From Puppy​-​Mill Victi​m to Belov​ed Role Model​

Dare,​ a 3-​year-​old shelt​ie,​ is the ultim​ate survi​vor.​

This brave​ littl​e dog was born in a puppy​ mill,​ where​ his back left leg was bitte​n off when he was just a few days old. Sadly​,​ such injur​ies somet​imes occur​ in mills​ -- the resul​t of “cage​ crazy​” behav​ior that dogs may exhib​it in stres​sful,​ negle​ctful​ condi​tions​.​
Next,​ Dare’​s front​ left leg got caugh​t in cage wirin​g,​ dislo​catin​g the elbow​ and break​ing in so many place​s it could​ not be repai​red.​
He recei​ved no medic​al treat​ment for eithe​r of these​ devas​tatin​g injur​ies.​ Inste​ad,​ Dare lived​ in sever​e pain until​ he was 9 weeks​ old, when the puppy​ mill owner​s decid​ed he was too “dama​ged” to sell and gave him to a rescu​e group​.​ The mill was later​ shut down by the U.S. Depar​tment​ of Agric​ultur​e.​
Tragi​cally​,​ Dare ended​ up losin​g both a front​ and a back leg on the same side of his body.​ But his luck was final​ly about​ to chang​e.​
Adopt​ive careg​iver Tami Skinn​er enter​ed Dare’​s life,​ givin​g him a new home -- and new hope.​ The two soon forge​d a power​ful partn​ershi​p.​

At last,​ here was someo​ne to give Dare the uncon​ditio​nal love he had been cravi​ng.​ Someo​ne to treat​ him like a norma​l dog, encou​ragin​g him to walk and run on his own. Someo​ne to recog​nize that Dare’​s refus​al to give in is what makes​ him speci​al,​ not his disab​ility​.​
Today​,​ Dare and Tami impar​t their​ messa​ge of heali​ng and forti​tude to other​s with disab​iliti​es.​ They are among​ the highl​y train​ed parti​cipan​ts in Ameri​can Human​e’s Anima​l-​Assis​ted Thera​py Progr​am.​ In this vital​ role,​ the team regul​arly condu​cts anima​l-​assis​ted thera​py visit​s at a facil​ity for adult​s with disab​iliti​es,​ an amput​ee suppo​rt group​ and a schoo​l for child​ren with disab​iliti​es.​

Dare is in his eleme​nt as a thera​py dog. He loves​ being​ the cente​r of atten​tion,​ and those​ he meets​ are amaze​d by his coura​ge and zest for life.​

Accor​ding to a teach​er at the schoo​l that Dare visit​s,​ “It is inter​estin​g that most of our stude​nts with speci​al needs​ immed​iatel​y accep​ted Dare as he was, just as he immed​iatel​y accep​ted them…​He remin​ds me that I need to let our stude​nts reali​ze as much of their​ poten​tial as possi​ble,​ not [​limit​]​ them by stand​ard expec​tatio​ns.​”

The child​ren are equal​ly enthu​siast​ic.​ “He’s​ just like me!” a child​ with a disab​ility​ excla​imed with delig​ht durin​g one of Dare’​s recen​t visit​s.​ It was one of many remar​kable​ momen​ts inspi​red by a truly​ remar​kable​ dog. This is a post by Saving Furry Friends, Inc. whose goal is to find a home for every dog. Check out their MySpace page at Saving Furry Friends, Inc.

This is just a reminder of why we need to stop puppy mills and spay or neuter our pets. Let's not make any other animals go through what Dare had to go through.

Dog shows and Puppy Mills.

So the 2009 Westminster Dog Show is in the record books and another record was made this year with Stump the Sussex Spaniel being the oldest dog in Westminster history to win the title of "best in show". He is 10. I don't know anyone who doesn't enjoy watching all of those cute pups parade around the arena. Many years the breed that becomes "best in show" becomes the "it" breed of the year. 

Dog shows like this, while I believe are fun and worthwhile competition, are also a huge advertisement for puppy mill owners. Once people have seen all of these "perfect" dogs paraded around the arena, they have to have one of their own. The Humane Society has worked for decades to stop puppy mills. It is a sad, but proven fact that dogs in puppy mills suffer. They are not let out of their cages, they are not loved on, they are not given enough room to run, they are not groomed, they are only puppy making machines. Please help stop puppy mills by rescuing your next pet from a shelter. Spay or neuter that pet and give it a loving home for life.

Molly and Yoda enter 2009 HSUS Photo Contest.

"Molly and Yoda"

Molly and Yoda have entered a photo contest to help with the cost of spaying and neutering animals.

Votes are only $1.00 a vote and you can vote as many times as you want. Please help Molly and Yoda raise money

to control the pet population. Check out their profile and vote for them.....or if you see a pet you like better

vote for that one....no matter who you vote for you are helping pets.

Treating your sick Dog during the Recession

Times are tough for everyone these days. Families are having to cut back everywhere. So what happens if you pet get sick during these tough times? Are you going to be able to care for them?

Veterinary costs can get pretty high pretty quick. Here are a few tips on what to do as found on www.petplace.com

1. Credit cards and checks. If this is an option, ask the clinic if they accept checks and credit cards. This can help in some situations. 

2. Care credit. Ask if the hospital accepts "care credit". Care credit is a line of credit that you can apply for on an emergency basis and it can give you immediate access to a credit card with a credit line (often at a fairly reasonable rate).  

3. Most vet hospitals will give you time to make calls to family and friends or to visit a bank machine to come up with the required resources or deposit. 

4. Consider other options. It may be that you can cut corners in some manner now to get you to a local shelter or humane society that may provide less expensive treatment or offer billing for additional tests. 

5. Finally, if unexpected expenses are a hardship for you, the very BEST thing you can do for your pet is to get pet insurance early, before your pet has a problem. Get it when your pet is young and healthy and the premiums are reasonable. Also, consider taking advantage of the preventative care options that some companies offer. 

Pet insurance can be a good idea that can give you and your pet the financial ability to be treated.

This cat was abandoned after her owner died. She was pregnant and alone until grandma saved her and spayed her.

We all know that pet overpopulation is a problem. But most people just want to ignore the problem. Well, we are here to tell you, that ignoring it won't make it go away. Volunteers like Kelly Kerns are involved in programs where they trap, spay/neuter the animal and then release it again. This is done all on their own dime. These volunteers look for low cost spay and neuter clinics, but these are very hard to find. There are some programs which offer spay and neuter vouchers to people who humanely catch stray animals in order to have them spayed and neutered. This just isn't enough. The cost of spaying and neutering averages about $130.00, but depending on where you live it could be much more, or hopefully a bit less. What we need are more volunteers who are willing to donate money for spay and neuter clinics. People who are willing to call their state representatives and make some noise about the importance and need of spay and neuter clinics. Read the entire story about Kelly at www.dailyamerican.com

Please remember to spay and neuter your pets. For every one puppy or kitten that finds a home, four will end up in shelters, euthanized, dumped, neglected, or abused. Educate your friends and family of the importance of spaying and neutering. Discourage friends who just want to breed their dogs for "some extra cash". Lets find homes for the pets that are already around before we bring more into the world.

 

My work with Zach.

So week number one with Zach has been not as productive as I thought it would be. For some reason I thought it would be so easy to teach him to treadmill, but he is scared to death of it. Day one was just teaching the poor boy to get onto the treadmill. We sat there for at least 15 minutes. while he trembled on his belly. I just sat there and loved on him until he relaxed and sat up. Then I worked with him for another couple of minutes to ask him to walk across the belt on the treadmill. After a week of doing this he will finally come and stand on the treadmill without any fear. Next week we will try to move it. Wish me luck.

I started to take Zach with me every time I have to go break ice for the horses. He runs around a lot but comes to me every couple of minutes to check in. I only let him get maybe 400 feet away before I call him back to me. My hope is that maybe he will eventually learn that is the furthest he is allowed to go away from us. 

I have taken Zach with me to let the chickens in and out. First I put a long leash on him and punished him every time he ran after the chickens. But then I realized that I was making him afraid to go into the barn. I don't want him scared, just respectful. I started to let him check them out and just pet on him when he was good. Today I let him out running free to let in the chickens. He ran through them and as one ran off he looked and thought about chasing it, but changed his mind and kept on running through. 

All in all I think we made progress this week. I am going to end this blog with a few pictures of people who look like their dogs. That is always fun right? Remember Molly and Yoda say....spay and neuter your pets. Have a great week.

A Dog's Loyalty

I love my human Chelsea. She is my whole world. We go everywhere together, unless she shuts the door on me :( I worry about Chelsea when she goes outside without me. I always wonder what would happen if she got hurt. Who would save her. So I always watch her through the front window. Sometimes Chelsea's mom tries to call me when I am supposed to go with Chelsea, but I never fall for it, Chelsea is my one and only. My favorite time of day is when that yellow bus brings Chelsea back home to me. I don't even bark at that bus because I know she is on it. I love my Chelsea so much, and that got me thinking...do all dogs have such a great love and loyalty to their humans?

              Excerpt from Loyalty of the Dog:

"Bringing Out the Best in Each Other William, a homeless man, arrived at McDonald's to get his morning meal. Outside, on a blanket next to his bicycle, was his dog. An American Staffordshire mix, the dog was in good physical shape and was a healthy weight. As William returned to share his breakfast with his companion, the loyalty between them showed, and the mutual love shone brightly through their eyes. I asked William about this life and current predicament. The encounter impressed me, because his relationship with his dog helped William be a better man despite his situation.

William took odd jobs for food and sometimes for money. This particular McDonald's fed him in exchange for his help maintaining the outside area of the restaurant. Both William and his dog slept out under the stars each night because William hated the attitudes of many of the homeless shelter helpers, the threat of theft, and the policy of "no pets allowed." The dog kept vagrants at bay. Inseparable, the two felt at home with the coyotes in the fields and the stars in the sky as their companions..." Loyalty of the dog is the first chapter of a book called What Animals Can Teach Us about Spirituality: Inspiring Lessons of Wild and Tame Creatures. You can order this book here, it sounds like an amazing book to me. 

In most cases we (your dog) will choose you over any other human that enters the house. Most of us will even choose one human in the home to be "their" human. We need love, affection, and respect just as if we were one of your children or your spouse. We are often left home alone most of the day and really crave that attention that only our special human can give. 

Make some extra time for us, lay on the floor and play with us, or even just lay there and pet us. Take us outside and play fetch or frisbee. Take us for walks, more than just the "do your doodie" types of walks, but ones where we get out and have fun together. We love to run with you. We need your affection and if you only pay us any attention when you are feeding us or taking us to potty, we will begin to feel unloved. And and unloved dog is a dog who will start to do anything for attention.....meaning be bad. If you give us the attention we need we will do anything for you. 

Check out these amazing stories of pets saving their humans....this is the true act of loyalty.

ROSCOE

Dog Praised for Life Saving Call

Check out an amazing video of a dog saving another dog that had been hit by a car on the highway. The heroic canine runs into traffic and drags the severely injured dog out of harm's way. See it on www.huffingtonpost.com

Saving a Doberman from euthanasia turns into a human-dog love story

and my favorite Man's Best Friend a story of a stray dog saving an abandoned newborn baby.

Please remember though, although we are very loyal, there are still way to many of us. Please make sure to have your pets spayed and neutered so that other pets who may be scheduled to be euthanized can find a loving home instead.