Cadbury's Happy Ending

Sometimes in rescue work, you hit this point where you wonder "What is wrong with this world?", "How much more can I take of seeing bad things over and over"...   then you find a dog like Cadbury (and unfortunately, there are MANY like Cadbury).   You wonder... what did this beautifully sweet, gentle and loving dog go through to end up emaciated, dying in a ditch on the side of the road???

Every time,  it is just as heartbreaking, just as hard.  Sometimes you cry, sometimes you joke, sometimes you are just numb, but as a rescue, each of our volunteers just keep trucking a long.   What pulls us through over and over and over are the happy endings!   And there ARE many happy endings that force you to continue.  The happy endings keep you working knowing that with no end to the homelessness in sight, you have to keep going.  You have to pull it together and just keep saving lives that are depending on you!  

So on Saturday, Cadbury found his home. Did you read that! He found his HOME!

He left with a loving family that fell in love with him as soon as they read his story.   He will have two gentle children to romp around with and just snuggle.  

On his first day home, he rolled on the floor with his new dad and even met a few of his new doggy neighbors.   He even had a movie night with a bunch of children and a dog friend!

He left my house weighing in at a whopping 15lbs more than when he got there.  He was up to 65lbs!   He still has a long way to go, but he was headed there big time!

Although he was still low on energy (and very chill!) this was his last romp with his temporary foster dog pals.  Look how happy he was and how much better he looked.
CADBURY PLAYING AT FOSTERS HOME

Please help Dogs XL Rescue continue to take in the harder cases.   They require more time, medical care and financial support.  We can not do it without you!   Please donate to our critical care fund and help save a dog that deserves a second chance like Cadbury!

http://www.dogsxlrescue.org/donate



Pampering Appointment!

We are do-it-yourself dogwashers, however, Cadbury deserved a spa day.   We tried the Heresy Spa but they hung up when we said the appointment was for Cadbury.  Ha!
Well we waited until Cadbury was feeling better and his energy was up then we took him to our trusted friends at Annandale Pet Spa for some TLC. They loved him!!!. While all the other dogs there were safely crated around the spa, Cadbury got to hang out with the staff the whole time... The staff, who was sneaking him treats!
Oh he smells like a little slice of heaven now. They cleaned his ears better than we ever could have and really conditioned his coat.   He is quite the handsome dude!
With his weight up to 64 lbs (THAT'S 10 LBS) and with his dapper new bandana, he is stylin and making heads turn!
I included a new "back" picture here so everyone can see how he is looking better already.
He is a sweet, amazing and easy going dog! He is ready for his new home.  Did I mentioned trained?
We LOVE to save dogs like Cadbury! We want them to have the lives they deserve.
Please help us continue our work by donating to their care!

http://www.dogsxlrescue.org/donate

Cadbury Update 9/26/12

So needless to say, Cadbury had a rough couple of days.   He started a hacking/retching that started every night that went non-stop throughout the entire night.   We started him on some GI medicine and some antibiotics and things were not changing.

Yesterday, Cadbury paid a visit to the vet that was a little anti-climatic.  We got a lot of "keep doing what you are doing and good luck".   Ironic but, oh-so-common, he had a better night just because he went to the doctor.   If I had a dollar every time that happened!

His blood work from a week ago showed he was severely anemic, basically living off of his bone marrow.   But amazingly everything was as good as you can get given his condition.   We opted to not do more blood work or xrays right now per the vets recommendation because he needs a little more time to recover and build some strength before anything can be conclusive with more diagnostics.    The hope is that as he gains weight and recovers, everything will fall into place.   Should things not improve fully, it may tell us HOW he got to be so thin... some of it, although a long shot, could be partially physiological.   Its all a wait and see.

Good News...
We have hit 60 pounds!   Five meals a day and teeny walks have started to help Cadbury put on a little muscle where he had literally NONE.    He is still a little "Eeyore" in personality, but perking up.   Coming from not looking up or into your eyes to staring you down for a rub or food is a lot of progress for this boy.

He tries to beat the other dogs to the door to get to be the first one for a walk:)   Makes us laugh.
Best yet....   he came to my bed last night and whined for a minute, i said "what", so he grabbed my hand in his mouth and pulled me to the back door to let him out.   Can you say, "housebroken"?

For those of you who are looking for a life long pal, Cadbury is the best mannered, easiest and one of the sweetest dogs we have had... and we have had too many to count come through our home as fosters.   He is a delight!

If you would like to seriously help Dogs XL Rescue do what we do, please consider becoming a foster home.   We can not take in dogs in need and have to turn them down if we dont have a house for them to go to.  To foster please go to http://www.dogsxlrescue.org/volunteer/foster.

OR, please donate to the special care that many of these dogs need.  We work solely on the kind donations of people like you.   Our adoption fees do not cover the costs of our special need dogs.  We need your help! Please donate here so we can take in the next dog in need.

http://www.dogsxlrescue.org/donate

Black Shadow UPDATE! Surgery and a home.

Our awesome Black Shadow has had a run of it these past few weeks!   

Thanks to everyone we were able to pay for a portion of his needed surgeries!

First the medical update:

Black Shadow was scheduled for surgery last month.  During his first surgery, the veterinarian determined that Shadow's knees needed a special procedure requiring artificial knee hardware.  So, unfortunately, Shadow was closed back up at his knees and he was put on hold until specialized parts were ordered.

Staples in his first leg that underwent the knee replacement

Yesterday, Shadow went in like a trooper to his big time surgery appointment and underwent the complete replacement on one knee.   He is doing great the vet says and will be released tomorrow to start rehab on his first knee.   In one month he returns to have his second knee repaired.  

But here comes the good news...

When he goes home, he will be going home to HIS NEW FAMILY!   They are going to work with him through the procedures and rehab and make sure he is living the fabulous spoiled life.

Dogs XL Rescue was able to commit to Dark Shadow and his medical needs because of YOU!   But we are only part of the way there and we need YOUR HELP!

Each knee repair costs about $4000!   We are working with the adopters to help Shadow in the best way we know how and we have committed to the cost of these necessary.   Please go to his chip in and help make this boy whole again!

We started ahead on this guy so he would not have to suffer long.   We earned about $2000 towards the $8K.   We are optimistic that we can get your help for the remaining portion of this HUGE BILL.  

http://www.dogsxlrescue.org/donate

WE HAVE WAGGING!!!

Need I say more....
First wag, first attempt to play and second happy noise :)

napping now.   that was all so exhausting!

http://www.dogsxlrescue.org/donate

Day one - improvements and shock

Let's just say that the camera does add ten pounds!    Sweet Cadbury arrived yesterday in Baltimore barely able to stand.   His muscle mass is nonexistent.  
Today he took his last road trip for a little while to head to VA to our adoption event in Tysons Corner to get to his foster home nearby.   With many small meals in his delicate tummy he was standing and actually walked around a little at the event for a few minutes and then headed for a cushy soft bed in his fosters home.
A big vat of rice, chicken and wet dog food was made to be used for a few days to slowly introduce food into his system.
He had trouble standing to eat and his hind feet actually tottered off the ground due to his hindend being so underweight and weak!!!!!   
Tonight he made it on a two house walk.... Ya gotta start somewhere, right???
What we do know is that he is tired, very tired.   Oh but he is sweet, gentle, and really, really tried to wag when he met the fosters dogs and kids.
He is happily and comfortably sleeping right now.    Hope his dreams are of his great home that will come when he is ready!




http://www.dogsxlrescue.org/donate

Cadbury WILL Have a New Life!

It's always hard to look at these pictures.  Your mind can go so many places with the "what happened to him", "who did this to him", "how much has he suffered".  Its all just so heartbreaking. 

We want to tell you about Cadbury and then focus on the positive.   Cadbury is on his way to us RIGHT NOW and we need your help to make it happen!

Meet Cadbury, the beautiful, sweet, soon to be, LARGE chocolate lab.  Cadbury found himself in a high-kill shelter about 60 pounds underweight and in fates hands. He has had a run-in that has torn one of his ears and needs emergency dental work for teeth that have not survived the malnutrition he has faced. This is what we need your help with.   These bills are about $800.

Typically, shelters are too full, with not enough resources or time to help a dog like Cadbury out of his situation.  So here we go on the great and positive events that are happening here...

Cadbury, at some point had someone in his life,...maybe a previous owner or a good Samaritan that had him neutered (AMAZING!).  He was tested at the shelter yesterday and miraculously, he is heartworm negative!  In the shape he is in, he passed his state health inspection to be able to come to Dogs XL Rescue in order to get to the next phase of his life.   A foster home is set up and ready to give him love, attention, and LOTS OF YUMMY FOOD.

In order for dogs like Cadbury to be saved, a line of devoted people have to come together perfectly, or that life is lost.   The amazing list begins with the person that pulled him from his horrible situation of near death and starvation and the shelter staff that chose to help him by putting their necks on the line to reach out to a rescue vs euthanizing him due to his condition.  Too often, this is an unsuccessful feat due to the pure numbers of dogs needing help.

From there, there is a multiple car/person of transport of volunteers that are coordinated to drive Cadbury to the Baltimore area to Dogs XL Rescue.   This is happening as your read this!  Once with he is with us (and believe, me, this is just taking a glimpse of tip of the iceberg on his team of volunteers working on his behalf), he will have adoption coordinators, foster home coordinators, dog adoption event coordinators, veterinarians, drivers, and a special foster family all pulling for him and working each day to make sure he is doing well and finds the best and most loving forever home.  

Still staying very positive, because sometimes you just have to do this heart-wrenching work, we will be sending out pictures in the future of a beautiful, healthy, HUGE and hopefully overweight, chocolate lab, snuggling with his new found family that will cherish him and give him the life he deserves.  I'm sure there will be a ball fetching and some swimming in that new life too!

WE NEED YOUR FINANCIAL HELP TO BE ABLE TO BE SUCCESSFUL WITH CADBURY.   PLEASE DONATE NOW!

http://www.dogsxlrescue.org/donate

We hope that with your help, Cadbury might look like this one day....  :)