MIMI UPDATE!!

mimi-lori-reunion

On Friday I met up with Lori’s daughter and her family. They drove in from AZ on Thursday to see mom and pick up Mimi. We drove to the boarding facility to get Mimi, then off to the hospital (quick stop at the beach) to get Lori and reunite her with her girl. A happy and tearful reunion it was.

Van was loaded with kids, parents, luggage, dog food and bed I got them, and Lori & Mimi ~ off to AZ they went. Lori will stay with her daughter and family until she can find a room or apt. to rent for her and Mimi. Mimi will also get to see her one and only puppy, Lucky, who the family adopted about 5 months ago.

A HUGE thank you goes out to Mindy BeneRa and everyone at Ventura Highway Luxury Boarding for Dogs. They gave Mimi 9 DAYS LODGING, filled with love and play, and they picked up the bill, no charge to us!

That’s LOVE! That’s our amazing Village at work!

charlee-rip

Good morning Buddy Nation,

We have not posted any updates in awhile because we have been SO BUSY helping homeless dogs. The word is spreading, and we are doing all we can for these precious souls and their people.

Dogs Helped in the last 2 months:

Chloe the Boxer – she is a healthy 10 year old girl whom we have helped for many years .. getting her spayed and vaccinated and keeping up her yearly dog license. As her person is homeless, we ask our contact at SPAN (Spay Neuter Animal Network) to let him know when she is due for shots & license renewal, as he comes there for his dog food. One of the Buddy Nation board members has arranged to foster or adopt Chloe, should anything happen to her person who battles cancer.

Hendrix the Belgium Shepherd – Hendrix and his person have been on the Ventura streets for about a year. We are currently working to get him a job and housing so that he can turn his life around. One of the social workers who works with the homeless is helping us and getting him on some financial assistance until he has steady paychecks. Our board members are actively looking for a room to rent for him and Hendrix as well as work to stabilize his life, so that he can get back on his feet. The veterinarian at our county shelter (a No-Kill shelter) has treated Hendrix for his heartworm, giving him his two-day treatment plus week’s stay at her infirmary to let it work. There is no charge for her work.

Jonni the Rottweiler puppy – Jonni was left in a box outside a local business, along with her siblings, at age 6 weeks. All were immediately adopted by employees and Jonni by a couple who live in their van with another rescue dog. Jonni was given her puppy shots and de-wormed by Dr. McNeil, one of 4 veterinarians who donate and discount their services for Buddy Nation (she is also on our board). Another board member took the couple and Jonni to a pet store to buy food and supplies.

Xena the Basenji mix – Xena and her family live in an RV in a safe night parking place. Xena is a health young girl who so fat has just needed up-to-date shots and licensing.e of our board members keeps in regular touch with the couple as both have health problems. She makes sure that Xena has food and we are working to get a service dog certificate for Xena.

Primo the Dogo Argentino, Susie the Jack Russell mix and Lolly the Dachshund – These 3 dogs were part of a family that lost its home due to medical expenses. Buddy Nation got the call to help place them from a housing social worker. We were able to find a home for the elderly Doxie and the also elderly Dogo. While Primo was in a boarding facility waiting for his new home, his cancer took over and we had him euthanized and cremated. Susie was granted service dog certification and is still with her original person, going to work with him every day.

Johnnie and Jimmie the Sibling Cocker Spaniels – Buddy Nation volunteers have been taking care of these two lovely dogs for many years, long before Buddy Nation was officially formed. Jimmie and Johnnie suffered from glaucoma and cataracts and had surgery and treatments by eye specialists over the years. Recently, at age 15, both suffered heart problems that eventually took their lives. One of our donating veterinarians mercifully euthanized them. We continue to keep in touch with their humans for fostering needy dogs.

Asker the Pit Bull – Asker was 11 when a person from a local church called us and asked us to come to the church to check on a dog living in an RV in their parking lot. Asker was a beautiful Pit Bull, who has a huge tumor on her chest. We immediately got her into one of our veterinarians and then into a surgical veterinarian who scheduled her for surgery. She died the night before her surgery and is buried in the church yard.

Charlee the German Shepherd – Charlee and his person lived in a truck. At aged 12, Charlee developed hind leg problems and we brought him our veterinarian who gave him medication to ease the swelling and inflammation and then worked with one of our craftspeople who has started to build dog wheels for disabled dogs. Sadly, on their way back from another county where the man had a day’s work, Charlee was illegally seized and killed by an animal control officer from that county. Buddy Nation has hired an animal rights attorney to look into the matter.

Primo’s, Johnnie’s, Jimmie’s, Asker’s and Charlee’s obituaries appeared in our local paper, The Ventura Breeze.

Charlie the Chihuahua – Charlie is a frisky 10 year old who is being fostered by one of our board members while his person undergoes radiation for cancer. Charlie has had extensive dental work resulting in lots of teeth being pulled – he now has kissing sweet breath, however. He goes to visit his person, who lives in the river bottom in Ventura and we work with a church to ensure that the man has food and clothing as needed. A seated walker was donated to him, too.

The rank and file of Buddy Nation help is for veterinary care, routine spay/neuter, shots, micro chipping, licenses and food. We go where we are needed and do what needs to be done. Most of our dogs are Pit Bulls – who are very loved and cared for by their people. We also currently have 2 groups of cats on the river bottom that we take care of. … more to come!

We cannot help without YOU my Buddy Nation Angels. We are grateful for any amount donated. Every penny goes to the care of the homeless dogs.  THANK YOU for your continued love and support!

CHARLIE UPDATE POST SURGERY

Good morning Buddy Nation!

I apologize that it’s taken a week to post an update. We had trouble getting the photos loaded and as you can see, they’re a little blurry. No matter, Charlie’s surgery went GREAT! He is recovering nicely and his mama is already working on rehabilitation for his leg. He will have to learn how to use that right rear leg again, so they are walking up hills, in sand and hopefully a little swimming. The damaged area was removed, so now his hip is being held in place by muscles and ligaments only, no more ball in the joint. I will post those photos separately as this site only allows me one photo per update.

Thank you to all who donated to help this little sweetheart live pain free again. We are all so grateful! We still need to raise some funds as we only were able to raise $75 of the $900 we needed, so yes, we still owe! Please if you can help get this paid off we would very much appreciate any and all donations.

Remember, we are now a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible! Will be working on a website for Buddy Nation that links directly to PayPal for donations. If you are not comfortable donating through a chipin site, you can always send a check. PM me for address if that is the case. I am happy to email you a donation receipt if you need it.

Once again, I am amazing by the loving community that has gathered to help Ventura’s homeless pets and their human companions. We are walking this road, on this journey, together, and it’s pretty amazing!

With a grateful heart, I thank you ~

Debi

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone upon the waters to create many ripples”

LITTLE CHARLIE STILL NEEDS SOME HELP!

Good morning Buddy Nation,

We have Charlie’s surgery at VetSurg scheduled for Tuesday, August 23rd, but we are short of funds. We’ve been scrambling to raise the money through yard sales and donations at The December Store and More, but there have been other homeless dog urgent needs that have popped up over the last couple of weeks that had to be tended to immediately. We put the first half of the $1900 down, but we need to raise the other $900. We would be so grateful for any help you can give us.

Remember, Buddy Nation is now a registered 501c3 non-profit, so all your donations are tax deductbile!

Please share and help if you can. If everyone who reads this skipped their fancy coffee for just one day and donated $5.00, we might make it!

With a grateful heart, I thank you,

Debi Reeves

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone upon the waters to create many ripples”

Honorary Pit Bull, Charlie!

I met this little cutie a couple of months ago at Ohana. He was being treated after being attacked by another dog. His mom and him are homeless, so I helped them with some supplies and food. Later I was contacted by his mom, Brooke, to tell me she had moved into a sober living home and needed a crate for Charlie. Through the Buddy Nation Village I was able to provide him with crate, bed, and food. At that time Brooke also told me that Charlie was experiencing pain in his hind leg, and wouldn’t put weight on it, and would cry when she picked him up. I FINALLY got him in to Ohana for Xrays and it doesn’t look good, and is most likely a result of the previous attack. I am scheduling him for a surgical consultation at VMSG next week to see what recommendations and our options are.  Charlie needs this surgery so he doesn’t lose his leg and can live a happy, full life. I will post updates after the consult. I will need my Buddy Nation Angels to spread the word about Charlie’s upcoming surgery, since I am sure it will cost in the thousands. We can use every penny we can raise for this sweet little guy.

SWEET ESTELLA NEEDS OUR HELP

Good afternoon Buddy Nation,

It’s been awhile since I put out a plea for anything besides donated items, but Stella needs our help. Last week I saw her and Rob on my way back to work from lunch. I stopped to give her a sweater (it was so cold out and starting to rain again). Rob told me that Stella had gotten into a scuffle with another dog and she had a puncture wound on the top of her head. It looked bad to me, so I offered to get her over to Ohana that afternoon. He declined and said he had antibiotics. Well, yesterday he called and asked for my help. The wound looked worse and had pus coming out of it. I called Ohana and they got her in yesterday afternoon. As I suspected it was pretty badly infected. They needed to sedate her, clean it deep and put a drain in, then suture it back up. She is on several medications until her recheck in a few days, then in about 10 days she will have the sutures removed. Rob did have the presence of mind to agree to have our friend Sarah look after Estella for the next few days during this critical time. If the wound is not cared for properly, she could lose her eye!

That bill was $273.00, which added to what my balance due at Ohana is, makes it a whopping $874.57. I don’t always ask for help when I take these dogs in for veterinary care, and often pay out of pocket, but this one is expensive and I am trying to pay down my balance. Any amount towards Stella’s vet bill will be very appreciated.

The next thing up for Estella is surgery. Seems she has a blown ACL…sigh. That surgery is about $4,000. She will need recovery time, hopefully with Sarah, unless Rob gets his housing. Not only would I like to raise the money for this procedure for her, but I need a large crate where her movement can be restricted for the weeks it takes to heal.

So, I’m putting the word out for our baby girl to see if we can get this done for her. Please spread the word. She is such a little angel, and deserves to be pain free to run and play like she loves to do.

With a grateful heart, I thank you ~ Debi

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples”

SHADOW TAKEN TO PRIVATE VET FOR CARE, PLEASE HELP!

After the hearing on Friday, I went out to the shelter to see Shadow. I noticed he was limping badly, and hardly able to put weight on his rear right leg. The staff did not seem to know what was wrong or what might have happened. In addition, he smelled like a trash heap. Not a dirty dog smell, but more like something rotting. Although in obvious pain, all he wanted to do was snuggle with me, lay on me, next to me, and get pet and love.

I left a note about it with VCAS staff and hoped it would be addressed the next day. Shadow’s attorney, Gannon Johnson, went out to see him the next day to see him and assess the situation. His limp was worse, and he wasn’t putting weight on that leg at all. Along with that, he had a horrible rash on his chest and on his underbelly near what used to be his scrotum. Although in obvious distress, he was again loving and sweet, only wanting to sit as close as possible with her and get petted. Gannon was told that the vet would not be in until Tuesday! This was obviously not something that could wait until Tuesday, the boy was in need of medical care immediately. So Gannon started calling veterinary hospitals to see if she could get Shadow looked at. She was finally able to get him in to see her own personal vet, but was told they would have to fit him in, as they were also booked solid. After speaking to Animal Control officers in charge that day, they agreed to have one of their officers transport Shadow to the vet and back to the shelter. Gannon followed in her own car.

At the vet, Shadow was his usual happy and loving self, giving kisses to vet techs and vet, and wanting to sit in Gannon’s lap the entire time. Just a big love, as always.

This is what the vet found: He has a yeast infection in his ears, a bacterial infection on his skin, and dermatitis all over. This is most likely why he smelled so bad! The reason he was limping is because he itched so badly on his foot that he essentially chewed a hold in the pad of his paw (which is now infected)! Shadow was a complete love and so well behaved but he was clearly in pain. The vet said she would normally prescribe pain meds but since no one watches him consistently she didn’t want to.

My question is, how did staff let this go so long? I’ll tell you why, it’s because Shadow doesn’t get daily interaction. He doesn’t get walked every day, he doesn’t get play time out of his kennel, he doesn’t get the love and attention from a person who in interacting with him that would notice the beginning of a problem! Some days I can bet he just gets fed and that’s it. I’m appalled to say the least.

Bottom line is, Gannon paid Shadow’s vet bill from her own pocket. I want to reimburse her. The bill was almost $400! Can you help me please?

Gannon’s last remark before we hung up, brought me to tears. She said when animal control put him into the truck to take him back to the shelter, he was crying to Gannon, he didn’t want to leave her and go back there. This boy and his predicament, break my heart into a million pieces…..

NEED SOME HELP BUDDY NATION

As some of you know, Wilbur had to go back to the vet for more tests. He just wasn’t doing well. He had a temperature of a little over 102 (that’s bad for a dog), he was lethargic and he wasn’t eating or drinking. Turns out he has mange and another skin infection. Doctor drew blood to test for heartworm and other meanies, which all came back negative, thank goodness. He is on antibiotics and they gave him fluids twice in two days. I almost cringe when I ask to see my balance due. Ohana is always so gracious about letting me pay when I raise the funds. We got the bill paid for Buddy and little Bully and Wilbur’s previous visit a couple of weeks ago, but this is what I owe right now. They did not itemize, just put the total for me. My anonymous donor is still willing to match funds up to $400. We have a ways to go on that, but I’m hoping we can get there. If we do, and she matches it, then I will have enough left over to help some other dogs in the future. No amount is too small and always greatly appreciated. I cannot help these precious dogs without the help of my angels.

As always, I am so very grateful for you all to allow me to continue to do this for the homeless dogs, who otherwise would not get the veterinary care they need.

Thank you ~ Debi

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples”

BUDDY NATION FUNDRAISING CHALLENGE! Ready Set GO!

BUDDY NATION, I got a message a couple of days ago from an anonymous Pittie lover who follows Buddy Nation who has offered to match every dollar raised from now until July 27th up to $400!! This is amazing and wonderful and awesome! Imagine all the good I can do with this! I can get Max back to the vet about his leg, and get vet care for a couple other Pits that need help that I have had to turn away due to lack of funds. I know we can do this! Can you help me spread the word? So far we have received $70 which instantly become $140 thanks to my anonymous angel. This means Wilbur’s vet bill is now paid and the dog food I bought for Buddy, Bully and Bella is paid for with a little spare change left over.
Since I started this Buddy Nation fundraiser we have raised $2,935!. Every cent of your generous donations has gone for the care of these precious homeless pups. The good you have helped accomplish is massive for these dogs and their people. Without it, many of these dogs would be very sick, have disease from lack of vaccines, and birthing litter after litter adding to the homeless Pit population. You are angels, every one of you!
My anonymous Pittie lover has given us a challenge I know we can meet! We have till July 27th! Let’s do this 🙂

xo ~ Debi

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone upon the waters to create many ripples”

BUDDY IS BACK IN TOWN ~ MAY NEED YOUR HELP

Hello Buddy Nation ~ It’s been awhile since I posted an update throught the fundraiser, but now I need to.

First off, Buddy and Erica have moved back to Ventura. It didn’t work out for them where they moved to, although they sure gave it the ol’ college try. So they are back here and “camping” on the streets right now. I am not sure what they need, but will compile a list and get it out. I do know they need tent, probably sleeping bags and maybe some camp gear of any kind. She asked me for tarps this weekend when it was raining, but I didn’t have any, nor did I have money to buy some, so they went without. I don’t want any of my homeless Pibbles to go without basic needs if I can help it. I had to purchase dog food for Buddy and Bully (his little Chi brother) and Bella yesterday, since I had already handed out the remaining food donated by SPARC. My budget is pretty thin right now, especially fostering Blew and getting him all the little things he needs that I can’t really ask to be donated for him.

I also have not paid Ohana for Wilbur’s last visit when he got so sick he wasn’t eating or drinking. That’s been resolved, but I owe them $72. They are always gracious in allowing me to pay when I can. I depend on my Buddy Nation angels to help me keep these precious dogs healthy, so if anyone can help with this cost I would be so grateful.

I will update on Buddy and Erica as soon as I know more of what’s needed. Thank you for always being by my side on this journey. I literally cannot do it without you.

xo ~ Debi

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone upon the waters to create many ripples”