Sweet Pea Gracie

Check out Sweet Pea's story on the blog just a year ago here.

Sweet Pea came to Red Lake Rosie's Rescue over a year ago after she was found in a ditch near Redby with two broken legs. Animal Ark took her home after a clinic and her recovery with surgery has been remarkable. Sweet Pea became Gracie when she was adopted into a new home with an adult shepherd that became her great friend.

Sadly, the friend recently died, so the family and Gracie came back to Animal Ark to visit and adopted another dog.

We are so thankful for the Ark and all they do for Red Lake animals!!
Karen

FROM ANIMAL ARK BLOG:
Our very beloved "Sweet Pea" came to visit yesterday and met her soon to be new sister, "Carlie"! Sweet Pea is now named Gracie - and is doing famously!

Unfortunately, the family lost their "eldest" shepherd last week and we send them our condolences!! Thank you for coming back to us to find a sibling for our little Sweet Pea!

Second chance for Sweet Pea

FROM ANIMAL ARK BLOG:

Many people have been following the story of Sweet Pea, a gentle little husky rescued from the Red Lake Reservation during a recent large-scale spay/neuter effort there. She was first brought to Animal Ark's Neuter Commuter by some good samaritans who had found her laying in a ditch. She had been hit by a car and could not stand or walk. Based on her condition, veterinarians believed she had been left there for 2-3 days without food or water.

Photo: Sweet Pea in her kennel in Animal Ark's Neuter Commuter while en route to our shelter in Hastings

Because her injuries were too severe to be addressed during our short stay in Red Lake, our team decided we had to bring Sweet Pea back to the Animal Ark shelter in Hastings. Once in Hastings, the wonderful staff at Akin Hills Vet Hospital offered to donate services to help with her care, including surgeries and other veterinary care, with assistance from our vet and staff.

It turned out that Sweet Pea was in pretty sad shape. Her left shoulder was dislocated. Even worse all of the long bones in her right front leg were broken, the radius, ulna and the humerus.

Needless-to-say, the prognosis for this poor girl was not all that positive. While dogs can live with an amputated leg, the loss of 2 legs would not be acceptable. Our team decided that we HAD to do everything possible to save both legs. In the event that something didn't work, she may be able to keep at least one of them.

Her first surgery helped to repair the dislocated shoulder. Later, a series of pins were added to the right leg and attached to an external fixture that actually holds the humerus in place. In the photo below, the pink bandage is covering up this external fixture.

Staff and volunteers at Animal Ark have been holding our breath to see how she would progress. . .

We always want every animal that comes to Animal Ark to have the best possible outcome. Always. However, in all honesty, some of the "kids" that come through touch our hearts in extra-special ways. Sweet Pea is one of those. Even before her surgeries, when she must have been suffering from severe pain, she would greet each new person she met with gentle kisses and an enthusiastic wag of her tail. No one can avoid falling in love with Sweet Pea, even if they wanted to.

For all of these reasons, we have been anxious to see how her healing would go.

Well, the this picture will give you a clue how it is going:

Just in time for the holidays, Sweet Pea has been given the gift of the use of her legs. We are hopeful that no complications will develop and that her pins and support device will be removed in a few weeks. Then, she will be ready to start the new year with a new life.

Oct. 14 transport including poor Bo

I was pleased to be able to transport assorted supplies up to Karen and trade them for a load of animals on October 14. The supplies included sweaters and jackets for puppies made by Laura Leonard and her mother in Omaha, Nebraska. We'll expect to see photos of the pups modeling them soon!

TRIO OF TUXIESI transported eleven kittens all about eight weeks old -- a litter of three tuxies that went to a foster home, a litter of six gray assorted and a two lonely onlies that were found separately, paired up at RLRR and named Blues Clues and Sweet Pea.

SIX GRAY KITTENS (ASSORTED)The eight are being fostered at my house, but we would like to find a new foster home with more time for them.

BLUES CLUES & SWEET PEAI also transported three dogs and met up with foster cargivers for All Dog Rescue in Maple Grove.

ZENITHZENITHI had the irresistible darling husky puppy, Zenith,

SAVANNAHa sweet brindle dog named Savannah, and Bo, an injured black lab mix.

BO DURING SURGERYBo's owners said that he had been attacked by a pack of dogs. They surrendered him to RLRR, but unfortunately not until he had suffered with his injuries for a week without treatment. Karen took him to the vet and reported on his situation:

BO'S EAR INJURYBo just returned from the vet in Gonvick. His ear was practically severed off, also the inside of the ear chewed. He had many puncture wounds on his head and abdomen. Dr. Marceen cleaned the wounds, stitched the ear and put in a drain. Bo got an antibiotic shot and I am giving oral antiobiotics twice a day plus rimadyl for his pain. The vet aged him at no more than a year. Teeth she said, are beautiful. He is a very kind and meek boy!

Karen was so grateful to All Dog Rescue for taking on the challenge of caring for Bo and was thrilled to get the following update from his foster home:

BO AFTER SURGERY WITH NECK DRAINBo (now going by Frankie) is recovering beautifully! I saw the "before"
photos and couldn't believe he was the same dog. The vet who stitched him up did a fantastic job.

If you couldn't see Frankie's wounds, you would never know he had been so badly injured. Only a week after the attack, he is playful, energetic, and as sweet as ever. The movement in his back legs improves daily. The drainage tube has been removed and his wounds are healing well. There are no signs of infection and he sits patiently while I flush them with antiseptic. He has a huge appetite and the only thing he loves more than playing fetch is having someone pet him.

I was worried he would have problems with other dogs, but that's not the case. He keeps an eye on the dogs we meet while out walking, but doesn't become fearful or aggressive.

It's hard to believe Frankie survived such a brutal attack and amazing that he has bounced back so quickly. He has a way to go before he is ready for a new home. But when it happens, he will make someone very happy!

Thank you for saving this sweet little guy's life!

Pam

Penny Drive presentation at Red Lake Elementary School

Red Lake community involvement with Red Lake Rosie's Rescue is critical to our outreach and education efforts regarding responsible care of companion animals. This event is a giant step in the right direction!
Red Lake Elementary School Teacher Michelle Stapleton wrote:

"Red Lake Elementary School students and staff celebrated Kindness Week February 9 - 13. One of the activities they did to celebrate was to hold a penny drive. The students chose their favorite organization to donate the funds raised to and Red Lake Rosie's Rescue Shelter was the lucky recipient. The students in grades K - 5 raised an astounding $652! Wow! That's a lot of pennies!

We were all finally able to get together to make the official presentation of the check. The kids were all very excited to see the furry friends Karen and Company brought with to visit. Karen has said those funds will go toward the next clinic RLRR will be holding in April. Everyone at RLES is just glad to be able to help out such a great organization."

She also offered to include info about the clinics in the next RLES newsletter that goes home with all the students at RLES and the Kindergarten center. She noted that, "There's a good chance it gets read by their parents, as well."

RED LAKE ROSIE'S RESCUE THANKS MS. STAPLETON AND THE RED LAKE ELEMENTARY STUDENTS FOR THEIR GENEROUS DONATION!!!Karen reports:

I wanted to let you know that Red Lake Elementary School students presented Red Lake Rosie's Rescue with a check for the amount of $652.00.

Jolene Tallchief, chairperson of Red Lake Rosie's Rescue, myself, Mike, and Sarah took our little furry friends Sarge(pit bull/chow/mastiff mix), Sista (husky pup), and Sweet Pea (cat) to the school. The animals were received very well by the administration, teachers, and students alike.
Students had many questions for Mike and Sarah about the animals and the animals were very well behaved. Our Chairperson thanked the students and told them their generous donation would help fund a series of neuter/spay clinics that will be held in April and May.The teacher that organized the event, Michelle Stapleton is interested in bringing a group of students to see how our neuter/spay clinic operates. The Principal Jean Whitefeather also stated that next year she would like us to bring in animals to the classrooms and also talk with the children about animal care and other issues.In spite of bad weather we are happy we went and we all had a great day!!

Sincerely, Karen