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Yorkie Times    
Newsletter for Yorkie Rescue
                                                                                  
                                                                                                                  March 2017                            

" Every spring is the only spring - a perpetual astonishment.
"
                                                               ~ Ellis Peters

In This Issue
Congratulations to Linda Connor
YTNR's 20th Anniversary Celebration
Looking for a Furever Home
Donor Recognition
Happy Endings
Thank You, Team Illinois!
In Loving Memory
Miss Penny Pockets
Athena Maria
The Heartbreak of Hoarding by Hannelie Vermeulen
Neeko's Joke
Many Thanks to Lifeline4Paws...
Quick Links
Join Our Mailing List!
Congratulations to Linda Connor


We are so very proud of our Board Member, Linda 
for receiving her PhD in Nursing


Linda Connor, MHA, BSN, RN, CPN, is a PhD(c) at UMass Boston and a staff nurse III at Children's Hospital Boston in the Perioperative Program. She mentors staff nurses in evidenced-based practice (EBP), professional advancement, and helps in the Day Surgery Unit conducting chart review prior to anesthesia. Linda is a member of ANA, a member of the ANA-MA Health Policy Committee, a member of Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI), Society of Pediatric Nursing (SPN), and Eastern Nursing Research Society (ENRS). She has 40 years of acute care experience in both pediatric and adult critical care, emergency room trauma, and perioperative nursing. Her previous research areas of interest include pediatric sedation, quality care, and family centered care. More recently Linda and a colleague developed an instrument for measuring nurses' knowledge, values and implementation of EBP. The results of this work have been published in the Journal of Nursing Education and Practice 2016 and a second publication in press at Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing. Linda's goal in attending the UMass Boston PhD program in Nursing is to further develop her interest in research, education and healthcare with a focus on the impact of health care reform. 

 
YTNR's 20th Anniversary Celebration 
2017  Family and Friends Weekend ~  September 7 - September  10  Come join us in Nashville! 

Yorkshire Terrier National Rescue is going to have 
its 20th Annual Family and Friends Weekend of Fun 
Date: 09-07-17 to 09-10-17  
Location: Sheraton Music City Hotel, 
Nashville, Tennessee 









Come Join us for a delightful weekend of fun. It is our 20th Anniversary!!!


 


 
Looking for a Furever Home

MEET BENSON
(fostered in Indiana)


Benson is another one of the Magnificent 13 and he sure is a handsome boy. Benson weighs 4.5 pounds and is 7 ½ years old. If you have read about the others there is not much more we can say. They are the sweetest little Yorkies you will ever meet. They were all well loved by the owners who had to give them up because of illness. Benson will need work with potty training, he wears a belly band in the house for safety measures. He has been neutered, UTD on vaccines, heart worm neg. His jaw was fractured and wired in place. In about a week he will have a visit with his vet to have an x-ray to see if the fracture has healed or in the process of healing. Benson is looking for someone to love him for the rest of his life, he will give you more love than you can imagine. So if you are looking to add a handsome man to your life please consider Benson.

Fill out an application at  www.yorkierescue.com   and add his name if he is the man for  you.


 
Special Thanks to this month's Donors 

 
Thank You to the Many Wonderful & Generous February
Contributors


General Fund  

Carlyn Clement  for the "jackpot" Magnificant 13 rescues
Daynica Knaeble donation for earth angels
Ronee Bergman in honor of Dax the Wonder Dog
JansNeatStuff
Anita Hammond Hamitt for Ebony
Estee Schwartz for Valentine
Melissa Amundson
Renata Circeo for Jazz Thompson Memorial Donation
Alliah Hren for Brutus
Patricia N. Bechtholt  for Valentine
Lifeline4Paws



 
Yorkie Angel Donors 

Karin & Alan Nakashima*
Kathryn Schuller*
Pieter Vermeulen*
Hannelie Vermeulen*
MaryElizabeth Dugmore*
Bette Gae Dart*
Carla Pucket*
Betty Jo Williams*
Ron & Amalia Spaulding*
Lindsay Hardin*
Stephi Jackson*
Sandra Flolo* 
Ann Sousa*

 
* monthly donor 



 
We couldn't do it without you...

 
The Yorkshire Terrier National Rescue Inc. is run solely on private donations and fund raising efforts made by people like you who love this Breed. We appreciate your support

We are a 501 (c) (3) organization, your donation is 100% tax deductible.

Happy Endings
 Shaggy with his new Mom & Dad, happy in his Furever home, 
one of the Magnificent 13!

*********************


Sam and Tipper living happily ever after with Tami in Tennessee, 
two of the Magnificent 13!

*********************
 
 
Sadie, one of the Magnificent 13 got adopted to a wonderful family in IL
 
********************* 
 
 
Little Susie, from the Magnificent 13, found her forever home. 
Her new Mom is totally in love.
Susie with her new Mom and sister
 
********************* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Thank you for opening your hearts and homes for these precious rescues and for making their dreams come true!
 

Thank You, Team Illinois!
 



In Loving Memory
 



It is with a broken heart that I have to tell everyone that my Sweet Reme,  YTNR's Top Model, went to the bridge this morning. It was a shock because Reme had not had a sick day since I adopted her. Woke up this morning and noticed she was breathing very hard, I thought it was because she was right next to the base board heater. Took her out in the garage to cool her off, didn't do any good. I was getting ready to take her to the vet, while I was holding her she passed in my arms. She took another piece of my heart as so many before her, have done. Reme was the sweetest little girl, some of you have met her and seen her in our fashion shows. God needed another angel, RIP my sweet angel!

Corrine

 

**************************






"It is eerily terrifying that there is no sound when a heart breaks. Car accidents end with a bang, falling ends with a thud, even writing makes the scratching sound of pencil against paper. But the sound of a heart breaking is completely silent. Almost as though no one, not even the universe itself could create a sound for such devastation. Almost as though silence is the only way the universe could pay its respect to the sound of a heart falling apart."-  Nikita Gill, The Sound of Heartbreak




Miss Penny Pockets


Prolific Patterings of Penelope Pockets
 
No, we're not moving. Mom has just piled boxes absolutely everywhere because I am wayyyyyy too smart for her. I won't let her catch me. So she makes blockades. First in the entry way to the dining room, then in the dining room by the table so I can't circle it, then between the recliner and the couch, then this morning she cut off my escape route up the stairs. I'm still a couple of steps ahead of her, though. And she has even MORE boxes in the garage. This is WAR, I tell you. WAR!!!!


Here I am at work. I have been promoted from Professional Paper Weight I to Assistant Receptionist. This involves supervising humans and making sure they're doing their job. I also keep an eye out to make sure no one sneaks up on them from behind.

Until next month, may you stay happy, healthy and may your bowl always overflow with kibble.

Love, Penelope Pockets


Supermodel 
Athena Maria  Aphrodite  
The Goddess of Wisdom and Love..... 
 

 

Interesting facts about March

~ March is named after Mars, the Roman god of war as it was the month in which the military campaigning season got under way after winter.
March is the only month with three consecutive consonants in its name in English.
An old proverb says that "March comes in a like a lion and goes out like a lamb", which means that winter is ending and spring is beginning.
The birthstone for March is aquamarine and the flowers are the daffodil or violet.

                                                                         
 
  
The Heartbreak of Hoarding by Hannelie Vermeulen


In 2012 I adopted this stinky little dog, with elephant skin that oozed like sweat. He had almost no hair. Little Pieter could barely stand, and struggled to walk, even with assistance. He appeared blind, not reacting to people, food or any other stimuli. He peed in his little bed - due to undiagnosed seizures. No one really knew him, and he didn't know love. He just curled up in a lonely bundle.

Little Pieter on Adoption day


Little Pieter a year later


Pieter came from a hoarder's house - months prior. Several amazing organizations and vets worked to help him get better, until he became our local vet clinic's newest complex patient. His psychological issues were extensive, and his medical problems were multiple. His amount of medications ebbed and flowed. Slowly his seizures came under control, his skin softened, his hair grew. He started "seeing",  following me around the room with his eyes. He became somewhat interested in his surroundings. He got strong enough to walk a little.

His metamorphosis into a little dog will forever be set in my mind - as will the thankfulness for every individual, veterinary staff member and rescue organization who helped him. Together they gave him back as much of his health as possible - and some dignity.

I didn't know much about where he came from, other than it was from a hoarder's house in California, where he was confiscated with many other animals. He was somewhere between 13 and 18 years old. A Yorkie, who turned out to be a Silky. His initial veterinary records mentioned "generalized alopecia, seborrhea, lichenification and hyperpigmentation, bilateral corneal pigmentation & severe thick mucoid ocular discharge ...... Severe dental tartar with gingival recession ..... Bilateral otitis external with severely swollen canals and thickened pinna ..... difficulty standing and walking; back arched ...."

The third rescue involved with him, wrote "With so many dogs sharing an owner, Dusty (the name he came with) spent 18 years isolated from people with nowhere to seek comfort .... Left to deteriorate ... leaving him bald, blind and barely able to walk ..."


Little Pieter has long since become an angel. However, the recent confiscation of over a hundred and twenty Yorkie and Yorkie-mixes, from a feces filled California home, brought his memories, and his struggles, back into my mind.

According to the ASPCA, about 250 000 US animals a year, most often cats and dogs, are victims of hoarding. It's a difficult phenomenon to understand. There is limited mental health or animal welfare research available to help explain it. It is a complex situation that involves the mental health of the hoarder, the wellbeing of the animals, and public safety in general. Hoarded animals - ranging from tens, up to hundreds of them at the same house/facility - typically lack even minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation, shelter and veterinary care. Many struggle for extended periods with chronic infections, open sores, dental disease, respiratory diseases, or severe/life-threatening diagnosis, without getting any comfort or veterinary care. Others starve to death without food, or enough of it. They often live in filth and feces, sometimes amidst carcasses. Dependent on humans, they are helpless and hopeless.

Individuals who hoard animals often lack the insight to realize the harm they are doing, or the extent of the catastrophe they are creating. They also often lack the financial ability, or will, to care for these animals. They mostly do not reach out for help or assistance. They may even fight assistance that is being offered, or fight relinquishing the animals, or all of them. In the recent California case, the owners hid more than 20 of the dogs during the initial confiscation. (They were removed at a later stage.) Hoarders believe they care, love, and/or save the animals from euthanization - unable to see the big picture of suffering.

As animal lovers and the general public, we lack an understanding of their motivations, just as researchers do. Hoarding could start with good intentions of wanting to care for, or save, animals. Per Dr. Patronek, DVM, it could also be complex, such as a way to deal with the lack or loss of personal love or stability. He discusses his theory in Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium (Pet-abuse.com). The reason could also start off as financial - such as with backyard breeding or puppy mills - or it could be a combination of issues.
What we DO know, is:

* Hoarders have large numbers of animals - at times ranging into the 100's.
* The animals do not have access to adequate food, water, shelter or sanitation.
* The animals do not receive the needed veterinary care, whether routine or for acute concerns.
* They are often not being spayed or neutered, and therefore often interbreed.
* The hoarders do not realize the negative impact of their behavior, or neglect, on the animal.
* They will often hoard again, given the opportunity.
(adjusted from information from the Animal Legal Defense Fund)

According to the Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium (HARC), almost ¾ of hoarders are female, almost half over 60, and more than 2/3's single. People are often isolated, or become isolated, because of hiding the hoarding. Some start off as breeders, others register as "rescues" or even as 501c's. Some may have a financial incentive for starting off, others just "happen".

Dr. Gary Patronek, Lynn Loar, and Jane Nathanson, from HARC, identified the following types of hoarders in Animal Hoarding: Structuring interdisciplinary responses to help people, animals and communities at risk:
* The Overwhelmed Caregiver - a compassionate individual, attached to their animals, whose circumstances changed over time - leaving them unable to fully care for their loved animals.
* The Rescuer Hoarder - actively acquiring animals, or not refusing new ones, believing they are saving them - despite inability to care for them.
* The Exploitive Hoarder - who serve their own needs, with no concern about the animals' wellbeing - often evading law enforcement, and without remorse for their actions.

They also discuss that some hoarders may be a combination of the above types, or not fully fit any category. Others may hoard animals and objects, or may start off as breeders planning to sell animals - before they become overwhelmed by the number, care, and/or cost of keeping the animals.

Even though this is a complicated situation, the issue is not about the hoarders, but about the animals. While researchers and animal welfare advocates are trying to get to the root of the cause, we can assist in the care of the animals and the education of society at large.

A friend of mine's little Silky Terrier, Rowdy, was one of 11 dogs surrendered by a show dog breeder. At her age, and with the financial resources available to her, she was no longer able to manage the emotional, physical or medical wellbeing of her show and breeding dogs. Nine loving years later, this little stud to be, still carries the psychological scars of spending his first 18 months in a feces filled X-pen, alone. At the time of surrender, he ran from people like a little wild animal. His mouth stank for a year, despite a dental and treatments. He still remains nervous, attacks other vulnerable dogs at times, or you, when you leave him behind. He even runs from people he knows well. He is a typical example of fight, flight or freeze. Yet, in the arms of his loving family, or close knit circle of friends, he can also cuddle up and "melt". 

Rowdy - pretty boy but always vigilant


YTNR recently took in 13 little dogs from a single home. Although well -adjusted and well loved, they still needed extensive veterinary care after surrender. With rescue groups often having limited funding available, and having to rely on the goodwill of its supporters, it can be financially challenging to manage large intakes. These dogs often need to be spayed/neutered, need dentals, need their immunizations, as well as other routine, or even emergency care. A typical rescued dog coming into YTNR can cost approximately $400 or more, even into the $1000's. Cost can also vary depending on state the dog is surrendered in, or receives care in.

It is very difficult to prevent hoarding. However, we all have a duty to intervene, and/or report people with large numbers of animals, or any number of animals, when the animals are not adequately fed, cared for, or provided veterinary care. Contact your local Humane Society or ASPCA, animal control, or police station. You can also contact social service agencies, such as Adult Protective Services, to include Aging and Disability services, community mental health agencies, or the Health Department. Consult with them, or report to them. Remember, this is not about good intentions gone wrong, this is about animal neglect and abuse, and at times, about a criminal offense. Animals do not have voices - we need to be their voices. As animal lovers, we can help assure hoarders that their animals and they themselves need help, and that it is okay to reach out for, or accept help. We can also educate people around us about hoarding, about animal neglect, and about animal abuse.

Should we adopt an animal originating from a hoarder's home, as many of the ~1500 applicants for the CA Yorkie and Yorkie mixes at the San Diego Humane Society hope to do; we also need to realize that we are likely facing a lifelong challenge. Dogs from a neglect/abuse situation, are often emotionally scarred, under socialized, or sometimes not socialized at all. They may have behavioral concerns, that could be ongoing, such as fear biting or inappropriate urinating. They may have medical concerns, some that will clear up, others that could be chronic for the rest of their lives. They may also have psychological scars, like little Pieter, who always appeared apathetic and depressed, never showed joy. Sometimes they may not even show pain - since they are so shut down. When Pieter became very ill, we had to educate the neurologist - since Pietertjie did not react to any of the testing as other dogs do. These little dogs need love, understanding, and lots of patience - and their owners may face a steep learning curve and ongoing challenge.

If you are considering adopting a dog from a hoarder's home, educate yourself on trauma, and trauma response. Your little dog may need a lifetime of working on understanding him. Make sure you work on making him feel safe and secure. Have regular meal times, a safe place to sleep, and protect him from visitors who may mean well, but invade his space. Remember, he may never socialize well with people or other dogs, and he may never be able to adjust to playing in the park or at day care. Rowdy was part of the "shy dog" group at day care for years, but even that became too much for him, and the behaviorist at the facility advised he was becoming too stressed to gain from it. Just like Rowdy, your struggling doggie may never trust fully - or may trust only you. He may also surprise you, and become very well adjusted.

Either way, work with him - starting from where he is. Don't get into a power struggle with him. Show compassion, be dependable, and above all, loving and accepting. Slowly introduce him to what we and other dogs know as "normal", such as people, other pets, your home, your yard, noises (especially loud ones), treats and toys - and freedom. Walk him on a leash, with a well fitted harness, as he gets used to his surroundings. Implant a chip, in case he gets lost. Almost a decade later, I still will not take Rowdy out of my fenced yard without a leash, or without carrying him - only his daddy can do so safely. We still don't allow him to be alone with small children, and will never be able to. We even warn adults that he could bite - or choose to sit on their laps - we never know which one, since he can be unpredictable.

Be patient and kind. Set limits in a calm way, give him space and time. Remember, he was resilient enough to survive, now you have to be resilient enough to help him grow at his own pace. Be careful of his safety, your safety, the safety of your other pets, and other people and animals in general. We were never able to leave Pieter unsupervised with other dogs, because he was not able to protect himself. He was the weaker link. We still cannot leave Rowdy unsupervised with other small dogs, since he can become fearful and unpredictable with little provocation. We have to protect him, and them, against the imaginary danger that followed him to freedom, and still casts a shadow over his psyche.

Over the years he has come a long way, because his daddy didn't give up on this doggie who ran from him for weeks, who hid in corners and under tables and chairs, and who bit to protect himself. He didn't blame him for what was "wrong" with him, because he understood what happened to him. Love overcame.

Little Pieter and Rowdy, who were very differently scarred by hoarding, were both able to grow, once they were provided with fertile soil in which they were able to root. They both learned to accept love and kindness, to trust, and to feel secure. Pieter finally succumbed to the physical illnesses he fought so bravely. Rowdy still fights the psychological demons that followed him to safety, but is better able to do so now, and supported in his quest.

If you choose to be instrumental in the rehabilitation of a dog coming from a hoarder, you will make a change, and you will be changed forever. Despite remaining mostly dysphoric throughout his remaining years, Pieter did start showing interest in life, and in being loved, and blossomed in so many ways. He brought one of the initial volunteers working with him to tears, when she saw how changed he was by love and care. Rowdy, with all his struggles, gives back so much more than we ever gave him. He delights us daily with little things, such as cuddling up with another doggie in the household, or trying to figure out how to play with his sister, Caroline, who tries so hard to entice him. His new found curiosity is a sign that that he is overcoming his fear. He now has more good days than bad days.

As for us, we watch in amazement as our dogs adapt and grow - and model love, acceptance and resilience for us. We continue to learn how to take good care of them, while also doing good self-care. Caring in balance - compassion satisfaction!

Should you need guidance in rehabilitating a little dog, reach out to your veterinarian, or a local behaviorist. Refer to websites, such as the ASPCA, the Humane Society of the United States, and Best Friends Animal Society, or the wealth of information offered by other dog related websites and books. Implement the knowledge, then share. We all have so much to learn .... and can gain so much from seeing a miracle unfold in front of our eyes. But most importantly, that little creature you will be saving, will be alive, and will learn to thrive!

Neeko Red
Neeko's Joke

~ After the church service, while greeting parishioners at the door, a pastor told a woman: "I noticed your husband walked out in the middle of my sermon. I hope I didn't say something that offended him."
"Not at all," she replied. "My husband has been walking in his sleep for years."



Love and Smooches,  
Neeko :o)                                                      

                                   BackToTop
Many Thanks to Lifeline4Paws   


 

Every time we remember to say "thank you", 
we experience nothing less than heaven on earth.  
~ Sarah Ban Breathnach


 


 

Chris Hogan, 
Executive Vice President 
of the Hogan Family Foundation Inc, 
is the  Program Director of Lifeline-4-Paws.
 She is a YTNR member  and has generously supported 
our rescue efforts, contributing  tens of thousands of dollars 
to over 120 of our dogs since 2007.