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Thursday, March 28, 2024
Dogs from MO puppy mill 2010

Sugar

SUGAR

Sugar_update7/14/11 - We received a nice update from Lucie, Sugar's foster mom.  Thought we'd share it with you.  Sugar is a very special case.  Will she ever go off to home of her own, or will she stay with Lucie?  That is yet to be known, but a dog that is traumatized like Sugar was is a very special case that takes a very special person to help bring them around.  Many in rescue end up keeping these special dogs because the work to bring them around to trust us, only to send them to a new home once again is often far too traumatic for the dog and they can back-slide.  So we'll see... On with the update!

Sugar and I had a very informative visit to the Behavioral Veterinarian in May. She informed me that when an animal is isolated from other humans and animals their brain does not develop like animals who interact on a regular basis. Therefore, some of her behaviors such as trust might not ever develop like other animals. Sugar will probably never be a fox terrier who really interacts with her family. The Doctor also told me to leave her alone and let her come to me when she is comfortable. I followed these instructions and noticed a change in behavior within a few days. It was a great investment in Sugar's and my peace of mind.

Sugar loves to come to me when she is in the bed and inches her way to me when I tap the bed. Miss Sugar rules the house from the bed and growls and Casey (my other resident fox terrier rescue) when he enters the room. She loves to have her head scratched and does the foxie head turn showing her pleasure. Whenever I come into the house she comes running downstairs along with Casey.  Sugar is always coming to me from my bed, where she stays almost all the time. If I need to get her to come I either use the squeaky toy or call Casey's name and she comes running with him, since she knows she will get her head scratched along with Casey!

Sugar hoards all the toys.  When Casey isn't looking she runs with all she can collect upstairs to include in her stash! She still runs from me if I move to quickly and it startles her.  She runs into the house from the backyard and hauls up the stairs to the bedroom where she feels safe. She is petrified to walk on a leash and only eliminates in the backyard. I was told by the Behavioral Vet that I should not force her to walk with Casey and I since it causes too much trauma for her. Although, when Casey and I go for a walk she comes to us and seems like she wants to go for a walk.  So maybe someday she'll decide she'd like to join us.

You can really see how much she has grown in confidence from the first picture at the airport to the picture above. She seems so much more at ease now. Maybe she was afraid of me with my sunglasses on .LOL
Lucie

Thanks, Lucie, for the great update!  We're so happy fate brought you together with Miss Sugar.  She seems to have found a person she can trust and feel comfortable with in you.  Our hearts break for what must have hurt her soul so much, but you are the answer to her pain - just letting her "be" and letting her decide the timeline.  Not many would be able to do what you're doing.

We look forward to more updates as thing change for Sugar!

Sugar's Early Story

Sugar arrived at BWI Airport in Baltimore MD on December 15th on Pet Airways. She was terrified of everyone and everything.  When I walked her it was probably her first time on a leash. Sugar spent the first six years of her life in a cage bearing puppies and based on her reaction to people especially men she was mostly definitely abused.

sugar_lucie

She came home with me to met my housemate Mike and my resident senior terrier Casey. She was introduced to squeaky toys which made her feel more secure. I would watch her sneak by Casey(when he wasn't looking) and steal all the toys and bring them up to my room and put them on my bed. She now feels more secure and does not have a need to hoard all the toys anymore.

sugar

But Sugar's fears of pretty much everyone but me have proven to be a challenge.  While she learned to not fear me as much, she often runs away when I  walk near her. Poor little thing runs so fast down the stairs that she will fall and bump into the wall. I hope and pray that she does not hurt herself. However, Sugar has really made some progress.  Instead of running from me, she will lie down in a submissive pose and let me approach her. She follows me wherever I go in the house and sits right next time when I am on my computer. When she first came to me she would never come when I called her. I started to call her name while squeaking a squeaky toy and she slowly started to come to me. Now, she will slowly come to me when I call her and put a treat on the floor. A few weeks ago, she started to take a treat from my hand occasionally.  She's still working on being able to trust, and it's heartbreaking to think she's been so traumatized by her previous life.

Though Sugar has made great progress with love, patience and medication she still has a long way to go. Sugar will be visiting a Veterinarian who specializes in Behavior Modification next month and I am hoping to learn more about her fear and ways to help her to continue to progress to live a happy and secure life. Sugar has been with me now for 3.5 months and will I will continue to foster her until she feels secure, safe and less traumatized.

sugar1

This couldn't happen without your ongoing support.  Help us give all these wonderful dogs the gift of health.  Just click the "Donate" button below to make your tax deductible donation via PayPal.  Or mail your tax deductible donation toKathy Lauer, American Fox Terrier Rescue Treasurer, 8738 Prestwick Parkway, Brooklyn Park, MN 55443

THANK YOU!

 

GREAT NEWS FOR DOUG - UPDATE

EVEN MORE GREAT NEWS FOR DOUG - AND A HIGH-FIVE TO American Fox Terrier Rescue !

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GREAT NEWS IN THE WORLD OF DOUG

Wednesday 2/02/2011 Doug Update:  Doug went in to the vet this morning for his second round of dental surgery.  According to Edi, "Doug was so happy to go to the vet this morning.  He just loves everything and everybody.  What a forgiving soul he is."  He settled in to get ready for all that great attention he gets from April and Molly and Ashley and the rest of the girls at Compassionate Care Animal Hospital, where he is somewhat of a Rock Star! 

Read more: GREAT NEWS FOR DOUG - UPDATE

 

December 19, 2010

12/19/10:

On December 14, the Missouri 11 minus Doug's trip to Kansas City and Omaha began. PAWS volunteers loaded up 10 dogs in a van to meet Teresa in Kansas City.  Then on to Omaha to catch their flights.  One went back home with Teresa to Oklahoma, 7 flew out east, and 2 are waiting till the 21st to fly to the southeast.  Doug hung out with PAWS till Wednesday when he got up before dawn and headed to Des Moines by car to meet Kathy and head north to Minnesota for further hospitalization and tests.

Once they got to Omaha, the Nebraska Humane Society had wonderful volunteers there ready when the dogs arrived to exercise them, feed them, get them settled, and most of all to pet and comfort them with gentle hands and very warm hearts.  They didn't care that it was late at night - they showed every one of those dogs love and kindness.  We can't thank you all enough.  There simply aren't words.  It's a testament to the dedication and love for animals and for these lucky fox terriers that rescue volunteers show time and time again. The PAWS team has been amazing!  NEHS stepped right up with enthusiasm.  The entire experience gives a whole new meaning to "Christmas Spirit"!

American Fox Terrier Rescue and OKFTR volunteer Teresa was astonishing.  Taking time to meet the PAWS volunteers getting thing arranged with the Nebraska Humane Society - she made magic happen for these dogs.  And she's even going back to make sure the last two get on their flight ok!  Everyone involved showed their love and dedication for these sweet, innocent fox terriers who's entire lives were in spent in cramped cages or pens.

The Pet Airways crew was fantastic. They were careful and gentle with the dogs, knowing that they'd been through so much up to this point and they made everyone as comfortable as possible and tried to reassure them all.  In addition to the great staff at Pet Airways, Teresa had 3 extra sets of helping hands--thanks to the NEHS folks!

As the dogs landed in their various destinations, American Fox Terrier Rescue volunteers were waiting to gather them up and send them to their foster homes.  They're all doing really well so far as they're settling in.  Grooming, some follow up vet visits, and socializing has been going on and they're all responding wonderfully.  Some are still shy, some are like nothing ever happened - but all of them are surprising their foster homes every day with their resiliancy.

On December 15th, Carol from PAWS and her husband Larry got up very early to bring Doug to Des Moines for his trip to Minnesota.  He rode like a trooper and by 10:30 a.m., the paperwork was being reviewed, medication and the medication list (which is very extensive!) was passed on.  And while Carol and Kathy were going over things, the emails were arriving that the other dogs had landed safely at their destinations.  After a quick "yahoo!" Doug was switched to Kathy's vehicle and off they drove for Minneapolis. 

He was taken immediately to Compassionate Care Animal Hospital in Brooklyn Park where Dr. Judi Funk and her very able staff were waiting for him.  Dr. Judi and Dr. Lindsay Merkel from the University of Minnesota Veterinary Teaching Hospital had been collaborating and reviewing his records from U of Missiouri-Columbia and getting an intial plan of treatment and possible complications to watch for in mind for him and everyone was excited to actually get their hands on him.

They got him settled in at CCAH and fed him and let him relax and decompress after his very long day.  The next morning, Dr. Judi did a complete physical and determined that there would be no sedating Doug at this point.  We really wanted to be able to deal with his ears (flush and clean) and his infected gums from broken teeth, but he is still not healthy enough to withstand sedation.  So instead, Kathy went over to groom him, and the cardiologist, Dr. Janet Olson from Veterinary Cardiology Services found time in her schedule to come in and run a doppler echocardiogram and an EKG and determined that Doug's heart is healthy!  We finished cleaning him up and got him groomed as well as he'd allow ("No clippers on my head, thank you very much!") and he spent one more night at the hospital.  Then on Friday his foster family picked him up and brought him home.  He's doing wonderfully! 

Doug will always have breathing issues - akin to COPD in humans - because his bronchitis was never addressed and the damage can't be reversed.  But it can be medically managed.  The prognosis was good when he left the hospital for him to have a number of good years ahead with the proper medical management.  And every day in a warm and loving home sees him improving.  It's all very heart warming. 

You for more pictures stories and comments, you can see the latest on our Facebook page by clicking here. You don't need a Facebook account to view the pictures.  Please look at the pictures, become a Fan of our Facebook page if you'd like, and think about giving the gift of medical care to our wonderful group of dogs - especially for Doug.

Doug has lots of medications and continued vet care and follow up before he's truly as healthy as we can get him to be.  He's really come a long way in a short amount of time but he has a ways to go.  He's a great dog, and giving him a chance to live his final years in a warm, loving home means so much to all of us! So please consider Doug and the other 10 beautiful fox terriers from this gang as being deserving of your charitable contributions for the year.  They made it this far thanks to all of you who have donated to American Fox Terrier Rescue .  Their care and transport has been made possible by the generosity of people who simply love fox terriers and showed that love in the form of a donation to their care. 

Thank you to everyone involved in the effort to save these wonderful fox terriers from life in a puppy mill. Their lives are forever changed by your caring. From those that are hands-on to you who have financed the effort - and to all of you for your good wishes and emotional support!

Many thanks to Coconut Retriever and Doggie Duds, Wegmans, Pet Airways, and Compassionate Care Animal Hospital for your support!  



   

December 10, 2010

All of the Missouri 11, with the exception of Doug, were vetted, spayed or netuered, heart worm tested today.  ALL got clean bills of health - and heartworm free! **Big sigh of relief!!**  They also got high marks for darling, happy temperaments! Thank you to Bev and Carol from PAWS who drove 3 hours round trip with 10 lively fox terriers. And cheers to the vet and her staff who tolerated just a bit of fox terrier chaos!  Now on to the airport for flights to their next foster homes next week.  And Doug will be chauffered on Wednesday from Missouri to Minneapolis to start the next phase of his care.  A lot of truly amazing people have done a lot of truly amazing work to bring this together.  Thank you so much to all of you.


 

Further Updates

Well the gang now has names.  Kudos to the PAWS volunteers who have been wrangling 3-4 fox terriers per foster home!

Our PAWS friends came up with the following names:  Baby Face Nelson, Petty Boy Floyd and C. W. Moss are named after gangsters; Franklin, Hermann, Ava and Minnie are named after towns in Missouri, Sissy, Sasha and Sugar have "S" names and Doug - well he's special - so his records at the University simply called him "Dog".  So we added a letter to that and for now, he's Doug!

Read more: Further Updates

   

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