Happy Holidays from the FL-14

WARNING, THE PICTURES BELOW ARE NOT EASY TO LOOK AT

On November 4th, 2009 I received a call from the Division Chief Animal Control Officer in St Augustine, FL. Paul Studivant. He informed me he had just taken eight Borzoi off a property in St. Augustine. Although she didn't live on the property the dogs were taken from, Marlene Sapp was the owner of the dogs and was present at the time. He told me she had given him my name and phone number and that she sometimes helped with rescue. I told him that was not the case. He informed me there were 7 more dogs on the property. Six Borzoi and a Beagle Mix. I told him if he got the other dogs, NBRF would take all of the Borzoi. Officer Paul then went back to the property where the dogs were and took the rest of them to their Animal Control Shelter. While at his facility, the dogs were given an exam by their Veterinarian. On a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being the worst and 5 being the best, these dogs all received a one and a half (1 1/2) While there, the dogs received rabies, 7 way vaccinations and bordetella vaccinations. They tested positive for hook worms. They only had time to test two dogs for heart worms and they tested negative All had ticks.

I called Susan Grove in Lake Butler, FL and Sharon Anthony in Deltona, FL. Susan greed to take all the male Borzoi and Sharon agreed to take all the females. Susan and husband Ethan picked up the males on Thursday, the 5th. Sharon and her husband Jim picked up all the females on Friday, the 6th. All fourteen Borzoi were in very bad condition, all had ticks, are underweight and many have tumors. They all have serious skin conditions. One older Female named Lacy has such a bad ear infection she is deaf. Teeth are terrible, and their nails are like claws almost all have infected ears.

Below you can see pictures of the dogs while still at the Animal Control Facility. As you can also see, this facility is spotless. The dogs were fed, watered and given blankets and cots to sleep on to help make them comfortable . You can also see how thin and frightened they are.

We only have pictures of the females so far. We are waiting for pictures of the males to come from Susan. Susan does not have a digital camera so she bought several take and toss cameras and is having the film put on disks for NBRF and Animal Control. We will have them up soon as we receive them in the mail. Please understand, these pictures are hard to look at. There are a couple of the females who do not look too bad. They are the lucky ones! You will also see pictures of the Ladies the day after being bathed and seen by their Veterinarian. What a difference a day and a LOT of TLC makes! They are all doing well, are friendly and most important, happy campers now but still will require extensive Veterinary care.

The Boys with Susan are doing well. They have all been bathed and seen Susan's Vet. One had a tooth just dangling in his mouth and that was removed, They all are on antibiotics, suffer from the same skin, ear, and teeth problems as the females and some also have tumors. Sadly, one of the older males obviously does not have much time left and we will have to let him go to the Bridge. His cancer is advanced and I can't tell you how devastating this is to all of us, particularly Susan and Ethan. We do not make this decision lightly but we will not allow him to suffer. Tonight he is with Susan and Ethan where they can be with him and comfort him. Tomorrow he will sleep and suffer no more. Storm was the Leader of his pack and saw them to a better place. Now he can rest in peace.

Pictures of the boys have been added. There are a lot of pictures on this page - please be patient while the page and pics load.

Photos taken by the animal control shelter.
Photos of the girls We're Outta Here
The girls all receive baths and grooming which sadly makes their neglect painfully obvious
Fed, loved on and clean the girls are much happier

Photos of the boys during bathing and groomin
All Clean and happier now
Individual pics of the boys
Lance This is Lance. We believe he is 7 or 8 years old and he is very sweet. He is still underweight but as soon as he puts on a few more pounds, he will be neutered and have a dental cleaning and be ready to go to his new home. He was in better shape than most of the others.
Shiloh Shilo is a wonderfully sweet Boy. We believe he is around 8 years old and has some serious medical problems that will need to be address before he goes to a new home. For the moment, he is so enjoying being clean and his new found freedom.
Eagle Here is Eagle. He is around 3 years old and is in the best over all condition of all the boys. He is a handsome boy and sweet. It has taken Eagle a little longer to come around but, with a lot of love, he has learned to trust and is now a happy Boy. He will be one of the first to be neutered and have his teeth cleaned.
Storm Meet Storm. What a wonderful Borzoi he is! We thought we were going to have to send him to the Bridge but, he fought his way back from pneumonia and is doing very well. Storm is around 9 years old. He still has other medical problems so only time will tell for Storm but we will give him every chance possible. He has touched every person's heart who has met him. Please keep Storm in your heart and prayers.
Shenandoah Meet Shenandoah. He is around 8 years old and he also has some serious medical problems. We thought he had given up on life but he too has rallied and is now happy and feeling better. There are three of these Borzoi who have serious problems and Shenandoah is one of them. He is so sweet. It will be a while before we will know if he is our of the woods to, please keep him in your heart and prayers
Phoenix Here is Phoenix. He is doing and looking so much better and Phoenix has a home waiting for him. He will soon be neutered, have his teeth cleaned and be on his way to his forever home. He is a sweet boy we believe to be around 5 years old.