MEET GIZZY!
#3609

Hi! My name is Gizzy and I have lived with my foster family since mid-March 2020, so we started out in the bubble together.

In my former life I just seemed to pee all over the place and at any time. You would think I wasn’t even house trained!! My hair was falling out. I had a bald tail and a big bare spot on my hip. They were just at a loss.

Enter NBGR!! With your help I went to the vet and with a thorough exam it was discovered that I had Cushing’s. It was determined that I would need special pills to help me out and like magic, I became perkier and my house training came back and so has my hair.

I am very good at taking my pills. My foster dad sets a timer and when it goes off, my ears perk up and I head for the kitchen. I love, love, love my pill pockets!

I did have one scary moment in the early summer, when I went to the park for a picnic and became overheated. We found out that I need to be very, very careful in the warm weather, so it’s air conditioning for me! I can get out and play more once the weather turns. Sometimes in evening I go out and spend time watching the squirrels and the rabbits from our gazebo.

I also love to go with my foster dad anywhere he goes. Being a good boy at the bank gets me an extra snack and they are starting to know me at the recycle center and Lowe’s. The other day we even took a day trip to a town with a dog fountain! (I sniffed a number of the fountain dogs’ butts and I was suspicious. I just thought it was weird that they were spewing water!)

Thank you so much for what you have already done for me. You are giving me such a happy life! I know I am not inexpensive to keep, but to know me is to love me.

NBGR is very grateful to Gizzy’s foster family for their loving care of this special boy.

MEET GUSTAF!
#5309

A note about Gus from his forever foster family.

Meet handsome Gustaf (Gus), our special needs foster. Gus is part of the NBGR Paws of Winter program. He is energetic, playful, and often ornery. He loves his daily walks and considers the few blocks around home his territory. When not walking, the next best activity is a lively game of tug with any fabric toy. After the games are over, it’s time to snuggle on the couch with his foster mom.

Gus was born with a deformed heart. A cardiologist felt he only had one year to live after NBGR got him in – but that was 2.5 years ago. However, Gus doesn’t care what the doctor said. He turned three in June and shows no signs of slowing down. You would never know the little guy has a heart condition. In fact, he is one of the “busiest” dogs his family can remember. In reality we know he isn’t a completely normal 3 year old as he does tire out more quickly and he doesn’t tolerate heat well – but when he’s on – he’s ON full blast! He sees his cardiologist regularly and he’s been getting pretty good reports!

Many of the NBGR dogs have a few strikes against them in their lives. But with love and care, they make the best of each day. When you open your heart to rescue a dog, you will see that they make our days better too.

We are very thankful to Gus’s foster family – it’s hard to take on a young guy who you know will not live as long as he should.

MEET PATTY!
#3596

Little Miss Patty came to NBGR, Paws of Winter Senior & Special Care program from a hoarding situation with another little Griff name Zoe, who despite being 4 years younger than Patty. Sadly, Zoe succumbed to the ravages of years of neglect despite heroic efforts by her foster mom & dad and the veterinarians attending to her multiple life threatening medical issues.

To date, NBGR has paid over $4000 in veterinary expenses on the girls within a matter of months, and the bills will continue to mount steadily due to Patty's on going medical needs for the rest of her life.

As you can imagine, 15 year old Patty was lost and heartbroken after losing her lifelong best friend Zoe so soon after arriving in her new foster home. To this day, she continues to sleep in Zoe's bed for comfort.

Patty is completely blind and requires drops several times a day to keep infections and her eye pressure under control. She came to rescue with only 2 teeth and 1 of them was loose.

Because she was missing so many teeth and had such bad decay, her face is now deformed. Her nose is off center, and her facial bone is caved in. The vet stated that the reason her tongue hangs out most of the time, is there is nothing keeping it in. That’s okay with us. We think she's perfect just the way she is!

Patty's medical team also discovered she had an abscess, causing a hole in her pallet that went up into her nasal cavity, and had 2 teeth in dire need of removal.

She also, has chronic kidney disease like her best friend Zoe, so she is on a prescription diet as well as receiving subcutaneous fluids 2-3 times a week to help with her kidney function.

She has an enlarged heart and a heart murmur, and is on meds for that. In addition, her liver values are poor requiring medication to address that life threatening issue also.

And if all that was not enough, she has also developed fluid on her lungs and around her heart, and is now on medication to help that condition from worsening.

Since coming to NBGR's Paws of Winter Senior & Special Needs program, she has undergone extensive tests, x-rays, ultrasounds, multiple medical procedures, and is currently on a long list of medications for her health issues.

Yes, this poor girl is a hot mess! But despite her health issues, she is one feisty girl. If she doesn’t want to do something, she will fight you with all her little 13 lb. might! She enjoys cuddle time and having her belly rubbed. We are working on her social skills.

She was comfortable around her best friend Zoe and liked cuddling up to her in Zoe’s “big bed”, but now that Zoe is gone, and with her loss of vision, she is hesitant and a little skittish.

You can’t blame the girl for having a bit of an attitude. She's been through quite a lot in her lifetime, and most of it was not good.

But when she is hungry, she gets sassy and isn’t afraid to let you know it! She barks, she kicks her legs like she’s a bull getting ready to charge. It is just the cutest thing ever, and it takes all we have not to laugh. She is a big personality in a small package, and we wouldn’t want her any other way.

We are so very grateful to Patty's forever foster family for providing her with the best life possible despite her multiple medical issues.

MEET LEVI & MILEY
#3420 & 3421

Levi & Miley were relinquished to NBGR in 2016. These two adorable senior Griffs are childhood sweethearts who met and fell in love at the tender age of just 10 weeks, and have been like two peas in a pod ever since. They continue to be as crazy in love with each other as the first day they met, and look forward to spending their twilight years together!

Levi (belge rough coat with a dark mask) is a well adjusted, happy go lucky, outgoing little fellow who loves to snuggle with his foster mom every chance he gets, and gets along very amicably with his foster siblings. Miley (red rough coat) is a strikingly gorgeous, yet backward, very shy, sweet little thing who shadows Levi's every move, and usually by his side for comfort.

Early on in foster care, we noticed Miley exhibited some very peculiar behavior. Initially we believed this was her way of adjusting to a new environment. However, eventually we realized it was much more than a normal adjustment period, and unlike anything we have seen with other dogs new to rescue.

After months of research trying to determine the cause of her odd behavior, and discussion with the veterinarian, it is believed Miley has canine autism, which is similar to human autism, such as being hyper sensitive to human touch, an excessive focus on mundane routines, and displaying stress and high anxiety when even the simplest of routines are changed, or new experiences are introduced.

Miley will never tolerate human physical affection or enjoy snuggling like Levi, but her foster mom has seen love and trust in her eyes. While Miley does not display typical bonding behavior like most dogs, she does express it in the only way she can by being her foster mom's almost constant shadow, yet still cannot tolerate being held except for very short periods of time before her body begins to stiffen, anxiety sets in, and her heart rate increases.

Think of Rain Man and you can somewhat imagine how Miley perceives her unique little world, and why a strict daily routine, stability, and no change to her environment is so very important to her long term wellbeing.

For this reason, it has been decided it is in Miley's best long term interests that this devoted little odd couple remain together in forever foster care with the foster family they bonded with, and where Miley is provided with the daily strict routine and stability she needs to remain calm, happy, and feel loved in her little world. We are certain her lifelong better half Levi would agree.