Leigh Ann Maxwell is a new "rescuer" in Houston with a group called AARF. She is confused about what happened in the situation with two adorable little dogs, Junior and Precious.
So, because she is a bit obsessed with Lone Star Shih Tzu & Lhasa Apso rescue and the diligence with which we conduct our business, the facts are documented here.
On April 19, 2013, I received the following message:
"I found two shihtzu’s in a McDonald’s parking lot. I have posted flyers all around the McDonald’s and cannot keep them because I have a blue heeler who is aggressive. If I cannot find the owner I will have to take them to a shelter. Do you have any suggestions or can they be taken by your organization?"
With the level of parvo and distemper rampant in the shelters today, we try to take in as many strays as possible. Any time unvaccinated dogs go into the shelter, they are exposed to these two very fatal diseasees and, frankly, we just don’t want to go through another "Bonnie Rosenberg."
Well, after seeing this photo – a picture of a gorgeous brown and cream lhasa and as gorgeous brown and cream shih tzu, we said yes.
Took them in, checked their teeth – horrible – both of them have severe tarter buildup, gave them DHPP, bordetella and Rabies and named them Clay and Sofia. The little boy, Clay, is intact and weighs about 20 pounds. The little girl weighs about 13 pounds. They were on the list to be spayed and neutered in about 4 weeks.
I checked Craigslist and the Houston SPCA daily and saw no lost dog postings that matched these dogs.
The good samaritan that found the dogs checked the area for lost dog signs and, as of this date, saw none.
On Sunday afternoon, we received this email "I think my dogs have been rescued? They have been missing since Friday when our pool man let them out on accident."
I didn’t even ask why the dogs were in the back yard for the pool man to let out. But, I did ask for her to send photos and a veterinary record that shows ownership of these two dogs.
Sunday night, she sent these pictures.
So, at this point, I’m thinking, ok, there are two cream/brown dogs. But then, I looked at the vet records she sent. I’ve redacted the address for privacy purposes.
The records sent for "Junior," the male, are for an 8 pound shih tzu not a 20 pound lhasa. Note that the records are as of July 2012. This did not seem to be the record for that gorgeous lhasa boy.
The records sent for "Precious" are for a black and white female. Again, this record does not match the dog.
I contacted the good samaritan to see if she had seen any lost dog flyers in the area. She sent me this "Lost Dog" flyer.
Note that it is for two Blk/Wht (black and white) shih tzu. This is Veronica’s phone number – the one in her emails.
I asked Veronica why the poster was for two black and white dogs when the ones she is claiming are brown /cream. Her response was that it matched the vet records.
This story just continued to get more and more confusing.
The good samaritan had posted "FOUND DOG" flyers throughout the area.
Next thing I know, the following "LOST DOG" flyer was posted on one of our lost and found pets page.
Ok, now can it get any more suspicious? The person claiming the dogs is now using a FOUND DOG photo on her LOST DOG flyer.
Whoa.
Now, generally, it is not unusual for someone claiming dogs illegally to use just any vet records – they know that most good samaritans are overjoyed to find the "owners" of lost dogs and typically don’t even ask for proof.
We follow the protocol that they need to have photos for identification and a vet record that matches the description of the dog. With this mess, I was very concerned that someone was trying to fraudulently claim these dogs.
We had quite a discussion on the lost and found pets page about this and thanks to Xio Rodriguez, made a plan to meet at a vet and let the vet examine the records and verify that the dogs matched the records.
On Friday, Veronica posted this photo on the lost and found pets page.
I wish Veronica had sent me this photo originally since it is a much better photo of the two dogs. And, note the distinctive pool in the background. I used google earth to verify the pool structure in the yard of the home on the vet records. At this point, I concluded that the dogs likely were Veronica’s even if the vet records don’t match, it is clear that these two dogs lived at that house.
I emailed Veronica and made a plan to meet her on Friday. We did meet up – she was happy to see the dogs. The little boy got into a fight with the other black and white dog, but that’s just what dogs do. I was happy.
End of story.
We will always verify ownership of dogs. One friend we’ve made through this page has been missing her shih tzu for three months. I suspect he was picked up, perhaps as a found dog, and sold in another city.
I hope this all makes send to you.
PS. Veronica and her mom were both very sweet people, so please do not criticize them.
We have seven little dogs that need to be treated this month for heartworms. We desperately need help with the vet costs – we are totally overwhelmed with all of the TN dogs and orthopedic surgeries but would LOVE to get these pups healthy by the New Year. We’ve set up a paypal chipin so we can easily track the level of donations.
Or you can simply paypal a donation to DONATIONS@shihtzu-rescue.com.
To send a check, our mailing address is
LSSTLAR
P O Box 7728
Houston, TX 77270-7728
Samantha Harris – sweet little mommy dog that was rescued from the Harris County shelter along with her newborn puppies. Sadly, the puppies did not survive, but little Sam can and simply needs heartworm treatment.
Clemens Barker – absolutely stunning little man – needs not only heartworm treatment but also orthopedic surgery.
Cookie Hadley – sweet little one year old gorgeous girl – one of the TN dogs. Has an adopter waiting.
Ozzie Ranger- found running as a stray in a Houston suburb.
Buddy Hadley – another of the TN dogs. A little overweight, but working on his figure. Just need those worms out of his system now.
Miss Skye Barker – young female lhasa/poodle.
Bandit Ranger – little man was left behind in a back yard when his humans left. Has demodex and heartworms.
Dougie is in a contest right now at Life+Dog magazine. It’s not just a popularity contest. It’s not just a beauty contest. It’s a contest that can help get our message out and allow us to save more and more little dogs. Dougie made it even though he faced huge obstacles – a win in the contest will allow us to save more.
A win for Dougie is a win for Lone Star and for many, many broken and neglected little dogs country wide.
Why do we want so badly for Dougie to win? Because he was one of the broken and neglected little dogs that our followers were responsible for repairing. Read his story below.
Please CLICK THIS LINK and vote to help Dougie win a nice donation for Lone Star Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso Rescue. Scroll to the bottom of this post to see detailed instructions on how to vote.
Who is that dog, Dougie?
It started on November 27, 2007. The message that came to our intake coordinator from an animal control officer in southwest Houston was "I have a tiny little shih tzu here and he’s in bad shape. He’s been hit by a car. Can you come get him?"
I said "Absolutely not!!" I said "we are way, way full." I said "our foster homes are already overloaded." I said "It’s nearing the holiday and we are completely broke!!"
Then I said, "I’ll be there in 30 minutes."
This is what I saw when I arrived. A cute tiny little 5 lb thing, hooked up on IVs and looking very, very depressed. Broken and battered, he spent five days under animal control watch waiting for an owner to come forward. None came.
The vet said he was extremely broken and going to die if he didn’t get treatment fast. I looked at his crooked face and decided that we needed to at least try to save him.
This is his x-ray. The red notations show his problems. A rip in his diaphram caused his intestines to move into his chest, collapsing his lung. His pelvis was broken and he couldn’t walk.
At this point, I was completely overwhelmed. I could tell by this x-ray that this was going to be a very expensive fix. I was struggling with what to do. You know, Lone Star always takes in the broken ones, but this one was going to be a HUGE, HUGE expense.
Then, luck stepped in. A few extremely generous supporters stepped in and this little man we named "Dougie" was off to Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists for repair.
Since it was so critical, his ruptured diaphram was repaired first. He made it through that surgery and a few days later, the orthopedic surgeon repaird his broken pelvis and leg.
Now he will likely never make it through the airport x-ray machines!!
His pelvis had to be pinned in place to keep it stable.
Here are a few videos on Youtube that show Dougie’s progress.
Video 1 – At Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists just before surgery.
Video 3 – Dougie is released from GCVS
Video 4 – Dougie comes home after surgery
Video 6 – Dougie playing like he was never hurt
People throughout the country rallied to support Dougie. He received care packages from many people.
After the bones mended, Dougie still couldn’t walk. The leg involved in the subluxated pelvis had significant nerve damage and his brain just couldn’t communicate with the leg.
After his surgical site healed, we signed him up for physical therapy for intense rehab.
It worked! In just twelve short weeks, Dougie was walking and after six months, he was running and jumping like he had never been hurt.
Since his accident, Dougie has become an outspoken advocate for all things rescue. He attends rescue events and reports on front-line rescue issues in Texas Cats and Dogs Magazine. In 2011 and 2012, Dougie was the "face" of Houston’s Spay Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP) t-shirts. Dougie is extremely popular with children and has "spoken" to a class about proper care of dogs.
He has been on television to help further the cause of SNAP. Here he is with Laura Allen Welch of SNAP talking about the 2012 SNAP contest.
Dougie also models for The Embroidery Room, an on-line shopping store for customized doggie bandanas, blankets and other great gifts. The Embroidery Room donates a portion of their sales to different rescues.
You can find Dougie smarting off about issues on his own facebook page, According to Dougie and also on the Lone Star facebook page.
Dougie has been photographed by several Houston photographers, including Robyn Arouty Photography, Brett Chisholm Photography, Kim Hartz Photography, Fetching Images, Nicole Bean Photography, Sonya Sellers Photography and Danny Clark Photography.
He is a STAR and his strength brought him through. He is a shining example of what rescue is all about.
Please CLICK THIS LINK and vote to help Dougie win a nice donation for Lone Star Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso Rescue.
INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO VOTE
Please CLICK THIS LINK and vote to help Dougie win a nice donation for Lone Star Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso Rescue.
You have to have a facebook account to vote in this contest. I apologize for that, but it is the mechanism Life+Dog is using to get more facebook fans. Once you have an account, CLICK THIS LINK and you will go to the page to "like" Life+Dog. It’s completely safe. I know the folks at L+D and they are completely trustworthy. You will also be asked to allow "offerpop" to access your information. That’s ok too. Then Dougie’s picture should come up and you simply scroll down to the "Vote" button and press it. Voila! A vote for Dougie and a vote for the next broken and battered dog that waits for us.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR REMOVING "OFFERPOP" FROM YOUR FACEBOOK ACCOUNT
Click your name on Facebook. In the upper right corner is a down arrow – put your mouse cursor on that arrow and a menu will show up. Click "privacy settings."
Scroll down to the "Ads, Apps and Websites" line and click "Edit Settings."
Scroll down to the "Apps you use" line and click "Edit Settings."
Scroll down to the line with "Offerpop" and click the "x" to the right.
Offerpop is now off your facebook account.
Well, it seems we just can’t catch a break. I guess I should expect that since we have so many dogs in our program, but it is still upsetting when something happens.
You all know we have a "forever foster" program, right? We take in dogs that are older or have serious medical problems which make them poor candidates for adoption. It’s very rewarding, but sometimes very expensive.
Mr Jock Barker is a gorgeous elderly gentleman who was turned into the Houston city pound just a few days before Christmas last year. At an estimated 15 years old, there wasn’t much possibility that he’d be adopted, so the shelter asked us to please, pretty please, take him.
I got him the next day and happy to see that he was heartworm negative and was a very pleasant, older lhasa boy – deaf and with serious cataracts – but very sweet. He immediately came to my personal home to live out the rest of his life. He gets along with all of my other fosters – including Voltaire, Dexter, Mandy and Eric and even puts up well with the annoyingly hyper Mandettes, Gwen and Kati.
He kindly posed for this cute Christmas picture last year.
Well, he’s been absolutely fine the past few months – eats well, is absolutely no trouble at all. But, last night, Dexter woke me up barking around 3. It’s very unusual, because he always sleeps well through the night. I got up to see what was going on and found a huge amount of blood all over my den, breakfast room and kitchen. Jock was laying in a large spot in the middle of the kitchen.
Well, I’ve seen a lot of issues and rarely does one cause me to run to the ER, but this was one of those times. Thankfully, GCVS critical care was there for us.
Jock spent the night there – he was dehydrated and his blood pressure was low – likely from the blood loss. They are doing an ultrasound this morning to find out what has gone wrong in his body.
Of course, his bills will be high – but I promise he is worth it. Your support is desperately needed.
We’re estimating about $1500 for last night and probably another $600-$800 for tests today.
If you can help our man, Jock, CLICK HERE for his paypal.
Of course, Jock says he’ll take checks too. The mailing address is:
LSSTLAR
PO Box 218075
Houston, TX 77218-8075
Thank you for considering our Jock!
We’ve spent a ton of time on our critical cases recently, but, as I’m sure you know, we still have "normal" dog intake going on left and right. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to get their intake sponsorships done before we took them in so we are now trying to get them all vetted and into new homes. Here is the roster up for this week!
Callie Harris
Sam Avery Ranger
Barrie Barker
Adele Turner
Hans Burke
Bianca Burke
Hilarie Connors
Napoleon Turner
Ryan Barker
Pearson Ranger
We have a lot of dogs that we’ve just taken in recently that need to go get "fixed."
So, there are TEN dogs we need to get done this week. The average we spend on each dog is about $395, so we have a long way to go.
Even $5 helps us get these pups toward their goal of a new home.
To support these cutie pies via paypal CLICK HERE.
If you want to mail a check, please send it to
LSSTLAR
PO Box 218075
Houston, TX 77218-8075
Thank you for all of your help. Please note: On average, our adoption fees only cover about 25% of our toal vetting bills. This is why we are always bringing these little cutie pies to your attention!!
UPDATE: July 9, 2012
WHEW! I just got a call from GCVS and Eric is good enough to come home today! I cannot tell you how excited I am about this little boy making it. I honestly questioned whether he would. Now, he is still in bad shape and has a month to go before we even start heartworm treatment, but for now, WHEW!!
We do still need about $600 to get him through this afternoon.
And please don’t forget about the two merchant fundraisers – The Embroidery Room is offering a 20% donation for anything you order through midnight tonight. They make the coolest bandanas and snuggly doggie blankets anywhere.
And Pupsetc.com is offering a $5 donation for any bed you order if you put "eric" in the comments field. So, go get your own puppy a nice item and donate to Eric at the same time.
Thanks!!
Teresa
Back Story:
Update: July 8, 2012 5:00 pm
FIrst, we met the matching challenge in record time yesterday! Thank you all so much.
Secondly, I visited with Eric today and was just AMAZED at how much better he looks now!
He’s alert, sitting up, aware of his surroundings! And he is out of oxygen and doing well on room air. If he continues, he will be coming home tomorrow.
So, we just need to raise about $800 for his stay tonight and hopefully, it will be done.
I cannot tell you how much I appreciate all of you for rallying behind this adorable and very neglected little man. I can’t wait to see him turn around.
We also have two merchants running fundraisers for him.
Pupsetc.com is offering this Eric Boxy Bed for $26 and $5 goes to Eric’s medical fund.
Check out their Etsy shop HERE.
This fundraiser is from The Embroidery Room. Good through Monday. CLICK HERE for their Etsy shop.
Please go check out those merchant’s shops and buy a lot.
UPDATE: July 8, 2012
Eric was SLIGHTLY better at the last visit. He is still breathing hard, but it seemed a tiny bit better and he seemed more alert. Lots of prayers needed.
So far, with the matching challenge, we’ve raised $3600 and change for his treatment. This gets him through today. He will need to stay at bit longer and we are taking it one day at a time. We need to raise another $1,000 for him today. Can we do it?
I created this picture of what he COULD look like if we can get him healthy. He should be a gorgeous dog!
We need YOUR help to keep him in the hospital.
Do we have any other donation challenges? Email me at teresa@shihtzu-rescue.com if so.
UPDATE: July 7, 2012 10:35 am
One of our long-time supporters just issued a challenge for little Eric!
Each and every dollar donated this weekend will be matched dollar for dollar up to a maximum of $1000. Woot. This means that every dollar you donate will, effectively, count as double!!
UPDATE: July 7, 2012
As of right now, we’re raised just over $1,000 for little Eric. He desperately needs us to help him. Please read his story below.
On July 3, we noticed this pitiful picture of a stray on a local shelter website.
This picture just tore my heart out! He looked so much like he was in serious distress.
Just the fact that he was laying down concerned us. We contacted the shelter but heard nothing until the morning of the 5th- they were closed for the 4th. The information we got was that he was in serious trouble. Totally infested with fleas, severely anemic, dehydrated. And that since he was a stray, he couldn’t leave until Saturday at close of business. I didn’t think he could make it so begged for a medical release.
And, off we rushed to see our amazing friends at GCVS ICU.
We were able to get him admitted immediately.
They worked him up immediately. His PCV was 14. The PCV measures the level of red blood cells in the over blood liquid. Normal is 35-45. This one is in serious shape. He also has some sort of bad infection – his white cells are high.
Now the good news: the rest of his bloodwork shows nothing remarkable. He seems to be malnourished and dehydrated but liver and kidneys seem to be working.
He got a blood transfusion last night and thankfully, his anemia is resolving and he’s eating well. But, when I went to visit him, he had a fainting episode and we found that he is in heart failure because of a serious load of heartworms.
After speaking at great length with the vet, he believes that since Eric is only 5 years old, we have a good shot at getting him out of this. Not for certain, but then again, nothing is certain.
We NEED HELP! Folks, we are still paying off all of the other urgent bills. We desperately need help to help this little man.
He estimated to be five years old and ALREADY neutered! At some time, this dog was someone’s pet.
Right now, we are estimating the ICU bill to be $4500-$5000.
Also, please understand we pay around 2.5% paypal fee so if you don’t mind adding a bit to your donation amount, that would be appreciated.
If you want to send a check, the address is below, but please email me to let me know.
For those of you that like to do challenges, NOW IS THE TIME.
To view this message as a web page, CLICK HERE.
Donations can be sent via paypal to DONATIONS@shihtzu-rescue.com or mailed to:
LSSTLAR
PO Box 218075
Houston, TX 77218-8075
Happy Birthday to the mandettes! Yes, Mandy’s babies are a year old now!
Remember them?
Mandy was part of the 199 dogs surrendered by a breeder to the Houston SPCA on 5/18/2012.
Then this happened.
Mandy had six little pupsters just about three weeks after we took her in. They grew up fast. Two live in Houston, Gwen and Kati, two live in Ft Worth, Gertie and Gussie Sophia, one lives in Austin, Benji and one lives in San Antonio, Jacks.
All are sweet and loving little babies!
To view this message as a web page, CLICK HERE.
Donations can be sent via paypal to DONATIONS@shihtzu-rescue.com or mailed to:
LSSTLAR
PO Box 218075
Houston, TX 77218-8075
LONE STAR NEWS – June 1, 2012
ADOPTED!!! CHARMAINE MONTGOMERY
Little Charmaine, second from the right, found her new forever home today! Lucky girl!
~
IN THE HOUSE – Milo Davis
Mr. Milo’s mom became homeless and had to surrender her pets to the HSPCA. Milo is 12 and had some skin allergies so most folks would pass him by at the shelter. WE HAVE HIM NOW, thanks to fantastic foster offer by Margaret. We’ll get those allergies gone and him in a new home.
BUTTERCUP enroute to new foster home
Little miss walk-about, Buttercup Waco, is hanging in Philly for a couple of days then off to Houston to FM Kim’s home. Little escape artist better not need anymore adventures. Buttercup is a Waco puppymill survivor who literally climbed out of her foster mom’s fenced in yard. We searched for her for a good 10 days and finally, thanks to Safe Haven No-Kill Sanctuary’s loaned traps, she was caught!! Whew!
Bourbon Orleans checking out
We went ahead with Bourbon Orleans’ surgery to fix his broken leg. He was in just too much pain. I know you all will think we’re nuts, but we just couldn’t let it go on. We have a lot of faith in our followers! So far, we have $1,960 raised of the total $3500 needed. HERE is his PAYPAL link. If you can help, this adorable little Louisiana citizen will totally appreciate it.
Three adorable little 8 week old puppies were surrendered to BARC, the Houston area city shelter. Mom is a shih tzu, dad is a terrier. How cute are they? They are now 11 weeks old. They will be able to go to a home in about a month. If you are interested apply now. They can be pre-adopted by an approved home with another young puppy to burn up their energy RIGHT NOW. Apply at www.shihtzu-rescue.com.
Have a very happy day today, my fantastic friends.
Lone Star Shih Tzu & Lhasa Apso Rescue
Our goal is to be able to NEVER say no to a lhasa or shih tzu that has no other option. We can only continue to save these dogs with financial help from YOU. We are a 100% volunteer organization. Our members devote upwards of 50,000 hours EACH YEAR to save these dogs. We have minimal adminstrative expenses – attorney, accountant, website, etc. The majority of the donations and adoption fees we get goes to the care of our dogs. Our adoption fees only cover about 25% of our total expenses. Please consider a donation.
Donations can be sent via paypal to DONATIONS@shihtzu-rescue.com or mailed to:
LSSTLAR
PO Box 218075
Houston, TX 77218-8075
