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SHOREWOOD COCKER NEWSShorewood Cocker Rescue, Inc. Volume 2, Issue 1 |
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ARTICLES Rescue
Apparel
ARCHIVES
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CHLOE'S AMAZING RECOVERYBy Elaine Baumann |
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Chloe's ordeal began on October 24, 2001. Marion Rutar, a Shorewood volunteer, and I had just returned from Animal Eye Associates in Wheeling, IL with Kissy, another Shorewood dog. Unfortunately Kissy was losing her eyesight and we were hopeful that with surgery it could be restored. However, the prognosis was not good. Kissy would be blind. As we entered the house the phone was ringing...Carole Kohler, the rescue director, was on the phone. This was not going to be a good day for Shorewood Cocker Rescue. Carole explained that our little Chloe, who we had fostered last summer, was at a animal hospital in Waukesha. She was paralyzed. The diagnosis was a herniated disc. She would require surgery within 24 hours if she was to ever walk again. Carole asked me to find a surgeon who could do this very delicate surgery. I called Animal Eye Associates and one of the Shorewood vets. The recommendation was the same from both. We made arrangements for Chloe to be seen at a state-of-the-art animal hospital in Buffalo Grove, IL. Marion and I hurried out of the house because we
These recent photos show just how far Chloe has come in her amazing recovery. knew the clock was ticking. We had no idea how long Chloe had been in this condition when her previous owner took her to the hospital. We headed north and picked Chloe up in Waukesha, and then turned around and went south to Illinois. Marion sat in the back with a large half crate which we had heavily padded. Chloe was in terrible pain. We knew that if she moved too much the disc could cut the spinal cord. To stay in was a stressful ride, would be an understatement. We arrived at the vet hospital at 5:00pm. The surgeon evaluated Chloe. Her little body was limp from the midsection back. She looked at me with pleading eyes. When the vet tested her for feeling in her paws there was none. He told me her chance at recovery was only 50%. Then he told me the cost of the surgery. Since I am the Treasurer of the rescue I |
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knew that this would almost wipe us out. I called Carole. We discussed the situation. All the time Chloe was looking at me with those eyes. The decision was made to do the surgery. At 11:00pm I received a call from the surgeon. He was able to get all of the pieces of disc removed. I still received no words of encouragement. We were told that we could pick Chloe up on Friday. Then we began the rehabilitation of Chloe. It became a religion with us. Every 8 hours we would depress her bladder since she could not urinate. Then we would walk her for 5 minutes supporting her back end with a towel. At first she was absolutely exhausted. As time went on she became stronger. After her walk we did exercises with each back leg so that the muscles didn't atrophy. This procedure went on for three weeks with only very little change. She was resisting the exercises somewhat but nothing more. I cannot even describe the feeling you have when you fear you are not having any effect. The time had come to have Chloe's stitches removed. Our vet removed them and then took an instrument and pinched Chloe's back paw...she let out a YELP! That was the sweetest sound I ever heard. Chloe was on her way back. One morning I was coming down the stairs and Chloe wagged her tail. I was so excited I emailed Carole right away. We started to release the towel somewhat at the end of her walks to see if she could hold her weight. Slowly she improved. Then one day in December of 2001, Chloe stood on three legs. On December 21st she took her first steps. Chloe is walking now. She can even go down a few stairs and sometimes manages to come back up. Her gait is somewhat irregular but she improves daily. She is a happy girl and runs and plays with the other dogs and drags her toy turtle and flips it in the air. She has a twinkle in her eyes again. |
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BRADY: LOST & FOUND
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her voice and come to her. However, he managed to cover almost half a mile back and forth before she lost sight of him in the large weeded area near the parking lot. At this point, Mary Jo could only hope that Brady would make a nest in the weeds, eat the snow on the ground for water and scavenge some food from the area fast food restaurants. She planned to return the next morning and continue the search. The rescue also got to work coordinating a search effort. Mary Jo and other rescue volunteers spent hours upon hours in the cold trying to spot him, posted signs in local vet and other businesses, and went door to door telling neighbors about the lost, scared cocker spaniel. In the end it came down to chance. A kennel manager from the area went in for a dental appointment and happened to mention Brady to the staff. Amazingly the dental hygienist said she had seen a small dog sitting out in the field behind the office for most of the morning. The kennel manager jumped out of her chair and ran to the window. And it was true! There was Brady sitting in kind of a lean-to made of old barbed-wire fence. His leash had gotten tangled up in the barbed wire and he was stuck! After being reunited with Mary Jo, Brady was immediately seen by a vet. He was down to 20 lbs, had a temperature of 103 and was put on antibiotics. He also needed to be shaved down to the skin since his ears were matted to his body, but overall he was a very lucky boy. Mary Jo is very grateful to all of the volunteers who helped in the search including those who sent prayers and good thoughts. |
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Brady, a one year old red and white male cocker, was recently lost and then thankfully found in northern Illinois. The story begins with a timid commercial breeding facility cocker coming to the rescue and being adopted by one of our volunteers, Mary Jo Burke, but before there could be a happily ever after - Brady decided he'd have an adventure. The adventure began on December 27, 2001 when Mary Jo was helping store workers load a large box into her car in Freeport, Illinois. Brady managed to push open the partially open car door and run out into the parking lot. The store personnel and several customers tried to help Mary Jo catch him, but in the large parking area it was just too difficult. And unfortunately the more Brady was called and chased the more frightened he became. Mary Jo immediately notified Carole Kohler, SCR Director, the Friends Forever Humane Society, and the local Animal Control officer to let them know what had happened. Then she continued calling for Brady hoping he'd recognize |
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RESCUE EVENT HIGHLIGHTSClick on
Upcoming
Events for a list of scheduled rescue events. |
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Cocoa Puff and his new mom and dad stopped by to say hello and let us know how well things were going.
Lacey (bottom right, adopted in 2000) and Barney pose with owners Jean and Shawn Luft. |
Rocky meets his mom-to-be for the first time at a Three Dog Bakery event in Madison.
Bentley meets the public with his foster mom Deanna at a recent event. |
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MEET A SHOREWOOD VOLUNTEERElaine |
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"I am Elaine Baumann. I recently retired from a Fortune 500 company, where I was Manager of Worldwide scheduling and Product Allocation. I live on 6 acres in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin. I am currently on the Board of Directors of the Kenosha County Humane Society. This position at the Humane Society is what drew me to Shorewood Cocker Rescue. When I walked through the shelter, it would break my heart to see a Cocker there. It is difficult for any dog to be uprooted from his or her home and placed in a shelter environment, but the small dogs always look so helpless. I looked into several rescues, but Shorewood seemed to be the one doing the most. I applied to volunteer. Since then I have been called upon to do many tasks, all of them rewarding. I have five cockers of my own. They range in age from 3 to 13. Each one of them has a special place in my heart. One of my friends has a saying, "Dogs are not my whole life, but they make my life whole." I think that about sums up my feelings. I adopted Baby from Shorewood in 2001. Baby was surrendered by a woman who had fallen and broken her hip. She could no longer care for Baby. When I received the call from her, I could hear the sorrow in her voice. She did not want to give up Baby. Her family was going to take the dog to a shelter when this woman found Shorewood's ad. She could now rest easy knowing that her Baby was going to be placed in a loving home. Later when she found out that I had adopted Baby, she emailed and called me frequently. She told me that she had |
Elaine (top row, second from right) poses with other volunteers at a Rescue Event in Janesville, WI prayed every day that Baby would get a good home. I hope I can live up to her expectations."(Since writing of this biography Elaine has taken on the role of Treasurer and helped the rescue become an incorporated not-for-profit in Wisconsin.) |
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RESCUE APPAREL AVAILABLEOrder Your Own T-shirt or Sweatshirt!
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T-shirts and sweatshirts featuring the Shorewood Cocker Rescue logo and web site are now available for order. You can choose from either blue (pictured here) or mustard yellow with black text in Medium, Large or X-Large. The sweatshirts are very generously sized and the t-shirts are more true to size.
Shipping is $3.95 extra. If interested, please email Carole Kohler at carole@cockerrescue.com. Also, the t-shirts and sweatshirts will generally be available for purchase at our rescue events in the near future. This is a good way to meet some of our volunteers and adoptable dogs and avoid the shipping fee. :-) |
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RECENT ADOPTIONS |
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Max & Winnie |
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When Max and Winnie came to the rescue in January 2001, their future was
uncertain. Both had been loved and cared for by an elderly woman who
had passed away. Max, eleven years old and Winnie, thirteen years
old had very good temperaments, but finding the right home would be a
challenge. Where would we find a family who would consider adopting
two older dogs together?
But then Carole Kohler, SCR Director, was contacted by a wonderful family who had previously adopted from the rescue. They wanted to adopt both Max and Winnie! And in February of 2002 these two lucky dogs went to their new home in Madison. Thank god for people like these who adopt not because of what a pet can do for them, but because of what they can do to enrich the lives of pets. |
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