Almost Home Canine Rescue

Thank you Jason Debus Heigl Foundation!

2009-06-18T09:23:00.000-07:00

Almost Home would like to thank the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation is for their generosity! The foundation is sponsoring our new arrivals from puppymills. 6 out of 7 of these dogs are pregnant and need extensive medical care and high quality food. We are incredibly honored to receive this donation and also would like to extend our deepest appreciation to Nancy Heigl and her support of our efforts rescuing puppy mill dogs.

Cat Hoarder Fundraiser

2009-06-17T20:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday our rescue worked on a very challenging rescue. We are working with a cat hoarder to attempt to rescue the cats and kittens in the home as well as one dog. The conditions in the home are appaulling. The animals are living in severe filth and neglect . Have you ever watched Animal Cops on Animal Planet and watched the officers go into hoarder homes? This is exactly what we are dealing with! We rescued a dog, 10 kittens and 2 adult cats yesterday. But many more kittens and cats need to be rescued. Tonight we rescued 5 newborn kittens, 3 adult cats and 3 kittens.

We need your help in order to help these cats and kittens! Here are ways you can help:

1. Provide foster care for a kitten

2. Adopt a cat or kitten

3. Help us find good farm homes for some of the adult cats (after they are spayed)

4. Donate- we set up a special fundraiser today called Chipin. The Chipin fundraiser is a simple way to donate towards this rescue. You simply click on the icon above and donate through your paypal account!

This rescue is going to be very challenging in terms of money and resources and finding good, quality homes and rescues for the cats and kittens. We desperately need your support. Every cat and kitten needs immediate flea treatments, spaying, feline leukemia testing, vaccinations and deworming. The dog we rescued needs emergency eye surgery on both eyes, spaying, vaccinations, deworming, heartworm testing and a dental cleaning. Would you please consider donating to these rescue efforts?

I am attaching a couple pictures of the kittens and dog. The dog pictures are graphic (warning!) due to her severe, long standing neglect. Her name is Grace and she was tied to kitchen cabinets on a short leash her entire life. Grace suffers from entropion eyelids. This condition is where the lower inside of the eye pops out and continually rubs on the eyes. Grace has suffered from entropion eyelids for so long that the constant rubbing on her eyes has blinded her. Grace is undergoing surgery on her eyes today and will no longer be in pain! Please keep Grace in your thoughts and prayers.

I know this type of thing is hard to hear but unfortunately is all too common. This is why we are here for the animals; they have no voice and without animal welfare advocates providing a voice for the animals, the animals will continue to suffer.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support and for caring.

We cannot adopt our way out of this problem!

2009-06-08T14:46:00.000-07:00

We cannot adopt our way out of the dog and cat overpopulation problem! The only way to solve the overpopulation problem is to spay and neuter dogs and cats!

We are committed to promoting spaying and neutering cats and dogs. Since January 1, 2009, In addition to every dog brought into our rescue, we spayed and neutered 73 dogs and cats in our area through our Spay and Neuter Assistance Program:

Cat Spay 32
Cat Neuter 11
Dog Spay 16
Dog Neuter 10
Plus spayed 4 cats in the Sisseton, SD area (not included in the statistics below)

Effect on the unwanted dog/cat population

10 dogs neutered + 16 dogs spayed = 26 dogs

The effect of spaying / neutering 26 dogs
Multiplied by the number of puppies per average litter
Multiplied by the average number of litters a dog can produce in 1 year
Multiplied by the average years of canine fertility
Results in the number of unwanted puppies prevented

26x8x2x6=2496 prevented puppies from being born!

Effect on the unwanted cat population

11 cats neutered + 32 cats spayed = 43 cats

The effect of spaying/neutering 49 cats
Multiplied by the number of kittens per average litter
Multiplied by the average number of litters a cat can produce in 1 year
Multiplied by the average years of feline fertility
Results in the number of unwanted kittens prevented

43x5x3x7= 4515 prevented kittens from being born!

This Boy Needs a Home ASAP!

2009-05-20T09:25:00.001-07:00

This nice lab mix boy needs a home! Rocky is in doggie jail because his owner refuses to reclaim him! Rocky is a small lab mix probably weighing 45-50 pounds. He is a calm, sweet dog. Please spread the word about Rocky!

UPDATE: Rocky is going to a rescue in Minneapolis! He is at the vet being neutered and vetted and will leave for the big city soon!

Any Easy Way For You To Raise Money For Almost Home!

2009-05-19T10:12:00.001-07:00

GoodSearch
& GoodShop

YOU SEARCH OR SHOP
WE GIVE!

Raise money for Almost Home Canine Rescue just by searching the web and shopping online!

Search the web now!

Free coupons at top stores!

Add to your site

New Dogs To Rescue

2009-05-19T06:31:00.000-07:00

We took in 2 pregnant schnauzers this weekend. These dogs came from a deplorable puppymill. The dogs were living in makeshift pens with dog houses. After 3 days of rain, they were living in standing water and mud.

This precious girl is close to delivering her puppies. She went to see Dr Anna yesterday and was diagnosed with tapeworms and is very, very thin. We purchased 2 cases of canned Chicken Soup puppy food, calcium tablets, puppy milk replacer and Chicken Soup puppy kibble for her. She needs the best nutrition that we can provide!

Momma schnauzer does not have a name yet. Do you have a name suggestion? If so, email the suggestion to almosthomesd@yahoo.com

Ester is adopted!

2009-05-19T05:50:00.000-07:00

Remember Ester, the chihuahua from a puppymill, who was rescued last June? She came into rescue and we knew something was seriously wrong with her. When Dr. Anna did her spay surgery, she saw exactly what was wrong. Ester had a bloated up kidney that needed to be removed as soon as possible. One week later Dr. Bill Ouverson removed the kidney and Ester felt so much better. We were devastated when the lab report came in and it said that the kidney contained cancer. We took Ester to the vet 6 months following her kidney removal for an xray and were thrilled that there was no visible cancer. We took Ester to the vet last Friday for another xray. The xray showed no cancer so Ester is cancer free!

She left on Saturday for her new forever home. She will join her new mom and Cuddles, another Almost Home alumni, in Minnesota. Ester is enjoying her new adoptive mom, Cuddles, a soft dog bed and poached eggs!

You can see Ester here: http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=13204374

Please remember to vote!

2009-05-19T05:40:00.000-07:00

Where are all the kittens?

2009-05-03T09:38:00.000-07:00

Every spring the rescue braces itself for the inevitable "kitten season". In years past, we received calls from all over town about stray pregnant cats and kittens in need. We did all we could to rescue the homeless cats and kittens, but never had enough homes or foster homes to keep up with the need.

This spring, we have not had one call about pregnant cats or kittens in need!!!

Why would that be?

Because: Almost Home has been spaying and neutering cats and kittens by the hundreds! We have assisted cat owners with the cost of spaying and neutering their cat(s). We have also paid to have well over 100 feral and homeless cats spayed and neutered and released them back into their colonies. We make sure that the homeless cats have someone who is looking out for them, feeding them, and providing shelter. Now that these cats are spayed and neutered, they will never reproduce again.

Almost Home has made a significant difference in the stray and homeless population in Madison SD! : )

We will continue to aggressively spay and neuter animals in our area!

Please Help Almost Home Win Up To $21,000!

2009-04-25T17:50:00.000-07:00

"The Animal Rescue Site"
$20,000 Grant Contest(see below for the Voting Tutorial)

Another Contest!—An animal welfare organization called "The Animal Rescue Site" is giving away $20,000 to one lucky animal shelter with smaller cash prizes for runners-up. Please vote for Almost Home Canine Rescue of South Dakota on this site once each day, every day through July 26!

Voting on The Animal Rescue Site:

is free
is very quick
does not require registration or even an email address

Plus, every day that you vote, The Animal Rescue Site donates food to animal shelters!

Voting runs daily through midnight on July 26
There are $1,000 weekly prizes for the shelter with the most votes that week, as well as $1,000 prizes for the top-voted shelter in each state at the end of the contest

Voting Tutorial

Voting is easy and fast. Just click to go to TheAnimalRescueSite.com and then follow the steps below:

1) Click on the big purple button that says "Click here to Give - it's FREE!" :

2) Next, click where it says "Vote Now!" near the top of the screen :

3) Then, scroll down a bit and search for the "Almost Home Canine Rescue" by typing in the Shelter Name and entering "USA" as the country, "SD" as the state, and then click "Search":

4) "Almost Home Canine Rescue" will return in the Search box, along with a button that says "Vote." Click the "Vote" button

5) You will have to prove that you are a real person voting (and not an automated computer program) by correctly identifying a photo of a type of animal, such as a "fish," "horse," "tiger," "dog," etc. Type in the kind of animal pictured where it says "Your Answer:" and then click the "Confirm Vote" button :

6) That's it! Please spread the word and vote every day so Almost Home Canine Rescue can win $20,000 in the nation wide contest and $1,000 for the state of South Dakota contest!

Thank you for your support.

April 2009 Puppy Mill Rescue

2009-04-25T15:30:00.000-07:00

We just completed another large puppy mill rescue. 60 dogs from puppymills were rescued on April 19th. Almost Home Canine Rescue coordinated the rescue working with 8 other rescues in Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota.

Breeds included boxers, chihuahua's, maltese, brussels griffon, keeshonds, yorkie's, cavalier, basset hound, poodles and a husky. Many of the dogs had major medical issues. Many of the dogs had rotten teeth and lost most or all of their teeth. A few of the dogs had deteritorating jaw bones due to their teeth being infected for so long and infecting the bones. Some of the dogs had scars, new wounds and old from enduring years of cage aggression.

Lake Vet Clinic is Madison, SD did the vet work on 18 of the puppy mill dogs. Thank you Dr Anna and staff for providing the highest quality vet care provided to the 18 dogs you treated!

More large-scale puppy mill rescues are being planned for this summer. These rescues are very expensive; the dogs need extensive vet care and we spend significant amounts of money transporting these dogs to safety. Would you consider making a donation towards our puppy mill rescue work? Donations can be sent to Almost Home Canine Rescue PO Box 129 Madison, SD 57042 or you can send money through paypal using the paypal icon on our web page at http://members.petfinder.com/~SD17/index.html

These 60 dogs were the lucky ones. There are thousands and thousands of dogs in mass breeding facilities in this country enduring horrible suffering. There is only one way to end the suffering of the dogs in puppy mills: NEVER buy a puppy at a pet store and adopt your next best friend from a shelter or rescue organization!

2009-04-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the new Almost Home Canine Rescue blog! We will post about our latest rescues, events and fundraisers in this blog. Keep up with the latest at Almost Home by checking back to this blog often!