"Happiness is like a kiss … you must share it to enjoy it". – Anonymous

Meet the DogCaption "We woof you a Merry Christmas …" Christmas Card Muses! It took a pack to help the "come-back-pups" heal & find their forever homes

Roseanne, a DogCaption's girlfriend called for help. Four lifeless pups being turned away from the shelter she was visiting because of overcrowding and because they were considered too sick to survive. Apparently, it was the second time that day they'd been turned away... The young couple who claimed to have "found them" were obviously the owners, and they didn't have the experience or financial means to care for them.

Roseanne couldn't bear to see them hopeless and suffering. She could get them to the vet and contribute to their medical expenses, but she couldn't take on four sick pups by herself. She called her friend Viveca, co-founder DogCaption Cards, and a plan to save the pups was launched.

Step One was to rush them to Dr. Kinsek at Lee's Hill Veterinary Hospital. She is an extraordinary healer whose patients include the east-coast DogCaption's pack of five dogs and three cats, plus numerous foster pups and purrs! She offers special pricing for "rescue operations" We were going to need all the help we could get.

Diagnosis wasn't great but hopeful. The pups were malnourished and dangerously dehydrated. Their lymph nodes were enlarged, and their bodies were covered in demodectic mange. Demodectic mange is a condition in which microscopic mites, which are harmlessly present on all dogs, proliferate dangerously. The results of this overgrowth, as you can see, were shocking, but not contagious. This was an important detail since we needed a foster home ASAP, and most fosters would have their own dogs and cats!

After a special bath where we literally scraped away at the mange with our fingernails, the pups were medicated and ready for Step Two - delivery to their ASAP foster mom, Lindsay. Lindsay later said how shocked she'd been by their appearance. "I'd never dealt with such sick animals, and there were four of them."

That first night was hard on everyone. The pups slept fitfully, often whining and crying out in pain. She slept fitfully too.

Although they were all in bad shape, Winnie Woo was the sickest of the four. Sores and lesions covered most of her body. She remained lethargic with a poor appetite for weeks. We didn't know if she would survive.

(For the record we named the pups after coffee drinks hence their names, Mocha, Cocoa and Chai! The exception was Winnie Woo! Her big floppy ears reminded Lindsay of Eeyore, Winnie the Pooh's friend. Somehow that translated into Winnie Woo!)

Step Three. Adding more human pack members lightened the load of their care! Thea, Anna, Roy, Michael and Julie pitched in to help socialize, love, feed, play, bathe, and do lots and lots of laundry!

In this photo you can really see how their skin is healing. They are comfortable and in good spirits too. Yep, they do look a tad E.T.ish, and in some of our photos they even look like little grey elephants! Here, pack-member Anna, a sophomore in college, is sharing a post-bath cuddle. She contributed a couple of afternoons every week to bathing, playing with and socializing the pups. They adored her!

What a difference a month makes! Not only are they healing, but they are learning simple commands and manners to make them easily adoptable. So far they have been:

* Crate-Trained: They can "hold it" through the night, and are relaxed and comfortable resting in the crate at night and during the day as needed.
* Leash-Trained: All pups walk easily on a leash with gentle coaching. They still need to be taught to "heel".

* Manners-Trained: We use the "che" sound from the "Dog Whisperer" to make corrections and to stop unwanted behavior (nipping, jumping up, playing too roughly) We also taught them to "come" when called and to potty on cue using "hurry" as the command.

* Well Socialized. In addition to a pack of adults, the pups lived in a home with two other adult dogs, a cat and had regular visits from the Canine Matriarch of DogCaptions, Ms. Lana Love. (Lana Love was found starving in the woods of North Carolina three years ago. She was a senior pup – not expected to live long but her new life of loving on newbies has kept her going in GREAT shape!)

* Calm and Confident. Although they are coming out of a very painful experience they are calm and confident dogs. They don't cry or whine or fret. They love to cuddle and rest on laps (They don't know they won't be lap dogs forever!)

In this photo we are down to three pups because one has already been adopted! Yes, the woman who started it all, Roseanne, adopted Chai. He's now called Ralph and is living the high life with his forever family. Winnie Woo was the next one adopted by … foster mom Lindsay!

Are you familiar with the term "foster failure?" This is a where a pup or purr makes their forever home with their foster! Viveca of DogCaptions, is very familiar with this term. It is how her pack grew to be five dogs, three cats and a bird! No complaints, just a lot of fur, feathers and love.

Bully Paws is a "breed specific" rescue that specializes in rescuing "bully breeds" including Pit Bull Terriers, Bulldogs and Boxers. They provided the final foster homes for Cocoa and Mocha. With Bully Paws' support they attended weekly adoption events, were featured as "pets of the week" on Kat's Café, and within several months found their fabulous forever families.
So … If you think you'd love to be involved in animal rescue BUT don't have enough time, experience or money, please remember the story of these come-back-pups.

None of us could have handled all of it, but all of us could handle enough to give these pups, and our hearts, a forever home together.

Join us * Join in!

Could you volunteer a couple hours a week? Find your neighborhood shelter at PetFinder.com http://www.petfinder.com/awo/index.cgi?action=state

Want to support a specific breed rescue? To find them you'll need to enter the breed and your state into a search engine. For example: Boxer Rescue, VA

Would you like to know about the health benefits of pets, volunteering and more?
Click here: http://www.dogcaptioncards.com/healthbenefits.html

One of ways we cover the medical costs of special needs fosters like these pups is through our greeting card sales. To view and order for yourself, or as a fundraiser for your own rescue, please click here: www.DogCaptionCards.com/catalogue

25% of every sale is donated to animal rescue and supports dogs and cats.