Help Support Cares4Pets, plus a happy story

Happy spring from Carter (left) and Bodhi (right).  You may remember Carter from earlier postings, he had demodectic mange and is all better now, he's been doing great in his home with his buddy Bodhi and his human family too, we wanted to share their story with all of you:

Nick and Kristin first were introduced to Care4pets when they lived in Delaware County. The interview process was not just with Nick and Kristin but their ferrets too. Through careful and chaperoned introductions, the ferrets and Bodhi found new friendships and Bodhi became part of the family. The bonds between human, canine, and mustalid continued to grow.  Nick and Kristin quickly learned that Bodhi loved children. His gentle way and love for the ice cream truck made him quick friends in the neighborhood.

Soon after Bodhi’s adoption, they found out they were having a baby. Bodhi was amazing during pregnancy and post pregnancy.  He is an amazing protector, cuddler, playmate, and is part of the cleanup crew. He received his “doctorate” when he used his senses and disposition to alert Kristin that they were expecting their second child.

Once they moved from Chester County, Care4pets received another request to adopt and Carter was added to their family. Carter adds a different dimension to the family, as he is now the youngest member. Carter’s playful personality and energetic spirit keeps the family rocking. Bodhi now has become teacher and sometimes disciplinarian.

Both Bodhi and Carter, receive natural enrichment from the natural scents and sounds of the country land and sky they call home. They both enjoy the snow, playing fetch, and taking rides into town.  They not only play with each other, but play bubbles, ball, and dress up with the kids. They are always on the lookout for a change in their environment- birds overhead, skunk visits, hopping frogs, and visits from the neighborhood cats. Bodhi loves a party and Carter prefers movie night but they both love spending time with their family. 

The family has organized a fundraiser for Cares4Pets to help support our rescue efforts - a portion of the proceeds of Kristin's Avon sale will be donated to us!  Please participate - it's great chance to get gifts for mother's day or nice things for yourself for spring!

http://kristinkolody.avonrepresentative.com/online_event/view.php?rep_spnsr_evnt_id=396248

Happy Tail

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Brody

Hi Cares4pets,

Here is Brody, aka Brownie, that I adopted in February 2010. He has changed quite a bit since then. He is the unofficial mayor of Phoenixville! Everyone stops us and tells him how handsome he is : ). I try not to let it all go to his head, but he is the sweetest dog and deserves all the love and attention he receives. Thank you for all the great work you do.

Sincerely,
Mink MacArthur

Get a jump on your holiday shopping while supporting the great work of Cares4Pets!

Do you need the perfect gifts for the health and fitness fanatics in your life? Look no further....check out Team Beachbody! From now until Christmas Day if you purchase any Beachbody product from www.beachbodycoach.com/jennifereliza 25% of all proceeds will be donated to Cares4Pets!

How can you help?

*Go to www.beachbodycoach.com/jennifereliza and click "shop". Beachbody has an extensive line of fitness videos, protein shakes, supplements, and equipment. There's something for everyone so start shopping!

*After you make your purchase, send an email to jennifereliza0@gmail.com. In the subject line please include your full name and the word Cares. No other text in the body of the email is required.

That is all you have to do!!! Together lets help Cares4Pets continue to do their amazing work! If you have any questions about the fundraising program or any of the Beachbody products, please feel free to email Jennifer at jennifereliza0@gmail.com or call/ text 215-301-2041. Have a great holiday!

Bald Dogs Aren't Old Dogs: Carter's Story

On our last trip to ACCT (Philadelphia Animal Control), we walked past a cage with a little, mostly hairless pit bull puppy in it. Despite the fact that was mostly bald, pretty smelly, and super painful and itchy, Carter sat there and wagged his tail emphatically at us. Although we weren't looking for a puppy that day, we just couldn't pass him by.

Carter has a condition called demodectic mange. It's really pretty common in shelter situations, but it's usually a death sentence for the animal, even though it's not contagious and easily treated. Why? Because no one wants to adopt a bald dog, and because the word "mange" has so many negative connotation. Not to mention complete treatment takes a few months, months that shelters don't usually have.

Demodectic mange is caused by a tiny mite (demodex canis) that lives in hair follicles. All normal animals have a small number of these mites hanging around in their skin, and it's only when animals get stressed or immune-compromised that these little mites multiply and cause disease. The overgrowth of mites can cause anything from minor patchy baldness that resolves on its own to severe generalized hair loss and skin infection. This type of mange is very common in puppies who have poor nutrition, care or breeding, so we often see demodex puppies get dropped off at city shelters. Once there, they are really lucky if they ever make it back out again.

The good news is that the mites are not contagious to other animals or people and can be treated inexpensively. While it takes a lot longer to resolve in a shelter (where the animal takes up much needed room), in foster care these dogs usually recover completely and do not have long term effects from the mites. When we pass one of these guys in the shelter and have the room for them, we always jump at the chance to help an otherwise perfectly adoptable dog.

Carter is one of the most severely affected dogs we've taken in a while, but is also one of the sweetest. When he's healed, he will be a gorgeous black dog with white patches, but for now he's kind of dingy grey and pink. His mange covers almost 100% of his body, and he has very little hair, plus, he's greasy to the touch and a little smelly. He also has a severe skin infection being treated with antibiotics. This is common in demodex puppies because they are so itchy all the time; they scratch their skin open and then get a bacterial infection. But in every other way he's a normal puppy. He LOVES playing with other dogs, and he's learning basic obedience, housebreaking and how to play with toys. He's about 4 months old now and will be ready for adoption soon! Carter doesn't need to grow all his hair back to be adopted; he'll come with his medication so his adoptive family can watch him turn into a handsome black dog in their home!

Bella's story continued

Our family adopted Bella after finding her on Petfinder.com. Her story is nothing short of sad and amazing. This little girl had been through so much in her young life but through her tragedy came something wonderful. She is a very happy, playful, loving young girl who has brought so much joy and happiness to our family. Adopting her was the most wonderful experience and the people with Cares4pets were really wonderful throughout the adoption process. At first Bella seemed a bit distance with the family and out other dog Duke. It took her sometime to settle in and realize that this was her forever home and that we all loved her and would always take care of her. Bella and Duke also had a rocky beginning but now have become best buds! I know Duke enjoys having a playmate although she is full of energy and tires him out quickly. We love her and feel blessed to have her here with our family. Thanks so much Cares4pets for saving Bella's life and allowing her to become part of
our family!

Jane's Day at the Beach

Poor Jane has been with us too long... Jane is a very sweet 8 year old mixed breed dog. She is great with "her" people, but not good with other animals and is petrified of children. We took Jane on when her owners had a baby; although Jane was ok with the infant, once he started moving on his own, it was simply too much for her. Finding a home for an older lady that can't live with other animals is a huge challenge, and unfortunately for Jane it just hasn't happened yet. While we still hope to be able to find her a forever home, we also try to make sure that she has as good a life as possible while in our care.


Although Jane grew up in Florida, she hasn't seen the water since coming to us. We decided to take her to the beach for a day to see how she liked it. Lo and behold, Jane LOVES the water. We had almost as much fun as she did running up and down the beach, investigating the horseshoe crabs, and and swimming in the waves. We thought we'd share some of the pictures and movies from Jane's day of fun with you!

Getting her toes wet...

Happy dog :)

Swimming!!!

Shake it off...

Standoff with a horseshoe crab...


A movie of Jane's Day...