Dolly the Pit Bull

This is a story about a Pit Bull's struggle to survive and overcome society's negative stereotype and discrimination. Say no to BSL!! Please remember to spay and neuter your pets! And most importantly, PLEASE adopt a Pit Bull from your local shelter!!

Dolly now has a Facebook page. Please find her on FB at "Dolly the Pit Bull" for further updates on her success.

Canelo Back At the Vet--Again! Need Foster!

Canelo was coughing up a storm, so we took him back to the vet on Saturday.

We took another x-ray. The lungs looked OK. There was some consolidation and some bronchial changes but nothing to indicate why he's having problems exhaling. His cough is dry and hacking, and my vet said he could hear him wheezing across the room. So sad to see him cough his little lungs out like that!

My vet wanted to check if there was some kind of blockage around the trachea, which could be an easy repair. So poor Canelo had to spend the night--again--at the vet. This morning, Canelo was put under to examine the trachea. Unfortunately, it was wide open--no blockage here. So no easy fix.

The vet then added a bronchial dilator pill to the mix. He started Canelo on a lower dosage to build up tolerance and then we'll be upping the dosage in a few days. Let's hope this works. Keep your fingers crossed!

Canelo was released today. This bill was approximately $105. So far, the vet bills have totaled about $1,500--and still he's not well.

We need to do the BAL immediately, but we can't because we don't have the funds. We need to raise $1,200 to $1,800.

Canelo has to go to a specialist for this procedure. They'll put him under, take a sample from the lungs using brush cytology and then do a culture from the sample.

It's the only way we can find out why he's still coughing and wheezing up a storm.

Please go to http://crittersrescueonline.org/index.html to donate via PayPal.

And we still have no foster for him! He's now at our group's founder house, but she's having surgery in a few days and will not be able to look after him.

Canelo really is an easy dog to foster. He just needs to have his meds and that's about it.

Please email us at Dogs@CrittersRescue.com if you can foster.

Thank you all for caring about this special little boy.

Happy Tails for Duke!

Duke is one of these dogs that I just fell for the minute I saw him.

I fell for him, not only because he's a beautiful dog, but also because he's such a love bug. He really is one of the most loving dogs I've ever met.

Since I was the one transporting him from the kennel to our adoption events, this was our opportunity to bond. I'd pet him and rub his ears, and he'd sigh with happiness.

A family decided to foster-to-adopt Duke to make sure that he was going to get along with their cats. Well, he quickly became part of their family, so we did the official adoption yesterday.

When I came over to the house, Duke came over and sniffed me. It took him a few seconds, but then he recognized me and was as happy to see me and I was to see him.

Duke is doing well. He's put on weight, his coat is getting shinier and he is just so happy. He's part of a family and he's thriving, as evidenced by the photo above.

When I said goodbye, I had tears in my eyes--yes, out of happiness, but also because I was really going to miss Duke.

It's such a scary thought that if Critters in Need Pet Rescue hadn't rescued him from the shelter, he'd be dead. You see, we got him on his last day.

There are too many dogs out there that we can't save and rescue work can be disheartening. But it's happy endings like this that makes rescue worthwhile.

Nike Update

Little Nike is doing well at her foster home. She is like any puppy, playful and having fun. She also weighs around 12 lbs. to 14 lbs. now. So she sure has grown!

We're so happy that Nike is doing so well. She'll be able to go out into the world on October 22.

Here's a short video of Nike playing fetch.

Nike's Follow-Up Vet Visit!

Here's what her foster mom had to say:

Nike now weighs 6.6 pounds, so she's plumping up nicely (I even had to loosen her collar the other day)!

She got her first set of shots (2nd set to come in 3 weeks) and a deworming pill. The vet thought that she probably did have worms b/c of her very round tummy and she may need a 2nd pill when she goes back.

She got her first pedicure (those nails were getting long).

The vet thought she might be a lab mix, but he thought she could be mixed with something smaller and not get much above 15-20 pounds.

The thin fur on her belly they thought was probably because of her breed and not because of her parvo.

Overall the vet thought she looked great and like she'd never been sick. She's supposed to be lethargic from the shot, but she's been a wee maniac this morning, so she seems to be impervious to that side effect.

Check out the action shot of her jumping at the camera.

Nike's World

Nike was able to go to her foster home on Friday. When we picked her up, we noticed how bright and alert she looked. She was all cute and wiggly, like a puppy should be!

Thanks to all of you for your caring thoughts and donations--and of course, the vets at Garden Grove Dog & Cat Hospital!

This was what the foster wrote about her on Sunday:

Nike is a total lap puppy --it may be the lab in her. Awfully hard to get stuff done, but even harder to say no to that face.

She's doing better with the puppy pads today. We're more hit than miss, which is good progress. And she even pooped outside today.

Her appetite is great. She's eating all her food, so hopefully we'll get some puppy pudge on her.

She's very even-keeled. When she's outside and other dogs are barking or the neighbors pull in behind the fence and honk their horn, she doesn't react at all.

The kitties are starting to venture out a little bit more.

Marleigh sat on the other side of the kitchen gate and watched Nike for a little while yesterday and then later, last night, George did the same. Izzie's still not sure that venturing farther than peeking around the corner from the living room is safe.

Nike's really great when she sees them, though. She just quietly sits down and wags her tail and waits for them. So I think things are going well!

Good News!

Nike was given solid food yesterday and did well! She can go home today. However, we are in DESPERATE need of a foster which will accomplish three things: keep her safe, get the TLC she needs and stop the ever-climbing vet bill.

However, she cannot go to a home with dogs as she will be shedding the active virus for two months. I figure that a cat-person would be just the ticket to care for this little girl.

Nike will have to stay at the vet--at $85/day--until a foster can be found.

Please post on this blog if you can help!

Critters in Need Pet Rescue--what we do.

Critters in Need Pet Rescue is a non-profit volunteer organization based in Orange County, Calif. We are dedicated to saving the lives of abandoned dogs and finding them loving homes.

We have over 30 dogs available for adoption right now. We have both purebred and mixed breed dogs, small and large.

The photo is of our dog of the week, Jasper, a lovely cocker spaniel mix that we rescued from a high-kill shelter on the day he was due to be euthanized.

We also have dogs that need fosters, such as Gunner and Roxy, Star and Rusty. Please take a look at them on our website:

CrittersRescueOnline.org

Critters in Need Pet Rescue is always in need of volunteers and donations. Please contact us at Dogs@CrittersRescue.com if you wish to help.

One of our recent fosters wrote up a very lovely account of how fostering (and later adopting) Kona from us changed her life. In fact, she is currently fostering Jasper in the hopes that he will be added to their family.

Please click here to read her story.

Come visit our dogs at PetSmart, located on the northwest corner of Jamboree and Barranca in Tustin, on Saturday afternoons. Please click here for details.