Ahnung's story in pictures

Marilou from Pet Haven has adopted Ahnung from Red Lake and shared this video on her blog about their story thus far.



Update on Ahnung:
so I just got home from taking ahnung to Lake Harriet vet .... first of all, she's in great health with a few interesting findings! :)

- while Dr. Jim was checking ahnung out he noticed a bump on one of her nipples (i assume most of you know that ahnung had a litter of 8 pups when she was abandoned). At first he thought it might be a cyst and to keep an eye on it... he kept checking it and feeling it and a few minutes later exclaims "it's a pellet!!" Apparently Ahnung had been shot at .... fortunately it skimmed her body and just got her nipple. He said it's not hurting her right now so we can leave it there until she goes under for dental cleaning and then he can remove the pellet. Some of you know that the dog we lost in July 2007, Shadow had also been shot. I rescued him from the country roads of Owasso, OK -- he was in horrible condition. I later find out from x-rays taken that he has lead in his skull -- a bullet skimmed his ear then shattered. I guess ahnung is carrying part of shadow's spirit with her as well :)

- ahnung has no front teeth!! :) i noticed that about a week ago... apparently she has been chewing and grinding her teeth (probably an effort to get out from wherever she was being confined). I hate to imagine her life before she ended up at Red Lake Rosie's. she has no front teeth at all and her back teeth have also been worn down! Dr. Jim said it's not a major concern but we'll have to watch for teeth cracking :) He said she's had a rough start to life ... he's guessing she's around 3-4 years old. All I can say is that thank god she lucked out and found her way to karen up at Red Lake!

- ahnung has a luxating patella in her back right leg. i haven't noticed her limping but it's something i'll have to watch for ... if it gets worse she could tear her ACL (and she could be like me and go through ACL surgery!! ;-) and will need surgery ... we'll hope not though :)

other than that my sweet girl is in perfect health ... her heart and lungs sound great and they wanted to know if they could keep her at the clinic!!! I said take a number and stand in line --- she's all mine!! ;-)

Rest assured... ahnung's rough days are all behind her... she has 3 LL Bean beds now with her name on it .... she gets the run of the house when she's left at home ... she sleeps wherever the heck she wants to .... and she spends most of her days either with me while i work from home or at coffee shops, or with Mary at her office doing outreach with at-risk youth! she's learning to sit for treats (we'll start working on the downs and the stays soon ;-)

oh... one my last thing... she now weighs 58 lbs ... when she came she was 68 lbs ... she's a svelte 58 pounds and feeling good!! ;-)

signed,
"proud and grateful mama of ahnung - my north star and the star of red lake"

Marilou and Ahnung return to Red Lake

Marilou from Pet Haven reflects on her most recent trip to Red Lake on her blog. Check out her story and photos.

Karen --- again, thank you for ALL you do for these animals and continuing to be such a great source of inspiration for me :)

As I type this email you will happy to know that Ahnung and Missy are sharing a dog bed ;-)

Marilou
(Missy, Mister, Ahnung and Henry too!!)

Update on Ahnung

Dear Karen,

It's now been almost 3 weeks since we brought Ahnung (which means "star" in Ojibway -- thank you for letting me name this sweet girl) back to the cities. There was something about this gentle soul that captured my heart when I first met her back in mid-October on my first trip up to Red Lake. I knew I had to return for her. You were so right about her sweet, gentle disposition.

As she goes through her heartworm treatment she is staying at one of our partner clinics and they have fallen in love with her too. She's had her first heartworm shot and will have her second shot in mid to late December -- hopefully by January she will have a clean bill of health and will be up for adoption.
In the meantime, I have been so lucky to spend time with her. I've been visiting her everyday and we go on outings to a local coffee shop where I can bring her in and get my work done -- they even know her by name now and they know her story! It has been a great way for me to spread the word about both Red Lake Rosie's and Pet Haven!!

Whenever I pick her up at the clinic, it always takes a while for her to come out because the staff has to give her lots of hugs and kisses on her way out... and it just warms my heart to see her tail wagging so hard. When she first arrived she was leary of getting in and out of my vehicle. I had to lift her up into my Honda Element for the first two weeks... then less than a week ago we had a breakthrough and she just hops right into my car now and is excited about going on a car ride. I guess she's learned it's pretty fun to go on these outings!
I am so grateful to have the opportunity to spend time with her and to witness her personality start to come through ... I continue to be amazed at the resilient nature of dogs who have been through so much.

Thank you for rescuing Ahnung (and her pups) and for entrusting her into the care of Pet Haven. I can assure you she is being loved and pampered... the doctor has given me the okay to bring Ahnung up to Red Lake next week when I come up to visit and help out. We are both looking forward to our visit :)

Marilou

More animals need transport

Marilou, from Pet Haven, and her friend, Jessie, made a recent trip to Red Lake and back. They had a wonderful experience and took some great pictures as you'll see below.

Karen has been inundated recently with 46 dogs/puppies and 18 cats/kittens. We have five transports scheduled in November and one each in December and January. It gets tougher now as the trips have to depend on the weather, too. Please consider volunteering to make one trip this winter. The dogs have nice kennels, but they are still outside at Red Lake.

Dear Karen,
I can't even begin to tell you what an incredible experience it was for us (Jessie and myself) to spend time with you at Red Lake. This is my second trip to Red Lake, and every trip for me strengthens and solidifies my desire to truly do whatever I can to help you fullfill your dream of helping the animals of Red Lake.
Thank you for entrusting us with 7 of your dogs ... I promise you that we/Pet Haven will care for the 3 little pups (who will be fostered by Mary ... she is currently fostering Ode), Junior, Lauren, Rae Ann and Ahnung as if they are our very own.
The road trip back to the cities with the 7 pups and the 3 kitties (they were transported safely to the St. Cloud Tri-County humane society and were being loved and cuddled by the intake staff!) was fairly uneventful .... Lauren got a little sick as she probably isn't used to car rides. The poor girl. Ahnung was an angel and laid on her blanket behind the passenger seat. I think she was very happy to not be in a kennel :)

I will write more and keep you posted on all of them. For now, I wanted to let you know everyone is safe and sound. Ahnung has begun heartworm treatment and I went to visit her at the clinic today to give her hugs and kisses and took her for a short, leisurely walk.

Our fosters are excited about their pups. Laura even came to the clinic to meet us so that she could meet little Junior!!.

with gratitude for all you do,
Marilou