Life is Like a Box of Chocolates

Who knew that giving Journey the distemper shot would give her distemper?  We didn’t.

Who knew that Yogi had a cancerous tumor?  We didn’t.

After losing two beautiful dogs this week, who knew that Perry Como, who was recently adopted, would have a pancreatitis attack and be in critical care.

Who knew that Claire Bear would survive and be a normal, healthy, and happy girl?  Here’s the link to  her new happy video, included is the famous Aussie wiggle!

Who knew that Bart would become a very healthy and very big boy?

Yet we can not fix what we do not see.  

Several times our dogs have been adopted, and a medical condition appears that we were not aware of.  Clearly, we can not guarantee the health of all of our dogs.  In the case of Bonnie Blue,  After her adoption, a heart murmur was detected.  We were devastated.  We fully expected her new family to return her, but they didn’t.  Instead they are providing her with the medical attention she needs, and will love her even though her life will be cut short.  Their dedication is one example of our awesome adopters.

Allow me to go down a bunny trail for a moment!   Regardless of where your dog comes from, a breeder, shelter, rescue, craigslist, or from the side of the road – there are no guarantees.  If you want to be a dog-owner, you must be prepared for the unknown.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, should we recommend pet insurance for at least the first year after bringing your new dog home?  Maybe!

Recently, Annie the Poodle experienced complications.  She was adopted in 2011.  Annie developed serious heart-related issues.  Because her Mom had pet insurance, the thousands of dollars it cost to treat her – was covered.

Katie came to us pregnant, and when Lynne Deal whelped her puppies, we had no idea that many of them would be born with heart murmurs.  Again, devastating.

Yes, life is like a box of chocolates.

We want to thank all of you for your support and prayers, through the good times and the bad times!  I have to be honest, we are struggling financially.  The Hate Mail that we receive regarding our adoption fees still continues, and I’m at a loss as to how to explain to people why we can’t charge $50 like government-funded shelters do.  Yet most of our dogs come from these shelters.

It’s as if people do not want to reimburse my vet for the services we have provided for the dog.  I know I shouldn’t take it personally, but we can’t adopt out dogs for free.  We at least have to be reimbursed… and many times we are never reimbursed.  The healthy ones help pay for the ones we have lost.

Yogi cost us over $600, adoption fee $0, he passed away.

Claire Bear cost us over $1,500, adoption fee $350.

Remember Bartholomew?  His bills were over $1,600, adoption fee $400

We don’t have a final total for Journey yet, adoption fee $0, she passed away.

Here’s what owning a new dog might cost you:

Three boosters (one booster every other week) at $99 each = $297
Micro chip = $35
De-worming = $25
Spay at four months = $160
Rabies = $17
Total estimated vetting cost $533

Getting back on track now, do I have regrets?  No!  Would I do it again?  Yes!  When we rescue a dog we ballpark what each dog will cost us to rescue:

Here is our minimum:  Complete examination by veterinarian, heartworm test, parvo/distemper boosters, rabies shot, micro-chip, fecal, de-worming, grooming, spay/neuter.

When we overspend it leaves little left to rescue the next dog.

It may seem small to you, but every little surprise adds up.  If we rescue 5 dogs in one month, and one has a hernia that needs to be repaired, one needs ear medication for an ear infection, one needs a tooth extracted or a dental, and if just one has kennel cough, we just lost our reserve for the next group of dogs that are waiting to come to us.

I have to admit, our vetting standards are very high compared to others, but we are not going to lower them.  We could turn a blind eye to all of these minor issues, but we won’t.

In 2011, we rescued a beautiful Collie that we named Lady Victoria.  At first glance, she looked perfect.  Upon careful inspection, she had a lot of problems.

Loaded with crate sores, and heartworm positive, we were in for a big surprise when we found a nasty tumor on her belly.  Dr. Oliver assured me it was a fatty cell tumor, and it was not cancerous.  It was gross.  It was disgusting.  Once shaved, it was the size of an eggplant.  I couldn’t imagine wanting to rub her belly with such a large squishy mass.

Since she was going to be spayed anyway, I begged Dr. Oliver take that nasty thing off of her, and he did.  However, that was an expense that we were not prepared for.

 

We pride ourselves at rescuing these gorgeous animals and making them as brand new as possible.  We treat them all like they are purebred champions, AKC show dogs!

After Victoria’s surgery, our Dawn (who adopted Lady Priscilla) agreed to foster her, hoping that her Dad, Frank would adopt (we’re sneaky that way).

Dawn introduced the collie to Frank, and it was love at first sight.  After just a few short months, Lady Victoria (now Princess) was heartworm negative.

When I asked Dawn for an update, she reported that all was well, and that Lady Victoria loves to have her belly rubbed.  I let go a huge sigh of relief that I had that tumor removed!  Indeed she does!

There are a lot of things that we don’t have to do, but we are not going to change!

We need your support, your donations, and for the future dogs that we rescue, we will have to ask for sponsors – people who will donate and virtually foster.

There are so many ways you can help.  You can share the following fundraising campaigns with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest:

You can bookmark this Amazon Smile link (they share their profits with us) and use it every time you shop on Amazon.

Supporting The Dog Liberator can be as simple as sharing our passion with your friends and family through social media.

Again, thank you!