BHRR’s Ava Marie still has not had a proper bowel movement yet (one small and very hard bm to date) she figured out how to pee really quickly on this surgery. AND, my goodness, she is feeling fiesty this past day! LOL SLOW down! I think she feels awesome as the pain that she is now feeling is a ‘healing’ pain and at this rate, within the next 4-6 weeks; she will be ready to be placed up for adoption and just thinking about that makes me well up my eyes with both JOY for her and SADNESS for us as she is truly a DREAM of a GD and is going to make a home so very happy! As with all of our animals at BHRR; we are extremely protective of her and we will do our absolute best to ensure that she only goes to a best matched home which includes a home that understands that she is not a jogging/running partner and is not meant to pounding around on those knees/legs/joints of hers. She has bad arthritis already in those knees and we want BHRR’s Ava Marie to live the best and most quality filled life possible. I know that this doll has captured so many hearts around the world and as with all of our animals, I WISH all of you could meet her in person…..she will just enrapture you and those ears…sigh…I keep going back to those ears of hers….heavenly…..I have added new pictures to her slideshow #31 – #25 and I am going to add 2 below. The swelling is just terrible in that knee with edema yet she is on her Deramaxx 100 mg (1.5 tablets SID) and that has helped and she remains on her antibiotics for another 5 days. Tomorrow, I shall remove her pain patch and will monitor to see if I need to add another one. I will see what her comfort level is and I am working both tomorrow night and a good part of Friday at KAH, so can easily obtain another one for her if needed then. She has had more bruising this time around too, the poor thing. I truly cannot thank ALL of you enough for the cross-posting, donations and participation to her ONLINE AUCTION! We are still collecting monies and final total raised between donations direct to her account and in her ONLINE AUCTION will be announced, everything crossed by EOD on Friday! LAH has allowed us to carry a balance until end of week. My intent is to go to LAH on Saturday during my lunch break at KAH to pay off the remaining balance.

You can still donate to Ava’s Action Assistance Fundraiser by email transfer to gwen@birchhaven.org or by PayPal(account is gwen@birchhaven.org) OR you can write a check/MO or Bank Draft out to ‘Birch Haven Rescue & Rehabilitation Services’ OR to ‘Gwendilin & Sean Boers’ for her Vet Bills with BHRR’s Ava in the memo section and mail to:

Birch Haven Rescue & Rehabilitation Services
C/O Gwendilin Boers
2425 Totem Ranch Road West
RR#1 Oxford Station, Ontario
K0G 1T0

OR you can call Liston Animal Hospital at (613) 591-0966 to pay on Ava Marie’s Bill directly by Visa or M/C – Ava’s bill is under the account name of ‘Ava Boers.’ There is still almost a $1,000.00 owing on her account at this time after I put a ‘goodwill’ deposit down on August 13th for Ava Marie to be able to have her surgery and other direct deposit donations made to her account during the time of her ONLINE AUCTION.

AND being the princess that BHRR’s Ava Marie is, she has so enjoyed having a double futon mattress to herself in the triage area, being waited on hand and foot! AND it has been my absolute delight to be a ‘slave’ to her pleasure! 😛 THIS is what rescue is all about, SO many pulling together to assist a deserving/worthy animal in need, making a difference! AND believe me, to BHRR’s Ava Marie, each and every one of you HAVE made a difference for so many others would have put her to sleep and OMG! The world would have been so deprived of one of the most incredible ‘land’ angels ever! Each animal at BHRR takes me on a journey and I am contantly learning and experiencing things that I wish I could that just by touching a finger to another; that; they too; could know such a gift…….CHAIN OF SUCCESS made that much stronger with the links of ALL of you assisting BHRR’s Ava Marie. I am humbled, touched and I have become so known of saying this of late BUT it is true; I wish there were more words in the dictionary to say I THANK YOU! So, on behalf of BHRR’s Ava Marie, I THANK YOU once more from my heart, soul and every fibre of my being. BHRR’s Ava Marie taught/showed me yet again that there is no pride/ego in place when it comes to asking for help for another in need and I have begged, pleaded, grovelled and shall remain to do so in the name of animals like her that deserve that fighting chance too.

AND that brings me to some comments that I want to make to say that I am sorry for the two that emailed me to say that all of those monies we raised could have saved so many others in need over just saving one ‘dog’ as they termed Ava Marie and I know they did not mean ‘dog’ in a nice manner. Well, my response was a very polite one in stating that when I founded BHRR back in 1996, that our focus would be on those Special Needs and that means by our definition, clearly posted all over our websites; the sick, the INJURED; the old, the dying, the blind and the deaf etc. Therefore, by our very clearly defined mandates, BHRR’s Ava Marie more than fell under this definition as she was obese and had 2 blown cruciates. I know that I cannot please all that read our blogs, and that is a most unfortunate reality BUT I had a spot at BHRR and she was the next one in need and we stepped up to assist her AS she was the next one in need plus a Special Needs and I have not one regret. BHRR’s Apollo cost us $4,000+; BHRR’s Potter & BHRR’s Jaxson also cost thousands and thousands to save and I picked up extra shifts, more training/behavoural clients and our supporting public stepped up to do more than I, as one person could in helping them in their huge time of need and NO regrets expressed from my part! I remain open for feedback and comments at BHRR for I believe that all organizations can strive to continue to improve yet on this matter, I am in disagreement. We did what we did for BHRR’s Ava Marie BECAUSE that is what we do at BHRR and as per one of my BOD members, if you do not like reading about the animals we are saving/helping with the assistance of such a wonderful support system; then please do not visit BHRR’s blogs. For myself, I just invited both of them to attend our next BHRR ‘EXPERIENCE’ Mini Open house and to meet BHRR’s Ava Marie, look deep within those emotion filled eyes and tell her that ‘she is not worth saving’ and that she should have been, what one person termed it ‘was humanely disposed of’. Disposed of…..really……..that does not sound very humane at all…..

BHRR’s Ava Marie – August 15th, 2010 – 2 days post-op on left ACL repair surgery