Hello. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Armani. My foster mom, Carmen, or as we like to call her “Mama Carmen”, asked if I would mind telling you a little bit about myself and my foster sister Natasha. I am the black and white one in the picture. Natasha is the one with her hair all done up in a ponytail. She thinks she is one little hottie. The girls holding us are Natasha’s new human siblings. They are sweet girls. Natasha is very lucky.
We are what they call “Puppy Mill Survivors.” Do you know what a Puppy Mill is? A lot of people don’t know what they are. This is why we were asked to tell you about our story so we could help others to see what a horrible place a Puppy Mill is. To be truthful it’s quite painful for me to talk about it but we know our story must be told.

Both Natasha and I came from a Puppy Mill in North Texas. A Puppy Mill is not a nice place but it’s where we called home for 2 years. For our whole lives we lived in a cage, no bigger than us. We didn’t smell very nice since we were never bathed and were not given much attention. I don’t think we have ever been petted, held or talked to. We never walked on grass or on carpet. We were not allowed to play with eachother or play with toys. We were there for a purpose and only one purpose and that was to make puppies for our owner so she could sell them and make money. It’s very selfish and cruel if you ask me. What was most sad for me was to see the little ones get taken away from their moms after they were born. I know the mama’s were very sad. Although I can’t remember as far back as being a puppy, I’m sure that is what happened with me and Natasha since neither of us knew our mom’s.

But it wasn’t just us having to live like this. There were several of us so it was quite noisy and quite stinky at times. We were lonely and starving for attention. We were itchy and always felt bad. Most of us were sick. We were very skinny too. But this is how we lived and we just dealt with it the best we could and prayed that one day things would be different. Finally that one day had arrived & our prayers were answered. It was a cool day in October 2007 when someone came and took us all away! That is when we met Mama Carmen. Boy was she a nice lady. She talked to us in such a sweet voice and tried to reassure us that we were in good hands now and that everything was going to be okay and although we didn’t know her very well, her voice reassured us that it would be just so. So began our adventure into a new life.

Mama Carmen became our foster mom. Living with Mama Carmen was different. At first we didn’t know what to think of living indoors. Walking on carpet was strange. It was soft unlike the wire on the cage floors we had lived in. It felt good on our paws. Oh and her house had so many different sounds. I mean it was quieter than our first home but she had different sounds in her house. It took me and Natasha a while to get used to the dishwasher or the telephone ringing. OH BUT WE LOVED THE GRASS! Boy oh boy was that a treat. It was weird at first walking on it since we had never walked on grass before but we just loved it! We ran and ran and rolled in the soft sweet smelling grass. Oh we felt so free. There was so much to do and so much to learn. We were curious about everything!

Mama Carmen says that I have a tender heart and she gives me plenty of hugs and kisses. I love it when she does that. She says Natasha is a comedian and she is right about that. That girl loves to show off and makes all of us smile. One of her favorite things to do was to play and that was with or without anyone else. If no one else wanted to play, she would just entertain herself with her stuffed toys. She was very outgoing and even feisty. Mama Carmen even gave her a nickname. We call her Little Firecracker! Boy isn’t that the truth.
One thing still scared the both of us and you may find this strange but we were afraid of men. I was so terribly frightened of them. I don’t really remember when I became so fearful of them or why. Even the sound of a man’s voice would send me into a panic. I would sometimes have accidents on the floor from being so afraid. I was so ashamed when that happened and I thought I would get punished for it or that my foster mom would not love me anymore but Mama Carmen was so sweet to me and she loved me none the less. Natasha was afraid too but not as bad as me. Carmen worked with both Natasha and I and she was so patient with us. I thought no matter how hard she tried both of us would not be able to overcome our fear but you know what…. We did!

It wasn’t long after living with Mama Carmen that both Natasha and I were adopted by our forever families. I went to live with my new mom and dad-Cindy & David. I was scared of my new dad at first but they didn’t give up on me! Eventually I came around and am closer than ever to my new parents. I love them so much and they are so great to me. I still get to see Mama Carmen and that makes me happy. She babysits me when mom and dad are gone. That is such a treat for me. I am finally leash trained although it took a while. I didn’t like it at first but now I know when they get the leash out, it’s time to go for a walk and I love walks! I even snatched the leash out of my mom’s hand the other day because she was taking too long. They thought it was funny although I should know better. They even let me take a hold of my brother Lance’s leash and let me walk him. I feel so grown up when they let me do that. I have one other sibling named Abby. I have a wonderful new family!
I miss Natasha though but I do get to see her some. She went to a great home with 2 little girls that love her so much. They treat her like the Princess she knows she is. I hear they dress her up in clothes and treat her like a baby. Boy I know she loves that. She has overcome her fear of men and loves her daddy Jeremy very much. Oh and she has another doggie playmate named Alexa too. I hear they are very close and even take naps together.

Well, this is our story. I know it’s rather long but there was a lot to say. Both myself and Natasha are ever grateful for the ones who came to our rescue. Our lives are now whole and even though the first 2 years were rough, we still have many many years of happiness to come.
We hope by telling our story that we can educate people on the horrors of puppy mills and maybe, just maybe help stop these horrible places from existing.

She has an Acanthomatous Epulides, basically a mass the size of a half grape on her gum.  Though it is not cancerous, it is quite invasive if it is not removed, causing damage to the jaw and needs to be removed properly to decrease the chances of it returning.  As part of the surgery, they have to remove the teeth on both sides of the mass, plus some of the jaw.  Though it sounds radical, it is a surgery with excellent prognosis and minimal recovery, especially for a spunky young dog like Phyllis.  It just has to be done.

We are fortunate that a trip to Texas will help us save over $1000 on this surgery.  With that said, we will still need $750 quickly so we can get it removed before it grows any more.   To help us help her, please donate by clicking  

Additionally, we are accepting donations to help offset the costs to transport her, along with several other dogs, between Phoenix and Dallas.  With the rising prices of gas, expenses could run up to $600, but with the weather and airline restrictions, driving is our only choice.  Transport donations can be made

Update on Gracie Mansfield

Gracie is recovering nicely from her initial dental surgery but will be heading back soon for a follow up surgery to close a hole to her nasal cavity.  While undergoing this surgery, she will also have her eye removed so we can assure she is not in pain and for asthetic reasons.  You can see by her new photo that there is nothing that will bring this little gal down.

Your prior generosity has provided Gracie with the medical care she needs and we thank you on her behalf.

Are we doing the right thing here?  We have been innundated with very broken dogs lately.  Some have questioned whether we should take in these broken ones or let them go and save a bunch of young and immediately adoptable ones. 

We’ve always been about saving the ones no one else wants, but in this economy, we’re starting to wonder.  Let me refresh your memory on this one’s story and then we can all decide.

Say hello to Weise Arkana.  You know the story - same song 100th verse.  Shelter dog, limping, no where to go, passed up by all adopters, passed up by other rescues …..

The following came from our volunteer that rescued him…

“He was not worst case of matting I have seen but the worst I have dealt with.  Once I got all the hair shaved, remarkably, his skin is in great shape and he will have a beautiful coat once it grows back.

As you know, he did test positive for heartworms, he has a dislocated right hip, has not been neutered and one testicle has not descended.  the vet easily found and manipulated the non-descended testicle and said it would be easy to remove. 

Weise is a love.  He is around 4 years old with a great personality; nice all around dog.  I believe he is housetrained.  He stays in the laundry room during the day and not one accident.  Of course, I take him out all through the day.  He always goes potty when he is taken out.  He sleeps in a crate beside my bed and doesn’t make a sound all night.  He is having discomfort from the hip, as he jerks around toward his rear for no apparent reason when you hold him or when another dog tries to play with him.  He seems to want to play, you can see it in his eye, but holds back because it just would hurt if he tried.

 

The side showing on the right of this x-ray shows how the ball and socket are supposed to be.  The left side shows how badly dislocated Weise’s hip is.  With the hip this “off” there is no stability when he puts weight on that leg.  Since the top of the leg bone isn’t seated in the pelvis socket, there is no support.

We took little Weise to Gulf Coast (yes, back there again.  I’ve told them they need a wing named after us).

His hip is dislocated, but after taking some better x-rays, we found that the bones are not arthritic, in fact they are in excellent shape.  The surgeon, Dr. Liska, who is one of the foremost authorities on hip problems, said he MIGHT be able to actually re-attach everything.  But, of course, this may change after he gets Weise opened up and can see first hand how the structures look.

Of course, this is the OPTIMAL solution - simply repair what Weise already has.  But, if he gets in there and finds that the bones are not structurally sound, he may have to take more drastic measures. 

There are two options for Weise if he cannot be repaired.  First is a Femoral Head Ostectomy, in which the ball of his hip is cut off.  Once the ball is gone, the hope is that fibrous tissue will fill the large gap between the top of his leg and the hip socket.  There are two main problems with this type of surgery.  First, the leg is shortened considerably and secondly, the leg no longer works the same.  For a dog like Weise, thos can pose a significant problem in the future.  He is a very long-bodied lhasa, which in itself, makes him prone to back problems.  Shortening one leg will cause his gait to change and may put undue stress on his back.  If any of you have back problems and have been to a chiropracter (I have one of the best around), you may have found that your back problem was related to one leg being shorter than another.

This x-ray shows what a femoral head ostectomy would work on Weise.

As you can see, basically the ball is removed from the top of the leg bone and that bone sort of floats inside the socket.

The second option, which is of course MUCH more expensive than the first, is to replace his femoral head AND the socket with an implant.  This will make his repair structurally sound.  You can read about these choices on the GULF COAST WEBSITE. 

So, I know there are many out there that would say that we should not spend so much money on a single dog.  And a RESCUE dog at that.  They would say that we could save so many more dogs with that same amount of money and we should just let this one go.

But, you know, because we do separate fundraisers for specific dogs, our ability to save more healthy dogs isn’t constrained by money, it’s constrained by foster homes (hint hint). 

And, this is what Lone Star is all about - saving those that everyone else has passed by - fixing the broken ones so that they will have a chance at life.

So, please help us fix him up so his insides look as good as his outside.  We’re only going to try to raise what is needed for the “repair” surgery right now since we don’t know if he’ll need the hip implant.  That surgery with x-rays is estimated at $2650 + or - 10 %.  He needs another $250 for heartworm treatment.  We would really like to fix this little boy.   Click here to donate for Weise’s surgery.  As of Tuesday, June 24, 2008 Weise has raised $565 for his surgery.  Thanks go to PAWS of MA, Cynthia Datonni, Wyatt Edenfield in honor of Oreo and Rocky and Barbara Grabell in honor of Cole.

I knew we had someone out there that could and would feel compelled to help this little old lady out.  In fact, we had three very generous offers.  Thanks Debbie, Grace and Wilma!! 

Sienna is one very lucky lady.

They want me to pick him up tomorrow morning!!  And, guess what???  Dr. Beale did the second surgery FOR FREE!!  He took such pity on us because of Alamo and Gianna and then little Weise who needs surgery next week (we may put that off for a few weeks), so he did Alamo’s second surgery absolutely FREE!! 

Dr. Beale’s assistant called me around 5 to say that they thought the surgery was a success and that Alamo was already trying to use the leg.  Not perfectly, yet, but much better than earlier in the week.

So all we need is a tiny little $540 for Alamo and $510 for Gianna to be free and clear on these two surgeries!!

If you would like to help pay off Gianna’s bills, please click here.

To help pay Alamo’s click here.

But, no, they have to show off and…

Well, I spent last night in the emergency room with Gianna.  Between 7 pm when she got dinner and 9:45 pm when I was letting her out for her last potty break, SHE CHEWED THE CAST AND SPLINT OFF  of her repaired leg.

So off we went to get it re-wrapped.

I took her in to Gulf Coast this morning to have the surgeon make sure it was ok.  They just re-wrapped it and she was good to go.  WHEW.

We now have her in one of the large suites at Deogi.  And a GIANT e-collar is encircling her head to make sure she doesn’t chew this cast off.

While I was there, Dr. Beale and I discussed Alamo.  Here is a picture of him with Dr. Beale.

 The repair of the break in his arm is doing well, but Dr. Beale thinks the muscles and tendons have “redirected” their function to support the way Alamo used to use his “arm” that it’s not functioning now.  You can easily see in this picture, the weird angle that Alamo is holding his arm. 

We talked about two options:

1.  Operate again and reposition the tendons and possible even turn the plate holding the break together to turn Alamo’s leg more forward. 

2.  Do nothing and see if it starts working later.

And, the bad thing is that we are still $820 short on his first surgery AND $645 short on Giannas.  AND, we have Weise’s surgery coming up.  And Cubbi’s.

We’ll make a decision later this week, but for now, Alamo is a happy, kissy little dog. 

Thanks to all of you for what you’ve done to date.

If you would like to help pay off Gianna’s bills, please click here.

To help pay Alamo’s click here.

We will send out another newsletter on Friday morning, I hope!!

This caused one leg to be significantly shorter and she limped horribly.

What they did to correct it was to cut through both of the bones, reattaching the curved one in a mostly-straight position, supported by the plate.  The shorter one (see how large the gap is?) was left open.  The surgeon explained that there is a blood clot in this gap and eventually, the boney material will begin to form in this hole and close it up.  That was very interesting. 

She won’t be perfect, but she certainly will be able to walk better.

Then there is Alamo.  He is still in the hospital (Tues) for at least one more day.  I hear the ching, ching, ching in my head and it terrifies me.  Remember his broken front leg.

Alamo now has not only a plate holding the two broken parts together, he also has a rod running down the middle of the leg.  His break was old, at least six months, they think, so they had to “freshen up” the ends of the bones before fusing them back together.

Gracie had her surgery too.  She had 13 teeth removed.  They did not think she had mammary tumors but ossification of the glands.  She does have an oronasal fistula which is an opening between the mouth and nasal cavity.  It was caused by bone loss due to the peridonatl disease.  We will have that fixed once she recovers from this surgery.

They also think her left eye needs to be removed.  The back of the eye has developed scar tissue which is fusing to the muscles behind the eye and may be painful to her.

Here she is recovering.

Gianna Montgomery, who had a serious genetic malformation of her front leg (and she was a breeder!!) that was progressing so that she was having trouble walking, and Alamo whose front leg had basically been snapped just above the joint, both checked into Gulf Coast Veterinary Surgery this morning to get “fixed up” by Dr. Beale.  They are expected to come home early next week.  These two adorable little dogs are STILL WAY behind in fund raising and I know it’s my fault.  I haven’t had the time to provide you all with enough updates on them and I delayed Gianna’s surgery because it wasn’t life treatening, so that she now NEEDS it and there are still others with worse problems.

Here we are at Gulf Coast this morning.

This is Debbie, who always helps everyone get to the right department and right doctor.  She was totally taken by little Alamo.  I almost didn’t get him away from her to go back to surgery.  She kept saying “if I didn’t already have so many dogs…..”  He certainly is charming.

This is Monica, one of the techs/nurses in the surgery department.  She’s helped us before with our cases - Juicy Lu is one very memorable one that she helped with.  She thought Gianna was unbelievably sweet and got lots of kisses from both Gianna and Alamo.

So, off they go to get repaired.

As of 8:00 pm, Gianna has only 20% of what she will need to check out of the hospital.  I know we’re asking a lot of all of you, but we just knew you would want us to go ahead and get this gal some relief.  Please click here to help Gianna via paypal.  Right now, she is at $575 and needs another $2275.  Dr. Beale gave us a nice discount (thank you Dr. Beale) on this work. 

Gianna’s fund is at $525 thanks to Barbara Grabell in honor of Cole, Wyatt Edenfield, Janet Bello, Rebecca Caldow, Cheryl Oyaski, Barbara Detweiler, Sherry Goodpasture, Donna Ferris, Donna Poole, Cari Murphy, Wanda Kenyon and Pat Schoenfelder.

Mr. Alamo is not in any better shape.  He currently has $425 in his fund and needs another $2775.  He will need a bone graft and possibly an implant to fix this very old, untreated injury.   If you would like to help with the surgeries, please click here to donate.

Thanks to Sunny Goldberg, Brandy Zender, Pam Glass in memory of Donna Wilt, Fur Kids, Victor Bosquez, Elaine Cobb, Rosemary Cody, Cheryl McDonald, Wanda Kenyon and Barbara Grabell in honor of Cole for the generous donations to date!!

These two little fluffers really, really deserve it so please consider helping them get well.

We’re delaying Cubbi Lee’s cataract surgery and Weise’s back leg repair.  It’s just too much at this point and Gianna and Alamo have been waiting a long, long time.  And I promise you these sweeties are just as deserving as any of the others we’ve “fixed” over the years!!

After the weekend, they are all W A Y short of what they need.  And Gulf Coast called today to say they could get all three of the orthopedic surgeries in this FRIDAY.  GULP!  Can we do it?  By this Friday?  help!  Help!  HELP!  HELP HELP HELP!

As a reminder, here are their stories with the donation status of each little fluff’s fund.

Funding update as of Monday evening, June 9, 2008.  If you’ve sent in a paypal, fax or pledge and it isn’t noted here, tell me.  I’m rushing to get this all out so these babies can get fixed up and believe me, I sometimes miss stuff.

The three orthopedic surgeries are - Gianna, Weise and Alamo. 

Gianna Montgomery

Little Gianna was an emergency pick up from the Montgomery County animal shelter.  They thought she was pregnant and just minutes away from whelping.  Fortunately, she was not - she had just recently had puppies and was quite fat.  At that time, we noticed that she limped a lot but thought it might be from the weight.  It didn’t get better so we ended up getting an x-ray at our vet.  He just shook his head in disbelief when he saw the x-ray - saying “where do you get these dogs?”  What he meant was, “could Lone Star EVER get a dog that doesn’t have something weird going on.” 

Gianna has a genetic problem with her front right leg.  (Mind you, someone was breeding her!!)  The bones are curving significantly outwardly.  This is, of course, not a life-threatening problem, but it does need to be fixed or her leg amputated before she can be adopted.  We really don’t want to amputate her leg and it looks like it is getting progressively worse.  Here is what she looks like right now.  She has a lot of trouble walking and limps severely.

Dr. Beale, at Gulf Coast, is THE person to do this surgery.  To do it, Gianna needs $2650 so click here to help Gianna.  As of Monday afternoon, Gianna’s fund is at $410 thanks to Barbara Grabell in honor of Cole, Wyatt Edenfield, Janet Bello, Rebecca Caldow, Cheryl Oyaski, Barbara Detweiler, Sherry Goodpasture, Donna Ferris and Pat Schoenfelder.

Weise Arkana

Another little guy is needing help.  Here is the report from the volunteer who rescued him:

“He was not worst case of matting I have seen but the worst I have dealt with.  Once I got all the hair shaved, remarkably, his skin is in great shape and he will have a beautiful coat once it grows back.

As you know, he did test positive for heartworms, he has a dislocated right hip, has not been neutered and one testicle has not descended.  the vet easily found and manipulated the non-descended testicle and said it would be easy to remove. 

Weise is a love.  He is around 4 years old with a great personality; nice all around dog.  I believe he is housetrained.  He stays in the laundry room during the day and not one accident.  Of course, I take him out all through the day.  He always goes potty when he is taken out.  He sleeps in a crate beside my bed and doesn’t make a sound all night.  He is having discomfort from the hip, as he jerks around toward his rear for no apparent reason when you hold him or when another dog tries to play with him.  He seems to want to play, you can see it in his eye, but holds back because it just would hurt if he tried.

 

His after photos just don’t show his bad condition.  Please help us fix him up so his insides look as good as his outside.  We will need $2650 for the surgery and another $250 for heartworm treatment.  Click here to donate for Weise’s surgery.  As of Monday afternoon, Weise has raised $310 for his surgery.  Thanks go to PAWS of MA, Cynthia Datonni and Barbara Grabell in honor of Cole.

Add these to the babies who have needed help since May.  Your donations are so desperately needed to get them on their way to recovery.                                    

All of these things need to be fixed so that we can find them a good forever home.

Alamo Bexar

 

We received an email on a Shih Tzu at Animal Care Service in San Antonio.  We were told that he had an injured leg and was in the clinic.  Our volunteer was taken to the cutest, sweetest little white Shih Tzu with the most horrible injury.  She named him Alamo, very fitting for the spirit and grit of this little guy.  

Turns out, he had broken his leg (almost at his shoulder) and the joint disallocated, but was denied vet care and it healed improperly.  To add to his issues, consistent with neglect, he is heartworm positive, underweight, anemic and matted beyond belief.

THIS VIDEO (CLICK HERE) shows how his little leg flops around.  We really, really don’t want to amputate this little guy’s leg.  He is just too active and full of life. 

Though the one leg is totally limp, he is very fast and ambulatory with his other three.  He actually keeps up with the other dogs in this condition, so just imagine what he would be like if the surgery could provide more stability to his walk.  We can only imagine the past pain and suffering he went through during the six months it took for this injury to get to this point.  We took him to Gulf Coast for a consult with Dr. Brian Beale, one of the best orthopedic surgeons in the state.  He said “WOW, this is unbelievable.”  But Alamo’s front leg was NOT broken at the joint, so Dr. Beale is very confident that the break can be repaired and Mr. A can walk again! 

Your help is needed for us to realign his leg and and joint, probably requiring some bone graphs, followed with physical therapy.  We hope that $2650 will cover the surgery and another $250 for heartworm treatment.  We will come begging again when he’s ready for Physical Therapy.

Alamo is a truly amazing, playful little dog that was once wandering the streets, but is now safe, waiting to be put back together and find a perfect home for the rest of his life.  If you would like to help with the surgeries, please click here to donate.

Little Alamo has $230 in his fund right now.  Thanks to Sunny Goldberg, Brandy Zender, Pam Glass in memory of Donna Wilt, Fur Kids, Victor Bosquez and Barbara Grabell in honor of Cole.

 

Gracie Mansfield

Big personalities sure can come in small packages.  Unfortunately, they can also come with many years of neglect causing issues needing immediate attention so they can live out their life the way they always deserved.

Gracie is a 6-10 year old, 10 pound Shih Tzu girl and acts like she hasn’t a care in the world.  She can take over a room when she enters it and take over your heart with one second of cuddling.  It is hard to believe so many things are wrong - just check out this list:

• $300 to clear up infections, ear mites, kennel cough, and skin issues
• $350 for pre-op procedures in order to complete needed surgeries
• $800 Dental surgery to remove most of her teeth, and two mammory tumors
• $250 Ophthomology consultation for cataract and eye ulcers
• $300 to kill existing heart worms

That is a total of $2000 to “fix her up” and most of which is urgent so other issues won’t develop.  Once these are taken care of we can then do her spay and nasal snares if they are required.

Her prognosis is awesome, just costly, to let her continue being a spunky little ball of joy.  Some basic preventative care - regular dentals and heartworm preventative - would have eliminated the majority of her needed medical care.  Please help this little girl never miss a step of life by cleaning her up and ready to live the second half of her life like the princess she believes she is (and so will you.)  To donate, click here.

Today, Gracie Mansfield has $340 in her jar.  Thanks to Byron Ledger, MeasheaBelle’s, Kay Wyly, Mike and Joyce Tate, Jean, Larry and Jose Smith and Anna Dee Lastick.

Cubbi Lee Turner

      

Cubbi was turned over to us when his owner, a client of our vet, passed away.  Our vet knows we have a soft spot for the pitiful dogs and would also do everything possible to “fix” him up and make him adoptable.  Cubbi is a young six years old with mature cataracts.  The vet believes him to be a great candidate for cataract surgery and the expected cost for both eyes is $2600.  He is adorable and very deserving, so click here to contribute.  Cubbi has received $230 thanks to Rebecca Caldow, Wendy Barnum, Lael Ward, Joan Samara, Cheryl Oyaski, Carol Row in honor of Bella Vida Row and Barbara Grabell in honor of Cole.

Beelzebub Turner

 

As of Saturday, June 7, Beelzebub’s surgery is 100% funded.  Thanks Susan Gregory, Chih-Yuh Kuo, Cari Murphy, Kristie Armstrong, Helen Kohn, Grace We, Leah Abdenour and Joyce Ycasas for your generous donations.

I know you remember the story of little Dougie - the tiny boy hit by car and left in animal control for five days.  Just to jog your memory, here are the videos about him…

The beginning - here he is at Gulf Coast awaiting surgery - November 28, 2007

After surgery - he was in a bad way, but on the road to recovery - December 1, 2007

Being released from Gulf Coast - he was on his way to many weeks of cage rest - December 3, 2007

After just two weeks post surgery - he was able to hobble around - December 15, 2007

Dougie starts rehab - he was not a fan - January 3, 2008

And now…..drum roll please…….presenting the new, the repaired, the whole again, the totally reinvented…….DOUGIE.

Dougie reinvented - almost entirely a new dog - June 5, 2008

Dougie says THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SAVING MY LIFE!

And WE all say thank you too.  For allowing us to do what we love to do!!

Things really do seem to come in threes.  Except this time it came in FIVES.  We have three new fluffs who need surgery, all three are heartworm positive, and all costs seem to end in three zeros.  And two other ones that have been waiting until we can get their funds raised too!! 

Three of these are orthopedic surgeries - Gianna, Weise and Alamo.  Now, we could simply amputate their legs and it would be much cheaper.  And, if you all think that is the right way to go, just let me know. 

But…in the past you all have said “hey no” lets do what we can to make these guys whole and that’s what we did.  Remember little Dougie?  CLICK HERE FOR DOUGIE’s ENTIRE STORY.

So on we go…..

Gracie Mansfield

Big personalities sure can come in small packages.  Unfortunately, they can also come with many years of neglect causing issues needing immediate attention so they can live out their life the way they always deserved.

Gracie is a 6-10 year old, 10 pound Shih Tzu girl and acts like she hasn’t a care in the world.  She can take over a room when she enters it and take over your heart with one second of cuddling.  It is hard to believe so many things are wrong - just check out this list:

• $300 to clear up infections, ear mites, kennel cough, and skin issues
• $350 for pre-op procedures in order to complete needed surgeries
• $800 Dental surgery to remove most of her teeth, and two mammory tumors
• $250 Ophthomology consultation for cataract and eye ulcers
• $300 to kill existing heart worms

That is a total of $2000 to “fix her up” and most of which is urgent so other issues won’t develop.  Once these are taken care of we can then do her spay and nasal snares if they are required.

Her prognosis is awesome, just costly, to let her continue being a spunky little ball of joy.  Some basic preventative care - regular dentals and heartworm preventative - would have eliminated the majority of her needed medical care.  Please help this little girl never miss a step of life by cleaning her up and ready to live the second half of her life like the princess she believes she is (and so will you.)  To donate, click here.

Gracie Mansfield has 115 in her jar.  Thanks to Byron Ledger, MeasheaBelle’s, Kay Wyly and Anna Dee Lastick.

Alamo Bexar

We received an email on a Shih Tzu at Animal Care Service in San Antonio.  We were told that he had an injured leg and was in the clinic.  Our volunteer was taken to the cutest, sweetest little white Shih Tzu with the most horrible injury.  She named him Alamo, very fitting for the spirit and grit of this little guy.  

Turns out, he had broken his leg (almost at his shoulder) and the joint disallocated, but was denied vet care and it healed improperly.  To add to his issues, consistent with neglect, he is heartworm positive, underweight, anemic and matted beyond belief.

THIS VIDEO (CLICK HERE) shows how his little leg flops around.  We really, really don’t want to amputate this little guy’s leg.  He is just too active and full of life. 

Though the one leg is totally limp, he is very fast and ambulatory with his other three.  He actually keeps up with the other dogs in this condition, so just imagine what he would be like if the surgery could provide more stability to his walk.  We can only imagine the past pain and suffering he went through during the six months it took for this injury to get to this point.  We took him to Gulf Coast for a consult with Dr. Brian Beale, one of the best orthopedic surgeons in the state.  He said “WOW, this is unbelievable.”  But Alamo’s front leg was NOT broken at the joint, so Dr. Beale is very confident that the break can be repaired and Mr. A can walk again! 

Your help is needed for us to realign his leg and and joint, probably requiring some bone graphs, followed with physical therapy.  We hope that $2650 will cover the surgery and another $250 for heartworm treatment.  We will come begging again when he’s ready for Physical Therapy.

Alamo is a truly amazing, playful little dog that was once wandering the streets, but is now safe, waiting to be put back together and find a perfect home for the rest of his life.  If you would like to help with the surgeries, please click here to donate.

Little Alamo has $145 in his fundright now.  Thanks to Sunny Goldberg, Brandy Zender and Barbara Grabell in honor of Cole.

Weise Arkana

Another little guy is needing help.  Here is the report from the volunteer who rescued him:

Here are the photos of Weise when he was rescued.

The volunteer wrote:  “He was not worst case of matting I have seen but the worst I have dealt with.  Once I got all the hair shaved, remarkably, his skin is in great shape and he will have a beautiful coat once it grows back.

As you know, he did test positive for heartworms, he has a dislocated right hip, has not been neutered and one testicle has not descended.  the vet easily found and manipulated the non-descended testicle and said it would be easy to remove. 

Weise is a love.  He is around 4 years old with a great personality; nice all around dog.  I believe he is housetrained.  He stays in the laundry room during the day and not one accident.  Of course, I take him out all through the day.  He always goes potty when he is taken out.  He sleeps in a crate beside my bed and doesn’t make a sound all night.  He is having discomfort from the hip, as he jerks around toward his rear for no apparent reason when you hold him or when another dog tries to play with him.  He seems to want to play, you can see it in his eye, but holds back because it just would hurt if he tried.

 

His after photos just don’t show his bad condition.  Please help us fix him up so his insides look as good as his outside.  We will need $2650 for the surgery and another $250 for heartworm treatment.  Click here to donate for Weise’s surgery.  As of Saturday afternoon, Weise has raised $110 for his surgery.  Thanks go to PAWS of MA and Barbara Grabell in honor of Cole.

Add these to the babies who have needed help since May.  Your donations are so desperately needed to get them on their way to recovery.                               

All of these things need to be fixed so that we can find them a good forever home.

Cubbi Lee Turner

 

Cubbi was turned over to us when his owner, a client of our vet, passed away.  Our vet knows we have a soft spot for the pitiful dogs and would also do everything possible to “fix” him up and make him adoptable.  Cubbi is a young six years old with mature cataracts.  The vet believes him to be a great candidate for cataract surgery and the expected cost for both eyes is $2600.  He is adorable and very deserving, so click here to contribute.  Cubbi has received $110 thanks to Rebecca Caldow and Barbara Grabell in honor of Cole.

Gianna Montgomery

 

 Little Gianna was an emergency pick up from the Montgomery County animal shelter.  They thought she was pregnant and just minutes away from whelping.  Fortunately, she was not - she had just recently had puppies and was quite fat.  At that time, we noticed that she limped a lot but thought it might be from the weight.  It didn’t get better so we ended up getting an x-ray at our vet.  He just shook his head in disbelief when he saw the x-ray - saying “where do you get these dogs?”  What he meant was, “could Lone Star EVER get a dog that doesn’t have something weird going on.” 

Gianna has a genetic problem with her front right leg.  The bones are curving significantly outwardly.  This is, of course, not a life-threatening problem, but it does need to be fixed or her leg amputated before she can be adopted.  We really don’t want to amputate her leg and it looks like it is getting progressively worse.  Here is what she looks like right now.  She has a lot of trouble walking and limps severely.

Dr. Beale, at Gulf Coast, is THE person to do this surgery.  To do it, Gianna needs $2650 so click here to help Gianna.  As of Saturday afternoon, Gianna’s fund is at $290 thanks to Barbara Grabell in honor of Cole, Wyatt Edenfield, Janet Bello, Rebecca Caldow and Pat Schoenfelder.

Beelzebub Turner

 

As of Saturday, June 7, Beelzebub’s surgery is 100% funded.  Thanks Susan Gregory, Chih-Yuh Kuo, Cari Murphy, Kristie Armstrong, Helen Kohn, Grace We, Leah Abdenour and Joyce Ycasas for your generous donations.