tuscawilla oaks

In September 2006, a friend working at Orange County Animal Control contacted us with a special request to foster a puppy. One very emaciated Doberman girl puppy had just arrived at their facility with an incredible story. Essentially born a three-legged dog due to a birth defect this abandoned puppy was rescued from a canal in Orlando. It was a miraculous survival and our friend wanted the puppy in a foster home where she could get healthy and strong before adoption. It was impossible to say no, and so, it was on September 21st this 11 week old puppy arrived at our home. This date was special and significant as it was my grandmother Johanna’s birthday. In her honor and Tammie’s grandmother Opal Josephine’s honor, we proudly named this little miracle girl JoJo.

From day one, JoJo was always loving and friendly with us and other humans; however, we noticed that she was timid and fearful of dogs. At that time, we had the most loving, gentle pushover of a boxer named Oakley. It took JoJo nearly two weeks before she fully trusted him, but Oakley’s good nature finally won her over. He became her shining star and security blanket. JoJo had more confidence with Oakley by her side and she grew, fattened up and became an outgoing and playful pup.

As fate would have it, JoJo was meant to be ours and she adopted us. Nearly 10 years old now, JoJo has continued to amaze and inspire everyone she meets. She is a strong willed girl with a big heart and has no clue she isn’t “normal”. Most people who see JoJo feel sorry for her, but the joke is “Please, feel sorry for us because she is a Bossy Pistol”. Seriously, JoJo is amazing and her tenacity, intelligence and drive keeps on inspiring us and others every day.

Last year on September 19th, JoJo started acting unusual after taking her on a walk. She would not stop panting and her gums were white. Immediately, we called TOAH and said we were on our way. The TOAH team was ready for us and they took her back for treatment. As it turned out, JoJo was having dangerous heart arrhythmias and she ended up needing lifesaving CPR. Dr. Fullenwider and Dr. McPherson with their team resuscitated JoJo and stabilized her. In need of overnight ICU care, JoJo was loaded into our Jeep for transport to the Veterinary Emergency Clinic in Casselberry. Dr. Fullenwider jumped into the vehicle with JoJo as if nothing could have stopped her. While in route to the clinic, JoJo crashed once more and Dr. Fullenwider saved her life again with CPR. If Dr. Fullenwider had not gone with us, then JoJo would not be here today.

JoJo was diagnosed with DCM (dilated cardiomyopathy), which is a heart condition common in Dobermans. While there is no cure for DCM, JoJo is now on heart medications to help keep her from having dangerous heart arrhythmias and to strengthen her heart’s pumping ability. This March 19th marks 6 months that JoJo was brought back to life. There are no words to express how grateful we are that our baby girl is alive and well. Endless gratitude and love to the TOAH TEAM! Happy 6 months JoJo!!!

All the best,
Sharon and Tammie

We adopted Lucky when he was 2 months old.

He was in with his three brothers and sisters and was last to be adopted. Linda was a pushover when she saw he was the last of the family left and they really connected.

He has always been using his nine lives. He has been caught in a sewer, beat up by other cats, and at first, Maggie our Rat Terrier, terrorized him.

But he has always been a very lovable cat and is very vocal in expressing his feelings. (The staff at TOAH has nicknamed him “Loud Lucky”.)

When Linda is home he is always in her lap. He has brought us a lot of love and laughter in the years we have had him. Even Maggie seems to like him now.

Linda and I want to thank everyone at TOAH that has kept him healthy and happy.

Jim and Linda Hill

Just a friendly note to let you know that TOAH will be closed from 8am-12pm on 1/15/2016 for staff training and development. This is crucial for us to bring you the best and most up to date veterinary care and compassion.

Let me tell you about this dog right here! He is the love of my life. I have so much unconditional love for this dog he is practically my child. It all started in late September when I had decided it was time for my boyfriend and I to get a dog. My boyfriend, Gabriel is really close with his family and we hang out with them frequently and they all have dogs. We both grew up with animals and I missed having a pet to love unconditionally and take care of (it also teaches you a lot about responsibility). Gaby wasn’t completely into it at first, but one thing was certain the moment we saw a picture of Yogi we knew he was meant for us. I also took it as a sign that his birthday July 6th was the first time Gaby and I met in person. We found Yogi in an ad on Craigslist of all places in an ad from a family living in Fort White, which is about two and a half hours away from Orlando. I remember that whole week I was counting down the days, hours, and minutes until we could get him and bring him home. We didn’t tell anyone what we had been up to until a few days after we got him and our families fell in love with him just as much as we were. Yogi is a typical puppy who is clumsy, playful, has a lot of personality, and is so loving. About a month after we got him, Yogi was three months old when he broke his leg trying to jump off of my bed because he got his leg caught in the bed frame. I was so scared because I could tell he hurt his leg pretty bad but we couldn’t do anything about it until the next morning when he had his vet appointment. The vet I originally took him to decided to take some X-rays and said they’d call me when they had an answer. A few hours later I got a call saying Yogi definitely broke his leg at the growth plate and I had three options: leave it alone (which would’ve left his leg with a significantly smaller than the others), expensive surgery, or to euthanize him. There was such a lack of empathy in her voice and she sounded so negative it had me in tears! They didn’t do surgeries and sent us off looking for specialist after specialist and none of them were available when we needed them. Which is in a way fortunate because that’s what led us to Tuskawilla Oaks it was recommended to Gaby’s mother and she got us an appointment immediately. From day one everyone in that office has been so kind and caring towards us! They were able to do the surgery and help us out the whole way through. Surgery day came and I was a bit nervous for Yogi because he’s a puppy and it was like letting my child go into surgery for the first time. Later that afternoon they had told us that the surgery was a success but at some point Yogis’ heart stopped for about a minute or less they were able to revive him. We had to pick him up and take him to an overnight emergency hospital that they recommended to us nearby. It broke my heart when they brought him out all knocked out from the anesthesia. The emergency hospital did an incredible job with him we were so satisfied. It brought a smile to our face to see him the next morning he was so alert and wagging his tail in excitement when he saw us. After the whole ordeal, I am happy to report that our resilient little boy is doing extremely well and we are so thankful for that. We love him more and more every day and thank god for his resilience and that he is still with us. I am eternally grateful for our families support and for the whole staff at Tuskawilla Oaks you guys were the answer to my prayers and you guys have done such a wonderful job with him from the regular check-ups to the surgeries. All I can say is thank you and Yogi is so honored to be recognized as your Dog of the Month.

Lots of love, Danielle, Gabriel, and Yogi 

I adopted Jezabel (Jez) about 8 and a half years ago in Pittsburgh PA.  She was 3 at the time and her owner had passed away and the family did not want her and put her up for adoption.  I saw her picture on the website and knew that she was the cat for me.  I drove over an hour to the shelter she was at and it was love at first sight.  I brought her home to my apartment where we lived for a couple months then I purchased my first home and we moved.  We lived there for six years before moving to Orlando.  My neighbor says he misses seeing her sit in the window watching the birds.

Two years ago we did the drive down to Orlando which she was so not a fan of!!  We finally made it and stayed with my parents for a couple months while I found an apartment.  They have two cats and that is when I realized that Jez is definitely a one cat household type of cat.  She was definitely the alpha in that situation perched on my mother’s chair like the queen that she is.

Just recently Jez had some medical issues well medical is a relative term.  She decided one day to stop eating so I brought her to TOAH and Dr. Taylor did some blood work to see what was going on.  My sister was here at the time so we thought it was behavioral but the situation was not getting better.  Her blood work came back normal but she still wasn’t eating.  At this time we did X-rays looking for obstructions and other possible issues, nothing showed up.  I talked about options with Dr. Taylor and I opted to do a feeding tube.  Jez had this feeding tube for six weeks, where we became a frequent flier at TOAH and the staff was amazing!  I had to board her a few times and all the Vet Techs took great care of her and loved and doted on her.  I decided to do a few more tests just to rule out everything medical, everything came back good which made me happy but frustrated at the same time.  Two weeks ago we had to take the tube out due to circumstances and I didn’t know how it was going to go.  I am so happy to report that Jez is now eating on her own!!  She has been consistently eating and has gained 4 oz since I brought her home two weeks ago.

I would like to thank everyone at TOAH that was there for me throughout this tough time.

Thank you to Dr. Taylor, Kyle, Tina, Kaleigh, Kerry, Lauren, Angel, Andrew and anyone else that helped with Jez that I never met!!

I’m happy to be a part of the TOAH family and I know Jez is too!

Dawn

Jilly
Came into my life in 11 years ago when a good friend gave her up as a one-year old because she was a “one person” dog and didn’t get along with their other two dogs. My friend and her husband were the love of Jilly’s life, along with their other Chihuahua, Diesel. But they decided on 3rd chi and Jill was the one who didn’t get along with the others…so they asked if I would be interested in taking her.

I never saw a long hair Chihuahua but she was a keeper. Jill was dropped at my place by her owners, who were great people. In the period of one year from her birth she was taken away from her siblings and mom and then away from her new family and best friend Diesel.

The first 2 weeks she came to me she laid at the front door waiting for her family to come pick her up and gradually she decided we could do a lot together. After one week with Jilly, she developed pancreatic. I had not established Jilly with a vet but she was so sick I took her to the emergency room. She was a tiny little 5.5 lbs. and almost completely limp. The emergency vet kept her overnight and in the morning he gave her back and said he didn’t know what was wrong with her.

I frantically started driving down the road looking for a vet and not knowing anything about little dogs. I found TOAH and took her inside. Dr. McPherson came out to see what was happening and after explaining she asked if I had any blood work. Dr. McPherson took a quick look and said, “she has pancreatis.” She decided to keep her overnight with plenty of fluids and I left my tiny, limp little pup with yet another stranger. I came back the next morning and my pup was like new. It was a miracle!
Since that time Jill and I have become friends with everyone at TOAH and because of them she has stayed healthy.

Jill and I love to take long walks and now that she is 11, she more enjoys the stroller type walks. Her best friends are Oscar the dachshund and Dodge the Yorkie. Her favorite toy is OWL and her favorite blanket is a green throw..that she claimed last Christmas. Jill still has some health issues but she is truly my best friend. So happy to have the folks at TOAH for guidance. Dr. McPherson was our angel when it seemed like no one else could help.

Bear’s Story:

Bear came into our lives just before the July 4^th holiday weekend.  He was a mere 2 lb. 9-week old rescue from a local animal shelter.  The “runt” of the litter, he seemed to be the unwanted soul; more reason we felt a strong connection to him and knew he needed to be a part of our family where he could be loved and cared for.  Unbeknownst to us, he came with illness.  Within 24 hours of being home he produced a chronic cough that ended up being pneumonia (visit 1).  Bear being such a tiny baby it was challenging to find the right medications and dosage that he could handle, but the wonderful Doctors a TOAH knew just what to do.

As the following days progressed other issues unfolded. These were even more serious than the pneumonia.  Bear had suffered an internal post-op trauma when neutered prior to coming into our care and TOAH (visits 2, 3, 4).  It was touch and go for a while with our little guy, but with surgery that cared for the infected area he was patched up good as new (visits 5, 6).  So much for a puppy to endure; more than some adult dogs and humans could handle but Bear is one tough little cookie.  This all in the first 10 days he was with us!  When you have the best care and a lot of love the odds are in your favor.

Bear is now 5 months old … completely healed, healthy, running and playing like a puppy should. He has a brother and sister, Lucky and Lacey who have welcomed him into the family with open paws.  We love our little furry children very much; they fill our home with happiness, love and energy.  We look forward to a long wonderful life with Bear, Lucky and Lacey!

Dudley’s Story:

Dudley is one of six members of our FF (furred family), and Dudley is known in our home as “the best dog in the universe”!  We adopted him through Florida Great Pyrenees Rescue shortly after losing our first Pyrenees that we had rescued from Pet Rescue by Judy after he ingested nuts from a sago palm.  We know that Dudley was born 12/18/2003 and was put up for adoption after his original family could no longer care for him.  He came to us on 5/30/2005 and has been nothing but a true joy ever since!  So much so that we adopted our female, Molly, sight unseen, from a “pound” in GA in 2009.  Dudley is the patriarch here.  We also have our sweet “mutt” Martha, adopted through Pet Rescue by Judy when she brought her back from New Orleans after hurricane Katrina.  The alpha male is our 7-pound Yorkie rescue, Riley, who joined the family in 2007.   Add our cats, Nellie, who we adopted in 2000, and our newest addition, Gracie, adopted in July from TOAH and we’re a full house!  Dudley has always welcomed (or at least easily tolerated!) each and every addition. We love them all, but he knows he’s my favorite!!

Maggie’s Story:

Maggie was a rescue cat purchased by my granddaughter, Melissa.  Melissa
married and couldn’t keep Maggie, so I kept the pretty little Maggie.
Maggie is very shy; she hides when we have any visitors, that is, until she
gets hungry.  She is a sweet animal, loves to be brushed and petted.  I
almost lost her when she couldn’t eat.  Your Doctor Janis Fullenwider
diagnosed her problem as sores in her mouth and brought her back to me.  She
is recovered and back to eating, probably a bit too much.

Sincerely,

Betty Ingham, proud owner of Maggie