Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Back to Obedience School -

I recently put myself and my two year old black Lab Chuy back through obedience school (more for my benefit than his).

A little bit of history...my first adopted rescue Nikki was a handful. She needed to learn social skills to deal with people and dogs. Our first walks together became super stressful because she would react to every dog and every person she saw. I knew we needed guidance from professionals. We were lucky enough to take a few classes with the late Lee Mannix. He jokingly called my yellow Lab "Blondie" and said she was super smart; she just needed a job. We diligently followed through with the steps of the program and become a human "pack leader". Nikki responded beautifully. She went from the "worst in the class" (always in timeout) to top of the class. She learned to look to us for guidance rather than react to all situations. Today, we accept the fact that she will never be perfect, but she has come a long way. For the most part her public behavior is acceptable (we can proudly take her to Petsmart and only on rare occasions will she decide to have a melt down and bark at a dog that looks at her wrong). She will always be shy and a little reticent to meet strangers but I know she now has coping mechanisms.

Having been through extensive training with Nikki, you would think when we adopted eight month old Chuy we would have used the tried and true approach with his training. Not so. Chuy is the opposite of Nikki; friendly and outgoing with all humans and dogs. We spoiled him rotten. When he turned two we realized we had created a monster. He knew the basic commands, but was very stubborn about whether or not he would obey them. He did not see us as "pack leader" but saw himself as center of the universe (my interpretation). I decided that the best thing for Chuy was for "me" to go back to obedience school. I won't say that Chuy was the most improved in the class, because he started out in a pretty good place, but he has improved immensely. I needed to re-learn what I should have been doing. I also have the fresh perspective that training should be on-going and fun for both you and your dog.


Written by: P. Miner - Heart of Texas Lab Rescue Volunteer Coordinator, adopter of two rescues.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Shaq Obituary




Dear Friends of Shaq,


It is with a heavy heart that I have to announce that Shaq, my best friend over the last 16 years, has crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. He joins my beloved Shasta, Zoe and Nanda waiting for me to join them.


Over the past few days Shaq had trouble lying down and it was clearly painful for him to get down. He had more trouble with his balance and would run into things. Rather then prolong the agony I decided to do what I hope others will do for me one day and help him over the rainbow bridge.


Shaq was born in Montana, He lived an amazing life having been a champion field trial and big air dog. He traveled everywhere with me, including each time I went home to Montana. He loved going to Montana, when we would go over Bozeman Pass he would perk up and get excited. He also loved visiting the cabin in Polaris. Here is a link to his stories. www.shaqtails.blogspot.com


I have known that this day was coming. I had hoped that he could last until after the upcoming Heart of Texas Lab Rescue Fundraiser at The Fairmount Hotel on Nov 7th and make an appearance. But it was not to be. So many were looking forward to seeing him.


I have many wonderful paintings and pictures of my dear Shaq to remember him by. He will live forever in my heart. I will always remember the days he and Shasta would spend swimming at Red Bud Isle.


If you could make a donation to Heart of Texas Lab Rescue in his name he would appreciate it. www.hotlabrescue.org.


Goodbye Dear Friend

Friday, July 31, 2009

Monty Walks for K9 Cancer


Over the years I have lost several of my best friends to canine cancer, including my beloved Shasta and Nanda. I am so lucky that within the Heart of TX Lab Family we have several survivors, including our beloved Pete who lost a leg to bone cancer and was given 6 months to live, that was 3 years ago.

In October Les and Monty from Labradors WorldWide will be making a 27 mile hike to raise funds for The National Canine Cancer Foundation

Monty is walking for all those who can't. For all our friends who are no longer here to walk with him. He is walking for all of our FurKids who we love so much and whom each of us hopes and prays never have to endure cancer.

What I want you to do is go onto their hike site (listed below) and donate just a little. Economically these are very tough times that we live in. But if you could donate $5 or $10 (all funds are donated right o to the charity nothing to them) we can help.

learn more about the walk at:
http://www.labradorsworldwide.com/charity-walk.html

Ray Hebert from Heart of Tx Lab Rescue wants to thank Les and Monty for hiking for those who can't.

I am a personal human survivor. The types of cancer that our pets get are very similar to what humans get. Just like Heartworms, and Parvo Virus I believe this is curable. We just need to fund the research until the right treatments are found.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Meet Ben



Ben- DOB 1998
Color: Chocolate

Ben was a HOTLab Rescue dog ten years ago and just recently found his way back to us.

If we didn't know he was ours in 1999 we'd think he's about 7 or 8 right now - very spry for his age and in really good shape! AND - As you can see from his photos - he loves toys!

He did come back to us with an allergy history, but his allergies are easy - he's allergic to Barley, Duck, Kelp, Rabbit, White Potato, various grasses and trees (but nothing common like oak). So no Duck hunting for Ben ;(

When you Save a Life, you have a Friend for Life

If you are on Twitter you can follow all the antics of HOTLab at HOTLabRescue

For more info on been go to www.hotlabrescue.org

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Phoenix -- Beaten with a Bat

What happened to Lance upset me. What has happened to Phoenix makes me sick to my stomach. The picture below shows Phoenix with a splint on his broken leg, if the splint were not there the whole bottom of his left leg would just be hanging there flopping.

As best as we can tell he was beaten with a bat (or worse). Puppy's just don't get multiple fractures like this without help. A broken leg, OK maybe that could be a slip but multiple breaks that takes some help. A broken femur and tibia as well as tendon damage.

When Margaret called from Town Lake Animal Control Center and told me about this little guy my heart just stopped. She asked if we could raise the funds to save this boy. All I could say was I will find a way to get the $2k needed to get him fixed up. I cannot just sit here and not try to help this guy.




Just like Lance he needs a name that will give him the strength and courage to get over this. Thus, we have named him Phoenix. Because just like the mythical Phoenix that rose from the ashes, with a colorful plumage and a tail of gold to soar again, our Phoenix will raise and soar again as well.

No amount is too small. For Lance 2 boys donated their weekly allowance. That touched my heart. A class in Chicago sold bird seed and sent the proceeds to help Lance. That was amazing.

I know times are tough. I am part of the 9.4% unemployed right now and I'm going to give the extra $25 a week that the government is giving me to help this little guy out. I figure that HEB brand of pasta sauce is just as good as Ragu ;)



Easiest way to donate is through the PayPal options on the www.hotlabrescue.org
site. This way the funds get to us quickly.

But if you want to send a check you can send it to
Heart of Texas Lab Rescue, Inc.
P.O. Box 81821
Austin, TX 78708-1821

or you can contact us directly for additional options:

Click here for Contact Info
our email address is
hotlr@hotlabrescue.org

Friend of Phoenix -- $25
Love of Phoenix -- $50

Remember that HOTLab Rescue is a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit so any donation made is tax deductible. All donors will receive a letter thanking you for your donation that you can use for your tax records.

In closing thank you for helping.

Meet Cheerio


Cheerio is a sweet girl who ended up stray at the pound. She's recently had puppies and seems to have been a major puppy producer.

Miss Cheerio has successfully completed her heartworm treatment and is ready for her new forever home.

Cheerio gets along well with other dogs and cats. Her favorite past time is to sniff and track where the squirrels have been on the ground and then watch for them in the trees. She's also learning some manners but having been a stray for a while, she still needs more training and positive reinforcement, but the good thing is she's a quick learner.

All you have to do is add love and you will have a wonderful addition to your family.

When you save a Life you have a Friend for Life

If you would like to know more about Cheerio go to the Heart of Texas Lab Rescue web site HOTLR


Sunday, May 17, 2009

Peace, Love & Labs T-Shirts

Peace, Love & Labs

Heart of Texas Lab Rescue's shirts.
$10
A fun way to show your Labbie pride this summer



We have a few of these wonderful shirts available.
$13 for the first shirt ($10 for the shirt, $3 for shipping)
$10 for each additional shirt
Sizes: Medium/Large/X-Large

You can pay for them via the PayPal link on our web site. Just put T-Shirt and size in the description field and I'll get them right out to you.
www.hotlabrescue.org

If you would like to send us a check, send to:
Heart of Texas Lab Rescue, Inc.
P.O. Box 81821
Austin, TX 78708-1821
Also send an email to hotlabrescue@gmail.com with the size you want so I can put it aside.

The proceeds of these great shirts goes to making sure that we have the funds to make sure all the Labs in our program have the treatments and training they need to be great members of their forever families.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Happy Tails -- Hope




We recently celebrated the one year anniversary of Hope's adoption day.

We can still hardly believe how lucky we are to have such a wonderful pup. We're so happy that she chose us (at our initial meeting she charged over to say "hi" before it was even her turn to meet us)!

Thanks to some basic obedience lessons from Greg at Gateway Dog Training, she has matured a lot in the last year. During this time Hope has shown an affinity for swimming, but it wasn't until Greg told us that he taught her how to swim that we realized she didn't really know how.

Wherever she goes, people are always sad to see her leave and often ask to take her home with them! Our two cats have clearly established a pecking order and Hope is at the bottom! She is wonderful with our niece and two nephews, who she visits quite often. They roll on her, give her commands, pull, poke and all other things that kids do. Hope takes it all in stride and readily comes back for more!

We can't believe that it's already been a year since Hope joined our family and can't imagine our life without her. Thanks HOTLab for rescuing this wonderful dog so that she could become a member of our family!

Wasn't that a nice update? Remember Save a Life and your life will forever be saved. www.hotlabrescue.org

Monday, May 4, 2009

Happy Tails -- Maya



Ms. Maya has been with us for one whole year now.....and she is still a joy. When she first came to us, she thought that she was the "Diva" of the household - trying to get anything that she wanted (like my sweet potato) off the counter, or the pizza from Austin's Pizza, or the garlic bread. The list goes on and on with all those events lasting for about 2 weeks. Then came a lot of time outs. Looking back, we would not trade her in for anything. We are so grateful and blessed to have Maya aa a part of the Beechum Family.

The hubby and Maya share carrots/tricks (which he loves to see her do), plus, he makes sure that the kids are being very caring and loving with her. Earl hates when my youngest(Aliya)is playing with her way to rough. We take walks every single morning (just Angela/ Maya time) and when the weather is cool I run with her, but only once a week as she really doesn't like running that much. She will play in the backyard on the trampoline with the kids. The little old lady next door to us scared the heck out of Maya in the beginning, but they quickly formed a bond. Unfortunately, she moved away recently and Maya has been missing her. I have many, many stories about her every single day. She has really calmed down a lot and now lets me run the household; she's just there to make sure that everyone is doing what they need to be doing.

Heart of Texas Lab Rescue

Help HOTLab by doing a search using Good Search. They donate money to HOTLab for every search done. GoodSearch

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Happy Tails -- Wally and Vince



We finally have a digital camera, so we can send pictures of our boys. Wally and Vince (you knew him as Rex) are good buddies they are rarely apart. Wally is still mellow, but Vince has inspired him to run and play in the yard. They run around so much they have worn out spots of the grass. Wally has taught Vince how to mellow out a bit.

Right after I shot the picture where they are playing tug a war, they were both laying down tugging (that is mellow). Wally has lost quite a bit of weight we can sometimes almost see his ribs. They are learning slowly how to behave, they sit at open doors without darting out, although by the picture you can tell they don't like it.

The news here is that we are moving to Wisconsin. The boys don't want to go because they like their pool, but we promised them they could go swimming in the lake near our new home.

Thanks for the great dogs; they have very different personalities, but both are wonderful in their own special way. By the way Wally still does the duck dance and it's still adorable.

Heart of Texas Lab Rescue

Monday, April 27, 2009

Lance Update

So many of you have asked how Lance is doing.
You can read Lance's story here: Lance Bio

Well I just got back from his checkup and he is doing so much better. It is amazing how resilient he is.

HOTLab Rescue presented Buttercup Creek Animal Hospital in Cedar Park, Texas with a painting done by world renowned artist Sheila Wedegis. The good people at Buttercup Creek did all of Lance's surgery. And everyone at HOTLab is grateful to them.


We can put him back together, we can make him better then he was before.

His wounds are healing very nicely. You can barely see the huge scar where his leg was ripped open.

Now what he will need is a very special family to adopt him. One that will provide him with the love and the exercise that he needs.

HOTLab has over 15 wonderful Labs looking for their forever homes. We also have a bunch of Labs in shelters that we would like to get but need Foster homes for them.

So Today is a good day.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Happy Tails -- SLG

This is one of my personal favorites. SLG is a reason why HOTLab Rescue exist. No one gave him a chance but we did and Wow. Read on....
www.hotlabrescue.org



SLG aka Pete- Adopted October 2006

Pete was fostered by HOTLR for almost a year. It was discovered that he had a very invasive form of cancer and one of his legs was amputated. He was given about 4-6 months to live. 2 years later, here's an update from his new family...

SLG' stands for "my Special Little Guy". Of course, our 'the man of the hour' is curled up by my chair as I write this, and he continues to work his way into everyone's heart. His new nickname is actually "melty boy" because his soft, sort of oversized skin and floppy ears always look like they are in a puddle when he is laying down. He's in great shape - we visit the vet and try to be careful about not pushing him, and he seems to be thriving. Sometimes even too much.

When we are a little tired of throwing his "boppity" bumper-thing into the pool and want him to give it a rest and calm down, he'll throw it in and keep on fetching. He couldn't have been luckier than he was when you fostered him for as long as you did and we all owe you our gratitude for it. We had the best time in Stowe; we just love it there. Wouldn't you know, Pete was so excited on the way, it was as if he was no stranger there, either.

On our first trip to the path, Pete started making a "honking" sound we hadn't heard, although he was determined to keep moving ahead. We called the vet and put him in front of the phone and were told that that is the sound a dog makes when he is really excited. Hopefully we can get back there in the winter with my sister and her dog, a French Bulldog that copies everything Pete does.

Learn more about great Labs available at Heart of Texas Labrador Rescue. www.hotlabrescue.org

Happy Tails -- Duncan

Ducan- Adopted Feb 2008
www.hotlabrescue.org



Hello to all our friends at Heart of Texas Lab Rescue! It's been a year since we brought Duncan (formerly Radio) home to join our family. We love him and all his antics. He is just the sweetest dog, remarkably calm for his age and very smart.

He has gotten quite tall and his face is now at kitchen table level. (One of his nicknames is Long Paw because his legs are so long.) Last summer, my husband was transferred back to Washington DC. Duncan is enjoying his new big back yard, visiting Grandma's house, and playing with the neighbor's Lab. Last week he even got to play in snow for the first time! Here are some pictures of him to show you how much he has grown.

Thank you for all you do for these wonderful dogs!



Wednesday, April 22, 2009

$250 Donation to Heart of Texas Labrador Rescue

$250 Donation to Heart of Texas Labrador Rescue

Was your roof damaged in the recent hailstorms that hit Austin?

Integrity Constructive Solutions & Lone Star Floors, an Austin Texas based roofing & Flooring Company has graciously offered to donate $250 for every roof that they do that is referred to them by HOTLab Rescue.

I can personally vouch for them as they have done roofs on both of my houses in Austin. They also own Lone Star Floors. Over the past 5 years they have put in carpeting, tile and counter tops at both of my houses in Austin. I would not continue to use them if they did not do a great job at a fair price.

They worked with my insurance company to get the pricing right. They paid me an advertising fee for putting their sign in my front yard, which helped to offset the deductible. (No company can waive your deductible that is illegal). When the job was done they filed all the paperwork to get the depreciation from the insurance company.

If you have not had much experience with insurance companies they give you an up front check and then a check (depreciation) once the job is completed.

And if the $250 donation were not enough they are Lab people. Little Sienna who I am fostering and is terrified of people warmed right up to them, so you know that they are good folk.

So give them a call. It cost nothing for them to come out and look at your roof and give you an estimate. Just mention that you are a friend of HOTLab Rescue so we get the credit.

Please forward to anyone you know who was impacted by the hailstorms so we can spread the word to as many people as possible and raise much needed funds to keep HOTLab saving as many Labs as possible.

Contacts:

Jon Sprinkle

512-845-5861

Bill McGavern

512-335-7262

lonestarfloors@gmail.com

If you have any questions about the quality of their work just drop me a line and I'll be happy to answer your questions. You are also welcome to come over to either of my houses and see the quality of the work that they do.

hotlabrescue@gmail.com

Ray Hebert & Shaq

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Lance -- Pit Bull Bait

Lance

Lance- DOB April 2007
Color: Black

Lance was thrown into an enclosed area with 3 PIT BULLS. Now if you are not pissed off, upset, outraged, troubled and a number of things that should not be said in public then you need to go and find your heart. I am all of these and more.


Lance survived, how we are not sure. But he did and he is a survivor. And we at Heart of Texas Labrador Rescue (emphasis on HEART) are committed to helping Lance survive and rebuild his life with a forever home that will appreciate, cherish and love him.

His name is Lance for a good reason. There is another Lance who survived against all odds and went on to win 7 Tours de France. There is yet another Lance who survived against all odds and just won his 3rd Iditarod Sled Dog race. Yes he is named in honor of Lance Armstrong and Lance Mackey. He needed a name that will bring him the strength and the courage to go on. And when you say Lance you say it all.

Lance has been at HotLab Rescue since mid March. He has received excellent medical treatment at Buttercup Creek Animal Hospital. A big thank you to Dr. Mary Page Corcoran and her incredible staff.



Lance is warm and wiggly, and will sit on your feet looking up at you with his tongue lolling out of his mouth and a look in his eyes that says, "Pet me, pet me".



Lance's road to recovery is going to be a long one and we need your help. We need to raise $3,000. Now that seems like a lot of money, and it is. But we have several ways for you to help us.

Easiest way to donate is through the PayPal options on the www.hotlabrescue.org site or you can contact us directly for additional options:

Click here for Contact Info
hotlr@hotlabrescue.org

Friend of Lance -- $25
Love of Lance -- $50
Painting of Lance