Jake Foster Dog Number 9

Over the past 5 months we have been lucky to help save 9 dogs, that is almost two a month and January is not over yet.

Jake was picked up by animal control and brought into a vet here in town, he was going to be put down if we did not find a spot for him. At the time we didn't have any open spots at all everyone is over flowing with dogs. Michelle at MOTS was kind enough to open her doors and allow Jake to stay there until we could find him an open foster spot. It turns out he has really really bad separation anxiety and can not be left alone uncrated for long periods of time and at Michelles shop he was having to be left alone for 12 hours at night when it was closed. He destroyed her shop twice and he had to be moved. Luckily Shadow was going to his forever home the same day that Jake had to be moved, so he came home with me. He is a lovey, sweet boy I know he barks I heard him at Michelles, but he has not bark here yet. He had a great first night, aside from him and Dexter hate each other, but I am pretty sure its because Jake is newly fixed and Dexter is unaltered at the moment. We left him uncrated last night while we slept and he did just fine he is just getting used to being in a house with all the house noises and stuff going on. The TV freaked him right out lol. He hates loud noises, we are going to work on basic commands, but he knows sit and knows to come when called. He is mostly house trained lol he has not pooped in the house at all which is wonderful; however when he first got here he peed on three things, but has not peed anywhere since. He is beautiful, smart, and just all around loving. He has to be right with you at all times. Jake we think was tied to a tree most of his life ( he is only a year old) and had a bark collar on the whole time, he had a large scare (pictures later) of his neck that gets rubbed raw from the normal collar we are going to try and walk him today with a harness so his neck can better. He is about a year old, we are not %100 sure on his breed. He is most likely Rotti mix. There will be more details as I know them on his photo on facebook.

His neck wound

Animal Gas Chambers Not for the faint of heart

I came accross this when I was doing my reseach report for English class. It is heart breaking and I cried when I read it. I was not going to share this, but I feel I need to. There is a difference to be made, but in order to do that Friendly Giants needs more foster homes. Open your hearts and home to one foster dog and you will see the changes not only in him or her, but in you! They deserve so much more than this, our system is broken when it comes to animal rights. If you can't foster or adopt for whatever reason please cross post adoptable dogs, donate Friendly Giants always needs smething for the dogs.

I warn this is not for the faint of heart!

This is an old one posted up by some anonymous person on craigslist. Hell, I wouldn't want to sign my name to it either.

Yes, I Gas Dogs and Cats for a Living. I'm an Animal Control officer in a very small town in central North Carolina. I'm in my mid thirties, and have been working for the town in different positions since high school.

There is not much work here, and working for the county provides good pay and benefits for a person like me without a higher education. I'm the person you all write about how horrible I am.

I'm the one that gasses the dogs and cats and makes them suffer. I'm the one that pulls their dead corpses out smelling of Carbon Monoxide and throws them into green plastic bags. But I'm also the one that hates my job and hates what I have to do.

First off, all you people out there that judge me, don't. God is judging me, and I know I'm going to Hell. Yes, I'm going to hell. I wont lie, it's despicable, cold, cruel and I feel like a serial killer. I'm not all to blame, if the law would mandate spay and neuter, lots of these dogs and cats wouldn't be here for me to gas. I'm the devil, I know it, but I want you people to see that there is another side to me the devil Gas Chamber man.
The shelter usually gasses on Friday morning.

Friday's are the day that most people look forward to, this is the day that I hate, and wish that time will stand still on Thursday night. Thursday night, late, after nobody's around, my friend and I go through a fast food line, and buy 50 dollars worth of cheeseburgers and fries, and chicken. I'm not allowed to feed the dogs on Thursday, for I'm told that they will make a mess in the gas chamber, and why waste the food.

So, Thursday night, with the lights still closed, I go into the saddest room that anyone can every imagine, and let all the doomed dogs out out their cages.

I have never been bit, and in all my years doing this, the dogs have never fought over the food. My buddy and I, open each wrapper of cheeseburger and chicken sandwich, and feed them to the skinny, starving dogs.

They swallow the food so fast, that I don't believe they even taste it. There tails are wagging, and some don't even go for the food, they roll on their backs wanting a scratch on their bellys. They start running, jumping and kissing me and my buddy. They go back to their food, and come back to us. All their eyes are on us with such trust and hope, and their tails wag so fast, that I have come out with black and blues on my thighs.. They devour the food, then it's time for them to devour some love and peace. My buddy and I sit down on the dirty, pee stained concrete floor, and we let the dogs jump on us. They lick us, they put their butts in the air to play, and they play with each other. Some lick each other, but most are glued on me and my buddy.

I look into the eyes of each dog. I give each dog a name.

They will not die without a name.

I give each dog 5 minutes of unconditional love and touch.

I talk to them, and tell them that I'm so sorry that tomorrow they will die a gruesome, long, torturous death at the hands of me in the gas chamber.

Some tilt their heads to try to understand.

I tell them, that they will be in a better place, and I beg them not to hate me.

I tell them that I know I'm going to hell, but they will all be playing with all the dogs and cats in heaven.

After about 30 minutes, I take each dog individually, into their feces filled concrete jail cell, and pet them and scratch them under their chins. Some give me their paw, and I just want to die. I just want to die. I close the jail cell on each dog, and ask them to forgive me. As my buddy and I are walking out, we watch as every dog is smiling at us and them don't even move their heads. They will sleep, with a full belly, and a false sense of security.

As we walk out of the doomed dog room, my buddy and I go to the cat room.

We take our box, and put the very friendly kittens and pregnant cats in our box.
The shelter doesn't keep tabs on the cats, like they do the dogs.

As I hand pick which cats are going to make it out, I feel like I'm playing God, deciding whose going to live and die.

We take the cats into my truck, and put them on blankets in the back.

Usually, as soon as we start to drive away, there are purring cats sitting on our necks or rubbing against us.

My buddy and I take our one way two hour trip to a county that is very wealthy and they use injection to kill animals.

We go to exclusive neighborhoods, and let one or two cats out at a time.

They don't want to run, they want to stay with us. We shoo them away, which makes me feel sad.

I tell them that these rich people will adopt them, and if worse comes to worse and they do get put down, they will be put down with a painless needle being cradled by a loving veterinarian. After the last cat is free, we drive back to our town.

It's about 5 in the morning now, about two hours until I have to gas my best friends.

I go home, take a shower, take my 4 anti-anxiety pills and drive to work.. I don't eat, I can't eat. It's now time, to put these animals in the gas chamber. I put my ear plugs in, and when I go to the collect the dogs, the dogs are so excited to see me, that they jump up to kiss me and think they are going to play.

I put them in the rolling cage and take them to the gas chamber. They know. They just know. They can smell the death.. They can smell the fear. They start whimpering, the second I put them in the box. The boss tells me to squeeze in as many as I can to save on gas. He watches. He knows I hate him, he knows I hate my job. I do as I'm told. He watches until all the dogs, and cats (thrown in together) are fighting and screaming. The sounds is very muffled to me because of my ear plugs. He walks out, I turn the gas on, and walk out.

I walk out as fast as I can. I walk into the bathroom, and I take a pin and draw blood from my hand. Why? The pain and blood takes my brain off of what I just did.
In 40 minutes, I have to go back and unload the dead animals. I pray that none survived, which happens when I overstuff the chamber. I pull them out with thick gloves, and the smell of carbon monoxide makes me sick. So does the vomit and blood, and all the bowel movements. I pull them out, put them in plastic bags.

They are in heaven now, I tell myself. I then start cleaning up the mess, the mess, that YOU PEOPLE are creating by not spay or neutering your animals. The mess that YOU PEOPLE are creating by not demanding that a vet come in and do this humanely. You ARE THE TAXPAYERS, DEMAND that this practice STOP!

So, don't call me the monster, the devil, the gasser, call the politicians, the shelter directors, and the county people the devil. Heck, call the governor, tell him to make it stop.

As usual, I will take sleeping pills tonight to drown out the screams I heard in the past, before I discovered the ear plugs. I will jump and twitch in my sleep, and I believe I'm starting to hallucinate.

This is my life. Don't judge me. Believe me, I judge myself enough.

 This quote was taken from: http://onebarkatatime.blogspot.com/2009/03/gas-chamber-refugees.html

This picture came from http://www.animallawcoalition.com/gas-chambers

To foster, adopt, donate or help visit www.friendlygiantsdogsrescue.ca

Owen Update Christmas 2011

As always he got spoiled for Christmas lol. They got to see their whole family over the holidays so Owen was a very spoiled little man lol. They have started to shop for his new big boy bed room set, I would be so nervous about putting him in a big boy bed lol. Wonderful news is that he is now toilet trained during the day and has had zero accidents, he only wears big boy underwear during the day and at night he wears a pull up. I was surprised and proud that at just two he is already potty trained! He is 100% in terrible twos mode lol he gives attitude whenever the mood takes him and is super independent and likes to do everything himself from getting dressed, to helping shovel the driveway. He has an opinion about everything and has no problem sharing and he talks constantly. He plays hockey every night before bed. I have pictures of his first time ice staking that I am going to post on here later. Super excited that in March they will be going to Disney Land for a week, I can't wait to see pictures of that. I am working on planning a visit with Owen and his adoptive family I need to drop off his Christmas gifts and I can't wait to see him and get some new pictures of him. Also can't wait to see the new house they moved into they said he needed more room lol.

Update on Hammy "Boomer"

Well Hammy as it turns out did not have cancer which is the best news any one could ever hope for. It turned out to be an abbess caused from the kennel cough he had, what a relief. As it turns out he is now in a forever foster home it is a long story and I will not go into detail about it on here. He is safe, and in a wonderful home! Since he has gotten back to feeling himself he is a huge ball of energy he loves going for runs everyday with his new family and from the sounds of it he could not be happier. I really hope that as things change in the new year we will be able to move him to our happy tails page! He is such a wonderful he deserves the best.

Dec 30, 2011 Miscarriage

Well we had started to tell everyone I was pregnant when we reached almost 6 weeks. We were super excited. Started to fill out the pregnancy books, and calendar. We had just told my mom that morning that we were expecting and my grandma as well. At about 2pm I started to be in alot of pain, figured it was just cramping which I had been having all week. I went to the bathroom and there was blood, but spotting nothing major which I had with Owen so I didn't worry about it. The pain started to get really bad and the amount of blood was a lot more so I decided to lay down for a bit, thinking maybe I over did it. At about 4pm I couldn't handle the pain anymore and I knew something was wrong. I went to the hospital and was there only about 3.5 hours which isn't too bad. They did an internal ultra sound which showed a sac, with fluid, but no embryo tissues. They did blood work and a unrine test, the urine test showed that my HCG was at 25 and that is really low for being 5.5 weeks along so they told. He told me I had me I was having a miscarriage and to come back in a week so they could check my HCG levels. So I went home and I did as much research as possible is hopes that I could find that he was wrong, which of course I did when you look hard enough on the internet you are bound to find whatever answer you are looking for. New Years Eve and my denial bubble bursts :(. So News Years Eve sucked. I am in a ton of pain which IBprofin dosen't touch, I am sad and fighting back tears all day and the smallest thing makes we cry. I spent most of New Years Eve day in bed. New Years Day which is today I am "okay". Still in pain, still want to cry all the time. I got asked if I was going to try again, and my answer was I am not sure I really want to be a mom, but I don't think I can go through this again. The ER doc told me to call my OB on Tues when he is back in the office and that is what I plan on doing. I really wish that the ER doc was wrong, but most of my pregnancy symptoms have gone away :(. When the ER Doc told me I was miscarrying his last words were "oh well it happens you can always try again next month" Where is the compassion in that.


HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!

Christmas 2011

Well this Christmas we did not decorate, we did not host, we did nothing around our house for Christmas. We didn't decorate because well we have 5 dogs, 3 of which where 8 weeks at the time lol could you imagine what they would do to my tree lol. We didn't host because my mother decided she wanted to host this year instead after I don't know 5 years of me hosting she decides she wants to do it, fine whatever. So we went to my moms from 1-4 and we went to Richard's parents place from 5-7 I came home to sit with the puppies and he went back to play board games which was fine with me. We got great news on Christmas eve we found out we were pregnant! As it turns out that was short lived :(. All in all it was a quite low key Christmas which in my mind was not a bad thing. With everything else going on, I was glad it was low key. There wasn't even any snow this year, and there has not been any yet, but there has been a lot of rain. I got my new camera which I am very excited about, it was from Richard and myself.

Friendly Giants MOTS photo shoot

It went awesome at MOTS, it was a lot of fun and time flew by once we got busy. There were so many dogs of all sizes. It was so wonderful of Michelle to allow us to do our Santa photo shoot there. Some wonderful local businesses gave us gift certs to put into our raffle baskets which were a huge hit, Pet Value even donated some to the event so instead of just one big raffle basket we had 5. It was a great day to fundraise and get the Friendly Giants name out there. I found it so funny that the great Danes where the ones most afraid of Santa. It was a good turn out. The next day which was a Sunday we were at the dog park to a photo out door shoot with Santa the pictures turned out awesome, but it was so cold and only a few people came we ended up leaving their at about noon and not staying until two, but Kristina got some great shots of one of our foster dogs just being a happy dog. All in all it was a good time, for a great cause.

Boo Bear "Bear" Our 7th Foster

Bear or who I call boo bear, is a now 9 week old lab/poodle mix. He is the biggest out of all three puppies, he has the biggest paws and is very fluffy. If he is not adopted soon he might be a failed foster. He is super independent compared to the other puppies, he would rather sleep on the floor than our bed at night, he has to be in the same room as you though. He spends most of his time sleeping under my chair. He loves to play with the big dogs and gives them huge attitude when they step on him. He loves to cuddle. Richard said we would have named him rug, as he lays with both his back feet streached out and don't move, you can poke him, pet him, or just plan bug him and his he just lays there unless of course your a big dog and you step on him lol. He knows how to sit for a cookie and we are working on out door training. He will not go down the stairs on his own no matter what you do, but he will go up them. But once you get him out there he loves to run and play for about 15 mins and then hes back at the door. He is on solid dog food and doing just fine with it, he loves to chew bones. Bear is "fat" compared to Kali's tiny stature and Shadows solid statue, but he weighs .5 less than Shadow so I think he mostly fur. He is the most laid back out of the three puppies unless he has been stepped. He has to be at your feet no matter where you are. He hates the crate, he will go in, go to sleep on the blankets or whatever, but as you as you close that door he loses it. He will bark, cry, whine for hours, and then as soon as you open the door he will lay down and go to sleep.

Shadow our 6th foster

Shadow is a now 9 week old puppy. He is Lab/Poodle mix. Shadow has the curliest fur of all three of the puppies. He loves to play with the other dogs, Shadow has the second biggest paws out of the three puppies. Hes not as big of a cuddlier as the other two but still loves attention and of course as I type that hes the one who curls up next to me lol. He knows how to sit for a cookie and we are working on potty training, which because of the weather and their age isn't going as well as I had hoped it would be. Like any puppy he needs puppy training, someone with patient and time to teach him all his doggy life skills. As he is a puppy he will most likely do well with children, he has not been cat tested, but like with most puppies this young they can be trained to leave cats alone. He is on solid dog food and doing well with it, he loves to chew bones. I think when he gets older he is going to look more like a labadoddle than anything else. He was the first to learn how to go up and down the 5 stairs we have leading to outside. He loves to explore and dig in the back yard.