Monday, October 31, 2011

Lily and Maddison will spend the holidays in France with their new PAWrents


It’s the happy ending that Lily the blind great dane and her trusty friend turned guide dog Maddison deserve.

When the Daily Mail featured the heart-warming tale of the two great danes, who were looking for a new home, more than 2,000 dog lovers responded by offering to take them.

Now Lily and Maddison are moving from the Dogs Trust centre in Shrewsbury to live with the Williams family 35 miles away in Crewe, Cheshire.
Happy ending: Len Williams and his wife Anne with blind Lily and her guide dog Maddison. The couple have taken in the two dogs after reading about them in the Daily Mail
Happy ending: Len Williams and his wife Anne with blind Lily and her guide dog Maddison. The couple have taken in the two dogs after reading about them in the Daily Mail

Lily, six, was barely a puppy when she was struck down by a condition that caused her eyelashes to grow into her eyeballs, damaging them beyond repair. 

    Thankfully her friend Maddison, seven, became her new eyes and led her everywhere. The two have become inseparable and Lily follows Maddison, almost touching her as they walk so she knows where to go.

    But in July their owner could no longer cope with them and they were sent to the re-homing centre.
    Forever friends: Lily, left, being guided while walking with Maddison right. The pair have been inseparable since Lily lost her sight
    Forever friends: Lily, left, being guided while walking with Maddison right. The pair have been inseparable since Lily lost her sight

    Anne Williams, 52, and her husband Len, 53, a retired fireman, fell in love with the dogs when they read about them in the Mail and their offer was accepted by the trust.

    Mrs Williams, a business manager for an insurance company, said: ‘We've always had two dogs together, I like them to have company and so taking on two of them wasn't a daunting prospect.

    'My daughter moved out five months ago, taking her two English setters with her, so the house has felt a little quiet without them.
    Playful: Lily's lack of sight has heightened her other senses so she can often tell if Maddison is nearby without the pair touching
    Playful: Lily's lack of sight has heightened her other senses so she can often tell if Maddison is nearby without the pair touching

    ‘We live in the countryside and I miss having a reason to go for a walk - I can't wait to take the dogs out with us. We've also got a lovely big garden so it's the perfect setting for two huge dogs.’

    The couple plan to take the great danes on holidays to France and the Lake District and ensure they both enjoy life with their new family.

    Louise Campbell, manager of the Dogs Trust in Shrewsbury, said: ‘This is the happy ending we were all hoping for and everyone is delighted for Lily and Maddison.

    ‘The Williams family were the perfect match and we know they'll give the dogs all the love and fuss they so deserve.’

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2055471/A-new-home-blind-Great-Dane-devoted-guide-dog.html#ixzz1cOxE5Q64

    National Canine Cancer Foundation

    Thursday, October 27, 2011

    ♥Maddison and Lily are going HOME - they have a home!♥


    BY AMY JAMIESON

    The staff at the Dogs Trust Shrewsbury in Roden, England, knew dogs Lily and Maddison were special – they just couldn't understand why potential adopters didn't see it.

    "People just kept on walking past their kennel, not interested," Dogs Trust spokeswoman Hannah Macey tells PEOPLE. "Some people were put off because of the fact that Lily doesn't have any eyes – it's a bit shocking to look at."

    A medical condition caused the Great Dane to lose both eyes when she was just 18 months old, and her beloved canine pal, also a Great Dane, has stuck by her ever since. Maddison acts as a guide dog, leading Lily by her leash or by barking so her friend can hear.

    Sadly, the pair was given up by their previous owners in July, and Lily and Maddison have been awaiting a forever home. No one had given them a second look – until this past weekend.

    The local newspaper Shropshire Star spotlighted Maddison's amazing ability to guide her friend, usually with Lily's nose touching the back of her pal's tail as she leads the way. In just a few days, their story went global and the shelter was bombarded with requests for adoption from as far away as Argentina.

    "Where before not one person came forward to give them a home, we've now got hundreds of people from across the world that want to take them in," says Macey. "It looks like they possibly – not confirmed – may have found the right home and could be going home this weekend."

    As the shelter decides on the best place for them, the girls continue to keep each other company by cuddling and playing together. And even with all of the media attention, Maddison's focus never waivers.

    "Maddison has got quite a nervous temperament," she says. "Her main focus is making sure that Lily is around her and OK."
    National Canine Cancer Foundation

    Wednesday, October 26, 2011

    Totally wordless Wednesday by Miss Freyja

    It's totally wordless Wednesday. You didn't expect her to say anything, did you?
    National Canine Cancer Foundation

    Tuesday, October 25, 2011

    Please, please, please, if you live in the UK read this and HELP these dogs find a home!


    Please, if you know of anyone in the UK who has a fenced yard and oodles of love to give this pair, tell them about Lily and Maddison. I swear, if they were in the US I'd be making arrangements to bring them to my home.


    • 'Maddison will lead and Lily will walk nearly touching her so she knows where to go. It’s lovely to watch. Maddison is always looking out for her'

    When illness forced vets to remove Great Dane Lily’s eyes, the prospects of a fulfilling life didn’t look good.
    But then no one had reckoned on her pal Maddison stepping in to turn guide dog.

    The pair have been inseparable for years but now find themselves looking for a new home because their owner could no longer cope.

    The catch for anyone interested is that the Great Danes come as a package. They have been waiting at the Dogs Trust re-homing centre in Shrewsbury since July. 
    Homeless: Blind Great Dane Lily with her canine carer Maddison
    Homeless: Blind Great Dane Lily and her kind-hearted canine carer Maddison
    Forever friends: Lily, left, being guided while walking with Maddison right. The pair have been inseparable since Lily lost her sight
    Forever friends: Lily, left, being guided while walking with Maddison right. The pair have been inseparable since Lily lost her sight
    Manager Louise Campbell said: ‘Maddison is Lily’s guide dog. If they are out and about, for the majority of the time Maddison will lead and Lily will walk nearly touching her so she knows where to go. It’s lovely to watch. Maddison is always looking out for her.’

      Lily, six, was barely a puppy when she was struck down by a condition that caused her eyelashes to grown into her eyeballs, damaging them beyond repair.

      It was after this traumatic event that her relationship with seven-year-old Maddison developed as she took her under her wing.

      The best buddies lived together until their owners decided they couldn't look after them any more.

      Miss Campbell said: 'With her lack of sight, Lily's other senses have heightened so although we don't split them up often she can tell if Maddison is nearby.

      'They curl up together to go to sleep and they are very vocal with each other.

      'We haven't analysed their different barks but if Lily wants to go forward and Maddison is in her way, the bark will have a different pitch.

      'They are very close to one another and enjoy each other's company'.
      Playful: Lily's lack of sight has heightened her other senses so she can often tell if Maddison is nearby without the pair touching
      Playful: Lily's lack of sight has heightened her other senses so she can often tell if Maddison is nearby without the pair touching
      Miss Campbell said that Lily does all the things normal dogs do and if you saw her from a distance you wouldn't realise she had anything wrong with her eyes.

      She added: 'They are really happy with life, the glass is always half full with these two.

      'They have been with us for a considerable amount of time but they are quite happy and go about their daily routine - they are very affectionate.'

      She believes the dogs' size and advancing years, as well as the fact they have to come in a pair, may have put off potential owners and she warned that anyone contemplating taking the dogs in should look at their lifestyle and think of the responsibility involved.

      'They are not gigantic when you see them outside. These are two lovely big girls who deserve to live out the rest of their lives together in comfort', she said.

      Dogs Trust cares for around 16,000 stray and abandoned dogs every year through a network of 17 re-homing centres.
      Happy: Great Dane Lily is seeking an owner who would be willing to give both her and best friend Maddison a new home
      The Great Dane is seeking an owner who would be willing to give both her and best friend Maddison a new home

      Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2051780/Blind-Great-Dane-Lily-needs-home-space-HER-guide-dog-Maddison.html#ixzz1bpmTkcdI

      National Canine Cancer Foundation

      Wednesday, October 5, 2011

      Word-less but not cute-less...

      Ready an' able to bark bark bark at anyone that comes within 50 feet of the family buggy.
      Scout 'n Freyja, always ready to see what noms momma has in her grocery bags.
      National Canine Cancer Foundation

      Tuesday, October 4, 2011

      It is our responsibility to l♥ve ALL animals, not just the ones at out feet

      If you see this - don't make him wait forever. Stop your car, open the door and take him to safety. When we love animals it is our responsibility to love ALL animals. We are their only hope.

      "Woof!" I said as you started the car,
      "Hooray!" I said, it's my first time afar.
      The scents we were passing were all new to me,
      For it was my first introduction to this mystery.
      As we got out of the car I embraced you with joy,
      After all you remembered to bring my favourite toy!
      You threw it once or twice, of which I retrieved,
      But on the third it seemed you were ready to leave.
      You threw it long and hard and I chased it like lightning,
      But when I turned to bring it back I saw a sight quite frightening.
      I gripped my toy hard as I tried to comprehend
      What it was I did wrong to make our relationship end.
      You walked back to your car as I sat there still loyal.
      Why am I subservient and you so royal?
      Your engine started, and you peeled out into the night,
      You didn't even care about my overwhelming fright.
      As I sat in my pose determined you would come back,
      The sun faded behind me while the surroundings turned black.
      Day after day I stayed in that park,
      Lying... waiting... too feeble to bark.
      As I lay there dying thinking of you master,
      I asked myself how I got into this horrifying disaster.
      With my last breath of life, I whispered your name
      Then I collapsed in a heap overrun by pain.
      Why didn't you love me master? Why didn't you care?
      Had I no significance, was I just a clump of hair?
      I stayed there master and I waited for you
      I guess taking care of me was just too much to do.
      I'm gone now master, no more You-and-I
      But what I can't figure out is why you didn't even say goodbye...

      DONT ABANDON YOUR PETS. You are their lives !


      National Canine Cancer Foundation

      Monday, October 3, 2011

      Read, learn, be aware and do what you can to make a difference!

      Yes, we love our dogs. Yes, harming our pets is something we can't even imagine. However, not all cultures are kind to animals. When we take on the responsibility of loving our companion animals we also take on the task of doing what we can to make the lives of ALL their brothers and sisters better, regardless of how many miles separate us from them.

      Vietnam Dognapping: Mobs Chase Down Dognappers, Club Them To Death


      MIKE IVES 10/ 3/11 09:17 AM ET

      HANOI, Vietnam — It was already too late when Nguyen Van Cuong heard a neighbor shout "Thief! Thief!" Two men on a motorbike had snatched up his beloved pet dog "Black" and were whizzing away.

      Cuong and the neighbor sprinted in vain as the professional dog thieves hurled bricks, one of them slamming into the head of a bystander and killing him.

      Similar fights have erupted across Vietnam between dognappers who sell man's best friend to restaurants and fed-up villagers who have increasingly turned to vigilante justice to pursue culprits because there is little police can do. Mobs have chased down thieves and clubbed them to death – even setting one on fire. But the bandits use everything from bricks to arrows to fend off the villagers and ensure their payday.

      "Dog thieves are getting more aggressive – they steal villagers' dogs in broad daylight," said Tran The Thieu, police chief of Hung Dong village in central Nghe An province. "People are very angry to see their dogs stolen and dog thieves are rarely arrested."

      Dog meat is a delicacy in Vietnam that's often on the menu at parties, especially in the north. Restaurants specializing in barbecue dog are especially popular at the end of each lunar month when men dine on canine in hopes of purging bad luck.

      Dog restaurants in the capital, Hanoi, have boomed as Vietnam has become one of Asia's fastest-developing economies. But as inflation soars, some Vietnamese have looked for creative ways to earn money.

      Because dogs typically roam free, they can be easy targets. Live dogs in Hanoi fetch about $2.70 a pound ($6 a kilogram) – a bit more than for live chickens. A 44-pound (20-kilogram) pooch can sell for more than $100 – roughly the monthly salary of an average Vietnamese worker.

      It's a good wage for thieves who cruise neighborhoods on motorbikes, snaring pets quicker than a U.S. car thief can hotwire a Cadillac Escalade. Sometimes, they incapacitate the dogs first by shooting them with darts or arrows pulsating with electric current.

      Many Vietnamese are of two minds about dogs. They may rely on the animals to protect their homes and often give them names, but don't consider them to be pseudo-family members as in the West. But that doesn't mean they don't care about their pets.

      In Nghe An province, police chief Thieu says dog-related violence is escalating. Last June, a dognapper was chased and clubbed to death by a mob who then torched his body, leaving the charred remains as a warning on the roadside. Seven villagers were hurt in other incidents there when they pursued thieves who retaliated with knives, bottles and slings.

      Most residents don't even bother calling police.

      "Residents say the police just fine these thieves and let them go," Senior Lt. Col. Ho Ba Vo, vice chief investigator in Nghe An, told the newspaper Thanh Nien (Young People). "It's true. A thief only faces criminal charges when the property involved is worth at least 2 million dong (US$97). A dog is much cheaper than that and the thief is only fined for the attempted theft."

      There are no charges specific to dognapping, and the typical fine for petty theft ranges from 1 million to 2 million dong ($50 to $100).

      In the southern province of Soc Trang, two men turned themselves into police on Sept. 26, a day after fatally shooting a dog owner through the heart with an arrow as he was chasing them.

      The lucrative illegal dog trade also crosses borders.

      Last month in northern Thailand, police arrested two men trying to smuggle 120 dogs into Vietnam stuffed into bags. In August, 1,800 ailing dogs crammed into cages on a truck also were confiscated in Thailand on their way to Vietnam. Half of them later died, local media reported.

      Scruffy medium-sized dogs are commonly seen jammed into wire cages on backs of motorbikes in Vietnam. They are slaughtered, skinned and roasted, and can be seen dangling from wires outside restaurants, tails straight and teeth bared. Dog dishes range from barbecues to soups served with pungent shrimp paste. The meat has gamey taste and a venison-like texture.

      The tradition, also popular in parts of China, South Korea and the Philippines, faces resistance from animal advocates.

      One former U.S. Embassy worker in Hanoi was so revolted by Vietnam's dog restaurants that he started the California-based nonprofit Kairos Coalition to promote humane treatment of pets. He says more Vietnamese are developing a Western-style love of pets, which may explain why the dog wars have become so heated.

      "You are really witnessing the convergence of two trends," said founder Robert Lucius, noting that his group has partnered with Vietnamese animal rights groups and veterinary students. "The old way of the dog meat trade, where animals didn't count for much, is coming up against the new trend of keeping true companion animals that are loved, nurtured and valued for their own sake."

      Meanwhile, the Hanoian who recently lost the 15-year-old dog he had raised from a pup, said police told him they apprehended the two men who allegedly threw the brick that killed the 54-year-old bystander.

      Cuong said police informed him his animal, identified because of some fur missing on its tail, was sold for 900,000 dong ($45).

      "It's very difficult to raise a good and intelligent dog," said Cuong, 54, who estimates he has lost about 10 animals over the years to professional dog thieves. "If I had caught the culprit, I would've beaten him up!"

      He epitomizes some of Vietnam's ambivalence toward dogs. Asked if he would ever eat his own dogs, Cuong, who has deep-set eyes and a wispy goatee, shook his head fiercely.

      "If I want dog meat," he said, "I go to a restaurant."
      National Canine Cancer Foundation