Saturday, December 31, 2011

Dogs & Puppies available for adoption (12/31/11)

 
Dog LOCATION Address & Times
Albert Simi Valley Pets Hope, 1555 Simi Towne Center -Mon/Sat 10A-8P, Sun 11A-6P
Alice Simi Valley Pets Hope, 1555 Simi Towne Center -Mon/Sat 10A-8P, Sun 11A-6P
Ava Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Babe Simi Valley Pets Hope, 1555 Simi Towne Center -Mon/Sat 10A-8P, Sun 11A-6P
BabyGirl Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Bardot Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Bartholomew Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Bear Simi Valley Pets Hope, 1555 Simi Towne Center -Mon/Sat 10A-8P, Sun 11A-6P
Benny Simi Valley Pets Hope, 1555 Simi Towne Center -Mon/Sat 10A-8P, Sun 11A-6P
BlueBelle By appt  
Bogart Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Bonnie & Clyde Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Boots Simi Valley Pets Hope, 1555 Simi Towne Center -Mon/Sat 10A-8P, Sun 11A-6P
Brady Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Bronson Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Butter Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Carmella Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
CookieBear By appt  
Cosmo Simi Valley Pets Hope, 1555 Simi Towne Center -Mon/Sat 10A-8P, Sun 11A-6P
Dale Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
DeNiro Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Dodger Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Domino Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Dudley Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Eli Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Erin Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Evita Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Fanny Simi Valley Pets Hope, 1555 Simi Towne Center -Mon/Sat 10A-8P, Sun 11A-6P
Felicia Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Felix Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Garbo Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Gigi Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Glory Simi Valley Pets Hope, 1555 Simi Towne Center -Mon/Sat 10A-8P, Sun 11A-6P
Gumbo By appt  
Hero Simi Valley Pets Hope, 1555 Simi Towne Center -Mon/Sat 10A-8P, Sun 11A-6P
HoneyBear Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Honor Simi Valley Pets Hope, 1555 Simi Towne Center -Mon/Sat 10A-8P, Sun 11A-6P
Italia Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Jack By appt  
Lemon Drop By appt  
Maddy Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Margarita Simi Valley Pets Hope, 1555 Simi Towne Center -Mon/Sat 10A-8P, Sun 11A-6P
Mojito Simi Valley Pets Hope, 1555 Simi Towne Center -Mon/Sat 10A-8P, Sun 11A-6P
Nacho Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Noodles Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Peanut Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Pearl Simi Valley Pets Hope, 1555 Simi Towne Center -Mon/Sat 10A-8P, Sun 11A-6P
Peyton Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Phillip Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Robby  Simi Valley Pets Hope, 1555 Simi Towne Center -Mon/Sat 10A-8P, Sun 11A-6P
Roma Simi Valley Pets Hope, 1555 Simi Towne Center -Mon/Sat 10A-8P, Sun 11A-6P
Ruth Simi Valley Pets Hope, 1555 Simi Towne Center -Mon/Sat 10A-8P, Sun 11A-6P
Samson Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Shady Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Sheldon Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Sienna Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Smitty Simi Valley Pets Hope, 1555 Simi Towne Center -Mon/Sat 10A-8P, Sun 11A-6P
Smokey Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Sparky Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Stefan Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Tahiti Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Tammy Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Teddy Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
TinyTim Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Tommy Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
WhoDat Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Wiggles Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM
Wilson Moorpark Petco, 742 Los Angeles - Sat., 12/31 Noon until 4PM

Friday, December 30, 2011

Introducing our Timothy!

Allow me to introduce our little Timothy who the foster mom referenced in her posting right before Christmas.  Timothy is about 3 months old and has an eye injury that needed immediate attention by the eye specialist.  We are keeping our fingers crossed the surgery is not needed, 'cause it is $2,000 (and no medical discounts for a rescue either). 

I met Timothy the other day and he is a doll baby... Friendly, outgoing and just a sweet, sweet puppy!


Rescue group in crisis mode after cat euthanized, not treated

Humane Society‎ Sparks Outrage By Euthanizing Man's Kitten Over Money

Daniel Dockery 
 
PHOENIX -- Animal lovers threatened to pull donations to an animal rescue group and the public flooded the agency with scathing comments and calls after a man's cat was euthanized when he couldn't afford its medical care, prompting the Arizona Humane Society to go into damage-control mode Wednesday.  Read the rest of the story HERE.
 

Saturday, December 24, 2011

It's that time of year when special and inexplicable things occur.

In light of the holiday season, I thought I would share with everyone
the email one of our foster mom's sent to all of the TLC volunteers last night:

=================================================

It's that time of year when special and inexplicable things occur.

Bartholomew is like a big brother to Samson. Samson was the baby of his litter
and was sent here to grow up and learn to socialize with other, larger dogs. He
and Bartholomew are crate mates and Bart watches over him all day long.

So it came that this week the "pack" heard a commotion by the pine trees and ran
to investigate. The neighbor was dragging his trash cans to the street and the
dogs were complaining at how close he was coming to "their" yard. As many times
as I apologize to the neighbor for all the barking, all he says is, "It's just
barking!" And so the chorus went on. But someone was missing. Samson looked
around and noticed that his friend Bartholomew was not in the crowd.

Samson left the pack and alone retraced their route looking for his friend but
Bartholomew was nowhere to be seen. Samson did not give up and eventually heard
a faint barking echo near the pool. Samson knew better than to venture near the
big water, but that was where he heard Bart so he climbed up on the deck
anyway...and there was his friend, Bartholomew, standing on his tip toes keeping
his head above water but unable to climb out.

So Samson did what all good and loyal friends do. He sat on the deck by
Bartholomew's side and he barked. He barked non-stop until he finally summoned
help from a human in the house. Bartholomew was scooped out of the water,
bundled into towels and whisked off into the warm, dry house to recover.

Samson does not know that he may have saved Bart's life this week. And
Bartholomew has little understanding of having been saved. But that's because
dog's behave this way by their very nature. Dog's stand vigil by dead companions
or by the grave of an owner. Lassie saves Timmy from the well. Dog's are BORN
loyal and will remain loyal until their last breath...whether we deserve it or
not.

It is cold tonight and Bartholomew and Samson are cuddled together in the fuzzy
bed in their crate dreaming doggy dreams just like every other night. One day
soon, each of them will get adopted by a loving family and they will be loyal to
their new family...just as they have been loving and loyal to each other...after
all...they're dogs...it's what they do...it's who they are.

(By contrast, our cat, were she allowed outdoors, would have watched curiously
as Bartholomew slowly drowned...go figure!)

BTW...out newest TLC rescue is Timothy, a 3 month old chi weenie with a serious
eye injury. He looks and acts like a puppy version of Stevie and so we could not
leave him to his fate at the shelter.  The vet is giving the medicines and bed
rest until next Tuesday to work their magic, or it will be surgery and/or eye
removal. We need one more Christmas miracle ...for little Timothy.

Paws crossed...

Merry Christmas!!!!!

====================================================

If you haven't seen Samson or Bartholomew on our website yet,
here are their profiles so you can put a visual to each of these dogs:


As for little Timothy mentioned by the foster mom at the end of her email, he's been to see the eye specialist yesterday.  If the meds prescribed are not helping, then Timothy will need a $2,000 surgery next week.  So if you are in a giving mood, have some extra to share after all of your shopping and/or are needing a tax deduction before the end of the year, Timothy and all of us TLCers would be greatly appreciative of the help!

Happy Holidays to one and all!
Linda and the TLC volunteers

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Update: BonnBonn

From BonnBonn's furmom:

Thank you so much for the poem.  It made me smile!  I love my BonnBonn so much, she is truly my best friend and I want to believe she feels the same way about me. 

She has a full wardrobe of hoodies (see attached pic), sweaters, vests and coats to keep her warm in the cooler months... sleeps snuggled up with me every night (see attached pic) and goes everywhere with me (see attached pic)... except for work.  She even has a high end carrier that looks like a designer purse!

I just want to thank you, again, for allowing me to be BonnBonn's mom.  There is no greater gift than the gift of love.  I couldn't love her anymore even if she was my natural child.  She will always be my furbaby.... until death do us part.

Happy Holidays to you and yours,

Madreena



Saturday, December 17, 2011

The need for accurate reporting at local shelters...

Why Transparency?
by Maddie's Fund President, Rich Avaizino
"Many shelters say they don’t want to publish their statistics because the organization will look bad. If an agency fears looking bad, something is going on -- perhaps it’s not getting enough funding to do the job well, or it’s not properly supported by other animal welfare groups or the community. But if the organization isn’t getting the resources or backing it needs and large numbers of dogs and cats are dying as a result, shouldn’t the public know that? Don’t we owe it to the animals to tell the community what’s taking place in the shelter system, especially in public animal control facilities?  Not only does the public have the right to know, but once the information is exposed, there is greater opportunity for solutions to be found to reduce the killing. If the community doesn’t know what’s happening, it can’t help."

Read the rest of his editorial HERE and ask yourself if you really know what is going on in the local shelters in regards to euthanasia, numbers of animals being saved, etc.

Update: Gus Luskin taking a break!


TLC dogs & puppies showing this weekend (Saturday)


Dog Location
Albert PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Alfie PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Alice PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Ava PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Babe Pets Hope, 7 days a week 19AM to 8PM, Simi Valley
BabyGirl PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Bardot PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Bartholomew PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Bear PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Benny Pets Hope, 7 days a week 19AM to 8PM, Simi Valley
Billy PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Blondie PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
BlueBelle By appt only
Bogart PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Bonnie (Clyde) By appt only
Boots Pets Hope, 7 days a week 19AM to 8PM, Simi Valley
Brady PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Bronson PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Butter PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Carmella PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Clyde (Bonnie) By appt only
CookieBear By appt only
Cosmo Pets Hope, 7 days a week 19AM to 8PM, Simi Valley
Dale PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
DeNiro PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Diamond (Luna) PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Dodger PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Domino PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Dudley PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Dulcie PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Eli PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Emerald (Luna) PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Erin PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Evita PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Fanny PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Felicia PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Felix PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Garbo PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Gigi (Jewel) PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Glory PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Gumbo By appt only
Hero PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
HoneyBear PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Honor PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Italia PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Jack By appt only
Jewel PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Joey PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Kiwi PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Lemon Drop PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Luna PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Maddy PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Margarita Pets Hope, 7 days a week 19AM to 8PM, Simi Valley
Mela PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
MinnieMoo PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Mojito Pets Hope, 7 days a week 19AM to 8PM, Simi Valley
Nacho PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Noodles PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Peanut PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Pearl PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Peyton PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Phillip PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Rachel PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
ReddyFreddy PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Robby  Pets Hope, 7 days a week 19AM to 8PM, Simi Valley
Roma Pets Hope, 7 days a week 19AM to 8PM, Simi Valley
Ruby (Luna) PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Ruth Pets Hope, 7 days a week 19AM to 8PM, Simi Valley
Samson PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Scarlet PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Shadow PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Shady PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Sheldon PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Shotzi PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Sienna PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Skipper PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Smokey PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Sparky PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Stefan PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Storm PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Tahiti PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Teddy PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Vienna PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
WhoDat PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Wiggles PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Wilson PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM
Winnie PETCO, Moorpark - Sat. - Noon - 4PM



NEWS: SafeHaven takes in rescue dogs

SafeHaven takes in rescue dogs
By Jennifer Moody, Albany Democrat-Herald
Posted: Friday, December 16, 2011 7:00 am 

Staff members at SafeHaven Humane Society don’t look much like Santa’s reindeer. But like Rudolph in the classic Christmas cartoon, they’re doing their best to find new homes for refugees from the Island of Misfit Dogs. The “island,” in this case, is Southern California, where shelters quickly fill with animals facing the equivalent of doggie death row. 

SafeHaven is partners with the Shelter Transport Animal Rescue Team, a California nonprofit that pays for transporting dogs from high-kill shelters in California to out-of-state rescue groups and humane societies. Every four to six weeks, START makes a rescue round, bringing dogs to partner shelters in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. 

The most recent round of rescues brought 250 dogs to Oregon, 40 of them to SafeHaven. SafeHaven became a partner a little more than a year ago and usually participates about once a month. But even before that, the shelter would occasionally send people to California to rescue dogs that stood a good chance of adoption up north.

The no-kill shelter doesn’t have space to accommodate the immigrants — plenty of Linn-area dogs also need its services — so sometimes it can take just one or two dogs. Twenty dogs — poodle, terrier, Chihuahua and Dachshund mixes, including one Dachshund mix with five puppies — made up the latest group, which arrived Thursday. Four more dogs are expected next week, and 16 came last week, although one, a pregnant German shepherd-border collie mix, gave birth to nine puppies the day after she arrived.

Director Chris Storm is confident they’ll all find homes soon. “We can’t keep little dogs in the shelter,” she said. “We had a litter of six today and they’re all gone.” SafeHaven has the capacity for about 30 dogs, or 60 if they’re small and get along. It also fosters puppies. It averages three to four dog adoptions a day, so the new dogs shouldn’t crowd anybody out, said Marti Cersovski, the humane society’s marketing communications manager.

Unfortunately, no similar rescue team exists for cats, at least not that Cersovski knows about. The stray or surrendered cat population continues to overwhelm SafeHaven, she said. 

On Highway 34 just west of the Interstate 5 interchange, SafeHaven is open from noon to 6 p.m. seven days a week Tuesday through Friday and noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Adoption fees pay for animals to be spayed or neutered, microchipped, vet-checked and vaccinated. 

Although it happens only occasionally, Cersovski said, some people who adopt an animal do end up bringing it back to SafeHaven, often saying they didn’t realize how much time or energy was involved. It’s important to be fully prepared for all the particulars before taking on that responsibility, she said. “It’s a lifetime commitment for the life of that dog or cat,” she said. “Especially at this time of year, we want them all to go home for the holidays, but we want them to go home forever.”

NEWS: Animal control plan has benefits, study says

Animal control plan has benefits, study says

San Joaquin County considers partnership with Stockton

Dogs await possible adoption at Stockton’s animal shelter. A new report says a more regional approach to animal control could save taxpayer dollars while boosting officer resources. Some question the study’s accuracy, however.CLIFFORD OTO/The Record
Zachary K. Johnson
STOCKTON - All but one of the seven cities in San Joaquin County have balked at the idea of pooling resources to create a countywide system for animal control.

But a partnership between the city of Stockton and county government could still form the foundation for a more regional approach to animal control that could, from the outset, save taxpayer dollars while reducing the number of stray dogs and cats killed in the county, according to Stockton's Animal Protection League, an animal advocacy group commissioned by the county.
At its meeting this week, the county Board of Supervisors stopped short of voting to authorize staff to develop a joint powers authority with the city. But the board directed its consultant to meet with other animal advocates, to continue gathering information and to come back early in the new year.

"Please all get together and talk this over so we can come to a realistic and compassionate answer," board Chairman Larry Ruhstaller said.

Such a plan could put more animal control officers in the field, offer programs that will help push down the number of animals killed and allow the construction of a joint shelter to replace the outdated and inadequate shelter currently used by the agencies, said Tammie Murrell, director of the Animal Protection League and a former Stockton deputy police chief. "That, we believe, will not only improve services ... but improve euthanasia rates ... and improve the care of the animals," she said.

About $7.6 million would be needed to build a new shelter. Before a shelter is built, however, Murrell said the merging of the two agencies would bring other benefits, including ways to cut down euthanasia through an adoption and foster program, spaying and neutering services, humane education and use of volunteers.

Because of the economy of scale, an in-house veterinarian and a licensing unit to bring in revenue, Murrell said the plan could shave about $430,000 from city and county operating costs that were a little more than $2 million in the 2009-10 fiscal year.

The plan allows for other cities to opt in at some future point. Since August, Lodi, Manteca and Escalon have shown interest in one or two components of a combined plan, but the other cities have shown no interest, according to the county.

Stockton's animal control and animal shelter are part of the Police Department. County government contracts with the city for the shelter. The county's animal control covers unincorporated land - from urban areas near Stockton to the county's rural reaches. Until this year, county animal control was part of the Agricultural Commissioner's Office. Now it is part of the Sheriff's Office.

The league's study doesn't include improvements made since the shift to the Sheriff's Office, said Ann Mooney, field representative for Service Employees International Union Local 1021, which represents county animal control officers. Mooney urged the board to not jump into discussions with the city without accurate and up-to-date information.

The study also drew fire from Eileen McFall, who said the study used systems with sky-high euthanasia rates as models. There are so-called "no-kill" models of shelters that save most of the animals they take in, said McFall, an animal advocate and professor at University of the Pacific.  "We could certainly be doing a lot better."

Contact reporter Zachary K. Johnson at (209) 546-8258 or zjohnson@recordnet.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/johnsonblog.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Yet another reason why Ventura County should be no kill....



Agree with us? 
Send an open letter to the
Ventura County Board of Supervisors
HERE
.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Baby Holly Update.........

(Note: click on any photo to see a larger version)

Two weeks ago, TLC agreed to take on this 5 month old pup found wandering the streets of Torrance... She had a lot going against her - Demodex, Guardia, malnutrition and an upper respiratory infection... 

 

The shelter had named her "Peggy Sue" but we changed her name to "Baby Holly" in honor of one of TLC's hard working volunteers... 

And saving one of these babies is really a team effort in the humane community - from Ric who alerted TLC - to Tammy who transported - to Baby Holly's foster mom and those who support TLC with donations financially... It truly is a team effort!  And these are the kinds of things those donations go to... the hard cases others walk away from and the public will not adopt... 


Two weeks later, Baby Holly has gained a pound and a half of weight... She's learned what it is to be a puppy and to play with others - now that she has the energy to do it... She's also learned to enjoy the daily baths and seems to even look forward to them... 


The 'skull cap' of scab and muck is now gone... It is no longer festering underneath with noxious tissue, decaying and infected... 


The open infected sores are now healed and it no longer hurts her to open her mouth on the sides... BabyHolly no longer shakes her head constantly from the infection inside her ears... 


Baby Holly is a princess at sitting each day for her eye drops after her bath and willing takes her meds... Sometimes she'll even lay a few kisses on her foster mom like she appreciates all the effort to save her life and get her healthy again!

We are still working on removing all of the demodex that had filled her ears, but it is a tedious process that takes time, even with the most patient of dogs (and foster moms)... But Baby Holly sits there and with gentleness, gently the ears are wiped out every day and progress is being made...

And the ears are now standing up - this was a surprise to us for sure!  Maybe because she was so sick, she didn't have the energy to keep them up (?)...


This is one of the most gentlest dogs we have run across for a long time... She never barks, she never complains, she never whines...

Any bit of attention you give her - be it a bath and massage afterwards - it seems she just SOOO appreciates it... She will stand for 30 minutes as you do what you need to do without trying to jump down, move away or do anything but be cooperative!...   There is almost an 'old soulness' about this pup... Could be because she was through so much in such a short amount of time on this Earth, but you get a sense she is happy to just "be", ya know?... Just happy to be...

Her coat is starting to come in well now... She's still got patches where the crust left, but took the hair with it... 

Some of these spots had a few layers deep of infection too, so it was touchy to treat the infections and still do what we needed to with the exfoliatants...  


Overall, it is still thin, but there are no longer any open wounds, nor filled with scabs and hair stuck in the scabs --- so when the scabs left, they took the hair and opened up surface abrasions... This pup was in bad, bad shape and we are so very pleases she has done so well in just two weeks... 


This is what rescue is all about... Demodex dogs are not the easiest saves, but they are probably some of the most rewarding ones we do... 


Now, as far as her eye, we are still not sure what the eventual outcome of that is going to be... As Baby Holly continues to get healthier, the eye seems to not be as clouded over... 

She still has the drops that go in three times a day and shortly she will go back into the vet's for a recheck... Maybe at that time there will be a decision made... We think she has vision in the eye, even if still a bit clouded over... 

Two weeks ago, the eye was completely clouded over and now from this sideways perspective, you can see the cloudiness is centered in just the very center while around it, the eye has become clear... 



She is not in pain however... And she is not turning her head sideways to see, so we are keeping our fingers crossed the eye can be saved with time, meds and TLC... 

But we think the most amazing thing about all of this progress is the lack of scarring on her head... That skull cap was pretty gruesome to see (and smell - YUCK)... 

We thought for sure she'd have scars all across her head for the skull cap of scabs had cracked in numerous places and there was a LOT of decaying tissue underneath it... 

We just couldn't see where it wouldn't be scarred up, ya know?  And yet?  It is now just about as smooth as a baby's bottom!

Amazing, huh?  What a difference in just two weeks with a lot of TLC, the proper meds, good nutrition and time... 

And now we are going to close this entry in the blog with a nice snapshot of Baby Holly in her clean outfit for the day - a bright pink and yellow hoodie that looks like it was just made for her!  What a sweetie this little one is... and she'll be available for adoption about the middle of January once she is spayed.  Are you the very special someone for our Baby Holly?





 





 

OK, I call "Uncle"...

Our sweet Alfie can be found getting along with other small dogs, but he certainly enjoys playing with some of the foster puppies... He has a ton of patience with them for some reason... 

After a wild game today of "kill the duck" and having stuffing all over the place, "Uncle" Alfie and several of the pups crawled into a small spot to take their afternoon nap... 


The stuffed duck was a goner, but their foster mom reports it took her at least 30 minutes to clean it all up... And as a small wad of the stuffing is in the right corner of the photo, she missed some!

Eventually even Uncle Alfie succumbed to a nap... After all, running around after these young whipper snappers can wear an uncle out eventually!

Precious moments...

Sometimes the moments we catch as a foster mom are just too cute not to share... Our Tommy asleep, using another pup as a pillow...


Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Another update - this one is from Gus' furmom!


Fudge - just in time for Christmas!

Our dear sweet Fudge found his furever home on Saturday.  WTG, Fudge! What a cutie pig this guy is!


From his new furever mom:

Fudge is now all settled in his new home with his brothers and sisters; he was a little nervous at first with all the barking about a new kid in the house.

Everybody is now acquainted with each other and he is now just one of the guys.  You are right, he does not bark………………….I like that.

I put a sweater on him but did not seem to like it, maybe it’s not what he is used to.  Did you put any sweaters on him?

Also, all 5 of my other dogs went to the groomer today and tomorrow I’ll be putting Advantage Plus on them.  When is the last time Fudge took a bath and is he wearing any flea repellent?

Last, thank you so much for taking such good care of Fudge; he will bring lots of joy into is furever home and he will be spoiled rotten by us.

Best,
Elena

Update on Zeus (now named "Alex")

Zeus as in pretty sad shape when we found him in a high kill shelter in June of this year.  The majority of his pretty Maltese coat was gone and his skin showed through in various shades of light pink to deep hurtful red.

He worried his foster mom all the time, as she tried to discover the culprit for his massive loss of hair. Eventually we figured out he was allergic to fleas - it took just one flea for him to start chewing through his coat and causing top level skin tissue damage.  And you knew from looking at him, Zeus must be in pure misery and pain once it started!  It would no sooner clear up -- then it would start all over again.



We just got an update from Zeus furmom - he is now named "Alex"...

"I just wanted to share this picture of Alex with you.  Alex likes to lie under the Christmas tree.  I think he loves the tree's skirt and branches over head.  When I came home the other day, he had the skirt in the middle of the room. The skirt was rolled in a ball and he was lying on top of it!  He is such a "love bug".  I think I may need to put him on a diet though; he just loves to eat!  I will bring him by to see you over the holidays!  His coat has gotten very long, but I still find him licking his front legs at times."


And Alex now looks divine as the angelic angel we knew was there all along!  He just needed lots of TLC and a great furmom like Jill to adopt him!

Monday, December 12, 2011

First step for NO-KILL in Ventura County


These are the times I am so very proud of the humane community... The first real step towards 'NO KILL' has occurred here in Ventura County with the opening of SPARC - Santa Paula Animal Rescue Center.

On November 18th, Santa Paula city council considered a partnership with a nonprofit organization (SPARC) to create the first no-kill facility in Ventura County (news article here from the Santa Paula Times).

And on December 9th, the following article appeared in the Santa Paula Times:




Men and dogs...

One of the biggest hurdles we have to overcome in rehabilitating rescue dogs is their fear of men.  Not all rescue dogs have this fear, but were I to make a list of the items we work on the hardest, I would say this is at the top of our list (and then potty training, canine manners, etc.).

The majority of the humans in dog rescue are women.  Dunno why that is, but I am sure Freud followers could explain it to us intellectually.  I just know that is it, and not why.  And I believe most of us rescuers 'drag' our hubbies into our passion (some totally unwilling to be a part of the experience).

So when we find our husbands, partners, BFFs, etc. willing, it is like icing on the cake of life for us.  I 'assign' certain saves to my husband, Paul, from the moment I get the dog out of the shelter.  I will bathe them, feed them, take care of them --- but I don't cuddle, work with them, give them treats or goodies, etc.  Everything GOOD to GREAT in their lives will come from Paul, and that is the only way I have found we can begin the process of overcoming a fear of men.

I myself am blessed (and I know it) - once Paul realized only HE could do what WE were attempting, he jumped into it head first and has done some very good saves.  Dogs that would hide in a corner or slink away from the very sight of him eventually ended up spending their evenings in his lap watching TV until they found their furever home.

It doesn't happen overnight, and I wonder if that is why some male counterparts of rescue families get irritated over the passion.  There is no instant gratification to be had, for it takes time to establish that trust and a dog to overcome the fear.

Maybe part of this generation's downfall is that we all grew up watching Lassie on TV.  She was ALWAYS the best of the best, and we all wanted a dog like Timmy had, ya know?  At least what we saw on TV as we laid on our bellies in front of it, engrossed in the weekly adventures of Lassie and her family.  So in our heads now, we see "dog" and 'think' Lassie.  Sadly, it does not always work out that way.


TLC is very lucky in that most of our husbands support what we do, and many actively engage in rehabilitating hard cases, or adding 'added value' with extra socialization of dogs... some even work as hard as we women do to create an adoptable dog from one that was destined to be euthanized because they were not perfect - or a Lassie.


One such great guy is Rob, DeAnna's husband.  Rob, like Paul, goes out of his way to work harder on the dogs that have men-fear based issues.  I can't say if Rob got to the realization like Paul did --- that only HE can affect this change, but Rob certainly has had some major success stories already.


As you can see from a recent photo, football watching does have its perks - lots of belly warmers, lap warmers, companions to pick from, huh?






And rescue is not just for women, guys.  In TLC, we have three men that come every weekend, foster dogs and work just as hard as we women do!  Joe Sr. and Joseph (father and son team) along with Gherry (who is currently fostering our two blind puppies - Peanut and Butter) are all valued members of the TLC volunteer team.  



We could not do this without all of the volunteers and fosters in TLC - men and women alike - so allow me to say thank you to those who support what we do!


As always, 
Linda


P.S. For more on the topic of rescue dogs and the fear of men:



Adopting a Rescue Dog Front CoverThis free book guides you through the first seven days of Adopting a Shelter Dog. With seven simple lessons, the book helps you ease the transition from shelter life to home life for you and your pup. You can download your copy here.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

You can't replace one dog with another......

Everyone in our area has become aware of the little munchkin "Minnie" who was lost on October 9th.  Each and EVERY dog or puppy is just so special and unique - it is just simply impossible to replace a lost, missing or deceased loved one - canine, feline, human, whatever. And all of the TLC volunteers and fosters who go into the local shelters or watch the websites have been diligently on the lookout for little Minnie, to no avail. 

For the past few weeks, every time I saw a missing Minnie poster, I would think to myself, "What would I do should I lose one of my girls?  What an incredible amount of sadness I would feel - would I be able to overcome it were I forced to walk in these folks' moccasins?"  And it seemed that every time I was outside my home, I would see a Minnie poster and the thought process would start all over again.


There is quite a bit of difference when your canine BFF is growing older and you start to slowly accept the realization that one day they will be gone over the Rainbow Bridge waiting for you.  Or if your loved pet becomes ill and shows no hope of recovery.  But a sudden and unexpected loss seems to strike our psyche harder because we had no time to prepare ourselves for it.  The loss becomes profound and one way of dealing with the grief is to 'let no stone unturned' until we drive ourselves into exhaustion in the hopes we have done everything possible that could (or should - or would) be done.

These are all thoughts that have percolated inside my pea brain for about six weeks now.  

As a side note to all of this?  In rescue, the warning bells go off inside our head when we meet up with someone still in major grief, and seeing one of our dogs up for adoption, immediately wants to adopt it "because it looks just like our dear, sweet Molly who we lost recently". We humans are visual creatures and fall in love based upon a dog's appearance much faster than we do their personality, and I think I worry more about a placement when it is based upon someone trying to replace their lost dog with another that looks like them.  For us in TLC, it is all about the dog and people should fall in love with a dog or puppy from the inside out for it to be as successful as possible.


Yesterday the owners of Minnie came to our adoptions event and brought us one of her photos.  We seem to become 'the place' for Chihuahuas, so it was only natural that we be contacted.  My heart had long ago gone out to Bill and Penny, although I had never met them in person before, but I could SO relate to what they had been going through for the past 2 months. I felt like I already knew them as odd as that might sound.

They spent quite some time with us yesterday at adoptions and each time I looked at Penny, I would see puppies chewing on her hair, her hands surrounded by little ones as she leaned into an Xpen or if she was sitting, one of our dear TLC dogs or puppies in her arms.  This is the kind of medicine you can't bottle up and sell, ya know?  There is something about puppies and dogs that reach inside of us on a level that is indescrible, so I won't even try.

I do know that dogs sense it within us on a certain level and despite the naysayers who say dogs can't "feel", I know they are wrong - dogs DO feel and WILL try to comfort, the same as a momma will do to her pups.  Granted some dogs do it better than others, but all dogs have the potential to feel our feelings.

And one of our baby foster mommas (Susan) has the unique knack of instilling unconditional love and kindness in all of her fosters.  It is a gift and not everyone has this, but Susan has a PhD in unconditional love.  As I watched Penny interact with the puppies in our adoption Xpen, my thoughts turned to one particular puppy who was a show stopper and very unique little munchkin - Lexy.

Not just in appearances, but in personality, Lexy has caught my eye at the past two adoption events.  She has a distinct knowledge at an early age of who she is and what her place in this world should be (or will be if she has anything to do with it!).

You can almost spot this in some of these little ones at a very early age - they don't have a clue how little they are but they have the heart of a lion and the love that is unlimited for those they have picked to be their 'very own'... this is our dear, sweet Lexy.

Taking a risk, and not wanting to hurt, I put Lexy in Penny's arms at adoptions.  If nothing else, her small size and loving nature could do nothing worse than to be comforting to Penny.  You absolutely cannot replace one dog with another, but you can refocus yourself onto another dog even if you have lost the love of your life, ya know?  In dog training, we use this practice all the time - rechannel and exchange... give a puppy a toy and he'll drop your favorite pair of shoes without the need for a scolding or harsh tones.

It was a good feeling to see Lexy immediately start working her magic.  Cuddling up, she reached upwards and place a puppy kiss on Penny's chin.


Later on, one of our volunteers caught this beautiful photo of Lexy sitting on Bill's lap... almost as if Lexy was listening to the pearls of wisdom Bill was sharing with her!

This is the 'juice' that keeps us rescuers going... and through all the hard times when we think that we haven't made a dent in the huge number of adoptable pets that show up in shelters and will be put to death if they can't be adopted in a certain time frame.

Each successful 'furever' home is another building block in our determination to make a difference.  And there are times our efforts seem futile, without reasoning and apathy would be the easier road to travel... turning away so you don't have to know or feel.  I believe each TLC volunteer yesterday felt rejuvenated as they watched Bill and Penny interact with many of the puppies and dogs at adoptions (and we had 62 dogs and puppies there, waiting for their furever homes, so there was a LOT of that good positive energy and magic going on!).

There is not replacement on this side of the Rainbow Bridge for sweet little Minnie, but it was with a great deal of internal good feelings when I was told Penny and Bill were going to adopt our sweet little Lexy.  They vow to never give up looking for Minnie, but they will have the love of Lexy along this journey now.


For you see?  Lexy is truly a unique little one that might have had a calling beyond even her own knowledge... in Lexy's case, she does not 'wear her heart on her sleeve' but on her side for the world to see.  And if I know Lexy?  She will do her utmost best to give Bill and Penny all of the unconditional love and kindness at her command, plus her internal strength and character to be sweet, funny and special - all wrapped up in one!


Season's Greetings to one and all!
Congratulations to Lexy, Bill and Penny!
As always, Linda and the TLC volunteers

P.S.  Please help Bill and Penny in their quest to find Minnie:

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/oct/19/couple-searches-for-lost-dog/?print=1


http://www.classifiedads.com/pet_lost_and_found-ad8096128.htm