I wanted to keep everyone posted on what we’ve been up to lately…
We’ve been spending a large part of our rescue time with M.A.I.N. (Medical Animals In Need) and saving A LOT of neglected and injured dogs in the process. Because of this, it’s been a while since you’ve seen an update on Urban Rescues!
But, please don’t think that a lack of updates means that we aren’t still devoted to the wonderful animals that need our help… Here are just a few of the latest pups we’ve been helping with!
As always, we appreciate your support and just wanted to pop in and say “Hi”… We’ll keep you posted as more dogs get saved – and in the meantime, check out medicalanimalsinneed for updates on any of these precious pups!
This is one fun little pup… He’s energetic, fun-filled and sweet, with a love for any toy he meets. Dugan currently weighs around 15 pounds, so I would imagine he’ll grow to be around 25 before he’s finished. He’s a great size for most yards and homes and he’ll entertain you for hours with his goofy personality.
He is a pup through-and-through, and he can be a pain in the neck for older dogs, but if you’ve got some fellow “players” in the house, Dugan will be an instant hit.
He’s a little on the shy side with kids until he gets to know them, but once he does – he’ll steal every toy they own while the kids chase him through the yard trying to get them back. “Keep away” is one of his favorite games!
He still has his baby teeth and he can play pretty rough sometimes, but with a little gentle training I have no doubt he’ll be the perfect fit and almost any home where he gets enough attention and playtime.
As a puppy, Dugan will need something to keep him entertained while you’re away from home – and what better toy than another pup? Right now, Archie is his best buddy – but, he and Charm can be found dragging toys through the house during the day, too – and all three seem to get along great.
Here is some additional information on our adoptable dogs:
Dugan and the other fosters here are only available to homes in the Phoenix area.
We don’t crate our dogs, and we don’t adopt out to families that do.
Dugan has been neutered and is up to date on all of his shots.
Dugan is a real sweetheart and ALL puppy – So, if you find that you can’t stop thinking about this adorable pup, join the club! Just call or email me and we’ll figure out a time for you two to meet each other!
If it’s true that good things come in small packages, then just wait til you meet Charm, a 4 month old mixed breed pup, that’s waiting to meet her new people!
This pup was scheduled for euthanasia at a high-kill shelter in Yuma, but now she’s happy, healthy and ready to share all of the love that she has to offer with a new family.
I’ve been describing her to friends as a “foot long Golden Retriever” and those who’ve met her agree completely. None of us are sure what breeds make up this 6 pound ball of attitude, but Charm is seriously one of the cutest pups I’ve seen in a long time!
While her photos may seem like she’s a larger-sized dog, I can assure you that she is – in fact – tiny. The shot above is her head against my foot, so that should give you a pretty good indication of how big she is.
But those that covet these pocket-sized pooches know that their size in no way diminishes their personality! While she LOVES to be near her people, (cuddling on the sofa, playing tug-of-war with one of her toys, or chasing a ball in the backyard) Charm can get a little nippy with the other dogs when vying for affection! This should be very easy to correct, since she’s such a youngster – and there are some pups that she actually enjoys spending time with – but there are a couple of my dogs (Beau and Ollie) that she just doesn’t seem to care much for at the moment.
All-in-all, Charm is one little perfectly wrapped bundle of love. She’s already spayed and completely vetted (also updated on all of her shots). She’s learning to go outside for potties very well, and when she can’t wait for me to take her, she uses a puppy pad beautifully.
She would love to meet her new family, so if you think that you’d like to meet her, too – just let me know. Send me an email or give me a call at (602) 795-2260.
Archie has quickly become one of my favorite foster pups. He always seems to be in a good mood and willing to do whatever it takes to make someone else smile (whether that’s me or one of the other dogs here).
He’s a happy-go-lucky type of pup that gets along great with the other dogs here. He plays gently with some and rougher with others (depending on their preference), with no food issues or dominance problems to speak of.
He absolutely LOVES kids, and will spend the better part of any visit with them following wherever they go and sitting with them while they watch TV.
He knows how to use the doggie door, but he’s currently living with 8 other dogs and two of them are also pups – so a “refresher course” might be necessary before Archie can be considered completely housebroken. But, he’s a bright pup, so he’ll learn quickly… And just look at that face!
As a puppy, Archie will need something to keep him entertained while you’re away from home – and what better toy than another pup? Here is one of my favorite videos with Archie and one of his little buddies, Charm (also available for adoption).
Archie is also great friends with Dugan, a 3 month old wire-haired Dachshund/Terrier mix (also available for adoption). These three spend their days chasing each other and rolling through the house. They keep each other busy, so I can actually get some work done around here!
Here is some additional information on our adoptable dogs:
Archie and the other fosters here are only available to homes in the Phoenix area.
We don’t crate our dogs, and we don’t adopt out to families that do.
Archie has been neutered and is up to date on all of his shots.
So, if you find Archie as irresistible as I do – call or email me and we’ll figure out a time for you two to meet!
Photo courtesy of http://germanshepherdhealth.com/
It’s easy to make a lot of friends when you work in rescue. We already have at least one common interest, so when we finally meet (outside of Facebook) great conversations can sometimes lead to wonderful new friendships. Such is the case with Trish Houlihan.
Trish is a regular at the Maricopa County Animal Care and Control West shelter. She volunteers there every week, and when she’s not helping visitors to find their new family member, she is constantly combing the kennels searching for dogs that need her help. In fact, Trish originally photographed Belle and made sure all of us knew about him.
But, her favorite breed of dog is the German Shepherd, and she rescues them whenever she can. “I know they’re not for everyone,” says Trish “but in the right home with the right owner, they’re extraordinary animals.”
Right now, she has quite a few gorgeous Shepherds all waiting for new homes. Her monthly kennel bills equal what most of us pay on our mortgage, and the dogs themselves would benefit from fluffy beds and belly rubs in their forever home. “Even if someone isn’t ready to adopt,” Trish adds “a Foster home for some of these kids would help them so much.”
$8.00 a day may not seem like a lot of money. That’s what rescuers are charged to kennel the dogs we save from our local shelter’s euthanasia list.
But, $8.00 a day quickly becomes $240.00 a month and with ten dogs being boarded, $2,400.00 a month becomes a heavy expense each and every month.
These dogs don’t stay at a kennel forever, but it takes time to network them, photograph them and set up introductions between the dogs and potential adopters. When one dog leaves the shelter, his space is taken by another on the euthanasia list.
It’s an expense that rarely seems to go away.
So, Trish and I will begin to photograph and videotape some of these beautiful dogs very soon. But, in the meantime – if you’ve been considering a Shepherd as a new addition to your family, let me know and I’ll put you in touch with Trish.
And, if you’d like to help Trish with her kennel expenses, please donate here:
It’s been a long road for Belle/Beau, and his foster family (Kelly, Jason and the dogs) has been his guiding light through all of it. From teaching him how to walk again to showing them there is true goodness in this world and that he is deserving of it. Beau lives his days as a foster with 4 other dogs. Each day they run and play, fetch balls, tug rope toys and sleep in the family room while Kelly and Jason care for them. They are a loving pack of beautifully cared for dogs and Beau has become an integral part of it all.
But, Beau is better now, and his status as a foster dog is coming to an end. We were approached by dozens of wonderful people all over the country that wanted to welcome Beau into their homes. But, when a wonderful couple in Cave Creek messaged about adopting Beau, we knew we had to check it out further. They have plenty of room for Beau to run and play, two other dogs of their own and some of the most beautiful horses we’ve ever seen. Their home is spacious and filled with love. We met them two weeks ago and introduced everyone to Beau. By the end of our visit, we could hardly get Beau into the car. There were sights, sounds and smells that he still wanted to explore and we set a plan to bring him back for a second visit.
A week later, Sydney and Jeff visited Beau at Kelly and Jason’s home and took him for a nice long walk. Beau seemed very comfortable with both of them, and their two dogs continued to get used to the new idea, too. When they returned, Beau was pretty worn out, and he fell asleep on his bed next to his best dog friend, Daisy. “I sat and watched them sleep, and it really started to sink in that Beau wasn’t going to stay with us.” Said Kelly. “And as I tried to imagine this home without him in it, I knew I had to do some soul searching and talk to Jason about it.”
Kelly wrote a letter to Sydney explaining her feelings about Beau leaving, and now – Beau’s foster status has officially come to an end. He is now and forever more, part of the “Noble Bunch” and he couldn’t be happier about it. Kelly is happy about it, too “he’s a part of our family now, and he’ll soon begin classes to be a therapy dog, so that one day he might be able to inspire sick children or veterans the way he’s inspired so many of us.”
Congratulations to Kelly and Jason, and most of all to Beau. Your new life is just beginning.
I visited Belle and Kelly yesterday and just had to document the progress that this wonderful boy has made over the past few weeks. It’s nothing short of miraculous, but I should have realized that it would be.. Kelly is just about the best foster, any dog could ever hope to recover with.
UPDATE: Public outrage over a proposed new puppy mill has led Gorham, NY Town Supervisor Fred Lightfoote to reverse his position on the project. In a statement issued Monday, Lightfoote said the board has been buried in countless emails and phone calls opposing the dog breeding facility approved for Jolene and Curtis Martin.
Lightfoote now recommends that the Town Board enact a moratorium on any dog breeding facilities to avoid public outcry over future projects. Read More
Ashleigh and Matt need our help to withdraw the approval of a dog breeding operation in Gorham, N.Y.
The Gorham Planning Board recently approved a special use permit for Jolene and Curtis Martin to build a dog breeding facility at 4446 Route 247, north of the intersection of Lake to Lake Road. The Martins presented engineering and design plans to the board, noting that the facility would have a capacity of anywhere from 200 to 600 dogs.
Ashleigh, a supporter of Belle, and a Special Education Teacher in New York was recently moved by Belle’s story enough to make a difference in her own community, and she has chosen the newly approved dog breeding operation as her first fight “In the name of Belle…He has brought out the animal activist in both of us that we have lost in our busy lives! We’re working to be back on the board of our local shelter and I am going to contact them about volunteering. We would like to make every attempt we can… Belle sure has touched so many.”
Gorham Town Supervisor Fred Lightfoote said on Monday (2/6/2012) that he will “address the issue” at the Town Board meeting being held on Wednesday, February 8th at 7:30 p.m. at the Town Hall, 4736 South St. Gorham, so we’d like to help Ashley out with as much support as possible and maybe a little pressure from around the world could make a substantial difference in the outcome of this story..
According to canandaigualakeassoc.org, Fred Lightfoote’s Office can be reached at (585) 526-6246 and Gordon Freida, the city’s building/zoning supervisor has an email address listed as GordonFreida@gorham-ny.com on the same website,
Ashleigh writes “I have met with the Town Supervisor, Spoken with Local News Stations, Helped Spread Petitions, Contacted PETA…Any other suggestions??” If anyone reading this article, has any other suggestions, PLEASE post them here and Ashleigh will receive them.
If you would like to voice your opinion about the plans for this new breeding facility, there are a number of ways to do so. The Gorham Town Planning Board provides contact information on its website. Additionally, a petition started by those concerned with animal welfare can be found at Change.org. The full planning board meeting notes are also available from the town.
There has been SO much progress with Belle lately, that we have to share it all with you. He is gone from the hospital now and living with Kelly, his wonderful foster. She takes lots of photos and even a few videos, so we can use this page to show some of them to you.
Kelly posts all of these photos as she takes them on our Facebook Page, so if you would rather see them there, here is the link to our page.
This is Beau's new little buddy. As you can see this lil pup also had to lose the same leg. He was a gift for a lady's boyfriend's son and when she had asked how the pup was doing they told her there was something wrong with the dog. When they got the pup to the vet and took the bandage off the pup's leg...the leg came with it. Yes, I wanted to drop kick the kid too. Well I did mention that if they need someone to take the pup, he would be in good company. ~ Kelly
And he is finally on his way back home!
I think I just got rasberried...
Wow...ok Beau has been making the decisions as to how small his steps are going to be. He was scared to come out of his kennel at first so I brought in my cocker Tessie and his attention perked. Tucson, the standard poodle, came in out of curiosity and that perked his interest even more and he decided to come towards the front of his kennel. Then I remembered the time and I asked, "is everyone ready for some cheese?" And they were all wagging their tails and ready to go. The next thing I know he is in the kitchen wanting cheese with the girls and they all had chicken jerky treats (from costco of course). We next tried to have him go into the front yard because Draco and Daisy were in the back yard but he was having none of that. So Jason tried to move Draco into the back area behind the baby gate but, again, Beau surprised us wanting to meet Draco. So Jason kept a firm handle on Draco and they met, but Jason kept it short lived and got Draco into the office. Then Daisy and him met...and well you see how that ended up. lol!
As you can see Beau is getting really used to the house and even going into the backyard to do his business. The boy is amazing.
From Tuesday, January 31st:
Morning Beau update. Man he just doesn’t like his kennel…he took a loooooooonnnnngggg pee …in my bathroom lol…and I had taken him out before bed…I think he was just waiting for my bathroom lol. Then it took two and a half pieces of cheese to get him his baytril and rimadyl…smart lil monkey. Then he wanted to run around with the dogs in the backyard but I had to tell him no or he would pull his stitches out…then we cleaned his wounds that are still open so they can continue to heal…then he reluctantly went back into his kennel. Woo…I needed a minute to be able to post. He is all wiggles and happy. I need to get ANOTHER dog bed so he can have his own in the living room lol!
The herd just relaxing. ~ Kelly
Belle/Beau laying in my room...
It's like having a baby...you can't wait for nap time. lol
Woo! Busy day...first Beau went through the doggy door not once but TWICE! He then slept by and under my bed because he wanted to be near Daisy. He also decided he hated his kennel and so he bent it!. He also read some of the cards the kids wrote him...he is still working on turning the pages and so they got roughed up a lil. Glad you all like his updates and there are so many more coming. UR, Beau, and I wish everyone a fantastic evening! ~ Kelly
Niters! ~ Kelly
From Kelly on February 2nd, 2012:
Sorry for the lack of an update yesterday but I got married so it was a lil hectic to say the least lol. Well Beau decided that he didn’t like being kept in the bathroom…took me an hour to clean up the mess. We had him in the kennel the other day but he didn’t like that either and the kennel had to be punished according to him. Today I have taken Draco up to have his “boys” removed and the dogs were no where to be found when I got home. I opened the back sliding glass door…that silly boy knows how to use the doggie door now too! I need to keep him from itching his staples…I tried putting some emu oil lotion around it so it wouldn’t be so itchy but he still popped a few staples. I am going to have to be a motherly nag to him to keep him from hurting himself. I will update everyone more after a while and post more pics of our lil wonder Beau. ~ Kelly
Post snack nap! The pink coloring on his bed is from a rawhide-type chewy heart that one of you sent him.. Boy, he is LOVING all of his care packages!
It is time to sleep and as you can see Beau likes to make himself comfy. He is doing so well and I cannot wait until his wounds completely heal. More updates coming soon! ~ Kelly
He was brought in to the East Valley Shelter with a shattered leg and multiple wounds covering his torso. He was scheduled to be euthanized on Monday, January 30th 2012 because he wasn’t “adoptable” in his current condition.
The volunteers at M.A.I.N. and Urban Rescues coordinated to have Cyrus pulled from the kill-list and brought to a local veterinarian for x-rays and a physical. Cyrus will be helped with donations from Belle’s Fund.
His x-rays show that his break is quite severe and the volunteers at M.A.I.N. are trying to get some additional information from the shelter regarding how old these fractures might be. If his injuries have any seasoning to them (meaning they happened a while ago), it is probable that his leg will need to be removed. But, if they’re more recent, we may be able to save his leg. We’ll keep everyone informed as we get more information.
Every dollar that we receive in donations goes toward care and medical bills for these neglected animals.
For now, Cyrus is being well cared for and enjoying some love and care that he hasn’t had in quite some time (if ever). He is a friendly gentle soul that needs love right now, and the staff at Bethany Animal Hospital and the volunteers at M.A.I.N. are making sure that he has all the attention he can handle.
Here are some better photos of this beautiful boy:
