Dog4

Beating the Odds

"You don't throw a whole life away
just because it's banged up a little."
(from the movie Seabiscuit)

These are just the dogs that come here in need of special medical attention. In just the past 6 months I have saved 3 orphaned fawns (Fiesta, Nabisco & Katydid), a hummingbird, a bat (!), a starling, various other small critters and currently a gosling (Brian) with a bad leg.

The current undertaking at Rocky Ridge is 4 Leonbergers who are very skinny, very sick and very scared.

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Now

Lyric came to Rocky Ridge covered in mange, extremely thin and had recently had puppies. We do not know what happened to her puppies as they were not with her when she was found abandoned. To learn more about Lyric, click here for her page.

Then >>>

Cornbread was born deaf...... Many Bull Terrier breeders feel it is best to euthanize their deaf puppies because they can be a challenging breed to raise even when they can hear. Cornbread came from a family that thought he deserved a chance and so he came to live at Rocky Ridge. He is a smart, sweet little boy that has won over my heart and I look forward to guiding this pup to his full potential. He has already been on a visit to a local nursing home and was a big hit! He loved meeting the people and other therapy dogs. The future is bright for this happy guy!

Oops was born blind and dumped out when very young. Luckily, she ended up in the yard of a kind man who cared for her the best he could and enlisted the help of the local shelter in his town to find her a home. I knew it would be tough to adopt out a blind pup, who also had the misfortune of being a black lab mix. Big black dogs are the toughest dogs to find homes for around the country and shelters are full of them. I adopted her myself and she is doing great here. She is amazing in her abilities to navigate the house and yard and learns so fast. She plays hard with her toys and friends, both canine and others. She is a happy, loving pup who doesn't know or care that she is different. She is already proving to be an inspiration to all who meet her.

Granola was born deaf and dumped as a little puppy on a busy street in Kentucky. Many people saw her but just shooed her away not caring that she was in obvious danger of being run over! Finally a kind woman pulled her from between two cars and took her home. She cared for her well, but because she didn't have a fence it was too dangerous for her to keep her there. Her deafness made her vulnerable to too much risk and she couldn't hear her person call her if she wandered too far. She agreed to send her here where she would be safe and have other special needs dogs to live with. She is a happy, goofy girl who loves everyone.

Parfait only has 3 legs.

Sweet little Parfait was alone and hungry in rural Kentucky. She was then run over and left with a horribly mangled leg. Animal Control picked her up and thought it best to euthanize her. They figured no one would want this older mixed breed with such serious injuries. A local group put out a plea and someone told them to call me. Well, no one else was going to offer her a home, so I agreed to do so. Her leg was amputated and she was soon on her way to Arkansas. She has healed well and now smiles and wags her tail all the time.
Update 11/01/07: Parfait has found a forever home with a wonderful lady who calls often letting me know how much she loves her.

Boone is deaf and has seizures. Boone spent his first year of life in the puppy mill where he was born. He received minimal care and zero love, as in puppy mills everywhere. This, coupled with poor genetics, left this sweet boy deaf and with some unknown brain damage causing seizure activity. A wonderful rescue group was able to get him out of there and put him up for adoption. But, it seemed no one wanted to deal with his issues and he was overlooked again and again. I have a special interest in natural therapies for seizures and other health problems and offered to take Boone and see what I could do for him. Since being here he has been on a top quality, grain free diet with added supplements, and has been doing great. He is a friend to all, and especially likes the baby fawns I'm currently raising.

Puzzle was born around June 2006. She came to Rocky Ridge from the Tulsa, Oklahoma area. When she was very young, she was somehow terribly injured. Her front leg became severely mangled but no one cared enough to seek treatment for it. She somehow survived this horrendous incident. The bad leg was terribly deformed and had to be removed if she was to be comfortable.

She recently had the surgery and is doing great. She is such a loving girl, as you can see. Here she is with a gosling that also has an injured leg. Look who gets the pillow and who takes the floor!

This is Faith, one of 7 Great Pyrenees Puppies that were rescued on 2/22/07. They were born on Christmas and then just pretty much ignored. They were kept in a very small place where they could not stretch out or walk around. Their legs were bent and weak. They had oozing sores all over their bodies from untreated mange.

Faith and her littermates have all found their forever home!

More about the day they came with links to their progress and 6 happy forever homes.

Piper and her siblings were born to a stray momma dog on a cold December night. Within days they were picked up by animal control in a small Arkansas town. They grew to adoptable age at the shelter and Piper watched as her littermates were all chosen for loving homes. But no one would even look at little Piper. You see, she had been born with a bad eye that didn’t look too pretty and was blind in that eye.. She was still a sweet, beautiful little girl with lots of spunk, but no one gave her a chance to show her great little spirit. I saw her photo on petfinder and because she looked like an Anatolian Shepherd I have, I read her bio. Well, when I talked with the wonderful shelter worker, Susan, and heard that no one wanted this pup, I knew I had to do something. That meant adopting her into my family of canines and assuming the responsibility for fixing her eye problem. She has now had her surgery to remove the eye and is doing wonderfully. She is a funny, happy, loving girl, that fits right in with the gang here. Many of my visitors fall in love with her, but she is a keeper!

Tristan's earliest days were surely not good ones. He and his 6 siblings were neglected and then dumped to fend for themselves at just 7 weeks of age. Little Tristan had been struggling with a broken leg for several weeks when finally picked up by animal control near Nashville, Tn. Tristan was going to be put to sleep because of this injury, but a local rescue stepped in and saved all the puppies. They were all sick and thin and little Tristan was most pitiful. His leg was in need of amputation and this was soon done. He had a host of other health issues and spent many days in the hospital. I arranged to bring him here to help him regain health and be a member of my canine crew. I discovered he has some special dietary needs, but he has thrived and grown into a beautiful, loving dog. He is one of my main "pet therapy" dogs, visiting nursing homes and other facilities, to share his sweet, gentle spirit and inspire people with his ability to get around and be always happy.

Sonny had begun refusing to walk or go outside. It was first perceived as going through a stubborn stage, however upon closer inspection it appeared he was in pain. Having x-rays, it was discovered he had severe hip dysplasia and the vet said he needed immediate hip replacement surgery. He could barely walk. This was when he was about 16 months old. He then came to Rocky Ridge in hopes that with special care the surgery could be put off until he was full grown at age 2 1/2 years old. He turned 2 on Jan. 1, 2007. For the past 7 months he has been running and playing like a totally healthy dog. With special nutrition and supplements, Sonny has been able to develop muscle and his pain has been alleviated. He will still need the surgery, but when it takes place, he will be full grown and have a far greater chance of success. More on Sonny's history.

River: I rescued River at just 7 weeks of age. His parents had been neglected and starved for a long time. His mom was nearly hairless from untreated mange and one leg was grossly bent from an old untreated break. Because of the lack of nutrition when pregnant, the pups were born in rather poor shape, with River, the runt, the worst of all. He had the mange, several minor birth defects, and one ear was deaf due to no opening to the ear canal. He also had crooked hind legs with loose knees. With good nutrition and treatments, he has become a beautiful, healthy boy with normal legs and no problems at all from the issues he was born with. He grew into a big 31 inch tall, 110 pound guy who at 3 years old still loves to play and happily greets all my visitors.