Otis and Uncle Fester Say Thanks

 Otis, Ralphie, Toby, Uncle Fester (he seems bored), Dixie, Bogart, & Ava

 Uncle Fester on right with Toby

 Ralphie, Toby, Uncle Fester

Otis and Ralphie

Thanks and warm wishes from Otis and Uncle Fester to their secret Santa's and have a happy holiday.
Love,
The Festa's

What Your Donations Did for Uncle and Cesar

Uncle Fester Before

Uncle Fester After

Recently, we had two fundraising drives for Uncle Fester and Cesar.

If you remember, Uncle Fester is being fostered by Meredith and Matt Festa. Uncle suffered beating after beating in his 6-8 years. None of his medical issues are due to anything but a human's hand. He was not sick, he has no disease, he has no genetic abnormalities, he just got beat up for a VERY long time. His heart murmur- caused by lack of nutrition and damage from STRESS!, His very faint cataracts- lack of proper nutrition and trauma left untreated, his hernia- kicked, his missing and rotted teeth- kicked, his broken spine-kicked, and his lipomas - lack of proper nutrition. He has numerous healed fractures.

His foster mom Meredith reports, "This little dog is now learning to actually be a dog. He can play now, he learned to sit and give kisses, he speaks on command, and after almost 5 month.... he now WAGS HIS NUB OF A TAIL! Proper diet and medication has reduced his eye damage, and the vet feels that it should not progress. His heart murmur has DOWNGRADED from 6 out of 6 to 3 out of 6. He is no longer curved in a C position... He stands straight, holds his head high, and trots around proud.

Uncle's options when he was brought to Brookhaven were Euthanize due to the amount of damage he had suffered at the hands of his owner, but the Director was not going to let that happen so she called me. Once he was in our care his choices were pain meds to keep him sedated so he was not screaming (he screamed all the time in agony), surgery to eliminate the pressure in his spinal column, or euthanize him so he no longer lived in pain. Despite all he had been through he licked my hand, so surgery was his only option. He didn't ask to be beaten, he just wanted to be loved.

He is 100% housebroken, he loves cats, he loves kids (although I would not place him with kids due to the fact he was an abuse case and it's not safe for him or the child), he is good with balanced dogs, but will try to challenge dogs that are too hyper, weak, sick, or scared. He will run away crying from big dogs. From a trainers perspective, his challenge behavior to some dogs comes from being used for breeding and the fleeing is most likely from being used as a bait dog. Yet after his years of beatings and God knows what else, HE STILL LOVES PEOPLE. The only aggression he has ever shown was from pain, and since his back surgery he has not growled once. He is a little gentleman.

It breaks my heart someone did this to him, he really would have been "the perfect dog". Healthy, no genetic issues, sweet, and loving..... but now..... we just wait to see how much damage can be undone. He will never get his teeth back, he will never know what it's like to go play at a dog park and run in a pack, and although he loves them dearly, he can never be placed in a home with children."

Uncle still needs more surgery, but your generosity has made his care up to this point possible.

One of the most horrendous cases was poor Cesar, who looked like this when he found his way to animal control in September. He looked like this:

You all responded amazingly to his plight, and donated a record amount, enough to provide care for him. He was taken under the wing of foster mom Carolyn McCarthy, who continued to nurture him.

And this is Cesar today!



Cesar has now been adopted and is in his loving forever home with Laura Ratsvong, where he will get all the love and care he needs. And you made this possible!

Thanks to everyone, from the bottom of our hearts!!

Uncle Fester - What a Difference Love Makes!

Update on Uncle Fester

Uncle Fester is doing amazing. Every day he becomes feistier, he's a funny little man. He makes this great trill noise when he gets frustrated. It's like a cat. Being he loves mine so much, I'm thinking that's where he learned it from.

He has bouts of pain, but he is holding his head up high now, I'm so happy for him.
He is slowly trusting new people more, is starting to enjoy being a dog again, and insists on sleeping in between matt and myself. We have the dog bed between our pillows and he loves it!
He still gets scared when you touch him unexpectedly, but will lick you and cuddle on his own accord. He will scream if you catch him off guard.... He gets a glazed over fear look in his eyes. The person that did this to him better hope I never find them. Once his surgery is fully healed up I can start working with him on that issue, but it's very difficult to get control of him since we can't use a training collar yet. He will respond to verbal correction, but it takes him time to calm down. We just announce ours elves for now. My neighbors must think we are crazy "hey uncle, it's me buddy" is heard repeatedly throughout the day. He just still gets scared sometimes but he is going to get past that issue.... He is a sweetheart despite it all and is sleeping on my lap as I type this. He will follow you from room to room and just wants to be picked up and hugged. It's just a matter of time.

Meredith and Matt Festa