Birch Haven Rescue & Rehabilitation Services

Gwen — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 13:04:48 +0000

BHRR’s Apollo has been attending Canine Water Wellness in the east end of Ottawa as part of our team of ‘ASKING FOR APOLLO’ Angels to help him get mentally retrained on using that left leg. We have done 9 sessions to date and plan at least another 11 sessions and donations to date for his CWW Water Sessions are: $315.00
Regular Pricing For 10 HydroTherapy Sessions at CWW is: $599.99+tx

BHRR will do as many sessions as required to help us in ensuring that we do not have to amputate that leg and we might have to do as many as 20 or more for the momentum derived from attending these sessions has greatly assisted Apollo’s ‘AT BHRR’ rehabilitation program with the obstacle work, Hydro work, sand and hill work in addition to his massage plus chiropractic treatments we are doing here with/for him. Please consider assisting! PayPal(account gwen@birchhaven.org) or email transfer to gwen@birchhaven.org or a check to’Birch Haven Rescue & Rehabilitation Services’ and mail to:

Birch Haven Rescue & Rehabilitation Services
C/O Gwendilin Boers
2425 Totem Ranch Road West
RR#1 Oxford Station, Ontario
K0G 1T0
CANADA

**We only have 23 more days of FOOD remaining for the BHRR animals.For your convenience, you can also donate via PayPal - toggle ‘gift’ option or email transfer to gwen@birchhaven.orgThe food that we like to feed at BHRR includes the following: Canidae; Fromm, Natural Balance, Solid Gold and Wellness.

Diane, Ottawa, ON, CDA

Gwen — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 04:19:40 +0000

Hello Gwen,

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly and for your kind invitation which I will so gladly accept.I look forward to seeing you and to actually meet your Danes that I have read about on your site - from the mischievous “Diva” Shiva to the quiet Storm - you write so well that I feel as though I already know them.

Thank you again for your time.

Kindest regards,
Diane

Gwen — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 02:00:08 +0000

BHRR is entering its 3rd food crisis of 2010. We only have about 23 days worth of dog food left and we currently have 20 dogs under our authority between our BHRR Rescue/Rehabilitation Program, BHRR Adoption Program, BHRR Haven Dog Program & BHRR Foster/Perma-Foster Program. Please consider donating to assist…. PayPal(gwen@birchhaven.org) or email transfer or check to ‘Birch Haven Rescue & Rehabilitation Services’ and mail to:

Birch Haven Rescue & Rehabilitation Services
C/O Gwendilin Boers
2425 Totem Ranch Road West
RR#1 Oxford Station, Ontario
K0G 1T0
CANADA

September 4th, 2010 - $185.12 Donated to Date & 552 pounds of dog food

Diane, Ottawa, ON, CDA

Gwen — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 04:18:15 +0000

Good Evening Gwen,

I was wondering if you have any plans on having another open house in the next little while? If yes, I would be very interested in stopping by and meeting with you and your beautiful ‘brood’.

I would also like to say that the work and the effort and the love you put into these sweet and gentle dogs is almost overwhelming to read. Any dog that is unfortunate enough to find him or herself without a home, would be so fortunate to find their way to yours…..

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kindest regards,
Diane

Gwen — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:20:23 +0000

The Gwennie! Comment of the Day:

One does not ‘ADOPT’ from a Breeder, one BUYS/PURCHASES and one ‘ADOPTS’ from a Rescue
-Please do ensure that you are doing your research so that you are supporting ONLY reputable/quality rescue organizations/Breeders. There is no excuse for ‘ignorance’ in this day and age of such amazing technology to knowingly be aware of what ‘right’ over ‘wrong’ is and then to still go out there and purchase or adopt from a disreputable place.

For more information on researching and ‘red’ flags; please visit my Marmaduke Effect Blog.

Gwen — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 05:10:43 +0000

Since a person emailed and called me to say that she was not sure who was and was not available for adoption, I have decided to have a blog that will be updated regularly on who is available for adoption and the ‘quick’ status of the others in our program not yet available to be adopted. I do not desire to move all dogs not yet available for adoption to our ‘Haven Program’ section as those are BHRR Haven dogs that will not be placed up for adoption. Hopefully this blog shall help. All of our available dogs can also be found on our PetFinder website.

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 invited to visit any BHRR animal to best determine if 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 brought to the locale of the animal in question for at least one meeting to take place. BHRR only places per best 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 Gwen’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 Shiva - AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION SINCE September 9th, 2008

BHRR’s Dana - AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION SINCE May 21st, 2009

BHRR’s Koop - AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION SINCE April 12th, 2010

BHRR’s Storm - AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION SINCE April 19th, 2010

BHRR’s Lily Belle - AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION SINCE June 29th, 2010

BHRR’s Ava Marie - NOT YET AVAILABLE - NEEDS 2 Heal from 2nd of 2 Cruciate Surgeries - Ava’s Action Assistance Fundraiser
*PLEASE consider helping!

BHRR’s Apollo - NOT YET AVAILABLE - NEEDS to heal from meniscus/PCL surgery - July 2nd, 2010 - ‘ASKING FOR APOLLO’ Cause
*PLEASE consider helping!

Gwen — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 06:14:39 +0000

I have decided to add this running blog based upon the numerous emails, letters, stopped on the street discussions and phone calls I receive re: everything from nutrition, exercise, vetting and training of Giant Breeds to owning more than one, or littermates, how to find a reputable/quality Breeder or Rescue and the list goes on and on. I also wish to utilize this blog for my ‘comment thoughts’ of the day and/or other ‘impact’ situations that arise such as ‘deaf’ or ’senior’ or other ’special needs’ experiences re: BHRR and the animals under our care or even my own. Feedback and comments from the public are more than welcome and please do advise if I am able to post them on the associated blog post. Hoping that this blog will provide some really good indepth further community awareness / education plus to just share a common love of Giants AND/OR the Special Needs with others and to impart the knowledge, experience and professional plus personal views of myself who posseses almost 25 years in ‘these trenches’ of rescue, training, medical and behavoural rescue plus rehabilitation of the Giants/Equines with the focus on the Special Needs.

To learn more about myself, please visit my Biography Page.

The Gwennie! Comment of the Day:

‘No animal is perfect….we can only make them as perfect as they can be’
-Remember behavour cannot be changed, only modified to make it the best behavour possible!

Gwen — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:34:21 +0000

With the wonderful support of two wonderful Volunteers, I am able to get in 2 extra sessions at CWW this week for BHRR’s Apollo! THANK YOU! We have had $315.00 donated to date to assist us at BHRR in paying for his sessions at Canine Water Wellness and we are planning at least 2 more at this time. BHRR will do as many sessions as required to help us in ensuring that we do not have to amputate that leg and we might have to do as many as 20 or more for the momentum derived from attending these sessions has greatly assisted Apollo’s ‘AT BHRR’ rehabilitation program with the obstacle work, Hydro work, sand and hill work in addition to his massage plus chiropractic treatments we are doing here with/for him.
Regular Pricing For 10 HydroTherapy Sessions at CWW is: $599.99+tx

Please consider assisting! PayPal(account gwen@birchhaven.org) or email transfer to gwen@birchhaven.org or a check to ‘Birch Haven Rescue & Rehabilitation Services’ and mail to:

Birch Haven Rescue & Rehabilitation Services
C/O Gwendilin Boers
2425 Totem Ranch Road West
RR#1 Oxford Station, Ontario
K0G 1T0
CANADA

I have also added photos #18 - #25 to his slideshow and am putting two of them below. These are from August 21st, 2010 after one of his extra CWW sessions and he was back hanging out with myself and my fellow staff members. He also got to play with one of the Vets Doberman and one of the most amazing cats I have ever met, Romeo!

August 21st, 2010 - Romeo the Cat & BHRR’s Apollo

I am also looking for BHRR Approved Volunteers to assist me with taking BHRR’s Apollo to an extra session during the following date/times:

Tuesday September 7th - Anytime between 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Gwen — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 02:30:36 +0000

I brought BHRR’s Ava Marie in to work with me today at KAH. Around 1:30 AM - 2:00 AM today; I noticed that her ‘good’ leg - the right one that had the ACL repair surgery back on May 21st, 2010 have a large odd shaped lump. I felt it and it looked almost like a really bad blown vein yet I knew that was not it and thought at one point it could have been an allergic reaction to something like a spider bite yet that did not seem right either and checked her temperature and it was normal and she was acting herself. I made an appointment first thing today for her and by the time we got to KAH; the large odd shaped lump was no longer ’squishy’ yet very hard to the touch. That indicated to me that it is most likely fluid of some sort and the Vet confirmed this by doing an aspirate. It was synovial fluid and looked clear and did not appear to be infected yet the Vet had it spun down and looked more closely at it. The diagnosis is that by all the compensation that BHRR’s Ava Marie has had to do on this leg due to recovering from her leg leg ACL repair surgery(and we took the sutures out today while we were there…what a great girl!); that she developed a small tear and it was leaking. The Vet was not concerned that this would indicate any impact on her ACL and we discussed that most likely that Ava Marie will need to have this drained again in the future and possibly more than once. This is the leg that Dr. Liston drained a seroma from when I brought her in for a recheck and to remove her staples. The odd thing was as per the blog post that I made that the seroma was below the knee and it occured many days after her surgery. I am soooooooooooo relieved that we are not looking at anything more serious and the Vet felt so bad for Ava Marie with her very swollen knees with the arthritis. The Vet also could not believe that Ava Marie was 2 years old as she is so calm, well mannered and quiet. NOR with how amazing she was with all that poking, prodding that had to be done on her knees. I cannot stress enough about how incredible this Dane is!!!! Every time I took Ava Marie outside or when another person did, she just wanted to get into my truck to come home…..she just has been at the Vets far too many times and she just wanted to come home. WELL, we are home now and she is resting comfortably in the triage area and I will take her to LAH when Dr. Liston is back from holidays for a final ’sign off’ on that leg and we will monitor her closely in case she needs more drainage. At this time, she will not be going up for adoption when we first anticipated she would as we want her as healthy as possible. Her weight today was 70.3 KGS(154.66 pounds) and she looked PERFECT for her size/age at this time. She is going to do some more filling out over the next year but she is right where I want her to be for the moment and gosh, she is stunning!

Gwen — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 03:51:29 +0000

I have added a new picture to BHRR’s Koop’s slideshow #22 and it was taken on August 23rd, 2010. I measured him tonight and he was 34″ at the whithers. I need to get an updated weight on him! He is tall, lanky, lean and so muscled. AND his skin feels so silky smooth to the touch. In just a few days, he shall be turning 1 and so many find it hard to believe that he is still at BHRR. There was just a recent discussion about this on my FB wall and there has been many a comment in regards to what has come BHRR’s way in inquiries about Koop over this very topic. We receive quite a few inquires on BHRR’s Koop and often they follow these lines ‘I would be so interested in Koop if it were not for his eyes’. AND then when I respond back asking for them to elaborate; I am told that it is the ’spacing’ between his eyes that makes them ‘freaked out’ and ’scared.’ I am like “HALLO?” ‘HUH”? ‘What about his lovely eyes?’ Well, that just means that BHRR’s Koop is not meant for them and in fact, it means that NO BHRR animal is meant for them and we will not even entertain the idea of accepting an application once that has been brought to our attention. Just when one thinks they have ‘heard’ it all and I have been in these trenches almost 25 years now….OMG! Well, BHRR’s Koop, we love your eyes and your eye spacing is just fine and we remain patient of that right matched forever loving home to see you for WHO you are and when that day comes; we will be so joyous for you! His closest friends are my Bluez Boyz…the three muskateers of mishief makers! LOL He is soooooooooooo affectionate now and no longer that half wild creature that came to BHRR.

BHRR’s Koop and his WONDERFUL Eyes/Eye Spacing - August 23, 2010