gift dog. It's a gift you give yourself, maybe just for a while.

"I keep seeing stories in the news -- and in e-mails that I get -- about dogs who are dumped at the shelter these days because the economy is so bad," Kennedy says. "I can't imagine what it must be for them to go from the arms of a child, or the dog bed on a kitchen floor in someone's home, to a shelter. In the spirit of Christmas kindness, maybe folks could consider fostering a homeless dog."

Kennedy owns four dogs. She's drawn to mutts, rejects, orphans. The dog rescue service she founded was once featured in People magazine and though she gave up the business when she got breast cancer, she never gave up the cause.

One of her dogs, until his recent death, was Lucky, the paraplegic, incontinent son of the dog who played Pongo in "101 Dalmatians." Lucky, who had been abandoned in a house in Malibu, wore a diaper and ambled around attached to a wheelchair. Kennedy adored him.

Since we talked about dogs nine years ago, Kennedy's life has changed. She has moved from Chicago to Wilmette; left her job as Midwest media director for Humana to work with her husband's TV production company; survived cancer, lost Lucky and acquired Wrinkles, another Dalmatian.

One thing hasn't changed. She hates to see a homeless dog.

"I had my son at 41," she says. "People said, 'Oh, when you have that baby, you're not going to care about those dogs.' That might have been somebody's truth, but it's not mine."

Helping dogs, Kennedy says, doesn't mean you don't help people too. And vice versa.

"There are a lot of sad things in the world," she says. "There are people who have different passions. And these guys, they bring me joy. Whatever I do for them, I get back in spades."

I'm not a dog person, but I admire passionate people who act on what they love, which is why I think Kennedy's message is worth airing.

And she's not alone in advocating a foster dog. Petfinder.com, an online consortium of more than 13,000 pet adoption agencies, including many in the Chicago area, is running a program this year called "Foster a Lonely Pet for the Holidays."

If you do it, Kennedy warns, think about it first.

Does your mother-in-law who hates big dogs baby-sit for you? Don't get a big dog. Do you work all day? Don't get a puppy. Consider how much dog hair you can tolerate.

Then give it a try.

"It's like test-driving a car," she says, "or going on a date."

You may fall in love, but if it doesn't work out, you haven't lost much.

"If someone's looking for an easy Christmas kindness," she says, "this is such an easy kindness."

Here is the link for the original article 

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Tillamook Breeder Surrenders Nearly 100 Dogs to OHS

Here's a follow up on the posting from yesterday.  This is about the rat terriers that were surrendered.  This is a terrible thing.  I know that this person really loved these animals, but everyone needs to understand that there is a limit to the number of animals you can actually take care of.  Love is not just food.

If you can help, these little dogs would really love you for it.

************************************************************************************

 

Help Needed: Rescued animals need these supplies: Puppy food Large crates Shredded paper Towels Monetary Donations
OHS volunteer Julie Honse lends a hand as the Tillamook dogs arrive at OHS.
One of the many rat terriers surrendered; seen here with Patty Melnichuk of OHS.

Dec. 8, 2009:  A Tillamook dog breeder today surrendered 118 dogs to the Oregon Humane Society, following a lengthy investigation by OHS and the Tillamook County Sheriff.

98 dogs, almost all of them rat terriers, are arriving this afternoon and this evening at the OHS Shelter at 1067 NE Columbia Blvd. in Portland. The dogs will be available for adoption after they are spayed/neutered and get a clean bill of health from the OHS medical team.

Another 20 dogs were also taken from the breeder and will be offered for adoption through other organizations.

"The dogs were living in terribly overcrowded and unsanitary conditions with limited access to food and water," said Dr. Kris Otteman, OHS medical director.

The owner was charged with animal neglect by OHS Humane Investigators and relinquished ownership of the dogs to OHS.

OHS, working in concert with Tillamook County’s Sheriff, responded to years of complaints about the residence. When the owner made the decision to surrender the animals today, the Tillamook Sheriff's office and Tillamook Animal Control department provided vehicles and staff to transport the animals to Portland and assist with their processing. Also Tillamook Animal Shelter was instrumental in helping with this case and took in 20 of the dogs.

The Tillamook rescue is not related a second rescue now happening in Harney County (details here).

Monetary Donations Needed

OHS relies entirely on private donations to to rescue neglected and abused animals.

You can fight animal neglect and abuse by making a online donation to the OHS Animal Rescue and Investigations Fund.

Here is a video of the dogs arriving at OHS today.

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Humane society rescues 100 dogs in eastern Oregon

 This kind of "hoarding" has got to stop.  As a psychiatric nurse, I understand the compulsion these people may have felt and the obsession they had with collecting more dogs, but these are living, breathing, feeling beings--not things.  Animal abuse is animal abuse, period.  Please help stop such terrible abuse.  If you know of any animal that is being abused, please report it.  An investigation may or may not support your claim, but at least you will have tried to help.  Dogs, cats, other animals cannot speak for themselves and depend on us to provide safe and secure living conditions.  Don't we owe them the respect we would want given to our own loved pets?


***********************************************************************************
December 08, 2009, 8:14PM


A suspected case of dog hoarding has turned into one of the largest cases of animal neglect in state history, the Oregon Humane Society said Tuesday.

The case involves about 100 dogs on a sprawling, desolate piece of property about 20 miles south of Burns.

David Lytle, spokesman for the Oregon Human Society, said the dogs were living without shelter in icy conditions, surrounded by cattle bones gnawed clean.

The dog owners, who live in trailers on the property, fed them carcasses from a local meat processing plant.

"The whole property was scattered with the carcasses," Lytle said. "I've never seen anything like it."

A couple and another woman living on the property were arrested by Harney County Sheriff Dave Glerup on suspicion of animal neglect.

Glerup said the couple -- 43-year-old Ronald Steven Anderson and Anita Darlene Anderson, 55 -- and 34-year-old Kathlean Fuchs-Goyogana,  34, agreed to give up the dogs and were released on their own recognizance.

Glerup said the couple has lived on the property on Frenchglen highway for more than a decade and are currently unemployed. The property is owned by a woman who used to live in the area but moved near Joseph after her husband died. Glerup said the Andersons sublet to Fuchs-Goyogana, who has a 9-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl.

A friend of the girl's sparked the investigation, telling her mother about conditions on the property. The mother called the Department of Human Services, which in turn called the Harney County Sheriff's Office.

Glerup said Fuchs-Goyogana agreed to take her kids off the property. She is currently under investigation for child neglect, he said.

As for the dogs, most of them are border collie, Shiba Inu and Australian shepherd mixes. Lytle did not see any obvious injuries, though he said some had nails so long they were curled over and growing into their paws. But he said the dogs did not appear to be malnourished.

"I would call this a hoarding case," he said. "The woman was very attached to a lot of the dogs."

This is the second large animal rescue from Harney County this year. In March, sheriff's officials and the humane society rescued 131 dogs from breeder Ted Tellefson, who had dogs chained, in house trailers and roaming on his property in Burns.

This latest rescue also involved dogs stuck outside without shelter. With temperatures plunging to 11 degrees below zero Monday night, officials found dogs tied to posts and farm equipment or trapped in a wire pen. Several small dogs had sought shelter by digging a hole below a few wooden planks.

"When we came by, they popped their heads up out of the ground like prairie dogs," Lytle said.

He spotted the carcass of one dead dog on an oil drum.

On Monday, Lytle and two other people from the humane society rescued 14 dogs, including a mother and four 1-week-old pups, and brought them back to the agency's headquarters in Portland.

A second humane society crew left Tuesday in three vans to bring back as many dogs as possible.

The first group should arrive at the humane society on Wednesday to very full shelter. On Tuesday, the agency was rescuing at least 70 rat terriers from an overwhelmed breeder in Tillamook.

Lytle said the agency's investigators had been talking to the woman for a long time, trying to persuade her to give up the terriers.

Dogs from the two rescues will take up half of the agency's kennels at its headquarters in Portland.

"Fortunately, a lot of the dogs are small dogs so we can put several in the same kennel," Lytle said.

But the humane society said it needs donations of puppy food, large crates, shredded paper and cash as officials scramble to care for the dogs.

The dogs will be examined, given medication and neutered to prepare for adoption.

"Our medical staff is going to be very busy over the next few days," Lytle said.

To read the original article>>click here

-- Lynne Terry

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Here's a post called "Adopt a Senior Pet Month"

 I just found this wonderful blog and wanted to share it with you.  Below is a delightful story about her experiences in adopting a senior pit bull.  I found this to be both sad and uplifting.  Such a character!
Anyway, I love when I find someone else who is crazy about dogs and I love when I find such great posts.  I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.
__________________________________________________________________________________
ASPCA’s Top 10 Reasons to Adopt an Older Dog
Olive was my first senior adoption. She was already an older adult when she was rescued from a horrid situation with forty other neglected animals (check out my friend Michelle’s wonderful Ode to Maggie - a fellow quirky dog from the same cruelty case).
Olive was a strange dog. Sometimes she’d stare into space, or leap up from a deep sleep barking for no apparent reason. She had doggy OCD that manifested itself in the habit of curling into a tight ball to suck on her hip. She stamped her feet when she barked, which mostly happened at dinner time as if she was cheering me on as I prepared her food. She was flat-footed due to neglect, so she had a funny, uneven trot as she raced across the yard in the winter to come back inside the second she’d finished her business. She actually liked wearing sweaters in the winter - she’d prance around as soon as you dressed her up. In the summer, she could lay in the sun for hours.
She never quite got the hang of training. One obedience class instructor tried to use Olive to show tricks that would get a difficult dog to lie down. It never worked, no matter how many different types of cheese or hot dog or liver we tried to lure her with; no matter how long the class stared at me sitting on the floor with Olive standing over my legs licking my face instead of lying down to root out the treat I was holding beneath my knees. Right until the end, she would kill a stuffed animal with gusto, but she was never destructive around the house. On walks, Olive would march straight ahead with a sense of purpose, not bothering to sniff the ground like the other dogs. Any unexpected turns (especially a turn-around to go home) would cause her to freeze and the walk would degenerate into a negotiation of coaxing her a few steps at a time…until I gave up and carried her as far as I could.
Olive was one of the sweetest dogs I’ve ever known. Everyone of every species was greeted with a wagging tail. She was always gentle, even with packs of children crowded around her to say hello. And, despite everything she’d been through, she was a happy dog. If she heard you talk about her when she was napping, her tail would thump against the couch. This little 40 pound pittie LOVED to be carried. As soon as she was picked up, she’d lay her head on your shoulder and fall asleep with the corners of her mouth turned up in a peaceful smile. If you put her down, she’d blink at you, like she wasn’t sure what she did to deserve it.
By the time I adopted her, she was already a senior dog. I didn’t know how she’d adjust to being in a home after the cruelty case and then two years with a rescue group. I didn’t know if she’d ever get housetrained or bond with the other animals and me. But she did. It was an immediately rewarding adoption, with none of the training frustration that can come from getting a younger dog, or the uncertainty about what sort of dog you really got. Olive already was who she was - in all her weird and wonderful ways.

I only got six years with her - she was estimated somewhere between sixteen and a hundred and sixteen by the time mammary cancer took her. It was a tough loss, definitely not enough time together. When is it ever enough time? That’s the hard part with a senior dog, but it’s worth it.

Please visit her blog and read all her wonderful posts!

A Best Friends rescue called Pup My Ride

Image via Wikipedia

I don't know if you watch this show or not, but I have gotten hooked on watching "Dogtown".  I love seeing the wonderful things these people can accomplish.  I watched as they took in the Vick dogs and worked diligently to rehabilitate them and find homes for the poor dogs.  I have a friend who took her vacation and went to visit Dogtown where she and her daughter worked for several days cleaning, bathing, loving, training and sometimes socializing by taking an animal for the night with them to the motel.

I found this site and read the post about this years rescue event.  Below is an excerpt from the blog and the link to go read the entire post.  He has videos and many, many pictures, so I recommend you visit.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did.  I hope you tune in to watch Dogtown, too.

To read the blog and watch the videos, click here

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Where I've been: Best Friends' Pup My Ride

The blog's been a little quiet for a while, I've been slightly busy...

Beginning on Nov 11 I participated in a Best Friends rescue called Pup My Ride, which we've done several times this year. Pup My Ride goes into the Midwest and pulls mostly discarded breeder dogs from puppy mills and arranges their safe transport to the Northeast, where they are very adoptable. These are dogs of all ages, mostly on the small side but usually with some surprises thrown in as well - like the beautiful and friendly pair of Mastiffs that turned up! This was my first experience with Pup My Ride and I was overjoyed to be asked to go along as the animal care supervisor - one of my dogs, Ginger, is a former puppy mill breeder and the cause is near and dear to my heart.

Co-worker Mary Richie and I met early on the morning of the 11th to begin the long drive from Kanab, UT to the staging area in a horse barn in the Midwest. I believe Mary's title here at Dogtown is receptionist but that doesn't do justice to her talents; and on this operation she is simply the Person Who Knows Everything and Keeps Track Of Everything. In a chaotic environment where dogs are constantly moving around and situations change on a moment by moment basis, she tracks every piece of information and can tell you anything about any dog at any time, as well as the closest place to buy an extension cord and where to obtain 6 bundles of newspaper at 1am.

Our noble steed for the long journey was to be a mid-90s Ford F350 Turbo Diesel Dually towing a cargo trailer loaded with all the supplies we would need for the staging area - soup to nuts, crates to poop scoopers. The rig really brings out my inner Tim Allen, I want to grunt every time I climb into the driver's seat. The coolest thing for the dedicated long-distance driver is the 75 gallon aux fuel tank built into the bed; between that and the two stock tanks it holds a total of 115 gallons of diesel for your long distance driving pleasure. The ride to the staging area took two days and was relatively uneventful, with Mary and I alternating driving and sleeping.

We arrived in the Midwest on the 13th at our host facility, a horse barn - which turned out to be PERFECT for this sort of operation! The 23 individual stalls each had their own door, so dogs could be let out to play in the stall areas or allowed to run around while cleaning was done without fear of escape - great! We met a few co-workers there including our fearless leader Kelli Ohrtman some dedicated Pup My Ride volunteers and began setting up the stalls to house dogs - including isolation areas and areas for puppies.

And oh, the volunteers... these are people who came here to do this for us and with us, some of whom traveled great distances to join us and stayed in hotels while on-site at their own expense. They all worked 13+ hour days without complaint, doing the dirtiest work you can imagine - scrubbing kennels and bowls, doing all the hands-on care. They were the lifeblood of the operation and some simply amazing, selfless, caring people.

Over the next two days, dogs came in and were dropped off by the vanload. Each dog needed to be given a collar tagged with an individual ID number and a crate location, so that we could keep track of every dog and make sure they were all taken care of. We also began the process of pairing dogs for transport, which I would continue right up until the transport truck loaded - the truck had 96 travel crates and we expected to ship 160 dogs on it, so it was important to pair dogs up as quickly as possible to see who got along with whom.

On rescues like this you never know what will turn up, and we were really lucky on this one; there were no medical emergencies - thank god! As the volunteers took dogs through intake and carried them back to their kennels they acted as the first screeners for possible issues, alerting us to things that needed to be looked at when our veterinarian came in to do physical exams on every dog prior to transport. Though there were no emergencies, many of the dogs displayed signs of an abominable lack of care that is unfortunately all too typical of puppy mills: painful burrs and matts in long haired dogs that had never seen a grooming, nails grown into foot pads, obvious flea infestation and ear problems - and oh, the smell. There is a smell unique to dogs that have just been released from the mill that will stay with you forever; it's not just the excretions they have lived all their lives lying in in too-small cages but also of untreated abscesses, of infected ears. It is the smell of cruelty, made bearable by knowing that these dogs were about to have such a vast improvement in their lives.



The two intake days went quickly, with constant activity - cleaning, cleaning, cleaning; checking on concerns and socializing with the dogs. Behaviorally they were also a great group - by and large shy and undersocialized, but also curious and friendly. We saw huge changes in some of them over just a few short days as they began to realize that everything would be different now.

Many of the rescued breeder dogs I have met on this Pup My Ride transport for Best Friends and other mill dog rescues act like this: when you open their crates and invite them out, they don't quite know what to do. No one's ever done that before - they've always been grabbed, usually not very nicely, for a veterinary procedure or to be thrown in with another dog for breeding. They slink for a few minutes and stay low to the ground, their body language speaking volumes about their uncertainty even as they taste freedom for the first time.

As sad as this can sometimes be to witness, it is also hopeful: nearly every dog like this that has the curiosity to come out and give it a try will make a full recovery and enjoy and revel in their freedom.

After two days of intake we had our medical day, where our incredible on-site vet did physical examinations and innoculations on 196 dogs in an 8 hour period, with just one 10 minute break. She was fast but also thorough, identifying what dogs needed further treatment and/or investigation. Volunteers lined up with dogs to keep a steady flow coming to her, which also gave ample chance to visit with dogs while they waited! As always, during the examinations crates were being cleaned, water changed, newspaper laid and dogs visited with - and in the evening, once the checks were done, the daily feeding. The barn was also surrounded by grassy areas that were great for walking the larger dogs - particularly Louie the Basset Hound, who always had a line of people who wanted to take him out!

On the morning of the fourth day the main transport truck arrived and we began to load it with dogs beginning at 6am - it contained 96 kennels which volunteers set up with absorbent pads and ice chips in buckets, then we loaded all the dogs. The load went very smoothly and the main transport truck was on the road by 9am, followed by a chase van that had some special cases in it destined for other rescues.

With most of the dogs safely on the road, our hard-working volunteers stayed behind to clean and break down every kennel and load the cargo van with all of the rescue supplies. That also went quickly and Mary and I began the drive back to Kanab at noon after loading 8 dogs into our truck, mostly special medical cases that would return with us to Best Friends for care. We decided to try sleeping in shifts and driving continuously the approximately 27 hours back to the sanctuary, and that worked out great! We stopped every few hours for food and dog care, then immediately got back on the road with our charges. The Big Red Truck arrived back in Kanab on-schedule and Mary and I both went home for a long nap!

And that's where I've been!


More information on Best Friends' Puppies Aren't Products campaign, including information on the Pup My Ride program

Lots more pictures!

A few videos

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