Here are a few dogs that came in needing some special care.

Lewis was old.  The animal shelter decided that Lewis would not be adoptable.  Not only was he "old" his mouth was terrible.  His teeth were so terribly rotten that the infection had traveled up into his jawbones.   The law requires the shelter to hold all "strays" for 5 days, so for 5 days Lewis sat in his cage without receiving antibiodics that would at least stop the infection. We agreed to take him in & he immediately went into the hospital to recieve the much needed antibiodics & fluids.   He weighed about 1/2 of what he should weigh because it hurt to eat & with the infection raging through his body, all of his resources were consumed.

Karen and Dennis adopted Lewis, renamed him Colby, and gave him what might have been the best months of his life.  In spite of all their love & care, Colby continued to have medical problems.  He finally lost his fight & went peacefully to the rainbow bridge. He enriched so many lives with his selfless love.  What a great boy he was & shall ever be in our hearts.

Karen & Dennis VanWorth or Santa Maria CA donated over 1/2 of his medical bills in honor of a very special papillon, Blossom, who recently went to the rainbow bridge.  Thank you Karen & Dennis!

This gorgeous Shetland Sheepdog puppy was purchased at a local petshop.   At 3 months of age, she was supposed to be the "pet" of a 4 year old boy that had no prior experience with small animals.  Left alone with his new "toy" the boy stepped on her foot with enough force to break 4 bones in her right paw.   The parents did take her to a vet, but refused x-rays and treatment of the obviously broken paw.

Realizing that their son's toy was broken, yet not willing to put in the time or money to fix her, they surrendered her to our rescue.  after 3 weeks in our care, "Whim"  is a happy bouncy (too bouncy she is supposed to be taking it easy) puppy.  The procedure to set her paw was close to $300.00.   We have now spayed her as well, so before we are done, we will likely have close to $500.00 in this darling girl.  She will be ready to find a permanant loving home sometime in November.

Whim has been adopted and will now answer to the lovely name of "Jasmine"   Here is a picture of her with her Sheltie brother in her new home.  Her cast is off & she is using her leg very well.

AJ is a very striking dog!   She is 1/2 Jack Russel Terrier & 1/2 Border Collie!   She came from a very loving home, but unfortunately she developed a fondness for playing with their horses & was kicked.  Her left front leg was shattered & needed surgery to pin it back in place.   Her owners made the decision to euthanize her as they couldn't afford the surgery & knew that she would not be safe at their home with the horses. The vets and office workers took up a collection & raised $$ to pay for her surgery & then turned her over to us for her reabilitaion & re-homing.   She is doing great & should get her pin out sometime mid-October.   Aj is house trained, crate trained, loving & all round is a great dog.   If you are interested in giving AJ a permanant home, please send us an email... if you have horses, they MUST be fenced off from the area she will be in!

Gem was found limping in traffic.  X-rays revealed a badly broken femur.  Once on the table, with the leg opened up, the doctor discovered that the break was several weeks old & that the bone had been shattered.  Pieces of bone were missing...shattered away from where they were supposed to be and now hopelessly buried in scar tissue.. her body's attempt to "heal" herself.   A long screw was inserted through her marrow cavity to hold the bone together as much as possible.  Now it is up to her.  Luckily she is a great patient and is content to lay on her bed & be carried outside just to pee & poo.

Tito is typical of many small dogs.. he was terrified in the shelter and came across as a snappy nasty little guy.  This is enough to send many a pound dog to the euthanasia room, but Tito also had a nasty skin infection & infections in both of his ears (not that he would let anyone look in his ears).  Kind volunteers made friends with him & asked us to take him in... how could we refuse that face???   He is now showing his loving side & his ears & skin are clearing up great.   He will need an understanding & savvy home, but he is defiantely adoptable & will make a great companion for the right person or family!

Miss Muffet, A 3 or 4 year old Chinese Crested, was discovered sitting in urine & feces in a southern California Animal Shelter.  She was completely paralized in her hind end, unable to move out of her own waste. She is now able to walk with assistance & is likely to make an almost complete recovery.  Please click on her picture to read more about her therapy & reabilitation.

Donations can be made via Paypal: Debby@shortnsweet.com or mailed to: Short 'N Sweet Dog Rescue 5425 Jack Creek Road Templeton, CA 93465