AH, a rainy fall with dachshunds October 13, 2009

HowlOWeenie is behind us, and it was glorious.  We now turn our sights to fall, when a young rescuer’s thoughts lightly turn to thoughts of ….. murder, mayhem, and rage at the machine.

No, not really.  But there are a few things I’m pretty hacked off about right now.

1.  Arnold Schwarzenegger.  He vetoed a bill to outlaw puppymills.  Seriously, Arnold? A “responsible breeder” is not going to have more than 100 adult dogs on his / her property.

2. Stories I heard today about a certain county south of Atlanta where—

A) they “adopted” a mama dachshund and her 4-day old puppies, along with an unneutered male, to a backyard breeder.  Georgia law says that dogs coming out of a shelter must be altered by the owner, but this shelter is not one of those that follows up on that.  So, nice life coming for that crew!  And not even any registration papers for the puppies.  So these will be cheap puppies.  And that means, they will get no vet care, because that costs money.  Nice!

B) one of the county commissioners let his unneutered dachshund run free.  Picked up by AC several times.  Last time, didn’t come claim him.  So eventually a rescue got him.  Dog was heartworm positive, had all the intestinal parasites.  And who knows how many litters he’d sired on his adventures. County commissioner is suing the rescue group.  Wanted his dog back.  But the dog had died because it wasn’t healthy enough to survive the heartworm treatment.

I know there are a lot of crazy rescuers out there.  There are some animal rights nutjobs, and there are some overzealous people doing overzealous things.  But when we are just trying to save the lives of the real dogs that are right in front of us, and the “authorities” not only don’t help, but actively oppose, it makes my stomach hurt.

Recent victories:  Rosie from Chattooga County.  Sassy from Dekalb County.  Lester from Fulton County.  And getting another tomorrow.

HowlOWeenie 2009 is upon us! October 1, 2009

Hope you’ve got your dachshund’s costume fitted!

Hope you’ve exercised your dachshund’s tail wag muscle!

Hope you’ve practiced your starting block technique for the race!

Hope you’re prepared to satisfy your shopping urge at the artist market – and packed lots of cash and checkbook!

Hope you’ve packed your lawnchair so you can relax for the Roxie Watson bluegrass!

Hope you’ve stretched your tummy for lots of hotdogs!

Hope you’ve limbered up for the dachsie hokey pokey!

Hope you’ve memorized your best dachshund joke!

Hope you’ve practiced your “Dachshund Idol” trick!

Hope you’ve perfected your howling duet!

Howl-O-Weenie is here! Click for complete details and schedule!

“Exception Rescue” vs. “Overpopulation Rescue” September 15, 2009

So much of what rescue groups deal with is because of the massive overpopulation of dogs — pure mathematics — too many dogs, too few homes.  I call this “overpopulation rescue” and it is so overwhelming, we often can’t help with special circumstances that are really  heartbreaking — when someone can no longer care for their pet through no fault of their own.  I think if these as “exception rescues” : when life changes, and people have to adjust by finding new homes for their dogs.  Situations like divorce, foreclosure, illness, or even death.

I often am saddened that we cannot handle these “exception rescues” because the “overpopulation rescues” are more than we can handle anyway.

Yesterday I had an “exception rescue” experience.  Sadly, most of the time I have to say “no” to these, but this time was different.

I received a call from a very distraught woman.  She asked if I remembered “Ed Simmons” (not his real name), who had adopted 2 puppies from us a couple of years ago.

Of course I remembered Ed.  I remembered especially the smile on his face when he left with those two darling puppies, Angus and Nessa.  I remembered Angus and Nessa because I’d watched them be born in my kitchen, just 6 days after I saved their mama from animal control.  Mama had been scheduled for being put to sleep 2 hours before I arrived to get her.  (Yes, pregnant.  But that’s another story.)

Her voice choked up when she said, “Ed died.  Can you come get the dogs?”  (Amazingly resourceful, she had remembered the name of Ed’s vet, who then remembered me.  Two big strokes of luck for those babies.  Otherwise they would have gone to animal control and I would never have known.)

Luckily, I was in town and not on a business trip.  I was also in the car and not far away.  I headed over there.  Angus and Nessa were in the back yard.  Scared to death.  Ed had apparently let them outside and then collapsed.  They spent about a day back there, without food or water, and watching their dad through the back door window.  They were frantic.  When I arrived the authorities had already taken Ed away, but the dogs wouldn’t let anyone near them.  The police were there, I suppose to make sure we didn’t take anything except the dogs.

I sat down on the back porch and within a minute or so, they remembered me.  What a moment — after 2 years, they remembered!  They climbed all over me, giving kisses and headrubs.  I got them into the car and got them home.  They were so relieved to be with people again.

We will always need rescue, because these situations are part of life.  I dream of the day when all rescue is “exception rescue” and not “overpopulation rescue.”

As long as we buy dogs from breeders and petstores, giving them the financial incentive to continue their practices, we will have “overpopulation rescue.”

Why I say “And I thought I had seen it all!” so much. August 28, 2009

So yeah.  I thought I had seen it all.  But it turns out, no.

Just in the past 2 weeks:

1.  Langley arrived from animal control with his giant cut all down his side, from front leg, all down his ribs, and down his back leg. It had already scarred over in spots, and all of it was scabby, so it was pretty old, but all I could wonder was “Who does THAT to a little dog?”  And I also wondered how you could make such a straight clean cut when the dog must have been struggling all over the place.  Latest theory from the foster home is that was caused by a weed-whacker.  But he’s an angel and will make someone a wonderful, wiggly little companion.  See pic below.

2. Fig came in from animal control, small and sweet.  Handsome tiny little chocolate boy.  He had some funny little bumps….that turned out to be HUNDREDS of baby ticks.  The vet took as many off his eyes and face as they could get without him freaking out.  Now he just has them between his toes…they look like bunches of tiny gray grapes poking up from each foot.  It gives you the heebie jeebies to look at them.  I’m sure I’m going to have a nightmare tonight.  Anyone have any suggestions for getting them off?  We’ve applied frontline so I’m hoping they will just die and fall off, but that seems optimistic.  And through it all, he is affectionate and friendly, even when my husband came home for the very first time, he wagged and wagged.

3. Simon is another tiny boy, also left in animal control.  We’ve had him for a few weeks, and he was heartworm positive.  He had some trouble with the treatment, and we had to take him to the cardiologist for a sonogram.  I SAW a bunch of heartworms on the sonogram!  It looked like a cross-section of a spaghetti box.  There are few things in this world I hate more than heartworms, and this was the first time I’d actually seen one.  They were flowing in and out, back and forth between 2 chambers of his heart.  So his blood wasn’t oxygenating.   I will never forget that image…the only other sonogram images I’ve seen are friends’ babies.  (This, obviously, was quite different.)  He likes to give hugs.  He has at least 60 more days before he will be ready for adoption.  We could use some help with that cardiologist bill, too, if you’ve got some spare $$ lying around.

Cygnet July 24, 2009

<See 8/25 update at bottom!>

Some days it’s really hard.  I go to a shelter a couple of times most weeks, squeezing the visits in between my “paying” work and when I can coordinate with a vet and a foster home.  It’s always hard, walking through those rows of runs, where the dogs look up at you, some still hopeful (wagging their tails), others shut down (not even looking).

This week was one of the hardest, and I didn’t even have to go to the shelter.

I collaborated with a couple of other groups to save a group of 9 dachshunds who had been dumped in the “night box” at a rural shelter.  (How cowardly can you be, to leave your animal in the night box?  I guess it’s marginally better than abandoning them in the  median of I- 75.)

DREAM agreed to take 3, and another group arranged transportation.  I met them at the Windy Hill Chick-Fil-A.  (For some reason, Windy Hill Chick-Fil-A and Popeye’s are popular rescue meeting points.  If you go there, please tell them we appreciate them letting us use their parking lot.)

I realize I’ve indulged in 2 tangents so far in writing this.  I’m dreading writing about Cygnet.  So, how about we start with her picture, sitting on my lap as I drive from Windy Hill to The Village Vets of Decatur.

She looks like a baby bird fallen out of the nest, doesn’t she?

Her skin felt rough, thickened, and scabby under my palm.  Pieces came off on my shirt and pants.  Almost no hair…what looks sort of like hair in the picture is mostly pieces of skin.  She was hot; I tried to cool her off with my hands.  Her eyes were full of gunk.  I could feel her hipbones, and all her vertebrae.  Tiny birdlike ribs.  She was ravenous, and I gave her a few slivers of chicken.  Her tail wagged the whole time, and she licked my hand — probably for any food residue.  Then she balanced herself on one of my legs and sort of passed out, head lolling.  I tried not to panic as I mentally planned the best route to Decatur during rush hour.  I called Village and asked them to make sure a vet was there when I arrived, just before closing.  The other 2 dogs fussed in the back of the car.  Another one was bald too, but seemed otherwise alert.  The third seemed healthy, probably just the usual parade of intestinal worms.

We arrived at Village with a few minutes to spare.  Donnie rushed her to the back (I couldn’t believe how tiny she looked in his hands). Dr. Finke came out after a few minutes and said she was going to start antibiotics right away.  We might be dealing with distemper, she said.  Certainly she sounded like she had pneumonia, and the skin….well, the skin meant there were all kinds of underlying health issues and weaknesses to deal with. The prognosis was “poor to guarded.”  She’d need an oxygen tank, antibiotics, fluids, just to get through the night, if she made it at all.

She’s 8 weeks old, barely weaned.

We decided to transfer her to the Emergency Center (they share a building, thank goodness), so she’d have someone there with her all the time through the night.  We checked the other 2 into the regular vet, and I went home, poured a glass of wine, and bawled.  Waited for update phone calls.  Didn’t clean the house like I had planned (wow, what a social life).  Cried and watched LOST on DVD, when I could pay attention.

The next morning she was alive.  When I went to see her, she put her little feet up on the sides of the oxygen tent and wagged.  Her food bowl was empty — she had a healthy appetite.

She’s not out of the woods.  Distemper could still rear its awful head and kill her.  But Dr. Finke says that if she makes it through the weekend, she’ll probably make it.  She needs to stay a few more days, at least.

So, happy happy joy joy!  At least, for now.

Then I got the first bill.  OUCH.  It’s looking like the total bill, between emergency and regular hospitalization, will flirt with $2000.  Maybe more.  As you can imagine, that’s not good news for rescue groups.  In bad economic times, more dogs get abandoned, and fewer people donate, and those who do, donate less.

If you can help — a little or a lot — please do.  I want Cygnet to get every chance to grown into a big, strong, beautiful swan of a sassy little dachshund.  I think her hair is sable. She might even be a beautiful longhair in there.  She needs us.  We can show her that not everyone is like those people who let her get into this condition, and then stuck her in a box in the middle of the night, in a scary place where most dogs don’t make it out alive.  Most of us aren’t like that — I have to believe it.  Can you help? Please go to our website, www.dreamrescue.org, and donate.  It matters.

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals.” — Gandhi

UPDATE on CYGNET 7/28:  The little pistol was discharged from the vet last night.  She still isn’t out of the woods, but now will do best in a home environment where she can run and play.  She is on 3 medications, and needs  a followup visit in 2 weeks to make sure she is progressing.  We hope to be able to vaccinate her then too (right now it would be too much shock to her immune system).  So for now she is doing her best to pester her (fully vaccinated) foster brother Frank.  Please everyone, send healthy, hair-growin’, immune-system strengthenin’, puppy-playin’ vibes to the little sweetie.  Right before she left the vet, she was spending most of her time on her hind legs, pushing against the sides of the oxygen tent, begging for attention.  Whenever anyone would reach in there, she would roll over on her back to try to wrestle with their hand.  What an amazing little spirit!  If anyone can fight off her obstacles, it is Miss Cygnet Camellia!  I’ll update at least once a week on her progress….hopefully all happy news from here on out.

From Cygnet:  “My foster mom gave me a pretty pink blanket to keep me warm until I get my fur back.  She said I was very sweet but I just want to play and then it makes me sleepy. I have no problem eating or drinking except for stopping when my belly gets full. My foster mom Robin says to tell DREAM thank you for saving me from the scary place and bring me to the doctor to get better.  I love to run around my new home and play with the toys, those stuffed ones don’t have a chance when I shake them silly. I’ll send an update once a week so you can see how I’m getting better and fall in love with me even more. Until next week…”

UPDATE 7/30 From Cygnet:  “I was nekkid so my foster  mama put a sock on me.  The DREAM lady said she’s resourceful, but I don’t know what that means!”

Cygnet's foster mom made her a sock dress to keep her warm

I keep eatin so you won't see my bones no more.

Update 8/9 — Hey!!! It’s me Cygnet again. Guess what I found? My growl Listen GRRRRR…..rrrr!!

I am so tough now!!! I hope you can see, I think some of my fur is coming back And…no more bones I love all of the food in the whole world that goes in my bowl. I had my first bath and my foster mom says I smelled divine!! I love exploring my neighborhood but the other dogs who bark make me nervous…but my foster mom is always right there to say it’s OK they just want to know who I am. Well, gotta run the toys are trying to get away I think — Cygie

I got big responsibilities.

I am so happy.  I have found my “forever home” which is a miracle for a little girl like me.  These people really love me, and they are taking care to make sure I keep getting healthier and healthier.  They give me toys to play with, and I have 2 other doggies to pester and wrestle with.  They make sure that every day I get food, and water, and somewhere nice to sleep.  Thank you to everyone who donated to make sure my vet bills were paid.  (I don’t really know what that means, but my new mom says it’s important.  Alls I know is that I feel better every day, no more yucky infections or itchy skin.)  I am so happy that my life is settled and I know where my safe place is with my new mama and dad.  Also my mom said now DREAM has another foster space open to save a little one like me.  So that’s good.

Waycross dachshund bills are coming in! May 22, 2009

In January, DREAM took in 6 dogs from the raid on the hoarder in Waycross, Georgia.  In May, we took 4 more.  All were sweet and loving, even with all they had been through.  Thistle.  Spindle.  Clover.  Petal.  Stewie.  Pauly.  Miller.  Chamblee.  Maura.  And tiny Ben.

That’s Thistle in the picture.

So far, bills have topped $4000.  More bills will come in as some of the dogs continue their ongoing treatments.  Many are fully treated and adopted to their forever homes, but others still need more.  Even with the great discounts we get on vetting, this is adding up at a dizzying rate.

All of them needed spay/neuter, vaccinations, fecal tests, and heartworm tests.

Two, Miller and Clover, had heartworms and needed treatment and antibiotics.

One, Petal, had several mammary tumors and a hernia, and needed 2 surgeries.  The tumors were too big to take in one operation — Petal wouldn’t have had enough skin to close.

Four had mange….which meant a lot of antibiotics and other topical treatments.

Three contracted pneumonia and other respiratory infections.  A few days in ICU, hospitalization, emergency vet visits on the weekends, oxygen tents, and nebulizations.  And lots of antibiotics.

And Clover gave birth to three dear puppies a week after she was safe.  The puppies will need shots, several dewormings, and their spay/neuter surgeries.  One of the babies has a deformity in a front foot, so he will need some surgery for that.

$4000 and counting.  If you have any money to spare, we could certainly use it.  HowlOWeenie, our major fundraiser, is a long way away.  I would hate to have to stop taking in other dogs in need because we don’t have the funds to care for them.  We have never had to do that.  But we have also never taken in 1/3 of our total doggie capacity at one time, from a situation like this before.

If you’re reading this, I hope you’ll help, or pass our story along to someone who might.  Go to www.dreamrescue.org and click on “Want to Help?” to donate.

Deaf + halfblind + cushings + heart murmur = Double Dapple April 27, 2009

We took in a couple of double dapples from Oconee County a couple of weeks ago.  They had been turned in by their owner, and came with their breeding papers.What an adventure we are having.  (At least, I’m trying to look at it as an adventure, rather than a tragedy.)

One of the dogs, Blossom, had no apparent issues.

The other, Bree, has the full gamut of health issues associated with double dapples, which are the offspring of 2 dapple dogs.  (You can read more about what this means at this link.  ) The fact is, many puppies born “double dapple” are blind, deaf, both, or worse.  Breeders who create these puppies consider the destruction of those puppies as a cost of doing business.

Bree on the day he came to DREAM

The bottom line is that this pattern should NOT be recognized by the AKC, and should NOT be bred by anyone.  It is far too dangerous to the puppies.

I hope you’ll consider doing the following:

1.  contact the AKC and ask them to stop accepting double dapple registrations.

2.  not patronize any breeder who offers double dapples, even if you are not buying a double dapple yourself.  (You know, as a rescuer who deals with the downstream effects of the high population problems we have, I’d prefer you not patronize breeders at all, but if you must, at least do not finance this practice).

I don’t know if we will be able to help Bree.  Having him in the house is like having Helen Keller, so he needs a special foster home, and right now I don’t know who that is.  He can’t communicate with us, and we can’t communicate with him.  The other dogs running around scare him.  He picked one of the other dogs and constantly humps him in what I imagine is his only feeling of control.  He is frustrated and reactive, and cannot settle himself down.  He snatches at food, because he also can’t smell very well and he’s afraid he’s going to lose out when he finally does smell something yummy.  It’s like he’s having a 24/7 anxiety attack.  Then add the other health issues — cushing’s disease, heart murmur, undescended testicle (and we can’t neuter him yet because of all the other risks — ARGH!)

We have found a trainer who will work with Bree so he can learn sign language with the little sight that he has. I hope that will alleviate some of his anxiety.  He will go there in the next day or so.  His cushing’s medication is beginning to work.  He is having X-rays today to understand what is going on with his heart, and how dangerous it would be to neuter him.

We are trying to do right by this dog.  He loves people, he loves to be held in a lap.  His life is worth something.

Somewhere out there, a home awaits.   A quiet home without too much activity to startle him.  A patient person who will learn his sign language.  A soft bed for him to lie in next to his person.  Is that really too much to ask for a little deaf dog?

The world says yes, but we, at least for now, say no.  We will keep trying with him as long as we can.

Sigh. I’ve been so discouraged since the Obama thing. April 15, 2009

I was really in a funk about the Obamas getting a dog from a breeder, and the huge missed opportunity to set an example about saving a dog in need.  Then the head of the Humane Society posted this, and I feel a lot better.

http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/2009/04/obama-dog.html

Second Chances for President Obama, His Pup

For the President of the United States, the personal is the political. Nothing he does in his private life is off limits and without implication, it seems.

Take the case of food. Animal advocates, slow foodies, and sustainable agriculture types have been trying to get into his pantry from the beginning. They’ve been more than heartened and encouraged by the First Lady’s decision to plant a vegetable garden on White House grounds and about the healthier fare the new White House chef is preparing for the family. It’s all about a higher standard of personal conduct that sets an example for the American public and it’s also a possible predictor of sounder policies that may flow from Secretary Tom Vilsack and the USDA.

© The White House
Bo, the Obama family’s new dog.

It’s through that same lens that so many animal advocates have had their tongues wagging about the First Family acquiring a dog—the anticipation heightened by President Obama’s own positive pre- and post-election wishes to go to a shelter for a dog for the girls. With all the shelter talk, he set high expectations, especially given that his predecessors never hit that high mark in bringing their pets into the White House. And he and the First Lady acted responsibly in postponing any decision about a dog until they were well settled in their new home, an approach we recommend to potential adopters.

Admittedly, the choice was complicated for the Obamas by daughter Malia’s allergies, and the information circulating about suitable pets for their situation. Nevertheless, the Obamas’ decision disheartened animal advocates. But the circumstances do have some shades of gray for animal advocates, given that the dog, now named Bo, was in a home, but was apparently returned to the breeder because he was just not the right fit. For that reason, we call him a second-chance dog. And we’re happy for Sasha and Malia, who have been exceedingly patient in waiting for a pet to join their family.

Nonetheless, the disappointment in America among our supporters is palpable, and I’ve been getting lots of emails from folks who feel passionately that an opportunity was squandered to help America’s shelters and the animals in them.

Only 20 percent of dogs in homes come from shelters. And there are nearly 2 million dogs euthanized each year. If we just increased that percentage of homes with dogs from shelters—to 30 or even 40 percent—we would solve the euthanasia problem. Obviously, there’s no one to provide a better example to the American public than President Obama, and no one better to say there’s not a thing wrong with dogs at shelters.

So be disappointed, but don’t despair for long. Hold him accountable to make other decisions that will have enormous implications for animals. He can still laud shelters and speak about the urgency of supporting them. He can also get Bo neutered, as a reminder of the importance of spay and neuter as a way to combat pet overpopulation. And, at the end of the day, he can actively support policies that crack down on puppy mills, eradicate Class B dealers, enforce laws against dogfighting, promote regulations to ensure safe food for our companion animals, and much more.

Fools for Dachshunds March 30, 2009

Our annual “Fools for Dachshunds” party was last night.  What fun to see so many DREAM alumni dogs, meet new dachshund-crazy folks, and catch up with old friends.  I felt so lucky last night to be part of such a wonderful community of people who truly love the breed, but aren’t all hung up on papers and registrations — as if those have anything to do with a doggie’s true worth!

The food and drink is all donated by the members of our board of directors, and Jabula Dog Academy kindly donates their lovely space, which fits our needs perfectly!  It’s a party, not a fundraising event, but we did raise about $300.  That will pay for little Tater Tot’s heartworm treatment, which starts Monday.

Nightline Show on Puppymills March 27, 2009

Hi everyone — set your TIVO’s for a show about puppymills tonight, Friday 27th, at 11:35 PM.  I can’t stress enough how much suffering is caused by these people.  As our board member Ivy’s email signature says,

“Puppy mills thrive on secrecy. The people who buy puppies from pet stores or the Internet have been duped into
believing that the high price they pay means that their puppy has been carefully bred, his parents loved and treated well. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

It is such a relief that this veil of secrecy is beginning to be pierced.

From a local rescuer to the Lancaster County puppymills, and part of tonight’s show:

**************************

ABC Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi and investigators from Nightline travel the byways and back roads of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania – visiting numerous puppy mills and filming Main Line Animal Rescue’s volunteers as they rescue breeding dogs and puppies from Lancaster County’s notorious Amish commercial breeding facilities.

This promises to be a very special program.  If you are involved in rescue, advocate on behalf of the millions of puppy mill dogs interned in our nation’s commercial dog breeding facilities, or if you just simply love animals, you will not want to miss this.

Sharyn Alfonsi interviewed, on camera, an Amish breeder while touring his facility – a first for network television.  With approximately 500 dogs housed on his property, this commercial breeder speaks openly about an industry cloaked in secrecy and suspicion – the cruel factory farming of man’s best friend.

PLEASE tell your friends, your family, your coworkers – ABC Nightline investigates puppy mills – this Friday at 11:35 pm (Eastern Standard Time).  Please take the time to forward this to all the rescues, shelters, and legislators in your area.

It has been almost one year since Oprah’s puppy mill show aired.  That program received the highest viewer response of any Oprah Show in years.  Now we need to spread the word about this very special Nightline.  Only by educating as many people as we can, will we be able to help these animals.  And after you watch the program, please don’t hesitate to contact ABC and Nightline to thank them for casting such a strong light on the plight of our nation’s puppy mill dogs.

Bill Smith
Main Line Animal Rescue