In May 2019, Carolina Poodle Rescue was awarded a grant from Seresto™. Chosen from submissions made from across the country, the stories of our dogs led to an award of 126 collars. 126 collars that support dogs (and cats) of all sizes. 126 collars that ensure we keep fleas & ticks at bay for the next 6 months. 126 collars that allow us to focus resources on other medical needs.
Many dogs that arrive at Dreamweaver Farms have not had the luxury of regular preventatives. They have raw skin, missing hair, and ALL the fleas their little bodies can carry. Not all can tolerate the topical preventatives we typically use. For some, this is purely biological. For others, their skin is too sensitive due to neglect and needs time to heal while still receiving the prevention they need to prevent re-infection. Our job is to help them get rid of these all-too-familiar friends so that they can be on their way to their forever home.
Consider the life of Beatrice. Beatrice had a family who “loved” her. Love meant food and occasional water and a pat on the head each day. Beatrice’s life was lived on a chain in a back yard with no shelter. She had no access to flea & tick preventatives. Was she covered in fleas and itchy – absolutely. Was she full of tapeworms – undoubtedly. She is one of many.
Volunteers Kevin & Tara Sudimack completed their first ever transport with a carload of 6 dogs who were surrendered by their owners. We knew their owners could no longer care for them and they needed help. We didn’t know that flea & tick preventatives had never been a part of their “care” routine for their dogs. Here’s their first-hand account of why flea & tick prevention matters.
Carolina Poodle Rescue at Dreamweaver Farms called upon my wife to transport 7 dogs from a private residence to the rescue farm. Knowing she couldn’t do it alone my wife solicited me and our two teenage daughters to assist with the transfer. Little did we know this would be much more than the usual transport.
We arrived at the private residence and were immediately greeted by 8 barking dogs who were in a 10 ft. by 30 ft. outdoor fenced pen with dirt flooring. The pen was only accessible through a back door of the mobile home. We knocked on the door and met the very friendly and somber owner. My wife and I spent a few minutes talking with him about the passing of his wife and her love for the dogs. He said, “I just can’t care for all of them. I had a stroke and can’t move really well.” Over and over he said I wish I could keep them but I just can’t. The home was what you would expect from an elderly stroke victim living alone with 8 dogs in a 400 square foot living space.
We talked with him about how much the dogs will be loved and cared for at Dreamweaver Farms. My wife talked about the amazing staff at the farm and how they always go above and beyond with their dogs. We assured him the dogs were going to a great place and his wife would approve.
The removal of the dogs from the pen was more of a challenge than we initially thought. The owner pointed out the dog he wanted us to leave at the residence and none of the other dogs had any interest in leaving with us. We eventually had to lift one of our teenage daughters over the 5 ft. fence to help corral the dogs. Seeing the difficulties, we were having, the owner offered to let us through the trailer to enter the pen. One by one and 30 minutes later we were finally able to get all 7 out of the pen. While my wife would hand them to me our other daughter was in the rear of our SUV keeping the others from running. It was truly a team effort.
During the 2-hour trip to the farm the dogs were all huddled together with very little movement. They were petrified. My daughters would pet them as they made noises and loved on them when they cried. About 30 minutes into the trip we began to notice a large amount of fleas jumping around our family SUV. We tried to roll down the windows, but that seemed to make matters worse as more and more fleas became more active. At one point we made a game out of how many fleas we could spot on the windows. This would have been a good time to have a Seresto Collar or two, actually 7 would have worked best and another 150 to protect the dogs at the rescue.
When we arrived at Dreamweaver Farm the rescue team immediately took over and developed a crisis plan to assist each dog. After 30 minutes of trying to get them out of the SUV, the dogs began to get the necessary shots, bordetella vaccinations and medical assistance. What an amazing team! After leaving the farm we made a beeline to the closest store we could find to buy as many flea bomb products we could buy. We changed our clothes and wrapped everything in plastic garbage bag.
Thank you to Donna and Carolina Poodle Rescue at Dreamweaver Farms for being such amazing people with such big hearts. Thank you for reaching out to solicit my wife’s assistance for this true “rescue”. Many lessons were taught to two teenage girls about real life, the importance of giving back and always putting others in front of yourself.