Lucky girl Tish joins CP

Written by a CP Intakes volunteer



Do you remember the song with the lyrics “if it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all”? Well that could have been Tish’s song before Col. Potter got involved.

A few weeks ago, we were contacted by a small rural shelter asking if we could take in a little female cairn recently diagnosed with and being treated for hypothyroidism. She had been turned in to their shelter by an elderly man who had several small male dogs that kept fighting with each other because she was there. We said “yes” and requested the shelter’s vet complete her routine vaccinations, tests and spay.

Well, it turns out little Tish is heartworm positive. We had additional testing done to determine how severe. Fortunately, she’s in the early stage and should do fine with treatment. So we proceeded with getting her spayed since the vet felt she was healthy enough to undergo the anesthesia. And, thankfully, she did fine. But, as if that wasn’t enough, she’s also suffering with a severe skin infection, and being treated with antibiotics and steroids, in addition to thyroid and heartworm treatment meds.

Despite all of these ailments, Tish is a very sweet and happy little 6 year old girl. She just arrived at her foster home today ready to start her new life.

Due to the high cost involved in Tish’s medical care over the next several months, Tish will be in the Col. Potter Guardian Angel program. If you would like to donate a little toward the cost of her care, please visit the Guardian Angel page and fill out the form. She will be forever grateful!



We expect her new song will be “Happy Days Are Here Again” -- thanks to the care she’ll receive and the generosity of Col. Potter supporters

Give a warm welcome to Griff!

Written by a CP Intakes volunteer



Last Wednesday, Intakes was contacted by a Westie rescue friend who had been contacted directly by a shelter rescue coordinator about a cairn boy who is heartworm positive. Being heartworm positive is a death sentence in shelters if a rescue can’t be found. And many smaller rescue groups don’t have the resources to take in and treat these dogs. Thankfully, we got approval to bring him into the family!

Mary S. (Griff’s rescue angel) not only volunteered to pick him up from the shelter and deliver him to our vet, but she also offered to foster him and get him through his heartworm treatment.

Griff is estimated to be 3-4 years old, and Mary’s initial report is that he is very cute, active and friendly.

Please give Griff a big “Welcome to the CP Family” and a huge “thank you” to Mary for jumping through hoops to make this happen. And last but not least a big thank you to the entire CP organization for the support and donations that make it possible to save little cairns like Griff.

The Foster Spotlight - Servus

UPDATE: We are very pleased to announce that Servus has found his forever family! Are you looking for a TERRIFIC TERRIER? Check out our available cairns! Look for Servus and other "Happily Ever After" stories on our Post Adoption blog.


Servus was first introduced by Col. Potter in September 2007. He was one of the cairns in the group “9/11 Rescue Heroes” and is named after one of the real canine heroes who served after the tragedy of 9/11. Servus is a hero in his own right, as he fought to live, and not lay down and die in the puppy mill. After being treated for heartworms and a complete makeover it is now time to find this little “hero” a forever home ALL his own! When his Foster Mom was asked about Servus she wrote the following:

Servus is sweet and naughty, all rolled into one. He loves attention and seeks me out to pet him. He also stands guard at the babygate to watch for vermin (cats). He doesn't growl at them, but he really would like to chase them, I think. He's found out that the cat box has snacks and that their food tastes good, too. The naughty Servus takes advantage any time I forget to shut the baby gate.


Servus has the most beautiful and softest eyes. They say "love me, love me". And I do. The only time Servus barks is when he hears me come home from work and when he's excited that supper is about to be served. It's like he's saying, "Hurry up woman, I'm hungry!" As with any long term puppy mill dog, he's learning what love and life outside of a small cage are all about and makes progress each day.

Servus loves to play with toys and will pick one up and walk around with it, and will play gentle tug of war. His favorite place is standing next to me for scritches or lying in a dog bed next to me. He isn't comfortable being picked up but does not complain when I do since he loves the attention. He wags his tail all the time and is a happy boy. He's still a little shy, but will come out of that eventually.

Servus is a former breeder dog, so he does feel the need to compete with other male dogs. He's not comfortable around new dogs until he gets used to their presence. There was a new male here for a month and Servus wasn't happy at first, but then stopped paying attention after the first couple of weeks. Some male breeder cairns can be very protective once they've discovered how wonderful life can be in a home, and until they learn that their human will protect them. Obedience training is highly advised as it helps the new cairn and human to bond, as well as gives them structure. Servus is a smart little boy and will learn most anything if taught correctly by positive reinforcement. Servus was abused most of his eight years and has every right to be sensitive. Servus deserves to receive only gentleness, praise and love for the rest of his life.

If you would like to welcome this sweet little "hero" into your home and heart, click here to fill out an adoption application!


Check out Servus in his starring role in the CPCRN video "To Better Days".

Heeeere's HUNTER!

One day last week word went out that a high kill shelter was closing for remodeling and any dogs left at the end of the day would be put to sleep. There were 20 dogs in need of immediate rescue including Hunter. The rescue call was heeded and the rescues all worked together to pull the dogs and get them transported. Col. Potter was a part of the network and Hunter was brought to safety with the help of a volunteer in Houston. Hunter has been in quarantine this last week. Unfortunately, Hunter tested positive for heartworm. He's a sweet dog, thought to be 3 to 4 years old, no one is sure how he ended up at the shelter - he may have been a stray. Only Hunter knows. He will be heading to his foster home where he will enjoy some quiet time and get the special care he needs.

Hunter is named in honor of two volunteers who bravely went to an auction recently to save a little girl cairn. They went hunting for the cairns just as Hunter was hunting for Col. Potter. Sometimes rescue can be a very intense situation as Hunter experienced last week. He went from certain death to the greatest chance of life he will ever have. This is truly what rescue is about.

Thanks to all of you for your hard work, donations and willingness to help. Because of all of you, Hunter is alive today.