12/26/2024
Rescue Reports and Success Stories x 2 and an update on Reina.
Jackson, Hopper, and my sweet Reina.
I have had the hardest time trying to write this post. It is happy and sad. I find myself conflicted, because when I am happy for Hopper and Jackson, I think I should be sad for Reina, and when I am sad for Reina, I think I should be happy for Hopper and Jackson.
It is a stressful series of conflicting emotions. It torments me every single day.
If you need a background, please feel free to google the April McLaughlin, Chandler “House of Horrors” case.
As everything began to unfold last year with the rescue named Special Needs Animal Welfare League (SNAWL) we were absolutely horrified because Reina was there.
We were given two different stories about Reina, one from the Chandler PD Detective that handled the case and one from the Director of Arizona Humane Society.
Chandler PD stated that they asked April “if Reina was one of the freezer puppies,” and April stated, “yes.” And that was all that was told to us. The detective said she saw the picture and agreed. That sounds like a leading question to me, and I would have preferred to see that they simply asked, “where is Reina?”
Arizona Humane Society unequivocally stated to us “Reina was not one of the freezer pups and that they saw the pups in person, and she was not one of them.” The were very adamant.
So, we ordered the police report for which we were given a copy of January 1, 2024, but the pictures were not included, and the request was put on hold because it is in pending OPEN case status.
We just received the download on December 18, 2024, of hundreds and hundreds of pictures for which we will go through to find the picture of the freezer pups and see if in fact Reina is one of them.
As for me, I need to see the pictures to be able to truly identify if it was Reina or not. So, until I can see the picture, I do not feel we have a definitive answer. I will formulate a follow up post at that time.
During the turmoil of the House of Horrors we were asked by another rescue to take on two dogs that were set to be released first from Arizona Humane, because April did not want them, and that was Hopper and Jackson. There is so much I can say about them, but I will give a short story and let the pictures and texts speak for themselves.
Hopper a black Lab mix was rescued from Kern County Animal Services by another rescue sometime early last year. He was named Hopper because he had this hop to him (see video in the comments) when he ran, and he had a body twitch (see video in the comments) likely from having had untreated distemper as a pup. Because of this twitch the rescue sent him to SNAWL unknowing of what was about to come.
Hopper was one of the first released and when he landed in Visalia to us, he was malnourished, had ear infections, and had sores all over his legs and paws. The vet said these sores appeared to be from sitting in confined areas for extra extended periods of time and from sitting in his own urine and f***s. We got him back to healthy and started networking him for a special adopter. He is such a fun dog, and most playful, loving dog ever!!! Hopper was a great dog, but no one could seem to get past his lifelong body twitch. It bothered a lot of potential adopters.
Our friends at Underdog Adventures had a friend in the coastal area looking only to foster so we recommended Hopper. Hopper was transported to his foster and the next day we received a message that they wanted to keep him. We were shocked because they were specific that they only wanted to foster at this time, but Hopper was such an amazing dog they could not let him go! It only took them one night! Hopper did a good job!!!
Let me tell you the kind of life Hopper lives. He has a social calendar. He travels everywhere. He gets to see the beach and the mountains. He has fur friends and human friends of all sizes. Hopper really is living his best life!!!! I will let the photos tell the story.
Now on to Jackson a Shepherd mix. Jackson was released at the same time as Hopper. Jackson came to us on heart medication. Jackson had the cutest smile and the best most handsome underbite (mandibular prognathism)! Jackson was also malnourished but did not seem to have the sores that Hopper did. Jackson did come to us with a grade 3 heart murmur and mitral insufficiency and was on heart medication. Jackson’s heart issue intimidated many potential adopters because they did not want to bear the costs of his monthly medication, so he too had a hard time getting adopted. Jackson had put on some weight due to the meds he was on, so we were hoping to find an active family.
It wasn’t until our wonderful friends from Arizona that served as fosters for us when Jackson and Hopper were released, sent us a message wanting to check in to see if the boys were adopted yet. They had a rescue pup that was there when Hopper and Jackson were there and all 3 played well together so she mentioned maybe adopting both. I did tell her that was wonderful news, but taking on two new rescue dogs with previous trauma could be a lot to take on so maybe they pick one and that would still be wonderful. She said they were conflicted, her husband wanted Hopper, and she wants Jackson.
They decided on Jackson, and it was the best decision. Jackson is in the absolute best care. They paid for additional heart testing and found that he did not have congestive heart failure, and they were able to ween him off all heart medicine! He too is living his best life!!! He lost all his happy fat and loves his sister.
