Donations

You will now be able to see whenever Friends makes a donation to help a Bichon in need and, where possible, we will provide detailed information along with updates on how the dog is progressing. We want you to be able to see exactly where your money is being spent.

If you would like to make a donation to help us continue our work then please click the PayPal link below.

18th April 2008 - Friends have just sent £50.00 to Many Tears Rescue to contribute towards her operation. Although the Blue Cross have not asked for payment they do ask for voluntary donations towards the work they do. Tiki is up and about and doing well and this wouldn't be possible without the help of the Blue Cross.

03.04.08 This is Tiki she is 10 weeks old and one very sick pup. Her heart is so bad I can feel it vibrate in my palm. I guess if she can survive long enough she will need some sort of surgery. I am waiting for our vet to return because as we don't have an x-ray we have to travel to use one. I don't know what will happen but do know Tiki has a fighting, loving spirit and I know we all have the will for her to live. At the moment all I can ask is for your prayers. Tiki has come from a breeder who could not sell her due to her condition but wanted us to have her and give her a chance.

I just got back from the Blue Cross. The vet confirmed the diagnosis. She said that she's got a pretty good chance at her age. If all goes well with the surgery then she should have a normal life. She's first on the list for tomorrow morning so I've got to ring after 2 to find out how it went. If they don't have any complications then I should be able to pick her up in 3 or 4 days. I will, of course, keep you up to date. She's such a lovely pup, so confident! I'm looking forward to having her back!

Tiki is doing really well. She is up and about wagging her tail. She will probably have to stay in the vets for the rest of the week. Today she's having another scan on her heart today to see how it's sounding.

The heart specialist at the Blue Cross says Tiki is doing well and is very bright and happy. She says that Tiki has a heart murmur that might sort itself out when she's older but, to be on the safe side, she wants a second opinion. So Tiki is coming home and is recovering well. She will have her stitches out next week and go back to see the heart specialist from the Royal Veterinary College on 1st May. She will stay with us until after this point so we know what her health is likely to be like in the future. In any event, she won't have more surgery but if she does have a murmur it will be managed with medication.

23.04.08 Tiki is going from strength to strength - eating and sleeping a lot. She is has been out in the garden which she loves and has been finding the biggest possible toys to play with! She hasn't had her second jab yet so is being carried when we go out on walks but is finding it all very interesting. She is due to have her stitches out tomorrow and as she has been outside so much, we decided to give her a bath. She was not impressed!

02.05.08 Fantastic news - Tiki went to her new home today! Well done Tiki and all at Many Tears Rescue.

07.05.08 Here are some pictures of Tiki in her new home. Wonderful to see them.

31st March 2008 - Friends have just donated £200.00 to help towards the medical bills for little Phoebe, a 5 year old ex puppy farm bitch who was rescued by Pro Dogs Direct. Phoebe arrived clearly showing signs of having pyometra so she was immediately put onto antibiotics by the vets and had to wait three days before they were able to spay her as she was too high risk. She actually stablised during the operation.

She has been at Pro Dogs Direct since December 2007 as she has a number of medical issues. As well as the pyometra she has a heart problem and a lame leg. When we last had contact with Pro Dogs they said she was doing so well that they were hoping it wouldn't be much longer before they could find her her forever home. They have told us that they do have people interested in adopting her and they will be looking carefully for the right home once they are happy her medical conditions are under control.

Phoebe is a very sweet little girl who didn't deserve to be bred from season after season.

2002	£903.34
2003	£1,231.69
2004	£1,334.50
2005	£2,000.00
2006	£3,000.00
2007	£3,000.00
2008	£3,000.00

Thank you to all our members for their continued support over the years. Together we CAN make a difference.

In the Spring issue of the magazine we told our readers of Muffin, a little Bichon Pup brought into Poole Puppy Pound with a deformed leg. Thanks to the generosity of Friends of Bichon Frisé Rescue we were able to pay towards the operation to amputate his front leg. Here is his story from his new owners. Look at the photos isn’t he the most adorable and happy looking Bichon? Just shows what love and a happy home can do.

Muffin before his operation.

It was quite simply love at first sight! I had been trying to convince my husband for some time that a dog would be an excellent addition to our family (already having two cats - Fraser, a 5 year old RSPCA rescue cat that was picked up from them in Weston-Super-Mare, transported to RSPCA in Ringwood and adopted by us, and Marnie, named after my favourite Hitchcock film, who has been with us from Kittenhood! She is 2 yrs old).

I came across a picture of Muffin on the Pound Puppy Rescue website, read about him and instantly knew that he was the one! After sending in an email about myself and the family, I kept my fingers crossed! My email was passed to Yvonne (Muffins lovely foster mum) who rang me. We arranged to go over to meet Muffin, and I must say I was so scared that Yvonne was going to choose someone else to be Muffins new parents.

When we arrived Muffin was wearing a little “Commando” T-shirt to cover his wound. He had his leg removed a week previously and still had his stitches in.

I had decided in my head, before we arrived to meet Muffin, that I would be entirely sensible. I had almost convinced myself that everyone else had been right, and that I was being ridiculous considering taking on a puppy with such difficulties. He was tiny, woolly, scruffy and………..looked nothing like a dog! My husband Paul thought he looked more like a long haired rabbit! Because of the lack of front leg stability he tended to rock back on his hind legs – giving the impression of having very, very long feet!

But what a personality! We played tug and cuddled and he was just lovely and I knew straight away that nothing would be a problem and that everything would be just fine. I just needed Yvonne to believe in us! Little did I know that my husband, at that time, was not on my wave length at all! We left Muffin and Yvonne to “have a talk”. It was evident that I was keener than my husband! He was concerned that my heart was ruling my head. We drove off, parked the car and took a walk around Poole Park (in silence). We came to a coffee shop (still not speaking) and went in for a cuppa. I was determined I wasn’t going to cry - but couldn’t help myself and burst into tears and had to leave!

I was able to reassure my husband that it would all be alright in the end but I still had a painful wait for Yvonne to get back to us. She had already told me that someone with a Bichon had already expressed an interest in him and that it would be better for Muffin to have a Bichon companion! I had at that point resigned myself to the fact that Muffin was not going to be part of our lives and tried to console myself with the knowledge that Yvonne knew him and knew what would be best. So when I got the call saying that if we still wanted him he was ours - well I couldn’t believe it! That was the Monday and on the Thursday Yvonne and her husband brought him over to our house to make sure everything would be ok for him. He was so tiny and, although his stitches had been taken out, he still had a little scab where his leg used to be.

Apart from the first night when he howled throughout he has been as good as gold. I am a real softy but was determined that he would sleep downstairs. I bought a book on Bichons (although I love dogs I didn’t have a clue about the breed).

Luckily for me I work from home so am able to spend a great deal of time with him. I bought a training crate, which he loves, and which I have to say was a great help with house training. He is as bright as a button, wilful at times but mostly an absolute treasure and, as I said before, what a character! My husband is probably his greatest fan. The teenage children really didn’t want a three legged dog and thought I was completely mad now love him to death. He is a star!

We take him to a different place every evening for a walk. He loves the car, and although probably not the safest way of travelling he loves sitting upright on my lap in the front and will sit like that for hours!

Most of all he loves ALL dogs he meets. But especially Tess, my Mum’s Springer, who is wonderful with him. They play rough and tumble all the time, and Muffin really likes hanging off her long ears and kissing her when he gets the chance! He gets on famously with my cats; Fraser he respects and Marnie he chases!

He as grown into a strong little dog with a huge personality. When he wants to, he can run like the wind (especially if there is a treat on the end of it)! I have a special “doggy pushchair” for those longer outings when he gets tired or wants me to be his slave! Like the car he absolutely adores his buggy rides.

He loves the beach, the park, the garden - anywhere at all really as long as he has company. Muffin is not a morning boy so after a quick play in the garden he settles down underneath my desk for the best part of the morning until lunch and “walkies”.

He comes to life during the early evening which is when he goes for a longer walk and back to sit with us for the evening. He loves his bed and likes nothing better than to be scooped up and carried to it (nothing to do with having three legs - he just likes me doing it)!

We feel so lucky to have him and thank Bichon Frisé Rescue and all who gave donations towards his operation so very much. We also thank Pound Puppy Rescue who do so much to help so many. He has brightened an already happy household and enriched our lives. I would say to anyone considering taking on a rescue dog, and particularly one with physical difficulties, it has been a fantastic experience. He doesn’t know he only has three legs and neither do any of the dogs he plays with! It’s absolutely true what people say about Bichons really having the loveliest of temperaments!