This afternoon our very sweat Lab-Dalmatian mixes, Moe and Joe, were transferred to Pet Network of Incline Village, Nevada. When Susan Paul called me yesterday asking about Joe, I mentioned that he had a buddy Moe, who might be his dad. We had hoped they could go to rescue together. "Of course we’ll take both dogs!” Susan said.
Here are Moe and Joe together with some of their EARS volunteer friends, new friends from Pet Network and Paul Bruce from HSUS.
A big thank you goes out to not only Susan Paul and Pet Network, but also to Karen DeSouza of www.lookingformyhero.org who helped connect Moe and Joe with their new friends.
Our collaborative effort continues on behalf of the dogs from Gabbs! If you or anyone you know is interested in adopting Moe and Joe, please visit www.petnetwork.org.
It was a big weekend at Camp Reno with lots of EARS volunteers coming to socialize our very special dogs!
Some of the dogs took trips out of their kennels, taking walks on their leashes and having other adventures. Here, Maggie visits the front office area where Southern California State EARS Coordinator Norma Rodriguez makes a few phone calls. Maggie thought she would sit alongside her and say "Hi," too!
Meanwhile, Wilma is investigating all the bags and cans of donated dog food stored in our make shift front office. “Wow, there is a lot of food here... Take a look Maggie!”
The best news of all this weekend was that both Maggie and Cutie went to their new foster homes!
Maggie is settling in quite nicely on the couch at EARS volunteer Ashley Dunleavy’s house. Ashley is the canine foster coordinator for the Yolo County SPCA in Woodland, California, and will socialize Maggie in her home along with Windy, whom she took home to foster last weekend.
Cutie is being fostered by EARS volunteer and City of Sacramento Animal Care Services volunteer Janell Matthies. A big thank you, not only Ashley and Janell for brining these very special dogs into their homes, but also to the Yolo County SPCA and the City of Sacramento Animal Care Services for supporting Ashley and Janell and helping the dogs from Gabbs.
We have a few more rescue possibilities in the works this morning and hope to have more updates posted very soon!
Today, Best Friends Animal Society, which has also been instrumental in helping the Gabbs dogs, posted a great story on its Best Friends Network about "Camp Reno."
Please check out the article and forward it to your friends!
Posted by Alexis Raymond, UAN's director of communications.
As the director of communications at UAN, I'm always looking for a good story. Something that will let you, our supporters, know how much we care about the animals and how hard we work to bring them out of crisis situations.
So today I paid a visit to "Camp Reno" to sniff out the latest news about our 27 canine friends and the wonderful Emergency Animal rescue Service (EARS) volunteers who are helping them get used to human companionship -- something they didn't experience during all their long years in the Nevada desert.
The first thing you have to understand about the shelter we are operating for the dogs from Gabbs is that it isn't like most animal shelters you've been in. It is very quiet. The dogs don't bark much. They don't need to be walked, taken out for a game of fetch, or taught how to "sit" and "stay." They simply need to learn to trust humans, and to get comfortable being around us.
But that doesn't mean the job is any easier for our EARS volunteers. In fact, it requires lots of patience, kindness and compassion. We are lucky to have an amazing team of volunteers working with the dogs right now.
Deb Anderson is from San Jose, California, and this is her first EARS response. She has been spending a lot of time getting the dogs comfortable taking treats from her hand. As you can see from the video below, she has had great success with the dogs everyone calls "The Girls."
Lynn Frishmann of Los Gatos, California, is a veteran EARS volunteer who has deployed three times is the last 2 1/2 years alone. She has really taken to Race, a handsome boy who likes to eat peanut butter off her finger. In this picture, you can see Lynn and Race enjoying the sunshine in the outside portion of his run.
Colleen Hemingway is another experienced EARS volunteer who lives about an hour from Reno. She was at Camp Reno last weekend, but she missed the dogs so much she came for a short visit this afternoon. Here she is sitting with pretty Kumquat, who was very receptive to Colleen's gentle petting and conversation today.
I didn't get a photo of Susan McLaughlin, but she is a veteran EARS volunteer from Sacramento who is spending the week here at Camp Reno. Susan told me she likes learning the techniques for socializing extremely shy dogs.
Our EARS team has been at Camp Reno for two weeks, and now we are starting to plan for when we're scheduled to close the shelter down on February 20. Some dogs, like Maggie (seen here sampling the treats I brought from Sacramento) are growing more comfortable and confident every day and will be ready for adoption soon. But others will probably need more time in foster homes where they can continue getting one-on-one attention from experienced and patient dog handlers.
Right now we are looking for established rescue organizations that could take a few dogs and place them in their foster care systems. If you represent such an organization, please contact Shannon Asquith, director of field services, at (916) 216-3677.
Yesterday our shy, but sweet Windy previously known as Wind Talker, left Camp Reno with Ashley Dunleavy, trained EARS volunteer and canine foster home coordinator for the Yolo County SPCA in Woodland, California. Ashley just spent three days volunteering here at Camp Reno and really fell for Windy. “She was one of the dogs who was more timid and would hide in the back of the kennel," she said. Ashley will foster Windy until she is ready to be adopted into a forever home.
Last night, Ashley called and said that Windy had settled in and was comfortable being in her home and around her resident dog. She hid under the coffee table for a while, but after Ashley left the room, Windy ate not only the canned food she had left out, but two bowls of dry food as well! Then she settled into her crate and fell fast asleep. Ashley plans to keep us posted on Windy’s progress, including when she finds her new forever home!
Meanwhile back at Camp Reno, EARS volunteers are continuing to work with our current residents. Deb Anderson, an EARS volunteer from Cupertino, is seen here with Wilma sporting the latest in EARS “camo-wear." Available at most military surplus stores, “camo” is a great addition to our official EARS t-shirts and as Deb reports, “with all the pockets, is quite functional."
When EARS Southern California State Coordinator Norma Rodriguez arrived at “Camp Reno” a few days ago she noticed that Moe, a male Dalmatian and Pointer mix, was not eating much. We explained that he had not been feeling well and that Dr. Landon of the Nevada Humane Society had given him a prescription of antibiotics for a possible infection. He was perking up some, but still not eating very much.
But Norma knew just the thing to help his appetite. “Chicken soup,” she said. “Chicken soup?" I asked skeptically. “Yup, he needs chicken soup.” So off we went to the store for low-sodium chicken soup for Moe.
Well, Norma was right; it was just what he needed. The next day she reported that he had eaten all of his chicken soup and was on to pieces of cooked chicken and even some dog food. Here he is taking some cooked chicken from the hand of EARS volunteer Becky Correia. EARS volunteers are reporting that Moe’s appetite is really starting to come back and he is eating double portions of dog food in the morning and afternoon.
Good for Moe!
Meanwhile, Felix is still trying to figure out how to use his new bed. He isn’t quite sure which end goes in first. Itzy on the other had has taken to it quite nicely!
Melissa Hardy, Reno resident and TTouch Practitioner of 15 years began volunteering at Camp Reno yesterday, using her skills to help the residents to feel better and become more social. TTouch is a method based on circular movements of the fingers and hands all over the body. Using a combination of specific touches, lifts and movement exercises, TTouch helps to release tension and increase body awareness. This allows animals be handled without provoking typical fear responses.
Melissa first heard about the Gabbs dogs while attending a TTouch workshop at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary last fall. She's been following the story ever since and is excited about applying her skills to help the needy dogs. Melissa will also be teaching other EARS volunteers some basics of TTouch to apply to the dogs. Take a look at Wilma receiving her first TTouch session! More information about TTouch can be found at TTouch.com.
Meanwhile, when Linda Bailey, niece of the owner of the dogs came to the shelter yesterday to visit them, she noticed Edgar -- a raven with an unrepairable broken wing who had been my buddy in the makeshift EARS office since we arrived. Nevada Humane had been looking for a rescue or sanctuary for Edgar, but had been unsuccessful until now. It turns out that Linda volunteers with Eastern Sierra Wildlife Rescue in Bishop. She called the center and received approval to transport Edgar there, where he will reside with other rescued ravens.
What small circles we all move in! If it weren’t for the dogs from Gabbs, Linda would not have had a reason to be at Nevada Humane ... and Edgar would never have found his way to Eastern Sierra Wildlife Rescue. Best of luck to my buddy Edgar!
The RedRover Responders program shelters animals displaced by natural disasters and other crises, like criminal seizures of puppy mills and hoarding cases.
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Here are Moe and Joe together with some of their EARS volunteer friends, new friends from Pet Network and Paul Bruce from HSUS.
