New Tales…or is it Tails? Part I

At this point, I’m doing well to keep my head above water and making sure that we know what everyone needs (and wants because that’s what we do): what food, what meds, what shampoo? Order new meds? Check! Updated rabies? Check. Ears cleaned? Check. Vet notes reviewed? Check! Who can use a potty pad? No one! Who knows it’s appropriate to pee outside? No one! Who barks and screams incessantly when they want something? Everyone! It’s all Biscuits and Lions and Bears! Oh my! Here we go with the boys!

First up! G.Bear. He’s a little pudgy black and brown bear. He’s being treated for a UTI right now, but he’s got his favorite hobbies picked out already! He likes to bark at things outside and he likes to check to see what you are eating. Only after he makes a very calculated decision about what it is you are eating, will he then walk away or move in on the prize. For being the little G.Bear that he is, he apparently thinks he is too good for most of what is served here at Liz E.’s. However, he has also come to the realization that he will not be feasting on fresh fish and prime rib. If you remember in the past, meals like that are saved for those who need to eat due to lifesaving conditions, not due to keeping up their portly physiques. In addition, his idea of being groomed is … not. He will let you brush him and love on him but eye drops, ear drops, clipping… those would be his least favorite hobbies.

Next up, King Biscuit. Here in Arkansas, there is history surrounding a little town in the Delta that is home to the King Biscuit Blues Festival. Well, this guy is all king, all biscuit and some blues. I’ve started referring to him as Bicci. He is about 25 pounds, also a portly guy with the face of an angel. He has the softest eyes, and a little apricot tuft on his head and his tail. I called him Pink Bicci today because that apricot on his tail is so pronounced. How do I say that overall he’s in good shape? He gets around well, his bloodwork is within normal limits, no heart murmurs, strong lungs. He has cancer. My tears (again) just writing this. A few months back he had a growth removed from his mouth. It was not sent off for pathology, but the vet’s best guess was that it was melanoma. If you are familiar with melanoma in dogs, it often infiltrates into the bones. Remember darling little Marz that gifted us for three short weeks back in the spring? Just looking at Bicci, I can see that we are headed back down that road. It’s already grown into his nasal cavity. You can see in the pictures; his nose is crooked and being pushed from the growth underneath. I’ve already started thinking through what his bucket list is so that we can be sure he is able to realize his life is fun and loved. So far, he gets whatever he wants. Yep, that’s how you reel in the Mommy Person…. Sigh.

Let’s talk about ChazzB next. This guy! I flew in an instant to pick up this guy so that he could come to safety. His little bow-legged, bald backed self. As we sat in Columbus for six or so hours waiting to fly home, he made sure his presence was known. He sh** all over the airport lobby and ticket counter. He screamed in the bar. He met lots of nice people and then the Mommy Person almost got kicked off the plane because she was sticking up for ChazzB who didn’t want to put his head in the travel bag. That required getting yelled at by the flight attendant and two visits from the captain of the plane. My point, we all started out feeling sorry for this guy. His legs, his poor coat, his pitiful eyes as he looked longingly at my bread sandwich. ChazzB is a happy guy! ChazzB loves Lemmy. He loves to play with Lemmy. He loves toys! He loves to bark at big dogs. His favorite hobby is showing his teeth when he yawns. He’s got the mouth of a shark but he’s a good boy. He isn’t rude or snippy. He’s quite comical between his teeth, his screaming, his toy activity and looking for someone to play with. He gets his feelings hurt if someone yells at him (meaning another dog). He loves a bed to nap in and he takes over his food, which translates to don’t touch while he’s eating. He may never grow hair on his back but his skin is healthy and when you look at him, he is pure bliss. Chances are he’s less Pekingese than say… Isha.

Going for a ride? This guy can take you on a ride of delight! Very different from the Fantastic Voyage (our site is all about making connections, for those of you who just got that one!). This is Shauffur! Gaaaah! This guy steals hearts comparable to Monki. One look from this guy and you are embarrassed at how in love you are! Shauffur, the little orange and white guy. He looks like a creamsicle. When he came he looked like a creamsicle that had been dropped in the dirt. This little man was so matted and covered in fleas and flea dirt, his beaming orange coat was almost hard to distinguish. But speaking of distinguish…ed… he is a beauty! His royal orange-ness is the fluff of the ball. He is the little dog that you can truly see him in royal outfitting, sitting high upon his bench without teeth. Who needs teeth? That doesn’t make him less royal. Shauffur did not have a good medical report. He is in renal failure with a heart murmur. His spine is bad, his eye damage could be from a chronic disease. Shauff will stay with us and continue to enjoy his favorite hobbies such as NOT going outside, making sure he can see the human at all times and crying if he cannot see the human. When the human appears, all is well with the world again. A belly band and some human time is all this guy needs to love his everyday life! Bowls of food and elevated beds to nap in are a plus too! Love to Shauff.

Hello Wallerweaver! Who knew? When Wallerweaver came, we were unsure of his time left. While at the shelter, he had five tumors removed from the top of his head. He was our little Frankenstein when he arrived. His skin was infected; his coat was nil. Oh Wally, the stress we were under to get you into the right hands. Wallerweaver was sent out of the shelter to rescue. Then we understood, the first rescue he went to wasn’t exactly the “type” of rescue that he needed. One of our wonderful volunteers went to get him (do you know the Golden Carriage story? She was the Golden Carriage) at night. Dark out, driving an hour or two away, arriving at a strange town, finding out that he was moved to another town, driving to that town, then finding him at a place of business at 9:00 at night, where he was dropped off to be picked up by the Golden Carriage. She followed the treasure hunt to get him. She didn’t give up. He has lumps and bumps still on his head and throughout his little body. How is he? He’s doing well. He also has about 4 teeth that are getting checked next week along with some bloodwork to make sure he is on the up and up. I can tell you what I saw happen with Wallerweaver. Another downtrodden soul who was dumped by someone at a shelter- put through surgery all over his skull, filled with 50 stitches, aiming to grow a healthy coat and gain his confidence back-walked into our lives. He was saved due to our volunteer who was the trooper. She kept him safe and happy until we could make the arrangements to pick him up. We named him after her maiden name and last name. She said she would never hyphenate and be known as Mrs. Waller-Weaver, but I thought, in an honor to all she has done for us, we present “Wallerweaver!” (who actually looks like Winston Churchill). Wallerweaver has become a very independent guy, unless you don’t put him on the bed with you at night, then he’s a total whiny hiney…

Carbon. Little black Carbon with the white boots. Little black Carbon who shrieks and shrills before he knows if you are picking him up, before he knows why you are picking him up, before he knows what’s in your hand, before he has had a chance to check out the scene. If you put a collar on him, that’s a shriek. If you put a belly band on him, that’s another shriek. If you have food, that’s not a shriek, but it’s not a total win either. Of course there is a reason this guy acts like this that I can never fathom. Someone jerked him up, jerked him around. But here at Liz E.’s we focus on today. Today he is learning everything doesn’t require a blood curdling scream. Each day is a win for him. He’s a Pekingese. He knows what he wants and when he wants it. He knows he’s safe. His health check-up was not bad. He is cryptorchid on one side. That will require some hunting and fishing for a lost ball (c’mon, that’s funny!). Hopefully it can be found. If not, it increases his risk for cancer. His neuter appointment is set up! He has bilateral luxating patellas, this is not a win. His little knees can give him increased grief over time. A dental will be in his future as well. He may lose teeth and balls all at the same time. It’s ok, if you live here, it’s a common occurrence (don’t tell Dave!).

All the dogs that you have read about in this article are new to Liz E.’s Pekingese Rescue and Sanctuary. Some are available for adoption with an approved application. Senior Pekingese require additional care. We are not a fair-weather rescue. We are steadfast in our love and dedication. The dogs we have saved and the years of our lives we have committed demonstrate it. The support that we receive helps the dogs and allows us to be able to jump in the moment we are alerted there is a Pekingese who needs us. To continue our work, we need to build up a stable base that will allow us to do more to save more. A small recurring monthly donation from a large number of supporters all over the world would begin to create that base that we need. Our emergency pleas for help are exactly that. The daily grind is not built-in. That part comes from two people working full time jobs during the day and full time dog care during the hours before and after work. We call our evenings, “the race to bed,” knowing if we stay focused we can get to bed at a decent hour to start over bright and early (very early) the next morning. We hope you will consider being a part of our journey!