Happy New Years!

11 week old Mastiff, Deacon on New Year's '08...now a 185lbs 13 mo old!

Wishing a safe & wonderful Happy New Years to all our gentle giants, volunteers, adopting families & supporters!

We can't wait to see what we can accomplish in 2009!

Midwest 54" Crates In Stock at Quality Paws

Hi Everyone,

We just heard from Danielle at Quality Paws that she has these XXL crates in stock. This is the size we recommend for your giant breed dog, and they are usually hard to find.

You can call the store at 303-778-PAWS
The address is 46 Broadway, Denver CO
You can email Danielle at danielle@qualitypaws.com

A boy and his dog

Troy is a 13 yr old boy who found a wonderful new friend in Gracie, the Mastiff Mix. Troy and his mom, Dawn, adopted Gracie on Friday!

Gracie, along with 2 other dogs, were seized from a meth lab. Had we not taken Gracie, she would have been euthanized. It was so heartwarming to be a part of this placement since we knew in the back of our minds what the other outcome could have been.

Troy is very excited to have a dog of his own, and took great care in picking out all her new toys and organic treats! Gracie is somewhat timid in new situations due to her past, but as you can see from this picture, made herself right at home!

Welcome Home, Gracie

What kind of dog toys should I buy?

This question is asked a lot during the adoption process here at BDHP! The answer is a easy one: Premier dog toys!

Premier has great toys for all dogs- and great for chewers. Many of their toys are recommended by our Behavior Director, Kari Bastyr, because they engage the dog to use their problem solving skills. It not only gives them a job to do while you are gone during the day, but also engages their mind!

Try the Twist and Treat or the Tug-a-Jug if you are looking for a toy that will make your dog work for it's treat. If your dog is a chewer, than try the Bouncy Bone or Bristle Bone. Both of these bones come with an all natural chew discs, so it's healthy and safe too!

You can order on line, or you can also visit one of our favorite pet stores: Quality Paws @ 42 Broadway here in Denver, CO!

www. premier.com

Happy Shopping!

Young-At-Heart Dane looking for her family

From Piper's foster mom, Lindsay:

Piper is seriously one of the most loving AND entertaining fosters we have ever had! She makes us laugh multiple times a day with her crazy antics. Who knew a 7 year old "senior" dog would be so interested in toys?!? This funny girl is completely obsessed with any type of toy and is always quick to run to the toy chest to bring us a present when we get home from work. When she plays with toys she makes a growling/purring noise unlike anything I have ever heard. Last night, she walked right into me because she couldn't see where she was going due to the giant tire blocking her vision!

Please read more about Piper at www.bigdogshugepaws.com!

Happy Holidays from BDHP

All of us here at BDHP wish you and yours a wonderful Holiday!

Sad news...

We are all very sad to say that Bear lost his battle with cancer yesterday. While we knew he was sick, we were not yet aware of how sick he truly was. Bear passed peacefully in his sleep while his foster family was at work and school.

We are so thankful to Kara and her daughters for providing Bear with such a loving home for his last days. He left knowing nothing but love....what a great gift!

Bear's story...

Bear is an incredibly sweet and loving Newfy mix that was found wandering and taken to the Mesa County Animal Services in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Heather Shelstad was kind enough to spring him from the shelter and bring him back to Denver. She had a very stinky ride home, so she generously took him to be groomed before going to his foster home. Bear was a whole new man after a bath, blow dry, and the removal of his mats!

After his arrival he went to see Dr. Winton for a full medical exam. Poor Bear is extremely obese and is approximately 30 lbs overweight currently. In addition, he had a large tumor on his front right leg. We took x-rays and they were quite remarkable. We aren't quite sure how this boy is walking and not in pain because most of the bone is gone as a result of the very sizable tumor. It is impossible to know what kind of tumor he has without a biopsy, but it is fairly apparent that this sweet boy does have cancer of some type. Typically, the next step would be amputating his leg in order to remove the tumor and cancerous area, but unfortunately Bear is not a candidate for surgery at this point as a result of his obesity. He could never support his body on only 2 legs and he is also suffering from arthritis in all of his joints due to his age and the weight.

At this stage, Bear is also not a candidate for adoption so we have decided to make him a permanent member of our foster program. He has fit in very well at his foster home with Kara and her daughters and they have generously agreed to open their hearts and home to this special boy for as long as he needs them!

Moving forward, our plan is to continue with a diet and short walks to slowly start getting some weight off. He was also diagnosed as Hypo-thyroid and is now on medication that should help as well. We are going to keep a very close eye on his condition and perhaps sometime down the road the situation will change and we can do more for him! Right now, he is happy and loving being part of a family and we'll keep him comfortable for as long as possible.

Rocky the Saint Bernard

Rocky is new member of BDHP and is looking for his forever home. He is a wonderul, sweet, BIG boy! I've heard people use the word " beast" to describe his size, and laughed outloud when I opened this picture of him. I hope it brings a smile to your face too!

1st Annual BDHP Holiday Party

BDHP 1st annual Holiday Party was a ton of fun! First, many thanks to Diana Sutherland for her hard work and creative thinking as she managed all aspects of planning. Secondly, thanks to The Holiday Inn ( 14th and Welton) for donating the ball room and the discounted parking!

It was a great to see everyone brave the cold to attend our party. We all shared some great laughs, and of course, great dog stories.

A loud round of apploause could be heard when Lindsay, our CEO, announced we have saved over 90 dogs since August, and have rehomed over 50! We are all sure that number will continue to grow and grow as we roll into 2009!

We also announced our "Volunteer of the Quarter" awards to those volunteers who have gone above and beyond the call of duty! Congrats to Mel Haner, Claire Whitlock Skinner, Jodi Wheeler, Healther Shelsted & Rand Winton. We sincerely appreciate all that you do to help this organization!

Happy Holidays to all from BDHP!

Why we love Polly....

Why we love Polly:
1. Good with kids

2. Good with cats

3. Good with dogs

4. Submissive

5. Housebroken

6. Likes to be brushed.

7. Has great fashion sense

Polly, a wonderful Great Pyr, is still looking for her forever home. None of us can figure out why this beautifully dressed girl is still in rescue!

If you are interested in learning more about Polly, please email: wecare@bigdogshugepaws.com

Ozzie becomes a Permanent Foster

From Lindsay, BDHP's CEO:

Ozzie is a very special, 8 year old, English Mastiff that came to us from Omaha, Arkansas, near the Missouri border. We were contacted by another Mastiff Rescue who was unable to take him but were determined to help get this sweet boy out of a bad situation, so Big Dogs Huge Paws stepped up to the plate! He was completely emaciated, with huge pressure sores on his elbows and tumor skin tags hanging down from his belly, and he had absolutely no muscle tone or strength in his back end. In addition, his coat was in horrible condition with mats all over and he smelled awful. It was a huge collaborative effort to get him to his foster home and this sweet boy touched everyone he met along the way! We are very grateful to Carlos with Great Plains Mastiff Rescue for getting him close to KS, BDHPI volunteer Tracy from transporting him to Wichita, BDHPI volunteers Kenny & Mindy for fostering him overnight, and Lisa & Linda with C.A.R.E. for transporting him to Colorado! He was completely exhausted and barely able to stand up when he arrived at his foster home, but Bree and Brian were determined to do whatever they could for him!

The night after his arrival, Bree and I drove out to Heather's house (a.k.a. "Shelstad Grooming Salon") and we all spent about 1.5 hours working on this poor boy's coat! We brushed, and brushed, and brushed and huge chunks of fur just kept coming out. His hair was very dry and course and we even discovered a fairly sizable sore on his rear end underneath his hair which we had to shave in order to clean out properly. After we got a significant amount of dead hair removed, it was time for his bath and Heather climbed into the walk-in shower and we used several rounds of shampoo in order to get out most of the stench. Bree was armed with the hair dryer, but he wasn't a big fan and opted to go with the Au-natural "air dry" instead. He was like a whole new man when all was said and done!

The next step was figuring out why he STILL had a horrible odor about him and we quickly discovered that our friend Ozzie had HORRIBLE ear infections in both ears. It turned out that he had likely been suffering from chronic infections most of his life without medical attention and he required 2 surgeries in order to address the problem, which ultimately meant removing part of his ear drum.

Ozzie is recovering nicely from his surgeries and has settled in quite nicely at his foster home! He has put on quite a bit of weight and is gaining strength every day. However, the reality is that he is a senior dog and we are not quite sure how much longer he will have quality of life. He has Spondylosis of the spine which causes him quite a bit of pain in his back and he is also suffering from some level of dementia and isn't completely there mentally. We are managing his pain and he is still happy and eating well, but we don't think it is fair to ask an adopting family to take him on when he probably doesn't have too long for this world. I am happy to report that the Dew family has graciously offered to keep him on as a permanent foster. He will have all the love and comforts a guy could dream for as long as he has left!!! Thank you, Bree & Brian, for opening your hearts and home to this special boy. We are so grateful that he finally can experience being part of a family and what love is all about!

All the cool kids are doing it!

Asher here -I was just adopted by Marie and her wonderful family! I just wanted to tell you I am being a good boy after my lapro-pexy surgery yesterday.....so good that I don't have to wear one of those dorky collars. None of the cool kids wear them. Lots of napping, eating no problem, peeing outside and mom said to tell you I had a normal poop already this afternoon...apparently she is thrilled.

I took my pain meds and am very comfortable. Shiloh, my lab brother, wants to know if I really have to wait a week to go to the dog park, he is very, very bummed out about that.

Mom tells me that my pexy could save my life some day! So I suppose that is worth a week off from the park!

Zeus, formerly known as Goliath, finds love in his forever home

Goliath, a very special Saint, was adopted by the Keisel family in WY. They have renamed him Zeus, and are so happy to add him to their family.

Zeus has a new best friend in the his new Saint sister, Hera. He also has a very special bond with his 1 yr old human sister, Kimberly. As you can see from the two pictures, Zeus loves the ladies!

We are also happy to report that the Keisel family are new volunteers for BDHDI! It is means a lot to us when an adopting family chooses to volunteer with our organization, we love to see people paying it forward!

Congrats, Zeus!

Ozzie & Monday night Football

Ozzie is a 8.5 yr old English Mastiff who came into resuce in mid November. He came into rescue very emaciated, weak legs & back, and two very ugly skin tumors hanging from the middle of his belly. Oz immediately spent two weeks at Dr Rob's ( Mountain Ridge Animal Hospital) for a severe ear infection that resulted in two necessary ear surgeries. We all felt so horrible when Dr Rob informed us that Ozzie had one of the worst ears he had ever seen, and that this old man was in a lot of pain.

Ozzie is back to is foster home, and has really come out of his shell. He is very devoted to both of his people and is 100% underfoot, 100% of the time, which is OK since he is so sweet.

His legs aren't great, his back is even worse, and his ears will be a constant problem, but he is a darling old man.

He just recently discovered the benefits of the couch, with the help of his humans, and is seen in this picture watching Monday night football with his foster day, Brian.

C.A.R.E

Have you ever wondered how we transport our dogs from state to state? Aside from our wonderful volunteers who often share of their own time and gas money, there is a non for profit here in Denver called C.A.R.E (Colorado Animal Rescue Express).



C.A.R.E works with many local rescues and does twice weekly drives from Kansas to Denver. All their drivers are volunteers! This is no small production- multiple crates, multiple dogs of varying sizes and lots of bungee cords! It costs approximately $26 to transport a dog this money is raised primarily from private donors & grant writing.


Please visit their website, you will probably see some of our past and present foster dogs.

http://www.caretransport.org/

BDHP New Blog!

Dolly, a 3 yr old Saint who is still looking for her forever home!

Hi Everyone!

Since blogging has become such a national pastime, we thought we would join the ranks. We hope this blog can bring an inside view to the rescue world. We encourage you to share it with your friends and family, and hope they spread the world.

This will be the place where we can share the stories about our wonderful gentle giants, and hopefully inspire people to adopt! I can't promise there won't be any sad stories here from time to time, but we want to share all aspects of animal rescue. We are here to tell the world that these giant breeds really are true gentle giants, with forgiving & open hearts as big as they come.

I will be the administrator of this blog, and welcome any suggestions or comments. If you are an adopting family of BDHPI or a Volunteer/Foster home, I am happy to upload your stories and photos. Please contact me at bree@bigdogshugepaws.com.