TONIGHT!!!

Dog Walk is on, hope to see you all there!!

Just a reminder it runs from 6:30pm to 7:30pm at Gyro Park.

Well, they do have four legs...

Cats, that is! I posted about Miss Muggins yesterday and we are very hopefull that we are able to place her into a new home soon.

But....that is a huge word in rescue...BUT. Being in 'the bizz', and even though we specialize in dogs, I do get alot of emails about Alberta pet seizures and emails when a puppy mill has been exposed, things like that. PDCR always offers to help in anyway that we can, and this time is no different.

Got a call from a great friend that runs a rescue out of Calgary, they take in dogs, cats, pigs, you name it. They were asked by a cat collector in the Med Hat area to help them rehome their cats as they were in way over their heads and didn't know where to turn. The email I got last night made my stomach turn. There are over 75 cats that need new homes!! All ages, breeds, colors...all homeless and deemed to die in two weeks if help isn't found.

So, I am putting this out to our readers. I have agreed to help with 2 four month old kittens and there are also 2 eight month old ones that could come to Lethbridge as well. Because we are primarily a dog rescue, our cat foster homes are...well...non-existant! If you, or if you know someone, that would be willing to foster one or two of these cats, please let us know asap. They will be vetted and you will be supplied with everything you would need to care for these kittens. The rescue group is going in for the first 30 cats on Saturday and they were hoping to drop off the 2 four month old kittens here at my house on Saturday afternoon provided that we've found a foster home(s). Please help.

We can't say NO!!!

MUGGINS HAS BEEN ADOPTED!

All of us here at PDCR are animal lovers but lean more toward helping dogs as there are quite a few cat rescues in Lethbridge that are doing a great job helping the homless cats in the area.

BUT.....! :) Every once in a while one of us finds a kitty that we just have to help. Lots of them are rehomed thru word of mouth which is why you guys don't ever read about them.

MUGGINS is an adorable cat that I met today. Her owner had to move into a seniors home and signed her beloved cat over to Park Pet Hospital. They called me and said, "We have a cat that we want you to help!" "A cat, a cat!, we are a dog rescue" was my response, but then had to stop by the clinic to meet her on my lunch hour, couldn't resist!

I was greeted by a very friendly and beautiful cat. Here she is:

She is a medium - long haired cat. Her eyes are a beautiful lime green color, and her tail is so fluffy. Muggins is 2 1/2 years old, spayed, vaccinated and very healthy. I picked her up and got little kisses on the side of my face. She has a wonderful personality and is very soft. She lived with a small dog and is good with other cats. She is an indoor cat.

If you would like to adopt Muggins, please fill out our application as if you were adopting a dog. Some of the information won't be relevent such as how many walks you take daily! , but it will still give us a good idea of your lifestyle and what you are able to provide little Muggins here.

Calendars & Cookbooks!!!

CALENDARS

Due to the huge response to the idea of doing a calendar featuring our rescue dogs we have decided to go ahead with it, and make it fun at the same time!!

We are asking all past rescue dogs to have your parents send us your photos for the chance to be featured in the calendar. The deadline for photo entries is November 10, 2009 and they can be emailed to prairiedogcaninerescue@hotmail.com, please include your dogs "rescue" name so we know who they are, as so many of them have changed since they were adopted!!

We are all excited and looking forward to the photos!

COOKBOOKS

Another great suggestion made was doing up a rescue cookbook.

We are asking all of our blog readers to submit one of your favorite recipes, for people or for dogs, to hopefully be featured in the cookbook.

The deadline for this is again November 10, 2009 and these can also be emailed to prairiedogcaninerescue@hotmail.com.

They will all then be reviewed but our expert cookbook makers and sent off to the press.

In the mean time we will sort out the details as to cost, were to buy and when they will be available and let everyone know. And yes they will be available to out of town people!

All proceeds from the sale of these items will be put right back into helping the dogs, plus this is the perfect way to do your Christmas shopping!

WANTED: Fundraising Ideas

We are in need of fundraising ideas for the coming year and would like your imput in order for it to be a big success.

In the past we have done various things like our Microchip Fundraisers, Adoptions Fairs, T-Shirts, Books and most recently Glass Hearts.

We have had a few suggestions lately like Handmade Christmas Ornaments & Calendars to name a few, and would love for our supporters to made some additional suggestions or let us know if we had these items if you would be interested in them.

Please email us at prairiedogcaninerescue@hotmail.com with any ideas or items that you would be interested in if we had. We put alot of work into our fundraising and it is well worth it as it allows us to continue the work that we do.

Scrappy

This handsome little guy is Scrappy....he is a four year old chihuahua.


Scrappy had an unfortunate start to life but was rescued by a kind neighbour when she witnessed how he was being treated. In turn she sent him our way to help him on his journey to a loving home that he well deserves.

Scrappy does take a few days to settle in to his new surroundings but once he does his foster mom says he is a fantastic little guy to have around. He loves to play with his foster brother, snuggle on the couch for some cuddle time and taking naps in the sun.

Scrappy would do best in a home with older or no children, does well with other dogs, is housetrained, kennel trained, neutered, microchipped and has all his vaccinations up to date.

Where is Fido? Microchip Time Again!!

If you have ever lost your dog, even for a few hours, it is horrible. So many questions and scenarios fill your head until the dog is found. So, what do you do?

The first step most people take is to determine that the dog is actually gone, and then when and how the dog got out. Then you start walking around the neighborhood calling the dog's name. Friend's arrive to help look, driving around the blocks, stopping people to ask if they saw your baby. (HINT: Carry a pen and write your number on the people's hand so they can contact you if they see/find your dog). Calls to the shelters are made, maybe even to the radio stations.

What people don't realize is that the if your dog is picked up by the animal shelter, its not helpful to just call in with a description of your dog. That cute little white spot on the back toe will not stand out to someone whose job it is to catch your dog and impound it. They might record the gender of your dog, but don't count on it. You MUST go there and look for yourself.

"Oh, but I can't, I feel too bad for the other dogs in there." Sorry, but get over it! I had a roommate who owned two Basenjis. The breed isn't common and when the male was picked up due to a loose fence board, the shelter had him down as a Corgi cross because of the size of his ears! And yet a breed chart is posted on the wall in front of their desks. We called for two days, always getting the same answer. Then we thought to go and look, sure enough he was there.

For the safety of your dog it is so important to look for them, not just ask for them. Many shelters in the Lethbridge area only hold dogs for between 3 and 5 days before they are euthanized! Can you imagine if you found out your dog was sitting there waiting for you? We are in contact with many shelters and they call us before 'the day' and we try hard to find room. But even in our care, correct identification is hard to find and we try to guess based on size, color, and temperment. Cross breeds are hard to identify. We once labelled a dog a Pointer X Pitt Bull. A man called saying that it was his dog and it was a purebred Catahoula Lepard Dog! Who knew? But that dog got to go home.

Identifying your dog 101: Collars: Great idea, for walking your dog. Not great for ID as they come off. Tatoos: There are only two, last I heard, clinics in Lethbridge that tatoo. Your dog is done as a puppy or while under sedation during a spay/neuter procedure. They are somtimes worn off within a few years, or can't be clearly read. Microchips: A tiny metal grain of rice inserted under the skin between the shoulder blades. By-law states that dogs must be scanned, they paid enough for the scanners - better use them! You can be contacted within minutes of your dog being impounded. Vet clinics also have scanners and will do it for free if someone brings a dog in that they found. Microchipping is a great way to have your dog correctly identified as yours and have it home in time for supper.

This is why we are throwing a microchipping clinic. The clinic will be held on Sunday, November 8th. Uplands Pet Hospital is donating the clinic and their time to inject the chips for the public. Microchips cost around $80, we will be able to offer them to you for only $40. All proceeds from the day get to stay with us and go to the dogs, literally! If you are interested in making an appointment, please call Bobbi at 403-320-0528. Appointments MUST be made in advance, there will be no room or time for drop-ins. The clinic will not be making the appointments, only Bobbi will. We will also be registering the chips for you, no paperwork to fill out and send away. You will be contacted within a few weeks from the chip company to welcome you to the program and answer any question you might have.

This is a great opportunity to identify your dogs, put your name on them, in them! It will ensure that your dog finds its way home. In the meantime, if your pooch makes a run for the door while your 3 year old opens the door for grama, take the drive to the shelter and look for yourself.

Sookie's Journey

Sookie was one of the dogs that we rounded up for the spay/neuter clinic on the reserve a couple weeks ago. We were mostly taking in owned dogs for the clinic, but we were't going to say no to a friendly stray that obviously needed help either.

She wandered up to a couple of the volunteers that were collecting dogs. They put her into a crate and she somehow ended up in the back of my truck for the drive back to Cardston. I took her out of the crate and was appalled at her physical condition. The most obvious things was the porqupine quills sticking out of her face and eye. She was drooling uncontrollably as the quills made it mostly impossible for her to swallow. Once she came out of the crate, we also noticed that she had four circle shaped wounds in one of her back legs and a very deep gash farther down the leg. They looked like bullet holes, two holes for each shot. I didn't want her to spend the night in a crate and wait for surgery the next day, so I made a quick call to Dr Kremeniuk at the Park Pet Hospital to see if she would mind working late. She was willing and I started the drive in.

The following pictures do contain blood as they are the pictures I took of her during the quill removal.

Here is what her leg looked like:

This is what Sookie looked like when we took her out of the crate. It was hard to get a picture of her face as she kept her head very low and wouldn't make eye contact with anyone, it was so pitiful!

And, this is Sookie one week after the quill removal, one week after getting love and attention, only one week after eating real food, the transformation was beautiful. Wouldn't you say?

Sookie is a very good girl, she is my foster dog and is very sweet, outgoing and lovable. She loves to wiggle up to the kids and give kisses, then scurries off back to the dog bed. She sniffs the cats, much to their disgust! Mostly, she just hangs out on the dog bed in our living room. When she is outside, she is most comfortable with another dog out there to keep her company, not to play with as she isn't interested in that, but just to know someone else is out there too. She sleeps well in her crate at night, but would probably love a dog bed on the floor beside her new owner's bed. She has never had an accident or done anything 'wrong' in our house in the four weeks that she has been here.

Sookie is healthy enough now to get her spay surgery done, that is tomorrow, then she will be ready for a new home where she can settle in and know that she'll never be in that much pain again.

What the H?!!

That is what Sookie was thinking at the park last night!



I was thinking about setting up the screen tent that we have, but then the snow stopped, so we thought it wouldn't be needed. Then, about 15 minutes after people started arriving, the dumping started, heavy clumps of snow coming down and literally covering the people and the dogs. But, the people kept coming!


We invited the gals from the Taber rescue to come along too as they have a few great dogs out there that have been sitting in thier system for a long time now. They brought in Mig, Mickey, Milo and a newer Shep X that was very pretty and sweet. You can see thier dogs on Petfinder.com and the shelter is called Taber Adoption Options. Milo got to go to a new home last night. Below is a picture of Mig, the short little Beagle X Lab? and one of the new Shep X.

We also had a Lethbridge bylaw officer from the animal shelter come out too. Kevin was very nice to talk to, traded stories for a while, and he was informative about the licensing policies for Lethbridge.

The pictures that Deb took for us would have turned out alot better if the dogs weren't wet and unhappy looking, but I will share a few of the best ones.

Everything is fun when you are Casey!

Swift is very small and beautiful. She thinks boy dogs are annoying.

Scrappy thought this was the perfect place for him to be.

The pups weren't locked up the whole time, just looks like it!

By the end of the cold and wet night, we had applications for the puppies and Nate. There are a few people interested in Sookie and Pearl too, fingers crossed. Many thanks for the volunteers that came out to help and brought their foster dogs and for the people that came out to meet the dogs.

This was probably the last Park night that we'll be able to hold at the park for the rest of the winter. We are now looking for a place to have the once a month meetings to continue showing off the dogs as the small meets do produce quite a few adoptions and its a great time to get together as a group and meet the public as well. If you own a business or know of a business that would let us use a space for 2 hours once a month, please let us know. We promise to keep the party under controll and clean!!

Let it NOT snow!!

Our October Dog Park evening is tomorrow and I am really hoping that we aren't faced with a blizzard at 6pm.

As usual, we invite everyong and anyone out to meet us, play with the dogs, fall in love with some deep brown eyes, you know, anything can happen!

We have alot of dogs that are available and will be there tomorrow night. The list includes:

SOOKIE: 2 year female Rez dog. We haven't posted about her yet as she is too special! I brought her in from the spay/neuter clinic, she was found with a face and eyes full of quills and what looked like two bullet holes in her hind end. I rushed her into the clinic for surgery and she has been recovering very well and is now available.

SNAP: Why is she still here?!! Snap, (a.k.a. Leggs) is our longest term dog right now, she came into our system in the middle of June. She has grown so much in this time and its neat to watch her grow, so many puppies get adopted right away, we don't get to watch them develop.

BOB: He is a mush! He is a 2 year Bishon X Shih Tzu that we think had a mistaken identity at his old home. They complained about his potty habits and gave him up. In the month that we've had him in foster care, we are so very proud to say that he has not had a single accident at all. He is awesome with any other dogs, kids are his favorite and he is all around a great dog.

PEARL: Sweetheart. One word, thats all you need to know!

NATE: Smartest dog I have fostered all year. He is still a big awkward goof of a dog, but has the basics down pretty good. He is great with other dogs and kids of all ages. Thinks chasing cats is the best hobby ever, but he could grow out of that with proper training.

ROSSI & REED: These two are so cute, you won't believe it. Rossi is a wonderfully attentive and playful little boy puppy whereas Reed is shy short, and very cuddly.

SCRAPPY DOO: Makes his debut tomorrow as well. He is a tiny little Chihuahua with a big attitude. He was really treated horribly in his first home, so his first instinct is to protect himself with a bite. He does come around quickly as we have heard from his foster home. He is mostly all cuddles and happy dances now, about 6 days in.

CASEY: The wild one! Casey is an attention hog, he is only 5 months old and was owned by an elderly couple who were home all the time with him, but then didn't have the energy to keep him past 4 months. He loves to play fetch and will do that for hours.

We invite all to come out despite what the weather throws at us tomorrow at 6:30 at Gyro Park, located on 16th street and 10A Ave South. We usually hang out at that corner of the park, but we migrate into the open area by the one building that is in the park, on the east side of the building.

Criminal Cuties

Meet our two newest cuties, Reed (left) and Rossi (right), can you tell someone in the group is a Criminal Minds junkie.

Natalie recently helped out again with a Spay/Neuter Clinic in Cardston, and these two little guy were brought back when they were found wandering by themselves. We estimate them to be approximately 8 weeks old and as for breed we are calling them "Reserve Specials" as we really have no idea what they could be, probably a Shepard cross of some sorts.

Reed is the female pup and has an adorable little stocky body with short little legs.

Rossi has longer legs but a stocky little body also.

We estimate when they are full grown they will be medium size dogs and approximately 30 pounds. As with all of our dogs they are microchipped, vaccinations up to date, will be spayed and neutered when old enough and come with a free 30 day Pet Insurance policy.

Reed and Rossi will also be available for you to meet at our Dog Walk in the Park on Wednesday October 7/09 from 6:30pm - 7:30pm at Gyro Park, located at 10 Avenue A & 16 Street South.

Average Mutt?

Nate is a dog that you might look at, but then you'd probably look away. He is your average mutt in looks. Kinda tall, very long legs, nice markings, but nothing special. Well, that is what I thought and didn't realise the 'dog within.'

This is Nate

Not only does he look good, but look what he started offering me to get a treat during our photo shoot. I had no idea he could do all this!

Here is the basic 'sit'.

Here is his 'shake a paw', still didn't shock me.


Then, OK, the 'lay down', kinda a natural progression after the sit and shake a paw. But I was intrigued by this time.

Now the shocker!!! He went from a lay down into a perfectly executed 'roll over'!!

Who knew?!! Nate was turned into a local shelter by a lady who claimed to have found him, but it was later discovered that she actually owned him, but wouldn't tell the bylaw officer what he had done or what changed in her circumstances to make Nate homeless. She obviously worked very hard with Nate to teach him all these tricks. He is also wonderful to walk with, doesn't really pull and will happily lope beside you for as long as you want to walk.

Nate isn't really great at meeting new dogs, he is only about 10 months old and kind of 'rushes' new dogs. Some think its fun and take it as a playful gesture, other dogs thing he is way too pushy and that he needs a good growl. Either way, he's happy. He is also great in his crate. He doesn't complain to go in, you just need to say 'Crate', and he'll walk right in and get comfortable for the night.

Because he is a still a puppy, he does love to play. He will carry his treasures around the house for hours to make sure that everyone has seen what he found and gives them a quick game of tug to let us attempt to steal it away from him. We always let him win the prize and he is always so happy, he trots right back to the dog bed and holds the toy until someone new arrives for him to show it to.

(In case you were wondering what the wooden square shaped thing in the background of the pictures is - thats my son's 'ant corral'! He puts fallen crab apples in there to feed the ants)

Swift

And now for the other new girl in town..... please meet Swift.

Swift is a heeler cross and is approximatley 9 months old. She was taken in when her owners were no longer able to care for her.

Her foster mom says she is a great dog who gets along well with other dogs and does not seem to mind the cats. She is doing great in the housetraining and kennel training department.

She is an active girl who would love to go to a home where she could be someone's running partner or better yet a flyball or agility dog.

Challenges

I never really decided to start a dog rescue here in Lethbridge. I was volunteering for the local cat rescue, PAW, when another gal from that group asked me if I'd want to start a dog group. Being allergic to cats and pregnant at that same time, made fostering cats a challenge for sure, so I jumped at the dog part of the rescue. I remember the day so clearly nearing the end of March in 2002 when I met Camille at the animal shelter and we took out our very first three dogs that were supposed to die that day. Running only on adreneline, certainly not on funds!, we continued and managed to adopt out a bunch of dogs that first year.

I remember checking myself into the hospital to deliver my daughter Rayna and after she was born, I checked my house messages. There were 18 calls about people wanting to surrender their dogs, or adopt one of ours, all those messages in the time it took me to deliver a baby!!

Time went on, dogs came into my house and went out shortly after. Camille left the group too after a while. Then, Amanda came on board with me, we only had one other foster home at that time, thanks Bernice for sticking with us for the past 7 years now! Amanda and I worked our butts off together for four years, building alot of what you currently see of PDCR, including the name, blog and website. (Amanda manned the phone while I delivered my son Jackson in 2005) We did alot of driving around, alot of picking dogs up, alot of supply drop offs to our many foster homes. We dealt with hundreds of dogs in those four years, each making a very big impact on our lives. With hundreds of dogs comes untold challenges. How to keep them healthy, clean, .... alive. Where to put them? How to pay for the bills? Then the biggest challenge for me personally, Amanda moved on from the group.

Last night, as happens every couple of months depending how busy we are, I was feeling totally overwhelmed at the challenges that the group and the dogs face every day.

I am 'in charge' of the dogs that come into the group, which means a large part of my job is taking phone calls from people who don't want their dog anymore, or from families that are devestated by new found dog allergies and have to part with their dog. I can't even express the amount of controll that goes into my day to not snap at everyone that calls with every stupid excuse in the book to dump their dog, then the emotions that go into the phone calls of the familes that are upset of giving their dog up, or the families who had a death in the family and due to circumstances, no one is willing to take the dog. The local county bylaw officers and other rescue groups also email me and phone me each day with news of a new stray that is in 'jail' or an email from another group that have a new dog, but don't have the room to take it in. Stress is an understatement! Having to say no to some dogs due to full foster homes, or begging a bylaw officer to hold off on a 'kill day' is a horrible thing to do......and I do this on a regular basis.

So, anyway, last night I went to the Happy Tails part of the blog as I don't look on there very often. As I scanned thru the stories, my eyes filled with tears as it seems like our dogs come at the right time is seems for so many people. The background on alot of the adoptions are never made public obviously, but knowing that a certain lady was dealing with the sudden death of her husband, and how her new dog proved to be a great comfort for her and her children, I can't even describe how happy I am for that family.

One family had recently lost their young son to cancer, there are the tears again!, and its the dog that I didn't have room for and brought in anyway, that has become a trully valued 'fuzzy brother' to their other son.

Then, the stories from the dogs perspectives: Louie was an unwanted. Now, he is in video doing his dance routines with his new mom in the sport of Freestyle.

Its too much people!! I cry, but laugh and feel immense pride in what we do. Then, today, I recieved the following email. I don't know these people but what a nice thing to say. I read it and felt better about the challenges that the group faces and the dogs face everyday, and I know that everything has always worked out, why won't it continue as long as we as a group are doing it for the dogs. Bring on the challenges, we are getting used to them!

Hello!

You are wonderful people!

I live in Regina where there is not one no kill shelter. I have tried volunteering at the Regina shelter. I found my heart shredded too many times and cannot bring myself to volunteer there.

You are a group who share the beliefs I hold. What can I do to help you? I will happily send you what small donation I can. Is there anything else that I can do?

Sincerely,

Ingrid

Hear that PDCR team? We are wonderful people!!



Thanks so much Ingrid for your message, it came at the right time.

A True Gem

We would like everyone to meet one of the new girls in town.... this is Pearl.



Pearl's owner passed away and some kind neighbours took care of her until she came to stay with us.

Her foster mom has nothing but good things to say about her....

"Pearl has been such a wonderful girl since she got here. I think I have maybe heard her bark 3 times since she got here 2 weeks ago. She gets along wonderfully with our Great Dane, loves to play. She would probably drowned our children in kisses if she got the chance!! She is soooo eager to please and LOVES to be loved and petted.

When we go on our walks (or I should say my runs) She doesn't go very far off leash. And when I call her she comes back instantly and sits right in front of you. She sits and lays down on command. When we are coming back from the morning run I have the 2 dogs walk beside me off leash and she does VERY well. We are still needing to work on jumping up. But she's just so darn excited!!! She hasn't had any accidents indoors.

I can, without a doubt, honestly say she is the BEST foster dog I've had. She is so pleasurable to be around. If I didn't already have a dog she would honestly be the dog I'd want!! Somebody is going to be VERY lucky to have her and I'm gonna hate to see her go!!!"

If you are interested in Pearl please send us your application, a good girl like this will not be around for too long!

Happy

Casey is a very happy puppy!

Casey isn't sitting in a shelter anymore wondering "Why?" Instead, he got to join PDCR and went into a great foster home where he is learning to be a good puppy. Casey just turned 5 months old on the 17th. He is as hyper as any puppy his age would be and nothing more should be expected!! He is excitable and playful, but also very lovable and really wants to please his people. This boy won't last long, look at his cute ears! He was really hyper when he came out of the shelter, so he got to go play at the doggy daycare, Paws on the Run, where he burned alot of energy and got this great picture taken. Thanks POTR for that.

Casey is up to date on his vaccines and is getting neutered next week.

Bob

This handsome dude is Bob a 2 year old Bichon Shihtzu cross.....whom you may remember from earlier this year...


He was returned to us by his owners as they were having some troubles in the housetraining department. We are happy to say that with a few adjustments to his feeding schedule, some kennel training and lots of love and praise from his foster home he has not had any problems. Here is what his foster home had to say about him....


Bob is a wonderful dog! There is absolutely nothing wrong with him. He has never messes in the house and is very loving and sweet. He is ready for immediate adoption and the sooner the better because we love him! He does love attention and just loves my husband. He gets along with all the other dogs, all of them!

So Bob is ready and waiting for your emails......

A Picture Only!!

I just had to share this picture with all of you. This sweet little puppy's name is Jersey.

JERSEY IS ADOPTED!!!

She was taken into a Lethbridge clinic by a couple who thought she had parvo. The test was negative, but then the owners couldn't be found! What?!! Yes, she was left at the clinic. So, the clinic called us to see about finding Jersey a new home. It didn't take long as you can all imagine. A very nice young couple with a 2 year old Rotti X named Sierra came and met Jersey and thought she would make a good sister for Sierra. The weekend went great, everyone got along, and the adoption was finalized this evening!

This post makes me think of a few great dogs that got adopted before even hitting the big screen! Some of the owners have commented that they wish they saw them on the site. So, I will be going thru my emails and pictures to find the unforgotten, forgotten pups that should have their 15 minutes of fame.

Request for Help

We have once again been asked to help out at the Blood Tribe Spay/Neuter Clinic to be held next weekend. Lots of effort goes into making sure that all goes well during this kind of weekend where we are hoping to spay/neuter at least 70 dogs and 40 cats. Alot of supplies are also needed and the organizers of the clinic have sent out a request for the following supplies:

Large Crates - hard sided or wire

Bedding - anything from sheets, towel, pillowcases, and old comforters

We at PDCR would also like ask for help too.

We are in desperate need of foster homes. We try to encourage people to volunteer for this all the time, but rarely have any response. Fostering is so much fun, and relatively easy! We have about 5 full time foster homes and about 5 part timers. We would love to give some of the full timers a break :) as lots have been going full time for over a year, or more.



With this spay/neuter clinic coming up, there is a whole bunch of dogs that aren't ever claimed by their owners at the end of the weekend and then all the volunteers have to scramble to find groups to take the dogs. PDCR would love to help again with some of these dogs and help get them new homes. Last time, we ended up taking in the Flower Pups, Skip and Reese, all beautiful, highly adoptable puppies.


If we are able to round up a few good people that are willing to foster, we would be able to take in a few more dogs every couple of months and give those dogs a chance too.

If you are interested in fostering, or know someone that would be, please, get them to email us so that we can explain the process to them and get them set up. www.prairiedogcaninerescue@hotmail.com

Thanks.

Returns

The team at PDCR does so much to screen potential applicants. We know it can be frustrating to fill out the seemingly endless paper application, return for visits several times, ensure all family members two and four legged are on board, check references, talk to your landlords. And while it can seem more painful then a tax audit, please know this is why we do it. While we encourage and ensure our dogs are returned if they can no longer be cared for, we strive to prevent it in the first place. It is heartbreaking for us, but more importantly for the dog. Being shuffled from one house to the next after they are just getting comfortable cannot be a good feeling.

It is our policy to provide help to you even after you have adopted a dog from us. All of us being dog people have our own little tricks of the trade so to speak that we can offer as suggestions to help with a variety of obstacles you may encounter with your new dog. And if we may not have a suggestion to help you, we most certainly will do our best to find out more information or steer you to the proper contacts to help you.

We encourage people who have adopted dogs from us and are experiencing some problems to send us an email or give us a phone call to talk about the problem you are having, to see if there are any suggestions we can offer to you. More often than not we find out about issues on the heels of the dog being returned. We want the adoption of your new dog to be a rewarding experience, sure they are a few speed bumps along the way but these will occur whether you got adopted the dog from us, the pet store, animal shelter or breeder. The difference is we are here to help, that is what we do, we not only help the dogs but also the new owners willing to share their lives with these dogs.