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……