by Elayne Gonzalez

Elayne Gonzalez is the founder of Mell’s Mutts, an animal rescue in Fresno, CA. They will be sharing their animal rescue stories with us each month.

In the last two weeks, Mell’s Mutts has saved four doggies from our local high kill city shelter (animal control). Three of the four were scheduled to be euthanized because they had some type of medical issue. Sadly, when our city shelter is full the first dogs to be euthanized are those that have medical issues, injuries, or kennel cough.

The first girl, who we named Annie, is your typical tan Chihuahua/terrier mix. Tan Chihuahuas usually get overlooked in the shelter because they are so common. Annie has a broken leg that has already started to heal incorrectly. We are currently seeking advice from two local veterinarians and a specialist to figure out if her leg can be fixed or if it will have to be amputated. Whether with three or four legs this girl is definitely a star! She has already warmed the hearts of her foster family and absolutely loves playing with the other dogs. Once Annie is medically cleared she will be available for adoption.

The second doggy is a six-pound senior toy Poodle we named Walter. Because of Walter’s age his teeth were in dire need of cleaning and some extractions. Walter’s dental work cost us over $1000! We definitely consider this a major medical situation; however, now he feels so much better and hopefully will have many more years ahead of him. Once Walter is medically cleared he will be available for adoption.

The third doggy was not such a major medical case. Romeo is a five-month Pit Bull mix who sadly caught kennel cough while at the shelter. Kennel cough is not life threatening; however, it is very contagious and usually takes two to four weeks to clear up and requires antibiotics. There was a picture of Romeo posted, and he looked so very sad hiding in the corner of his cage that we knew he needed us. Now he is a very happy puppy who loves playing with toys and other dogs. After he is completely over kennel cough (in a week or two) he will be available for adoption. Oh, and by the way, if you are wondering why we named him Romeo, it’s because his black nose is somewhat in the shape of a heart!

Our fourth little guy is Miles. We saw a post on social media of him roaming a city street and the post said he had been there a couple of days. One of our volunteers went to try and find him but he was nowhere to be found. Two days later we saw his intake picture at the shelter. Apparently our volunteer had just missed him and animal control scooped him up. So, after he served his five-day stray hold we went and rescued him. Miles was dripping with ticks and he, too, caught kennel cough while in there for those five days. This sweet little boy weighs 12 pounds and has the cutest head tilt which we believe was caused by a previous injury. Miles will also be available for adoption once he is medically cleared.

All four of these doggies could have been just another dog euthanized and forgotten but that is not the case. These four are now safe and in great foster homes; they already have people who love them. We are so excited to see what their future holds and to see them thrive once they each find a forever family.

Mell’s Mutts is a non-profit, foster based organization out of Fresno, CA. We run 100% on donations which means we can only help when we have the funds. We rely on our community for support and help.

If you are interested in more information on Annie, Walter, Romeo or Miles, or if you would like to donate to help with their medical costs please contact us.

We can be reached in several ways: via our Instagram or Facebook pages under Mell’s Mutts, our website: www.mellsmutts.com, or via email: mellsmutts@yahoo[dot]com.

Website: www.mellsmutts.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/search/top?q=mell%27s%20mutts
Instagram: www.instagram.com/mellsmutts

Check out more animal rescue stories in our Pet Perspective section here in KRL and on our sister website KRL News & Reviews. Advertise in KRL and 10% of your advertising fees can go to to Mell’s Mutts.