Missy and Ranger, two
very special rescue Dals!
Please scroll down for updates and check out the gorgeous
paintings of Ranger and Missy!
Please buy tickets for our raffle to help Ranger and Missy!
Sunday
March 30th 2008: we rescued Missy, age 13, and Ranger,
age 8, from a Los Angeles City Shelter. They are in desperate need of
medical attention and have been seen and treated by a vet.
Their first vet bill was almost $600 and we expect there will be much more
treatment needed. Their vet bills could total $2000 or more.
We believe Missy and Ranger to be mother and son. We will spare you the details but in summary they were held at a city animal shelter for 8 months until their owner could be brought to trial for criminal charges of cruelty and neglect. The crime was so bad the owner is now in PRISON. While at the shelter it appears they received minimal basic medical care, probably just enough to keep them alive. Both dogs ears are badly infected and Ranger will probably need surgery on his ears. The cartilage has collapsed and the ears are disfigured. He can't even raise them up and down. He couldn't even wag his tail, but he made sure he knew how grateful he was to be rescued, he licked all of our faces. It is obvious both dogs will need major medical care for the rest of their lives. We will know more within the week and will keep you updated. Below is a link to pictures of Ranger and Missy.
click here for pictures of Missy and Ranger <http://pictures.aol.com/galleries/savethedals/>
If you would like to make a donation to help with Ranger
and Missy's veterinary bills, please use the donation button on the top left of
our web page. To donate via snail mail, please send your check to
Save the Dalmatians, P.O. Box 47031-432, Gardena, CA 90247-6831.
Thank you for your support and caring!
We would like to thank Charlie Converse for his generous and wonderful sponsorship of both Missy and Ranger!
Update April 10, 2008 from Missy and Ranger's foster mom: Both doggies are doing much better. It's hard to believe they are the same dogs they have changed so much in just a week. We have found a soothing anti-itch bathing treatment and it has really improved their coats. They are both so smooth and soft now and the "browning" has really improved. We had to take Ranger to the vet yesterday. His skin is much better but he had developed sores on his right buttock that he has been chewing on til they are bloody. The vet said the sores are caused by allergies. Ranger is now on Keflex for 12 days, he got another steroid shot, and we got a medicated/antibiotic hot spot treatment to help him prevent him from chewing. Yesterday we discovered that Ranger can both bark and wag his tail. He barked a few times at the gardener and waged his tail at a neighborhood dog during our walk yesterday. We were afraid that he couldn't do either because he couldn't or because of the abuse he suffered. His personality is coming out more everyday and it's wonderful to see. Ranger's ears are so much better. Remember last week you couldn't touch his ears without causing him pain? Well now I can lift them when I put in his medicine every morning and he even likes it when I massage the medicine in. Now that his ears are feeling so much better we are able to inspect them closer and the Vet thinks that his ears were rubber-banded or tied off to cause the damage to the cartilage. His theory does seem to fit with the way they look. Poor baby. I just can't believe that someone could do that too him. Missy is doing much better too. She seems much more comfortable. Her hips are much better but I think I will ask the vet to prescribe the other meds and see if it helps her more.
Update April 22, 2008: Missy seems to be doing better on the new meds Rimadyl. Her hips seem to go out less and sometimes she even jumps off the back porch. Her coat is getting healthier and we are hoping some of the hair that she has lost will come back with time.
We seemed to have lost some ground with Ranger's ears. Although they have always been red the purulent drainage has returned. It's not quite as bad as it was when we first got him but it's not good. The smell from the infection is quite bad.
He is still on antibiotics and I give him the ear medicine everyday so we are going to wait and see if we can make it till we are done with the antibiotics. But if it gets much worse, or he seems to be in pain, I am going to take him back in to the vet. Poor baby. Good news is his sores on his buttocks are almost completely healed. Mike recommend a bitter Apple spray that has worked wonders and he is no longer chewing on it so I expect it to be healed up in no time. Already a great deal of the hair he had lost around his ears and his belly has grown back.
We took the dogs to the Bark Park for the first time on Sunday and boy was Ranger in doggy heaven! He ran and ran, played with all the other doggies, greeted the owners, and generally just had a blast. It was wonderful to see him so happy his tail never stopped wagging. Missy is still not good with new dogs and new people so she didn't do so well at the park but we have hope that with time and love she can get to where she is more comfortable around change. But, with us, she couldn't be sweeter and we do not have problems with her at all. She really is just such a love.
Update April 24, 2008, from Ranger and Missy's foster mom:
Well, we ended up taking Ranger to the Vet yesterday. His ear was actually oozing pus and he just couldn't wait any longer.
The ears cause Ranger so much pain that the Vet had to sedated him in order to make sure there wasn't an object embedded in them and to clean them out. The vet feels if we can't get the infection under control then the only option may be to surgically remove his inner ears. Yikes!
I guess ultimately if it is the only way to end Ranger's pain then that is what we will do but I would sure like to see a specialist (if that is possible) before we take that drastic step.
Also we have noticed his tendency to bump into things so we asked the vet to check his eyes out. The vet said he thinks that he might see a cataract, or something like that, but we would need to take him to a specialist to get a diagnosis. Ranger seems to get around fine and his eyes don't really seem to bother him so I wouldn't worry about it. But if we can get him into a specialist it would be good to have it checked out while we are taking care of his ears.
Also, since he was being sedated anyway we went ahead and had him neutered. He tolerated the procedure well.
Missy is doing well. We have been really blessed to have Mike's help with training her and we see improvement with her stranger fear everyday.
Update May 6, 2008, from Ranger and Missy's foster mom:
Good
news! Ranger came through the surgery great. The Dr. was able to do surgery on
both ears and extract the bad tooth while he was still under sedation. He has
been doing so well I am going to be able to pick him up tomorrow (Wednesday)
afternoon. Dr. Rose is also going to do an exam on Missy for me at the same
time. The Dr. really feels that this is going to help Ranger's ears and with
some further antibiotic treatment we should be able to get rid of the infection.
(crossing fingers) Thank you all and thanks to the many donors that have made
Ranger's treatment and surgery possible. We really can't express how grateful we
are for your help. A friend of ours lives very close to Dr. Rose's office and
she went by to check on him for us. Attached are a couple of pictures she sent
us.
Pretty Girl Missy by
Anne Zoutsos
This is an original watercolour painting on Saunders Waterford 140lb paper mounted in a hand line-washed mount. 10.75" x 15" external 6.75" x 11" internal mount measurements.
Following my first painting of Little Miss Pretty for Art Helping Animals, it seemed fate that I should paint Pretty Girl Missy. When I first saw the photograph of Pretty Girl Missy I shed a few tears. It is rare to see such sadness in so sweet a face. There is though also hope in those beautiful eyes and indeed now that she is in the caring hands of Save the Dalmatians, her future happiness is assured. It is impossible to understand how these dogs could have been treated so cruelly. Now funds are urgently needed so please, please if you don't want a painting at present, consider making a donation to Save the Dalmatians.
£95 (approx $188) postage worldwide £7 (approx $14)
20% will be donated to Save the Dalmatians
For information on how to purchase contact Anne at
info@azpaintings.com or visit her website at
http://www.azpaintings.com/ or buy now with Paypal
Ranger
This is an original watercolour painting on Saunders Waterford 140lb paper mounted in a hand line-washed mount. 10.75" x 15" external 6.75" x 11" internal mount measurements
Following my painting of Pretty Girl Missy, it seemed only right that I should paint her son, Ranger - they have been through so much together.
When I saw the photograph of Ranger I was struck by the trust in his gentle eyes. I can't bear to think of what he and Missy have been through and it is only because of the existence of Save the Dalmatians, that their safety and happiness is now assured. Please take the time to visit http://www.savethedals.org/ where you will find more information about Missy and Ranger. Now funds are urgently needed so please, please if you don't want a painting at present, consider making a donation to Save the Dalmatians.
£95 (approx $188) postage worldwide £7 (approx $14) 20% will be donated to Save the Dalmatians
For information on how to purchase contact Anne at info@azpaintings.com or visit her website at http://www.azpaintings.com/ or buy now with Paypal