Help a gimpy northern breed and get some goodies

This rescue group really goes above and beyond fostering and finding homes for gimpy northern breeds, so if you can help them, please do, and get some goodies while you help a gimpy dog:

NORSLED IS HAVING AN EBAY AUCTION!

Northern California Sled Dog Rescue (NorSled) , a 501c3 non-profit, is holding an ebay auction for our rescues.
Last year we saved 200 dogs -all with no paid staff, and no facility!! Dogs are cared for in our foster homes. We spent over $50,000 for veterinary care alone…so you can see: we really need money!
Our auction starts May 18, 2008 and will offer about 100 fabulous goodies, including books, clothing, jewelry, artwork, Iditarod items, plush, one of a kind items, mostly with a Northern Breed dog theme, but some without.

Help Lassen Heal - UPDATE!!!

(Scroll down for update message and link)

Lassen was one of 36 Siberians (mostly puppies) that were seized in a raid on a puppymill on January 11, 2008, in Leavenworth, WA. They were seized by the Wenatchee Valley Humane Society, with support from the Chelan County Sheriff's Department, after numerous complaints from neighbors that the dogs were starving, not given adequate water, had no bedding in sub-zero temperatures, and were fighting. The same people had 11 dogs seized for similar circumstances in September 2008. (Reference: www.pet-abuse.com).

In Lassen's months at the puppymill, where she was slated to become a breeding bitch, she (and the other 35) were fed a scant amount of Ol' Roy food thrown on the floor of the dirty kennel. These dogs did not know what a dog dish was! At the time she was seized, she was 6 months old, weighed only 14 pounds, and was dehydrated (shelters vet's report). With many of the others, she came into foster care with Siberians Needing Owners on January 12. Like the others, she was infested with worms, had a stubborn case of giardiasis, which causes cramping and diarrhea, and needed treatment for lice. Eventually, with lots of TLC, good food, plentiful, clean drinkable water, and drugs to combat all the parasites, she thrived. One by one the 8 puppies in Lassen's foster home were placed, and only 4 of them were left when the unthinkable happened.

After foster mom's long work day, the pups were released from their kennels into the backyard for some nice free play time, as usual. Like normal Siberian puppies will, they played running and racing games. On one of their races around the house, Lassen ran head-first into another puppy. Her foster mom did not see it happen, but she heard the screams of pain, and
then nothing as she ran to see what happened. The other puppies were still jumping and playing, but Lassen was lying motionless on the frozen ground.

As it was "after-hours," foster mom carefully scooped up little Lassen, keeping her flat as possible, and put her on a low futon inside and called the emergency vet. The vet, via phone and foster mom, monitored Lassen as she began to wake up, move her eyes, and show pain responses to pinches of all four feet. The vet thought she would wake up by morning, so foster mom laid next to Lassen and waited on her during the long, long night. Lassen began to wag her tail, move her legs a little, but never lifted her head.

At first light, foster mom enlisted the aid of a neighbor to help load Lassen into the bottom half of a crate for a trip to her vet, who opened at 8 AM. Lassen's vet, Dr. Ty Johnson at Cascade Vet Clinic in Wenatchee, WA, examined her and took xrays. It was not good news. He could clearly see displaced vertebrae in her neck and one was cracked. BUT, she could move all 4 legs, her eyes were clear, she was giving kisses and wagging her tail. She had a chance. After conferring with the rescue director, we decided to "go for it" and give her that chance. This ensued a 2-hour trip over the mountains to Kirkland, WA, and the Seattle Veterinary Specialists, to Dr. Sean Sanders, neurologiest.

Dr. Sanders performed an MRI and then surgery. Once he got "in," he discovered that the damage to her neck was even worse than the xray and MRI had revealed, but in close to 7 hours of surgery he put her back together again, implanting 8 screws, plates, wires, and bone cement. Lassen received wonderful post-op care at the clinic, and with her sweet temperament and
will to live, soon became a favorite patient. Five of her "fan club" including foster mom, paid visits to her at the hospital and were soon announced as "Lassen's Fan Club is here for a visit."

Dr. Sanders said that most dogs with an injury like hers don't live to see an operating table.
Her physical therapy began, and because of her remarkable progress in one short week, she was released from the hospital with a prognosis of "good!" He expects her to have a normal life, albeit without anymore rough-housing or head-banging.

Her foster mom says she is getting stronger by the day, and now when she is given PT and is "sling walked" (with little hammocks with holes for legs to assist her stability and strength) she pulls foster mom around the yard to her chosen places to pee and poop, and then leads foster mom around the yard to the best sticks and pinecomes to sniff, before returning to the porch via a ramp, and back inside to her crate-bed. She is standing to eat now, and gets several meals per day.

Lassen will have a wonderful life ahead of her, and her life's calling will most surely be that of "Therapy Dog." With the hardship and trauma behind her, she is not looking back. Her sweet, positive attitude and her road back from the puppymill neglect and devastating injury will be an inspiration to all who meet her.

This has not come without monetary cost. The price to put Lassen back on the road to a bright future was over $6000. The SVS Vet Clinic gave a 10% discount, but it still leaves over $5000 deficit to Siberians Needing Owners rescue account.

Besides paying for Lassen's surgery, SNO paid the shelter fees, food, and vet costs of 20 of the 36 Siberians rescued from that puppymill. Our bank balance took a serious dive and we are seeking donations to enable us to keep on helping Siberians in need. Any amount is welcome, and all donations are tax-deductible! Please help us continue to rescue by going to
www.siberiansneedingowners.org and making a PayPal donation, or please send a check to:

Siberians Needing Owners,
PO Box 987,
Kettle Falls, WA 99141.

Watch the website for updates on Lassen's progress, as well as the progress of the other pups and dogs rescued and fostered.

UPDATE:

Hi all!
Just a short note with a link to Lassen's page with new photos taken just a few days ago. She is doing awesome! She is walking with only a car harness now...no more slings. She is happy! She wants to run! Sometimes she is a little bucking bronco in her harness and I have to stop, hold her, and insist that she Go Easy. She still has another week or so of crate rest, then we can do more harness walking and graduate her to a small kennel. We found a nice one on CraigsList, and when the people read Lassen's story, they made us a very good deal on it and transported it to my aunt's place, just over the mts from where I live.. I brought 3 of the 5 panels home tonight on top of my dogbox.
Here is the page with the new pictures...scroll way down to the bottom:
http://www.siberiansneedingowners.org/sno_lassen.htm

Thank you MUCH to those of you who have donated to her cause. She is very much worth every penny. Such a sweet, sweet little girl with such a bright future. She is OUR (colletively) little miracle girl.

Please Help a Dog in Need!

A beautiful Husky has been in pain since last Thursday, when she was hit by a car....the car drove away. CPAA was contacted last Friday by the owner who has been trying to come up with the money for surgery and had to wait until Monday to get info from Smoketown Vet Hospital as to how to donations would be accepted. They will not do the surgery until the family has $2500. The family is low income and have no credit due to a bankruptcy. They have been able to get $500 each through care credit, so that leaves a balance of $1500 needed to get this girl some help. A sub sale to benefit this cause is in progress and friends have put out donation cans at work with her photo and the story.
This gorgeous girl, NYA, is waiting patiently for help. She saw the vet Monday and they gave her some stronger pain meds, meds for inflammation and pepcid for her stomach. She has been eating a little better today.

Today, Dr. Christine Runnels of Lititz agreed to perform surgery on a 2 year old female Husky who was hit by a car last Thursday night. After suffering for a week, she will be repaired. The family was approved for $1000 of care credit to help pay for this surgery, but the remaining bill may be $1500 or more. We will know more in a couple of days. As you know CPAA can not contribute toward this surgery because of our 501 c3 status, we can not help pay vets bills of owned animals. We are asking you to open your heart and your pocketbook one more time and make a donation to help pay this bill. Please consider making a $5, $10, $25 or larger donation if you possibly can. If we all make a donation we can help to bring the balance down tremendously.

Zella Anderson, director of CPAA, will be happy to accept the donations but checks MUST NOT be made payable to CPAA. Please make your check payable to Zella Anderson, with the note: 'HUSKY FEMUR SURGERY' and mail to;

1802 Silver Pine Circle
Mechanicsburg, Pa 17055

All donations will go to Dr. Runnels at Litiz.

Please, let's all pitch in and get this done.

Thank you!

Pat Dravk
CPAA

(This e-mail has been verified as true by the gimpydogs site owner. CPAA is a great organization that helps animals in need, but cannot extend the funds for this dog without jeopardizing their non-profit status, therefore they need external donations to help this dog get better. Won’t you please help?)