We received a very small Chihuahua with a very big medical problem. A little five pound Chihuahua was brought in after being hit by a car which crushed his pelvis and injured his back legs. Little Cinder needed extensive surgery to repair these serious injuries. A plea went out for help for Cinder’s surgery and the Alton Telegraph played a crucial part in bringing the situation the public’s attention. Funds came in and Cinder had his extensive three hour surgery to put him back together which was done by a specialist in Springfield, IL. Little Cinder who could hardly move is now running, playing, going for walks with Lorraine and is doing great. He is still receiving Cold Light Therapy and Hydro therapy (as you can see by the photo above), but he is a happy and lucky little dog who shortly will be looking for his forever home. We want to thank all the many friends who contributed to a tiny little dog in his time of need.

"Bonito," appearing to be a purebred Merle Great Dane, was dropped off at our shelter, found in a field. He was severely starved (only weighing 82 pounds), with many scratches and cuts. After being examined, he was diagnosed with every worm a dog could have in his body. Hookworms and heartworms were not on his side.

After spending many days and nights in a very large kennel of his own at the shelter, he started to recover with the care of the shelter team. He was given baths, a super high quality protein food (provided by our friends Chris and Rachel with Nature's Select Foods in Springfield) and lots of veterinary care.

He unfortunately had to spend many days with very limited activity and a blanket covering his kennel to make sure nothing excited him as he was enduring the initial heartworm treatments.

One day, Becky Kent and her family saw "Bonito" on facebook and knew they wanted to take him home. Becky met shelter volunteers to adopt him and continued his heartworm treatments. Today, "Blue" (named after those beautiful eyes) is a happy and much healthier dog. He now weighs 125 plus and spends his days with the Kent family on their large family farm. They love him with all their hearts.