Lovely Poodles in Rescue Need Homes!

Today I found out an amazing thing, a Jack Russell rescue organization in Greensboro, North Carolina found out about a rural NC breeder who decided to retire and surrender a total of 14 Poodles, and they stepped up to help. Pilots and Paws Volunteer Pilots were kind enough to fly all 14 dogs from Henderson, NC to this rescue group in Greensboro, NC in February. They have even been professionally groomed, and they are doing well on crate-training, so they are well on their way to becoming housetrained.

Busy, a little lady who is only 6 months old

As with all of the dogs in the care of Finding Great Homes for Great Jack Russells Like You, adopters must qualify so that each dog is carefully matched to its forever home.There is an adoption fee to help cover the cost of their medical care, and to help this group continue to save special animals like these. You can see more information on each dog, including age, adoption fees and other details, on the group's list of adoptable animals on Petfinder (see link at the bottom of this post).

Another lovely female, she and her 2 littermates are available

This little sweetie below is so gorgeous, I am coveting him for my own!  I still have to convince my husband that it is time to add another forever family member, but I am working on it.  Isn't he lovely?  I believe that Robin, the group's director, told me that he is about 11 pounds now.  Although they came from a toy Poodle breeder, some appear to be true Toy size, in that they will mature under 10 pounds, while a few might be a little larger, like small miniature Poodles. Most all of the males were young, like 6-8 months old but since they came from a breeding situation, some of the females are adults of varying ages (but there are some females under the age of a year as well).

Butler (above) and his two male brothers are still puppies,but all are doing well on their crate-training, and are learning how to walk on leash.  Butler looks like he will be mature to be a light apricot or a cream with apricot markings. One of his brothers is a white and silver parti-colored boy, and the other brother, Carson (below) looks like he may mature to be a blue with a tad of white markings on his face.

If you are looking for a dog just a tad bigger, there is even a  20 pound Cockapoo, Scout, you can see his photo and read about him on their Petfinder site, as well as the inevitable extremely appealing Jack Russells and other dogs who are blessed to be in this group. There are detailed write-ups about each dog, and most have several photos, and their adoption fees are listed on Petfinder as well.  Their adoption center is open daily 10-5, but they will even set up other times if needed to work with an approved adopter.  See the link to their website under their logo at the bottom of this post--you can find their email and even an adoption application on their Petfinder website link.

It is my goal to get down to Greensboro to meet these Poodles and this group's director, Robin Manley, hopefully within the next week, so I will have a true "interview" about their group to post for you soon. In the meantime, will you help network so that these precious Poodles will find their permanent homes very soon?  I think anyone who is in a position to adopt would be blessed to have one of them, I'm sitting here ready to fill out my adoption application and write my check, but even if hubby doesn't give approval to my desire to adopt---I can still do what each of you can do---we can all help by networking, and by giving donations to help them keep up the wonderful work that is being done so that more dogs can be saved!

 Remember, every donation, even five dollars here and there, adds up. Veterinary care is, unfortunately, quite expensive.  Also, if you happen to live in the Triad area, please get in touch with Robin to find out about volunteer opportunities. If your heart desires to help, there is always something to be done!

Greensboro, North Carolina

336-414-1373

www.findinggreathomes.petfinder.com

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From My Heart Today, and From a Rescued Dog

Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering apprehensively into the 

kennels. I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her.

I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn't be afraid. As she stopped at my  

kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had in the back of my cage. I didn't want

her to know that I hadn't been walked today. Sometimes the overworked shelter keepers

get too busy and I didn't want her to think poorly of them.

As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn't feel sad about my past. I only have 

the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone's life.

She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me. I shoved my shoulder and

side of my head up against the bars to comfort her. Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she

was desperate for companionship. A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to 

assure her that all would be well.


Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her 

arms.


I would promise to keep her safe.

I would promise to always be by her side.

I would promise to do everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes.

I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor. So many more are out there who 

haven't walked the corridors. So many more to be saved. At least I could save one.


I rescued a human today.


My dear Poodle loving friends...do you ever think about how Poodles are much more 

fortunate than hardly any other breed of dog?  Very few of them are left homeless and 

those that do, will usually be quickly accepted into Poodle rescue organizations.


Please take a look at my www.knowingdogsblog.com today and help me network to save

Kam and Handsome.  A Walkerhound, no matter how wonderful he or she may be, has a 

very small chance of making it out of a shelter, in comparison to a Poodle.  Can you help?

If only we would take the time to realize it, the poem above is true...they have so much love 

to give, they are really the ones who are rescuing us.  I know.  I have rescue dogs who 

have brought me just as much joy as my precious Standard Poodle. 


They are all precious in God's eyes, and in mine.


Melanie

Can you Help Raggedy Andy?

Raggedy Andy is just six months old, but he has a heart condition that will greatly limit the length of his life.

His breeder is in Northern New Hampshire and would like to simply give this special boy to someone who can love him for whatever time he has left. It would be wonderful if someone had the funds to take him to a veterinary specialist school, to see if there is something more that could be done for him, but his regular vet says that sweet Andy was just born with a "bad ticker" so he may simply have only a short time to live and be loved.

This boy is still young, birthdate in March of 2011. He is a Moyen sized Poodle, which is a smaller sized Standard Poodle.

If you can help by offering him a forever home, please email me at knowingdogs@yahoo.com and I will send you contact information for his breeder. If you love Poodles but cannot add another to your family, yet you still want to help Andy--perhaps you could donate to help get him to a veterinary school just in the chance that they might have a miracle up their sleeve for him. If you could help in that way, let me know that too--as his breeder could find a volunteer to take the time to drive a day or more to get him to a canine cardiologist if funds were available. There are many people who own and love Poodles from this breeder, and all are networking for little Raggedy Andy.

Thanks also for prayers for little boy Raggedy Andy. Prayers for a home to love him for whatever time he has here, that is the very least he deserves!

Melanie

Please help Lacy!

My friend Corinne Grant, in Greensboro, North Carolina asked me to let all of my Poodle friends know about this special little girl named Lacy. She is in need of a forever home due to the death of her owner.

Here is what her temporary foster home had to say about sweet little Lacy:

Lacy is a 10 year old white miniature poodle. Her owner died 3 weeks ago and she has been at the vet having a little surgery to remove two warts on her back so she is missing a little hair. She gets along great with kids, other dogs and loves to be talked to. Her owner was an 89-year old widow and she is a inside lap dog. I have all of her records. She has been a patient of Greensboro Vet on High Point Rd. She has had her senior annual and is on heartworm preventive. We have all of her supplies. She has a small heart murmur and she is on meds for that.

If you do have someone interested we would love to talk to them We are willing to supply them with a supply of heartworm and heart murmur meds if need be.

Thanks for your help. She is a really sweet dog.

Leslie

Is there a place in your home and your heart for this little one?

Lacy is in the Greensboro, North Carolina area. If you are interested in Lacy, please contact Corinne Grant at cjgrant114@bellsouth.net.

Dog Rescue--Purebred Dog People CAN Help

Come on, admit it--dog people can be a tad snobby, as we think our dogs are the BEST, period. And purebred dogs are very special dogs but I have to confess to you that at our house, Kate the Standard Poodle is no longer the queen. She was just fine with having Suzie Q. Bean, an elderly Dachshund rescued from a shelter last year, come in and take over. I honestly think that Kate thinks it is a bit humorous when the little weenie dog runs over to get the first treat, or tries to take over watchdog duties when someone knocks on the door.

For many years, we only owned two kinds of dogs - Poodles in the house, and Siberian Husky show dogs who had their own quarters involving indoor/outdoor runs and a big fenced yard. After recently losing our oldest Poodle, the numbers of purebred dogs in our home has decreased.  But we are not lacking in dogs!  "Ewok" the Siberian shares her quarters with an Aussie, two mixed breeds and a recently adopted Beagle, all shelter dogs except the Aussie. All incredibly, unbelievably special dogs. Khaki, the lovely Collie/Hound mix in this photo, is an incredibly loving dog who was literally rescued at the last second by a volunteer for the Franklin County Humane Society several years ago.

("Khaki, photo owned by Melanie Schlaginhaufen, may not be reprinted without permission)

Khaki was a "group effort". She was surrendered by her owner to a rural shelter one hot July day. Just like the other dogs this man surrendered, Khaki was skin and bones, so emaciated no one even noticed that she was pregnant. A Humane Society volunteer happened to be volunteering at the county shelter that afternoon and noticed that Khaki was in labor. She asked the shelter director and permission was granted to take Khaki and her puppies to a local veterinarian, and a donor was secured to cover medical expenses.

The next morning, the vet's office called the Humane Society volunteer and told her the puppies were fading, as the mother dog was stressed and not attending to them. Jenny Richardson, the Humane Society volunteer, called me and asked if I knew anyone experienced in bottle feeding. She had a donor willing to pay for veterinary care and Jenny desperately wanted these puppies to make it. Long story short, I rushed to the vet's office and found three very cold little puppies in a concrete run along with their mother. I just could not leave the mother dog behind, so I took her as well. Once we got them safely home, I called a breeder friend (thank you Kassi) and she came over and helped me get the mother dog to accept the puppies. One was much smaller and weak, but we had to try to save him. Kassi spent hours with me, Khaki and her puppies that evening. Kassi's wonderful veterinarian (thank you Dr. Henry) talked with us on his cell phone as we tried our best, but sadly,we did lose the tiny one. By midnight though, the other two were happily nursing.

Khaki and her  little ones were very good eaters, and within weeks Khaki made the transition from a bag of bones to a lovely girl  Children of friends and neighbors came by to help socialize the puppies. When they were old enough, the Humane Society posted photos on Petfinder, and we quickly had many good inquiries. Both pups were adopted to very good homes. Khaki was also posted but we never had a single inquiry, and before long, she was such a part of our family that we could not give her up anyway. She was spayed and became a valued member of the Schlaginhaufen family.

But, guess what?  You do not have to adopt a rescued dog in order to save a life!  In your own city, there are numerous Khakis waiting....hoping that someone will come for them before it is too late. And for most dogs surrendered to shelters, today is too late. The other emaciated dogs that came in with Khaki were put down that same evening before animal control left the shelter. Deemed "not adoptable" because of their lack of weight.  Khaki was not ill, she was just hungry. Even while nursing puppies, she ate extremely well and each day we could see her gaining more and more weight. It hurts my heart to think that the other dogs who came in with her were probably just the same...thin and hungry, due to an owner's neglect, possibly even an owner who simply could no longer afford to care for them.

I know times are hard, dollars are tight for many of us right now. But please consider giving just a little each month, of your time or dollars.Every $5 adds up!  Help save dogs that are not, in our society, valued as they should be....they are not treated the same as a Poodle would be. I know, I have been involved in Poodle rescue and we often had waiting lists of people who wished to adopt a Standard Poodle. Ethical  Poodle breeders often also have a waiting list for puppies, so they can pick and choose the very best homes for them. I love my Kate and every Poodle who has ever "owned me". But Khaki is no less special, and no less loved.

There is a beautiful soul within Khaki....she loves life, and I cannot imagine the thought that her life could have so easily been snuffed off simply because she was thin and hungry. Thank you Jenny, Inglath and Kassi....for saving this diamond, who was little more than a tiny piece of coal when she came to your attention. Thank you Franklin County Humane Society.  We dearly love Khaki.  I considered posting a prettier photo of her, but in this one Miss Khaki is doing what she loves to do.... gathering toys and whatever she can find in the yard, then just laying down and enjoying the grass and the sunshine. Thanks to people who cared, every day Khaki can do what she does the best....simply enjoy life.

She is grateful, and so are we.

by guest blogger, Melanie Schlaginhaufen