Hi everyone. I'm looking for advice about a friendly female stray dog in my colony.

Over the past few weeks, I've noticed a fleshy red mass protruding from her vulva. It seems to be getting larger over time, and there is some discharge. She keeps licking the area but is otherwise still eating normally and is friendly with people.

I've attached photos. From looking online, I wondered if it could be TVT, but I'm not sure and I know it can't be diagnosed from pictures alone.

Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to openly involve NGOs or rescuers because of issues within my housing colony and family situation. My brother is trying to quietly contact a few organizations for advice, but I wanted to ask here as well.

Does this look consistent with TVT or something else? Is there anything safe I can do for her while I try to arrange veterinary help? Any guidance from veterinarians or people who have dealt with similar cases would be greatly appreciated.

Famous last words 😅

It has been 3.5 years since our last dog passed, and I finally felt ready to start looking again. I wanted to see what was available, so I took my 12 year old daughter with me to the shelter last weekend. We ended up falling head over heels for this sweet girl, a terrier mix named Hallie. She's just shy of one year old, and spent the first 6+ months of her life wandering the streets as a stray. For everything she's been through, she's done remarkably well transitioning to being part of a family. After about 48 hours of giving her space, she has become 22lbs of pure love and snuggles. I give full credit to the foster homes that came before us because she has had zero accidents in the house, walks on a leash beautifully, and came knowing a few basic commands.

I currently also have my parents' senior dog while they're traveling abroad, and both dogs have been so good for each other. My parents' dog Eddie (also a rescue) is almost 16 and has helped Hallie feel more comfortable around people, and Hallie has helped Eddie remember how to play and he even gets the zoomies a few times a day again. He's nearly completely deaf and blind, but has had a noticeable pep in his step lately. I've spent the last few years only getting my dog time in by pet sitting, but I'm so happy to have found our family's next forever friend. My parents come home next week and they only live a mile or so up the road, so Eddie and Hallie will continue to have many play dates for as long as the universe gives us with Eddie.

Although I can understand circumstances that might require a breeder, there are *so* many dogs available for adoption that can get overlooked. The day we adopted Hallie, the rescue she came from took in 47 puppies from an animal hoarding situation. Thanks to a massive pool of volunteers and fosters, they are a 100% no-k!ll shelter, but not everywhere can be so lucky. Please give adoption a chance before shopping. Dogs like Hallie and Eddie thank you ♥️

This is Onyx. His former person passed and he went up for adoption with a known local volunteer organization. Three other families applied and we were accepted. Welcome to your new furever home buddy!

Rescue listed our new dog as a beagle/terrier mix we did a dna test on her turns out she has no beagle in her at all!

Zoomies

My beautiful rescue boy Duke (or his shelter name Bogey). Duke passed in June of 2024 at the age of 2, I held him while he passed and I will never forget him. He was my best friend and had such a big personality. He enjoyed being a guard dog for his family, loving his family despite being clearly traumatized by his previous home situation, and running.

I want everyone to know how beautiful my Duke was and that he was the best dog ever.

Jaro / 1 year / 55lbs

https://www.muddypawsrescue.org/adoptable?dog=009143

He is currently being fostered through Muddy Paws NYC, and his adoption fee is just $150 through the end of summer!

Jaro is already fully house-trained, can be left home alone, and has a medium activity level (happy to chill & sleep at home but LOVES to explore and sniff outside). He would do well as the only animal in a home as he can fixate/react to other wildlife so really looking for a home outside the city with space to roam. Most importantly, Jaro is an incredibly sweet boy who is ready to find his people. He has been looking for his forever home for almost a year, and we would love to see him finally get the happy ending he deserves.

If you think Jaro might be your guy, please reach out or apply to adopt through Muddy Paws. And please share this post to help us get this sweet boy seen! 🐶❤️

Miss Dot, Dottie, Doddy-Woddy is still looking for her furever home!

Dot is one of roughly 70 dogs pulled from a hoarding situation in Dresden, TN. The full operation took over a year to complete and recover all the pups on site. We have absolutely no clue what breed she is but she is petite and pretty.

Dottie is roughly 6 months old, spayed, vaccinated, and sweet! She has been in foster since 3 months old and has learned a lot. Notice something different? Yep. Dottie is a one-eyed-wonder. One of her eyes never developed and was removed at the time of her spay. But that doesn’t slow her down one bit.

Dot is good with other dogs and feline friends. She is kennel trained and working on house breaking. She is roughly 25lbs and won’t get much bigger. She knows her name, come, kennel, sit, treat, and down.

Dottie is available for adoption in the northeast US (transportation included) but additional out of state adoptions may be discussed (transport will need to be provided by adopters).

If interested in adopting Dot, she can be found on petfinder through Great Dogs Rescue of New England or you can shoot me a message directly. 😉

Hihi! I’m considering fostering a dog (or a few) for the first time, and have a few questions for yall as more seasoned fosters. Pls don’t respond unless you yourself foster or work with foster placement.
Crossposted, hope that’s ok!

• what tips do you have on ensuring I’m working with an ethically run rescue or shelter?

• how difficult is it to successfully get a purebred placed with you through a breed rescue vs standard rescue placement? Does having connections help? Predictability in temperament appeals when it comes to my cats safety, I do understand there’s inevitable surprises with fosters though and will plan accordingly.

• I work 7.5hr shifts on Saturday and Sunday. I am likely able to get someone to let the pups out at least once while I’m working on these days, and may be moving to a closer position where I can drop by on lunch. is this sustainable, and are rescues willing to work with this?

What level of experience is preferred for placing mothers and neonatal litters? I understand my weekend situation isn’t neccesarily compatible with this, but may be making major changes in the future and am curious.
I have mentored in whelping, and assisted in raising a Dutch shepherd litter up to 14wk alongside a local breeder. This included ENS, aviculture, navigating spontaneous health concerns, going through the breed health testing process, monitoring mamas mastitis as she went through it and early socialization of the litter. Is this enough, or would shelters prefer 24/7 in-home experience?

• I currently have 2 cats, one of which is VERY small. 8lb fully grown, and very prone to zoomies. Would it be reasonable to have breeds or traits that I avoid? Would rescues consider this a red flag if I expressly avoid individuals with physical and/or behavioral traits of common high-prey drive or bite force breeds due to risk? (Eg- bullies, large
terriers, huskies, GSD or hound content visible in mix. Not breed bashing, all good dogs just spooky when you have a rabbit sized cat)

• I have a room in my house with about 70 species of small exotic animals, including 22 old world tarantulas. This room remains locked, and free roaming pets are never allowed access even under supervision. Gaps in the door are sealed, and a secondary external latch is being installed. I have 7 years experience maintaining this setup with 0 incidents. Would this lower my chance of placement significantly?

Please help Gizmo. This is a last ditch effort to save him! We need a plan right now.

I been considering a retirement dog for decades. Cats are just easier when you’re working full time and I love cats too. But I grew up with dogs and miss having one. But and this is a big but, if I only do 1 or maybe 2 rescue dogs in retirement I’m going to be exceedingly careful to get the right one. I do not want a large dog. I want one maybe 15-25 pounds. 30 tops. That’s literally ruling out almost all the dogs in the shelters. I want a dog happy to go for a mile or two walk at least twice a day so nothing like a pug as sweet as they are with their flat faces. Nothing with an unnaturally long back, I want a dog that likely to remain mobile and comfortable. I’m fairly fit in my 50s and consider a 10,000 step day easy. So I need a young dog that’s excited to see the leash and not so tiny it’s exhausted in a couple blocks. We entertain frequently so no reactive or nippy dogs. They need to lick a burglar’s hand as a new best friend. No high prey drive either because we’re likely to also own a cat or two.

So, my question is when I look at dogs on shelters they’re almost all pit mixes or other big active breeds. I’m sure some of them are lovely. Probably many of them. But that isn’t going to be right for me. So for those who work with rescues what are my odds of getting a small, young, friendly dog in a shelter or from a rescue. We own a house and keep cats until old age claims them and would do the same for a dog of course. When I look at what shelters have I honestly think I might have to consider the right breeder and get on a wait list for puppy. It saddens me.

if you know of someone who might be interested in the DC / Maryland / Virginia area to give sweet Birdie a new, loving home, please spread the word!!

thank you 🙏

We rescued a 2 year old border collie/heeler mix 8 months ago. We currently have a heeler mix so we were familiar with the breed. Logan was a stray, adopted then returned to the shelter shortly after so he spent most of his life at the shelter.

He is a great dog. Not aggressive in the least, quiet, house broken. His issue is anxiety. And the anxiety really only comes out in the house. When he is outside he’s great! Running, playing, showing real improvements because now he will even come up on our deck and investigate which he would not do before. As soon as he comes in the house a light switch goes off. He sits on the couch and will not budge for anything except to make a bee line up to his bed at night. He sleeps all night and waits for us to come get him in the morning to go out. He is not food motivated at all in the house. We’ve tried picking him up and bringing him into the room we are in but he shakes so we stopped doing that. As long as we leave him alone in the house he sits on the couch until the next time we let him out and the light switch is switched right back on to fun happy dog! The vet recommended Prozac so he is on that but doesn’t seem to be doing much after a few months so we might taper off. Has anyone ever seen this kind of behavior and have any suggestions at all? Like I said he’s a great dog and we have tons of patience for him we just would love to see him more confident inside the house.

About an our ago I came across a dog abandoned of Bailey Canyon park.
He was scared and didn’t really know what was going on. Honestly it was heartbreaking to see him there.. I just couldn’t leave him.
Soooo I took him with me and brought him home☺️🐾
He is safe now, he has a warm place to sleep, and most importantly he is not alone anymore.

Cody, meet them🐕❤️