11.14.19 It's Give to the Max Day!

HAPPY GIVE TO THE MAX 2019!!!

We turned TEN years old this year! In July we celebrated with many of our fosters, adopters, volunteers, and donors. It was an amazing day! 2019 has been the year of the greatest number of intakes and the worst for medical expenses. We have rescued 127 dogs to date in 2019. However, with that many intakes and our inability to say "No" to medical cases, we are at over $44,000 in medical bills alone. This is hands down our most expensive year in the last 10 years. During today’s Give to the Max Day, we will focus on sharing some of our medical cases from this past year. These dogs mean the world to us and we are so grateful to have fosters who were willing to open their homes and help them along in their journey of healing, blossoming personalities, and eventually going to their forever home! Be sure to check back tonight around 8 P.M. where we share one of the happiest adoption stories of this year of not only a super deserving dog but an incredible foster parent!

*Donations of $100 or more will earn you a one of a kind Give to the Max Day '19 hoodie as a thank you.*

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First, we have our crew of dogs that all came to us with higher medical needs than our average dog (pictured left to right, top to bottom):

🐾Sasha came from a shelter in TX with a fracture. It was determined that she would need FHNO/hip replacement surgery. Sasha recovered from surgery and was adopted soon after. It is reported that she LOVES car rides 🚗 We think it must have been that ride from TX to MN that solidified how great car rides can be!

🐾Sansa came from a shelter in TX with a hernia and possible pneumonia. When she arrived at the vet it was determined that she needed immediate surgery as all of her internal organs had shifted due to the hernia and was in respiratory distress. Sansa is still searching for her forever home and is recovering perfectly!

🐾Calloway came from a shelter in TX with a deformed leg. Once he got here, he was seen on referral by AERC. They suspected he had an injury to his leg that caused abnormal growth and rotation. He has had multiple follow up visits and x-rays with his doctor as they continue to monitor if he has elbow pain and increased lameness. Calloway is also being monitored for arthritis in his wrist. If he develops pain in the wrist in the future, they can surgically straighten the wrist. His foster turned adopter is doing physical therapy with him to hopefully avoid surgery in the future. So far so good, fingers crossed for this guy! 🤞🐾Zero Tilt came to us as a local owner surrender at only a few days old. Zero Tilt got his foot stuck in the bars of the metal crate his litter was being kept in and his foot got ripped off. The owners did bring him to the emergency vet and it was determined that they could not give him the around the clock care he needed. Not only were the medical bills high, but feeding would also be tricky as he was not able to be reunited with mom and the rest of the puppies. We were lucky enough to have our medical savvy foster turned adopter take him in and give him the care he desperately needed. Zero Tilt is a flourishing boy who still has his leg and will keep it as long as his “nub” doesn't give him any issues in the future.

🐾Donny came to us from a shelter up north. It was thought that he had possible arthritis and a corkscrew tail. After he got into his foster home, it was determined that he had an ACL tear & would need TPLO surgery. He went in for surgery and was doing well recovering when unfortunately, a few days later he died while he was asleep at his foster home.🐾Clover came into the shelter with a large softball size lump on her neck. They drained it multiple times and it kept refilling so it was decided that it needed to be removed. Once removed, it was sent off for biopsy and it was determined that she either had a foreign body inside the lump or she had a vaccine reaction.

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Next we have our PUPPY LITTERS!!

SO, SO, SO cute but oh so much work for our foster parents! And laundry, did we mention laundry? We love the smell of puppy breath, we love the excitement that these little pups bring to our rescue, and we love meeting all the potential adopters who are looking for their next family member. Every litter needs to be fully vetted including fecal checks, vaccines, microchips, and spay/neuter.

Meet our Litters of 2019:

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Third, we have our Demodex Mange dogs.

Some more severe than others (the longer it is left untreated, the worse it gets) but the treatment all the same. One pill by mouth (that tastes pretty nummy) every three months until the mange is clear and it usually takes 1-2 pills. And baths... LOTS of baths. We use a special shampoo, Espana Antiseptic, to help the skin heal and for the dog to be more comfortable as they can be very itchy! The dogs also tend to have an underlying bacterial infection that is treated with a round of antibiotics.

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Parvo, our #1 most expensive medical bill to date.

Parvo affects mostly puppies. It comes on suddenly and the dog declines rapidly. The dog needs 24/7 medical care which unfortunately means the emergency vet. It is an uphill battle. The vet will call every 12 hours to give us an update and every minute we are on pins and needles hoping for the best. Every case is different, and you just have to keep putting money toward their bill to keep them there until they are well enough to come home (hopefully). These are our amazing Parvo survivors- meet Topanga, Belize, and Cory.

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Fifth is our group of Tripods AKA Tri-Paws. 

All three of these dogs came into the shelter in TX with a known medical diagnosis but not a treatment plan. Asher (broken elbow), Zaria (broken elbow), and Tillie (multiple fractures). We took them on not knowing the treatment plan for each of their diagnosis' until they arrived at the vet under our care. We then learned that all three would need an amputation. These three are proof that having one less leg can’t slow them down. 

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The dreaded heartworm disease. 

We had three cases this year- Bacon, Hazy, and Coolio. All adult dogs who came from Texas. Heartworm disease is expensive to treat and is painful for the dog. We don't often see heartworm disease in our MN dogs, so this was a higher expense for us this year. Bacon and Coolio also both had dental issues that needed repair as well. Hazy is now doing well & is still in search for her forever home!

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Our last story for the day...

Tonight, as we wrap up another great Give to the Max Day, we’re bringing you a special story of one of our adoptions this year. It’s a story that highlights something crucial to rescue that can’t really be monetized, and that is the human capital that drives what we’re able to do for these dogs. The funds are critical, but the humans are the heart and Marshmello’s special journey illustrates it all too well.

In February of this year, we were contacted by a shelter in SC who had young, female pit bull who they believed to be deaf and who was not thriving in the shelter setting; she had been with them since the November 2018. Her behavior with volunteers and staff was becoming troublesome and they were feeling desperate to get her into a rescue setting, in hopes it might help her flourish and reach her best potential. “We have contacted well over 50 rescues in hopes of finding somewhere willing to give her a chance,” they wrote. 

Thanks to folks like you, our supporters, and our amazing volunteer base, we were able to bring this southern belle to Minnesota. In April, she made the journey first to TX, then to MN. We agreed with their assessment about her being deaf, and with her energy level, it was clear she needed some manners to better match her inherently good nature. Thankfully, her experienced and caring foster Joan was up to the task, as always. What might have caught Joan by surprise though, after near countless fosters through her door--she has helped rear many, many litters, both with their doggie Mommas and without, in addition to other fosters--was how much this little lady would end up stealing her heart in the process. 

In Joan’s words, “We had an instant connection and we had a lot of work ahead of us and would need some strict structure, training and some bonding time. Each day offered many Ah Ha moments, challenges and successes. She would need a family willing to put in the work and understand her quirks. She had a bit of a following on the MPBR page and it seemed everyone was rooting for her. You see, Marshmello is the definition of happy and loves life so very much. As with many fosters I have had, I grew to really love her and she seemed to fit right into our home.” Even so, Marshmello did end up getting adopted to a lovely couple, but as fate would have it, the match wasn’t quite the right fit and she came back to Joan’s house…this time to stay. By this time, none of us who had seen Marshmello and Joan together were surprised, but we were all so delighted for them!

So yes, today we are asking for your financial support, for all the ways it enables us to care for and nurture these dogs, but we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to highlight the boundless possibility of humans who care, and who turn that caring into action, and Joan is an outstanding example to demonstrate that. Please consider donating today, if you haven’t already. And a very big THANK YOU, if you’ve made your contribution. We are humbly in your debt and will always strive to do right by the dogs in your honor.