Angels do live among us - Pepi

Lifeline 4 Paws have taken on Pepi's surgery financially... And it couldn't have come at a better time!... Donations to nonprofit charities have virtually dried up as the economy sagged, and his surgery promises to be expensive... At least for a small of a rescue as we are...

We went ahead today and got Pepi neutered so that he could recover from that while we get ready to do the FHO in a week or so... Normally males just bounce back the same day after being neutered, but maybe because he already has so much pain in his hip joint, the neuter has shown to be painful for him and we've been doing extra cuddling this afternoon and tonight with him... Poor guy!

If he is this sweet now, just imagine how sweet once he will be after all this pain is gone!

Puppies...

The puppymillers and backyard breeders geared up just in time for Christmas like they do every year... Puppies are arriving in the shelters faster than we can find them homes... Every weekend, people are walking out of petshops with little bundles of fur that will show up in the shelters a few months from now when the novelty has worn off and the responsibilities become too great...

We are NOT supporters of giving puppies as Christmas presents and feel it is the WORST time of the year to add a dog to your family... Between the craziness of the holiday season, the stress of trying to get everything done and the impulses that arise at this time of the season, we beg everyone to give SERIOUS consideration to adopting a puppy at this time of the year...

This is a great page to read through while you are considering the prospect of a Christmas puppy - The best present EVER... It has a 28-day countdown to get ready for adding a puppy to your life, home and lifestyle... At TLC we have quite a few young dogs that are no longer puppies, but are potty trained, healthy and homeless... We hope you will consider them also...

Having said all of this, we have six puppies from various litters and ages... All were dumped into our local shelters for various reasons... All are either spayed or neutered, or (will be) before Christmas...

From left to right is Rudy, Annette, Georgia, Frankie and Noel.  Nick is not in this photo... Georgia is a MinPin and not a Chihuahua.    Noel (the female brindle) has already been adopted and not available - Nick and Rudy (short for Rudolph) are Noel's brothers.

But we remind you ---  puppies are a LOT of work and should never be an impulse decision you regret later... And if a puppy is alone without another puppy or dog, you can expect to have many sleepless nights as it cries because it is lonely... It will takes months to potty train these little ones... The first year of any puppy's life is an expensive one if you are providing the proper nutrition... And there is a very large amount of personal time that needs to be invested if your puppy is to be properly socialized and grows into a responsible canine citizen and loved member of your family...

At TLC we do not place our puppies in homes with small children or large dog breeds - they're just too small and is a $3,000+ broken leg waiting to happen... Children should be allowed to be children - to run, holler and play - without worrying about accidentally falling on a small petite puppy...Adoption applications are taken either at adoptions or via fax... Home visits are scheduled and if passed, there is an adoption contract to be signed and an adoption donation (which will be the cheapest part of your investment in a new puppy!  Trust us!)...Chihuahuas live from 15 to 18 years, and this is a long term investment in so many ways...

Introducing Missy...

Missy is one of those forgotten munchkins in the shelter system... Caught as a stray October 27th and weighing only 4 pounds, she was listed as "very hard to handle" and later "too aggressive to handle" by the shelter staff... 

When we saw her at the shelter, Missy was a bit shy but was in with fiver other females who were more dominant than she was... So she hung back rather than confront them to get to the front of the kennel run... We watched her for a bit, and then kept coming back to her kennel run to observe her again...

There are just some Chihuahuas that don't do well in the kennel and shelter system... Maybe they were used to being on someone's lap and cuddling - the shelter environment is a hard one for them to transition over to... Or maybe they were someone's backyard breeder and did not receive enough or proper socialization... Once in the shelter system they tend to go to extremes - either go inwards or become over aggressive in this environment... 

We took a chance and judging upon our past experience, thought Missy's issue was being put in a hostile environment where she did the best she could - she just tried to survive...

Missy also has scarred ear tips and a scar on her nose - two opinions believe it is flystrike... For those not familiar with this condition, it usually comes from squalor or filthy conditions where a dog sits in its own feces and/or isn't bathed properly... This is a common thing with backyard breeders who house their breeders outside in kennel runs... 

Some dogs get annoyed with flies buzzing about or there's a confrontation between dogs that results in an open wound or tear in the ears... It only takes one small open wound for flies to lay their eggs in the flesh... And in the hot summer weather, flies are attracted to feces not cleaned up routinely and promptly... The dogs who have any open wounds are a virtual feasting ground for this kind of situation...

Now that Missy has had a bath, we discovered she's snow white with the exception of the 'Hershey's Kiss' shape laying sideways in tan on her right side, the tan markings around her head and an 'angel's kiss' on her back rear butt... We've already started medication procedures on her ears and around her eyes plus nose... It is already responding to treatment... The scars will remain behind once she has fully healed, but the tips of her ears will remain jagged permanently... Just adds to her character and unique markings in our opinion!

Now as far as her being aggressive?... She doesn't like fast grabs when in a crate, which solidifies our opinion she was a breeder kept outside... 

However, within two days upon her arrival with us, she was wagging her tail and coming forward with interest for a treat... Crated at night with Buddy, Missy has already figured out the routine and when we say, "Let's go to bed" Missy quickly responds... On the third day with us, she handed out her first 'Missy kiss'.... So much for being too hard to handle or aggressive...  We think it was environment and not persona with Missy...

Day two and with two tries, she watched the other dogs and learned the doggie door... She's not a barker and we suspect she's a natural born cuddler just waiting to happen... When she's picked up and hears her name, the tail just never stops wagging... 

Missy is 6.5 pounds and just perfect in weight for her frame... She is about 2.5 years old and has tremendous potential despite being forgotten at the shelter as she stayed below the radar and didn't cause any problems (which might have been a good karma thing so she didn't end up on the kill list)... 

Introducing Buddy!

Buddy has been on the kill list at the local shelters three times in the past month... Buddy is the kind of dog you need to see in person to appreciate his personality and demeanor, but because he has the 'brown dog syndrome' so common in the shelters (i.e. "Just another one of those non-descript brown dogs..."), he kept being passed by with potential adopters...

Buddy just reminds me of a 'good ole boy' not in the derogatory sense that this title might have, but just in the easy doing, mellow and happy-go-lucky-sense... Nothing fazes him... He is VERY content to sit on my husband's lap every night to watch TV with his eyes closed (the dog, not my husband) and now sits patiently in the afternoon for my husband's arrival...

But if you look closely at Buddy beyond the fact "he's a brown Chihuahua,"  you will see some beautiful markings along with a pair of eyes that appear almost human because of their shape and spacing...

While Buddy was probably a bit overweight when he arrived at the shelter at almost ten pounds, he now weighs 7.13 pounds and looks great~!!  He's not barky, friendly towards all, even balanced temperament-wise and would make a great family dog or companion for someone who lives alone and is looking for that tight one-on-one bond.

What a great dog and smart too!  He learned the doggie door in two tries and is house-broken and now crate-trained as well... Besides the vast difference in size and coloring, Buddy is one of the "Lassie-type" dogs that comes along every once in awhile and you just know there was some twisted quirk of fate or bad luck that caused him to up in the shelter system...

Introducing Pepi...

Sometimes a dog's sweet disposition can save their life in our shelter system - such is the case with Pepi... He arrived at one of our local shelters on September 30th... But because of his underweight size and a limp as he held up one of his hind rear legs, he could find no takers who wanted to adopt him...

So sweet, Pepi was pulled off of the kill list three times by a shelter staff member until we were contacted...

A bit of a shabby coat and being underweight is easily corrected by a good and nutritional diet combined with time and TLC... But it will take a lot more to correct what has happened to Pepi than just TLC...

He has either been kicked severely or had a collision with an automobile... His pelvis bone has been fractured in three places and allowed to heal... Being out of kilter, his back leg bone cannot sit correctly in the joint and this causes him pain and discomfort - therefore the limp...

This is his shelter photo...

You can almost see the pain in his eyes as he leans to help support his hind quarters...

Well, we decided it was not Pepi's day to die so we took him into the TLC rescue... He's been to see two different vets now and neither one agrees with the original recommendation to amputate that hind leg... Both recommend a FHO which will take a much longer rehabilitation time than an amputation but once done, the bone-to-bone pain will be gone... At 2-3 years old, Pepi is just too young to lose a leg, but both vets are very confident the quality of his life will be radically improved if he gets this surgery.

I was once again reminded of just how sweet and endearing a gentle dog can be... Yesterday Pepi sat in my lap as we drove to the second consultation, just enjoying the view as the scenery passed by...  These are the times I wonder exactly what is wrong with the human race to allow such terrible things to happen to such gentle and loving creatures... He loves riding in the car and I couldn't help but wonder why he is now in the shape that he is...

Whether he was not on a leash and allowed to accidentally run into the traffic or (God forbid), some heartless person kicked him hard enough to break that pelvis bone, I can't understand either act... When you call his name, Pepi rolls over and presents his belly for a rub... How could any sweet dog like this end up with such a traumatic injury? ::shaking my head here::

Regardless, Pepi is not ready for adoption until he has the surgery, goes through rehabilitation and get healthy again... If he is this sweet when he is in this much pain, I just can't imagine how much sweeter he will become once he can walk and not be in so much discomfort!

Introducing... Walter!

At TLC, we foster a lot of puppies because we have the policy of pulling the hard cases consistently... Puppies always adopt fast, but the hard cases always take time to rehabilitate and/or get healthy again before they can get adopted... And with getting healthy for the hard cases, always comes heavy vet bills... 

Every once in awhile, we come upon a dog in the shelters that we just scratch our head and for the life of us, can not figure out WHY the dog arrived in the shelters to begin with... Or why anyone would allow a family member to get into such poor shape... Such is the case with Walter on both points... 

The shelter thought he was about 10 years old because he arrived thin, dehydrated and in such overall poor general condition... Once we took Walter to our vet, she believes he is half that age, but just sorely neglected for a VERY long time... 

Walter is just the sweetest little munchkin EVER~!!!... He has a wag for everyone he meets and despite it being a 'rat tail' because he's lost all the hair on it (plus on various other spots of his body), he wags his tail all of his heart!

We don't know how his coat is going to eventually turn out, but with good nutrition and medicated baths every two days plus vitamin E and other supplements, it just takes time and TLC to bring him back.

He arrived in the shelter with an open wound underneath his right eye and the shelter folks thought he just didn't like being kenneled, so he rubbed the bars... Turns out, Walter had a cracked back molar down to the root, it developed an abscess and burst through the skin!

He's been in already to get a dental and have that molar (and a few others) removed.  Walter should now be able to gain back some weight... especially that is not painful to eat now that his mouth is straightened out... 

We have yet to hear Walter bark... He's content to sit in your lap and cuddle, or curl up in a doggie bed by your feet... Walter has a stiff gait to his rear legs that is just precious to see!  And because he's missing a canine on the one side, his little tongue hangs out a bit... His Walter kisses are just as precious and sweet too!

We will get Walter healthy and once he gains a bit of weight, he'll be ready for adoption to the right home (no small children or big dog breeds for Walter is only 3.4 pounds and when he gains enough weight, still under 4 pounds).

And in the spirit of the Christmas season, a fellow Chi lover donated $10 for each of her friends to pay for Walter's dental instead of giving gifts: 

Dan S., Elly C., Michael J. D., Randeep B., Cindy C., Ellen M., Eleen V., Matthew K., Lisa A.M., Charlie W., Edward M., Scott John M., Paul M., Debbie S., Rob K., Tiffany O., Michael W., Stacy C., Lisa K., Siraj M., Birdie S., Theresa E., G Koji S., Aj M., and Scott Morgan C.

What a lovely way to share the joy of the holiday season, huh?  Walter's sending each one a Walter kiss which is absolutely priceless!

Charleyboy found his furever home just in time for Christmas!

Just in time for the holidays, Charleyboy has found his new furever home!

Personal note from Linda: As a foster parent, we are always asked, "How can you stand to give them up?" and our standard reply is that if we kept them all, we'd have no foster spots to save the next dog from dying in the shelters tomorrow.  We know that when we adopt a dog today, tomorrow we will go back into the shelters and rescue another one - probably on a kill list whose time is running out.  Although you love all of the fosters as you get them healthy, tend to their medical needs, rehabilitate any bad habits and/or give them new ones, you tend to keep them to somewhat of a distance because if you do allow them to crawl into your heart, it is just too hard to let them go and be adopted.

Charleyboy was one of the few special cases where I needed to be on my constant guard to not get too attached to a foster.  Because he tends to look at you with his wide-eyed attention, I found myself talking to him more like a human than a dog.  And because he had become my shadow, he and I did have a lot of conversations as I always needed to look behind me before I stepped back fast, or if he'd followed me somewhere, make sure I called him when I left.

A few people who were interested in Charleyboy had children or too active of a lifestyle for his best interests --- and his well being was paramount because we humans certainly didn't treat him fairly the first time around!   We attempted to place him with a sweet young lady who had cats, but Charleyboy didn't care for the feline species.  And it is better than a TLC dog comes back to us to find a better furever home than for them to stay in a situation where the new owners' life is turned upside down... just bad karma all the way around.

When the application came in on Charleyboy, I was very encouraged.  We wanted a calm, laid-back home for Charleyboy... He is still very young for a Chihuahua and I could relate to his sight limitations for without my glasses, I can't read now!  I loved the conversation I initially had with Charleyboy's new potential furever parents, and felt very positive when we set up the meet & greet.  Although we had a bit of a hard time finding their home, I stood in the grass with Charleyboy while my husband found a place to park his car.  And in the darkening dusk, I looked around at the lush grass and trees and sent a small prayer Heaven-ward that the people we all were about to meet would be as nice as that spot we were standing in.

It's funny how God answers your prayers when you least expect them, ya know?  Our hearts are still SO heavy from losing our dearly beloved Mr. Sweetie on November 27th... At 16 with doggie dementia, pancreatic issues, major anxiety issues, dual hip surgeries followed by failing back hips and then front legs, it was probably one of the hardest decisions my family has had to make about a dog for years... People just aren't interested in adopting anything less than the 'perfect dog' and the three years we'd had with Mr. Sweetie were ones we will always treasure... My vet called us 'the home of the misfits and unwanteds' but frankly?  Some of these 'misfits and unwanteds' have been some of the best dogs EVER... 

Discovering Charleyboy's new adoptive parents was a spiritual and soul regeneration for me that night... No, Charleyboy is not perfect but he is a sweet and loving kindred soul that (more than most) deserved a second chance at a better hand of cards he'd been dealt in the game of life... He won the jackpot with his new family and now has his very own home just in time for Christmas!  Here he is in his new doggie bed, all wrapped up nice and warm... 

Santa already came for Charleyboy!  Thank-you to whoever was listening to my prayers up there!  I'm sure you are there, Mr. Sweetie.... Thank-you for putting in a good word for Charleyboy!