December, 2024:  One never knows what might be found along the curb of any given street or road.  Let's set the scenerio - the city is Compton, California.   It is a bright, sunny day with the temperature a sweltering *105 plus* degrees.  On this blistering hot day on the street, a good samaritan finds an intact male Doberman 'literally baking' on the steaming hot street, his back against the curb... barely conscious!  He is actively slowly, and painfully, dying.  The good sam moved the Doberman, now known as Sam, into the shade.  She provided water for him then called Animal Control.  She sat with Sam for hours... but no one ever came to help.  Not knowing what to do next, this wonderful angel reached out to the Rescue Warriors of Bella and Sunshine Rescue in Ontario, CA.  The B&SR transport team immediately went into action - they rushed to save Sam from the atrocities of the streets and into the care of the B&SR veterinarian.  He's guesstimated to be about 5-6 years old.  His condition was critical.  Not only was he severly dehydrated, he had three teeth with exposed roots (!!), a large cauliflower looking mass on a nipple, and an enlarged right eyeball with drainage, as well as having giardia and tapeworms.  (How did this poor fellow ever survive??)   Sam was vaccinated, tested for vWD (which was only moderately in the normal range), given meds for his eye and for pain and infection as well as parasite treatment and xrays of his teeth.  Sam is improving however his eye isn't responding as hoped.  The treatment plan is castration, enucleation with biopsy, nipple mass removal with biopsy and extraction of three teeth.  This unexpected expense has brought B&SR to our SND family with hope of assistance with making Sweet Sam healthy and totally pain free.  The surgical procedures are a MUST, not optional.  These times are tough, especially for all rescues and shelters, and the holidays are upon us.  We ask if you could please find it in your hearts to help B&SR with a gift of any amount!  Please remember, NO gift is ever too small and each and every donation is greatly appreciated!  The Dobes, the rescues and we at SND are profoundly grateful for your assistance.  Rescues would not exist without the kindness of donations!  Just click on your preferred method of donating - either USPS or PayPal, and you will see instructions for the next steps.   This is certainly the season of giving and any donation you make will be matched dollar for dollar by our very generous SECRET SANTA until December 31st!!  Want to see another pic of our new DUDE in the making?  Here's Sam, a Good Sam, named for his very own Good Sam...   Just click right here to see for yourself https://www.doberman911.org!   THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!  Beth McCahren, SND Case Manager

December, 2024:  What a lovely young lady! Sweet and reserved Miss Muffins arrived at Bella and Sunshine Rescue in Ontario, California, a beautiful and for the most part healthy - but carrying a very worrisome secret. She is affected with an extremely low vWd clotting factor of 8!. For those who don't know, this means any cut or scrape (not to mention surgery) has the potential to be fatal. It is a condition that is not inherently obvious until a fatal bleeding incident can cause death. vWd dogs can live their entire lives without ever encountering a cut or scrape to reveal this dangerous and scary factor in their blood as the clotting factor can and does vary at times.  It becomes essential that any vet is warned about it before any procedure. Happily, our good friends at Bella and Sunshine Rescue test all their Dobermans for vWd when it's time to alter them. Muffins came to them as a stray, and she's about 3 years old, so no one knows how long she'd been running around just a few steps ahead of potential disaster.  We are infinitely grateful to Bella and Sunshine for rescuing, caring for and testing Muffins to make certain she'll live a long, happy and healthy life. First on the agenda is spay surgery for Muffins, which means her surgeons must have ample clotting factor on hand at surgery time to assure Muffins can safely undergo her spay. Many vets opt not to alter vWd dogs due to the danger of hemorrhage, AND due to the cost of the clotting factor itself.  But the Angels of Bella and Sunshine want to best for the lovely young lady knowing she'll be much more comfortable and happy with spay surgery and not in danger of a heat period from which she could fatally hemorrhage. Clotting factor is expensive, and has a limited shelf life and luckily her Vet got the the clotting factor and Miss Muffins has now had a successful surgery and did very well. Let's all send happy wishes and a cheerful donation to SND so BS&R can try to recoup the additional expense of her surgery and so keep these Angels doing their amazing work in the SoCal jungles.  Muffins can happily welcome the New Year with all of us!   Just click on your preferred method of donating - either USPS or PayPal, and you will see instructions for the next steps.  This is certainly the season of giving and any donation you make will be matched dollar for dollar by our very generous SECRET SANTA until December 31st!!  Ready for a sweet little piece of  a Muffins?  Just click right here for this treat https://www.doberman911.org!   Thank you, and happy wishes for the festive season from Special Needs Dobermans, Muffins, me and my Jaina, Leslie Young, SND Case Manager. And yes, I love muffins!!

December, 2024:  Perfect name for a spirited, all natural red head! Hazel was rescued from another overloaded shelter in SoCal by the wonderful folks at Dobies and Little Paws Rescue aka Doberman Pinscher Rescue of Fillmore, California. She has a most beautiful red coat on the lighter side of chestnut shade commonly seen.  But, she also had a very odd growth on her left shoulder the size of a golf ball.  It looked like a very thick callous, but it kept opening up and weeping fluid.  The LPR/DPR nursing team tried all kinds of first aid treatments and wound care to get the area to heal but it stubbornly kept opening up.  A visit to their vet said it was actually an abscess under scar tissue and the only way to keep it closed was to remove the lump.  Okay, DPR saw to it that an excision was done and now she has quite a big scar on her shoulder - with luckily no signs of cancer for Miss Hazel.  No worries, her scar will cover over in time.  So, her beautiful eyes that seem to be looking for someone to be her protector and family may soon get the chance to gaze upon her new, wonderful life!  No one knows why she ended up in the shelter, an owner dump, an escapee, a turn in?  Most all shelters are over capacity with strays and turn-ins by people who claim to find a ‘wandering’ dog that is not theirs.  But now Miss Hazel is safe.  She is a sweet, loving girl, good with other dogs and is a rocket on walks – always wanting to explore!  Now that she is healthy she is ready to rocket into a very lucky family’s heart and have her happily ever after. Please help DLP/DPR by sending in a donation to help cover Hazel’s surgery and keep DLP/DPR financially able to keep saving amazing Dobies like Hazel. Anything will help!  Just click on your preferred method of donating - either USPS or PayPal, and you will see instructions for the next steps.  This is certainly the season of giving and any donation you make will be matched dollar for dollar by our very generous SECRET SANTA until December 31st!!  Ready for a pretty red head piece of eye candy?  Heeeere's Miss Hazel...  Just click right here to see for yourself https://www.doberman911.org!   THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!  Lorri Ketterman, SND Case Manager