Mizunderstood:Home for Life's Chow Chows

"I've been poor but never broke. Thank God for that" Denise Cobb Hale

In memory of Home for Life's Missy

People who advocate on behalf of pit bulls often talk about how in years past, other breeds were just as feared and maligned : rottweilers and dobermans are examples cited. Chows chows are another.The chows' bad reputation still seems to dodge them, causing these dogs to be unfairly shunned by rescues and potential adopters. Chows need a voice,and I have struggled with this blog post to try to do them justice -it has taken forever to get it done. There's so much to say about this complex and beautiful dog .

Though they're not found as frequently in rescue and shelters as pitbulls, chows chows frequently fall on hard times, and is a breed Home for Life is most often asked to help. Many chow mixes resemble pitbulls; Home for Life's Fozzie Bear ( right) and Posie are examples. In Home for Life’s 14 years, we've seen chow chows and chow mixes as abused and neglected as any pit bull.

Posie and Fozzie Bear

Unlike pit bulls, though, Chows don’t seem to have the champions, advocates and rescue groups

to help and run interference on their behalf. Chow chows lack the will to ingratiate themselves with unfamiliar people .They are reserved and will take their time to get to know someone . And this tendency to be aloof works against them in the rescue world where animals have to sell themselves and do so quickly if they want to have that second chance. Then there's the almost alien appearance of Chow Chows. They don’t have that cherubic face, short clean coat and smile of the pit bulls. Instead their thick coat *, wrinkled face and blue tongue gives them an exotic and even bizarre appearance. A chow's exotic looks don't always serve the dog in a shelter or rescue setting, appearing even more odd with their now probably shaved fur. The Chow Chow can be a beautiful dog but with their thick coat, they need frequent grooming. If they end up in a neglectful situation where they're not receiving proper care, their appearance will deteriorate quickly. In shelters, where there's little time to care for a chow’s coat, their thick fur is often cut off because it's so difficult to maintain, so they end up looking like a beautiful girl with a shaved head. Like the singer Sinead O’Connor they might be intriguing but not necessarily the one you want to take home.
I read something on line about the chow that they are considered one of the dumbest breeds. This opinion must be held by someone too dumb to appreciate these special dogs, a person who probably doesn't appreciate cats either.
Chows have often been described as the most cat like of dogs in terms of their attitude and approach to life. Like cats, chows aren't servile. If intelligence in a dog or in any animal is measured by the degree to which they'll follow commands, then of course that's an unfair context to evaluate a chow or a cat. Chow chows have a mind of their own, and they aren't command oriented. Like cats, chows do seem to land on their feet no matter what challenges they face. That resourcefulness and resilience is surely a sign of intelligence. And, as with cats, the chow's courage and independent attitude will antagonize some people who view that spirit as a challenge to be crushed. Many chows, like cats, become victims of outright abuse like Home for Life's chow chow mix Ashley who was left paraplegic when just a small puppy, after being brutally kicked and stomped on.


Ashley

The first chow chow we ever had at Home for Life was the beautiful red female Foxy, who'd been at a no kill shelter for over a year, with no adoption prospects in sight. Even the volunteer dog walkers wouldn't take her out because they were intimidated by her reserved nature and the chow's daunting reputation The kennel workers who knew Foxy well vouched for her gentleness and her fastidious nature- she never ever had an accident in her kennel in the entire time she was at the shelter.

Foxy

They also talked about her steadfast and reliable personality, despite being in the stressful shelter environment. Her beautiful fur was shaved,so it was hard to envision the beautiful dog that Foxy was in the kennel and shelter setting,where she hung back quietly in her cage, observing any visitors. She was age 6 when she came to Home for Life, and she lived at the sanctuary for another six years,before she passed away from cancer. At Home for Life, Foxy quickly became the leader of her dog group. She was regal and naturally assumed alpha dog position though she didn't attain top dog status thru aggression but rather through her natural leadership qualities which the other dogs recognized. Foxy's innate confidence reassured the other dogs in her group.One example of Foxy's leadership occurred when any dog in her group was injured or ill: she was concerned for that affected member of her group and would draw staff attention to that dog by standing near them and staring at the wound or the area of illness until we noticed that there was a problem. Dogs and staff alike came to rely on her powers of discernment and judgment.
Chow chows are an ancient breed and were developed in China. One of the oldest breeds, they are believed to have evolved from wolves in Northern China and Mongolia and Siberian Asia. Drawings dating from 150 BC depict chow chow dogs hunting and interacting in a friendly manner with children. In China they were considered to be working dogs, hunting, herding and protecting hearth and home, Chows are thought by many to be the ancestor of the Siberian husky, the Norwegian Elkhound, the Pomeranian and the Keeshond.

The Chow Chow was popular in the Roaring 20’s among the rich and famous. Like pit bulls Chow chows have their famous champions. Martha Stewart is the most well known of the famous people who love these dogs She's back on top of the world again but at her lowest point, it was her chow chow that was there for her. Martha Stewart’s tribute to her chow chow Paw Paw "Paw Paw: I will miss him" reveals why perhaps the most misunderstood woman in America has such an affinity for her canine kindred spirit- arguably the most misunderstood of dogs. While incarcerated, Martha missed her animals most of all, and when she returned home after five long months, she wrote how touched she was that the loyal chow chow Pawpaw remembered her and was so overjoyed to see her.

Other famous chow chow fans include President Calvin Coolidge who had a black chow chow named Timmy. Sigmund Freud had a chow named Jo-Fi who attended all patients sessions. Freud believed dogs have the sense to judge a person’s character, and Freud admitted depending on Jo-Fi to evaluate his patients’ mental state. Janet Jackson has a chow chow named Buckwheat and actors Mathew McConaughey and Drew Barrymore and singer Selena Gomez have lab/chow chow crosses as pets. The famous poet and writer Vannna Bonta has a cream Chow named Sky,a blue chow chow named Seraph and a red Chow named Beowulf who was immortalized as a fictional dog in her novel Flight.

It's one thing to have a celebrity for your owner but another to be a star in your own right Home for Life's chow chow Anook causes a near riot every time he makes an appearance at our annual 6 week Mall of America holiday event. By the time he walks from the parking lot, down the Mall of America corridors to our display at the rotunda, there's usually several people following him and several dozen standing around him, including several who have spotted him from the upper levels and rushed down on the escalators to meet him. No other Home for Life dog attracts as much attention from the public. With his huge fluffy coat and blue tongue, people can't even believe he's real. The fascination he generates is far cry from his humble origins.
Anook was abandoned on a reservation in northern Minnesota when his owners just moved away and left him outside, to sink or swim. The problem was, Anook was an older dog who had double entropia and was virtually blind. Had kind neighbors not made sure to leave him water and food, each day Anook surely would have died a slow, painful death from dehydration and starvation. As the cold weather approached, the neighbors realized the forsaken dog would never make it through the winter, so they brought Anook to the Beltrami Humane Society, outside of Bemidji Minnesota. He was in rough shape -blind,thin and matted fur full of burrs.He was positive for heartworm. Yet Anook was friendly, and grateful for the care he was receiving He thought the shelter was great after his many hard months outside on his own at the abandoned home. The shelter workers knew Anook would have no chance for adoption with his age and in the condition he was in, and his eyes needed expensive medical attention, so they asked Home for Life to help him. Volunteers coordinated a transport to bring Anook to the Twin Cities and then to Home for Life.

Anook



Anook looked exhausted and wretched when he showed up at the sanctuary, and it took nearly six months to restore his health. Even though his eyes were painful and had made him miserable for years, we couldn't do anything to help him for several weeks until the heartworm was resolved because he couldn't have survived the anesthesia. Anook then had the complicated surgery on his eyes which restored some of his sight. We had to shave his coat to get the mats and debris out of his thick fur. It would have been torturous--for both Anook and our groomers- to try to comb out all the tangles. It took months for him to gain weight and for his coat to grow out so he looked liked the dog he was born to be.
Anook is a great ambassador for Home for Life AND for his breed. At the Mall, it'is not unusual for toddlers and small kids to run up and throw their arms around his neck before our volunteers or the children's parents can stop them. The little ones are enchanted by this dog who looks like a storybook character Another time at the Mall, a guy who obviously recognized the breed, came up amidst the usual crowd surrounding Anook and started aggressively pushing at him, trying to provoke Anook to see if he would react. Anook at first didn't seem to understand that someone was being so hostile to him, but even then never responded in kind though he had every right to retaliate. Anook was indignant but showed admirable restraint in not putting the guy in his place. I told the guy to leave Anook alone and get lost;he skulked away like a typical coward. I was upset and angry but, Anook just let the whole episode roll off his fluffy back.

Anook is a true diamond in the rough and has never changed- in bad times or good- like the small town guy who made good but never forgot his humble origins. Anook's star appeal was always there,always part of his essence but would any one have ever known as he sat on the front porch of the abandoned house on the reservation or the kennel at the shelter, when he had no other offers and no where else to turn- a run down older, unhealthy dog and a breeds shunned by most rescues?



Mia didn't seem to have much reason for hope or optimism when she landed in an Indiana shelter that gassed their unwanted dogs and cats. Due to malnutrition her black fur had turned orange, like a starving child from Africa.

Mia



Mia was found in rural Indiana wandering at large and was still unclaimed at the end of her 5 day hold Though she was thin and ragged looking,Mia possessed a gentle and sweet nature. The shelter staff did all they could to network with out of state rescues and shelters to secure placements and transports for their dogs but found no takers for Mia because of her breed They contacted HFL for help and we leaned on a Minnesota shelter from whom we had taken two hard to place dogs the year before, and negotiated with them to help two Indiana dogs. We also took some of the Indiana dogs from the transport and persuaded the shelter to take two other dogs who might be adoptable. Mia and a pitbull mix named Sparky ( who turned out to have severe heartworm) ended up at the shelter;upon their arrival the staff person in charge of dog adoptions took one look at them, and called Home for Life,stating she would never be able to place them. I will never forget the disdain in her voice as she described Mia as a chow and a "poor quality one at that". She told me that they could come to Home for Life, go back to Indiana or be euthanized by the shelter euthanasia technician to save them the stress of further transport. Our Mia. The two dogs were unwelcome at the shelter, and even though we had also taken three other dogs from Indiana, we somehow made room for Mia and Sparky too for a total of five dogs from this transport. One of our volunteers drove down to the Minnesota shelter to get the two scorned dogs and bring them back to Home for Life.

As it turned out it was a good thing Mia came to Home for Life. She seemed to be walking with a limp, so we had her x-rayed at the veterinarian. To our astonishment, we found that Mia is completely lacking a hip socket on one side and on the other side, a socket severely affected by arthritis .The veterinarian couldn't believe she could stand let alone walk. Her legs were held in place by the ligaments and muscles, and somehow Mia had learned to function despite this disability. What a testament to her courage and tenacity, so typical of the chows, that she not only survived this disability but learned to make the best of life in spite of the condition.

Mia has now gained weight and as anyone can see from the photos is a beautiful dog Her fur is coal black and with her blue tongue, she creates an arresting first impression She can walk and trot, and although we monitor her daily for discomfort she doesn't seem to need any medication for pain control. She's still best friends with Sparky the pit bull, with whom she survived the Indiana kill shelter, a long transport to an uncertain future, rejection from the Minnesota shelter and finally finding refuge at Home for Life They refuse to be separated, and live in a spacious townhouse with Beauty a husky/border collie mix and Kitchee, an Alsatian from Saudi Arabia.





This post is dedicated to another of our chows who narrowly avoided a similar fate, and whom we just lost.

MISSY

Missy was five years old when she came to Home for Life. Missy, from Florida like Ashley, had lived for as long as three years at a wild life sanctuary This place kept her chained to a dog house.They fed and watered her but didn't do much else to enhance her life. Prior to coming to the sanctuary she had injured her leg,probably from being hit by a car. Nothing was done about the old injury and over the years, Missy's foot curled under and became obviously lame. She was a shy dog and didn't readily meet new people. After years of being chained outside to a doghouse, she'd grown to fear the tropical thunderstorms and would cower when the bad weather blew in during hurricane season. When the sanctuary fell on hard times and had to close due to financial distress, Missy had no offers for rescue She was at least five, had a lame leg and a shy disposition, She was also a breed that was hard to place. A rescue agreed to take custody of her and were going to humanely euthanize her Thankfully one of their volunteers who knew of our rescue of Ashley asked the shelter to get in touch with us about Missy . It took a while to arrange her transport and the possibility of putting her down was again raised by some of the people involved in her rescue- a middle- aged, shy, lame ,chow: what could we be thinking to fly her all the way to Minnesota? In the end we found a donor who was willing to pay for her direct flight to Minneapolis,and we whisked her away before the euthanasia talk got too serious.
Missy made it to Home for Life and as soon as we got her settled, we brought her to the surgeons at the University to evaluate her bad leg.There, doctors had two comments about Missy : she was " such a nice dog- for a chow chow" as they were wary of her when they first met her due to her breed. They also commented how stoic she was-when it was discovered on xrays that she had a pin that had probably been used to repair the broken bone but had never been removed as it should have. Over time it had migrated and for years had pushed on her sciatic nerve causing pain-for years she had lived that way.The surgeons removed the pin which had caused her so much discomfort for so many years and put a plate on the femur bone which had been cracked but left untreated while she was in the care of the wildlife sanctuary. After her surgery, Missy made an uneventful recovery but her leg was permanently curled under and she had to wear a specially made boot to train her foot to rest with the paw pad on the ground. She was always afraid of storms even though we didn't have the Floridian hurricane storms in the Midwest. When she sensed the low pressure of a thunderstorm approaching she would beat it to the loft, where we store food and bedding, to ride it out.

Missy remained shy of people but she was friendly and would take treats, tolerate grooming and listened well. She was smart and learned our daily routines and got to live in the main entrance of our dog building where she would offer a cordial greeting to visitors. Missy made it through years of pain and neglect but the circumstances of her hard life never impacted the essence of who she was. Through everything she went through she was always the same steadfast,gentle dog with a beautiful soul.

Chow chows, like Missy, aren't the type of dog of whom it may be said "they are great 95% of the time-its that other 5%". Rich or poor, in a shelter or a mansion, chow chows know who they are and are always true to themselves. I have never heard the word optimistic used to describe chow chows but to me, their optimism seems to define them. Maybe this quality can be attributed to the fact that the chow is an ancient breed- an old soul.
Last year Missy went back to the University for ACL surgery on her good hind leg, but the doctor noticed a lump on her collarbone. Tests came back with horrible news: she had a malignant ,inoperable thyroid tumor which had spread to her lungs.The prognosis was grim: 4-6 weeks. The surgeon who had known Missy all these years, since she had first come to HFL seven years ago and had her old leg injury repaired, was as upset as we were were at the findings . " I am so sorry about this news" her doctor wrote, " Missy is a great dog."

We thought we were bringing the terminally ill Missy home for hospice care, to die, but she had other ideas. As I said chows are independent and have a mind of their own She persevered for nearly a year- 11 months. We were able to control her pain,she continued to eat her favorite foods well,had her treats and she had many quality months with her dog friends. She never changed even til the end . She made her own decision about when she was ready to go After all she had gone through I wanted to give her as much time as possible and honor her choice about the right time to say goodbye. When she stopped eating and let us know that her body couldn't sustain her spirit any longer,we helped her cross peacefully.
Einstein, once said that , “The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe.” Isn't this also the most important question any unwanted dog or cat in rescue or a shelter must ask themselves? Some dogs who land in rescue after a harsh beginning seem to be unable to let go of their past. Even though their hard days are behind them, and they're treated only with kindness and understanding and have a chance for a better future, some of these haunted animals will forever be challenging and difficult. But, I've never seen this behavior in the Home for Life chows, no matter how neglected, or mistreated they were before coming to us. They somehow have retained a faith and an optimism about life and the world . They may have been poor and lost everything but they never lose hope and their spirits are never broken.

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* there are smooth-coated chowchows, but we have never had one at Home for Life, and they don't seem to be found as frequently in rescue or at shelter as the long haired chow chows

In Memory of Winter

In Loving Memory of Winter: Run free

Beauty & Fashion Tips from the Animals at Home for Life

In the world of rescue, providing dogs and cats with services like grooming or giving them a nice collar, let alone a coat, might be considered to be superficial details that cost money and are not essential to the mission of saving animal lives.

With a rescue or shelter, saving lives means to process the animals efficiently, spaying neutering then finding the animals new homes as fast as possible to make room for the next dogs or cats that need help. Success is defined in the numbers of animals helped in as short a time as possible , so to give an animal a utilitarian collar identifying them with a number is not an issue. If an animal is lucky enough to get adopted,the new owner can be expected to provide all the nice things which show an animal is loved and cared for.

A sanctuary's mission of saving lives,however, takes on a different expression than a shelter or rescue moving animals through to adoption. As a care for life sanctuary, Home for Life's animals come to us because they have not made it in the adoption world. Many people might think of our cats and dogs as flawed in some way because they could not find a home or could not stay in the one they had. How to make these animals no one wants seem worthy of support, of having lives worth saving?If you believe beauty is skin deep try going to your next party wearing your sweats and no make up. We wish you luck and hope all present will see thru to the real you. Real beauty might come from within , but who's going to give you a chance to show your true colors if you look like a pitiful slob? And so it is with the animals we care for. Few people would be able to see the true beauty of our cats and dogs or be inspired to help them if we presented them in boring choke chains or gritty old webbed collars. It starts with how we take care of our animals on the ground, at the sanctuary and then how we represent our animals in our newsletters and on our website and social media avenues. Forgoing the little gestures which express our recognition of the individuality of our animals does little to foster our conviction with our staff, supporters or the public that each of our cats and dogs is worthy of life and still has much to live for and much to give, even if they have been unable to find an adoptive home.

At Home for Life, our animals know that it is important to look as good as you feel. And once a dog and cat comes to Home for Life, how they feel is that they are cherished. They feel cherished because of the many efforts made on their behalf including but not limited to those efforts made to help them look their best. These efforts don't mean we turn our animals into fur people, and dress them in clothes and jewelry a la Tinkerbell Hilton. There's a fine line between a furbaby in a dress and honoring the individuality of an animal to bring out the best in them. This feeling of being cherished because they have a collar that is pretty and their very own, that someone cared to make them look wonderful, and to give them a warm coat so they look great and are comfortable- imparts an unmistakable sense of self esteem in our animals. They carry themselves taller, with pride,their sweet faces relax and lose the look of worry, fear or anger. They're no longer unwanted,homeless, a problem, a bother, no longer a number, no longer a nameless face, a statistic in a category (unadoptable). The beauty tip best illustrated by the animals of Home for Life is to be loved and cherished for who you are!

A LITTLE HOBBY OF MINE....

One strategy we have of representing the individuality of our animals is through my little hobby of finding beautiful collars for our dogs. I have found great collars for our dogs from all over the United States and many parts of the world including Australia and Canada. Illustrating our devotion to finding collars that present our dogs at their finest, we have our paraplegic Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Audrey Hepburn modelling her " glamour & pin up girl" collar from Lucky Pup Designs of Los Angeles. These are great,well made leather collars which Margaret of Lucky Pup has generously provided to us at cost for many of our dogs. She uses enamel pictovision decals to give each collar its unique look.For example, one of our dogs Roo wears a "storybook dogs" pictovision collar by LuckyPup. This themed collar seemed so apropos for Roo,a large terrier mix,who came to us from Alabama at age 4. He was born with short and deformed front legs and actually has two feet on one of his legs but somehow has not only survived but thrived, his sunny nature intact, without the benefit of even a cart to help him get around.( he now has his own custom made front wheel cart). If that isn't a storybook dog(with a happy ending at Home for Life!) what is? Because he's a boy dog and is white with black patches, we chose black leather for him. The glamour girl collar with red leather was perfect for Audrey with her aristocratic heritage as a cavalier and sweet face and after all, she was named after a movie star. A closer look at the collar is at right, above, and the finishing touch was an enamel, feminine red flower tag with her name and Home for Life's phone and address.Next, modelling the hand painted "Dog Faces" collar by Heroesandtails.com, also of Los Angeles, is senior epileptic chow cross Fozzie Bear. As Fozzie's story recounts, he was always the unwanted, nondescript,shy brown dog in the background at the shelter. The Fozz was eight years old when he finally found a home for life at our sanctuary, and we knew he needed a one of a kind collar to wear as a symbol underscoring that he would always be unique to us, instead of the unwanted,overlooked mutt he had always been. Becky at Heroes and Tails concurred that it was time our Fozzie had a distinctive collar of his very own,and came through with the colorful dog faces collar for him. She insisted on donating the collar for him. The whimsical detail and craftsmanship are easy to see in the photo alongside Fozzie, who is acting like he's a celebrity being chased by paparazzi trying to get a photo of what he is wearing.



HOME FOR LIFE'S BEAUTY SALON: THE GROOMER WILL SEE YOU NOW....

Antoinette and Vicki are Home for Life's groomers, and are at the sanctuary every week to groom both cats and dogs. They rotate through all the animals so that each of the dogs is bathed and groomed about every 3-6 weeks. Dogs like our two standard poodles Jacques and Channing , our rough coated collie Fay, our St. Bernard Bert, and our two shelties Bandit and Monty and our old english sheepdog Shakespeare need more frequent grooming but grooming for dogs like Candi who is a big lab/hound mix , is important as well. Home for Life considers routine grooming for our animals a necessity and not a luxury and essential to our animals' health as well as their beauty. Vicki ,left is with Bandit, a senior sheltie, and below is Antoinette with Candi, a giant hound/lab mix.

At grooming sessions, ears are checked and cleaned, nailes are trimmed and every inch of the animal is gone over to check for bumps,lumps and other concerns. Grooming is something Home for Life has always provided for our dogs and cats from the day we started as we believe it's essential for our animals' health as well as their appearance.We have our own small grooming salon on site so our dogs and cats can be groomed at home to reduce stress for them: our groomers bring their own shears,clippers and combs but our grooming room is equipped with a cage dryer,tub,K9 blow dryer and hydraulic grooming table.We have all seen animals in rescues or shelters who are identified as a particular breed but who are unrecognizable because their fur is so grown out or matted. We don't have show dogs at Home for Life but a poodle should look like a poodle and not a chewbacca, a schnauzer should look like they are supposed to, with eyebrows and whiskers, instead of a like a buckthorn bush. Dogs are embarrassed when they look awful,dirty and overgrown, and they know the difference between being uncared for and unkempt and looking sharp, with clean fur and an appropriate haircut. Our cats who may be old or arthritic or who, for other reasons cannot properly groom themselves, appreciate the attention and care when dead fur is combed out,mats removed, and they are bathed and blown dry so their coat is clean,soft and fluffy. Mats,dirty ears and over grown nails hurt and impact the health of skin and even the ability to walk comfortably. Routine grooming keeps all our animals looking AND feeling their best.

MORE COLLARS....Sometimes collars convey the essence of one of our dogs to someone meeting them for the first time. For example, Heroes & Tails also made a gift of these collars for two of our dobermans, Shane and Simon. Becky calls them the "Inspire" collection, and they are blue leather with gold embossed lettering.( She has also made one that says "Peace" in multi-colors for our rednose pitbull Redmond-what a great message for those to see who meet Redmond,a pitbull yes, but a gentle soul with his own stuffed toy animal collection).

The collars she gave to Home for Life's Shane and Simon say "Brave", and they are especially meaningful for two reasons. First,both dogs survived very neglectful homes.Shane was tied to a 3 foot chain attached to a pole, and this is how he lived from the age of a few months to when he was rescued by Doberman Rescue in Pennsylvania. Shane ate,slept and went to the bathroom,all within the circumference of this short chain,and that was his life. Doberman Rescue asked us to help Shane as he had no idea of how to behave as a normal dog or how to live in a home. He has made great strides since coming to Home for Life,but will always bear the psychic scars from the neglect he suffered as a puppy and young dog. Simon,one of our red dobermans, endured a similar neglectful history as a puppy and young dog which nearly broke his spirit but he prevailed because of his brave heart. Both dogs earned these collars that they wear. Second, both dogs serve as therapy dogs, helping soldiers recovering from war related injuries at the Minneapolis VA Polytrauma Unit,one of just four such facilities in the entire country. Brave are what our two dogs are, and bravery is what we hope they inspire in the patients they help at the Poly trauma unit .

COATS OF MANY COLORS... and some more great collars



When cold weather and snow arrive at Home for Life, out comes the wardrobe of coats, in array of colors and in every size to fit all of our dogs. Here, Dodi, our epileptic Harlequin great Dane, enjoys a snowy January day in her royal blue Weatherbeeta coat. The blue coat with light blue trim matches her martingale collar by Wiggles,Wags and Whiskers, of Michigan AND her blue eye( Dodi has one brown eye and one blue eye) for a striking,color coordinated effect. Dodi has very short hair so must wear a coat to be able to enjoy outdoor activities in the winter. This coat she is wearing is actually a coat made for a foal(as in horse); she was too big for even the largest dog coat from the Weatherbeeta collection but they also make great coats for horses so their foal coat fit her perfectly;we only had to take up the straps a bit. Dodi has two or three of these foal coats in varying shades of blue so she can always be outfitted if one is in the wash.

Ashley, a paraplegic chow mix, relies on her own fuzzy black fur coat to stay warm,but because of the way her back and pelvis were injured, she must wear snow pants when out of her cart. Due to the injury she suffered when only a puppy, Ashley's hind legs extend out in front of her when she is not in her cart. When she is outside,as she loves to be in the winter, but not in her cart, her seat and backs of her legs would be subject to frostbite and sores if not protected from the snow and cold. What to do? Our ingenious staff came up with the idea of snow pants: Ashley wears size 2T( T for toddler), and we buy them at stores like Once Upon a Child,where good quality used children's clothing is sold. They work perfectly to protect her while outside as they are warm and waterproof; we cut a hole out for the tail, insert diapers( which are checked every 2 hours to be sure they are clean) and tape them around the waist to hold them up. Voila! Ashley can enjoy the winter season whether in her cart or out,and looks as fetching as can be! Here she models her red velvet snow pants with FAUX ermine fur trim.

Ashley's friend chok dee, is a sleek street dog who came from Soidog.org a dog rescue in Phuket, Thailand where it's always near 90 degrees. chok dee was rescued after he had been in hit by a car and left paraplegic. The policeman who rescued him from the streets of Phuket brought him to Soidog.org,and then, they asked Home for Life to help him due to his paralysis. chok dee was able to adapt to a cart and a new climate:here he is in January of this year, as he explores our big field in his custom made Eddie's Wheels cart and multi-colored Weatherbeeta coat.

Faith, Home for Life's albino dalmation who is deaf, also has very short hair as can be noted in the photo of her on the left,below,in which she poses in her beautiful Furrybeads collar made especially for her by Wagababa of Vancouver, Canada. These collars are made of smooth wooden beads in every color with dyes that are used for children's toys, so we know they're safe for our dogs too. The beads are very durable and are comfortable for the dogs to wear. Faith looks like the Flintstones' Betty Rubble in her Furrybeads collar which, with its beads of blue in many hues matches her blue eye( Faith also has one blue eye and one brown eye), and the beads are striking against her tan spotted coat.To emphasize her feminine qualities, Faith wears a hot pink dog tag with her name, and Home for Life's phone and address. All of Home for Life's dogs wear dog tags in different shapes,although many wear the heart shape( for loved!); the tags are not only functional but add a nice color counterpoint or spot of color coordination for the collars. And to complete the ensemble, Faith likes to wear a warm, quilted Weatherbeeta dog coat in the winter so she can keep up with her best friend, sheep dog mix Stella, who can rely on her own shaggy coat to keep her warm in the winter.


Joey Boxer is a white boxer who came to Home for Life from the Animal Welfare League of Chicago. Joey, a gentle and loving dog, has struggled with severe colitis( known as boxer colitis, an autoimmune disease),the reason he was surrendered to Home for Life, and longs to live like a normal dog. It can be quite frustrating to care for him,but thanks to his doctors at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Hospital he has made great progress towards what we hope will be a full recovery. He too has very short fur and wears a Weatherbeeta coat when outside.Now that he is heavier he only wears his coat when outside, but when he first arrived at Home for Life, he was so thin due to his disease that he shivered even in the mellow fall weather, and wore a coat round the clock to help him stay warm.His collar, another gift from Heroes and Tails is hand painted and,says "I am Loved." It can be hard to take care of him as he struggles to get better (he is fighting debilitating diarrhea, a symptom of the disease) but is always grateful for the care he receives;the collar reminds us that we are fighting the battle with him to help him get better, in spite of the challenges invloved in his care, because he is loved.

Marco, above ,a senior Italian Greyhound, favors the Fido Fleece coats. Even though most of the photos in this blog entry are of our Weatherbeeta collection, rest assured Home for Life also has MANY Fido Fleece coats -also in a multitude of different color combinations and styles, and all available for our dogs to use. We do find that, in general, the big dogs seem to prefer the Weatherbeeta coats while our smaller dogs prefer the Fido Fleece, though exceptions to the rule exist. As Marco's photo discloses, the dogs who favor Fido Fleece appreciate the sleeves and high neck of these coats, which afford extra warmth although they do have to put up with having their two forepaws through the leg holes when they get dressed, to achieve the look .

Tom and Sheba,below, are two senior dogs ( Best Friends part 2) whose owner gave them up when she moved out of state, and the adoptive home she thought she had found for them decided against taking them. They landed in a shelter, then came to Home for Life when they failed to find homes,and started to decline from anxiety and despair. After such a close call,both dogs have found a new lease on life, and seem to make the most of every day. We wanted to get them special collars so that they would know they would not have to face abandonment ever again. As both dogs are strong and still active for their age, we needed durable collars that would look great despite the dogs' love of play and of being outdoors. We chose leather collars by DOGLA of Gig Harbor, Washington. The collars are the same burgandy leather for this bonded pair of dogs but different designs:for Sheba, a husky mix, silver and crystal flowers and for Tom a dingo with chocolate fur and white socks, silver x's and o's- to signify kisses and hugs! Both dogs are hardy but their Weatherbeeta coats keep them warm and cozy. We find that older dogs appreciate the extra insulation of a warm coat even if they enjoy the winter weather.

* not seen in this blog post,but another great collar designer we recommend is Hamisch McBeth of Australia



OFTEN IMITATED, NEVER DUPLICATED: FASHION AND BEAUTY TIPS FROM HOME FOR LIFE'S CATS

All cats are beautiful, and even the smallest kitten seems born knowing how to keep their fur and whiskers immaculate. Is there any cuter sight than a little kitten using her paw to wash her face? We would never suggest that the great beauty of Home for Life's cats could be improved upon by a collar,but thoughtfully selected, a collar can enhance their natural feline attributes. For example black cat Jonathan models a gold lame collar in this photo taken shortly before the holidays last year. For Christmas he received a new blue collar with a bow tie. The collars come close to doing him justice but also serve another important function at a sanctuary like Home for Life where we have many black cats. All our staff are expected to know the cats by name. Eventually it becomes easy to identify them by facial features,subtle variations in coat color or length, but initially, so many black cats can be overwhelming for new employees. The collars our black cats wear (and actually many of our orange cats-we have a lot of those too) help make learning all the individuals much easier.




Lynx point siamese Blueberry doesn't need a collar to stand out, but a blue collar with a matching blue bell helps bring out the blue in her eyes and just keeps the "blue" motif going among her name, her eyes and the collar .

I will end this blog post with Peaches the cat, who is not only beautiful but unusual. Most cats with orange fur are males. When she was barely a year old Peaches was shot in the back with a bebee gun and was left a paraplegic and incontinent. Her disability could have easily overshadowed her beauty but Peaches' spirit is unbroken in the face of this great injustice which occurred so early in her life. With her physical strength and determination, she gets around wherever she needs to go, including outside in the cat run and in the grass to help me when I weed the flower gardens. We have had to keep her long flaming red fur in a lion cut to help facilitate keeping her clean. Because Peaches insists on moving around despite her paralysis, we have had to come up with some accomodations for her to protect her from pressure sores and contamination (See Special Cats get Special Care at Home for Life) . Our paraplegic cats don't use carts (they don't like the restriction and won't accept it like dogs will) but instead pull themselves with their front legs even climbing up the cat trees. When we clean the floors they are put up on a couch or temporarily caged til the floors are dry. At night they also sleep in a large cage so they don't have to wear diapers, and their skin can breathe and be in air. During the majority of the day, however, Peaches is afforded as much freedom as she wants. To accomplish this goal for her while protecting her skin at the pressure points, we came up with the idea of having her wear a baby "onesie" and diapers to protect her from germs and her skin from abrasions. Cats have no shoulders so the outfit is secured at the waist with tape. it's fun to find pretty outfits for her,and Peaches has become resigned to her morning routine of getting dressed because she has come to know that once dressed she will be free to enjoy the rest of her day. Home for Life's fashion and beauty strategies may seem superficial but in fact, all these special efforts demonstrate the care that is the hallmark of the sanctuary and ensure that animals like Peaches can live the healthiest, most active life possible.

Guest Post: Tripawds.com:the Story of Bear of Home for Life

This guest post is contributed by Rene from Tripawds.com and is inspired by Bear,a lab/collie cross, who lived at Home for Life. Bear lost his battle with osteosarcoma last week. We are grateful that, before he died, Bear's owner was summoned in time to have the chance to spend several days with him and his family of dogs at the sanctuary, and she was with him when he passed to the Rainbow Bridge. This post is in loving memory of Bear & with condolences to his owner and dog family Fay,Buddy and his sister Cocoa.


Every day, websites like PetFinder are filled with loving dogs who linger in shelters because they’re a challenge to place. Sometimes it’s because of age or ongoing medical needs, or even a perceived disability like being a Tripawd.
When it seems like all hope is lost, Home For Life® Animal Sanctuary in Star Prairie, Wisconsin often comes to the rescue.
Home for Life is an unusual but much needed facility with dedicated staff and volunteers who provide “loving care, a nurturing environment that is safe and stable, a place to belong… a home for life.”



Tripawd Bear and Family Finds a Loving Home
Home For Life® Animal Sanctuary recently saved three legged Bear and his senior siblings from a certain terrible fate, because senior dogs are among the most difficult to find homes for, especially when they are shy and come with a perceived handicap.
Tripawd Bear is a ten year old Collie/ Shepherd mixed breed who came from a volatile domestic abuse situation. When his human Mom fled for safety, she could not take her four senior dogs and surrendered them to a rescue group. But when the rescue couldn’t fulfill its promise to take Bear and his pack, Home for Life stepped in to help.
Today, Bear’s family is together forever. All four dog are living out their lives, as a strong, close pack, in their own townhouse at Home for Life.

Why Home for Life is Different
Home for Life does not place animals, but instead provides a permanent home. The group cares for about 245 special needs animals on its 40 acre property along the Apple River in Wisconsin. With 13 doggie townhomes, three operations buildings and numerous fenced runs and play areas, these happy animals are in good hands as they spend the rest of their days among a loving volunteer-driven staff of caregivers.
The group was founded in 1997, and can only continue its work because of the generosity of people who help sponsor the care of animal residents. It take 8 sponsors at $25 a month to help care for just one Home for Life resident with average veterinary needs. If you’d like to help, contact Home For Life® Animal Sanctuary.

Reaching Out for Life
Until recently, shelter animals only had two ways out: adoption or euthanasia. Today, thanks to Home For Life’s visionary efforts, a new option is being created; the Third Door™.
For animals with medical needs or temperament challenges, Home for Life’s Third Door™ program gives these animals a quality life, where they can be themselves, run and play, and be loved and cherished for as long as they live. Animals receive specialized care that’s tailored to their needs, instead of just living in a warehouse-type existence.
The facility in Star Prairie is a model for additional Home for Life Sanctuaries to be created around the country. Ultimately the group hopes to change public perception of euthanasia as an option for these special needs animals, by educating people through outreach programs that encourage them to commit to lifetime dedication and care of their companion animals.

Contact Home for Life to learn how you can sponsor Buddy and his family,
or any of their other rescued animals and programs.

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Tripawds.com is the world's largest community for canine amputees, who are affectionately known as "tripod" dogs. Tripawds offers support, resources and information when dogs lose a leg due to cancer, accidents or birth defects.

Founded in 2006, the Tripawds community has over 6,500 members from around the world. Pet parents meet online daily to gather and provide support to others who have faced the difficult decision to amputate in order to improve quality of life."

Addendum to Cold Noses, Warm Hearts

BLIZZARD

How could I have forgotten to include Blizzard in the latest winter blog post? A charming and gregarious senior Bichon Frise mix, he is always the first to approach for a kind word or hug. He has a warm smile and eager brown eyes that melt any heart, even on a cold day. Blizzard was surrendered by the breed rescue group Small Paws and came to Home for Life from Oklahoma. He was the cherished pet of an elderly gentelman who had to move to a nursing home, leaving Blizzard behind. All Blizzard had in the world to comfort him in the wake of losing his home and master was a small fleece blanket with footballs on it that his owner had given him. Blizzard clung to it during this lonely time. He was lucky to be accepted by the rescue group, but did not clear their evaluation as he reportedly exhibited "resource guarding" over food and treats. The group concluded he was not adoptable and intended to euthanize him if he could not come to Home for Life.

Blizzard does love food but has learned to honor boundaries as a member of Home for Life's dog family. He lives with a group of older dogs like him in our feline leukemia building (separately from the cats). At mealtimes, Blizzard likes to eat in a crate where he can enjoy his meal in peace without having to fend off perceived challenges from other dogs. He eats hearty, licking every last bit out of his bowl, then waits patiently while the slower dogs finish up. We have had no problems handling Blizzard during meal times or even at treat time where he waits along with his comrades to have his daily dog cookie each evening, secure in the knowledge that his turn will arrive. With no sense of deprivation or insecurity, Blizzard has not exhibited any guarding behavior at the sanctuary,even over food or treats.

He does not enjoy grooming, but as a white dog with curly fur and one with allergies, keeping Blizzard clean is essential. Even he admits, once the grooming session is over, that it was worth it and he looks and feels much better. He wears a muzzle during grooming so everyone feels more secure about the process but Blizzard does not need to be sedated anymore, and is always very proud of himself once he looks clean and handsome.