Bitsey

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Updated 4/01/05: Bitsey continues to be a total love bug and toy hound. She is happiest when she is sitting on a lap getting attention and holding one of her toys. Her foster family is constantly amazed at how far this little cutie has been able to come from the horrid surroundings she grew up in.

Bitsey has become much more accepting of people she does not know and warms up to them within minutes. She still has the occasional housebreaking accident, but her foster parents are continuing to work with her to conquer this problem. She has gone as many as four days without an accident and is ready for a forever family who will continue this effort and lavish her with the love she has come to accept and enjoy in her life.

Updated 1/28/05: Bitsey will have her sutures removed tomorrow from her surgery for spaying and mammary tumor removal. She has healed nicely. She is such a sweet and loving girl and just wants to be the apple of someone’s eye. Her foster family is continuing to work on her only problem area which is housebreaking.

Shortly, this little lady will be moving one last time in her life. She will learn to trust her adopting family as she has her foster family. She’ll continue to love toys, and cuddling, and getting lots of attention from her forever family. She enjoys being close to the people who are at the center of her world and can be a constant companion to those she loves.

Update 12/30/04: Bitsey has really blossomed in foster care. She has become a total love bug and demands attention on a regular basis. If she could arrange it, she would be by her foster parents’ side 24 hours a day. Her love of “toys” has continued to grow. She does not discriminate against any toy, but truly prefers the larger stuffed ones.

Housebreaking is still a minor problem. She has made wonderful progress, but “forgets” her training occasionally. Bitsey is crate trained, but prefers to sleep on a dog bed beside her foster parents’ bed. Unfortunately, she cannot do this often because of the house training issue. Bitsey will now eat food in front of the other dogs in her home without worrying that they are going to take it from her. She will also eat treats which was a major accomplishment. She continues to be frightened of any new people that come to her foster home and remains most comfortable with just her “family” around.

Original: Bitsey and Buffy and two of the Wawayanda 61.  For anyone who may have missed the story of the Wawayanda 61, we have included a synopsis of their story at the end of this write-up.  These very sweet girls came into MAESSR’s care on June 23rd, 2004.  They are wards of the state of New York and cannot be offered for adoption at this time. MAESSR is absorbing the cost of caring for these two girls (we may or may not be reimbursed for their expenses by the state of New York). If you would like to help defray the costs of their on-going care, we will gladly accept any and all donations. At this time, we have no idea how long it will be until the court case is settled.  We have been advised that it could be as long as a year. 

Bitsey and Buffy were transported to their new foster home by some of the members of MAESSR’s “transport team”.  This was the beginning of an entirely new life for these girls.  Everything was entirely new to them.  The girls did remarkably well on the long trip south.  When they got to their new home, they immediately stole their foster mom’s heart.  These poor girls had missed all of the fun things of being springers.  Simple things like being petted, playing with toys, eating out of a bowl, being in a house, eating treats had never been experienced before. 

Bitsey and Buffy were taken to the vet to get all their shots and wellness checkups.  They were in better health than you might expect, but it still was not good.  Both girls are missing many of their teeth and have several teeth that are just worn down or broken.  When they were shaved down so that we could see what was under all that hair, we found nasty looking scars all over their bodies.  We can only guess that these are from dog fights and had been left untreated.  One of Bitsey’s nails was so long that it had curled completely around and was punching into her pad. 

Buffy and Bitsey really started to like being inside almost immediately.  Many of the household noises scared them at first, but they were quickly adjusting.  We have been working on housebreaking and both girls have made great progress.  We have an occasional accident, but it is not bad for two girls that have lived outside all their lives.  After a month in their foster home, both girls are still afraid to eat in front of another dog.  They will grab a mouthful of food from the bowl and take it into another room to eat it.  We can only assume that they are not used to getting as much food as they would like.  They have slowly learned to take treats, but they still prefer that you put them on the floor instead of handing it to them.

Bitsey and Buffy have learned about TOYS in their foster home.  They love toys.  Bitsey likes large stuffed animals.  During the day, Bitsey “hides” stuffed animals in her crate.  When it is time for her to go to her crate to sleep, the crate is usually full of stuffed animals.  She has become a true “hoarder” of stuffed animals.  Buffy also likes stuffed animals, but she really prefers tennis balls.  Almost every time you see her, she has a tennis ball in her mouth.  She also likes to “hide” them in her crate.  We are teaching her to play “fetch,” but she will not go after the ball if there is another dog around. 

Bitsey and Buffy have learned to love attention.  They have because such good wiggle butts that we refer to them as “The Wiggles.”  They are still shy around new people and situations, but now warm up much quicker.  Bitsey has been a true love sponge from the beginning, but Buffy is quickly catching up. 

Do you have room in your heart for these girls to “wiggle” in?

March 24, 2004

61 Spaniels Found in Abominable Conditions
Owners Charged with Neglect

Wawayanda: The 61 spaniels raced out of four sheds, their hair matted with
feces and dirt. Their tails wagged, but the smell of urine staggered onlookers.
The dogs’ owners, Jack and Frances Stoltz, were charged with 61 misdemeanor
counts of neglect yesterday. Authorities took away nine dogs immediately for
emergency cleaning.
Later, he said the couple got one dog. Then they bought her a mate. Then
there was a litter.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t get rid of them fast enough, and it just went on,”
Stoltz said.
Now the females and males live in separate quarters. They do not breed them
and do not sell their dogs, Stoltz said. They have no one to help them care for
their massive pack.
The heated sheds lacked ventilation, creating a noxious steam bath inside.
There was no sawdust on the ground to absorb urine.
Sheriff’s Deputy David Ayers said the hair on some was so matted they
couldn’t even walk.

Here is a shortened version of the story of what we all now call The Wawayanda
61.

Our first information on this very distressing situation came from an individual
who heard from a shelter that there was to be a raid by the sheriff and 61
Springers would be in 3 different area shelters. Well, there was a raid but the
deputy sheriff only took 10 because he felt he did not have enough room for all
61 in the local shelters. The dogs were taken into the care of local shelters
and were cleaned and vet checked. The other 51 remain at the Stoltz home.

going companion.