Give the gift of life to a shelter dog....

This year we have two exciting programs going on during the seasonal time... Instead of giving presents to someone you love (or if you don't know what to give them), give the gift of life for a shelter dog... When you make a tax deductible donation of TLC, we will send your recipient a holiday card in lieu of your gift.

Or if you would like to remember a dearly loved pet who passed over the Rainbow Bridge, a tax deductible donation of $100 will put an ornament with their name on the TLC tree... and in turn, help to save the life of a shelter dog!  Help Peanut fill up the tree with lots of ornaments this year!

For more details, see our web page HERE.

Amazing what a month can do...

Progress of the "Hollywood Five" at 4 weeks:

http://tlc-hollywood5.blogspot.com/2011/11/what-difference-month-can-make.html

When horror can be happiness...

At first glance, this photo might just fill you with absolute horror and sadness, but it really is a glance of happiness and joy yet to come... Rooney (whose butt you see) was pulled out of a high kill shelter about three weeks ago... Not only did he he have demodex, he also had kennel cough and was severely emaciated... 

For three weeks, he has barely moved out of his cushy bed... Not even to pee... He'd widdle on himself, lacking the physical strength to walk or move very much at all... Dutifully, he'd allow us to give him medications, syringe feed him to keep up his strength and sit in a nebulizer once a day for twenty minutes... Just hacking and coughing throughout the day and night seemed to sap all the strength out of him... 

Last night, he got up and walked across the floor... We just sat and watched him - totally amazed.... 

Tonight, Rooney heard the feeder being refilled.  He got up from his spot on the blankees, trotted across to the feeder and with his unorthodox manner, proceeded to eat on his own.

Granted, his position is not something we can explain - why the food closest to him was not what he wanted, and choose to perch on the edge like this is remarkable if nothing else!

The feeder sits in a tray because another foster digs through the food in the feeder with her paw, picking out specific pieces she wants... And she can easily empty out the entire feeder and have it across an area 5' away in a matter of 5 minutes or less... So the tray catches her 'discarded' pieces of kibble... 

Maybe it is easier for him to stand like this?

Dunno, but it sure was unique and different!  (smile)... 

And Rooney proceeded to eat until he was full, protecting the entire feeder from any other dog that ventured too close to his side of the kibble...   Amazing stuff... From being so close to death's door and then after three very long weeks, to see him do these things is very heart warming!

We are not so sure the other dogs appreciated Rooney deciding to step all over the kibble before he was done, but they didn't complain too much!

Hence the photos we could not resist taking!  Yep, truly photos of happiness!

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

Canine addiction...

As I think about what tomorrow is and what I am thankful for in my life, I have to say I am thankful that I am addicted to dog rescue... Tonight I was driving home after picking up a few dogs, and I was reflecting not only on the crazies on the road, but just how very lucky I am that I have the ability to rehabilitate dogs, be involved with some really very special people in TLC and that what I do makes a difference --- even if in a small day today for just one dog... 


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Where do all the dogs go after adoptions?

A question commonly asked of the volunteers is
"Where do all the dogs go after adoptions?"

TLC is a no-kill rescue without a kennel or boarding facility.  All of the TLC rescues are fostered in someone's home with their dogs.  And foster moms (and dads) are like gold and diamonds to us - without a foster mom willing to foster a dog, we can't save its life.

The foster moms and dads bring their fosters to one of two mobile locations each Saturday to be shown from the hours of noon until 4PM.  You can always fill out an adoption application ahead of time at our website (HERE) and then come in to meet the dog or puppy on Saturday.

Just what is the 'demo' you keep talking about?

Periodically, I get emails from folks asking why TLC rescues so many "demo" Chihuahuas... "Demo" (or demodex) is somewhat common and we see more and more of it recently, for some strange reason.

You can read the Wiki on demodex HERE, but in short?  We ALL have hair mites - microscopic in size, but we all have them.  We see evidence of them only from what they leave behind --- and usually in dogs with suppressed immune systems, demo occurs (also known as 'red mange').  Small patches of hair loss start and if left without vet care, it can spread throughout the dog's coat and cause sores that bleed eventually.

Fairly common in puppies, it can also occur with the ill or older dogs.  And once these dogs hit the shelters, it is usually the 'kiss of death' for few people in the general public will adopt one.  It is not contagious, but it smells and looks pretty ugly when at its worst.

One of the worst dogs we pulled with demo was BabyLove.  When we first pulled her out of the shelter, BabyLove actually 'sweated' blood when you picked her up or held her.  It did not take that long with the proper medical care - and BabyLove started responding well, picking up weight, growing back her gorgeous coat and eventually found a fantastic furever home!

Recently we were called about a litter of 5 pups we have begun to call the "Hollywood Five" - Bogart, Bardot, Garbo, DeNiro and Bronson.  They too have demo and are responding rapidly with treatment... 

So if you happen to see a dog at a local shelter and it is confirmed demodex, don't turn away - you could very easily be saving that dog's life!