River had surgery performed on her left knee today and everything went very well. Dr. Facey stated that River's left knee was the worst she has ever seen in her nearly 20 years practicing veterinary medicine -- there was no ligament in place at all, and nothing holding the joint together. It is truly remarkable that River had been able to walk at all.

It is now hoped that with both knees repaired, once she heals and her knees become stable River will enjoy much greater mobility and lead a pain-free life! Working on River's left knee today, Dr. Faessen made some modifications to the procedure and is hopeful that with this change he will not need to perform a third surgery to repair the luxating patella. We will reassess in 2 months time once River is healed from this surgery, but we are all hoping for the very best outcome.


X-rays were taken of River's right knee to assess the progress and it is healing very well. Everything looks to be coming along perfectly. River's foster parents have done a phenomenal job of caring for River over the last 7 weeks as she has healed from her first surgery. Caring for a giant breed dog following TPLO surgery is very hard work, and even more difficult when that dog has two unusable knees. Thank you Erica and Andrew for all of your hard work and your dedication to helping River heal. Newf Friends is so fortunate to have such incredible, dedicated foster families like yours.

Thank you also to all of our supporters who helped us reach our fundraising goal so that we could save River. The support from Newf lovers around the globe has been incredible, thank you all! We couldn't have done it without you!

Updates and new photos of River will be posted soon.

Thank you once again to Dr. Kim Facey - Apsley Veterinary Services and Dr. Michael Faessen, Soft Tissue and Orthopaedic Small Animal Surgeon for your exceptional care, your generosity and your commitment to helping animals in need.

Dr. Facey has been instrumental in the care of many of the Newfs who have gone through our program and many of the dogs who have gone through our parent All Breed rescue group HART. Thank you Kim from all of the us!

Dr. Facey has enlisted the assistance of Dr. Faessen for some of the more challenging, delicate or specialized surgeries including surgery for Ella, Mackenzie, Jade and Geordie. Thank you Michael for your support and compassion towards the care of rescued dogs.

Without rescue minded vets like Kim and Michael, as well as our other key veterinarian Dr. Janice Selinger (Bridle Trail Veterinary Clinic) Newf Friends would not be able to make such a tremendous difference in the lives of so many Newfs. Your support is greatly appreciated and we are so fortunate to have you all as part of our team.

Read more about Gander the Newfoundland Dog War hero on the Dogs in Canada site.

From Wikipedia:

Gander was a Newfoundland dog posthumously awarded the Dickin Medal, the "animals' VC", in 2000 for his deeds in World War II,^[1] the first such award in over 50 years.^[2]

Military service

Gander, initially a family pet named Pal, accidentally scratched a child's face with his paw. Worried that he would be forced to have Pal put down, the original owner gave the large dog to the Royal Rifles, a regiment of the Canadian Army stationed at Gander International Airport, Newfoundland and Labrador. The soldiers quickly renamed him Gander and "promoted" him to sergeant. When the unit was shipped to Hong Kong in the fall of 1941, Gander went along.

The Battle of Hong Kong began on December 8, 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Gander helped fight the Japanese invaders on three occasions. The last time, Gander picked up a thrown Japanese hand grenade and rushed with it toward the enemy, dying in the ensuing explosion, but saving the lives of several wounded Canadian soldiers.^[3]

After efforts by the Canadian War Museum, the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals awarded Gander the Dickin Medal on October 27, 2000, the first such award since 1949. The citation reads:

For saving the lives of Canadian infantrymen during the Battle of Lye Mun on Hong Kong Island in December 1941. On three documented occasions, Gander, the Newfoundland mascot of the Royal Rifles of Canada, engaged the enemy as his regiment joined the Winnipeg Grenadiers, members of Battalion Headquarters "C" Force and other Commonwealth troops in their courageous defence of the island. Twice Gander's attacks halted the enemy's advance and protected groups of wounded soldiers. In a final act of bravery, the war dog was killed in action gathering a grenade. Without Gander's intervention, many more lives would have been lost in the assault.^[1]

At the insistence of survivors of the battle, his name was listed with those of 1975 men and two women on the Hong Kong Veterans Memorial Wall in Ottawa, Canada.^[3]

References

We've been busy as ever at Newf Friends these last few weeks. Here's our update:

Grace, a lovable 19 month old Landseer arrived in our care on Tuesday. She is too cute for words! You can read all about her here.

Also new to our program is gorgeous 3 year old Katie. This stunning gentle giant is looking for a great family. You can see her bio here.

Fun loving boy Duke is hoping to find a loving family soon! He's such a great boy, he deserves a home of his own! Check out his bio here.

Sweet boy Ty is waiting for a foster or adoptive home. His health has improved dramatically and he will soon be neutered. Ty has so much love to give, he just needs someone to give it to! Maybe he's the Newf you've been waiting for? Read his bio here.

Love-bug Alex is a 3 year old sweetheart who needs a family! This gentle boy needs the comfort of a kind leader to help him reach his full potential. Do you have room in your heart for Alex? Learn more about him here.

River continues to do well in foster care and we are preparing for her second TPLO surgery on November 11th. She still has a very long road ahead of her before she will be ready for adoption, but her future looks bright thanks to the generous support of Newf loving donors who helped us raise funds for this special girl. Read about River here.

Lucky boy Jack has an adoption pending! Fingers crossed that the meet and greet with his new four-footed pals goes well!

Lovable boy Yogi also has a pending adoption! He will be having a meet and greet and we are all hopeful that it will go well and he will finally have a family to call his own.
If you or someone you know is looking for a new canine family member that isn't a Newf, be sure to visit HART, our parent all breed rescue group's PetFinder listings. They've got wonderful dogs of all shapes and sizes, coats and ages who are waiting for great families to adopt them.

With the holiday season fast approaching, it's time to visit our online store to stock up on awesome gifts for all of the Newf lovers on your shopping list. Also,don't forget to order your Newf Friends 2012 calendar! There gorgeous calendars are printed on heavy, high gloss paper, and are over-sized with lots of room to write notes. Order yours today through our Online Store!

Say hello to Grace, a gorgeous landseer who is looking for a fantastic family to call her own. This pretty gal is super sweet, happy as can be, and a total love bug. She is ready to make a special family very happy!


Grace came to us when her owners were not able to provide the time and care she needed due to changes in their own health and life situation. They made the heartbreaking decision to surrender Grace so that she could have the life she deserves. Grace's wonderful personality shows that she was obviously well loved.


She is a typical gentle, happy, goofy pup who is full of love and personality. Playful and fun loving, she is a delight to be around. In the house she has wonderful manners and is well behaved, she walks well on leash, and knows basic commands.

She gets along with everyone she meets and would be happy joining a family with another dog to romp and play with. Here she is having a great time at a play group in foster care. She enjoys playtime with other dogs.


Grace was born April 9, 2010 so is still very young and has lots of learning to do. She is bright, follows direction well and with some basic work around manners she will blossom into a wonderful companion. She thinks she is a lap dog!

Grace is spayed and UTD on vaccines.

To be considered for adopting Grace please complete our adoption application. An adoption donation of $500 applies.


Grace is being fostered in the Kingston area, and her approved adoptive family will be required to pick her up in person.

New arrival Katie is a gorgeous 3 year old (DOB October 26, 2008) purebred Newf who is looking for a special family to love. She is the epitome of what a Newf should be, a big, beautiful gentle bear and an absolute delight to be around.

Through no fault of her own, Katie found her way to us when her owners could no longer meet her needs. She has adjusted very well to foster care and is just taking everything in stride.


This gentle giant is sweet as can be. She is loving, affectionate and an all around awesome girl! She has a true Newf personality, just perfect in every way! She has wonderful house manners and leash manners, knows basic commands, and is an easy going, lovable girl.

She gets along fine with cats and although a little shy around new dogs, once she is comfortable with them she will happily snuggle up and cuddle. She enjoys playing with other dogs and could happily join a family with another four footed playmate.

She is UTD on vaccines, spayed and is undergoing treatment for some minor skin issues. Proper diet and basic grooming will prevent a recurrence of these issues. She is now on thyroid meds and we expect any lingering skin issues will clear with this.

Katie is a big girl, her last check up she weighed in at 162 lbs. Like many newfs, she is a drooler, which just adds to her charm! Be sure to have your drool bibs ready!


To be considered for adopting Katie please complete an adoption application.
An adoption donation of $500 applies
Katie is being fostered in the Brantford area and her approved family will be required to pick her up in person.

Remember Harold, the sad pup who came to us last winter with horrible skin infections? Well look at him now! Harold, now known as Busa lives with his sister Anna, also adopted from Newf Friends, and the two of them are doing great!

Here's what their family had to say about them:

Well life with Anna & Busa has been and still is fantastic and we would not change a thing. We are so glad that we adopted Busa when we did because as much as Busa LOVES playing with Anna (and her ears), Anna is glad that she has a play buddy, even though he now towers over her so much. I have tried to take pictures where you can see the difference in their size over such a short period of time. We thought that when we adopted Anna she was a big dog but Anna looks so small compared to Busa.