HELP PALMETTO LEARN TO LOVE AGAIN

Once upon a time Palmetto was a sweet, cute puppy. Someone loved him, because he still responds to cutesy baby talk. And he's still handsome, so we'll assume he was just stinking adorable as a puppy. But then things went terribly wrong. We'll never know exactly what happened to him, but he was stray at less than one year old and was hit by a train in Greenville, SC. A good samaritan brought him to the kill-shelter clinic, where they checked him out and found nothing broken (except one of his canine teeth) and they put him on the stray hold list. Although his time was up, he was a staff favorite, so he kept getting extensions on his kill date, until finally Home Free Animal Rescue made the call to save him. He was still alive, but in bad shape...skinny as a rail, full of worms and parasites. So we set about the task of cleaning him up. But that was not the whole picture. Palmetto was found to be afraid of other dogs (and skateboards, among other things) and reacted to them with a ferocious growling barking lunging. Kind of scary, even for someone who is a relatively experienced dog handler. That said, we worked with a local dog behavioralist/trainer and found that he did not actually go for another dog but just sniffed in a tentative, curious kind of way if he got to approach another dog from the back end instead of the scary face end. So the goal for us is to take some time and figure out what is stressing this poor dog and work with him to make these things in his environment less threatening from his perspective. It's a two-part training plan, beginning with a day-long home visit in his own foster home. After that we'll take him to the training center and begin to counter-condition his fear of other dogs and scary things like skateboards and flashing marquis signs. Please, for the love of this dog, donate whatever amount you can comfortably give.

Darling Daisy

Who Would Ever Hurt Darling Daisy?

Everyone wants to help those dogs that are the real poster children - the starving, abused, neglected puppies - the ones that have been betrayed. Here's your chance!
Daisy is such a sweet puppy, only 6 months old. But the truly amazing thing is that she is sweet in spite of the pain she is enduring. Some moron shot her in the knee with a bb gun! The shot has damaged her ACL, and she needs surgery to repair it. In addition to the bb-gun wound, she had a piece of bamboo lodged in her face!
Our vet in SC is ready to fix her up, but we'll need to get some funds to cover the bill.
You know this is the part where we plead with you for your financial assistance. This is not just a general request for donations. This is a fundraising effort for a very specific cause - a cause named Daisy.
Please donate for Daisy, whatever amount you are able. And if this little smiling girl speaks to you the way she speaks to us, share her with your friends and post your best, sincere request that they help out, too.
Thanks in advance for your help, be it donations, networking, or just praying like crazy!!

Rachel Puppy Has Parvo!! Need Help!!

Little Rachel, only 12 weeks old, followed all the rules. She was pulled from the kill-shelter in SC and put in private boarding for more than two weeks quarantine. She had her own personal crate for transport. She was not allowed to walk outside during her transport. She had two vaccines against parvo virus, but it got her anyway, in spite of all the precautions.Now she's at the vet, struggling to survive. Treating parvo at the vet can cost thousands of dollars, so PLEASE, say an extra prayer for her, and donate as you are able, knowing that this little munchkin's life is hanging in the balance and her vet is working hard to help her along.Thank you for donating and for sharing this plea with your animal-loving friends.

UPDATE: Rachel pulled through! Thank you so much to everyone for your prayers and for your generous contributions. We were able to raise almost $400, to which I added $100, to help Rachel's family pay for the vet care that helped Rachel survive. A big thank you to Dr. Grassi and Red Bank Veterinary Hospital for taking care of her!

Ralphie is a puppy with a big appetite for life. Unfortunately, he also has a big appetite for everything, even things that are not normally edible. The vet said he has eaten something and it is stuck in his tummy and the only way it is coming out is surgically. This is going to be a whopping vet bill for which no rescue adopter is prepared.
If you can chip in even a small amount, it will help! Thanks for your generosity!!





UPDATE: Ralph had his surgery - you should have seen all the stuff he'd eaten - even parts from a tiki torch!! He's been much better about leaving that stuff alone now and is doing really well.

Mitch's Golden Years

This is Mitch, an 11 year old golden retriever/collie mix. His owners dumped him at the Greenville County Animal Control because they've had a change in lifestyle. We won't be critical of them, because Mitch is all good to go now. He'll be retiring in Florida with a former classmate of mine. He'll be living with a couple of nice older dogs with a big back yard and the back door open so they can come and go as they please, basking in the Florida sun to warm his old bones. Thanks Kathy for taking him in when his family let him down! Happy Life old boy!

Bishop needs help!

Bishop needs some help! He was hit by a car and left for dead. After he was nursed back to health, he was adopted by a man with a knee replacement who realized Bishop was too strong for him to walk. He was returned and is waiting for his real happy ever after. Could it be you?
This handsome boy is one of those fabled dogs who was saved and he knows it! He is anxious to please. He is a 3 year old, 70lb bundle of lapdog love! He does pull on the leash because he is strong, but his personality is sweet and he is great with people and other dogs. Not sure he'd be good with cats. He does love to go for a walk, and he loves to ride in the car. He is housebroken and is neutered now and up to date on his shots.

Bishop is still living in North Carolina now, but if several people are interested in meeting him, I would love to bring him up to the great state of New Jersey for adoption interviews. At that time I will need a local, very short-term foster home.

For adoptions and fostering this soon-to-be-lucky boy, please visit my website for an application: http://www.homefreeanimalrescue.com/adopt-foster/

Sprung from Puppy Alcatraz

I have been watching the posts from URGENT 2, a volunteer group on Facebook. They highlight the daily kill list for New York Animal Care & Control. ACC will kill beautiful, healthy, adoptable, lovable dogs like this pretty girl every day, starting at 6am, thousands of them every year. They make almost no effort to reunite lost dogs with their owners other than posting the pictures online. They make even less effort to find homes for the ones that are owner surrender and give them even less time to do it, and the woman who runs the show earns a six-figure salary.

As futile as it seems, efforts are being made daily by this volunteer group to save some of these dogs. There are more volunteers who go to the shelter and walk these beauties, then follow up with a short description of their behavior while walking and their personality. It was the write-up for this blue-eyed girl that got me. She walks beautifully on leash, was polite to other dogs they met on the walk, sits on command and takes treats gently. AND she give kisses. THIS is a good dog. THIS is not a dog that should be put to sleep.

I had heard that it was nearly impossible to break a dog out of Manhattan Alcatraz. One rescue friend who lives in NY tried to adopt a cat, and they Google mapped her house and said it was too small for another pet, then they killed the cat. But I figured, what the heck, who needs sleep. So I started reaching out to some of the local rescues in NY who are permitted to pull there. (Not anyone can pull - they have to approve your rescue.) Finally, after providing multiple references and applications, one of the rescues agreed to have her temperament tested, and then they pulled her. After that it was relatively simple, and I drove to Manhattan with my daughter and we picked her up and took her to her new foster home.
She has been officially adopted by my very first adopter from twelve years ago in Massachusetts. She will be going to live with a lovely family and their first rescue dog, another beautiful blue pittie girl (named Blue) who is now 13 years old. She has to wait until she is not in heat so she can be spayed, but all her other vetting is done and she is ready to start her new life.

MamaDog Needs Help to Treat Heart Worms

MamaDog is her name. She has probably lived outside her whole life. Her nose is crackled from years of sunburn and wind and cold. Her toe pads and toe nails are rough. The edges of her ears are fringed from fly bites. She's had at least one littler of puppies. And worst of all, she has a heavy infestation of heart worms. In spite of all of this, MamaDog is one of the sweetest little girls I have ever met. Her little tail wags every waking moment of the day. As you can see from the little picture below, she is much prettier than her shelter mugshot shows. She looks like a fox! She has a beautiful, thick, red-brown coat and a darling little face that is graying in the muzzle. Her health records say she is six, but we think she may be closer to eight or maybe older.

She does not have alot of energy due to her reduced lung capacity, so most of her day is spent lounging on the love seat in my parents' living room. She does not bark, and she does not play with the other dogs although she does not seem to mind them either. But she is housebroken, and sometimes she slides off her perch and wanders out into the house to find someone to ask to go outside. Since we started her on some medication she is feeling a little better and is venturing a little further into the yard every day. That may be because it's getting warmer out, too!
MamaDog starts her heart worm treatment in March. She will have two sets of Immiticide injections to kill the heart worms. Then, if she survives, she will be ready to go to her forever home.
Donations for MamaDog's heart worm treatment are gratefully accepted. Please forward via Paypal address glowingcat@gmail.com and indicate that it is for MamaDog. Thank you!

Three Little Puppies,Sitting in a Row.

One Got a Home - Help the Other Pups Go!

Surfing Facebook one day, I saw a post from Friends of Gordon County. It was a sorry looking little aussie shep pup. I thought she was a pretty little girl, so I shared it. Then a very close friend of mine (who is a cancer survivor) posted that she'd like to know more about her - and ultimately let me know that she wanted to adopt her.) Then I realized that the little pup had a sister, but she was cute, too, so I called the shelter to pull them. It's Georgia, so I had to work through a rescuer there who is licensed with the Dept of Agriculture. She called to inform me that there was a third. What was I to do? Had to pull him, too. They had a brush with parvovirus but pulled through thanks to my awesome local rescuer/foster. Then they got their shots which weakened their little immune systems again and threw them back into gastro-intestinal problems. But they pulled through again. Next week they will go to be spayed/neutered. Their transport is all lined up as soon as they are healthy enough to make the long 15-hour trip to NJ.

UPDATE: One of the little girls did not pull through. She was just not strong enough. The little girl pictured above is doing pretty well, and the little blonde boy is hanging in there. Both have been fixed and had shots, but they are still fighting off various illnesses and parasites. The latest is spirochetes. Poor things.

Beagles in Trouble

Peanut and Lucy were an old man’s companions. The three of them were happy couch potatoes (as witnessed by their overweightedness!) that is until he had a massive heart attack and they ended up as owner surrenders at a high-kill shelter in SC – No chance at survival there. But our friends arrived at the shelter just as the vet was taking them to euthanize them – they pulled these girls right out! Now they need a home.

Can be fostered/adopted together or separately.

 UPDATE:  Peanut passed on over the rainbow bridge. She was just heartbroken over the loss of her guardian. But Lucy has found an adopter who knows about beagles and is so excited to be her hero!

Kane the Pretty Pittie

This was Kinsey at Greenville County Animal Control. He was slated to be put to sleep, but I begged for one more day. Then I went to see my bagel guy who had once casually asked me if I ever got any nice pitbulls. I showed him Kinsey's picture and explained that I didn't need anything but a promise if he'd like to adopt him. But that if he didn't, Kinsey probably would be euthanized
But no pressure...



So here is a newer picture of Kinsey, now known as Kane, with his "cousins." He is a complete spoiled little pup, as he should be.
I had the pleasure of fostering him for just one night at my house. When I picked him up on transport he did his business right away, climbed willingly into the crate in my back seat, didn't fuss at the fox hound traveling with him. He slept soundly through the night without so much as a whimper. He was well behaved with my two dogs and our visiting fox hound for a couple of hours before I delivered him to Paul. And then, when it was time to go, he moved toward me and hung his head down as if to say good bye, and then he let Paul take the leash. As I left, I realized that many of the other shop owners were out on the sidewalk ready to welcome Paul's new baby to the neighborhood. He's in a happy place!