I just wanted to send the news that just past 10 am today, this amazing dog crossed over. That is all that I can choke out right now as my heart is just shattering into a million pieces…..

Below are two photo’s from our last walk together…

4 months and one day is all I had with him….

Not enough time….just not fair….

Thank you everyone for what you did to ensure he went to rescue…..I wish I could have saved him…. 🙁

Poor dog did not deserve to have two blown cruciates, severe bilateral HD, a fractured Right hip and bilateral elbow dysplasia….

I just cannot place into words my sorrow much more at this time…..my heart and soul is just so heavy. 🙁 I had just purchased 180 more capsules of Gabapentin for him as I was trying to stay so positive that we could give him more quality time. 🙁

The Vet commented on how nice he smelled and how great his coat now looked over when she first saw him upon arrival to BHRR….just heartbroken.

He was incredible.

The $67.18 that had been donated to date that had not yet been used for BHRR’s Breen will go towards BHRR’s Bloom’s Vet Bills

BHRR’s Breen’s Beautiful Angels: Donated to Date: $3,274.70 & Bills To Date: $3,207.52
Nairn
Anna & The Auction items in the 12 Days of Thanksgiving Around the World From A to Z
Sue Breen
France
Gloria
Barry
Alice
Louis
Clo – PayPal took $0.88 in fees
Dawn – PayPal took $3.20 in fees
Andrea – PayPal took $0.59 in fees
‘GIVE IT UP’ Annual Fundraiser
Marilyn

**IF I am forgetting any ANGELS, it is completely unintentional and please EMAIL me**

BreenFebruary72014Breen2February72014
BHRR’s Breen – February 8th, 2014

*WE ARE STILL IN A FOOD CRISIS!!! WE ONLY HAVE 5 DAYS LEFT 🙁 🙁
OUR FIRST OF 2014* FOOD = LIFE for the animals of BHRR!
PLEASE consider our cause and donate a bag or funds for food! We thank you from our hearts for any consideration!
PLEASE EMAIL IF YOU CAN HELP US with our dog food fund/needs!

I wish I had better news for our dear BHRR’s Breen (named after a very special woman held so close to our heart and lives!)

Sadly, there is nothing that can be done for him. 🙁 He has bilateral HD(one Vet compared it to looking at ‘smashed femoral heads), a fractured right hip, bilateral blown cruciates and bilateral elbow dysplasia. 🙁 We have exhausted all efforts via three ortho specialists to try and see if we could give him any significant improvement to his quality of life. 🙁 🙁 With all of his medical conditions, he is a poor candidate for even CWW(Canine Water Wellness).

He gets acupuncture and massage and chiro treatments though. 🙂

AND, we are also managing his comfort with Ganapentin 400 mg’s BID and he is feeling really great on that along with Deramaxx 100 mg SID.

I wish he would eat more and he is such a delightful man. We are letting him run and play and be happy and enjoy life to the fullest. The boy that was in and out of a shelter as part of a cruelty/hoarding case for a year and had been returned three times, along with his siblings to his previous O., shall forever more ONLY have the best life has to offer.

He has been with us since October 7th – the last one sprung from the shelter – and, while, I know that we are on very borrowed time, I am glad that he has this very special time…………thank you again to the two groups that did not give up on him and advocated so passionately for his rescue and we remain so blessed to have been contacted to bring him into BHRR.

Kanata Animal Hospital (613) 836-2848 and they will take Visa, M/C and AMEX over the phone under the account of ‘Birch Haven Rescue’ for ‘Breen’. They will take Debit or Cash in person at 440 Hazeldean Road in Kanata, Ontario

You can also mail donations via a Bank Draft to:

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

OR email transfer to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via PayPal(please use the ‘gift’ or ‘friends & family’ option)

YOU CAN ALSO MAKE BI-WEEKLY AUTOMATIC DONATIONS OR EVEN MONTHLY DONATIONS HERE
(You do not need a PayPal account either)

BHRR’s Breen’s Beautiful Angels: Donated to Date: $3,224.70 & Bills To Date: $2,796.14
Nairn
Anna & The Auction items in the 12 Days of Thanksgiving Around the World From A to Z
Sue Breen
France
Gloria
Barry
Alice
Louis
Clo – PayPal took $0.88 in fees
Dawn – PayPal took $3.20 in fees
Andrea – PayPal took $0.59 in fees
‘GIVE IT UP’ Annual Fundraiser

**IF I am forgetting any ANGELS, it is completely unintentional and please EMAIL me**

Thank you from my soul and beyond for any possible consideration to his care……even a $1 donation is super!! :)

01 02
BHRR’s Breen – Fall 2013

UPDATE:

LESS than 6 hours to get your chance to bid/win on our first ever ‘Breaking Bills Bake’ Online Auction!
All items will be baked fresh! ENDS tonight(Thursday January 23rd @ 9 PM EST)

We have 32 amazing items up for grabs and this, shall be a yearly Fundraiser for BHRR moving forward!

BAKE SALE ONLINE Auction to assist with BHRR’s Angel Noelle’s(the beaten/abused puppy that was also picked up and thrown and had her one leg/elbow broken and was never treated that required a leg amputation) Vet Bills has begun!
Please consider participating and crossposting. THANK YOU!

She also has a YouCaring Fundraiser page!
http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/-caring-an-arm-a-leg-for-christmas-puppy/124645

BHRR’s Angel Noelle’s ‘BREAKING BILLS BAKE’ Online Auction Fundraiser
*Items do not need to be baked until the Online Auction is over. 🙂
ONLINE AUCTION: STARTS January 18th, 2014(7 AM EST) & ENDS January 23rd, 2014(9 PM EST) – We have 32 items to date!

Thank you to EACH person who has stepped up to help us with sharing this request for donations for this fundraiser, offering to make an item, sending those very precious notes of support and kindness AND, in believing in this very special ‘angel’! As always, thank you! Thank you! THANK YOU! What a brutal start to 2014, we have had at BHRR. 🙁 With being in a food crisis, BHRR’s Angel Noelle’s amputation and, BHRR’s Blooms’ gas bloat. 🙁

All monies raised in this Online Auction shall go towards paying for BHRR’s Angel Noelle’s Bills.

This sweet Rottiex puppy used to live in a crackhouse. She lived a life of constant abuse and, at 12 weeks of age, she was abused, picked up and thrown. Her leg/elbow was broken and left untreated for another 12 weeks. She received no medical treatment during this time as my leg worked to try and heal on its own. I was terrifed and in extreme pain.

On Christmas Eve, an ‘angel’ contacted Gwen and, asked if Birch Haven Rescue & Rehabiltition(BHRR) could assist. BHRR immediately stepped up and another ‘angel’ came to her rescue and took her from this very bad place as ‘because I whimpered in pain’, the Owners wanted me gone ASAP and would have killed me if I had stayed with them.

On Monday January 13th, 2014, her leg was amputated and her bills will be close to $5,000 once all of her rehab is finished. She still has to have post-off follow-ups/exams, vaccines, physiotherapy etc.

 

 

Here is a copy of a post that I made on our Birch Haven Facebook Page. For those that are inquiring as to ‘where’ the page went.

As we have many followers that are not on facebook, this is a post that can be ignored. 🙂 For those that do follow us on facebook and, missed this post, here is a copy….

This is the final post as part of the ‘end of year statement’ for the BHRR BOD….that absolute privilege has fallen upon my typing fingers…

So much to say, a Gwennie Novel that would be a Gwennie chapter to truly capture it all!!

It has been an incredible year for BHRR, 13 WOW adoptions, so many faces put to names of lovely folks near and far, friendships plus relationships that have strengthened further and increased those links on that BHRR CHAIN OF SUCCESS, new kind and beautiful faces that have chosen our cause to support and believe in, the miracles of so many that were considered by several to be ‘lost causes’, r/q rescues working side by side making an much bigger positive difference to animals out there in need, the laughs, the smiles, the fun(Yes, r/q rescue can be fun!), the public education and community education events, play dates and play visits, the fundraisers(the crossposting!) the walks/hikes, the animals plus people that have touched us to the core and made our hearts just burst in warmth and happiness, the donations of lifesaving food and, other material items, the financial hand to help pay for much needed bills and more dog food, the driving and the more driving and the more driving, and yes, the hugs!
We thank each you that has been there and we look forward to what we hope promises to be an even better year for all ahead. We are NOTHING without you…..AND, to my BHRR BOD, thank you!

It has been such a hard year in others ways, and we take those important life lessons learned and will work that much more diligently in making better decisions/choices in 2014 and onward….we are focused in letting go of the things that we cannot change and that are unhealthy in the name of r/q rescuing.
We endeavour to practise what we preach, research, stay updated and keep walking the talk!
We have cried and still do cry over those that shall no longer be with us – human and animal and, candles are lit in the most honourable plus respectful silence of those that we can no longer physically touch and talk to and embrace……We miss you and, we are better in the having been touched by you…..

We thank all those that have assisted us in not changing BHRR yet, in continuing to help make it a better version of itself! I stand up and applaud each of you and then, I kneel down in the most humblest of thanks in turn, for I appreciate each and every gesture from a dollar to an encouraging word to helping to do nails or helping me to keep making dogs more well balanced and set-up for success! You may not think you have done much, yet, you have…especially on those dark trench days….

2014 MARKS year #18 for our small r/q Rescue and, that moves me into an announcement that I have been slowly sharing with people over the past few months….

The BHRR BOD has been discussing this for close to a 1 year now….

As of 11:59 PM on Wednesday January 1st, 2014; we shall be unpublishing our page….and, deactivating the BHRR BOD account.

This was not an easy step to take by any means for we understand how key networking and social media is….this page has brought us soooooooooooo much goodness and kindness and, we go into this knowing that we shall find ourselves most likely struggling even more financially and with food needs than we ever have had to date…..13 dogs were adopted in 2013, 17 in 2012 and this page is to be credited with these success stories…..

We are a small group and like many groups, we are Volunteers and lead busy lives outside of r/q rescue and, in frequent discussions with members of the BHRR BOD, the bandwidth is just not there right now for me to keep up the pace of this page plus what so many have originally been attracted plus loved about BHRR, the detailed blogs…that is very much a ‘signature’ BHRR arena and, it has had to take a backseat more often than I would have liked in 2013.

2014, is also year of much excitement(and some stress!) in my own professional and personal life – I will be defending in 2014 in re: to my PhD that I have worked pt on for too many years now…, I am furthering my training to do more work internationally with strays, street dogs and spay/neuter clinics and teaching and being mentored….I have been invited to Costa Rica and Nicaragua and, I will also begin to shadow at other Hospitals to increase my own skill set and education with qualifications plus experience. AND, I also look forward to my time at the ES when I can get there. As a result, I shall also be deleting/deactivating my personal account. Barry, Catalina and Mary will remain our eyes and ears out there in fb land.

My priority has always been to the animals under our authority and being hands on and keeping our success rates unparalled out there….that, shall not change.

It is my sincerest of wishes that by this time next year, we can publish this page again….it has become such a staple to my day and, I look forward to coming back to post of daily tips and questions and quotes and all things BHRR plus beyond to help other groups also network their own events/animals and throw our support into their corner!

I have sincerely enjoyed sharing the ups and the downs as part of our commitment to full disclosure and that, we are only perfect in our imperfections as humans….

So, it is will deepest regret that this shall be my last post on this page for some time……..

The BHRR BOD is still trying to figure out how best put forth our requests for assistance and right now, we shall go back to using the website for postings…so, please do visit uswww.birchhaven.org for YOU are the real hearts and souls of BHRR, along with the animals…..

May love, happiness and health find their way and stay with you and yours in 2014….that is my wish for you!

Raising my glass to all of you in a toast of my heart to you!

The 2nd ANNUAL “GIVE IT UP FOR AUTUMN’ Fundraiser raised $1,300.70 for BHRR’s Breen! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

His next specialist appointment is on Monday December 16th, 2013 with DP and Dr. Parker.

For those wishing to making donations to his care:

Kanata Animal Hospital (613) 836-2848 and they will take Visa, M/C and AMEX over the phone under the account of ‘Birch Haven Rescue’ for ‘Breen’. They will take Debit or Cash in person at 440 Hazeldean Road in Kanata, Ontario

You can also mail donations via a Bank Draft to:

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

OR email transfer to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via PayPal(please use the ‘gift’ option)

YOU CAN ALSO MAKE BI-WEEKLY AUTOMATIC DONATIONS OR EVEN MONTHLY DONATIONS HERE
(You do not need a PayPal account either)

BHRR’s Breen’s Beautiful Angels: Donated to Date: $3,224.70 & Bills To Date: $2,198.10
Nairn
Anna & The Auction items in the 12 Days of Thanksgiving Around the World From A to Z
Sue Breen
France
Gloria
Barry
Alice
Louis
Clo – PayPal took $0.88 in fees
Dawn – PayPal took $3.20 in fees
Andrea – PayPal took $0.59 in fees
‘GIVE IT UP’ Annual Fundraiser

**IF I am forgetting any ANGELS, it is completely unintentional and please EMAIL me**

Thank you from my soul and beyond for any possible consideration to his care……even a $1 donation is super!! :)

FROM myself, words truly do fail me with how beautiful these cards are plus the stamps AND Anna’s heart…..Thank you! THANK YOU!

From Anna G-h:

“We are delighted to announce that we have note-cards and matching stamps (domestic permanent) available with all funds donated to Birch Haven to assist in vetting and food costs. Each are 4 for $5. Please let me(Anna) know if you would like to order any. We can mail free of charge once we have received payment for your order. These are blank inside so are perfect for many occasions.”

Anna can be contacted at: anna.goofy@rogers.com OR email HERE.

Payment can be made via PayPal ‘GIFT’ or via email transfer.

Simply stunning! The person in the photo for those that are not aware is Anna’s husband, Peter and the two lovely Danes are Kaitlyn and Kassie. 🙂

photoposteranna

WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

This is not a community education or public awareness event YET, I plan on showing up with some of the BHRR doggies to hang and visit AND thank ALL that show up!

NOTE: THERE shall also be $10 NAIL Trims with all proceeds coming to BHRR!

santa paws (Medium)

This blog is to update everyone on BHRR’s Breen and his Angel amount donated!

We are waiting for a re-exam with Dr. Philibert. He has a fractured right hip, two blown cruciates, bilateral Hip Dysplasia and bilateral elbow Dysplasia. He does not qualify to be able to do hydrotherapy and so, we have been doing acupuncture and canine massage. We are scheduling some cold laser treatments too.

We took 18 x-rays on October 16th, 2013 of hips, elbows, spine, knees etc. Below are two of his x-rays.

He is such a lovely boy. Playful, affectionate and now that he is on the Tramadol and Gabapentin(400 mg TID), he is even more happy and and playful.

Quality of life for him. He runs and zips as can be seen in the Winter Wonderland Video posted and as he does not qualify as a surgical candidate for those hips(DP thought he may be able to improve the quality of his life by fixing the right cruciate yet, will re-evaluate that in another appointment).

Kanata Animal Hospital (613) 836-2848 and they will take Visa, M/C and AMEX over the phone under the account of ‘Birch Haven Rescue’ for ‘Breen’. They will take Debit or Cash in person at 440 Hazeldean Road in Kanata, Ontario

You can also mail donations via a Bank Draft to:

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

OR email transfer to gwen@birchhaven.org

OR via PayPal(please use the ‘gift’ option)

YOU CAN ALSO MAKE BI-WEEKLY AUTOMATIC DONATIONS OR EVEN MONTHLY DONATIONS HERE
(You do not need a PayPal account either)

BHRR’s Breen’s Beautiful Angels: Donated to Date: $1,924.00 & Bills To Date: $2,198.10
Nairn
Anna & The Auction items in the 12 Days of Thanksgiving Around the World From A to Z
Sue Breen
France
Gloria
Barry
Alice
Louis
Clo – PayPal took $0.88 in fees
Dawn – PayPal took $3.20 in fees
Andrea – PayPal took $0.59 in fees

**IF I am forgetting any ANGELS, it is completely unintentional and please EMAIL me**

Thank you from my soul and beyond for any possible consideration to his care……even a $1 donation is super!! :)
{997956C4-E2DD-481B-90D1-8930D01FE87F} (Medium) {C8A6FEFC-877D-49F8-AD2F-6B7F1AF23E8B} (Medium)

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 so many years.

Our XMAS Shutdown period for this year is from Saturday December 14th, 2013 to Tuesday January 7th 2013 inclusive.

During this time, BHRR is available 24/7 as always for requests for assistance of animals in need.

Thank you for your continued understanding – The BHRR Team

Our 6th ANNUAL 'JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS' Online Auction HAS started! 🙂 We NOW have 87 items posted – LINK BELOW – and more to come daily! This is not a facebook auction. As we have supporters not on fb, we use a wp plug-in app on our home website.

YOU have to go visit daily to see just what is there! 🙂 THANKS to all that have donated so kindly, generously and the animals thank you too! 🙂

The BHRR Auction began at 7:00 AM EST on Saturday November 23rd, 2013.

The BHRR Auction will end at 9:00 PM EST on Thursday December 5th, 2013

http://www.birchhaven.org/fundraising-2008/online-auction-2012

LAST GENTLE REMINDER!

Begins tomorrow at 12:01 AM! NOT too late to join us!

BHRR's Breen had his x-rays reviewed by Dr. Crews and then twice by Dr. Philibert, DVM – and he got back to one of my Vets today on BHRR's Breen's team AND; the first thing that will need to be done is a TPLO surgery on his right cruciate.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOO, please please please, BHRR's Breen is dreaming and hoping that you may consider 'giving it up' to help him have the best chance at a life as quality filled and pain-free as possible!

THANK you! 🙂 As of now, we have 24 AMAZING and kind and generous angels signed up in our annual fundraiser in BHRR's Autumn's incredible legacy of helping others….

MORE DETAILS HERE!

give it up for autumn - breen (Medium)

Great news! BHRR's Breen's bw is great!! AND, his is heartworm neg. Just waiting to hear from Dr. Crews, the interpretation specialist and Dr. Philibert, the ortho specialist re: his xrays.
Cannot wait for the world to meet this incredibly inspirational Newfx boy!!
Our 2nd Annual 'GIVE IT UP FOR AUTUMN' Event is coming up fast and this boy has been the 'chosen one' to benefit from the Findraiser that shall carry on in honour of the miracle GD that inspired the event!
Not a day does not go by that I do not think of my land swimming, bull in a china shop, would try and kill me in affection doll!!
Miss her….

UPDATE: per a post made on BHRR’s Breen’s facebook album, he had to have his x-rays under sedation rescheduled due to an emergency that came in when he was at the Hospital.
He came to work with me today and we did no less than 8 x-rays on elbows, knees and hips plus shoulders and spine.
Per his one Vet, they described his hips as ‘smashed femoral heads’ and he has a fractured right hip(unknown how long it has been there), partial cruciate tears and his right elbow also has dysphasia.
These are his initial review results. His one Vet is reviewing much closer and they shall be sent to Dr. Philibert to review and also discussed with ortho specialists on VIN.
At this time, he does not appear to be a candidate for CWW and we will be discussing his case further with Vets like Dr. Gumley(I used to also work with his now ex wife) to see if we can do other forms of alternative therapy for him.
A FHO surgery also has not yet been ruled out at this time.
We shall see what all the experts combined in addition to his dedicated Vet team at KAH come to for a best move forward plan treatment plan based upon my criteria of quality of life first and foremost……I will post his x-rays too.
He is on Deramaxx and Gabapentin and has already put on almost 5 pounds. Still painfully thin and we do wish to keep him on the lean side.
He will so require a dental….he has worn and chipped teeth. I did bloodwork including a heartworm test as well. When he was under, two of us took a few moments to just trim off those final few matts left. He has been so good in allowing me to groom and bathe him and get rid of most of his matts and now, he is all clear! His nails are nice and short from him be ok with me trimming them to date and so, we did not trim them while he was under.
Neutering him and vaccines are going to wait for now….he is not strong enough….
He has been dewormed and is on revolution and WHO did not love this boy today!! He is a charmer and very worthy of all of the love and attention.
We know his bills will run into the thousands and thousands and thousands and we knew this going in and we are determined to do what he needs and to give him the very best….
My only wish would have been that we were now spring. Winter is going to be hard on him with the cold and increased risk of slipping of falling.
Keep him in your blessings and thoughts and he does have an account at Kanata Animal Hospital under ‘Breen’ for Birch Haven Rescue & Rehabilitation Services.
Wish I had better news……

BreenOctober161October164

October 7th, 2013  – FREEDOM DAY! Welcome to BHRR Breen! 🙂

Named after a very special and dear woman in my life…………very inspirational and a true genuine, kind, thoughtful and beautiful woman!

He is the last of several that were part of a cruelty/hoarding case that the O. got the dogs back three times and they also spent most of a year in a shelter. Thank you to two rescue groups that advocated so strongly for him so, that he too, would have r/q rescue assistance. When we were contacted, it was an honour to step up to assist.

Sadly, we had to wait a few weeks before we had a spot yet, when this day came, I took several photo’s(Two below) and, sent it to the other rescues that had been involved with these dogs, trying to find places for them. NO less than 7 staff/volunteer members of the shelter came out to wish him well, NOT a dry eye in the house, and thank us – YET, I thank them! FOR all that they did! He was a HUGE fav at their shelter and went from very fearful to much more social and outgoing. A bit reserved when you first meet him, shy and unsure yet, he warmed up and, what a sweetie!

A very smelly and skinny sweetie!

photo 1photo 2