Our latest PPS addition is Lily, a tiny 10 month old Shih Tzu. Her owners decided they no longer wanted the responsibility of a dog and asked if we would take her. Whilst this is a very sad situation, we can only be grateful that they didn’t turn her out into the street like so many other animal owners here who come to the same decision.

At first sight, Lily appeared to be in rather bad condition, but we soon realized that apart from an unpleasant rash on her stomach, the only thing that appeared to be wrong with her was dirt encrusted, badly matted hair. A full vet check and distemper test revealed her to be healthy and in otherwise good condition. Lily has now also been fully vaccinated and wormed and once she has had a chance to settle in, she will be spayed.

Lily is an extremely sweet and gentle natured little girl and a good bath and haircut have done wonders for her self esteem!

If you are able to provide little Lily with a loving home, please contact us by email at info@peanutpetshelter.org

Last night proved to be very long and frustrating as I struggled unsuccessfully to feed ‘Angelo’, the poodle pup rescued yesterday. He has been without nourishment for so long that he now has no inclination to eat or drink and my efforts to syringe feed him only caused him stress. Subcutaneous fluids didn’t work either as because his skin is stretched so tightly over his bones, there simply isn’t anything to hold the fluid in. I didn’t want Angelo to go through the stress of being left at the vet to receive I.V. fluids as he is so afraid of everyone and everything. He had bonded with me within the first couple of hours and I wanted so much just to give him TLC and save him from the fear of another environment and new people.

By this morning, I realized that I.V. fluids were his only hope and certainly overnight his pneumonia symptoms seemed to worsen in spite of the antibiotics. I returned to the vet with a heavy heart as realistically I know this pup is only half a step away from death. The sensible part of my brain was telling me to end his struggle to survive…..the other side was hoping for a miracle. After standing in floods of tears in the vet’s office, he kindly vowed to me that he will do everything he can to save little Angelo. Realistically, we both know that this sad little pup is unlikely to have the strength to fight off his pneumonia and may well not make it through the night. For now he is not suffering, he is simply weak and fading. We will not allow him to suffer, we will just continue to hope for a miracle.

This is poor little ‘Edie’ who arrived at the shelter this morning. As if it isn’t enough that this poor little girl is close to dying from starvation, someone decided to torture her as well. Her worst injury? Her tail has been literally ripped off. Is this little dog mean, nasty or vicious? No. In common with all our other maligned, mistreated and abused dogs, she is an absolute sweetheart.

Edie is going to need huge amounts of food, veterinary care and love in order to become ‘whole’ once more.

She will never wag her tail again, but hopefully, together, we can make her feel that there is joy in life after all.

Dear Friends

Our sweet beloved Oscar, who made such amazing strides in recovering his health and strength, suffered an alarming set-back a few days ago. He became unsteady on his legs and had moments of the vacant expression and lack of recognition/interest in his surroundings that was so apparent when he first arrived. Equally alarming, there were moments when the cheeky, playful dog we have come to adore, would ‘blank out’ and exhibit signs of aggression towards the other dogs.

An initial vet check revealed nothing. His eyes were bright, there was no sign of lingering infection or internal parasites and he appeared well and almost back to full strength.

In the following days however, Oscar’s ‘episodes’ became more apparent, his legs wouldn’t support him and he collapsed. He was taken immediately to the vet for further investigation.

It is with immense sadness and a heavy heart, that I share the news with you that poor, dear Oscar passed away at the vet clinic.

Did his heart fail? Did he suffer a stroke? Liver failure? Was there perhaps a blood clot/scarring/fluid causing pressure on his brain? Sadly, we don’t know and we will never know.

We don’t know this sweet boy’s background or what horrors may have prevailed in his short lifetime. We have always suspected that Oscar was a fighting dog who had been discarded when he was of no further value, as is the way with many fighting pitbulls. They are either killed or left to fend for themselves on the streets. We know for sure that the life of a fighting pitbull is a harsh one and they are subjected to horrific mistreatment in order that they achieve the required level of aggressiveness. Many fighting dogs here are injected with Anabolic steroids (Andy and I have witnessed this first hand) which can dangerously affect their future health.

We will never know Oscar’s story, but we do know that this little dog had a powerful impact and touched the hearts of many. Our one consolation lies in knowing that for a short time he discovered what it is like to be treated with kindness, stroked, petted and held in loving arms. To watch him playing, probably for the first time since he was a puppy, was sheer joy.

This noble creature is just one more example of man’s inhumanity to those that would give undying loyalty and be the best friend you could hope for.

Our heartfelt thanks go out to those of you who so very kindly contributed to Oscar’s care.

Oscar, we love you and miss you and we are sad that you have gone from our lives.  We are thankful that you will never again know pain, deprivation and hardship.

Rest now, sweet boy, in the peace that you so richly deserve.

Of all the dogs that have passed through Peanut Pet Shelter, one of the very worst we have taken in (and believe me there have been some true horrors!), was a little dog we lovingly referred to as ‘Snarf’, who came to us in the summer of 2008.

All Peanut Pet Shelter pets are given names. Those names aren’t just randomly chosen – they are given the name we think suits them. We like to give them NICE names, so accordingly, this little dog was allotted ‘Petra’, but ‘Snarf’ she became and Snarf she remained!

Snarf was the skinniest dog imaginable – a walking skeleton – just bones covered with thin, dull, dirt-encrusted, bug-ridden light brown hair. Her nose was broken, her tail was broken and her spine was strangely ‘S’ shaped. Worse still, she had just given birth to puppies. Snarf was a wonderful mother, struggling to feed her 4 tiny black scraps while undoubtedly suffering severe discomfort and only being a step away from death.

How grateful this little dog was for every kind word and every bowl of food. Food was always eaten at hyper speed, as if at any moment a hand would shoot out and snatch the bowl away.

As Snarf could only breathe through her mouth due to her broken nose, eating and breathing at the same time was somewhat of a challenge for her, and a truly nauseating experience for anyone unfortunate enough to be standing close by! She slurped, she snorted, she grunted, she belched – seemingly all at the same time, and an additional, peculiar ’snarfing’ noise she made earned her, her nickname.

I would love to tell you a heartwarming story of this courageous little dog’s amazing recovery – but I can’t. Sadly, in spite of medical attention and good food, little Snarf never regained her strength and her breathing grew ever more labored. She was gently sent to her rest when her pups, Bethany, Ben , Belinda and Briony were 3 months old.

From the start the pups were very weak and slow to grow and thrive. They all suffered from horrible skin conditions that no amount of medication could cure (if only I had tried sesame oil then!). Time passed and Ben and Bethany gradually grew stronger and their skin started to heal. Belinda and Briony however, were slowly fading. They weren’t thin or sick, they didn’t suffer. It was as if they had reached their full potential and the road they were traveling led nowhere. They both passed away, gently, without a struggle. They simply went to sleep and didn’t wake up – first Belinda and one month later, Briony. Perhaps now they run and play together in broad green meadows, with the strength and energy that eluded them in life. I like to think so.

While they always had wonderful temperaments, it took more than a year for Ben and Bethany to become the strong, attractive, adoptable adults they are today – proof positive that persistence reaps rewards and every life deserves a chance.

Last Saturday, Bethany flew to Wilmington, North Carolina, on the first stage of her journey to a wonderful new life. We are hopeful that Ben, too, will soon find a loving, forever home of his very own.

Ben

Bethany

Bethany in the U.S.