Last Minute Saves...
All of our dogs come from rough backgrounds and we never know how close they are to being euthanized until our intake directors arrived a few Saturday's ago. Our intake directors arrived Saturday to begin the long (usually 5 or more hour) process that it takes to pick the dogs that come into the NLOL family. Little did they know that as they were walking into the shelter, one little pooch was being walked to the euth room. One of the workers stopped and redirected the little sweetheart to our intake directors who immediately fell in love with her shy demeanor.
Adorable, apartment sized Noca had no idea that her life was about to change big time. She was pretty reserved and withdrawn while in her crate at ACC. The intake directors took her out and spent time with her, played and just waited for her to open up, and boy, did she! She was one of our most outgoing pups, willing and eager to meet and greet everyone. Noca always made time for a good belly rub and quickly found her way into her forever home.
Congratulations Noca and your new family. We loved every minute you spent with us!
Will you be my Valentine?
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Feb 11 - Adoption Event
Ruff Haus Pets will be hosting this week's Adoption Event. 4652 N. Rockwell
Chicago, IL
Come and say HI to:
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| Miss Patty! |
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| Claudia! |
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| BESSIE |
a Good Laugh.
These pups have all been adopted, but going through our albums of rescued four legged animals, one can see that each has their own personality. Thanks for the laughs NLOL Alums!
Big ol' Bessie
New Leash on Life is committed to rescuing dogs that wouldn't be given another chance. We are known for rescuing elder bulls and medical cases, and Bessie fits the bill. She's a bit older and was waiting for us to grab her from ACC (Animal Care & Control), we couldn't pass that sweet face. Once we got her to our vet we had her thoroughly checked, we found out that Bessie may need some extra medical testing.
We originally just thought she was a big girl, more for everyone to love at a mere 98 pounds. However, we found that her weight trouble wasn't from overfeeding, it may be something more internally. Immediately our Medical Director along with the vet staff at VCA started blood tests to identify what could be troubling our girl. They noticed on external exam that her liver seemed enlarged, they also noticed that she was drinking LOTS of water and gobbling up her food. Because of these signs, we tested her liver for Cushings.
Cushings is hard to identify, many of the signs are also signs of older aging so many owners think that it's just their dog showing signs of age. The signs include: increased water intake, ravenous appetite, pot-bellied appearance, and hair loss. Cushings disease typically effects older dogs but it can appear as early as 5 years old and is mainly in smaller breeds, however, we test our larger dogs as well. Please note: Cushings does not show up in regular blood tests, and has to be specifically tested.
Bessie's liver results came back high, but not high enough for Cushings, it could be an early indicator, so we are treating it as a precautionary.
During testing, we noticed Bessie was developing bruising on her chest, just under the skin. This worried our Medical Director (because of earlier liver testing) and decided to get an ultrasound done, thankfully, nothing showed up on the ultrasound. Bessie also had a raging upper respiratory infection and tested positive for Lyme disease. Lyme disease is something that she is a carrier, however, doesn't necessarily HAVE it. She is currently on antibiotics for all, and we are running a PCR, the test that determines if her Lyme disease is active.
We are happy to report that Bessie's respiratory infection is all cleared up, her water intake has slowed down and she is being checked regularly for her liver levels. This shows that we may think we are taking a healthy dog, and further examination shows a pup that needs a lot of TLC.
While this post may seem sad, Bessie is no worse for the wear and is LOVING her new foster home with foster sister, Ms. M and foster brother, Mr. B of Two Pitties in the City. She is happy-go-lucky and feeling 100% better than when we first got her. We are so happy to have Bessie as a part of the NLOL family and can't wait to find her a forever home!
Bessie is currently on a weight loss diet and has lost 8 pounds! She is being fed Sojo's dehydrated fruits and veggies. For more information on her diet, check out: Bessie's Diet and for more information regarding adoption an elderbull, check out this post here: On the Secrets of Elderbulls.
Levi Update!
Levi's eye surgery went well and we couldn't have done it without the amount of support we received from everyone near and far. We were overwhelmed and humbled by the turn out. Thank you, thank you thank you. You can read about the whole story on his blog here.
Critical Mass helps NLOL
We are so fortunate that our supporters help and donate many items to help relieve the stress on our budget. Recently, one company, Chicago-based digital agency Critical Mass, was challenged to make a difference. They had a set budget, and only about 2 hours to help. The entire company was divided up with about 9 people on a team. New Leash on Life was chosen by one of the groups to be the benefactor of what they were able to donate.
They contacted NLOL and asked what we really needed. At that time we were nearly out of big dog beds! Those are vital because we try to place every dog in a foster home with everything they'll need, which includes dog beds. The team at CM took up a collection and bought 9 huge dog beds for our pooches.
Chemical Burns and Pups.
Little Miss Pancake squeezed her way in with one of our recent trips to ACC (Animal Care & Control). She's a puggle and her little body was covered in chemical burns. We couldn't pass up this sweet pup that needed extra attention to treat her open wounds.
Puggles were bred quite rapidly a few years back, but with the decrease in interest in that mix breed, many are abandoned or dropped off at the pound. Pancake has a lost history, not sure if it was by accident, trying to get rid of extra puppies, a bad owner, or misguided people that found her, either way- she came with chemical burns over her back and some on her head. The chemicals had burned their way through her fur and past her skin.
There isn't much information about chemical burns/ how to treat/ dogs. Probably because the large majority of the world would never think to do such a thing to an innocent animal, however, most articles say to wash thoroughly with water to dilute the chemical and see the vet immediately.
We talked with Gordon's forever parents about chemical burns for further help. Gordon came from One Tail at a Time Rescue in Chicago. When he first arrived, he had chemical burns covering the majority of his little pit bull body. He walks with many of our alums and adoptable dogs with Chicago Sociabulls on Sundays. Gordon's parents were incredibly helpful when talking about things they do to help Gordon and some of the tips they have learned.
They use lotion to help with cracking and overall flexibility of the tender skin. Gordon's hair (like Pancake) will not grow back in some places, so the exposed skin needs to be treated just like human skin. It gets dry in the winter and they use Aquaphor on his back. It's a bit of a thicker lotion and can be found almost anywhere, Walgreens, Target, etc. For a lighter lotion, they use Eucerin for sensitive skin. After applying lotions, put a tshirt on the dog to avoid rubbing off on furniture, etc.
Gordon's forever parents use tshirts a lot. This helps with sun exposure as well as making sure he doesn't scratch or rub to vigerously inside his crate. Since his wounds have healed a lot, they use the tshirts less, however, he is in one whenever they are gone while in his crate. They also recommend kids tshirts which are less expensive than dog tshirts and still fit.
During the summer months or when there will be high exposure to the sun, they apply sunscreen. And the vet suggested giving Gordon fish oil pills because they improve the skin/coat.
Pancake will make a full recovery from the burns but her future owners will need to apply sunscreen during the summer and it would be helpful to have a humidifier during the colder months. Just like with a human with exposed sensitive skin, they need to be on the look out for cracks in the skin and bleeding which can be treated with ointment as mentioned above.
Pancake also has a bit of a trick knee. The medical term is a luxating patella. It can pop out and may need help putting it back into place. It can require surgery, however, she's not at that stage yet. With careful play, minimal stairs and joint supplements, she may never need surgery.
Thanks to Lydia, our Medical Director for input and explanations. Also a big thanks to Gordon's forever parents for all the information and helpful suggestions!
Dog of the Week: Greer!
We are happy to report that she is in a Foster to Adopt home.
Wouldn't it be great to snuggle all day?!
Dog of the Week: FERRIS!
Jenny in Time for the Holiday!
Apartment Size Noca
Cooper
Mr. Cooper came into our family at New Leash on Life. He was originally a shy little mutt and was on the skinny and rough side. He quickly opened up and showed us his personality in his "wookie" barks, and soon he was a favorite of everyone that met him.
Is your home forever for JLo?
Stats:
Breed: Yellow Lab
Age: 11 yrs old
Temperament: very kind and loving
Kids: not tested
Rider in cars: perfect passenger
Walker: fast walker
Challenges: still working out 1 or 2 kinks from being boarded for so long. She developed a challenging intolerance that will need some extra patience and training to help with this new behavior.
Special Requests: Needs to be place as only dog situation.
Adoption Application:
Please click here.
Abandoned JLo
As any true Disney story starts out with heartbreak and sadness, JLo's story ended with a happily ever after. Through the power of networking, JLo's world turn upside down overnight. JLo came to us from the vet's office that treats and fixes our dogs before they find their forever homes. She was abandoned two months ago and became a favorite of all the workers, however, living in a kennel just wasn't the life for this yellow lab. She was starting to get a bit stir crazy after staring at the same four walls day after day. New Leash on Life was asked to take this gal on and find her a foster/forever home. NLOL is only able to take in as many dogs as we have foster homes available, so we put out the plea on Facebook.
Overnight we received countless offerings and felt so blessed to have such a strong community behind us. JLo's is now in her foster with the intent to adopt home, she has a beautiful backyard to run and play and she has awesome former NLOL adopter parents.
JLo was a rockstar in the car, sitting nicely the entire way.
She is one very happy girl. Thank you to everyone who reposted this story and spread the word. NLOL is so blessed to have such an amazing support team and we thank each of you for being able to get this girl into a home so quickly.
Along came Murphy.
talking about Murphy that we were going to be welcoming a new family
member into our home. When the alarm sounded for a person in the river,
everyone was on high alert. Once on the scene, that person turned out to
be Murphy fighting to stay afloat. Murphy's initially shy and uneasy
demeanor only made us want to give him the stability and love that he
needed. Day by day Murphy's timidness has disappeared and his true
fun-loving personality is beginning to come through. Helen and I are
thrilled that we were able to adopt such a fantastic dog, and the kindness
and support we received from Megan at New Leash on Life really made the
whole process feel right. We love Murphy and we're excited to have him as
a part of our family!"
Cameron, Rosalyn & Janice
New Leash has been very busy working on saving dogs and finding great homes for them. This summer seemed like it has flown by and many of the dogs we fell so deeply in love with have officially found their forever home. Congrats to:
Cameron
We are so happy to be a part of these dogs journeys in finding their homes. Thank you adopters for opening your hearts to these lovable four legged animals.
group pictures
When we pick up new pups from Animal Care & Control, it is quite a long process of picking the right fits. We typically take the ones that have a rougher past, a longer recovery and are long shots. They each have a history and a story, some longer than others, however, once we get them, they transition so quickly into a new lifestyle. They make friends, they become dogs, they are allowed to act like dogs and still be loved, they become part of a family, and part of a pack.
It's great seeing how the pups bond with each new 'class' we bring in and when they met pups from other classes at adoption events there are quick bonds that occur and it's great to watch. It's also great when the dogs are placed in their forever homes and meet again at alumni events. It's like they are brought back to the start of their better lives. These are some pictures that were all happenstance and captures just a few moments in time.
Roselyn is quite the social butterfly. On the right, she and Calvin are sharing secrets and on the left she bonds with a different class member, Janice, at an adoption event.
Vito & Karma were foster friends and are reunited for play time. Above, Zelda and Calvin's parents are friends (both NLOL alums) and they have regular play dates.
