SKYE's story - the dog used to kill thousands of other dogs

First question....where is Skye? It's been 10 years since I wrote the emergency story about Skye and Milo, the two New York City shelter dogs entitiled  "A final kiss goodbye before Skye is killed in New York City Skye will die in New York City." 

Here is a reprint of my original story which was removed at the request of Rhonda Roland Shearer and Imedia Ethics - the Skye adopter whose efforts had me fired from Examiner.com. I had been writing articles in my column American Pit Bull Examiner for over 5 years which had resulted in countless thousands of dogs saved from death row shelters and other stressful and abuse situations. 

Take a look at the article I wrote posted below and ask yourself, should I have been fired for quoting the dates written on all of the Facebook urgent pleas for Skye and Milo? 

Skye and Milo article:

Skye and her brother Milo were together in their home since they were only 9 weeks old. Their lives were ripped apart when then owners left the brother and sister to die at the very high kill Manhattan, New York City shelter. 

Skye kisses her brother goodbye from FB thread Julie Carner UPDATE: Skye is safe and has been rescued by Amsterdog Rescue. Brother Milo is still in jeopardy. Please save Milo. Skye used to lay at her owner's feet to get attention, but now she lays on a cold cement floor waiting to die along with thousands of other unwanted pets in New York City. 

One volunteer wrote, "With the cutest little pink and tan nose on the planet, and wearing a gorgeously groomed caramel coat. She’s friendly, tail waggy and happy to be out for a walk, showing off her housetraining skills the moment we’re out the door." "Her leash manners are lovely, she lets me put a coat on her and after stopping to take some pictures we head into the backyard. Skye explored the pen, hopped up on the bench for some hugs and kisses, comes when I call her and checks out everything going on around her. Skye is a delight, easy to be with, friendly and gentle. A proven family dog." 

Over 9,000 pets per day are being killed in our nation. New York City shelter system which has received millions from Maddie's Fund has been accused of falsifying their numbers while innocent pets like Skye are been murdered every day of the year, 365 days, and even on Christmas day. 

"There is a group in NYC called the Mayor’s Alliance which was formed to pursue a grant to transform New York into a No Kill community. Despite their name they are not part of city government and have nothing to do with the Mayor. In 2005 they got that grant which continues today from an philanthropic organization called Maddie’s Fund, a foundation that provides grants to communities seeking to be No Kill. The original target to make New York City a No Kill community was 2008, that goal has since been extended to 2015." 

A last minute effort has been launched to try and save Skye. Please share her Facebook page. Skye rated perfect scores on all behavior assessment. This is consdered walking on water at this substandard excuse for a 'shelter'....please don't let Skye die. 

This article was based on tons of emergency posts about Skye and Milo, posts STILL currently running on Facebook. In fact, I was able to find 17 pages of this post which I've archived in a pdf file (see below.) Note: each of these and many other posts were made on the date the article was written - January 31, 2016. 



NOTE: these original posts were posted on 1/31/2016 when the article based on the posts was written. After Amsterdog and Rhonda Roland Shearer of Imedia Ethics began their attack the caveat "safe 1/30/2016" was added. This is important because their data does not reflect their claims.

I wrote the article to bring attention to a wonderful story about a brother and sister dog which had landed in a very high kill shelter.

After being fired by the Examiner, Imedia Ethics which still has their 'lip smacking' article on their website rejoiced in the removal of the entire American Pit Bull Examiner articles which, again, have been responsible for saving huge numbers of dogs. The Imedia Ethics article is filled with untruths and misprints of my original work, literally changing the wording of my piece to fit their agenda.

Since the takedown what has happened?

Rhonda Roland Shearer, Imedia Ethics owner and Sky adopter called Reunion Rescue board members and offered false information in a threatening manner. To date, no photos or progress reports on the dog Skye. Where is she? Whatever happened to Skye? 

Katie Kausch who was the original Imedia Ethics "reporter" falsified her credentials and tried to join Reunion Rescue's community group no longer employed by Imedia Ethics.

Amsterdog Rescue is still active in NYC even after posting untrue facts about Cindy Marabito and Reunion Rescue.

The hate groups who wrote lie-filled blogs to hurt pit bulls Craven Desires, Dogsbite.org and pit bull killer Merrit Clifton at Animals 24/7 are still going strong and recruiting other pit bull haters to join their effort to eradicate the breed. These groups tout the "work" of Imedia Ethics, Rhonda Shearer and Katie Kausch so our question is this. If you call yourself an animal advocate, how can you join forces with hate groups like the above mentioned? Is your own hate that great? 

What about me? I still write books and blogs, save dogs and other animals with Reunion Rescue and Animals First Rescue. I always ask people what do you get when you cross an elephant and a pit bull....me. It's no accident I rescue pit bulls and I have an incredible and long memory. 

Lastly, it's sad I cannot access the archive of American Pit Bull Examiner articles and share stories to help other dogs in need. The resources in these pieces are invaluable and would be able to help new rescue advocates in their fight to save dogs. Every penny ever earned from over five years of writing articles for American Pit Bull Examiner went toward saving dogs. Can any of these other entities who enjoyed the takedown of these efforts claim they have spent their salaries helping animals? 

Reunion Rescue's 3-step reactive dog rehab

Reunion Rescue has spent several decades saving dogs. Our work has led us up and down a rocky path, many times two forward and three back. But, we kept trying. A monumental breakthrough was in Raspberry's Story. Raspberry, as you will read in the blog, was a waggy-tail dog park dog being fostered by our tea guy at the old Steeping Room at the Domain. When he and his girlfriend had to leave town, Reunion stepped up to foster Raspberry. She immediately went into heat and was scheduled for a spay at Emancipet. They gave her a rabies shot and I picked up a dog who went from kissy face to going for the face in one afternoon.

This experience set off a year-long baptism of fire. I was in the process of writing Pit Bull Nation to which I credit sparing Raspberry's life. Previous to the book, I would have seriously considered putting her down. She was totally unadoptable. She went after everything that moved. I had to find out what had caused the drastic change in her behavior. We walked everywhere there weren't people or wildlife. Winter, summer, fall and spring.

Throughout this year I worked with an animal communicator and another person in the ac group who did emotion code work, something I'd never heard of. The AC person also practiced reiki on Raspberry. They worked on her for about 6 months, during which period, I found Doug the Dogwalker who'd helped a friend's dog. He really is a dog whisperer and agreed to assess Raspberry at his compound. On the way, I got a call from Linda the emotion code practitioner. She was very excited and had been talking with Jayne, the AC. They'd lit together on a product which treats rabies vaccinosis with zeolites. In Raspberry's case, the product we happened to have on hand was Waiora.

I turned the car around and headed back to my house to grab the Waiora. I dosed Raspberry and set back out for Doug's. By the time we arrived, Raspberry was a different dog. Jump to a Disney ending. Raspberry not only passed her assessment at Doug's with flying colors that day, but Doug ended up adopting her. She became head diva at the doggy day care which sometimes housed over 65 dogs!

So over the years, Reunion Rescue has encountered tons of reactive dogs. We get calls all the time to take someones' pet because they've "done everything" and "spent over $4000 on training." I'm scratching my head every time, because what kind of trainer hasn't figured out that they are dealing with a physical condition. Maybe sometime after they've collected $3k from the poor owner, they should re-evaluate.

I'm all for a great trainer and have endorsed several on Reunion Rescue's website. Sadly, I can count on one hand the trainers we trust our dogs to. We use Roman Gottfried who is a holistic dog trainer and can fix anything. The coolest thing about Roman's work is he endorses the same holistic support as Reunion Rescue...CBD oil, flower essences. He truly is a dog behavior scientist we and all our dogs trust.

So I've cooked up a 3-Step schedule to help anyone out there who is suffering reactive dog issues and would like to share it here:

3 Step Detox/reactive dog turnaround

1. We at Reunion Rescue believe most reactivity is caused by the harmful metals (mercury) injected by rabies vaccines.   Lyssin/Thuja homeopathy dose to detox from vaccines - see Health Page reunionrescue.com
Daily dose zeolites to remove toxins metals from body from vaccines - every day from now on.

2. Raw diet..also Health page reunionrescue.com - start very easy with organic ground turkey mixed into regular food to transition
CBD Dog Health ..also Health Page reunionrescue.com - they will consult and assess the correct and perfect cbd fir your pet..this is the only CBD company Reunion Rescue endorses and uses.
Botonical Animal also on health pagereunionrescue.com..they also do consults and have kits and singular essences we have used with much success- Devil Be Gone etc.

3. Then after a good detox, a good trainer. We use Roman Gottfried Holistic dog trainer who is in line with using cbd/flower essences/diet etc. Roman is also on our Links and Training pages reunionrescue.com

Our site is filled with solutions. The main aim at Reunion Rescue is to lower the number of companion animals being turned into high kill shelters, so many due to the huge costs at vet clinics. We have discovered so many holistic solutions with diet and supplements you can order on Amazon for a micrometer of vet costs.

We are always here to help. It is Reunion's passion to keep these pets out of the shelters. No question is too small and if you're on Facebook, we have a page devoted to helping people: Home Remedies to Heal Animals where if you've got questions, we've got answers.

Please follow the blog and also please sign up for the Reunion Rescue newsletter.

Foster homes save lives

 What do these four dogs have in common? It's not necessarily their breed, but a big clock ticking over their heads. As most of you know, I've been pulling dogs from Bakersfield for many years and placing in Bay Area forever homes...and my home dash refuge, too.

Check out the dogs below and let doggirl@reunionrescue.com know if you can short term foster or know someone who can. We will fund their food, care, treats and toys until a more long term option can be found. These are great dogs and begging for a last chance.

Thank you so much!!

Here are just a few of the wonderful adoptable family pets at Bakersfield shelter:

Lone Star Pet Vet takes care of your pets in the home

After years and years of terrible vet experiences, some detailed in my book Pit Bull Nation, Reunion Rescue has discovered a wonderful veterinarian, Dr. Kelly Breazeale who owns Lone Star Pet Vet.

Yesterday, Dr. Kelly and her partner and husband Jim came over and vaccinated, checked up and microchipped some of the dogs who'd been missed at the shelter. Here's the caveat. Most of your know about the abused dogs we help. Like LuLu, Mannie, Paolo and Cricket who came from a horrible Bakersfield cruelty case. And Wally who we think from his behavior was sexually abused repeatedly. In fact, all of our boys and girls here at Reunion are here because the needed a place to live their lives in safety where they know they'll never be hurt again.

I couldn't believe how gentle Jim and Dr. Kelly were with the animals. Like I said, I've had incompetent vets and doctors in my own life, so I know how it feels to have somebody poke on you and become irritated and short-tempered during an appointment. Dr. Breazeale is everything the opposite. Like have a good friendly neighbor you trust who just happens to have a veterinarian license. Can I say again how LONG I've waited to find a good vet I can trust these animals with?

Now, not to say there wasn't a little growling, but the one I was worried about the most, Mannie, went first. We muzzled everybody just to be on the safe side, but Mannie didn't growl once. She looked at me and I knew she was trying with all her heart to trust me. She was such a good girl. They all followed suit, LuLu, then Cricket and last from that bunch, Paolo. 

What's great about Dr. Breazeale and Lone Star Pet Vet is they come to the privacy and comfort of your own home. Can I tell you what a huge relief it is to know these dogs who've never known kindness and safety can get their medical needs and care right here at Reunion Rescue from loving, gentle people who GET animals. 

All of the dogs got to meet Dr. Breazeale and Jim, got their shots, exams and votes of good health with a minimum of annoyance. I'm sure they'd have preferred getting the ball tossed or a chew toy, but rest assured, everybody got lots of cookies and treats for being such good boys and girls. They all could probably stand to lose a couple of pounds, but I can't help but spoil them. My bad. 

Side note...Dr. Breazeale and Jim have a cattle dog (like Cracker Jack) for all ya'll Cracker Jack fans.

Lone Star Pet Vet offers the following services:

• Wellness Exams
• Routine Preventative Care
• Vaccinations
• Minor Medical Care
• Parasite Prevention
• Microchipping
• Pain Management
• Routine Diagnostic Testing
• Puppy and Kitten Care
• End of Life Care
• Prescription Medication

Thank you Dr. Breazeale and Jim for the fantastic visit and gentle, loving care for the Reunion Rescue dogs. We are your new biggest fans...see ya' next time!

Beginnings - the Bakersfield Four and Danny's video

Danny Spanks made this video entailing the story of the Bakersfield Four and their amazing rescue...

 

It's all about Ace

Ace's intake photo at Dogtown

I didn't rescue Ace. That was all on Angela Sera, my good friend and the executive director of Dogtown Ranch Sanctuary, Rescue & Rehab. Angela does some very good work. In fact, Dogtown Ranch is the last home on the block for many dogs saved from very high kill shelters. Both Angela and Reunion Rescue save California and Texas dogs. I never thought I'd see the day when California was worse off than Texas, but we have arrived, folks. It's a very sad situation.
Let's back up a little bit here. Reunion was founded in San Francisco, but we relocated back to Texas in 2005. However, I felt

Ace in California shelter

it was unfair to leave a void so continue to try and help out California dogs. Our website is also geared with the same training and health resources we've used for years to save lives. We can't save them all, but we can share easy to use and inexpensive techniques to help pet owners and fellow advocates, shelters and other rescue orgs. The goal is to get this information into the hands of the public and keep animals out of our overcrowded shelters.

Angela rescues on a much grander scale than Reunion. She has implemented a lot of the holistic practices into her own curriculum of which new rescue boy Ace is spotlighted in this blog. Ace arrived at Dogtown sick, depressed, shut down and full of fleas. He was an owner surrender and dumped in an extremely high kill shelter. Not going to mention the shelter, but all they sent along with Ace was one flea pill. He was misrepresented to Angela which caused a multitude of problems. Nobody let her know there was a bite on his record. This would've helped avoid many issues including how to set him up to begin his transition work at Dogtown. Angela is a trained and certified behaviorist and no newcomer to the rescue rodeo.

Ace had completely given up. His eyes, filled with despair, were glassed over. There was simply no way to communicate with Ace, a dog who'd turned himself off to human contact. That's when I got involved. When I saw those eyes, something inside me set off an alarm. Here was an animal who'd ceased wanting to live, who'd given up on life. Somewhere, somehow, somebody had stolen his hope. Anybody that doesn't believe dogs feel hope can look into Ace's first intake photo and reevaluate their opinion.

I sent Angela three items I use on all incoming PTSD dogs, Animal Relief, Emergency stock and CBD (each linked to our Health Page with item description and how the essences cure the body.) We'd already been through this with the Bakersfield 4 and the South Texas senior bait dogs, Floyd and Dino with great results. I'm a big believer in good dog training, but not until the body has been healed. You are basically throwing your money away, and believe me, I've been that route and am speaking from experience.

Ace does a turnaround

Patti received the gift of animal communication from Benny years ago when we pulled him from Turlock and she fostered him. He went from being a horribly abused dog to King of the Kompound at Doug the Dogwalker's spread where he spent a glorious life. Patti began a reading with Ace, but was immediately shut down. All he would acknowledge was he was done with all humans, including her. Patti is great at this work. I know, because every case has been spot on. She's helped cure so many animals of behavior and medical issues. Patti knew what to do...call on the Reunion guardians. These are beings who in some way or another have been associated with myself or with Reunion. The head honcho is Penny, my mother's dog she had for 23 years growing up. I never 'knew' Penny in the flesh as he passed on before I was born. Only recently have I found out Penny has been watching over me all these years. In fact, I'm writing a new book Penny and Me.

Ace opened up just a tiny little bit to the RR guardians. He needed White Willow Bark added to his food along with Arnica Montana, the homeopathy to address his inflammation. In addition to the healthy food he'd been getting since arriving at Dogtown thanks to Tomlinson's Lakeway and 2222. We believe that a good quality diet is responsible not only for the physical body, but also behavior issues. Amazingly, the guardians were right. Angela texted a photo the next day and you could see a remarkable change in Ace's demeanor. His eyes had hope. I'm not animal communicator, but I've seen enough shut down dogs to know what a turnaround looks like.

The RR guardians checked in daily to report Ace was opening up to their communications with him. They told him about Dogtown, about Reunion Rescue and how some people were good people and he was with the good ones now. He told them he was "cranky" from his "discomfort"...his words. The guardians stayed the course. They said they are "determined to help him" and added he was "decompressing." The also said he was "calmer tonight."

Before I could send the update messages to Angela, she sent new Ace photos and video. She moved him to a new area filled with lots of hay. He got a romp outside, with potty and lots of sniffing around. His neighbors Rottie on one side and Chunk on the other are new friends. Ace really likes Rottie. He played in the new sweet-smelling hay before bedding down last night. He is on the road to recovery, Ace is. And one more thing. He has a reason to get up in the morning. Ace has hope.

All about Wally - bad start but winning finish

Wally at the shelter - redlisted for behavior

Wally was pulled by Reunion Rescue back in September 2023. The shelter in Modesto had him red-listed as a pit bull soon to be exterminated due to fearful reaction. To their credit, a Stanislaus ACC employee brought Wally - he was known by another name in the shelter - into her office where he came alive and blossomed, so thankful for a little kindness and to be away from the noisiest clangiest part of the facility where animals were brought to their death nearly every hour.
I saw his TikTok created by a shelter volunteer with the story and couldn't get this little man out of my head. I knew he could flourish by using the Reunion Rescue resources we've trusted for years to save animals like Wally. First thing I did was contact Patti to get an animal communication reading. These conversations would go on over the next few months. Into the fray would pop other spirits from the afterworld who've helped Reunion pets over the years.
I had a big surprise this time. Various dogs would pop up from time to time. Pip from Bakersfield is a longtime guide who helps the new kid learn about Reunion and how they will be safe and never ever feel pain or cruelty again. Peanut from Alvin, Texas who'd wound up at the horror house Spindletop and ended up living his life with us until last year when he passed gently into the night from old age. But, the biggest surprise was Penny. Penny was my mother's dog who'd lived to be 23 years old. Even though he'd passed away

back in the 50's before I was born, the stories my mother would tell my sister and I about Penny were the bright spots in a dark dismal past. Penny told Patti that he'd been with me my whole life, watching over me. He told her about a tree I'd climb and sit after school, where he'd "be with me..." his words. These communications with Penny have opened up a whole new realm for me and I'm writing another book about Penny and all the rescues and animal communication that have saved me and a lot of animals. I have little Wally to thank for that.
So when Wally's time was up at the shelter, I was frantic. What could I do? There was no money in the Reunion bank account as usual. So like our Found a Pit Bull page suggests, I created a Gofundme and stayed up all night contacting anyone and everyone who'd ever donated to Reunion for the past two plus decades. That was a lot of bounced emails, but I was able to raise $775. With that amount, I was able to place a hold on Wally.
The volunteer who'd been so adamant about helping Wally had given me misinformation about how to collect the pledges. I'd been told the donations could not be accessed until a freedom photo of Wally in front of the Stanislaus shelter was taken and posted. I had nobody to pick Wally up and move him to the boarding facility, his only option. A last minute contact of that volunteer was good enough to retrieve Wally, but that's where the buck stopped. When I asked for a photo, no answer from the dude and a sound rebuff from the volunteer. When it came time to make good on the pledges, the volunteer only posted the Gofundme I'd set up rather than our Paypal, Venmo and website donation links as was the policy with all of the other rescue groups and last minute pulls from this shelter. What that translated to was Wally's funds only amounted to the $775 I'd collected on my own as the pledge donors saw the amount and figured that was plenty and their money was needed elsewhere for another dog in need.

Life is a carnival - only good things for Wally

What most people don't realize is upkeep for an animal is expensive. How costly you ask? The boarding and food was $850 a month. Wally was boarded for over four months along with pricey neutering.
And, he had no options. I finally in all that time had one longtime adopter willing to foster Wally. She had a pet rabbit and lived hours away from Modesto. We had to rabbit test Wally first. I posted on that same volunteer/pledge Facebook page and was shocked at the response. The same crowd who'd championed pulling Wally at the last minute were first to slam the request asking for someone who had a pet rabbit to agree to a very supervised intro with an experienced handler. Everybody seemed to have an opinion and none of them helpful. I was shocked to say the least.
My only option at this point was to transport Wally here to Texas. I'd just brought the Bakersfield 4 here and was over-full with pitties and dogs, not to mention cats and the birds. A full house but not in the poker hand sense. Like most things I do in rescue, it was a leap of faith. I'd deal with it when Wally got here.
The $500 transport put Wally at almost $5,000. Most people who don't get rescue would balk at this amount, but I knew I had to get Wally to me. I knew he needed me, but I had no idea just how much. The communications with Patti began to illuminate his awful past. Wally had a problem with men. First, the boarding facility owner, a guy, had to warm him up and that took some work. Then the transport driver, another guy, had some issues with Wally. When he got to us, he was not receptive to Scott, to say the least. It was growling, fear-based lunging and most of the reactive behavior seemed to be associated with his crate. I'd first had Wally in a plastic kennel, my crate of choice, but not being able to see everything around him seemed to activate his fearfulness. I changed him to a wire kennel and while not perfect, the adjustment seemed to improve matters somewhat. I addressed this with Patti and that was when I found out Wally had been horribly abused. When he got to the shelter, he weighed 33 pounds at a year and half. Someone, a man, had inflicted great cruelty upon Wally. I still don't know exactly what happened and really don't want to. Patti added, "and it was severe." That was enough. We did not want Wally to have to relive his past. It was time for him to have a new life and that's where me and Reunion went to work.

First, I was amazed when Scott pulled me aside and told me I could keep Wally here even though it put us way over the top

Scott refused to give up on Wally...check out the payoff!

with dogs. This when Wally was still barking, growling and reacting to Scott. This was big. I'd already begun the work to help him move past his trauma. Use of Animal Relief, the flower essences which help move past a horrible experience(s) 

For any abandoned animal, whether feral or residing in a relief shelter

• Any animal being adopted into a new home, or being given a new guardian or caretaker
• For loss of the primary caretaker due to death, divorce or changes in the family system
• During any time of significant travel or re-location to a new home or living space
• For any animal with a prior history of physical abuse, torture or abandonment
• For performance or work animals who are exploited, or valued only for monetary worth or reproduction value
• During times of prolonged illness, or extensive surgery; can be used in tandem or alternation with Magenta Self-Healer
• For any time of pronounced stress in the animal - such as the prolonged absence of the primary caretaker or environmental disruption due to any natural disaster. Can be used in alternation or in tandem with Post-Trauma Stabilizer

Emergency stock Australian Bush Flower Essence for medical help, this essence will provide comfort until treatment is available. Administer this remedy every hour or more frequently if necessary until the person feels better. It can also be used topically or mixed into a cream.

These items are listed on the Reunion Rescue Health Page published to help others - shelters, pet owners, fellow rescuers - or any animal lover who might be facing issues.
It wasn't overnight, but Wally began to show marked improvement. Another factor - also on the Health Page - is a great diet. The more raw meat that can be added to the diet, the better. There are some great dog trainers out there who refuse to train a dog not eating a raw diet. It's amazing what eating the food intended to maintain the body can do for the behavior, the peace of mind.
The icing on the cake was a big surprise. Wally was a ball dog and a half. He loves it. He's learned to fetch and retrieve from all the way up to the top deck down two flights of stairs to the backyard. Not since Peanut have I seen such a great ball dog. Wally could go for it all day. Since he was so proficient on the ball, I tried him on Frisbee and he took to it like a champ. By the first day he was jumping up into the air to catch it. Wally has the makings of a real Frisbee champ.
He is very treat oriented and wasn't too fond of raw chicken at first, but I began chopping up some raw thighs minus skin and bone and covered it in a gravy of high quality canned and some premium almost raw kibble. He snarfed it up. By the third or fourth try, he was eating bone and all like the other dogs. And you could see the marked improvement. I've fed enough abused dogs to notice the difference in a kibble-fed pet and a well-fed dog. The food choices are a solid element in our E.A.T.S. Empty All the Shelters program. If you want to help us launch this incredible plan, please subscribe to the Reunion Rescue newsletter.

Check out Wally first day with his Frisbee -