Higher volume of rescued dogs

Followers of Rosie Animal Adoption have surely heard of our recent score of rescued dogs. Last month, our volunteers went 5 hours northeast of Montreal and collected one of our largest releases of animals from a commercial breeder. This one was well beyond Quebec City.

Sometimes, when we get dogs from outside Quebec, we get hit with comments about how we should help close to home first, despite the fact that the outside dogs are often sent to us, not collected by us. Well, here we are, as always, helping out our “local” dogs. As many of you know, Quebec has the distinction of a very bad international reputation for commercial breeding facilities.

On May 18, we were given a chance to take 20 dogs, 4 rabbits and 2 cats into our loving volunteers’ arms. We took as many as we were permitted to by the breeder. 10 of the dogs collected went to another shelter in our area, and we collected 4 more from other breeders, then accepted several home surrenders at the same time. At this time, we have 21 adult dogs and 8 recently born puppies in our system. More than we could handle? Surely. More than we could love? Absolutely not. I defy anyone to stand there in the face of these rows of animals and deny any one of them. We often ask to take even more than those being offered for release, because we care and because we want it to STOP.

The cats have gone to a local cat rescue, the rabbits have also gone to a rescue which specializes in them. And the dogs, ah the dogs. All 20 fearful, hopeful, desperate faces have been through what must have been a frightening ride down to our area. Completely unknown to them, that ride would be their passage to new lives. Lives they could never even fathom. On to what it takes for us to get these dogs into their new lives.

All those dogs, so all those neuters or spays, all those sets of vaccinations, and de-wormings. Commercial breeders have more females than males and so we always receive more females, whose surgeries cost more due to the complexity. Almost all needed dental work. Almost all had dual ear infections necessitating medications. Antibiotics, pain killers for post-surgery, the list goes on, and that’s just for the healthiest ones. Also many, many tests were run on all the dogs to determine their exact needs to get back to health.

We have Bella the Shih Tzu who had a bladder stone the size of a large cherry. It occupied her entire bladder. Now, that would level a football player, but this was inside a 15 pound dog! She was touch and go in ICU for some time after 2 surgeries at one of our vets but has pulled through. We paid for a veterinary ophthalmologist for one of our bichons who displayed vision problems. Elisa the Pomeranian had pneumonia, and a collapsed trachea. Florentine the poodle mix has a pronounced heart murmur which we found after we had x-rays performed on her. We have two yorkies moms, Didi and Lillie, whose jaws fractured when we tried to extract their rotten teeth. They are likely related, these little girls, so it is possibly genetic, but we also suspect living conditions weakened their tiny, fragile bones so much, they couldn’t withstand a routine extraction, despite all our precautions. They are currently recovering in foster homes until they are well enough for their new families.

I remember a story I read once that babies in impoverished orphanages rarely cry. Do they not need, like our babies? Do they feel fear, discomfort, or hunger? Yes to all. They do not cry because, unlike for our children, crying does not produce a caring face to make the bad things go away and bring the good. Commercial breeding dogs are like those babies. They are now the recipients of a lot of care and intervention which would make our own dogs wince and struggle and bark and whine. These dogs do not. For the vets, they make the easiest patients. They comply. Because to them, their life holds nothing better. They accept that. They have no reason to hope for better. Until now.

They do not know their future, but we do. They will finally experience the love of a family. Treats and walks and toys and unconditional love, for the rest of their lives. They can’t see it, but it’s just around the next bend. After years of maintaining the adoption fee at $350, we’ve had to raise it to $400. Despite discounts at the vets, the cost of care of all our Rosie dogs is almost always well beyond what we charge you, the adopting family, when you take your newest 4 legged addition home.

These recent rescues brought us 21 dogs which soon became 21 dogs and 8 puppies. The dogs’ vet bills, on average, have surpassed $1200 apiece. Did we know that would be the case? Yes, yes, we did. Did we flinch? Nope.

Please help us stand unflinching before the next sad faces and say “Yes, we’ll take you, too.”

As you may have read on our Facebook page, 2 years ago Lilah Rose was a commercial breeder’s dog and when she came to us, she had myriad health problems and initially stayed at the back of her crate, catatonic from fear. Reading about who she is now and the life she leads, she inspires us to believe that all these dirty, bedraggled, sad dogs have the very real potential to be a happy family member one day soon.

July 1st is coming and with those moves, we will get our usual surge of abandoned pets found either in empty apartments, in shelters or turned out onto the streets by their owners.

Please donate anything you can. We want to continue to save the commercial breeder dogs as well as the abandoned souls. We appreciate it more than you know.

Can't keep giving a chance at a commercial breeding dog to find a real home if we cant get donations.