Article I found about where Lyna came from

Note:  I did not write this article, this was written by Sandra Emerson, and all credit goes to her for telling the story about where my dog came from.

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, CA)
December 1, 2011
Section: News
Beagles rescued from puppy mill up for adoption
Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer 

UPLAND - Beagles, beagles, beagles. More than a dozen beagles are available for adoption at the Upland Animal Shelter after Chino Hills-based animal rescue charity Priceless Pets rescued more than 130 beagles from a puppy mill in Victorville.


The dogs still waiting to find that perfect family range in age from 2 years old to about 8.

"It's these ones that really, really have to have that good home because of the conditions they've been living in up to now. It's really sad," said Jon Knowlton, animal services supervisor. "It'll be nice for them to get into nice caring homes for life."

Priceless Pets, founded by Charles and Lisa Price, has been rescuing dogs from shelters and homes over the last decade.

When they heard about the puppy mill in Victorville they knew they needed to step in.

A neighboring property owner discovered the beagles when watching the owner's horse when they were out of town.

"Basically (animal control) knew of him for several years," Price said. "A call had been made out of that facility, but due to politics unfortunately they weren't able to get the proper warrants and things to get in and inspect the facility."

When the Prices heard about the situation they tried to help the property owner with the dogs. He eventually agreed to sell them the 20-acre property, dogs included.

"This gentleman had a typical hoarder mentality," Price said. "No one was good enough for his animals. We found out doing this for 17 years. No telling how many animals he's done this to."

The dogs were kept in chicken coops. There were only a few male dogs that would go from coop to coop mating with the females.

Some of the dogs were suffering from a range of medical conditions including mammary tumors, dental disease and intestinal parasites.

"They were so full of illness. They were breeding the heck out of them still," Price said. "There was no rhyme or reason to what they were doing."

The medical conditions for a few of the beagles was so bad they had to be euthanized, but the rest were given treatment and a clean bill of health.

The Upland Animal Shelter's partnership with Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona also came into play during the massive rescue.

They were able to provide spay and neuter services to the rescue.

"We would do it again," Knowlton said. "It's a matter of helping the animals in need, and these pets really did need some extra help at this time."

Beagles - perhaps the most popular beagle being Snoopy from the Peanuts comic by Charles Schulz - are great family dogs, Price said.

"If you've never owned a hound, they're very sent driven," Price said. "They love to keep their nose on the ground."

Beagles have a tendency to get bored, so Price recommends owners make sure their hounds have plenty of exercise.

Healthwise, beagles are notorious for having dirty ears and some are susceptible to eye infections.

"All in all they're not a very high maintenance dog provided you do the daily hygiene," Price said. "They're just a wonderful family pet."

The adoptable beagles can be viewed on the Upland Animal Services website as well as Priceless Pets' website at www.pricelesspetrescue.org

 

These are pictures from Priceless Pet Rescue's facebook page:

Almost half a dozen puppies (4-7 mos) were found living like this

Many are thin

Damage to paws from the chicken wire boxes they were living in!

The medical conditions of the seniors is HEARTBREAKING!

Her tumor is almost the size of a grapefruit

These are the adult living quarters

This is where the momma and puppies live

Very thin adult female

Ready for new homes

Injuries found on puppies

First adoption for Operation a Better Life!

 

I've got the Sew-ies!

I got a new sewing machine a couple days ago!  It's so exciting that I can call it my own.  I've of course been searching the house for things to make or mend.

My most recent, exciting project is a doggy raincoat made from a broken umbrella.  I didn't need much material to cover my dog, so the small red umbrella that was nothing more than a risk to eyeballs was the perfect thing.

First thing you have to do is find a broken umbrella lying around your house.  I had a small umbrella which worked well for my medium sized 24 pound beagle.  You could probably have made it with my small umbrella for a dog up to 40 pounds.  Any bigger than that and you'll need a bigger broken umbrella.

Before:  Broken umbrella

 Next, using a seam ripper I undid all the small stitches holding the umbrella to the wire frame to remove the material.  Careful not to poke holes in it!

 The tricky part is getting the top center piece off.  I tried popping it off with a screw driver only to realize all I had to do was just turn this piece counterclockwise to unscrew it!  Who knew?

Next you'll want to measure your doggy.  Now my dog, Lyna had a little bit of Benadryl today so she is a rather willing client.  You'll need to measure the length from the base of their neck down to their rump where their tail meets, the circumference of their neck, and their chest.   If your dog is overweight, now is not the time to insult them.  I added about an inch to each of those measurements because you want to leave room for hemming.

 Next, before you do the hard work, you want to make sure you've got enough material.

 This looks like it should do it.....

Then you want to either draw out your pattern or print it off.  I free-handed my pattern, but used this one as a guide:  Canine Coat.  I didn't really see the use in having that extra chest plate, so I left it out.  After cutting out my pattern and testing it around my dog before cutting the umbrella material, I had to make a few minor adjustments hence the extra material.

 This is what it will look like if you are laying it on top of your dog with its head at the top of the picture and tail at the base.  The top two points wrap around his or her neck, and the bottom two points wrap around his or her chest.

 The next part is the most difficult in my opinion.  I did a 1/2" hem all the way around the edges.  Since I'm still getting used to this sewing machine, I felt like I was driving a car for the first time.

Then you'll want to use either Velcro or a button (or even those nice hooks that they use for horse blankets) and add it to the "arms that wrap around the neck and tummy.  Here I used a spare button that I saved from a pair of pants that were being thrown out.  For the arms that wrap around the tummy, I used the Velcro from the part of the umbrella that when it is closed you wrap it around the umbrella to hold it together.  If your umbrella had a loop handle made from string or something, you could cut that off and use it as a tie also.

 Here we have the finished product:

  I tried getting her to sit up to show off her new coat, but she was still feeling the effects of the Benadryl.

I am also planning on adding a button on hood with the extra material, but haven't had the chance to do that yet.  Perhaps I can get it too loop over her ears or something so it stays on.  She'll let me do anything to her, so we'll see!