Update on BlueBelle....

BlueBelle has had her surgery  (see previous blog on her surgery - It is the season of miracles, right?) and is recuperating in a lovely foster home right now... She is being spoiled and sleeping on the foster's bed at night... (UTOH)...

The foster mom is also part of our "Bathing Brigade" and brought BlueBelle in with her to the rescue shop today so she could keep a close eye on her... I wanted everyone to see the extensive surgery that needed to be done with BlueBelle...

This is where your financial donations go to... Getting extensive surgeries for dogs that have long ago left the 'cute puppy and highly adoptable stage'... Dogs we saved and became responsible for until they themselves find their furever home in someone's loving arms... 

BlueBelle's incision 4 days later

The red area to the left of the staples is where they took the biopsy to see where the next step for BlueBelle will be... And we are still keeping our paws crossed that she is not fighting cancer.

 

The eyes have it....

Dogs read our body language much better than we do theirs... But even more so, they look to us for help in making decisions when unsure or fearful...

Sparky at ease in a volunteer's arms

When exposed to new situations, they look to us for clues as to their need of being worried about this new thing or situation faced with... We see this happen a lot at the rescue shop when someone is doing a 'meet & greet' with their dogs and one of ours... I personally prefer to take both dogs on lead and AWAY from the owner, for dogs will look to their owner and/or can fail a 'meet & greet' test if the owner is apprehensive about how the two dogs will get along...

We humans like to be needed and wanted... For many of us, our dogs supply this feeling of self-gratification... And yes, I've seen people 'emotionally cripple' their dogs through repeated reinforcement of this need in them... To the point, that when a dog cowers and seeks shelter from meeting a new dog, the owner will reinforce this behavior... "Oh, does that other dog scare you?  I'm sorry... come here to mommie" and cuddles follow...

Or the dog approaches a strange dog with tail between their legs, ears back and a 'sad sack' attitude... Tough to make new friends this way, especially when I believe humans want their dogs to get along with other new dogs...

Sparky looking for direction from another volunteer
after the flash of the camera startled him.

There was a study done this year at the University of Michigan that involved 'social referencing' (link).  When I read it, I was reminded of 'homework' I've handed out to folks regarding training their dogs to accept strangers easier... Ask some acquaintances to meet you at a park one morning, bring your dog and spouse, have your spouse hold the dog on lead and when meeting each acquaintance, make a show to the dog of much joy and intimate contact (such as hugging) of this new stranger (to the dog)... Seem (and feel) happy to your dog and with repeated conditioning, your dog will quickly learn that meeting strangers while out on a walk is not a reason to charge them...

Same process applies to teaching a dog that new dogs are a good thing and not a bad thing... Especially if you have a few dogs that already know this behavior... At the rescue shop, we periodically pair up dogs that are suffereing from shelter shock with dogs we call 'stabilizers' - dogs that regardless of the situation faced with, will remain loving and friendly towards new humans... It doesn't take long for these shelter shocked dogs to realize that his roomie buddy looks forward to people and their interactions...

Remember, your dog looks to you for direction... If you are apprehensive about an oncoming stranger and/or their dog, your dog picks up on it right away!

Holiday time and your pets.......

Holiday time is tough on our pets... We haul in items that have been stored somewhere throughout the year, the items have a much different odor than our pets are used to and then we fuss at our dogs when they want to explore these new scents... As dogs 'see' with their noses first, I'm sure dogs get frustrated with us!

I personally absolutely DREAD going into stores this time of the year... I'm not one to stand and wait in line for an hour to check out... At my stage in life, if I can't order it online, I am not a happy person... So shopping for Christmas gifts (to me) is almost like doing to the dentist!... As much as I know myself, I am sure my dogs know me just as well...

I have a set routine with my alpha, Peanut... Every night when I put on my PJs and crawl into bed, Peanut jumps up and immediately settles into the curve of my belly... She rolls over and presents her belly for belly rubs... 

Now I have to tell you... Peanut has a coat like mink... It is just as enjoyable to me to give her belly rubs and a nose to tail massage as it must be to her... She stretches out and from her behavior, you can tell she's loving life when we do this nightly habit... Peanut is now 14 and in good health, but I have been doing this for years - and year round... I do my ABSOLUTE best to not change my routines at this time of the year no matter how stressed of a day I have had, how tired I am or any other reason... She counts on me being there each night for this 20 minutes of one-on-one bonding... 

Pepper asleep in his bed at the rescue shop

People come into the rescue shop and tell us, "I don't know what's going on with my dog.  All of a sudden for no reason at all, he's started going potty inside on my rug instead of going outside."  And inside my head, my first thought is what have they changed about their life or routine to give direction to this house-trained dog to change their habits?

Dogs are extremely situational, but three things are pretty static (eating, sleeping and pottying) unless something has changed about their environment or person... Maybe the owner is in a hurry and anxious for the dog to go poop in the morning because they're late to work?... Dogs - just like kids - thrive in routine and consistency... And they read our body language far better than we read theirs (or other humans for the most part)... Anxious for this to be done and over with, I'm sure the message goes to the dog that their person is anxious... And with that, maybe they shouldn't be pooping at all?   Ever tried to hurry up yourself?  It ain't easy!

Another thing that seems to crop up only at Christmas is a dog's behavior to strangers... "My dog LOVES everyone and now he's barking at people who come over to visit"... Think about it - do you normally have this many folks coming and going at your house normally the rest of the year?  Or long periods like this when you are gone, then come home very tired?  Maybe too tired of that long walk you two normally enjoy each night?  Aunt Martha comes in from Omaha for a two week visit with all kinds of new smells and we wonder why our dog barks at her for 'no reason at all'?... Your dog doesn't have to interact with Aunt Martha and her smells the rest of the year, and to him, this is a new member of the pack... He's trying to figure out where she belongs in the dynamics of what his life is the rest of the year...  Once he figures it out, Aunt Martha leaves and then he's got to figure out what happened...

No wonder our dogs change so much during the Christmas season!

The season of miracles

As director of a large rescue devoted to saving lives of small dogs 15 pounds and under, each day is filled with tough decisions, very hard physical work and emotional roller coasters.... I am not what I would term 'religious' as a person, but I do consider myself a spiritual person... 

Each day --- at a minimum --- I have to say 'no' to at least 10 dogs or more... We have limited space, but even moreso, we constantly battle the war of limited funds... Just like everyone else, I make decisions based upon what we have in the bank... Because we are a No-Kill rescue, when I say yes to taking in a dog, it is from the moment they arrive until they find their furever home... 

In between this time, we take care of their food, boarding, vet bills - you name it... I am amazed at how many collars we go through - between those being chewed, others wearing out, etc. this is a small but costly item that we consistently are replacing... We go through a large bottle of HE detergent every two days because of all of the laundry we do that provides clean blankets for the dogs, cleaning towels and rags, etc.  Our food bill alone is about $250 a week - we don't feed junk dog food, but not even close to the best available.

Everything is based upon how much money we have and it is seldom even close to being enough to maintain everything... 

Just like pet owners, we get faced with what becomes life and death situations based upon money as well... In February of 2011, we pulled a dog out of a high kill shelter that we felt would easily be adopted... 

BlueBelle was much larger than any Chihuahua I've ever seen, and she's a Blue - not a common coat coloring... I don't even believe she has any Chi blood in her but because most dogs with pointed ears and a curled tail are classified as Chihuahuas at the shelters, that is how they labeled her... 

And she's been one of our 'stabilizer' dogs... A dog we could put in with another new rescue suffering from shelter shock - scared, unbalanced, off track, with or without good canine manners... She has been my foster at times and with another foster mom as well... Nothing wrong with her - just hasn't been a choice when potential adopters looked at her... And because she's 7 years old, most people just passed her on by, considering her 'too old' to adopt (although she is a midlife dog)...

A couple weeks ago we noticed one of her mammary glands was bothering her and I think she chewed at it, opening it up and needing vet attention... At the time, we were also hit with three other dogs needing very expensive surgery, but with BlueBelle, we knew if it didn't get medical attention right away, the condition would get worse rapidly... 

Even with a rescue discount, a radical mastectomy estimate ran over $600... Faced with the other surgeries as well, all of a sudden we as a rescue were faced with $2,500 of vet bills that HAD to be done... And none could really wait, so we had to juggle... 

This is the tough part of what I do - making life and death decisions day in and day out... Which dogs do we save, how do we find the money to do these expensive surgeries and cover extensive vet bills, can we afford to take on any more 'hard cases' or another dog or mom with a litter?

And with BlueBelle - what if it is cancer we are dealing with?  Do we take the risk and do the mastectomy, hope we caught it in time and she regains her health?  Or would I have spent a lot of our very few dollars on a dog that will not regain good health again?  These decisions are what has given me so many gray hairs and at times, wears down the very spiritual fibers of my soul.

We took the risk and set up BlueBelle's surgery for yesterday morning... One of our TLC volunteers offered to foster BlueBelle temporarily so that she could recover in a home environment with lots of extra TLC and attention... 

Kathryn brought BlueBelle to the rescue shop yesterday morning and then I made the second leg to Caring Hands... Worried about what the end results of everything would be, I started to pull out of the Simi Town Center mall parking lot and was faced with a HUGE rainbow displayed across a very dark and angry looking sky... 

The sky looked like my mood and worried state... When I saw the rainbow, it's base at the earth in the direction of Caring Hands in Thousand Oaks, it lifted my spirits... I took it as a sign BlueBelle's results will come back that the tumor is not cancerous... Keeping our fingers crossed here for the next week to ten days that we get positive results back from the biopsy done... 

After all, it is the season of miracles, right???

Santa's Rescue Elves have been busy!

It is the time of the year when most folks are busy shopping and buying Christmas presents for one and all... But for those of us who are in rescue, it is a time of year we do our very best to find furever homes for the dogs we have saved from dying... 

Our rescue elves have been busy at the shop as usual - cleaning, walking dogs, taking care of them plus all of the other things we do... 

But the elves have been just as busy, decorating the rescue shop in all its finery for the upcoming holiday season... If you'd like an advance tour, just scroll down...

At the door, you can't miss our Husky sleigh, waiting patiently for Santa to come and start the ride of the season... 

And Santa's chair sits empty right now, waiting for his arrival later on this month... 

Santa Paws will be here at the rescue shop on Saturday, December 15th to sit and pose with your pampered pooches for their year's holiday portrait, taken by professional pet portrait photographers - mark the date and check back at our FaceBook page for more details on fundraiser event!

Our furbabies have been practicing showing Santa Paws they have been good boy doggies and girl doggies this year.... Pepper has learned to climb underneath his blanket and go to bed like a good boy... Pepper is dreaming about winning his own furever home along with bones, treats and sugar plum fairies!

In case you have not been to the rescue shop recently, you might want to stop by and say hello... Maybe even consider adopting one, or two... Or three or four of our great furbabies as a Christmas gift to yourself!... If you can't adopt, consider fostering one of our very deserving little ones through the holiday season... Allow them to curl up on your couch and enjoy the season as your special companion and friend!

All financial donations are GREATLY appreciated at this time of the year and tax deductible too... Our utility bills and other needed expenses go on year round -- we can't save these little ones without the community's continued support!

And Elf Juanito reminds us the Girl Scouts will be gift wrapping your presents for a small fee as part of their fundraiser for TLC on Sunday, December 9th from noon to 4PM at the rescue shop!  Again, keep up with the TLC events on our FaceBook page!

 

R.I.P. "Big Joe" - 10/20/12

Let's talk about....

PANDA BEAR!  

PandaBear came to us from the streets and initially she trusted no one whether they were four footed or two.  She had no reason to trust us humans for she'd been left on the streets and suffering from flea dermatitis - COVERED in fleas (and probably for years), she'd managed to remove all of her fur from the waist down... Basically, wherever she could chew and scratch, she did.


After months of treating her medically, even the areas the vets say would not have fur later now do.  Her white eyelashes are absolutely precious!

But an even greater change was in PandaBear's personality!  Every morning when I walk her, she is FULL of life and happy, happy, HAPPY!  

And for any person that approaches, she has a wagging tail and a friendly disposition to show them.  In fact, I think the legs are directly connected to the tail, for I have yet to see her walk when the tail is not wagging back and forth!

For all the folks who insist their next adopted dog MUST be potty trained, PandaBear is the ticket!  As long as she gets out in the morning and then again in the evening, she will NOT have a mistake.  I am absolutely amazed at how well this dog has gone from living in the streets to being a beloved TLC rescue dog!

PandaBear has learned a new trick - it is called "army crawl".  Probably because her belly is still itchy at times, she's learned to crawl along on the rough surface of the parking lot at the mall.  

Seeing it, we encouraged her to do it on command - even one trick might just get her the furever home she wants and deserves!


PandaBear has been waiting patiently for her new furever home.  She is still learning to get along well with other small dogs, but if someone does not have any dogs, they won't find a better or more loving dog to adopt!