Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Amara, again.


Amara came back to us on Saturday. Her family said that they didn't think she was happy there, and they couldn't give her what she needed.
She is happy to be back with us, and is absolutely in heaven with Kiya and Luna.

You can read her whole story here, or just scroll down to the end for the update.


11-06-09
Amara was adopted! Her story is updated in her original post.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

New Maggie picture


If you follow along on FaceBook, you'll see lots of photos of Maggie, taken by her dad Chris, and by her friends, Dan and Lisa.

I was told I could share this one here on the Starfish Journal.

Isn't she GORGEOUS?!

*photograph by LC Images*

UPDATES!

I've been so busy that it's hard finding time to do my updates!
(Click on the underlined names for links to specific entries)

First, and most importantly, Amara got adopted! This was a hard one for me, I was very very attached to her. I miss her terribly. We'd had her as a part of our family for too long... she left a big gaping hole when she left us.

Vanessa was adopted as well! She went to a great family in Vegas. I'm so happy for her!

Maddie and Lily went to their new home together!

Beavis/Travis was adopted at our last event too!

Jaxson is finally at his new home after having to wait for a little while here.

You all know about Mikey from my last entry, and be sure to check out Layla's entry to read the comment from her new mom.

I've been pretty relaxed about posting some new fosters too. If we only have them for a day, I've been not posting them here, though I should. We had Cheeto and Frito here overnight, and I never even got photos of them. They are a pair of brothers, Rottie pups, about 8 weeks old. They were fun to have here, though we had to keep them separate from the other dogs because they were SO small. Tevin had fun playing with them!

We also had Monty and Tootsie here for a little while, off and on. They came here to be bathed, and to play in the yard for awhile, then Wade and I just took care of them for 2 weeks while they were being kenneled. We walked them 4-5 times a day, and took them to the dog park, played with them, etc. They were Tibetan Spaniels, about 2 yrs old, seriously adorable. We couldn't bring them here to stay because they didn't get along with all our big dogs, but technically they were our fosters as we cared for them for 2 weeks before they were adopted.


It's been a whirlwind 3 months, let me tell ya! October 20th was H.A.R.T.'s 3 month mark. In that 3 months, we've saved 65 dogs! Imagine that! It is just amazing to me. A lot of hard work and dedication from a lot of people to make that happen.

We've had a couple set backs, but all in all, we are doing what we love. And it's worth it!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

CeeCee





10-21-09

This little darling was rescued from the shelter today.
Surprisingly, she had been at the shelter for a long time... I can't believe no one adopted her.


She is only 3 months old, and is an absolute DOLL. She's the only dog I've ever bathed who wagged their tail the whole time, LOL.


Her name morphed a bunch when we first got her home, but she ended up with CeeCee aka CC aka Chocolate Chunko. LOL.
She is a FAT little puppy.

We'll have fun with her while she's here. She sure has some spunk. LOL

10-27-09

CeeCee is a doll! She is incredibly smart, and has the best puppy attitude! She listens well, and responds to her name. She gets along well with the other dogs, and can definitely play in the big leagues with them! LOL
I'm loving having her here, she is so soft and cuddly.


11-05-09

CeeCee got adopted! YAY! A gentleman drove down from up north to meet Izzy and CeeCee to decide which one he wanted. Well, turns out that he wanted both! They both got to go home with him today. How cool is that?!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Kiya



10-20-09

Kiya was abandoned at Apple Valley with a note attached to her crate that said 'please take care of my dog'.

She is a Dalmation mix, about 5-6 months old. She is an absolute sweetheart! She has been a house dog before, obviously, and took up her position on the couch almost immediately. LOL

10-27-09

Kiya is one of the sweetest, most well behaved young dogs we've had.
She is so incredibly smart! She learns things super quickly.. I'm so impressed with her! She listens well, and has a great personality. She is SO loving. She likes to be a lap dog (or a shoulder dog, LOL) and wants nothing more than to be close to one of us.

She has such an expressive face too. I just love her.

11-05-09

Kiya got to go to her new home today. I think she is a perfect fit for them, and will fit in great. I got an E-mail already from her new mom saying that everything is going great!
They even sent me a photo already! Looks like she adjusted quickly to her new home!



Luna






10-20-09

Luna was a shelter rescue.
She's been at our Apple Valley place for about a week or so, but is getting spayed tomorrow, so we brought her here.

After her appt tomorrow, she'll stay here to recuperate, then go to our event with us on Saturday.

We aren't sure of her breed, but are putting her as an Australian Shepherd/Border Collie mix.

She is desperate for love, and is a little clingy, but oh so sweet.
She was great for her bath, didn't wiggle or whine.

She is a doll.

10-27-09

Luna is a sweetheart. She has a different kind of personality than any of the others that we have here right now, but she is so fun. She desperately tries to please us, and will do anything we ask her to. She is well behaved, but oh so full of energy! She doesn't have any brakes either, and that can be a bit painful. LOL
She is learning her basic commands, and doing really well.
She is just excited to be here, and shows that through her actions.
She's got a bit more of a dominant personality, but Ginger keeps her in line. She loves Kiya and Amara and the three of them play almost non-stop.

Right now she is sleeping on the floor, with Amikah's head resting on her. It's so sweet, and I can't get my camera because if I move, they will get up to follow me.

11-13-09

Luna is adopted! We made it final tonight.
She is going to a perfect home for her. I'm so happy!

She went to CA with us, and HWAC rejected her because she plays too loudly. It was meant to be though, as her new mom called us while we were on the drive home and she is PERFECT for Luna.

She won't go home till Monday after she is spayed, but she got to spend the day with her new mom today.
After M dropped her back off at the house today, Luna ran back and forth between the front door and the back door whining. They bonded so quickly.
I'm excited for her, and am so glad that she wasn't accepted at HWAC!!


12-01-09

Lots to tell about Luna since the last time I wrote.
First, I have to say that the person who adopted Luna is quite possibly one of the greatest people I've ever met. She has an amazing outlook on life.

M had Luna for only a few days, when she had a pretty bad allergic reaction. She'd had a dog before, so she was surprised to say the least that she was having this reaction.
She called us, and we talked about it, and decided that we would take Luna back while she waited to get some tests done to see what was up, and if it was fixable.

So Luna stayed with us for a little while, and M would come and get her for walks, and to play a bit.

Well, the results came in yesterday, and M came over to visit with us, and discuss everything. Ultimately, M is NOT allergic to dogs, but her allergy is breed specific... to whatever Luna's breed is. (We don't know what Luna is, but her DNA test should be coming back any day now).

It was a hard decision, but Luna is back up for adoption.
Part of what makes M and Luna so compatible is their activity level. If M has to be medicated all the time, and dealing with hives and breathing issues, then her quality of life goes down, resulting in Luna's quality of life also going down. It wouldn't be fair to either of them.

I truly believe though, that Luna was in M's life that short while for a reason. Or several reasons. And amidst the heartache of letting go, there is joy.

Luna cried when M left the house. I did too.

But through Luna, we have a new friend, and a supporter of the Rescue. One more person's heart is touched, and through her... many more.


12-01-09
M sent me a letter and said that I could share it with you. It is meant to be put on her petfinder page, to let any potential adopters know how special Luna is. But I wanted to share it here as well.

_____________




"First of all, if you are reading this you already fell in love with Luna because you saw her picture and that incredible look of innocence on her face.

I had no intention of adopting a dog. I just lost my cocker spaniel of 13 years to cancer abruptly in March. They tried everything to save her but just could not.
Her death has been the hardest thing I have ever dealt with because she truly was my best friend. I told everyone I just could not get a dog again, not for a long while.

One night I missed her so much that I prayed to God to heal my heart.
Out of nowhere, I started to look for dogs to adopt.

Luna was the first one I was drawn to on Petfinder. I called H.A.R.T. the next day and she was still available = WOW! I fell in love with her immediately and agreed to adopt her. I received Luna the day she was spayed and was able to nurse her back to health.

In so many ways this was a blessing = seeing a dog come back from not feeling well and simply just having a dog in my home again.

On the third day as she was feeling better I let her sleep in my room and unfortunately developed a really bad allergic reaction. I just could not figure it out because I have had cocker spaniels most of my life and had no reaction like this.

I called H.A.R.T. and they agreed to hold her until I could get an allergy test done in addition to a DNA test of what Luna's breed might be. I continued to miss her but I knew for her and I to have the best life together I would need to find out if I was allergic to her breed. I continued to want to go over to see her and walk her and prayed for the answers.

I had the allergy test yesterday and I am allergic to something in her breed. We are still waiting on the DNA test to come back to see what breed she is as it would only be responsible of me to know this if I adopt again.

What is ironic is that some of the other tests for allergies they did on me are so serious that I have to carry an EpiPen.

I feel like dogs are our little angels on this earth. Luna literally may have saved my life as I don't know that I would have ever had this kind of testing done if I didn't have a reaction to her coat like I did.

Why she deserves the best forever home with you...Luna is a "healer".

Trust me, when you meet her you will know exactly what I am speaking of. She healed me in so many ways.

She gets along well with other dogs, make that all dogs! She loves people and will become your best friend instantly. She loves to walk, play, and be outdoors yet she knows how to sleep well! We even began training together and she did incredibly well.

She is simply a wonderful dog and I think it is so unfair for her not to have the absolute best forever home. It pains me that I can't keep her, however, I trust there is a plan in all of this.

I hope if you are reading this that you consider adopting her and you can provide her with the best dog life she can have as she deserves this. Please know that I feel blessed to have had her for the time I did and may you be blessed to have her forever. She will be loved and dearly missed by myself and her foster parents.

Thank you Luna for healing my heart.

God Bless,

M.

_______________________

And yes, I'm in tears. Thank you, M, for loving Luna. You made a big impact on her life, and she will always remember and love you.


2-18-2010



Lots of stuff happening with Luna. When we got her back from M, she just settled right back into our lives. A couple months went by... only a few people were interested in her, but none seemed like a good fit.
We were starting to think that Luna would be one of our permanent fosters. And I wouldn't have minded. :)

Last week, Lorraine took Luna to her house for a little while. I had been so busy, that I wasn't able to exercise her the way that she needed, and the dogs at Lorraine's get a bit more exercise. So she went there. She loved her daily hikes to the river, and was doing really well there. I missed her terribly.
When Lorraine took her home, I cried for 2 days. Almost inconsolable. I know, I'm hopeless. LOL

Then, yesterday, Luna went for a 'job interview' at the golf course. They needed a golf course dog, and Luna seemed like the perfect fit.
And it turns out that she WAS. They love her. :)
Her adoption will be finalized tomorrow.

Happy tears and crazy happy dancing here. This is a PERFECT fit for Luna. She gets to run/work all day while being with her owner, and then spend the evenings with the family. She has kids to play with!

OH I'm SO happy for her!!!



Luna's Story continues:

1-20-10

*sigh* This is one of the hardest things, emotionally. To be so excited about something, and so happy, then the very next day get a blow that knocks you on your butt.

Luna is back. It's awful, and has been very hard on the guy who adopted her. Luna became aggressive on the golf course. We are all shocked, and don't know how to even respond to it. This was SO not typical Luna behavior.

The guy who adopted her said that he thinks she bonded so quickly and so strongly to him that she became instantly protective. Over-protective. And he feels like she thought people were invading 'his' space, and she needed to protect him. She chased down a group of golfers, and actually cornered an elderly woman. He took her out of the situation, calmed her down, then took her back out again, and she did the same thing with a different group of golfers.

We were all discussing it, because it is SO NOT Luna behavior, and realized that he was working hard with Luna for a couple days, teaching her to chase and remove anything on the golf course. He was asking her to do that, and she did it. Too well. She was so eager to do whatever he asked, that even though she knew it was wrong to chase people, she thought that was what he wanted. They were on her course, and they were to be removed. That was her job.

Silly girl is too smart for her own good.

I honestly feel that is what happened.

So anyway, she is back with us, and settling back in. She's been a little off, I think she's adjusting to everything that she's been through in the last few weeks.

I'm prepared to accept her as a long term foster. When Wade and I were talking today about the dogs, he said 'our 3 girls and the 4 fosters'. Yeah. I think we might have both accepted it. And embraced it. :)
I won't stop looking for a home for her. But I'm not going to be disappointed if she doesn't find one. She is happy here. And we love her.


4-1-2101
Luna is adopted. For good. FOREVER.
It's official. She is staying with us... the newest member of the Freitas family. :)

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Cisco



10-15-09

We got Cisco from the shelter today. He's between a year, year and a half old, an Australian Shepherd mix. Probably mixed with some Spaniel.

He is a big goof, and SO incredibly sweet.
He did NOT like his bath at all, but really enjoyed the toweling off afterward, LOL.

He seems like he may have a urinary tract infection ( he whines when he pees, and he only dribbles a little bit at a time) so we'll have to go get that taken care of.

He's getting along great with everyone else, and even though we introduced three new dogs today, everyone is getting along splendidly!


The last photo there is him looking in watching Josh make dinner tonight. LOL

10-22-09

Cisco is doing GREAT! He is so mellow and laid back compared to the other crazies in the house, LOL. He is completely housebroken (with use of the dog door), and is over his infection, though now he has a bit of kennel cough.
He's a big sweet boy, with a soulful face and I just love him.

10-24-09

It looks like Cisco has found a home! He went on a trial to see if he got along well with their pig, and it seems to be going great.
A note from his new dad:

A quick update on Cisco.
He is doing well and playing well with Toby. He stays away from Piggy as much as possible. Including crawling backwards out of his skin if necessary.
Another day or two and Toby will realize that Cisco is staying. The nice thing is that Cisco is not overly energetic especially for his age. They will play hard for about 5 minutes then take a 2 hour nap.




12-09-09

Merry Christmas from Cisco!



Maddie and Lily



10-15-09

Lily and Maddie were found tied to a tree together with no food or water out in the middle of nowhere. The county sheriff took them to the shelter. They were VERY shy and skittish and afraid of everything.

And they looked HORRIBLE. Matted and filthy and stinky.

We took them from the shelter last week to see if we could get border collie rescue to take them. While they were in our Apple Valley facility, a couple out there saw them and fell in love. They've been going over several times a week and interacting with them, playing with them, etc.

They completed the adoption process just this Tuesday, and Lily and Maddie now belong to them. They are a fantastic couple, Wade and I spent quite some time visiting with them in their home.

ANYWAY...

I took the girls to the groomers today, and they'll go to the vet tomorrow to be spayed.

When I picked them up from the groomers, I almost started crying. They looked like 2 different dogs than the ones I dropped off this morning. They are gorgeous.

And they are so incredibly sweet. Very shy, but sweet.

We have them here at our house, and they'll be here till they go home on Saturday morning.

Everyone, meet Maddie (the black one) and Lily (the white face).

10-17-09

Maddie and Lily went home today. Their new mom and dad picked them up at our house early this morning before our adoption event. They say that both girls are doing fantastic, and that they are SO happy!
YAY! I can't tell you how happy I am that they were adopted together. J seems to think that Maddie may be Lily's mom, and that is where the connection comes from. It is entirely likely, and makes total sense.

Thank you J and T for loving these 2 special gals!

Monday, October 12, 2009

MIKEY IS FINALLY HOME!

10-12-09

It took awhile, and a lot of bouncing back for the poor guy, but I believe he has finally found his home.


Go to his entry HERE and read the whole story.

Grab a kleenex first.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Vanessa


10-10-09

Vanessa is a sweetheart. I fell in love with her from the first moment I saw her cowering in her kennel at the shelter.
She was a stray, picked up on the side of the highway. From the looks of her, she'd been out there on her own for quite a while.

She was at the shelter for about 3 weeks or so before we were able to take her out. She's been out at our Apple Valley facility for about a week, and we just brought her home today.

We had an appointment to meet with a family from the Las Vegas area who were interested in adopting her. So she came here and got a bath, then we met them at the dog park.
They loved her (how could they not?) and we finalized the adoption.

They can't actually take her till she is spayed, so she will get to stay here for a few more days till all that gets done, then we'll drive her to them.

She is SUCH a doll. So mellow, and very sweet. She is well behaved, and she gives amazing hugs.
I'm glad that we've got her for a few days so I can love on her. And I am SO glad that she has found a home!


10-14-09

Vanessa went home today. They were so excited to take her home! She will have a wonderful life with them. Oh! And they changed her name to Roxy. ;)

Monday, October 5, 2009

Beavis/Travis






10-05-09

We got little Beavis today. His owner had to give him up because their other dog was being dangerously mean to him.
He is a Rat Terrier, is only 6 months old, and has quite the personality!

The other dogs don't quite know what to make of him, I think they didn't hear the 'Terrier' part, and think he's just a 'Rat'. LOL

10-08-09
Beavis got a name change. He is now Travis. We decided as a group that he needed a name that was more socially acceptable. Besides, we were tired of people asking where Butthead was.

Travis moved on to another foster home. He was doing great here, but we were a little full for a bit, so one of our other foster homes took him. He is doing great there!

10-17-09
Travis is adopted! He went to a great home with kids, and will be so happy there!