That is the absolute worst possible scenario and something none of us want to see. We immediately put Nancy to work with Gus and he was a charmer. Still. We had to make him a yellow dog, based on what the previous adopters had said and we had to be very careful about adopting him out. I lost a lot of sleep over Gus. The previous shelter was willing to take him back (we had touched base with them to see if there were any issues when he was with them) but they were not a no-kill and we really feared for Gus. And….sigh…we loved him. He came into our arms, into our shelter and we felt responsible for him. He was so young too. Was he really as aggressive as the previous owners had said?

Well, along came Stephe and Rob. They really wanted Gus. We explained about his past history and our experiences and spoke at length to them about Gus and his possible issues. They came and met him. And ultimately adopted him. We held our breath and hoped that they were truly committed to working with him and that the stories of the previous adopter would turn out not to be true. Here is their latest update on Gus. I wanted to share it with all of you and I want it to always be a reminder to us ALL of what a little love, kindness and patience can do. Mostly love. Could Gus have become a lifer? Yes. But love showed him what his life COULD be like, and Gus accepted that and as a result he will be cherished and loved and lounge on a couch instead of in a kennel. I will always remember Gus as the dog that could have gone either way. Thanks to Stephe and Rob, he went the right way. All dogs have this potential. Do YOU have the patience and love to work with your dog through his problems instead of abandoning him at a shelter? Please think about that and this story if you are ever faced with such an issue. Here is their story:

When we lost Gypsy last May, after 10 years, we said “no more”. Then Rob saw “Gus’s” picture in the weekly adoptions featured in the paper and was struck by how cute he was. Not realizing that an appointment should be made, I just stopped by Pets Alive on my way home, since we live only a few miles from there, to meet Gus. Kerri was nice enough to bring him out to meet me and let me walk him, which was quite the challenge, since he pulled so fiercely. He calmed a bit and when I sat on a rock for a minute, he just sat next to me, put his paws on my knees and gave me a kiss, then just sat next to me. That was it. When I brought Rob to meet him, they also hit it off and he came home with us on April 5.

I learned that Gus had recently been given his name, so we had no guilt about changing it, as he was not yet responding to it. Over the next day or so, we thought of names like Buddy or Rusty, and then I realized that he was totally preoccupied with trying to find out what wildlife was living under the shed or pool deck sniffing and tracking on the lawn, and knew that he was indeed a “Hunter”, which became his new name, which he does recognize now.

It broke our hearts to hear that he’d been adopted twice and returned the next day for snapping. This worried us, but I wanted to see what it was about. Basically, we realized that it was partially fear and mostly playing. I noticed that he never “snapped” to hurt or to actually bite. When bringing him in from the rain, I went to wipe his feet with a towel. He was not totally receptive. He began to grab my hand to make me stop, not biting, though. I just petted and hugged him, gave him kisses and spoke gently, while GENTLY rubbing his feet with the towel to gain his trust. I think the biggest thing was to realize that his “growls” were not ferocious or threatening. Most of his growls are playful. I think many people don’t take the time to analyze what the dog means by certain sounds or actions and just assume that they are being threatening or nasty. He is anything but. He wants nothing more than to be held and loved.

When we first brought him home he had some slight stomach issues off and on. As a result his back side needed cleaning. I took a warm wet cloth to clean him and the same thing happened. He was frightened. After a couple of minutes of reassurance, I was able to clean him sufficiently while calming him.

He is excellently house broken, although we’re still learning his signals. We just ask him a lot until we’re sure what his signals are.

He loves going for rides in the car and is excellent.

Hunter is an energetic, funny, loving and affectionate dog, who spends half his time going back and forth between us, spending time, playing, kissing keeping company and just making us laugh with his stuffed moose.

Does he get into some trouble? OH YEA!!! One day we came home to find sheet music on the floor and paw prints across the top (slightly raised) of the black lacquer baby grand piano. Another time he’d gotten into the tissues on the night stand and pulled them all out. And the time he ended up on the dining table. And I’m sure there are more adventures to come.

We realize that any adoptee will come with issues to be worked out. He still pulls on the leash at times, but is improving daily. He gets lots of hugs and love and positive reinforcement. He likes the treats also.

In emails with BlondeKerri and with Nancy, the trainer at Pets Alive, I was given additional hints and suggestions for helping him transition and work things through. It was great to know that after the adoption they are also there for ongoing support to help the adoption work. That’s important and appreciated.

He’s learned in short order how to endear himself. He has certainly brought the house to life again.

My advice to anyone adopting a dog with any issues is to give it at least a few days to let them settle in and just as with a child, approach them with love and caring and patience, trying to imagine what they may have been through before coming to you. Give them a chance. We’re so glad we did.

Stephe and Rob

As part of their routine intake, we make sure each pet is altered, vaccinated, microchipped, and heartworm tested. We also test for e-canis, anaplasma and lyme disease at the same time. If a particular animal is not fairing well in the kennel environment, we do our absolute best to set them up in some other part of our building. For those of you who have visited our facility, you’ll witness dogs living in every crevice of ‘human’ space. Nothing is off limits…offices, kitchens, laundry rooms, EVEN bathrooms (only spacious ones of course). It’s difficult but we truly attempt to triage each case based on potential illness or those with severe behavioral set backs. Sometimes the kennel is just not the optimal environment for a dog that is terrified and we find putting them in rooms where there is less noise and confusion, but some human traffic helps them get over this faster than leaving them in an environment where they are so frightened.

Shea was a dog that came into our hearts by fate. It was a Sunday in June and we were anticipating a transport of dogs to arrive from a high kill facility in Tennessee. Shea just so happened to be on the transport although she was not one of the dogs we were expecting. But seeing this young, beautiful, sweet yellow lab mix greet us at the side of the vehicle, we knew that we could not send her back to an unknown fate. So we gladly brought her inside and while trying to track down her medical history, we set her up inside a separate room where she would not be around the other dogs at our facility. The transporter bringing her had no idea who she was or where she had come from, she had pretty much just found her in a situation where the owner had died and all the dogs the person had been caring for had just been “set free”. We had no records and no history and Shea was so sweet. Going back to the town she came from would have meant certain death as the kill rates in that shelter were well over 96%.

Unfortunately within the first two days of her quarantine period we became concerned that Shea was not feeling well. She did not have a good appetite and she was pretty quiet, although we could not be certain if this was typical behavior for her, or indeed she was ill. So for the week of her quarantine we continued to keep her separated, and could coax her to eat some food. We tested her for heartworm, lyme disease, anaplasmosis and erhliciosis. We drew blood for a normal CBC/chemistry panel. While awaiting the results, a family happened to come by looking for a dog. Immediately you could tell that this was not just some typical family. They were one of those families that are so devoted to their animals that you’d consider giving them one of your own!

While Shea was being taken out for a walk, the family made her acquaintance and instantaneously became smitten by Shea’s charm. They knew Shea was meant to go home with them. When we explained the situation of Shea not feeling perfectly well, they stressed the fact that she would be an only dog, and they were fortunate enough to be home full time (and thus could care for her around the clock). We explained that at this point bloodwork was out but we were still unsure what was wrong and warned it could be something serious. They advised that their vet was a close family friend, they contacted her, and she was already willing to see their new pet first thing in the morning. Since we were still awaiting the results of our blood panel to arrive from the weekend, we promised to have them immediately faxed directly to their vet that next day.

After the first week in her new home, Shea took a turn for the worse. Within a matter of days, she became neurologic. Her vet was perplexed by the new set of symptoms. We kept in touch with her vet (and family) to stay abreast of her condition. It came as a complete shock when we learned that Shea’s condition had progressed to the point that she needed to be euthanized. Due to the fact that vaccines are not completely protective especially if they were not administered in a proper fashion (such as the timing of boosters), the vet performed a necropsy in order to try to ascertain some answers for this baffling case. It took several weeks to determine that Shea had indeed fallen victim to the deadly disease canine distemper. The most disturbing fact is that this could have been prevented if Shea had received normal inoculation series, especially as a puppy.

As I look back, I am beyond grateful Shea found her forever home with this incredible family. They loved her from the moment they saw her, to the moment they made the selfless and humbling decision to end any suffering. It weighs heavy on all our hearts, but in the end, we realize that not only could Shea have died a painful, tortuous death on a cold cement floor, but she could have lost the only chance (no matter how short it was) to appreciate that she was undeniably loved! And as much as we will never forget this beautiful soul who was never even destined to arrive at our facility, Shea will never forget the selfless sacrifice her family made for her. I have no doubt Shea will be waiting for the day that they will be together again as the family they were destined to become.

(Written By Janet)

The shelter was a high kill shelter though and dogs like Amelia stand zero chance of survival, as 95% of all the animals that walk through their doors are euthanized.  Pets Alive took tremendous pity on Amelia and all she had been through and we decided to take her here.

She and her puppy were transported with 25 other dogs from this shelter to our sanctuary.   Upon arriving we noted that her remaining pup was extremely ill and were forced to take him from her to provide him with medical treatment.  When he recovered enough we put him in a run directly across from her so that she could see that he was well.  Her pup was quickly adopted and Amelia decided that humans were definitely not to ever be trusted.

She was here for months and our staff and volunteers worked all the time trying to befriend her, get them to trust her and be able to be loved and one day placed in a home, but Amelia had lost her ability or desire to trust anyone.  The problem was compounded by the fact that she had tested positive for heartworm and so needed some intense medical treatment. So we had to take this mistrusting dog and now subject her to medical procedures that were both uncomfortable and made her feel very ill,  and forced her to be handled intensely.

Amelia did recover completely but her determination not to have anything to do with us was exacerbated.  We could go in and sit with her but she would walk away to the farthest point of her run.  We could not leash her or walk her.  She would accept treats and we consulted with Best Friends trainer, Pat Whitacre.  He advised us to start hand feeding her only by hand.

So that is what we did.

Every day a staffer would feed her out of our hands to help her to learn that with humans came food and good things.  But while she would accept  the food and eat it gently she would not allow us to touch her – at all. We could not pet her or leash her.  She started becoming increasingly aggressive at the fence and threatening to attack other dogs and people walking by.  We were at wits end.  We called multiple times to talk to Pat and he gave us many suggestions.  We tried them all but either they were not right for her, or we did things incorrectly because we continued to make no progress with Amelia.

We were all really sad for her.  Here was an absolutely beautiful dog that had gone through such terror and horror in her short life that she may be stuck at Pets Alive and become one of our “lifers”.  None of us wanted that.  We had two local trainers come and try to work with her, we had an animal communicator work with her and we had specific staff and volunteers assigned to her….but no progress. She was resolutely unwilling to trust us.

We asked Pat, if we could afford to fly him here and put him up, would he be willing to come and see for himself, and help us?  Pat asked Michelle, DogTown manager and she immediately agreed that he should come and help us.  Then it went higher to Patty H. to see if she could authorize Pat to come for at least a week to help us.  Patty had to weigh all of the issues at Best Friends and parting with one of their best trainers for that long was not easy…but she made it happen.  She okayed Pat to come.

OK, so we offered to fly Pat out here and put him up…but ummmmm….what now?  We didn’t have the money for a fancy hotel  – but we had just made the rooms in the back of the brick house a mini-apartment.  Would he be willing to stay there?  Yup!  Pat said no problem, he’d slept in a lot worse!  Great (well…maybe not great for HIM!).  Now the airfare.  No money for that, but we DO HAVE SUPPORTERS!  Months ago we had asked for someone to help us with getting an artist out here and many people stepped up to offer their Frequent Flier Miles.  We never got that to work out but we remembered the people who had volunteered!  I contacted Anita M. who was absolutely AMAZING!!  She got in touch with Pat and the two of them worked out flight plans, arrival times, and before you knew it, Matt and I were on our way to the airport to pick him up. We told him we’d be there with bells on (we were so excited!) and he said he would be wearing….well….of course his trademark coat and floppy hat (which Swampy tried to eat while Pat was here).

Pat started out immediately, even though we got here after dark.  He went to greet all his favorite dogs whom he remembered from when he had been here in the past (our long timers!) Meeshka and his favorite, Cam.  (In fact, Cam spent the night with Pat the whole time he was here  – Cam is a GREAT dog.  SOMEONE should consider adopting him!!). Janet was still here, and Carmine too, and I hear the three of them played with dogs and started ground work and didn’t get to bed until after 11PM.

Pat was up early the next morning and working with Amelia.  He taught her that to eat, she would need to tap one of his hands and then he would release kibble to her in the other hand.  Within a really short time she picked this up and would bop his hand with her mouth to get him to release her kibble.  This was HER coming to US to touch US, rather than us chasing her around trying to pet her!

What a wonder! It all went so quickly after that!
Within two days, Amelia was walking up the driveway on a leash.
She was taking rides in the car and was sitting in Pat’s “apartment” on the couch and the bed, and soon, Juan, Marcos, Chris and Carmine could also sit next to her and stroke her and she didn’t show any aggression or turn away.

We then found out she loved to go for car rides and she loved to play with toys!
Amelia would gather up all the toys in the outside exercise pen an she would put them all together on one side (maybe like puppies?)

She turned out to be the sweetest dog.
She just needed someone to trust, and to show her that we could be trusted and no one was ever going to hurt her again.
She wags her tail now when she sees you walking toward her run with a leash and she happily takes walks – in fact LOVES to go for a walk.  She also stopped aggressing at other dogs and now we can walk dogs right by her run without any sign of anxiety from her.

She is truly a sweet dog. We knew it was in there somewhere. We just had to find a way to get it out!

Thank you so much to Pat for making that happen.
It makes me weep to know that one day Amelia will be able to be in a home and being loved on, and coming to people for affection, instead of living her life here, in solitude as a “lifer”.

Thank you Pat, you are truly a Dog Magician….but you make it look so easy.  We have gained such a deeper understanding of dogs, learning about what THEY want (instead of what WE want) and learning to find that trigger that will help us get them over their fears and mistrust. Thanks so much for giving us the knowledge and the time to make a difference with Amelia and indeed with future dogs to come our way. Thanks also to Michelle and Patty and everyone at Best Friends who continue to support smaller sanctuaries around the nation and help us help the dogs in our care.  You guys are all amazing.

Amelia is still being worked with, but she is close to being ready to go into a home.  If you are willing to take the time to get to know her, please consider meeting her and welcoming her into your home. It has been my experience that once a dog gives you their trust and love, they never go back on it.

UPDATE ***  UPDATE *****  UPDATE *****

Amelia was adopted this week! (Jan 2009)
Please see the updates posted here:
http://petsalive.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=956

By Dale Kantner, Cat Manager

When I started working at Pets Alive last June, I must admit to being a bit overwhelmed with the number of cats that lived here. I believe there were about 99, and they were divided into 6 rooms. There was one beautiful 8 year old kitty that lived alone in the kitchen, her name is Missy. I soon found out why Missy lived in the big kitchen all by herself, she HATES all of the other cats!! Or, as I tell her, she is so special that she gets her own room.

Those of you who know Missy, know that she is a staff and volunteer favorite. She definitely has her own personality, part sweetie pie and part MONSTER!

Well, in the last couple of months, my Missy started losing weight and her coat was looking “ratty” (no offense to the rat lovers, I love them too J). She was vomiting almost everyday, and was refusing to eat even the secret special food I would bring in for her. Janet, our vet tech, took her to Dr. Furman for blood tests. Everything came back normal, except for her liver values, they were high. The vet put her on meds and said that we should give her a week and see if she was doing better.

She was not doing any better. Next, Missy got an ultra sound to rule out cancer. Thankfully, it came back negative! Now we were at a loss, Dr. Furmans next move would be exploratory surgery. Before taking that desperate measure, we wanted to seek a second opinion, of course. Janet next took Missy to see a specialist who also thinks it is her liver, as did Dr. Furman.

Missy is presently taking metoclopramide for vomiting, 2.5 mg of prednisolone once a day, and the supplements denosyl and marin. Her appetite seems better most days, and she has not been vomiting as much. She still looks like she is losing weight, and her coat is still not back to normal. She has been taking these meds for a couple of weeks now, and Janet says she probably will be for the rest of her life. We are hoping this will help our Missy get better. It really breaks my heart to see her feeling so poorly all of the time.

We are bringing Missy this week to a third veterinarian to see if there is anything additional that we can try as she continues to do poorly.

Hopefully, soon I will have a good update on my Missy for you. I welcome any suggestions or advice from any of you who has seen this before.

UPDATE:

Missy’s recent vet visit to specialist (April 2008):

It was very interesting to note that upon meeting Missy and performing a
typical yearly exam, Missy’s specialist noted that based on that info he
would say that Missy was ‘normal’.  But obviously based on prior history,
there is indeed something wrong with her.  He read through all her prior
tests and although he can very easily run additional ultrasounds, he felt
that those would be fruitless.  If we decided to take the path of
additional diagnostics, it indeed would be to surgical remove and send out
biopsies for analysis.  He feels that these biopsies (although they
POSSIBLY could confirm diagnosis), would not change our course of
treatment. If Missy was in grave shape, it should be done, but with Missy
being asymptomatic, he conclusively does not want to open her up.

The drug protocols drawn up originally by Dr. Furman were once again
supported.  This specialist would like Missy to continue on Denamarin (or
Denosyl combined with Marin), Prednisolone, Amoxicillin, and
Metoclopramide (as needed for vomiting episodes).  He stated that some
cats just have chronic liver inflammation (hepatopathy).  Steroids and
liver protectants are the only things that help in those cases.  It’s just
a matter of finding the correct combination of meds to keep her stable.
He did run recheck bloodwork today and the liver values are indeed high.
So we upped the prednisolone to 5mg twice daily.  He would like to recheck
her bloodwork again in one month.

With one of the Georgia rescues we got in a litter of lab pups. One of these pups the staff started to call Little Mutant Man. This poor little guy was showing very weird signs of bowed legs.

Read the rest of the story here.

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