Unwanted puppies

Late on August 7th, a car drove up at Red Lake Rosie's Rescue and had two puppies, one male and one female to surrender. I named them Milan and Mila. Milan was the little black and white shep. He was laying in a box and could not walk. Milan had been attacked by a dog in the neighborhood four days ago and was bitten in the back. Since then he only cried and laid on his side.

MILAN

Early this morning little Milan was taken to the vet where it was verified that he was paralyzed and he crossed the rainbow bridge. We are glad he no longer has to suffer but are sad that he had such a short and tragic life.

MILA

His sister Mila is a tan girl with a black nose. She is understandably a bit shy, but is coming around nicely. She is about 10-12 weeks old and weighs about 12 pounds.

We began looking for a rescue to take Mila and offer her a chance for a safe home. We also post this story to stress the importance of having the aggressive neuter/spay program to stop the breeding of puppies and kittens, many of whom die prematurely and violently.

I am happy to report that Mila has been spoken for- Julie Cross will foster for Second Hand Hounds! She will be leaving Saturday from Cass lake with a Leech Lake Legacy transport,

Thank you to all the rescues who help animals such as Mila and to the supporters who help pay the vet bills incurred through these many injuries.

Sincerely, Karen Good RLRR

Milo continues to recuperate, pt.2

Everyone hopes that one day Milo will look like his foster brother collie, Leo, with a long beautiful coat of fur, but that will take a long, long time because Milo has been so sick and so malnourished.

He already has the sweetest face!

Milo first had to recover from diarrhea and a bad cough. When he was stable enough, he had a dental procedure on his terrible teeth and an infection was discovered causing a hole up into his sinus area. His mouth has been slow to heal, so he has been on soft food and antibiotics for a long time.

Milo doesn't have a lot of energy, but he always stays close to his foster mom. He loves to lay in the grass...

...or nap in the bed.

His unusual appearance and gentle nature get attention wherever Milo goes.

He was reunited with Barbie who transported him from Red Lake to the Cities. She was impressed with how much better he looked. His bloodwork is improving with each vet visit and he has gained ten pounds.

I think Milo figures he is already in heaven despite the ongoing illness and vet visits. He is living in a beautiful place with dogs for friends and people who love him. I believe Milo has a special spirit to have survived such terrible neglect and to offer nothing but love in return.

You can learn so much more about Milo on his blog, "Milo the foster collie; his new leash on life" at http://milothefostercollie.blogspot.com/.

Milo continues to recuperate, pt.1

Milo, the collie from Red Lake Rosie's Rescue, has been in foster care with Minnesota Wisconsin Collie Rescue for over three months now and I check his blog, "Milo the foster collie; his new leash on life" at http://milothefostercollie.blogspot.com/ just about everyday. See previous RLRR posts about Milan/Milo on June 12 and June 25.

He has had one struggle after another regaining his health so I hope you all will send good thoughts and wishes to Milo and his loving & patient foster mom. I'll share some highlights and photos from his blog:

Let's start with some photos from when he first arrived at the vet direct from Red Lake. He was in terrible condition: emaciated, infected with parasites, fur matted and infested with ticks, raw skin and wounds.
Shaving him down was the first step. I'm sure he felt better, but he looked even more pathetic. He did, however, bear a striking resemblance to a beloved Sesame Street character named Beaker.

The story of Milo's recovery will be continued tomorrow...

Update on Milo (Milan), the RLRR collie

Milan, now called Milo, is settled in a foster home for Minnesota Wisconsin Collie Rescue with other collies and cats and is starting to heal physically and emotionally.

BATHTIMEThe woman went to her vet for a check-up for her cats and the vet introduced her to Milan, who "ran right up to her and put his head in her lap as she squatted to pet him". It worked, she offered to foster him! She is already an experienced foster caregiver for the organization.

MILAN BEFOREMilo has his own blog at http://milothefostercollie.blogspot.com. Check it out!

The first thing you'll notice is that he has had a visit to the groomer. He may look pretty funny, but I'll bet it feels great to be free of his matted, tick-infested coat. His tail was so matted it was stuck to one of his hind legs before the shave!

MILO AFTERAs his foster caregiver describes it, now he is "NAKED except for a fringe of furr on his head and furry 'boots'". She was referred to my earlier post about Milan to learn more about him and see his BEFORE photos.

PROTECTIVE FASHION TEEHEALTH UPDATE FROM FOSTER:
"Milo's neck wound from the softball-sized abscess is healing. He has a lot of scar tissue in there so a golf ball-sized lump is apparent. Hoping that it heals down. His ear does not seem to be torn as earlier reported, however his ears were very infected causing him to hold one at a funny angle."

HAPPY FACE"Tipped ears! We finished ear meds yesterday. They must finally feel a lot better. Yay!"

NOTE FROM FOSTER:
"No matter how many dogs I've fostered, I'm always amazed at how quickly they assimilate to routine and consistency. In fact, they thrive on it.

"Milo has been starving - literally - for a long time. Long enough to damage his liver as his body started to metabolize organs and the dog who was throwing himself onto the table 6 days ago now sits nicely for treats and can be dissuaded from eating the cat food with a simple "Naahhh!" He knows that there are two meals a day and that there will be a treat ball or just treats for going into his crate. There is a lot of praise - to balance out the "uh oh!" or "nahhh" words - and pats and hugs.

"A heck a of lot of progress for such a short period of time.

"Good rest last night. Much less coughing. Poor guy is tired out. His little body is dealing with a lot right now."

Milan, another Red Lake collie

Late on the evening of June 3rd we got a call about some people in one of the villages that were going to go out in the woods and shoot a collie. A nice lady there brought the collie to Polly's holding pen in Red Lake.

The collie- we call Milan- was picked up by Mike the very next morning and he went to the local vet. He had 250 mL of pus drained from a giant abcess the size of a softball on his neck.

Milan has an infected eye and ear that is mangled. His fur is badly matted and had been for a long while. Ticks were all over his back and neck area.

In spite of all that Milan has been through, he is the nicest dog you could ever meet. He is so very meek and mild, and has a great personality.

We are so thankful to have a relationship with the Minnesota Wisconsin Collie Rescue who responded within a few hours and said YES WE WILL TAKE MILAN! He will spend only two nights here at RLRR shelter and then Nancy O and Barbie will tranport him to Fridley on Wednesday, June 6th.

Almost every collie we have rescued in Red Lake has been in poor condition and injured and neglected in various ways, but Milan is the worst case we have seen. Mn/WI Collie Rescue has taken every one!

Thank you to his rescuers, Trudi, Polly, Mike, Barbie, Nancy, and MN/WI Collie Rescue for giving Milan a new life.

Milan is soon to be a very lucky guy!

Sincerely,
Karen RLRR