From A Pauper To A Princess - The Journey of a Puppy Mill Dog (Update 1)

We've all followed the journey of Flopsy, also know as Rusty, from the puppy mill to her forever home thanks to her Foster Mom, Karen, one of CPCRN's foster mentors. (To read Rusty's journey from a pauper to a princess written by her Foster Mom click here.) Rusty started the next chapter of her life in January 2008 when she was adopted by her Forever Mom, Sheryl. Not only did Rusty get her chance at "happily ever after" she also got a new name! Rusty is now known as Maisie and lives with her brothers Murry and Micha. Maisie's story continues thanks to updates from her Forever Mom.

1/5/08 - Written by Maisie's Foster Mom

Sheryl and Maisie arrived in Boston around 5:30 a.m. She called me this evening, after she had a chance to pick up Murry (Cairn) and Micha (cat) at the pet sitters house and introduce Maisie to Murry.

Let me start at the beginning. She said Maisie was a perfect angel on the plane ride home. Once they hopped a taxi and got home, she let Maisie out of the Sherpa and she did her business. They then went inside the house and to bed for a while. Later in the morning, they got up and she fed Maisie her breakfast. Sheryl left Maisie downstairs and heard her pacing, trying to figure out where Sheryl was. Sheryl called to her, but Maisie couldn't figure out the direction of her voice.

Sheryl went and picked up Murry and Micha and left Maisie at home in the crate. When she returned, she put Murry in the backyard and went back inside and got Maisie. She said they sniffed one another for a minute or two, and then lost interest. :) Sheryl said that Murry was more interested in her, since she had been gone for a week. They went inside the house and Sheryl and Murry went upstairs again to unpack. Sheryl said no more than 5 minutes later, she hears a "thump, thump, thump" and went to the stairs and there is Maisie coming up the stairs to be with them! We don't have stairs, so this is HUGE! The only other time she attempted stairs is when we were staying with Lois in July.

Sheryl took Murry and Maisie to the park for a walk, because the next door neighbor had workers outside using power tools and it was really noisy. She put Maisie in her seatbelt and Maisie did her usual rubbing her head around on the seat, getting excited to go for a ride. Sheryl said the time of day she took them is when the park is quiet, so she knew it wouldn't be too overwhelming for Maisie. Maisie, of course, loved her walks and did amazingly well, even when other dogs came up to her. She said they walked the park for 45 minutes.

Sheryl said that Maisie has claimed a "safe" corner in the house and tends to lay there most of the time. When I was talking with Sheryl, she said she had Maisie on her lap, because she didn't want Maisie to always stay in the corner.

Maisie did mark in her house twice, so I told Sheryl that when she isn't able to watch her, to put her in an enclosed area to prevent this from happening and she agreed to do this. I also suggested that she pick up the throw rugs for a little while, since there might be certain odors on the rugs that are "enticing" her to mark.

I am so pleased with how things are going!

To Be Continued ...

Dina's Surgery Update

Dina's surgery was 100% SUCCESSFUL!

The surgeon was able to clean both wounds completely and removed all of the infection and all the bad tissue from the wounds. The wounds were not extremely deep, so the surgeon didn't have to go into the muscle, only through Dina's fatty layer, to get the wounds cleaned out. The best news is that they were able to find enough skin to stretch over the large wound to completely cover it! While it's a little tight right now and her range of movement is a little limited, as it heals it should stretch enough to make it very comfortable and not cause her any problem.

But there's more GOOD news! Because they were able to get each of the wounds totally covered, Dina won't need to have wet to dry bandaging. As far as the surgeon can see, there should be no further surgery needed and by limiting her activity and keeping her calm during her healing period she should enjoy a full recovery! The racing stripes on Dina's sides are all healed over and there isn't anything further they can do surgically to improve this, but I'm guessing CP's "experts" will come up with something to help improve that burned area on Dina as well.

Dina is wearing an E-collar to keep her from trying to investigate her surgery, but is resting comfortably. She should be finished with her pain medication and antibiotics this Friday and ready to travel to her foster mama, Bonnie B. this weekend!!!

Another CP miracle thanks to the prayers, positive energy and thoughts that were generated for this little girl!!! Dina now gets to have her happily ever after! THANK YOU to everyone who helps support Col. Potter and makes these type of miracles possible for little mill mamas like Dina!!!

Guiliani's State Of The Union Address

Guiliani, one of the CPCRN Presidential Candidates, was recently adopted and sent the following letter to her foster Mom:

Dear foster momma and daddy,

Hi! The trip went well. I sat with that girl (note from foster mom: her human sister Amy) and we hugged and cuddled and talked (well she did a lot). I think I am going to like her a lot. I gave her lots of sweet kisses as a positive reinforcement to train her when I want lovins.

I like my new yard and immediately peed. I peed inside too. Ooops. Then I peed a couple more times outside. The peoples got all excited and told me how good i was and smiled a lot. So I peed some more outside.

Whew. We walked a few little walks during the day. I even met "grampa". He came to cut a tree down. It didnt bother me any. I did have to stay in the kitchen here and there between walks and them coming in to play and checking and all that.

I let them know I really really like my "peeps". I like that girl, I like her mom and I even like the dad. I went right over to the dad and kissed him and let him know I needed lots of luvins.

Tiffy, my new sister, is pretty nice, she gave me a few kisses, but she really is attached to her mommy so the mommy is pretending to not pay too much attention to me. But she told me not to worry, and anyway, she kisses and luvs on me when Tiffy is not looking. :) I got a secret for the mommy....Tiffy comes and kisses on me when the mommy isnt looking!!!

They have started some little trainings like you know, what we were working on. sit, stay and come. You know how much I like my treats so you know, hey, I try real hard to do the trainings.

They told me they really like me and think I fit in real well. They said the first day was even better than they thought it would be.

They said to say, "Thank you!"

hugs and kisses Guiliani aka "Julie, Jules, JuJu"

Picture of me and my new Mom. (I'm on the left.)

Me and my new sister. She loves me LOTS!

If you would like to help a dog write their "happily ever after" story, apply to be a CPCRN Foster Home!