Operation Spay your female!!

There was a sign in a front yard that read:

Lab Mix Puppies
$125

A few weeks later the sign read:

Lab Mix Puppies
$100

A week later the sign read:

Lab Mix Puppies
$100
or
Best Offer



UGH!! What the hell is wrong with people... selling puppies like some back yard breeder.

To make things worse I took the number and googled it. Up pops a Craigs' list ad. The ad said:

Lab Mix Puppies 6 weeks old. Mother and Father on site.

OMG! Seriously.

So, I called the number and left a message saying that my best offer was I would get the female fixed FREE OF CHARGE if she would give me the puppies so that I can get them fixed and find them homes.

I really didn't expect her to call me back but she did.

So, here is the back story.... wait for this.. you will die.


The women has 2 dogs male and female. Apparently mix breeds. NEITHER are fixed. This is her female 2 liter. This liter she had 6 puppies. 3 girls, 3 boys. All have been SOLD except one male.

She said she was THINKING (really what is there to think about here) of getting her female fixed. She said her Dad just doesn't understand why that is necessary. Your kidding me right?? Seriously there are people out there that still think NOT fixing your dog is ok. There are people out there that have one male and one female that are not fixed and they are SURPRISED when they have puppies. Really???

I explained to the women that dogs who are not fixed have higher rates of cancer and health issues, I explained to her that 7 million dogs die in the US every year in shelters, I told her that last year Lorain County (the county she lives in) destroyed 600 dogs. I explained to her that a male dog can smell a female in heat more then 50 miles away. The male dog will chase after that smell and get so far from home they can't find their way back. "Oh really" she said. Yes, that is why if you ever notice there are way more males in shelters then females.

So, she is suppose to email me pictures of the 1 puppy that is left, hopefully get in touch with the 3 people that have the females and let them know I can help them get their puppies fixed at a lower cost and ASAP and take her female to my vet for shots and then make an appointment to get her spayed. I will pay the spay bill.

I haven't received an email yet and I called her this morning but haven't heard back so I really really hope she takes me up on my offer.

*************OK, so for my idea***********************

I am going to need some help with this plan / idea. So let me explain and then if anyone wants to help me I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE THE HELP!

Check newspaper ads, craig's list, internet, etc. and if there are puppies looking for homes either free or even if they are for sale. Call the number and ask the people if they would like help getting their female fixed and finding the puppies we can help. The deal is they surrender the puppies to my rescue and in exchange I will spay their female. If they are close to me then at my vet, if they are not willing to drive to my vet it can be a vet of their choice BUT I need to speak with the vet to make sure the price isn't going to kill me. Some vets are just greedy and charge way too much for a spay.

That way all the puppies get fixed, find homes UNDER CONTRACT so you know they won't end up in a shelter and the mom dog gets fixed so NO MORE PUPPIES.

I want to start in Lorain County and get this idea / plan / program working and maybe expand out.

I was thinking that running news paper ads might help too. Not sure how to word them but maybe just maybe I could get some females fixed and have a few less dogs needing homes NEXT YEAR. Ya know?

So, what I am going to need are people to help keep a look out for "FREE TO GOOD HOME" puppy ads or even puppies for sale.. now you know if the dog is pure breed it is a back yard breeder and you will get no where with those a-holes but if it is a regular person who just wasn't educated enough to get their dog or dogs fixed then they will more then likely go along with it.

What do you think? Good idea? Or am I being a dreamer? Can anyone help? I mean even if you don't live in Lorain County, you can still help because I need someone to check craig's list and other websites.

Nothing makes me smile more then puppies :-)

I am pretty sure I have raised the laziest group of puppies EVER :-) All the pictures I get of them they are sleeping or eating while laying down.. LOL!!



Rosie eating.......
Jasper sleeping ON HIS TOY......

Baby sleeping an hour after arriving at her new home. I guess that 10 minute car ride was stressful.. LOL!!

And then there were NONE!

Baby went home today

Another Puppy goes home.. Rosie

Echo the Lazy puppy

Echo sleeping.......

Echo eating....

What a hard life this puppy has!

Myths!!

Why is it that SO MANY people believe that a female dog having one litter is OK? or the dogs right? I can't believe how many times I have heard "I just wanted her to have one litter." Why? Give me a valid reason why.

A valid reason isn't because I wanted a puppy... if you want a puppy go to http://www.petfinder.com/ or http://www.adoptapet.com/ and FIND ONE THAT ALREADY NEEDS A HOME. There are 7 million dogs DIEING every year.

A valid reason isn't because you wanted the dog to have the experience... WHAT? A dog has litter of puppies and then forgets as soon as the puppies are living in a different home. Dogs don't have experiences like people do. They don't have resumes. 10,000 Human babies are born in the US every day. 70,000 cats and dogs are born in the US everyday. Do the math!

A valid reason isn't because it is good for them or makes them a better dog. The opposite is actually true and I have proven it to myself time and time and time again. Whenever I spay / neuter puppies (under 6 months) they always have the best personalities. NEVER EVER have issues with them... Also, it has been proven by vets that dogs that are not fixed die of cancer more frequently then dogs that are fixed.

Here are some more statistics:

Males neutered at a young age are far less likely to develop dominance or aggression-related behavior problems, including possession and food guarding, territory marking (lifting his leg on everything in sight), aggression toward other dogs, and "humping" inappropriate objects.

Altered animals are generally more docile and easier to train

In the span of six years, an unspayed dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 puppies!

evidence shows that females spayed before their first heat are typically healthier.

Spaying or neutering does not affect a dog's natural instinct to protect home and family.

Pets don't have any concept of sexual identity or ego. Neutering will not change a pet's basic personality. He doesn't suffer any kind of emotional reaction or identity crisis when neutered.

LAZY PUPPIES!!

So, apparently I have very lazy puppies. I checked in with the 3 that were adopted and everyone said the puppies lay down and eat :-) LAZY puppies.

The other thing these 3 seem to do is sleep on their backs... her is Abbey living her life of luxury

The remaining 3 puppies are going to Toledo tomorrow to stay the night at my rescue partner's house and then to the Clinic on Thursday to be fixed. Friday morning they are getting picked up and 2 will go home Friday and the last puppy will go home Saturday morning before 9am.

This weekend is going be SO STRANGE... wow my puppies are all going to be HOME finally home. It has been a long long road.

What is a designer dog??

Is it just me or when I was a kid these were called mutts and people didn't brag about having one??

I don't know if I am tainted in my view because of all the horrible things I see or if I am not alone in thinking that designer dogs are a bit ridiculous. It seems like a puppy mill or backyard breeder had an "accident" between (for example) a Lab and Poodle and then decided to profit off of it. And since it worked so well with those now they are crossing EVERYTHING under the sun and giving them these crazy names.

I have had people say to me I have a Cockapoo but it doesn't have papers. WELL YEA DUH! Because it is a MUTT!!

Nothing against Cockapoo's or Labradoodles I know people that have them and they can be (KEY PHRASE HERE CAN BE) very nice dogs but really it is just someone trying to make money off people and A LOT of money at that.

I have rescued plenty of Labradoodles.. PLENTY OF THEM! Even puppies.. and I have rescued Jack Rat (Jack Russell / Rat Terrier), Cockapoo (Cocker Spaniel / Poodle) and Yorkiepoo (Yorkie / Poodle) and Beagle / JRT mixes (no idea what the designer name is for those) and Chiwinnie (Doxie / Chihuahua). So, don't get me wrong here they have all been nice dogs and I know it is now main stream to call them by the smashed together names but I just think it is crazy the amount of money someone will pay for one of these dogs.

Labradoodles are selling for $1,200 and up at Pet Land (you know that is my favorite store.. LOL!). I have seen ads in news papers and Internet for mix breed.. Oh sorry designer dogs.. for $2,000 and sometimes even more. There is even one website of a "breeder" that has a page of puppies called Oopses... it says right on the page "We don't always know who the father is of our Oopses" OMG are you freaking kidding me??? And she sells them for $1,000 a piece.

Again don't get me wrong I have adopted out plenty of designer dogs and for some people it is a perfect balance / mix of a dog. My one friend at work adopted a Goldendoodle puppy from me. It is actually black because the father was a Black Poodle. Apparently a "breeder" couldn't sell them all at Christmas so he dumped them at the pound. UGH!! Anyways, it is perfect for his family. His son is allergic to dogs and he really didn't want a little dog and he really didn't like poodles. The mix is PERFECT! Nice big dog with Golden personality and poodle hair PERFECT. Now, if he went and got this dog through a "breeder" or a Pet Store he would have paid $1,800 for the dog with NO vet care. He adopted this dog from me spayed and up to date on all vaccinations for $200.

Crazy isn't it?

The sad thing is a lot of dogs are loosing out on homes because of this crazy cross breeding. People are expecting to get one thing and then the puppy grows up and is something totally different then they expected. Like these Golden and Labardoodles. There is NO guarantee they will come out with Poodle hair. Litters are usually 50 / 50.. half have poodle hair and half have the lab or golden hair. The other thing people don't realize are the personality traits... OMG Labradoodles if not trained properly can be SOOOOOOOOOOO hyper and BAD DOGS! So, after having a BAD dog for a year or two people are dumping them at the pound. It isn't the dogs fault the owner had NOT A CLUE how to train / raise a Lab OR a Poodle. Which both breeds need a lot of exercise. So sometimes crossing them you just intensify those energetic traits.

For example Beagle JRT mixes... OMG whose bright idea was that?? Hey I have an idea lets take a dog that is known for only following it's nose, never listens, being difficult to housebreak and mix it with a REALLY hyper stubborn dog that needs lots of exercise and see what happens. Great you have now created a REALLY fast, hyper Beagle that when it runs away YOU CAN'T CATCH IT!!!!! Oh and now they can jump really high too... GREAT because Beagles don't already get into garbage.. now they can get in the garbage and back out of it without ever knocking over the can. AWESOME!

Sorry, I just had to see if anyone else out there agrees with me.. the designer dog thing has just gone over board. I had someone contact me saying they wanted a Beabull... I had to look that up on the Internet it is a Beagle and Bull dog. Granted the pictures I have seen are FREAKING CUTE! But I have a friend that has a Bull Dog and they are really lazy and stubborn. So, I wonder what happens when you mix the Beagle in there?? Anyways, the person said she was willing to spend up to $1,000. OMG! That is a lot of money for a mutt!

I wonder what designer name my dog would be?? He is a Rottie, Shar Pei, German Shepard and Borzi mix....

I knew this was going to be hard...

I received my normal Sunday night email called the "Kill List" It is a list of dogs from about 5 or 6 pounds that need an exit plan FAST! A great group called Stop The Suffering arranges transport every Thursday from the pounds to Cleveland, Toledo, Canada and other states. It is so so so hard not to ask for dogs to be transported to me.

I know of at least 7 JRT's that are in need. I had all the information for 6 of them and sent that out today asking for help for them... I hope they get it.

Then today I got an email from Richland County pound begging for help because they are busting at the seems. I really like Richland County pound, the volunteers there are really nice, try to do the best for the dogs and it is a nice facility and when they need help I know they really need help.

Look at the faces and information of these beautiful dogs that are going to die.....



Brando came in as a owner surrender on 4-20-09. His owners were moving and could not take him along. Brando is 1 year old, good with kids, cats, and other dogs, but needs a little brushing up on the house training skills. He also does have some cage aggression, but as soon as he comes out he is very submissive and loving. Please give him a chance to be the friend he was meant to be.

Australian ShepherdBorder Collie Young, M

Harper is one adorable pup. He was dumped over the fence in the outside play area on 5-11-09. Poor little guy......Harper is about 4 months old and ready to find a family that will keep him around.

ShepherdRottweiler

Baby, M

Gino is a cute little boy who came in as a stray on 5-7-09. He is a little nervous here and wants nothing more than to find a place to call home.

Terrier Adult, M

Onyx came in with his friend Paris as strays on 5-1-09. They are both very easy going and love to go for walks together. They both also seem to be housetrained since they try to hold it as long as possible. Please help them both find a place to call home.....either together or separately.

Miniature PinscherTerrier Adult

I would so take these dogs in ASAP if I wasn't getting married and not allowed to have dogs at my house.... OMG I can't wait till September... you better bet I am going to get like 10 dogs as soon as I can have dogs at my house again.... OMG I HATE PARVO.

40 days, 3 puppies, 1 mom dog, 1 JRT and counting

I had my wedding shower on Saturday. That was fun.. I received a phone call right in the middle of it about a dog that another rescued needed help getting out of the pound.. I wanted to help so bad but figured I would get is SO MUCH trouble.. LOL!! Might make the family a little upset if I took off during my own shower.. LOL!!

Well 40 days till the wedding.. HOLY CRAP. It is coming up fast. So, excited and worried about doggies all at the same time. Crash is still in foster care with Walter and he is totally fine there. Walter likes the little guy but really what isn't to like?

The 3 puppies Daisy, Jasper and Baby are getting spayed / neutered on May 20th and then going home the following week. They are due for 2nd round shots on the 27th so I figured I would just hang on to them until then so people don't have turn around and drive back out to my house for 2nd set of shots.

Then I have Molly, the mom of the puppies. No interest in her at all. :-( She is an awesome dog and is going to make someone an awesome pet. She LOVES little kids, is fine with other dogs and ok with in door cats.. outside that is an entirely different story.. LOL!!

Her foster home is going to have to give her back to me here really soon. I have no idea what I am going to do with her while I am getting married and going on my honey moon if I can't find her a forever home. She is really the only one I am worried about right now. Poor dog...

Other then that everything is going ok. My house it totally under construction as I am sure I mention before. I think they might be putting the windows and painting the master bedroom today. Oh I can't wait till I can move everything in there.. I am living like a gyps.. out of bags and boxes.. UGH!!

There are several JRT's and a few other dogs in need but I can't take them right now and it is breaking my heart.. ANYONE WANT TO FOSTER?????

And then there were 3...

Echo went home on Friday evening. Here is his new VERY excited family ;-)Kacy went home this morning. She will have a 94# big doggie brother!!

Abbey went home...

Abbey's new family!!!!

Me kissing Abbey good bye!!

Kacy Kacy

Kacy and Rosie

Kacy

Kacy

Kacy and Echo

Jasper

Jasper

Jasper.. what you looking at?

Jasper

Jasper

Echo

Echo

Echo and Kacy.. and Baby not paying any attention to her sisters

Baby

Baby

Baby

Abbey

Baby

Baby, Echo and Kacy

Me and Abbey

And then there were 5...

Today is a big day, very big day for me, Abbey (parvo puppy) and one lucky family! Abbey, Echo and Kacy were spayed Tuesday night... man was I a wreck over that.. just worry about these puppies too much I guess. Anyways, they were spayed Tuesday night and now get to go home!

Abbey is getting picked up tonight, Echo is getting picked up Friday night and Kacy leaves 10am Saturday morning. Awwww my babies... I am going to miss them but not going to miss them if that makes sense. I want to keep them forever but they won't be puppies forever and I know that the homes that I selected for them are the VERY BEST OF THE BEST homes and they are going to have amazing lives and I am so excited for them. It is going to very hard the first morning when I go to play with them and there is 1 missing and then another and then another... but I will have 3 of the puppies for at least 2 more weeks but by end of May they will all be home!

I feel like this has been one heck of an emotional roller coaster but it is nice to know the roller coaster ride is over and the puppies get awesome homes in the end.

On another note I have officially lost my mind.. LOL!! COMPLETELY gone, I should be hospitalized. LOL!!

I rescued a 6 week old puppy on Tuesday morning. Spent all night after work on Monday arranging the rescue and then left work picked the puppy up and YES brought to work with me for the day.

I can't have any dogs at my house until September that are 100% up to date on shots SOOOO the puppy is currently living at my sisters house. Ok, look at this face how could I not have rescued him???

Sally, the lady I work with who was supposed to adopt Riley who passed away it coming to look at him Friday night. I rescued him for her so I hope she wants him. He doesn't have a name yet.. I was waiting on Sally for that.

He is a really good puppy so far.. hates to potty in his cage. That is really good for a puppy that small to get that... most of the time they don't.

I told Sally that if she wanted to take home the puppy right away she could. I would just come to her house and give him his shots when he is 8 weeks, 12 weeks and then she would have to do the 3rd sent and I would get him fixed for her after my honey moon.

Hoping she does want him.. LOL!! Not sure where he will stay if she doesn't take him..LOL! Whatever I am sure someone will watch him for me. HE IS SO DARN CUTE!

Ok, so example #2 why I am crazy. I drove to Akron on Saturday and picked up a dog that was rescued from Holmes County. His name was Caleb. OMG what an nice dog. I picked him up Saturday gave him booster shots as he already had 1 set, took him to his foster home and that night received an application. Called the lady the next day and she came to meet him. I called the vet Monday afternoon and they had an opening for surgery on Tuesday. I left work Monday picked him up at his foster home and took him to the vet. Tuesday night... ok that was a long day but for purposes of Caleb he was picked up from the vet, the lady and her husband and two doggie kids came and met Caleb Tuesday night. They LOVED HIM... like who wouldn't he is a great dog. They came back Wednesday night and adopted him.

HOW AWESOME IS THAT! Now check out his face.. see why they adopted him

Such a good boy.

Well things are tough right now I will be honest.. I feel very helpless. There are so many dogs that need out of kill shelters NOW or dogs in abusive situations and I just can't help them.. makes me sick to my stomach.

Everyone keeps telling me that me taking a break right now is good because of everything I have going on. My wedding is 44 days away, my wedding shower is Saturday and my house is under total construction... like TOTAL construction.. LOL!! Leave it to me to do everything at once.

What is your opinion on this email?

YES this is an actually emailed I received.. swear on my puppies.


I have a Jack Russell Terrier, Cody, who will soon be three years old. Altho, this is a breed I have had for many years, my significant other is not used to it. Today, he told me Cody is causing him to have a lot of stress and I should get rid of him.
Cody is a very good dog and has learned very quickly, the simple commands such as, sit and lay down. Understands quite a few word phrases, such as: bye-bye, treat, crate (which he really doesn't like, but I tell him time-out and its okay for a little while), popcorn (his favorite), and a few I don't remember right now.
Cody hasn't been introduced to young children, so I would probably recommend a home with older children. He's a lovable, fun and devoted dog and he would make someone an excellent pet. He's a typical JRT, an excitable barker.
This is very difficult to send to you and I really, really wish I didn't have to, but I don't know what else to do. Can you help me find him a good home? I'm more than willing to keep him until you do.

Thank you in advance. I look forward to hearing from you.



My response to her and what I really wanted to say were WAY different.. LOL!!