April 20, 2013:

Today was a beautiful day! Olivia's long-term foster parents and dear friends, Jen & Aron, decided they wanted to make it official! So we had a wonderful Adoption Day today! Of course, Olivia knew she'd won the jackpot years ago now. Of course, ever since meeting Jen & Aron, we knew we won the jackpot too. Jen & Aron, not only do we thank you for giving Olivia such a wonderful life, we thank you for the other beagles you've changed forever with your love, your patience and your compassion. We hope you remain a part of our family for years to come.

March 16, 2011:

We are certainly way overdue for a pupdate on Olivia! Our apologies! It's been a whirlwind of activity down at beagle tailquarters and there never seems to be enough time in the day.

Dear sweet Olivia has had her challenges but somehow, she's managed to stay positive. That's partly because of her upbeat personality and partly because of her wonderful foster family! Olivia wound up with Clyde & Rosie's positive-minded parents - Jen & Aron! There are no words to describe how much we appreciate having foster parents like Jen and Aron. When the going gets tough, they keep going! Olivia's eyes have given her tons of trouble and Jen probably can't even count how many times she had to bring her into specialists over the last several months. She also gave us a scare with her back when she suddenly had trouble walking and ended up at VEC to meet with a neurologist! But after all of these things, Olivia's future is starting to look a whole lot brighter! The eye medication is working its magic and the worries of her losing one or both eyes are finally behind us...at least for now. We know her eye drops are life-long and the issues are chronic so we must stay vigilant with her treatment. As for her back, all seems well as she's back on all 4 paws...although beagles are known to have spinal trouble so we must keep an eye on her in that department as well.  

Something happened over the course of fostering Olivia for Jen and Aron. You can hardly blame them either. It happens when you give so much of your heart to a dog in need. You can't help it. You fall in love. Jen and Aron have expressed an interest in adding her to their loving family permanently and we couldn't be happier for Miss Olivia. It's a fairytale come true for this deserving little princess!!!

September 7, 2010 eblast:

Meet Olivia. She's not a happy camper like beagles are meant to be. Olivia has a bad case of cherry eye in both eyes. Who knows how long she's been suffering with this condition either. She came in to the shelter as a stray. Nobody has claimed her.

The rural shelter is privately run and has no funding to speak of, so they contacted us for help. Thanks to the support you give to Big On Beagles, we can help.

Right now, we're working out the logistics on getting her here for the operation. It will work itself out. But we thought we'd share Olivia's story with you as it unfolds. She could use a loving foster home to recover from surgery when the time comes. Far better than returning to a shelter. But our foster homes are full with long-term foster beagles and foster applicants have slowed down tremendously over the last several months. For that, we are disheartened. Without committed, loving foster families, we simply cannot reach out to beagles like Olivia. At least not to that extent and that's a real shame.

Summer has been a busy time for us with our main focus on Bentley - our poor, damaged beagle who narrowly escaped with his life from a terrible ordeal in Ohio. It's clear that Bentley will never be 100% okay. There are simply too many emotional scars for his spirit to heal completely. Bentley is yet another long-term project and we're committed to finding him long-term happiness.

Rest assured, we cannot turn away from other beagles in need no matter how challenging the added responsibility. We find a way. We always do, but oh, how much better it would be if we had more wonderful beagle folks like you to open your hearts and doors to the beagles we're here to save! Any time you want to ask about fostering, drop us a line! One more reliable, dedicated foster home means one more beagle saved. Your inquiry matters that much, for Olivia and the next beagle to follow in her paw steps.

Sept 15, 2010 eblast:

Today, Olivia will have her surgery to correct the cherry eye and perform a spay. But that's not the whole story. Olivia has been diagnosed with severe dry eye. That's what has caused the cloudiness in both eyes. And given the fact the condition has obviously been neglected for a long while, she likely has some permanent damage and will never have clear, bright eyes again. Thankfully there is no worry about blindness but in order to improve and subsequently control this condition, she will need two kinds of eye drops to be administered twice a day for life. One of these eye drops is somewhat expensive, translating to approximately $60/month.

Olivia is worth it.

I met little Lady "O" for the first time on Monday morning. She'd been delivered to our vet clinic courtesy of the shelter manager who contacted us about her. The shelter is located in the London area. That's when I understood why her caregivers went the extra mile. There she was, sitting in the module against the wall in our vet's operating room looking so small and fragile. Olivia doesn't howl. She doesn't whine. She doesn't even fidget. She just looks at you with those big worried eyes. All we want is to take that worry away.

We still haven't found a loving foster home for her, but we're holding out hope for at least a week. In the meantime, she'll remain at our vet clinic which is just a beagle wiggle away from my home. I visited her again last night to wish her well for the operation and to adorn her with a girly girl collar. She'd been wearing a black leather number with spikes. Not her style. She's more Sandra Dee than Sheena Punk Rocker.

Given this little sweetheart's health care needs, we know she's going to need someone special to adopt her. Someone with the financial stability to ensure she's well looked after. But also someone with a gentle hand and heart to help boost her confidence. There are telltale signs of past mistreatment as she flinches easily and not just because of the clouds in her eyes. She's also working on her housebreaking which proves that she's probably had little to no guidance before now. We think having a doggy sibling would go a long way to showing her the ropes and teaching her how to be your typical worry-free beagle! Guessed at no more than 3 or 4 yrs old, Olivia has so many years ahead to enjoy being a true beagle.

If you'd like to inquire about adopting or fostering this angel in our midst, don't hesitate to contact us. We don't want to return her to the shelter. Although her caregivers are very attentive, she needs and deserves a real home.

Article to be Published in BEACH METRO NEWS Column, "PET OF THE MONTH" for October, 2010:

PET OF THE MONTH!

When I was a kid, one of my favourite movies was The Trouble with Angels starring Haley Mills. She and her friends got into scathingly brilliant trouble while studying at a Catholic boarding school. I was so impressionable back then that I actually contemplated becoming a nun. Until, I realized wearing makeup and the latest fashions would be out of the question.

We typically dont end up becoming what we imagined as kids anyway. Thats probably because we never end up becoming any one thing. I like to think love inspires us to become many great things over the course of our lives.

Im counting on such inspiration right now. Are you ready for this? Lady O is here in the Beach! Shes had surgery and recuperating at one of the best B & Bs in town the Beaches Animal Hospital.

Did I mention the O stands for Olivia? Shes a wee beagle, light as a feather and no more than 3 or 4 years on planet Earth. But as far as Im concerned, shes a star now thats shes in the Beach Metro.

Love inspired me to start a beagle rescue over ten years ago and love inspired me to reach out to my latest media darling at the tail-end of summer.

But love can get you into scathingly brilliant trouble sometimes.

Business has been slow in beagle rescue land. While there may be plenty of beagles out there to save, our supply of foster parents is dwindling. Without them, we cant stay in business. But love tends to cloud ones judgment, especially when a dog as inspiring as Olivia comes along.

Olivia had been rescued off the streets near London, thanks to a small shelter in the heart of Middlesex County. Judging from the condition of her eyes, shed either been on her own for a while or severely neglected by her people. Olivia was inflicted with a condition commonly known as Cherry Eye. Although disfiguring, this congenital defect involving the prolapsed gland of the third eye is not painful. Nevertheless, surgery is usually recommended to protect against infection and the development of more damaging conditions.

Money is usually tight at small rural animal shelters where anything beyond spay/neuter operations is not within budget. So the owner called us, praying for a miracle.

Other than eye trouble, there was no trouble with this angel. Her only crime was stealing the hearts of the shelter staff. She stole mine too and that was okay because Olivia also managed to steal the hearts of our supporters with just her picture. Donations came flooding in to cover her operation. The only thing missing was a post-op foster home, but half a plan is better than no plan.

Olivias surgery couldnt have come soon enough. A preliminary examination revealed the prolonged neglect of the Cherry Eye had likely caused a severe case of Dry Eye, a painful and chronic condition. Even though Olivia has had a lot to cry about, shes unable to produce her own tears. Shell need daily eye drops for life.

The surgery is behind her now and the little patient is currently being spoiled at our vet clinic, at least until we come up with the other half of our plan.

All it would take to inspire someone to foster Olivia would be to meet Olivia. Her eyes may not be clear and bright, but they dazzle you just the same. It tends to happen right after she paws her way into your lap and stares up at you with more angelic innocence than Haley Mills could ever muster.

Its funny how you see things differently over time. Take for instance, the title of that favourite childhood movie of mine. I used to think it straightforward but now I know there was much more to that title than meets the eye.

The real trouble with angels is they dont have wings. Thats why you dont always know when youre looking right at one.

Olivia is an approximately 3 to 4-year-old inspirational beagle with Big On Beagles (BOB) Rescue, www.bigonbeagles.ca. On behalf of our angel, we thank the folks at Animal Care Centre - Lobo for bringing her to us, Beaches Animal Hospital for the expert care, and our friends and supporters for loving her without even meeting her. The only one left to thank is YOU once you follow through on your scathingly brilliant idea to foster her!