Here is Karly…

Hi, I’m Karly! I think I’m around 4 yrs old, but I could be off a little. I’ve been in rescue since May 2009. I weigh 13 pounds, so I am sort of a little pug. I like hanging out with both people and other dogs, and I just love, love, love to just snuggle on a lap! I am what my foster mom calls a “special needs” pug. I am very happy to be in rescue, and while it isn’t a good story to tell, I think it is important that you know. You see, I was just moments away from being euthanized, when one of the nice techs at the vet clinic said “Please wait; I bet APARN will take her.” (Oh, did I mention, that tech is my hero!)
 
I know what you are thinking! Why would anyone want to euthanize an adorable little pug like me? Well, the short answer is…because I couldn’t go potty. I hadn’t gone potty for almost three weeks, so the vet took an X-ray, and told my people I needed surgery for a broken pelvis, and they weren’t going to do that. I hear the surgery is pretty expensive, as the vet said I would have to go to a specialist to have it done.

 
So, APARN stepped in and saved me!  Then my foster mom took me to see the specialist vet, what a nice guy he is! He said if he didn’t already have four dogs, he would be tempted to adopt me! He took X-rays, and showed them to foster mom. He said he was pretty sure I was hit by a car at least a year ago (two years now!) and nothing was ever done. He said the right side of my pelvis is broken in 4 places, and all “smooshed” in, and it healed that way. Anyway, it makes it so that the opening through my colon is pretty narrow, and I can get very constipated if not kept on strict diet of soft food, mixed with lots of water to make it like soup. (I love it like that, by the way!) So, it is very important for me to stay on my proper diet and some medications to keep my poop soft (a prescription called Lactalose, and some Metamucil fiber supplement), so that I can go potty. Otherwise, I will get “stopped up,” and that is no fun! It is also possible that I will get “stopped up” now and then, and when that happens, I have to have a doggy enema. Whoo-wee, let me tell you…I am not a fan of that process, but the results are terrific!

The doctor also said I can get arthritis as I get older, so I need to start on glucosamine supplements now. He also mentioned something about my right hip maybe needing an FHO in the future. I thought that was some kind of doggy HMO, but it turns out that is a surgery where they take the top of the longest leg bone off! I am hoping if I stay at a good weight, it won’t get that bad, but I suspect the Doctor knows best!

 
The doctor said he would be willing to do surgery on my pelvis, but he said it would require breaking it in the 3-4 places it was originally broken in, and putting everything where it should be, and then lots of healing time. It would be a long process, and lots of money. He said that the proper diet, medications and enemas as needed is a perfectly fine option for me, but he stressed the following: I can not go to a home with a doggy door, because my forever person has to pay attention and monitor me daily, to make sure I go potty. I have to have canned food with water and added fiber, to help keep my stool soft. I have to have my Lactalose three times a day. I need to start on glucosamine and get that daily. And I need enemas to help me “go” after just one day of missed bowel movement.
 
Oh, I almost forgot…one more thing. When I had my spay surgery, the doctor also removed a few small tumors that were on my back legs. One of them turned out to be a Grade 1 Mast Cell Tumor. Foster mom said that Grade 1 means benign, but doctor said I should be checked over for new “lumps and bumps” at least once every couple of weeks. It is a pretty easy thing to do during bath-time, as I am very good about getting my baths. I love the special attention and “me” time!
 
So, I know it is a lot to ask. But in return, I will sit by you and let you rub my tummy for hours!

My adoption fee is $275. If you are interested, you can ask APARN for a list of prices of my monthly needs.

You may remember little Nugget the baby black Pug from a post about a month ago. Nugget is still up for adoption! Click here for her info. She came along with Kyla for her photo session and we took a few new photos of her. She’s sooooo cute!

Not only is it FREE, it is also designed to raise funds for your rescue group.

Here’s the scoop:

• Rescue groups are allowed one free in-studio photo session of one dog per month. (The dog must be predominantly of one breed. I love mutts, too! But the products are breed specific. There will be mutt photo projects coming up in the near future.)
• The rescue group will receive at least 3 digital photo files of the dog that can be used to promote the adoption of the dog or the rescue group (cannot be used for any resale purpose).
• A posting of the photos and information about the dog and where/how the dog can be adopted will be posted on A Dog’s Life Photography’s blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts.
• If the dog is a good model, he/she could go on to be a star! The photos may be used to create photo products such as clothing, coffee mugs, calendars, etc. to be sold on A Dog’s Life Photography’s online gift shop!  
•  The rescue group that supplied the “doggie model” will receive 25% of the net profits from the sale of any items sold from the gift shop with their mug shot on them. A Dog’s Life will do their fair share of promoting the sale of these items but YOU are the one that knows the market for your dog breed the best. The more marketing that you do of the products to people and organizations that love your breed, the more funds you will raise for your group.

The gift shop is under construction right now and looks very ugly! But when it is complete (hopefully by February 5th), it will look something like this:

When you select a dog breed, a list of designs that are available for the breed will appear. Once you select the design, a list of products that are available with that design on them will appear:

Right now, most of the breeds just have one “I’ve Got It Ruff™” design but there are many more to come in the future. (Proceeds from the I’ve Got it Ruff™ line of products will solely benefit the PACC 911 Emergency Medical Fund. All other designs will directly benefit the respective dog breed rescue)

I am totally open to design ideas that you have that you think will sell well for your breed.  Take a look at the Basset Hound section for a good example of fun things that we can do with the photos.

It’s easy to get started. Just visit the calendar page on this blog to see the available photo session times. Then send a message to susan@adogslifephoto.com to reserve your times.

The book is a reference guide that gives basic dog breed facts along with a few words of wisdom from rescue workers about what you really need to know about each breed before making the commitment to adopt.  Special dogs of each featured breed were selected by their respective rescue groups to be featured in the book.   Each dog’s compelling personal story of rescue is accompanied by a high-impact photo that is sure to tug at your heart-strings.  A directory of the participating Phoenix area rescue groups is also included.

It is a hard-cover, full color, 80 page book with vivid photos and premium paper.  Below are a few sample pages.

Click Here to watch a promo video.Retail cost is $39.95. A portion of proceeds will be donated to the PACC 911 Emergency Medical Fund. This fund provides financial aid to non-profit animal welfare groups needing assistance with special medical costs. Click here for more details.

On Sale Now for $19.95! That’s HALF off the regular price.

**Please note that there is an error on page 73. Shy-Low Bleu the Shetland Sheepdog was rescued by Mid-Arizona Shetland Sheepdog Club Rescue and not the Arizona Sheltie Rescue.

I am taking photos today from 10-3. The sitting fee is $15.00 and you will receive a digital file of the best photo via e-mail after I have done my edits to it to make it look perfect for you. If you mention that you saw this post on my blog, I will bring the cost down to only $10.00! That’s a bargain that you can’t pass up!

Here are a few of my favorite photos from yesterday…

March

April

May

August

September

December

I’ll make another post when the calendar is available for sale.

I just wrapped up the last photo page and just had to share!!! These puppies were born to one of the moms that the Arizona Basset Hound Rescue recently took in from a puppy mill. Aren’t they the cutest things you’ve ever seen…

I haven’t forgotten about all of you Basset Hound calendar folks. I am sooooooo sorry for the delay. Stay tuned all next week for the rest of the 2010 AZBHR calendar pages.

Cita was on death row in the county shelter in Los Angeles, CA.  A concerned Akita lover alerted Akita Advocates that she was about to be euthanized. Luckily, they had room to take her in as a foster. They quickly sprang into action and arranged for her transportation to Phoenix.  She was an older girl, thought to be approximately seven or eight years old. She was brought to many adoption events but was always overlooked because of her age. Most people in the market for a new pet aren’t interested in dogs that are over five years old. While working at one of the events, a volunteer for the rescue group fell in love with her. She has always been fond of the older and more settled dogs. She ended up adopting Cita but was finding it difficult to teach her basic commands, until one day when she discovered that Cita spoke Spanish. Once this was discovered, she found that Cita was already very well trained!  About three years ago, Cita was diagnosed with breast cancer. She has gone through three surgeries to remove the disease and she’s still going strong. Cita is living proof that with good medical care and a lot of love, even an old dog can beat the odds and remain a faithful companion for many years.

Mitsu’s Story:

Mitsu was turned in to the shelter by her family because they could not care for her anymore. At the time, the shelter was not allowing Akitas to be adopted by the general public as they thought they were too aggressive, and thus a liability. Mitsu would have been euthanized if Akita Advocates had not rescued her. Mitsu is a kind and gentle soul, but at approximately five years old, she was a little older than most people are looking for. Soon after she entered foster care, she started having seizures. She was given immediate medical attention and went through testing but no real cause for the seizures could be found. It was determined that they were being caused by the severe amount of stress that she was experiencing due to the recent changes in her life. This further reduced her chances of finding a family to adopt her and again, potential adopters passed her over because of her medical issues. The Akita Rescue’s founder, who was fostering Mitsu, decided to adopt her.  She has adapted well to her new stable home environment and as the level of stress in her life began to diminish, so did the number of seizures that she was experiencing. Mitsu gets along with many of the dogs who come through her new home as rescues and fosters, as if she is saying “I’ve been homeless myself… Don’t stress. You too will find your forever home”.

Akita Advocates Relocation Team

Primary Breeds:       Akitas and Akita Mixes

Address:                 P.O.Box 12016, Glendale, AZ   85318-2016 

Phone:                    602-882-5482  (message line)

Contact:                  Deb Harlow or Carol Harris

Website:                 www.AkitaAdvocates.com

E-Mail:                    AkitaAdvocates@cox.net

We rescue Akitas from shelters that are in danger of being euthanized, simply because someone does not want them.   We have been providing rescue services since 2004 and have saved over 300 dogs in that time.  Most are fostered or boarded until their forever homes can be found.

Foster-home based, non-profit organization founded in 2005.  Our Mission is to rescue, rehabilitate and re-home unwanted pets to fur-ever families!

 The small county shelter did not have the capacity to house them and were skeptical that they could find homes for all eight of them. The eldest five were placed on the euthanasia list immediately. Once the Dachshunds Only Rescue was made aware of the situation, they immediately made room for the three oldest dogs. The other two were taken in by another rescue group.  

The Doxies were all given a Distemper/Parvo vaccine, which was apparently their first. Ten days later, they started showing symptoms of distemper. A trip to the vet confirmed that they were indeed infected with the disease. The distemper survival rate is very low and those that are lucky enough to survive are commonly left with severe neurological damage. Since Dachshunds Only Rescue is a never kill shelter, they started immediate and aggressive treatment. They also closed down for six weeks while they quarantined all the other dogs at their rescue. After 5 months of treatment, quarantine, and observation, he is a normal, happy and healthy Dachshund that is finally available to find his forever loving home.

Dachshunds Only Rescue

Phone:                    602-550-4088                               

Website:                 www.dachshundsonlyrescue.com

E-Mail:                    dachshundsonlyrescue@gmail.com

 Dachshunds Only Rescue believes that there is a right home for every dachshund. We are committed to finding each and every displaced doxie their forever loving home. We are a never-kill shelter providing a safe haven for our rescues until that objective can be met.

Zip was born deaf.  This can be common in cattle dogs and with proper training doesn’t pose any major issues.  Zip’s original owners may not have known how to deal with his birth defect.  We don’t know the entire circumstances, but we were told that he was dragged from a moving car and was severely injured. He was later surrendered to an Animal Emergency Clinic in the Phoenix area.  Just a puppy, Zip had a hard road ahead of him.  His leg never healed properly and he started walking with a limp.  Constantly in pain, Zip was treated with pain medications and the hope that one day he could get a surgery to fix his front leg.

Zip spent the next two years in “foster care” at New Hope Cattle Dog Rescue.  Although many thought he was handsome and inquired about him-his special needs limited the amount of people willing to adopt him.  He had a wonderful foster mom but really needed his own family.  At each adoption event he attended, he was so happy to see new people and perhaps find his forever home.

One day last summer, we came across the New Hope Cattle Dog rescue site and saw that they needed a dog walker. We contacted Zip’s “foster mom” and she suggested that Zip might benefit from outside exercise.  We became Zip’s official dog walkers from then on.  During this time, Zip’s “foster mom” became increasingly ill.  It was time for Zip to find another home.  After a lot of consideration, we filled out the foster application and said that Zip could come and stay with us. 

Zip has wiggled his way into our hearts and family.  Shortly after arriving at our home, NHCD paid for Zip to see a Veterinary Orthopedic Specialist.  This veterinarian felt that Zip would be better off if they amputated his leg.  Zip underwent surgery and made a full recovery. Our charismatic deaf dog was now three-legged. Many people assumed that a front leg amputation would severely limit his abilities but not Zip.  For the first time in his life, Zip was pain free.   It was obvious to my husband and me that this was a definite turning point in his life.  He was feeling better and excited to start doing many of the things he couldn’t do when he had his bad leg.  Zip had so much energy to run and play.  We decided to adopt Zip and make him a permanent member of our family.

Zip has an active life.  He goes for walks in the park, plays with our two other Australian Cattle Dogs, chases our two cats around and even devised creative ways to break into the chicken coop to steal eggs.  He has gotten so good at breaking into the coop for a mid-morning snack that we have had to fortify the fence three times!  

This May, we had a baby and Zip couldn’t be happier.  In the evenings, he will hop up to our daughter and lick her hair, hands, and feet. Zip’s zest for life is quite apparent as he is constantly finding ways to have fun.  Just the other day, I found him eating my basil plant.  Who knew that dogs ate basil!  Zip is also learning sign language. He knows “sit”, “stay”, “down”,” wait”, “leave it”, “off” and “okay”.  They say that learning takes time, but he is so smart and catches on to things quickly.  Although Zip had a rocky start to life, he is definitely making up for lost time.  He has finally found his forever home and we cannot say enough about our little guy.   He is a quirky, fun loving dog.  We can only hope that we are bringing as much joy to his life as he is to ours.

New Hope Cattle Dogs’ mission is helping discarded, stray and unwanted Australian Cattle Dogs/Blue Heelers/Red Heelers/Queensland Heelers (ACD’s) that need a second chance at finding a forever home and providing education and training to the public.  New Hope Cattle Dogs of Arizona was founded in February 2001, since that time close to 700 dogs have been rescued. 

You can reach the New Hope Cattle Dog Rescue by phone at 602-690-8374, by email at shannon@newhopecattledogs.com  or you can visit their website at www.newhopecattledogs.com