Bandit’s Adoption & Rescue of K-9s
www.barkva.org
804-449-BARK
Click on the links to view the sections
October 2007 Adoptions...Closer
to our GOAL!
An Insider Update from
Matilda
DOGGONE Good Information –
Shelter Renovation
Rehabilitating Puppy Mills – Research at
Best Friends Animal Society
Happy Tails. . . Some
Waggin' Good Reports!
On
Saturday, October 13th friends & volunteers of BARK gathered
under the stars at the James River Cellars winery in Glen Allen for BARK at the
Moon, our first large-scale fundraiser.
It
was a HUGE success! THANKS go out to Carmen for all her planning as well
as to all the volunteers who sold tickets, donated hand-made items and
contacted local businesses for our Silent Auction. And of course –
our MANY THANKS to all who attended!!
We
hosted over 145 dog-loving friends at BARK at the Moon. The cool, crisp evening gave it a
special autumn flair. The food was good, conversations were many, and
everyone in attendance enjoyed themselves. And the best news is that we were able to raise over $4,000
for the BARK dogs!!!
The funds
will be used to cover costs for special medical needs, care, feeding,
transport, and safety of all the orphaned dogs at BARK waiting for new families
– and all the new ones that will escape euthanization at local shelters
and arrive at BARK in the days ahead.
October 2007 Adoptions. . . Closer & Closer to our GOAL!
Our
goal for 2007 was 600 adoptions. We
are now over 500 Adoptions for 2007!
Thanks to EVERYONE for all the hard work.
|
Month |
October 2006 |
October 2007 |
|
Richmond |
46 |
53 |
|
Arlington |
6 |
14 |
|
OTHER (Special Meeting + VA Center Commons) |
- |
3 |
|
TOTALS |
52 |
70 |
|
STATS |
September 2007 |
October 2007 |
|
# of Dogs Taken in from
Shelters |
63 |
59 |
|
Returns (went to adoptive homes and
were returned) |
12 |
13 |
|
# of Dogs
Currently in Foster Homes |
48 |
72 |
|
# Completed HW
treatment last month |
3 |
13 |
|
# NEEDING HW
treatment |
14 |
2 |
*Our goal
is to treat all dogs that test positive for heartworms within 90 days of their
Intake to BARK. If you can foster
a dog through heartworm treatment, we need YOU! Please contact Debbie at foster@barkva.org
for information on how to help.
An Insider Update from Matilda (AKA Tilly)
A BARK
volunteer asked our own Matilda, an orphan whose been around the BARK farm for
a while waiting for a new home, to hand down ‘the skinny’ on what’s been
happening. Due to Matilda’s great
nature, she’s always willing to lend a paw when needed. ..and here is what she
had to say……..
Hello
People,
It’s been a
busy month here at the BARK farm. I’ve
seen many of my old friends leave for their forever homes, and lots of new friends
have joined us. Our dear friend
Linda keeps going around counting us. You’d think she’d know by now that our
club will probably always have at least 150 members. We like it that way!
The humans
are all excited about the 3 new sinks that magically appeared by the refrigerator,
thanks to a new human named Bill Stewart.
Now the people don’t have to play in the big red and blue water buckets
outside. I always enjoyed watching them do that- looked like fun to me - but
they didn’t seem to think so. We all hope to see more of Bill. He’s doing great
things around here, and I know he likes me and my roommate Tom Petty.
Tom and I
have been watching one of the volunteers, a guy named Patrick who comes to
visit twice a week. He likes to play with wood and has been hammering away at
the playpens outside. I think he is trying to keep Candi and Tulip from
escaping. What the BARK people
don’t know is that those two are actual descendents of Houdini’s dogs and can
escape from pretty much anything!
Although fence climbing seems to frustrate the humans, Tom and I love to
watch. It’s a very popular sport
here at the farm, along with hole-digging and the ever-popular open-gate-sprint.
Another one
of our friends, Connie B. has taken up jewelry making. She is frequently seen
adding charms to our collars. These charms are quite colorful- red, purple and
bone shaped. There seems to be some kind of mysterious code that goes along
with them, to help the humans keep track of us. Once I’ve figured out the
system, I’ll let you know. I hope
to get a purple one, as I think that means I’m ready to be adopted, and believe
me, I’m ready! Connie has also been busy putting
personalized nameplates on each of our doors. This is a wonderful addition to
the farm and will help the humans figure out where we live. Tom and I think
it’s funny when they put the wrong dog into the wrong kennel, but they don’t
seem to think so.
The poop
scoopers are all giddy about their new shovels. I saw our faithful friend Norm carrying a bunch of them
through the gate last week. He is real good about bringing presents and even
got us some shiny new water buckets a few months ago. That meant a lot to us,
as we were tired of drinking out of the old rusty ones. The new ones appear to
be sterling silver, and I think the shovels are too. It won’t be long until they’re covered with “debris,” as
Linda likes to call it.
Looks as
though Laura C. and her sweet children are bringing our dinner so I’ll close
for now with a quote from one of my favorite humans, Mark Twain: “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s
best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.”
I hope to
see you around the farm. Your visits mean so much to us!
Love,
Tilly
Once again a
THANK YOU is due to the Kindergarten classes at Nuckols Elementary School, under the leadership of teacher Eva
Miller. Thanks to their efforts, Ellen S. picked up & delivered a
carload of goodies all for the BARK dogs. The children had decorated the boxes
in orange wrapping paper with all sorts of doggie-designs along the side. There
were bones, collars, leashes, toys, dog food, grooming supplies and much more.
It was a wonderful load of goodies and will benefit many MANY BARK dogs!! All of the BARK volunteers and
the BARK orphans extend their sincere thanks for this wonderful, generous
gift.
Another THANK YOU also goes out to Ben Rossie and the staff at ZOOOM Printing for another donation of printed BARK forms. They printed some new adoption applications, History & Mission Statements, and Volunteer fliers with the tear slips at the bottom. It gets expensive running these forms from a home printer - so we THANK the staff at ZOOOM Printing.
Thanks are due to Adair Roper for getting BARK on the invite list to attend Spartan Spring Day at Stuart School on October 27th. Some lucky BARK dogs (and handlers, of course) attended this great event and we look forward to be invited again next year. BARK has been put on Stuart School’s list of places where students can perform Community Service. Yeah!!
THANKS are due to everyone involved in “Dress for Success,” an event held on October 28th at Nordstrom’s in Short Pump Towne Center, sponsored by Nordstrom's and Mercedes Benz. The function was partnered by the Richmond Chamber of Commerce and Hands On Greater Richmond, formerly Activate Richmond. Both Nordstrom's and the formerly Activate Richmond groups have volunteered with BARK; Nordstrom's at the farm and Activate Richmond at both the farm and adoption outings. From 630PM – 10PM, folks gathered in Nordstrom’s for the after-hours event. It was a rare opportunity to see some BARK volunteers all gussied up! Bob brought Gretchen, Flax and Spike who were stationed outside the building like a welcome committee! Sue Rosenberg made "Adopt Me Vests" and Kristen of Hands On Greater Richmond, ordered bow-ties for the dogs just for this event! Inside, BARK had a booth with tons of information about BARK. We received a lot of inquiries and 3 volunteer applications including a restaurant that would like to discuss having a dinner for BARK and donating the proceeds.
And finally, THANKS are due to Emily Stewart for spending over 50 hours designing & decorating a beautiful new donation jar for BARK. Unfortunately, we were not permitted to ask for donations at the Richmond Chamber function, but we plan to use it at all special functions and adoption events.
WANTED:
BARK Newsletter Writer
BARK is looking for a volunteer to take over the
production of the monthly newsletter.
Our current newsletter writer will not be able to continue producing the
newsletter monthly after December 2007, but will be on hand to provide training
and guidance to the new writer. If
you love dogs and love to share news, it’s a great way to support the BARK
dogs! Here’s what’s involved in
each month’s production:
·
Collect
News items from BARK’s Program Managers– You may need to send an email
asking for news at mid-month.
·
Collect
Happy Tail stories from Follow-Up Volunteer
·
Create,
edit & assemble 2 Newsletters:
one for Volunteers; one for Supporters & Adopters Save Volunteer
Newsletter as PDF to SEND via email to Volunteer list
·
Save
BARK Newsletter as WORD Doc.
Insert Navigation links & check to ensure they are functioning.
·
SEND
BARK Newsletter in WORD to Kelly V, our website designer, to post on www.barkva.org at http://www.barkva.org/html/resources.htm - at the bottom of the page.
·
SEND
Kelly V. 1-2 selected Happy Tails for the website (may send pictures if they
are available) at this location http://www.barkva.org/html/happy.htm . 1-3 Happy Tails are published for each 2 month period
(Jan-Feb; Mar – April, etc)
·
As
soon as BARK Newsletter is posted on the website, insert hyperlink to latest
edition into email template and SEND to BARK Adopter & Supporter list.
The GOAL is to have both the email to the volunteers
with the PDF attachment and the email to adopters & supporters with the
LINK to the online newsletter sent by the 10-15th of each
month. BARK is open to new ideas
for layout of the newsletter to make it the best it can be. If you are interested in this volunteer
opportunity, please contact Kathie@barkva.org. Please also share this info with
anyone you know who loves to write and may be interested in helping out. Thank you.
WANTED:
BARK Website Coordinator
BARK is looking for a volunteer to take over the text
maintenance of the BARK website – www.barkva.org. We have a wonderful website designer who makes all the
necessary changes that we request.
Our current website coordinator has taken on other volunteer
responsibilities and has not been able to give the site the attention it
needs. If you love dogs and would
like to help keep the text on our website current and relevant, we need
YOU! The BARK website coordinator would be responsible for the
following:
·
Coordinate
with Program Managers to post dates and times for upcoming events on the HOME
page
·
Detail
& communicate any requested changes in web text to Kelly V, our web designer.
·
Work
with Newsletter Writer to keep Happy Tails section up to date.
·
Work
with Adoption Team to rotate dog posted on Home page.
·
Coordinate
other changes to website as needed.
If you are interested in this volunteer opportunity,
please contact Kathie@barkva.org. Please also share this info with
anyone you know who may be interested in helping out. Thank you.
Washington
DC Shelter gets TOTAL renovation!
By
Sharon Peters, Special for USA TODAY
WASHINGTON
— Water cascades soothingly over the skylights. New Age music is piped
in. Radiant heat oozing up from the floors and memory-foam Murphy beds that
drop down from the wall ensure that the residents suffer no unnecessary
discomfort.
Life is serene for the 270 homeless dogs and cats lounging
about the adoption arenas of the Washington Animal Rescue League, a recently
renovated animal shelter that has spurned convention by elevating the temporary
care, housing and rehabilitation of rejected pets to an entirely new level.
"Whatever circumstances landed them in a shelter"
— whether they were strays, abandoned, turned over by terminally ill
owners or rescued from inhumane conditions — "was traumatic for
them," says Scotlund Haisley, the executive director who persuaded his
board to support a $4 million renovation. Every detail is intended not to
pamper animals "but to simply respond to their basic needs" during
the time when they have no home, no family and no ability to see or hope beyond
the present. . . .
To read the entire article….visit this link: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-10-15-pets-shelter_N.htm?csp=34
. You may need to wait several
moments for the page to refresh before the article appears.
It is WONDERFUL news for the directions that shelters are taking
now….and hopefully all shelters may take this shape in the future!!!
Rehabilitating Puppy
Mills – Research at Best Friends Animal Society
It is sad
to hear that Virginia is the #1 location for Puppy Mills. Please take a moment to read about some
research being done while doggie victims of a Virginia puppy mill are getting
help at Best Friends Animal Society.
‘They
just want to be loved and love back.”
Written
by Amy Abern and posted at www.bestfriends.org
on Nov. 2, 2007
By the end of his first week with the dogs
rescued from a decrepit Virginia puppy mill, Dr. Frank McMillan had evaluated
the baseline emotional well-being of more than 120 of the adult dogs used in
the breeding operation. Dr. Frank’s analysis is part of a Best Friends study on
dogs who are subjected to the isolation and deprivation of mass commercial
breeding conditions.
“There’s no scientific data out there,” says Dr.
Frank. “Any information at all is anecdotal. We’ve all heard about the physical
conditions of dogs in puppy mills, but there’s no hard science about the
psychological effects of those conditions.”
It’s estimated that there are more than 10,000
puppy mills in the United States. Most of them operate as clandestine
operations to avoid government regulation. They range from huge operations
hidden in remote barns to backyard breeders keeping dogs in sheds and trailers.
Although every state has puppy mills, Virginia is becoming one of the largest
puppy mill centers in the nation. Altogether, such mills produce an estimated four
million puppies per year.
A cruel irony: an estimated four million homeless
animals are killed every year to control pet overpopulation in the U.S.
It’s clear from the lengths puppy mills will go
to in order to hide their operations that they know their dogs are being
subjected to inhumane conditions.
Many puppy mills have their dogs stacked in small
cages in the dark so they won’t bark and attract attention. With almost no
medical care, breeding females are forced to produce two litters a year until
they wear out and are discarded. Not only do these forced-bred dogs suffer from
numerous illnesses, so do their puppies who are sold to pet stores, over the
Internet, or directly to unwitting consumers. In addition to generic disorders
and other ailments that appear months or years after these puppies are
purchased, they frequently come out of puppy mills with parasites and
infections, heart ailments, and other diseases.
In addition, the inhumane conditions in puppy
mills, isolation, lack of human or animal contact and socialization, and
confinement in small cages can have a profound psychological impact on the
animals – particularly the breeding females. And while there is
considerable evidence of the impact of puppy mills on dogs’ physical health,
little research has been done on the short- and long-term mental health
problems in dogs bred or held captive in these deplorable conditions. It is
this aspect of puppy mill cruelty that is the focus of Dr. Frank’s research.
It’s an ambitious project, especially for a man
who is taking on the Whole Health Initiative at Best Friends, collaborating
with our medical team, introducing several new therapeutic disciplines, and
conducting research into animal behavior and emotional well-being.
Dr. Frank had just moved from his California home
to Utah when Best Friends became involved in rescuing 179 dogs from the
Virginia puppy mill. “This rescue happened so fast,” says Dr. Frank. “But I’m
glad to be working on this, because there’s just nothing out there describing the
long-term emotional and psychological effects in puppy mill dogs.”
In the beginning
Long before arriving at Best Friends, Dr. Frank
had built his veterinary career on the premise that animals’ emotional
well-being is as important as their physical comfort, an epiphany born from a
personal disaster. Dr. Frank lost his home in the 1994 California earthquake.
As he slowly picked up the pieces of his life, he realized how important his
emotions were in guiding every decision he made. And when those emotional needs
were met, he felt stronger physically.
Dr. Frank began looking at the way he practiced
veterinary care in a new light. He’d see stress in a dog’s eyes and wonder
about its origin. He took note of animals’ delight at the sight of their human
companions. A few affectionate strokes served as the perfect elixir for an
animal in pain. Medical treatment often didn’t factor into these equations.
Compassion, or lack of it, did.
Over time, the idea that true veterinary care
includes an animal’s emotional well-being as well as physical health became the
golden rule dictating Dr. Frank’s veterinary practice as medical director at
the VCA Miller Animal Hospital in West Hollywood, California. In his book,
“Unlocking the Animal Mind,” Dr. Frank builds a strong case for his basic
philosophy: Feelings rule.
The study
Dr. Frank arrives at Pets Alive prepared. He uses
an evaluation form adapted from research by colleague James Serpell from the
University of Pennsylvania; the template has been published in the Journal of
the American Veterinary Medical Association.
For this study, Dr. Frank can have no prior
contact with the dogs--not even casual visual connection. He sets himself up in
an empty room with as little distraction as possible. He sits on the floor so
that when he meets the dogs for the first time, he’s on their level. A
volunteer opens the door, sets the dog in the room and leaves. Dr. Frank runs
through a 20-minute battery of tests, looking for some kind of reaction to
various stimuli:
• Dr. Frank gently asks (rather than commands)
the dog to come.
• He walks back and forth, watching for the dog’s reaction.
• Dr. Frank strokes the dog, if the dog will allow it.
• He rolls a small ball by the dog.
• Dr. Frank opens an umbrella, creating a loud, sudden noise.
• He hugs the dog, if the dog will allow it.
• He creates another loud, unexpected sound by dropping an aluminum can.
Throughout, he checks for behavioral reactions
and physiological responses like pupil dilation and changes in heart rate.
So far, he’s seen nothing dramatic or surprising,
which is just as he expected. This initial testing is necessary to set the
stage for further study.
“I knew I wouldn’t be making statements like ‘The
five adult female pugs all exhibited extreme fear when I opened the umbrella,’”
he explains. “I’m conducting very general research at this point. I’m looking
at basic sociability and fear factors. Eventually, this information can be
connected to later research to see which long-term effects can be predicted by
these initial findings.”
Dr. Frank has a couple of general observations:
Responses from the dogs vary from severely frightened and agitated to friendly.
Part of his research will explore why some dogs subjected to isolation and lack
of socialization in a puppy mill environment are more resilient and don’t
exhibit the same signs of emotional trauma as others.
“In pure research, you can’t have an agenda,”
explains Dr. Frank. “You have to let the data speak for itself and then draw
conclusions. The only conclusions I’ve drawn from this is that some of the dogs
exhibit what I would consider typical behavior due to abuse and neglect, while
others are very well-adjusted. But again, it’s a wide spectrum. Whatever we
learn, we learn.”
Dr. Frank also points out that absolute honesty
in reporting is essential to the credibility of not just the study, but also
for Best Friends, the sponsor of the study. “As an animal welfare organization,
of course, we have strong opinions and ideas on how animals should be treated.
But we can’t shape the data to suit our purposes. And by presenting the raw
data without prejudice or slant, we show we’re a credible source for future
studies.”
What will be interesting in the research on puppy
mill dogs’ long-term emotional well-being, he says, is finding how the
well-being of these current puppy-mill dogs compares to future saved puppy-mill
populations. Objective evaluations of conditions at each puppy mill site will
be one of the factors included in future studies.
The future
Of course, one of the high priorities involving
the Virginia dogs is finding them forever homes. Dr. Frank will ask each of the
adopters to participate in the study. The involvement requires little more than
filling out a yearly evaluation form by mail, e-mail or telephone. In this way,
Dr. Frank will learn how future factors continue to influence, and hopefully
improve, the emotional well-being of his subjects. For instance, do children in
the house help these dogs recover from the emotional trauma of their former
living situation? Does having other dogs in the house help these dogs to enjoy
their lives? What about cats and other animals? Does the time people spend with
the dogs at home make a difference?
For now, Dr. Frank is pleased that most of the
dogs seem to be doing well. “They just want to be loved and want to love back,”
he says. “I hope they all get that chance.”
There are still a variety of health issues that
must be addressed for the dogs rescued from the Virginia puppy mill. Once the
dogs were rescued, Best Friends’ staff partnered with several local
veterinarians to assess the health of the dogs and provide triage. One dog was
limping very badly and it was discovered that the poor dog actually had feces
caked between the pads on his paws!
Some of the dogs had horrible abscesses in their
mouths and one had a broken jaw that had never been treated. “A good percentage
of the dogs would snap at people out of fear and lack of socialization and
handling,” says Best Friends animal care director Patty Hegwood. “None of the
dogs are used to walking outside and were quite fearful. It was obvious that
most of the dogs had never touched or seen grass before. They were forced to
urinate where they ate and slept, and most of the dogs had toenails so
overgrown they could barely walk. Several dogs had a life-threatening uterine
infection called pyometra which was so far advanced that they could have died
without immediate medical attention.”
It’s important to remember that animals rescued
from puppy mills are not all puppies. In the Virginia rescue, there were more
than 120 adult dogs. “We rescued dogs, including pregnant geriatric moms, who
were being bred to death,” says Patty. “All of the dogs we rescued in Virginia
are dogs who have never napped on a sofa, gone for walks, been given treats or
any individual love and attention. While we’re working on their health issues,
we’re also giving them love and attention for the first time in their lives.”
We
adopted Bernie
about 4
months ago and I wanted to share our happy tails. Bernie has been a great
addition to our family. He is so lovable and playful. Sometimes I
think he forgets he is a dog. He sleeps and snores just like a person,
and he try’s to use his paws as hands. We love to play ball and fetch
with a stick. Bernie loves to be outside and to run, and for some reason
he loves to eat pine cones and bugs. He has gotten so big since we have
had him, and we are very happy with him. He is very well behaved and we
are lucky to have found him through Bark. We couldn’t ask for a better
dog. Thanks! - Krystal R. Garten
Karl is adjusting very well. He knows how to feed
himself when we go out. He especially enjoys a dozen donuts, a box of
dog treats, prepackaged foods, and leftovers which our son, Robert, hasn't
bothered to eat. His bed is used by Spirit (German Shepherd) and they
have both developed tricks to get the other to get off and pick up a
favorite toy which has been taken and dropped out of reach of the one on
the bed. It's almost musical chairs, but without the music.
Karl has managed to loose his collar twice. The first time it was
hidden in the bushes in our fenced in back yard. The last time, we
have searched inside and outside without any luck. We now have one
that contrasts with grass and should be easier to find. Karl has developed a new
trick. When I come home both dogs are waiting for me at the front
door. Karl likes to push the shepherd out of the way and then he
looks up at me with his tail waging full speed, and he SMILES! Yes it
is a smile with his upper lip raised in the front showing his incisors but
not his canines. It is only a quick smile and then he tries to jump
up on me which we are slowly getting under control. He didn't
initially smile for Ginny and she had trouble that he would smile for me
but not for her, but Karl now smiles for both of us when we come
home.
Ginny takes a walk each morning without dogs and when she
comes home Karl is waiting by the door and gives her a big smile. Karl is very much the lap
dog. . . . . Karl likes to sleep in our bed. If I have to leave
for work at 5 AM he comes upstairs with me the night before around 7 PM and
sleeps on the bed. Ginny usually comes up around 11:30
PM. When I get up Karl moves over to my side and sleeps with
his head on my pillow. If I have off the next day, Karl returns to
his (Ginny's) side of the bed and I can get back into bed. Spirit has
been trained by his first family to never get onto the furniture or on to
the bed. I can't even coax him to get up on my side of the bed.
He prefers to sleep curled up in a ball near my side of the foot of the
bed. I don't have any new pictures. Karl won't stand
still, I wanted t send you a SMILE from Karl but he is too fast and
seems to be camera shy. I'll keep trying. I have several
pictures of his hinds as he runs to get in back of me so I can't get a
shot. Well, that's it from Karl's home. Have a great holiday
season. - Matt, Ginny, Robb, Spirit, and Karl.
We are
attaching a couple of pictures of Eden playing with one of her siblings; Roger who our
daughter from Williamsburg adopted from New Kent animal shelter before you all
got the rest of the litter. She and Roger have a blast when they get to
play together. We wondered if we might contact some of the others from
that litter and see if perhaps they would want to get together and have a
little reunion for the puppies at a dog park in the Richmond area. Thanks
and enjoy the pictures. - Sandy and Bob
Mickey is doing great!! He is such a sweet
pup. He loves to play fetch and go for walks. He just adores my 11
year old son. They are the best of buds. Mickey lights up with my son
comes home from school. He is still working on becoming housebroken, but he is
doing very well. We are also going to obedience class now. He has
learned to sit and lay down. Mickey really is very smart, you can tell by
some of the things he does (he figured out quickly how to open the screen door
in/out to the deck). Everyone is always commenting on how cute and sweet
he is. Mickey has lots of puppy energy and loves to play fetch and chase
with my kids (and Mom and Dad too), but when play time is over he mellows out
and hangs out. He hasn't gotten into a lot of the usual "puppy
mischief". We really are enjoying Mickey. - Debbie M.
Jack, shortened it from Black Jack, is doing fantastic! My
wife and I absolutely love him and don't think he could be happier! We are
keeping him busy, busy, busy with lots of walks, runs and playing in our
backyard. We have also started taking him to doggie day-care randomly during
the week so he gets to play with other doggies, and boy does he play! All day
long!! He also loves the playdates we have setup with our friends dogs. He is
such a sweet, well mannered and socialized dog; he's fantastic! Jack has been a
great addition to our family and he is so much fun to be around. He has started
to figure out all his favorite hiding places in the yard and has hid a number
of his bones, of course to be saved for a later date! He is a truly a hound-dog
and will follow his nose where ever it takes him so we are diligently working
on stay and come. He is a very smart and is picking up on these concepts really
fast. Jack is such a wonderful dog and thank you so much to everyone at BARK
who helped bring him into our lives! - Dane S.
Prancer, now known as Ruby is adjusting to our
household. She has an absolutely lovely personality. There is
tension still between two of the cats and Ruby - yet with time and monitored
interaction I think that the issues will eventually resolve themselves.
Ruby loves being in the barn and is learning not to herd the
horses. She learned very quickly not to cross the invisible fence. Now
she can run freely and play with the Boston Terrier on the 2 acres we have in
electric fence. She loves to sleep in her crate and on our Boston
Terrier’s soft, but way too small for Ruby, bed. . . . Thank you for your
assistance and for what your group is doing in rescuing dogs.
We have
renamed Pickle - Pickles. She is such a
wonderful little girl and we are so thrilled to have her. She was very
shy at first when we brought her home. Today she is like a different
dog. She is still wary of strangers but we have been taking her out a lot
to try to get her used to being around people. Generally she
is just opening up to everything. She is very playful and loves all her
toys. We are having a ball with her and we love her so much. . . . We are
planning on coming to Petsmart one weekend so you can see how she has
progressed. Thank you for checking on our baby! - Sally G.
I gotta be honest, Patches is loving life. He is
spoiled rotten and we are loving him just as much. He has more room on the bed
than me or my husband...he is the best! - Betsy E.
And Finally…..another Happy Tail from an
EX-Shy dog!!
Thanks
for sending the newsletter. Terri e-mailed me a few months ago about sending an
updated picture of "Tessa." We have named her Patience and she is doing wonderful.
She has breakthroughs every week. She has bonded extremely well to our other
dog Wrigley and she
is really starting to come out of her shell - she even licks my hand when I get
home from work. She loves to play with our other dog and her tail wags all of
the time - especially when my husband and I get home from work. Her health is
great. She is at a healthy weight and her coat looks great. She is learning how
to play with Kongs and she LOVES peanut butter. She is a true
hunter and she will look for rabbits on her daily walks. We have a nice sized
back yard and she will often run around...boy, she is fast! Please let all of
her former foster parents know that she is doing so well and we are so grateful
that we could give her a safe and loving home. - Lynn and Mark M., Wrigley
& Patience (the pups from left to right)
If you have adopted a BARK dog
and have a Happy Tail or any other contribution
for this newsletter, please
forward it to kathie@barkva.org.
ANYTIME IS A GOOD TIME TO
DONATE TO BARK!
BARK
Bandit’s
Adoption &
Rescue
of K-9’s
804-449-BARK
(2275)
100%
of your tax-deductible donation will go directly to the DOGS at the Ashland
farm and in BARK foster homes. It
will go towards spay/neuter operations, medical treatments, and daily care
& feeding costs. Please mail
your donation to the address below.
Every penny makes a difference in the life of a BARK dog.
Please
accept my donation in the amount of:
$25
$50 $75 $100 $125 Other $___
Gift
in HONOR of: __________________________________
Gift
in MEMORY of: _________________________________
Name
& Address:
________________________________________
___________________________________________________
NOTES:
_______________________________________________
BARK PO Box 1682 Glen Allen VA
23060 info@barkva.org 804-449-BARK(2275)