Category: Updates

Buddy Nation we are fast approaching Shadow’s hearing date of June 24th. We are confident all will go well, and he will be released back into the care of his family. In order to assure this goes smoothly, we need to raise funds to cover his quarantine fee and daily boarding fees at the shelter which will amount to $650 by the 24th. We have raised SOME of that money, but we have a ways to go. PLEASE SHARE and donate if you are able. No amount is too small. We thank you all for your continued support for this great dog. I’m praying that money will not the wrench in the machine that puts a halt to his happy ending..

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”

I’ll make this short and sweet Buddy Nation. We have been working very hard on Shadow’s behalf. Hours, days, and nights of meetings, phone calls, emails, driving, research…the list goes on. Right now we have a hearing date of June 24th, but that MAY be moved to a later date. I will update you all as we hear more.

Of utmost importance at this time are funds. In anticipation and hope of a positive outcome at Shadow’s hearing, we are seeking to raise funds to cover the fees associated with his stay at the shelter. At this point he has accrued approximately $650 in quarantine and boarding fees. Yeah, I know, it’s crazy, but we certainly don’t want money to be an issue should everything else fall into place as we are confident it will.

PLEASE if you can help us with this we would be so grateful. PLEASE share with your friends and family who may be able to help Shadow.

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”

Good evening Buddy Nation. Since this is all new for me, I have been very busy gathering information from rescue groups, and animal advocates. We have contacted an animal legal defense lawyer who might be able to help us. She is very knowledgeable on these types of cases and I believe she can help us immensely at Shadow’s hearing. The problem is it will most likely cost us at least $1000, which we don’t have at this point. I would love to hire her, or at least get as much information from her as possible for whatever I can afford to pay her, and then go from there. If anyone that offered to help with Shadow’s legal defense is still willing to donate, we can move forward with this lawyer. If we can’t hire her, I will continue to look for other options. I just don’t know what the hearing will involve. I did speak to Animal Control today and they are hoping to get Shadow’s hearing as well as a few others, scheduled in the next few days. Hopefully this means we will have a date by next week. I will keep you posted as soon as I know anything.  I don’t even know what I’m feeling at this point. I’m a little depressed, feeling drained, spinning in circles. I’m not sleeping very well with all that’s going on, not only with Shadow, but the other dozen or so homeless dogs I am looking after, and of course my precious AFLAR rescue dogs. I so want this sweet boy to be able to go home to his family. They don’t have much, but they love him and he loves them. I’m going to try to get Tina over to visit him again at the shelter this week if I can get off work early. It’s hard to see him, and then leave him there. He’s such a happy soul when he comes into the play yard. It makes me cry, but I don’t want him to think we abandoned him. I know VCAS is taking good care of him. He looked really good when we saw him last, and I thank them for all they have done for Shadow.

The photo you see above is where the shooting happened. Tina, Bella and Shadow were by the sign. Sage, Nathan and the police were on the other side of the walkway on the grass. I didn’t realize it was right on Victoria Blvd. I thought it all happened in the Ralph’s parking lot. There were a lot of witnesses. I wish I could talk to them. I wish they would come forward and contact me.I would like to hear their take on what happened.

I’m gathering statements from people in the community who have met Shadow, and can vouch for his good nature. Among them is Dr Donnalee from Ohana, who treated Shadow earlier in the day he was shot. If you have met Shadow, and would like to send me an email about Shadow that I can print up and take with me to the hearing, please send to 2goldenshome@gmail.com.

I think that’s about it for now. As soon as I know the hearing date, I will post an update. If you haven’t already gotten your ‘FREE SHADOW’ tee shirt, please stop by The December Store & More to pick one up. 4160 Market Street, #12, Ventura. Cross street Donlon – it’s 1 block down from the DMV and right next door to the CARL Boutique Thrift Store. Open 11-6 Tues-Fri and 11-5 Sat. We hope to get a good group of people supporting Shadow at his hearing, all wearing his tee shirt. I will bring some to the hearing if you tell me you are coming and can’t stop by the store to pick one up beforehand. Let’s bring this sweet boy home. His family and Bella miss him very much!

Debi

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

‘FREE SHADOW’ TEE SHIRTS WILL BE AVAILABLE THIS AFTERNOON!
‘Free Shadow’ tee shirts at The December Store & More on Thursday, May 14th!!!!! 4160 Market Street, #12, Ventura. Cross street Donlon – it’s 1 block down from the DMV and right next door to the CARL Boutique Thrift Store.  Open 11-6 Tues-Fri and 11-5 Sat.
The price is a donation of your choice.  Shirts are all paid for thanks to the generous donations from the Buddy Nation Village, with the bulk of the cost picked up by Jean-Marie Webster of Santa Paula Animal Rescue Center – THANK YOU JEAN-MARIE!  A HUGE THANK YOU to Maripat Davis, president of All for Love Animal Rescue, and Tara Diller, Director of Ventura County Animal Services, for arranging our visit with Shadow yesterday at the shelter.  THANK YOU ALL, wonderful, amazing, Buddy Nation Angels!
Proceeds from the sale of ‘Free Shadow’ tee shirts will go towards hiring legal defense for this sweet boy!  LET’S DO THIS!

Debi

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

Good morning Buddy Nation! We have okayed the final design for Shadow’s tee shirt! Should be going into production on Monday. Trish at Lightning Ridge Screen Printing has graciously agreed to move forward even though I have not raised the $635 it is going to cost for the 100 shirts. I promised her I would pay as I receive donations. She is amazing and kind, and worked with me to produce the tee shirts with Shadow’s picture on it for the same price as it would have cost with just a graphic of a generic Pit Bull. Angels are everywhere!

Once finished, the shirts will be available at The December Store and More, located on Market and Donlon in Ventura, right next to the CARL Boutique Thrift Store. We do not have a price attached to the purchase of these shirts. We only ask for a donation of your choice towards the continued work of Buddy Nation. We also hope that if you are purchasing a tee shirt, you will wear it at Shadow’s court hearing to show your support. I do not have the hearing date yet, but it will most likely be in the next couple of weeks. I will keep everyone updated as I receive information. Bryan Bray at the shelter has been most helpful, answering my zillion questions about how these hearings work. He is also going to send me the notification of hearing date since Shadow’s dad cannot receive certified mail as a homeless person.

I am also trying to get in contact with Tara Diller, director of the shelter, in the hopes of arranging a visit with Shadow and his family, and me. Still working on it. Maripat (AFLAR founder), and Jean Marie (SPARC founder) are helping me with all kinds of details. They are powerful connections, and angels with big wings beside me! Behind the scenes doing the tough stuff is my Irish New Yorker, Cappi Patterson. I can’t even begin to name everything this dynamo of a lady has taken on for Shadow. I must also give huge thanks to Phyllis and Jennifer at the CARL Boutique Thrift Store for accepting donations of food, supplies, leashes, toys, etc., for my homeless doggies. I stop by there once a week and pick up goodies from them. Not to mention SPARC, where I stop once a month to pick up food large donations for the Pibbles. Thank you to all of Buddy Nation who have helped with every little thing needed since I started this path last year when I found out about Buddy and his injury from collision with a motorcycle. I am continually amazed and humbled by your love and support. Angels all!

I would love to be able to hand Lightning Ridge Printing $100 on Monday in good faith that the rest will follow. Please help me by sharing this, and if you can donate even a small amount I would be so grateful.

Let’s do this for sweet Shadow!

Debi

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

BUDDY NATION I have not been sleeping!

We are in action mode for Shadow’s return. I am meeting with tee shirt printers tomorrow to get the best prices so we can show a united front at the hearing in about 3 weeks. I will let you know where these can be purchased, for a donation cost of your choice, as soon as I have it all in place. I do need help with the cost of these tees, so if you are able, please donate whatever you can towards the printing. We will also probably need to hire an animal legal defense lawyer. Again, I need you help! I am trying to arrange for Shadow’s family to visit him at the shelter. I’ll let you know how that goes. I’m hopeful VCAS director, Tara Diller, will accommodate my request. She has done so much for the Pitties of this county, I believe she will help me.

Please spread the word about the tee shirts and upcoming court hearing. I have SPARC, CARL, and Ohana ready to show support for our sweet boy. I will make sure the media knows what’s happening too.

Thank you for all you have done for ALL the homeless Pits in this county. I need you more than ever right now. I will post everything that’s happening as I get new info. This is new territory for me, so any insight is welcome.

Meanwhile, I am still out there distributing food and supplies, and getting Pibbles their medical needs met. If you have camping stuff like tents and sleeping bags, please let me know. Dog food, leashes and collars are always welcome.

THANK YOU!!

Debi

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

SOS! EMERGENCY! SHADOW IS AT VMSG – He’s been SHOT by police!

Just turned my phone back on this morning at 5:00 am, and got a frantic message from Tina (Bella and Shadow’s mom) that the police rolled up on their campsite last night. Frightened the dogs, and Shadow bit one of the policemen and was SHOT!

He is alive and at VMSG, headed for the shelter this morning and will be in quarantine because of the bite.

The bullet shattered in his chest. They can’t operate on that, so it’s something he will have to live with if indeed he does live and isn’t euthanized. He’s the sweetest boy and was just doing his job protecting his people because he felt there was some measure of threat to them. This is why my old neighbor’s dog was shot and killed in his own damn yard!

I don’t know what the bill at VMSG is going to be, but I begged them to give him whatever treatment he needed at this point and I would raise the money to cover it. I reminded them about Buddy’s amputation last year, and that I paid all the back vet bills, etc. They remembered him.

They won’t let me visit Shadow, so I will contact the shelter later this morning after they pick him up. Probably around 9:00 is what I was told.

I’m SICK about this! I just took this dog to the vet at 5:00 for his ear and rash. He was a perfect angel, letting Dr. Donnalee poke and prod him everywhere, and then gave her kisses. He spent the rest of the time in my lap with his head cradled in my arms. Big baby.

I will post an update later this morning when I have more details. Trying to get hold of Tina this morning with no luck so far.

Hello Buddy Nation! Lots going on, as usual. Some of may have read the last post on our facebook page after Max went into Ohana to check his possible broken toe. After a thorough exam by Dr. Kate, she determined the limp is most likely caused by a soft tissue injury in the shoulder area, probably from running too fast, jumping and landing hard, or pulling his cart for dad when they are recycling. He was given anti-inflammatory meds and told to take it easy for two weeks. That’s the good news….the bad news is that during the exam, Dr. Kate found a heart murmur. She said it may be something he’s had since birth and might not ever cause him any problems. What IS a problem is that Max was scheduled for his free neuter with Valley Vet Mobile Clinic in the SPAN parking lot next week. He cannot just go in for surgery and be put under anesthesia without careful monitoring due to this murmur. It’s difficult to tell how bad it is without an X-Ray, which would then tell the vet how to proceed during surgery. The X-Ray is going to cost at least $175, and we will have to reschedule his neuter at Dr. McNeil’s office where they have the equipment available to monitor Max under anesthesia. I wasn’t expecting this expense, but it has to be done this way, so I’m hoping you all can spread the word about what Max needs to get the funding together for him.

It seems I’ve had a lot of little vet expenses for these dogs lately, and Ohana has once again graciously allowed me to make payments when I get the funds raised. They are angels! If it wasn’t for them I couldn’t call like I had to today, and get Shadow in at 5:00 to be looked at. Tina told me he has a terrible rash on his chest and he’s been throwing up for a couple of weeks, mainly his water, but it’s still not good. I don’t have the money for this visit today, but I’m taking him in anyway. Just keep on moving forward on faith that Buddy Nation will have my back as always.

Capone FINALLY has an appointment for Friday after work to get his ear looked at. Gotta get the funds for that visit too….and so it goes, one dog at a time. I wonder what would happen to these precious velvet hippos if we weren’t there to help them?

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, and for spreading the word about the needs of these dogs. You are all angels walking beside me on this journey.

Debi

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

Good morning Buddy Nation!

Just wanted to give you all an update on our Bailey girl. The cytology report came back yesterday on her mast cells. Not so great news is that they are Grade II. Better news is that they are on the low end of that grade. This means that she will just need to be monitored and checked for any new lumps that appear. There is no guarantee that new mast cell tumors will grow, but Dr. Nikki said that the cells in these tumors that were removed were not aggressive reproducers, and so Bailey should live a long and healthy life. She may not get any more, and she may get more. Just have to wait and see.

Her ear hematoma is very slow to heal. She has had to go back almost every day to redress the wound. This will continue for the next two weeks….sigh…poor girl. Mom and dad are doing a great job taking care of her. Mike, her dad, sold all his tools to get her two more nights recovery in a motel. That’s love.

Still on the roster are Capone and Max. You know I always move forward on blind faith, so even thought I don’t yet have the funds raised, I went ahead and made an appointment for Capone on Monday to get his ear infection treated. I am making Max’s appointment for XRays for Wednesday hopefully. Ohana has once again graciously allowed me to make payments if I need to, and will cut cost wherever they are able. Bless them!

As I am typing just now, I received a call that another homeless man and his Pit were attacked and stabbed yesterday. The man is at the hospital and a friend has his dog. The dog has multiple stab wounds and needs to get to the vet. I don’t have any more info on this but am expecting a call direct from the woman shortly. I don’t know what dog or what man this might be yet. Will keep you posted….

Please continue to share this cause. Together we are making a difference.

Thank you ~ Debi

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

Happy Monday Buddy Nation! Busy weekend with rescue dog adoptions on Saturday, then Sunday I spent some time with my grandson and made the rounds to see some of my precious homeless Pitties.

Bailey is doing very well after her surgery. She went in for a re-check this afternoon and unfortunately she shook her head when they unwrapped the turban, and opened up the incision! So now she’ll have to wear a turban AND a cone for the next several days. The incision on her belly and inner thigh look good and are healing well. What a sweetheart of a dog she is. Thank you so much for helping me get this done for her, and also allowing her to spend a few nights recovering in a motel. Just amazing.

Next up on the agenda is Max. He is the brown and white Pittie in the picture. He seems to have a broken toe. It’s very sensitive to touch and he is limping pretty badly. I had his owner, Johnny, wrap it with ace bandages until I can afford to get him in to see the vet. Ohana said they will need to take X-Rays, probably two, which will cost about $376 for the dual view. Single view won’t tell them what they need to know.

Also in need of a visit to the vet is Capone who has an ear infection. It seemed to be getting better last week when I saw him, but yesterday he was tilting his head to one side, and Brandi said there was yellowish green gunk coming out. I’m sure it’s quite painful. I think maybe there’s something way down in there that’s causing the infection. He definitely needs to get that looked at ASAP! I called Ohana this morning and they said it would be $47 for the check up, then whatever meds and/or treatment would be extra. I’m estimating it’s going to be at least $150 from past experience.

Last but certainly not least is Shadow, that big ol’ hunk of blue love. I can’t believe this dog was handed off from person to person and almost abandoned. What a sweet and loving boy he is. He is being neutered on April 28th and I would love for him to recover for a few nights in a motel like Bella did. If all the other homeless owners actually show up and bring their dogs in for their appointments, they will only be sent back out to their camps with a clean sheet. That’s no way to recover from surgery, in the dirt with only a sheet!

I was going to post an update on the puppies, but sadly, they are all gone. The man who is temporary owner of Sadie sold them to whoever was willing to pay. That’s pretty much a death sentence for these innocents babies who were still being bottle fed after their mom rejected them. I’m beyond sad about this. And to top it off, I hear from Sadie’s REAL owner, Angie (who is also Wilbur’s mom), that this guy isn’t planning on spaying Sadie! WHAT?! Angie is livid and is trying to get her dog back so I can get that done for her. I’ll keep you posted.

Soooo, this is what I am trying to raise money for right now

X-Rays for Max (not sure what besides wrapping the toe his treatment would be)
Vet visit for Capone’s ear Infection plus treatment and any medications they will prescribe
3 nights of recovery in a motel for Shadow after his neuter

Meanwhile, you know I am always accepting donations of dog food and camping supplies. Just text me if you have goodies for me to pick up 805-223-0655 or email me at 2goldenshome@gmail.com.

Please share the latest update and help if you are able. No amount is too small.

THANK YOU BUDDY NATION! YOU ARE ALWAYS MY AMAZING ANGELS ON THIS JOURNEY!

Debi

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