Carolina Poodle Rescue

A Pearl of a Girl
by Donna Ezzell

When you're a caregiver at the poodle farm, you just don't always know what will happen next.

 So imagine the look of horror on one young caregiver's face when she came running into my office declaring that Merida's insides were on the outside. And could I please come quick?

 Meet Merida. The name means pearl and since Merida is a solid white maltese, we felt it fit her perfectly. But pearls are made by something being where it shouldn't and unknown to us, Merida had a lot of things that did not belong in her insides when we got her. Merida is one of the commercial breeder dogs we received with the 37 dogs from 3 hoarder cases a few weeks ago. She is sweet and happy, a bit timid around people, but loving and playful with other dogs. When she arrived, she peed approximately every 30 to 60 seconds but nothing came out.

 It turns out Merida had a mummified fetus in her uterus--most likely a malformed pup that never reached viability. The mass was definitely doing a number on her bladder. It was removed when she was spayed and we thought she was on the mend. But she continued the relentless squatting and peeing, so back to the vet. We discovered the mass had been hiding a bladder stone. So that came out.

 This leads us to a young caregiver finding out that insides of a dog being on the outside of a dog is a frightening thing to see in your first month of work! I took one look at solid white Merida with the bright red body parts hanging out, texted a photo to our wonderful vet and two words, "Help Merida." He responded within one minute to get on the road and to make sure someone was holding her on her back to keep things as stable as possible. Two surgeries in two weeks had been too much for her fragile skin. Merida had popped her stitches!

 Two more young caregivers shoved themselves into my vehicle. One held the white dog on her back with a very large piece of bright red intestine hanging out of her and a rather green look on our caregiver's face. I give her credit. She never flinched.

Meanwhile the designated driver asked if it was okay to run flashers and rush to the hospital. I had to explain that while I definitely appreciated the thought, dogs were not people and so no, he could not pretend to be an ambulance driver even though--at that moment--he was exactly that. And also no, I would not pay a ticket he got taking her in. Instead I told him to take a deep breath, drive safely and quickly but within the speed limit and to go NOW.  

He beat doc to the clinic and didn't get a ticket.

Merida is fine thanks to three young people doing their jobs and doing it well. My hat is off to all three.

 Merida still pees a lot but not as much. We're waiting on the results of the bladder stone analysis and for her bladder to heal before putting her up for adoption. She's taken on the role of mama to Marlin, another young Maltese pup from the breeder dogs who has demodex from stress. He is now experiencing a true puppyhood with Merida as his playmate, surrogate mama, and best friend. I am hoping they can find a home together. You can see them together in this video.

Feature Pet of the Month
Meet Jasper!

Jasper is looking for a home with an experienced owner who knows standard Poodles. At 9 years old, Jasper is still full of energy and needs an active lifestyle! He would be a great walking or running companion because this boy needs a work out. He was released by his former owner because they could not give him the exercise and training that Jasper needs to reach his full potential. He also needs a home where his person or people are home more than they are away.

At the farm, Jasper has gotten along great with other large dogs. His prey drive is high so he needs a home without cats. He is crate trained and does great in the car. When Jasper sees people he doesn't know he barks at them but someone could work with him on that. He does come around treats. Once Jasper gets acclimated to someone he is a complete sweetheart and wants nothing more than to be shown affection.

As the featured adoptable, Jasper's adoption fee is discounted by 10%. He will also come with 6 months of both heart worm preventative and flea and tick preventative.

If Jasper sounds like a good match for your home, please visit our adoption application page.

SOS Day at the Farm: Save the Date!

Spring is in the air and, with it, the reminder for our 2nd annual SOS Day@The Farm. What is SOS Day@The Farm? An afternoon of celebration for our SOS babies and the donors and volunteers that make caring for them possible!

Carolina Poodle Rescue's SOS program has grown by leaps and bounds over the past 2 years. Today, we are proud to support 90 dogs through our sanctuary programs. Some of these dogs are living in supported foster homes. For the majority of these dogs, the cottages and fields of Dreamweaver Farms are home.

On Saturday, May 12th, poodle lovers from across the Eastern seaboard will convene in Pacolet, SC for an afternoon to celebrate and love our SOS babies. We'll have updates on our programming and what we're doing with our SOS babies, a kickoff to our 2018 Change 4 Life fundraising campaign (including an opportunity to pick up your own branded collection jar), plenty of "shops" where you can purchase branded swag and support our programs, and of course lots of opportunities to love on SOS dogs.

The SOS team will be hosting tours of our facilities and meet and greets with your favorite SOS dogs. Though not all of our SOS babies will support being petted, they will ALL appreciate the extra love and affection of caring volunteers and donors. We'll even have a designated area where you can have your photo taken with your favorite SOS dog.

This year, we are also thrilled to announce that at our SOS Day@The Farm we will pick a raffle winner for a custom stained-glass art piece of the poodle of your choice. That's right - a custom piece of art to celebrate the dog of your choice. You can pick one of your SOS babies, or one of your own babies. Details will be coming out this week on how to participate in the raffle. All proceeds go to support our SOS programs.

If you have seniors or special needs dogs, please bring them. If you are currently fostering an SOS dog, please bring them so their donors and supporters can visit with them. There is no charge for this fun-filled afternoon. Donations of treats, toys, or food are greatly appreciated for our SOS babies!

Please RSVP to our event.

We look forward to seeing you on May 12th at 1pm at Dreamweaver Farms!

XOXO,
Your SOS Team

"Walk for a Dog" App Pays Off for CPR

Did you know that just by using the free phone app called Walk for a Dog that you can earn donations for Carolina Poodle Rescue? In addition to earning donations through miles walked, there is also a weekly winner.

Doug and Becky Smith are two time adopters from Carolina Poodle Rescue and they both use the Walk for a Dog app every time they walk their three standard poodles. Doug Smith had the winning walk for the week of March 15th which means an instant donation of $25 to Carolina Poodle Rescue. All of these donations add up!

Users of the app got an email alert with a photo of the Smith's beautiful three standard poodles--Pippa, Sophie, and Zoey--are featured in the email. Many thanks to those who regularly use this app to support CPR! Your walking might just bring in unexpected prizes for the farm this spring!


	Highlighted Events
Highlighted Events These are just a few of the many events coming up for Carolina Poodle Rescue across the southeast. To see a full list of our events, which are updated regularly, please visit our website. Come out and support Carolina Poodle Rescue and tell all your friends, too! Even if you can help out for just a few hours at one event, it is a tremendous help! And spread the word about Carolina Poodle Rescue! Please contact the event coordinator if you would like to volunteer or have a foster or two or more to bring! Barnardsville, NC The Spring Carolina Poodle Fundraiser Paw-ty April 8 10 am to 2 pm 1276 Dillingham Rd. Come see, play with, and get to know some of the great CPR folks who support and love their fur friends who have found fur-ever homes in NC, TN, SC, VA, and more! RSVP today! Charlotte, NC MACKenzie RV Adoption Event April 7 Saturday, 10 am to 3 pm 1000 Johnston Drive, Pineville, NC Dogs will be coming up from the farm so we will need lots of extra volunteer hands! Durham, NC MACKenzie RV Adoption Event April 14 Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm 1901 S. Miami Blvd Dogs will be coming up from the farm so we will need lots of extra volunteer hands! Taylors, SC Whiskeys for Whiskers April 14 Saturday, 6pm to 9pm Southern Bleachery, 250 Mill Street, Dock No. 3

CPR Wish list: Pedigree canned dog food (all kinds) Lowe's or Home Depot gift cards (there's always something that needs to be fixed at the Farm) Or please visit our Wishlist on Amazon to see more items needed for Dreamweaver Farms. We appreciate all of your help! We'd Like to Hear from You Do you have a story about a Carolina Poodle Rescue dog that you'd like us to publish? Have you read a book or watched a movie about dogs or dog training that you'd like to review or share? Please send your stories and/or reviews to newsletter@carolinapoodlerescue.org as well as a photo or photos to go with the story. If you don't have a story but have a photo you'd like to share of your CPR rescue, we'd love to feature that too! Email a Friend About Us Tell 5 friends!?Check Carolina Poodle Rescue out on our Facebook page. Can you tell 5 friends about CPR? Can you Facebook or Twitter a link to our web page? The power of networking is unlimited. Telling 5 friends, and asking them to tell 5 friends, is the best way to reach many people and tell them about the animal rescue, small but determined to make a difference.? Thank you!	Become a CPR Patron! Patrons are our lifeline -- our patrons keep CPR going. Patrons are not only assisting CPR, they are assisting themselves by earning money off their next adoption. For more information on how to become a patron, please email donna@carolinapoodlerescue.org. S.O.S.—Save Our Seniors and Specials! Offering long term care for our sanctuary dogs has always been the commitment we have made to CPR dogs. As we've matured, those numbers have swelled and handling the costs of that has become a challenge. We are seeking a Top 10 circle of friends for each of these very special dogs -10 special friends who can donate $ 20 per month to their care. To see some of the dogs who are in need of sponsorship and to read their stories, please visit our www.cprsos.org. Help CPR through Amazon Smile When you shop on Amazon, you can also help CPR. Amazon Smile operates EXACTLY like Amazon.com including using the same userid and password. You can designate CPR as your charity and Amazon will donate a percentage of your purchases, behind the scenes, to CPR. It does not change your purchase price. The site says: "Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible Amazon Smile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice", that is the purchase price you pay, excluding taxes. It's a really easy way for your regular shopping to help CPR!	Become an Adoption Counselor One of the best ways to help poodles in need that lets you do it from home is to be an adoption counselor. Do you have 2 to 4 hours per week to give? Do you have an unlimited phone plan? Do you have Word? Do you enjoy talking to other dog-friendly people on the phone? Do you have good instincts about people? If so - adoption counselor work may be for you. For more information, email Sherry Wilson at poodles4ever@bellsouth.net. Trupanion Insurance With pet health care quality now approaching the same level as human care, there are more options available for the pet owner than ever before. Unfortunately, those options can be expensive. Who wants to make the decision between a few dollars and their beloved companion? Trupanion offers the only 90% coverage plan for covered items. That's right - 90% coverage with no limit after your deductible is met. 90%. That is the most comprehensive health care plan in the industry. Remember to iGive while you're doing your online shopping. Every search helps CPR and every online purchase associated with iGive helps raise donations. For more information about iGive and iSearch, go to www.iGiveiSearch.com.


	In this issue: A Pearl of a Girl Feature Pet: Jasper SOS Day at the Farm: Save the Date! Walk for a Dog Rainbow Bridge Highlighted Events - Spring Paw-ty in Barnardsville April 8