Success Stories

Sheba, July, 2001

Sheba, a 6 year old black female, came to the attention of Miami Valley Labrador Retriever Club referral and rescue in Ohio after her owners dropped her off - complete with AKC papers - at a woman's house. Since Sheba was headed to the pound from that drop-off point, MVLRC decided to take her into foster care.

Sheba had been abused by her former owners; they did not feed her properly but gave her loaves of bread instead. She was also very much afraid of chains. Despite the hard life Sheba apparently had with her previous owners, she was very friendly; her foster parents described her as a "sweetheart of a Lab".

When Sheba's foster parents took her to the vet for a check-up, they discovered that Sheba was heartworm positive. MVLRC applied to LABMED for funding of the heartworm treatment. The vet gave Sheba a good prognosis and the foster parents started treatment immediately. LABMED was glad to be able to help.

We also determined that Sheba was eligible for funding through the grant provided to LABMED in 2000 from the now defunct April Fund. The April Fund was originally established by Golden Retriever fanciers to assist dogs rescued from puppymills. When the fund ceased operations, part of the money in the Treasury was donated to LABMED with the stipulation it be used for dogs coming from a mass breeder. This could either be a puppymill or an uncaring back yard breeder who did not put the welfare of the dogs first.

Sheba is doing very well after the heartworm treatment. The follow up care was uneventful. When Sheba's foster parents left for vacation, an older couple agreed to foster her temporarily. That temporary arrangement turned into a permanent one; her "replacement" foster parents fell in love with the Sheba and decided to keep her forever.