Category Archives: Dog Updates

If anyone knows of any hound lovers we need a new foster home for Hunter who was pulled from the Lorain County Kennel arriving at Secondhand Mutts two weeks ago. Since he’s been out of the pound he’s been doing great! His first foster home gave up on him in just a couple of days and he’s currently staying with a local dog trainer who has worked hard on his basic obedience to get him ready for a committed foster home. Hunter has gained the weight he needed to gain to get neutered and get his ACL surgery. He will be seeing Dr. Tim at Gateway Animal Clinic this coming Monday for both surgeries. We are looking for a quieter foster home for him so he can get the attention he needs and rest after his surgery. He’s a great dog and we will make sure behavior and general assistance is provided once he is transferred. Please share this with whoever you can. 

If you would like to foster please email rescue@secondhandmutts.org for more information about our program.

Big thank you to those who donated for his medical care – the estimate for his surgeries is $1500 and we have raised $1100, only a few more hundred dollars to reach our goal. If you would like to donate please click here. 

I read the story on Facebook about Ms. Dumplin and it reminded me of how lucky we were to end up with Baby Ruth (now Ruthie) after someone decided to throw her out a car window, so I thought I would send an update. 

I’m not sure why anyone would ever want to give this girl up because she is the most lovable dog ever!  She is eager to greet us when we get home and always wants to give kisses, and lots of them! We like to call her “Prancer” when we go on walks because she always holds her head up high and struts her stuff around the neighborhood.  She loves to snuggle with us and we love that about her.  I sent a few pictures of her and our other rescue Paisley.  Anytime they get a chance to stare out a window they will.  I think if they could, they might sit at the window all day.  Ruthie loves to play football and has gotten pretty good at catching her favorite toy in the air before it hits the floor.  When we visit my brother she loves to chase and be chased around the house by her cousin Cosmo!  She is just so playful!  Brian and I really can’t imagine life without either of them now!

She wouldn’t be a part of our life if Secondhand Mutts hadn’t took her in, so thank you!

Sincerely,

Megan F.

Chico, a one-year old heartworm positive Chihuahua, arrived at our door steps on September 4th. Shortly after his arrival we learned he was heartworm positive. He quickly latched on to Eric, one of the staff members at The Mutt Hutt, and he short-term fostered until Chico found a forever family to foster him back to health. He met Alice and Mariah and they immediately fell in love and committed to his care, making it known they wanted to adopt him when he was healthy enough to be adopted.

Chico received his first treatment the first week of October with success,  however there was concern for his recovery given his size and the history of how hard the treatment can be on little dogs. He has been staying with Alice since his treatment where she has been giving him a quiet atmosphere to relax and recover in until his second treatment a month later. Chico’s follow up check-ups were good and he was cleared to receive his second treatment in early November. He received that final treatment last week and then went home again with his mom. Alice and her daughter Mariah have been keeping an eye on him, making sure he is relaxed and inactive. We received a report that he was not feeling well earlier lat week and seemed out of sorts.

While keeping a close eye on him for the remainder of the week his condition worsened and he was hospitalized at the Akron Veterinary Emergency Clinic late Thursday night. He was vomiting, coughing and having bloody diarrhea. His blood counts were all over the place, his gums were grey and we nearly lost him. By morning (Friday) he was in better spirits, fluids were continued throughout the day and he was given a 50/50 chance to pull through. Today, we got word that Chico is in bad shape but in the best care with Dr. Griffith and the staff taking care of him. His liver and kidney levels are up but he is still having bloody diarrhea.  They are changing his antibiotics and doing some different things to try and make him comfortable. 

We need a miracle for this little guy. He is very much loved by his family and everyone wants him to make it home. Below is a collage depicting how much love this family has for him. We are committed to our dogs health and now need your help to raise the funds to cover his medical care. The care he has received up until today has cost $1985.00 and we estimate that to double through the weekend. The estimate from the emergency clinic is $4,000 and that could go higher. Our goal is to raise the funds needs and most importantly to get Chico home where he can lead a long, loved life with his family. 

Please consider making a donation this holiday season to Secondhand Mutts. In the last three weeks our bank account has been hit hard. We lost Ruby two weeks ago and her medical bill to try and save her life was $1800, we are currently raising funds to pay for Hunters ACL surgery that he is getting in two weeks and we are about $700 shy of our $1500 goal. Secondhand Mutts relies on public donations to help our dogs. 

Donate to Chico through the YouCaring.com: http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/give-a-heart-to-chico-he-needs-a-miracle-/107362

We do not receive any government-related grant money. We thankfully accept private and corporate donations. Without this support, we could not continue to fulfill our mission to help homeless dogs. We will provide you a receipt for all monetary donations for tax purposes. If you would like to make a tax-deductible charitable donation you can do so online through the giant donate button on the right, make a credit card donation by calling us at 216-664-9660, or mail a check to:

Secondhand Mutts
2603 Scranton Road
Cleveland, OH 44113 

This collage was put together by his family who deeply love him and want Chico to come home.

Send your updates and pictures to rescue@secondhandmutts.org

Chico, the little heartworm positive Chihuahua, has had his first treatment and is settling in great in his new home. He was a foster-to-adopt and his new mom loves him so much. He will be going back to Dr. Brian at Gateway Animal Clinic next week for his second treatment and we anticipate all of the worms will be gone within a month. His next hurdle is to be neutered sometime in early 2014. Thank you Alice and Mariah for taking on a special needs dog and giving him everything he needs to be healthy. 

Pearl (left) and her brother Gotti snuggling on the couch. Oh what a life they have! Send your updates and photos to rescue@secondhandmutts.org. 

Big thanks to our volunteer transporter, Mary Jo, and amazing network of foster parents, who with very short notice agreed to take in a puppy (or two) until they could be full vetted, start socialization at Puppy Playtime, and then find a forever home to settle into. Without Mary Jo, Gina, Beth, Amelia and Lisa these pups may not have had a chance. We look forward to hearing the names their foster parents will be giving them!

Formerly from Fayette County, Ohio, and destin for a grim future, a local shelter we work with called out for help. A man threatening to give the dogs as bait dogs or destroy dropped them off at the shelter. With a fully packed facility they had to turn him away and begged him to give them 24 hours to find a rescue. Through the networking on Facebook, we quickly lined up foster homes, arranged for transport and agreed to take the pups. This all happened last Friday and here we are on Tuesday with seven lucky puppies in our care.

The puppies will be going up on our website in the next few days and then available tor adoption. If you are interested in adopting please fill out our online adoption application to start the process.

We are excited to announce that one of our former adoptables “Jane”, along side 5 other amazing dogs, have officially been certified as Canine Good Citizens and are now eligible to become members of Therapy Dogs International. We are so proud of Jane and when we met her we saw the potential she had to become a therapy dog. We are especially touched her owners Jonathan and Jen decided to take the course offered through The Mutt Hutt to make it happen! 

http://themutthutt.com/presenting-our-graduating-canine-good-citizen-therapy-dogs-international-class-of-the-summer-of-2013/

Last week volunteers, Sharon and Becca, took Penny Lane to the vet to verify she is indeed heartworm positive. Her test results came back and she is. She does not have the severity of heartworm that Chico, another Secondhand Mutt looking for a home, has but she will need to receive treatment. Heartworm treatment can cost upwards of $500 and some dogs need more than one treatment session over a 3 month period. 

Penny Lane is happily living in a wonderful foster home with Michelle, Steve, their two dogs, and with Secondhand Mutt Frank, who we hope will be moving to a new foster-to-adopt home next Monday. Before we can start Penny Lane’s treatment she needs to put on some much needed weight.

She was a stray running for 3 weeks until she was caught and brought to safety at a shelter in southern Ohio before transferring north to our care. Michelle and Steve have been supplementing Penny Lane’s food with boiled chicken and potatoes since taking her in, and they are also trying to put some much needed weight on Frank in the process. They have never asked us to provide our “house food”, instead they have taken on the expenses of feeding our dogs Nature Select, a premium dog food they give their own dogs. We would like to return the favor and help them with the supplements, chicken and potatoes, they are also providing which add up on a household budget. 

“We go through about 60 lbs of food every 2 weeks. I have two 85 lb dogs of my own to feed. They get 3 cups per day each (which is a normal weight maintenance serving) = 6 cups + two foster dogs that are practically starving. They each get 4 cups per day = 8 cups which is 14 cups of food total. The fosters each need to gain about 10 lbs to be at a healthy weight” says Michelle who is taking great care of Frank and Penny Lane. 

We are accepting donations of chicken (frozen or fresh) and 5# sacks of potatoes for Michelle and Steve to cook for our dogs. Donations can be dropped off at our facility in Tremont at 2603 Scranton Road weekdays from 7 am to 7 pm and weekends from 9 am to 5 pm. 

Penny says “thank you”.