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The GPASC Annual Awards and Election Dinner was well attended by old and new members alike. The North Woods Inn in La Mirada took great care of our large, noisy group and the food was fabulous. Thanks to our Hospitality Chair Sherry Bassett for another lovely event. By the time we remembered the camera, only a few hangers-on were still present -- but the photo shows our late night happy crew.
Caleb is a neutered male, age 5, that was adopted through GPASC Rescue by Don and Chris Land in March 2003. Don and Chris picked him up from his former owner in Mojave, California and brought him home to Hesperia, California. The previous owner worked fulltime and was a Navy reservist. Caleb's neighbors were apparently on a campaign of making "noise" complaints to the local animal control authorities. Caleb had debarking surgery in 2001and his whisper of a bark takes time to get used to for humans accustomed to the deep tones of a Pyr. But Chris says the barking doesn't seem to hurt him. His former owner admitted to having a "shocker collar" on him prior to the surgery that that burned Caleb's neck! She was also concerned that she would be called up for the war in Iraqi and wanted to find her animals a home before that happened.
Chris wonders if this was the whole story, however. She says "Caleb was extremely fearful of many things when he first came to us...loud noises, sticks of any kind, newspapers, wind and tall male humans!" Since his adoption he has become much calmer but still has a way to go. The photo show Caleb in his "nest" in the rose garden. He spends the hot afternoons inside where it's cool but the garden is his favorite spot in the mornings and evenings.
Don and Chris have provided lots of patience to help him through his lack of confidence, but they report that "he is turning into the companion and guardian dog that always comes to mind when we think of a Pyr!"
"Thanks for everything, GPASC Rescue!"
Cortney Dorney, in addition to joining the Board of GPASC this year, has taken on another new role, this one as Shelter Manager of the Orange County Humane Society's facility at 21632 Newland Street in Huntington Beach. Cortney has worked in the past as a volunteer at the shelter facility, and says "I always wanted to get in there and make the place run like it should!". The shelter is a privately-funded operation, with a staff of 4 and an enthusiastic collection of over 100 volunteers. The shelter has seen its adoption rate grow, from 150 animals a month to between 200 and 250 since Cortney's arrival. Cortney points out that "We are working on involving ourselves in as many mobile adoptions as possible", which includes such operations as receiving 38 of the 200 Chihuahuas from the LA County shelter in Baldwin Park county, in addition to 25 from other private refuges that were in trouble.
In addition to her work at the Shelter, Cortney and her husband Mike operate Coast Dog Training, which offers group obedience classes as well as individualized training for all breeds. Cortney's own rescue Pyr, Kola, achieved the coveted (especially among Pyrs...) Companion Dog distinction through participation in AKC Obedience Trials competitions this year. If you are interested in participating in a class, call Cortney at (714) 840-0503.
This button now appears on the front page of the GPASC Rescue's website, providing a quick and easy way for site visitors to make a donation to support the activities of the Rescue. Making a donation is now as simple as making an impulse purchase at amazon.com, and so much more rewarding! The funds transfer is handled securely via Paypal, the internet funds transfer company. Donated funds go directly to provide food and basic veterinary care for the Great Pyrs who are currently being housed in the GPASC shelter in Devore. Every dog is spayed or neutered before being released to an adoptive home, and many come to the shelter with significant, and sometimes costly, health problems that must be cared for as well. So go ahead, give it a try...it's easy, and fun, and the Pyrs at the rescue will salute you with a rousing round of thank-you barks the next time you visit. Guaranteed.
And speaking of donations, we would like to salute the following GPASC members and friends who have made recent contributions to the Rescue:
When a pet dies, we often experience deep feelings of sadness, loss and emptiness. Many people find comfort and a positive feeling in recalling some of the special times they have shared with their pets. Pyrspectives would like to give GPASC members and friends a chance to publish a brief memorial story and picture about a special Pyr who has recently passed away. Send your story and photo (in jpeg or gif file format) to gpascrescue@aol.com. Pyrspectives reserves the right to edit your story, but we encourage you to share your best memories with other Pyr lovers in GPASC.
Sometimes the older dogs have a harder time finding an adoptive family at the Rescue. But this summer the "elder statesman" of GPASC Rescue, Bentley, was adopted by Robin Reichelt and her family. Bentley was 11 when adopted, but has settled into his new life remarkably well, it seems. Here's what Robin had to say:
"I'll do my best to get pictures of him in the tent with us. He's already dug out a couple of sleeping spots in the cedar bark beds. When I'm outside, he follows me everywhere and gives me dog hugs every time I stand still. Can't wait for dinner time. It's the highlight of his day. His appetite is good. Wet food on top of a couple of cups of dry. Dog treats a couple of times a day. Also eats a little softened dry food during the day."
"He's started staking out his sentry spots too and going on duty with a little barking. He lets Cue go first and he follows her lead. Both of them have wanted to sleep on the front porch the last couple of nights. Guarding the front door I guess. Big soft pads on the porch. He's getting brushed everyday. As soon as he sees the brush in my hand he comes over and stands at attention. Loves it. Cue is sharing well. I make sure she gets just as much petting and brushing. She still chases the rope bones and balls we throw for her. Bentley is watching this game and has started prancing around on the deck. I think he might start joining in."
"We've started walking them together around the neighborhood. Cue is patient and waits for him to catch up. Gradually we'll make the walks longer as Bentley gets used to them. By the way, my husband took one look at Bentley and immediately accepted him. He understood why I had to bring him home."
"Thanks again for sharing another wonderful dog with me and my family."
Robin(The following article appeared in the Los Angeles Times, 10 Sept 2003.)
Pet Orphans Fund, a nonprofit devoted to abandoned dogs and cats, teaches kids about animal etiquette and responsible ownership.
By STEPHANIE STASSEL Times Staff Writer
All the children's eyes were on two life-size canine puppets used to show kids how to approach a strange dog.
"If you saw a dog in a car should you throw food through the window?" asked Darlene Schwartz, holding Sebastian, a pretend golden retriever, in her arms.
"No," chorused the third grade students at Bassett Street Elementary School in Van Nuys.
Segueing into the other topic of the day, responsible pet ownership, Schwartz then asked: "Should a dog even be left in a car? What do you think could happen?"
"Someone might steal him," answered one boy.
"He could start the car," offered another.
And finally: "He might dehydrate," said 9 year-old Robert Mejia.
By teaching kids the principles of responsible pet ownership, Pet Orphans Fund aims to reduce the number of animals that end up on the streets or in shelters. Or left in a hot car.
During the last 30 years, the nonprofit organization has rescued 20,000 adoptable dogs and cats from a likely death at public animal shelters. They are cared for at the organization's Van Nuys shelter by staff members and a host of volunteers until a suitable, carefully screened owner can be found. None of the animals is ever put to sleep.
"These are not bad animals, they have lived in homes," Executive Director Barbara Royce Extract said of the 60 to 80 dogs and 40 cats at the shelter at any given time. "A family moves or the animal gets sick. If it's a dog, it might be barking too much or nipping their daughter. These are curable things. People just don't want to take the time to work it out, so they dump them. The only way to curb this is through education."
As one of the city's oldest private animal shelters, Pet Orphans Fund's humane education program is expanding. A program launched a year ago takes educators, puppets and real dogs into the classroom to teach children age-appropriate information about pet ownership. The message is relayed to adults at service club meetings.
Though the curriculum is flexible, generally kindergarten through third-grade students learn about animal safety and showing empathy toward animals. Responsible pet ownership is generally taught to fourth- through ninth-grade students, with older children also learning how to choose the appropriate pet for each family or individual. The program for 10th-grade students through adults typically focuses on the need for spaying and neutering to prevent pet overpopulation. Calling the program progressive, Paul Jolly, president of the Los Angeles Animal Services Commission, said the group's focus "has gone from just adopting out animals to trying to solve the problem."
"This is the new way of thinking -- let's get to the children first," he added. "If we can teach them to grow up to be compassionate people toward animals, besides the animals benefiting, maybe the world wouldn't be such a bad place in the future."
The group hopes to work with the city of Los Angeles in its plan to stop euthanizing adoptable animals by 2009. The Animal Services Commission recently voted against using controversial temperament testing to determine which animals would be suitable for adoption and instead will seek advice from experts to develop "a fair and objective method to determine the future behavior of the animal their future home," Jolly said.
Meanwhile, Pet Orphans Fund is pushing ahead with its education program. School visits, which are currently booked through mid-October have been well-received, according to evaluations completed by school staff.
Kids are given a myriad of animal behavior information. They are told to always ask permission to pet someone's dog and to avoid dogs that are unattended. To illustrate the lesson, kids take turns asking if they can pet one of the puppets, who "sniff" and "lick" the delighted children. Having had that experience, they move on to a real dog.
On this day, Victoria, a white Great Pyrenees, has been brought along to interact with the class. Wearing red beads around her thick neck, the dog calmly smells the children's fists and occasionally follows with a lick.
Teacher Teresa Dung Ta has witnessed the agony that can result from a dog bite. When her sister was 9, she was bitten by a dog and required rabies shots.
"Some children dont know how to approach a dog," Ta said, "Sometimes a dog can be mean and they don't know."
The inspiration for Pet Orphans Fund came in 1962, when Brentwood residents Virginia Haley and Diane Scripps found a starving puppy in the construction debris of the San Diego Freeway.
During the next 11 years, Haley and Scripps rescued dozens of cats and dogs, bringing them home or boarding them in local facilities. With their efforts becoming financially prohibitive, Haley and Scripps, along with 18 friends, obtained nonprofit status for their group in 1973.
In addition to its education programs, the fund also provides "after-death animal care" for pets who have no one to take care of them after their owner dies. Staff members and volunteers also give pointers to people who want to start a rescue shelter or to take dogs to hospitals and convalescent centers to cheer up patients.
The adoption numbers for the group may be lower than those of other privately run shelters, but "we believe in doing a more compassionate job. We want to keep the dogs and cats as comfortable and happy as we can until they are adopted," Scripps said. "It's a good experience for people and animals."
(The follow is reproduced from a brochure produced by the Southern California Surgical Group, 17672 Cowan Ave, Suite A-100, Irvine, CA 92714)
The most common cause of rear limb lameness in the dog is rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament. This injury allows degenerative changes to occur in the stifle (knee) joint which must be limited before permanent cartilage and bony changes occur and result in irreversible arthritis. The stifle is a hinge joint which allows a wide range of motion of the tibia on the femur. To maintain stability through this range of motion there are two cruciate ligaments, one anterior (toward the front of the knee) and one posterior. These ligaments cross each other (hence the name cruciate) to provide a major role in stifle stability. The anterior cruciate ligament also prevents forward displacement of the tibia on the femur (anterior drawer motion).
The biomechanics of injury to the anterior cruciate ligament coincide with the functions of the ligament, which acts as a constraint against one bone (the tibia) moving forward on the other (the femur). See Fig. 2. The most common mechanism for anterior cruciate rupture comes with sudden rotation of the stifle when the joint is in flexion (i.e.: a sudden right turn on the weight-bearing right rear pivot limb). The ligament also ruptures if the knee is hit from the front (as when a football player is hit from the front or when a dog steps in a hole and catches its foot or when he/she falls forward when jumping). Degenerative changes in the stifle joint from obesity, conformational deformities, such as knocked knees, or bowed legs and patellar luxations, or from repeated minor stresses can result in progressive deterioration of the cruciate ligament. When the anterior cruciate ligament ruptures, the compensatory stress placed upon the opposite rear limb may predispose it to ligament rupture. This places critical importance on weight reduction and immediate repair of the damaged leg to minimize the risk to the unalffected limb.
The clinical signs of anterior cruciate rupture can vary depending on the extent and chronicity of the injury. Animals with an acute rupture present with a non weight-bearing lameness, joint effusion, palpable pain in the stifle, and joint instability. Those with more chronic injuries generally exhibit an intermittent weight-bearing lameness, muscle atrophy, thickening of the joint capsule with palpable bone spurs present, and joint instability with a frequent "meniscal click" associated with a torn medial meniscus. Although the exact purpose of the meniscii is still unclear, they have been described as elastic, movable washers which aid in the lubrication of the joint and also act as shock absorbers. The most common meniscal injury occurs in the medial meniscus and is associated with rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament. In some cases, the meniscus is crushed between the femur and the tibia. In others, the meniscus may undergo a longitudinal tear. With this type of lesion, the meniscus may fold on itself during the abnormal sliding motion of the unstable joint. This type of lesion frequently exhibits a clicking or snapping sound as the meniscus unfolds.
Surgical stabilization of the stifle is recommended for all anterior cruciate ruptures. Surgical techniques can be divided into extracapsular or intracapsular. The extracapsular techniques alter the tissues outside the joint to tighten and stabilize the knee. They include heavy sutures placed outside of, but next to the joint (i.e. modified Flo imbrication) and the manipulation of ligaments adjacent to, but not inside of, the joint to stabilize the knee (fibular head transposition). Intracapsular techniques generally utilize a graft from an adjacent tissue in the knee to replace the anterior cruciate ligament and are located within the joint capsule. In either case, any damaged portion of the meniscus and all remnants of the ruptured cruciate ligament are removed or repaired at the time of corrective cruciate surgery. See Fig. 4.
Postoperative care is critical to long term success. The most crucial element is confinement to a small area. After surgery the knee is bandaged in a stable, walking configuration for 1 to 2 weeks. After that time the bandage and sutures are removed and passive physical therapy is started at home. This physical therapy requires only a few minutes 3 to 4 times daily. Swimming therapy and short walks, gradually increasing in length over 6 to 8 weeks, will be started several weeks after surgery. Again, complete confinement to a small room, pen or cage when not working on physical therapy is mandatory. Avoid slick floors, jumping, running, stair climbing, and all acrobatics until recovery is complete.