September 17, 2014 / by Leann / Make A Comment / Filed under Uncategorized
Friends, my rescue mentor and dearest friend accompanied us on our trip to the puppy mill auction this past weekend, and she wrote a post that she asked me to share with all of you. I have to say that this auction was even more stressful than the previous one, and I honestly don’t know what I would have done without her, our wonderful friend, Shannon, and our friends from North Star Shih Tzu Rescue.
Gretchen writes –
I’d like everyone who contributed to the recent puppy mill auction rescue to know how CSTR volunteers did in coordinating and pulling off this amazing feat.
In an environment of sights, sounds, and SMELLS that would rock the timid-hearted, CSTR volunteers kept their cool and did an amazing job maximizing the positive results. Those auctions are NOT friendly places, and although they know Rescue folks are there, they stress (ad nauseum) how we’d better keep our mouths shut and be well-behaved during the spectacle of greed and distress. The auctioneer belabored his personal relationships with all local police, judges, and politicians and pretty much dared anyone to try to take pictures, video, or otherwise make trouble.
Still, keeping their eyes on the end goal of getting as many of those babies as they could out of that hellish lifestyle, the volunteers supported each other and kept on track. Whispers of outrage and encouragement were nearly constant, as the auctioneer kept up a pace so confusing that it was hard to tell what the winning bids were in some cases, and who had chosen which animals in most cases, The animals were terrified, smelly, and handled without dignity.
Fortunately, I was charged with acting as the banker, so most of my work was in counting, subtracting, and keeping track of how much of our rescue funds were left for each dog. Our well-rehearsed plans were shattered by the addition of new dogs and the rearranging of priorities as nearly every female was said to be “possibly bred”. Males and females were kept in cages together in the back room during the event, so mating continued, actually delaying one dog’s appearance on the auction block.
My hat goes off to the ladies who kept their stress under control and managed to maximize the impact of the donated funds in an environment designed to confuse and hamper the well-intended. It was an honor to have worked with all of you.
September 10, 2014 / by Leann / Make A Comment / Filed under Uncategorized
Did you know that 80% of dogs over the age of 4 have some form of dental disease?
As with people, the main culprit is a build-up of plaque, which eventually hardens into tartar, leading to gingivitis (inflammation of the gums) and periodontal disease.
The result? A bacterial invasion of the gums and tissues supporting the teeth, damaging them and ultimately causing tooth loss. This bacteria can also invade the bloodstream, potentially damaging the lungs, heart, kidneys and liver.
Did you know that, as responsible owners, you can lower your dog’s risks by following a program of conscientious oral care.
Before you start, have the vet examine your dog’s mouth for signs of hardened plaque and/or dental disease. If your dog suffers from either condition, once the dental disease is treated and/or the plaque professionally removed, your home care program can begin.
Ideally, you should begin caring for your dog’s teeth while he’s still a puppy. Brushing his teeth is the most effective way to control plaque by breaking it up before it hardens into tartar.
Choose only those toothbrushes, tooth pastes and oral gels designed especially for pets. For the more difficult ones, there are “rubber finger brushes.” If your dog refuses to accept any of these “tools,” use your own finger. It’s the act of brushing or rubbing which provides the most benefit.
Brush your dog’s teeth at the same time every day. Begin slowly, praising him often, stopping if he becomes agitated, then beginning again. Increase the amount of brushing time slowly, day by day.
If your dog absolutely refuses to have his teeth cleaned, add specially formulated antiseptic oral rinses (although they’re more effective when combined with cleaning) to his water.
Dogs love to chew, and this has the added benefit of helping to keep their teeth clean. There are dozens of specifically formulated oral care products for them, including dental chews, chew toys and treats.
There are also special dental diets shown to reduce plaque and/or tartar build up. They work by physically cleaning the teeth more efficiently than regular kibble (theirs is less likely to crumble upon chewing) or by the addition of chemicals to prevent the hardening of plaque into tartar.
Weekly inspections of your dog’s entire mouth can also help avoid both dental disease and costly and invasive medical procedures in the future. Ensure that your vet includes a thorough examination of your dog’s mouth, gums and teeth in each annual check up.
Be alert to such problems as bad breath, drooling, red or puffy, bleeding gums, yellow tartar crusted along the gum line, discolored, broken or missing teeth, bumps in the mouth, and changes in chewing or eating habits.
If you’ve been neglecting your dog’s dental health up to now, it is never too late to start.
Author: Nomi Berger
September 7, 2014 / by Leann / Make A Comment / Filed under Uncategorized
Millions of dogs go missing each year. Unfortunately, very few of them are ever reunited with their owners. Many of them become and remain strays. Others are taken to pounds or shelters, where they are either adopted out to new homes or, all too often, euthanized. Now protective pet parents, no longer content with relying on collars and tags alone, have begun microchipping their dogs.
It’s a simple and safe procedure. A veterinarian injects a microchip designed especially for animals — the size of a grain of rice — beneath the surface of a dog’s skin between the shoulder blades. Similar to a routine shot, it takes only a few seconds and most dogs don’t even seem to feel the implantation. Unlike other forms of identification, a microchip is permanent and, with no internal energy source, will last the life of the dog. Once it’s implanted, the dog must immediately be registered with the microchip company (usually for a one-time fee), thus storing his unique, alpha-numeric code in the company’s database.
Whenever a lost dog appears at a shelter, humane society or veterinary clinic, he/she will automatically be scanned for a microchip. If there is one, the screen of the handheld scanner will display that dog’s specific code. A simple call to the recovery database using a toll free 800 number enables the code to be traced back to the dog’s owner. But in order for the system to work efficiently, all owners are cautioned to keep their contact information up-to-date.
The most complete microchips comply with International Standards Organization (ISO) Standards. These standards define the structure of the microchip’s information content and determine the protocol for scanner-microchip communication. They also include the assignment of a 15-digit numeric identification code to each microchip; 3 digits either for the code of the country in which the dog was implanted or for the manufacturer’s code; one digit for the dog’s category (optional), and the remaining 8 or 9 digits for that dog’s unique ID number.
As with anything else, however, problems can and do arise. Not all shelters, humane societies, and veterinary offices have scanners. Although rare, microchips can fail, and even universal scanners may not be able to detect every microchip. Accurate detection can also be hampered if dogs struggle too much while being scanned or if either long, matted hair or excess fat deposits cover the implantation site. And because there are an ever-increasing number of pet recovery services, there is, as yet, no single database that links one to the other.
Since no method of identification is perfect, the best way owners can protect their dogs is by being responsible owners. By always keeping current identification tags on their dogs, never allowing them to roam free and microchipping them for added protection.
Author: Nomi Berger
September 2, 2014 / by Leann / Make A Comment / Filed under Uncategorized
“Fostering a dog is not a lifetime commitment, it is a commitment to saving a life.”
This is the watchword of rescue groups everywhere.
To foster a dog is, quite simply, to save that dog’s life. A foster home provides that same dog with a safe, temporary place of refuge until he is ultimately placed in a permanent, adoptive home.
Most rescues rely solely on a network of dedicated, volunteer foster homes, and could not survive without them. And rescues NEVER have enough foster homes.
Why? Because there are more dogs in need than there are foster homes available to meet that need.
There are many benefits to fostering, many pleasant surprises and many unexpected rewards. Foster parents, past and present, describe it as one of the most memorable and gratifying experiences of their lives.
Fostering is both a way of enriching the lives of the dogs and people involved, and a constructive way for people to give back to their communities. Fostered dogs can provide hours of entertainment and love for their humans, and provide valuable life lessons for adults and children alike.
By taking a deserving dog into their homes, fosters increase that dog’s chances of being adopted. Foster families have the time and the ability to transform their foster dog, through one-on-one contact, exercise and training, into a pet any person or family would be proud to call their own.
Fostering provides a needy dog with a stable environment, coupled with love, attention and affection. While the foster family provides the food, the rescue usually provides everything else, including payment of all medical costs to ensure the dog’s ongoing health and wellbeing.
Fosters are the essential eyes and ears of rescue. By spending every day with their foster dog, fosters will learn all they can about his particular personality. They will be able to identify any behavioral issues that need to be addressed, then work on addressing them.
If fosters already have a dog – either their own or another foster — in residence, all the better. The more animals their foster dog meets, the more socialized he will become, the more easily he will handle stress, and the more relaxed he will be around strangers. And it’s a simple matter to add another warm, furry body to their own dog’s daily walks, meal and potty schedules.
For those who have never owned a dog, fostering provides them with the unique opportunity of seeing if they themselves are suited for permanent pet parenthood. But fostering a dog is NOT a form of trial adoption for that particular dog. There is even a term for it: foster failure. The most successful fosters are those who, despite being emotionally invested, know that they are a stepping stone towards their foster dog’s future. And that as one successfully fostered dog leaves their home, another needy and deserving dog is waiting to enter it.
Ultimately, then, fostering a dog saves not just one life, but two.
Author: Nomi Berger
Interested in learning more about fostering? Click here for more information!
Friends, my rescue mentor and dearest friend accompanied us on our trip to the puppy mill auction this past weekend, and she wrote a post that she asked me to share with all of you. I have to say that this auction was even more stressful than the previous one, and I honestly don’t know what I would have done without her, our wonderful friend, Shannon, and our friends from North Star Shih Tzu Rescue.
