Hungry Dog With Porcupine Quills in Face Gets Rescued in Mountains
http://www.care2.com/causes/hungry-dog-with-porcupine-quills-in-face-gets-rescued-in-mountains.html
by Laura Simpson
July 14, 2012 11:30 pm
By Janice Cabral of Dogs in Brazil
On May 29th, one of our beloved long term dogs here died. Her name was Emmy and she was a German Shepherd mix. She was nine years old and lived in the house with six other dogs and was the sweetest dog anyone could ever hope to know. I was devastated, but we are a rescue and I decided the best way to honor my Emmy was to save another life. We had managed to support Emmy all her life and the number of dogs wouldn’t increase. It would be just the same struggle as it was before. So, we began looking for a dog in real need. It had to be a dog that would die without us.
Here close by in our own little village, the strays all looked in reasonable shape. This is unusual for Brazil, but right here it’s not too bad for strays as several people help them, including a group of taxi drivers. We were restricted from going to areas where we knew that we would find dogs in trouble by the terrible weather. We needed to drive on dirt tracks as the remote rural areas are always the worst. It had been raining a long time and our vehicle was not equipped with four wheel drive to cope with all the mud. So, time passed by and the rain continued.
It was still raining heavily on June 13th when one of our dogs was barking constantly. She would not stop and we began to investigate further to see why she was being so noisy. At first we saw nothing unusual until we gazed in the same direction as her. Then we saw Gemma (as we later called her because it was the month of June and Gemini and because she is a little Gem). There was a tiny black and white dog huddled behind a spare kennel panel. She was sandwiched between bushes and the kennel panel and shaking. At first we thought she was trapped or injured. It was unusual to find a stray dog around here because it is a remote area high in the mountains without many human inhabitants. There is no available food supply and many dangers, including mountain lions and jaguars.
She Didn’t Try to Run from Us
We got her out and she still didn’t try to run. It was then that we noticed her nose was full of porcupine quills and she was extremely thin, with all her spine and ribs clearly visible under her fur. She weighed just nine kilos.
You can see how thin she was and how grateful to have a safe place to stay.
Full story: http://www.care2.com/causes/hungry-dog-with-porcupine-quills-in-face-gets-rescued-in-mountains.html#ixzz20hQaYq2s
= new reply since forum marked as read
That is one very fortunate pup, poor little thing. I am so grateful to hear that she was rescued and is finally safe now. What a tearjerker of a story... 
There is nothing dearer to my heart than animal rescues.
If I may use the word ' Blessed'. and if one must triage feral or abandoned pets (unfortunately close to half unowned cats and dogs are euthanized each year) I hold these in the Holy of Holy (strange how this atheist/agnostic uses non-secular words for this -- but if anything, these are above & beyond the call for um, 'regular' rescues.
And if anything can be called 'Blessed' -- it is these compassionate actions.
--animals who will die without human intervention, to include neonatal kittens whose mother was killed or abandoned them (my dearest, rottenest girl was bottle fed by me from 2 days old. I didn't think I'd survive her dying. Can never call any animal 'Baby' --just a nickname-- again.)
Young, non-feral "pet's" abandoned in the country. Everyone thinks that they'll 'be free' and have a happy life.
Without being taught by knowledgeable parents, these puppies/kittens/etc. will end up slaughtered by racoons, weasels, birds of prey... you name it.
Not such a 'happy life', eh?
Elderly animals whose 'parents' have died, been put in a nursing home, etc. and their children have no care to take care of a being their parents loved. I supported LCA (Last Chance for Animals) for years, for one. I did hear they did something that may have not been ethical recently, but it's been so busy here I haven't yet had time to track down the story.
If anyone knows, or links, please advise.
--Rescuing horses, donkeys, ponies, llamas, pot-bellied pigs, sheep, goats, etc. from slaughterhouses. With the old rules, there were a very finite number of auction-houses where these creatures were put under the hammer for the last time, and there were many rescues/breed rescues who would check them out religiously. Unfortunately they were unable to save even a decimate(sp?) of these animals, but still, better than none. (And don't forget, Canada serves horsemeat at their restaurants -- they just don't advertise it on their menus -- you have to ask!)
In any event, I do not believe this new(ish)law that expands so many auction-houses into slaughterhouses is that good a thing. From my data collection, many more slip through the cracks.
And please. When you wax nostalgic about the Amish way of life, please remember that most under-nourish their horses; the buggy breeds such as standardbreds and saddlebreds
and of course we cannot forget the true workhorses, the ones who work the fields: the Belgians, Percherons, etc.!
--these horses are worked with minimal food (on the high average -- can't slander every Amish-- until they can no longer perform at 'top peak' anymore; then they are sold down & down to the level of the #10 pen in the 'auction-house'
but really for slaughter.
Many, many rescues have bought these broken, bags of bones, some unable to even stand and rehabilitated them -- and after care they usually are the pride of the barns who have saved them; looking and behaving just beautiful. After all, they know their gaits and commands, they can also drive, and with so much experience they are very safe. They are top trained horses, although the Amish don't go into Dressage. (Not dogging Dressage, mind you, I've ridden it for years and never paid anything for horse or equipment over any other good horse breed equipment. It's the big farms who dope big show horses them up to make them seem superhorses when they truly aren't, and that costs them money. I've bought a top of the line dressage saddle for less than I've bought the same quality eventing saddle. You have to be wise, not stupid with your money is all -- and isn't it strange how the rich are stupid with their money when you'd think they'd know the value of a dollar perhaps better than us 99%ers?)
One last thing I'd like to triple-warn you is about the Amish
and here I must give their views on it -- none of their animals are for pets, they are all for a purpose; farm animals for slaughter or milk (then slaughter eventually) and breeding of purebreds, usually dogs, just to make the $$$.
You will usually find the latest 'fad' being bred on Amish farms --right now it seems to be pugs, but it ALWAYS changes. It's not that these puppies are undernourished or abused, that they're not goes without saying. The bitches, however, and constantly, continually kept in a state of pregnancy and when their uteri finally wear out
...let's just say they aren't kept around for sentimental reasons. We can go even further and say that these dogs do not get the visit to the veterinarian for the heavy shot up the forepaw. A slug is much, much cheaper.
I do not mean to disparage the Amish. This is how they live, how they survive. We 'in the world' cannot begin to understand. But we can be aware and teach others.
As for Feral Cats -- as adults they can't be tamed (I trapped & tamed 5 feral kittens, easy as pie, didn't take over 3 days ever) but adult ferals, as well as feral kittens, CAN BE ETHICALLY TRAPPED and there IS something we can do to help them!
Every state has a program where they will neuter the cats for no higher than $20 that I've heard. The very tip of one ear is cryogenically snipped off so if spotted in the wild again it is obvious this cat has already been neutered and needn't be done again. Drive to the clinic, have them neutered, then release. I've even written it off on my taxes. If enough do this, soon enough, no more (pre-existing) cat problem. The step to do in tandem with this is to educate the citydwellers that having their cat un-neutered so as to 'show the children the miracle of birth -- then to take these same miracles and dump them in the the country is unethical and cruel!
Back to puppy farms: and any kennel who breeds any bitch more than 3 times in her lifetime is considered a Puppy Farm!
But along with these ethical problems is the problems with proper breeding. There isn't much concern by money hungry breeders if brothers are bred to sisters, mothers, to sons; etc. -- not if they produce a majority of healthy puppies, at least to the eye. There are literally hundreds of genetic problems that can occur with such lackadaisical breeding. The last rescue I had to deal with was a Doberman Pinscher who had Wobblers Disease, which shortened her very sweet life and caused much pain. At least it wasn't a form of cancer like my first rescue, a borzoi (who had achieved a Canadian Champion, believe it or not) ended up with. Not knowing the futility, I spent thousands to have her rear leg removed, and although she could get around with a cancer-fused hock joint, she couldn't manage to walk by herself without the leg. So we got by it, my beautiful Babushka & I, until just 2 months later she died in my arm from the cancer spreading like wildfire.
I know this is TLDR, however I wish you might.
I want to tell you that IF you ever purchase a purebred dog, don't just shun the Amish: most breeders are just as greedy. 8 pups per year, every year, at 3-6 thousand each? But it's unethical. No dog, show dog, breeding stock, or sweet mutt (THEY should have NONE!) should EVER have more than 3 litters in her entire lifetime.
The Kennel Clubs are spreading this information, but with the money involved.... 
And make no mistake, there is push-back against this too.
Thanks for reading, if you got this far. As always, act locally, think globally.
And for heaven's sake, I beg you, do NOT pass an animal in need thinking 'somebody else will take care of it'
cause you know what?
THAT'S WHAT EVERYBODY ELSE IS THINKING!
JUST DO IT. SAVE THAT CREATURE.
(Yeah I meant to yell that. It's worth yelling).
And a hot tip to would-be rescuers:
Do NOT take your rescue to the local Humane Society (NEVER a pound or 'kill-shelter'; AND yes, which some... many... Humane Societies are) at any time except first thing in the morning. If you bring them in in the afternoon, or end of the day, any open cages are already filled First-Come, First-Served; and all the hopes and trouble and travail you spent on your rescue will usually be futile about 15 minutes after they close. Of course they won't tell you this unless you ask them directly -- maybe not even then. Keep your rescue(s) until the next morning and bring them in as close to opening as you can!
Namaste,
Cher
