BHRR's Ava Marie shall be going to her new forever loving adoptive home on Friday May 27th!!!! This shall be the #310th adoption for BHRR! 🙂

We are moving BHRR's Ava Marie to an ADOPTED status!!!! The actual adoption date is still being determined yet it shall be within the next few weeks. GOSH! I am going to well up something fierce over this one!!!! I know that I shall see her here and there and I wish her and her newly approved forever loving home that absolute best! This sweetheart has fans all across the world and her adoption is a HUGE deal to so many.

At this time, we are placing BHRR's Ava Marie under a 'PENDING ADOPTION'.

Until such time as we can best determine if this is the right matched home for her; we will not be accepting any more inquiries or applications. Thank you for your patience plus understanding and we hope to be able to update her status shortly.

BHRR's Ava Marie's weight today was 69 KGs(151.80 pounds), so she is maintaining beautifully!!! 😀

Honouring my 'promise!' 1 Picture of BHRR's Ava Marie from February 2nd, 2011 – 'WINTER WONDERLAND DAY' @ BHRR! DOESN'T she just look awesome!

BHRR's Ava Marie(the 'not another picture' look!) & BHRR's Potter

BHRR's Ava Marie shall be temp fostered from March 9th – March 23rd for if all goes well, I shall be headed on my first vacation in almost 6 years!

BHRR's Ava Marie came with me along with Sir Maestro and Mason to meet up with a couple of friends today for a 2 hour walk/hike. AND boy, was she fiesty, full of beans and it was SOOOOOOO awesome to see! Everyone kept making comments about how muscled and solid she was and how mobile! YAY! We varied up the walk between open fields and forest such that we could get her to slow down a bit and this temperature is perfect for her knees! NOT too hot or cold! AND she was feeling her 'oats' so we had to regulate her such that she did not overdue things.AND she was still going strong after 2 hours. We even took various opportunities to stop and chat with other dog owners and lovers so that she could be made to 'rest'. BHRR's Ava Marie just did not want to stop! LOL She had such a great time and as one person stated, the last time she saw BHRR's Ava Marie at this locale walking; only one of her cruciates had been repaired and her mobility had its limitations. It made my heart just soar with how great all the feedback was about BHRR's Ava Marie in temperament, mobility, body condition and social skills with both humans/dogs etc. GO BHRR's Ava Marie GO!

One person we ran into, was really interested in her and we shall see if an application comes our way for us to review. BHRR's Ava Marie played with dogs of all sizes from labs to goldens to a berner to a boston terrier and everything in-between! As I have stated over and over again, she is just perfect to be a Therapy Dog and come the new year, while we await her forever loving home; I shall begin her CGN and TT training towards her Therapy Certification.

I am hoping and I am sure that some pictures from today shall be sent our way… 😉 and I shall be sure to post a few!

From the walk, we headed over to KAH for BHRR's Ava Marie's 'annual' and she weighed….drumroll……. a wiggly 69.2 KGs(152.24 pounds). ALL SOLID MUSCLE! WOOHOOOO! That makes a 39.56 pound loss since her arrival to BHRR! WTG GIRL! So many came out to love on her and to visit with her and were so impressed with the journey she has made since her arrival to BHRR. I am soooooooooo proud of this girl! The Vet had a lot of complimentary words as well regarding her calm and loving disposition and what great shape she was in. 🙂 Her left knee was a bit swollen at this time and she was a bit stiff doing to lay down and get up yet HOLY! BIG BIG BIG change from the dog that could hardly even walk when they arrived to BHRR. Upon arriving home, we gave her a Deramaxx and she is very happily snoozing on a Kuranda bed. 🙂

At this time, I do not wish to see her weigh any less than she does and if she puts on more muscle that is fine! Not sure where the muscle would go though! SHE Is rock solid. 🙂

I am adding a photo below from our last BHRR 'EXPERIENCE' Mini Open House no November 13th, 2010.

BHRR"s Ava Marie – November 13th, 2010 – BHRR "EXPERIENCE" Mini Open House
*Photo courtesy A. Bennett

BHRR's Ava Marie's Annual Appointment has been booked for December 30th, 2010.

Due to the emergency with BHRR's Potter, I have canceled BHRR's Ava Marie's annual for tomorrow. I shall reschedule ASAP.

I took BHRR's Ava Marie with me tonight when I was doing a hv for BHRR's Koop's possible adoption. She is such a great dog!!!! 🙂

Due to the loss of BHRR's Storm this evening, BHRR's Ava Marie shall be staying at BHRR. We will not have a need of a temp foster home at this time now.

BHRR's Ava Marie is heading to her temp foster home on Sunday December 5th and just as with BHRR's Lily Belle, I am going to miss her BUT she shall have a blast in having new experiences and making new friends!

To learn more about how to become an approved BHRR Foster/Volunteer home please visit our appropriate page here.

Due to a family situation, BHRR's Ava Marie's Annual was rescheduled. I have her Vet appointment now scheduled for Saturday December 11th.

Some many photos to add of the dogs! So, let me first start with BHRR's Ava Marie and some photos from June 13th, 2010 from our screened in porch around the pool. A couple of these photos were added to our BHRR FB Group back in June yet wanted to also add them to her slideshow #38 – #45 and have put two below. With the cooler weather(AND that it is not yet too cold) BHRR's Ava Marie has been super mobile and full of 'spunk'! Within the last couple of weeks, she has also begun to get back up on our bed and is most content to stetch out and  'hog' as much as she can from the other dogs! JUST LOVING this girl to bits! DOESN'T she look so happy!!!!!

BHRR"s Ava Marie – June 13th, 2010 – 2.5 years of age

BHRR's Ava Marie came today on one of our regular GD Walk/Hikes & Honourary GD Walks/Hikes and SHE had such a blast! We can be as few as 6 at times and we have had as many as 40+ in attendance and our distribution list for these walks are now up to 83!!!! For anyone wishing to join us; please email and we only take responsible dog owners and their dogs. In having these walks for almost 15 years now; we have never had an incident and we are all very diligent, committed owners and there is always room for more. Nothing like seeing all of these Giants and 'honourary' giants out and about. We also regularly change up the locations so that we have different venues.  We have meet ups in areas such as Orleans, Ottawa, Kanata, Sittesville, Constance Bay, Carleton Place and even in the Kemptville area. We have another group that regularly meets up in the Brockville and Kingston areas too! Many commented on how mobile plus fit  Ava Marie looked today! Her leash manners were a little 'out' there here and there yet overall, so proud of her working on her flat buckle collar in such an exciting venue. Considering that we have not been able to do a lot of serious obedience training for very long to day due to all that she has had to overcome – weight loss, 2 surgeries and pneumonia so YAY for her! Picture below is of some that attended the walk. BHRR's Shiva was also there! As BHRR's Ava Marie is due for some vaccines in November, I have scheduled an appointment for November 24th. I am sooooooooo excited to see what she weighs now!!!

GD Walk/Hike & Honourary GD Walk/Hike – October 17th, 2010 – Some that attended

BHRR’s Ava Marie had a great recheck appointment at LAH on Thursday. Thanks being publicly extended again to Barry for the assistance in getting her to her Vet appointment! The Vet thought her knee was good as is her other knee that was repaired on May 21s, 2010 and he did do a bit of draining on both knees and upon looking under the microscope, all was well, serum and soooooooooooooo, BHRR’s Ava Marie is now in the ‘all clear’ to not only have her *date* with the person who won this item as part of Ava Marie’s recent ONLINE Auction BUT….she is now officially ready to be placed as ‘AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION’. I literally find myself choked up with mixed feelings in reaching this point in her journey for the lessons, experiences, wisdom etc. that BHRR’s Ava Marie has extended my way during her time her at BHRR has just been incredible. This girl is full of the best heart, soul, acceptance, tolerance, patience, kindness and love that I have ever had the pleasure of encountering and of course, CANNOT forget those amazing velvety ears of hers! As with all the animals at BHRR, we are very protective of BHRR’s Ava Marie and she shall ONLY go to a home that is going to understand that she is my literal $10,000+ dollar girl yet in reality truly ‘priceless’. That she has had two very extensive surgeries on her knees, has battled an amazing weight loss, has significant arthritis in both of her knees and is not going to go to a home that is going to ‘pound’ the pavement with her, that is going to give time to icing her knees and massaging helps too(this part from Ava Marie!) and that her weight is going to be managed properly, that truly *sees* BHRR’s Ava Marie for who she is and not this ‘big ol’ Great Dane’ or a ‘broken’ dog for she is anything BUT! BHRR’s Ava Marie will make an incredible Therapy Dog and companion to almost any home. We would love to see her go to a home with one other dog(her best friend here is BHRR’s Apollo), yet a dog that is not going to be too much for her yet on the other hand, not a ‘pushover’ for BHRR’s Ava Marie has personality herself. This home must also understand that she might need more draining done on her knees in time and probably more than once. We are going to be very patient as we are with all of our adoptions for that right matched home for her and I am going to cherish each moment I have with her until it is her time to be adopted as this is one very incredibly special Great Dane. I truly do feel welled up inside that the time has come to think about us having to part ways and it is such a good thing for her and going to be a very very very sad time for me. Even one of the Vets tonight that I work with was just amazed at how fantastic she looked and how well she has done…GO BHRR’s AVA MARIE GO! Below is a picture that I took on September 1st, 2010. DOES she look marvelous! A waistline, muscle, toning and she can move! When I went to go to bed the other night, I was looking around for her as I say goodnight to each and every dog before I call it quits for the night myself and I could not find her! AND then I look closer on our king size bed, I thought it was Dyce’s rump yet it was hers. FOR those that have seen our master bedroom, this is no small feat to get up on that bed and here she was, laying on her side, snoring away(do not tell her that she snores!) and as comfortable as can be. She was not so pleased to see me ‘get her off the bed’ as there was not going to be room for me BUT to thinkg that she was able to get up on it in the first place is awesome! SOMETHING that would have been considered the ‘impossible’ back in March when she first arrived to BHRR. Now, she has not gone back up since for she was most ‘put out’ by my actions.  😛 AND when I try to encourage her to come up for a cuddle, she turns her head aside in a pout and slowly turns away to lay with great effort and many loud sighs on one of the dog beds…LOL What a character! I just adore her…..

BHRR’s Ava Marie & BHRR’s Ava Marie with BHRR’s Potter – September 1st, 2010

A deep heartfelt thank you being sent out to Barry, one of BHRR’s BOD members for offering to take BHRR’s Ava Marie to her recheck appointment with Dr. Liston tomorrow for 2:30 PM. Barry is visiting from the east coast and it shall be my only quick opportunity to say a personal hello to him in passing during his time here as we meet up to send BHRR’s Ava Marie off with him for her appointment.

ISO: BHRR Volunteer(s) to assist me in getting BHRR’s Ava Marie to a recheck Vet Appointment plus to have both of her knees drained at LAH – Liston Animal Hospital on Thursday September 9th – can schedule anytime between 2:30 PM – 5:30 PM. Please email: gwen@birchhaven.org

Unfortunately, both of her knees shall need to be drained and should we have a ‘great’ recheck appointment, within the next couple of weeks; BHRR’s Ava Marie should be ready to be placed up for adoption!

I brought BHRR’s Ava Marie in to work with me today at KAH. Around 1:30 AM – 2:00 AM today; I noticed that her ‘good’ leg – the right one that had the ACL repair surgery back on May 21st, 2010 have a large odd shaped lump. I felt it and it looked almost like a really bad blown vein yet I knew that was not it and thought at one point it could have been an allergic reaction to something like a spider bite yet that did not seem right either and checked her temperature and it was normal and she was acting herself. I made an appointment first thing today for her and by the time we got to KAH; the large odd shaped lump was no longer ‘squishy’ yet very hard to the touch. That indicated to me that it is most likely fluid of some sort and the Vet confirmed this by doing an aspirate. It was synovial fluid and looked clear and did not appear to be infected yet the Vet had it spun down and looked more closely at it. The diagnosis is that by all the compensation that BHRR’s Ava Marie has had to do on this leg due to recovering from her leg leg ACL repair surgery(and we took the sutures out today while we were there…what a great girl!); that she developed a small tear and it was leaking. The Vet was not concerned that this would indicate any impact on her ACL and we discussed that most likely that Ava Marie will need to have this drained again in the future and possibly more than once. This is the leg that Dr. Liston drained a seroma from when I brought her in for a recheck and to remove her staples. The odd thing was as per the blog post that I made that the seroma was below the knee and it occured many days after her surgery. I am soooooooooooo relieved that we are not looking at anything more serious and the Vet felt so bad for Ava Marie with her very swollen knees with the arthritis. The Vet also could not believe that Ava Marie was 2 years old as she is so calm, well mannered and quiet. 😀 NOR with how amazing she was with all that poking, prodding that had to be done on her knees. I cannot stress enough about how incredible this Dane is!!!! Every time I took Ava Marie outside or when another person did, she just wanted to get into my truck to come home…..she just has been at the Vets far too many times and she just wanted to come home. WELL, we are home now and she is resting comfortably in the triage area and I will take her to LAH when Dr. Liston is back from holidays for a final ‘sign off’ on that leg and we will monitor her closely in case she needs more drainage. At this time, she will not be going up for adoption when we first anticipated she would as we want her as healthy as possible. Her weight today was 70.3 KGS(154.66 pounds) and she looked PERFECT for her size/age at this time. She is going to do some more filling out over the next year but she is right where I want her to be for the moment and gosh, she is stunning!

BHRR’s Ava Marie had a bit of a set back on Tuesday. She was feeling a bit fiesty and tried to ‘trot’ from the master bedroom to the main floor area and did not quite make the corner and hit her healing knee on the wall frame. She went down and the sounds she was making just ripped through my heart. I initially thought she had caused herself serious damage.  😥 I was right behind her yet had not been quick enough to get her collar to ‘force’ her to slow down. Idid manage to get her to the triage area – just a few feet away and she did not weight bear on the leg at all. I gave her a Deramaxx 100 mg, monitored her closely and looked the leg over and was one step away from calling one of her Vets as she was still whimpering a bit and I realised that she ‘scared’ herself more than anything else. For sure, it had to have hurt like the dickens yet the whole thing scared her more than it hurt and after much loving and some rest; she was all up for her breakfast(when Ava Marie does not eat, YOU know something is wrong) and had her antibiotics(we have kept her on a longer course and moved her to Clavamox 375 mg) and she was up to going out for a pee. I spent a good part of my AM, watching her and in a heartbeat I would have brought her in if I suspected anything wrong and will continue to monitor yet things seem back to norm. It shall be two weeks on Friday since her surgery and I shall remove her sutures at that time and bring her in next week for a recheck at LAH(Dr. Liston himself is away on vacation until September 7th or so) and I might wait until he is back to get his official ‘sign off’ on her leg. After that, a couple more weeks of rehab work at BHRR and then BHRR’s Ava Marie should be ready to be placed up for adoption AND even saying those words just ‘catches’ at me BUT it is what we do here and I know so many are going to miss her, so whomever adopts her; please stay in touch! 😀 This amazing dream of a Great Dane has touched the hearts of many across the world. I am adding a photo below of her leg from August 23rd and shall also add it to her ‘Ava’s Action Assistance Fundraiser‘ Page. We are still awaiting the collection on ONE item from her ONLINE Auction and when we have that sorted out; we will post the grand total raised between her ONLINE Auction and donations made direct to her account during that time. Ava Marie also decided about three nights ago that she was SO DONE with the triage area for sleeping at night and made her way to the master bedroom, settled herself on one of the dog beds and turned her head to the wall, refusing to look at me in case I was going to ask her to go back to the triage area! LOL No, you do not have too Ava Marie! AND, when I came home from dropping the wee ones at daycamp, who was all snuggled on one of our leather couches with BHRR’s Potter??? NONE other than Ava Marie herself! AND she looked very settled in and was making no move to get off in a hurry! LOL Silly girl! NO LEATHER RULE here at BHRR Missy!  😛

BHRR’s Ava Marie – August 23rd, 2010 – 10 days post-op

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

BHRR’s Ava Marie had a relatively good night  and I was able to get to bed for around 1 AM and I was up around 3:30 AM to give her a second injection of hydromorphone and she was still resting well when I got up to head to the Hospital today. She had a pee around noon for Sean today and seemed to feel so much more comfortable afterwards. She was able to be visited briefly today by our recently approved adoptive home (who adopted BHRR’s Moose!) plus another lovely person who had donated an item to her ONLINE AUCTION and had also won something in her auction. I will be in touch with all the winners shortly about payment, shipping and ensuring that they obtain their win items! THANKS ONCE more to everyone who cross-posted, otherwise advertised and participated in her Auction. Final total still to be tallied as I had to work this today and was up most of the night with BHRR’s Ava Marie and then had BHRR’s Moose adoption today. Thank you so much to everyone for their patience!

Update: August 13th – 1:38 PM – Ava Marie weighed 67.1 KGs today(147.62 pounds) and that makes her total weight loss since her arrival to BHRR as 44.18 pounds. Her weight is still down a wee bit more than I would like to see yet she is still slowly recovering in the weight department from her bout with pneumonia. With the increased rest she will be on, just as with her first cruciate surgery on May 21st, 2010; she will put some of that weight back much more easily now. She was also doing a wee bit of ‘wall’ leaning so that took a pound or two or three of her actual weight.  😉 She was out of surgery around 12:45 PM and everything went well! She is now still ‘out like a light’ and she will be headed home for around 6:00 PM. Cannot wait to get her all settled back at home! Will update her blog as I can and please please please do consider participating in her ONLINE AUCTION that shall end tonight at 9:00 PM EST!!!! OR Please consider donating………

PayPal, email transfer to gwen@birchhaven.org, credit card(Visa or M/C) directly to Liston Animal Hospital (613) 591-0966 or even by mailing a check to Birch Haven Rescue and Rehabilitation Services would be beyond appreciative. On behalf of Ava Marie, THANK you so much for your continued support!

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

Will update her blog as I can and add post surgery/recovery photos.

Update: August 13th, 7:39 PM: BHRR’s Ava Marie arrived home about one hour ago. Sean helped me to get her settled and I gave her her first of two hydromorphone injections. She is now resting and I have her covered up to regulate her body temperature to avoid shock. I posted 2 pictures on our BHRR FB page and also on her ONLINE AUTION Page and will add two below plus I will add on her Ava’s Action Assistance Fundraiser page. YOUR consideration to support her will allow us to help pay for her bills and give her the best chance possible at having the best of futures ever! Dr. Liston determined that this time he would use stitches for her and I believe there are about 25 or so. I will have to count later and already the bruising is settling in, the poor thing. Keep her in your thoughts!

BHRR’s Ava Marie – August 13th, 2010 – 6.5+ hours Post – Op Surgery at BHRR

Please think of BHRR’s Ava Marie as she heads in for her 2nd cruciate repair surgery later today…we are now just after 1:00 AM and I know that I shall not be sleeping well. I always rest much easier after I have our dogs home and set up in our ‘triage’ area. Thank you from our hearts plus souls to everyone that has crossposted, participated in her ONLINE AUCTION or otherwise made another donation to her BHRR’s Ava Action Assistance Fundraiser to assist us in paying for her impending Bills!!! I know that Ava Marie is beyond thankful to have so many wonderful people out there caring about her! For those that still might wish to donate, IT is not too late! Truly, even $5.00 is not too little and you can can donate 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.’

In preparation for BHRR’s Ava Marie’s 2nd cruciate surgery scheduled for Friday August 13th @ Liston Animal Hospital; we are seeking donations of duvets/comforters and/or sleeping bags! Gently used is just fine etc.! Please email Gwen, if you might have any donations to send our way. THANKS being sent out in advance on behalf of Ava Marie!

I talked to Dr. Liston’s office today and we have a date now scheduled for BHRR’s Ava Marie’s 2nd cruciate – Friday August 13th, 2010 AND we are now reaching out again to her fans/supporters to help us raise the last amount needed to pay for this 2nd cruciate repair surgery; just $1,309.25 more required as the last part of her Ava’s Action Assistance Fundraiser. Truly, even $5.00 is not too little and you can can donate 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.’ Dr. Liston was the Vet that did both BHRR’s Jaxson’s and BHRR’s Potter’s leg amputations in 2009 plus did BHRR’s Apollo’s own cruciate/menisal surgery on July 2nd, 2010.

Between fundraisers and the absolutely generous kindness of her Action “Angels”; $4,690.75 has been raised to date to help BHRR’s Ava Marie get the 2 surgeries she has needed plus rehab to then be placed up for adoption to give her that chance of having a forever loving home to call her own.  Her first cruciate surgery was on May 21st, 2010 AND we are so close to being able to pay for her 2nd surgery now scheduled for Friday August 13th, 2010 and I am just pleading with all my soul for her adoring public to open up their hearts to consider donating a few monies her way to help us help her. To everyone that has met her at our BHRR “EXPERIENCE” Mini Open Houses, to those that have met her on our GD Walk/Hike events to those that have met her at Fundraisers; to those that have not yet had the delight in meeting her yet have fallen under her spell in seeing her pictures and have read her blogs as she has not only triumphed in losing almost 40 pounds yet has recovered from one of her cruciate surgeries with strength plus will power to overcome her injuries; to please please please consider donating to her cause. In turn, I know that BHRR’s Ava Marie would thank you with the best in person or even virtual leans and kisses for though she cannot use her words; I see in her eyes; how much better she feels and happier she is, how much better she can move and she is so touched by the warmth extended her way.

We have until end of day on Friday August 13th, 2010 to raise these funds for BHRR’s Ava Marie and I have been asking for any extra shifts I can at KAH to help reach this goal. Truly, thank you ALL in advance for your consideration of BHRR Ava Marie.

I have uploaded 4 new photos to BHRR’s Ava Marie’s slideshow #27-#30. I am also posting two below, one from our June 26th BHRR ‘EXPERIENCE’ Mini Open House and one from our recent July 18th, 2010 BHRR 3rd ANNUAL Microchip/Nail Trim & BBQ Fundraiser. $2,828.96 was raised and the biggest plus most appreciative thanks are being sent from the BHRR animals to all that came out in support! The weather was divine, the people incredible and the dogs adorable! AND the food was not bad either…THANKS Sean! 😛 $1,222.96 of the monies raised has come directly to BHRR’s Ava Marie to assist her with her 2nd cruciate repair surgery that is tentatively planned for August 2010. We are still waiting for her to finish her round of Doxy from her pneumonia. The rest of the monies raised went towards paying of the balance of her pneumona Vet Bills and also to BHRR’s Hamilton the Newf and his recent laceration Vet Bills. THANKS to your continued support and generousity; BHRR has been able to lower our current Vet Bills to $5,932.99. BHRR’s Ava Marie was an incredible hit at our recent Fundraiser along with BHRR’s Lily Belle, who was also in attendance. So many were just amazed at her 35-40 pound weight loss and how wonderful she looked! She is a true love bug this one for sure. She raised a LOT of money with her Donation Dog Coat to help others like her in need and THANKS so much yet again to everyone that helped promote this event, volunteered(we had 27 people), attended and cross-posted this Fundraiser event!!!

BHRR’s Ava Marie – June 26th, 2010 – BHRR’s Mini Open House & July 18th @ our Microchip/Nail Trim & BBQ Fundraiser

For her fans that wish to donate to her Ava Marie’s Action Assistance Fundraiser to help us raise the remaining $1,309.25 needed for her 2nd cruciate repair surgery; you can contact Liston Animal Hospital directly at (613) 591-0966 pay by Debit, Credit Card or Visa/Mastercard under the account name of ‘Ava Marie’ Boers or PayPal funds to the account of gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer funds to gwen@birchhaven.org OR you can mail a check to:

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

BHRR’s Ava Marie is doing well! I have her eating 3 smaller meals a day down from 5 and she is just doing fantastic! The heat is taking its toll on all the dogs here and thank goodness for A/C and the dogs are taking turns hogging all the vents in their efforts to keep cool! 😛 $175.00 in donations have come her way to date to assist us in paying for her Vet and Pharmacy Bills and we SHOUT out a huge thank you for the support!!!! The balance owing is $953.71. She will remain on the Doxy until the end of July and from there we will determine if we need to take more X-Rays to see how her lungs are doing. She is breathing better and is less congested and I am so thrilled with her progress to date!!!! At this time, her 2nd cruciate repair surgery shall not happen until August and her mobility rehab progress has been so incredible since her first surgery!

Her Vet and Pharmacy Bills are over $1,000 and if any of her supporters wish to help her along with best wishes and some financial assistance, you can contact Kanata Animal Hospital directly (613) 836-2848 to pay by Debit, Credit Card or Visa/Mastercard under the account name of ‘Ava Marie’ under the ‘Birch Haven Rescue’ file or AMEX or PayPal funds to the account of gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer funds to gwen@birchhaven.org OR you can mail a check to:

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

BHRR’s Ava Marie is doing wonderfully! Once her fever went down, her appetite has come nicely back(not 100% yet but close!) and I am feeding her 5 smaller meals throughout the day as she is having some breathing plus eating at the same time issues still and she is almost fully back on kibble and not canned food and/or homecooking. 🙂 She is more active and herself now and so can get up to get that congestion moving. Dr. Liston was asking about her this AM(as we were getting close to scheduling that 2nd cruciate repair surgery) when I dropped BHRR’s Apollo off for his surgery and he thinks her pneumonia could well have been caused by aspiration of lake water at my relatives cottage. Very plausible indeed! I am now awaiting the other 200 Doxy tabs to come in that I prepaid for at Pharmasave on Wednesday as I only have enough at this time up until early next week. They told me Friday or Saturday and I hope so! Her Vet and Pharmacy Bills were over $1,000 and if any of her supporters wish to help her along with best wishes and some financial assistance, you can contact Kanata Animal Hospital directly (613) 836-2848 to pay by Debit, Credit Card or Visa/Mastercard under the account name of ‘Ava Marie’ under the ‘Birch Haven Rescue’ file or AMEX or PayPal funds to the account of gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer funds to gwen@birchhaven.org OR you can mail a check to:

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

BHRR’s Ava Marie had a good night. She ate a can of wet ‘Solid Gold’ brown rice dog food for a late supper last night and around 1:40 AM, I fed her another can and she rested well throughout the night. Her fever is greatly reduced as of today and she ate another can of wet around 8 AM and I will begin her back on a wee bit of kibble shortly for a noon meal. She took her pills this AM like the trooper she is and is more ‘alert’ and had a nice pee. One day at a time. Her Vet and Pharmacy Bills were over $1,000 and if any of her supporters wish to help her along with best wishes and some financial assistance, you can contact Kanata Animal Hospital directly (613) 836-2848 to pay by Debit, Credit Card or Visa/Mastercard under the account name of ‘Ava Marie’ under the ‘Birch Haven Rescue’ file or AMEX or PayPal funds to the account of gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer funds to gwen@birchhaven.org OR you can mail a check to:

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

The Vet confirmed that BHRR’s Ava Marie does have pneumonia as I had suspected and why I had made the ’emerg’ appointment to bring her in today. I felt she was quite feverish and her temp was 40.2C when her Vet took it. X-Rays and bw were also done. Her bw is normal and her left lung is more affected than her right. I have now given her 1.5 x 100 mg of Deramaxx for her fever and per her Vet, she can have this for the next 3 days to bring her temp down. Her weight was 69.50 KGS(152.90 pounds) and so a bit on the thin side at this time. Ava Marie is also on 5 x 100mg of Doxycycline BID that I picked up from the Pharmasave near KAH and will be in on this for the next 28 days minimum. This means that any 2nd cruciate surgery that she would have had in July will now be postponed. As to ‘how’ or ‘why’ she got pneumonia, that is not something that we might ever know. She was completely fine at the BHRR ‘EXPERIENCE’ Mini Open House on Saturday and then went up to my relatives cottage and until last night was ‘appearing’ to be normal. The first sign that indicated that she was not feeling well was her not wanting to eat her supper last night. I asked the Vet, can pneumonia come on that fast and I was told yes. I told the Vet that all the dogs except one on Saturday at the BHRR Mini Open House were ours and as far as I was aware, that other dog visiting was healthy. I will send them an email asking if their dog had been recently ill etc. My relative told me when I asked if Ava Marie had been coughing at all and they said no, not until this AM. As I told them when they called last night; if Ava Marie is off her food, she needs to come home NOW and most likely seen by a Vet as that means something is very wrong. Today, she drank some water at home and I also asked my relative if she had been more quiet than normal and I was told everything was ‘good’ until last night and then she was more quiet; which has also been the case today. I could clearly see that she was having some difficulty breathing when she arrived home and was wanting to just rest and not being her normal active, outgoing friendly self plus was feverish and still was not overly interested in food. I am glad my relative re-arranged their schedule so quickly to get her to me ASAP so that I could then quickly assess her myself and determine if she should go in, which I did; to see a Vet immediately. Pneumonia is caused by bacterial, viral, fungal or parasitic infections. In case of dogs, pneumonia is mainly due to bacterial infection. Inhalation is typically a route of transmission of infection. All of our other dogs are fine to date, eating, drinking, going to the bathroom normally as is our recent new arrival to BHRR; Moose. Some things will always remain a mystery yet I am always the ‘why’ person and seek to be proactive and preventative yet I also realise that some factors/variables cannot be controlled and she has been taken out by approved Volunteers for daytrips, play dates to lots of public venues crowded with other dogs. She also had a recent HWT back in March, so there was no need to repeat that test so soon for sometimes a heartworm test and bronchoscopy are also performed to diagnose pneumonia in dogs. Keep her in your thoughts. Her Vet and Pharmacy Bills today were over $1,000 and if any of her supporters wish to help her along with best wishes and some financial assistance, you can contact Kanata Animal Hospital directly (613) 836-2848  to pay by Debit, Credit Card or Visa/Mastercard or AMEX or PayPal funds to the account of gwen@birchhaven.org or email transfer funds to gwen@birchhaven.org OR you can mail a check to:

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

I am bringing BHRR’s Ava Marie to KAH this afternoon in addition to BHRR’s Moose having his own appointment for his feet etc. as I suspect she might have possible pneumonia, yet I am going to see what her Vet determines. She was wonderful at the BHRR ‘EXPERIENCE’ Mini Open House on Saturday and then went up to a relatives cottage and last night I received a call that she did not eat her supper. WHEN Ava Marie does NOT eat, something is wrong. I had her brought home to me today and I am not liking how she looks or some of the sounds she is making when she breathes. I have listened to her lungs with my own stethoscope and we may do X-Rays when we get to KAH. My relative said that she was normal up until last night and the only abnormal sign was her not eating her supper last night. They told me that she was not making any breathing difficulty noises at all until this AM.  I encouraged her to eat some wet food which she did and she has been quiet and is resting. BUT she would not take a treat and that is not Ava Marie either. I will be heading out to the Vets shortly.

BHRR’s Ava Marie had a re-examination with Dr. Liston and she weighed 161.48 pounds(73.4 KGs), so up a bit from her surgery on May 21st. Being pretty much on ‘rest’ can definitely explain part of that slight gain. The other part would be that yes, I have been giving Ava Marie some special yummy treats to get her to take her antibiotics and Deramaxx etc. but now she is done her antibiotics and the Deramaxx is mostly taken in her food bowl without issue for the most part. Now that she has permission to be more mobile and for us to work on the physical rehab, she will trim up well again! Dr. Liston thought she was looking ‘great’ and that her incision has healed well, her knee is intact and he did see what I meant about the edema and that it was at her knee and not lower down as one would expect and that she has this edema now and not immediately post-op. He was not worried, drained most of the edema and it was just serum and some blood clots. Dr. Liston also confirmed that her knee was mostly pushed right due to the edema and we will continue to massage the knee. She is not fond of the icing part though! LOL So, the plan is to build up more muscle and strength and get the right leg to heal more, come back in a month to re-visit that leg plus to take a closer look at the left leg and plan her 2nd surgery, this time on the left cruciate. SO, we are begging and pleading for her fans to consider donating to her Ava’s Action Assistance Cause, so that we can help pay for her 2nd surgery and post-rehab with hydrotherapy etc. just as we are doing with the right ACL surgery she recently had. Ava Marie also brought in a big plate of homemade cinnamon buns to LAH as a token of her huge thanks for helping her get a new start on life!!! WHAT a trooper she is and so happy and everyone at the hospital just ADORES her! She then came to KAH with me to be loved on and hang out as I had a work shift there! GO AVA GO! The big thing at home with a challenge is the hardwood floors and her wanting to lay on them now that she going to be getting a bit more freedom and being ‘there’ to ensure she gets that extra hand on her hind end for those legs. They can be a bit slippery and traction can be hard for her and honestly for many dogs out there in the world. With the warm weather she would much prefer the floors over the dog beds etc. The good news is that she is almost always never far from myself when I am at home, so I am on hand most of the time to help her. As mentioned to her Vet she is truly going to make a home a ‘dream’ dog and will very much enjoy her strolls and walks YET cannot do anything super stenuous with those knees. No mountain hikes with this sweetheart. She also very much just loves going to parks, cottages or camping out and laying on the grass and soaking up the love and attention and fresh outdoor air. Such an AWESOME dog!

I have BHRR’s Ava Marie coming with me to LAH before my work shift at KAH on Wednesday June 2nd. I wish to have Dr. Liston take a look at her leg and we can remove her staples at that time. The incision looks WONDERFUL with only some minor ‘reaction’ to the staples that you will be able to see her newly posted photos! I have also added a new photo to her slideshow #26! I took her pain patch off last Thursday and she remains on the Deramaxx 100 mg. I did call Dr. Liston today to discuss her sudden onset of some edema and that when she now walks, her leg is straight yet her knee is facing more right. This could be from the edema yet I wanted to discuss with her Vet. One would have expected to have seen edema within the first few days post-op yet that was not the case. She is not running a fever and is eating, drinking, urinating and having normal BM’s. I am not overly concerned at this time and so we shall wait to see what her Vet has to say on Wednesday. She is doing well and has become quite the ‘escape’ artist from the still set up ‘triage’ area! LOL She decided quite a few nights ago that she wanted to sleep back in the master bedroom and the hard part is ensuring that she does not lay on the hardwood floors(it is cooler in this heat) as she just cannot get up and could wreck that repaired knee. Sean was able to capture some great pictures of her leg and you can see how swollen both knees are. 😥 We have just added another method for people to donate who do not have PayPal – ChipIn(though you can also donate via PayPal with ChipIn too) and we are hoping that people might consider stepping up to help us raise the remaining funds for her Ava’s Action Assistance Fundraiser for her second surgery – her left ACL repair – tentative date July 2010. In one of the photos, Sean managed to get Ava Marie as she was stretching.

BHRR’s Ava Marie – May 30th, 2010 – 9 days post-op

BHRR’s Ava Marie is doing AWESOME! I find her to be one of the most very inspiring plus sweetest creatures out there and she is healing so well! With her pain patch having kicked in, she is feeling very little pain and is sleeping, eating and drinking normally. She does wish to lay on the hardwood floors and we cannot have that and she ‘snuck’ out of the triage area three times yesterday to lay on the hardwood or tiled areas of our house and we had to move her back. She just cannot get the traction needed under her to get up safely and back to the big futon bed and layers of duvets/comforters she went.  The hard part is trying to keep her ‘quiet’ and today, I was flying solo with Sean having gone back to work and thank goodness for the commands I have been teaching her since her arrival ‘wait’, ‘easy’ and ‘gentle’ for she can still just pull one along if she so desired too. I have one arm slinging her and the other with leash in tow and opening up doors, closing doors, opening up gates and closing gates etc. LOL She has been also really good about minding my words about ‘no licking’ and has pretty much left her surgical site untouched since we first began to be on her to not lick. She has a lot more purple/pink bruising setting in yet the staples look great and I will take some more pictures tonight. We have had a total of $451.79 donated towards her second surgery/rehab to date and THANK you so much! We have another almost $2,600 to raise and I am so thankful for the supporting kindness that is being shown to Ava’s Action Assistance Fundraiser. You can donate directly by calling Liston Animal Hospital at (613) 591-0966 to pay on Ava Marie’s Bill by Visa or M/C – Ava’s bill is under the account name of ‘Ava Boers.’ Dr. Liston was the Vet that did both BHRR’s Jaxson’s and BHRR’s Potter’s leg amputations in 200 OR you can donate via PayPal or email transfer to gwen@birchhaven.org OR you can mail a check to ‘Birch Haven Rescue & Rehabilitation Services’

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

BHRR’s Ava Marie had a good night all things considered. Her Hydromorphone began to wear off around twenty minutes to 11 PM and we got her up on her feet and outside to see if she would pee and to give her a bit of a mental/physical stimulation break from her laying and thinking of her healing pain. She still could not figure out how to squat and pee with her leg and she did enjoy just standing outside in the lovely night air with us slinging her for a few minutes. Brought her back in, settled her down and everyone was in bed by just after 11 PM. I was up at 1:05 AM and checked on her and she was doing well and so I went back to bed. I got up again just past 3 AM and she was still hanging in strong, so I held off on the second injection of the Hydromorphone until I knew she absolutely needed it. At just after 5 AM, Sean called me and I came out and we gave her her antibiotics, a Deramaxx and tried to see if she might pee yet she still was not able to get things figured out to pee and she wanted to go and lay down in her favourite spot in the fenced in yard and we had to greatly encourage her to head back into the house. Once she was in, I gave her her Hydropmorphone injection and she went to la la land until just past 10 AM. Gave her a tiny bit of wet dog food of which she ate most of it and then we tried to see if she would pee again. She was determined to drag us to her favourite laying spot and it was an effort to get her to come back inside sans a pee. We knew she had to go yet we also knew that while we could encourage and support her, we could not pee for her and she had to figure it out on her own. That is the hard part, watching them ‘struggle’ for she had to pee and is housebroken yet could not figure out as of yet how to squat with that leg to pee while we were outside. We got her back in and she drank some water and then she rested on and off again until this afternoon. She has been very determined as well to ‘go’ for the incision and she has to be watched 24/7. I have a 40 cm collar on special order yet it shall not be coming in until about Wednesday, so it is constant ‘on’ her to stay away from her surgical site. I called LAH to give Dr. Liston an update and unless something untoward happens, I shall next be seeing him when it is time to take her staples out for I would like for him to recheck that area then instead of taking them out at home by myself. The bruising is beginning to come out big time and she has one area where the tension of sleeping, bending and turning(and she lays on both sides really well on her own and we do not have to flip or roll her now) where the staples have really pulled. It is very common and we will watch it closely. She has some drainage and our washer is working overtime in keeping the duvets/comforters clean for her. This afternoon, Sean helped me get her up and out again and she just almost pulled us out the door and I thought to myself ‘this is it’, she has figured it out!!!! YAY! She took us out on the front lawn that needs to be mowed 😛 and the grass was tickling her feet and she had her first pee and a nice big one and I not sure who was more relieved us or her!!! GOOD girl Ava Marie! I know she has to poop as well yet this was exhausting for her and so, we headed back inside, I gave her some tramadol(she can have this in addition to the Fentanyl patch) and she drank a bit more water, had another nice large tablespoon of high quality wet dog food and she has been resting most comfortably since. I will take some new pictures of her surgical area later today to post. We are now working on saving up monies and accepting donations for her second surgery that should be happening in July should all go well and THANKS so much to everyone for being there for her. For those attending our Fencing weekend coming up on June 5th & 6th; I cannot wait for you to meet her (if you have not yet already!) and then also those attending our June BHRR Mini Open House. At this time, BHRR’s Ava Marie, will be one of the Ambassadors at our 3rd ANNUAL Microchip/Nail Trim/BBQ Fundraiser coming up on Sunday July 18th.

Update: May 22nd – 10:04 PM – Picture of BHRR’s Ava Marie’s right leg/knee from tonight. She was given about 1/3 of her normal supper ration and ate it really well. She has not wanted to drink anything since this afternoon yet is resting really well. She also did not wish to pee again earlier tonight and has yet to poop yet with being fasted than having surgery; this is not completely abnormal. With the ‘gas’ she is having, it will not be too long now. Before we go to bed, we shall take her out again on the front lawn to see if she would like to pee.

BHRR’s Ava Marie – May 22nd, 2010 – 1 day post-op on right ACL repair