07.29.07

Allergy Stories - Bailey Socks - shih tzu

Posted in Uncategorized at 9:23 pm by Lone Star Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso Rescue

Just over a year ago, I happened upon a little dog, Bailey, who had been adopted from us in 2005. I ran into the owners and the little dog at the vets office where they were discussing Bailey’s horrible allergies and were contemplating having Bailey euthanized since nothing they had tried for a year had helped the sweet little two year old pupster. Steroids didn’t work (big shock here) and nothing else they had tried did anything to alleviate the allergy symptoms. The vet had basically told them Bailey would NEVER GET BETTER. And he was absolutely miserable from chewing all four of his feet totally raw. They were terribly infected and he could barely walk because his feet hurt so badly.

The owners let me take Bailey for a little “allergy boot camp” and I kept him at my house for about two months.

Above are his before pictures showing the chewed-raw, bloody feet and a picture of him this week.

Notice the absence of bloody, raw feet this week - but rather, in their place, bright white little socks on his toes.

Turns out that even though he tested negative for demodex, he had, in fact developed demodex from slamming his immune system so badly from repetitive chewing and infections on his feet.

Good food, no corn, no wheat, no soy, no dyes, no preservatives. Supplemented with Mega C Plus and the Missing Link. Plus a course of ivomec to get the demodex under control.

His allergies do not trouble him any longer.

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07.28.07

Update: July 2007 Heartworm treatment and boarding sponsorship updates

Posted in Uncategorized at 7:57 pm by Lone Star Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso Rescue

As of 8 pm on Saturday evening (yes, I’m sitting here working on fundraising for these fluffs on yet another Saturday night), we have raised just $1405 towards our vet bills for Heartworm treatment and overflow boarding.

Huge thanks to Barbara Grabell, Laura Douglas, Camille Ryan, Cary Stuart, Tyler and Amelia De Lane, Kathy Westerfield, Kim Carlisle, Carol Klodginski, Sheryl Young, Patricia Edenfield, Roy Edenfield, Lori McGaughey, Susan Gregory, Julia Skidmore, Jean Smith, Sandy McPherson, Julia Atalay,Candice Pantano, Lorraine Dadamo, Elaine Hicks, Marty Howard, Melony Robichaux, Nancy Croft, Cheryl Oyaski, Julia Atalay, Stephanie Jones, Charlotte Thorwegen for their very generous contributions to date.

I know I should not have let this pile up for so much time after Myrtle, but now these little fluffs desperately need your help and please don’t let them be adversly impacted because of my inability to get to work!! Our vet bills just this month were astronomical - $13,466. Remember, we have picked up SEVENTEEN, yes I said SEVENTEEN, with heartworms in the past month. SEVENTEEN - heartworm treatment, the split treatment way, averages about $350 per dog. That is almost $6000 in just heartworm treatment that we need help with.

Add to that the fact that we absolutely had to board 5 dogs in the DFW area for the past month, at an average of $6 per day per dog, which is extremely cheap, PLUS EIGHT (8) in the Houston area, at an average of $8 a day, we’re hurting. Thankfully, intake has slowed way down for now, but we still need to be able to pay for these sweeties that have been saved ONLY because there ARE places that will allow us to board for this relatively inexpensive price.

Please help, we need to write the checks on Tues 7/31!!!

To help the sweeties needing heartworm treatment, GO HERE for paypal or HERE to pledge a check!!

To help the ones needing boarding sponsorships, GO HERE for paypal or HERE to pledge a check!!

OR….drum roll please…..

WE CAN NOW TAKE CREDIT CARDS!!!

Yep, that’s right, we are now able to take your donations via Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover!!

Email your phone number to me at TERESA@shihtzu-rescue.com and I’ll contact you to let you know how to do it. DO NOT send credit card numbers over email. We will either take them over the phone or via a fax.

And, don’t forget our fantastic fundraiser raffle…

We desperately need to generate a lot of funds with our ART FUNDRAISER. You will adore the custom portrait by Jeremy Booth - his art ROCKS.

And, don’t forget our anonymous donor’s challenge - get your friends, family, neighbors, kids schoolmates, co-workers, everyone to enter the raffle using YOUR name as the referrer. For the single most prolific referrer, the anonymous donor will match all funds donated!! Fantastic way to make your dollars count double!!

Currently in the lead is Rick Brezik with $130 in referred donations. Followed closely by Wyatt Edenfield with $100 and Cat Martindale with $65. Come on, this is a fun challenge. Surely you buy cookies, candies and holiday wrapping paper to benefit your co-workers’ children!!

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07.25.07

I GIVE UP! MORE AND MORE AND MORE DOGS HAVE BEEN TURNED IN TO LOCAL SHELTERS!!

Posted in Uncategorized at 3:53 pm by Lone Star Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso Rescue

Ok, we took a few days off to work the Houston Dog Show - can you spell “T I R E D.” But it was such a blast. We had tons of volunteers - thanks to many of you new volunteers from Houston! We had plenty of coverage for the first time ever.O

After the sadness of Myrtle and then the dog show and Monday and Tuesday working on a HUGE transport of nine of our little fluffs to their adoptive or foster homes in PHoenix, now I MUST get back to my real “job” in this rescue - helping dogs!!! And for those of you that thought I was depressed about Myrtle, I was!!! But in her honor, we will continue rescuing those who need us!

Of course, while I was “off” the dogs kept coming so here we go….. we desperately need help!!!

I give up! I cannot even keep up with all the dogs that need us. It seems like everytime I close one email, another shows up with yet another dog or two that has ABSOLUTELY NO TIME. Thank goodness, Princess got a home, but there are 20 more waiting. What is going on????

Everyone acknowledges that this has to be the absolutely WORST year in many, many years of doing rescue. Never have there been so many dogs left at shelters. Never have there been so many dogs turned in by their owners.

We have taken in a lot. All of the absolutely wonderful volunteers in the group have been running at breakneck speed to pick up dogs from shelters. They’ve been on the phone begging and pleading with our vets to let us shove in just ONE more. We’re treading water fast but so far our heads keep bobbing up barely long enough to catch a quick breath.

I have to be honest with you, we have taken in many, many, many more than we have room for. And at such a fast pace, I did not even have time to come and get funds in place to pay for their boarding. We’ve been moving dogs in and out well, our throughput is excellent, but we’ve still been using a ton of boarding - mostly for the quarantine/isolation period, but a little just because there is just NOT A SINGLE FOSTER SPOT to put them and I didn’t want them to die just because their owners picked this horrible time to dump them.

So, I’m coming hat-in-hand to tell you, we’re incurring massive boarding bills right now. We have at least eight boarded in Houston OVER our free boarding spaces and another 4-5 in the DFW area. We’ve incurred these boarding fees for right at a month now and have an other month to go.

On top of THIS, most of the dogs we’ve taken in lately have been HEARTWORM POSITIVE. So, we now are in REAL dire straits!! We need to treat heartworms for the following dogs: Edith Burke, Braxton Harris, Hobo Ranger, Aerosmith Harris, Hendrix Harris, Kelsey Davis, Clara Ranger, Kiera Capers, Santana Harris, Julius Davis, Augustus Davis, Octavius Davis, Flavia Davis, Mae Davis, Toby Turner, Winslow Oaks, Jazzy Oaks. That is SEVENTEEN DOGS! SEVENTEEN that we’ve taken in lately that HAVE HEARTWORMS!! It’s easier to count the ones that do NOT have heartworms.

So with the boarding fees PLUS the heartworm dogs, we need to raise several thousands of dollars with our ART FUNDRAISER!! Please help us by sending a link to this fundraiser to each and every friend, co-worker, relative, hey send it to your enemies, and help us get the treatment these dogs MUST have to get into a home!!!

Each and every $5 donated from now until July 31 will result in one entry in the fundraiser. This is a chance to do good and be rewarded yourself!!

Please, please help us!! We are so stretched right now and I just do NOT want to close intake.

Here are the dogs we’ve been worried about these past few weeks - and their disposition.

PRINCESS

Princess - sweet little 13 year old shih tzu dumped at the Canton shelter by her “folks” who were having a baby. Our volunteer Missie was watching carefully for many days, but when her time became limited, she started getting a lot of publicity. Well, you know that, YOU all were some of the first to step up and say “give me that girl!” Fortunately for her, another rescue also stepped up, Love of a Lhasa Rescue in the DFW area, and she is now SAFE!! Go Darlene and thanks Marty for offering to foster her anyway!