Before & After

Winston

Imagine being at Animal Control and looking over to see Winston trembling through the bars of his cage in fear… With 80% of his teeth missing, Winston’s tongue was hanging out of his mouth and his remaining teeth were as brown as his fur. Estimated to be 10-15 years old, Winston was believed to be totally blind at the time. With the deafening barks of the other shelter dogs, Winston did not know what was going on or where he was. Needless to say, we left with him that day.

Once in our care, Winston immediately underwent extensive dental surgery. The condition of his mouth was so dire that the roots of 6 teeth were already abscessed. The abscessed roots were so severe that they almost fractured his jawbone. Winston was also diagnosed with severe cataracts but it was determined that he did have some vision. One more discovery was that Winston tested light positive for Lyme Disease. He has been started on Doxycycline and his medical team believes that he will be just fine.

Once through the worst of it, Winston was ready for adoption. Little did any of us know that the perfect home was waiting for him! Winston’s future mom was looking for a senior pup that needed a second chance. One that had been left behind and wanted nothing more than to be loved… for her, Winston was the one. When Winston met his future mom and brother, he walked right over and gave his mom a kiss on her hand. For him, she was the one. The rest is history. This beautiful family can now live happily ever after Winston can live out his twilight years with grace and dignity. TAF would thank to send out a big thank you to everyone that donated towards Winston’s extensive medical care. We honestly could not have done it without you. Most of all, TAF would like to thank The Moon Dog Farm for fostering Winston and taking such great care of him. As always, you really did us a solid.

Sophia

On June 10th, an emaciated female puppy was found unresponsive in an alley right on the asphalt. At first it was assumed that she was dead but the officer that picked her up realized that she still was still breathing. In critical condition, Sophia was brought to the vet in hopes of giving her a fighting chance. It was a long shot but they had to try. When Sophia reached the vet, her blood glucose level was so low that it didn’t even register. It would take Dextrose and IV fluids for Sophia to regain consciousness.

Once Sophia was considered stable, she was impounded at Animal Control where she continued to receive IV fluids and be syringe fed. When TAF was asked to save Sophia, we had no idea that she was no more than 8-10 weeks old. It was not until arriving at Animal Control that we fully realized the gravity of the situation. When brought to her cage, all that you could see was a kitty litter box a towel and some blankets. Sophia was so small that she disappeared into the background. It wasn’t until I picked her lifeless body up that I realized Sophia was skin and bones under all of that fluff. She needed immediate critical care and time was of the essence. Sophia would go on to be hospitalized in the ICU at the ER vet for the next 5 days.

Once considered stable she was transferred back into our care. In the weeks to follow, it was a constant battle to get Sophia to eat and at one point we thought we were going to lose her. There were a lot of sleepless nights, trips to the vet and many prayers to get Sophia through the worst of it. The VIP through all of this was TAF’s momma therapy dog Antler. Antler kept Sophia warm and watched over her until she was ready to venture out on her own. When Antler needed a break, she would call in our giant puppy Eeyore to babysit for her.

At one point during all of this, a very special woman offered her help in nurturing Sophia back to health. When Sophia needed round the clock care, it was impossible for her foster mom to provide it. This is when Linda came in to help. Linda eventually took over the majority of Sophia’s continued care and made sure that she made it to every vet appointment, etc. Needless to say, Sophia quickly bonded with Linda. Linda never left Sophia’s side and made sure that Sophia had constant companionship. Now after 3 months, we are so happy to announce that Sophia has made a full recovery and found her forever home. Linda is now Sophia’s new mom. Sophia’s story of survival is nothing short of a miracle. This brave little puppy never gave up and with the help of Antler, Eeyore, Linda and an army of people supporting her... she got a second chance at a new life. Sophia had a lot of living left to do and was not ready to leave… The Rainbow Bridge just had to wait.

Hannah

Back in June, TAF came across Hannah after her owner had given her up to Animal Control. She was a scared little thing with infections in both ears and in need of dental surgery. Though Hannah looked a bit pathetic, she still found it in her to wiggle her little nubbin’ when we went to her cage. Once she realized that she was about to be saved, there was a whole lot of wiggling going on!

Hannah would go on to stay at the vet until she underwent surgery. Once she was given the ok to go, she went into a foster home.

TAF is so happy to finally announce that Hannah has found her forever home! Her new brother could not be any cuter and they truly love each other. When it comes her new mom, well… she is over the moon for Hannah. Hannah will never be left behind again and she will never go without. She has a forever family that loves and cherishes her, now and forever. A big thanks you to everyone that donated towards Hannah’s medical care. Once again, you have allowed us to provide another homeless dog with top-notch medical care. Also, thank you to The Moon Dog Farm for taking care of our sweet girl until her new mom came along. As always, you are so appreciated!

Tootsie

Our Blind & Deaf Senior Finds Her Forever Home

On June 10th, Tootsie was given up to Animal Control when her owner was moving. What Tootsie’s owner did not tell the facility was that Tootsie was almost completely deaf and blind. If they just had let someone know about her medical conditions, she wouldn’t have been left to suffer in a cage. All that she knew was that she wasn’t at home and could only move a few feet in each direction. One might assume that Tootsie had behavioral issues, due to fear, but she did not. Tootsie was quiet as a mouse and just liked to know you were there... she just wanted to be loved. When TAF was asked to save Tootsie from Animal Control, we too had no idea that she was almost completely blind and deaf. Even though we knew her case would be a challenge, we just couldn’t leave her behind. In addition to two major medical issues, Tootsie’s teeth were so bad that she could not eat without feeling pain with each bite. At that that point, her quality of life was horrible. TAF took Tootsie right to our vet where she was started on pain medication and antibiotics for her teeth. She also underwent a slew of tests to see if there was anything that could be done to help her eyesight and further bring her comfort.

Once considered stable, Tootsie was transferred to a foster home to await dental surgery. Our friends at The Moon Dog Farm would go on to assist with her care until Tootsie was ready to find her forever. They really did us a solid and took a huge load off of our back. We are so grateful for their continued friendship.

Now for the great part… we are so happy to announce that Tootsie has found a forever home! She has two moms and fur siblings to watch over her, love her and guide her through the rest of her twilight years. We couldn’t have asked for a lovelier couple to pick up where we had all left off. Tootsie’s moms have shown such an extraordinary act of kindness, compassion and understanding… medical issues and all, they have given Tootsie her happily ever after. Here is a wonderful update from Tootsie’s new mom’s… Tootsie eats like a horse and we are working out a system of gates to keep her safe. She rests well (hard stop at 9 pm) and she LOVES the stroller when we go on walks. We don't know what her life was before but we are committed to making all that she has left safe, loving, and happy. Thank you for bringing her into our lives and pack!!! I think that it goes without saying that Tootsie has just hit the jackpot. We are so grateful for everyone that gave this forgotten senior a second chance. To our donors, we couldn’t have done it without you. We continue to be blown away by your generosity and for making saves like this possible. You are truly the best.

Nymeria

On May 20th, an emaciated Nymeria walked herself into a car service station looking for help. She didn’t want much but for a scrap of food, to rest and relief from her pain. Due to her overpowering smell and dilapidated appearance, the customers asked that she be turned out onto the street. There was no compassion shown towards Nymeria only disgust and a lack of humanity. As Nymeria was being let out the front door, a kind woman came to her rescue and let her into her car. It was then that TAF was contacted and we agreed to meet Nymeria at the ER Vet.

We knew that Nymeria was emaciated but did not know that she was starving to death due to extreme pain. Upon further examination by the ER vet, Nymeria’s teeth were so rotted that some were actually soft to the touch. As you can imagine, Nymeria screamed out in pain when her mouth was examined. The level of pain was so intense that she actually needed to receive Fentanyl medication in her IV fluids. Fentanyl is the medication used after major orthopedic surgery. Nymeria would go on to spend the next 3 days receiving pain medication, antibiotics and supportive care at the ER. Once it was determined that Nymeria was stable, she was transported to TAF’s primary Veterinarian for a surgery that would ultimately save her life. In all, Nymeria would need to have 34 rotting and infected teeth removed… that very next day her quality of life has already greatly improved and she started to eat on her own.

No longer did she cry out in pain when she ate and she finally showed us her smile. In the weeks to come, Nymeria recovered in our care and continued to slowly gain weight. At first we needed to roll wet food up into little balls and freeze them. These meatballs were much easier for her to eat and she ate multiple small bowls throughout the day. Since Nymeria was still emaciated, we had her on a slow re-feeding routine t prevent re-feeding syndrome. As time went on, Nymeria started to go on long walks and enjoyed her time in the sun. She would sunbathe and enjoy the company of anyone that wanted to say “hello”. Almost immediately back into our care, Nymeria’s future mom started contacting TAF letting us know that she was interested in adopting our senior. Even though she had only seen photos of Nymeria on facebook, she had felt an instant connection. It didn’t matter that Nymeria was 10(+) years old; only that she deserved a second chance.

When Nymeria was ready for adoption, her new mom and dad drove over 5 hours to meet her. They had already fallen in love with her and wanted to meet her in person. Upon meeting Nymeria, there was an immediate connection and Nymeria undeniably knew that she had just found her forever home. There was a pep in her step and she was smiling from ear to ear. Nymeria had found her family and it was just meant to be. Not only did Nymeria find her mom and dad that day but gained two senior siblings… a ready made family for a once forgotten dog from the streets of Chicago. Nymeria now calls Wisconsin her home and is happy to have left the city life behind. She has the most amazing parents and spends her days going for walks and sitting in the backyard with her family. She is now living her happily ever after.

TAF would like to thank everyone that contributed to saving Nymeria. She truly did have an army of people rallying behind her and cheering her on. From start to finish there was Katie that rescued Nymeria off the street; Nymeria’s medical teams from MedVet and Delavan Lakes Animal Hospital; Lauri who transported Nymeria to our vet up in Wisconsin and Sabetha and Paul who drove her back to us in Chicago. Lastly, our BIGGEST thank you must go to everyone that donated towards Nymeria’s extensive medical bills. She would not have survived without you giving TAF the opportunity to provide her with the best medical care possible. This along with so many positive thoughts and prayers that really lifted Nymeria up and made her one of the many survivors of TAF.

Macey

After spending day in and day out in a cage lined only with newspaper, Macey has found a forever home!

On June 8th, TAF was contacted by local Animal Control about a senior Chihuahua that had been with them for over a month. Macey was showing very poorly in her cage and nobody wanted to take her out let alone adopt her. Knowing that she stood little to no chance of leaving the facility, we agreed to take Macey in. When we went to meet Macey, she was missing quite a bit of her fur , her bare skin was pink as could be and he tongue was hanging out. She badly needed a dental and pretty much just looked like a scared little rodent. It broke your heart seeing a 5 pound senior little so terrified that they were trying to crawl up the back of their cage. Long story short, TAF took Macey in and was able to bring her right to the vet.

After recuperating there for little over a week, Macey came back to TAF. She needed to put on some weight before going under for dental surgery so she chilled out with us. During that time, one of TAF’s first adopters (started back around 10 years ago) contacted us about possibly giving Macey a forever home. This beautiful couple had already adopted 3 TAF dogs in the past and now was ready for another. Their first adopted dog, Leia, was actually paired up with TAF’s namesake Trio. Leia had been used in a testing lab. Their next adopted pup was a sweet Chihuahua mix named Wilma. Lastly, perhaps one of my favorite foster dogs ever, was Chula. Chula was the littlest biggest jerk and was a 5 lb. piranha that lived at my home. I never even tried to interact with Chula; TAF’s therapy dogs Bentley & Hazel Grace won her over. Once they did, Chula followed Antler and Miller around. Finally, she gave me a chance and became my little buddy. After that she was a work in progress and eventually realized that humans could be pretty cool once given a chance. (Please make sure that you check out Chula’s face in one of the family’s adoption photos! If looks could kill… LOL!)

Well, with all of that being said, TAF is so happy to officially announce that Macey has been ADOPTED!!! This poor senior dog had to go through hell to come out on the other side to one of the most loving and happy homes. She will never want for anything and will always know that she is loved unconditionally. Pretty much her twilight years will be awesome with two of the most selfless people we have ever met. Like with Chula, Macey’s mom and dad saw just special a senior dog can be.

Blush

Blush Has Found Her Forever Home!

In early April, Blush was seen walking the streets of Chicago for about two weeks. After a lot of effort, a kind man was able to lead Blush into his home with the help of his dog. Fearing that Blush had an injured leg, TAF was contacted and asked to assist. TAF was able to get Blush right over to the vet where she was given medical treatment and a much needed grooming.

Once her stray hold was up, Blush was officially in our program and was able to undergo an extensive dental surgery. The poor senior girl had been in so much pain and was hardly able to eat. During her recovery time, Blush made her way over to The Moon Dog Farm. There she stayed in foster care until the perfect family came along.

A beautiful family that had actually adopted another neglected poodle from us a little over a year ago. When Blush’s future family came to meet her, it was love at first sight. Blush stole the show and won over the hearts of her new family and her two new fur brothers. To see smiles on everyone’s faces was so incredibly sweet and heartwarming. Little Blush had no idea that she had just hit the pup lottery. We honestly couldn’t have asked for a happier ending… such a lovely family. To be reunited with one of our already adopted dogs was so cool, too. The whole experience was pretty awesome. Thank you to Blush’s family for adopting from TAF... twice! Also, to TAF’s friend Cindy for making sure that Blush was kept safe until she made her way to us. Lastly, thank you to The Moon Dog Farm for fostering Blush.

Claire

At midnight 3/20/19, TAF was awakened by a call from the Chicago Police Department. A dog in critical condition had just been brought into the 5th District’s police station and needed emergency medical attention. We were told that the dog was found in an alley scavenging for food. The pup was barely strong enough to stand on her own, was and emaciated and had some type of chemical on her muzzle. Knowing that the dog could not wait until the vet opened, we picked her up at 1am and brought her to the emergency vet.

Upon arriving at the emergency vet, Claire was brought right back for medical testing and x-rays of her abdomen. In the emaciated dogs we always do x-rays of their belly’s to see if they have ingested rocks, fabric or any other foreign object to make their hunger pains go away. This is why we always tell people that the worst thing they can do is feed an emaciated dog when you find them. A full belly makes it almost impossible to detect a foreign body in the stomach. Bloodwork would show that Claire was suffering from a dangerous condition called hypernatremia. This means that the salt levels in her body were dangerously elevated and off the charts. An ultrasound ruled out many causes and confirmed that Claire had been denied water for several weeks. Most likely locked in a garage or cage with no food or water. It is also believed that Claire was exposed to some sort of toxin. There was dried paint on her face so that was most likely the cause. The main goal in treating patients with hypernatremia is to replace the water and electrolytes that have been lost and restore the electrolyte balance in their body. With a special concentration of an IV fluid mixture and nasal-gastric tube, Claire’s medical team was able to provide Claire with nutrition as well as flush the sodium out of her system. This treatment needed to be done at a slow and steady pace. In fact, her medical team took blood samples every 6 hours, for days, to ensure that Claire’s body was responding appropriately to treatment.

After 6 days at the emergency vet, Claire was finally well enough to go into a foster home. It is there that she would continue her slow re-feeding regimen and continue with her physical and emotional recovery. When all was said and done, it would be a month before Claire was given a clean bill of health. With a little more time and a lot of love, Claire’s emotional healing was soon to follow.

With that being said, we are so happy to announce that Claire has found her forever home! Claire’s new mom could not be more perfect and we are so happy for the both of them. When Claire’s new mom met her for the first time, she did not blink an eye at Claire’s rambunctious puppy behavior or, at times, her lack of manners. Claire’s mom knew that they would be going to training classes and would work it out as a team. It was love at first sight and Claire’s mom was grinning ear to ear from the moment she saw her. These two were meant to be a family. The last photo in Claire’s album says it all… Claire knew that she was on her way to her forever home. TAF would like to thank everyone that donated to help save Claire. Her medical bills surpassed $7,000 and she owes her life to all of you. Also, TAF would like to thank CPD Officer Tammy Block for contacting us and keeping her safe until we could arrive. To that point, the Chicago Police Department’s 5th District for allowing Claire to hang out with them, too. Claire was very lucky to have people around the world supporting her and keeping her in their thoughts and prayers. We seriously cannot thank you enough.

Joey

Joey Has Found His Forever Home!

When TAF first came across Joey at an open access shelter he was very underweight and had thick snot coming from his nose. The poor guy had been there for weeks and his body just couldn’t handle the stress. It didn’t take long for a nasty upper respiratory infection to set in. The day that TAF pulled Joey, he was immediately hospitalized and would need to stay over 2 weeks at the vet. He was so contagious and we worried that his health was going to continue to deteriorate. Needless to say, Joey had a very rough time.

When Joey was given a clean bill of health, he was able to leave the vet and come back with us. At that point, Joey didn’t know where he belonged. He had only known cages for months and now he had another new environment to adjust to. Luckily for all, Joey thrived from the moment he came back into our care. He was so happy to just be loved and have a bed to call his own.

With that being said, we are so happy to announce that Joey has found his forever home! After all he has been through, our boy finally got his second chance. Joey’s new family are the loveliest people and just wanted to save a shelter dog’s life. They didn’t care about the breed, how much the dog might shed or if training was needed. They were in it to win it and were willing to do anything they could to make it work. Upon meeting his new family, Joey immediately went over to his new mom and “picked “ her. As she sat on the couch, he went right underneath her legs and just laid there like, “ok, I am good to go… I choose her”. He is by far one of the luckiest dogs in the world to have found such an amazing forever home. Thank you so much to his forever family for taking a chance and adopting a dog that just wanted love and a chance at a new beginning. You are the best!

Willie

Look Who Hit The Jackpot… Willie!

Back in February, TAF was asked to help a matted little guy that had been brought into an open access shelter. Besides being a mess, Willie was not showing well in his cage. His fear was getting the best of him and it was a challenge trying to get him out of his cage. With some coaxing, baby talk and a little patience, Willie gave in and earned himself a one-way ticket out of the shelter. After getting a fantastic makeover and recovering from a nasty upper respiratory infection, Willie made some new TAF pups and was ready for adoption!

When Willie’s potential adopters came to meet him he was pretty nervous at first. All that he had known or interacted with was our pups and a few of us. We had to remind ourselves of the condition that Willie was in when we first took him into our program. After being neglected for so long, his world must have been very small and change was scary. Lucky for Willie, his future mom and uncle were pretty darn cool and let him take as much time as he needed. In fact, it was just about one and a half hours before Willie gave his big seal of approval!

With that being said, Willie has found his forever! He no longer resides in Chicago and has moved to a beautiful home in a quiet suburb of Wisconsin. This is a BIG change from the dangerous neighborhood where he was found… his life has done a complete 180 and he is one of the lucky ones. Thank you so much to Willie’s mom and uncle for being so patient and giving him a chance to show you his charm and winning smile! To big kiss that Willie gives his uncle on his adoption day says it all!