Carlton, A Little Slice of Heaven

Carlton is a little slice of heaven! Everyone who meets him is instantly smitten as he IMG_9139has this beautiful air of sweetness about him. This is what his foster mom says about Carlton: “He is housebroken, curious, and not hindered by his blindness in the least! He can hear very well and already knows and responds to his name. Recently I have discovered that he LOVES to hug AND give kisses! When I sit on the floor with him, he comes toddling over and put his legs up on my shoulders, literally hugging me and then starts licking my ear! It is the sweetest thing! 

He is also starting to act frisky IMG_9140and silly. He just found his voice and will now bark a little when the other dogs bark. He is very much an explorer. One night I woke up and went out to the kitchen to find him sleeping on my couch! He had figured out how to get up there and made himself right at home in the corner and was peacefully slumbering away. He gets along fabulously with all three of my other gentle Cockers (but at the same time will not tolerate it when they try to steal his food!)”

Carlton is ready to be adopted and is in foster, in Pasadena, CA. You can find our adoption application on our website SecondChanceCockerRescue.org if you would like to meet him. We are pretty confident, that once you meet him, he will be taking YOU home.

As a senior, Carlton is eligible for our Sanctuary Program, where we pay his medical bills. For us to manage and fund our senior Sanctuary Program, we rely entirely upon donations. Your generous donations, help to take care of these precious babies. Any assistance from you, helps to save lives and spread the happiness that comes with the love of a grateful dog.

 

Cricket is Chirping with Gratitude

Cricket2Meet Cricket. This adorable and gorgeous girl was found wandering the streets and was picked up, by good samaritans. They saw mammary glands hanging down and thought she might be pregnant. Thoughtfully, they took her to a vet immediately, and learned that she is NOT pregnant. Cricket does have a host of health issues, including a mammary infection.  We are going to have her spayed next week, and take care of all of her medical needs. She was not microchipped and signs were placed around the area and social media was used to see if anyone claimed her. So far, no one has come forward.

We had her groomed and as you can see, she looks stunning! The vet, estimates her to be about 5 years old. Cricket1She is very sweet and mellow and gets along well with everyone.

This beauty will find a new home, in no time. However, in the meantime, anything that you can donate, to help with this sweet girl’s medical expenses is greatly appreciated!

Helen the Brave

Helen3Meet Helen, our newest sweetheart. Helen came from the San Jacinto shelter where she ended up after being picked up as a stray.  This poor girl has never known care in her short little life.  The shelter aged her at 7 years old, but her teeth are pretty good so she may be younger.
She has multiple mammary tumors, both chains will probably have to be pulled.  They are numerous and large.  
She has enormous cherry eyes; the right cherry eye is so big it has pushed her eyeball down behind it and you can barely even see the eye unless you move the cherry eye out of the way.  The left eye also has a huge cherry eye covering most of it, and looks ‘big’ (possible glaucoma) and has a huge scar on the surface, so no doubt some corneal abrasion/ulcer from a long time ago that was not treated.  She may be blind.
Helen1Her shelter notes said she has luxating patellas on both back legs, but she walks fine, gingerly, but she can walk.
The inside of her ears were absolutely black. They did not appear or smell infected, but were unbelievable dirty.

We cleaned her up and have given her a lot of TLC. She is very sweet and friendly.
She will be paying a visit to Dr. Card on Monday.
Any donation, large or small, is much appreciated toward medical attention for this girl.
She’s looking sad now, but we’re hoping soon, with SCCR love and care, her tail will be wagging.

Daisy Needs to Learn how to Bloom

Daisy 3Daisy was purchased as an 8 week old puppy by a couple without children. They retired when Daisy was about 5-6 moths old and started traveling, leaving Daisy home alone for weeks to months at a time. She was left with an auto waterer, a doggy door to access the patio and a timed feeder that was refilled by someone once a week. She would be left without any animals or people to interact with for 3 years. Finally, a family member convinced the couple to rehome her.

A loving family bought her at 3 years old. She was great with children and adults once she knew them. She loved to play ball and of course receive treats. She loved to sleep in bed with her humans. She loved walks and car rides. It sounded like Daisy was the perfect dog, even after such a debilitating 3 Daisy 4years. Unfortunately, she was far from perfect.

According to her new owners, Daisy would growl at anyone entering the family home, and try to scare them away. She would also do this on walks. Daisy would try to escape from a room or the house if she had the opportunity. She was somewhat dog aggressive. If she didn’t get top dog position, she would attack other dogs, especially if they were near her food or toys. She had a high prey drive, trying to attack small animals and cats. She would endlessly scratch at doors in hopes of getting outside to catch her prey. She had separation anxiety. When she was nervous she whined, wagged her tail endlessly and panted. She barked when left home alone. She found things to be neurotically intent on. If she had a ball, she would roll it under furniture and then cry until a person retrieved it for her. The vet said this was a result of not having any interaction for long periods of time when she was young. She was terrified of the rain in the backyard, probably from her first three years of being alone, but fine taking walks in the rain if she went out the front door. She was extremely sensitive if scolded, making her pant heavily for hours. Finally, she was a food thief, getting into everything she can, even drinking toilet water.

This family LOVED Daisy and did everything in their power to try to rehabilitate her, but she was overwhelming for them. They felt she needed help through a rescue organization which had experience with dogs like her. They contacted us at Second Chance Cocker Rescue, and we decided to take Daisy, work with her and eventually find another loving home suited for her personality. Behavioral work takes time and money, but we are up to the task! We will keep everyone posted on her progress. In the meantime, anything you can give to help her positive reward training is much appreciated!

Turning Copper Into Gold

Copper3We have known Copper for several years. He has always had a problem meeting new people and being in new situations. He had separation anxiety and he had bitten several people. His mother was out of her depth with him and finally gave in to her family pressuring her to either have him killed or give him up. We decided to take him on as one of our aggressive dog projects.

Most people are afraid of aggressive dogs because they don’t know how to deal with them. It is surprisingly easy and they can be a rewarding project if you know what you are doing.
The first week Copper was so traumatized by losing his mom he had a really rough week. Our house has four adults and three other dogs and all though full it is still calm and mellow most of the time. We just ignored him and slowly Copper got more and more comfortable. I knew we had turned an important corner seven days later when he met me with the other dogs at the door and his tail and whole butt were wagging he was so happy to see me. Our relationship started at that point, when he was ready and not one second sooner. Copper quickly advanced to letting me pet him, jumping on the couch for snuggles and eagerly taking treats from everyone. We had guests over who ignored him until he was ready to eat a treat from their hand. He was perfect every time.
A week or two later he was ready to go out in public for some meet and greets. I would take13221102_1416985448327124_6460055751374454211_n him with me places and ask people to feed him a treat but not pet him. The goal is to make people fun and, like many dogs, he hates having his head petted. By this time he was just another dog in the house. No drama, no problems, new people ignored him at first and the treats came out when he was ready. He was so good he got to come up to our cabin for two weeks with the rest of the dogs. I am working on getting him used to having his head petted and collar pulled until he is ready for a stranger to try it..
Next he will attend a basic obedience training class to get used to having dogs and new people interact with him. Pretty soon he will be ready to be adopted. We will look for an experienced dog owner who can continue our work and before too long the world will see the perfectly behaved dog we see everyday at home. I can’t wait!
—Elizabeth
If you would like to learn about how to train aggressive, under socialized Cockers to become model citizens give us a call. We need more fosters who can do this kind of training. It takes an experienced dog person, a huge commitment and a lot of training.
Thank you for your donations, large and small, which allow us to save more dogs like Copper.

Caring for Carly

Carly1We love Cocker Spaniels, don’t get us wrong, but unscrupulous breeders make our blood boil! Meet Carly. The family that used her to breed, decided they had enough of her, and dumped her at the shelter. One of our volunteers found her in pretty bad shape; an irritated neck from a collar that was too small, matted fur, smelly ears (probably an ear infection), small tumors and a huge growth, low on her belly. Many times, when a female dog isn’t spay early, they develop tumors. Below is a photo of the giant growth. On top of everything else, she had one cherry eye that was never fixed.

Carly went in for surgery Monday.  Carlys mamm tumor1The huge growth turned out to be an inguinal hernia. When she was opened up, her small intestine and spleen were teetering on falling into the opening. Carly was spayed and had 4 small mammary tumors removed to be biopsied. Finally, she had the growth under her left eye removed and the cherry eye tacked down. Dr. Card did a beyond amazing job and we cannot thank her enough for her time, care, patience and love. Carly is resting comfortably and seems to be in good spirits.

Carly appears to be around 3 years old. She is a little shy with our volunteers, but no doubt she has been stuck with an unsupportive family for all that time.

We have quite a few medical needs dogs right now, but there was no way we could pass up saving this gorgeous little lady. Anything you can give to help us give Carly the best care possible is so appreciated. Soon she will be ready to be someone’s forever girl. Could it be you?

Rescue Groups Coming Together to Help Willie

Willie lores2Willie found himself at the West Valley Shelter two weeks ago. His owner had died without making any arrangements for him. Not well himself, Willie was now sleeping on cement floors and had lost all hope. Lucky for Willie, Springer Spaniel Rescue found him. They pulled him, but when they found out he was a Cocker Spaniel, they called us. We took one look at that face and couldn’t say no!

Once he was out of the shelter on his “Freedom Ride,” his tail started wagging, but he was hesitant to trust after all he had been through. The Springer Spaniel Rescue’s Vet told us he’s approximately 6 years old, he is blind and he may also have a urinary tract infection. We will be taking him to an eye specialist to find out why he is blind. We are short on fosters ourselves and trying to find him a foster home ASAP so he does not stay in a boarding facility for long. He slow to allow people to pet him and so far not giving out any kisses. We are working on helping him to feel safe. Any donations toward his vetting and boarding are appreciated. If you are able to foster or would like this handsome boy to know his future is secure in a loving home, please contact fill out our foster/adoption application. Thank you.Willie lores3

EMERGENCY RESCUE For Yodi!

Yodi 1
EMERGENCY RESCUE! This is Yodi! This little 5 year old cocker boy needs our help! He is partially paralyzed due to an accident. He does not have full control over his lower body, and drags himself around by his front legs. Yodi needs a safe home where he can recover from his injury. He is seeing an acupuncture practitioner, and they are seeing positive signs of recovery.
Yodi needs a medical exam, X-rays, and to see Yodi 2a specialist in order to regain the use of his legs. Yodi is a happy, sweet boy and he deserves a second chance at a happy, healthy life with a loving family. He loves kids, and other dogs. Please help us to help Yodi! Please donate to save Yodi’s life!  Thank you!

Honoring our Cocker Kids

Penny LaneLast week was my scramble to get taxes done week. And we finally made our appointment with an estate attorney to get our trust reviewed. It is 20 years old and it needed a quick review and updating. It was a chance to add Second Chance’s H.A.L.O. program into our trust so our Cockers have a safety net in case our family can’t step up and take care of my beloved babies. We have been meaning to do this, talking about it and generally procrastinating for several years. Now it is done and it feels great. The other thing we were able to do was to add SCCR as a beneficiary. We had spoken to several other super Cocker supporters who had also included SCCR in their trusts and felt this was the best way to help ensure our work continues.
I attended a pet estate planning seminar several years ago and that attorney said one thing that really stuck with me. If you own a house, have kids or pets you need a trust. I agree. Our furkids deserve better than a scramble by family members after you pass, playing “who gets stuck with the dog” and then guess who ends up at the shelter because no one was really prepared to step up. Think about this now, be prepared and use H.A.L.O. as your safety net if no friends or family are available to take your baby the way they thought they would be. Life happens and your Cocker deserves to know he will be taken care of no matter what.
H.A.L.O. is for all Cocker Spaniel owners not just SCCR alumni. It is priced so even moderate estates can afford it and we will commit to be your safety net for your Cocker Spaniel just when you are gone.
If you sign up for H.A.L.O. or not please, please make sure your dog is taken care of in your estate planning.  And if you are a super Cocker supporter then consider including SCCR in your will. We intend on rescuing Cocker Spaniels, one dog at a time, forever and ever and ever.
Now, the taxes are done, the Cockers taken care of and it is time for me to get back to work!
Elizabeth Mazzetti
President and Founder,
Second Chance Cocker Rescue

I Need a Little TLC!

JonesyA week ago I was just a number. I long number behind bars in a cold, scary place. People walked by and laughed at me, but I wasn’t sure why. I’m cute and lovable. I was hoping one of them would take me out of the kennel to play with me. I prayed with my little paws for a way out. The stars must have been aligned because a really nice lady came, took me in her arms and brought me to a warm and comfy home. I heard her talking to some others, saying I have something called a prolapsed rectum. I’m not sure what that means, but I do know that I’m not that comfortable around my back side. I may look silly sitting like a frog, but it’s easier for my tushie. I heard her say they are going to fix me up so I will feel good and look good. I’m so happy to have this second chance to have a happy, healthy life. I promise to keep you posted!

Love, Jonesy

Anything you give to help our newest medical needs dog, Jonesy is so appreciated!