2 escaped dogs

From Deb Gring:

This morning on my way to work while on Monclova Road near St Lukes I spied 2 dogs standing in the middle of the road. A car stopped on the other side of the road and the dogs wagged their tails and ran up to it. Oh no I thought, someone dropped these guys off and they are looking for someone. I pulled over and rolled down the window, “are these your dogs?” I asked the lady. “Yes, they got loose and I have been driving around for a half hour looking for them!” she replied. She was out of the car and coaxing the dogs to get into the car when they bolted across Monclova and up into the parking lot of a medical building. I pulled in as the owner was facing the other way on Monclova to see if we could capture them.

They ran up to a lady going into the building and she was able to grab the collar of one for the dogs and walked back towards me. I grabbed its collar and their owner was getting the one dog into the car. As soon as she turned towards me to get the other dog, the first dog jumped out. What a mess! Finally we got them both in the car and she headed home.

I couldn’t help but think about those dogs, the situation could have been so much worse. I don’t know her situation, I don’t know if they bolted from the door, if they dug under or went over their fence or what. The sad story is too many dogs like these get loose from their homes and their owners cannot find them or do not try to find them. They end up wandering the streets. Many get hit and killed or injured. Many end up at the pound. Some end up in rescue organizations such as Planned Pethood.

We need to remember dogs are like children, if they see an open door they run and follow their noses. We need to protect them from danger by providing them a safe place to play, run, eliminate and explore. These two very nice friendly dogs could have easily become statistics. Thank goodness they didn’t. Of course we have all had dogs get out of their yard or homes unexpectedly. If you own dogs just keeping your fences patent and teaching your dogs “back” at the exits to your house will help immensely. If you don’t have a fenced yard for them to play in, please be sure to walk them with leashes or utilize tie outs for your beloved companions. “COME” is a good command for your dog to know too. Just think of these two dogs and how much worse this situation could have become. The best behaved dogs in the world can still become roamers at the drop of a hat.

Vigilance! Training! Patience and Love!

The trouble with Heartworm

Our featured dog, Rain is recovering from Heartworm treatment.

Here's a dog that might have had people love her. But they didn't love her quite enough. She was found as a stray (strike one against her former people). She was matted and soaked to the skin from being left in the cold January rains (strike two). Planned Pethood took her in and tried to find her people. Not that they deserved to get her back. But it's the right thing to do.

As part of her visit to the vet, we discovered she had heartworms (strike three). It's hard to understand how people still don't understand heartworm and the importance to prevent it. I just don't get it.

Rain took the treatment like a trooper. She felt lousy the first day and even WORSE the second day. Her usual perky self was laying on the floor panting heavily in pain. Her usual greetings of kisses were replaced with a moan as she lifted her head off her pillow.

But you can't keep a good dog down. Rain is pretty much back to her perky self. This is when the recovery process is agony. This is when it becomes painful for everyone, not just Rain.

Rain wants to frolic in the yard. She wants to race up and down the stairs. She wants to wrestle with her dog friend. She wants to have you chase her. But we can't. If a dog recovering from heartworm treatment is allowed to get overly excited they can throw a blood clot. This means she can have a stroke from a brain embolism. Rain can have a heart attack from an embolism. Or she can just drop down dead. Scary stuff, huh?

She has to be kept away from her doggie friend so they can't get each other wound up. Instead, like Lady and The Tramp they touch noses through the baby gate separating them. Rain has to go from room to room escorted by a human to stop her from leaping and jumping in glee. When she brings her humans a ball and wants you to play with her, the ball must be put away. Sorry gal, we can't play today. Poor Rain. Her doggie friend doesn't understand and it breaks her humans' heart as well.

Meanwhile the agony will continue until Rain is released from medical care. We have March 18th written in red on our calendar. That's when we think Rain will get the thumbs up from the vet.

Give your dog heartworm preventative, please.

Why I love Planned Pethood

Taken from those that voted for PPI to win a $10,000 grant. Thank you for the kind words.
____________________________________________________________

• Jill Borkowski says,
  

Why do you love Planned Pethood Inc? Planned Pethood is so dedicated to finding permanent, loving homes for abandoned animals AND focusing on the bigger picture and spay/neuter. They have a great relationship with other animal welfare organizations in our community, including Humane Ohio's low-cost spay/neuter clinic, and understand the importance of everyone working together to make an impact on pet overpopulation. This summer, when Humane Ohio had grant money to lower their already low-cost spay/neuter rates even further, Planned Pethood went door-to-door in the targeted zip code to make sure pet parents knew about this, and to offer free transportation to and from Humane Ohio's low-cost spay/neuter clinic. As they were going door-to-door spreading the news, they rescued several stray and abandoned animals, some of who needed immediate medical attention. That's just one example of why I love Planned Pethood!

• Kymm DeRose says,
  

I can't say enough good things about this organization. Not only do they do a lot of adoptions, but they are really making a BIG difference in the community. They will go door to door to find pets that need to be fixed! That is one dedicated Rescue group! You deserve to win PPI!!

• Tamara Ernst says,
  

Their willingness to be at the forefront of rescue in our community

• Heather Tessler says,
  

PPI is an all-around WIN for animals in our community! Their volunteers are a tremendous resource and are always willing to help. PPI has placed cats and a dog that I've rescued with loving homes. Thank you!

• Anonymous says,
  

They care about the local dogs.

• Cindy Belka says,
  

Because they are out there in the community and always willing to help! I just adopted my second best friend (dog) from them in the last year. They are always available for help and advice even long after the adoption process, and always have events open to the community as a whole and most of them are open to dogs as well as their human companions.

• Anonymous says,
  

The best and most comprehensive rescue group in Northwest Ohio, that also fund spay/nueter services

• Michael Brooks says,
  

Low-cost spay/neuter programs and pet adoption programs are the best in the area.

• Linda Boyle says,
  

Being very proactive in spay/neuters and taking care of sick/injured animals.

• Marion Risk says,

I like their plan of addressing the problem by offering adoption and low-cost spay/neuter

• Nikki Morey says,
  

They focus on local dogs and cats rather than ship (broker) them in from out of town. We have animals that dies daily so where's the logic in that? They also are PROactive in the overpopulation problem by aggressively getting spay/neuter into our community. Planned Pethood ROCKS!

• Catherine Buchanan says,
  

They truly believe in taking care of the animals and preventing more unwanted animals.

• Nicole Eppstein says,
  

I got my puppy from there and she is the best!

I would love to help, but I can’t foster!!!

People often tell us that they would love to help us, but they aren’t able to foster. There are so many ways that you can help that don’t require fostering. Just like most businesses, companies, organizations, etc., it takes people with different talents, performing lots of different jobs, to be successful. And because Planned Pethood operates on a volunteer only basis, you decide how much time you can invest. All of the jobs listed below allow us to help our area’s homeless cats and dogs, and provide our community with low-cost spaying/neutering services. Many jobs can be performed from the comfort of your own home. If you are interested in helping with any of the jobs, or would like more information, stop by any event, or email us at pets@plannedpethood.org.

VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR - communicates with new volunteers about opportunities and manages a list of volunteers. From the comfort of your home.
DOG EVENT COORDINATOR - Schedule volunteers to drive the truck and set up adoption events on Saturdays. When available, Saturday adoption events.
EVENT VOLUNTEERS - Load and unload our truck; set up and take down the crates, tables, chairs, etc.; talk to potential adopters; keep an eye on the dogs, etc. When available, Saturday adoption events.
WEBSITE UPDATERS- Updates one page of our website as needed. Usually takes about 15 mintues a week. But sometimes, it's more involved.
FIXX LINE COORDINATOR - offers support to FIXX line volunteers and manages the instructional guide. From the comfort of your own home.
FIXX LINE - Check our voice mail lines and return calls and/or forward information to the appropriate individuals. Online access with e-mail is recommended. One day a week, several hours a day, or as a substitute.
From the comfort of your home.
RESPITE CARE - Because we try to save as many dogs as we can, our foster homes are always full. Our dog fosters need a break from time to time, even a few days a couple times a year makes a huge difference. Our foster homes are sometimes in need of temporary care for their foster dogs. If you can keep one, two, or more of our foster dogs in your home for a day, or two, or more, that would prevent us from having to pay to keep the dogs in boarding, which will allow us to save more of our area's homeless dogs, or offer more low-cost spaying/neutering services to the Community. Also a great way to try your hand at fostering to see if it is for you. At your convenience!
CAT CARE VOLUNTEERS - Care for the cats and kittens at our Petsmart adoption center at Spring Meadows. Make sure they have food, clean litter boxes, and a lot of love and attention! One day a week, 1-2 hours.
TRANSPORTATION - Transport dogs to and from events; help get the general public's cats and dogs to spay/neuter appointments; transport Planned Pethood dogs and cats to various veterinarian appointments, etc. As needed.
CRAFT SHOW COORDINATOR - Arrange for PPT to appear at various craft shows and community festivals. Organize other crafters to pool crafts and items to sell to the public. At your convenience.
CRAFTERS - Create dog- and cat-themed craft items for Planned Pethood booths at local festivals and craft fairs. At your convenience.
SPECIAL EVENTS VOLUNTEERS - Help with fundraisers, information tables, festival booths, etc. As needed. And many more!

WHAT ELSE DO WE NEED?
Blankets
Dog and cat beds
Collars and leashes
Crates, all sizes
Food, all kinds
Dog and cat treats
Clay kitty litter
Litter boxes
Puppy training pads
Bleach, paper towels and other cleaning supplies
Medicines like heartworm and flea preventative
Gas cards
Two pocket colored folders
Printer ink cartridges
Copy paper
Colored paper
Card stock
1st class and postcard postage stamps

This post is probably gonna be rambling. Sorry no map provided.

I'm trying to write the holiday mailing that goes to the home of anyone that supports PPI. It's usually the only time during the year some of the people hear from us. The message has to be short and has to show how we have wisely spent our money.

The trouble is that we have too much to say. We have saved so many lives and saved so many from rotten homes. How do I only write about a few? Animals have died while in our care because they were so sick by the time someone called asking us to help. I want everyone to know about those animals. Those cats and dogs deserve to be honored but I can't due to lack of space and lack of attention span of the normal reader.

The trouble is that most people don't want to know all the gory details. They aren't comfortable with that much ugliness. Our volunteers are hip deep in ugliness sometimes.

I also want to write about how our volunteers agonize over the care of the animals. They also agonize about the animals we get calls about and we simply don't have the space to help. To add insult to injury, we usually get a phone call and/or email blasting us for being heartless and cruel for not taking the animal they have called about. Personally, I would like to talk to all those people and ask them why they think they way they do. I wish we could tell all our supporters about more of those stories. So they can better understand that while they are helping us greatly by donating goods and money- others might not have money but instead get spit on for their efforts. Literally spit on. It's happened to me years ago.

I want the people that don't check in on us often to realize how we are sooooo much better than other rescues. But I have to be nice and not mention things like that. I want everyone to see what we are doing and the positive things we are doing for our community in the bright light of day. Then they would be so inspired the people wanting to volunteer would be coming in droves. YAHOO!

But I can only use up a page worth of text. So all those details about dogs like Farrah and cats like Sheegwa get left out. All those ugly stories about dying kittens and puppies don't get spoken about. I wish, I wish, I wish.

Wish me luck we can make it a powerful message dispite the brevity. Fingers crossed we can keep moving in the right direction.

--Nikki Morey
Executive Director for Planned Pethood

more on responsible breeders

To add my thoughts to the post below on breeders, breeding at all is a controversial subject within rescue. I personally would never buy a dog or puppy but I am not against RESPONSIBLE breeding. Like the post says, responsible breeders show their breed of choice and only breed those dogs that enhance the desired traits of that breed. They have all the recommended health clearances and would never breed a dog that passes on known health problems. Their dogs are sold with strict contracts which include spay/neuter for pets that will not be shown. They always take their dogs back if the original placement doesn't work out, oftentimes at a loss financially. In fact in many cases, responsible breeders make no money at all, not after the costs of shows and vet care and limiting the number of litters to those dogs that meet their requirements. Most of these people show and raise their dogs from a love of the breed, and their dogs rarely add to the problem.

While of course we prefer you get your new dog or puppy from rescue, and just about any breed you prefer has and will show up at a local dog pound, if you want to buy your puppy, then look for a responsible breeder. Yes you might pay a bit more or wait a while longer but you know what you're getting, and you are not contributing to the problem. For more information on finding a responsible breeder, click this pdf prepared by the Humane Society of the United States.
How to find a good breeder (pdf)

Another controversy within rescue is the purchase of puppy mill dogs and puppies, either from auctions or directly from the puppy miller. Yes, those purchased dogs are "rescued" and no longer have to endure the horrid life of a puppy mill dog. Still that puppy miller is making money, no different than buying a dog from a petstore. Not only do some rescues add to their available dogs in this manner, puppy mill brokers have realized that by calling themselves "rescue" they can increase their appeal to the general public and sell more dogs. Like one of the dog wardens I know said, when you look at a "rescue's" list of available dogs, where are the older dogs? The mixed breed dogs and puppies? A "rescue" that only has high demand purebred puppies is certainly lining the bank account of a puppy mill breeder, and accordingly that breeder will continue to breed dogs to sell. They don't care who buys them or why. For more information on finding a responsible rescue, click here:
What to look for in a reputable rescue

While we do have many puppy mill-type breeders in this area and Planned Pethood does get those dogs when they're dumped in local dog pounds, either because they've been replaced with different dogs or because they have health problems the breeder doesn't want to deal with, one of the bigger problems in this area are backyard breeders. These are people with a couple of purebred dogs (probably with AKC papers, which anyone with a purebred dog can acquire) who sell puppies for extra cash. These dogs are sold via newspaper ads or through the internet, with little or no screening, no follow-up or spay/neuter, and those dogs or the puppies they breed DO end up in local dog pounds all the time. I've heard people say only sick or aggressive dogs end up in dog pounds. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Over 6+ years of visiting local dog pounds on a regular basis, I have seen every breed you can find locally, most breeds many many times. Even rarer or harder to find dogs still end up on death row from time to time.

In summary, do your homework. Not only do you have to make sure the breed or dog you want is appropriate for your circumstances, you also need to make sure that who you get it from isn't a part of the problem. It's a lot to undertake but considering your dog will be a part of your life for 10-15 years, and especially considering the millions of dogs who are euthanized every year in this country, most for no other reason than they're "surplus," isn't that bit of extra effort worth it?

GO WASHINGTON STATE

Growing up in the Midwest I have always been an Ohio State Buckeye fan! Hang on Sloopy! The best dern band in the land...you get the picture. Now I am converted.

Kathryn Meurs, a veterinarian at Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine has identified the mutant gene responsible for Boxer Cardiomyopathy. This is an inherited electrical conduction defect that causes an irregular heartbeat. The heart is unable to pump blood efficiently causing side effects from fainting to sudden death. If a puppy receives the gene from just one parent, he or she can be affected. Even a boxer-mix can be effected (that is all me and my girl Stella). Anyway, a DNA test to screen for the gene is now available from WSU, costing approximately $60.00. So the long and short, hopefully breeders will responsibly acknowledge and use the test and most importantly, boxer pet owners can manage the disease.WSU College of Veterinary MedicineVeterinary Cardiac Genetics LabSee vetmed.wsu.edu/deptsVCGL/Boxer/test.aspx or call 509-335-6038.

--Jennifer Herbert

What is a breeder?

The definitions below were written by Marjorie Simon, relative of a volunteer. Ms. Simon is well known B/F for Brussels Griffon. Some additional information was added to Ms. Simon's explanation as it pertains to our local community.


What is a Breeder?

Breeder Fanciers (B/F) breed for one reason and that is to better the breed and to exhibit dogs in AKC shows and trials [in the efforts to gain comfirmation points]. B/F carefully screen their buyers and agree to buy back their dogs for the sales price if the dog doesn’t fit into the new home. They stand behind every dog they breed for the life of the dog. They test their breeding dogs for inheritable problems by using appropriate screening protocols. They breed primarily for themselves. You may have to wait several years in order to get a dog from a good B/F.
B/F would never sell to a third party like a pet shop where they never get to meet or interview the person buying their dog. They spay and neuter their pet quality pups before they sell them.
Backyard Breeders (BB) breed with the sole intention of selling dogs to make extra money. They do not test their breeding stock for inheritable problems. They usually have breeding pairs and sell their puppies on the internet and classified ads in the newspapers. They do not stand behind their dogs should problems come up. They have no history of their breeding lines, knowledge of breed type, breed in ignorance thus creating health problems and do not hold back puppies not meeting breed standards. Buyer beware!! They tell rescues that they don't have their animal spay/neutered because it's a purebreed. Many purebreed dogs you can purchase through the paper, Craig's List, etc do not have confirmation points or a Champion award.

Puppy Mill Breeders (PMB) supply pet shops with puppies. Pups are picked up by distributors from different puppy mills and are taken from their mothers at a very early age. They are then brought to a warehouse where they are inventoried and packed on trucks for delivery to pet shops or auctions. This brings them to the pet shops by the time they are seven or eight weeks old. Their survival rate is poor and their heath is compromised.
Some PMB specialize in only small breeds. They sell their pups at swap meets to anyone who will buy them. They advertise champions and some do show their dogs at isolated shows that usually don’t have any other of that breed in the competition. These BB or PMB will enter enough of their own dogs so there will be points to make one of their dogs a Champion. We use to call these ‘cheap champions’ but with the price of an entry fee it is not cheap to make a dog a champion this way. A Ch. in front of a dog’s name does not mean it is a well bred dog either does an AKC registration. Pet shops buy from PMB or BB.

Within the NW Ohio area there are "rescues" that purchase puppies at auction from PMB. They claim they have rescued the dog, but really they are supporting an industry. The price they charge is surprising, the animals are often ill and they are not spay or neutered.


Planned Pethood gets lots of purebreed dogs and cats. All those animals come from legitimate pounds and humane societies where the animal would have otherwise been put to sleep. We have reason to suspect many of the dogs in pounds are a PM's breeding stock that have been cast aside for whatever reason.

Instructions for washing a dog

So tonight, after inhaling the aroma from Kiera for almost 2 weeks now I decided it was time for a BATH. To say Kiera doesn't like bathes is to say Angus is a trite skittish.

Step by step instructions follow:

1. Gather supplies, you will need at least 2 large clean towels, shampoo and something to dip water with.
2. Start running nice warm water in the tub
3. Get Kiera (Huske-German Shepherd mix foster dog) into bathroom.
4. Close bathroom door to keep others out (Are you kidding? They won't come near the room with water running unless its ME in the tub!) and to keep Kiera IN.
5. Try to lift the 50-60lb dog into tub. She promptly gets rubber back legs that gracefully collapse into a very good lay down.
6. Try again. Again, the front legs go up but don't quite go INTO the tub, back legs collapse down. Gosh my back is starting to hurt!
7. With herculean effort we manage to get (her paws are splayed out at this point) the front feet into the tub! HOORAH!
8. Now the back and hindquarters get lifted in to tub. Did you know Kiera can make her back end weigh more then her front end? Well, she can!
9. At this point I am telling her she had best be grateful we aren't outside using the COLD water hose, but in a fairly clean tub with warm water! I don't think she's buying it.
10. Wet down the dog. Yeah, she loves that... NOT
11. Squeeze out a generous amount of shampoo onto said dog's back.
12. Rub briskly, may have to add more water as you go along to get a good lather. Move onto the sides, underbelly, legs, neck, head and tail. Oh yeah, she LOVES getting her ears washed.
13. Use more shampoo as required. The conditioning shampoos work nicely and smells much better then what ever was all over her.
14. Once we are done soaping the dog, begin the rinse procedure. Remember to keep pushing dog back into tub. A body blocking move is required here, just remember to stay in front of the dogs head to prevent escape.
15. With your dipping device, (now why the hell didn't I get something bigger then this little thing?) scoop water up and onto the dog, rinsing away the soap suds. Since the dog may have a thick coat (hell I wish I had that much hair) you will have to scoop enough times to get the soap out down to the skin. So why the heck did I use so much shampoo?
16. Once the dog is rinsed properly, get your bath mat out onto the floor so you can assist her onto it from the tub. Instead, she jumps out and promptly shakes all over everything. By this point I could be a fill in for the wet t-shirt contest, except for the fact I have a bra on because otherwise. . .er-umm. . . hang to the...well you get the idea.
17. Once the darling dog has shaken her self, clean off your glasses and find the towels, sit down on the ceramic floor you so lovingly laid last summer-OH CRAP there is a ton of water on the floor and you are sitting in it! Well you are wet already what's a bit more? Begin to vigorously wipe down the dog. Hmmm remember all that hair? Yep, takes a while. She is being very helpful at laying down like a good girl. Geesh, the bathroom is steamy!
18. Once you have the dog basically, partially, sort of dried off you carefully open the door to the rest of the house. At this point, Kiera bursts out of the bathroom and hauls hinny down the hall.
19. Empty the water from the tub, mop up the floor.
20. Head to living room to observe newly cleaned dog rubbing herself all over your couch. Right where I am about to sit. Did I mention she was still a trite wet?
21. She's resting now from her ordeal, I'm pouring a beverage and in just a few minutes I will jump up and clean the bathroom, then still sipping my beverage I will take a long soaking bath in the gleaming clean tub. And NO Kiera cannot have any of my wine!

-- Debbie Gring

Who's on the phone?

“My husband just left me and the kids, we have this dog that I just cannot keep right now. . . I don’t make enough money to keep the roof over our heads, just don’t know what we are going to do…this dog is wonderful (her voice breaks) we love him a lot, but just cannot keep him but we want to find him a good home . . . can you help?”

These calls are real, the circumstances are real. When people in the public call us at 419.826.FIXX (3499) they are prompted to leave a message. These are examples of calls from the FIXX line as retrived by our volunteers. FIXX line volunteers are part of the group of heros making up Planned Pethood.

“I have a cat that needs to be spay, I live on $500 a month and can’t afford it…can you help?”

These volunteers retrieve messages from our various mail boxes once a week on their assigned day.

“My vet says that you have a program where we can get our cat neuter done at a discounted rate…can you help?”

The FIXX line coordinator ensures each day is covered to assist with these calls. Often she fills in for someone who is away or ill. We have 1 volunteer for each day but several of them answer more than one line

“I’m really interested in one of the dogs on the website, but would like to know a little more information about her…can you help?”

Some calls are fun, like the people looking for a new pet. What a rewarding job to help them connect with their possible new best friend.

“We found a dog on the expressway just now, he seems really nice but we can’t keep him . . . can you help?” "We found a mama cat nursing a litter of kittens under a bush on our walk tonight . . . can you help?"

Sometimes the animals are unloved and unwanted, sometimes they are “problem children”, sometimes they are truly part of the family who for no fault of their own find themselves homeless.

"We adopted Sassy from you last year. Our house is in foreclosure and we have to move in with my mom who will not allow us to bring Sassy with us. We have to return Sassy back to Planned Pethood . . . can you help?"

We always take our animals back. Always.

The FIXX line volunteers laugh with callers, cry with callers and try to help them all. We are always in need of volunteers, if you are interested please contact debgring@gmail.com.

It feels good to help people even when it hurts- just listening and offering condolences, a bit of empathy, a laugh at a happy time, a tear at a sad time. It's all part of volunteering for an animal rescue organization. Somehow even at the end of the worst days possible, we know we helped. Won’t you help too? If doing telephones isn’t your thing, there are many other jobs that need to be done that don’t require fostering or even much time!