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....