NEWS RELEASE

February 28, 2008, San Diego, CA: San Diego Spaniel Rescue (SDSR) has stepped up to help a young puppy get the surgery he needs to run and play. Ozzie sat at a crowded animal shelter for two weeks, hoping to be adopted, but his need for expensive surgery kept the average adopters away. This four-month old Cocker Spaniel pup will get the care he deserves, with the bill estimated at just under $3100.00.

“San Diego Spaniel Rescue is committed to helping the Cockers that need a little extra help getting ready for adoption,” says rescue President Peggy Mundell. “We not only take in the young, healthy, highly adoptable Spaniels, but the seniors and the medical needs dogs as well!”

Fundraising Chair Eileen Walker added, “Ozzie is a perfect example of why we do this. When you think of a four-month old puppy, you picture a bundle of energy rolling across the floor, chasing shadows and making you laugh. Ozzie deserves to have that experience, and he’ll have it with our help.”

Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeon Dean Gahring of San Carlos Veterinary Clinic in San Diego says that the time for the surgery is now. Mundell says “Ozzie is a growing pup and his bones are still forming. He can’t afford for us to put off his surgery until we raise the money. According to Dr. Garhing, the best time for us to fix this Cocker’s broken leg is yesterday! Pulled from a public shelter that partners with us, Ozzie just came into our care this week. The Veterinary Clinic is as committed to Ozzie as we are and is performing the surgery right away.”

SDSR is looking for supporters, dog lovers, and others in the community to help offset the $3100.00 needed to get Ozzie off on “the right foot” in his life. They are a 501(c)(3) non-profit and donations are tax deductible. Walker added “Once Ozzie has healed from his surgery he’ll be available for adoption. We know his contagious smile and antics will bring light and love into someone’s waiting home.”

To learn more about San Diego Spaniel Rescue, visit the rescue’s web site at www.sdsr.org .

San Diego Spaniel Rescue is an all volunteer based non-profit organization dedicated to providing breed education, rescue, fostering, medical and adoption services for abused, abandoned and/or homeless Cocker Spaniels.

Support the efforts of San Diego Spaniel Rescue with a secure online donation through PayPal or by sending a check. To donate online thru paypal, just click on the Donate image to the left. Checks can be mailed to: San Diego Spaniel Rescue, 2800 University Avenue #126, San Diego, CA 92104 - THANK YOU! If only 300 people each donate $10.00 - Ozzie's surgery will be paid for! Send an email to your friends now and ask them to help!

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San Diego Spaniel Rescue - Telephone 619/922-0545 - http://sdsr.org
a 501(c)(3) registered non-profit
Tax ID #20-1663069

NOTE: When the goal is reached, This page will be replaced with a THANK YOU update note. If any money comes in over the amount needed, it will go into our medical fund for the next Cocker who needs our help.

OZZIE'S TIMELINE:

February 10, 2008 - Ozzie entered the Shelter

February 25, 2008 - Ozzie comes to San Diego Spaniel Rescue

February 28, 2008 - Dr. Gahring estimates the needed surgery at $3061.65

February 29, 2008 - The surgery was a success! Ozzie is home starting his recovery period

February 29, 2008 - The first day of fundraising finishes: $895.00 raised! (2166.65 left to raise)

March 1, 2008 - Day 2 of fundraising brings in another $540.00 - almost halfway there! $1435.00 total raised ($1626.65 left to raise). Ozzie has to change foster homes - his chosen foster mom had to find a flight out of state asap when she received news of a grandchild in distress (our prayers go with you, Jean!). Ozzie thought he'd like a haircut, until he got to the groomer's and found it far too exciting for a puppy to stay still for (no matter how many working legs a pup has!). So, he has a funny cut spot on his fluffy head to match his bald rear end. And through it all he's a happy little character! Oz spent the night with his shelter Rescuer, Peggy, and her two Cockers Indie and Bennett. The two resident dogs went easy on Oz, seeming to know that he wasn't quite ready to do zoomies around the living room quite yet. The search is on for a replacement foster home - we have a great lead, and should know something tomorrow. In the meantime, Ozzie is busy charming Peggy just as much as he did Jean. We think this smart young one is housebroke - he sits by the door until someone lets him out to do his business! He also is well mannered enough to be left on his own in the house for a few hours at a time, as he prefers that to the crate right now. He slept all curled up on his dog bed all night long without a peep. What a DOLL! We have a previous adopter already asking about when he might be ready to meet her current dog - if Kylee (aka Honey the One-Eared Wonder) thinks she'd like a little brother, then he might just have a home waiting for him!

March 2, 2008 - Day 3 of fundraising was on the quiet side, but it was a Sunday - a day for us to concentrate on our OWN families. We are confident the funds will start flowing once again with the start of a new week. We've had phone calls and emails from a few people who said checks were on the way, so we'll see what the postal box has for us in a day or two. for today another $100.00 came in - bringing our to-date total to $1535.00 total raised ($1526.65 left to raise). SDSR found a fabulous foster mom for Ozzie. Stefanie has previous experience as a Physical Therapist Aide, has a schedule that has her home most all the time, and once the stitches are removed, she has access to a swimming pool for the ULTIMATE therapy in regaining full use of the leg!

March 3, 2008 - Day 4 of fundraising, things start to pick up with the new work week (and forwarded emails are being read at work!): another $185.00 raised - bringing our to-date total to $1720.00 raised ($1341.65 left to raise). Ozzie's foster mom is thoroughly enjoying the role of caretaker. Her morning email read "Just wanted to let you know that Ozzie is doing very well. He was so excited last night he didn't want to sleep, but he finally tired himself out by attacking the crate cushion. We'll have to work on the crate with him; he barked for a few hours before I let him out to say hi and he immediately fell asleep just in front of the crate. He's found a favorite spot on the floor and seems to be very happy. He had one accident last night when he first walked in, but I am sure it was just because he was so excited; otherwise he is definitely housebroken. He whimpers at the door when he needs to go out ... it's perfect. We've had a great morning. He woke up took his pills without a problem and we're now going for a little walk. The La Costa Petco is right down the street, so I think we'll walk there and get him some treats to help him ease into the new crate." Ozzie's Doctor recommended walking asap to get those muscles lengthening and working properly again. So this sounds perfect! He has his first follow-up appointment tomorrow, to remove the Fentanyl Patch from his ankle. Wow - being weaned off pain meds already - dogs could definitely teach us a lot! All was quiet until later in the night when Stefanie (foster mom) called, a little panicked. She noticed a little blood on him at the suture site, and when she went in for a closer look she noticed one of the pins had worked loose and was starting to come out. A quick call to the vet's office reassured her that all would be fine until his morning appointment when he would get immediate care - the calm voice on the other end of the line helped her realize that a trip to the ER in the middle of the night wasn't necessary this time. We'll hear more tomorrow - stay tuned for another update!

March 4, 2008 - Day 5 of fundraising, checks are arriving by postal mail too: another $885.00 raised (wow!) - bringing our to-date total to $2605.00 raised ($456.65 left to raise). If there is anything additional on Ozzie's bill, we'll adjust those totals with tomorrow's update. Our boy went back to the vet's office this morning. By this time both pins were working loose. As Ozzie stood in the lobby, pleased as punch to be the center of attention, everyone watched in amazement as CaCHUNK! a pin slid out and hit the floor! Needless to say, they saw him right away. Ozzie will spend the night at the vet hospital and will once again have his leg set, tomorrow. There's not much more to report until we hear from the vet!

March 5, 2008 - Day 6 of fundraising, We did it! We raised the full amount! Our supporters are THE BEST to make this happen for Ozzie! Dr. Gahring is on vacation, so his associate, Dr. Kus, took care of Ozzie's exam. From an external exam he wasn't sure why the pins didn't "take" - one of his suppositions is that the young bone was just too soft to keep the pins held securely in place. Surgery is set for tomorrow. He won't know the full extent of what needs to be done or what the recovery will be like until he is inside Ozzie. Dr. Kus' greatest concern is that he might have to place a pin through the sensitive growth plate - which might stunt the future growth of that leg. Oh no!

March 6, 2008 - Dr. Kus called to say the surgery was a complete success - great news! Here's the update from Ozzie's Foster mom, Stefanie: Ozzie did very well in surgery and they have stabilized his leg with an intermedullary pin (from proximal to distal neck of the femur) and external fixator. Dr. Kus was able to avoid any disturbances to the growth plate (woo hoo!) so all four of Ozzie's legs will grow at the same rate! There is a slight concern over the shortening of the quadriceps femoris, but hopefully we can work on this with some deep tissue, manual range of motion and pool therapy. He is a strong boy in personality and physiologically. Dr. Kus claims the blood vessels from the previous surgery recovered at a phenomenal rate, so Ozzie has some strong vessels for quick supply of nutrients and hopefully a great recovery from this second surgery. It is around 5pm right now and Ozzie is still under anesthetics, so he will sleep at the vet hospital tonight and he will return home with me tomorrow! So glad he has passed this stage and we can continue developing a plan for his strong recovery. We couldn't have asked for a better report!

We hope our supporters will continue to donate to our Rescue - any funds that come in marked for Ozzie now will go to paying down our previous outstanding medical bills and to start saving for the next extreme medical needs Cocker that crosses our radar.