A Cooperative Effort to Rescue Homeless Freeway Dogs

Hi Pet Rescue Center Supporters,
We have a very special trio of dogs at The PRC right now.  We have been calling them The Freeway Dogs.  They were living on a center divider on a busy freeway in Long Beach.



Here is their story so far........


I was contacted by a fellow rescuer, Claudia, in hopes that The PRC had the space and ability to take on a very sensitive case that she was already heavily invested in rescuing and seeing to success.  After seeing the pictures of the dogs we couldn't say no.

There are 3 dogs here.  They are living within the leaves, emaciated, homeless and sad for certain.

I agreed to take on these dogs, if they could be caught, not knowing really what we might be getting.  BUT, it's the holidays, and I couldn't really fathom turning a blind eye to a situation like this.  

Fortunately, Claudia's team spent an entire day and trapped each one of the 3.  She was only able to do this because dedicated volunteers had fed these dogs morning and night for a time, to establish a routine that they would trust.  When it came time to trap them, the dogs were receptive to the bait.  

Volunteers like these that helped these dogs while they were still homeless are doing a wonderful and selfless thing for our animal population.  Thank you to all of you who invested care and love in The Freeway Dogs.  Without your help we could not have started this process of help.  Thank you. 

Once they were safely captured, Apollo, Phoenix and Hope began their healing. 

These are the preliminary pictures of their condition and the road ahead of them in our care. 

Former corneal puncture with a severe scarring and lack of vision.

A healing puncture wound. 

They are weak, scared, skinny and feral.

They are all very skinny, but the youngest is severely emaciated.

The day we met Claudia and took into our care Apollo, Phoenix and Hope was Saturday.  It took over 2 hours, after bringing their cages into the center, to coax them out of their cage.  We have never seen more fearful dogs at The PRC.  But, despite their fear we managed to take them in without incident and had them bedded and comfortable by the late afternoon.  Can you imagine what they have been through up to this moment?  The weather, the passers by, the lack of food or shelter, the noise.

Apollo ( the patron defender of herds and flocks ) is a male, possibly the daddy, and the least fearful of the trio.  Which isn't saying much, he was glued to the floor when we took him in and after experimenting w/ all different treats, he finally responded to some food and allowed us to pet him.  In the 4 days we have had with him so far he is making progress with his socialization.  He is eating well, on flea control and is next in line to be neutered.

Phoenix is a female, possibly the mom, she is the most fearful of the trio.  She has so far been spayed, micrcochipped, applied flea treatment, she's been fully vaccinated, ears flushed, and x-rays on old fracture that has healed itself. She is not making any headway thus far, 4 days in with her trust and socialization. She shows her teeth and growls, but is eating and drinking well.

Hope is a female and the baby we think - She was spayed, micrcohipped, applied flea cnntrol, fully vaccinated, and had her eye removed. She is doing GREAT! As soon as she woke up from spay we were able to touch her and she is walking on leash.

We hope once they have made it through the initial week, we have stabilized their health and they are used to a constant level of care and love, we can reassess and work towards easing their social fears.  

We have taken them into The Pet Rescue Center, but they are in great need of YOUR support.  They are unhealthy to start, but we are hopeful with our intervention, we can return them to full health.  Our truest challenge will be socializing them, training them and eliminating their fear of humans, noise and harm.

They have had it rough.  No one deserves to be put out into the world like they were.  

Please help us support The Freeway Dogs to recovery. 

http://www.firstgiving.com/ThePet_RescueCenter/help-the-emaciated-freeway-dogs

The PRC is 100% reliable on the generosity of donors.  

We are 501c3 Non Profit. 

If you have any questions, please contact adopt@thepetrescuecenter.org.

Go to www.thepetrescuecenter.org to donate via Paypal or mail a check to The Pet Rescue Center, 25800 Jeronimo Road, Suite 100, Mission Viejo CA 92691.