reefuge

Update

I received the below email last night from Karin right before I went to bed. Norwood, is now called Marley.

I can never thank you enough for bringing me Marley. We are soooo happy together. Turns out he is a HUGE mushpot. I start to rub to his ears and he literally falls to the ground like a ton of bricks. I have to video tape it and send it to you. It makes me laugh every time. We went out in the rain early this morning to go to the bathroom and then came back inside and we both fell asleep on the couch together until my friend woke us up about 20 minutes later. Amazingly enough the thunder & rain did not bother him at all. He’s very playful and not much seems to bother him. He loves to chase bumblebee’s, smell flowers, and is so gentle with his toys. What a difference a few days make. I can’t wait for his kennel cough and neuter to be over with so I can take him to the doggie parks.

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Norwood is a two-year old pitbull who recently found himself on the euthanasia list at Manhattan Animal Care & Control for contracting kennel cough. Karin Jordan of Keyport, New Jersey looked into those eyes and saw so much more than a silly cold and asked me to save him for her. There is nothing I like more than pairing pitties with parents so it was a no-brainer on my part.

Norwood’s shelter mug shot.

I have met many pitbulls at ACC who are gloom and doom. After all, it’s a tough place to end up for an unwanted animal. But not Norwood. This gorgeous guy really blew me away when I went to get him out yesterday. The boy, despite his URI, had bounds of playful energy, even in the 8×8 discharge room. His tail was wagging throughout and he greeted Karin with a huge hug. He’s a spirited little fella who I have no doubt will mold beautifully to the rhythms of Karin’s life. I am so thrilled that they found one another!

Karin and her new pup.

Little Lucy’s journey has sure been an eventful one! She was pulled from the city pound in late November, fostered by my friend Sandy until she got over her URI, then fostered by me, then fostered by a great guy in my building named Sam, and then back to me when Sam went out of town.

Lucy looking deceptively calm.

There was a ton of anxiety that came with welcoming the young and rambunctious Lucy back into our home. For starters, I’m pregnant. Second, our own dog Ella has a deadly infection we are in the midst of aggressively treating. And most complicated of all, she doesn’t get along with our two senior cats. But after a few days of “crate and rotate,” our declawed cat Kitty let Lucy know her place in the house! She still gets her butt kicked by the Bug, though, and has the scars on her nose to prove it. The good news is that we are confident that she will not eat them, only chase and annoy them. Phew!

The best thing that came out of taking Lucy back is that I really got to know her and love her and thanks to Facebook, found her an amazing home with a childhood friend of mine who lives in Georgia.

Lucy was supposed to fly down to Georgia last Sunday with the non-profit, Pilots-n-Paws, but the plane on the first leg of her trip had engine problems and never took off from the tarmac in New Jersey. Pilots-n-Paws meant well, but especially in the dead of winter, it was a risk, and the longer Lucy stays with us, the more she is feeling like she is home, and she is not.

Shortly after last week’s failed flight I booked Lucy a ticket on the new airline, Pet Airways. Lucy will leave New York en route to Atlanta, Georgia, this Saturday — and for those of you that don’t know, Lucy won’t be flying in cargo, but in the cabin, with a stewardess and all!

Here are a couple of pictures from Lucy’s non-eventful trip with Pilots-n-Paws…

Watching her plane land.

Boarding the plane that never took off.

Thank you Sam for being such an amazing foster dad to Lucy and thanks to my husband Jason for putting this video together…

On Monday night I was horrified to see the email that came in about a 16 yr. old shihtzu at the city pound that was to be put down the following day. The dog was dumped at the shelter in a black duffel bag and left with a note that read: “This is a female dog. The dog is 16 yrs old. The dog is sick, vomits & diarrhea… I cannot take care of the dog. Please do the humane thing. Thank you.”

Cindy was on the euth list at Manhattan ACC.

I quickly set out to write a note about her on Facebook and tagged a couple dozen animal rescue constituents in the process. Should I pull her and bring her to my vet and have her euthanized myself? At least then she would have someone to hold her and talk to her. Or might she still have some days, possibly months left in her to live?

The responses I got on Facebook were heartwarming and I was not the least bit surprised. Tammy Paris Woods stepped up to the plate and offered to take this old gal in and create a hospice environment for her to live in at her home in South Philly. I contacted the ACC, pulled Cindy and created a chipin site for her. I would like to give Tammy $200 so that when the time comes to put Cindy down, she won’t have to go into her own pockets for it. We are more than half way there with the donations that have come in thus far, but have still not met our goal.

If you would like to help us send this old gal off with the love and dignity that she so deserves, please visit her chipin site here: http://reefuge.chipin.com/cindy

Thank you.

Lucy is a 11-month old petite American Staffordshire Terrier (pit bull) that was rescued from a NYC high-kill shelter and is currently being fostered in Brooklyn Heights. At a small 48 pounds, Lucy walks great on the leash, is completely house-broken, takes food from the hand very gently and gets along great with other dogs, adults and children. She should not however, be in a home with cats.

Lucy was given up by her previous people and is looking for a new home.

Lucy is learning many commands and is proving to be a quick learner. She is very affectionate and has a ton of young-dog spunk. She also enjoys taking car rides. Lucy would be the perfect addition to any household (without cats). She is spayed, microchipped, up-to-date on all her shots and ready to find her “furever” home today. Adoption application and adoption fee of $150 required. To meet Lucy please email reedutaha@yahoo.com or call 718.926.6621 today!!

Please feel free to share this post or Lucy’s petfinder link. http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=15312086

Last Thursday I pulled a dog from the Staten Island ACC. He’s believed to be part English bulldog and part American staffordshire terrier. The shelter was calling him Little Baja, although I quickly changed it to Benicio, or Benny for short. I wanted to stay true to his roots and, well, who doesn’t love Benicio Del Toro?

I’ll never forget how scared Benny was when he first came off the van. I live on a busy street, so when I saw him crouching down with his tail between his legs I took him to a quiet street lined with trees. When he stepped in a pile of leaves, the sound that the leaves made beneath him sent him jumping five feet ahead. I knew right there and then that this poor soul likely never saw the light of day.

My suspicions were confirmed even more when Benny proceeded to do his business in my apartment. Wherever he lived, a shed or basement, he relieved himself where he wanted, when he wanted. So our area rugs got rolled up and I got on the horn with my dog trainer, who reminded me what to do and where to take him.

On top of Benny’s timidness, he also came down with a big ol’ case of URI. I freaked of course because kennel cough is highly contagious and Ella already has enough going on.

Luckily, a wonderful woman in my building by the name of Cindy Rosen, offered to take Benny for one week until his cough subsided. She walks him in the morning and at night, and I take him for a few walks during the day while she is at work. We communicate via text to give one another updates about what he eats when, and what he does when he goes to the bathroom. It’s a great partnership that we have dubbed, “Team Benny!” I am happy to report that while Benny is still scared of big, surly men and objects such as strollers and shopping carts, he has not had a bathroom accident since last Friday.

But there’s even better news: Benny has a trial, “furever” home already lined up. The day I was expecting Benny to arrive from ACC I was getting my teeth cleaned. My dentist lives on Long Island, has two kids and two dogs and has been pining for a third (dog, not kid!) Her husband wants an English bull dog, she would like a pit. “Behold Benny,” I say! I emailed the family some pictures and Benny did a meet and greet with my dentist the following day, which went very well .

We’ve been giving Benny the week to get over his cough while working on house-breaking him as best as we can. This Saturday Benny will meet his potential new family on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and if all goes well, he will go home with them for a one week trial period.

Keep your paws crossed!