Emmett is growing up in his new home

Remember cute little Emmett from the May clinic? Well, he's found a happy home and he's growing up -- let's just hope his body can catch up with his ears and his tongue. See second photo below. LOL!!

EMMETT IN MAY

UPDATE FROM HIS FAMILY:
Hi,

We are the fortunate people to adopt Emmett, your mascot. We found him on Dogster.com a couple days after we had to put our dog Molly to sleep due to complications from diabetes.

Emmett is truly one in a million puppy. He is adjusting well to his new forever home where he gets all the love and more he deserves. He is growing quickly, his visit to our vet 2 weeks ago, he weighed 26.6 pounds. The attached picture was taken last night.

EMMETT NOWWe would like to thank Deb, his foster mom, Akin Hills Pet Hospital and of course Red Lake Rosie for bringing this great pup into our lives.
We will try to keep his Blog up to date on Dogster.com.

You volunteers are truly special people.

Thank you guys so very much

R & B
Emmett says Woof You!

May Clinic observations from Sonya

My weekend helping at the May Spay/Neuter clinic on the Red Lake Indian Reservation was certainly an eye-opening experience. I knew going into the clinic that I would see things I had never imagined and also come to understand another way of life. All of this was true. I spent the majority of my time at the clinic split between getting cats and dogs signed in and working in the Animal Ark van as a Vet Tech trainee.

I was elated to see how many people showed up for the clinic anxious to have their pet’s altered and vaccinated. While everything was extremely chaotic it all came together each day. It was very difficult for me to “let go” of my go, go, go city attitude where I always knew what was going on and I tend to have everything planned out; I quickly learned to just go with the flow and do whatever I could to make the dogs and cats more comfortable and assure everything their animals would be well cared for.

About 25% of the animals brought through the clinic appeared to be cherished companions who were well fed and tick free! Yay! The other animals brought through the clinic were outdoor pets covered in ticks that we had to bribe and push into kennels. The most interesting thing to me as an animal lover is the passiveness of animal owners. There were multiple people who came into the clinic with dogs and cats they had found recently and decided to keep or rather they plan on feeding them since they happen to be on their property. Of course I was happy to see them taking initiative to have these pets altered and feeding them, but it was definitely out of my norm.
I had a lot of fun working with Dr. Charlie and Mary from Animal Ark as a Vet Tech trainee. I learned a lot about the amount of work it takes to spay an animal and how invasive it really is. Being able to help these animals’ hands on was a blessing. I was impressed with Dr. Charlie especially; if a pet is over 1 lb he will spay or neuter it… this may be their only chance to be altered! There was a 1 lb Min Pin puppy that I doubt was even 8 weeks old. This little puppy came out of anesthesia so quickly that she was walking on the operating table 10 minutes after her surgery. The exact science needed to handle the littlest patients is truly amazing!
This clinic was a great experience, the work of Karen and all of the RLRR volunteers are truly making a difference! The dedication of all of the Akin Hills and Animal Ark staff was fabulous; all of us non-medical volunteers were appreciative of their efforts. I hope All Dog Rescue can plan a future trip to help out RLRR again… I know I will be a part of it!

Sonya

May 2009 Clinic Tallies

ARK & AKIN VOLUNTEERSDear Friends:

I want to thank all the supporters and volunteers of the Red Lake Animal Clinic held May 28 - 31, 2009. Akin Hills Pet Hospital and Animal Ark's Neuter Commuter put on the clinic with sponsorship of Lawson Family Fund and DJ and T Foundation.

I got an email from Mary today and she informed me that we had 160 animals altered during the clinic!!! Very nice work!!
MARTYWe had 86 dogs/puppies and 21 cats/kittens surrendered at the clinic.
Of that group we are thankful to all the rescues and foster homes in the metro who took 61 dogs/pups and 13 cats/kittens into their care for rehoming. 12 dogs and 8 cats went to the shelter at the end of the clinic.
LITTLE MANOn the positive note 30 of the animals surrendered came from Leech Lake and White Earth so we are actually taking less local surrenders which is a positive indicator.
BONNIEWe saw less mange, and only 3 cases of severe malnutrition during the clinic. I guess I see improvement even though we have zero tolerance for animal neglect and starvation. We saw at least 3 cases of severe matted hair that was cut by volunteers Colleen and Carol.
XENAWe need to remember "we have come a long way, and still have a ways to go." Thank you all.

Three shepard mix dogs went to Second Hand Dog rescue.
SOPHIE
MISSY
KINGCarolyn and Nancy worked before and after the clinic doing lots of cleanup.
NANCY & CAROLYNWe usually have the "first customer" who we call our clinic mascot. This year the title goes to Emmitt who came in when Carolyn, Nancy, Pat and I were cleaning the warehouse before the clinic started. Emmitt was the first in the lineup to be neutered and get his shots. He waited patiently, got many walks, and went out with Akin Hills Pet Hospital. He won all the hearts of the clinic volunteers.
EMMITTSincerely, Karen

Choo and Choo too

A black dog, named Choo arrived at the shelter 2 days before the clinic started. He was a very nice juvenile dog who was surrendered, and had not been neutered and had no immunizations. We gladly took Choo and planned on getting him neutered and get his shots at the upcoming clinic.

CHOOWell- poor Choo was ill the morning I loaded him to go to the clinic. By time the vet got to him in the lineup, he clearly was not well. He was tested for parvo and was positive. He began his battle against this sickness and was placed in an isolation area. Colleen and Carol walked him and kept an eye on poor Choo.

The same day- a small black pup came in to the clinic and was also sick. He was tested and also had the virus. So both of the boys were in the isolation area and we all hoped they would make it. The vets did feeding of water under their skin each day to prevent dehydration.

CHOO TOOWe are sad to report that Choo did not overcome the virus, but happy because the little black pup did. I named him Choo Too. He is now at the uphouse at the shelter. He is a very wonderful pup and he is eating normally, putting on weight, and I will have him tested and almost certain he will test negative this week.

I wanted you all to know that Choo Too survived and has hope for a good life.

Thank you Carol, Colleen and vets for your support for these two little ones.

Karen RLRR

Colleen's comments on clinic

Hi everyone- for those of you who noticed your emails were less from me for the past week I was up north at the latest Red Lake Rosie's Rescue spay neuter clinic.... so I thought I would take a minute here and give you all a quick review of the trip.

This clinic was with ANIMAL ARK'S NEUTER COMMUNTER and AKIN HILLS PET HOSPITAL vets working on the animals. I am unsure of the total numbers but quite a few animals were fixed- and the majority of the folks who brought in their animals seems pretty responsible and genuinely grateful for the service. RLRR made a concious decision to limit vet care/ shots etc to people who got the animals spayed or neutered. This was done to limit the "free" shots to breeders and the gang bangers who breed pitties and other dogs for resale.

There were a number of sad stories and while I don't want you all in tears, these dogs deserve mention. There were 2 parvo cases. This is the first time I've seen parvo come to the clinic and one of them did not make it. He was a lab x about a year old and just couldn't pop back even tho he was given meds and fluids. The younger dog was still doing ok when we left on Sunday.

There were 2 dogs euthanized because of dog/ car injuries more severe than could be rectified. A third dog- a mother of 12 puppies had a fractured leg and she left for Akin Hills Pet Hospital with the vet on Saturday. Hopefully she will do ok, and her puppies were taken to ARK.

There is a dog named Bubba you can see on the RLRR blog who is a white american bull dogx of some sort- very sweet dog- more than 1/2 starved and in need of TLC. He's going to be a strong- very big lug so will need someone large enough to handle him and some training. He has heart worm so will need a fairly quiet space to land. He is absolutely gorgeous tho- and we were lucky to get him away from the folks who had him.

The worst case came in Saturday when a fellow brought in 2 dogs. One- BARNEY a 3 year old St. Bernard so starved he couldn't stand and had a front leg injury. The guy wanted to neuter him, and was surprised we couldn't consider it with him in that condition. [ he said he was sick] and when we got him inside he was a rack of bones. We groomed him / de ticked him and fed him hourly. We evacuated him out the next morning to the chagrin of his "human". Send good thoughts to Barney he is going to need them.

Barney came in with Peaches. A CHOW with 4 years of matted hair/ bugs/ ticks etc. that it took myself, and another woman 3 straight hours to shave off. This dog unfortunately was reclaimed by this man and now lives back on site with a person who DOESNT HAVE A CLUE.

as you can tell there were some pretty good highs and lows at this one- I can't express how hard and rewarding this work is- and so if any of you are considering it-please go up sometime and help. There are never enough hands on deck and the work is hard. There is indoor camping at the warehouse, really NICE COTS and a special thank you to all who donated towards them... they are wonderful and will see alot of use!
there are showers and alot of really good food!! thanks to Linda R and Claudia~! Anyway- while it isn't easy it's still a good few days of animal work and you are always welcome!

stay tuned to the RLRR web site and blog space and you can keep up with the animals we have saved!

thanks all-

Colleen
CARE

The Saint

Lauren's comments from the May Spay/Neuter Clinic

Mike and I drove up on the weekend for the last part of the spay/neuter clinic. It was a great experience for both of us as this was our first clinic. The volunteers and medical staff all worked so hard for the many animals that were brought in. One animal in particular really pulled on my heart strings.

Barney was brought in by his owner who wanted him to get neutered. Even at 104 lbs., this St. Bernard was so underweight that he could barely even stand on his own. His shoulder blades, ribs, and hip bones all protruded through his thick coat of fur. Barney was so weak that his large head hung low and any movement took great, pain stricken effort.
Barney was set up on a pile of blankets where we fed him hourly. Even though it took a lot of effort for him to eat, he gobbled it all up. He had to be lifted on to a rolling cart in order to take him outside to go to the bathroom. From the way he hobbled around, it was obvious that his joints were causing him severe pain.
Looking into his sad, droopy eyes almost broke my heart. To make him feel better, we cleaned his dirty ears, picked easily over 100 ticks off his skin, and brushed him. Even though he did not have enough energy to wag his tail, we could all tell that he loved having his head and ears massaged.

The vet determined that Barney is heartworm and Lyme disease positive. His joint pain may be due to the Lyme’s, so hopefully that will improve when he is treated for the disease.
We transported Barney down to the cities, where DeeDee will be taking good care of him in her home. He deserved a new name for his new lease on life, so now he will be going by Orion. It will be a long road to recovery for this boy, but hopefully one day he will be the statuesque St. Bernard that he is meant to be.

-Lauren

NOTE: Dogs like Barney that come to RLRR in such terrible condition require expensive medical care and long-term TLC before they can find a forever home. Red Lake Rosie's Rescue is an all-volunteer organization, entirely dependent on donations to continue this work. Any and all donations of time, money, supplies, etc. are greatly appreciated. These animals don't have a chance without our help.

Denise

UPDATE FROM FOSTER HOME:
We have named the Saint, Orion. I have attached a photo of him on his pile of quilts bed.

Last night, we finally saw a glimmer of improvement, and this morning, too. He sleeps 99% of the time, but gets up to eat three meals a day and to slowly cruise the yard while anointing everything. Even deathly weak, he is an intact male! He even lifted his leg on the chair in which I was sitting.

Most of the time he can rise on his own, but he still needs help sometimes. He has learned to cry for us to come and help him when he can't get up, which is fine except for midnight, 2am, 4am, etc. His joints are very painful, but his foot is getting better.

He is sooo sweet and loves having his ears rubbed. His body is still too painful to touch, though. He likes all of the other dogs, especially the little ones, who aren't too sure about him.

Thanks for saving him.
DeeDee-

Bub, the skinny white bulldog

I was helping at the spay/neuter clinic at Red Lake last week. Many Thanks to all who helped in so many ways and especially Animal Ark and their Neuter Commuter and the team from Akin Vet Clinic. I'll be sharing many stories in the days to come.
Today is Bub the bulldog. He was chained outside and ignored; the pictures barely convey how skinny he is, but he was calm and sweet with everyone including children.
Hi, Karen;

Thank you so much for letting us be a part of the clinic last weekend. I hope we were more help than work for you to have around! I'm attaching some of the best photos I got of the bulldog, so you can use them for your blog.
I'm also trying to locate any contacts for American Bulldog rescue in the area - no luck so far, but if I find any I am going to pass their contact information along to you.

Susan
All Dog Rescue