We need your help to restore Levi's X-Ray Vision

We always joke that our fosterdog, little SuperLevi ,was raised by Superheros. And while he is always trying to help us if he thinks we're in distress, and charm the seemingly eternally grumpy Miss M, we realized that little SuperLevi actually needs our help.
Quite by chance we discovered that Levi has a congenital eye condition that will effect his vision in the near future. He is not in any pain, and he does not have any vision loss at this time, but left untreated he will lose vision in the future. We were so devastated to hear this, especially as he is so young.
But the good news is, there is a corrective surgery that will make him as good as new. The bad part: this surgery will cost about $2,700 (at discount!).
But, we know SuperLevi is really depending on us to help find his Super X-Ray Vision. And we have some ideas...

 One of Levi's favorite Superhero things to do is go for group walks. And since he's such a great walker, we thought we would have a mini Superhero-themed walk to "Help SuperLevi find his X-Ray Vision". And since we know everyone does the walk just for the T-shirt anyway, we made our own limited edition SuperLevi T-shirts and dog bandannas, based on these photos:

 Want to support Levi in his search for his X-Ray vision?
Interested in getting a unique, limited-edition shirt, and snazzy bandana, that will help support Levi?
If you purchase 2 T-shirts, you will get one raffle ticket!

Here is how you can help:
If You Live Outside the Chicago Area:
We would love to see you walking with your pooch in your own area in Levi's honor. Just like on New Year's Eve where they check in to all areas of the country, it would be great to see photos of people from all over posting photos on Facebook wearing the T-shirts and bandannas on the day of the local walk and walking in his honor.
If you would be interested in buying a shirt: you can make a tax-deductible donation on the New Leash site.
-1 Shirt & 1 Bandanna is $33, including shipping within the US.
-Extra Bandannas are $15 each.
-You can purchase them by making a donation clicking here.https://newleash.ipower.com/chicago/donationform.asp
-In the 'description box' make sure to include your preferred T-shirt size.
-Please order by Thursday, November 3 to make sure you receive your items in time. We have a limited quantity, and shirts will be available as long as quantities last.

If You Live in the Chicago Area:
We will be having a fun renegade,Superhero-themed walk for Levi the weekend of November 12. We would love to have you join Levi, Miss M, and Mr. B to walk to find Levi's X-Ray vision.
Check for complete details in a future post, but to 'reserve your spot' and order your T-shirt and bandanna:
--1 Shirt & 1 Bandanna is $30, extra Bandannas are $15 each.
-You can purchase by making a donation clicking here.
-In the 'description box' make sure to include your preferred T-shirt size.
-Please order early. Shirts will be available as long as quantities last.
--You can pick up your shirt at the walk, or by arranging to pick it up at a NLOL adoption event.

Other Ways to Help:1) Please, please spread the word and share on your Facebook page or blog.
2) Any type of donation would be greatly appreciated. Levi's rescue is an all-volunteer rescue so all donations go directly to the pooches. New Leash on Life also seeks to help the under-represented pooches and has been so successful finding many homes for senior dogs, bonded pairs, deaf dogs, and many pit bulls (including Miss M!). They function solely on donations and are dedicated to giving dogs the medical care they need as they search for their future families.
3) Check our blog tomorrow as the pooches host a raffle including brand new versions of their favorite things.

Again, thank you in advance for your support. Special thanks to Frances Almeda for creating our amazing T-shirts and bandannas, Aleksandra for the creative ideas, Claudia for jump starting everything, Kelsey for being so inventive and organized, and all the great people at New Leash on Life and SociaBulls for helping pull things together.
Please make sure to check our Facebook page for updates!

Is your home forever for JLo?

Many of you have heard about our recent addition to the New Leash on Life family.  JLo was abandoned at the vet's office that helps NLOL get their new additions in tip-top shape.  She was brought in to be treated for an ear-ache and abandoned.  She sat there for two months while her former family was contacted, promised to come back and get her, and then broke that promise.  NLOL was asked to get involved and find her a real forever home.

While she was boarding for such a long time, tiny walls couldn't keep JLo's spirit down.  She is fit and active and doesnt' act a day over 5 years old, even though she is an elder dog.

The only quirk she developed during those 2 months was that she now shows some dog aggression, when before she had none whatsoever.  We suspect it is because she was jealous of other dogs she'd see when out on her potty breaks, was worried and unsure of what was happening, and has so much untapped energy built up.  That's a tough situation for any dog to endure! We are hopeful now that she's in a wonderful foster home (with a former NLOL adopter) that this new quirk will work its way back out of her.

While JLo does have a foster home, she is still looking for her forever home.  For now, she would be best as the only dog in the home until we learn more about her and see how she bounces back.  Could your home be her forever home to live out her days? She is quite active and loves running and playing fetch.

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.

And as soon as she entered the home, she was showered with love and affection.  You can barely see her tail in this picture because it was wagging so fast.

And because JLo had been through so much, we thought she deserved a cupcake as a "Welcome Home" treat.

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.

This is the unbelievable, rags to riches story about Murphy, the small border collie with a fairytale ending. that might sound a bit dramatic, but Murphy's whole story with New Leash was a bit dramatic. We'll start at the beginning.

One of the hardest jobs for our intake directors is going into ACC and choosing which dogs will be leaving with us that day. Too often, we see dogs who shut down at the shelter. It's loud and overwhelming and even the strongest of pups don't always act like themselves. When we met Murphy, this SUPER shy kid had to be coaxed out of his crate. When we took him outside, it still took him a few hours before he warmed up to the Intake Directors. We knew we were taking on a challenge of a gorgrous pup who needed to be won over, but we were ready. He quickly became a part of our NLOL family.

Every new pup has to wait 7-10 days at our vet's office to get their shots and to ensure they have been throughly checked out before they become available for adoption. During this time frame, one of our volunteers was taking Murphy for a walk when he got a little spooked and backed out of his collar. He looked at the volunteer for a second and then took off running. He was hotly pursued by the volunteer and a couple of good samaritans...but 4 legs are faster than 2. NLOL volunteers swamped the area-hanging posters and asking passerbys if they saw a black and white blur come by their area.  We were fortunate that he had on 2 collars: the one he backed out of, and the one with his NLOL tag on it.

We all went home and were so relieved to have received an email from the Chicago Fire Department.  It simply stated that NLOL dog 443 (Murphy) had been found in the river, was hanging out at the fire station waiting to be taken to Chicago Animal Care and Control, and we could pick him up there. A good samaritan who was out walking her own dog and orchestrated his rescue wrote us the next day to tell us what happened: Murphy ran almost two miles and was spotted by the good samaritan and another woman jumping the wall behind a bowling alley on Diversey...and into the Chicago River. As he swam, she called 911 and within minutes several police cars, fire trucks and 1 diver appeared.  Murphy had found a little ledge to rest on, and a fireman finally got down to the river and pulled a terrified Murphy to safety.

After NLOL got Murphy back, we got an inquiry from a Chicago Fireman about how Murphy was doing. Then that fireman showed up when some NLOL volunteers took sweets to the firehouse as a thank you for saving Murphy. Then that fireman asked if Murphy was available for adoption. And so it was that the fireman who rescued Murphy from the river, introduced his rescuee to his wife, Helen...and then rescued Murphy a second time by officially adopting him a few weeks later. To add to this story, Joel is a young firefighter and Murphy was his first "save". So at NLOL, it just reinforced a few different things. #1-Losing and then finding Murphy reminded us how big and wide our family stretches. #2-That every dog deserves a happy ending.

Murphy's new family had this to say:

"My wife Helen said she knew from the day I came home from the firehouse
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!"

Happy Adoption Day to Murphy and the the Rivamonte 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

Rosalyn:

Janice:

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.

Sweet, sweet Oliver [Calvin]

Calvin came to live with his new family quite quickly after coming into the NL family.  He was renamed Oliver once he was officially adopted making his new family a family of 5.  Oliver already has a dog brother Sinclair, and a cat sister, Mimi.  He is a great dog and really calms down quickly.

When he first came to live in the new family, he didn't know how to play with dogs nor did he realize what toys were used for.  Through continued praising of playing with his brother and learning to give his sister a wide girth when she's in one of her 'moods', he is already part of the family.  His favorite spot is snuggled up next to his mom and dad.

No dog is perfect and although Oliver is a wonderful addition to the family he is still working on space, a little leash aggression and some separation anxiety.  He is also in the process of learning basic commands and is showing great progress with consistency and boundaries.

Oliver's favorite food is cheese.  Carrying string cheese has worked wonders when redirecting him on walks and motivating his basic learning commands.  Oliver hadn't been tried out on kids and we were happy to find out that he was great with his three human nieces.  S (age 5), A (age 3), M (18 months) met Oliver and he was super gentle and just laid down while the girls climb on him.

Oliver is also excelling at the dog park.  He goes daily with Sinclair and can usually be found passed out on a piece of furniture relaxing for the rest of the day.

Oliver was crate trained when he came to us, and that has really helped with behavior modification.  He is a great addition to his family and is constantly adored by his whole family and the most popular with the nieces.

Herman

Herman (Hermie)

Herman came into our lives at New Leash a few weeks ago.  He was the so friendly and so happy and just wanted to be around everyone and anyone.  He was the the glue that joined the entire new class together.  Big dogs, to little dogs Herman wanted to greet everyone with a big smile and a big bundle of fur.  

After many brushes and being put on a bit of a diet, Herman was ready for adoption and has really excelled in his new home.  His family loves him and was already at home by the first night.  

We are so happy to welcome Herman and his new family into the New Leash community!

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.

Dave and Diego couldn't be more opposite in size, but they became fast friends.

 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.

Kameko's new parents and brother are already part of the NL family.  Here is Jude and Kameko sharing toys.

Kato & Woody, from different classes, met at adoption events and really bonded.

Kameko & Dude (Cletus) at the Wrigley Alumni Event

changes and new arrivals

New Leash on Life has been undergoing a lot of changes recently.  Changes in reworking administrative roles, to adding 7 new adoption counselors into the mix of training and taking roles, plus the dogs.  It seems fitting that new seasons bring change and we are excited to announce our new team. With the extra help we are able to focus more on the dogs and the people that make this organization possible.  We cannot begin to thank you for your donation of time, money, and continued support.

One of the many great foundations that NLOL stands on is that it is completely volunteer run, so all proceeds go directly To the Dogs (TTD).  Every person from the founding officers to the volunteers that we love dearly- none are paid for the work that they do.  We rely heavily on donations and fundraisers to make ends meet. 

This blog is intended to update, educate, and promote community within the NLOL family.  From adopters, to friends of pups, to activists, to volunteers, to extended families that want to know where the pups come from and their backgrounds.  We want to foster a safe place for NLOL families to bond and help each other out with problems or simple solutions to odd behavior.  Also, as committed people within the NL community, many of us fall in love with the pictures of dogs, love their bio’s and stories, and then once they are adopted, wonder ‘where they are now’ or other info.  If you would like to guest blog, please email us at: chicago@nlol.org

 These pictures are from our most recent fundraiser at Shuba's. 

What are some issues or questions that you have?  With our team of experts we are hoping to help with any type of questions.