Weekly rundown--Feb 18 to Feb 24 2013

Adoptions this week 

When we take in a special needs dog, it is always with the thought that we will fix what is wrong although I know there is always the chance that we can't. 

Fortunately, with Buttons it was a textbook classic case of yes, we can do this! 

Buttons

Buttons is the toy poodle puppy that was taken in few weeks ago with a bad problem. He could not pee. His equipment was inside his body and the proper opening to come out did not exist. Buttons came to us and we rushed him to our vet who performed surgery immediately. 

Puppies heal fast and Buttons was "doing his business" the day after surgery. 10 days later, he was ready to find a new home. We had applications for puppies from another litter so foster mom Beth began reviewing to see if possibly, there was a perfect fit for Buttons. 

Foster moms in our system have the right of placement. After all, they know the dogs best. Beth reviewed and spoke with a couple of applicants but that "this is perfect" feeling never got to her until she came to a retired couple from Franklin NC. Beth told me that what she really liked about this couple was their concern for Buttons. For example, they knew that he had a follow up on Friday before the meet and greet on Saturday and within an hour of the scheduled appointment, was calling Beth for a report. Further, this couple has experience with both bladder and kidney problems in toy dogs. They know what to look out for in case little Buttons ever does develop any problems from his challenges. 

Happy endings after a rocky start for Buttons! And special thanks to foster mom Beth for taking such good care of one very feisty little poodle boy. 

New dogs 

Snowball

Eight very sweet dogs made their way to CPR thanks to our wonderful supporters and friends. Released to a NC shelter from a hoarder, the group contains Maltese, Chihuahua's and a poodle to round out the bunch. 

Toto

Say hello also to two standard poodles - Jacques and Rene. Their mom passed and dad has taken care of them as best as he could but with a busy job that requires constant travel, he has had to leave much of the care to others. Left too much to their own devices, the two got bored and got into some trouble, making dad realize that the boys needed homes of their own. These two will be up for adoption after this weekend. Special thanks to the Poodle Club of America Rescue Foundation for referring Jacques and Rene to CPR. 

Getting them better 

When it rains, it pours and it's been pouring this week. Molder a poodle mix came down with an intestinal bug, two of our beagle mix pups also came down with intestinal bugs, and Peaches the Jack Russell had some sort of allergic reaction to her spay and had to spend a few days at the vet. Fortunately, everyone is on the mend so far although we have a ways to go with some of them. Thanks to all of you, our dogs get what they need. 

And teaching them new tricks 

Two weeks ago caregiver Amy Pearson began classes at Taillights in Greenville SC. Taillights focuses on positive reinforcement to shape and adapt canine behavior. 

Week one: 

Kamryn and I had a great time tonight! 

Kami

The "Rover" class that we are enrolled in is more advanced, so the trainer basically just had Kami and I get comfortable and observe the session. They are emailing me handouts and I will be working with Kami this week on "sit" and "stay." Kami was very, very nervous and not herself tonight so I'm hoping she will open up in the next class!

This particular session was about trusting your dog on and off lead, as well as showing them what is appropriate when meeting strangers. They were doing several sit and stay exercises, and pushing the dogs limit's by circling them while they held the stay, or taking several steps away from them.

One of the exercises really caught my attention, and is a great socialization tool. They had the dogs tethered to a leash that attached to the wall. Each person would walk to every dog and would only acknowledge them if they sat calmly without being told; if the dog jumped or got overly excited, we would simply ignore it. After doing this for a few minutes, the class worked on approaching someone whose dog was sitting politely at their side. This is a really good skill to learn as it keeps the dog from jumping on strangers.

While observing the puppy classes, I learned a little more about the "sit" command. I learned that you should not use the verbal command "Sit" when training, but rather use the hand signal first. Along with this, you do not give the dog a treat with the same hand that you use to signal. The verbal commands can be used after the dog is proficient at the command.  ALSO, in the puppy class, I learned different ways to use a crate. It is actually an awesome training tool, and the commands "stay," "wait," "come," and "okay," can be taught using a crate. There is so much to learn, and Kami and I are excited for what's to come! 

Week two: 

This week was a 180 from last week. Kami went in very confident, relaxed and most importantly focused. 

Between last week and this week Kami learned "sit," and that simple command alone made this session much smoother. The class was very small (last week it was large with about 7 or so dogs), there was only one other couple with their 6 month old Aussie tonight. Both dogs were able to get a lot of 1 on 1 attention from the trainer and I was able to ask questions and soak up what they were saying to me. 

If you noticed from the class that you and I observed, every puppy was on a "mat/towel." This is a really, really important key to their training, and the mat is also supposed to be practiced at home. The dogs are supposed to learn that when they are on their mat they need to be sitting or lying calmly. So first we took a few minutes to let the dogs get calm and focused on their mat. 

Then we worked on the "down" command. Kami caught on quickly, and if practiced everyday she will have it down by next week. Again, you only repeat the command once and to teach this you put the treat right on their nose and lure them to the down position, and then praise with multiple pieces of treats. Once they've held the down position you give them an "OK" and that is their cue that they can get up and move.

We practiced "loose leash" walking and while doing that we also practiced letting them sniff around (did so by placing a treat somewhere in the room and letting them find it). As you remembered 30% of their brain is being used when sniffing and we want them to know it is ok to do so. 

Next, we worked on holding the sit or lay position while being approached by a stranger. Kami of course needs to work on this as she is so eager to meet new people and so excited when people come around. During this exercise I was instructed to give kami multiple treats while she was in a sit position and keep her attention on me while the stranger walked up and greeted me. 

I learned in this exercise to repeat the word "good" in a nonchalant voice over and over while Kami was sitting or lying to keep her attention, and when I was ready to let her get up I would change my tone of voice and say "ok." This surprisingly worked like magic! 

I had a lot of fun tonight and am really looking forward to next week! 

Amy Pearson, caregiver 

Stay tuned for weekly updates from Amy as she and Kami learn the basics of obedience and the whys behind the training.

On the road 

Amy and Jake heading to PA

All of our caregivers at one time or another find a stray dog and take him or her in. Our caregivers are compassionate. They would not work here if they were not. When caregiver Olivia Millwood found a stray boxer/am staff mix last winter she never dreamed that there was a surprise waiting inside. 

She found out in mid-November when the stray, now dubbed Pretty Girl, gave birth to a healthy litter of 11 bouncing bundles of joy. CPR was able to place several but 7 were still with Olivia and growing fast. 

Volunteer and adoption counselor Carol McCulloch had for some time been telling me about a no kill farm similar to our own in her state of Pennsylvania. Working through Carol, we reached out to Blue Chip and learned that these types of puppies are very popular in that state. Saturday morning, Amy and Olivia headed to Pennsylvania, puppies in tow and along for the ride was a big chocolate lab named Jake whose owner here in Spartanburg had become ill and could not care for him. 

Amy and Olivia in PA

It was a trip of love for sure. Facebook supporters donated .25 cents per mile to get the pair to PA and Carol and her husband John offered their home and hospitality. Amy and Olivia donated their time for the trip. 

Amy in the snow in PA

It was a long 12 hours up for Jake got car sick and at one point refused to get back in the van. The girls finally coaxed him in and shortly after 8 p.m., rolled into Blue Chip to settle their charges for the night. 

They arrived back at Blue Chip to find that previous adopters had been given puppy alerts and had arrived to check out the new arrivals. 4 of the 7 puppies were already settled into their new family's arms. It was very satisfying to have such a great start to the trip. I look forward to hearing updates as the rest of the dogs find homes. 

At the farm 

Our spruce up project continues with a new paint job for our grooming room. We've also received the stain and sealer for the floors and Maintenance Mike began that tedious process on Sunday. Stay tuned for pictures next week. 

Thanks to you, we're fixing them up, keeping them safe and finding them homes. Can you help us do more? 

CPR needs to grow to 1500 regular donors (Never Say No supporters and Patrons) this year. To do so will allow us to help even more dogs. To keep these stories continuing, please consider adding CPR to your monthly donations. To do so, please visit our webpage at 

http://carolinapoodlerescue.org/giving.shtml 

and choose Patrons, Covenant Pet Care or Never Say No. 

Thank you for your donations and your support. Without it none of this would be possible.

Donna Ezzell 

Director 

www.carolinapoodlerescue.org 

It takes teamwork to make the dream work.

Weekly rundown week of Feb 11 to Feb 17 2013

Adoptions this week 

Every adoption is special - but some make my heart sing and when someone comes in and specifically asks for a 12+ year old, blind toy poodle who they think has heartworms, and they still want to meet him? 

Bruce James

Bruce arrived here in March of 2010. We named him after his transporter's husband. He was nothing but bone, heartworm positive, eyes clouded with cataracts and matted to the skin. The little stray from Augusta, GA had a lot of strikes against him and most people would have shook their heads and said we would be totally in line to gently send him to the Rainbow Bridge. 

I just can't do that to a dog who dives head first into a bowl of food, then snuggles in my arms in gratitude afterwards and licks my nose. Old does not mean there is no joy to give or receive - so we kept putting food down and he kept eating it, bad teeth and all. We started the process to health. 

Heartworms first as nothing else could be fixed until that. We listed him on the website and about that time, the drug that kills heartworms became unavailable so we chose the slow kill, better anyway because of his age. Bruce took his monthly Triheart pill like a champ. It took almost 2 years, but in February 2012 Bruce tested negative for the first time. Hurdle one over! 

Hurdle two was the funds for a dental. It took some time but in January of 2013 (thank you Beth Horsley!) we finally took Bruce in for a dental. At this point, almost 3 years on our website without even a nibble, it did not occur to me that I was fixing him up for a family. I was fixing him up because he needed fixing. Bruce had moved out of the kennel and into the senior sanctuary I have at home and was firmly entrenched, 2nd crate from the left, in between Rocky and Little Bear. He had a song and a name and a soft bed and friends. Life was good and I fully assumed that he would stay with me forever. 

I was wrong. 

Last Saturday, I saw the meet and greet come through with Bruce's name on it. Okay, they wanted small and he was small and we had other small. I figured the family had read the age wrong. Yet when the retired couple arrived and I introduced other toy poodles, they asked again specifically for Bruce. He reminded them so much of the dog they lost .We chatted a bit and I explained how he lived with me and really had a home and he was old and blind and he could still mark and…surely they didn't want Bruce? 

So they met some more dogs and then asked to meet him again. Just to see……just to see. 

When Bruce came into the room, happy and bumping into things with his wiggle walk, he was scooped up high into the husband's arms and snuggled close. I left them alone for a bit and when I came back, she was cozying a little red apricot toy and he was still holding Bruce while their senior black toy poodle girl sat in between and agreed this would work. 

I am always touched when others see the love and affection and old dog can give. They may not have as many years to give, but they will make what they have as special as they can for you. Thank you Maryann and Dennis for loving a little, old dog. 

On a special note, our adopters Saturday deserve the "most dedicated" of the year award. Snow fell heavy and hard on our farm Saturday afternoon but that did not deter and 5 brave souls made the trek despite the weather looking for, and finding, forever friends. 

Snow at Dreamweaver Farms

New dogs 

Papi

Our newest is a very special little boy named Papi. Papi's owner is facing surgery and cannot care for him anymore. Sometime in the past, Papi suffered a fall and as a result, he has some neurological issues. He occasionally will spin and spin and then back into a wall and get stuck there. These things don't occur all the time but only occasionally. He otherwise is quiet and seems content. He is living with our senior dogs as he does not play, but prefers to be carried around. We're setting Papi up for an assessment with our vet to see what can be done. 

Getting them better 

Every week we head to a vet somewhere. Last week was no exception. Tuesday was spay/neuter day with 11 new dogs going up for necessary vetting. After a short recovery period, these will be going up for adoption. We have some cuties! 

Buttons

The big news was surgery on little Buttons, a tiny pocket poodle puppy who came to us because he could not pee - literally. The opening where his penis should come out was just a tiny spot on his little bitty belly. Surgeons went in last Monday and were able create the proper space and just a day after surgery, little Buttons was already going outside on his own. The doctors also removed several urine crystals that had already formed where the urine was going into his body. Without surgery, his body would have poisoned itself and he would have died very early. Thanks so much to all the supporters who made this surgery possible. Buttons will be up for adoption in about a week. 

Brandy now

Brandy at intake to CPR

Brandy, a very sweet shih tzu/maltese that came in severely matted and grossly overweight, got a checkup. I thought the rolling walk was just her, but it turns out that she has a badly luxated patella which must be fixed, eye infections and a mammary tumor that needs removed. As you can see form the before pictures, Brandy was not in good shape in her former home. I'm glad she was picked up as a stray for she has a sweet and affectionate personality and once these health issues are under control, she will make someone a wonderful pet.  

At the farm 

Our kennel spruce up continues! Maintenance Mike has completed the painting of the grooming room and laundry room and we moved back in to those areas. Our new washing machine also arrived and we're already trying to wear it. We do approximately 27 loads of laundry per day - our three machines stay busy. The stain and sealer for the kennel floor has been ordered! Our new look - violet and gray - is soothing and looks easier to keep clean. I can't wait to get the stain and sealer down on the big dog side and start on our little's side. Thank you to our benefactor who has made the dream of new floors come true. 

We're fixing them up, keeping them safe and finding them homes. Thank you for your donations and your support. Without it none of this would be possible.

China Ezzell and Tanya, a future adoptable dog, playing in the snow.