01.23.08

Yet another trek west

Posted in Uncategorized at 8:03 pm by Lone Star Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso Rescue

Yet another trek west.

Ok, our Phoenix “branch” has been hard at work and now we need to get 13 little doggies to them for adoption!!

Yes, that’s right.  We need to transport 13 little doggies to their new homes.

We have volunteers ready and waiting to jump in their cars and vans to get these babies safe.

But, they need help!  The total expenses estimated for this trip is just at $600.  That includes gas – 2140 miles @ 18 mpg = 119 gallons x 2.99 = $3.55 fuel costs, van rental = $160, lodging for one night = $85.

Total is $600 which is under $50 per doggie!!

Please help us raise this money so we can send these babies toward a new home.

If you can help, please USE THIS LINK for paypal, or THIS LINK to send them a check.  If you want to use a credit card and don’t want to go through paypal, DOWNLOAD THE CREDIT CARD AUTHORIZATION FORM HERE, and fax it to me at 281-754-4851.  Please email me at TERESA@shihtzu-rescue.com to tell me that you faxed it. 

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December 2007 – look at these precious lives YOU’VE saved!

Posted in Uncategorized at 7:55 pm by Lone Star Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso Rescue

Elvira Hill – adopted by Katherine Moore

December 1, 2007

Elvira now lives in Duncanville, Texas.

Zi Burke – adopted by Dorothy McDaniel

December 1, 2007

Clancy Davis – adopted by Peter and Elizabeth Wright

December 2, 2007

Tank Davis – adopted by Kim and Randy Ackman

December 4, 2007

Tank and his new family live in Glendale, AZ. 

Special “thanks” go to our volunteers:  Emily and Bea.  Great job girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Audi Harris – adopted by Vic and Julie DeMaria

December 8, 2007

Audi will have one brother, two sisters and two foster siblings.  Audi has wanted to live in this house FOREVER.  Congratulations to all…….

Toby Ranger –adopted by Jackie and Gary Lindmark

December 8, 2007

Toby will have a black lab fur-brother, named Carl and a Lhasa fur-brother, named Bear.

Toby will live in Phoenix, AZ.  GO TOBY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kamie Harris – adopted by Jenifer Hulfish

December 8, 2007

Kamie and her new mommy live in Phoenix, AZ.  Way to go little Kamie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Flavia Davis – adopted by Don and Mavis Sargent

December 8, 2007

Flavia’s new name is Gidget.

Smiley Davis – adopted by Christine Schaefer

December 9, 2007

Augustus Davis – adopted by Eileen and Howard Coleman

December 9, 2007

Augustus’ new name is Gus.   

Margo Mills North – adopted by Harold and Linda Krueger

December 10, 2007

Margo will be the only dog for now.  She will live with her new family in Austin, Texas.Here is a little note from Margo’s new mommy and daddy: Well we have Margo in Austin.  YES, we are going to keep her name, it suits her.  She is doing great and adjusting to her new home. We love this little girl and are grateful to you and the Shih Tzu Rescue for giving us the opportunity to adopt her.  We will send pictures occasionally to you and her foster mom Shannon.  Right now she is in the middle of our living room thoroughly enjoying a chew toy.  It is wonderful to watch.

Dale & Linda

Milla Mills North – adopted by Doug and Sandie Curb

December 11, 2007 Milla’s new name is Laela.  Jazzy Oaks – adopted by Amanda BermeaDecember 13, 2007

Jazzy will live in Austin with her new mommy.

Kelsey Davis – adopted by Teresa Behm

December 15, 2007

Kelsey will live in Arizona with his new mommy.

Harrison Ford Christi – adopted by Nina Lamb

December 12, 2007

Ryson Ranger – adopted by Mike and Joyce Tate December 16, 2007Caleb Grand – adopted by Doyle and Peggy Streeter

01.13.08

Update on Naema Land and Case Turner and uh oh, more problems.

Posted in Uncategorized at 10:32 am by Lone Star Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso Rescue

Newley Davis – turned into the Houston SPCA because of severe skin problems.  See below.  He’s our little tzu-a-pei.  Just kidding, but his face is so infected and swollen, he looks like a little sharpei.

What an unbelievable week we had!  I have been trying to sit down and write a nice update on Case Turner and Naema Land, as well as little Garrett Mesquite and Yardley Turner but everytime I tried to get a minute, more problems happened.  What’s up with that?   One of the vets asked me how all these dogs know to sign up with Lone Star.  I must say it makes me proud to be in this rescue.  The vets know that we will attack all obstacles to save a dog, and this is thanks entirely to YOU.  Being a bunch of volunteers who stick in rescue activities in our “spare” time, it is unbelievably rewarding to look at the little faces sitting below our chairs right now and know that our “spare” time has given these and many others a chance at life!

But, it just amazes and disappoints me to see how so many dogs just have not been taken care of during their short lives. 

We’ve made quite a bit of progress helping these little guys, thanks to Emily Harris, Barbara Grabell in honor of Fiona, Fur Kids, Byron Ledger, Ashley Riebschlager, Janet Bello, Tricia Havis, Marty Howard, David Nay, Mary Bryson-Pfirman in memory of Bonkers Pfirman, Fur Kids, Cat Martindale, Joyce Hildebrande, Gay and Bruce Yancey in memory of Tyson, Davis Arnette in honor of Muffy and Hunter. 

But we still need a LOT of help for the ones listed below!!

So, here we go…

Garrett Mesquite – this little Arizona boy is recovering nicely from his massive peridontal infection and broken jaw.  This dog has totally changed his personality since he is no longer in pain.  He is sweet and a lot more affectionate.  But, his fund is only $225 short.  If you can help this little  boy, please USE THIS LINK for paypal, or THIS LINK to send them a check.  If you want to use a credit card and don’t want to go through paypal, DOWNLOAD THE CREDIT CARD AUTHORIZATION FORM HERE, and fax it to me at 281-754-4851.  Please email me at TERESA@shihtzu-rescue.com to tell me that you faxed it. 

Yardley Turner, the little OTI (owner turn in) that had horrible bladderstones, is also recovering nicely.  And this boy is the sweetest little thing ever.  He is extremely lively and always wants to be with me.  He is also a bit tubby and is now on a diet and exercise program – he’s actually enjoying the exercise, but not the dieting.  His fund still needs $191.  Please USE THIS LINK for paypal, or THIS LINK to send them a check.  If you want to use a credit card and don’t want to go through paypal, DOWNLOAD THE CREDIT CARD AUTHORIZATION FORM HERE, and fax it to me at 281-754-4851.  Please email me at TERESA@shihtzu-rescue.com to tell me that you faxed it. 

Nemo Collins – here’s another little Arizona boy, a very young little boy, who just all of a sudden couldn’t stand up one day.  His foster mom rushed him to the vet and they found some inflamation in his back – no obvious disc problem, just inflamation.  With steroids and rest, he is recovering nicely.  This boy has been pre-adopted by a wonderful couple in Arizona and as soon as the vet releases him, he’s on the way to his new home.  His ER visit fund still needs $152.  Please USE THIS LINK for paypal, or THIS LINK to send them a check.  If you want to use a credit card and don’t want to go through paypal, DOWNLOAD THE CREDIT CARD AUTHORIZATION FORM HERE, and fax it to me at 281-754-4851.  Please email me at TERESA@shihtzu-rescue.com to tell me that you faxed it. 

Naema Land – this sweet senior gal was in pain so we opted to go ahead with her surgery Thursday.  Her eye has been removed and she’s snoozing well.  Once the swelling goes down, this girl will feel much better.  Her foster mom said that if this sweetie never finds a forever home, she is more than welcome to spend the remainder of her life here.  Her fund is still $510 short.  Please USE THIS LINK for paypal, or THIS LINK to send them a check.  If you want to use a credit card and don’t want to go through paypal, DOWNLOAD THE CREDIT CARD AUTHORIZATION FORM HERE, and fax it to me at 281-754-4851.  Please email me at TERESA@shihtzu-rescue.com to tell me that you faxed it. 

Case Turner – We went forward with Case’s MRI this week.  His seizures have intensified and we needed to know if there was a growing tumor or possibly a cervical rupture or what.  The results came back good news and bad news.  The bad news is that he has a very, very, very rare condition called Lissencephally which is a genetic problem found PREDOMINANTLY IN LHASA APSOS (can you believe?).  In this condition, the brain does not form correctly.  It has limited or no “folds” but is entirely smooth.  The pathways along which “signals” travel to tell the body to do things are missing, or in his case, very limited.  Most dogs that have this condition die or are euthanized for severe neurological problems early in life.  Case has neurological deficits in all four legs and some sight loss.  When he has the seizures, which happen on average once a week, his neurological deficits increase and he cries in pain.  The neurologist has put him on anti-seizure meds.  We are very hopeful that these drugs will keep him seizure-free.  If so, there is nothing to indicate that he cannot live out a relatively normal life.  Please send all good energy and prayers to little Case Turner.  His MRI cost $2603.00 and he has a follow-up visit in two weeks which will cost around $200.  Please help on this one – we just did not feel that we could wait to get the MRI.  Please USE THIS LINK for paypal, or THIS LINK to send them a check.  If you want to use a credit card and don’t want to go through paypal, DOWNLOAD THE CREDIT CARD AUTHORIZATION FORM HERE, and fax it to me at 281-754-4851.  Please email me at TERESA@shihtzu-rescue.com to tell me that you faxed it. 

Then, darn, while we were waiting on Case’s results, Sonic Davis’s foster mom called to tell me that he had “crashed.”  Now, you have to use the term “crash” very carefully when talking about health problems – “crash” means on death bed.  When Sherry described what had happened to Sonic, she had correctly used the term.   AAAHHH.  Sonic was fine two hours before but now he was practically comatose and his gums, which should be a nice bright pink, were as white as a sheet of paper.  She called me from the car and was afraid that he would not even make it to the vet.  Thankfully, she got there and our wonderful vet revived him.  He was on IVs and steroids and other meds and had a bunch of tests.  The diagnosis-he has a massive liver infection.  How in the world that happened, we have no idea.  In November, his bloodwork was totally normal.  So we’re wondering if he got into something at the dog park or somewhere and was poisoned.  Test results pending.  His total bill was just over $160 thanks to the fact that we were able to get him to our normal rescue vet instead of an ER.  Thank you Dr. Walter and the folks at Stafford Oaks!!  Please USE THIS LINK for paypal, or THIS LINK to send them a check.  If you want to use a credit card and don’t want to go through paypal, DOWNLOAD THE CREDIT CARD AUTHORIZATION FORM HERE, and fax it to me at 281-754-4851.  Please email me at TERESA@shihtzu-rescue.com to tell me that you faxed it. 

And, then there is Mistletoe Capers.  I’ve totally forgotten about her.  She just has heartworms!  We’ve started treatement but her bill should be around $350 when all is said and done.  Please USE THIS LINK for paypal, or THIS LINK to send them a check.  If you want to use a credit card and don’t want to go through paypal, DOWNLOAD THE CREDIT CARD AUTHORIZATION FORM HERE, and fax it to me at 281-754-4851.  Please email me at TERESA@shihtzu-rescue.com to tell me that you faxed it. 

And here is a sweet new one, Carley Davis.  Urgent call from the Houston SPCA – sweet little girl with pyometra.  And, she is a sweetie.  Not only pyometra, but also a HUGE hernia - benign fatty tissue about the size of my fist – hanging off of her tummy.  We had to x-ray to make sure it wasn’t a hernia of the diaphram.  Thankfully, not.  She had her surgery and is now a much, much happier dog now that the horrible infected uterus is G O N E.  And, on top of that, Carley is EXTREMELY heartworm positive.  So much so our vet wants to hold off for a momth or so and then take it very, very slowly.  Her total bill for surgery was $449 and she’ll have another $350 for the split heartworm treatment.  Yes, we desperately need help to pay her bill.  Please USE THIS LINK for paypal, or THIS LINK to send them a check.  If you want to use a credit card and don’t want to go through paypal, DOWNLOAD THE CREDIT CARD AUTHORIZATION FORM HERE, and fax it to me at 281-754-4851.  Please email me at TERESA@shihtzu-rescue.com to tell me that you faxed it. 

UPDATE:  Monday:

Beyonce’s surgery is now scheduled for Tuesday.  And, her total bill will be under $1200! 

And, then, on Friday, my favorite little one-eyed foster, little Beyonce started urinating all over the place so on Saturday, I ran her down to the vet.  Yep, looks like she has a huge bladder stone.  And, she might have an infected ovarian stump.  She also is not gaining weight although she eats twice as much as my largest dog.  So, after tons of tests, she’s now scheduled for surgery on Monday.  Her bill will exceed $1400 be just under $1200.  HELP!  Please USE THIS LINK for paypal, or THIS LINK to send them a check.  If you want to use a credit card and don’t want to go through paypal, DOWNLOAD THE CREDIT CARD AUTHORIZATION FORM HERE, and fax it to me at 281-754-4851.  Please email me at TERESA@shihtzu-rescue.com to tell me that you faxed it. 

Then there is little Newley Davis.  Turned into the Houston SPCA because of his skin problems.  I have his records back to when he was purchased from a pet shop in Maryland as a puppy.  He is now three years old and I can see from the records that he has been battling this skin problem the entire time.  Interesting – we did a skin scraping and it came up DEMODEX mange.  DUH.  It looked and smelled like demodex.  So, he will be on ivermectin for a few months and should make a relatively complete recovery.  He has to keep the e-collar on because he mutilated one eyelid the first day I had him.  We can’t afford for him to lose an eye, so poor boy has to live for a month or so with that e-collar on.  And, drum roll please, the ivermectin cost is so small, it doesn’t even count.  Aren’t you excited.  Here is a dog with medical problems and WE DON’T NEED DONATIONS FOR HIM!

Oops and finally, Huckleberry Harris.  No, he’s not a lhasa apso, and certainly not a shih tzu.  But, our foster dad was at the shelter picking up a real lhasa and this boy just stared at him.  Unfortunately, he hypnotized our foster dad and he couldn’t let this little mix take the long walk.  So, here we are with an adorable, sweet terrier-mix boy with two cherry eyes.  And, he’s blonde.  My hubby teases me all the time that we’re turning into “blonde dog rescue” instead of shih tzu and lhasas.  When we look at the dogs in our program, many are very light colored.  Anyway, this boy is ours now and we’re going to take care of him.  His cherry eye surgery was just under $200.  Please USE THIS LINK for paypal, or THIS LINK to send them a check.  If you want to use a credit card and don’t want to go through paypal, DOWNLOAD THE CREDIT CARD AUTHORIZATION FORM HERE, and fax it to me at 281-754-4851.  Please email me at TERESA@shihtzu-rescue.com to tell me that you faxed it. 

So as you can see, not even two weeks into the new year and the sick and injured dogs are coming out of the woodwork.  We so need your help!  We love helping these dogs – they are so deserving.  If you can please help, but cannot decide which one need the most help, we will apply your donation across all of these babies!  Please USE THIS LINK for paypal, or THIS LINK to send them a check.  If you want to use a credit card and don’t want to go through paypal, DOWNLOAD THE CREDIT CARD AUTHORIZATION FORM HERE, and fax it to me at 281-754-4851.  Please email me at TERESA@shihtzu-rescue.com to tell me that you faxed it.  We get tons of faxes each day and we don’t want to miss this one!!

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01.08.08

Sweet Naema has glaucoma in her only remaining eye

Posted in Naema Land at 10:58 pm by Lone Star Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso Rescue

Sweet little Naema has had a very rough couple of weeks and it is getting worse.

When we took this beauty in from the shelter,  she had already had one eye removed, but seemed to have a tiny bit of sight in the other.  Soon, Karen, the foster mom noticed that Naema was bumping into things, but since we were treating her with cyclosporine for dry eye, didn’t really think much of it.

Three weeks ago, Naema’s foster mom had to take her to the vet for some open sores.  While she was there getting antibiotics, the vet noticed that Naema’s only remaining eye (her other eye had been removed before we got her) was very red, inflamed and seemed to protrude.  So, he did a pressure test and guess what, her reading was over 85.  For those of you that have dogs with glaucoma, you know that this is extraordinarily high.  Normal is 18 or so.  She must be in serious pain right now.

We put her on the normal glaucoma meds, timolol and methazolamide, but since she has no sight in that eye anyway, we were looking at either removing the eye or at the very least, injecting it with the chemical that kills the tissue that causes the excess fluid. 

We had a followup visit with the opthalmology clinic today and her pressure was over 50 even on the eye meds, so we absolutely have to remove the eye.  It is painful for her.  Her appointment is Thursday.

Naema is only eight years old, so very adoptable, even if she is blind.  She is a wonderful, loving little dog who deserves a good home where she will be cherished and loved regardless of her perceived disabilities.

Naema’s original bill at the clinic and pharmacy was just under $250, her and the visit to the opthalmologist today was $98.50 and the surgery to remove the eye is $380. 

If you can donate for this gorgeous little girl, use THIS LINK for paypal, or THIS LINK to send a check.  Download the credit card form HERE and fax it to 281-754-4851, but be sure to email me at teresa@shihtzu-rescue.com to let me know to look for it.  

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Case Turner needs an MRI!

Posted in Uncategorized at 10:52 pm by Lone Star Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso Rescue

This little doggie is a weird case.  No pun intended.  We received a request to take in this little boy from his owner.  The reason – he was having “seizures” and she didn’t have the funds to take him to the vet. 

We took him in and within a week, his foster mom witnessed one of the seizures.  It was not what I consider a typical seizure in which the dog becomes rigid and makes uncontrollable movements, usually loosing control of bowels and bladder.  In this seizure, Case walks around crying and whimpering as though he was in severe pain.  You can see the video of this seizure HERE.

This morning, Case had a much more severe episode lasting over an hour.  He was crying in severe pain, so we called the neurology department at Gulf Coast and got him an appointment for 10:30 in the morning.  They think they will need to do a CAT scan to see what’s going on in his head.

I hope there is something that we can correct, but need to warn you that it may be a brain tumor.  If it is a tumor, and nothing can be done, we will put him to sleep.  But, we need to know for certain that there is nothing that can be done before we make the drastic decision.  I hope you support this approach.

Now, the difficult part, it will cost around $2350 for the initial consult and the CAT scan.  We need to do this tomorrow but probably have one additional day before we need to pay the bill.

help!  Oh, I mean HELP!  I certainly did want to let some time pass before we had yet another emergency case, but, unfortunately, the dogs just didn’t get the memo that they needed to stay healthy for a while.

Can you help this baby boy?  Plesae use THIS LINK for paypal, or THIS LINK to send a check.  Download the credit card form HERE and fax it to 281-754-4851, but be sure to email me at teresa@shihtzu-rescue.com to let me know to look for it.

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01.03.08

Happy 2008! Lots of little dogs owe their lives to you!

Posted in Uncategorized at 7:39 am by Lone Star Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso Rescue

This past year, 2007, has been another astounding one.  For a tiny little, volunteer-only group, I’m proud to say you allowed us to do a lot of GREAT work.

We took in 255 dogs in 2007. 

We adopted out 226.

Your very generous donations allowed us to save eleven requiring major medical care:
1. Charo Worth-Pneumonia
2. Juicy Lu Tzu Turner-Cushings
3. Reyna Oaks-Cushings/Parathyroid
4. Kula Parks-HBC – broken leg
5. Le Poodley Worth –Ruptured disc
6. Chantilly Worth-Pneumonia
7. Barkley Turner-Ruptured disc
8. Tyson North Mills-Distemper/Pneumonia
9. Amaretto Collins-Broken Jaw
10. Garrett Mesquite – Broken Jaw
11. Dougie Gillingham-H BC – Broken pelvis, herniated diaphragm

We also treated a huge number of dogs for heartworms.

1. Mae Davis
2. Julius Davis
3. Augustus Davis
4. Octavius Davis
5. Flavia Davis
6. Myrtle Galvez
7. Claude Galvez
8. Hiram Galvez
9. Brooke Lufkin
10. Kelsey Davis
11. Aerosmith Conners
12. Braxton Harris
13. Clancy Davis
14. Clara Ranger
15. Edith Burke
16. Escriva Ranger
17. Hendrix Harris
18. Hobo Ranger
19. Langston Burke
20. Murray Davis
21. Santana Montgomery
22. Campbell Galvez
23. Mistletoe Capers
24. Kiera Capers
25. Kammie Harris
26. Barnaby Davis
27. Justice Worth
28. Flash Mills
29. Jazzy Oaks
30. Oscar Mansfield
31. Keno Richland
32. Reba North
33. Winslow Oaks

Forever Fosters – these are that often to not leave the shelters out the front door.  There is a reason – they are NOT adoptable, they take up a LOT of foster space and they are expensive.  But, they deserve a chance.  It’s not their fault that their owners are uncaring people.

There is nothing more rewarding than to be able to save one of these deserving souls.  Thank you thank you for allowing us to do that.

1. Abbi Tate Worth-RB
2. Easter Lily Harris-RB
3. Angle Burke-RB
4. Reyna Oaks
5. Campbell Galvez
6. Rush Harris
7. Migi Montgomery
8. Oscar Mansfield
9. Shanghai Davis
10. Smith Grand-RB
11. Dori Hill
12. Dazzle Arkana
13. Regis Harris-RB

Rescue is an extremely difficult “job.”  It is emotionally-charged and the need just doesn’t stop.  Hopefully, 2008 will be a little less stressful!

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Happy 2008! We’re starting the year off right!

Posted in Uncategorized at 6:44 am by Lone Star Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso Rescue

Wow, what a busy holiday season.  We had family in for the holiday and kept running at a race-like pace.  Aahh!  You know, holidays are for family and we had a great time but now, back to business!

Just before Christmas, we had two semi-emergencies that we had to deal with – little Garrett Mesquite had a horribly abcessed tooth and it had caused a break in his jaw.  The surgeon in Phoenix wired it together and we’re hoping that it mends.  His bill was $591. 

Then there was cute adorable Yardley Turner.  Yardley came to us from a prior owner who had fallen on bad luck and we immediately found out he had bladder stones.  His surgery was $500 (thank you Dr. Moore).  For a while, his recovery was touch and go.  He had a tiny stone lodged in his urethre.  We thought we might have to take him back to surgery and do a radical surgery to remove the stone, but thankfully, it flushed out and he is recovering very nicely.  This boy is at my house and he is a doll!

For the two of these together, we’ve raised $547.

Then, on 12/31 one of our foster homes called with panic in her voice.  Her foster boy, Nemo, who is a sweet 10 month old boy, had become paralyzed overnight.   He couldn’t get up on his back legs at all.  Here is the account from our coordinator in Phoenix….

Nemo normally sleeps on a big dog pillow in Bea’s doggie den.  When Bea’s husband, Terry, awoke around 6:30am, he found Nemo lying in the middle of the floor.  Terry thought he was just sleeping.  He was still lying in the same spot an hour later.  Then, when Nemo tried to get up, he couldn’t and he started shaking terribly.  Bea then rushed him to the emergency vet.  She was holding him in his arms and his eyes rolled back and she prayed that he wouldn’t die in her arms.  He kept dozing in and out of sleep in her arms while she was waiting in the waiting room.

Can you imagine the panic! Thankfully, the vet x-rayed his back and did a few other tests and reported no visible damage to the spinal column (thank you!!) so put him on pain killers and steroids and strict crate rest for the next two weeks.  Bea, his foster mom, reports that he is now able to walk (still very restricted) and is very unhappy to be in a crate!  His ER bill was $399.

So, here we are, starting the new year off right.  LOL

If you have anything left over from Christmas shopping or shopping for other holidays, and you can help these little boys, plesae use THIS LINK for paypal, or THIS LINK to send a check.  Download the credit card form HERE and fax it to 281-754-4851, but be sure to email me at teresa@shihtzu-rescue.com to let me know to look for it.

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