I love Paris in the autumn!

Lovely little Paris is spending her first night in her very own home! She was rescued from the beach by Mary and she nearly died from distemper. She pulled through, thanks to Mary's heroic efforts, and came to stay with me as a foster. It's not hard to believe it only took 1 week for her to find just the perfect companion to settle in with! She and Jim met and the attraction was mutual. Thank you Jim for taking in this special little girl. I know she's going to be spoiled rotten, as she deserves!

Dead Dog Beach on Yahoo

A story on the stray dog situation in Puerto Rico, specifically mentioning Yabucoa and Dead Dog Beach, appeared on Yahoo news yesterday. Slowly, slowly, slowly, this situation is finally getting some attention. Unfortunately the efforts of bringing the dogs to U.S. shelters was stressed in the article rather than the in-country efforts to encourage government intervention in spay and neuter issues and to change cultural memes concerning animal cruelty.Click here to read the story.

New pups

Hansel, Sheryl and Jillian showed up at the beach last week. They are all sweet and adorable.

Humans

This dog showed up at the beach today. She has a chain still around her neck so it's obvious she was chained for long enough to get into the condition she is in. This takes a long time to happen - it doesn't occur overnight. Someone had to have been feeding her or she wouldn't be alive. Someone let this dog get into this condition right before their eyes.

Well of COURSE they were!

Jamie and Trixie went to Humane Society of the Treasure Coast yesterday morning and were adopted by this afternoon! Well of COURSE they were! Look at these little darlings!!!

Two new dogs at the beach

Murphy, the beautiful blonde, is new to the beach area. Jared was spotted down closer to the hotels which is an extra dangerous area for the dogs since the hotel owners have the dogs poisoned.

More dogs in Florida

Eight more littles ones touched down in Florida on Thursday night. A wonderful woman, Anita, offered her dog "ferry" services between San Juan and Ft. Lauderdale for her frequent travels. She checked in 2 kennels full of little sweeties and I picked them up late that night. Sophie, who was rescued in July during a spay/neuter round-up, will be staying with me for a while because she still has some social issues - just a little skittish but I'm sure it won't take long. She's a beautiful little brindle girl with a curly pig tail. Paris Hilton, yes, she's blonde and beautiful, will also stay here for a while as she's got a little food aggressiveness - just some minor resource guarding but I'm not willing to put her up for adoption quite yet. Everyone else is up for adoption at the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast in Palm City. Trixie and Jamie, two little cuties rescued by Sandra a few weeks ago, plus the 3 remaining puppies from Dana, a long-time beach resident (spayed now so no more pups!) and Sasha (a rescue of Mary's) are just precious dogs and will all be snatched up quickly by adoptive homes. Thanks so much to everyone who made the rescue and transport of these dogs possible: Sandra, Twig, Mary, Anita, Keishya, Raquel and Mary (fosters for Dana's puppies), Dr. Alverio, Sid, Allison, Kathy at Alamo Car Rental, and anyone else I've inadvertently left out. Take a look at the view my poor little kitties had to endure for a whopping 10 hours until I got 6 of the 8 to the shelter!!!

Beautiful on the inside

These two girls, Riley and Lannie, are very sweet, though a bit timid, and have been at the beach for a loooooong time. Cute little puppies come along so often that the bigger, older, less attractive residents don't get the chance for rescue. A couple of months ago, our old girl Scampy got her chance to get off the beach and she's now at St. Hubert's in New Jersey awaiting the perfect forever home. Well, now it's time for Riley and Lannie to get the homes they deserve. Both of these girls are spayed. They were tested for heartworm in February 2007 and Riley was positive. Lannie was negative at the time of testing though I would presume she's positive by now. These girls have survived the harsh and hateful conditions at the beach for over a year and they have definitely earned their rescue. If anyone has it in their heart to take on either (or both!) of these sweet old girls, please contact us. They've survived allright so far but nothing is ever "safe" at that beach.

New mom and puppies

Sandra found a mom with five puppies at the beach today. The pups are about 3 weeks old and the mom is sweet. If anyone can sponsor the rescue of them, please let me know.
























UPDATE 9/25/07: Sandra named the mom Natasha. The puppies are doing fine and are still feeding from Natasha. We are still looking for someone who can help sponsor to get them off the beach.

Skinny boy no more!

Less than 3 weeks after being rescued by Sandra and Twig, "Skinny Boy" - aka Chandler - is not skinny anymore!!! Dr. Reyes got him started on his road to recovery and Sandra took over from there, nursing him back to health. Yesterday he boarded a plane with Rebecca, a woman who has graciously offered her ferrying services from PR to North Carolina. They both arrived safely though Rebecca says Chandler was very scared on the trip. But now he's adjusting well and in fact he has a bit of a crush on one of the little puppies that Rebecca is fostering and, per Rebecca, "nuzzles him like a baby"! Chandler will stay with Rebecca until he can be adopted into a good home. Thank you to all those who were instrumental in his rescue.

How cute are these girls!?

These girls were dumped at the beach a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, before they could be rescued, one of them (Kelsey, in the middle) was taken away. We all hope the person who took her will make a good home for her. The other two, Jamie and Trixie, were rescued and will be coming to Florida for adoption. Thanks to Sandra, Keishya, Twig, Mary, and Dr. Alverio on this one!

More good news on Cooper

I got this amazing email from Cooper's new mom this morning. It made me cry. I'm so happy for him.

"Cooper is doing FANTASTIC! He is melting into his new family very well and all the kids have fallen in love with him. I am amazed at how far he has come in such a short time. He is learning house rules and has not tried to jump on the couch for a couple of days now. I have moved his comforter(he has upgraded from a sheet to a blanket to a comforter now) from my bed to the floor beside the bed and he is doing very well with that. Every now and again he tries to jump on the bed but a gentle nudge is all it takes to remind him to scoot.

He hasn't really taken to toys yet but has decided that he likes rawhides and likes to chew on things. He has a new 3am habit of wanting to go outside and play a good game of chase with Maddie. He runs full speed with his tail straight up in the air. They even wrestle a bit and "talk" to each other. It is pretty amazing to watch (I only wish he could choose a time when I am more awake to fully enjoy it). He runs hard until it obviously irritates his leg and then it is over and he needs a rest.

He also LOVES the daily walks he takes with the girls. Angel and Courtney(my two oldest) take the dogs for a walk around the block everyday and he struts with his tail pointed to the sky and wagging. He really is learning to be a dog and I am amazed with him. He has even done well with strangers. Just like having a new baby all the family and friends eventually make their way over to meet the new dog. He is learning to be more sociable and less afraid and has let all ov our guests pet and love him while they were here. Of course he looks to me for reassurance but that is to be expected.

Oh, I almost forgot....he LOVES the car. When I run small errands like picking up the kids where someone can be in the truck with them I let the dogs go along for the ride and he really loves it. He even visited with a group of 14 year olds when we went to pick Courtney up from a birthday party. He loved the attention."

It's official - Cooper has a new home!!!

Cooper, the little pointer-mix who stole my heart away, went to stay with his new forever home last week! He has a new family with lots of kids who love him and a look-a-like girlfriend named Maddie. His potential mom had come over to my house twice to visit with him bringing her youngest son and Maddie to see how things went. Cooper's tail was up and ears were perked and there was a lot of sniffin' goin' on! So last Tuesday morning, I took him over to his new home. He did just great! I stayed for a while to make sure there were no problems with the initiation into Maddie's territory - nope, she welcomed him in with open slobbery jowls. It was VERY hard for me to say goodbye to him that morning but I knew he was in a good place, the place he has deserved for so very long. Cooper is a dog who's spirit had been crushed by hatred and abuse towards him and it's taken a lot of patience, time, and love to get him to slowly come out of his shell. He still retreats in times of uncertainty but as time goes on it takes less and less time to get him back out. And out he comes, tail wagging! Congratulations, Cooper - you deserve everything wonderful in the world. And thank you so much to Christine and her family for taking him in - I wish you all many many years of joy with that sweet boy.

Help for Miami Dalmatian Rescue group

Pati and Miami Dalmatian Rescue have taken in at least 7 of our dogs (Alana, Rocco, Lilly, Dante, 3 DDB pups) and placed them in great permanent homes (Dante is still in foster care). If anyone can help in any way, please do so. As a note, I was at Pati's property in North Miami Beach about a month ago and saw her fosters at her house. I did not notice any malnourished dogs, as the complaint claims. There were about 25 dogs there and all seemed happy and adjusted.

Unfortunately, until further notice, Dalmatian Rescue is at a very limited capacity to save anymore lives. Recently, we asked an individual to stop acting as an "agent" of Dalmatian Rescue without our authorization. Their actions were contrary to our organization's policies, procedures and ethics.

Much to our dismay, this individual has made what we know to be unfounded and unwarranted accusations against our organization and has attempted to utilize Animal Control Services and Code Enforcement to discredit one of our larger foster properties.

Until additional foster homes and/or boarding situations can be located, it would be difficult to save the lives of those shelter Dals in need. Our organization’s rescues, care for life pets and medical records are open to any established rescue organization regarding the quality of care given to our pets. Animal Control has found the accusations by this individual without merit and the reported number of rescues housed is greatly exaggerated.

Attached is a copy of this complaint which is a matter of public record and on file with animal services. This complaint is the reason we sadly regret we must limit our lifesaving efforts at this time.


Pati Dane, Director
Dalmatian Rescue, Inc.
Pets At Risk Rescue
(305)336-2247