Fuzz  Buzz                

  April 2008                 

 Florida Keeshond Rescue is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and placement of the Keeshond breed of dog

In this Newsletter...                           Return to our Home Page                

• Dedication
• Puppies are not the only Victims of Puppy Mills, G. Kerry
• Rescued Dogs Make You a Better Person 
• Your Newsletter
• Mailing List
• In Loving Remembrance
• Foster Caregivers Needed

Dedication

Florida Keeshond Rescue lovingly dedicates this issue to the Keeshonden we rescued from puppy mills in Ohio and Florida , to all dogs who still endure deplorable conditions and horrific existences in puppy mills and to those people who love these dogs back to wellness of f body and wholeness of spirit.  We hope that the information presented will help to  raise awareness about puppy mills and the experiences that  innocent beings endure at the hands of cruel and heartless people who care NOTHING about the animals -  their sole purpose is to use the animals to generate money for themselves.  We ask that you give the attention to this information that these dear and innocent beings deserve; and we urge you to share this information with others - together we can make a difference but each of us MUST help.    Since we understand that  you don't have time to read volumes,  what we present here is Part Two  in our series on this important subject. Part One was published in January and is available by clicking on the GO TO Newsletter Archive link at the top of this page. It's well worth reading  Patti Owen-Smith's  first- hand account of her experience with two dogs rescued from  a puppy mill titled:  Rosie's Story - the Power and Honor of Rescue.  Also included in Part One are several wonderful pictures of  precious ones rescued from puppy mills.  In each issue we present an overview about puppy mills, pet stores and the impact on the animals themselves and on the humans who do care about them. Again, we implore you to get involved. Please help in whatever way or ways  you are able: educate yourself and others about this subject, work to change outdated laws and establish new ones that will be in the animal's best interests,  volunteer to foster, adopt or donate to a rescue organization that helps puppy mill dogs, refuse to shop at any store that sells live animals. For the sake of the animals. please get involved - be part of the solution.   We thank you for your continued support and prayers for Florida Keeshond Rescue and the dogs we serve.   

The following story was written by  G. Kerry ((c) 9/19/2000) but could be anyone's  story. What you are about to read clearly makes the point that puppies are not the only victims of puppy mills. Here is G. Kerry’s story.  

I fell in love with a beautiful little teddy bear of a puppy the instant I set eyes on her and she let me know that the feelings were mutual. I knew nothing about puppies, the Keeshond breed or puppy mills. I only knew I had to have this adorable little bundle.   She became the joy of my life and a delight to my soul and somehow we both survived her puppy hood. We were inseparable and the bond between us deepened each day. I soon learned that a Keeshond is a thinking being with a keen sense of humor and fair play.

The first time I tossed a ball for her to chase she ran after it and brought it back to me, also the second time. But the third time she didn't give me the ball, she just looked me in the eye, gave her head a toss throwing the ball across the yard then looked at me expectantly. I understood the message and dutifully ran, laughing all the way across the yard to retrieve the ball. I guess that was my first "obedience lesson" in taking turns and fair play. I must have passed the test because I got a great big laughing Keesie grin and some tender licks as my reward. I would play little jokes on her and she would play little jokes on me, often amazing me with the uniqueness of the things she would think up. She never ceased to amaze me and I could never look at her without thinking, how beautiful and intelligent she was. The very sight of her lifted my spirits and inspired me. We ate together and slept together, when I showered she would come nosing in through the curtain and join me, when I soaked in a tub full of bubbles she couldn't resist jumping in. When we hiked through the woods and streams together she would never let me out of her sight. At the ocean we would chase seagulls and splash in the water together. She was always happy to help me dig holes in the garden and I would help her chase lizards and other critters and dig in the gopher holes. We had such wonderfully happy times together and I loved her with all my heart and soul.  

Little did I know she was a ticking time bomb of sorrow, pain and anguish for the both of us, through no fault of her own or mine. She had been born to suffer and bring grief by an insensitive, greedy puppy miller whose only concern was mass producing puppies for profit. These degenerates don't care if they reproduce puppies with genetic disorders, heart and immune system disorders, allergy and skin problems or any other inherited defect. They don't care about the future health of the puppies or the devastation they will cause in the lives of the people who love them. They over breed indiscriminately, as often as they can with as little cash output as possible for food and housing, in unimaginable filthy conditions and without veterinary care or loving attention.

My little partner began with allergies, then skin problems, heart problems followed. I sold my antique bellows organ to pay the vet bill and buy her prescriptions. There were times she would seem to get better, then she would get worse and I would have to lift her up and carry her outside to go for a ride or make a puddle. Her liver and kidneys began to function poorly, she retained water and couldn't make a puddle. Back to the vet, more tests, more medication. I sold my piano to pay for it all, to buy her a little more time. I called university research centers and talked to some very kindly researchers who shared any new information they had with me on her problems and I tried it all. It was hell, she was suffering and I was doing all that I could find out to do and it wasn't enough. I sold my wedding rings to pay the vet and prescriptions and buy a special concentrated diet that I had to put down her throat with a syringe when she stopped eating. After three years of nursing and caring for her, of hoping and praying for a miracle I finally realized it was time, time to make "that terrible decision". She couldn't eat or drink, she couldn't walk, run or play. She couldn't do any of the fun things she so dearly loved to do, she was suffering and she had lost her wonderful laughing Keesie grin. I was physically, emotionally and financially exhausted.  With my heart breaking, sobbing uncontrollably, I called the vet and made the appointment for three days later in the afternoon just before closing. For the next three days I would carry her out to the truck and lay her on a cushion where she could see out of the window. I would drive up the dirt roads through the woods at 5 miles per hour all day, to all the places where we had shared so many happy hours together. She rested her chin on the open window sill and watched intently as we drove. She had always enjoyed riding along like this, woofing at deer and squirrels when we saw them. She seemed to enjoy the scenery now but only pricked up her ears at the sight of a squirrel with no woofing request to stop and let her chase it up a tree.  On the last day, my face streaming with tears, I told her about my own near death experience, how beautiful and wonderful it was on the other side where she would be a puppy again without any pain or suffering. When we arrived at the veterinary office I apologized for my selfishness in not letting her go sooner asked her to forgive me and wait for me on the other side. She looked at me with the most intense look of understanding, gave me a tender lick and laid her face in my hand. 

Tell me puppy millers, was your $25 profit worth it?                                                                                                           _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Taking a page from others who have expressed the sentiment so well, Florida Keeshond Rescue realizes that we don't typically get the elegantly coiffed, classically beautiful, completely trained, perfectly behaved dog. Instead, those we are able to help might be considered the leftovers. Dogs that other people have incompetently bred, inadequately socialized, ineffectively "trained," and badly treated. Many rescued dogs have had it physically and emotionally. They've been pushed from one lousy situation to another. Many have  never had proper veterinary care, kind and consistent training, or sufficient company. They've been banished from the house forced to exist outside, sometimes tied or held by a chain, spent too much time in a crate or have been locked away in the basement. They're scared, depressed and anxious. Some are angry. Some are sick. Some have given up.  But, we are  rescuers and we don't give up. We never give up on a dog. We know that a dog is a living being, with a spirit and a heart and feelings. Our dogs are not commodities, things, or garbage. They are part of sacred creation and they deserve  love, care and respect .  So please, please don't come to rescue in the hopes of getting a "bargain," or indeed of "getting" anything. Come to rescue to give, to love, to save a life - and to mend your own spirit. For the truth is, rescued dogs will reward you in ways you never thought possible.       We know this for certain  - a rescued dog will make you a better person! 

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From time to time Florida Keeshond Rescue mails out packets some containing Pet Emergency ID cards,  DVD training videos or other information.  If you would like to be included for future mailings or emails containing helpful information or bulletins, please send your information to us at: Hollikees@aol.com. Thank you for your interest in Florida Keeshond Rescue and the dogs we serve. We will let you know when we add you to our list. 

Please join us in prayer honoring the memory of a  dear senior Keeshond named Keesha Klaus who is now at peace at the Bridge. We gently lift her spirit  to God through our prayers. We ask also for a special blessing of comfort for her wonderful and loving foster Mom, Gwen.  Go with God Keesha Klaus- we will remember you with love.                                                            

2007 proved to be another very active year for us with over 40 dogs needing our assistance. Each dog is so special and deserving of respect and the love of a forever family.  What a wonderful blessing our adopters are for these dogs and we thank each one of you for opening your hearts and home for a rescued Keeshond.  We're four months into 2008, and we have already been contacted to help many, many dogs!  At this time we have only two active foster homes and hope you will consider becoming a foster caregiver - the dogs need you and so do we!  All  approved expenses associated with the care of Keeshonden in our foster care program.  are paid by Florida Keeshond Rescue. Volunteer Application click here:    Foster Application .   If you would like more information, please contact us at:  Hollikees@aol.com.  On behalf of the dogs we serve, thank you.

Want to have your Keeshond's picture showcased in Fuzz Buzz? If so, please send pictures in .jpg format to Hollikees@aol.com. Each quarter we will share at least one picture with everyone. So, get out your cameras and start capturing your Keeshond's antics. Pictures can be comical, serious, showcase the dog's fluffy coat, personality ... you name it, we're open to taking a look. It's a challenge to pick just one since each Kees is so special but we managed to narrow it down to one picture.  The pictures below are of the puppy mill dogs we rescued in 2007.                                                                         . 

Assistance Requested

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