02/06/2012 to 02/12/2012
On the health front
Monday am bright and early, our big van pulled out of the parking lot with 12 dogs going for routine spay/neuter surgeries. It’s a feat to get this many ready for surgeries but we do it every three weeks. Humane Alliance in Asheville NC is our clinic of choice for regular surgeries.
Dogs that are over about 7 years old are altered at our regular vet in Spartanburg so we can also do pre-anesthetic blood work to make sure all is okay. Jedidiah of Corona made that trip on Wednesday and permanently retired from being a stud dog with his neuter surgery. Jed now has a wonderful applicant who I hope will be able to make him part of her household this weekend.
Sassy, a spectacular blue standard poodle girl and I made the rounds of specialty clinics on Wednesday and Thursday. Sassy has not one but two issues. The first, for which we visited Dr. Bauer at Southeastern Dermatology Clinic is her skin. She is losing pigment in her nose and pads. Her pads of her feet are almost white and her nose is getting there. Fortunately, it looks like this pigment loss is not life threatening and the biggest challenge for her will be to stay out of the sun especially on very warm days.
Her other most pressing issue is her eyes. Sassy came to us with dry eye. Cyclosporin has been the medicated eye drops we were given to use with her but something was wrong. Sassy’s eyes were filled with debris and gunk every morning and all day long. We patiently wiped them out and reapplied her eye drops but it did no good. She looked a bit like a bloodhound, with the deep sagging red eyes that are normally associated with the sad eyed hounds, and one possessed with green gunk oozing all the time. A visit to Dr. Diana Pate at Carolina Vet Specialists revealed that the cyclosporine was no longer working. Sassy now has a new drug, Tacrolimus as well as several supporting drops to help heal the damage. She will need the Tacrolimus for life as well as a rewetting drop and a dry eye salve at night but hopefully we’ll discontinue the antibiotic drops in time. The green gunk was not infection but was her body’s way of trying to make something to lubricate her eye. We’ll know more in 30 days but already she looks much better and more comfortable. If improvement continues, Sassy will be up for adoption soon. She is a 6 year old standard who prefers the company of humans and male standard poodles. She is a bit of a diva and doesn’t want to compete with any other standard poodle women for your affection. She was wonderful on our road trips for two days with me, and loves to ride in the car. She also loves going to Petsmart and picking out her own bully stick to enjoy on the ride home. She’s going to make someone a great companion. Her drops are going to run around $50 per month.
We also visited Westside with some rechecks and check in’s. Ezekiel, a sweet shih tzu with a bad ticker, went back in for his coughing. He’s got a touch of bronchitis and is on meds for that now. Max a senior cocker is battling a bad ear infection and will most likely have to have surgery soon. We also found out why Pippa was eating so much. Pippa, a poodle mix stray from NC was in line for spay surgery along with a repair to a badly damaged ear but it will be a bit. She’s pregnant and we’ll be having pups in about 10 more days. Puppy breath!
Also in was Martina, a Papillion mix that walks with a little sway and a limp. Turns out there is nothing wrong with Martina and it is most likely a birth defect of some kind and she has compensated for it. Want a couch companion? Martina doesn’t go fast but she’ll go far in somebody’s heart. She is a true sweetheart, rarely barks, is clean and neat and asks little but to be kept safe in a big world that moves faster than she can.
Patches is a boston terrier possibly Australian cattle dog mix. We took her in when her owner turned her in to our local vet after her husband died. She just didn’t want her anymore and asked that the 7 year old be destroyed. Our vet staff asked instead of we would take her in. Patches has allergies – tough ones. We’re working through them and waiting on a referral to the dermatologist to try to get her healthy. More as those appointments are made.
Chia and Tokyo are both doing well. Look for follow ups on those two in about two more weeks.
Sadly, we lost Midnight the day after I reported to you and asked for your healing thoughts. He was just too sick to make it further. I wish I had gotten him in the summer. Things may have been different. Light a candle for this brave little miniature poodle to find his way to the Bridge.
New Dogs
Blue – special thanks to Debi Raby and Melinda Horn for caring so much for Blue. I got a call on our hotline about a senior mini whose owner could no longer care for him. I knew our senior slots were full to overflowing and I put off returning the call for over a day before finally asking Debi to do it for me. I hate saying no. Debi knew we were full but used all that energy and enthusiasm she is bringing to us to get the world involved. She posted to Facebook, and found not one but two situations for little Blue. Thank you Karen for offering your home and heart to this senior dog.
Debi gave me a challenge also. “why haven’t you asked for the funds to build a senior center” she demanded? She’s right. I haven’t asked but I’m going to. You’ll be hearing more from me on that soon.
Often I’ll put a “last chance” note on a dog, usually a non-poodle that I believe we can find a home for with a bit of work. I will be happy to see them go to another reputable rescue but if euthanasia is their only option, then they come to us. That happened this week with Lola, a Pekingese from the Columbia shelters. Lola has one eye that is not functioning. Otherwise, she’s a heap of fun and looks just like the Westminster champion and acts like him, too. She may be homeless and in a shelter but she’s still royalty and she knows it. She’s not a snotty royal, more of the happy queen type that you love to love. Check for Lola on a website near you soon.
Candy, a white mini, found her way here when her owner could no longer care for her. It was a tearful goodbye for the little mini and I hope to find her a home very quickly. Problem is Candy has some incontinence issues and will need someone who understands that her prion must be given daily.
Sue Wortman brought in two from Rowan County, a cockapoo named Wayne and a phantom mini we named Teddy. Teddy is set to be one of our grooming competition dogs in Atlanta the first of March and after competition, will be looking for a home.
Also in are Sweet Maybelline and Cowboy Storm, two black minis that were donated to CPR by a breeder who was ready to retire them. Maybelline is 5 and a retired UKC champion. Both Maybelline and Storm will be heading to the runway also in March for the Atlanta Pet Fair and then up for adoption. These are beautiful black miniature poodles that will be awesome pets.
The good stuff that happened:
One of our caregivers called in sick last Sunday. Normally that is not a problem but we had two trainees working and only one experienced caregiver to help them. It has been a long time since I worked in the main building but I do know the ropes and offered to go up and spend some time. Working in the kennel side by side with the caregivers reminded me so much of my early days and the happiness I found just being with the dogs.
I worked on the small dog side and what really struck me was our heartworm positive run. The heartworm positive dogs were the quietest, the neatest, and the cleanest of all the dogs here. Some have been here since early spring, waiting on the drug to rid their bodies of the parasites. It’s called immiticide and it’s been about impossible to come by for the last couple of years since the plant that manufactures it lost their FDA approval. Now, thanks to a tip from Liz Bardsley, one of our adopters and volunteers, I was able to put our vet in touch with her vet and he shared the research he has done using an antiobiotic called doxycycline and regular heartworm preventative, both easy to get. We now have a program in place using easy these drugs to eradicate the heartworms. Bruce James, a white toy, is already testing negative! We’ll be putting these dogs up for adoption with the needed medicines to go with them in the next few weeks. We will have some adorable adoptables to introduce you to from the heartworm dog side.
Adoptions!
We found homes for 9 dogs last week, down from the week before but always satisfying nonetheless.
Liam, the first of the Tennessee U-Haul dogs, made his way to Greenville SC first off. Then little Krissy the Maltese snuggled into the lap of a retired couple from Columbia and said “I am home.”
Lacey Opal, also from Knoxville, found a lap that could appreciate this quiet white mini who is afraid of children. Lacey took home a friend with her, Oscar an apricot toy. Two of our Columbia dogs, both Bailey and Clint, found homes and little Barney, a scruffy terrier poo with a heart of gold, found forever love with second time around adopters and Never Say No supporters. Thank you Sue! Heather, another terrier who loves life in general, also found a home.
And last but not least….our diabetic maltipoo Sophie Wilson relocated to the lower part of the state. It is always a challenge to find someone who can appreciate a special needs dog and when it happens, it is the sweetest adoption of all. Thank you Brenda for opening your heart to this happy little girl. She only wants to be loved and you have that to spare.
Fundraising
This will be a new section in the weekly roundup for we can’t feed those dogs on good thoughts alone. We need your help to keep up these lifesaving efforts.
It has been a while since I’ve talked about our regular supporters. They are the lifeline that keeps us going.
Are you a donor? If not, would you consider it? Can you afford $15 per month to support dogs in need? It’s the middle of February and for non-profits, this is the worst time of year. Donations slip to an all-time low. Our intake continues and goes up and without donations, we can get in trouble in a hurry. Adoption fees alone will not support any sanctuary as busy as ours.
Are you enjoying the weekly updates? Am I showing you that we’re putting your money to good use? If so, please consider joining our Never Say No campaign and pledging $15 per month to keep our small sanctuary going. Our ultimate goal is 1500 Never Say No supporters to sustain our efforts. We are currently at a little over 300 supporters. Can you help us get to that 1500 supporter level? Every donation is appreciated and used for the needs of the dogs.
That was the week….we’re bringing them in, fixing them up and finding homes. Thanks so much for your support – it is the foundation on which we are built. Without you, none of this would happen. Thank you.
Donna Ezzell
Director
