June 24th, 2009

Hello RESCUE Followers:

Here's a recap of last week:

On 6/18 RESCUE was honored to rescued six cats from the kill list. Please click on their names to see videos of each of the kitties. Austin, Harlow, Izabella, Kirby, Marcel and Sadie. They are recovering from kitty colds at the moment. Once they are healthy we will spay and neuter them and place them up for adoption.

On 6/19 RESCUE dog Misti was adopted. She was adopted by a young couple who recently lost their canine friend. Misti will be a spoiled only child with lots of attention from her mom who works from home and hikes in the nearby park.

On 6/20 RESCUE dog Kira was adopted by her amazing foster parents. You may recall Kira's story from a previous blog. Her foster parents were instrumental in her blossoming into the happy-go-lucky dog she is today. We are so happy for her and her new family.

On 6/22 RESCUE dog Jake was adopted. Jake now enjoys his home with another older Chessie and his new dad. He gets to go to work with him every day, go swimming, walks and of course tons of time to play ball!!

On 6/23 RESCUE was privileged to save two dogs from the kill list. Mindi a young terrier mix and Neda a brindle aussie mix. Both will be ready for adoption soon.

RESCUE dog Merlin is doing well. We changed his chemo medication again and it seems to be working well. We'll know more after his vet exam later this week. We'll keep you posted.

RESCUE's Bowlarama fundraiser is in full swing. We have five weeks left to reach our goal of $45,000. This will enable us to continue to save and care for formerly orphaned dogs and cats on the kill list for about 4-5 months. Please make a donation to support our efforts! With the economy suffering donations are down dramatically but the dogs and cats still need us desperately. Donations of any amount are appreciated! Click here to donate!

Thank you for your continued support! We hope to see again next week!

June 15th, 2009

Hello RESCUE Followers!

Here's a recap of the last week at RESCUE:

On 6/7 RESCUE cat Marley was adopted. Marley was adopted by past RESCUE adopters of Remington Steele, now Rhett. Please click on the above link for all the details.

On 6/8 RESCUE dog Shani was spayed. Shani is the dog we saved with a horrendous case of Demodex. She has made a remarkable recovery. She has her own Facebook page. Please take a moment to check out her story. She will soon be ready for adoption!!! What an amazing dog!!!

On 6/9 RESCUE was privileged to save two dogs lives. Tyler is adorable lab/vizsla mix. Roxy is a spunky cattle dog mix. Roxy is being spayed today and Tyler will be neutered on Wednesday. Both will be available for adoption later this week.

On 6/10 RESCUE cat Delaney was adopted. Delaney was adopted by past RESCUE adopters of Fergie, now Tycho. Please click on the above link for all the details.

On 6/10 RESCUE cat Jonas was adopted. Jonas was adopted by former adopters of RESCUE cat Chantilly. Please click on the above link for all the details.

On 6/11 RESCUE dog Merlin had his one week follow up vet appointment. Unfortunately, we weren't pleased with his progress so far. But we have adjusted his medication, increased his food intake and hopefully that will make a difference. On 6/15 we adjusted his medication again. Hopefully with the new chemo drug he will fair better. He is eating well and appears to have put on some weight. He will have another vet appt later next week.

On 6/12 RESCUE cat CiCi moved into foster care. We'll keep you posted on her time in foster care.

On 6/13 RESCUE cat Lelah and her kitten Tasha had a meet and greet with potential adopters. They are not ready to adopt yet and Lelah and Tasha won't be available for adoption for at least another month. Everyone enjoyed each others company. We'll see if things work out next month. We'll keep you posted.

Thank you for continuing to follow RESCUE's journey. We appreciate your support and hope that you will help spread the word about the work RESCUE does to help save and care for the orphaned dogs and cats on the "kill list."

I hope you have a great week and we look forward to seeing you again.

June 7th, 2009

Welcome back fellow RESCUE followers!  Thank you for following RESCUE's journey to save the dogs and cats on the "kill list."

Here's an update on the last week at RESCUE:

On 5/28 RESCUE cat Esme was adopted.  She will be the spoiled only kitty.  Her new dad just adores her.  He promises to send new photos of her in her new home soon.

On 5/30 RESCUE dog Tara was adopted.  Tara's new home is with two beautiful white whippets.  Tara and her new sisters Ava and Bella become instant friends.  Tara's new name is Callie.  She was having a blast when we left her and her new parents sent an update that they are overjoyed with Callie and how well she is fitting in!

On 5/31 RESCUE dog Gretel was adopted.  Gretel, now Topsy was adopted by the adopters of former RESCUE dog Willie.  Her new parents have a place here in the valley and up north. Willie now Sporty will undoubtedly show Gretel/Topsy all the wonders of living near a forest...all the birds, squirrels, bunnies and lizards that they must patrol! More photos of the family to follow.

On 6/1 RESCUE kicked off the seventh annual Bowlarama fundraiser.  This event is RESCUE's primary fundraiser.  It provides funds for our life saving efforts for about four - five months.  Please consider making a donation today of any size.  Every dollar adds up and makes a difference.  

The number of animals being abandoned in Maricopa Country has reach epidemic proportions.  It's very, very sad that so many animals are being dropped off at Animal Control, the Humane Society, with rescue groups, left abandoned in homes and to wonder the streets.  RESCUE receives dozens of emails and phones asking for help every single day.  It is estimated that between the Humane Society and the two local Animal Control facilities that 120,000 dogs and cats will make their way into those shelters in 2009!!!  Sadly that does not include the countless other dogs and cats that good Samaritans take in and find homes for.  I have been involved in the animal movement here in the valley for over ten years and I have never seen things so bad.  In an effort to help our city help save more animals from being needlessly killed RESCUE issued a challenge.  We felt that Arizona needed help in a BIG way.  Someone with the ability to get the word out there and effect a change in our city.  Oprah's name came to mind.  We asked all of our contacts to reach out to all of their contacts to try and get in touch with the folks at the Oprah Winfrey show.  Believe it or not but several people who knew people with her show.  We did hear back from a couple of their producers.  Unfortunately they are on summer break.  They will consider us for a story in the future.  While I hope that they produce a show on the problem here in the valley, I am disappointed that we couldn't get something going now.  The summer months mean even more dogs and cats are going to be abandoned and killed.  We need help now!!  We aren't giving up and are looking into other options for national exposure.  Hopefully we will have good luck!  The animals are counting on us!

  

RESCUE dog Danny (white/tan) is ill with a doggie cold and it

 appears that RESCUE dog Mandi (white/black) and caught the same cold.  :(  As you may recall Danny is very, very thin.  Thankfully he is eating and both are in good spirits.  Hopefully they will do MUCH better this week.  Keep you posted.

On 6/2 RESCUE dog Merlin went to the vet to have an exam.  He had been very picky about eating and we thought he might have a problem with one of his teeth.  Unfortunately we received terrible news.  Merlin did not have a problem with this teeth.  He had tumors in his throat that were caused by lymphoma.  :(  This form of cancer is not curable.  We can only treat Merlin with a form of chemo therapy (pill form), a high quality diet and some anti-inflammatory medication.  At this point the best case scenario for Merlin is six months.  Next week he will have a follow up vet appointment that will determine if the chemo medication is working or not.  We will do everything we can to keep Merlin comfortable.  Thankfully he is not in any pain and after starting his medications he is back to eating well so we are happy about that.  We will keep you updated on his progress.  Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated.

On 6/5 RESCUE dog Hank was adopted.  Hank found a wonderful home with a very loving family.  He has a ton of new brothers, sisters and canine friends.  Hank was overjoyed with all the love and attention that they showered on him.  He certainly deserves every bit of it!  We are so happy for him and his new family.

On 6/7 RESCUE dog Kole and RESCUE cat Marley have adoption appointments.  I don't have the results of those adoptions at the moment so stay tuned for next week's update for those notes.

Thank you again for following RESCUE's journey.  Please help spread the word about our efforts and we look forward to seeing you again.

Kira's Story

You may have heard about a RESCUE dog Kira that we recently rescued.  Kira is a white and tan colored cocker spaniel.  When we saved her she had been at Animal Control for five days.  She also had an injury to her eye, a condition called cherry eye.  This condition is easily treated.  She had surgery to repair her eye the day after we saved her.  While examining her the vet also found that she had an ulcer on that same eye.  This ulcer covered nearly her entire eye.  This is a very painful condition.  Thankfully she didn’t have to endure that pain anymore.  While she was under anesthesia we also spayed Kira.  Kira has completely recovered and does not require any future medical treatment for her eye.  Kira’s medical and boarding expenses total $840.  

So those are the “facts” of Kira’s rescue.  Let me tell you a different story about Kira.  When I rescued Kira I was struck by her “empty” gaze.  She seemed hollow, vacant or maybe the best word is resigned.  It just broke my heart.  Obviously she had an injury to her eye but that didn’t seem to bother her.  Her heart and spirit seemed broken.  I took her out of her kennel and walked her inside to a quiet room.  As I spent time with her I found her to be a sweet but timid dog.  She was extremely hand shy.  When I stood up, she rolled onto the floor and showed me her belly.  :(  Of course I felt horrible that I had scared her with such a normal, subtle movement.  

This is a photo of Kira from the day of her rescue.  I’m sure you can see the look in her eyes.  She has no spark in her eyes.  She seems to have given up on life, on love, friendship, companionship, fun and all the good things in life.

I knew RESCUE could help her.  There had to be a little spark of hope left within her.  RESCUE has the most caring, dedicated, loving and patience volunteers.  We would love and care for on her terms.  We would be patient.  We would show her that people can be kind, gentle, loving and fun.  As the days past and she completely recovered from her surgeries our volunteers began interacting with Kira.  Sometimes we just sat in the grass under a shade tree.  Sometimes we walked her around the nearby lake.  Or brushed her clean soft fur.  The days turned into weeks.  We could see that spark start to flourish within her.  She started to wag her tail, she had a bit of a pep in her step, she seemed to be enjoying our company!!!  YAHOO!!!  We couldn’t have been happier for her!  Our little lost soul had been “found.”  We knew there was no turning back now!!  

Kira was starting to play with other dogs, she was running around with them, ears flopping in the wind, she even started to play with toys!!!  Our young precious girl was beginning to enjoy life and was on her way to becoming a happy go lucky dog!!

This is Kira now.  I think she is smiling in this photo!  She has moved into foster care and is now learning what it means to live in a house.  She was petrified of the TV and ran from the room when it was turned on.  When the air conditioning turned on she flinched.  She ran into the screen door (well I think we can all say that we have done that a time or two)!  But Kira was learning quickly.  After just just two weeks in foster care she has adjusted to all these crazy things!  She also likes the family kitty, dogs,  the swimming pool and TOYS!  She is completely housebroken, doesn’t bark, sleeps on her dog bed and is just as sweet as pie!!!  

I’m very happy to say that Kira definitely has a spark in her eyes now.  Kira is no longer resigned.  Kira is a hopeful, happy, silly and loving dog!!!  She will await her forever home in foster care.  Someone will be very lucky to have such an amazing companion to share their life with.  RESCUE is thankful for the opportunity to be apart of Kira’s story.  We are honored that we could help her love again.  

While RESCUE’s volunteers have freely given of their heart and their time, unfortunately Kira’s medical and boarding expenses are not free.  We are hoping that you can help us with that part.  Donations of any size help and every single dollars adds up.  Please make a donation today!  You can make a secure tax deductible donation online at – www.firstgiving.com/bowlarama2009, or you can send a check to RESCUE, 4747 E. Elliot, #29-415, Phoenix, AZ 85044.  Additionally, please forward Kira’s story to your friends, family and co-workers.  While Kira can’t physically speak to us, I have no doubt that she is eternally grateful to all of us for believing in her and not giving up on her!!  We think she is priceless and are so grateful she didn’t give up on us!   

Thank you for your support,

Jennifer Berry

President

RESCUE, a registered 501©3 not for profit

www.azrescue.org