Ridgebacks in Need, California, Inc.

As we are deep in the holiday season, with all of our own beloved pets enjoying the warmth and food and love bestowed upon them, there are still all the dogs no one thinks about - or chooses to not think about. Khaya is one of those dogs. A young girl of indeterminate age due to her horrendous condition, this Ridgeback with the lovely ridge was spotted as far back as June and maybe beyond, living near a major highway off-ramp in Northern California. No one knows what, if any, attempts to catch her were made in the many months she was living like that, day to day. But last week our friends at Cruisin’ 4 Paws were able to trap this sad girl and bring her to safety. Shortly thereafter, we were contacted by them - thank you Jennifer Colletto for introducing us all! - and Rincal took in Khaya the same day, December 18. She has been with our vet since then, being hydrated and evaluated for various issues. The most obvious problem is her emaciated state - who knows what she has been eating all this time? Garbage thrown out car windows, most likely. She is showing signs of lactation - I guess we will never know what happened to her puppies, whether they are dead or alive, cared for or discarded, loved or abused. Secondly, Khaya greatly favors a rear leg - x-rays reveal necrosis of the femoral head. We are hoping this is not cancer, but further testing is required. She also has a vaginal discharge that could be pyometra. Our vet is spaying Khaya today and examining that issue. Also of great concern are her multiple dermoid sinuses!! They were visible on her neck right through her coat … shaving the area showed several large abcessed dermoids. This girl has been neglected for so long - perhaps her entire life - and has greatly suffered the consequences. To those people indiscriminately breeding Ridgebacks - or ANY dogs - shame on you. This type of suffering and abuse should not be a thing. Elizabeth will be taking great care of sweet Khaya (just look at her face!!). Endless thanks to Theresa for trapping, Tracy for keeping safe over the weekend, Deb and Susan for facilitating the hand-over to Rincal on Monday, and anyone and everyone else involved in the rescue of this great dog. There is much to do in the way of getting her healthy, but she will not suffer neglect anymore and will only be given the love she deserves.

December 21. Khaya has now been spayed and the pyometra will never bother her again. She had huge dermoids in her neck which have been removed. Her leg issue will be dealt with once she has recovered from the immediate and very necessary surgeries she underwent yesterday. She will spend one more night being hospitalized and we cannot sat thank you enough to Dr. Harry Sekhorn and his staff at Oroville Animal Health Center for their care of Khaya.

Winnie is a teeny, tiny Rhodesian Ridgeback who is six months old and weighs 31 pounds (she has gained five pounds since being on new medications. Sadly she was only 23 pounds on April 24. Those weights are half the weight she should be at her age.

Winnie has been very, very ill. After many veterinary visits and many x-rays and tests the vets have finally figured out that she has bronchial pneumonia with a compounding issue/infection of nasal mites!!

This condition has compromised her lungs and consequently her breathing. Winnie has had her growth stunted possibly due to not only poor care but also ill health. She is now on the long road to recovery and we hope she continues to grow and get healthy.

The veterinary bills are high and are expected to go much higher due to her need for further veterinary care. .

Please help us get this little girl healthy and able to live a good life.

Due to the death of Xander I am asking anyone who wishes to have their donation refunded to please contact me directly elizabeth at rincal.org - our total bill was $$4,462.98 - for those who want to see it please let me know and I shall post it here.

Elizabeth

PS - I had to remove the @ sign in the address as the gofund me folks will not publish it

Xander, only a year old, came into rescue just last week from an extremely overcrowded shelter. The other dog we took along with him was big and healthy. Xander seemed okay, other than a slight cough ... He was cuddly and grateful and very, very gentle! Fast forward three days and he quit eating. He was already quite underweight, so this was not good. His cough was worse but not overly concerning in itself. We let him rest, tried to keep him hydrated, used a humidifier and kept him warm and quiet. Today we decided he needed to be seen. Heidi's daughter Shaylan took him to a local vet. The vet listened to his lungs and said he need to go straight to the ER! Poor little guy had made no fuss over himself, as if he didn't want to be a bother. But he is in bad shape. He was admitted to the Emergency Vet Hospital where he was put on oxygen tonight. His lungs are highly infected with severe pneumonia. The vet was sad that so many shelter dog ailments go unnoticed - moreso today than ever before. We WANT this boy to live! He just got rescued from what would have been his last "home" - the shelter - and he deserves so much more! If you can spare a few dollars in honor of Xander and all the other shelter dogs who suffer quietly, please please donate to keep him going!!

Rabbit and her 10 puppies were found by Animal Control in Bakersfield, California. The shelter is so full that this mom and her babies were kept in an office as they have no room in the shelter. Rincal received some photos and we were asked to help this mom and her little ones as they were due to be euthanized this coming Saturday. I talked to the staff and said I would find a foster and try and get them out before Saturday.

Jean Lieu and Peter Lai of Phu Quoc Ridgeback Rescue in Palmdale California offered to get them today and foster them for us. By 1:30 Rabbit and her babies were on their way to their foster home. Taking care of an emaciated mom and 10 chunky three-week old babies is NOT an easy task and it certainly is not inexpensive!

We are asking for help in getting these puppies weaned, feeding them, providing blankets, enriching toys and vaccinating them as soon as they are old enough for their first vaccine. We will also be taking care of Rabbit the mom, building her up physically, and helping supplement her feeding her 10 hungry pups. The entire family will need to be spayed or neutered at the appropriate time.

I am so glad we (PQRR and RINCAL) were able to keep these 11 dogs from being euthanized from an already over-crowded shelter. Please help us help them to a safe and loving home in the near future.