Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

In addition to the many things to be thankful for this holiday season, we're especially thankful of all the people who've helped New Hope come as far as it has!

Marva, Amie, Pam, Bonnie and Pat, Sommer, Chris and Muchan, Gina, Kathe, Jim, all of you have helped us out tremendously and we can't ever begin to thank you enough.

And since there are SO many other names, please VISIT Our Supporters Page. Lots of people have stepped up to help our dogs and it's absolutely amazing to see so many in less than one year's time!

You guys rock!

Have a stellar holiday and enjoy!

New Thinking!

Lately we've been hearing lots of people say (as we've been guilty of it ourselves!) that donations and adoptions are down because of the economy or for this or for that.

We've seen this excuse SO much that you know what we think? It is simply an EXCUSE. If it wasn't the economy, it would be gas prices (which are now at THE lowest they've been in what, three or four years???). If it wasn't gas prices, it would be the war. If it weren't the war, it would be something else.

We aren't going to stand by meekly and blame miserable results on the economy anymore. Each and every one of us has the power within to rise above tough times and make our lives what we want them to be!

We have great dogs that need great homes and you know what? There are people out there willing and ready to do anything and everything in their power to make sure their pets are well cared for. We know there are people out there prepared to make a commitment to these dogs for the rest of their lives no matter what. And we're going to look for them! We know you are out there!

Our dogs don't understand that we may be in the midst of troubled times. They still need food, medical care, love and attention like each and every one of us do. When you look into the eyes of any of the dogs in our program or any that need to come into our group, or even into the eyes of your own dogs, what will you see? A compassion and loyalty like no other. They don't watch TV for the latest updates on the world. They look to YOU. Their provider, their friend, their life long companion. To these dogs, their people ARE their world.

Mia has been with us the longest and she is one of THE most fabulous dogs that anyone has ever met. When I look at her, especially after a tough day, I think, "It's worth it." There's an innocence about these dogs. A sheer joy and thrill for life that should be contagious to us all. For many people across the country, their dogs have given them a reason to live, a reason to persevere and continue on during hard times. For this reason, we will continue forward to pass along a great dog to a new, wonderful, attentive owner to share in this blessing, this friendship that our canine friends give us.

How can you look at this clown and be sad??


If you've looked at our Holiday Memory Tree and left it feeling a little stumped about what it should mean to you and what difference it makes to us, let's break things down a bit :)

For a simple one time donation of $5.00, you can recognize any pet that was near and dear to you in your life. You remember, that one that was with you through thick and thin and never missed comforting you on a bad day? That one. Imagine the bells ringing in remembrance of your pet.



These three ornaments are available for a one-time $10.00 donation, your choice in color. Let these symbolize a current pet in your life that means the world to you :) Imagine our blinking lights shining sweetly on your chosen ornament for your pet.

There are many other options of ornaments and gifts to choose from so let your heart do the talking and help us show these pooches that they will be living the good life from here on out! Safe, loved, and cared for :)

Remember, our dogs can go from this:



To this:



This is why we do what we do. Tough times or not, these dogs are why we are here :)

Get Involved! Help Us Decorate Our Tree!

Since we don't have a shelter facility, we have no where to put up a tree for this holiday season. So, we improvised! But, we need your help decorating the tree!

Right now, our tree is fashioned with blinking lights, but there aren't any ornaments or even gifts under the tree. You can help with this though, and make the season merrier for the dogs in our program :)

We have several different ornaments available to choose from, and when you donate, you have the option to leave a message and tell the world about your donation :) If you have a special pet or person in your life that you would like to recognize, purchase an ornament "In Honor Of" or "In Memory Of" your loved one.

Click Here to view our Holiday Memory Tree and donation options :)

Our needs are great this holiday season as donations have slowed down and our dogs still need care. If you've been keeping up with our blog, you'll know that the three puppies were diagnosed with Demodex and Sir Java has been suffering as well. Treatment can get expensive as these particular mange mites are persistent and it sometimes takes a few months to be rid of them. Also, our shining star Golda, has been suffering from an unknown fungal infection that took over her whole body with icky, itchy lesions. She's making improvements now, but we've spent over $200 on her in the past month trying to get her better. Java still needs his neuter and a microchip so that's another $100 coming up VERY soon for him.

We mention these things because we want YOU, as our supporter, to know where your money is going. Our dogs are our priority and vet bills come first! Your help in succeeding with our goals is much needed and greatly appreciated!

Do you need a little extra push on seeing our tree as a finished product? Here is our rendition of what our Holiday Tree will look like upon full decoration:



Thank you all and get to Decorating!

Java Has Hair!

Lookit that tuft of white on his chest! Before, it was just a "passing thought" so to speak.

Bonnie, he's looking lovely!

Look! Even one of his cat siblings loves him :) Or, he's just plotting to get the crate all to himself lol!

"These dogs are not pets".....huh????

I asked my friend Leo if we could repost his letter on our blog because I think it's a wonderful letter and I think everyone should read this. If you don't know of the angel who took Leo in and helped him become the AMAZING guy he is today, she is Marthina McClay (CPDT/Dog Trainer/Behavioral Counselor/ Certified Canine Good Citizen Evaluator/ Tester/Observer for Therapy Dogs/Animal Behavior College Mentor Trainer) with Our Pack Inc. Our Pack Inc. is an amazing organization who has rescued, rehabilitated and trained so many wonderful dogs. Like us, they strive to place the best of the breed and bring about awareness through public education programs. We are honored to call them our friend.

That said, please read Leo's letter and feel free to post comments. Better yet, go to Our Pack's blog and post a comment to him there and let him know how much you love and appreciate all of the wonderful things he and the other Vick dogs are doing for our breed! Don't forget to read the article about the Harris County fight bust that's linked here. We will try to keep you as up to date as possible about this case and what happens with the dogs. Please everybody, lets pray for them and God willing that they will be given a second chance, just as Leo and his "brothers and sisters" that were found on Michael Vick's property.

"These dogs are not pets".....huh????

My foster mom was reading this article today about another big fight bust and this is what she read to me:

Huge dogfighting ring broken up in Harris Co., DA says
"These dogs were bred specifically to fight," Smith said. "And
they were inbred back and forth. They are not pets."
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/pets/dogs/6112617.html

My name is Leo,


I’m sure many of you have read my story and this makes me very sad.

I think I make a very good pet. I love my mom and my sister Hailey


and my brother Dexter

and I even try to be nice to Daisy who isn’t always too thrilled to have me around but she tolerates me.

I work very hard at the Cancer Center helping the patients forget their troubles for a few minutes at a time

And I’ve even gone to school to visit some kids?


Have I done it too well? Did people forget where I came from? Didn't they learn anything from my case? I wasn’t “raised” to be a pet, but I’ve tried really hard to become a good one.

Why won’t these other dogs get the same chance? Didn't we make a difference at all?

Love.
Leo
Former Michael Vick dog, Now a loving pet. (or so I thought)

You Know You Wanna Foster!

Meet Forrest:



Forrest made his way to one of our volunteers homes who are unable to keep him and we're trying feverishly to help him! He needs a good bath, flea meds, shots, neuter, and plenty of food!

Just look at this picture here:



Forrest is approximately 6 to 7 months old as he has all of his adult teeth in. He THRIVES on attention and wants to be in your lap.

We need a home to step up for him so we can help him! If you are interested, please fill out our Foster Application. Please realize that this will be a minimum of a three month commitment!

Crash Course in Demodex

So, Thursday, I get a call from Dolla' Bill's foster home. He's concerned because Dolla' is scratching all the time and they only found a couple of fleas on him the first day. Nice. Penny Lane had been scratching a lot as well and we couldn't find any fleas on her either. I call the vet and schedule a visit and they tell me to bring in the worst one. To the best of my knowledge, Penny fit the bill. Friday morning, off we go and wouldn't you know, we get a diagnosis of Demodectic Mange. I leave with Ivomec for all three puppies since Demodex is considered non-contagious but something genetic passed down at birth.

Here is Penny, doing what she does best right now, gnawing on her tail lol!

Penny is the only pooch that's really suffering any hair loss. Both Dolla' and Ginger are scratching, but still have their hair. All I can say is that we must have caught this REALLY early because all the cases of typical Demodex I have seen have involved a significant amount of hair loss.

Now, since we have all three puppies AND Java confirmed to have Demodex, I decided to do a little more reading on the subject.

Apparently, all these mites live naturally on most dog's bodies. They are passed down to the puppies from the mother during the first week of life. It is said that after that initial week, a dog's body will not accept any new mites.

Most dogs do not have issues with these mites living on their bodies. The ones that do are rumored to be genetically predisposed to being susceptible to an overabundance of these mites during certain stages in their life where their immune system is weakened. Demodex generally affects dogs under 1.5 years of age, however, it is not unheard of to hear of an older dog with it. Obviously, that is the case with Java, as he is approximately 3 years of age. We aren't sure what happened to him to get him in the situation he was in, but it was obvious he was under tremendous stress and showing up so skin and bones, of course his immune system was likely to be compromised. With the pups, their immune systems are still fairly immature so it is highly possible for them to be diagnosed with Demodex, with no real underlying causes.

Now, some of you may be wondering about the possibility of relapses. Well, from my research, relapses are possible, but the dogs generally get over Demodex if all the mites are really gone. Most relapses occur 6-12 months after the initial treatment when they do happen, and this is normally because the handler failed to have the dog rechecked for the mites because it looked as though the problem was gone. Mind you, these mites are microscopic!

Penny and her siblings will be going back to the vet for another skin scrape right around the 6th of December. Java will be going in about a week prior to that.


For the fun of it, here's a picture of our horse Ginger just the other day. She is growing up fast and will likely be an EASY 60lbs of fun!

Java Mike!

Howdy howdy folks!

Mr. Mike, now known as Java has made it into the rescue!

We are absolutely thrilled and can't wait to watch his progress :) Bonnie, thank you and Pat both for agreeing to bring this pooch indoors and offer him stuff he may never have had before. You are AWESOME for that!

Ready to see how much he's improved in the last two weeks?





Now, he does look frowny still, but give us Two Weeks and let me tell you what, we will see a totally different dog! It's already amazing how much weight he has gained and how much cleaner he looks! Helping Hands Animal Rescue Rehab and Therapy played the biggest part in that and we can't thank them enough :) Now, we're in for helping him out the rest of the way as guess what? He was diagnosed with Demodectic Mange. This IS NOT the contagious kind of mange, but the kind that rears its ugly head in cases of severe stress in animals. It's a bit harder to treat but all things considered, we're VERY optimistic as he really looks so much better than he did before!

And! Java is heartworm NEGATIVE! How awesome is that!? All in all, we're very excited and can't wait to see the beauty this boy holds shine on the outside like it should :)

We'll keep you all updated :)

The Holidays Are Coming!

We've got a great holiday fundraiser going on right now and we invite you to check it out and get involved! For every purchase you make, we get a portion of the proceeds! You get something, we get something. How cool is that???

Check out the page that The Uncommon Garden has made for us for this fundraiser! We're very excited and we HAVE made some money thus far, but not even quite enough to cover the cost of a microchip yet!

Here's some common services and supplies we need and how much they generally cost us:
Microchip - $30
Spay - $60-95
Neuter - $50-85
Crates (for safety!) - $90
Collars - $8-12 per collar
Leashes - $6-10 per leash
Bowls - $5-7 per bowl
Food - 35lbs = $30-50 per bag (one bag will feed an adult for about 4-6 weeks)
6 Months of Heartworm Prevention - $90

And all these are just basic things! No dog is the same and each dog needs a different level of care.

If you don't want to purchase any of the candles in our fundraiser, consider sponsoring one of our dogs or making a general donation to the rescue to help offset our veterinary costs! We've got some lovely dogs and it costs money (darn the luck!!!) to keep them healthy :) If you have questions about donating or our fundraiser, please send an email to donations@nhpbr.org.

Thank you all and be looking out for another update soon! Sunday maybe??? :)