Challenges, Heroes, and Joy In Dog Rescue

 

Meet Fizzgig, one of the young Schipperkes rescued in Eagle Point, Oregon on January 6 of this year. Many people had to step in to help in this rescue. Jim Hamilton, Eagle Point Chief of Police, contacted Midwest Schipperke Rescue in Illinois for help, and veterinarians, techs, and other volunteers were organized in just a few days. Fifty eight live dogs were seized from a hoarding situation and were taken to the Jackson County Animal Shelter. The youngest dogs and their mother were soon taken in by a local volunteer*, and those dogs have all gone to permanent homes.  One of them is Fizzgig, the beautiful little guy in the photos.  His adopter flew to Medford, rented a car, met our Oregon foster volunteer, adopted Fizzgig and drove more than 1200 miles, an 18 hour drive, to take him home.

As remarkable as this rescue operation was, it is not over. There are still about forty young adult dogs who will be adopted over the next several weeks.  Every adoption will be made by good folks who step up to make a trip to help a dog. We have applicants from coast to coast, and volunteers will be transporting dogs east. Adopters will then have to travel to a central location to get their Schipperke. It is an unusual situation for a little regional rescue organization, but so far, things have been falling into place, and the adoptions so far have been successful.

*God Bless our volunteers out west. The family who took in those pups has made countless trips to their veterinarian with numerous problems, and has had to coordinate with adopters to meet at a remote location for meet, greet, and adopt, plus handle the paperwork for Midwest Schipperke Rescue.  The breeders who are handling the newborn pups are doing hard work, too. The dogs that came out of the hoarding house all had health issues such as worms, giardia and coccidiosis. Many people would have given up on the pups and watched them die one by one, but the pups are thriving now.  

A court decision gave the dogs in the county shelter to Midwest Schipperke Rescue. The dogs have been moved from the county shelter to Dogs For Better Lives, a service dog training facility in Medford Oregon.  From Michele Kasten: "Midwest Schipperke Rescue has given the trainers at Dogs for Better Lives the green light to assess any of these dogs that may fit into their service dog training program! Dogs for Better Lives trains hearing assistance dogs, autism assistance dogs and facility dogs that help physicians, teachers, counselors, police officers and child advocates. The organization trains shelter dogs as well as purpose-bred dogs to become service dogs. A Hearing Dog is a career that schipperkes could be well suited for and also allows clients that prefer a smaller dog the chance for one that fits their home better than a large breed dog. We are hopeful that one or more of these dogs has this unique opportunity, it would be a win-win!" 

 Many thanks to Fizzgig's new Mom for sharing his photos.  You can see more of Fizzgig on Schipperke Country on Facebook.

Midwest Schipperke Volunteers Have Been Busy!

 January 6 a search warrant was served in Eagle Point, Oregon for a dog hoarding situation. The police chief contacted Midwest Schipperke Rescue ahead of time for advice and possible help in dealing with a tough situation. Midwest's founder got on the phone and contacted dog people out west, and soon had vets and techs lined up for the police in Eagle Point. Police recovered 58 live Schipperkes and 30 deceased dogs over a three day period. Veterinarians and other volunteers processed the live dogs on the scene before they went to the county animal shelter. The homeowner signed over nine puppies and two adults to MSR at the scene, and those dogs were transferred out of the shelter to volunteers in Oregon six days later. 

Sweet Pea, a very pregnant female gave birth to seven live puppies last week, and six survive. One little boy could not gain weight, and he passed today. Some of the dogs have already been placed in homes that will become permanent. Others have adopters picking them up soon. 

Puppies in a volunteer foster home.

Puppy Pile and Corki

Sweet Pea...

... And some of her puppies. Little Blue Boy is the one who passed today. 

Susan and I have been busy for two weeks with this project. We have had a lot of applications from people wanting to adopt dogs, and we have to screen everyone, then interview, etc. We are not done yet. There will be a court hearing next week to determine the status of the forty-some dogs in the county shelter that came from the hoarding situation. Sweet Pea's pups will also have to be placed in good homes when they are ready to leave their mother.  

Not a grind! We are helping Schipperkes and meeting (Online, On Phone) good people all over the country.

Bella And Stella...

 ... are leaving after many months to go to their new home. A generous transporter is taking them to South Carolina tomorrow.  We are going to miss these fun loving little dogs. They have been a joy. 

Tuesday, we will go to Swansea and pick up another homeless Schipperke who is quarantined at a vet's office, and she will take up residence next to Lira, who is still learning how to trust people and be a pet. Back To The Old Grind!

Sophie Has Found Her Forever Home!

 

Sophie has been with us for 1 1/2 years learning how to be a pet and a house dog. She was a hot mess when we got her, and she touched grass for the first time in her life.  

We drove up to St. Louis yesterday to meet her new owner, at a hotel across I-70 from Lambert Field. While we walked into the hotel, an F-15 took off with its afterburners firing and Sophie froze for a moment, but did not try to bolt and run. She has become a well adjusted dog. She is eager to meet new people and shows healthy curiosity in strange circumstances. 

Here we are, leaving for the flight west. Sophie is the third dog to go way west from us this month. Midwest Schipperke Rescue is literally adopting dogs ocean to ocean and border to border. It is a strange, complex thing to have joy and sadness at the same time for a little dog. She is part of our family, but now she has a better life ahead of her. 

Yes, Sophie got into that little crate! Happy Trails, little girl!

Schipperke People

Susan and I foster dogs for Midwest Schipperke Rescue, a small non-profit organization based in Illinois. We are constantly amazed at the responses we get from those who want a Schipperke. We have had people drive here from the east coast, southern Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin, the Texas gulf coast, Denver, and some from Illinois, of course. Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, a couple from southern California is flying to St. Louis where they will rent a car, then come to adopt a dog, and then drive all the way back to California. Ain't life grand?! People are good!
 

Four Schipperke Pups...

 ...One has gone to Kentucky, one has left for Wisconsin, leaving Cole and Colby needing homes, plus the adults, Bella, Stella, Lyra, Sophie, and Atlas. We are making progress, it just is slow. Back To The Old Grind!

Dogs Coming And Going

We had a busy weekend with the foster Schips. Two adopters came and each took a dog home. This one is Tevin, who has moved to Kentucky. Queenie left Sunday for Indiana. We are sad to have dogs leave, but also happy that they now have good homes. Monday we pick up another Schipperke. She needs to learn the social skills a pet needs, so we will have her for several months at least.

Back To The Old Grind!

 

Missing Saartje...

 Eric Janssen's Schipperke Saartje passed away two years ago. It was a shock to fans around the world, and I still miss her when I look at Schipperke pages on Facebook.  Eric has since closed his page on Facebook.  Saartje and Eric are based at Arnhem, Netherlands, and travelled the waterways of Europe giving their fans glimpses of an idyllic life for a barge dog. The photos below are from Eric's Facebook page. 

Bella And Stella Looking For A Home!

 Two of the foster dogs available through Midwest Schipperke Rescue. Find Midwest on Facebook or comment on this blog if you are interested in adopting these two adorable dogs.

A New Rose For Alabama

 

Vanilla (and three more dogs) moved in as fosters in July, and today ( August 7) Vanilla (now Luna) heads for her new home. The adopting family will be here bright and early, and will be taking her to the sunny South. 

Lucky dog, lucky family!

And...Luna has started her journey home!

Update, Sunday, August 10: We are getting glowing reports, photos and videos of Luna in her new home. She seems to have adjusted instantly and is even using a pet door, something she has never had before.

The Latest Schips, Bella and Stella

 Little Bella is a very small 7 + pounds fluff Schipperke. Stella has obvious Chihuahua traits, and may be mixed with Schip. Bella acts like she wants a piece of you until your lap becomes available, then she is all lovey-dovey. These are two delightful little dogs and they need to stay together. They are 9 years or a bit more, and their owner passed away. The veterinary needs are nearly done and they will soon be ready for adoption. Bella has no teeth, and needs a soft diet. Stella lost 11 teeth, so she can still handle some kibble. Request an adoption application from Michele at Schipnut58 (at) yahoo.com.

Dogs Go Out, Dogs Come In!

Zahara and Princess Peaches are gone, now living twelve hours away. But Wait, there's more! Meet Vanilla and Queenie. Two spayed females, about nine years old, who are both friendly, social Schipperkes. Never a dull moment. Back To The Old Grind!

 

Foster News! Zahara And Princess Peaches Have Left The Building!

Zahara and Peaches moved in with us at Christmastime last year, and are great little dogs. We finally found the perfect home for them and they left on a twelve hour trip Thursday morning. We have had a couple of good reports from their new home today. Joy!

Zahara and Peaches' new digs!  (Click)

Schipperke Friends

 Our Schipperke friend, Mary, came to visit our pack. Buster is her sweetie. Good Times! Life is sweet!

Nervous Deer

 Dogs have been running the neighborhood, and the deer are not loitering as they usually do. This group had three six-pointers, and another buck that had shed one antler. I hoped to get a good photo, but they were running before I opened the door. The deer understand our dog yard and they don't spook at the Schips.

Meet Bandit

 We picked up Bandit today. Turns out, he is 14 years old, so he may be difficult to adopt out. He is nervous, as he should be after being uprooted from his home. He will settle in with us quickly, I think. We must measure his food, because he is obese, and that is bad for an old dog. He will see our vet next week along with Princess Peaches and Zahara.

New Schipperkes To Foster!

 Our blog followers get to see Zahara and Princess Peaches before anybody else. These two Schips were dropped off at an animal shelter in the middle of the night with no information other than their name tags, with birth dates. Zahara appears to have recently raised some puppies, and is heartworm positive, so we will have her for a while to treat her. They made the trip from Iowa in three hitches and are now safe in our basement. Tomorrow we will be getting another Schipperke from here in Illinois. That boy is 10 to 12 years old, and was surrendered due to his owner passing away. 

Not A Grind! It is a Joy!

The Schips Keep Us Busy...

 Buster is a permanent foster with us. He has old age infirmities that would make life difficult for him if he moved to a new home, so he stays with us. We help him out, and then guide him back. He can't see, and can't hear, but he still enjoys his outings.

Sophie and Atlas are nearly ready to adopt out. Sophie was losing weight and we discovered that she has histoplasmosis in her gut. She is taking meds for a month and seems to be improving. We are having Atlas tested, too, just in case he came with that problem. We sent off his specimen yesterday and should hear back this week. If he is clear, we will be talking to possible new owners. 

Sixteen Is A Scary Number For Schip People

 

We had three sixteen year old Schipperkes in the house at the same time recently. Old Buster has been with us for more than a year as a permanent foster, and he is now showing signs of dementia. Sapphire, on Susan's lap recently lost her owner, and friends of the family are fostering her. We had her for twelve days and gave her royal treatment because she was suffering from heart failure. Blayde, also sixteen is suffering from a collapsing trachea, so he requires a gentle touch to keep him going. Two days after we returned Sapphire to her regular foster, she apparently had a stroke and soon passed. Our old Skipper made it to eighteen, and we hear of a few Schips that get past twenty, but sixteen is the number that puts me on edge.

Poppy, Foster Schipperke

 Poppy may be a mix. Her face is a bit chihuahua-like, with a steep forehead. She is a retired dog from a breeder in the Midwest, and has always lived confined. We are working on housebreaking, toys, going in and out, and being a pet. Dogs from breeders often don't want to sit in your lap, but they eventually come around. Poppy is making great progress, and she sleeps through the night in her kennel.