K9 Rescue Me

The largest outdoor festival for dogs in all of North America, Woofstock, goes on in Toronto today and tomorrow.  Sunday's events include the 9th Annual K9 Rescue Me Walk-a-thon. 

Mercy and her new pal, Brownie, are collecting pledges for the big walk.  These two share the same foster home.  Here they are enjoying some sunshine along with resident boxer, Colby.

Mercy and Brownie are raising money for the very charity that has given them their second chance, Boxer Rescue Ontario.  This is the biggest fundraiser of the year.
Please visit our Giving Page to make a donation.  Your support means one more dog can be saved.  Many thanks for your kindness!

It's a girl!

In an effort to make it known that Mercy is in fact a girl, we put her in a new collar.  
Here she is, all "Hello Kitty Sunshine".

With big thanks to Niki at Peachy Keen Pets, Mercy looks adorable.

Now.

We'll see if this remedies the oft mistaken identity.

 

Movin' right along

...in search of good times and good news,
With good friends you can't lose,
This could become a habit!
Opportunity knocks once let's reach out and grab it,
Together we'll nab it,
We'll hitchhike, bus or yellow cab it!

More from Mercy's first days in rescue:

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2010

Can Mercy ever boogie on those little legs!
Mercy has settled in and seems to be a bit more relaxed. We are working on the house training and she is about 80%, she does cry when she needs to go out, sometimes it is just hard to get to her before she goes. The meds for her kennel cough are working well and she is coughing a lot less, so she is feeling a lot friskier, you can really see her puppiness coming out. She has had a few "Boxer burns" in the backyard.

We introduced her to our dogs today. She was a bit nervous at first, but got a lot more comfortable after a bit of time with them. She is particularly fond of our Pug who she wants to chase and wrestle with, she hasn't quite figured out that he does not like to chase or wrestle!

We took her to the park tonight for a change of scenery. She has trouble walking on the concrete because she walks on the sides of her feet, so it seems to get a bit uncomfortable for her after a bit and she will sit down and wimper, so we just picked her up and carried her, good thing she is so tiny! It is amazing how heavy 20lbs feels after you have carried her for about 3 blocks! That being said it was worth it, she loved the park and as soon as we put her down on the grass she started ripping around and trying to play with the dogs, she had such a good time. It is amazing how fast she can go on those crooked little legs!
By the time she was done she was way too tired to even try to walk a little of the way home, so she got another arm chariot ride back home, (carrying her is a great workout!)
She is out cold now, tired puppies are good puppies!

-

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

Mercy has some new wheels

Thanks to some wonderful dog lovers Mercy has some new wheels. Lesley & Theo, dog rescuers extrodinaire, have lent us a doggie stroller to help Mercy keep up with the rest of the crew. This makes it a lot easier to take her to the park and on walks since she can't walk very fast or for very long.

We had our X-Ray appointment with the vet today, and the general consensus of all the vets that were on site was, "Wow, I have never seen anything like this." The vet team from Beaches is going to do some collaborating with some specialists to decide what the best course of action for Mercy would be.
The X-Rays show the significant malformation of her front legs which is quite obvious to anyone she meets, but they also revealed a very misshapen rib cage and terrible hip dysplasia. The ball of her left hip is almost right out of the socket. She is not in a lot of pain, but because of the hips, it is almost certain she has at least some discomfort. We came home with some pain/anti-inflammatory medication for her to take each day which should prove helpful.
Mercy has absolutely charmed everyone she has met at the vet clinic.

Day 1

A blogspot called The Tale of Mercy was created by Mercy's first foster home in order to document her journey.  The following is the first post of 10 that were written by her loving foster mom before we took over Mercy's care and began The Quality of Mercy.  Stay tuned for the 9 updates that came after.

Mercy has arrived

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

I had been told all about Mercy, seen the pictures and thought I was prepared for her arrival. But meeting her in person was so much different than looking at her pictures in an email. Nothing had prepared me for her sad little eyes and the actual real life effect of watching her walk on those terribly deformed legs.

That being said Mercy doesn't seem to realize that she is any different than any other 1 year old Boxer,never mind that she weighs only 19lbs, and stands about 18 inches tall. Mercy still wags that stubbly little tail and wiggles her little body every time you look at her or say her name, she is just happy to be here.

Mercy likely has a long road ahead of her, we went to the vet tonight and

she does have kennel cough and will need to go in for x-Rays to determine more

about her legs. She was the perfect little pup at the vet, and behaved wonderfully,

charming everyone she met.  I will keep you updated on how things go and the

progress we make with her diagnosis.

Jump, jump, jump

Makeshift jumpy castle.  Of the morning.  Every morning.

Jump!

Blow wind, blow

Blow wind, blow
And go, mill, go:
That the miller
May grind his corn;
That the baker may take it,
And into rolls make it
And bring us some
Hot in the morn.

Lots of wind in Mercy's neighborhood this week.

All manner of things blown about, house creaking & shaking, 
tree branches falling from the sky, windows a-rattling.

What's a small frightened dog to do?

Why scuttle to a safe spot, of course. 
Let the hubbub pass.
How about a biscuit while we wait, please?

There was a little girl

There was a little girl,

Who had a little curl,

Right in the middle of her forehead.

When she was good,

She was very good indeed,

But when she was bad she was horrid.

 

Poetry

by Longfellow