METTA Rescue Family

12/11/2024

🥁DRUMROLL, PLEASE!!!🥁

We are so excited to announce that our strong little fighter, Luchadora, has officially been adopted by her loving foster family!!! 🥰

Lucha was found as a 9-week-old puppy crying next to a dumpster by some caring firefighters in the summer of 2020. She wasn't able to use her back legs. Her medical team uncovered that it was due to a congenital birth defect. Some of her vertebrae were pushed together very tightly, causing partial paralysis. Over the years, it was clear that in order for her to use her doggie-wheelchair without harming herself, the best course of action was to amputate her back legs. That didn't slow her down one bit. In fact, it made her an absolute speed racer in her wheelchair cart! 🏁

Lucha is pictured here sporting her little blue dress, catching some rays with her fur-sister and Metta alumn, Phoebe. Happy tails, Lucha and family! 🤗💕

25/09/2024

⚠️CAUTION⚠️ Someone has spoofed our account and is asking for money.

The fake account has been reported and blocked. 🚫

The real METTA Rescue Family page has over 9k followers and has been around since 2018. ✅️

The fake account has 0 followers and was created today. ❎️

Thank you to our eagle-eyed supporters who first reported this! 🕵‍♀️ Please be diligent and report anything suspicious.

24/08/2024

It's with a heavy heart we share the news that Mila recently got her wings. 💔🪽

As a puppy, she was diagnosed with Renal Dysplasia and was not expected to live past her 1st birthday. Thanks to the extreme dedication, love, and care of her amazing hospice foster family, Mila made us all believe in miracles again as she spent a happy 27 months on this Earth. ✨️

We know she is running free, healthy, and whole, with all the other Metta alumni who have crossed Rainbow Bridge before her. 🌈🐾

Her foster mom shared, "We've had many dogs and love them all for different reasons but we've never had a dog as loyal, smart, and with such a unique personality that could actually communicate with us. We were blessed with 2 years, but it just wasn't enough." 💔

Run free, sweet Mila, till we meet again. 💕

14/06/2024

💚💚 Vote for METTA 💚💚

Please take a minute to vote in the June Great Hearts award.

Simply click on the link below to vote -
https://forms.gle/5rL1hBwNe8S6fpDT6

Each vote you give turns into a $5 grant, up to a maximum of $1,000 to help our foster dogs!

You can vote once per email address so please share with family and friends.

Thank you 💕

🏵️June Great Hearts Award

Thank you to everyone who participated in the April and May nominations! There were over 200 entries. The fifteen nonprofits from each of the three categories (healthcare, art, and the other favorites) are now part of the June Great Hearts Award!

Click on the link below to vote -
https://forms.gle/5rL1hBwNe8S6fpDT6

Each vote you give turns into a $5 grant, up to $1,000 per organization. A total of $15,000 is available to be awarded. Each cause featured will receive a minimum of $250 for being in the award. Voting is open now through June 27 or until $15,000 have been given.

31/05/2024

We are so happy to share the news that Lucy has been adopted by her foster family!!! 🎉 Before coming to Metta, she was confiscated from her previous owner as part of a large scale cruelty investigation. She is now safe, happy, healthy, and loved - and that is all she will ever know for the rest of her days. We couldn't be happier. Congratulations Lucy and family! ❤️

06/05/2024

Today is an extra special day . . . Beautiful Mila is celebrating her 2nd birthday!!! 🩷💜🩷 This is an extraordinary milestone as Mila was diagnosed as a puppy with Renal Dysplasia and was not expected to make it past her 1st birthday. Thanks to the over-and-above love and care from her amazing foster family, and ongoing support from folks like you, she is beating the odds and living her best life. 💪 She is truly a miracle. ✨️ Happy birthday, Mila! 💜🩷💜

25/04/2024

Two of our favorite girls, Hope & Lucy, are having surgery this week. 🏥

As you may remember, Hope grows cancerous lumps and bumps, and despite our best efforts, there are often too many to safely remove them all from this sweet senior. However, one of the bigger tumors recently opened. We will be removing it in addition to a few more of the concerning ones before they pose additional problems for her as well. The estimate for Hope's surgery is $1,047.

When Lucy came to the rescue in January it was hard to age her because all of her K9 teeth were broken. Something that's pretty common in dogs that lived most of their life in a wire box. At that time, it appeared only one tooth was causing her pain and it was removed during her spay surgery. Unfortunately, another tooth has further cracked, started to abscess, and is now causing her pain. The estimate for Lucy's dental surgery is $375.

It's our goal to keep the seniors under our care happy and comfortable as they age. We would be forever grateful if you would consider donating towards their care. 🙏 Thank you for making a difference in their lives and keeping them in your thoughts while they continue to heal. ❤️‍🩹

•PayPal direct: https://www.paypal.me/MettaRescueFamily
•PayPal email: [email protected]
•Venmo:
•Cash App: METTARescue
•Zelle: [email protected]

29/02/2024

It's with a heavy heart we share the news of Metta alumni, Sadie's, recent passing. Sadie came to Metta in June of 2020 (then named Bettylou) as a 6-year-old with diabetes, needing insulin shots every day, and cataracts in both eyes. She was adopted by her loving mom in November of 2020 who recently shared, "Sadie was such a wonderful girl. She liked everyone and everyone liked her. She really enjoyed her walks and was always available for petting. I'm going to miss her for a very long time." We will too. 💔 Run free, sweet Sadie. Till we meet again. ❤️🐾🌈

29/02/2024

Lucy went in for her suture removal and a quick recheck exam yesterday. The pathology report came back on the two mast cell tumors (of the six removed) that were sent out for analysis. Both were intermediate stage, grade 2. Not terrible, but not great since she had so many. Her foster mom happened to ask about her right paw again. It has always looked more swollen than the left paw, down around the ankle area and top of the paw. At her very first exam back in January, our vet thought maybe it was just some inflammation from an old injury, which we are familiar with in other dogs, but yesterday, something told her to ask him about it again. After pushing on it a bit, he thought maybe it was a fatty tumor. He decided to aspirate it, just to be safe. Turns out it is also a mast cell tumor, deep down where her muscle/bone are. It's so intertwined with her muscle and bone that it's not something that can be removed with surgery. 💔 Instead, he'll be starting her on a low-dose pill form of chemo her foster family can give her at home that they are very familiar with from their own dog's similar past cancer diagnosis. We are hoping this treatment plan will shrink the tumor and prevent it from spreading. Don't worry, it's different than chemo protocols for humans. It will not negatively impact her appetite or quality of life. She'll have a follow-up exam and bloodwork after 30 days and we'll go from there. Lucy is such a happy girl, enjoying every moment, probably for the first time in all her years. We can only pray this chapter of her life isn't cut short. 💜

18/02/2024

🌧 It's a rainy day here in central FL and that means indoor fun for Metta dogs Mila and Kahlo! 💕☔️

Beautiful Mila, the Rottie, is one of Metta's hospice dogs. She was diagnosed with Renal Dysplasia as a puppy about a year ago. With the over-and-above love and care provided by her amazing foster family, Mila has greatly exceeded expectations and is living her best life. ❤️

While adorable Kahlo is a joyful specially-abled 4-year-old available for adoption. She came to us as a puppy with a spinal cord injury. We'd love nothing more than for this inspiring girl to find her forever family. 🩷

These girls are perfect representations of the kind of dogs Metta Rescue Family focuses our efforts on: critical care, hospice, and specially-abled. ❤️‍🩹 Many times they remain under our care long-term and we are so grateful for their dedicated foster families who never give up on them and our on-going supporters who donate what they can, making it possible for the dogs to receive the continued quality of care they need to live their happiest, healthiest lives. Thank you, fam. 🫶

14/02/2024

💘 WE LOVE LUCY 💘

Yesterday, Lucy went in for her long awaited surgery.

She had 6 lumps removed from across her body. All of which turned out to be mast cell tumors. Cancer. 💔 We are waiting on test results to let us know what stage and grade we're dealing with and will come up with a treatment plan.

Thankfully, we don't think her head tilt is due to a tumor, as our vet was able to get a better look down her ear canal while Lucy was under anesthesia and could see that she has a distorted eardrum. Perhaps from an old injury or an old infection. He flushed her ear very well and hopefully it will continue to improve, as her head tilt has been getting better over the past few weeks. Just like her eyes. 😍

Her broken K9 tooth was removed and the remaining teeth were cleaned. 🦷

Her spay surgery uncovered multiple c-section scars. It sounds like her previous owner was trying to breed XL cross-breeds and some of the pups were probably just too big for her to birth naturally. 😪

Our hearts break for everything she's been through in her previous life and now that she has a new lease on life, she has cancer. 😔 But that just means we're more determined than ever in making sure she has the absolute best life going forward. 💖

Thank you to all who donated towards Lucy's care. Because of you, she was able to have this life changing surgery. We will continue to keep you updated on her journey of happily ever after, as you make it possible. 🫶

31/01/2024

Lucy had her long-awaited follow-up exam yesterday where we got good news and bad news. The good news is her eyes are looking better! Her tear production score was 10 in the right eye and 5 in the left. Nowhere near normal, but better than what it was 2 weeks ago (zero in both). She still has entropion in both eyes but our vet doesn't think it's causing her pain or the potential for more damage, as long as we are consistent about her eye ointment and eye drops, which she will need for the rest of her life.

He wants to wait to examine her left inner ear and try to get to the bottom of her head tilt when she is under anesthesia for her spay surgery, which he wants to schedule in 2 weeks to give her a little more time to continue getting healthy prior to surgery.

Her foster mom recently noticed a lump on Lucy's chest that was not examined at her first vet visit. Our vet did not like the look of it and decided to aspirate it. Unfortunately, it is a mast cell tumor, cancer. 💔 He will remove it and the three other lumps during her spay surgery. He will be getting us an estimate for her surgery which will include her spay, multiple tumor removal, extraction of her broken K9 tooth, and x-rays of her skull.

We are so happy to see Lucy blooming into a more confident, happy, silly girl each day that passes and we pray she has MANY more days ahead to continue getting all the love and care she was denied in her previous life. Thank you to everyone who donated towards her care, making this all possible. You made all the difference in this sweet dog's life. ❤️‍🩹

19/01/2024

It's with a heavy heart we share the news that sweet Metta alumni, Martha, has crossed Rainbow Bridge. 🌈

Martha came to Metta last year as a senior and was adopted by an amazing family who treated her like a queen, giving her the best life we could imagine. 👑 Her mom recently wrote,

"We'd take long walks together, she got so spoiled, slept on the couch as well as one of their MANY fuzzy comfy beds across the house. She loved the big backyard, sunbathing on nice days, and she vacuumed up crumbs like she was paid to do it! Thank you for entrusting me with her. I love her, and I'll always love her." 💞

We only wish she had more time with them, but know she will be watching over her family, including her fur-sister and Metta alumni, Coraline. 🐾 Run free, sweet girl. Till we meet again. 💓

18/01/2024

🩷 LUCY PUPDATE 🩷

It's clear she's been through a lot.

Lucy recently visited our vet, and after examining her eyes, he discovered that she does not have her 3rd eyelids, which are needed to keep a dog's eyes properly lubricated. He explained some bad breeders will actually remove the 3rd eyelids if they are considered "too prominent" looking on a dog, in order to give them a more desirable look. This leads to chronic dry eye, and if not properly managed, leads to irritation, infection, and inflammation. He thinks that chronic inflammation caused her eyelids to roll inward, leading to her entropion. He is hopeful if we can get the infection and inflammation under control, the entropion might correct itself. She is on some heavy-duty antibiotic eye drops. If all goes well, she won't need surgery and will only need eye drops for the rest of her life. Please send up some prayers and positive energy that she won't need eye surgery. ✨️

The vision in her right eye is not too bad. But she probably only sees shadows out of the left, at best. Upon examining her ears, her right ear was fine. But he found something very strange with the left. Her ear canal was so thin that he couldn't even confirm she has an eardrum. Lucy made it very clear that examining the left ear was very painful. Her head tilt is also to the left. Swabbing the ear showed there was no infection. Some theories he has include: 1) there might be an infection extremely deep down where the back part of the eye meets the inner ear. 2) Perhaps she was born with a defect in that ear. 3) She might have suffered blunt force trauma to the left side of her head that permanently damaged her eye and ear. 4) Or there is the possibility of a tumor.

She is on ear drops, and if things haven't changed in a few weeks, he will plan to go in with a scope and/or do x-rays while she is under sedation during her spay surgery to get a better idea of what is going on with that ear.

One of her paw pads has an old wound, most likey either from walking on the hot ground, or being dragged. It has already healed, so he just cut off some of the dead pad that was hanging.

All of her K9 teeth were either broken or missing (as well as several others) making it hard to properly age her. Broken/bad teeth are pretty common in dogs that lived most of their life in a wire box or cage. One of the broken K9s will need to be removed to avoid causing her more pain in the future.

She has a couple of lumps that will be monitored. One, on her knee, will need to be removed quickly before it gets too big and there isn't enough skin and tissue to safely remove it.

She has been EXTREMELY over bred. She also has a terrible UTI and has started on antibiotics. We are waiting on the results of her bloodwork.

We are so grateful to everyone who has rallied around this sweet soul and donated, making it possible she receives the care she needs and so deserves. She sees the vet again in 2 weeks, and we'll know what the next steps are. We will be sure to keep you updated on her progress! 🩷

14/01/2024

Welcome our newest Metta dog, Lucy. Named after the patron saint of the blind. 😇 She was one of 40 dogs seized as part of a cruelty investigation and the one most in need of advanced medical care. Lucy lived her entire life in a box whose only purpose was to be bred over and over again, before being rescued.

She has entropion in both eyes (where the eyelids are turned inward causing the lashes to scrape the eyes) that was never properly treated, most likely causing permanent damage to her vision and a lifetime of infection and pain. 😭

She has a head tilt that we aren't sure yet if it's a neurological issue or because the box she lived in was not big enough for her to properly stand up all the way. 💔

She is safe now and will be seeing our vet on Monday. At the very least, we know she will need to be spayed and will probably need surgery on both eyes. It would mean the world to us if you would consider donating towards her care. ❤️

•PayPal direct: https://www.paypal.me/MettaRescueFamily
•PayPal email: [email protected]
•Venmo:
•Cash App: METTARescue
•Zelle: [email protected]

13/01/2024

1/14 PUPDATE: Lucy is safe with Metta!
________________________

🆘️ 🚨PLEDGES NEEDED 🚨 🆘️

Our friends at Seminole County Animal Services recently reached out to their rescue partners about helping place 40 dogs that were confiscated as part of a cruelty investigation. There is one dog most in need of advanced medical care that we just know is meant to be a Metta dog. And the stars are aligned, as one of our foster families is ready to open their heart and home again to a dog in need! 🤗

She doesn't have a name just yet, but what we do know is she is about 6-years-old and lived her entire life in a small box, used repeatedly for breeding as part of a puppy mill. She has entropion of both eyes (where the eyelids roll inward causing the lashes to scrape and irritate the eyes) which has caused pain and severe infection, probably her entire life. She will most likely need surgery on both eyes. She also has a head tilt, which the officers think is due to living her whole life in a box too small for her to stand up properly. 😭 We are hoping that is the case and not an underlying neurological issue. We'll know more once we can get her to our vet. She will also need to be spayed. She seems like the sweetest soul and is described as a velcro dog by shelter staff. 🥰

It truly takes a village to help a dog like this: 1️⃣ The caring folks at the county that got her (and all the other dogs) out of such a horrific situation, 2️⃣ a foster family ready to open their heart and home, and 3️⃣ caring folks like you who can help by pledging towards her medical care.

Thank you for helping us, help her. We'll post an update once she's officially safe under Metta's care. 💖