Little things...

Being a dog rescuer is hard - if it was easy, everyone would be doing it... But every once in awhile, something happens that just gives you a MAJOR boost of affirmation that what you are doing is the right thing... 

Tanner from CRF Solutions called me a few weeks back and asked what kinds of things that the rescue were in need of... I laughed and asked how much time he had, and then gave him a long, laundry list of things we are consistently buying which then takes from the monies available for vet bills, one of our largest expenditures... 

Yesterday, a few of us TLC volunteers along with Momma and Snookers were asked to come to their office and pick up the results of their donation drive... We were overwhelmed with the generosity of the CRF Solutions' employees... 

And here is where the 'little things' come in... One of the CRF Solution employees had donated a can of milk replacement - something expensive but yet life-saving... 

As it turned out, on Monday evening we got one of those "911" contacts... A momma dog had been killed and left behind three small pups just days old... Usually I have at least one nursing mom in the TLC nursery (always the best solution) but currently there is only one nursing mom (and she's nursing her own three pups and two from another mom's litter who was not taking great care of her pups)... 

I put out the plea to the TLC volunteers Monday evening and one of the volunteers stepped up to bottle-feed the litter... Another rescue took the big, blonde pup in this photo, but Carol from TLC offered to take in the three itty bitties in the top of this photo...  You can tell by the size of this person's hands just how small and fragile these three itty bitties are... 

As it turned out (and a fluke), I had picked up a can of the replacement milk last Saturday as a back-up plan for me one nursing mom not doing a good job... So I had that can of replacement milk to hand over to Carol ahead of time... 

But then to find a second can (and you go through this stuff like crazy when you are bottle feeding) in the CRF Solutions' donation was SO heart warming yesterday... Someone thought enough (or knew) what we go through, trying to save these hard cases and it just touched me so much, I knew I had to sit down this morning and blog about this... 

When the pups are this young and you don't have a nursing mom, they have NO chance at life if you don't have a volunteer willing to feed them every 2-3 hours around the clock for several weeks until they stabilize... There are only three volunteers in TLC that will take on bottle fed litters, in fact... These are so small, they are being fed with a syringe and a squirrel nipple attached to it... Pups don't know to wet and poo either at this age, so the bottle mom needs to take care of this as well... And keep them warm... And clean... And eventually, socialized and healthy... It is a MAJOR undertaking and not always successful... Mother Nature does a far better job than we humans do!

But again - thank you, Tanner, and all of the employees of CRF Solutions for your very generous support and donations to TLC.  Please thank them all, but especially the person who donated that replacement milk... Please share the photos of these itty bitty boys that will immediately take advantage of their donation!

Sincerely,
Linda, Director, TLC

If you adopted a puppy from us at TLC, these photos might be hard to look at... But on Giving Tuesday, we thought you might like to see where it begins and why we work so hard throughout the year in TLC... 

Dedicated to No-Kill in Ventura County, we pull from Ventura County Animal Services (VCAS) and fill every available foster slot we have... A dog gets adopted?... We go right back in and save another dog's life... If they have a pregnant mom or mom with pups, we always take them despite the difficulty and much greater expense to save this kind of rescue...

But we also have a commitment with another shelter that if we have room,  and they have a pregnant female or a nursing mom with pups, we will do our best to save both the mom and pups... We do not pull dogs older than 6 months from this shelter, always giving priority first to VCAS in an effort to support No-Kill in our county... From this shelter, my dear Momma came almost 4 years ago and I could not have asked for a better dog... She too came VERY pregnant to us and delivered 9 pups in my home office shortly after arriving into our hands... 

If you adopted a puppy from us in the past four years, it is very likely it came from Delano, the same shelter we got Momma from... 

Footnote: The mindset in the humane community is to spay and neuter, and if the mom is pregnant to spay/abort the puppies... TLC has never believed in this practice... We have also felt that if we had spayed/neutered puppies available for adoption, the general public is more likely to adopt instead of going to the Internet or to a backyard breeder to buy an intact puppy...  As all of our puppies are spayed or neutered prior to adoption, we know our puppies are not contributing to the epidemic of homeless, unwanted pets flooding into shelter by unwanted pregnancies... 

I am not saying our way of thinking is common and/or the norm... Most rescues do not want to take in pregnant moms or moms with nursing litters... They usually take the puppies and leave the mom behind... 

The mortality rate of the puppies is high because the mom might have gotten pregnant in poor health, and may not have good nutritional standards while being pregnant... Litters of puppies are fragile and it takes a great deal of care to insure all of them will make it... 

But when you see (as we have for the past 3-4 years), where these moms are coming from and the dire circumstances they are in, it is very hard for us in TLC to say "No" when asked by this shelter to save a mom and her pups... 

If a mom comes into this shelter and she's pregnant, she's going to be in an open kennel run with other dogs... 

This is the high desert and it gets COLD at night... With limited funds and virtually no walk-in traffic, these dogs have a hard time getting adopted, but a pregnant mom?... It is highly likely she is going to have to deliver her pups in an open kennel run -- then attempt to keep them warm and fed under some almost impossible situations... 

So this is where your donations go when you donate to TLC... We save these moms with their pups, give them warm, dry, loving homes to grow up in and with good nutritional needs being met.... When they are old enough, we start their puppy shots and at 8 weeks, we spay or neuter both mom and the pups... 

These moms are not delivering in a puddle of water or having to protect their pups from other dogs walking about, thanks to your support of our efforts in TLC... We, as a small rescue without taxpayer dollars cannot afford to do this kind of rescue without the community's support and donations... Last year's vet bills were over $100,000 and we are always behind the eight ball, trying to do a lot with very little...

So on this Giving Tuesday, we ask you to dig deep and donate to TLC so we can continue the kind of rescue work we do... 

Donations can be done online at our website - http://www.tinylovingcanines.org/donate.html

or you can donate through our Wall of Love on our Facebook page.

With your help, you insure puppies survive, thrive and find their own furever homes!  Thank you!

Linda, Director, TLC

Support - we can't do it without you!

Support - we can't do it without you!

Without a doubt, we could not save dog and puppy lives without the financial support of the community... Adoption donations seldom cover the amount of money we have invested in any dog, especially if there are high vet costs involved in getting them back on their feet and ready to be adopted...

The easiest way to join the cause of helping to save dog and puppy lives is to set up a monthly tax deductible donation via your credit card through our PayPal account... And there are just SO many ways to do it!

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• I am giving up one Starbucks a week to help save a dog's life! Donate $20 a month 
• I am donating enough to do one puppy's most needed puppy vaccines to help prevent them from getting very sick as they grow up! Donate $48 a month 
• I believe in spaying and neutering your pets to help in the cause of No-Kill in our county.  Please speuter a rescue animal this month on me! Donate $60 a month 
• Save one dog a month for me! Donate $100 a month 
• Feed a nursing momma dog through the 8 weeks of giving her puppies mommie's milk!  Donate $167 a month 
• Give a senior dog the gift of extended life - please do a dental on a senior dog for me!  Donate $252 a month 
• Goodwill Ambassador - Save 5 dog lives a month for me! Donate $500 a month 
• I want to be a TLC Guardian Angel!  Donate $1,000 a month 

Select your level of commitment with the drop down menu below and then hit the button - it is just THAT easy to help save a dog or puppy's life each month at TLC!

Monthly donations

Giving up Starbucks once a week : $20.00 USD - monthly Donating a puppy's vaccines : $48.00 USD - monthly Donating a spay/neuter : $60.00 USD - monthly Save the life of 1 dog a month for me! : $100.00 USD - monthly Feed a nursing mom for 8 weeks : $167.00 USD - monthly Give a senior dog the gift of extended life with a dental : $252.00 USD - monthly I want to be a Goodwill Ambassador : $500.00 USD - monthly I want to be a TLC Guardian Angel : $1,000.00 USD - monthly

Tax Deductible

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TLC is a 501c3 nonprofit, registered with both the I.R.S. and the State of California as a charity (26-4639832).  As such, your donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of our tax code and regulations.  Seldom do we have enough funds to cover all of the expenses TLC incurs to save these dogs and bail them out of high kill shelters, get their medical needs attended to and just simple board and care.  Any and ALL donations are GREATLY APPRECIATED!

$1,500+ Chihuahua

Wanna meet a $1,500+ Chihuahua?  And yes, you could own (i.e. adopt) one without being Paris Hilton!

Meet Barnie... He's a cute little munchkin of about 4 pounds... Just as cute as cute can be... Isn't he just darling?

That's what we thought too when we pulled him out of Camarillo about 10 days ago... 

Barnie looked like he needed to gain a few ounces, was a tad bit grumpy, but otherwise a highly adoptable little Chi that folks go for... Probably a purebred from his conformation and picked up as a stray from Oxnard, he was just not reclaimed by his owners... 

Holding him, we knew we'd need to get him neutered, micro-chipped, etc... Just part of what we do normally as a rescue... Back at the rescue shop, he arrived and promptly threw-up... Then trying to poop, we noticed a huge mass underneath his skin at his bum while he strained and strained to no avail... 

One of volunteer vet techs came in and looked at him... "Linda, this dog has to be seen by a vet - NOW".... So off to Conejo Valley Animal Hospital we went and they were gracious enough to get Barnie in as an emergency case... 

Upon being examined, blood tests, the vet thought we were looking at immediate surgery, but for the night, she got him comfortable...   $356.70 ...  

Three hours later, Barnie leaves with us halfway stoned out of his mind (the pain in his rear end was that severe)...  

And off to another volunteer's home (Nurse Kathryn) who agreed to overnight him, then off to see our vet at Caring Hands the next morning... 

Unable to do a lot with Barnie awake and in such great pain, Dr. Betty did the best she could until he was given a sedative... The decision was then reached to do anesthesia and exploratory examination... She felt that we were dealing with compacted fecal matter in his lower intestine... In the meantime, Barnie lost his very bad teeth in the mouth - it is all nice and healthy now and comes with a cute pink tongue that hangs to one side for the camera (free of charge!)... $325.01 ...

So here Barnie is, still seeing purple elephants from that surgical procedure... Noticed the glazed look in his eyes?... Still cute as cute can be, huh?

Final diagnosis was that Bernie's hernie needed to be repaired... A long surgery, Dr. Koss undertook it on Tuesday, September 23rd... Five days after getting his mouth squared away from all of the rotten teeth... Now his mouth is still sore, he can't strain to poop and his bum is just as sore as sore can be... $613.12...

Poor little guy... 

He's probably had this condition all of his life and Nurse Kathryn has been diligently taking him back and forth to Caring Hands as needed during his recovery period of time... 

But because of the stitches and repairing the intestine (plus being neutered), this little guy should be as grumpy as grumpy can be - he's not, surprisingly so... His recovery period will be two weeks and he is making great progress... 

He's got a great nurse, for sure... 

And that hair will grow back in and the bum will not be nearly as swollen as it was right after surgery... Facts are, Barnie's tail was facing one way and his bum was facing another... Can you imagine how much pain this little one has been in probably all his life?

But just as important is that we don't walk away from the medically hard case, even if we don't know them going on... You don't see that in an adoption donation when you adopt... We don't put a price tag on the dog because of what we have invested in them... 

Barnie's vet bills and after care is just about over $1,500 now and it has bought him a healthy life and vet care he should have had LONG ago that the previous owner did not give him... The $200 tax deductible adoption donation won't even come close to what was needed to get him healthy and ready to be adopted... But that is what we do, and where your donations go... 

He will be coming up shortly for adoption, and we want to make sure the right person adopts Barnie 'cause he's extra special and very much loved... Are you the right person to adopt Barnie?  If so, please fill out an adoption application at our website!

If you would like to donate towards Barnie's medical bills, you can do that on our website as well HERE... We can always use donations and they go right out on the next dog's life we are trying to save!

Barnie sends you his love and thanks the TLC volunteers and nurses who have seen him through this difficult part of his life!

Thank you for recycling!

Thank you for gathering up your clean recyclables for TLC.  Today Paul and I sorted through about 3 weeks of recycling and when done, it was about a full truck bed.  Once taken to the recycling center, enough was recouped to save another dog's life!  
$121.48

The 'Big Bucks'

A few weeks ago I was driving through a fast food joint and the gal at the window taking my money gave me a second look and said, "I know you... you work at the rescue shop in the mall"... To which I replied, "Well, I don't work there.  I am a volunteer, but yes, you've probably seen me there... I'm the Director."...

Expecting the next 'usual' question or comment ("I have a dog I am trying to get rid of" ~or~ "What kind of dogs do you have?  I'm looking for a...."), I was absolutely 'gobsmacked' as my British friend would say!.... The response to my statement?

"What do you do with all that money you make?"

HUH??? Double HUH, as a matter of fact... 

First of all, I don't make a salary - in fact, none of the five members of the TLC Board of Directors make a salary... And what donations we do get (and NEVER enough) go directly towards saving dogs' lives, providing for their care, keeping the electricity on at the rescue shop ($1200 to $1800 a month), cleaning supplies, etc... This doesn't even include the enormous vet bills we incur because TLC does NOT walk away from the hard cases... 

But perceptions are reality for the general public... And I have begun to think we should create an album of the hard cases we have taken in and gotten healthy, then found furever homes for...  We don't kill or ignore the older, sickly or behaviorially undersocialized dogs that end up on kill lists because the general public won't adopt them or other rescues pass them by... 

Four days ago, we took on Alfee, a very sweet and nice Lhasa who is about 10 years old...  Lhasas have an average lifespan of about 15 years but many have lived on to be 20 years or older... So to put this in perspective to a human, at 25 pounds, Alfee is about 35 years old in human terms... 

Originally adopted as a pup from Ventura County Animal Services in 2005, he was surrendered back to them in March of 2014... 

We do not know the circumstances surrounding his surrender, but I can only believe the owner must have loved them deeply because Alfee is VERY well socialized - likes everyone and is good with everyone - humans, kids, other dogs, etc...

The only thing I can fault the previous owner for is that Alfee was matted, matted, matted... sigh...

Maybe the owner fell on hard times because Alfee has not seen a vet in 2-3 years... And I want to believe that the owner just could not afford to have the tumor on his lower jaw removed... 

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But when I learned of Alfee being back at Camarillo with this medical issue, I could not just ignore him and pass him over... This is just NOT what we do at TLC... We will never get out of the 'red' at TLC and into the 'black', but what do you do?  Leave a great, friendly dog with a lot of living left to do just die because of a human's circumstances and/or decisions?... That's just not 'doing the next best right thing'... 

So, Alfee came to TLC and then onto our vet for an evaluation... His blood work came back PERFECT and he is in great health according to our vet...

Now to raise the money to get this tumor removed and sent off for evaluation... We have a foster willing to take care of Alfee as he recovers for two weeks after surgery... And we are sure he will cause someone to fall deeply in love with him - he is already as sweet as honey butter, so can you imagine what he will be like once he can eat properly and is not longer in pain?

If you'd like to donate to Alfee's surgery, you can do so at our donations page online... If you'd like to say some prayers for him, the surgery will be done on Tuesday (March 26th) if everything goes as planned...  

So, I say to the lady slinging burgers, "THIS is where the big bucks go!"

Sometimes you just do the next best 'right' thing....

One of my New Year's resolutions this year was to "Just do the next, best 'right' thing"... And I have been pretty on track with this mindset so far, although I hear that most resolutions are broken before the of January!  (smile)...

Yesterday I drove to San Clemente and during those two hours down and two hours back, it was a great time to do a lot of thinking about things - beginning with the reason for my trip!... For those that know me well, driving is not my idea of fun, but as I do own a quad dually, I periodically will make drives to pick up large donations...

Delca Corporation had been kind enough to offer some cat litter boxes to those rescues who were willing to come and pick them up... And although TLC does not rescue cats, these covered litter boxes make great whelping areas for our teeny tinies... So when the offer came across the Internet, I put up our hand to get some... And then I asked two other organizations if they were interested and agreed to make the drive for them...

As it turned out, there was not enough to go around for all three organizations and because I had said I would do the transporting and had carved out the day already (after the spay run and dropping off the recycling at the recycle center), I decided I would still make the run to San Clemente from Simi Valley... On the way down to San Clemente, I had already decided to split up the pallet between the Simi Valley Spay & Neuter Clinic (who run our county's TNR program for feral cats) and VCAS (Ventura County Animal Services)...

Thankfully, Flynn of Delca Corporation was able to 'drive me in' to the warehouse location... The guys there were able to break down the pallet so I did not have so much wind resistance and with my jury-rigging the cargo netting, we arrived back in Simi Valley safe and sound!

This is how I see rescues and shelters working together in a rescue coalition in our county... Each one helping out the other one when they can...   You just simply do the next, best 'right' thing - you do whatever it takes to save a homeless pet's life unless it is illegal or immoral... And that is our mindset at TLC...

And we at TLC got a bonus too!... Flynn from Delca Corporation threw in a couple boxes of doggie treats (which our dogs loved) and two boxes of displays... Our furbabies are lovin' the new toys in there... Yeah Buddy!... What a nice added 'icing on the cake' besides just the good feelings I got driving home...

Yep - ya just gotta do the next best right thing and it all works out at the end!

Savin' lives and earnin' free doggie love!
Linda

Where does your money & donations go?

People sometimes ask us where their donations go... It is easy to quickly say 25 vaccines run about $300 (and puppies alone get 3 sets of vaccines) or a box of microchips is over $200... Or that our electricity bill each month is always over $1,000+... 

Someone told me last week I should actually post photos of some of our expenses so folks could actually see for themselves the kinds of monies TLC puts out to take care of these 'last chancers' in order for them to find their own furever home... 

While this is not a typical food run because we needed to replenish our Vetricyn wound treatment along with the ear and eye washes we use routinely.  

But is not that far off from what we spend every 10 days... So deduct about $100 and you'll see where your donations go to three times a month!   And you don't even want to see our vet bills!

This is why each and EVERY little donation means so very much to us...

THANK YOU for supporting No-Kill at TLC!

Major shout-out to GS troop 60683!

Tonia and Girl Scout Troop #60683 have been big supporters of TLC and the cause... The girls came in faithfully and helped us socialize the Yucca Valley dogs we saved from the horrible hoarding situation... 

And then they gathered a HUGE amount of donations from our wish list... And it was Christmas in May when they brought all the donations into the rescue shop... It tickled me later when I was putting away a bottle of fabric softener so I just had to post this!

WAY TO GO, TROOP #60683 AND THANK YOU!

BIG THANKS!

BIG THANKS and appreciation goes out to Teri C., a supporter of TLC for many years.  Recently she found a rebate on Hill's Ideal Balance dog kibble for up to $12.99.  And as Unleashed sells the bag for $11.99, she bought a bag, brought it to the shop and then applied for the refund... 

Talk about a deal, huh?  Help to save a dog and provide food, but it really doesn't cost you anything but the time and effort to buy the food and send in your receipt.

In case you'd like to do the same thing, this is where the rebate info is located:  http://www.hillspet.com/ideal-balance/ideal-balance-dog-food.html#5  and the actual form is here:  http://www.hillspet.com/pdf/en-us/IB_DOG_REBATE_2013_v2.pdf

THANK YOU, TERI C...
OUR DOGS LUV YA
FOR YOUR SUPPORT
AND EFFORTS IN
SAVING THEIR LIVES!

The young die early

We are CONSTANTLY asked "Why so many Chihuahuas?" at the rescue shop and we always respond (pretty much) the same way - "Because TLC concentrates on the small dog breeds that are being killed at our local shelters or on tomorrow's kill list... "... I myself add another comment to this - "These are all dead dogs and puppies walking that you see here - every one of these little ones was scheduled to die..."

Some people shake and shudder, express disgust or horror and then eventually work their way around the circle in the rescue shop and leave, leaving behind the horror we TLCers deal with day in, and day out.

The general public believes if they take either a mom with pups or just the pups to their local shelter, they are insuring these canines live... It couldn't be further from the truth... Under California law it is LEGAL to kill any animal that cannot be spayed or neutered and then be adopted... Shelters do not have the capabilities to set aside a place for a mom to stay, give birth or to raise their young until the litter can be spayed or neutered.  A litter without a mom must be bottle fed, and the mortality rate is very high despite anything and everything someone (or a rescue does).

This litter was taken into the San Bernardino shelter and killed on Saturday, May 11th.

According to the email I got,  "We look at this box of tiny puppies, their eyes not even open yet, and we ooh and aah and delight in their cuteness and innocence. They are adorable, sweet, and have their whole lives ahead of them...or not. In reality their lives have already ended thanks to a cruel and inhumane policy recently put into place at the increasingly deadly San Bernardino City Shelter. In what could be called their most callous, hateful move to date, shelter supervisors have declared that they will no longer allow staff or volunteers to contact rescues to save underage puppies or kittens dumped at the shelter without their mothers. If a rescue is present at the time the babies are impounded the rescue can take them, but if no rescue is there the puppies or kittens will be taken to the back and immediately killed."

This is REALITY, folks...

At TLC, we always take in any mother pregnant or with a litter and will find or make room because we know two things - 1) That mother didn't ask to be pregnant and it is through the stupidity of humans she is in the situation she is and 2) If TLC has enough time, space and money, these puppies and mom will grow up to an adoptable state in 2- 2 1/2 months, be spayed or neutered and fulfill the constant demand from the general public for puppies instead of adopting an adult dog that more desperately needs a furever home and has a greater chance of being left behind and not adopted.

It is simply fulfilling the law of supply and demand, and we hope by having puppies available for adoption, we will lower the inbound volumes of puppymill puppies being shipped into our state once a week from the 10 puppymill states around the country.

So the next time you walk through the rescue shop and leave without putting a few coins in our donation box.... Or ignore our plea for financial help to do what we do, remember what these little ones were like before legally they were killed on Saturday...    

Recycle for Rescue - Update

Recycle4Rescue

With the recycling efforts of the past 6 weeks (and especially all of Carol's contributions to the cause!), we were able to take enough recycling to the center to actually save the life of one dog!

That means for all of the plastic, glass and aluminum cans that WERE going in the trash for the past 6 weeks but were brought to us, a little wee's one life was saved... Rexa was spayed, her vaccines were updated, she received her rabies shot and was microchipped... with the $171.26 we received back from turning it all in!

Simply because folks took the time to collect their clean recycling and drop it off at the rescue shop, we were all (as a community) able to save that dog's life!... Pretty amazing, huh?   Almost like the Phoenix rising up out of the ashes...

So next time you get ready to throw that plastic water bottle into a trash can, think about a face or two that peers out at you from our website... It was from your recycling efforts we were able to take in this owner surrender, get her up to adoptable standards and find her a furever home!

You can bring your clean recyclables to the rescue shop at 1555 Simi Town Center, #587, Simi Valley, CA seven days a week.  Six of those days, my white pick-up quad dually will be parked in the front of the rescue shop and you can simply leave them in the back of the truck.  On Sundays, just let them know at the rescue shop you have recycling and then drive it around to the back.  If you need a receipt for your recycling, you will need to come into the rescue shop though!

THANK YOU FOR THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX AND RECYCLING FOR RESCUE!

Luv up on a pup!

For those of you all who can't adopt a pup, we can always use donations of things we use alot of we take care of the litters that come through TLC's doors and onto furever homes... And it is a tax deduction for you as well!

Next time you are in your favorite pet shop doing for your own little furbaby, think of TLC and then drop it off at the rescue shop as you pass by... The puppies will LOVE you for it and we thank you in advance!

Cow hooves - odd thing (and maybe some folks are offended) but for puppies cutting their tiny teeth and chewing on everything in sight, this is an ideal tool to get the teeth through quickly and in turn, the swelling and uncomfortable pain is lessened.
Pitty pads as we call them... at times we go through a lot of these.  We're not picky - we'll take any brand or amount!



Puppy chew toys - At a certain point of being chewed on, we throw them away once they have sharp edges.  So we go through a lot of puppy chew toys around here!

Puppy collars - We prefer to use the snap kind simply because they are safer with rowdy howdy puppies.  Sizes from 6" up to 10" are the ones we use the most of.

Wet puppy food - We buy this by the case!  And then some!  We like Wellness Puppy in the can, but as long as it is a high quality wet puppy food, we'll take it!

Milk Replacer - We buy this in the large can and our nursing moms get it as well, so we go through a lot of this...

Again, even if it is one can of wet puppy food, we deeply appreciate the help and donations.  It is not unusual for us to have more than one litter at the rescue shop at any given time and besides being a LOT of poop and piddle, that is a LOT of puppy supplies that are used up all the time!

Donate!

TLC is always on the virtual edge of closing down due to financial issues... When adoptions are down, our electric bill doesn't become lower... Vet bills need to be paid for sick dogs in our care... Each pregnant mom or mom with pups come with a large, upfront expense to the rescue - long before those cute, adorable puppies are available for adoption!

The easiest way to insure that TLC doesn't fold and go out of business is to set up a monthly donation to the cause... It is automatic once a month and comes out of your credit card... 

For five less Starbucks' coffee lattes a month (or $25), you can support one healthy adult dog in our care for a month... We are No-Kill, so a dog will stay with us until they find their furever home (unlike county shelters that can legally kill at 5 days or 10 days if there is an owner)...

For $50 a month, it will vaccine, microchip and license one dog in our care, which is part of the TLC adoption package...

For $100 a month, you can bailout and transport a dog from a shelter - saving their life on the spot!  In a year, you yourself can save 12 dogs... think how great that feeling will be!

Sponsor one week's food bill at TLC for all of the dogs in our rescue - $250 a month is not affordable for every one, but if only 4 people did this once a month, you'd allow us to spend that $1,000 for so many other needed items!

A monthly donation of $500 will save one mom and her litter of pups - we'll even ask you to name the puppies after those you love or have lost!

Donate $750 a month and you save one 'hard case'... a dog that was certainly going to die because of their hardship issues... 

Donate $1,000 a month and keep our electricity on and our doors open... Without this, our community loses TLC's ability to do what it does and if we falter in these cause, where do those dogs, pregnant moms and moms with litters go?

And if you can afford to donate $2,000 a month, we periodically are able to send healthy, up-to-date and vetted dogs either up North or the East Coast on transports where these small dogs are highly desired and get adopted immediately!  Between the transport cost, getting health certificates done and crate cost, we can't do this very frequently because of the money we simply don't have laying around when the opportunities present themselves.  But you could be responsible for 10 dogs going onto long lives in other parts of this country that are begging to love one of these little ones.  Pool your resources as a group at your company or church to make one transport a month happen!

Set up your monthly sponsorship below - we guarantee you these dogs and puppies will thank you for saving their lives!

Sincerely,
Linda and the TLC volunteers

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Sponsor 1 month's care : $25.00 USD - monthly Chip, license, vaccinate 1 dog : $50.00 USD - monthly Bailout & save 1 dog : $100.00 USD - monthly Sponsor 1 week's food bill : $250.00 USD - monthly Save a mom & her litter : $500.00 USD - monthly Save 1 "hard case" : $750.00 USD - monthly Sponsor 1 month's electri bill : $1,000.00 USD - monthly Pay for 1 transport : $2,000.00 USD - monthly

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Amazing donation received....

This donation left all of us TLC volunteers speechless and humbled.  It began from a few comments left on someone else's FaceBook page about us, and a TLC volunteer noticing it.  This might seem like a small pile of donations, but this kind person ordered $250+ worth of cleaning supplies from our wish list and had Lowe's deliver them to the shop today.   For the majority of the items, this is a week's worth of what we buy to keep the shop clean, the dogs' blankets washed and nice, etc.

For the at least daily complaint from someone in the general public about the smell at the shop, this was a major morale boost in the arm to us.

Let's face it - dogs smell.  But I will trade this 'living' smell hands down any day to the smell of dead dogs' carcasses at the back of any shelter after their euthanizing for the day.  And every dog in the TLC rescue was destined to die for one reason or another.

We run the shop with a very limited amount of funds and volunteers' energy and willingness to come in and help.  Receiving this today can't erase the hurt you feel from someone coming in and being rude, but it shows my volunteers that people DO care and support what we are trying to do here!

Thank you again, Annette Ferrara, for this massive donation and uplifting us all with your generousity!

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.