Big Dogs Huge Paws Lindsay Condon, CEO/President Big Dogs Huge Paws, Inc Phone: 303-618-6647, Fax: 303-474-5861 Website: www.BigDogsHugePaws.com
TORQUE: A TRUE RESCUE STORY
Lisa, Linda, and Lindsay,
I have attached a scan of two pictures I received last week.I have shared themwith everyone who comes into the shelter - whether they are interested or not :) I did want to share them with you, my friends, who helped save this boy.There were so many involved in this rescue - our county sheriff, our veterinarian, our shelter volunteers - and especially you three.You have no idea how many tears have been shed looking at these pictures.
The lady in Albuquerque who adopted Torque/Trouper wrote a very nice letter to us and sent the pictures - when we got him in July 2009 and now in July 2010.She said he is surpassing all expectations and is very active and healthy now.He loves his dog sister and especially her kids.
We are so thankful that this boy is living the good life now - what a total change for him - he probably thinks he died and went to doggy heaven. Betty Flemming
BAMBI
Bambi the Newfoundland puppy was found as a stray and ended up at a shelter in Kansas City. She had some resource guarding behavioral issues and was diagnosed with SAS (Sub-Aortic Stenosis) which is a heart condition and requires daily medication and regular monitoring and will shorten her lifespan to only 3-5 years. BDHPI was able to bring her into rescue thanks to C.A.R.E.'s transporting services and get her the behavior training she needed as well as to a Cardiologist for diagnosis and care. She found a wonderful forever family willing to take her on with her special needs and all!
Bigsby
Bigsby the Saint Bernard was turned in by his owners in Wichita. He was locked outside, unsocialized, and neglected prior to coming into rescue with BDHPI. C.A.R.E. transported him to CO where we were able to get him into a foster home and get him acclimated to indoor living as well as work on positive socialization around new people. He was also diagnosed with a torn ligament in his carpal joint which could not be addressed through surgery due to his size so he was fitted with a special brace at Orthopets to help him get around more comfortably. He is now in his forever home with plenty of big friends to play with and getting all the love and attention he deserves!
Molly and Phoebe
Both of these puppies came in on 2/11 transport and went directly to their permanent adopters lined up by Big Dogs Huge Paws. C.A.R.E. helped unite these adorable pups with their forever families.
MOLLY
PHOEBE
Bob
Bob is a 2 year old, male English Mastiff who was seized from his owners due to neglect and cruelty and taken to the local animal shelter in Topeka, Kansas. Big Dogs Huge Paws was contacted immediately for rescue assistance and thanks to our friends at C.A.R.E. we were able to get him transported to Colorado where a foster home was awaiting him! Bob has gained 50 lbs since his arrival and is now happily in his forever home with Tyler & Liz in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.
Rogue
Rogue is a 3 year old, male Great Dane from Leasburg, Missouri who started to lose weight rapidly and was experiencing some medical issues beyond his owner's ability to afford. She contacted Big Dogs Huge Paws in hopes that we would bring him into rescue and get him the care he needed! C.A.R.E. helped us get him transported to Denver and within 48 hours Rogue bloated and torsioned and required emergency surgery to save his life. If it wasn't for our friends at C.A.R.E., this sweet boy may not have had a chance!
Captain
Captain is a 1-2 year old, male Great Dane from Lawton, Oklahoma. He was found as a stray and believed to have been hit by a car due to an injured leg. Big Dogs Huge Paws agreed to bring him into rescue and upon further examination discovered that this gentle giant had actually been shot in his hock/hind leg area. Emergency transport was arranged to get him to Wichita, Kansas and C.A.R.E. took over from there and acted quickly to get him to Colorado just 1 day later so that he could see a specialist and hopefully save his leg!
Ozzie Ozzie is a very special, 8 year old, English Mastiff that came to Big Dogs Huge Paws (BDHP) from Omaha, Arkansas, near the Missouri border. He was completely emaciated, with huge pressure sores on his elbows and tumor skin tags hanging down from his belly, and he had absolutely no muscle tone or strength in his back end. In addition, his coat was in horrible condition with mats all over and he smelled awful.
Ozzie came in on a C.A.R.E. transport and was completely exhausted and barely able to stand up when he arrived at his foster home. After hours of grooming, poor Ozzie still had a bad odor and it was discovered he has severe ear infections in both ears. It turned out that he had likely been suffering from chronic infections most of his life without medical attention and he required 2 surgeries in order to address the problem, which ultimately meant removing part of his ear drum.
Ozzie recovered nicely from his surgeries and has settled in quite nicely at his foster home! He has put on quite a bit of weight and is gaining strength every day. However, the reality is that he is a senior dog and we are not quite sure how much longer he will have quality of life. He has Spondylosis of the spine which causes him quite a bit of pain in his back and he is also suffering from some level of dementia and isn't completely there mentally. We are managing his pain and he is still happy and eating well, but we don't think it is fair to ask an adopting family to take him on when he probably doesn't have too long for this world. Bree and Brian Dew, his loving foster parents, announced in December that Ozzie would be staying with them permanently.
Sadly, C.A.R.E. received the following email from Bree on January 12, 2009
It is with the heaviest of heart that I write to let you know that we said goodbye to our dear old friend, Ozzie, this evening.
Oz came into rescue in November- skinny, painful, weak and stinky. Dr Rob said he had the worst ear infection he had ever seen. Even though he was incredibly painful, he was nothing but loving and attentive to Brian and I. He was seriously one of the coolest dogs I had ever met!
Sadly, Oz started limping last week. We saw Dr Rob on Saturday and he determined that Ozzie had some sort of soft tissue issue with his ankle, which Dr Rob said was incredibly painful. Rob explained we were looking at a borderline quality of life decision, but we all agreed to try two new meds for 5 days to see if it could relieve some of the pain.
Ozzie had a very hard today, and could not get off the floor without assistance. I made yet another tearful call to Rob, who told me it was time.
Oz was such a great dog...devoted to Brian and I to his very last breath. He passed very peacefully in my lap. Even though we knew this day was coming, we are completely heartbroken, but so happy for the time we had!
C.A.R.E. would like to thank BDHP for bringing Ozzie into your program. Brian and Bree, thank you for loving and caring for Ozzie as if he spent his whole life with you, instead of a few short months. Ozzie is an extraordinary rescue success story!
Colorado Animal Rescue Express (C.A.R.E.) is a 501(C)3 Public Charity
