Holly Anne 07-167

Profile

Sponsored by: Wing Foot Farms

3/27/07: Introducing Miss Holly Anne, an 8 year old (DOB 02.25.1999) pure bred Golden Retriever rescued from the ND puppy mill. We brought her home at 12:30 a.m. on Saturday night after she and the other PM dogs had their
long road trip to freedom! Holly is 51 pounds and is really small. She can walk under my resident GR Penny Rose! Demonstrating the typical puppy mill behavior, she is very shy, unsure and apprehensive. We have had her for two days now and this special little girl has a spirit in her just waiting to come out! She is still recovering from the birth of her puppies 7 weeks ago and has just weaned these babies, so she is carrying around some extra "milk weight". I presume that she is close to 45 pounds when all said and done. I think she had at least one pound of dirt on her that has gone down the drain with the two baths we have given her! Probably the only baths she has ever had in her life :( She slept in her kennel that night, panting and breathing very heavily as she was so confused and scared. Here we are two days later and this little survivor is making great strides.

Yesterday I picked up a second kennel and put it on the main level. She found it right away and we were so happy that she went in and felt comfortable in it. About a minute later, she came out!!! We all were amazed as we have had to carry her out of her crate every time to get her to go outside. She continued to come in and out and in and out and was playing her own little game! The last time she came out, I called her and she ran over and kissed me on the nose...it was the sweetest thing...the trust is starting. We also played on the deck last night and I was bouncing a ball in front of her and to my amazement, she followed the ball as it bounced away and almost put it in her mouth - big strides, she has never had a toy or ball to play with in her long 8 years in the puppy mill. Her job was to have as many babies as possible. Those days are over for this special girl - I tell her every day that her job is to rest, eat and play, she has been through so much.

She has been eating really well and has only had one accident in the house. That was our fault really as it was the first morning after we got her and we were deciding who was going to carry her outside....too late! Her teeth are terrible and I think they are sore too, as she will only eat soft food. For now we are feeding her browned hamburger, rice, yogurt, cottage cheese, oatmeal and cheese - I wanted to clean her system out as I have no idea what she was being fed in the mill - she is loving the food that she has been getting and does not have "runny poop" anymore - okay maybe that was "too much information"! I have started her on a supplement to build her immune system also.

The heavy breathing has stopped and she has actually "sighed" three or four times. She does not make a peep except for yesterday - she yawned and she make a little high pitched noise - adorable.

I named her Holly Anne because it sounds happy and that is what her future holds for her - the rest of her life with nothing but happy times. You see, at the puppy mill she was number 30, which is actually tatooed on the inside of her ears. I found her number when I was cleaning her ears on Sunday - a box of Kleenex later and heartbroken - I will hold this little girl close to my heart....she is a survivor.

I have two resident GR's, Penny and Charlie (adopted from RAGOM) and she follows every move they make. They have been great teachers for her - especially Charlie David. He was a puppy mill dog and rescued by RAGOM when he was 18 months old, so her knows exactly how she feels. They do have a special connection. She loves both dogs and will just walk all over them with not a care in the world. That is what she was used to...having a couple other dogs in a cold, dark pen for the last 8 years.

We have a vet appointment on Friday. We will check her eyes, she has an infection - check the progress on her mild drying up - test for heartworm and talk about getting her spayed. Of course, we will make sure she is not pregnant again.

I will write more after we go to the vet!

Holly Anne's foster mom

At a Glance #07-167

Golden Retriever	Born: February 1999
Female	Weight not specified

Status: Deceased

Profile

Sponsored by: Wing Foot Farms

3/27/07: Introducing Miss Holly Anne, an 8 year old (DOB 02.25.1999) pure bred Golden Retriever rescued from the ND puppy mill. We brought her home at 12:30 a.m. on Saturday night after she and the other PM dogs had their
long road trip to freedom! Holly is 51 pounds and is really small. She can walk under my resident GR Penny Rose! Demonstrating the typical puppy mill behavior, she is very shy, unsure and apprehensive. We have had her for two days now and this special little girl has a spirit in her just waiting to come out! She is still recovering from the birth of her puppies 7 weeks ago and has just weaned these babies, so she is carrying around some extra "milk weight". I presume that she is close to 45 pounds when all said and done. I think she had at least one pound of dirt on her that has gone down the drain with the two baths we have given her! Probably the only baths she has ever had in her life :( She slept in her kennel that night, panting and breathing very heavily as she was so confused and scared. Here we are two days later and this little survivor is making great strides.

Yesterday I picked up a second kennel and put it on the main level. She found it right away and we were so happy that she went in and felt comfortable in it. About a minute later, she came out!!! We all were amazed as we have had to carry her out of her crate every time to get her to go outside. She continued to come in and out and in and out and was playing her own little game! The last time she came out, I called her and she ran over and kissed me on the nose...it was the sweetest thing...the trust is starting. We also played on the deck last night and I was bouncing a ball in front of her and to my amazement, she followed the ball as it bounced away and almost put it in her mouth - big strides, she has never had a toy or ball to play with in her long 8 years in the puppy mill. Her job was to have as many babies as possible. Those days are over for this special girl - I tell her every day that her job is to rest, eat and play, she has been through so much.

She has been eating really well and has only had one accident in the house. That was our fault really as it was the first morning after we got her and we were deciding who was going to carry her outside....too late! Her teeth are terrible and I think they are sore too, as she will only eat soft food. For now we are feeding her browned hamburger, rice, yogurt, cottage cheese, oatmeal and cheese - I wanted to clean her system out as I have no idea what she was being fed in the mill - she is loving the food that she has been getting and does not have "runny poop" anymore - okay maybe that was "too much information"! I have started her on a supplement to build her immune system also.

The heavy breathing has stopped and she has actually "sighed" three or four times. She does not make a peep except for yesterday - she yawned and she make a little high pitched noise - adorable.

I named her Holly Anne because it sounds happy and that is what her future holds for her - the rest of her life with nothing but happy times. You see, at the puppy mill she was number 30, which is actually tatooed on the inside of her ears. I found her number when I was cleaning her ears on Sunday - a box of Kleenex later and heartbroken - I will hold this little girl close to my heart....she is a survivor.

I have two resident GR's, Penny and Charlie (adopted from RAGOM) and she follows every move they make. They have been great teachers for her - especially Charlie David. He was a puppy mill dog and rescued by RAGOM when he was 18 months old, so her knows exactly how she feels. They do have a special connection. She loves both dogs and will just walk all over them with not a care in the world. That is what she was used to...having a couple other dogs in a cold, dark pen for the last 8 years.

We have a vet appointment on Friday. We will check her eyes, she has an infection - check the progress on her mild drying up - test for heartworm and talk about getting her spayed. Of course, we will make sure she is not pregnant again.

I will write more after we go to the vet!

Holly Anne's foster mom

Updates

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Little Holly Bear went to her forever family this morning. This amazing girl knew that this was her forever home as she walked in the front door like she owned the place! She met her furr brother Baxter (wow is he ever handsome!) and got to know the house and awesome back yard. When we left she was lounging on the couch in the living room! We were all amazed as she was a different dog today! Full of energy and confidence. She will continue to blossom with her new family and she will truly be a princess in this house.

Thank you to the "A"' family for sharing your life with this special girl. It is amazing that 22 days ago she lived in a 5 x 5 concrete pen, cold, dirty and pumping out around 16 litters of babies in her lifetime. This is her past, you are her future!

Thank you again to WING FOOT FARMS for sponsoring this special girl. It is because of your support that she was able to get the care that she deserves. Thank you also to RAGOM for rescuing her - you literally saved her life!

This is my last update for Holly Anne - I love you sweet girl, you are a survivor!

My last night sleeping at my foster families, yes I am on the bed and not in my kennel!

This is my forever family - Wow I am the luckiest dog on the planet!!!

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

After a day of being pretty quiet, Holly is starting to come out of her shell again. This morning she was actually taking toys out of the basket and carrying them around - at 4:15 a.m. mind you, when she wanted to go potty and then decided to wake everyone up and play! There was an attempt
to steal Charlie's new Easter duck, but he was not very appreciative of that at all!

We continue to give her a lot of positive strokes and encourage her to come out of her kennel and play and that it is safe. It is important for Holly to have another furry friend in her forever home. She has only known how to care for babies and nothing else. She has been a quick learner and I attribute that to my 2 resident GR's...they are continually rewarded for that - it explains the very large basket of toys they have! A fence will be very important, as I am sure she would run away if she was loose. She loves to run and play in my backyard, but it is fenced in. Having her out front at my house is not ideal as she is not free to sniff, roam and wrestle with her foster bro and sis. This little girl will not be able to be trained with an invisible fence.