Kenny

An update on Kenny was sent to you a few months ago, but thought I’d share these photos (or, slideshow, so scroll sideward), as well as a video beneath the photos, of his new life. When we rescued him, it was a very worrisome time because he had a myriad of diseases. Although that’s typical of strays, one of those diseases was the potentially fatal distemper virus. Thankfully, he pulled through, although he does have a slight tic. He was placed with a wonderful family.

Edwin

Quite a few updates were sent to you of Edwin’s progress while he was recovering. He is the German shepherd who was intentionally set on fire. Edwin is now with his new family and enjoying life. Let’s see…, when we found him, he was wedged between a building and concrete barrier after having been burned. He was incapable of standing on his own. After a good amount of time of healing, he is now being celebrated. How, you ask? His family literally gave him a birthday party. Below is a slideshow of photos of Edwin, as well as a video below the photos. Edwin has the kind of personality that any dog owner would want. He also grew—a lot! Scrawny and burnt when we first rescued him, we did not expect that he would end up looking so regal.

Nikki

This very young puppy was already unwanted. Her name is Nikki. She was a stray puppy, barely able to navigate the busy streets of Tijuana. A compassionate Good Samaritan picked her up before harm could befall her. One of the Good Samaritan’s friends happened to be an indy rescuer with whom I worked in the past. She reached out to me and asked if our rescue would take her. Of course! She now lives happily with her new family.

Coco

As most of you will recall, Coco was run over by a car and suffered grievous injuries. I sent you a video update of Coco a few days ago. It’s posted below in case you didn’t see it. At the end of the video, I asked for positive thoughts and prayers because he was going in for his second surgery. The vet wanted to try and save the other leg, even though it was also badly broken. Well, he had the surgery on Monday and is now back with our foster. Below is a photo of him after his second surgery. I ordered an outer leg brace, but it was just delivered today. Anyway, Coco is doing well, although he’s in pain. The surgery was much more extensive than the amputation. Please continue to send positive thoughts and prayers Coco’s way. We’re hoping that the surgery was successful and his leg can be saved. We prefer that he be a tripod, rather than bi-pedal.

Ryan

Ryan is a scruffy mutt who was run over by a car. He had a fractured femur. He was in so much pain, he laid in the same spot for two days, barely moving. He had surgery to repair the leg; however, it led to a secondary problem—a luxating patella. Ryan had surgery to correct that issue on May 6. On the day of his surgery, he wasn’t looking too happy in backseat of the car. (Photo in slideshow) He probably already made the connection that going for a ride in the car means he’s going to the veterinarian. Ryan is doing well. Once the vet confirms he’s fine at his next check-up, he’ll be ready for his forever home.

Abigail

Abigail is a distemper survivor. Unfortunately, she caught it when she was a very young puppy, or maybe she was born with it as a result of her mama being infected with the disease. We don’t know at what point in her puppyhood she had it. What we do know is that she had it while she was growing. As a result, it affected her wrists; they’re bent inward. The vet tried to fix them, but he did warn me that it was more of a neurological issue.

The surgery on the worst of her two wrists was unsuccessful. He put her on neurological medication, but it did little to help. That one wrist will forever be bent inward. Nevertheless, she is a such cutie-pie and very playful, in spite of her deformity. Although it’s difficult for her to walk slowly with that bum wrist, when she runs, she’s fast and it looks as if she’s using the paw normally. Abigail also has the sweetest sitting position. We assume it’s more comfortable for her, given her wrist situation. Below is a slideshow of before-and-after photos, as well as a video of her when we first rescued her. She was literally the same color of the dirt upon which she laid.

 

Thomas

Thomas is the dog we saved from Mexicali with the leg that was “dangling” off of his body. The leg had multiple fractures that were so old, it no longer served any purpose. It was an unnecessary appendage that he had to drag around with him. He had the leg amputated on April 30th. He did wonderfully. Being a bigger dog, of course losing a front leg is not good, but he’s getting accustomed to walking around without the burden of a useless leg. He had a check-up yesterday. The vet said he’s doing well and that he can lose the cone in a couple of days. He can also resume playing with the other dogs. Thank you for your positive thoughts and prayers. (Scroll through the slideshow to see his progress.)

Lester

Lester is the poor boy who was dying on the streets of Tijuana. A Good Samaritan saved his life when he made the decision to take him home. He couldn’t keep him because he is not allowed to have pets in the home. He couldn’t afford vet care, either. Since we’ve taken him under our care, Lester has gained weight and become more energetic. All vet care has been done, except for getting him sterilized. He was scheduled for the procedure, but we had to reschedule it. The vet ran a thorough fecal test and said that Lester caught a weird intestinal virus. I don’t recall the name of it. He’s on medication to address that issue. When he recovers, then he will be ready to be sterilized and then placed up for adoption. As for Lester’s personality, it can be summed up in one word: Chill.

 

Machete Victim

If essentially being homeless is not bad enough, this female dog was attacked by someone wielding a machete. The wound she received from the attack appears to be infected. She is also the victim of constant abuse by humans because, well, I don’t know the answer to that. It’s simply not in my DNA to even understand how humans can be so cruel. She is in Mexicali and I’m working with our wonderful Mexicali rescue partner, Poli Ramirez, to get the preliminaries done and arrange for her to be transported to me. I will name her Olivia as a tribute to a dog we recently rescued and lost.

Junkyard Dog

We also want to rescue this dog. He or she is also in Mexicali. We’re over-extending ourselves, but how can we ignore this? The woman asking for help said that she saw this homeless and emaciated dog at a junkyard-type place, but could not take him/her home because she has five dogs that get along with cats but not with other dogs—which really makes no sense, because, ummm, she has 5 dogs.

At any rate, trying to survive off of eating rocks and sand in a junkyard is no life. In all seriousness, though, it is a fact that starving stray dogs will resort to eating rocks and sand. Often, you can tell that’s the case because their teeth will be ground down, sometimes to nubs. I feel profound pity for these innocent creatures.

In Memoriam

Oliver (? – May 10, 2021)

Who says one cannot fall in love with a dog in a day? I would argue that we can, and we often do. Losing a dog just one day, after successfully securing him with the expectation that he will survive and find a lovely home, can bring you to your knees with grief.

His name was Oliver. He died on the morning of May 10, 2021, en route to our vet. We picked him up on Saturday in the late afternoon. My vet was already closed, so we took him to a vet that was open. Oliver was urinating blood, but we were not informed of that until after we picked him up. He was also extremely emaciated. The woman who posted him on social media never gave him shelter, but said that she was feeding him. Given his state of emaciation, I questioned her about the veracity of that claim. She changed it to this: “I fed him now and then.” I responded, “‘Now and then’ is not good enough!” Yes, I lost my temper. I won’t apologize.

When our foster tried to feed him, he had no appetite. At her coaxing, he took a couple of nibbles. Soon thereafter, he vomited a plastic bag—a plastic bag.

On Monday morning—while I was in the middle of giving a class lecture—I received an SOS message from my foster. I answered the call and she told me that Oliver was dying right before her eyes. I asked my students to give me a few minutes. I told her to please rush him to emergency, but she was already on it. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it.

We were heartbroken and angry at the same time. The woman asking for help cared only enough to post him on social media.

Oliver didn’t have to suffer. If he was going to die, he didn’t deserve to die like he did. I will not go into specifics.

After Oliver perished, the woman posted an update that Oliver was rescued and placed in a good home. She knows he died because we told her so. She lied—again.

So. we would like to give Oliver the recognition and love he should have always had before his death. Meet Oliver. 👇

RIP, sweetheart.

 

Ralphie

Remember Ralphie? He’s the heartsick boy who was thrown out of the car by his owners in a strange neighborhood, after which they sped off. He wailed for four days in the spot where he was dumped.

His new “mom” contacted me and shared a bunch of photos of Ralphie and his life with them. They love him to the moon and back. He was even the Best Man, or a Groomsman, at their wedding. Ralphie’s mom wrote a sweet note saying that he was the love of their lives, and that she and her husband “always joke around and say, ‘It’s Ralphie’s world and we’re just living in it’.”

So, in the spirit of ending this on a happy note, I’m sharing the photos of Ralphie with you (with their permission).

Have a wonderful life, Ralphie!

We at Crossing Guardians would like to thank you for your compassion and continued support in what we do. You are all so wonderful!

I would like to give a special shout-out to Kym with Mutts In Need. Kym and I have formed a wonderful partnership-in-rescue (U.S. side of the border). I get her. She gets me. She wonders how I can do the front end of rescue, while I wonder how she’s so good at the back end of rescue. Thank you, Kym!