Puppy Rescue 911 ~ Elanna Bradley: Boo Boo and Yogi

9-8-2008

A HORROR STORY BECOMES REALITY!

When I was a little girl I used to love to watch horror stories. Back then they were much tamer: someone running through the woods at night being chased by someone bad, someone being eaten alive, someone captured by a bad person and being forced to eat whatever disgusting things they could find, or starve to death. I would sit on my couch wrapped in a blanket, warm and safe, enjoying being scared, but knowing that really wouldn’t happen.

Well, I have grown up now, and I not only know these things can happen, I know they do, everyday, in our own town. The victims have changed, but all of this is their reality, and I would like to tell their story:

Meet Boo-Boo

Boo-Boo is a small to medium size red Golden Retriever / Chow mix. He has a friend named Yogi who I believe to be the same mix, only he is blond in color. They have been left alone to wander the streets of Chester fending for themselves.

They are starving to death and are basically skin and bones. They are scared to death of people, leading me to believe they have been chased and possibly beaten. They are being eaten alive by fleas, and ticks from the outside, and worms and parasites from the inside. Any one of these would be a slow and very painful way to die, but their reality is all three.

I heard of Boo-Boo and Yogi about a month ago from my daughter. She had seen them many times along the road. Once at the south end of Ellis Grove, once at the edge of Chester, going towards Steeleville, and again out by Mental Health.

Knowing I am an animal lover, she asked if she could try to get them and bring them home. Having five dogs of our own, I said no. It wasn’t until we were in Chester, and I nearly hit the dogs that I changed my mind

We were able to get the red one, and named him Boo-Boo, but the blond one was so scared of us, he fled. We decided then he would be Yogi.

I took Boo-Boo to the vet and my worries were confirmed, he was nearly half of what his weight should be, covered in fleas and ticks, and filled with worms and parasites. When we would try approaching him, he would cower down, as if to say “Please don’t hurt me”.

We have cleaned him up ridding him of all parasites, and his weight is improving. He is living in our house, and is the gentlest soul you could ever ask for. He is still scared of people and it takes a lot of getting his nerve up before he will come to us. When he finally comes to you, if you stop petting him he will paw at your hand as if to say “Please, just a little more”. We are only fostering him, until he is better, then we will find him a forever home.

Boo-Boo’s nightmare has a happy ending, but so far, Yogie’s nightmare continues. I have spent days driving around Chester, hours on end trying to find him. He no longer has his buddy, making his world a much colder, lonelier, scarier place.

I have talked to many people who have seen him, but do not know where he is now. One lady told me she saw him get hit by a car on Swanwick Street. She said surprisingly, he ran off, but she did not know if he could have lived from that. I am trying so hard to find this little guy (I think it is a boy, not really sure though) and I know many have seen him. If anyone knows of this dog’s whereabouts, PLEASE call me. I will take him for help, and hopefully reunite these two, making the team whole again.

By the way, I no longer watch horror stories.

Thank you and God Bless

Elanna Bradley

THE HORROR STORYENDS

For all who read the article a few weeks ago “A horror story becomes reality” I am very sad to say the horror story has ended. I had a lot of response to the article, and a number of people called with sightings of Yogi, but he managed to keep one step ahead of me. I spent days driving the streets of Chester looking for him, but he was no where to be found.
The sightings have now stopped, and I fear he has passed away.

Boo-Boo’s story is no better. I have taken him to the vet, and we have thrown every kind of medicine we can think of into him, but he continues to worsen. He has been losing weight instead of gaining; it is thought that his condition was so bad that his intestines have all but shut down, and food passes right through him.

We have tried everything, and I even hand fed him puppy formula, but I now realize he is only hanging on for me. The vet told me a week ago to try bringing him around, but when it was time I would know. I now understand what she meant. I will be taking him today to end his pain.

I think about the fact that Boo-Boo seemed to have given up the will to fight around the same time the sightings of Yogi stopped. I am so thankful to have had the time I did with Boo-Boo, I am so happy I was able to make his last days warm, comfortable, and filled with love, which is one of the things that we all have in common, we just want someone to love us.

May God Bless all the Boo-Boos and Yogie’s still wandering the streets, may their horror stories have a better ending.

God Bless
Elanna Bradley

THE HORROR STORY TWIST

After my last article about Boo-Boo and Yogi, I was convinced Yogi had passed away.

There had been no more sightings of him, and after having put Boo-Boo down, I was sure Yogi had not survived on his own.

Then, I got a phone call, from a lady; she said she thought Yogi was hanging out at her house with her two dogs. I rushed to her house and sure enough, there he was. I couldn’t believe it. The lady said if I wanted to try to get him I could but she explained, as soon as anyone stepped out of their car, he would run off.

I spent DAYS at her house, twelve hours at a time, trying everything. I tried food in a humane trap, meatballs with sedatives in them, even wolf in heat urine. He was too smart for all of it. I spent over a month watching him with binoculars, thinking how embarrassing it would be if the police came because someone thought I was a stalker, and how even more embarrassing it would be explaining I was stalking...a dog.

Then on Nov. 30^Th I decided to check in their shed, as I had done many times before. Their other two dogs would go in there, but Yogi never would. Yogi would never go anywhere that didn’t have at least two other ways out, he was so street smart!

I looked in and saw one of the other dogs, and then, hiding in the corner I saw Yogi! I couldn’t believe it, I wasn’t prepared! My catch pole was in my vehicle! I had already blocked the door, so I quickly pulled the window shut, and ran to my truck. My legs were shaking so hard, I could hardly make it up the hill. I grabbed my catch pole and ran back. I crawled through the window, heart pounding, legs shaking, and hyperventilating.

Yogi was even worse, he totally panicked. Growling and trying to bite me, he ran past, and twice tried to jump through the window. I prayed oh please God don’t let it break. Finally I got the catch pole around his neck, and the battle continued. I have never seen a dog resist in that way. I was afraid he was going to break his neck. I got him in the crate and we were off.

I kept Yogi in the crate in our garage, and soon realized Yogi was wild. I sat for an hour outside the crate, talking to him and trying to touch him trough the cage. He continually tried to bite me, but eventually I was able to touch him.

Then I went to the front of the cage opened it, and sat with my back to Yogi. He would not have anything to do with me, so finally I decided, if I get bit, I get bit, I leaned into the crate, and he let me pet him, but shook furiously with fear. Within four days he would come to me.

Yogi is now free of fleas and ticks, (yes, ticks do live on dogs even this late in the year I pulled about fifty off of him) and after two cycles of vet worming, because he was full, Yogi is now free of parasites.

Yogi also has a new name, without Boo-Boo, Yogi just didn’t fit, and being that Yogi is A GIRL (couldn’t get close enough to tell before) we changed her name to Emma. To really put a twist on it, we are ninety nine percent sure; Emma is going to have puppies, guessing in about six weeks. Emmais about a year and a half old and she will live out the rest of her life, warm, safe, well fed, and greatly loved. It is amazing to see how much she has changed, and every day, her trust in us grows.

I want to thank all the people who took an interest in this whole saga. I got a lot of phone calls and a ton of people would stop and give their support. Anyone who would like a little piece of all of this, I am pretty sure we will be having puppies soon that will need really good homes.

If not these puppies, if you are looking PLEASE, PLEASE, look to rescue when wanting to adopt. We have seven dogs of our own, all are rescue dogs, and they are the best dogs I could ever imagine. I really believe they know we saved them and they show their gratitude every day!! Our shelters and rescues are FULL with some of the greatest dogs just waiting for a chance to have someone love them and be able to return that love ten fold.

God Bless

Elanna Bradley

UPDATE

When I took Emma to the vet, I was told that it looked as if she were going to have puppies, and that I should abort them. I told the vet, “I believe one hundred percent in spaying and neutering, but once the puppies have started, I can’t abort them.”

The vet said, “Emma is so thin, she may not make it through the birth.” I said “That’s in Gods hands and if I have to, I will hand feed the puppies.” The vet said, “You don’t understand, there may not be any live puppies.” I said “Whatever happens, happens, I can’t abort them.” The vet said “Okay.”

Emma had seven beautiful all live puppies!

I called the vet and was told to be prepared to hand feed, because mama may not have much milk, because she is so thin.

Emma nursed the puppies since day one, and when I took them to the vet for their check up, the vet said they were the healthiest, most beautiful puppies she had ever seen.

Then she said the whole thing really was a miracle. If I hadn’t gotten Emma when I did, and she had the puppies out on her own, they probably wouldn’t have made it because right after that we had a huge ice storm. Emmais a wonderful mother, and I do, and always have, believed in miracles. I got to hold in my hands seven of them!