New Guests at Swampy Paws!

Don't you like the phrase "new guests"?  That implies that they are only here temporarily!  That is what needs to happen.  Take a look at these cuties.  Show their picture to your friends.  Make sure everyone knows there is a place where they can get an AWESOME CANINE COMPANION! 

Meet Shadow - He is a 100% purebred American Mystery Mix.  He is long, low, and solidly built.  He was found in the woods, full of tick and fleas.  Whenever you would approach him he would yelp as if he was hurt.  Someone in his past was not good to him.  However, after a week or two of kindness he is warming up to people.   

Pepper looks as if there is a little Boston Terrier in her lineage.  She is small, 15 lbs, and just loves to be held.  Her new best friend, Shadow, plays and chases her all day! 

The German Shepherd mixes are growing.  They are now 8 weeks old.  We have two females that need homes.  Ginger is taller than her sister and quite laid back.  Ebony has the darkest coat of all the litter.  She is coal black with the tan eyebrows and markings. Both of the little girls are being crate trained and Ginger is really coming along.  Next week they go to the vet  for another round of vaccines.

Many many thanks to Dezzi Falgout.  She made this wonderful spread sheet with all the dogs and the dates of their vaccines, weight, dob, spay dates, etc.   You can't believe how helpful this is when you have lots of dogs!  I have used this spread sheet a dozen times in the last two weeks!  I am glad I know someone who is knows how to do things on Excel!

Construction is finished and WE ARE FULL!!!

Look at the new addition!!   We are so happy to have the ability to keep everyone in a larger run when we must leave the property.  I only wish I have room and energy to help more adandoned / abused dogs.  But I must be firm.  WE ARE FULL AND CANNOT TAKE ANOTHER DOG UNTIL WE GET A FEW ADOPTED!!!

This past week I have turned down calls from people desparate to find a home for a stray.  The count for the first part of this week alone is 7 - Yep thats right - SEVEN dogs in less than one week.  And this is just from the people who know about us.  Please Plesase Please make animal control an issue in Livingston Parish.  Call the council members and the policy jury (because they control the purse strings) and let them know we need some help.  To bring a dog into my system takes money - $150.00 to make sure the animal gets properly immunized, free of parasites, and neutered.  This does not include any medical issues that need treatment.   A dog with mange, an injury, a skin infection, or intestinal issues can run up the bill dramatically. 

I know we may face a situation where the animals enter into a parish shelter and then be euthanized when their time is up.  I HATE THAT THOUGHT.  But what I hate even more is a dog straving to death in a slow and painful way because it has been dumped.  I hate seeing a dog mangled on the side of the road because some one dumped it.  I hate seeing puppies so thin and sick from parvo because some owner didn't protect them from the deadly disease and then get dumped beside of the road like trash. If a dog gets to the a shelter then we have a chance to save them.  Dogs dumped have no chance!  They will die. Much of this can be totally avoided by an aggressive spay/neuter program.  We need to make this a priority.  Education and an affordable price is the key to making sure we get as many dogs/cat spay or neutered as possible.  COME ON PEOPLE - LET'S WORK ON THIS TOGETHER!!!! 

Okay, I've vented long enough - I have to clean up after EIGHT puppies. 

PLEASE COME TO THE MEETING TONIGHT AT THE SPRINGFIELD / ALBANY LIBRARY.  6:30 pm - Call me if you have any questions.  225-772-8836

SAVE THE DATE

THURSDAY - AUGUST 18 - 6:30 PM
The Humane Society of Louisiana - Livingston Chapter

SPRINGFIELD LIBRARY
26941 La Hwy. 43

Please join us and learn how you can help the abandoned and abused dogs of rural Livingston parish.  We are NOT going to ask you to foster a dog!  We ARE going to ask you to help with fund raisers, adoption events, monitoring council meetings, and getting information on the dogs waiting for a homes distributed through social media.

We can make a difference one dog at a time!

Email me if you need directions or additional information.
swampypaws4@yahoo.com

A Real Hero in our Midst!

Yesterday I received a call from  Susie Wascom who lives in Killian.  She pulled a mother German Shepherd out of the river and needed assistance in finding a home for her and the four puppies Susie found.  It seems as if the mom was dumped at the boat launch not far from Susie's home.  We think one of the puppies must have tumbled into the water and the mother dog went in river to save her.  Once the puppy was on the bank, the mother dog went back into the water, perhaps to check for more pups.  She was so weak, that she could not climb out and was thrashing about.  Susie had to pull the 56 pound dog up the side of her dock!  Mrs. Wascom is a petite lady so this was quite an accomplishment.  The mama dog would have drowned if it wasn't for her quick action. 

If you can foster one of the puppies, let me know.  We have 4 little girls that need to be weaned.  The vet wants the mother dog to use all of her energy putting on weight.  You can see from the pictures just how thin she is. 

The puppies are about 6 weeks old and have had their first set of shots.  They are eating canned puppy food .  They are in good shape given their rough start in life.

Look At Her Now!

Several months ago we resued a little blind Pomeranian puppy.  She was thin and recovering from parvo.  Well, look at the before and after photos.  She now has her full coat of fur and has adapted to her disability quite well. 

We are almost done!

The work on the additional kennels is almost complete.  My guys will pick up the kennels from Tractor Supply on Monday and by the end of the day we will be back to normal.  That is if you can call anything around here normal!

With this new addition, all the dogs will have a nice big run when it is necessary to kennel them.  The covering will certainly help keep it cooler and drier.  One of our hounds, Lady, is already enjoying the raised deck area.

Many thanks to Tractor Supply for asking us to participate in their Pet Adoption Day.  They made room for us inside! We did not have any adoptions, but we did make some great contacts.  One of the foster homes for the Greyhound rescue offered to help the Humane Society with a fund raiser.  He is a member of a bluegrass band and he said the band would play at our event for free!!  I will definitely contact him when we get our ideas solidified and a date selected.

Our normal schedule for Tractor Supply does not begin again until late September when we will be there the 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month, weather permitting.  We hope to have great success with this location. 

Jade is doing much better.  She continues to suffer with allergies and dry eyes, but we had her groomed and she looks like a new girl!  Some of you may remember her story.  Her 92 year old mama was placed in a nursing home and there was no one willing to take Jade.  I must admit, she looked awful when we received her.  Her skin was raw in places and her hair was just about gone.  She had a serious eye infection and just looked so sad.  These days she is a happy camper!  Her favorite activity is snoozing under my desk.  Because of her age and ongoing medical conditions, it may be difficult to place her.  She will need a special home with no children and a very stable environment.  A single lady would be a perfect match for her!

ADOPTION EVENTS!!!!

Tonight - Petco in Denham Springs

5 pm to 7 pm

It's Ladies Night - Come see our lovely ladies who need a home.

Saturday - Tractor Supply - Hammond

This is their nationwide event to help rescue groups. We will have six 7 week old Corgi/terrer puppies up for adoption. 

9 am to 3 pm

An Exciting Day - Two adoptions - 6 Intakes!

Okay, I know I am suppose to base my in take on the number of adoptions.  Because only 1 of the dogs that found a home today was housed here, I am suppose to take only ONE new dog.  However, I received a call from a friend who told me a story of an elderly couple who had a litter of puppies that they just could not continue to house.  This sweet couple's terrier/corgi mix had a litter of 6 puppies.  They are just too cute!  They live on a limited fixed income and they realized they could not afford the vaccines, flea medication, etc that comes with 6 puppies.  While the puppies are basically healthy, they were full of fleas and worms.  We have an appointment with the vet for tomorrow morning to give them their first shots.  I gave them a good flea bath and spent some time picking fleas off their tiny little faces.  These pups will only be around 10 pounds when grown.  I know they will find forever homes really fast.   I will get individual photos of the puppies and put them on Petfinder.

Tish and Buddy found forever homes in Lafayette.  I drove the two to Lafayette today to meet their new families.  I am so excited for both of them.  The families are just perfect for the dogs.  I can't wait to get pictures and updates on their progress.  When I place a dog with a great family, it makes all the work worth the effort. 

Kennel Update -  They poured the concrete today and the roofs for the decks are on in the 10 x 10's. The dogs are enjoying the shade and cooler place to lounge.  My contractor, Mr. Billy Hutchinson, has some great ideas.  We always have a drainage problem.  Billy added drains in front of the new kennels to drain the water as it comes down the slope of the land.  Tomorrow he will add a covering over the new 5 x 10 runs.    By mid week, we have a completed project.  I must admit I cannot wait.  I love every dog here, but having all 13 of them inside while the construction is going on is a bit too much. They are really good in crates, but they are dogs and do bark when the phone rings or someone comes to the door.  The sound is deafening!  It is the perfect opportunity to work on the "ENOUGH" command.  When they start barking, I get out the water spritzer and use a harsh "ENOUGH" to get them to quiet down.  It works like a charm on some dogs, but one or two of them just don't care and will continue to whine or bark!  But, I'll keep working on it!

A Wonderful Surprise -  I received an email from a family that sent a lovely donation toward our vet bills.  I had tried to place a dog for them.  The elderly lady's family wanted only the best for Jazz so they elected to let her stay in her surroundings until the last minute.  They made sure she had the best vet care and were willing to send Jazz to any group that would guarantee she could live out her life in a loving environment.  Some of you may remember Jazz and her story.  Her mama had to be placed in a nursing facility and Jazz had no one at home to care for her.  Fortunately, an absolutely fantastic neighbor stepped up to the plate and fed and walked Jazz daily for several months.  She was certainly Jazz's guardian angel.  We tried to help Jazz, but her guardian angel, Bobbi, found her a home at the last minute.  We were preparing to go get her when a family was found.  At any rate, the family of the elderly lady, wanted to thank us.  It warmed my heart to know that there are people out there that really care about the dogs left behind when an elderly person can no longer care for their pets.

So take this opportunity to speak to your elderly family members and see what plans they have for their pets.  We make plans to give the furniture and jewelry to our relatives when we pass, so why not make sure the canine companion is guaranteed a home.

Yahooooo! The rain has stopped and work has begun!

The hot weather made some of our kennels unusable during the day.  When I selected the original location, I thought we would have enough shade for the dogs.  The location of the trees made it impossible to put a permanent structure over the kennels.  If I needed to contain the dogs, I had to bring them inside and put them in wire crates.  They didn't complain about being in the A/C, but I just could not leave them for more than 3 hours so a solution to our problem had to be found.  The large trees over the 3 large dog kennels kept it shady until around 11 am.  Then the concrete was just too hot for the dog. So, we are constructing a raised deck and covered area for them.   Tomorrow the roofs will go on and they will have shade and cool deck for lounging.

We are also adding 4 additional 5 x 10 x 6 runs.  I am so excited.  At this very moment I have 11 (yep, that is right) crates in my living room.  With the heat index well over 105 degrees, some of the dogs just have to be inside.  However, there are others that will do well in a new run with a cover.  The location of these runs will allow us to put a nice metal roof over the entire 20 feet.  Hopefully it will dry up enought to have dirt delivered and concrete poured later in the week.  I can't wait to have it all finished.

Update on Bella and Katie -  Both of these little ones have found homes.  Bella was adopted Friday night and Katie is in a wonderful foster home that may turn into an adoption.  While I miss them, I know it is so much better for these babies to be the center of attention in a home.

We are still looking for a home for the Beagle we found on a busy highway.  We rarely have such a sweet well behaved dog!  This guy is housebroken, gets along with the other dogs and cats, and loves to snuggle on the sofa.  I think I am going to name him "Velcro"  because he just sticks to your side all the time.  If I go to the kitchen, he sits at the door.  If I work on the computer, he is under my desk.  If I forget to close my bedroom door, he lays beside my bed.  He is absolutely the sweetest dog ever!  If I didn't have so many personal dogs I would keep him.  I am going to be very particular about his forever home.