Today, Pip and I had a joyful experience. I've been slighting her of late. I was sick with a sinus infection and couldn't walk her for one week. She was the trouper she has always been, though. She is a survivor, that Pip.
We started off on our 3 mile hike. It was about 90 degrees and we both began to pant and sweat. I knew the walk was going to be special when Emmylou and Mark Knopfler aired on the radio singing This is Us.
We began to make up our own words. Whenever I hear a song with a special meaning, I always think of the dog and those songs. I tributed the dogs in my book with their special songs.
We heard Dignity by Bob Dylan today and then God's Winged Horse by Buddy and Julie Miller.
For a horsehead girl like Pip, I will always think of her when I hear this song. I remember those old nights I used to work in the sweat and the beer at that old club on East Riverside, the Back Room. I remember Julie and Buddy Miller playing there on Monday nights.
I feel blessed to have heard their sweet music and I feel blessed to know Pip.
I have been so busy, I haven't even had a chance to blog haha. It's important, though, to note what is going on in the rescue community.
I am trying to write the Examiner articles every day. I believe that it's important to get the word out there. There are pit bulls and other animals dying daily in our shelters. I think it's important to convince others to write about this situation. The more people who write, the more the message will spread.
Today, I wrote about the Hayden Law and another article about Peaches and Tiger, two pit bulls who are at the Lancaster shelter. A family cannot get their dogs back, because the impound fees total over $500. This is a direct case of too much government control and not enough support.
These dogs probably had a decent home and were doing just fine, but now are languishing in a high kill facility, the clock ticking.
Luckily, Sheilah at Mutt Match is heading up the movement to get them some donations and hopefully interest an accredited rescue group to take them.
The other article I wrote was about the Hayden Law. It seems some of these shelters are taking the law into their own hands...literally.
A year ago, Lt. Orman at the Antioch shelter killed two pet dogs. Why, because he could. The man, like the owners of Tiger and Peaches, begged the shelter to return his dogs. Turned out, he was a neighbor to the animal control supervisor at Antioch and she did not want the dogs returned. A 501(c)(3) stepped forward to take the dogs and was turned down, the dogs killed. This is in direct violation of the Hayden Act.
We are in deep trouble when an appointed official can disregard the law. Period.
Hey, ya'll...here we are...all trained, happy, joyful, raw-fed, homeopathically treated and did we mention WONDERFUL????
We need homes! Can ya'll please let people know where they can find a new companion animal who's already ready to go? We are very nice pit bulls....really!
All of us were pulled from high kill shelters. If you or a friend considers fostering to adopt one of us, guess what? Another pit bull can be saved..that's how it works.
Take a look...no, a better look than that...come on...look good and hard. We need homes and we need you to get the word out so we can find our foster to adopt home and get started living the good life we keep hearing about.
ALSO...we need donations to help feed us and pay for boarding..if you can spare a buck or two, please donate!
You can go to the Reunion Rescue website and donate via the paypal button. We are kinda broke, 'cause all the donations go to the dogs..not to salaries or calendars.
My new glasses were too strong..I wasn't even going to get glasses, but opened up the dryer door and hit myself in the head. My poor glasses which were on their last legs flew across the room, 1/2 one way and 1/2 the other way.
I tried to tape them together with electrical tape, but immediately got a headache due to offsetting my vision. I went to Lenscrafters and had to get my eyes re-examined since my last one was over three years ago. They upped my perscription and I got new glasses, but had that headache for the next few days.
We were treated to tickets to see John Mellencamp and all I can remember is how blurry he was and how bad my head hurt. I finally went back today to change the perscription and can already tell a difference.
It really hurt to write at the computer, so I cut back on the blogging, but kept up with the articles.
I wrote one Sunday on debunking the pit bull myth:
I am so committed to writing these articles. It feels to me as if I miss writing an article a day, I'm missing an opportunity to help save a life.
In the article today about networking is the story of two dogs and the people who try to save lives by tirelessly networking through Facebook and email lists.
Onyx was euthanized and Roxy is going into rescue. This is the nature of the beast of rescue work. There is no payoff, at least for the truehearted. The Best Friends and huge groups who label their work as 'education' and 'outreach' are never ever seen on these lists. Occasionally, there will be an automated response. One funny day, a founder of a pit bull group actually responded and asked to be removed from rescue.
I had to laugh. I thought they'd been removed from rescue years ago.
I made a big old pot of spaghetti and ate like a pig. Then, I went to spend some time with the kittens..who are huge now at almost a year. I expect they'll be one year old June 2. They love the smell of spaghetti and licked my mouth with their little sandpaper tongues.
Today was rather uneventful...for me, anyway. Still trying to get my Facebook landing pages in order so I can begin to fundraise for the pitties. I would imagine they like spaghetti, too.
My spot on KEYE was cancelled...oh, well. I guess TV will be boring tomorrow.
Cassie at two
So many dogs need out right now. They're pulling in Devore and begging people to take. Where are all the adopters? It's such a rotten time and people are still buying dogs and cats. Gross.
Here is a photo of Cassie when she was two. What a beautiful girl.
Amazing what the right diet all of her life might have done. Cassie was about 11 when she passed away. She was lovingly cared for by Doug. He'd managed to get her on a complete raw diet and nursed her through the loss of her hind region and kidney failure.
I believe all disease and behavior is caused by diet and vaccine. Cassie would probably still be alive and walking around even had Doug gotten to her sooner.
I do know she passed away magnificently. Clare did a communication with Cassie upon her passing:
Bless her - she says she got enough strength back to finish her work here on earth, and then got very exhausted very quickly and just decided to quit fighting. She got fed up with "scrabbling to keep my paws on the earth, clinging on with my toes till they cramped.
"It felt like such a relief to relax my toes, then my feet, then eventually my whole body....just relaxed everything and then drifted away with no struggle at all. What on earth was I hanging on so desperately for?
Cassie
This is a breeze! Lighter than air and happy as a dream, carried away on a whisper."
The heavy frontal headaches lifted immediately and there is a lightness in her eyes, with no pain behind them.
"I'm sorry I was a bit of a moaner, a grumbler towards the end, It was the pain, and the effort of hanging on, the tight grip that became bigger than the will to live. I'm smiling now, smiling from ear to ear, whirling around you all from one to the other, one last big lick before I go. I can run with the others now, and it feels so free..."
She says to feel for the sensation like a breeze on the skin when there shouldn't be one (indoors, or on a still day) it will be her, brushing past one last time.
Lovely girl, blessings her way, but she really doesn't need them -
she's a Good Dog, who lived a Good Life, and is now as happy as can be!
Raspberry lived with me for over a year. She is the third to last chapter of Pit Bull Nation, the book about my 12 plus years rescuing pit bulls and other animals. In fact, Raspberry's story is significant in that she taught me all about rabies vaccinosis. This has become key to the very core mission of my work and Reunion Rescue itself.
In short, Raspberry was saved by a regular person who worked in the shop where I bought my tea. Brian and his girlfriend fostered Raspberry for three months allowing her to roam freely with their small terrier. Brian would let Raspberry run alongside his bicycle as he rode through town and ending up at the dog park where Raspberry was friendly with every person and dog she met.
Raspberry and Doug
When Brian and his girlfriend had to leave for vacation, Raspberry had nowhere to go. I volunteered to let her stay with me as my recent foster dog, Joe, had been adopted. The minute Raspberry settled in, she went into heat.
I scheduled a spay appointment and took her in the next morning. The dog I picked up that afternoon in no way resembled the Raspberry I'd dropped off. She was guarded and skittish. I blamed the surgery and drugs, but that night she went for my husband's face.
I'd never seen such aggression in all my years of rescue. What started that day was a year long trudge to hell and back. To be honest, I probably would have failed to make that journey had I not been finishing Pit Bull Nation.
First, Raspberry had to be quarantined as dogs spayed during the heat cycle still attract intact males. Should the dog be mounted, it can result in death.
She got no exercise that first couple of months. I had several AC, animal communications, performed on her since that first night when she returned from her rabies shot and spay. I learned that she loved the color red and wanted a red collar and blankie. She loved stuffed toys, so I brought all these things home for her. Her excitement that night when I came in the door with those items was sheer delight. It was much like the joy one experiences when their previously kibble fed dog first encounters a raw meal. It's like, 'you get it! You get what I need. Now you know what I'm talking about.'
Raspberry went into a long dillution/succussion homeopathic protocol. This here rabies vaccinosis was some serious and severe stuff. I began to study and what I learned was horrifying. My Nutrition Page on the Reunion Rescue website began to resemble a Dr. Bronner's soap bottle. It became my passion to share this information with other unsuspecting pet owners.
More and more calls and emails began arriving which described not only the same aggressive symptoms as I was experiencing with Raspberry, but about other issues, issues like skin tags and lipoma tumors which are derivative of over-vaccination. I began to read about dogs who were perfect at the shelter or home and then began to exhibit immediate and strange reactions such as obsessive wood chewing or fear of shiny objects. Pip, who's here with me now and took Raspberry's place in the music room, experienced a huge reaction to her vaccines in this regard. She was temporarily fostered to a woman who had a house filled with antique mirrors. Poor Pip about went through the rooftop.
After a year of walking Raspberry in a gated community and the only place I could find which observed leash laws, I began to notice the slightest difference. We'd attended three different dog obedience classes including one local extraordinaire which asked us to leave. They were afraid of Raspberry. That group left us $400 poorer, but was responsible for the Kong document on our training page, Junior's Page.
Enter, Linda DesMarais, dog trainer and certified emotion code practitioner. Linda began working with Raspberry with the help of Jayne Athey and her amazing reiki work. What followed afterward is nothing short of a miracle. The story of Raspberry's amazing journey is not only documented in Pit Bull Nation, but in Raspberry's testimonial on Linda's site.
Raspberry and I met Doug, the amazing real life dog whisperer, where the work with Raspberry was put to the test. After the final and main ingredient, Waiora Cellular Defense, was administered, Raspberry passed the human test with Doug and met the fifty some odd dogs at his daycare and boarding facility that Saturday.
The silver lining in Raspberry's story is her adoption by Doug. In the state of Texas, every dog, sick or old, over or even vaccinated only once, must have yearly vaccines. Raspberry was forced to undergo another rabies vaccine, but was immediately put on the Waiora protocol. Thanks to Raspberry, we are reaching out to all those other innocent animals who must undergo horrible vaccines. I recently became a distributor for Waiora, not to make my next million, but in order to buy the product at half price..that's about $11 per dog. To me, to Reunion Rescue and all those other animals we are trying to outreach and help, that is pretty cheap insurance.
Imagine being able to talk those people who are about to leave their family pet at the shelter and mention our protocol. With a few simple suggestions and a cheap healthy diet, I'm seeing over a 50% success rate in the phone calls and emails I receive on a daily basis from around the country. And all this thanks to Raspberry.
Just like the fruit, a little bit sweet and a little bit tangy, Raspberry has a naughty side. She has figured out a way to wiggle her wiggle butt out of Doug's compound. Raspberry has been sneaking out and taking along some of her daycare friends. Just today, she did it again and talked some poor unsuspecting old boy to run along with her...just like a female, right?
Doug has resolved not to trust Razz again and is hard at work building his new fence which should be in place by summer. Sorry, Razz, but your roaming days are just about over.
Raspberry's and my song...we used to listen to it when we came home from dog training..just her and me against the world ...
After the Peninsula Humane Society's "veterinary vice president' over vaccinated a dog recently..and knowing Darla had just JUST received a vaccination at Martinez has my panties in a huge wad. Ok, so I wear big panties.
This place, like so many others, is over-vaccinating and over-vaccinating sick dogs. This is wrong and must stop at once. Just because you have a fancy shmancy zip code does NOT give you the right to hurt animals.
Dr. Ronald D. Schultz, Ph.D. "Annual revaccination provides no benefit and may increase the risk for adverse reactions. The percentage of vaccinated animals (those vaccinated only as puppies) protected from clinical disease after challenge with canine distemper virus, canine parvovirus and canine adenovirus in the study was greater than 95%." Current and Future Canine and Feline Vaccination Programs. Dr. Ronald Schultz is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Pathobiological Sciences at the School of Veterinary Medicine, UW-Madison. Schultz, R.D. - Current and Future Canine and Feline Vaccination Programs
This is the same place that REFUSED to do a wellness check on our dog, Arthur, who is suspected of being used for animal experimentations. Ken White, the overpaid director of PHS actually laughed on the phone at my request for a visit to the animal experimenter's home where Arthur was fostered.
Here is a recent Yelp article about a sweet dog who was euthanized due to a ruptured skin tumor!
NOTE: these skin tumors are common among over-vaccinated animals....something all pet owners/guardians should be made aware of as well as so called "humane" societies and shelters. To vaccinate an animal when that animal has received a vaccine within a year is criminal.
I had the worst experience with Veterinarian Renee Fenty on Saturday, March 19, 2011 when I brought my beautiful Border Collie Bernese, Sierra, in due to a ruptured skin tumor on her back which she ruptured rolling on her back.
When the tumor was examined a year ago, the vet I took her to said it appeared to be a lipoma but it was also much smaller then. Since this vet wasn't open, a friend took us to Veterinary Specialists of the Valley.
My first impression of Fenty wasn't positive. She was speaking so slowly and her voice was grating. She showed no emotion when she came back into the examining room to tell me that Sierra is old and she could do an ultrasound and blood workup, but since she hasn't been able to walk for a couple of months, the tumor is cancerous and it has probably spread...ALL SPECULATION WITH NO CONCLUSIVE SCIENTIFIC PROOF THAT TESTS WOULD HAVE PROVIDED.
She said the tumor was necrotic and would have to be removed, but only on the condition that I pay $5,800 or 75% of the $7,800 estimate up front. I couldn't believe. First, I didn't know anything about her or her skills (she has been a vet five years) and her interpersonal skills are sorely lacking, no compassion, empathy or concern for either the pet or pet's guardian. She had the nerve to say when I said, "we can pay the $1,100 for the diagnostic testing," to which she responded,
"I think that would be a waste of money when that money could be used to save a two-month old puppy with parvo who could have a longer life future."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This is my beloved pet you're comparing to a two-month-old puppy with parvo that isn't even in the picture here. What an unkind thing to say.
Then, my friend called a few rescue friends and told her the vet was saying if we transferred her to another vet for another opinion, the tumor could rupture and Sierra would be in a bad situation (blood poisoning, I guess), so she pressured me to have her euthanized which I reluctantly did and have regretted it ever since Saturday.
I have filed a complaint with the clinic letting the owners know, young vets with less than a decade or more experience need to be coached on how to interact with animals and their parents...her behavior was unconscionable as was the $5,800 demand up front. and the reluctance to perform an aspiration on the tumor, and other tests to see if there was spreading of the cancer she claims Sierra had.
The inability to get up and walk was due to hip dysplasia and she was going to be receiving accupuncture when I was able to afford it. I take full responsibility for my current financial devastation to be unable to pay for all the medical bills, but I don't think Sierra was given a chance and Fenty actually seemed to enjoy giving her the Propofol to euthanize her. Look her up at Tufts University and see for yourself a photo of someone who may have personality issues...
I am livid and am going to report this to the CA DVM Board. I had two previous experiences with "weekend" vets at another clinic. Tracey Brown and a Dr; Steed, In 30 years of adopting animals that were overlooked at a shelter or returned, I suppose three bad experiences can be expected, but veterinarians shouldn't be in that field if they don't have compassion for the animal and unable to control their personal opinions and bias when dealing with the pet's owner.
