Cody Program Santa Cruz Sentinel

Felton volunteer, vet hospital help to rescue German shepherd pup
Santa Cruz Sentinel
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Felton volunteer, vet hospital help to rescue German shepherd pup with botched
broken jaw repair
Felton vet: 'Just thinking about what that dog went through, sitting in that shelter with her mouth
wired shut'
By Isaiah Guzman, newsr oom@ santacruzsentinel.com,
@ Mrg
oozeA on
Twitter
Tuesday, September 29, 20L5
FELION >> Three weeks ago, German shepherd mix, Kalena,
was sitting alone in the medical trailer of a Fresno animal
shelter. She had a broken jaw wrapped by wire so tight it was
embedded in her skin. She couldn't eat. Her ribs were
beginning to show.
Rescuers say she likely was going to be euthamzed.
But a volunteer from German Shepherd Rescue of Northern
California spotted her, and plucked her from her solitary
confinement. Now, Kalena has not only a properly fixed jaw, a
wagging tail and soon will be looking for a permanent new
home.
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"Kalena is a very huppy puppy, very playful," said Ben
Lomond's Patricia "PJ" Vasconcellos, 62,the South Bay
regional dog manager with German Shepherd Rescue. ,oShe
loves people, loves other dogs. She just can't interact right
now.t'
Truth be told, 5-month-old Kalena's tail never stopped
wagging. Not upon getting dropped off at Fresno County Animal Control as a stray after being hit by a
car. Not after a vet incorrectly put that wire on. Not after her teeth started rotting under the wire and fell
flat, roots exposed from the break, gums infected from foxtails. Not after she sat in that medical trailer
for more than a month.
When Vasconcellos got Kalena, she took her to Felton Veterinary Hospital for an inspection, and to have
the wire removed. Kalena never even growled.
"By the time we cut the wire to open her mouth, her jaw was just flopping," said Felton Veterinary
Hospital Manager Joanna Primeau, a tremble in her voice. "And this dog was still just wagging her tail
like, 'Hey, I've been through all this, but will you still pet me?,,,
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Felton volunteer, vet hospital help to rescue German shepherd pup
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Next, Kalena was taken to SAGE Centers in Campbell, where doctors inserted six pins and a protective
cage, both of which are still in place for another few weeks.
The surgery cost $3,664, and was paid for by the rescue organization's Cody Program for special needs
cases. The money for that fund is raised through donations.
Kalena is staying at Vasconcellos' Ben Lomond home while the pup recovers. Vasconcellos, a rescue
volunteer, says Kalena should be up for adoption in a month, though interested parties can fill out
applications now online.
"Just thinking about what that dog went through," Primeau said, "sitting in that shelter with her mouth
wired shut."
Even vasconcellos, who sees lots of rescues, admits this one got her.
"I
was really angry over
it,"
she said. "Everybody was angry over this
thing."
Except, perhaps, for Kalena.
"Humans aten't that resilient," Vasconcellos said. "Dogs tend to take it one day at a time. They don,t
think about what's going to happen five years from now They're in the here and now."
German Shepherd Rescue of Northern California
wHAf: Nonprofit
rescue for German shepherds in Northern california.
DETAILS: To fill out an adoption application for Kalena or another dog, visit gsrnc.org.
DONATE: To make a donation to the rescue's Cody Program, visit: gsrnc.org/donate.asp
URL: http://www.santacruzsentinel,com/lifestyle/20150929/felton-volunteer-vet-hospital-hetp-to-rescue-german-shepherd-pup.with-botched_brokenjaw-repair
@ 2016 Santa Cruz Sentinel
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Ben Lomond family shares bond with rescued German shepherd
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/articleA{E/201601254IEWSi1601...
Santa Cruz Sentinel (http ://www. santacruzsentinel. com)
Ben Lomond family shares bond with rescued German shepherd
German shepherd mix oKalena Cody'overcomes challenges
By Isaiah Guzman, newsroom@ sqntqcrtrzsentinel.com, @Mrg oozeA on Twitter
Monday, January 25, 2016
BEN LOMOND >> In some ways, German shepherd mix
Kalena Codv acts immature for her age of 9 months. Like a
toddler, she likes to put things in her mouth, almost trying to
figure out what they are. Shoes and socks, for instance, or a
hand if it's left to dangle in her face.
In other ways, however, she seems more composed than a
young dog should, if dogs can even give that impression. She
doesn't yank on a leash when she's being walked. And there's
almost a thankfulness in her big brown eyes that says they've
seen harder times.
All of this makes
sense.
Kalena spent the early months of her life sitting with a wired-shut jaw in the medical trailer of a Fresno
animal shelter. She had been dropped off after being hit by a car, then had a vet perform an unsuccessful
surgery.
But she's been nursed back to health and now has a family, perhaps the only one she's ever known.
Rick and Chris Moran of Ben Lomond recently adopted her through German Shepherd Rescue of
Northern California, completing a multifaceted rescue effort that started in September.
"She's like a puppy that is wise beyond being a puppy, wise beyond her years," Chris Moran, 63, said.
With the Morans, Kalena now has a fenced third of an acre to chase squirrels and hunt for sticks. She
can even play with the neighbors' cattle dog mix, Topper. To go with her new home, she also has a new
name, Kalena Cody, in honor of the rescue society's Cody Program, which raises money for special
needs rescues.
"She's good with other dogs, gentle with kids," Rick Moran, 64, said. "'When we first got her, she was
pooping in the woods, and I was like, 'We hit a home run. Then she started chewing on things, and I was
like, 'It wasn't a home run, it was a hiple."'
If anybody hit a home run, perhaps it was Kalena. The Morans
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are the type of dog lovers who call their
31L41201612:19 PM
Ben l-omond family shares bond with rescued German
shepherd
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/articleA{E/20160125/NEWs/1601...
animals "part of the family." Their previous dogs were the ring bearers in their daughter's backyard
wedding ceremony. They fed them prime rib and potato leftovers during Thanksgiving.
However, Kalena's fortune started to turn prior to her arrival at the Morans.
Felton's Patricia ooPJ" Vasconcellos, a regional dog manager with the rescue society, swept her up and
nursed her back to health with help from Felton Veterinary Hospital. Kalena also had more than $3,500
worth of corrective surgery performed at SAGE Centers in Campbell.
When Vasconcellos got her, Kalena weighed 26 pounds because she couldn't eat. So Vasconcellos hand
fed her soft food though the side of her mouth. Now, Kalena weighs 60 pounds, albeit some of that
coming from natural growth.
"Getting over that whole medical issue and being able to adopt her into a wonderfirl home is more than I
could have asked for," Vasconcellos, 62, said.
Some of Kalena's scars still show. Her canines are gone either from the wire or car or both. Her tongue
always dangles out the right side of her mouth as a result.
In good light, you can also catch a glimpse of a scar running across the end of her mt:zzle. That's where
the wire started to grow under her skin after being left in place so tight for so long.
But other than that and her toddler habits mixed with an older dog's steadiness, you'd have a hard time
knowing how different her life was little more than four months ago.
"They just don't look back," Chris Moran said looking at Kalena. "They don't hold onto things. I wish I
could be more like that."
German Shepherd Rescue of Northern California
What: Nonprofit rescue for German shepherds in Northern California.
Details: To
filt out an adoption application for Kalena or another dog, visit gsrnc.org.
To donate: gsrnc.org/donate.asp.
URL: http://www.santacruzsentinel.comfiifestyle/20160125&enJonond-family-shar-es-bond-with-rescued-geman-shepherd
@ 2016 Santa Cruz Sentinel (http ://www.santacruzsentinel.com)
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