Holiday Pet
Safety Tips
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A reminder as you prepare for the holidays. Many of the foods, plants and "trappings" of holiday celebrations are or can be hazardous to your dog's health.
Foods containing chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, onions, garlic, grapes, raisins, high-fat foods such as roasts and gravies as well as the sweetener xylitol can cause varying degrees of health hazards including vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, kidney damage and even death if injested by your dog.
Meat-soaked strings from rump roasts are also enticing. Ingestion can cause a surgical emergency called a linear string foreign body in the intestines.
Bones from fish, meat, or poultry can also cause problems if swallowed. Even small bones can splinter causing lacerations (tearing) throughout the intestinal tract.
If ingested, holly (leaves and berries) causes stomach upset and can be potentially fatal to both dogs and cats. Mistletoe upsets stomachs and can cause heart collapse, while hibiscus may cause diarrhea. Poinsettias have an irritating sap that can cause blistering in the mouth and stomach upset. So when you brighten up your home, place these plants well out of your dog's reach, or use imitation holiday plants.
So please keep these things in mind as you head into the holidays so that you and your dog will enjoy them to the fullest!
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President's Message
As 2010 comes to a close, I am amazed as I look back and see all that CSTR has accomplished in the past 11 months. We've saved 84 dogs already this year but are facing two of our greatest challenges as we end the year
In the month of November, CSTR took in nine foster dogs, eight of whom came from Missouri puppy mills. Five of the dogs were sent to our foster program in Florida, and four were sent to the Chicago foster program, including a fragile, pregnant, very sick little Shih Tzu mix named Hope by her foster mom. See below to read more about Hope and her babies.
CSTR also took in a 10 week old Shih Tzu puppy with deformed front legs. To read about our little Gabrielle and the surgery she needs to be able to walk properly, see below for her "story", as well. The money for Gabrielle's surgery is our most urgent need at the moment, so if you can give, please do.
As this year draws to a close, I am so thankful for our amazingly dedicated foster parents and volunteers who continue to give above and beyond to help these fragile souls who come to us. And I am also tremendously grateful for our supporters who continue to give, time and again, so that we can continue to further our mission of helping those who need us most. Thank you, everyone. As you know, they need us, and so as always, we need you.
Leann
Leann Lund
President
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Hope for the Holidays
 Our Hope, a sweet little Shih Tzu/Maltese mix, came to CSTR from a Missouri puppy mill. To put it plainly, in addition to being very sick from advanced demodex mange, skin infections and being on the verge of delivering her puppies, she - and they - were very lucky to be alive.
Proposition B passed in Missouri on November 3, and the very next day 16 puppy mills contacted our rescue contact in the area, stating that they would begin euthanizing dogs if rescue did not step up to take them. When our contact went to pick up the dogs at one puppy mill, the mill operator was leaving to take one dog, a very
 | | Hope and Babies |
pregnant Shih Tzu/Maltese mix, to the vet to be euthanized because he did not want to put the effort into treating her for the demodex mange she very obviously had. Our contact convinced him to give her the dog, and Hope came to CSTR the next day.
A little over a week later on Nov. 15 Hope gave birth to 3 beautiful little girls named Destiny, Liberty and Kelsee. Poor Hope is tormented by the mange on her body, which itches constantly, but she is a good mother and is very attentive toward her little girls. Sadly, we lost little Liberty a week later due to a condition called fading puppy syndrome, but the other two girls seem to be thriving.
 | | Kelsee |
Hope cannot be medically treated for the mange until the puppies are weaned, so we are treating her with antibacterial baths and attempting to keep her as comfortable as possible. Once the babies are old enough to eat on their own, however, and no longer need to nurse, Hope will begin the long treatment
 | | Destiny |
to rid her of the mange.
The puppies will be spayed at 16 weeks of age and will then be available for adoption. We hope to include newsletter updates over the next few months as the puppies grow and develop. We will also provide information at a later date as to when we will begin accepting adoption applications.
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Gabrielle
 | | Gabrielle |
11 week old Gabrielle was brought to CSTR's attention via our Facebook page by a concerned individual who saw an ad on Craigslist. It said that a Shih Tzu puppy with deformed front legs was needing a home and vet services to treat her legs. With the help of the individual, CSTR brought the puppy into our program and realized immediately that there was definitely something very wrong. After consulting with an orthopedic vet, it was determined that, while she had all of the bones in her legs that a normal puppy SHOULD have, they were not in the right places. As a result, Gabrielle walks on what are essentially her wrists and needs surgery to correct them so that she can grow properly. Time is of the essence because, as an 11 week old puppy, she is growing quickly, and the fact that she has to walk on her wrists means that there is a considerable strain on her back legs, causing her knees to luxate. It is essential that she has the surgery to correct her deformity within the next two weeks, so as a result, CSTR is attempting to raise the $2,000 we will need to pay for the surgery by 12/10/10 so that she can have the surgery the following week. If you can help by donating, we would greatly appreciate it.
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Home At Last
 | | Madison and the Moses Family |
November was a slower month for adoptions, but we are thrilled to report that two of our foster dogs, Madison and Scarlett II, both former puppy mill dogs, found their forever homes.
If you've been thinking about adding a new canine member to your family, be sure to visit our IL/IN Petfinder page and FL Petfinder page to see the dogs we currently have for adoption.
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