updates

The All American Dog, Part 1

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:20:38 +0100

Have you seen this site yet? Check it out!
http://dontbullymybreed.com/

We have taken in quite a few pit mixes lately. In fact, we've taken so many that I almost feel like a pit rescue <!>. All of the pits we have saved were last minute dogs that were going to be gassed because the were the only ones that other rescues left behind. Yet, all of these unwanted dogs have turned out to be SO sweet and loving - true ambassadors of the breed! There is so much misinformation surrounding these loyal dogs that even other all-breed-rescuers are sometimes scared to take them in. Heck, even Rachel Ray seems to think that her dog-aggressive pit is going to turn people-aggressive one day even though it seems that everyone (from families experienced with this breed to PhD behaviorists) has been shouting from the rooftops about how dog-on-dog aggression isn't a precursor of dog-on-people aggression....!

I must confess that I wasn't always a fan of pit bulls. I would see pictures of them crossposted all of the time but always turned them away because I had heard so many times that there were just too many of them and that no one wanted them so I just "knew" they'd be hard to adopt out......

Then came Rufus!

Rufus was a tiny little guy (7 months and about 32lbs) that was the only one left at the shelter at the end of the week after all of the other rescues pulled -- he was definitely doomed for gassing. I couldn't let such a young dog die all alone in a metal box just because of his breed so Jay and I figured that we would just foster him ourselves and keep him for however many months we needed to until he could find a home. Rufus arrived sick (and dying, literally) with parvo. But he was a champ - after a week of hospitalization, he regained his health and turned out to be one of the most loyal, docile puppies I'd ever fostered. He immediately bonded with my other dogs and with everyone else that he met. He attended a meet and greet once where there were 7 other (non-pit) dogs barking and jumping on everyone they met -- Rufus just sat quietly amidst the chaos (just like in the picture above). He wasn't scared, he was just patiently awaiting his new family. Rufus, who I thought would take months to adopt out, had about 10 great applications within a few weeks time. I couldn't have dreamed of a better placement than the one we found for him - his new Dad loves him so much and still stays in touch with us :)

After Rufus, I realized that the hype about pits (being hyperactive, hard to train, impossible to adopt out, etc) was just that -- hype.

So I kept taking them.

And you know what?

The pit mixes that have passed through our rescue have been my favorite dogs!
And we've had a lot of them in foster care for a lot less time than any other types of dogs because even though many people are scared of them or dislike them, many other people know how great they are!

Check out a few of them below and if you haven't yet shared your life with a pit, you'll begin to understand why people say that once you've had a pit, you will never want another breed :)

There is Bruno...who is now part of my family and a detriment to my job since he begs me to snuggle with him just a little longer every morning! He serves as resident greeter to of all of our adopters when they come to my house to finalize their paperwork.

There was Lucy....when she met Bruno it was love at first sight for the two of them...I was SO tempted to adopt her myself! She was turned into the shelter as a previously chained dog by a "family" that never bothered naming her and simply didn't want her anymore. She sure did look like a mean junkyard dog with her scrunched up face, huge biceps, and pointy tail but all she wanted to do was sit at your feet and be loved. She never jumped, barked, growled, pulled on a leash, chased cats, etc.....she was just grateful and.....perfect. Her new family as also a little hesitant at first about getting a 'mean dog' but after meeting her, she quickly changed their minds! They tell me that she now attends doggie daycare sometimes and I'm sure she's impressing everyone there too!



There was Angel....who endured so much in her life (living at the end of a chain with no shade from the North Carolina sun to the point where she developed skin cancer, ears being hacked off with scissors, forced to fight, overbred, etc) but when she came to us, she behaved from day one like a classy lady. She loved everyone (even my cats!) and she thought it was her job in life to let you know how grateful she was by giving kisses all day long. She also loved being pampered and even let me dress her up in pink sweaters!  I wanted to adopt her too but there was no shortage of loving families willing to take this sweet girl in - Angel now has the 'retirement' she deserves (and thank goodness it came at such a young age for her!) and even though I haven't seen her since adoption, I often think fondly of her and her wonderful new mom/adopter - I couldn't imagine a better pairing than those two!

There was Bella...abandoned at the shelter after being used for years as a chained up puppy-making-machine. Poor Bella was bred to death - I mean this literally because even after she was spayed and underwent several lumpectomy surgeries, her breast cancer wouldn't dissipate.

Fortunately, when we saved her from the shelter she was placed into one of our most loving foster homes with two wonderful people who decided to adopt Bella and give her all of the love and medical attention she deserved. They've even taken her for chemo but that too has been unsuccessful. Bella is in her last days as I write this - it's heartbreaking to know that her life is being cut short because of someone's greed (and even scarier thinking about where all of her puppies are right now) but it's heartwarming to know that for the past several months she has known freedom, love, good food and....snuggling!   Bella, like all of the other pits you've just read about, has loved everyone she's met.  I still remember the night that she came in on transport - even after the long ride and the stress of being in a new situation, Bella was driving away with her new family with a huge smile and wagging tail - it was as if she knew from the moment she met them that they were her angels. She picked them. And given her great temperament, it's no wonder why they picked her too!

There was Lenny - as you can tell from his photo, if Lenny has a flaw, it's only that he loves everyone - even the animal control officer that would have been the one to gas him had we not gotten him out in time. Every time you see this dog, he's ready to lick you up. Words cannot describe the zest for life that this puppy has. When you meet him, he's like a little tank (about 1 foot tall and 50lbs of muscle) with a wagging butt. He's so excited that I'm surprised his whole back end doesn't topple over from the wagging! I can't imagine anyone ever being fearful of a dog that has Lenny's temperament - I fell for him the second I met him and so did his foster family - they've now adopted him!

There are others too - Mariah, Oliver, Sally, Maggie, Aries, Carl, Vicky, and my most recent favorite (who is still in need of a foster and/or adopter) - Brutus! All of these dogs have one thing in common - loyalty!
They are the epitome of what a dog should be -- a great companion!

(By the way, Brutus' shelter picture is below - the only way to describe him is "Big BABY!" - he's just like Lenny and wants love love love! He also happens to be short and stocky like a little tank and he has a big wagging butt too. Someone dumped him at the shelter wearing a 2 inch black leather spike collar - they probably bought him hoping to have a mean dog to impress their friends with and when he turned out to be a sweetheart, they became bored and left him to die. We're working on getting cuter pics and a bio of this little guy but in the meantime, if you want to meet him, just email us! He's quite the charmer and will surely floor you with his flattering ways.)

In honor of the lovely dogs above, and all of the others who never make it out of shelters (or who endure fates worse than euthanasia) I'm going to do a series of posts about these all-American dogs that are truly the most forgotten, most ignored and most overlooked companions in every city, town and suburb of our great nation.

For now, don't forget to visit http://dontbullymybreed.com/

.

Puppy Season!

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:48:40 +0100

The pups are weaned and almost ready for adoption! But they need your help first – they need names!

By making a $25 donation, you can name a puppy whatever you’d like and s/he will keep that name until adoption. It will be on our website, the dog’s ID tag, the spay/neuter certificate and the adoption paperwork. 100% of all proceeds from the naming contest will be put towards boarding fees for Urgent Dogs that need to escape the gas chamber.

Midnight’s Puppies – we originally thought they were going to turn out to be American Bulldog’s but they are now looking like English Setter mixes – the litter may have multiple fathers - we consider them all Heinz 57 pups.

The Girls:

The Boys:

Ariel’s Puppies – these little walruses have turned into boxer babies! Mom is obviously a pit but they are looking like full blooded boxers at this point.

The Girls:

The Boys:

To name a puppy, please email Natalee at balancestar@hotmail.com with your proposed name and the pup’s ID # (shown on the dog’s photo) to ensure the pup you’re interested in has not yet been named. She will instruct you on how to donate and the pup’s information will be updated accordingly.

**Please keep things kid-friendly. Thunder’s Angels reserves the right to deny names for any reason if they might be considered offensive by some parties.

Dogs that Died Today.

Tue, 11 May 2010 20:14:39 +0100

Three dogs that we were going to rescue died in the gas chamber today........... They didn't HAVE to die but because of slow communication, all suffered an inhumane death at 4PM EST.

These dogs didn't know each other until their last moments when they were thrown into a rolling cage together and dumped into an underground gas chamber to have the lid closed behind them with no escape and only poison gas pouring in to fill their lungs as they gasped in darkness.

Rest in peace #1086

We're sure you spent your last minutes even more scared in that chamber than you were in this picture. Poor girl seemed to have known what was coming....trying to get away on that short leash :(

Rest in Peace #1006

The cuts on your face and the way your head is hanging low show that you didn't have a very good life before being dumped off to die.....if only we could've saved you and shown you how kind people can be.

Rest in Peace #999

Poor chubby guy looked like a senior. Gassing is horrible on seniors since their lung function is impaired - he probably suffered the longest.

If you have any room at all, please foster another urgent dog in their memory so that we can save more from this inhumane death :(

Victims turned into Rescuers.

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:13:42 +0100

Well, with another v-day (see: http://www.vday.org/home) recently behind us, I wanted to do a post about domestic violence. By now, most of you are probably aware of the link between animal abuse and spousal/child abuse so I won’t bore you with statistics about how those who hit a defenseless animal are many more times likely to hit their children and spouses too….

What I want to bring up is that in the years I’ve been involved in rescue, I have seen many many more women rescuing and rehabilitating animals than men. In fact, I’d take a guess and say for every 19 women I know in rescue, there is one man – sometimes the gap is even larger than that. Some would argue that this is because women are, by nature, the more compassionate and nurturing gender but I can’t say that I agree with that.

What I have observed is that people (women and men) who have overcome hardships in their own lives are better able to associate with the suffering of others – in this case, animals. We have quite a few women in our group who have survived the wrath of an abuser themselves – it’s no wonder they are drawn to comfort the other innocents who, like them, have suffered a life of unnecessary pain and misfortune. These women are the strongest people I know.

Below is a poem written by another rescuer about why she rescues and I thought it would be worthwhile to share. I know a couple of rescue volunteers who are still battling with abusive spouses (be it mental or physical) – despite their own personal hardships, they’re still willing to give and help when they’re able to. Seeing them go above and beyond for an animal in need, despite what they deal with behind closed doors and the inner turmoil they struggle with daily, is incredible - I dedicate this post to them because they are true heroes in my eyes.

Why I Relate to Animals

Posted by Marcie Tepper of TLC Chow Rescue

Any woman who has allowed a man to beat her has so much humiliation it becomes a deep, dark secret. To think that they would allow another human being to do such cruel things is incomprehensible to others. Once they escape that cycle it takes years to heal, but heal I have, and it is all in thanks to the many animals who have come into my life to fill the void and teach unconditional love.

My collarbone was broken with a shove to the ground
Couldn’t tell a sole, so I didn’t get it bound
So now it is healed with a great big knot there
Every day it reminds me that he didn’t really care.

In the middle of the winter he pushed me outside
Didn’t dare wake the neighbors so I stood there and cried
I will never forget being chilled to the core
Or hearing the click as he locked up the door.

He slapped me so hard that my eardrum did pop
And all of a sudden my hearing did stop
A new one the doctors put into my head
The way it had happened was just left unsaid.

Why let a person do such things to me?
It was cruel and offensive, of that we agree
I married a man while I was still but a child
Then was told by my Mom not to get him so riled.

I was led to believe it was all my own fault
I should have held my tongue, left the words in a vault
When he hit me and kicked me and broke of my ribs
I would make up some story, I would tell lots of fibs.

I promised my children, who wanted to believe
That the next time he hit me we’d pack up and leave
But then he would threaten that he’d take them away
He told me that it was the price I would pay.

I was locked in a room with the phone cords torn out
He was afraid that I might give authorities a shout
I felt like an animal so helpless and trapped
All of my self esteem had surely been zapped.

Why do I save animals, many people ask
Why do I feel it’s a God given task?
I look in their eyes and see myself there
The hopeless, the helpless, with no one to care.

To put it in words would be hard to describe
The gain of their trust I rarely have to bribe
They can tell that at some point I felt as they do
I can tell by their look they are saying thank you.

Today I am strong, yet untrusting of man
But for animals I will do everything that I can
The trust they have taught me, the love they bestow
It’s almost as if through my blood it does flow.

It’s a passion unlike any other I’ve known
I never feel lonely out here on my own
I’ve even forgiven the man who hurt me
It was the only way to let my spirit set free.

How humiliating to think I allowed it at all
But with no self esteem and the children so small
I decided to stay and take what I got
But since they’re all grown I’ll get a new shot.

In my mind I’ve been able to separate my life
The old one filled with darkness and strife
The new one filled with such goodness and joy
Too precious to ever let a person destroy.

I may spend the rest of my life all alone
For mistakes that I made I am trying to atone
The comfort I find with my four legged friends
Give me all the love I need while I make my amends.

If you or someone you know is being abused, please don’t hesitate to get help.

Learn more at: http://www.ndvh.org/

In Montgomery County, the Women’s Center provides an emergency hotline, confidential counseling, and even shelter. And Menergy assists the offenders with counseling.

http://www.wcmontco.org/ and http://www.menergy.org/

I'm Sorry.

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:47:49 +0100

Join the PA Coalition to End Tethering

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 19:03:26 +0100

Several months ago, Dogs Deserve Better announced the launch of a new website: www.unchainpadogs.com (If you have not heard of Dogs Deserve Better, it is a GREAT organization! Learn more about Dog Deserve Better at www.dogsdeservebetter.com)

www.unchainpadogs.com is solely dedicated to promoting legislation against the chaining of dogs in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, the practice of chaining a dog for thier entire life, or long periods of time, is widely tolerated throughout the state. www.unchainpadogs.com was created to share information about PA House Bill 1254, and offer those in support of banning such a horrible act against animals a way to get involved and get the bill pushed through.

In support of Dogs Deserve Better and www.unchainpadogs.com, we hope that you visit the website to join the Pennsylvania Coalition to End Tethering. It is very important to get as much support as possible to help stop this horrible practice.

Share this iinformation with everyone you know! It is important for the dogs to get this legislation passed!

Spay Day at Sharon Hill - 2/23/10

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 22:00:50 +0100

A few posts down you will see our great love for The Spayed Club in Sharon Hill. Well, they are doing more great things. It is one thing to tell you that you can get world class vet care at a very affordable cost. But, what if I told you that you dog could get that some award-winning, world class vet care - for FREE! Yes you read that correctly. The great people at The Spay Club in Sharon Hill, PA are thanking the community for welcoming the new clinic by offering Spay Day on February 23rd.

After opening just a mere 6 months ago, The Spayed Club in Sharon Hill has performed over 2,000 spays and neuters to dogs and cats. Their general goal each week to see to 200 animals. The clinic's mission is to reduce and eliminate the unwanted killing of animals in the area by controlling the pet population with spay and neuter.

The usual fee is extremely reasonable in comparison to many vet hospitals throughout the Philadelphia area. And we love them as an organization because they are so rescue friendly!

Spay Day is a nationwide event.

For more information about Spay Day, or just more information about The Spayed Club, please visit their website at http://www.thespayedclubclinic.org/ Continued support for places like this is greatly needed!

THEY DONT ALL MAKE IT OUT ALIVE

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:28:13 +0100

After hearing of our rescue and seeing our website, I often talk with people who are simply unaware of the thousands of animals that are killed behind closed doors every single day in every single open-intake facility in this country. I hear things like “well our local shelter doesn’t kill animals like they do in the south – that’s just horrible!” – I always respond by telling people that unfortunately, if your local shelter provides county animal control, it does kill animals. No state in our country is 100% no kill yet. I’ll do another post soon about my thoughts on no-kill versus open-intake shelters but for now….I just wanted to share some of the dogs who were recently “euthanized” in two of the gassing shelters that we rescue from.

Please look at these precious faces.

All of these dogs were under two years of age.

All were healthy.

All passed temperament tests with flying colors.

All died a horrific death in the gas chamber because there were no rescues or adopters willing and able to care for them…..

Pic 1 is of a female yellow lab mix. Her family waited until the week before they were moving to try and find her a home and when no one came forward, they donated her to the shelter to die.....she was only about 1 year old when she was killed in the gas chamber with no one to love her.

Pic 2 is of of a male pit mix. This little guy was also donated by his family to die. They were bored with him. He only lived for 18 months.   Emails were crossposted with his picture for days by shelter volunteers begging for someone to help him – they said his picture wasn’t an accurate portrayal of how loving and beautiful he was.   No one stepped up so he went to the gas chamber with the others…

Pic 3 is of another young male that was owner surrendered.   He had no offers from any rescues so his time ran out quickly.....
I wonder if the family that dumped him there wonders where he is now?

Pic 4 is of a girl who spent her 2 short years of life at the end of a chain before her 'family' decided to surrender her to animal control. Without a name, she suffered her whole life….even in death as she suffocated in the chamber with the others.

Pic 5 is of a young playful lab mix. Even in the scary shelter environment, he was ready for a game of fetch.   I can't imagine how many families would have loved to add this guy to their home if only he'd had a foster to buy him a little more time.   His cute face and playful personality weren't enough to give him another day in the callous world where he ended up as a castaway.

Pic 6 is near and dear to my heart. Like so many other dogs that we rescue, her kennel card only read “shy” which means that the people who left her there to die, didn’t care enough to give any information that would help her find a home. Not even a name. Her number was 440 though. The day that she was on the euthanasia list, I really wanted to save her because it was likely that other rescues weren’t going to take a second look at her – I mean, you see the picture – it isn’t stunning or glamorous – in fact, she looks sort of ugly in that photo….like just another Heinz 57 dog produced by unaltered mutts. Rescuers see hundreds of these photos every day – I knew she wouldn’t stand out to anyone. We get so many dogs just like #440 whose shelter pictures don’t do them any justice but when they arrive, their personalities are full of life and they’re absolutely beautiful. Sure enough, when the time came, no rescues were there for her and I wasn’t able to secure a foster for her within our rescue either. I was steadfast on wanting to pull her and place her in boarding anyway……but unfortunately, when the time came I didn’t have her temperament information (the non-elaborate ‘shy’ comment on her kennel card) and no one was picking up at the front desk of the shelter when I called because….they were already in the back loading the gas chamber :( I was too late for #440. She was young, they said under a year. It seems to me that like so many others, she lived just so that she could die…..and I can’t help but feel as though her blood is on my hands for not acting quick enough.

I hope those 6 pictures are enough to bring about a strong message.

Sure, you can volunteer for an organization and help in various ways to get dogs to their forever homes but what is really needed to save lives is spay/neuter and foster care so why not help with that too? There are just too many dogs and cats and not enough places to ‘store’ them while they await good homes. I beg you – no matter what town, state or country you live in – find your nearest rescue or shelter and foster for them. If you have never fostered before, don’t be scared – they’ll be so happy to have your help that they’ll walk you through it! Please don’t use your emotional attachment, your beautiful home, your non-compassionate spouse, or your busy lifestyle and long work hours as an excuse. The animal whose life you save doesn’t care about any of the above-mentioned things – s/he just wants to live and all that is needed to help him/her is just a little more time until the right family can be found. Foster care is only temporary – even if you don’t have a lot of time or a lot of space for the dog, anything you can provide is better than spending 24/7 in a kennel awaiting death.

Note To Adopters

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:16:12 +0100

Lassie, Cleo, Rin Tin Tin and Toto don't show up in rescue.

We don't get the elegantly coiffed, classically beautiful, completely trained, perfectly behaved dog.

We get the leftovers.

We get dogs that other people have incompetently bred, inadequately socialized, ineffectively "trained," and badly treated.

Most rescue dogs have had it.

They've been pushed from one lousy situation to another.

They've never had proper veterinary care, kind and consistent training, or sufficient company.

They've only ever lived outside, in a crate, or in the basement.

They're scared, depressed and anxious.

Some are angry.

Some are sick.

And some have given up.

But we are Rescue and we don't give up.

We know that a dog is a living being, with a spirit and a heart and feelings.

Our dogs are not commodities, things, or garbage.

They are part of sacred creation and they deserve as much love and care and respect as the next Westminster champion.

So please, please don't come to rescue in the hopes of getting a "bargain," or indeed of "getting" anything.

Come to Rescue to give, to love, to save a life -- and to mend your own spirit.

Rescue is hard but it will reward you in ways you never thought possible.

I can promise you this -- a rescue dog will make you a better person.

A BIG GIANT THANK YOU!!!

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:54:42 +0100

January was a rough month. We accumulated enormous vet bills (over $10,000) and lost quite a few pups to parvo virus :( You may have been following our fundraising efforts on our “Urgent Dogs” page. We had to remove the tally of donors since we needed room to post more urgent dogs so we are now posting our progress here. We only need $405 to reach our goal! That is HUGE! When we first posted the donation tracker, we weren’t sure that we could even come close to our goal but now that we’re almost there, we definitely don’t want to quit! Please send a few dollars if you can and pass the word around to help us reach our goal!

An Update on the Dogs:

Ruby has finished her heartworm treatment and is available for adoption!

Belle and Pepper aren’t finished yet but will be soon!

We unfortunately lost 4 shepherd pups..........

But the 3 that remain are happy, healthy and ready for new homes!

We also lost 2 pit pups but the two remaining girls are growing fast, super playful and waiting for you!

Goliath is happy and healthy and ready for his family too!

We also lost Winnie, a pom pup that was dumped at the shelter at only 5 weeks old. She was hospitalized for over a week and at some points seemed to be coming back strong but the poor girl never really had a chance :(

The show never stops here! We already have new vet bills for more heartworm positive dogs, kennel cough, pink eye, a urinary tract infection, coccidia, etc etc etc......
Almost all of the pups we receive have never seen a vet in their entire lives before coming to rescue. Your donations are critical to their recovery. To our Donors.......every dollar counts......we can never thank you enough!

$50 (Thank you Vanessa V.!)

$20 (Thank you Natalie P.!)

$10 (Thank you Anonymous Donor in SC!)

$25 (Thank you Susan S.!)

$10 (Thank you Mary B.!)

$100 (Thank you Laura G.!)

$50 (Thank you Barbara B.!)

$15 (Thank you Robyn C.!)

$200 (Thank you Sue. K (and Aries!) for your continued support!!)

$50 (Thank you Ann M.!)

$20 (Thank you Karen W.!)

$100 (Thank you Alexandra R.!)

$25 (Thank you Kathleen G.!)

$100 (Thank you Elizabeth A.!)

$100 (Thank you Crystal & Bob!)

$10 (Thank you Carmine D.!)

$5 (Thank you Sanda P.!)

$1000 (THANK YOU Anonymous Donor!!!!!!!!!!)

$100 (Thank you Jeane M.!)

$125 (Thank you Susan L.!)

$25 (Thank you Crystal & Bob!)

$150 (Thank you Judy R.!)

$300 (Thank you Marge McShane!)

$50 (Thank you Laura S. for your continued support!)

$200 (Thank you Marianne and John for your constant support!)

$25 (Thank you Brianna H.!)

$40 (Thank you Alicia S.!)

$25 (Thank you Natalie L.!)

$25 (Thank you Melissa F.!)

$5 (Thank you Joseph C.!)

$20 (Thank you Lisa A. & Family!)

$100 (Thank you Flores Family!)

$42 (Thank you Ben Hoffman - age 6 - for baking and selling doggie treats to help us!!!! You're a star!)

$25 (Thank you Nicole W.!)

$150 (Thank you Laurel M.!)

$50 (Thank you Vanessa V.!)

$97 (Thank you Wendy and Marc!)

$171 (Thank you Employees of M.F. Irvine! Especially Donna!)

$5 (Thank you Rhonda K!)

$150 (Thank you Sue K.!)

$25 (Thank you Robin H.!)

$25 (Thank you Kathy M.!)

$25 (Thank you Sue B.!)

$25 (Thank you Melissa H.!)

$25 (Thank you Natalee F.!)

$150 (Thank you Alex S.!)

$50 (Thank you Dawn W.!)

$20 (Thank you JoAnn C.!)

$25 (Thank you Mandy B.!)

$5 (Thank you Jim F.!)

$10 (Thank you Lisa M.!)

$50 (Thank you Stephanie D.!)

$25 (Thank you Johanne S.!)

$10 (Thank you Betty P.!)

$25 (Thank you Dave N.!)

$300 (Thank you Mudler Family!)

$100 (Thank you Gary D.!)

We have raised $4665!
$335 STILL NEEDED UNTIL GOAL!