Young, Housebroken Cairn Available

This little Cairn Terrier named J.R. needs a forever home. J.R. gets along well with other dogs and cats but definitely needs a home where he has someone who is used to a Cairn and has either a secure fenced yard or enjoys walking him on leash for exercise.

J.R. is loving, housebroken, up to date on shots, free from parasites and young.

If you are interested, please fill out our adoption application online at www.cairnterrier.net/rescue.html

Once you have completed the application, please feel free to give CTCSC rescue coordinator Karen Smith a call at 760-728-7133.

Resources For Finding a Lost Dog

Mary Skavinski adopted Keith, one of six Cairn Terriers that the CTCSC rescued in September, affectionately known as the 6-pack.

She had him barely two weeks when the unthinkable happened: He broke out of his collar and ran away.

Losing a dog is a traumatic experience any time. But when that dog has already been through a great deal of torment, and is new to its forever home neighborhood, it is especially upsetting.

What to do? Here is what Mary did, tips for anyone who suddenly finds themselves in such a desperate situation.

"Karen Smith, who facilitated Keith's rescue, gave me lots of search suggestions. I did the traditional of posters, with picture, on posts, posters given to vets, pet stores and groomers, ad in local paper and walking neighborhoods talking to residents.

"All to no avail. I did get him back by placing a free, online ad. Since then I have talked with many people and have come up with four of the most recommended online helps. Here they are. Use them if you wish, it worked for me.''

• Home Again (http://public.homeagain.com/)  sells microchip implants and a tracking service. They will keep a description of the dog and a picture on file. If dog is lost and they are contacted they will e-mail a poster that can be reproduced. They also send, online, the poster to their networking clients (I am one) that live in the area so members can also be looking. There is a yearly fee for this service.
• kijiji (http://www.kijiji.com/) is a free online ad service, located on eBay. They are based in Canada but they have local listings, tied to your Zip code. The lady that found Keith found my ad that I had placed on kijiji. Local your listings and then find the lost pets section.
• Post a free ad on Petfinders.com (http://www.petfinder.com/classifieds/classifieds2.html)
• Pet Amber Alert (http://www.petamberalert.com/) is a fee service. The fee runs $30 to $130 depending on the area of coverage desired. They do the contacting (vets, groomers, police, shelters, etc) with posters and have networking.

Cairn 6-Pack Rescue Update

Back in September the CTCSC rescued six Cairn Terriers. Last week Keith went to a new home, adopted by someone who had rescued a Cairn from the CTCSC 15 years ago!

The only remaining Cairn is Debbie, a lovely little girl.

In addition to the Cairn 6-Pack, the club has been busy placing three additional Cairns as well, one from San Diego, one from Buena Park and one from Fallbrook.

If you would like to know more about Debbie or help support our rescue program, please contact Karen Smith, redcoat@tfb.com or 760-728-7133.

Two Special Cairns: Angus and Broady

In September Tom and Mimi Hilberg of San Diego lost a very special friend. Angus was a Cairn terrier they had acquired from Karen Smith in 1993. He lived to be 17 1/2 years old, and as you can see from the video above, he was still active in his later years.

Here is how they describe this very special Cairn:

"Angus had so much character and humor stuffed into such a small body! He had been our companion on numerous long trips in the USA, Canada and Alaska. He's been a smart, funny presence who endeared us to him in many ways.''

After their loss, Tom and Mimi contacted the CTCSC about rescuing a Cairn.

"Cairns are individuals with a special intelligence, attitude and sense of humor,'' said Tom and Mimi. "Now that we've lived with Angus we find that his absence leaves a hole only another Cairn can fill.''

No dog can ever truly replace such a special friend, but now they have adopted a new Cairn, Broady. Here is what they have to say about the new family member.

"Broady is open, happy, warm, active and funny. A real pleasure to know.''

Like many rescue dogs, Broady is wary of strange men, but they are working to get him acclimated to his new life and he is happy with his new family.

"We're hitting it off every way."

Cairn Terrier Rescue -- Times Six

Most days in rescue, you get a call, you go to a shelter and you pick up a single dog. But then there are those days when the challenges are greater. Rescue gives glimpses into the worst and best, in people and animals.

The call came in: Six Cairn Terriers at risk. Can we help? We rushed to first secure the dogs. As is often the case, they lived in cages, were covered in excrement and urine. Nails grown out and over. These are not dogs taken for walks. A groomer was contacted, and she rushed in assistants. A club member paid for all the grooming out of pocket. The worst situation, the best in people.

After cleanup, the dogs are taken to a vet, some trembling and scared. There are no major issues, but just dealing with teeth and ears and general care will cost us $3,000. The vet gives us a break and does it for $2,100. It is the best you can hope for with this sort of situation, no major problems and young, happy Cairns.

At this writing people have opened their homes and hearts to four -- Carrie, DeeDee, No Name and JoAnn. Debbie and Keith are still waiting.

We can answer these calls only because of your generous support, your donations to rescue, and contributions to fund raising. There are happy endings for the worst cases only because of good people like you.

If you would like to support Cairn Terrier rescue contact Karen Smith at redcoat@tfb.com.