Month: July 2021

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….