Our Latest Avocation

[Richard Crowe]

We no longer breed Maltese and had several puppy pens available. Judy, my wife, noticed that there was a newly opened "no-kill" animal sanctuary (cats and dogs) a few miles from our home. We visited it with the intention of donating the pens but, have resolved to do a lot more.

I will become the "official photographer" for this sanctuary (which is operating on a shoestring budget) and will assist them in by getting good images of the animals they have for adoption. They also want to do a 2009 calendar of their rescue animals as a fund raising project.

My darling Sara Lee ( our previous big dog) was a rescue and I was always proud of that. However, although I loved her dearly, her health was not very good and she suffered from seizures, canine lupus, bad hips, mass-cell cancer and a bad shoulder. We wanted a dog with better health credentials which is why we got Holly from a responsible breeder.

However, I am now happy that we can work with a rescue organization to help other animals, less fortunate than our Holly, find loving homes.

Even though, we cannot (with 4-Maltese, Holly and our big cat) fit any more animals in our home - we can still help in rescue efforts. However, if they get a Doodle, we will foster it until we find it a good home.

[Adina P]

Awesome Richard! Good pictures of pets in need of homes really makes a huge difference I think. One picture can melt your heart or send you looking somewhere else. I'm sure you'll do great at capturing their sweetness =)

[Richard Crowe]

Wre were heavily involved in Maltese rescue efforts and I know that good pictures make the difference on a web site between a prospective adopter wanting mor info on an animal and just going past that animal to another which has a better picture. Here are a before and after of one of our Maltese rescues: The before is with the frilly collar and the after is with the coat. This poor dog was so matted that we needed to shave her and thus, the reason for the coat. She has a wonderful home with a single mom and a little boy who adores her. She comes to visit us occasionally when they go somewhere that they cannot take her - like a recent trip home for a family emergency. And this little girl is so happy and well taken care of. Oh yes, did I mention - she is deaf! We taught her a bit of canine sign language before we placed her and her new family has continued her training.

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

Richard how wonderful, such a difference you have the potential to make! All too often we are not aware of the very tools we already possess to change lives. Kudos to you for using some of yours!

Dianne
http://www.trinitydoodles.com

[KJ]

richard, that's so amazing...I think we forget that not only do people need our care but to better take care of our world, we need to help out animals too. Thanks for sharing and I can't wait to see pictures!

[Richard Crowe]

Another before and after set of photos - with the top image being the after and the bottom image, of course, the before. This is how he looked when we got him from the shelter. This poor little guy, Coconut, was in terrible shape when the local shelter called us to say they were going to put him down because he was not place-able. We only get the non-adoptable Maltese from the shelter. They adopt out the primo ones.

Coco had double hernias and had been shaved from shoulders back due to a previous flea infestation. The American Maltese Association Rescue paid for his surgeries (our vet gives a 50% discount for dogs we rescue) and we kept the little guy for about three months until he was socialized to the point where we could put him up for adoption. When he left us, he was in pretty good shape but, was still terribly afraid of and aggressive towards big dogs. We suspect that he had been attacked when he was a stray on the streets.

When I first saw this little guy, my heart broke! I also thought that we would have him for the duration because I also figured that he would not be adoptable. What the hell, I thought, one extra dog more or less won't overburden us. The nice thing is that when we got Holly, she was his size so he wasn't fearful of or aggressive towards her.

I was wrong about Coco not being adoptable! The story has a happy ending and he is now living in a forever home with a loving owner.

[11p1s2zvcasbr]

Richard -

What a wonderful thing you are doing! Those photos are sure to make a difference in the life of these little dogs. I can see such a difference in your before and after photos - great job!