WAHL Grooming

We are using the clippers and grooming items to groom our incoming dogs/puppies.

Getting our pets groomed, and keeping them as well-groomed and clean as possible, helps prepare them for meeting prospective adopters and has proven to increase their adoption opportunities. Clean, healthy and happy dogs and puppies are much more adoptable, and we look forward to more grooming opportunities in the coming months! Even our volunteers enjoy bathing and grooming our dogs and puppies, and then working and playing with them in the exercise areas! Thanks, Wahl!

To date, about 10

Several puppies (J-Wow and Magnolia) came to us recently who had been abandoned in a wet, muddy and very rural area of Independence County. Upon intake, we used the shampoo to clean them up, saw what an awful flea and tick infestation they had, were able to treat them quickly and effectively, and get them ready to meet the public! Magnolia even got a good brushing and a little clipping of mats that had developed! They loved every minute of it!
Puggle and Dale also were bathed upon intake and their coats looked absolutely beautiful. Dale thoroughly enjoyed his “spa” day, getting clipped, groomed and pampered. Both Puggle and Dale had many people interested in providing them forever homes, and were adopted within two weeks of coming into our shelter. We love clean, well-groomed and happy pups and so do all our visitors! Thanks again, Wahl!!

To groom and trim dogs at our shelter.

We were in need of a new clipper and grooming set and the in-kind grant came in at the right time.

The Wahl grooming kit will help us groom and trim some of the more than 6,000 animals that come through our shelter every year.

Oreo, a 2-year-old Lhasa Apso mix, is a transer from California who had long matted hair and needed a good trim. We cleaned Oreo up with the Wahl trimmer and he is now in a foster home where he is learning food manners before he is up for adoption. Thank you, Petfinder Foundation and Wahl!

The Wahl grant award was for grooming products: clippers, blades, trimmers, brushes and shampoo samples — all valued at $270.00. The award was solicited by an AWA Facebook follower.

The Wahl grooming products help AWA provide husbandry care to shelter dogs and cats. Matted long-haired cats are in pain and often suffer from skin infections. Unkempt and smelly dogs don’t draw the attention of potential adopters. While trimming hair and the “crazy” clean-up grooming job can resolve some things, a more proper grooming job really does help adopters see the pet for his/her beauty.

At this time it has helped 2 dogs.

Cinnamon was matted. He needed to be sheared down. There are times when a pet’s grooming care needs exceed the ability of their caretaker. Days of “missing the brushing” and weeks of skipping the groomer due to no transportation or money can take their toll on a pet. It is sad to see, but when the pet is free of the tangles, the mats and his/her skin is airing out and healing and they look so happy.

Wahl shampoo to clean dogs

Yes, keeps them clean.

20

Baby Boy was dirty and he cleaned up so sweet.

Wahl products were used for bathing and grooming dogs that had been rescued from puppy mills.

http://bit.ly/nmdr_ty

Above is the link to our Facebook page, wherein we thanked the foundation and Wahl for this donation of six bottles of shampoo. This gift reduced our costs and enabled us to use our resources for other needs.

It is difficult to estimate how many dogs were bathed with the Wahl products. What is more important is the exposure through Facebook, which you requested, and which always leads to pet adoptions and donations. Thank you again for selecting us for this gift.

Here is an excerpt from a report by a first-time volunteer, a college student, who went with our rescue team in November. “One of this puppy-mill breeder’s employees mentioned that he had a 3- or 4-year-old golden retriever who did not want to breed anymore, and the breeder was willing to turn her over to us (along with the dogs we had come for). My ears immediately perked up and the thought of leaving her with this man made me sick. With limited room on board, it was a stretch, but, as always, [NMDR executive director Theresa Strader] made it happen. The man brought her out; she was so scared and stayed flat on the ground. Later that night as we serviced the dogs, I stayed with her and watched her frantically run around the yard, ignoring my gaze and avoiding my touch. Eventually, she would come over and stand somewhat close to me; then she would lie down beside me. By the end of the evening, she rolled over on her back, accepting belly rubs. As I loaded her back into her kennel I noticed my hands were black just from patting her. Her temporary name is Whitney until she finds her forever home.

“I hope and pray, like so many others, that one day rescues like this one won’t be needed and that every animal will be treated with kindness and that everyone human will understand why.”

We received several bottles of Wahl shampoo, which came in very useful for some very neglected dogs we rescued. The product made our dogs look great and smell great too. It also did not irritate the dogs’ skin. We thank you all so much for helping with our rescued dogs.

This helped us make more dogs adoptable by helping with their grooming needs. The dogs were filthy and smelly and were not adoptable. After using the product on our dogs, we were able to get mats out and have them looking their best.

We were able to groom five large dogs and four small dogs. Thank you so much!

We rescued Barclay from the streets. Barclay is a 7-year-old dog who was dirty and matted and not a happy guy. We saved him from a neglectful situation. With the donated shampoo, we were able to help him feel and look better (see photos). First picture is his before picture and the second is his after picture. Thank you so much!!

The shampoo was used to wash dogs before going to rescue or their forever homes.

This helped clean them up, make them smell and look great for adoption. Thank you so much for the shampoo; it really helps clean up our lovable dogs, some come in with we-can-only-guess on them.

So far over 20 and still using; the samples that were sent are going home in the adoption packets.

Pia is a retriever mix, she has lots of blond hair and gets very dirty in the exercise yard. Pia is going to California for Christmas to become a service dog for a lady who has a spinal cord injury; we wanted Pia to look her best and smell so good for her new mom. Pia loves her baths and to smell good.

To bathe rescued dogs that we save from puppy mills.

We used the granted shampoo to clean the dogs in our care. Many of our dogs come to us from puppy mills and have never been bathed or groomed. They often need to be shaved and thoroughly bathed.

All 25 dogs in our care benefited from this grant.

Angel came to us a hairy mess. We weren’t even able to see her eyes too well. We shaved her then bathed her several times to get rid of the smell. It was obvious that she had never had these things done to her before.

We received six large bottles of shampoo, all of which were used to provide baths for over 150 rescue dogs, some of which required extensive grooming and multiple baths.

In July 2013, law enforcement raided a puppy mill near Wheatland, ND. Sheriffs’ deputies seized 174 dogs they found housed in cages stacked three high in a stifling unventilated, un-air-conditioned trailer. In most cases there were three to five dogs in each cage, living in a bed of feces- and urine-soaked newspaper. Some animals were so matted that they were immobilized and in pain. The Casselton Veterinarian Clinic accepted the dogs and provided medical care and clean kennels. Six 4 Luv of Dog Rescue volunteers went to Casselton three times a day for six weeks to bathe, groom, socialize and evaluate the dogs. As the dogs were certified healthy, they were placed with foster families while adoption applications were screened and approved.

Almost 200

The dogs confiscated from the puppy mill were terrified of humans, so it wasn’t surprising that a few escaped capture. One of these was Howie, a 15-lb. mixed Bichon. Howie eluded capture for 29 days. While the other 168 dogs were groomed by 4 Luv of Dog Rescue volunteers, given medical treatment at the Casselton Vet Clinic and socialized in approved foster homes, Howie kept running. Finally, on day 28, two loving ladies spotted Howie and tried to catch the filthy little dog with gray dreadlocks, but he fled into a cornfield. They got food and water and left it overnight, resuming their hunt the next day. With the help of a farmer’s Shelties, they were able to herd Howie into a building and capture him, bringing him to Casselton Vet, where he was groomed by 4 Luv of Dog volunteers before neutering and vaccinations.

When 4 Luv of Dog Rescued placed Howie in foster care he was terrified of human touch, turning stiff as a board — but he loved other dogs. His foster mom said, “He was frightened in the house but loved running through the backyard grass, his tail wagging furiously. He was never nippy, but it took weeks for him to begin to relax. Walking on leash was fine, but teaching him to potty outside took over a month. Soon after that, he stopped retreating into his kennel and from there he just blossomed. I credit my dog and my other puppy-mill mother and her five puppies with teaching Howie to be a dog. I had posted his progress on 4 Luv’s website and after two months started taking him to Adoption Days.”

There was soon an application for Howie, and we were overjoyed to learn they had a small dog and older children. At the home visit, the family met Howie, and their dog Pixie’s immediate acceptance paved the way for Howie’s successful adoption. Cautious with men, Howie surprised us all by jumping right up in dad’s lap the first night!! Yes, Howie has his forever home. Mom Ruthie told us she fell in love with him reading blog posts and seeing pictures, saying, “He made me smile, and between his cute face and sad story, I was hooked. I looked at other dogs on the web but could only think of his face and how much he needed me. He’s made great leaps already fitting into our home. He’s walking proudly on his leash, going potty on walks, kennels when we say ‘time for bed’ and jumping up on the furniture to sit and snuggle with us.”

This foster momma is so proud of the little white dog she called her Howie Wowie! Looking at the photos, it is hard to believe that the dirty, matted, dreadlocked little dog is the same little puff ball playing in his new yard. Your support made a difference to Howie and to hundreds of dogs just like him who have started new lives in loving homes.

Grooming the pets in our care.

It helped us groom pets like Pierre from our Pet Partnership Program.

Multiple (final number pending)

The dog in the photos is a miniature Poodle/Cocker Spaniel mix named Pierre. He came to us through our Pet Partnership program. A quick word about that: About half the animals we offer for adoption have been rescued from under-resourced, overwhelmed sister shelters throughout the state – most in low-income rural areas. Whenever we have shelter space, we make trips to these partner shelters to take as many animals as we can. We generally make trips at least weekly. The animals we bring back to Marin for adoption were almost always facing imminent euthanasia due to lack of space, time, and other resources. All the animals we offer for adoption are given as much time as necessary to find the right, loving home.

Pierre came to us from a shelter in the Fresno, CA, area. We don’t know how or why he wound up there. He was about 5 years old, and you can see the condition he was in. His behavior assessment at MHS indicated he was smart and cooperative, and would benefit enormously from a stable, comfortable home and a caring guardian. Thanks to the loving kindness of staff and volunteers, he was transformed, and was with us for about two weeks before he was adopted. A happy ending, for sure!