And Then There Were Six...

Very few things are more rewarding than watching these dogs progress. Once scared, timid, and confused, they are now blossoming into happy, playful puppies ready to smother their new families with love and kisses. All rescued from the same deplorable conditions, it's very interesting to watch them progress in different ways and at different rates.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, we took in eight dogs from the puppymill seizure in Allegan County - Mopsy (a.k.a. "Mama" because she is pregnant), Buttercup, Cindi, Greta, Jasper, Skeeter, Junior, and Randy. After arriving at FMAR, they were all named by volunteers, spayed/neutered (except Mopsy, of course), and brought up-to-date on all of their vaccinations. There were a couple little snags along the way with fleas and a virus, but they're all doing well health-wise and our main goal now is to socialize them.

Jasper

Jasper is our shining star! He has adjusted so well and has come out of his shell so quickly that he may be adopted as I type this! He went home with a fabulous couple for an over-night on Saturday, and if everything went well, their intentions were to adopt him permanently. He is definitely the most energetic and personable of the eight!

Randy (middle)

Next in line as far as comfortability would have to be Randy. I'm not sure who named him or if it was a coincidence, but he was surely the randiest of them all! But since being neutered, his sexual energy has turned playful and you'd be hard pressed to find him doing something other than jumping around with his kennel mate Junior or playing with a soft toy. He's still learning how to play with people, though, as he likes to nibble at your hands like he does with the other pups. Being as small as he is and with his wonky teeth, his playful bites don't hurt, but it's definitely something we want to work out of him before sending him home with someone. It's so funny to sit and play with him - all he wants to do is climb up onto you and be as close to you as possible!

Buttercup

Buttercup is an absolute doll! Dressed in a pink knitted sweater with pearl accents, she's the girliest of girls! She's slowly blossoming into the most personable girls of the four, and I even saw her wag her tail for the first time on Saturday! She's still not much for a lot of snuggling or touching, but she loves some gentle petting as she snuggles up in her blankets.

Junior

Skeeter

Both Junior and Skeeter are at a similar stage in their rehabilitation. They'll put their paws up on their kennel doors and lick your fingers while you're outside, but when you enter, they're extremely reserved and back away from any attempt to pet them. Right now, Junior is being housed with energetic Randy, so I think once they're split up Junior will warm up a bit more. Randy is so animated that I think it overwhelms Junior.

Cindi

Greta

Cindi and Greta are both extremely shy. They stay snuggled up with each other but if their outside door is open and you come up to the front of the kennel, they'll skeedaddle out the door and just sit there staring at you. Cindi has the biggest eyes I've ever seen on a dog. She's shy but calm, so she'll let you sit there and pet her. Greta, on the other hand, is still very wary of people. She growls if you get too close and bites when you try to pick her up, so a muzzle is needed when she gets her ear drops.

Mopsy

Mopsy is in the worst condition of them all. She doesn't bite, she doesn't growl, and she doesn't whine... but she doesn't leave the very corner of her bed and rarely stops shaking. She is so scared and so stressed... it's heartbreaking. She has to be held when her kennel is cleaned so I usually snuggle her up in a towel and just talk to her, caressing her. She'll stop shaking after a little while but is back at it if you move her too much or put her back in her kennel. She has a very long way to go.

They're all so precious and in need of love... it's saddening to think that they'll all be gone eventually, but they deserve to be in happy, loving homes.

Saying Goodbye

In my short time at the rescue, I've already encountered what I believe will be the most difficult part - saying goodbye. It's difficult to be too sad, seeing as you know they're going to a loving home where they will be happy and cared for, but there's still a little tinge of sadness when you arrive at the rescue after a few days away and see their kennel empty, realizing you didn't get to properly say goodbye.

Chico the Chihuahua and I bonded over a morning outfit change before he left for an adoption event at the local Pet Emporium. It was quite a hilarious endeavor as I crouched on his kennel floor and tried sweater after sweater. He was obviously annoyed so after the second or third, I had to scratch his head and tell him what a good boy he was after every step.

Over the head - *scratch scratch* "What a good boy, Chico!"

One arm through - *scratch scratch* "Oh Cheeks*, you're so cute!"

Second arm through - *belly rub* "That's a good boy, Cheeks! But it looks like this one's a liiiiittle too snug!"

Chico - adopted!

Funnily enough, most of the little sweaters I tried to get on him were too tight! It was chilly out so he needed something, so eventually we settled on this little fleece jacket that was a little too big. The way it strapped around his belly caused him to pee on it if he didn't lift his leg high enough, but we decided we'd take that chance for the sake of him being warm!

Later on in the week I had the pleasure of taking him for a short walk - or what would be considered a lengthy walk when your legs are only two inches long. It made my heart melt to watch him bounce and leap like a little Spring lamb! Eventually, though, he tired out and didn't want to go any further. A fellow volunteer was walking a bigger dog, and we didn't want to have to stop, so I picked Chico up and carried him a little ways. He looked around with a straight neck and erect ears like he was a little god who should be carried all the time! We won't tell him that we realized he was afraid of his shadow as the sun started to shift and cast it on the ground right in front of him ;)

I'm definitely going to miss his tiny little whines when he wanted some attention and his excitable, loving nature, but I am so so happy that he's found the loving family he deserves!

Click here to see all of our animals currently available for adoption!

*My nickname for him

One Day at a Time...

It's all over the news here in Michigan. A simple Google search of keywords like "Kalamazoo," "Allegan County," "350 dogs," and "puppy mill" will yield dozens of results. Over 350 dogs were seized from a small two-bedroom home in the Kalamazoo, MI area last week (the number has since risen with several pregnant dogs giving birth). It's claimed to be a small breeding operation gone bad, but when you really think about it, it appears to be much, much worse.

Source - Kalamazoo Gazette

Most local shelters can't appropriately accommodate that many dogs, let alone a two-bedroom house! People who saw the home first-hand have told me that kennels were stacked from ceiling to floor. The mostly Shih-Tzu mixes were soaked to the bone in urine and their fur was matted with feces. Out of all of the animals in the home, only one had been spayed/neutered to prevent over-breeding.

Just thinking about the deplorable conditions makes me sick to my stomach and makes my heart ache. For this to be all those poor babies know? It's heartbreaking! It's maddening! It's cruel and selfish and ignorant on the part of the owners!

The dogs are being dispersed around Michigan and we've been blessed to have been able to take in eight of them - four boys and four girls (one of whom is pregnant). A fellow volunteer went to the shelter they were being temporarily housed at and said that when you walked inside the huge facility full of the hundreds of dogs that were seized, it was completely silent. That's how scared all of these dogs were. They didn't make a peep the entire way back to Wayne County. Thursday afternoon was their first time walking on grass.

Some of them have already shown signs of improvement since they got here. The four boys are housed together while three of the girls are together and the pregnant one has her own pen. The boys seem to be enjoying their freedom between their large space indoors and their equally large space outdoors (when the weather is nice). They're learning how to play with toys and play with each other. I think the smallest one is the most frisky... the other boys will be tugging on toys with each other and the tiny one will do whatever he can to jump on their backs and start going! Once they're rehabilitated, though, they'll all be spayed and neutered and adopted out.

Source - Kalamazoo Gazette

The three girls housed together are extremely shy. They tend to just snuggle up with each other on their bed. One of them, known for being quite bitey, will just sit slouched over as close to the kennel door as she can, watching everything that's going on.

The pregnant one, who we named Mopsey but call Mama, is so very scared. It's saddening. I cuddled her in my arms the entire time her kennel was being washed out on Saturday morning. I truly believe that they are very sensitive creatures and that a little love can make all the difference in their rehabilitation and upbringing, so I held her, petting her slowly, telling her how good of a girl she was and how much we love her. She shook the entire time, and when her kennel was finally clean, she scuttled into the dog carrier in the back of her kennel and wouldn't leave the corner.

Most of the babies would eat, but Mama wouldn't. Later on we wrapped the bitey girl up in a towel and I held her for awhile. It was heartbreaking to feel the little rumbles in her tummy. At first I thought she may have been so scared that she was soiling herself in the towel, but come to find out it was hunger pains.

They're all in rough shape but we have high hopes for them. They all have issues with their teeth, had really bad fleas, and of course, their behavioral issues. They aren't potty trained, socialized, and aren't used to human interaction. Some of them seem to walk a little funny so we'll see if that develops into anything. I know one of the boys runs with his butt sideways so he looks like a backwards L shape. I have a feeling it might have something to do with chronic fleas, as though he bit toward his hind end so much that his hips just naturally turn that way now.

BUT! A little work and they'll be ready for loving families!

Want to help, too? Here's how! You can also call the Allegan County Animal Shelter at (269) 686-5112 or check out this Facebook page that has been set up to help. Every little bit makes a difference :)

Herro ;)

Quincy - my mom's adorable Cocker Spaniel

Welcome to my shiny new blog! I'm so excited to be a new member here at Blogspot! I recently began volunteering at a local no-kill open-admission animal rescue here in southeastern Michigan, where we take in dogs of all breeds, sizes, and age from an array of sources. We rescue dogs that have been abandoned, dogs from owners who can no longer care for them, and dogs that are facing the threat of euthanasia at other local animal shelters. We care for, socialize, and train all of our dogs with one goal in mind - that they may find a "forever home," living a long and happy life with a caring family.

After my first day there, I realized I was going to have a lot of stories to tell! So, as to relieve my boyfriend and friends from the burden of listening to all of them, I decided to start this blog. I hope you enjoy and are inspired to help needy animals in your own way :)

♥ Sabrina Ioana