"Hard cases" - Part 1

Rescues are not all created the same... We might all appear to be the same outside, but I can tell you after almost 32 years in doing this now, we aren't... Besides the different requirements by each one, and what their standard procedures in what is included with each dog or puppy in their care, there is also a different mindset in each one...

Some rescues are 'breed-specific' and specialize in one or two breeds - and even then, don't always take in mixes of their breed... Others so what we call 'cherry-picking'... Taking on only the most adoptable pets out of shelters for a quick turn-around... Some rescues are completely foster-based and do mobile adoptions once a week... Others like TLC are a combination of many things, but TLC is the only full time, volunteer-based rescue in Ventura County... We are open 7 days a week at the rescue shop, and that takes a LOT of energy, sweat equity, money and devotion to make it run smoothly, day in and day out... 

One thing that is common with all of the rescues is that saving these dogs and puppies out of high kill shelters is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle given to you by someone else who has already opened the box and either decided it was too hard to be put together or simply doesn't want it any longer... Sad to say it so bluntly, folks... But that is the honesty of what we do... 

TLC's mission statement is to save one 'hard case' for every four... Throughout the years, we have probably exceeded this far above our 1 to 4 ratio... And on the average we still turn away at least 30 small dogs each day that we know are going to die in all probability... 

It is said you can't save them all and each time I hear that, I mentally say to myself, "Why not?"... Are we not caring and compassionate human beings by our nature deep down inside?... I have no answers, but continue to plug away at doing what we can to march towards No-Kill... Where no healthy, adoptable small dog does not have to die... 

The other thing unique about TLC is that we save dogs and puppies off of the kill lists... Because the number one breed on any shelter's kill list is dogs classified as "Chihuahua", we save the hardest breed to find adoptive homes for... When there is a glut on any market of anything, it is the easiest to find, the quickest to be thrown away and has the lowest value - be it a pet rock or a knock-off fashion piece... 

If we saved the hardest-to-find breeds, we'd have the general public beating a pathway to our door... It is just how things work... 

And a common misconception in the general public is that if they themselves cannot afford the vet care for their pet, and take it to a local shelter, the pet will get the necessary medical care... For the majority of times, this doesn't happen... Shelters are bursting at the seams on a daily basis and their resources (like ours) are always stretched to the max... 

Abby at the shelter being turned in

So I am taking this time here to explain 'hard cases' to those who have asked... Every time I have walked into a shelter or said 'yes' to taking in a dog, I know it is going to be a crap shoot... You hope you have enough information to determine if the rescue has enough resources to resolve any issues - be it health or otherwise - but you don't really know ahead of time... We could return these kinds of situations to the shelter, but that is not what we do... 

Such is the case with Abby... A three month old female Chi we found in a shelter in 2009... Bred to get that damned 'teacup' size in such demand, at first glance Abby appeared to just have case of demodex going on... TLC has had great success with this particular health issue and so it did not intimidate us, nor stop us from saying yes to Abby... 

Abby & Nacho

Once pulled, we discovered Abby had digestion issues as well... A propensity for collapsing trachea now common in the down-sized breeding being done in both the Yorkie and the Chihuahua thanks to the celebrities who causes a glut of production in both breeds... This health issue cause the dog or pup to become reluctant to eat because of the pain associated with it, or to consistently throw up what they eat... Rapidly losing weight is an issue in a 4 pound dog, and they can easily lose 25% of their body weight in a week or so...  

It was almost a daily battle to stabilize her weight loss or gain along with battling the demodex but for a time, we thought we were getting ahead of it... Because vets are reluctant to spay or neuter a dog with demodex because of the issues associated with the health condition, this means as a rescue the dog is not yet adoptable... 

For months we were making trips to the vet's office about every 2-3 weeks, trying to find the 'silver bullet' between the digestion issue and the demodex problem... We considered ourselves lucky when the vet bill did not go over $100 for a visit, frankly... 

Abby with splint

And with all hard cases, you always seem to be right there at the end in fixing everything when something else pops up, and you are back to square one... Abby was coming down a set of doggie steps and did something to her right front leg... Initially the vet thought that they could set it and the leg would repair itself naturally... 

So we went through that episode as we tried the splint, getting it changed every several days, more Xrays to see the progress, etc... 

Eventually the vet decided it was not going to heal properly on its own, but that surgery was required... The initial estimate was $1200 and at the time, I debated with myself over whether I was doing the right thing or not... You can never recoup the costs of a 'hard case' with the adoption donation - we know that... But when you are long over that adoption donation amount, it becomes a case of "we have come too far now to quit" so I authorized the surgery to repair the leg... 

Abby as tri-pod

On the operating table, the vet opened the leg and the growth plate fell out and onto the floor... Later she explained to us that as these breeders breed down and down in size, the bone structure of these small breeds are compromised to point even a mis-step can break a joint or bone...  While on the operating table, Abby's systems started to go haywire and it became simply a matter of stabilizing her to simply save her life...  We had two choices - to either let her die or to amputate the leg and do the necessary things in recovery to help her through... I opted to save her life and remove the leg... The rescue is now up to about $4500 on this one small YOUNG dog that appeared highly adoptable at the shelter visit... 

Abby made it through the surgery and learned to get around as a tri-pede... She had a sweet disposition and dealt well enough with each and every trial she had to go through... 

We finally figured we were now ahead of the it all and the worst was behind us... But the digestion issues came back as did the demodex and Abby spent the last two months of her life throwing up, losing weight, meds and nutrition being switched, gaining back a bit and then regressing again until her body just gave up at the age of about 18 months old... 

Cost to TLC?  Close to $6,000... R.I.P. our dear Abby - you were loved deeply and we are sorry we somehow still failed to save your life... 

Venus's arrival

And that is just ONE 'hard case' of the many we have taken on throughout the years... 

Someone contacted us about a litter of three small Chi mix puppies at a local shelter who had demodex, and by the time we were able to bail them out of the shelter, one had already died from ivermectin toxicity while under the care of a county vet... 

Eros and Venus came to us in pretty bad shape - especially Venus who looked like she was going to lose her right eye... 

Venus ready for adoption

Months later we not only saved her life, Eros and Venus were able to make it onto a transport going up North where there is a shortage of these small dogs and they are HIGHLY desired... 

It is not only demodex or skin issues that land a small dog on a shelter's kill list... Sometimes it is behavioral and they don't get adopted because of aggression, fear shyness or simply because they are just another 'non descript tan Chihuahua'... Such is the case with Sheldon who was SO afraid to look you directly in the eyes we could not take a decent photo of him... 

SCARED Sheldon

Some of these fear shyness dogs are SO afraid of the world and shy, they become targets of other dogs they are around... Their fellow dogs sense the dog is so unbalanced that they must push the dog out of the inner circle or pack... Like we humans do when we see other humans so unlike ourselves - true...

While Sheldon finally learned how to deal with his fellow canines, it was a long leap from the time we found him in a high kill shelter and when he became adoptable, friendly and trusted humans enough to love them... 

Sheldon got adopted in November of 2011, but was returned to us a few months later when the person felt she just didn't have enough time in her life for a dog... Not Sheldon's fault at all, but once again he became homeless despite us being diligent in screening the adopter for their level of commitment...He quickly captured someone else's heart and got adopted...

Sheldon NOW

Fast forward to last month when in April we received a call from the local shelter after Sheldon was turned into them by the adopter... For the third time in his very short life, Sheldon has been homeless three times - and through no real fault of his own - beyond being one of those 'non descript tan Chihuahuas' that flood our shelters in Southern California...

In fact?   Sheldon is still homeless and still up for adoption with us... 

Onto part 2 ~~~