Saving Holly : A Thulani Story

Daniella (Ella) Update From Erica and Loren

Hi Bob,

We met Daniella (now Ella) on a Thursday night, just after Bob J. had taken her in for her first vet visit.  He had just pulled Ella from the Monterey shelter and she was in need of a foster home.  Due to a huge mammary tumor and bad arthritis, the vet gave her one month to live.  We were only thinking about fostering for the Thulani program at this point, but when we saw Ella, we said, “we’ll take her”.  She moved in with us the next night.  And what a night it was.  She was miserable; whining, panting, pacing, unable to settle down and get comfortable.  She constantly licked her mammary tumor and it was almost painful to watch her walk.  By the next morning we thought it was the end for her.  She slept the next day from 6am until 1pm, when Bob came back to assess her.  She was a new dog when she woke up.  She picked up a tennis ball and wanted to play.  Her spirit was amazing!   As it turned out, she was just unsettled from all the changes she had gone through the previous 48 hours.

Ella has now settled in to her new surroundings.  The antibiotics and arthritis pills are helping her enjoy life more; in fact she doesn’t know she is sick.  She’s gone through 3 squeaky tennis balls and numerous toys.  She’s loves her car rides around town and lounging on the back deck watching the wildlife roam.  But, her favorite thing to do is hike the hills of Portola Valley with her white GSD brother and her mom & dad.

We don’t know when she will cross the Rainbow Bridge, but we will make sure the path leading up to it is paved with love.

Erica and Loren

Holly Udate From Joan

Hi Bob,
Overdue in giving you an update on the lovely lady.  She weighed in at 67.8 pounds last  Sunday (after her bath).  + 5 pounds in 3 weeks!  The staff at the Raw Connection in Carmel adore her and take pride that their food is helping her gain weight.  She almost looks normal.  Her coat continues to improve, though her tail is still a bit scraggly.  She is a big girl and will easily support a solid 75 pounds.

She loves to play fetch.  In addition to her 3 meals/day, she adores her venison bones and duck feet (also from the Raw Connection)

She has much more energy and the “lights” seem to have gone on in her brain.  Despite being deaf and partially blind, she is much more interested in the world around her, vocalizing, initiating play with the others.

She has perfect manners, has been 100% perfect in the house, not a single accident.

Poor girl, she was someone’s pet in the past.

This photo is a month old.  Will get some new ones this weekend.  She’s got some meat on her bones now!!

Joan

Daniella

Please welcome Daniella T to the Thulani Program.  Daniella was picked up as a stray by Monterey Co Animal Services, and we were contacted both by the very caring staff at the shelter, and by Carie Broeker of Peace of Mind Dog Rescue.  It is terrific that lovely Daniella had many strong advocates before she even encountered us.   She is about 12 years old and has all the ‘Shepherd Moves’, a true credit to the breed.  She is friendly but aloof, is curious aboout the world around her, loves to go for walks (although she is a bit stiff), and is great with other dogs.  She passed her eval without a hitch.

Daniella has a number of minor and major medical issues, but still has some quality life ahead of her, and she is a fighter.  Her most challenging issue is that she has a huge, necrotic mammary tumor.  We have not yet biopsied it, but it looks scary.

But whatever the result, Daniella has a home in the Thulani Program for as long as she will give us.

WELCOME Daniella

Holly

Hi all you Thulani supporters,

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Just wanted to give you an update on some exciting news.

We will be bringing in our newest Thulani resident this coming Tuesday. Her
name is Holly and she is coming from the San Luis Obispo Animal Shelter.

She is an 11-12 yr old female that was picked up as a stray, thin,
neglected, but in relatively good and spunky shape.

The exciting news is that Denise Dipaola is going to direct the filming and
creation of a video documenting the entire process from pickup to Holly’s
arrival at the new foster home. Denise is a professional videagrapher and a
long-term member who has created a number of videos for GSRNC, including the
extremely moving one that was shown at the last Gala. And she just adopted
one of the “the three stooges” puppies.

We will begin filming on the way down to pick up Holly on Tuesday morning,
and will continue intermittently for two days.

We will keep you informed of the progress, but for now—exciting times for
the Thulani Program.

All the best,

Bob

King George

 

Thank you for sending the paperwork so quickly.  I decided to call him “King George I” now since he will be treated royally by you folks.  I’ve attached his shelter intake photo.  I guess they wheeled him into the shelter and the brilliant shelter people were too lazy to take him off the cart before they took his picture.  That’s what originally caught my eye.  I called my shelter friend and said “what’s with the German Shepherd on the cart?”

He didn’t have much hope.  I didn’t have much hope but I promised him I would try.  But, Bob – you came through and gave us both hope to carry on – that there is a way to help these old guys.

Every day I would think about his old bones at the shelter on the cold, hard cement.  I can rest easy knowing that from here on out, he will be warm, happy & loved.  I saw his eyes light up when he looked at Bob and gave him his paw.

Give him a big hug for me.  I’ll miss the big guy.

Karen

Marie

Hi everyone, I just wanted to thank everyone so much for all you did for Marie.  She has settled in nicely and we are to the point that Katie and Marie are allowed together freely with supervision.  So far no more than a slight warning growl.  Marie has taken over Katie’s bed and has decided that this is home.  When we went to the vet on Sunday she pawed at the back door when I tried to put her leash on as if to say “no more, I’m staying here.”  She was very happy when we were back home.  Yesterday was a trip to the groomer.  They said she was a good girl. Attached are a couple post bath photo’s of Marie and one with her and her new sister Katie.  I had a leash on Marie when I first introduced them off lead in case I needed to pull one away quickly.  Katie grabbed the lead from me and starting “walking” Marie around the yard as if to show her all the cool spots.  I wish I could have captured it on video.  It was priceless. Thanks again to everyone that played a part in saving Marie.  She is home now and is fitting in just fine. 🙂 Keep up the good fight.  Another one saved. Sharron

Angel De San Martin

“Hi! My name is Angel and I am now safely with GSRNC. Even more importantly, I am at home with my new mom, Nicole. I’m still a bit confused by how this happened. All I know is that I found myself all alone in a rural area south of San Jose, with nothing to eat, nowhere comfortable to sleep, and without my people. I really don’t know how I got there but I know I was scared. Luckily, a very nice man from Animal Control gave me a ride to the shelter.

Although the shelter was kind of scary and noisy, it was warm and they fed me well. I waited patiently for my people to come get me, but nobody came. Then one day a nice lady came by, took me out into the play yard, played all sorts of weird games with me, and declared that I could come live with her friends. I was really happy with that because at the shelter I came down with a cough, and my arthritis was really beginning to hurt. The nice lady came back, took me to see a gentle doctor who was very easy to like, and then took me home with her. My cough got better, and my elbows stopped hurting so much. I wonder if those strange hard little pieces of food she gave me every day had something to do with it!

A couple of days later, I took a long car ride to meet my new mom. She is really cool. She knows just what I need, and she lives with two other people who really love me. They are all young and it makes me feel young again just being around them!

When I look back at the past few months, I think that I have ended up in the best place possible. I loved my other family, but this is just the cat’s meow! (oops, did I just say that?)”

Lady Love

In her prime, Lady Love must have been a beauty. Well, actually, she still is! She is about 13 years old, has a great disposition, and she is very sweet. Lady Love melts with affection, absorbing every ounce she gets.

Lady Love is in the advanced stages of degenerative myelopathy, a progressive disease of the spinal cord that causes hind-limb weakness and, eventually, paralysis. But this aging beauty still gets around well enough to follow her new people around the house and yard.

Lady Love has met several younger dogs in her foster home and she is great with all of them. She allows other dogs to lick her muzzle and lie next to her; she also accompanies them around the yard.

We are not sure why Lady Love ended up in a shelter, but her foster mom was determined that she not spend her final days there. Instead, she will be coddled and doted upon, as any loving senior should be. This Lucky Lady has a warm, loving home in which to live out the rest of her life.

Blanca

Blanca is a sweet white GSD who was picked up as a stray. She is very affectionate with people, is gentle and easy going, and pretty much ignores other dogs. She loves to go for walks, and is starting to enjoy riding in the car. Blanca is a great companion dog, she is quiet and undemanding.

Blanca is in our Thulani Program because she has advanced cancer. For now she is happy and does not know she is sick. She is with a very compassionate fosterer who will give Blanca the best life she has ever had for her remaining time. In turn, Blanca always has a smile on her face, a spring to her walk, and a wag to her tail. She takes the best walk of any dog we have seen in a long time, stopping often to thoroughly smell the roses. Blanca lives for the moment, a trait many of us would do well to emulate.