Willie at Chicago Animal Control needs rescue!
Willie is at Chicago Animal Care & Control, which I can assure you is not a good place. He is not on their adoption floor, but in their back rooms which are no open to the public, only rescues that are approved through the shelter can pull from there. He was horribly matted, so they shaved him and found that he has a bad skin infection. I am going to pull him on Saturday morning (will be down there already). I either need a rescue to transfer him to afterwards OR I need some help with donations so that my rescue can keep him and treat him. We're booked right now so we would need to pay for boarding as well as his vet treatment. I contacted Nita and Nancy, but I'd love to have backup in case they're full! |
|
|
| Got a little more info: He was a stray, he was horribly matted and shaved down right away. He has a bad skin infection due to matting. The volunteer at their transfer team said he is definitely an OES. |
| Oh, yeah... he definitely looks OES to me. Poor dear one... look at his front right leg.  Thanks for pulling him, Heather. Please keep us posted on who takes him in.  |
| I've only contacted Midwest OES so far.. waiting to hear back, but I know they have been slammed lately. Does anyone know the best contact for Chicagoland OES and Wisconsin? And St Louis too? |
| Try contacting MARS: MIDWEST ANIMAL RESCUE SERVICE in Mpls, MN Phone# 763-503-4990. They work with many organizations for transports. I am a volunteer with MARS and I am sure they can help. Nancy |
| I can pull him and transport, I just want to get him to a breed rescue. If none step up my rescue will keep him, but I will be begging for donations! |
| http://www.oes.org/html/oes_rescue.shtml This is the complete list for rescue contacts and also http://www.oldenglishsheepdogclubofamer ... ectory.htm Thank you for helping the big guy!  |
| Thank you, emails sent. Cross your paws that someone has room. Seeing his face first thing this morning made me sick to my stomach. |
HeatherRWM wrote: Thank you, emails sent. Cross your paws that someone has room. Seeing his face first thing this morning made me sick to my stomach. He does look rather sad....he will be smiling again soon so, that should make you smile! Good Luck  |
No before pictures, their computers were down when he came in. They say "definitely OES". Heard that one before  He's on a stray hold until Saturday night, but because of his medical state I'm picking him up Saturday morning and taking him to the vet. He can go to another rescue on Sunday. Hope someone can help. |
| heather do you have a paypal account so you can get him to the vet poor thing!! i don't have much but would like to help you get him out |
| We just created a chip-in because of all our current vet bills, and because we've had to slow our intake, which is heart breaking. I didn't want to post it here because if we transfer Willie to an all breed rescue we obviously won't be paying for the bulk of his treatment and I didn't want to mislead anyone. Here is the link though in case someone wants to contribute generally, or to Willie's first night at the vet which OTAT will at least be paying for: http://pinecone.chipin.com/vet-bills Thanks for the support. |
Thank you for helping him Heather...he looks like a cutie in the making  Izzie broke out her piggy bank and made a small donation  |
HeatherRWM wrote: I've only contacted Midwest OES so far.. waiting to hear back, but I know they have been slammed lately. Does anyone know the best contact for Chicagoland OES and Wisconsin? And St Louis too? Heather, I just emailed sent you a private message with Chicagoland OES contact information. Keep us posted. |
| Thanks Stacy. I just spoke with Jeri and Chicagoland OES can't take him... because he might be a senior, because he might have kennel cough, and because he might not be good with other dogs. Still waiting to hear from the other rescues... I'll be picking him up on Saturday regardless. |
| Thank you Amanda and Izzie!! |
HeatherRWM wrote: Thanks Stacy. I just spoke with Jeri and Chicagoland OES can't take him... because he might be a senior, because he might have kennel cough, and because he might not be good with other dogs. I can understand her reservations. She does the boarding for Chicagoland and it's one thing to take those kind of risks fostering privately - well, not the senior, the other - another if you're putting your clients dogs at risk. They have puppy in rescue right now who is in a private home, but I'm thinking failed foster home in the making there. Which is great for the dog, but bad for having foster homes. We lost an excellent foster home that way not long ago. On the plus side, the dog got a great home, so...what do you do? I don't know where we'd put him either. Though we only have one dog in rescue at the moment, we also have a severe foster home shortage. I'll mention it to Amy tonight when I see her on the offchance she has a brilliant idea. Kristine |
| We typically board our dogs for 10 days at the vet before we place them in boarding or a foster home. I don't mean to pass judgment at all, it just bums me out that the breed specific rescues don't have the resources to do that. I know we often pass on purebreds if we know there is a local breed specific rescue presence, but if they can't help the ones that really need it then perhaps a strategy needs to be rethought. If that means that all breed rescues, like mine, need to step up more then I will make that happen. Unless Nancy and Nita have the funds and the space I think we're just going to keep him here. We've placed 2 mixes, a mostly and a purebred so I'm confident we'll be ok. |
HeatherRWM wrote: We typically board our dogs for 10 days at the vet before we place them in boarding or a foster home. I don't mean to pass judgment at all, it just bums me out that the breed specific rescues don't have the resources to do that. Well, it certainly bums us out too  We have never been able to board a dog before binging it in...if they have issues I just keep them in a confined area of my house! It is not easy and it sucks a lot of times but, we work around it! Since we pay a majority of our rescue expenses out of pocket we have to save where we can! I think most rescues run on pretty limited funding.... |
| I know our basset rescue is feeling the pinch as well. The rescue basset population has been very high for over a year, I haven't noticed a big change this spring, it's still just as high. Due to financial issues, we have had to limit intakes - for the 1st time EVER in 11 YEARS Our rescue serves bassets and basset mixes, regardless of age or health, in MN, WI and Illinois to the Chicago area. Our MN group has the largest state-specific fundraiser, and we have the largest foster home group and emergency-board our dogs the least....but money still is tight. Especially as we have half our group (in all 3 states) over 8 yrs old (there are about 100 bassets in our care)...and many really old guys like Harley, who are in long term foster with families who love them  |
| There are several breed specific rescues in the area that are amazing... I can't even believe the fundraising and outreach power they have, it's truly impressive. Basset rescue is awesome and we rarely see Bassets here in Chicago that need rescue, which I'm sure is a testament to your group! We do have a senior boy in our care right now though: http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/19313422 |
He's a cutie, Heather!  |
| He is a cutie, old enough to be past the puppy stage and young enough for fun. |
| Thanks to everyone that donated to our chipin. We reached our goal in just over 24 hours! I'm picking Willie up around noon tomorrow, I'll update everyone when we're back from the vet. |
| Very exciting! Can't wait to see pics! Heather, you do so much for these dogs, bless your heart! |
| I don't have good news to report. Willie was euthanized at the shelter today. We met him in an outside kennel and he was really sweet. We gave him lots of love and affection. However, he was extremely aggressive on leash and bit my husband several times. We were still going to try with him, but when we were walking towards the lobby he really flipped out and got Dave good on the hand. We just couldn't safely transport him. I made sure he was euthanized right away so that he didn't have to rot in that kennel any longer. I tried, and I'm so sorry I don't have better news to report. Thank you for everyone's support. |
Thank you Heather.  I just don't know how you guys do this.I hope Dave is OK too. |
| Oh, nooooo. I'm so very sorry Quote: he really flipped out and got Dave good on the hand. The shelter likely has a protocol they must follow when there's been a bite by a dog with an unknown vaccination record. They may need to send him off for testing since he was a stray. Kathy had been bitten once by a patient at work... it was a dog from a client's rescue. She can share more. |
| I made sure they euthanized him on the spot... saw him being walked to medical. My biggest fear was that they were going to make him rot in that cage for a 10 day rabies hold. They will send the brain out to test it for rabies. Made Dave go to the dr for a tetanus shot and antibiotics. The punctures are pretty superficial, but they swelled up pretty bad. It was his first 'rescue mission' with me, I feel awful that it ended this way. We both bawled in the shelter while the volunteers sat stonefaced and jaded... very sad. Such a shame that such a beautiful animal had to go through that hell. Hope he's at peace. |
| Heather & Dave, I'm so sorry that this story didn't have a happy ending. Thank you for being there for Willie and staying until the end. One of the saddest things in rescue is wondering if an animal ever truly knows love before being euthanized. Your dedication to Willie made a difference in his life, if even for just a few moments. |
| I'm so sorry, for Willie, and for you and Dave. |
| I am sorry you had to go through this Yes, I was bitten once by a dog that was actually showing neurological symptoms of rabies Her name was Faith and she was with a clients rescue! She was quarantined where I worked as I agreed to handle her since I had already been bitten I won't go into all the specifics but, it sucks! It was a week of dealing with AC everyday that she was still alive, as in this county the go nutty with bites! When Faith passed, I hope she went knowing that I did care about her as I am sure Willie did know at least you gave him a chance. I wonder if AC knew he had issues? Poor dude.... God Speed Willie...we all cared |
| Wow, how crappy for all of you Talk about a no win situation for Willie, Dave and you.... |
| Heather, I just read this post and please accept my heartfelt apologies for not responding sooner. I especially feel guilty you were asking for donations and I failed to respond to the hue and cry. You were there for Gilligan and as a result saved his life. We just celebrated his year anniversary recently. He is alive today because of you and all the others that contributed to his biopsy. On another post in General, I spoke of Panda's rescue many years ago and you again were one of the people that offered moral support. I know of others you have saved and although rescue is tireless work with lots of heartbreaks - it has joys too. The joy to see an animal that was deemed hopeless or lanquishing in a shelter waiting for a forever home and then given a second chance. I'm so sorry about Willie and of your and your husbands experience, that must have both been physically and mentally painful. You are an amazing person who stepped up to the plate when others failed, yet you tried to pick up the pieces of his shattered life. It sux and it hurts. However after the storm there is a Rainbow. You may not have been able to save Willie but you saved Gilligan. I know there is no comparison from one life to another - they all deserved a chance. Sadly, through no fault of your own sometimes it doesn't come to be how you wanted it to end. You did the best you could for this boy and advocated for him. I will be forever grateful that you stepped up to the plate for Gilligan too and as a result gave him his life. In your grief I hope that brings a small measure of solace. Marianne |
| Heather, I'm so sorry. You did the right thing and at least no one else is at risk. One long time rescue person's husband ended up with 100 some stitches. There's always a risk when you're dealing with the unknown. I doubt it was a big surprise to AC though and they should have warned you. It's always suspicious when a purebred is not on the adoption floor and they're limiting to rescue only. Shelters in this general area are so grateful to have purebreds to place they only call us when there are health and/or aggression problems and we won't take the latter except with the clear understanding that we will euthanize the dog for them. There is a limit what adopters - or foster homes - should be expected to live with, and we know we have temperament problems in this breed. Very sad, but not terribly surprising. You did your best and at least thanks to you he had a shot. Hope Dave is OK. Kristine |
Donner's Mom wrote: Yes, I was bitten once by a dog that was actually showing neurological symptoms of rabies Wow, that is scary! You're a saint for continuing to handle her and showing her some love. I wish we could've taken Willie out, let him enjoy the outdoors a bit more and maybe given him a farewell cheeseburger. I know he loved his time in the outdoor kennel with us though. He had only been there for 6 days so his stray hold wasn't up yet, so I honestly don't think he was out of his kennel once during that time. They usually just spray the feces and urine out while they're still standing in it. There's so much that needs to be changed to stop this from happening. It's overwhelming for me to think about. Marianne wrote: I know of others you have saved and although rescue is tireless work with lots of heartbreaks - it has joys too. Thanks Marianne, a little perspective in this regard was needed. I have Rudie laying here next to me, so he's proof of the joys and successes. We have another purebred OES we fostered and placed and 3 more mixes that are living the good life. Plus, 180+ other forgotten dogs. I always love reading bout your gang too, and am happy to be a part of GIlligan's story. |
| Heather, My heart is very very sad for you, Dave and Willie, it is unfortunate that the ending was not the way it was suppose to go, but you were there for him in his final moments, who knows what torments a soul to lash out, its what he knew to survive. Be thankful that it happened to you and Dave, someone who understands and sees the goodness despite the action and truly cared no matter what. I have to believe that Willie knew that, he is not tormented no more, he is how he should of been all along, running free and happy. xoxox Bren |
| Oh Heather...that is too bad. Thank you for giving Willie a few moments of love before the end. |
| Heather, I wish I were in Chicago right now to personally hug you for EVERYTHING you have done for Willie. You have not only touched Willie's life at the end but also so many of us human folks here. Nick and I were moved by all the responses/contribution for Willie and were so inspired by your efforts to rescue this poor baby. Really, you are an angel. I know that Willie is in a much better place because of you. |
| So sorry you had to have this experience, a no win for everyone. You do know you tried and that is wonderful. |
| like all we wish we were there to give you a big hug!! willie is now out of pain and in peace you did all you could |
| Oh, Heather! I'm so sorry you guys had to go through this. You are so strong to be able to deal with these situations and give them some perspective. |
| Thank you everyone. We had to put another one of our dogs down today because of health reasons, so it has been a really sad week for me. We did get contacted about an 8 year old female OES from the shelter Rudie came from though, so it's on to the next one. |
| Such a heartbreaking sad story. Thank you Heather for all you do. Let the memories of those you did save give you strength and courage to continue this very important work. |
| Hugs Heather-- |
| I am very new here but big hugs from the Isle of Man. So tough for you. But what you do is amazing. much love Debs |
| Thanks again everyone. Dave's hand is healing, and we're moving on. We have Georgia on our minds now viewtopic.php?f=13&t=33913 |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|