Before & After

Artie

FANTASTIC NEWS!!! TAF sponsored Artie has found his forever home! From a cold cage to the loving arms of his new mom… it doesn't get any better than that!

Thank you Project Rescue Chicago for finding Artie the perfect forever home!

Greta

IT TRULY DOES TAKE A VILLAGE... AFTER 5 MONTHS OF HARDSHIPS, TAF SPONSORED GRETA HAS MADE A FULL RECOVERY AND HAS FOUND HER FOREVER HOME!!!

On May 19, right after our annual Rockin for Rescue Fundraiser, TAF went to visit our local shelter to transfer some dogs into our program. It was then that we first met Greta, a tiny 6-pound Chihuahua mix girl who was very sick and clearly suffering from knee problems. We just couldn't stand to leave her behind as she had already been passed up by other groups given her medical condition. We took Greta straight to our vet where she was immediately hospitalized for terrible pneumonia. She remained hospitalized for over a week, on IV fluids and antibiotics for her pneumonia, and pain meds for her knees. The vets diagnosed her with severe (grade 4 on a scale of 1-4) luxating patellas in both knees. Poor Greta was so miserable and in so much pain. However, she was so sweet, loved to snuggle, and would gently put her tiny paw on your cheek when you talked to her.

It was at this this time that Greta received a very special visit from her namesake Greta Stolte. You see… Greta’s dad is actor Christian Stolte of the hit TV show Chicago Fire. The whole Stolte’s family has been a huge supporter of TAF and came out to meet the sick little pup that had won us all over. The Stolte family spent time playing not only with Greta but also with TAF’s Miller and the rest of our rehabilitation dogs… it really made all of the dogs very happy. *top right picture in photo

After weeks of medication, Greta was finally well enough to undergo orthopedic surgery in both knees in attempt to correct her luxating patellas. Because she was so small, the surgeon decided it was best to do both knees at the same time. The surgery was successful and Greta started yet another long road to recovery. We had to carry her everywhere for the first week or so, but she was still spunky, happy, eating well and very sweet.

6 weeks later Greta got the "all clear" from the vet and surgeon and was listed for adoption, but she had another setback when she started coughing, showing signs of collapsing trachea. This poor little girl seemed unable to catch a break! Fortunately her collapsing trachea was determined to be very mild and she recovered from her coughing fits quickly, so no further interventions were required.

Last week PRC received an amazing, warm, loving application to adopt Greta and we crossed our fingers that Greta's luck would finally turn around! Well, it was a perfect match!! Greta's new mom had always wanted a dog and finally felt the timing was right. Greta climbed up onto her lap and snuggled in immediately...it was perfect! *bottom right picture in photo.

Meme

FROM DEATH ROW TO THE ARMS OF A LOVING FAMILY… MEME HAS FOUND HER FOREVER HOME

This past July, TAF had a chance encounter with a little Chihuahua that must have had a little angel looking over her shoulder.

This little girl’s cage happened to be right next to a dog that TAF was pulling from the local pound. When we opened up her cage to give her some lovin’, she jumped into our arms and was adamant about not being put back in her cage. It was at that time we noticed that her cage card said that her euthanization date had just passed… this owner surrender was living on borrowed time and she must have known it. For some reason, Meme had slipped through the cracks and was lucky enough to be sitting right next to another Bank’s cage.

Realizing that Meme had beaten all odds, TAF took her into our medical program and she was adopted out through our rescue division, Project Rescue Chicago.

We are so happy to announce that Meme has found her forever home and will never be discarded, again!

Pitch

AFTER SPENDING MONTHS AT AN OPEN ACCESS SHELTER… PITCH HAS FOUND HIS FOREVER HOME!!!

TAF first came across Pitch at one of our TAF sponsored volunteer days at an open access shelter. Pitch was terrified, sticky with urine and needed to be coaxed out of his cage. Once out in the backyard, he would wince any time that you raised your hand to pet him. It was truly heartbreaking to witness the distress that he was in… once our rescue division, Project Rescue Chicago, had room in their adoption program, we went back to get him.

After medical care and weeks of socialization with TAF’s team of rehabilitation dogs, Pitch found himself a foster home with a very patient woman who continued to work with him to overcome his fears.

As days turned into weeks, Pitch’s foster mom was able to repair a broken dog’s spirit and give him reason to trust again… his heart was finally whole.

Well, we are happy to report that Pitch didn’t have to go far to find his forever home. As it turns out… he has been living there this whole time. Pitch can now call his foster mom his forever mom.

Maylee

GREAT NEWS... OUR SAD LITTLE PANDA BEAR MAYLEE HAS FOUND HER FOREVER HOME!!!

Sweet Maylee was having a rough time of it when we found her at an open access shelter. This sad and depressed pup had just about given up and she was in a bad way.

After TAF took care of all of her medical needs, our rescue division, Project Rescue Chicago, worked with Maylee to re-build her confidence and taught her to have faith in people, again.

Maylee now has two wonderful new parents that will pick up where we left off. Before you know it, this gentle girl will be smiling as she will know what it is to be loved.

Clover

GUESS WHO FOUND HER FOREVER HOME… CLOVER!!!

In the beginning of March, TAF was called about a twelve-week-old female Chihuahua that had been brought into a local open access shelter in bad shape. A large portion of her fur was missing and her bare skin was sticky with urine. The facility thought that the cause of hair loss might be from urine burns and our vet agreed.

As abused as she was, Clover learned to trust and turned into a wiggly little love-bug!

Hilton

WONDERFUL NEWS… HILTON HAS FOUND HIS FOREVER HOME!!!

On May 21st, TAF came across Hilton at an open access shelter. He was shut down, soaked in urine and had a hard time moving due to severely matted fur and toenails that had begun to curl.

After multiple baths and professional grooming, Hilton started on his road to recovery… or so we thought.

As it turned out, Hilton was about to come down with a serious upper respiratory infection that would lead to his hospitalization. This coupled with a pre-existing heart problem almost sealed Hilton’s fate.

After many weeks of vet care and months in a foster home, Hilton has made a full recovery and as officially been adopted by his foster family…I think that it is fair to say that a little girl has a new BFF.

Paulie

TAF is so proud of our pittie puppy Paulie... our newly adopted pup just saved the life of his new deaf sister Diva.

When Paulie's new mom ran back into their house to grab food for the grill, a coyote jumped the fence and was stalking their deaf dog Diva. It was then that little Paulie ran inside and started franticly barking at his mom to alert her of the predator in their backyard.

Paulie's mom was able to save Diva and it was then that our brave little pup became a hero.

Asphalt

WONDERFUL NEWS… TAF’S MANGE PUPPY ASPHALT HAS FOUND HIS FOREVER HOME!!!

Early this past July, TAF was contacted about sick little puppy that was down for the count at Animal Care and Control. He was suffering from an extreme case of mange, was lethargic and had a bacterial infection in his eyes and skin.

Now, after months of extensive treatment, Asphalt has made a full recovery and is in the loving home of his new dad!

Aviva

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE SPIRIT OF THE DISCARDED… AVIVA HAS MADE A FULL RECOVERY AND HAS FOUND HER FOREVER HOME!!!

Aviva was picked up as a stray on the southside of Chicago and was brought to an open access shelter. There was an injury to her hind leg that was bandaged and she was put on antibiotics while being held for the mandated five-day stray hold at the shelter.

When her stray hold was up, the vets at the shelter checked her leg and found that the wound had become so infected and necrotic that the only option was to amputate the leg and hopefully eliminate the source of infection.

Three days after Aviva’s leg was amputated, TAF was contacted about this poor girl and we committed to taking her into our program.

When we picked Aviva up from the pound, we noticed there was blood oozing from one end of her stapled skin. When we looked more closely, we could see that several staples had come out and muscle tissue was visible. Concerned for her well-being, we rushed Aviva over to our vet where she was examined. Aviva’s doctor discovered that she had a very high temperature so we elected to have a blood panel performed. Aviva’s white blood cell count is off the charts and our vet was very concerned that her medical condition could quickly become critical from blood poisoning. That night, Aviva was hospitalized on IV fluids/antibiotics and pain medication.

That very next morning, Aviva went back in for surgery to have the entire surgical area, where her leg was removed, re-opened and cleaned out. Sadly, the infection in her leg was even worse than originally thought. A large abscess had already formed and ran deep into the joint. Our vet was able to remove a lot of the puss and necrotic tissue, but had to create a special suction drain to help pull out more puss and fluid from the infected area. At that point, her situation was very touch and go and Aviva was given a 50/50 chance of survival… it would take over a week of hardcore IV antibiotics to finally stabilize Aviva and give her immune system a chance to catch up.

After weeks of hospitalization, Aviva was able to stand tall on her own and was ready for her new three-legged life.

As it turned out, there was a very special family out there waiting to adopt a pup just like Aviva… a family that already included a 3-legged dog and a 3-legged cat… the perfect home to teach a new tripod the tricks of the trade.

Aviva was pulled from the pound in honor of our Trio’s birthday… it seems fitting that, when all was said and done, Aviva would end up living happily ever after as part of a perfect Trio.