ANDY-- SHELTER DOG

Look at this boy-- and read his story. And then come back and look at him again. We love you, Andy!!!

You're wondering why I have a picture of a pen on my blog. I'll tell you. I was in church last week, and using this pen to take notes.

And it suddenly fell apart on my lap. Nice. I just looked at it and was going to just throw it away.

It didn't seem worth fixing. And I thought, "that's what people think of a lot of shelter dogs." They see them, with broken spirits and broken bodies and bad skin and think they can just "throw it away." That's where rescue comes in. (My husband picked up the pieces of the pen and put it back together, even though I had tried.)

I received an email from an animal control near me. They had a Peke who had been there for three weeks and they didn't think anyone would adopt him. He had a terrible skin problem and people looked at him and just walked away. He may have looked like that broken pen, but inside, he was a dog who wanted to be saved and loved. And fixed.

So, I went over and they brought him out to me. He wagged that tail like crazy! I checked him over, giving him every opportunity to snap at me-- he didn't. I put my hands on his face, in his ears, in his mouth-- no reaction except to wiggle more and wag that tail. He was a big boy-- 20 pounds. Pure happiness.

But, his skin was so inflamed and raw, and he was so itchy. No way was this dog going to be adopted-- we were his only chance. He looked like a "junk yard dog." I've gotten those before-- and they have become BEAUTIFUL dogs. Like Lacy. Like Bear-Bear. But, they have to have someone who will give them a chance. That's where rescue comes in.

If my skin looked like this, I'd be miserable-- and he was. But, he was still so happy. So, I got him, took him straight to the vet and had him checked out. He had a shot for itching-- I said, "please help him now." We got pills for itching, we got antibiotics, we got special shampoo for baths every three days (thank goodness I have a Peke-sized sink with a spray nozzle), he got ear and eye meds, he got bloodwork, and a nail trim. He was checked all over-- and he just wagged his tail.

He is extremely playful! My Scooterbug, my therapy dog for newcomers, and Andy really hit it off! They have been playing since he arrived.

Andy likes toys-- he really likes the tennis balls I have. But, he'd rather have me-- to follow around, to watch. I think he's saying THANK YOU. His body was so itchy and oily and smelly-- but there is beauty beneath that. He is worth fixing.

I took a video of him playing so you can see his personality.
Click here: YouTube - andy He is so happy! Maybe I should just call him Happy!

Do you think he is worth saving? I'm sure you do, too! If you want to help with his care, you can go to http://www.potomacpekes.org/ to make a donation. Or just reply on this blog to tell him he's worth it! And that he is loved and that we will find him a home. He's only about 3 years old-- so young. He has a lot of years for health and happiness. I know there will be more like him, but for now, he's the one that we are helping. (And all the rest in rescue.) And he's worth it!

DOUGGY--HAPPY BOY

Remember Douggy-- he came into rescue in March of this year. I did a video of him and a wonderful woman near me saw it-- it was love at first sight. Here are those videos: Click here: YouTube - Douggy Playing2 , Click here: YouTube - Douggy Playing1

Douggy loves his new mom-- and he loves his new home! He has lots of sleeping spots. On the bed with his mom is his favorite. But, the rest are fine, too.

He likes to rest on the deck.

Or on an afghan on the couch.

The bed in the living room-- with a special toy-- is great.

Look at this face-- isn't it sweet!?

And then he's down again. Pekes seem to be excellent at resting.

Yes, I think resting is about to happen here-- can you hear me Douggy??

"I hear you! I'll pose for more pictures."

I know you're a boy, but the pink looks good by you-- kind of like a modified pink bed. :-) I'm so glad the shelter called me when you came in, Douggy! You are such a great boy! Give your mom a hug for me!

ALL OVER THE WORLD

Jeanne and Larry do our web site-- http://www.potomacpekes.org/. It's AWESOME. She told me that she has people from all over the world seeing our site! So, here are some of those places, with pictures of Pekes mixed in to entertain you.

This is Andy-- I just picked him up yesterday from a local shelter. He was there over three weeks and no one wanted him-- you see, he has severe flea dermatitis. That means he got fleas and no one helped him, so it became pretty bad. But, we'll take care of him and he'll be just fine! He's a happy boy, only about 3 years old, at 20 pounds.

Vienna Austria

Lisbon Portugal

Aruba

slamabab,Pakistan

Montpellier France

Bloemfontien, South Africa

Here's Andy again-- he had a special bath to soothe his skin. He's asking if you want to give him a forever home.
Freeport Bahamas Viljandi Estonia South Africa Praue Czech Republic Istanbul Turkey Reykjavik Iceland Bolton, The United Kingdom Ruislip, The United Kingdom(I've been here! My sister lived there for awhile.)

This is Chubby, one of our fosters after HIS bath. I think he's licking drops off his face. :-)

I know the list is long but look at the different countries who have visited our site since Jan 2010.

Split Croatia Alfortville, France Gebze Turkey Singapore Midhurst Canada X'anthi Greece

This is Heath-- he belong to our foster parents, Tiffany and Mike. They rescued him after he spent 12 years in a horrible situation. Now his life is wonderful!

Moscow Leonberg Germany Upplands-vasbySweden Dorcaster, Australia Blackpool, The UK Calasiao, The Philippines

This is Brownie-- Heath's sister. He was adopted too. His parents love dogs! And they take such wonderful care of them.

Brandor Canada Whitby Canada Thunder Canada

This is Bernie-- one of our newest foster dogs.

Ottawa Canada Louth, Ireland Melboune, Australia

You know Caleb-- he's one of my foster dogs. Big, sweet, clown boy!!

Manchaster, The UK Market, Harborough, The UK Elland, The UK

This is Rupert- he's in time out. Doesn't look too bad to me! :-)

Chungiu Republic of Korea Guadalajara Mexico Jakarta, Indonesia Charleror Belgium

This is Max. He was one of my foster dogs over five years ago. One of the sweetest!! He now lives in California.

Milan Italy Dublin Ireland Vernon Canada Bralislava Slovakia

Here's Max aga you can see Uggie in the background-- his picture is next.

Liepaja Latvia Cairo Egypt

And here's Uggie-- Ug, Ug-Lee. Whatever you call him, he sure is cute!

Lulea Sweden Gutweiler Germany

Here are dogs at my home-- begging for popcorn!!!

New Zealand Tbilisi Georgia Russia Tunisia

And last, but not least, Caleb again. He loves shoes! He has my daughter's flip-flop.

I had to look up some of these countries/places that have connected to our PVPC web site. Have you been to any of those places? I have-- let's see, I've been to England, the Philippines, Italy, Canada, Mexico. That leaves a LOT that I haven't been to!

PEKE POTATOES

Remember last fall when we took in a lot of rescued Pekes? Ten I think! A lot!

Lilly Faith was one of those Pekes-- she didn't look like this then!

Chance and Noble were two of them-- they look like twins! Look at Noble's sweet, tiny face. He needed help-- he needed love and good food. He needed medical attention.

It was rough looking at all the dogs who came from the raid-- you want to help them all. You want to take them all home and love them. You want to get them all healthy.

We could only help the Pekingese, and not all of them. I use a saying on my emails-- it says, "SAVING ONE PET DOES NOT CHANGE THE WORLD, BUT IT CHANGES THE WORLD FOR THAT ONE PET." I had to focus on that-- saving one pet/Peke at a time. We can make a difference, one pet at a time. And for them, it does mean a chance.

Noble had a chance to be a dog, sleep in a warm bed, with a full tummy, and toys to play with-- and lots of love.

He and Lilly Faith went on a home visit. Lilly Faith was also one of the rescued Pekes from that raid. The person they visited said they were "couch potatoes." Not Gloria! She's too busy to be a couch potato.

But, Lilly Faith and Noble can be couch potatoes-- they deserve it. They are the most beautiful couch potatoes I've seen!

PADDINGTON BEAR/ Rescue yard sale

RESCUE YARD SALE: The yard sale to raise funds for our rescue dogs is scheduled for June 12th in Richmond. We will not start until 9am to give those who are driving from out of town time to get here with their stuff. If you have anything you want to drop off at Jeanne's before then please feel free.
We really need "Stuff" to sale........please check your attic's, basements, garage.......anywhere :). Thanks in advance.......for any help. You can email Jeanne at potomacpekes@gmail.com

Four years ago, I went to a shelter near me to look at a Peke. This is what I saw-- shelters are hard to visit. I just want to take them all. I named this little boy Paddington.

I took him to the vet to get cleaned up and vetted-- and he had a nice banada to wear-- but he still looked so sad. Some can just have that sad look-- but he was pretty dejected there.

He was adopted and now lives in Richmond. His favorite toy is a rock! His mom puts it in a sock to keep him from swallowing it. You never know what a Peke might try to eat!

Paddington Bear-- he looked like a happy bear to me-- loves his new home.

His parents went to London and there is a Paddington Bear statue. They made a special trip to see their little Peke's namesake. And here it it above!!

This relaxed and loved Paddington Bear doesn't resemble the Peke I rescued-- Isn't it wonderful!

++++++++++++++

GROUP HUG!

Remember Scotty-- now Butters?

He lives in New York with......

Willie Wonton (who doesn't look pleased with his ears!) and .....

Sweet Suzy!

Scotty Butters is curled up by Anna, Willie is next to her and Suzy is on her lap. Their mom sent me a picture of the whole crew cuddling. That's Oona, the cat, on the left. GROUP HUG!!!