Ariabella-ADOPTED!

Update: This beautiful girl went home to reside in PA. Considering she came from Kentucky, that is a long way to travel to find a loving home but I'm sure she will say it was worth the trip.

She has a new Mommy and a really big yard to run around in --- which she promptly did. She is just a go with the flow girl and when Mommy gave her the HUGE bone she could not believe her good
luck. It was a happy day in rescue for
her and me.


UPDATE: ADOPTION PENDING!! We feel very lucky to have hopefully met Ariabella's new Mom. Ariabella has yet to meet someone she didn't love and want to bestow her millions of kisses on. Her Mom thought she was lovely, she is, and all we need to do is a home visit, and if all goes well she is starting her new life as her Mom's special, special baby girl.

UPDATE: Ariabella had her surgery to both knees and is about to graduate from her PT therapy which consisted of swimming twice a week in the underwater treadmill at our vet's office Brandywine Vet Hospital in Chadds Ford PA.

She is a trooper and just LOVES the challenge of the tank. She holds her head up high and she gives it all she has. She quickly exceeded the expectations of her Technician. She is strong and her pain will be something in the distant memory soon. We're so pleased to have been able to correct her medical problems.

04-03-07 - We took Ariabella to our vet to have her vetted and spayed and when she arrived I noticed she had a stilted gaite. She was diagnosed with the following and will require surgery on both knees. We did not know this when we agreed to take her. We are glad we did since Dr. Brad Gray from Brandywine Vet Hospital in Chadds Ford PA will be able to make her well again:

Here is what is going on with Ariabella:
Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Repair In The Dog

ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) surgery in dogs is a commonly done surgical procedure in veterinary practice. When the anterior cruciate ligament is torn or stretched, instead of moving like a hinge, the knee joint will actually make a sliding motion. This abnormal motion and instability creates trauma within the joint that leads to wearing of cartilage, increased synovial fluid production and inflammation. Eventually without treatment - DJD degenerative joint disease results.

A torn cruciate ligament can occur in any dog if just the right (or wrong!) forces impact the knee joint. Most commonly seen in larger breeds of dogs and in dogs that are overweight, the ACL surgical procedure does not actually repair the torn ligament but rather replaces the ligament with artificial material that takes over the function of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament. In the case presented below, nylon strands of 80 pound tensile strength are utilized to restabilize the knee (stifle) joint.

The veterinarian may tell the dog's owners that the dog has a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament and one of the best ways to get him back to full function would be to do a surgical procedure where an artificial ligament is placed along the side of the knee joint; we don't try to fix the torn ligament because that particular one just won't heal properly. So we fool the knee into thinking that there is a ligament. After a few weeks of confinement, and then controlled activity, the fibrous connective tissue buildup along the artificial strands implanted along the knee joint stabilize the joint during activity. Then your dog can begin using the leg properly.

04-01-07: Ariabella has arrived from Kentucky just now and she is a beauty!
She greeted me like we were long lost friends. She is very, very friendly! We were told she greets EVERYONE like that. She is a people lover!!

She is a luscious color of chocolate & a white chest, nose & socks. She has smooth coat of deep velvety fur. She also has droopy eyes, the droopy eyes of a St. Bernard and the big blocky head of a Saint without the slobber!

She is a stunning girl, or will be when we get some meat on those bones. We were told she was a Great Dane mix but I would place her main breed as smooth coated St. Bernard due blocky head, droopy eyes and she is indeed tall and large. She is quite thin, too thin, and has a LOT of growing to do. Her spinal cord & ribs are sticking out and you can see she had a hard time trying to survive out there without food. We are having her spayed 04-09-07.

She drove all the from Kentucky to DE in the back seat of her transporter Susan like a perfect lady. She is an excellent traveler. She is also a MAJOR kisser! If you hate being kissed by dogs then she is NOT the girl for you.

She just ate her dinner and she was so happy to eat her tail wagged the whole she ate. She is not food aggressive at all. I sat next to her while she ate and she stopped, came over and gave me kiss and went back to her food wagging her tail. We have one happy, grateful big puppy girl here!

It is a very good day in rescue!!

PLEASE NOTE: Please read ALL our adoption policies BEFORE applying for a puppy or dog. Any puppy under 5 months old MUST have their spay/neuter PRE-PAID through the adoption donation. There are NO exceptions.

Any dog/pup adopted from us must have a fenced in property either physical or Electric Fence. The fence must be installed before we will proceed with processing an adoption application.

If you need a fence for your dog, but are not permitted to have a physical fence, or chose not to, please visit our friends at Pet Stop. Mention that you saw them at our website.
http://www.petstop.com/

We abide by the Humane Association's recommendation. Although, they actually recommend the minimum age of the youngest child, for ANY DOG adoption to have a relatively good chance of success, to be at least 7 years old, we limit this policy to 8 years old.

If you would like to fill out an application, you must first register on the website and await an e-mailed passcode. Once you have this info, you will be able to access our application.

All L&F dogs/pups have been:
Temperament tested and has been chosen for having sweet, gentle dispositions.

Each L&F dog/pup is living in foster homes with families.

Each L&F dog/pup have been:

Crate trained

Potty trained - or paper trained if pups

Already SPAYED/NEUTERED
(pups under 5 months must be prepaid)

Microchipped

Tested for Heartworm, Lyme, Ehrlichia

On Interceptor (Heartworm medication) & Frontline Plus (for the duration of their stay with us)

Complete series of Distemper, Parvo vaccines and Rabies.

Intra Trac ll Kennel Cough

Two De-Wormings

Please Note:
We do not adopt our puppies under 4 months to people who work full-time. Part-time or work from home is OK. We do not believe in leaving infants in crates all day.

We also expect that if no one is home all day, arrangements will be made to provide the dog with at least (1) 'potty break' daily. This can be through a family member, neighbor, or Petsitting service. We know that it is impossible for us humans to 'hold it' for 8-10 hours, so we do not want our 'shelter kids' to be expected to do so.

We have several Petsitting service companies that we can recommend:

http://www.homesweethomepetsit.org/ in PA & DE

Good Dog Animal Care - Servicing the Kennett Square PA area
Call: (484)645-3130 - Meghan and Jackie Herb

Pet Valet services include transporting to and from Vet or grooming, dog walking and pet sitting - e-mail: [email protected] or call 302-369-3074

TLC Petsitting
http://www.tlcpetsitting.net/ in MD

~~ PLEASE NOTE: In case anyone ever wonders how rescue people rescue dogs --- this is how. E-mails go back & forth like this all day every day. Everyone is always trying to save just one more. This one caught my eye and while I do NOT have a foster home for her, she is on her way from KY this weekend. This is what we see:

Subject: 2nd plea and Last appeal!! Ariabella, the beautiful Great Dane.

Please cross post to every Great Dane, large breed dog and dog rescue in and around Shelbyville, KY. It's about 30 mi. E. of Louisville, KY. She is a beautiful dog; her coloring is called 'Boston.' Ariabella is friendly, gentle and mannerly, and whomever rescues/adopts her will be the lucky one!! However she is at the top of the euth' list, and the shelter is almost at capacity. She is too young to have had a life yet! Please give her a forever home! Don't let her die unloved,in this shelter!

I can usually spot a dog that has Great Dane in its ancestory. She is not only large in stature, but she has the very
deep, V-shaped chest with well sprung ribs. She is very young, we estimate maybe less then a year. The shelter staff concurs with me that when she's full grown she'll be 100 lbs or more.

She is definitely a 'Diamond in the rough.' She needs to gain more
weight. When she first came into the shelter her pelvic and lumbar bones were very pronounced. Poor girl was definitely malnourished. That's been a week or so ago and since that time she's already starting to look better.

Her personality is that of a gem. She is very friendly and easy going. For being so young, she's also very obedient. When we asked her to sit she did so without resistance. She was also very gentle with my 2.5 year old daughter. She would make a great family pet. I observed by the way she responded to us that she desperately wants to please and be loved by someone. You just can't help fall in love with this girl when you meet her!

She is impound #12. Her adoption fee is $65 and includes a $30 voucher to be applied to her spay surgery at a vet of your choice.