Updates

HELP FIGHT BREED SPECIFIC LEGISLATION!!!

Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) affects us all -- breeders, pet owners, adopters, dog lovers -- ALL OF US! Akitas are one of the targeted breeds. Please watch this video and become aware of the BSL problem and help us fight the cause!

(Click BSL Video button to see the video if the video below does not play on your screen after clicking the Play button!!
You may need Media Player installed on your computer.

If so, download Windows Media Player 10 by clicking the button below.)

For more information on fighting BSL, please review the following Web site put together by Linnea Shirley, author of the video (which does proudly feature three adopted ARWNY Akitas)!

ABOUT JUJU

ARWNY has taken on the care of a very sad neglect case. More will be posted, along with pictures, on our website but the gist of it is this: JuJu was given up when his owner lost his housing in NYC. He was taken to a shelter (see picture on left for shelter picture) & pulled out by an all-breed group right before ARWNY's rep got there to take him out. This group then put him into foster care (after several bad placements first) while he was healthy and weighed 85 lbs. 2 months later, he was rushed to the vet clinic in NYC weighing only 42 lbs, emaciated, dehydrated, unable to walk without falling, and certainly on the brink of death (see picture on right).

This case has shaken all of us to our core. None moreso that our VP Kathy who did this video in honor of all those abused, neglected, starved, and abandoned Akitas that deserved to be helped when their owners weren't loyal to them.

Click the button to see the film.

Thank you everyone for your support!!! If you wish to donate towards JuJu's enormous vet bill, please click the button below.

UPDATE: YOUR DONATIONS HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE

Many of you have asked to be updated on our Juju that was starved down to 40 pounds and left to die in CT, when ARWNY stepped in to save this beautiful fellow.

Right now Juju is a whooping 87 pounds! Looking buff and has really come around. Juju has had a few ups and downs medically, however, it does not stop him from enjoying a good time with his foster family in the snow and a toy! ARWNY thanks Joann and Matt and Max and Arizona for providing the love to get JuJu physically healthy -- emotionally he will need more time to trust again.

It is with a heavy heart that we wave goodbye to sweet Missouri as she crossed the rainbow bridge 3/5/04. She will be sadly missed by her adoptive parents Jim, Soraya, and fur buddy Turkish, all of us at ARWNY and the wonderful friends she made along the way. Her time was too too brief from the darkness of the puppymill but she received a lifetime of love from her new family. Rest in peace our beautiful girl. We will see you again soon.

Missouri may be blind, but she didn't realize!
Here she celebrates her 10th birthday with her new mom!

It was yet another sad day -- a day that had blue skies for us as we walked forward with our bellies full and our bodies healthy to check out yet another "pet dealer!" Yes we had taken dogs before from here when the numbers had been reportedly close to 400 and had gotten reduced to an admitted 288. Sad part is that the licensing authorities have not closed this establishment down. Well we can only tell you what our vets will confirm, what the foster parents confirm, what our videos confirm, what our cameras confirm, what our rescue colleagues in other breeds confirm, what the 13 dogs in our care confirm -- these dogs are not given adequate shelter, adequate food, adequate water, adequate vet care. As of 2/27/03 we had spent $25,037.14 on these dogs and now we had 5 more.

But one dog -- Missouri -- made me question what rescue is really about. Is it just to take the young dogs under 2 years of age from shelters and rehome them? Is it just to take the easily placeable dogs? I DON'T KNOW!! I cannot pass judgment on what others do but I can pass judgment on myself -- LYNNY, MONA, AND I COULD NOT WALK AWAY AND LEAVE MISSOURI! Missouri is 9 years old. She has never known love, affection, happiness, what a warm bed is or what a regular meal is that is not served wet from rain or filled with snow/ice or on the ground. Heck -- these dogs do not even know what a dish is! Missouri has a bad eye. Yes there is a lot of technical terms I could throw out but the bottom line is her eye needs to be removed so she can be pain free. Then she had a choke chain tightened and rusted on her neck. Then we have her teeth. Her teeth are bad and fractured from years of poor nutrition. She has mammary tumors/cysts, needs to be spayed but the vet has advised in writing against that, has skin infections, is filled with whip/round worms, has muscle atrophy and a bad knee.

I know what you are thinking -- why not just let the poor thing go across the bridge to a better place. I thought it too. I authorized the vet to put her to sleep. I signed the papers and dated them. We sat there on the blanket in the vet's office awaiting the return of the vet to put her down. And then, bless our newest member Jolene, who at the ripe old age of 20 had the wisdom of the universe. Through the tears she uttered these words, "IT ISN'T FAIR!" Three small words that meant more than most volumes. AND JOLENE WAS RIGHT!

Missouri would run on the leash, walk up to anyone and kiss them all over and even being feces covered and probably never having a bath in her life you just had to hug her! She is HAPPY! I cannot figure out why. She defies all logic and everything that a "pet dealer" dog should be. She should be afraid from the years of no socialization. She should not be acting like this -- happy go-lucky with a zest for life and a love for all humans and dogs and kids! True love!

So what could we do -- we could not put her to sleep. Stupid -- I probably am. But I do have a heart and it was breaking and I just couldn't! If she has to live with me forever, then so be it. For now, we have an amazing woman -- AMY -- who has had her share of fosters and many of the hard luck cases. She is willing to foster our girl. The local boarding kennel who has been our foundation of strength came through and is fostering Missouri until she can get to Amy. We will remove her eye on the 10th, will have her teeth fixed (I hope she doesn't need braces!!), will treat the skin infections and parasite infections. And then we will go from there. But one thing she desperately needs that we cannot provide alone -- she needs YOU!! She needs someone willing to share their heart and home with one of the happiest dogs I have met! She needs someone to say -- ENOUGH -- Miss Missouri has been through enough and I will love her for however long she has.

I am begging now -- yes for Missouri's sake I will beg! I beg you to come forward and open your home to this girl. Show her that not all homes are puppymills. Lets show Missouri together that she has made a difference and has shown us mere mortals the essence of life -- love unconditionally and be happy!