Sunday, December 16, 2012

We're Moving!

Hello everyone, 

The KAR blog is moving! Please check out our new blog at





The new KAR blog features an all new design, layout and content, but don't worry all your favorite posts have been transferred to the new blog.  
Come share your stories, pictures and videos with us and be sure to follow us on the new blog!

Thank you!

KAR Volunteers




Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Handmade Ornaments


Handmade Ornaments by KAR Volunteers are available at Sticks and Stones in downtown Kalamazoo at 124 South Kalamazoo Mall. The proceeds will help the foster animals in the rescue.

The ornaments come in a variety of styles and designs and range from $3.00 to $7.50. 

Come check them out today!

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Special Offer From BarkBox "A Monthly Box of Dog Goodies"



We’ve partnered with BarkBox a subscription service that offers a monthly box of high quality dog products delivered to your door every month, to offer a cool way you can give to our organization, save money and give the perfect gift to yourself or a fellow dog lover in your life! When you sign up for a BarkBox subscription with the code KALBBX1 three awesome things will happen:
 

  1. You’ll receive $10 off your order
  2. Our organization will also receive a $10 donation from BarkBox
  3. We’ll use that donation to continue our important work!  

To sign your dog up for monthly deliveries of the best toys, treats, and goodies:

  1. Visit BarkBox.com to place your order
  2. Enter our unique code KALBBX1 at checkout
  3. Your box will be shipped on the 15th of each month. In the meantime, you’ll get to teach your new dog a new trick: patience! (Also, to love the mailman!)

If you have any questions, please email BarkBox at https://barkbox.com/contact, or give them a call at (973) 532-­‐2275.


Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Allegan puppy mill survivor

Zoey is one of the 354 dogs rescued from the puppy mill in Allegan county. Considering the conditions, Zoey has not let that stop her from being a happy playful puppy. She loves to play and loves to run outside and will soon make an amazing companion to some wonderful owner.

Kalamazoo Animal Rescue was able to take in 11 dogs so far from the shelter. This picture is a prime example of the resilience of a dog. What a little super star Zoey is.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

A Happy Ever After Tail

Cabby came into the rescue the summer of 2011 when she was found as a stray by a Good Samaritan. The person who found her contacted a friend who knew a volunteer with KAR. Our foster mom thought she was an adorable little dog that would be adopted quickly. And, this is just what happened.

The fortunate pup was adopted by a loving family in September. They keep in contact with Cabby's foster mom and this is how she is doing in her forever home:

"Cabby is doing GREAT! I just can't get over what a little love she is. So affectionate, so eager to please, so sweet. We left her for about 40 minutes while we went out, and although she whimpered a little at first, she seemed to settle in okay. When when we returned, she was calm and content, even when we let her out.

Thanks again -- I really feel like it was fate for Cabby to be with us."

Saturday, March 24, 2012

My name is Memphis. Well at least it is today. See I have had many names in my life. Somehow, I ended up at the local animal shelter. A family came into adopt me, but then we found out I was heartworm positive. So they did not adopt me. But luckily, I got to come into KAR as a foster dog. It was a long painful treatment to get rid of my heart worms, but then I was good to go. I realized then that my new name was Kiwi. Kinda funny sounding, but i was well taken care of. I was happy to live with other dogs, play with kids, and have daily walks. Some nice people came and took me to their home. They called me Memphis. I got lots of snuggle time and lived a good year. But then, my dad lost his job, and they decided they could not take care of me anymore. So now, I am headed back to my foster home. It's a fun place, but it's a stepping stone for me. I so want a place to call my forever home. So today my name is Memphis, and I would love to meet you.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Sadie here. Boy do I have a funny for you.

Okay...so I was playing with my fosters out in the yard and this is what happened...the ring got stuck on my neck!

Catch you later...

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Never wake a sleeping puppy

Shhh...we are sleeping so peacefully. We are almost 8 weeks old and still sleep alot. Our names are Reesa (brindle girl), Katie (boxer girl), and Stewie (black lab boy). We have been in our foster home just over a week and will be ready for our new homes in about two weeks.

Well hello there. We finally have our eyes and ears open so we can see and hear all of the interesting things around us. We love to wrestle, play, and snuggle with our Momma, Trina. We may only be three weeks old but our foster mom says we are big. All we know is that our foster mom is big. ;)

Monday, March 19, 2012

Another Happy Ever After Tail for Two

A couple lost their beloved 17-year-old cat in January 2011. They desired feline companionship and set out to find two sisters from the same litter. Their search included a visit to the KAR website where they saw four sibling kittens they made arrangements to meet, on Valentine's Day. When foster mom, Heather, opened the front door, three kittens (one had been adopted) bounded over to greet them.

The visitors had brought a sparkly ball with them. The ball was gently tossed across the living room and all three kittens went after it, having a marvelous time. The couple were enamored with the kittens and expressed desire to adopt the two sisters. They were overjoyed to find out that the girls could go home with them that night. Fortunately, they had brought a cat carrier with them, just in case.

According to Luna and Willow's new mom, the girls have brought much joy and delight into their home. "And they play fetch! Both kitties, from the very first night with us, showed us that they not only KNEW how to play fetch, they would DEMAND that we throw the sparkly ball for them! It's now a ritual almost every morning, when I go downstairs for my breakfast, I have to spend some time playing fetch with the kitties."

In the photograph, "Luna is the whiter one on top, and Willow the one below. Don't let those sweet faces fool you, they're thinking of something naughty to do I'm sure!"

Sunday, March 18, 2012

A Happy Ever After Tail

Mackenzie came into the rescue with three siblings on a stormy night in September 2008. The kittens had been dropped off in someone's front yard when they were about four-weeks old. They never would have survived the night had they not found refuge in a KAR foster home. This fortunate feline was adopted into a loving home in January 2009. They sent Mackenzie's foster mom an update this past summer.

"Thank you for allowing me to adopt Mackenzie. I love her so much." When she first came home she was slowly accepted by the other cats and my dog. Since then, Mackenzie and my male cat, Snitz, chase each other all over the house and I laugh and laugh. Every day brings something new and there is not a day that goes by that I'm not laughing at what the animals are doing and their silly antics.

"Thank you so much! Mackenzie has a sweet personality and she fits in perfect. What did I ever do without her?"
A Happy Ever After Tail for Two

Sonny came into the rescue last April from Animal Services. Dusty, his foster, couldn't bear the thought of this sweet dog being put down because his time was nearly up. At the end of July, she also took in another homeless canine, Abby.

Meanwhile, Shelly returned to Kalamazoo in early 2011 after spending three years working abroad. She missed having dogs so she contacted Dusty whom she had been acquainted with in the past, and who had several wonderful canines available for adoption. Here is how two little dogs found a very special FURever home.

"I went for 'just a visit' one Saturday afternoon. I immediately fell in love with both Sonny and Abby. It was a hard decision; I had no intentions of coming home with two dogs but I am so happy that I did! Abby is absolutely precious and has been from the very beginning. I can't sit down anywhere without her wanting to be on my lap. I had a few issues with Sonny at first because I think he may have had a difficult time with his previous owners, but he is doing fine now. My only problem with Sonny is that as soon as the alarm goes off in the morning, he is licking my face while I want to hit 'snooze' and go back to sleep. I think it's a great testament to how a loving home with care and patience can bring out a dog's true personality.


Both dogs go to doggy day care every Monday, Wednesday and Friday where I’ve been told 'they are a hoot.'  And they often come to the office with me where they get ridiculously spoiled by my coworkers. I want to give a special thank you to Kalamazoo Animal Rescue and to Dusty for helping me to find two new companions that I love to pieces."

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Oh hi there, Phoebe here. I usually don't like to lay this close to my foster sis Jenna, but doesn't she just look so cute when she's sleeping? 
Hey guys! Its me again...Echo!

Life was going good, I found my forever home a few weeks ago, but then sadly, my new adopter's situation changed, and he had to give me back to KAR. Well I am back in my foster home and loving it, but I do long for the day when I will find my forever home! I am pretty much the perfect pup, so come meet me today!
Shepard before

Shepard after some TLC!

Shepherd's family was moving and they could not take him, so they contacted KAR for assistance. His story really tugged at the hearts of our volunteers and a foster home was found. Shep is a 10-year old Australian Shepherd that is mostly blind. He has spent his entire life outdoors, on a chain, and received no veterinary care. Despite this predicament, his foster mom says he is the sweetest dog with the most loving disposition.

Shep came into KAR on 2/25 and he's been receiving "star" treatment including a trip to the groomers. The groomer was patient because he was so frightened by the noise the clippers made and the sound of running water for a much needed bath. The groomer persevered with the help of her assistant and they removed all of the terribly matted fur, which probably kept out mosquitoes. On 3/2 he went to the vet who confirmed his heart is good, gave him all his shots, and said he is in fine shape.

While Shep hasn't been in the rescue long, his personality is blossoming. Shepherd is so happy that he dances around when he is in the back yard of his foster home. When he comes indoors, Shep wants to be right next to his foster mom, leaning on her and giving an occasional lick to show his appreciation. The closeness means that Shepherd can receive the strokes and pets he craves -- this boy yearns to be loved.

Shepherd is a wonderful dog that doesn't bark and does well in a crate when his foster mom leaves the house. According to her, "I can't tell you how it makes me feel to know that we (KAR) have given this sweet, loving dog a chance at a better life." Don't let Shep's age stop you, senior dogs make great pets and he's a winner!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

This little sweetie is fighting through Parvo. His name is Petey and when he gets good and strong, he will be ready for his forever home!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

3 of the 5 pups that will be up for adoption in a few weeks! German shep/lab mixes! 6 weeks old. Sooo smart and cuddly!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Whoa what an exciting day I had!!!  First I went to the vet and I loved it!!!  I did get a few little pokes but everyone gave me so many treats for behaving so well.  Another exciting thing happened today as well, I got to meet my new housemates.  See, here at my foster parents house there are three resident dogs.  I was a little scared of them at first, but within minutes they were trying to get me to chase them and shoving their toys in my face.  

Now, I am taking a snooze on this comfy carpet in this great temporary place.  And, if I didn't mention, I snore like crazy!!!!

Love, 

Echo

A Lucky happy ever after tail


Lucky came into the rescue along with three sisters. His adoptive family keeps in contact with Lucky's foster mom, Heather, and this is how this fortunate feline is doing in his forever home.

"We adopted Lucky from KAR back in March 2011. It's only been a few months, and already I don't know what I would do without him." Within about 20 minutes of arriving at his new forever home, he had the whole place explored and was sprawled out on the couch like he owned the place! Sometimes he's a lap cat, sometimes he's a secret agent, and other times he's a light-speed traveling superhero! It all depends on how he feels that second.

"My boyfriend and I have never been happier. Lucky is truly part of our little family and he provides us with laughs, entertainment, and love. The only other thing I have to say is to Heather -- thank you for taking such good care of our newest family member and you were totally right about him being so fearless!"

A Happy Ever After Tail



Vito came into the rescue last April after spending some time at Animal Services. His new family keeps in contact with Vito's foster mom, Kim, and this is how he is doing in his forever home.

"Vito is thriving and having so much fun! He has two kids and a baby sister (Boston Terrier) to play with. Not only that, but Vito has about two acres to "hunt" in, climb trees, dig holes, and chase squirrels to his heart's content. At the end of the day, he snuggles into bed with us and snores the night away.

We absolutely adore Vito and cannot imagine life without him. We were heartbroken when our 14-year-old Jack Russell passed away and fearful that another dog could not fill the void Earl had left, but Vito has filled that gap and then some. He is a tremendous blessing and we are so grateful to have adopted him!"

Sunday, January 29, 2012

 Hey There!
My first weekend in my new foster home has been great.  My foster home loves how quiet I am in my crate.  I found something that I absolutely LOVE to do.... Eat snow!  When I go outside I run around, kick up snow, and then try to catch it and eat it. I am such a goofball.  Stay tuned for more pics and a update of my progress.

Echo

Friday, January 27, 2012

Well hey there! My name is Echo and this is my first day as a KAR foster dog! I am so happy to have the help of KAR to find my forever home! I am a total love bug and eager to please. Check back to find out more about me.

Happy news all! Rosie went to her new home today! This sweet gal is about to turn 1 in February and she is finally in her forever home! Many thanks to the amazing family that opened their hearts and home to her! 

How a foster found his forever home


This is a not so usual story about how a sweet KAR foster found his forever home. It is just too special to not share.
On December 31st 2010, KAR got a request from a lady for help with two kittens that were born in her house. She had found a stray white cat in her yard and later found out she was pregnant. KAR receives many calls from the public about pregnant stray moms and we do our best to take the kittens in, for they do not thrive outdoors in the cold, Michigan winters. But we are limited in foster homes. A KAR foster went out to asses the kittens. There were two 8 week old kittens, an all grey short hair and and all white long hair. As cute as any pair of kittens could possibly be. The lady decided to keep the mom but realized she could not afford to keep the kittens as well. When the volunteer picked up the white kitten she noticed his little heart was racing and she could feel it with her hands. This might have been due to being a scared little guy, and did not think too much of it.

Sugar's first day at his foster home.

Sugar exploring his new home and playing with his reflection.

I was the lucky volunteer who got to foster these 2 adorable kittens. One of the first things we do in the rescue is bring the kittens into a vet to have them checked out and make sure they are healthy on top of neutering/spaying, vacinations, deworming, microchipping, stool samples and feline leukemia/FIV testing. What we discovered was that racing heart was not just a nervous kitty but a very severe heart murmur. As a relatively new foster I was crushed and tears just started rolling down my face as the vet told me he would probably not live long and might need surgery! I felt like a silly little girl crying infront of the vet, but I was so sad for my new little baby.

I called my KAR mentor and told her the situation with "Sugar" who at this time we had named as his sisters name was Spice in hopes they would get adopted together (Sugar and Spice and everything nice : P ).  thankfully being involved in a wonderful organization with lots of support I was allowed to bring Sugar to a cat specialist in the area. The rescue paid for all his doctor visits which included several hundreds of dollars in check ups, and EKG's. Thankfully we also live in a wonderful community of compassionate vets that gave the organization big discounts on these tests.

With many doctor visits which required me to take some time off work to be able to make these appointments the vets could not come to a conclusion as to what was the cause of Sugars heart murmur they had a suspicion and suggested we visit a cardiologist at MSU veterinary clinic who may be able to perform a simple surgery that would fix his heart. So off we went........ with High Hopes!

Here we are waiting patiently in the waiting room at MSU vet clinic. "I am such a cutie!!!!"

The long drive to Lansing took us over an hour and Sugar was great, he was a real good traveler. At the clinic the vet decided they needed more EKG's and X rays, the tests took all day we were there till the clinic closed at 7pm on a cold wintery night in January. But that was not the hardest part of the day. The specialist could not conclude definitively where the issues were we will not go into listing all the medical terminology but we had a choice, to risk losing Sugar in surgery for more tests or to open up his little chest cavity for exploratory surgery. One of the risks was Sugar was so small he barely weighed 3lbs and the smallest needle they had for pediatric surgery might not be small enough. The second risk was his heart was already weak and he might not come out of anesthesia.

This was heartbreaking, we had thought that we could bring him here he would go in for a simple surgery and be fixed. The rescue was willing to spend another $1500 on his surgery, but I was not quite sure this was the right decision. Here was this adorable 3 month old, 3lb kitten that didn't even know he was sick. However, there was one thing the vet did know and that was that with his condition he was not going to live past 1 year.

Stay tuned to hear how Sugar overcomes the odds and finds his forever home.



This is Sadie, an Australian Cattle Dog mix, who has been looking for her forever home since last June. She is a very smart and loving dog that, at 2 1/2 years old, still acts like a puppy at times. She is much easier than a puppy though as she is fully housebroken, crate-trained (even though she can be trusted without her crate), obedient, and so much more. Sadie does enjoy playing and going for walks or runs but she also enjoys being a couch potato and a snuggle buddy. Let Sadie show you just how special she is and such an amazing companion. She does get very excited upon meeting new people and needs to work on staying calm in that situation, however, once settled in she takes to her new surroundings very well. She will do best in a fenced-in yard with room to run and play. She loves rope bones and tennis balls and especially her babies (stuffed toys).

Monday, January 23, 2012

Keep your paws crossed people! My foster mom tells me I have a family interested in meeting me! I have been waiting for a home for 6 months, could this be the one?!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Hi there, I'm Phauna just chilling with my buddy Murphy fireside! He's found a home but I'm just beginning my search.     I came into KAR as a starving stray baby, very skinny and sick:(.   Look at me now though!   I love life and am learning how to sit for treats and looking really cute!   My foster mom is so proud of me bc I go to the door and scratch to go out for potty breaks now. Just learned that little trick in the last couple days.  I'm super smart with bouncy energy and am hoping to find some new fun friends really soon !

Hi everyone I'm Pheobe!  The first picture is me right after I came into KAR.  I was found as a stray, under a car in July of 2010.  I was horribly flea bitten and very sick.  Like many dogs, I am highly allergic to fleas, so I lost about half of my hair.  On top of that, I have a heart condition, and because I wasn't on any medication, I was coughing almost nonstop.  The second picture is me today.  As you can see I look much prettier!  Now that I'm on medication for my heart condition, I rarely cough.  I'm very happy in my foster home, but I would really love to find a home of my own.  I've been patiently waiting for a year and a half, and with a new year, I'm hoping for a forever home!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Kisses from Trudy this morning! My foster mom and I are out practicing sit, stay, and leave it. It's mighty chilly on my paws, but at least the suns shinning!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

I'm Trudy! Glad to meet ya! You can see how happy I am now that I am in a KAR foster home! My story is a sad one. I was riding in the car with my previous owners, and all of a sudden, they rolled down the window, and threw me out of the car. Luckily, there was a nice person behind us that picked me up and took me to the local animal services. Some nice people there knew that I was a great girl, so they called KAR and here I am!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Just me Murphy the smurphy chewing on my toy. I'm living the life at my foster home after being found as a stray and ended up at animal services. Luckily my stunning good looks and shinning personality caught the eye of a KAR foster!

Hey all! Bandit here! I am a lovable huggable pit pup on my search for my forever home! I sure do love my toys and I am potty trained to! Think of all the fun we can have together!

Hi guys! I am foster dog Daisy! Look how gorgeous I look in this photo! I sure do loving being outdoors!

See how sweet I am! I love to curl up on a nice warm blanket.
Hi guys! My name is Rosie and I am a KAR foster dog. This is a blog dedicated to the fosters in Kalamazoo Animal Rescue. It is a unique look at what its like to be a foster animal, from our perspective. The ups and downs, the twists and turns, we will follow our journeys as we search for FURever homes. You will get to read  insider information on us, which will hopefully lead to you to either adopt, donate, or just enjoy the stories. Why I am writing the first post you may ask? Well I have been in KAR since August 2011. I have been a foster for about 6 months, so I have learned the ropes. I was born as an accidental litter. My moms humans found homes for all my other siblings, except for me and my sister Pretty Girl, she is a KAR foster too! So the people at KAR took us in.

In my foster home, there are 2 resident doggies here. They are not really big fans of playing with me. They are older and stick to them selves.That's OK, I just like to be next to my foster mom all the time any way. I have seen a few other foster pups come and go during my stay here. I am wondering when I will find my forever home? I always try to be the best pup I can be. But sometimes when I see something that smells good on the kitchen counter, I just cant resist sneaking a quick peek at what it is. Sometimes I even grab it, but then my foster mom usually spoils my fun, and I shamefully walk over to her and drop whatever I have in my mouth, into her lap. My foster mom says I am a low maintenance pup for the most part. I always go to the door when I have to go potty, I run right to my crate when its time for my foster mom to go to work or time to go to bed.

Well that's enough about me so far. I will give you an update soon, hopefully when I get to meet my new forever family!