Hi Dog Talk!

It’s Liz E’s Pekingese Rescue and Sanctuary. Dropping you a note again to thank you for your gift to our organization and to share with you another story of people failing to plan for their pets.

We received an email from a fellow rescue group asking us to contact a lady in the south who needed somewhere for her mother’s dogs to go. As it turned out, the mother was in her 80s and had at least 15 dogs that she was breeding in her single-wide trailer. One day, two of them got outside and animal control came and took those two dogs to the shelter. Apparently there was a problem. The daughter let her mother know that it was time to stop putting these little lives at risk. When we spoke with the daughter, she said they would need us to take 10 of the 13 dogs that were left. Her mother was reluctant. We drove three hours to meet them and the dogs. We had a list of the 10, but the mother only allowed 8 to come. We took the 8 into rescue. The mother kept 5. The mother told us that they ranged in age from 10 months to 10 years. They didn’t go outside, therefore had not been on heartworm prevention or had any vaccinations, including rabies. They had fleas, curled claws, damaged eyes, severe ear infections, skin infections and were certainly afraid and not well socialized or house trained. We brought them to the rescue, bathed them, trimmed hair, trimmed claws, and had them vetted: de-wormed, heartworm tested, started on heartworm prevention, vaccinated and spayed and neutered. Some needed x-rays and some needed antibiotics. Since then, they are slowly learning how to live in a home with freedom and choices and human touch. Two have been adopted to date. The other six are still with us.

We hope that as Americans age, they will understand that planning for their pets is just as important as other later-in-life planning. There may not be a rescue nearby that is willing to ensure the pet’s safety. Shelters are full. Even we have received 15 dogs just in the last month! Please start planning for your furry family members early! Please adopt age appropriate animals!

Respectfully,

Alysia Dubriske

Liz E.’s Pekingese Rescue and Sanctuary