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German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County Urgent Help detail

German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County Urgent Help detail

Save a senior and change your heart forever.

Poppy, our sweet senior looking for a home

 

So I have this old guy here at my house as a forever foster, and he has a lot of issues.   He is completely deaf.  I mean...I can actually come up within an inch of him with the vacuum and he doesn't even turn around.  Completely deaf.   His vision is pretty bad.   He walks into corners and you have to wave his food dish around in big circles so he sees it and knows dinner is ready.   His nose works well, so he knows when you are making breakfast or dinner...he just needs help knowing that it is ready;  then he wags his bald little tail and gets on over to his meal. 

He also is very stiff, and my daughter calls him "Robot" because of the way he moves.   When I offered to foster him, we took him in to get his teeth cleaned. They were pretty bad.   He had 15 teeth removed.  Wow.  That is a lot.   You would think he would have trouble eating... but he doesn't.   He is such a little trooper.  I love this guy.  I really do.  

There is something so special about rescuing an old dog.   He is so sweet.  It feels like he knows I will be here with him when he needs me the most.   We have a special bond.  With everything we have going on around here, this little man seems to be so grateful, and is so attentive to me.  He can't hear me, but he watches my every move.     He and I don't have a history.   I don't have memories of him as a healthy dog that I can giggle over with him.   I don't know what his favorite treat is, or where he loved to be rubbed before the aches settled in.   But I spoil him.  I cook for him.   I give him his meds.  

But I wonder who he misses...

I think for me right now, this is such a parallel that it is having an impact on my heart.   I have a kitty that I rescued when she was about 7 months old.   That was 19 years ago, so she is old and at the end.   My husband has been around for 15 years, so my kitty is the veteran here.   As kitties age, they get thin. She is so thin now.   She is on medications.   She is on fluids.  She is always hungry.   She misses the catbox.  She screams for who knows what.   And still... she is my baby.   I know her.  I know where she loves to be rubbed.  I know what her favorite treats are.  I remember how silly she was when she was healthy and I still see it in her... deep in there.   I know her as a healthy cat. Now, her body is failing and she is an old lady... but I remember her silly little face standing over me at 3am... wanting to play.  I hold her now and I giggle and whisper our shared memories to her.   I know this girl, and she will be comforted by me, by us-her and I... until the end. 

My sweet little old man foster... I don't know that he gets the same comfort from me as my kitty does.   I know he is comforted by me and I know he loves me.  His sweet little tail wags when  I come in the room. I know his little body aches and I am learning where he likes to be touched.  I have learned what foods he especially likes.  I am here until the end with him...but I wonder who he dreams of when he goes to sleep.   Who is it that knows him and who shares his memories?   He is in my heart and I will be here until the end with him... but who is in his heart?  

I wish he had someone holding him who could whisper special memories to him.  

I don't understand how someone dumps an old dog.   It is like dumping a sick child, or an old parent. I wish everyone would return the favor with these amazing animals and hold them near and dear through the last amazing years of their lives.  

I wish they could all have loving memories whispered in their ears until the very end.  

This they deserve. 

Rescuing an old dog will truly change your heart.  It is one of the purest forms of love you will ever experience.   I highly recommend it.   The heartbreak...totally worth it. 

The pictures you see on this blog are of Poppy. She is our old gal.  She is safe in our care, but she needs a forever foster or home.  She is living in a kennel right now.  She deserves to be cherished and have a warm bed.   Maybe you can be the one Poppy dreams of.  

Gifts that keep on giving for the dogs

 

 

At the holidays, we all wish that every dog could have a belly full of food, enough water and a great big bed in a warm home.    Wouldn't that be great?

 

Well, we won't be able to get all of them this year, but every little bit helps to get one more.  

 

 

So, when you are shopping and full of holiday spirit, give the gifts that keep on giving. 

 

Here are some ways you can help;

 

 

Check our events pages and come on out to support us-  

 

-buy from our bake sales

-buy GSROC logoed merchandise for GSD lovers

 

-cook plain chicken and plain brown or sweet potatoes and drop off for the dogs. 

 

Plan a holiday visit to one of our special events-   

-visit our Costa Mesa boutique on 12/1

 

 

 

Go to our website to learn how to sponsor a dog in someone's name and get a certificate sent to that person-

-sponsor a dog in someone's name (we provide a certificate to present)

-forego gifts in favor of having people make a donation in your name....etc.

 

Shop through Igive.com for all of your online shopping and choose Association of German Shepherd Rescuers as your charity. 

 

The dogs will thank you!  



A caution about holiday overeating...for your dog.

Los Angeles Animal Services Important Pet Alert Over-eating during Thanksgiving can be serious for pets too! Thanksgiving is the time of year when family and friends get together to enjoy each other’s company and a myriad of delicious foods. We have a tendency to include our four-legged family members in this feast, which often results in overindulgence. Even when we don’t purposely include them, the agile and creative dog or cat can capture a special treat from the kitchen counter, trash or even the dining room table! Thanksgiving weekend is also a busy time for emergency veterinary clinics. Dogs and cats suffer very serious and sometimes fatal consequences from turkey bones, too much rich and fatty foods and just plain overeating. If your pet is not acting like himself or herself, consult your veterinarian. Your best friend could be seriously ill. It is difficult to comprehend, but when giving pets treats you must consider the relative size of their body compared to yours. If you weigh 150 pounds and your dog weighs 25 pounds, he or she is only 1/6th of your total weight. If you visualize yourself as a whole pie, comparatively your dog is only one slice of pie. Consequently, sharing an unfinished plate that still holds a generous serving of mashed potatoes with gravy, a side of very rich dressing, a few bites of turkey and a small slice of pumpkin pie with your best friend can make him or her feel miserable. You do want your pets to enjoy the holiday. Stop by a pet food store and purchase some new dog biscuits or cat treats; then reduce the amount of their regular meal to accommodate the treats they will be getting throughout the day. Remember, biscuits and treats are usually much higher in calories than regular pet food so having them skip dinner may be a prudent choice if they have been snacking all day. Happy Thanksgiving!

Extraordinary Efforts to save dogs

Today is Maria Dales birthday, and there are thousands of dogs who lived to see another day because of this lady. 

There isn't much I can say about her that hasn't been said already.  She is dedicated and tireless in her quest to save dogs.   You would think someone who has seen the dregs of humanity would not have much compassion for people, but she does.   Along the way of saving the lives of countless animals, she gives and gives to people. 

Maria spends all of her free time furthering the rescue.  She is not some voice behind a desk; she comes out every weekend to hold a dog.   She goes to the hoarders and walks among the abused to save the ones we can... and some we can't but she can't bear to leave behind.   She goes to the ER vet in the middle of the night to hold the head of desperate animal who just needs a little kindness in her last moments.   Maria does the heart wrenching shelter walks.  She walks the walk.   Every now and then, I hear someone say "If I ran this rescue I would do this differently, or that"... and I say, "Yes, but you don't do it, do you.  She does." 

Happy Birthday MD.   This world is a better place because of you. 

Dogs and food allergies

One of the most common problems presented to all veternarians is the itchy pet. Most often the source of itch is allergies. With conventional medicine, the treatment is often suppression and in difficult cases this can mean endless rounds of antibiotics and steroids. As clients and veterinarians become frustrated, they often begin to look for alternatives. 

In the interest of full disclosure and responsibility, this is being written based only on my experience and I absolutely recommend that if your dog, or any other animal is experiencing any of the symptoms I mention, you need to go to a vet.   Although I am writing this article about allergies in dogs, there are many, many illnesses whose symptoms mimic food allergies and you have to first go to vet to get certain illnesses ruled out.  A blood panel can make sure your dogs organs are working properly and there are no underlying illnesses.   A skin scraping can rule out mites and/or mange which can look like a food allergy, and is much more common than you think.  So please, make sure you rule out any other more serious options before you consider a food allergy...


However, once you know your dog is basically healthy but is itchy, chewing herself, and getting hotspots... you need to immediately consider three things-

• Am I giving my dog enough exercise or is she chewing because she is going crazy with boredom?

• Am I feeding a high quality food in accordance with her natural diet?

• Have I used Frontline or Advantage regularly and can I completely rule out a flea allergy?   ( This is such a no brainer I won't address it again, but if there is the possibility that your dog is dealing with fleas and flea bites, please address this immediately with a regular flea treatment)

• Do I have any plants that could be aggravating her skin?  (There are several common plants that are considered more allergic than most for dogs.  Check your yard and your walk path.) 

Ok, so you rescued a dog who appears to have allergies.   The range of severity is huge... my first "all mine, I am grown up" shepherd Halo had allergies that caused hot spots and minor chewing.  She and I were growing up together.  She came to college with me and I wish I knew then what I know now.   I imagine the mac and cheese I fed her, and the beach romps after which neither of us bathed did not help her allergies.  I believe I have mentioned that many times I ran into the local grocery store at midnight and bought a bag of dog food so she had breakfast.  Now that I know what was in that food... the mac and cheese was probably a better choice. 

My second shepherd  with food allergies came to me almost bald, and so underweight we thought she was a coyote when we first saw her.   This is when my lessons really began.  (Sorry Halo)   After making sure she was healthy inside, I went to work learning about what was making her bald, and skinny.   I was lucky enough to learn from someone who was making one of the first accessible, limited and high quality ingredient dog foods on the local market.   He taught me how different meats, different vegetable and different grains have different vitamins, different enzymes and different digestive qualities that actually work WITH a dogs system to keep them healthy.  He taught me that the quality of meats and other "foods" in most dogs foods were sub par, and would never be approved for humans.  He also taught me that a lot of dog foods out there have so many fillers that are just not natural to a dogs system that they can cause short term and long term issues.  Corn is big ingredient in dog food, yet  dogs have never eaten corn and as far back in the genetic chain of dogs did wolves even eat any animal who ate corn.   It is just not in the digestive chain of dogs.  Neither is wheat.  

I learned through a process of trying the raw diet, cooking for my dogs, and finally settling on a mix of cooked meat and veggies and a high grade kibble that what you feed your dogs can affect their health.  I also learned that if you have a dog with allergies... it is imperative that you absolutely commit to feeding a high quality, limited ingredient food for 60 days minimum with NO EXCEPTIONS. 

Once you embark on the 60 days of only feeding a limited ingredient diet, which should include something like Dick Van Pattens Venison and Sweet Potato or Call of the Wild two ingredient food  (check the label if you try something else) you have to absolutely commit to it.  No treats that contain anything else, no slipping them table scraps that go against the diet, nothing.  It is hard.  You can still give treats, just make sure they are one of the limited ingredients you have decided are on the menu. 

It takes at least 60 days of feeding your dog an isolated protein to see if there is an improvement in the symptoms.   You can't expect a complete cure, but if you see an improvement you may be on the right track. 

You may not see an improvement.   This can be a long process of elimination.  You cannot give up.   Symptoms can range from minor itching and hot spots to huge wounds, major hair loss and major behavioral changes.  (Can you imagine being itchy all the time?)   I have met dogs who developed anxiety, aggression and neurotic behaviors that all cleared up once their allergies were addressed and they were not physically uncomfortable all the time.  

If you haven't seen an improvement, it is possible that you chose the food that has the protein your dog is allergic to, so you have to switch from Venison to Fish or vice versa.   You may know that someone in your home was cheating and giving your dog treats that are not on the approved list.   It can be a long process.   You may need to partner with your vet to get antibiotics if there are any wounds that are not healing...but stick with it.  Be diligent.   Hopefully you will be successful with the limited ingredient HIGH quality diet.  Please please please include regular exercise for your dog...not running around in the backyard but a good solid leash walk to help alleviate the nervous itchy energy.  By including regular leash walks you are insuring your dog is getting the mental stimulation she needs and isnt chewing herself like a neglected housewife chews her nails...

There are some basic, general guidelines to look for when dealing with allergies...  There are often differences in the history or in the pattern of itch that is suggestive of one cause of disease or another.  For example, inhalant allergies in dogs (allergies caused by pollens, trees, molds or grasses) tend to be seasonal and often include itchy feet and ear infections as part of the history.  Flea allergies tend to concentrate around the tail base and stomach in dogs and often cats as well. Finally, with food allergies, you see year round problems which may show signs predominantly around the mouth, ears and anus.

Commit 100% to this.   It is like having chicken pox for your dog... it is uncomfortable and can be life threatening.   Take care of it.