Mutt Madness

As a veterinarian, I have the privilege to see the human-animal bond and the benefits of that bond everyday.  The companionship and joy that a dog or cat can give to any person especially the elderly is extremely significant.  Pets enrich our lives with their unconditional love, and with their support we have the strength and courage to face life’s most difficult challenges.

My pets are my children and I can’t imagine a day without them, and to think that one of our elders has had to give up their beloved pet due to illness or they have chosen not to adopt a pet because they are worried that they will outlive that pet breaks my heart.  The Biscuit Foundation provides a blessed alternative for our elderly.  Their pets will be cared for temporarily or indefinitely depending on the situation.  In times of illness, the owner does not have to worry about their pet, and they can focus on getting well.  In the incident of a terminal illness, the owner can pass from this world with the knowledge that their pet will always be loved and will never enter an animal shelter or burden a family member.  The purpose of this foundation meets such a great need in our community, and I am thankful that through Debbie’s and Robin’s vision our elderly friends and family can continue pet ownership without stress or worry

WOW!!! We are thrilled that we have made it to the 3rd round. We would like to thank everyone that has voted for the Biscuit Foundation. Your support for our cause means so much to us. Even though we are a new foundation we feel there is such a great need for a organization like ours that not only helps pets but their owners also. Again Thank You and we hope you continue to support The Biscuit Foundation!!

Sarge has a story like no other. In his lifetime, he has risen from the depths of tragic poverty to the heights of luxury. In August 2008, Burke County authorities discovered one of the worst cases of child neglect on county record: 11 children living in unfit conditions with no running water, no electricity and little food.

Father of 11 children turns himself into sheriff, charged with cruelty to children. The father of eleven children in Burke County turned himself to the sheriff Friday. Jeremy Long is charged with cruelty to children. His bond was denied.  Burke County investigators say they found 11 children living in unfit conditions with no running water, no electricity and little food.  You can read more about the story here.

Old Fella was called in to assist with the family’s pets. Sarge was the family dog. He would not cooperate with deputies and at first, he would not cooperate with Old Fella volunteers. But we didn’t give up on Sarge. In fact, our youngest volunteer, an eight year old named Carlie, was the key to finally winning the trust of Sarge. And once that trust was established, Sarge came willingly.

He missed his family and they loved him. All eleven of those children loved him very much. But the tragedy of the circumstance prevented Sarge from staying with his first family. Standing witness to that love, the dedicated Old Fella volunteers that worked to capture Sarge and then foster Sarge for ten months did not let him down. They nursed him to health and he thrived. On May 1, 2009, Sarge was among the lucky Old Fella rescues transported to Salem, Massachusetts for a second chance with a second family. And that is when he met Margi.

We’ll let Margi tell you about Sarge’s Happy Tail: I am Margi and am the fortunate person to have been able to adopt Sarge. I waited to write you until I had taken him to the vet. He is in excellent health and I describe him as a sweet boy. I adopted him the first day he was available. You can tell he has been well loved. So I do want to share with you what his life is like now.

I live in a large house on the ocean. I have an acre yard that is totally fenced in. I have had dogs all my life and they are a high priority to me. Sarge is now living with Ollie and Annie [two pugs]. I used to raise Akitas so it’s nice to have a larger dog with me again. There has been no problem with any of the dogs getting along. We walk on the beach every day. Sarge was quite surprised by the ocean, but now loves it. The dogs also have 3 hikes a week in the woods, off leash. We took Sarge on his first walk yesterday and were really pleased with how well he did. I am happy to report that Sarge has bonded strongly with me. He basically follows me around he house. He was timid at first. I have started taking him with me in the car. Once I get him in, he settles down and enjoys the ride. He is timid with anything new, but with patience and love he is willing to try new things. As you can probably tell, I am crazy about him. I sincerely thank you for allowing me to have Sarge in my life.

If you have any questions or just want to know how he is doing, please just E-mail me. I would love to share the experience with you.

Take care,
Margi

Tommy was found 10-29-2009 by an employee of Waste Management Systems when he dumped an
over sized trash can into his truck and found that there was a nearly dead dog inside.
The Cahokia Police were called and responded to the scene to start the investigation.  The first set of
photo’s are from the pictures he took that day and are part of the evidence in this case.
The trash can was located in the 500 block of Mildred in Cahokia. There is a $500.00 reward for
information leading to an arrest in this case.
It is important to note that if not for the kind heart of this officer, this dog would have simply been
hauled off to St. Clair County Animal Control to be euthanized at the end of the day.
No one would ever know of the horrors faced by this poor creature, no one would care, and the only
thing this poor dog would have known for his whole life would be that people are cruel.
Nothing that Hope Rescues can do from this day forward can match what this officer already has done
for this dog. For his actions put in motion the rescue, the medical treatment, and the second chance
our “Tommy” now has.
Thank you Officer Derek Ruberstell.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your act of kindness.

We have no idea why we call them the pants sisters. One day one of the volunteers called them that and it stuck!! Penny and Purrl think they are truly blood sisters, but they’re not. Purrl came to her foster mom after being found literally in the middle of a street at 5 days old, her foster mom knew Purrl needed a friend and rescued Penny when she was abandoned at the shelter at 10 days old. These two darling girls were bottle fed every few hours until they were weaned. It’s a lot of work to raise a bottle baby especially two so young but these girls were worth every hour of lost sleep! So even though they aren’t blood sisters they are sisters in every other way (shhhh don’t tell them they aren’t truly related).

You will NEVER meet two sweeter or more beautiful girls. They play and sleep together and adore people when you get home at night they greet you at the door. Penny loves to give kisses and Purrl thinks she’s a hair dresser and wants to groom everyone’s head! They purr when you talk to them and love to sit in laps when not running around and playing.

They are currently up for adoption and need a forever home together, they are inseparable and adore each other, you will often find them curled around each other sleeping or grooming and when not asleep they are off causing kitten mischief!!

Oasis Helps Love Overcome the Odds for Precious

Precious is an adorable Cockapoo who was loved tremendously by her elderly family.  After two family members passed away, Precious was left with her 80 year old caregiver, Doris.  Doris loved her very much and they were very close.

After a few years Doris’ health began to deteriorate and she could no longer care for her beloved dog.  Doris lived in an “Over-55” community and was not allowed to fence her yard or put in an invisible fence.    It got very depressing for Precious; no longer able to go out for walks, she had to “do her business” on a puppy pad inside the home.  Family members tired to help as much as they could, but were unable to take the dog permanently.  When Doris could no longer care for herself, she had to move into an assisted living facility but there was nowhere for Precious.

 Family members turned to Oasis to find Precious a new home.

Oasis uses Petfinder.com as one of the tools for finding new prospective caregivers for the animals in their care.  Luckily, a woman looking for a dog like Precious checked out Petfinder soon after Precious’s story was posted.  The woman had had a dog that looked just like Precious a long time ago, and wanted to meet her.  The fact that she was in Virginia and Oasis is based in southern New Jersey did not deter a few volunteers and the president of Oasis from taking a road trip to evaluate the adoption prospect.  Precious jumped out of the car and found herself surrounded by a beautiful farm, other dogs to play with, with lots of room to run!   The woman and Precious hit it off immediately, and the adoption went through.   Precious now lives in a large farmhouse with some doggie friends and a huge yard to romp in.  And while Doris is sad that she no longer has her dog, she is content to know that her precious Precious is being cared for and loved as she had.

It is a very sad time when aging pet lovers realize that they can no longer care for their animals, and that the best they can do for their beloved pets is to find them someone who can continue to provide the level of care the owner can no longer give. 

We at Oasis work every single day to the very best we can do to provide pet parents,  beloved dogs and cats, and the new adoptive family with the best possible solution to this aging problem.  Please consider voting for us.  We have so much undone business to accomplish here in southern New Jersey and we would be most grateful for your support!  Thank you so much !