My name is Promise!

Updated Bio 11/6/2015 Promise is a 2-3 year old, 7 lb 4 oz Yorkie Girl being fostered in Beechgrove TN.

What a day Promise had yesterday! She went to the Vet for treatment and as rough as Promise “looks” she is in much better condition that we previously thought. The shelter had indicated to us that Promise was heartworm positive but when we had her tested with our UYR approved Vet she was miraculously found to be heartworm negative! And just to be sure, the Vet REPEATED the test and second time so we are OVER THE MOON GRATEFUL that sweet Promise does NOT have that battle to fight!

Also, her skin condition previously believed to be some type of mange is actually Fly-Strike (as previously stated) with a severe Staff infection which is causing her hair loss and crusty, flaky skin. While this looks very serious, it is actually fairly simple to treat and Promise received steroid injection, an antibiotic injection, treatment for bilateral ear infections, treatment for intestinal parasites and a special shampoo that we are to use every other day on her for the next month or so. The Vet also instructed us to put her on a high quality/high calorie Puppy food so that we can correct her very poor nutritional status and she LOVES it and scarfs it up in a hurry! She is up 4 oz from her shelter weight and probably should be close to 10 lbs at her idea body weight. Her dehydration seems to have corrected itself and she no longer has a fever so everyone is doing the HAPPY DANCE for all of this very good news for promise!

Promise still needs to recover before she will be able to be spayed, microchipped and start looking for her new forever home. She is not socialized but you would never know it now because she follows her Foster Mom and Dad around like a little shadow. She even gave Foster Mom one single and very quick “puppy kiss” yesterday which is a HUGE STEP for a puppy mill dog. It means that Promise is starting to TRUST…….which will be very critical in getting her to the place where she can be adopted. Promise has no idea what it means to be “house-trained” to do her “business” and this weekend we will start to begin working on developing those skills with plenty of treats and praise for any progress in that area. We “think” she is a good traveler…..she certainly enjoyed her “Freedom Ride” from the shelter and loved looking out the window to see all the many sites she has never seen before.

We will be EXTREMELY CAREFUL about finding the right forever home for Promise due to her many medical issues and her background as a puppy mill dog. We think the best situation for her will be a stay at home “person” who will dote on her and has lots of patience to continue to work with her on social skills and training. She also fears the crate (rightfully so) so leaving her alone in a crate or confined area for long periods of time is not a good situation for her.

We anticipate a lot of interest in this very unique and special girl so if you think you might be a good fit for her it is fine to go ahead and complete an application. Just know she is a ways away from actual adoption and still has to recover, be spayed and chipped, gain some weight and work on behaviors before her adoption can happen. If you have questions about her you can direct those to her foster mom at tnyorkiemama@yahoo.com

Promise wishes to say a VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU to all of her supporters! She is not used to such kindness as the hands of humans but she is learning that UYR Supports are a VERY SPECIAL BREED !

Initial Bio 11/5/2015
Meet Promise. She is a 6 year old 7 lb. Yorkie Female being fostered in Beechgrove TN.

Where to start…….Promise as you can see is in really ROUGH shape. She came from the much publicized puppy mill/animal cruelty case in Mississippi. In this case nearly 80 small breed dogs were seized in a multiple agency rescue operation involving law enforcement, Animal Rescue Corps and other first responder organizations. All dogs were brought to a temporary shelter in TN and have been receiving immediate care, behavioral assessment and as of 11/5/2015 the dogs were being release to Animal Rescue Corp approved Rescue Partners which include United Yorkie Rescue.

Promise, along with 5 other dogs from this operation taken in by United Yorkie Rescue lived every day of her life in a chicken wire rabbit hutch in the middle of the woods. Some did not even have roofs on them. On good days she might have gotten a handful of kibble thrown into her hutch and a splash of water to drink. She was expected to crop litter after litter of puppies and then have them snatched from underneath her way too soon.

Promise is shown here on her “Freedom Ride” from the emergency shelter. Don’t you just WISH you could read her mind and know what she is thinking? “Where are you taking me? Will I die there? Am I going back to the rabbit hutch in the woods?”

Promise has so many problems……..She has heartworms and has probably had them her entire life. She has never been seen by a Vet until she arrived at the ARC shelter. She has a fever and has very enlarged lymph nodes from chronic infection. She looks the way she does from a combination of possible demodectic mange and something called Fly-Strike. This means that she was constantly bitten and basically eaten alive by flies until all her fur was gone and much of her skin was for lack of a better word…..”rotting” away. Her ears were mercifully sutured at the ARC shelter , she was started on antibiotics and given immediate care. She was among the first to be released from the emergency shelter so that she could begin to receive advanced care immediately. Right now she is too fragile to even receive immunizations……let alone begin the painful and dangerous heartworm protocol treatment and spay that she will eventually need. First she must receive nutrition and hydration, continue her immediate first aid care and start to know that she can now expect something other than cruelty and the hands of humans.

Promise will be a long commitment and a very expensive one. United Yorkie Rescue has committed to Promise and 5 other dogs from this operation which will be posted soon. She has NEVER been held, never been loved, never been cuddled and spoken to softly until now. She is now in the care of a loving foster. She had a meal of nutritious food, she got a shirt to cover her open sores and keep her warm in the absence of her own fur.

Yesterday, for the very first time in her life, Promise knew what it was like to live outside the confines of a cage. She was held close and cuddled and spoken to in a soft tone. She was tucked into a warm fleece bed for the night outside the confines of a cage.

Promise will see a United Yorkie Rescue approved Veterinarian today. She will place one guarded Paw on the Path to Recover and someday……her foster Mom will begin the search for a VERY SPECIAL FOREVER home that Promise can call her own. Her name “Promise” represents our commitment to her and other dogs just like her. We will not turn our back on her because her needs are GREAT. Rather we will not rest until she is healthy and happy and receiving of all the love and care she has missed out on until now.

Her needs are so great we don’t even have an estimate at this point of what it will cost to get her to that place. If you can help towards Promise’s care or any of the other 5 Puppy Mill dogs United Yorkie Rescue has taken in, please do so. No amount is too small.

Thanks for helping United Yorkie Rescue keep our "Promise".