UPDATE: Mr. Ernie’s vet bill.

***$865 DONATED TO DATE!***

Mr. Ernie was at the vet today for a recheck after his bilateral entropion surgery. The Vet wishes to see him back in a month. X-rays of his knees/hips have been sent onward to two Ortho specialists to obtain their thoughts.

Always a popular boy!! 
 
He was also to have a recheck on that fractured tail, so he is waiting to hear back from the Vet. He was to have x-rays taken, as they were unfortunately missed at the time of his surgeries.
 
A kind soul from EVC sent me some pictures, and I did not even have to ask! 
 
He left with some eye meds as his eyes were a bit infected, particularly his right eye.
 
His weight is now 139.7 pounds. He has put on almost 20 pounds of much-needed muscle mass and weight since he first arrived.
 
His foster home is doing a great job, and he says that he is excellent with dogs and people, yet a bit too interested in cats and bunnies.
 
Once we figure out where we are headed with his knees and tail, we can move forward with his next steps!
 
Such a good boy!! 

UPDATE: Mr. Ernie’s vet bill.

***$695 DONATED TO DATE!***

Total charges, this invoice… 4121.38
H.S.T…. *535.78 – The tax does add up!
Total, this invoice… 4657.16
Your old balance… 293.53
Your new balance… 4950.69
 

Miss Leah!
 
This is her and her SVA gift!
 
She & I are hanging out today to work on some adolescent manners!
 
Her weight was 55.4 kgs(121.88 pounds), and she is looking amazing; she could afford to lose a few more pounds yet overall incredible body condition!!! No longer emaciated.
 
Kim A., you and your daughter are doing a magnificent job with her!
 

UPDATE: Mr. Ernie’s vet bill.

***$517 DONATED TO DATE!***

Total charges, this invoice… 4121.38
H.S.T…. *535.78 – The tax does add up!
Total, this invoice… 4657.16
Your old balance… 293.53
Your new balance… 4950.69
 
He also has two blown CCL – the right side worse than the left.
 
We are waiting to discuss this further with his surgeon plus also to obtain an update on his tail, which was suspected of being fractured when he arrived at rescue.
 
 

AND Mr. Ernie has entered the building!
 
Thank you to his foster home for dropping him off at my work.
 
He is always such a huge hit!
 
Today, he is being neutered, having his bilateral entropion surgically repaired, his hips/knees xrayed, and to be microchipped if one is not found. The pound was to have had him microchipped.
 
We have had $250 donated to date between empties and donations, and would be so humbled to have any donations considered for his cause.
 
His bills will be in the several thousands.
 
AND if we need to surgically address his hips and/or knees even many more thousands of dollars shall be required.
 
Any donations to his bills can be made via email transfer or PayPal to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Please also consider donating your Empties!
 
Thank you on behalf of such a WOW boy!
 
This is him having his catheter being placed – what a character! 
 
We adore you, big boy, and we will figure out your bills…we always keep the faith…
 

$250 has been raised to date for BHRR’s Ernie!

We have many thousands of dollars more to raise.

Please do consider his cause to support!

Thank you SO much!

AND if you have any gently used items, new items, gift cards, gift certificates, or gift baskets to donate to a silent auction, please do EMAIL!

Thanks in advance!

 

BHRR EVENTS

NOTICE: UPCOMING BHRR EVENTS:

1. We are working on a silent auction to raise much-needed funds to pay for Miss Leah’s and Mr. Ernie’s vet bills. We are hoping to run for St. Pat’s Day!
If you have any items you may like to donate, please do email

2. Saturday, July 20th – Annual BHRR BBQ, Yard & Item Sale, Nails, Ear Cleaning and Nails – 9 AM – 3 PM

3. Saturday, July 27th – Bark Bash – Gananoque

4. Saturday, September 17th – Annual Movies Under The Stars

5. ONGOING – On February 21st, 2013, I received a most delightful and touching email from a woman named Allie MacAlister that is so very active in helping others

She is extremely talented and more lovely than any words can ever be put down on paper and she has wonderfully surprised me with the very stunning and unique artful creation of an Irish Wolfhound, inspired by our Bunker Dude. She is calling it ‘Art For A Cause’.  

The Wolfhound Cù Sìth

10% of sales of her products will come to BHRR!

*You can purchase t-shirts, mugs, mousepads, totes, greeting cards and SO much more! She will be adding products regularly.

The Wolfhound Cù Sìth

Today I met up with BHRR’s Knox’s foster family to drop off more fish based food. 
 
He was sporting his fresh groom, and so hard to believe that he remains AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 
BHRR does remain in a good crisis, especially for fish-based food – we have no less than 6 dogs on fish food only…
 

***URGENT***
 
We have been emailed a date for BHRR’s Ernie’s(DDB) bilateral entropion surgery, X-rays of those hips plus knees under sedation plus his neuter. We will also ensure that he is microchipped.
 
The date is March 12th. Surgeries were being booked for end of April/beginning of May yet they had an opening, and we needed to move forward.
 
This boy has waited long enough to get healthy to be able to have these procedures, and we need to know what is happening with those hips plus knees….
We are in urgent need of a surgery deposit – we are still paying off his other bills at this time, too – and need to raise $1,500-$2,000 by the 12th.
 
We know that it is asking a lot…we are only asking for his sake and hope that folks may consider his deserving cause to support.
 
We are hoping to run a silent auction in a couple of weeks, and Ottawa Rabbit Rescue offered up a joint paint night fundraiser back in 2023. TBA.
 
He is the sweetest of meatheads! 
 
This is him enjoying his Secret Valentine Admirer’s treat! A yummy smoked dino bone.
 
Donations to his cause can be made via email transfer or PayPal to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Please also consider donating your Empties!
 
If you have any new or gently used items, gift certificates, or gift baskets that you would like to donate to a silent auction for his benefit, please do advise.
 
We are also still trying to find a foster home for the Fawn mantle Great Dane. Her time is very limited right now.
 
Thank you!
 

Mr. Knox, the Bouvier with his SVA pressie! 
AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 
He is going to need another groom soon.
 
Thank you to his wonderful foster home for sending us this lovely photo & we will post more pictures as fosters send them to us!

BHRR’s Leah had her professional photo shoot last Wednesday – Thanks so much again to Liz Bradley for donating her time plus talent, and keeping me in the loop! 
 
Thank you to BHRR’s Leah’s lovely foster home for making the drive for Liz to take these pictures. 
 
Unfortunately, I cannot download them on my phone, so when I am back home, I will do so on my main computer. 
 
So, this photo is a watermarked screenshot. Sneak peek!
 
I am also going to be working on some play dates with her. Apparently, she is still exhibiting some poor dog-to-dog communication and inappropriate display for attention seeking – barking to go see other dogs.
 
I will start by bringing her to my home and, from there work on asking others in our invaluable network to schedule some dates with them too.
 
We are getting ever closer to her making her own special announcement!
 
She is also still in need of a Secret Valentine Admirer! 

Mr. Ernie was to have a recheck and boosters on January 8th.
 
His foster home reached out to say that, unfortunately, he had been exposed to Kennel Cough.
 
The vaccine – Bordetella – is like the flu shot, and the concern is not the kennel cough but the secondary infection of pneumonia.
 
So, we had to postpone his boosters and recheck, and sadly, his condition worsened, and on January 17th, we had him booked to be seen.
 
He was placed on antibiotics, plus meds for nausea/vomiting, and we may have to start his vaccine protocol from the beginning once he has become healthy.
 
We also cannot move forward with his neuter, address that fractured tail, or X-ray to properly diagnose what may be happening with his hips or knees.
 
Some days, it is so hard to catch a break. 
 
We have also entered a food crisis.
 
We continue to keep the faith!
 

BHRR’s Leah’s Biopsy Results & Per Her Surgeon:

“They came back as “mammary duct ectasia with mild multifocal lymphohistiocytic cellulitis”.  The comments say that mammary duct ectasia is a benign dilation of one or more ductal structures. Lesions can be single or multiple, often forming a mass-like lesion clinically. These lesions can occur in both intact and spayed animals, and are not associated with an increased risk of mammary neoplasia. As these cystic ducts enlarge, they can become secondarily inflamed. Complete excision of individual lesions is curative. In this case there is rupture of some of the smaller ducts, resulting in mild inflammation.”

 

“To me this sounds like we should just monitor, and if they become inflamed and a problem, then we can remove them at that time.  This is great news!”

Our 5th Annual “WON’T YOU BE MY VALENTINE” Fundraiser! February 1st – February 15th, 2024

Please help us give each doggie a special Valentine!

Thank you to everyone who has become a Valentine Angel to date, and to those asking, here is our email transfer address to send the vet bill part of your generous donation: contactbhrr@gmail.com

Please let us know if you would like to be a Secret Valentine!

Thanks in advance for any consideration!

These are the doggies still in need of a Secret Valentine Admirer:

  • Albar – Ronda B. will be his SVA – COMPLETED!
  • Knox  – Amy shall be his SVA – COMPLETED!
  • Maybelle Cutie – Ronda B. will be her SVA – COMPLETED!
  • Chrissy – Emilie P. will be her SVA  – COMPLETED!
  • Ernie – Leanne Berard McDonell & Cameron will be his SVA – COMPLETED!
  • Leah – Melody Lachance & Barrhaven & Area Empties will be her SVA – COMPLETED!
  • ‘Fred’ – Melody Lachance & Barrhaven & Area Empties will be her SVA – COMPLETED!
  • Aramis – Anne PB will be her SVA – COMPLETED!
  • Athos – Elaine Giles will be his SVA – COMPLETED!
  • Brooklyn  – Michele shall be her SVA – COMPLETED!
  • Caramel – Elaine will be his SVA – COMPLETED!
  • Giselle – Leanne & Cameron will be his SVA – COMPLETED!
  • James  – Rejane shall be his SVA – COMPLETED!
  • Jamila – Anne PB will be her SVA – COMPLETED!
  • Lewis  – Emilie P. shall be his SVA – COMPLETED!
  • Lilly – Tanya S. will be her SVA – COMPLETED!
  • Olive – Melody Lachance & Barrhaven & Area Empties will be her SVA – COMPLETED!
  • Porthos – Amanda Gillon shall be his SVA – COMPLETED!
  • Romeo – Melody Lachance & Barrhaven & Area Empties will be his SVA – COMPLETED!
  • Rosie – Anne PB will be her SVA – COMPLETED!

Someone says this is how he plans to spend this day after the wicked snow and ice storm yesterday/overnight!
 
Not on just one dog bed but two! 
 
Mr. Romeo, you are one high energy ham, and we work hard to ensure that your daily physical and emotion plus mental needs/wishes are fulfilled…I think we are being successful for you are already snoring up a storm and it is was only 7 AM!
 
It keeps us in shape, too!
 
He is going to love the next storm already heading our way with some snow here and there to gear up, until Saturday, and then 35 cms is expected with a bit more freezing rain.
 
Our day begins between 4:30-5:00 am each day! No rest for the meek, weak, and mild here!
 

Miss Leah during her mammary biopsies surgical procedure. Her lungs were clear in the X-rays!

She has been putting on the weight/muscle mass really well, and her energy level is normal, so we are extremely happy with her medical rehabilitation journey to date.

Her mammaries are smaller than in December, except in one area. That area is bigger.

So, we will now see what the biopsies results say to determine the next steps that shall be in her best interest.

Mr. James!

This fine gentleman turns 16 years old in a few months.

Doesn’t he look marvelous!? He has Degenerative myelopathy (DM), arthritis, lipomas, and an HM, and he is now almost completely deaf/blind, yet we could not adore him more!

Granted, he looks plump, yet he is not. His winter coat is in full swing, and he wants to say that this snowstorm that has now commenced – up to 20 cms of snow and 5 mm of ice heading our way – is not a welcome sight!

AND another 20+ of snow coming our way after that right into Saturday.

He has been a fantastic part of our Haven program since May 2022. He gets along with all of the dogs and humans and is still fairly playful. He is such an easy keeper, gets excited for his treats plus food, and absolutely loves our heated floor in the sunroom.

We know that his time with us is limited, and we treasure every day with him…….

 
 
 

BHRR’s Knox!
AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

In December, we received two applications for him.

Unfortunately, one failed their Vet reference. Our application and websites clearly indicate what we require and list in detail – all proactive/preventative vetting to be done and that we will verify.

The other application was not complete. We cannot consider incomplete applications. We asked the home to please re-submit a completed application, and though they emailed some additional information, the application still remained incomplete. The onus cannot be on us to chase after homes to fill in the blanks.

We remain very determined, patient, and diligent in our thorough screening processes, as his welfare is our top priority!

We shall only approve a right-matched personality fit home.

On a side note: He still needs a Collar Fairy/Elf!
Wigglebumz Collar – Martingale 1.5″ width, 24-26″ size

From his foster home:
“Knox continues to make friends anywhere we go.

We continue to work on his car behaviour. He is definitely better in the early mornings or at night, when there’s less people on the road (therefore less stimulating).”
 
 

BHRR’s Ernie was scheduled to have his next recheck, boosters, etc., yesterday, January 8th, yet his foster home reached out to say that he had been exposed to Kennel Cough.

So, unfortunately, until he recovers, we cannot move forward with his boosters and then schedule his x-rays under sedation, bilateral entropion surgery, neuter, etc.

 

 

UPDATE: From her foster home:

“Miss Leah is doing great. We’ve been working on leash manners and recall and she is learning quickly. We’ve also been working on politely interacting with other dogs, as she likes to bark loudly at other dogs she sees out in the world. She’s getting better with this when she’s in our yard but still needs work while we’re on walks. 

Leah has been eating and drinking well and is a very happy girl. She is looking much healthier now that she has put on some weight. 

Leah loves attention and cuddles and her toys. She is quite gentle with her toys and likes to gather them on her bed. She is getting along with my dog very well now and they love to play together. They get very excited though, so we’ve also been practicing taking breaks from playing and just sitting/laying down quietly together. 

We’ve been taking the dogs out for walks at a local trail and Leah is in heaven when she’s there!”

 

BHRR Animals Available For Adoption

This is a blog post, updated regularly as to who is available for adoption and the ‘quick’ status of others not yet available for adoption.
NOTE: This blog post is on each of the dogs’ individual pages.
All of our available dogs can also be found on our PetFinder website.
*To read a dog’s blog, scroll to the very bottom of that dog’s individual page and read upwards, skipping over any posts such as fundraiser posts. They will answer most of your questions re: age, history etc.*

**NOTE: As of December 1st, 2016; BHRR shall no longer be responding to any inquires to adopt. We are following the lead of other r/q organizations and ONLY completed adoption applications submitted to the BHRR BOD shall be considered/responded to.**

BHRR is a federally registered NP organization and requires an application/contract to be filled out, personal references including a vet reference if applicable and a home visit to be done before being approved to adopt.

We also require that at the time of meeting any BHRR animal (after completing the application process up to that point) that the whole family + any other currently owned animals are present for the mandatory home-visit.

BHRR only places per best/right matched personality fit.

We also require that within four months of having adopted your new addition that at least one full round/session of group classes of obedience (they can range from 6-18 weeks) must be started and upon completion; proof (registration + completion) must be submitted to BHRR’s attention at BHRR and with having your signature on the adoption application/contract; you will be in a legal breach of your contract should this not be done. The animal involved will have to be returned promptly & safely to BHRR at your own expense.

 

BHRR’s Albar(M) – AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION SINCE October 25th, 2022 – *LabX

BHRR’s Maybelle Cutie(F) – AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION SINCE October 25th, 2022 – *LabX

BHRR’s Knox(M) – AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION SINCE July 10th, 2023-*Bouvier

BHRR’s Chrissy(F) – NOT YET AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION  – *Australian Shepherd -Visually/Hearing Impaired

BHRR’s Leah(F) – NOT YET AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION – *Great Dane

BHRR’s Ernie(M) – NOT YET AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION -*Dogue De Bordeaux

Here is a copy of Miss Leah’s abdominal biopsy results.

Miss Leah is scheduled on January 9th for x-rays of her lungs and, from there, biopsies of her mammary chain.

Depending on those results, either she will be referred to oncology if malignant, or remove one mammary chain, then the other in two separate surgeries, or there is not anything to do medically at that time – benign, no medical intervention necessary, or she is palliative.

Should Miss Leah be deemed adoptable, a copy of all diagnostics and results will be shared with the approved adoptive home and the Veterinary Clinic they will use. We believe in full disclosure.

BHRR’s Leah’s u/s report – she had her semi-urgent u/s on December 18th, 2023.
 
I will post separately her biopsy report as we had biopsies taken from the abdominal mass on December 18th.
 

BHRR’s Ernie – our newest addition to BHRR!

He is a DDB, ~2 years old, and a ham!

He has a possible fractured tail, hip, and knee issues, and needs bilateral entropion surgery and to be neutered. He came into the rescue quite skinny and has been putting on the weight nicely.

We shall be doing X-rays on his tail, hips plus knees when he is under for his neuter. He is far too painful to attempt to manipulate him without sedation. We have him on Gabapentin for pain management.

He has been dewormed, is on flea/tick meds, has had his first vaccines and is back for another recheck and boosters in January.

His bills to date are over $1,200.

He has been treated for ear infections, and we have him on a fish-based food to help with his skin and any possible allergies.

Thank you to his special secret Santas for the pressies, including a Wiggle Bumz collar, leash, treats, toys, and an orthopedic dog bed.

This picture is from his foster home with some of his goodies.

 

 

 

Miss Giselle!
December 25th, 2023

In 2024, she will join a very elite club! The Double Digit Dane Club. 

She will be turning ten years old. 

She will be one of four Danes that, in 2024, will turn 10. Skor, Ice & Zero will also be ten.

AND we are determined that each of them will live their best lives each and every day!

Miss Giselle remains full of personality! 

She was living in hell before her rescue & from day 1; we knew that she only survived as she had backbone plus determination.

Thank you to her special Secret Santa angel for spoiling her again this year & for the gifts for BHRR.

 

Miss Jamila!
Deaf & Blind Great Dane
December 25th, 2023

Our Egyptian queen! 

She is a miracle herself. She arrived at the rescue severely ill. Shockingly so.

We had to do multiple biopsies, mass removals, a bilateral eye enucleation, treat her for pneumonia and bronchitis and to spay her, etc.

She is a survivor! She has a backbone of steel while not having a mean bone in her body at the same time! She makes me smile every day and is deeply bonded to me. When she picks up my scent, she becomes super excited and makes the best sounds! My heart beats with so much love for her!

She is great with all of the dogs, is such an easy keeper, and speaks volumes without even making a sound! 

Her rescue was incredibly stressful, and we remained strong that she was the one who mattered and she was the priority. The dogs always come first.

She lacked for nothing and still doesn’t, and we sincerely hope that she reigns as the gorgeous queen she is for a very long time to come!

 

 

 

Miss Aramis! One of our Three Musketeers!

This is as close as she wanted to get to the Tree this year so her photo is from a distance!

She has zero issues walking by it, giving it a quick sniff, nor using the drinking station that is right by the tree, yet she no longer has any desire to stick her nose into the tree, and try to grab a branch!

Making it crash down last year has made her respectful of keeping some space.

Thank you to her Secret Santa Angel for the goodies and amazing rectangular Kirkland Dog bed from Costco(she is presently lying on an older round Costco dog bed).

I am going to have to make a trip out to the one on Cyrville to buy a few as the beds are incredible!

 

 

 

BHRR’s Miss Lilly
Deaf & Visually Impaired Great Dane
December 25th, 2023

Sean & I cannot believe how she has literally bounced back from the brink of death & is thriving!

AND thank you to her wonderful special SS for the pressies and a super comfy amazing Kirkland dog bed from Costco!

As promised we are sharing some of our annual Xmas photos!

We hope everyone is having a safe, happy, and healthy holiday season & warmest of wishes are being sent from our home to all of our friends, family & supporters!

We could not do what we do without you! 

 

BHRR’s Knox!
 
The Bouvier!
 
He remains AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 
We did receive an application after we closed for our annual holiday shutdown, and we will review it once we re-open.
 
Thank you to Melody and Barrhaven & Area Empties for being his special Secret Santa angel this Christmas!
 
AND thank you to Mr. Knox’s foster home for sending us this great photo with his stocking & flashy bandana.
 
 

BHRR’s Ernie, playing with BHRR’s Jack(ADOPTED November 28th, 2023) VIDEO!

What we know to date for these two amazing dogs!
 
1) Miss Leah – has mammary tumours that shall require surgery, pathology. An abdominal mass was felt on December 3rd at her recheck, and she is scheduled for an u/s with the specialist, Dr. Ibey, on December 18th. She will require x-rays of her chest to ensure that she does not have any mets before going into surgery – should surgery be an option for her depending on the u/s results. She has put on 6 kgs since her arrival on November 4th; she is now 52 kgs(114.4 pounds).
 
2) Mr. Ernie has put on 5 kgs since his arrival on December 3rd. He is now 60 kgs(121 kgs). He had a recheck on December 12th for his ears – he is now on ear meds & to further examine a mass/lump found on his tail. He has been placed on Gabapentin, and once he is healthier, he will need surgery for his bilateral entropion, to be neutered, to address what could well be a tail fracture & may require a partial tail amputation plus a biopsy – we will x-ray along with x-raying his hips/knees while sedated. We strongly suspect HD, and cannot rule out cruciate issues on one or both legs.
 
Our doors are closed to intake, as both of these incredible dogs will require many, many, many thousands of dollars to rehabilitate successfully.

December 16th through to January 6th, 2024 inclusive!

Total Raised: $139.10

 

 

BHRR’s Leah – 18-month-old heavily marked fawn mantle, Great Dane.
 
She was at the Vet for her recheck on December 3rd.
 
When she first arrived on November 4th, she weighed 46 kgs(101.2 pounds).
 
On December 3rd, she weighed 52 kgs(114.4 pounds). She has put on a much-needed 13.2 pounds of weight and muscle mass.
 
She is now lean and developing wonderful muscle tone. I would like to see just a bit more on her, especially heading into winter. She is presently eating 6+ cups of food, and we are gradually working up to 7.5 cups. From there, we can re-assess and adjust as necessary.
 
She is on a fish-based food, and her coat, ears, and feet look great!
 
She had a thorough recheck exam, and while her mammary chain has significantly reduced, many mammary tumours can easily be palpated now. 
 
Additionally, the Vet felt a firm mass in her abdomen.
 

We are now waiting on an ultrasound with a specialist.

Depending on what is found, sedation and X-rays of her chest shall be done prior to the removal of the mammary tumour’s and abdominal mass. They will then be sent off to histopathology.
 

We were hoping to hear something soon. I will follow up should we not hear anything.

We were not able to move on any of these diagnostics/treatments earlier as she was just too emaciated, not strong enough, and would not have survived.
 
Time is sometimes your friend, and sometimes it is not. It is a risk vs. benefit situation.
 
Our annual Empties 4 Paws drive starting December 16th shall see all funds go to her care.
 

Ottawa Rabbit Rescue has invited us to do a joint Paint event with Janet in the early New Year, and those monies shall go towards her and Mr. Ernie’s care.

Her Vet bill was $349.42

Donations to her care can be made via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

We still have 2 amazing BHRR pups needing a special Secret Santa angel of their very own!

BHRR’s Mr. Albar & Miss Chrissy!

Mr. Albar(one of our Beans) says he has been enjoying the snow after the big storm yesterday/overnight! All of that rain and wet, heavy snow has made for some big mud puddles!

Miss Chrissy is snoozing in our small cubby on one of our fireplaces. We are doing renovations, and had been storing some of the old pieces of tile in the cubby, and she also thought this was a good place to be! All tile pieces have now been removed, so no injuries are possible.

If anyone would be open to spoiling one of them this Christmas, please do email contactbhrr@gmail.com

AND here are the drop-off dates/times/locations for our 2023 Secret Santa Event!

1) Anytime: Oxford Station – 2425 Totem Ranch Road West
*We have a donation shed at the road across from the mailbox

2) Eagleson Veterinary Clinic – 500 Eagleson Road, Kanata, Ontario
Wednesday, December 6th, 8:45 pm
Thursday, December 7th, 9 am
Thursday, December 7th, 8:45 pm
Friday, December 8th, 8:45 pm
Saturday, December 16th, 8:45 pm
Sunday, December 17th, 9 am
Wednesday, December 20th, 8:45 pm
Thursday, December 21st, 9 am
Thursday, December 21st, 8:45 pm
Friday, December 22nd, 9 am
*Please do email gwen@birchhaven.org to let me know that you are planning on coming/when!

3) For those mailing items: Sean/Gwen Boers
2425 Totem Ranch Road West
Oxford Station, Ontario
K0G 1TO

If anyone may wish to make a financial donation instead, we can pick up Santa Angel items for them! PayPal: gwen@birchhaven.org or Email Transfer: contactbhrr@gmail.com

We need to have some time to get all of the pressies to their fosters!

AND BHRR’s Santa list is as follows for those who may consider donations to help the Rescue:
Pinesol, Lysol Wipes, Liquid Fabric Softener, Garbage Bags – all sizes, Paper Towels, Laundry Detergent, Dog Shampoo from PetSmart – Top Paw Oatmeal Baking Soda Shampoo with Aloe, Laundry Baskets(Great for storing toys & dog coats!), $$$ to pay down Vet Bills

 

Busy day for BHRR today!
 
Miss Leah was at the vet for her recheck – details on her blog!
 
AND Mr. Ernie was picked up tonight from the kennel that we had him at after busting him out of the kill pound early as the worry per what we had been told is they can often kill animals earlier than the deadlines.
 
He is at the Vet tomorrow AM at 10:30.
 
His lovely foster mama said he gave kisses to her ALL the way home! We already knew he was a flirt, and he is going to steal MANY hearts! 
 
He is said to be super skinny, which we already knew, and was being fed 6 cups a day per the boarding kennel. We shall be working his daily intake up to 10 cups, and re-evaluate in 4-5 weeks.
 
Stress from being a stray, being in the kill pound, then being moved to a kennel, plus who knows how neglected/abusive his life was before he was dumped, has taken its toll on him. Not to mention the pain he is in with his eyes, ears, skin, knees, and hips. We will also be proactively plus preventatively de-worming him per our protocols and doing blood work.
 
He and Miss Leah shall have very high vet bills – both require surgeries, and our thinking caps are on to help figure out how to raise many thousands of dollars….
 
They are both incredibly deserving….
 
More soon!
 
Welcome to BHRR, Mr. Ernie!
 

So Mr. Ernie(what we are calling the DDB to keep with our Lion King theme), was pulled early this AM & being boarded until we can get him.
 
The fear from the rescue angel who contacted us to see if we could help is that he would still be gassed and gassed early. Apparently, this pound has euthanised earlier than their deadlines and even with commitment.
 
So, he was busted out! This is him!  Such a sweet boy! I am very jealous of you, Megan, for fostering this gem! He is going to be such a joy
 
We are wondering if anyone may consider donating to help us with boarding fees as we work on figuring out when/how to get him.
 
Donations can be made via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Thank you to Leanne & Cameron for offering to be his special SS & thank you to all for considering his cause to support. 
 

We will follow our Lion King theme as we have done with previous DDBs we have assisted and call him “Ernie”. This is after Ernie Sabella, the voice of Pumbaa in The Lion King.

BHRR’s Jack(Blind/Severely Hearing Impaired) – one of our Three’s Company dogs.
ADOPTED!

We had to do two separate eye enucleation surgeries, and he has thrived!

AND as always, foster failures are the best kind of failures! 

He has an older dog sister, Phoebe, cats, and rabbits to call family in addition to his wonderful humans.

This home has fostered quite a few amazing dogs for us over the years including, but not limited to BHRR’s Olive, BHRR’s Penelope, BHRR’s Walter & BHRR’s Simon. BHRR’s Jack is their first foster failure, and he is going to make a truly incredible permanent addition to their home.

Home visits like this are really lovely ones to do!

We are really excited for the fantabulous future he shall have!

You keep showing the world Mr. Jack how awesome and normal you really are! 

Thank you Janie once again for helping to do this HV with me! 

 

****URGENT*** ??SCHEDULED TO BE GASSED FRIDAY??
 
Male DDB(French Mastiff). About 2 years of age.
 
He was picked up as a stray.
 
Said to be so super sweet and gentle, and great with people.
 
What we have also been told:
‘He is at the gassing pound and came in as a stray. He has hip issues, some smaller masses, allergies, eye infections, and entropion in both eyes. Ear infections.’
 
We were contacted today about him. However, I did see the op on him yesterday. The kind Angel trying hard to save him put him under a ‘tentative safe’ status as they wanted to reach out to us.
 
He was at high risk of being put to sleep. 
 
As a special needs rescue, we would address his medical issues. We just needed a soft, safe foster spot for him to land….
 
*I have asked about: dog and cat interactions, and we are waiting on a video. There has not been any concern noted to date, though.
 

BHRR’s Pentu
ADOPTED!
 
She is adoption #439 for BHRR.
 
Each and every time I have seen Miss Pentu, she has been healthier, stronger, more confident, more social, more affectionate, more goofy, more happy, and I am so proud of her & of her foster mama!
She has always been brilliant and quite balanced, yet she was sometimes unsure in new circumstances, and while she still has moments when she is not quite ready to charge in, she moves forward with minimal hesitation and is ready for adventure. 
 
Fostering is hard on our hearts and souls, yet the reward of seeing a dog being set up for success is a feeling like no other.
 
The immense gratitude and thanks I have fills my heart to the brim with all that her foster mama/BHRR’s Simon did for Miss Pentu – and for us. She was in excellent hands.
 
Miss Pentu, I am so excited for your future and cannot wait for all of the next beautiful chapters of your life to unfold!
 
To your foster mama – once again, you did a magnificent job with her!
 
The tears are bittersweet as always as another deserving dog is adopted – this time for a gorgeous 16-month-old Standard Poodle/Bernese Mountain DogX named Miss Pentu. She was our first intake of 2023 (February 26th) & the first foster for this home, and what a wonderful journey they have had together! 
 
Miss Pentu now has a cat sibling and chickens plus a human brother who still lives at home, not to mention two forever-loving adoptive adults to now call family.
 
From our home to all of our friends, family & supporters, the best of good night wishes are being sent.
 

Tonight is the night! 
 
The home visit to see if this is the right matched forever loving adoptive home for Miss Pentu.
 
She is our Standard Poodle/Bernese Mountain DogX.
 
Her foster home has been nothing short of incredible, and we have been filled with so much gratitude. 
 
We will update as we can….

My last post of my night.
 
How I know Miss Lilly(deaf/visually impaired GD) is feeling a lot better….she is back to sleeping with her leg over her head. It makes my heart feel so good! 
 
Miss Lilly still needs a special Secret Santa angel of her very own. Tomorrow, we shall post all of the doggies that are still in need.
 
From our home to all of our friends, family, and supporters, the best of good night wishes are being sent!

My ‘work’ supervisor and companion as I work on my computer on two applications tonight.
 
Miss Lilly (Deaf and Visually Impaired GD) is holding her own… 
 
We still do not know what her diagnosis is, yet we are taking it day by day. The specialists as do I suspect cancer, yet nothing concrete.
 
She is eating better, becoming more playful, and back to ‘chomping’ at the water as it comes from the tap. 
 
While she is not running with abandonment in the yard with her friends, she is way more energetic and back to being a bit bossy in asking for affection. 
 
We have had $100 generously donated to date for her outstanding vet bills, and I remain deeply humbled to have received such generousity. I am slowly working on paying off the rest with each paycheck.

**UPDATE: $100 generously donated to date**
**$404 raised through Carol’s pop-up auctions**
Total Raised To Date: $504

BHRR’s Leah – when she first arrived in our care.

Miss Leah arrived to BHRR’s care on Saturday.
***NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION***

We immediately had her vetted at my Hospital, EVC.
 
Her weight was ~46 kgs(101.2 pounds). She is skinny. Quite. I would like to see her closer to 112-115 pounds with better weight and muscle mass. She was a bit wiggly on the scale.
 
She is excellent with all humans!
 
She needs manners – not her fault. She will receive structure, consistency, and routine now.
 
She was indifferent to the clinic cat – she lived with a cat/dogs & she was overstimulated by most of the dogs she saw. She was wanting to see them!
 
Considering that she was in a pound for almost 6 weeks, travelled for 6 hours, and went to the vet, her being overstimulated was perfectly fine.
 
She is a smaller yet extremely well-proportioned, heavily marked fawn mantle Great Dane. Her headpiece alone tells me that there are some great lines in her pedigree somewhere.
I wish she had a chip, maybe we could have done some investigating. I have reached out to quite a few of my show mentor contacts anyway…just to see.
 
Once a dog is backyard-bred, one of the first things lost is headpiece. Her headpiece is lovely. She may well have been bred by a r/q show breeder and ended up in the wrong hands. Yet, most r/q show breeder’s microchip. Of course, there was no contract handed over with her, when she was dumped at the pound.
 
She is now microchipped to us, and shall always have us on her side!
 
I can confirm that I do believe her age to be perhaps a wee bit older than 18 months, yet no more than 2. She has had a very tough life to date, and that also may make her look a smidge older. She was kept outdoors, and never had her nails trimmed, per what we have been told. We had them done when she was spayed.
 
She also has the masking gene which as a Great Dane throws people off, and they think the dog is much older. This is, as stated many times over the years a genetic thing just as in humans. Premature greying is very common.
 
Her spay was on October 26th, and her incision has healed well, so we took out her staples.
 
She was healthy enough for her booster of DHPP – we did rabies while she was in the shelter on October 26th.
 
We also gave her Lepto, Lyme, and Bordetella per our protocols. We do not cut corners.
 
I wanted Nexgard for fleas/ticks and Interceptor Plus for heartworm preventative, and as an excellent de-wormer yet her size of flea/tick was not in stock. So, we went with Nexgard Spectra, which will cover fleas/ticks/heartworm/hw plus is a great de-wormer.
 
My biggest concern is her many mammary masses, one large area in particular – I nor her Vet do not like the feel. We have seen our share of extremely bad cases.
 
I also noted that she has a very enlarged lymph node on one side of her neck – right, the other is only slightly enlarged at this time. Her teeth look wonderful so it is not from a notable tooth issue. Her vet confirmed my findings. The enlarged one is on the same side as the largest mammary mass.
 
The plan right now is to get in better shape, allow her to decompress over this next month, and when she comes back – do the bloodwork I wanted to do, including for tickborne diseases and heartworm exposure. Then to also re-visit her mammary masses – she had a litter not all that long ago, and with the overbreeding, her mammaries are quite large. Poor thing. Babies should not be having babies.
 
The plan is to then schedule her to take biopsies. It would not be the safest to put her under anesthesia right now.
 
Her skin infection is clearing up nicely, and the fosters will monitor an inflamed area on one of her feet. It could be from the kennel or she is developing a behavioural issue with licking to self-soothe.
 
One of her nostrils has a minor almost abrasion, which is not concerning as she was in a kennel for nearly 6 weeks or could have scraped it on the transport to us.
 
She is also still in need of a special Secret Santa to call her very own! 
 
She is in need of an XL Costco dog bed, and treats, and I already bought her two wiggle bumz collars. The foster now has them.
 
Her bills on Saturday were just under $400, and I have already spent almost $400 when she was at the shelter for vet care.
 
I have her on a fish-based food as her colour can be prone to food allergies, seasonal and/or environmental allergies. It will really help her skin and coat.
 
If you may consider being a special Secret Santa for her or making a donation to her care – PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com – please do email us – contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Thanks in advance for any consideration, and we will post updates as soon as we can.
 

She is on her way! She began her travels this AM.
 
The foster home should have her soon & I am meeting them at work for her to be vetted.
 
I hear she is super sweet, really adorable, nervous, and a bit confused.
 
I also hear that she is really strong – that lack of training.
 
Cannot wait to meet her!
 

Miss Pentu is moving under a PENDING ADOPTION!
 
We shall update as soon as we can.
 

UPDATE:
Miss Leah was spayed by the shelter today, had her rabies vaccine, plus was microchipped.
 
She had been dewormed once and had her DHPP vaccine done recently.
 
We also placed her on antibiotics as a skin infection was noted. She appears to have some mammary masses that we shall investigate further with our veterinarian team. The shelter is limited in what they can do.
 
Once she arrives, we will do more bloodwork, a thorough exam, boosters, give additional vaccines, place on flea/tick, heartworm preventative, and de-worm again.
 
I have paid off her vet bill to date, and if all goes well, she will arrive next Friday or Saturday.
 
Thanks to a generous $100 donation, I have been able to purchase a leash, collar, and dog bowls. I am lending her foster home one of the chilly dog coats I have from one of my own Danes.
 
If anyone may consider donating an XL Costco dog bed – she never had any comfort in her past life was kept outside – we would be so grateful.
 
If anyone wishes to make a financial donation instead, they can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
She is only the fifth dog we have been able to assist in 2023.
 
Miss Leah is in need of a special Secret Santa of her own! Please let us know if you would like to spoil her for Christmas!

Line up begins to gather for ‘peanut butter’ time! 
 
I am on the other side of the gate in the kitchen, so I do not get mobbed getting the peanut butter! 
 
They may be deaf/blind, yet their noses are well-honed! 
 
Mr. Romeo’s butt can also be seen in this photo & Irish’s face!

We have Porthos(3.5), Apex in the back(almost 4), Zero with his face sniffing the ground(9.5), Salt(7.5), Aramis(3.5) looking straight at the camera, and Ice(9.5).

**UPDATE: $100 generously donated to date**
**$404 raised through Carol’s pop-up auctions**
Total Raised To Date: $504

This is Miss Lilly, who is almost 6 years young.
 
She is deaf/visually impaired, and Sean plus I continue to shake our heads as to why her forever loving right-matched personality fit home never came along once she was successfully rehabilitated and placed up for adoption. She has been with us since August 1st, 2019.
 
She was placed up for adoption on May 28th, 2020. In May of 2022, she was moved to our Haven program.
 
As always, it does not matter, as she is adored beyond measure, and has almost 148 acres of trails to romp and run on, almost 3+ acres safely fenced in to play with her friends, and our family who would do anything for her. She gets to go to so many places, has play-dates, and enjoys her adventures.
 
On Friday, October 6th, she stopped eating. No other signs that anything was wrong, happy, no vomiting, no diarrhea, and full of life.
 
When she did not eat again on Saturday, I knew something was very wrong. We rushed off to emerge – and, despite doing x-rays, bloodwork, ultrasounds, examinations, and urinalysis, nothing could be diagnosed.
 
Right before our eyes, she was fading. She stopped drinking, urination was once a day, then every other day, even with supportive care, including IV fluids. She became very wobbly.
 
She then could no longer use her back legs and then could not stand. The deterioration was alarming and so fast—the weight loss.
 
We discussed doing an exploratory surgery, and biopsies of her insides, and knowing that the concern was that we most likely could lose her on the table, our thought process was that if we did not do anything we would lose her anyway.
 
The specialists did not feel that she was strong enough to survive the surgery, and their recommendation was to seriously consider crossing her over.
 
Sean & I said that we would give her until Tuesday, October 10th to see if she would make a turn for the better. Not having any diagnosis was devastating. We brought her home to say our goodbyes and to have the dogs say their goodbyes, and for her to do the same.
 
We also inquired about antibiotics, even though nothing was presenting in her bloodwork and urine re: a possible infection.
 
Even though her 4dx test was negative, we ran it twice, could she have some form of tickborne disease? The 4dx snap only tests for three tickborne diseases.
 
The Vets were open to dispensing doxycycline, and by Tuesday, she was getting up on her feet – wobbling, limping yet taking herself to the water bowl to drink, going outside to urinate – concentrated, and her first BM was 5 days after her last known one. Her stool was completely normal and, at the end, soft yet still formed.
 
Sheer coincidence with the antibiotics and making a good turn, possibly. We do not know.
 
She began eating a bit – RC LF and some PVD Essential Care puppy, then on to some kibble, began taking a bit of her special treat(PB), and loved her small bits of hotdogs and tiny pieces of cheese.
 
We fast forward to today, and though she is still not eating 100% normally – she is eating about 3/4’s of her daily intake, gets up for her peanut butter treat time, is back to ‘eating’ the water as it comes from the tap, has more energy, and is also back to sleeping with her leg over the back of her head.
 
Is she 100%? No, she is not. Do we have any idea what is/was happening, no, we do not. Can she relapse? For sure, she could.
 
Are we feeling blessed to have her still? We absolutely do.  We are taking things one day at a time.
 
Her Vet bills are $2,750 and change.
 
We were going to use the money raised from the pop-up auctions that Carol is hosting for Miss Leah, the newest addition to BHRR, to arrive shortly; yet, we must get on top of Miss Lilly’s vet bills.
 
She is one of the biggest reasons why things have been very quiet on this page to date. This and that I worked 12 straight long shifts at the Hospital.
 
Please excuse her hair all over; she is blowing her coat big time with all that she has gone through.
 
How we love this small yet big personality-filled Dane!
 
Any donations to her cause can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Thank you for any consideration…..
 

Our Three’s Company puppy, BHRR’s Jack, is moving under a PENDING Adoption!

We had to do two separate eye enucleation surgeries for him, and he is also hearing impaired, and he is a perfect representation on how normal dogs can be!

We shall update as soon as we can!

 

We have now moved Mr. Romeo to our Haven program after being available for adoption for shy of 2 years without any interest in adopting him.

He is such an amazing dog, and shall continue to live the best life ever in our care! We want and adore you Mr. Romeo!

1.5-year-old female fawn mantle Great Dane. We will ensure that she is spayed.
 
Was surrendered to the pound as she barked – was anxious.
 
Calm, gentle, active, friendly, playful, follows her humans everywhere, loves to be petted, loves toys, appears to have been bred several times(large drooping teats – recently litter?), housetrained, never had nails trimmed, appears to have been kept in unsanitary conditions, has some hair missing.
 
Lived with dogs – 3 of them and a cat and did great, excellent with people – she was a bit worried when she first was dumped at the shelter yet is comfortable with the staff now.

Miss Pentu!
 
She had her most recent groom earlier this month!
 
Thank you to Morgan for always doing the best of grooms & to her wonderful foster mama for generously offering to donate the funds to pay for Miss Pentu’s groom.
 

Only one of our dogs! 

Tango clearly sees nothing wrong, yet Mr. Porthos’s face cracks me up!

He knows this is not proper conduct! 

Per Mr. Knox’s wonderful foster home!

“Knox continues to be a joy to have around. 

He enjoys our daily hikes/outings. He hasn’t met a person he hasn’t liked! and vice versa. He certainly knows how to turn on the charm for the people.

He has a few close dog friends that he plays with regularly, which I think has been good for him.

Car rides are getting better. He is less anxious and does not lunge at cars. Likewise with walks and cars. He is lunging less and less, but there is something peculiar about red vehicles! I thought it was a coincidence, but consistently he tries to lunge at red cars.

He is super smart and willing! We have not found a food puzzle he can’t master.”

 

How freakin’ adorable is this photo?!!!

Miss Pentu(Standard Poodle/BernerX) & BHRR’s Simon(ADOPTED June 13th, 2022)

Miss Pentu is AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

She is heading for her next professional groom shortly & here is recent update from her wondering foster mama!


“Pentu is doing so good! She just loves meeting other dogs. She absolutely LOVES seeing her dog pals on our morning walk and gets to play with them in the park. She is such a happy girl and is not dominant at all while playing with other dogs. Her recall is excellent for a 1 year old! She responds 95% of the time (can you believe it?!). Her mouth playing has also subsided so much. She does not try and play with her mouth first anymore which is amazing. She travels well in the car and just loves to cuddle. Anyone who meets her whether it’s the groomer, friends, people at the park just cannot believe she has not been adopted and people always say, wherever her forever home is, would be incredibly lucky to have her. She is progressing as a normal, playful, happy puppy ?“
 

So thankful plus appreciative to all the wonderful folks who came out braving the windchill – 13 degrees this AM! – & drizzle to lend a hand at the Brockville Hyundai charity car wash plus BBQ today. 
 
Also extremely appreciative of all those who came out in support, and to Dane plus all of his amazing staff for their lovely support & generosity.
 
The total raised will help pay off the remainder owed on BHRR’s Jack’s second eye enucleation & emergency vet visit (I have been very slowly paying off his outstanding bills out of my own pocket) plus shall also pay off a small amount of his Vet visit today – his annual. That is such a feeling of pressure being taken off….
 
Mr. Jack had a great vet visit, thumbs up & weighed 19 kgs(41.8 pounds).
 
BHRR’s Jack is AVAILABLE for Adoption.
 
Even though we are slowly transitioning over the next 8+ years now, we are still helping some deserving dogs as we can plus have our Haven dogs plus adoptables still needing food, meds, vet visits, and groomings as their bills just do not simply stop.
 
Miss Nolan’s bills alone right now are over $2,000. 
 
So events like this are essential to enable us to continue helping the dogs in need of our highly specialised programs.  We remain deeply humbled to have the kindness we do, and I was informed that Dane will have us back in 2024.
 
 
That is a feeling of privilege and honour. May we have better weather in year 3 as 1 & 2 were not summer weather at all!!
 
Grand Total Raised: $871.85

As always, I am sorry for how quiet the group has been. I have been working so much to pay for rescue bills, and all-time left over goes to the animals to give them everything, with 4-5 hours each night delegated to sleep.
 
I sincerely wish I had better news to share…my heart is bleeding. 
 
My Miss Fighter Bean(BHRR’s Nola), who has defied the most incredible odds – she weighed only 0.38 kgs when this litter was rescued on August 3, 2022, at barely a week old.
 
She weighed the same as the sweet female bean that was lost mere hours after we picked them up & rushed into emergency in Kingston with them. I still cry over that loss, as she literally had no chance when we picked the pups up. We tried so hard, though….she passed away in my loving arms after Cassy held/snuggled her all the way to the Vet & all the way back to get home.
 
Miss Nola was diagnosed with a HM after we rescued this litter and said murmur could get worse or stay the same throughout her life.
 
She is the one that we had to do X-rays on to make sure she did not have a broken pelvis or legs as she could not move as well as her siblings. She was found to be only a bit developmental delayed, which she more than made up for in time!
 
Well, yesterday, Miss Nola crashed and fast. 
 
She is palliative, and I have brought her home to give her what quality time we can for what time we have left. She is in congestive heart failure and has had several seizures. The vets cannot rule out a stroke either, yet we are not going to put her through the stress of a CT scan at this point.
 
She is back home, all tucked up in blankets and on comfy beds, right in the same area beside my desk as she was when she first arrived.
 
Surrounded by all she knows and loves.
 
She is adored, she is safe, and we have one of our trusted Vets on standby – they are mere minutes away visiting friends right now – to come to our home to humanely cross her over when it is time.
This afternoon, she had what many of us in medicine call ‘The Surge,’ and she was up, wagging her tail, knew who we all were, ate, took some treats, drank some, went outside to have a pee & I was privileged to get the best Miss Nola Bean leans…
 
She is not in any pain; she has medications on board and so much love that my heart is bursting.
 
All of The Beans have carved their way into my heart and soul, and as hard as it is adopting them out, having to cross any of them over is hell.
 
If anyone may consider donating to her bills, as always, we would be deeply humbled.
 
PayPal: gwen@birchhaven.org
Email Transfer: contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Please keep her in your thoughts…..she should have had a lifetime of adventures, not only a year…. 
 
She is the sweetest, most gentlest, and kindest of dogs.
 

Last Saturday was our 3rd annual sales/services event at BHRR.
 
Despite the rain – we were hopeful at first, with guests arriving well before the event started yet shortly after 9 am, the rain came and came and came…. – we had two very generous online donations that gave us a final total raised of:
 

$249 

The rain did not stop until just before our event ended at 3 pm….so we remain very grateful to all who came out and to the Turners & the Maracles for their generous online donations!
 
Here we have Mr. Romeo keeping a close eye on the BBQ while Sean took a Power Nap & after his Power Nap! 
*AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION*
 
Thank goodness for tents and Sean’s extra vapour barrier to keep everything dry!
 
The next event is our second to last driveway event of 2023, being hosted at Cassy & John Montgomery’s 37 Dressler Drive in Kanata on August 13th from 10 AM – 4 PM
 
We still owe almost $1,000 in vet bills and many more.
 
We remain with closed doors for intake until such time as our finances for the rescue are in better shape.
 
We also remain desperate for Pinesol and liquid fabric softener along with laundry detergent.
 

BHRR’s Everest
ADOPTED!
 
What an amazing puppy he is!
 
The best kind of failure as we say is a foster failure!
 
Still not convinced he is a Pyr/Maremma, especially with his coat type yet he is ? loved & shall be properly taken care of for life, and that is what is most important!
 
He has a ‘big’ cat sister, and a golden doggie sister as part of his forever-loving adoptive family.
 
We are so excited to see how his future develops, as his potential is immense.
 
Congratulations to all! 
 

AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

BHRR’s Knox is AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
Bouvier(could be a X)
*All Vet paperwork, dog health passport, and shelter documentation state Bouvier. Found one tiny notation by O. on a piece of paperwork that stated could be mixed with Toy PoodleX*

Health Status: HEALTHY!

Age: ~1 year– Born: April 24th, 2022

Weight: ~ 95 pounds. His last weight was May 10th, 2023, @ 85.8 pounds. We want to keep him lean/muscled and fit. Becoming fat is NOT in his or any dog’s best interest.

Some information from his wonderful foster mama:

“Knox has been a wonderful foster. He has seamlessly integrated into our routine, it feels like he has been here all along. Knox is eager to please and learn. Since being with us, he has learned to sit, lie down and shake a paw. He has also learned to sit and wait until we tell him “ok” for his meals and at the door. He is comfortable in his crate and clean in the house. While he has never counter-surfed, he is counter-height, so he will poke around occasionally to see what’s there. After walks, we have made a routine of wiping his paws. So, he now offers his paws after a walk for us to wipe them. My mum has always brushed our dog’s teeth, and Knox is no exception. He enjoys this 2-3x a week.  He allows us to brush him daily, and the groomer said he was great during his groom.

He enjoys his minimum 3x daily walks plus off-leash time. We walk around the neighbourhood and utilize the local trail systems. He has proven people-friendly for the most part. Since being with us, he has only encountered a few men he was unsure of. They were eager to meet him and/or wearing sunglasses and hats, which made Knox nervous. With some calming words and slower introductions with the same people, Knox settled and was accepting of their presence. Knox has proven dog friendly and has a close group of dog friends. He sees them nearly on a daily basis and they are of varying breeds and sizes. He is usually the biggest of the group. He plays well with his friends and when has had enough play, he will go off on his own to decompress and rejoin play when he is ready. Knox’s recall is pretty good. Many people who have met Knox comment on how well-behaved he is. 

Knox has also enjoyed going to the cottage with us as well as the beaches at Sandbanks Provincial Park. He has discovered water, and while we don’t know if he likes swimming, he enjoys laying in the shallow water to cool down and drink from.

He has shown many positives, and we continue to work with his excitement to moving vehicles. He has immensely improved in this area! He tends to fixate and lunge toward oncoming vehicles. He’s great on leash during quieter times, such as during his morning walk; however, evening walks can be tough as there are more people on the road. This will continue to be a work in progress. This being said, he is great in the car, and he has not shown to be reactive of the moving vehicles while riding in the car.

 

Type of Home Ideal For Mr. Knox: He is brilliant and needs a solid structure. He interacts well with people/dogs she meets, and we hope for a quiet, socially low-active level home. A residence that, while visiting family plus friends and having people over, does not host frequent BBQs or gatherings of large groups. We do not want to see him in a home with a high level of travel, with other people taking care of him. She is loyal and loves his people, and we want him to be part of the family if they go camping, go to the cottage, or do other fun travels. He is social and needs a home that is like him. One that shall not overwhelm him. He would adore cottage life or hang out at home with his family. Visiting friends, family, pet stores, and pet-friendly places is excellent too. We want a quietly active home for Mr. Knox. He is happy, healthy, and a joy!

He MUST go to a home that will continue to work on exposing him to new, fun, and beautiful things in the world. Time, patience, and effort have gone into having him be comfortable in his skin, to not only like yet love his own company. We are not advocates of dog parks. Many private properties rent out space for acreage rentals so that he can enjoy a controlled environment to run and zoom in.

We want him to look forward to the next adventures plus experiences. he needs a home that will give her new positive and great safe, memorable experiences along with structure, consisteny, plus patience. If you are a home that likes to take infrequent walks/hikes/strolls, Mr. Knox is not for you…he is a healthy dog and needs to be kept emotionally and physically stimulated. He would make a great companion to get out into nature, explore, and enjoy the beach and other exciting adventures! He is also a great companion when watching movies or curled up with a good book.

A home that understands and shall continue to help him learn about this big fantastic world that we live in. We want him to live a quality-filled, enriched life. He is being fostered in a lovely home in the Aurora area yet can equally live comfortably in the city or country.

We want him to be happy and to live his best life every day. We want him to reach his full incredible potential!

He is another versatile BHRR dog! He can be in a home that works ft; pt works from home, is semi-retired or retired, etc. He will ONLY go to a home prepared to ensure he receives the balance he requires with proper exercise, socialisation, etc.

He does need to go to a dog-experienced home, yet not specifically a Bouvier-specific experienced home. The home must be committed to his obedience, structure, and consistency, and to be patient, kind, and understanding, and while not hermits, they are not doing a hundred things each day or weekly, or monthly. We want him to be treated as a beloved member in a right-matched forever-loving home. We want him to be an invaluable member of hid forever-loving adoptive home! He needs that right positive balance between patience, ‘tough’ love, calming assuring, and passively ignoring.

He is fed in a quiet place and knows that he will be fed enough food on time and that no one will take her away.

He loves home and his friends.

Personality/Temperament: Super loving, affectionate, calm, happy sweet; he loves to get outside to romp and run and is a delightful, playful pup! He needs to be emotionally/physically properly stimulated, social, active, gentle, plus kind. He thrives with consistency, structure, routine, and clear open communication to understand precisely what is expected of him. He is an active, healthy puppy!

Previous Dog Experience: Previous Dog experience is required per the above, and he needs a home that is going to be committed to his wellbeing and make the small adjustments required as he is still a puppy, still learning, and still mentally plus physically growing. He sleeps well, and ideally, while we would like to see him in a home with at least one right-matched personality-fit dog, it is not a deal breaker. He absolutely needs a strong doggie friend network in the community, though. That is so important. We have friends; he needs friends too. He has enjoyed making new canine friends. 

Good With Cats: Unknown.

Good with Pocket Pets: Unknown

Good with Children: We feel that any right-matched personality fit home for Mr. Knox should not have small or young children. We will consider homes with children 14 and older and no more than two children in the home.

Grooming: He needs regular grooming to keep his coat healthy and look his best. Regular grooming includes nails and ears. We have also had him professionally groomed during his time in rescue.

Car: He travels well in the car.

Housebroken/crate Trained: He is housebroken and crate trained. We never recommend giving any new addition too much freedom to start. It can be very overwhelming plus too stimulating for them.

Obedience: He requires a home that will be consistent and dedicated to continuing to help him become the best dog he can be. His potential is enormous! As per our adoption contract, a full round of group obedience is required with all of our dogs. This is not about having a dog that ‘listens.’ This is about creating a strong and mutually respectful bonding relationship. Trust and respect work both ways.

Activities Suited For Her: She would excel in obedience work. Great companion at home, a great companion for camping, cottaging, hikes, and exploring new things! He has a lot of personality!

Loves & Bad Habits:  Like any dog, he is not perfect. He is perfect in all of his imperfections, though! NOT to mention handsome. He still has some excitement issues when encountering cars on walks, mostly at night.

Anxieties/Worries: It is integral that the right-matched personality fit home and does not spend 24/7 with him. During this pandemic and even before it, we still need groceries; we should still go out and do errands; we should still get in our cars and go for a small drive to go somewhere to do something! Time has been spent having him learn to not only like yet enjoy his own company. As we need our alone time, he must do too. He is a solid and stable dog; we do not want any SA behaviours to develop.

As we have stated for over 27 years now, we will NEVER rush any dogs’ rehabilitation journey, we do not flip dogs, and we are not desperate to adopt them out.

We will always place up for adoption the dogs that can be adopted and safe haven all others that cannot be placed up for adoption due to medical and/or behavioural reasons.

We do not take in hundreds of dogs yearly; we only took in 18 dogs in 2022 as it is about helping the next in need of us, giving them top-quality care, and not about taking in numbers. In 2023, we have ONLY taken in 4 dogs to date.

After 27+ years, we know that we cannot please everyone, which means that BHRR is not the rescue to be followed, supported, and believed in by everyone. We remain small plus mighty, and as we go through this next transitional stage for BHRR, we shall continue to operate with a zero-tolerance approach, providing and beyond care to the animals.

Our mandates have never changed and will remain the same as long as we are around; the animals shall always be done right by as our priority.

Our adoption success rates remain second to no other group – 100% for over ten years of operating, and now 99% as we go through year 27, and we are excited as we go through this slow transition for BHRR!

You have done a THUMBS up job, as has your amazing foster home, Mr. Knox, and we are thrilled you are making your special announcement!

BHRR’s Miss Pentu!
(Standard Poodle/Bernese Mountain Dog)
 
Freshly groomed! Her second professional groom with us.
 
Gosh, she is simply the best!
 
She remains AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 
Thank you to her wonderful foster home for sharing these pics!

Miss Pentu went to visit her foster mom’s mom & she has a wonderful dog-friendly cat. 
 
What a lovely photo!
 
Miss Pentu will have her next professional groom shortly and remains AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 
Thank you to her incredible foster mama for all they do for Miss Pentu/us!

Sweet Brutus turned 11 years young in April, and today, his giant breed body said it was time to leave us.

RIP you amazing boy. You have been such a joy, and it was an honour being blessed with your incredible spirit, heart, and soul.

BHRR’s Asante (Newfx)
ADOPTED
 
Thank you again to Leanne & her 11-year-old daughter for doing this home visit tonight with me. 
 
Thank you also to Leanne for taking all of these pictures other than one, as my phone just does not seem to take good photos.
 
Miss Asante, you shall be dearly missed. I adore all of the dogs I am entrusted with, and you are no different. 
 
So many kind and generous people surrounded you to help BHRR make you healthy plus whole.
 
We hope your future is as bright and as wonderful as you so very much deserve. You are a gift, and we have felt extremely privileged to have been contacted by the shelter to step up to assist you!
 
Miss Asante is adoption #437 for BHRR
 
 

Stay tuned!
 
Mr. Knox, the 1-year-old Bouvier, will be making his own special announcement shortly!
 
Thank you to his really wonderful foster home for the great photos plus updates that they have regularly shared! 
 
He had his professional groom last week, and I am told he ROCKED it!

I absolutely loved my visit tonight with BHRR’s Everest! 
 
He was born January 16th, 2023 & what a truly wonderful puppy. His fosters are doing a great job with him. 
 
Thank you to his amazing foster Dads for opening up their home to me tonight!
 
I also had a blast with their Golden Rayne & cat, Nala, who thinks she is a dog!

On Wednesday, May 24th, BHRR’s Everest was brought into EVC for an emergency.
 
While he had some loose stool over the previous couple of days – he was going through a food transition plus got into some packs of Forti Flora, he had a couple of small spit-ups on the Tuesday, yet by Wednesday, he had vomited several times, still had loose stool and was becoming fairly quiet.
 
He was still eating/drinking ok and playing, yet clearly not his usual self. He is a high energy pup.
 
This began to concern me, and in also being sent a picture of him, I had him booked for an appointment at EVC to be immediately seen.
 
He had an appointment on Friday, May 26th, for his final boosters, so this means that he had not yet received his last DHPP booster due to his age.
 
With Parvo being prevalent right now in the Ottawa area, I was worried about possible Parvo exposure, and the other option is a possible FB. Working in emergency medicine can make the mind go from zero to a hundred quite quickly.
 
However, as told to his wonderful foster dad, we would take it one step at a time, one breath at a time. 
 
I gave the Vet a heads-up that Mr. Everest was coming in shortly, and they also agreed that we should do a parvo test.
 
Mr. Everest’s parvo test was negative, he was placed on Metronidazole, given more de-wormer, and given Cerenia medication to help with his vomiting/nauseous, and so he has nothing serious – thank goodness – just another expensive vet visit to add to the total.
 
However, if we had not gotten him in, it would not have ended up well. We shall continue to go up and beyond for our dogs; they deserve nothing but the very best!
 
His weight was 21.4 kgs(47.08 pounds) at just under 4.5 months of age.
 
He is doing SO much better, and we have rescheduled his boosters; the next weigh-in for Nexgard Spectra for this Thursday, June 1st.
 
If all goes well, he should then be making a very special announcement!
 
AND I get to visit with him later tonight! Excited!
 

Jack saw his surgeon on the 27th, and he was given an antibiotic injection – Convenia – that lasts ~ 14 days.

His foster mom sent me a picture, and said ‘Jack’s eye is looking even better today!’

Today, Mr. Jack’s foster mom messaged me to say that ‘Jack is doing really well and he is a happy boy! He is still having some blood from his eye. It is a much lesser amount than earlier this week.’ They then asked when I would expect that to clear up.

I said that it should have been resolving already, and if he still has it within the next 24+ hours, let’s get him in. I then asked if they could send me a photo or video. When they did, I sent the picture immediately to his surgeon, as I did not like the look of it. It looks infected. The foster confirmed that he is wearing his cone 24/7. 

The foster then told me that the discharge is more ‘sticky’ today over just being bloody like it has been over the previous days.

The surgeon also expressed concern regarding his eye and requested to see him the next day – the 27th.

Miss Pentu – AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

One day post-op surgery

After getting home from surgery

Sorry for the radio silence over the last wee bit….
 
Rescue has been insane…..more than usual.
 
As many know, Mr. Jack, one of our Three’s Company pups – was to have his second eye enucleation on May 26th.
 
Unfortunately, he had a seizure on May 18th – his last one was in December 2022 – believed to have been related to being on Nexgard Spectra and Clavaseptin which lowered his seizure threshold. We do not know the possible cause of this seizure. Monitoring and journaling are continuing.
 
In conversing with his surgeon, Mr. Jack’s surgery was postponed, and then in deeper discussion, they wanted to do his surgery even sooner. So, with one day’s notice, his foster dropped Mr. Jack off at EVC on May 22nd.

Mr. Jack was a thin 16.5 kg(36.3 pounds). He has been on pain meds for his eye, and hopefully now that the eye has been removed, he will begin putting weight back on.

 
The total cost of his surgery & pre-surgery recheck – $3,472.64
 
We have put down $1,500 – just over $1,000 was raised to date, and I put $ out of my paycheck to increase the deposit to $1,500.
 
We know times are tough for everyone, and we thank everyone who has donated to date, shared his story, and won auction items to help us!
 
If anyone may consider his deserving cause to support, donations can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
He is healing well. He was given an antibiotic injection during surgery and has gone home with a NSAID, which is also a pain medication, another pain medication, and trazodone.
 
He is an $8,000+ dog and counting, and we will do everything he needs!
 

BHRR’s Jack’s foster home told me he had a seizure tonight.

I will be talking to his surgeon tomorrow re: this. He is scheduled for his second eye enucleation next week.

Seizure History:
1) Seizure December 14th ~5:25 PM
2) Seizure December 15th ~12:58 PM
3) Seizure December 16th ~11:06 AM
*Dr. Levesque advises stopping the Clavaseptin & giving him at least a week or so and monitoring. Foster home to start a journal, too, to determine if there is any pattern.
4) Seizure December 16th ~6:30 PM
5) December 18th ~3:09 PM
6) ‘Possible’ seizure March 6th, 2023 – ~7:45 PM
7) Seizure May 18th – ~8:30 pm

So, this wee ‘giant’ is ready to be fostered to adopt!

BHRR’s Everest
Great Pyr/Maremma
Born: January 16th, 2023

We will be booking his final boosters tomorrow for the end of May, and he will then be ready to be officially adopted.

AND we are excited to post that he is moving under a Foster to PENDING ADOPTION status as his foster home has completely fallen in love with him.

What is not to love & his foster home has been truly amazing with him!

We will update as we can!

This is Mr. Everest after having a bath. 

 

 

Mr. Knox was at the vet this week – Wednesday, May 10th  – Foster also said he was passing small amounts of urine, and we wanted to rule out marking vs a possible UTI.
 
The results of the urinalysis were normal, his bloodwork was negative for heartworm and tickborne diseases, he had his Lepto plus Lyme vaccines, and we asked to have dewormer and flea/tick plus heartworm dispensed for him.
 
His Vet bill was $548.19. We do not get a rescue discount at the hospital the foster uses.
 

Mr. Knox weighed 39 kgs(85.8 pounds) and turned one year of age on the 24th of April.

He will need boosters for his Lyme/Lepto in 4 weeks’ time.

He was placed on Gabapentin plus Trazodone at the shelter for anxiety, and as he has settled in, we are reducing the medications to wean him off. He is doing great! He does like to lunge at cars, and de-sensitization is being worked on.

He is not due for Rabies or DHPP until August 17th, 2023.

We are also working on scheduling him a professional groom, getting some professional photos, and then he will be ready to be placed up for adoption.

 

Mr. Everest was at the vet today and now weighs 19.8 kgs(43.56 pounds).
 
He is a Great PyrX born January 16th, 2023.
 
I am told he was a really good boy! He had a thorough exam, received a booster of Lepto, and began his Lyme vaccine protocol. He weighed 19.8 kgs(43.56 pounds) at 4 days shy of four months of age.
 
He is not due for his DHPP booster until the 24th. We will have that one done at the same time as his Lyme booster.
 
He was given another de-wormer and placed on flea/tick preventative. Next month he will also start hw preventative.
 
He is booked for a professional groom session on the 16th of June – May have to confirm that is correct by looking at my calendar! – and we will then also do professional photos.
 
From there, he shall be ready to make his own special announcement!
 
This is him with the large stuffie I gave to the foster home for him. 
 
Nothing like having a surrogate litter mate or mama to help one settle in!
 

BHRR’s Asante(NewfX) is moving under a possible Pending Adoption.
 
We shall update as we can.

This is a merle female Great Dane that we have named ‘Fate.’ She is 11 months of age, and her previous O. only had her for one week before dumping her at a shelter in Quebec. The owner’s reasons – she jumped on them and chewed on a couch. She lived with a cat without issues, and the shelter has said that she has been indifferent to all of the dogs that she has seen.

The shelter spayed her, yet due to lack of space, they reached out to our Great Dane rescue for assistance. This Dane had begun to become anxious in the shelter. Very understandable. The shelter also de-wormed her with Strongid, put her on Revolution, and gave her Bordetella and DHPP vaccine. We will ensure that she receives boosters plus her Lyme/Lepto vaccines too. We will also do bloodwork to be assured that she is tickborne disease plus heartworm negative and place her on flea/tick/hw preventative. We are confirming with the shelter that she has had her rabies vaccine. If not, we will have that done too.

She weighs: 47.9 kgs(105.38 pounds)

We are busting her out! Date TBD, and we remain grateful to Tracey for stepping up as her foster family. They have fostered several dogs for us over the years, including BHRR’s Rosie plus our Saint sisters of BHRR’s Cagney and BHRR’s Lacey.

She is the fourth dog that we have been able to assist in 2023.

NOT YET AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION

Mr. Jack’s second eye enucleation has been scheduled for May 26th @ Eagleson Veterinary Clinic.
 
We have to raise another $2,000 for his surgery. His surgery will be over $3,000.
 
Our next driveway event is not until May 28th, and we need to remove that eye soon.
 
If anyone may consider his cause to support, donations can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
We and Mr. Jack would be so grateful for any consideration! Thank you! 
 

Gosh! Isn’t Mr. Knox, the Bouvier, so unbelievably handsome?!!
 
Vet visit is tomorrow, Wednesday.
 
Thank you to his fabulous foster family for the great photo and for taking such excellent care of him!
 

AND Mr. Everest is now safe with his foster dad Damion!
 
Two very stressful transports today, yet, they are now completed.
 
Mr. Everest will be at the Vet on Friday, and Mr. Knox’s vet appointment will be booked for later this week.
 
These two are #2 & #3 that we have been able to bring into rescue in 2023.
 
 
 
 

Mr, Everest is still travelling great!
 
ETA was to be around 7 PM, yet the transport is running behind.
 
 

Mr. Everest is on his way!!

Said to be super affectionate, and hesitant about getting into cars which is understandable with all he has gone through in his short life, yet travelling like a champ! 
 
His transport includes 21 other animals, cats, kittens, and dogs plus a couple of puppies and so many caring volunteers giving of themselves in time plus gas to make this rescue transport successful.
He is scheduled for his Vet visit for vaccines, a thorough exam, re-check weight, to get more de-worming plus flea/tick/hw preventative on Friday.

Well, it was a stressful transport, yet Mr. Knox is now safe with one of his foster mama Bernie, and making his way back to their home(Rachel).
 
Now, we are just waiting for Mr. Everest to arrive safely to his own lovely foster dad, Damion‘s caring arms.
 
Both transports have been difficult, and I will indeed rest better tonight!
 
It takes an army sometimes to make these rescues possible, and my heart is filled with so much gratitude for so many!
 

Mr. Knox! The just turned 1-year-old Bouvier.
 
Having a snooze on his transport!    

He is said to be mellow, sweet, and a real big black beauty! AND loves to sniff the back of people’s necks on the transport! 

He is also said to be very strong yet adorable! A bit nervous yet doing ok.

Those lack of training and manners which shall change once he is in rescue.
 
He is doing fantabulous and loved by the volunteers on his own transport to safety with BHRR!

Our Drive-way Events of 2023!

1) Sunday, May 28th, 10 AM – 4 PM (Cynthia)
220 Beley Street, Brockville, ON

2) Saturday, June 3rd, 9 AM – 4 PM (Ronda)
54 Barnhart Drive, Long Sault, ON, K0C 1P0 

3) Sunday, June 11th, 10 AM – 4 PM (Katy)
(Wellington Village/Westboro area)

4) Saturday, June 17th, 9 AM – 4 PM (Ren’s Pets – Baseline) – Raffle Basket, Bake Sale Too
1385 Baseline Rd Unit 3, Ottawa, ON K2C 3G1

5) Sunday, June 25th, 10 AM – 4 PM – (The Maracles)
1728 Harvest Cres., Orleans, Ontario
*RAIN OR SHINE*

6) Saturday July 22nd, 2023 – Gananoque! Thousand Islands Bark Bash

7) Saturday, July 29th, 9 AM – 3 PM (BHRR)
2425 Totem Ranch Road West, Oxford Station, Ontario -*BBQ, Dog Collar/Leash & Horse Tack Sale Too

8) Saturday, August 19th, 10 AM – 2 PM – Brockville Hyundai
*Car Wash, Items for Sale, BBQ, NO SERVICES

9) Saturday, September 9th – BHRR Movie Event! -*BBQ, Silent Auction, Bonfires, Prizes Too
2425 Totem Ranch Road West, Oxford Station, Ontario

10) Saturday, September 23rd – 9 AM – 4 PM – Pet Valu Brockville
*Items for Sale, BBQ – NO SERVICES

 

This is a just-turned-1-year-old male neutered Bouvier. 
BORN: April 24th, 2022. Vaccinated (not due for DHPP & Rabies until August 17th, 2023) – we would do additional vaccines plus bloodwork as part of our protocols.Natural ears, natural tail.

The owner surrendered to the pound as he was too much of a giant puppy that the owners did not train. He jumped up on one of the owners, and they fell down – no injuries – and they feel he is too much for them.

He is affectionate, housebroken, excitable, curious, playful, friendly, and good with dogs, & children; lived with a min poodle, another Bouv, and a cat.

He was very gentle at the vets. And is now anxious at the shelter.

He needs to learn basic manners & to have more exercise to stimulate his brain and body.

The only exercise was daily walks when the owners were able to.
 
No bite history, just a big goof!
 
No known medical issues either.
 
 

A 3-month-old Great PyrX – said to be with Maremma
Born: January 16th, 2023

Weight as of April 25th, 14.8 kgs(32.56 pounds)

He was adopted out by the shelter and returned 3-4 days later, as the home was not prepared for a Giant Breed puppy!

He was initially bought off a Kijiji ad from a breeder, kept for three weeks, then dumped at the shelter. They did not have the time for a puppy.

He is a typical puppy that mouths, lacks manners, and, typical of his breed, has an intelligent, independent mind all of his own!

ETA: first weekend of May

Prior

*NOT YET AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION*

 

 

I think all is forgiven now! 
 
Back on his favourite folded thick duvet, in his favourite spot by my computer, and humbling me with that adorable, precious look on his face!
 
All is right in his world…mine too! 
 
Almost 15 years old and going strong! 

Someone is NOT happy!
 
BHRR’s James – who turns 15 years young next month was not impressed with me asking him to go outside in the rain.
 
His facial expression and body position are one of a very unhappy camper!!
 
He will not even look at me now & has taken to lying under the bench in the sunroom far away from me.
 
He usually has zero issues going out in the rain….his issues arise when it is NOT his idea or choice! 
 
In offering him a treat, but he would not accept it until I put it down….
 
You are a character Mr. James!
 

On April 20th, Mr. Jack was at EVC for a check with the Surgeon who will do his second eye enucleation. He was the same surgeon that did his first eye enucleation last August.

It was confirmed that his eye does need to be removed due to glaucoma.

This handsome Bean has been a bit sad since his littermate & one of his bff’s was adopted recently – Miss Bev, so I took Mr. Albar on a special date today. 

We picked out a new toy, went through Tim’s for a plain Timbit, and had a lovely drive with the sunroof open and a/c blowing! Then topped off our fun date with a visit to friends for a love fest on him!

You are adored, Mr. Albar!
AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION

AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 
BHRR’s Pentu is AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
Standard Poodle/Bernese Mountain DogX 


Health Status: HEALTHY!

Age: ~9 months

Weight: ~75 pounds. Her last weight was March 24th, 2023, @ 66.88 pounds(30.4 kgs). We want to keep her lean/muscled and fit. Becoming fat is NOT in her or any dog’s best interest.

Some information from her wonderful foster mama:

“Pentu is social! She loves meeting new people and dogs and still always does the “deek between the legs” when she meets someone new or when someone comes into the house. She is playful and fun, loves playing with her toys, and is goofy and affectionate. She definitely loves her people and being close to them. She bonded really quickly and only got more affectionate. Will easily flop over on her back for a belly rub (from anyone that will give her one). When I sit on the couch at night, she will bring her toys and eggs me on to throw the toy so she can play.

She is a good walker. I put the Easy Walker harness on her, and she really thrives on it. I don’t think this is something that she will need for long, but it makes it much easier for me to walk two dogs at the same time I walk her and Simon together twice a day at a nice clip, so we are all getting exercise, and she does pretty good! The bunnies and birds on the ground are her new favourite distraction, and she will react in an excited way when she sees one of these little creatures.

She is very smart (when she wants to be, haha). She sits, stays, shakes a paw, responds to her name, and sometimes comes when called (a work in progress). We have been working on the name game where anytime she responds to her name, I give her a treat. She does take liberties in getting up on furniture, and I have to tell her OFF (she doesn’t always listen, and I have to go and remove her).

I think she is a wonderful family dog and is easily trained. She shows no signs of any type of aggression or anxiety. I think a family doesn’t need to have previous dog experience but, like your other requests, is committed to working on her training and obedience. She will make a family very happy indeed!!!

Here are a few highlights:
– Good with kids
– Good with other dogs
– Unknown about cats
– Good in cars
– Very playful and active, loves her toys (needs stimulation) and good exercise (I currently walk her twice a day)
– House and crate trained: she has not had one accident in the house! And I do put her in the crate when I go out…not that I think she would pee/poop in the house or destroy anything, more because she would get herself worked up and bark the whole time I was gone. She doesn’t hang out in her crate but has no problem going in there when asked. AND is a really good girl.”

Type of Home Ideal For Miss Pentu: She is such a versatile girl – she is playful, gentle, loves her friends, walks, is calm when properly mentally plus physically stimulated, and is active. She is not a medium-maintenance personality dog – she is brilliant, and needs a solid structure. She interacts well with people/dogs she meets, and we hope for a quiet, socially low-active level home. A residence that, while visiting family plus friends and having people over, does not host frequent BBQs or gatherings of large groups. We do not want to see her in a home with a high level of travel, with other people taking care of her. She is loyal and loves her people, and we want her to be part of the family if they go camping, go to the cottage, or do other fun travels. She is social and needs a home that is like her. One that shall not overwhelm her. She would adore cottage life or hang out at home with her family. Visiting friends, family, pet stores, and pet-friendly places is excellent too. We want a quietly active home for Miss. Pentu. She is intelligent, healthy, and such a precious girl!” 

 

She MUST go to a home that will continue to work on exposing her to new, fun, and beautiful things in the world. Time, patience, and effort have gone into having her be comfortable in her skin, to not only like yet love her own company. We are not advocates of dog parks. Many private properties rent out space for acreage rentals so that he can enjoy a controlled environment to run and zoom in. We want her to look forward to the next adventures plus experiences. She needs a home that will give her new positive and great safe, memorable experiences. If you are a home that likes to take infrequent walks/hikes/strolls, Mr. Pentu is not for you…she is a healthy dog and needs to be kept emotionally and physically stimulated. She would make a great companion to get out into nature, explore, and enjoy the beach and other exciting adventures! She is also a great companion when watching movies or curled up with a good book. A home that understands and shall continue to help her learn about this big fantastic world that we live in. We want her to live a quality-filled, enriched life. She is being fostered in a lovely home in the Ottawa area yet can equally live comfortably in the city or country.

We want her to be happy and to live her best life every day. We want her to reach her full incredible potential! She is another versatile BHRR dog! She can be in a home that works ft; pt works from home, is semi-retired or retired, etc. She will ONLY go to a home prepared to ensure she receives the balance he requires with proper exercise, socialisation, etc. She does not need to go to a dog, nor a Standard Poodle or Bernese Mountain Dog-specific experienced home.

The home must be committed to her obedience, structure, and consistency, and to be patient, kind, and understanding, and while not hermits, they are not doing a hundred things each day or weekly, or monthly. We want her to be treated as a beloved member in a right-matched forever-loving home. We want her to be an invaluable member of her forever-loving adoptive home! She can be shy in new situations, requiring the right positive balance between patience, ‘tough’ love, calming assuring, and passively ignoring. She has been taught to share and that no human or dog will take her high-value food. She is fed in a quiet place and knows that she will be fed enough food on time and that no one will take her away.

She loves home and her friends.

Personality/Temperament: Super loving, affectionate, calm, happy sweet; she loves to get outside to romp and run and is a delightful, playful pup! She needs to be emotionally/physically properly stimulated, social, active, gentle, plus kind. She thrives with consistency, structure, routine, and clear open communication to understand precisely what is expected of her. She is an active healthy puppy!

Previous Dog Experience: Previous Dog experience is not required per the above, and she needs a home that is going to be committed to her wellbeing and make the small adjustments required as she is still a puppy, still learning, and still mentally plus physically growing. She sleeps well, and ideally like to see her in a home with at least one right-matched personality-fit dog. She needs a strong doggie friend network in the community though. That is so important. We have friends; she needs friends too. She has enjoyed meeting new canine friends.

Good With Cats: Unknown. Integration is key! She has been fine with the veterinary clinic cat at my work, yet Miss Pearl is not really a cat!

Good with Pocket Pets: Unknown

Good with Children: We feel that any right-matched personality fit home for Miss Pentu, should they have children, said children – no more than two in the house, should be over 12. So, we will consider homes that have older children for Miss Pentu

Grooming: She needs regular grooming to keep her coat healthy and look her best. Regular grooming includes nails and ears. We have also had her professionally groomed during her time in rescue.

Car: She travels well in the car.

Housebroken/crate Trained: She is housebroken and crate trained. We never recommend giving any new addition too much freedom to start. It can be very overwhelming plus too stimulating for them.

Obedience: She requires a home that will be consistent and dedicated to continuing to help her become the best dog she can be. Her potential is enormous! As per our adoption contract, a full round of group obedience is required with all of our dogs. This is not about having a dog that ‘listens.’ This is about creating a strong and mutually respectful bonding relationship. Trust and respect work both ways.

Activities Suited For Her: She would excel in obedience work. Great companion at home, a great companion for camping, cottaging, hikes, and exploring new things! She is a doll.

Loves & Bad Habits: Like any dog, she is not perfect. She is perfect in all of her imperfections, though! NOT to mention gorgeous. She still shows some reluctance going into the Vet Hospital, and on the scale. We strongly recommend that right matched personality fit home for them to take trips to the Vets just to visit. Get treats, and some loving without any examinations, pokes or prods!Per her foster home: “Since she is a playful puppy, she plays with her mouth, and her sharp little teeth can hurt.

Barks – she does like her barking! With the big picture window and glass door, it is a recipe for barking. I do think she can be trained to use her voice more appropriately but will take some love and effort. When I can tell she is so fired up, a small time out (she is not in trouble tho) in her crate helps her relax.”

She is a fantastic dog! She is accepting and tolerant of so much! So low-medium maintenance!

Anxieties/Worries: It is integral that the right-matched personality fit home and does not spend 24/7 with her. During this pandemic and even before it, we still need groceries; we should still go out and do errands; we should still get in our cars and go for a small drive to go somewhere to do something! Time has been spent having her learn to not only like yet enjoy her own company. As we need our alone time, she must do too. She is a solid and stable dog; we do not want any SA behaviours to develop.

As we have stated for over 27 years now, we will NEVER rush any dogs’ rehabilitation journey, we do not flip dogs, and we are not desperate to adopt them out.

We will always place up for adoption the dogs that can be adopted and safe haven all others that cannot be placed up for adoption due to medical and/or behavioural reasons.

We do not take in hundreds of dogs yearly; we only took in 18 dogs in 2022 as it is about helping the next in need of us, giving them top-quality care, and not about taking in numbers. In 2023, we have ONLY taken in 1 dog to date.

After 27+ years, we know that we cannot please everyone, which means that BHRR is not the rescue to be followed, supported, and believed in by everyone. We remain small plus mighty, and as we go through this next transitional stage for BHRR, we shall continue to operate with a zero-tolerance approach, providing and beyond care to the animals.

Our mandates have never changed and will remain the same as long as we are around; the animals shall always be done right by as our priority.

Our adoption success rates remain second to no other group – 100% for over ten years of operating, and now 99% as we go through year 27, and we are excited as we go through this slow transition for BHRR!

You have done a THUMBS up job, Miss Pentu, and we are thrilled you are making your special announcement!

I wish I were sharing better news….
 
Per previous posts, Mr. Jack was at EVC on March 11th for issues with his remaining eye. Mr. Jack is one of our Three’s Company puppies. We lost one of his siblings, Miss Janet, due to cluster seizures. 
 
He was given eye drops after diagnostics were done, yet there was limited improvement. He was then dispensed another type of eye drops, and after talking in-depth to the Vet, he saw a second opinion was recommended. The Vet believed everything should have been resolved, so they wanted us to be proactive and seek another opinion.
 
As it was difficult to get him back in at EVC – appointment bookings are now being made a few weeks out – I scheduled him with one of the Vets he had seen at LAH to keep continuity.
 
Unfortunately, his eye has deteriorated quickly, and per his Vet that saw him yesterday:

‘With his third eyelid so exposed, it was hard to see and do IOP, but I got at least 2 readings, and they are higher at 32 mmHg…’

What we and his foster home had suspected is now happening, glaucoma.
 
So, now we are in an urgent situation of having to do a second eye enucleation for Mr. Jack. 
 
The one he had in August was just shy of $3,000.
 
Prices have gone up as of 2023, and I am waiting for an estimate and surgery booking to remove his eye ASAP.
 
Glaucoma is extremely painful, and he has special drops that his foster home picked up from the pharmacy to help control his pain. Thank you from our hearts to them for offering to pay for them.
So, the ‘race’ is on for us to raise at least $1,500 for a deposit for his surgery.
 
We will fundraise as we brainstorm ideas.
 
This is BHRR’S Jack with Beans the Rabbit! 
 
Donations for his cause – even $5 is not too small! – can be made via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Mr. Jack and we would be so grateful for your consideration…. 
 

Very early this AM, Mr. Romeo, along with our GSP had an encounter with a porcupine. Sean let them out around 3 AM, thinking they needed to pee.
 
So, it was a costly emergency vet visit with both of them.
 
Here is Mr. Romeo – sedated for his quill removal and post-removal napping at home, recovering. One picture of our GSP, as he was also a bad baby!
 
May both of them not have ingested any, or many, and not be negatively impacted by them.

Today, I adopted out my #436th foster!
 
Bittersweet, as always.
 
BHRR’s Bev!
ADOPTED!
 
I wish to thank Elaine again for joining me on such short notice to do this home visit for a possible approved adoption of either Mr. Albar or Miss Bev.
 
Either pup would have been a right-matched personality fit – that is not all that common to have two so closely matched, yet when the application came in, these two were the ones I felt could be the best possible fits.
 
The home felt a deeper connection to Miss Bev.
 
It was hard to watch Mr. Albar as for all that know him, he loves women, yet adores men – Richard can well attest to that! – and he was so smitten with the man. Elaine & I both had our hearts wrench a bit at watching that knowing that he was not their chosen one.
 
Both pups travelled great in the car, first looking around, then snoozing snuggled up with each other, and the giant stuffies that folks know that I have for the dogs.
 
As I got closer to the home, Mr. Albar began to do a bit of drooling. He settled back down yet as I was literally parking, he puked on poor Miss Bev’s tail, and my back seat, and one of my large stuffies. Thank goodness for bags, Lysol wipes, and napkins in my car. Always travel prepared! 
 
Both were wonderful guests – they showed how smart they are with how well they are housebroken, they were well mannered, and Miss Bev showed how much fun carpeted stairs were! Mr. Albar picked up on that pretty quickly.
 
As I explained to this home, I put my heart and soul into each of our dogs; we go up and beyond on everything from vetting to food, to training to love plus spoiling to pictures, blog updates, etc., and that r/q rescue is not done by one person alone. THIS litter was surrounded by a village, a small yet mighty powerful one and the final cost of successfully rehabilitating them is over $30,000, and counting for their top-notch care continues. 
 
We work so hard to ensure that our dogs become assets to the home plus community. This litter was exposed to SO much as their individual blogs have been well documented as proof.
 
Elaine said to me this must be so hard to let them go, and it is! Miss Charm crippled me, and I only had her for mere hours before she passed away in my arms. Miss Ayla had me welling up, too when she was adopted. YET, I said so many times today, as I have so many times in the past, that I am so freakin’ proud of this litter and that if I have done my job right, now it is time to pass the torch and have their right matched personality fit adoptive homes do right by our dogs. We will always be here as a 24/7 resource, our contract states that our dogs must come back to us if for any reason the home cannot keep them any longer or care for them properly.
 
This is once again, not a goodbye, this is just a turning of a beautiful page in Miss Bev’s journey of life, and looking forward to the next pages plus chapters of the WOW adventures in her future!
As for Mr. Albar, the great experiences that you had today, just builds upon your already solid well, written resumé, and your own right-matched personality fit home is out there….the same goes for Miss Nola plus Miss Maybelle Cutie. My cherished Beans!
 
We are not in a rush, we are patient, and boy, do they ever live a grand life right now….as the weather warms back up, we are spending more and more time back outside – though in the winter, we also spent vast amounts of time outside too, planning for play dates, visits, and adventures!
 
AND a special treat was running into Margaret on my way out to do this home visit today, as she was dropping off some donations in our shed!
 
Our attention now turns to reviewing the applications that have been submitted for Miss Asante, and as always, we will only approve a right-matched personality fit home. We are patient and we keep our mandates of putting the dogs first as our priority – we know she is popular like so many other BHRR dogs and will update as we can.
 
Happy Good Friday to all!
 

Mr. Albar & Miss Bev on our way to the home visit for a possible approved adoption.

A glimpse of Miss Chrissy while filming the devastation from the ice storm.

VIDEO

AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

BHRR’s Asante is AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

Health Status: HEALTHY!

Age: 9 months – Born: June 13th, 2022

Weight: 45.4 Kg – 99.88 pounds (March 2023). We want to keep her lean/muscled and fit. She had become chubby at one point, which was not in her best interest.

Type of Home Ideal For Miss  Asante: She is such a versatile girl – she is playful, gentle, loves her friends, walks, is calm, and is quite chill overall. She is not a high-maintenance personality dog. She interacts well with people/dogs she meets, and we hope for a quiet, socially low-active level home. A residence that, while visiting family plus friends and having people over, does not host frequent BBQs or gatherings of large groups. We do not want to see her in a home with a high level of travel, with other people taking care of her. She is loyal and loves her people, and we want her to be part of the family if they go camping, go to the cottage, or do other fun travels. She is social and needs a home that is like her. One that shall not overwhelm her. She would adore cottage life or hang out at home with her family. Visiting friends, family, pet stores, and pet-friendly places is excellent too. We want a quietly active home for Miss. Asante. She is intelligent, healthy, and such a precious girl!

She MUST go to a home that will continue to work on exposing her to new, fun, and beautiful things in the world. Time plus and effort has gone into having her be comfortable in her skin, to not only like yet love her own company. We are not advocates of dog parks. Many private properties rent out space for acreage rentals so that she can enjoy a controlled environment to run and zoom in.

We want her to look forward to the next adventures plus experiences. She needs a home that will give her new positive and great safe, memorable experiences. If you are a home that likes to take infrequent walks/hikes/strolls, Mr. Asante is not for you…she is a healthy dog and needs to be kept emotionally and physically stimulated. She would make a great companion to get out into nature, explore and even enjoy the beach and having other exciting adventures! She is also a great companion when watching movies or curling up with a good book.

A home that understands and shall continue to help her learn about this big fantastic world that we live in. We want her to live a quality-filled, enriched life. She is being fostered in a lovely home in the Ottawa area yet can equally live comfortably in the city or country.

We want her to be happy and to live her best life every day. We want her to reach her full incredible potential!

She is another versatile BHRR dog! She can be in a home that works ft; pt works from home, is semi-retired or retired, etc. She will ONLY go to a home prepared to ensure she receives the balance she requires with proper exercise, socialisation, etc.

She does not need to go to a dog, or even a Newf or Pyr experienced home. The home must be committed to her obedience, structure, and consistency, and to be patient, kind, and understanding, and while not hermits, they are not doing a hundred things each day or weekly, or monthly. We want her to be treated as a beloved member in a right-matched forever-loving home. We want her to be an invaluable member of her forever-loving adoptive home!

She has been taught to share and that no human or dog will take her high-value food. She is fed in a quiet place and knows that she will be fed enough food on time and that no one will take her food away.

She loves home and her friends.

Personality/Temperament: Super loving, affectionate, calm, happy sweet; she loves to get outside to romp and run and is a delightful, playful pup! She needs to be emotionally/physically properly stimulated, social, active, gentle, plus kind. She thrives with consistency, structure, routine, and clear open communication to understand precisely what is expected of her.

Previous Dog Experience: Previous Dog experience is not required per the above, yet a home that is going to be committed to her wellbeing and make the small adjustments required as she is still a puppy, still learning, and still mentally plus physically growing. She sleeps well, and while ideally like to see her in a home with at least one right-matched personality-fit dog – it is not mandatory. She needs a strong doggie friend network in the community though. That is so important. We have friends; she needs friends too. She has enjoyed meeting new canine friends.  

Good With Cats: She has been completely fine with the cats she has interacted with at the events at PV. One of the cats is loose in the store. Integration is key!

Good with Pocket Pets: Unknown

Good with Children: We feel that any right-matched personality fit home for Miss Asante, should they have children, that said children – no more than two in the house, should be over the age of 8. So, we will consider homes that have children for Miss Asante.

Grooming: She needs regular grooming to keep her coat healthy and look her best. Regular grooming includes nails and ears. We have also had her professionally groomed during her time in rescue.

Car: She travels well in the car.

Housebroken/crate Trained: She is housebroken and crate trained. We never recommend giving any new addition too much freedom to start. It can be very overwhelming plus too stimulating for them.

Obedience: She requires a home that will be consistent and dedicated to continuing to help her become the best dog that she can be. Her potential is enormous! As per our adoption contract, a full round of group obedience is required with all of our dogs. This is not about having a dog that ‘listens.’ This is about creating a strong and mutually respectful bonding relationship. Trust and respect work both ways.

Activities Suited For Her: She would excel in therapy work. She is a doll. Great companion at home, a great companion for camping, cottaging, small hikes, and exploring new things!

Loves & Bad Habits:  Like any dog, she is not perfect. She is perfect in all of her imperfections, though! NOT to mention gorgeous. She still shows some reluctance going into the Vet Hospital. We strongly recommend that her right matched personality fit home for them to take trips to the Vet just to visit. Get treats, and some loving without any examinations, pokes or prods!

She is an awesome dog! So low maintenance! She is accepting and tolerant of so much!

Anxieties/Worries: It is integral that the right-matched personality fit home does not spend 24/7 with her. During this pandemic and even before it, we still need groceries; we should still go out and do errands; we should still get in our cars and go for a small drive to go somewhere to do something! Time has been spent having her learn to not only like yet enjoy her own company. As we need our alone time, she must do too. She is a solid and stable dog, and we do not want any SA behaviours to develop.

As we have stated for over 27 years now, we will NEVER rush any dogs’ rehabilitation journey, we do not flip dogs, and we are not desperate to adopt them out.

We will always place up for adoption the dogs that can be adopted and safe haven all others that cannot be placed up for adoption due to medical and/or behavioural reasons.

We do not take in hundreds of dogs yearly; we only took in 18 dogs in 2022 as it is about helping the next in need of us, giving them top-quality care, and not about taking in numbers. In 2023, we have ONLY taken in 1 dog to date.

After 27+ years, we know that we cannot please everyone, which means that BHRR is not the rescue to be followed, supported, and believed in by everyone. We remain small plus mighty, and as we go through this next transitional stage for BHRR, we shall continue to operate with a zero-tolerance approach, providing and beyond care to the animals.

Our mandates have never changed and will remain the same as long as we are around; the animals shall always be done right by as our priority.

Our adoption success rates remain second to no other group – 100% for over ten years of operating, and now 99% as we go through year 27, and we are excited as we go through this slow transition for BHRR!

You have come so far, Miss. Asante, and we are delighted you are making your special announcement!

There are simply no words!!

Yes, Miss Pentu’s fabulous foster home respects the ‘no couch’ rule – and this is a rare exception.

Miss Pentu is such a hoot!!

Fantastic photo!!! It made my day!!

Miss Brooklyn is going to bunk with The Boerskins for a bit.
 
She had to be moved from her foster home & after we do some continued behavioural assessments/training plus medical testing – neuro – she will be heading to a perma-foster home.
 
We do not believe that it is in her best interest to be placed up for adoption.
 
PS: that is not a wound on her; that is a sun sparkle!
 

Miss Pentu – 8-month-old Berner/Standard PoodleX

Candid photo – totally hilarious! – from her professional photo shoot on March 27th.

She will make her own special announcement shortly.

Thank you again to her wonderful foster mama and to Liz for everything!

 
 
 
 
 

UPDATE: Per a previous post, Miss Rosie had a detailed blood panel done in addition to her thyroid levels plus exposure to Heartworm/Tickborne diseases when she was at the Vet on March 20th.

Her thyroid levels are low normal, so her Vet would like to increase her dosing from 0.5 mg BID to 0.6 mg BID, and despite having her Lyme vaccine and being on flea/tick preventative year round, she was positive for Lyme.

So, she is also on Doxycline for the next 28 days. One can do everything right, and still, **** happens. 

Her Vet bills are now over $1,000 for what was to be her annual Vet visit. Any donations to her cause can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

As mentioned, we are not in a position to bring in the senior English Mastiff, Marley, until we are in a better financial state. BHRR has only been able to bring in one dog to date in 2023; we sure would love to help more that are in urgent need of our highly specialised programs.

Here is another picture of Miss Rosie on the day of her Vet visit – as stated, she has lost close to 22 pounds since her arrival at BHRR. WTG!

 

Miss Pentu had her professional photos today!

Once they are received, she will then make her own special announcement.

So exciting! 

Thank you to her incredible foster Mama and Liz!

 

 

 

 

On March 6th, I received a message that Mr. Jacks’s foster home thought he may have had another seizure. They were not sure.
 
I asked them to journal, and we will document it in his records as a ‘possible.’
 
AND on March 11th, he was seen at EVC as his foster reached out that day saying his right eye was red.
 
Unfortunately, after treatment, his foster mom still feels it is red. So, I will be dropping off another type of drops for him.
 
This picture is from March 3rd of him and his big sis in his foster home.
 
Seizure History:
1) Seizure December 14th ~5:25 PM
2) Seizure December 15th ~12:58 PM
3) Seizure December 16th ~11:06 AM
*Dr. Levesque advises stopping the Clavaseptin & giving him at least a week or so and monitoring. Foster home to start a journal, too, to determine if there is any pattern.
4) Seizure December 16th ~6:30 PM
5) December 18th ~3:09 PM
6) ‘Possible’ seizure March 6th, 2023 – ~7:45 PM
 
He remains AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION.
 

Miss Pentu (Berner/Standard PoodleX) was at the Vet on March 21st for her re-weigh – 30.4 kgs(66.88 pounds).
 
She had her boosters, dispensed some eye meds for her eyes – a bit red, and given her next flea/tick/hw & de-worming meds. Her skin looks a bit dry – some dander – yet, overall is looking fantastic!
 
Night and day since she was first rescued.
 
She is on omega’s.
 
AND she was to have her professional photo session on the 23rd, yet the rain had a different idea.
 
Her photo shoot has been rescheduled to March 27. Thanks, Liz & Janie!
 
Shortly after that, she should be ready to make her own special announcement!
 
 

Miss Rosie was at the vet today for her annual – a wee bit late!
 
She weighed an amazing 31.4 kgs(69.08 pounds). Since her arrival, she has now lost a total of 9.9 kgs(21.78 pounds!). WTG!!! She looks so amazing!
 
Her body score is now at a 3+/5. She gets her thyroid tabs religiously every 12 hours, and today, we ran a blood panel – $235+tx to see how her thyroid is doing, did her annual heartworm/tickborne disease testing, plus a wellness blood panel.
 
She had her vaccines, a thorough exam, and lots of love!
 
Today’s Vet visit was just under $735, and this does not include her thyroid tabs – we are waiting to see the results of her bloodwork first.
 
To put our dire financial status in reality – even if we did an approved adoption this weekend of one of The Beans, their adoption fee would not even cover Miss Rosie’s annual/meds.
 
We receive $160/month in generous automatic PayPal donations, and one month will still not cover the remainder of Miss Rosie’s bill for today.
 
We have dogs like Miss Olive and Mr. Brutus, who are a combined close to $2,000/month in medications alone.
 
We sincerely do wish to help Miss Marley, yet we now also have to move Miss Brooklyn from her current foster home.
 
With each passing month, Sean/I come closer to the realization that we may not make it to 2032 per our slow transitional plan for BHRR.
 
This is our truth, and most of BHRR remains financed out of our own pockets, yet Sean/I are hoping to retire within 12-15 years and have to think about our futures too……
 
We never have and shall never cut corners with any dogs with vetting, food, and comfort needs. We have only been able to commit to one dog to date in 2023 – Miss Pentu, and it may not be possible to help Miss Marley. 
 
Miss Rosie does remain AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 

Stay Tuned!
 
Miss Asante (9 months old) shall be making her special announcement shortly.
 
Newf/Great PyrX
 
This is one of the pictures from her wonderful professional photo shoot – on March 16th with Liz!

Someone had her professional groom yesterday!
 
Isn’t she gorgeous?!!! 
 
Miss Pentu! The 8-month-old Bernese/Standard PoodleX.
 
She is at the vet next week for her boosters, a re-weigh, a recheck of her skin, and her next flea/tick & de-wormer!
 
She is super sweet, loved by all who meet her & doing great!!
 
Thank you again to her amazing foster mama for being incredibly generous and paying for Miss Pentu’s groom.
 

This stunning girl will have her professional photos done tomorrow with Liz.
 
Thank you again, Liz, for all you do for the community!!
 
Once, they are received, Miss Asante (Newf/PyrX) shall be ready to make her special announcement.
 
As with so many BHRR doggies, she has been quite popular – what is not to love? – and as with all of our dogs, only a right-matched personality home will be approved. 
 
Thank you’s being sent to her wonderful foster home for sharing this great photo of her.
 
You have come far BHRR’s Asante, and we are incredibly proud of you.
 
 

Miss Pentu was at the Vet on February 27th.
 
She weighed 29.5 kgs(64.9 pounds).
 
She is an 8-month-old Bernese Mountain dog/Standard Poodle mix.
 
Her skin was given a beautiful thumbs up, and the recommendation was to have her now placed on some Omega’s. The severe skin infections are resolving; yay!!
 
She had a big thumbs up on her heart and lungs and an overall exam.
 
We did bloodwork to see what her prior exposure to heartworm and tickborne disease was, and the tests were negative, so great news!
 
She went home with additional dewormer yet for some reason her Lyme/Lepto vaccines were not done nor was she given a dose of preventative for fleas/ticks.
 
Sooooo, she came back to the vet hospital the next evening when I was working, and I administered the vaccines plus dispensed a dose for flea/tick prevention.
 
It was amazing to see her again, plus her amazing foster mama!
 
AND here is a picture sent from her foster mama after her February 27th Vet visit. 
 
She looks like she is smiling!
 
That is BHRR’s Simon in the back. ADOPTED June 13th, 2022. I have been told these two have a grand time together & Miss Pentu is playful and loves toys.
 
Miss Pentu is booked for her professional groom on March 14th, and her next vet visit is on March 21st for boosters, a re-weigh, plus a recheck of her skin. We will obtain her next dose for fleas/ticks and another de-wormer dose then too.
 
If all goes well, she will be ready for her professional photo shoot by the beginning of April, then make her special announcement not long after that!
 
So much was done for her while we had her in emergency temp foster care in SWO, and we remain immensely grateful to the shelter for asking us to assist her! 
 

One more photo for today! 
 
This is BHRR’s Lilly(deaf/visually impaired Great Dane). A gorgeous Dane that is also in our Haven program.
 
She first arrived in rescue on August 1st, 2019.
 
Her previous owner invested much money into a ‘trainer’ who believed in shock plus prong collars. Her neck was raw, and all the punitive training methods made her behaviours worse.
 
The level of anxiety, stress, confusion, and fear this sweet Dane had was so heartbreaking. She was quite thin upon arrival, yet she was a growing Dane and was under a lot of strain. She was not housebroken upon arrival either, yet it did not take too long!
 
We successfully rehabbed her with positive, balanced training methods, and she was placed up for adoption on May 28th, 2020. We wanted a transitional adoption for her to ensure a successful outcome.
 
Unfortunately, there was so little interest in her & no right-matched forever-loving adoption applications came her way. Therefore, after two years of being up for adoption, she was moved to our Haven program, where she lives a grand life! 
 
When we commit to the next in need of us, it does not matter if they are adoptable, adopted, or not. We commit to them for the rest of their lives.
 
She is precious to us and a huge fav of so many BHRR supporters!
 
This is her relaxing in front of one of our fireplaces. All toasty and comfy.
 

Another elusive Dane! 
 
BHRR’s Athos!
 
One of our three Musketeers. He is hard to take photos of as his bff is Mr. Caramel. With Mr. Caramel’s terrified of cameras, we do not take many of Mr. Athos either.
 
Yet, today, I captured one handsome mantle boy! With a Bean – does anyone know which one? (Miss Maybelle Cutie!) & part of my one snow-dampened Wolfie Torin.
 
Mr. Athos has been up for adoption for just shy of two years – March 13th, 2021. Not one application has come in for him.
 
Come March 13th of this year, per previous posts, should his right-matched forever-loving home not find him, he will be placed in our haven program.
 
He is equally adored and cherished by all that know him!
 

*+-

BHRR’s Caramel!
 
One of our Haven Danes. 
 
I opened the window to talk to Sean – and Mr. Caramel poked his head in to say hello! 
 
This boy has come SO far since he arrived in rescue on December 20th, 2019.
 
Scared of literally everything, had stomach & skin issues and severe ear infections, and was good with female dogs yet only ok with male dogs smaller than him. With humans, he could be selective due to his fear yet warmed up given time.
 
Well……fast forward to today; his bff is Mr. Athos, another male Great Dane(one of our 3 Musketeers).
 
He loves The Beans – once he realised they would not eat him & he is fantastic with my two male Wolfies too.
 
He just needs time and patience, and understanding plus we do not baby him. We do not feed his anxieties & this boy is doing amazing!!!
 
We do not take a lot of pictures of him as the camera does terrify him, yet, I was able to snap this one fast after whipping out my phone when he poked his head through the window.
 
I love this boy. He is full of personality; we do not push him past his boundaries – we show him new plus exciting things, and he extends his boundaries when he is comfortable. His boundaries have gotten so much larger since his arrival.
 
I wish more people could see how wonderful he truly is….his owner discarded him like trash to a shelter.
 
Well, we adore him….he is safe & he lives a grand life with us.
 
 

This is Miss Brooklyn making a new friend on a walk!

 

According to Miss Pentu’s foster mama, she is already exploring!
 
I cannot wait to get her professionally groomed when she is ready so she can feel plus look her best. 
 
She was super popular on the long transport, and not hard to see why. Such a sweetheart!
Thanks to her wonderful foster mama for sharing this photo!
 

Got her!!
 
On my way to meet up with Janie in Kanata!
 
She is beyond lovely!!! Miss Pentu, it is a true pleasure to meet you finally!
 
Welcome to the BHRR family! 

AND Miss Pentu is on her way!
 
She is an 8-month-old Bernese Mountain Dog/Standard Poodle mix. She is said to be about 62 pounds and tomorrow we will get a re-weigh.
 
She began travelling super early this AM. I am being told she is a sweetheart! She is travelling with quite a few cats and a couple of very young pups & doing fantastic.
 
I will be meeting the volunteer transport early evening and then driving her to her fabulous foster mama, Janie!
 
I also want to thank one of my own Great Danes for donating one of her gently used collars and leashes to give to Miss Pentu. Every girl should feel/look beautiful!
 
I want to thank her soon-to-be foster Mama for extremely generously offering to pay for her food & buying her an XL Costco dog bed, plus offered to pay for her professional groom. Humbled!
 
The Beans are to be thanked, too, for donating some of their toys plus a bag of fish-based treats to Miss Pentu. We will figure out more toys & fish-based treats once payday comes.
 
Tomorrow, she is off to the Vet & as previously posted, we are going to use Mr. Bruce’s adoption fee to help go towards her, which are going to be extensive vet bills as she is rehabilitated.
Soon beautiful girl…..we will meet soon. We have been working on saving you since January….
 
Safe travel wishes are being sent to all!
 
 

Miss Pentu is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. She is a Bernese Mountain Dog/Standard PoodleX. This is not a purebred.

This is a picture from the shelter of her, and here is some information from her report. She was spayed at the end of January and has been in a foster home via the shelter until transport could be arranged to us.

“pulls a bit when walking but needs help to be more confident; she is shy. Fearful of loud noises, cars/trucks going past, other animals, and stairs. Happy, calm and relaxed riding loose in the car. Some pulling on walks but mostly fine – she is scared of strange people and dogs. Issues chewing things they shouldn’t; she meets another dog the first thing she does is hide. She normally cowers. more nervous if you’re standing vs. if you crouch.”

Once comfortable, she can be that excited, mouthy, jumpy puppy. So manners 101 will be implemented upon her arrival! We are told that she is a nice girl and sweet.

She is booked to see our Veterinary team on Monday, February 27th. She will get her DHPP booster, her first Lepto and Lyme vaccines, a re-weigh, placed on flea/tick preventative, obtain more de-wormer, have her skin checked, have a thorough exam, and have some bloodwork done.

She had her rabies, bordetella, and first DHPP plus was routinely de-wormed while in the shelter.

We are told that she presently weighs about 62 pounds, and we look forward to meeting her! Gwen will be picking her up from the volunteer transport, and dropping her off at her foster home in Kanata. Thank you again Janie for stepping up to foster this beautiful girl!

 

From Mr. Jack’s lovely foster mama….AND, I am told that Mr. Jack did get off the couch when his foster mama noticed. 
 
Nothing like an afternoon nap with one of the best kitties in the world, Fig! 
 
We are also told:

“Jack is doing great! He is a big ball of wonderful energy and is so affectionate. He loves his toys he got for Christmas and loves playing tug with Phoebe.”

His sister Miss Chrissy will be going up for adoption shortly. We deliberately kept from posting her up for adoption as it was best for Miss Janet to have her sister. With Miss Janet’s tragic passing due to cluster seizures, Miss Chrissy will go up for adoption.

The dog that misses Miss Janet the most though is one of our own Danes. Those two were mischievous peas in a pod!

Mr. Jack remains AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

Today, BHRR approved its first adoption of 2023!

BHRR’s Bruce
ADOPTED!

It is also our 435th adoption since our inception in 1996!

Small and mighty, we remain!

Mr. Bruce, you really are a dream, Dane. Just a dream. I have had the absolute honour of not only being contacted to bring you into our rescue, yet getting to see you at Vet visits, visiting you when dropping off food, goodies, SS pressies, and even taking you to some Vet visits.

Then, we got to have an overnight together last night, and yup, the relationship that we have forged slowly over the past months was as strong as ever!

Then, tonight…your home visit…..you made me proud! Your progress – your SA was so heart-wrenching, your emaciation level equally so when you first arrived -, with your trust, that while you would check in with me regularly and had moments of being unsure, you were also willing to explore, munch on your delicious smoked dino bone, to drink, and be curious, demonstrated how far you have come. That you are genuinely ready for this next big step.

We cannot thank the shelter enough for reaching out to us to assist you; we cannot thank your emerge foster mama enough for safe harbouring you; we cannot thank your temp foster mama enough for taking excellent care of you, we cannot thank our expert Vet Team, our amazing supporters enough either for helping us that included the kind angel that bought you your own Wiggle bumz collar/leash to every person at the Tim’s drive-thru for the kind hands plus touches.

AND thank you to your forever-loving adoptive mama for going through our thorough adoption process to help ensure that you are the right Dane for them and vice versa!

Remember, dear boy; this is not a goodbye; this is a hello to a new wonderful human member being welcomed into the BHRR family clan! Your village shall forever surround you and your human

Mr. Bruce’s adoption fee will be used to help Miss Pentu – thank you again to Janie Wall for stepping up to be her awesome temp foster mama – who arrives this Sunday! She is heading to the Vet on the 27th, and we know that her own vet bills shall be vast as we deal with her skin issues.

As we continue to struggle with finances to keep BHRR afloat, Miss Pentu is our first save of 2023. She is the next in need of us!

The BHRR CHAIN of SUCCESS continues strong as we slowly transition over the next ~9 years!

 

 

We are on our way!
 
To Mr. Bruce’s home visit for a possible approved adoption.
 
This Dane is truly a dream!
 
The best of houseguests – we brought him into our own home as of last night from his wonderful temp foster, so happy to see him again!- and it has been an honour having him in our rescue program.
 
AND if this is not his right-matched forever-loving adoptive home, that is ok.
 
We will update as we can!
 
 

Our 4th Annual ‘Won’t You Be My Valentine’ Fundraiser is live!

LAST CALL!

Our Annual ‘Won’t You Be My Valentine’ Fundraiser is live!

Running through until the end of the day tomorrow, February 15!

Please help us give each doggie a special Valentine!

Thank you to everyone that has become a Valentine Angel to date, and to those asking, here is our email transfer address to send the vet bill part of your generous donation: contactbhrr@gmail.com

Please let us know if you would like to be a Secret Valentine!

Thanks in advance for any consideration!

Miss Asante has her two-week post-op checkup today at 5 PM at EVC.
 
This picture was sent to us 1-week post-op by her foster family.
 
Gwen has also asked for more Dermaaxx as the radiologist, plus her expert vet team has determined that she has a growing condition, which is most likely Pano. She is on strict exercise not just because of her healing eyes yet for her body.
 
She has responded well to the Dermaxx, and Gwen would like the foster to have more on hand.
 
We are also very curious re: her weight as, at one point, she had been a bit chubby. Her caring foster home has been super diligent plus dedicated to her well-being, and we cannot thank them enough for all that they have done and are doing for Miss Asante.
 
Should Miss Asante get the thumbs up today after her recheck, we will be working on her professional photo shoot, and from there, she will be ready to make her own special announcement!
 

Mr. Bruce would like to share the exciting news that he is moving under a PENDING ADOPTION!

We shall update as we can.

He is such an unbelievably awesome Dane!

***February 3rd is Gwennie’s Birthday!***

In her honour we are hoping to raise $500 to help with BHRR’s Brooklyn’s Cardio Vet Bills.

Donations can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

Total Raised: $575

This does not look awkward at all!!!

Miss Brooklyn, the Dane with her beautiful foster sister River & her adopted brother BHRR’S Chester! 

Thanks to her foster home for sending this awesome photo!

 

Pentu — is Finnish for puppy.

Thanks to the Finnish animal population control, an incredibly low number of dogs are in need of adoption. How wonderful! We can only hope to be the same one day.

Pentu is what we have named this newest addition, the first of 2023 that we are working on an ETA to BHRR – after February 7th. She is a 7-month-old Bernese/Standard Poodle cross puppy that has skin issues. She has been in no less than four homes since she was born.

We will update as we can!

Miss Asante had her bilateral cherry eye surgery today.
 
Last Saturday, she weighed 40 kgs. Not sure of her weight today – as I could not get to work – and her foster home is working on seeing her lose a few pounds, as she was chubby last weekend. 
 
***We are still $800 short; any consideration would be so appreciated!!!***
 
The surgery went well, they were finished around 12:40 pm, and she stayed to recover.
 
I asked for a second cone as we have to make sure any risks to her eyes are minimal to nonexistent. If one cone breaks, her foster family will have a backup and if they do not use it, we will have it for another BHRR doggie.
 
The failure rate is high with cherry eyes and she is a Newf, a giant breed, still a puppy, and had surgery that failed on one eye already.
 
We will do all we can to ensure the success rate is there….
 
So many to thank for coming together with donations, fundraising, empties, and support! 
 
Any donations to help us with her bills can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
 
 

TO DONATE: PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@grmail.com

On January 18th, Miss Brooklyn was back in to see the Vet.

This is her face….
 
We also did her cardiac X-rays and a cardio pet reading. Then those were sent off along with her records, including the latest findings from this Vet visit to a cardiologist to review as we found out that she had a heart murmur. One Vet thought it was a 3 when she was first at EVC. The Vet that saw her on the 18th felt it was a 1. We needed to be proactive to find out what is happening with Miss Brooklyn.
 
I had put $1,500 of what had been sent to date as a deposit for Miss Asante’s bilateral eye surgery on the 26th as I can only put so much money down at one time – card limits – and within the blink of an eye that amount has been eaten up by Miss Brooklyn and Miss Asante’s other vet visit.  I had planned on putting down money daily over a few days until the total amount for her surgery had been placed on account at EVC.
 
We have had a generous $100 donated over the past week and now still need to make up $1,400 for Miss Asante’s surgery.
 
Every year it becomes harder and harder as bills increase for vetting and food etc.  BHRR remains mostly financed out of pockets of Sean & and lately, we have been paying for special fish-based food for almost 8 dogs along with bills such as Miss Olives’ almost $1,200 monthly medications. We also pay for Mr. Brutus’ medications at almost $700 a month.
 
I am working two jobs to ensure each animal lacks nothing.
 
We also cover most of the monthly flea/tick/hw plus deworming meds for the dogs, treats, toys, collars, leashes, dog beds, and cleaning supplies.
 
Unfortunately, this is just not sustainable. After being in operation since 1996, each month is becoming so much harder than the previous one.
 
Any consideration would be so appreciated…and we have our Empties collection program too!
 
 
 

Mr. Bruce, the Dane!
AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 
This is him and ‘his’ cat!  Buddies!
 
AND yes, his amazing foster has begun to cut back on his food, so his booty will not be so bountiful! 
 
He is just a joy!!!

Sorry for the lack of posts. We have had some urgent vet visits for some of the dogs, and Miss Asante is just one of them for this week.
 
I had sent an email to her fosters regarding her upcoming bilateral cherry eye surgery on the 26th and was informed that she has been doing some intermittent limping over the past week.
 
This could be a minor or a major thing so we got her into EVC this AM.
 
X-rays were done, and at first look, the vet thought she might have a fractured anconeal process on the one elbow. So X-rays were then taken of the other elbow and they both look similar. This should have been fused by her age – and have not – and so the x-rays have now been paid to be sent off to the radiologist for their own expert opinion.
 
In the meantime, she has been placed on NSAIDS – Deramaxx to see if they may help.
 
We will update as we can.
 

Just two close buds watching Mason plow the 25+ cms of snow we received.

Then staring at me when I disturbed their Mason watching!

Two peas in a pod, from their high-level energy to their intense need to almost become part of their humans when cuddling! 

The muscles that these two boyz pack are insane….rock solid!

Mr. Romeo (AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION) & our Tango(GSP).

 

Miss Brooklyn was at the Vet today for boosters and a re-weigh. She is two weeks into her heat.
 
She weighed 43.4 kg. She has put on just shy of 3 kgs since her last Vet visit.
 
She is so undersocialized, so once again, she had trazodone to help with her anxiety for her trip to the Vet.
 
We are also in conversation regarding the possibility of using a heart protocol to get her spayed in the future.
 

Should BHRR’s Athos right-matched forever, loving adoptive home not find him by March 2023, we will move him to our Haven Program. We adore you, and you shall be cherished for life, a great quality filled live shall continue to be yours, you handsome dude!

Mr. Jack’s seizure update:

He had his first seizure on December 14th. He had his last seizure on December 18th. He had his last Nexgard Spectra on December 5th, and on December 6th, he was at EVC for a UTI. He was then placed on Clavaseptin. Both medications lower the seizure threshold. He had been on Nexgard Spectra without any issues since his arrival. With the combination of medications, I reached out to one of our Vets as I am aware that these medications can lower the seizure threshold, he was now on two meds, plus he is a DM dog.

We had a conversation with one of our Vets at LAH, Dr. Levesque, and the recommendation was to stop the Clavaseptin and give him several weeks. As he had been not having any more signs of incontinence and had three doses left, his foster home was advised to stop giving the antibiotics.

Two Veterinarians observed the video sent of his seizure.

Seizure History:
1) Seizure December 14th ~5:25 PM
2) Seizure December 15th ~12:58 PM
3) Seizure December 16th ~11:06 AM
*Dr. Levesque advises stopping the Clavaseptin & giving him at least a week or so and monitoring. Foster home to start a journal, too, to determine if there is any pattern.
4) Seizure December 16th ~6:30 PM
5) December 18th ~3:09 PM

No seizures since. Being a DM and that his sister Miss Janet has IS, it is understandable that he would have a lower seizure threshold.

This is Mr. Jack playing with one of his special secret Santa pressies!
 
Thanks to his lovely foster family for the pic!
 
As most are aware, he has been having seizures, the poor wee adorable dude.

BHRR’s Bruce sends a big THANK YOU to his special secret Santa – Elaine G., for the amazing gifts!
 
He remains AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 
Thank you to his wonderful foster home for sharing this photo.
 

Miss Brooklyn is wearing her Earth-rated bandana!
 
Thanks to her foster home for sending a picture!
 
They will send more with the poop bag/dispenser, too so we can share with Earth Rated.
 
Miss Brooklyn is working on appropriate displays of behaviour including not being a bossy bully, barking, and sharing the humans.
 
She is an 18-month-old giant-sized brat and I was glad I had the chance to see her again this week for boot camp it is. There is no excuse for poor manners….she will learn. She will have structure, consistency, rules, routine, obedience, patience, and time.
 
She even does some inappropriate urination to express her feelings when humans do not jump and jump fast to her every wish. Yes, per a previous post, we also did a thorough exam and urinalysis. This is not medical.
 
She needs to learn that she is the dog that the humans will take care of, that she does not get all she wants when she wants, and to self-comfort, self-love, self-amuse plus to enjoy her own company.
 
The force is strong in this one! 
 

This is Miss Brooklyn.
 
She is our newest intake and was at the Vet yesterday.
 
You can see from this picture – and it is no lie – she is painfully thin, borderline emaciated.
 
She weighed barely over 90 pounds and should weigh closer to 110 – 115 pounds.
 
She also is so scared plus anxious. Lots of inappropriate displays of barking too.
 
She was given trazodone the night before her apt. and the morning of.
 
She was such a good and brave girl when I took her blood to run pre-op bloodwork along with heartworm and tickborne disease testing. Her bloodwork is normal, and she was negative for heartworm and tick-borne diseases.
 
Her foster mentioned her happy tail was bleeding, which is not infected, and she needs to keep it quiet. We have taught many a dog the ‘quiet tail’ command. If need be, and we have only ever done this once due to such a severe tail injury, amputated a small portion.
 
She is not eating anywhere near the minimum of 8 cups of food she should and is not drinking the amount she should. We have her on some wet canned food mixed with a new kibble plus water.
 
We learned that she has a supposed chicken allergy, and while we had been told she had a heart murmur, it is actually a Grade III. We cannot put her under sedation/anesthesia without knowing more.
 
The foster mentioned two nights out of three for accidents in her crate, so I advised to bring in a urine sample. Only after it was run and I was on break from surgery – did I see the text – I am at work! – that last night (night 4), there were no accidents. That would have indicated that this is not an infection, yet most likely behavioural yet, we are diligent! So a full urinalysis was done. 
The urine did not indicate any infection, yet it did confirm her dehydration.
 
We have her on flea/tick and also de-worming meds, too, plus she received her Lepto plus Lyme vaccines. She will go back for boosters in a month, and we will get a re-weigh at that time.
 
 
 
 

Mr. Bruce, a fawn merle/brindle Great Dane is settling nicely into his new foster home!
 
He has a great older foster doggie sister and he adores the pigs, cows plus horses yet chickens and roosters are scary to him! 
 
Such a solid boy who has proven to also do well with cats plus rabbits.
 
He does like his counter surfing, too, so that is a continued work in progress!
 
Thank you to his amazing foster mama for sending this beautiful picture.
 
He is AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION
 

AND Miss Brooklyn is now with us! 18-month-old female heavily marked mantle Great Dane.
 
Thank you to her wonderful fosters for picking her up & she is scheduled for her first vet visit on the 14th. We need to do some vaccines, a heartworm/tickborne disease test & pre-op bloodwork, as she is not spayed. She will have a thorough exam and be placed on monthly – at this time of year, heartworm preventative is not needed – flea/tick meds plus a proactive/preventative de-wormer.
 
For those who may not know, the spay alone for a Giant Breed is close to $1,200 at many places.
 
Theresa P., this is your special Secret Santa!
 
As she settles in, her foster will know more about what she needs and loves!

NOTICE:
 
BHRR does not adopt out during the XMAS season due to our position that it is not in the best interest of any new addition being added during such a busy, exciting, and somewhat stressful time for many.
 
Quite a few other Rescues, Shelters, Pounds, etc., have also begun to follow a similar protocol to what we have been doing for over 26 years.
 
Our XMAS Shut down period for this year is from Monday, December 19th, 2022, to Tuesday, January 3rd, 2023, inclusive.
 
Any applications received during this time will be processed/reviewed as of Wednesday, January 4th, 2023!
 
During this time, BHRR is always available 24/7 for requests for assistance of animals in need, and we shall then network accordingly as the local Great Dane/Giant Breed Rescue since 1996, the welfare of the animals is our top priority. We do not wish to see any animal end up in a disreputable place, of which, sadly, there are far too many out there.
 
Thank you for your continued understanding – The BHRR Team
 
 

As much as we try, we seem to not be able to get ahead on Vet Bills.
 
Mr. Jack was at Eagleson Veterinary Clinic tonight, as his foster informed me that he had been having some incontinence.
 
If anyone may consider donating to his Vet bills, we would be incredibly appreciative. We are trying to raise enough funds to pay for Miss Asante’s bilateral cherry eye surgery and have the newest addition to BHRR, arriving on the 11th – Miss Brooklyn. She will require her own extensive vetting.
 
Any donation considerations can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
 
OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
As always, we are humbled by any support given…..
 
 
 

Thank you to Pet Valu Brockville for hosting us today!
 
Wishing Kevin, the feline an amazing 7th Birthday again & for sharing his special day with us!
 
Thank you to Richard, Carol & Katherine for the vegan chili, the baked goodies, the buns, spoons etc., all of their organisational assistance, and for being so awesome!
 
Thank you to Tanya  – the foster mama, for bringing BHRR’s Asante to this event so that people could meet firsthand who they are supporting! Thank you also for the incredible baking!
 
Thank you to each and every kind soul that came out in support, spent some time talking to us, loving on our Miss Asante, and helping us to get closer to our goal of having her bilateral cherry eye surgery!
 
Today, a heartwarming $780.30 was raised for Miss Asante, our five-month-old NewfX. 
 
We only need just over $2,500 more to repair her eyes!!! Getting there.
 
Please consider saving your Empties this holiday season to help us raise what we still need. 
 
 

Today, I adopted out my #434 foster!
 
BHRR’s Agatha – ADOPTED!
Born: December 23rd, 2021
 
AND this was another bittersweet one for me.
 
AND I know that as hard as it was on me, it was hardest on my own GD that is just one week younger than Miss Agatha, and on Miss Aggie herself. 
 
Last night Miss Agatha just knew something was a bit different. This home visit was rescheduled from last Sunday as our area received 30 cms of snow.
 
Miss Agatha, normally appropriately independent, was somewhat needy of me and kept close to her BFF, my female GD, and so last night, I let them sleep together. Miss Agatha did not sleep in her colossal crate. She even had some anxiety in the car today as we drove the one+ hour to the home visit. She did settle down nicely.
 
Those two complement each other magnificently.
 
Yet, we knew that if Miss Agatha could be successfully rehabilitated – she was anything but a well-mannered, solid, social, sharing young lady when she arrived, not to mention her anxiety level – that we would love to see her in the right match personality fit home, other than ours.
 
We taught her a lot re: children and that while they are fast, spastic, loud, unpredictable creatures, they can also be fantastic treat dispensers!
 
Miss Agatha, you demonstrated your impeccable manners plus bravery today. Your curiousity plus a sense of adventure saw you willing to explore, and your check-ins to me were 100% thumbs up.
 
You sat and stuck a sit/stay, waited patiently while your forever adoptive humans stepped inside the house and came back to you sitting rock solid in the same spot, and took treats gently, and I am bursting with so much pride – some tears too!
 
I am going to dearly miss your bigger-than-life personality, the incredible love of life that you have, your gorgeous fly-away nun ears, looking into your stunning dark brown eyes, touching your sleek, healthy gorgeous coat, getting your snuffles and sniffles of curiousity smelling my hair, searching for the treats in my pockets, and sitting so proudly for those treats you found.
 
Though small, you are mighty, and your glorious positive energy fills a room when you walk into it, and in new situations, as soon as someone gives you a treat, you are comfortable plus relaxed.
 
Your trust in me has humbled me immensely. You have made me a better owner, trainer, behavioural expert, rescuer, foster mama, and person in having been privileged to have you as a cherished member of my heart plus home Miss Agatha!
 
Your adventures shall continue, and though it is with a new, forever, loving family, I shall be there in your own heart as you experience them to your fullest!
 
Your future chapters are going to be incredible, and thank you to Cassy Montgomery for doing this home visit with me!
 
I already miss you, BHRR’s Agatha, yet your home has told me that you had a small walk, a big pee finally, and are snoozing by their feet…….
 
It was a BIG day, a wonderful day! Happy early 1-year Birthday to you!
 
 
 

Miss Asante was at Eagleson Veterinary Clinic today for a consult for her bilateral cherry eyes.

We shall update as we can!

AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 
BHRR’s Bruce, a Great Dane is AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 
Health Status: HEALTHY!
 
Age: ~3 years old
 
Weight: 56 Kgs(November 18th, 2022). We want to keep him lean/muscled, and fit. He could use a few more pounds as he builds up further muscle mass/tones.
 
Type of Home Ideal For Mr. Bruce: He loves his walks, and hikes, and getting so much better with car rides – he still has some anxiety – and interacts well with people/dogs he meets, and we are hoping for a quiet, socially low-active level home. A residence that, while visiting family plus friends and having people over, does not host frequent BBQs or gatherings of large groups. We do not want to see him in a home with a high level of travel, with other people taking care of him. He is loyal and loves his humans, and we want him to be part of the family if they go camping, go to the cottage, or do other fun travels. His quietly social and needs a home that is like him. He would adore cottage life or hang out at home with his family. Visiting friends, family, pet stores, and pet-friendly places is excellent too. We want an active home for Mr. Bruce. He is intelligent, healthy, and such a wonderful boy!
 
He MUST go to a home that will continue to work on his anxiety. He takes some time to settle down in a car while travelling. He will pace and sometimes whine before lying down. He is a lot better than he was, yet he still worries. As he was dumped at a shelter after his owner died, understandable that car rides still have a negative connotation for him. So much time and effort have gone into having him be comfortable in his own skin, to not only like yet love his own company. He charges into new situations with enthusiasm! A home that understands and shall continue to help him learn about this big fantastic world that we live in. We want him to live a quality, filled, wonderful life rich with experiences. He is being fostered in a beautiful home in the Kemptville area yet can equally live comfortably in the city or country.
 
We want him to be happy and to live his best life every day. We want him to reach his full potential! He is another versatile BHRR dog! He can be in a home that works ft; pt works from home is semi-retired or retired, etc. He will ONLY go to a home prepared to ensure that he receives the balance he requires with proper exercise, socialisation, etc. He does not need to go to a dog or even a Dane-experienced home. The home must be committed to his obedience, structure, and consistency, and to be patient, kind, and understanding, and while not hermits, they are not doing a hundred things each day. We want him to be treated as a cherished member in a right-matched forever-loving home. We want him to be a cherished member of his forever-loving adoptive home! He shares the communal water bowls and toys and understands that no human or dog will take his high-value food. He is fed in a quiet place and knows that he will be fed enough food, fed on time and that no one will take his food away.
 
He loves home and his friends – he needs canine friends! He also loves to explore, go on hikes, walks, and working on car rides, and visit people/places that are not over the top busy. We are not advocates of dog parks. Many private properties rent out space for acreage rentals so that he can enjoy a controlled environment to run and zoom in. He needs a home that will give him new positive and great safe, memorable experiences. If you are a home that likes to take infrequent walks/hikes/strolls, Mr. Bruce is not for you…he is a healthy dog and needs to be kept emotionally and physically stimulated. He would make a great companion to get out into nature, explore and even enjoy the beach and having other exciting adventures! He is so unbelievably affectionate!
 
Personality/Temperament: Super loving, affectionate, and calm, yet does get excited as he is incredibly happy and sweet; and he loves to get outside to romp and run and is a delightful, playful pup! Not the most coordinated or graceful to watch! He needs to be emotionally/physically properly stimulated, incredibly social, active, affectionate, gentle, plus kind. He thrives with consistency, structure, routine, and clear open communication to understand exactly what is expected of him. He is SO praise-motivated. His whole body demonstrates how happy he is!
 
Previous Dog Experience: Previous Dane experience is not required per the above, yet a home that is going to be committed to his wellbeing and make the small adjustments required as he does have some anxiety in the car. He does well overnight in his crate – he has been getting some trazodone before bed as needed. He is an EARLY rise! While we would ideally like to see him in a home with at least one right-matched personality fit dog – it is not a deal-breaker. He needs a strong doggie friend network. That is so important. We have friends; he needs friends too. He has enjoyed meeting other dogs!
 
Good With Cats: He has been good with LAH’s clinic cat, and he is fine with one of the cats in his foster home.
 
Good with Pocket Pets: His foster home has rabbits.
 
Good with Children: NO small children. Children are fast, flighty, unpredictable, spastic, plus loud. We will consider homes with responsible children 10+ and no more than two children in the house. A home without children is our first preference, as we want Mr. Bruce to be the priority. He has not had any issues with children. We would consider homes with younger children, yet, it would have to be an exceptional home.
 
Grooming: He is fine to wash and do his nails. He needs regular grooming to keep his coat healthy and looking his best.
 
Car: He still has some anxiety in the car. He will settle down yet, will pace, and turn around. Telling him gently that he is ok and passively ignoring is huge.
 
Housebroken/crate Trained: He is housebroken and crate trained. We never recommend that any new addition be given too much freedom to start. It can be very overwhelming plus too stimulating for them.
 
Obedience: He requires a home that will be consistent and dedicated to continuing to help him become the best dog that he can be. His potential is enormous! As per our adoption contract, a full round of group obedience is required with all of our dogs. This is not about having a dog that ‘listens.’ This is about creating a strong and mutually respectful bonding relationship. Trust and respect work both ways.
 
Activities Suited For Him: He would excel in obedience, and I wonder when his brain is mature if he would not make a WOW therapy dog. He is such a riot! Makes me laugh! So eager to please!
 
He is precious. He will be a champion amazing companion to watch movies, the sunset, long walks on the beach, small hikes in the mountains, etc. He is awesomeness!
 
Loves & Bad Habits: Like any dog, he is not perfect. He is perfect in all of his imperfections, though! NOT to mention super handsome with a fawn merle colour. He can have some anxiety, particularly in the car. He LOVES everything! He lives in a home with rabbits, cats, and other dogs. He is still a bit of a ‘bull in a china shop’ with his leash manners. He has pretty much ZERO interpersonal space issues, has the Dane lean, and loves to be around his human and animal friends! He is excited about living and the world! He has been so gentle about taking treats, yet sometimes needs a reminder to be gentle.
 
He is an awesome dog! So low maintenance! He LOVES everyone and everything!
 
Anxieties/Worries: It is integral that the right-matched personality fit home does not spend 24/7 with him. During this pandemic and even before it, we still need groceries; we should still go out and do errands; we should still get in our cars and go for a small drive to go somewhere to do something! Time has been spent having him learn to not only like yet enjoy his own company. As we need our alone time, he must do too. He is a solid and stable dog, and we do not want any SA behaviours to develop. His foster has worked hard on his anxiety in the car and with crate training.
 
As we have stated for over 26 years now, we will NEVER rush any dogs’ rehabilitation journey, we do not flip dogs, and we are not desperate to adopt them out.
We will always place up for adoption the dogs that can be adopted and safe haven all others that cannot be placed up for adoption due to medical and/or behavioural reasons.
We do not take in hundreds of dogs yearly; we only took in 6 dogs in 2021 as it is about helping the next in need of us, giving them top-quality care, and not about taking in numbers. In 2022, we have ONLY taken in 17 dogs to date.
 
After 26+ years, we know that we cannot please everyone, which means that BHRR is not the rescue to be followed, supported, and believed in by everyone. We remain small plus mighty, and as we go through this next transitional stage for BHRR, we shall continue to operate with a zero-tolerance approach, providing and beyond care to the animals.
 
Our mandates have never changed and will remain the same as long as we are around; the animals shall always be done right by as our priority.
 
Our adoption success rates remain second to no other group– 100% for over ten years of operating, and now 99% as we go through year 26, and we are excited as we go through this slow transition for BHRR!
 
You have come so far, Mr. Bruce, and we are delighted you are making your special announcement!
 
 

Join us Sunday, December 4th, from 1 PM – 2 PM as you design a gorgeous holiday planter!
$40 Cash at the door – Bring gloves and pruning shears!

 

AND Miss Asante was also at the Vet today!
 
She is our Newfx puppy(with Pyr). Born: June 13th, 2022.
 
She weighed 30.6 kgs(67.32 pounds). Her last weight on October 18th was 21.9 kgs(48.18 pounds). She was extremely skinny at that appointment.
 
Now, she looks good and is just starting to become a bit overweight. So, we will monitor closely.
 
We had more eye lube dispensed, two more months of Nexgard, she received her boosters AND had her eyes looked at once again.
 
It is now time for her to be professionally groomed! We will have that scheduled shortly. We want all of our dogs to look plus feel their best!
 
I will be in conversation with the surgeon tomorrow in re: to her bilateral cherry eyes. We still have close to $5,000 to raise for the one estimate that we were given.
 
She may need to have a consult with the surgeon before proceeding, and that may change the estimate.
 
This is a surgery that has a high risk of failure. She already had one eye done by the shelter – her right – and that failed fast.
 
Being a giant breed puppy, a Newf too, and that the ‘newer’ approach to surgically addressing bilateral cherry eye all brings the probability of failure to a high level. We know this going in, and have had to address this more than once, with many a Giant since our inception. So, one thing that we can do/control is to do this surgery(ies) when she is a bit older.
 
Miss Asante shall be at our December 3rd Bake & Chili sale at Pet Valu Brockville! If you would like to donate any baked goodies or have items that we could sell at our table – please do email contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Thank you to her wonderful foster home for making sure she got to her Vet appointment today and offering to be her special Secret Santa!

This AM, I brought Mr. Bruce in to see the Vet for a suspected rash in his groin area. This was an appointment that had been scheduled a few weeks ago yet the Vet became ill and had to be rescheduled.
 
Unfortunately, his foster Mama ended up not being able to bring him in this AM, so I managed to rearrange my schedule, and he/I had a road trip! 
 
This boy is something else! Super friendly, a bit of a ‘bull in a china shop’ with his loving and leash manners yet, he tries so hard to be a perfect gentleman! Anyone who has big interpersonal space issues will not be meant for him! He is right up in your face, plus hair, sniffling, snuffling, and smooching! 
 
His weight today was 56 kgs(123.21 pounds). He has put on 11.88 more pounds since October 1st! He is looking lean and strong, and with more muscle mass building, he will put on a few more pounds and look even more amazing! GREAT job to his foster family!
 
The ‘rash’ on his groin is not a rash. They are small bumps, a couple bordering on pustules. Yet, none infected, and he now has some Malacetic wipes to be wiped down daily. Each piece can be cut in two, so he has 50 days’ worth.
 
He smelled a bit yeasty – his ears – yet, they were good. Recommended to be cleaned weekly for the next few weeks.
 
He showed his wonderful manners by sitting for treats and then wanted to put his face in the Vet’s pockets as he knew more were in there. He Dane leaned on the Vet, causing many smiles!
 
He even handed over his front paws to be looked at. They were mildly pink, yet that could have just been from the cold and snow outside.
 
He was given a lot of love by staff AND now has the official thumbs up from the Vet and me to make his special announcement…..so stay tuned!
 
This afternoon, Miss Asante – the appointment is scheduled for 1 PM – is having her own Vet visit at LAH. She is due for boosters, and a re-weigh, and we will have those eyes looked at again, have more eye drops, if necessary dispensed, and her next flea/tick/hw meds. We just had a new bag of food put aside for pick-up too.
 
Today, we have already spent over $600 in Vet bills, which does not include Miss Asante’s vet visit.
 

Today, I had my 433rd foster adopted. Miss Ayla!
 
AND it was an emotional one. Hard not to be.
 
I was ‘ok’ until I was told that I would probably find Miss Maybelle the hardest to adopt out, and I found myself choking up a bit for yes, any of the beans are going to be extremely hard, yet it was Miss Ayla for me that I always knew would be an edge more harder….
 
I never told anyone that before today….
 
All of the beans had their battles uphill to overcome, and I have been Mama Gwennie protective of them all – at times more protective of one or more over others depending on what they were going through in their rehabilitation journey at that moment.
 
Miss Ayla had the hardest of all of them getting over aspiration pneumonia. She had so many punctures even half of her nose was severely damaged, with a big part even missing. My vet team and I were so pleasantly surprised to see how unbelievably amazing her body healed with minimal scarring.
 
All of them have so many small scars still on their bellies.
 
How Miss Ayla, even today – Miss Nola does the same thing – would trustingly want to lay backward cradled in my arms, looking at me with her gorgeous eyes, made my heart melt.
 
This home was interested in Miss Maybelle, and in going through their application, I felt Miss Ayla was the better fit. I offered to bring both to their home visit should the application process reach that stage. I wanted the home to see and understand and also possibly reach the same conclusion as to why I felt Miss Ayla would be the better right-matched personality fit pup.
 
Could they have made it work with Miss Maybelle, sure, yet it would not be in her or their ultimate best interest. Set up for success for the home and our dogs is a priority.
 
They wholeheartedly agreed Miss Ayla ‘is the one.’
 
A mother’s love is unconditional plus deep, and it is that Mama Gwennie love I have for all of them that enables me to let them go. Being selfless can be hard for Miss Ayla fits in so well in my own home and heart, yet, she does not need me – she thinks she does.
 
I know I have done all I can in raising a beautiful, confident, curious, social, healthy, happy, incredible with manners girl so that she can now spread her wings and not just fly yet soar into this awesome world we live in.
 
Is it easy to let go?! Nope, yet my love is so big and strong, and this is why I do what I do….she is going to be ok, I am going to be ok, and in fact, she is going to thrive!!
 
What a wonderful family she will be able to call home, and BHRR has added another lovely family to our own BHRR fam. 
 
Miss Maybelle, your own right-matched personality fit home is out there….you need a much more experienced home Miss Diva Princess Bean! 
 
Thank you again Cassy Montgomery, for helping out at this home visit! You were with me the night I picked them up and rushed them off to emergency in Kingston, and befitting that you were there today, as the first Bean was adopted!
 

Miss Maybelle & Miss Ayla are on our way to the home visit today!

AND The Bean’s latest professional photos are in! I will post the same blog post on each blog yet, keep their individual photo’s on their own blogs.
 
Thank you Liz Bradley!!
 
This could well be their last night that all five shall be together for tomorrow, I am doing a home visit for a possible approved adoption of either Miss Maybelle or Miss Ayla.
 
It is going to be an emotional night for me! I freely admit it! I have held these wee beans and fought hard for their survival since they were placed into my hands at barely a week of age.
 
I adore my Beans! 
 
We are also now reviewing another application for one of The Beans. They are looking at one of the black girls too.
 
Poor Mr. Albar and Miss Bev….they remain overlooked.
 
They were at the Vet on Friday, November 11th, for their final boosters. BHRR takes care of everything for our dogs – all rounds of boosters, de-worming, flea/tick/hw meds, pre-op bloodwork, microchipping, spays/neuters, AND it was many many many thousands of dollars to get them healthy from the aspiration pneumonia that they came to us with, saving Mr. Albar’s leg, treating the severe punctures on Miss Ayla, etc. Miss Nola still has her HM 1-2. Could resolve or may stay the same for life etc.
 
Their adoption fees are a mere pittance compared to the almost $27,000 it took to get them healthy.
 
I remain so proud of them!!!
 
Here are their weight history:
 
Puppy 1 – 0.38 kgs – deceased as of 8:49 AM Thursday, August 4th(passed away just hours after they were surrendered to rescue) – Miss Charm Bean
 
Puppy 2 BHRR’s Nola – (Miss Fighter Bean)
August 4th – 0.38 kgs as well
August 8th – 0.62 kgs (1 lb, 6 oz)
August 11th – 0.82 kgs (1 lb, 12.8 oz)
September 15th – 4.9 kgs (10.78 pounds)
October 21st – 11.3 kgs (24.86 pounds)
October 25th – 11.9 kgs (26.18 pounds)
November 11th – 14.4 kgs (31.68 pounds)
 
Puppy 3 BHRR’s Beaver(Bev) – (Miss Explorer Bean)
August 4th – 0.48 kgs
August 8th – 0.71 kgs (1 lb, 9 oz)
September 15th – 4.7 kgs (10.34 pounds)
October 21st – 9.7 kgs (21.34 pounds)
October 25th – 10.4 kgs (22.88 pounds)
November 11th – 13.10 kgs (28.82 pounds)
 
Puppy 4 BHRR’s Albar – (Mr. Warrior Bean)
August 4th – 0.46 kgs
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
September 15th – 5.2 kgs (11.44 pounds)
October 21st – 10.9 kgs (23.98 pounds)
October 25th – 11.7 kgs (25.74 pounds)
November 11th – 14.6 kgs (32.12 pounds)
 
Puppy 5 BHRR’s Maybelle Cutie – (Miss Diva Princess Bean)
August 4th – 0.56 kgs
August 8th – 0.99 kgs (2 lbs, 3 oz)
September 15th – 5.3 kgs (11.66 pounds)
October 21st – 11.3 kgs (24.86 pounds) – same as Miss Nola
October 25th – 11.8 kgs (25.96 pounds)
November 11th – 15.2 kgs (33.44 pounds)
 
Puppy 6 BHRR’s Ayla (Miss Chill Mobile Bean)
August 4th – 0.64 kgs
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
August 11th – 1.03 kg (2 lbs, 3.6 oz)
September 15th – 4.7 kgs – same as BHRR’s Bev (10.34 pounds)
October 21st – 11.2 kgs (24.64 pounds)
October 25th – 11.7 kgs (25.74 pounds) – same as Mr. Albar
November 11th – 14.3 kgs (31.46 pounds)

AND The Bean’s latest professional photos are in! I will post the same blog post on each blog yet, keep their individual photo’s on their own blogs.
 
Thank you Liz Bradley!!
 
This could well be their last night that all five shall be together for tomorrow, I am doing a home visit for a possible approved adoption of either Miss Maybelle or Miss Ayla.
 
It is going to be an emotional night for me! I freely admit it! I have held these wee beans and fought hard for their survival since they were placed into my hands at barely a week of age.
 
I adore my Beans! 
 
We are also now reviewing another application for one of The Beans. They are looking at one of the black girls too.
 
Poor Mr. Albar and Miss Bev….they remain overlooked.
 
They were at the Vet on Friday, November 11th, for their final boosters. BHRR takes care of everything for our dogs – all rounds of boosters, de-worming, flea/tick/hw meds, pre-op bloodwork, microchipping, spays/neuters, AND it was many many many thousands of dollars to get them healthy from the aspiration pneumonia that they came to us with, saving Mr. Albar’s leg, treating the severe punctures on Miss Ayla, etc. Miss Nola still has her HM 1-2. Could resolve or may stay the same for life etc.
 
Their adoption fees are a mere pittance compared to the almost $27,000 it took to get them healthy.
 
I remain so proud of them!!!
 
Here are their weight history:
 
Puppy 1 – 0.38 kgs – deceased as of 8:49 AM Thursday, August 4th(passed away just hours after they were surrendered to rescue) – Miss Charm Bean
 
Puppy 2 BHRR’s Nola – (Miss Fighter Bean)
August 4th – 0.38 kgs as well
August 8th – 0.62 kgs (1 lb, 6 oz)
August 11th – 0.82 kgs (1 lb, 12.8 oz)
September 15th – 4.9 kgs (10.78 pounds)
October 21st – 11.3 kgs (24.86 pounds)
October 25th – 11.9 kgs (26.18 pounds)
November 11th – 14.4 kgs (31.68 pounds)
 
Puppy 3 BHRR’s Beaver(Bev) – (Miss Explorer Bean)
August 4th – 0.48 kgs
August 8th – 0.71 kgs (1 lb, 9 oz)
September 15th – 4.7 kgs (10.34 pounds)
October 21st – 9.7 kgs (21.34 pounds)
October 25th – 10.4 kgs (22.88 pounds)
November 11th – 13.10 kgs (28.82 pounds)
 
Puppy 4 BHRR’s Albar – (Mr. Warrior Bean)
August 4th – 0.46 kgs
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
September 15th – 5.2 kgs (11.44 pounds)
October 21st – 10.9 kgs (23.98 pounds)
October 25th – 11.7 kgs (25.74 pounds)
November 11th – 14.6 kgs (32.12 pounds)
 
Puppy 5 BHRR’s Maybelle Cutie – (Miss Diva Princess Bean)
August 4th – 0.56 kgs
August 8th – 0.99 kgs (2 lbs, 3 oz)
September 15th – 5.3 kgs (11.66 pounds)
October 21st – 11.3 kgs (24.86 pounds) – same as Miss Nola
October 25th – 11.8 kgs (25.96 pounds)
November 11th – 15.2 kgs (33.44 pounds)
 
Puppy 6 BHRR’s Ayla (Miss Chill Mobile Bean)
August 4th – 0.64 kgs
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
August 11th – 1.03 kg (2 lbs, 3.6 oz)
September 15th – 4.7 kgs – same as BHRR’s Bev (10.34 pounds)
October 21st – 11.2 kgs (24.64 pounds)
October 25th – 11.7 kgs (25.74 pounds) – same as Mr. Albar
November 11th – 14.3 kgs (31.46 pounds)

AND The Bean’s latest professional photos are in! I will post the same blog post on each blog yet, keep their individual photo’s on their own blogs.
 
Thank you Liz Bradley!!
 
This could well be their last night that all five shall be together for tomorrow, I am doing a home visit for a possible approved adoption of either Miss Maybelle or Miss Ayla.
 
It is going to be an emotional night for me! I freely admit it! I have held these wee beans and fought hard for their survival since they were placed into my hands at barely a week of age.
 
I adore my Beans! 
 
We are also now reviewing another application for one of The Beans. They are looking at one of the black girls too.
 
Poor Mr. Albar and Miss Bev….they remain overlooked.
 
They were at the Vet on Friday, November 11th, for their final boosters. BHRR takes care of everything for our dogs – all rounds of boosters, de-worming, flea/tick/hw meds, pre-op bloodwork, microchipping, spays/neuters, AND it was many many many thousands of dollars to get them healthy from the aspiration pneumonia that they came to us with, saving Mr. Albar’s leg, treating the severe punctures on Miss Ayla, etc. Miss Nola still has her HM 1-2. Could resolve or may stay the same for life etc.
 
Their adoption fees are a mere pittance compared to the almost $27,000 it took to get them healthy.
 
I remain so proud of them!!!
 
Here are their weight history:
 
Puppy 1 – 0.38 kgs – deceased as of 8:49 AM Thursday, August 4th(passed away just hours after they were surrendered to rescue) – Miss Charm Bean
 
Puppy 2 BHRR’s Nola – (Miss Fighter Bean)
August 4th – 0.38 kgs as well
August 8th – 0.62 kgs (1 lb, 6 oz)
August 11th – 0.82 kgs (1 lb, 12.8 oz)
September 15th – 4.9 kgs (10.78 pounds)
October 21st – 11.3 kgs (24.86 pounds)
October 25th – 11.9 kgs (26.18 pounds)
November 11th – 14.4 kgs (31.68 pounds)
 
Puppy 3 BHRR’s Beaver(Bev) – (Miss Explorer Bean)
August 4th – 0.48 kgs
August 8th – 0.71 kgs (1 lb, 9 oz)
September 15th – 4.7 kgs (10.34 pounds)
October 21st – 9.7 kgs (21.34 pounds)
October 25th – 10.4 kgs (22.88 pounds)
November 11th – 13.10 kgs (28.82 pounds)
 
Puppy 4 BHRR’s Albar – (Mr. Warrior Bean)
August 4th – 0.46 kgs
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
September 15th – 5.2 kgs (11.44 pounds)
October 21st – 10.9 kgs (23.98 pounds)
October 25th – 11.7 kgs (25.74 pounds)
November 11th – 14.6 kgs (32.12 pounds)
 
Puppy 5 BHRR’s Maybelle Cutie – (Miss Diva Princess Bean)
August 4th – 0.56 kgs
August 8th – 0.99 kgs (2 lbs, 3 oz)
September 15th – 5.3 kgs (11.66 pounds)
October 21st – 11.3 kgs (24.86 pounds) – same as Miss Nola
October 25th – 11.8 kgs (25.96 pounds)
November 11th – 15.2 kgs (33.44 pounds)
 
Puppy 6 BHRR’s Ayla (Miss Chill Mobile Bean)
August 4th – 0.64 kgs
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
August 11th – 1.03 kg (2 lbs, 3.6 oz)
September 15th – 4.7 kgs – same as BHRR’s Bev (10.34 pounds)
October 21st – 11.2 kgs (24.64 pounds)
October 25th – 11.7 kgs (25.74 pounds) – same as Mr. Albar
November 11th – 14.3 kgs (31.46 pounds)

 

AND The Bean’s latest professional photos are in! I will post the same blog post on each blog yet, keep their individual photo’s on their own blogs.
 
Thank you Liz Bradley!!
 
This could well be their last night that all five shall be together for tomorrow, I am doing a home visit for a possible approved adoption of either Miss Maybelle or Miss Ayla.
 
It is going to be an emotional night for me! I freely admit it! I have held these wee beans and fought hard for their survival since they were placed into my hands at barely a week of age.
 
I adore my Beans! 
 
We are also now reviewing another application for one of The Beans. They are looking at one of the black girls too.
 
Poor Mr. Albar and Miss Bev….they remain overlooked.
 
They were at the Vet on Friday, November 11th, for their final boosters. BHRR takes care of everything for our dogs – all rounds of boosters, de-worming, flea/tick/hw meds, pre-op bloodwork, microchipping, spays/neuters, AND it was many many many thousands of dollars to get them healthy from the aspiration pneumonia that they came to us with, saving Mr. Albar’s leg, treating the severe punctures on Miss Ayla, etc. Miss Nola still has her HM 1-2. Could resolve or may stay the same for life etc.
 
Their adoption fees are a mere pittance compared to the almost $27,000 it took to get them healthy.
 
I remain so proud of them!!!
 
Here are their weight history:
 
Puppy 1 – 0.38 kgs – deceased as of 8:49 AM Thursday, August 4th(passed away just hours after they were surrendered to rescue) – Miss Charm Bean
 
Puppy 2 BHRR’s Nola – (Miss Fighter Bean)
August 4th – 0.38 kgs as well
August 8th – 0.62 kgs (1 lb, 6 oz)
August 11th – 0.82 kgs (1 lb, 12.8 oz)
September 15th – 4.9 kgs (10.78 pounds)
October 21st – 11.3 kgs (24.86 pounds)
October 25th – 11.9 kgs (26.18 pounds)
November 11th – 14.4 kgs (31.68 pounds)
 
Puppy 3 BHRR’s Beaver(Bev) – (Miss Explorer Bean)
August 4th – 0.48 kgs
August 8th – 0.71 kgs (1 lb, 9 oz)
September 15th – 4.7 kgs (10.34 pounds)
October 21st – 9.7 kgs (21.34 pounds)
October 25th – 10.4 kgs (22.88 pounds)
November 11th – 13.10 kgs (28.82 pounds)
 
Puppy 4 BHRR’s Albar – (Mr. Warrior Bean)
August 4th – 0.46 kgs
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
September 15th – 5.2 kgs (11.44 pounds)
October 21st – 10.9 kgs (23.98 pounds)
October 25th – 11.7 kgs (25.74 pounds)
November 11th – 14.6 kgs (32.12 pounds)
 
Puppy 5 BHRR’s Maybelle Cutie – (Miss Diva Princess Bean)
August 4th – 0.56 kgs
August 8th – 0.99 kgs (2 lbs, 3 oz)
September 15th – 5.3 kgs (11.66 pounds)
October 21st – 11.3 kgs (24.86 pounds) – same as Miss Nola
October 25th – 11.8 kgs (25.96 pounds)
November 11th – 15.2 kgs (33.44 pounds)
 
Puppy 6 BHRR’s Ayla (Miss Chill Mobile Bean)
August 4th – 0.64 kgs
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
August 11th – 1.03 kg (2 lbs, 3.6 oz)
September 15th – 4.7 kgs – same as BHRR’s Bev (10.34 pounds)
October 21st – 11.2 kgs (24.64 pounds)
October 25th – 11.7 kgs (25.74 pounds) – same as Mr. Albar
November 11th – 14.3 kgs (31.46 pounds)
 

AND The Bean’s latest professional photos are in! I will post the same blog post on each blog yet, keep their individual photo’s on their own blogs.
 
Thank you Liz Bradley!!
 
This could well be their last night that all five shall be together for tomorrow, I am doing a home visit for a possible approved adoption of either Miss Maybelle or Miss Ayla.
 
It is going to be an emotional night for me! I freely admit it! I have held these wee beans and fought hard for their survival since they were placed into my hands at barely a week of age.
 
I adore my Beans! 
 
We are also now reviewing another application for one of The Beans. They are looking at one of the black girls too.
 
Poor Mr. Albar and Miss Bev….they remain overlooked.
 
They were at the Vet on Friday, November 11th, for their final boosters. BHRR takes care of everything for our dogs – all rounds of boosters, de-worming, flea/tick/hw meds, pre-op bloodwork, microchipping, spays/neuters, AND it was many many many thousands of dollars to get them healthy from the aspiration pneumonia that they came to us with, saving Mr. Albar’s leg, treating the severe punctures on Miss Ayla, etc. Miss Nola still has her HM 1-2. Could resolve or may stay the same for life etc.
 
Their adoption fees are a mere pittance compared to the almost $27,000 it took to get them healthy.
 
I remain so proud of them!!!
 
Here are their weight history:
 
Puppy 1 – 0.38 kgs – deceased as of 8:49 AM Thursday, August 4th(passed away just hours after they were surrendered to rescue) – Miss Charm Bean
 
Puppy 2 BHRR’s Nola – (Miss Fighter Bean)
August 4th – 0.38 kgs as well
August 8th – 0.62 kgs (1 lb, 6 oz)
August 11th – 0.82 kgs (1 lb, 12.8 oz)
September 15th – 4.9 kgs (10.78 pounds)
October 21st – 11.3 kgs (24.86 pounds)
October 25th – 11.9 kgs (26.18 pounds)
November 11th – 14.4 kgs (31.68 pounds)
 
Puppy 3 BHRR’s Beaver(Bev) – (Miss Explorer Bean)
August 4th – 0.48 kgs
August 8th – 0.71 kgs (1 lb, 9 oz)
September 15th – 4.7 kgs (10.34 pounds)
October 21st – 9.7 kgs (21.34 pounds)
October 25th – 10.4 kgs (22.88 pounds)
November 11th – 13.10 kgs (28.82 pounds)
 
Puppy 4 BHRR’s Albar – (Mr. Warrior Bean)
August 4th – 0.46 kgs
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
September 15th – 5.2 kgs (11.44 pounds)
October 21st – 10.9 kgs (23.98 pounds)
October 25th – 11.7 kgs (25.74 pounds)
November 11th – 14.6 kgs (32.12 pounds)
 
Puppy 5 BHRR’s Maybelle Cutie – (Miss Diva Princess Bean)
August 4th – 0.56 kgs
August 8th – 0.99 kgs (2 lbs, 3 oz)
September 15th – 5.3 kgs (11.66 pounds)
October 21st – 11.3 kgs (24.86 pounds) – same as Miss Nola
October 25th – 11.8 kgs (25.96 pounds)
November 11th – 15.2 kgs (33.44 pounds)
 
Puppy 6 BHRR’s Ayla (Miss Chill Mobile Bean)
August 4th – 0.64 kgs
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
August 11th – 1.03 kg (2 lbs, 3.6 oz)
September 15th – 4.7 kgs – same as BHRR’s Bev (10.34 pounds)
October 21st – 11.2 kgs (24.64 pounds)
October 25th – 11.7 kgs (25.74 pounds) – same as Mr. Albar
November 11th – 14.3 kgs (31.46 pounds)
 
 

Today, Mr. Bruce’s professional photos’ came in!

So worth the wait!

He will be making his own special announcement soon! 

He is such a hilarious goofball! Such a charming, affectionate, and adorable boy! He is such a WOW Dane!

Thank you, Liz Bradley & to his wonderful foster home for ensuring he got to his photo shoot! Liz said that he was very excited for his photo session!

 

Two goofs!
 
Mr. Jack is available for adoption, and Mr. Bruce will be making his own special announcement soon.
 
We are just waiting on his professional photos!
 
Thanks to their wonderful foster home for sharing!

Another photo of Miss Bev from today’s amazing play date!

Playdate time today! What a stunning day! 23 degrees!

They love the chairs! Any elevation change they are so excited to explore.
 
Three months old now! 

Playdate time today! What a stunning day! 23 degrees!

They love the chairs! Any elevation change they are so excited to explore.
 
Three months old now!

Playdate time today! What a stunning day! 23 degrees!

They love the chairs! Any elevation change they are so excited to explore.
 
Three months old now!

Playdate time today! What a stunning day! 23 degrees!

They love the chairs! Any elevation change they are so excited to explore.
 
Three months old now!

 

Playdate time today! What a stunning day! 23 degrees!

They love the chairs! Any elevation change they are so excited to explore.
 
Three months old now!

Though I am feeling bummed about missing Halloween, I am grateful to Miss Asante’s lovely foster home for sending pictures of her as an adorable ‘disco Halloween helper!’ 
 
Happy Halloween to all, and please keep your pets and children, plus yourselves, safe!
 

This is Miss Ayla(L) & Miss Maybelle Cutie(R) at their last professional photo shoot!

 

AND I am in my way shortly for The Bean’s next photo shoot!

They are all recovering well from their spays/neuter.

This is Miss Bev! This litter had always loved climbing on things! 

Miss Bev is coming back with me after their paparazzi photo shoot & The Beans will all be back together again!

Thank you to her amazing foster home for this hilarious photo of Miss Bev & her big foster sister River. 

 

Another crazy busy BHRR day!

Mr. Bruce had his paparazzi photo shoot this AM!

This is him and Mr. Jack(AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!) & very interested in what is going on the screen. 

By the end of next week, Mr. Bruce(Fawn Merle Great Dane) shall be ready to make his own special announcement!

Thank you to his wonderful foster Mama for taking him to his professional photo shoot! 

Miss Chrissy’s professional photo shoot was delayed due to rain, and then I had a bit of a gastro bug. She will get hers done soon!

 

 

 

The Beans had their next weigh-ins and were altered today.
 
I also microchipped them and tidied up their nails.
 
I did not get out of surgery until after 3:30 pm. 
 
What a way to end my last surgery tech shift at LAH!
 
From Friday to today, their weights have gone up more than I would have thought!
 
Puppy 1 – 0.38 kgs – deceased as of 8:49 AM Thursday, August 4th(passed away just hours after they were surrendered to rescue)
 
Puppy 2 BHRR’s Nola – (Miss Fighter Bean)
August 4th – 0.38 kgs as well
August 8th – 0.62 kgs (1 lb, 6 oz)
August 11th – 0.82 kgs (1 lb, 12.8 oz)
September 15th – 4.9 kgs (10.78 pounds)
October 21st – 11.3 kgs (24.86 pounds)
October 25th – 11.9 kgs (26.18 pounds)
 
Puppy 3 BHRR’s Beaver(Bev) – (Miss Explorer Bean)
August 4th – 0.48 kgs
August 8th – 0.71 kgs (1 lb, 9 oz)
September 15th – 4.7 kgs (10.34 pounds)
October 21st – 9.7 kgs (21.34 pounds)
October 25th – 10.4 kgs (22.88 pounds)
 
Puppy 4 BHRR’s Albar – (Mr. Warrior Bean)
August 4th – 0.46 kgs
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
September 15th – 5.2 kgs (11.44 pounds)
October 21st – 10.9 kgs (23.98 pounds)
October 25th – 11.7 kgs (25.74 pounds)
 
Puppy 5 BHRR’s Maybelle Cutie – (Miss Diva Princess Bean)
August 4th – 0.56 kgs
August 8th – 0.99 kgs (2 lbs, 3 oz)
September 15th – 5.3 kgs (11.66 pounds)
October 21st – 11.3 kgs (24.86 pounds) – same as Miss Nola
October 25th – 11.8 kgs (25.96 pounds)
 
Puppy 6 BHRR’s Ayla (Miss Busy Mobile Bean)
August 4th – 0.64 kgs
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
August 11th – 1.03 kg (2 lbs, 3.6 oz)
September 15th – 4.7 kgs – same as BHRR’s Bev (10.34 pounds)
October 21st – 11.2 kgs (24.64 pounds)
October 25th – 11.7 kgs (25.74 pounds) – same as Mr. Albar
*We know that she was ‘chill’ due to still battling aspiration pneumonia, yet is now a busy bean!
 
I barely had time to have a pee break and take a few sips of water. 
 
Now, I am home, and the pups are tucked in, and I am going to forage for some dinner!
 

Their vet bills today were a smidge under $3,000 as I brought my own microchips, saving over $500, and tax plus, I have pain meds at home, saving another several hundred dollars.

 
The Beans are expensive yet so worth it!
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

BHRR’s Miss Agatha is moving under a PENDING Adoption status.
 
We shall update as we can!
 

Soooooo, this happened tonight!
 
BHRR’s Titan has moved to an ADOPTED status!
 
This fam photo is a bit different, yet no less awesome – Miss Hazel(BHRR’s Whisper ADOPTED November 12th, 2018) is the white Great Dane & Mr. Titan is with his forever loving adoptive Mama! 
 
As is said, the best failure is a foster failure when it is a right-matched personality fit!
 
As BHRR’s Titan’s adoptive mama says, ‘foster success!’ 
 
I am so happy for all of them, and thank you to Sean for coming to do this home visit with me!
 
AND thank you to my family for watching The Beans while I had to step out for this home visit.
 
My heart is bursting with happiness for him and his wonderful, forever-loving adoptive home!
 
You have come far, my dear boy, and you are very loved beyond measure by so many!
 

The Beans had their re-weighs today and their next DAPP boosters – they also received their first Lepto & Lyme vaccines – plus picked up their next flea/tick & hw meds.
 
Their weights range from 9.7 (Miss Bev) up to 11.3 kgs(Miss Nola & Miss Maybelle Cutie). Mr. Albar was 10.9 kgs. Two of the girls were 11.3 kgs & the other was 11.2 kgs.
 
Thanks to Amanda and Jen for their assistance ‘lugging’ the beans, as the parking lot was insanely busy!
 
We had Miss Nola’s heart checked again, and she still has her Grade 1-2 HM, which is not uncommon and often can be completely harmless, and they often can outgrow them. We shall continue to monitor. Miss Nola and her Bean siblings got the big thumbs up at their Vet visit!
 
The unfortunate part is that three of the beans vomited twice post vaccines, and four were very subdued. This is most likely from the Lepto booster in a combination with the excitement of the day.
 
All temps were high normal, and they are being closely monitored in case they may need some dex or Benadryl.
 
All are resting quietly – getting some sun rays…..
 
On a side note, I was deeply overjoyed to see my Miss Bevie!  I have dearly missed her, and she was so happy to see me too!
 
I love the picture I have posted of BHRR’s Chester – ADOPTED May 3rd, 2022 – and Miss Bev!
 

The Beans turn 3 months old Sunday! The 23rd of October.

First Picture: Mr. Albar behind Miss Maybelle Cutie & Miss Ayla to the left lying down & Moss Nola to the right lying down.
Second Picture: BHRR’s Maybelle – head on Miss Ayla’s back & Miss Nola lying down. 
Third Picture: Miss Bev with BHRR’s Chester – ADOPTED May 3rd, 2022.

Puppy 1 – 0.38 kgs – deceased as of 8:49 AM Thursday, August 4th(passed away just hours after they were surrendered to rescue)
 
Puppy 2 BHRR’s Nola – (Miss Fighter Bean)
August 4th – 0.38 kgs as well
August 8th – 0.62 kgs (1 lb, 6 oz)
August 11th – 0.82 kgs (1 lb, 12.8 oz)
September 15th – 4.9 kgs (10.78 pounds)
October 21st – 11.3 kgs (24.86 pounds)
 
Puppy 3 BHRR’s Beaver(Bev) – (Miss Explorer Bean)
August 4th – 0.48 kgs
August 8th – 0.71 kgs (1 lb, 9 oz)
September 15th – 4.7 kgs (10.34 pounds)
October 21st – 9.7 kgs (21.34 pounds)
 
Puppy 4 BHRR’s Albar – (Mr. Warrior Bean)
August 4th – 0.46 kgs
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
September 15th – 5.2 kgs (11.44 pounds)
October 21st – 10.9 kgs (23.98 pounds)
 
Puppy 5 BHRR’s Maybelle Cutie – (Miss Diva Princess Bean)
August 4th – 0.56 kgs
August 8th – 0.99 kgs (2 lbs, 3 oz)
September 15th – 5.3 kgs (11.66 pounds)
October 21st – 11.3 kgs (24.86 pounds) The same as Miss Nola
 
Puppy 6 BHRR’s Ayla (Miss Busy Mobile Bean)
August 4th – 0.64 kgs
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
August 11th – 1.03 kg (2 lbs, 3.6 oz)
September 15th – 4.7 kgs – same as BHRR’s Bev (10.34 pounds)
October 21st – 11.2 kgs (24.64 pounds)
*We know that she was ‘chill’ due to still battling aspiration pneumonia, yet is now a busy bean!
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

UPDATE on his emergency visit yesterday:

He does have a UTI & is on Clavaseptin 750 mg BID. His bills were $438.09, and thanks to an anonymous Titan angel, they generously paid his bill. Unbelievably kind and heartwarming. 

 
Eagleson Veterinary Clinic recommended a recheck in about four weeks’ time, and if the adoption is approved, this is something the approved adoptive home can easily manage.
 
I was told he was a ‘star’ patient, and I would have expected nothing less!
 
 
 
 

Miss Asante has now been safely handed off to her lovely fosters.
 
Thanks for meeting up with me partway!
 
I will see her on Tuesday at her vet apt., and now that we have her, we can start moving on her rehabilitation to health and new eyes!
 
Super sweet, super stinky, yet super sweet!

I got her and am now on my way to meet up with her foster family.
 
Not the best pics! Sorry!

Miss Asante is still travelling great!
 
She is travelling with cats & kittens and 6 other dogs on this transport. Lots of tandem driving going on as each leg is done.
 
I am being told her hair is like ‘velvet’. 
 
A massive hit with all!
 
She is so tiny in this pic!! We got you, sweet baby…soon, I will meet you soon!
 

Miss Asante began her journey early this AM & I will be meeting the transport in a few hours, then will drive to meet up with her temp foster.
 
The thing I do not have right now – I am recycling collars/leash/harness so she is ok on that for now, and I thought I could snag the brand new bed I had bought(not yet used) for one of my own dogs – an XL Costco dog bed.
 
Appears that the bed has been pulled down and loved – from the faint mud/dust pawprints evidence! 
 
If anyone may consider being a bed angel for her, please let me know!
 
She has her first vet appointment with us on Tuesday. We will get those eyes repaired ASAP. The shelter had done the right eye, yet it failed. Very common with the ‘new’ technique, especially with Danes and Newfs.
 
When she is ready and settled in a bit, too, we will have a professional groom done for we want all of our dogs looking and feeling their best.
 
I have been told she is ‘super sweet and very, very, very easygoing.’
 
From these pics, I see single-bred Newf, yet we will see what the intake paperwork says, etc.
 
It does not matter to us!
 

Mr. Titan is at Eagleson Veterinary Clinic. I was able to get him in there to be seen today for his bloody urine.
 
I am waiting for an update, invoicing, etc., and please keep him in your thoughts.
 
It is really hard when a cherished dog is at the Hospital without you there…he & I went through so much together when he first came into rescue & he is adored….he was so sick upon intake in emerge back in early July – to the point that the difficult conversation re: if he went into cardiac arrest had to be had.
 
I slept on the floor beside him and was with him 24/7 in those early days….
 
The reality is that he went through so much on his own, needlessly and neglectfully, before he was rescued. I never want him ever being alone again…..
 
He has his foster mama with him today and hoping it is an easily treated UTI situation.
 

When it rains, it pours.
 
We had worked to schedule the home visit for BHRR’s Titan’s possible approved adoption and finally got a date booked, and today, I am notified by his foster home that he has blood in his urine.
 
Poor boy…..
 
When we first rescued him at the beginning of July, he had severe untreated urinary issues. He was placed on both Zeniquin and Clavaseptin.
 
So, everything is now on hold as we address this concern.
 
Sean/I are going to stop checking emails and texts and picking up the phone……just when you think you are going to get ahead of the rescue vet bills. 
 
Yet, we will continue to ensure that he and all of our dogs get everything they need and go up and beyond. 
 
On a side note, we are getting one step closer to having BHRR’s Asante arrive. I also have her first Vet appointment booked for Tuesday at 3 PM.
 

BHRR’s Titan is moving under a PENDING ADOPTION!
 
We shall update as we can.

One of my new all-time fav photos!
 
BHRR’s Chester (Adopted May 3rd, 2022) with his wee foster sister, Miss Bev Bean! 
 
The Beans are back at the Vet for their next boosters on October 15th!
 
I am also now looking at getting their 12-week professional photo’s booked. 
 
 
 

October 17th – October 21st  – Pancakes for sale up to 3 PM EVERY DAY!
Sunset Grill, Brockville, ON

Miss Chrissy, one of our Three’s Company pups, was spayed Tuesday, October 4th.
 
She weighed 15.8 kgs(34.76 pounds).
 
We did pre-op bloodwork and microchipped her, and her nails did not need to be done – very proactive on that!
 
The surgeon – the same one that did Mr. Jack’s neuter & I discussed in depth a premed protocol as Miss Janet is having IS & Mr. Jack was very dysphoric upon waking.
 
As with all of our dogs, we give trazodone the night before and the AM of to ensure they are as stress-free as possible.
 
I was her surgery tech, and she was stable throughout & woke up smooth, she had a wonderful stay at the Hospital too.
 
Her paparazzi photo shoot is booked for next week – I believe! – and shortly after that, she will be making her own special announcement.
 
This is her in post-op….all snuggled up in warmies & blankets. 
 
 

Miss Janet, one of our Three’s company pups.
 
She is on Pheno & Keppra now. Hoping we are finally on the good end of this IS fight. 
 
Her head has been healing beautifully!
 
I cannot believe they are six months old now.
 
Such social, happy, wiggle-butt Aussies!
 

BHRR’s Bruce was at the Vet yesterday.
 
He weighed a very thin 50.6 kgs(110.66). I would like to see at least another 15-20 pounds of muscle mass and weight on him and then re-evaluate. I want him lean, not overweight. Too many obese dogs out there….
 
He had his boosters – DHPP, Lyme, Lepto, was dispensed deworming, hw, flea/tick meds. I was thinking Nexgard Spectra, yet when I was at work, I began thinking more Nexgard and Interceptor Plus. Thanks to the Vet for ‘poking’ fun at me for writing down Nexgard Spectra in the apt. notes! I know what I wrote and thought it over!
 
I drew blood – such a good boy to sit nicely for me to take from his jugular – and ran a hw/tickborne disease test – negative, and I took extra to see if the Vet wanted to run a panel. They did not feel it necessary, and unless I wanted to run it for a baseline for Mr. Bruce, they were not concerned.
 
I took the blood I was holding for the possible blood profile and spun it down to get serum to freeze to help others with eye ulcers. Dane blood can be so universal!
 
He was friendly, lovely to finally get to meet him, and when he is ready, he will seriously make a home an INCREDIBLE addition! He is stunning inside and out!
 
He loved everyone at the clinic! No interpersonal space issues or respect from this boy! Right up in your face with happiness/love! LOL
 
He resides in a foster home with two other dogs: Mr. Jack(AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION), cats, and bunnies! It was great to see Mr. Jack again too!
 
Miss Chrissy is having her spay, microchip, bloodwork, etc., on Tuesday.
 
Will monitor Mr. Bruce’s small skin issues, is it behavioural? Environmental and behavioural? Environmental? – he had eye/ear infections when he was dropped off at the shelter. Resolved now.
 
Per the foster, he is having some SA issues in his crate at night. They still have some trazodone on hand and will use that to help ‘ease’ Mr. Bruce to be ok with his own company.
 
So, hard on these big sensitive dogs! You will get there, Mr. Bruce. It has only been nine days today since your arrival.
 
Thank you to his foster home for being open to fostering him until at least December 1st. It saved his life……
 
AND for those asking re: his colouring – he is a Fawn Merle.
 

AND…………drumroll!

The Beans(LabX) went up for fostering to adopt on October 1st!
*~75% lab*

We are also open to approved Volunteers to foster them until they are adopted by a right-matched personality fit home.

*Adoptions will not be finalized until after their spays/neuter
*This is in addition to our mandatory obedience clause
*They can go to homes with responsible children as young as 10+
*No more than two children in a home
*They can go to homes with cats
*We prefer homes with at least one right-matched personality-fit dog, not a deal breaker for that right home that has a great social network set up for The Bean!
*Homes must be within 2 hours of our location & be willing to take them to their October 15th booster apt. & their alter apt at the end of October – booked at Liston Animal Hospital
*Foster-to-adopt homes must then be prepared to commit to their final puppy boosters around November 15th (post-adoption), including rabies, dhpp, Lyme plus lepto
**The above clauses will be in the foster-to-adopt contracts in addition to all other requirements found in our standard adoption application contract**

They are ready to be fostered by an approved Volunteer AND they are ready to be fostered to adopt to homes seeking to adopt. The adoption application contract must be completed.

Thank you again to the puppy wranglers that came out to help at their paparazzi photo shoot! VERY appreciated!

Thank you again to Liz Bradley for the gorgeous photos!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOTE: WE ONLY ADOPT TO SOME PARTS OF ONTARIO & QUEBEC, CANADA

*As this is a foster-to-adopt puppy, all homes must be within 2 hours of our location AND willing to drive him to his scheduled Vet appointments in Kanata, ON *
**NO Exceptions**

***AVAILABLE FOR A FOSTER TO ADOPT!**
*ADOPTION WILL NOT BE FINALIZED UNTIL NEUTERED*

2nd boosters are booked for October 15th, his neuter is scheduled for the third week of October, and he will require his third boosters by November 15th(the approved foster to adopt home can take care of the third boosters, and it will be in the signed foster to adopt contract that they agree to do so – Rabies, DAPP, Lepto & Lyme.

BHRR’s Albar – male – Labx(Predominantly Lab ~75%) – ten weeks of age(born July 23rd), utd on vaccines, will be microchipped, good with other dogs & good with people, Has been good with cats – integration is key!

*We will consider homes with responsible children 10+
*No more than two children in a home

Has had some obedience(this does not exclude our mandatory adoption clause of a full round of obedience being required – NO EXCEPTIONS!)

NOTE: All blogs(scroll to the very bottom and then read upwards) and our PetFinder animal lists are kept utd so yes, he is still available.

Almost all of your questions will be answered in his thorough blog. READ the blog from the bottom up once on the blog.

Please familiarize yourself with BHRR’s adoption mandates, processes plus policies before contacting us about a BHRR animal.

Our PetFinder and our www.birchhaven.org websites will answer most of your questions. Therefore, do not contact us asking us what our policies are, what our adoption area is, or what his adoption fee is. BHRR is a federally registered NPO operated solely by Volunteers.

We are NOT a shelter or a pound.

You CANNOT just drop by to visit him. He resides in a loving foster home, not a kennel, and BHRR has a thorough adoption process to determine if any home is a right match personality fit.

When submitting your completed adoption application contract – found on our home website – for BHRR’s Albar, please include a short introduction regarding your home, etc.

We DO NOT respond to inquiries to adopt via Petfinder, our website nor any emails/phone calls. We ONLY will consider completed applications along with the non-refundable application fee.

NOTE: WE also will not respond to any emails that only ask a one-liner or re: adoption fees.

The adoption cost(from a r/q Rescue) or purchase cost(if you purchase from a reputable/quality Breeder is the LEAST that you shall pay over the lifetime of proper care of your pet)

 

NOTE: WE ONLY ADOPT TO SOME PARTS OF ONTARIO & QUEBEC, CANADA

*As this is a foster-to-adopt puppy, all homes must be within 2 hours of our location AND willing to drive her to her scheduled Vet appointments in Kanata, ON *
**NO Exceptions**

***AVAILABLE FOR A FOSTER TO ADOPT!**
*ADOPTION WILL NOT BE FINALIZED UNTIL SPAYED*

2nd boosters are booked for October 15th, her spay is scheduled for the third week of October, and she will require her third boosters by November 15th(the approved foster to adopt home can take care of the third boosters, and it will be in the signed foster to adopt contract that they agree to do so – Rabies, DAPP, Lepto & Lyme.

BHRR’s Nola – female – Labx(Predominantly Lab ~75%) – ten weeks of age(born July 23rd), utd on vaccines, will be microchipped, good with other dogs & good with people, Has been good with cats – integration is key!

*We will consider homes with responsible children 10+
*No more than two children in a home

Has had some obedience(this does not exclude our mandatory adoption clause of a full round of obedience being required – NO EXCEPTIONS!)

NOTE: All blogs(scroll to the very bottom and then read upwards).

Please familiarize yourself with BHRR’s adoption mandates, processes plus policies before contacting us about a BHRR animal.

Our PetFinder and our www.birchhaven.org websites will answer most of your questions. Therefore, do not contact us asking us what our policies are, what our adoption area is, or what her adoption fee is. BHRR is a federally registered NPO operated solely by Volunteers.

We are NOT a shelter or a pound.

You CANNOT just drop by to visit her. She resides in a loving foster home, not a kennel, and BHRR has a thorough adoption process to determine if any home is a right match personality fit.

When submitting your completed adoption application contract – found on our home website – for her, please include a short introduction regarding your home, etc.

We DO NOT respond to inquiries to adopt via Petfinder nor our website or any emails/phone calls. We ONLY will consider completed applications along with the non-refundable application fee.

NOTE: WE also will not respond to any emails that only ask a one-liner or re: adoption fees.

The adoption cost(from a r/q Rescue) or purchase cost(if you purchase from a reputable/quality Breeder is the LEAST that you shall pay over the lifetime of proper care of your pet).

 

NOTE: WE ONLY ADOPT TO SOME PARTS OF ONTARIO & QUEBEC, CANADA

*As this is a foster-to-adopt puppy, all homes must be within 2 hours of our location AND willing to drive her to her scheduled Vet appointments in Kanata, ON *
**NO Exceptions**

***AVAILABLE FOR A FOSTER TO ADOPT!**
*ADOPTION WILL NOT BE FINALIZED UNTIL SPAYED*

2nd boosters are booked for October 15th, her spay is scheduled for the third week of October, and she will require her third boosters by November 15th(the approved foster to adopt home can take care of the third boosters, and it will be in the signed foster to adopt contract that they agree to do so – Rabies, DAPP, Lepto & Lyme.

BHRR’s Maybelle Cutie – female – Labx(Predominantly Lab ~75%) – ten weeks of age(born July 23rd), utd on vaccines, will be microchipped, good with other dogs & good with people, Has been good with cats – integration is key!

*We will consider homes with responsible children 10+
*No more than two children in a home

Has had some obedience(this does not exclude our mandatory adoption clause of a full round of obedience being required – NO EXCEPTIONS!)

NOTE: All blogs(scroll to the very bottom and then read upwards).

Please familiarize yourself with BHRR’s adoption mandates, processes plus policies before contacting us about a BHRR animal.

Our PetFinder and our www.birchhaven.org websites will answer most of your questions. Therefore, do not contact us asking us what our policies are, what our adoption area is, or what her adoption fee is. BHRR is a federally registered NPO operated solely by Volunteers.

We are NOT a shelter or a pound.

You CANNOT just drop by to visit her. She resides in a loving foster home, not a kennel, and BHRR has a thorough adoption process to determine if any home is a right match personality fit.

When submitting your completed adoption application contract – found on our home website – for her, please include a short introduction regarding your home, etc.

We DO NOT respond to inquiries to adopt via Petfinder nor our website or any emails/phone calls. We ONLY will consider completed applications along with the non-refundable application fee.

NOTE: WE also will not respond to any emails that only ask a one-liner or re: adoption fees.

The adoption cost(from a r/q Rescue) or purchase cost(if you purchase from a reputable/quality Breeder is the LEAST that you shall pay over the lifetime of proper care of your pet).

 

NOTE: WE ONLY ADOPT TO SOME PARTS OF ONTARIO & QUEBEC, CANADA

*As this is a foster-to-adopt puppy, all homes must be within 2 hours of our location AND willing to drive him to his scheduled Vet appointments in Kanata, ON *
**NO Exceptions**

***AVAILABLE FOR A FOSTER TO ADOPT!**
*ADOPTION WILL NOT BE FINALIZED UNTIL SPAYED*

2nd boosters are booked for October 15th, her spay is scheduled for the third week of October, and she will require her third boosters by November 15th(the approved foster to adopt home can take care of the third boosters, and it will be in the signed foster to adopt contract that they agree to do so – Rabies, DAPP, Lepto & Lyme.

BHRR’s Bev – female – Labx(Predominantly Lab ~75%) – ten weeks of age(born July 23rd), utd on vaccines, will be microchipped, good with other dogs & good with people, Has been good with cats – integration is key! She is presently in a foster home that has a feline.

*We will consider homes with responsible children 10+
*No more than two children in a home

Has had some obedience(this does not exclude our mandatory adoption clause of a full round of obedience being required – NO EXCEPTIONS!)

NOTE: All blogs(scroll to the very bottom and then read upwards).

Please familiarize yourself with BHRR’s adoption mandates, processes plus policies before contacting us about a BHRR animal.

Our PetFinder and our www.birchhaven.org websites will answer most of your questions. Therefore, do not contact us asking us what our policies are, what our adoption area is, or what her adoption fee is. BHRR is a federally registered NPO operated solely by Volunteers.

We are NOT a shelter or a pound.

You CANNOT just drop by to visit her. She resides in a loving foster home, not a kennel, and BHRR has a thorough adoption process to determine if any home is a right match personality fit.

When submitting your completed adoption application contract – found on our home website – for her, please include a short introduction regarding your home, etc.

We DO NOT respond to inquiries to adopt via Petfinder nor our website nor any emails/phone calls. We ONLY will consider completed applications along with the non-refundable application fee.

NOTE: WE also will not respond to any emails that only ask a one-liner or re: adoption fees.

The adoption cost(from a r/q Rescue) or purchase cost(if you purchase from a reputable/quality Breeder is the LEAST that you shall pay over the lifetime of proper care of your pet)

 

NOTE: WE ONLY ADOPT TO SOME PARTS OF ONTARIO & QUEBEC, CANADA

*As this is a foster-to-adopt puppy, all homes must be within 2 hours of our location AND willing to drive her to her scheduled Vet appointments in Kanata, ON *
**NO Exceptions**

***AVAILABLE FOR A FOSTER TO ADOPT!**
*ADOPTION WILL NOT BE FINALIZED UNTIL SPAYED*

2nd boosters are booked for October 15th, her spay is scheduled for the third week of October, and she will require her third boosters by November 15th(the approved foster to adopt home can take care of the third boosters, and it will be in the signed foster to adopt contract that they agree to do so – Rabies, DAPP, Lepto & Lyme.

BHRR’s Ayla – female – Labx(Predominantly Lab ~75%) – ten weeks of age(born July 23rd), utd on vaccines, will be microchipped, good with other dogs & good with people, Has been good with cats – integration is key!

*We will consider homes with responsible children 10+
*No more than two children in a home

Has had some obedience(this does not exclude our mandatory adoption clause of a full round of obedience being required – NO EXCEPTIONS!)

NOTE: All blogs(scroll to the very bottom and then read upwards).

Please familiarize yourself with BHRR’s adoption mandates, processes plus policies before contacting us about a BHRR animal.

Our PetFinder and our www.birchhaven.org websites will answer most of your questions. Therefore, do not contact us asking us what our policies are, what our adoption area is, or what her adoption fee is. BHRR is a federally registered NPO operated solely by Volunteers.

We are NOT a shelter or a pound.

You CANNOT just drop by to visit her. She resides in a loving foster home, not a kennel, and BHRR has a thorough adoption process to determine if any home is a right match personality fit.

When submitting your completed adoption application contract – found on our home website – for her, please include a short introduction regarding your home, etc.

We DO NOT respond to inquiries to adopt via Petfinder nor our website or any emails/phone calls. We ONLY will consider completed applications along with the non-refundable application fee.

NOTE: WE also will not respond to any emails that only ask a one-liner or re: adoption fees.

The adoption cost(from a r/q Rescue) or purchase cost(if you purchase from a reputable/quality Breeder is the LEAST that you shall pay over the lifetime of proper care of your pet).

This evening I dropped off Miss Bev to her foster Mama.

It was a massive step for us both!

My wee beans have been a massive part of my life since they were not even ten days old.

She knew something was up – sadly had her first ever bm in the car & then even puked in the car as we arrived – yet, with some assurance, then passively ignoring, she & I got through the brief hand-off to keep stress to a minimum.

This is what she now needs. She is a very, very, very special girl, and as protective as I am about all of them, I am even more so with her.

I want each and every dog we are entrusted with to become the best dogs they can be, and it is time for them to go to this next step. I have worked incredibly hard to give them a strong foundation, to get them healthy, and they are well-adjusted solid baby beans!

She is ready to fly and spread her wings…she just needs to know this herself, and it will come fast. 

Miss Bev needs patience, understanding, and people to show her things, yet do not push her nor cross her clear boundaries, gently push them to show her how wonderful the world is….from day 1, she has been this way – even with nursing, etc., – and if you give her the time to size things up, and be patient, she will emerge as the explorer bean she is and step forth with confidence, excitement, a bounce in her step & comfort. AND expresses herself with her adorable sounds.

She needs to size things up; first, she is quiet and sweet, and the others tend to want to push her and boss her around.

Yet, she has boundaries, as easygoing and submissive as she can be, when her siblings cross them, she will take a stance, it is far coming, though. She tolerates a lot. Yet, she has backbone!

My five beans are no longer with me…I now have four.

I am so full of mixed feelings…yet all are entering the next wonderful chapter where each shall go on to continue to spread their wings and thrive.

I shall forever be their mama Gwennie and remain incredibly proud of them! 

Tomorrow, they will make their official special announcements!

They turned ten weeks old today….

 

THE ONLINE FACEBOOK FUNDRAISER FOR BHRR IS NOW LIVE!

Over 200 items!

HERE IS THE LINK TO JOIN!

Post from the wonderful organizers!

“Welcome to the online Fundraiser for Birch Haven Rescue and Rehabilitation.
A HUGE thank you to all of the local businesses and individuals who donated to make this auction possible.
100% of the proceeds raised will go to the rescue.
All the donated businesses have been linked in each item, if you are interested in an item, please consider clicking on their Facebook page and Like/Follow them.
Please read through all of the auction guidelines below.
Auction Guidelines:
1) There is a starting bid on all items
2) Please bid in a minimum $1 increment (just to clarify, you can bid any amount as long as it is a minimum $1 increase, it can be $2, $3, $4, $5 etc.)
3) The auction closes Sunday, October 9th, at 8 PM.
4) The winner will be contacted via Messenger with a pickup location, there are pick-up locations in Brockville (North End), Oxford Station, and Kanata.
5) Payment is due immediately following the end of the auction once notification has been received that you are the successful bidder
6) Payment is due via eTransfer to carol_bruck@hotmail.com
No password is required.
Happy Bidding, and thank you for your support!
Please see the album below to bid, thank you for your support and generosity for those currently in the rescue and those to come.”

AND The Bean paparazzi photos are in!
 
OMG! They are as amazing as I knew they would be!
 
They are 8.5 weeks old in these pics. Taken Thursday, September 22nd.
 
They are looking for foster or foster-to-adopt homes!
 
Miss Bev is going to her foster home later this week. 
 
FOUR more beans to place in foster or foster to adopt homes.
 
Liz never ceases to amaze me with her talent and patience.
 
Thank you to Richard, Katherine, Cassy & John for being Bean Wranglers! 

BHRR’s Albar, BHRR’s Maybelle Cutie, BHRR’s Ayla, BHRR’s Bev & BHRR’s Nola!

Yesterday, I spent a few hours with this handsome dude & his wonderful foster fam!
 
BHRR’s Mr. Titan!
 
He remains AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 
He is a WOW dog! He LOVES everyone, every dog, everything – gets so excited and is such a happy boy! Even with the one cat in the home, he has come so far – she is not a black squirrel to want to chase! He has had zero issues with their other cat. He is learning…..
 
You have come far, Mr. Titan, with your health, and now we work a bit more on those leash manners as you just want to see everyone!  You rocked our training session yesterday with me/your foster family, and it was truly lovely to see you again…… 
 
The healthier plus happy you have gotten, the younger you appear to be! I am still going to say ~5 yet, most likely a bit younger than that. You can ‘kanga-dane’ with the best of them! 
 
You will make that right-matched, forever-loving home THE most amazing of additions!
 
 
 
 

AND another one! He and Miss Chrissy have always been so unbelievably happy! Such joy!

Another of the fabu Mr. Jack!

AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 
Mr. Jack, one of our Three’s Company Pups is AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 
Health Status: HEALTHY!
*Mr. Jack is severely hearing/visually impaired
*He had a left eye enucleation on August 26th, 2022
 
Age: Born March 26th, 2022 (Almost six months)
 
Weight: 14.1 kgs(31 pounds) – He is a Mini Aussie

We want to keep him lean/muscled and fit.
 
Type of Home Ideal For Mr. Jack: He loves his walks and car rides and interacts well with people/dogs he meets, and we are hoping for a quiet, socially low-active level home. A residence that, while visiting family plus friends and has people over, is not hosting frequent BBQs or gatherings of large groups of people. We do not want to see him in a home with a high level of travel, with other people taking care of him. He is loyal and loves his humans, and we want him part of the family if they go camping, go to the cottage, or do other fun travels. His quietly social and needs a home that is like him. He would adore cottage life or hanging out at home with his family. Visiting friends, family, pet stores, the beach, and pet-friendly places are great too. We want an active home for Mr. Jack. As an Aussie, he is smart and must be kept physically and mentally stimulated.

He MUST go to a home that will continue to work on scent and touch training with him. A home that will not use vibration or shock collars. As Aussies can be prone to OCD behaviours, we recommend being careful with light training. Vibration training with the banging of door frames plus floors is great. So much time and effort has gone into having him be comfortable in his own skin, to not only like yet love his own company. He is quite confident and outgoing when he is comfortable and knows his surroundings. The pictures demonstrate how well he can move with being sure of himself. He will not go to a home that will feel sorry or pity him. That is of no benefit. He is normal to him, and to all that know and love him!

A home that understands and shall continue to help him learn about this big fantastic world that we live in. We want him to live a quality, filled, wonderful life rich with experiences. He is being fostered in a beautiful home in the Kemptville area yet can equally live comfortably in the city or country. We had fostered him in our house when he first arrived, and he is similarly lovely in either environment.

We want him to be happy, to live his best life every day. We want him to reach his full potential!

He is another versatile BHRR dog! He can be in a home that works ft; pt, works from home, is semi-retired or retired, etc. He will ONLY go to a home prepared to ensure that he receives the balance he requires with proper exercise, socialisation, etc.

He does not need to go to a dog or even an Aussie-experienced home. The home must be committed to his obedience, structure, and consistency, and to be patient, kind, and understanding, and while not hermits, they are not doing a hundred things each day. We want him to be treated as a cherished member in a right-matched forever-loving home.

He shares the communal water bowls and toys and understands that no human or dog will take his high-value food. He is fed in a quiet place and knows that he will be fed enough food, fed on time and that no one will take his food away.

He loves home and his friends – he needs canine friends! He also loves to explore, go on small hikes, walks, and car rides, and visit people/places that are not over the top busy. We are not advocates of dog parks. Many private properties rent out space for acreage rentals so that he can enjoy a controlled environment to run and zoom in.

He needs a home that will give him new positive and great safe, memorable experiences. If you are a home that likes to take infrequent walks/hikes/strolls, Mr. Jack is not for you…he is a healthy dog and needs to be kept emotionally and physically stimulated. He would make a great companion to get out into nature, explore and even enjoy the beach and have other exciting adventures! He can be a great cuddler when he wants to!

 
Personality/Temperament: Loving, affectionate, calm, sweet, quiet inside the home, yet loves to get outside to romp and run, and is a delightful, playful pup! He needs to be emotionally/physically properly stimulated, super lovely, social, active, affectionate, gentle, plus kind. He thrives with consistency, structure, routine, and clear open communication to understand exactly what is expected of him. He is SO praise-motivated. His whole butt wiggles and wags in happiness!
 
Previous Dog Experience: Previous Aussie experience is not required per the above, yet a home that will be committed to his wellbeing and make the minor adjustments required as he is hearing/visually impaired is essential. While we would ideally like to see him in a home with at least one right-matched personality fit dog – it is not a deal-breaker. He needs a doggie friend network. That is so important. We have friends, he needs friends too. He has enjoyed meeting other dogs! He has gotten along with every dog he has met in our home, and his foster has not said otherwise during his time with them.
 
Good With Cats: He has been OK with our clinic cat and the felines in his foster home.
 
Good with Pocket Pets: His foster home has rabbits.
 
Good with Children: NO small children. Children are fast, flighty, unpredictable, spastic, plus loud. We will consider homes with responsible children 10+ and no more than two children in the house. A home without children is our first preference, as we want Mr. Jack to be the priority. He has not had any issues with children. We had considered homes with younger children, yet, it would have to be an exceptional home.
 
Grooming: He is fine to wash and do his nails. He needs regular grooming to keep his coat healthy and looking his best.
 
Car: NO issues travelling in the car. He settles down beautifully.
 
Housebroken/Crate Trained: He is housebroken and Crate trained. We never recommend that any new addition be given too much freedom to start. It can be very overwhelming plus too stimulating for them.
 
Obedience: He requires a home that will be consistent and dedicated to continuing to help him become the best dog that he can be. His potential is enormous! As per our adoption contract, a full round of obedience is required with all of our dogs. This is not about having a dog that ‘listens.’ This is about creating a mutually respectful bonding relationship that is strong. Trust and respect work both ways.
 
Activities Suited For Him: He would excel in obedience, and why not try agility, scent work, and herding – AND yes, we have had special needs dogs do herding classes! – etc., with him! He is a hoot! So eager to please! The sky is the limit with this boy! He is a dream pup! When he is older, he could make an incredible therapy dog too.
 
Loves & Bad Habits: Like any dog, he is not perfect. He is perfect in all of his imperfections, though! NOT to mention super handsome with his merle colouring. He can have some anxiety, especially since his eye enucleation, and this has been worked on as he adjusts to having even less vision.
 
He is an awesome dog! So low maintenance! He LOVES everyone and everything!
 
Anxieties/Worries: It is integral that the right matched personality fit home and does not spend 24/7 with him. During this pandemic, we still need groceries; we should still go out and walk about; we should still get in our cars and go for a small drive to go somewhere to do something! Time has been spent having him learn to not only like yet enjoy his own company. As we need our alone time, he must do too. He is a solid and stable dog, and we do not want any SA behaviours to develop.
 
As we have stated for over 26 years now, we will NEVER rush any dogs’ rehabilitation journey, we do not flip dogs, and we are not desperate to adopt them out.
 
We will always place up for adoption the dogs that can be adopted and safe haven all others that cannot be placed up for adoption due to medical and/or behavioural reasons.
 
We do not take in hundreds of dogs yearly; we only took in 6 dogs in 2021 as it is about helping the next in need of us, giving them top-quality care, and not about taking in numbers. In 2022, we have ONLY taken in 16 dogs to date.
 
After 26+ years, we know that we cannot please everyone, which means that BHRR is not the rescue to be followed, supported, and believed in by everyone. We remain small plus mighty, and as we go through this next transitional stage for BHRR, we shall continue to operate with a zero-tolerance approach, providing up and beyond care to the animals.
 
Our mandates have never changed, and they will remain the same as long as we are around; the animals shall always be done right by as our priority.
 
Our adoption success rates remain second to no other group out there – 100% for over ten years of operating, and now 99% as we go through year 26, and we are excited as we go through this slow transition for BHRR!
 
You have come so far, Mr. Jack, and we are delighted you are making your special announcement!

***Thank you again to Megan & her partner for temp fostering him & to Alison for taking his paparazzi pictures!***

 

Mr. Bruce is doing well.
 
He needs to learn about the comforts of a comfy dog bed….
 
I am told that he is very gentle about taking treats, has been introduced to their own dog, and was great & this picture gives an idea of how skinny he is.
 
He has a sore area between his toes on one foot and has been battling ear plus eye infections & they had put him on trazodone for his kennel anxiety. He is also on Gabapentin.
 
We will let him decompress, settle in, and work on gradually reducing his trazodone and getting him healthy.
 
He is understandably confused and nervous. So much change since his owner died, and then he has been in a shelter since the beginning of September.
 
He has an appointment with our vet scheduled for next Saturday so we can re-weigh – the shelter has him listed at 50 kg(110 pounds) & I am not sure if that is just an estimate. He will get more dewormer, be placed on more flea/tick/hw meds, we will do some bloodwork, and get boosters if he is healthy enough. We will check his ears and eyes, and he will have a thorough exam.
 
They also estimated his age to be around 3. As he becomes healthy and happier, we will check his teeth – not an accurate method either, yet a good tool – we can better determine his age.
 
So many see the ‘grey’ or ‘white’ muzzle and think older. The masking gene is a genetic marker and can emerge when a Dane is not even one year of age, like premature greying in humans. From the pics and video, I am estimating 2-3 years of age max myself. We will see!
 
 

Safe with his foster Mama!!
 
I cannot wait to meet you!!
 
He will have an apt scheduled with our Vet ASAP!
 
 
 

He is on his way!!!

 

****URGENT***
 
3-month-old female Newf/Pyr pup in need.
 
The shelter did cherry eye surgery on one eye – it failed – and now the other eye also needs to be done. The picture was before the first eye surgery failed.
 

She is only three months old.

We are calling her ‘Asante’ – Swahili for ‘Thankful/Grateful’ as that is how we feel towards so many that have come together to enable us to help her – From the Shelter reaching out, to the Volunteers stepping up to foster her, to the Vet Team that will be on hand to help us get her healthy and to the strong BHRR village that will surround her with support/kindness!

‘Asante’ – is also an African name meaning “thank you”

I know that this wee sweetheart shall also be thankful to be able to live the life she always deserved!

 
 

Stay tuned!
 
On Friday, September 16th, Mr. Jack, one of our special needs Three’s Company Aussie Pups, had his paparazzi photo shoot!
 
He will shortly be making his own special announcement. 
 
To date: $820 has been raised to go towards his emergency eye enucleation bills – the final bill was over $2,000 with the Trazodone I requested for him.
 
Thank you to Megan for fostering him and Alison for taking the wonderful photos.
 

AND you know you have a great toy WHEN everyone wants it! Originally, there were four Beans on the toy, yet, one became distracted, yet Carol managed to get a picture of three of them on the same toy just romping along!

Some more pics!

We have Miss Maybelle Cutie on her own, and Mr. Albar leads the charge in the other picture with Miss Bev hot on his heels and Miss Maybelle behind him. As to who is lying in the back….hmmm, not sure…we know it is either Miss Nola or Miss Ayla! 😀

*Pictures complimentary of Carol!

The Beans had their next play date today – thanks again to Katherine, Richard & Carol. 
 
I cannot believe we were there for over 3.5 hours!! I kept saying I did not want to overstay our welcome.
 
They had another amazing experience!
 
I was watching Miss Bev closely as she was trembling at the Vet yesterday when someone was holding her – she was only a bit worried during her vaccine, ok for nails, etc., yet trembled later when a staff member was holding her – yet, she was her normal, size everything up first before plunging right in to explore and snuggled and cuddled and was her loving self today! So, not sure why that was the case at one point yesterday yet, we are making sure all pups get safely exposed to many sights, sounds, and smells in trusted hands.
 
They turn eight weeks old tomorrow and have their professional photo shoot on the 22nd – weather permitting – to make special announcements!
 
I will be looking closely at the weather for other play visit opportunities for them too!
 

AND my last post of my night is a heavy-hearted one.
 
As folks know, we have our Three’s Company pups. We have been very upfront from our inception in 1996 about the medical issues DM(double merle) dogs can have.
 
AND, we have explained how the really special needs dogs like Miss Janet has been over her two siblings. We stated that we were unsure if she would ever be able to be placed up for adoption and that it did not matter to us. We were first told there were two DM Aussies, yet there were three, and we rescued them without hesitation.
 
We are always about trying to help the next in need of us……adoptions are not our priority, never have been. We would never place that kind of pressure on our dogs or ourselves to set that kind of expectation. The dogs do not lack for anything and are cherished for life. Those that are adopted that is wonderful; those that are not adopted, that is equally wonderful. They are safe….
 
Miss Janet was the most severely impaired – blind/deaf, and has done so well with her touch plus scent training.
 
We have worked to educate others that DM dogs can have IS, skin issues, IBS, IBD, neurological, behavioural concerns, etc., and not just have their eyesight and/or hearing affected.
 
Many DM dogs do not begin to have IS until they are 2-3 years of age. In those cases, our experience has demonstrated that many can continue to go on to live amazing quality-filled lives for years.
However, when a DM puppy, like Miss Janet(Mr. Oslo was the same way), begins to have seizures at such a young age – she is not even six months old – it is incredibly concerning, and QOL needs to be discussed/addressed with each seizure, especially when they are clusters.
 
All of this to say, that sweet Miss Janet, as of 9:39 PM last night, began to seize, and she seized so violently that she hit her head on the support bars of one of our end tables, wounding the top of her head quite badly.
 
She has begun phenobarbital, and we will add Keppra as needed.
 
It has now been almost 23 hours since her last seizure, and the journaling has begun.
 
This picture is an older one…..as she remains on seizure watch in emerge to be administered IV meds as necessary. Should she remain seizure free for 24 hours, she can be released.
We committed to her, as we did with her siblings, and we will fight the good fight with her…..
 
This also means she cannot remain on Nexgard Spectra for flea/tick/hw as it lowers the seizure threshold. Her spay is also being postponed and quite possibly not done if we cannot get her seizure activity under control to have a safe surgery protocol, including pre-med in place.
 
My heart is a heavy one tonight….yes, I well knew this can and could happen to any of our special needs Danes or dogs. It does not make the cross any easier to bear when it does. 
Her Vet Bills to date are just over $1,100
 
Please keep her in your thoughts. I love my wee Aussie babies…..they are so full of life and are personality filled & love everyone/everything!
 

The Beans Update!
 
This is Miss Maybelle Cutie – 6 weeks of age!
*A HUGE fav of the staff today – content to be held/loved. She is quite the quiet diva princess!*
 
Named thanks to Kendel & her two handsome young boyz! Thank you!
 
All of The Beans were at LAH today for their first vaccines – WOW! They will be eight weeks old on Saturday!
 
They have their paparazzi shoot on the 22nd and will be making some special announcements after that!
 
They also have another play date scheduled for tomorrow!
 
Thank you, Cassy, for loving on them today as they were brought in, and out by myself and some of my fantastic work colleagues! They got to hang out in the sun – they will soon be able to get out of the xpen! – have a snack, water, play, and pounce all over Cassy! 
 
Miss Nola – has a Grade 1/2 HM – it could be harmless, she could outgrow it, and we will monitor closely. Her hind end is strong now! YAY!
 
All puppies were re-weighed, thoroughly checked over, had their nails done, loved on, smooched, and they have their next de-worming plus will be old enough to begin flea/tick/hw meds. We will do that tomorrow. Having had their first vaccines today, they had a busy enough day.
 
Puppy 1 – 0.38 kgs – deceased as of 8:49 AM Thursday, August 4th(passed away just hours after they were surrendered to rescue)
 
Puppy 2 BHRR’s Nola – (Miss Fighter Bean)
August 4th – 0.38 kgs as well
August 8th – 0.62 kgs (1 lb, 6 oz)
August 11th – 0.82 kgs (1 lb, 12.8 oz)
September 15th – 4.9 kg (10.78 pounds)
 
Puppy 3 BHRR’s Beaver(Bev) – (Miss Explorer Bean)
August 4th – 0.48 kgs
August 8th – 0.71 kgs (1 lb, 9 oz)
September 15th – 4.7 kgs (10.34 pounds)
 
Puppy 4 BHRR’s Albar – (Mr. Warrior Bean)
August 4th – 0.46 kgs
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
September 15th – 5.2 kgs (11.44 pounds)
 
Puppy 5 BHRR’s Maybelle Cutie – (Miss Diva Princess Bean)
August 4th – 0.56 kgs
August 8th – 0.99 kgs (2 lbs, 3 oz)
September 15th – 5.3 kgs (11.66 pounds)
 
Puppy 6 BHRR’s Ayla (Miss Busy Mobile Bean)
August 4th – 0.64 kgs
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
August 11th – 1.03 kg (2 lbs, 3.6 oz)
September 15th – 4.7 kgs – same as BHRR’s Bev (10.34 pounds)
*We know that she was ‘chill’ due to still battling aspiration pneumonia yet is now a busy bean!
 
All puppies other than Miss Bev, prominently resemble Labs. Miss Bev is now losing more of her browns/brindles and is developing a stunning wavy black coat down her spine/sides. Lab yup, yet what else?! It does not matter at the end of the day!
 
These are the items that we are still in need of:
What we still urgently need:
1) Essentials XL puppy pee pads – we are now working on going outside, yet, we still need more as they become housebroken. At six weeks of age, they are doing amazing!
2) Large breed puppy toys, please, not small or toy. They will be too small – desperate for!
3) Downy or Gain liquid fabric softener
4) a 14 kg bag of PVD Large Breed Essential Care kibble
5) Five Wiggle Bumz collars – quick release buckle 14-16″ – for when they can wear collars, width 1.0″
6) 2 x Dirty PawPrint Dog Runners – so much easier to wash/keep clean and is soft, durable, and very comfy!
 
Financial donations can be made via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer at contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Donations can be dropped off in Kanata at a mutually convenient date/time OR snail mailed to or dropped in our donation shed:
2425 Totem Ranch Road West
Oxford Station, Ontario
K0G 1T0
 
 

Mr. Jack is having his own paparazzi photo shoot on the 16th!
 
He will then make his special announcement! 
 
Unfortunately, this had to be postponed due to his emergency eye enucleation.
 
This is a pic sent to me recently by Taryn of EVC when he was there for his surgery. 
 
His emergency Vet bills were over $2,000 and raised to date is just over $770.
 
Mr. Jack was in excellent hands at EVC, and I have so many to thank – Olivia, Taryn, Dr. Ammar & Trina, to name a few! I still have to bring thank you goodies to them as a small token of my deepest appreciation.
 
I am still working on trying to line up a professional pic session for my beans – they will be 8 weeks old next Saturday & will hopefully be making their own special announcements after that. 
 
They are at the vet on the 15th for re-weighs, flea/tick meds, plus their next de-worming & vaccines. Big day! I cannot believe they are now seven weeks old. Thanks, Cassy, for offering to puppy love on them at this visit.
 
Being black/dark dogs, the big black dog syndrome is in effect, and I want to try and get the best pics possible – I also wanted 6-week professional photos, yet, sadly, that did not happen.
Then they will have their next play date on the 16th.
 
The beans also had their first bonfires last night and movies under the stars with dinner! They rocked it!!! Thanks to all of the loving hands – Loralei, Kelly, Cassy & John, Angie & fam, etc.
 
Once we receive some monies still owing from last night, we will post the final total raised. 
 

This young adult, ~3 years, neutered male, now up to date on vaccines fawn Merle Great Dane.
 
He was an owner surrender. His owner died. His name is ‘Bruce’. 
 
Weight:~110 pounds
 
Needs a gradual introduction to cats, good with dogs, is an affectionate couch potato boy, displaying anxiety/stress in a shelter kennel. Very normal for Danes. They just do not fare well in a kennel environment.
 
 
May be an image of dog
 

The Bean’s 6-week-old photo shoot. We had hoped to line up someone with a bit more professional experience than Sean/I, yet that did not work out. SOOOOOO, Sean & I are always up for a challenge PLUS a laugh, and this is Miss Nola Bean from today’s photo shoot! 
 
Miss Nola was named by Jan!
 
AND……
 
Bean Needs!
 
What we still urgently need:
 
1) Essentials XL puppy pee pads – we are now working on going outside but we still need more as they become housebroken. At 6 weeks of age, they are doing fantastic!
2) Large breed puppy toys, please, not small or medium. They will be too small – desperate for!
3) Downy or Gain liquid fabric softener
4) a 14 kg bag of PVD Large Breed Essential Care kibble
5) Five Wiggle Bumz collars – quick release buckle 14-16″ – for when they can wear collars, width 1.0.”
6) 2 x Dirty PawPrint Dog Runners – so much easier to wash/keep clean and is soft, durable, and very comfy!
 
Financial donations can be made via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Donations can be dropped off in Kanata at a mutually convenient date/time OR snail mailed to:
2425 Totem Ranch Road West
Oxford Station, Ontario
K0G 1T0
 

AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

BHRR’s Titan is AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

Health Status: HEALTHY!

Age: ~5 years

Weight: ~130 pounds. We want to keep him lean/muscled and fit.

Type of Home Ideal For Mr. Titan: He loves his walks and car rides and interacts well with people/dogs he meets, and we are hoping for a quiet, socially low-active level home. A residence that, while visiting family plus friends and has people over, is not hosting frequent BBQs or gatherings of large groups of people. We do not want to see him in a home with a high level of travel, with other people taking care of him. He is loyal and loves his humans, and we want him part of the family if they go camping, go to the cottage, or do other fun travels. His quietly social and needs a home that is like him. He would adore cottage life or hang out at home with his family. Visiting friends, family, pet stores, and pet-friendly places are great too.

A home that understands and shall continue to help him learn about this big fantastic world that we live in. We want him to live a quality, filled, wonderful life rich with experiences. He missed out on so much before his rescue. He is being fostered in a wonderful home in the city yet can equally live comfortably in the country. We had fostered him in our house when he first arrived, and he is equally lovely in either environment.

We want him to be happy, to live his best life every day. We want him to reach his full potential!

He is another versatile BHRR dog! He can be in a home that works ft; pt works from home, semi-retired or retired, etc. He will ONLY go to a home prepared to ensure that he receives the balance he requires with proper exercise, socialisation, etc.

He does not need to go to a dog or even a Dane-experienced home. The home must be committed to his obedience, structure, and consistency, and to be patient, kind, and understanding, and while not hermits, they are not doing a hundred things each day. We want him to be treated as a cherished member in a right-matched forever-loving home.

He shares the communal water bowls and toys and understands that no human or dog will take his high-value food. He is fed in a quiet place and knows that he will be fed enough food, fed on time and that no one will take his food away.

He is very gentle in taking treats!

He loves home and his friends – he needs canine friends! He also loves to explore, go on small hikes, walks, and car rides, and visit people/places that are not over the top busy. We are not advocates of dog parks.

He needs a home that will give him new positive and great safe, memorable experiences. If you are a home that likes to take infrequent walks/hikes/strolls, Mr. Titan is not for you…he is a healthy Dane and needs to be kept emotionally and physically stimulated. He would make a great companion to get out into nature, explore and even enjoy the beach and having other small adventures! He also makes the best movie and book reading companion.

Personality/Temperament: Loving, affectionate, calm, quiet inside the home, yet loves to get outside to romp, run, and is figuring out so much more about playing! He needs to be emotionally/physically properly stimulated, uber-sweet, social, active, affectionate, gentle, plus kind. He thrives with consistency, structure, routine, and clear open communication to understand exactly what is expected of him. He is such a character!

Previous Dog Experience: Previous dog experience is not required per the above. While we would ideally like to see him in a home with at least one right-matched personality fit dog – it is not a deal-breaker. He needs a doggie friend network. That is so important. We have friends, he needs friends too. He has enjoyed meeting other dogs! He has gotten along with every dog he has met in our home, and his foster has not said otherwise during his time with them.

Good With Cats: He has been OK with our clinic cat, and while he is fine with one of the cats in his foster home, he still does show some interest in their other cat. We are therefore leaning on him being placed in a no-cat home. We have been told that squirrels are his mortal enemy!  

Good with Pocket Pets: Unknown. We would not recommend it.

Good with Children: NO small children. Children are fast, flighty, unpredictable, spastic, plus loud. We will consider homes with responsible children 12+ and no more than two children in the house. A home without children is our first preference, as we want Mr. Titan to be the priority. He has not had any issues with children.

Grooming: He is fine to wash and do his nails. He only needs a soft bristle brush on his coat once a week, and we recommend a monthly bath.

Car: NO issues travelling in the car. He settles down beautifully.

Housebroken/Crate Trained: He is housebroken and Crate trained. We never recommend that any new addition be given too much freedom to start. It can be very overwhelming plus too stimulating for them.

Obedience: He requires a home that will be consistent and dedicated to continuing to help him become the best dog that he can be. His potential is enormous! His harness manners are still a work in progress. He becomes excited when he sees other dogs on walks. Distraction training is being worked on, too, in this area. He is fine walking on the way back home on a loose lead.

Activities Suited For Him: Cherished family companion!

He loves tug of war, his walks, ‘dance’ parties where he prances with happiness! Keeping you company while you work on the computer – the best kind of supervisor!

Loves & Bad Habits: While he is excellent with one of the cats in his foster home, he still does show some interest in their other cat. We are therefore leaning on him being placed in a no-cat home. We have been told that squirrels are his mortal enemy!  

Per his foster home, ‘full on early AM head/face rubs are a must!’

He does still pull on his harness when out and about. He is so excited to be soaking up and experiencing all of the things that he lacked in life before being rescued. On the way back from walks, he can be on a loose lead, yet, he becomes super excited when he sees other dogs – does meet and greet appropriately – that he will bark too. All things that are being worked on. He is like that four-month-old puppy in a five-year-old Dane body.

He loves keeping his one human company while they work from home.

Like any dog, he is not perfect. He is perfect in all of his imperfections, though! NOT to mention super handsome with his merle colouring.

He is an awesome dog! So low maintenance!

Anxieties/Worries: It is integral that the right matched personality fit home does not spend 24/7 with him. During this pandemic, we still need groceries; we should still go out and walk about; we should still get in our cars and go for a small drive to go somewhere to do something! Time has been spent having him learn to not only like yet enjoy his own company. As we need our alone time, he must do too. He is a solid and stable dog, and we do not want any SA behaviours to develop.

As we have stated for over 26 years now, we will NEVER rush any dogs’ rehabilitation journey, we do not flip dogs, and we are not desperate to adopt them out.

We will always place up for adoption the dogs that can be adopted and safe haven all others that cannot be placed up for adoption due to medical and/or behavioural reasons.

We do not take in hundreds of dogs yearly; we only took in 6 dogs in 2021 as it is about helping the next in need of us, giving them top-quality care, and not about taking in numbers. In 2022, we have ONLY taken in 15 dogs to date.

After 26+ years, we know that we cannot please everyone, which means that BHRR is not the rescue to be followed, supported, and believed in by everyone. We remain small plus mighty, and as we go through this next transitional stage for BHRR, we shall continue to operate with a zero-tolerance approach, providing up and beyond care to the animals.

Our mandates have never changed, and they will remain the same as long as we are around; the animals shall always be done right by as our priority.

Our adoption success rates remain second to no other group out there – 100% for over ten years of operating, and now 99% as we go through year 26, and we are excited as we go through this slow transition for BHRR!

You have come so far, Mr. Titan, and we are delighted you are making your special announcement!

Stay tuned! Mr. Titam is going to make his special announcement soon!
 
Mr. Titan had his paparazzi photo shoot yesterday – Thanks Alison!
 
Here is one of the photos from yesterday.

UPDATE: Mr. Jack is healing well from his left eye enucleation.
 
He is scheduled to come to LAH next Wednesday to have the incision checked & sutures removed – Day 12th. Sometimes they have to stay in longer than even the 12-14 days – for example, Miss Jamila’s had many that we could not remove until day 16 & day 19.
 
He is on two types of pain meds – Metacam and Gabapentin (which can also cause a bit of sedation) plus antibiotics – Clavaseptin. The Metacam will also help with inflammation.
 
***URGENT*** ***Donations For Jack***
 
**$770 donated to date!** Thank you! 
 
The final bill is $1992.73 + $38.79 for more Trazodone
 
So grateful to EVC for being able to schedule this urgent surgery so quickly!! 
 
We are now in desperate need of funds.
 
We truly would be deeply grateful for anything….
 
Donations to his emergency surgery can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
Or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Thank you from our hearts for any consideration to his cause. Even $5 is not too little!
 
Mr. Jack, your special announcement will have to wait a bit longer, yet we will get there!
 

This handsome dude is having his paparazzi photo shoot tomorrow!
 
Then, once we have the pictures, he shall be ready to make his own special announcement.
 
So many are to thank for stepping up to help us save this amazing Great Dane! 
 
Mr. Titan, you are such a wonderful boy!
 
From his amazing foster mama:
 
‘Fun facts about this fella,
He loves tossing the pull toy. We have a side tube with a handle that he loves to fetch and return and tug.
He loves dance parties. If you dance he will chug and dance around you with a few bounces. Never jumps on you. Squirrels remain his mortal enemy. Full on early morning head and face rub is essential to start his day.’
 
Leash manners with distraction training are still a work in progress. He is like a 12-week-old puppy exploring the world, yet in a 5-year-old Great Dane body!
 

AND GSPs hang out together too!
 
Our 2.5+-year-old GSP Tango with Mr. James. 
 
Mr. James is trying to stay awake!  He is literally nodding off & my pic is a bit dark as I turned almost all the lights off so he could doze….
 
 

Mr. James(14+ year old GSP) wants to check in to say that he is doing well!
 
He is supervising me while I work on school tonight.
 
He is such an amazing boy! 

Miss Beaver(Bev)!
 
She looks how I want to be right now! Having a nice snooze! 
 
The bean’s foster mama/family has been doing an incredible job with them! 
 
They are now five weeks old.

UPDATE: Mr. Jack is now home with his wonderful foster mama!
 
He is on two types of pain meds – Metacam and Gabapentin (which can also cause a bit of sedation) plus antibiotics – Clavaseptin. The Metacam will also help with inflammation.
 
***URGENT*** ***Donations For Jack***
 
**$470 donated to date!** Thank you! 
 
The final bill is $1992.73.
 
Per a previous post, Mr. Jack’s foster reached out last Sunday to say that they had noted his left eye was slightly off on Saturday.
 
I was concerned re: possible uveitis, and an appointment was made for him to be seen on Monday.
 
Per the Vet that saw him, his pressures were higher than they would expect for uveitis, and diagnosed with glaucoma. It was 31.
 
Per a previous post, this was very distressing to read as with each of The Three’s Company pups, their eyes have been checked three times.
 
Jack’s eyes were even checked prior to his neuter on the 16th of August. They were always given a thumbs up, for if there were any issues, we would have had them removed at the time the Aussies were altered.
 
So this was so shocking to hear that less than a week after his neuter, he had an eye issue. 
 
I was concerned re: secondary glaucoma due to injury as he was very dysphoric when he woke up post-op from his neuter, yet, it was his tongue/muzzle that took a bump, not his eye on that side. His eyes were fine.
 
I am waiting to see what Dr. Ammar thinks after the surgery to see if there was anything in the retrobulbar space. Any Hematoma, for example.
 
Regardless of the underlying cause – the vet on Monday felt possible growth, glaucoma is brutally painful, and the left eye needed to be removed & immediately.
 
So grateful to them to EVC for being able to schedule this urgent surgery so quickly!! 
 
We are now in desperate need of funds.
 
We truly would be deeply grateful for anything….
 
Donations to his emergency surgery can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
Or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Thank you from our hearts for any consideration to his cause. Even $5 is not too little!
 
Mr. Jack, your special announcement will have to wait a bit longer, yet we will get there! 
 

UPDATE: Mr. Jack went into urgent surgery just past 8:30 AM.
 
He was dropped off by his wonderful foster mama last night so he could get prepared including being placed on trazodone per my request to minimise stress to him.
 
Dr. Ammar will touch base after surgery. Please keep Mr. Jack in your thoughts.
 
***URGENT*** ***Donations For Jack***
 
**$370 donated to date!** Thank you! 
 
The estimate is just over $2,300, yet will be a bit less as we already have a cone from when he was neutered and has done bloodwork.
 
Per a previous post, Mr. Jack’s foster reached out last Sunday to say that they had noted his left eye was a bit off on Saturday.
 
I was concerned re: possible uveitis, and an appointment was made for him to be seen on Monday.
 
Per the Vet that saw him, his pressures were higher than they would expect for uveitis, and diagnosed with glaucoma. It was 31.
 
Per a previous post, this was very distressing to read as with each of The Three’s Company pups, their eyes have been checked three times.
 
Jack’s eyes were even checked before his neuter on the 16th of August. They were always given a thumbs up, for if there were any issues, we would have had them removed at the time the Aussies were altered.
 
So this was so shocking to hear that less than a week after his neuter, he had an eye issue. 
 
Gwen was concerned re: secondary glaucoma due to injury as he was very dysphoric when he woke up post-op from his neuter, yet, it was his tongue/muzzle that took a bump, not his eye on that side. His eyes were fine.
 
Regardless of the underlying cause – the vet on Monday felt possible growth, glaucoma is brutally painful, and the left eye needs to be removed & immediately.
 
So grateful to them to EVC for being able to schedule this urgent surgery so quickly!! 
 
We are now in desperate need of funds.
 
We truly would be deeply grateful for anything….
 
Donations to his emergency surgery can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
Or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Thank you from our hearts for any consideration to his cause. Even $5 is not too little!
 
Mr. Jack, your special announcement will have to wait a bit longer!

***URGENT*** ***Donations For Jack***
 
Estimate below – it will be slightly less as we bought a cone and did bloodwork at the time of his neuter.
 
As per a previous post, Mr. Jacks’s foster reached out last Sunday to say that they had noted his left eye was a bit off on Saturday.
 
In asking for a pic, Gwen was concerned re: possible uveitis, and an appointment was made for him to be seen on Monday.
 
Per the Vet that saw him, his pressures were higher than they would expect for uveitis and diagnosed with glaucoma.
 
Per a previous post, this was very distressing to read as with each of The Three’s Company pups, their eyes have been checked three times.
 
Jack’s eyes were even checked before his neuter on the 16th of August. They were always given a thumbs up, for if there were any issues, we would have had them removed at the time the Aussies were altered.
 
So this was so shocking to hear that less than a week after his neuter, he had an eye issue. 
 
Gwen was concerned re: secondary glaucoma due to injury as he was very dysphoric when he woke up post-op from his neuter, yet, it was his tongue/muzzle that took a bump, not his eye on that side. His eyes were fine.
 
Regardless of the underlying cause – the vet on Monday felt possible growth, glaucoma is brutally painful, and the left eye needs to be removed & immediately.
 
Jack is now scheduled for his left eye enucleation at Eagleson Veterinary Clinic tomorrow @ 7:00 AM. So grateful to them!! 
 
We are now in desperate need of funds.
 
We truly would be deeply grateful for anything….
 
Donations to his emergency surgery can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
Or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Thank you from our hearts for any consideration to his cause. Even $5 is not too little!
 
Mr. Jack, your special announcement will have to wait a bit longer!

UPDATE: he has emergency surgery scheduled at Eagleson Veterinary Clinic for 7 AM tomorrow to remove the left eye.
 
Any donations towards this unexpected eye removal surgery would be incredibly appreciated.
 
Donations can be made via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 

***URGENT*** ***Donations For Jack***
 
As per a previous post, Mr. Jacks’s foster reached out last Sunday to say that they had noted his left eye was a bit off on Saturday.
 
In asking for a pic, I was concerned re: possible uveitis, and an appointment was made for him to be seen on Monday.
 
Per the Vet that saw him, his pressures were higher than they would expect for uveitis and diagnosed with glaucoma.
 
Per my previous post, this was very distressing to read as with each of The Three’s Company pups, their eyes have been checked three times.
 
Jack’s eyes were even checked before his neuter on the 16th of August. They were always given a thumbs up, for if there were any issues, we would have had them removed at the time the Aussies were altered.
 
So this was so shocking to hear that less than a week after his neuter, he had an eye issue. 
 
I was concerned re: secondary glaucoma due to injury as he was very dysphoric when he woke up post-op from his neuter, yet, it was his tongue/muzzle that took a bump, not his eye on that side.
 
His eyes were fine.
 
Regardless of the underlying cause – the vet on Monday felt possible growth, glaucoma is brutally painful, and the left eye needs to be removed & immediately.
 
As the vet I work with that does enucleations is retiring Saturday, I reached out to the mixed practise I worked at before LAH to see if they could urgently accommodate.
 
Jack is now scheduled for his left eye enucleation at Eagleson Veterinary Clinic tomorrow @ 7:00 AM. So grateful to them!! 
 
We are now in desperate need of a deposit to be able to put down as a good-faith gesture.
 
We indeed would be deeply grateful for anything….
 
Donations to his emergency surgery can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
Or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Rescue is 24/7 & I have worked hard these past few days to get this urgent surgery set up.
 
Thank you from our hearts for any consideration to his cause. Even $5 is not too little!
 
Mr. Jack, your special announcement will have to wait a bit longer, my handsome dude!
 
 

I have not seen my five wee beans since August 18th. I still wake up every 1.5-2 hours thinking I need to get them fed.
 
Thank you to their fabulous temp foster for staying in close touch and working with me to keep them moving forward. 
 
We are now working on mixing formula into their canned food and introduced formula-softened kibble yesterday. They are not yet ready to drink formula from a bowl or a low-level Tupperware container. They are a young, just shy of 4.5 weeks old.
 
They will continue to have three meals a day of the formula / canned puppy food (1 can each feeding), and have two small meals (1 cup each feeding to start) of the formula-softened kibble. They are still on the nursing bowl for several meals a day. This adds up to a lot of feedings!
 
Tasha keeps the two smallest ones separate for feeding to ensure they get their share.
 
We do still need the following items for the wee beans:
 
1) Puppy toys – for large breed puppies. *Anything smaller will be choking hazards.
2) Esbilac powdered – 28 ounce or 5 Lb
3) PVD Essential Care canned puppy food – I have bought 8 cases yet we need more!
4) PVD large breed puppy kibble – I have bought two of the 14 kgs bags & we will need much more!
5) Essentials XL puppy pads
Donations can also be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
 
OR via
Email transfer to contactbhrr@gmsil.com
 
My dear sweet wee beans, my heart bursts with so much love for all of you!
 
 

Yesterday, I was contacted by Mr. Jacks foster home to say his left eye is not right. They said that had noted some changes the day before and had been monitoring it.
 
An appointment was made for this AM, and out of all that I could have possibly been told – waiting to hear from the Vet yet his foster updated me – he has glaucoma.
 
Top pic – yesterday
Bottom pic – normal eye
 
To say I am stunned is putting it mildly. I had all of the Three Company’s Pups’ eyes checked out three times….as I was so open re: worrying if we may have to remove them. Each time, the pup’s eyes were cleared.
 
He was even neutered not even a week ago. No issues noted.
 
The surgeon I work with that does eye enucleations is retiring on Saturday too.
 
As always, sometimes you just want to give up when you work so hard to do all of the right things…. 
 
Also, as always, we will figure things out….we must keep the faith.
 
His special announcement has to be delayed, and we will update as we can. He has a recheck on Saturday.
 
We got you, Mr. Jack. 

I have always said we would share the good, the bad, the great, and the ugly.
 
I planned on posting this earlier, yet we have been running into some issues at the place we are staying at….
 
I have regularly updated folks on my beans and shared videos along with a mountain of pictures since I was first contacted about them.
 
I have weighed and re-weighed them. In the space of only 8 days, they were also at the vet twice to make sure all remained heading in the right direction.
 
People I work with have been able to love on them on Thursday, August 11th; they saw a Vet that day, too, and on Saturday, August 13th @ the fundraiser at Alison – though we were very strict that no dogs or humans could be near/touch them, many were able to witness how healthy they have become.
 
I had so many sleepless nights since they arrived, I spent almost straight 11 hours teaching them how to suckle, and I held the one wee female pup in my loving arms as she passed away mere hours after we got them into rescue and to emergency in Kingston.
 
I was up almost 27 hours straight, making sure they were suckling before I even took a power snooze after their rescue.
 
All of this to say that on the evening of Sunday, August 14th, I sent five thriving wee beans – active, vocal, beginning to play, interactive – to the rescue individual who had offered to care for them while I had to go away for some speaking engagements plus was going to try and have a few days of vacation.
 
I sent them to this rescue individual many days before leaving so I could be on standby as a resource if needed. I had passed along Gwennie novels of information on their habits, personalities, routines, etc. I never expected in my worse dreams that any of the following would happen.
 
I was told that all was great – later that night and the next AM. Within hours after that, I was told that one of them was failing. Was told that it was the wee female, Miss Nola, yet in fact, it was Mr. Albar.
 
I met them halfway between our places and noted that he was extremely lethargic, unable to suckle, was passing horrible stool, and was dehydrated.
 
Miss Nola – I had asked them to bring me two puppies, so the one failing was not all by themselves to see me – was slightly dehydrated. I was assured they were drinking and getting enough, yet this was not possible with their level of hydration. We conversed re: the importance of sticking to their much-needed feeding regime.
 
I got Miss Nola to drink and back on track and rushed the wee boy home with me. It was round-the-clock care, he was given several rounds of sub Q fluids, and we got him back up on his feet.
I was then informed that all of the other puppies were doing wonderfully later that night and into the next AM.
 
Then, a few hours after that, less than 48 hours after this individual had the puppies, two were almost dead, and the other two were now not faring well either.
 
The biggest and most healthiest of the pups was vomiting. Miss Maybelle Cutie. She also had blood coming from her nose.
 
Miss Nola had sheer blood shooting from her hind end.
 
None of the puppies were eating. Lethargic, with two not even able to stand.
 
The puppies were dropped off to Sean within the next hour plus – the date is now Tuesday, August 16.
 
Immediate and emergency care involving iv fluids, and being stimulated was given – they were filthy, smelled really bad, plus were super dehydrated( they were washed right before I dropped them off, and we always kept them clean).
 
We managed to get three of the pups back – Miss Nola, Miss Ayla & Miss Bev – after so much work. Mr. Albar was now almost completely back to himself since I took him back the previous day.
 
Miss Maybelle Cutie – who was the biggest and healthiest still could not even stand. The prognosis was less than 40% survival. We refused to give up.
 
Their coats that I had gotten so healthy plus shiny were now dull, and their eyes sunken.
 
I kept asking what happened. What went wrong? This person is not supposed to be new to raising litters. This person is not new to special needs puppies.
 
I was prepared to cancel all of our plans as I could not leave on the Friday with my wee beans in this state.
 
I reached out to one of our trusted fosters/volunteers, and we arranged for them to go to them after further medical care.
 
We prepared that we may lose the one girl, yet we all were determined to see her come back.
 
AND she did. More sub Q fluids, more syringe feeding, tons of holding and loving – I had held my wee male bean all night when I got him.
 
Below are all five with their amazing foster, and all five are back to thriving. They are now almost 4.5 weeks old.
 
I have never been so terrified, filled with guilt, and concerned in my life. I give all of myself to the animals, and what happened in less than 24 hours and then 48 hours for this to happen?
 
This post is not to ask for funds. I am paying for that out of my own pocket. For it is I who accepted this rescue person’s offer and it was I that sent my wee beans to them, trusting they would be adequately taken care of.
 
I shall never know what actually happened…and as an already cautious person, even more distrustful.
 
I could have lost my wee babies…I would never have ever ever ever forgiven myself if that had happened.
 
The nightmares I have had over this.
 

This puppy spam picture is for Carol Bruck, Katherine Bruck, My Vegan Market & to all of their supporters, including PeterandMarilyn Scott, for the incredible support to help us with the Beans!
 
This is of Miss Explorer Bean – BHRR’s Beaver(Bev) from August 14th, 2022

This puppy spam picture of thanks is being posted thanks to Cassy Montgomery via their friend Ruth for their caring donation & for Empties for our orphaned wee beans!
 
This photo is one wee bean partaking in the PVD essential care canned buffet – Miss Calm Chill bean – still waiting for a name.
 
The orphaned litter are now shy of four weeks old. They are beginning to really make sounds, play more & are so much more interactive with us humans.
 
 

This puppy spam picture is being posted thanks to Louise (no last name given) & their truly kind donation for our orphaned wee beans! 
 
This is Miss Diva Princess Bean(BHRR’s Maybelle Cutie) & Miss Explorer Bean(BHRR’s Beaver(Bev). Miss Diva Princess Bean is very attached to her sister.
 
Food coma babies are freakin’ adorable! 
 
This photo is one of many taken by our hostess Alison Goodfellow last Saturday August 13th at our event.
 
We remain deeply touched by the support shown to this litter to date, and we remain desperate for items……
 
Donations can be done via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com OR an item(s) donation:
1) XL Essential pee pads,
2) Esbilac powdered formula 28 oz. or 5 lb
3) Gain or Downy liquid fabric softener
4) PVD Essential Care canned & large breed kibble food
Dropped off in our donation shed at the road or snail mailed to:
2425 Totem Ranch Road West, Oxford Station
 
 

This puppy spam picture of thanks is being posted thanks to Cassy Montgomery via their friend Ruth for their caring donation & for Empties for our orphaned wee beans! 
 
This photo is one wee bean partaking in the PVD essential care canned buffet – Miss Calm Chill bean – still waiting for a name 
 
The orphaned litter are now shy of four weeks old. They are beginning to really make sounds, play more & are so much more interactive with us humans.
 
We remain truly humbled by the support shown to this litter to date, and we remain desperate for items……
 
Donations can be made via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com OR an item(s) donation:
1) XL Essential pee pads,
2) Esbilac powdered formula 28 oz. or 5 lb
3) Gain or Downy liquid fabric softener
4) PVD Essential Care canned & large breed kibble food
 
 

This puppy spam picture is thanks to Margaret for her generous financial donation!

This was their first foray into PVD Essential care canned food on August 11th.

I started off with a 1/4 of a can – bite-sized on my fingers and then moved them onto a Tupperware lid.

By Sunday, they were eating one can per extra feeding for a total of 3 extra feedings in addition to their six formula feedings.

They are too young to have formula mixed in, yet they will get there!! 

My amazing five wee beans…oh how I love you….so much…. 

 

Mr. Jack was neutered plus microchipped yesterday. We also did pre-operative bloodwork, nails and dispensed another month of flea/tick/heartworm meds.
 
He weighed 14 kgs(30.8 pounds).
 
His two litter-mates were to be spayed, yet, their spays had been rescheduled.
 
In about 2-3 weeks, Mr. Jack will be ready to make his own special announcement!
 

This puppy spam picture of thanks is being posted to Katherine Bruck for the latest Empties return for our orphaned wee beans! 
 
This photo is from our driveway event – Saturday, August 13th. Thank you again Alison Goodfellow, for hosting us & the lovely pictures!
 
The orphaned litter are now three weeks old. They are hearing more, seeing more, and starting to do tail wags, small growls, and barks. A couple are even beginning to attempt to play. Their deciduous (baby) teeth are now coming in too.
 
AND as we have been getting questions re: them, I will answer some.
 
Their nails are long, yes, and should not be trimmed until at least six weeks of age, as they use them to latch onto surfaces to crawl, wobble, plus bobble. As their strength increases, they will become less dependent on their nails to move around. 
 
We remain truly humbled by the support shown to this litter to date, and we remain desperate for items……
 
Donations can be done via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com OR an item(s) donation:
1) XL Essential pee pads,
2) Esbilac powdered formula 28 oz.,
3) Gain or Downy liquid fabric softener
4) PVD Essential Care canned & large breed kibble food
5) Pinesol – the larger the bottle the better!
6) Lysol wipes
Dropped off in our donation shed at the road or snail mailed to:
2425 Totem Ranch Road West, Oxford Station
 
 
 

This puppy spam picture of thanks is being posted to Iwona S. for the generous donations for our orphaned wee beans! 
 
Thank you to Katherine Bruck/Richard Bruck for dropping the donations off today!
 
These are our biggest and tiniest wee beans – they are now three weeks old.
 
This photo is after a very busy, great night at the milk bar! 
 
You can see how different the colours of their stunning coats are too.
 
We remain truly humbled by the support shown to this litter to date, and we remain desperate for items for them……
 
Donations can be done via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com OR an item(s) donation:
1) XL Essential pee pads,
2) Esbilac powdered formula 28 oz.,
3) Gain or Downy liquid fabric softener
4) PVD Essential Care canned puppy food)
5) Pinesol – the larger the bottle the better!
6) Lysol wipes
Dropped off in our donation shed at the road or snail mailed to:
2425 Totem Ranch Road West, Oxford Station
 
 
We are quickly reaching a point of URGENCY for powdered Esibilac, plus pee pads.
 

What a beautiful day!
 
Alison Goodfellow, thank you and to your lovely family for hosting us today and for being the best puppy minders! 
 
Thank you to Cassy Montgomery & John for the powdered Esbilac, and the Pinesol, and the additional gorgeous hand towels to sell!
 
Thank you to Aaron Maracle & Cherie Barnes Maracle for the puppy donations – pee pads & powdered Esbilac!
 
Thank you to all of the amazing souls that came to visit with their gorgeous animals & supporting our efforts.
 
AND we had a super nice couple come out with their handsome boy Mosley to talk to us about Miss Agatha.
 
This is the beautiful Alison taking her role as a wee bean puppy minder very seriously.  You were truly a most gracious hostess. She also ensured the puppies stayed safe from grabbing hands and sniffing noses! 
 
The grand total raised today was $399 & $5.95 CDA Tire $
 
Thank you to everyone who came out, to those who shared our event, and to everyone for standing strong by our sides and believing in our rescue efforts. We are deeply humbled.
 
We are now heading home to feed the wee bean puppies again!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yesterday – August 11th, I brought all of the beans to the Vet – my work – so that two of them could be seen.
 
As soon as I walked into the door – I had so many loving hands to hold and snuggle the beans! I work with some incredible folks! Thank you! I wanted to get a picture of my amazing teammates holding the babies, yet there just was not enough time – Thank you Mickayla Petersen & Loralei Valade, Dave, Jenn, Trish & Dr. Liston!
 
 
1) Miss Fighter Bean(Miss Nola) – did an exam on her spine/hind end plus did an x-ray – not the best picture as I quickly took two pics on my phone from the screen.
 
Her spine, knees, toes, and legs have nerves, and she is responsive.
 
The x-ray, as predicted, is a lot of cartilage. Yet, nothing was obviously broken.
 
Soooooooooo, we are continuing to do exercises at home, massages, and getting her to use her hind end to crawl over a folded tea towel to get to me for feeding/cuddles and to the pee pads – which does not seem like much, yet it is a lot for a 20-day old puppy.
 
I am going to keep working on building up her strength – newborn puppy obstacle style!
 
We will continue to monitor her closely as she develops. She receives all of the best in nutrition, care, and vetting, and she is a fighter!
 
For her liquid green diarrhea – they were all dewormed on the 4th, forti flora is being added to all of the puppy’s diets. I will make a separate post about our foray into PVD Essential Care canned puppy food land!
 
They are too young for Metronidazole as it will work on harming the good gut bacteria and not just the bad gut bacteria.
 
I am still trying to get a fecal sample brought in so I can send it to the lab and also do an in-house fecal smear float.
 
They are to be de-wormed again on August 18th.
 
2) Miss Chill Calm Bean – She was once the biggest in the litter, and initially, I did not have a concern with others catching up and even passing her in size.
 
Yet, in continuing to monitor them closely, I noted that she was beginning to lag further and further behind, not drinking as much, finding it harder to suckle, wanting to eat, and tiring out faster, yet, every time I listened to her lungs, she sounded clear.
 
 
Then yesterday early AM, I finally heard it….that sound…that raspy, slightly crackling sound, and saw the belly breathing. She was not winning the battle against aspiration pneumonia. She was slowly losing it.
 
So, she was also seen yesterday, and another ten days of Clavamox have been dispensed for her.
 
She is responding well.
 
We remain truly humbled by the support shown to this litter to date, and we remain desperate for items for them……
 
Donations can be done via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com OR an item(s) donation:
1) XL Essential pee pads,
2) Esbilac powdered formula 28 oz.,
3) Gain or Downy liquid fabric softener
4) PVD Essential Care canned puppy food)
5) Pinesol – the larger the bottle the better!
6) Lysol wipes
Dropped off in our donation shed at the road or snail mailed to:
2425 Totem Ranch Road West, Oxford Station
 
 
We are quickly reaching a point of URGENCY for powdered Esibilac, plus pee pads.
 
These wee Labx beans found nursing on their mom, that was lying dead under a tractor; two with punctures are now safe with us. If they could, they would also say THANK you to everyone for this lifesaving assistance. 
 
They are not your normal healthy 2+ week-old puppies and need extra diligent, constant care.
 
Weights on top from Thursday, August 4th in emergency when we first saved them & weights from August 8th below. Four days after I got them. Then there are weights for August 11th for two of the puppies when we were at the Vet.
 
I did not get the other puppies weighed as I had to feed them while at work and get back on the road home. I live almost 1 hour away, and they are on a strict feeding schedule.
 
Puppy 1 – 0.38 kgs – deceased as of 8:49 AM Thursday, August 4th (We called her Miss Charm Bean)
 
Puppy 2 (Miss Fighter Bean) Miss Nola – 0.38 kgs as well
August 8th – 0.62 kgs (1 lb, 6 oz)
August 11th – 0.82 kgs (1 lb, 12.8 oz)
 
Puppy 3 (Miss Explorer Bean) Miss Bev – 0.48 kgs
August 8th – 0.71 kgs (1 lb, 9 oz)
 
Puppy 4 (Mr. Warrior Bean) Mr. Albar – 0.46 kgs
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
 
Puppy 5 (Miss Diva Princess Bean) Miss Maybelle Cutie – 0.56 kgs
August 8th – 0.99 kgs (2 lbs, 3 oz)
 
Puppy 6 (Miss Chill Mobile Bean) Miss Ayla – 0.64 kgs
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
August 11th – 1.03 kg (2 lbs, 3.6 oz)
 
Our Name Game Fundraiser is now up and running – please help us name them! – to try and raise much-needed funds for vetting – five pups to vaccinate, boosters x 2, exams, 4 spays, 1 neuter, flea/tick/hw meds, bloodwork, further investigating Miss Fighter Beans hind end etc., not to mention food, formula, pee pads, Pinesol, toys, treats, dog beds, laundry detergent, liquid fabric softener and so on.
 
Puppies are wee, their needs are enormous!
 

Ok! One last post…post-midnight – almost 1:00 AM by the time I am done – feed!

HERE IS THE VIDEO!

 
5 baby beans & this video is thanks to Rachel for bringing back donated Empties and topping it up on behalf of Oreo & Skittles! 
 
Good night!
 

Ok! For Melody – I went one up from a pic I said I would post as you kindly shared our poster – a video! 
 
Miss Explorer Bean VIDEO!
 
To all, this is what your lifesaving donations are enabling us to do….save deserving pups like the Beans.
 
We cannot do this without you!
 
Thank you!

My last post of my night….going to snag a bite to eat and prepare for the midnight feast for the beans!
 
Thanks to Katherine, and their lovely donation – guess what time it is?!!
 
As promised for every lifesaving monetary or item(s) donation, a puppy spam pic would be posted in gratitude!
 
Can be done via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com OR an item(s) donation:
1) XL Essential pee pads,
2) Esbilac powdered formula 28 oz.,
3) Gain or Downy liquid fabric softener
4) PVD Essential Care canned puppy food)
5) Pinesol – the larger the bottle the better!
6) Lysol wipes
 
Dropped off in our donation shed at the road or snail mailed to:
2425 Totem Ranch Road West, Oxford Station
 
 
We are quickly reaching a point of URGENCY for powdered Esibilac, plus pee pads. Lysol Wipes are not far behind!
 
I need five more of the 28 oz cans of powdered Esbilac just to hand off to our temp foster as of Monday for two weeks, as I have to be out of country for ten days. Plans that I cannot change.
 
We also need four more boxes of the 100-pack of Essentials XL Pee Pads.
 
This does not even take into consideration the many thousands of dollars it is going to take to vet them to prepare for their special announcements.
 
These wee Labx beans, found nursing on their mom, that was laying dead under a tractor, two with punctures, are now safe with us. I know that if they could, they would also say THANK you to everyone for this lifesaving assistance. 
 
 
They are not your normal healthy 2+ week old puppies, and need extra diligent, constant care. Sean did his second day of puppy duty, and thank you! He and Kinsley rewashed the wee beans.
 
Weights on top from Thursday, August 4th, in emergency when we first saved them & weights from August 8th below. Four days after I got them. Then there are weights for today(August 11th) for two of the puppies, when we were at the Vet today.
 
Puppy 1 – 0.38 kgs – deceased as of 8:49 AM Thursday, August 4th – Mis Charm Bean
 
Puppy 2 (Miss Fighter Bean) – 0.38 kgs as well – Miss Nola
August 8th – 0.62 kgs (1 lb, 6 oz)
August 11th – 0.82 kgs (1 lb, 12.8 oz)
 
Puppy 3 (Miss Explorer Bean) – 0.48 kgs – Miss Bev
August 8th – 0.71 kgs (1 lb, 9 oz)
 
Puppy 4 (Mr. Warrior Bean) – 0.46 kgs – Mr. Albar
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
 
Puppy 5 (Miss Diva Princess Bean) – 0.56 kgs – Miss Maybelle Cutie
August 8th – 0.99 kgs (2 lbs, 3 oz)
 
Puppy 6 (Miss Chill Mobile Bean) – 0.64 kgs – Miss Ayla
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
August 11th – 1.03 kg (2 lbs, 3.6 oz)
 
Our Name Game Fundraiser is now posted to try and raise much-needed funds for vetting – five pups to vaccinate, boosters x 2, exams, 4 spays, 1 neuter, flea/tick/hw meds, bloodwork, further investigating Miss Fighter Beans hind end, etc., not to mention food, formula, pee pads, Pinesol, toys, treats, dog beds, laundry detergent, liquid fabric softener and so on.
 
Puppies are wee, their needs are enormous!
 
AND look?! Five precious beans are still with us! 19 days old! Miss Chill Calm Bean is the worse with the aspiration pneumonia right now……so Clavamox drops for 10 more days is part of her menu.
 
AND I still have to post re: wee Miss Fighter Bean too. All five came to the Vet with me, and I had two of them seen.
 
All puppies will begin Forti Flora shortly, and as soon as I can get a sample in – will do a fecal float, fecal testing, plus fecal smear.
 
They ADORE this elephant stuffie. Out of the three stuffies I have, this is their ‘surrogate’ Mama.
 
From our home to all of our friends, family, plus supporters, the best in good night wishes are being sent. I know I am excited about the prospect of maybe, possibly, getting more than 2.5-3 hours of sleep tonight!
Many have thought that this Elephant stuffie was giant or jumbo. It is not! It is a medium size stuffie that the beans get ‘lost’ in.

Before I post re: the Vet visit today, thanks to Lesley, and their beautiful financial donation – guess what time it is?!!
 
As promised for every lifesaving monetary or item(s) donation, a puppy spam pic would be posted in gratitude!
 
Can be done via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com OR an item(s) donation:
1) XL Essential pee pads,
2) Esbilac powdered formula 28 oz.,
3) Gain or Downy liquid fabric softener
4) PVD Essential Care canned puppy food)
5) Pinesol – the larger the bottle the better!
6) Lysol wipes
 
Dropped off in our donation shed at the road or snail mailed to:
2425 Totem Ranch Road West, Oxford Station
 
 
We are quickly reaching a point of URGENCY for powdered Esibilac, plus pee pads.
 
I need five more of the 28 oz cans of powdered Esbilac just to hand off to our temp foster as of Monday for two weeks, as I have to be out of the country for ten days. Plans that I cannot change.
 
We also need four more boxes of the 100 pack of Essentials XL Pee Pads.
 
This does not even take into consideration the many thousands of dollars it is going to take to vet them to prepare for their special announcements.
 
These wee Labx beans, found nursing on their mom, that was laying dead under a tractor, two with punctures, are now safe with us. I know that if they could, they would also say THANK you to everyone for this lifesaving assistance. 
 
They are not your typical healthy 2+ week old puppies and need extra diligent, constant care. Sean did his second day of puppy duty, and thank you! He and Kinsley rewashed the wee beans.
 
Weights on top from Thursday, August 4th in emergency when we first saved them & weights from August 8th below. Four days after I got them. Then there are weights for today(August 11th) for two of the puppies, when we were at the Vet today.
 
Puppy 1 – 0.38 kgs – deceased as of 8:49 AM Thursday, August 4th – Miss Charm Bean
 
Puppy 2 (Miss Fighter Bean) – 0.38 kgs as well – Miss Nola
August 8th – 0.62 kgs (1 lb, 6 oz)
August 11th – 0.82 kgs (1 lb, 12.8 oz)
 
Puppy 3 (Miss Explorer Bean) – 0.48 kgs – Miss Bev
August 8th – 0.71 kgs (1 lb, 9 oz)
 
Puppy 4 (Mr. Warrior Bean) – 0.46 kgs – Miss Albar
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
 
Puppy 5 (Miss Diva Princess Bean) – 0.56 kgs – Miss
August 8th – 0.99 kgs (2 lbs, 3 oz)
 
Puppy 6 (Miss Chill Mobile Bean) – 0.64 kgs
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
August 11th – 1.03 kg (2 lbs, 3.6 oz)
 
We will shortly set up our popular Name Game Fundraiser to try and raise much-needed funds for vetting – five pups to vaccinate, boosters x 2, exams, 4 spays, 1 neuter, flea/tick/hw meds, bloodwork, further investigating Miss Fighter Beans hind end, etc., not to mention food, formula, pee pads, Pinesol, toys, treats, dog beds, laundry detergent, liquid fabric softener and so on.
Puppies are wee, their needs are enormous!
 
My heart just bursts with so much love for these wee beans! 
 
 

The last two days are a bit of a blur – I have worked almost 25 hours, and now that I am back home, have time to snag a bite to eat and get set up for the midnight feed.
 
The Beans know I am right by them – they have not seen me all day -, yet are settling back down AND, thanks to Wanda Duguay Thompson, and their caring financial donation – guess what time it is?!!
 
As promised, for every lifesaving monetary or item(s) donation, a puppy spam pic would be posted in gratitude!
 
Can be done via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com OR an item(s) donation:
1) XL Essential pee pads,
2) Esbilac powdered formula 28 oz.,
3) Gain or Downy liquid fabric softener
4) PVD Essential Care canned puppy food)
5) Pinesol – the larger the bottle the better!
6) Lysol wipes
 
Dropped off in our donation shed at the road or snail mailed to:
2425 Totem Ranch Road West, Oxford Station
OR
 
We need many, many, many weeks’ worth of the above, and we are reaching a point of desperation for powdered Esibilac, plus pee pads.
 
I need five more of the 28 oz cans of powdered Esbilac just to hand off to our temp foster as of Monday for two weeks, as I have to be out of the country for ten days. Plans that I cannot change.
We also need four more boxes of the 100-pack of Essentials XL Pee Pads.
 
Please consider making a donation to help us. Thank you!
 
This does not even take into consideration the many thousands of dollars it is going to take to vet them to prepare for their special announcements.
 
These wee Labx beans, found nursing on their mom, that was laying dead under a tractor, two with punctures, are now safe with us. I know that if they could, they would also say THANK you to everyone for this lifesaving assistance. 
 
This is Mr. Warrior Bean(Mr. Albar)! He is gaining well. No longer the third weakest nor third smallest in the litter.
 
Miss Fighter Bean(Miss Nola) is at the Vet tomorrow at 1:30 PM. I will be bringing all of the beans so I can feed them before making the trek back home.
 
I cannot lie, I am worried. Please send her a special well wish.
 
They are not your typical healthy 2+ week-old puppies and need extra diligent, constant care. Sean did his second day of puppy duty, and thank you! He and Kinsley rewashed the wee beans.
 
Weights on top from Thursday, August 4th in an emergency when we first saved them & weights from August 8th below. Four days after I got them.
 
Puppy 1 – 0.38 kgs – deceased as of 8:49 AM Thursday, August 4th – Miss Charm Bean
 
Puppy 2 (Miss Fighter Bean) – 0.38 kgs as well – Mis Nola
August 8th – 0.62 kgs (1 lb, 6 oz)
 
Puppy 3 (Miss Explorer Bean) – 0.48 kgs – Miss Bev
August 8th – 0.71 kgs (1 lb, 9 oz)
 
Puppy 4 (Mr. Warrior Bean) – 0.46 kgs – Mr. Albar
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
 
Puppy 5 (Miss Diva Princess Bean) – 0.56 kgs – Miss Maybell Cutie
August 8th – 0.99 kgs (2 lbs, 3 oz)
 
Puppy 6 (Miss Chill Mobile Bean) – 0.64 kgs – Miss Ayla
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
 
We will shortly set up our popular Name Game Fundraiser to try and raise much-needed funds for vetting – five pups to vaccinate, boosters x 2, exams, 4 spays, 1 neuter, flea/tick/hw meds, bloodwork, further investigating Miss Fighter Beans hind end, etc., not to mention food, formula, pee pads, Pinesol, toys, treats, dog beds, laundry detergent, liquid fabric softener and so on.
Puppies are wee, their needs are enormous!
 
Good night wishes are being sent out to all of our friends, family & supporters.

Babies are fed, all tucked in AND, thanks to Katherine and their loving financial donation of Empties returns – guess what time it is?!!

As promised, for every lifesaving monetary or item(s) donation, a puppy spam pic would be posted in gratitude!

Can be done via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com OR an item(s) donation:

1) XL Essential pee pads,
2) Esbilac powdered formula 28 oz.,
3) Gain or Downy liquid fabric softener
4) PVD Essential Care canned puppy food)
5) Pinesol – the larger the bottle the better!
6) Lysol wipes

Dropped off in our donation shed at the road or snail mailed to:
2425 Totem Ranch Road West, Oxford Station

We need many, many, many weeks worth of the above!

This does not even take into consideration the many thousands of dollars it is going to take to vet them to prepare for their special announcements.

These wee Labx beans, found nursing on their mom, that was laying dead under a tractor, two with punctures, are now safe with us. I know that if they could, they would also say THANK you to everyone for this lifesaving assistance. 

AND another huge miracle milestone…do you see what I see?!!

Five wee bear cub beans still with us! 

Miss Fighter Bean(Miss Nola) is scheduled to see the Vet on Thursday…..that hind end, back legs – especially the right side. 

I want to have this investigated ASAP. Hoping it is something we can successfully rehabilitate.

Weights on top from Thursday, August 4th, in emergency, when we first saved them & weights from August 8th below. Four days after I got them.

Puppy 1 – 0.38 kgs – deceased as of 8:49 AM Thursday, August 4th

Puppy 2 (Miss Fighter Bean) – 0.38 kgs as well – Miss Nola
August 8th – 0.62 kgs (1 lb, 6 oz)

Puppy 3 (Miss Explorer Bean) – 0.48 kgs – Miss Bev
August 8th – 0.71 kgs (1 lb, 9 oz)

Puppy 4 (Mr. Warrior Bean) – 0.46 kgs – Mr Albar
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)

Puppy 5 (Miss Diva Princess Bean) – 0.56 kgs – Miss Maybelle Cutie
August 8th – 0.99 kgs (2 lbs, 3 oz)

Puppy 6 (Miss Chill Mobile Bean) – 0.64 kgs – MIss Ayla
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)

We will shortly set up our popular Name Game Fundraiser to try and raise much-needed funds for vetting – five pups to vaccinate, boosters x 2, exams, 4 spays, 1 neuter, flea/tick/hw meds, bloodwork, further investigating Miss Fighter Beans hind end, etc., not to mention food, formula, pee pads, Pinesol, toys, treats, dog beds, laundry detergent, liquid fabric softener and so on.

Puppies are wee, their needs are enormous!

I am off to bed…a long night of puppy care, an early AM, and another very long work day ahead. Sean did fantastic with two puppy feedings yesterday, all on his own!

He said they slept a lot, yet as soon as I arrived home, just as with Miss Jamila, they smelled me, and it was puppy chorus chaos! ?

Good night wishes are being sent out to all of our friends, family & supporters!

Today, Mr. Titan had his big day!
 
His re-weigh was 58.4 kgs(128.48 pounds).
 
We did a repeat UA, ear cytology, ear cleaning, boosters, repeated bloodwork, microchipped, neutered, nails, checked his hind end/knees/feet, and did a dental on him. Nothing but the best for the BHRR dogs! 
 
It was so awesome to see him again from when he was sent off to his amazing temp foster home! He is so amazing!! 
 
He is so happy and healthier – now have to watch his waistline!
 
This boy will make that right-matched forever-loving home the best addition when it is time for him to make his special announcement!
 
Some pics -from when he got his premed, after the pre-med kicked in, intubated, and his neuter being done…
 
Thank you to his really wonderful foster home for taking such excellent care of him!!
 
His collar was a hit with my work colleagues. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Good Afternoon!
 
AND, thanks to Carol, and their really caring donation – guess what time it is?!!
 
As promised for every lifesaving monetary or item(s) donation, a puppy spam pic would be posted in gratitude!
 
Can be done via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com OR an item(s) donation:
1) XL Essential pee pads,
2) Esbilac powdered formula 28 oz.,
3) Gain or Downy liquid fabric softener
4) PVD Essential Care canned puppy food)
5) Pinesol – the larger the bottle, the better!
6) Lysol wipes
Dropped off in our donation shed at the road or snail mailed to:
2425 Totem Ranch Road West, Oxford Station
 
We need many many many week’s worth of the above!
 
To Date:
A) we now have 10 days of 28 oz. Esbilac Powdered Formula thanks to donations – financial and items. We need another 21 days.
B) we now have pee pads for another 8 days thanks to donations – financial and items.
C) we now have liquid fabric softener for another 7 days, thanks to financial donations. I do four loads of puppy laundry a day.
D) we can now buy three cases from generous financial donations of PVD Essential Care canned Puppy food, and will need another ~4 cases. We will also need 9 more(we are able to buy one bag now!) large bags 14 kg PVD Essential Care Large Breed kibble
E) from generous financial donations, we have Pinesol for another 12 days
F) from generous financial donations, we have Lysol wipes for another 11 days
 
This does not even take into consideration the many thousands of dollars it is going to take to vet them to prepare for their special announcements.
 
These wee Labx beans, found nursing on their mom that was laying dead under a tractor, two with punctures, are now safe with us. I know that if they could they would also say THANK you to everyone for this lifesaving assistance. 
 
This is Miss Chill Busy Bean. She is as quiet and sweet as can be. She was the biggest bean when we first picked them up, .64 kg yet has moved down to 2nd place behind Miss Diva Princess Bean, and she may slide to 3rd place shortly, as others catch up.
 
She is another one that most may not notice in a crowd, hanging back, and letting others steal the limelight, yet, we do not allow that to happen.
 
She is patient and so content with life. She is excited about eating and makes the best cutest ‘trill’ sounds EVER! Baby Chewbacca!
 
She is strong and very mobile!
 
If you look closely, you will see that her nose was badly injured. It is slowly granulating, and I must be even more careful re: the temperature of the formula as it is still quite raw.
If only these puppies could speak.
 
They have now had three baths, and slowly we are getting all of the ‘ick’ off of them, and their dry flaky coats are beginning to slowly get a shine to them. They are getting excellent nutrition, a boatload of handling/love, not to mention top-notch vet care to help them grow up big and strong!
 
Today, I plan on weighing them, I just keep remembering to do so AFTER I feed – sleepy brain – yet, we will do so! Their weights as of Thursday, August 4th in emergency:
 
Puppy 1 – 0.38 kgs – deceased as of 8:49 AM Thursday, August 4th
 
Puppy 2 – 0.38 kgs as well – Miss Nola
 
Puppy 3 – 0.48 kgs – Miss Bev
 
Puppy 4 – 0.46 kgs – Mr. Albar
 
Puppy 5 – 0.56 kgs – Miss Maybelle Cutie
 
Puppy 6 – 0.64 kgs – Miss Ayla
 
Now that you have ‘met’ all five surviving pups, we will shortly set up our popular Name Game Fundraiser to try and raise much-needed funds for vetting – five pups to vaccinate, boosters x 2, exams, 4 spays, 1 neuter, flea/tick/hw meds, bloodwork, further investigating Miss Fighter Beans hind end, etc., not to mention food, formula, pee pads, Pinesol, toys, treats, dog beds, laundry detergent, liquid fabric softener and so on.
 
Puppies are wee, their needs are enormous!
 

Hello!
 
AND, thanks to Rae, and their truly generous donation – guess what time it is?!!
 
As promised for every lifesaving monetary or item(s) donation, a puppy spam pic would be posted in gratitude!
Can be done via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com OR an item(s) donation:
1) XL Essential pee pads,
2) Esbilac powdered formula 28 oz.,
3) Gain or Downy liquid fabric softener
4) PVD Essential Care canned puppy food)
5) Pinesol – the larger the bottle the better!
6) Lysol wipes
Dropped off in our donation shed at the road or snail mailed to:
2425 Totem Ranch Road West, Oxford Station
 
We need many, many, many weeks’ worth of the above!
 
To Date:
A) we now have ten days of 28 oz. Esbilac Powdered Formula thanks to donations – financial and items. We need another 21 days.
B) we now have pee pads for another eight days thanks to donations – financial and items.
C) we now have liquid fabric softener for another 7 days, thanks to financial donations. I do four loads of puppy laundry a day.
D) we will buy two cases from generous financial donations of PVD Essential Care canned Puppy food and will need another 5 cases. We will also need ten large bags(believe it is 11.5 kgs of the PVD Essential Care Large Breed kibble
E) from generous financial donations, we have Pinesol for another 12 days
F) from generous financial donations, we have Lysol wipes for another 11 days
 
This does not even take into consideration the many thousands of dollars it is going to take to vet them to prepare for their special announcements.
 
These wee Labx beans, found nursing on their mom that was laying dead under a tractor, two with punctures, are now safe with us. If they could, they would also say THANK you to everyone for this lifesaving assistance. 
 
This is Miss Fighter Bean. She is the tiniest and weighed the same last Thursday as her wee beautiful sister, that passed away hours after we rescued them. .38 kgs.
 
She was the sickest besides her pink collar sister that passed, that I called Miss Charm Bean. She sure charmed the hearts out of Cassy & me.
 
Sometimes one just needs a little hand up! This picture makes my heart melt. She is a fighter…..and I will help her fight the good fight ALL the way!
 
She is super quiet and sweet – for now!, and she and Mr. Warrior Bean are giving it their all! AS am I!
 
Like her brother, she is not 100% so her real personality is not yet completely shining through. She also gets frustrated as it is hard for her to breathe when attempting to feed as she is still fighting the big battle with aspiration pneumonia.
 
She is the one with the bad hind end and legs. She more pulls herself with her front end. We will be investigating further.
 
She also wants to eat, which is an excellent sign, and many opportunities are given for her to latch on. When she latches, she feeds super well.
 
She may be tiny, yet, her heart and will are strong.
 
I am very protective of them all and just a smidge more protective of her right now. They all need love and attention, and her personality is one that will fade – at least for now in the background – allowing more outgoing pups to get everything. That does not happen here, for all get SO much, and no one will be passed over.
 
Today, I plan on weighing them. Their weights as of Thursday, August 4th in emergency:
 
Puppy 1 – 0.38 kgs – deceased as of 8:49 AM Thursday, August 4th
Puppy 2 – 0.38 kgs as well
Puppy 3 – 0.48 kgs
Puppy 4 – 0.46 kgs
Puppy 5 – 0.56 kgs
Puppy 6 – 0.64 kgs
 
Right now, while the beans look like bear cubs, she resembles more of a teeny squirrel!
 
We will be doing our popular Name Game Fundraiser to try and raise much-needed funds for vetting – five pups to vaccinate, boosters x 2, exams, 4 spays, 1 neuter, flea/tick/hw meds, bloodwork, further investigating Miss Fighter Beans hind end, etc., not to mention food, formula, pee pads, Pinesol, toys, treats, dog beds, laundry detergent, liquid fabric softener and so on.
 
Puppies are wee, their needs are enormous!

 
 

BHRR’s Bell, the Great Dane! (Deaf/Blind on the left side)
 
Gwennie wanted to take a picture of her while she was sleeping/hogging the a/c vent – she was adorable -, yet she woke up, and here is her curious mug and gorgeous blue eyes!
 
She just turned nine years young at the end of July, and while we know time is very limited with her – she has cancer – yet, she has beaten the odds to date!
 
GO, Miss Bell, Go!

Good Evening!
 
AND, thanks to Cindy, and their loving financial donation – guess what time it is?!!
 
As promised, for every lifesaving monetary or item(s) donation, a puppy spam pic would be posted in gratitude!
 
Can be done via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com OR an item(s) donation:
1) XL Essential pee pads,
2) Esbilac powdered formula 28 oz.,
3) Gain or Downy liquid fabric softener
4) PVD Essential Care canned puppy food)
5) Pinesol – the larger the bottle the better!
6) Lysol wipes
Dropped off in our donation shed at the road or snail mailed to:
2425 Totem Ranch Road West, Oxford Station
 
We need many, many, many weeks’ worth of the above!
To Date:
A) we now have 10 days of 28 oz. Esbilac Powdered Formula thanks to donations – financial and items. We need another 21 days.
B. we now have pee pads for another 8 days thanks to donations – financial and items.
C) we now have liquid fabric softener for another 7 days, thanks to financial donations. I do four loads of puppy laundry a day.
D) we can now buy three cases from generous financial donations of PVD Essential Care canned Puppy food and will need another ~4 cases. We will also need 9 more(we can buy one bag now!) large bags 14 kg PVD Essential Care Large Breed kibble
E) from generous financial donations, we have Pinesol for another 12 days
F) from generous financial donations, we have Lysol wipes for another 11 days
 
This does not even take into consideration the many thousands of dollars it is going to take to vet them to prepare for their special announcements.
 
These wee Labx beans, found nursing on their mom that was laying dead under a tractor, two with punctures, are now safe with us. I know that if they could they would also say THANK you to everyone for this lifesaving assistance.
 
This is my precious Miss Fighter Bean!
 
Three of the puppies are beginning to get a brown hue to their gorgeous black coats. Miss Explorer Bean already has a stunning brownish coat, and just one of the Lil ladies is still a black beauty!
 
So, I finally got them weighed BEFORE eating! Thanks, Sean for the assistance!
 
Weights on top from Thursday, August 4th in emergency when we first saved them & weights from August 8th below. They are now 16 days old.
 
Puppy 1 – 0.38 kgs – deceased as of 8:49 AM Thursday, August 4th
 
Puppy 2 (Miss Fighter Bean) – 0.38 kgs as well
August 8th – 0.62 kgs (1 lb, 6 oz)
 
Puppy 3 (Miss Explorer Bean) – 0.48 kgs
August 8th – 0.71 kgs (1 lb, 9 oz)
 
Puppy 4 (Mr. Warrior Bean) – 0.46 kgs
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
 
Puppy 5 (Miss Diva Princess Bean) – 0.56 kgs
August 8th – 0.99 kgs (2 lbs, 3 oz)
 
Puppy 6 (Miss Chill Mobile Bean) – 0.64 kgs
August 8th – 0.79 kgs (1 lb, 12 oz)
 
We will shortly set up our popular Name Game Fundraiser to try and raise much-needed funds for vetting – five pups to vaccinate, boosters x 2, exams, 4 spays, 1 neuter, flea/tick/hw meds, bloodwork, further investigating Miss Fighter Beans hind end, etc., not to mention food, formula, pee pads, Pinesol, toys, treats, dog beds, laundry detergent, liquid fabric softener and so on.
 
Puppies are wee, their needs are enormous!
 

Good Afternoon!
 
So, thanks to Lyn and their very caring financial donation – guess what time it is?!!
 
As promised, for every lifesaving monetary or item(s) donation, a puppy spam pic would be posted in gratitude!
 
Can be done via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com OR an item(s) donation:
1) XL Essential pee pads,
2) Esbilac powdered formula 28 oz.,
3) Gain or Downy liquid fabric softener
and/or
4) PVD Essential Care canned puppy food)
5) Pinesol – the larger the bottle the better!
Dropped off in our donation shed at the road or snail mailed to:
2425 Totem Ranch Road West, Oxford Station
 
We need many, many, many weeks’ worth of the above!
 
These wee Labx beans, found nursing on their mom that was laying dead under a tractor, two with punctures, are now safe with us. I know that if they could, they would also say THANK you to everyone for this lifesaving assistance. 
 
This is Miss Explorer Bean.
 
She is the puppy with a gorgeous brown coat.
 
She is BUSY! She also needs patience when feeding. She mulls and thinks things over when it comes to feeding. She must taste test, take a moment, repeat, and repeat before diving in.
 
You have to let her do things in her time, do not rush, just be calm yet have that right level of persistence, or she will become frustrated and will stop trying to feed. Never give up on this girl…just be there for her…..support, do not overcrowd, and she will flourish.
 
 
When she commits, she is all in! She is fearless in getting up on her terms and exploring her world. She is sweet, quiet, and has quite the stealth mode when moving! She wants to be independent and strong, and we are supporting her in the hopes that she will be. She just needs time……if you rush her, she will shut down. Do not baby her, be there for her, encourage her, and when she is ready, she jumps in and flourishes! She is super sweet.
 
Today, they will be bathed again as we continue to work on getting all of the ick off them before their rescue.
 
We will be doing our popular Name Game Fundraiser to try and raise much-needed funds for vetting – five pups to vaccinate, boosters x 2, exams, 4 spays, 1 neuter, flea/tick/hw meds, bloodwork, further investigating Miss Fighter Beans hind end, etc., not to mention food, formula, per pads, Pinesol, toys, treats, dog beds, laundry detergent, liquid fabric softener and so on.
 
Puppies are wee, their needs are enormous!
 

BHRR’s Three’s Company pup(hearing/visually impaired) – Mr. Jack!
 
While his lovely temp foster home has to be away for a few days, a wonderful soul stepped up to be his play date home!
 
Thanks, Elaine, for stepping up and taking such excellent care of him! 
 
 

Hello!!!
 
So, thanks to Lori Mae, and their generous financial donation – they had set up a gofundme when the pups were with the person who surrendered them to us – thanks again Katherine Bruck for letting us know! – guess what time it is?!!
 
$260 has come our way from their fundraising efforts.
 
As promised, for every lifesaving monetary or item(s) donation, a puppy spam pic would be posted in gratitude!
 
Can be done via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com OR an item(s) donation:
1) XL Essential pee pads,
2) Esbilac powdered formula 28 oz.,
3) Gain or Downy liquid fabric softener
and/or
4) PVD Essential Care canned puppy food)
5) Pinesol – the larger the bottle, the better!
Dropped off in our donation shed at the road or snail mailed to:
2425 Totem Ranch Road West, Oxford Station
 
We need many, many, many weeks’ worth of the above!
 
These wee Labx beans, found nursing on their mom that was laying dead under a tractor, two with punctures, are now safe with us. I know that if they could, they would also say THANK you to everyone for this lifesaving assistance. 
 
This is Miss Diva Princess Bean – the biggest girl. She surpassed the girl that was the biggest in size when we first got them, and in a typical lab style, LOVES her food! That waistline will need to be monitored! 
 
She has SA, so that is also something that will need to be managed.
 
So many people do not realise that their personalities are there from day 1. Very important to be aware and continue to develop and shape them into the best dogs they can be and properly manage the behaviours that will not help them reach their full potential.
 
Sean is being so kind as to watch them while I head off to have a power snooze. His massive role has been to make the yummiest of formula for their overnight feedings, so I do not have to, giving me a few more moments for rest.
 
They are all fed, burped, and stimulated to go to the bathroom – they cannot do that on their own quite yet; then I go through the same thing for a second feeding before they go down for a snooze. They have doubled what they are now eating from when I got them to have their first successful feed Thursday @ 10:30 AM.
 
I then clean and ready everything for the next feeding, do a load of puppy laundry, and head for a nap if I can.
 
Sean is also a master spa bather! 

My last post for tonight!
 
AND, thanks to Mary, and their extremely kind donation of some Pee Pads – guess what time it is?!!
 
As promised, for every lifesaving monetary or item(s) donation, a puppy spam pic would be posted in gratitude!
 
Can be done via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com OR an item(s) donation:
1) XL Essential pee pads,
2) Esbilac powdered formula 28 oz.,
3) Gain or Downy liquid fabric softener
4) PVD Essential Care canned puppy food)
5) Pinesol – the larger the bottle, the better!
6) Lysol wipes
Dropped off in our donation shed at the road or snail mailed to:
2425 Totem Ranch Road West, Oxford Station
 
We need many, many, many weeks’ worth of the above!

To Date:
A) we now have 10 days of 28 oz. Esbilac Powdered Formula thanks to donations – financial and items. We need another 21 days.
B) we now have pee pads for another 8 days thanks to donations – financial and items.
C) we now have liquid fabric softener for another 7 days, thanks to financial donations. I do four loads of puppy laundry a day.
D) we will buy two cases from generous financial donations of PVD Essential Care canned Puppy food, and will need another 5 cases. We will also need 10 large bags(believe it is 11.5 kgs of the PVD Essential Care Large Breed kibble
E) from generous financial donations, we have Pinesol for another 12 days
F) from generous financial donations, we have Lysol wipes for another 11 days
This does not even take into consideration the many thousands of dollars it is going to take to vet them to prepare for their special announcements.
These wee Labx beans, found nursing on their mom that was laying dead under a tractor, two with punctures, are now safe with us. I know that if they could they would also say THANK you to everyone for this lifesaving assistance. 
 
This is Mr. Warrior Bean. He is the only male out of the six puppies(5 survived).
 
He was the third sickest, and he and Miss Fighter Bean are giving it their all! AS am I!
 
He is a quiet, sweet soul at this time. He is not 100% so, his real personality is not yet completely shining through. He gets frustrated easily as it is hard for him to breathe when attempting to feed as he is still fighting the big battle with aspiration pneumonia.
 
He wants badly to eat, which is an excellent sign, and many opportunities are given for him to latch on. When he can latch, he has an excellent feed. He also has the ‘manly’ burp! 
 
He is also one of the two puppies with punctures. He had a deep terrible, now granulating one on his back leg. We will be monitoring for any long-term effects.
 
He may be wee, yet, his inner strength is immense.
 
Tomorrow, I plan on weighing them. Their weights as of Thursday, August 4th in emergency:
 
Puppy 1 – 0.38 kgs – deceased as of 8:49 AM Thursday, August 4th
Puppy 2 – 0.38 kgs as well
Puppy 3 – 0.48 kgs
Puppy 4 – 0.46 kgs
Puppy 5 – 0.56 kgs
Puppy 6 – 0.64 kgs
 
Right now, the puppies look like wee bear cubs!
 
We will be doing our popular Name Game Fundraiser to try and raise much-needed funds for vetting – five pups to vaccinate, boosters x 2, exams, four spays, one neuter, flea/tick/hw meds, bloodwork, further investigating Miss Fighter Beans hind end, etc., not to mention food, formula, pee pads, Pinesol, toys, treats, dog beds, laundry detergent, liquid fabric softener and so on.
 
Puppies are wee, their needs are enormous!
 
AND ignore the PJs! It is what it is! That I get to shower daily and have a pee is enormous. A hot meal is rare, yet I would gladly forego many a meal, sleep, or getting dressed in ‘real’ clothes if it means that these five beans go on to have great well, deserving futures!
 
Mr. Warrior Bean is waving goodnight to all of their fans plus supporters! His signature move.
 
 

As promised, for every lifesaving monetary or item donation, a puppy spam pic would be posted in gratitude!
 
Can be done via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com OR item donation:
1) XL Essential pee pads,
2) Esbilac powdered formula 28 oz.,
3) Gain or Downy liquid fabric softener
and/or
4) PVD Essential Care canned puppy food) – dropped off in our donation shed at the road or snail mailed to:
2425 Totem Ranch Road West, Oxford Station
 
Sooooo, as Jan sent a caring, generous donation – that means…..picture time! Thank you!
 
These wee Labx beans, found nursing on their mom that was laying dead under a tractor, two with punctures, are now safe with us. I know that if they could, they would also say THANK you to everyone for this lifesaving assistance. 
 
This is Miss Explorer Bean, Miss Diva Princess Bean & Miss Gentle Chill Bean being loved on by Cassy yesterday during their road trip adventures. I know Cassy did not mind the time spent with them! 
 
She could see firsthand how far they have come since they were picked up and rushed into Kingston Emergency.
 
They are even beginning to wobble/stumble to use pee pads.
 

So, thanks to Tina, and their heartwarming financial donation, guess what time it is?!!
 
As promised, for every lifesaving monetary or item(s) donation, a puppy spam pic would be posted in gratitude!
 
Can be done via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com OR an item(s) donation:
1) XL Essential pee pads,
2) Esbilac powdered formula 28 oz.,
3) Gain or Downy liquid fabric softener
and/or
4) PVD Essential Care canned puppy food)
Dropped off in our donation shed at the road or snail mailed to:
2425 Totem Ranch Road West, Oxford Station
 
We need many, many, many weeks’ worth of the above!
 
These wee Labx beans, found nursing on their mom that was laying dead under a tractor, two with punctures, are now safe with us. I know that if they could, they would also say THANK you to everyone for this lifesaving assistance. 
 
This picture fills my heart with so many thanks, for if you count, all five remaining wee beans are still alive.
 
Today, we had a spa day, and in this pic, they are relaxing post-wash & having gentle puppy massages. They had a lot of caked-on ‘stinky’ from when we picked them up, so it will take a few washes to get it all off.
 
We have also discovered Miss Fighter Bean has issues with her hips and/or back legs. As the beans begin to wobble and bobble more, this has been noticed. We will investigate this further.
 
Is this injury based? Is it nutrition based? A combination? As soon as we got them, we immediately began top-notch care including vetting and feeding, and we know something is not right with her. 
 
I am soon getting ready to do their midnight feed!
 
From our home to all of our friends, family & supporters, we are wishing you all a wonderful good night…..
 
 
 

Time for a Mr. Titan update. 
 
He is scheduled for his neuter, dental, boosters, repeat UA, etc., on Tuesday. He is still dribbling a bit of urine at times. He had a horrid UTI, so we want to be sure that it is gone, and hopefully, neutering will resolve any lingering issues. An enlarged prostate is possible being a mature boy.
 
We have also been told re: him twisting one of his feet at times when he gets up, and we will investigate further.
 
I have been told that he is doing well with the one feline in their home and is still interested – much less! – in the other.
 
I am told that he has excellent manners and an appetite!
 
One of the things I loved reading was that he is very interested if you have ice cream! 
 
Thank you to his amazing foster home for stepping up to temp foster!! 
 
 

OK!
 
As promised for every lifesaving monetary or item donation, a puppy spam pic would be posted in gratitude!
 
Can be done via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com OR item donation:
1) XL Essential pee pads,
2) Esbilac powdered formula 28 oz.,
3) Gain or Downy liquid fabric softener
and/or
4) PVD Essential Care canned puppy food) – dropped off in our donation shed at the road or snail-mailed
2425 Totem Ranch Road West, Oxford Station
 
Sooooo, as Megan posted that they will donate their Empties monies – every bit helps!! – from a get-together they are having next weekend, that means…..picture time! Thank you!
 
These wee Labx beans found nursing on their mom, laying dead under a tractor, two with punctures, are now safe with us. If they could, they would also thank everyone for this lifesaving assistance. 
 
This is Mr. Bean with Miss Explorer Bean, having a snooze on the sun deck. 
 
They are now 14 days old, and we have peepers!
 
Their eyes plus ears began to open yesterday, and though the two weakest ones are not as open as the others, they are there! 
 
AND I still have five pups….the wee boy and one wee girl are fighting hard, and I am fighting hard with them….24/7 care.
 

Ok, thanks to Amy and her wonderful donation of a 28 oz can of powdered Esbilac, guess what time it is?!!
 
As promised for every lifesaving monetary or item donation, a puppy spam pic would be posted in gratitude!
 
Can be done via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com OR item donation:
1) XL Essential pee pads,
2) Esbilac powdered formula 28 oz.,
3) Gain or Downy liquid fabric softener
and/or
4) PVD Essential Care canned puppy food) – dropped off in our donation shed at the road or snail mailed to:
2425 Totem Ranch Road West, Oxford Station
 
These wee Labx beans found nursing on their mom, laying dead under a tractor, two with punctures, are now safe with us. I know that if they could, they would also say THANK you to everyone for this lifesaving assistance. 
 
This is my wee female Fighter Bean! She is giving it her all….and thanks to Kinsley, the extra human caring contact packed with love is helping her fight strongly.
 
The puppies know my scent now and how humbling it is to see them wobble and bobble to me….I am so freakin’ privileged to do what I do.
 

When your milk bar, guests just have to be different when drinking!
 
Good early AM. 5:00 AM feed & clean done, and I am wobbling my way to the nearest soft surface to crash for 2 hours.
 
They are really good babies, and the healthier they become, the more their individual personalities shine through…..
 
For every donation that comes in – monetary or an item, we will drop some puppy spam of thanks as appreciation! 
 
Sincerest thank yous to all of the baby beans rescue angels that have surrounded them to date with such kindness! 
 
Raising a litter takes an army……BHRR’s is small yet oh, so mighty. 
 
 

 

Please keep this wee one in your thoughts…
 
She was the same tiny size – .38 kg as her sister, that was dying when we picked up this litter. We had been told two were ‘almost dead’.
 
The one boy is the third weakest and still fighting.
 
This wee girl is now declining rapidly…
 
Aspiration pneumonia is concerning in adult dogs and in puppies, often a death sentence.
 
It breaks my heart…if only we had been contacted earlier….if only when we were contacted by someone else about them, the person that had them had responded promptly. It was almost 15 hours from when we first were asked to help to when they replied and then we finally got them.
 
They were rushed straight to emergency.
 
We could have had more precious lifesaving time….. 
 
My sweet girl, I am so sorry….so so so sorry….
 
We are trying so hard to save you, all of you….

I like big butts…..
 
The two strongest right now….big beautiful girls.
 
They are 13 days old. Born July 23rd, 2022
 
These two are now thriving!
 
The orange-collar(Miss Maybelle Cutie) girl has even surpassed the red-collar girl(Miss Ayla).
 
Today, we tried to get the three strongest, now that they are thriving(so tiring, yet so rewarding) – to another group so I can focus exclusively on the two weakest. Unfortunately, that did not work out, so after a road-trip adventure, they are now all back with me.
 
I will figure things out re: moving forward yet……
 
We are going to need some donations to keep the five of them fed, clean, and loved…..
 
We are in urgent need of the following:
1) Esbilac 28 oz Powder Formula – I have bought three cans to date out of my own pocket, with another one generously donated. We are going through a can daily.
2) XL Essential Pee Pads – we are going through ~25 daily.
3) Downy or Gain Liquid Fabric Softener
4) Two cases of the PVD Essential Care Puppy Food – in preparation for transitioning from straight formula to formula with a couple of tablespoons of canned food to eventual mush to off formula totally.
 
Donations can be monetary and sent via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
OR we have a donation shed at the end of our laneway – 2425 Totem Ranch Road, Oxford Station for items to be dropped off.
 
As always, thank you in advance for any assistance plus consideration. We are truly indebted.
 
In turn, we can promise lots of puppy spam pics, and Cassy can confirm how awesome these three are now doing from when they were first picked up just before midnight late Wednesday and rushed to the emergency Vet in Kingston to today!
 
 

Just some puppy spam as who does not love puppy spam?!! 
 
My heart is so full and bursting with incredible love.
 
I am doing everything I can to get them strong plus healthy and then letting them go….I am committed to them and promised all of them that I will do right by them.
 
I have spent over $1,000 in the past 24 hours on their well-being, and they are worth every dime plus more….
 
By rescues working together, there is so much that we can do to help those in need…it is not about ego or pride, it is about the dogs!! 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

It has been a whirlwind here….
 
I am deeply sorry for the lack of updates today. I was up almost 26 hours straight working on saving these puppies. Sadly, we did lose the pink collar girl at 8:49 am today. I am calling her Miss Charm Bean.
 
Her prognosis was so poor. The emerge vet supported trying. She received sub Q fluids, and all pups are now on Clavamox for aspiration issues.
 
This wee bean received so much love from Cassy & then myself.
 
I snuggled her close, told her how much she was loved that I was very sorry that we could not save her – wish we got her sooner – and told her it was ok to go to sleep and see her mama….
 
It hurts my heart that my horrible cross to bear is seeing these precious creatures die; we tried so hard. Backyard breeders just move on….while our hearts bleed.
 
Too young….
 
We had been told they were a week old, yet they will be 12 days old tonight. Born July 23rd.
 
So much to update on, yet feeding – which they had no suckle reflex, has been a real challenge and as of 10:30 am I finally got them to nurse off a nursing bowl. We have had several good feeds since then. My day has been a total blur.
 
There is a girl as small as Miss Pretty Pink that is struggling, plus the one boy too. We were told last night by the person that had them that there were at least two ‘almost dead’.
 
The litter was 5 girls and 1 boy.
 
Thank you again to Katherine for the donations of pee pads plus formula, and thank you to Cassy for picking up formula plus bottle kits and pee pads. Thank you and to John for picking up the de-wormer plus Penaten – the pups were so hungry before we got them that they were sucking on each other – stomach, vulva & the boy’s penis. The two biggest girls, .56 kg & .64 kg vulva’s are the worse.
 
Two puppies have granulating punctures. That had to be so painful.
 
They were never brought to the vet, and we are now de-worming them. The diarrhea alone has been dehydrating them.
 
I want to thank Kingston Emerge – Dr. Singh for seeing the babies and being so wonderful.
 
Also, instead of paying almost $600 for the exams, he charged for just one puppy exam, and the total bill was just under $450.
 
They were amazing, kind, caring, and lovely…. 
 
Thank you to Mickayla for seeing my email to Dr. Liston re: needing strongid – the emerge hospital did not have any – and filling it so fast.
 
I am exhausted….I am sad….I feel so fortunate to be surrounded by such a strong BHRR network that rallied fast to ensure we had what we immediately needed for these babies. THANK you puppy angels!
 
Per a previous post, we reached out to a couple of groups to see if they could help with this litter. The sick ones will stay with me, and the healthy ones – three right now will go to another group shortly.
 
A lot can change on a dime….so please keep them in your thoughts.
 
We will post our additional puppy needs ASAP.
 
It is time to feed again, do another load of puppy laundry, and maybe I can snag a bit to eat.

 

We have finally had a reply(we have been trying to get a response as to when we can pick up the puppies), and it appears that two puppies are now ‘almost dead.’ They will head right to emerge once we get them  – in Kingston – the whole litter will be checked out.

*Picture is courtesy of the home that currently has them.*

Dad is believed to be 50% Lab, 25% shep, 25% rottie. We really have no idea. We will see as they age if there is any better indication of Dad. Mom is a purebred unregistered lab. So pups are predominantly lab 75%, 12.5% shep, 12.5% rottie. Apparently, she has had several litters from this sire. The farmer never had her spayed.
 
We are waiting to hear from the person who has them.
 
 
 

*Picture courtesy of the individual that currently has them*

*Picture courtesy of the individual that currently has them*

*Picture courtesy of the individual that currently has them*

**We were not sent an individual picture of the Boy**

*Picture courtesy of the individual that currently has them*

 

 

Pics of babies and that is not their mama that passed away – that is a pug – belonging to the person who now has the pups.

 

***URGENT***
 
We have been contacted regarding 6 Labx that are now 7 days old.
 
Their mom, Labrador Retriever was found deceased three days ago under a tractor with the puppies still nursing. 
 
The Mama belonged to a neighbour of the person who reached out to us.
 
Another individual has them now, has to head out of province, and is finding this overwhelming. We well appreciate and understand the amount of work that goes in hand raising puppies.
 
The person who has them is planning on having them euthanised – one also is apparently not thriving as well as the others – by the weekend should a spot(s) not be found.
 
This is urgent…….

The Three’s Company Pups were at the Vet on July 28th for their final boosters – DHPP, Rabies, Lepto, Lyme, and Bordetella.
 
They were all re-weighed, and their next dose for flea/ticks & hw was dispensed.
 
Their weights ranged from 12.5 kgs(Mr. Jack) to 13.8 kgs(Miss Chrissy) with Miss Janet weighing 13 kgs. The girls are on the verge of being chubby, so adjustments are being made.
 
A different wonderful vet saw them this time – the Vet we have used for the past 18 years for our ortho plus eye enucleations, and they had another good look at their eyes.
 
The Vet agrees that while they have microphthalmia and recessed pupils, their eyes are not experiencing chronic pain or infections.
 
So, enucleations remain off the table for them!
 
Miss Chrissy & Mr. Jack do see some yet, Miss Janet is pretty much completely blind. She does not menace etc.
 
The Vet said that Miss Janet’s eyes were the nicest shape/size out of all three.
 
Both Mr. Jack & Miss Chrissy can hear a bit. Miss Janet is pretty much completely deaf.
 
Miss Chrissy & Miss Janet demonstrated excellent scent work in finding treats during the exam plus were very gentle in taking treats by hand. Mr. Jack was a bit eager plus mouthy when offered treats. He was not scenting as strongly as the two girls.
 
The girls are excelling with their touch training, including startle reflex. Mr. Jack also appeared to be doing excellent with his startle reflex.
 
Scent work is great mental stimulation for any dog, and especially for The Three’s Company pups. It is also a great skill to have for their immense quality of life.
 
Their next vet visit on August 16th is for their spays/neuter, pre-operative bloodwork, and microchips. We will re-weigh and dispense their next doses of flea/tick/heartworm meds at that time.
 
A few weeks after that, two of the three should be ready to make their special announcements! Miss Janet shall probably remain as part of our Haven program. Yet, we shall see!
 

Miss Jamila’s results are in! 

Her thyroid is also normal. Yes! So, it is the weather making her sluggish, and we shall have to further manage her food intake. She is not a big lover of treats yet, some tweaking will happen across the board.

It is important to be aware and on top of sudden or significant unplanned weight gain, or loss, changes in behaviour, and to monitor food/treat intake so that if medical intervention is needed, it is done or if it is only a matter of making some lifestyle tweaking.

We will work on getting her to move a bit more and shall lengthen her very early am and evening walks/play times – as those parts of the day are the coolest in this hot summer weather. She loves playing with the young pups Miss Agatha, Miss Chrissy, Mr. Romeo, and my 7-month-old Dane. 

I plan on using the scent work training I have been doing with her to have her track and move to eat her breakfast plus dinner meals over eating in a bowl.

She was just under 115 pounds(51.9 kgs) per the scale, yet she must have been leaning as when we did her spay, bilateral eye enucleation, plus lump removals – she weighed a still needed to gain 117 pounds.

Regardless of what the scale reads, there is no hiding the fact that she is a wee bit plump right now. Much better than her anorexic skinny body condition when she first arrived in rescue, yet she needs to lose a few pounds.

We want her to live her best life possible, and being a giant, the wear plus tear on her joints, heart, plus lungs are already harder.

We got this, Miss Jamila! With my foot almost 100%, time for us both to get moving more!

Guess who had her annual today?!
 
Miss Jamila! 
Thumbs up on heart, lungs, etc., and her annual bloodwork for tickborne diseases plus heartworm is negative. We will see what the rest of her blood work says when it comes back from the lab.
 
I want to specifically be sure that her thyroid is normal. She has been a bit more sluggish – it could be the weather – and has put on some weight. We have modified her eating plus treat portions, yet I want to be sure everything is fine.
 
She remains on monthly flea/tick and hw preventative, which also has a strong de-wormer proponent to it.
 
She received her vaccines and lots of love, and this is her when Sean arrived to work, and she smelt me as I opened the truck door! She immediately popped up her head and began to move towards me. 
 
She has excelled at her scent plus touch training!
 
She is simply the best!!! 
 
 
 

Isn’t she gorgeous?
 
Miss Agatha(7-month-old Merle Great Dane)
 
AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

On our way!
 
Today, Mr. Titan is off to his foster home.
 
Not the best picture as it is a torrential downpour out there….we are expecting close to 60 mm’s of rain today! We are under a huge weather alert.
 
He has been with me just shy of 10 days(in his time, 3+ months), and my heart is full of such mixed feelings.
 
He has bonded strongly, and the healthier he has gotten, the more his amazing affectionate, loving personality has begun to shine through.
 
He is such a special boy and has gotten along fantastically with all the dogs here.
 
He has begun to wag his tail a lot, do the Dane lean, and how he looks at me humbles me deeply.
 
It is time for you to now go to your lovely foster home, and I know their Dane- BHRR alumni- will continue to show you how to be a dog, to enjoy the awesome comforts of soft bedding, plus how to play with toys.
 
You keep asking for attention and loving BHRR’s Titan! That you feel more confident in doing so without fear of being hurt and rejected is wonderful. 
 
The home lives close to Alta Vista Emerge, bringing me a lot of peace should he need further emergency care.
 
It is amazing how fast we fall in love…..Mr. Titan, I shall miss you yet; we can now assist a dog from a cruelty case. We have been advising as a resource up to this point.
 
 

AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 
BHRR’s Agatha is AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 
Health Status: HEALTHY! The recommendation is to keep her on one cc’s of B12 monthly for the next four months. Gwen(Vet Tech) has purchased the B12 and can either show the home on how to administer it subcutaneously, or the right matched forever loving adoptive home can have their Vet Hospital demonstrate.
 
Age: ~6.5 months
 
Weight: ~70-75 pounds – still relatively lean & with her petite frame, she is at an ideal weight and body condition now. As she matures, she will put on more weight and muscle mass. She is not a BIG Great Dane.
 
Type of Home Ideal For Miss Agatha: She is an active and intelligent girl. She loves her walks, small hikes, and car rides and interacts well with people she meets, yet, she needs a quiet, socially low-active level home. A residence that, while visiting family plus friends and has people over, is not hosting BBQs or gatherings frequently of large groups of people. That is not Miss Agatha’s lifestyle or preference. She is quietly social and needs a home that is like her. She would adore cottage life; glamping over camping – she is a wee bit of a princess are things she enjoys. Visiting pet stores and pet-friendly places are great too. A home that understands and shall continue to help her learn about this big fantastic world that we live in. What we want is for her to live a quality, filled, wonderful life rich with experiences.
 
We want her to be happy, to live her best life every day. We want her to reach her full potential! We do not wish to see her kept in a bubble, yet there is that balance in ensuring that she is not overstimulated and then feels overwhelmed. She will then tune out. One could mistake it for stubbornness. That is not what is happening in these situations. Does she have a mind of her own? 100%; and we have encouraged her to be able to stand on all four paws too. However, it has taken a long time to have her decompress and settle.
 
She can be in a home that works ft; pt works from home is semi-retired or retired, etc. She is another versatile BHRR dog! She will ONLY go to a prepared home to ensure that she receives the balance she requires with proper exercise, socialisation, etc. She will only go to a dog-experienced home, one that remains committed to her obedience, structure, consistency, and to be patient, kind, and understanding, and while not hermits, they are not doing a hundred things each day.
 
The home does not have to be Dane experienced, yet they must be dog savvy. She is smart. She was once a bully and resource guarded items – yes, as a puppy – we know why this is the case and a big reason why she will not go to a home with children under the age of 12. We will consider a home if they have the right mature child, as young as 10. No more than two children in the home. A home without children is our first preference. Exposure to responsible children is good for her; having them give her treats is something she enjoys. We have exposed her to understand better that while children are fast, flighty, unpredictable, spastic, loud wee beings, that she is safe, and that children can be fun, with helpful, kind, caring hands! We are also happy to converse on the phone more about her past to help that right-matched personality fit home and understand why she is the way she is. She is not only genetically predisposed yet, but her environment before coming to our home/rescue has also shaped her. We have since used the environment to modify her behaviour plus help her understand how lovely the world is! We understand why she came into our home/rescue this way and have worked extensively with her. She now readily shares the communal water bowls and toys and understands that no human or dog is going to take her high-value food. She is fed in a quiet place – usually her colossal Crate and is not ever felt like she has been teased, bothered, or threatened. She knows that she will be fed enough food, fed on time and that no one is going to take her food away. She has been brilliant in figuring out many food puzzle toys and feeders! She now sits wonderfully with the other dogs at treat time and, while still a bit ‘mouthy,’ is so much better about taking the treat calmly without worry that another is going to take it away. She is excellent on her taking treats if she is by herself, and we have been working with the pack being around her for obedience reward treat time.
 
Per the above, she does not have to specifically go to a Great Dane-experienced home. Yet, she does need a dog experience home. A home, as mentioned, that is not over the top social is our preference for her. A home that has anxious owners is not suitable for a dog that has been working through her own level of discomfort. She is a very confident girl is so many ways, and she needs a quietly confident owner(s) that shall continue to help her reach her awesome potential. If you baby her, and do not have rules, structure, and consistency, she will step up and rule your home as she tries to create order in her life. That is not in her best interest! She needs a human leader(s) that will help guide, direct, and instruct in a positive, balanced manner that demonstrates to her that she is ok, and that we, as the humans are the ones to take care of her.
 
She loves home, her friends – she needs canine friends! She also loves to explore, go on small hikes, walks, car rides, and visit people/places that are not over the top busy. We are not advocates of dog parks. She needs a home that will give her new positive and great safe, memorable experiences. If you are a home that likes to take long slow infrequent walks/hikes/strolls, Miss Agatha is not for you…she is active, busy, and needs to be kept emotionally and physically stimulated. She is a young, healthy puppy. She will never be a marathoner and is not meant to be a running partner, yet she is lovely to have as a great companion to get out into nature, explore and even enjoy the beach!
Personality/Temperament: Loving, affectionate, goofy, calm, quiet inside the home yet loves her canine friends to run/play outside – some play rumbling is had in my home as I have a Dane only a week younger than her. She needs to be emotionally/physically properly stimulated, uber-sweet, social, active, gentle, plus kind. If not handled properly – she has the potential to develop SA behaviours, as do most dogs. She thrives with consistency, structure, routine, plus clear open communication so that she understands exactly what is being expected of him. Confusion causes her to worry a bit, and we have spent so much time with her so that she knows what is expected or being asked.
 
Previous Dog Experience: Previous dog experience is required per the above. While we would ideally like to see her in a home with at least one right-matched personality fit dog – it is not a deal-breaker. She needs a strong doggie friend network. That is so important for her. We have friends, she needs friends too. She adores her canine friends! She has gotten along with every dog she has met to date. Going to a responsible doggie daycare once a week for play dates would be wonderful for her too. She may not like it at first being a strange new place, yet, we want her to be more than a homebody. In a proper responsible daycare, she will be provided with additional enrichment, time away from home/owners to continue to properly build in the right direction her self-esteem and confidence.
 
Good With Cats: Unknown. Has been fine with our clinic cat yet, Mr. Chippy is a force to be reckoned with!
 
Good with Pocket Pets: Unknown.
 
Good with Children: NO small children. Children are fast, flighty, unpredictable, spastic, plus loud. We will consider homes with responsible children 12+. We will consider a home if they have the right mature child, as young as 10—no more than two children in the home. A home without children is our first preference.
 
Grooming: She is fine to wash and do nails. She needs a soft bristle brush on her coat once a week, and we recommend a monthly bath.
 
Car: She has also come SO far with car rides – getting in and out of the vehicle and enjoying the ride! She is learning that the world has so many fab adventures to experience!
 
Housebroken/Crate Trained: She is housebroken and Crate trained – she sleeps in a colossal crate. We never recommend that any new addition be given too much freedom to start. It can be very overwhelming plus too stimulating for them.
 
Obedience: She requires a home that will be consistent and dedicated to continuing to help her become the best dog that she can be. Her potential is enormous! Her leash manners have come a long way. She can pull at times, yet she is learning. A harness is an excellent tool.
 
Activities Suited For Her: Obedience
 
She excels in being a clown, loves toys, and running free in our safely fenced-in 3+ acre yard. She loves her friends….chasing, being chased, tug of war!
 
Loves & Bad Habits: She can still be a bit snatchy when taking treats. Occasionally she will still try to boss another dog around. She knows her mind, and if a dog or human is going to let her push them around, she will take that mile!
 
She loves treats – Benny Bully Liver treats are the best! In general, she loves food!
 
Like any dog, she is not perfect. She is perfect in all of her imperfections, though! NOT to mention stunning!
 
She is a super fantastic girl!
 
Anxieties/Worries: It is integral that the right matched personality fit home and does not spend 24/7 with her. During this pandemic, we still need groceries; we should still go out and walk about; we should still get in our cars and go for a small drive to go somewhere to do something! Time has been spent having her learn to not only like yet enjoy her own company. As we need our alone time, she must do too. She is a solid and stable dog, yet anxiety does brew under the surface as we work through her genetics/past.
 
As we have stated for over 26 years now, we will NEVER rush any dogs’ rehabilitation journey, we do not flip dogs, and we are not desperate to adopt them.
 
We will always place up for adoption the dogs that can be adopted and safe haven all others that cannot be placed up for adoption due to medical and/or behavioural reasons.
 
We do not take in hundreds of dogs yearly; we only took in 6 dogs in 2021 as it is about helping the next in need of us, giving them top-quality care, and not about taking in numbers. In 2022, we have ONLY taken in 10 dogs to date.
 
After 26+ years, we know that we cannot please everyone, which means that BHRR is not the rescue to be followed, supported, and believed in by everyone. We remain small plus mighty, and as we go through this next transitional stage for BHRR, we shall continue to operate with a zero-tolerance approach, plus providing up and beyond care to the animals.
 
Our mandates have never changed, and they will remain the same as long as we are around; the animals shall always be done right by as our priority.
 
Our adoption success rates remain second to no other group out there – 100% for over ten years of operating, and now 99% as we go through year 26, and we are excited as we go through this slow transition for BHRR!
 
You have come so far, Miss Agatha, and we are delighted you are making your special announcement!
 

We had the BEST time getting pics of Miss Agatha today!

She is a 6.5-month-old Merle Great Dane.

What a hoot of a pup she is.

She tells me that while she is a bit shy about making her special announcement, she is also excited!

Stay tuned……

 

So on Wednesday, Gwennie drew Miss Agatha’s blood at home – what a good girl Miss Agatha was, solid – all of the loving/handling has paid off big time.  No need to stress her out with a needless trip when her blood could be taken at home….
 
Gwen ran a repeat CBC plus also did a 4dx. It is not that heartworm is a concern – she is too young, yet tickborne disease is possible for any dog even on year-round preventative, and we always go up and beyond with care for the dogs under our care. She would not technically be due unless a tick was found on her(4-6 weeks post tick bite yet, not all ticks that bite are found) or in 2023, yet, Gwen already had more than enough blood.
 
Miss Agatha’s numbers have greatly improved, and she remains on her monthly de-worming as part of her flea/tick/hw preventative program – Nexgard Spectra. She has finished up her latest round of Metronidazole and Panacur for very resistive Giardia – that she came into rescue with.
 
The B12 injections she was getting weekly have also greatly assisted, and the Vet said that giving B12 once a month for the next four months to be proactive is fine. He honestly felt that she would be fine without it, yet, he knows how much/hard we have worked with her to get her healthy.
 
We feel that moving forward, this is something her right-matched personality fit home can do – Their Vet Hospital or Gwen(Vet Tech) can show them how to give it. 1 cc’s monthly subcutaneously – and Gwen already paid for the next four months.

Miss Agatha has put on weight, muscled up, and it is now time for her to make her own special announcement. She remains a lean, gorgeous girl.
 
This announcement is something that she plans on doing over the next few days….
 
Stay tuned!

This is Mr. Titan’s leg 72 hours after the first Hospital (who put this catheter in) from the previous place that had him before our rescue took over his care.
 
I have been in vet med for almost 20 years, and I have never seen such clipper injury/damage.
 
We are keeping it clean and dry and have some cream from work to help…..he is already on two types of antibiotics, and it is already drying up and looking so much better.
 
I wanted to try and get a pic yesterday, yet it was an extremely busy day with him, school, and work.
 
Poor boy…. 
 
He had another really good night! Later today, we will be starting to slowly re-introduce some kibble into his a/d and gastro food with water mixed in.
 
He is such a good boy….his spirit is starting to shine through, and I can tell he is a real character with a mind of his own! So freakin’ special he is….
 
There will never be enough words of thanks to shout out to Alta Vista & LAH for being there for him & to all of his Titan Angels that have contributed to date to his over $6,500 bills between three Hospitals.
 
 
When he is healthy – he is booked for August 9th for repeat bloodwork and to be neutered plus to get his final boosters. He is not well enough right now….and one step at a time! 
 
This boy never had anyone on his side – most likely was used for breeding, and the calluses and scars on his poor body speak volumes.
 
He certainly has not travelled often in cars as he is still figuring out how to balance.
 
Such a great vehicle passenger too!
 
Mr. Titan, my heart is head over heels in love with you…..you are a true sweetheart!
 
 
Donations to his mounting vet bills can be sent via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
 
Or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
By the time his rehabilitation is done, he will be a $10,000+ Dane.
 

Mr. Titan!
 
Transferred from Alta Vista’s ICU to the care of my Hospital.
 
After a good night, came to work with me and as he was drinking well, pulled his IV – will run another one if needed, his poor leg sure did get cut with his last one put in by Upper Canada.
 
Gave him a Cerenia injection, took his meds like a champ, ate his a/d snack with water mixed in, and hung out. Picked up more meds – Alta Vista gave me a couple of days and I picked up the rest at my Hospital.
 
Still medical jail yet, no longer having to have conversations re: doing CPR, going septic, and the poor prognosis…
 
Keep getting stronger, you big ol’ sweetie!
 
Weak, lacking so much muscle mass and tone and anorexic, yet, we all got your back Mr. Titan!
 
The number of angel people that made a lifesaving donation to help us with your emerge bills has made me well up with so many tears…..
 
We could not keep you there any longer – they were happy to release you into my experienced Dane/Tech care, and you are doing well off of your nasal cannula. Everything else we can do at LAH. We would bring you back if we have to….In a heartbeat, we would.
 
He has been an excellent patient….has not bothered with any of the dogs nor showed any interest in our clinic cat either….
 
 

Look who I busted out of ICU medical jail at Alta Vista Animal Hospital?!!
 
He had a good night…I did not leave his side. Took his meds, ate his a/d snacks, and had many pees…..
 
Mr. Titan! 
 
More soon!

The original pic of Jack and his one eye – you can see how abnormal it is in size and is ‘starburst’ shaped.

I am a bit behind with some posts!!
 
The Three’s Company Pups were at the Vet on June 28th for their boosters, eye checks, next weigh-in, and next round of flea/tick/hw meds.
 
They had a blast seeing each other again!
 
Thank you again to Jack’s foster mama for holding down the fort in the exam room as there were many tech apts booked, and I had to run a catheter for a patient euthanasia.

This is a collage of all three, and I got a great pic of the Vet looking at Mr. Jacks one eye.
 
Right now, their eyes are doing well, and we will re-visit at their booster apt in a couple of weeks to see how they are doing.
 
They do not have chronic pain or infections, and while they are abnormal – typical for many DM eyes – they are not bothered by them.
 
They are booked for their spays/neuter a few weeks after their final vaccines too.
 
I am still confident about the special needs pups of Miss Chrissy & Mr. Jack going up for adoption at some point. Special needs Miss Janet remains a big ‘if’. It may be in her best interest to be part of our Haven Program.
 
She has come far and one step at a time! No rush….
 
Miss Janet weighed: 9 kgs
Miss Chrissy weighed: 9.5 kgs
Mr. Jack weighed: 9.3 kgs
 

Mr. Titan UPDATE
 
Here are his UA results. He was already on IV fluids and had begun antibiotics when this UA was done.
 
He is on two kinds of antibiotics – Zeniquin & Clavaseptin. He is also on Cerenia, Forti Flora, Metronidazole, Mirtazapine.
 
He has an SPO2 of 90% without supplemental 02. 92-93% with O2 assistance. Ideally, we want at least 95% unaided.
 
He is so skinny; his coat is dull and flaky, and he remains pretty dehydrated.
 
He has eaten some a/d for Gwen, urinated several times, and drank some water. Gwen says that he is an absolute sweetheart!
 
Donations to his vet bills can be made via PayPal(friend and family option) to gwen@birchhaven.org
 
OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com – we know email transfer is down for many. 
 
We are grateful for anything that anyone may consider donating…..
 

Mr. Titan Medical UPDATE:
 
He had a good night. His Oxygen levels are lower than they would like – 92-93% , and last night, he was 95%. He remains on O2.
 
He has eaten a small amount, his respiration rate has gone down, his fever has broken, and the Vet would like to keep him another night so that he remains on supplemental oxygen, and they work to get him from IV meds to oral medications.
 
Unfortunately, this means another $3,500-$5,000, and we are still short $3,200 for the first 24 hours.
 
Gwen has been in discussions regarding transferring him as he is stable and plans to see him around 6 PM tonight.
 
When Gwen was talking to the Vet, he had to go, so we do not have an update re: the urinary issues.
 
If anyone may consider donating to his care, donations can be made via Paypal to gwen@birchhaven.org OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Alta Vista no longer takes direct donations.
 
Anything would be appreciated.

The estimate for Mr. Titan.
 
We need to raise another $3,300 by Friday ~ 5 pm for the estimate deposit.
 
We have had $1,200 extremely generously donated to date. Thank you Titan Angels! 
 
Poor dog…..
 
He is ~5, not 7 and is a merle yet, those are moot points right now….
 
Donations can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
 
OR
 
via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Thank you in advance to everyone for any consideration…..
 
We will post updates as we can……

UPDATE: SO severe pneumonia in both lungs and aspiration pneumonia in the right lung. He is on O2, heavy antibiotics, IV fluids, and we also investigating urinary issues. I remember when we were first contacted about him in May that there was mention of urinary issues, and when I followed up, being told by the wonderful network contact person who was in touch with both kennels that there were not any issues.
 
His bloodwork indicates severe dehydration and high globulin levels – battling inflammation/infection.
 
How could so many people fail this dog in his life.
 
We still need $3,500 by early evening tomorrow for him.
 
Donations can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
We would be so grateful for anything…..
 

UPDATE: I have had two conversations with the Vet – he had to call me back.
 
1) They need to repeat x-rays(they will take three views) – and send off to an x-ray specialist – the images from the Hospital he was at earlier today are not as clear as he would like to see, and while this ‘could’ be pneumonia, the Vet is not sure if they see a ‘nodule’ and it is pneumonia AND something like Cancer or one or the other
 
2) He has a fever, and they are going to hit him up with strong IV antibiotics and continue supportive care
 
They will reach back out once they hear back from the x-ray specialist.
 
Estimate is still $4,500 for the first 24 hours.
 
As soon as we know more, we will post.
 
Thank you to date to all that have generously donated.
 
We need to raise another $3,500 over the next 18 hours for him……
 

****URGENT***

Initial estimate $4,500 for the first 24 hours.

Mr. Titan , the Great Dane, is now at Alta Vista Animal Emergency.

Here is one of his X-rays taken today before transport.

I am on hold, waiting to talk to them.

A dog who never had anyone standing on his side was dumped at a high gas kill pound needs a strong village right now….

Donations to his care can be made via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

We have had $100 generously donated to date! 

We thank you in advance with so much gratitude for any consideration to his cause……

 

He is being transferred to Alta Vista Animal Hospital.

An initial estimate is $3,500-$4,500 for the first 24 hours.

UPDATE:

Just as we had a foster home step up to assist us with Mr. Titan – Thanks, Amy/Ben!, before we could move on this offer, he ended up being seen not once, yet, now twice – and is admitted into the Hospital.  He was just admitted today per what we have been told by the network that has been working so hard to save him – he was pulled from a high kill gas pound in mid-May.
 
No dog does well in a kennel, Danes even less so. He has been in two separate kennels since May 31st.
 
Mr. Titan will remain in Hospital at least for the night – however, no one is there overnight.
 
Gwen is working to re-arrange her schedule – she has also been so ill this past week yet, still pushing through work, etc., to get him into the care of her Vet Team that she works with.
 
Mr. Titans’ first Vet bill was just $575.85 – Upper Canada saw him.
 
This next bill will be so much higher.
 
Any donations to his care would be so deeply appreciated. 
 
Donations can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
We will update as we can.
 
We are trying so hard to save you Mr. Titan…..so hard.
 

My last post of my night!
 
Miss Janet! One of our Three’s Company Pups.
 
Puppies are so adorable….when they are sleeping! 
Miss Chrissy prefers to hog the a/c vent when power snoozing… 
 
From our home to all of our friends, family, and supporters, the best good night wishes are being sent! 
 

Sean had some curious aka nosey ‘supervisors’ while he was working on the back house renovations today! 
 
Reminds me of a similar pic when we did the front of the house many years ago.

Food coma baby!
 
Thanks, Sean for sending me this great pic at work!
 
Miss Janet, one of our Three’s Company pups, is fast asleep against one of the toy bins and giant stuffie! 
 
This is what your kind generous support means to the animals – a full tummy, great vetting, and the ability to sleep blissfully in a safe loving home! No worries to be had for this wee 3-month-old special needs beauty!

BHRR’s James(GSP) was at the Vet today. I made the drive to pick him up on June 17th to bring him into the rescue.
 
He is our newest addition to BHRR, and he is not 13, he is closer to 15 years of age. In 2011, the shelter that had him stated his age as being over age 3.
 
He is the dog whose owners were moving abroad.
 
He weighed a thin 23.1 kgs (50.82 pounds).
 
We did bloodwork and tested for prior tickborne disease plus heartworm exposure. Results were negative.
 
He is going to be dewormed and placed on flea/tick/hw preventative.
 
We also investigated a lump he has on his chest. I was a bit concerned when I noted it upon picking him up, as I want to be sure he receives all of the necessary care and immediately.
 
He is not going to be placed up for adoption.
 
He is going to be placed in our Haven program and cherished for whatever time he has left. We are going to ensure it is a time of quality and that he lacks for nothing…..
 
 
 

The sweetest of kisses!

My beautiful girls! Miss Janet & Miss Chrissy.

So handsome!

Mr. Jack’s facial expressions just crack me up!

Finally!! A good pic of all three! Took me until the end of the event yet, I did get some nice ones of the three of them hanging out!

Thank you SO much to Cassy Montgomery for hosting us today, and being the best of puppy sitters! 

A wonderful $253.50 was raised – Empties to still be returned for the final total.

Thank you to everyone that came out & was very lovely to also see Amy with Miss Hazel (formerly known as our BHRR’s Whisper!).

The Three’s Company puppies had another fabulous day, and it was awesome to get all three back together to play.

Thank you again Megan Wright for dropping Mr. Jack off at our event. All three had a good power snooze in our truck on our way back to your home.

 

Three wee piggie tushes! The Three Company’s Aussie pups.
 
We are at 37 Dressler in Kanata until 3 pm today!!
 
Doing nails, glands & ears!
 
Collecting Empties & Canadian Tire $ too.
 
They look like they are in Fort Knox as Mr. Jack kept escaping. So, Cassy Montgomery had another xpen and we ended up having to put it on top & then a baby gate on another section….
Smart puppies!!
 
So nice to see them all together again….yet, as predicted Miss Janet is being pushed aside so, it was an excellent decision to move Mr. Jack to a foster home separate from his sisters.
 
He has been a turkey to Miss Janet. He is going to have to learn to be gentle and not ‘throw’ his bigger weight around…..bully behaviour is not permitted! 
 
Mr. Jack is so people-oriented in addition to animal-oriented….
 
 

Here at Brockville Hyundai Charity BBQ/Car Wash For BHRR! Until 2 pm!

Miss Janet & Miss Chrissy – two of our Three’s Company Puppies are also in attendance.

BHRR’s Simon
ADOPTED!
 
I am so freakin’ proud of you!
 
I have said before about how it takes a village to save a dog, and it is no less true with Mr. Simon.
 
So many to thank for his story to end up being a successful one with a bright future ahead of him.
 
This is not just myself rescuing, saving, and rehabilitating a dog…it is a beautiful village!
 
Lorraine Houston, Luan, the mobile vet services, JoAnne Eaton, Leslie Tilley, Morgan, Megan Wright/Eric, Boers Sean, Dr. Beattie, Dr. Liston, all of the donation rescue angels – thank you!
 
AND, thank you to his forever loving adoptive Mama for wanting to adopt! They knew they wanted another Giant – they had lost their cherished beautiful girl. They first found Mr. Chester, reached out to let us know how handsome he was, and later when they were ready to adopt, Mr. Chester was already adopted.
 
They had also noticed Mr. Lewis and Mr. Simon, fell in love with Mr. Simon, and enjoyed following their blogs.
 
Mr. Simon, you were so wonderful tonight….you wanted to trust, you loved the backyard, getting treats, face diving in the water bowl, and watching you lay down to relax was heartwarming.
 
We know that this was stressful on you, we could see this in your eyes, your sometimes panting behaviour yet, we also saw you following your forever loving adoptive mama, listening and sitting when asked by her, looking at her, exploring the home, etc.
 
Be assured Mr. Simon, we will make your transition to your new home, one of support, of a careful gradual transition, and Megan/I know that you are ready for this next amazing plus exciting chapter in your life…..and, we will always be here for you.
 
This is not goodbye….. 
 
Thank you again Megan for doing this home visit with me!
 

We shall be soon on our way!
 
Tonight is the night!
 
BHRR’s Mr. Simon’s home visit for possible approved adoption.
 
We would be doing a transitional adoption for him if this is the right matched personality fit home for him to ensure a smooth adoption process for him.
 
Thanks to Megan for being his amazing temp foster home, and for coming tonight to the home visit with me.
 
Please keep him in your best wishes!

Update from Mr. Jack’s temp foster home:

“He had a great first night here. Ate well, drank well, peed, and pooped well outside. One little pee accident in the house. He settles so well near our feet. He had some crate time over dinner and just now before bed, he protests for about 5 minutes and then quiets down well. Eric is in love – I knew he would be.

He likes to follow Phoebe and Fig around. Fig is a little wary, but he should open up in a day or two like he always does. Simon was very anxious and stressed, the best place for him tonight was his crate. He processes things so well there and was very calm when watching Jack from there.

Our laugh of the night was Jack barking and pouncing at the head of romaine lettuce I had put out for Skittles. He did NOT like that big green thing on the floor lol! He was a brave boy and pawed at in a bit (I was right there to make sure he didn’t try to eat it) and then found other things to chase after haha.”

 

Well, I wish I had a better update on Miss Agatha…
 
Unfortunately, her pre-operative bloodwork indicated that she was very anemic.
 
The cause is not known….
 
So, we are putting her on B12 injections for the next 4-6 weeks – will do 6 weeks and, repeat her CBC in 4 weeks.
 
We are also going to treat her again as if she has Giardia. She has had two rounds of treatment yet, in a recent conversation with a Vet, they noted that they have had to double whammy this spring in meds for Giardia due to how resistant they have found Giardia to be.
 
So, despite being on Nexgard Spectra which has an excellent de-worming proponent to it, we are going to treat her specifically again for Giardia too.
 
A negative fecal test does not mean that she is necessarily parasitic-free.
 
We found her to be quite lean, not unhealthy yet quite lean. 29 kgs and she eats really well.
 
So, while the Vet felt it was ok to spay her today, we have some things to figure out for her.
 
She also has a thickened skin patch on the side of her neck – was super small when she first arrived, and we have been monitoring it as it has been getting bigger.
 
Merles can be prone to so many health concerns….and clearly, there is something up with Miss Agatha.
 
So, we had some very unexpected bills for her today…. 
 
We will continue to post updates as we can.
 
BHRR does not adopt out our dogs without full disclosure, and we have some more things to figure out for this young Dane.
 
Why doing bloodwork is so important to do…
 

Tough day at the office!!
 
Miss Chrissy & Mr. Jack! 
 
Will post more shortly regarding: their special needs plus our needs for them.
 
All are doing fantastic and we have a foster lined up for one of them…not sure yet if it is Miss Janet or Mr. Jack.
 
Miss Janet is sleeping at my feet while these two monkeys play beside me.
 

VIDEO

This pretty young 5.5-month-old GD lady is having her spay/microchip tomorrow!

 
We will update as we can….
 
Then, two weeks post, Miss Agatha should be ready to make her own special announcement.
 
Time sure has flown by since her arrival!
 
The money raised in our first driveway event will go towards her bills. It should cover almost 50%.
 
Thanks again to Cassy Montgomery for being able to meet me at my work tomorrow around 8:00 AM to help me get her in, weighed plus settled into her run. 

Well, it was an adventure!! 
 
Introducing…..Miss Janet, Miss Chrissy & Mr. Jack! Our Three’s Company Pups. They are Aussies.
 
So grateful to Megan Wright for road tripping with me! Miss Janet was appreciative too!
We were first aware of two yet there turned out to be three special needs Aussies that the breeders wanted us to assist. Originally, they were going to euthanise two of the pups, a Vet Tech at the Hospital heard, then got involved to find an experienced special needs rescue for them.
 
They are 9.5 weeks old, and all have various degrees of visual impairment. Will take some time to determine the level of hearing….
 
We will also need to determine if any eye enucleations will be necessary.
 
Amazing how great Dogs that are born with visual and/or hearing impairments adapt as they do not know any different. This is normal for them.
 
Right now, we are trying to make contact with the home that was going to temp foster them…I have been trying to confirm the arrangements since last night so I hope all is ok… 
 
With Miss Agatha having her spay on Tuesday and with my foot/heel, I would prefer them to be temp fostered, at least for now.
 
Just want to post a request to see if we have any homes that may be interested in temp fostering one or two if we cannot close off with the original foster home…
 
We are concerned as they have fostered for us many times over the past 15 years….we sincerely hope all is ok…
 
As a note, Foster homes must be able to bring them to their vet appointments. Driving is very difficult with my foot right now.
 

Mr. Simon has a special announcement to make……
 
He is moving under a PENDING ADOPTION!
 
We will update as we can!
 
I have always loved his eyes in this picture……so soft, expressive, and wanting to trust……
 
Should this be his right-matched personality fit home, we will be doing a transitional adoption per his blog. We want to make him comfortable, to feel safe, supported, and cared about.
 
We do not want him to feel rushed or become anxious.

Bittersweet day for me!
 
Today is our last day with Mr. Lewis.
 
He is now ready to move to his perma-foster home! 
 
After months of emotional/physical rehabilitation and close to $8,000 in medical bills including two surgeries, he is finally ready to leave Mama Gwennie’s nest.
 
We made the decision to have him perma-fostered due to his heart.
 
He has an incredible team of vets plus specialists that are standing strong by his side, BHRR will continue to cover his bills, and his amazing experienced perma-foster home will continue to shower him with love, kindness, etc.
 
He will lack for nothing, and as many are aware our haven program is the biggest part of what we do at BHRR.
 
Mr. Lewis, I am going to miss you immensely….you greatly humbled me by choosing me as your person….that you feel I was worthy of such an enormous honour is deeply touching.
 
This is not goodbye….I will get to see/visit you quite often, and my heart is incredibly full knowing that we were chosen to be the ones to assist you in your urgent time of need.
 
Thank you to both of your two emerge temp fosters – JoAnne & Ashley for taking excellent care of you until we could get you here. 
 
We are going to have an amazing last day together!!! Let the extra adventures and wonderful memories begin.
 
Here he stands proud…finally….his head held up high, no longer cowering in a corner, shaking, trying to make himself as small as possible. He makes eye contact…and man, he has such beautiful eyes. With a sweet gentle soul. His body stance is one of strength….you are not just a survivor Mr. Lewis, you are a thrivor!
 
You are safe, and you know it…..
 
He is now confident, more sure of himself, and looking mighty fine having put on significant weight, and muscle mass plus having two professional grooms to date.
 
I love you with all that I am BHRR’s Lewis.

We have been working hard behind the scenes over the last 24+ hours on who we are calling our “Three’s Company” pups.
 
Originally, we were told there were 2, yet there are actually three.
 
They are 9.5 weeks old, two females, and one male.
 
We now have the owner surrender forms in our hands, and transport has been arranged. I will be making the drive shortly to meet up with the kind Vet Tech who worked to save them from being euthanised by the breeders. The breeders were not aware that there was a rescue out there for special needs dogs and were trying to do what they thought was best, euthanising them. They were very happy to note that there is a rescue that is an expert in special needs dogs, and surrendered them to our care. It warms our hearts to be able to be here to assist.
 
Once I have them safely in our care, we will post more along with pictures – we do not have any photos of them, and it does not matter to us!
 
We are calling them BHRR’s Janet, BHRR’s Chrissy & BHRR’s Jack!
 
We will then post re: needs!
 

My last post of my night!
 
As some are aware, I had a trip to emerge last night…that being said, I put some xpens around my desk to try and ensure I had some space to not get bumped….
 
Well, some Danes were not happy that they were not close enough to me! 
 
Miss Aramis, Mr. Porthos, and my Apex – laying down is my Salt(he was done ‘staring’ and was now pouting.
 
In the background is my Zero and you can also see Miss Giselle.
 
Those faces!!! 
 
From our home to all of our friends, family & supporters, the best of good night wishes are being sent!

Miss Agatha!
 
This is her after her first play date.
 
It has been a week since I picked her up.
 
A lot of progress & learning – on all sides! – has been had over this past week.
 
1) we have learned that while she has been fantastic in her crate overnight, she is not housebroken. My own Dane pup and the other dogs along with the humans in the house are showing her the ropes. She will get there.
 
2) she is learning proper social communication plus manners – while still bossy at times, she is learning that no one wants to play with her or be around her when she acts inappropriately.
She is being ignored or wonderfully corrected by the dogs when she acts like a boob.
 
She is now overall playing great with my Dane puppy, my IS & Mr. Romeo. She is going to have to earn the attention of other dogs for her bad manners are not encouraged nor tolerated by the clan.
 
3) she is excellent about us placing her bowl in her crate for feeding – she is eating much slower too as she knows no one is going to threaten or tease her.
She eats in peace and then has quiet time in her crate afterward.
 
She happily runs in, sits, and waits with a wiggly butt for us to feed her.
 
We are going to move from a slow feeder to puzzle feeders shortly as she is not wanting to eat as quickly.
 
She generally loves food plus treats! Being a petite framed girl, extra important to make sure she keeps her waistline.
 
This will be great mental stimulation for her!
 
So…..if anyone may be open to donating a puzzle feeder her way – hoping for two varieties! – we would be so grateful. 
 
4) she is learning to share the communal water bowls and dog beds – thanks again Jill C. for spoiling her with her own bed!
Thanks also to Rachel E. again for the gorgeous collar from Wiggle Bumz!
 
She does not have the self-control as of yet to share communal toys. That is a big ask of her at this time, yet we will get there.
 
She thinks she owns everything….it is not just about her thinking something is of high value.
 
She is making so many good choices since her arrival!
 
She is responding beautifully to the clear open communication, the structure, routine, obedience, the consistency.
 
Her first play date today made me proud of her. She certainly has a mind of her own, and you could see her thinking about how to have things her way.
 
She compromised, negotiated, and ended up having a grand time! She is smart this one!!!
 
We will be scheduling more play visits shortly!
 
We want her exposed to so many things to help her become that well-balanced girl. An asset to the home plus community.

Mr. Gravel!

This miracle boy turned 11 years young in April, and despite being palliative, he is going strong!

Another amazing BHRR DDD – Double-Digit Dane Club dog.

AND another very rare thing as darn few ever make it this far…..

I missed part of his head, and this was after he had a good ol’ dust bath roll in the dirt, yet his body condition is really great!

He was an incredible boy who almost never made it out of the high kill shelter…..so happy that we could get him.


He has been part of our Haven program since April 2017.

Our Haven program is the vast majority of what we do at BHRR, and we remain deeply and forever indebted to so many for standing strong by our sides since our inception in 1996.

Dogs like BHRR’s Gravel would not have had the amazing high-quality fabu life he has had since his rescue if it were not for the kindness shown to our Rescue.

There are so many ways to support BHRR:

1) Fostering

2) Did you know that you can virtually foster?
http://www.birchhaven.org/how-u-can-help/virtual-fostering

3) Walk/run/bike/skateboard/when doing errands etc., via the ResQ App. Anything over .16 kms can be logged. Does not use data unless you load a picture after you log a walk/run etc.
Since we first joined the ResQ movement, 62,611 kms have been logged, and $151.6 USD has come our way!
http://resqwalk.com/

4) Shopping via Flipgive So many amazing places such as Amazon, Expedia, Gas, Groceries, Clearly, Dining, Costco, Etsy, Activities, Movies, Canadian Tire, Hotels, Gift Cards and so much more!

The Team CODE to join our BHRR Team: F2M39S
https://www.flipgive.com/teams/185081…
Since we first joined: $679 has come our way!

5) Shop from our Amazon wish-list
https://www.amazon.ca/hz/wishlist/ls/37GY3K4VNX0XX…

6) Opening up your driveway – we will do the rest for one of our still open 2022 dates!
*Easy to self-distance
We hope to be able to do events all over Ontario and into Gatineau!

  1. Sunday, July 10th, 10 AM – 3 PM
  2. Saturday, July 16th, 9 AM – 4 PM
  3. Sunday, July 17th, 10 AM – 3 PM
  4. Sunday, July 24th, 10 AM – 3 PM
  5. Saturday, July 30th, 9 AM – 4 PM
  6. Sunday, August 7th, 10 AM – 4 PM
  7. Saturday, August 13th, 9 AM – 4 PM
  8. Sunday, August 14th, 10 AM – 4 PM
 
7) Sharing animals that are available for adoption to help them find their forever-loving adoptive homes so that we can assist the next one in need!
https://www.petfinder.com/search/pets-for-adoption/…

8. Make a regular donation OR a one-time donation via PayPal
http://www.birchhaven.org/how-u-can-help/paypal


9) Donate your Empties
Since we first began to collect Empties in July 2016, we have had over $8,700 raised!
Here are our drop-off locations
http://www.birchhaven.org/how-u-can-help/louise-peterson

10) Be creative and host a fundraiser of your own to help us continue to help those in need of our highly specialised programs.

 

AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

BHRR’s Simon is AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

Health Status: HEALTHY! We would ideally like to do a transitional adoption with Mr. Simon to ensure that he is not anxious or stressed. He internalizes his worries which then can manifest with him doing excessive grooming. We had to place him on a very low dose of Trazodone to help him from self-comforting by licking his feet/lower legs.

Age: ~3.5 years old!

Weight: ~105 pounds – still relatively lean & could use a bit more in muscle mass/weight

Type of Home Ideal For Mr. Simon: He is an overall chill, calm boy. He likes his walks and interacts well with people he meets, yet, he needs a quieter/peaceful physical activity level home. A home that understands that he once used to live in a barn and to help him learn about this big fantastic world that we live in. He has come SO far with sights, smells, and sounds! His current foster resides in Kemptville, so he sees/hears/smells many incredible things. They live off a busy road – the 43 –, and he does great. What we want is for him to live a quality, filled, wonderful life.

We want him to be happy, to live his best life each and every day. We want him to reach his full potential! We do not want him kept in a bubble, yet there is that balance in ensuring that he is not overstimulated and then feels overwhelmed. He will then shut down. It has taken a long time to have him/Mr. Lewis, too, decompress. He can be in a home that works ft; pt works from home is semi-retired or retired, etc. He is another versatile BHRR dog! He will ONLY go to a home that is prepared to ensure that he receives the balance he requires with proper exercise, socialisation, etc. He should go to a dog-experienced home, one that remains committed to his obedience, structure, consistency, and to be patient, kind, understanding, and not hermits.

He does not have to specifically go to a Saint Bernard experienced home. A home that is not over the top social – he can alert bark when people first arrive at his foster home. He has been given treats, then passively ignored, and even placed in his Crate to process the new arrivals. Gwendilin Boers was over recently, and this approach worked excellently by meeting first outside, then going inside. He made only one soft ‘woof’ in his Crate, and when he came out, just a calming word, passively ignored, given lots of treats, and they were fast friends. A home that has anxious owners is not suitable for a dog that has been working through his own level of anxiety. He needs a quietly confident owner(s). He is not be babied or felt sorry for. That is not in his best interest. He needs a human leader(s) that will help guide, direct, and instruct in a positive, balanced manner that demonstrates to him that he is ok. He loves home, yet; he also likes his walks. We are not advocates of dog parks. He needs a home that will give him new positive and great safe, memorable experiences. If you are a home that likes to take long slower walks/hikes/strolls, Mr. Simon could be for you. He will never be a marathoner, and is not meant to be a running partner, yet he is lovely to have as a great companion for way more than a block or two of walking, etc.!

Personality/Temperament: Loving, affectionate, calm, quiet inside the home yet can be vocal when visitors arrive. He needs to be emotionally/physically properly stimulated, uber-sweet, social, active in his way, gentle, plus kind. If not handled properly – he has the potential to develop SA behaviours. He is not an overly active dog. He needs consistency, structure, routine, plus clear open communication so that he understands exactly what is being expected of him. He has mastered the lawn rolling, is figuring out how to play, and is still learning what a dog bed is for!

Previous Dog Experience: Previous dog experience is required per the above. While we would ideally like to see him in a home with at least one right-matched personality fit dog – he has been OK with both males/females, yet leaning more towards a female, it is not a deal-breaker. He lives in a foster home with a female Newfx, rabbits, and a cat who thinks he is a dog(Gwennie LOVES this cat!) and interacts well with them!

Good With Cats: His present foster home has a cat. Integration is always crucial.

Good with Pocket Pets: His current home has pocket pets & operates a Rabbit Rescue.

Good with Children: NO children. Children are fast, flighty, unpredictable, spastic, plus loud. We will consider homes with responsible teenagers 16+.

Grooming: He is OK to wash and do nails. He needs to be brushed regularly, and we recommend a few sessions yearly of professional grooming – with an experienced groomer – to keep his gorgeous coat looking its best.

Car: He has also come SO far with car rides – getting in and out of the vehicle. He is learning that the world has so many fab adventures to experience!

Housebroken/Crate Trained: He is housebroken and Crate trained – he sleeps in a colossal crate. We never recommend that any new addition be given too much freedom to start. It can be very overwhelming plus too stimulating for them.

Obedience: He requires a home that will be consistent and dedicated to continuing to help him become the best dog that he can be. His potential is enormous! His leash manners have come a long way. He can pull at times, yet he is learning.

Activities Suited For Him: He is calm plus has fantastic manners, and to us, he is low maintenance.

He would excel in being an incredible loyal family member.

Loves & Bad Habits: He can drool. He does bark when visitors arrive.

He loves treats – Benny Bully Liver treats are the best!

Like any dog, he is not perfect. He is perfect in all of his imperfections, though! NOT to mention gorgeous!

He is an exceptional boy!

Anxieties/Worries: It is integral that the right matched personality fit home does not spend 24/7 with him. During this pandemic, we still need groceries; we should still go out and walk about; we should still get in our cars and go for a small drive to go somewhere to do something! Time has been spent having him learn to not only like yet enjoy his own company. As we need our alone time, he must do too. He is a solid and stable dog, yet anxiety does brew under the surface as we work through years of being kept in a barn. It shows up with him licking his feet/lower legs. He BONDS fast to his humans.

As we have stated for over 26 years now, we will NEVER rush any dogs’ rehabilitation journey, we do not flip dogs, and we are not desperate to adopt them out.

We will always place up for adoption the dogs that can be adopted and safe haven all others that cannot be placed up for adoption due to medical and/or behavioural reasons.

We do not take in hundreds of dogs yearly; we only took in 6 dogs in 2021 as it is about helping the next in need of us, giving them top-quality care, and not about taking in numbers. In 2022, we have ONLY taken in 5 dogs to date.

After 26+ years, we know that we cannot please everyone, which means that BHRR is not the rescue to be followed, supported, and believed in by everyone. We remain small plus mighty, and as we go through this next transitional stage for BHRR, we shall continue to operate with a zero-tolerance approach, plus providing up and beyond care to the animals.

Our mandates have never changed, and they will remain the same as long as we are around; the animals shall always be done right by as our priority.

Our adoption success rates remain second to no other group out there – 100% for over ten years of operating, and now 99% as we go through year 26, and we are excited as we go through this slow transition for BHRR!

You have come so far, Mr. Simon, and we are delighted that you are making your special announcement!

They are moving out of the country in June, and do not want to ship him as cargo.
 
We are awaiting the owner’s surrender form to begin making arrangements to bring him to the rescue.
 
Thank you again Melanie & Connor for stepping up to emerge temp foster. Fostering saves lives! We cannot do r/q rescue alone. We need those strong links on our BHRR CHAIN OF SUCCESS. 
 
We will update as we know more, and once we have him, we will post re: needs.
 
Hopefully, soon you handsome boy!

BHRR’s Lewis – getting new teethies! He says, ‘CHEESE!’

Miss Agatha(4.5 months old) is being shown the 3+ acre yard ‘ropes’ by one of my own Danes – Miss Agatha is a bit older than my Dane.
 
It does not take long to learn a lot about a dog when you can get hands-on……
 
1) Miss Agatha needs to learn how to do proper dog-to-dog communication – she is bossy, resources, has poor play manners – our water bowls are communal, and we will NOT go after the other dogs.  She even went after my Dane puppy. That was quickly corrected.
 
We have rules, we will live in harmony, and we will not have any dog be higher in the hierarchy than any other dog.
 
Puppy license only goes so far, and resourcing does not fall under the puppy license for us humans or the other dogs.
 
She is going to be fed in her crate – having wonderful quiet closed crate time now after having a small supper. She will learn that she will be fed enough, fed on time, and that no one – human or animal is going to touch or take her food – at her age plus past, she can interpret this as threatening and/or teasing. She will not hesitate at this moment to growl, or lunge at anyone – dog or human – who she feels is threatening her with anything that she feels is high value – in this case, food, water bowls, and even toys.
 
AND I most certainly am not going to allow her to develop resourcing behaviour over me.
 
There is more than enough time for her to learn trust plus respect, and how it works both ways, and that we will be able to take things from her without issue WHEN we need to. Many dogs feel safer and have more self-control eating in a crate or spot closed off from whatever they feel may threaten them.
 
That the water bowls, toys, etc., are for sharing. Always have been and always will be.
 
She has a slow feeder bowl, and she ate very well from it. No frustration or issues at all. I put the bowl down and was able to lock up the crate gently with my hands near her face/bowl without her feeling stressed. Good girl!
 
2) Miss Agatha needs to learn manners – she jumps on humans – which is not acceptable.
 
3) Miss Agatha has a backbone – while initially coming across as unsure – she is not as unsure as we once thought she may be – from what we have been told about her past. She is a bit shy and uncertain yet, quickly reassured, passively ignored, and off she goes.
 
It is a very rare dog that can come into a large multi-dog home and just want to ‘take it over.’ At 4.5+ months of age, she is one of those dogs and a puppy to boot.
 
Soooooooo, she needs to learn manners, self-control, and direction, and while the majority of our dogs will walk away, thank goodness we have several that are going to teach her far more than we ever could in how to conduct herself. They will correct her….and appropriately plus effectively.
 
4) She is a bit high maintenance. She has latched on to me as ‘her person,’ and we are working on sharing the Gwennie. She looks to me for amusement, assurance, stimulation, etc., and she has to learn how to self-amuse, self-soothe, self-comfort, and learn not just to like yet love her own company.
 
We are not doing any of these dogs any favours by allowing them to call all of the shots, to baby them, to feel sorry or pity for them, give them way too much attention – yes, that is very possible and happens to a lot of dogs.
 
Anxiety and separation anxiety, in particular, are very present with her just waiting to go from simmering to overflowing, and we are going to teach her to manage and modify this so she is not worried. That there is no reason to be anxious. She will learn that she is ok and is going to remain being ok.
 
She has four very strong legs, with an equally strong backbone plus heart, she is smart – she watches me closely, she thinks, she sizes things up and sorry Miss Agatha, I ‘GOT your number.’ I will not be manipulated, no matter how adorable you may look! 
 
She is a Dane that if you give her an inch, she is going to pull that inch into a mile and take all that she can. She is so good ‘at working a room.’
 
She will learn that she is not the center of attention, and that is not to the benefit of any dog.
 
Being a puppy is not an excuse for poor manners, behaviours….it can be a reason for why a dog is a way they are – and, the answer is to work with those reasons towards effective resolution. Miss Agatha, you and I are going to have plenty of ‘conversations’ as we work towards helping you become the best puppy you can be….. 
 
AND Miss Agatha it is NOT ok to urinate on a dog bed. That is indicative of one of four things:
 
1) a UTI
2) that you know you are not supposed to urinate in the house
3) demonstrating a strong behavioural marking trait
4) letting us know that you are displeased – which I know you are as welcome to BOOT camp! 
 
Oh, Miss Agatha….I am so happy to finally meet you….this is going to be an adventure! 

I have Miss Agatha(4.5 months old) and we are just at a pit stop in Kingston.
 
Long drive down yesterday, assisted with a spay/neuter vaccine clinic and then this AM met up with BHRR’s Agatha’s emerge temp foster in Newmarket.
 
Making the long drive – 4+ hours home now….
 
She is travelling very well. Some anxiety – which we already knew from her previous home – yet a calm word, then passively ignoring has seen her settling down for a nice snooze!
 
She is a petite female….adorable!

This is James, a 13-year-old neutered German Shorthaired Pointer
 
His owners are moving and do not wish to fly him as cargo and therefore wish to surrender him.
 
What we also know: Unknown with cats, good with people including kids, housebroken, no resource issues, not destructive, does not bark, good in the car, said to be sweet, obedient, has leash manners, happy and healthy.
 
Dog parks are not recommended as he is a senior and leash introductions are best-done off-leash as also being a senior, not ideal.
 

 

AND the patience pays off….she emerges from the bushes! 
 
Miss Gretta (11.5 years young!) 
 
Our Haven program is the biggest part of what we do at BHRR.
 
These dogs are safe havened and cherished for life…….
 
BHRR goes through almost 120 pounds of food a day. We remain deeply indebted plus humbled to all of our supporters for helping to keep BHRR strong since 1996!
 
Please consider allowing us to use your driveway in 2022……we receive zero government nor corporate sponsorship, and since COVID, our fundraising efforts plus donations have decreased by almost 65%. 
 
IF you would like to host us in 2022, please do email contactbhrr@gmail.com – We are looking for Saturdays and Sundays up until September.
We just need the use of your driveway, and we do the rest!
*Social distancing is easy to do!
 
Here are our dates until September if anyone is open to having us hang in their driveway!
We hope to be able to do events all over Ontario and into Gatineau, Quebec, again in 2022!

 

  1. Saturday, June 18th, 9 AM – 4 PM
  2. Sunday, July 10th, 10 AM – 3 PM
  3. Saturday, July 16th, 9 AM – 4 PM
  4. Sunday, July 17th, 10 AM – 3 PM
  5. Sunday, July 24th, 10 AM – 3 PM
  6. Saturday, July 30th, 9 AM – 4 PM
  7. Sunday, August 7th, 10 AM – 4 PM
  8. Saturday, August 13th, 9 AM – 4 PM
  9. Sunday, August 14th, 10 AM – 4 PM
  10. Sunday, September 18th, 10 AM – 4 PM
Thanks in advance for any consideration!
 
 
 

Today, a very beautiful sight was seen.

AND if one remains very quiet and calm, a shy and gorgeous creature could be seen partially concealed by bushes.

A bit elusive, readily startles at loud and unknown sounds plus sights. Yet, also so gentle plus sweet.

AND, if you are patient and soothing in body language, encouraging, and supportive in ever so softly spoken words, you will be greatly rewarded.

If you are extra lucky, this wonderful animal may even approach you and take a treat from your hand.

This is BHRR’s Gretta – 11.5 years old now – the last surviving FREEDOM Dane from the PAWS R Us bust in September 2011.

Since the fall of 2011, we have had her – bringing in her, her sister, and her mother, and having rescued so many of her relatives in the previous 15 years to 2011 too. We also brought in two unrelated Danes from that same seizure – BHRR’s Freedom & BHRR’s Cobalt.

We repaired her back cruciate – the scar visible even today, we thoroughly vetted her – continue to do so; she now has thyroid issues yet, is still going strong!

We worked hard on her emotional welfare. These dogs were as emotionally aa physically harmed – over 600 dogs were saved.

She is safe; she is adored; she is one of our DDDs – Double-Digit Danes; welcome to a club that far too few ever make Miss Gretta.

Come November, she will celebrate her 12th Birthday, and we are determined and committed to ensuring that she has a great year of health, happiness, plus spoiling!

 

Miss Agatha(Aggie) – 19 weeks
Born: December 23rd, 2021
 
The latest update from her lovely foster home: “She’s doing so well and is an active puppy when she’s not napping” & “Aggie has a super healthy appetite and is growing bigger everyday.”
 
Gwennie will be picking her up on May 13th, and she is scheduled for her next Vet visit(re-weigh, boosters, next flea/tick/hw/de-worming meds) on May 14th.
 
She is also booked for her spay in mid-June – yes, as stated earlier than we as Giant Breed experts would prefer, yet, we will not do any conditional adoptions, approve a home and leave her intact to be spayed later.
 
We have never had a dog in our program become pregnant. We shall remain responsible and not take any chances of this possibly happening by adopting her out before being spayed. Too many stories from too many groups of dogs being adopted intact, and then dogs getting pregnant or impregnating other dogs, or the rescues then getting into a legal battle with the adoptive home to enforce their contracts.
 
We are excited to finally get to meet her!
 

Mr. Lewis, my Apex, my Zero, Miss Lilly, and Mr. Porthos!
 
Mr. Lewis is getting more comfortable and settling in!
 
AND, a gentle reminder:
 
We still have the following dates open for our 3rd Annual ‘Drive Way Events’ for nails/ear cleaning!
 
This will be our major source of fundraising again in 2022.
 
We have some big bills for some really special Giant dogs!
 
IF you would like to host us in 2022, please do email contactbhrr@gmail.com – We are looking for Saturdays, Sundays up until September.
 
We just need the use of your driveway, and we do the rest!
*Social distancing is easy to do!
 
Here are our open dates for June & July if anyone is open to having us hang in their driveway!
 
We hope to be able to do events all over Ontario and into Gatineau, Quebec, again in 2022!
 
Saturday, June 18th, 9 AM – 4 PM
Sunday, June 19th, 10 AM – 3 PM
Sunday, July 10th, 10 AM – 3 PM
Saturday, July 16th, 9 AM – 4 PM
Sunday, July 17th, 10 AM – 3 PM
Sunday, July 24th, 10 AM – 3 PM
Saturday, July 30th, 9 AM – 4 PM
 
Thanks in advance for any consideration!
 

Mr. Pothos – One of our Musketeers.
 
He is recovering well from his emergency surgery.
 
He is shown here with Gwennie’s Apex.
 
What a gorgeous day to be out and about!

Mr. Chester(8-month Newf/Saint) says……

He is moving under a PENDING ADOPTION!

We will update as we can.

 

Mr. Lewis is supervising Gwennie while she shovels dirt in the fenced-in dog area.
 
A ton of work is being done this weekend with spring clean-up – lots of trees came down this winter in our 3+ fenced-in area for the dogs plus our front lawn.
 
Glorious weekend to work! Minus the black flies…..

Miss Lilly!(DEAF/Visually Impaired)

She wants to say that sadly, despite being Available For Adoption since May 28th, 2020, there has been extremely little to no interest in her.

She is an incredible Dane. Just a super special, big personality, active, really affectionate, playful, gentle, caring, good with dogs, people, and not to mention a stunningly beautiful girl.

She needs an experienced, structured, consistent, patient home. She will take a mile if you give her an inch. Do not blame her……she is smart, adorably manipulative if you let her be! 

Therefore, Miss Lilly wishes to say that come to the end of May of this year if she still remains as being Available, her loving fosters – The Boerskins, will be moving her to the BHRR Haven program.

She is cherished, lacks for nothing, and will continue being given every opportunity in experiences, and adventures to help her reach her full potential.

She makes us laugh every day…and at the end of the day, if her right matched personality fit home does not come along, that is ok. She is adored by so many fans, supporters, and us!

 

These two! They crack us up!!!

 
Mr. Chester(8 months of age).
 
His weight on Wednesday was 140 pounds(yes, he does need to lose a wee bit, yet, not as much as one would think!) – as we work to keep him lean – & his ‘big’ foster sister River.
 
BHRR’s Chester(Saint/Newf) remains AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 
 

Mr. Simon enjoying his own time outdoors!
 
Big change from living in a barn…..
 
He was at the Vet last Wednesday and his weight was slightly down – .3 of a kg. So, being still thin, we have talked to his amazing foster home and adding in canned food again to his meals.
We want and need him to keep going up and his foster is doing a fabulous job with him.
 
Not only was he seen for the licking on his legs – I had asked his foster mama re: if any pattern was noted for I suspected that this could be behavioural over, or in addition to possible allergies, yet he had begun to have some sudden diarrhea.
 
The Vet agreed that based upon where he was licking when he was doing it was likely behavioural over possible allergies at this time.
 
These dogs have had a lot of decompressing to do, so much stimulation with sights, smells, and noises – no matter how much exposure has been attempted to be slowly done, it has been a lot for him and Mr. Lewis.
 
So, we placed him on a low short-term dose of Trazodone to ease any stress/worry.
 
His foster continues to work with him learning to not only like yet love himself and to appropriately self-soothe, self-comfort, etc.
 
It is too easy to create SA behaviours, and we are not doing these dogs any favours by not doing right by them. We do not feel sorry for them, we do not spend 24/7 with them, we do not enable them, we work to help them reach their full potential and make them the best dogs they can be.
 
AND they are really fantastic dogs!
 
We do not want the licking behaviour to become behaviourally ingrained, and then a habit.
 
He is dewormed monthly and so parasitic causes as to his diarrhea were believed to not be the case. We did ask his wonderful foster to bring in a sample if they could – when the stool is very liquidy, that is hard to do.
 
He was placed on Metronidazole plus Forti Flora(an amazing probiotic), and his stools are back to normal. Yay!
 
We are also adding some omegas to his diet as his coat was a bit dry and flakey in spots when he was seen.
 
So……..we feel comfortable again with him moving forward in making his own special announcement. Which he will do shortly!
 
Thanks to his incredible foster mama for the fun photo! He is learning to be a dog!!! 

Miss Rosie showing Mr. Lewis ‘the ropes’! 
 
He had some complications – extreme swelling – post-op, yet slow but sure, he is healing from his neuter.
 
We are working on him liking himself, enjoying his alone time, not feeling like he has to be a constant shadow to me & sharing – great with the communal water bowls, and almost as great now sharing me. He has a sneaky ‘weave’ movement to get in between me and other dogs. 
 
He now comes in and out of the 3+ acre fenced-in yard by himself – in the beginning, it was leash only for the family or I had to go with him and he was fine off-leash.
Now, he is almost prancing in and out and he is so much more confident!
 
I get the best play bows and bounces when he sees me when I get up in the AM or come home from work. While he likes the family, he has chosen me as his ‘person’ so others feed him and give him treats plus work on his obedience skills more than I.
 
He is still more nervous of Sean/Mason and will want to scuttle away and cower a bit
 
…..yet doing it less, and his head is staying up more often, his tail is also not as tucked in as often.
 
Wonderful progress is being made!
 
As for Miss Rosie – she remains AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION to that right-matched personality fit home. 
 
 

We still have many dates open for our 3rd Annual ‘Drive Way Events’ for nails/ear cleaning!

We have some big bills for some really special Giant dogs!

IF you would like to host us in 2022, please do email  – We are looking for Saturdays, Sundays in June, July, August & September.

We just need the use of your driveway, we do the rest!

*Social distancing is easy to do!

Here are our open dates for June & July if anyone is open to having us hang in their driveway!

We hope to be able to do events all over Ontario, and into Gatineau, Quebec again in 2022!
 
Saturday, June 18th, 9 AM – 4 PM
Sunday, June 19th, 10 AM – 3 PM
Sunday, July 10th, 10 AM – 3 PM
Saturday, July 16th, 9 AM – 4 PM
Sunday, July 17th, 10 AM – 3 PM
Sunday, July 24th, 10 AM – 3 PM
Saturday, July 30th, 9 AM – 4 PM

Thanks in advance for any consideration!

AND this is Miss Agatha. She remains super popular – we wish all of the BHRR dogs were so wanted! – and remain stating she is not yet available for adoption.

Sadly, we have walked this path with other puppies over the years – Miss Steam, Mr. Kaos, Mr. Booker, the last two litters we whelped in rescue, etc.

It shall always be about that right-matched personality fit home.
AND we want to make it clear as we have received several emails from homes interested in her that ‘thought’ we may play favourites on any one home.

We have never and are never going to compromise on our protocols to see a dog placed in a home. We do not favour any one over another. This is always about the dog.

That makes us deeply disappointed as we have remained objective with any of our approved adoptions done since our inception in 1996.

Her wonderful emerge temp foster home stepped up to assist us in saving her. We shall forever be touched plus grateful to them. They only want what is best for her too!

When/if the time comes for Miss Agatha to be placed up for adoption, we are only going to approve that right-matched personality fit. Always.

We are going to learn through time if she is meant to be in a home with or without children, the ages of children or child if so, in a home with no other dogs or one or more, and the types of personality of any other dogs if so, a home that works full-time, from home, is retired, semi-retired…so much to figure out and there is no rush.

We do know that she has genetic shyness, SA, and also food reactivity – we need to determine what/how much is genetic and how much the right environment will do for her.

It saddens us how many see ‘puppy’ and do not see Miss Agatha. Everyone should want what is best for her. 

If/when the time comes for her to be placed up for adoption, any home that reads her detailed blog, our adoption processes, policies, and procedures and believes that they may be that right matched fit would then be welcome to apply by submitting a completed application for members of the board to review.

This is not exclusively ‘my’ personal or professional or any board member’s decision.

Miss Agatha will have the final say if/when the time comes with an application to do a home visit.

Please support her in her rehab journey….all puppies do not belong in all homes….she has her own backstory, and is also a product of her breeding.

Someone (not naming names!) is making studying hard!
 
Pushed right past the xpen I set up to have some private space/avoid drool! Cheeky monkey! 
 
Time for a walk says, Mr. Lewis.
 

Mr. Lewis!
 
A shadow he tries to be, and he is learning more and more about how his own company is ok, to like himself, to self-soothe, self-comfort, and is now going in and out of his crate at will spending time by himself….
 
He can now be found laying comfortably in it with the door open.
 
He is recovering well from his neuter. Eating and drinking, and only one accident he has had in the house. Good boy!!
 
From living in a barn to a loving home, is an adjustment for sure.
 
He is much better with women over men – men make him freeze up but he is warming up faster, wagging his tail more, and when he forgets his troubles, he can even run and be playful. So joyful to see!
 
He is deeply loyal to whom he feels is his ‘person’, and we are working on continued exposure to many things as we do not want separation anxiety or the development of any possible resource issues.
 
It is a process….decompressing, learning about helpful kind loving hands.
 
One small step at a time my dear man…we got this and we got your back.

Mr. Simon!
 
Someone still has not quite figured out the proper use of his dog bed…..
 
At least he is now using it as a pillow. 
 
He was going to make his special announcement yet, his foster home advised that he has been licking his legs, so being the proactive responsible group we are, he is scheduled for another vet visit – the 18th of April – to investigate.
 
We like to have all of the information possible on our dogs prior to placing them up for adoption.
 
After that visit, we plan on him making his own special announcement.
 
Thank you to his lovely foster home for the photo!!
 

Miss Agatha(Aggie) – a 3-month-old Great Dane – was at the Vet on April 11th.
 
She was weighed – 17.2 kgs(37.84 pounds). She is a ‘small’ giant as can be often the case with backyard-bred Danes. Her conformation is also indicative of that for as we know the first thing lost when dogs are not bred to standard is the headpiece.
 
Regardless, she is such a very pretty wee thing and at her current weight, we anticipate that she will be 100-110 pounds fully grown. This could change as we all know!
 
We ran a fecal sample – the results have not yet been reported, and Gwen will reach out to them. We will ask for the complete records/notes that were done too.
 
Her exam was normal per the Vet that did see her – we will continue to assess as she matures/develops.
 
She began her de-worming/flea/tick/heartworm protocol.
 
She was not due for vaccines – as is often the case with some breeders, one of her vaccines/de-wormings was given off label, and not by a licensed veterinarian. We will ensure that proper protocols are followed moving forward.
 
We have her booked at our Vet on May 14th, and we will get a re-weigh, her next doses of flea/tick/hw meds as her weight will have changed plus she will be due for boosters/rabies. Another exam will be done also.
 
Thank you to her wonderful temp foster home for doing such a great job with her!
 
We know plus appreciate that there is a lot of interest in her, yet she is not yet Available For Adoption, and shall not be until we fully vet her. We do not cut corners, and this includes having her spayed prior to being placed up for adoption. We do not do conditional alter(spay/neuter) adoptions. While we would love to wait closer to 11-12 months, and before her first heat to spay her, she will be spayed younger than that.
 
We are still tracking the two litters that we whelped in 2016 & 2017 as the courts that oversaw those puppy mill seizures required pediatric altering, and to date – one litter is 6, and the other turns 5 this fall, are all doing fantastic!
 
As we get to know her, we will learn best what home will suit her as that right matched personality fit home. Almost everyone loves puppies yet, they are not all meant for everyone.
 

BHRR’s Lewis!
 
He asks, ‘does my butt make me look flouffy?’
 
On Tuesday, he was re-weighed, neutered, and had boosters.
 
We were not able to do a dental on him – he does have a confirmed heart murmur, and it would not have been ideal to keep him under longer – Gwen was his surgery tech, and he was stable throughout, yet we want to practise the best medicine.
 
We will re-evaluate once he has healed. We do suspect allergies and we are investigating that further too.
 
While he was under, he had his nails trimmed, we cleaned his ears plus shaved off mats.
 
He weighed 44.1 kgs(97.02 pounds).
 
Once he has healed, we shall work on his own professional groom session too. Sadly, our groomer has closed up her own business, and is now working for another – in Orleans to boot!  They have to check with the O. to see if they would be ok seeing a rescue dog. We understand. 
 
AND we are beginning to look forward to our 3rd Annual ‘Drive Way Events’ for nails/ear cleaning as we have some big bills for some really special Giant dogs!
 
IF you would like to host us in 2022, please do email contactbhrr@gmail.com – We are looking for Saturdays, Sundays in June, July, August & September.
 
We just need the use of your driveway, we do the rest!
 
*Social distancing is easy to do!
 
Here are our open dates for May, June & July if anyone is open to having us hang in their driveway!
 
We hope to be able to do events all over Ontario, and into Gatineau, Quebec again in 2022!
 
Sunday, May 29th, 10 AM – 3 PM
Saturday, June 18th, 9 AM – 4 PM
Sunday, June 19th, 10 AM – 3 PM
Sunday, June 26th, 10 AM – 3 PM
Sunday, July 10th, 10 AM – 3 PM
Saturday, July 16th, 9 AM – 4 PM
Sunday, July 17th, 10 AM – 3 PM
Sunday, July 24th, 10 AM – 3 PM
Saturday, July 30th, 9 AM – 4 PM
 
Thanks in advance for any consideration!
 

From Mr. Chesters Foster Dad: John Montgomery

“He is a big fluffy hooligan when he conspires with our “Who? Me?” labrador. He loves to play, but not a dog for hiking or long walks.”

This is Miss Agatha(Aggie).

The 3-month-old Dane puppy.

What a beautiful picture sent our way!

Her lovely foster has informed us that she is settling in well.

Her stool is firming up, they are using our recommendation of Forti Flora, and she is booked in to see the Vet tomorrow.

We will be doing an exam, weigh-in, fecal, obtaining de-worming, flea & tick meds, etc.

Her kind fosters would not allow us to pay for their gas and have paid for a bag of food for her.

More soon. It has been a busy time driving to & from Pickering over the past day, and time for some dinner!

NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 

Miss Agatha(Aggie)!

The 3-month-old Dane puppy Born December 23rd, 2021.

Thank you JoAnne/family for stepping up to emerge temp foster her.

She is not AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION & shall not be until we have her fully vetted, and learn so much more about her.

We know she has anxiety.

Being a Merle, we will assess eyes, hearing, skin and we do know already as with many Danes that she has a sensitive stomach. Merles can have IBS, IBD issues, autoimmune disorders, IS, DCM concerns too, not just skin, allergies, eyesight, and hearing issues. Especially, the double merles.

Right now, time for her to decompress…..

Welcome to BHRR wee one!

 

AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

BHRR’s Chester is AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
(Newf/Saint Bernard) 

Health Status: HEALTHY!
He will require pain management medication as needed – Deramaxx, Gabapentin
As he will be on NSAIDS, he will need regular blood work to ensure that his kidneys are tolerating the medication.

Age: ~7 months old!

Weight: 131 pounds at last weigh-in on March 22nd, 2022

Type of Home Ideal For Mr. Chester: He is a chill, calm boy. He likes his small walks(20 minutes)/strolls and playfully interacts with his friends, yet, he needs a quieter/peaceful physical activity level home. A home that will understand and agree to keep him lean, not allow him overdue physical activity while at the same time allowing him to socalise and make canine plus human friends. A home that does not have a lot of stairs is our wish.

He needs moderation on his activity to keep his hips strong for what we hope is for many years to come! We do not want him kept in a bubble. What we want is for him to live a quality filled, fantastic life. We want him to be happy, to live his best life each and every day.

He can be in a home that works ft; pt works from home is semi-retired or retired, etc. He is another versatile BHRR dog! He will ONLY go to a home that is prepared to ensure that he receives the balance he requires with proper exercise, socialisation, etc. He does not necessarily need to go to a dog-experienced home yet; he does need to go to a home that remains committed to his obedience, structure, consistency, medical needs, and to be patient, kind, understanding, and are not hermits. He loves home, yet; he also likes outings to pet stores and other dog-friendly store visits, plus visits to see friends. We are not advocates of dog parks. He needs a home that will give him new positive and great memorable experiences.

If you are a home that likes to take long hikes, climb mountains, run, etc., Mr. Chester is not for you. His hips cannot take on that high level of strenuous activity, nor is it even in his personality to want to do those things.

Personality/Temperament: Loving, affectionate, calm, quiet inside the home yet can be vocal when playing. He needs to be emotionally/physically properly stimulated, uber-sweet, social, playful, active in his way, gentle, plus kind. If not handled properly – he has the potential to develop SA behaviours. He can be goofy plus such a ham! He is not a couch potato by any means.

Previous Dog Experience: Previous dog experience is not required per the above. While we would ideally like to see him in a home with at least one right-matched personality fit dog, it is not a deal-breaker. He lives in a foster home with a young adult lab and a senior Boxer, and he plays wonderfully with both! Tug of war plus wrestling are two of his favourite activities! So, it remains essential for him to have his necessary level of physical plus mental activity. It is equally important that he has a strong doggie network as he needs friends too.

Good With Cats: His present foster home has a cat. Integration is always key.

Good with Pocket Pets: Unknown.

Good with Children: We will consider homes with children 13 and up and no more than two children in a home. No young children.

Grooming: He is good to wash, do nails. He needs to be brushed regularly, and we recommend a couple yearly sessions of professional grooming to keep his gorgeous coat looking its best.

Car: He has also come SO far with car rides – getting in, and out of the car. He is learning that the world has so many amazing adventures to experience!

Housebroken/Crate Trained: He is housebroken and Crate trained – he sleeps in a colossal crate. We never recommend for any new addition to be given too much freedom to start. It can be very overwhelming plus too stimulating to them.

Obedience: He requires a home that will be consistent and dedicated to continuing to help him become the best dog that he can be. His potential is enormous!

He is a giant breed puppy that has no spatial awareness at times! His leash manners have come a long way. He can pull, yet he is learning.

Activities Suited For Her: He is calm plus has fantastic manners, and to us, he is low maintenance.

He would excel in therapy work.

Loves & Bad Habits: Be prepared for the drool!!!

He loves treats and loves to be around his humans.

His foster home tells us that he likes to splash in the water.

Like any dog, he is not perfect. He is perfect in all of his imperfections, though! NOT to mention gorgeous!

He is a truly special boy!

Anxieties/Worries: It is integral that the right matched personality fit home does not spend 24/7 with him. During this pandemic, we still need groceries; we should still go out and walk about; we should still get in our cars and go for a small drive to go somewhere to do something! Time has been spent having him learn to not only like yet enjoy his own company. As we need our alone time, it is imperative that he does too. He is a solid and stable dog.

As we have stated for over 26 years now, we will NEVER rush any dogs’ rehabilitation journey, we do not flip dogs, and we are not desperate to adopt them out

We will always place up for adoption the dogs that can be adopted and safe haven all others that, due to medical and/or behavioural reasons, cannot be placed up for adoption.

We do not take in hundreds of dogs yearly; we only took in 6 dogs in 2021 as it is about helping the next in need of us, giving them top-quality care, and not about taking in numbers. In 2022, we have ONLY taken in 4 dogs to date.

After 26+ years, we know that we cannot please everyone, which means that BHRR is not the rescue to be followed, supported, and believed in by everyone. We remain small plus mighty, and as we go through this next transitional stage for BHRR, we shall continue to operate with a zero-tolerance approach, plus providing up and beyond care to the animals.

Our mandates have never changed, and they will remain the same as long as we are around; the animals shall always be done right by as our priority.

Our adoption success rates remain second to no other group out there – 100% for over ten years of operating, and now 99% as we go through year 26, and we are excited as we go through this slow transition for BHRR!

You have come so far, Mr. Chester, and we are delighted that you are making your special announcement!

PS: Thank you to his outstanding foster family for ALL that they have done and are doing for him!

This picture was taken yesterday by them on one of their adventures! STUNNING!

 

Mr. Chester(7 months old).

In the meantime, wanted to share this great pic!

Of one of his best ‘assets’! 
 
Thanks again to his wonderful foster family for the fabu photo!!

Mr. Chester!
(7 month-old Newf/SaintX)

Per Dr. P., ortho specialist.

Therefore, this special boy will be making his special announcement very soon. He will ONLY be approved to a right matched personality fit home THAT ensures that they can take on his medical needs including the cost of his pain management, continued x-rays, bloodwork, exams, exercise needs, keeping him lean, etc.

We have seriously thought about putting him into a perma-foster situation yet, we will try first to see if there is that right matched fit – not just for personality, yet for ALL of his needs is out there.
We are patient, he resides in an excellent foster home, and we will update as we can.

“Considering the lameness of the left hind leg and assuming the stifle is normal and you can localize pain to the hip, hip dysplasia is likely the cause of lameness. The stifle rads look normal. Dogs that have subluxation from hip dysplasia like on the left side can show signs of pain as exhibited in this patient, especially when they are between 6 and 18 months of age because the hip sub luxates during weight-bearing.
At some point during that time, the acetabulum will fill up with scar tissue and eventually bone while the joint capsule thickens and the joint remains in a subluxated position. The hip is often more comfortable at that point and some dogs may live a good life after that with medical management.
If pain cannot be controlled long term, then there is the option of hip replacement which is not ideal for a dog this size. However, there is around 10-20 percent of patients have severe complications.
Since many dogs can be managed well with medical management once their skeleton is more mature, we should give him time, leash walking, and avoid strenuous activity along with overplaying with other dogs, with pain management as needed. Also, keep him on the lean side.”

On March 2nd, we lost this BIG personality-filled handsome boy.
 
BHRR’s Rocket
 
So far he had come.
 
He came from a world of emaciation, from being allowed to jump through an open window(deaf/visually impaired at that) to come and go off a busy dark road, fed when people remembered to feed him, unsocialised, lacking manners, often left alone – to being deeply cherished, putting on almost 40 pounds of solid muscle mass/weight, allowed to shine with his personality, learned re: helping hands, not hurting neglecting ones, developing gentlemanlike manners, the joy of so many wonderful things with sights, smells, experiences, car rides, play dates, and many kinds of tasty treats!
 
He always wanted to be in the middle of the action, a mischievous boy that was never hesitant to jump into the fun, create havoc from stealing paper towels, to stealing the clean laundry as Gwen tried to fold everything, to standing just looking at us with his gorgeous intense eyes as his brain spun thinking of the next exciting adventure or trouble he was planning. 
 
He was such a goof! Always a ham, and when the camera came out – boy, did he go into overdrive with the facial expressions plus tongue!
 
Sadly, since October 16th, we have battled IS with precious Mr. Rocket. 

We kept holding off on him making his special announcement as we worked diligently with his team of Vets/Specialists to first control his seizure activity.
 
From exams, to phenobarbital to adding Keppra to no avail. His seizures became more and more frequent until he began to experience prolonged cluster seizures.
 
Double Merle Danes are so prone to many medical conditions and IS is a big one for them.
 
He was at that right age for all of this to come to the forefront.
 
This loving, full-of-life, happy boy was cradled in Gwen’s arms while she and Dr. Liston humanely crossed him over the night of March 2nd.
 
The heaviness of our hearts, the tears that have been shed as another Dane that we wanted so much to be able to have his forever loving after in an adoptive home was not to be.
Mr. Rocket, as with all of the dogs that we are blessed to assist, you have made us better, stronger, given us so much joy, kept us on our toes, given us so much laughter, head shaking, and happiness……
 
We miss you fiercely, and as Gwennie is known to say, we will meet in our dreams until we can visit in person once more…..
 
RIP for earth has lost a massive angel……
 

Stay tuned!
 
Mr. Simon shall be making his own special announcement shortly!
 

Mr. Simon was at the Vet today for a re-weigh and for his boosters. Another THUMBS up vet visit!
 
We are thrilled to say that he has put on another 5.7 kgs since his last visit(12.54 pounds). He needs to put on some more weight yet is getting there! He now weighs 104.94 pounds.
 
When he was neutered by the mobile vet clinic, they had estimated his weight to be 47 kgs yet, he was barely close to 35 kgs. However, he is NOW past that original estimate!
 
AND on that note: he will be ready to make his own special announcement shortly!
 
THANK you to his wonderful temp foster Mama/home for taking excellent care of him! 

From Mr. Simon’s foster Mama:

“I love that Simon has learned his crate can be a safe space to enjoy! I’m in my office studying tonight and he has happily chosen to hang out in his crate with me. He is a little sad as his favourite blanket is currently in the wash.

We love him so much, he is getting goofier by the day too!”

Mr. Chester was 131 lbs when weighed for his next flea, hw & tick meds on March 22, 2022

Mr. Romeo!
 
He was at the Vet for his annual March 16th.
 
He weighed just over 61 pounds. Solid muscle. He matured to an even bigger size than we thought he would!
 
His hind end is just packed with muscles that I am very envious of! 
 
Everything was a big thumbs up with his exam and he received his vaccines.
 
We ran bloodwork for hw & tickborne diseases – as we do regularly – even though the dogs are kept on heartworm, flea, tick preventative meds year-round. Negative results. Yay!
 
He was a HUGE hit with everyone! 
 
Thanks, Sean for the pic.
 
He remains AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 

Mr. Lewis – a great pic from his foster home!

Great pic of Mr. Simon from his lovely foster home!

Good with cats! 

Per our posts, BHRR’s Lewis has had his initial thorough vetting and he will receive his boosters, be neutered, microchipped, etc. over the next few weeks.

He will also have his own professional groom session!

We have been receiving some truly lovely updates on this fabu boy and he is a real sweetie! 

ISO: Giant / Jumbo sized stuffies for BHRR’s Porthos, one of our 3 Musketeers who had emergency surgery on Tuesday. 

Edited to add: please NO stuffies with tears or holes – those are very dangerous.

Please keep one of our 3 precious Musketeer’s in your heart and send best wishes.

BHRR’s Porthos.

More soon yet he had emergency surgery today.

String gut & Intussusception.

We will update as we can……

Look who is all super spiffy now! Mr. Simon!

His amazing groomer, Morgan – from K9 Bark ‘N Shine messaged me to say that she donated her time today to groom him so no cost to us/BHRR.

Morgan has groomed several of our dogs to date including Miss Olive, my own IS and she will also be doing Mr. Lewis.

This is incredibly generous and kind of Morgan! Thank you!

She took her time, was patient – gave him breaks, was kind and loving as Mr. Simon is understandably nervous. He bonds fast, is unbelievably sweet, and while it is hard to tell – he remains sadly so skinny underneathe his hair. She even did his nails.

We are working on his weight gain plus the building up of his muscle mass, tone along with his confidence.

Per Morgan, his coat was quite dry and he has urine burns on the pads of his feet plus urine/feces stains all over his tail. Continued correct diet along with proper groom care will take care of that!

*NOT YET AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION*

Thank you immensely to Aaron & Cherie for ensuring Mr. Simon was picked up & safely dropped off to his professional groom apt. this AM!
 
This is a picture of him!

If anyone wishes to make a donation towards Mr. Simon’s or Mr. Lewis’s own future professional grooming, it would be so appreciated.
 
Donations can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Nothing but the best for the BHRR dogs!! 
 

AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

BHRR’s Rosie is AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

Health Status: HEALTHY!
She is on Thyro-tabs 0.5 mg BID
She will require a small blood test – T4 every 6 months – to see what her thyroid levels are doing

Age: ~5.5 years old!

Weight: 80.96 pounds at last weigh-in and continues to lose some much-needed weight plus continue to slowly tone up.

Type of Home Ideal For Miss Rosie: She is an overall lower energy dog. She can be in a home that works ft, pt, works from home, is semi-retired or retired, etc. She is another versatile BHRR dog! She will ONLY go to a home that is prepared to ensure that she receives the balance she requires with proper exercise, socialisation, etc. She does not necessarily need to go to a dog-experienced home yet; she does need to go to a home that is prepared to remain committed to her obedience, structure, consistency and be patient, kind, understanding, and are not hermits. She loves home, yet; she also likes small outings to pet stores and other dog-friendly store visits, plus short visits to see friends. We are not advocates of dog parks. She needs a home that shall keep giving her new positive and great memorable experiences. We have worked so hard to build up her confidence and for her to learn to love walks, car rides, and new things!

Personality/Temperament: Loving, affectionate, calm, quiet inside the home – yet does have that hound voice and is not hesitant to use it when she feels it is warranted. She needs to be appropriately emotionally/physically stimulated, uber-sweet, social, even playful, become so much more active as her endurance has been built up, gentle, kind. If not handled properly – she has the propensity to develop SA behaviours. She can be a bit shy in new situations and settings and needs a home that will be patient understanding while at the same time will not baby her. Just give her a bit of time; she warms up SO quickly and is truly a character!

Previous Dog Experience: Previous dog experience is not required per the above. While we would ideally like to see her in a home that already has at least one right-matched personality fit dog, it is not a deal-breaker. Her best friends are BHRR’s Romeo and our son’s GSP, Tango. So, it remains essential for her to have a good level of physical activity. It is equally important that she has a strong doggie network as she needs friends too – she is going to be that dog that will make and want only a few close friends and shall be ok having a multitude of hundreds of acquaintances! She has been fantastic with all of the dogs here.

Good With Cats: Unknown – yet, we would not recommend it

Good with Pocket Pets: Unknown.

Good with Children: She has been good with children, and we will consider homes that have children 12 and up and no more than two children in a home. No small children.

Grooming: She is good to wash, doing nails. We take a soft brush and brush regularly, and this is a great bonding time between us – along with treats! She has a special shampoo that we use – Canadian Medicated Shampoo.

Car: She is excellent in the car. We have worked for her to have a positive association with car rides and that it is one of great fun and loving experiences.

Housebroken/Crate Trained: She is housebroken and Crate trained. She has been 100% trustworthy in our home. Yet, we never recommend for any new addition to be given too much freedom to start. It can be very overwhelming plus stimulating to them.

Obedience: Her leash manners have come a long way. Overall, her leash manners are good! She can still pull if distracted, so a properly fitted and comfortable harness is recommended in addition to the martingale. She can be a bit of a flight risk – she has a great nose and will follow scents.

Activities Suited For Her: She is calm plus has fantastic manners when it is expected of her, and to us, she is very low maintenance. Her days start at 5 AM and typically end around 10 PM  – physically plus emotionally plus mentally, so when she goes to bed, she crashes and sleeps soundly. Outside, she loves hikes, walks, runs, zips, zooms, and can she actually move now that she is a lot more fit! She can also jump. To others, she may be considered high maintenance, and if you are not the person to ensure that when you come home, her physical needs are met and only hope to chill, relax, read a book or watch a movie, she is not meant for you. She needs the physical plus emotional stimulation, and then she is your best cuddle bud in the home – quiet and chill. She likes to surpervise me when I am working on my computer!

She would excel in obedience, therapy work. Maybe even trying some scent work. We know she excels in dog bed hogging.  

Loves & Bad Habits: She has a mind of her own, and must be handled with patience, consistency, structure, plus a good sense of humour! Can be vocal when she is excited – howls. She can be over eager with her mouth with treats. We have been working on the ‘gentle’ command. Additionally, her food is a high-value item. No animal should ever be teased with food. She knows that she is going to be fed enough food – she always wants more!, be fed on time, and that no one is going to take her food.

She also likes to stand on my tiny window ledge, as seen in many pictures in her blog!

She must go to a home that has a very solid fenced-in yard. Looking for new adventures, a wonderful small hike, strolling partner, she is your companion.

She is an early bird – up around 5:00 AM, does her thing outside comes in, wants a small treat(benny bully liver treat), and tends to go right back to bed until around 8:00 AM and then it is back out, in, breakfast, rest and then her day starts – with whatever that days adventures the day will bring! She is up to exploring and having some fun! She is affectionate and learning every day how to ask for love on her terms.  

She loves treats and loves to be around her humans.

Like any dog, she is not perfect. She is perfect in all of her imperfections, though! NOT to mention so beautiful!

She really is such a wonderful girl!!!

Anxieties/Worries: She can develop SA behaviours, and we have worked extensively to set her up for success. She has learned to like and love her own company and know that we are coming home. It is integral that the right matched personality fit home does not spend 24/7 with her. During this pandemic, we still need groceries; we should still go out and walk about; we should still get in our cars and go for a small drive to go somewhere to do something!

As we have stated for over 26 years now, we will NEVER rush any dogs’ rehabilitation journey, we do not flip dogs, and we are not desperate to adopt them out.

We will always place up for adoption the dogs that are able to be adopted and have any others that, due to medical and/or behavioural reasons, are not able to be placed up for adoption.

We do not take in hundreds of dogs yearly; we only took in 6 dogs in 2021 as it is about helping the next in need of us, giving them top-quality care, and not about taking in numbers. In 2022, we have ONLY taken in 3 dogs to date.

After 26+ years, we remain knowing that we cannot please everyone, which means that BHRR is clearly not the rescue to be followed, supported, believed in by everyone. We remain small plus mighty, and as we go through this next transitional stage for BHRR, we shall continue to operate with a zero-tolerance approach, plus providing up and beyond care to the animals.

Our mandates have never changed, and they will remain the same as long as we are around; the animals shall always be done right by as our priority.

Our adoption success rates remain second to no other group out there – 100% for over 10 years of operating, and now 99% as we go through year 26, and we are excited as we go through this slow transition for BHRR!

We are over the moon excited for you Miss. Rosie.

BHRR’s Mr. Chester(5.5+ months old) had his x-rays under sedation to assess his hips/knees plus mouth.

He weighed 115.94 pounds.

The IM sedation did not work for him so we had to place an IV catheter.

He was also given pain and anti-inflammatory meds plus sent some to go with his temp foster home.

His mouth looks good! The broken tooth was a deciduous(baby) one and the root has re-absorbed. YAY! The rest of his teeth also look beautiful.

This is one of his x-rays – taken of both hips. It confirmed what we suspected all along, especially the left hip. We also took x-rays of both knees.

The x-rays have been sent on to Dr. Philibert, our ortho specialist plus to Montreal to advise.

However, this is not our first situation with canines like Mr. Chester.

We pretty much know the options, yet we believe in being proactive plus responsible and showing proper due diligence.

We also know that we have an incredible former approved adoptive home that has expressed interest in adopting him, and we hope that he can be placed up for adoption. Yet, like Miss Olive, he may end up being a permanent Haven Dog.

BUT, one step at a time.

His Vet Bills on Thursday were just under $700, and any donations to his continued mounting vet bills can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

GENTLE REMINDER: Carol Bruck Purdy Chocolate Fundraiser for Mr. Chester is still running & ENDS March 22nd!!!

Total Raised To Date: $365.56
Their Goal: $1,000

One of the supporters of the rescue has decided to host an Easter Fundraiser with Purdy Chocolates to help with his care.

Did you know Purdy chocolates are made with sustainable cocoa and Canadian owned!

Please consider ordering your special person/people some delicious treats this Easter, you will be helping him too!

What you’ll need to order:
  1. Our campaign number: 62133
  2. Go to our fundraising website: https://fundraising.purdys.com/1499850-92976
  3. Click “Join Campaign”
  4. Shop, shop, shop away!

Thank you EVERYONE for your support. Even if you can’t buy chocolates from us, it would mean the world if you could share this fundraiser link with everyone you know!

Happy chocolating!

Pick up is in the North End of Brockville.

 

 

Stay tuned!

This gorgeous gal – Miss Rosie – will be making her own special announcement soon!

Per BHRR’s Lewis’ amazing emerge temp foster home:

“He is truly the sweetest and starting to come out of his shell.”


From Alison at Fitzroy & Fae!
TOTAL RAISED: $610
 
“Let’s raise the ‘Feel Good Frequency’ and raise some funds for the newest BHRR additions!
 
What you see here is a ‘one of everything I have in stock ‘ collection of handmade, vegan self-care indulgences. There is nearly a year’s worth of gifting and self-love products here!! Over $300 in value!!
 
Included:
 
TWELVE X – handmade cold processed soap bars in a variety of essential oil, and paraben/phthalate-free fragrances. Full of fair trade shea and cocoa butter, olive oil, rice bran oil, botanicals, and clay!
 
FOUR X 8oz luxuriously scented hand-poured soy candles in Fitzroy Frost, Peaches n Cream, Champagne Kisses, and Valley Girl Vanilla. 40+ hours clean burn time.
 
SIX x Luxurious 8.5 oz shea n clay Bubble Bombs – these babies cannot be kept in stock!!
 
TWO x 8oz amber jars of Whipped Foaming Sugar Scrubs – Pink Sugar and Peaches n Cream. Makes your skin feel like velvet!!
 
TWO x hand crocheted heart wash/dishcloths
 
ONE x artisan-crafted resin and driftwood pendant set on a sterling silver clasp ( $78 retail)
 
I’ll keep this super simple – $10 donation = one entry and $20 = 3 entries. Simply send your email and donation OR if link does not work – alisonskitt@live.ca
 
I will make the draw live on Friday this week – March 4th, 2022 at 6pm!!
 
You could have gifts and self-indulgence to last through the year!! ( pick up/drop off for winner to be arranged in west-end Ottawa, Kanata, Dunrobin area, or expedited shipping for $20 anywhere!!)
 
I will be posting on Instagram as well under @fitzroyandfae .
 
Good Luck, and let’s spread some hope!!?“
 

As mentioned Mr. Lewis was at the Vet on Monday, the day after we picked him up.
 
Thank you to his emerge temp foster JoAnne Eaton for bringing him in!
 
As promised, here is a copy of his Vet Bill. We continue to strongly believe in transparency and full disclosure. We blocked out his emerge temp fosters private information.
 
His weight was a really skinny 41.85 kgs(92.07 pounds).
 
He was such a brave boy at his vet appointment.
 
He has meds for a hot spot, has a healing wound on his shoulder, the bloodwork we did is normal and the tick-borne disease/heartworm testing we did was negative. They feel he requires a dental, and when we have him neutered, we will have the opportunity to look much closer in his mouth.
 
They feel that he has a Heart murmur Grade 2 and if need be, we will have him seen by a cardiologist. Many murmurs are harmless.
 
He was given meds for de-worming, heartworm/flea, and tick preventative.
 
We also began his vaccine protocol.
 
The even wrote into his Vet chart how nice he is! When Gwen called today to pay the attached bill, the staff members knew immediately who Gwen was talking about after just saying her name/our organization. They spoke so wonderfully about him.
 
He will be back at the Vet in a few weeks for more vaccines, a recheck on his weight – we do not wish to neuter him when he is not as healthy as possible, to pick up more preventative – we keep the dogs on yearly, listen to his heart again etc.
 
As with all of the dogs that we are entrusted with, we go up and beyond to make sure that all of their needs are addressed.
 
Any donations to his and Mr. Simons mounting Vet bills – Mr. Simon is back next week for his next Vet visit, can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
 
OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 

Thank you in advance for any possible consideration. The vetting is far from over……

 

After another really busy, exhausting day, this will be my final post of the night.
 
Mr. Lewis was at the Vet today, and once we receive the reports/records from his lovely emerge temp foster JoAnne Eaton, we will be in a better position to update re: weight, etc.
 
We can post that the bloodwork that we did is normal plus the results for tickborne diseases plus heartworm was negative.
 
We shall wait until we have the detailed Vet Records/notes and then post more re: him!
 
From our home to all of our friends, family, and supporters, the best of good night wishes are being sent! 
 

This is him with his rescuer boarder angel when we came to pick him up yesterday. The picture was taken by JoAnne.

We got them!

More soon!

This is them loaded up in their respective transport vehicles – one with me, one with JoAnne!

Mr. Lewis and Mr. Simon are safe AND both are now heading to their emerge temp fosters.

We have been told this makes about 68 dogs brought to freedom to date.

Thanks to a village for coming together to make this happen.

 

BHRR’s Brutus was back at the vet yesterday.
 
He now weighs 125.85 pounds.
 
He is no longer emaciated.
 
AND now we monitor his weight closely as we do not want him to gain more. We may do further bloodwork to test his thyroid if necessary as since December despite a strict food/treat/exercise regime his weight went up more than we expected.
 
Unfortunately, he is still battling skin issues around his neck area plus eye and ear issues.
 
The rest of his body has healed beautifully yet his neck has not.
 
It begins to heal and then flares up again.
 
He has been on special shampoo – ProHex, Apoquel, Cytopoint, special food, constant antibiotics for skin, eyes, and ears.
 
We have done tape tests, skin scrapings, cytologies and we repeated everything again yesterday plus discussed submitting samples for culture & sensitivity.
 
We did another tear test on his right eye and the low normal is 18 and he is 13.
 
Until we can get his healthy stabilised, he cannot be placed up for adoption.
 
He had rampant issues coming into rescue and his rehabilitation journey is a slow one.
 
Any donations to his mounting vet bills can be sent via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

Today is the day!!
 
Mr. Chester (Saint/Newf) is having his sedation so we can X-ray his hips, knees plus do dental X-rays.
 
I am just waiting for him to arrive at work so we can get started…. 
 
This is him and his foster sister, River!
 
He has grown a bit! 
 
5.5 months of age and Hazel Tal, your Valentine’s pressies were dropped off last weekend. Thank you again for being his Secret Admirer! 
 
Please keep him in your best thoughts and we will update as we can…..
 

BHRR’s Symba – ADOPTED!
 
What a bittersweet adoption. Who am I kidding, they all are!!
 
It was such an incredible rehabilitation journey we had together Mr. Symba.
 
You were surrounded by a BHRR village strong in support and belief! 
 
Instead of one blown cruciate that we were told you had, you actually had two, and everyone rallied without hesitation to help us get you whole and healthy.
 
You are such a happy, chill, handsome dude and have come so far in learning to trust, not only to like yet love your own company, and to ask for affection.
 
You built up wonderful muscle mass plus tone, and the more confident you became, the more your fantastic personality began to shine.
 
BHRR’s Symba, you are truly a one in a billion dog, and I am so humbled to have earned your trust. Those gorgeous eyes are filled with such trust plus happiness now.
 
This is not the end dear man, I know you are a bit worried….this is the beginning of your next beautiful chapter, one that I know you are a bit unsure of yet, I know YOU GOT THIS!
 
You are ready, you are worthy and I am blessed to have been there to lend a kind caring hand getting you to this point.
 
Your amazing forever loving adoptive home will continue building upon the important foundations we built, and they will help you to continue being the best version of yourself!
 
I adore you and yes, I already miss you…a big hole left in our hearts plus home tonight BUT you are now filling up another’s hearts plus home with your fabulous self! 
 
Thank you Cassy Montgomery for doing this home visit with me! 

AND we are on our way!!
 
Mr. Symba’s HV for a possible approved adoption!
 
We will update as we can!
 
Asked if he wanted a treat and this was his answer!

BHRR’s Symba’s home visit has been rescheduled for tomorrow!

We will update as we can!

Miss Rosie was at the Vet for her final boosters and another recheck on February 16th.
 
Plus to pick up more Thyrotabs for her.
 
She is NOW 36.8 kgs(80.96 pounds). WTG!!!!
 
Getting there, slow but sure!
 
AND the exciting news is that where it once was thought that she may never have new hair regrowth in most areas of her body, she is growing new hair!!!!
 
She is a beautiful gal, regardless yet, how wonderful! 
 
She remains on fish-based food, a strict intake of calories, very limited treats – she deserves some too!, proper exercise – she can now keep up with our IS, Masons’ GSP, and Mr. Romeo. ? PLUS, no shortage of love! She runs for hours.
 
She also has her special medicated shampoo to help with her ever-decreasing flaky skin.
 
A great combination for success!
 
We will be taking some pics this weekend and she will then be ready to make her own special announcement.
 
She will be sorely missed when her right-matched personality fit home comes along. She has been a total hoot!

BHRR’s Chester(Newf/Saint) was at the Vet for his own recheck plus boosters apt. on February 2nd.
 
He wants to shout out a big THANK you to Brian Element for being his special Secret Santa – the DOG bed is very much appreciated and enjoyed! 
 
Mr. Chester also wishes to thank his 2022 Collar Angel, Hazel Tal! On Wednesday his foster Mama was given the collar, and they say that it suits him! 
 
Mr. Chester, 5 months of age, now weighs 48.5 kgs(106.7 pounds).
 
As he continues to age/grow, you can see more and more how weak plus poor his hind end is.  The bunny hopping, the glaring signs of HD, and we have been informed how hard it is for him to even do a couple of stairs.
 
SO, his sedation for x-rays(5 views) of hips, knees will be done along with dental x-rays for that mouth on Thursday, February 24th.
 
It is Gwenne’s day off yet, she is going in to work as the tech with his one Vet – they have been on his case since before we even brought him into our rescue and were conversing with the shelter as we prepared behind the scenes for his arrival.
 
All of us are feeling pretty grim about what we are going to find, yet, this is the next step and from there will send off the x-rays to ortho specialist Dr. Philibert and also to the DMV in Montreal. We want to cover all options – as we did with BHRR’s Olive and so many others over the past 25+ years.
 
For your consideration, we also have 12 more BHRR doggies in need of a Secret Admirer Valentine!
 
Details below:
 
AND Our Annual ‘Won’t You Be My Valentine’ Event is live!
 
Each of the below BHRR doggies are hoping that they will have a secret admirer who will wish to spoil them with a special treat or giant toy plus a donation between $25-$50 towards their bills!
Please see the poster for more details!
 
This event shall run up to and including February 14th, 2022!
 
These are the amazing BHRR doggies still in need of a special Valentine AND if you may consider a BHRR doggie to spoil this Valentine’s, please do let us know!
 
Donations can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
 
OR
 
via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Jamila
Rosie
Fred
Aramis
Bell
Dean
Giselle
Granite
Gravel
Gretta
Olive
Porthos

BHRR’s Dean was at the Vet yesterday for his annual.
 
He is now 62 kgs(136.40 pounds). The muscle that this boy now packs is fantastic. He has filled out to be bulkier than we anticipated that he would as he rehabilitated, and he is looking great!
He remained incredibly brave and with the assistance of some trazodone to de-stress his anxiety, let the Vet look at his eyes, ears, in his mouth without any issues. We are all for making animals feel comfortable plus safe, and not setting them up for failure.
 
His heart plus lungs sound great, and though his partial tail amputation last year had many post-op complications, and it does not look ‘pretty’, he is no longer causing the level of trauma to it that it once had.
 

The only thing that he disagreed with was his having his nails done, and yet overall from when he first arrived to now, he has improved. GOOD boy!

He is now quite frosted and is 6.5 years young.
 
So distinguished and THANK you to his Secret Santa – Alison Skitt for his gorgeous collar. We have another BHRR doggie – Granite whose collar angel – Ashley Barber also bought Mr. Granite the same collar. Great taste!!!
 

Mr. Chester was also at the Vet yesterday and we will make another post regarding: that handsome young man.

 

Our 3rd Annual ‘Won’t You Be Our Valentine’ Event! – February 1st – February 14th, 2022!

Each BHRR Doggie is hoping for a special secret Valentine! Please EMAIL if you would like to participate!

Unfortunately; BHRR’s Symba’s hv scheduled for Sunday has been postponed. The home reached out to say that they have had a member of their family test positive for COVID. We sincerely hope that everyone is ok.

We will update as we can.

BHRR’s Symba’s home visit for a possible approved adoption is scheduled for Sunday, January 23rd.

How Miss Aramis & Mr. Porthos – 2 of our three Great Dane Musketeers enjoyed the day of record-breaking snow!
 
Both are deaf/visually impaired.
 
This is the area – a sizeable corridor from the house that leads to the three-plus fenced-in acres. 
 

Next, I shall post how Miss Rosie(in her own individual blog) much preferred and enjoyed her Winter Wonderland Day. 

 

AND this is how Miss Rosie preferred to spend her day in the record-breaking snowstorm!

Not just one window ledge has she now taken over but two! 

I think she is part billy goat. 

 

BETTY WHITE CHALLENGE: January 17th, 2022!

TO DONATE TO BHRR IN HONOUR OF A TRUE ANIMAL HERO: PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org OR Email Transfer contactbhrr@gmail.com

Even $5 would mean the world to the animals AND us!

Thank you in advance for any consideration to help us in 2022 to continue to help those in need of our highly specialised programs!

 

BETTY WHITE CHALLENGE: January 17th, 2022!

TO DONATE TO BHRR IN HONOUR OF A TRUE ANIMAL HERO: PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org OR Email Transfer contactbhrr@gmail.com

Even $5 would mean the world to the animals AND us!

Thank you in advance for any consideration to help us in 2022 to continue to help those in need of our highly specialised programs!

Donations: $2,270
Betty White Raffle Basket: $905 which includes $50 in donations
Fitzroy & Fae Seasonal Candles Sales: $288 which includes a $24 donation – SOLD out in 5 minutes!
GRAND TOTAL: $3,463 ?
**We will cover the $5.25 in PayPal Fees**

 

BHRR’s Chester!
 
Almost 5 months old
Newf/SaintX Puppy
 
Mr. Chester was back at the Vets on January 11th.
 
He now weighs 99 pounds. A bit plump so his wonderful foster home is going to be cutting down his food a wee bit.
 
At his visit in December, he had a urinalysis by cysto performed – I also ran one in the house; we sent off urine for culture & sensitivity, we did an u/s and we did x-rays plus he had a full exam.
 
I did suspect when I had picked him up on December 19th that he had poor hips – HD, and we re-visited this on the 11th.
 
At his December 21st Vet visit, his Vet found a broken canine at the gumline – it could not be determined if it was his deciduous(baby) or his adult as he is presently teething.
 
He had boosters on January 11th and will be back on February 2nd for his final boosters.
 
We will then be scheduling him for x-rays of his hips under sedation – yes, HD is not supposed to be properly diagnosed until age 2, yet, you can still tell. He bunny hops when he runs has that hind end typical HD gait, has a severe lack of muscle mass plus tone in his hind end, and is quite weak in his back end. Even more, a reason to keep him lean.
 
Have to love greedy breeders who do not breed for the betterment of the breed plus deliberately produce mixed breeds.
 
While Mr. Chester is sedated, we will look at that tooth/mouth more closely for when he was back at the Vet on January 11th, we know that we have to get further into his mouth.
 
The amazing news that we can share is that he DOES NOT have ectopic ureters.
 
He also has had very few accidents in his foster home – he is dry every morning in his crate, and any urine accidents are the result of him not yet being 100% housebroken.
 
He is not dribbling nor leaking any urine accidentally now that his urinary infections have been successfully resolved.
 
This is excellent news!!!! 
 
While we move forward on his hips/tooth issues plus to finish off his vaccine protocols and microchip him; we know that at least he does NOT have ectopic ureters.
 
So, now we need to address the big concerns of his hips – this is a giant breed puppy, and the other not so pressing, yet still important issue of his mouth – more readily treated. Should he be a candidate for surgery, we will be having to travel to Montreal or Guelph.
 
AND this means more extensive vet bills for this young handsome dude…..
 
SO gentle reminder if anyone may consider supporting/participating:
 
The amazing Valentine Basket Draw put together by Carol Bruck & Katherine Bruck is Monday, January 17th!
 
To purchase tickets etransfer carol_bruck@hotmail.com no password required & email Carol that you are buying tickets!
 
$10.00 for 10 tickets
 
$20.00 for arm length (30 tickets)
 
Thank you in advance for your consideration!
 
 

On December 29th, Mr. Romeo had his first play date and had a BLAST!
 
This was a play date won in our end-of-year ‘JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS’ Online Auction.
 
He met up with BHRR’s Maxwells’ adoptive home who is also fostering Mr. Chester. They also own a wonderful lab named River.
 
Some pictures of his wonderful time!

BUSTED!
 
I have ‘heard’ rumours yet now there is proof…..provided by Sean himself too! 
 
Sean is laying on the couch to take a nap……
 
No couch rule! Someone is not listening, and I am not looking at Mr. Romeo as that ‘someone.’ 
 
That is Mr. Gravel’s tush on the couch too!

BHRR’s Mr. Romeo!
 
AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 
This is Mr. Romeo’s own loving first Christmas too.
 
That right-matched forever-loving home has not yet found this WOW dog! Crazy!!!
 
He is just awesome. Means that he/I get to still hang out, and have naps together!  He comes to my workshop in the barn, he helps with horse chores, and he keeps me moving….fast! 
 
He will forever have my heart and I know that I am very much ‘his person’.
 
Thank you VERY much to Hazel Tal for being this fantastic young dog’s special Secret Santa in 2021!
 

BHRR’s Miss Rosie!
 
Her very first spoiling loving Christmas too!
 
In the New Year, she shall begin her vaccine protocol now that we have her healthier, and then shortly after that, she will be ready to make her own special announcement.
 
Thank you to Tracey Popham Todd for being her wonderful special Secret Santa in 2021!
 

My favourite time of night!
 
Snow lightly falling outside, Christmas tree lights on, fireplaces on, kids and Sean all tucked into their beds. I can then be found studying with a cup of mint tea surrounded by such amazing animals snoring happily away on new beds! 
 
In this photo, we have BHRR’s Miss Olive, my Skor, BHRR’s Miss Giselle, My Apex & BHRR’s Mr. Symba. 
 
From our home to all of our friends, family & supporters, the warmest of good night wishes are being sent!
 
AND Yup! – you can see the hole that BHRR’s Mr. Granite dug through the wall by the tree that Sean has to now fix….sigh! Giant breed dogs, giant breed damage can be done. Mr. Granite decided that he wanted to go into the master bedroom to lay on the bed while we were bringing in groceries this past week……Clearly, it was too hard to go through the actual open door, so he had to create his own entranceway.
 

Time for some BHRR Traditional XMAS Eve Photos!
 
This year we did it on December 25th yet, close enough! 
 
This is BHRR’s Gravel!!!
 
He will turn 11 years young in April 2022.
 
Can you believe that this was the Dane that no one could touch back in 2017 and was slated for euthanasia at the pound?!
 
He was so stressed and confused, the poor Dane. 
 
What I have posted before re: Mr. Gravel:
 
This boy had been dumped over 4.5 years ago in a high kill shelter – emaciated, undersocialised and terrified. He was dumped as the home has kids.
 
He had four days in which to get out and we were contacted to assist. Unfortunately, as transport was being organized, he was so scared that no one could get near him…..the shelter said that they had been ‘poling’ him to get him to where they needed him to go.
 
I will be forever grateful to Danya, the original person who reached out to us for assistance who dropped everything at her work nearby the shelter and with the assistance of cheeseburgers; managed to get him leashed – he was beyond reactive at this time.
 
The transport was quickly re-arranged and Daniele(just one driver) drove all the way from the shelter to KAH where I had an appointment set up for him to be seen.
 
If he had not gotten out of the shelter that day, the shelter made it clear that this was his last day and would be ‘destroyed.’
 
He is such a wonderful boy…..just lovely! He loves young teenage girls the best!
 
Thank you for blessing our hearts and home Mr. Gravel! You are an incredible Dane and as promised you will never know another day of fear, an empty stomach nor hurtful hands, etc.
You are safe, happy & still remarkably healthy! 
 
Thank you also to Kendel, Dawkin & Tyler for being his special SS this year. 
 

Happy Boxing Day!
 
BHRR’s Brutus! (~8.5 year old American Bulldog).
 
He was back at the Vet on December 24th as we are still battling all of his skin, eye, ear issues.
 
Poor boy.
 
He came to us in such terrible shape, and we have made incredible progress yet he is still a long way from being ready to be considered healthy.
 
Great news his weight is now 55.9 kgs(122.98 pounds). He has put on just over 10 kgs (22 pounds) since he arrived.
 
He is a powerhouse of a happy friendly boy! 
 
He loves people, cats, dogs and it saddens me to think how many are scared of him.
 
He does not hear or see well and he is so social plus affectionate.
 
He was placed on yet more Apoquel(1.5 tablets daily), more antibiotics for his skin plus ears/eyes, and a new shampoo. He remains on his fish-based diet and gets only specific treats.
 
We have learned that he has a contact allergy so are very careful about collar wearing – no metal ‘o’ or ‘d’ rings etc., what his blankets and dog coat are washed in etc. We do not have carpets in our home so that is excellent and all dirty pawprint rugs are washed regularly.
 
BHRR does not place up for adoption unhealthy dogs. We are patient!
 
Thank you to all of the Christmas Eve/Day Santa helper angels who donated funds to help us pay off – ~$750 – what we owe by end of the year. 
 
We still owe almost $250….yet we are so close now thanks to your caring hearts!!!
 
PS: yes, Mr. Brutus is wearing a feminine collar – borrowed from one of the other BHRR dogs – as we do not have one for him. He still looks so Uber handsome! 

Miss Jamila!
*Deaf/Blind Great Dane
 
Merry FIRST loving spoiling Christmas to her!
 
Thank you again to the Markell Read family for spoiling her this XMAS as her special Secret Santa!
 
We removed her eye sutures several days ago from her bilateral eye enucleation, and her healing is almost complete.
 
This girl has stolen my heart plus soul. I know the feelings are very mutual.
 
Miss Jamila can ‘speak’ volumes without even saying a word! 
 
She is a thrivor, which means she has the backbone and strength that has ensured her survival from hell.
 
She is very honed/tuned into Gwen. She may not see or hear, yet she knows that Gwennie is taking this picture. Her scent training is excelling.
 

BHRR’s Miss Gretta!
 
She turned 11 years young in November 2011.
 
The last of the FREEDOM Danes from the Paws R Us Seizure.
 
We have rescued many Danes from this line over the past 20+ years – even her maternal grandfather, great relatives, aunts, uncles, siblings, cousins, mother, etc.
 
Cameras make her nervous, fans, plus doorways, hoses, sometimes too. Rarely these days……but, those nightmare memories/experiences are still a part of her dark past.
 
We first rescued her with her mother along with one sister back in September 2011. We also brought in two unrelated Danes from that same seizure – over 600 dogs, Gwennie worked with for over 3 months with hundreds of other dedicated folks.
 
We also assisted a momma Airdale with her five puppies along with a Chinese Crested – that Kinsley stole from us and is now ‘her’ boy! 
 
Miss Gretta is battling thyroid issues and some Degenerative Myelopathy, yet is going strong. So much love and support surround her too! 
 
Thank you again to Kendel JF, Dawkin, plus Tyler for being her special Secret Santa in 2021!
 

BHRR’s Miss Lilly!
 
Deaf/Visually impaired Great Dane.
 
She will turn 4 years young in January, and remains AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 
She is super sweet with a side of sassy! She is a higher energy Great Dane and has been a true hoot to have with us!
 
She has learned to share, have manners, and can be a real lady when she wants to, and a true tomboy when she wants to also!
 
Adore her! She lives life to the fullest each and every day! No half measures for this big-hearted Dane.
 
Thank you to Melody & Barrhaven & Area Empties for being her special SS in 2021!
 
With their incredibly generous/kind donation, we were able to purchase a new XL Costco Dog bed for her, an amazing huge bag of treats, plus some toys for Miss Lilly. 
 
Heading into 2022, she will require a new Wiggle Bumz collar, and we will be posting over the next week, our annual Collar Angel Event!
 
Isn’t she stunning?!
 

Though, it may seem like our XMAS tree is ‘giftless’ again in 2021, in reality, the best gift is sitting in the other picture! – BHRR’s Chester! 
 
The giving of gifts to each other is so not important compared to saving a life in urgent need!
 
This is a picture that I took when he arrived for his busy day at the Hospital on Tuesday, December 21st. He weighed 35.9 kgs(78.98 pounds). 
 
Thanks to SO many joining us in surrounding wee 16 week old Mr. Chester with such a strong BHRR village, we have been able to pay for his vetting on Tuesday.
 
What all of us have done by coming together is to give this handsome WOW young man a Christmas Miracle! 
Another post to come with testing results, an update, etc….right now, it is traditional fam time at the Boers home after another very long day at work. 
 
I am filled with tears of gratitude, my heart is bursting with so much warmth thanks to our beautiful rescue angel network that has been showing him the best in caring kind wonderful helping hearts plus hands……..
 
In the New Year, we will begin our snuggle cuddle fundraiser to continue to raise monies for his vetting needs…..this boy is simply a piece of heaven!
 
From the Boerskins home to all of our friends, family and supporters, may your Christmas EVE/Day be safe and filled with immense happiness plus health.
 

Another picture from December 11th of Miss Jamila

BHRR’s Miss Jamila!
 
December 11th, 2021
 
Four days post-op – from her mature spay, two lump removals plus bilateral eye enucleation. We also did another ear cytology and a great nail trim.
 
She went on more ear medications for chronic ear infections that we first began treating when she was still in Egypt.
 
While you see dried blood in these pictures, you mostly see bruising plus swelling with her eyes.
 
Her surgeries lasted 3 hours and 2 minutes. Those last several moments in surgery with her were very tense.
 
She came home on antibiotics along with a great pain management regime and as with Miss Rosie, Miss Jamila was touch and go post-op.
 
Round-the-clock care, trying to get her to eat, trying to get her to drink was a very worrisome time. Trying to get her up on her feet to move was equally concerning. The lack of urination and bowel movements were also troubling as she was just not eating or drinking much.
 
As of this week, she is FINALLY drinking back to her normal drinking levels, and while not eating back up to her normal, she is eating. I am getting my tail wags back – love how they start so low and her tail gets higher and faster as she expresses her affection!
 
I have also been working on her not developing SA behaviours as we have been spending a LOT of time together – most nights, I was lucky to get 3 hours of sleep.
 
Her scent training is zooming along, her touch training – one can tell that she has not felt a lot of loving caring hands as her skin is very sensitive and while she no longer flinches, she still startles. We are continuing to work on that startle reflex with her and she is responding one small step at a time.
 
On Tuesday, Sean helped me remove the sutures on her two lumps, on Wednesday(2 weeks post surgeries), we removed her spay sutures and today, I will remove her eye sutures.
This amazing girl is such a mixture of strength with vulnerability, and she has bonded very closely with me, and I have to say, I adore her right back a million times over! 
 
That first week of December was a brutal one for BHRR financially – almost $12,000 in bills, and we remain owing just under $750 which we need to pay off by end of the year.
 
Any consideration to our outstanding bills would be deeply appreciated. Donations can be sent via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Thank you also being sent out to the Markell Read family for being her wonderful special SS!!!
 

This will be Miss Jamilas first XMAS full of so much love, proper shelter, food, water, kindness, and warmth!  She resides in our home, one that cherishes her each and every day.

It is hard to get pictures of her as she literally wants to be part of me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chester’s x-ray

Mr. Chester was at the Vet – my work – today, and I got some serious loving!!
 
So nice to see him again!! 
 
More soon!

Mr. Chester (4 months old) had a great night according to his wonderful foster mama! 
 
AND per his foster mom, BHRR’s Maxwell(ADOPTED November 23rd, 2021) found a new source for getting his water!! Ewwww! 
 
I noted some blood on the one blanket that he was laying on when I was transporting him.
 
I also asked his foster mom if they could pick up some unscented baby wipes and peneten.
 
His foster mama says that he does have redness/rash on the inside of his thighs, and we do want to avoid any further urine scalding.
 
Tomorrow he is at the vet at 11:30 am and we will post as we can!
 
Thank you again to everyone that has surrounded him with so much love…we want to give him a Christmas miracle….
 

Miss Rosie 1, Gwennie 0
 
Sigh….
 
For such a sweet, low-maintenance quiet gal; she ‘speaks’ volumes with her actions about her desire to be on this particular window ledge!! 
 
She is looking for Sean….he is off doing some errands while I try to study….
 
My Dane Ice is oblivious to the ‘war of the ledge!’ 
 
On a side note, I am taking her sutures out today. It has been 14 days and she is finally doing great again!

BHRR’s Granite!
 
He looks graceful yet is anything but! 
 
Waiting patiently for Gwennie to put down the beds after sweeping. A multi-day occurrence at our house.
 

Mr. Chester is being shown the yard by his ‘big’ foster sister River! 
 
His ‘big’ brother, BHRR’s Mr. Maxwell(Adopted November 23rd, 2021) is probably inside where it is warmer! 
 
Mr. Chester has been in the caring shelter since November – at least the 29th – and now seeing him in a wonderful foster home is very heartwarming! 

Got him, now dropped off at his foster home! 

Beyond precious!

I will see him again on Tuesday for the beginning of his medical rehab journey.

Everything crossed that he can be rehabilitated successfully. He is just so lovely!

We will keep everyone posted! We are deeply indebted to many that have come together to surround him with a strong BHRR village of support!

Making my drive home to have a late supper with Sean! See you in ~1 hour!

Mr. Chester is hanging in so well from all the wonderful reports coming in from the angel drivers!
 
There are a lot of animals on this transport including Guinea pigs and a rabbit.
 
The rabbit (a male named Maggie!) comes from the same shelter as he does.
 
The transport is running almost an hour behind yet slow but sure.
 
We are being told by many just how much fun he is – sweet, timid, and did I say everyone thinks he is sweet yet?!! 
 
Once I get him, I will be driving him with bags of food, etc., to his foster in Kanata.
 
Going to be a late-night! Yet, a truly rewarding one. 
 

Mr. Chester is travelling well!
 
He is super sweet per all of his transport angels – very timid about getting into the vehicles (cannot blame him) – so folks are lifting him in.
 
Wee Giant! ~70 pounds of fluff! 
 
Thank you to all that have come together to make lifesaving donations for him to see several specialists…..
 
This photo is the credit of Norma – one of his rescue drivers!

Wee 16 week old Chester is on his way!!
 
The first angel transporter said he is a sweetheart all the way!! 
 
I will be meeting the last of his rescue angel drivers for 6 pm tonight, then making the drive to his foster home.
 
It is a big day for him.
 
This is another pic of him while at the shelter last week when I asked for a few more pics.
 
The ‘bed head’ hair is awesome!!

UPDATE: we are working on 16 weeks old Mr. Chester’s transport for tomorrow.
 
I asked for some new pics to post and this one just captured my soul.
 
I also asked the shelter if they were sure he was a Saint/Newf as he looks so much like a Leonberger baby. 
 
The shelter said the Owner stated a Newf/Saint and my contact there also thought possible Leonberger too!
 
I am aware of several litters of Byber Saint/Newfs in that area that were born over the last few months…
 
Regardless, he is 100% stunning and deserving.
 
Thanks to the incredibly generous hearts of so many, we are just shy of $500 of our goal to raise for him.
 
We also have him booked in on Tuesday to begin his proactive/preventative vet care.
 
Donations can be sent via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
 
OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Save your Empties to donate is another amazing way to support him!
 
AND yes, he does have a fabulous foster home that will be loving on him!
 
Soon wee dude, soon! You will be here soon!

**UPDATE: $715 Raised To Date* 

We were contacted last night about this urgent medical 16 week old Saint Bernard/Newf Puppy.

He needs a Christmas miracle.

Euthanasia was one of the recommendations on the table by the Vet, and we felt he deserves the opportunity to determine what his diagnosis and prognosis may be. The wonderful Shelter felt the same as they reached out for possible rescue assistance per the additional recommendation made by the Vet to consider rescue as another possible option as long as the rescue remains dedicated to doing what is in his best interest.

He was an owner surrender to a shelter as the owners could no longer afford his vet bills.

From the shelter vet:

“I am suspicious he has ectopic ureters causing urinary issues but wouldn’t be able to confirm without extensive testing at a referral facility. Even with that diagnosis if he does have this congenital abnormality that may or may not be able to be corrected by surgery (depending on defect) and even then surgery may still not be successful (no guarantee).

Options would be to try and find a rescue. I would consider euthanasia a reasonable option as well. ”

His name is Chester, and we need to raise ~$1,800 – $2,100 for a CT scan.

Only 16 weeks old and he desperately needs a village to surround him…..

We are already financially strapped yet that face, so young….he deserves a chance…..and hoping others may feel the same….

This condition(if that is what he has) is common in certain breeds – Newfs being one. Ectopic Ureters are more common in female dogs over males. Success in males can be 25-50%, ‘if’ this is what he has. No one knows without further diagnostics being done.

He has been a big fav of staff & volunteers at the shelter and everyone would like to know for sure before seeing a puppy euthanised if it is truly in the pup’s best interest.

What if he can be successfully rehabilitated? We have dealt with ectopic ureters before. 100% success rate yet we go into this with our eyes completely open and aware.

The Boerskins are foregoing again this year in the giving of gifts to each other so funds can be redirected to this puppy.

If anyone has even $5 to spare, we remain humbled by your show of support.

This is an extremely urgent situation and looking at an eta for his arrival on Sunday.

Any donation consideration can be sent to PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

Wee Chester needs a Christmas miracle…. 

Thank you in advance for your consideration. 

 

Well, our plan is not going as well as we had anticipated….so, on to plan B to keep her off the window sill….no access at all!!!

Thank you Miss Rosie for the adventure!! 

She is such a calm mellow dog – just has a mind of her own! 

Now I get to also clean all of her nose smears off of the window!!

 

I do believe that Miss Rosie is not a redbone black & tan hound…..yet, more of a billy goat!
 
She insists on standing on the window ledge to get the best advantage to see outside – that one can see a substantial distance by not standing on the ledge is moot in her eyes!
 
We have now taken to padding that area as Miss Rosie is only 8 days post-op surgery, and we do not want her hurting herself….
 
She is the sweetest darling of a dog yet when she puts her mind to something, she becomes very determined! 

On December 8th, Miss Jamila had her own surgeries. She now weighs 53.1 kgs(116.82 pounds). She has put on over 10 kgs(22 pounds) of much-needed muscle mass/weight pous toned up since she arrived into our rescue.
 
The pics are bloody – heads up.
 
Miss Jamila had her mature spay, had two lumps removed, was microchipped, plus had a bilateral eye enucleation. She also had her nails – they were so overgrown upon arrival into rescue and we have been working hard on getting them under control. They were affecting her ability to walk on certain surfaces.
 
An ear cytology was also done and more medication was dispensed as she has battled chronic ear infections, which we first addressed while she was still in Egypt , then several times after her arrival to Canada.
 
Her surgeries were 3 hours and 2 minutes.
 
Per Gwennie, was her surgery tech that day, she was very stable right up until the end of her second eye enucleation. Her BP then began to drop. As vascular as her mature spay was – my god this poor girl had been bred so much – her eyes were even more so. Surprisingly so per Gwennie/the surgeon.
 
Her eyes, as is extremely common with the special needs (double merle Great Danes) were deeply recessed – the right more than the left plus she had a condition called Microphthalmia, which is a birth defect in which one or both eyes did not develop fully, so they are abnormal. This is also very common in the special needs Great Danes.
 
Miss Jamila suffered from chronic eye infections, cataracts, and we had been so worried about her getting glaucoma. The number of eye medications along with meds that we were using to keep her pain under control until we could get her healthy enough for these surgeries was not just costly yet vast.
 
Her surgeon had worried prior to doing her mature spay that her other surgeries may have to be aborted for that day depending on how bad it was yet, Miss Jamila proved herself to be a continued thrivor.
 
As with Miss Rosie, Miss Jamila has battled her own post op complications…..Gwennie will address those shortly.
 
It has been a week full of long days for us, and even longer nights for Gwennie to get Miss Rosie, and now Miss Jamila on their feet.
 
Gwen, you remain my hero. I cannot function well on less than 8 hours of sleep, and you are working on barely a couple of hours each night as you are so dedicated with a heart so big.
Double Merle Danes are not ‘rare’, they are very common, and if anyone knows of any that are in need, please do not hesitate to reach out to us….this is what we do, and have for close to 30 years now. There is no reason why these incredible animals cannot live amazing quality-filled lives in the right hands yet, they need their physical, medical, emotional, behavioral, training needs properly addressed.
 
In preparation to continue to set up Miss Jamila for success, Gwennie had been working on her scent plus touch training – Miss Jamila is deaf and was pretty much blind upon arrival.
After paying off our Vet bills last week which included a big porcupine encounter for Mr. Fred – close to $12,000, we are still just under $1,100 owing for Miss Rosie & Miss Jamila. We have scrimped, we have saved, we have been blessed with donations on fundraisers, and we are almost there!
 
If anyone would like to assist two very deserving Dogs with a Christmas wish, donations can be made direct to Liston Animal Hospital at 613-591-0966
 
OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
 
OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
We would be humbled…..we have until the end of December to clear our accounts, and are not able to assist any more deserving dogs in need until our financial situation is stronger…..
 

To expand upon the earlier post, Miss Rosie did not have an easy recovery.

I had assistance in loading her up to take her home the night of her surgery. She was quite ‘flat’ and to help with pain management, Gabapentin was added to her pain regimen. A long night was then spent with her…..

She showed no interest in eating and very little interest in drinking any water. No urination either. The lack of bm is not surprising due to having fasted plus anesthesia slows down the digestive system.

She was having some incision site leakage after surgery plus at home – more than I would like, yet not abnormal. The area around her eye was naturally swollen. She is given Isathal applied every 8 hours for her eye.

The next day I went to work, and Sean monitored her closely.

Her bloodwork came back that her T4 was high normal(58), and so we are going to continue on her current dose of 1 x 0.5 mg of Thyrotabs every 12 hours.

Sean then sent me the following two pictures, from her. Her incision site was intact, with no sutures pulled or ripped out.

I discussed with her surgeon, and more antibiotics were added to her regime, and when I got home after work, we did what we used to do way back when in veterinary medicine, binded up her abdomen.

She ate a bit of food, drank some, urinated plus had a very small bm.

By Wednesday AM – two very long nights with her by me and two long days with Sean – she was a lot more ‘perky’, and there was no more active bleeding to be had from her incision site.

Wednesday was then the day Miss Jamila was having her own surgeries – 3 hours and 2 minutes in fact was the length of them. Posts shall be made shortly re: Miss Jamila.

Miss Rosie is now doing very well. Some complications, lack of sleep, tons of worry, oodles of love plus round-the-clock care given!

Once she is healed, she will have her vaccines and from there, she can make her own special announcement – sometime towards the end of January we think.

I am exhausted but happy as there is nothing routine about surgery in my books……anything can go wrong.

 

Post-op recovery

Waiting to be extubated

On Monday, December 6th, Miss Rosie had her mature spay plus cherry eye repair.
 
She was scanned and a microchip was found so, we are now in the process of getting that changed over to our name.
 
We had the surgeon look over her skin as it is extremely flaky plus dry. He felt that this is most likely the residual of her thyroid issues, and now that she is on proper medication, her skin shall continue to improve. We continue to also wash her with a medicated shampoo.
 
She has areas on her body – especially on her hind end plus tail that may never see hair growth.
 
A urinalysis was done as her urine was very dark plus strong-smelling when her bladder was expressed prior to surgery – Nothing abnormal to report.
 
Vaccines are behind held off as she went through enough on her surgery day.
 

She had an antibiotic injection given – Depocillin – and Gwennie gave her a good nail trim.

The surgeon also looked closely at her teeth. He did not feel that any of them needed to be extracted. He probed several and was confident that all of her teeth – some wear plus tear – were in quality shape. Therefore, at this time – the future could be different – a dental was not necessary.
 
Her weight is now 37.9 kgs(83.38 pounds). This is down from the very obese weight of 41.3 kg(90.86 pounds) that she arrived into our Rescue at. She still has a ways to go yet, we are on the right track!
 
Gwennie also drew blood to run a T4 to see how her thyroid levels are doing since she began the thyro-tabs.
 
 

It has been a big surgery week for Miss Rosie & Miss Jamila!

Will post as we can yet here is Miss Jamila & me in the surgery suite! Ready to go this AM!
 

Got her!

Miss Rosie and I are now on our way home!

Thank you Tracey Popham Todd for loving on her as her emerge temp foster!! 

Miss Bell says that all winners have now been contacted from our 14th annual ‘JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS’ Online Auction!

She is so happy to feel all of the love plus support!

For those who do not yet know, Miss Bell (almost 8.5 years old) was diagnosed with cancer – MCT’s – earlier this year and she is hanging strong!
 

Running from December 1st to December 18th, 2021 inclusive!

Miss Gretta – who is now 11 years old AND one of the last surviving FREEDOM Dogs of the Paws R Us seizure in September 2011 thanks to everyone that has donated and/or shared our annual Fundraiser to help raise much-needed funds for special dogs just like her!
 
*it is hard to get a great picture of her for even after all of these years, cameras, lights, flashes, fans, doorways can still scare her….while no longer terrified, she can still be nervous.
 

BHRR’s Rocket, BHRR’s Giselle along with one of my own Danes, Salt (sandwiched in-between) just could not stay up until our 14th Annual ‘JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS’ Online Auction ended! 

AND we have had a bit of excitement with some quick bids coming in! However, these three are completely oblivious!
 

BHRR’s Symba is moving under a PENDING ADOPTION!

We will update as we can…..

BHRR’s Symba had a special playdate today!
 
This is him at their home, flaked out after a nice stroll! They LOVED him! I mean, what is not to love?!!!
 
AND Gwennie has added another 6 WOW items to our 14th Annual “JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS” Online Auction!
 
A scooter, a ski waxing station, two gorgeous items from wildlyone.ca & two from Fitzroyandfae.ca.
 
To view all of the amazing items – 48 – and to bid, please visit the below link.
 
The auction ends Thursday, December 2nd, @ 9 PM EST
 

What a great picture!
 
Nap time! 
 
This is BHRR’s Rosie and some of her beautiful foster family! They have fostered a number of wonderful dogs for BHRR over the years. We are extremely grateful to them. 
 
Gwennie says that she does not see a couch! 
 
AND Gwennie has now added 5 more WOW items to our 14th Annual “JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS” Online Auction! Items include a portable hammock and binoculars!
 
This gives us 42 incredible items now up for grabs! This auction shall end Thursday, December 2nd, @ 9 PM EST
 
Gwennie has 7 more items to add, and she will be adding more items tomorrow.
 
Here is the LINK to view all of the great items up for grabs plus to bid:
*Please take note of pick-up location(s) as not all items can be shipped.
 
Thank you Rescue angels for the support! Miss Rosie goes into the Vet for her mature surgery, repeat bw, etc. on Monday, December 6th, and Miss Jamila is scheduled for Wednesday, December 8th for her own surgeries.
 
Miss Jamila’s surgeries include a mature spay, no less than two lump removals to go to pathology, AND a bilateral eye enucleation if she is handling the anesthetic well.

The reality of rescue is that you cannot save them all, no matter how much you may want to.

We have been in deep discussion re: finances for BHRR – as many know most of BHRR is financed mainly out of our own pockets – and, unfortunately, with the bills that we have currently at BHRR plus with Miss Jamila’s almost $10,000 in bills for upcoming surgeries, Miss Olive’s monthly almost $1,000 in bills, Miss Rosie’s to date almost $1,100 in bills with more to come – she needs to be spayed, vaccinated, microchipped, cherry eye repaired, COHAT, more bloodwork, etc., with BHRR going through almost 120 pounds of food per day and the list goes on…..we cannot take in the Mastiff.

We are posting the most current two bills for Miss Rosie; as suspected she has thyroid issues, and not just allergies. This means daily medication for her and regular bloodwork to be sure that she is being given the right dose of Thyro-Tabs.

We have blacked out her foster home’s contact information for privacy.

We will continue to forge strongly on what we can do…..as we will never compromise the quality of care, never take shortcuts on what the dogs that we are entrusted with need plus deserve.
 
We wanted to update the group as to why we cannot assist the Mastiff that we recently posted about. Our hearts are heavy yet, we know that Karen will ensure that he goes to a great place that shall do right by him…..perhaps in 2022, we can help another one of your lovely dogs Karen.
 

Tonight, BHRR did approved adoption #428!
 
BHRR’s Mr. Maxwell – the ~10 year old Boxer 
 
We are small, mighty, and after almost 26 years of rescuing in these trenches, another amazing doggie is in their forever-loving adoptive home.
 
We have never focused on the adoptions at BHRR, always worked to focus on assisting the next in need of us, and if they are deemed adoptable, great; yet, we are committed to them for the rest of their lives regardless.
 
With our Haven program being enormous compared to our adoption program – so many dogs that need safe harbour for their lives – it is really special, and a bit bittersweet when a dog is placed into a right-matched forever loving adoptive home. Truly a lovely feeling overall!
 
Thank you to Leanne Berard McDonell plus Cameron for assisting me on this home visit to make it official.
 
As is often said, the best kind of fail is a FOSTER Fail!  Yup! BHRR’s Mr. Maxwell’s wonderful foster home submitted an application to be considered as his right-matched forever loving home…..AND they are!
 
Mr. Maxwell, I am extremely happy that you remember me, and seeing you again brought me so much joy!
 
I am very thrilled that you have a doggie plus kitty sisters, and I am equally delighted that you bring many great smiles to the faces of your humans.
 
You have overcome much in your life, and since you arrived into rescue, you were promised that you would never lack for anything, that you would only know kindness, love plus joy. That you would always receive the best in care.
 
You are an exceptional boy. A personality that is incredibly charming with eyes that reach to your soul. You are simply magnificent, and it has been an honour being here for you. How could we not mention how unbelievably handsome you also are!
 
We are excited to see how you continue to settle in plus anticipate with such joy the future chapters of your life.
 
We adore you Mr. Maxwell………
 
Congratulations to all!!!
 
May be an image of 2 people, dog and indoor
 

Today, someone helped Sean get some exercise in picking up the mail today. VIDEO
 

Our mailbox is about 750m from the house, and Mr. Romeo had a blast as always keeping Sean company!

He remains AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

BHRR’s Miss Olive!
 
This is one of her favourite spots to just sit……..a gorgeous accessory to any fireplace! 
 
Thanks to everyone’s extreme generosity, the funds from the amazing 50/50 Lucky Square Fundraiser that Katherin kindly organised is going to go towards helping to pay for a portion of the November bills for Miss Olive.
 
Between her Proin, Gabapentin, Deramaxx, fish based food, baby wipes etc.,, her monthly bills are just shy of $1,000.
 
At this time, this stunning palliative Saint continues to hold her own…..we know that her incontinence plus hind end issues have been worsening, yet as long as she is having stellar quality of life, we are standing strong by her side to ensure that she lacks for nothing! 
 
She also wishes to ask people to consider donating to our 14th Annual “JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS” Online Auction. Please EMAIL.
 
We need to: have at least 1 pic, a description, value, starting bid plus pick-up location(s). 
 
We are hoping to raise enough funds to pay for Miss Olive’s December and possibly January’s monthly bills. 
 
Our annual Auction begins November 27th, and thank you to Katherine, Kelly plus Alison for the wonderful donations to date……We are really grateful! 
 

After much discussion, Sean & I made the decision to place Mr. Maxwell up for adoption.
 
After extensive rehabilitation with vetting, and amazing exposure plus time with his wonderful foster home, he is now a very happy, healthy Senior.
 
While we are committed to him for life, we can remain that way in a right-matched forever loving adoptive home. We stand by our dogs for their lives.
 
With that being said, Mr. Maxwell is moving under a PENDING ADOPTION! 
 
We shall update as we can!
 
This stunning photo was taken by his fantastic foster home!
 
Thank you to Just Paws for reaching out to us asking if we could assist him…he is an absolute dream and gem of a boy!
 

Mr. Symba was at the Vet on October 29th for his annual.
 
He weighed a wonderfully healthy lean 139.26 pounds(63.3 kgs)
 
He was updated on his yearly vaccines, we did his annual 4dx bloodwork to test for heartworm plus tickborne disease exposure – even though, we keep the dogs on preventative year-round, nothing is 100%. The results were negative.
 
His Vet checked out those new back legs of his and his right back leg is perfect, the left-back knee has some crepitus which considering both back legs had TPLO repairs, is really great. He is on Gabapentin plus Deramaxx as needed – has not needed them for some time – we did give him some that night after his visit as understandably after the exam manipulation, we did not want him feeling tender.
 
Come winter, he will be on his meds on a more regular basis with the cold. This dog runs, and plays, and is so happy, plus healthy with a fantabulous personality!
He remains available for adoption!
 
I snapped this picture when Sean drove up to work in the truck for his Vet visit, and I went out to get him. It was a gorgeous sunny fall day. 
 
He had a A+ Vet visit!
 

Last post of my night!
 
I am told that Miss Rosie had a great Halloween!
 
A superstar and a big hit with the trick and treaters last night! 
 
Her foster mama takes such gorgeous pics!!
 
From our home to all of our friends, family plus supporters, wonderful good night wishes are being sent!
 
Tomorrow, we shall update on Mr. Symba’s annual from October 29th. 
 

Miss Rosie was at the vet today!
 
Weight 41.7 kgs(91.74 pounds). As she continues to move, she will build up muscle mass/tone and lose more much-needed weight.
 
We are also looking into a harness for her to go with a martingale collar as her leash manners are a work in progress! 
 
Her heart plus lungs got a big thumbs up!
 
The vet believes as we do that she has been bred – previous owners stated that any breeding attempts they made were unsuccessful.
 
She is now on Apoquel for her itchies, and her amazing foster mama washed her in the Canadian medicated shampoo we requested to also help her skin.
 
She appears to have some arthritis in her left front leg – in some videos sent, she definitely looked arthritic. We will continue on NSAIDS for her as necessary. She does have Metacam.
 
We did extensive blood work – no shortcuts ever done by BHRR! – including testing for tick-borne diseases and heartworm.
 
She will be put on de-wormer, flea, tick plus heartworm meds. Though the vet did not feel any skin scrapings were necessary, she is being put on revolution for any possible demodectic or sarcoptic mange concerns.
 
Since Miss Rosie was brought into rescue, we also placed her on a fish-based food to assist with any possible food allergies.
 
Vaccines will wait until she is healthier.
 
She also has a broken canine that we will address when she has her mature spay. We will then microchip her at that time.
 
Here is a copy of her invoice from today. Doing things the right way for each and every animal is very expensive. We blacked out her foster mama’s personal information…. 
 
Between her visit today, and Mr. Symba’s yesterday – his own annual – the vet bills are just under $1,200.
 
BHRR also goes through just shy of 120 pounds of food each day….
 
Please consider donating your Empties to help us continue to help these incredible animals in need of our highly specialised rescue programs…..
 
Donations can also be sent via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Thank you in advance for your consideration! 
 
We are posting a picture on the comments with how Miss Rosie’s skin looks…..
 

AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 
BHRR’s Romeo is AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 
Health Status: HEALTHY!
 
*What more can we say?! He is healthy!
 
Age: ~14-month-old Mixed Breed of awesomeness! Weigh ~50-55 pounds of solid, lean muscle with a personality of 200+ pounds.
 
Type of Home Ideal For Mr. Romeo: He can be in a home that works ft, pt, works from home, is semi-retired or retired, etc. He is another versatile BHRR dog! He will ONLY go to a home that is prepared to ensure that he receives the balance he requires with proper exercise, socialisation, etc. He does not necessarily need to go to a dog-experienced home yet; he does need to go to a home that is prepared to remain committed to his obedience, structure, consistency, and be patient, kind, understanding, and are not hermits. He loves home yet; he also likes his pet store and other dog-friendly store visits, plus visiting friends. We are not advocates of dog parks. He needs a very active home. Very!
 
Personality/Temperament: Loving, affectionate, calm, quiet inside the home/when properly emotionally/physically stimulated, uber-sweet, social, playful, very active, athletic, gentle, kind, and if not handled properly – he has the propensity to develop SA behaviours. He can be a bit shy in new situations and settings and needs a home that will be patient, understanding while at the same time will not baby him. Just give him a bit of time; he warms up SO quickly and is truly a character! He has had playdates plus play visits and LOVES the attention! Once he jumps in feeling comfortable, he JUMPS ALL in! COVID has made it harder for us to expose the dogs to all that we usually do and to the high level that we do, yet we have worked hard to make it happen for him.
 
Previous Dog Experience: Previous dog experience is not required per the above. He needs to be in a home that already has at least one right-matched personality fit dog. It is equally important that he has a strong doggie network as he needs friends too – he is going to be that dog that will make many friends and shall be ok having a multitude of hundreds of acquaintances to run, play, zip, play tug-of-war with, etc.! He has been fantastic with all of the dogs here.
 
Good With Cats: He has been ok with the cats he has interacted with to date, yet we would feel most comfortable with him being in a home without feline members. He wants to make friends and play with them, which can be overwhelming to his feline friends, so we prefer a home with no cats.
 
Good with Pocket Pets: Unknown.
 
Good with Children: He has been good with children, and we will consider homes that have children 12 and up and no more than two children in a home. No small children.
 
Grooming: He is good to wash, doing nails. We take a soft brush and brush regularly, and this is a great bonding time between us – along with treats!
 
Car: He is excellent in the car. We have worked for him to have a positive association with car rides and that it is one of great fun and loving experiences.
 
Housebroken/Crate Trained: He is housebroken and Crate trained.
 
Obedience: His manners have come a long way. Overall, his leash manners are excellent! He can still pull if distracted, so a properly fitted and comfortable harness is recommended in addition to his martingale.
 

Activities Suited For Him: He is calm plus has fantastic manners when it is expected of him, and to us, he is very low maintenance YET, he is active from 5 AM – 10 PM – physically plus emotionally plus mentally, so when he goes to bed, he crashes and sleeps soundly. Outside, he loves his hikes, walks, runs, zips, zooms, and can he move! He can also jump and high. He can quickly scale 9-10 foot fences and jump off heights that would make us mere mortals feel faint. To others, he will be considered high maintenance, and if you are not an active, outgoing person who likes to come home, chill, relax, read a book or watch a movie after having adventures, he is not meant for you.

He would excel in obedience, agility, therapy work, and we feel possibly even luring, dock diving. We know he excels in hiking, chair hogging! 

Loves & Bad Habits: He must go to a home that has a very high solid fenced in yard, plus he also must go to a home that loves the outdoors(he associates his fall coat with adventures and will do the same with his winter coat for he is too short-coated to be able to stand any cold temps when he is out and about). Looking for new adventures, a wonderful jogging/walking/hiking partner, he is your companion. His bad habit is his ability to scale fences of heights in a flash. He is not a runner. He is an explorer! New smells, sights, sounds – once assured, all is fine with a calm word/touch and, he is all in.
 
He is an early bird – up around 5:00 AM, does his thing outside comes in, wants a small treat(benny bully liver treat), and tends to go right back to bed until around 8:00 AM and then it is back out, in, breakfast, rest and then his day starts – with whatever that days adventures the day will bring! He is up to exploring and having some fun! He is so affectionate, loves to share Sean’s chair with him! He is the best in snuggler, giving kisses, and how the tip of his wee tongue pokes out is positively adorable!
 
He loves treats and loves to be around his humans.
 
As for other bad habits – if he becomes super excited, he can jump around like a jumping bean and be vocal.
 
He LOVES to de-gut stuffies too, and he loves to be my computer ‘supervisor’ as I work away. He has a dynamo personality in a small package! Small for us! 
 
Like any dog, he is not perfect. He is perfect in all of his imperfections, though! NOT to mention so handsome!
 
He makes our faces plus hearts smile….he is such a gem of a dog.
 
Anxieties/Worries: He can develop SA behaviours, and we have worked extensively to set him up for success. He has learned to like and love his own company and to know that we are coming home. It is integral that the right matched personality fit home does not spend 24/7 with him. During this pandemic, we still need groceries; we should still go out and walk about; we should still get in our cars and go for a small drive to go somewhere to do something!
 
As we have stated for over 25 years now, we will NEVER rush any dogs’ rehabilitation journey, we do not flip dogs, and we are not desperate to adopt them out.
 
We will always place up for adoption the dogs that are able to be adopted and haven any others that, due to medical and/or behavioural reasons, are not able to be placed up for adoption.
 
We do not take in hundreds of dogs yearly; we only took in 16 dogs in 2020 as it is about helping the next in need of us, giving them top-quality care, and not about taking in numbers. In 2021, we have ONLY taken in 5 dogs to date, with two more dogs in the pipe.
 
After 25+ years, we remain knowing that we cannot please everyone, which means that BHRR is clearly not the rescue to be followed, supported, believed in by everyone. We remain small plus mighty, and as we go through this next transitional stage for BHRR, we shall continue to operate with a zero-tolerance approach, plus providing up and beyond care to the animals.
Our mandates have never changed, and they will remain the same as long as we are around; the animals shall always be done right by as our priority.

Our adoption success rates remain second to no other group out there – 100% for over 10 years of operating, and now 99% as we go through year 25, and we are excited as we go through this slow transition for BHRR!

We are over the moon excited for you Mr. Romeo. This decision, especially for Sean has been brutally hard. You two are your own dynamic duo! 

 
 

Mr. Bruno says, come close….closer still!
 
*SMOOCH*
 
He wants to share that the ETA for him and his litter-mate Miss Bea(Beatrice) to begin to head to BHRR is the second week of November.
 
These were the two giants that were seized.
 
This gives us time to fundraise for their trip to us!
 

The next two that are in need!
 
These two are “Bruno” & “Bea”. Names given to them by the agency.
 
Littermates that were seized.
 
They are unaltered(the male is also Monorchid) Great Dane/PoodleX’s, ~3 years of age.
 
They were seized, and now placement is needed. We would love to assist, and the place that currently has them is willing to road trip to us with them, as they are located in another province.
 
They are good with other dogs, good with cats.
 
They reached out as the agency felt that placing them would be a huge challenge – in the hopes that these two could be saved – they have severe anxiety – break through windows, are skinny, lack training, lack socialisation, and cannot go to just any organization.
 
Just the type of special Giants we LOVE to assist! 
 
What we are hoping to do is raise much-needed funds to allow their rescue guardian angel to drive from SW Manitoba to closer to us. We need money for gas – prices are insane! – and for two nights in hotels.
 
Once they are here, we will figure out their vetting needs.
 
Donations can be sent via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Thank you in advance for any consideration…..
 
I look at these two beauties, and I see our Bakers Dozen……the GD/Wolfie Litter we whelped.
 

Miss Rosie!
 
The redbone black/tan houndx.
 
We have been told that she is settling in well! Her amazing foster home has a dog themselves, a cat plus their mother with a small dog also lives with them, and Miss Rosie seems to be so enamoured with her foster mama’s mother!
 
They took her to the Vet for a weigh-in and she was 41.3 kg(90.86 pounds). We knew that she was out of shape plus overweight yet, this is almost 10 kgs over where she should be……
 
I am told that she very gently took treats from the techs, got on the scale like a champ, and was a lovely hit with everyone!
 
She has trouble moving – very odd gait – plus a wide front leg stance. All things that we will investigate once she is able to be seen at her Vet visit. They will do a thorough nose-to-tail exam on her.
 
Her foster Mama also gave her a lovely oatmeal shampoo bath as she was coated in dried dirt/mud – quite possibly rolling in it to attempt to relieve some of the discomfort of her poor skin.
 
Here she is supervising! 
 
I am just so happy that she was able to be saved…..thank you Tracey for stepping up to emerge temp foster this gem!

AND she is safe!!
 
Miss Rosie – the almost 6-year-old unspayed redbone black/tan houndx.
 
Thank you to her incredible foster mama Tracey Popham Todd for picking her up, and safely harbouring her for the next several weeks for us!
 
We are presently reviewing an adoption application for Mr. Symba, and should all fall into place, we can then bring Miss Rosie into our own home.
 
Miss Rosie is scheduled for a vet visit next week – the earliest she can be seen – to address the years of neglect to her body.
 
She has severe skin issues – related to food, seasonal, and possibly environmental allergies.
 
She is the sweet almost 6-year-old girl that was slated for euthanasia as the wife would use any money for drugs over having Rosie vetted.
 
She is unspayed, has a cherry eye too.
 
We will be having blood work done including testing for heartworm plus tick-borne diseases plus a pre-op, in addition to a thyroid test, skin scrapings, de-worming her, putting her on flea/tick/hw preventative, treating any eye, ear, and skin infections with antibiotics, doing an ear cytology, putting her on Apoquel and/or Cytopoint, doing a fecal, getting medicated shampoo etc.
 
Vaccines will have to wait, as we have to get her medical issues under control first. If she is deemed healthy enough, absolutely, we will do them at the same time as her visit.
 
She is starting a fish-based food today, and she will be getting an oatmeal soothing bath tomorrow.
 
She is very overweight, out of shape, and the owners were trying to use her for breeding purposes. Her front legs will also be looked at, and if she needs any NSAIDs – she was apparently on Metacam at one point – we will also ensure it is done.
 
Whatever she needs, she will get!
 
I am told she is so uber sweet!!
 
I want to love on those ears of hers!! 
 
Any donations to her ongoing care can be sent via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
 
Or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 

BHRR Doggie News Update!
 
The picture is of Mr. Maxwell sunbathing!  So freakin’ handsome.
 
1) Mr. Maxwell had a repeat urinalysis on Wednesday, October 13th has he had begun to have some inappropriate urination episodes. Nothing alarming was noted, yet his vet elected to put him on Zeniquin in case he has bacteria in his prostate(he was neutered late in age) that is causing issues. Additionally, with how brutal his past has been with UTI’s, his vet wanted to be cautious.
 
The home is working to ensure that he is in a SA free enabling environment too to assist in dealing with any behavioural causes of the urination accidents.
 
2) Mr. Brutus had his own recheck the same day – He remains on Apoquel 16 mg SID, his antibiotics have been switched to Amox-clav from the cephalexin he had been on for a month as his skin had stopped responding.
 
His eye medications have also been switched up again as his eye infections have also stopped responding to his previous meds.
 
His ear infections seem to be responding ‘ok’ at this time to the medications.
 
He has been putting on the weight plus muscle and WOW, what a gorgeous boy in temperament plus behaviour. We see no reason once he is healthy, why he could not be placed up for adoption.
 
3) Miss Jamila – she went into heat October 2nd – so unfortunate that she was so ill when she arrived as she would have been spayed that first week of September. This puts her at continued high risk of pyo and mammary cancers.
 
Her ears and eye infections continue to be treated, and thanks again to Carol Bruck for her donation to have Miss Jamila be Miss August in the 2021 Calendar being so generously put together by Katherine Bruck!
 
Last I heard there were still two calendars available for sale – Katherine will have to confirm this though.
 
4) Gwen is also working hard on Miss Rosie, the special needs redbone/black/tan houndx – Gwen has been in touch with the O., and working on getting her into our rescue on Thursday.
 
5) Mr. Rocket’s big announcement has been delayed as he had a seizure episode the night of Saturday, October 16th. He had not had anything prior nor has he had anything since.
 
6) Mr. Romeo remains soon to be making his own special announcement.
 
This past week saw over $2,100 in vet bills accumulated, and may this next week not be as expensive.
 

This is *Rosie*. She is an almost 6-year-old Redbone Black & TanX.
 
Her owners are not able to stay on top of her allergies – food, seasonal, environmental, and she is so uncomfortable that she has now begun to be grumpy.
 
The home now have a 6-month-old child and Mrs. wants Rosie gone ASAP. An appointment had been made at a Vet clinic to euthanise her, yet the clinic declined as they feel that Rosie can be helped.
 
Per the Vet records, the Hospital was able to access, she was last seen in 2017.
 
The Owners have a fast timeline for rescue placement to be found for Rosie.
 
We are currently conversing with Mr. re: her – attempting to find out more about her to best determine if we can bring her in.
 
Appears that Rosie also has a cherry eye.
 

Someone seems to love ‘lap time’ when it is morning coffee time at his wonderful foster home! 
 
Mr. Maxwell!
 

Stay tuned! Mr. Romeo will be making his own special announcement shortly…..

Miss Jamila!

My last post of my night!
 
Well, these pictures sum up a good part of my day! 
 
With it being so glorious, I took some time off from school (my day off from work), and Sean & I worked to get some pictures of BHRR’s Miss Jamila(going to be August Calendar Girl thanks to Carol Bruck‘s generosity!), BHRR’s Mr. Rocket & BHRR’s Mr. Romeo -so they could make their special announcements……
 
Yet, Mr. Rocket (deaf/visually impaired) had his own plans for today.
 
What a hoot he is!
 
I just wanted him to be still and ‘pose’ nicely for one….well, I wanted three great pics, yet, I would have settled for one good pic! LOL
 
I so love that goober head! Never a dull moment! JUST stay still and stop making faces for just…..one….bloody…..moment….PLEASE! 
 
From our home to all of our friends, family, and supporters, the best of good night wishes are being sent!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Mr. Brutus was at the Vet today for a recheck.
 
He weighed 49 kgs(107.8 pounds). He is eating three meals a day – fish-based food due to his allergies. Still quite thin.
 
The Vet did a tear test on his right eye, and he does have dry eye. He changed up his eye medication to Maxitrol. It contains a steroid, dexamethasone plus two antibiotics, neomycin sulphate, and polymyxin B sulphate. The Tobramycin he came with sadly, was not working.
 
He is also now on an eye lubricant. Lubrithal Eye Gel.
 
The medication will be used on both eyes.
 
His right eye has more entropion than the left, and we will revisit once the inflammation goes down plus when the cloudiness clears up re: if he requires surgery.
 
We did an ear cytology plus thoroughly cleaned his ears. He has yeast plus bacteria in both ears, and KT treatment was used.
 
The antibiotics for his skin – Cephalexin 500 mg BID will be extended another week for his hot spots, especially on his neck.
 
He was such a GREAT patient!!! So many admirers he had today! So many amazing compliments on his fantastic temperament.
 
Despite, him looked like a ‘hot mess’, everyone could see just how gorgeous this boy is!
 
We are working on his flaky, dandruff-filled dull coat too…..he is beginning to have some tiny areas of new hair growth coming in, so progress!
 
He will also remain on 2 tablets of the Apoquel 16 mg daily and re-visit once this round is finished.
 
The shelter had given him Cytopoint injections and that is good for a month.
 
He was so sad in this picture – a bit blurry, I know! – as we left all of his newfound friends behind! He liked being the centre of attention, AND he is super nosey! LOL Wherever there was action, he wanted to know what it was all about. He has such a delightful personality.
 
Quiet and calm yet a bull in a china shop with those lack of leash manners! That is a work in progress! 
 
We are STILL ISO: a foster for this outstanding senior.

BHRR’s Miss Jamila.  A VIDEO…..night-time snack.
 
Gwennie Novel coming up! 
 
She arrived in our care on August 22nd and it was not until the night of September 9th that she FINALLY began to eat better.
 
During that time, I had spent my nights with minimal sleep, made multiple Vet visits including with specialists, given her round the clock care at work/home, placed her on IV fluids/meds, tried what felt like a hundred different types of food, hand-fed her, put drops into her eyes(we still do!), treated her ears(we still are!), skin infections(we still are!), her bronchitis, her early stages of pneumonia(we still are!), bathed her, loved her, comforted her, was exposed to negativity from others, de-wormed her, did smears, cytologies, and UA, cultures, FNA biopsies, and more including x-rays and ultrasound……
 
Due to her poor health – her mature spay(may she not develop Pyo), her lump removals to go to pathology(praying that they are not MCT’s), her bilateral eye enucleation (may she not develop glaucoma) – had to be moved to December 8th – An all-day surgery that yes, I am going to be her surgery tech……I committed to her, and 100% I am going to be right by her side from start to finish.
 
The negativity that has come our way re: her, our continued zero-tolerance re: anyone not making this about Miss Jamila is unfortunate yet if Miss Jamila could talk, I know that she would be so appreciative that people cared enough to work on giving her the best quality filled of fabu+ lives that she should have always had.
 
She did not ask to be born deaf/blind, she did not ask to be bred and bred over and over again for greedy profit, she did not ask to be tied up and abandoned along with her brother when she could no longer have puppies – her brother died, strangled in what he had been tied with, she did not ask to have cataracts, struvite crystals, suspicious squamous cells, eye, ear and skin infections etc, she did not ask to be abused, neglected, and to only have felt hurting hands over loving, kind, gentle caring ones……
 
AND, I wanted to share one of the best things that has ever happened on the night of September 9th – she began to eat…as we got her healthier, as we figured out each medical issue/concern and addressed it, as we continued to do what we are experts in….we got Miss Jamila healthier, we got her happier, we got her to eat plus drink more normally – still not 100% as to what a Dane should but we are getting there!
 
Her Vets – getting vet appointments are not easy during COVID, to begin with YET, she was rallied around – knew plus shared our immense worry, stress, and concern….they shared it and fell in love with her just as we had. She has a BHRR village that includes SO many that have made this video possible AND I thank you with tears in my eyes for that.
 
Her Vet bills are over $5,000 now and we have easily another $5,000 in upcoming surgeries and histopathology to do for her come December. NOT to mention the food – her canned food is $124 plus change for a case of 24, and she is now eating three cans a day….. a/d food.
 
We have worked on scent plus touch training, AND along with those that believe in what we do, why we do it, and why Miss Jamila is worth all of the nightmarish hells thrown her/our way; this is a video I took Friday night(September 17th). 
 
I want to SHARE with all of you what you have helped make happen. We could not do what we do without her rescue angels and THANK you! Thank you! She is eating! She is gaining weight!
 
We shall continue to post updates and donations to her future bills – our Movie night will see all funds donated to her too! – can be made direct to Liston Animal Hospital at 613-591-0966
 
OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
 
OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
 

We are now ALL on the bed!

Now at least sitting on his bed!

We are with this handsome dude today!
 
His fabu foster fam is hosting us for our latest nail trim/ear cleaning fundraiser!
 
We are at 37 Dressler Drive in Kanata until 4 pm today!
 
Mr. Maxwell much preferred to snooze in the dirt over the dog bed that was readily available!

Got him!!! 
 
We see zero Dane in his physical traits, just 100% stunning American Bully….it also always makes us giggle when people say a dog is huge and when we see them, we are like ‘what a nice wee giant!’ The weight on his paperwork is 56 kgs(123.20 pound), AND he is skinny.
 
We will be at the Vet for a visit ASAP, and we will post an update on his medical conditions. He is booked for September 27th. He is on Apoquel, Cephalexin and has eye drops. He was given cytopoint injections this week – 130 mg at the shelter. The shelter also generously neutered him on Tuesday, September 14th, and sent us a kind message afterward that they did so! What a lovely surprise! How unbeliveably kind is that of them to save our rescue funds from having to neuter him ourselves.
 
This transport was very heartwarming today!
 
So many wonderful souls came together to make this rescue happen….I remain humbled by the big kind caring hearts of so many!
 
 
 

Sean should have him in less than five minutes!
 
The pics sent today of the transport and the words re: how much of a gentleman and old soul he is, has been so touching.
 
We see American Bully ALL the way.

This pic cracks me up!
 
You can for sure see that he is an American Bulldog in this pic too…the shelter said he was an American Bully/DaneX.
 
Not much Dane noted in this pic….cannot wait to meet him! 
 

Skinny boy….the shelter did tell us he was skinny…

Traveling great per the Volunteers!

He is proving to be an excellent companion to his fellow traveling companions – all heading to their own rescues – ferrets, newborn kittens, turtles, and a small dog. 

He is on his way!!!
 
Mr. Brutus! 
 
The senior 8.5-year-old special needs American Bully/DaneX.
 

Thank you’s being extended once more to Amanda Allen, her lovely husband along with their most adorable 7-month-old daughter Wren for hosting us today! 
 
Wren stole my heart!! 
 
Thanks to their kindness and the generosity of the community, a WOW $184.85 was raised which included $27.40 in Empties!
 
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
 
BHRR’s Maxwell and his wonderful foster mama came out to visit, and he had a manicure/pedicure done by me!
 
Next weekend is our last driveway nail trim/ear cleaning events of 2021.
 
With your caring continued support, we plan to be back to a driveway near you again in 2022 – for our third year! 
 

BHRR’s Jamila Update:
 
On September 2nd, Miss Jamila had further specialist assessments.
 
Her right eye has a cataract and will need to be removed. The left eye was hard to say as being a DM – double merle with those deeply recessed pupils – hard to get a good look yet, with both eyes being that typical milky white, the Vet pretty much feels it also has a cataract and will need to be removed.
 
Discomfort/pain is caused by the inflammation that accompanies cataracts as the protein structure of the lens changes. Inflammation of the eye, if left untreated, may also lead to glaucoma which is very painful for dogs. She is on prednisolone acetate drops every 8 hours.
 
We figured we would have to do a bilateral eye enucleation yet not due to cataracts. We felt that as she was a DM they would both need to be removed – recessed pupils, entropion, Microphthalmia that leads to painful chronic infections.
 
She is older than the 3-4 we were told she was. 6+ maybe. Does not matter to us, never does. We stepped up to assist when asked and we have been committed to all of her needs 100%.
 
Ears were cleaned again and more meds for eyes and ears. Her ear infections are from yeast and fungal spores. Ketoconazole was placed into both ears and we will do yet another ear cytology 2 week post-treatment.
 
Heart looks ok – x-ray posted – nothing like DCM noted yet, she does have bronchitis and very early stages of pneumonia- the latter part not surprising based upon how poorly she has felt since arriving. She has been placed on Clavamox.
 
It is hard for a dog to eat and drink normally when they are feeling like crap. For those that are not aware, a Giant Breed dog can drink about 10L of water a day. Miss Jamila is currently drinking on her own 500 ml/daily.
 
She is eating some a/d and recovery wet – it costs us almost $125 a case, so if anyone wishes to be a canned food rescue angel to help us purchase this food for her; we would be incredibly indebted. She is now eating about 2 cans of food a day with some kibble mixed in.
 
We have 8 cans of food left. Each can is 156 g.
 
The x-ray also shows Arthritis in her spine – not surprising as we know she is older than stated.
 
This x-ray shows that she does have stool and gas and that night, she had her first normal-sized Dane poop!
 
Unfortunately, her mature spay and lumps removal to then be set off to pathology has been postponed. It had been scheduled for yesterday. We need to get her healthy first yet, pyo is a big concern.
 
We are anxious to have those lumps removed and to have them sent off. The needle biopsies that we did showed some squamous cells.
 
We are equally anxious to get her spayed – an overbred female of her age, also being extremely special needs, a Giant – puts her at risk and in having the big concern for pyo and mammary cancer. Yet, we will not proceed until she is stronger plus as healthy as can be.
 
We remain so grateful to those that have stood by her/our sides. With your generous donations including through our fundraisers, we have been able to pay off all of her bills to date. Her bills have run us into the thousands since her arrival, and if seeing her happy plus healthy means we have to spend thousands more, we will. Her life before rescue was horrible, and we will ensure that her life is now one of safety and happiness plus health.
 
We shall continue to post updates and donations to her future bills – our Movie night will see all funds donated to her too! – can be made direct to Liston Animal Hospital 613-591-0966
 
OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
 
OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Her mature spay/mass removal/histopathology will cost close to $1,500.
 
A bilateral enucleation will cost $3,500+ as this will be done by a specialist – we plan on using the same one that did our 3 deaf/blind mice(Dr. Philibert).
 
 
 

The next in need!
 
This is ‘Brutus’, an 8.5 year old DaneX, special needs that was slated for medical euthanasia as the O. cannot afford his care.
 
The wonderful shelter posted hoping for a rescue spot to be found for him and thought it would be a long shot….yet, Sean tagged Gwendilin Boers and we immediately stepped up!
 
He is said to be a sweet senior, utd on vaccines, hw and flea prevention, microchipped, heartworm/tickborne disease tested
 
Said to be good with dogs – lived with another dog, good with kids(children in the prior home), has been great with all shelter staff, no resource issues, housebroken.
 
Listed medical conditions from the shelter:
 
‘Skinny. Chronic skin and ear issues (ongoing for years) that had never been treated. We started him on antibiotics, Apoquel, medicated baths, and ear meds. He was also given a dose of steroids and preventatives that cover mange and we have ordered Cytopoint injections for him. No sugar coating it – his skin and ears are really an absolute disaster.’
 
This will be our fourth rescue for 2021, and look at that face…..precious. 
 
We are presently working on the details of his transport.
 
We will post more as we can…..

Mr. Symba(Available For Adoption) is going to be so sad…..
 
This was his last giant stuffie and Mr. Romeo has been caught red-handed! Fast asleep after having fun doing some de-stuffing of Mr. Brown Bear.
 
Love that wee stinker, yet I do not think BHRR’s Symba is going to feel the same right now!!
 
I am now going to try and do some emergency surgery on Mr. Brown Bear to see if I can give him some quality of life….. 
 
 

Mr. Maxwell!
 
Thank you to his wonderful perma-foster family for taking such amazing care of him!
 
AND no, I do not see a dog on a couch! 
 
Mr. Maxwell, you deserve all of the best things in life! 
 

Mr. Maxwell!

He was at the Vet for a recheck on August 28th.

He weighed 34.4 kgs(75.68 pounds).

We did a FNA on the one lump – a lipoma is what it is.

The other two growths are melanomas.

We did a repeat UA – infection is still present yet, slowly resolving – and the Vet has extended his Amoxicillin another two weeks once this round of antibiotics ends.

His head tilt is not yet explained and it has been confirmed that he does have some neuro deficits.

So, today, he went to his foster home and while our intent is to have him perma-fostered, his Vet did fall in love with him as did his daughter who is back from school. His wife is not yet ready for another dog – they have owned boxers for decades – AND that is ok!

He is such a sweetheart and having him in our own home this past while made us miss Mr. Potterman, Boxer extraordinaire!

Update as promised.
 
Fecal smear – tons of rods, some cocci – should be more balanced for bacteria, so an overload of rods and not enough normal range cocci – waiting to hear back for parasitology for things like Giardia and Coccidia. She was de-wormed with strongid in Egypt.
 
She has been de-wormed again here.
 
UA – lots of struvite crystals, some WBC’s – all dogs should have some struvite crystals, she has an overabundance.
 
Very concentrated urine – >1.050.
 
Eye and ear infections, heart murmur.
 
Donations can continue to be made direct to Liston Animal Hospital 613-591-0966
 
OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
 
OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
She is just not eating nor drinking enough on her own and the last weight we took was 42.2 kgs(92.84 pounds).
 
 

This happened today!
 
BHRR’s Mr. Percival was ADOPTED!
 
What a long journey this has been for all of us and he is now with his forever loving adoptive home.
 
We remain so strong that every BHRR animal needs to be placed into their right matched personality fit home. We took some negative hits from a few re: this possible approved adoption – distance and time thanks to COVID – and we worked to stay true to what was in BHRR’s Percy’s best interest.
 
COVID kept trying its best to keep delaying what was meant to be…..
 
Then, the long exciting anticipated visit had to be postponed from August 7th, yet today magic did happen. 
 
Mr. Percival and this home have waited a very long time to meet in person and though, I could not be there, Sean Boers thank you for helping to make this happen.
 
Percy, you deserve all the best in the world.
 
Your life before rescue was one of darkness and pain.
 
Our promises to you and this shall remain true now that you are adopted are that you shall never suffer from neglectful or hurtful hands again, you will receive the best food, the best medical care so that your skin plus body never suffer once more.
 
You will never know anything other than the softest of beds, the kindest touches of love, the spoiling of treats, toys, beds, and the soothing balm of caring words to continue to heal your heart plus soul. You shall have space and property to run and play to your heart’s content. You will have visits and grand adventures to continue to show you that the world is far more amazing than cruel.
 
This home will keep showing you that you can trust and that you are safe.
 
You are adored by so many that came together to assist us in saving you….and we have added another WOW human family into the BHRR fold!
 
My eyes sure are leaking today….darn allergies! 

A copy of her two x-rays.

As much as I wanted to post a positive update re: BHRR’s Jamila, this is not possible.
 
When I picked her up yesterday, she was quiet and after getting her home, she remained quite quiet. I had been made aware that she was not eating and this meant that she had not eaten since she left Egypt on Friday.
 
While she had been drinking with her lovely overnight foster, she was not drinking at our place, and with these extreme temps, this was concerning. She did at least urinate and had one bm with her overnight foster, yet nothing since.
 
To all that have seen this Dane since her arrival to Canada, they would say that she was a ‘hot mess’. From her eyes – left one, in particular, is quite swollen and has a discharge and they are both white-coated, to the condition of her coat – she has fur missing on her tail, etc., her fur is stained, she has terrible callouses and scars, her ears were still bothering her – we were able to get them addressed in Egypt and they still require further attention – not to mention the lumps that she had.
 
We addressed all that we were informed was possible in Egypt and the plan was to address everything else, including a mature spay upon her arrival to Canada.
 
Yesterday, in doing an assessment, her temp was well over 40 and she became quite flat.
 
We went to emerge and then today, she was admitted again, this time to the Hospital I work at where she remained on fluids for dehydration, we gave her a cerenia injection, we did 2 x-rays, we did another CBC and a comprehensive blood panel. We also attempted to fine needle biopsy two of her lumps – very little material was able to be extracted due to how hard the lumps were. Some debris plus squamous cells were seen and the next course of action, and as planned is to have them removed at the time of her mature spay. We will send them off to pathology.
 
This poor girl has been bred many times over too. Her poor vulva and mammary glands/chain.
 
Pancreatitis was ruled out as was pyometra. The Vet mentioned an odd ‘boney structure’ seen in one of her x-rays that we can investigate further, at a later time. Something, he was curious about, yet did not feel that it was the cause of anything.
 
The immense heat, the long travel, all of the changes, the fact that she is a special needs dog, that she is a Dane – quite sensitive they can be and that she has quite a few medical conditions – we are still doing diagnostics, has not been great on this sick Dane.
 
She still has not had a pee nor a bm since I picked her up. The x-rays show that her bladder is small.
 
Sadly, the monies that we raised on Saturday have already almost completely been consumed with her bills over the last 24+ hours. 
 
Her bills are now close to $1,500 and rising.
 
Donations to her Vet care can be made direct to Liston Animal Hospital 613-591-0966 OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
We are sorry to beg and plead, yet, we shall soon be tapped out with the money that we have raised to date……
 
Thank you in advance for any consideration to her cause and please do keep her in your thoughts. She is truly a gem of a girl. She has been a model patient………
 

Got her!
 
Miss Jamila is the sweetest wee thing ever! 
 
Thank you to Jane Smith for safe harbouring her overnight and meeting me in Kingston.
 
Thank you to all of her lifesaving rescue angels that made this rescue even possible!
 
More soon!
 
Making our way home now!!
 

For those who have not yet seen Tamee/Jane’s post, BHRR’s Jamila is in Canada and being safely housed plus loved with Jane until I can meet up with her tomorrow.
 
I am beyond indebted to so many that have come together to assist us in saving her. We were her last hope and this is an honour to bring her into our Rescue.
 
We will now investigate her eyes further plus those lumps due to the limitations of the vetting in Egypt. We will recheck her ears and also assess her heart as DM’s Danes are prone to heart concerns too.
 
I am so in love with her already…..I am very excited to meet her. Jane says that she is super sweet!
 
Such a pretty little thing! 
 
We will post the grand total shortly of what was raised today – yet, I must extend heartfelt thanks to Cherie, Aaron, Loralei, and Sean for being such troopers in this 43-degree heat/sun that we had today! It was brutal, yet, they were incredible and I can say that the grand total raised between the $650 in donations received from generous folks not able to be in attendance to the amount raised today at the event; is over $2,000! WOW! Tears of such humbled gratitude have welled up more than once…..
 
Despite the weather, people came out and bought and ate and chatted and laughed and we could not express enough thanks to all for their life-saving support!
 
We cannot continue our important work without our village and we are filled with immense thanks to each and every kind, caring, and loving soul!!! 
 
We will announce grand total along with detailed thanks once we are showered, rested, and recovered….the temperatures out there today were insane! 
 
 

At the airport!!!! 
 
BHRR’s Jamila (deaf/blind) Dane is leaving Egypt and is Canada bound! 
 
Safe travels sweet girl!!! We are so excited to see you!
 
Thank you Bilkes, Tamee/Jane Smith & Lynn for your assistance, and thank you to her life-saving rescue angels in helping to raise the much-needed monies to get her to Canada!
 
We will update as we can!!
 

Our 2021 Nail Trim & Ear Cleaning Drive-Way Events!
*We shall be collecting Empties & Canadian Tire $ too**
***We will be also collecting Fabric Softener, all sizes of garbage bags plus Pinesol**

Miss Olive!
 
Busy day for this beauty and now time for a power snooze.
 
Today, we did a re-weigh and she is now 62.4 kgs(137.28 pounds). WTG!!!
 
It has taken us over 8 months for her to slowly/properly lose all of that weight; she had put between September 29th & December 7th. She went from 62 KGs(136.4 pounds) to 78 KGs(171.6 pounds).
 
The Vet that saw her on December 7th, advised that should her weight not get back on track; after closely evaluating what/how much food/treats she was being given in addition to her moving regime of walks; we should then consider doing a T4 blood test.
 
This is documented by her Vet in her file and received by text and in addition, a vm was left with BHRR as Miss Olive was in a foster situation. There was also an in-person discussion when Gwen was at the Vet later that day for a Vet apt.
 
Once we evaluated what she was being fed – we learned that she was getting a lot more in food items than we realised or had advised.
 
As a palliative Saint due to her extremely poor hips, keeping her lean is of absolute necessity and importance. The concern for her was felt by many. Miss Olive is NOT a surgical candidate and she had been entrusted to our care to do right by her and we remain determined to do so.
 
She came back to our care on December 12th and since then, we have kept her strictly to the feeding/treat/moving schedule required.
 
1) She gets her 8 cups of food daily – divided into two meals
2) She eats fantastic all on her own, no hand-feeding or enticing her with supplemental items on her food
3) She gets one Benny Bully treat 2-3 times a week or 3 Mini Zuk’s Rabbit or Salmon treats 2-3 times a week
We then started to even give her some of her kibble as her treats during the day – so less kibble at mealtime – and she responded beautifully.
Miss Olive continues on her Proin for her incontinence and unfortunately, her incontinence has gradually been worsening.
 
We have had to also increase her NSAIDS plus Gabapentin to help her out.
 
She remains on her fish-based kibble and anyone would like to consider being her Med/Food Angel for September, donations can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com Her monthly bills are close to $1,000.
 
Quality of life is our focus, goal and wish for her…..and we are taking it one step at a time to ensure that she lacks for nothing!
 
 

Got him!
 
Mr. Maxwell and I are now making the drive home.
 
Thanks again to Tamee/Jane plus Kara of Just Paws for all they did for him!
 
Thank you to Rachel for meeting up with me to get him closer to us!
 
What a handsome old soul!
 

 
BHRR’s Romeo was supposed to be keeping me company while I work the night away on our upcoming August 21st event for the animals.
 
Long days at work make for long evenings at school, which make for longer nights working on Saturday’s event and Mr. Romeo is the one to fall asleep at only 10:30 PM?!! 
 

Big news!
 
Finally, we have a date for BHRR’s Pervical’s visit for a possible approved adoption!
 
Thanks, COVID! NOT! 
 
Saturday, August 14th!
 
We shall post an update as we can.

BHRR’s Maxwell could use some support!
 
He has begun to urinate more frequently once again and is drinking a lot. He finished his round of antibiotics a week ago.
 
We have him heading into the Vet via his current foster on Monday.
 
We will do a repeat Urinalysis, send urine off for culture & sensitivity, and do a blood glucose test.
 
This is the ~10-year-old boxer that was abandoned in a building and found starving, plus was treated for HW by the wonderful rescue that first took him in.
 
We were approached to see if we would consider bringing him into our rescue, and he is the sweetest boy! 
 
Donations made to his care can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
AND he could also use your best wishes!
 

Tango says that BHRR’s Symba’s butt makes a great pillow! 
 
These is the area by my computer that many of the dogs like to hang and ‘supervise’ me! 
 
BHRR’s Symba remains AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 

We are ONLY short $439 from our goal for BHRR’s Jamila(AKA Angel)!
 
She is the deaf/blind Great Dane that had been tied up, abandoned along with her brother once she could no longer produce puppies. Sadly, her brother did not survive, he was found dead, having been caught up in the line he was tied with.
 
This is her at the Vet office in Egypt.
 
She is on medications for her ear infections and finishing up antibiotics for another infection.
 
Her ETA to Canada is ~August 21st – as we know more, we will post, and we may need some help getting her picked up from the airport as that is the day of our big fundraiser event at BHRR.
 
Here is the gofundme link to donate to her very deserving cause!
 
It will cost ~$1,230 USD to just get her to Canada(crate, airfare), and then we have a lot more vetting to do upon her arrival – her eyes may require an unilateral or bilateral eye enucleation and we need to investigate the lumps that she has. This is not possible where she is presently located.
 
We remain deeply humbled by the support shown to her cause to date and even $5 is not too small to donate to help!
 
Donations can also be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
We are SO close to meeting this initial fundraising goal and thank you for that! 
 

We have a date for BHRR’s Maxwell(Max)’s arrival!
 
He is the ~10 year old Boxer(possiblex) that was found abandoned and starving in a building, and diagnosed to be HW+.
 
He was treated for heartworm, and now most recently for an UTI.
 
We were reached out to by a wonderful r/q rescue to see if we could do a rescue transfer to us.
 
Thank you to Jane, Tamee of Just Paws for being there for him!
 
AND thank you to Rachel for assisting us with transport to get him closer to us on August 19th!
 
Look how handsome he is?!!! 
 

AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION! 

BHRR’s Symba is AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

With COVID restrictions slowly loosening up, we are able to now do home-visits once more!

Health Status: HEALTHY!
*He has had two TPLO surgeries so, any right-matched forever loving home MUST understand that he has some arthritis. He is almost a $20,000 dog. He lives a high-quality life and only uses Gabapentin and Deramaxx as necessary. He runs and plays and is quite good about self-monitoring.

Age: 5-year-old, English Mastiff

Type of Home Ideal For Mr. Symba: He can be in a home that works ft, pt, works from home, is semi-retired or retired, etc. He is another versatile BHRR dog! He will ONLY go to a home that is prepared to ensure that he receives the balance he requires with proper exercise, socialisation, etc. He does not necessarily need to go to a dog-experienced home yet; he does need to go to a home that is prepared to remain committed to his obedience, structure, consistency and be patient, kind, understanding, and are not hermits. He loves home yet; he also likes his pet store and other dog-friendly store visits, plus visiting friends. We are not advocates of dog parks.

Personality/Temperament: Loving, affectionate, calm, quiet, sweet, social, playful, quietly active, gentle, kind, and if not handled properly – he has the propensity to develop SA behaviours. He can be a bit shy in new situations and settings and needs a home that will be patient, understanding while at the same time will not baby him. Just give him a bit of time; he warms up quickly and can quickly become the ‘class clown.’  COVID has made it harder for us to expose the dogs to all that we usually do and to the high level that we do, yet we have worked hard to make it happen for him. He has had playdates plus play visits and LOVES the attention!

Previous Dog Experience: Previous dog experience is not required per the above. We would also prefer him to be in a home that already has that right-matched personality fit dog. It is equally important that he has a strong doggie network as he needs friends too – he is going to be that dog that will have some(# unknown) very close buds and shall be ok having a multitude of hundreds of acquaintances! He has been fantastic with all of the dogs here.

Good With Cats: He has been ok with the cats he has interacted with to date, yet we would feel most comfortable with him being in a home without feline members.

Good with Pocket Pets: Unknown.

Good with Children: He has been good with children, and we will consider homes that have children 10 and up and no more than 2 children in a home.

Grooming: He is good to wash, do nails. We take a soft brush and brush regularly, and this is a great bonding time between us – along with treats!

Car: He is good in the car. We have worked for him to have a positive association with car rides and that it is one of great fun and loving experiences.

Housebroken/Crate Trained: He is housebroken and crate trained.

Obedience: His manners have come a long way. He can still pull if distracted, so a properly fitted and comfortable harness is recommended in addition to his martingale. Overall, his leash manners are excellent!

Activities Suited For Him: He is calm and such a low maintenance, chill dog and would love to be champion of a couch – not that we support couch or bed-sharing!

Loves & Bad Habits: He loves the snow yet does not wish to be outdoors overly long(he tolerates a winter coat!) – walks, short hikes, and strolls, yet, loves home that best. He loves to go shopping for treats and toys yet loves coming home the best. He love to visit others yet loves coming home the best. He is social yet does love coming home the best!

He is an early bird – up around 5:30 AM, does his thing outside comes in, wants a small treat(benny bully liver treat), and tends to go right back to bed until around 8:00 AM and then it is back out, in, breakfast, rest and then his day really starts – with whatever that days adventures the day will bring! He is up to exploring and having some fun!

He loves treats and loves to be around his humans.

As for bad habits – he can be vocal when it comes to dinner time! He can get excited.

He LOVES his giant stuffies, and he loves to be my computer ‘supervisor’ as I work away. He is the best companion!

Like any dog, he is not perfect. He is perfect in all of his imperfections, though! NOT to mention so handsome!

Anxieties/Worries: He has the ability to develop SA behaviours, and we have worked extensively to set him up for success. He has learned to like and love his own company and to know that we are coming home. It is integral that the right matched personality fit home does not spend 24/7 with him. During this pandemic, we still need groceries; we should still go out and walk about; we should still get in our cars and go for a small drive to go somewhere to do something!

He can be bossy and exhibit some rude behaviour when it comes to sharing attention, and he well knows the word ‘share,’ and the words ‘be nice.’

As we have stated for over 25 years now, we will NEVER rush any dogs’ rehabilitation journey, we do not flip dogs, and we are not desperate to adopt them out.

We will always place up for adoption the dogs that are able to be adopted and safe haven any others that, due to medical and/or behavioural reasons, are not able to be placed up for adoption.

We do not take in hundreds of dogs yearly; we only took in 16 dogs in 2020 as it is about helping the next in need of us, giving them top-quality care, and not about taking in numbers. In 2021, we have ONLY taken in 1 dog to date with two more dogs in the pipe.

After 25+ years, we remain knowing that we cannot please everyone, and that means that BHRR is clearly not the rescue to be followed, supported, believed in by everyone. We remain small plus mighty, and as we go through this next transitional stage for BHRR, we shall continue to operate with a zero-tolerance approach, plus providing up and beyond care to the animals.

Our mandates have never changed, and they will remain the same as long as we are around; the animals shall always be done right by as our priority.

Our adoption success rates remain second to no other group out there, and we are excited as we go through this slow transition for BHRR! 

What a beautiful day to be at Leanne’s lovely home with her equally beautiful young daughter for our latest driveway event! THANK YOU! 
 
We are still expecting an email transfer, plus we need to return some empties and then we shall announce the grand total raised today!
 
All monies raised shall then go towards assisting BHRR’s Jamila – AKA Angel!
 
She did have a Vet visit today, and she is battling ear infections that require antibiotics. In the videos that I was sent, she was always shaking her head, so I suspected that she might have ear concerns.
 
Bloodwork has been done (blood chemistry), and she does have high globulins plus a low BUN reading.
 
Her tickborne disease plus heartworm bloodwork came back negative, and tomorrow we should receive her CBC results.
 
This is her at the Vet Hospital, and thank you to Bilkes for all that she is doing to get her ready for travel!
 
The tentative date to fly is August 21st, and we will then have her immediately seen at our Vets in Canada to investigate her eyes plus several lumps. They do concern me, yet there are limitations where she is in Egypt as to what they are able to do.
 
Here is the gofundme link to her fundraising page! Thank you from our hearts to all that have shared and/or donated to date! Even $5 is NOT too small!
 
Our next driveway nail trim/ear cleaning event is not until August 15th in Brockville at Katherine’s location, and on August 21st, we will be hosting a huge fundraising event at BHRR!
 
 

Tomorrow! We are at Leanne‘s home for our next Nail Trim/Ear Cleaning Drive-way Event!

All monies raised shall go to help Miss Angel AKA BHRR’s Jamila, the special needs Great Dane!
 
We had hoped to be able to post an update re: the $300 USD in bloodwork that she was to have last Tuesday, yet, we just learned that this has been postponed.
 
We do promise to keep all of our supporters and her fans updated as to her progress.
 
Possible ETA to BHRR is August 21st.
*we know that she will be flying into TO and as things fall into place, we may be posting for assistance having her picked up and brought closer to us. Gwen is working two Careers plus going to school ft and is trying so hard to fill the shortfall hitting our rescue since COVID hit.*
 
Here is the link to BHRR’s Jamila’s gofundme page that we have been incredibly humbled by all of the support shown to date.
 
She is going to need a lot of care/vetting upon her arrival – her ears, eyes plus several lumps will require deeper investigation due to the limitations of the Vets where she is presently located. She will also have a mature spay at a cost of ~850+tx CDA.
 
Even $5 is not too little! As always, thank you in advance for any and all consideration to her cause!
 
She will be only the third dog that we will have been able to assist in 2021 due to the immense food/vetting bills that BHRR as a specialised Great Dane/Giant Breed Rescue has.
 
 

We are almost 60% of the way to our goal to help *Angel* aka BHRR’s Jamila!
 
With all that we are, please accept our biggest heartfelt THANKS for your support plus kindness!
 
Your consideration of a donation to help us reach our goal would mean the difference between life or death for her.
 
We are her last resort……..
 

Please assist us in surrounding her with a village of support and love!

Here is her GOFUNDME PAGE!

 
 

Max AKA BHRR’s Maxwell is heading our way sometime after August 16th.
 
We sincerely hope that BHRR’s Percival’s pending adoption can be completed by then with COVID restrictions finally being lifted.
 
We most likely will require transport assistance and when things fall into place more, we will be able to post.
 
For those who did not see our first post re: him:
 
He is an ~10 year old Boxer(possible x).
*He was found in an abandoned building, starving and Heartworm positive. 
*He has been treated for heartworm and has been residing in a lovely foster home with a great r/q rescue who has now reached out to us for assistance.
*This foster home has adopted from this rescue in the past and this is their first time fostering. They are feeling a bit stressed at this time as 1) while Max is no longer marking when they are home, he appears to be doing some urinating when they are away from the house (he is now on antibiotics for an UTI) and 2) he is pushing to have love/attention. He is a Boxer! 
 
We have been told that he is great with dogs – have a video and he is still active! – and also cats. He does not resource and does have a bit of a head bobble. Cause not yet known and may never know.
 
He is a sweet handsome older gent that needs a safe place to lay his bones and to be giving caring kind hands of love!
 
He deserves what remaining time he has left to be of nothing but the best!
 
Thank you to Just Paws (Tamee & Jane) for all that they do! It is a real privilege to help!
 

This is the GoFundMe link to BHRR’s Jamila(AKA Angel’s) Fundraiser.

We will update as donations come in and please do accept our truest of thanks for any consideration to her cause.

Even $5 would be so humbling to us.

We are hoping to bring this beautiful deaf and blind Great Dane to Canada by mid-August.

You can also donate by PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

I had posted briefly last week re: an ~4 year old deaf/blind Great Dane that had been tied up and abandoned with her brother and by the time the rescuers were notified of her plight, her brother was dead(caught up in the tether). 
 
As she could no longer produce puppies, she and her brother were tied up and left to die.
 
She needs to go to the Vet – more than once in order to prepare her for travel to us – and the needed bloodwork alone is $300 USD
 
We are currently waiting to see what the cost of the transport to and from the Vet shall be.
 
She will require a lot more vetting to get her ready to travel plus the cost of her ticket to get to Canada. She will be flown.
 
She currently weighs 40 kgs(88 pounds).
 
We had an extremely generous donation sent our way by Tamee & Jane of Just Paws Rescue
 
*They were the rescue angels that reached out to us to advise us re: this Great Dane that was saved by another rescue angel Bilkes.
 
We have raised $169 CDA at our July 10th Nail Trim/Ear Cleaning Fundraiser
 
We have raised $296.10 CDA (just waiting to find out the Empties raised to post final total) at our July 11th Nail Trim/Ear Cleaning Fundraiser
 
All monies raised tomorrow at our July 17th Nail Trim/Ear Cleaning Fundraiser shall also go to her care.
 
She will need vaccines, further de-worming, is being treated for an infection right now, we need to do biopsies on no less than two lumps, requires flea/tick/hw meds, she may require unilateral or bilateral eye enucleation, we need to investigate her shaking her head, she needs her flight paperwork including her ticket plus quite possibly a custom crate.
 
She will also need to be spayed and being a mature female – pyo is a great concern – until that can be done and the cost once she arrives will be ~$850+tx
 
For those who stood by our sides while Maíra and I worked so hard to save BHRR’s Jackson and his siblings – deaf/blind Dane puppies dumped on the streets in Brazil – you understand that dogs do not understand borders or have countries. An animal in need is an animal in need.
 
Tragically, in the end we were only able to save 1 of the 5 Dane puppies from Brazil(1 was killed on the streets, 1 was picked up to be used for breeding and 2 of the 3 that we were able to get died of distemper in Brazil), yet, we are determined that this gorgeous girl will be saved.
 
Right now, her name is ‘Angel’. We are going to change it to BHRR’s Jamila(Arabic for ‘Beautiful’)
 
Things that we will need for this stunning girl who has never known kindness, love, a full belly, health and safety until she was picked up by Bilkes:
 
1) A collar – Wiggle Bumz – FILLED Thanks! Cassy Montgomery
2) An XL Costco or ortho bed
3) We urgently need financial donations for her mounting bills:
Donations can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
Once she arrives, she will be vetted at Liston Animal Hospital
*I have not yet set up a file for her at LAH and this will be done next week when I am back to work.
 
4) We need comforters, sleeping bags – no sheets, no pillows
5) We need Pinesol and Fabric Softener – Gain or Bounce
6) Fish based kibble for her – Acana, Fromm
 
BHRR is mostly funded out of our own pockets – Sean/I are two people, and we are greatly limited as to the fundraising that we can do thanks to COVID.
 
We remain humbled for any support shown towards this stunning girl who should have always been a cherished family member and not a ‘breeding machine’ for greed.
 
All I want to do is scoop her up and let her feel all of the love I have beating from my heart to hers……
 
ETA to Canada TBA

This is Maxwell.
 
He is an ~10 year old Boxer(possible x).
 
He was found in an abandoned building, starving and Heartworm positive. 
He has been treated for heartworm and has been residing in a lovely foster home with a great r/q rescue who has now reached out to us for assistance.
 
This foster home has adopted from this rescue in the past and this is their first time fostering. They are feeling a bit stressed at this time as 1) while Max is no longer marking when they are home, he appears to be doing some urinating when they are away from the house (we will make sure that there is no underlying medical reason as to why) and 2) he is pushing to have love/attention.
 
He is a Boxer! 
 
We have been told that he is great with dogs – have a video and he is still active! – and also cats. He does not resource and does have a bit of a head bobble. Cause not yet known and may never know.
 
We would love to bring him in – we are hoping to finally be able to move on BHRR’s Percival’s approved adoption over the next week or so(Thanks COVID!)
 
He is a sweet handsome older gent that needs a safe place to lay his bones and to be giving caring kind hands of love!
 
He deserves what remaining time he has left to be of nothing but the best and we take care of his bills.
 
 

Today, an incredibly generous $169 was raised which includes $20 in Empties! 
 
AND these monies shall be going to help the next one in need of us.
 
Tomorrow’s funds as well and we will be thinking of more creative/unique fundraisers to help raise urgent funds.
 
Late last night I was contacted by a wonderful fellow rescuer who told me about a ~4-year-old special needs female Great Dane – Deaf/Blind.
 
Without hesitation, we stepped up. They then put us in touch with another really lovely rescuer – the original rescuer of this beautiful Dane – and the three of us conversed for some time re: this Great Dane.
 
We will share more as things unfold and this picture is taken from a video sent my way of this beautiful creature.
 
What we can share at this time is that she was abandoned by her Breeder when she could no longer produce puppies. She and her brother were tied up, exposed to the elements, and sadly, by the time rescuers learned of their plight, her brother had died(caught up in the tether).
 
She is currently on antibiotics to treat an infection and we have inquired re: doing a full bloodwork workup and this shall be done including testing for tickborne diseases plus hw.
 
She is also shaking her head and we asked for this to please be investigated further.
 
Due to the limitations of their Vets; the lumps I noticed on her sides will be assessed in depth upon her arrival to BHRR. I am trying not to worry re: mast cell tumours. 
 
She is a light-marked harlequin Great Dane and her pupils are as per the DM dogs, horrifically recessed. We will have to determine if she requires unilateral or even bilateral enucleation.
 
She will be spayed after arrival as right now, everyone wants to see her become stronger and healthier.
 
Vaccines, microchipping etc. will also be done. She has been de-wormed.
 
Per the above, we will share more re: her & about her other rescue angels that saved her plus reached out to us; as things fall into place.
 
She is going to need some serious love from the BHRR village……

Goofy 1 & 2!
 
Taking a break from their racing, zooming, playing, wrestling, romping, stomping antics and are actually still for a moment!! 
 
From before the sun is even up to long after it goes down….non stop action from these two plus my IS.
 
Apex, my Dane sure does try hard to keep up…
 
BHRR’s Romeo and Tango!
 
Sean still has not given the green light re: Mr. Romeo and making his own special announcement! 
 
We continue to pick up all of Mr. Romeo’s bills ‘just’ in case Sean cannot let him go….
 
The C&S test we did was negative…realised that we had not yet posted those results….
 
 

When you get the feeling that you are being watched and turn around!
 
Yes, BHRR’s Miss Sleet(one of our three blind/deaf mice) cannot see me, yet she does SEE me!
 
She has excelled at her touch plus scent training. She can find her way in and out of our 3+ fenced in yard and can track me like nobody’s business.
 
She did not like that I had put an x-pen around my computer so I could study. I am coming up to three big huge finals and Miss Sleet does not care! 
 
Can you believe that she is now 2.5+ years of age! She is a true miracle…..she was the one that we thought we would lose first and she is still going so strong.
 

Miss Aramis – one of our three Musketeers – on our way home with a thumbs up from her recheck!!
 
What a nightmare this ordeal was.
 
I reached out bright and early the next AM after having her into the Hospital, to an emergency vet, as I knew she was not right.
 
I discussed my concerns and also re: iv fluid therapy, x-rays, doing a contrast study, possible surgery, pain meds etc.
 
I will stand strong and tall once again by stating what I have said for decades, ‘know your dog!’ I just knew that she had an obstruction.
 
Miss Aramis is now doing well after a long road to recovery and while still not 100%, she is a lot more like her normal ham of a personality self!
 
Thank you to everyone that donated to her worthy cause – you are Musketeer Angels!!, and if anyone may consider supporting her Vet bills; donations can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
We still have a remaining bill of almost $1,000 to pay off.
 
Happy Saturday from this gorgeous special needs Dane & us! 
 

Mr. Rocket was de-twinkled yesterday!
 
His weight was 47.7 kgs(104.94 pounds). So, he is up another 5.72 pounds AND since his arrival to BHRR; he has had a total weight gain of: 37.44 pounds! 
 
WTG!!! Mr. Rocket!
 
He is lean, he is muscled, he looks fantastic! If he put on a few more pounds 5+ , I would be very happy.
 
I did a nail trim plus microchipped him while he was under for his neuter and he was SUCH a good, brave boy!!!
 
Trazdone given the night before and the AM off to minimize his stress and his neuter was a smooth procedure. Textbook!
 
Now, the fun begins….keeping him calm, quiet and away from his incision! 
 
Once he heals, he will have his own special announcement to make.
 
In a couple of weeks, he should be ready to make his own special announcement.
 
We also need to post updates soon on: Mr. Romeo, Miss Olive, Mr. Symba and Mr. Dean!
 
AND please also join me in wishing Sean a FABU Birthday today!!! 
 

Today was bath day!
 
I also did bring in a first AM sample of urine from Mr. Romeo to work on Friday.
 
His specific gravity was 1.043 so he remains concentrating well.
 
I did a full UA in house on him and nothing abnormal noted – I had another Tech confirm my findings too. Neither of us could locate any struvite crystals and it is normal for their urine to have some, so, if we had located a few, it would not have been alarming.
 
We did not see any red or white blood cells either.
 
We still sent off a sample to the lab – IDEXX to do a culture & sensitivity test.
 
He has found a new hobby too – he and Mason’s GSP have figured out how to dig under our gate and fencing at the front of the house and get into my freshly turned over soon to be new gardens! 
 
Digging up holes as big as them causes no end of delight AND when we fill in around the gate/fencing, they will then jump it – yup, 6 feet clearance no problem!
 
HOURS of fun! Loveable brats!
 
Gosh, his mug is adorable and those eyes! 

BHRR’s Romeo!
 
Someone has been growing like a bad, I mean GOOD weed! Over these last few weeks, he has ‘legged’ up and filled out some.
 
He was at the Vet today and his weight is now 40.04 pounds. 18.2 kgs.
 
His body condition is excellent! Lean, so muscled and solid! THUMBS up given to him!!! To think at one time, he was that emaciated 22 pound stray…..poor guy.
 
Healthy, shiny coat too.
 
So. unless he hits another growth spurt(never know with mixed breed dogs) – this handsome young pup should be at or very close to his ideal weight/size. Anyone who knows me, knows how much I dislike seeing overweight dogs and gosh, Mr. Romeo is looking fantastic!
 
He is small and full of the best energy. He was a massive HIT with everyone at work including clients waiting outside for their own appointments.
 
He even went so far as to make himself comfortable on the staff couch! LOL Yet, was very mindful when asked to get off….only to then get back up a few moments later yet, when corrected again, 100% respected the rule.
 
He is so smart!
 
The Vet confirmed what we already had found – that he does have a very small umbilical hernia. Per his vet, with how super small it is, this is not something he recommends surgery for. He feels that it will fill up with a bit of fat and become an ‘outie’ belly button!  He will be happy to discuss this with any Vet of the home of whomever is approved to adopt this fine young man too as we will always do what is in the best interest of the dogs.
 
I wanted to do another specific gravity test on him for over the past two weeks, he has become to have more than one rare urine accident in his crate over night. He does not have any accidents in the house during the day. Sean works from home so he would have noted anything if Romeo was.
 
We remain not noting that he is drinking more than normal and everything else is great with him – eating, drinking, no vomiting or diarrhea.
 
His specific gravity was 1.032 – so concentrating ok – and the Vet did a quick look under the microscope and found struvite crystals.
 
We discussed in depth the next move forward plan and tomorrow AM, I will bring in a fresh morning sample and re-test his specific gravity and do a full UA plus send off some urine for a culture & sensitivity test.
 
Mr. Romeo’s Vet is not convinced that putting him on Urinary SO food right now is in his best interest – at least until we figure things out more – as one of the things this food does is make dogs drink more.
 
He is also not convinced – at least right now – that this is a UTI either.
 
Mr. Romeo, you were SOOOOOOOOO close to making your own special announcement yet, we cannot ever consider placing a dog up for adoption when we know that there is something not yet resolved re: any possible known medical condition.
 
While he was at work today, we picked up his next dosing of flea/tick/heartworm plus de-worming medication also.
 
This gives Sean in particular mixed feelings as the bond between these two is strong…as Mason says ‘the force is strong with this one!’ 
 
I have covered all of his bills for today so, we do not wish to have any kind generous angels considering to donate to his ever building vet bills. 
 

BHRR’s Gravel!
 
AND another one of the BHRR Danes has hit the miraculous Double Digit Dane Days – BHRR’s Gravel turned 10 years young in April!
 
This boy had been dumped over four years ago in a high kill shelter – emaciated, undersocialised and terrified.
 
He had four days in which to get out and we were contacted to assist. Unfortunately, as a transport was being organized, he was so scared that no one could get near him…..the shelter said that they had been ‘poling’ him to get him to where they needed him to go. 
 
I will be forever grateful to Danya, the original person who reached out to us for assistance who dropped everything at her work nearby the shelter and with the assistance of cheeseburgers; managed to get him leashed – he was beyond reactive at this time.
 
The transport was quickly re-arranged and Daniele(just one driver) drove all the way from the shelter to KAH where I had an appointment set up for him to be seen.
 
If he had not gotten out of the shelter that day, the shelter made it clear that this was his last day and would be ‘destroyed.’
 
Fast forward and with time, patience, understanding, structure, consistency, love and stability, not to mention great food plus vet care; this boy has thrived.
 
We learned just how much he LOVES teenage girls and has come to understand so much about helping hands over hurting hands.
 
He is still nervous in public yet, at home so many people have experienced how he has blossomed and come to trust and actually seek/ask for attention and love.
 
He has been an amazing dog and really does have a character of a personality! He may be smaller in stature yet, he is huge in heart and his eyes are so expressive.
 
To see them go from terror, confusion and sadness to calmness with a hint of mischief added to increased confidence; has been such a heartwarming experience.
 
He is such a sweet gent and may he be with us for a long time to come! 
 
PS: not the best picture as cameras, flashes etc. make him nervous. If he cannot see people’s faces, he worries….

Just a Saint Bernard and her ‘little friend’! 
 
He loves her hair! He is always burying himself in it, the wee weirdo! 
 
Miss Olive plays so well with Mr. Romeo and yes, that is her drool and hair on the cushions/bed/blanket. LOL
 
Next professional groom session for her is on Thursday.
 
This set up is by my desk and is a popular spot for the dogs to hang out in to keep me company. 
 

**GROSS PICS**
 
Shortly, after I arrived home with Miss Aramis, she began straining to poop. Her attempts were unsuccessful for the longest time and then she passed a bit of dark, mucous filled loose stool. No foreign bodies present.
 
This immediately brought back my strong feelings of an obstruction.
 
She was still not interested in anything edible – not that she would be fed any large meal etc., it was to gauge her interest as that is the BIG measuring stick re: how she is feeling. She showed zero interest in a/d, recovery, gastro.
 
She also was not interested in water. Another HUGE concern.
 
The Vet had advised re: walking to move the gas – this is something that we are already known to do in rescue/our own dogs in bloat – and we did a bit of walking.
 
She mostly wanted to go and lay down, which she was allowed to do.
 
I let her be for about an hour and the checked in on her and she had taken herself to the cement floor part of our rec room and passed some watery stool with this object – a sizeable large piece of hard green rubber substance with some small bits of bone – she had snagged part of what could have been a dead deer carcass on the trails before she could be stopped. That was on Thursday and she was fine until last night.
 
This confirmed my thoughts re: an obstruction which I had sincerely hoped that I was wrong…… 
 
You could tell that she was feeling a bit better having passed these fb’s yet, that has been short lived. She is back to being quiet, subdued as her gut works to be motile and my plan is to monitor her closely for the next few hours and bring her into emergency for further medical attention if necessary.
 
Sean and I are worried. 
 
If anyone may consider a donation to her bills, donations can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
 
OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password
 
AND please keep her in your thoughts…..
 

Miss Aramis on our way home from LAH.
 
She is clearly not feeling well. She was so brave and such a great patient at LAH.
 
Next update shortly….
 

Miss Aramis’ x-rays.
 
Just as I was pulling into LAH, poor Miss Aramis had another vomiting episode. 
 
You can see the gas and the poop plus how inflamed things are.
 
I began to now get concerned re: bloat.
 
The first x-ray we did not have her stomach in it – she is a Dane! – and had to take a second picture.
 
The view is left lateral.
 
No obvious obstruction was noted – not all things can be seen on x-ray though – and my gut still felt strongly that there was an obstruction.
 
The Vet on duty was very kind to take time away from their appointments to review the x-rays and felt that there was inflammation with no obvious obstruction noted.
 
Recommendations given – Cerenia subq for nausea/vomiting, fast for today and begin bland diet tomorrow, hydrate, use sulcrate every 8 hours and begin metronidazole tonight. They felt that Miss Aramis would be back to normal tomorrow
 
Next update to come shortly – with graphic pics…..
 

Miss Aramis – one of our 3 Musketeers.
 
As I have said many times over the years, ‘know your dog’.
 
This AM, I rushed her off to the Hospital as I strongly suspected an obstruction.
 
Miss Aramis loves her food and treats. She is one of those dogs that if she ever went off her food, I would know that something was very wrong.
 
Sean says that she appeared normal yesterday yet, last night when she had supper, she did not eat it all. Her behaviour while not 100% normal, was not alarming.
 
Throughout the night, she had three vomiting episodes.
 
This AM, she was much more subdued and I rushed her off to LAH for x-rays and to take her rectal temp. From there, I was fully prepared to run blood – last bloodwork I did was in December – and then rush her to an emergency hospital for surgery with x-rays, blood results in hand.
 
With the long waits at the emergency hospitals in the Ottawa area – Alta Vista has had COVID exposure; whatever I could do in advance for preparation to avoid extensive delays; I was prepared to do.
 
He weight was 45.3 kgs(99.66 pounds) and her temperature was not abnormal.
 
Will post another update – x-rays etc. shortly.

BHRR’s Symba says stay tuned!
 
He is almost ready to make his own special announcement!
 

Someone is looking for ‘his’ Gwennie!
 
Without saying a word, Mr. Romeo knows – just as almost all of the dogs do; that she is on her way home and will be here shortly.
 
He is keeping vigilant!

BHRR’s Symba is VERY excited! Us too!
 
Today, he had his 8 week post-op exam/x-ray from his 2nd TPLO surgery done February 23rd.
 
It was THUMBS up all the way!!! His weight has been very consistent at just under 135 pounds – lean!
 
The recovery on his 2nd TPLO (right) was a LOT harder on him than his first TPLO on the left leg in November 2020 yet, he has been such a rockstar and amazing patient!
 
Sean & I want to thank SO many for coming together to help us with BHRR’s Symba and his enormous Vet bills, need for blankets, a great dog bed, towels, cleaning supplies etc.! You have touched our hearts immensely with your strong support of BHRR’s Symba and our rescue efforts. 
 
We still have several hundred left to pay off for extra pain meds plus his x-ray today yet, considering that it was close to $15,000 to successfully rehabilitate him, we shall work to get the remainder paid off when we can hold our nail trim Drive-Way events.
 
This weekend, Sean and I hope to take some really nice photo’s of him so that he can then make his own special announcement!
 
From our home to all of our friends, family plus supporters, the warmest of good night wishes are being sent!
 
 

BHRR’s Romeo – keeping Sean’s chair warm! 
 
What a goof!
 
That beautiful special needs girl laying behind Sean’s chair is BHRR’s Bell.
 

We have made the decision to move BHRR’s Burst and BHRR’s Caramel to our Haven Program. They shall not longer be available for adoption.

Yup! Mr. Romeo loves Sean and it is very mutual! 
 
He is fast asleep behind Sean as Sean is working on his computer!
 
He is at least abiding by the ‘no couch’ rule!
 

Someone found Mr. Symba’s giant Mr. Bear stuffie! 
 
AND in kind Mr. Symba style, he generously shares with BHRR’s Romeo. 
Mr. Romeo has settled in unbelievably amazingly well here and he will be back for his Lyme booster and also to check out the umbilical hernia Mason found over the past week. Really small but it is there….
 
Sean has not be so enamoured with a dog since his cherished BHRR’s Potter, the ‘tude Houdini ‘walk about’ tripod, miracle extraordinaire Boxer passed away….incredibly special to see these two together… 

Mr. Romeo was at the Vet last night.
 
He now weighs 15.2 kgs(33.44 pounds). I would be content to see him at 35 pounds and want him to remain lean.
 
As he is quite young, he may fill out a bit more as he ages and also continues to muscle plus tone up and then he may end up weighing a smidge more. He may not be giant in body, yet, he is giant in heart, affection, soul and spirit!
 
He had a thorough exam – nothing abnormal noted and he had his boosters which included his first Lyme vaccine. He will be due for a booster of the Lyme in 3-4 weeks. We make sure that all of our dogs are properly vetted prior to being placed up for adoption.
 
He is now up to date on his rabies, DHPP, bordetella plus lepto.
 
He continues to concentrate his urine normally and has now only had two accidents in our home since I picked him up on Saturday. Both times, was in his crate at 4:00 AM as I did not get to the crate fast enough and he peed a bit yet, finished peeing outside!
 
We have not had any limping issues while he has been with us nor was anything seen by his Vet at his visit last night. We had been informed by his amazing foster home that he had begun to limp with them and they had put him on NSAIDS – Metacam. So great news from his Vet visit last night and we shall continue to monitor things closely!
 
We also picked up more flea/tick/hw meds for him and the Nexgard Spectra also has a great de-worming proponent to it.
 
He is such a character! This is his face as we were getting ready to leave home to go to the Vet last night.
 
He is going to make a truly outstanding addition to that right matched forever loving home when it is his time to make his own special announcement.

My greeting committee when I arrived home from work!

We have a small side yard off of the recreation room – about 500 square feet (our main yard is about 3+ acres safely fenced in) and Sean let these three amigos out to greet me! 

We have BHRR’s Miss Aramis & BHRR’s Athos(AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION) – two of our 3 Musketeers and we have BHRR’s Athos’ mini me! BHRR’s Romeo.

Per Sean, these three stooges played ALL day in the glorious weather!

Tomorrow night, Mr. Romeo goes in for his boosters, a re-weigh, recheck and to pick up his next de-worming plus flea/tick/hw meds.

He has only had one accident since I picked him up on Saturday.

He slept much better the second night over the first night in his crate. May tonight be even better 

I also think they were determined to bring out all of the toys from inside!!!

Those eyes…..they just grab at my heart! Another wonderful pic that had been sent our way by Sonyia!

Got him!
 
BHRR’s Mr. Romeo!
 
AND it was not until I actually had my hands on him that my feelings that he is quite possibly a Boston TerrierX could be true.
 
The way he moves, plays and sounds…..the way he jumps; so reminiscent of a Boston YET, truly, no one knows! He is a gorgeous wee mystery!  I work with someone that has owned Bostons for decades – they also think that Mr. Romeo may well be a BostonX.
 
Thank you immensely once again to his emerge temp foster home for taking great care of him until we could get him closer to us!
 
On Tuesday, he will be at our Vets for his boosters, a re-weigh and to further investigate if necessary his frequent urination – we only just got him here so we will see how things are with us plus we were told that he had been limping for a few days, so we will look into that further as necessary too.
 
Once we get things figured out for him, we will hoping that a temp foster home in our area would like to love on Mr. Romeo! If you are interested, do let us know.
 
He is dog and people EXTREMELY friendly.
 
He is about 35 pounds and he is social, a real character, sweet and is already fast making friends with some of the dogs here – BHRR’s Athos and he are like mantle bff buds and you know Mr. Romeo is a special gem of a dog when he makes Mr. Caramel feel comfortable! The dog that is terrified of new things and thinks every new dog is out to eat him….so proud of you Mr. Caramel for being so brave!
 
Mr. Romeo loves my own two wolfies and the 2nd of the three Musketeers, BHRR’s Aramis also!
 
I already know that this boy would make an excellent agility, fly ball and/or, obedience companion. If he is still with us come June; I am very tempted to try dock diving with him. 
 
He is delightful, small, affectionate, getting toned up in muscle and mass plus is lean…..
 
He loves to snuggle and cuddle and would make a great movie watching, book reading family member!
 
As I get to know him better; I will get a better idea of his interests, good and bad habits – he has demonstrated his voice today! 
Karen – he is every bit the love that you said he was!
 
Sonyia  – I agree, he is literally almost the perfect little dog AND thanks for the heads up re: scaling fencing….yours may be 5 feet yet, he has sure been looking closely at our own 6-9 foot fencing too!
 
I am on the lookout for a martingale collar for him. I do not have one small enough in the extra donations sent my way.
 
If anyone would like to sponsor him for a Wiggle Bumz collar, do let me know! 
 
Let the adventures begin!
 

BHRR’s Romeo!
 
Someone is now up to 31.5 pounds. 
As some are now aware, on March 11th, he was at the Vet with his foster family as he has been having frequent episodes of diluted urination.
 
He had an exam, two S.G.(specific gravity) tests, bloodwork including Chem 15, electrolytes and a repeat CBC(we had one done in Tenn). He was given more de-wormer and just this past week, another flea/tick treatment.
 
The Vet at the Hospital did an u/s and and did not find anything significant – right kidney was normal and while they could not appreciate the left kidney, nothing abnormal was noted.
 
Once he arrives to us, we will discuss with our own Vet Teams in re: to doing a urine c&s per the recommendation made if necessary.
 
I think this picture is going to go down as one of my all time favs!!! I hear these two are quite the pair! I am truly loving the updates being sent by his awesome foster home! We remain immensely grateful to them for all that they are doing for this amazing pup!
 
Once he does arrive to us in early April, he is scheduled to see our Vet Team for his boosters etc. on April 6th. If all remains going well, he should be ready to make his own special announcement around April 20th. 

It was de-twinkling day for another of our 3 Musketeers – today, was Mr. Porthos turn!

Today, he weighed 57.2 kgs(115.94 pounds) @ 10 months of age.

We also microchipped him.

He was such a brave boy! Such a super sweet boy! 

This is his face after waking up at LAH. You just want to smooch and hold him.

AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION! BHRR’s Athos, one of our 3 Musketeers is AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

Health Status: HEALTHY!
*You can see his third eye-lids. That is a product of his breeding. He sees fine.

Age: Almost 10 months, mantle Great Dane

Type of Home Ideal For Mr. Athos: He can be in a home that works ft, pt, works from home, is semi-retired or retired etc. He is another versatile BHRR dog! He will ONLY go to a home that is dog experienced. Not necessary a Dane experienced home. Dog experienced means more than having owned 1, 2 or 3 dogs in ones lifetime. Dog experienced means having owned(not worked with, dog sat, fostered, helped a friend/family member, grew up with, trained etc.) more than 3 dogs AND it also means having owned dogs that have needed that extra time, attention, patience, consistency, effort too.

Personality/Temperament: Loving, affectionate, calm, quiet, sweet, social, playful, active, gentle, kind, and if not handled properly – he has the propensity to develop SA behaviours. He is nervous in new situations and settings and needs a home that will be patient, understanding while at the same time will not baby him. COVID has made it hard for his prior amazing foster home and us to expose the dogs to all that we normally do and to the high level that we do. We will be working on play date plus play visits now that the latest COVID shutdown restrictions are slowly lifting.

Previous Dog Experience: Previous dog experience is required per the above. We would also prefer him to be in a home with that already has that right matched personality fit dog. It is equally important that he has a strong doggie network as he needs friends too – he is going to be that dog that will have a some(# unknown) very close buds instead of wanting a multitude of hundreds of acquaintances! He has been good with all of the dogs here other than Mr. Dean. He and Mr. Dean can both be bossy and strong willed and both wish to be higher on the ‘ladder’ than the other. They are accepting, do like and are very tolerant of each other yet, neither one will pass up an opportunity to be a bit of a boob to the other if allowed. Both correct beautifully and both love to sleep in the rec room together. It does not help that his two litter-mates allow him to walk all over them. As laid back as Mr. Athos is, his two litter-mates are even more so. It is interesting that we had been told by his transport angels that his brother was the one ‘upset’ on the transport; yet, with every drive that we have been on and in our home, Mr. Athos is the more ‘space needing’ stronger back boned dude.

Good With Cats: Unknown.

Good with Pocket Pets: Unknown.

Good with Children: He has been ok with children, yet, due to his being a bit anxious, worried in strange/new surroundings; we will consider homes that have children 15 and up and no more than 2 children in a home.

Grooming: He is good to wash, do nails. We take a soft brush and brush regularly and this is a great bonding time between us – along with treats!

Car: He is good in the car, yet, can be nervous as he is not sure of what is happening….we give him treats and he has a yummy fresh smoked giant knuckle bone to chew on if he wants. We then passively ignore. We have worked for him to have a positive association with car rides and that it is one of great fun and loving experiences.

Housebroken/Crate Trained: He is housebroken and crate trained.

Obedience: His manners have come a long way. He can still pull if distracted so a properly fitted and comfortable harness is recommended in addition to his martingale.

Activities Suited For Him: He is calm and such a low maintenance dog and would deeply benefit from continued obedience up and beyond our mandatory adoption contract obedience clause. This will immensely help to continue to correctly build up his self-confidence/self-esteem.

Loves & Bad Habits: He loves the snow and being outdoors – walks, hikes and he can often be found standing in the yard with his head tilted up enjoying the warmth of the suns rays. He loves grass and leaves and trees and lifting his leg to pee on things; leaving his ‘pee-mail’! He loves the company of right matched dogs, playing and he loves treats and is eager to please. He loves sleeping in the same room as his humans and settles down great in his crate each night.

He is an early bid – up around 5:30 AM, does his thing outside comes in, wants a small treats(benny bully liver treat) and tends to go right back to bed until around 8:00 AM and then it is back out, in, breakfast, rest and then his day really starts – playing and exploring and living his best life!  

He loves treats and loves to be around his humans.

As for bad habits – he can jump on my double doors when he wants to come in and once in awhile he will lift his leg on Mr. Dean’s own crate.

Like any dog, he is not perfect. He is perfect in all of his imperfections though! NOT to mention handsome!

Anxieties/Worries: He has the ability to develop SA behaviours and we have worked extensively to set him up for success. He has learned to like and love his own company and to know that we are coming home. It is integral that the right matched personality fit home does not spend 24/7 with him. During this pandemic, we still need groceries, we should still go out and walk about the block or two; we should still get in our cars and go for a small drive to go somewhere to do something!

He can be bossy and exhibit some rude dog to dog behaviour that continues to be worked on.

As we have stated for over 25 years now, we will NEVER rush any dogs’ rehabilitation journey, we do not flip dogs and we are not desperate to adopt them out.

We will always place up for adoption the dogs that are able to be adopted and safe haven any others that due to medical and/or behavioural reasons are not able to be placed up for adoption.

We do not take in hundreds of dogs yearly; we only took in 16 dogs in 2020 as it is about helping the next in need of us, giving them top quality care and not about taking in numbers. In 2021; we have ONLY taken in 1 dog to date.

After 25+ years; we remain knowing that we cannot please everyone and that means that BHRR is clearly not the rescue to be followed, supported, believed in by everyone. We remain small plus mighty and as we go through this next transitional stage for BHRR; we shall continue to operate with a zero tolerance approach plus providing up and beyond care to the animals.

Our mandates have never changed and they will remain the same as long as we are around; the animals shall always be done right by as our priority.

Our adoption success rates remain second to no other group out there and we are excited as we go through this slow transition for BHRR! 

Miss Olive Update:
 
She had a very busy day! She was at the Vet today and also had her great spoiling spa adventure.
 
Thank you to all of the encouraging, supportive staff at the Vet that surrounded her for the big weigh-in!
 
Thank you to Becca Terri N for taking this great photo!!! We just had to put a heart around her weight shown on the scale!
 
Her weight today was 70.2 kgs(154.44 pounds)! YES! We have been working so carefully on a slow, even weight loss for her. 17.66 pounds lost since December 7th! WTG Miss Olive!
 
As many are aware; she had put on significant weight between September 29th & December 7th. She went from 62 KGs(136.4 pounds) to 78 KGs(171.6 pounds).
 
The Vet that saw her December 7th, advised that should her weight not get back on track; after closely evaluating what/how much food/treats she was being given in addition to her moving regime of walks; we should then consider doing a T4 blood-test.
 
This is documented by her Vet in her file and received by text and in addition a vm was left with BHRR as Miss Olive was in a foster situation. There was also an in-person discussion when Gwen was at the Vet later that day for a Vet apt.
 
Once we evaluated what she was being fed – we learned that she was getting a lot more in food items than we realised or had advised.
 
As a palliative Saint due to her extremely poor hips, keeping her lean is of the absolute necessity and importance. The concern for her was felt by many. Miss Olive is NOT a surgical candidate and she had been entrusted to our care to do right by her and we remain determined to do so.
 
She came back to our care December 12th and since then, we have kept her strictly to the feeding/treat/moving schedule required.
 
1) She gets her 8 cups of food daily – divided into two meals
2) She eats fantastic all on her own, no hand-feeding or enticing her with supplemental items on her food
3) She gets one Benny Bully treat 2-3 times a week or 3 Mini Zuk’s Rabbit or Salmon treats 2-3 times a week
We have started to even give her some of her kibble as her treats during the day – so less kibble at meal time – and she is responding beautifully.
 
She is moving so much better now. She is no longer chuffing and huffing/puffing like she once was She is no longer struggling with a high degree of difficulty to get up on her feet or go up the small ramp to our home.
 
Her bff play buddy is a GSP….who would have thought?!
 
She is happy – look at that face! She looks gorgeous – look at that coat!
 
AND she had great visits with so many human people between the Doggie Spa and the Hospital. She had been cloistered, like many of us due to the COVID shutdown and it was such a gorgeous day – 17 degrees – to be out today.
 
She remains on her Proin, Gabapentin and Deramaxx regime.
 
Miss Olive, thumbs up to you!!!!
 
AND per our previous post, her next professional groom session shall be in 8 weeks as spring is coming and her coat is going to blow big time!

Someone had their much needed spoiling SPA Day today!
 
With grooming places only just recently being able to open back up, we could finally get Miss Olive back in. We like to have her professionally groomed ~every 3 months.
 
Her next groom session will be in 8 weeks as now that we are heading into spring; her coat is going to blow!!!!
 
Here she is having a ‘dog’ nap in the tub….so chill! Thanks extended once more to K9 Bark ‘N Shine.
 
Will post more of an update on her later tonight!
 

Someone is doing very well!
 
Up to 28 pounds and his amazing foster home continues to say how wonderful he is with people and dogs. So friendly!
 
He will be due for his boosters and another de-worming at the beginning of April and if all remains on track, not long after that he will be ready to make his own special announcement!
 
I have asked his foster home what breeds they may think he may be and they believe HoundX; possible Hound/Boxer. 100% amazing and adorable!
 
AND I have been told Friday is bath day! 
 
Thank you so much to Sonyia for the great updates – giggle worthy! – and the equally great photo’s!
 
 

Mr. Romeo update!
 
I am told that he is settling in beautifully and is a wonderful as everyone says he is!
 
This is Romeo all snuggled up having a nap on his foster mama’s lap. 
 
He is most definitely not a Giant or even likely a GiantX and none of it matters. He is deserving, he is worthy and we are honoured to have him in our program.
 
We are leaning towards possibly a houndX…..does not matter and when the time comes for him to make his own special announcement, it is not going to matter to his right matched personality fit home either!
 
Thank you to so many that stepped up to help get him safely to his emerge temp foster home!
 

AND he is on his way! Wee BHRR’s Romeo! By Sunday AM, he will be all settled into his lovely emerge temp foster home.
 
On Tuesday he weighed only 22 pounds, the wee thing.
 
Whatever breeds he consists of; he is 100% adorable and deserving and we are honoured to be assisting him. 
 
Those eyes…..
 
If anyone would like to sponsor this little tyke’s vet bills – we paid $170.75 USD to begin his vetting protocols of vaccines, de-worming, bloodwork, neutering and microchipping; donations can be sent via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password.
 
I also sent $150 to his emerge temp foster home to purchase food, treats, a dog bed, collar and leash, some toys for him. He is going to be so well taken care of with them! Thanks being extended to them again!
 
This is the sweet puppy that was picked up as a starving stray…..
 

Another pic! He is so adorable! 

Today, Mr. Dean had his de-twinkling and microchip along with his partial tail amputation operation.
 
Dr. Liston also debrided and cleaned up the proud flesh etc. from his happy tail, while he was under giving him a small partial tail amputation.
 
He was SUCH a good boy….trazodone for the win to continue practising Fear Free PVP’s protocols.
 
In 10-14 days time, we will remove the sutures from his tail incision site and shortly after that, if all goes well, he will be ready to make his own special announcement!
 
His weight today was 57.6 kgs(126.72 pounds)! He is nice and lean, muscled and we continue to work on building up his hind end in strength, toning too.
 
You were VERY brave and proud of you BHRR’s Dean! 
 
 

BHRR’s Romeo – named by the shelter angels that picked him up as a very skinny stray last week.

Poor wee thing….

We are starting his vetting protocol this week(Tuesday March 2nd) once his stray period is up and ETA to BHRR TBD.

Possible DaneX and NOT YET AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

My last post of my night!
 
Mr. Symba feels strongly that he needs more than 1 bed to recover from his right hind leg TPLO surgery! Thank you to Mr. Granite for being so wonderful to share his own bed with BHRR’s Symba.
 
His recovery is very slow this time around and not surprising with how bad it actually was……
 
However, he is taking his meds like a champ – well, ok, maybe not a champ as he finds them in his food and either takes them in his mouth to spit out or just avoids them….so, manually giving him his meds after he has a snack/treat and then given more food and some treats post-pilling has become our routine. He is a very willing patient then. 
 
**UPDATE: ONLY $510.75 NOW NEEDED!** 
 
As per our other post, his final Vet bill – posted – shows almost $1,000 more than we had been estimated for due to the extreme damage to his meniscus. 
 
Donations can be made direct to Liston Animal Hospital 613-591-0966
 
OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
 
OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password
 
Thanks so much for your time plus consideration and from our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, the best of good night wishes are being sent….

Stay Tuned!
 
This handsome fine young man – One of our 3 Musketeers will have his own special announcement to make shortly!
 
This is BHRR’s Athos! 
 
 

Please note!!
 
If the kind caring woman who called Liston Animal Hospital today  – follows our website – to put a donation down on Mr. Symba’s bill; please note…..
 
I recently received a message from one of their technicians today who apologised immensely as they said she could not find him in their system…she was spelling his name with an ‘I’ not a ‘y’ and could not find him. She really feels terrible and apologises!
 
They feel really bad for not being able to find him YET he is there in their system!
 
He has had two surgeries there for his TPLO’s and we have posted his receipts/bills from Liston Animal Hospital also as documentation.
 
Liston Animal Hospital is now closed until Monday yet, if you wanted to call them back then, they would be extremely happy to take your call. 613-591-0966
 
Your consideration to his bills really means a lot to us and to him!!
 

**UPDATE: ONLY $510.75 NOW NEEDED!** 
 
Mr. Symba when he came home from his 2nd TPLO surgery. His mug is so adorable…..all drugged up on the good stuff!
 
As per our other post, his final Vet bill – posted – shows almost $1,000 more than we had been estimated for due to the extreme damage to his meniscus. 
 
Mr. Symba is still offering up three special play visit/day dates to help with his bills!
 
Donations can also be made direct to Liston Animal Hospital 613-591-0966
 
OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
 
OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password
 
Thanks so much for your time and consideration!
 

**UPDATE: ONLY $710.75 NOW NEEDED!**
 
What a day! BHRR’s Symba had his 2nd TPLO surgery today.
 
We have good news and not so good news that we are going to work to turn in the end to good news.
 
I am attaching some pics of him – top is post-op – LOVE the tongue. Bottom left is getting his leg prepped for surgery and bottom right is as we were doing catheter placement under sedation.
The second picture is of his Vet Bill. That is part of the bad news. 
 
Good news first – his surgery went well! YAY!
 
Bad news – his meniscus was badly torn and beyond repair. Per Dr. Philibert; it was far worse than expected. 
 
It is not abnormal for there to be meniscus damage yet, in Mr. Symba’s case, it meant even more time under anesthesia, which in turn, meant more cost to his overall Vet Bills.

His final Vet bill – posted – shows almost $1,000 more than we had been estimated for. 
 
To attempt to avoid myself exclusively begging and pleading as usual and knowing that we shall not be able to begin to host our 2021 Annual Nail Trim/Ear Cleaning Drive-Way Events until April….Mr. Symba is offering up three special play visit/day dates!
 
While we know that this will not completely pay off all of the $955.75 remaining to be paid; it will greatly help.
 
As always, thank you in advance for any consideration towards his bills or having a Date with him….we would truly be incredibly grateful.
 
Donations can be sent to Liston Animal Hospital 613-591-0966
 
OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
 
OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password
 
March will see us doing three more neuters plus a spay at a cost of almost $4,000.
 
With COVID, we continue to hurt beyond words to be able to fundraise……for example, we have not been able to host our annual Breaking Bills Bake Online Auction for 2021.
 
Giant Breed dogs mean Giant Breed bills….

BHRR’s Coupe!
ADOPTED: February 20th, 2021
 
Mr. Coupe, so much to say, so many emotions, so hard to even express how I feel right now….
 
Suffice to say, you MORE than did it…you blew it way out of the park!
 
That you went to a home that had adopted from us previously and wished to adopt only from us again; touches us even more.
 
I could tell from that first video sent my way of you when I reached out asking this wonderful rescue angel if they had a dog in need that we could assist; that you were beyond special.
 
AND you have proven to so many how incredibly amazing you are inside and out.
 
Handsome, smart, a real ham, a charmer, a flirt too! You are a thrivor!
 
To all those that have been touched by your gentle soul, to have had you look deep into their souls with your warm, soulful stunning brown eyes; they will all agree just how unbelievably incredible you are.
 
There has always been an ‘intangible’ element about you, an aura….you make people feel happy and relaxed and they fill up with calmness plus smiles.
 
The stories you could tell of your journey prior to rescue and we know that those stories would bring many a tear to our eyes. Yet, from the moment you arrived; we did not look back, neither did you.
 
We worked hard towards giving you the future of happiness and health that you deserve.
 
You were surrounded by a community plus village that was strong and supportive and believed in you just as much as we do. We are eternally grateful to each and every rescue angel that came together to get you to BHRR safely, that emergency temp fostered you, that gave of themselves in time for play dates and play visits when you were ready, that donated to your extensive Vet bills – that we remain paying off and shall be doing so for some time to come and that is ok for you are deserving, this is why BHRR exists to help animals like you!
 
Parting ways today was hard; yet; also so heartwarming…..doing right by the dogs includes adopting out those that no longer need us. We remain never desperate, we remain never flipping dogs or rushing adoptions and we remain full of disclosure.
 
We are NEVER going to approve an adoption on a dog before they are ready. That is NOT r/q rescue AND we are never going to approve an adoption on a dog that is not that right matched personality fit home.
 
We know that we will see you again. We know that this is not good-bye forever; this is until we meet again and we know that your future is one of such joy, fun, potential and love.
 
We know that you shall continue to thrive and not lack for anything.
 
Thank you Sean for coming to do this home-visit with me.
 
This was also an emotional home-visit as this is the first as we slowly transition over the next ~8 years or so.
 
We have now completed adoption #426…not many to a lot of groups; yet, to our group that almost each and every dog is a special needs one; it is wonderful. This approved adoption was almost like the beginning of a truly hard to put into words journey. The impact and enormity of this reality as we move forward; is raw……….and thank you Mr. Coupe for being a big awesome part of BHRR’s legacy. Thank you to all of the kind, caring folks that not only understand yet, appreciate that doing r/q rescue is not easy and that we must do right by the dogs.
 

Mr. Coupe, giving you one final tummy rub, one last ear scratch plus a smooch on the muzzle; telling you how much I love you and will miss you and how proud of you; filled me with big smiles, even if some of them became a bit wobbly…..

 
You are now ‘home’ Mr. Coupe.
 

Today is a very special day! For a very special dog!

Now that the COVID restrictions have been opening up, we are able to proceed with doing home-visits again.

BHRR’s Coupe’s home-visit is today for a possible approved adoption!!

We will update as we can….

 

My sweet boy…..RIP darling angel.
 
It has been a true honour and a privilege….

February 2012 – February 1st, 2021
 
Mr. Maverick, you will always be the one and true Iron Man!
 
This is not the best picture of you on XMAS day, 2020; yet; who would have thought that in a matter of weeks; your aging body suddenly gave out. 
 
I will never forget being reached out to assist you….I will never forget your journey to us and receiving messages from people not sure how to load you up into their vehicle…..I had been told that you had one ‘bad’ leg; yet, in fact, you had two….which did not matter to us…
 
We loved you even more!
 
The 4 surgeries you had to have on your front legs; how people would be so ignorant saying that you were suffering and should be put to sleep. Then their silence when we posted a picture of you running with sheer happiness/joy with your two new front legs!
 
Their continued silence when quite a few of the naysayers met you…you told them in your own words and way; how deserving plus worthy you are.
 
So many rescue angels that came together to be your strong village of love and kindness plus so much generosity!
 
Your Vet bills over the years; amounted to almost $27,000 and you have been worth each and every dime, nickel and quarter.
 
You have taught so many people so many amazing life lessons and we are deeply going to miss your ‘booping’ side and nibbling our rumps!
 
You have been around to help so many amazing BHRR dogs reach their full potential. You have been around to see many successfully adopted and to give others the best time of their lives until it was their time to cross over when it was their own time.
 

You are a legacy….you represent the heart of what BHRR is, why were are needed and what we do.

How another group would just walk past you as you were this skinny, broken black Dane to scoop up the ‘pretty’ coloured Dane you were surrendered with; still makes us shake our heads.

For your personality, your gorgeous colouring and those front legs of yours, endeared you to sooooooooo many!

We remain forever grateful that we were reached out to, to consider assisting you for you changed so many lives for the better. You were such a gift.

You are a BBBBB, now and forever…you were an amazing ambassador to your breed; you will be dearly missed.

We still find ourselves laying out your meals, calling your name to get a treat or to go for a stroll or car ride.

You are asked about when we go through the Timmie’s and we continue to take the plain timbit and lay it upon your final resting place at BHRR’s Rainbow bridge. These caring people know that you are now crossed over; yet, they still want you to have your fav timbit treatie.

We miss the unique sound of you talking!

I miss how you would push your head up under my arm as I am typing on the computer, telling me it is now ‘Mavie Time’.

I will miss how you would tell me off when it was food time! Goodness, we could never be late for meal time.

I miss the sunrises and sunsets that we would sit on the hill together to enjoy as a the beautiful special time between you and I.

I will miss how indignant you would look when I pulled out your winter coat and ‘tolerate’ me putting it on.

Such a ham, a hoot, a riot, a character!

That you were 9 years young and it was your time to go; makes me want to be selfish for it was not enough time…..it will never have been enough time…

I feel honoured and blessed that I was there to stroke your gorgeous frosted face plus chest. I will miss your front leg ‘telling’ me if I needed to shift my hand to a better spot.

I am honoured that even when the light of life was fading from your eyes and your spirit was leaving your body; you seemed to comforting me in your final moments….telling me that it is ok, that you are ok, that I will be ok…..

It was like your heart spoke to mine in that moment…..

It has been a true honour and privilege Mr. Mavie to have had you grace our heart plus home…..

Come spring, we will plant a special flower or bush in your final resting place.

I know the path to your resting spot will be a well worn one….

YOU, Mr. Mavie, have made not just me yet, so many others – of many species – better…..

You are one of a kind……and so incredibly missed.

This is a picture of the x-ray from BHRR’s Symba’s left leg post-op TPLO x-ray!
 
AND thanks to a couple of truly heart warming donations – via empties being returned, we are only just over $1,800 short in paying for his right TPLO surgery that is scheduled for February 23rd.
 
If you may consider his deserving cause to support, you can make donations directly to Liston Animal Hospital – this is where his ortho specialist Dr. Philibert – will be doing his TPLO surgery.
 
613-591-0966
 
OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
 
OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password
 
Any and all donations as always, would be deeply appreciated and embraced with incredibly humbled thanks….
 
Thank you!!!
 

BHRR’s Rocket(Deaf/Visually Impaired GD) says ‘whatcha doin’!? 
 
Today, he was at LAH for his recheck. As most are now aware, he bloated last weekend and to have some good news come out of this past week of nightmares makes Sean/I slump our shoulders with a bit of relief.
 
We are not yet ready to post of the not 1, yet 2 devastating BHRR Haven Dog losses this past week and we do promise to do that shortly.
 
We also remain eternally grateful to Hospitals such as EVC and LAH for being there in our time of need. Additionally, we remain incredibly thankful to the Vets including Dr. Ammar for stating so clearly ‘that I did everything’ while looking directly at me after he walked into the exam room.
 
As I responded to him, we certainly tried and tried hard as this is what we do to be there for such deserving animals like these two and each time I was told that there was so many things that were medically wrong with these amazing dogs and that we did everything right…..Quality of life…quality of life.
 
We work so hard to go up and beyond and do right by each and every animal that crosses our doors.
 
Every single Vet and Specialist involved that spanned no less than 5 Hospitals strongly recommended/encouraged plus advised to make the humane euthanasia decision and supported us immensely when it was time to say good-bye.
 
It reinforced what we knew to be right and gave us some strength to draw upon, to stand up and do what these two beauties needed us to do.
 
In the meantime, we want to post this good update:
 
Mr. Rocket now weighs 45.1 kgs(99.22 pounds) which is up 11.22 pounds from his last weight. Slow but sure buddy, slow but sure!
 
This means since he arrived into our rescue program, he has put on 31.72 pounds.
 
He is still thin yet, he looks miles better than he once did plus as a young growing Great Dane, he will need to keep putting on more weight.
 
He was given a big thumbs and was deemed healthy enough to finally begin his vaccine protocol.
 
He will be de-wormed again tomorrow.
 
He and Mr. Porthos are now also scheduled for their neuters the second week of March.
 
We also wanted to impart that there was a cancellation on February 23rd for Dr. Philibert and Mr. Symba’s 2nd TPLO surgery is now scheduled for that day. Moved up from May 4th. So, we are in a desperate mode trying to figure out the remaining funds needed for his surgery.
 
Sean and I are deferring two mortgage payments – we can do so once a year – yet, we are still going to be short $2,100 for his second necessary surgery.
 
I also received three very generous donations from caring kind rescue angels for my Birthday that totalled $450. That will be put towards the bills that still remain for the two BHRR dogs that have now left us.
 
If anyone may consider Mr. Symba’s bills to donate to: Donations can be made direct to Liston Animal Hospital: 613-591-0966
 
OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
 
OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*please do advise of the password

 

AND we also wanted to post that yes, we are aware of the brewing situation of a hoarding GD case and we were reached out directly by the authorities involved. We are on standby as needed. With a lot of experience/knowledge working with hoarding plus puppymill situations; we know that that this will be a long drawn out situation as the courts do what they need to do in order to make sure that there are not any loopholes or things missed.

As what was stated in Sean’s end of years statement plus posted on this page, we know that there will be the exception made as we transition BHRR.

In knowing that many of these Danes are also special needs; we are in a stand by mode to help as needed……we will post as more unfolds and waht/if BHRR will be helping out with.

On Saturday, BHRR’s Coupe had his play date from an auction item winning and he had a blast!
 
Thank you SO much Elaine Giles & fam for giving him yet, another great adventure!!!
 
He remains under a PENDING ADOPTION and we will update as we can.
 
He is a real gem of a dog! Just a doll!
 
Thank you Elaine for this great picture of him on his play date! 

Update: Before the admitting ER Vet went home, he called us. BHRR’s Oslo will remain in the ICU on the CRI Diazepam overnight and they are going to work to try and slowly wean him off.
 
Much discussion was had in re: to his medication regime and where do we go from here.
 
Tomorrow AM, I will call them on my way back into work to see how his overnight went.
 
I have also emailed his teams here in re: to their own expert opinions/views for the next steps.

UPDATE:
 
Mr. Oslo had a grand mal seizure around 12:30 PM – 1:00 PM. He is now on a diazepam CRI drip via his iv. Gwen will call again around 11 PM for another update unless they reach out to us first.
 
Donations: $677.50 to date. We are humbled, deeply for the support.
 
Your consideration to support our efforts means a lot. We truly appreciate your kindness.

So, today is not a good one…..
 
After being free from seizures for 1 month plus 1 day, Mr. Oslo is now back admitted to the TO emergency for having had cluster seizures earlier today – 3.
 
Thank you to his foster home for bringing him into Emerge.
 
This is their estimate – and Gwen has reached out to them as they are charging $60 when he has already been there once – December 30th/31st and we have been treating him for IS since he arrived into our Rescue back in October. We are now waiting to hear back.
 
Per his emergency Vet, he is dehydrated and they have him on fluid therapy plus seizure watch in the ICU for the next 24 hours.
 
Then we have BHRR’s Rocket who bloated. He is now stable.
 
If anyone may consider their causes to support, donations can be sent via email transfer to gwen@birchhaven.org
 
OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*we just need the password.
 
Fundraising options remain very limited due to COVID and weather and our Drive-Way Nail Trim/Ear Cleaning events will not start up again until April.
 
Thank you in advance for any consideration, even $5 to support their deserving causes and please keep both wonderful boys in your best wishes.

This is BHRR’s Burst Secret Valentine present!

Thank you to her Secret Admirer, Elaine Giles for being her special Valentine’s Day Angel! 

Gentle Reminder to the BHRR Valentine Angels; that if we could have your gifts/financial donations by February 12th – that will give us time to ensure that the fosters get theirs in time for V-Day!

Thank you! 

May be an image of dog

My last post of my night – Busy day over here!

BHRR’s Coupe(NewfX) is moving under a PENDING ADOPTION!

We shall update as we can!

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, the warmest of good night wishes are being sent!

BHRR’s Caramel!

AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

Today, he had his annual at LAH.

He had a great drive in. With being so worried about so many things, to set him up for success, I did give him Trazodone last night and then again today. There truly is no need to watch an animal struggle and stress when we have the means to lessen their emotional load.

Sean came with me and we did an errand prior to arriving at LAH – Sean stayed in the car with him and the errand went much faster than expected, so we ended up almost 1 hour early for our apt.

So, we just relaxed in the vehicle and people came and went and animals came in and out and only twice did he become reactive.

Remember that a reactive dogs is not trying to give us a hard time. They are trying to tell that they are having a hard time. AND we should be listening and helping them.

I told him that he was ok and then passively ignored and he barked about 3-4 times and then quieted down. No lunging or growling. Once he quieted down, he was told that he was a good boy, I thanked him for being such a good boy and rewarded him with a Benny Bully treat.

This one car stopped and parked close beside us and that man was quite intimidating to him. Well, the man forgot something and after leaving his vehicle, got to the side walk, turned around and came back. Mr. Caramel just looked at him, ears focused and body a bit tense, yet, not a peep when he came back to his car and left again.

I was so proud of BHRR’s Caramel and told him how proud I was and he was given a teat. His tail wagged so much, he was so happy!

From then, he just laid down and we waited for our apt.

About 15 minutes prior to his apt., I went in, prepared his vaccines and got a muzzle – muzzles are not punishment. For dogs with impulse control issues and being worried about a lot of things; this can be a great safety and not just a training tool.

We have muzzled trained Mr. Caramel and he took the treats, put his face into the muzzle on his own volition and his wonderful Vet did the apt. in the parking lot. So much less stress and strain for BHRR’s Caramel.

He never once growled or panicked – did step away when it came to his ears being looked at yet, that is around his face and he settled down well. No issue with his eyes being looked at. His Vet let him check out the stethoscope and his heart and lungs were given a big thumbs up!

The Vet was able to do a very thorough exam – other than teeth(wearing a muzzle) – yet, we do check his teeth regularly at home and we did not have any concerns.

He was great with all of his vaccines – 4 pokes – and his body condition was perfect. We did not do a weight – that meant bringing him into the Clinic where there were animals leaving from their surgeries today and was quite the busy place.

While I would have loved to know what he weighed as he looks marvelous! – his comfort zone is the priority.

He just thinks that others are out to eat him and I did tell his Vet the story about BHRR’s Lilly and how she made it clear that they were going to be bff’s and they are! She did not give him a choice! 

He has BHRR’s Fred, my two Wolfies, BHRR’s Lilly, BHRR’s Burst as his great friends and now has added the 3 Musketeers to his set up for success close friend circle. You can see that he and BHRR’s Dean are getting closer too…one day at a time. 

He no longer runs away from the other dogs and does not bark at them the way he once did yet, he still remains quite suspicious of them despite the hard efforts of many of them to love him!

He is who he is and needs a understanding patient right matched personality fit home that will continue to help him be the best dog he can be. He has so much potential and from where he came from when he first arrived to how he is now; is light years!

We do not hide him from the world. We just keep his world as big as he can handle and that too is light years from where it once was. He goes to the drive through – loves plain timbits! and chicken McNuggets too, special rare treats! AND we make each trip an adventure of great experiences.

He will never be a dog park dog – we do not like dog parks to begin with. He will never be the dog that wants to be the center of attention or the life of the party yet, if you are just patient and calm and quiet and give him time; I can guarantee that you will have one of the most loyal, biggest personality clown filled amazing of dogs ever.

He wears his emotions on his sleeve and his heart is massive.

I love that he is so honest in his feelings and that he now trusts that I will not set him for failure.

If that right matched personality fit home never comes along; that is fine too…always is….he lives an awesome life with us.

He is my late night study buddy – yes, as some are now aware I have gone back to school for yet, another degree  – he is the last adorable canine mug I see at night when I close my eyes and one of the first faces I see when I wake up in the morning.

He greets each and every day with enthusiasm and a zest for life that is like that small child greeting the world with curiousity mixed with wariness that wars with excitement and caution!

Simply put, I adore him and he is a gorgeous diamond in the rough!

This is a picture of us on our drive in and he is wearing his brand new Wiggle Bumz collar compliments of his collar angel Tracey! What a gorgeous choice for him! 

Will be posting in a separate post re: collars!
 
 

Another picture of him as he is just so darn photogenic!

BHRR’s Coupe!
AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION! He DID it! With so many amazing, kind, generous, supportive and loving rescue angels, he DID it! He has overcome SO much and throughout it all, he has remained the most amazing temperament of dogs. AND the better he has felt, the happier he has become – if that was even possible! and he is such a doll of a dog!

Health Status: HEALTHY! He will need a home that will continue to ensure that he has Deramaxx and Gabpentin as needed and will remain on his HeartGard Plus year round. He will also need a microfilaria blood test every 6 months.
*THIS IS MANDATORY TO ANY HOME THAT IS APPROVED TO ADOPT HIM!*

Type of Home Ideal For Mr. Coupe: He can be in a home that works ft, pt, works from home, is semi-retired or retired etc. He is another versatile BHRR dog!


He will NOT go to a home that seeks to make him fat or obese – yup, one of my biggest pet peeves! He is lean and looks fantastic! His legs will not benefit whatsoever from being fat or even plump.

Personality/Temperament: Loving, affectionate, sweet, social, playful, quietly active, gentle, kind, and if not handled properly – he has the propensity to develop SA behaviours. If allowed, he will pull so he needs someone that will ensure that he continues to mind his wonderful manners that he has learned.

Previous Dog Experience: Previous dog experience is ideal yet not required if that right matched home is set up for success. While it would be lovely to see him in a home with another right matched fit dog; it is not required. It is important that he has a strong doggie network as he needs friends too!

Good With Cats: He has proven to be good with cats – he had two foster homes with cats. Integration is always key!

Good with Pocket Pets: Unknown.

Good with Children: He has been fine with children and we will consider homes that have children 10 and up and no more than 3 children in a home.

 
Grooming: He is a dream to wash, do nails! He does need to be brushed out regularly and this is a great bonding time between us – along with treats!
 
Car: He loves his car rides! He has been given so many amazing play dates and experiences that the association with car rides is one of great fun and loving experiences.
 
Housebroken/Crate Trained: He is housebroken and crate trained.
 
Obedience: His manners have come a long way. He can still pull if distracted so a properly fitted and comfortable harness is recommended in addition to his martingale.
 
Activities Suited For Him: He would make an incredible therapy dog. He is calm and such a low maintenance dog.
 
Loves & Bad Habits: He is a big FLIGHT risk. He will take off and run. A safely fenced in yard and play areas is so important. He has the taste for wandering – had been picked up as a stray.

He loves treats and loves to be around his humans. He is affectionate and loving in his very special way and does not ask to sit on you or climb into your shower! The way his eyes follow me as I go about doing house chores or working on the computer is humbling. His gorgeous eyes are soul reaching and kind. His eyes tell a tale of an extremely tough life. He is a thoughtful thinking kind of dog. He likes to observe things and think them over before making a decision.

He is so much better about asking for loving. He will roll on his side and lift up one leg to get his tummy rubs plus pats.

He was so serious when he first arrived into rescue. Now, he has many moments of just letting himself go to enjoy the experiences found in adventuring. Though, he is 3+ years of age; he now has some puppy moments of sheer joy of life.

Like any dog, he is not perfect. He is perfect in all of his imperfections though! NOT to mention handsome!
 

Trail walks/hikes – a few kms daily are his jam. He needs to have offleash time and not just leash walking. He can often be found sitting in the highest parts of our hills in our 3+ safely fenced in acreage surveying the land. Many a day, I wish I knew what he was thinking about as he is looks deep in thought.

Anxieties/Worries: He has the ability to develop SA behaviours and we have worked extensively to set him up for success. He has learned to like and love his own company and to know that we are coming home. It is integral that the right matched personality fit home does not spend 24/7 with him. During this pandemic, we still need groceries, we should still go out and walk about the block or two; we should still get in our cars and go for a small drive to

As we have stated for over 25 years now, we will NEVER rush any dogs’ rehabilitation journey, we do not flip dogs and we are not desperate to adopt them out.

We will always place up for adoption the dogs that are able to be adopted and safe haven any others that due to medical and/or behavioural reasons are not able to be placed up for adoption.

We do not take in hundreds of dogs yearly; we only took in 16 dogs in 2020 as it is about helping the next in need of us, giving them top quality care and not about taking in numbers.

After 25+ years; we remain knowing that we cannot please everyone and that means that BHRR is clearly not the rescue to be followed, supported, believed in by everyone. We remain small plus mighty and as we go through this next transitional stage for BHRR; we shall continue to operate with a zero tolerance approach plus providing up and beyond care to the animals.

Our mandates have never changed and they will remain the same as long as we are around; the animals shall always be done right by as our priority.

Our adoption success rates remain second to no other group out there and we are excited to go through 2021! 

 

BHRR’s Oslo!

He was also at the Vet on the 25th for a recheck.

The Vet did a very thorough knee and hip exam and we discussed repeating x-rays and we agreed that when we can neuter him – age and seizure control dependent – we can re-take some x-rays then. We know that he is getting worse….that is apparent and all of us are monitoring his QOL closely.

To stress him out attempting to do x-rays – causing him discomfort too – while awake – could easily spiral him in to a cluster seizure situation. This we do not wish to see happen.

Additionally, with his IS, we will have to be very careful with his sedation protocol when/if we do proceed.

Per his Vet, we all know that both hips and both of his knees are bad yet, he struggles more on the back right hind end side. With his medical conditions, he understandably lacks muscle mass/tone in his hind end yet, his chest is very strong and his coat looks wonderful too!

To help keep him comfortable, his Gabapentin was increased to 400 mg over the 300 mgs; up to three times daily. His Vet said that we can go up to 600 mg, three times a day if necessary.

He will remain on the 50 mg of Deramaxx daily along with the 120 mg of Phenobarbital every 12 hours.

We have a refill request in for his Keppra – he is now getting 1500 mg, every 8 hours.

We still plan on doing alternative therapies with him as COVID 19 will allow us.

The intent and goal is and always has been to give him quality of life and his Vet(who also does othro and has been part of his story from the beginning) believes that for how bad his knees plus hips present, that his quality of life remains good at this time.

We shall never see him or any of our dogs suffer. We will make the horribly difficult and painful decision when we need to as it has to be always about QOL not quantity of life.

He weighed 47.2 kg(103.84 pounds). He was just a wee bit on the plump side; not by much and his excellent foster home is doing an incredible job with and for him!!!!

We will be back in three months time – barring any emergencies for another recheck etc. He has remained seizure free since December 30th, 2021 and his pattern has been to have cluster seizures monthly at the present time.

We are also still hoping and wishing for a February Sponsor or Sponsors for his bills – with the increase in both Keppra and Gabapentin; his monthly bills are running close to $800

If anyone may consider his so deserving cause to support, donations can be made direct to Liston Animal Hospital 613-591-0966 or Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

*we just need to know the password.

Thank you in advance for any consideration to his bills.

Finances remain beyond tight for BHRR and we do not receive any corporate or government funding.

We must extend a public THANK YOU to the RESCUE angel that made a donation of $100! We are so so so so grateful!

This is a hoot of a picture sent from his lovely foster mama! The stories and pictures of him and his daily journey’s crack me up!

I was so tickled to see him myself on Monday as I had not seen him since December. He is such a softie and in some ways he is losing that baby face yet, in other ways, he remains having that adorable wee monkey face!

On a side note: we have a date for BHRR’s Symba’s second TPLO surgery – May 4th. This will give us time to continue to fundraise and come April, we will be back doing our 2nd year of popular Nail Trim/Ear Cleaning Drive-Way events!!!

Tomorrow, BHRR’s Caramel is in for his own annual – this had been postponed from earlier due to a huge snowstorm that blew in.
 

Mr. Symba!

He is having a much deserved snooze after his big day today at LAH.

He had a very busy day! It was a busy and expensive day for BHRR too….

Mr. Symba had his post-op follow-up plus x-rays to see how his leg has healed from his TPLO procedure.

THUMBS UP given! He was such a good boy too….such a good boy getting his x-rays done.

We can now move on getting a surgery date with Dr. Philibert for his right leg TPLO surgery.

Bad news is that his right leg is deteriorating. After he had a thorough check on it, he has not been weight bearing – he is on Gabapentin and Deramaxx. The cold weather and the icy conditions are not helping.

We hope to be able to get a surgery date ASAP.

After being pampered plus spoiled with treats and love, he is now all wonderfully drugged up, including with some Trazodone and snoring away. Rest is best for him tonight.

We also still need to raise another $3,000 for his second TPLO.

If anyone may consider his cause to support, donations can be made direct to Liston Animal Hospital – this is where Dr. Philibert will be doing the surgery once again:

613-591-0966

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

*we just need to know the password.

This boy continues to just charm all those that meet him. He is such a deam-boat of a personality plus dog!

Thank you in advance for any consideration to his bills.

Finances remain beyond tight for BHRR.

I will be posting re: BHRR’s Oslo’s own apt. today shortly and we are still seeking a February Sponsor or Sponsors for his bills – with the increase in both Keppra and Gabapentin; his monthly bills are running close to $800

AND Miss Olive still needs her own February Sponsor or Sponsors for her bills – She is now close to $900/month for her bills

Quality of life always for our dogs and both of these amazing creatures are going strong!

We would be deeply and forever grateful for even a $5 donation.

BHRR receives no corporate or government support. Most of our bills are covered out of our own pockets and we truly would be appreciative for any rescue angel donations.

Double Digit Danes/Dogs!
 
This is BHRR’s Rain!
 
She turned a miraculous 10 years young in December 2020!
 
She now joins the incredible double digit Dane/Dog Club!
 
Miss Rain is one of our BHRR Haven dogs – her brother BHRR’s Beau was adopted March 9th, 2012.
 
She has lived an amazing life under our care.
 
She is a Saint that came back ~1.5 years ago for a number of reasons from a perma-foster home situation.
 
Members of the BHRR BOD were very happy to welcome her back to The Boerskins.
 

She had repeated thyroid tests while being perma-fostered due to continued weight gain – all results were normal – and much conversation was had re: diet and exercise. Regular concern had been expressed re: her weight gain, her ever growing senior age and how unhealthy this weight gain was.

Since she has come back, she has lost all of the weight that she had put on, she has muscled/toned up and is still going strong! She has remained a big BHRR fav for so many!

These days she sleeps a lot yet, still has playful moments!

Here is to 2021 and turning 11 years young in December!
 

BHRR’s Athos – one of our lovely 3 Musketeers had his de-twinkling appointment on Tuesday, January 19th!

He weighed 50.8 kgs(111.76 pounds) and we also microchipped him at the same time. When he is done growing, he may well top 125 pounds at a nice and lean level. Only time will tell as he could have a growth spurt and be bigger. As long as he is healthy and happy, it does not matter.

Hard to believe that he was once this emaciated, dirty puppy. He is growing into a truly handsome young man!

Once he recovers, he will have his own special announcement to make.

His brother BHRR’s Porthos was also to be neutered on Tuesday yet, he hurt his leg in the huge snowstorm last Saturday and his appointment has now been rescheduled.

This picture was taken on our drive-in – I gave him Trazodone the night before and the morning of to make things more comfortable and less worried for him. Anything that can be done to lessen a dogs’ stress level should be done to give them the best vet apt. experience possible.

So, his eyes are showing that he is doped up. 

 

Someone had a lot of careful fun today in the Winter Wonderland and he is now out for the count and snoring up a storm!

On January 25th, he has his post-op recheck including x-rays that Dr. Philibert shall review and hopefully; we can then book the other leg for a TPLO surgery.

BHRR’s Symba is truly a love…..

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, the best of good night wishes are being sent!

BHRR’s Caramel with my two Wolfies – Torin & Brogan!

Winter Wonderland Day here at BHRR. 25 cms expected before it is all said and done.

They are very intently looking towards the horse barn for whatever reason. 

Mr. Caramel was to have his annual today yet, I postponed it yesterday due to this big storm system heading our way.

Mr. Symba had his special play date today!

This was a date won in our annual ‘JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS’ Online Auction.

He had a lovely day per his play date family!

AND love the picture of the drool!! That is a Mastiff for you!

He will be in shortly for his 8 week post-op x-rays from his first TPLO and we are now brainstorming towards raising the remainder – $3,000 – for his second TPLO surgery.

He is such a wonderful dog and we look forward to him having two new back legs!

 

BHRR’s Coupe was at the Vet today for his annual – vaccines and to have a recheck on those new front legs of his!

Since he first arrived to BHRR, just shy of 1 year ago; he has had 3 surgeries – fb plus pexy, dental and bilateral elbow arthroscopic surgery; we also found no less than 2 bullets in him, was found out to be heartworm positive; had a deep penetrating leg wound, was diagnosed with un united anconeal process, ruled out fungal osteomyletitis plus blasto and the list goes on……AND through all of his treatments plus surgeries, he has been a gem of a dog!

He has learned manners and muscled/toned up and the healthier he became, the stronger he got, the happier and friendler he also became. AND for those who met this dog at the beginning of his journey would have stated that he was one mighty fine and happy dog then! He is over the moon happy now. He is playful and so affectionate and though, shall always have a slight permanent limp – golfball sizes of bone chips/fragments were taken out from his leg surgeries December 1st – nothing is holding him back!

He weighed a very consistent 39.7 kgs(87.34 pounds) and looks marvelous!

He was given a thumbs up today at his Vet Visit at EVC and it was so nice for the Vet that did his first surgery on February 6th, 2020 to be the one to see him again today!

Mr. Coupe shall soon be ready to make his own special announcement.

Karen Boyd and Jane Smith- he has done so well and I cannot thank you both again for all you did to help get him safely to us! Karen, I am so glad I reached out to you to see if you had a dog in need that we could possibly assist with! He has been magnificent and it has been an honour to work with you/Sam/Jane once more.

Courtney Reil – thank you for emerge temp fostering him in TO and then driving him to EVC!

Cassy Montgomery – Thank you and John for also taking such great care of him too!

Thank you to everyone that gave him special play dates and play visits – Elaine Giles, Ashley Deon, Melanie Moore etc. during his extensive rehabilitation journey with BHRR.

Thank you ALSO to all of the rescue angels that donated to help us pay for his enormous Vet Bills!

We are very excited for his future and even Mr. Symba did not mind at all sharing his Mr. Bear Stuffie with Mr. Coupe!

BHRR’s Rocket – the emaciated, special needs Great Dane – was at the Vet today.

Cassy Montgomery came with me shy of three weeks ago to pick him up from an unpleasant situation. Thank you again for coming with me.

His weight – and there is a picture posted in this group and also in his detailed blog – was just shy of 68 pounds when he was picked up. Pictures really do not show the level of emaciation that he came into rescue with.

His previous O. said he was about 120 pounds. I knew from photo’s sent that he was nowhere near that weight and at an ideal weight should be around 115-120 pounds, depending on his growth – he is quite young still. ~18 months or so.

Today, he weighs 40.3 Kgs(88.66 pounds). He has put on just over 20 pounds since he first arrived in our care.

He is still emaciated yet, we are slowly getting there. We started feeding him 8 small meals a day and now he is eating 5 meals a day and eating well. We had to teach him how to eat again.

With his better weight; we did his pre-op bloodwork and heartworm/tickborne disease testing and we are not surprised to note that he has very high globulin levels or that he came back Lyme positive.

He is on Doxycycline for the next 3 weeks and we will then do a recheck, repeat blood-work, re-weigh and see if that time if he is in better condition for vaccines. Next week he will be de-wormed once more with Interceptor Plus.

His neuter will not occur until he is healthier too. His happy tail is finally scabbing over and we are working to stay on top of him not banging it.

His manners are coming along so beautifully and he is such a wonderful boy!! He really is! He no longer tries to hump everything nor does he bark nonstop in inappropriate attention seeking behaviour. His leash manners are improving nicely and he really is quite affectionate.

We are teaching him that he is worthy and important and that he is going to be ok. He was very deprived of much in the way of consistency plus structure not to mention obedience plus attention and his previous O. did state that they did not have time for him since he and his partner split.

He is picking up hand signals incredibly fast and Sean/I do still believe that his potential to be placed up for adoption at some point in the future when he is ready is high. We will see…..he has such a long road ahead of him and he is safe regardless if he is adoptable or not. We assist those that are in the next of need of us, not those that are exclusively highly adoptable. Our Haven program is the majority of what BHRR does.

AND he is wearing two collars as he is a huge flight risk. His previous home would quite often leave a window open for him to come and go at will. Cassy and I remain so shocked that he was never hit by a car as he is deaf/visually impaired and was living right off a dark busy rural area road.

Looks like two more doggies had quite the New Years Eve!

BHRR’s Sleet(one of the 3 BHRR blind/deaf mice) and our Salt!

They are actually fast asleep and the only thing holding up each others head is each other…that does not look comfortable!

Sleet is deaf/blind – she had to also have a bilateral eye eneucleation. She turned 2 in October.

Salt is deaf and where once he was visually impaired, he is now also blind. He will turn a miraculous 6 years old in April.

Many special needs Danes do not make it to see much past their 3rd birthday.

Sean/I promised each other that should we be urgently needed as we transition BHRR to fully close over the next ~7-9 years, for the Danes/Giants/Honourary Giants like them; that we will continue stepping up as we can as the additional exception.

We also remain here as always for our adoptive homes for the life of our dogs and to honour all of our commitments made to the homes that asked us to step up and take care of their dog(s); should something happen to them.

There is no other special needs Dane/Giant Breed Rescue in Canada and we know of only two in the USA at this time – one being highly disreputable. We have close to 30 years working with, rescuing, saving, rehabilitating, owning plus training etc. these incredible animals. Most of our own special needs Danes are now registered Therapy dogs.

2020 saw us assist 16 amazing dogs…..quality over quantity, always.
 

Almost 1:30 PM in the afternoon and someone is still sleeping!

One would think that he had a really busy New Year’s Eve bash instead of a wonderfully quiet Boerskins Evening!

We really hope that 2021 is an incredible year for all of our friends, family and supporters.

2020 brought so much our way in experiences, knowledge, revelations plus life lessons that we shall both personally and professionally bring into 2021 and beyond. Sean/Gwen

BHRR’s Dean! We were at the Vet this afternoon for his boosters and a recheck on his tail.

He is no longer emaciated which is awesome! HIs Vet was extremely happy with his body condition. AS are we! Do not have a weight captured for today as there was an extremely reactive Rottie that arrived at the same time and it was best to just do what we really needed to do and leave.

He is being placed on another 3 weeks of antibiotics for his tail.

AND he will remain on Gabapentin plus Deramaxx too.

He is still anxious in the car, getting better and still reactive to cars passing by. I now have him reduced to Trazodone twice a day. He has made incredible progress and this a journey for him…..one step at a time. He was so undersocialised prior to his rescue so over-stimulation is a very real thing for him.

He really is a nice boy…with us he now wags his tail, he bounces in excitement and makes the best sounds when I come home from work. He has three BFF’s in doggie buds also – BHRR’s Fred and my two Wolfies – Torin plus Brogan.

He is scheduled for his neuter in March – earliest opening at the Vet – and as we need to work further on his comfort zone around strangers plus being handled and also healing his tail; this gives us a lot more time to get him ready.

From our home to all of our friends, families and supporters, the best of Happy New Year wishes are being sent! We sincerely hope that 2021 is a much better year for all of us……

UPDATE: He has remained seizure free since he was admitted. He was pulled off of the Diazepam infusion around 10 AM and has continued to be seizure free.

The Hospital called Gwen just past 7 AM and she recently talked to them again.

He is having his IV pulled and will be heading out shortly.

The Hospital has increased his Keppra from 750 mg to 1500 mg three times daily.

We will have our own Vet/Emergency Team review the records once they are sent over and re-visit with the neurologist here his case once more.

Puppies having seizures is most often a hereditary condition or trauma based. There has been zeo indication of any trauma and we know that his liver and kidney values are good and that these are not the cause or contributing factors. It is so rare for it to be a tumour and there has been no reason to believe that there has been a toxin exposure prior to him coming into rescue and none of his continuous testing has supported that being the case either.

What we can and are working hard to do is to manage the seizures and give him quality of life. This is also the case with his marked bilateral hip subluxation secondary to hip dysplasia. It is always going to be and has to be about quality of life, not quantity.

He has had a generous sponsor for January that will cover the cost of his bills and with the additional Keppra being added to his med regime; his monthly bills will now be closer to $600 and if anyone may consider being a sponsor for February for him, donations can be sent via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to gwen@birchhaven.org

Thanks in advance for any consideration! 

On December 9th, Mr. Oslo was in for his latest recheck. He weighed 40.40 Kgs(88.88 pounds).

We also re-tested his Pheno levels along with his Liver values and discussed when it would be safe/ideal to consider neutering him, if at all.

Per his Vet:
“Phenobarbital level for Oslo at 82 which is within therapeutic level.

No change needed as long as his seizures controlled. He has a very mild increase of phosphorus and creatine Kinase (likely from seizures activities).”

Today, December 30th, one month from when he had his last cluster seizures; @ around 9:30 AM, he had a seizure; then another one at 12:58 PM and then a third one just after that. He was given rectal Diazepam and then taken to the Emergency Hospital.

He was placed on a Diazepam IV infusion and will remain on it until AM.

This poor dog cannot catch a break. 

Please keep him in your thoughts as well as his caring foster home for as much as I love him, the connection plus bonding that he and they have had together; is making this separation/situation even more difficult.

Image may contain: dog

Another pic! Miss Sleet is so affectionate.

As we enter a very rainy XMAS Eve and are under a severe weather warning, The Boerskins wanted to send out a truly heartfelt THANK YOU to all of the special Secret Santa’s that stepped up to give the BHRR doggies a truly lovely XMAS! THANK YOU! 
 
While we had two people that defaulted on their promise to help spoil the BHRR doggies, we had amazing Santa Elves that stepped up to assist The Boerskins in ensuring that each BHRR doggie would have a really wonderful Holiday!
 
It came down to the wire and I picked up the last three lovely SS’s today afer work and spent several hours getting the gorgeous SS pressie(s) to their respective foster homes in time for Christmas Eve!
 
While we will not be doing our usual traditional Christmas Eve Photo shoot, we did want to share a picture of the miraculous 3 Blind/Deaf Mice of BHRR’s Sleet with Mason taken just now.
 
She was the one that we thought we would lose first and she is still going strong and turned 2 in October.
 
As most are aware her brother BHRR’s Glacier was lost to us earlier this year due to IS complications and her equally beloved brother, our Summit, lost recently due to his heart.
 
DM Danes are not rare as so many backyard breeders plus puppymillers state and while they are incredibly special – not just due to their beautiful selves; they are riddled with so many health plus behavioural issues almost 100% of the time.
 
We are now responsible for the 3 Musketeers and who knows what the future may hold for at least two of them due to how DM they are. Yet, we not only understand the behavioural and/or medical conditions that they come with; we accept them and we adore them for who they are and we remain beyond humbled and blessed to have a village surround them with such kindness. 
 
We will ensure that they live their best lives!
 
This is why BHRR has existed for just shy of 25 years and why we are needed……
 
From our home to all of our friends, families plus supporters, the merriest and safest, happiest, warmest and best of Christmas Eve wishes are being sent to all of you!
 

BHRR’s Maverick, the true Iron Man! – Almost 9 years young now. He is not happy that I put an xpen around my desk so I could get some XMAS wrapping done!

UPDATE on the 3 Musketeers!
*AND BHRR’s Dean & BHRR’s Rocket*

On December 8th, BHRR’s Porthos & BHRR’s Athos were in for their pre-op exams and bloodwork in preparation for being neutered – apt.’s scheduled for January 19th.
*We had already given them their all of their vaccines plus boosters, have them de-wormed monthly plus they are on monthly flea/tick/heartworm meds etc.*

BHRR’s Porthos weighed 44.90 Kgs(98.78 pounds)
BHRR’s Athos weighed 44.20 Kgs(97.24 pounds)

Unfortunately, the blood-work for BHRR’s Athos showed an extremely elevated WBC 27.12
*Reference Range Normal: 5.05 – 16.76 x10^9/L

He was placed on antibiotics for 10 days and two Vets said that normally values like this mean Cancer yet, one step at a time and to do the antibiotics first and repeat blood-work. He is just a puppy. Per his Vet, he clearly had been brewing an infection for a very long time, long before they arrived.

Advised to recheck just his CBC in 10 days time. He was back last night and I stayed in the parking lot waiting for his results and they are now: WBC 14.22
*Refence Range Norma: 5.05 – 16.76 x10^9/L

SO YAY! YES! SO HAPPY!

BHRR’s Aramis was in for their pre-op exam and blood-work on December 10th and she weighed 38 Kgs(83.6 pounds).

Her spay was scheduled for January 22nd yet, with the newest addition of BHRR’s Rocket – he really needs to be neutered – so, he is taking her spot. He is scheduled for his pre-op exam, bloodwork including heartworm/tick borne diseases and vaccines on January 2nd. With him being super skinny – emaciated, I am not keen on neutering him or vaccinating him any sooner than need be.

So, if he is not ready, we may move BHRR’s Aramis back to that spot – the Hospital is booking into March now and the Hospital that I am working at is booking into April – or we will move BHRR’s Dean into that spot. His neuter apt. along with boosters were rescheduled from yesterday – sent in Mason’s Tango instead for his own neuter – as he has a brutal happy tail right now. We asked his own wonderful foster to bring him in to the Vet and he is on antibiotics.

Dean will now be heading in shortly for his own recheck plus boosters. We already did his pre-op exam plus bloodwork (including pre-op and heartworm/tickborne diseases) plus initial vaccines and de-worming.

It is our hope that BHRR’s Athos, BHRR’s Dean and BHRR’s Rocket can all be successfully rehabilitated and placed up for adoption at some point.

Here are the 3 Musketeers(two are deaf/visually impaired and Mr. Athos has a slight visual impairment) enjoying the recently expanded side yard! 

 

Gentle Reminder: Please do not forget to consider to donate your Empties for our 3rd Annual Holiday Season Empties For Paws Event!

OR you can return and donate the funds raised to gwen@birchhaven.org

The animals will need their BHRR Family/Village plus Army for years to come…..

Today, Sean & I returned $38.60 in donated Empties and have another run to do tomorrow. 

Drop Off Locations:

  1. Rachel – 42 Stocks Lane, Aurora, ON L4G 0Y3
  2. Rachel’s Parents – 885 Surin Crt, Newmarket, ON L3Y 8R3
  3. Gail – 47 Taylor Road, Ajax, ON L1S 2X5
    *drop-off ONLY on weekends
  4. The Maracles – 1728 Harvest Cres, Orleans, Ontario K1C 1V4
  5. The Boerskins – 2425 Totem Ranch Road West, Oxford Station, Ontario K0G 1T0
    *people can drop off in the donation shed across from the mailbox at road
  6. Joan – 10762 Hulbert Road, Brinston Ontario K0E 1C0
    *Leave empties by the front door. Do Not enter the gated side yard
  7. Wanda -1057 Glenanna Road, Pickering, Ontario L1V 5E4

Today, we removed BHRR’s Coupe’s staples and he is doing wonderfully!

Come January, he will be coming up due for his annual and a recheck and from there, he will be ready to make his own special announcement!

It has been a long journey Mr. Coupe yet, you have been incredible and you are going to make a great home a great addition!

This is documentation of BHRR’s Olive’s weight from EVC since she arrived into rescue. She went from 62 KGs(136.4 pounds) to 78 KGs(171.6 pounds).  As of December 12th, she has come back to us from her perma-foster home and we are working closely with her Vet Teams to get her back on track with her weight/health.

The Vet that saw her December 7th, advised that should her weight not get back on track; after closely evaluating what/how much food/treats she was being given in addition to her moving regime of walks; we should then consider doing a T4 blood-test.

We will post an update in March – three months after her return and when she is coming up due for her next recheck. We like to do rechecks on our palliative dogs, minimally every 3 months to ensure that they are living their best quality filled lives.

BHRR’s Rocket. This is how skinny – emaciated – the poor boy is.

Has anxiety issues and boundary/respect issues with people and dogs.

Came from a substance abuser home. The man is going through a divorce and has room-mates, fed the dog ‘when he could’, when Cassy and I went to pick him upon Sunday December 13th; the dog had not been let outside in 26 hours.

Needs to seriously decompress.

Thank you again to Leanne and her daughter Cameron for stepping up to be his special Secret Santa and giving him a new name for a new beginning!

 

BHRR’s Miss Lilly(Deaf/Visually Impaired)
AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

She says dragon stuffies make great pillows!

She also says ‘what couch rule!’ along with Matrix – you can see him!

I apologise for the lack of posts this week.

In being busy ensuring auction items were getting to the winners, preparing to start a new Career position, conversing with the BHRR BOD Team re: some matters and not 1, yet 2 HUGE dog situations along with 6 dogs having gone to the Vet this week; it has been SO busy.

I cannot believe that we are Saturday!

I hope to be able to post more tomorrow and as BHRR has always believed in sharing the good, the bad, the great and the ugly; we shall continue to do so.

BHRR’s Olso!
8 month old Cane Corso

December 2020

I JUST love this picture his wonderful perma-foster Mama sent our way!

BHRR’s Olso!

8 month old Cane Corso
(IS & marked bilateral hip subluxation secondary to hip dysplasia)

Yesterday, his wonderful perma-foster home met up with me so that I could hand over his special Secret Santa goodies!

Thank you to Karen once again for being his truly amazing special Secret Santa!

We still have 16 amazing Secret Santa’s outstanding and here is a list of the drop-off locations/times up to December 21st as I need time to get most of these WOW items to the dogs foster homes!

BHRR’s Oslo is back at the Vet tomorrow for his next recheck and to pick up more Keppra meds that had been added to his seizure med regime when he last cluster seized on November 30th.

We have covered his December bills – they are almost $600/month with the additional medications – from our recent online Auction.

We are seeking sponsorship for him for the month of January if anyone may consider his worthy cause to support!

Donations can be made direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to gwen@birchhaven. org

On December 8th, we were tagged by another Rescue in re: to a special needs Great Dane needing urgent assistance.

~2 – we feel he is more like 15 months. This is a male, unaltered special needs Great Dane that the O. thinks they have had for about a year.

He is being re-homed due to a divorce. The information posted said he is about 120 pound. In the one pic posted he looks quite thin and I would say ~65-70 pounds.

He is also due for vaccines, Rabies – O. says December 25th, yet, there is no prior vaccine history records being handed over as the O. said that they do not have a Veterinarian.

Per the home, the dog has anxiety issues – barking, not like being left alone – along with lack of training and 2 times has made a mouth connection over food. Did not break skin.

Some additional comments by an assessment made by the group that went to see him and posted seeking assistance for him is below:

____________________________________________________

Our assessment: we believe there are limitations to sight and hearing but was able to have the dog respond to being called by name and hand signals with some patience. NO manners (barks for attention, jumps, nips (no mark or broken skin) when frustrated on leash/restrained. Moderate anxiety (was told he was previously crate trained but not for the last year with the current owner) dog is currently given free roam of the house and property (is allowed to jump through an open porch window to come and go as he pleases- we don’t believe he is walked on leash). We believe anxiety would resolve or greatly improve with proper boundaries/safe place and exercise. The home is not stable or safe (was informed room-mates have substance abuse issues and the environment of the home changes quickly) and he is deteriorating. He needs a very experienced handler who is comfortable providing the structure this boy never had. We don’t feel that he is aggressive just frustrated and pushy, very puppy like but in a Dane body. We were told he has lived with children and a small-med dog in the past, but we would not recommend placement with either, until a structured decompression period has passed and he can be properly assessed.

 

BHRR’s Volt!

ADOPTED!

So much I want and feel I need to say yet, I am just a wee bit choked up right now….

This was really one of the most loveliest and meant to be approved adoptions yet, it was also one that I did a truly rare well up while I was still at the home visit.

Kept my head down, hat pulled down low and whispered as I kissed Miss Volt good-bye that I loved her very much and that so many came together to see her successfully rehabilitated and that she is now where she is meant to be for her amazing future…. 

We took so much flack from a few that felt that this outstanding beautiful girl should have been put to sleep over us coming together to help her be the awesome dog she is today – happy and healthy – and now adopted!

This is what we do, why we are here – to help those dogs that others cannot or will not and our mandate has been to be strongly focused on the special needs since our inception in 1996.

BHRR’s Volt – there shall never be the right words that I could possibly type here to tell people who felt you were not deserving; that they could not have been more wrong.

We never gave up, you never gave up and your fans and not just your BHRR village yet, army never gave up! So many rallied around you and assisted us in paying your enormous bills and when you were ready, giving you play dates and play visits, demonstrating that the world has far more caring loving hands/arms over hurting ones.

You are the best ambassador to your breed and your forever loving adoptive home does plan to tap into your potential for therapy work and even agility! 

Your new wonderful family is going to help you write your next fantastic chapters and novels and books and stories!

My heart is so light and heavy all at once and that tightness in my throat is only because I adore you and you have been part of my family for so long and shall always be forever more….yet, today, was the day that we all worked so hard for…..what we always wanted for you and yes, you lived a grand life with us. However, now, you will live that grand life with others that already have fallen in love with you! 

Thank you again to this really lovely home in considering adoption and in going through our thorough adoption process.

This makes 5 BHRR approved adoptions since October 25th – and our re-opening due to COVID – and that makes 5 great dogs in 5 great adoptive homes for the holiday season!

AND so worth the long drive to see Miss Volt be adopted! 

Miss Volt is traveling like a pro!

Relaxed and calm and now having a snooze!

Another photo!

BHRR’s Volt!

As I was loading up the car; she made it clear I was not leaving without her!

I left the door open so she could run around and zip while I packed the car; yet, nope….she just stayed in the car.

As many are aware, when she first arrived, she was so stressed over getting into the car plus car rides. I have spent significant time setting her up for success and now she loves it!

We are on our way!!! Today, is the long drive to do her home-visit for a possible approved adoption.

Should this be her right home; will have to make sure they continue to set her up for success as I do not want her associating the car with me ‘abandoning’ her.

On a side note, when I arrived home last night, I spent almost 5 hours working on the auction.

I now only have a small number of wonderful people left to collect payments and make arrangements for the items to be picked up either from me or from the generous donators.

I shall finish this up when I am back home tomorrow night.

Once again, thank you to everyone for their patience plus their understanding as I co-ordinate many fabu items!

Gentle Reminder: if you have not yet paid, per the auction rules, we request this to be done within 72 hours.

Re: Miss Volt, we will update as we can!

Happy Saturday!!!
 

Three Musketeer BHRR’s Athos says:

“ONLY 2+ hours to go and our 13th annual “JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS” Online Auction ends tonight – Thursday December 3rd @ 9 PM EST!”

‘Get your bids in before it is too late!’

We now have 112 incredible items up for grabs!

We have handmade dog collars, luglife items, a handmade wreath, doggie treat bags, BHRR Cottage Cabin experience, Bombay items, BBQ items, kitchen goodies, shower item, a gift basket, handmade wallet, pendant, exercise equipment, jams/salsa, chocolate, cinnamon buns, king duvet, 2 & 3 plys face masks, a photography session, a custom stitch portrait, Starbucks, Tupperware, a wallet, a special one-on-one date with BHRR’s Symba, homemade fudge, jewellery, nail trims, Pampered Chef items, Tupperware items, COVID-19 Boxes/Pail, Doggy Treats/Toy Tote, a George Foreman item and a LOT more!

**This is our last Fundraiser of 2020 and COVID-19 has greatly impacted our fundraising efforts for 2020 and we are at a very REAL serious risk of having to permanently close our doors.***

We have been in operation since 1996 and are the local Great Dane/Giant Breed rescue whose strong focus are the special needs.

Here is the LINK to view all of the WOW items and to bid! Come back to check your bids often and GOOD LUCK!

*TAKE NOTE RE: PICK-UP LOCATIONS AS NOT ITEMS CAN BE SHIPPED** 

BHRR’s Oslo!
 
After having 4 grand mal seizures and being admitted to emergency on November 30th, Keppra was added to his seizure med regime(Phenobarbital).
 
His wonderful foster home went home with more rectal diazepam too.
 
He is back next week for his recheck and for his foster to pick up more Phenobarbital plus Gabapentin.
 
He remains on the Deramaxx.
 
We are still in need of $425 for his December sponsorship. We have had $75 so generously donated to date.
 
We are also short $700 for Miss Olive’s own December sponsorship. We had a caring soul cover her next fond of Proin medications! THANK YOU!
 
If anyone would be open to considering their causes to support and provide a sponsorhip to their bills, you can either donate direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic
 
OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
 
OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password
 
AND GENTLE REMINDER our 13th annual “JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS” Online Auction ends tonight – Thursday December 3rd @ 9 PM EST:
 
AND
 
I have just added another 12 WOW Items to our 13th Annual ‘JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS’ Online Auction!
 
From luglife items, a handmade stunning wreath, doggie treat bags, another BHRR Cottage Cabin Experience and more! 
 
We now have 112 incredible items up for grabs! 
 
We have handmade dog collars, Bombay items, BBQ items, kitchen goodies, shower item, a gift basket, handmade wallet, pendant, exercise equipment, jams/salsa, chocolate, cinnamon buns, king duvet, 2 & 3 plys face masks, a photography session, a custom stitch portrait, Starbucks, Tupperware, a wallet, a special one-on-one date with BHRR’s Symba, homemade fudge, jewellery, nail trims, Pampered Chef items, Tupperware items, COVID-19 Boxes/Pail, Doggy Treats/Toy Tote, a George Foreman item and a LOT more!
 
**This is our last Fundraiser of 2020 and COVID-19 has greatly impacted our fundraising efforts for 2020 and we are at a very REAL serious risk of having to permanently close our doors.***
We have been in operation since 1996 and are the local Great Dane/Giant Breed rescue whose strong focus are the special needs.
 
*The BHRR Auction will start NOW and shall end TONIGHT – at 9:00 PM EST on Thursday December 3rd, 2020.
 
Here is the LINK to view all of the WOW items and to bid!
 
Come back to check your bids often and GOOD LUCK!
 

BHRR’s Symba!

He says that he can no longer handle all of the excitement from our 13th Annual ‘JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS’ Online Auction!

However, before he fell asleep, he wanted me to post that there is just over 1/2 hour left before the auction closes!

Our Online Auction ends tonight – Thursday December 3rd @ 9 PM EST!

‘Get your bids in before it is too late!

We have 112 incredible items up for grabs!
**This is our last Fundraiser of 2020 and COVID-19 has greatly impacted our fundraising efforts for 2020 and we are at a very REAL serious risk of having to permanently close our doors.***

We have been in operation since 1996 and are the local Great Dane/Giant Breed rescue whose strong focus are the special needs.

Come back to check your bids often and GOOD LUCK!
 
*TAKE NOTE RE: PICK-UP LOCATIONS AS NOT ITEMS CAN BE SHIPPED**
 

NOTICE:

BHRR does not adopt out during the XMAS season due to our position that it is not in the best interest of any new addition being added during such a busy, exciting and somewhat stressful time for many.

Quite a few other Rescues, Shelters, Pounds etc. have also begun to follow a similar protocol to what we have been doing for almost 25 years.

Our XMAS Shut down period for this year is from Friday December 18th, 2020 to Sunday January 3rd, 2021 inclusive.

Any applications received during this time will be processed/reviewed as of Monday January 4th, 2021!

As always during this time, BHRR is available 24/7 for requests for assistance of animals in need.

We shall also network accordingly for, as the local Great Dane/Giant Breed Rescue since 1996, the welfare of the animals are our top priority.

We do not wish to see any animal end up in a disreputable place of which sadly there are far too many out there.

Thank you for your continued understanding – The BHRR Team 

 

BHRR’s Coupe!
 
Enjoying his own ‘feel good’ drugs!
 
He is doing very well post op from his diagnosis of bilateral elbow ununited anconeal process with secondary osteoarthritis and then Dr. Philibert did arthroscopy of both elbows and removal of the anconeus processes.
 
Those shaved legs on him make him look positively adorable! 
 
He will be back in two weeks for his recheck and staple removal.
 
AND
 
I have just added another 12 WOW Items to our 13th Annual ‘JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS’ Online Auction!
 
From Bombay items, hair clippers, pet playpen, an Arbonne item to pawprnt garden/path stones, a year supply of custom handmade soap and SO much more have been added just now! ?
We now have 100 incredible items up for grabs! 
 
We have handmade dog collars, BBQ items, kitchen goodies, shower item, a gift basket, handmade wallet, pendant, exercise equipment, jams/salsa, chocolate, cinnamon buns, king duvet, 2 & 3 plys face masks, a photography session, a custom stitch portrait, Starbucks, Tupperware, a wallet, a special one-on-one date with BHRR’s Symba, homemade fudge, jewellery, nail trims, Pampered Chef items, Tupperware items, COVID-19 Boxes/Pail, Doggy Treats/Toy Tote, a George Foreman item and a LOT more!
 
Items will be added daily and if you have anything that you may like to donated; please do email contactbhrr@gmail.com
 
**This is our last Fundraiser of 2020 and COVID-19 has greatly impacted our fundraising efforts for 2020 and we are at a very REAL serious risk of having to permanently close our doors.***
We have been in operation since 1996 and are the local Great Dane/Giant Breed rescue whose strong focus are the special needs.
 
*The BHRR Auction will start NOW and shall end at 9:00 PM EST on Thursday December 3rd, 2020.
 
 
 

BHRR’s Symba!
 
Today, we are off for his 2 week post-op TPLO surgery check up and to get his staples out!
 
This is his face in the car as we are waiting for our apt! 
 
He is NOT happy to be taken away from the warmth of the fire places and especially his Jumbo Mr. Bear Stuffie!
 
In 6 weeks time, he will be back for his post-op x-rays and from there we shall know when we can do his right leg – per his ortho specialist Dr. Philibert, he actually has two blown cruciates, not one from what we were told he had prior to coming into rescue. Poor boy…
 
Yet, it is all about looking forward and taking it one step at a time! He will get everything he needs plus more with us.
 
He is such a delight and we remain eternally grateful to all that donated to his first TPLO surgery….
 
We are now working on saving up for his second surgery.
 
We are also taking it one day at a time fighting to keep our doors open….we have so many to thank that have been standing strong by our sides as we fight this good battle to do so.
 
 

BHRR’s Coupe’s Invoice

As we continue to believe in full accountability and transparency, here is Mr. Coupe’s invoice from his ortho surgeries today at Liston Animal Hospital.

Per Dr. Philibert, his ortho specialist:

“His diagnosis was bilateral elbow ununited anconeal process with secondary osteoarthritis. Dr. Philibert did arthroscopy of both elbows and removal of the anconeus processes.”

They removed golf ball size bone fragments and chips from both elbows. POOR dude.

He is going to feel so much better.

I am now hunkered down for overnight duty with my newest patient, Mr. Coupe and will post an update tomorrow…

He will be in for a recheck and staple removal in 2 weeks time and come January, he will have his annual and in 8 weeks time from today, if all goes well; he will have his own special announcement to make!

The rehabilitation journey has been long and he has needed two major surgeries since he arrived; treated for HW, has two bullets inside of him that the specialists say is best left alone AND through it all he has been the nicest, sweetest amazing boy!

We also did his nails and had his ears cleaned while he was in surgery.

Unfortunately, no surgical pictures this time around! Meant to ask!!!

UPDATE: he is now out of surgery…..they will call when he is waking up!
 
Thank you to the rescue angels that donated to his bills! 
 
We are now ONLY $450 short!
 

BHRR’s Coupe(NewfX)
#GivingTuesday

****UPDATE: ONLY $450 MORE NOW NEEDED****

**As it was still dark when I left to drop him off, no photo from this AM taken. This is one from October.**

Today, he was dropped off to have his own long awaited – has been waiting since March – yet, COVID-19 had other plans…. – for his bilateral elbow arthroscopic ortho surgeries and possible bone debridement with Dr. Philibert.

I have also asked to have his nails and his ears cleaned while he is under anesthesia.

I know that we have been sounding like that horrible broken record on a loop yet, the animals continue to need their BHRR Village plus community.

As only a few know; I had to resign from my own Career position in October and this has also had a huge devastating impact upon our rescue efforts for BHRR has been mostly funded out of our own pockets.

We are still short about $750 for his bills. 

Donations can be made direct to Liston Animal Hospital
613-591-0996

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password

AND if anyone may consider our cause to support, we have ever mounting bills, the newest with BHRR’s Oslo being admitted for cluster seizure activity yesterday(he has had four) and BHRR’s Coupe is now at Liston Animal Hospital for his own ortho surgeries; we have our 13th annual ‘JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS’ Online Auction in full swing:

This is our last Fundraiser of 2020 and COVID-19 has greatly impacted our fundraising efforts for 2020 and we are at a very REAL serious risk of having to permanently close our doors.***

We have been in operation since 1996 and are the local Great Dane/Giant Breed rescue whose strong focus are the special needs.

*The BHRR Auction shall end at 9:00 PM EST on Thursday December 3rd, 2020.

LINK TO OUR ONLINE AUCTION ALBUM

 

Update: Mr. Oslo had a grand mal seizure around 10:55 PM. This is his 4th seizure since 9:45 AM. He was administered IV medications and it stopped the seizure immediately; yet, he did ‘paddle’ for several minutes post meds.

Keppra has been added to his seizure medication regime, (750 mg TID), next dose 4 AM. So, he is now on Keppra and Phenobarbital 9 AM & 9 PM (120 mg BID).

BHRR’s Devin
ADOPTED!

This was one of the smoothest, easy going most lovely home-visits ever!

Thank you to the home for being so wonderful and BHRR’s Devin, we think you are going to fit in beautifully!

He was already stealing a shoe during the home-visit, so he clearly was feeling comfortable! 

Thank you to his great foster Mama, Cassy in doing this home-visit with me and to her and her great family for temp fostering him! He was in the best of hands!

With BHRR’s Oslo being admitted to EVC for emergency on seizure watch, BHRR’s Devin’s adoption fee will be used to help with his bills.

So, BHRR’s Devin you are truly ‘paying it forward!’

AND if anyone may consider our cause to support, we have ever mounting bills, the newest with BHRR’s Oslo being admitted and BHRR’s Coupe heading in for his own ortho surgeries tomorrow; we have our 13th annual ‘JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS’ Online Auction in full swing:

This is our last Fundraiser of 2020 and COVID-19 has greatly impacted our fundraising efforts for 2020 and we are at a very REAL serious risk of having to permanently close our doors.***

We have been in operation since 1996 and are the local Great Dane/Giant Breed rescue whose strong focus are the special needs.

*The BHRR Auction shall end at 9:00 PM EST on Thursday December 3rd, 2020.

UPDATE: He remains on seizure watch at EVC. The Vet is going to add more meds to his seizure med regime and he has had an IV placed in case they need to give him meds should he seizure again.

If he seizes again, he will be transferred to the ICU at Alta Vista AH as EVC closes at midnight.

Thank you to EVC for taking excellent care of him!

At 6:33 pm, he had another seizure, foster gave diazepam and is now on his way to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic.

Any donations can be made per the op….

Please keep the wee monkey in your best thoughts!

BHRR’s Oslo – Cane Corso

He is now 8 months of age!

He is our IS puppy & also has marked bilateral hip subluxation secondary to hip dysplasia after during further ortho investigation on his hind end when he arrived into rescue.

Great news he has not had any seizures since October 20th.

BAD news: Today, November 30th, Mr. Oslo has had two seizures so far – 9:45 AM(~20 seconds) & then 2:59 PM(~50 seconds).

He went 39 days seizure free.

The intensity of them are less than what they were on October 20th and I did reach out to his Vet Hospital to discuss.

We are on close seizure watch monitoring right now.

His wonderful foster has rectal diazepam on hand and will keep me posted. If he has another one within 24 hours or one longer than 2 minutes, he will be brought into emerge.

His recheck was already scheduled for December 9th. At that time, he would be getting his next round of blood-work to recheck his liver values to see how his liver is handling the meds, plus to check his levels.

Additionally, we wanted to discuss neutering him – the protocols for sedation is different for a seizure dog – and to also pick up more medications – Gabapentin and Phenobarbital for him.

HIs foster has already picked up more Deramaxx for him.

We are still seeking December Sponsorship for him. His bills are almost $500/month right now.

We have had a generous donation of $25 – THANK you!

AND so, we are still in need of $475 to help cover his bills for December.

Donations can be sent directly to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic: 613-383-8381

OR Via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via Email Transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*please just let us know the password!

AND please do keep this sweet puppy in your best thoughts!

BHRR’s Percival!

Love this picture of him!

He is ‘fuzzy’ as he decided to go for a dip in the one spring fed pond and then had a quick bath as he was stinky!. Today, has been such a gorgeous day weather wise. One would think it was spring, not almost neck deep in winter, particularly after the two snow storms we recently had here.

Unfortunately, as he is still in our care, today, he was in for his annual plus we did blood-work to submit to the lab for his 6 month Quant C6 levels, as when he arrived into rescue, we learned that he was Lyme Positive.

He was not due for his next QC6 until January 2nd – technically – yet, with the bad weather pretty much upon us and that I do not yet, know how my future Career plans will be looking; we did it today, almost 5 weeks early.

We had treated him for Lyme disease and now he requires blood-work every 6 months to test his levels and he remains on tick medication year round to limit further exposure to ticks. We keep the dogs on flea/tick/hw meds year round so, not a problem.

He weighed 33.8 kgs(74.36 pounds). This is down slightly from the 77.22 pounds he was in July and he looks MARVELLOUS! He is lean, muscled, toned and looks fabu!

When we first got him, he was an obese out of shape 91.08 pounds. He has lost 16.72 pounds in our care. WTG Mr. Percy!

He can now run and race and zoom and zip and not be out of breath.

He had his vaccines today too plus I obtained more Vanectyl P for his allergies. He still gets 2 EOD.

He is a FAR cry for the swollen, raw, bleeding with anal fistula’s dog that first came into our rescue. We got his allergies under control and he remains on his excellent first food diet too.

He was a good boy! He remains slightly nervous at the Vet yet, truly proud of all of the progress he has made since his arrival.

AND his car anxiety is unbelievably amazing now!! Some whining and pacing yet, he ROCKED it. 1.5 hour round-trip drive and he was a star. GOOD boy!

I want to also thank BHRR’s Giselle’s plus BHRR’s Bursts special Secret Santa’s for meeting me today! AND for the Pinesol gifts to BHRR.

For those Santa elves still outstanding on their own special SS’s, here is my availability this week to meet up. Do email contactbhrr@gmail.com for the exact location.

**I need to have time to get them to then drop off those that need dropping off to their Foster Homes for XMAS**

Monday November 30th 5:30 PM – Nepean
Tuesday December 1st 8:00 AM – Kanata
Wednesday December 2nd 12:30 PM – Kanata
Pet Valu Stittsville -1250 Main Street North, Stittsville – *During their business hours* – Thanks Bre!

BHRR’s Volt!

Long gone is the once anxious going in a car girl!

The sheer excitement she has when I ask if she wants to go for a car ride makes me smile so much!!

This is her this AM when l asked if she wanted to go for a car ride as it was play date time! 

She zipped and she zoomed and she became all slushy with the melting snow/ice!

Ignore my dirty winter coated car!

Today, she is off for a special play date won by a wonderful home in our annual unique creative one of a kind special date Fundraiser.

AND next Saturday is her own home-visit for a possible approved adoption!

You have come a long way baby girl!! Physically and emotionally! 

AND this happened tonight! 

BHRR’s Miss Mollie
(Saint Bernard/Standard PoodleX)
ADOPTED!

Miss Mollie, I know that you were worried and nervous tonight and wanted to be constantly by my side.

As I tell homes all the time, one should be more worried if a dog is not bonded to me over them demonstrating a strong bond…..

Miss Mollie, you have become this confident, happy, healthy uber filled with personality, wonderful mannered plus are such a gorgeous brilliant gal and please know that you will be ok! You are OK!

You have come so far during your time with me and we will always be connected and we will love forever more in each others fondest memories and in our hearts…..

You truly do not need me any longer and this is the start of a truly exciting new chapter in your life!

You now have a big canine brother, 2 sugar gliders siblings and a forever loving adoptive family that already loves you!!! You are going to have so many grand adventures plus fantastic experiences with them!

Parting is always such sweet and sometimes a bitter sorrow and you will be leaving an enormous hole in my home and soul and also for BHRR’s Burst.

Tango plus Irish will also dearly miss you too yet, they are equally over the moon thrilled for you. I know they are!

We want to thank your beautiful new family for all of their patience as we worked through our extremely detailed adoption process!

Thank you to Leanne for doing this home-visit with me, it was a pleasure!

This was my #423 foster that I have now had adopted….it truly does not get any easier….yet, it is always the right thing to do to let the ones go that no longer need you….

Congratulations Miss Mollie! You got this!!!

My last post of my night!

BHRR’s Oslo – 7.5 month old Cane Corso Puppy

Great news: he has been seizure free since October 20th!

He is back for his next recheck in December and at that time, we will discuss when/if it shall be safe to neuter him.

He remains on an excellent pain management regime just as BHRR’s Miss Olive has her own and his 120 mg of Phenobarbital twice daily.

Unfortunately, he is not a candidate for surgery – three ortho specialists to date have reviewed his case.

Which is fine with us as we adore him, we will ensure that he lacks for nothing and he will move into our Haven program. He is in excellent care with his foster home. They are amazing….have remained steadfast by his/BHRR’s side and love him unconditionally.

As with any of our Haven dogs, it is about quality of life, not quantity and if anyone would like to sponsor him for the month of December – we are spending almost $500/month for his bills; donations can be made direct to:

Eagleson Veterinary Clinic – 613-383-8381

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password

AND this is also your daily gentle reminder in re: to our 13th Annual “JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS” Online Auction! 

I have added another 17 WOW Items to our 13th Annual ‘JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS’ Online Auction!

We now have 44 incredible items up for grabs! 

We have handmade dog collars, exercise equipment, jams/salsa, chocolate, cinnamon buns, king duvet, masks, photography session, custom stitch portrait, Starbucks, Tupperware, a wallet, jewellery and SO much more!

Items will be added daily and if you have anything that you may like to donated; please do email contactbhrr@gmail.com

This is our last Fundraiser of 2020 and COVID-19 has greatly impacted our fundraising efforts for 2020 and we are at a very REAL serious risk of having to permanently close our doors.***

We have been in operation since 1996 and are the local Great Dane/Giant Breed rescue whose strong focus are the special needs.

*The BHRR Online Auction will start NOW and shall end at 9:00 PM EST on Thursday December 3rd, 2020.

AND we have a busy week+ ahead for the BHRR animals…we have not 1, not 2, yet three home-visits now scheduled for possible approved adoptions and one lucky BHRR doggie is going on a special play date!

AND on that note, the best of good night wishes are being sent from our home to all of our friends, family and supporters!

Tonight’s “Smellers” & party gatherers as Gwennie makes dinner! 

BHRR’s Nala(Blind/Hearing Impaired), Summit, Apex & BHRR’s Sleet.

Summit & BHRR’s Sleet are Deaf/Blind & Apex is Deaf/Visually Impaired.

This is my view tonight as I am trying to prepare dinner!

We have one gate anchored into the wall and also an xpen for extra safety for the dogs/humans AND these four monkeys; pushed the x-pen aside – again! – and are ‘staring’ at me!

That is also BHRR’s Bell(Blind/Deaf on left side) in the back by the table with the donations that I am currently sorting – THANKS to the generosity of rescue angels! So, please excuse the mess. 

Once again, you can also see Miss Nala’s pile of blankets/dog bed on the other side – she likes to stock pile them up in one spot!

Our 13th Annual ‘JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS’ online auction started yesterday AND here is the link:

We currently have 27 WOW items up for grabs and more items shall be added daily!

Auction ends Thursday December 3rd @ 9 PM EST.

Please help us to keep our doors open!

We remain so grateful to whatever comes our way as our bills continue to mount – BHRR’s Devin, himself has now been at the Vet twice in the last week and our doors are officially closed and we are fighting hard to to not have to permanently close our doors….

My last post of my night!

BHRR’s Symba!

He continues to have an excellent post-op recovery. It has been one week since his TPLO surgery and he is back next Wednesday for his 2 week post-op recheck plus staple removal.

He has been an excellent patient and he continues to just crack me up with is adoration of his Jumbo Stuffies – especially Mr. Grey Bear!

AND a gentle reminder that our 13th Annual ‘JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS’ Online Auction has started and shall run until Thursday December 3rd @ 9 PM EST

Here is the link  – to the 27 WOW items that are currently up for grabs! I added 15 more items today.

Items shall be added daily!

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, the warmest of good night wishes are being sent!

BHRR’s Olive!
Almost 2 years old!

This picture is gorgeous!!! Thank you again to her wonderful perma-foster home in sending this beautiful photo our way!

Miss Olive would like to gently remind the Santa Elves that it is time to drop off their special Secret Santa’s for the amazing BHRR doggies!

Here are the following dates/times/locations that we currently have available & please email contactbhrr@gmail.com for exact locations!

1) Anytime in our Donation Shed in Oxford Station
2) November 25th 3 PM – Nepean
3) November 27th 5:30 PM – Nepean
4) November 28th 10:30 AM – Nepean
5) November 29th 11:30 AM – Kanata
6) November 30th 4:30 PM – Kanata
7) December 1st 8:00 AM – Kanata

As I have more dates/times/locations, I shall post.

BHRR’s Miss Olive is back at the Vet herself for her next recheck in December and we will continue to update re: her palliative care status.

It is all about quality of life, not quanity for BHRR.

She is still in need of Virtual Foster Sponsorship for December.

We spend almost $900 a month on food/her medications to ensure that she is properly taken care of. This also includes regular professional grooming.

If anyone would be open to providing some sponsoring of her for the month of December, she and we would be SOOOOOOOOO thankful!

Donations can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contacbhrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password

OR you can donate directly to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381 as she has an account there

As most are now aware, we closed our doors back in October for intake with the most recent big ortho medical case diagnosis for BHRR’s Oslo. Then, last week, we learned the devastating news that BHRR’s Symba actually has two blown cruciates…not one, prior to coming into Rescue.

AND Mr. Coupe has his bilateral arthroscopic elbow and bone debridement surgeries scheduled for December 1st.

AND twice over the last week, BHRR’s Devin has now had to receive veterinary medical care.

We truly are humbled by each and every rescue angel that has managed to help us keep operating this year to date……

We sincerely remain humbled by any show of consideration to assist us during what has been a year like no other in Rescue…. 

We have been the local Great Dane/Giant Breed Rescue in the community since our inception in 1996 with our strong expertise being on the special needs……please consider assisting to keep us in operation for many more years to come….

When you turn around as you feel you are being ‘watched’…yes, my Salt & Apex may be Deaf/Visually impaired and BHRR’s Sleet Deaf/Blind; YET, nothing is wrong with their noses! 

NOR BHRR’s Nala(Blind/Hearing Impaired) that can be seen under them! LOL

Sean says that the scent training that I do with the dogs makes them highly efficient! LOL They can track me in a snow storm…literally!

This is my view as I am trying to prepare for dinner!

We have one gate anchored into the wall and also an xpen for extra safety for the dogs/humans AND these three monkeys; pushed the x-pen aside and are ‘staring’ at me!

Well, they got my attention and now that I have food in the oven; it was winter wonderland outside play time and treats all around!

That is BHRR’s Coupe’s cute rump on the one side and Miss Nala’s pile of blankets on the other – she likes to stock pile them up in one spot!

On a separate note, yes; our Annual ‘JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS’ online auction was to start yesterday yet, we received late notice that our server was going down for maintenance and that put both emails out of whack too.

So, it will be up and running on Facebook instead for 2020 and I am working on it!

We also are waiting for three more participants from our annual ‘Give It Up’ 4 Autumn and we well understand that things happen and we will post the final total raised over the next couple of days; should we receive more monies or not.

We remain so grateful to whatever comes our way as our bills continue to mount – BHRR’s Devin, himself has now been at the Vet twice in the last week and our doors are officially closed for further intake…..

My last post of my night…..

I want to extend the most sincerest of thanks to all that came together to make this rescue transport happen today.

This was a rescue that I first began working on over 4 months ago and today; in spite of further blips; they have finally arrived safely.

The 3 special needs Great Danes that we have affectionally dubbed The Three Musketeers are finally here!

Special additional thanks to Lucy Moye, Jane Smith, Theresa Penfield, Rochonne Simons(and her mom!) plus Jo-Anne for everything. Any ommision of names is not intentional and please do forgive me….it truly has taken an army and a village to make this rescue plus transport happen.

From my heart; I am deeply grateful to everyone that gives of themselves in so many ways and in stepping up to make rescue magic occur…….

NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

After the brutal day that I have had, I am now calling it a day….and going to spend the rest of my night with my family and animals!

From our home to all of our friends, families and supporters, the warmest of good night wishes are being sent AND appears tomorrow shall be our first big BHRR Winter Wonderland Day! 

BHRR’s Gravel & BHRR’s Royal Blu
Two loveable nutbars!!

Both keep taking their bowls off of their stools, moving the bowls until they are just where they want them AND then Mr. RB likes to play bow and eat his food!

Silly boyz!

I also wanted to update on a few BHRR matters!

1) Our 9th Annual “Give It Up’ 4 Autumn Fundraiser ended last night and once we received the remaining participants monies; we will announce the grand total raised!

2) For those inquiring as to where to drop off their special Secret Santa’s; you can drop off in our donation shed at the road by the mailbox anytime that is convenient for you – this is monitored 24/7

OR right now; I have the following dates available to meet in the following spots and email contactbhrr@gmail.com for the exact address!
*Sunday November 22nd – Nepean 3:30 PM
*Monday November 23rd – Kanata 1:30 PM
*Monday November 23rd – Kanata 7:15 PM
*Saturday November 28th – Nepean 11:00 AM
*Saturday November 28th – Nepean 6:00 PM
*Sunday November 29th – Kanata 11:30 AM

Closer to December, I will have more drop-off dates and will post!

3) Stay tuned! Our 3rd Annual Holiday Season Empties For Paws Event will be starting December 1st.

This is him now!

BHRR’s Symba!

When you give the goooooooooood drugs!!! 

Snoring away……

He is doing amazing! Truly, one of the best post-op patients I have had and recoveries so far!

Just a couple days post op yet, he is doing fantastic!

Super star! 

Three Blind/Deaf Mice of BHRR’s Sleet & Summit!

This picture really demonstrates the huge difference between the two litter-mates!

My sight as I was going up the stairs with clean laundry!

Summit as posted recently is now just under 40″ at the whithers and still growing. Being taller or bigger is not a great thing whatsoever…..it is harder on their joints and hearts – and Summit already has heart issues. We work to keep him lean and muscled.

BHRR’s Sleet, his sister is no small Dane herself at almost 110-115 pounds and almost 34″ at the whithers yet, the size difference between them is so apparent.

They turned 2 years old on October 21st and remain miracle Danes in so many ways…..

They also wished to update everyone to keep everything crossed that the 3 Musketeers – a rescue that we have worked on since July(they were placed in emerge foster care to become healthy – they were weak/emaciated upon being rescued) – arrive safely on Saturday. Two of the three of those Great Danes are deaf/visually impaired themselves.

My last post of my night!

BHRR’s Symba is now home and settling in…

I will post a copy of the invoice tomorrow – THANKS to so many, we only owe a remainder of $797.70 for this cruciate repair on his left leg.

In 2-4 months, he will then have his right leg done per Dr. Philibert. We will see how his 8 week post op recovery visit goes to get a better idea as to when he can then have the second leg repaired.

This dog is super special…super sweet and super deserving.

He does have an account set up at Liston Animal Hospital 613-591-0966 if anyone may consider his cause.

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password

I am now hunkering down for overnight duty with him and I could not ask for a more lovely patient to tend to!

On behalf of this incredibly amazing boy, the warmest of good night wishes are being sent!

AND BHRR’s Symba was out of surgery around 4 PM.

He weighed about 61 kgs(134.20 pounds). He is very lean.

Per Dr. Philibert, everything went well and he is in post-op.

I will be picking him up around 7:30 PM.

AND for those that missed the previous update: BHRR’s Symba actually has both back legs blown. Not one. 

So, Dr. Philibert fixed the worst one – the left – and when he heals, we will then repair the other leg. When it rains it pours….poor sweet man.

Thank you from my heart to Liston Animal Hospital and to Dr. Philibert for taking excellent care of him today!

We also had his nails done while he was under and a good ear cleaning as he battled ear infections when he first arrived and is still getting better at having me clean them – wiggle monster he can be!

Thank you FROM my heart also to the two rescue angels that made generous donations to his bills today! YOU know who you are and we remain incredibly indebted….

AND thank you to everyone that has sent well wishes his way!!! That touches us deeply!

We have much to figure out re: fundraising for BHRR’s Symba’s current and now even more future bills, BHRR’s Coupe’s own ortho surgeries, BHRR’s Olive’s December and beyond bills, BHRR’s Oslo’s bills etc…..

We finally have our 3 Muskateers arriving this weekend – I have worked on their rescue and in getting them healthy since July and they are finally able to travel. THANK you to their own outstanding emerge temp foster home for being there for them! 

Yet, we must keep the faith….

As many are also now aware, our doors are closed again…..we closed them after BHRR’s Oslo’s own orth diagnosis of marked bilateral hip subluxation secondary to hip dysplasia.

UPDATE: Dr. Philibert just called……

Sadly, Mr. Symba has two blown cruciates – very common when one goes, the other can.

The right leg was blown since Winter; long before he came into Rescue.

His left one is apparently also blown and is the worse of the two right now.

So, we will fix the left leg first and then he will have a second surgery to fix the right…

BHRR’s Symba!

On our way this AM!

Focused and looking ahead….to a new leg!

For anyone that may consider his cause to support, donations can be made direct to Liston Animal Hospital 613-591-0966

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password!

You are in excellent hands sweet man….between the amazing staff at Liston AH that I have known plus worked with many myself over the past 16.5+ years and also in the expert care of Dr. Philibert; you got this! 

See you later today…. 

My last post of my night….BHRR’s Symba!

Tomorrow is his BIG day! He is scheduled for his TPLO surgery with Dr. Philibert at Liston Animal Hospital.

We have done all that we can do in preparation for his surgery….do we have all that we urgently need, no; yet, we have enough towels, fabric softener, laundry soap, paper towels, Pinesol, blankets to scrape by for a bit.

AND we have 3 JUMBO stuffies to rotate for him…. 

We are still short $2,500 of our goal to raise for his bills and Sean/I are working together to figure that out via pulling out some investments.

If anyone may consider his deserving cause to support, donations can be made direct to Liston Animal Hospital 613-591-0966

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password

While he is under, he will have his ears cleaned and his nails done too!

When he comes home, he will be on two kinds of pain meds, antibiotics and also sedatives.

BHRR’s Symba, sleep well and have sweet dreams.

Tomorrow you will have a brand new leg…..

The rehab journey ahead will not be an easy nor short one yet, it will lead to a so much better/higher quality filled life for you….we have worked hard to keep you on an excellent pain management regime and after tomorrow; it will be all about the healing….

You are such an amazing dog and as deserving as any other dog and we remain so grateful to all of the rescue angels that have donated to date to help you with your surgery and post op care!

From our home to all of our friends, families and supporters, warmest of good night wishes are being sent and please keep Mr. Symba in your best thoughts!

BHRR’s Devin is moving under a PENDING ADOPTION!

We will update as we can.

BHRR’s Royal Blu!
November 17th, 2020
BHRR Haven Dog

Someone does not like early AM’s! My sight at 5:00 AM as that is the time to get up and at ‘er! 

One dog bed to lay on and one dog bed for a pillow! 

Mr. Royal Blu had his bilateral entropion / cherry eye surgeries earlier this summer and with COVID-19; we are still in a hold pattern re: those two front legs.

After 8 months, we finally have a surgery date for Mr. Coupe and so we remain patient as does Mr. Blu as to what the ortho specialist may feel is in his best interest as he had ortho surgery already prior to being a rescue transfer from another wonderful group. Thank you again to them for all that they did for him!!!!

Mr. Royal Blu is also now completely blind in his right eye and does not see the best in his left eye. Does not hold him back…..

He has lost weight, muscled and toned up and is such a wonderful handsome boy!

He is also quite the vocal boy!!! He loves food and treat time the best. LOL

BHRR’s Nala
~15 month old Bulldog/BoxerX
 
Severely visually impaired and is also hearing impaired. We will investigate further her hearing impairment as she was listening ok when spoken to in a distinct clear much louder tone.
 
She is the dog that was picked up as a stray and ended up being a rescue transfer to BHRR from another group.
 
Today she was seen by the Vet.
 
She was 61.6 pounds(28 kgs).
 
She was given her Lepto and Lyme vaccines – boosters will be in 4 weeks – as she had already been given her Bord, Rabies and DHPP prior to coming into our Rescue.
 
We did some bloodwork to test for prior heartworm and tickborne disease exposure and the results are negative!
 
She will be de-wormed and she will be placed on flea/tick/HW meds.
 
She was SUPER friendly with everyone, curious about the dogs that she saw and demonstrated her bull in a china shop lack of manners!
 
The Vet examined her and his expert positioning on that back right leg that prior Vet Records sent our way before she arrived into Rescue had indicated that her back right leg was slightly abrnormal – is that this is a genetic conformity issue and she is perfectly fine. She was not painful on it, does not limp and it is just turned out slightly – a bit eastie westie as we say!
 
Once again, it was super lovely to visit with / see some of my former and truly fav work colleagues and thank you for embracing me, literally! 
 
Miss Nala will be back for her boosters in about 4 weeks time and from there, if all goes well; she should be ready to make her own special announcement!
 
Thank you also to Leanne/Cameron for meeting up with me to drop off some auction items for our 12th Annual “JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS” Online Auction that will start next weekend!
 
Thank you also to Cassy/BHRR’s Devin for also meeting me at the Vet and for dropping off some auction items too!
 
AND last but not least, thank you to Jaqueline for emerge temp fostering Miss Nala for the past week.
 

BHRR’s Symba!
135 pounds of mushball handsome Bull Mastiff love!
 
My last post of my night!
 
As much as he loves Mr. Dino, the Jumbo stuffie that was given to him by the same generous soul that washed his Mr. Bear Stufie; he loves his Mr. Bear the best.
 
He is SOOOOOOOOO happy that he is back and working hard to get him all smelly again! 
 
AND, on his plus BHRR’s Coupe’s behalf, we want to thank ALL of their fans, supporters plus believers for the material and financial donations made to date as we prepare for their upcoming Ortho surgeries with Dr. Philibert.
 
We are still short $2,500 for BHRR’s Symba’s own surgery and as many have noted we have been attempting to do some flash auctions.
 
AND we are STILL in need of the following – listed below – in preparation for their surgeries if anyone may consider their worthy causes to support.
 
BHRR’s Coupe(Newfx) is scheduled – FINALLY- thanks COVID-19! – for his bone debridement and bilateral elbow arthroscopic surgery December 1st.
 
He is also the sweet boy that we shockingly discovered no less than 2 x 9 mm bullets in him – one being in his chest – when we did x-rays plus he had to have an emergency enterotomy surgery. In addition, we have been treating him for heartworm.
 
BHRR’s Symba(Bull Mastiff) – pictured here – is scheduled for his TPLO surgery on November 18th.
 
We still urgently need the below items to assist with their post-op recoveries.
1) Pinesol or Lysol
2) XL Costco Dog Beds
3) Paper Towels – not the scratchy/rough brown kind
4) Sleeping bags/Comforters/Duvets
5) Fabric Softener
6) Dryer Sheets
7) Donations for ongoing flash online auctions to help raise the many thousands upon thousands needed for these surgeries.
8) We need to put down 50% upon surgery drop-off and any consideration for financial donations can be made direct to Liston Animal Hospital 613-596-0966 – they both have accounts there
OR
via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
OR
via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password
9) Flannel Sheets – Double or Queen
 
Thanks as always from our hearts for any consideration to their very worthy causes – both dogs are magnificent!
 
As many know we have our monitored donation shed on our lane-way at the road by our mailbox and any kind items can be dropped off in it!
 
If you are not able to drop off at Oxford Station, please do email us to make alternative arrangements. contactbhrr@gmail.com for over the next few days, I am in various places across the city!
AND here is the link to our Amazon Wish List:
 
AND from our home to all of our friends, family plus supporters the warmest of good night wishes are being sent….this weekend is going to be a busy one for us!
 

BHRR’s Mollie
Saint Bernard/Standard PoodleX
Looking bootiful!!
 
Her next professional groom session is almost done. 
 
Thank you again Manon and Melissa! 

BHRR’s Miss Mollie!
(Saint Bernard/Standard Poodle Mix)

Today, she is off to have her next professional grooming session!

BHRR does regular professional grooming on the dogs and this is required of all of our approved adoptive homes.

We work hard to get the dogs medically, emotionally, behaviourally rehabbed and that also includes them having their grooming needs met.

Miss Mollie goes in every 8 weeks.

Thanks

Melissa Lepage

of Groomingdale’s @ Pet Valu Stittesville for all of your time and talent in helping to make the BHRR dogs look and feel their best! 

See you soon Miss Mollie!

Freedom Dane BHRR’s Gretta
November 8th, 2020

Many may remember this beauty. She is one of the last surviving Freedom Danes from the Paws R Us Seizure/Bust in September 2011.

The largest bust in Canadian history. Even highly experienced people like myself could not have adequately be prepared heading in for the ensuing three months following that seizure, volunteering and lending a much needed hand at the emergency shelter day in and day out.

Today, we honour her as she has reached Double Digit Dane numbers – She is now 10!

BHRR has assisted Danes from this line for almost 20 years. We have helped sisters, brothers, half-siblings, aunts, her mother, her grandfather, great relatives and more.

November is often known as Senior Month.

Miss Gretta, you have survived hell and beyond and here you are today, standing tall – gone are the days that you and your litter-mate BHRR’s Peanut had to be carried in and out of the shelter a couple times daily.

While your own forever loving right matched personality fit loving home never found you; we moved you to our Haven Program and you have lived the truest of high stellar quality filled life with us.

Almost 148 acres to romp in with trails, 3+ acres safely fenced in; friends to play with, humans that adore you and understand you and through patience, time, consistency, structure plus routine have demonstrated kind caring loving hands; not hurting hands to you.

You no longer live in a dark building filled with filth and having to sleep standing on your back legs. Fans can still make you a bit nervous yet, you have come SO far sweet girl.

You have dog beds and thick comfy duvets, a/c, heat, access to fresh water all the time, fresh air and sunshine and warm winter coats plus enough food – yes, you are a wee bit chunky yet, that is ok!!! You get the best in vet care, treats and caring love.

You remain distrustful and fearful and shy of so many, yet, you have developed a strong set up for success circle of humans that you adore as much as they adore you! Your tail is no longer held tight up to your belly and you now know how to wag it and happy wags you love to give!

We had to repair that back left leg of yours and it seems, sadly, from then on, no one had any interest in considering to give you a home with them; yet, that is ok!

We could not imagine you not being here, in our home, part of our family and hearts; you have been here for the past 9 years and you have made us better humans in having been blessed to have been touched by you.

HAPPY DOUBLE DIGIT DANE DAYS TO YOU!

We promise to continue to do right by you and to see you keep living your best life every day!

Car rides with the sunroof opened up tomorrow JUST for you in honour of you with some timbits too!

BHRR’s Dean!
5 year old Mantle male Great Dane

He was seen by the Vet today.

He weighed a lean 55.8 kgs(122.76 pounds). I LOVE lean dogs and if he went up to 125 pounds as we build up muscle mass plus tone; I would be ok too.

He was AMAZING! Loves the women and just being given some space by the one male Vet, he sniffed and relaxed.

He had a really great exam – he has a couple of skin tags that we will monitor and if need be, remove at the time of his neuter – now booked for December 18th.

As we have been told that he hates his feet touched, I will continue to work with him at home and we will get them as short as we can at the time of his neuter.

Did not do a thorough check in his mouth as he only just arrived and with him being a bit worried. As he settles in more, I will be able to better check his mouth and when he is under for his neuter, we can also be more thorough.

He was very brave for his blood-work – we are testing for heartworm plus tickborne diseases plus doing his pre-op bloodwork. His Vet will advise as to the results.

He did not co-operate in providing me with a fecal sample since his arrival yet, we proactively, preventatively de-worm all of our rescues.

We also picked up his flea/tick/heartworm medication to start once we have the results of his blood-work. As per our protocols, we keep the dogs on year round.

We did scan to check for a microchip, he did not have one; so, we will chip him at the time of his neuter.

I did ask his Vet for some Trazodone as he does exhibit some anxiety in the car – barks and become reactive as there is a barrier. He has lacked socialisation and important exposure to much prior to rescue and in the vehicle, his stress is noticeable. The stimulation is a lot for him to take in right now.

If there is not any barrier, he is fine. The meds will enable me to take his anxiety down and work on proper built up to outside stimulus.

Remember that a reactive dog is NOT trying to give us a hard time….they are trying to TELL us that THEY are having a hard time.

He is truly a super nice boy! Handsome and the sweetest of temperaments. He has been perfectly fine around my two Irish Wolfhounds plus BHRR’s Fred and BHRR’s Caramel here to date. Of course, BHRR’s Caramel thinks BHRR’s Dean want to eat him….that is BHRR’s Caramel’s thing with all new dogs/people.

For me, it was also super awesome to see how well he did and equally awesome to visit with some of my previous work family colleagues! Some sniffles and tears all around for a few…I miss you and I promise we shall get together once COVID-19 settles down! 

Please do consider checking out the three flash auction items currently up for grabs – by scrolling down the page – Women’s comfy box, king duvet cover/sham/bed skirt PLUS an wonderful pet(up to 2 pets from the same household) photo session!

We are getting so close to the first of two incredible BHRR dogs having their big ortho surgeries – BHRR’s Symba’s is on November 18th and BHRR’s Coupe is December 1st – and we are still very short, thousands and thousands short…..your consideration would be heartfelt and deeply appreciative. 

BHRR’s Nala
The blind/hearing impaired BulldogX (BoxerX?) came into BHRR’s care yesterday as a rescue transfer and has been settling in beautifully with her own amazing temp foster Home. 

Whatever breed combinations she is, she is 100% gorgeous!

Her prior vet records stated the there was something not normal about one of her back legs and we will investigate further.

Deepest thanks extended to her foster home for taking great care of her and for the lovely pics! 

Not Yet Available For Adoption!

BHRR’s Olso
November 6th, 2020

My last post of my night….if one is very quiet and patient, one may catch a glimpse of a truly special and somewhat of a silly creature….

While initially a bit shy, warms up easily – please ensure yummy treats are on hand, approach quietly and calmly for this magnificent specimen of nature; will then slowly approach.

If you are lucky, you will hear its distinctive soft snort/chitter sounds and you shall then know, he is comfortable and finds you to be a friend, not a threat.

Fast flighty movements could make him a bit nervous and retreat to a safe distance. Therefore, if you want to have a really heart touching encounter with him; be relaxed and soothing in tone, passively ignore and you soon shall be well rewarded for your efforts!

If you choose, you can just admire from a short distance instead and observe the antics and joy this incredible being has in exploring their surroundings soaking up smells, sounds and experiences!

As many are now aware, Dr. Philibert, ortho specialist supreme has diagnosed Mr. Oslo, the 7 month old Cane Corso puppy with marked bilateral hip subluxation secondary to hip dysplasia. 

We remain having our thinking caps on re: unique fundraising efforts and any donations to his care can be made direct to

Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password!

Thank you to his absolutely spectacular foster home for this lovely fun photo that captured a really mystical magical gorgeous mischievous being! 

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, the best of good night wishes are being sent!

Got him!!

We are calling him BHRR’s Dean!
*in honour of one of my all time fav nail clients at the Hospital I used to work at!
*For a couple of wonderful reasons we are going to call him this name. 

Making the drive home now and on Sunday, he will be vetted at EVC as he has no prior vet history.

We will do his pre-op blood work in prep to neuter him and test for prior exposure to tick borne diseases and heartworm, begin his vaccine protocols, place him on flea/tick/heartworm preventative and de-worm him.

He will have a thorough exam and whatever else the Vet feels he requires, he shall have.

His body condition is great – needs a bit of muscle mass plus toning – and he has some skin tags yet, nothing on my initial assessment makes me worried.

His nails are super long yet, we have been told that he hates his feet touched so that will be a work in progress and we will cut them as short as we can when he under anaesthetic being neutered.

Once I can better handle him; I will get a better idea of any concerns to have investigated in depth.

He was super friendly when I picked him up and we shall see how he settles in with the canine crew and how he meets other humans!

I love the frosting on his face…got to love the masking gene!!

Thank you to Christie from the shelter in reaching out to us and for Sam for driving him much closer to meet me!

Welcome to BHRR Mr. Dean! 

BHRR’s Oslo’s VD x-ray
November 3rd, 2020

BHRR’s Olso 7 month old Cane Corso Puppy

Has idiopathic seizures and had 7 seizures on October 20th and was admitted to the Hospital for seizure watch.

Bloodwork was also done to see how his liver was handling the Phenobarbital. Results came in the next day to say that his liver was tolerating the medication well.

We had obtained more phenobarbital for him, gabapentin – as he appeared sore/stiff in the hind end plus diazepam to administer rectally if necessary.

We placed him on Forti Flora also to assist with his gut.

His phenobarbital dosing was increased from 90 mg twice daily to 120 mg twice daily.

On November 3rd – he had blood-work done to see how his phenobarbital levels were on the increased dosing.

He had been 14 days seizure free.

He had an exam, ears checked – no ear infection yet, Burows was dispensed and an x-ray done. We wanted his hind end further investigated due to his lack of rear angulation and the almost ‘popping’ of his hips and how he ‘swayed’ when he moved.

His Vet recommended against giving him Nexgard Spectra as flea/tick/heartworm meds per VIN can lower the seizure threshold. His Vet did some research and the safest of these meds to give to a seizure dog based upon the latest research/studies would be Revolution/Sympatica  yet, the general rule per the Vet who saw him is that all flea/tick meds should be used with caution in seizure dogs. So, we have elected to not give him any meds at this time. He had been on Nexgard Spectra prior to us getting him into rescue too and we obtained one dose when he arrived into Rescue.

The x-ray was reviewed by the Vet and based upon his findings – HD; recommended to have a surgical consult.

Additionally, based upon those findings Deramaxx was added to his med regime.

Two more months of Phenobarbital and Gabapentin were dispensed and two more doses of Diazepam was also given.

Weight 38.9 kgs(85.58 pounds)

Sent off the x-ray to Dr. Philibert, ortho specialist to advise.

November 4th:

Results of his pheno levels are within the reference range.

Dr. Philibert also got back to us and the diagnosis is marked bilateral hip subluxation secondary to hip dysplasia.

Additionally per Dr. Philibert:

“Dogs that have marked sub luxation from hip dysplasia can show signs of pain as exhibited in this patient, especially when they are between 6 and 18 months of age because the hip sub luxates during weight bearing. At some point during that time, the acetabulum will fill up with scar tissue and eventually bone while the joint capsule thickens and the joint remains in a sub luxated position. The hips are often more comfortable at that point and some dogs may live a good life after that with medical management of osteoarthritis.

Total hip replacement will give best function. However there is around 10-20 percent of patients that have severe complications. which can make THR a costly option

Femoral head excision may be an option, but giant dogs like this can have a poor outcome so I would only consider it if pain cannot be managed other ways and hip replacement is not a financial option.’

Additionally, per Dr. Philibert and we were aware, no one in Ottawa does THR and we would have to consult with Montreal. We will be sending the x-ray over.

We could only get one view as due to BHRR’s Oslo’s seizures, sedation was not safe to give.

Poor baby. 

Effective immediately, our doors are now closed for any future/further intake from those that we have already committed to- we have BHRR’s Dean arriving tomorrow, BHRR’s Nala ETA on Saturday and the 3 Musketeers on the 21st.

With the recent finding for BHRR’s Oslo; our doors need to be closed so that we can figure out fundraising for him and not just for BHRR’s Coupe and BHRR’s Symba own substantial mounting bills.

 
 
 

My last post of my night!

While I need to post re: BHRR’s Oslo’s Vet visit last night; I am going to hold off until tomorrow……

AND for your nightly bedtme entertainment, BHRR’s Symba’s stuffie saga continues!!! 

As I told the kind angel that doubled washed his Jumbo stuffie bear; whomever BHRR’s Symba is adopted to once rehabbed; is going to need to understand his jumbo stuffie needs!

While we wait for Mr. Bear to come back – ETA Friday (please come soon!) – to BHRR’s Symba, this same kind angel that took the ICKY and I mean ICKY Mr. Bear to wash – and put him through the washer twice! – so generously gave him a jumbo Mr. Dino Stuffie.

Well, one would have thought that I was trying to pull some big fast one on him! He refused to even look at it….OR me for the longest time.

Finally, he sat next to it and the look he gave me….first picture…

YET, in the end the charm of a JUMBO stuffie won him over and now he is snuggled, snoozing and snoring with Mr. Dino! Second picture is proof!

He is such a big marshmallow!!!

This dog is a hoot! He cracks me up!!! 

AND on that note, from our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, the best of good night wishes are being sent!

NEXT IN NEED!

This is *Nala*

She was picked up as a stray – BulldogX(Possibly Bulldog/Boxer) is her most likely breed mix….was also listed in various places as a BoxerX and a MastiffX yet, she is super small and very bulldog like and that seems to be the consensus!

No matter what she is 100% adorable!

She is blind and hearing impaired – she does hear some & has an abnormal back right leg per the paperwork

She is housebroken, vaccinated, microchipped, spayed, had two cherry eye surgeries – the one eye is not normal

She lacks manners and currently is in foster care with another Rescue that is seeking to transfer her to BHRR.

Stated to be very friendly with people and has been playful and social with the dogs she has been introduced to. Have seen a video of her and a boxer having a blast.

Paperworks says she is about 2 yet, in seeing pics plus a video, I find that very hard to believe. She is all puppy…maybe 12-15 months?!

ETA being worked on and thank you to Jacqueline once again for stepping up to be her emerge temp foster!

She and BHRR’s Dean both still need special Secret Santa’s if anyone is willing to spoil them this XMAS!

**NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION**

My last post of my night!

A lovely soul so generously took BHRR’s Symba’s jumbo stuffie to wash in an industrial washer. 

First picture is BHRR’s Symba when I told him that his icky stuffie was going to leave for a bit and come back shiny and new – well, at least come back sweet smelling.

He was not impressed!!! He takes this thing everywhere and I mean everywhere!!!

I had wondered if giving it a decent burial would be better than attempting to wash it yet, wash it – twice! – this kind soul has done!!

The second picture is of his stuffie being ‘fluffed’!

LOVE it!

From our home to all of our friends, family plus supporters, the best of good night wishes are being sent…tomorrow is another day!

More information per the Shelter:

Below you will find his Owner surrender information completed by the Owner online:

O/S, Can no longer afford general up keep. Got from a friend. Owned 3.5 years. Eats Pedigree. Free fed. Lived with female Great Dane, 2 adults and 1 teenager. Gets along well with all. Allowed on furniture. Slept in Owners bed at night. Loose when alone, will destroy toys, household items, barks, drools. Left only occasionally. No medications. Nervous, normally muzzled at Vet.

He loves to snuggle and is good companionship. He needs to learn to listen and stop pulling on leash. Doesn’t like when people wear hoods. Barks in the car until he is out. Pulls a lot on leash. No professional training. Uses harness, prong collar, gentle leader. Knows sit, down, come and shake.

He barks, nervous when alone, he will get aggressive when he feels someone in the home is being threatened. When meeting unfamiliar children friendly/respectful and usually tolerant but has met some he doesn’t like. Never met an unfamiliar man. Friendly when meeting unfamiliar women. 

AGGRESSIVE WITH CATS. Friendly when meeting unfamiliar dogs on or off leash. 

 Mostly house trained, will go if its been too long or if sick. Mostly indoors. House with fenced yard. Low activity level. Playful, affectionate, pushy, confident, excitable,  friendly, dominant. Loves to play and follow you around. Will guard certain family members if he thinks they are being threatened. Will guard something they stole, and doesn’t like paws being touched, he will growl or will nip at your hand if you try to touch or clip nails. 

If a stranger approaches the home or yard or family member she will bark, jump up, growls. Never bitten a person or an animal. He drinks his water out of the bathroom faucet. 

We also called the Owner to clarify a few things she had written down.

Spoke with owner for some more info/clarification. Had him since he was 1 and a half years old, step-daughter’s friend was looking to rehome him. Lived with a female Great Dane-good with, had a litter with last year, dogs are good together but don’t seem overly bonded. Said X is a very nice dog but can be a bit strange with people sometimes. Barks and growls when people come in home but after he sniffs he is better. Doesn’t have visitors a lot. Keeps him behind 4ft baby gate which he has pushed through to get to people, but sniffs them and is fine. Once when he was on the enclosed porch and the neighbour walked up (man) he was growling and barking, neighbour put hand through fence to touch him and X didn’t do anything. Said he doesn’t like people wearing anything that changes their appearance (hats, glasses, hoods, etc) and barks at them, did have an incident when a woman came in wearing a fur coat and walked by him when he was loose and he barked and lunged at her but the owner pulled him back and woman walked away to go into sons room (was sons friend) and they never interacted further. Owner said he never tried to bite her but doesn’t know why he lunged. Is fine with meeting people on a walk or even on the porch, seems more reactive when they come in the home. Said he doesn’t seem to warm up to sons friends (always males) and will just keep barking at them.

Used to have an issue with growling and lunging at the son if X was in the bedroom with owner and son walked in the room, wouldn’t let the son in but never attempted to bite, hasn’t had this issue since woman started keeping him in the living room at night instead of with her. Owner said he seems to get reactive if you turn your back to him and walk away after giving him attention, he has a mean sounding bark and follows you, but if you face him while walking away he is fine. No guarding issues but does like to keep things from you and runs away if you try to take. Pulls a lot on leash and is very strong, very eager to get to other dogs and people and will pull you to them though has met both and has been friendly. Has never met a cat but pulls on leash eagerly to see them, seems to want to chase them and woman doesn’t know if it’s playful or not. Will put his mouth on your hand if you try to clip his nails but never applies pressure. Asked what was meant by “aggressive if someone in home is being threatened” and owner said he can be protective, one incident the son and nephew got into a fight and nephew went to hit the son and X barked and jumped in between them, woman yelled at them and nephew backed off. Woman trained him using German commands. Is a good dog that needs some guidance with some things. 

BHRR’s Miss Olive!

She is our palliative 1.5 year old Saint Beauty! 

What can we say about this picture? One improvises and becomes creative when a pillow is needed for a power nap after playing with a puppy! ?

She is in big need of a virtual foster donation buddy for December if anyone may consider supporting her.

We are currently spending almost $900 a month on her meds – Proin, Gabapentin, Deramaxx, Eye Lube plus high quality fish based food.

We will have her back in for her next recheck in December plus she will be due for her next professional grooming season then too.

As those that have been following her journey are aware, four ortho specialists determined that she did not qualify for FHO surgeries or hip replacement surgeries.

Olive is also our Pseudohermaphrodite which we found out when she was in for her bilateral entropion surgery plus spay – she is actually a genetic he.

We continue to work hard to give her the best quality filled life possible.

She is always a big hit at EVC!

Donations can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password

Thanks in advance for any consideration in being her December virtual foster buddy! 

AND thanks to her wonderful BHRR Haven foster home for this great photo!

NEXT IN NEED:

HE will get a new name for a new beginning!

BHRR’s Dean – after one of my all time fav nail trim clients at the Hospital I used to work at.

~5 year old heavily marked mantle male Great Dane.

O’s cannot afford his upkeep. They have had him for about 3.5 years and got him off a friend of a relative. Prior to that we do not know if he came direct from a Breeder or someone else.

Lacked socialisation, has some stranger reativity and resource issues. Does not like feet touched.

ETA to BHRR: Friday November 6th.

**NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION**

BHRR’s Miss Mollie is moving under a PENDING ADOPTION!

We shall update as we can.

Love this photo of her…

BHRR’s Miss Volt is moving under a PENDING ADOPTION!

We will update as we can.

AND this pic may be an oldie yet, it is a goodie….

She is so beautiful, inside and out.

My last post of my night!

BHRR’s Oslo(7 month old CC puppy) is scheduled for his next Vet visit on November 3rd.

When he is there, we will get a new weight, recheck his pheno levels with bloodwork, obtain more phenobarbital plus more Gabapentin, get his next dose of Nexgard Spectra, have a nail trim and also obtain more Diazepam.

We are also going to investigate that hind end further. He lacks rear angulation and his one knee almost ‘pops’.

He has not had a seizure since October 20th! 12 days! 

It is going to take some time to stabilize things for him and he is WORTH every nickel, dime, quarter and more!

AND once he is stable, we will then neuter him.

If anyone may consider his cause to support, donations can be made direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381
OR
via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org (friends and family option)
OR
via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password

On behalf of all of the animals in need of our highly specialised rescue, THANK you for your continued words of encouragement, belief and for any consideration to the ever mounting Vet bills that we have ongoing for BHRR’s Oslo, BHRR’s Symba and BHRR’s Coupe etc.

We cannot do this without you and we are humbled by the kindness shown to BHRR!

Warmest of good night wishes are being sent from our home to all of our friends, family plus supporters!

 
 
 
 
 
 

My last post of my night!

Time for folks to think about what they plan on giving up for 14 days in our 9th Annual ‘Give it up 4 Autumn’ Fundraiser! 

Starts Thursday November 5th and we already have 4 people signed up to date! Be creative! Some people have even done a swear jar in the past putting money each time they or someone in their office swears and then donating the monies raised at the end of the 14 days.

All money raised shall go towards helping BHRR’s Symba and BHRR’s Coupe!

More details in the poster and please do email contactbhrr@gmail.com if you would like to be part of our 9th annual event!

Here are the blog links to BHRR’s Symba:

AND for BHRR’s Coupe

For those who wish to consider making a financial donation to their worthy causes, you can do so via PayPal gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com OR you can do so directly to Liston Animal Hospital 613-591-0966

We have many many many thousands of dollars to raise and we are now set back even further as sadly, BHRR’s Oslo has needed emergency care today…..

From our home to all of our friends, family & supporters, the best of good night wishes are being sent!

 

BHRR’s Symba!

Someone is not caring that it is Halloween and is not even fazed by all of the sounds from the Horror Movie playing!
AND yes, the Jumbo stuffie is still his fav thing ever!

AND, on his plus BHRR’s Coupe’s behalf, we want to thank ALL of their fans, supporters plus believers for the material and financial donations made to date as we prepare for their upcoming Ortho surgeries with Dr. Philibert.

We are still short $3,000 for BHRR’s Symba’s own surgery and as many have noted we are attempting to do some flash auctions.

AND we are STILL in need of the following – listed below – in preparation for their surgeries if anyone may consider their worthy causes to support.

BHRR’s Coupe(Newfx) is scheduled – FINALLY- thanks COVID-19! – for his bone debridement and bilateral elbow arthroscopic surgery December 1st. He is also the sweet boy that we shockingly discovered no less than 2 x 9 mm bullets in him – one being in his chest – when we did x-rays plus he had to have an emergency enterotomy surgery. In addition, we have been treating him for heartworm.

BHRR’s Symba(Bull Mastiff) – pictured here – is scheduled for his TPLO surgery on November 18th.

We urgently need the below items to assist with their post-op recoveries.

1) Pinesol or Lysol
2) XL Costco Dog Beds
3) Towels
4) Paper Towels – not the scratchy/rough brown kind
5) Sleeping bags/Comforters/Duvets
6. Fabric Softener
7) Dryer Sheets
8) Donations for ongoing flash online auctions to help raise the many thousands upon thousands needed for these surgeries.
9) We need to put down 50% upon surgery drop-off and any consideration for financial donations can be made direct to Liston Animal Hospital 613-596-0966 – they both have accounts there
OR
via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
OR
via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password
10) Flannel Sheets – Double or Queen

Thanks as always from our hearts for any consideration to their very worthy causes – both dogs are magnificent!

As many know we have our monitored donation shed on our lane-way at the road by our mailbox and any kind items can be dropped off in it!

If you are not able to drop off at Oxford Station, please do email us to make alternative arrangements. contactbhrr@gmail.com

BHRR’s Devin, the Bouvier!

AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

He is ready to make his own special announcement!
 
For anyone interested in BHRR’s Devin; please read his extremely thorough blog that documents his journey while in rescue plus the type of home that we are seeking to approve for him as his forever loving adoptive one.
 

All of our policies, processes and procedures including an application to be completed and filled out are also found on our home website.

BHRR shall consider adoption applications ONLY from our location up to and including the area’s of Barrie & Cambridge in Ontario and up to Gatineau in the province of Quebec.

 
Note: as is listed on our Petfinder and home website plus in the application contract; We will not be responding to email/phone inquiries. We will ONLY review completed applications that are submitted along with the non-refundable application fee. WHICH is no way guarantees that your home shall be approved to adopt.
 
BHRR will NOT make exceptions to our clearly posted criteria.
 

BHRR’s Devin can go to a home that works part-time, full-time, works from home, semi-retired or is retired. He is another amazing versatile BHRR dog!

Health Status: HEALTHY! Per his Vet team, he will require a dental cleaning in the future – nothing that was deemed emergent/urgent for us to take care of during his time at BHRR.

 
Children: No homes with children under the age of 12 will be considered. He sometimes can be a bit mouthy and get excitable.
 
Personality/Temperament: Loving, affectionate, sweet, social, playful, quietly active – gentle, calm. Excellent leash manners. Great companion!
 
Previous Dog Experience: Previous dog experience is ideal yet not required if that right matched home is set up for success.
 
Good with Dogs: Yes, and while we would like to see him in a home with at least one other right matched personality fit dog; it is not a deal breaker. Having a strong social doggie network is most important and required. He does not like when dogs rush up to his face – have to love all of those irresponsible owners and their flexi-leads. For the most part, he is indifferent to other dogs. He does have a bff that is 11 months of age and they can play rough together – when they first meet-up.
 
Good With Cats: He currently resides in a foster home with a cat; yet, we would prefer a home without any cats or dogs the size of cats.
 
Good with Pocket Pets: Unknown yet, would not recommend. He is very interested in chasing squirrels and can easily clear a 4-4.5 foot fence, so no homes with low fencing will be considered for him.
 
Grooming: He is a dream to wash, do nails, ears etc. and regular professional grooming is mandatory. Do not apply if you are not going to do this. We have worked to get him looking his best under the care of an incredible professional groomer.
 
Car: He is great in the car! Gets in readily and settles down beautifully!
 
Housebroken/Crate Trained: He is housebroken and crate trained.
 
Obedience: His manners are truly quite lovely.
 
Activities Suited For Him: He has the perfect temperament to do therapy work and his amazing self deserves to be shared with the world.
 
Loves & Bad Habits: He loves his humans and to be around them. He is not an in your face kind of dog. He is the perfect strolling and walking partner and then the at home movie, tv show companion. His foster mom says he has a shoe fetish!
 
He is a super low maintenance dog – other than his grooming needs!
 
He loves to NOT sleep on soft bedding!!! Not good for his elbows or joints being a larger breed dog.
 
He will play fetch!
 
Is he the perfect dog? No…no dog is yet he is as close to bomb proof as any dog can be. He is fantastic plus!
 
It is going to be important to ensure that he does not get fat. We have worked hard to get him to lose weight and to build up much needed muscle mass/toning.
 
Anxieties/Worries: He really does not have any.
 
Thank you immensely ONCE more to Rick Millette Millsphoto on Facebook; for the absolutely stunning pics!
 
Thank you’s also to Cassy/John for being his fabu temp foster home!

BHRR’s Walter

ADOPTED!

Mr. Walter, this was another bittersweet adoption for me.

My heart wanted to call you mine and never let you go!

Yet, I knew that when you were ready to be placed up for adoption, that you no longer needed me….you wanted me; yet, no longer needed me.

AND we must let go of the ones that no longer need us so, we can help another that does need us.

It has been an absolute honour helping you to become the best boy you are and your future is so bright.

Closing a chapter is tough, any great foster home can tell you how hard it is to let go, and you make the 422nd time I have done the best thing ever – the right thing too! – by letting one of my fosters – you go!

My heart and soul goes into each and every dog that is in need of our highly specialised programs and you and I will always be connected….we will always have that bond like no other yet; now it is time for you to begin a new exciting wonderful chapter and keep living your best life!

You are already missed yet, know that I am as much excited plus happy as I am through my sniffling tears for as it is said; parting is such sweet sorrow!

Congratulations to you Mr. Walter, such a handsome incredibly sweet blue Great Dane whose charm, kindness, gentleness plus big heart is beyond special! Your determination to live through arriving into rescue so beyond sick; is also a testament to your rock solid inner strength. You have such a goofy silly mischievous side and it is unbelievably endearing.

Thank you to his forever loving adoptive home for all of their patience as we went through our extremely thorough adoption screening process.

SO worth the drive!!

ND as of about 9:15 AM today, we have been on the road driving to do BHRR’s Walters home-visit for a possible approved adoption….

We shall update as we can!

This picture was taken the day I picked him up from his BHRR emerge temp foster home to then bunk down with The Boerskins. 

Stay tuned….someone will be making his own special announcement shortly!

BHRR’s Devin, the Bouvier had his booster apt. yesterday!

He weighed 83.38 pounds. He has been on a weight loss, muscle mass/toning building program and he is getting to where we want him to be. 

After his Vet appointment – he was loved by all! – he was then off for his professional photo session.

Thank you immensely to Rick Millette Millsphoto on Facebook; for the absolutely WOW pics! 

Doesn’t he look positively stunning?! I could not be more happy with how great his professional groom session went with Melissa.

UPDATE: BHRR’s Oslo (7 month old Cane Corso)

In the space of 15 hours, he had 7 seizures.

He was sent home last night when the Hospital closed – with a catheter and Diazepam to administer via IV should he cluster seizure or have a prolonged seizure.

He was also increased on his Phenobarbital to 120 mg BID.

He then had a seizure at 9:27 pm, lasting about 40 seconds.

This morning he was back at the Hospital for another day of seizure watch.

The good news is that his blood work came back and is normal so his liver is tolerating the meds well!

We raised thanks to amazing rescue angels enough money to cover his Vet bills from yesterday and we now need to pay for today’s Bills which include more phenobarbital and diazepam sent home with his foster to give if needed.

Donations for anyone that may consider his so deserving cause to support; can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

*we just need to know the password*

This is sweet Mr. Oslo last night sporting his yellow vet wrapped catheter! 

Thank you again to his temp foster home for being so wonderful and for temp fostering.
 

UPDATE: He has had 6 seizures today to date.

Per his Vet, the seizures that he had in the Hospital lasted no more than 3 minutes.

She gave him one very light dose of valium and a light top up dose of phenobarbital with the first seizure, and one additional top up dose of phenobarbital with the second seizure.

We are awaiting the results of the bloodwork to see how his liver is handling the Phenobarbital.

THANK you to everyone that has been so unbelievably kind, caring and generous to send and post supportive words AND for the financial consideration to his Vet Bills.

We are forever indebted for your consideration!

UPDATE: Sadly, Mr. Oslo has had yet, another seizure event.

The good news is that he is presenting well between his seizures.

We are SOOOOOOOOO beyond grateful and appreciative and humbled by the words of support and the financial contributions to assist with his Vet Bills. 

Donations can continue to be sent direct via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password.

We will update as we can…..

*URGENT* *DONATIONS NEEDED*

BHRR’s Oslo, the 7 month month old puppy has been rushed to the Vet Hospital by his great foster family. 

He has now had four seizures since early this AM and has been admitted to the Hospital for care.

He has been in our rescue since October 11th with no seizure activity.

He has been taking his medications – was increased by his previous Vet prior based upon his blood results – prior to us taking him into rescue.

He was scheduled for his repeat blood work tomorrow AM to check his phenobarbital levels; yet, sadly; today; he has had seizure activity.

If anyone can spare, even $5 towards his emergency vet care – we will find out if people can donate direct to the Hospital they use in Amherstview – yet, donations would be so humbly and gratefully received by:

PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password*

We will update as we can.

His foster mama has been a solid strong rock for Mr. Oslo as seizures can be very scary and stressful to the animal and to the humans.

Thank you in advance for your kind consideration to this sweet boy! 

ISO: A Professional Photographer that may be willing to donate some of their time plus talent to take some photo’s of BHRR’s Devin, The Bouvier.

He has his booster apt. this Saturday and it shall not be too long after that that he will be ready to make his own special announcement! 

This is a picture from his professional groom session with the fabu Melissa! 

If a professional photographer may be open to donating some of their skills to assist us in capturing Mr. Devin in all of his handsomeness; please do email contactbhrr@gmail.com

BHRR’s Oslo, the Cane Corso puppy!

He has been settling in beautifully with his awesome temp foster home. 

He has not had any seizures since his arrival and we have had him into the Vet to obtain some flea/tick/heartworm meds along with de-worming. We also picked up more Gabapentin for him.

He weighed 36 kgs(79.2 pounds).

Being so straight legged in the hind end; he lacks rear angulation and a quick neuro test; determined that he is weaker in the one back leg over the other.

He is getting plenty of appropriate level of exercise as we work to build up his muscle mass and tone to make him stronger.

As he adjusts to the higher dosing of the phenobarbital; he is also going through some understandable ataxia. In the next week; he will be back for a repeat blood test to check his levels to help determine if this adjusted dosing remains best for him.

As a growing puppy (7 months of age); he will need dosing adjustments.

We are also closely monitoring his eyes as they are sometimes red and a bit runny so when he goes in for his recheck blood test, we are going to have his eyes checked. His left eye does have more prominent haws. Yet, If he needs to go in earlier for them; we will make it happen!

He has been making safe bubble COVID-19 human plus doggie friends and he is in excellent hands with his foster family and we continue to ensure that he lacks for nothing. 

Thank you to his wonderful foster family for everything!

**NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION**

As some are aware we have been working on assisting three Great Dane Puppies – we had an amazing suggestion to call them our Three Musketeers!

So, we have BHRR’s Porthos – white male Great Dane, Deaf/Visually Impaired.

BHRR’s Aramis – female white Great Dane, Deaf/Visually Impaired

BHRR’s Athos – male mantle Great Dane

ETA being worked on.

More details to come and all three have amazing special Secret Santa’s and they are NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

BHRR’s Symba!

My last post of my night is a special request on his behalf.

I know that we already made a post seeking urgent items in preparation for his and BHRR’s Coupe’s huge upcoming ortho surgeries; yet; there is one thing that is a specific request for this sweet boy.

As many know, I have posted several times re: his love and comfort of the jumbo stuffie here.

We are now in search of another jumbo stuffie – 4-5 feet in height for him to have post-op.

As we shall have to clean this one; rotating with a new one as needed during his recovery; will mean he would never be without. When we wash this one; his is like the toddler sitting outside the washer plus dryer; being a suck until he gets it back.

We have to restrict his mobility during his recovery and if anyone has a jumbo stuffie they no longer wish to keep; please consider one big Bull Mastiff baby to donate to? 

Also here is our Amazon Wish List Link for other items needed:

On that note, from our home to all of our friends, family plus supporters; warmest of good night wishes are being sent!

AND yes, we are still working on renovations!

My last post of my night!

We are in URGENT need of the following to prepare for not one but two major surgeries for two of our amazing BHRR dogs!

BHRR’s Coupe(Newfx) pictured below is scheduled – FINALLY- thanks COVID-19!  – for his bone debridement and bilateral elbow arthroscopic surgery December 1st. He is also the sweet boy that we shockingly discovered no less than 2 x 9 mm bullets in him – one being in his chest – when we did x-rays plus he had to have an emergency enterotomy surgery. In addition, we have been treating him for heartworm.

BHRR’s Symba(Bull Mastiff) is scheduled for his TPLO surgery on November 18th.

We urgently need the below items to assist with their post-op recoveries.

1) Pinesol or Lysol
2) XL Costco Dog Beds
3) Towels including hand towels
4) Paper Towels – not the scratchy/rough brown kind
5) Sleeping bags/Comforters/Duvets
6) Pillows – Twin/Double/Queen or King
7) Laundry Soap
8. Fabric Softener
9) Dryer Sheets
10) Donations for our upcoming flash online auction to help raise the many thousands upon thousands needed for these surgeries.
11) Financial Donations: We need to put down 50% upon surgery drop-off. Donations can be made direct to Liston Animal Hospital 613-596-0966 OR
via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org OR
via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password
12) Flannel Sheets – Double or Queen

Thanks as always from our hearts for any consideration to their very worthy causes – both dogs are magnificent! 

As many know we have our monitored donation shed on our lane-way at the road by our mailbox and any kind items can be dropped off in it!

AND from our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, the warmest of good night wishes are being sent!

 
 
 
 

My last post of my night!

We are in URGENT need of the following to prepare for not one but two major surgeries for two of our amazing BHRR dogs!

BHRR’s Coupe(Newfx) pictured below is scheduled – FINALLY- thanks COVID-19!  – for his bone debridement and bilateral elbow arthroscopic surgery December 1st. He is also the sweet boy that we shockingly discovered no less than 2 x 9 mm bullets in him – one being in his chest – when we did x-rays plus he had to have an emergency Enterotomy surgery. In addition, we have been treating him for heartworm.

BHRR’s Symba(Bull Mastiff) is scheduled for his TPLO surgery on November 18th.

We urgently need the below items to assist with their post-op recoveries.

1) Pinesol or Lysol
2) XL Costco Dog Beds
3) Towels including hand towels
4) Paper Towels – not the scratchy/rough brown kind
5) Sleeping bags/Comforters/Duvets
6) Pillows – Twin/Double/Queen or King
7) Laundry Soap
8. Fabric Softener
9) Dryer Sheets
10) Donations for our upcoming flash online auction to help raise the many thousands upon thousands needed for these surgeries.
11) Financial Donations: We need to put down 50% upon surgery drop-off. Donations can be made direct to Liston Animal Hospital 613-596-0966 OR
via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org OR
via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password
12) Flannel Sheets – Double or Queen

Thanks as always from our hearts for any consideration to their very worthy causes – both dogs are magnificent! 

As many know we have our monitored donation shed on our lane-way at the road by our mailbox and any kind items can be dropped off in it!

AND from our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, the warmest of good night wishes are being sent!

The Dogs rainy day plans! 
 
October 13th, 2020
 
 
 
 

BHRR’s Oslo!
6.5 month old Cane Corso Puppy who has IS.

He has arrived safely into the caring kind arms of his foster family and is already settling in nicely. 

Please do keep his previous home in your thoughts for this was not an easy decision for them.

Thank you to Lucie & Judy/Ron again for their generous Volunteer transport assistance.

NOT YET AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

Having a nap in her forever loving adoptive home!

BHRR’s Devaney is ADOPTED!

Miss Devaney is our Deaf/Visually Impaired Lab puppy.

Immense thanks being sent out to this home for their patience as we went through our extremely thorough adoption process.

BHRR has second to no other group adoption success rates. We were 100% in over 10 years of operating and now are 98% as we get ready to enter year 25.

Thanks also sent being sent out to Miss Devaney’s temp foster home for doing all that they did for her!

This is our first adoption since COVID-19 hit and we closed down, therefore, it is truly wonderful to see one of our fantastic dogs end up in such a great home.

Getting pics was such a fun time!! The laughter being done by all!

Congratulations to this home and to Miss Devaney!

BHRR Walter’s home-visit for his own possible approved adoption is October 25th. We will update as we can.

Image may contain: 2 people, people sitting and indoor
 

My last post of my night!

This special cutie arrives tomorrow!

He is the 6.5 month old male Cane Corso that has Idiopathic Seizures.

Drive safe wishes to the amazing kind hearted Volunteers for helping to transport him AND thank you to Judy/Ron for stepping up to be his fabu temp foster parents!

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, the best of good night wishes are being sent!

AND we are soon on our way!!!

Tonight is Miss Devaney’s (Deaf & Visually Impaired Lab puppy) home-visit for a possible approved adoption.

We shall update as we can.

*NOTICE*:

BHRR shall be closed for the intake of adoption applications and shall not approve any adoptions from Tuesday October 27th to Monday November 2nd. We do not adopt out around the Halloween season and many other Rescues, shelters, pounds etc. have also begun to follow a similar protocol.

We do not believe it is in the best interest of the animals in our program, especially for dark coloured dogs.During this time, BHRR is available 24/7, as always, for requests for assistance of animals in need.

 
 
 
 
 
 

NOTICE:

Unfortunately, we find ourselves having to address the below issues once again. Every few years it seems we must re-visit this despite being very clear on our website, Facebook and Petfinder as to how we operate.

This last 24 hours we have had not one yet, two extremely unpleasant moments.

Let us be extremely clear that if people continue to disrespect what is openly stated; we will involve legal and take the necessary action(s).

Our camera’s are running.

1) we are a foster based rescue that operates out of our home and our approved fosters. NOWHERE does it state that you can just drop by, visit or ‘get’ a dog because you want one.

It is NOT even ok to leave a voice message as a ‘courtesy heads up’ that you are on your way or will be on your way shortly to our PRIVATE property which is our home.

We would never do this to you; so do not expect it to be ok to do it to us. We get so little quality family time as it is and your blatant disregard for being mindful of our family time is not going to be tolerated.

We have a very thorough adoption process which is and has been posted over and over and over again in the last shy of 25 years.

All of the steps to be considered for a BHRR approved adoption is found on our websites and even in the application. We have done our job to have the information there. It is now up to you to read and follow the instructions.

We have posted many times over that only completed applications shall be considered/reviewed. We are NOT going to respond to ANY inquiries sent via email, text, voice message, Petfinder or Facebook. This is and has been posted many times over. So Stop. Spamming via email, text, phone, and/or Petfinder is not going to receive a response. They will be deleted and if you continue, marked as spam/junk/blocked.  It is equally NOT acceptable for you to come uninvited; to our home, private property with or without any completed application in hand.

As we also post, if a dog is listed on Petfinder, on our Website or on Facebook page as being ‘Available For Adoption’, YES, that dog is still available. We directly state that we work to keep everything up to date.

We have equally posted many times over that we are not going to make exceptions to our adoption contract, processes, policies and procedures.

2) the steps to surrender a dog is also openly stated on our website.

Do NOT leave a message and then only a couple of hours later show up at our home expecting us to drop everything and put your request above all of the other needy dogs that are equally ‘urgent’.

This is our home. This is private property.

AND do not say to one of us that you left many emails or voice messages re: said dog when we communicate closely with each other and know that this is a lie.

YOU are making our work more difficult that it ever should be and trust me, operating a highly r/q Rescue is damn hard.

BHRR is not about you; it is about the animals and please allow us to do our jobs; our non paying, 24/7, 365 days a year jobs.

We have been doing this since 1996; know what we are doing, are the experts in what we do from rescue to transport, to rehabilitation to adoption, from feeding to vetting, to training to behavioural modification and so much more.

If you want to adopt; please follow the process. If you have a dog in need; please follow the process.

The Boerskins
BHRR

BHRR’s Devaney!
Deaf & Visually Impaired lab puppy
PENDING ADOPTION!

Another, I ‘do not see a foster home allowing their foster on the couch’ photo! 

She is in an amazing foster home and we cannot thank them enough for all that they have done and are doing for her!

Miss Devaney’s home-visit for a possible approved adoption is scheduled for Thursday October 8th.

On that wonderful note, from our home to all of our friends, family & supporters, the warmest of good night wishes are being sent! 

The NEXT IN NEED:

This is a 6.5 month old male Cane Corso puppy that has idiopathic seizures.

I have spent the past few weeks talking/supporting this home via phone and email; hoping that his owners would become comfortable in working to manage the seizures.

If we can help keep dogs with their wonderful owners, that is what we would love to see.

However, they have reached a level of being overwhelmed with quite a few other factors coming into play so, they have made a really selfless choice wanting to surrender him to our highly focused and experienced special needs rescue.

Please join us in surrounding this home with kindness.

ETA October 10th

*NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION*

BHRR’s Devin
NOT YET AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

I see no chair AKA ‘mini couch!

I do see one adorable boy who continues to settle in beautifully into his temp foster home.

This is his new stuffie!

From our home to all of our friends, family & supporters, the best of good night wishes are being sent!

 
 
 
 

BHRR’s Miss Olive

Our 1.5 year old palliative Saint Bernard

She was in for a recheck for her eyes and for some other medical concerns on the 29th at EVC.

She will remain on eye meds, has been placed on antibiotics for a hot spot along with some cream for her private parts that has some urine scalding plus saliva stains.

AND thanks to a really generous loving angel BHRR’s Miss Olive’s Food/Vet bills have now been covered for the month of November!

We are currently spending almost $900 a month on her meds – Proin, Gabapentin, Deramaxx, Eye Lube plus fish based food. She also lovingly has a special Secret Santa to all her very own now. 
We shall be seeking a December sponsor(s) for her if anyone may consider supporting her….

We will have her back for her next recheck in December plus she will be due for her next professional grooming then.

We continue to work hard to give her the best quality filled life possible.

She is always a big hit at EVC!

Donations can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via contactbrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password

BHRR’s Devin (Bouvier) had his professional groom session on Monday. 

Here is a before photo – day he arrived – adorably handsome, Saturday and then an after grooming photo, positively gorgeous. 

Melissa, thank you again for taking excellent care of him and for the post groom picture!

His foster family tells us that he is a well behaved boy plus how great he has been settling in with them.

I know when I met him and had him at work for his intake vetting right after his arrival on Saturday, how positively fantastic he was even then.

You can tell just how much time, love, effort and care has been given to him in his previous home. Just a fantastic boy!

While he currently is the only dog in his foster home, they do have cat and he is also quickly developing a strong doggie social network in their community.

He is not yet available for adoption. He needs to have his boosters in 3-4 weeks and per our r/q protocols, we never flip dogs.

BHRR’s Devin
2.5 year old Bouvier
*NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION*

As promised, we are posting re: his Vet visit at work today.

He weighed 39.4 kgs(86.68 pounds). He should lose several pounds yet, nothing major.

The Vet did a thorough exam – between the staff getting kisses! – and he is a healthy fantastic boy!

The Vet did recommend a dental cleaning based upon the tartar on his back teeth yet, did not feel it was urgent to be done ASAP – something even his future adoptive home could take care of as there is nothing emergent that the Vet noted. From looking in his mouth, the Vet did not feel that any extractions are needed yet, dental x-rays would need to be done to really rule that out. However, there were not any concerns had!

The Vet went through all of the wonderful paperwork that his previous O.’s were so kind to pass along and we noted that he is already on flea/tick preventative and has heartworm plus de-worming meds also given to us by his previous home. 

The Vet was not able to find any notation of prior/recent heartworm/tickborne disease testing, so we ran some blood and it is negative.

We updated his vaccine protocol per the paperwork reviewed by his Vet and he will be back in 4 weeks time for a booster.

He is also scheduled for a professional grooming session with Melissa on Monday and is settled in with his fosters Cassy/John.

He was a BIG hit at work! HUGE! Visiting everyone and loving on everyone. 

To everyone that came together to help this magnificent boy; we are appreciative!

Two more pictures from when BHRR’s Devin was picked up:

This picture is going down as one of my all time favs for a rescue transport!! 

As our Volunteer network is aware, we had an urgent call to us yesterday re: a 2.5 year old Male Bouvier and in standard BHRR fashion, we mobilised fast and Cassy Montgomery/John picked him up this AM.

To be proactive to stop the comments we know some may want to post and before people start sharing far and wide ‘trying’ to find his Breeders:

1) yes, his show Breeders are aware & reached out to us. It is not possible to get him back to them easily.
2) they stand by their dogs 100% and know all too well that this is not a breed for most people.
2) he was with a wonderful couple in their 80s, having over 47 years of incredible experience with Bouviers, yet; in his young happy healthy exuberance; Mr. Devin almost bowled one of them over when running and slammed into the one O.

Will make another post shortly re: his Vet visit @ EVC this AM for as everyone who knows us; we vet all of our dogs immediately upon coming into our rescue.

Welcome to BHRR, ‘Devin’! 

*He is NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION*

BHRR’s Walter is moving under a PENDING Adoption!

We will update as we can.

This is an older pic of him when he was battling his eye infections yet, still a goodie!

AND Miss Olive is having her next professional grooming session including a mani/pedi!

She is our palliative 1.5 year old Saint Beauty.

As those that have been following her journey are aware, four ortho specialists determined that she did not qualify for FHO surgeries or hip replacement surgeries.

She is on almost $900/month in medications/special food – we added Proin since we last posted re: her and with our Drive-Way Events; we have raised enough money to keep her bills covered until November 1st.

If anyone would consider becoming a virtual foster buddy for her for November – plus she still needs her own special Secret Santa – to help us with her necessary high quality of care, donations can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password

This is Melissa with her at Groomingdale’s who is absolutely a gem to work with for our grooming needs.

While we worry what the cold weather may bring for her; we are going to take things as they come and keep helping her live her best every day!

BHRR’s Lilly!
*DEAF & Visually Impaired GD

STILL AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

Today she was at work for her annual!

She now weighs a beautifully lean muscled 42.2 kgs(92.84 pounds). A gorgeous petite GD that her personality is anything but petite!!

She is such a hoot and goofy! Had to post a derpy pic of her!!

Thank you to work for giving her another fantastic experience!!

For that right matched personality fit forever loving home and per her blog, we will only do a transitional adoption due to the importance of ensuring that stability and consistency is what she needs so that she does not become anxious and self-mutilate. When she first came to us, the damage that she had done and was doing to her body from her past life was horrific.

In the right home, she will remain happy, well balanced, confident and continue to reach her full potential!
 

On our way!!

Mr. Symba is looking forward to seeing folks @ 37 Dressler Drive in Kanata between 4-6:30 pm for our next Drive-Way Nail Trim & Ear Cleaning Event!

We can take debit, credit card or cash
Easy to self-distance
No appointments necessary
We are also collecting Empties & Canadian Tire $

We are collecting donations for our upcoming silent auction too

All monies raised shall go towards paying for Mr. Symba’s cruciate repair!

BHRR’s Symba – Bull Mastiff
4.5 years of age

HE LOVES this Giant stuffie! He is deep in thought – he has a deep soul this boy….those eyes of his, reach right inside of you…..

He is honest and genuine and so sweet, your teeth would ache!

He has been such a serious boy that has looked quite worried and we are now just starting to see his playful, happy, low tail wag side coming out!

Yes, we have to finish renovating…this summer we replaced all of the wiring in our home with armoured wire – Sean/our electrician close friend Marcil did after obtaining all permits etc.! – and now that the inspections are all completed plus aced; time to get our walls back up!!!

Just a gentle reminder that BHRR’s Symba will be at our Drive Way Nail Trim event Thursday September 17th – 37 Dressler Drive in Kanata from 4 – 6:30 PM!

He wants to thank in advance plus in person the folks who plan on showing up, to let them know that their generosity is going to help pay for his bad leg to be fixed!

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, the best in good night wishes are being sent!!!
 

Miss Devaney – DEAF & Visually Impaired 7 month old black lab puppy

She is moving under a PENDING ADOPTION!

We will update as we can….

Someone is having an AMAZING play date!

BHRR’s Coupe – NewfX

This wonderful home won a Day play date in our annual online date auction with BHRR’s Rain, one of our Haven Saints – almost 10 now! – yet, with the onset of cooler weather; her arthritis was acting up.

So, we offered up a date with another BHRR doggie and BHRR’s Coupe is having the time of his life! This home was once one of his emergency temp fosters. 

They are now going to love on him overnight to assist our home as we tend to a personal matter and then will drop him off at my work tomorrow.

He has even had a trip to the Pet Store for treats plus extra loving!

BHRR’s Coupe is a very popular cherished BHRR Dog – this is his THIRD Play Date from our online auction!!!

I have booked x-rays tomorrow as I want to see how his legs and elbows are doing for due to his emergency exploratory; he could not have his leg bone debridement and bilateral arthroscopic surgery on his elbows.

Then COVID-19 hit and that put everything on hold further.

Once I have those x-rays I will send them off to his ortho specialist to see what Dr. Philibert has to say in re: to if he may still need bone debridement surgery – he has been on his antibiotic regime – along with his elbows; so that we can plan accordingly for his future!!

If he is still with us come January; he will then need his next Heartworm/Tickborne disease test as he tested positive for Heartworm after we stepped up to assist him. From there, we then did a microfilaria test to determine what treatment would be best for him. As he did not have any microfilaria, he was placed on monthly HG.

This boy is incredible!!! Just incredible!! 

He is going to make a lucky home that most unbelievably amazing of additions when he is ready to make his own special announcement.

Have a great night Mr. Coupe!

BHRR’s Devaney – Black Lab – (DEAF/Visually Impaired) had her monthly weigh in for her flea/tick/heartworm preventative.

She is now over 55 pounds and turned 7 months old today!

This is her abiding with complete respect to the no couch rule!! 

Thank you’s being sent out of her foster Mama for keeping me updated on all of her antics! 

She remains AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION to that right matched personality fit home.

AND we look uber bootiful again!

At the Vet she weighed just under 80 pounds. She had her Lepto Vaccine & Lyme vaccines and her Rabies and DHPP are good until 2022 as we gave them in 2019. Both she and BHRR’s Miss Volt had been vaccinated for Lyme per the current protocols being recommended.

In January 2020, she will be due for her next QC6 bloodtest to see what her levels are like and in the fall of 2020; she is due for her Heartworm test which also tests for the three most common tickborne diseases and we all know that she will show up positive for Lyme WHICH is why she gets the QC6 test is to be done every 6 months AND that she is to remain on tick meds year round to 1) to see if she requires additional treatment for Lyme if her levels are too high
2) the proactive preventative will work to help ensure that she does not risk further exposure to Lyme disease

This will be in her adoption contract clauses along with her to be professionally groomed on a regular basis.

We are also putting this blog post in Miss Volt’s blog so that people can be aware of the status re: her receiving future Lyme vaccines and the QC6 testing too!

BHRR’s Miss Mollie (Standard Poodle/Saint BernardX) has a big day today!

It is her regular professional grooming session with the truly lovely and caring Melissa Lepage of Pet Valu Groomingdale’s in Stittsville. 

Then, we are off for her annual Vet visit.

She remains available for adoption to that right matched personality fit forever loving home.

She has an extremely detailed blog that documents her whole journey to date along with the home we are seeking for her.

Additionally, all of our adoption polices, processes and procedures can be found on our website for anyone that may be interested in her to read to help them determine if they should submit an application – also found on our home website – to members of the BHRR BOD to consider.

DONTED TO DATE: $500

BHRR’s Symba!
4.5 year old Bull Mastiff

He loves that giant elephant stuffie and BHRR’s Walters bed…. 

BHRR’s Walter is not too thrilled to share his special bed and I am working on getting Mr. Symba one of his own. 

This boy is truly a rock star, in temperament and looks! Sean says every day that he cannot stay !

If all works out, Mr. Symba shall be at our next Drive Way Nail Trim & Ear Cleaning Event on Thursday September 17th to personally thank his fans/supporters for surrounding him with love. Location: 37 Dressler Drive from 4-6:30 pm.

We are still waiting for a surgery date for his cruciate repair surgery and have our brains engaged for creative fundraising ideas as his surgery will be close to $4,000+tx.

On behalf of one sleeping beauty; warmest good night wishes are being sent from our home to all of our friends, family and supporters!

BHRR’s Devaney!
6.5 month old Deaf/Visually Impaired Lab Puppy
AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION

Technically, not all on the couch to be breaking the ‘no couch’ rule!!!! 

What a hoot she is!

Thank you’s extended to her incredible foster home for everything that they have done and are doing for her!!!

BHRR’s Mollie is scheduled for her annual on September 10th. On July 6th we did a repeat of her QC6 – noted in her blog post for that date – per the recommendation of her Vet team to do every 6 months and the results indicated that she did not require any further treatment for Lymes at that time! YAY!

We will do a repeat Heartworm test as though we are ok if they are done every second year; yearly for BHRR’s Mollie would make us more comfortable. This 4DX test also does test for the three most common tickborne diseases and we already know that the results for Lymes will be positive based upon her history which is why every 6 months she requires the Q6C small blood test that is sent to the lab for analysis. 

She will be due for vaccines at this time also and we will ensure that they are done as BHRR does not scrimp out on whatever our dogs are due for or need. We took care of her vaccines when she first arrived and it is now time to get her annual done.

For that right matched personality fit home; a copy of her Vet Records will be passed along so that their Vet Team can be in the loop of what she has had and what she shall require moving forward.

She will remain on tick preventative year round too and we will require her right matched personality fit adoptive home to do this.

BHRR’s Mollie is scheduled for her next professional groom session on September 10th. Regular professional grooming(we are doing every 8-9 weeks) will be required by her right matched personality fit adoptive home. If you cannot afford her grooming, she is not the right dog to consider for your home.

These will be additional clauses in her adoption contract and will be legally binding. If not adhered too; we shall step in and take Miss Mollie back. Proof of the blood-work and professional grooming shall be required to be sent our way for no less than 2 years to demonstrate proper due diligence to her well being.

Should you not want to abide by these clauses; then please do not submit a completed adoption application to members of the BHRR BOD to consider. We take our adoption contracts seriously and so should you.

AND to post yet again, she is a GIANT breed canine. Saint Bernard/Standard PoodleX. She is not a single bred dog, she is a mix, a giant breed mix. Lovely and beautiful!

**Donated To Date: $175**

BHRR’s Symba!

3:30 AM and I look beside me as I working on my computer and this is the scene that greets me. ??

Almost 135 pounds cuddled up with a giant sized elephant stuffie. ?

No matter how old or young, giant stuffies are enjoyed by the dogs – they provide comfort and security and are snuggly soft.

This boy only had a torn blanket sent along with him when he arrived to rescue.

This is the Bull Mastiff that had been scheduled to be put to sleep and a rescue worked with the Owner to see if another group could take him in. We are forever grateful to this rescue for they saved a magnificent dog!!

He was back to work with me on the Monday as with everything he had done on Sunday, he still needed his vaccines.

He seems to love BHRR’s Walter’s ortho bed that had been bought for Mr. Walter so we are going to work on trying to find that bed for Mr. Symba too!

He is settling in so wonderfully and everyone who has met him to date cannot say enough about how awesome of a boy he is! 

I am now getting some good welcome tail wags from him and he is such a solid handsome boy.

His x-rays were reviewed by one ortho specialist who felt that BHRR’s Symba’s should have a TPLO procedure over an ex-capsular surgery for his blown cruciate. This was determined to be the best approach due to him being a Giant Breed Dog. The ortho specialist also felt that they were not the ideal surgeon for him and so the x-rays have now been sent over to another ortho surgeon.

With how busy we are at my own work, I cannot get him in there anytime soon and this boy has had this blown cruciate since the spring.

So, we are now waiting patiently, knowing how busy everyone is; to see what Dr. Philibert may have available.

We have been given one estimate of $3,800+ for this surgery and we are looking deep into our couch cushions for spare change, we keep collecting Empties, we have two more Drive-way nail trim events and our Dine with the Doggies Fundraiser.

His bills to date are just under $1,000 and any donations to his care would be beyond appreciated and can be made direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*we just need to know the password

Thank you in advance for the consideration!

BHRR’s Symba

He weighed 61.70 kgs(135.74 pounds).

We sedated him at work today so that he could have a thorough exam on his hips and knees.

We did x-rays on hips and knees and it has been confirmed that he does have a blown cruciate in his back right leg. His hips look ok, so good news there!

We did pre-op bloodwork including testing for heartworm plus tick borne diseases and the results were all normal.

We did ear cytology’s as his ears were yucky and we cleaned them plus put in ear meds as he has infections.

We did a big nail trim on him too as his nails were very overgrown.

He also had a cartrophen injection. He will be on Gabapentin and Deramaxx for pain and inflammation.

He will begin flea/tick & heartworm meds plus be de-wormed.

AND this dog has an incredible temperament!! Just outstanding!

X-rays & bloodwork will be sent off to his ortho specialist and we will schedule his TPLO surgery ASAP

He is the Bull Mastiff that was scheduled to be euthanised by his owner and a group stepped in and asked for time so that another group could be found to help him.

This boy is absolutely heaven and we feel so privileged to help and he will need the BHRR village to surrround him with support as he has a long surgery and rehab journey ahead of him…

He also needs a XL Costco dog bed to call his very own if anyone may help….

Donations can be made direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*please let us know the password!*

Thank you in advance from our hearts for any consideration to his care….

Got him!!!

Pouring rain, flooding and thunderstorms did not hold back this rescue!!!

Thanks again Cassy for picking him up and meeting me! Rescue angel!!

He is scheduled to see the Vet tomorrow @ 5 pm and his rehabilitation journey begins now.

Welcome to BHRR Mr. Symba!

Now to get home, get him settled in and get dried up!

 
 
 
 
 
 

AND Cassy now has him!

BHRR’s Symba.

After much stress, this handsome boy(Bull Mastiff) is now safe!

Apparently, he has a blown cruciate – diagnosed in the spring and was recently scheduled to be euthanised as O. cannot afford the medical care. Another rescue worked with the Owner to gain some time to see if another organisation could assist.

O. also had two other dogs(MastiffX) they were seeking to re-home.

It was a worrisome and difficult process yet, we finally have him.

Thank you Cassy for the transport assistance, drive safe!

I shall be hitting the road a bit later to meet up with them…

He will be brought into work shortly to be assessed and to begin his medical rehab journey.

BHRR UPDATE!

1) In having a discussion with several members of the BHRR BOD; we shall be open as of Septermber 1st – subject to change if need be – for the intake of completed applications ONLY to consider for approved adoptions.

BHRR ONLY places per right matched personality fits and has an extremely thorough adoption screening process.

2) Unfortunately, again….in 2020 we will not be doing a BHRR Calendar. The cost is too high for what comes out of our personal pockets when that is monies that are desperately needed to keep BHRR open.

3) ISO: Auction Items for our upcoming 9th Annual Dine with the BHRR Doggies Event. Human, dogs, cat, gift baskets, gift certificates etc. ALL are welcome!

We also need draw prizes!

Please do not post your kind offers here, please do email contactbhrr@gmail.com

4) It is that time again! Time to think about being a special Secret Santa to the BHRR doggies! 2020 marks our 18th year doing this!!

As of today, we still have 21 deserving BHRR doggies in need of a special SS to call their very own!

To learn more and to sign up, please do visit the link!

5) BHRR is in urgent need of the following items:
Garbage bags – all sizes
Laundry soap
Fabric Softner
Fabric Softner Sheets
Giants Sized Dog Toys
XL Costco Dog Beds
Blankets, Duvets, Towels
Paper Towels
Pinesol

6) Please do reach out if you or someone you know has a Great Dane/Giant Breed Dog in need. We are also a highly/strongly focused special needs rescue so take in other breeds as we can that are also: Deaf and/or Blind, Sick, Senior, Neuro, Injured, Pregnant, Palliative, Nursing, Other Medical, Orphaned & Behavioural

It hurts our hearts to see dogs being put to sleep when there is an organization – we have been around since 1996 – OR to see these dogs end up in disreputable places.

Please do email contactbhrr@gmail.com if you or someone that you know needs assistance.

Another pic!

BHRR’s Coupe!
(NewfX)

He had his second special play date from our unique creative 9th annual online auction – this one was an overnight play date on August 23rd. 

From the home who won this amazing time with him:

‘Thank you so much for the opportunity of our overnight date with Coupe!! We had lots of fun – two shorter walks (3rd drowned out by rain), time in the backyard, Coupe was unfazed by our cat Wiley but he loves squirrels, there were belly rubs and ear scratches and cuddles, and loads of love. He was very well behaved and we miss him already.’

Thank you to this caring home for giving him this wonderful experience!!

BHRR’s Devaney!
6.5 month old Black Lab Puppy
**DEAF & Visually Impaired**
AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

Miss Devaney is ready to make her own special announcement!For those that have followed Miss Devaney’s rehabilitation journey; they shall be as excited as we are to see her make her own special announcement!She has overcome being kept in a crate, having burns, wounds plus lesions on her neck due to being kept in a shock/prong collar 24/7 AND since her arrival to BHRR; she has not had ONE seizure; leading us and her Vet team to believe that they had been stress induced.Health: She is healthy, has had two thorough exams, been spayed, microchipped, is on monthly preventative for flea/tick/heartworm, been de-wormed, has had three rounds of blood-work done, is up to date on vaccines and has not lacked for anything! She is DEAF/Visually Impaired and nothing has held her back once she was brought into Rescue.

Type of Home: It would be great to see her in a home with at least one other right matched personality fit dog. She is super social so having a strong doggie social network shall be key. She is fantastic with dogs.

Home With Children: She can come to a home with older children, 10+ and said home can have no more than 2. She came from a home that had lots of very small children and the home did not have the time to spend with her and she was not properly taken care of as a result.

Prefers Men? Women?: She LOVES people! AND food! She came into rescue out of shape and fat. She is so much leaner and fit and we want to keep her that way!

The home can be a ft, pt, work from home, semi-retired or retired home. Miss Devaney is another very versatile BHRR doggie!

Previous Special Needs Experience: Previous special needs experience is not required yet, the home MUST be attentive to working to learning to communicate with Miss Devaney. She has been learning a mixture of ASL and made up hand signals.

We want her set up for success!

Good With Cats: She has proven to be fine with our Clinic cat, yet, integration is key!

Good with Pocket Pets: Unknown yet, would not recommend as she wishes to play – and can play rough! – and make friends with everything/one she meets.

Grooming: I have had no issues doing her nails at work and she is easy to groom – brush out and bathing.

Car: She is fine in a car.

Housebroken/Crate Trained: She is housebroken and crate trained.

Obedience: Her manners are coming along. Our mandatory obedience clause in our adoption application will ensure that the right matched personality fit home will work to build up her trust and respect.

Personality/Temperament: Loving, affectionate, sweet, social, playful, active/busy, mischievous. She is a puppy!

Previous Dog Experience: Previous dog experience is ideal yet not required if that right matched home is set up for success.

Activities Suited For Her: She is smart and we would love to see her go to a home that shall give her a job to do! She LOVES the water – dock diving? Therapy dog work is another possibility.

Loves & Bad Habits: She gets into things that she should not…..shoes, toilet paper etc. and there was one incident in her foster home that she got a hold of a 40 g chocolate bar. She is a growing, learning puppy and it will be important for the home to continue her training and obedience with consistency, kindness, structure, routine. We want her to be an asset to home and to community. A positive balanced recognized obedience program – obedience is one of the least regulated professions in Canada – will be necessary per our BHRR adoption contract.

Anxieties/Worries: Not much fazes this girl!

BHRR will NEVER adopt out a dog until / if they are ready. We are not desperate to find homes for our dogs. To us, having a dog come in to rescue is one time too many and we are here to help the next dog in need of us; not flip dogs or rush through any placement.
We are a highly focused special needs Rescue and Miss Devaney needed our assistance urgently and she is beyond deserving!
We do not take in hundreds of applications and then ‘choose’ the best out of those applications. We review completed applications ONLY in the order that they arrive and ONLY a right matched personality fit application shall be approved.
To us at BHRR, Miss Devaney is MORE than worth everything and to all that have met her to date, they can confirm that this girl is a WOW dog….super special, smart, affectionate and gorgeous!
BHRR’s Miss Devaney, it has been a true pleasure to be able to assist you……AND thank you again to your fabu foster home for taking excellent care of you!
You are such a wonderful girl and are going to make that right matched personality fit home the most amazing of addition!
Thank you also to Josée Lavoie Pet Photography for the gorgeous pictures!

REMINDER: Do read Miss Devaney’s extremely detailed blog plus our adoption processes, procedures plus policies prior to submitting an application to members of the BHRR BOD to consider.

NOTE: That we are not accepting any applications to consider until at LEAST September, subject to change due to COVID-19. We will not be responding to inquiries on her, only completed applications that are submitted after we are open again for adoption application consideration.

 
 
 
 

BHRR’s Devaney
*Deaf/Visually Impaired 6.5 month old Black Lab Puppy
August 24th, 2020

Thank you to Josée Lavoie Pet Photography for their incredible talent and generous time once more to help capture one of our BHRR dogs!

Thank you to Gracie Honalulu for being such a wonderful temp foster home for her! They have been extremely kind and have covered her food/treat bills since she arrived!

In a few days, Miss Devaney will be ready to make her own special announcement!

BHRR’s Miss Devaney(deaf/visually impaired Black Lab Puppy) had a special trip yesterday!

She had her professional photos done yesterday and cannot wait to see the final product!s!!

Thanks to Josée for her talent and time again for taking the pictures plus to Miss Devaney’s foster Mama for all that they have been doing for her!

Soon Miss Devaney will be ready to make her own special announcement. 

We have made the decision to move both BHRR’s Gravel and BHRR’s Giselle to our Haven Program.

They will continue to be adored, cherished and beyond well taken care of for the rest of their days.

BHRR’s Miss Volt!
**AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION** 
She was once available for a foster to adopt situation yet, now is available for straight adoption to that right matched forever loving adoptive home!

As many that follow BHRR’s Volts’ blog are aware, she was once available for a foster to adopt situation as we worked out her ‘vulva’ issue per her specialist Dr. Philibert plus her Vet Team.When she was spayed, she was to have an incisor extracted yet, per her post spay post; this was no longer needed! Nature took care of things as she grew from a wee puppy to a young lady.

Health Status: HEALTHY! She has recovered from her prior to being rescued situation of being electrocuted. We have also addressed her vulva issues, her teeth issues AND though, she tested Lyme positive – her QC6 levels test shows that she does not require treatment. She is to be re-tested every 6 months; remains on proper year round tick preventative(Nexgard Spectra) and gets her Lyme Vaccine yearly. Her next QC6 blood-test is due early 2021. In the spring she will then be due for her next 4DX test – Heartworm and Tickborne disease testing – which we know that she will test positive for Lyme which is why every 6 months she needs the Quant C6 blood test.
*THIS IS MANDATORY TO ANY HOME THAT IS APPROVED TO ADOPT HER!*

Type of Home Ideal For Miss Volt: We are seeking a home that ideally has at least one other right matched personality fit dog for Miss Volt is uber social. She will need a strong doggie social network as she LOVES to play and be around her doggie bffs.We will consider homes with children as young as 5 and prior Rottie experience is not required.If a home already has children, we do not wish to see her placed in a home that has more than 2 children.

She can go to a home that works ft, pt, works from home, is semi-retired or retired etc. She is another versatile BHRR dog!

She will NOT go to a home that seeks to make her fat or obese – yup, one of my biggest pet peeves! She is lean and looks fantastic!

Personality/Temperament: Loving, affectionate, sweet, social, playful, active/busy – not over the top, quietly so, gentle, can be a bit pushy with her wish to have attention, if not handled properly – she has the propensity to develop SA behaviours, can be easily excited, settles down wonderfully to watch tv/movie/read a book and when it is time for bed.

Previous Dog Experience: Previous dog experience is ideal yet not required if that right matched home is set up for success.

Good With Cats: She has proven to be fantastic with cats too! Yet, integration is key. Her last play date had a cat – she has had a play date there before without issue yet, this time she really wanted to play and be friends.

Good with Pocket Pets: Unknown yet, would not recommend as she wishes to play – and can play rough! – and make friends with everything/one she meets.

Grooming: She is a dream to wash, do nails!

Car: She now loves the car! Gets in readily and settles down beautifully!

Housebroken/Crate Trained: She is housebroken and crate trained yet, does have a love of paper towels so be warned!

Obedience: Her manners are truly quite impeccable. She can still pull on the leash when she gets too excited yet, re-directs/re-focuses well.

Activities Suited For Her: She is smart and we would love to see her go to a home that will consider therapy work with her. She has the perfect temperament! She is too awesome of a dog to not share with the world.

Loves & Bad Habits: She loves her walks/hikes and to snuggle and cuddle and her one vice is hooking her front legs around yours and almost tripping you!

Or, she has been known to take the bottom of your pant leg as you walk too! Working on it!

OK, she has another vice….she LOVES to dig holes…..big ones, gigantic ones….not quite sure where she is going for she digs them in every direction!

Lately, she has also begun to jump up on people – greatly discouraged and being addressed and shall need continued positive balanced enforcing to not do this.

Is she the perfect dog? No…no dog is yet she is as close to bomb proof as any dog can be. She is truly magnificent.

We encourage her to be curious and passively ignore anything that she may show initial uncertainty.

To Miss Volt, as much as she loves people, places and things….she loves home the best! Walks on our trails, hikes, car rides, outside of the home adventures and then snacks by the fireplace/tv are her evening big moment of happiness.

OH, yeah, she still wants to climb in my shower and tub more often than not too! LOL

Anxieties/Worries: Miss Volt worries at the Vet Hospital in a run. She has spent significant time at various Vet Hospitals during her life to date to get her healthy and what works best when she has to come to work with me is to tether in in our treatment area and she is calm/quiet and amazing.

We have also used Trazodone with her to aid in her anxiety/worries. This helps take the edge of her stress level as we work to make sure her visits to work are not all about vetting – fun and people picking her up for play-dates etc.

We recommend anyone that may be interested in sweet beautiful BHRR’s Volt, to read her extremely detailed blog and our adoption processes, policies and procedures prior to submitting an application to the BHRR BOD to consider.

BHRR’s Volt is almost a $25,000 dog to date in our efforts to get her physically healthy. We have SO many to thank for standing by her and our sides as we have gone through this extremely long yet, necessary rehab journey.

BHRR will NEVER adopt out a dog until / if they are ready. We are not desperate to find homes for our dogs. To us, having a dog come in to rescue is one time too many and we are here to help the next dog in need of us; not flip dogs or rush through any placement.

We are a highly focused special needs Rescue and Miss Volt needed our assistance so badly and she is so deserving!

We do not take in hundreds of applications and then ‘choose’ the best out of those applications. We review completed applications ONLY in the order that they arrive and ONLY a right matched personality fit application shall be approved.

To us at BHRR, she is MORE than worth every dime and to all that have met her to date, they can confirm that this girl is a WOW dog….super special, smart, affectionate, deserving and have I mentioned how stunning she is?!

She is a small female Rottie and yes, her tail was incorrectly docked and to us, she is perfect in all of her imperfections.

BHRR’s Volt, it has been a true honour, privilege and joy having you with us……I shall shed many a tear when it is your time to go yet they will be so worth it!

You are a gift and we know that you will leave an incredible mark on the world!

My final note is a special thanks being shouted out to Alta Vista Animal Hospital…..without you, she would not have even had this opportunity. THANK you for saving her and then entrusting her to BHRR……THANK you to Dr. Philibert for all of his expertise and equal amazing care to her!

Thank you also to Josée Lavoie Pet Photography for the gorgeous pictures!

 
 
 
 

BHRR’s Devaney(6 month old deaf/visually impaired Black Lab). 

She is recovering from her spay from last week and after we get her professional photo’s, she is going to be ready to make her own special announcement!

SO Exciting!!!!

The next in need of us!

4 year old Male Bull Mastiff

Medical: Blown cruciate

Another kind Rescue worked with the O. to get them to cancel the scheduled euthanasia apt. they had made so that they could see if another group could step up to assist.

ETA to BHRR TBD

*NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION*

The BHRR/Boerskins no couch rule in full swing…. 

So much news to catch everyone up on!!

I have been working very long days since Friday…bit longer than usual and so here comes the first of several posts!

BHRR’s Burst(DaneX) had her own special DAY Date on Sunday from our recent annual online date auction fundraiser.

They LOVED her!  I mean, what is not to love and they feel we have aptly named her. 

They loved their visit with her so much so much that they would like to submit an application for members of the BOD to consider when we re-open for adoption application intake.

Thank you to them for giving Miss Burst a wonderful day!!

Someone had her spay today!

Miss Devaney(Deaf/Visually Impaired Black Lab Puppy) had her pre-op bloodwork, was spayed and I microchipped her.

She now weighs just over 45 pounds at 6 months of age.

It was lovely to see her again!!! 

Once she heals from her spay, she will be ready to have her own professional photo session and then to make her own special announcement! 

She is now back home with her foster family.

 

As we continue to receive inquiries and/or applications re: adoptions, we are making yet another blog post – there is one also made on June 8th AND another one made on July 22nd – on all of our adoptable dogs’ blogs re: our current positioning. Our Facebook page and Petfinder also state our present closure for adoption applications.

**WITH COVID-19, WE ARE NOT ACCEPTING/CONSIDERING ANY NEW ADOPTION APPLICATIONS UNTIL AT LEAST SEPTEMBER.**
**DATE SUBJECT TO CHANGE & BE PUSHED FURTHER OUT ONCE AGAIN.**

Please note that we are NOT reviewing nor approving any new applications for approved adoptions until at least September.

We will re-evaluate this closer to that date as to if we need to extend that date.

We will not be accepting any applications or any non-refundable applications fees during this time. 

This is for several reasons:

1) BHRR requires a Vet Reference and as someone who works in animal medicine, I know how absolutely insanely busy we are at this time with our staff/hours. We are NOT going to jam up the phone lines doing vet references when people are trying to get through to make urgent appointments, asking for refills of lifesaving meds, needing prescription food etc.

Additionally, the government has only recently announced that Vet Hospitals can now open up to do non-essential appointments and not only operate on an urgent basis. The backlog to the Vet Hospitals is incredible.

People answering the phones at Vet Hospitals need to be answering the phones for many other reasons. Not for Vet references.

We need to focus on patient care at the Hospital and we respect and understand that other Hospitals need to do the same. We are an essential service and need to be able to provide that service to the best of our abilities and checking Vet references does not fall under that criteria.

2) We cannot nor will we do home-visits. I put my life and my family’s life at risk every day that I go to work to take care of other people’s pets. Doing a home-visit is not responsible nor does it follow the policy set forth from the government that we need to be practising self-isolating to flatten the curve.

Doing a home-visit is not urgent during this COVID-19 pandemic.

At this time, I go to work, utilize the ever dwindling supply of PPE available, I go home, I buy groceries, get gas and that is it for my public appearances. I am thinking NOT only of my dogs, yet, my family and you…I am thinking of all of the other people out there….

3) It does greatly concern us with the number of inquiries coming our way over the past few months with the vast majority being for the wrong reason(s) from people now wanting to adopt.

On a ‘good’ day, we get almost 1,000 emails and about 50 phone calls.

These past several months; we are up to almost 2,000 emails and almost 125 phone calls a day.

People telling us that they now have time on their hands. If you did not have time before you stopped working; what makes you think that you will have time once you go back to work?

Additionally, even with people going on EI; the monies coming in are not the same as if you were working and if you feel that you are struggling to pay bills, buy groceries, how do you feel that you can take on the costs of having a Giant Breed dog?

The average cost – and I have been tracking this since 1996 – of owning a giant breed per year, PRIOR to emergencies is $2,400.

All of this to say; we will not be processing any applications until it is ideal plus safe to do so.

If you send us a completed application along with the non-refundable application fee, we will be responding that we are not accepting nor reviewing applications and when we do feel that it is safe to do so, we shall begin to slowly open up. 

Our Petfinder and home websites as posted are kept up to date and all details re: said dogs are on their individual blogs. Once, we do open up again for new applications, we will remain ONLY responding to completed applications. You would be welcome to re-submit your application along with the non-refundable application fee at that time for members of the BHRR BOD to consider. We will NOT be holding on to your applications nor the non-refundable application fee from now to then. 

**EXCEPTION: We shall no longer be covering the cost of any banking or PayPal fees should people send this non-refundable fee. In May/June, we were out of pocket almost $100 as people were not be mindful. This is much needed money being taken away from the animals as we are covering the fees out of our own pockets and that is money that we would have used for the BHRR animals.**

Asking us what the cost to adopt is or asking to meet a dog; is all information found on our websites. Each BHRR dog has an extremely thorough individual blog that dates back to when they first arrived into Rescue. Emailing or calling us asking for more details, what our adoption fees are, wanting to come and see the dogs are not going to be responded to any longer. We have posted many times over that we are not a pound, shelter or facility and no, you cannot just visit a dog or make an appointment to visit a dog. We are an all Volunteer organization that operates from our own home and that of our approved Foster homes. 

AND yes, we are not other groups – we are NOT going to take chances that our dogs could be set up for failure – and as it is the prerogative of other groups to adopt out during this brutally difficult time, it remains our prerogative to not do so. Our adoption success rates are second to no other group out there – 100% for over 10 years of operating and now 98% as we go through year 24. We will not compromise on our policies, procedures and processes.

We are NOT desperate to adopt out our dogs. All dogs that are deemed adoptable shall ONLY be adopted to right matched personality fit homes that are approved via our thorough adoption screening process.

Thanks!

This handsome love had his special DAY play date today!

BHRR’s Coupe!

I was told how amazing he was and he really is!! 

He has an OVERNIGHT Play Date coming up soon too.

Lucky amazing boy! You deserve to be spoiled and cherished!!

Thank you to Elaine and her family for winning this date in our recent 9th annual online auction and giving him such a wonderful experience! 

Miss Olive (1.5 year old Saint) is settling into her palliative foster home.

Her latest recheck showed that her eyes continue to heal slowly from her bilateral entropion surgery and are doing well! She has eye drops and when she came in for her recheck, I did a thorough clean up on both of them.

She is back for her next recheck in 2-3 weeks time.

Thanks to the generous monies that have been raised through our fundraising efforts, we have her bills for meds/special food covered until October. 

I will also be working on her getting another professional groom session in September. The first one we did was shy of $200 to get her looking and feeling beautiful.

Her monthly bills are just shy of $700 and if anyone would like to consider her cause to support to help us cover October and beyond; donations can continue to be made direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*please let us know the password

Even $5 would mean the world to her and to us! 

 

BHRR’s Nimbus says Gwennie is home!

He is the 14 month old Giant Schnauzer that has a bite history that we took in July 25th.

He very much has lacked boundaries, manners and has felt that he can rule the world. On the flip side, he also did not have his own needs/wants met as they should have been.

From the moment I first brought him home, not once but twice, he has lifted his leg upon first meeting Sean to urinate on him.

He has jumped, mouthed, has demonstrated serious intent to bite – especially where his collar is concerned. He is extremely sensitive/reactive to his collar/neck being touched.

We do not attempt to touch his food or toys at the present, items that he only gets when he is in his crate or in the one fenced in yard or in a room by himself to enjoy. We are a long way off from sharing water bowls too with the other dogs.

When he first arrived, he was wearing a muzzle that his previous O.’s had put upon him – the man in particular was highly fearful of him. We managed to swap out the collar he was wearing to a martingale – as his previous loop collar was ill fitting and he is a big flight risk – and then took the muzzle off.

He has been doing well with his crate training – yet, is reactive in any situation he feels cornered.

He has proven to be excellent with the dogs he has been integrated with to date – BHRR’s Fred – who has his own bite history prior to coming to BHRR; BHRR’s Walter and my two Wolfies, Torin plus Brogan. He has zero issues with BHRR’s Caramel; yet, as always Mr. Caramel feels threatened and worried about any new dog and thinks they may eat him so, he barks at Mr. Nimbus…so, baby steps. Mr. Nimbus was also excellent with BHRR’s Valour may that sweet soul RIP and was the first one to get her to do a bit of a play bounce.

He is riddled with anxiety and has been torn between wanting to hurt me and wanting desperately to trust me and have me take care of him. This picture demonstrates that I am very slowly getting through to him as he was so happy to see me!

Before anyone steps up to impart their own opinions; I have not just a Masters yet a PhD in Psy(behaviour and development) and for many dogs; BHRR is the end of the road. If it were not for us; many a dog would have been euthanised instead of living great quality filled lives……

I am not going to rush out to have him put to sleep due to his behaviour – which is what his breeder wanted his O.’s to do as the breeder refused to take him back, plus the one O. was open to doing. We know many a group wanted him due to his breed; yet, many a group would not have been prepared, experienced, knowledgeable to manage him.

Behaviour is NOT changed; it is modified to be the best behaviour that it can be. Due to his resource issues, he has been allowed to rule his previous home and there was a set up for failure when the one O., who was already fearful of him; attempted to take something away and Mr. Nimbus snapped, made a connection with the O. While the previous O. did not need sutures/staples; he did go on both oral and IV antibiotics.

We take in the special needs, that is our focus – be it medical and/or behavioural and there is no timeline for these often lifetime labour of loves.

He has been moved to our Haven program – will he be moved back; who knows and it does not matter. BHRR has never been about adopting dogs…we have always been about assisting the next one in need of our highly specialised programs and if, said dog could be placed up for adoption, fine; yet, our Haven program is a massive part of what we do.

There is no rush, we are not desperate and though, originally Mr. Nimbus(what we are calling him) developed an early connection to Sean; it is now myself that he is very slowly developing a relationship with.

One small step at a time to get him to realise that trust and respect work both ways; that there shall be rules – we are a positive balanced approached program – that we will be clear and consise in our communication so that there is not any confusion with what we are asking of him.

There shall be structure, consistency, stability, obedience, love, patience and understanding and right now, he is figuring myself out and I am still learning about him.

We do not operate or rule with fear….he is realising that….we do not use prongs, chokes or shock/e-collars. Almost 30 years into working with animals – with knowledge, experience, formal education – 14 years post secondary let alone all of the continued CE.

I am beginning to get genuine nubby tail wags. I am getting more relaxed body expression. I am getting proper eye contact now. I have not been rushed or lunged at in days and he plus I are coming to an understanding…..there are compromises on both sides on some things as we work towards moving from the small picture to the bigger picture and that there shall not not be any compromises on others.

He is learning that his non verbal and verbal cues are being read and listened to. He is learning boundaries. He is learning praise and treats and that his tolerance/threshold is going to be listened too.

We have so much time to work on in expanding appropriate displays of behaviour and for the present, it is Gwennie Dog Boot camp….seeing how happy he was to see me when I arrived home today; small yet, also huge progress is being made…..Setting up for success!

When you get home from work at almost 2:30 AM and this is the first thing you see!

BHRR’s Sleet – one of our three deaf/blind mice completely respecting the ‘no couch rule’! 

What joy/laughter she brings, especially during such a dark time in our hearts right now…. 

The adventures of Miss Devaney, the almost 6 month old Deaf/Visually Impaired black lab puppy continue!

Forget the ‘no couch rule!’ Here she is on the table at her Foster Mama’s!

I am just loving the stories, pictures, video’s of this wee monkey! From being crated 24/7 to this….24/7 adventures!

Her pre-op bloodwork and spay are coming up and we will ensure that she is also microchipped.

Once she heals – she has remained not having any seizures since she arrived into rescue and her neck wounds/burns are all resolved – she will make her own special announcement!

She is such a hoot!

I wanted to extend from my heart, the biggest of humbled thanks to everyone that has extended their kind support over the absolutely horrifying loss of Miss Valour.

Additionally, thank you to the generous loving rescue angels that made a donation in her memory to enable us keep paying off her extensive vet bills. We have had $400 donated. Your thoughtfulness has been deeply appreciative and soul touching….

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, wonderful good night wishes are being sent….

BHRR’s Valour
? – Friday July 31st, 2020

I am not new to Rescue – almost 25 years with BHRR. I am not new to medicine – I was a Paramedic for 16 years and now am working in animal medicine for the past 16+ years.

I am not new to working with Danes or Giants – tens of thousands over the past almost 30 years between rescuing, owning, training, doing behavioural modification, rehabilitation etc.

I am not new to working with the special needs. That is our focus, our strength, our mandate.

I am not new to loss, the painful devastating painfilled loss that comes with having to let go or say good-bye to an animal in need.

We are here for the behavioural and/or medical dogs that others cannot or will not take on and as such, our devastating losses are higher than most other groups.

I am not stupid, dumb or uneducated. I even have a Masters and a PhD…. and I have NEVER experienced such a knife stabbing loss like yours BHRR’s Valour.

What I am new to is the not being able to explain nor understand why a dog died less than three hours after we got her home.

I think back to the time of her rescue, the findings I had, the taking her into the Vet the very next day, the emergency surgeries she had the day after that, her post op recovery, how she was when I took her home; how she was when Sean helped me bring her in – she was sluggish – she had a very long day/night; how she was when we settled her into our custom renovated recovery suite, how she was when I took her vitals after she arrived home…making the comment to Sean that she was a bit ‘off’ (we may not have had her long, yet we already were getting to know her); and we knew that she had gone through so much and it really was a really long day/night for her. We knew that she was not 100% well heading into her surgeries.

We got her settled in; I hunkered down in the same room with her ~600 square feet that has been put aside a dogs’ recovery oasis and monitored her closely. Her vitals were good at that time and the plan/recommendation – as it is with all of the dogs recovering; was to see her get settled in, rest and then offer her a bit of food/water and to take her next round of meds. We never got that far.

Shortly; her tongue came out, she turned purple, then blue, panted, flopped over and then died within mere minutes…from the first moment she turned purple, I was calling loudly for Sean and dialing Alta Vista with the other hand, to advise them that we were bringing her in.

We never got to bring her in….she died…..right then and there. It was surreal, it was shocking; it was horrifying.

Guelph college campus was not open for us to drop her off to have a necropsy done as we wanted one done for after she died so fast, she also then had bloody tinged fluid draining rapidly from her nose.

I am shocked, I am stunned….this girl was not just beautiful on the outside; she was beautiful all around.

Truly sweet and after fighting for well over a month to get her to safety in our rescue; she is now dead….

I have questions that I have nor shall ever receive the right answers for; I have regrets, I have doubts and I remain feeling like I have been hit with a ton of bricks….

YOU deserved so much better in your life prior to rescue and I wanted so badly to help you feel better and get the life of kindness, happiness and health that you deeply were so worthy of BHRR’s Valour.

I am still trying to figure out what the lessons are to be had in this tragedy….yet, I do know that when the time comes to help another in need; I will be an even stronger voice…I will work even harder to get the next one into rescue sooner and I will be a much stronger advocate. I will not take a backseat at any point and I am determined to remain front and centre for what is in the best interest of our dogs in need.

I have not slept since Wednesday night…..I am haunted….I am very sorry….just very very very sorry Miss Valour.

You will be remembered as the Dane who was beyond precious, sweet, gentle, wanting so desperately to trust, who began to lean into me with said trust beginning to show. I will always smile when you did a bit of a bounce outside enjoying the grass and sand in early morning sunshine.

Who did what was asked of her, despite her fear/worry….due to that trust and will always forever feel that I did not deserve said precious fragile trust in the end as you died….you died…just saying it, is still brutally difficult.

I am hurting hard and we shall plant a Bleeding Heart bush in your place of eternal rest for my heart shall forever be bleeding and you will forever be in my heart.

We shall not be collecting any more donations for they were to be lifesaving ones….

I will work to pay off her remaining thousands in bills out of my own pocket….

I wish I could understand the ‘why’ of her life, how awful it was prior to rescue……and then extremely short after her arrival into rescue. I wish many more people could have been touched by your incredible beauty and soft spirit……even with you feeling just poorly, being sick, having been horribly treated, it radiated from you…..you were a one in a million special girl…..one in a million….

RIP stunning gorgeous BBBBB Valour…..sorry, is just not enough to say to you with how I feel right now. 

*picture is credit to Rachel Ng*

Someone was a bad baby! 

One five month old mischievous Black Lab puppy named BHRR’s Devaney stole the toilet paper roll at her foster mama’s!! 

Got a good few nibbles in before being busted!!!

She is just thriving!!! Her pre-op bloodwork and spay are coming up soon and about two weeks after that she shall have her own special announcement to make!

She remains not having had one seizure since she arrived into rescue. She is learning sign language and manners.

She has been such a hoot to follow with her antics and sheer love of life plus joy in seeing her having all of these incredible experiences.

From being crated almost 24/7, being placed in a prong and shock collar 24/7 that caused burns and wounds on her neck to living a grand life as any animal should be living makes me so happy for her!

Thank you’s being shouted out once more to her fabu foster family!!

UPDATE: Miss Valour is in recovery….

It has been a very long day for her and I! I had an over 13 hour work day….

Miss Valour has now had her emergency pyometra surgery, her bilateral entropion surgeries and had the mass removed from her head. The mass will be sent to the pathologist for review.

I gave her a much needed nail trim while she was under plus thoroughly cleaned those infected ears. We also looked at her teeth to be sure that nothing was broken or that there was anything that needed immediate attention/surgical intervention.

Her bills shall be extensive, she is WORTH every nickel and she really needs your support…..If anyone has even $5 to spare, please know how grateful we shall be for the consideration.

She was the victim to anothers greed……she was never given proper proactive/preventative Vet Care, she deserves so much love, caring hands, kindness and support….

Please from our hearts thank you SO much for your love and kindness to date. When I had the opportunity to check the BHRR emails, tears were threatening to spill over to see ALL of the love in words and financial support sent to Miss Valour so far.

She remains in need of donations to help pay for her extensive yet truly excellent vetting – will post a copy of her bill once all of the billing has been completed.

Her Vet said her surgeries went really well and that is such great news!

Donations can continue to be made direct to her account at Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381

OR PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*please let us know the password

Will post another update ASAP…..AND on behalf of one really withdrawn, shy worried sweet Dane that has truly gone beyond hell in her life prior to rescue; please know that ALL of you are her rescue angels…..YOU are making a lifesaving difference to a dog that deserved so much better than she received in her life up to her rescue….

Miss Valour needs your help!! Urgently….

As indicated I had her in to the Vet after her arrival to BHRR as I had some serious concerns. She is very ill.

She is shortly heading into emergency surgery.

She has Pyometra. 

Her temperature was 40.3 and she does also have infections in her ears and eyes plus her skin and will be having a lump removed from her head too.

She also needs bilateral entropion surgery.

She desperately needs your assistance…

She is the Dane that has gone through hell and she needs the BHRR village to surround her with support. This girl has not known any kindness in her life prior to Rescue.

If anyone has even $5 to spare, please know how grateful we shall be for the consideration.

Donations can be made direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic – 613-383-8381

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*please tell us the password.

Will update as I can….and please keep this sweet girl in your thoughts for despite everything, and despite being shutdown with worry; she is so sweet.

UPDATE: She has an apt. tomorrow night at 10 PM at work…will post as we know more.

BHRR’s Valour(what we are calling her)
~2.5 years of age

When I got home with her, we did a thorough examination and she will not be able to wait to get into the Vet based upon our findings.

I had hoped to let her settle in a bit – she is quite shutdown and nervous, yet, seems super sweet. Tail tucked right up to her belly the poor girl.

I also experienced the fear panic pull and have ended up with one smashed knuckle in having it get caught up in the leash. Poor thing…..

She does have eye infections and her own serious entropion concerns. I have not yet looked into her mouth so as to not stress her out any further than needed. She has a bleeding wound on her chin too.

She needs a good grooming, to be de-wormed, to have blood work including for heartworm and tickborne diseases and pre-op. She has never had any of this done and what vaccines she had are long over due.

She came from Texas almost 1.5 years ago – bought from a kennel there at about 11 months of age – and in learning more, it was this home that drove her all the way back on an open trailer…how terrifying for her.?

In this picture, if you look; you shall see just one of her enlarged teats on her mammary chain. I can also secrete a purulent and serosanguineous fluid from them too.

She has had her share of litters the poor girl. Her poor elbows are all calloused too.

I have reached out to work in re: to seeing if I can get her into them after my work shift ends tomorrow.

For those wishing to send donations to her care; that is so loving and generous yet, please wait until she sees the Vet as we will have a much better idea of her needs, including urgent at that time.

Welcome to BHRR, Miss Valour!

**NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION**

Got her!!

Thank you Rachel!! Thank you for your assistance once more to help me get her!!

She definitely has an eye infection and will need her own bilateral entropion surgeries.

Now to make the almost 4 hour drive home!

Rachel has her!!!

The terrified Great Dane that has gone through unimaginable hell….

We are calling her BHRR’s Valour.

Looks like she has an eye infection too….we will get her seen by our Vet ASAP.

I am now on the road to meet up with them. Will post an update when I get her…

Drive safe and see you both soon!

BHRR’s Miss Volt says…’psst….lean close….closer still and look deep into my eyes!’

She says that she will finally make her own special announcement very soon!!!

This is her hanging out at work after her special play date on July 17th!

BHRR’s Devaney, 5 month old black lab(Deaf/Visually Impaired) and her foster family older big ‘sister’!

I cannot say why or express in words how much this picture touches my heart!

From almost 24/7 crating, wearing a prong and a shock collar that burned and created lesions/wounds on her neck prior to rescue to living her best life!! This picture just screams freedom and contentment.

She loves the water!!

She remains seizure free with not having had one seizure since her arrival into rescue. Stress and trauma based remains the biggest suspicions to why she may have had them prior.

She is scheduled for her pre-operative bloodwork plus spay August 11th at which after she heals, we will work on her having make her own special announcement!

I remain greatly enjoying hearing about all of her adventures plus antics with her foster home!

She is such a typical lab puppy!

Thank you to her incredible foster Family for all that they are doing for her! They have not allowed me to pay for food or treats for her either…unbelievably generous!

 
 
 
 
 

hanks to Cassy, BHRR’s Nimbus(what we are calling him) is safe with me now!

He weighed 38.7 kgs (85.14 pounds) at work and we did bloodwork for heartworm and tick borne diseases – negative – as well as pre-operative bloodwork in preparation for being neutered.

He is scheduled for August once he has had more time to settle in.

He is a 13 month old lacking serious manners and boundaries. He and I had a couple of ‘talks’ at work re: getting on the scale and then getting blood.

It is not ok to pull and yank and it is not ok to jump, mouth, try to bite and to not do something by attempting to throw your weight around. It is not ok to try and intimidate and threaten either. This was how he was running the home he came from.

This is the Giant Schnauzer that has serious resource issues and one of his previous owners went to take a high value item away and he snapped. He made contact and the Male owner ended up with two punctures. He did not require sutures yet, is on both oral and IV antibiotics.

He was quarantined and now that the health inspector has done their inspection; he could come to rescue.

Welcome to BHRR & Gwennie’s boot camp Mr. Nimbus!

I already know that you and I are going to have quite a few ‘conversations’ in our journey together!

Thank you also to Michelle and Cody and Jocelyn for their assistance at work tonight with him!

As we continue to receive inquiries and/or applications re: adoptions, we are making yet another blog post – there is one also made on June 8th – on all of our adoptable dogs’ blogs re: our current positioning. Our Facebook page and Petfinder also state our present closure for adoption applications.

**WITH COVID-19, WE ARE NOT ACCEPTING/CONSIDERING ANY NEW ADOPTION APPLICATIONS UNTIL AT LEAST AUGUST.**
**DATE SUBJECT TO CHANGE & BE PUSHED FURTHER OUT ONCE AGAIN.**

Please note that we are NOT reviewing nor approving any new applications for approved adoptions until at least August.

We will re-evaluate this closer to that date as to if we need to extend that date.

We will not be accepting any applications or any non-refundable applications fees during this time. 

This is for several reasons:

1) BHRR requires a Vet Reference and as someone who works in animal medicine, I know how absolutely insanely busy we are at this time with our staff/hours. We are NOT going to jam up the phone lines doing vet references when people are trying to get through to make urgent appointments, asking for refills of lifesaving meds, needing prescription food etc.

Additionally, the government has only recently announced that Vet Hospitals can now open up to do non-essential appointments and not only operate on an urgent basis. The backlog to the Vet Hospitals is incredible.

People answering the phones at Vet Hospitals need to be answering the phones for many other reasons. Not for Vet references.

We need to focus on patient care at the Hospital and we respect and understand that other Hospitals need to do the same. We are an essential service and need to be able to provide that service to the best of our abilities and checking Vet references does not fall under that criteria.

2) We cannot nor will we do home-visits. I put my life and my family’s life at risk every day that I go to work to take care of other people’s pets. Doing a home-visit is not responsible nor does it follow the policy set forth from the government that we need to be practising self-isolating to flatten the curve.

Doing a home-visit is not urgent during this COVID-19 pandemic.

At this time, I go to work, utilize the ever dwindling supply of PPE available, I go home, I buy groceries, get gas and that is it for my public appearances. I am thinking NOT only of my dogs, yet, my family and you…I am thinking of all of the other people out there….

3) It does greatly concern us with the number of inquiries coming our way over the past few months with the vast majority being for the wrong reason(s) from people now wanting to adopt.

On a ‘good’ day, we get almost 1,000 emails and about 50 phone calls.

These past several months; we are up to almost 2,000 emails and almost 125 phone calls a day.

People telling us that they now have time on their hands. If you did not have time before you stopped working; what makes you think that you will have time once you go back to work?

Additionally, even with people going on EI; the monies coming in are not the same as if you were working and if you feel that you are struggling to pay bills, buy groceries, how do you feel that you can take on the costs of having a Giant Breed dog?

The average cost – and I have been tracking this since 1996 – of owning a giant breed per year, PRIOR to emergencies is $2,400.

All of this to say; we will not be processing any applications until it is ideal plus safe to do so.

If you send us a completed application along with the non-refundable application fee, we will be responding that we are not accepting nor reviewing applications and when we do feel that it is safe to do so, we shall begin to slowly open up. 

Our Petfinder and home websites as posted are kept up to date and all details re: said dogs are on their individual blogs. Once, we do open up again for new applications, we will remain ONLY responding to completed applications. You would be welcome to re-submit your application along with the non-refundable application fee at that time for members of the BHRR BOD to consider. We will NOT be holding on to your applications nor the non-refundable application fee from now to then. 

**EXCEPTION: We shall no longer be covering the cost of any banking or PayPal fees should people send this non-refundable fee. In May/June, we were out of pocket almost $100 as people were not be mindful. This is much needed money being taken away from the animals as we are covering the fees out of our own pockets and that is money that we would have used for the BHRR animals.**

Asking us what the cost to adopt is or asking to meet a dog; is all information found on our websites. We are not a pound, shelter or facility and no, you cannot just visit a dog or make an appointment to visit a dog. We are an all Volunteer organization that operates from our own home and that of our approved Foster homes. 

AND yes, we are not other groups – we are NOT going to take chances that our dogs could be set up for failure – and as it is the prerogative of other groups to adopt out during this extremely difficult time, it remains our prerogative to not do so. Our adoption success rates are second to no other group out there – 100% for over 10 years of operating and now 98% as we go through year 24. We will not compromise on our policies, procedures and processes.

Thanks!

 

Next in need of BHRR!

I year old unaltered Male Giant Schnauzer. Born June 11th, 2019

Owner surrender. He is way too much dog for them, lacks manners/training, has resourced the female owner and also toys or anything he feels is high value since they got him at 7 weeks of age..

Mr. was already very nervous of him and went to take a high value item away and dog snapped; made a connection and Mr. got two punctures from the dogs canine teeth. Mr. did not require sutures yet, is on oral and IV antibiotics.

Breeder will not take back. Breeder said to put him to sleep, Mr. wants him put to sleep and Mrs. feels he has potential. Her deep love for him prompted her to reach out for rescue assistance.

As a GD/Giant Breed strongly focused special needs rescue – medical and/or behavioural; he represents 100% the kind of dog we are here to assist.

BHRR has assisted many Giants Schnauzers over the past 25 years and look forward to his arrival.

This is a strong breed and in the wrong inexperienced hands, not the setup for success for home/dog.

ETA being worked on.

**NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION**

My last post of my night is an update on BHRR’s Devaney!

This is her hanging out at my work after her Vet Visit.

She is doing FABU! She has not had one seizure since she arrived into Rescue.

She is the deaf/slightly visually impaired 5 month old Lab Puppy – Born February 10th, 2020 – that we took in that also had burns/wounds on her neck from being in a prong and electric shock collar 24/7.

She is keeping her foster Mama on her toes as she learns some manners! 

She is learning signs, to walk nicely, LOVES the water so we are looking at some water activities for her and perhaps even agility.

She is such a happy girl and living each day to the fullest! We are not sure if she will ever be a little lady yet, she does make an adorable ‘bull in a china shop!’

In about a months time, we will do pre-operative bloodwork and she will have her spay. We will microchip her at the same time and once she heals; she should be ready to make her own special announcement.

She has been a real hoot to follow her hilarious antics via her Foster Mama!

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, warmest good night wishes are being sent!

“UPDATE: We have had a generous donation of $100 to go towards Miss Olive’s August sponsorship. PayPal took $3.20 in fees so she now has $96.80 towards her care for the month of August!
She would dearly love to receive sponsorship for August and for September and her bills are $700/month.
THANK you to anyone that may consider her deserving cause to support!!!”

This beautiful girl is back on Friday for her next recheck from her bilateral eye surgery plus a nail trim. The are healing very slowly and she continues to have eye irritation.

We have begun the Proin to see how it is helping her occasional overnight urinary incontinence.

The sad news – yet, we had 100% awareness going in that this could well be the case based upon the x-rays we took – that THREE ortho specialists have confirmed that Miss Olive does not qualify for FHO surgeries nor Hip Replacement surgeries.

Dr. Philibert has been conversing with myself and believes that with a continued proper med regime, we can give her quality of life for some time.

As she has now been moved to our Haven Program – a HUGE part of what we do at BHRR for behavioural and/or medical case animals – we have also moved her to a new foster home. She is now on palliative care.

She will be seen for regular rechecks as required; she will continue to enjoy professional groom sessions, she will continue to go on car rides to experience adventures; small walks so that she can enjoy people/animals and we are setting up alternative therapy options for her too.

She will have the best in food, treats and medication, not to mention LOVE! We will keep her lean and build up; her muscle mass and tone.

She will not be closeted away from the world. She will be given everything so that she will have the best of lives for as long as possible. She is now 18 months of age.

Her monthly bills for palliative care is just shy of $700 at this time and if anyone is wishing to sponsor her; donations can be via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.conm

OR direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381

You are loved Miss Olive and we got you, your Village is right here by your side!!! 

 

My last post of my night!

It has been an extremely busy week for us at BHRR and personally for The Boerkskins too!

We are preparing for BHRR’s Valour’s(that is what we are calling her) arrival tomorrow night – she is the terrified Great Dane.

We have moved BHRR’s Miss Olive to a new foster home – we will post more on that shortly.

We are working on the Giant Schnauzer’s arrival – ETA to be announced.

We have been working very hard behind the scenes on the rescue of there more Giants – we will post more on them when the timing is right.

We had Miss Devaney in to the Vet last Sunday as part of of our intake protocols and she will be moving from her own emerge temp foster to her temp foster soon.

This is BHRR’s Miss Volt! We have been holding off on her own new special announcement as she is going on a special play date tomorrow. We shall await to see how that goes prior to posting further re: her!

This was a play date that had to be postponed awhile back.

I will also be following up on those that have not yet paid for their DAY and/or OVERNIGHT Dates. Once they have been paid for, we will move to scheduling your dates! Once again, we are NOT moving forward with any dates re: BHRR’s Miss Olive and have not collected any monies from said winning bids and will not be collecting any monies. This is for a number of reasons and per the above, we will be posting more re: her shortly.

The Boerskins also want to express thanks to everyone – word has been traveling slowly and now faster – for passing along words of support and kindness re: my mother. It has been appreciated and your kindness is touching. She is receiving excellent care and from our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, warmest of good night wishes are being sent!

NEXT IN NEED – Picture quality is poor!

Female – Great Dane – ~2.5 years of age

Mrs. was visiting in Texas, when she got this Dane in March 2019 from an ad from a kennel they had been following – was in the back of an open trailer – two hours tied up on the highway and had been sprayed/traumatised with a hose while tied up in the open trailer, when they met somewhere to pick her up.

The O. originally sold her – unspayed female, needs eye surgery – cherry and entropion surgery, EXTREMELY FEARFUL, not vetted etc. The Dane came back to her three days later.

Spouses are fighting over what to do with her – Mr. wants her gone now or killed, Mrs. was trying to do the right thing and sold her but she is now back with them and more fearful then ever.

She has now been signed over to BHRR.

ETA to BHRR: Friday July 28th

Thank you to Elaine for hosting and to all of the really amazing dogs/owners that came out in support of our latest Drive-way Event!

This is BHRR’s Devaney, our newest Rescue! She loves the water at her fosters cottage! She was at work yesterday and weighed a chubby 15.8 kg(34.76 pounds).

She just turned 5 months old and we are working on that waistline of hers.

She is the deaf, visually impaired, IS, neuro plus has a history of having had a vaccine reaction puppy. The home was not treating her for her IS nor pursuing further diagnostics.

Since her emerge temp foster Mama, Lindsay picked her up last Tuesday, she has not had one seizure.

Her foster mama has been working on signs with her and she is one smart puppy!

She was de-wormed, put on flea/tick plus hw preventative and we are waiting to see if her seizures were related to stress and have a move forward plan should she have any now that she is in our Rescue.

She is your typical busy, active, curious, bouncy puppy that has not received proper physical and emotional stimulation or training – she was being trained with a prong collar and also a shock collar that caused serious burns to her neck.

It is also suspected that she spent way too much time in a crate and all of that has changed now.

Her future is big and bright AND once she settles in more, she will be spayed over the next 4-6 weeks, microchipped, we will do blood work and keep working on her training and showing her how amazing and kind this big world is!

All of this to say that thanks to the support shown at our events like tonight, we can continue to keep fighting that great fight to remain open to help dogs like her!

Total raised tonight: $497.85

Humbled and filled with such incredible warmth!

We are at our next Drive-way Event for nails & ear cleaning on Wednesday July 15th @ 37 Dressler Drive in Kanata!

*No appointments necessary
*Social distancing is easy to do
*We can take cash, debit or credit card

BHRR’s Walter!
AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

He is ready to make his special announcement!

He has made an amazing recovery from when he first arrived to us in March!

He will need a home that will ensure that he remains on his meds required for his environmental/seasonal allergies, for his thyroid AND on his special fish based diet for his food allergies. Cost per month: ~$350

He is housebroken – being on the prednisone does make him drink and wish to eat more so he does ask to go outside a bit more than other dogs, no big deal, he is crate trained, he is wonderful in the car, ok to bathe and do nails and is a big goofy, affectionate boy!

He has this streak in him that when he does not want to do something, he will lay down as he clearly was used to ‘throwing’ his weight around in the past and this is so rare these days. He has come to trust and understand that what is asked of him is in his best interest and if speaking to him in English does not get his attention; he is fluently bilingual and speaking to him French works great!

We do not wish to see him in a home with children under the age of 15. He has been completely fine with people of all ages, sizes, both men and women – yet, was a bit more nervous of men in the beginning.

We want to ensure that any right matched personality fit home is not full of fast, flighty, spastic, unpredictable, loud activity – which kids are naturally!

We would love to see him in a home with a right matched personality fit dog; yet, that is not mandatory. He would be fine as an only dog yet, having worked so hard to demonstrate that other dogs are not out there to hurt him – per his previous O. he has not had outside contact with dogs other than the other dogs they owned; since he was 18 months of age – we want him to have friends! Therefore, a good solid doggie social network of a few close doggie friends n the community would be lovely for him to have!

He loves the companionship of a right matched personality fit dog. He still worries – his reaction is to move away – about strange dogs and we are extremely proud of how brave he has been!

He has been fine with cats and even rabbits!

He can go to a home that works out of the home or in the home, ft, pt, is semi-retired or retired. Another versatile BHRR dog!

His leash manners have improved significantly. He can sometimes still be a bit of a freight train yet, WOW has he gotten a million times better.

We have worked hard to build up that muscle mass and tone in his hind end so going for strolls and small walks for proper mental and physical stimulation is perfect yet, he is not a go for a 8 km walk/hike boy. He is a low energy/activity Dane compared to so many that we have assisted over the past almost 25 years in our Great Dane rescue.

He is a great companion! The best in reading a book, watching a movie or sitting on the porch watching the deer drink from the spring fed pond.

He is the ‘strong silent type’, just quiet and a big handsome blue Great Dane with a heart that is pure, honest and loving!

He has been so low maintenance for us and is going to make that right matched forever loving home the most amazing of family members.

He has a mischievous side and he makes me giggle when I know that he does not want to do what is being asked of him and you can see the brain just working overtime!

I love him so much in all of his true gentle giant representation of the Great Dane breed.

I am bursting with happiness over your awesome rehabilitation with us and I have sadness in my heart for our time together is drawing ever nearer to a close in this chapter that we have had together.

All of our adoption processes, policies and procedures are found on our home website for anyone that may feel that they may qualify to adopt him.

Between all of that information and his detailed blog; no questions that any home may have be left unanswered.

YOU DID IT BHRR’s Walter and thank you again to Josée of Josée Lavoie Pet Photography for these stunning photo’s. Thank you again to Elaine, Bob and Hazel for their extra hands during his professional photo shoot on July 3rd!

My last post of my night!

This gorgeous gal is also getting ready to make her own special announcement over the next few days!

BHRR’s Miss Volt!
July 3rd, 2020

Thank you immensely once more to Josée of Josée Lavoie Pet Photography for donating her incredible talent plus time to capture BHRR’s Walter and BHRR’s Volt in a professional photo shoot!

Thank you to Elaine Giles, Bob Levesque & Hazel Talangbayan for lending their wonderful hands at this photoshoot too!

Miss Volt, the rehabilitation journey to happiness and health has been a really long one – from coming to us due to an untreated electrocution and when I picked you up, I noted your vulva conformity issues and all of the ensuing surgeries and rehabilitation has been an amazing journey to have walked with you.

YOU have been a model patient and one of the most awesomeness of canines that BHRR has ever been so blessed to have been asked to assist.

We have remained steadfast in our mandate to see you done right by; we have taken our share of abuse from people who wanted to see you killed and those monies raised for your bills to go to others; we have put up with email after email from folks that felt that Rotties were dangerous and mean bad dogs and throughout it all; we have stood strong and firm in doing everything that we needed to do for you.

YOU are the most social, friendly, affectionate, playful, smart, loyal, hilarious, loving, kind, gentle, goofy, fun loving without any meanness of adorable canines! 

We work to educate and inform people that there are not bad dogs; just bad breeders and owners. Rotties, Dobermans, Boxers, Pitties, German Shepherds etc. are all outstanding dogs. We need to stop blaming these breeds and get to the root of the ‘evilness’ in the world. For it most certainly is not these dogs.

BHRR’s Volt, while it saddens me to see so many people ‘cross’ the street, avoid you when all you want is to get and give love and while it equally bothers me to see people want to adopt you to be a guard or a fighting dog – yup, people have said that; what makes me happy is that NO ONE will be approved to adopt you that does not deserve you for the beautiful gift that you are.

You are not the first nor shall be the last dog that people turn their back on and also BHRR for working so hard to save you. We are and always shall be a special needs Rescue.

We are proud of you, we are thrilled – bittersweet time too – that you are one step closer to spreading those gorgeous ‘wings’ of yours and taking flight into the next what shall be fantastic chapters of your life……

It has been a true honour Miss Volt, a true honour to have been here for you. We never rushed, we remained patient, never were desperate and we never cut corners to get you healthy.

Some groups boast on their high turnover of dogs in and out of their programs. That is not BHRR. NO dog shall ever be placed up for adoption or adopted unless they are ready and it is their time……it is about doing it right each and every time for each and every dog.

To all of our friends, family and supporters, the warmest – well, maybe coolest in this heat wave! – of wishes are being sent from our home to all of you!

BHRR’s Walter
July 3rd, 2020

This stunning photo was taken by Josée of Josée Lavoie Pet Photography!

Stay tuned for BHRR’s Walter has his special announcement to make over the next couple of days!

CAN you believe that this NOW very healthy, strong, vibrant, goofy, affectionate, incredibly handsome boy has made such a fast miraculous rehabilitation journey since he first arrived to us in March 2020?!

YOUR support and believe in our efforts have enabled us to give him the best of the best of care, which is part of our mandate for every BHRR dog that we are entrusted with. THANK YOU!

He deserves to be our next Cover Boy!

Thank you Josée once more for your time and talent AND to Elaine Giles, Bob Levesque plus Hazel Talangbayan for the extra loving hands for him and Miss Volt to experience more caring support!

Both of these dogs ROCKED their photo shoots!!!!!

I cannot believe that this boy was mere hours from being euthanised when were were contacted….we mobilised fast and thanks to Bob for stepping up to transport him to my work where we immediately began vetting him.

Lindsay now has her!!

Per Lindsay they are now shopping for a pupacino!

The just shy of 5 months(Born February 10th), Black Lab, DEAF, IS & Neuro puppy

We are going to call her BHRR’s Devaney. 

We also suspect some possible vision concerns and will assess that. It is clear when you see her eyes that there are neuro issues. She had encephalitis when she was about 6 weeks of age. At 10 weeks, she began having seizures.

We will be getting her into our Vet ASAP as the only thing the previous O.’s were having on hand was Diazepam (rectal use). They declined at their Vets to take any seizure meds.

We may have to move towards a MRI as this was something the O‘s own Hospital had discussed with them.

We are waiting for all of her prior Vet records to be able to properly review with our Vet & Specialist Teams.

She is going to bunk down with Lindsay for now and we could not be more happy!

We are deeply relieved to have her for on Sunday, I had received a voice message that we needed to get her sooner than we had originally had planned/was agreed upon with the home. They wanted her gone that day or she was going to be put to sleep per the husband.

I called the owner during my break and then went to work mobilising. Lindsay offered to pick her up yesterday first thing in the AM, yet, the Owner went on radio silence and the stress level increased tenfold as I worked to make contact.

It was a very worrisome time thinking that she may have been killed.

Yet, now she is safe and we will take it one step/day at a time figuring things out for her.

First thing is going to be getting her out of that ill fitting half check Martingale! She is way too young for that type of training collar.

Thank you Lindsay and if anyone wishes to be a rescue angel to her, she does need a new collar, leash and a Costco Dog Bed to call her very own!

When we know more re: her medical needs, we will post those.

Welcome to BHRR baby Devaney!!!

**NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION**

This was her face prior to surgery. You could not properly see her eyes. Her entropion was so bad, that she had developed corneal ulcers and it has made her visually impaired. The chronic pain and infections that she had…..

BHRR’s Miss Olive!

It was a busy Monday for BHRR!

BHRR’s Olive was in for a recheck on her eyes – and has to go back in another 10 days to see the Vet again.

We are doing a Urinalysis on her and will send to the lab as she has been having some incontinence issues, especially at night after she was altered.

AND I will be following up with the specialists in Montreal re: her hips to see if she is a possible surgical candidate as we have not heard word.

We understand and appreciate that everyone is extremely busy though.

Someone was groomed today.

BHRR’s Miss Mollie(Saint Bernard / Standard Poodle Mix).
AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION

Unfortunately, during COVID-19 her temp foster was not keeping up with her grooming needs and today, that was addressed.

Thank you to Melissa of Groomingdale’s and to Bre of PV Stittsville for being so incredible in getting her in so fast! 

She also was seen at work today, weighed 35.6 kg (78.32 pounds) and had her repeat blood work to be sent to the lab (quant C6) as she tested positive for Lymes when she first arrived to our rescue. At that time, she was given a round of Doxycycline for treatment based upon her blood work results.

Her Vet requested to have the bloodwork repeated in the spring, yet COVID-19 interfered with that.

So, we did it tonight.

NEXT IN NEED of BHRR!

Deaf/IS/Neuro, almost 5 month old female black Lab Puppy (Born February 10th, 2020)

This is an owner surrender and as I have stated so many times since 1996; good owners do have to let their beloved pets go.

This girl has had seizures since she was 6 weeks of age, had Encephalitis which caused her to be deaf and we also suspect some vision impairment.

She has also developed neuro issues and when overstimulated she becomes focused and will prey drive due to the intensity of the level of excitement.

Owners worked so hard to do right by her, consulted a ‘trainer’ who advised to use an e-collar and it was kept on her 24/7 and she developed burns on her neck.

The use of the e-collar has made her behaviour worsen and with four small children in the house, this puppy has escalated due to the poor owners not being given the proper direction, support and guidance, to having bit two of their four small children twice- their son when she was 10 weeks of age(he was 2) and then recently, ther almost 6 year old daughter. She had taken the half check martingale, took the puppy off of the couch and then not long afterwards went to kiss the puppy.

Labs make great family pets and this home is no stranger to labs.

They have done SO much for her and now, with the love that they have for her; they want what is best for her and will surrender her to our strongly special needs focused rescue.

She has lived with four small children, another dog, a cat and she was loved beyond measure.

ETA to BHRR being worked on and once again, please join us in surrounding this lovely home – I spent almost 45 minutes talking to the one O. myself today – in support and caring kindness.

They are doing the right thing as the only other option is to have her put to sleep and they know that she is a wonderful puppy that needs more than they can give and their children’s safety has to be a priority.

We look forward to welcoming her to BHRR.

On my way soon to have these gorgeous beauties get their professional glam photos!

BHRR’s Walter & BHRR’s Volt.

From there, once we receive them, both will have special announcements to make!

Thank you to Josée Lavoie Pet Photography for their talent plus time to capture these BHRR dogs in all of their stunning glory!

 
 
 
 
 

BHRR’s Percival!
Fox Red LabradorToday, we were in for our Quant C6 blood-work recommended by his Vet to be sent to the lab as he tested Lymes positive when he first came to our Rescue.

This test will determine if he needs to be on Doxycycline or not.His wonderful Vet also felt that the lesions between his toes were so much better since we switched him from Apoquel to Vanectyl P and that it was the long term use of Apoquel that caused his lesions. Apparently, this is a possible side effect complication for some dogs in being on long term continual use of Apoquel.

He will remain on two tablets every second day.

He remains on monthly heartworm/flea/tick protection plus his special prescription fish food.

He weighed a muscled lean solid gorgeous 35.1 kgs(77.22 pounds). We have worked hard building up that muscle mass and to tone his body.

He was fantastic in the car, with all the puppies/kitties he saw at work and with all staff.

BHRR’s Percival, we are so very proud of you!!

He remains under a PENDING ADOPTION status.

Next, Miss Mollie will be in for her own repeat blood-work as she also tested positive for Lymes disease when we first rescued her. She has already had a course of Doxycycline.

 
 
 
 
 

BHRR’s Olive
18 month old St. Bernard
June 25th, 2020

One of the four x-rays we took of their hips and knees.

Both hips are bad, yet, that right hip is brutal. It is right out of the socket.

I did email the x-rays to Dr. Philibert and sadly, he does not feel that BHRR’s Olive is a good candidate for a FHO procedure, even with extensive post-op alternative rehab therapy. 

He is also not sure that BHRR’s Olive is even a good candidate for hip replacement surgery(ies) and recommended a referral to Montreal to obtain their own expert opinion(s).

We have worked with the speciality hospital DMV in Montreal many times over the years and will be sending BHRR’s Olive’s x-rays their way. We remain open to having them exam her too.

If BHRR’s Olive is not accepted as a suitable surgical candidate; then palliative care is our only option – this will be done via our continued use of Deramaxx plus Gabapentin and we do alternative medicine too.

So many of the BHRR dogs are very familiar with Chiro, Acupunture, Laser and Cold Laser, Massage, Hydrotherapy etc. and if this is where we are headed with BHRR’s Olive, then that is what we will do. She would be placed in our Haven Program, which is an enormous part of what we do at Birch Haven Rescue & Rehabilitation Services.

One step at a time though…next step is to see what the DMV specialists shall say.

BHRR’s Olive’s testicles.

**GRAPHIC PHOTO**

Well, as word seems to be travelling fast, here is the news we promised re: BHRR’s Olive and the interesting/surprising findings today!

As most are now aware, today, she had her hips/knees x-rayed and I have already emailed them to Dr. Philbert!, she had her bilateral entropion surgery, her Lymes booster, a much needed manicure/pedicure AND…..

She was to have her spay today and it should have been a mature one being that she is almost 18 months of age.

Turns out, Miss Olive was only a Miss with her Vulva AS ‘she’ did not have an uterus/ovaries, instead had two small un-descended testicles and a penis was found inside of the vulva.

I have seen this in cats, yet, never in a dog in my almost 25 years in Rescue and over 16 years working in Veterinary medicine. That this is a Giant Breed dog makes it that much more of a rare find.

This explains some of her ongoing urinary issues which the surgeon said that the penis should shrink a lot over time.

So, much to think about including names….

It was another very busy and expensive day for BHRR’s Olive with procedures and we would remain forever humbled and indebted to anyone that would consider making a much needed donation to her ever mounting bills.

Donations can be made direct to her account at Eagleson Veterinary Clinic
613-383-8381

OR PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR email transfer to contacthbrr@gmail.com

She still has a very long road to go…that right hip in particular – x-rays to be posted is bad…it is right out of the socket. 

A bit more information for everyone….
 
Only 25% of these rare cases are true hermaphrodite and BHRR’s Olive does not fall under this specific category. ?
 
Without extensive testing we do not know if BHRR’s Olive is under the Male Pseudohermaphrodite category or falls under the unclassified category instead.
 
Though, we do not believe that BHRR’s Olive falls under the unclassified category as their appearance is very much as a Saint would look!
 
This is exrtemely rare, especially in a Giant Breed dog.

 

BHRR’s Walter!

ISO: of someone who may be open to donating some time to assist in taking some professional photo’s in preparation for him to make his own special announcement BECAUSE…..

He has his latest recheck today!

His weight is hanging close to 150 pounds and he is loking fabu! He will remain on the prednisone, was given new eye medication – Torbradex and must stay on his fish based food for life.

Thumbs up to his healing new eyes and skin!

Everyone at work has made so many wonderful comments re: how far he has come since he first arrived to us!

How much more confident, social – tail wagging and seeking affection and did not hesitate to love on everyone!

So many amazing comments on the muscle mass and toning that we are getting on his hind end.

He also got to briefly see/visit with BHRR’s Olive who was having her own surgery today.

He has had such an amazing rehabilitation journey both physically and behaviourally and I am head over heels in love with this amazing character!!!

He has a mind all of his own, he has learned a lot re: compromising vs we are going to discuss this and in the end, we are still going to do what Gwennie is asking and he speaks volumes without even saying a word! 

I am bursting with so much pride YET again over his incredible journey to health and am so excited for him to make his own special announcement!

If you are a professional photographer and may be willing to donate some time to help capture this gorgeous dude in all of his handsome glory, please do advise – contactbhrr@gmail.com

Today is a big day for BHRR’s Olive!

Will be posting more shortly – including some graphic photo’s as there were some interesting and surprise findings!  I have been doing this for almost 25 years and I thought at first staff were joking when I was told of their findings…yet, I also have pictures for documentation!

Oliver was scheduled for a spay today and was to be a mature spay at that plus a Lymes booster.

A great manicure/pedicure was done too!

Additionally, will post more including the x-rays of the hips. Both are really bad, however, that right one is completely out of the socket, poor thing. Olive’s cruciate exam did not alarm her surgeon at this time.

Will be sending the x-rays to Dr. Philibert for his expert positioning and then we will go from there.

In this picture, Olive is getting new eyes! Olive is having bilateral entropion surgery also done today.

She was a huge hit with the staff.

When she goes home later tonight she will be given a refill of her Deramaxx that we have her on since her arrival June 1st, will be adding Gabapentin and also antibiotics to her medication regime.

We are continuing to brainstorm for Fundraising ideas as despite all we have done to date, we have even more to do for Olive. SO much more!

Donations can continue to be made direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

BHRR is in urgent need of the below items:

1) new or gently used comforters/duvets/blankets
2) new or gently used sleeping bags
3) new or gently used towels
4) new or gently used pillows
5) Pinesol
6) Benny Bully dog treats

Thanks in advance for any consideration!!!

He is back at the Vet tomorrow for his latest recheck and hoping for a thumbs up!!

PLEASE email contactbhrr@gmail.com if you can help! Do not post on this thread…responses can get missed!

BHRR’s Miss Olive!

Professional grooming session: $176.85

Having Miss Olive feel and look her best: Priceless

She had a great groom session, her foster Mama says she looks fabu and that the grooming facility thought she was an angel!

Thank you again to her wonderful foster mama for taking her and also donating a tip to the groomer! 

Miss Olive is heading into her first big surgeries later this week – bilateral entropion surgery, a mature spay and x-rays of her hips/knees to then be sent off to her ortho specialist.

Donations can continue to be sent to her Vet bills direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

Happy Friday!

In pulling out our fireplace insert to sweep and clean, we are doing some renovations – yes, power is off! – BHRR’s Coupe (NewfX) decides this was a great area to lay down in! 

We remain patient in re: to getting his front leg surgeries done – he is considered ‘stable’ at this time and as such, is not listed as being urgent like so many other animals under the care of his ortho specialist so, we remain in a holding pattern NO thanks to COVID-19.

He is absolutely magnificent and is going to make a dream of a family member addition to a truly lucky home when he is ready to make his own special announcement!

This lovely Miss is scheduled for her first surgery on June 25th. It shall be bilateral entropion surgery and we will take x-rays of her hips and knees and send them to ortho Specialist, Dr. Philibert.

While she is under, we will also do a mature spay plus give her a much needed manicure/pedicure.

AND prior to her surgery, what girl does not love to go to The Spa?! She is scheduled for a pampered pooch spa treatment on June 21st to make her feel and look her best heading into her first big surgery.

Her foster mama has been doing an amazing job with brushing her out – I have seen the pictures! – and this professional grooming session will enable her to look/feel even more beautiful!

At BHRR, we spare nothing for the dogs in need of our highly specialised programs and the lovely Miss Olive shall be no different.

We are still working on some Fundraisers and will update ASAP!

Thank you to all of our friends, family & supporters for helping us fight the good fight to remain in operation. We are the oldest operating Great Dane/Giant Breed Rescue in the area – here since 1996!

AND yes, that is a huge strand of drool on her face while we were at work!

*NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!*

BHRR’s Caramel!
AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

He says he is finally ready to make his own special announcement! 

He will only be considered for a home that is extremely experienced in understanding dog body language.

We have worked extremely hard with BHRR’s Caramel so that he does not feel threatened by strange dogs or people.

He is so affectionate and loving plus very goofy yet, in the wrong hands, he would be ruined.

He has had a lot to learn in respect to manners with humans and also other dogs.

In not understanding body and other cues, he was constantly worried and would bark in an effort to communicate to others to please give him space and to not hurt him.

He has zero clue that he is a Great Dane. He thinks he is this small helpless creature and for the longest time thought everything was out to ‘get him.’

He communicates so well when he is not comfortable and shall need a home that will not:

*unconsciously or consciously set him up for failure by enabling his inappropriate display of behaviour re: anxiety or stress. He is learning that constant barking does not give him all the attention he wants. He has learned that a few barks, makes us listen to his cues and determine if there is something that we need to passively assure him and then passively ignore.

In the wrong hands, he would be a neurotic mess. He is calm and happy and comfortable in his own skin – can self soothe and comfort and amuse himself and has made some amazing doggie friends.

It has taken awhile for him to learn that said dogs were not out to ‘eat’ him or hurt him. His besties are my two Wolfies, BHRR’s Fred and yup, as you all know, BHRR’s Miss Lilly won him over…..like he ever had a chance?! 

With BHRR’s Walter now bunking in with us, he is worried about him yet, quickly realising that BHRR’s Walter is not going to hurt or eat him either.

We do not allow him to to be an idiot with manners or barking and his personality is massive! JUST huge!!!

He is a Dane that is not for the faint of heart. When you have earned his trust, he will give you his own heart and loyalty for life.

We must ensure that whomever is approved to adopt this handsome fine young man, will continue to build upon the strong foundations we have built and help him reach his full potential.

New surroundings, new people and new dogs etc., can stress him out so baby steps with exposure, treats and make each and every experience the best ever!

If you are calm and quietly confident and have that required experience plus knowledge, he just blossoms and thrives.

He is active, loves car rides and not just walks yet, hiking. We have built up his muscle mass and toning and he is in excellent shape, healthy and so happy!

He is crate trained, housebroken and I have had no issues doing his nails or bathing, just a bit of a squirmy worm.

Sean and I have spent a lot of time conversing if we should place him up for adoption yet, if his right matched personality fit loving home never comes along, he will always have a cherished home here!

He needs the proper level of physical and/emotional stimulation and if you want a dog that is an earlier riser, he is one!

He still likes to bark when I get up, at feeding time and when I arrive home, yet, now only gives a few barks and then settles down really nicely. He is a vocal boy that expresses all that he feels in his excitement or worries.

He is also bilingual!

He is not a ‘starter Dane’ and as posted above, shall only go to an extremely dog experienced home. That comes from not having had only one dog prior to wishing to adopt him.

We will not adopt him out to a home with any children – young, small nor teenagers.

We would love to see him in a home that already has a dog of their own that will be a great compliment for him.

No cats or other small animals is our preference with how excitable and full of enthusiasm he can be.

We do not ever want his spirit to be broken….what we want is for him to flourish and continue to see how much this great big wonderful world can offer him in experiences and kindness!

BHRR’s Caramel – never shall you ever know hurting or man-handling days again…never!

You are loved, you are now understood, you are magnificent, so precious and we are privileged to have been asked to assist you!!!

AND oh yeah, Momma Gwennie is bursting with pride over you! 

 

Please note that we are NOT reviewing nor approving any applications for approved adoptions until at least August.

We will re-evaluate this closer to that date as to if we need to extend that date.

We will not be accepting any applications or any non-refundable applications fees during this time. 

This is for several reasons:

1) BHRR requires a Vet Reference and as someone who works in animal medicine, I know how absolutely insanely busy we are at this time with our staff/hours. We are NOT going to jam up the phone lines doing vet references when people are trying to get through to make urgent appointments, asking for refills of lifesaving meds, needing prescription food etc.

Additionally, the government has announced that Veterinarians can ONLY operate on an urgent basis.

People answering the phones at Vet Hospitals need to be answering the phones for urgent reasons. Not for Vet references.

We need to focus on patient care at the Hospital and we respect and understand that other Hospitals need to do the same. We are an essential service and need to be able to provide that service to the best of our abilities and checking Vet references does not fall under that criteria.

2) We cannot nor will we do home-visits. I put my life and my family’s life at risk every day that I go to work to take care of other people’s pets. Doing a home-visit is not responsible nor does it follow the policy set forth from the government that we need to be practising self-isolating to flatten the curve.

Doing a home-visit is not urgent during this COVID-19 pandemic.

At this time, I go to work, utilize the ever dwindling supply of PPE available, I go home, I buy groceries, get gas and that is it for my public appearances. I am thinking NOT only of my dogs, yet, my family and you…I am thinking of all of the other people out there….

3) It does greatly concern us with the number of inquiries coming our way over the past couple of weeks.

On a ‘good’ day, I get almost 1,000 emails and about 50 phone calls.

These past four weeks; we are up to almost 2,000 emails and almost 125 phone calls a day.

People telling us that they now have time on their hands. If you did not have time before you stopped working; what makes you think that you will have time once you go back to work?

Additionally, even with people going on EI; the monies coming in are not the same as if you were working and if you feel that you are struggling to pay bills, buy groceries, how do you feel that you can take on the costs of having a Giant Breed dog?

The average cost – and I have been tracking this since 1996 – of owning a giant breed per year, PRIOR to emergencies is $2,400.

All of this to say; we will not be processing any applications until it is ideal plus safe to do so.

If you send us a completed application along with the non-refundable application fee, we will be responding that we are not accepting nor reviewing applications and when we do feel that it is safe to do so, we shall begin to slowly open up. 

Our Petfinder and home websites as posted are kept up to date and all details re: said dogs are on their individual blogs. Once, we do open up again for applications, we will remain ONLY responding to completed applications. You would be welcome to re-submit your application along with the non-refundable application fee at that time for members of the BHRR BOD to consider. We will NOT be holding on to your applications nor the non-refundable application fee from now to then. 

**EXCEPTION: We shall no longer be covering the cost of any banking or PayPal fees should people send this non-refundable fee. In May/June, we were out of pocket almost $100 as people were not be mindful. This is much needed money being taken away from the animals as we are covering the fees out of our own pockets and that is money that we would have used for the BHRR animals.**

Asking us what the cost to adopt is or asking to meet a dog; is all information found on our websites. We are not a pound, shelter or facility. We are an all Volunteer organziation that operates from our own home and that of our approved Foster homes. 

AND yes, we are not other groups and as it is their prerogative to adopt out during this extremely difficult time and it remains our perogative to not do so.

Thanks!

BHRR’s Walter!

He had his recheck on Tuesday June 2nd!

He is doing great yet, still needs some medical rehab care since his bilateral entropion surgery – he is still on medications for his eyes as during his latest recheck, he was found to be battling an eye infection in his right eye. He also has eye lube.

He will need at least one more recheck for his eyes, we are slowly weaning him off of the pred and he remains on his thyro tabs plus a fish based kibble.

LOOK how amazing he now looks and according to his wonderful foster Mama and I have seen this several times myself, he is feeling super too!

He is doing really well with people – I noted at his latest recheck how much more calm and accepting he was of everyone. His tail was down yet, not tucked right up under his belly.

He did not have any reaction to the dogs that he has seen at work at his recheck nor with our clinic cat.

Careful integration as always is key!

He has been doing great with the other dog in the home plus their cat that he is being currently fostered in. Due to lack of socialization in his previous home; he has been scared/slightly reactive – a few growls – at strange dogs when he first arrived.

AMAZING progress! He will be back for another recheck in 10 days or so and then it will be time to work on his muscle mass/toning of his hind end.

He has been making a lot of lovely fans and friends since his time with BHRR and his personality is starting to really shine!

AND this is what your support and belief in us enables us to do!!!! To be here for special needs like him!!!! THANK YOU!

Got her!!

More soon!

Thank you to Cassy & Colin for picking her up and thank you to Sharif and Megan for temp fostering her!

She weighed 62.9 kgs (138.38 pounds) at work today. We did blood-work, vaccines and she is now on Deramaxx for pain/inflammation.

Sadly, she is pretty much blind. Though, she had surgeries on her eyes in the past, when it is done at too young of an age for some giants; it can fail. Unfortunately, she has corneal ulcers and her eyes are very cloudy.
*EDITED TO ADD: That in seeing photo’s of her before her eye surgery, she did not have bilateral entropion surgery. She had bilateral cherry eye surgery. We are not sure why her entropion surgery had not been done at the same time.*

We will be having her spayed and do her bilateral entropion surgery ASAP.

We are still assessing her hearing and will shall repeat x-rays of her hips and knees when she is under for her spay and send off to Dr. Philibert to compare to her last x-rays and to best determine the best course of action for those hips/knees.

When she is under we will then give her a nice manicure/pedicure too.

She will start her de-worming and flea/tick plus heartworm meds tomorrow.

A HUGE hit at work, she was! 

Donations can be made direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381 or via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

In having known this Saint since she was really young, BHRR just had to step up to assist her plus her caring previous owner when they reached out to us again seeking help.

We will continue to work on ways to fundraise for her mounting Vet Bills.

One estimate was given was $10,000+ to fix her hips/knees.

*NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!*

The next in URGENT Need of BHRR.

Almost 18 month old special needs female Saint Bernard.

This is a hard owner surrender for us at BHRR.

We have been aware of this girl since she was a small puppy and her caring owner has reached out to us twice in the past re: her and possibly taking her in if necessary.

Early yesterday AM, her caring Owner reached out to us once more asking for our assistance as they want to give this girl the best possible chance of a quality of life.

This Owner has done all that they could to date for her, even getting a second opinion and a third opinion – this from ortho specialist Dr. Phiilibert – back in February.

This sweet girl – good with dogs plus humans and while she can get a bit excited around cats – has never hurt a soul; is all around awesomeness! – has severe HD and quite possibly bilateral cruciate issues. 

She did have a past surgery on her eyes and has been diagnosed with corneal ulcers. She is also said to have hearing issues. We will confirm this.

I have even had the absolute pleasure of meeting this gorgeous girl myself in the past.

That we were contacted once again for possible assistance as her Owner was now strongly considering humane euthanasia as they did not wish to see her suffer and could not take on the estimated $10,000+ to physically rehabilitate her; humbles us immensely.

We are forever touched to be entrusted with her welbeing.

We are working on a couple of Fundraisers to assist with her medical bills….

ETA to BHRR: Monday June 1st

We wil post more as we learn more and do keep her previous Owner in your hearts as this is not easy on them. 

**NOT YET AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION**

BHRR’s Miss Lilly!
(DEAF & Visually Impaired) Great Dane
AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

She says that she is ready to make her own special announcement!

This girl has made an absolutely amazing and almost miraculous rehabilitation journey since she first arrived into our highly specialised rescue last year.

To say that I am proud of her is a gross understatement.

She came to us doing extreme self mutilation to her body due to her severe level of anxiety which was related to her not having anyone ‘speak’ her language. She was confused, worried and in not understanding what was expected of her, that no one could understand her fears, her wants etc., made her obsessive in trying to self-soothe, self-comfort by hurting herself. She had been man-handled and that was causing further stress to her.

She was obsessive in her behaviour of fly snapping – yes, per her detailed blog, we did consider IS activity yet, that was not the case.

She was so overstimulated in some ways, unders-stimulated in other ways and was not comfortable in her own skin nor surroundings.

We placed her on Trazodone – anyone who knows me, knows how I feel about behavioural modificaion medications and how so many use them as a crutch – yet, she was given just enough to take the edge of her anxiety, to get her to focus and relax and be able to realise that we are here to help her, to show her loving hands, not hurting hands, to show her that we very much ‘speak’ her language and that we do understand her and what she needs and wants and that we are here for her for whatever she needs. We slowly worked to build her back up to being the best of dogs!

Being deaf and visually impaired, she had high anxiety going outside at night. The more that she saw other dogs going out – eventually she relaxed and trusted more and also went outside.

She came to us completely not housebroken. Now, she is 100% housebroken and also crate trained. She travels great in a car, gets along with other dogs and humans too.

What and rather ‘who’ really assisted her with feeling the best going outside at night was when BHRR’s Fred came into our Haven Program. For he, too had a worry about going outside at night and she became the ‘big girl’ and showed him that it was ok! It was so heartwarming and emotional watching her now take someone under her own paw to help!!!

I always say that as much as I do for/with these dogs, it is the dogs that do SO much more for each other than I ever could.

We have weaned her completely off of the Trazodone month ago. Yet, to any right matched personality fit loving home that is so blessed to be approved to adopt this beauty, we will be doing a transitional adoption – therefore, they cannot reside any further than 2 hours from our location – to keep things stable and consistent for her to set her up for success.

She can be approved to be adopted to a home that works ft, pt, works from home, is semi-retired or retired. Another versatile BHRR dog!

Any home that is approved to adopt her must also understand that to spend 24/7 with her is a clear set-up for failure. We have worked very hard to set her up for success, to like her own company and in fact, love her own company.

Spending all of your time with any dog is not healthy, and for BHRR’s Lilly, even more so.

We would love to see her go to a home with at least one right matched personality fit dog already residing there. She is playful and higher energy than many Danes and she needs to have her doggie friendships and also that extra dog to dog physical activity connection.

She is great to do nails, easy to bathe, is very eager to please and is so happy when she understands that we ‘get her’ and that she ‘gets us’!

She will need plenty of appropriate giant sized toys to occupy her mouth and to provide great mental stimulation.

She shall not like me to say this yet, she is a ‘toy stealer & hoarder’! Yup, a thief and smuggler of toys! 

She is so happy now, just a big ball of personality into that wonderfully conformed Great Dane body!

New surroundings can make her nervous and how we handle things is how she reacts to things and we treat things as being ‘no big deal’, a calming touch, maybe a treat or two and then passively ignore.

To make a big deal out of anything new or strange – even going to the Vet – is going to set her up for failure.

Having people give her treats when they first meet her will make a friend for life!

She is soooooooo loving and lives every day as if it is her last…she packs the day with all that she can fit in and sleeps soundly – yes, she does snore too….shhh! Do not tell her that as she thinks she is very ladylike….we know her to be a wee bit of a bull in a china shop though! 

She has proven ok with cats, yet, as she is so enthusiastic, she may make cats feel overwhelmed…heck, she made BHRR’s Caramel feel overwhelmed for the longest time; yet, she won…she was determined that they would be bff’s and he really did not have a choice! She can be very determined plus persuasive!

For those early bird risers; this is the Dane to consider! She is up and at ’em between 5 AM – 6:30 AM each and every day….she does like to get in a mid AM and mid afternoon nap if her busy schedule allows for it!

This girl is a ham, a real delight and not for the faint of heart.

Her leash manners have improved significantly and she knows many sign language words. We use a combination of ASL and our made up signs to communicate with her.

She will only go to a home that has had prior special needs canine; not necessarily Great Dane experience. She will only go to a home that has significant prior canine experience for she is not a ‘starter dane’ and deserves to be with a home that can continue to help her reach her full potential and not be ‘learning off of her.’ That is way too much pressure for her to have to bear and take on. She will teach that right matched personality fit home a lot yet, that home needs to have a lot of their own experience and knowledge to bring to the table.

All of our adoption processes, policies and procedures can be found on our home website for anyone that may be interested in being considered for her. Between that and her thoroughly detailed blog, all of your questions should be answered.

Miss silly Lilly, many thought you should have been ‘killed’ and that we were wasting our time. Little did those know in re: to what we do, why we do it, why we are needed and have done for almost 25 years. Furthermore, little did they know about you and just how awesome you really are.

She carries her up head up high and proud now….her tail is happy and wagging now….she is happy and healthy now! Look at all of that muscle mass plus toning on her body!

I could continue to write a massive Gwennie novel on this girl for she is truly special!

You are living your best life every day and we could not be more delighted to help you make your special announcement!

BHRR’s Royal Blu!
 
Another uber handsome blue Great Dane in our BHRR Haven Program!
 
In seeing his photo vs. BHRR’s Fred, you can see the difference betwen the euro blood lined Danes vs. the american blood line.
*AND that is not dirt on his chest. It is his drying drool from the few moments we took to do photo’s! Those big flews of his create a lot of drool! Not for the faint of heart!*
 
He awaits patiently to have his own bilateral entropion and cherry eye surgeries, a Dental plus to also have surgery on both of his front legs. – this picture does not show the true severity of his biltateral valgus deformity as we worked to show off his beauty over his current extreme medical conditions. 
 
If you read previous blog posts; you can see the x-rays of both of his front legs that we took upon his arrival into our special needs rescue program.
 
These are the animals that you are supporting with your kindness plus generosity!
Here is our givinggrid fundraiser link as we remain in great need of your support for Ottawa just announced that no public events can be held until at least the August, therefore, our biggest annual fundraiser of the year that we host in July cannot be held. 
 
If BHRR, operating since 1996 is going to withstand this COVID-19 pandemic and continue to help those that most other groups cannot or will not; we urgently need your help. 
 
Donations can also continue to be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com and all of those donation totals are being added to our giving grid fundraiser total….
 
With the postponing of our annual Microchip/Nail Trim/BBQ and so much more event; we have had to up the total in our givinggird fundraiser that we need in order to keep operating. 
 
Extremely difficult worrisome times.

BHRR’s Fred!

This uber handsome blue Great Dane is doing fantastic in our Haven Program!

He is such a personality filled boy who is affectionate and can be wonderfully quirky too!

He is thriving!

AND here is our givinggrid fundraiser link as we remain in great need of your support for Ottawa just announced that no public events can be held until at least the August, therefore, our biggest annual fundraiser of the year that we host in July cannot be held. 

If BHRR, operating since 1996 is going to withstand this COVID-19 pandemic and continue to help those that most other groups cannot or will not; we urgently need your help. 

Donations can also continue to be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com and all of those donation totals are being added to our giving grid fundraiser total….

With the postponing of our annual Microchip/Nail Trim/BBQ and so much more event; we have had to up the total in our givinggird fundraiser that we need in order to keep operating. 

Extremely difficult worrisome times.


This handsome young man is excited…..BHRR’s Caramel!

Why is he excited?!

Well……………he is getting closer and closer to making his own special announcement!

He has learned SO much in re: to trust, helping hands, manners, obedience and learning to understand body language cues from both people and dogs.

VERY very very very proud of this boy and I love that he throws ALL of himself into everything he commits himself to doing…he is not a half measure kind of Dane!

Recovering in post-op. Mama Gwennie stayed by her side monitoring her until she recovered….

BHRR’s Miss Volt!

She also had her own surgery, a long awaited one on Tuesday May 19th, 2020.

It is so hard to believe, utterly bittersweet too that her own incredibly amazing miraculous journey with us shall be ending as we finally near the last stages of her own successful rehabilitation.

This was the adorable Rottie puppy that had been electrocuted in her previous home, left without treatment for days, finally bought into an emergency hospital and then was surrendered to BHRR.

While many wanted to see her put to sleep, our special needs rescue & our fantastic village surrounded her with all that she needed to get better. The BHRR ‘CHAIN OF SUCCESS’ was strong for her and she has thrived!

She required multiple surgeries on her mouth and from the first day that she came into my loving hands, I noted that she also had a vulva conformity issue.

That took many months of its own treatment for infections, then waiting so patiently for her to come into heat per the recommendation of her specialist, Dr. Philibert to then having to wait for her uterus to go back to a more normal size, dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic etc….to finally being able to have this surgery which was to also address the two broken incisors she had.

On Tuesday, we also did pre-op blood work as we feel that this is incredibly important to do to be properly proactive with our care of the animals we are entrusted with. Part of the important blood work we did was to also do a screening for tick borne disease and heartworm exposure.

Despite having all of our dogs on year round preventative and doing the Lymes vaccine, nothing is 100% and sure enough, Miss Volt turned up Lymes positive. 

From there, we sent off blood for a further test – almost $155 – to IDEXX – for a Quant 6 to check her levels. Those results are now in and her level was 29. Per her Vet, she does not require treatment.

As is also the case with BHRR’s Miss Mollie – another Lymes positive dog in our program – to whomever is approved as her right matched personality fit forever loving home, a yearly heartworm/tick borne disease test shall need to be done with the understanding that she shall always show up positive for Lymes. As she will always show up positive for Lymes, a Quant 6 test shall have to be being sent to the lab to test her levels.

Equally important is for her to remain on preventative year round. As long as her results remain at a certain level and/or she remains asymptomatic, she does not require treatment.

On Tuesday, she received the vaccines that she was due for, I microchipped her, gave her a manicure/pedicure – she is great to do this at any given time! – and the surgeon checked her mouth and could not find any broken incisors to remove.

Miss Volt weighed a lean trim solid muscled 33.1 kgs(72.82 pounds)! A wee gorgeous package of love!

She remains a HUGE hit with all that she meets, loves all people and animals and is recovering well in our home from her big spay. 

Once she is healed, she can finally make her own special announcement.

She has remained a popular inquiry for many and we stand firm that we are not taking on any completed applications to review until at least June.

We have worked so hard to keep her blog up to date and for any one interested, all they need to do is read the thorough blog plus our adoptions policies, processes and procedures. So many emails about her that are readily answered if one just takes a bit of time to read her detailed blog. 

As also mentioned, our bills on Tuesday between both BHRR’s Walter and Miss Volt came to just under $2,500 and we have more special needs giants requiring their own specialist surgeries.

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it beyond a nightmare for r/q groups and the struggle for Rescue survival is a big reality….. 

We have been around almost 24.5 years and this is not how we wish things to end due to a pandemic.

Please do consider a donation to help a cause near and dear to your hearts to thrive, be it BHRR or another organisation out there! 

We will take donations via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com or direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381.

All donations being sent via email transfer or PayPal are being added to our Givinggrid fundraiser donation page so everyone can see the current running total!! 

Sooooooooooo my last post of my night….

We are moving BHRR’s Percival under a PENDING ADOPTION!

AND before we become flooded with calls, emails and texts, no we remain not approving any adoptions until at least June.

Additionally, we are not accepting to review any other completed applications to consider for approved adoptions until at least June.

As we have posted several times over on facebook, on our websites including PetFinder and have explained many times on the phone to those that now state that they have ‘all of this time on their hands’ and want to adopt; we do not feel that this is the proper time for people to adopt that suddenly have time on their hands when they did not before.

We also remain practising safe social distancing.

The reason why we are moving slowly on this particular application – received back in April yet, we have been in discussion for so much longer than that – for BHRR’s Percival is that this home has taken the time to get to know BHRR, what we do, why we are needed, what we represent etc. and in turn, over time, we have also come to get to know them.

This is not a home that is a stranger to BHRR/us. This is not a home that suddenly has time on their hands and wishes to adopt. This is not a home that does not understand the lifetime commitment that each animal deserves to have. This is not a home that does not understand the extensive medical and food bills that BHRR’s Percival shall require. This is not a home that has not read in depth BHRR’s Percival’s story. They have followed his journey since Day 1. They understand that he is not perfect, that he is only perfect in his imperfections and they want to assist him in helping him reach his full potential, which he has a mountain of! 

This is a home that has has been front and present and full of honesty and openness and members of the BHRR BOD have discussed this particular situation/home and we feel 100% comfortable in proceeding further with their application.

Yes, sometimes there can be extremely rare grey area’s to some circumstances and this is a unique situation that we are sincerely looking forward in proceeding further with.

On that amazing note, from our home to all of our friends, family and supporters thank you for all that you have done and do for the animals of BHRR and we wish you the warmest of good night wishes!

We shall update on BHRR’s Percival’s status as we can!

BHRR’s Walter!

He went in for surgery on May 19th to get his new eyes! He had his much needed bilateral entropion surgery as he was finally healthy enough to have the surgery.

His weight was 147.4 pounds(67 kgs). He has now put on 15.4 pounds (7 kgs) since he first arrived to BHRR’s care in March. He still needs a bit more weight and once he has recovered from his eye surgery, our next focus is working to building up his muscle mass and strength in his hind end.

I microchipped him while he was under, he had a great manicure/pedicure and he received tons of gentle love from many of my colleagues during his time at work!

He is now on two types of pain meds, oral and eye antibiotics plus some trazodone to help keep him calm and comfortable while he heals.

He remains on his pred plus thyro tabs along with a special fish based diet and when he is back for his recheck in 10-14 days, we will do more bloodwork at that time.

He is now sporting a very fashionable cone – 40 cm – and it was truly lovely for all to note how far he has come since we first received the urgent message that he needs rescue or that he would be killed later that same day.

He is a really sweet boy and THANKS to his foster Mama for taking excellent care of him!

Thank you’s extended from our hearts once once more to my fellow team mates @ EVC and to both Dr. G. & Dr. Ammar for giving him excellent Vet care since his arrival to BHRR.

We will make a separate post re: Miss Volt who also had surgery on the 19th!

We still await surgery dates from the specialist for both BHRR’s Coupe and BHRR’s Royal Blu for their legs – both of them have front leg concerns, requiring no less than 6 surgeries between them both & BHRR’s Royal Blu also needs his own bilateral entropion plus a cherry eye repair.

Our GivingGrid fundraiser is below and what has generously come in to date, will cover both of BHRR’s Walters and Miss Volts  – their Vet bills on Tuesday came to $2,141.41 and we are almost half way to our goal!

We remain deeply humbled, grateful, and thankful to everyone that stands strong by our special needs rescues side helping us to work hard to keep our doors open during this brutally difficult time.

We cannot do this alone and though we along with so many r/q groups are going through such dark scary times, it immensely warms our hearts to have members of our village fighting as hard as we are to be here for those in need of our highly specialised and much needed programs.

The link to our GivingGrid fundraiser is HERE and donation considerations can also continue to be sent direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381 or via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

BHRR’s Miss Silly Lily!
(Deaf / Visually Impaired)
May 17th, 2020

Sean & I did a little professional photo shoot ourselves today for this beauty…..in preparation for her to make her upcoming special announcement.

We must say that we are extremely pleased with our amateur photo efforts! 

This sweet girl has come a LONG way since she first arrived to us and we could not be more proud.

She deserves to be our Cover Girl!

STAY Tuned!

This pretty girl says that she is so close to making her own special announcement!

BHRR’s Miss Silly Lilly(Deaf/Visually Impaired)! 

BHRR’s Walter(photo) & BHRR’s Miss Volt are scheduled for Tuesday May 19th for their surgeries.

BHRR’s Walter is booked to have both of his eyes repaired for his bilateral entropion. That is the next step in his own rehabilitation program. YOU are going to feel even better after your surgery sweet boy!

BHRR’s Miss Volt is FINALLY going to have her spay and those two small incisors removed. Baby girl, your rehab journey has been long yet, we are almost there!

COVID-19 sure did not help AND we still have BHRR’s Royal Blu(eyes/2 legs) and BHRR’s Coupe(2 legs) waiting for their own specialist surgeries…..

Please know that your beautiful support enables us to keep helping dogs like BHRR’s Walter, BHRR’s Royal Blu, BHRR’s Coupe and BHRR’s Miss Volt.

To date, our givinggrid fundraiser has raised: $1,276 in 24 hours. WOW! We are 25% to our goal. We do remain in urgent need of your generosity to help BHRR stay strong.

To all that have posted supportive words and/or donated and/or shared our call for financial donations, please know how much you humble us, you honour us and we thank you for being there in our massive time of need.

Should you not wish to donate via the givinggrid – link is HERE!, donations can be sent via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com or even direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381

As always, thank you for any and all consideration to help keep BHRR strong!

BHRR’s Percival!
Fox Red Labrador

Today is the day that he comes to bunk down with The Boerskins!

Thanks so much to his kind foster Mama for loving on him.

We have possible wonderful news too re: him. We have received an application for him that may well be that right matched forever loving adoptive home.

We now have to wait – with the COVID-19 situation – until it is safe to proceed further with the application.

What a long yet, truly amazing way you have come sweet boy in your rehabilitation journey to health plus happiness. 

 

BHRR’s Walter

Someone needs a bigger bed……and while the picture is kind of cute, the reality is not….. 

We had a wonderful rescue angel donate monies for BHRR’s Walter to have his own dog bed – sadly, Costco did not have any XL beds at that time, so we ordered online from a different business….

When that bed came in – in photo – it was not what it was suppose to be in dimensions and now, we are in conversation with the company working on getting our funds back. They are not being co-operative despite all documentation to demonstrate what was sent is not what we paid for.

So, dear sweet Walter is still using BHRR’s Bells bed in the meantime…..

As so many are experiencing, times are very tough for everyone and Rescue organisations are not exempt from the current brutal economy.

Every day is a struggle for r/q groups – we are down to 1.5 days left of fish based kibble to feed no less than 5 dogs in need of said kibble.

We have mounting Vet bills for meds, prescription foods and urgent care that can not be put on hold.

Animals do not stop needing high quality care during this COVID-19 nightmare.

If anyone may consider donating an XL dog bed for BHRR’s Walter and/or a bag of FROMM Salmon or Whitefish, our gratitude would be hundred fold.

The stress is real….we have been operating for over 24 years and have gone through more than our share of difficult time’s and right now is top of those hardship experiences…. 

Donations can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via Email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com or even direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic to our rescue account there: 613-383-8381.

Thank you’s from our heart to everyone in our BHRR village for being there during these unprecedented times….. 

Image may contain: dog and indoor

BHRR’s Walter was at the Vet on Friday April 10th for his recheck!

He is slowly gaining weight (he has put on 2.1 kgs in two weeks) – still very skinny, yet, he is improving! He is now 62.10 kgs(136.62 pounds).

The healthier he is getting, the better he is feeling and the more weight he is putting on. His fabu foster mama says that he is eating very well!

His feet, skin, face etc. are all looking SO much better! He now has toes!

He remains on pred, antibiotics and has now been put on two eye medications for his eye infections. He will require his own bilateral entropion surgery once he is healthier.

We have him on a fish based food and his body is responding wonderfully to it!

The bleeding and lesions all over his body have pretty much resolved, he is not itchy like he once was was, he is more alert, beginning to become playful and is no longer as uncomfortable.

I also gave him a much needed nail trim on Friday. He ROCKED it!

He is on thyroid medication as without it per his previous Vet Records; he was diagnosed with severe hypothyroidism. He had been having seizures and vestibular ataxia.

He has a very long journey ahead of him and we thank ALL of his rescue angels to date for donating to his extremely deserving cause….! 

His personality is starting to come out and he LOVES the humans, not so sure of the clinic cat at work and we will be beginning to work on his intergration with other dogs.

We will also begin to work more on his muscle mass and tone. He is lacking a lot.

We are still waiting on the special stain decision on his three biopsies yet, the prelim results demonstrate:

MICROSCOPIC DESCRIPTION:
Haired skin (chin and face): Tissue consists of three punch biopsies of haired skin which have been bisected. There is epidermis and dermis with adnexa and minimal subcutis. The epidermis is multifocally moderately hyperplastic with parakeratosis. Frequently hair follicles are hyperplastic with occasional
sheets of degenerate viable neutrophils, eosinophils and macrophages to ruptured with free hair shafts frequently surrounded by similar inflammation described with regions of pyogranulomatous and eosinophilic and granulomatous inflammation. Occasionally regions of dermis within one sample are expanded by abundant pyogranulomatous inflammation forming discrete pyogranulomas with surrounding fibrin, edema and hemorrhage.

MICROSCOPIC INTERPRETATION:
Marked to severe chronic pyogranulomatous to eosinophilic and granulomatous dermatitis and folliculitis with frequent furunculosis with intralesional free hair shafts and regionally extensive fibrin, edema and hemorrhage (PENDING special stains; see comments)

COMMENTS:
THIS IS AN INTERIM REPORT.
Changes are consistent with a significant dermatitis, folliculitis and furunculosis with evidence of chronic trauma to these areas. There is no definitive evidence of infectious agents observed with routine stains. There is no definitive evidence of a neoplastic process within the sections of tissue reviewed histologically. The cause for these lesions is unknown but histomorphologic features and clinical
findings may be secondary to a hypersensitivity reaction within this region with chronic trauma and subsequent enlargement of adnexa with rupture or potentially this represents a deep pyoderma with subsequent trauma and furunculosis. Additional special stains are pending to evaluate for the presence of etiologic agents. The findings of the special stains will be reported in the final report and any additional comments if warranted.

Someone has no idea re: social distancing. 

BHRR’s Sleet(Deaf/Blind) and Sean remain having their incredible special bond. 

Cannot believe she is now almost 18 months old….

Every night per a previous post/picture this is part of their nightly routine…..she climbs right up into his chair and demands attention and likes to snuffle his head!

Sean remains saying that of course he has no favourites!!

The animals sure do make the world a much better place to be in, especially right now…..such a difficult time….

*VIDEO sent our way by his previous Owner the morning we were asked to assist this Great Dane*
 
UPDATE: BHRR’s Walter has tested negative for heartworm, tick borne diseases, sarcoptic and demodectic mange.
 
We are waiting to discuss in detail – I have been sent them today – his biopsy results – three biopsies taken and his thyroid panel with his Vet. I have questions that only the expertise of his Vet will be able to confirm/validate and answer for me. So, will not post more on those results until that conversation occurs.
 
He has been placed on antibiotics, thyro meds, pred, been de-wormed and is now on a fish based food only.
 
Per his previous vet records, last summer he was diagnosed with severe hypothyroidism. He had been having seizures and vestibular ataxia.
 
He has clear auto immune and extreme skin issues, quite common with blue Great Danes, being a recessive gened bred colour.
 
He had not been on any meds for a couple of weeks per his previous Owner/past records and had remained on a chicken/poultry based food. Per his past records, he had not remained on allergy meds consistently allowing flare-ups to occur and then became worse.
 
The bleeding on his body has slowed down, the swelling is coming down, some of his lesions and wounds are drying up – he has toes plus feet now – and he is eating well. His hydration level is slowly coming up too.
 
His eyes remain runny and red – yet, they now can open! – and will need to have his own bilateral entropion surgery – once again so common in this euro blood line Danes.
 
The trauma caused to his body is apparent and will take a long time to rehabilitate and we are taking it one step at a time.
 
I briefly saw him myself yesterday and his temperament is loving and such a hoot! When he does not want to do something, he just lays right down! Already he is feeling a bit better, putting on some weight on that skinny body and his personality is slowly poking through!
 
He remains very weak, especially in his hind end and is a very sick boy yet, he is surrounded by a village that is strong and determined!
 
***$1,025 DONATED TO DATE*** 
 
Once again, before anyone posts in judgement and negativity, do note that the owner DID reach out for help and we are assisting. So, please be mindful of any words posted. It is not a great situation, we all agree, yet, realise that any words you post could prevent another Owner from reaching out and doing the right thing, and that would mean an animal would be euthanised over being assisted.
 
We will continue to operate on a zero tolerance policy re: the above.
 
We just had to find a way to step up to save him. Yes, we are financially overwhelmed with the ever mounting Vet Bills for BHRR’s Coupe and BHRR’s Royal Blu; yet, we just had to rescue this special needs Dane in urgent need of us too.
 
We know this is difficult times for all and have no right to beg for donations, yet, I have no ego or pride and shall continue to do what I need to to make miracles happen for those in need of our highly specialised programs. So, I do beg and grovel and keep hope alive in my heart….
 
It is not going to be easy yet, I am going to focus on the possible, not the impossible….. 
 
If anyone may consider his own worthy cause, he has a file already set up at Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381 under ‘Walter’ for our Rescue
 
OR
 
you can donate via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org
 
OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

UPDATE: *Walter* is now at Eagleson Veterinary Clinic. This is one picture sent my way of part of his face.

Bloodwork is being run and biopsies have been taken and he is being examined.

Will update more as I can….

***$925 DONATED TO DATE*** 

BHRR has been quickly mobilising behind the scenes to rescue this Great Dane.

We received an email in the wee hours of the AM that he needed help or the Owner said the Vet would ‘kill him today’.

As soon as I saw the email a couple of hours later, I jumped on it, begged for some time and then the incredible links on our BHRR ‘CHAIN OF SUCCESS’ were put into action.

One of our fabu approved Volunteers now has him – thank you for dropping everything to help! – and is on his way direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic, who have been alerted and are standby to receive him. Drive safe Bob!

I am not going to post more at this time re: his current medical state other than to say, we could not let him be put to sleep and are going to do all necessary diagnostics plus treatments for him. Yes, he has lesions, wounds and swelling all over his body including his front feet and muzzle and he is skinny – from a video and pics, he looks somewhat emaciated. He can barely open his eyes.

He is in pain, clearly suffering and bleeding. This is his reality right now.

However, before anyone posts in judgement and negativity, do note that the owner DID reach out for help and we are assisting. So, please be mindful of any words posted. It is not a great situation, we all agree, yet, realise that any words you post could prevent another Owner from reaching out and doing the right thing, and that would mean an animal would be euthanised over being assisted.

I shall post what is known from his past Vet Records along with what our expert Vet Team will determine form examining and testing him.

We just had to find a way to step up to save him. Yes, we are financially overwhelmed with the ever mounting Vet Bills for BHRR’s Coupe and BHRR’s Royal Blu; yet, we just had to rescue this special needs Dane in urgent need of us too.

We know this is difficult times for all and have no right to beg for donations, yet, I have no ego or pride and shall continue to do what I need to to make miracles happen for those in need of our highly specialised programs. So, I do beg and grovel and keep hope alive in my heart….

It is not going to be easy yet, I am going to focus on the possible, not the impossible….. 

If anyone may consider his own worthy cause, he has a file already set up at Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381 under ‘Walter’ for our Rescue

OR

you can donate via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

Soon sweet boy, soon…you will be at the Hospital soon….

***$425 DONATED TO DATE*** 

BHRR has been quickly mobilising behind the scenes to rescue this Great Dane.

We received an email in the wee hours of the AM that he needed help or the Owner said the Vet would ‘kill him today’.

As soon as I saw the email a couple of hours later, I jumped on it, begged for some time and then the incredible links on our BHRR ‘CHAIN OF SUCCESS’ were put into action.

One of our fabu approved Volunteers now has him – thank you for dropping everything to help! – and is on his way direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic, who have been alerted and are standby to receive him. Drive safe Bob!

I am not going to post more at this time re: his current medical state other than to say, we could not let him be put to sleep and are going to do all necessary diagnostics plus treatments for him. Yes, he has lesions, wounds and swelling all over his body including his front feet and muzzle and he is skinny – from a video and pics, he looks somewhat emaciated. He can barely open his eyes.

He is in pain, clearly suffering and bleeding. This is his reality right now.

However, before anyone posts in judgement and negativity, do note that the owner DID reach out for help and we are assisting. So, please be mindful of any words posted. It is not a great situation, we all agree, yet, realise that any words you post could prevent another Owner from reaching out and doing the right thing, and that would mean an animal would be euthanised over being assisted.

I shall post what is known from his past Vet Records along with what our expert Vet Team will determine form examining and testing him.

We just had to find a way to step up to save him. Yes, we are financially overwhelmed with the ever mounting Vet Bills for BHRR’s Coupe and BHRR’s Royal Blu; yet, we just had to rescue this special needs Dane in urgent need of us too.

We know this is difficult times for all and have no right to beg for donations, yet, I have no ego or pride and shall continue to do what I need to to make miracles happen for those in need of our highly specialised programs. So, I do beg and grovel and keep hope alive in my heart….

It is not going to be easy yet, I am going to focus on the possible, not the impossible….. 

If anyone may consider his own worthy cause, he has a file already set up at Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381 under ‘Walter’ for our Rescue

OR

you can donate via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

Soon sweet boy, soon…you will be at the Hospital soon….

BHRR’s Royal Blu came to us via a request of a rescue transfer.

He came into their Rescue back in 2017; had two surgeries on one leg for a congenital Vulgras deformity; and as mobility had been improved, the other leg did not have surgery.

A surgery had been done on the one eye, for cherry eye and as is very common, it failed.

He had been adopted about 7 months ago and recently a dog bite occurred in the adoptive home.

We are told that he love kids and is good with other dogs, people etc. and was therefore adopted to a home with two children, 5 & 8.

Unfortunately, recently, an incident occurred in the adoptive home.

We have been told that this boy has always been a ‘bit iffy’ around food & has demonstrated past behaviours of some food resourcing issues.

He was in the kitchen when food was being prepared and one of the children was also in the kitchen, petting/touching him.

To be honest, let me state that if this Dane wanted to cause damage he could have and did not. He snapped and as the child is as tall as he is, a connection was made – and I have seen a picture of the bite. Bruising, teeth grazing with one spot from the angle of the picture that I can see broken skin. A scary moment for all involved.

This was not an easy decision for this home who adopted him to return him to the rescue. In turn, the rescue reached out to BHRR to see if we could safe harbour him.

We are here to 100% support the rescue and this adoptive home during this truly heart-wrenching time.

He arrived to BHRR February 22nd and we had him at the Vet February 23rd as we had some concerns.

He has been diagnosed with:

1) Severe Entropion
2) Eye infections
3) Cherry Eye
4) Vulgras Deformity – the right leg is much worse than the left

*He was scheduled on March 10th for his eye surgeries yet, that has had to be postphoned. It will be rescheduled ASAP.

On March 17th, per Dr. Philibert, ortho specialist states that he believes that BHRR’s Royal Blu needs bilateral corrective osteotomies. He has requested additional pictures of BHRR’s Royal Blu standing and from the side.

We have kept his previous Rescue also updated and shall continue to do so.

They have made an incredibly generous donation to his care.

Donations can continue to be made direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381 or via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com *Please let us know the password.

My final post of my night!

All of the winners of our flash online auction have now been notified via posts in the album, so please check the item(s) that you bid on! 

Additionally, with spring, it brings mud and it means lots and lots and lots more of daily laundry and in this picture; we are down many dogs beds as we work both of our washers nonstop to get them constantly cleaned!

For those not yet aware, BHRR’s Coupe – seen in this picture -is also now bunking in with The Boerskins and has settled in beautifully. He is such a low maintenance chill dude! 

With COVID-19 on the minds and conversations of so many, we sincerely hope that everyone is doing as well as can be expected during these uncertain and worrisome times.

Per a previous post made, The Boerskins are in self-isolation as Sean was away in SF and while he can work from home; I sadly; cannot and no work means no income and we deeply can empathise with everyone that is in the same situation. The Boerskins are all doing well overall and we are keeping the world in our hearts and best thoughts……

I do know that I find it hard not working as I know how busy my fellow veterinary team members have been at EVC and I wish I could be there assisting them.

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, good night wishes are being sent and please do remember that, if, we can do anything to assist you during your own time of need; please never hesitate to reach out……as a community we must be there for each other, united and keeping that social distancing so that we can flatten the curve.

BHRR’s Coupe – NewfX
March 10th, 2020

He had his Dental and did fabu! Despite having some worn and chipped teeth, his Vet found that via a great mouth exam plus in taking/reviewing all of his Dental x-rays that no extractions were needed at this time! The roots are strong plus healthy! YAY!

He had an excellent teeth cleaning thanks to his former emerge foster Mama and was loved on by all of my fellow staff members!

He is famous at EVC! 

While he was under, he had another good nail trim and when he was in post-op recovered; he had his anal glands done. The left was empty yet, his right was quite full. He will feel even better now!

This was BHRR’s Coupe’s second surgery and we await his ortho specialists directives as to when he will have his bilateral arthoscopic and bone debridement surgeries on his front legs.

His bills continue to mount for in addition to these surgeries; he remains being treated for Heartworm and on strong antibiotics for his deep penetrating bone infections in both front legs.

Re: the two bullets that we found in him – he may have more as his whole body has not been x-rayed; they remain a ‘wait and see’ and are not the top priorities at this time.

For everyone that has met this handsome boy to date; you will understand just how worthy plus deserving he is of all of the support in the world!

To those that have donated to his cause to date; THANK YOU! To those that have sent well wishes; THANK you!

To those wanting to support his cause; you can continue to make donations directly to his Vet Bills at Eagleson Veterinary Clinic – over the phone due to the current COVID-19 precautions having been implemented 613-383-8381

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*Please let us know the password that you use!

OR you can make a bid in our current flash online auction!!! The link to the album of 37 amazing items is HERE and gentle reminder that this flash online auction ends tonight – Thursday March 18th @ 9 PM EST.

Saturday Mornings be like….

BHRR’s Percival, our gorgeous fox red Labrador remains Available for Adoption!

Thank you to his fabulous foster Mama for taking such excellent care of him! 

BHRR’s Royal Blu
March 13th, 2020

As I recover from some surgery had earlier this week, this boy has been the best hot water bottle, bed hogger, snuggle bug, drooler and companion a girl could wish for!

He was to have his own surgery on March 10th – bilateral entropion surgery along with a cherry eye yet his foster mama(FEEL better soon) took a nasty fall and is healing from a fractured arm.

So, he is back bunking back in with moi and doing fabu!

He has been learning manners as he clearly felt he was ‘king’ and he is coming along beautifully. He can still be grumpy to some of the other dogs yet, is learning to share wonderfully!

Everyone in our home must share the communal water bowls and he is now doing this nicely.

We do not reward inappropriate displays of behaviour and not long after his arrival, he wanted to rear up with SA type behaviours and that was a big no-no.

AND after only a few days of marking the correct behaviours, passively ignoring after a calming word/touch all inappropriate signs of behaviour; he is fantastic.

He bonded hard and fast to me and has been guided plus encouraged to learn to like his own company, to self-soothe, selt-comfort and to self amuse. We are not here to set him up for failure.

We are not here to create ‘monsters’ in manners or behaviours. SA is what my PhD is in and he is an excellent pupil.

We took him off of all behavioural modifcation medications shortly after his arrival to get to know and understand him and to best assess plus put together the right program for him.

He has not had any need to go back on any medications.

He reacts as we act to things as is often the case with most dogs.

He is quite chill and in any situation that he is exposed to that is new or foreign to him, we work to set him up for success and now, he just takes things in stride. Cautious yet curious which we want him to be interested in this big gorgeous world around us!

We have stress tested him also and his first reaction is avoidance…not fight….proving that the bite he had in his prior home was him escalating his communication re: his level of being uncomfortable with what is going on.

He has been in the kitchen as we have cooked, cleaned up etc. and he has been respectful, not one issue with resourcing.

The one thing that he is clear with his level of being uncomfortable is in the taking of his collar at times. He will mouth. Not bite, not growl, yet mouth. We do not push the boundary further at this time. We also have our theories on this yet, we are not setting him up for failure. We will get there….

When he communicates with his body language that he does not wish to have his collar touched, we just take a leash – many of them at easy reach, ask him to sit, hook him up and off we go. No issues….

I am extremely proud of his progress to date and we remain also waiting to hear from his ortho specialist re: those legs. He was to be back from Vacation in early March and are aware that he is a very busy man.

We will have BHRR’s Royal Blu’s eyes rescheduled ASAP.

AND thanks to all for their patience as we work to get our Flash Auction set-up. We have been very busy behind the scenes as well as mourning the death of two BHRR doggies….

BHRR’s Royal Blu
February 23rd, 2020

He arrived February 22nd and based upon what our two transport Volunteers plus what we saw, we had him booked into our Vet Hospital for the very next day

1) He has severe entropion in both eyes – upper and lower lids and that need to be surgically corrected.
2) He also has a cherry eye
3) We did a fluorescein eye stain to look for scratches and ulcers
4) He has eye infections in both eyes & is now on antibiotics
5) We sedated him to do x-rays on both front legs & they were emailed to Dr. Philibert, one of our ortho specialists to advise – re: his extreme valgus deformity
*Dr. Philibert is away on Vacation until the beginning of March. We will be posting copies of the x-rays we took in this album too.
6) We did a nail trim while under sedation as his nails were overgrown
7) We did his anal glands – they were full
8) We did bloodwork – He is negative for Heartworm and Tickborne diseases & his Pre-op plus Wellness profile are normal
9) We are doing a fecal sample and he has now been de-wormed
10) He has been placed on Deramaxx for pain & inflammation
11) His coat is dry, flaky and brittle, so we are changing up his diet
12) He has a bit of a cough that shall be closely monitored
13) He is overweight – he weighed 65.5 kgs(144.1 pounds) and so we will be working on that

AND he is 100% amazing!!! This picture was taken as he was waking up from the sedation given during his time at Eagleson Veterinary Clinic

He is now scheduled for his eye surgeries on March 10th, 2020 and we are ISO: Auction Items for between BHRR’s Coupe and BHRR’s Royal Blu, we are in huge need of financial support to get them healthy!

If you have any item(s) that you may like to donate, please do email contactbhrr@gmail.com

Donations to his Vet Bills can be made direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via Email Transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*Please let us know the password

With two big medical cases on our hands, our doors remain closed for intake…..

We will continue to think of creative fundraising ideas to raise much needed funds for both of these incredibly fabu pooches!!!!

My last post of my night!

BHRR’s Sleet!
One of our 3 deaf/blind mice!
February 23rd, 2020

My sight as I was getting ready to leave for work this AM.

1) I was SO jealous that she was still sleeping AND
2) She may be blind/deaf yet, look at her ‘listening’ so well to the ‘no couch’ rule! 
3) My couch used to be dark brown and is now wonderfully riddled with white hairs! 

She is such a doll!!!! 

I will update tomorrow re: BHRR’s Royal Blu’s Vet visit tonight at Eagleson Veterinary Clinic.

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, warmest good night wishes are being sent!

 
 
 
 
 
 

Got him!

On my way home!

Welcome to BHRR Royal Blu!  So thrilled to finally get to meet you and even more touched to get to assist you!!

I am hoping to get him right into our Vet tomorrow.

Will post more soon!!!

 

Lucie picked BHRR’s Royal Blu several hours ago and now he has safely been transferred to Michele’s loving care!

I will be on my way shortly to meet her…..drive safe!

I always say the world is a small place….However, I must be getting ‘old’ as it took me up to just a few days ago to click in to just who this Great Dane was. 

It was not until I received his previous Vet Records and when the Rescue that first had him mentioned a name associated with his time with them, that I truly clicked in.

Turns out, that we know who he is…..and we are well aware of his journey to Canada in 2017 and quite a bit of time while in Canada from when he first arrived. The Dane world is very small.

That, we were approached to assist him and that he is now in our care, has made me one of the happiest people in the world!!!! 

I cannot wait to meet you and I am glad that we have spruced up your name to be BHRR’s Royal Blu for per Lucie:

‘He traveled wonderfully well. He is calm and very regal (the royal Blu moniker is a very good one).’

My last post of my night….

This handsome man arrives tomorrow!

BHRR’s Royal ‘Blu’ – his name is ‘Blu’ and we are making him royalty!
~5.5 year old Special Needs Male GD

He was adopted out almost 7 months ago by another Rescue.

They performed two surgeries on his front legs as he was born with a congenital deformity – they remain abnormal yet, his mobility has greatly improved. We will have our own ortho specialist exam him also. Maybe there is more that we can do, most likely not as the Rescue that had him has taken amazing plus excellent care of him.

We have been informed that he ‘gallops around like your typical happy Dane’. BHRR’s Mavie, Our Ironman can relate to that having had four surgeries on his own front legs.

We are told that he love kids and is good with other dogs, people etc. and was adopted to a home with two children, 5 & 8.

Unfortunately, recently, an incident occurred in the adoptive home.

We have been told that this boy has always been a ‘bit iffy’ around food & has demonstrated past behaviours of some food resourcing issues.

He was in the kitchen when food was being prepared and one of the children was also in the kitchen, petting/touching him.

To be honest, let me state that if this Dane wanted to cause damage he could have and did not. He snapped and as the child is as tall as he is, a connection was made – and I have seen a picture of the bite. Bruising, teeth grazing with one spot from the angle of the picture that I can see broken skin. A scary moment for all involved. 

This was not an easy decision for this home who adopted him to return him to the rescue. In turn, the rescue reached out to BHRR to see if we could safe harbour him.

We are here to 100% support the rescue and this adoptive home during this truly heart-wrenching time.

The wonderful rescue does not wish to see him put to sleep and asked if we could step up to assist.

Absolutely……

Due to our financial situation being extremely tapped with the further unexpected Vet Bills for BHRR’s Coupe, we have had had a delay in bringing him in and once he arrives, our doors will remain closed.

As no one wished to see him put to sleep, we are honoured to be here.

We thank this Rescue for all that they have done to date for him and we remain keeping his previous adoptive home in our hearts and thoughts. It is a tragic situation……just tragic.

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, the best of good night wishes are being sent!

BHRR’s Singe
2014 – February 20th, 2020

As those who followed my previous post about losing not one yet two beloved BHRR dogs in the space of 8 days; I am finally ready…not really ready though; yet, am doing it anyway, posting what I hope is a somewhat fitting memorial to the first of these two amazing dogs.

BHRR’s Singe was lost to us due to a stroke.

To think that this dog overcame so much…he was emaciated and it took forever to figure things out for him to get that weight on him.

Many will remember his condition and many still will remember how amazing he finally came to look

Those flews, the drool, his eyes that reached deep inside of you, the way he would gently roll slightly off of his side and lift up his left front leg to get me to rub his chest more….

His chest and belly were so soft…just so incredibly soft as was BHRR’s Singe’s personality.

The way he came to love food..the way he would bounce and trot awkwardly with his wonky hind end back and forth to his feeding area to the bowls…..

His soft stunning brown eyes….the way he spoke volumes without making a sound.

That even with how bad his back end was and the strength plus muscle mass that we developed in him; would allow him to jump our hinged door just because he chose that he did not want to be in the hallway any longer…that he never realised that this gate was never locked is beside the point!

The way he would greet me when I got up or arrived home…that big ol’ noggin of his pushing under my elbow, nudging right up under my armpit blowing his hot wet breath!

The pleasure he took settling in by one of the fireplaces plopping down after much circling with the biggest sigh of contentment, rocking the pictures on the wall!

The way that you would romp and run; it truly was like watching Bambi! Those long model legs, so un-coordinated and the memories of witnessing your joy as you believed that you were running as fast as the wind!

You could look so regal and noble standing still yet, we well knew that you were one big puppy goofball in personality and movement!

The bumping into me as you had zero judgement of spacial awareness making me teeter…well, maybe not so much fun!

All of these things and more shall I forever miss about you dear BHRR’s Singe…My Singey……

I continue to often question the universe why bad things happen to such good people and animals etc., and to date, I have never received an answer back….

With each loss comes more heartache and pain and questions…..

The final gift that I could give you dear man is to hold you close to my heart and soak your soft fur with my tears of anguish crossing you over.

I adore you, I miss you from your nose to your tail and the soft and not so soft chewbacca sounds you would make…..

That my hand could be engulfed into your mouth as you gently took a treat leaving my hand and fingers dripping with slime/drool is also an experience, I would dearly love to have a million more times…

RIP my dear man…..you are visited each night with so many others in my dreams and until we meet once more; I will continue to visit you there…..

BHRR’s Coupe
NewfX

We met with Dr. Philibert on February 14th and sadly, yet, honestly, it is truly in BHRR’s Coupe’s best interest that he will not have his bone debridement and removal of the anconeal process and elbow arthroscopy to assess the rest of the joint surgery that had originally been scheduled on February 21st.

We need him to heal and get stronger from this surgery and therefore, he will remain on the strong antibiotics of the Clindamycin for the next 9 weeks. He will continue on his pain medication and NSAID regime too.

At that time, Dr. Philibert will do the removal of the anconeal process and elbow arthroscopy to assess the rest of the joint on not one yet both front legs. 🙁 Dr. Philibert will determine at that time if he shall also have the bone debridement surgery and will repeat x-rays. It will depend how the deep penetrating bone infection is doing.

Per Dr. Philibert and what we have posted before, BHRR’s Coupe also has a lesion in his other leg along with arthritis.

So, the rehabilitation journey for Mr. Coupe continues and shall for some time to come.

We also need to do a Dental as he has broken/cracked teeth from his days of trying to survive as a stray and eating what he could find.

The good news is that he is now 40.3 kgs(88.66 pounds!) thanks to Shauna Stewart and her partner Billy! They have been emerge fostering him for us when he could be released from the Hospital. He was going to their home overnight and spending his day at EVC. Shauna works with me at Eagleson as a Vet Tech. THANK YOU to her for offering to step up to provide excellent post op care for him which enabled me to work on a cruelty case situation! 

As many can attest, he is AMAZING! Just a dream of a dog!

Here is his online fundraiser that Sean created! Now, that we have the final confirmation that he will still have further surgeries YET now surgery on both front legs plus a dental, the bills will continue to rise……

We are continuing to work on fundraising ideas for him as two leg surgeries and a dental with extractions is going to bring his current bills up even many many many thousands of dollars higher…AND that is not even addressing the two bullets we found in him to date…as his whole body has not been x-rayed, he may have more….

BHRR’s Sleet
Born October 21st, 2018
*candid photo I snapped tonight*

My last post of my night!

One of our three deaf/blind mice. 

She does this EVERY night with Sean. She and BHRR’s Glacier really love to be held and snuggled.

AND when BHRR’s Sleet becomes overstimulated or overwhelmed – which is so rare these days as we have worked hard to ensure that she is set up for success – what works best is holding her close & rubbing her chest. It is the only thing that soothes her.

She is the smallest of the 3 blind/deaf mice and she was the one that we were most worried if we could successfully rehab with her severe level of specialness.

Yet, out of the three, she is the most solid now. She is exceptional! Just exceptional!

She keeps her ‘big’ sibling brother Summit in line and always has! 

She is incredibly lovely and though, nothing shall ever replace BHRR’s ‘tude special needs tripod boxer supreme Potterman, Miss Sleet has forged her own enormous place in Sean’s heart plus soul. Yet, as he says ‘he has no favs!’

Their relationship is really precious, adorable and truly is one that is deep plus clearly mutual.

She has excelled herself with her scent plus touch training and had a double eneucleation too, exactly one year ago today. She no longer lives in severe pain from eyes that pained her deeply and eyes that she could not even see out of.

Completely blind and deaf, she navigates with her own confidence and calmness. She is extremely gentle in taking treats from your hand, is housebroken, is crate trained, playful, affectionate and is a great ‘supervisor’ of Sean while he is on his computer. 

She makes Sean pause and realise that it is important to ‘stop and smell those roses’ AKA take the time to enjoy all that is around you…..

To live in the present, to make the most out of everything, take delight in the smallest of things and not just the big things and that a loving heart/touch can help heal some things that are hurting/broken….

THANK you again to all that came out today to support our Nail Trim Event at Eagleson Veterinary Clinic!

Thank you to all that have made a donation to date to help us with BHRR’s Coupe’s mounting Vet bills.

THANK you to all of the Special Valentines that stepped up to make donations of a monetary gift and a toy and/or treat! Humbled…..

From our home to all of our friends, family plus supporters, the warmest and truly indebted of thanks are being sent!

Caring For Coupe Facebook Fundraiser!
(Please click on the above to make a lifesaving donation!)
Mr. Coupe is an ~3 year old NewfX.

As many know, the giants have my heart, the special needs even more so!

He comes from a really terrible past – a stray that was picked up. Skinny, hit by a car and upon doing further investigation, he was determined to be heartworm positive, had a deep penetrating bone infection – actinomyces canis 1+ and we also discovered no less than two bullets in him. 🙁

Amputation is not an option for the one leg as he also has a lesion plus arthritis in his other leg. His ortho specialist recommended a bone debridement surgery and also discussed doing removal of the anconeal process and elbow arthroscopy to assess the rest of the joint to greatly improve his mobility.

Surgery was scheduled for February 21st.

Unfortunately, this past week, he presented to Eagleson Veterinary Hospital with vomiting, was bringing up brown liquid, was unsettled and refusing to eat.

Further x-rays, a barium series plus an ultrasound indicated that exploratory surgery was required as the concern was raised that a possible Foreign Body or masses within his intestines could be the cause.

Emergency surgery discovered that he had two sizeable pieces of material connected via a long string stemming from his colon to his small intestine.

He has spent three nights at the Hospital and today is his fourth day.

Hoping that other animal loving people may consider his cause to support to make a donation towards his mounting Vet Bills. He did not ask for all that happened to him. He is the sweetest, most loving, gentle, calm and wonderful of boys.

Thank you in advance from our hearts for any assistance, even $5! and for also keeping him in your best thoughts!

BHRR’s Glacier running with total confidence and you can see his brother Summit right behind them, equally running with purpose!

These are two of our three deaf / blind mice. All siblings.

Both picked up my scent from the moment they left the house and immediately headed right to me…without hesitation or fear. They are not timid, they meet the world head on!

They make my heart sing with so much joy!

BHRR’s Glacier – one of our three deaf/bind mice!
February 13th, 2020
Born: October 21st, 2018

Look how wonderful he looks! Yes, he is deaf and blind and his tail is wagging, his head is up high, his body posture is confident! He feels comfortable in his ability to navigate in a world that he cannot see/hear and he does this with exceptional skill/ease having been a star pupil with the scent training.

Just because he is deaf/blind does not mean that he is stupid nor does it mean that he does not have a heart/feelings, wants or needs.

He honed right in to where I was in the 3+ acre fenced in yard and once he found me….he stopped and ‘looked’ right at me.

We may have had to do a bilateral eye eneucleation on him a year ago yet, he was already blind, in brutal pain from the severe microphthalmia which caused entropion plus chronic eye infections.

He was born this way. He was born this way. The product of a merle to merle breeding.

He did not ask to be born. Yet, he was…..and that he was, he deserves to live his best life each day and we are doing that for him and other special needs Danes/Dogs.

He does not feel sorry for himself. We do not feel sorry for him and you can see that he is not suffering!

Education is so important and he is ‘normal’ to him and to all that love him. He is housebroken, he is crate trained, he is gentle about taking treats from your hand, he knows commands via touch training(we do not use shock or vibration collars) and scent training and he is 100% amazing!!!

He is a gift and one that we treasure along with his siblings and the other awesome special needs Danes we are so blessed to be here for.

If you know of a special needs Dane that could use a safe spot to land, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We have been the local Great Dane Rescue since 1996 and care deeply to what may happen should these beautiful creatures end up in the wrong hands….

BHRR’s Royal ‘Blu’
~5.5 year old Special Needs Male GD

He was adopted out 6 months ago by another Rescue.

They performed two surgeries on his front legs as he was born with a congenital deformity – they remain abnormal yet, his mobility has greatly improved. We will have our own ortho specialist exam him also. Maybe there is more that we can do, most likely not as the Rescue that had him has taken amazing plus excellent care of him.

We have been informed that he ‘gallops around like your typical happy Dane’. BHRR’s Mavie, Our Ironman can relate to that having had four surgeries on his own front legs.

We are told that he love kids and is good with other dogs, people etc. and was adopted to a home with two children, 5 & 8.

Unfortunately, recently, an incident occurred in the adoptive home.

We have been told that this boy has always been a ‘bit iffy’ around food & has demonstrated past behaviours of some food resourcing issues.

He was in the kitchen when food was being prepared and one of the children was also in the kitchen, petting/touching him.

To be honest, let me state that if this Dane wanted to cause damage he could have and did not. He snapped and as the child is as tall as he is, a connection was made – and I have seen a picture of the bite. Bruising, teeth grazing with one spot from the angle of the picture that I can see broken skin. A scary moment for all involved. 

This was not an easy decision for this home who adopted him to return him to the Rescue. In turn, the rescue reached out to BHRR to see if we could safe harbour him.

We are here to 100% support the rescue and this adoptive home during this truly heart-wrenching time.

The wonderful Rescue does not wish to see him put to sleep and asked if we could step up to assist.

Absolutely……

We are now working on an ETA for him as our financial situation is extremely tapped with the further unexpected Vet Bills for BHRR’s Coupe.

Yet, no one wishes to see him put to sleep and I know that the Rescue that he is currently with would not see that ever happen and we are honoured to be here.

We thank this Rescue for all that they have done to date for him and we remain keeping his previous adoptive home in our hearts and thoughts. It is a tragic situation……just tragic.

Please join me in expressing those sentiments…..

ETA TO BHRR TBA

Fox Red Lab
AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

He says it is time!

He is finally ready to make his own special announcement!

He will only be approved to be adopted to a home that is going to be proactive with his seasonal and food allergies.

It has taken close to $4,000 to successfully rehabilitate this gorgeous boy and he needs to remain on a fish based food plus Apoquel.

A home that is going to be committed plus dedicated to ensuring that he never has his health and happiness compromised ever again.

He can go to a home that works part-time, full-time, from home, is semi or even fully retired. Another BHRR versatile dog!

He is crate trained, wiggly to do nails, fine to bathe with his special shampoo and his leash manners have greatly improved yet, he can still be that bulldozing boy. A diamond in the rough! 

His amazing foster Mama has been working so diligently on his worry re: stairs and he is so proud of himself when he does them! We are EQUALLY proud of you Mr. Percival! 

He can still exhibit some car anxiety and passively ignoring after a reassuring word is so important.

He wants to love everyone yet, still becomes worried over meeting people once in awhile and giving him some space, not looking so tall and offering a treat, then passively ignoring greatly helps him. That he may not take the treat is not what matters. What matters is the positive experience that he is getting and seeing that he is ok.

He is super friendly, affectionate, a true ham of a personality fun filled boy…..he just lacked the proper socialization as a puppy and the home that turns out to be his right matched forever loving home will see that their patience will pay off in huge dividends.

He does not need to be babied. That is setting him up for failure.

His foster mama has been showing him what a wonderful world it can be and he is thriving!

He is great with other dogs plus cats and has come a long way in learning how to play with toys! Such a hoot to watch him in action!

Thank you again to Josée Lavoie Pet Photography for the stunning pictures of this gorgeous boy.

Thank you once more from our hearts to his fabu foster home for all that they have and are doing for him!

We will not adopt him to a home with children under the age of 12. Small children are fast, flighty and unpredictable and he needs stability, consistency plus structure. We want him to be treated like the prince he is.

We would love to see him adopted to a home that has at least one right matched personality fit dog and/or cat residing in it. We will consider homes that do not have any other pets yet, they must have a strong doggie network in place for him to have friends to play plus socialise with. He was so alone prior to rescue and he needs friends just as we do!

He is a healthy happy active plus affectionate boy and settles down in the home when it is time to relax and chill. Great for long walks and in turn, watching movies by the fireplace type of boy.

The healthier he has become, the happier he has become and his Foster Mama has been working on his manners and he is such a good student!

BHRR’s Pervical, we will never regret stepping up to assist you despite the back lashing we took and your successful rehabilitation reinforces why we do what we do and why we need to stand strong for those who have no voice!

Congratulations to you and we are beyond excited for your future!

BHRR’s Coupe(NewfX)
*SOME MAY FIND THE PHOTO GRAPHIC*

Post-op incision site

I also pexied him at the same time.

He had a brutal foreign body – two large pieces of material – is it stuffie, blanket, who knows what – yet, they were connected together throughout his colon and lower intestines by a very long thread – that was what the ultrasound was picking up as being bunched up loops in his intestines as possible masses.
*picture of one of the pieces below*

He had a stomach tube placed in during his surgery to remove all of the nasty stomach contents as his stomach motility had come to a stand still.

We remain incredibly touched by all of the well wishes sent his way and equally touched by all of the life saving donations sent to date towards his ever mounting Vet bills.

I was paid today and put down another $500 on to his account and right now, we have covered just under 50% of this surgery. It will easily be over $3,000 between the surgery/critical care. He was on his third day/night at EVC today, 2nd night post op.

If anyone may consider even $5 to his cause, you can donate direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via Email Transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

We are continuing to work on fundraising options for him and are immensely humbled by all support shown!

We are now getting in touch with his ortho specialist, Dr. Philibert to obtain his own professional thoughts for on February 21st, BHRR’s Coupe was to have his bone debridement surgery along with removal of the anconeal process and elbow arthroscopy to assess the rest of the joint.

Dr. Philibert shall not have another opening to around June and it breaks our hearts to have to see BHRR’s Coupe wait yet, if that is what is in his best interest, it is what we shall do.

BHRR’s Coupe is now in emergency surgery.

X-ways this AM and again this afternoon revealed no movement of the barium.

An abdominal ultrasound then done indicated that he may have some possible masses or be a possible foreign body and he had swollen lymph nodes.

Thank you to everyone that has kept him in their thoughts and also to all that have made lifesaving donations to date to his cause.

Donations can continue to be made direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

Every bit helps and his bills are running into many thousands of dollars since his rescue. AND he is worth every nickel!! 

He has stolen the hearts of so many at my work.

Will update as I can…..

UPDATE: BHRR’s Coupe will remain in the Hospital at Eagleson Veterinary Hospital overnight. 

The barium is moving very slowly and his wonderful Vet will be repeating the x-rays tomorrow AM and afternoon and go from there. 

THANK you to everyone that has made a lifesaving donation today!

We have $695 raised to date for him!

Donations can continue to be sent direct to Eagleson Veterinary Hospital – 613-383-8381

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

Tomorrow, we shall also know more re: his leg debridement surgery scheduled for the 21st of February and if that will be a ‘go’ based upon what is currently happening with him.

AND please keep this sweet precious boy in your thoughts…..

**URGENT** *DONATIONS NEEDED**

BHRR’s Coupe(Newfx) is currently at Eagleson Veterinary Clinic. 

BHRR’s Coupe was rushed into Eagleson Veterinary Clinic last night. He had vomited no less than 5 times, was then bringing up brown liquid and was uncomfortable/unsettled.

We did x-rays as bloat was the big concern and while he did have gas in his stomach and colon plus was filled with stool, bloat was not occurring at that time.

Two of his x-rays looked like something may be going on with his lungs and so we repeated further x-rays to rule out anything going on with his lungs.

It was discussed that perhaps the extremely strong antibiotics he is on for that brutal bone infection was a possible cause and added to the Forti Flora he was getting, Sulcrate was dispensed to help coat his stomach and he was given a cerenia injection to help with his nausea.

Unfortunately, per his Foster Mama, this AM he was not better and in fact worse and remained not eating, nauseous, subdued, has not had a bowel movement, was uncomfortable and he was rushed back in.

More x-rays were taken and the gas pattern and stool were still there. 

Eagleson has now admitted him and we are doing a barium series study as the next step. He will have repeat x-rays around 4 pm and again at 8 pm.

He is in big need of your best thoughts and if anyone has even $5 to spare towards his ever mounting vet bills – he was already scheduled for his bone debridement surgery with Dr. Philibert on February 21st & that may have to be postponed – we would be so so so appreciative.

Donations can be made direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

It would mean the world to us!!

AND if you cannot spare anything financially, may we please ask for best thoughts and wishes for him and also for his Foster Mama as she is equally as worried as we all are!

BHRR’s Coupe, you were to be that simple ‘hit by car’ and we now know that you have no less than two bullets in your body, are heartworm positive, have a horrible deep bone infection etc., and it breaks my heart that in your short life to date, you have had to endure so much.

Yet, throughout it all, you have been the sweetest and most affectionate boy!

Thank you to everyone for the consideration to his cause. We have had to temporarily close our doors to intake as BHRR’s Coupe needs all of our available resources sent his way for we will never compromise on the high standard of care each and every BHRR dog needs and deserves. 

The biggest thank you’s are once more being sent out to my fellow work colleague and dear friend Trina for staying to do x-rays with me etc. AND also to Dr. Ammar for coming in immediately when I called him. I work with some really amazing people! 

Bell(Deaf/Blind on left side)
February 1st, 2020

I truly do not know why I even bother trying to put xpens around my desk to try and get some work done  – working to put winners in touch with the donators from our recent 7th Annual Breaking Bills Bake Auction!

I feel like I am being ‘watched’ AND when I turn around and see not one, not two, not three yet four stunning white beauties honed in on me!

So, time for a walk, a few treats and a break from my computer!

For those still waiting for their auction funds to be collected and to then be put in touch with the donators of your beautiful winnings, you are now going to have to blame the 3 Blind/Deaf Mice & BHRR’s Bell for the further wait! 

I live a blessed life and when they need me, I must go and be with them!

Will continue the auction communications ASAP and for those that have not yet paid, please do check your emails!

I truly shall never get tired of seeing all of these gorgeous special needs Dane mugs!

THIS came on my radar last night!

Nicki is making handmade bracelets to benefit our Giant Breed Rescue & Rehabilitation Programs!

100% comes to BHRR and she is doing this indefinitely!

HOW creative, thoughtful and generous is this?! 

I already bought mine!

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS & to purchase yours:

Gemstone

“This bracelet is to support the Ottawa Birch Haven giant dog breed Rescue and Rehabilitation centre. (BHRR).

The unakite beads are a stone that is believed to help with feelings of abandonment and separation issues – very fitting as a representation for dogs that have lost their homes for various reasons. The cost of feeding, medicating, and housing giant breed dogs is much higher than rescues for smaller breeds so every little bit helps.

Paw print charm is made of brass”

My last post of my night!

BHRR’s Coupe! (Newf/Labx)
January 26th, 2020

I hear from his amazing foster Mama that he is adjusting wonderfully to the snow and loves being a Canadian! 😀

Latest Update: His culture is now back for Blasto and he is negative! Good news is so lovely to hear!

With his lung x-rays being clear, fungal pneumonia has also been ruled out!

We also have a surgery date for the bone debridement of that leg – his ortho specialist Dr. Philibert will be doing this surgery at Eagleson Veterinary Clinic on February 21st.

He needs time for the new antibiotics to work their magic – has been moved to Clavaseptin & Clindamycin as the culture that came back on that leg is a severe bone infection of actinomyces canis 1+. This is believed to have come from a deep penetrating dog bite wound. His neck and body are covered in scabs. 🙁

As he developed yet, another draining track on that leg, in addition to finally getting the culture back, the move to the new and stronger antibiotics is slowly working their own magic.

As per a previous post, we cannot amputate this leg as his other leg also has a lesion plus has arthritis present.

The two bullets – we know that he has at least two – big surprise found when we did further x-rays, one in his chest and one in his side – will have to wait for now. The priority is his leg AND for the person who emailed us to say that another bullet should be sent his way, shame on you!

Without even meeting him, you would chose to sentence him to death and by a really brutal method.

BHRR stands for stepping up for the underdogs, the specials needs, the really broken and if you would just take a minute to meet him, he would tell you in his own way how deserving he is and that he was a victim to others cruelty, neglect and abuse.

He is an innocent life that others failed.

Thank you also to his fantastic foster family, for being with him right up until his surgery. At that time, he will come to my own home for rehabilitation.

His Vet bills will easily reach $5,000+ and NO he is not a ‘cash cow’. He is a dog that has been deeply wronged and every penny raised goes direct to him.

We remain treating him for Heartworm too.

You can donate via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via Email Transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

OR direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic (613) 383-8381

Even after surgery, he will remain on the strong antibiotics per his ortho specialist for many many many months. He is also on Deramaxx(NSAID)

AND, please do consider voting for BHRR in this amazing Mission Pawsible voting contest to be a recipient of funds from their Valentine Online Auction as we truly need the support to raise all of the much needed funds for him! 

AND we still have two amazing BHRR doggies hoping for a “Secret Valentine”, BHRR’s Rain & BHRR’s Sleet. – FILLED Thanks Carol & BHRR’s Penelope!

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, good night wishes are being sent out!

Stay tuned!

This handsome young man is getting excited for he is close to making his own special announcement! BHRR’s Percival, our gorgeous fox red lab!

We want to extend our biggest and most heartfelt thanks to Josée Lavoie Pet Photography for the stunning pictures!

Also thanks being sent to his lovely foster Mama for all that she remains doing for him!

He was back at the Vet this AM for what we hope is his final visit while under our authority! ? He went in for boosters and to have a recheck on that foot to see if it is healing well after being placed on yet, more antibiotics and also Vanectyl P was added to his Apoquel medication.

 

BHRR’s Coupe
January 13th, 2020
Getting more x-rays

BHRR’s Coupe’s left front elbow and leg

Good early AM!

We are posting this request again as unfortunately, due to another cancellation – three now, circumstances being what they have been – weather etc., we are back in need of a Volunteer photographer who may consider taking professional photo’s of BHRR’s Percival!

We are working hard for BHRR’s Percival to be able to make his special announcement and are hoping for someone to be able to commit some time to help with some amazing pictures!

Please email contactbhrr@gmail.com

Thanks in advance! 

My last post of my night!

BHRR’s Percival!
Fox Red Lab

I so LOVE this photo! Looks like someone had a long hard day and is now crashed out! 

As mentioned previously, he was back at the Vet yesterday as his one foot is red and bothering him and when his foster mom told me, I was worried about possible infection. So, got him in immediately to be seen.

Apparently, the Vet believes that it is a contact allergy so there is something – we are thinking possibly? the hay for the rabbits as he does have seasonal allergies – that has caused him to have a flare-up.

He remains on his Apoquel yet, the Vet has now added Vanectyl P plus another round of antibiotics to his medical regime.

I also had another bag of his special food ordered and his foster mom picked it up while she was there.

He weighed 35 KGs and as stated before, anything between 35-37 kgs I am content with.

So, his Vet bills are now close to $3,500 and he is one of the deserving dogs that will benefit from our currently running 7th Annual Breaking Bills Bake Online Auction!

For those asking, no, he has not yet had his professional photo shoot. I am told that they have now had to be rescheduled twice.

BHRR’s Coupe is the other amazing dog that will benefit from this auction.

We currently have 43 WOW items up for grabs! We have cookies, cheesecakes, dog treats, pies, cinnamon buns, pudding shooters, dates with BHRR’s Percival & BHRR’s Coupe and even two tickets up for our annual BHRR DINE WITH THE DOGGIES Event.

To view all of the items and to bid, please visit the below link AND if anyone may have something that they would consider donating to this auction, please do email us with the details, including location for pick-up!

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, stay safe out there wishes are being sent! We are currently in a huge snowstorm right now…expecting 35 cms with snow squalls, so please be careful and make sure that your animals are warm too!

He is so excited!

He has the cutest butt!

BHRR’s Caramel!

He wants me to let him out of the yard so he can ‘help’ Sean plow! He raced all the way downstairs to the side yard in his excitement!

He is coming out of his shell more and more and I am becoming more and more smitten with him daily! 

He is such a good boy! Still vocal when he sees me for feeding time or first thing in the morning as he expresses his sheer happiness.

He is beyond handsome and per my previous post, Miss Lily is working her magic, one paw at at time on him! He just does not understand her, nor her enthusiasm and lack of personal space for he still is reactive – less and less – in his worry plus fear that he will get hurt. He thinks he is the size of a chipmunk.

All he requires is a confident settled approach and manner to being handled. He corrects wonderfully and you have to be slow and easy in taking his collar. He does not need to be roughly handled, no dog does and he is relaxing more and more as he realises I am not going to grab or haul him around and that I am setting clear open lines of communication as to what is expected of him, so he is not confused or worried or wonders what I want. He is thriving with the structure, obedience, patience and consistency…..

I am so proud of him and the trust he continues to build with me.

He is perfect with my two Wolfies and he and BHRR’s Mr. Fred have an understanding that neither will lose their dignity –  and will remain calm, give each other space and when it is sleep time, both will always on their own go into crates side by side. They seem to have a silent code agreed upon set of rules of engagement and are friends yet, do not seem to want anyone to know just how close they are becoming!

Fascinating…just fascinating to watch them! AND no, I am not projecting human emotions on to them that they are not capable of feeling. They have all of their own wide range of simple, yet, mostly complex set of emotions and feelings. One only has to observe to ‘get it’.

I am waiting patiently for the day to when they both will just let loose and run together side by side with wild carefree joy in our 3+ acres of fenced in yard. It is there…bubbling just under the surface!

This journey with him has been so awesome.

We are back at the Vets in another week or so to re-visit his ears and are still waiting for the cardiologist apt.

We will be working on switching him gradually over to a fish based only food too -his skin/ears medical issues are strongly suspected as being allergy based, food and seasonal. If anyone would be interested in providing funds to help us buy FROMM Salmon & Potato, donations can be sent via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via PayPal to contactbhrr@gmail.com Thank you in advance for your consideration! 

At this time, we do not know if he will be placed up for adoption and as always, that is not what BHRR is about. We are about helping the next one in need of us and making sure they get everything they need.

He is living his best life every day and our promise is to keep having him live that quality filled life!

Yup! She is having a lot of fun today! 

BHRR’s Miss Lily (Deaf/Visually Impaired Great Dane) enjoying the Winter Wonderland today!

The once under socialised, full of anxiety, could not sleep when it was dark, self-mutilating, not house broken, terrified to go outside Deaf & Visually impaired Great Dane is now living a truly amazing life!

She has overcome SO much and while we are still working on some things – the occasional accident in her crate yet, where once it was many times a day, is now maybe three times a month – she has rehabbed into a really well adjusted full of mischief and loving life to the fullest each day kind of gal! 

She has not had any stress about going outside, especially at night in a very long time.

She has been the best of friend and example to BHRR’s Fred who came in with his own anxiety and worries about going outside, especially at night.

She has taught him that is is ok to not be dignified and to Kanga-Dane and race and as the song goes ‘dance like no one is watching!’ 

He has in turn taught her to ‘try’ harder in being patient, to be calmer and that non everything is on her time schedule. She really is an instant gratification gal in many ways!

I may have a PhD yet, I have always said that the dogs help each other more than I ever could!

In re: to if/when Miss Lily may go up for adoption, that is still a big question mark.

We have been slowly working on play dates and visits with myself present and she is doing beautifully and she is not having any big set backs when we come home yet, she is not ready for more at this time…..

She is such a strong girl in a lot of ways, yet, fragile in others and we must do right by her – do right by all of the dogs in our care – and presently, she is not ready for more.

Will she get there?? That is not a pressure that I am putting on her. There is no timeline. We go at her pace, show and gently work on increasing her boundaries yet, never crossing her tolerance threshold. There are days that she bounces into the car, ready for the next adventure – sometimes with her bff and sometimes without as they both do still work on becoming the best dogs they can be on their own too – and other days she wants to stay close to home. Both are fine. That she wants to go out and explore and take on the world more and more is fabu. That she has days that she wants to be a homebody that is equally cool.

AND while she and BHRR’s Fred are the odd couple in so many ways – he is so funny with his soft grumbling vocal sounds until she gets him warmed up yet, if she does not poke and tease him, he pouts! – yet, they have equally done an unbelievable amount of successful work for each other.

He is like a puppy when she gets him started AND she is working on doing the same with BHRR’s Caramel. She is still a wee bit too much for him yet, he is interested and I can see that she is winning over his own heart!

This girl does not have a mean bone in her body – a bit selfish and adorably manipulative yes!  – for it is often always about her! – yet, her heart is bigger than the universe and she is loyal and affectionate and makes me laugh so much daily with her antics!

BHRR’s Coupe
~3 year old NewfX

This is him having more x-rays taken.

Yes, that is blood on the table from that leg. 

The experts are still discussing his case and everyone is waiting anxiously for the results of the culture done on that leg for one of his vets plus one expert believes that the infection stems out from his bone and the ortho expert also believes that this is possibly ‘fungal osteomyletitis’ which has a poor prognosis.

That his lymph nodes are swollen and that his wounds are where they are, he believes that it is likely connected to a proliferative and lytic lesion of the ulna.

Yes, BHRR’s Coupe also has had serious trauma to that leg/elbow that was never treated plus the congenital condition of un united anconeal process, while not completely ruled out now, his one ortho specialist is now even more focused on the fungal osteomyletitis as being a further cause to what is happening. Osteosarcoma remains on the table too.

That leg and elbow is seriously ten shades of messed up….

We all try to continue to wait patiently for the culture results for the specialists and his Vet team to figure out where to go from here…

He is also being treated for Heartworm and is on NSAIDs – Deramaxx plus antibiotics. He has been dewormed once and will be again next week.

AND his foster Mama says that he is the big sweetheart that everyone has said he has been from Tenn ALL the way to his transport to us!

His emerge temp foster home for two nights in the TO area while we had to hunker him down due to bad weather, and I did witness this myself – has proven to also be good with birds and three x 2 week old mini toy poodle puppies!

This boy is deserving of all that others never gave to him in his life to date and please do consider his cause to support…..his body tells the very sad and tragic tale of so much harm done to him. 

However long we can give him, we are hoping it to be one of years and years, yet, may be a lot shorter than that; AND we need to ensure that it is a life of absolute quality and the best in care. We will never see a dog suffer and to all that have met this boy to date, they have fallen madly head over heels in love with him.

His has an account at Eagleson Veterinary Clinic
613-383-8381 and they will take donations, even over the phone for his mounting bills

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

He is our first rescue of 2020 and he really needs the BHRR village to surround him with love!

Thanks to Cassy for buying him an XL Costco dog bed and I had a Wiggle Bumz Martingale collar at home for him to use until we can get him one of his very own from Wiggle Bumz!

AND, to all of those attending our Custom Sign Night at Don Cherry’s in Kanata tomorrow night, if you have any Empties to donate and/or Canadian Tire money, we would deeply embrace them!

THANK you from my heart to our amazing BHRR family for stepping up and buying the remaining tickets required for this event to be a go…..

THANK you also again to Aaron for offering to make one of his delicious home made apple crumble pies AND the Boerskins will have a Bakers Dozen of our famous homemade cinnamon buns up for grabs in our draws.

Humbled beyond words to all that have stepped up to make this event happen!

BHRR’s Coupe’s bills are now close to $2,000 and thank you in advance for even considering to donate $5 to his cause!

Giant Breed dogs come with Giant bills……

AND please do keep him in your thoughts….one of the bullets is not harming him at this time, yet, the other in his chest is going to need further investigation and most likely surgical intervention.

We did more x-rays late tonight after BHRR’s Coupe arrived and will share more re: his situation soon – also, want to get his two ortho specialists expert opinions yet, wanted to share this surprise finding x-ray.

We felt a lump on his side and when we did the x-rays of his chest etc., we found not one but two bullets. What we thought was a lump is in fact one of the two bullets her has in his body….

Poor guy….he is as sweet as everyone has said he is and Cassy Montgomery, thank you SO much for hunkering down for the long haul while we sedated him to get all the views needed…..

Courtney Reil, thank you once more for emerge temp fostering him for two nights and for driving him that final push to us! GREAT to see you again!

Per his emerge temp foster Mama for the next two nights – ‘He is such a good boy, settled right in and is now napping away.’

 

BHRR’s Coupe began the second day of his journey to us bright and early this AM.

We have been very privileged to assist Karen Clark & Sam with a number of dogs from Tenn over the years including BHRR’s Gentle Jake, BHRR’s Steam and BHRR’s Silly Tilly.

He is travelling amazingly well which is no surprise as his temperament is beyond sweet, even with that leg.

He continues to heavily limp on that leg and all of the rescue transport angels are taking extreme care to make sure he is moved from one vehicle to the other carefully.

In case Cindy Hillaby, Josh Kroezen, Lindsay Kroezen, Bob Levesque & Hazel Talangbayan, you did not see the updated post I made, we are moving to a Plan B and he will be hunkering down with Courtney Reil once he arrives to her area late tonight in Canada.

She shall then drive him to direct Eagleson on Monday whereby Cassy Montgomery / John, I am confirming that I have a 9 PM apt., already booked for him.

Per Dr. Philibert, our ortho specialist, it is imperative that we also get x-rays of his other front leg to determine what urgent surgery BHRR’s Coupe shall require based upon his other front legs integrity.

Soon, sweet boy….soon! Two more sleepies and to all on the road today, travel safe!

AND they are making the push to the border now!

Soon to be a Canadian BHRR’s Coupe! In about 1.5-2 hours!

Small Giant for sure to fit in that crate! Almost 85 pounds of love.

Going strong, a huge hit with all transporting him! 

UPDATE: BHRR’s Coupe began his long journey to Canada early this afternoon and is now tucked in safely at his overnight foster….

Tomorrow, we shall begin the second part of his journey and everyone is watching the weather system closely.

Plan B is to get him to the TO area if we can and overnight him until Monday and then Courtney Reil will make the push to get him to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic by 8 pm and I have an apt. booked to see our Vet for 9 PM on Monday.

Cassy Montgomery – keeping you in the loop too as you and John are his emerge temp fosters!

Cindy Hillaby, Josh Kroezen, Lindsay Kroezen and Bob Levesque plus Hazel Talangbayan – it is going to be a last minute notice if there will be a push to get him here on Sunday so all are asked to remain on standby until late tomorrow night when we will know better re: the weather….

This weather system is being unpredictable right now.

I have the x-rays we asked for in high resolution now and forwarded them on to the Vet at Eagleson who took a look and also sent them to Dr. Philibert, our ortho specialist and he has made his initial diagnosis and wants us to x-ray his other front leg on Monday and submit for review.

We know one thing is for sure, he requires urgent surgery…as to whether that leg has to be amputated will depend on the integrity of the other front leg.

Thank you to so many that have come together to get him here safely. A strong village across two countries are helping to get him to us ASAP.

The word from all that has transported him to date and The amazing Karen Clark, ACO is that he is truly a sweetheart!

BHRR’s Coupe
Male, Newf/LabX (that is the belief right now!)
Age – ~3 (will have a better idea once he arrives)
Was picked up as a stray after being hit by a car
Weight: 78.4 pounds – so a small boy

ETA: Being worked on

Said to be super sweet, good with dogs

If anyone wishes to emerge temp foster this fine young man; let us know!

Look at that face!

BHRR’s Miss Volt!
Our adorable spoiled rotten Rottie baby! She is the Rottie that had been electrocuted in her previous home and they delayed in bringing her in for treatment.

We were contacted to assist from the Hospital that took her in and when I picked her up, I noted that she was chewing her vulva too.

As per my previous post, she came to work with me yesterday and she now weighs 32.4 kgs. Solid muscle!

As some may remember a past post that I made, the reason why she came to work with me is that we have been waiting for her to have a heat for a long time. Per her specialist Dr. Philibert prior to proceeding further for her spay and possible reconstruction for her girl bits, he felt that letting her have a heat would hopefully improve her conformation in that area. He felt that she would most likely require not just a vulvaplasty and wanted to make any surgery that she may need the best possible outcome for her.

Well, we have been waiting patiently…,,so patiently and she was going to be turning 15 months of age on the 7 of January and still no heat.

From my last post re: this, several reached out to educate me re: that this is not abnormal etc…etc… I do work in animal medicine and have for almost 16 years now and operate a GD/Giant Breed Rescue and am quite aware of delayed heats in dogs.  AND I had no issues with her having a heat at 15 months, 18 months or longer in age! I just want her to be ok and to be sure that she was ok.

In Miss Volts case, even her specialist felt that she should have had a heat by 9 months, a year on the outside….

Yet, here we were, days shy of 15 months of age and now the question was if her conformation on the outside also meant that she had a possible abnormal conformation on the inside. Very plausible.

After much discussion, the decision was to have her rechecked and then possibly schedule her ‘spay’ surgery.at that time. I also planned to do her heartworm/tick borne disease testing as she is now old enough.

I brought her to work with me yesterday and she was a huge hit…yet, isn’t she always!! 

Well, just before her apt….I noticed some drops on the floor and one of the staff said that they had dripped some of their cherry smoothie and I was like….’hmmm, not so sure about that…’ 

AND then when I took her out of her run to then see the Vet, we all got the definitive answer! Her run carried the evidence needed for confirmation.

This is Miss Volt with her ‘I am a big girl now!’ look! 

Yup! She is officially in heat and if we had waited just one more day…..

Yet, she had an excellent time getting love and we gave her a manicure/pedicure and impressed all with her fabu manners!

She just loves everyone and everything!! Sweet, affectionate and incredibly loving… 

So, now we wait for her heat to be over, review her female bits to see if they have improved and go from there with her spay etc. plus to have the broken incisors removed…..as per Dr. Philibert and stated before, these do not pain her and can easily wait until her spay surgery.

Miss Volt, when it is your time to be adopted, our hearts will be incredibly full yet, it will also be bittersweet. This rehab journey has been so long yet, you are beyond deserving of becoming 100% healthy! 

BHRR will never adopt out a dog before they are ready and it is our responsibility after getting her happy, to also get her healthy! We continue to do right by her…..

 

Male, NewfX(possibly with lab)
~2-3 years of age
Weight: Just under 79 pounds, so a small giant.

He is the next in urgent need of us and our first intake of 2020. He is a stray that was a Hit By Car. 

We are awaiting the results of x-rays at this time. I want to be sure that nothing is broken or fractured and needs immediate Vet attention where he currently is prior to moving him. He does have a small laceration on the left front leg and has quite the limp. Hoping that he is just stiff/sore.

Will post more as we can.

ETA: Sunday January 12th.

He is going to need the BHRR village to surround him with love and support.

We are calling him BHRR’s Coupe – yes, we have had a BHRR’s Koop and this is a play on the word ‘car’.

He already has a file set up at Eagleson Veterinary Clinic and we will post more re: his bills as we get them from where he is presently and from where he will be treated in the future, at Eagleson.

So, at this time, other than being in a big need of his very own collar plus an XL Costco Dog Bed, we are asking our amazing community to hold off with specific financial donations.

I can say that his bills shall most likely be extensive yet, we want people to know what they are donating to and promise to update as we can.

Please do send him your most caring thoughts and wish him safe travels!

Someone says early AM’s suck! 

Miss Volt is at work with me today!

Will post more later re: her latest Vet visit.

This handsome man is with me at work today!

BHRR’s Caramel. 

His weight today was 113.96 pounds.

He is being such a good boy.

As several are aware that day he arrived, he was seen by one of our Vets and had a quick assessment. With how stressed he was, we did not weigh him, only gave him Rabies and the Vet had noted a heart murmur, which we agreed to assess again in a few weeks after he settled in. The Vet also had a brief look at his ears and it was also agreed to wait until his next visit to see how they were progressing as they were quite red and irritated.

Today, he saw another Vet and they concur that he has a heart murmur that while it is heard on both sides, it is stronger on the left.

We did swabs his ears as they remain swollen, red plus pain him and they both contained cocci and yeast. So, we put KT ear treatment in both ears.

We did bloodwork for his heartworm and tick borne disease testing and the results came back negative.

We did his lymes and lepto vaccines plus he had a booster of the DHPP.

The recommendation at this time is for him to be seen by a cardiologist and we will do a referral.

Behaviourally, he is still reactive to strange people and dogs and with people he is now barking in more of a friendly unsure way over a ‘please stay away as I am worried you may hurt me’ way.

Dogs can still terrify him too and he remains reactive yet, is beginning to be a bit more curious. He has been completely fine with both of my own male Irish Wolfhounds and is indifferent to BHRR’s Freddie. BHRR’s Miss Lily is a dog that he is still trying to figure out and he goes from being worried to curious and you can see that he is working on that courage!

He is very vocal when he first sees me or when it is feeding time and we are working on the passively ignoring so this display of inappropriate attention seeking behaviour dissipates.

He is so affectionate and playful and if you just give him some time to settle, he really is precious!

We can also tell that he has been used to ‘tossing his weight’ around to either get his way or to avoid having to do something and we continue to work on those manners!

Leash manners are coming slow and sure!!

I really am so smitten with him AND the really amazing thing he did today too was to give blood whereby the serum is going to be used to help another dog in another Rescue. WTG! rockstar!

If you did not know, Danes are universal blood donors and BHRR’s Caramel, you are a hero!!! Lifesaving! 

We shall be back to see the Vet in 3 weeks and will discuss more re: possible allergy meds and I will be working on switching him over to a fish based only food – also being mindful of his GI issues – as we believe he has food allergies and quite possibly seasonal too. He is presently on a chicken, turkey and herring based food and we will start a slow gradual transition off of it.

BHRR’s Percival!
Fox Red Lab

ISO: Someone who would be open to donating their time to do some professional photo’s of him. We like to post our requests on facebook so that people can offer if they are able and willing to instead of us reaching out to specific people as we would never wish anyone to feel like they had to take photo’s…

Please do email contactbhrr@gmail.com if you have some time over the next couple of weeks to do his professional photo shoot as he gets that much closer to being able to make his own special announcement!

He was at the Vet today and now weighs 37.10 kgs(81.62 pounds). We love for him to stay within the 35-37 kg range. He was 35.4 kgs at his last Vet visit and so we are working on his food intake to level things out for maintenance now. So, we going to go down to 5.5 cups of kibble per day and 1/2 cup of wet canned food and treats.

When he first arrived, he was almost 92 pounds and lacking muscle mass plus tone.

He looks fantastic and he still hates that scale! Wants to ‘toss his weight around’ yet, we get the job done.

His ears, skin and anal fistula’s have all resolved successfully under the proper fish food regime and the antibiotics plus allergy meds – Apoquel. He remains on the Apoquel every other day. His Lymes treatment of the Doxycycline is now also done.

We are extremely strict re: his diet and as treats he gets the wet form of his D/D Salmon food. He gets it with his pills and we discussed with his wonderful foster Mama(this is her 3rd BHRR Foster dog) picking up some of the Mini Zuk’s Salmon treats to try.

His foster mama says that he just runs to his crate and then sits for his food so adorably.

She has been working so diligently on his worry re: stairs and he is doing it! AND so proud of himself he is from what I am told when he gathers up all of his courage and does the stairs in their home. WTG Team!

Today, he was healthy enough for his DAPP and his Lymes plus Lepto vaccines and will be back in 3 weeks time for his boosters.

Per his very detailed blog, come the spring, he will require not only his regular Heartworm and Tick borne disease testing yet also the Quant 6 bloodwork to be sure that the Lymes disease has been successfully treated.

This boy has a huge fan club and he has been a really treat of a dog to have with BHRR.

Taking this boy in has also taught us once again that by doing the right thing can come at a price of taking some heat. Yet, we will continue to stand tall plus strong that with his Vet Bills now over $3,000, we have continued to go up and beyond in making sure that he along with all of the dogs in our program have lacked for nothing!

This experience has also made us add to our upcoming BHRR BOD & Advisory Board meetings that we will once again re-visit doing the intake of owner surrenders. Many other groups currently no longer do so and we continue to well understand why they do not accept owner surrenders any longer.

BHRR’s Percival, you are worthy and deserving and it was such a pleasure seeing you again today!! 

Thank you to your beautiful Foster Mama for bringing you in this AM. She had to have been exhausted working nights and then coming to this apt. and we are so grateful to her!

Happy New Year to all of our friends, family and supporters!

2020 marks our 24th year of operation and none of this would have been possible without EACH of you!

Thank you from our hearts for your belief in what we do and why we are so needed in the community! 

Some updates on our upcoming BHRR Events for 2020!

1) We still have 3 tickets available to our January 16th @ Don Cherry’s in Kanata – Make Your Own Custom Sign event! Over 500+ designs or make your own!

$15 from each ticket comes to rescue and between the Boerskins and The Maracles, we have a Bakers Dozen of homemade Cinnamon Buns and an Apple Crumble Pie entered into draws for all of our attendees!

Please visit the link to buy your ticket(s)!

2) Our 8th Annual Breaking Bills Bake Online Auction will start January 18th and we are seeking Bakers! You do not need to be located in our area to donate!

We will post your item(pics are lovely!) and the location(s) of where said items can be picked up.

Do note that please do not offer up an item(s) if you will not honour your donation.

Please email contactbhrr@gmail.com if you would be willing to donate a baked item for humans and/or doggies!

3) We are still in conversation as to whether we shall host a February BHRR ‘EXPERIENCE’ mini open house. We did so for close to 18 years and then stopped holding the February event due to several reasons.

With how popular they are, we are still deciding if we shall offer up one in February. Stay Tuned!

The 3 blind/deaf mice are seen here with Mason as part of our annual traditional Xmas Eve photo’s. This year, as I was working throughout the Holiday Season, we did our photo shoot tonight instead!

They are sporting their Wiggle Bumz Collars that I purchased for them in 2019 and if were not for your support, their futures would not be as it is today…ones of such happiness, the best of health possible considering that they are DM and a life of such quality!

They will be 15 months of age on the 21st of January. Far surpassing the life expectancy that several gave to them…..

They are coming up due for their annuals and that is going to be an adventure! 

If you believe in what we do, please do consider supporting our cause….today alone, we have received 263 emails requesting our assistance for urgent animals in need of our highly specialised programs.

Donations can be made direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-3881

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

Once again please know how much what our friends, family and supporters do for the animals of BHRR means to us….

You are those strong links on that BHRR “CHAIN OF SUCCESS’

We look forward with you standing by the sides of those in need of our programs to have our best rescue year to date for as much as we would wish that r/q Rescue did not have to exist, it is a necessity…….

***UPDATE: we need to sell minimally 3 more tickets!!**

BHRR’s Percival – fox red lab – recently had his overnight play date and it was with his emerge temp foster home when he first came into rescue!! 

They were so happy to see him again as were his doggie friends!  What a cute pic of the three of them!

His Vet bills are close to $3,000 and to all of his rescue angels thank you for being there for him!! He is back at the Vet for January 3rd, 2020.

We still need to sell minimally 3 more tickets by January 2nd to our custom making sign night on January 16th!

**NOTICE: AND to *sweeten* the pot, we shall be offering up a Bakers Dozen if Boerskins famous cinnamon buns plus Aaron has generously offered up one of his own famous homemade Apple Crumble Pies to all that have already bought and will buy a ticket!

So, draws shall be made for:

1) homemade bakers dozen of Boerkskins famous cinnamon buns

and

2) a homemade Aaron Maracle Apple Crumble Pie!**

If we do not sell minimally 3 more tickets by January 2nd, 2020, sadly, I shall lose my $100 deposit and the animals shall also miss out on some truly much needed support.

Make Your Own Sign Nite!
January 16th, 2020
Time: 8:00 PM Start
Location: Don Cherry’s in Kanata

$15 for every ticket sold comes to Rescue and we shall be splitting the proceeds with Ottawa Rabbit Rescue.

You can choose a stencil from over 500+ designs OR custom make a sign all of your own.

Joyce shall be our amazing hostess once more AND come early, grab some drinks, snacks or dinner!

Please click on the link below to purchase your own ticket(s)!

Please do consider supporting our cause….2020 promises to be our most needed year to date since our inception in 1996.  We already have many new requests for our assistance of dogs plus horses in need of our highly specialised programs.

Thank you in advance for considering to come out to our Sign Night!

Since our three blind/deaf mice are SO popular…sharing another photo!

Tonight, I was trying…yet, again, to get some work done on my computer and put two x-pens around my computer…well, how does one get any work done being ‘stared’ down!? Even my Matrix(my one eyed flirting pirate is behind them also staring me down!) ?

It was clearly time for walkies before rest and dinner and now that the sleet plus freezing rain is coming down fast, no time too soon to have made that happen!

AND…….what better way to attract your attention!

We ONLY have a few more days to go to sell 10 more tickets.

If we do not sell 10 more tickets by January 2nd, 2020, sadly, I shall lose my $100 deposit and the animals shall also miss out on some truly much needed support.

AND to sweeten the pot to all that have already bought tickets or will buy a ticket(s), your name will be entered into a draw to win a bakers dozen of The Boerksins famours homemade cinnamon buns!

Make Your Own Sign Nite!
January 16th, 2020
Time: 8:00 PM Start
Location: Don Cherry’s in Kanata

$15 for every ticket sold comes to Rescue and we shall be splitting the proceeds with Ottawa Rabbit Rescue.

You can choose a stencil from over 500+ designs OR custom make a sign all of your own.

Joyce shall be our amazing hostess once more AND come early, grab some drinks, snacks or dinner!

Please click on the LINK to purchase your own ticket(s)!

Please do consider supporting our cause….2020 promises to be our most needed year to date since our inception in 1996. ? We already have many new requests for our assistance of dogs plus horses in need of our highly specialised programs.

Thank you in advance for considering to come out to our Sign Night!

My last post of my night!

Even by putting across an xpen to keep them out of the kitchen for safety, trying to bake some famous homemade Boerskins cinnamon buns meets with a fan club! 

Our three blind/deaf mice and you can see their Mama – BHRR’s Meadow in the background.

We want to send out our biggest and most heartfelt of thanks to everyone that stepped up to be special Secret Santa’s and to those that sent extra pessies to help make sure that no one was missed! YOU have given the BHRR dogs a really amazing XMAS! One that so many have never experienced in their lives of safety, health, happiness and love. THANK you! 

I know people are waiting for our traditional Xmas Eve Photo shoot yet, in working XMAS Eve and throughout the Holidays, this photo shoot will have to be delayed for a few more days!

Thank you also from our hearts to each and every person that stepped up to assist us with the blind/deaf mice! They are now over 14 months of age and only BHRR’s Glacier is beginning to show some of the DM health signs of IS at this time……

I shall also be removing Summit’s remaining eye – he does not see from it – yet, our hope to allow him to keep it, has not panned out as we wished. He also is battling chronic eye infections and is in great discomfort these days. He will join his siblings who had double eye eneucleations earlier in 2019.

Without all of you, they would not have been able to have this opportunity of a great quality filled life and they live their best lives every day!

They romp and roam in our 3+ acres with all of the other dogs and we continue to not treat them as being different.

Their noses are finely honed in with the scent training I have done with them and their touch training continues to excel.

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, please know how much we appreciate you and do be safe out there over the next day or so….the weather and roads shall be brutal. Good night from us to all of you!

BHRR’s Percival VIDEO’S!

He is recovering wonderfully from his neuter and on January 3rd shall be in for his Lepto/Lymes Vaccines. From there, he will be scheduled for professional photo’s and his boosters.

After that, he shall be ready to make his special announcement!

BHRR’s Percival, as with all of our dogs, shall only be adopted to that right matched personality fit home meant for him! He will only go to a home that will ensure that he is not neglected ever again. A home that has the financial means to stay on top of his food and seasonal allergies.

He is now close to $3,000 for us to work on his successful rehabilitation. His skin and ear infections plus anal fistula’s have all be treated and he remains on his Apoquel plus his Doxycycline treatment having also been diagnosed as being Lymes Positive.

Thank you to all that have stood strong by us over the past shy of 24 years, enabling us to do right by each and every dog that has needed us and understanding that r/q Rescue is not ever about winning any popularity contests.

BHRR’s Percival, Merry Christmas to you and thank you to your temp foster Mama for taking such excellent care of you! 

He now knows how to play with toys, is still nervous of stairs – will go down yet not up – yet one baby step at a time and the healthier he has become, the even more wonderful he has also become!

You are going to be a true treat to that right matched forever loving home when it is your time, Mr. P.!

 

Technically, it is not considered being on the couch – and therefore breaking the no couch rule – if ones front legs are still on the floor right?! 

BHRR’s Granite, one of our BHRR Puppy Pile at Sunday’s 8th annual BHRR Thank You Potluck!

BHRR’s Rain says that she would like to shout out to all of the amazing folks that attended our 8th Annual Chain of Success Potluck, the biggest and most appreciative of THANKS!

We raised almost $140 for BHRR’s Caramel and will make another post re: him shortly plus we had 4 x 22 pound bags of his special food donated!

Thank you to Elaine for donating her portion – $50 – of the 50/50 back to help BHRR’s Caramel!

We had an incredible amount of delicious food brought to the potluck, awesome conversation with fantastic people! Though, we had a cancellation – we missed you! and a no show, we still had shy of 25 people make the drive out to hang with the big dawgs! 

People that have become a huge part of our own hearts in so many ways….

We are beyond humbled and grateful to all that brought their Secret Santa’s plus Empties to support our 2nd Annual Holiday Season Drive – I shall post a pic!! 

We are deeply touched by the Pinesol and the Paper Towels and the kindness shown to both the dogs and The Boerskins today!

Though, I shall not have a Holiday Season myself – working straight through until January 2nd, today more than filled my soul with so much Christmas spirit and joy! 

BHRR’s Burst rocked her first big social event as did BHRR’s Mollie! 

Sean & I just love this year end event….while it is a lot of prep….to be able to then relax and mingle with wonderful people and dogs is the best!

From our home to all of our friends, family & supporters, beautiful good night wishes are being sent!

 

My last post of my night!

Guess who is excited?!

Guess why?

Someone is being busted out tomorrow! BHRR’s Caramel!

After receiving such wonderful care for ~6 months at the shelter from being owner surrendered, he is heading to BHRR.

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, the warmest of good night wishes are being sent and a gentle reminder to please make sure that your pets are kept warm and safe on this bitterly cold night…..

NOTICE:

BHRR does not adopt out during the XMAS season due to our position that it is not in the best interest of any new addition being added during such a busy, exciting and somewhat stressful time for many.

Quite a few other Rescues, Shelters, Pounds etc. have also begun to follow a similar protocol to what we have been doing for almost 25 years.

Our XMAS Shut down period for this year is from Friday December 20th, 2019 to Friday January 3rd, 2020 inclusive.

Any applications received during this time will be processed/reviewed as of Saturday January 4th, 2020!

As always during this time, BHRR is available 24/7 for requests for assistance of animals in need. We shall also network accordingly for, as the local Great Dane/Giant Breed Rescue since 1996, the welfare of the animals are our top priority. We do not wish to see any animal end up in a disreputable place of which sadly there are far too many out there.

Thank you for your continued understanding – The BHRR Team

BHRR’s Percival (3 year old Fox Red Lab) had his de-twinkle apt. today!

Everything went great, he is such a good boy and now he is recovering by being safely tucked back in with his lovely foster Mama.

I also microchipped him today and in about two weeks time, he will have a recheck and some more vaccines(Lymes/Lepto). 3-4 weeks after that he will have his boosters.

He is doing fantastic on the fish based food and taking his remaining meds of the Doxy plus Apoquel like a champ! He is eating so well now. Runs over to his crate and sits so nicely.

After he obtains his boosters at the end of January, he should be ready to then make his special announcement! 

BHRR’s Percival VIDEO – December 15th, 2019

Loving all of the toys in his Foster home!

He shall be scheduled to be neutered shortly and in the New Year be ready to make his special announcement!

His Vetting to date is over $2,500 with all that he has needed to get him healthy.

Doesn’t he look wonderful?! 

 

We now have a pic!

Next in Need!

~3 year old fawn with some merle Male Great Dane named ‘Caramel’

Was an owner surrender to a shelter several months ago due to lack of time and the shelter has done an amazing job with manners, neutering him, is presently treating his bad ear infections etc.

Has had stomach issues and is on special food.

Has been good with female dogs, smaller than him male dogs – he is ~100 pounds and warms up to men quickly and woman not long afterwards.

ETA to BHRR week of December 16th & he does have a special Secret Santa!

For those that have not yet dropped off their own Secret Santa pressies – we still have 14 outstanding – please do make contact with us as we wish to make sure with your beautiful hearts that each BHRR doggie is spoiled this Holiday Season. 

For many of these dogs, this shall be their first Holiday Season knowing love, warmth, a full belly, shelter and having safe harbour.

NOTE: per my post last night, I am now at the airport and heading out of the country.

As mentioned in my post last night, all auction winners have been confirmed in a post made on each auction item. 

1) Please do check the items you bid on to see if you won!

2) For all of the lovely winners, please also note the pickup location(s) for your item(s) won and the date(s) if applicable for pickup. I am getting many emails – please take pity on me as all of this is posted in our rules and on each auction item! – asking where and when and people wanting all of their items picked up from one spot. Much time has been spent to make sure all the information needed was posted. 

3) Please pay per the posted payment options made in the rules and on each item within the 72 hour time-frame. Once again, I am getting emails from people asking re: payment and do take mercy on me as I am one mere mortal person! Everything needed has been posted.

4) I worked long into the wee hours of the night working on the close of this auction, reaching out to all of the winners and collecting payments and putting winners in touch with the fabu donators etc. and as I am getting on one of two planes shortly – I hope! Delays due to weather, I will not be back online until late tonight to re-visit the auction and to keep working on it.

I do wish to shout out a huge heartfelt and sincere thanks to each and every rescue angel that donated to our auction. It may have been our smallest in 12 years of hosting this annual event, yet, it was filled with so much warmth and generosity thanks to each of you!! 

Thank you also to every kind and caring person who shared our auction and/or bid and supported our continued efforts to keep BHRR going strong! 

This is BHRR’s Percival who also wanted me to thank you on his and BHRR’s Kenai’s behalf for being there for them in their huge time of need!

May everyone have a safe and wonderful Friday!

My last post of my night!

Our 12th Annual “JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS’ Online Auction is now closed. I have contacted all winners – posted on the auction items, so please do check the item(s) that you bid on to confirm if you did win.

Payment is expected within 72 hours and the payment details have also been posted in the winning thread posts. 

Final total shall be announced once all monies are collected yet, at this time looks like we are over $1,700 raised! WOW!

All money raised shall go towards helping BHRR’s Percival and this handsome young man, BHRR’s Kenai.

We know many have been wondering how things are going and we wish to thank all those that have remained patient, understanding that we are working hard 24/7 to ensure that the animals are done right by. Posting updates at the frequency that some may wish is not possible and while we are regretful that one or two find that upsetting, we cannot take time away from what the animals need, when they need us.

BHRR’s Kenai remains on Trazodone, Clomicalm and Gabapentin.

Gwennie Novel UPDATE:

1) He is not spinning as much – this tends to happen, along with the self-mutilating when he is overstimulated or anxious.

I have also noted when I am out preparing his food and I poke my head into the rec room quietly, that he will be laying down peacefully and as soon as he sees me, he will begin to spin, do that wonderful GS whine that us GS lovers know all too well and also grab at his tail, while all the time keeping his eyes on me. I passively ignore and he soon realises that ‘hey, this is not working and will stop and sulk and then wag his tail and sit calmly or walk around.’

2) He loves his crate – too much and working on him not wanting to spend so much time in there. The door remains open for him to go in and out at will and it is only closed for eating and bedtime.

Yes, it is his safe spot yet, we are very very very slowly introducing him to outside his now safe zone to small wondrous things the world has to offer.

He can go from zero to 100 very fast in the stimulation dept. and so very small on the scale, yet, as I have stated before, his inches are miles in the success dept.

3) We can now go for short walks and he is not constantly spinning, crying or trying to grab at his hind end or tail. He is chatty and talkative as we walk and I know his anxiety is a huge role in that and it is not all excitement about the walk. Inches….

4) He is loving the snow!

5) He sleeps wonderfully at night and I love how when I go to greet him at 5:00 AM, he is so happy to see me and gives me his happy GS whine. The more impatient ‘where is my breakfast Gwennie whine is not so loved by me!’ 

6) He can now focus and eat and drink from bowls all by himself. We had to hold the bowl for him to drink and handfeed him for awhile. He has been putting on much needed muscle mass, toning up and weight. He looks fabu!

7) He knows his name and knows to sit before eating and so, I KNOW he is in there somewhere…..deep inside that anxiety ridden traumatized mind and heart plus soul is that puppy I am working so hard to reach.

8) We now know that he suffers from IS. Epilepsy is so hard to diagnose in dogs and too many use that word when in fact it is Idiopathic seizures. We also know that with every seizure, it does affect the brain. We are equally working hard to control them. He has lesions in his brain that his neurologist believe are related to said seizures.

A lesion is an area of tissue that has been damaged through injury or disease. So a brain lesion is an area of injury or disease within the brain.

Yet, his Vet Team plus I and his neurologist also believe that stress is a big trigger for them too.

9) Those that know me, now that I rarely, say a dog is truly aggressive – in almost 30 years of doing this, yet, at this time this boy falls into that category.

For, as some may be aware, if a reactive dog crosses that threshold, they enter the aggression realm and this boy is there right now. This is caused by several factors – vulnerability, extreme fear, severe anxiety, lack of proper socialisation and training just to name a few.

He just sees ‘red’ when it comes to other dogs. He is beyond trying to communicate to humans as reactive dogs do that he is not trying to give us a hard time but in fact is having a hard time.

He is also resource guards at an intense level.

10) Leash manners are coming – he is in a martingale for safety and we have many wonderful moments of clarity in our short walks that he can focus, think and respond to what is being asked of him.

11) BHRR is the right organization for him, YET our home is not the right one for him as we are a multi dog home.

Therefore, over these past couple of weeks, thanks to an amazing approved experienced Volunteer of ours, we have been transitioning him from my home to theirs – inches….just inches. We work side by side with him to set him up for success.

They do not have other dogs in their home. It deeply assists him in so many ways…..BHRR’s Kenai bonded fierce and fast to me and we also need to make sure that his emotional needs and that building up of trust he has gifted me with is not broken….

Inches BHRR’s Kenai….it is all about inches that are miles for you.

We are not in a rush….one inch at a time!

12) He remains not housebroken and we continue to work with him on that. What used to be a 100% lack of housetraining is now about 75%…Those Inches!

This picture was taken today in our side yard as the light was fading fast…Sean is holding him as all he wanted to do is chase the softly falling snowflakes and Mason was trying to get a picture of his face for all of you to see!

This is who you are helping with your lifesaving donations….his bills are mounting fast – we are almost $4,000 between exams, diagnostics plus meds.

AND being only 6 months of age, he is worth every penny!

When he wags his tail and when he looks at me with total clarity, I see the dog he has the amazing potential to be…..

He will remain in our BHRR Haven Program for life and shall not be made available for adoption.

As I am heading out of the country tomorrow, follow-ups on auction items, collection of payments etc. will not be as quick as they were tonight!

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, warmest good night wishes are being sent! 

 
 
 

Next in Need!

~3 year old fawn merle Male Great Dane named ‘Caramel’

Was an owner surrender to a shelter several months ago due to lack of time and the shelter has done an amazing job with manners, neutering him, is presently treating his bad ear infections etc.

Has had stomach issues and is on special food.

Has been good with female dogs, smaller than him male dogs – he is ~100 pounds and warms up to men quickly and woman not long afterwards.

ETA to BHRR week of December 16th & he shall need a Secret Santa!

If anyone would like to be his special secret Santa, please do let us know! contactbhrr@gmail.com

BHRR’s Percival UPDATE!
 
The 3 year old fox red Labrador had his recheck tonight and it was a great one!
 
As I have said many times over reputable/quality rescue is not about winning any popularity contests and in bringing in this boy to our rescue, that has been proven twice over.
 
We will continue to do right by this boy who did not receive what he should have in his past and his bills are now just under $2,500 for when his bloodwork came back, he was positive for Lymes. This was something known per his previous Vet Records last spring yet, he was not treated.
 
For those that are not aware, Lyme disease can damage the heart, nervous system, and kidneys and it can kill.
 
So, he began an over $200 treatment of Doxycycline for the Lyme and in the spring he will require a bloodtest just like BHRR’s Mollie(Quant 6).
 
His weight tonight was 38.60 kgs(84.92 pounds) and with the implementation of a proper exercise and food regime, he has lost 2.8 kgs(6.16 pounds)! WTG! Team BHRR’s Percival! He is developing muscle mass plus tone and is looking so much better! He has the beginning of an actual waistline! WAHOO!
 
His ear infections are clearing up – only mildly red right now, his skin is greatly improving – he actually has toes now and not fat sausages! His feet, toes and pads are less irritated, less red and he is not as itchy. He is not shaking, crying, restless nor rubbing the way he once was.
 
The fistula’s on his butt are almost resolved too!
 
His coat is looking mighty fine and I am so proud of him and proud of his fosters!!!
 
His Vet was so impressed with the incredible improvement to his medical health.
 
He does not require any further antibiotics for his ears nor his skin at this time and he will continue on the Apoquel for his allergies and the Doxy for his Lyme disease and be bathed with his special shampoo once a month PLUS remain on his fish based food – which costs almost $300/month.
 
Now that his legs, feet and toes plus pads feel better, he is no longer doing that painful small limp that he once was doing.
 
His heart and lungs sound great also!
 
As we now have his medical conditions under control, he can be neutered in a few weeks time and we will be focusing more on his social anxiety – having not been properly stimulated with exercise – he is both excited and anxious about some public venues. So much stimulation and so, taking it as easy as things can be with the introduction of this big beautiful amazing world we live in. Being a lab, he takes most things in stride already and the rest will come as he continues to learn that he is ok, that he can stand on his four feet himself and be comfortable with his own company and in his own skin.
 
His foster mom said he was anxious in the car whining – he barely whined with myself, yet he did whine, something he did not do when I first picked him up. So, we will work on his comfort level of car rides being associated with a lot of really awesome things! I had no issues getting him in nor out of the car. He hopped right in. I also do not talk to him. I passively ignore.
 
He was anxious at the Vet tonight somewhat yet, that is understandable.
 
He loves meeting everyone and everything! Such a nice boy!
 
He is eating supper much better than his breakfast and he is on a strict regiment of not getting anything more than his kibble and some canned food to use as treats and for his meds.
 
He is terrified of stairs, so that is a work in progress and now that he is settling in, while his leash manners are ok with me, he was lugging his foster Mama all around.
 
He has figured out playing with toys and with other dogs and has been playing up a storm with his foster brothers!
 
He has been great with cats to date too.
 
For those asking, he is not available for adoption and he will not be until at least mid January. At that time, we will re-assess and any screening adoptive process will be extremely thorough via our BHRR procedures. He will only be placed in that right matched forever loving home meant for him.
 
Said right matched forever loving home will be required to stay on top of his food and seasonal allergies. This poor dog has suffered and greatly. How terrible it had to have been living in such pain and discomfort.
 
The better he has felt, the happier he has become and what a ham!
 
Gentle Reminder that our Annual ‘JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS’ Online Auction ends tomorrow night at 9 PM and all monies raised shall go towards BHRR’s Percival’s continued Vet Care.
 
Here is the link to view the 58 items currently up for grabs and I will be adding the last items, ~15 tonight.
 

BHRR’s Miss Mollie!
~15 month old Standard Poodle/Saint BernardX

AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

Unfortunately, the person who was to do her professional photo’s is down with the flu – Feel Better Soon! – and we do not wish to delay Miss Mollie making her special announcement any longer! So…..candid picture it is!

This girl is positively da bomb! She is super social, playful – she does like to play rough and that is her play style. As she has had proper manners taught to her plus receiving appropriate mental/physical stimulation, she is understanding better that not all dogs like to rough house yet for her, that is her preferred way of playing.

She has also has had to learn that when other dogs have had enough playing her way, to let them be. She can still be persistent in wanting them to continue playing yet positively corrects beautifully.

She is a giant puppy in her playing yet, when we are out and about in public, her manners are impeccable from leash to obedience. She will stand or sit or even lay down patiently and calmly while I am talking to people or buying things etc.

She is very quiet overall. She does get excited when I come home, first get up or at feeding time yet, I have no complaints with her adorable sounds or the occasional bark.

She is crate trained and is excellent to wash, brush and do ears plus nails.

She has minimal anxiety these days when she comes to work with me – the day of her grooming, no one knew she was even there she was so quiet! – and zero when we leave the home.

Extremely proud of this stunning beauty!

In that right matched personality fit home, she shall continue to receive all of the positive balanced reinforcement, attention and stimulation that she requires to continue to thrive.

She will only go to a home that is very dog experienced – not necessarily experienced with Standard Poodles or Saint Bernards – yet, very dog experienced. This means having owned way more than one or two Dogs in ones past.

She is brilliant and beautiful and she can go to a home that works full time, part time, works from home or is retired or semi-retired. Another amazing versatile BHRR dog!

She will not go to a home that will not help her reach her full potential. This girl needs a ‘job’. She is not high energy, she is just so wonderfully intelligent with a WOW personality that has many gifts to share with others.

She is low maintenance to us in our home yet, to some she could feel like a lot of dog. She has a lot of amazing personality!

She is strong and that has nothing to do with being dominant. She is a thinker and can be both independent and delightfully dependent as we have taught her to feel comfortable on her own four feet and with herself.

She can go to a home with children no less than 13 and as much as we would love to see her in a home with at least one right matched personality fit dog, we would consider her being an only dog as long as said home had a strong doggie network in place for her. She is so social with both people and dogs.

Re: cats, she has not had any issues with the clinic cat where I am presently working yet, she is still very young and a cat could perhaps feel a bit overwhelmed should Miss Mollie want to play rough. Miss Mollie has never hurt anything during her time with us. She just throws herself right into play and can forget how strong or big she is.

Quite the contrast when she is not playing. She is then a model lady! Genteel and perfect.

Even Sean has reluctantly come over to the ‘dark’ side of thinking poodles are not so bad after all. He will deny it in public though! 

Thank you’s once more are sent to Groomingdale’s in Stittsville for helping her to look her best. She is just gorgeous. That right matched forever loving home will stay on top of her grooming needs so that she is always looking her best!

For anyone interested in being considered for her, please do read her thorough detailed individual blog – she will need a Quant 6 blood test in the spring per said blog as a reminder – plus our adoption processes, policies and procedures prior to submitting an application to the members of the BHRR BOD.

She is such a ham! You did it Miss Mollie! You did it!

BHRR’s Miss Penelope, The Newf
ADOPTED!

First family photo!

Thank you so much again to this wonderful family in taking the time to go through our extremely thorough adoption adoption process and welcome once more to the BHRR Family! 

This home is what any rescue group could feel so blessed to have as part of their village. They are genuine, caring and we know that Miss Penelope shall have nothing but the very best for her following life chapters.

Miss P. has a ‘big’ brother kitty named Sid and I loved him! He is such an awesome handsome Senior!

R/q rescue is hard, extremely hard to do it the right way and the rewards come when dogs such as Miss Penelope who have had horrible past lives, are successfully rehabilitated and thrive. 

The only thing almost as hard as letting one of my dogs and fosters go is seeing one of our approved Volunteers letting one of our dogs go as one of their own fosters.

It is a selfless and brave thing when a wonderful foster home helps a dog go from hell to heaven in their journeys of successful Rescue Rehabilitation through to Approved Adoption. Thank you to her beautiful foster home for all that they did to help get BHRR’s Penelope set up for success for she became a highly adoptable dog through her medical and emotional rehabilitation.

Thank you to all of the Rescue angels that stepped up and surrounded Miss P. with their generous support of words and financial assistance to enable us to help her. 

BHRR’s Penelope’s journey spanned from Ohio to Ontario and she touched the hearts of many across the world!

This is just the incredible beginning for you dear Miss P., your future is as bright and as shiny as you are!

Thank you’s must also be extended to her awesome new forever loving adoptive family for the donations to our rescue and for our current online auction. Very sweet and kind and special!

I am now hunkered down in a hotel after such a brutally long day that began at 4:00 AM and will push home the rest of the way first thing tomorrow as I am back to work.

Good night wishes being sent to all of our friends, family and supporters!

 

We are on our way shortly!
 
To make the very long drive to do BHRR’s Miss Penelope’s, The Newfs home-visit for a possible approved adoption!
 
As with all of our foster dogs, we invite the temp foster home to also attend as those homes are an essential part of their set up for success stories!
 
We shall update as we can and I am going to be adding another few items to our 12th ANNUAL “JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS” Online Auction. All monies raised shall go to assist the newest addition BHRR’s Mr. Percival – I will be making an update post on him shortly as his bloodwork has come back. 🙁
 
AND gentle reminder that we need to sell 15 more tickets to our January 16th ‘Sign Nite’ at Don Cherry’s in Kanata by January 2nd!
 
You GET to choose your own sign stencil from over 500 or customize your own!
 
Joyce shall be out host again and we will have one of our Boers Famous Wine/Chocolate Wine Baskets up for grabs!
 
$15 from each ticket sold will come to BHRR and we will be sharing the proceeds with Ottawa Rabbit Rescue.
 

Gentle reminder we are here at Pet Valu Hazeldean Road – 457 Hazeldean Road to 4 PM!

We are doing nail trims & ear cleanings! We have merchandise for sale including baked goodies for both humans & dogs! We also have our wine/chocolate raffle basket up for grabs!

This special boy dropped in for a few minutes to say Hello and stole hearts all over! BHRR’S Percival! 

This is our last community education and public awareness event of 2019!

Stayed tuned for our 12th JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS Online Auction….will be up and running tonight!

 

UPDATE: $360 DONATED TO DATE!

We got him!

BHRR’s Percival – 3 year old fox red Lab – was then seen at EVC. We reviewed his previous Vet Records and can confirm that proper Vet recommendations for his suspected allergies were never followed.

We had received an offensive email last night from his previous home – as he was surrendered direct to a Vet Hospital, where he was placed should have been confidential – stating that they were excellent owners and took care of all of his needs including medical etc.

This has not been the case and we now have the medical records.

At work tonight, we have begun his proper proactive/preventative vetting. We did ear cytologies and then cleaned and treated his horrible ear infections with antibiotics.

His Vet has placed him on antibiotics for his horrible bacterial skin infections – feet, between his toes, chin and head. His anus is also terribly inflamed plus raw. His Vet is hoping that the fistulas are allergy related.

His Vet has him on a special shampoo to be washed monthly for his skin.

His Vet has placed him on Apoquel for his allergies.

We also have put him on a proper fish based food to food trial him for the next 8 weeks.

We did bloodwork in preparation for his neuter for he has not been neutered. We also did bloodwork to test for Heartworm and tickborne diseases.

We shall begin to de-worm him and do a fecal. When he is healthy, we will do his vaccine protocol.

His elbows are full of hard callouses.

We are doing all of his necessary and his required Vetting.

As explained to his previous home that fired us off an email last night, so many organizations no longer step up to help owner surrendered dogs and we continue to understand why. Groups being harassed is not acceptable and this means more dogs are being euthanised as Rescues do not have the time or desire to deal with cyberbullying. BHRR takes a zero tolerance approach to such conduct.

If this dog had been adequately tended to, we would not have had to invest close to $1,000 to begin to get him healthy. This is just the beginning too for him.

He needs to lose weight – weighed 41.4 kgs tonight – and needs to gain muscle mass plus tone. The home had placed him on Trazodone as they were not getting sleep. We have taken him off of Trazodone for with the right physical and emotional stimulation, he is fine.

We were told that he was not being exercised as he should be and that one of the Owners had hip surgery in the summer and uses a cane. Yet, in having two owners, the option to use a dog walker, family, friends and/or neighbours to help etc., his physical needs could be met with a bit of planning.

He is quite chill, friendly and we bought him some squeaky toys as one of his rescue saviours said he began to play with a toy today.

He did perfectly fine around not one yet two cats between grooming at Groomindale’s at Pet Valu Stittsville and EVC. He was fine around all other dogs he has met over the past couple of days since he was surrendered too.

He will need a bit of work with his obedience yet, he is a nice boy that once he becomes healthy – with allergies managed – he is going to feel so much better and be even happier.

He was a bit nervous we were told and we were also informed as to why – he was not handled gently in his past yet, even in the time he had been with his rescue angels, he has settled incredibly well.

BHRR believes in full disclosure and we are here to stand up and speak for those who cannot do so themselves and this is what we are going to do for BHRR’s Percival.

All monies raised tomorrow at our last community education and public awareness event of 2019 will go towards his medical needs. I do wish to say that I am sorry that we will not have any Boerskin baked goodies available for sale as my day/night has been taken up with dear sweet BHRR’S Percival and also the latest with our CVO complaint investigation for BHRR’s Bane. Almost one year and it is still ongoing.

If anyone may like to drop off some baked goodies tomorrow at our event, we would be eternally thankful!!

For anyone that may like to donate to his cause you can via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com or direct to Eagleson Veterinary Hospital 613-383-8381.

Thank you from my heart to his emerge temp fosters – Cassy & John and then Annette! 

Thank you to Megan and also to Kathryn for offering to emerge temp foster him too. 

From our home to all of our friends and family plus supporters, the best of good night wishes are being sent!

On my way shortly to pick up who shall be named BHRR’s Percival!

He is a special needs 3 year old fox red Labrador.

This AM, he was given a wonderful bath/grooming session thanks to one of his rescue angels – Katy. 

Doesn’t he look positively adorable?!

We are still working on an emerge temp foster for him. Dear already BHRR Approved Volunteers, please let us know if you have a soft spot for him to lay his head for even just the next week. ??

I have an appointment scheduled for right after I pick him up to be seen at the Vet. We will be given a copy of his previous vet records when I pick him up which we will then review closely with his Vet.

We have learned that he had not been neutered either so we will be ensuring that this is also done as part of proactive/preventative Vet Care!

We will post an update after his Vet visit as then we will have a better idea of what we are looking for in regards to his medical rehabilitation needs.

Gentle reminder to all that have participated in our annual GIVE IT UP FOR AUTUMN Fundraiser, that it ended last night and all monies you saved can be sent via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to gwen@birchhaven.org 

AND it is not too late to donate to our 12th Annual JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS Online Auction. Sadly, we only have about 20 items donated YET to us, that is 20 more items than we once had to help raise much needed funds for the animals in need of our highly specialised programs. 

Profile & Body pic post professional groom session!

One gorgeous Miss Mollie(1 year old Standard Poodle/Saint Bernard) post professional groom!

Thank you Melissa & Manon of Groomingdale’s in Stittsville!

Once again they did not want me to pay and of course I did plus left a tip! 

They adored her!! She is now a well mannered girl! All of my hard work pays off when you receive such wonderful compliments re: how sweet, obedient and gentle she was. She was perfect being groomed including bathing, ears, nails, comb put and blow dry.

She was equally perfect hanging out at work all day today, not making one peep.

She will be making her special announcement shortly!

Thank you again to Cassy for dropping her off for me so that she could get to her 2 pm appointment.

When I went to pick her up, she was loose in the grooming area just relaxing while another dog was being groomed.

She was happy to see me and me her. 

Miss Mollie (Standard Poodle/Saint Bernard) is off for her professional groom session today with Melissa @ Groomingdale’s in Stittsville. 

After this she will be ready to make her special announcement shortly! 

Thank you again to Cassy for being so kind as to drop her off for her spa session!

This is a 3 year old male uber handsome fox red coloured Labrador Retriever.

While not a Giant per say, at 40+kgs, he is a big boy and is a special needs situation.

He has allergies and his Owners were planning on having him euthanised as they were not willing to pursue further investigation/diagnostics etc. Therefore, we do not know what is the underlying cause of his allergies at this time.

We were contacted by the Vet Hospital he frequents and the home ended up agreeing to surrender him to the Hospital over having him put to sleep.

He is said to have no other issues/concerns and is a really nice boy and that is why the Hospital fought hard to see him saved.

ETA is Friday November 22nd and we are still working on an approved temp foster home for him.

AND he shall be in need of a special Secret Santa ALL of his very own if anyone may like to step up.

AND please do not forget about our annual ‘GIVE IT UP FOR AUTUMN’ Fundraiser whereby all funds shall come to help BHRR’s Kenai, the special needs German Shepherd in our care. Yes, we will be posting another update on him shortly.

Donations to his continued care can continue to be sent via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via Email Transfer to gwen@birchhaven.org or direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381

We are also still very much in need of Auction items for our 12th Annual ‘JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS’ Onlline Auction.

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, good night wishes are being sent!

 

BHRR’s Miss Silly Tilly!
ADOPTED!

I really love this picture……their first family photo!

Today, I let go of my 419th Foster. AND, it was no easier than the first foster I had….yet, I could not be more happy….mostly! 

Some may recognise that handsome BBBBB as being one of our BHRR Puppy Pile x 7 BHRR’s Ross(now lovingly known as Gatsby). He was adopted October 2nd, 2016 and this is the first time I have see him since he was adopted as a wee puppy.

Seeing him again, I could see all of the continued similarities to his siblings AND I also got to ask questions about BHRR’s Slate(now lovingly known as Bowie) who was adopted by a first cousin of this home also in 2016. He is still a big boy that is that lazy ‘slug’ we all knew and cherished!

Just like his siblings, Gatsby still likes to toss himself, shoulder down first on the ground, he has the same front little toes as his sister Cookie Dough Dynamo too! Every pup in the litter has kept those soul touching eyes!

It made my heart so warm to see how good he looks…He is nice and lean and as sweet plus soft as he always has been.

AND now, the once wee pup gets to be a big brother! He LOVED BHRR’s Tilly – she is going to make him work for her affection as that is the princess inside of her loving all of the attention!

It was a long round trip drive, almost 8 hours yet, we will continue to adopt to our already approved BHRR homes and drive the distance as it is so worth it!

BHRR’s Tilly will have a magnificent life and now has two ‘big brother cats’ too – they, are not going to be so enamored with her for a wee bit I think! 

I cannot thank this wonderful home enough for considering to adopt from BHRR once more. They were open and mentioned that they had looked at several organizations to adopt from this time around and decided to come back to BHRR as they support what we do.

As told to them and I say so often, I think it was great that they researched other groups and I will always support anyone adopting from a r/q organization, regardless if it is BHRR or not AS that means a great dog ends up in a great home and the rescue can then help another in need.

With so many fantastic groups out there, that this home came back to BHRR, touches our hearts.

The unfortunate part is that there are far more disreputable groups than quality ones out there and as someone that has been operating BHRR for close to 24 years, I remain strongly recommending to anyone who is thinking about adopting, research the groups, ask your questions, be assured that you are adopting from a great program that works to do right by each and every animal in their organization!

BHRR’s Miss Silly Tilly, long gone are your days in feces, mud, urine being kept outside in deplorable conditions with virtually no shelter and lacking proper love along with Vet care.

Even back then, it was clear to see how amazing of a temperament she had.

Since her arrival, she has become super healthy, packed on the much needed muscle mass and weight and has learned a few manners!

She is going to be dearly missed by her BHRR and Boers’ Family – I especially have one super sad almost 5 month old IS – yet, as told to this amazing home, we must continue to work to adopt out those that we can and safe haven those that need us the most.

She would always have a home with us if she had not ever been adopted and she will always be kept in our hearts.

Before I left, I told her how proud I was of her, how much I loved her and how happy I was for her……only a few sniffles on the way home.

I left her with a brand new collar, her pretty pink leash I got for her shortly after her arrival and a Shedrow dog coat. Pinks and Purples look smashing on her.

CONGRATULATIONS to all!

On that note, it has been a super long day and back to work for 8 days straight as of tomorrow…so from our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, the best of good night wishes are being sent!

BHRR’s Miss Silly Tilly & I are on the road heading to her home-visit for a possible approved adoption.

The roads are not pretty so we are going slow and steady and we will update as we can!

BHRR’s Miss Penelope is moving under a PENDING ADOPTION!

We shall update as we can.

I have always loved this photo taken by her temp foster Mama. Very relaxed and snoozy! ??

BHRR’s Winter Wonderland
November 11th, 2019

As always, they thrive best with consistency, structure and routine and are ‘on alert’ waiting patiently for Kinsley to come home from school. That time of day!

THAT we are currently receiving 15+cms of snow and it is a snow day, does not cross their minds!

AND there is always one or two that march to their own drum – Summit (Deaf/Blind) & Salt (Deaf/Visually Impaired) are the only SMART ones, realising that Kinsley is actually in the house and are facing the house! 

Nothing wrong with their noses and they have excelled with their scent training!  Summit & Salt win in knowing exactly where Kinsley is!

A great day for fun filled snow play and now all are crashed out by the fireplaces having nice snoozes!

**UPDATE: $955 DONATED TO DATE**

NOTE: Let us make it clear that he is in excellent, highly experienced plus qualified hands via our Vet Team including Specialists and BHRR.

All posts not related to well wishes, support etc., will be removed. We remain operating with a zero tolerance policy.

As always, people are most welcome to their own opinions yet, our page will not be utilised as an open forum for that kind of negativity.

Our page was to be unpublished as of Sunday yet, will leave up until later today!

This is a Video of Kenai at EVC after we gave him some sedation. This is him after he settled down a LOT from the high level of arousal he was at upon arrival.

Since this video/arrival, he is getting plenty of exercise, no pressure is being placed upon him, his nights are great now, his days are very very very slowly – his inches are miles in improvement – settling into the routine of consistency, lots of passively ignoring and he is now drinking plus eating all on his own.

When he first arrived, his anxiety and stress level were so high, he could literally not focus on anything. His eyes were just not seeing or processing anything. We had to handfeed him and that meant making meatball size morsels and putting it right up to his nose as he was spinning around and around trying to self-mutilate.

Being painfully thin to begin with getting him to eat and drink on his own was a big priority.

He also now has giant size stimulation toys with treats in them to help him ‘let go’ of so much tension and anxiety. They get him to stop and focus on the task in front of him and rewards him.

He started the Clomicalm yesterday too and that will additionally assist him at this time.

Just a small update to say that your donations make a difference! AND they are helping us give him what he needs. 

UPDATE: $810 Donated To Date

This is 5 month old Kenai. He is an extremely special needs German Shepherd.

He is who we have been working behind the scenes to help.

Thank you to all that did bring him to our attention and to the OHS who did reach out to us and I picked him up on Thursday.

He has severe OCD & Separation Anxiety, is self-mutilating plus has resource and leash reactivity. He was being kept heavily sedated at the OHS.

We reviewed all of the medical records on him and the x-rays done and our own Vet Team including specialists have agreed that nothing deeply abnormal was found. Neuro exam has also not presented with anything alarming.

A MRI and/or CT scan were recommended as next steps as possible trauma was also on the table.

AND of course behavioural was very much being considered.

I watched several videos plus the reports and clearly his condition was deteriorating from when he first entered the shelter to when I picked him up.

My pick up of him could have gone more smoothly as he has not been given any afternoon meds and one person told me that the Trazodone and Gabapentin being given to him does not work. I stated that giving him something was better than nothing as now as a stranger I am taking out this puppy who has stimulation issues, reactivity, anxiety issues etc., into a car in bright sunshine, in rush hour traffic across town. Someone went to get some meds for him. The shelter also had him on ACE, which my Vet team took him off of as it is such a short acting med.

I also asked for a cone as he did not have one and was attacking his tail and I was told that it only exacerbated the issue. I stated that by not providing one that his tail would be a wreck by time I got him to work as he was attacking it viciously. I was still denied a cone for him and yes, by the time I got him to work, his tail was wounded further, raw and bleeding profusely.

I then struggled to put my leash on him – for he was constantly spinning, inflicting self-harm on himself – as the harness he was wearing was almost completely chewed through in two spots – one spot can be seen in the posted picture – and also enabled him open access to his back legs and tail. I was informed by the same individual that he walks fine on the harness and I explained why I was also hooking him up on my own leash to his collar. I wanted safety for him. Having control over his head also enabled me to reduce how much he was attacking/biting his hind end and tail.

As he was in a quick release collar, he easily broke it off and one handed I had to work to get it back on and him leashed.

In almost 24 years of picking up a dog, I have never had this level of difficulty and it was a lesson for me that not only shall I come with my own leash to pick up a dog yet, always a martingale(had one in the car) but also a cone and a basket muzzle. I had neither a cone or a basket muzzle to prevent him further self mutilating on the whole drive to work.

I am truly so grateful to the OHS for responding to my email of concern over how rough this pick up was on him. They were quick to respond and to revise pick up protocols on dogs like him moving forward!  THANK YOU!

At EVC, we immediately gave him sedation – I have videos of how he is even after sedation – and put a basket muzzle on him. The basket muzzle prevented him from actually causing more damage to his body. Once he had quiet time in a lights off run to de-compress, we examined him.

Poor boy was so scared he even had peed himself. 

I want to extend a huge thank you to the Vets and team that were there and to the Specialists that have stepped up to see him.

We cannot rule out trauma. There is believed to not be any brain or spinal tumours – rare in puppies, and x-rays taken are normal. His does not have any broken tail or pelvis and his hips are good. He has some mild sacrum displacement yet, should not be this level of alarming. Spine looks ok in x-rays also and therefore we need the MRI and/or CT scan to help provide more information to help put his story together.

The move forward plan is to keep him on 150 mg Trazodone and increase to three times daily.

He will remain on Gabapentin 300 mg and increase to three times daily.

AND we will be putting him on a 80 mg of Clomicalm daily. If he responds really well, reduce to 40 mg daily. This medication has to be special ordered and will not be in until next week.

We are going to focus on the behaviours as a priority too, get him settled in – he has had so many people and changes of hands(we know of at least four homes prior to our rescue) and then he ended up at the OHS and now us. No wonder he is a neurotic hot mess.

He needs to have stability and consistency and patience and a home and he needs to have time….He has had so much sensory overload that he needs peace and quiet for now. He needs time…..time to be able to get him to de-escalate of this emotional high level he is on, to begin to come back to the land of the living, to re-focus and gain some self-control.

We will move towards a MRI and/or a CT and rule out congenital and/or trauma.

His eye exam was normal – he menaces, he reacts to light, he can track things. However, unless you are right in his face, close up, he is so stressed that he really is not seeing what is there.

When I say that this puppy is hurting emotionally, he is. His mental pain is devastating. Just heartbreaking and as I always state, feeling sorry for him is the worst thing we can do. That is not going to help him. Yet, your heart feels very heavy for what this 5 month old puppy has gone through to date and has endured…..

Have we rehabilitated much worse, yes. However, his situation is high with level of severity. As stated to the OHS, we are not miracle workers and we do not put any pressure on him or our rescue as to making him ‘normal’. What we can and have promised is to give him everything and work to give him a quality of life that is his normal.

We never will see any animal suffer and we know that the OHS informed us that euthanisa was one of the options being considered for him and as told them, I trust that they would do best and remain beyond grateful that we have this opportunity to assist him.

Already, we have glimpses of improvement – inches are like miles for him right now in rehab – and per a previous post, we know he has been a high profile dog to many and ask that for anyone that is considering helping us raise money for his cause – trust me he is so so so worthy! – please donate direct to:

PayPal: gwen@birchhaven.org
Email Transfer: contactbhrr@gmail.com

OR direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381 – he has an account there

Please do not donate to any independent fundraisers that we are not sharing on our page for we cannot guarantee or warrant that those funds will be sent for his care. If something is not posted here on our page, it is not SANCTIONED by BHRR. Once again, we do not want to see anyone’s generosity and caring hearts taken advantage of.

He has an ever increasing team of Vets and Specialists stepping up and examining him and reviewing all of his records and assisting with where to go from here medically.

All of them are 100% in agreement with myself in respect to his behavioural program.

His Bills To Date: $1,989.78

A CT scan is almost $2,500
A MRI is almost $3,000

We thank all of you for your patience as we waited to post about this gorgeous boy for we needed to know what we were looking at for him to then post what his needs are…..

Our mandate is to be here for dogs like him – horses too. We do not do it for exposure, pats on the back etc. We do it as this is what we do, 24/7, every day of the year and we sincerely hope that his BHRR village will surround him with all that he is going to need. I am hunkered down for the not days yet weeks and possibly many many many months as with our July rescue intake BHRR’s Lily’s own self mutilation, SA plus OCD to be there for him. The sleepless nights and the one small step forward to only then take three backwards. I am committed and this is what we do and please keep him in your best thoughts…..he needs your well wishes as much as he needs your financial consideration! 

When was driving to EVC, I was already putting a custom plan in place for him and we will share his journey with all of you….

Please do consider donating even $5 to him…..thank you in advance for reading my Gwennie Novel.

BHRR’s Mollie(1 year old Saint/Standard Poodle Mix)

She was at the Vet tonight for her latest recheck and her Lymes Booster.

She is doing well on her Lymes Disease treatment and in February/March she shall require another blood test to determine if she is now Lymes disease free. That is the time of year that all dogs should be getting their annual testing as is and for her it will be the regular 4DX plus a Quant 6.

Her obedience has gone very well and she has made some new besties here and Ireland remains her main squeeze!

She is learning to play nicely with the other dogs – she is a bit of a bossy diva – and to learn that it is not ALL about her. She has called the shots far too long where she came from and can now demonstrate patience and even to be gentle.

Though, she shall always be a rough house player – that is the tomboy in her!

In about three weeks time, if all continues to go well, she should be ready to make her own special announcement! 

We shall also have her professionally groomed in November too. I do not want those gorgeous floppy ears shaved.

Just a nice overall trim and tidy all over so that she can see and look her most beautiful!

I am feeling so blessed tonight!

These gorgeous Wiggle Bumz collars came in from their plus Cassy’s incredible generosity!!! Thank you both!!! 

AND for anyone that are Secret Santa angels to any of the BHRR doggies, for collar businesses to support, Wiggle Bumz is amazing!

We deeply also love onepawtwopaw as they support our rescue efforts with every collar bought, they donate one to our cause!

We do have TWO more BHRR doggies still dreaming of a special Secret Santa of their very own:

BHRR’s Burst
BHRR’s Glacier

http://www.birchhaven.org/fundraising-20…/2009-secret-santas

AND on another note, I did pick up BHRR’s Kenai late this afternoon and spent almost 4 hours at the Vet Hospital with them.

Will post more re: this canine shortly yet, we do remain asking people to let this be our news to impart and not to breach confidentiality.

We have been working hard behind the scenes and now that we have a much better plan of a move forward action, we can post said plan shortly……

We hate high profile animal rescue situations for every 1000 people that ‘get things’, there is always 1 or two fanatics that feel that they know best yet, the reality is that they do not.

AND for those bringing to our attention independents that are fundraising on their own for this specific canine, please do know before contributing to anyone’s fundraiser that unless you see it posted here re: this specific canine, it is not SANCTIONED by BHRR. We cannot guarantee or warrant that said funds being raised by said parties will be donated to this specific canine’s cause. 

We ask people to please try to be patient, that we know how many have big beautiful caring hearts and wish to help yet, we do not want anyone taken advantage of.

We needed to know first what we were looking at prior to posting re: financial needs for this canine…..and, we promise to post when the time is right…..

On that note, from our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, the warmest and most humblest of good night wishes are being sent!

My last post of my night!

BHRR’s Fred – Isn’t he just magnificent?!

He continues to be such a delight and is settling in so well.

A huge Kanga-Dane thanks to all of Miss Lily’s help going outside at night…they have been so good for each other!

His additional canine friends now include BHRR’s Burst, my two Wolfies, BHRR’s Oliver and BHRR’s Juniper. Yet, BHRR’s Miss Lily is his ‘main’ squeeze. 

He also wanted me to impart the following upcoming BHRR events / information as a gentle reminder! 

1) Starting Thursday November 7th, 2019 @ 12:01 AM to Thursday November 21st, 2019 @ 11:59 PM is our 8th Annual ‘GIVE IT UP 4 Autumn’ Fundraiser
http://www.birchhaven.org/fundraising-2…/give-it-up-4-autumn

All monies raised shall go towards BHRR’s Mollie’s Lymes Disease Treatment along with the newest addition to BHRR; arriving tomorrow – BHRR’s Kenai – more information on them soon.

2) Our last Community Education/Public Awareness Event of 2019 is at Pet Valu Hazeldean on Saturday November 23rd from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
*We will not be back out until April of 2020!
*We are still ISO: 4 more approved Volunteers to lend a loving hand that day. Please email us!

3) 2019 marks our 17th annual BHRR Secret Santa to the BHRR Animals!
We still have 3 amazing BHRR doggies in need of a special Secret Santa to call their very own!

We have BHRR’s Burst, BHRR’s Glacier and BHRR’s Penelope who would really appreciate any ‘Secret’ Santa friends.

http://www.birchhaven.org/fundraising-20…/2009-secret-santas

4) Our 8th ANNUAL CHAIN OF SUCCESS ‘THANK YOU’ Pooch/People Potluck is Sunday December 22nd, 2019 from 2 PM – 8 PM
*Free to attend yet registration is required – please see below group to join!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/255182244635742/

5) We are working on a Sign Night in January 2020 and details shall be released soon. We will be pairing up with Ottawa Rabbit Rescue for that night! 
*Tentative date is Thursday January 16th @ Don Cherry’s with the same amazing hostess we had for our SOLD OUT Paint Nite – Joyce!
*You get to choose your own sign out of over 500+ designs!

6) AND our Annual creative, one of a kind Dine With The BHRR Doggies Event for 2020 is 60% SOLD Out! September 19th, 2020
http://www.birchhaven.org/fundraising-2008/sept-28-dine-bhrr

7) Here is our FlipGive team link to join to shop to help the animals in need of our highly specialised programs! 

So many amazing places such as Amazon, Expedia, Gas, Groceries, Clearly, Dining, Costco, Activities, Movies, Canadian Tire, Hotels and so much more!

The Team CODE to join our BHRR Team: F2M39S

Thanks again Cherie Barnes Maracle for the amazing fundraising idea! 

To date: we have had over $350 raised via FlipGive for our rescue!

https://www.flipgive.com/teams/185081…

We truly have so much to be thankful for in 2019….it was a really tough, difficult and heartbreaking year in so many ways YET, we have had the best in supporters, believers, volunteers, family plus friends stand strong by our sides helping us to re-open BHRR’s doors and continue to help those in need of our highly specialised programs.

While we are still battling the Vet Bills, we are at least able to now bring in one more that is in urgent need of us and we have more in the pipe to come once we are more financially stable.

To those that may not be aware, you can do bi-weekly and monthly donations to help us continue to help the underdogs, the overlooked, the ones that are often turned away, the first to be put to sleep….

http://www.birchhaven.org/how-u-can-help/paypal

AND final reminder for the night is that as of Saturday October 26th, our facebook page and home website shall be unpublished until Tuesday November 12th. The Boers men shall be holding down the fort with friends while the Boers women have to be away….

AND on that note, from our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, the warmest of good night wishes are being sent!

My last post of my night!

BHRR’s Miss Volt and my 4 month old IS in action!

As you can see there is NOT much of a size difference between them – the now 1 year old adorable ‘rotten rottie’ baby of ours! 

Everyone who meets her continues to just fall in love – social with all – people and animals! She is affectionate, so loving, kind, gentle and a true love.

As many that have been following her situation closely, being electrocuted in her past home was only part of her issues.

Five surgeries have successfully resolved her mouth – yet, per posts made from the moment I picked her up, I noted that she was chewing and licking her wee lady bits.

It was then determined that she has a vulva conformity issue – it is not placed where it should be – and per her specialist Dr. Philibert, it was recommended to wait until she had her first heat to see if that may help resolve some of her also super ‘tight folds’, reducing the severity of the surgery that she would require.

She would require more than just a vulvaplasty and Dr. Philibert was hoping that by having a heat, that this may help her prior to heading into surgery.

Well, she is now 1 year of age and still has not had a heat and as many can contest by meeting her, she is has to be one of the smallest Rotties ever!

She should have had a heat between 6-9 months, the outside 11 months and this has not happened.

To me, her personality is huge and amazing yet, now all of us are wondering if there are other medical things going on.

She clearly has dwarfish, is beautifully proportioned yet, now we are all wondering if she has the normal insides for a female. We have seen our share of dogs without ovaries nor a uterus.

So, I have reached out to Dr. Philibert to schedule a recheck and to go from there…..we still have to remove that one broken incisor that continues to not concern her Vet Team. It was planned to do that at the same time as her spay/plastic surgery. 

She eats, drinks and is playful, smart – very agile – man, is she agile! She can scale things like no tomorrow!

To those that thought she should have been put to sleep when she arrived into rescue after being surrendered to an animal hospital for untreated electrocuted wounds to her face/mouth, you remain in the wrong.

She is living an unbelievably incredible life in the mean-time!

She loves showing Ireland the ‘ropes’ of all that this great big amazing world has to offer in experiences, smells and yummy things to eat!

We still have 6 BHRR doggies hoping for a Special Secret Santa of their very own with BHRR’s Miss Volt being one of those dogs still wishing……

Just a reminder as well that our Facebook page shall be unpublished this weekend as the Boers women shall be away and the Boers men are holding down the fort!

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, the best of good night wishes are being sent!

Good Friday afternoon!

The nickname I have for my one Dane, Jigsaw that I posted about earlier this week is ‘Elvis’ as ever since he was a wee pup, he always would give me this Elvis type smile….and now he even does it when I ask. 

Well, this is Mr. Fred and he just may give my Jiggie a run for his money with the Elvis lip impression! 

My one sweet story re: him is how Miss Lilly(Deaf/Visually Impaired GD) has taken him under her paws.

As many may recall, she has had issues with confidence plus stress going out at night when it is dark….she has made wonderful progress with that and in her housebreaking.

For some reason, Mr. Fred has also had some worries going outside at night and from the moment they first met, Miss Lily has taken him under her paws….

Her helping him has also helped herself!

She now zips in and out of the open door, showing him that it is ok to go out in the dark and she is really smitten with him…. 

Mr. Fred is quite reserved in situations he is not sure of and Miss Lily has been working her own magic and now he will often ‘Kanga-Dane’ in excitement at the door to go outside.

She is now such a playful girl and is slowly bringing out his inner carefree puppy and their relationship is deeply fascinating to witness.

In turn, he has been helping her get to a point of getting that much more close in being almost 100% housebroken and that we can go out in the rain and/or in the dark and while they do not have to be outside long, to do their business outside.

I have been doing this a long time, have several degrees in psychology and behaviour including a PhD and it never ceases to amaze me to see how much the animals help each other in more ways than I ever could…..

What a humbling beautiful experience these two Danes are giving me right now….incredibly WOW moments daily! 

As I also say so often, while I wish r/q Rescue did not have to exist, to be given experiences such as this is very beautiful…..

BHRR’S Fred(Freddie) was at EVC tonight.

This is us on a small walk prior to heading out.

He weighed 51 kgs(112.20 pounds) and is at an ideal wonderful weight!  He was a rockstar getting up on to the scale! Solid.

I was so proud of him for he was worried and we worked to set him up for success to go to this apt. and I also brought him right to the back so that he could have more space and not feel closed in as he would in an exam room – as big as they are.

His heart and lungs are great, he is battling yeasty issues in his ears – we did cytologies – and we will use Burrows to help get them better. He is also battling skin issues between his toes – which his ears and skin have been a re-occurring issue per his previous Vet records prior to coming to BHRR. This is not uncommon with the Blue Great Danes. Skin and ear and allergies are quite prevalent in blues.

He is now fed exclusively a fish based food and we are seeing an improvement and hoping it gets better and better for him for he has been shaking his head since we picked him up. However, I needed him to settle in first to set him up for a wonderful positive experience going to the Vet.

He has what appears to be a receding papilloma on his lower lip and once he is under for his dental in November, we will get a better look at that and his teeth.

He was such a good boy and so brave. Plenty of unsure low tail wags and once his exam was over, took treats beautifully. He does very well with his commands – sits and can give one paw and then the other when asked.

Leash manners are still like a bit of a freight train yet we are working on it!

He was calm and overall somewhat relaxed – only a wee bit tense – which is what I wanted for him. The best Vet visit I could give him.

As our relationship together gets stronger and he trusts me more and more, things will only get better and better! He is making wonderful progress.

Thank you to his first Rescue for all that they did for him and once again in asking us to assist him!  You did so much for him!!

He is a lovely boy that we have promised to keep safe and ensure that he thrives!

More Monday Thanksgiving Photo’s! 
October 14th, 2019

Two very familiar and deeply loved long-time fabu dogs of BHRR! 

BHRR’s Iron Man, Maverick(AKA Million Dollar Man) & BHRR’s Gretta(One of our Freedom Danes from the PAWS R Us bust September 2011).

BHRR’s Mavie is now working on turning 8 years of age and BHRR’s Gretta will turn 9 years young in November.

Both are doing extremely well. Some understandable arthritis and while Mr. Mavie still loves the camera, Miss Gretta still remains very much terrified of camera’s, especially a flash.

While BHRR’s Gretta has a special Secret Santa, BHRR’s Maverick does not yet, have one of his very own. He is hoping that someone will step up.

BHRR’S Meadows face! 
(Heavily blanketed Harlequin)

She remains AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

For those who do not remember, she is the Mama to the three blind/deaf mice and the fight was equally long and hard to save her. Sadly, I still cannot get the home to let the dad go(a white special needs Dane himself). I will not give up even though the hope gets slimmer by each passing day….

BHRR’S Meadow does not seem to be impressed by one of my Texans(Zero – deaf/visually impaired) not using the gate the proper way!

BHRR’s Bell(Deaf/Blind on her left side) is also seen in this photo! She is now part of our Haven program.

My Zero seems most interested in the yummy smells being emitted from the kitchen as we prepare for our family Thanksgiving dinner here. 

Whatever you are doing today, may it be a safe, happy and healthy day for all…..from our home to all of yours Happy Thanksgiving!

My last post of my night!

I have a very rare thing happening and that is two days off in a row from work at the Hospital and am going to enjoy every minute tonight with family!

Here are the three blind/deaf mice ‘telling’ me earlier that it was time for dinner! I tried putting an xpen around my desk to attempt to get a little bit more work done, yet, their internal clocks said ‘NOPE, it was dinner time’ and so, it was! 

Hard to believe that they are almost 1 year of age!

You can see Summit’s one eye and sadly, it too shall have to be enucleated. Though, he also had no sight in the eye, it was not bothering him the way his other one was or for his siblings when they were wee.

Now, sadly, he has developed a cherry eye and he is also battling his own level of chronic pain and infection.

We had hoped(his specialist and I) that it could be saved yet, it, too shall have to be removed.

The three of them are thriving otherwise and we still may have to remove teeth yet, to date they mouths/jaws are developing overall quite well.

To those that felt that they did not deserve a great quality filled life, I still say ‘shame on you.’. To those that have met them and even at our annual DINE WITH THE DOGGIES EVENT, they were perfectly behaved, our guests saw how much that they are living their best lives each and every day.

They go out with all the dogs, they can maneuver in the 3+ acre fenced in yard independently due to all of their set up for success scent training and they are treated no differently than any of the other really deserving amazing dogs here!

I have said this many times over, they are normal to them and to us…as, they know life in no other way!

They are healthy, strong – BHRR’s Sleet is not as hardy as her brothers YET, never tell her that! She keeps Summit in line, they are happy, they are smart, they are affectionate, loving, gentle – well, most of the time, they stand their ground and are not light weights in allowing anyone to push them around and this is because we have been bringing them up that there is nothing that they cannot do, that they are not different, that they are not to be babied, that we do not feel sorry for them, we taught them that they are important and deserving and that they are deeply loved! They are so much more confident plus comfortable in their own skin now.

They are not perfect…far from it…they have behavioural quirks and traits and we have to be careful re: over-stimulation, especially for BHRR’s Sleet yet, she ROCKED over 40 guests at our house at the end of September without hesitation.

We will see in time what other health issues they may develop as that is the nature of the beast with these special needs Danes. The closer they will get to age three the more the genetic markers of behavioural and medical issues shall really emerge.

They are a lifetime of deep commitment and dedication and we will give that to them!

AND If you know of a special needs Great Dane that needs rescue assistance, please do reach out to us! This is our mandate! Why we exist.

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, the warmest of good night wishes are being sent and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

BHRR’s Miss Penelope!
~5.5 year old NewfShe is FINALLY ready to make her special announcement!She is AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!This girl literally was on the brink of death and look at her now!

She had her final recheck last night and has been given a 100% THUMBS up by her fantastic Vet at EVC!

Her Vet loves her…..well, all of my fellow work-mates there do and truly, what is NOT to love! 

She can go to a home that works ft, pt, works from home, is semi-retired or is retired. Another versatile BHRR dog.

She is fine to do nails, bathe and travels great in a car.

We will consider homes that have older children – 12 and up and while we would prefer her to be in a home with another dog that is a right match fit, it is not a ‘deal breaker’ if that right matched personality fit home does not already have a dog.

She is crate trained, house broken and has wonderful leash manners.

The most important consideration for us is to ensure that the home that shall be approved to adopt her can financially take on the vetting responsibility should/when she have need.

It has cost just shy of $5,000 to successfully rehabilitate her and giant breed dogs mean giant breed food and vet bills when necessary.

She was horrifically failed in her past life prior to Rescue and we want to make sure that she continues to lack for nothing.

Professional grooming also costs money and we feel that she deserves to be pampered for the rest of her life in the comforts of grooming and dog beds and toys and treats and endless amounts of love!

BHRR has a set adoption area and the ONLY exception to this is to any of our already approved BHRR adoptive/volunteer homes that are in excellent standing with BHRR. BHRR shall continue to consider those homes that reside outside of our current adoption area!

Miss Penelope is super sweet, gentle, kind, loving and under the wonderful guidance of her caring foster home, she has blossomed!

THANK you to that home for building up her resume to help her reach this point of being able to make her special announcement!

Miss Penelope is good with people and dogs and also bunnies.  She also has been fine with the Clinic Cat at my work.

This girl is a gem of a gift of a dog and we are SOOOOOOOOO happy to help her make this announcement!

For those interested in submitting an application for her, please do read her extremely thorough blog along with our adoption processes, policies and procedures.

Should you feel after reading everything, that your home may qualify to adopt her, then you are most welcome to submit an application to the BHRR BOD to review.

Thanks you’s must also be extended to Dr. Libby, Lucy and Jane for all that they did to help get her safely to BHRR!

AND a big thank you also to Brooke for the gorgeous photos’!

BHRR’s Silly Tilly is moving under a PENDING ADOPTION!

We shall update as we can.

Miss Mollie is not impressed!
(1 year old Saint Bernard/Standard Poodle)

I took her with me to get the mail and on the way, noted that deer had knocked down part of our top row of horse fencing.

So, I safely secured Miss Mollie to one of the gate posts and took the 25-30 minute to fix the top rung of fencing in that area.

She was NOT impressed that I would stop the stroll that was ‘all’ about her to get the mail in this lovely fall weather! 

She is nowhere ready to be trusted off leash and so we go for walks/hikes and she gets to run with freedom in our 3+ acre fenced in yard in addition to 30 acres of our horse pasture…..

She is a bit of a diva princess!

She remains on her course of strong antibiotics for the Lymes disease and will have a recheck at the end of the month.

She is going to make a home a truly fabu addition when we get her healthy! 

She is also going to be our recipient of our 8th annual ‘Give it up 4 Autumn’ fundraiser that shall begin in early November! 

 

Miss Penelope’s poor butt…. 

Soooooooooo, we had wanted to make Miss Penelope’s special announcement after the professional grooming session we booked for her on September 27th.

Her original grooming session had been postponed as she was so ill upon arrival that our priority was saving her life….

After her foster home dropped her off to the ever wonderful, talented, amazing Katy and Melissa at Pet Valu Stittsvilles’ Groomingdale’s. they were in contact and sent me some pictures of her rump.

The poor girl had a serious bacterial skin infection, possibly originally stemming from hot spots. 

Thank you again to Katy and Melissa for bringing this to my attention!

I had her booked in to to see her Vet at EVC the very next day and she is now on serious antibiotics and NSAIDS(Deramaxx).

So, Saturday September 28th turned out to be a very expensive day for BHRR at the Vet on Saturday between BHRR’s Mollie’s own visit (bloodwork revealed that she is Lymes Positive) and then BHRR’s Penelope’s own urgent visit.

So, for those that have been waiting patiently for her to make her special announcement, unfortunately, it will have to wait until her recheck apt. – scheduled for October 8th.

Her Vet bills are now close to $5,000 since her arrival to BHRR and clearly, we are not done yet, as I always say, no BHRR dog will lack for anything. She will get all that she needs.

We know that one thing that shall have to be a big consideration for the home that turns out to be her right matched personality fit adoptive family, is the means to support her financially.

Thank you SO much again to Katy & Melissa – who said that they adore her – I mean what is not to adore?! – for making her coat so shiny, healthy, soft and bootiful AND for shaving her butt for us! 

Thank you very much to her foster Mama for taking her to this grooming apt. and for making a really kind plus caring donation to her Vet Bills. 

Saturday was almost a $1,000 day for BHRR in unexpected vet bills alone….  Just as we extremely worked to try and get our doors re-opened from being hit so hard earlier in the summer with unexpected vetting…..

Got him!

A handsome small Male Blue Great Dane!

My heart pours out with so much support to his lovely home who have made this really difficult decision to let him go.

Great people as I say so often, have to give up their dogs and this was heartbreaking.

Yes, he has one ear that is a failed crop yet, he is stunning and we are now going to work our way home….he is covered in scars from being on the streets in the First Nation Community having to fend for himself.

Welcome to The BHRR Family Mr. Freddie! 

Once he settles in a small bit as he needs to learn to trust me some first, off to the Vet for examination and a detailed blood panel that will include thyroid and Tickborne disease testing to help determine if there is any underlying medical condition that may have caused this snap/connection.

The behavioural assessment is already in progress. From the moment I got my hands on him, it started and we shall see where this goes for him.

We are not miracle workers yet, he will be given every opportunity for us to help him so that another situation like this does not occur.

In learning more re: the snap – the adult daughter was on the couch and his head was on her lap and she was petting him and then went to lift up his head to give him a kiss – and he made a noise and snapped, and in the process, made a connection on her skin – bruised and swollen, no punctures. So, that already tells me, that he was showing restraint for if he had wanted to, he could have seriously harmed her.

As to what triggered it, pain, a trigger from his past, was he startled, privileged behaviour as he was on the couch, space issue? Something else?….that I do not know.

What I do know is that he and I are going to have a close working relationship together as we go through this journey together….

Please join me in keeping his wonderful previous home in your hearts as letting him go was so hard on them.

In several hours time, I shall be on the road to pick up this handsome blue GD, BHRR’s Fred. ~3 years of age.
 
His background story for those that may not remember:
 
A blue male GD that was rescued earlier this year from a northern Ontario First Nation’s community
 
He was adopted out, ~5 weeks post rescue by that rescue group – to the home that was fostering for them.
 
A few weeks ago, he snapped at their adult daughter – that lives with them – who was on the couch with him – did not puncture or break skin, yet, caused bruising plus swelling.
 
They do not wish to keep him any longer and are nervous of him.
 
The rescue has reached out to us asking if we can assist.
 
His options are limited…..
 
He is ~120 pounds, good with people and dogs and cats and clearly needs to learn some manners plus boundaries. High value items like couches are something to be earned. They are not a right.
 
We shall work to figure out how best we can assist him moving forward. We do know that he had been taken to the Vet after the snap/connection and no ear infection had been discovered.
 
We will review the vetting paperwork also to determine if a T4 and an Accuplex(4DX) had been done to rule out anything underlying medically and shall also focus on his behaviour, genetic temperament etc. too.
 
Looking forward to your arrival!
 
I am off to bed shortly myself for a wee nap and I will post more after I have him.
 
From my home – which many of you are already in bed! – good night wishes are being sent to all of our friends, family plus supporters!

Miss Mollie came with me to work on Saturday September 28th.

1 year old Saint Bernard/Standard PoodleX

She weighed 32.6 kgs(71.72 pounds) and is at an ideal weight for her.

Unfortunately, in doing our proactive detailed bloodwork panel as part of our mandate of doing right by each dog that comes into BHRR; it was discovered that she is Lymes disease positive.

So, she has begun treatment which includes getting the Lyme vaccine – she will require a booster in four weeks time plus she is now on a 28 day course of Doxycycline.

All of our dogs go on flea/tick and Heartworm meds and are de-wormed. We never cut corners with our Vetting for the dogs in our care.

So, this sweet, a bit shy and nervous still of strangers young lady – yet, we have only had her 10 days – will be with us for some time as we work to successfully treat her Lymes disease.

This is a pic of her with one of my fellow work colleagues at EVC – they came in on their day off to meet Miss Mollie! 

This beautiful pup is going to be an amazing addition to the right matched forever loving home when she is healthy! She really is such a doll!

 
 
 
 

Miss Mollie is doing very well! 
1 year old Standard Poodle/Saint BernardX
*Once again she is NOT a purebred Saint this or a Berdoodle that. She is a mix, a delightful one, yet, a mix.*
*NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION*

She has also made a couple of friends to date – Dynamo and Jigsaw AND we have determined as she has settled in more that she is play driven not prey driven – huge rough high play right now yet, her previous home did say that they could not meet her exercise and play needs – kept her in a room, segregated- so she is making up for a lot of lost time.

Crate trained, so quiet in the house – she only has just begun to show she has a voice with small sounds of happiness AND yup! As I thought, she is a full butt wagger! 

Here is a picture of her helping me to tear down the posters/signage we put up for our big annual ‘Dine With The Doggies’ Event! She took this years’ place of honour and came with me to open up the gate for our amazing evening.

She is a little shy and nervous of people yet, you can tell that she wants to be loved and we already know how much love she has to give! 

On a side note, for those who have expressed interest in purchasing tickets for 2020, we are already over 50% SOLD OUT! Get your tickets soon for we ended up with a waiting list for 2019 and sadly, as this is a limited attendee event, we can only have so many guests attend.

BHRR’s Mollie is coming to work with me tomorrow to begin her vetting protocol – bloodwork, vaccines, fecal testing etc.

She is eating plus drinking well and has proven to be housebroken.

Her leash manners are a wee bit rough but we shall get there and her one bad habit is jumping, we are working on it!

Happy Friday Morning to all!

BHRR’s Mollie!
(1 year old Saint Bernard / Standard Poodle Mix)
*Please do not tell me she is a Saint this or Berdoodle that etc. She is quite simply a mix.

A wonderful beautiful mixed breed girl! 

Morning walk!

She had a great night and is drinking, had her first pee and is taking some treats.

A bit nervous yet, responding well….

It is almost like she has always been here! Going to so enjoy having her here and look forward to her personality to shine – it is in there….I can see it!

Stay tuned!

This BBBBB will be soon ready to make her own special announcement! 

Miss Penelope! The Newf!

Now that her professional photo’s have been done, next up is her professional grooming session on September 27th that we had to reschedule as she was so ill upon arrival to BHRR.

AND for those waiting patiently for our next Volunteer information session – it shall be in October!

BHRR has lost several of our approved temp fosters – from adopting from BHRR, so the best kind of loss to have!  While they will still be approved Volunteers in many other aspects, temp fostering shall be off the table. Therefore, we will be seeking more approved temp foster homes and hopefully, we will have a grand turnout to our next Information Session!

Thank you to SO many that have made BHRR’s Penelope’s rescue possible!

Dr. Libby, Lucy, Jane and also to Megan for temp fostering her and to Brooke for the pics!

AND to EVC for helping to get her healthy!

It truly takes a village to do r/q Rescue and thank you to everyone that donated to help pay off her enormous Vet Bills.

The Boerskins are working like busy bees getting everything in order for our big event here tomorrow evening!

Therefore, if you need to reach us, email or text or call…..facebook access shall be quite limited.

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, the warmest of good night wishes are being sent.

We are home and she is settling in well….

She is smaller than the pics make her out to be, so a small ‘giant’! 

Miss Mollie, I look forward in getting to know you and you us!

She is about 1 year of age and is a Standard Poodle/Saint Bernard mix.

Thank you again Megan for picking her up and meeting me! It allowed me to do so many errands and prep for tomorrow’s big day here! 

Megan Wright has her!

Thank you! She would not even accept gas money and I am deeply touched as I know what is costs in time and heart and energy and money to do these transports.

Drive safe and see you both soon!

I am now on my way to meet up with them!

Welcome to BHRR Miss Mollie!
(1 year old Saint Bernard/Standard PoodleX)

Miss Lily!
(Deaf/Visually Impaired GD)This will be a bit of a Gwennie novel! 

Yesterday, she was finally able to be spayed. Her weight is now up to a lean 88.44 pounds and I would still like to see another 5-7 on her for her bone structure and current age.We had wished to spay her earlier yet, it did not take long after her arrival into our Rescue to realise that she has severe generalized anxiety plus OCD behaviours. There was no way until she was further rehabilitated that spaying her was going to be able to be safely done. Even with myself at the Hospital, she was at huge risk in hurting herself.

Anyone that knows me is aware that with my behavioural clients and own dogs, I am not a med pusher. Yet, for Miss Lily, her anxiety was so severe, I had no choice if I was going to properly be able to assist her.

So, in conversing with her amazing Vet, we put her on a low dose of Trazodone BID. It was enough to get her to ‘come down off of that ledge’, focus more and from there we were back on track with housebreaking and being able to go outside at night with the other dogs – what a confidence booster for her! I say all the time that these dogs teach each other far more than I ever could – lowered her shadow chasing plus fly snapping – we are still not ruling out focal seizures on this front and car startling – sometimes when a vehicle passes her by in the car, she would suddenly jump to attention and race back and forth.

She was not pacing nor chewing at her healing wounds from her previous home so much, could actually not just rest but really sleep at night and was not so intense in these behaviours.

In the month or so since she has been on the lower dose, the weight and muscle mass is coming on for she can settle into to actually eat well, as friendly as she has been to the other dogs and almost all people – tall men still make her nervous! – she is even more relaxed now.

She is deaf and visually impaired and being put in a prong collar and also shock collar and not positively balance trained, she was a behavioural and physical hot mess.

While we are not there yet, with her rehabilitation journey, we are a heck of a lot further along that we have been.

She sits, lays down, stays, checks-in, walks so much better on a leash as she is no longer as stress for she understands more since we took the edge of her strain and worry, what is expected of her. I am open, clean and communicative in my requests of her. I am not forceful. I am repetitive, consistent, patient, understanding, kind and full of so much praise when she demonstrates appropriate displays of behaviour.

She is so messed up in her brain that we are just sticking with learning the solid basics, taking it one baby step at a time and she is responding!

I am not making demands of her. I am not manhandling her, I am not asking of her any more than I know that she can give me at any given time and this beautiful girl is blossoming like the most fragile and precious of flowers – except she is a bit of a bull in a china shop with her enthusiasm and zest for life. For, when she knows that she has done something right or is just plain happy and she makes my heart burst with my own happiness with the joy that she has when she sees me.

We are working through crate training and she has no issues being in her crate yet, she will still have an accident as going outside, especially at night, still stresses her at times.

When I felt she was ready to be spayed, I talked in depth to her Vet and we put a sedative med protocol in place so that she would feel no worries, strain or anxiety.

Sean and I began the day before her spay – and I had worked hard on her crate training so that she would not react to being in one of the runs at work.

She had Trazodone(150 mgs TID) throughout the day before her spay, had some Gabapentin(300 mgs) plus her Deramaxx that night before bed.

First thing yesterday AM, she had another dose of Trazodone and I brought her to work when my own shift started and we pre-med her with ACE/Hydro.

She went down like a lamb – gave us a bit of excitement in the surgical suite – yet, that had nothing to do with her anxiety! 

We did run bloodwork and also then repeated the CBC to be sure all was good and the only worry after her spay that she gave us was her low temp for the longest time.

We even did some skin scrapings to be sure that she did not have any demodectic mange occurring in some of those healing wound area’s that she will sometimes still ‘bother’ with when she is worried. Getting better as she is re-directing well. The skin scrapings were negative.

Once we had her temp closer to normal, got her up on her feet, Sean came to pick her up and she was calm, very much at peace and 100% fantastic for her whole time at EVC!

Could not have asked for a better spay experience for her…us, not so much excitement needed yet, it was all worth it to make things for her to be so smooth and anxiety free!

She is recovering nicely and while she still has a journey to go with her rehabilitation prior to be ready to make her own special announcement, this girl ROCKS!

I adore her…..I love every bit and piece and hair on her…..

The less confused and anxious free she is becoming, her personality – HUGE to begin with – is just emerging more and more and she really is a gift……. 

Thank you to CR, RE plus Dr. G. for being part of her set-up for success team at EVC and thank you to Mason and Sean for coming in to pick her up and take her home so that she did not have to spend another 5 hours there until my own shift ended. Though, per the above, she totally rocked the 7 hours that she was there……

 
 
 
 

~1 year old female Saint Bernard/Standard PoodleX

Reason for surrendering as O. has a senior – 11 year old female Standard Poodle and the puppy is a bit too much of a puppy for the older gal.

O. also has a grandchild that the puppy has bumped and knocked over.

O. is not able to give her the exercise, time and attention that Miss Mollie needs. This has not been an easy decision for her O.

ETA being worked on

NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION

This is ~3 year old Fred
*NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION*

A blue male GD that was rescued earlier this year from a northern Ontario First Nation’s community

He was adopted out by another rescue – the home that was fostering for them.

Recently, he snapped at their adult daughter who was on the couch with him – did not puncture or break skin, yet, caused bruising plus swelling.

They do not wish to keep him any longer and are nervous of him.

The rescue has reached out to us asking if we can assist.

I have been working 6/7 days a week – on track for my next pay period to be 112 hours right now – to get BHRR’s doors re-opened for intake.

With my own work schedule AND with the kindness of several others that have made incredibly generous donations to also try to get our doors re-opened, we are going to work on seeing if we can bring him into BHRR.

We are NOT out of the woods yet with our enormous unexpected Vet Bills yet we are close…..thanks to all that stood by our sides and believed in us!

His options are limited…..

He is ~120 pounds, good with people and dogs and cats and clearly needs to learn some manners plus boundaries. High value items like couches are something to be earned. They are not a right.

ETA: Sunday September 22nd.

BHRR’s Sawyer!
ADOPTED September 7th, 2019

9 years ago this lovely couple came into our lives and adopted a Saint named BHRR’s Moose(they changed his name to Tristin). 

Sadly. he passed away earlier in 2019 yet, lived the life of a king in their caring home.

He had a brother back then named Noah that passed away and then was given a new brother named Emmett to be his bff.

Emmett was very lonely when Tristin(BHRR’s Moose) passed away and when his family was ready to adopt again, BHRR’s Sawyer was who they were interested in.

Yesterday, was the home-visit and THANKS to Bob/Hazel for temp fostering BHRR’s Sawyer for the last shy of 3 months and for their wonderful hospitality!

Such a small world as the night before the home-visit the approved adoptive home and Kinsley/I were all at the same drive-in and had no idea! 

Some things are meant to be and this was another example of how patiently waiting for that right matched personality fit home paid off BIG time! He and we have waited almost 1.5 years for this beautiful moment to occur!

I have already received several updates on how happy everyone is!

Bob/Hazel – thank you for all that you and BHRR’s Torque(now known as Neo) plus BHRR’s Holden did for BHRR’s Sawyer while temp fostering him!

Thank you for opening up your hearts and home to temp foster him so I could save BHRR’s Lily and take her directly into my own home.

Thank you for your generous natures in covering his food, buying him a new collar and leash and in taking such amazing care of him.

Thank you to BHRR’s Sawyer’s forever loving adoptive home for considering to adopt from BHRR again!

We well remember that day when you came to our home 9 years ago and considering either BHRR’s Lilly Belle or BHRR’s Moose as a great match fit for your family.

Thank you for giving BHRR’s Moose an incredible life and thank you for being part of the BHRR ‘CHAIN OF SUCCESS’ Village and now giving BHRR’s Sawyer endless possibiliities in his own future to reach his full potential!

He is magnificent and deserves all of the incredible things that the world can offer him.

It was a bittersweet home-visit and fostering is not easy….it is bloody hard and it really does take special people to be able to do it.

Almost 420 times now I have fostered and have had to let go……and it does not get any easier….

Yet, it means that we can help another in need of our highly specialised programs when the time is right…..and that is important that while we cannot help them all, we can help another…..

BHRR’s Sawyer was adoption #418 for BHRR since our inception in 1996. Quality, not quantity with each and every one…..

Happy Sunday to all!

Yesterday, BHRR’s Giselle and also Puppy Pile BHRR’s Granite had their own special dates!

I want to thank Sean so much in making sure the dogs were dropped off plus picked up as I had a prior commitment.

He may have forgot to bring the picnic snacks yet, I remain completely thankful for his time and effort to ensure that both dogs ended up where they were suppose to go! 

Here is a sweet pic taken by Heather – BHRR’s Giselle’s date and her words:

“Thanks again for bringing Giselle over yesterday. She is an absolute love, and we had a great time finding all the best spots to hang out and snuggle in the backyard.

Here is a selfie we took together- I miss her leans already!”

We have three more dates plus one more private experience to host before October 10th and then we are finished for 2019!

Miss Penelope!

I cannot express in words just how much I love this photo! 

Miss Penelope also had her latest recheck at EVC tonight. She now weighs 47.8kgs(105.1 pounds) and huge thanks to be expressed to her wonderful temp foster home for taking such excellent care of her!

She was deemed healthy to have her boosters!

In about two weeks time, we shall ensure that the professional groom session we had originally planned and then had to cancel due to her poor health upon arrival; will happen – her foster mama has done a truly marvelous job in grooming her in the mean-time!

From there, we shall be working to get her professional photo’s done by the fabu Liz and shortly after that she will have her own special announcement to make.  

Her temp foster home has been exceptional and we truly are filled with total gratitude to them for all that they have been doing for her! 

I also wish to extend enormous thanks to Lucy, Dr. Libby and Jane for ALL of their assistance in helping me to get her vetted prior to her transport, helping to get her transported to come to us safely. I want to also thank ALL of the transport angels that helped her on her journey to BHRR! I remain deeply inspired by the kindness of others, many of us complete strangers, coming together time and again to help the animals in need. 

I must ALSO thank each and every person that made a donation to her immense vet bills as we worked to save her. 

We are a long way off from having them paid off yet, we are taking it one pay check at a time and remain deeply indebted to all that may continue to consider her cause and make a donation to her close to $3,500 bills. 

Donations can be made direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic
613-383-8381 

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

Our doors remain closed at this time as we continue to pay off the unexpected large Vet bills that have come our way….. 

BHRR’s Sawyer (Saint/Pyr) is moving under a PENDING ADOPTION!

We shall update as we can…..

BHRR’s Silly Tilly!
~15 months
 
She has told me that she is finally ready….maybe, a tiny bit nervous yet also excited!
 
AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
 
She can go to a home that works ft, pt, from home or is semi-retired or is retired. Another versatile BHRR dog!
 
She is a dream to do nails, to wash and is housebroken plus crate trained. She has been crate free in our home for some time now and she has been amazing!
 
As always, never give any new addition too much freedom to start and work to set them up for success.
 
She travels wonderfully in a car and has made incredible progress with her nervousness. She so badly wants to love, be loved and really has a goofy, silly big fun and wonderful personality!
 
She warms up super fast and is uber sweet. Truly precious and has been a real delight having her with us!
 
She has put on almost 25 pounds of muscle mass plus weight and is hanging around 110 pounds and is nice and lean and looks fabu!
 
She has proven great with all dogs she has met to date, is playful and we would love to see her in a home with at least one right matched personality fit dog. This is NOT a deal breaker should said right matched personality fit home not have a dog. As long as that right home has a strong network in place for her to have her doggie friends and be social, that is what is most important. 🙂
 
She has proven equally wonderful with the cats she has met to date yet, as always integration is key!
 
We will consider homes that have children as young as age 8 and as long as there are no more than 2 children in the home.
 
Her leash manners, while not 100% are a HECK of a lot better than when she first arrived. She knows her basics, she just needs patience and understanding and consistency plus praise to keep reinforcing said good manners.
 
Considering where she came from to now, is night and day and as with all of the dogs that come to us in need, I am very proud of her!
 
She is happy, healthy, loves our couch 😉 and I love that she is mischievous enough to go on to the couch when she knows the rules! 😀
 
She lives in comfort and style and needs a forever loving adoptive home to keep building upon the strong foundation put into place here.
 
We would love to see her in a quietly social home. A home that is going to keep showing her how truly special and beautiful and awesome this world can be!
 
Miss Silly Tilly! You got this and yup, I shall be honest, I will shed some tears of incredible joy plus some sadness when that home meant for you comes along and finds you! 
 
You will always have an incredible piece of my heart…..thank you to Karen, Samantha and Jane for all that they did to bring you to us safely and for us to help you on the path to living to your full incredible potential!
 

BHRR’s Silly Tilly
August 19th, 2019
*NOT YET AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION*

I love this GOOFY pose of hers!

She so badly wants to love and be loved and though, she was nervous of Sean’s camera tonight, she took treats and learned that there was nothing to be worried about!

She is such a loving, affectionate, silly, delightful wonderful personality filled girl that has rehabbed so well with us!

She is now close to 110 pounds and we would not like to see any further weight on her. She has put on almost 25 pounds of much needed muscle mass plus weight and looks STUNNING now! 

Sean and I ADORE this Dane…..

She has told me that she thinks tomorrow night shall be when she is ready to make her special announcement and thanks everyone for their patience!

We know that she is popular yet, she can only be adopted to that right matched personality fit home meant for her. 

One that shall keep showing her how amazing and wonderful the world is and that she shall never be part of a hoarding situation kept outside in mud/feces in a pen with improper shelter ever again.

She has dog beds and blankets with toys galore and can often be found snoozing on one of our couches when she thinks we are not looking! 

STAY Tuned!

Miss Silly Tilly says she has an exciting announcement coming up shortly! 

BHRR’s Sawyer!
(Saint/Pyr)

His foster home calls him Mr. Magoo! 

They also have said the following:

“He’s very sweet and kookie, very mischievous eyes”

I want to thank his temp foster home immensely for temp fostering him!

He remains AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION to that right matched forever loving home and several members of the BHRR BOD have begun to discuss moving him to our Haven Program.

Yet, for the time being, he remains up for adoption……

An update on BHRR’s Sawyer from his temp foster home!

“Things are going well! Sawyer is a very good boy. He’s had a few jealous moments with the chocolate we’re babysitting but that cleared up once we started banning the chocolate from getting on the couch. 

He has become a barker. He barks at noises outside, he barks at his reflection on the patio door at night. But maybe he’s still getting used to suburban life. 

We are working on his walking on leash manners. He’s  pretty respectful but likes to stop and smell EVERYTHING and will pull if he wants to go somewhere. But for the most part he will come back to you when you pull him back. 

We are now allowing him out of the crate when we go out and he has been a super star!! No incidents or accidents or getting into things. Today was the longest at ~5 hours and no problems. 

He and Neo have their routine of rambunctious play while Bob walks Holden in the morning, then we take him and Neo out for their morning walk after that. He and Neo play very well together!

We’ve had a few people over and my mom and her boyfriend stayed over one night…. Sawyer is still quite unsure at first and does a lot of barking but we tell them to ignore him and in about 15 minutes he’s right beside them getting pets and snuggles. Just takes a little bit for him to make sure the humans are fine. 

He’s amazing with other dogs and wants to meet them and make friends. It’s their owners he’s not quite sure about. 

All is VERY good!  He is such a sweetheart!!”

 

Pathologist Report:

 

PRIORITY BIOPSY W/ DESC 2

  Test Result
BIOPSY SOURCE
Ovary
CLINICAL HISTORY
Two ovaries and uterus from an in heat dog.Breeder dog, no history available.
BIOPSY SOURCE 2
Ovary
CLINICAL HISTORY 2
See history site 1.
BIOPSY SOURCE 3
Uterus
CLINICAL HISTORY 3
See history site 1.

MICROSCOPIC DESCRIPTION:
1 ovary is exhibiting normal architecture, with occasional formation of empty or fluid-filled cysts. No corpora lutea appear to be present.
Second ovary: This ovary exhibits several small corpora lutea and underdeveloped follicles in several stages.
Uterus: Mild endometrial hyperplasia is evident accompanied by a mild to focally moderate plasmacytic lymphocytic infiltrate.

MICROSCOPIC INTERPRETATION:
Normal ovarian tissue, bilateral, with focal ovarian cyst formation
Mild generalized endometrial hyperplasia with mild plasmacytic lymphocytic neutrophilic endometritis
No bacteria are seen

COMMENTS:
Low grade endometritis is identified but morphology does not support pyometra or active a bacterial infection. Some mucosal hyperplasia is evident as well, considered to be incidental. The ovaries were normal, possibly a bit atrophic, but appear to be functional, 1 or 2 corpora lutea are identified on one side. The ovary on the contralateral side did not show any corpora lutea or any tertiary or well-developed follicles.

PATHOLOGIST:
Steven G. Smith, DVM
Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Pathologists

Miss Penelope Update!
*she is snoozing outside, soaking up some much needed vitamins!*

That first week of her arrival was a whirlwind of no less than 3 Vet Visits, stress, worry, strain and mounting Vet Bills. 

Her Vet believes that she had an uterine stump infection. She was lethargic, was not eating and even her spay incision became infected.

Her Eosinophils were elevated and cancer was one of the big concerns for her for when she was spayed, the surgeon felt that her ovaries did not look normal and asked if we wanted them to be sent for biopsy.

The results were to be back within 5-7 days yet, then they needed more time as they needed to do a fixation and all of waited with such anxiety.

Her biopsy results from her ovaries and uterus have now come in and they will be posted in depth on her individual blog and I will put it in the comments below too.

BHRR’s Penelope was placed on Baytril and remained on Deramaxx and I became a frequent flyer to the foster home dropping off various canned food and more medications.

AND at one point, I almost took her into my own home for round the clock monitoring and also to and from work at the Hospital.

We looked at xrays and u/s and the nightmare was very real for fear of what the future was for sweet Miss Penelope.

Well, the big gun antibiotics began to work their magic, I found the canned food that she would eat and the Deramaxx continued to ensure that any fever was kept down plus made her more comfortable.

We had to cancel her professional groom session scheduled with Melissa at Groomingdale’s on August 2nd as she was so unwell. I did send Melissa money as this was a lost service to her own business. She assured me that she would be able to fill the spot without any issues yet, I felt it was the right thing to do.

At her most recent Vet visit, her weight was 46.8 kgs(102.96) so we have weight gain! YES! YES! YES!

Her sutures were removed and we are going from slow uphill progress to just motoring along now! YES! YES! YES!

Thank you to all that stepped up to make a donation to her mounting Vet bills and though, she is not done with her Vet Care, we are sincerely hoping that everything critical has been addressed for her….

As always, should anyone wish to consider her cause to support and enable us to keep helping dogs like her and allow us to re-open our doors, donations can be made direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

We are also incredibly touched by the donation of EMPTIES that her foster mama(from a friend of hers) put directly on to her bill on Monday. $42.90 

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, the most humble of thanks and warmest of good night wishes are being sent….. 

We have made the decision to move BHRR’s Hollywood to our Haven program and she is going to be perma-fostered by an amazing home! 

Picture Post #8 Miss Lily 
*Deaf/Minor Visual Impairment

My final picture of her day at the Vet!

She wants to be friends with the dog in the picture on the wall! 

I think she believes that by standing on the stair will get her closer to the dog in the picture and said dog could then see her and be her friend! LOL

She is so proud of herself and I am so proud of her and if you have followed her picture journey today at the Vet and would like to see us re-open our doors to keep helping dogs like Miss Lily, we ask you to please do consider making a donation to our cause.

If you believe that we are making a positive difference to dogs like Miss Lily, please do consider supporting us…..

We are handling some big unexpected bills with dogs like The Bakers Dozen of BHRR’s Fletcher and with everything Miss Penelope the Newf has been going through – we are still awaiting the biopsy results on her ovaries.

We continue to also handle enormous Vet Bills for dogs like BHRR’s Volt and BHRR’s Rion.

Donations can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

OR you can made donations direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381

On behalf of Miss Lily and our home, we wish all of our friends, family and supporters a wonderful night! Thank you for following her picture journey at the Vet today! 

Picture #7

This is Miss Lily when the Vet visit was over and she notes a large pic of a dog on the wall! 

Her picture journey of her day at the Vet continues!

Picture #6

Miss Lily – sitting in the chair!

Successful Vet visit had thanks to understanding, patience, time – we were there over an hour between arrival and leaving – consistency, tough love and acceptance! 

This was a fabu training and awesome rehab day for her…..

Yes, she has one blue eye and one brown eye.

She is such a ham! You just have to allow her to get to know you…..for when she decides you are ‘ok’, she will truly want to be your bff!

Picture #5 While we still wait to be seen by the Vet, Miss Lily decides it is ok to lay on her side….keeping those gorgeous peepers on me at all times!

All I am doing is just being there for her, in her sight, quiet, comfortable and having confidence demonstrating in my body language that all will be ok.

When the Vet came in, she was in my lap again and when he crouched down and put his body sideways, she came up for some sniffs and some pats.

This girl had been put into a prong, harsh training methods had been used and while she was nervous she equally showed backbone to me that if she was forced she would mouth gently. She correctly beautifully as I respect her.

As told to the Vet, yes, she is nervous yet she equally is pushing back as she just does not want something to happen. We have to find that balance and so, we did not get her temperature yet her heart was listened to.

We did not do bloodwork yet I do know that we could have done this yet stated I was happy to wait and she had her vaccines. A partial mouth exam was done and the big success was that she knew at the end of it that she survived!

To not have done anything at this Visit, she would have not learned anything and while we did not get all done that she needs, we got some truly important things done and she saw that at the end of it that she not just survived yet thrived!

To me that was a great Vet visit!! 

As more time passes, she shifts to her side to be more comfortable and though she is still posed to jump if I make the slightest movement, she is relaxing a bit more….

She then decides it is ok to lay down…not 100% comfortable yet this is huge going from literally in my lap to being near me….

She is still not going to let me out of her eyesight though…

Picture post #4

Miss Lily then moves away from me to do some de-stressing self-comforting stretches.

The huge thumbs up is seeing her working to provide some reassurance to herself now after I did so…..

She would keep come back to me yet, she is also realising that she, too can help herself.

She is not taking her eyes off me though and that is 100% fine.

We have also been working on her ‘check in’ and she is doing extremely well!

You can see how skinny she is by noting not 1, not 2, not 3 yet four ribs on that one side poking out.

Yet, we will get there!

She still is not sure…..yet, I am and passed along my comfortable calm vibrations through my words as she rested on my Chest.

For those who do not know….she is deaf and visually impaired and the vibrations of my calm voice can be felt by her as she rests her head on my chest for reassurance…

I promised her it would be ok….

Her face tells a thousand things…and my purpose is to give her the best experience possible today to make the second visit even easier on her.

Picture #3

This is Miss Lily coming over for some reassurance and she received some calming touches and a smooch. This is before the Vet even came in……

Her face is very expressive….

You can also see the raw healing wounds from the prong use that had gone on in her previous home.

She now sports a stunning Wiggle Bumz Collar that I bought. 

So, as people can see in the first picture thread post, how Miss Lily was with the people she met today – other than the one tall man and her Vet.

This is Picture #2 – in the exam room. We went into the exam room about half an hour after we arrived.

She had been overall content in the waiting area and other than backing into me and clearly showing some cautious worried body language when the one tall man walked by, she was curious, sitting in my lap, sitting in the chairs and sitting on other people’s laps.

Breaks your heart to then see this.

This is where I then passively ignore and did not make a big deal out of us being there. Calming touch when she sought me out, I sat down and acted like being at the Vet is a perfectly great and ok place to be….answered emails and treated the world as normal.

This body language of hers is not the same as what it was when we first arrived….

So, this shall be a picture story of Miss Lily at Eagleson Veterinary Clinic today.

Picture #1 – Making friends in the waiting room! Not much personal space given by this girl if she decides you are going to be her friend! No matter if you have space issues, she does not care yet, to all the met her today, they had zero issues with her being in their bubble! 

We arrived about 15 minutes early and were there for about 1 hour. I wanted to give her plenty of time to settle in.

On our drive in she does OCD chase the occasional vehicle that passed us. As of yet no pattern found yet documenting it all so I can best assist her moving forward. She was always fine when I passed vehicles and occasionally had an issue with a vehicle that would pass us be it on the highway or local roads.

She weighed a thin 39.2 Kgs(86.24 pounds) and ideally I would like to see her closer to 100 pounds. We shall get there!

The thing that made her most nervous was the one tall man that walked by which in turn the other tall man that she saw today was her Vet.

These photo’s I shall post in separate posts are the different faces of BHRR’s Miss Lily @ the Vet.

Miss Lily!

‘Where are we going now Mama Gwennie?!’

Curious and though a bit cautious at first, once she knows all is ok, she is all in with the body leans and happy tail and loving! 

Good thing she is so adorable for she is in a head lock with me re: crate training! She has worn down her previous home so many times that she is determined to do it with me too.

She does not know me very well….yet…. 

We are also making wonderful progress on the house breaking and her general anxiety.

We are making excellent progress with her car anxiety too. She is learning that there are amazing experiences and caring hands with lots of praise plus treats associated with the car and this girl wants to trust people badly.

Her obedience manners are overall ok and once her puppy brain settles and she is not so overwhelmed with distractions plus stimulation, she is going to rock!

We are getting better with the ‘check in’ looks and she is quite proud of herself when she realises she has done it! The more clear open communication she has the more she relaxes as she learns to become a dog and is not confused about the expectations asked of her.

She is starting to show a playful side and has taken a shine to BHRR’s Juniper and BHRR’s Burst. BHRR’s Juniper being half Wolfie is making Miss Lily work for it and BHRR’s Burst takes play to a level that Miss Lily is not quite ready for yet these are the two that she has connected with and with her charm, she is going to win over BHRR’s Juniper! 

Today, we are off to the Vet and will post an update afterwards……

NOT YET AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION

Good Morning from this ray of sunshine!!

Miss Lily!
*Deaf / Minor Vision Impairment
*~15 months old

She is settling in well….crate training is going so much better then expected.

She has proven with us to not be housebroken but we will get there!

She has some anxiety also about going outside and we are working through that.

She is very confused about what being a dog is about yet baby steps.

She is the sweetest and most precious of gems! She is affectionate and expresses her joyous feelings with her whole wiggly body! 

She loves to flip water bowls and then just look at you! What a ham!! It is like ‘now that I have your attention…..’

I am totally loving this girl and getting to know her!

I got her!

BHRR’s Miss Lily (Deaf/Visually Impaired Great Dane) – AND her vision impairment is quite minor.

She is the most adorable small package! Smaller than Miss Tilly and equally gorgeous!

We have some behavioural OCD things to work through plus the typical training from what her owner has imparted my way. Sadly, this amazing well intentioned home hired a ‘trainer’ for $3,000 that believes in prongs plus shock collars and just as we knew would be the answer, the behaviours for this sweet innocent young thing became worse.

She has understandable anxiety too.

*NOTE: This thread is not open to debate as to whether you may think prongs, chokes and e-collars are great training tools.*

This poor girl’s neck is raw now.

She is skinny yet, she is also a growing maturing Dane and the weight will come on.

I am now making my long drive home with a real gem of a Dane – I already know that she is going to be a hoot, so much personality plus love and affection in this girl! Already covered in the Dane leans! 

She will begin her proactive/preventative vetting on Monday – I want to give her some time to settle in. We will begin her de-worming protocol now though. She will also need to be spayed – per her Owner, she has had one heat already and is due to have another one shortly.

It was such a pleasure meeting Miss Lily’s Owner and I said several times over that they can reach out any time, that Miss Lily has her own blog already etc.

AND I am anticipating a night of no sleep for crate training is on the agenda for this girl. Mannerisms 101 coming up with Gwennie’s doggie boot camp! 

AND as we have posted already, our doors are now indefinitely closed until further notice.

We have had so many unexpected Vet Bills with BHRR’s Fletcher & BHRR’s Miss Penelope being the latest.

For anyone who may consider assisting us in keeping out doors open, donations can be made direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

This girl is not yet AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION and as we have answered more than one home to date, we will not consider a home without a properly safely fenced in yard.

Her previous Owner can attest to the importance of a fenced in yard as they lost one of their Doberman’s from being hit by a transport….. 

Thank you also once more to Tanya of Poet’s Vision in putting this home in touch with us.

The Bakers Dozen of BHRR’s Oliver(IW/GD) is settling in extremely well to his foster home.

Has been great with their Dane and two chi’s, the geese, the chickens, horses and even one feisty kitten! 

He is getting lots of wonderful careful slow exposure to even more new things and people and they are managing his anxiety plus shyness beautifully.

They are a quietly well balanced social home so he will never be overwhelmed by huge numbers of people or places.

I am so proud of him. I have worked my butt off with this whole litter trying so hard to set them up for success and took criticisms from more than one person who felt they knew better about what was best for them.

I have been patient and have explained so many times over how genetics and not just environment plays a crucial role in how an animal is who they are.

All puppies are not born naturally bouncy, happy, social creatures.

Furthermore, their breed(s) also play a role in their individual temperaments. Additionally, throw in temperaments bred by puppy mills.

BHRR’s Oliver, your progress along with your litter-mates we kept back has been amazing and you shall continue to keep becoming the best dog you can be, as you are in the hands of a home that ‘gets it!’

I miss you and you did not think you could do this yet, we knew you were ready for this next step and you are MORE than doing it! 

AND since you are now in great hands, I can bring in the special needs (Deaf/Visually Impaired) Dane, Miss Lily into my own home tonight.

AND as we have posted several times, our doors will then be indefinitely closed….we are battling so many unexpected Vet Expenses. 

UPDATE: Miss Penelope still has not eaten anything…..

 

This is Miss Penelope at Eagleson Veterinary Clinic when she first arrived and was waiting to be seen.

She is quite lethargic and had stopped eating.

Dr. Ammar suspects that she has an uterine stump infection and is waiting for the biopsy results on her ovaries as there was a concern about them during her spay so they were sent off.

I was just emailing with the wonderful Dr. Libby & she said it could take up to 7 business days for those results.

Should she not improve over the next 24 hours, an abdominal u/s and x-rays shall be done.

Miss Penelope…..I will sell a kidney if I have to in order to make sure that you are taken care of!!!

She has been placed on strong antibiotics – Baytril and will remain on the Deramaxx. AND wearing a fashionable cone as her spay incision is now infected. It had opened up a bit during her transport and while on Monday it looked ok, as of today, it is no longer ok.

So many of us are worried about you Miss Penelope and you have a fan club that spans far and wide!

THANK you to everyone who has made incredibly generous and caring donations to her Vet Bills to date…..

Donations can continue to be sent direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, may we please ask that you think of dear sweet Miss Penelope and send her well wishes…….

Miss Penelope!

I received a message from her temp foster that she is bleeding plus has mucous coming from her vulva. She was spayed over a week ago.

She has also stopped eating.

Miss Penelope is heading to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic. 

If anyone may consider helping her with her ever mounting Vet Bills, you can contact Eagleson Veterinary Clinic directly 613-383-8381

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

We will post an update ASAP.

Please keep her in your thoughts….. 

UPDATE: BHRR’s Oliver is now safely dropped off to his temp foster and a very brave boy he was!

He did not bother with their ducks, chickens or guinea pigs and was very respectful of their two chihuahua’s! 

What a great boy he is! 

AND I am off shortly to see if this may be a right matched foster for The Bakers Dozen of BHRR’s Oliver.

DNA proven IW/GD.

With him being fostered, I can then bring direct into my own home, the Deaf/Visually impaired GD Miss Lily. This will also be a great experience for him! He has come a long way with his play dates and he is ready for this. 

AND gentle reminder, as of Thursday August 1st once Miss Lily arrives(Special Needs GD), our doors shall be closed indefinitely until we can achieve financial health again due to so many expenses, many of them unexpected with dogs we have been asked to assist…..

So, any consideration to our cause would be deeply appreciated so that we can continue to help dogs in need of our highly specialised programs…

As always donations for Vet care can be made direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

We will post an update ASAP re: BHRR’s Oliver!

 

Miss Penelope! 

She weighed 45.3 kgs(99.66 pounds) at EVC – Eagleson Veterinary Clinic – tonight.

She is thin and lacks muscle mass/tone in her hind end, especially on the right side. 

We continued her vetting protocol that we started in Ohio, prior to her arrival. 

She had her ears cleaned, we are also running a wellness panel plus to further test her Positive Lymes result to determine her best course of treatment. Her poor body tells a terrible story of having had so many litters….yet, no more! You get to be the spoiled ‘baby’ now. Your puppymill days are done.

Once she puts on more muscle mass/tone and weight, we will re-visit her ‘off’ gait to see if it is just her, a result of how she was kept her whole life etc. 

Her joint exam was a thumbs up as was her heart and lungs! Her teeth are worn yet her Vet did not feel she required a dental at this time. He felt they were worn from chewing on whatever she was kept in.

Miss Penelope had been shaved prior to us getting her which we can only presume was due to having horrible matts and her professional grooming session with us shall be on August 2nd with Melissa at Groomingdale’s. 

We still await the results of the biopsies on her ovaries. 

She is back in mid August for boosters and a re-visit on her body condition etc. 

This girl is AMAZING! So sweet, loving and despite all she has gone through, seeks out affection from humans…was wonderful with every dog plus puppy she met at EVC too. 

Miss Penelope is going to make a home a WOW addition when she is ready….

A small female Newf that is so gentle and melts your heart!! I deeply enjoyed meeting her…..

As always donations for her continued care can be made direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381 

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com 

AND gentle reminder, as of Thursday August 1st once Miss Lily arrives(Special Needs GD), our doors shall be closed indefinitely until we can achieve financial health again due to so many expenses, many of them unexpected with dogs we have been asked to assist…..

So, any consideration to our cause would be deeply appreciated so that we can continue to help dogs in need of our highly specialised programs…

Thank you again to Megan for being Miss Penelope’s awesome temp foster Mama! 

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, warm good night wishes are being sent!

This is Miss Lily!
~15 month old Great Dane
*She is Deaf & Visually Impaired

Thank you from our hearts to Tanya of Poet’s Vision for putting the O. in touch with our highly focused special needs Great Dane Rescue.

As I state so often, good owners sometimes have to let go of their dogs and it is an extremely difficult time for them. 

This home is not new to dogs and is not inexperienced yet, having a deaf/visually impaired Dane is new to them. They have worked hard to do right by her and they now want better for her.

BHRR is here to support and to assist where needed and please do join me in providing kindness to her O.

ETA to BHRR Thursday August 1st.

I also wish to thank Tasha for offering to temp foster BHRR’s Oliver so that I can bring this lovely gem direct into my own home!

After her arrival, per a previous post, our doors will be closed as we need to take care of our financial health. With the unexpected expense of BHRR’s Fletcher of not one yet two surgeries this week, our coffers are bare.

BHRR relies on the kindness and support of others via donations to keep BHRR operating to the high standard that we do and BHRR is mostly funded out of the personal pockets of Sean/myself.

We are tapped right taking care of BHRR’s Volt, BHRR’s Rion and now BHRR’s Fletcher plus BHRR’s Penelope, so once BHRR’s Lily arrives; we are sorry to say that we can not help any further dogs for X period of time.

For those that may consider our cause to support, donations can be made direct to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic 613-383-8381

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

We never will compromise the high level of care each animal deserves and while we wish we could keep our doors open; we cannot without your help.

BHRR has been the local Great Dane/Giant Breed Rescue since 1996 and we thank you in advance for any consideration……

Megan has her!

She has now made the trip home with Megan Wright and Miss Penelope, the Newf is slowly settling in……

Tomorrow, we are off to Eagleson Veterinary Clinic to continue her vetting protocol and on August 2nd, she is going to have a professional groom with Melissa @ Groomingdale’s in Stittsville. 

She has a long road ahead of her – needs strength/muscle mass/tone in her hind end too, yet we know that she will have the BHRR village surrounding her with so much healing and helping hands….

Your puppymill nightmare days are over and while we wish your first 5 years were not spent in such misery, your future shall be nothing but goodness and caring hearts…..

Miss Penelope began her journey to us yesterday and Megan is on her way shortly to meet up up with her transport. 

Thank you Megan for being her temp foster and I look forward to meeting her myself tomorrow! 

She is the Newf from the puppymill that was dumped and we found out is Lymes positive after starting her vetting protocol.

We are also awaiting the results of her biopsies on her ovaries as the Vet who spayed her was concerned.

Her poor uterus clearly showed how overbred she was…. 

We are at Eagleson Veterinary Clinic tomorrow night to continue with the Vetting we started prior to her arrival.

In being told that her spay incision seemed to have opened very slightly, we may have her in today instead….in having seen a pic last night, it looked ok – some swelling/bruising and I stated that if she needs to go to a Vet or emerge to take her for whatever she needs, she is getting!

I do not want her uncomfortable either.

Poor girl’s tail is apparently missing a lot of hair too and the skin scrapings we did were negative.

A great regime of excellent food, vet care and love should hopefully begin to resolve that…..

I have been told she is super sweet and wishing Megan and all of the transport angels a safe drive today!

Soon Miss Penelope…soon….we will have you here safely very soon….. 

***GRAPHIC PHOTO***

BHRR’s Fletcher it is official….you are either trying to kill yourself or me! 

When I got home from work last night or rather the wee hours of this AM, as is my habit, I check in with the dogs and love on them while I eat a snack before going to bed.

From the time the rest of The Boerskins had settled the dogs in for the night and when I got home – not even 1.5 hours later, this was my scene when I went to the sunroom – the place Mr. Fletcher likes to sleep at night….

He has to wear a cone as his leg recovers and he was sitting there with no cone and a rubbed raw bleeding booboo on his head…..

Back to emergency we went……..

BHRR’s Fletcher, the already low money coffers have been dearly taxed and with your now two emergencies this week, the financial cupboards are completely empty….

We also have not one but two new dogs arriving this week with their own extensive Vet Bills – Miss Penelope the Newf & Miss Lily, the special needs Great Dane. We also had BHRR’s Miss Tilly’s own surgery this past week for her spay, which turned out to be an exploratory per our recent post.

The defiant look on his face says it all as to how he felt about his cone…rubbed several spots on his face raw – this one is the worse and he even poked a hole in his head. What on earth did you do?!!

AND to top it all off, chewed the newly installed wood on our window frame with sheer ‘tude.

BHRR’s Fletcher, you have got to be kidding me!!!! You are lucky you are so handsome!!!

Thank you again to the amazing soul who had donated $100 to his vet care when he was hurt on his play date earlier this week…. 

He will be moving under Eagleson’s Veterinary Care shortly and while the Emerge Hospital no longer take direct donations, Eagleson does. They can be reached at 613-383-8381.

Or, donations can also be made….if any one may consider his cause – we are just under bills of $1,500 this week alone for Mr. Fletcher, donations can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

May Saturday become a much better day for him and me! 

BHRR’s Miss Tilly – the Great Dane from the hoarding situation went in for her Spay yesterday. 
~14 months old

The home must have obtained her from another as though myself, Sean and two Vets at two different Hospitals were not able to find a Spay scar – when we surgically went in, she had been spayed at some point. Hoarders generally do not alter their pets – so, we are thinking that before this home got her, she had been spayed at a super young age. Just a supposition….

Once she recovers, we will do her professional photo shoot and then she will have her own special announcement to make! 

We have done all of her proactive and preventative vetting since her arrival in May. Her Spay plus microchip were the last things left to do.

This girl is a WOW dog! Just a treat and a total sweetheart! Fabu!!

A great starter Dane for a home wanting a Dane yet, has never had one before too!

We know already when it is time to take applications for her, that we shall also consider homes with children as young as 8.

She weighed almost 103 pounds so has put on some great muscle mass and tone! Almost 11 pounds. She is an amazing personality plus temperament in a smaller framed Dane body. Lovely conformation.

From our home to all of our friends, family & supporters, warmest good night wishes are being sent!

BHRR’s Miss Penelope! 
*She now has a name!*

This is the ~5 year old Newf that was used for breeding her whole life – dumped and we also were told that she is now one of 12 dumped from the same Breeder over the past 6 months. One of those dogs tested heartworm positive.

While her transport was being organised – thanks Lucy and to all of the transport angels! – we had her vetted and the poor girls uterus showed just how overbred she was when she was spayed.

We were asked if we wanted to have her ovaries sent for biopsy as the Vet was concerned and we absolutely said yes. We await those results.

She tested negative for heartworm yet positive for Lymes. 

We had a Fecal done and also microchipped her. She was placed on flea/tick/heartworm meds.

We began her de-worming plus vaccine protocol.

She weighed 95 pounds, so a small female. I do not know if she is thin at this time.

We did a skin scraping to rule out mange and it was negative.

Her teeth are quite worn down and as we just had her spayed – big surgery for her – we will review when she is healthier if she will require a dental too.

She will arrive on Sunday night – thank you to Megan for stepping up to be her temp foster!

On Monday July 29th, we will have her seen by one of our Vets here to continue her vetting.

We have had $100 donated to her care to date and thank you again from my heart for your generous support!

She has a long road to go and has so much to learn regarding kind loving helping hands and not neglectful hands.

There is a big beautiful world out there that she shall be slowly introduced to.

We are told that she is super sweet and though she had one grooming session this week, we have booked one on August 2nd with Melissa at Pet Valu Groomingdale’s. We want to make sure that her coat is brought to health and shine.

If anyone may consider her cause to support, donations can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, warm good night wishes are being sent!

**GRAPHIC PHOTO’S**

BHRR’s Fletcher is determined to give me more grey/white hairs or a heart attack…..

After successfully recovering from being caught in a poachers snare back in February while on a play date and de-gloving a good part of his leg and foot – took 5 surgeries….this is what he did on his play date just now! 

About one hour ago, I got a panicked call from the home saying that he was doing his usual with their dogs; running/playing through the bushes and trees and when he came back for his ‘check in’ treat; this was his foot….

We are back into Emerge and at least one more surgery plus lots of antibiotics/pain meds for him.

Dear sweet boy, you are so determined to be your own $10,000 dog in Vet Bills…..

Please keep him in your thoughts and if anyone may consider helping us with his Vet bills, donations can be made via:

PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

This is not how I wanted his or my night to go…….

~5 year old female Black Newf 
We are calling her BHRR’s Penelope! 

She is one of 12 Newf’s over the past 6 months that have been dumped by the same Breeder in a pound, one of them also tested heartworm positive. 

Transport is currently being worked on for next weekend and thank you to Megan for stepping up to be her temp foster. 

We will be beginning her vetting prior to transport – has some skin issues we are also looking into – and the rest of her Vetting once she arrives (first Vet visit is booked for July 29th) and we scheduled a pampered spa session with Melissa at Groomingdale’s PV Stittsville for August 2nd. 

Cannot imagine her coat after ~5 years of improper care. 

Thank you from our hearts to Lucy for asking us to assist, working so hard on her/others transport and for Jane/Tamee of Just Paws Rescue for also helping to get her to us safely!

BHRR’s Volt is AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION again.

We were not able to successfully close off on the references for the current application. 

BHRR’s Volt is once again Available for a PENDING Foster To ADOPT Home. SAID approved home MUST be within 2 hours of our location. 

Unfortunately, we were not able to successfully close off on this application submitted for her.

We remain patient as does she!

She is a WOW puppy and the future is truly her oyster! 

Once she has a heat per her specialist Dr. Philibert, he can better assess her vulva conformity issues and see how much, if any of a ‘nip and tuck’ she may need along with addressing her tooth – at least one that they see right now.

As it is a broken lower incisor, he and her two regular Vets have not been concerned in waiting to address it until it is time to spay her.

So, we remain hunkered down for that right matched forever loving temp foster to adopt home to find her! 

This picture is of her and one of my own fav humans at our recent June BHRR “EXPERIENCE” Mini Open House.

Another piece of my heart died tonight…..

BHRR’s Salem. 

From once terrified, confused, suffering and alone in a high kill pound to a bit shy to start yet, extremely loyal to a fault and deeply loving.

You are the dog that would have laid her life down for those that you trusted and adored.

There were no half measures with you. You were all in or out. One always knew where they stood with you. Such an honest dog. .

You also recognized insincerity in people in an instant. You easily knew who was a good person and who was not. Your stunning wise eyes did not just see into people’s souls, they read them.

Your heart, your beauty, your intelligence and BHRR events shall never be the same again knowing that you will not be there plunking yourself down in the ‘prime’ real estate parts – front door and cash – to get the maximum number of belly rubs possible! 

AND those high-fives! World champion high fiver! You expressed so much emotion in your high-fives.

You have been taken from us way too soon….7 years young is not near enough time to have made enough memories and for you to have had enough experiences of loving kind caring hands….not hurtful, abusive cruel ones.

As with all of our doggies lost to us; there are no words that will ever truly do you justice BHRR’s Salem.

You will be dearly missed and at least when it was your time to cross over you were held in my dear embrace, stroking your fur gently and telling you what a beautiful special girl you are. How cherished and sorry that I was that you would not have another sunrise or sunset……

Though, this was my first time back at KAH since I left on June 1st after 15+ years; I could not imagine not having had the people that have been there for you since Day 1 – me too! – by your side.

Thank you to my KAH heart family members of Dr. Adams and Chelsea who not only warmly welcomed me yet comforted me with words and yup, two hugs – right into my Gwennie bubble…..

RIP glorious lady Salem…..and as with all of our beloved animals, I will meet you in my dreams until we shall meet in person once more….. 

BHRR’s Rion & BHRR’s Sable are supervising me while I type!
 
They are our two Danes from the drug situation.
 
I had to put the xpen around my desk as both were SUPER interactive and enthusiastic in helping me type this post! 
 
I decided to take a break from fridge cleaning – hence, the garbage can in the background to post our sincerest plus deepest thanks to everyone that made our 12th Annual Microchip/Nail Trim & BBQ with SO much more Fundraiser so successful! 
 
I desired to make this post earlier in the week yet, I was still attempting to make contact with winners of our Silent Auction and even though we still have one item outstanding, after a week of follow-ups, we are going to consider it a default bid. 
 
ALL money raised shall go towards BHRR’s Rion’s over $12,000 and mounting Vet Bills.
 
The winner of BHRR BOD’s Mary’s incredible Raffle Basket was: Aaron/Cherie!
 
The winner of the 50/50 Raffle was Joe – THANK you for donating your portion $61.00 back!
 
The winner of the draw for 1 year of dog washes at Pet Valu Stittsville was: K. Amorim!
 
THANK you to Emma for doing the draws in front of so many hopeful witnesses!
 
We did 35 nail trims & 31 dog washes too! 
 
Thank you to the almost 25 WOW BHRR Volunteers that came out to lend a hand to assist all of our visitors! We could not have have such a wonderfully successful day without you!
 
THANK you to all of the incredible Humans and their pets that came out to hang with us!
 
Thank you to everyone that shared and/or participated in our online Facebook Auction AND…….
 
Thank you to each and every kind angel that made a donation even though they could not be in attendance!
 
The weather was positively glorious and thank you to Bre and her fabu team at Pet Valu Stittsville for hosting us again in 2019!
 
In 2020, we will be making the move to a Saturday – Saturday July 11th, 2020 and are already working on some old favourites plus new activities!
 
Our beautiful total for what is our largest fundraiser of each year – I begin to work on this event 9 months prior to it happening! – is…….. DRUM ROLL:
 
$3,974.51
 
We still have over $7,000 left to pay on BHRR’s Rion’s current Vet Bills plus are still working on BHRR’s Volt’s and are deeply humbled by each and every generous, caring soul that is standing by their sides enabling us to make sure that they are lacking for nothing!
 
Our next Fundraiser is not until August 17th – Our 8th Dirty Dawg with Car/Truck Wash at Critter Jungle on Carling Avenue!
 
All monies raised that day shall also go towards BHRR’s Rion’s Vet Bills!
 
From our home to all of our friends, family plus supporters, the best of good night wishes are being sent!

 

My last post of my night is one on behalf of Miss Sable & BHRR’s Rion!

She is quite sleepy with her head on my shoulder after a very busy day prepping for our largest fundraiser of the year!

Our 12th Annual Microchip/Nail Trim & BBQ Fundraiser WITH so much more at Pet Valu Stittsville(1250 Stittsville Main Street)

A Silent Auction, Baked Goodies for humans/dogs, Some merchandise for Sale, Dog Baths, Face-Painting/Tempt Tats & Feathers etc.!

*9-4 PM
*No Appointments Necessary
*Dogs/Cats are to be minimally 8 weeks of age
*We will also do nails on pocket pets!

BHRR’s Sable wishes to say that we are also collecting Empties plus Canadian $ money tomorrow!

We will have one of our famous BHRR Raffle Baskets up for grabs with all money going towards helping her relative BHRR’s Rion. His mounting Vet Bills are now close to $12,000.

AND here is the link to our Pre-Event Online Facebook Auction!

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, the warmest of good night wishes being sent and we hope to see many of you tomorrow!

The weather is going to be positively glorious!!!

Miss Volt is moving under a PENDING Foster to Adopt! 

We shall update as we can! 

So this just happened! Always wanted to say that! 

BHRR’s Daffodil is ADOPTED! 

This sweet precious amazing out of this world fantastic Dane has waited patiently for so long – as have we! – for that right matched forever loving home to find her.

I have stated this before….it only takes one application, that right matched forever loving one to make a successful adoption occur and dear sweet beautiful lady, yours finally arrived. 

In all of the time all of us have waited, not ONE application ever came in for you….not one.

As with BHRR’s Holden with each event at BHRR watching people step around and even over him – which to me was positively rude – I kept saying, that those people were not meant for him and that when that time was right, the one meant for him would ‘see’ him for who he is and adore him for being who he is….BHRR’s Holden, your own happily ever finally happened years ago and today, it was BHRR’s Daffodils turn. 

For those that saw these two at our recent BHRR ‘EXPERIENCE’ Mini Open House, words like ‘magical’ and ‘special’ were heard….

Well, then the application came in and from there the adoption process was gone through and tonight, with Megan assisting – who is also the lovely soul who helped name BHRR’s Daffodil  – a wonderful home-visit was had….

Congrats to this home and the stunning Miss Daffodil has two ‘big’ siblings too! 

We also want to welcome this home to our BHRR family! 

For as I often say, we did not lose Miss Daffodil, we gained another fabu Approved Volunteer! 

I am now making the drive home and as tired as I am, my heart is so happy! 

Congratulations!!

UPDATE: BHRR’s Rion

He is one of the two Danes from the Drug situation.

This picture was taken today.

He was re-weighed and has put on ~17 pounds since he first arrived.

He remains having severe bruising along one whole side of his body – from armpit to groin. The trauma part of his horrible past is healing….yet, I continue to wonder what else may be going on…..

MRI, CT scan, U/S, X-Rays along with doing a scope/biopsy and absolutely everything else including bloodwork has come back clean.

His specialist team continues to grow and spans four Vet Hospitals now along with VIN.

He is still quite weak in the hind end and we are working on that for he and BHRR’s Sable were kept in horrifying conditions.

He is eating and drinking and the one thing that has now stopped is his regurgitation after eating.

Since I exclusively went to home-cooking, he has now put on almost 17 pounds plus has stopped regurgitating.

I had to to this with my Multi CH. Great Dane Tain as he was born with a small malformation in his small intestine. The only kibble that work for him was a low residue one from Euk – a puppy one, yet, the adult formula had just enough ingredient change that caused him to have severe issues again. He could not remain on the puppy one for a number of reasons.

So, I had to think out of the box and figured it out for Tain and once I did and I had to do it quickly, he lived a grand wonderful life and his internal medicine specialist at Alta Vista AH remained so impressed plus in awe of how he thrived.

So, I am back to thinking out of the box along with his incredible team of Vets/Specialists.

His Vet Bills are almost $11,000 and rising and I committed to him and he is the sweetest boy….so kind and loving and soft and gentle.

We are working on building up that muscle mass/weight in his hind end which is assisting him in becoming stronger too.

BHRR’s Rion, we are not giving up and you are improving….slowly yet you are…..

We go in for regular check-ups, continued testing, re-weighs and if anyone may consider his cause to support, you can donate via:

PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org or via

Email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

Thank you to anyone that may help by donating even $5.00 to his care. 

BHRR’s Singe!

He had his annual tonight and did so well! He is always a bit shy to start with people he does not know and warms up quite well. Once he makes friends, he likes to share the drool of love, the Dane leans plus get tummy rubs. 

He now weighs almost 136 pounds and though still very lean, even for me a bit leaner than I would like, he has now put on another 8.52 pounds since we last weighed him. Since he first arrived to us, he is now 27 pounds heavier!

Slow but sure..as told to his Vet this boy has been a big struggle with the weight gain and we still feed 5 small frequent meals daily including the one that he gets just before bed as that has been the biggest difference for getting him to put on the weight.

He was given a thumbs up – he is so much stronger in his hind end than he once was and always will have some issues and that is him from his past care – and thank you to Dr. Ammar, Tianna, Morgan & Ashley for giving him such a great experience! 
|
AND he did fantastic with the Clinic Cat – Miss Pearl! 

He remains AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION to that right matched forever loving home and this boy will be a transitional adoption so we do not have him go backwards in his weight. 

AND said home must be within 1 hour of our location. 

BHRR’s Daffodil is moving under a PENDING ADOPTION!

We shall update as we can.

SOMEONE fell asleep on the job! 

THIS is not a staged photo! I put the broom against the hutch to go do another load of laundry and came back to BHRR’s Glacier(one of the Three Blind/Deaf Mice) asleep like this!

Sean took this picture!

The Boerskins are busy getting everything ready for our upcoming BHRR ‘EXPERIENCE’ Mini Open House and also our Monday Volunteer Information Session.

On that note; we have had a home cancel for tomorrow’s BHRR “EXPERIENCE” Mini Open House. This was a full registered attendee event.

If there is a home that wishes to attend, please do email myself gwen@birchhaven.org

Our next BHRR “EXPERIENCE” mini open house shall not be until June 2020.

A VIDEO of BHRR’s Sawyer 

BHRR’s Sawyer(Saint/Pyr) having a blast with his ‘big’ Foster Brothers – boyz that were adopted from BHRR. 

Thank you SO much again to Mr. Sawyer’s amazing temp foster home for the video and in taking great care of him! 

BHRR’s Sawyer remains Available For Adoption to that right matched personality fit home.

BHRR utilises an extremely thorough adoption process to determine if one of our dogs are a right matched personality fit for a home.

BHRR’s Sawyer!
(Saint/Pyr)
2 years of age

Look at that mug!!!

He is settling in very well at his approved temp foster home.

Per his amazing temp foster home:

“He is a ham, he’s so sweet… he’s a lumbering goof.. he seems happy no matter his surroundings.
He is fascinated by the cat, they managed to smell each other’s noses yesterday…”

THANK you for sending this handsome photo of him! 

He remains AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION to that right matched forever loving home.

To anyone interested in him, please do read his extremely detailed blog plus our adoption processes, policies and procedures.

If you then feel that you may qualify to adopt him, you are more than welcome to submit an application to the BHRR BOD to review.

This is my last post of my night! After working almost 24 hours at my new job over the weekend, I am beat! 

From our home, good night wishes being sent from our home to our friends, family and supporters!

My three deaf/blind mice want to ask what size of Stuffies comes after Giant? JUMBO?! 

They are now almost 8 months of age! Where has the time gone?!

The Dane Trio shall be heading back to the Vets in about 2 months time to determine if they may need to have extractions once their adult teeth come in and see how their alignment has developed as they have matured.

They also wish to thank ALL of the angels to date that have made a donation to help their new Great Dane friend, the emaciated, neglected, abused BHRR’s Rion from the drug situation. 

Donations to BHRR’s Rion’s care can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, we are wishing everyone a good night!

I am off to spend my night with BHRR’s Rion.

BHRR’s Rion(Severely Emaciated Great Dane from the drug situation) UPDATE:

I apologise that I have not yet updated re: BHRR’s Sable yet this past week has had to be very much more about poor BHRR’s Rion. 

Since his arrival, he has been regurgitating most of his food and though, he has great days for drinking; he has just as many not so good days.

He remains weak, lethargic, is dehydrated and yet, through it all he is so sweet……

As he was not getting the nutrition that he needed and with deep concern re: his regurgitation right after eating; we ended up in emerge.

Though, all of his bloodwork to date has come back normal – we well know that just because the results are normal; this does not make a healthy dog. 

He is negative for heartworm plus tick borne diseases. 

He was admitted for IV fluid, antibiotic plus pain treatment and I bring him home at night to continue his round the clock care. 

That redness/bruising from the suspected severe trauma remains all along his one side. We continue to do more testing, to see more specialists to rule out any deep underlying medical cause for this……

We have done x-rays to rule out broken ribs or anything else that may be causing his condition to worsen, not improve and also u/s. 

Our next steps is to move to a CT scan and/or MRI. 

When we were at Dr. Liston’s when the Dane Duo first arrived, he did not like the sounds of gurgling in BHRR’s Rion’s gut and that remains a big concern for his internal medicine specialist. 

He is continuing to be a mystery to his vastly growing medical team and we would be so grateful as would he, for continued consideration to his mounting Vet Care Bills. 

This week alone has seen another $1,700 in Vet bills come our way in our efforts to assist him. 

As the emergency hospital shall not take direct donations; donations can be made:

PayPal: gwen@birchhaven.org OR

via Email Transfer: contactbhrr@gmail.com

This picture is of BHRR’s Rion at LAH. 

Please also keep him in your best wishes, he needs those too.

When I see his tail now wag a bit when he sees me, I know that he is fighting with all that he has and thank you to everyone that may consider helping us help him! 

He deserved so much better than he has received in life to date and he deserves this fighting chance……

 

 

SMALL UPDATE: From his approved temp foster family: 

‘Sawyer is a very good boy! Flaked out on the floor now. 
He met the cat and wanted to play.’

UPDATE: BHRR’s Sawyer is now all tucked into his own fabu Approved temp foster home! 

A home that has also adopted twice from us in the past, so he is in excellent hands! 

He remains AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

AND we are on our way shortly!

To see if this is a right matched personality fit temp foster home for BHRR’s Sawyer(Saint/Pyr)!

Today, is also his 2nd Birthday! 

We will update as we can.

NOTE: We are also still seeking already approved BHRR temp foster homes for:

1) BHRR’s Miss Hollywood (BoxerX)
2) BHRR’s Char (Great Dane)
3) BHRR’s Oliver(Great Dane/Irish Wolfhound)

All four BHRR dogs remain Available For Adoption!

My last post of my night…..

This is BHRR’s Rion – One of the two Danes from the Drug situation.

Sean has spoken and both finally have names – they did not have any names prior to Rescue.

As many are now aware, they belonged to a man who who went to jail for drugs and his father – also involved in drugs – took the two Danes.

Another man saw an ad on kijiji for chickens and when he arrived on the property, he was asked if he had any cocaine in exchange for two Danes.

The man said that he did not do drugs and when he saw the Danes – the male in particular is in terrible shape, he came back with his horse trailer and paid $100 for the Danes.

As the man was not comfortable with Giant Breed dogs nor did he know how best to assist them, they ended up with us. THANK you again Meg for all of your help! Picking them up and meeting me.

I had them both at the Vet immediately and the male weighs a severely emaciated 50.9 kg(111.98 pound). He will need at least 40 pounds of muscle mass/tone/weight to become healthy.

He is the sweetest boy. Reminds me a lot of BHRR’s Mr. Parker Paws in his handsomeness along with his lack of smarts – who on a side note also came to BHRR severely emaciated. 

He is flat in the pasterns, has lick granuloma’s – one is still bleeding, is very weak – cannot be on his feet or move for any extended period of time, is ‘wonky’ in his hind end – especially the back left, has healing wounds all over – one of the wounds around his eye is a really fresh one(he is very lucky that he did not lose the eye), he has scars all over his body/face, needs a dental, we did a testosterone test as it is believed that he could be bilaterally cyptorchid – Dr. Liston could not feel any testicles even in his inguinal ring.

His Vet found him to be quite nearsighted as we expressed a concern re: his inability to see treats etc. when offered and other than saying that he was nearsighted, the rest of his eye exam was perfectly normal. His Vet said that his own dog is quite near sighted and not a big cause of concern.

His Vet did say that he did not like how much ‘gurgling’ was going on in his gut. 

We also did bloodwork to see how his internal organ function is doing along with a Heartworm/Tickborne disease test. He is now being de-wormed too.

He was very smelly and his coat is full of dander. His ears were extremely full of dark waxy debris.

He has pressure sores and many callouses.

We are also deeply concerned re: what appears to be immense bruising all along one side of his body and into his groin area.

Dr. Liston could not rule out if this was only brutal trauma and not an underlying medical condition too. We are hoping the bloodwork may reveal some answers.

In this picture below, it still does not capture just how emaciated he is….it is hard to show his horrible level of emaciation being a black dog AND to put it in perspective, I can put both of my hands easily around his waist….THAT is not normal and not acceptable.

No dog should be in this condition. 

We are feeding him 8 small meals a day trying to very slowly jump start his gut/stomach.

I will post re: the female tomorrow. I once thought they were siblings, yet I think she may be his mother.

He is about 12-15 months of age.

Donations to their ongoing care can be made direct to Liston Animal Hospital:

613-591-0966

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

His other needs:

1) A martingale collar to call his very own. As onepawtwopaw is on a short break, we are still going to WiggleBumz for our collar needs and they are equally lovely!

2) He needs an XL Costco Dog bed of his very own too.

Thank you to everyone from my heart once more that has contributed to their bills to date.

Their bills to date are just under $1,000 and shall continue to mount and I will post re: the female tomorrow. Sean has named her BHRR’s Sable.

We also wish to thank everyone for their words of support that has been given to us during this difficult time as I tragically lost one of my sisters, Barbara on Friday June 7th. Your kindness means a lot to our hearts/home.

THEIR STORY:

From what we have been told, these two Danes belong to a man who went to jail for drugs. 

The two Danes then went to his father who was also doing drugs.

Another man saw an ad on kijji for chickens and when he went to the property was asked if he had any cocaine in exchange for two Danes/Dogs.

The man explained that he did not do drugs, saw the two Danes, paid $100, got his horse trailer and took the Danes. Kept them in his horse trailer for 24 hours and from there searched for a rescue to take them as he was not comfortable around them and did not know what to do for them. 

Donations to the long rehab care that these two Danes shall require can continue to be sent to: 

Liston Animal Hospital 613-591-0966

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org 

OR via Email Transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

UPDATE: this is NOT that right matched home for Miss Volt. 

They are not yet ready to adopt, even foster to adopt. 

BHRR’s Volt is Available Again for a TEMP FOSTER TO ADOPTION home. SAID approved home MUST be within 2 hours of our location. 

She is a truly outstanding dog, as close to bomb proof as you shall ever see and we remain patient…..

My last post of my night….

Thank you SO much to BHRR’s Burst’s wonderful temp foster Mama in tagging me in this photo!

Her big foster sister is named Phoebe! 

BHRR’s Burst(Lab/Dane) is still Available For Adoption to that right matched forever loving home.

To all of our friends, family plus supporters, please remember to tell your loved ones how much you care about them…..life is fragile…..no one knows what tomorrow shall bring.

This is BHRR’s Sable, another BBBBB!

She is the second of the two Danes from the Drug Situation.

Her body condition is much better than BHRR’s Rion.

Her weight was 46.1kg(101.42 pounds) at LAH.

We suspect that she may be pregnant and per Dr. Liston, if she is, it is really early – less than 21 days.

As always, with our posts re: spaying dogs that are in the early stages of pregnancy……this post is not a discussion as to if it is or is not right to be spaying a dog if they are pregnant.

This Dane has clearly had litters in her past, and she is not that old herself…..~18 months or so.

AND she is not going to be having any more babies if, at all possible. There are so many dogs already in the world that need homes and many dogs are being put to sleep daily as there are not enough homes, that we do not need to be deliberately bringing into this world even more puppies.

We do not feel that Rescue dogs having babies is anything to celebrate and she has been scheduled for a spay.

During her exam, her Vet noted the many scars on her too. 

Like BHRR’s Rion, she will require a dental.

We did pre-op bloodwork as well as tested for heartworm plus tickborne diseases. Everything has come back fine on her.

Dr. Liston felt that she was healthy enough to begin her vaccine protocol also. 

She is also being de-wormed.

As with BHRR’s Rion, she could use a collar and an XL Costco Dog Bed to call her very own.

If anyone may consider her cause to support with a collar of her very own – with onepawtwopaw on a short break, we are purchasing our collars from an equally fabu place – Wigglebumz or an XL Costco dog bed, please let me know.

We continue to fight the good fight with BHRR’s Rion – no conclusive answers to date and his Vet Bills are close to $10,000. 

AND tomorrow, we shall be unpublishing our page for a couple of days for tomorrow is the funeral for my sister Barbara.

AND to those that have been asking re: sending flowers etc., donations to a cause that means a lot to your heart is being asked for in lieu……

From our home to all of our friends, families and supporters, please hug your loved ones as often as you can now…..as tomorrow may never come for some…..

SHORT NOTICE:

I meant to post last night yet my mind was so focused on getting the two Danes, time slipped by…..

ISO: a BHRR Approved Volunteer who is available for 12:45 pm to meet me at Liston Animal Hospital.

Both of the Danes from the drug situation are scheduled to see Dr. Liston for 12:50 pm.

If an Approved BHRR Volunteer is free, please email me ASAP gwen@birchhaven.org or text 613-725-4279

Thanks in advance!

AND thanks to all that have made lifesaving donations to date – will update right after their Vet visits and donations can also now be made directly to Liston Animal Hospital for their care:

613-591-0966

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*yes, a different address from PayPal

Thank you for helping us help them!! Posting the same pic as last night from Meg as I do not have new pics as of yet….

AND we will be on our way shortly!

This is to do the home-visit for BHRR’s Volt’s possible approved temp foster to adopt home!

We shall post an update as we can!

Should this be the home meant for her, I am sure going to miss her yet I also know that my heart WOULD be so over the moon happy for her AND the home! 

Until Dr. Philibert determines that it is ok to spay her – still waiting on that first heat to see if it will help with her vulva conformity issue, then to advise if she also needs a vulvaplasty along with a nip and tuck – she will remain as part of our rehab program. We will also address that tooth extraction – an incisor with any other dental concerns that may be found at that time also when she is spayed.

Dr. Philbert was not concerned in waiting for her dental to be done at the same time as her spay.

By the time that she is successfully rehabbed, she will be easily close to a $30,000 dog and WORTH every nickel and dime!

To all that have met this really special wee Rottie girl, they will attest that she is an exceptional creature. Just exceptional!

**UPDATE:**

Meg now has both Danes from the drug situation and is enroute.

The Male is in the worst shape per Meg.

Here is a pic….and if photos are said to put 20 pounds on, he is in dire straits.  Per Meg ‘this is so bad.’ 

I have Vet appointments made for tomorrow yet, if need be, will take them direct to emergency tonight.

If, anyone may have some change to spare to assist in what will be a very long medical, physical rehabilitation, let alone their emotional healing journey, donations can be made:

PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com
*note, there are two different addresses depending on method of donation*

I promise to update ASAP and thank you to anyone that may consider their cause. 

Drive safe Meg….tell them they are already loved and that I am on my way!

*URGENT*

We have been working around the clock on an urgent situation with another group – 2 Danes from a drug situation. ETA to BHRR is tonight.

A man bought the two Danes for $100 to save them and has been keeping them in a horse trailer. However, this person is not comfortable around giants plus is not in a position to medically/behaviourally assist them. They need out ASAP.

They need urgent medical attention and this is a picture is of one of them – severely emaciated.

We are seeking emerge temp fosters for two of our current fully vetted & successfully rehabbed available for adoption dogs so I can bring these other two direct to me:

1) BHRR’s Sawyer – Saint/Pyr – good with cats/dogs
2) BHRR’s Miss Holly – BoxerX – good with dogs, no small animals

Please email gwen@birchhaven.org if YOU ARE a BHRR Approved Home – any Approved adoptive home is also a BHRR Approved Volunteer!

This is extremely URGENT!

Thanks in advance….

*NOTE: We are not seeking new applications for consideration. We are seeking already approved BHRR Volunteers!*

The BHRR Puppy Pile x 7 of Granite is at his own overnight play date tonight!

You were such a great boy at work today and have a wonderful date night!

You have come SOOOOOOO far and I am bursting with pride for you…..

She really is not impressed with my efforts for photo taking! 

Yet, look at her amazing muscle tone! 

BHRR’s Miss Hollywood is off with Kinsley & I for her annual.

She is not impressed with me trying to get pictures of her! 

She remains AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

AND if anyone may consider donating a new collar for her; please do let me know. She really could use a new super pretty one…..

She is truly quite silly! Her face when I asked her if she could at least try and sit like a lady for only a moment for me to take a pic! 

BHRR’s Silly Tilly – from a hoarding situation – came to work with me today! 

What an amazing passenger and she was so fantastic in the run at work.

Her weight is just over 92 pounds. Therefore, she has now put on almost 10 pounds since she first came under our care. She is nice and lean and looks stunning! 

She had boosters and her heart plus lungs listened to, teeth checked and we looked closely for a spay incision plus her Vet palpated to see if she could feel anything. 

Per what was passed along to us, we had been told she was spayed and if she had been spayed it had to have been a paediatric spay as she is so immature in her vulva area. With her being very young – ~1, there should also be a scar.

We did pre-op bloodwork – thank you to the beautiful lovelies I work with in making it easy! – and we will book surgery to know for sure.

We have done u/s in the past plus exams and x-rays and hormones tests and over the many many many years we have been doing this, surgery is the only way to know without a doubt. 

AND in over 23 years of operating, we have never opened up a dog to then find out that they had already been spayed.

We have had two Danes – BHRR’s Cosette and BHRR’s Giselle alone that we had been told were spayed, we showed proper due diligence with progesterone testing, u/s, x-rays and exams to confirm spay – were informed that results indicated they were spayed AND both proved to not be spayed not all that long afterwards by going into heat. 

We had even had BHRR’s Giselle on the surgery table to be spayed, when the surgeon found a scar and felt definitively that it was a spay scar and we did hormone testing and were given the news she was spayed yet she went into heat the next month. 

AND later, we shall be posting a pic with another enormous thank you to a family that held an early birthday party for their handsome twins and donated the funds raised to BHRR. Those funds have enabled us to pay for all of BHRR’s Tilly’s Vet Bills up to today!  

That is extremely generous, humbling, caring and incredibly touching! 

*NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION*

 

 

Today, we have two BHRR doggies on their own date auction play dates!

The GD/IW Bakers Dozen of BHRR’s Juniper and also one of her brothers – BHRR’s Fletcher.

This is BHRR’s Fletcher when I told him we were going for a car drive! 

He had a good drop-off and the home has had a date with him in the past and knows to just passively ignore him. He always takes about 30-45 minutes to settle in, realise he is going to be ok and then he actually enjoys himself.

He and BHRR’s Everly remain the two most genetically affected in this litter with their anxiety, fear plus shy behaviour, just like their Mama Gem. 

If ever there were the best examples of how much genetics plays a role in temperament plus behaviour, this litter is hands down proof. We use the environment to make their behaviour the best it can be. 

Thank you’s being extended to Sean for helping me to get BHRR’s Juniper to her date while I took BHRR’s Fletcher to his! 

My three blind/deaf mice are growing up!

They are now 7 months of age and not much difference between them and my special needs GD ‘Salt’, who turned 4 in April. 

AND all are never far from where I am…..even dragging blankets around to be near me! They find it hard to drag the XL Costco dog beds around….for now! 

AND yes, Summit is a bit dirty – lots of fun digging with BHRR’s Volt in the dirt! 

From our home to all of our friends, family plus supporters, good night wishes being sent!

BHRR’s Meadow! 
~18 months of age
AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

Getting ‘still’ shots of this now uber happy full of zest for life girl is hard! 

While she still can be a bit shy/uncertain in new surroundings/people, give her a few moments and her desire to want to make friends, be curious and get loved on comes out…..

AND the longer you are around her, her bubbly sweet, kind, gentle, calm, beautiful personality just shines.

She is such a goofy gal…..and loves her walks/hikes and being with her humans!

The way that she will lift her head and look at me, humbles me immensely. It has been a real privilege bearing witness to her coming into her own, developing confidence, learning to love herself and helping her develop into this truly stunning soul!

She can go to a home that works pt, ft, from home, semi-retired, retired etc. Another versatile BHRR dog.

She is wonderful to wash plus do nails!

We do not wish to see her in a home with children under the age of 12. A home with children 10 or 11, that are mature, may be considered for that right matched forever loving home.

Fast flighty movements can initially spook her a bit so calm and steady is the way to go! A million times better that she once was and she will continue to get better and better.

A far cry from the life in a pen that she once was in, this girl is living the life now and we want her to go that right matched forever loving home that is quietly social – not over the top yet has small groups of people over and visits friends/family from time to time. 

We do not want her in a home that are strict home-bodies as that will not continue to show her that the world can be her big amazing oyster full of the best experiences and loving hands.

So, a home that is balanced. Not one that are social butterflies yet not a home that are hermits either. 

She can be the only dog in a home or a home that has a right matched pesonality fit dog is equally wonderful. It is most important for her to have a strong social doggie social friend network. We need friends, so does she!

She is great in the car and crate trained plus 100% housebroken. 

She is amazing and for those that are not aware she is the Mama to my 3 blind/deaf mice, the Dane Trio. 

Sean says that if there was a dog that he would want to keep, it would be her. 

For a girl that had little to no exposure to men prior to coming to BHRR, she is fabu!

Though, my heart remains saddened that the home that has the Dane Trio’s Dad still will not let him go….I am happy that this lovely Miss will no longer be having babies – babies having babies is not right – and can be cherished as she is meant to be for the rest of her life.

AND as always, should her right matched personality fit home not come along, she is living an awesome life with us and that is OK by us!

Miss Meadow, I am incredibly proud of you and all that you have accomplished and you shall be yet another dear BHRR dog that we will sorely miss!

AND for anyone that is interested in her, please do read her extremely detailed blog and our adoption processes, procedures plus policies. 

Should you then believe that you may be that right matched personality fit home meant for her; you would be most welcome to submit an application to the members of the BHRR BOD to consider. 

CONGRATS to you Miss Meadow!

The boss – Sean has spoken – BHRR’s Tilly shall be her name!

*Silly Tilly* 

Got her! 

She will need a name! Name guru’s! 

She is uber sweet and petite – just over 83 pounds (lean) – and such a beautiful temperament. Cannot wait to watch her blossom and see her monkey side really shine! ?

This lovely girl is now safe and out of the horrible hoarding conditions she once lived in.

Going to now make my way home and she will have 3+ acres to romp in shortly! 

Her home shall no longer be an outside pen filled with feces plus mud and a shelter way too small for her being exposed to the elements. 

She will have dogs beds, live inside being cherished, fed plus watered properly and have doggie friends to play with plus have so many loving hands to show her how important, worthy and cared about she is! 

Thank you Samantha, Karen and Jane for working with me again on another rescue. It is a true honour doing this life saving work with you! 

Happy Sunday to all of our friends, family plus supporters!

UPDATE: Miss Volt is moving under a “PENDING” for an approved temp foster to adopt situation.

We shall update as we can!

BHRR’s Volt (7 months old)
AVAILABLE FOR FOSTER TO A FUTURE APPROVED ADOPTION!

As many that follow BHRR’s Volts’ blog are aware, she will not be ready for final approval of an adoption until such time as her specialist, Dr. Philibert advises that her vulva conformity issues have been successfully addressed/resolved.

When she is spayed, her one incisor will be extracted and dental x-rays done to determine the health of her other teeth. If she needs more than the one extraction, it shall also be taken care of by BHRR. 

After much conversation, Sean and I have decided to make a rare exception and place her in a right matched personality fit home for a foster to adopt situation. 

*Said Foster To Adopt Home Must Be Within 2 Hours Of Us*

As many can attest to, she is deeply bonded to me and I work hard to make our dogs the most well balanced plus rounded that they can be. 

She is more than ready for this next step, even if she thinks she is not!

There shall be conditions put in place in her foster to adopt contract to ensure that while we wait for her to have that heat to see how much it may mature her vulva; that she is placed at zero risk of any accidental pregnancy.

BHRR has been operating for over 23 years and we have NEVER had any dogs become pregnant on our watch and we are not about to start! That is not part of r/q Rescue. 

Should that right matched home not find her and she remains with us, like all of our dogs, that is 100% ok with us too!

We are seeking a home that ideally has at least one other right matched personality fit dog for Miss Volt is uber social. 

We will consider homes with children as young as 5 and prior Rottie experience is not required.

If a home already has children, we do not wish to see her placed in a home that has more than 2 children. 

Previous dog experience is ideal yet not required if that right matched home is set up for success.

She can go to a home that works ft, pt, works from home, is semi-retired or retired etc. She is another versatile BHRR dog!

She has proven to be fantastic with cats too!

She will NOT go to a home that seeks to make her fat or obese – yup, one of my biggest pet peeves! She is lean and looks fantastic!

She is a dream to wash, do nails and through extensive rehab, she actually will get into the car on her own and even enjoys the car rides to a point now…..she more tolerates them as a means to get from point A to B to socialise!

She is housebroken and while not 100% proven trustworthy in our home on her own – she has a paper towel fetish! – at just 7 months of age, she is a ROCK star!

She is smart and we would love to see her go to a home that will consider therapy work with her. She has the perfect temperament!

She loves her walks/hikes and to snuggle and cuddle and her one vice is hooking her front legs around yours and almost tripping you!

Or, she has been known to take the bottom of your pant leg as you walk too! Working on it!

OK, she has another vice….she LOVES to dig holes…..big ones, gigantic ones….not quite sure where she is going for she digs them in every direction!

Is she the perfect dog? No…no dog is yet she is as close to bomb proof as any dog can be.

We encourage her to be curious and passively ignore anything that she may show initial uncertainty at….such as the flowers growing at the event we were at last week. 

Being born in October, she did not see many flowers in bloom last year. How people handle things and act is how she is going to react and the second time she saw them, no big deal!

To Miss Volt, as much as she loves people, places and things….she loves home the best! Walks on our trails and snacks by the fireplace/tv are her evening big moment of happiness.

OH, yeah, she still wants to climb in my shower more often than not too! LOL

We recommend anyone that may be interested in BHRR’s Volt, to read her extremely detailed blog and our adoption processes, policies and procedures prior to submitting an application to the BHRR BOD to consider.

BHRR’s Volt is almost a $15,000 dog to date in our efforts to get her physically healthy and if, Dr. Philibert requires her to have a vulvaplasty along with a ‘nip & tuck’ with the dental when she is spayed, she will be much closer to a $25,000+ dog.

To us at BHRR, she is MORE than worth every dime and to all that have met her to date, they can confirm that this girl is a WOW dog….super special, smart, affectionate, deserving and have I mentioned how stunning she is?!

She is a small female Rottie and yes, her tail was incorrectly docked and to us, she is perfect in all of her imperfections. 

BHRR’s Volt, it has been a true honour, privilege and joy having you with us……I shall shed many a tear when it is your time to go yet they will be so worth it!

You are a gift and we know that you will leave an incredible mark on the world!

My final note is a special thanks being shouted out to Alta Vista Animal Hospital…..without you, she would not have even had this opportunity. THANK you for saving her and then entrusting her to BHRR.

 

Gwennie shall kill me for posting yet, this is just one candid picture among several taken over the years that demonstrate just how special this woman is to many!

That includes people as well as animals. Gwennie you are dearly loved, respected and valued.

I know you are hurting right now Gwennie, yet, know that you are amazing, inspirational, generous to a fault, dedicated, selfless, humble, brilliant, full of integrity and a whole hell of a lot more not to mention you remain my hero…. 

Here is the THREAD for all of the wonderful posts and likes/loves for The Gwennie!

We have made the decision to move BHRR’s Clay to our Haven Program.

He has major issues with holding his collar. He will be fine 90% of the time and then when he is not, he will snap. 

There are no known triggers or pattern at this time that we have been able to narrow down as to the ‘why’ in order for us to successfully address this behaviour. He has not demonstrated reliable well rounded nor well balanced behaviour when it comes to gently taking his collar or even after holding his collar for a bit. 

It is in his best interest to be moved to our Haven program where we can continue to assess, monitor and work with modifying this behaviour as we can.  

STAY TUNED!

These two beauties – BHRR’s Meadow & BHRR’s Volt are very excited to share some news!

It has touched my heart immensely with how far these two incredible dogs have come in not just their physical yet their emotional and behavioural rehabilitation.

I have spent over 14 years working on my formal education – and continue to take courses – to help dogs like these and I am beyond proud of them and so many others that we have been incredibly fortunate to have assisted since our inception in 1996.

AND she is on her way!

The GD from the hoarding situation is on transport.

What a sweet big personality filled girl she appears to be! 

DRIVE safe wishes being sent out to everyone involved…..

AND goodnight wishes being sent from our home to all of our friends, family plus supporters!

UPDATE: AND BHRR’s Burst is now tucked into her Approved temp foster home! 

She remains AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION to that right match forever loving home! 

Going to miss this dynamo of a girl! 

AND we are on our way

We are going to see if this home is a right matched temp foster for BHRR’s Burst!

Everything crossed! 

NOTE: we are still seeking an approved BHRR temp foster home for BHRR’s Sawyer also.

Remember, if you are an Approved BHRR adoptive home, you are also an approved temp foster home plus Volunteer. 

UPDATE!

Animal bylaw/control has picked up the ~1 year old female Great Dane from the hoarding situation.

Transport from their facilities to us is now being worked on.

She finally has proper shelter, food/water, love and will be going to the Vet prior to transport for initial assessment plus to begin proactive/preventive treatment.

SHE IS SAFE!

The biggest of thank you’s much be extended from my heart to Karen & Samantha!  This girl is in excellent hands with them!

I hear that she is strong, precious and appears super friendly.

Cannot wait to meet you dear girl!

From our home to all of our friends, family and supporters, the best of good night wishes are being sent!

 

Here is a pic of her ‘shelter’. Way smaller than her. 

AND the colour of her loose diarrhea stool. 🙁

~ 1 year old female GD

Victim of a hoarding situation 

This is her current ‘home’. 

Tonight, will be her last night in these conditions.

Tomorrow, she shall be safe…….

Thank you to Karen & Samantha, her incredible lifesaving rescue angels and thank you to Jane of Just Paws Recue for working with me to help get her to BHRR.

This is what your generosity with donations of dog beds, cleaning supplies, bowls, collars, leashes and especially financial contributions for Vetting enable us to do.

To SAVE dogs like her.

Donations to her care can be made via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via Email Transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

She is going to need some serious TLC

I could not wish for a more fitting Mothers Day gift….to be able to help another in urgent need of BHRR.

**NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION**

We are at Pet Valu Hazeldean – 457 Hazeldean Road – to 4 pm!

Miss Volt is also here with us!

AND we are on our way!

We are off to Pet Valu Hazeldean – 457 Hazeldean Road – for our second community education & public awareness event of 2019!

AND Miss Volt shall be in appearance from 10-4 pm

This is how she likes to hang in my car when I first load her up! 

Then, we have the ‘conversation’ about her needing to be safely tethered when we drive and that she cannot be on my back dashboard! 

It is part of our travel routine and after much sighing, she comes down and then is safely secured for driving….

What a hoot she is! 

What a gorgeous day it shall be today too! The sun, which has been rare of late is out in full force.

We are doing nails, ear cleanings, we shall have some merchandise/baking for sale and we will also have our pup Sponsor Board.

BHRR’s Sleet – One of our Dane Trio (3 blind/deaf mice) 
QUEEN of the castle!

Best seat in the house! 

They are now 6.5 months of age. In a few more months we shall be back at the Vet to determine if they shall need those extractions – we need all of their adult teeth to come in first.

From our home to all of our friends, families plus supporters, the warmest of good night wishes are being sent…..

May 1st, 2019
ALL I wanted was to do a weekly clean/purge of the fridge prior to making dinner….brought the garbage can in and thought that I could throw a load of laundry in before I started….

Had the kitchen free and clear and came back to this….Salt even grabbed a blanket and dragged it in to lay on! 

Had a few (8) supervisors overseeing my work!

Talk about ‘laying down on the job’ though! 

From our home to all of our friends, family plus supporters warmest good night wishes being sent!

The Dane Trio(My 3 blind/deaf mice)
March 24th, 2019

BHRR’s Glacier & BHRR’s Sleet are smelling something wonderful – no idea what!? – and Summit is loving the ice/snow! 

They are looking fabu in their Wiggle Bumz Collars!

Thanks SO much Ellie & Jennifer!

Miss Flower UPDATE: 

Unfortunately, I must sincerely apologise that quite a few of our supporters are already aware before BHRR had the proper opportunity to post that Miss Flower was euthanised today.

Sadly, I was at work today when she was taken to the Vet by Poet’s Vision due to rapidly declining health – stopped eating, drinking and walking – and I was not in a position to post an update on our page. 

We believe in full disclosure and our intent was to make a post ASAP. I remain so sorry that our post on our page is coming at this time. 

I truly cannot express to all of our friends, family plus supporters what it has meant to our hearts to have had you rally so strongly around this 7 week old Maremma baby in our efforts to give her the best chance possible. 

We never even made it to the MRI stage. 

An already horrible day has just been that much more devastating with this wee pups loss. 

To the kind angel that donated funds for an XL Costco dog bed, you have now been refunded.

To the other kind angel that donated yesterday, your monies have also now been refunded.

All other generous loving donations that came directly to BHRR for Miss Flower were used towards her Vet Bills including for a fecal, food, de-worming etc. and please do know how incredibly appreciative we remain for your kindness. 

Once, we obtain the credit for the food return – wet & dry, should anyone wish to have their beautiful donation returned, please do not hesitate to let me know – gwen@birchhaven.org

Please do join me in lighting a candle for a sweet soul whose life was over far too soon….

What a really brutally terrible day it has been……

BHRR’s Miss Meadow
Rescued Mama to my rescued three blind/deaf mice
April 24th, 2019 – on our way back into KAH today

**GRAPHIC PHOTO’S IN THREAD**
IF YOU ARE BOTHERED BY BLOOD, DO NOT SCROLL DOWN*

As I was shopping for the family groceries yesterday afternoon, Sean called me to say that Meadow was suddenly actively bleeding from her privates.

Per Sean, there were not any signs of trauma and if, Sean says a dog is actively bleeding, I am going to move fast.

I immediately abandoned my cart of groceries and asked Sean to pack her up and meet me in Kemptville.

I called KAH and an appointment was made. I passed along what I knew to date from Sean.

Sean met me in Kemptville, we loaded her up into my car and on my way to KAH, I called them and updated re: her status.

Mentioned that she was passing massive blood clots and that I was taking her in through the side door as she was covered in blood.

Arrived to KAH and I shall be forever grateful to Dr. Ashdown, Cailey and to my *blood* partner Nadine who spent ages helping me to clean up after Miss Meadow…..the blood was everywhere and I mean everywhere..splattered and splashed and pooled and smudged.

Miss Meadow was throwing clots 5-7 cms in diameter and the amount of frank blood that was coming from her vulva was alarming.

Miss Meadow had not had any trauma, she was not exposed to any rodenticide on our property – neighbours do use yet her exposure to it was remote, we do not have her exposed to any intact males and she had been spayed elsewhere 13 days prior. Her spay incision was also nicely healed by this time.

She was having acute m3 vulval hemorrhage and every few minutes passing these huge blood clots.

No evidence of free abdominal fluid/hemorrhage seen on a brief ultrasound, PCV normal, bloodwork normal, elevated HR/BP – understandable.

She was placed on IVF and much discussion was had as to whether she should be transferred immediately to emerge – may need an exploratory.

Over the next couple of hours the bleeding slowed down once we got her into a run and quiet and the fairly probable cause of her hemorrhaging was narrowed down to a complication from her spay done elsewhere 13 days prior.

Possible erosion of uterine stump vessels or uterine stump ligature issue – so, complication from recent spay most likely the cause.

She ended up coming home on IV fluids as by the time 8:20 PM rolled around, the bleeding had pretty much completely subsided and though she had a clot protruding from her vulva, she was not passing any more clots.

The plan was that if she began to actively bleed again, we were heading straight to emergency.

She had a good night on fluids, drank, ate some small amounts of food & we were back first thing this AM.Temperature remained normal.

If there was limited improvement an emergency exploratory would have been done today at KAH or even at the Emerge Hospital.

PCV was repeated this AM and was normal and her personality while not quite back to normal, was getting back there…..

We wanted to keep her on IV fluids today at KAH yet she had other ideas…she pulled it right out from underneathe her bandages!

I am SOOOOOOOO grateful to her Vet Team at KAH for being there for her and I. So, a very special shout out to Dr. Ashdown, Cailey and Nadine. I could not have had her in better hands and as always you were amazing to work with!

AND she remains being closely monitored and should anything deteriorate, we will be into the Hospital or Emerge in a blink of an eye…..

What is so miraculous about this is that we were informed that these kinds of complications rarely resolve without surgical intervention and so we are all staying positive that she will not have to have surgery…..she is doing amazingly well. 

I also much thank the anonymous donor who took a HUGE financial pressure strain off of me by making an incredibly generous and loving donation….you are truly a life saver.

While I have so much to do – lost last night, was up all night with Miss Meadow, worked an extremely long day, had to get those groceries to feed the family and the list goes on and on….tonight, I am calling it quits early, going to snuggle this beautiful gem of a dog that has come so far in her time with us and going to hold close to my chest that an angel was watching over her….

From my home to all of our friends, family and supporters, good night wishes being sent…..

As Nadine and I began to clean up one area & an example of the blood clots she was passing.

Miss Flower! UPDATE:

Held lovingly in my arms at Alta Vista Emerge.

She had her consult with the neurologist yesterday and Dr. Jull feels she has either hydrocephalus and/or a cyst located in or near the cerebella that is causing pressure on the brain stem.

There is a possible condition that can cause increased pressure and a random pain response they are wondering if that is why there is so much vocalisation. At this time, I do not have the name of that condition. I was not able to be at the consult yesterday and I am very thankful to Tanya for being able to take her and then coming to see me at KAH afterwards!

Her weight was 7.1 kgs at KAH. She has not yet gained since she came into rescue and we are hoping that this shall come shortly. For she is quite skinny.

At the moment they do not feel there is a malformation of the brain stem itself.

Doing a MRI is the next step for Miss Flower.

Depending on what they see – potentially having a stint placed or medical management.

They also found what they believe is none related pain at the thoracic and lumbar spine, at the moment it’s nothing concerning but they needed to mention it.

Attached in the thread is a copy of the estimate provided….there is also a cerebral spinal fluid tap on the estimate.

We did run a fecal, she is being de-wormed and her special food should be arriving today.

I am in touch with Wigglebumz to have a custom balance harness made for her. With her blindness, neuro issues and severe hearing impairment, this is most safe for her.

I am sending to Tanya who is going to temp foster her moving forward – thank you again to Randy/Emily FOR all you have done as her temp fosters!, a Giant stuffie donated to us by the truly lovely Martina.

I am also stealing one of my XL Costco dog beds from one of the dogs here for her yet, if anyone may consider donating one for her, we would be so so so appreciative. Do let me know!

We also picked up another week of meds for her from the neurologist- Keppra, Omeprazole and Trazodone. We will order those moving forward from KAH.

Tanya from Poet’s Vision is hosting a flash auction so please do consider looking over the beautiful items! Link below.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/poetsvision/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2310935585639815

If anyone may consider this 7 week old Maremma’s cause, donations can be made direct to Kanata Animal Hospital 613-836-2848

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via email transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

On behalf of Tanya, Miss Flower and myself, a million thanks many times over for the love plus support that has been given to date! 

This puppy needs her Army to give her everything that she needs…..we remain deeply humbled for any consideration given.

BHRR’s Juneau UPDATE

Having a wonderful roll….the simplest of things give him so much pleasure. 

We had an ECHO, X-rays & an u/s done – he got a big thumbs up as being a reactive dog, it was not easy on him yet I am so proud of him.

Trazodone has been a big aid in assisting in bringing down his anxiety and stress levels.

For we needed to do these diagnostics and ASAP. Confirmation is that yes, he does have a Grade 3 HM & a mass/tumour in his intestines.

Information shared with us……

German Shepherds are one of two breeds – Collies are the other that are most represented for intestinal tumours. Males also being most represented in respect to intestinal tumours.

Bloodwork indicates an abnormally low level of protein plus elevated liver enzymes. A calcium test showed elevated levels.

Xrays show that his lungs are clear at this time yet his liver and spleen are enlarged.

We are waiting on the interpretation report yet possible lymphoma has been discussed.

Still so surprised and saddened that we were not provided with the paperwork/information of the HM and the mass prior to his arrival. We received a hardcopy of these medical findings when we met the transport to pick him up.

While it makes nor would have made a difference re: our commitment to him, it would have helped us be better prepared for his arrival to ensure that whatever he needed was done even more promptly.

His skin issues and allergies are the least of his problems….

Treating each day as a gift with him! 

Thank you to every generous plus caring angel that has made a donation to date for his mounting Vet Bills.

Donations can be made direct to Kanata Animal Hospital 613-836-2848

OR via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via Email Transfer to contactbhrr@gmail.com

Oh behalf of BHRR’s Juneau sending good night wishes to all of our friends, family plus supporters….

Easter dinner is best when it is pulled off the stand and then shared with family! ??

Two of my three blind/deaf mice! They turned 6 months old today too!