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HMBMDC Rescue Report ~ October 2006

This summer, we had 2 of the most heart warming placements and our most tragic experience with the rescue. So far this year has been slower than most which is great! We took in Bear on January 3rd and he stayed until August 11th. Bear had many issues and we were waiting for the proper spot for him. Bear's major issues were shyness and his surprising ability to clear a 4 ft fence without a thought. The home we were seeking was one that was quiet with no children; understand what is involved with a shy dog, a young doggie playmate and of course a high fence. A tall order, pun intended! I could not find an appropriate home within our applications and nothing came from our posting to the yahoo list. I finally had Vilma Briggs in Ohio post Bear to "Petfinder.com". We had several responses which were not right, and then finally we had 2 that fit the bill! On was in Toronto, Canada, and one in Royal Oak, MI. We choose to keep him close. Bear, is doing great at last report and did not revert at all to his fearful state he was in when he came here. He is a much more confident dog than he was, full of life, and very lovable. He's been on walks through downtown Royal Oak and has made an impact with people wanting to meet him. His new buddy Brooklyn, a retriever mix keeps him tired and out of trouble. Bear now lives with Chip and Patrick, which cannot believe how far he has progressed.

Sammy and Oliver were from a problem breeder in the Fennville, area, that we have been dealing with for years. We were notified that he was selling off his Berners by a woman that had answered an ad about a female. She contacted us because of the condition of the dog; she was very thin and in obviously poor health.

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Sammy day 1
Sammy was in terrible shape, I'm sure he was only days away from starving to death. Oliver was very thin, but in better shape. Being stud dogs, they had to be kept separate or would violently fight each other. They were good with other dogs, just not each other. Sammy was so thin that you could put your fingers up INTO his chest cavity and feel the inside of this ribs, he also had heartworms, along with both having ear infections, and intestinal worms. Sammy weighted only 46 pounds and had a 3 inch waist. Oliver was 58 pounds and less matted no heartworms.

Sammy had dull lifeless eyes and looked as if he had given up on life. Oliver was more outgoing. We had to keep both separate with limited access to the yard, so they stayed in our pole barn, Sammy had more access to the yard, and Ollie had his own fenced area with constant ability to go freely from it to the pole barn. Sammy had run of the yard when we were home and we introduced him to life inside a home, he LOVED it. Both dogs made great progress putting on weight, until Oliver got sick and almost died from anemia. He had in internal bleed to the stomach or bowels. He was pot on steroids and got much better, for about 3 weeks. We moved him from the pole barn into our master bath. Oliver was very happy spending so much more time with us, and felt secure in his new air-conditioned room with his own private fan. Unfortunately, the bloody stools returned and his blood valued that we had been monitoring started to drop again. Oliver died on August 12th due to suspected rupture of cancer filled organs. His death was devastating to us, we felt so guilty not having been able to save him and let him know the love of a home. It was pointed out to us that he DID know love and DID have a family, us. So Oliver's remains will join Geordi and Cedar and our 3 golden's, as our family.

Sammy, on the other hand was doing unbelievably. With the assistance of BARC we were able to find a family that was willing to pay for Sammy's care and heartworm treatment, but they lived way out in California! These wonderful people agreed to pay over $1,100 before even touching him. Arrangements were made to fly Sammy out to San Francisco on August 7th . I had huge reservations about putting him on a plane with heartworms, but he had medical clearance, so he went. He arrived safely and his new family fell in love instantly. Sammy is now Nico and has his own little boy to play with. It's so odd that the dog we thought was not going to make it, did so well, and the one we though would do well did not survive.

Watching Sammy transform was so rewarding. His coat started to transform from a matted dull, red mess to a real Berner coat, he gained 15 pounds, smiled all the time, tail never stopped, but what I found most unbelievable was his eyes were full of life again, bright and shiny.

Sammy now lives in Santa Cruz CA. with his new family Stacey, Brian and son Patrick. It took a lot to turn Sammy into Nico, but just look at that happy face!

The support of the whole Berner community was wonderful. We kept several lists informed on the progress of these 2, and after Oliver's death, we receive a ton of moral support. We also received donations from several and offers to buy the rescue shirts from others. (We still have a ton of shirts available, great for holiday gifts!)

We also fostered Apollo for a few days and placed him within about a mile of his old home. They actually met while on a walk and Apollo showed fear of his old owner and cowered down when petted. Apollo's new owner could not miss the reaction and told him that Apollo was his dog now and stay away. Apollo had several issues of fear aggression and submissive peeing. Both have never once been seen at has new home.

We also assisted placing Oliver, Max and Lily. We did not foster these dogs, but served as the intermediary because the dogs had no major issues. Lily was an assist to a breeder that had her returned because she was shy. As it turned out, we placed Lily and Max together, both kinda shy and are doing great together. In fact Lily's breeder and the Erickson's are now fast friends and are in constant contact.

October so far has been very busy with contact of 5 dogs, plus another up to 26 from and Amish breeder. I contacted BARC about the Amish "breeder" that was getting rid of his Berners. the status on those is still undetermined as I writes this. The other 5, one is a breeder assist, one is a placement on a dog that we placed last year, Kismet, Layla and Jacob are fosters that we are working with.

Kismet is a very shy girl of 4 years. We have finished evaluating her and she needs a quiet home without a lot of visitors, and she will do great. It was a concern of her old home that she would never adjust to a new home. She loves it here and we think she will do fine in the right home. We are working with the breeders support on placing Kismet. Kismit's new favorite spot in the middle of our bed with her head on the pillows!

Layla is almost 2 and has no real major issue. Just a little shy at first with new people, big surprise for a Berner. She is an unruly adolescent that the owners did not take the time to train her. Now that she is big and bouncy, she is too much for them. The owner told me she is more of a small dog person and prefers her Lhasa Apso.

Jacob, we were just contacted about last night (10/19). He is reportedly huge for a Berner at 160 pounds! He is almost 4 and still intact. They also have not trained him and is chained outside when they are not home and will escape a 5 foot fence. Supposedly he gets along with other dogs and loves kids. We will be getting him next week for evaluation. Layla will be going to her new home this Sunday.

Bruce and Linda Whiteside, Rescue/Re-Homing Committee

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