"Second Chance"

A Complimentary

Monthly Newsletter

November 2024 / V12

Why Shop When You Can Adopt!

- A Second Chance for the Innocent

Featured Monthly Articles:

--Canine Community:

It's November!

November is the official beginning of the busy holiday season. Did you know that this month is also a busy month for our dogs? There are several national pet celebrations and traditions as follows:

The breed of the month is the Yorkshire Terrier. This breed was originally founded in England in the mid 1800's as a rodent manager. This breed has become one of the more popular toy breeds in the US.
"National Senior Pet Awareness Month" and Adopt a "Senior Pet Month" - Senior pets are so often overlooked and can be an amazing, calmer, often already trained additional to a family. Please consider adopting a senior dog, they need and give back so much love!
"National Cancer Awareness Month" - Cancer is the leading cause of death among pets. We lost our dog Bigelow to cancer last year. This tradition is meant to raise awareness and bring the fight for a cure to the forefront.
"Pet Diabetes Month" - It is estimated that 1 in 300 dogs have diabetes. This is a condition that cannot be cured, but can be controlled. This disease can lead to many complications if not treated so learn what to look for.
"National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week" - The first week in November is a week to celebrate and give thanks to all of the workers and volunteers who help care and save homeless pets.
"Cook for your Dog Day" - November 1st is "Cook for your Dog Day", a day promoting good nutritional habits for your dog.

So... Count your blessings and give thanks this month for family, friends and our tail waggers!

--Safety Tip of the Month:

Stuff The Turkey, Not The Dog

Do you feed your dog table scraps? Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to share a meal with family and friends, but not necessarily with our dogs. My personal dogs have such sensitive stomachs that they will get their usual meal and treats on Thanksgiving day so that I do not get "prizes" the next morning. If you do feed your dog table scraps it is important to be aware of human foods that are potentially dangerous to our fur babies. Click on the link below to discover foods that are safe and those that are dangerous to our pets this holiday season.

(Any ads shown on the website below are not endorsed by the shelter. Shih Tzu Rescue does not receive any compensation from websites or ads)

Thanksgiving Food Tips

--Featured Dog of the Month: Olivia

Little Olivia was rescued from an abusive situation. She arrived at Shih Tzu Rescue malnourished and weighing only 4 pounds. Four days after her arrival and initial vet visit, she was bleeding rectally and extremely lethargic. We raced her to an emergency specialty hospital where a sonogram showed a life threatening form of bowel obstruction. After exams and a blood transfusion she was rushed into surgery. She survived the surgery but remained in extremely guarded condition for several days requiring constant medical care.

Olivia is the most precious, petite and adorable girl, who has come through this truly miraculous story. She is a Shih Tzu mix, probably with Toy Poodle, also known as a ShiPoo. She is about 2-4 years old and about 6 pounds. She is very sweet and friendly, and welcomes you with an endearing and heartwarming gaze. She loves to be with people, gets along with and plays nicely with other dogs, and enjoys leash walks. She came to Shih Tzu Rescue in need of emergency surgery and lots of loving care. As a petite girl she would thrive in a peaceful environment. While she is currently in the loving care of an outstanding foster mom, she is ready and able now for adoption. If there are other dogs in the home they need to be small and easy going. Her video can be found online, and if you take a look, you just might find that she is definitely irresistible.

If Olivia tugs at your heart strings, and you are interested in adopting this little beauty, please put in an application today and call Harriet at 954-680-6456 for more information about giving this little love the forever family and good life that she deserves.

~~~Article by: Peggy Doepper

Adopt Olivia

Breaking Adoption News!!

We have two great October adoptions to feature this month:

1) "Gracie Mae", our featured dog last month was adopted;

2) Our beautiful puppy "Peach" and mom "Georgia", who were featured in our September newsletter were adopted together.

We are thrilled and excited! Many thanks to all of you who supported these precious girls while they were in our care!

Testimonials & Memorials

We have a heart warming testimonial to share with you this month!.

Please send us your testimonials & memorials. We'd love to hear from you! Did you know that you could memorialize your pup with a star? Click on the link below to buy a star for a wonderful lasting memory.

Afi's Story

This month it is our pleasure to talk about Afi (short for Afonia which translates to something like Blueberry). Afi arrived at Shih Tzu Rescue, and I think everyone there knew he was somehow "special". He came over from Hungary with a number of other Shih Tzu's and became the "one too many" for his owners. Afi is a gorgeous

red/gold (color of pumpkin pie) and white boy who was 9 years old when we adopted him on Mother's Day of 2020, when everything started to open up again after the first round of Covid.

I have often told Harriet that he is "polite" with outstanding manners. He can stare us down for a treat at almost anytime and he has an immense vocabulary which enables him to know exactly what we are conversing about, especially if

it pertains to him in any way. He is a healthy big boy, weighing in just under 20 lbs. He loves his breakfast and dinner times and is the first one to hit the kitchen around 4:00 pm everyday.

Afi recently had cataract surgery with Dr. Dylan Buss for his right eye. Rick and I were both amazed to see how cool and calm he was about wearing the dreaded cone for over 3 weeks, receiving his drops and meds 4 times a day for those weeks and his weekly exams. Because he was an exemplary patient and had a wonderful medical team, his surgery was a great success. He is so happy that he can see clearly again, and so are we! I should add that Rick was the " in charge nurse" and did most of the home care".

We were truly blessed that Afi was deemed to be a good match for us and he also got along well with Tippi, who was a rescue from another shelter, and then Cookie Jake 2021, also from Shih Tzu Rescue, both of whom have passed on. These days, he can be seen watching over little Fluff Daddy a/k/a "Romeo", and making sure that he takes care of cleaning out the little guy's food bowl in case anything is missed. Fluff Daddy is totally blind and also an alumnae from Shih Tzu Rescue.2022.

~~Rick & Peggy Doepper

Rainbow Bridge Stars

--Why Donate?

To Give Thanks:

November is a time to be thankful for what we have and to give back to our community and small businesses, it ignites hope and awareness for many given causes. Thank you for supporting our cause in the past. We hope that we can count on your continued generosity this month. Gifts received this month celebrate the hard work of our staff, volunteers and everyone who has leant a hand in our success. Please consider celebrating with us by making a donation.

Suggested donation amounts only - we are grateful for any amount!

$25 - volunteer appreciation
$50 - staff appreciation
$100 - shelter manager appreciation

It is so rewarding to see the change in each dog once fed, treated and loved! Won't you help us be a part of their success.... Please do not let us disappear.

Did you know you can also support us on Chewy.com by purchasing supplies from our wish list?

Give Thanks

Chewy.com

Monthly Trivia Fun:

--What is the official name for a mixed breed dog?

--Do you have a question that you would like answered? E-mail us and we'll feature your question and the answer.

Last month's trivia quiz answer: Puppies are born without their eyesight and hearing. Congratulations to our winner Ms. Margie :)

Thanks to all who participated in the trivia quiz - hopefully you all enjoy the challenge!

E-mail all trivia questions & birthdays to: loyalk9@icloud.com

Birthday Shout-Outs:

Does your fur baby have a birthday in the month of November? If so let us know and we will give a birthday shout-out in our next monthly newsletter.

Shih Tzu Rescue - About Us

Shih Tzu Rescue is a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity devoted to rescuing and finding quality lifetime homes for Shih Tzu's and other small, medium and large companion dogs in South Florida. We are a "no kill" shelter and sanctuary housing dogs with special needs and who have not yet been adopted. The shelter and sanctuary was established in 1995 by Eric and Harriet Rickenback, a couple passionate about giving a second chance for the innocent!

Won't you become a part of our family by adopting a senior and/or special needs dog. If you cannot adopt please consider sponsoring a dog by sending in a recurring donation. You will be rewarded with licks & wags!

Please note - there is no donation too small!

Please pass us along - the more the merrier.

"The greatness of a nation and it's moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated"! ..Mahatma Gandhi

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