True animal rescue is not planned.  It is not scheduled.  It is not budgeted .  It is a passion to care for those in need.  It is a belief that all lives truly do matter.  It’s a fight to try to save them all, not simply dismiss a sick animal because there are healthy ones in need.   It is standing up for those with no voice. Dogs such as Giles, who is pictured in this article, would not be alive today if not for rescue.   Dogs such as Shelly would probably have starved to death or been run over in the middle of a busy road, had we not answered the call.  Did we have funds, did we have a plan, did we have another dog in the budget? Nope, but we could not let a dog starve to death, or get hit by a car on a busy road.  We could not simply turn our heads.  We had faith that our hard work on fundraisers and our generous, caring supporters would pull us through, and once again, they answered our prayers to help those in need. Rescue is about the animals, and saving all those who can possibly be saved.

Rescue is not a social club.  Its not always happily ever after, and its not always pretty.  At the end of the day, have you done everything  humanly possible to help those animals in need?

I am very very thankful for the people I have met and now call friends due to rescue.  We share a common bond to try to help those who cannot help themselves, to stop the neglect and the cruelty, to make the world a more caring, compassionate place.  A place where all lives matter.

Rescue is not a revolving door for the animals. Rescue is the commitment to work hard to find a forever home for them, to make sure that home will love and care for them.    Rescue sometimes fails by picking the wrong family, but true rescue takes their dogs back and works even harder to find the perfect family.   (I am proud to say, our volunteer adoption coordinators have done an awesome job with only  three in eight years being returned.)   I wish I could say none have been returned but I am very glad the adopters honored their contract and brought them back to us.

That being said, rescue is not about the people, it is about the animals.   At the end of the day, the animals are who suffers, who are hurt, abused, out in the weather with no shelter, no food, no water, who get dumped at local county run shelters which are already full, who get dumped out on the side of the road with no idea how to fend for themselves, and who many ultimately end up in a pile of dead animals in the landfill.

One has to think beyond oneself to truly understand.  It’s not about having people be your friend.  Its not about playing the victim yourself if you have to make a tough decision.  It’s not about pats on the back.  In other words, once again, it is not about us humans, but the animals in need.

We are a 501c3 non profit rescue made up entirely of volunteers.  No one gets paid, CARE is run solely on donations by wonderful, caring people and fundraisers  the volunteers organize.   Every donation helps an animal in one way or another, be it vetting, transporting, boarding, supplies such as x-pens, crates,food, medication.. the list is long, but it is truly all about the animals.

We are also advocates for the animals.   We speak out for tougher laws, work hard to get those passed and enforced.  We speak out for those with no voice, as humans do have a voice and should do all they can to take care of the animals.  We truly get that there are times when its overwhelming and you wonder how many more can be urgent and in need.  We also get that the  No Kill Philosophy has been proven to work, time and time again.  ( sidenote:  I realize some do not support no kill when some shelters have  regulations that may cause animals not to have a place to go, ( if intake is closed for example someone may just dump the animals out anywhere)  but the steps for no kill, and the philosophy is sound.   When I think of the high intake several years back and how many animals were getting out, it does not take much to figure out with the lower intake, we could achieve a true no kill status, not a doctored one.

The best example  of this is Austin Texas, the largest no kill community in our nation.  Their open intake facility where all lost, surrendered animals from all of Travis County, in need of shelter are accepted, regardless of age, health, or breed, takes in more than 16,000 animals each year.  Since 2011, they have surpassed the 90 perecent live release rate and continue to do so.   ( 16,000 animals each year and a population of 950,750 )

We do not support, nor do we understand how  humans cannot do everything possible to save lives.  Shelters across the US are still euthanizing healthy adoptable animals.  While we totally get that irresponsible people who surrender, do not spay/neuter  and/or do not take care of their animals is where the fault lies, once those animals get to a shelter, it then becomes the shelter’s responsibility to take care of said animals.  Shelters across the country should do all things possible to get the animals out alive.

Bottom line, don’t play the victim card, the animals are the victims, do everything possible to save lives even if it get a little hard.   If you screw up, we are are human, we all make mistakes, own it, don’t blame others.  Shelters get paid to do the right thing, do it!   Many rescues who are all volunteers do it every day without making a cent for it.

The  No Kill Equations consists of 11 steps

1. Rescue Partnerships
2. Volunteers
3. Foster Care
4. Community Cat/dog sterilization
5. Pet Retention
6. Comprehensive Adoption Program
7. Proactive Redemptions
8. Medical & Behavioral Prevention & Rehabilitation
9. Public Relations/Community Involvement
10. High Volume/Low Cost Sterilization
11. Compassionate, hard working shelter director
    

    Labeled aggressive and feral at shelter

    

    Labeled aggressive and feral at shelter

    

    Labeled aggressive and feral at shelter

 

 

 

One of the most prevalent diseases seen in dogs in this area since I got involved in rescue almost nine years ago is heartworms.  It is also one, that in early stages, may not show many signs, in late stages, has very serious, painful symptoms that can be fatal without treatment, and can be prevented for under $10 a month.   As you can tell from the graph, the treatment that is recommended by the American Heartworm Society, (we will discuss the differences and why in a few) is very expensive so I guess my question is why do we see so very many dogs test positive for heartworms?

Is it lack of education? Do people not believe it exists?  I know people who say they truly care about their dog, and yet have not given preventive and have been shocked when their dog tested positive, so I am not sure of the reason why, but lets delve into how dogs get heartworms, what happens and why we as their guardians need to give them that monthly pill ( or that six month injection) to prevent this horrible disease.

Dogs are natural hosts for heartworms.  Heartworms can live inside a dog,  mature, reproduce offspring. Once mature, a heartworm can live five to seven years inside a dog. Untreated, dogs can harbor several hundred heartworms in their body, having adverse effects of the heart, lungs, and arteries.

‘When a mosquito bites and takes a blood meal from an infected animal, it picks up these baby worms, which develop and mature into “infective stage” larvae over a period of 10 to 14 days. Then, when the infected mosquito bites another dog, cat, or susceptible wild animal, the infective larvae are deposited onto the surface of the animal’s skin and enter the new host through the mosquito’s bite wound. Once inside a new host, it takes approximately 6 months for the larvae to mature into adult heartworms. Once mature, heartworms can live for 5 to 7 years in dogs.’ ( American Heartworm Society)

Can you tell if you dog has heartworms?  Unless advanced stages, probably not.  Many times in early stages there are not many visible signs.  I can say that after nine years, many times, when we pick up a dog that has been living outside his/her entire life, not been on prevention, and sometimes has a swollen abdomen ( when we first started the rescue, we thought a few female dogs might be pregnant and it turned out to be heartworms)I now will make the statement, I bet the dog will be heartworm positive, and 9 out of 10 times, the dog is.   As the disease progresses, if you are interacting with your dog you may notice  a mild persistent cough, reluctance to exercise, fatigue after moderate activity, decreased appetite, and weight loss.  Dogs  may develop heart failure and the appearance of a swollen belly due to excess fluid in the abdomen. Dogs with large numbers of heartworms can develop a sudden blockages of blood flow within the heart leading to a life-threatening form of cardiovascular collapse. This is called caval syndrome, and is marked by a sudden onset of labored breathing, pale gums, and dark bloody or coffee-colored urine. Without prompt surgical removal of the heartworm blockage, few dogs survive.

PLEASE REMEMBER  ALL OF THE ABOVE CAN BE PREVENTED BY A MONTHLY PILL OR A SIX MONTH INJECTION!!

Get Your Dog Tested!

From the American Heartworm Society:

. All dogs should be tested annually for heartworm infection, and this can usually be done during a routine visit for preventive care. Following are guidelines on testing and timing:

• Puppies under 7 months of age can be started on heartworm prevention without a heartworm test (it takes at least 6 months for a dog to test positive after it has been infected), but should be tested 6 months after your initial visit, tested again 6 months later and yearly after that to ensure they are heartworm-free.
• Adult dogs over 7 months of age and previously not on a preventive need to be tested prior to starting heartworm prevention.  They, too, need to be tested 6 months and 12 months later and annually after that.
• If there has been a lapse in prevention (one or more late or missed doses), dogs should be tested immediately, then tested again six months later and annually after that.

Annual testing is necessary, even when dogs are on heartworm prevention year-round, to ensure that the prevention program is working. Heartworm medications are highly effective, but dogs can still become infected. If you miss just one dose of a monthly medication—or give it late—it can leave your dog unprotected. Even if you give the medication as recommended, your dog may spit out or vomit a heartworm pill—or rub off a topical medication. Heartworm preventives are highly effective, but not 100 percent effective. If you don’t get your dog test, you won’t know your dog needs treatment.

 

Oh No… My Dog Tested Positive!

The question comes up many times about how to treat.   As a rescue, we treat per the guidelines of the American Heartworm Society .     Only one drug, melarsomine, has been approved by the FDA to treat heartworms in dogs.   While there are risks involved, most adult heartworms are eliminated within 1 to 3 months.   Cage rest, restricted exercise decreased the chances of complications from the treatment.  Per the American Heartworm Society, ” Long-term, continuous use of heartworm preventives alone to treat heartworm infections, however, is not recommended as an alternative to melarsomine, because it is well documented that additional damage to the heart and lungs occurs the longer adult heartworms are present.”

 IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY!

Once again, it is your responsibility as a dog mom or dad to make sure your dog has preventive.  You can purchase them in a single dose each month from the vets office, you can buy them in packs of three months, six months, or 12 months.  You can get your vet to write a prescription and order from a website if you can find a better price.  Regardless it is still less than $10 a month to prevent your dog from having a horrible disease and possibly suffering a painful death.

 

Need More Information, Check out the following:

https://d3ft8sckhnqim2.cloudfront.net/images/pdf/HeartwormTreatmentGuide_PetOwner.Color.pdf?1418599065

https://www.heartwormsociety.org/about

 

 

C.A.R.E. has. since its inception, worked hard to help save lives not only at the local county run kill shelter, but before the animals go into the shelter.  While this can sometimes cause a huge headache, it is worth it in the long run as it helps save more lives. 

You may ask why a headache?  Many times people first want to surrender to rescue, rescue gets everything set up and then people change their minds.  That could mean other animals could have been saved while time was spent on those that the people changed their minds about.  Many times we will go on sites trying to convince people  to give to rescue, and some people do not understand the reasons why rescue is the best choice.   1)Rescue vets the animals no matter what is needed and makes sure animals are spay/neutered before going to forever homes. Dogs receive heartworm treatment if needed and are on preventive. Injuries are treated.  2.) Most rescues do vet checks, reference checks, and home checks.  3,) Rescues have adopters sign contracts which bind them to return the dog if the adoption does not work out.  4.) And most importantly, are willing to take the time to wait until the right adopter comes along for each dog.  Why would you want to give any animal especially new puppies or kittens, to a complete stranger with no checks whatsoever?  How does one know who they are giving them to without checking references and doing home checks?  Are their lives not worth it?

No matter what the headache, what the issue, C.A.R.E always puts the animals first.   That is what rescue is about.   All the pictures you see in this blog are animals that were in need of rescue in the community. None of these babies were at a county shelter.  We worked with the people in our community to take them into either our rescue and/or one of our rescue partners.   Many of the adults were injured, some having thousand of dollars of surgeries. Many had to be treated for heart worms.  Puppies that broke with parvo, had coccidia, mange.  It does not matter what the problem, we do our best to provide whatever is needed to help them.

 

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We also believe in pet retention and will try to help the people in our community keep their animals if at all possible by providing food and vet care whenever possible. ( we are volunteers and depend on fundraisers and donations)  We would much rather you baby stay with his or her family than have to be uprooted if possible.  When not possible, we will try our best to help find a place in our foster care until we can get the dog fully vetted, and then start the adoption process.  We do not have our own facility ( yet) so we have to depend on volunteers to help foster the dogs in our rescue in their homes. That is why fosters and volunteers are so very important to us.

I think another very important point that many shelters overlook is how this helps them. How many more would be in the landfill if not for rescues taking these babies before they wind  up at an open intake shelter.  How many times do you already hear, ” we are full”, ” we have no empty kennels”.    Rescues taking in animals before they take up space at the county facilities and/or helping the public actually keep their animals is another way to help save lives.  

It is past time that shelters and rescues check their egos at the door and start focusing on the animals.  I am very tired and disgusted with  county run shelters who play the part of the victim instead of doing everything possible to save the lives of the true victims… the animals.      WE CAN SAVE THEM ALL…. please take a moment to read the attached ” No Dog left Behind”    A Publication of the No Kill Advocacy Center, Meeting the Needs of Behaviorally Challenged  Dogs. 

Click to access no_dogs_left_behindv2.pdf

 

( All the pictures in this article are animals that were rescued that never entered a shelter by C.A.R.E and/or our rescue partners.  These are just a handful of the ones we have done through the years.  We will try to put together a gallery of  them and add until we get them all together.   We are here for the animals and we will always advocate for the animals)