Showing posts with label herbal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label herbal. Show all posts

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Reunion Rescue Dogs Need a Van!

We've been driving around in a 1998 Jeep Cherokee and it's been very dependable, but too small to carry our dogs to events and such.

Reunion Rescue is the world's only raw feeding holistic truly no-kill pit bull refuge. Many of our pups are ready for that forever home, but our old Cherokee can barely fit a few supplies to attend local animal loving events.

We would love to do more outreach around town to spread the word about holistic animal care. Our dogs are evidence of what good raw diet, herbal and homeopathic support can do. They want to share their good health and message with others.

Please help spread the word by sharing our link to raise funds for a van which could help us change the world one pit bull, or better yet, several pit bulls at a time!

http://www.youcaring.com/nonprofits/reunion-rescue-needs-a-van/59104

We really need a bigger set of wheels to help us carry out our mission, but we need your help. Please spread the word!

Visit Reunion Rescue online and be sure to check out all the dogs' Facebook pages on the Get Involved link.

Join Reunion Rescue Meet-up...you don't even have to leave your house or have a pit bull to join. Our members and friends are located all around the world and come to the meet up to celebrate life and pit bulls.

Thank you to everyone who's helped make Reunion Rescue known for the home of the world's friendliest pit bulls. Welcome to all our new friends who are just now hearing about our refuge and want to know more.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

LuLu and Nolan...a GREAT love story....

Nolan looking for love....
Nolan came to Reunion Rescue just barely missing having become yet another Spindletop victim. When we got Nolan, he weighed less than 70 pounds and was very sick. High heartworm positive among other maladies, Nolan has made a miraculous recovery.

Once he put some meat back on his bones, Nolan went to Doug's for lots of fresh air and exercise with the other dogs at the daycare. LuLu was abandoned at Doug's, but she was not sad for too long.

LuLu is a gorgeous GREAT Pyrenees and Nolan is a GREAT Dane/American Bulldog mix. These two have become best friends forever. The other day, LuLu had a much needed grooming appointment. Nolan spent the entire day looking for her.

What we've seen between LuLu and Nolan has prompted Reunion Rescue to only consider adopting Nolan and LuLu
LuLu and her Nolan...
together. They are large breed dogs, both with GREAT in their names. That's appropriate, because they are GREAT dogs.

Both dogs are raw fed, crate trained, mellow, super dog and people friendly and full, full, full of love.

LuLu and Nolan have a Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nolans-Rescue-Page/174957495973999?fref=ts

If you want to learn more about our incredible program, check out www.reunionrescue.com namely the Health Page.

Nolan and LuLu are available for adoption...together! Both are linked to our website.

Imagine sharing your world with these two lovebugs where every minute of every day is a joyful one.

Always happy...

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

A Facebook page for every dog

It's been a busy time at Reunion Rescue No Kill Refuge. It took some doing, but in between feedings, walkings, freezing pumpkin bones and other chores, each doggie has his own or shared Facebook page.

Please take a minute to share with your networks and like our guys! Most of these precious dogs have never had a friend before coming to Reunion.

BeBe loves to watch old movies...and she's our star.
BeBe used to be Batgirl and was the first of our Spindletop refugees to make her way to safety. She is thriving and doing great on her raw food diet and herbal support. Looking way forward to getting some volunteer help and entering BeBe and some of the others in obedience classes.

BeBe (a.k.a. Batgirl) Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/For-the-Love-of-Batgirl/179774255405090?ref=ts&fref=ts

Angel before he went Yankee on us....
Angel was the first one to go. We got him back from Spindletop and talk about bounce back! He was ready and raring to travel all the way to Minnesota to be with Barbara and Ms. Murmur who was adopted almost four years ago from Reunion Rescue.

Angel who is now called Hub Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Angels-new-home/176244839175242?ref=ts&fref=ts

Amber..the love of my life...
Amber is doing wonderfully. We've kept her original page in memory of Stella who was rescued with Amber and died tragically at Spindletop. Whatever joy can be brought into Amber's world helps to honor Stella and move forward to a better place.

Amber's Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Help-Amber-and-Stella-abused-in-Houston/137819022958959?ref=ts&fref=ts

Nolan chillin' at doggy day care...
Nolan was another abuse case who came within a hair's distance of winding up at Spindletop. Although Leah Purcell actually collected hundreds and hundreds of dollars for him, his transporter got wind of the raid and turned the car around.

Nolan is safely with Reunion Rescue and has gained almost 30 pounds...he is looking gorgeous!

Nolan's Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nolans-Rescue-Page/174957495973999?fref=ts

Peanut on the trail!
Peanut was pulled illegally from Alvin Animal Control by Purcell under Reunion Rescue's 501(c)(3). We heard about this after the raid and seizure. Peanut used to be Feo...and who could name a cutie pie like him a word meaning 'ugly?'

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Peanuts-Page/452948948111371?ref=ts&fref=ts

After we got all the Spindletop refugees safe and on the road to recovery, it was time to bring our California dogs to Texas.
William is all smiles!

William was tortured, starved to bones, thrown on a lit grill and drug behind a truck before being dumped at one of the worst shelters in the U.S. Stockton. He is loving Texas and hits the trail on a daily basis.

William's Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Williams-Page/174863255994426?ref=ts&fref=ts
Vinny and Guido..best friends for life!

Last, but certainly not least, Vicente and Guido share a page just like their close friendship. Vicente came from Marin Humane Society who wanted to euthanize him due to 'human aggression.' Boy, we'd like to meet THAT human! This boy is about as loverboy as they get. Still scratching our heads over that assessment.

Guido came from Wasco and is all about the love. You literally have to peel him off to get him to go on a walk! He will sit and love you all day long if you give him half the chance.

Vinny and Guido's Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vinny-and-Guido/126643237518249?ref=ts&fref=ts


Please take a minute to 'like' our pages on Facebook. One thing you can say about the dogs at Reunion Rescue and it's been said about a million times before....we really are the 'home of the world's friendliest pit bulls!'

Thursday, January 31, 2013

The herbal pit bull

Every day, I get hundreds of emails regarding pit bulls and other animals with or without issues being put to sleep. To somebody like myself, this news is sheer insanity! Imagine hearing the same issues over and over and over with remedy and solutions so close within reach.

Let's take the story of BeBe for instance. BeBe was previously Batgirl, beaten severely with a baseball bat  and sentenced to die at Town Lake Shelter in Austin.

I adopted her personally, not being a partner with Town Lake now known as Austin Animal Center. At the time, Reunion was full and I had to board BeBe at what I believed to be a reputable pit bull facility, Spindletop.

A year and a half later, Spindletop was raided and I was lucky enough to get BeBe back. She was ten times worse than the dog I'd entrusted to them.

I've long been using the products from Robert McDowell Herbal Treatments to support various issues in the dogs and cats we've rescued over the years. We've treated issues from kidney failure to parasites with great success. It finally dawned on me to try herbal support for behavioral issues.

One thing Reunion Rescue does with every pulled animal is an immediate detox. Most domestic pets are extremely over-vaccinated. The longer I am involved with pulling these shelter animals, the more I'm convinced that most if not all problems stem from vaccine. What the average Joe doesn't know is a domestic pet who's received one vaccine has a 1 in 800,000 chance of contracting rabies. Never in history has rabies shown up in a pet who's received two vaccines. Then why on earth are we vaccinating our pets year after year after year? Again, insanity!

I'd learned Bebe's herbal tinctures had been thrown out by the proprietress of Spindletop, so when BeBe arrived here at Reunion Rescue No Kill Refuge, she went through a complete detox and began on Australian Bush Flower Essences Emergency.

Vicente and Guido naptime
I contacted the wonderful people at Robert McDowell Herbal Treatments who gave BeBe remedy and tincture specific to her needs. Along with a healthy raw meat diet, BeBe slowly, but surely began to change.

BeBe sustained severe damage to her head from the baseball bat beatings. In addition, we'd learned she had been abused and kicked repeatedly in her head with steel toed working boots. She suffered from headaches and her vision in the left eye had been compromised.

In addition to her daily tincture, she was dosed homeopathically. The remedy selected for BeBe worked! She was pain free in a little over a week and the homeopathy remedy was halted.

When BeBe arrived here, she couldn't sleep through the night. She woke up with night terrors and would screech over and over until she could be calmed enough to resume her sleep. Today's BeBe is a totally different dog. She smiles. She is a happy dog. She loves to play and dig. She loves her chews. She loves training and to sit for her cookie.

Imagine if pet owners used flower essences for their 'problem' pets. Imagine if the nation's shelters were to simply drop some Australian Bush Emergency essences into the daily water bowl. The shelter animals would be calm and not barking hysterically when potential adopters walk through the kennels.

More pet owners would keep their pets. Shelter adoptions would increase.

BeBe's problems were some of the worst I've encountered in all my years in rescue. There were some moments when I thought BeBe was not going to ever get better. She taught me to not give up on her and what a blessing she has been. She has taught me a lot about dogs, about animal behavior and mostly about love.

Peanut, William and Guido are also receiving daily tinctures from Robert McDowell. Although their problems were not nearly so severe as BeBe's, they each needed something to help their confidence and  help them smoothly segue into the life of just being dogs.

Each day, I'm more and more amazed at the sparkle I'm seeing in the eyes of these animals. One of the main complaints I hear is the old 'I don't have the time for ....' routine. I have a refuge full of pit bulls, each crated with a job to do and routine yard time each day. I've spent the greater part of my rescue life trying to explain to people their dogs want to be with them, not sequestered out in the backyard.

None of the dogs here at Reunion Rescue No Kill Refuge are 'problem' dogs. After a couple of days on raw meat diet, some herbal support and detox, every dog has settled into a routine. In fact, dogs which had come to me severely over-crated and stressed, run to get inside their crates! The reason is because they have a job to do in the crate.

Each time a dog returns to his or her crate, there is something new and fun to do. Whether it's a frozen marrow bone or one which has been re-frozen with cottage cheese and pumpkin, a rawhide or weiner-stuffed Kong, there is a surprise waiting for them.

They feel safe and confident in their crates and to most of these dogs, this is quite a foreign experience. These dogs have been mistreated and abused. We've tried to simulate the wild as much as possible through diet and habitat, but mostly, first and foremost, we let them each know they are extremely special and very much loved beings.

Most of the pets people contact me about are not such severe abuse cases, but simply dogs who once past the puppy stage, have become bored and problematic for their stressed owners. The very easy and simple resources on our website can fix any dog.


Wednesday, January 23, 2013

The story of Batgirl’s rescue: a long road to recovery


Batgirl at Town Lake ACC

The story of Batgirl has gained national attention over the past two years in bringing awareness to animal abuse, hoarding and cruelty.

Batgirl was beaten with a baseball bat and sentenced to die in Austin at the former animal intake facility, Town Lake Shelter.


American Pit Bull Examiner and National Dog Examiner wrote several pieces about Batgirl, but no one stepped forward to save her.



On my birthday, April 26, 2011, I couldn’t stand the thought of losing this precious dog. I drove down to Town Lake and adopted her privately as Reunion Rescue is not an Austin ACC partner.

On her way to Spindletop
What followed over the next two years is a story even worse that what Batgirl had experienced and covered in the articles.

Like many others in rescue, we believed in the longtime rehabilitation work being done at Spindletop outside Conroe, Texas and arranged to bring Batgirl there for boarding and intensive rehab work with the ‘professionals.’

What followed was like something from a horror movie. On July 17, 2012, Spindletop was raided and almost 300 dogs were confiscated. Luckily, Batgirl was one of the survivors.


Batgirl is now called BeBe and still updated regularly on Pit Bulls and Other Animals blog and her Facebook page, For the Love of Batgirl.

We are trying to put the sparkle back in BeBe's eyes

When BeBe arrived last summer, she was a completely different dog than the one entrusted to Spindletop. She had even more scarring over her body and had literally been driven insane.

Her daily heartworm treatments had been discarded by the proprietor of Spindletop, so she is also in the throes of high heartworm infestation. Her cranium has been fractured from years of abuse and needs to be medically addressed.

BeBe learning how to heal

After months of herbal and homeopathic support, BeBe is recovering, but needs a conventional heartworm cure and other veterinary treatment.

Reunion Rescue has committed to BeBe for the rest of her life, but BeBe needs help. We are reaching out to her followers. Please consider sharing BeBe’s story and consider a small donation toward her care by visiting http:www.reunionrescue.com and click on the Paypal donate button.

All donations go 100% toward BeBe’s care and are tax deductible under Reunion Rescue’s 501©(3) charitable non profit federal entity.

Thank you for helping BeBe and please keep up with her progress on this website, Pit Bulls and Other Animals.


Sunday, September 9, 2012

Good mornin' pit bulls!

Sunday morning comes early here at Reunion Rescue No-Kill Refuge. First, BeBe wakes up at 5:45 for her morning heartworm and calming herbal meatball. She has a romp in the yard and settles in for some Kong time and chewing.

Next, Peanut has his transition breakfast. He has been through so much at Spindletop, the holding center and boarding until arriving here. His stomach is upset and due to so many foods, we had a hard time finding anything he could keep down. After trying everything from the old school boiled chicken, broth, white rice and cottage cheese to a quality kibble, he finally showed some interested in canned wet cat food. Even though we feed raw, Peanut needed calories and the only way to get those calories into him was cat food.

Amber
He's moved over to high quality puppy food kibble mixed with broth and cooked chicken along with his herbal supplements, Waiora detox and a little yogurt.  He'll be a candidate for raw soon, but not right away. His little system is simply too stressed right now. Until then, we are leveling the playground with lots of Australian Bush Flower Essence Emergency and slippery elm. He will also need his own special Robert McDowell herbal treatment specific to his body and make-up.

We had a major breakthrough today, though. Since he's been here, Peanut has been very timid and growly when approached by another dog. Today, I put him in the smaller day enclosure after his ball-time in the yard.

Peanut
After Amber sniffed around the flowers and watched a butterfly, she was ready for Kong-time in the big enclosure.  I placed her in the outer segment while encouraging Peanut to remain calm. Both dogs enjoyed a couple of hours downtime in the outdoor enclosures with no growling or barking.

This was huge. In fact, it was easier to arrange these two in the crated area than it was to try and upload their photos side-by-side in this blog. It just wasn't going to happen.

Peanut is like so many dogs in shelters, timid and unsure. He was most likely taken from his litter way too early and for whatever reason, wound up at the city of Alvin Animal Shelter. This little shelter is high-kill, but they have one shining attribute in a volunteer named Julia.

Thanks to Julia, Peanut was pulled when I wrote an article about him last December. His name was Feo at the time which means 'ugly' in Spanish. We tried out Mr. Peabody for the Bullwinkle character, a dog who had his own adopted boy, Sherman. Mr. Peabody just wasn't a fit, but Peanut does seem to work. He is a little Peanut, ready for a a new beginning.

Nolan
Nolan chowed down on his big Texas breakfast, our version of the old breeder show dog trick, satin balls. I swear he's putting on weight like a champ.

He looks so much better than he did when I wrote the article about him in June. He's only been here a little over a week and is showing drastic improvement. It's amazing to me that Nolan received treatment from three vets including overnights totalling almost $2K in vet care.

With all the sonograms, x-rays, biopsies and so on, I pulled a nasty huge engorged tick from the front of his chest. The tick had been there all the while as it was filled with a thickened black goo the consistency of Texas tar.

Growing up in east Texas, I spent my early years pulling ticks off dogs, so I'm quite familiar with the signs of a long-term unwanted visitor. My question is how that huge parasite managed to go unnoticed by all those vets? I bet they wouldn't have missed an unsightly error on one of their multiple estimates.

BeBe
BeBe with all her issues, always manages to lift my mood. She has so much to overcome, but her joy of life is going to win. She loves to play ball and roll over in the grass. She is a digger and a food-ie which makes for a fun way to whip life's challenges. My money is on BeBe. I think she is going to win out and surprise us all. Raspberry defeated her demons and I have full faith BeBe can come out on top, too.