We already took in Noelle and didn’t want to leave Holly behind to die just because she was sick! But we had no foster homes available for her. Once again, we turned for help to our friends at Zani’s Furry Friends in NYC and Ramapo Bergen Animal Refuge (RBARI) in Oakland, NJ.

Joining hands with others that share our passion for saving lives of innocent animals would once again prove to work and save Holly’s life. The girl’s at Zani’s helped us get Holly out of the shelter. We agreed to take care of her medical bills and RBARI agreed to house her once she was well enough to leave the hospital. 

Once at the hospital, besides the mange, Holly was also found to suffer from a number of ailments including Canine Influenza, which is highly contagious. She would have to be quarantined for at least a couple of weeks.

About one month later, on the same day Noelle was released from the hospital, Holly was getting her discharge papers as well. She was now healthy and her coat is getting much better. It will still take some time to get her coat back to normal but she is expected to make a 100% recovery. She is extremely sweet, submissive and excellent around people, children and other dogs.

Holly is currently housed at the RBARI facility in Oakland, NJ where she goes by the name Molly to aviod confusion with a different Holly that used to reside there.  Holly/Molly is up to date with all her shots and can be visited during normal adoption hours (to view adoption hours, click on the RBARI link above).  PHOTO ABOVE, HOLLY/MOLLY NOW.

We specialize in the rescue of the ones left behind, the least likely to get adopted and the most likely to be put to sleep inside the shelter walls. Noelle was a perfect candidate. It was a race against time and with only hours to spare, Noelle was pulled from the shelter into the safe hands of SNK9. Noelle was saved on Christmas day and was taken to Pompton Lakes Animal Hospital for treatment of the broken leg. Since she was saved on Christmas Eve, we felt the name Noelle suited her better then her shelter name “Hilda”. We owe a huge thanks to Zani’s Furry Friends rescue (NYC) for helping us get Noelle to safety.

Noelle spent nearly a month at the hospital healing her broken leg and later a foot infection on the same leg. She was finally released at the end of January and went to her foster home, with the assistance of another great rescue located by the Jersey shore, Rescue Ridge. Noelle’s cast has been removed and she is healing beautifully, receiving tons of love from her foster friends.

Noelle is another one of many examples of how working together saves lives. We were not afraid to ask for help from others and others were not affraid to step with us into the “unknown” and save an innocent life!

Noelle is spayed and up to date with all her shots. All she now needs is a loving family to share her life with.

We pulled Noah from the Newark shelter in September, 2011 and brought him back to health. He has since received obedience training at Kamp Kanine in Little Falls, NJ and is now available for adoption.

Noah is a sweet young boy, full of life and energy, ready to take on the world. He is neutered and up to date on all his shots.

If you are interested in meeting Noah, please contact us.

After a mountain of tests and an MRI, the doctors have determined that any abuse that Ice may have suffered did not cause the blindness. The doctors say he was most likely just born this way. No one even knew that Ice is also hearing impaired but can hear and does respond to human voice. This came to light only after the tests at the animal hospital. We also believe he might be able to see shadows…either that or he uses him nose like a sophisticated radar since he is able run around the foster family’s yard and turn before hitting the solid fence or the trees. Dogs have such a great sense of smell that they easily compensate for the loss of sight or impairment thereof.

The good news is that Ice’s condition is non-progressive, he is otherwise perfectly healthy and can live a healthy and happy life!

All we are asking is that people open their minds. The rest will follow…Once you meet this wonderboy, you might just open your heart and your home to him.

We are still attempting to figure out if any of this can be reversed since it is fluid in the brain that has caused this condition…and once again, this is a non-progressive condition so nothing will get worse.

VIDEO of ICE running and playing coming soon. You will be amazed at his navigation skills!

We will post any updates as we get them.

He is special since he was born with the ligaments missing in the bottom portion of his right front leg, causing the lower portion of the leg to sway forward and act as a foot. But don’t feel sorry for this little guy. He was born this way and he gets around very easily by hopping like a bunny when he runs, using his right leg mostly to assist his left…and he can run! He walks just like all other dogs with a slight limp. The leg also has an enlarged paw cushion/pad just above his paw, which protects his elbow from being scraped against the ground and it works perfectly. He has absolutely zero pain from his condition which is non-progressive and is otherwise perfectly healthy.

Toby is great with people and other dogs. He is also neutered and up to date with all his shots.

Toby has a lot to offer. He is a very happy, friendly and loving boy! All he needs now is a place he can call home and someone to share his life with.

Buddy also suffers from hip, leg and ankle problems resulting from being hit by a car before ending up at the shelter. Buddy #2 was rescued from the shelter by a dedicated animal lover. Through a chain of events and no fault of his own, Buddy became virtually unadoptable and SNK9′s help was enlisted. He has joined our Buddy #1 and Reuben at the sanctuary, and we wish him all the best!

Severely abused, neglected and then thrown away to a high kill NY shelter, Halo was very sick and set to be euthanized on July, 25th, 2011, only 4 days after being “dumped off.” Although mild mannered and sweet, he was just another dog least likely to be adopted that was going to suffer the consequences of human “unkindness.” We were not about to let him be punished due to the actions of his previous owner, someone without a conscience and a heart. Halo was put on hold and saved by SNK9 the day he was scheduled to die.

Once in our hands, Halo was transported directly to Pompton Lakes Animal in NJ for treatment and rehabilitation. Six weeks later, Halo still remains at the hospital until he gets healthy enough to go to foster care. His progress has been slow but steady. He has been receiving great care and attention at the hospital. He is always happy to see people and other dogs. To us, he is “just another dog” that examplifies how quickly abused dogs forgive and their power to love.

Stay tuned for updates!

This brave boy was found on the streets of Romania dragging his rear legs behind. He was taken in by a Romanian family to foster and another international rescue started working on getting Wednesday to the U.S.A. and finding him a permanent home. SNK9 was contacted to see about a wheelchair for Wednesday. After seeing his video http://youtu.be/Owuqt9jyxuk how could we say no?

After people from all over donated enough funds for Wednesday’s plane ticket to America, the plans were finalized. Wednesday is scheduled to arrive in NY on August 26th, 2011. He will stay over at a temporary foster’s home for a couple of days before being united with his new forever family.

As promised, SNK9 will provide Wednesday with a custom made wheelchair to help him run once again and “feel the wind.” There are many people and groups to thank for saving Wednesday, once again proving that working together saves lives and makes a difference! The abused, neglected and the discarded all deserve a chance to feel the warmth of a true home and the touch of a loving hand!

Article by Yonah Ward Grossman, May 4, 2011.

Astoundingly, for most of our history America’s nickname for Pit Bulls was “The Nanny Dog”. For generations if you had children and wanted to keep them safe you wanted a pit bull, the dog that was the most reliable of any breed with children or adults.
The Nanny Dog is now vilified by a media that always wants a demon dog breed to frighten people and LHASA-APSO BITES MAN just doesn’t sell papers. Before pit bulls it was Rottweilers, before Rottweilers it was Dobermans, and before them German Shepherds. Each breed in it’s order were deemed too vicious and unpredictable to be around people. Each time people wanted laws to ban them. It is breathtakingly ironic that the spotlight has turned on the breed once the symbol of our country and our national babysitter.
In temperance tests (the equivalent of how many times your kid can poke your dog in the eye before it bites him) of all breeds the most tolerant was the Golden Retriever. The second most tolerant was the pit bull.
Pit Bull’s jaws do not lock, they do not have the most powerful bite among dogs (Rottweilers have that honor) they are not naturally human aggressive (in fact pit bull puppies prefer human company to their mother’s two weeks before all other dogs), and they feel as much pain as any other breed (accidentally step on one’s toe and you’ll see).
The most tolerant, patient, gentle breed of dogs is now embarrassingly portrayed as the most dangerous. It would be funny if the new reputation did not mean 6,000 are put to death every day, by far the highest number of any other breed euthanized.
That’s a lot of babysitters.
(Pictured: As you’ll see, from the richest to the poorest and everything in between, in America the pit bull was the dog for kids. Don’t miss the little boy in the goat cart at the end. He’s priceless.)

Abby, Cameron, Caroline, Connor, Elliot, Eric, Kara, Mike and Ryan were the students in this 7th grade class. They listened and took everything to heart. But that was just not enough for them. Now that they knew the horror that so many homeless pets have to go through, they wanted to make a difference and help save lives.

And so they did. These 12 and 13 year old kids embarked on a mission to raise money for Special Needs K9 by selling customized dog bowls and walking dogs. It was called their “Dog Bowls Project”, and they called themselves SNK9 “Puppy Pals.”

In mid June, 2011 just before the summer break and after months of hard work and dedication, the Puppy Pals contacted us and said they were ready to present us with their contribution.

SNK9 Puppy Pals sold 102 dog bowls, walked 18 dogs, collected $71.00 in coin donations, and $105.00 from a bake sale…GRAND TOTAL: An unbelievable $687.75…that is not counting the 16 bowls made for SNK9 to use for our foster dogs.

So our hats off to these young people…the Puppy Pals…for not letting it in one ear and out the other, for not looking the other way! They are our heroes and inspiration.

Special thanks to Mrs. Ebanietti, Eisenhower Middle School and we must not forget the parents of these amazing kids, who did such a wonderful job in raisinig their children.

Thank you PUPPY PALS!

Isabella had her surgery 6 weeks ago and it was a huge success. Dr. Cattiny of Pompton Lakes Animal Hospital performed the surgery and had to reconstruct parts of Isabella’s eye lids. This was the most severe case of entropion anyone of us has ever seen.

Isabella now moves her head around non-stop to look at every little movement as she enjoys her new gift of sight. Her recovery has been amazing as the photos below show her journey from before surgery (left), two days post surgery (middle), and finally six weeks after (right).

Click on each image to enlarge.

Click here to read about Isabella’s story and her journey to be able to open her eyes and see again.

After several months of rehabilitation, training and gaining 40 lbs, Chance has found his “perfect” family. He now has the life that he and so many others deserve. His new family, consisting of three young children and their parents, loves him very much.

After our visit with the family to finalize the adoption, we witnessed how this gentle giant shows his gratitude and love by playing ever so gently with all the children. It was very obvious that Chance and his family are a perfect match.

We don’t need to wish him the best of luck…he has already won the jackpot!

To read about Chance and view his original post with photos click here.

It was either us, or Isabella would be surrendered to a shelter. Given her condition and overcrowding in shelters, that option would pretty much be a death sentence. As our funds were dry, I realized something. My family has not exchanged gifts for Christmas and birthdays for the last few years. Instead we donated to various animal charities, and the last two years to Special Needs K9. And today, Friday April 15th was my dad’s 80th birthday. Two quick phone calls later, we were getting our paperwork ready to take Isabella into the possession of SNK9. My brothers and I decided that we would donate enough funds to SNK9 to cover Isabella’s surgery which would be the gift to our father for his 80th birthday. And so it was.

Paperwork was complete and she was ours. Stacey even brought our Lily to do a D2D test. Isabella exhibited no signs of guarding or aggression. She is very sweet, playful and friendly with people as well as with other dogs.

Later that day, our family went out to dinner and presented our dad with a photo of his gift…The Gift of Sight. He accepted his gift with a smile on his face (photo), knowing that through his gift, a dog that has not opened her eyes in a very long time will hopefully see once again, without pain.

Isabella’s surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, April 26th at the Pompton Lakes Animal Hospital.

Hopefully all will go well and Isabella will be available for adoption once she has healed.

Happy Birthday wishes to our dad.  

Mike, Karl, Jiri and the Special Needs K9 family

Of course our Lily came along and it was a wonderful reunion from the visit in December of last year. (Click here to read about Lily’s first visit).

These determined 7th grade students wanted to be a part of the life saving process and wanted to make a difference.

After the visit in December, they started walking dogs and decorating and selling dog bowls to help raise funds for Special Needs K9. They even built their own web-site to sell these bowls. The bowls are only $6.00 and there is a lot of love that goes into this project. Please visit their web-site for more information and to order your customized bowl.  http://dogbowls.webs.com/apps/blog/

We are extremely proud of these kids and of their efforts to help the ones without a voice! We are very much inspired by them and we will keep you updated of their progress with this life saving project.

It was December 14th, 2010 and Stacey Pravec (V.P. of SNK9) and our Lily (a dog rescued from euthanization), who we frequently use to help balance troubled dogs, went to visit Mrs. Ebanietti’s 7th grade class at the Eisenhower Middle School in Wyckoff, NJ.

The goal was to do just that…bring awareness and educate the students on issues regarding animal welfare, neglect, abuse and rescue.

The students were a wonderful audience. They showed so much interest in learning all there was to know about these important issues. They asked relevant questions as they played with Lily, who enjoyed all the attention she was receiving.

The school visit was a big success. The students were very interested in learning about how they can help and came up with some great ideas such as walking dogs along with decorating and selling dog bowls in order to raise funds for Special Needs K9 Rescue.

A couple of weeks later, we received the following e-mail from the class:

Dear Stacey,

We want to help Special Needs K9 because we are all very interested and
concerned about animal welfare. Once we found out about how many animals are neglected each year, we went to Special Needs K9 for help. To our delight we got a personal visit from Stacey, Gina, and Lily. Lily’s story
inspired us to save more dogs from high kill shelters. Just saving one
animal’s life makes a huge difference. We can’t imagine how many dogs
wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for charities like Special Needs K9.
We are very fortunate to be able to help them achieve their goals and reach our own. Together we can make a difference.
Ryan, Caroline, Mike, Kara, Elliot, Maya, Connor, and Abby

There was another e-mail (below) sent to SNK9 by the students:

Hello this is Maya, Caroline, Kara, and Abby from Eisenhower Middle School and our project is going great. We already made over 50 dollars with our dog walking service and we are going to make dog bowls as well. With the  money that we raise, we want to save dogs’ lives or help with their medical care that makes an impact. Those are some of our ideas. We want to save as many dogs’ lives as possible!

Thank you,

Maya, Caroline, Kara, and Abby

After answering all their questions, we were very pleased with the motivation of these young people and their eagerness to help!

We thank the Eisenhower Middle School, Gina and especially Mrs. Ebanietti and her students for the opportunity to come in and share our knowledge and experiences with them.