PEANUT in Newberry SC needs an adopter or foster.
A year ago 3 small female Chihuahuas were surrendered to us when their owner passed and the family was going to take them to the shelter. All three have heart murmurs but for ChaCha (age 15) and Peanut (age 13) they are very mild. ChaCha is also in early renal failure so she’s definitively going to stay here for life as will Diamond (13) who has a more serious murmur (unless there is someone who would like to hospice foster her!)
Peanut weighs 6 pounds and is otherwise healthy and acts a lot younger than she is. She’s only on one medication for her heart which is not expensive. She is becoming depressed and really needs a person or family of her own. At the least it would be wonderful to get her into a foster home for a while. 
Peanut is spayed, heartworm negative and on heartworm prevention. She is microchipped. We have realized she is allergic to flea bites and are switching her flea prevention to Bravecto (each dose lasts 3 months) because of this. Her vaccines will be updated soon and she will receive a 3 year rabies before placement as well as a DHPP booster.
She takes Vetmedin (Pimobendan) to protect her heart, twice a day. She eats kibble softened in warm water with about a tablespoon of canned food mixed in, also twice a day. Her medicine is mixed right in with her food so it’s not difficult to give to her.
She is potty pad trained from her previous home but will also potty outside. She’s very well behaved at the Veterinarian and for nail trims, not a snarky or snappy dog.
She can be dominant with her sisters and she does love to chase cats; I don’t think she would hurt one but if she was to live with the cat they would need to be able to stand up to her.
Once Peanut gets to know you she is quite snuggly. She loves to burrow under her blanket.
Her adoption fee is waived due to her age.
Our foster and adoption process includes an initial telephone conversation, a
Cadence aka Cady is the best girl. Here she is politely waiting for a bite of my sandwich. Not being pushy or bothering the two Chihuahuas on my lap.
SO glad we rescued her. Making plans to send her to her foster-to-adopt home in New York. She’s a practically perfect dog and I will miss her like crazy but she’s going to a friend with German Shepherd dog experience and hopefully it will turn into an adoption. If not she will always be able to come back here.
“Lemme outta here!” - Sterling, 8.5 month old formerly feral kitten.
Me: Cady it’s time to go in so I can let other dogs have their turn to come outside.
Cady: Don’t wanna. Ball!
Me: Yes I know you love to chase your ball and bring it back to me to throw over and over again but it’s time for a break.
Cady: BALL! Look I will dig for it and show you how I prance with it!
Me: Um, by the state of our yard, you and the puppy have been very busy digging! And tearing up more stuff for me to clean up!
Cady: Ball! Throw Ball! Ball Ball Ball!
Me: how about we compromise and you have a treat and leave Ball outside for now?
Cady: (Eying treat in my hand and clearly considering her options; note she LOVES and will work for treats). Nooooo thank you. Ball!!
I go back to my chair and throw the ball some more. Because even though she is pretty happy playing with it by herself, life is short.
Cady was mildly interested in playing with balls when we rescued her a couple of months ago; she has always been crazy about stuffed toys, the moreso if they squeak! I’ve been trying to see if I could develop a fall drive but not in a way that makes it anything but fun for her. When I throw it I say, “Get it!” And when she does I say, “Bring it!” Now she occasionally will play with it for a while on her own but Leslie brings it to me and either drop that beside me on the ground, drops it on my lap or sometimes she throws her head up to launch it at me! I really don’t care if she retrieves it or not but I’m happy that it gives her joy.
She has completely transformed since we rescued her from the shelter, from very anxious, hyper alert and I believe, looking for her former owner. She still has a lot of independence but she has definitely bonded to us and I’m so happy that she is good with the other dogs and with the cats. 
I named her Cadence in honor of Lyric, another two year old German Shepherd who we had rescued as a puppy, who we lost in February to acute onset liver failure.  of cour
Cha Cha is 15 years old and came to us with two other elderly Chihuauhas last year after their owner died and the family was going to send them to a shelter. She has a Grad 2/6 heart murmur for which she takes two medications and she was recently diagnosed as being in early renal failure.
So Rescue Dad Jeff Tiffin cooks for her now and I assemble it. She’s on a low/lean protein, low potassium diet and for now she eats it like a champ in 3-4 small meals a day. Today she had lunch in the back yard, on my lap.
Cha Cha is only 4 pounds but she is fierce! No other dog dares to bother her. She sleeps under my chin and loves to snuggle in. We are hoping she has a lot of time left given that she’s in the early stage of the disease.
Listen to her chewing lol!
Good morning from the sanctuary!
It’s a breezy 65 degrees but 14 year old Mr. Sir Pervical Prancer aka Percy, always seems to be cold - and he won’t keep a sweater on. He loves his sunbaths but this one was short in the interest of him going back inside to warm up and of course, to have a cookie.
We rescued Percy 6 years ago this month from the local shelter. He had a badly healed fracture to his front leg and while we looked in to whether he should have surgery for it, the answer was no, so we keep him comfortable on salmon oil, Dasuquin and as needed, NSAIDs.
Percy seems to be developing Canine Cognitive Disorder (ie dementia) as he sometimes barks for no discernible reason and gets himself dis tracked while eating. So now I have two dogs who are hand-fed: Bono the Chihuahua who is just spoiled rotten, and Percy. So (not) lovely to have both hands in wet dog food to be able to feed them at the same time, but we do whatever it takes to keep our dogs and cats happy! Percy takes Sam-e for aging but we are going to ask our veterinarian about whether to start him on Anipryl. From what I have read it is effective in 70% of dogs who take it.
We think Percy is an Italian Greyhound with his long long legs and body shape, with some Chihuahua mixed in. He loves to snuggle with humans, cats and with dogs he likes. It’s hard to see him getting older but we will enjoy every moment left with him.
Cadence/Cady has such a gentle way of taking treats. She took a short break from chasing sky raisins to help me with my late breakfast.
Cadence went to our veterinarian today and had a 4DX blood test. It confirmed she is heartworm positive but thankfully it is a light case. The shelter started her on the 30 days of twice daily Doxycycline which we are continuing. Today she received a ProHeart 12 injection for 12 months of heartworm prevention. We are hopeful that this protocol will clear all of the adult heartworms from her body in around 6-9 months. We normally do the 3 injection protocol but the 60 consecutive days of crate rest would be very hard on her.
She was very anxious at the veterinarian, whining almost constantly, so we distracted her with some simple obedience tasks, treats and attention. I told Jeff Tiffin that I wondered if she thought we were going to leave her there. 😢
And she continues to delight in chasing the big sky raisins! Pardon our dirty back door, compliments of the dogs. 🤦♀️
6 month old Sterling has a kitty cold and is feeling pooky. His third eyelids are showing and he is extra needy. Snuggled up unfer a heating pad set on low. Starting him on eye ointment and calling the veterinarian tomorrow about choice of antibiotic.
He was at the bottom of our front steps, then aged about 4 weeks, early one morning when I went out to walk a dog. He took off but I was able to grab him. That’s how we keep ending up with kittens whilst trying to trap mama cats. We have two females from a prior litter who have to be his siblings - they all look alike and look like a big male who we are also trying to trap but haven’t figured out his pattern yet to set one.
Sterling’s nickname is MK for M*rd*r Kitten as he was sooooo M*rd*r Mitten-y when younger. And so bitey! He occasionally still shows that side since he is, after all, but for the most part he’s super sweet. 
Rescue life - 2:00 am shenanigans.
Rauiri - male Rough Collie not quite 6 months owner surrender.
Cleia - female German Shepherd Dog 14 months shelter save.
Teeny little Chacha who is nearly 15 years old, didn’t feel like eating her usual dinner tonight. Fortunately Rescue Dad had made chicken and rice in the Instant Pot! She started off slowly with it but is going to town on it now.
Chacha is one of three female Chihuauas we rescued last spring after their owner died and the family was going to take them to the shelter. Sally Peanut and Diamond are littermates who are both almost 13. All three have heart murmurs and are on twice daily medication for it. Diamond’s is the worst at Grade 4/6 and her coughing had been increasing so she will be seeing the doctor soon to find out if she needs a change in her medications.
They are a lot of work and expense but such sweethearts so we are happy to have them under our care.
Scenes from the sanctuary:
Senior sanctuary resident Lucky feels the least he deserves after enduring a bath, are some peanut butter crackers and a peanut butter stuffed Kong!
We rescued Lucky in Guatemala 3 1/2 years ago after witnessing him being deliberately run down and struck by a car. It popped his hip out of joint and fractured his pelvis. Xrays showed he had also suffered a prior pelvic fracture.
Fortunately another rescue there kindly fostered him through a few months of crate rest for him to heal, and I was able to bring him here in late 2019. It wasn’t safe for him to go back to life on the streets and it’s rare in Guatemala for anyone to adopt an older special needs mixed breed dog.
We learned later that a friend had seen Lucky on the streets years earlier. When he came here he never put a foot wrong - housebroken and not destructive and very happy to live inside, unlike a lot of street dogs who are miserable without their freedom to roam. So we suspect he once had a home and then was abandoned. It’s not uncommon for visitors to “adopt” a cat or dog in Guatemala then abandon them when they move on.
We don’t know his age for sure but Lucky is probably approaching 12. He has an odd gait from the pelvic fractures but it doesn’t seem to bother him. He takes joint supplements and fish oil and gets pain meds as necessary. He’s gotten grumpier toward other dogs as he’s aged but he’s a sweetheart with humans and full of personality.
(The odd howling in the background is Joey, the now 18 year old Xoloitzcuintli we rescued from the extreme hoarding situation where he spent 11 years. Joey has a lot of opinions!)
Scenes from the sanctuary:
Willie (shelter name Tesla, the larger dog) and Spyro, both rescued from Greenville County, SC shelter having a joint enrichment moment. Although Willie is a resource guarder where humans are concerned, he is not so with other dogs. Willie also has separation anxiety. He may never be adoptable because of severe nature of his resource guarding but we are working with him on this.
Both Willie and Spyro came into the shelter as strays so we have no background on them, except that Willie had to be darted to be caught and Spyro had life threatening injuries from being bitten and shaken by a larger animal.
Here is five week old Sterling checking in. He’s a little pistol. Trying to catch his siblings and trap their mama.
