Dear Friends Of Let’s Adopt!

Cheeta during initial critical treatment

Cheeta was rushed to our clinic last week with a totally destroyed leg.

The damage was so great that it had to be amputated.

Cheeta recovering- finally a safe place to cuddle and exhale

She is now a gorgeous three legged kitty.
…
Hairy Steak (named that way because Peke sees her as a potential lunch) had an equally tragic story.. she fell into a semi-empty pool and she was left there for two days.

By the time she arrived,  she was in a coma and blind.

Hairy Steak’s first steps recovering
Lots of care made her get out of her state and she is now an amazing kitty as you can see in the pictures.

snuggle time “zzZZzzzZZzzZZ”

Bearing in mind that they are very good friends and have gone through so much, we were keen on re-homing them together.

UPDATE: Cheeta + Hairy Steak have been adopted to TEXAS!!

and moved with the help of a flight volunteer!!!

kisses goodbye….

Thanks to all of you who are making our mission possible.
As you can see, we are all volunteers with no federal grants or deep pockets. We finance all of our rescue missions with kind contributions to our Simba Fund + out of pocket.
What’s unique about Let’s Adopt! is that we have zero overhead. Every single cent of your contribution (after PayPal fees) goes directly the care of our animals!
Chances are that most of the funds you see listed on the Simba Fund Chip In, have already been spent and put into action.

Thank You for your continuous support and making our global vision a reality.

BE The Change
Misha Dee

Early July, I received a cry for help from rescuers of the Contra Costa County death camps.
Listings after listings of perfectly healthy, beautiful animals slated to go down any time.
Something had to be done – NOW.
But how? We have no fosters in the area.
Martinez is almost 700 miles away, my car was too small, renting an SUV or van + gas was too expensive. So, what could we do? As you know, Let’s Adopt! is a volunteer run organization. We don’t have a fleet of vans or SUVs at our disposal.
We don’t run shelters or a day care. We work with foster homes. Unfortunately we don’t have enough yet, but we’re growing and I am optimistic that this story will inspire some of you to sign up to become not just another foster, but a viable lifeline!

I contacted my friend Amy with the Pixie Project, and just asked her whether I could borrow the rescue’s  SUV for a long weekend.
It was a long shot and I held my breath, hoping, but really thinking she’d laugh me off telling, me “nice try, but I’m not giving you my car to drive it 1400 miles across state lines“.
Well, Amy did not only call me back right away, she contacted a fellow rescuer in town who immediately offered to take 5-7 dogs in addition to the ones Let’s Adopt! was about to rescue. It took some scheduling and wiggling the details, but in the end we sorted it all out.

leaving Portland for San Francisco

I started my trip from Portland to San Francisco on Saturday, July 10th at sunrise. A SUV packed with empty cages and kennels and a whole lot of hope and arrived in the Bay Area late afternoon, managed to reconnect with some old rescue friends from my time of living in SF. I learned the shelter wouldn’t be open until Tuesday, so I had time to connect and touch bases about the current status of animal rescue and welfare in the Bay Area.

…And it doesn’t look good at all. I spoke to one of the managers of the SF Animal Care & Control who described in despair how the city is shaving dollar after dollar off their budget, that could potentially safe lives. Yet the city uses funds to create silly projects like some “Good Samaritan fund” that rewards people who did the right or a good thing.
We’re now “bribing” people to do what’s right?
What a world.
This deserves its own blog. Stay tuned for an interview with a SF AC&C official.

Sunday: I receive the euthanasia list from the shelter.Pages after pages … Chihuahuas, Poodle Mix, Pit bulls, Pomeranian mix, King Charles Spaniel – another spaniel mix… the list was overwhelming to go through, but I had to. I needed to choose, who I could save. I had five to seven spots. That was it. Now many of you are already questioning the following: HOW DO YOU CHOOSE?
How does one choose?
I don’t know. At some point you have to put emotions past you and look at it from a rational point of view. As rational as one can be in a situation such as this. You look for temperament, adopt ability. I knew I couldn’t bring any Pits or Pit X, because I didn’t have a foster for one, and the other rescues can’t take them due to liability issues. Both rescues run day-cares and the prejudice against this breed is alive and well…..Something we will have to discuss another time.

With Pit bulls excluded, I made a list of 12 dogs and rearranged it from there. When I got to the shelter on Tuesday, there were already a lot of people in line. Some to adopt, others to claim their animals and then there were those that were waiting to surrender their pets. I was greeted by Annie, who held yet another more recent kill list in her hands. We compared notes and just rushed inside to look at as many dogs as we possibly could, knowing “they” are starting the killings in just a few moments. We had 5 dogs in no time, added another 2 – that was it!!
Or was it?

Annie + Lori doing the paperwork

While we checked out the first dogs with the help of Lori of Good Newz Pittie Pups Rescue,  Annie, presented me with 3 wire crates another person donated to the mission. I had dividers in them!!!By taking some of my larger kennels out and using those crates, I had more room. We pulled an older Aussie Shepherd, who we since named Jester.

More about this boy later. He is a special needs boy, who happened to bite me on the way back home,during one of the breaks. It’s not an aggression issue, he did that out of fear, stress, pain combined, when I tried to get him back into the car after a potty break.

Aaaanyway:

While I was outside arranging the crates and animals, I realized that I had more space. So I called Annie on her cell inside the shelter: “I’ve got room for two more, Annie….!!!”.

She zoomed into the euthanesia room, and snatched two dogs straight out from under the needles.

Safe! Pulled with minutes perhaps even seconds to spare!

safe! one has already been adopted!

safe! sweet, skinny little Pom mix

On the Road again....Portland here we come

After getting everyone settled in the car, sorted out the paperwork, we hugged and I went on my way back to Portland.
Because of time “lost” at the shelter and during some potty breaks with the dogs, I arrived back in Portland at 2:30 AM on Wednesday morning.
Theresa from DogStar waited for me, keeping herself entertained by doing some much needed bookkeeping. We unloaded the car, put everyone in a kennel, gave them some food/water and kisses, and went home. Mission accomplished – ten dogs save – alive!
Got home at about 3:30AM, Ouzo greeted me with kisses and hugs. I snuck upstairs, kissed Al “hello”. Ouzo squeezed in between us snuggling with me, licking my bite wounds…. I fell asleep thinking….What a trip!

Would I do it again? ABSOLUTELY – ANYTIME!

All started with a small idea and the desire to help. It takes a community to do this. I still need fosters – everywhere. When I sent out a call for local fosters, Donde Buckowski stepped up immediately, and offered her home to one of the rescues.

Safe! Sophia (foreground) is available for adoption with LA!USA

Little “Sophia” is a Chihuahua mix with cow markings. Great with dogs, loves kitties, full of energy. Sophia has already a solid interest – after only few days.

safe! ESPERRRANZA, available for adoption via Let's Adopt!USA

I have little “Esperrranza”, a Chi( MinPin?) mix, who was going down for behavioral. “TIMID” her card said. I found her shivering in the back of her kennel, low to the ground, the noise level in her unit was unbearable – impossible to talk. Can you imagine a little dog in there for 2-3 weeks? I would be TIMID too. As soon as she knew she was safe – she gave kisses and one could just see the big sigh of relief in her entire body language. “Esperrranza” is available for adoption as well. There is some interest for her, but we’re still accepting applications for both of these dogs.

The standard Let’s Adopt! Adoption requirements apply:

• Must have another animal dog

• will be part of the family, not live in the garage, basement, or ever be left on a tie out or unsupervised in the yard.

• We are supporters of a species appropriate diet and all Let’s Adopt! animals are being fed a raw diet. (see http://www.rawlearning.com for more info).

• Adopter has to sign up with Facebook and create a photo album to share with the Let’s Adopt! community that shows the animal’s progress. (Or adopter can send pictures to me and I’ll set up the album for them)

We do not apply an adoption fee. Adopting one of our animals is a privilege not mercy. One can’t put a price tag on any of our animals.

Even if you can’t adopt, but would like to support our mission and rescue operations such as this, please contributing to the Let’s Adopt! Simba Fund

Many thanks to the following rescuers and agencies for their support and collaboration.

Annie Wong – Big Dawgs Rescue

Lori Wilson – Good Newz Pittie Pups Rescue

Melody Chen – FB cross poster and rescuer for the Contra Costa County Shelters.

Amy Sacks – Pixie Project

Theresa Shire – DogStar

and of course thanks to Billie+ David for housing and feeding me “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAVID!”, as well as “Matela” for sharing HER sofa with a human.

BE The Change -

it is not THAT difficult if you just put your mind to it.

~Misha

Esmeralda, a Let's Adopt! dog from Turkey, found her forever family and some wonderful new canine siblings overseas.

We’ve been talking a lot this week about animals in Bali, Turkey, and other places. Today I’ve got some ideas that might hit a bit closer to home.

Here are three ideas for ways to show your love for animals this Valentine’s Day weekend…

1. Make a rescue kit for your car so that you’re prepared next time you find an animal in need. I keep a big bag of items in my trunk, and virtually everything in there came from discount stores like Big Lots. I always watch for sales and have been known to buy every collar in stock! Even if I don’t need it in my trunk, there’s always a local rescue that does. You don’t need to spend much money at all; in fact, you probably already have most of the items you need.

This list should get you started:

• cell phone
• phone numbers for local animal control, local ASPCA and Humane Society, local rescue group(s), and local wildlife rescue group(s)
• phone number and directions to your nearest 24-hour emergency vet
• cat carrier or cardboard box (Cat cardboard boxes are quite inexpensive and can be found at rescues, pet shops, and vet clinics.)
• collars (a small one for cats and one for dogs that adjusts to a wide range of sizes)
• leashes (heavy enough to hold a large dog)
• heavy blanket and towels
• large bottle of clean water
• bowls for food and water (I use inexpensive plastic ones.)
• several cans of tuna, sardines, or anything that smells good to an animal
• animal first aid kit (the basics: gauze rolls, adhesive/first aid tape, hydrogen peroxide, antiseptic cream, tweezers, and scissors)
• roll of paper towels and a bottle of cleaning spray (for any clean-up jobs)
• flashlight
• pair of heavy duty working gloves (to protect your hands and forearms from scratches or bites while trying to pick up an injured animal)

For more detailed information about pet first aid and emergencies, refer to my earlier blog post on this topic.

This Let's Adopt! kitten is one of three brothers who were lucky enough to find a home together!

2. Don’t forget that the 16th annual Spay Day is around the corner. It falls on February 23rd this year, and it’s all about spaying and neutering pets as well as feral cats.

You can put in your zip code to find out about Spay Day events in your local area. Why not help raise awareness in your community this weekend by publicizing some of these events by word of mouth, by using local blogs, or even by putting up posters? Many people might not know about low-cost spay/neuter options, but if we spread the word far and wide, more people might go ahead and spay or neuter their pets.

And if you’re up for a bit of fun…

There’s still time to enter the Spay Day online photo contest which helps raise funds for the Humane Society and helps make events like Spay Day possible.

There are some pretty fabulous prizes up for grabs!

Here are some resources to help with low-cost spay/neuter any day of the year:

• Love That Cat List of Spay/Neuter Resources
• SPAY/USA (not the same as Spay Day)
• Spay Alabama: 1-866-9-SPAY-AL or www.spayalabama.org
• Spay California: 1-866-PET-SPAY or www.spaycalifornia.org
• Spay Colorado: 1-877-654-SPAY or www.spaycolorado.org
• Spay Florida: 1-888-SPAY-FL or www.spayflorida.org
• Indiana Spay/Neuter Alliance: 1-866-957-SPAY or www.spayneuterindiana.org
• Spay Maine: 1-800-367-1317 or www.spaymaine.org
• Spay Massachusetts: 1-888-495-SPAY
• Spay Michigan: 1-888-5-SPAY-HELP orwww.allaboutanimalsrescue.org
• Mississippi Spay & Neuter: 1-866-901-SPAY or www.msspan.org
• Spay Ohio: 1-877-644-6446 (4 to 8 pm) or www.spayohio.org
• SPAY/TEXAS: 1-877-TEX-SPAY or www.spaytexas.org
• Vermont Companion Animal Neutering: 802-223-0034 or www.vt-can.org
• Spay Washington: 1-877-4-SPAY-WA or www.spaywa.org
• Spay Wisconsin: 1-877-510-PETS or animalfriendlywi.org/spaywi
• Kentucky: http://www.kycentral.org/spayneuter.htm

another Turkish puppy who found a forever home overseas thanks to Let's Adopt!

3. Get registered with a rescue transport coordinator so that you can help by driving animals from shelters to rescues. This can take as little as an hour or an hour and a half of your time as you form part of a chain to move dogs and cats from Alabama to Maine or from South Carolina to North Dakota. There’s even one transport this weekend going from Bowling Green, Kentucky, all the way up to Prescott in Ontario, Canada, and they still desperately need drivers on a few of the legs. If you’re anywhere in Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, or Ontario, Canada, and could help drive a leg on Saturday or Sunday, please check the run sheet and contact the coordinator, Lucy, at lmoye0617@sbcglobal.net .

This is a huge two-day effort to move about 20 dogs out of an extremely high-kill shelter in western Kentucky, and they need all the help they can get!

Here’s one great list of transport coordinators, but check with your local shelters and rescues to find out which transport coordinators assist them. Then get yourself registered and watch for weekend runs through your area. In many cases, your mileage will even be tax-deductible!

In the same spirit, get registered with your local shelter or rescue as a foster home. Unfortunately, there is always an influx of pregnant animals and babies every Spring. Getting registered now will save precious time when your help is needed.

Harley is another Let's Adopt! beauty from Turkey who found her forever home (and a new pair of glasses!) overseas.

And one last thing…

The USA Network will be running the 2010 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on Monday and Tuesday. The show is sponsored by Pedigree.

I don’t even need to tell you how many animals there are in our pounds across America.

So why on earth do people keep breeding animals?

Well…

Dog shows such as this one are not helping in any way. In fact, Westminster decides each year to recognize “new” breeds which only encourages a ton of breeding in the lead-up to this recognition and in the fall-out afterwards as people decide they, too, want to own one of these “rare new breeds.”

Take a moment to tell the Westminster Kennel Club, the USA Network, and Pedigree what you think about dog shows. Let them know that you don’t value a purebred dog any more than a mixed breed one. Tell them that you would rather see sponsorship of and programming about the truly important issues in animal welfare. Why not suggest they sponsor or run programming about low-cost spay/neuter programs? Tell them about Spay Day 2010, and let them know that the breeding encouraged by groups like Westminster is part of the problem.

Ask them if they saw the study about how unaware most people are of the pet overpopulation in America, and ask them if they are doing their part to raise awareness and prevent 4 million animals from being killed in our shelters each year.

Have a great weekend, everyone. Help save one.

While you’re here, don’t forget to join the Facebook group of Let’s Adopt! (USA).

Arthur loves running in the snow in our backyard.

I am queen of the foster failures. And now it appears I am also turning into queen of the transport failures…

I was due to drive King Arthur from the pound to the airport back in November so that he could be flown to a rescue out of state, but it seems that just wasn’t meant to be because he is still lying at my feet as I type this post. He is a nearly one-year-old Tibetan Mastiff who is so big (almost 100 pounds now…) that you forget he is still a puppy until you catch him carrying blankets around like Linus!

In truth, I have always wanted a giant dog. I’m the sort of person who daydreams about how cool it would be to have three Great Danes (rescues, of course!) who greet visitors to your home. That’s how I found out about Arthur’s transport needs in the first place. A friend who manages a shelter sent me the posting about him the day after I had met with her to pick up a dog that needed transport and had spent half an hour drooling over her rescued Great Dane named Sport.

I had never even heard of a Tibetan Mastiff when I read about Arthur, but I fell in love as soon as I saw him. He is perfect in every way, and absolutely everyone who sees him wants to come up and pat him. I’ve certainly done my fair share of reading up on the special considerations of giant breeds and am learning everything I can to make sure Arthur grows up to be as healthy and strong as he can be. There always seems to be a steep learning curve with every new member of the family. Every animal has its own special needs.

Arthur’s brother went to a rescue somewhere in Cincinnati. They certainly weren’t from the same litter, but they came into the pound together. He was a golden-colored dog, and I would love to find him and his new family so that he and Arthur could run together in our backyard. I am so glad those two made it out of the pound alive, and it breaks my heart every day when I think of all the dogs who do not have such a happy ending.

There are a few lessons we can all learn from gentle souls like Arthur:

1. There is never any reason to go to a breeder for a purebred dog. Pounds are filled with purebred dogs – especially the small ones like Terriers, Chihuahuas, and Malteses. Giant dogs might not be appropriate for everyone, but large dogs such as Black Labs and German Shepherds die every day in pounds across America while people continue to go out and buy them from breeders.

2. Black dogs (and black cats) are statistically the least likely to make it out of the pound alive. People have strange superstitions about them and overlook them, so please consider black dogs and cats when you are ready to adopt a new pet.

3. Big dogs have big hearts. They are gentle giants. And yet far too many of them are put down in pounds because far too many of us are unwilling to adopt big dogs. I have always found big dogs to be a lot easier than small dogs and certainly a lot friendlier with strangers and even small children. Most people with small children want to rush out and get a small puppy, and I think that’s probably one of the biggest mistakes they could make. With small children in the house, who has time to train a puppy? And with children who are not already dog-proofed, a larger dog like Arthur with a more laid-back attitude is going to react a lot less than a smaller, feistier dog when his ears get pulled or a child falls on top of him.

Arthur with Claus in the background

Let’s Adopt! in Turkey also has a very special giant named Leon who is looking for his forever home. You can see his photos here. As usual, get in touch with Viktor if you would like to open your heart and your home to this special boy.

Several beautiful Turkish dogs have found homes right here in the United States. In fact, Let’s Adopt! recently placed a King Arthur of its own in an American home. The adoption process is very simple as long as you meet the criteria and your application is approved. Ge in touch if you would like more information.

And ask your local rescue about large and giant dogs. Rescues oftentimes have difficulty finding foster and forever homes for larger dogs, so they are not always able to pull them from the pound. Why not step up and offer to foster or adopt one?

What have you learned from the animals you have adopted? Share your stories in the comments section.

I woke poor Lucy up from her nap in her kitty condo to take this recent photo!

Turkey is an amazing holiday destination, but my holidays often end up having to do with animal rescue. Somehow I did not notice how many stray dogs and cats there were in Istanbul during my first trip to Turkey in January 2006. During my most recent trip in November and December 2009, my heart was broken almost upon arriving. There were homeless animals everywhere, and what stood out to me most was the number of cats and kittens. I think I cried at least once every day during my 14 days in Turkey because of the overwhelming sadness I felt for the animals.

Sure, there are some kind souls who leave food out for the stray animals. But the fact that these animals need to be spayed and neutered at a bare minimum seemed to be lost on the handful of Turks I engaged with about the issue. These animals also need proper medical care and loving homes with warm beds, but you have to start somewhere. There is no perfect solution, but I believe that TNR (trap-neuter-release) of homeless animals combined with public education on animal welfare are two ways to make a lasting impact.

I have been amazingly fortunate to have lived in many countries and traveled to many more. I have witnessed the plight of homeless animals in many different places, and I know that even my birth country of the United States still has much room to improve on this issue. We all have to start somewhere, and if we can collaborate and work together to create a better world for people and animals, we will make a lasting change.

I was born to a mother who had a Basset mix dog named Myles who slept in the playpen with me from the day my mom brought me home from the hospital. She tells me that my father’s family was howling for her to get rid of Myles before I was born, but there was no way that was going to happen because dogs and cats are fine with children. Children just need to be dog-proofed and cat-proofed! They have to be taught how to respect animals, and I am both lucky and grateful that I grew up with the opportunity to share my life with animals.

Love for animals brings with it a keen awareness of their plight. You can look the other way, but that is not going to change anything. Instead, I have struggled my entire life to understand how to fix the problems I see. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed when I realize I can not solve it all myself. I can not take in every single animal that needs a home, and it is very easy to drown in my tears and give up because the problem is too big. There is too much suffering. But I am not willing to give up. So what can I do? I can lend my voice to the voiceless, I can volunteer my time with rescue organizations, I can transport animals from shelters to rescues and foster families, I can foster animals, and I can TNR and feed the feral cat colony in my own neighborhood. But most importantly, I can join forces with others who are trying to solve the problem.

On December 6th, I met three kindred spirits at Istanbul airport. They were bearing two beautiful cats, and they were trusting us to bring those cats to America. I had found Viktor and the Let’s Adopt! community on the Internet before our trip to Turkey. I usually read up on local animal rescue groups to see how I might be able to help while traveling, and I made an offer to transport any animals who might need a ride to Chicago. As fate would have it, Viktor took my offer. One kitten was going to a family in West Virginia who had been in Turkey the month before and had adopted her but were unable to take her with them at the time. The other cat was Lucy.

As Viktor said as soon as he met my fiancé and I, the goal of Let’s Adopt! is not to send animals overseas. But there are some cases which require such drastic measures. Disabled animals have fewer chances of being adopted even in countries where people are used to companion animals, but imagine their chances of being adopted in a country that does not have a tradition of keeping companion animals inside the home. Beautiful Lucy had lingered in a crate at the vet clinic for 10 months. She is an older cat, and she has no teeth. She had no prospects for adoption in Istanbul. Enough was enough, and Viktor made the decision to send her overseas before her spirit was broken entirely.

I have transported animals in Australia from the shelters to the airports, and I have transported animals in America from shelters to rescues. My wonder dog, Mr. Claus (who also happens to have his own health challenges), moved from Sydney to Cincinnati with me. He had to travel in the cargo hold, so I had never transported an animal in the cabin with me until we brought Lucy with us. The journey could not have been easier. Lucy was an angel, and one particular woman in the flight crew was outstanding and even moved the woman seated next to Paraag and me so that we had more room with Lucy. The woman was elderly, and we had a complete language barrier. She was telling the air hostess that she didn’t mind at all and was asking questions about Lucy. Her interest and kindness were contrasted by two cranky gentlemen who did not like the idea that there was a cat in the cabin. One of the gentlemen who was two rows in front of us and on the other side of the plane was complaining of severe allergies. I didn’t understand the Turkish being spoken, but it was pretty clear (and pretty amusing!) that the air hostess was telling him to deal with it and put on a mask. She handed him the mask which he proceeded to take off an hour or so into the flight. I guess the allergies weren’t so bad after all…

Lucy rode in the middle seat between us, and we gave her food and water several times during the flight. She watched the TV screen with great interest, and she purred as we stroked her. A few people stopped by our seats to ask about her, and I made a point of telling them all about Let’s Adopt!. I cried for Lucy on the plane. It’s hard for me to imagine her being without a home for so long. She must be one of the easiest cats I have ever met. Like every other homeless animal out there, all she needed was a chance. They are all good pets; we just need to learn how to be good pet owners.

Many of us love animals and work with our local animal rescue communities to help in any way we can. Transporting an animal from overseas might seem impossible or just too complicated. Our experience was an easy one. All you have to do is present the pet passport (provided by the vet, of course) to US Customs and Immigration so that they know the animal has been vaccinated against Rabies. It really is as easy as that. And the sound of Miss Lucy purring next to my keyboard as she bathes herself in the wee hours of dawn makes it all worth it.

So some people bring home carpets when they go to Turkey. We brought home Lucy.

If you are considering transporting a special needs animal for Let’s Adopt!, I would be more than happy to speak with you and answer any questions I can about our experience. Just reach out to me via the comments section. Our community always needs flight volunteers travelling from Turkey to Europe and the United States, and there is no cost to you other than your time and effort. And the chance to help a special needs animal is priceless.

This is Lucy a few days after she arrived home with us. She decided she wanted an extra bed in the shelf of our bedside table!