Help a Dooley Out!

One of my friends in the group, Becky, is going through a really hard time with one of her perma dogs.   One of her dachshunds, Hazel, is exhibiting paralysis in her hind legs.    This, unfortunately, is something that can happen with these long dogs and is called going "down in the back."     There's a very good chance that Hazel will recover but for the time being this sweet girl needs A LOT of Becky's time, energy and attention.      Hazel can't do anything really for herself so Becky is losing a lot of sleep and focusing almost 100% on Hazel.

Right now, Becky has an awesome foster dog named Dooley.   He's a Shar Pei/Shepherd mix and is really a stunning dog.    He also happens to love sitting in chairs.  :)   He's been trained really well by Becky - sit, stay, etc, etc.    He's tolerant of a number of dachshunds in her home as well.    Dooley even attended a training "boot camp" because he was showing a little possessiveness of his humans when company came over.    He has really overcome that behavior, but will need to be watched for a bit in his new home to see how he interacts with visitors.  

Becky really needs someone to take Dooley while she focuses on Hazel.   Because Dooley is a bigger dog, I can't foster him at all.  I wish I could but I know my neighbor would really be calling the health department if she saw a dog bigger than a cat in my house!   This seems to be a tricky time to find a foster home due to the holidays coming up, homes being filled with company and people going out of town.

Hazel

Becky is one of the best people I've ever met in rescue.    She will do anything she can to help a dog or a person out that needs it.   She seems to gravitate toward dogs in high kill shelters that aren't "perfect" looking.   In fact, they often have to overcome some hair loss or some other issue while in her care.   When Dooley came to Becky he had bald spots all over him - he was quite a sight.   But after a lot of love and care, Dooley's coat came back so beautifully he actually needed to be groomed and have his fur shaved.

If you can possibly foster Dooley - or even better Adopt Dooley - please contact me.    I will get you in touch with Becky who really, really  needs some help.   And if you can't help out with Dooley, do us all a favor and say a few extra prayers for Becky and Hazel.

Not So Happy Holidays

One of the saddest things I learned about when I got into rescue was the fact that Federal holidays often speed up or increase the numbers of animals that are put to sleep.    Whether it's 4th of July, Christmas or Thanksgiving Day animal control facilities are generally government entities and are not open on holidays.    Due to the fact the building will be closed, a "clearing out" of the animals takes place the days leading up to a holiday.    Therefore, there's also a scramble by rescue groups to try and pull as many dogs as possible.    It just doesn't seem fair to know the majority of people will be celebrating Thanksgiving this week, but an extra number of animals will lose their life this week because they were unlucky enough to be in a pound before a major holiday.

Today an email was circulated about a local pound that needs a commitment for 11 dogs and 9 cats by 4:00 pm tomorrow - Monday November 21st.     And then another 7 cats and 3 dogs by 4:00 pm on Wednesday November 23rd. 

This is a cat that has until 4:00 pm tomorrow to be tagged for rescue.    This picture breaks my heart because she's obviously so sweet because she's rubbing up against the cage:

2 year old Female Cat

Here's a dog that has the saddest eyes, and he has only until 4:00 pm tomorrow as well.

Boxer Mix - 1 1/2 years old

It just sucks - no way around it.

Rest in Peace, Daisy

Yesterday I got the news that one of our most memorable fosters, Daisy the Pug, had to cross over the rainbow bridge.    Daisy was a puppy mill girl and she was pulled from the one and only auction I ever attended.  I was there with Michel, and they brought out this very old pug for auction.    Nobody wanted her, so we were able to bring her home.    I remember Michel telling me at the time there was no way we were leaving there without her.     This was the same auction we brought TRex home from.   I'm not sure if it was their shared history or what, but TRex was in love with Daisy from day one.   She was always his little girlfriend ... or not so little.  :-)   

A short time after I brought Daisy home she went into heat.    In my  mind, there was something so inherently wrong for such a senior lady to be in such a state.   For goodness sake, didn't she deserve some rest and relaxation in her senior years?   Because of that, her spay surgery and dental were greatly delayed and we had her all to ourselves for longer than most of our fosters.    Joey and Daisy became quite the pair - they loved each other truly.    Daisy is the dog that gave JTK his love of pugs.    When we were at adoption events, Daisy didn't even have to be on a leash if she were near JTK.   She'd just lie right next to him.

Even though Daisy was a senior, (and a little bit round) she was much faster than you'd ever  imagine.   I can't tell you how many times we cracked up at the speed with which she would tear around the back yard.    One vet tried to tell us she was totally blind - she certainly had vision problems but she wasn't blind.    She had no trouble at all following JTK wherever he went.    I remember even explaining that to the vet - how can she be blind if she follows Joey with her eyes wherever he goes?    One of my favorite things was when Daisy did decide she wanted to go somewhere, she really didn't care what or who was in her way.    JTK started doing the Hulk voice when she got in those moods and would say "DAISY .... SMASH"    It made me laugh so hard.   And it was soooo appropriate.

Daisy was adopted out once to a crazy family and she was finally returned because she would lie under the teenage son's computer and unplug his system.   He didn't want a dog gate up because that was too inconvenient, so this old girl came back to us after a couple of months.    And she was a much more difficult dog when she came back - it's always so disheartening when you think you haven't done your best for one of your fosters.   Now I understand it was just the path Daisy needed to take in order to find her wonderful, forever home.

One day, one of the best people in the world, Barbara came in and adopted Daisy.    Barbara is really an angel - she's adopted so many of our dogs and she often gravitates toward the ones that likely wouldn't be adopted by anyone else.     Barbara has kept in touch with me since adopting Daisy and I have heard nothing but fantastic news.   Daisy was the best dog she and David had - she was the only one who could be trusted to roam through the house unsupervised - she was housebroken - she was mellow - she was sweet - she was perfect.   In fact all of the pictures in this blog were emailed to me by Barbara.

Daisy started having some troubles in the past couple of weeks, and in true Barbara fashion - there were a number of trips to the vet and even to Veterinary Specialists up here in St. Louis   (Did I mention Barbara lives in Rolla, MO?)    Barbara spares no expense when it comes to her furry family members.  Daisy was diagnosed with some neurological issues and within a short time an xray showed a number of growths in her lungs.     After that, she quickly went downhill and couldn't even stand the last time Barbara took her outside.     What made things especially heartbreaking is that Barbara and David had to say goodbye on Thursday to another one of their dogs, Minnie.

Today Barbara and David came up today to visit with our group.   I'm so thankful that Daisy had such a wonderful home filled with two loving people to spend the last days of her life with.    Daisy will be missed but she will always be loved.