59 and counting....

Last night as I was driving home from adoptions after a very LONG and tiring day (up at 3AM and finally calling it a day at 7PM), I was thinking back about the day... How many other people are as lucky as I am?....

Once a week, I get to spend the day with some of the NICEST people... Old and young, I get to see a lot of ladies (and a few gents) come together without a thought of getting paid, a day FULL of hard work and with no other rewards than knowing they are part of a movement to save puppy and dog lives... Yeah, sure - you can just about always count on people showing up if there is a paycheck involved, but the time and energy these folks give up comes not from anywhere else but their heart....  ♥

Today is my birthday and I am adding one more year to my 'official' age... At 59 years old now, I truly believed I would be retiring from rescue 20 years ago 'cause by now, we as a people would have stopped killing adoptable dogs in our shelters and pounds... But as I was (still) reflecting on growing older, I realized that in less than 4 months from now, our county would have gone No-Kill five (5 - yes - FIVE) years ago...

What an EXCELLENT birthday present to give an 'older-than-dirt' lady... Five years of not killing nine of out of ten dogs that walked through their doors...

Over five years ago, I used to physically sick Monday evenings because I knew the next day (Tuesday) was kill day at Ventura County Animal Services (then known as VCAR)... And that any dog I could not save and get out of there, was a dead dog early Tuesday morning... No matter how many times I'd plead for a foster that week and pray for that dog to be adopted by someone over the weekend, there were some dogs that I absolutely failed despite my very best efforts... Those dog faces are still the ones I see at times in my nightmares...

And five years later?... Monday evenings I no longer get nauseated... I don't FEAR Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays any more... In fact, this past week several of the VCAS and TLC volunteers sat at the same table at Sutter's Mill for a great fundraising dinner... Now, just how SPECIAL this memory is, huh?... Something that no one can take from me and I will have forever as long as I live... Thank-you, Donna and Barry, for committing VCAS to No-Kill in my lifetime!...

My husband and I are not wealthy... We are not even 'comfortable' and live paycheck to paycheck like everyone else does... But the love of dogs and doing rescue has 'paid' us back in memories and unconditional love that even the wealthy billionaires in this country don't have... TLC is fast approaching the 3,000 mark of saves, but what numbers don't show is the special cases and not easily adopted sweethearts that have passed through our hands and onto their own furever homes... That never shows up in statistics but it sure shows up in heartbeats and precious memories...

Yesterday, despite the threat of rain and overcast skies, there was a beacon of hope and promise that came to adoptions... A dog, thrown into an industrial trash compactor (pregnant) to have her litter inside and the first miracle was that no one pushed that button or threw in heavy trash on top of them... Feral, but not aggressive, she would not (or could not) leave the trash compactor and her puppies behind, so that is how she showed up in rescue - when brave souls climbed into the trash and hauled her and her litter out...

Her name is DeMara and we don't know how long she and her litter of pups were in that trash compactor... But when I got her, I could encircle her waist with my two hands, thumb-to-thumb and finger-to-finger... Feral, but not aggressive, she would unwillingly submit to being touched by human hands but by her body language, you could tell it was not something she was comfortable with...

Second miracle came along when her pups were weaning and another foster in TLC stepped up to allow her to dry out and start becoming socialized... Those two months brought this beautiful dog from a skin-and-bones skeleton to a plush and healthy, young adult female... Working with DeMara, she went from a 'void, no personality' dog to a dog that looked with interest at a human... It took two months, but oh my, what a big change....

And the third miracle of this dog's life?... Unexpectedly we had to switch foster homes for DeMara... Most of us in TLC foster but few of us have big dogs... I asked Lydia and her husband, Neil, if they could just foster for two weeks... And the switch occurred last Saturday at adoptions... DeMara sat, 'plastered to the parking lot' at PetSmart as she waited for her new foster mom... New sounds? New people?  New dogs?  DeMara was apprehensive and on edge... But in my mind?... She'd gone eons in change already...

Yesterday, this beautiful dog came back to adoptions... And in just a week? What another unbelievable change~!!!... Her third miracle in her lifetime and one of the sweetest birthday presents I have had... DeMara was no longer plastering herself to the ground, but actually going up to strangers and new dogs she did not know... She came up to me as I was eating my breakfast and allowed me to feed her half of my sandwich - something she had never done before to me despite being her foster mom for 6 weeks... She actually sat at my feet and took my pieces of breakfast sandwich from my hand~!!! ... Gentle, gentle too...

At one point, I had one of those 'heart shudders' you get when you realize just how much of a miracle you are looking at - right in front of you... A dog that had NO chance, nor her pups... To have three miracles in a short amount of time and to come from being feral to being a family dog... 

I willingly gave up most of my sandwich... Maybe at the beginning because I could not believe my eyes... But at the end, because I was SO enjoying the vision of her taking food from my hands...

THESE are the kinds of birthday presents I get, not just once a year, but year round... I listen to folks that work in offices and at companies, complaining about the folks they work with and for... I could not have a better job... It is hard, it is emotionally and physically draining, it pays nothing (and in fact, you pay to have it in numerous ways... smile...), but oh, how lucky, LUCKY I am...

Each day is like Christmas and every week is like having your birthday all over for the non-material 'presents' in memories and heart twitters you get... 

Yes, indeed... I am a VERY LUCKY 'older-than-dirt' lady... 

Hugs,
Linda

P.S.  DeMara at her foster mom's home with Bettie (also a rescued and now adopted homeless dog).  Bettie Davis is a Chihuahua mix with a beautiful personality... DeMara is a Jindo/Shepherd/Lab mix, sitting behind her.

Another "+" for a Pitty!

Pit Bulls get such a bad rap that I try and point out good things that happen with this breed... At the end of 2012 (the day after Christmas), TLC rescued a VERY pregnant Pit Bull with her 6 month old daughter... The report came into

Delano Animal Services that there was a 'mean and vicious set of Pit Bulls in the lemon grove by my house'... A TLC volunteer drove to Delano and saved these two - the mom was originally named "Lemoncello" because of the grove... Her daughter got adopted out almost as soon as we got her spayed and up to date on shots... 

Lemoncello (to be renamed "Momma") had her 9 puppies two weeks later in the VERY small office in my home... It was a 14 hour effort with all family members chipping in to keep the whelping area dry and clean as Momma delivered her pups... One pup we almost lost and were it not for my husband's efforts with resuscitation and care, she would not be a healthy Pitty today... 

Momma's puppies all became adopted right away and my volunteers kept turning down each adoption application we got on her... They wanted her to become a 'shop dog' and eventually she started coming home with me each night from the rescue shop... She's smart... REALLY smart... Each challenge I throw at her, she achieves and exceeds my expectations... 

Now that you have her back story, let me share some more with you... 

Not only has Momma traveled to Vegas to attend a Best Friends rescue conference, she has been an ambassador of the breed to MANY young children and folks afraid of this breed... She'll lick you to death given half a chance... A few of the TLC volunteers she absolutely LOVES, and spotting them from way off, she will get totally nuts with excitement and overjoyed with the anticipation of lovin' up on them... 

We called on Momma to save a little puppy's life who needed blood transfusions.... I rushed this pup to our vet's office, convinced he would die before I got there with him and Momma... 

I put Momma in a 'sit-stay' and she stood while they pulled blood from her artery in the neck and transfused the pup... As God is my witness, that pup was prostrate and near death... But in less than 10 minutes, he was up and howling, jumping around like all puppies do... The vet techs could not believe they did not need to muzzle Momma to get the blood drawn and then even more surprised with Momma's blood saved this pup from dying... 

Now, let me share the fourth 'save' Momma has done... This 'mean, vicious Pit Bull' that she is... (being sarcastic here as I truly believe Momma knows she is helping other canines and people get over the bad rap Pitties get)... 

A little over a week ago on Saturday, August 27th, one of the TLC volunteers let us know that her dear Fredo had been admitted to Conejo Valley Animal Hospital in severe straits... 

He had some red blood-like bruises on his belly and blood tests confirmed that he has very low counts on platelets (14... and they admit dogs with under 70,000 for ER care)... Fredo was actually bleeding out internally... 

At the time, they did not really know what was wrong with Fredo and were doing everything they could to save his life... They were treating it very aggressively and he continued to deteriorate... 

Getting no better, the next day I suggested that Momma could donate blood to Fredo on the hope it would help... Eventually on Tuesday, August 30th, a blood transfusion became literally his last hope and we rushed Momma over for the donation of blood... Again, she was great and well-behaved... I truly do think she knows she is doing something good for other dogs...  I really do... 

And Fredo is a SWEET Schnauzer mix... Full of love and young - he's only 4 years old!... Very much loved by his fur-parents and has always received the best of care... 

That afternoon they transfused only half of what was drawn from Momma and Fredo started perking up... He ate the fresh chicken his mom had brought for him... 

Diagnosis? (per his mom)

Fredo has an autoimmune disorder that causes Thrombocytopenia which causes his own body to destroy his platelets. There is no known cause. It usually goes undetected until it becomes life threatening. Usually in younger dogs it's hard to find because they don't get blood work done as often. They admit dogs with low platlets at 70,000 and he had 0. He's really lucky to be alive. He has bleeding in his GI tract because of Meds or that the platlets can't clot the bleeding. Once in remission, he can start to be weaned off the Meds slowly and monitored closely within 6mo-year. It might come back "with a vengeance " but we are not going there yet. 

Two days later on September 1st, according to his mom -

"Fredo has improved significantly!!!! The vet said they are having a celebration in the lab because he has 104,000 NEW PLATLETS!!!! Thanks to Momma for buying him some time and new medications he might be able to come home tomorrow! He's not out of the woods yet, but this is the best news we've had in 5 days. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.

And on September 2nd, Fredo was well enough to come home... He's on tons of meds and needs to take it easy of course... Even just moving around slightly,

our muscles do these little mini-tears, causing micro bleeding and if you don't have platelets or your body is not making them, the body's natural system cannot clot this mini-tears.

I have now joking referred to Fredo as being a 'Schn-itty' having been infused with Momma's blood (her mom was a American Staffordshire and dad was a Bull Terrier, according to the DNA we ran)... 

We continue to pray and wish for good thoughts for Fredo... 

BTW, Fredo's mom 'gives back' by doing all of the gorgeous photos of the dogs and puppies we rescue these past several years... And the TLC volunteer group is very much a family, extended and large, but all of us pull together when one member or their furbabies are in danger... I am grateful Momma has such strong, rich blood and she readily is willing and able to donate blood to other canines in need... 

So the next time you see a Pit Bull, and immediately think bad thoughts of the breed, consider how many of these noble dogs are giving back ~~ and in BIG ways ~~ to others and the community... 

I know Momma 'gives back' to me every night as she listens to my day and gets her pats and cuddles... 76 pounds, but tons and tons of heart and love for everyone she meets... I wish everyone would get these 'Momma blessings' that I do!

Love ya, Momma!  ♥♥♥ Thanks for saving another dog's life! ♥♥♥

Rescue Juice

As I sit here about 4AM, listening to the rain coming down in buckets outside, I think about all the homeless dogs that are still out on the streets - bunkered down in some nook trying to stay dry and out of the rain for the night - or still in shelters tonight... 

Momma lays at my feet, all nice and dry... Fiesty is laying by her side, curled up on a blanket... They are safe and dry, living in the day and maybe a bit of tomorrow in their dreams... 

The house is nice and quiet - a time for me to think and get a start on the paperwork that has become my 'day-off' routine... But my mind continues to wander back to the homeless, unwanted pets that are still out there on the streets or in the shelters... What an awful existence they have until they are found, rescued or saved... 

I wish, after all of these years in rescue, I could understand the human species... How they could so easy throw away a dog or puppy like yesterday's newspaper... 

I talked to someone yesterday who asked if we could take in their dog because they were moving... I asked why they picked a new place that didn't allow them to bring their furry family member, and they replied they did not know... 

How do you 'not know'?... Would you leave a child behind because you decided to move somewhere?... Your new place only has one extra bedroom and you have two children - so you leave one behind at a neighbor's or on the streets to fend for themselves?...

Momma has just taken one of those big, deep sighs that only 'wanted' furry family members have... She rolls a bit to her side and stretches out, touching a part of Fiesty's arm... In turn, Fiesty's paw reaches out so very slowly and touches back... A 76-pound Pitty and a 3-pound YorkChi... 

And I realize that God is (once again) speaking through my furry family members --- asking me to take today - one day at a time - and continue the journey of No-Kill in my generation... He chooses to give me these 'Kodak moments' to remind me that we cannot save them all... And that we will continue to do more than most... But that I too should stay in the 'today and a bit of tomorrow'... 

I want to share a beautiful picture, and certainly not because I am in it... Those who know me, know how much I dislike photos and the limelight... Yesterday a wonderful couple came into the rescue center and fell in love with one of our little pups who had just come out of my nursery and up for adoption yesterday... 

Jelly (the pup's name) had taken on the care-taking role of her bud she'd been in the shelter with... And Peanut Butter (her bud) had just gotten adopted 30 minutes prior... Jelly was finally able to take on her own life and look for a furever family... This couple walked in, and the mom gravitated towards Jelly, who seemed to immediately relax in her arms... Hubby came to the educational corner of the rescue center and sat down - Jelly shortly thereafter fell asleep in the comforting circle of their bodies on the couch... 

This is what we rescue folks call 'rescue juice'... It is the 'nitro' we get injected with when we see one of our dogs find a great, furever home... Daily we rescue folks see the dregs of humanity and the inhumanity towards these precious, tender souls?  Well, it wears down on your soul eventually... Most of us old-timer rescue folks burn out and retire, believing we will never stop the killing of healthy, adoptable pets in our lifetime... 

And then it happens... that shot of rescue juice 'sunshine' streams through a heavy bank of rain clouds... 

And it regenerates you to plow on and save another life tomorrow!... 

Thank-you, Jelly and your new fur parents for the beautiful moment you all shared with me and the other TLC volunteers yesterday!... 

Love and hugs,
A long, happy furever life... 
Linda

Rescue Juice - Garth!

We LOVE to include the successful adoption stories - it is what we TLC volunteers call the 'rescue juice'... It's the stuff that keeps us going when things get really tough or hard, and we question why we are still trying to stem the tide of killing adoptable dogs... 

So here is your rescue juice dose of the day from one of adoptions recently:

Garth with his new BFF, Norma!

"Here is a picture of Garth with his new and exclusive human, my 93 year old mother, Norma.  (I'm on the right with my 15 year old doxie, Doodlebug). 

"Garth immediately attached to mom and adopted Doodlebug as his BFF.  He allowed me to clip him, removing the goatee and trimming all but his legs, ears, eyebrows and handsome mustache.  

"Norma has always had a dog during her life.  Garth is the FIRST to be allowed to sleep on her bed!  

"Garth has trimmed down and muscled up - loves racing around full speed.  He now lives on a ranch property, so he can race at will and not be endangered by cars, bicycles or whatever.  

"Thanks to TLC for the perfect addition to our family!

Musings from a rescue director....

Last night, I laid in my bed with my cuddler, Momma... She's a good cuddler and she'll even cuddle with an OMG Chihuahua.........!

There is something very relaxing about this nightly ritual... Gives me time to rethink my day and then think about what I need to get done tomorrow, the next day, etc... I'm sure some therapist could have a field day with this ritual... Momma stretches when you stop petting her or scratching... And it nudges you to start again - especially if you are deep in thought about things from the day... 

I digress... Last night, I was thinking about where I have been, where I am right now and where I want to be in the future... When I reflect back on some of my past work, I can get myself overwhelmed 'cause I never expected to accomplish some of the things I have... And as I journeyed around the mental hallways of my mind, I thought just how downright happy I am in SO many ways... 

I'm not wealthy... We are like most folks - we struggle every month... And with running a nonprofit small dog rescue for the past almost six years, even when there is a bit extra in our bank account, I can usually feel that a dog needs this or that much more than I personally need a few extra dollars... I know a few people who I consider 'wealthy' and sometimes?... I'm not so sure they are ever really, really happy... 

Yesterday, our rescue took in four 4-week old pups that had been thrown into the garbage (really)... The pups are now safe, clean and will go on to live furever lives... I thought about that person's soul who felt it was 'OK' to throw four lives away like that... What kind of home life did they have growing up to treat life so casually like that?... You can throw out yesterday's newspaper (actually, recycle it), but you just don't throw away life/living into the garbage... If you do, there is something wrong with you... And I felt sad as I thought about that person, but happy that when I had tough decisions to make in my lifetime, the majority of them were good ones... 

I had been contacted by someone wanting to surrender their dog 'because we are moving and the new place does not allow dogs'... And as I thought about that email last night, I was reminded of a conversation that I had had with one of my volunteers... 

She and her husband always favored BIG dogs and rented... And although she admitted it was not always easy to find someplace to rent that would allow her to have her furbabies, she always did... As I thought through this aspect last night, I thought to myself how many folks I interact with that have my highest respect for their level of integrity and for doing the next best right thing instead of taking the easy way out... 

My mother used to always say that saying - "Tell me the kinds of friends you have and I'll tell you the kind of person you've become"... And it is true - if you surround yourself with people of integrity and those you truly respect, life is just SO good and grand... If you can push out the negative people and energy, life is just so much easier to live each day... Last night I could not think of one person in my life (that I am close to and consider a friend) that I am not proud of, respect and consider a positive force in my life... I mean, just how cool is that?...

Maybe it is just being able to cuddle with a rescued dog that was set to die because her owner did not spay her and she was pregnant that can spawn happiness as I drifted into sleep... 

Maybe the positive force of saving a dog's life is such that it can bring you real happiness as you reflect upon the day's problems, solutions and joys... 

This is REALLY something to consider when you next look for happiness and are trying to decide if you yourself are really happy, ya know?

Update on SnuSnu... (aka Rescue Juice 102)

Time for that magic dose of Rescue Juice that keeps us rescuers going... The moments that tug at our heart strings and regenerates us to keep on fighting the valiant fight for No-Kill in our county... We took an old timer named SnuSnu and having seen our vet, opted to find him a long term foster instead of euthanizing him... So I put out a special plea... 

A kind-hearted Sim Valley resident, Cindi, stepped up and offered to foster SnuSnu... This morning, she came into the rescue shop at Simi Valley Town Center before we opened and met SnuSnu in person... 

The TLC volunteers on shift all have been gushing about the unbelievable interaction between SnuSnu and Cindi this morning... 

And these are folks that have a LOT of hands on experience with dogs... Volunteers who have seen a ton of human interactions and the exchange between dogs and unfamiliar humans they have just met...   

SnuSnu absolutely MELTED into Cindi - the first time we have seen that since we pulled him out of Camarillo shelter... SnuSnu absolutely curled into her body and was truly happy, happy, happy!

THIS is the stuff 'Rescue Juice' is made of... When we save a dog's life and see we made the right decision...

Thank you, Cindi, for opening up your heart and home for this precious little guy!

Rescue juice #101

We have something in TLC I would like to write about today... Being a rescuer is a tough gig, even on a good day... But periodically things happen that are like a shot of adrenaline, an injection of nitro or has to be like riding a rocket ship to the moon in a fantasy, ya know?... I call it 'rescue juice' and with an occasional 'shot' of it, it gives you the motivation to keep trucking away at doing rescue - through the bad times, the losses, the heartbreak... 

I started the numbering system at 101 'cause I KNOW there are many, many incidences of this in the almost past 5 years... And as with 'Linda Logic' at its finest, I'll eventually fill in all of the gaps... ...

Last week, Camarillo had a VERY pregnant Doxie come in and when contacted, I said we would take her in... I did not know where the world I was going to put her 'cause we fosters and the rescue shop are pretty full right now... But as a lady friend of mine tells me, "There is always room at the table if someone is hungry" so if there is a dog in need, we will figure it out... 

Early in 2012 when TLC first took over the location in the Simi Valley Town Center, we were blessed to have a very nice lady come in one day and ask if we needed volunteers... 

Carolyn not only continued to volunteer, but she took on the task of organizing our volunteer program and start up the dog walker program... Eventually, when her husband was out of town on business, she'd come in more frequently and we'd see her just about every day... 

Carolyn took on numerous 'hard case' fosters for TLC and was also part of the small team that did 'round-the-clock' care for a small 3.5 pounder that was adopted, returned to us (close to death) and we struggled for 41 days to bring him back to good health... We lost E.T. but the bond that Carolyn had with TLC became one that had no boundaries or limits... 

Late in 2012, her husband's company moved them to Flagstaff, they sold their house and moved to Arizona... But Carolyn continued to stay in touch with us and an active, if long distance, volunteer with TLC...  And as I was scrambling to find a foster for this pregnant Doxie, I took a great leap of faith and asked Carolyn if she'd be willing to take this on... 

You see?... Carolyn is a retired registered nurse and a person whose heart is as big as Texas when it comes to our rescues... She's adopted three of the TLC saves and I couldn't ask for a better nurse for our dear, sweet Emma!  

I was over the moon when Carolyn let us know that she and her husband (Larry) were driving in on Friday to pick up Emma and then leaving Sunday to return home... I watched the weather all day Friday, fearful about the nastiness of it and knowing they were on an 8-hour 'guardian angel' drive in from Arizona through it all...

And then I started praying that Emma HELD ONTO THOSE puppies until Monday (tomorrow!)... (smile)...  And this is one VERY pregnant momma!... Already a low rider, it does not make much difference if she is standing up or sitting down... ♥

Friday night, many of the TLCers met together at SoupPlantation and had dinner together after a tour of the shop by Carolyn and Larry... We are SO organic at the rescue shop, things change all the time and there had been a LOT of changes in the past year!... 

Carolyn was pleased at our progress, and that makes me feel very proud of Team TLC... With the day-to-day grind of running the rescue shop, we volunteers sometimes forget where we were 'way back when' and how far we have come in a very short amount of time!

So this morning, VERY EARLY, Emma, Carolyn and Larry began their long drive back to Arizona to have the puppies, be spoiled and loved beyond belief!  Thankfully, one of our Super TLCers (Arissa) was there to gather things up and help Carolyn get Emma situated for the long drive...

Once the puppies are 8 weeks old, Carolyn and Larry will bring all back, we'll get them speutered, chipped, etc. and then they will go up for adoption... 

As I type, Emma is still enroute with Carolyn and Larry, but I just had to finally get off my lazy butt and start the 'Rescue Juice' series now... As things on end up on my 'to do' list, they get pushed aside for the 'gotta do NOW' things... This has been a long term goal of mine - to start sharing what we rescuers really do behind the scenes to save these dogs' lives... It takes beyond a community to save one dog's life and at TLC, I am so very, VERY fortunate to have found some of the best volunteers EVER!

Stay tuned for updates about Emma and her travels here on the blog!

As Always,
Linda

P.S. You can always keep up with all the goings on at TLC by using the label system we have going on.  Below this post you will see Emma's name - just have to click on it... Or if you want to follow other dogs, or read specific topics like 'hard cases' click on that topic in the cloud to the right.