A few weeks ago, Jim emailed me about a dog named Frosty. Only 18 months old, this young boy was in dire straits. His current owners wanted to surrender him to Nebraska Heart Bandits, but not for those reasons we so typically hear. There was no new baby, no family relocation, no “aggressive” tendencies. Frosty’s only fault was one not of his own making – One that was not his fault, but that he intrepidly coped with through loneliness, pain, and suffering.

The family told us that in July, Frosty was hit by a car. This accident robbed Frosty of his ability to use his back legs. Frosty could not run or jump, could not chase a ball or beg for treats. He scraped along, dragging his useless back legs behind him. His owners took him to a vet after the accident, but when the suggested treatment was surgery, they sought a second opinion. A second vet told them that an operation was the best way to go.

Still, Frosty’s people chose to “wait and hope” that his condition would improve rather than undertake a surgery.

When they contacted us, we were still full on dogs from the puppy mill. It would have been an extraordinary undertaking to support this dog – one we do not have a foster family equipped to do. Nor could we leave him at the boarder who is taking care of our heart worm positive seniors. Our hearts went out to the family – we offered to help them get Frosty a wheel chair and offered to make payment arrangements with them according to what they could afford… We offered to look for other rescue opportunities for Frosty.

Then, contact stopped.

We hadn’t given up, so Jim kept trying to reach them. Eventually, we were told that we “were too slow” and Frosty had been abandoned at the small, Central Nebraska animal shelter. We found out that Frosty was not injured in July… He was injured in April. Because he could not clean himself properly, his “family” banished Frosty to the back yard for six months of brutal heat, heavy rain, and intense loneliness. Now, Frosty would have the standard hold time at the shelter– but he was unadoptable. He would be euthanized shortly after his hold time, just a few days.

Unacceptable to Jim, unacceptable to me, unacceptable to you. Immediately, we set into motion. Jim searched across the country, from the famous Best Friends Animal sanctuary in Utah (star of the Animal Planet series, “Dogtown”) to private rescues all over. No one seemed to have room for Frosty, or wanted an exorbitant fee to take him. Eventually, we got in touch with a place called Home for Life in Wisconsin – they would take Frosty if we could neuter, vaccinate, and transport him.

I kicked into gear as soon as Jim told me we had a home for him. At 10:30 that night, I began contacting donors and sponsors all over the country. I created a donation page where anyone who wanted to save Frosty could donate any amount. We needed $600 for the shelter pull fee, neuter, vaccines, and cost of transportation… I set the wheels in motion. Then, I went to bed and dreamed of Eskies.

Then, something close to miraculous happened. When I woke up at 8:00 the next morning, we had raised $450! Everyone we spoke to was touched by the little dog’s story, and gave what they could. I put out a fresh plea – if we could just have 15 people donate $10, we could save Frosty’s life.

I went to work, and just 5 hours later – less than 18 hours after our initial plea for Frosty – we had raised $735. Frosty was safe. Donations continued to come in, and after we found out that Home for Life usually asks for a $1200 drop off fee, we promised to take any excess funds to them. We ended up raising a total of $815.00. Over two dozen people donated – over two dozen people helped save Frosty’s life.

Jim pulled Frosty from the shelter, and his condition was much of what I expected. Covered in sores with the fur rubbed off of his legs, wary of the new situation, and in need of a lot of TLC. While Frosty was still coming out of the anesthesia from his neuter, he snapped at Jim. I figured that was to be expected; Frosty had been neglected severely by the family he trusted during an important time in his life. He would need a lot of work.

The next morning, I got a surprise. Frosty was a love machine! He clamored all over Jim for kisses, stuck close to him for the whole time they were together. During the transport, Jim and Frosty had to stay overnight at a hotel and Frosty refused to sleep until Jim dragged his pillow and blanket on to the floor next to Frosty’s! He knew, just like Toby knew after his neglect, just like our puppy mill rescues knew after their neglect, that Jim was there to help him. Frosty was an Eskie through and through – brave and hardy, loving and playful.

Jim left Frosty at Home for Life, where there are many paralyzed dogs like him. They will let Frosty rest for a few days, and then begin hydrotherapy for his legs. He may regain their use, yet! Of course, Frosty will have all the veterinary care and sanitary help he needs – gone are the days of grinding down his legs just to get through a dirty yard. Home for Life will get Frosty a wheel cart or other equipment to help him move.

This one young dog needed a second chance after an accident not of his own making robbed him of his puppy enthusiasm. Many times since I first knew of Frosty’s situation, I’ve cried for him. For his suffering, for his loss. In thanks that my own beautiful dog is healthy and whole. Tonight, I’ve cried a little for Frosty again - for joy renewed, for his second chance. Frosty was given undeniable proof that good people will stand up in the face of cruelty, that we can stand together and say each life matters – no matter how small.

 

Visit Home for Life at http://www.homeforlife.org

Sponsor Frosty’s care: http://www.homeforlife.org/sponsor.htm

 

Jim and I want to say thank you to each and every person who helped make this auction possible. If you donated an item, placed a bid, or shared the link to our auction, we are in your debt! You helped us make this auction a resounding success, and we could not have done it without you.

The auction began way back at the beginning of July, when I created the pages you sifted through over the last two weeks. After the pages were created, it took about 10 minutes to create each individual listing. We had 200 individual listings that took a total of 34 hours to create, or about 2 hours a day for the last few weeks. Throughout these 200 listings were 402 individual items for you to bid on.

When we set out, our goal was to make $2,000 over and beyond expenses from the auction - but, we knew this goal was unrealistic. We're in a recession, and folks are holding each and every dollar a little tighter than usual. On top of that, there were the expenses of the auction itself

However, in animal rescue, we're all familiar with unrealistic goals. In animal rescue, our goal is to abolish commercial puppy mills every where. Our goal is to end animal abuse. Our goal is to empty animal shelters. Our goal is to spay or neuter every dog, until every dog has a home. In animal rescue, our goals are unrealistic -- because we want to change reality.

In that spirit, you helped us meet our goal. Not only did we meet it, we shattered it!

Of course, some of these funds will be used to ship items to you. But every other dime will be put directly to work to meet the rest of our unrealistic goals; to treat all the sick, home all the living, and honor all the passed through a renewed commitment to rescuing dogs on death's door in the shelter.

Together, we did something unrealistic. Next time, let's shoot for the "impossible."




If you were an auction winner, you will receive an invoice with directions on how to pay on TUESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2010. You will need to pay for your auction purchases, or make arrangements to pay by check, by FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2010.

Any bidder who has not paid or arranged to pay by check by FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2010 will FORFEIT their item to the next highest bidder.

Items will be shipped ASAP - some items like the Eskie Mugs, all shirts, and all mats are being made to order. Those items will take longer to reach you. Please keep track of your purchases, and notify us if you do not receive each item in a timely manner.




Tonight, there are 3 heart worm positive seniors who know they will live in spite of their infection. There are 3 puppies in loving homes who know they are safe from slavery in the puppy mill of their mother's origin. Tonight, there is a dog somewhere in Nebraska that needs another chance --- And thanks to you, we can provide it.


Ever On Behalf of the Dogs,

Madonna Kilpatrick
Secretary / Webmaster
Nebraska Heart Bandits

Our puppies will be three weeks old on Friday. Elka is a super mommy, but she's a little too old to be having pups.. It's hard for her mammary glands to keep up with the puppies as far as milk production goes. She's getting lots of good supplements, and the puppies are gaining weight at a good pace, so we're letting her continue to feed them naturally.

They look just like little Polar Bears at this age. It's so exciting for us to watch them grow, and wonder how their features will develop. Will they have long muzzles and ears for the more wolf-like Eskie look? Or will they have shorter, sloped muzzles and wide eyes for the "foxy" look? It's too early to tell, but boy are they cute anyway!

All the puppies have homes waiting for them, and they will be leaving us at or after 10 weeks. Elka, our awesome momma, still needs a home to retire to, now that the hard work of motherhood is behind her. She is such a sweet, loving dog. Elka is very friendly, and has done well adapting to her new surroundings. We're sure she'll do wonderful in the right home; maybe yours?

Of course, all this puppy talk makes me think a lot about growing up. When our dogs are growing, we need to do our very best to supply them with nutrition that allows them to develop properly. What is proper development? Strong bones, lean muscle, keen eyes, and glistening fur!

When we talk about proper nutrition, it's important to understand the difference between "surviving" and "thriving"; "living" and "lasting."

Certainly, for decades, our dogs have eaten low-meat, high filler, junk food from the grocery store. That's probably what your grandparents fed their dogs, right? Or table scraps. Or whatever came to mind when the dog came to beg. That's called "Surviving." Dogs are brilliant, resilient creatures. They will take what they can get, when they can get it.

To "Thrive," a dog needs more of some things, and less of others. The canine digestive system is designed to process meat, bone, cartilage, and sinew. This digestive system is super efficient when it comes to processing these foods, and little waste results from a diet high in meat-based protein.

For this reason, I recommend that Eskies be fed a diet of super-premium, grain free kibble, supplemented with whole eggs. Whole egg means a whole egg, shell and all! The shell has essential calcium, and the egg provides good protein and fat for a shiny coat. I use my blender or food processor to break up the shell, and Issabelle chomps it down. Grains are nonessential to the canine diet, and convert to sugar in the body. An excess of sugar leads to weight gain, and Eskies are quite prone to obesity on their own. We need to manage the risk by limiting the grains in their diet.

I say limit, not eliminate, because dogs will be dogs. Treats containing grain are, in my opinion, okay. As long as they are used sparingly, they will not negatively impact your dog's health. It's a little like a person who eats a balanced diet Monday through Saturday treating themselves to a twinkie on Sunday afternoon. It's not good for you, but it's not going to kill you either. When using treats to train your dog, I prefer to see people use chopped, boiled chicken as a motivator, rather than grain treats, since you will use a lot of them.

The food I currently recommend is Innova's EVO. They have three different formulas that come in small and large kibble sizes, so it's quite easy to figure out what your dog likes and dislikes. Issabelle eats the Red Meat, Small Bites formula. I have also begun to recommend Wellness: CORE. CORE is another grain-free, meat filled food.

Will your dog live if he eats a food full of corn, wheat, soy, millet, and oats? Certainly, ruling out the contamination issues that some grocery store variety foods have suffered from. Will your dog live if he eats a food laden with artificial colors, controversial preservatives, and mystery meat? Certainly, for a time. However, for your pal to last, to live beyond your expectations, he needs more.  Check out the Training/Care page for more information on how to select a great food for your great dog!

We are getting set up for our big fundraiser in August. We've gotten many donations from restaurants, pet food stores, home improvement stores, and lots of private individuals as well. We'll have a ton of Eskie collectibles, along with gift certificates, jewelry, sports memorabilia, handmade winter wear, and tons of other stuff!  If you're interested in donating an item or product to be auctioned off, please contact Jim at [email protected]

Keep an eye on our news section for updates about the auction, as well!