Notes from the Front Lines by Noni and Dave Davis

Hello folks.
Here's another Guam Greyhound, recovered today (Presidents Day in Guam) near the beach. She was reported by an alert resident who refused the reward. Owners agreed to relinquish the dog and they were happy to get the money. Noni and I checked the location earlier today and found nobody home. The dog was chained to a small doghouse, but the chain had become caught in the floorboards and she could only move a foot or two. No food, no water, very hungry and thirsty and thin, with a few wounds that will soon heal. I fortunately encountered the same young lady from Guam PD who helped recover Takano. She was visiting the shelter to check on him, and backed us up in this recovery as well. She's a great animal person, instrumental in both recoveries. Her name is E. A. Sabinay (I forgot to ask her first name), and she's been a cop for about 5 years. I know she'd appreciate a brief 'thanks' if you have the time. Her address: eas_2nd2none@yahoo.com. I'll include a photo of her with Takano in case you missed it earlier. "Tang" is in good spirits; very friendly and happy in her new temporary home with lots of greyhound neighbors. I'm sure she'll recover quickly. Regards to all-- Dave 2.16.09

Tang next to her former "home".	Takano being rescued by Officer Sabinay.

Two More Saved
We rescued another 2 hounds today. Amber found a black & white female wandering on the infamous "back road to Andersen" There are no houses around there and we suspect that she was dumped there. It is the same road where Louie was found - just further south. Amber named her Elma. She is a bit skinny and traumatized, but I'm sure she will recover soon when given food, love and care. She is very pretty.

Pistol with her bad sunburn.

Almost at the same time, the shelter received a phone call from a lady who saw a "greyhound with a broken leg"cross the main road in Yigo. Dave & I went to meet her and luckily they stayed by the side of the road and kept the hound in sight. He was lying with a Boonie dog on the porch of an empty house. When Dave approached him, he got up and hobbled towards Dave, carrying his R front leg and not placing any weight on it. We loaded him into the van without any difficulty and took him to the shelter.
On closer inspection, I discovered that he has a very swollen toe and it might have a foreign body inside or just something which jabbed him. He is not skinny, but has very sparse hair and looks like Sarcoptic mange and bad sunburn. He is very tall and with some food & medical care he will recover soon. He enjoyed his food, I gave him Metacam, Clavamox and some Herbal soother for his sun burnt skin. He will have a good night and we named him Pistol. Dave has taken some photos and will email them to you later.
This brings our total up to 67 greyhounds received at the shelter. This makes me more certain that the track has given out far more than the 100 which they claim to have done. It's far fetched to think that we have rescued 75% of those dogs which Calvo had released to the public.Noni 2.15.09

Martin
Here is Martin. He was called in to the shelter and Tina went to get him. according to the caller, he had appeared on their doorstep last Friday and wouldn't leave. We don't know why they didn't call earlier, especially in lieu of his deep wound.
I took him to the vet yesterday and he stayed overnight. He is physically OK, a bit skinny but OK. He will be neutered, rabies, etc and then come back to the shelter for wound care and antibiotics. He was very nervous and jumpy, but I'm sure with the gentle care he will receive at the shelter, he will blossom like so many of the other Greys.
Later today II will send a photo of the 2nd new dog taken in yesterday. Amber has noticed him at a house on her way home for a couple of days and went to enquire how he is doing. The owner told her that he is a useless dog as he won't bark and sleeps all day. Amber offered to take him off her hands and she signed him over to GAIN. His name is Troy and he is well nourished and will be sterilized as soon as the vet can fit him in.
Noni 1.19.09

Maggie being patched at GAIN.

Emai I have received the plastic cups from Robert Palmatier (Operation Greyhound). I don't have an email address or phone number for him, but I'm sure one of you will have it. Could you let him know that I got it and that some of them are already in the freezer filled with water for the next groups' departure on 1/16.
Our sincere thanks for all you are doing to help us here, it gives us the strength and perseverance to carry on. We are still getting calls from the community about "starved dogs" standing or lying some where, but we haven't been successful in getting them. The last rescue ones were Tara, Louie & Nina and I'm happy to report that they are all doing great and eating well. Louie's wounds are healing and so is his spirit and in about another 2-3 weeks, he will be fit enough to have his neuter & dental done, as will Tara. Little Nina is with her caring foster family and I spoke to them on Monday and they say that she is starting to eat and her acid burns are healing well.
I keep searching for the dogs who have been called in, but the jungle vegetation is very dense and it will be pure luck if I find any of them. I keep hoping and searching, as I know they are out there in desperate need of help.
Noni 1.13.09

Louie’s Story

Louie as he was found in the Guam jungle.

My name is Louie. My friend and former companion Tara, who you may have already met, asked me to let you know we’re safe at the GAIN shelter. We somehow got separated, most likely when I was jumped by that pack of feral cousins over by Guam Raceway Park. I once worked at the Guam Greyhound Park, but one day found myself in a strange and unfriendly place where I didn’t recognize anyone. It seems that after the racetrack closed in November the Guam Greyhound folks decided that my kennelmates and I were an inconvenience to be disposed of as quickly as possible, and they just gave us away. I know that’s hard to believe, but it’s true. Most of us didn’t go to good places. Some of us died and some escaped and some, like me, were dumped in remote places when our new masters learned how gentle and docile and useless for their purposes we actually are. They thought that just because we’re big and fast we’d be good guard dogs, which is really silly. It wasn’t easy keeping it all together out there. If Louisa and Noni and Amber hadn’t come along when they did I’d probably not be sending this note. They took me straight to a veterinarian who treated my wounds and started me on the way to recovery. I didn’t understand about all those tubes and bags and bottles and stuff, but the food was great and the humans were very kind. I feel much safer now that I’m at the shelter. I don’t have to be scrounging for scraps and trying to avoid those tough dog gangs all the time. I wasn’t very good at that, as you might imagine. In any event, thanks for reading and be sure to send my regards to all your friends. You can visit me at the GAIN animal shelter any day between 8 and 5, and as soon as I get my strength back I’d like to meet you and play with you and be your best friend.
Sincerely,  Louie,
Retired Racing Greyhound
Dave 1.9.09

About several dogs

Louie with his savior and namesake Louisa.

We were lucky and got Merlin adopted out to a very nice family. We got two more Greys in very bad shape from the area surrounding the Speedway race track. Another brown grey, was not so lucky, he had just died there next to the road from starvation and possibly dehydration.
So, attached are some photos of the two saved  - Nina & Louie - and the unknown who died a horrible death. These dogs must have been doomed there at this remote, jungle area, as there are no houses where we found them - only the race track which operates on weekends only.
Nina, the black one has burn wounds on her back, those are not white spots. Louie, is actually white and red, but he is covered in red sand and has many bite wounds on his body - the boonie dogs must have attacked him. The lady with Hi, is Louisa ( hence Louie ) is the person who called the shelter about the dogs and she also told us about the brown one who was walking next to the road.
Although we,  Dave, Louisa, Amber and myself had been driving up and down that road for 3 days, we are sad to say that we couldn't find the brown one in time. Nina was found by a caring person, his vet had her treated and checked for parasites & heartworm, but couldn't keep her, so he took her to GAIN .
Noni
1.7.09

Tara’s Story by Dave
Hello.
My name is Tara. It’s embarrassing to appear looking like this, but my friends at Guam Animals in Need want to make sure my story gets told right away. We hope those responsible see this so that that some of my kennel mates might be spared my pain and suffering. Those who say a girl can never be too thin don’t know the whole story. As you can see, I’ve had difficulty coping with abandonment. I never before needed to forage for food in the jungle, so I haven’t been eating especially well lately. It was also hard to find water and avoid the rowdy packs of feral cousins that seem to be everywhere. I was very lucky today. Noni and her friend Amber found me and took me to the GAIN shelter and fed me and comforted me and I think it’s all going to be OK. I believe they must have come along just in time. Don’t you? Anyway – if you happen to see the Guam Territorial Veterinarian please remind him that there are dozens of us out here abused and starving. You can contact him at: guamvet@gmail.com. I’m sure he’d like to save dozens more of us from what I’ve endured. You can visit me at the GAIN animal shelter, though it may be a few days before I’ll feel much like playing. Thanks for reading, and please pass this along to all your friends.
Best wishes, Tara. 

Chance and Dakota These photos are all of the same dog who came in together with 'Chance' (photos attached) from the same owner, both relinquished to Guam Animal Control on 30 December as "unwanted". Apparently they didn't live up to expectations. We named her 'Dakota'. Dakota weighed 41 lbs, and stayed overnight with the vet on the first day because she was so badly dehydrated. She returned to the vet for a weekend stay a few days later for further evaluation. She was recently adopted by a military family who also adopted Flash, a lovely black male. Let me know if you need more names and photos. Noni and I have most of the information.
email from Dave

Narrative about Tara
All: Today we had one greyhound, Flash, adopted to a very caring and loving family, but we rescued three greys in poor condition.
We received a call from a passerby about two dogs tied to a boat in Umatac - down at the very southern part of the island. I spoke to the owner and he said he got them from the race track in the first week when they started giving them away. He took a male and female to breed them for later on and also to guard his fishing boat. They were both emaciated and when I questioned him about feeding them, he said he didn't know how to care for them anymore, because they wouldn't eat what he gave them. With some friendly persuasion I convinced him to sign them both over to GAIN. He wanted to be assured that we won't use them to race and then " make money out of them". I informed him that they are now officially retired and will never race again.

See Tara in California on the Donate page.

The female, Cetti, is black and weighs 41lbs and the male Captain, is blue and weighs 53lbs. The owner signed the paperwork and we left.
On the way back to the shelter, I got a call from Winnie, telling me that the greyhound who was seen at the Speedway race track (cars) the previous day is lying near the restrooms. So, I off loaded the two I had and went to the track to look for the new one.
I found her lying in the grass, exposed to the sun, heat and rain, too weak to get up. I carried her easily by myself to the car and placed her inside - she weighs about 37-38lbs. The lady who had called the shelter, has named her TARA and so TARA she is.
I was also told that there are more greyhounds around the track, as the people " are using the area as a dumping place for unwanted greyhounds."  She is now safe, dry and fed at the shelter and won't have to starve or worry about food and water.
I have attached some photos of Tara, but don't have any of the boat guard dogs, as the light was too bad when I got back with Tara - will do the photos tomorrow.
Thanks, Noni 1.7.09