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| Aiden |
All together 10 dogs found homes this week. Little Aiden, our little guy from New York who preferred to come back south, found a wonderful couple from Georgia to take him home. He has given then some challenges but they are working through it.
It is always with joy that I place a dog with a longtime supporter and volunteer. Linda Murawski has run many a transport for CPR and adopted a senior toy boy several years ago - a failed transport for her. This time it was a sweet little girl will just arrived from a local shelter. Linda new at the moment she saw her. Thank you Linda for your support and for once again opening your home and your heart to a little rescue who needs you.
Also adopted - Pandora and little Donna, Apollo and Sinjin standard poodles and Arianna the doodle, Duncan the doodle and Boomer, a shih tzu mix. We also finalized the adoption of Porter Wagoner, one of the 12 Dogs of Christmas. Porter has been waiting several months for his new Canadian family to fetch him and it was a wonderful match. Thanks
New Dogs
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| Seiko |
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| Keiko |
It is spring and the needs I hear about are many. We are holding our own with adoptions and for that I am grateful.
Health Front
There is one condition that standard poodles can get that you can guard against with only limited success. It's called bloat and it is life threatening and immediate. There is a lot of controversy on bloat. No one is immune from it. No standard poodle is not at risk for it throughout their lives. There are trends of course. It strikes more middle aged standard poodles than young ones but it can also take out the youngsters. It tends to be somewhat inherited although a bloat case can happen at any time in a line that has never seen bloat before. There is some success with prophalytic tacking of the stomach before it can bloat hand but not all vets agree with the procedure. It does not stop a bloat; it simply keeps a stomach from twisting during the bloating process which buys more time.
No matter what reason you may come up with for a standard poodle to bloat one thing is for sure. Once you recognize the signs, you have about two hours. If you do not get your dog into the hands of a surgeon skilled enough to handle the necessary and delicate operation, your dog is going to die. There is no other end for bloat. There is nothing you can do to get him through it. The only thing an ordinary person can do is drive like a maniac for the nearest hospital. This is a case where minutes matter.
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| Black Jack |
Last Saturday, our caregivers got to hone their bloat skills when they came in to open the kennel at 7 am to find Black Jack, a 100 lb. standard poodle, in severe distress. He did not want to get up, he was drooling badly and his eyes flashed pain. I had no help with the house dogs and could not leave but thankfully it was Saturday. Wayne was home and at 7:35 am he was already dressed. I sent him to the kennel with instructions to head towards Spartanburg and keep his phone on for I was not yet sure if we would do Spartanburg emergency, Greenville emergency or a local vet.
Why the uncertainty? Remember - it was Saturday morning and in our town, the local emergency vet closes at 8 am because most of the regular vets are open for a few hours. But it was a glorious spring Saturday morning. The experienced vets were all on the golf course. The new guys, the ones who had never done a surgery this complicated, were on duty.
I called Spartanburg emergency first because our primary surgery vet, Westside, is a part owner in the emergency clinic. The receptionist let me know that the doctor was just leaving and I would need to find another option. I asked who was on for these vets all know us and when I found out it was Dr. Mornay, I asked to speak to him even though he was heading out the door. Dr. Mornay not only works emergency, he also fills in at one of our vet clinics and knows CPR well. When he found out who was on the line, he picked up the phone. When he heard of Black jack's deteriorating condition, he also started calling around to see if he could find Dr. Bryant. Meanwhile I was emailing Dr. B knowing he would get the info on his blackberry.
I called the next nearest vet to get yet another young vet who did not know how to do the surgery. However, she reminded me of a life saving measure that I had used with Jacob the standard the year before and then forgotten about. If I could divert Wayne over to this clinic, she could decompress and stabilize Black Jack and then we could proceed to Greenville Emergency having bought at least two more hours.
Finally, we had a plan. It could save his life. My treasurer was going to get more grey hairs because I was looking at about $3,000 but what the heck. It's only money.
Now this is when things got downright strange. Do you believe in coincidences? I don't. Not this many.
Wayne's cell phone was dead. He had forgotten to charge it. I could not reach him. Frantically trying to divert him to a different vet, I was trying email, text and voice and getting nothing. He had realized it and not knowing what else to do, headed for our primary vet, Westside. Coincidence #1 - a cell phone dies just when it is needed the most. Normally that is a tragedy. Read on.
Not able to reach me, Wayne headed to our primary vet. He arrived at just before 9 am. The clinic does not open until 9:30 am on Saturday's. He went around to the back and found an open door and there was Dr. Ames, the young vet we have been seeing regularly. Coincidence #2 - that door is supposed to be locked. It wasn't. Coincidence #3, Dr. Ames was early that day. Hmm…
Dr. Ames got me on the phone and I gave him a brief rundown of Black Jack's history and then asked if he could do a bloat surgery. No, not yet but he could do a decompression and stabilization. Then we could go on to Greenville Emergency. While I was talking to Dr. Ames, I was emailing Dr. Bryant to keep him advised of the situation. I was shocked to get an email back from Dr. Bryant. He had gotten the messages and was on the way in to the office, ready to do the surgery. Coincidence #4 - one of the best surgical vets in the county with much experience in this procedure just happened to not be on the golf course yet. Hmm…
Black Jack was in surgery before 10 am. Remember that time is of the essence in bloat cases and from when we found him to decompression was 2 hours and to surgery was just over 3 hours. Gratefully, we spent nowhere near as much as we would have going the emergency room route since our primary vet supports us with discounted services. I don't mind spending the money, but emergency funds are once again getting low and saving on one means we can help to save another.
That all this happened on a Saturday is truly amazing to me. I think that Black Jack is here for a reason and still has something to do. Hang in there big guy - a forever home is waiting for you soon.
Fundraising
T-shirt orders went out and this year we're offering tank tops! Today is the last day to order. We order twice per year. http://carolinapoodlerescue.org/volunteershirts.shtml
We can't feed those dogs on good thoughts alone. We need your help to keep up these lifesaving efforts. Adoption fees alone will not support any sanctuary that offers not just routine care but extraordinary care when it's needed such as Black Jack's.
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.
Patrons are our lifeline. Patrons are recognized in many ways including having their dogs not adopted from CPR covered with our Covenant Pet Care program. Patrons receive recognition in our sanctuary and receive reduced adoption fees. Patrons are essential to our success.
Does one of our special needs dogs especially touch your heart? Help us keep it up. Every single dollar helps to keep us providing all the care these dogs need - the routine and the extraordinary.
Round up
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
Dreamweaver Farms, home of Carolina Poodle Rescue
www.carolinapoodlerescue.org
864 580 0639
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not. ~Dr. Seuss
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