"Patch" ~ A Special Needs GrowlKid from SC

We just want to share this cute pic of a very special GrowlKid. Her name is Patch and she came out of a litter of 8. One of her siblings did not make it but for each one who did we thanked God! See, this litter had bites all over them up by some adult dog. When we pulled them out of the shelter and sent them to a foster home they had cysts and lumps and holes all over them. This foster mom has fostered MANY sick, healthy, tiny, big and anything else you can think of. But with this litter she failed fostering 101 and decided to keep Patch. When Patch went to her new home (to be fostered) at 3-4 weeks old she had a LARGE cyst over her eye which was making her eye swell shut and she had holes on her neck where someone's teeth had gone in. She also had a chronic runny nose which come to find out was because of when she was bit as a pup it had gone into her sinus and she had an infection on the bone. The vet cleared it out and cleaned the infection out of the bone and now 'Princess Patch' is a healthy happy little girl. This was just one of the medical needy puppies this amazing foster has taken care of and nursed to health. We are so happy that Patch, her mom and her fur siblings are all so happy!!!

"Osi" ~ What a Handsome Man!!

Osi is quite the ladies man!!! He was rescued as a lone pup from the Greenville SC kill shelter. He was placed in foster in SC and came north when he was determined to be healthy! His new mommy Theodora sent us this picure of him now at 4 months old! What a big boy he is becoming!!! Also, along side getting Osi a couple of months ago, his mommy got a "surprise" collar the night before with her engagement ring on it!!! We are wondering now if Osi will be the ring bearer :)

~Gunner~ Rules The Asher Household!!

Gunner was rescued from a kill shelter in Ohio last year. He came to NJ with a group of ELEVEN cockers right before Thanksgiving. He had his little issues and was with Dawn for a little while. Gunner found the absolute perfect cocker experienced family to handle him and they weathered the cocker attitude with Gunner as he was just around a year old and needed a bit of reinforcement on his manners. He now lives with Marlene and Stu and his furcat as well!! Here is the most recent picture of Gunner looking handsome as always!!! He's quite the king now!!

~ "Odie" At Home in New York! ~

"Odie" aka Sebastian....is completely at home with the Thomas family in New York. He has made himself untouchable!! He completely rules the house as you can see and sleeps with them all in their beds!!!. "Odie" was from a litter of 3 babies pulled from a high kill shelter in South Carolina.

Little Louie Update!!! "aka Mason"

Little Louie was rescued from a SC kill shelter and is now living in NY with the Grahams! He has grown so much we just can't believe it!!! Here are a few pics of Louie right after he came up and was placed with the Grahams and also his Christmas picture and as always in NY, a great snow pic!!






This was Louie aka Mason when he came north!!!

Six Lucky Pups Are On Their Way North... To New Homes!

Whew... what a day! We were lucky enough to get volunteers to really pull through to get the six lucky pups from South Carolina to NJ on a Friday! Well, they will actually spend the night in DE but will be at Dawn's house in NJ on Saturday morning! The six lucky babies were Truffles, Snickers, Liccorice, Peppermint Patty, Almond Joy and Reeses! They were all pulled out of the Greenville SC shelter about 3 weeks ago and were quarantined at 2 awesome foster homes! Almond Joy was a very lucky baby because she had been attacked by a big dog. When her foster mom saw her in the shelter she knew she had to help that poor girl because noone else would... and it worked because Almond Joy is now completely healed and healthy! All of these GrowlKids have pre-approved adoptors and after Dawn introduces them to their families and confirms they will be a good match, the furkids will be heading to their new homes this weekend!!! We owe a HUGE thank you to the foster families who have taken care, loved and cherished these babies as though they were their own! We also owe a huge thanks to the drivers today who stepped up and went way above and beyond to assure these babies get to new loving homes and I want to say a huge THANK YOU to my rescue partner Dawn! She travels many hours to do the home visits and meet the families to make sure they are approved and worthy of these babies. It is only because of EVERYONE that these babies get to safety and out of these shelters!!! So CONGRATS to these furkids and their new families (and we will be waiting for updates from Dawn once they are all situated!)

Audra O.


Almond Joy at her foster mom's home while getting a whole lot of TLC!!!


Truffles being his adorable self!!!


Snickers is an absolute lovebug who can't get enough swimming in the kiddy pool!!!

Adoptions Within The Last Week!!!

Just wanted to share with everyone the great Adoption News!!!

Since we just started the blog I will start with the most recent....

Friday Sept 26th: Freida went to her new home in NJ with the Schneider family and her fursister!!

Frannie went to her new home in NY, she has a great back yard to play in and also alot of walks to look forward to with Nicole her 14 year old "sister".

Saturday Sept. 27th: Felix went to his new home in Harrisburg PA with his new fur-brother Bear!!

Sunday Sept. 28th: After the event in PA, our volunteers delivered Roger to his new and forever home that was waiting on him even before he left SC. He is truly enjoying his days and nights now free of the matting and shelter life!!

Tuesday Sept. 30th: Lena, a female beagle rescued from SC also went to her forever home that had been waiting on Lena to finally make it up north! She is living on Long Island, NY and is doing awesome!!

Wednesday Oct. 1: Socks, a Jack Russell that was rescued from a breeder in PA was united with her forever home, The Fenwick family of West Milford!!!

"Socks" with her cute sisters!!!!

Ted the Cocker... So Heartbreaking But Inspiring!

Please meet Ted... one of the most heartbreaking stories and truly desperate furkids we have ever seen!!! Ted was turned in as a "stray" to the Greenville County Animal Control in Greenville SC. One of the wonderful staff at Greenville asked GROWL to please take this boy into our rescue. We were told he was matted and had dry eye and that he really needed to get out, but that is all we knew. Our hearts sank and tears just poured out as we saw the horrible condition of this boy... You see, Ted was SO matted for SO long he lost his muscle elasticity and has orthopedic deformation because of the way his hair was matted. Ted's fur was so knotted and twisted that he was not able to stand up (for an obviously VERY long time) and although he has been shaved, he is still not able to stand because of the long term damage. Ted is currently at a GROWL foster home getting water therapy to stretch his muscles back out and build them back. The most amazing part about Ted is he NEVER quit wagging his tail and letting his rescuers know how grateful he is!!! Ted has SERIOUS skin issues, eye issues (dry eye and conjunctivitis) and obvious orthopedic problems which are being treated. Ted is also emaciated and mostly blind. The total cost to help Ted will be quite expensive but GROWL is asking for help with about $650 for a portion of his orthopedic, dermatalogic and ophthalmologic care. Ted is estimated to ONLY be around 4 years old although he looks much older, he has had a very rough life and we know that he will now have the chance to live a happy life being loved and spoiled now that he has the opportunity! Once he is deemed healthy enough, Ted will still need to be neutered and although it seems far away we look forward to the day Ted will be able to be adopted! As GROWL volunteers we thank each of you for helping Ted in whatever way you can and Ted thanks you also!

To donate towards Ted's vet care, click here:
http://www.fundable.com/groupactions/groupaction.2008-10-01.0919636740


This video shows Ted the day he came out of the shelter!

The Rainbow Bridge Has a New Special Boy: Justice

First I want to say "WOW" at how amazing the blogs look. Dawn has done an amazing job with them so as excited as I am to do my first blog it is with a heavy heart that I write about Justice. The Greenville County Animal Care Services contacted us about a senior lab who really needed to get out of the shelter. Noone was interested in this boy and his time was up. Taryn at the Greenville shelter asked us if we could squeeze him in. He was so sad and just really needed a chance to get out. Justice was taken to the shelter after being found wandering around a large cemetery in Greenville. We went to pick Justice up and were so sad to see this poor senior boy who was struggling to even walk due to his toenails. Justice came home with me and spent the night on his own comforter in front of the air vent after he got his toenails trimmed. He curled up and slept like he had not slept in years. Justice was moved to a foster home where he was able to wander around on 5 acres when he felt up to it and sleep on the couch when that is what he preferred to do. His favorite place to be was lying outside next to the front door on his bed and just watching the rest of the dogs play. He had almost 5 weeks of doing whatever he wanted, eating like labs loves to do, romping in the creek when he wanted or snoozing on the couch. Justice is a reminder of what gentle souls these seniors have and that we are all so lucky to have been touched by his presence in our lives. On Tuesday,September 30 Justice layed on the front porch on his bed as he loved to do so many times before but this time he passed on to the Rainbow Bridge. As truly sad as we are for ourselves that Justice is no longer with us, we know we will see him again. Although it is so hard when one of these GrowlKids passes on, we are able to find peace in knowing that without a doubt that Justice lived the last 5 weeks a VERY happy boy without pain and being loved and was not put to sleep in a shelter. We thank everyone for helping us to help Justice and letting Justice be a voice for the seniors in these shelters who so desperately need our help... although he was not with us long, we will miss him terribly. So, in memory of Justice please be sure to give your furkids an extra hug and a kiss tonight. Justice... we will see you at the Rainbow Bridge buddy... know you are so loved and will be missed terribly but you will ALWAYS be in our hearts. We love you big boy!!!


Justice in the shelter before being rescued



Justice, he was glad to be out of the shelter!


Jutice's toenails were so long when he came out of the shelter they were curling back towards his pads and twisting around:


JUSTICE, WE LOVE YOU AND WILL MISS YOU!!!

~Bella~ (aka Maddie)

Most of you will see this face as a VERY familair one!!! Maddie was in the Barnwell Co. Shelter and was to be euthanized. GROWL asked for a couple of days to help Maddie find a place to go, well the next morning the shelter workers walked in and found Maddie had given birth to a litter of 12 sweet babies!!! Well things changed then and Maddie mothered them the best she knew how, but Maddie wasn't letting them all eat and there were 5 that didnt make it. For the safety of the other 7 we pulled them from Maddie and sent them up on a single van run to NJ/NY to be bottlefed. Luckily when the babies got up north there was a mama shepherd that had just finished nursing and accepted these coonhound babies as her own.

This left Maddie in SC and also Maddie had heartworms. Maddie was placed in foster and treated for heartworms as well. She then went into boarding for a very extended time and it took us almost 5 months for a spot to open up for Maddie as she was such a big girl!

Well we are THRILLED to inform everyone Maddie is happily in her new home in NJ and we want to tell the Singer family thank you so much for opening your home to such a lucky girl!!!! She overcame so many obsticles but still made it out of the shelter!!!


Here is Maddie at the shelter.....



Here is a new pic of Miss Bella (Maddie) in her new home!!!!

Collie and Ibizan Rescue of Central New Jersey

At GROWL we are always in need of foster homes, but we also want to extend this and ask if any of you have room in your homes to foster a Collie please contact Collie and Ibizan Rescue of Central New Jersey.

GROWL has worked in the past with their founder Terri, with the groups help many collies and even mixes were rescued as they never told us no. It was just this August Terri past away very suddenly. Holly has taken the rescue reigns and is in the process of pulling everything together. It will indeed take a little extra time to get things going strong once again, but with Terri looking over everyone all will go smoothly!!!

I remember even the last conversation with Terri and its just so real that I too cant belive she is not there to answer my calls and emails! Bless this group for continuing Terri's work!!!



Petfinder Link....

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/NJ247.html

A WONDERFUL RESCUER INDEED......

Thelma "Terri" Silverman
FRANKLIN TWP. -- Thelma T. "Terri" Silverman passed away on Monday, Aug. 25, 2008 (her mother's birthday) at Hunterdon Medical Center. She was 73.

Born in 1934 in New York City, she was the daughter of Max and Mollie (Schneider) Silverman.

Terri lived in Franklin Township for more than 35 years.

She attended City College of New York and held a B.A. in biology. Terri worked for Merck Pharmaceuticals in both Rahway and Readington Township.

Terri enjoyed many of the arts -- music, pottery and stained glass. But, most of all she loved her dogs. As president of the Collie and Ibizan Rescue of Central New Jersey, she found homes for a great many otherwise unwanted dogs.

Surviving her are a sister, Harriet Lewis of Queens; two nephews, Fred Lewis of Olean, N.Y. and Ronald Lewis of Boca Raton, Fla. and their spouses; three great-nieces and one great-nephew; and her five collies and two Ibizan hounds.

Her body was cremated through arrangement of the Robert L. Ford Funeral Home in Flemington and her ashes will be spread upon the Atlantic Ocean, where she will swim with the dolphins, as she always wished to do.

Memorial donations can be made to Collie and Ibizan Rescue of Central New Jersey, c/o Holly Huff, 1003 Croton Road, Pittstown 08867.

Visit www.fordfuneralhome.com for details.

____________________________________________________________________


Rescuer's Rainbow Bridge

Unlike most days at Rainbow Bridge, this day dawned cold and gray, damp as a swamp and as dismal as could be imagined. All of the recent arrivals had no idea what to think, as they had never experienced a day like this before. But the animals who had been waiting for their beloved people knew exactly what was going on and started to gather at the pathway leading to The Bridge to watch

It wasn't long before an elderly animal came into view, head hung low and tail dragging. The other animals, the ones who had been there for a while, knew what his story was right away, for they had seen this happen far too often.


He approached slowly, obviously in great emotional pain, but with no sign of injury or illness. Unlike all of the other animals waiting at The Bridge, this animal had not been restored to youth and made healthy and vigorous again. As he walked toward The Bridge, he watched all of the other animals watching him. He knew he was out of place here and the sooner he could cross over, the happier he would be. But, alas, as he approached The Bridge, his way was barred by the appearance of an Angel who apologized, but told him that he would not be able to pass. Only those animals who were with their people could pass over Rainbow Bridge.


With no place else to turn to, the elderly animal turned towards the fields before The Bridge and saw a group of other animals like himself, also elderly and infirm. They weren't playing, but rather simply lying on the green grass, forlornly staring out at the pathway leading to The Bridge. And so, he took his place among them, watching the pathway and waiting.


One of the newest arrivals at The Bridge didn't understand what he had just witnessed and asked one of the animals that had been there for awhile to explain it to him.


"You see, that poor animal was a rescue. He was turned in to rescue just as you see him now, an older animal with his fur graying and his eyes clouding. He never made it out of rescue and passed on with only the love of his rescuer to comfort him as he left his earthly existence. Because he had no family to give his love to, he has no one to escort him across The Bridge."


The first animal thought about this for a minute and then asked, "So what will happen now?" As he was about to receive his answer, the clouds suddenly parted and the gloom lifted. Approaching The Bridge could be seen a single person and among the older animals, a whole group was suddenly bathed in a golden light and they were all young and healthy again, just as they were in the prime of life.


"Watch, and see.", said the second animal. A second group of animals from those waiting came to the pathway and bowed low as the person neared. At each bowed head, the person offered a pat on the head or a scratch behind the ears. The newly restored animals fell into line and followed him towards The Bridge. They all crossed The Bridge together.


"What happened?"


"That was a rescuer. The animals you saw bowing in respect were those who found new homes because of her work. They will cross when their new families arrive. Those you saw restored were those who never found homes. When a rescuer arrives, they are allowed to perform one, final act of rescue. They are allowed to escort those poor animals that they couldn't place on earth across The Rainbow Bridge."


"I think I like rescuers", said the first animal.


"So does GOD", was the reply.

Bless you Terri....

Minnie Is Growing So Fast!!!!!

Well here is a wonderful update on Minnie of the Mickey and Minnie Duo from Kentucky!!! We got a update recently from the Stewarts of NJ and Minnie is doing just great!!! In July she had her first visit to Central Park and had so much fun she tired out under a tree and gave up trying to explore the whole park!!!

As you can see below Minnie (they kept the name as the whole family and esp. the kids love Disney!) was a itty bitty thing when the Stewarts adopted her and she has grown a bundle!!! The first pic is her shelter pic with Mickey!!!

Rosie/Maddie Update!!!

Rosie, now known as Maddie has been learning alot since she has been in her new home!!! Iris has been teaching her to sit and also down!! She seems to be a fast learner!!!

Maddie was rescued from Greenville County Shelter in SC. This is one lucky Puggle!!!We want to thank Iris and the Han family for giving Maddie her new furever home!!!!

You can see Maddie "hiding" in her basket of toys, sneaking away for a little nap and also sitting for a treat!!!

Pepper!!! (One of the Three April, May and June Greyhound Mixes)

We got a GREAT update with a picture last Tuesday of Pepper!!! She was one of the 3 girls that were greyhound mixes that came up from South Carolina!!! Nick sent us a picture of his girl and is already looking for Pepper a playmate too!!! I am more than certain we can match him up with yet another GROWLKID!!!

Here is a before pic of Pepper....





And this is her in her new home!!!

Update on The Bostons!!!

Back in May GROWL got a call from Dr. Shannan Miller in Barnwell she had just received in her clinic a Boston Terrier mom and her 2 puppies that were found beside the road. Within minutes GROWL volunteers went to the clinic to help. These babies didn't even have their eyes open yet! They were all infested with fleas and were just in horrible shape. We gave them all baths and fed the mommy and get them settled as best we could. The next step was reaching out to the Boston Terrier Rescue for help. As always they stepped right up when we called. I took these guys with me all cleaned and fed to Spartanburg where they immediately saw Dr. Chappell and he deemed that yet the mom did have some neurological issues but other than needing some weight she could care for her babies with proper care and nutrition. Shortly after that vet visit a Boston Terrier Rescue volunteer picked them up from Audra and I as they were safe to be released to rescue.

We recently got a update on them and they are doing just great!!! You will see below that there are before and after pics!!! These babies have GROWN!!!! Wow!!

Mom and babies BEFORE!!!!




Mom and Babies now!!!! WOW!!!

Frannie Made it to San Diego!!!

Frannie is quite the traveler these days!!!! Frannie came here to NJ with her 3 littermatesfrom Mississippi, Frannie attended Puppy Mill Awareness Day with us. At the end of the day she went to foster with Catherine and Sharon, two of our awesome volunteers!!!! Catherine was coming to NY a few days later so Frannie headed this way in hopes of being adopted real soon! Well, as it turned out Catherines best friend was looking for a rescued baby to call her own and well, Frannie was the lucky girl!!

Frannie flew back with her new mommy to San Diego, CA on Sunday!!!! She has been a hit with the kids there at home and is having a blast!! We look forward to hearing more great stories from Frannies family and also her new name is still being decided!!

Print Auction and Magnets!!!

The Print Auction was a success and we want to thank everyone for bidding on these awesome prints and supporting GROWL!!! Also, please use www.pawsake.org for your rescue auctions, this site is run by a fellow rescuer and she has made it so we all do not get charged all of the extra listing fees!! Its a great asset to all of the rescues that need to count every dime and nickle (I think thats all of us)!!

Also, dont forget GROWL also now has many rescue magnets online for sale and there are a few more we still are adding!!! So get yours today and spread the word about rescue and spay/neuter!!!

Direct Magnet Link is below......

http://www.mygrowl.com/merchandise.html

WOOFSTOCK 2008 in PA!!!

GROWL attended Woofstock 2008 in Harrisburg, PA!!!

This was a great time as well!! Many many furkids came out for the event and it was just as fun to set up along side Pennsylvania Stray Save yet again!!

We had alot of visitors to our table which is always great, but we also got two of our furkids staright off transport from SC! Diana picked up Roger and Lena from Baltimore, MD and brought them to us in Harrisburg. I tell you Roger was one lucky man, he showed up to the table all dirty and matted but he still have a amazing spirit!! Lena was already freshly bathed thanks to her overnighter but poor Roger left a twang in your nose!! :)

Roger Before....

Lucky for Roger the folks at Dirty Dog Mobile Makeover were onsite!! They gave Roger a full spa treatment and a awesome shave!!! We want to give them a paws up for helping Roger feel like a new man again!!!

Below you will see Roger and Lena and how they "manned" the GROWL table!!!

Puppy Mill Awareness Day Sept 20,2008

GROWL attended Puppy Mill Awareness Day in Lancaster, PA with Pennsylvania Stray Save! It was a huge success and alot of fun as well. We took Felix and Frannie with us. They are 2 coonhound mixes that were rescued from Mississippi. They enjoyed all of the love and affection they received throughout the day. We met and saw alot of people that are fellow rescuers and even adopters!

GROWL IS BLOGGING!!!

Well everyone it seems as though we need to follow with the times and also start blogging!! We are hoping this will indeed keep everyone updated of GROWL events, adoptions, and much more that goes on!!! There is so much that goes on each and every day that it is truly to much to update and load on the website so just maybe this will help everyone see just what all GROWL does on a daily basis!!! I want to first start off by saying thank you to everyone that helps us, fosters, transport drivers and every single person that crossposts, helps with adoptions, home visits and so much more. All of these furkids would not be safe in homes and rescues without each and every one of you!

Now that GROWL is "blogging" you will see daily updates and I am VERY excited to be able to let everyone see what all the furkids are doing daily!!! So keep visiting www.mygrowl.com and also the blog!!!

Well, hold on tight...here come the updates!!!!
Dawn