Once again, TLC steps up...

Last week I was told that few folks know what TLC does because we don't 'beat the drum and blow the horn' every time we do something other rescues don't (or won't)... I promised them I would try and do better in this regard, so here goes  --- begrudgingly because I truly do believe good works depreciate in value if you are the one having to brag about them... 

Yesterday, Camarillo Shelter contacted us about a little girl found as a stray... "She looks bad, Linda" and without even seeing this little one, I said "Yes, we'll take her." ... This is what TLC does... It is ALL about the dogs and unless we are full to the max, we seldom (if ever) turn away a dog in need... 

I was not, however, prepared as to just how 'bad' is bad... Once I got the photo, I was ill... We have taken on some really hard cases in five years, but nothing like this... 

We named her "LoveBug" because she's going to need a lot of cuddles, care and love if she is to pull through this... But as bad as she looks, I heard she gave the bather some tail wags... sigh... The forgiveness of dogs and their situational look upon the world, ya know?...

Once she arrived at the rescue shop, she was weighed... Five pounds... Looking at her bone structure, I'm guessing (healthy) LoveBug should be around twice that... 

She was found wandering around the water treatment plant and if the size of those nails are any clue, she's been wandering around for some time on her own... I am SO amazed she was not some coyote's or bobcat's lunch... 

On bather on shift (Nikki) gently bathed LoveBug and as fragile as she is, LoveBug was smeared with feces and some kind of 'tarry' kind of substance as well... Bathed and wrapped in a warm towel, you can almost see immediate gratitude in her precious little face... 

Then off to find a sweater to keep her fragile bones warm... We had a hard time finding one small enough for her but yet large enough for her chest... LoveBug doesn't care it is a Christmas sweater - she is clean, it is nice and warm and she's in good hands now... 

Other volunteers got her bedding set up - it has to be nice and cushioned because she has no extra meat on those bones... 

While others hand fed LoveBug... We're a team effort when it comes to dogs in need... And everyone was SO happy when she actually stood up to drink water... It was heartwarming indeed... 

We are not quite sure exactly what is wrong with her... Was she just out on the streets too long and starving?... Is she ill and someone dumped her off?... No telling, but she's to be seen by our vet as well... We do know there is a mass on her leg that needs attending to... 

LoveBug also has patches all over her body are sores (?), bite marks (?), alopecia (?)... Dunno, but we are going to find out... And figure the best plan of action to get her healthy again or humanely euthanized if that is not possible at all...

But one way or another, LoveBug is going to be loved and not left to wander the streets again... It is a gosh darned shame some human did not get her the medical care she needed and deserved... No animal should be left in this kind of shape... 

This month it will be 33 years since I started volunteering in rescue... 

And just when you think you've 'seen it all,' God has a way of showing you that you have not... 

Some times I think it is His way of reconfirming your compassionate level inside of you... If He did not give you a test every once in a while, how would you really know how committed you are to No-Kill and helping every healthy, adoptable animal to find their furever home, huh??...

Stay tuned into the blog and our FaceBook page for updates on LoveBug... And know that no matter how little you hear about the TLC volunteers and the good work the rescue does, it goes on... Seven days a week, 24 hours a day... 

And now I close this blog entry with a gratitude look of love from LoveBug!

P.S. We are always in need of financial support and donations so that we do not have to turn away these munchkins when they arrive in our lap... Whether or not we have the funds, we find a way to get them the care they need and figure it out later!

Pet Facts: Owning a pet

Many folks come into the rescue shop and are captivated by the puppies up for adoption... As the TLC volunteers start discussing the pros and cons of having a puppy versus an older puppy or adult, some folks start realizing they just don't have the time and money to take on a young puppy versus an older puppy or adult... 

It is believe that if a dog is in rescue or at a shelter, somehow there must be something wrong with the dog... Many times it has nothing at all to do with the dog or puppy - it is the human... Puppy was cute, it was an impulse buy, now it is tearing up their house as they work all day long and they are tired of coming home to clean up poop, piddle and destruction... Someone gave them the puppy and they weren't really thinking about getting a pet, but a free deal is a sweet deal to most folk... Next thing you know, they were not mentally prepared for the amount of time a pet requires, nor the sacrifice and the pet becomes a problem to be gotten rid of... People get divorced and during this transition, the dog has to go... Folks get older and don't outlive their pets - with no pre-planning done, generally the kids don't want their parents' pet and into the shelter system it goes... 

This is life and this is what happens day in and day out... 

Then you have the economy kicking in... Having a pet is not an expense to take lightly... They get sick, they need care, they require annual vaccinations... 

But as you can see, the majority of folks do find pets add to their overall well-being and quality of life, even in hard economic times... Senior citizens especially benefit with having a pet in their lives - it keeps us active, provides companionship, has proven to lower blood pressure and there is something debilitating in the human spirit to not have something to love... In the case of a pet, they love you back unconditionally and don't really care what you look like, how much money you have or if you are having a bad day... 

They say you can't buy love, but at TLC our response is that you can adopt happiness in this lifetime... Maybe a dog and its associated expenses are out of your budget, but there are many other homeless animals that need you... And depending on your lifestyle, one might be better suited... Our local shelter - VCAS - has all of these pet types and all of them need quality, loving homes!  So, go and adopt some happiness today!

Success Story: Paulie (now renamed Jack again)

These are the stories we love to hear when we follow-up on our adoptions!  It is the 'rescue juice' that keeps us rescuers doing what we do!

Click on the photo to read his new furmommy's comment!

Success story: Quincy (now Toby)

From Toby's furmomma:

We are SOOO in love with our little Toby!  He's fit in with our family beautifully!  He's learned not to bother our 14 year old puppy, and has become best friends with his look-a-like sister, 7 year old Mimi.  They play tug-o-war with their toys, growling at each other while they pull, and Mimi plays so gently with him, it's heartwarming!  

Outside, they chase each other all over the backyard, which is one of the reasons we wanted Toby, to get Mimi on her feet (the older puppy didn't provide much exercise for her).  I have a video of them chasing, and another of them playing tug-o-war, but can't send it. 

I'm attaching a picture I took last night of Toby coming out from under the couch cover with his new toy.  He loves to burrow! He hasn't changed much, gaining one pound, but even though his one ear stayed up, the other doesn't seem to want to, so it's always flopped over.  Too cute!

We can't thank you enough for taking such good care of him.  He checked out beautifully with the vet - healthy and alert with a wonderful disposition.  And he's so smart!  Training so easily (anything for a bit of organic turkey!)  We are so grateful!

I've liked you on FB and occasionally share pics of adoptables for my friends. If we lived closer (we're in Valencia) my sons would volunteer.

This first month has been a joy.  Thank you all again for what you do!

Julie

Past, present and the future....

This morning I talked on the phone with someone that I had worked for twice in my professional career, but had not reconnected for at least twenty years... Thanks to the Internet, I was able to track her down through an organization, they forwarded my email and she responded... After the conversation, it was a good feeling to sit back and enjoy... It is copacetic to say thank-you to someone in your past who is, in some part, responsible for the person you have become today... 

One's past is not always something you can be proud of, but it does make you either the person or the organization you are today... And with this in mind, I am announcing the formation of 'THINKvc' which stands for 'Take Heart In No Kill Ventura County'... 

It is my hope that this think-tank organization becomes the steam engine that continues to motivate the progress we as a community have made towards No-Kill...

And with the power of the Internet yet again, I believe we have even great opportunities to unite as one humane community, dedicated to the twelve principles (or 'spokes') of No-Kill...  All interested are invited to become a part of this journey - I wish I had the website (www.thinkvc.org) up and running for this announcement, but it is still in the hands of the webmaster and not yet completed... 

All aspects of what makes No-Kill successful are invited - the shelter system, the rescues, the medical community, the general public, the folks involved who make our laws and plan our future by the implementation of the laws... If you believe in No-Kill, you are invited... 

This has been a long, hard (and sometimes, very weary) journey to change mindsets, principles and personas... There were numerous times in the past 10 years I thought to myself that I should just give up and walk away... And I'd come back again, simply just not believing that we needed to kill healthy, adoptable pets surrendered to our shelter system... 

It has been a team effort to get this far and we have much more to accomplish, my friends!  Interested in becoming part of the future of Ventura County?  Email me and let's get busy saving even more animal lives!

2 + 2 does not equal 4

Before the math teachers out there begin to fret, there are just far too many times that two plus two does not equal four... Sorry...  But because as a society we equate 'value' to numbers, rescue folks and those with humanitarian predispositions are well aware this is not a good way to look at life... 


Far too many times we get contacted about a small dog that someone does not want any longer, or see dogs and puppies that we know other rescues will pass by... Allow me to tell you Carlee's story, and you'll get an insider's appreciation that 2 + 2 ╪ 4... 

Carlee is a 1 pound, 6 ounce Chihuahua puppy who is 7 weeks old now... When we were contacted about her not quite 2 weeks ago, she could not hold her head up, but flailed around uncontrollably unless held and/or confined... 

The first night, we had to hold her head and feed her with a small baby spoon so she would not dunk her head into the wet food and drown herself... Looking at this puppy as a rescue person, you know going in that this is going to be a 'hard case' and rehabilitation is doing to take time and money... But a lot of time, love, energy and TLC more than anything else... 

What do you do however?... Do you walk away from a tiny munchkin like this?

It is just not what we do... Two weeks ago we put over $350 in a dog on vet bills, plus all the rest of the things we do (which are not cheap) and still adopted the dog at $200... Saving animals' lives is not cheap and money in seldom equals money out... 

Carlee has something the vet believes is cerebelluar hypoplasia - basically part of the brain which controls the motor skills did not develop properly... Didn't mean much more than that... Carlee hears great, loves to give kisses and is a healthy puppy with puppy energy... She's intelligent and learns quickly... 

And as a foster mom, you learn how to adapt yourself to what you are fostering (not the other way around)... 

You consistently have to think out of the box and multi-task, or you are just not a good foster mom at all... Especially with the hard cases... Sorry... 

It seems that a cute puppy like Carlee would have immediately been swept up and adopted, but because she requires work as she progresses, she becomes 'unadoptable'... Sad, huh?

Doesn't make her any less cuter or any less in need of care and love... So I applaud those in the rescue community who consistently step up and foster some of the 'less than perfect' pets that are left behind and not adopted... It takes special pets to find special fosters to make exceptional furever homes for these kinds of case.... 

We started looking for ways to get Carlee up and working those muscles, refining the motions she needed to control and/or develop those motor skills every puppy needs... 

Our first prototype was not very pretty, but it sure was creative if nothing else!  Wasn't too long before Carlee was strengthening those neck muscles and could hold her head up well enough to feed herself...

It wasn't long before I figured out that with practice, Carlee could teach herself to hold her head in place long enough to feed herself... It was a matter of ME learning the correct bowl to put her food into!...

And along the way, Carlee learned to give us the proper advance notice in body language that she needed to widdle or poo... As long as you could read her body language, there was just NO WAY she wanted to have an accident anywhere she slept, sat in, etc... 

Not only does a puppy need their back legs to move forward, it also strengthens their neck muscles so they continue to go in the direction they want to go in... 

Next step was to add wheels to that prototype... In Carlee's case, she went from a cute 'bobbler' to a roaring motor scooter --- in about 10 days --- from the time we got her at TLC and she was scooting around like a crazy munchkin!

It was harder to find tinker toys than it was to teach Carlee to scoot around in this prototype we came up with... SERIOUSLY... 

Along the way, we started homeopathic processes as well to increase the growth of nerve endings... You keep her healthy, keep her working those muscles and motivated to get where she wants to go, provide stimulation and play time... You basically do the next best right thing... 

And also along the way, you realize that no matter how much money, time, energy and love you put into saving the next puppy or dog, it will always exceed any adoption donation... 2 + 2 just does not equal 4 in rescue... We will always put in more, and it is only through the community's support with donations and volunteering that TLC continues to take on the small dogs and puppies that get left behind.... 

Carlee has now moved onto another foster mom in TLC who is exploring hydrotherapy as another option... And another creative soul, I am just as sure she will come up with new tools to speed up Carlee's rehabilitation... 

Two weeks later, look how proudly Carlee stands with her head held high... This is what rescue is all about!

Grieving for pets

A week ago today, I lost a dear friend of mine... All of us have gone through this - I am not the first and I will not be the last... And despite knowing that, it does not make the hurt any less hurtful or less painful... 

In fact, all of these three pets to the left have gone across the Rainbow Bridge, but two were mine - Rogaine to the left and Peanut to the right.  Both Peanut and Rogaine were by my side in 2005 when I came very, very close to death and wished it so... Neither one left my side through those long, long months of recovering and now here I am, alone and both of them are gone... 

I have stood at the rescue shop and talked to other folks who have lost their pets... We always have this odd hesitation about discussing this topic for some reason... What do you say?... And how do you do it?  Do we not all broach the subject and wonder if the person is questioning (in their own mind) why we are hurting so deeply over the loss of 'just a dumb dog'?... 

I know I do... 

I have yet to talk about losing Rogaine to lymphosarcoma in 18 days when I did not get that 'look' in a person's eyes... Either they can relate (and do so), instantly telling me how they lost this pet or that pet ~OR~ I can see they don't hold the same value to the loss of a pet's life as dear as I do... 

I would need to take off my shoes and socks to count the number of times I've seen that mental process going in inside their heads... "It's 9 years ago and this woman is STILL getting emotional and choking up over the death of her dog?"... And using my toes and my fingers, I could would need more digits to count the number of times in nine years I have seen 'that' look... 

So how do I even BEGIN to explain this loss of Peanut to anyone?... I know in my head the second we begin living we also begin dying, but my heart wants to know it is not true... 

How do I begin to explain the magnificence of this dog to anyone else?... Or the number of countless times I have watched her 'size up and get right' any new foster I took on... This was a very smart and calculating bitch... And yes, I can say that word, because she was all that and more... 

While Rogaine taught me the meaning of unconditional loyalty and love, Peanut taught me rescue, what a Chihuahua was all about and gave me a focused purpose in my life...  

I promised I would save one dog in his name every month of my life for the rest of my life during Rogaine's last moments, but Peanut taught me to take on the hardest tasks in the worst of times (saving the number one breed dying in the shelter systems when the economy took a dump) and make things better... 

Although I continued to foster for other rescues after losing Rogaine, Peanut forced me to look at the high volume of Chihuahua and Chi mixes in the shelter and ask myself, "Why?  Why must THEY die?  No, Linda... you can make a change and you must...."

And there is just no way to explain these losses to anyone else, nor can I expect others to know how I am feeling...  For those addicted to Facebook or a cell phone, I can explain it in terms of 'imagine no Internet access or a cell phone glued to your hand for the rest of your life'... 

Does that equate it to about the same depth of loss?... No, not really, because neither the Internet nor a cell phone have a beating heart... But for someone who has just dropped and broken their cell phone, they get an inkling of the loss (until the stop at the AT&T or Verizon store)... Close, but not so close... 

And through Peanut's intelligence, she showed me that every dog can be trained... That it does not matter their age... And that each dog 'pays it forward' to other dogs... Something that few humans practice each day of their lives, but a mindset that dogs do all the time... 

Whenever I started fostering a new dog, PeaniePean had this 'walk around' stance she'd do... Tail not quite wagging but erect...  Sniff, sniff, sniff... And if she did not like the way they smelled, you'd see her do that slow wag that showed what her mind processes were doing... She quickly taught me to immediately bathe all shelter dogs, throw away any collar they had on and give them a fresh clean start before introductions to others in my home... 

Peanut was also called "Pean, the Queen" by my family and I because she truly ruled the roost at my house... And she did it simply by command presence, something that few dogs have... 

I LOVE smart female dogs - I can't explain it and I won't apologize for it... She just 'fit' inside my heart like butter over a toasted Thomas' English muffin - through all the nooks and cranies, ya know?... I loved to watch her mind work and I was blessed to have 11 years of this memory... 

So, how do I now fill this huge, huge void in my heart and in my life?... 

I caught myself the other night reaching down for her and about to call her name to put her to bed... Peanut slept in a crate at eye's level aside of my bed... About two years ago at the ripe old age of 15, she stopped being able to hold her bladder throughout the night... Prior to this, she fell asleep every night, curled up aside of my belly... She and I went to sleep as I slowly massaged and patted her from nose to tail... It was almost a ritual at night... 

And when she moved to the crate to sleep (so mom no longer woke up in a wet, cold bed), I would put my hand through the crate bars and do just about the same thing... 

Now I reach at night but there is no Peanie to be rubbed and patted now... 

Is the loss human in scope?... Well, to me it is... At least once a day when I was home, Peanut would do something to make me laugh... She wasn't the kind of dog that did well in the general public in her later years - she had no patience for strangers (although when younger, she did enjoy shopping for fabric for some strange reason!)... But she sure did things that would make me giggle or just think and wonder... 

Will I see a comical but very smart wee one every day in my life again?... Doubtful... Peanut was a 'one of a kind' kind of dog... 

Do I love other dogs?... Sure, there is foster momma love and you love all of your dogs to some degree... But once in a great while, one comes along that is so truly special they carve out a niche in your heart that you know is unique and extremely hard to replace... 

I will not say "Good-bye, Peanut" but just "See you later..... ".

Love, 

Mom

For more of PeaniePean in a Smilebox tribute