Special Needs Rescues

Dante, getting ready for his bath.

EMERGENCY DONATIONS NEEDED

EMERGENCY HELP NEEDED FOR DANTE, THE "DITCH DOG"

Dante, a young Miniature Poodle, was a throw away dog. He was found seeking refuge in a rusty, turned over barrel in a ditch along with a litter of unrelated puppies. A silver Poodle was dead in the road. A family took the dogs in and found homes for the puppies but no one wanted a dog with a bad leg. Another compassionate lady, Angie, contacted us about Dante, the name she gave him.

He has been evaluated and found to have a grade 4 medial patella luxation, a dislocated knee that has been dislocated for so long he needs surgery to put it back in place. He is scheduled for surgery on March 27th. As soon as he is stabilized after his surgery, he will come to us for recuperation, rehab and eventually adoption. In the meantime, he is being emergency fostered by Angie and her husband.

Dante, a sweet boy, is about 2 to 3 years old. His surgeon feels that he is an excellent candidate for the surgery and expects him to make a full recovery. He is doing very well with his emergency foster family, enjoying being with people that care about him.

We do not have available funds for his surgery, but simply could not turn our backs on him. We need help to fund his surgery and care.

Donations for Dante can be made by credit or debit card directly to our Vet by phone.
Donations can also be made by check to our Vet or to West Kentucky Rescue.

Dante has his own web page. Click here to go there.

Mimi will remain a permanent sanctuary dog here with us.

Mimi needs a
Special Rescue Angel

Mimi is a 7 year old, smooth coated Fox Terrier, who was a puppy mill rescue and running feral outside the fence line. She got out of the pen when the owners were feeding one day, and they could never catch her to put her back in the pen. When she was finally captured and brought into the rescue, she was the most terrified, submissive (when caught), and freaked-out little girl you ever saw. You couldn't touch her. She wouldn't come within 10 feet of a human, but she was fine with the other dogs brought in with her and with the other dogs already in rescue.

With time and tenderness, and many years of patience, Mimi has become one of the family, comes to us for attention, for treats and for back scratches. Just do not offer to pick her up. She doesn't like it. When she is picked up, she freezes. Then the shakes start.

Mimi is coming around, but she is not without her problems. She has pancreatitis, and can have NO fat in her diet at all. The least little bit of fat causes her to vomit and have bloody stools. Mimi has lost more than 5 pounds since the picture at left was taken, due to her illness. Her little ribs show prominently. Mimi is also allergic to everything. The normal treats that the other dogs get, won't work with Mimi. Her skin will become inflamed, and she will scratch until she is raw, so when it's treat time, we give bananas and apples which Mimi can have.

In 2004, MiMi had a serious bout of Pancreatitis. She is now on a very restricted diet and we have to watch her very closely as the Pancreatitis can return at any time. Due to her Pancreatitis as well as her food allergies, she has been on prescription food that costs us about $60.00 each month. If you can find it in your heart to help with Mimi's monthly food costs, it would be greatly appreciated.

March 2006: MiMi is doing very well with her diet. We do have to watch very closely what she eats. Since all dogs are separated at meal times, this is no particular problem. Actually, MiMi now does the doggie dance of joy at feeding time, wanting to get into her crate for meals and will allow a gentle head scratch after getting in her crate.

Donations toward MiMi's special food and care can be made by credit or debit card directly to our Vet by phone.
Donations can also be made by check to our Vet or to West Kentucky Rescue.

You may be a regular Sponsor for MiMi by filling out the Special Rescue Angel form.

Hoppy will remain a permanent sanctuary dog here with us.

Hoppy needs a
Special Rescue Angel

Hoppy, is an 11 year old, wonderful, kind, tender and loving, 60 pound, Standard Poodle. Hoppy was nearly 9 when he came into our rescue, and we did adopt him to a wonderful home, however, that didn't work when it was discovered that he had severe arthritis in his left shoulder from an unknown injury years before. The new family had a two story house, and Hoppy, not wanting to be left behind, would trek up the stairs when his family would, and then have to be carried back down. As the couple were in their later years, it was difficult for them to carry a large dog up and down the stairs, so Hoppy came back to us after only a month in his new home.

After Hoppy was back with us for several weeks and we had him stabilized, we got a wonderful application from a lady who wanted Hoppy in her life. The arthritis was not a problem. He was accepted into his new home with open arms and lots of love. Hoppy wanted for nothing. It was while Hoppy was enjoying his new home, that his new mom's son died suddenly. Since it was the son who took Hoppy to the park and on walks and runs, his new mom could no longer handle this big dog.

With tears flowing, Hoppy's newest Mom brought him back to us. When Hoppy came back to us this time, we decided he would live out his life here. There would be no more adoptions for Hoppy. He is happy here now and an integral part of our rescue/sanctuary packlet.

Hoppy is on Rimadyl, 100 milligrams per day, at a cost of $40 per month. Hoppy is also on a special diet for seniors that runs about $1.00 per can, and $25 for a 20 pound bag of dry food. Just his food runs us about $65 per month.

Donations for Hoppy can be made by credit or debit card directly to our Vet by phone.
Donations can also be made by check to our Vet or to West Kentucky Rescue.

You may be a regular Sponsor for Hoppy by filling out the Special Rescue Angel form.

Nickers will remain a permanent sanctuary dog here with us.

Nickers needs a
Special Rescue Angel

Nickers is an 9 year old Chihuahua that came from a puppy mill. He has been in rescue for some time, and has finally made the turn in becoming a member of the packlet and household. When Nickers first came to us, he wouldn't eat if you looked at him, you couldn't touch him, he would only go to the water bowl if there was no other dog or human in sight.

He hid under the computer desk and would run if you even looked like you were coming toward him. He lived in the puppy mill as a breeder for most of his life. He knew nothing but a cage and the occasional female to breed. Nickers is now a part of the sanctuary family. It's taken a long time, but he's arrived. He sleeps in the bed, he comes to us for loving, takes food and treats from our hands and occasionally allows us to hold him without shaking or struggling to get down.

Little Nickers still has issues we must deal with. He will never be adoptable, so has become a permanent sanctuary resident.

Nickers has Luxating Patellas. He had one surgery on the worst leg soon after he came here. Due to other problems with Nickers, we had to wait for the second surgery. He had no muscle tone at all from being caged for so long, so the vet thought with proper exercise and strengthening of the muscles, he would be a much better candidate for further surgery later. This has proven to be true. Nickers is in much better condition now. He will now need to have additional surgery on the first leg and on the other leg. If you would care to help with Nickers' medical, it would be greatly appreciated. As most know, we in rescue do all of this out of our own pocket. We have no fund to dip into when the need arises, nor do we have insurance against these types of things for rescued dogs. Our vet is kind and waits for payments at times, but surgery of this type is very expensive. We really need help for this little bundle of love.

Donations for Nickers can be made by credit or debit card directly to our Vet by phone.
Donations can also be made by check to our Vet or to West Kentucky Rescue.

You may be a regular Sponsor for Nickers by filling out the Special Rescue Angel form.

Katie will remain a permanent sanctuary dog here with us.

Katie needs a
Special Rescue Angel

Katie is a 13 year old toy Poodle that came to us as an owner surrender several years ago when her human Mommy died. She has a severe collapsing trachea and has had seizures. She requires medical attention on a regular basis. When she came to us, she was very needy, missing her Mommy so much that we worried that she might grieve herself to death. Over time, she came to accept us as her new family. We did not attempt to adopt her to a new forever home as we feared that she would not make the adjustment to yet another home.

Katie is now completely deaf and losing her sight. She lost her hearing so gradually that we did not notice it until one day we realized that she did not come to us when called unless she was looking directly at us. She is a very loving little girl that still loves to groom any dog that she can get to hold still long enough for her to nit or wash their face. She has become the lap dog extraordinaire she deserves to be.

Katie has had seizures in recent months. Although she is not on daily medication, emergency medications are always immediately available for her.

Katie needs extensive dental work done that must be done under special anesthesia. Safeguards not normally needed in a younger, healthy dog must be in place for her. She also has continuing medical care needs for her collapsing trachea and seizures.

Donations can be made by credit or debit card directly to our Vet by phone.
Donations can also be made by check to our Vet or to West Kentucky Rescue.

You may be a regular Sponsor for Katie by filling out the Special Rescue Angel form.

Smokey, A Dog That Does Rescue...

Smokey being examined during one of his first visits. Note the crossing of his completely paralyzed back legs.

Smokey is not a rescue dog; he is a 10-year-old dog that does rescue. Let me explain. Smokey came to live with me when he was only 3 months old from a failed purchase. I took him into my heart and home simply as a personal dog. This was before internet based dog rescue was popular and definitely before I was aware, much less involved in rescue. Smokey has been as much a part of West Kentucky Rescue as I have. He has been here to help rescue dogs coming into my home learn the ropes. He has nurtured many of the smaller dogs in need of a canine parent. Sometimes, he would discipline, other times coddle frightened little dogs. Smokey is also a migraine alert dog for me.

In February 2005, Smokey "went down" in his back end. A quick trip to the vet confirmed my sinking suspicions. He had a pinched nerve in his back, paralyzing his back legs. Dr. Badger began traditional treatment as well as VOM (Veterinary Orthopedic Manipulation). This is a healing technology that locates areas of the animal's nervous system that have fallen out of communication, and re-establishes neuronal communication and thus induces healing.

For the first 3 weeks, Smokey had to have help to even go "potty." I would carry him outside and actually hold his back end up while he walked with only his front legs, his back legs limp. When he would stop to do his business, I would place his back legs in position and hold them while he did what he needed to do. He was on baby aspirin for his pain and as an anti-inflammatory. When he first started trying to use his legs, he still didn't know where the tops of his back paws were and would usually walk on them.

The VOM treatments along with the initial traditional therapy of steroid injections and crate rest plus, physical therapy have produced wonderful results. Smokey can now walk on all fours although, from the back, his gait is much akin to a "drunken sailor". At first, Smokey had daily VOM treatments, then weekly, progressing to every two weeks. Continued VOM treatments are needed. Now, Smokey receives these treatments as needed to maintain his ability to walk and hopefully we will see continued improvement. The results of these treatments are immediately noticeable. He always has much better control of his back legs.

The vet clinic has helped by allowing me to make payments, but that does not mean free. As a part of the West Kentucky Rescue effort, we finally decided to include Smokey on the Special Needs Page.

Smokey will need continuing long term treatments, possibly indefinitely in order to improve and maintain his quality of life. It looks like for now, Smokey will not need a doggie cart for assistance. Continued VOM treatments, physical therapy, and time will tell.

April 2005: Smokey has continued to improve. He is walking better and can now occasionally navigate going up a few steps. He is not allowed to go DOWN steps as this is a source of significant stress on his vertebrae. He has returned to being a "Doggie Parent". Once again, Smokey has taken a parental role with the rescues in our care. He referees the small dogs when they play too rough or get too loud. He looks so proud of himself after "telling 'em" as he struts, with back legs wobbly, back to a vantage point. Sometimes, he just gives gentle doggie kisses and snuggles with the dog that needs it the most.

March 2006: Smokey has maintained his mobility fairly well. He is starting to show his age especially in relation to his back legs. His sits and watches the other dogs more during yard time, but he continues to take a parenting role with his canine housemates and has remained the first referee. His step may be a bit slower, but his heart is as pure as it always has been. Regular VOM treatments still help him maintain quality of life.

Donations toward Smokey's VOM care can be made directly to our Vet by phone.
Donations can also be made by check to our Vet or to West Kentucky Rescue.

You may be a regular sponsor Sponsor for Smokey by filling out the Special Rescue Angel form.

Pepe will remain in our hearts forever.

Pepe, one of our sanctuary dogs, was a toy Poodle, 15 years of age, and the love of our lives. He had been growing very weary, lost the spring in his step, and his love of food. He had severe arthritis along with a host of other age related conditions, and he was telling us daily for the several weeks, that it was time to go to the Bridge, where he could again be whole and healthy. On Monday, May 23, 2005, Pepe went to be with all the other animals there who no longer have to live in pain. We miss him terribly.

The tears that flowed, were not for Pepe, but for ourselves, and our pain. We know in our hearts that Pepe is now in a better place, where he will run and play and no longer be in any pain.

Donations in Pepe's honor can be made by credit or debit card directly to our Vet by phone.
Donations can also be made by check to our Vet or to West Kentucky Rescue.

The picture is of Pepe at the age of 12, eating an oxtail. :-)

Please visit our Wish List page

Donations may be made by credit/debit cards directly to our vet, or by check sent to our vet or to West Kentucky Rescue.

Mayfield Veterinary Clinic 501 West James Street Mayfield, KY 42066 phone: 270-247-2915	The clinic can take donations by credit or debit card over the phone. Please, call during their normal clinic hours, 7:30 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday and from 7:30 am until noon on Saturday, Central Time. Checks may be mailed to the clinic. Please note on the check for West Kentucky Rescue.

West Kentucky Rescue PO Box 73 Almo, KY 42020	Donation checks may be mailed to West Kentucky Rescue and will be applied to the balance due at *Mayfield Veterinary Clinic* or toward supplies such as special foods and equipment needed for the care of our Sanctuary Animals.

We have become a sanctuary for the unadoptable dogs we have taken in. Often it takes much more financially to bring a dog to the point of being adoptable than our adoption donations bring into our rescue. Please help us help these animals.

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