Hmmm smkie, can't find a thread. I'll just copy and paste it here.
Bo my beagle was a dumped hunting dog at the age of 8, found on a desolate country road. Anorexic, full of ticks, and anemic to boot. No one claimed him in a small town of 900, he quickly became a part of the family and never left. He's now 9.
Audubon is 7, she'll be 8 in June, and was adopted when she was 9 weeks old from a local rescue. She's a pointer/dalmation, and had been part of a stray litter that was found.
Katie is a my 4 year old beagle/bassett hound. I adopted her from the rescue I work with in August of '07. She was pulled from a high-kill shelter on her last day before execution, by the rescue. She was pregnant, heartworm positive, and appears to have been beaten most of her life. According to the pound, she was found by a hunter in the woods, hanging from a tree by her back legs. She gave birth to her puppies while at the rescue, a litter of mixes, but nearly died from several complications. Afterwards, I fell in love with her at her adoption day and adopted her.
Annie, my *heart* dog in my siggy, was a part of a huge hoarding bust that took place here in August of '08. Pulled from the hoarder were over 100 dogs living in filth, including greyhounds, whippets, chihuahuas, german shepherds, and 4 mixes, which Annie was one of (she's greyhound or whippet, mixed with schnauzer). She's high heartworm positive, but can't be treated due to health concerns, so she's on Heartgard, has hip dysplasia, and is now partially paralyzed from a slipped disc caused by degenerative disc disease. She's around 8, and before her rescue, the hoarder admitted that she was one of the dogs that never stepped foot outside of the wire cage she lived in. She didn't even know what grass or people were when she came here. We've worked with her for months, and she's still very skittish, but very loving to her family, and LOVES other dogs. She's my baby and I *heart* her so much.
Gracie, my blk/tan dachsund belonged to a large puppymill, and spent nearly 9 years of her life breeding in a small wire cage before being "of no use" anymore. She had, what I was told, was a ridiculous 17 litters in her lifetime, with her first pregnancy at the age of 5 months. After she was no longer "of use" to the puppymill, they were headed to the pound with her. I took her instead. Gracie ended up losing 6 teeth in a dental afterwards, because her mouth was so rotted.
Callie is my 5 year old chocolate dachshund, and came from the same situation as Gracie, from the same puppymill. Except, at the time, Callie was pregnant with stillborn pups inside of her, and had to have emergency spay the next morning after I got her, after discovering she was ill. She also lost 10 teeth in a dental that was done during her spay.
Mattie came from a different puppymill, that was linked to the one Callie and Gracie came from. He spent 12 years of his life in a cage, being a breeder male. When the owner of the mill died, most of the dogs went to the puppymill where Callie and Gracie came from. They didn't want him, and the owner was litterally in his car, and halfway to the pound with him when I found out this. He was upset because he had to turn the car around.
Mattie was also born blind, with undeveloped eyes, and partially deaf, because he is a "lethal" double dapple, but was bred his whole life despite this. When Mattie was neutered, he had a dental done to remove his few remaining, rotted teeth. His mouth was so rotted, that the roof of his mouth was actually falling (you should see the photo's *shudders*) and he had to have surgery to repair it.
Jake came from an old lady that came into the vet clinic where I used to work. At the age of 10, after 10 years with him, she was there to have him euthanized because she wanted to "travel" and Jake didn't fit into her plans. I took him instead, and he is such a loving dog. He has several severe heart problems that came along with him including a heart murmur, enlarged heart, mitral valve prolapse, and congestive heart failure, but is doing well and semi-active with medications.
Blue belonged to my vet that I've had for years, and I've worked for him. Blue is my 11 year old pit bull. When he was a puppy, someone brought him into the clinic and claims he had been stepped on. His face, head, jaw, ear canal, and whole side of his face were crushed in. They left him there and never returned. The vet fixed him up as best he could, and Blue lived at the clinic for 10 years, but mostly in a cage and kennel, because he drooled too much for anyone to mess with. When I started working there, I fell in love and was allowed to adopt him. He's been here about a year now.
Triumph, my small shih tzu mix, was a 6 month old puppy that someone found on side of the road in a ditch. They thought he was dead, but after passing him up, they looked in their rearview mirror and saw his head move. So they brought him into the clinic where I worked (my vet), and the vet was going to euthanize him. He was nearly dead, pure bones and only weighed 1.5 pounds. He had also been shot, straight thru his neck. I begged the vet to give him a chance, and he did, and for nearly a month I waited on Triumph hand and foot at the vet while he was in serious condition. He pulled thru, and of course, I was hooked and I had to keep him, so I did. He's a year old now, and we thought he was a full blooded shih tzu (with dewclaws removed and all), but most think now that he's a pekignese/shih tzu mix.
Emmy, my chihuahua/chihuahua mix, was a stray that was found pregnant and with a broken rib. She also has epilepsy, and she's around 2 years old. She's my dog, but her heart belongs to my dad. Nothing makes her happier than being with him when he's home.
Sam is a 2 year old rat terrier/beagle mix that was found on the same highway as Bo. No owner was ever found despite signs, and newspaper ads, and 4 days after I found Sam, he nearly died of anaphalatic (sp?) shock from unknown causes. Since then, we've spent a fortune on him in tests because he has severe, life-threatening allergies to several things. He is still under-going tests, but so far the vet thinks he has something similar to MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Syndrome) in humans. He also has a bad luxtating patella and needs a knee replacement in the future. He's one of the sweetest, and most playful dogs you can meet though, which of course, you guys know that.
Rosie, who at this point, I don't if and when she'll ever be leaving, is a 2.5 year old dachshund. She originally belonged to the same puppymiller as my other dachshunds, but was given over to another breeder when she was deemed no good as a breeder female. When I got her, her whole body was nearly bald, black and covered in scabs. She was diagnosed with extreme environmental allergies, and I took her in after the breeder had scheduled to have her euthanized. I was like, "NO! I can fix her!" Her hair is almost all grown out now, and her black skin is healing. But she lives on antihistamines, and steroids, and most likely will be on steroids the rest of her life. But she's such a bundle of joy.
I think that's everyone, LOL.
You can see pics of everyone here:
.: The Rescue Crew :. though I am still working on finishing up the pages, because I had to transfer servers. My old server didn't have as much room, and all my pics quickly used up all my storage space, LOL. I believe Emmy's page is the only one that doesn't have the pictures working yet.