Hit by Car!
Imagine your horror to see the car hitting the brakes and smell rubber ripping into the road. Imagine the sick dread when you hear the thump, and then the whimper. Running towards the spot where the vehicle is leaving, you bend over the now still little bedraggled form and feel for a pulse while your eyes look out for telltale signs of blood from mouth or nose. Hand on the tiny chest, you feel the slightest movement. He's alive!
Scooping the battered body up, you wince as he snaps and snarls and actually takes a nip out of you but you know it's only fear. The little fella, curly haired it looks like, can't stand up but he's still got fight and he sure didn't like being moved. However, move he must for this is a busy road and he is laying in the middle of it.
Knocking on doors, you ask the kids playing in the neighborhood who the dog is and where does he belong for you know he needs medical attention and needs it now. They don't know. He's been hanging around for a few weeks and they've been throwing food at him. Then a parent comes out and remembers that the dog belonged to neighbors down the way. Neighbors who moved and left no forwarding address and didn't bother to pack the dog leash with the rest of their things.
You wonder now what to do. You've got a hurt dog in your car that no one will admit to owning. You've got 7 pets of your own at home and you can't afford any more vet bills. What can you do?
You call Marguerite Mebane at the Cleveland County Humane Society. Marguerite, a poodle lover as well as tireless humane society director, got the little poodle into the hands of a vet who confirmed nothing worse than a broken pelvis and tail. Cage rest for 8 to 12 weeks was the order of the day. That's when Marguerite called CPR. Humane societies must move quickly. Marguerite knew that at Dreamweaver Farms, the little poodle would find a safe place to wait while his injuries healed.
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| Clover |
But still he needed a name. The first time he was able to be taken out and towel walked, he went right to a 4 leaf clover and did his business! How's that for finding some luck. Clover it became and a new life was begun.
During his time at the hospital, the vet went ahead and neutered the little poodle and gave him his vaccines and got all of that out of the way. Now it's a waiting game for Clover. He's on pain meds and cage rest and while a bit frustrated at the lack of activity for he feels much better now, he's doing well. He'll need X rays again in a few weeks to confirm that healing is done. Then it will be time for a new home, hopefully just in time for New Year's.
Please come by our office if you get a chance and hold Clover for a while. And if there is a warm spot by your fire and in your heart, consider taking him home to keep him safe and no longer abandoned. He'll be forever grateful.
The surprise adoption of the week
As each dog comes in, someone is also finally going home. We only placed a handful this week but oh what wonderful ones they were. Let me tell you about one.
His name is Cecil and he is in his 80's. I hope I'm that active when I am 80 for this gentleman didn't miss a beat. He had lost his longtime friend, a Pomeranian, and wanted another. We had 3 for him to choose from. He was here to find a fuzzy little lap dog and find one he did.
But this adoption story isn't about him. It's about his daughter who insisted that she really must come with him just to help.
Everyone grieves in a different way. Some do it by adopting before they lose a beloved pet. It is easier to say goodbye when there is someone at home to hold when the time comes. Some do it almost immediately after losing a pet, feeling that void too deeply to not fill it. And some wait days, then weeks and then months for many reasons.
So here was this kind gentleman picking out a dog as his had passed and he missed his companion. And here was his adult daughter, who had also lost her dog, a husky, this summer but was not ready to go through that again. At least not for a long time.
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| Wysteria |
Enter Wysteria, a shy but sweet something (shepherd/poodle we think) mix picked up from a shelter with a group of golden doodles last August. She was the last one of that group. Wysteria, you see, did not look like a golden doodle or even a doodle/poodle anything or a golden anything or a shepherd anything. She looked like any garden variety medium sized mixed breed that you can find in any shelter. In short, she was the ugly duckling in a group or swans.
Wysteria has grown and matured since coming to our sanctuary. A total wallflower in August, she now gently interacts with us, with other dogs and sometimes with strangers. She had been in the adoption center for a meet and greet with another family when Cecil and his daughter came in.
Wysteria touched Sandy in a most fundamental way. This dog needed help. There was potential here if only someone would give her some gentle direction. Being able to help, this was a good reason to face the pain one day of losing a pet again.
Sandy filled out the application at my computer and I did our interview on the spot. I am very careful about our process but I knew that in this case, like father like daughter. Cecil's love for his pets was obvious and he had instilled that same love for animals into his daughter.
Cecil chuckled while we were doing paperwork and said "I knew she was going to take a dog home." Guess this was a case where father did know best.
Parade time!
CPR was on the move this week with our participation in the Gaffney SC Christmas parade. One watcher told our walkers that CPR was the best part of the floats for her. Poodles and more strutted around our maintenance department's pickup, some riding high in the back and others running and passing candy into the crowd. It's a lot of fun and we're glad the poodles and their friends are such crowd pleasers.
A vendor with a heart
Very special thanks to Parkers Carpet One Floor and Home in Spartanburg for donating over 30 pieces of thick vinyl to use in our crates with no bottoms. Thanks also to Parkers for letting us get a large piece of vinyl for Greta's cottage at a significant discount. Salute!
Recap
8 dogs found homes this week. We are seeing a downturn in adoption applications and I can only speculate that it is from our country's own looming financial issues that are making adopters nervous about taking on a responsibility like a dog.
If you can't or are not ready to adopt right now, considering becoming a patron. CPR is a safe place for dogs to wait and our patrons and never say no supporters are the ones who make it possible for Dreamweaver Farms and CPR to exist. We are funded solely on donations and adoption fees and the generosity of others. To become a patron or see other ways to help, visit our webpage at http://carolinapoodlerescue.org/giving.shtml
Have a great week
Donna Ezzell
Director
Carolina Poodle Rescue
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