Please help with surgery for Rescue Dog

Our friend Elizabeth needs our help.

Elizabeth runs Gunn Dogs Rescue in Arkansas and has rescued hundreds of shelter dogs in the past. She has rescued puppy mill dogs, dogs found abandoned on the highway and even dogs someone was selling out of a box in a parking lot.

Elizabeth was promised help by another "Rescue," and agreed to rescue eight doodle pups and a couple other dogs from a back yard breeder and found abandoned in Arkansas. These dogs were sick, some had been eating rat poison and all needed medical attention and socializing. Some didn't survive.

Elizabeth has done a wonderful job and found homes for most of them. But because she was promised help and that help didn't come, Elizabeth now finds herself struggling to make ends meet. One of the dogs, Grant needs to have surgery tomorrow. Here's the story in Elizabeth's words:

Grant had been hit by a car on the highway where I picked him up. And we don't know about the rat poison - someone whose yard he wandered up into, I imagine. Poor thing has really had a rough time of it. Almost all of the original 13 or so Doodles I got in that week have been adopted - I still have one of the Mad Scientist puppies - Nash - who is growing like a weed! And Grant is still here, of course, along with his mother Sophie, the Standard Poodle. We think she is his mother, anyway - they were wandering together, along with a third Doodle pup that we never recovered. Rumor about town is that they belonged to a local backyard breeder, but he denied it when the Sheriff questioned him. Small towns in Arkansas can be rough for dogs. A witness saw Sophie and Grant (we assume it was Grant) get hit by cars after they were literally dumped in the middle of a four-lane highway - we are assuming that the third Doodle pup was killed, but we never located his body. It was horrible. One redneck (excuse me, I can't help it) - even admitted to shooting at them to get them out of his yard. No one fed them or gave them any water, and it was late July with temperatures in the 100's. The guy, we think who dumped them, is the ex-husband of the woman the Mad Scientist pups came from. Two of them had died before I got them. I need to take a road trip back to that area and make sure there aren't more Doodles wandering around down there.

A lot of people tried to help with donations, but, as you know, most of the money was - ah - "diverted" by another rescue and never made it to the Arkansas Doodles. But what goes around comes around, you know? I still owe a huge vet bill, but my wonderful friends at the vet are very understanding and trying to help raise donations to put towards the bill. I am blessed to have so many awesome friends out there!

Here's some of the original story for those of you who didn't follow it:

Eight 10-week-old labradoodle puppies were taken in by Elizabeth Gunn of Gunn Dogs Rescue in Arkansas. There were 3 chocolate girls and 5 boys, chocolate and black.

These babies were severely malnourished, flea and worm infested, had various skin conditions, eye and ear infections, diarrhea, and giardia. They had never seen a vet.

These puppies were starving, dehydrated and lethargic when they arrived. Initial vetting indicated that they are Parvo free but they need to be closely monitored for symptoms over the first few weeks and fecal tests had to be repeated with or without presentation of symptoms. They all required sub-cutaneous fluids and they were treated for all the various infections along with the worms and giardia. Elizabeth also provided them with electrolyte supplements and high calorie puppy food.

11/3 Update on Grant -

I am terribly worried about Grant - he is continuing to vomit a lot, and has lost what little weight he has gained. I am afraid I may feel a mass now in his abdomen, so he will be seeing the vet on Monday. Please send prayers to Grant - he has had such a rough time. If anyone would like to help out with his vet bills, you can call my vet directly - Park Hill Pet Hospital - 501-758-7387. They know me well there - oh, too well - LOL! My bill with them each month probably pays their rent, and I have gotten behind - argh! I am so embarrassed that I was not able to pay my bill after over $2000.00 was taken from the Arkansas Doodle Project by "that other rescue", that I have avoided taking Grant to the vet because of it. Anyway, after the fiasco with the misappropriated donations, I am loathe to even ask - so thought maybe if people knew they could send a donation directly to my vet, that might help assure everyone that the Arkansas Doodles will actually get the donations this time!
Anyway, paws crossed that Grant will be ok...I gave him some Zantac earlier tonight before his dinner, and so far no vomiting - but he seems to do it in the night mostly. I have tried everything I can think of and am out of ideas on what might be wrong, and now with feeling the mass I'm really worried. If anyone has any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact me. My home number is 501-888-8516, my email address is gunndogs@yahoo.com (also my Paypal account address). Thanks for all the kind words of welcome from everyone!

http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/16977351

11/8 Update on Grant -

Grant is at the vet's - he does have a very large mass in his abdomen - it doesn't look good at all. They are going to to exploratory surgery either this afternoon or tomorrow. I am cashing in my IRA to pay for his surgery. I feel so bad that I waited at all to take him to the vet - but once I found the mass, I got him right in. I have a terrible feeling about this, and have been crying all morning. Sometimes rescue is so heartbreaking. Please continue to send prayers for Grant and while you're at it, ask God to please help me get through this. My heart is breaking.

If anyone would like to help out with Grant's vet bills, you can call his vet directly - Park Hill Pet Hospital - 501-758-7387.

To pay by Credit Card by Paypal the email is gunndogs@yahoo.com

Any amount will be appreciated.

REST IN PEACE AT THE RAINBOW BRIDGE, GRANT.

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AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on November 9, 2010 at 6:12pm

Thank you so much, Marci not just for the donation but for the kindness and kind words. Eliz and I have much in common and have had a difficult few months. We cry for Grant and celebrate his life and the lives of all the dogs Eliz will continue to save. I am sure you will be hearing from Eliz, soon, I just wanted to send a hug of Thanks, myself.

Member Since 2010Permalink Reply by Krista on November 9, 2010 at 6:27pm

God Bless his furry heart. :-( Now he is running in the biggest and bestest dog park pain free. :-) Bless you Elizabeth for being his forever home, regardless of his length of stay.

Permalink Reply by Elizabeth Gunn on November 9, 2010 at 8:53pm

Marci, can you post the cute picture of Benton making chili you sent to me a while ago? You just click on the camera icon at the top of the comment box and attach it. I think that maybe we need to see, and be reminded of, one of the many success stories and happy endings stemming from that awful week in July when all the Doodles were dumped in Grant County, AR. Everyone, Benton was one of the ones dumped on the highway; he was fortunate enough to have been in the city limits of Sheridan and was picked up by their pound, where I got him the next day. (He was running down the highway towrds Benton, AR; hence his name). And there's Sheridan, the little girl the breeder's husband was going to shoot if she "wasn't gone RIGHT NOW". I need to invite her new family to join so that they can give us an update and send some pics of Sheridan.
Words cannot express my gratitude to you, Marci, and everyone who offered prayers, donations, words of encouragement, etc. I am struggling a bit tonight, staring at Grant's crate and not really knowing what to do with myself. I keep wanting to put fresh quilts in there and fix his dinner as usual, and he doesn't need that anymore. I always put three thick comforters in his crate for extra padding for his bony frame. He loved chicken livers and Bacon Beggin' strips. He had a funny habit of coming up behind me and walking through my legs so I could scratch his head. He would lay his head in my lap and gaze up at me with those wise brown eyes anytime I sat down. We sat like that for a long time yesterday before I sent him to the vet - I remember he had some dried poop in his fur, and I made sure to comb it out, telling him I wanted him to be clean and pretty when he went to the Bridge. I somehow knew....and I think he did, too. All weekend long, I would catch him lying down looking at me with this look in his eyes that said "We both know I am leaving, but don't be sad...I will be ok until we meet again". He followed me every step I took, and didn't want to go outside. I made him go outside, anyway, and how I wish I hadn't. He never stayed out but a few minutes to potty, then came right back in. He didn't want to leave my side even for that long, and if I went out with him, he would just wedge himself between my legs and not go to the bathroom. If I was behind a closed, door, when I went to open it, he would be lying up against it and I would have to move him out of the way. In retrospect, I think he was telling me goodbye and that it was time for him to go. On Sunday, I had gently brushed him, and he was so fluffy and pretty, even though his whiskers smelled awful from all the vomiting he had been doing....I didn't care, I kissed him all over his sweet face anyway. He had gotten where he had poop stuck on his butt a lot, and he hated that; I always made sure to clean it for him and I swear he would say "thank you".
When they opened him up on the operating table this morning, they said that all of his organs were so jumbled up and stuck together that they couldn't even begin to resect anything. They called and asked me if I wanted to come and say goodbye to him before they euthanized him....I couldn't do it. I just couldn't make him lie there a minute longer waiting for me to let him go. I am so ashamed that I also couldn't face seeing him like that, with his insides all exposed, and that ugly tumor and destruction staring up at me and a tube in his throat. I wanted to remember his sweet face, those knowing eyes, and his head on my knee. God, this is so hard! No matter how many times I go through this, it never gets any easier, any each loss just brings back memories of all those I have lost before, and it is almost more than I can bear. Listen to me, feeling sorry for myself like a selfish brat. I feel that if I put it out of my mind and try not to dwell on it, going about life as if it didn't happen, that it is a dishonor to Grant and the others before him - I can't pretend they didn't exist and that it didn't happen; but it is so painful. What do you guys do when this happens to you?

AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on November 9, 2010 at 9:02pm

Eliz, Tears are rolling down my face...for Grant...for you...for all those that go to the Bridge. When I sent Magic a few years ago, I cried with her and for her, then I sent her to run to my father, who went before. We can only go on and on, until we all meet again. I am sending you big hugs through the miles. Things happen for a reason, we may never know that reason, but Grant knows tonight. Our karma will find us, too. Love you!

Member Since 2010Permalink Reply by Krista on November 9, 2010 at 9:49pm

tears streaming down my face too.. I feel so bad for you. Its not selfish because you are the one in pain now and Grant is off to play sickfree. He loved you and he knew you loved him. Dont feel guilt for not going.. He would have wanted you to remember him as the handsome standing tall doodle that he was.

Love and hugs from IL! Peace be with you soon.

Member Since 2010Permalink Reply by mary pat fleming on November 9, 2010 at 10:28pm

Elizabeth... I am weeping along with you. Dear doodly Grant, his love, thanks and heart full of gratitude to you for loving him, taking such good care of him, his feelings for you are eternal and the goodness you shared with Grant are with him even now. Such kindness and compassion never die but spread like the ripples in a pond. {{{{Elizabeth}}} } My condolences to you for this very difficult loss, the agony of suffering... May Grant's smile and soulful eyes help to heal your broken heart. He died knowing he was so, so loved. That in itself is a triumph and it's what we are all about, isn't it? Allow yourself to grieve because he is worth your grief and our grief, too. But don't let it go on for too long; your furbabies need you too and Grant is joyous and pain free at least. Bless you for all you do.
mp

Permalink Reply by Elizabeth Gunn on November 9, 2010 at 10:37pm

Thank you all - I am hoping to stop crying soon - I am running out of kleenex, and my head is about to explode - LOL! Maybe a glass of wine would help....
It helps so much to know that all of you care, thank you and bless each and every one of you. I hope Grant is talking with my babies Smudge and Snuffy who left me last year way too soon - he is probably saying "...yeah, she still has way too many dogs, some of them are great, but those little yappy ones are a pain in the patootie...". Funny, but all three of them were closely bonded with my GSP Mickey - Mickey is grieving tonight, I can tell. Grant used to put Mickey's whole head in his mouth every chance he got.

Permalink Reply by Sariah Lily on November 9, 2010 at 11:35pm

When one of my furry babies passed a few months ago, I felt a lot like you...For weeks beforehand, my life revolved around her care and for a while I didn't know what to do with myself anymore. I lost another one last week and I've been focusing on remembering the good times, but letting myself cry, too. I've found the best medicine is being with my other furry babies and helping comfort them as well. Quiet hugs from others who understand also can help.

I think the most important thing is to allow yourself to grieve but keep in mind that eventually the pain will be tempered by the good memories you get to keep for a lifetime, and knowing that Grant knew you loved him, and that he is feeling carefree and painfree now. And be sure to let yourself cry. It's okay.

I love all the memories you shared with us in this post, how he never wanted to leave your side, what his favorite foods were. Remember those things, and his beautiful eyes, and the time you spent with him yesterday. Those are the gems, and the best way to honor him. *hugs*

Member Since 2010Permalink Reply by mary pat fleming on November 10, 2010 at 12:13am

That is sooo true, Sariah. Beautiful sentiments you have expressed here.

AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on November 10, 2010 at 6:02am

Thank you to everyone who commented and shared their grief. We appreciate all of you who stood by us and offered their prayers and good thoughts. It was difficult for both Eliz and I to put ourselves out there, again, knowing what would happen by those who seek to see us fail in our endeavors. But Grant was a sweet and innocent boy and deserved a chance. You, all, gave him that chance.

We will be putting together a Rainbow Bridge Memorial to honor and remember Grant. If you would like to put your dogs memories there, too, click on "Rainbow Bridge" under the "Main Tab," above.

Again, Thank you so much for all your love and support.

Permalink Reply by 39eftbz7uyajv on November 10, 2010 at 3:56pm

Don't beat yourself up about how you are dealing with the loss of Grant! Try being 6 months pregnant, and losing your 15yr. old JRT, "Hunter," who was like my first child. I got him when he was 8wks. old. Talk about an emotional/hormonal wreck!! I cried for a solid month! We buried him under the tree in the back yard February 24th, 2008, and only until about a year ago I have been able to walk by there and not get all worked up..... it just takes time. Time heals all wounds, or so they say....You are a strong and wonderful person, and you will find a way to someday remember the "fun" memories instead of these initial feelings of loss. Also, I am not the most computer savy individual, mainly because of laziness, but I will get someone to help me get some pictures of Benton and Trever to this website/to you soon. And one more thing...."You're Welcome!" I'm glad that we could help! Call me when you get to feeling better:-)

Permalink Reply by Sue & the Crew on November 11, 2010 at 1:14pm

Elizabeth, I am saddened to hear the news about Grant, but comforted knowing he is running happy and free of pain at the Rainbow Bridge. We are sending you lots of hugs and doodle kisses from up north.