Our annual fundraiser, the BARC Gala was last month, and we are thrilled with the attendance and the amount raised: $62,000 towards the rescue hospital! As in years past, the incomparable Tony Zazza was our emcee. He told the touching story of his own Mazie's Mission dog, Belle. There weren't many dry eyes after he spoke.
It was not a good night for those of us with mascara on. Our latest
video showing before and after footage of some of our rescues from this
year, of the clinic opening and of the community outreach projects we
work with brought down the house. If you haven't seen it, grab the
tissue, click below and get ready for your heart to explode.
I warned you!
The board of directors presented Erin with an award for all that she has accomplished for rescue in the last five years.
The Embassy Suites in Frisco did an amazing job with dinner. There were delicious vegetarian and vegan options--I should have taken pictures of the food, but I was too busy eating.
We thank everyone who attended, volunteered, donated, shared on social media, etc. We could not do this without you! Of course, we still very much need sponsors for our full-scale hospital to become a reality. Please consider visiting our website to sign up as a monthly donor. It just takes one step through PayPal and you can support the mission every month! http://maziesmission.org/donate-cash
As always, thanks for reading and for sharing our videos.
Here at Mazie's Mission, we are known for taking in dogs and cats that no one else will. Since our rescue-only clinic opened, our time and resources have been focused on making it a success. It IS the first one of it's kind, so it's not like there is a blueprint to follow!
We have been very limited on the number of animals we can pull because again, our volunteers are spending any time they have at the clinic. We've had a wonderful first six months and are so grateful to our rescue partners who have supported our efforts.
We are thrilled to announce a new program called Mazie's Bridge. It is for animals that we pull from shelters in VERY bad condition. We treat and rehabilitate them, then we transfer them to one of our rescue partners for adoption! This way, we still get to pull a few animals, and our rescue partners get fully vetted pets for their programs. Everyone wins--especially the animals!
Here is our very first ambassador for the Mazie's Bridge program. His name is Eeyore, and he is ready to start attending adoption events with one of our rescue partners.
We could not have been so successful without our fabulous rescue partners. One of our goals is to unite North Texas animal rescues and shelters to reach the goal of lowering euthanasia rates.
Cody's Friends
Animal Rescue of Texas (ART)
Apollo Rescue and Support
Duck Team 6
League of Animal Protectors (LAP)
Good Shepherd Rescue
Habitat for Paws
Harbored Souls
Lucky Star Cavalier Rescue
Lost Paws Rescue
Dallas Pets Alive!
Seagoville Animal Rescue
STAAR
Paws In the City
Collin County Animal Services
The Colony Animal Services
Frisco Humane Society
Paws for Irving Animals
Texas Independant Ridgeback Rescue
Second Chance SPCA
Mended Hearts Rescue
Animal Allies of Texas
Big Dog Rescue Project
Coppell Humane Society
Buddie's Place
Dallas Animal Companion Project
DFW Cocker Spaniel Rescue
Furry Friends Animal Rescue
Find a Home Pet Rescue
Ragdoll Rescue
Saving Pyrs in Need
Oak Hill Animal Rescue
Recycled Poms Rescue
Plano Animal Services
Texas Tails Rescue
Who wants to take the first Mazie's Bridge dog? As you can see, he's a total sweetheart, and ready to meet his forever family.
WE NEED FOSTERS! We have several rescue partners that are usually willing to tag, but these babies need somewhere to go. Our previous blog post explained how simple it is to help a dog with mange, so if you aren't familiar with the process, please take a moment to read it. We are also raising money for their treatment when they get out. Which one will be rescued first??? Go to our facebook page www.facebook.com/maziesmission or comment here to pledge. Give the amount and which of the four you are donating to. Share and repost!!!
One of the most rewarding sights for anyone involved in animal rescue is the "after" picture. A happy, healthy dog with a forever family that loves him.
Hansel- scroll down to see "before"
Thanks to Facebook and other social media, one picture of a dog in a shelter that is short on time can create a frenzy of activity. "Please help." "Time is up." "Has to be out today." "Has pledges, needs foster." Oh, that last one is the one that gets ya. A rescue is willing to go get this baby and put it into their program. It will have a second chance! It doesn't have to DIE! It just needs somewhere to go.... So we post, tag, share, wheedle, arm-twist, beg... We send a pitiful picture to our husband/boyfriend/girlfriend/partner/roommate with "can we please?" at the bottom.
Oh, honey, can we pleeeeeeze?
If the answer isn't automatically, you-have-really-lost-your-mind-if-you-think-we're-bringing-another-dog-into-this-house (not that I know anyone personally that this has happened to *cough*) then it's, "*sigh* what's wrong with it?" There's the rub! Until we get it to the vet, we don't know exactly. So now we've got 200 people commenting on this picture desperate to get the dog out, but without any idea what the next step is.
Folks, we're about to go see the elephant. This mystery of how to help a mangy puppy in the shelter is about to be unraveled. Keep in mind that I am not a vet, I just stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night. I kid, I kid-- this info is based on my experience as a foster. First, there are two kinds of mange: Demodex and Sarcoptic.
Demodex: These mites live on all dogs all the time. I liken a demodex infestation to a yeast infection in people--it's part of the natural flora of beasties that are opportunistic. If a dog gets sick, is undernourished, has a compromised immune system (especially puppies, whose immune systems aren't even fully developed) then the demodex mites seize the opportunity and run wild. This causes fur to fall out, skin to swell, secondary infection to set it.... it gets messy. Demodex is NOT contagious. Your other pets, kids, etc will NOT get mange from a dog with demodex. Also, it is not usually itchy.
Sarcoptic: This is the contagious one. HOWEVER it's really not that big of a deal. I've had it. We are not their preferred host, so even if we get bit, it's a one-time thing and then they die. End of story. Would you refuse to foster a dog for a couple of chigger-like bites? Didn't think so. What about your dogs? As long as you don't crate them together and don't let them share any bedding, it's actually pretty unlikely that your dogs will ever be affected. These mites aren't like fleas (oh, how I loathe fleas). Once treatment has started, the foster is no longer contagious after two weeks. That's it! Two weeks! If your own pets do happen to get a mite or two, guess what!? You can get one dose of a medication called Revolution and *poof* it's gone.
Fraggle before
This is Fraggle. She gave me sarcoptic mange. It itched for a few days. I would do it again 1,000,000,000,000 times again to save her. She had both types of mange, which is rare, and we let her sleep in the bed with us before we found that out.
Totally worth it
If you're thinking you want to give fostering a dog like this a shot, here's how it will most likely go down. The vet will scrape a couple places on the dog's skin to see what kind of buggers you're up against. Sometimes it isn't mange at all--sometimes it's something as simple as a flea allergy or nutritional deficiency because the dog needs a few good meals. The bottom line is, no one can tell just by looking. If it turns out to be mange, the vet will likely give you a liquid called Ivermectin to give daily by mouth for a few weeks. If there are scabs and possible secondary skin infection, then you'll also be given some type of antibiotic and/or something like Flagyl (ketoconazole). A fecal exam will be done, because they usually have internal beasties too. That means you'll get some type of pill or powder to get rid of worms. The picture above with Hansel and Gretel shows their sad little swollen worm-bellies. Those went down after a couple of days. They'll also need to be bathed every few days to help get rid of that scaly skin.
Recap: You'll have to give meds every day for a few weeks. Baths every few days. The length of time you'll have to do all of this depends on the severity. You'll have to do things like crate-train and leash-train just as you would any foster.
As an aside, know that our eyes roll back in our heads it's a little frustrating when people on Facebook ask "is he friendly with other dogs????" If the dog is less than a year old, it is friendly with everyone. It's a puppy. Puppies have to be socialized. That's how they become friendly with other dogs. These dogs are in so much pain and have been so neglected and/or abused that the gratefulness oozes out of them. For the first week or so, they mostly sleep because their bodies are healing and they are so relieved to finally have someone that is kind to them and gives them regular meals.
Obviously this is a simplification, but the point is this: It is a LOT easier to foster one of these mangy babies than it looks. You have to be able to see the potential. Plus it's fun to guess what the dog will look like when the fur grows back! What color will it be? Will it be long or short? You get the satisfaction of knowing you have saved a life that most other people would look at, say, "how sad" and move on. You can do it.
In fact, you can do it right now.
These two puppies, both about three months old, are at a shelter right now. This is your chance to make your own "after" pictures. One is male and one is female. The white one has "cherry eye". It is also treatable.
Are you ready? Email us at foster@maziesmission.org to take the next step. We realize that not everyone is in a position to foster, but everyone can share this to find someone who is. Thank you for your help!
A little over a year ago, we pulled a border collie mix that CCAS had listed as "Carly". When we picked her up from the shelter, her skin was in very bad shape, and she needed to have a few weeks of treatments before she could be spayed and put into our adoption program. Her foster mom said she re-named her Rosy because she "was so stinky"!
Bless her heart
After a few weeks, the foster called Dr. Shults and asked if it was possible that Rosy could be pregnant. When asked why she thought that, she said that Rosy had gained weight, was hungry all of the time and that her nipples seemed swollen. Uh-oh. Dr. Shults had her bring Rosy in for an x-ray and sure enough, puppies were on the way! The x-ray seemed to indicate that there would be approximately seven of them. The foster was willing to give dog-motherhood a shot, but she lived by herself and was concerned that she might not be able to provide the around-the-clock care they would need at first. She and I arranged to trade my foster for hers.
Exactly one year ago today, Rosy turned briefly into a puppy vending machine. I was at home by myself when she went into labor, so she and I were in it to win it together.
I followed her inside after a potty break (I'd heard that they can sometimes have them in the yard--which Erin later made fun of me for) and as she was walking through the laundry room, I heard a sloppy "splat!". She and I both looked at each other like, "Did you do that? Because it wasn't me!" Beside her, wriggling in it's sac, was the first puppy. I promptly screamed like an idiot scooped it up, opened the sac and gave it to her to start cleaning up. I started writing down the time/sex/color when one was born, but things were happening so quickly that soon I couldn't keep up! She was having one every 10-15 minutes, which was barely enough time for her to cut the cord and clean one up before the next one was on the way. When magic number 7 was born, I was ready to close up shop! The birthing suite (as I fondly called our spare bedroom) was equipped with heating blankets, clean towels, a thermometer, dental floss (don't ask) paper towels, a separate box for while she had contractions.... We were EQUIPPED in the medical supplies department.
What we were not equipped for was for her to continue to pop out puppies. Number 8 came, and I thought, "well, 7 was just an estimate, so no big deal." Then, number 9 showed up. And number 10. And number 11. And number 12. By the time the twelfth puppy was born, I was unsure for a while if there were 12 or 13 because of the switching back and forth between mama and heating pads.
They were all beautiful and healthy and perfect. I thought I might overdose on puppy breath. Seven boys and five girls.
Mimic
Bishop
Since there were
a few more than anticipated, which made them seem quite mutant-like, I decided to give them all X-Men names.
As you would expect, they did the most adorable things that puppies do. There was a LOT of sleeping in food bowls
Sprite
Also Sprite
Once mealtime was over, it was too much effort to get away from the food bowl.
Falling asleep in between the bars was also easy to do, apparently. For the first couple of weeks, I slept downstairs on the couch next to them. Not because I was afraid that one of them might get stuck somewhere underneath Rosy and stop breathing...ok, that is exactly why I did it. For a brief time, we even had a guest puppy from ART (Animal Rescue of Texas), but we'll tell her story in a separate post.
Rogue
Storm
Banshee and Nightcrawler
If you've never seen a tiny puppy stampede, you need to watch these :12 seconds of video.
Unfortunately, when they were about 12 weeks old and had just had their second set of shots, they started getting sick. The day that Anthony and I were dropping some of them off with new fosters, Havok became lethargic. I took him to see Erin, and since he had thrown up a little, but really didn't seem to have anything else wrong, she gave him some medication and I took him home. The next day, he was worse. I took him back up to see her and she tested him for Parvo, which came back negative. She kept him up at the clinic and put him on fluids. No matter what she did, he wasn't getting better. A couple of days later, he went to the Rainbow Bridge. I was devastated. I had never lost a foster. One by one, the other puppies were getting sick. They had to be hospitalized in Denton at an animal hospital equipped to deal with such severe illness. Every time one started showing symptoms, one of us had to drive to Denton with a heavy heart.
In loving memory of Havok
Thankfully, all of the other puppies made it. The day that I got to bring several of them home was an emotional rollercoaster of joy, relief, and sadness for Havok. Sprite and Jubilee were the only two that did not get sick.
Headed home from the hospital
Since they weren't allowed around other dogs or people for a month, they missed a crucial socialization period and some of them became timid around people.
But puppies are resilient little things! Most of them bounced back quickly, and finally they were ready to enter the adoption program.
Gambit
Nightcrawler
Nightcrawler (my little escape artist) and Jubilee were adopted at the first event they went to. One by one, the others found their forever homes as well. We'll post their "happy tails" in a later story as well.
Rogue, Wolverine, Pixie, Gambit, Banshee, Sprite
The only one who hadn't found her people yet was our precious little Rogue. Her foster parents took her to dog parks, trained her, worked with her...but she just didn't "show well" at adoption events. People couldn't see the real funny, sweet Rogue.
Look how big she's gotten!
Finally, she has found a family of her own. Today, on her birthday, she went to her forever home. She was a brother named Chandler, who is also a border collie mix.
Rogue and her new brother Chandler. So happy!!!!
These puppies have brought so much joy to so many people. The families that fostered them will always treasure the memories, and we wish them lifetimes of happiness with their forever homes. Happy Birthday, loves.
(If you have adopted one of the X-men puppies and have updated pictures, please send them to jaime@maziesmission.org or I can just continue to stalk you.) :)
Fred is one of the Mazie's Mission "flagship" dogs. In 2010, Dr. Shults got a call from Collin County Animal Services (CCAS) about two Brittany Spaniels (as far as they could tell) who were in bad shape. Bad doesn't even begin to describe the condition these two souls were in.
Fred, the day Dr. Shults pulled him from the shelter
The male was much worse than the female. He had such severe mange and secondary skin infection that his face was one bloody scab and he was covered in his own excrement. He was too weak to stand. All he could do was lay there and shiver.
Dr. Shults promised him she would make him better
I was at the shelter that day to take photos for a Mazie's Mission holiday video. When I bent down to take this picture and saw his face up close, I burst into tears. I had never seen an animal suffering this badly. I couldn't understand how some human(s) somewhere had let him get to this point. Where did he come from? How long did it take for him to get this sick? We will never know.
Erin took them home with her to begin their treatment. For the first few days, the male could not stand or walk to relieve himself, so Erin had to pick him up and carry him outside. She started him on several medications, hydrotherapy, medicated baths, quality food and most importantly, affection. She named the pair Fred and Ginger. None of us thought that he would ever have fur on his face again. It was so scarred and swollen.
Slowly, his skin started to heal and he began to put on much needed weight.
As the pain went away, his charming and goofy personality began to come out.
He even started growing fur on his head! After months of intensive treatment, Fred was finally well enough to start attending adoption events. All of the volunteers just loved him, and we knew his forever family was out there somewhere. It was a full year from the day that Dr. Shults rescued him to the time that he was adopted.
Now, he has a family that treats him like a king! He loves to chase tennis balls and nap with his humans. You would never, ever be able to look at this dog and know what illness and pain he had gone through. Even though people let him down, he was able to trust and love unconditionally, a quality that dogs have mastered better than any other species.
I call him a "flagship" dog not only because he was one of Mazie's Mission's first rescues, but also because he illustrates perfectly the reason why we choose to help animals that might make others look away. His transformation is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Seeing him so happy inspires us in rescue to keep going, even though the cards are stacked against us. A happy ending like this makes the struggle and heartache worth it, so we continue to encourage people to adopt their pets instead of buy them.
As a bonus for Fred, his family recently adopted a companion for him from Mazie's Mission. Hers is a story that will be told as well--she and Fred share a similar background. Her name is Pearl, and she and Fred couldn't be happier.
We always need volunteers. You have probably heard it many, many times, but FOSTERING saves lives! If you would like to have more information on how you can help, please visit our website at www.maziesmission.org If you have adopted from us and have updated photos, we would love to share them here! You can email them to jaime@maziesmission.org
This blog is dedicated to bringing you stories from the front lines of rescue.
In 2009, Dr. Erin Shults decided that although she enjoyed veterinary medicine in private practice, she wanted to do more. She felt like she needed to do something to help decrease the euthanasia rate in this country, even if it was only one animal at a time. She founded a 501(c)3 non-profit animal rescue, and she named it after her beloved dog, Mazie, who had recently crossed the rainbow bridge.
When asked what made Mazie so special, such an inspiration, Erin would say, "It wasn't that she was this incredible dog--she was a little eccentric and not very outgoing, but she was my Mazie."
So Erin set out on a journey to save as many homeless animals as possible. Her dream was to open a veterinary hospital on several acres. It would have plenty of space to house and rehabilitate. It would have a forensic team to investigate and help prosecute animal cruelty cases. It would be a training facility for volunteers. All of this, and so much more.
Thanks to Mazie's Mission, dogs and cats that would have otherwise been euthanized were spared. They were given a second chance at life when they needed it the most. You see, Mazie's Mission does not go out and find the cute, fluffy puppies that are easy to adopt out. We take the ones that no one else will. We take cases of severe and debilitating mange, parvo, injuries from cars, injuries from gunshot wounds, and much more.
We were thrilled to announce that our state-of-the-art veterinary clinic opened in January! We are the first and only clinic devoted specifically to rescues and their animals. Our vision is for non-profit rescues to work together, hand in hand, for a common goal. In this blog we will feature before and after stories of animals that you will have to see to believe. The transformations of these resilient creatures is astounding, and we are honored to be part of such a worthwhile endeavor. So if you've ever been on our Facebook page and wondered, "what ever happened to this or that dog?" here is where you can find out! You can follow this blog for updated posts, and you can like us on Facebook here: www.facebook.com/maziesmission
For the final phase, the large scale hospital, we still need your help. Donations are always needed for the care of animals, but we need sponsors to reach the ultimate goal of such an all-encompassing facility. You can always visit our website to donate: www.maziesmission.org
We hope you will enjoy the stories, videos and pictures we have to share, and that they inspire you to do your part. Volunteering, fostering, donating....every person can do something to save lives.
