Category Archives: Animal Welfare

Shih Tzu Day 102: Day in the Life of an Animal Rescue

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shih tzu beforeanimal rescueSheltie Shack animal rescue

I shared “before” pictures of Dottie, Candy and Flower the other day, from when Linda at the Sheltie Shack animal rescue picked them up at the Kansas puppy mill. However, since then, Linda sent me pictures of how they looked after a groomer in Kansas cleaned them up shortly after their rescue.

Linda also shared pictures of the other three shih tzus that were rescued the day Dottie, Candy and Flower were rescued, two which came from the same kennel. I don’t know what happened to Little Daisey Flower and Danielle Marie, but I hope they went to good homes. I also hope the shelties — Tiny Minnie, Sassy Lucille, Christi Rose, Jennifer Leigh and Smokey Girl —found good homes.

Linda told me that her animal rescue actually took in six shih tzus that day. The story about Wendy shows that animal rescues serve different purposes. Wendy came from another breeder. This breeder, who had less than 20 breeder dogs, socialized and made pets out of all of her dogs. When she decided she was going to board pets and not breed them anymore, Linda helped her place her last shelties, and they became friends.

The woman was also a dog trainer. Wendy came to the Sheltie Shack house trained and ready for an adoptive family. Linda recalled that Wendy’s biggest vice was that she was a very good climber.

I thought I would share this stories and the pictures to portray an accurate picture of the day my girls started their journey to a new home. Although I have already posted the before pictures of Dottie, Candy and Flower, I’m posting them again to show the difference from before they were rescued and shortly after.

 

 

 

Shelties on the way to a new home.

Shih Tzu Day 101: Puppy Mill Before and After Shots

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A glimpse at puppy mill life

A shih tzu the day she was rescuedshih tzu in a green sweaterWhen I checked my email this morning, I saw one from Linda at the Sheltie Shack. She had found the pictures I asked for of Dottie, Flower and Candy from the day she had rescued them from the puppy mill. I didn’t  know what to expect.

The first attachment I opened was Dottie. She was sitting in hay in some type of enclosure. She looked forlorn and disheveled. The next attachment was a picture of Candy. Another sad looking shih tzu, with long, dirty hair hanging over her face, covering one eye.

Those pictures made me very sad. I knew the last picture would have to be Flower, but when I opened the attachment, it was hard to recognize her. She looked more like an unkempt sheep than a dog. I couldn’t see her eyes at all.

A shih tzu the day she was rescuedshih tzu in pink sweaterMy heart broke for my little girls and the time they spent at a puppy mill. It also broke for all the other dogs forced to live in those conditions, for the sake of giving other people fluffy little puppies as pets.

As I looked at the pictures, I looked at Dottie, Flower and Candy in their safe zone in our living room. They were wearing sweaters I got them to celebrate their first fall with us. My guess was that no one at the puppy mill where they came from ever saw a need to groom these little puppy producers. I seriously doubt that anyone came by and held them, hugged them, kissed them and told them that they were loved.

a shih tzu the day of her rescueThose pictures were a symbol to me. Yes, where they came from might have been legally classified as a “commercial kennel,” but that kennel was a puppy mill all right. No dogs should have to experience what they experienced. I have no idea what that full experience was, but I know they weren’t the pampered little princesses that many shih tzus and other dogs are to their humans. I am so grateful that they can experience life from the other side now.

shih tzu in red sweaterIt’s true that they might never act like other shih tzus who never lived in those conditions. They might never crawl into my lap, but they might. They might always show signs of fear in some way or another. But at least I know that John and I are doing our best to give them a great life from this point forward. And I am thankful that other puppy mill moms, many who have had far worse lives, find loving, forever homes each day as well. I am very grateful for organizations like the Sheltie Shack and BFF Rescue that make it a point to help these dogs find good homes.

Shih Tzu Day 100: One Hundred Days at Our Forever Home!

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three shih tzus

Our forever home and looking back

The girls are celebrating their one-hundredth day at their forever home with us! I think we’ve come a long way. If I look back to the beginning and how they responded to me, after spending their life in a puppy mill, there has been vast improvement. They are also getting more used to John, especially Candy. The grooming has gotten easier. Potty training is going okay, but the lease walking still needs a lot of work. I can’t wait to see what the evaluation is after the shih tzus have been at their forever home for a year.

We left the dogs alone with various things to chew on for most of the morning, because John and I had errands to do. When I settled down to work this afternoon, Dottie came to the couch and waited until I picked her up, then sat beside me all afternoon, as usual. Nigel sat with us too.

Possible Play Date

two shih tzusLater, Nigel stayed outside with Candy for awhile. I was a little worried, since he is kind of rough and tumble, so I went to check on them. They were running around the yard together at a good speed. It looked like Candy might actually be having fun. I’m a little overprotective of her, but she wasn’t squeaking, yipping or yapping, so I went back inside.

Nigel continues to think that anything that the girls have belongs to him. When they aren’t at Shih Tzu Central, he goes and rounds up anything he can chew on that is lying around and takes it to his dog bed, or carries it to the door and if it is opens, runs outside and hides whatever he smuggled out. I haven’t yet come up with a way to prevent that from happening. I wish he’d start taking them things instead. Maybe then they would like him more.

Shih Tzu Day 92: And Then There Was Nigel

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Spot Collins

a tabby next to a shih tzu on a dog bedThe girls still don’t quite know what to think of Spot Collins. He makes regular trips to Shih Tzu Central, to drink from the girls’ water bowl and to try out the dog beds. He seems to prefer lying next to Flower, although she doesn’t seem as happy with the arrangement.

grooming practice

a shih tzu sitting on her sisterDelores at BFF Rescue called me today and asked if I would have time to help her groom some new dogs she got in that will soon be going to foster homes. Barbara, her daughter-in-law, usually helps her, but she was out of town and I had told Delores about my grooming class. If John had been available, I would have asked him to come with me, since he does the most grooming, but he was working, so I agreed to help out.

maltese-poodle mix on couch

When I got there, Delores was conducting a necessary procedure: using flea and tick shampoo on one of the dogs that looked like he might have had a problem recently. My Yorkshire terrier never had that problem, so I wasn’t sure how to tell if it looked like fleas or ticks were present. Delores pointed out to me small dark spots on one of the dogs. She said if they weren’t moving, the problem had been fully taken care of by the treatment they received before she took them into her care. That seemed to be the case, but to be safe, I helped her wash another dog with the shampoo as well.

Once we dried them off, I went to work clipping a maltese-poodle mix and then a type of terrier. They both handled it better than our dogs. The poodle lay down on its side and went to sleep while I was clipping him. I plan on trying that on the girls, since I just read that was a good way to groom in some instances, since you need to teach fearful dogs how to be calm and relaxed on the grooming table.

introduction to Nigel

black and white shih tzu on couchWhile I was there, I met Nigel, the shih tzu Delores asked us to foster. He is about a year and a half and only 10 pounds, which is a pound and a half lighter than Candy. He seems smaller though. Nigel is what is referred to as an owner release. He was dropped off at a shelter in Kansas City, Missouri, where they discovered he had a serious cause of pneumonia. I imagine the family wasn’t able to afford the veterinary care he needed.

Shih tzu face offThat shelter treated him before sending him on to BFF Rescue. As is the usual case, BFF took him to Clear Creek Animal Hospital, where Doctor Lindsey examined him prior to his needed sterilization procedure. During the exam, she discovered that he had a large hernia that would need surgery as well. She performed both surgeries yesterday, and prescribed antibiotics and pain medicine for ten days. Delores and I had arranged that I would get him Friday, but since I was already there, I said I would just take him home with me.

I would describe Nigel as a scrawny little dog, probably because he has been sick for a while. His face is so black that it is hard to see his eyes. It wasn’t the color as much as the wildness of his fur around his face that made me think of James Brown. The white fur around his neck is quite a contrast to his black face. His paws look huge compared to his tiny legs.

 

tabby cat and shih tzu on couchI wasn’t sure what the girls would think about Nigel. When we walked in the door, they didn’t get excited, but they also didn’t seem disturbed by his presence. They just watched him. He toured the house, including Shih Tzu Central. A little later, he visited their corner again, this time to begin stealing bones and mainly unused toys from them. We will have to get him his own dog bones and toys, as well as a dog bed. He didn’t come with one, like Flower, Candy and Dottie did.

welcome committee

 

shih tzu waiting for treatNigel gravitated towards Spot Collins, maybe because they are the “outsiders.” When they heard John’s truck in the driveway, the girls started barking as usual. Candy ran to the door, wagging her butt. Spot Collins followed, with Nigel right behind him, wagging his tail.

John was happy about his welcome committee. He has been so patient with the girls, even though they still shy away from him — especially Flower and Dottie — three months after getting here. It was nice for a dog to instantly respond well to him, since he is such a dog person and so good to all animals.

When the dogs followed us outside for their nightly treat from the Treat Man, Nigel forgot his manners and maneuvered his way quickly to the beginning of the line for possibly his first taste of Milo’s Kitchen chicken jerky.

Shih Tzu Day 91: Sheltie Shack

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Digging into the Past

When I first saw a picture of Candy online in June and called Delores at BFF Rescue to ask for details about her, she explained that her and her half-sisters Flower and Dottie, all in a foster home through her rescue, had been puppy mill mothers.

She told me that a Kansas organization named the Sheltie Shack had been the rescue that was initially involved. I have recently been thinking about their origin, and I decided to look up the shelter online. I found a number for the founder, Linda, and called her. I told her who I was and that I had a blog telling the story of three shih tzus I had adopted. I said I had heard her organization had rescued them and asked her if she would tell me what she recalled about that day.

Linda was very pleasant to talk to. She remembered the dogs instantly. She said she had heard that a local breeder was not going to breed shelties anymore. When she inquired about them, the breeder told her she could take them off their hands. The breeder also relayed in the conversation that they would no longer be breeding shih tzus, and that if she wanted to, she could take the ones they had. Concerned about what could happen to them if she didn’t take them, the rescuer said she would make arrangements with other rescues to place them in homes.

When she picked them up, six shih tzus were in an outside chicken coop-type dog kennel. They were in need of grooming and affection, having lived a life isolated from humans, but otherwise, the rescuer had seen fair worse cases among the hundreds of dogs she had rescued. I was relieved when she said that. I thought maybe their life hadn’t been as bad as I had imagined.

She told me a few of the shih tzus acted very frightened. The others simply acted confused, most likely because they were being moved from the only home they had ever known.

I thanked Linda for sharing the story with me and asked her if she might have some pictures of the girls from the day they were rescued. She said she would look into it and send me what she could find. I will share those pictures if she finds any.