United Hope for Animals’ Shelter Support Program is dedicated to helping dogs in need of special care or medical attention. Izzy is its latest case.

Smile, Izzy! The hardest part is over!

Some dogs come in to the Baldwin Park shelter with all of the odds against them. Luckily for them, the shelter has the sharp eyes of United Hope for Animals volunteers who reach out to the most unlucky ones and give them another chance.

Izzy is one of the lucky ones. At the fragile age of three months, she was on death row at the shelter because she had an unfortunate combination of symptoms: Demodex mange, a skin condition that is easily treatable and rarely fatal, and kennel cough, another easily treatable but highly contagious respiratory condition that is more dangerous in puppies. To top it off, Izzy’s breed – something between a Pit Bull and Mastiff – is in overabundance already at the shelter and is more difficult than most other breeds to adopt out.

Our own volunteer, Claudia Angel, saw Izzy and scooped her up immediately, saving her life. But Izzy wasn’t out of the woods just yet; at the Southern California Animal Hospital, Dr. Kumar began treating her for her mange and URI, but the kennel cough developed into pneumonia. The vet hospital staff wasn’t sure if she would make it – pneumonia is a difficult condition to predict.

But low and behold, Izzy has pulled through! After a month at SoCal, Izzy seems to have made nearly a full recovery. After another week at the vet, she will be able to go directly to a foster home, or even better, into an adopter’s arms!

Stay tuned for an update once Izzy is out of the hospital!

If you’re interested in adopting Izzy, please contact UHA Adoption Coordinator Claudia at 626-264-2614 or angelclauclau@gmail.com

Izzy is getting better and better every day. Please consider “chipping in” even a dollar or two for her vet bill. To help us help shelter dogs like Izzy in need of medical care, please donate to our Angel Rescue Fund in the middle of the left column of this page.

United Hope for Animals’ Shelter Support Program is dedicated to helping dogs in need of special care or medical attention. Trevor is its latest case.

A face for the big screen!

The Baldwin Park shelter is so often bursting at the seams with unidentifiable breeds that we’ve come up with our own affectionate nametag: Baldwin-ese. Trevor is one of our favorites in this category!

Trevor is a six years young neutered Doxie-Chihuahua mix who was found in La Puente as a stray and brought to the Baldwin Park shelter on May 6^th. Trevor’s congenial disposition, adorable prance, and ridiculous underbite stood out to United Hope volunteers on the day of his photo shoot, and he quickly became a favorite. We also noticed his prominent cherry eye, a condition where the gland of a dog’s third eyelid prolapses and becomes visible, as seen in his Glamour Shot photo. When his time ran out at Baldwin Park, we simply couldn’t leave him behind. One of our dear volunteers took him into her home where he is currently being fostered and spoiled (like every dog should).

Once sprung from the shelter, Trevor was soon scheduled for surgery to remove his cherry eye. It turned out that he also had Keratitis – a condition where the cornea of an eye becomes enflamed and affects eyesight. Both conditions are common and usually mild, but Trevor had excess tissues attached to his cornea that needed to be removed in order to save his sight. Trevor’s vet expected that, after surgery, Trevor would be blind within a year. The surgery was very successful, and even though his sight is slightly impaired, it has not left him completely! After a visit to an ophthalmologist, it was determined that Trevor would most likely keep his vision for good!

Surgery has not downtrodden Trevor’s spirits one bit. “Trevor is wonderful,” praises Kristen. “He is almost always happy and enthusiastic. He has never acted like anything was a problem. His positive demeanor has remained steady even post surgery, when he had an ear infection, and when he had a hurt leg muscle.” (all conditions which he has recovered from!)

Melting the heart of everyone he meets, Trevor is well-behaved, well-mannered, and open-hearted when it comes to people and other dogs. “He has never met a person he didn’t like,” says Kristen. “He does attach quickly and strongly.” His favorite activity is getting a belly rub, and pretty soon after he meets you, he’ll roll over and ask for one. His favorite game is tug of war, and he’ll play it with humans and dogs alike! Trevor does think chasing his current cat companions is a fun game as well. He never hurts them – but we think he might do best in a home without cats. He loves to cuddle, be with people, and he comes when called. “I don’t need to leash him to take him out in the backyard,” Kristen says. “If he starts to leave, I call him and he comes running.” Trevor walks well on a leash (he enjoys the excursion just like any of his breed!), rides nicely in the car, and his foster mom says he is just a joy to have around.

Trevor chillin' on the grass.

Though Trevor is having a blast with his foster mom, he is currently looking for his forever home. He will be a great companion for an individual, a family, or a senior.

Trevor’s surgery was wonderfully successful, but please consider “chipping in” even a dollar or two for his vet bill. To donate towards Trevor’s vet bills, please visit http://uha.chipin.com/trevors-eye-surgery

Watch Trevor’s Glamour Shot Video!

If you’re interested in adopting Trevor, please contact UHA Adoption Coordinator Kristin at 626-393-6258 or second2teach@aol.com.

United Hope for Animals’ Shelter Support Program is dedicated to helping dogs in need of special care or medical attention. Mia is our latest case.

Without a doubt, Chihuahuas give meaning to the term “purse dog,” but when one of UHA’s volunteers noticed Mia in her kennel at one of our bimonthly Glamour Shot days, it was alarmingly evident that she was just a little too tiny.

Mia's Glamour Shot Photo

Mia came in to the Baldwin Park shelter on July 16^th as a stray from Lancaster. Most stray dogs that come into the shelter are, in some shape or form, dirty and tussled from life on the streets, but Mia had clearly had it rough. She was labeled as a teacup Chihuahua, but just by looking at her it was clear that three pounds was too small for comfort. Clearly neglected, her nails were so long that she could barely walk when she tried. At five years old, she had already had many litters of puppies, and her body was so malnourished that you could see her ribs. When our volunteer found her, she was also coughing and shivering, leading many of us to believe that she may have had pneumonia; her condition was so bad that she couldn’t even stand or walk, preferring to lay wherever she was put.

Immediately after getting a photograph and video, another generous volunteer, Holly Browde, decided to take Mia under her own wing and rescue her from the Baldwin Park shelter. “It was clear she wouldn’t last another 24 hours at the shelter,” Holly said. With Holly on board to foster Mia, UHA volunteers left the shelter in the middle of the Glamour Shot Day to take Mia to Dr. Kumar at the Southern California Animal Hospital in La Puente for immediate medical treatment. Holly’s loving touch was probably the first affection little Mia had ever known.

Our suspicions were correct: Mia had pneumonia and was dangerously emaciated. Dr. Kumar immediately put her on oxygen, IV fluids, and antibiotics. During her stay at SoCal, Dr. Kumar fell in love with little Mia and even wanted to adopt her except that he had his own dog-aggressive Boxer at home. Mia spent two full weeks in the hospital getting out of the danger zone until Holly finally took her home for some much needed quiet, rest, and recovery.

Some much needed attention...

Here is where Mia’s story turns brighter. She is still on medication and isolation from Holly’s other pets, but Mia is quickly becoming the princess of her castle! “I’m working on making her as unbearably spoiled as possible,” says Holly. Mia’s appetite has returned in full force and she eagerly scarfs down huge quantities of poached chicken breasts and wet dog food. She has a companion in isolation – a six month old white terrier named Thompson – with whom she is now best friends. She is still sneezing and coughing, but she’s getting better every day. She’s even visibly gained some weight – by the time she is healthy, she should be at least four pounds. Mia can also walk now with no sign of discomfort or pain. It turns out that she has a luxating patella – a condition in which the kneecap is dislocated or moved out of its normal location – but this condition is common in small dogs and miniature breeds, and it certainly hasn’t slowed Mia down any. She looks a little bowlegged, but since when is a dog concerned about its looks?

Overall, Mia has made an astounding recovery in a short three weeks and her personality is beginning to shine. “Mia’s doing GREAT. She’s got the total classic, comical Chihuahua personality. She’s feisty, vocal when she isn’t getting as much attention as she wants (she has a big-ass Chihuahua voice and jumps up on my leg, begging to be held!), and has totally bonded with me,” Holly said. Mia will soon be ready for her forever home, and we think this fabulous little dog would be a perfect companion for a senior or an adult household in an apartment or condo.

We look forward to seeing Mia happy and healthy in her new home quite soon, but her story nearly had a different ending. Mia wasn’t originally included among the dogs United Hope planned to photograph that day at the shelter. It’s thanks to the volunteer eyes that spotted Mia in her kennel among several other dogs and the compassion and dedication of volunteers like Holly, who take action when they see a pressing need, that Mia has this second chance. To help us help shelter dogs like Mia in need of medical care, please donate to our Angel Rescue Fund at the top of the left column of this page.

To watch a video of Mia playing with her new best friend, click here.

If you are interested in adopting Mia, please contact Holly Browde at hollybrowde@gmail.com