It was a very busy weekend with both our sons coming up to visit us with an extra special gift! A brand new lawnmower for Dave!! And all of the grass was cut this weekend by two very energetic young men!

Dave testing new mower

Stan giving Dave a challenge with the old mower!

Kelsey and a green legged Angel!

The boys also crawled under the house to check out the damage done during the exceptional snow load during the October storm. There is significant damage to the beams and a lot will need to be replaced and the house realigned. A very big job coming up!! Thanks to our donor "somebody" this can be repaired and new floors put down.  There has also been $500 to meet this challenge so far! THANK YOU SOMEBODY - you really are somebody special.  In case you are wondering why this person chose  to be "Somebody" it comes from a favorite quote of mine. 

Am I a saint? Or am I a fool? My answer is neither! I am the somebody that everybody talks about. Somebody should do something about that dog running around town. Somebody should do something about that starving dog that those people who moved, left behind. Somebody should do something about the puppies that nobody wants. Somebody should do something about … etc.

                         “I am one, but still, I am one

                          I cannot do everything, but still I can do something

                          And, because I cannot do everything

                          I will continue to do the something that I can do” Edward Everrett

The materials will be arriving in early August and my boys will be returning to Topley to help Dave and I begin the very necessary renovations needed to keep Turtle Gardens functioning at peak performance! And making our home and the dogs’  home safe as well as functional and enjoyable. Thank you Somebody and all our supporters. I am so excited about the upcoming work visit!!

More faces of Turtle Gardens Puppies!

     Yang - 8 weeks                                               Kingston                                                      Teeny Teena

©Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue Society. Have your pet spayed or neutered today.

Of the six Karelians that came in together only Silken doesn’t have an adoption pending!!  Cashmere was the first to eb adopted - she is in Surrey. Paisley was next and she is in Vancouver while little Survivor is in the Comox Valley! Brocade aka Cade and Chenille have a home pending in Fanny Bay - how cool is that!! Silken is a wonderful girl too. She looks like a mix though. Now that the others are adopted her turn will come. She is a people dog, she likes to be with you, listens very well, walks on a loose leash beside you - watches all the way. She even sits for treats. she is also quite dog social and likes to play tag and tug with the smaller dogs. The pups often sleep with her.

Beautiful Silken!

And now a Happy Endings and pictures of Cashmere and her kids!

Hi,

 I wanted to let you know how well Cashmere is doing in adjusting to her new
life, which can be summed up in one word "Perfect." I have to say she is the
most wonderful dog, she is an angel with our kids and they adore her with
all their hearts. The first few weeks where a large learning experience on
both ends, however Cashmere has become a constant shadow to our 12-year-old
daughter and a watchdog for our 4 year old almost over night. In the span of
3 weeks, she has gone from being afraid of everyone and everything to a dog
that walks around the house with her tail held high. She loves to play and
only barks when she wants to play. Thanks to her maternal instincts, she has
a strong sense of boundaries when playing with our kids. Although she
sometimes get over excited she is very easy to calm down with just a few
good pets and some friendly words of encouragement.

 Thank you with all our hearts for such a wonderful companion.
    The McDonald family

I am thinking that Faye may be related! She looks a lot like Cashmere!!

Pretty Faye - another "I want to be with you"dog!

©Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue Society. Have your pet spayed or neutered today.

Hi Yvette,

Just thought I’d finally email after our visit earlier this year.   I’ve not attached any pictures of my little man (you’ll know why when you get to the end of this email).  He, the poor abused soul, is finally starting to come around.  The first few months he was painfully shy and timid, flinching and cowering when I moved too fast or talked too loud.  But even in his most scared moments, a quiet call to him and he’d come to me, shaking like a leaf, cowering scared, but he’d come and get petted.  I could see him thinking "just in case it’s good and enjoyable and this time.. this time.."  He has a strong heart, and an unbelievable will.

Now that he’s realized I’m not there to hurt him, that his trust isn’t going to be abused, he’ll come to me and nuzzle my hand when he wants attention.   He’s taken over my pillow, or rather, he lets me sleep on HIS pillow at night, and treats me to a rescue dog hat :)   Thank you so much for him.  I didn’t think after 13 years with my last little lady I could have another best canine friend, but I do.

Since this is my 3rd rescue dog from TG, and I’ve seen firsthand how little you have for facilities, and yet how much you do, I feel it’s time for my family (my 2 TG dogs, my little lady who has passed on but will always be a part of our family, and my wife and kids) to pay you back a little.  I’ve been talking with your son(Stan )and gone over his list of "well it would be really nice if" and I’d like to help.

I have some vacation booked (in August) and my family and I would like to help with your visitor center and the new floor for your "common room" (we’ll be there with a HUGE load of building materials).  Please accept this donation of 5000 toward the construction.  I would like to offer a challenge to your supporters if that’s ok with you.  My little rescue man (the little shy one) is prepared to match donations up to another 5k to finish off your "it would be nice if" list (which from my citified point of view is really a "must have" list) .  Are there any other little shy pets out there willing to take him up on the offer?

Please *don’t* post my name.  I would prefer that I for once got to be know as "someone": Someone should do something about that dog, someone should stop that from happening, someone should help.  I would much prefer to be, for one day, a "someone" like you.

Love from your family to ours.

p.s. my wife’s ever so happy (and it seems eternally super happy PUPPY even at 5 years old) feels she’s been slighted by not being mentioned and would like to add: wiggle, wiggle, wag, wag, will you pet me now please?  She’s still an ever shining sunbeam of joy around the house, always ready to play and so unbelievable trusting.  Her little lady, and my little man certainly make a beautiful, but contrasting couple about the house! 

©Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue Society. Have your pet spayed or neutered today.

Lorna came out to visit and she always brings Kitsa and Rayla to keep up their doggie social skills. While she here we moved in all the dog food and bags of blankets/towel etc that we are given. In one of the bags were many gently used doggie coats. It was a photo shoot opportunity!! we had two reluctant models who did a very good job! Take a look!!

Introducing Kitsa (Lorna’s newest addition) and Angel - looking for a home.
I really think Kitsa is Grey Ghost’s daughter!

  Kitsa modeling a leather  jacket with sheepskin lining.

Kitsa says "I am not too sure about this" Angel peeks around her.

Angel is recruited! All set for a rainy day!

The cuteness factor! Little dogs look great dressed

And now an update. Brie’s haircut!!

The Wu dog has turned into a Fru Fru Dog. Thanks goodness it will grow back.

 She thinks she looks spanking good! We do not laugh in front of her!

Actually I think she is very cute!! She is a silver poodle too just like her brothers Possum and Scrumpers.

Isn’t she just the cutest??

Here is a picture of Grey Ghost to compare to Kitsa!

©Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue Society. Have your pet spayed or neutered today.

There is a locum at my veterinarian’s office so we have spay days again!! It has been very busy for my veterinarians lately with holidays and everything else. This morning saw two dogs go - one and a spare!! Orphan Annie may be too pregnant to spay so Heidi went along just in case. Catherine called me at noon to let me know that Orphie had been spayed after all and that they would keep Heidi over and she would be spayed with the pound pup on Friday. How great is that!! Dave is gone to pick up Orphie and the two new pound boys who were neutered yesterday. Then on Saturday when he takes the 14 puppies in for their 2nd vaccinations, he will pick up Heidi and the pound girl who will also be spayed on Friday. Economical driving!!

Pretty little Heidi girl!

My Sweetpea with little Orphie!!

©Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue Society. Have your pet spayed or neutered today.

I had little KIngston on my lap last night while watching CSI NY - that’s his favorite spot!! I felt a scab on his little neck so I started feeling around for the cut. Lo and behold - I felt a thin line all around his neck. As I parted the thick hair on his neck what did I find but an elastic!! It had started growing into his skin. A quick snip and a little gentle probing and it was removed. Good thing I had found it as it could have been a very serious infection. A little wash with antibiotic soap and a light spray of antibiotic and he was good as new. Mind you I missed the ending of my show but Kingston is A-ok. That’s what counts.

We have found dogs with choke collars grown right into the skin, scabbed over, and choking the poor guys so they can’t eat. Why would you put a choker on a puppy? And then forget about it? Those dogs need a veterinarian to remove the collar as often blood vessels rupture when the chain is cut away. Even web collars will cut into the skin if left on as the pups grows. Children often put elastics around a pup or ribbons etc. I always check the dogs when they come in but missed the very thin elastic on Kingston - his collar was loose on him and a quick rubdown didn’t find it. But a scritch around his neck sure did!! Everybody’s neck was checked last night - no more elastics on anyone’s neck!

And an update from another Nautical! This one is Emma’s pup (born February 11th) and she went to her new home on the May 29th trip.She was just 4.5 months old then and now has been spayed on time and on schedule. Thank you Cindy - you are a very good puppy mom!

Another bella update. shes is still precious. I look over at her sometimes and my heart melts. we just got her spayed, the poor thing. my parents just got their dog today so once bella is feeling better she can go play! we’ve been taking her to my aunts a little more and shes getting used to bigger dogs…I love how her hair stands up! I took her to the lake a little while ago and she swam! I was very suprised. we take her down to the creek on a regular basis now and she loves it. we trusted her off leash as she NEVER leaves our side still and sure enough she stuck right with us…she got swept up in a small current and she paddled her little heart out and didnt panic once…she is getting alone a little better with the rabbits..she started teething! we step on them randomly around the house sometimes haha. we went to the vancouver symphony orchestra the other day, kinda like a picnic in the park idea. she had fun. she gave us a funny look when everyone clapped as there are hundreds of people. there is a picture of her watching a plane go all across the sky. the smallest things amaze her, its cute. she loves attention. we wish we could get her a friend but being in an apartment, we cannot:(  we just give her us much love as we can and shes content. she knows we love her. I hope all is well with her siblings. I’ve been keeping track on the site. I love the little corgi! we look forward to the reunion!

Cindy

And an Update from Phife aka Orion. She is one of Seren’s pups and is ht eonly one to be fuzzy faced like Serene. She even really, really looks like Serene too. She went on the June 29th trip and went camping then too! She sure is cute!

We went camping again with Phife this past weekend. This time we invested in a digital camera. Here are some photos! She’s grown a few pounds since we’ve got her!

Scott.

©Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue Society. Have your pet spayed or neutered today.

You may remember me talking about the "Nauticals" - a family group of dogs from the Tachet Reserve? All 27 of them came in from the first ones on January 22nd - 4 puppies to the majority on April 2nd , a couple more a week later and then Bonnie Lassie’s litter April 14th to a couple more last month - some hideaways!!
It is to be expected that some would be adopted to families in the same neighborhood or close by. Bonnie Lassie and Buccanneer - brother and sister were both adopted to the English Bay area of Vancouver -  and they will get together next week for a "playdate" Rosalita and Oro as they are now called will meet again. I am so hoping for pictures!! both new "moms" would like to meet with the rest of the siblings so I am emailing the rest of the adoptees and hoping for a "Nautical Reunion" A Turtle Gardens Reunion will be planned for very soon as well - if I can ever bring numbers down so Dave can "look after" the zoo while I am away. 20 puppies is way too much for him to handle alone!!

And now our TG update"

Hi Yvette,
Now that we’re past the two week mark, I thought you’d enjoy an
update on Bonnie Lassie. First off, I’ve changed her name to Rosalita
(or Rosie or Rosalie) which seems to suit both her delicate features
and her vibrant personality. She took to it almost instantly
(although that is probably because it sounds enough like Bonnie). She
is a dream. I can’t tell you how many people stop me and tell me what
a pretty dog she is (or that she looks like a fox), and ask what
breed she is. On Friday she must have decided she’s settled in
because for the first time she didn’t bark when I left her at home.
Now that she knows the neighborhood (and with a bit of work on my
part) she isn’t pulling on the leash so much at all. She’s getting
lots of exercise on the seawall and is very ecumenical in her
greeting of dogs big and small (you can tell she’s not from the big
city, with how open she is). We’ve gone to a couple off-leash beaches
– Sunset and Kits — where a couple of times she’s found a dog as
enthusiastic about a game of tag as she is. Today, she couldn’t
convince a black lab to play chase so she obliged her with a game of
digging in the sand. Her appetite is healthy now, she has her second
round of shots and the rabies vaccine, is on the heartworm/worm/flea
treatment , and she’s registered with the City (I know - the lady you saw sent me an email about how pretty and nice a dog she is - she has done several homevisits for TG!!). I think she’s happy,
and I’m certainly happy with her. In another week, I’ll get in touch
with Yuriko and we’ll see what excitement happens when the siblings
meet here.

Lisa

©Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue Society. Have your pet spayed or neutered today.

Here’s a pic of the van load of dog food from north vancouver animal welfare.I know it’s only about a weeks worth, but it’s a start I will call VAS and see if they have more. I had to work till 3:30, but still managed to pick it up before 5:00  I will get it to Bev at bandstra to transport it the rest of the way. I hope to sneak there at lunch time from work as I am working close to Richmond. (yes I work to much but I get that from my Mommy.)
 Mom I would like to introduce you to Angela she works at the north van shelter I know you wish you could meet these people yourself and thank them yourself but some people are just irreplaceable. Angela was very friendly and was very happy to help feed your hungry mouths (and yes Mom, when I shook her hand there was that warm I AM A DOGGY PERSON GLOW,) you would like her right away.

Well Mom got to run love ya  wish me luck to getting to bandstra
(P.S Yelling from the background   DAD Tell Grandma  I LOVE HER AND SEND HER THE PIC I TOOK FOR HER AT NORTH VAN SHELTER)

©Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue Society. Have your pet spayed or neutered today.