While at Best Friends Animal Society, we spent quite a bit of time in DogTown. With about 500 dogs at any given time, we were impressed and it warmed our hearts to discover that each dog is treated as an individual. New dogs are fully vetted and evaluated and then carefully placed with a dog who is considered likely to be compatible with him or her. Over several days, the dogs are put together during the day while a caregiver is monitoring their relationship and then they are separated at night until they prove to be a good match (or not in which case a new match is tried out). The enclosures are huge with a heated/cooled indoor area for each run. Some dogs are housed singly if they are not able to live closely with another dog. In the Old Friends area, dogs live in groups of up to four dogs. In one case, Layla, one of the Vicktory dogs (rescued from Michael Vick), was uncomfortable with other dogs at all. She has been moved to the Feathered Friends area of Best Friends where she lives as a companion to the caretakers there. She is very happy and loves people and the attention she gets.
A picture of us with Layla. We visited her a few times. She is as sweet as can be.
The folks in DogTown are the experts on dog care. They work within a sensible budget as all of us in rescue do in order to make the money go further in order to give each dog the best care possible while leaving funds for expansion and emergencies. They have found the best ways to deal with some basic problems in dog care. Here are three tips that we got that we have already used or will use soon at OFSDS.
1. Front clip harnesses: Most of the DogTown dogs are walked by volunteers, many even by young volunteers. I don't know about you all, but we have been through just about every type of harness that we can find and nothing is exactly right. They are either too flimsy, the dog can climb out of them or they are difficult to put on the dog. Most of the dogs that we walked at DogTown had a front clip harness, it pulls from under the dog's chin and keeps the dog from pulling because when the dog pulls it tends to turn them to the side. The harness doesn't have to be super tight and is extremely easy to put on. It is made of standard leash materials and is thus very durable. We bought one for Gracie and have tried it out. It works like a charm. Here is a link to the one that we got for Gracie: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009ZBKG4/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00
Zeus, modeling his Easy Walk front clip harness.
2. For the food inhalers in your family: Simple, simple, simple solution for the dog who eats their food before you even put it down. Take a $5 stainless steel anti-tip bowl and flip it over. The food goes around the center and the dog has to slow down to get to it all. We have already started using this for Bandit and it has made a world of difference. The meal that took him three seconds to eat now takes a minute or more. Another solution used at Best Friends is to spread the food out in a muffin tin.
Slow feed dish
Bandit eating more slowly than before
3. Raised bowls for larger dogs: I thought that this was very clever. We will use this idea whenever we have the need for a raised bowl. It is a cutout plastic bucket with a stainless steel bowl set in the hole.
A taller or shorter bucket could be used depending on the dog
It's not easy for us to leave all of our Old Friends, and we sure don't do it often. If we leave, it's got to be for something really special or we aren't going to go. Last April, we planned that something special and have been waiting (im)patiently ever since. Last week we sent the Princess on a spa vacation of her own, packed Arty and Benny off to the resort, got a whole family to take care of our remaining Old Friends and headed off to Kanab, Utah and Best Friends Animal Society for a week long workshop on starting and running an animal sanctuary.
Let me tell you.... it was worth every minute of the wait.
Kanab, Utah is a very small town (population around 5000) far from anywhere else but nestled in the midst of some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.
The view from the dining/workshop area in Angel Village
Best Friends Animal Society has been in it's current location since 1984 and started on a shoestring budget with a vision that has grown into it's present day mission to "Bring about a time when there are no more Homeless Pets". This mission spreads far beyond their Sanctuary in Utah. Best Friends has discovered that the way to fulfill this vision is to build a network of partners throughout the world that each does their small part. They have called this the No More Homeless Pets Network. Through education, which includes workshops like the one we attended, the folks at Best Friends share the knowledge that they have gained in the past 28+ years to help others to build their own sanctuaries, rescues and other types of organizations dedicated to supporting the Best Friends Mission. OFSDS will be eligible to join this network in April 2013.
When we registered, we were excited when we read that founders of Best Friends would be giving some of the presentations during the workshop. We were overjoyed when founders Faith Maloney and Jana de Peyer were with us for nearly the entire workshop. They generously and openly shared their experiences and details about Best Friends throughout their growth and as it is now. There were also many other workshop presenters who work in various rolls at Best Friends. All had valuable information to share. We came away at the end of the week completely overflowing with ideas, new tools and tons of energy and enthusiasm.
Our week started with a two part tour of the Best Friends Sanctuary. They house about 1700 animals, comprised of dogs, cats, birds, horses, pigs, bunnies, wild animals for release when possible and other various animals. Throughout the week we had sessions on strategic planning, fundraising, finding and keeping volunteers, adoptions, talking with the veterinarians, dog training and evaluation and much more. We also spent two mornings in Dogtown and the Old Friends section of Dogtown working with the caretakers and walking dogs. It was an amazing week. While this workshop in no way made us experts in any of the areas we
covered, it has helped to steer us in a more well defined direction.
This post is the first of a short series of posts over the next several days about some of what we took home from the workshop. While our mission and goals have changed very little, we will be refining our strategies and setting a more defined plan while the workshop and our thoughts are still fresh in our minds. I will share that with you all as we progress.
Below are some of the pictures from animal areas other than Dogtown. I will go into more detail about the dog areas in the next few days.
I was fascinated by the pigs - here's a potbelly
Cute but BIG
The birds were beautiful - they live for 80-100 years. More than a lifetime commitment
We first heard about a senior (10-12 year old) Pom (was Arty now Puffy) who needed rescue on September 20. This adorable little guy was in danger and in need of a way out of Hammond Animal Control. We agreed to take him into our program. He would stay temporarily with Bandit's foster family until we could find him a forever placement.
Our first sight of Puffy, who could resist this little guy?
Next day, we found out, Puffy had a friend who also needed a way out. We pondered on it a bit and decided that we would take him too. This was Bennett, a little old (13 years) guy who also needed a retirement home. He was coming with Puffy....
Bennett, with his little grandpa sweater
They were coming from Hammond, IN (not far from Chicago) to Mount Juliet, TN a seven hour drive, but we would somehow get them here....We discussed transports, and last weekend, Penny told us that the little guys were going to be flown in!
I had never heard of Pilots N Paws until now, if you haven't either, it's worth a look at their website, or their facebook page, it is a wonderful organization. They are a non-profit, 501(c)(3) like us, and are a network of pilots who donate their time and planes to transport dogs from an area where they have no chance to another where they can be adopted, or put in a rescue. Pilot Tom and his daughter Chandi volunteered to bring the boys from Columbus IN to Nashville. To get the boys from the shelter to Columbus was a three hour drive early this morning which was done by Penny and Brigit. There were lots of dedicated folks involved in this transport!
When the plane landed, the first thing that we saw was little Bennett sitting on Chandi's lap looking perky and happy. Puffy took the trip in the backseat in his kennel. Both flew very well...
Tom, Chandi and Bennett right after landing in Lebanon TN
Tom and Chandi with both of the boys
and then they were with us :)
Our original plan had Puffy being temporarily fostered by Bandit's foster family. We went directly there to see how everyone would get along. Things weren't too bad, but the boys started to get a bit testy with one another. It may have been the result of three as of yet un-neutered males in one space. (this is being fully remedied on Thursday). We decided that it might be better for us to bring both boys back with us for the week. While we were there we got some shots of everyone together. We hadn't seen Bandit in a few weeks and he is doing amazingly well.
Bennett, Bandit and Puffy
Bandit, Puffy and Flower
a sniff fest with the neighbor dog
The afternoon was filled with walks and arranging. We separated the boys for tonight but will start to work them into the rest of the OFSDS family tomorrow. They both walked very well on a leash and get along well with one another. They had a good dinner and off to bed. Enough for one day.....
We are looking for forever placements for both of these boys. They are so sweet and adorable. We don't think that it will take long for someone to fall in love with them.
One of our goals at Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary is to strive to raise awareness of the joys and challenges of living with senior dogs. In this post, I am going to discuss one of the biggest joys in fostering or adopting a senior dog which is watching and being a part of the transformation from sad shelter, stray or neglected dog to happy family dog.
Here are a few of our shining stars so far:
You may look at the ChipIns on our website and wonder where we come up with the estimated costs to care for an Old Friend in the Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary program. We have given this a lot of thought.... the numbers for one year are based on the following:
1. Vetting: the average Old Friend will have an initial vet visit when they arrive. At that time, they will get a check up, all of their basic vetting, shots and preventatives. There will often be a problem to address at this time:
estimated cost $130
2. Preventatives: we use Trifexus for heartworm and flea protection. It is given monthly.
total cost $120
3. Two follow up vet visits during the year. Some will have none, some will be back 3 or more times. Lucky Penny had a visit just last week for a urinary tract infection.
estimated cost: $200
4. Medications: many of our old Friends are on some type of medication or another. Very few are on nothing at all.
estimated cost: $240
5. Food: we feed Nature's Select because it is a good quality food and they give us a good discount as well. (plus, as an added bonus, they deliver)
approximate cost: $250
6. Extra food, treats, etc: $150
Total cost estimate: and this is very conservative. I have not added in anything that would be out of the ordinary for any senior and/or disabled dog that we take in.
$1060 per year
This is why our ChipIns are set at $1000 for a year's costs for a dog in our program.
We also rely heavily on general donations to pay for general supplies and maintenance.
Please Donate... as much as you can or want to. Every bit helps. We have so many plans for the future but can not proceed without your help.
So.....here's a link to donate to our general fund. If you would like to donate to a specific dog, please go to our website click here to Sponsor an Old Friend
All of the donations made to Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary go to the care of dogs who were brought into our program after April 2012. We have already committed to taking care of the needs of the dogs who were here before that time.
Yesterday morning, three separate people asked if we could help "Yoda" a poor dog who was only looking for a place to live out his last days in a comfortable place. It was truly a hospice case, but that is what we do, and we felt particularly strongly that we should check on this boy. Bandit's foster Dad had even offered to help with fostering if necessary... we knew that we couldn't say no.
Here is the photo and description that we responded to:
This old boy is going to live his last days @ Greenbrier Animal Control....
We braced ourselves for the worst. At the very least, we would be able to give him a comfortable place to rest his head for those last days. We hoped that it would be better than that.
At Greenbrier Animal Control, we met one of the truly good people in this world. Randy, the sole animal control officer in Greenbrier, TN met us at the shelter in the midst of a bad day and between multiple emergencies. Randy not only maintains the day to day operations of this small, capacity 10 dogs, animal shelter, but has worked to develop a network of rescues and volunteers that has resulted in only one euthanasia this year. Because of limited resources and horribly high counts of owner surrenders, strays and other homeless dogs, rural animal controls have traditionally had the highest kill rates of any of the shelters. The successes of Randy and the network who works with Greenbrier AC, are incredible and commendable. Yoda would have, that very day, have been the second euthanasia of the year.
When we met "Yoda" who had up until yesterday been laying on the concrete floor, "he" was standing at the door of his kennel waiting for us. Good start....Randy immediately realized that a mistake had been made and that Yoda was indeed a female. Keeping with the Star Wars theme, we renamed her Princess Leia.
We thought that we would have to carry her to the car, but when we put a leash on her, she followed us right to the car and Randy helped her in. She remained passive and non-agressive. We noticed that poor Princess Leia had some serious issues. Her eyes were covered with a white shroud and only a slit of pupil showed, she had scars and sores all over her body, she was very slow and cautious and behaved strangely with labored breathing and strange periods of extended spacing out. On the ride to OFSDS, she curled up in the foot well behind the passenger seat of the car and waited...
When we arrived at our final destination, Princess climbed resignedly out of the car. She was easily led into our recovery room and spent the next hour or so checking out her new digs. She would walk around the perimeter of the room, then would sniff (but not drink) at her water bowl and then sniff (but not eat out of) her food bowl. She made several of these rounds of the room. Soon after we took her for a walk around the yard then she went back and tried to get some sleep.
first walk through the yard
look at her poor eyes....
Her first attempt at sleep
I wrapped a comforter around her and gave her a toy and she slept
This morning, Princess woke up better than yesterday. She went out for a short walk and walked around her room some more. In the late morning we took her to see Dr. Benner to find out what was really going on.....
The news was much better than we had anticipated! Yes, Princess is not perfect. She was covered in fleas, has hookworm. Dr B feels that he reason that her eyes look so bad is because she is severely dehydrated and her third eyelid (dogs have them, we don't) is covering her cornea to protect it. She got SubQ fluids while she was there (and we got a lesson in SubQ fluids that may come in handy some day), de-flea, and wormer and came back with antiobiotics, steroids and more wormer. We are waiting on shots, preventatives and spay until she is stronger. She is probably middle-aged rather than a senior citizen.
Although we do not want to focus on what was in favor of focusing on what can be, it is possible that this poor girl was a bait dog or had had been attacked by another animal in her recent past.
eyes are still bad, but we are hoping they get better soon
she is actually starting to enjoy her walks
Tonight, Princess took her walk and peed while she was walking, a first. She has eaten two hot dogs today (one with hidden antibiotics), but will still not eat her food. She is friendly and seems to love the company of humans. We are thrilled with the progress of this "hospice" dog.
Today Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary, for the first time, placed a wonderful senior dog in an amazing Forever Foster home. We are so excited to now be doing what we set out to do at the beginning of 2012. At that time, we decided to create Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary as a non-profit organization with the goal of providing Forever Foster Homes to dogs who were unadoptable due to age and/or disability. It's been a long path, but finally we are here.
Just this past weekend, we first visited Michael, who was willing to Forever Foster an Old Friend. Once we saw what a loving home he could offer, we immediately started working with him to find the right dog to fit in with him and his three sweet dogs. After seeing the following video of Bandit, it was decided that this poor, sad, old (10-12 years old) dog would be the one.
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He was coming from Daviess County Animal Shelter in Kentucky. It was a three hour drive each way, and, thankfully, Mandi, a volunteer
for the rescue group that works with the shelter, was able to meet me half
way. This is a dedicated group of volunteers. They were also responsible for helping to get Penny to us a month or so ago.
Just moving Bandit from one car to the other was a challenge.We had to load the poor, pained boy onto a blanket and then transfer him onto a doggy bed in my car. He was so scared.
I brought Bandit directly to our vet, Dr Benner, at Village Veterinary Hospital in Mount Juliet. Bandit was feeling extremely bad by this time. He screamed when he was picked up in his bed for transfer inside. It was necessary to use a muzzle because Bandit was lashing out from the pain. Dr Benner determined that he has a disc problem and was able to isolate it to the middle of Bandit's back. He gave Bandit a steroid shot and a pain killer. It was such a blessing that Bandit was finally getting some relief from his pain.
Although the original plan was for me to bring Bandit directly to Michael from Village Vet, I did not feel comfortable bringing him anywhere at this point. He was highly stressed, in a lot of pain and completely immobile. I felt that rest was what he needed so I brought him and a medicine cabinet of drugs back to OFSDS and put him in our recovery room. It was very difficult to move him alone. He had made a mess in his bed and needed to be moved out of the bed so that it could be washed. Just rolling him off the bed onto a rug on the floor was a chore. At this point I was very worried.
For the next few hours Bandit just lay on the rug, sleeping on and off. I was so afraid for him.
At dinner time, I was able to hand feed him his medications with his dinner (Tramadol-Pain, Cephalexin-antibiotic and Prednisone-steriod). Thank goodness his appetite was still good. It was the only encouragement at that time.
I checked back on him often, occasionally softly petting his head. His legs and feet were very tender and he would scream if I touched them. At about 11pm, I went back to check in on him and HE WAS SITTING UP!
Over the next hour or so, he actually got himself up and walked a little bit to relieve himself in a far corner.
We all went to bed and this morning, Bandit got up to eat breakfast and then lounged back into his bed until the afternoon.
This evening he would move to his Forever Foster Home. We wanted him to get on with his life.
After dinner and a short walk in the grass. We lifted Bandit into his bed in the Cruiser and he was on his way. When we got to his new home, he took a short walk around the yard and waited to meet his new family. When his new brothers and sisters came out to greet him, he was thrilled. His tail wagged and there was sniffing all around. It was hard to believe that this was the same dog who, just yesterday, couldn't even get up by himself.
It was a bit of a challenge getting him up the three stairs to the house. We put a rug under his mid-section and helped him to climb. He really wanted into the house so he was eager to help. He immediately ran in, found the food and water bowls and began sniffing, in true hound dog style.
He was checking out his new digs. In just a few minutes, Bandit knew that he was home. He has canine friends and a wonderful Forever Foster Dad. Bandit will live here for the rest of his life, but Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary will take care of his vetting and basic needs. In this way, we hope to be able to find Retirement Homes for as many as possible of the sweet seniors who face euthanasia every day because they are unadoptable due to unknown vet costs and limited remaining life.
Here are a few more pictures of Bandit with his new family.
If you can spare a little bit to help with Bandit's vetting and basic needs, please ChipIn to Bandit's Retirement Fund. Anything at all is greatly appreciated. We will not take on new dogs into the program unless we are certain that we can support our existing Old Friends for the remainder of their lives.
