JUNE 2025

Dear CBHR Supporters,

Summer is on our heels, and many of us are eager to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather and outdoor activities across North Carolina and South Carolina. Before you and your basset hound head out into the summer sun, please take a moment to review a few important safety tips to keep your furry companion safe and comfortable:

1. Keep them hydrated and cool. Make sure your hound always has access to plenty of shade and fresh water. Hydration is essential for both you and your dog. Just like us, bassets need water to help regulate their body temperature. A shady spot can make all the difference on a hot day.
2. Check the pavement. A good rule of thumb: if it’s too hot for your bare feet, it’s too hot for your basset’s paws. Try to plan walks for early morning or late evening when the ground is cooler. Stick to grassy areas whenever possible, and if your pup begins lifting their paws, limping, or skipping, it’s time to head home.
3. Limit outdoor exercise. Keep outdoor activities short and avoid strenuous play during the hottest parts of the day. Our long-eared friends aren’t built for heat and can overheat quickly.
4. Know the signs of heat stroke. Watch for excessive panting, drooling, lethargy, vomiting, or uncoordinated movements. If you suspect heat stroke, move your dog to a cool place, offer water, and seek veterinary care immediately.

Let’s all stay safe and make the most of this sunny season. Thank you for being part of the CBHR family and for loving your hounds as much as we do! 

Respectfully,

Brian Allen

President

Carolina Basset Hound Rescue

It’s that time of year again here in the South—hot, humid, and full of summer fun! Here are a few more key reminders to help keep your happy hounds safe and healthy:

Heat Safety

• Never leave dogs in parked cars even for a few minutes. Temps can rise dangerously fast.
• Walk during cooler times such as early morning or evening. Hot pavement can burn paws.
• Watch for signs of overheating including excessive panting, drooling, lethargy, or confusion.

Hydration

• Provide fresh water at all times — bring a portable bowl on walks and trips.
• Add ice cubes or use pet-safe frozen treats to help cool them down.

Parasite Protection

• Keep up with flea, tick, and heartworm prevention — summer is peak season.
• Check for ticks after outdoor play, especially in wooded or grassy areas.

4th of July Dog Safety Reminders

Tip: More dogs go missing on the 4th than any other day — take extra precautions! 

Fireworks Anxiety

• Keep dogs indoors during fireworks — even if they’re usually outside. Limit doggy door use. 
• Create a safe space with their bed, toys, and a calming atmosphere (white noise, TV, etc.).
• Close windows and curtains to muffle sounds and block flashes.

Dogs with firework anxiety may display a range of stress-related symptoms. Here are common signs to watch for:

• Behavioral Symptoms
• Trembling or shaking
• Hiding (under furniture, in closets, etc.)
• Pacing or restlessness
• Whining, barking, or howling
• Attempting to escape (scratching at doors, trying to dig, jumping fences)

• Emotional/Physical Reactions
• Clinginess or seeking constant reassurance
• Refusing to eat
• Panting excessively, even when not hot
• Drooling
• Dilated pupils
• Yawning or licking lips repeatedly
• Destructive behavior (chewing walls, furniture, or crates)
• Self-injury (from trying to escape or excessive licking)

ID and Microchip

• Make sure your dog is wearing a collar with up-to-date tags that include a current phone number. CBHR tags must always be worn. Please contact your medical manager or foster manager if your foster does not have a CBHR tag. 
• Ensure microchip information is current. CBHR keeps the microchip information updated for active fosters, and it’s transferred to the owner upon adoption. If you cannot find your adopted dog’s microchip information, please contact us for assistance. 

Party Safety

• Keep dogs away from:
• Alcohol
• Grilled foods (especially bones, onions, corn cobs, and fatty meats)
• Glow sticks and sparklers (toxic or dangerous if chewed)
• Monitor entrances to prevent escape during guest comings and goings.

Comfort and Calming Tips

• Try calming chews, vests, or diffusers (not all essential oils are dog safe; ask your vet first).
• Take a long walk earlier in the day to burn off energy before festivities begin.
• Stay calm yourself — dogs pick up on human stress.

After the Fireworks

• Check your yard for debris from fireworks that may be toxic or sharp.
• Resume normal routines the next day to help them settle back in.

Norman (Roscoe)

CBHR was contacted by a North Carolina shelter for help with a stray basset hound – Roscoe. Roscoe was given a glowing report on friendliness, getting along with the other dogs, and, of course, basset hound cuteness. The shelter was over capacity, and CBHR needed to act quickly to rescue him. Previous CBHR adopters and experienced foster parents Randy and Maureen (Mo) Sheldon lived close to the shelter and volunteered to pull Roscoe and become his foster home. They named him Norman. The first report for Norman was a good one. “He came into the house like he had always lived here. He was relaxed with his new dog friends and had dinner with no need to try to get anyone else's food.” Randy said Norman “is a very good boy.” At his intake vet visit, Norman needed the vaccinations he didn’t receive at the shelter, and a dental cleaning was scheduled. The Sheldons quickly made the decision to adopt Norman after he completed his medical hold. Norman sleeps in bed with Randy and Mo, who were very happy to foster him and are SO excited to officially welcome him into their family! CBHR is very grateful once again to Randy and Mo for rescuing Norman from the shelter and giving him a new family, doggie siblings, and his forever home. 

Ryder

Ryder came into CBHR as a Good Samaritan rehome request. A friend planned to surrender Ryder to the county shelter, but after learning of Ryder’s story, CBHR officers voted him into the rescue. Scott Padgett became Ryder’s temporary foster home, and Ryder completed his intake vetting. The vet diagnosed dental disease and a very underweight basset. About a week later, Frances (Fran) Marlatt and Earl Caldwell became Ryder’s foster parents. Fran felt Ryder was previously an outdoor dog because he wasn’t house trained and didn't know how to walk on a leash. He was fearful of new people coming into the home. Ryder had neuter surgery and a much-needed dental. After his recovery, Ryder was available for adoption. Ryder remained with Fran until April when she asked to have him transferred to a new foster home. His new foster mom was a first-time CBHR foster, Lexi Romano. Lexi has a vet tech background and noticed Ryder had severe anxiety. He was placed back on hold status to be evaluated for possible anxiety medication and/or training. Finally, after a medication trial, the best anxiety medication was found. Misty and Ronald Bever were approved adopters and had experience with anxiety in dogs. After talking with foster mom Lexi, they made the decision to adopt Ryder. At their home, Ryder would have doggie siblings to play with. Because of Ryder’s anxiety and adjusting to a new home, his adoption home trial was extended. Patience and love paid off. On May 7, Misty told Adoption Manager Jennifer, “Ryder is a sweet boy! He has the entire house trained (lol), and we officially want to adopt him.” CBHR is grateful to all of Ryder’s foster parents who helped him on his journey to his forever home: Scott Padgett, Frances Marlatt, and Lexi Romano. Thank you to Ryder’s new parents, Misty and Ron, and their pack of canines for giving Ryder his perfect home. 

Blu

Blu is a 2-year-old basset boy whose owners felt it would be best to rehome him. Their schedules had changed, and he was spending too much time in a crate. Lars Lanzetta became Blu’s foster dad. Blu’s intake exam revealed he had four extra teeth that were crowding the other molars and needed extraction. During his dental surgery, Blu had some unusual bleeding from one of the extraction sites, so the vet sutured and treated the site to stop the bleeding. Blu was also seen again at the vet the next day for a recheck. Foster dad Lars kept in close contact with his CBHR medical team. Lars was still very much interested in adopting Blu and committed to getting him back to full health. “Blu is awesome! He's the smallest basset I've ever seen, very handsome, and friendly. He's very skinny, but he's eating like a horse. My CBHR alum Sonny is a great big brother. He's shown Blu where all the best lounging spots are.” CBHR sends a big thank you to Lars for his careful and loving attention to Blu’s medical care. Lars said “Blu is doing amazingly well! He fit in almost immediately! He's smart, sweet, and gentle. He's become best buds with my other basset, Sonny, and the two have been inseparable.” Thank you, Lars and Sonny, for welcoming Blu into your home and making him a family member. 

Hank

In March 2024, CBHR was contacted needing help with a basset mix who had wandered up to an inpatient treatment center. The kind folks at the treatment center looked for Hank's owner but they were never found. This boy was living outside of the treatment center and one day got caught in a neighbor's coyote trap. The residents didn't want anything else to happen to him, so they reached out to CBHR. Because of his dire circumstances, CBHR rescued him and placed him in the foster home of Sarah Sykes. Sarah called him "Handsome Hank," and he got along great with her other dogs. He loved having room to roam on her property. During his first vet visit, he required all vaccines, eventual neuter, was found to be heartworm positive and had a tick-borne disease (this was later treated). Because of the HW disease, he would require exercise restrictions and a quiet environment. He was moved to the foster home of Heather Barnes. Heather said Hank was an amazing dog, but he was becoming quite the escape artist, He was also not doing well on his leash walks and having issues maneuvering her stairs. Because of his escape antics and his difficulties climbing steps, he was moved to the home of long-term CBHR foster Leigh Bolick. Although difficult because of his very high energy levels and newfound separation anxiety, Leigh was able to provide a safe environment for Hank and cared for him during his HW treatments. After the long rest period that's required post HW treatments, Hank moved back to his first foster home of Sarah Sykes for a brief five-day visit and to say “hello” to her pack. He enjoyed his brief stay with Sarah and her dogs, but it was time for him to move on to his final foster home with Francis and Sara June Goldstein. 

Francis and Sara June had hoped to have a foster-to-adopt situation with Hank. Unfortunately, he had developed some concerning habits that required a trainer. The Golsteins declined to move Hank and instead, they wanted to help correct some of his behaviors. They agreed to start working on training him. His four-week training started in October at the Dog Daze Boarding and Training Center in Columbia. Trainer Patrick Hall addressed Hank's reactivity, resource guarding, and separation anxiety issues. Upon returning to Francis and Sara June’s foster home, they found that Hank was much easier to control. He no longer pulled on leash walks as he did before. The Goldsteins took Hank along on a beach vacation and reported back: "Hank loved the beach house, especially since we have friends who have dogs that he can play with. We repaired our fence and now he has unfettered use of the back yard, which allows him to run as much as he likes (and he likes it!!). He’s doing well. We walk about four miles per day, and he’s already the No. 1 walker in Columbia according to his step counting and tracking collar. He has loads of personality. When we go to the beach, he'll play dead when it's time to get in the car to go home! His major remaining fault is that he throws a fit when we come across strange dogs on our walks but even that is slowly improving.”

Despite his unusually long journey in CBHR, the all new and improved Hank is now living happily with Francis and Sarah June in his forever home. CBHR thanks all of Hank's foster parents: Sarah Sykes, Heather Barnes, Leigh Bolick and finally Francis and Sara June Goldstein for their hard work in training Hank and for their ongoing love, patience, and wonderful care. Sometimes it takes a village!

Junior

Senior basset boy Junior came to CBHR as an owner rehome request. Junior was getting a little grumpy in his later years and the family, with a 1-year-old, wanted to be cautious. Junior was placed into the most perfect foster home with Ruth Robeson. Ruth especially loves the seniors and said, “Old Bassets are my passion, and he will have a plush retirement. He is positively adorable, but old and has some medical issues.” After Junior’s intake exam, he was found to have osteoarthritis, dental issues, and some lumps and bumps that needed to be removed. Fortunately, the bumps were all benign; his dental went well, and he was placed on meds to ease his arthritis pain. Junior had one final vet visit to insert and record his microchip. Junior was ready for Ruth to adopt and make him a permanent member of her family. CBHR is very grateful to foster parents like Ruth who want to help a senior basset hound live their best and most comfortable life. Thank you, Ruth, for giving Junior his perfect retirement home. 

Roscoe

Young Roscoe's family had some changes and medical issues and made the decision to contact CBHR for help in rehoming him. Previous adopters Jenny and Bruce Fike became Roscoe’s foster parents. Jenny found Roscoe to be skittish at first when approached, but he quickly warmed up. He’s high energy when playing with CBHR alum Hunter but will calm down and be chill. Roscoe required all vaccinations and fortunately tested heartworm negative. He had some digestive issues in the beginning but overall, with the care of the Fike’s and the vet, Roscoe was soon ready for adoption. The Fikes and Hunter, too, had already made the decision early on to adopt Roscoe. After Roscoe’s adoption became final, Jenny sent an email to CBHR: “Thank you all for positively impacting our family’s lives. Roscoe is one rowdy boy and brings us lots of love and laughter every day. He’s got a ton of personality. He may be part reindeer. He’s got some flying skills! We’re truly grateful. Hunter has the buddy he needed and deserved. They go together like peas and carrots.” CBHR thanks Jenny and Bruce for providing Roscoe with a caring foster family and giving him his happy forever home. 

Silas (Winston and Joe)

Joe originally came into CBHR as Silas in January 2021. He was a young puppy with numerous medical conditions his family couldn’t afford to treat. Silas remained in his foster home while being vetted for medical issues. His foster mom adopted Silas. In December 2024, his adopter made the difficult decision to return him to CBHR. CBHR’s policy is “once a CBHR dog, always a CBHR dog.” Linda Watson became his new foster mom. At his intake exam, Silas required only one vaccination update and a dental cleaning. All his tests were negative. Linda renamed him Winston. She reported he is doing much better with leash training and now knows several commands. Linda made the decision to adopt him. He’ll have a permanent issue with his front legs not formed correctly. The vet said he may need to get arthritis medications earlier than usual. Linda will keep an eye out for this. Silas, now Winston’s, adoption became final. CBHR is grateful to Linda for fostering and the special care she gave Silas/Winston. Winston has a wonderful life ahead of him in his forever home. 

On a normal Saturday after cleaning my kitchen, I walked into my family room where my basset girl Holly came up to me with her tail tucked way down between her back legs. I knew something was wrong. I got down and tried to see what the issue might be, and as I touched her chin, she yelped and then screamed when I touched her neck area. I thought she had hurt her back or neck. 

Of course, it was after hours at my personal vet and not late enough for the emergency vet in my city to be open. So, off we went to Charlotte to CARE (Charlotte Animal Referral & Emergency), which was a 45-minute drive. By the time I arrived, the team noticed her face and neck were swollen and she may have been bitten. A vet tech came out, looked her over, and agreed it was a potential snake bite — their fourth for the week.

They took Holly back, did bloodwork, and checked her over. Fortunately, all her bloodwork was fine; however, they discovered small puncture wounds on her nose and a small amount of blood transferred to her ear. The doctor said she had a mild reaction, so she didn’t need any anti-venom which apparently has its own side effects. I chose to leave her overnight, as I knew I wouldn’t get any sleep and didn’t want to risk another mad dash up I-77 in the middle of the night in case she started having trouble. 

I picked her up mid-morning the next day. She was on five days of pain medication and soft food. We gradually transitioned into the “basset hound drama queen” phase of recovery, and I’m happy to report she is back to normal. 

I believe she was bitten by a small/baby copperhead as I have seen them in the mulch around the house. I’m sure she was doing her basset hound patrol around her backyard with her nose to the ground and got herself “fanged.”

Be aware that this is the season for these snakes to be out and about and watch out for these symptoms:

• very painful and swollen areas
• distress
• possible blood at bite location 

CARE was absolutely wonderful and took great care of her. I also sat down and researched all the emergency vets in my area and added contacts (phone and address) to my phone. 

For more information, check out this informative article on snake bites done by WBTV Reporter Ron Lee, who’s also one of our CBHR volunteers.

Art by Zoe Ranucci | Visit Website

15% off for CBHR followers

By Dee Dee Schwarz

You know how when you have that one movie that if you sit down and turn on the TV and it’s on, you get sucked in and watch the whole thing no matter what you should be doing?

Well, that movie for Russell (my husband) is The Fifth Element. And I’m thinking: “Oh no. It’s on again. He’s not moving for a while.” It’s a great movie with all sorts of crazy characters. We all love Bruce Willis, and then there's the character Leeloo Dallas Multi-Pass. Russell had been saying for a while, “Maybe we should name one of our dogs Leeloo.” 

And I think “That is not going to happen.”

One day at work, this "petit" basset came in to get spayed. It turns out she was dropped off at Anderson South Carolina Animal Control with five other dogs from a puppy mill. CBHR took the three basset hounds: Lil Bit (as she was called then), Snoopy, and Blackjack. Dr. Jones, who performed the spay surgery, said that she had at least three litters and was around four years old. 

I called Russell and said, “You need to see this little dog.” I could feel him rolling his eyes. 

He came in before she went in for her surgery. I put her in his lap, and he immediately said, “This is my dog!” 

We applied to adopt her that day. After a few weeks of worrying whether we would get her, if she’d get medically cleared, and if she had other applicants, we were approved to adopt her. 

It took her a little time, but she has gone from that little dog scared to be left alone, who just wants to chase squirrels and chipmunks all day long in the backyard, to the little dog with steps to get on Dad’s lap or watch all the neighbor dogs pass the house from her La-Z-Boy Sofa.

Oh, and her name is Leeloo. 

Jasmine

Jasmine, also known as “the Queen,” came to take her spot in our house and hearts in March 2018. She was my Velcro dog. She loved watching the squirrels as they ran across the top of the fence, just out of reach. She loved her spot in the sun. She had a ramp to the bed and her very own spot on the couch — and eyes that could talk you into anything. She loved her mealtimes. I could go on forever about her quirks and expressions. As she got older, she kept us on our toes with her demands. We were wrapped around her paw. Those little old lady health issues started showing up, and we did everything required to keep her happy. Cancer and liver disease came to call and when those eyes let us know it was time, we had to say goodbye. She’ll hold a special place with us forever. We love you, Jasmine.

- Peggy and John Gettys

Send a little news to The Howler about your precious pup, senior or middle-aged basset with the approximate date they were adopted and a photo or two. We would like to let our readers know where they are now.

Just click to send to Laura Donahue and we will spread the news. 

Give your old vehicle new purpose when you donate it. Vehicle donations have the potential to bring hundreds and sometimes even thousands of dollars in support of our programs. Donating is easy, the pick-up is free, and your gift is tax-deductible.

Call (855) 500-7433 or donate securely online at https://careasy.org/nonprofit/carolinabassethoundrescueinc.

Lara Bird

Lauren Collins (for Sam’s recovery)

Sarah Coy

Tessa & Stephen Decker

Katie & James Fedorovich (in honor of Derek Scibor’s 60th birthday!)

Brian Harrison (in memory of Tucker Jollay Donahue)

Charles Nimitz (Give Lively Foundation donation)

Lisa & Andy Palenque

Joshua Tripp

Bill Scott

The Charlie Bucket Fund of Triangle Community Foundation

Campaign: Rear Wheel Drive Sam

Thank you, Backers!

Backers provide an ongoing, reliable source of income for our bassets.

* New Basset Backer 

Thanks, you're angels!

Basset Angels help provide medical care for one of our bassets with significant health concerns.

* New Basset Angel

Sarah Coy

Peggy and John Gettys

Sarah and Kent Kirby

Marjorie and William Ratliff

Heather and John Szymankiewicz

Our Carolina Basset Hound Rescue senior dogs are quite special around here. Donations to the Golden Tag Society help CBHR ensure they can live out their golden years well.

* New Golden Tag Member

Roger and JoAnn Amidon

August Bauer-Nilsen

Gina Buchanan

Sarah Coy

Christi Hernandez

Elizabeth Gerken Hooten

Anna Idler and Jake Summers

David S King

Patricia (Patti) Lesch and James (Jim) Swan

Ashley Mills

Shelly Myott

Glenn and Mary Ann Preston

Melissa Stokes

Leland and Laura Sullivan