Dog Days of Summer Special ending soon.  Male dog neuters for $15 at the Humane Society Spay Neuter Clinic will end September 1st.  Call 931-372-2728 for an appointment, MUST MENTION “DOG DAYS OF SUMMER” for special pricing.

The PETCO Foundation (http://www.petco.com/petco_Page_pc_petcofoundationhome_Nov_11.aspx) recently approved a grant request and donated $800 worth of kitten food to A.A.R.F.  We want to thank them once again for their generosity and their willingness to help!  The kittens in our care are not eating very high quality food and thriving because of it. 

Sharon Langford of Sparta recently wrote a book entitled “LIVING THE RESCUES:  Life Lessons and Inspirations”.   Not only is the book wonderful (my personal opinion, of course), but ALL proceeds from the book are going to help homeless animals in need.  Ms. Langford will donate all of HER profits to her own, private foundation, while some retailers are donating THEIR profits to local animal rescue organizations! 

VINTAGE ROSE ANTIQUES, located at 221 Broad Street, will be donating ALL PROFITS MADE on the sale of these books to A.A.R.F. to assist with rescue efforts.  I had a lovely meeting with mother and daughter team Sharon and Sarah Hawlick last week, who each have rescue dogs of their own.  They are passionate for this cause and want to help in any way possible!  The more books they sell, the more funding AARF will receive – which will help more homeless pets right here in the Upper Cumberland. 

Living with the Rescues sells for $19.95 and copies are selling quick!  Please visit Vintage Rose Antiques at 221 Broad Street in Cookeville (From Willow Avenue heading north towards TN Tech, take a right on Broad Street and it is on your left hand side) and tell them that AARF sent you!  While there, be sure to browse through their wonderful selection of beautiful decor and antiques! 

 

The July Fairfield Glade Craft Show was a success!  We raised over $300 to help homeless animals in need throughout the Upper Cumberland, and adopted 1 dog and 3 kittens!  We also took in 1 tiny kitten after it was dumped in a person’s truck nearby in Crossville.  This kitten has been bottle fed and is well on it’s way to becoming a WONDERFUL cat!  Our Junior volunteers were in full swing, working hard to save lives!!!

On behalf of A.A.R.F., we once again want to thank PETCO and Kelly Darty for the tremendous donation that was made to our organization.  Please see our “Thank You” Sign inside of the store, and thank Kelly for taking the initiative to help A.A.R.F.  This has always been, and will continue to be a wonderful partnership!  Thank you Kelly and PETCO Foundation!!!

Wondering what has happened to all of the puppies that AARF normally has?  We have developed partnerships with a network of shelters in the north seeking….PUPPIES!  But not to worry…we’ve got a TON and they are all waiting for you to come and adopt them!  Here are some photos of who will be ready to go home here shortly!  These guys are JUMPING for JOY – so excited to be out of the White and Cumberland County Animal Shelters!

Adding another permanent partner to our mix is The Cumberland County Animal Shelter in Crossville, TN!  What attracts us most to this shelter is their AWESOME director who pretty much runs the shelter by herself.  Andrea enjoys what she does (as you will see in the photo below) and truly cares SO MUCH about each and every one of these animals…You can now see all of their adoptable animals on our website…as they get full, we try to pull as many out as possible to make room for more.  This shelter is located on East Lane in Crossville, TN.  Check out their beautiful dogs and cats needing a forever home and visit with them today!

Meet Jody….she looks to be a beautiful 3 year young Boston Terrier…but what you are not seeing is how she was found.  She arrived at our veterinarian’s office filthy, covered in fleas and ticks and quite emaciated.  A heartworm test was run, and she tested heartworm positive.

The initial treatment for Jody is $300.  We are seeking donations to get her treatments started so that we can work on recovery.  If you can spare a few extra dollars, it truly would mean the world to Jody.  Click the “Donate” link to the right of the screen or mail to:

A.A.R.F.     P.O. Box 4074     Cookeville, TN  38502

Your donations are tax decutible!

Meet Melanie…

Melanie showed up at the Cumberland County Animal Shelter just a few day ago, preganant as pregnant can be.    She appreared as if she would bust at the seams at any moment’s time.  How ANYONE could turn away an animal in such a condition is beyond our comprehension…Just LOOK at how CUTE she is!!!  And a personality to match!  No beagle bellows or anything – just trying to be a good mom…Melanie is estimated to be between 6 and 7 years…way too old to be having puppies!!!

AARF was going to pull her out on Friday, June 11th, but circumstances beyond our control forced us to push up the date to Monday, June 14th.  When we arrived to pick Melanie up, she had already given birth to 2 beautiful puppies.

In fear of moving her in the midst of labor, we sat down with Melanie for 3 hours and helped her with the next two…

Appearing as if she was having trouble with the 5th, we contact Best Friends Veterinary hospital, who suggested we bring her in for an evaluation.  We got Melanie out of the car, where she sniffed around for a while and ran around in the fresh, green grass, and then proceeded to bring her indoors.  She squatted on the “Welcome” mat and urinated, and one of our junior volunteers looked down and said “Hey…is that a tail?”.  Within seconds, she birthed her 5th baby, right on the welcome mat at Best Friends.  Dr. Parker came running out the door, along with a number of vet techs.  Dr Parker took the baby to the back immediately, which the Vet techs guided us into the examination room with Melanie.

Dr. Parker explained that it could take quite a while for her to birth all of the puppies that she was planning to deliver…when we asked how many, he did an ultrasound and it was determined that there were another 7 waiting to arrive….12 PUPPIES total!!! 

We packed up Melanie and her pups once again and headed to her foster home in Cookeville.  Upon arriving, she went into the grass to birth 2 more – 1 still born, the second lively and healthy.  A group of volunteers went indoors to setup her pen immediately, while another group worked with Melanie to clean up the one living pup.

We got Melanie setup in her pen with her babies, where she proceded to have another 2 pups back to back.  After sitting with her for a little while, the volunteers decided that it was time to take a short break to eat.  Upon arriving back downstairs, 2 additional pups had been born – only 1 remaining.   Everyone else had left and her foster mom was rubbing her tummy, when the final pup was born at 10:30PM. 

Melanie and her 11 pups are doing pretty well.  There was only a problem with one pup who Melanie continued to reject.  This male pup was transferred today to a foster mom who will bottle feed and try everything in her power to save his life.  She said that he is strong and healthy, but just needs an extra push right now.

Please remember….when it comes time for all of these pups to be able to go home, Melanie will be able to go home as well…many people overlook the mama dogs and go straight to the puppies…when in actuality, you are getting a MUCH better dog from a mama dog than you would from one of her pups.  As Melanie says “I know you love my puppies….but I’m Cute TOO!”.  Think adult adoption!

Northeast Ohio SPCA has agreed to take another 40 dogs from the Upper Cumberland, giving them a guaranteed great life in an approved, loving forever home.  These animals had previouly been overlooked in this region and were all scheduled for euthanasia.  Take a look at some of the lucky faces below….thanks to the generosity of local land and building owners who give AARF free space to house puppies while they await transport, euthanasia was not an option for these babies!  Out of the 40 total, A.A.R.F. is sending 22 of their foster animals, A Time for Paws is sending 9, and Cumberland County Animal Shelter is sending 9.