My apologies for the lengthy email but I hope you will take the time to read through it. Izzy needs your help!
As many of you know, I was involved in the closure of a puppy mill in 2001. It's a rather long, depressing story, but the short version is that we rescued a little over 100 Shar-Pei who lived in some of the worst conditions that I had ever seen. With the support of the community, the legal system, Shar-Pei fanciers, etc., most of these dogs found their way into loving homes. Quite of a few of you receiving this email have "Jackson Dogs"!
Izzy was one of those dogs who found what we thought was the perfect "forever home". Izzy's adoption was handled by my rescue partner, Cindy Sherrill and she was adopted by a couple in Indiana. Everything seemed to be going well and in fact, Cindy had received an email update from this couple on May 11th, 2004. They explained that they had moved but that Izzy loved the new home and was doing great. They talked about how much they loved her and how well she was adapting to their new house. They even sent a picture!!!
Several weeks later, I received a call from my vet telling me that a vet in Ohio had Izzy and was trying to track down her Rescuer. Imagine our shock, surprise and anger!!! Turns out, Izzy's adopters had taken her into this vet's clinic and asked that she be put to sleep, citing "behavioral problems". They did not make any effort to contact Cindy (as per the terms of their adoption contract) who would have taken Izzy back immediately. The vet caught on that something was amiss and had the couple sign Izzy over to her clinic and then went about trying to track down Shar-Pei Rescue of TN. A side note....when the couple found out that Izzy was being returned to Tennessee Rescue, they attempted to get her back, explaining to Cindy that they had decided to "work through" her "behavior problems" and if it didnt' work, they promised to get back in touch with Cindy immediately. You can use your imagination with regards to Cindy's reply!!!
Cindy immediately went into action and made arrangements to get Izzy safely back to Tennessee. Because of the distance involved, a transport relay was arranged. For those of you not familiar with this, it is similar to the underground slave network. One person takes the dog from Point A to Point B, another volunteer from Point B to Point C and so forth.
During the first stop in Columbus, IN, a stressed and frightened Izzy managed to slip her collar and disappear. This was 3 1/2 weeks ago. Volunteers immediately went into action by putting up signs, faxing flyers to vet clinics, contacting the Sherriff's Dept, etc. Alot of people went to great lengths to find Izzy. There were occassional "sightings" of Izzy and several close calls but Izzy managed to evade capture. Eventually, reports started coming in that Izzy was injuried but at least we knew that she was still alive!!
Sunday afternoon, 6-27-04, Izzy made her way into someone's fenced yard and the homeowner had the sense to sneak out and shut the gate. Izzy was FINALLY captured!! The homeowner had a niece who worked for a vet and fortunately, the niece had seen a copy of the faxed flyer. She immediately came and got Izzy and took her to her vet clinic for safe-keeping. Izzy was COVERED in ticks but this wonderful person got most of them off of her. Cindy got the call at 3:15pm and immediately headed out to Ohio, arriving there around 10:30pm. Izzy and Cindy made it back to Tennessee at 4:30am this morning (Monday).
Attached are pictures of Izzy as she looks today. She's lost almost 20-lbs and is down to about 31lbs. However, the most disturbing thing is that Izzy has a badly dislocated hip and has blown out her knee. This was probably damage from a car but we will probably never know.
At this point, Cindy has no idea how much the surgeries necessary for repair will be but I'm sure you can imagine that it will be LOTS! This beautiful dog has already been through a LIFETIME of pain and we desperately want to make everything that she has been through up to her. *Not* getting the surgeries is *Not* an option so we are trying to pull funds together.
Shar-Pei Savers, Inc. (www.sharpeisavers.com <http://www.sharpeisavers.com> ) has generously offered to accept donations on Izzy's behalf. Thanks to them, donations will be tax-deductible!!
To help with Izzy online, please visit http://www.sharpeisavers.com/donate.htm. You can make a donation via PayPal. BE SURE TO SPECIFY THAT YOUR DONATION IS FOR IZZY!!!!
If you would like to mail a check, please send to: Shar-Pei Savers, Inc. c/o Deborah Gordon, Treasurer. 5333 N. Otter Creek Dr., LaSalle, MI 48145
Wendy Cook
Shar-Pei Rescue of TN-Nashville
www.tnpeirescue.petfinder.org <http://www.tnpeirescue.petfinder.org>
|
|
