TLC - Tiny Loving Canines

Sunday, May 5, 2013

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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"Hard cases" - Part 2

And then there are the moms... Few folks realize it is LEGAL under California laws to kill either a pregnant mom, mom with pups or pups alone under the age of 8 weeks... Our law says that no rescue or shelter can give away, adopt or sell any animal that is still intact (meaning they have not been spayed or neutered)...

Many people will not knowingly adopt a dog that's pregnant... Others realize their female dog is pregnant and don't want to deal with her giving birth and having those puppies to deal with... Yet others surrender their female dog with newborn puppies, believing that "everyone loves puppies... these little ones will go in no time flat!"... And finally, there are folks that go through the birthing process and then surrender the litters to the shelters once the puppies are weaned at 5 weeks old...

The shelter environment is fatal to many of these newborn pups... As hard as the shelter staff try, there is a condensed environment of 'uggly mugglies' that take out fragile pups quickly... Some shelters contact their partners immediately when they realize they have a pregnant female or when a nursing mom comes in with a litter... But until both mom and all of those puppies are able to be spayed or neutered, they are deemed 'un-adoptable' by the CA law and subject to being legally killed... And two breeds (Chihuahua/Chihuahua mixes and Pitties) are the first that run into that ticking death clock...

Maria at the shelter when we found her

Most of our shelter partners or friends in the humane community will contact us when a preggers or mom with pups come in... They know we do not believe in spay abortions, and we will go through Heaven and Hell to find room or a foster so that a mom and her pups do not have to die... This alone makes it a 'hard case' because besides the birthing process, you have to have room and manpower to keep things sanitary for at least 8 weeks or more until the puppies are old enough and healthy enough to be spayed or neutered...

But when the mom or puppies have health issues?... They have the pleasure of being killed almost immediately...

Maria's 4 puppies

Such was the case with Maria... We were alerted a mom with 4 newborn pups was at a local shelter... All five had demo (something we do well) and although we knew at the outset this was going to be a long-term pull, we still went ahead and saved Maria and her four pups...

Maria was in pretty bad shape when we found her in 2010... She'd had demo for a LONG time to the point that we thought she'd never grow back in a full fur coat... But her four puppies? Oh my... My heart broke when I saw how badly these pups were in their demo battle... Their poor faces were inflammed, their bodies naked and their poor pads swollen... After a month of treatment only one (Mickey) had hair growing back in...

Treating a mom with demo is one thing, but a litter at the same time? With all of those meds and medicated baths every 2 to 3 days? It is a TON of work and we struggled with this save, for sure...

Maria now

Eventually Maria's coat grew in beautifully as did the pups... The two girls got adopted fairly quickly but the two boys were with the rescue for a long time... In fact, Mickey is still up for adoption almost three years later and thankfully, he has a foster home that loves him dearly...

Another kind of 'hard case' is a small dog that's over five years old... Especially the closer they get to 10 in these small breeds... Despite the tinies having a life span of 15-20 years *(the smaller the breed, the longer they live), most folks won't adopt a dog that is older than 5 years...

For myself? These are my favorites! I don't have to go through all of those potty training months and picking up non-stop poop, chewing up my favorite pair or shoes or teaching them canine manners, stopping them from the crazy puppy barking periods, teaching them obedience commands, etc...

What if canine adoption standards were applied to humans? You shouldn't have to die if you are in your thirties or forties as a human... Most of us look forward to our 'golden years' of being sixty or seventy, hopefully making it into our eighties alive and healthy... But for these tiny breeds, the general public believe a small dog 10 years or older is nothing but vet bills... Not true... And on the other side of the coin, they are more apt to fit into a human's lifestyle easier... They are content to just be with you, sit on the couch and watch TV, build their world around you as their BFF...

Finally, we take on the broken legs, the unsocialized, the 'no-longer-wanted' dogs that were adorable as puppies and gotten on an impulse, 'thrown away' by their owners...

Baby Holly when we found her

And despite all of this, we still find the time, room and resources for those very bad 'hard cases' like Baby Holly...

A plea came in from a dear fellow rescue friend of mine, complete with video... What a sweet girl she was despite being in horrible, horrible pain from all of her health issues... Ahead of time I knew we were probably looking at having to remove her left eye eventually, but that didn't stop the 'little rescue that could'...

BabyHolly had a skull cap of scab and pus with her entire head torn apart by secondary infections spawned by the demo she had had since she was but a wee pup... It had spread almost across her entire body and into her left eye... Her poor feet were swollen to the point she could not walk on them... So sad... So very, very sad...

4 weeks into treatment

We took on Baby Holly in the fall of 2011 (and yes, she's still with us and up for adoption - sigh)... I've seen some bad health issues, but simply doing those medicated baths every 2 days gave me nausea every time... The skull cap of scab and infection needed to be softened up with warm compresses and purged... The smell was absolutely dreadful (and I have a fairly strong stomach)... More than once BabyHolly patiently sat on my kitchen counter under the towel with the meds working on her skin as I puked up in the sink... She'd give me this look as if to say, "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I can't help how it smells and looks... " and my heart would break all over again...

We got BabyHolly up and running - well enough to be spayed - and her coat looking so much better... She'll always have a scar across the side of her head from the skull cap, but we were able to save her left eye...

And still she's with us, a year later, with no one willing to adopt her and give her a great furever home... Because we are No-Kill, BabyHolly will stay with us (and ALIVE with love and care) until she's adopted... She's beautiful now, but because she's a black dog, they are the last to be adopted... And we know this going in on each and every hard case that is black...

It doesn't stop us from doing what we do... What stops us in TLC is a lack of volunteers willing to put in the time to run the rescue shop and financial donations to pay the electric bill, vet bills, bailout fees, etc.

If you would like to read about more TLC 'hard cases', simply CLICK HERE.

If you'd like to become a shopkeeper volunteer, we'd LOVE to have you.

And if you can't volunteer hours, maybe you can donate towards the cause of saving these hard cases!

"Hard cases" - Part 1

Rescues are not all created the same... We might all appear to be the same outside, but I can tell you after almost 32 years in doing this now, we aren't... Besides the different requirements by each one, and what their standard procedures in what is included with each dog or puppy in their care, there is also a different mindset in each one...

Some rescues are 'breed-specific' and specialize in one or two breeds - and even then, don't always take in mixes of their breed... Others so what we call 'cherry-picking'... Taking on only the most adoptable pets out of shelters for a quick turn-around... Some rescues are completely foster-based and do mobile adoptions once a week... Others like TLC are a combination of many things, but TLC is the only full time, volunteer-based rescue in Ventura County... We are open 7 days a week at the rescue shop, and that takes a LOT of energy, sweat equity, money and devotion to make it run smoothly, day in and day out...

One thing that is common with all of the rescues is that saving these dogs and puppies out of high kill shelters is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle given to you by someone else who has already opened the box and either decided it was too hard to be put together or simply doesn't want it any longer... Sad to say it so bluntly, folks... But that is the honesty of what we do...

TLC's mission statement is to save one 'hard case' for every four... Throughout the years, we have probably exceeded this far above our 1 to 4 ratio... And on the average we still turn away at least 30 small dogs each day that we know are going to die in all probability...

It is said you can't save them all and each time I hear that, I mentally say to myself, "Why not?"... Are we not caring and compassionate human beings by our nature deep down inside?... I have no answers, but continue to plug away at doing what we can to march towards No-Kill... Where no healthy, adoptable small dog does not have to die...

The other thing unique about TLC is that we save dogs and puppies off of the kill lists... Because the number one breed on any shelter's kill list is dogs classified as "Chihuahua", we save the hardest breed to find adoptive homes for... When there is a glut on any market of anything, it is the easiest to find, the quickest to be thrown away and has the lowest value - be it a pet rock or a knock-off fashion piece...

If we saved the hardest-to-find breeds, we'd have the general public beating a pathway to our door... It is just how things work...

And a common misconception in the general public is that if they themselves cannot afford the vet care for their pet, and take it to a local shelter, the pet will get the necessary medical care... For the majority of times, this doesn't happen... Shelters are bursting at the seams on a daily basis and their resources (like ours) are always stretched to the max...

Abby at the shelter being turned in

So I am taking this time here to explain 'hard cases' to those who have asked... Every time I have walked into a shelter or said 'yes' to taking in a dog, I know it is going to be a crap shoot... You hope you have enough information to determine if the rescue has enough resources to resolve any issues - be it health or otherwise - but you don't really know ahead of time... We could return these kinds of situations to the shelter, but that is not what we do...

Such is the case with Abby... A three month old female Chi we found in a shelter in 2009... Bred to get that damned 'teacup' size in such demand, at first glance Abby appeared to just have case of demodex going on... TLC has had great success with this particular health issue and so it did not intimidate us, nor stop us from saying yes to Abby...

Abby & Nacho

Once pulled, we discovered Abby had digestion issues as well... A propensity for collapsing trachea now common in the down-sized breeding being done in both the Yorkie and the Chihuahua thanks to the celebrities who causes a glut of production in both breeds... This health issue cause the dog or pup to become reluctant to eat because of the pain associated with it, or to consistently throw up what they eat... Rapidly losing weight is an issue in a 4 pound dog, and they can easily lose 25% of their body weight in a week or so...

It was almost a daily battle to stabilize her weight loss or gain along with battling the demodex but for a time, we thought we were getting ahead of it... Because vets are reluctant to spay or neuter a dog with demodex because of the issues associated with the health condition, this means as a rescue the dog is not yet adoptable...

For months we were making trips to the vet's office about every 2-3 weeks, trying to find the 'silver bullet' between the digestion issue and the demodex problem... We considered ourselves lucky when the vet bill did not go over $100 for a visit, frankly...

Abby with splint

And with all hard cases, you always seem to be right there at the end in fixing everything when something else pops up, and you are back to square one... Abby was coming down a set of doggie steps and did something to her right front leg... Initially the vet thought that they could set it and the leg would repair itself naturally...

So we went through that episode as we tried the splint, getting it changed every several days, more Xrays to see the progress, etc...

Eventually the vet decided it was not going to heal properly on its own, but that surgery was required... The initial estimate was $1200 and at the time, I debated with myself over whether I was doing the right thing or not... You can never recoup the costs of a 'hard case' with the adoption donation - we know that... But when you are long over that adoption donation amount, it becomes a case of "we have come too far now to quit" so I authorized the surgery to repair the leg...

Abby as tri-pod

On the operating table, the vet opened the leg and the growth plate fell out and onto the floor... Later she explained to us that as these breeders breed down and down in size, the bone structure of these small breeds are compromised to point even a mis-step can break a joint or bone... While on the operating table, Abby's systems started to go haywire and it became simply a matter of stabilizing her to simply save her life... We had two choices - to either let her die or to amputate the leg and do the necessary things in recovery to help her through... I opted to save her life and remove the leg... The rescue is now up to about $4500 on this one small YOUNG dog that appeared highly adoptable at the shelter visit...

Abby made it through the surgery and learned to get around as a tri-pede... She had a sweet disposition and dealt well enough with each and every trial she had to go through...

We finally figured we were now ahead of the it all and the worst was behind us... But the digestion issues came back as did the demodex and Abby spent the last two months of her life throwing up, losing weight, meds and nutrition being switched, gaining back a bit and then regressing again until her body just gave up at the age of about 18 months old...

Cost to TLC? Close to $6,000... R.I.P. our dear Abby - you were loved deeply and we are sorry we somehow still failed to save your life...

Venus's arrival

And that is just ONE 'hard case' of the many we have taken on throughout the years...

Someone contacted us about a litter of three small Chi mix puppies at a local shelter who had demodex, and by the time we were able to bail them out of the shelter, one had already died from ivermectin toxicity while under the care of a county vet...

Eros and Venus came to us in pretty bad shape - especially Venus who looked like she was going to lose her right eye...

Venus ready for adoption

Months later we not only saved her life, Eros and Venus were able to make it onto a transport going up North where there is a shortage of these small dogs and they are HIGHLY desired...

It is not only demodex or skin issues that land a small dog on a shelter's kill list... Sometimes it is behavioral and they don't get adopted because of aggression, fear shyness or simply because they are just another 'non descript tan Chihuahua'... Such is the case with Sheldon who was SO afraid to look you directly in the eyes we could not take a decent photo of him...

SCARED Sheldon

Some of these fear shyness dogs are SO afraid of the world and shy, they become targets of other dogs they are around... Their fellow dogs sense the dog is so unbalanced that they must push the dog out of the inner circle or pack... Like we humans do when we see other humans so unlike ourselves - true...

While Sheldon finally learned how to deal with his fellow canines, it was a long leap from the time we found him in a high kill shelter and when he became adoptable, friendly and trusted humans enough to love them...

Sheldon got adopted in November of 2011, but was returned to us a few months later when the person felt she just didn't have enough time in her life for a dog... Not Sheldon's fault at all, but once again he became homeless despite us being diligent in screening the adopter for their level of commitment...He quickly captured someone else's heart and got adopted...

Sheldon NOW

Fast forward to last month when in April we received a call from the local shelter after Sheldon was turned into them by the adopter... For the third time in his very short life, Sheldon has been homeless three times - and through no real fault of his own - beyond being one of those 'non descript tan Chihuahuas' that flood our shelters in Southern California...

In fact? Sheldon is still homeless and still up for adoption with us...

Onto part 2 ~~~

Friday, May 3, 2013

Bathtime for Barkley

Barkley & the Bathing Brigade

After seeing the vet on Monday, we changed the scheduling for bathing Barkley with the medicated shampoos... We normally bathe demo dogs every two days for the first two weeks so we can get ahead of the condition, but the vet felt once every three days would be sufficient...

Kathryn normally comes in just once a week on Thursdays as part of TLC's "Bathing Brigade" but she agreed to be in charge of Barkley's bathing if we rescued him... So on Tuesday she arrived early to do his bath - it takes a LOT of time to do with Barkley because he's so big and so much extra stuff needs to be done...

Barkley is really a good sport about all of this though... He's now at 85 pounds so it takes two of us (female) volunteers to lift him into our wet grooming station at the rescue shop... Someone grabs the front half of him and the other half is lifted by someone else... Most big dogs do NOT like being lifted up and off their feet, so this is not only a challenge because it is not something they are accustomed to (or enjoy like little dogs), plus you have all of that weight to lift (and safely)...

Kathryn and Barkley... sharing secrets!

Barkley has almost come to enjoy this aspect of his new life though... He gets lots and lots of massages as we wait the 10 minutes for the medicated shampoo to do its work... And sweet talk... Cuddles... Treats as he waits...

Thankfully, we buy this medicated shampoo by the gallon, even as expensive as it is... And we had it in stock to take on the 'Barkley Bath' every three days...

At TLC we have two grooming stations - one wet and one dry... We have several groomers as volunteers and the stations are set up according to their standards and needs...

We have a custom made insert for the wet grooming station that normally stays in place - it is better on your back because we bathe a lot of small dogs so you are not having to lean into it and then and down when bathing... In Barkley's case, we have to remove the insert, disinfect the entire tub first and then lift him into it... So it really does become a major process to bathe just one dog like Barkley...

All done! Until 3 days from now!

The bathing brigadiers as they are called, are organized and trained by one of our senior volunteers, Teri... She keeps the grooming supplies replenished (out of her own pocket) and the volunteers scheduled... They generally come in (one a day) after the shop is opened and cleaned... They work through our dogs and puppies, one by one, so that each TLC dog is bathed at least once every 10 days... It is a complicated system, so we are grateful that Kathryn stepped up and took Barkley on as her special bathing project!

The bathing brigade is another module of the TLC's rehabilitation process... Most dogs don't care to get wet or being bathed... And we INTENTIONALLY ask the brigadiers to not push through dogs like a production line... We ask them to take time and cuddle, reassure the dogs this is a good thing... And at the end - nice, warm and dry - we have special treats the dogs just love... So with a few baths, they all come to look forward to their baths... By the time they are ready for adoption, their new owners don't struggle with this part of the adoption process...

Just another one of the unseen aspects of TLC and what we do! If you have time to devote once a week, we'd love to have you become part of TLC's bathing brigade. If you don't know how to professional bath a dog, we have professionals that will teach you... All the tools and supplies are provided... You just need old clothes, dedication and a desire to help us all march towards the victory of No-Kill in our communities!

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Looking for a long term foster home for Mr. Jones

We are looking for a long term foster home for Mr. Jones... He is healthy and not contagious - just not perfect (outwardly)... But inwardly? He is a sweet and loving boy that did not deserve to die because he was not drop-dead gorgeous...

Could you open your heart and home to a most needy little guy? He has so much love to give someone and is passed by because of the missing patches of fur on his coat...

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Update on Barkley

I took Barkley in to see Dr. Richmond at Caring Hands on Monday and what a trip that was!... (smile)... Although I drive a quad dually, Barkley took up two thirds of the front seat of the truck!... And "move over" is apparently not a command he knows yet... When he sits up aside of you, his head is so gosh darn big, it blocked the entire view of my right hand mirror!

He doesn't necessarily want to hang his head out the window, but he certainly does want to drool all over it... We had a few double takes at stop lights when people looked over casually and saw that big ole head of his looking back at them!

Barkley now weighs 82 pounds and Dr. Richmond thinks he should gain between 5 and 10 until the ribs stop showing... Unfortunately, she believes he's had demo since he was born and he'll need to be on meds the rest of his life once we find his maintenance dose of ivermectin... Thankfully it is not an expensive medication though...

He's got an awful infected ear on the left and it is so swollen, he probably can't hear out of it at all... I'm guessing the infection is what has spread into his eyes 'cause those canals are all interconnected... The vet put him back on antibiotics twice a day, the medicated baths every three days, ivermectin every morning and the medication for his ears twice a day as well...

She believes Barkley is about 18 months old and a Mastiff/American Bulldog mix...

We like to buy a certain kind of treat at our vets that is only 2 calories and the dogs at the rescue love them... They come in big barrels and I usually pick up about 10 jugs each time I go there... I had items in the back seat that were going to the shop, a 50 pound bag of special dog food for Barkely, a new set of bowls for him, etc... So my back seat was pretty well full already...

I got out of the truck and turned to open the back door so we could load up the treats and Barkley decided to jump across the back of the front seat and into the back seat --- amid all of the stuff already there!... I tried to get him to jump back into the front seat, but he wasn't having it...

Eventually we had to half empty the back seat, coax him out, walk him around the truck and then get him back up into the front seat on the passenger's side!... What a goober he is!... I climbed back into my side of the truck and we had to go through the 'move over, Barkley... I gotta drive and you are hogging my side and yours too!' all over again!...

He's gotta either learn how to share or how to drive! One or the other... LOL...

Newsletter - 4/30/13

Check out what is new with TLC this week!

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Exciting News...

Like our new 'look'?
We are changing our newsletter format and provider to do a better job of servicing our TLC alumni and adopters. We hope you like the new look!

TLC continues to work diligently at saving dogs and puppies from 8 local shelters. We are able to do this because of the community's support and the dedicated TLC alumni - THANK YOU for being part of the solution and adopting!

Now for some doggie news:

Ibuprofen Toxicity in Pets: Motrin and Advil might be great for us humans, but not for our pets - READ MORE
Fosters and Smith is having a 33% off sale right now - see their website HERE
Natura Pet Products expands recall - Salmonella - more details HERE
5 Stupid Questions I Ask My Dogs on a Daily Basis - article is HERE
Is Your Dog a Cannibal? - A topic that has long been discussed... ::shudders:: To quote- "the story says that "the city of Los Angeles alone sends about 200 tons of dead pets to a rendering plant each month." Read the entire article HERE

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Featured Rescue of the Week!

This week's adoptable rescue of the week is Chance, an adorable Maltese. You can visit his profile here.

Barkley...

Have you heard about our latest? Barkley is an 82 pound Mastiff/American Bulldog mix that was in a high kill shelter. Although we don't normally save large breeds, the face of this big guy reached into several hearts in the TLC volunteer crew. Barkley had demodex (the non contagious form of mange) and probably has had it all of his life (he's 18 months old). Barkley is like a 'Ferdinand the Bull' kind of guy and a sweet, but huge, goober! Keep up with Barkley's antics and watch for him to become adoptable once we get rid of his skin disorder (approximately 5 weeks).

Barkley's Blog is HERE.

Volunteers Needed

We need shopkeepers!

TLC is the only full time rescue that runs 7 days a week in Ventura County. We are able to do this because we have an amazing group of dedicated, hard working volunteers. Our rescue shop is located in the Simi Town Center Mall and we're open from noon until 8PM Monday through Saturday (on Sundays, noon until 6PM). Although we are officially open 54 hours a week, many of us are here at 8AM to open and take care of our furbabies... and others stay until close each night. Do you have a certain amount of hours each week that you can devote to TLC by being a shopkeeper? It's not a nice 'white collar' job - we clean up piddle and poo, bathe dogs, feed and medically take care of our babies, and just about everything else associated with running a small dog breed rescue. The biggest requirement is a love of dogs and a willingness to make a change in their lives... are you up to the task?

If so, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, B.J. at bjpace4@me.com. You'll be provided with training, an apron and a close-knit family of dedicated volunteers. We promise you that you'll get back much more from these puppers than you give out!

We need help!

We can't do this without your help! Our expenses to save dogs and puppies always exceeds our adoption donations. Electric bills are over a $1,000 a month... We run our washer and dryer nonstop (about 16-17 loads per day) keeping everything nice and clean for the dogs in our care... Our weekly food bill is about $250 for many of our dogs need special foods as they recover and get healthy... Vaccines, microchips, vet bills - you name it and we got it. EVERY penny counts and greatly helps in our efforts to help save these dogs from dying in local shelters. PLEASE donate - we won't survive if you don't. You can donate through PayPal as a 'gift' and they won't deduct the service charge by going to their website and entering 'tinylovingcanines@yahoo.com' for our account. Or you can go to our donation page on the website here.

PLEASE HELP - THESE DOGS AND PUPPIES NEED YOUR HELP!

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