Latest News

Jane Austen: A Mother’s Instinct

By

Categories: Happy Tails, Latest News

United Hope for Animals generally deals with one dog at a time but occasionally we get an entire family all at once. That was the case with Jane Austen, a beautiful two-year-old female pit bull who came into the shelter with her seven newborn puppies last month after being taken from her owner, a breeder, who was arrested on charges unrelated to Jane and her pups.

Beautiful, serene Jane.

Could we be any cuter?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was evident to all that Jane herself was quite well socialized and may have had some training. She was also very protective of her puppies but once she earned the trust of the staff and volunteers she was outrageously friendly –
to the extent that she would bring her babies over to them for inspection!

Luckily, we were able to pull Jane and her little ones from the shelter and were planning on moving them to two rescue groups, from where they could be fostered or adopted permanently. However, by this point they had grown quite sick with an upper respiratory infection. The vet was very concerned about two of the puppies, in particular, whose lungs sounded full.

We’re glad to report that so far they’re all doing much better, although they will need further treatment and monitoring until they are completely recovered.  

As the vet bills were an unexpected expense, we are welcoming donations to the ChipIn we’ve set up (see left). Contributions, however big or small, are appreciated.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

By

Categories: Happy Tails, Latest News

Recently, when Laura called Dr Kumar’s office to check on a UHA medical dog, the office manager told her about a “surprise” she had had that morning. When she arrived at the office early to open up, she discovered a tiny, pregnant chihuahua, who had been abandoned in a chicken coop in front of the building during the night.

Gift is carried from the vet's office to the car.

Laura asked the office manager to send her a photo, and thanks to some quick networking by UHA volunteers, a foster home for this little one was found within a few hours.

However, during this time, it had become clear to the vet staff that the little chi, whom they fittingly named “Gift,” was already in labor and probably needed a C-Section.

Dr Kumar’s staff agreed to reach into their own pockets and pitch in what they could afford personally to help pay for Gift’s needed medical treatment, and UHA agreed to cover the rest.

We now believe that tiny Gift, who weighs only 6 ½ pounds, went into labor quite some time before she was found, and that when it became clear to her owners that she was in trouble, they tried to get her medical help by leaving her in front of a vet’s office. The C-Section saved Gift’s life, though sadly it was too late to help her puppies.

We are very happy to report that Gift is recovering beautifully and is now in a foster-to-adopt home. She has been renamed “Bitsy” by her new family, and was greeted with “open paws” by Emma Rose, another rescue chihuahua, and Lola, a lovely basset hound. We are told there has been harmony in the home ever since the sweet, gentle Gift arrived.

Gift behaved like the perfect little lady during the drive to her new home.

A final note: While UHA’s current focus in Los Angeles is on our Shelter Support Program at Baldwin Park, this work brings us into contact with both people and animals in the community in need of help.

We try to assist when and where we can to help these animals who would otherwise be shelter-bound.

Thank you for your continued support.

Suzette’s Surgery Surprise

By

Categories: Featured, Latest News

Little Suzette

Suzette was found as a stray and into Baldwin Park shelter with her best friend. Her best friend was adopted….but Suzette was left behind because she had mammary tumors.

Her rescuer could not leave her there to die and reached out to her friends; the money to have her tumors biopsied and removed. The doctor was performing her surgery on May 25 when he noticed a scar on her abdomen. He thought she may have been spayed already but felt a hard spot under the scar and made an incision to explore further.

He was shocked to find a full sized, 5 inch pencil from eraser to lead, buried in her abdomen. He removed the pencil, finished her surgery.  He explained that the only way this pencil could have entered her body was through a purposeful incision.

He explained that the pencil was not in her intestines, but rather, embedded under her skin and therefore could not have entered the body through either orifice.

The pencil found in her abdomen

The doctor was outraged and shaken and stated this is the worst case of animal abuse he has ever seen.

Today Suzette is recovering nicely from both surgeries and is in good spirits and in a foster home where she is receiving lots of love.

However, because her medical care turned out to more complicated than originally planned, donations are needed.

If you would like to make a contribution for Suzette’s medical care, donations can be made directly to the vet – Southern California Animal Hospital (626-330-4558) in the name of “Suzette” – or to her Chipin at http://baldwinparksuzette.chipin.com/suzette-from-baldwin-park.

The Lancelot Challenge

By

Categories: Latest News

LancelotUnited Hope for Animals volunteers who had the privilege of knowing and caring for Lancelot have been awed and humbled by the outpouring of interest, support, and generosity we have witnessed and received on Lancelot’s behalf. People from throughout the country, and throughout the world, rallied to help us care for this special boy, who had known too little kindness and love.

You sent him heartfelt well-wishes, blankets, toys, treats, and what money you could afford. While we are deeply saddened by his passing, Lancelot’s story has filled us with a renewed hope for a more just future. Though the sadness and suffering we confront with rescue work can sometimes seem vast and daunting, Lancelot has shown us that there is an Army of Angels, armed with compassion and generosity, waiting to meet it.

Rescuing Lancelot, and providing him with tenderness and care in the short time he was with us, was possible because of the contributions of many different people: the photographer who documented his condition, the veterinarian who stayed open late on a Saturday to receive him, the volunteers who drove him across Los Angeles to receive medical care, the foster people who opened their homes and hearts to Lancelot, the writers who gave him a voice by telling his story, and so many more. Each person involved, gave of themselves where and when they could in order to right the wrong they witnessed.

As special as Lancelot was, and as extreme the neglect he suffered, he was one of 350 homeless dogs waiting at the shelter on the day we found him. This particular shelter is just one of over a dozen Los Angeles- area shelters, which are regularly filled to capacity. Lancelot was one dog in one shelter in one city, and just one of the 5-7 million animals that find themselves discarded at shelters around the country every year.

These numbers are staggering, and the scale of the problem is far beyond what any individual can address. However, with many hands and hearts acting in synchrony, we can build a future governed by a more ethical relationship between people and animals, a future in which pets are no longer treated as disposable consumer goods, and the population of companion animals matches the number of available homes.   Over Memorial Day Weekend, United Hope for Animals volunteers gathered at the shelter and photographed and videotaped eighty (just a fraction of the shelter’s population) new homeless dogs and cats in Lancelot’s memory, and in the coming weeks we will be working to find each one foster and adoptive homes.

We invite you to join us and participate in The Lancelot Challenge: Do one thing to help one animal in your own community, in Lancelot’s honor.

What can you do?

  • Enrich your life by adopting a dog or cat from a shelter or a rescue group.
  • Foster a dog or cat from a shelter or a rescue group, and provide a homeless pet a safe place to crash. Donate money to your local shelter or rescue group.
  • Donate needed supplies to your local shelter or rescue group. Often needed items include blankets, leashes and collars, crates, and kitty litter, but ask your local shelter what they need most.
  • Clear out your clutter and hold a yard sale to benefit your local shelter or rescue group.
  • Indulge your sweet tooth and host a bake sale to benefit your local shelter or rescue group.
  • Volunteer with your local shelter or rescue group.
  • Talk to people about the importance of spaying and neutering their pets.
  • Have your own dog or cat spayed or neutered.
  • Arrange to have an unaltered dog or cat spayed or neutered.
  • Create a poster or video to help educate people on how spaying and neutering their pets can prevent suffering and help end the crisis of pet overpopulation.
  • Invest time in teaching your dog to be a good citizen.
  • Volunteer side by side with your good citizen pooch in a nursing homes or hospital. Teach your children how to care for a pet. Join an animal welfare group at your school.
  • Gather some friends and start an animal welfare group at your school.
  • Prepare a presentation and talk to a classroom about how to care for a pet.
  • Educate yourself and become breed aware. Bully Breed dogs are often mislabeled and misunderstood.
  • Lancelot was probably a Dogo Argentino-Pit Bull mix, and was one of the sweetest dogs we have met. Pit Bulls and Pit Bull mixes often crave more loving human interaction than some other breeds, and they aren’t impervious to pain, hunger, and neglect.
  • Help spread breed awareness by talking with people about how loving and gentle Bully Breed dogs often are.

Contribute in a way that best fits your time, talents, and resources. If you aren’t in a position to foster and adopt, consider donating. If you aren’t in a position to donate money, consider donating your time by volunteering at your local shelter. Or tap into your creative side and help educate others on animal welfare issues, such as spaying and neutering.   Let us know what you do “In memory of Lancelot” here and on Lancelot’s Wall. This will be Lancelot’s legacy.