Success Story: Alfee

Celebrate with us the adoption of Alfee, another success story at TLC... We believe in No-Kill, and that every healthy, adoptable dog deserves a second chance at a furever life... We make a point of saving one 'hard case' for every four dogs we save... And Alfee was a save when the medical ward at Ventura County Animal Services had gotten a bit too full to keep taking in more dogs needing extra medical care... This is how we found Alfee in the shelter as an owner surrender... 

Besides needing a lot of grooming and bathing, Alfee had an enormous mass inside of his mouth that was pushing his lower jaw out of alignment with his upper jaw... That is NOT his tongue you see, but the mass inside of his mouth!... Can you imagine trying to eat with that inside?... 

Surgery and expensive vet bills later, our vet declared the surgery a success, and for sure, Alfee felt MUCH better after it was all done!  One of our TLC volunteers is a professional dog groomer and she comes in once a week and gives at least 8 hours of her talent to our dogs that need the full-on 'glam' treatment of grooming... Every TLC volunteer has different talents they bring to the table, and we appreciate each and every one of them... Once Desiree worked her creative magic, this is the new and beautiful Alfee!... 

We discovered that Alfee could be a playful sort of chap despite his senior status... 

And it is also our belief that we 'stop the clock and freeze time' for these dogs that take longer to find that extra special BFF of their own... We felt the right person would come along who would absolutely fall in love with Alfee like we did... 

Alfee came a LONG way with just a bit of TLC, the desire to say, "No, we're not going to allow this dog to be killed on our watch"...

This week, six months after we saved his life, Alfee found his new BFF... Yes, we were all SO happy for him - another success story that is certainly deserved for this munchkin!  Congratulations, Alfee!

Event: CPK Day! August 21st

NOTE: you must bring in a copy of the flyer for TLC to receive your donation of 20%

Event: TLC Thrift Shop

Event: Spaw Day 8/16/14 - Noon until 4PM

Update: Carlee

On July 29th, another TLC guardian angel foster mom (Roxanne) took Carlee on because we had a few pregnant mommies come in... And now Roxanne is going away for the weekend for her birthday, so I have Carlee for the weekend... 

Carlee watching a Simi sunset

Ten days makes a LOT of difference in the life of one of these little ones, especially one with the issues Carlee has (her back story is HERE)... And as foster moms, on a day-to-day basis you really don't see the progress... But as someone who has not seen Carlee in ten days, I am absolutely blown away by her progress...

First of all, the subtle signs you might not notice right away... Carlee is acting more like a normal dog now... She is exploring her world with her nose... Smell is the most important sense with a dog and she is consistently lifting that head and 'tuning in' with her nose... And she will continue to hold that head up and zero in on what she wants to smell more of... This was a major shocker to me the first time I saw it, and I had to keep looking to make sure I really did see it... She's done it many times this evening and I am just 'gob-smacked' as another TLC volunteer would say... 

The next thing I noticed?... Carlee has learned to be affectionate... Not only to lift her head and hold it, but to give you kisses... Not as accidental ones... But ones ON PURPOSE... She knows where she wants to go and reaches out to reach your chin or cheek, then proceeds to really give you solid and sweet kisses... 

Probably more apparent to those who don't interact with Carlee often, but she is now REALLY pumping those back legs in her wheelie... She is picking them up and you can see her deliberateness when she plants them back down... She now has muscle tone in those hind legs that she did not have before and she stretches out those toes and digs in... Before, her leg had one bend in it (at the hock) and now there is an actual "ankle" above her toes... Instead of half sitting down, there is definition now that she did not have before... 

She has not learned to back up in her wheelie, but she went up and down my long hallway this evening... And if she got the end, she'd struggle to turn herself... Only if she could not did she cry for help... Otherwise, she is a real motor-scooter and this is directly to all the hard work Roxanne has done the past 10 days!  BRAVO!

Amazing stuff, ya know?... 

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!