What Happened to John & Yoko?

They have a home and a family! Together!
.
Our Houston Adoption Partner, Julie Martinez from Annie's Angels, placed John and Yoko in the same family.
.
Julie took them into her home to foster, and she was struck with how attached they were to one another.
.
Julie said she actually had six quality families who had applied to adopt these adorable little dogs, who have not had much of a life with a backyard breeder.
.
It is not uncommon for adopters to change the names of dogs when they are adopted. But not so with John and Yoko. It seems that the adoptive mom was once on the Oprah Winfrey Show... and the other guest that day? Yoko Ono! I am not making this up!!
.
John and Yoko will never be allowed to get all matted again, and they will have a loving family to hold them and love them and give them the kind of life we wish for all our adoptable dogs!
.
Thank you, Julie, for your efforts to place Smiling Dog Farms dogs into adoptive homes!
.
And thank you to all of you who asked about John and Yoko, or considered adopting them!

Our Mommy Was a "Cracker Jack" Dog!

We didn't come to Smiling Dog Farms in the usual way. We were "smuggled" in. No one knew about us, because we were tucked away and hiding! Inside our mommy's tummy!
.
Jay says that our mommy was a Cracker Jack dog because she came to the farm with a "surprise" inside!
.
Boy, were Ricky and Jay surprised to see us all crowded around our mommy the morning we were born! Ha, ha! They had no idea we were hiding out inside.
.
Lucky for us, Smiling Dog Farms works with Pup Squad, a super rescue group in Houston that specializes in placing puppies! Just like us!
.
Kathy, from Pup Squad, told Jay that she could find homes for us. So as soon as we were old enough, he drove us up to Houston so Kathy could take us into foster care until we were placed.
.
It didn't take Pup Squad long at all until we all found homes of our own!

Saved... Just in the Nick of Time!

Whew! That was a close call!
.
I was totally out of time at BARC, Houston's Animal Shelter. Today -- Saturday -- was my last day. If someone did not come get me today, I would not have lived to see tomorrow!
.
Cindi, a volunteer at BARC, had been trying to find a rescue to get me out of the shelter.
.
A group called Pure Mutts Sanctuary agreed to take me into their program. But they needed me to be in "quarantine" somewhere for at least a week before they would be able to take me.
.
It was really frustrating to know I had a place to go... but I was still in danger!
.
So Cindi called Smiling Dog Farms to see if I could stay there for a week or ten days. And Ricky and Jay said "yes"! They said I am welcome to live at the farm until the other rescue is ready for me!
.
Jay jumped in the station wagon and raced up to BARC late this afternoon to get me. Juan from BARC had me all ready to go.
.
So now I am a guest at Smiling Dog Farms. And glad to be here! Considering the alternative! Yikes!

Doggie Packs on the Pounds!

My name is Doggie. I was named by Marie, a woman who rescued me and helped me find a place where I could stay until I find a family of my own!
.
My original family just abandoned me... they moved away and left me behind, like an old piece of furniture they didn't want any more. It hurt my heart that the family I had loved and been loyal to would just dump me and never look back.
.
A kind woman in the neighborhood tried to take care of me. I was placed in a fenced back yard. But I didn't fully understand where I was or why I had to stay there. So I kept digging and digging until I found just the right place to dig under that fence and get out!
.
Once I was out of that yard, I managed to elude everyone's efforts to catch me for over a month. I had to forage for food and find it where I could. And often I found none at all!
.
During this time, I really lost a lot of weight. When I finally allowed them to catch me, I was nothing but skin and bones. Marie kept looking for a rescue to take me in, but no one wanted me -- especially as skinny and forlorn as I looked back then!
.
Then she called Smiling Dog Farms to ask if they would take me in, because I had no where else to go. And Ricky and Jay said "yes"!
.
Since I arrived at the farm, I have really put on some weight. Jay said that he wished they had taken photos of me when I was really skinny and new here! Look at me now! You would never know what a scrawny guy I once was!
.
Ricky and Jay say that I am a candidate for adoption. They say I am really good natured and get along with other dogs. And I am really eager to please... I will try really hard to make my new family proud of me!

Jay said that anyone who might consider adopting me can contact them at Intake@smilingdogfarms.org and one of Smiling Dog Farms' Adoption Partners will get right back to them!

How I Got In Trouble...

Hi! My name is Dre. Cool name, don't you think?
.
That's because I have a cool mom. Her name is Jaime.
.
We used to live together in California. But I got in trouble. I get nervous around people I don't know and I sometimes bite them.
.
Jaime tried everything to help me get over my fear biting. But nothing seemed to work. When I am scared and unsure, I just bite. I don't know why I do it. I just do.
.
Jaime finally realized that I could not continue to live there, because I was so unpredictable and might easily bite someone again. She was afraid I might hurt someone, and she was afraid of what might happen to me if I bit the wrong person!
.
Jaime searched the internet, looking for a place where I could be safe to live out my life. That's where she found Smiling Dog Farms. She asked Ricky and Jay if I could go live there, and they said "yes"!
.
Jaime got busy and sent around a Chip In fund raiser to raise the money for me to have a townhome and play yard of my own. She raised the $1096 to build my housing in just a few days! And she even got some of her friends to sign up as monthly sponsors to cover the day-to-day cost of me living here at the farm.
.
I have my own yard to run and play in. I have my toys. My mom sent me a really big, soft cushy puff for me to curl up and sleep in. Ricky put it in the upstairs loft of my townhome. I have fun running up the ramp to my upstairs, and then down again.
.
I'm glad Jaime found Smiling Dog Farms. Here I can't get in trouble. (The other dogs told me that even if you bite someone at the farm, you don't get in trouble for it!) I am happy with my new life at Smiling Dog Farms.

I Keep Watching for My New Family...

Hi. My name is Goliath. I guess if you look at me, you can see why!

I just feel lucky to be alive! I had completely run out of time at a small shelter. They said if no one would take me, they would have to euthanize me. Lots of rescues were contacted, but no one wanted me!
.
Because I was a pit bull. And because I was so big.
.
So the shelter director contacted Smiling Dog Farms to see if they would take me. And Ricky and Jay said, "yes"!
.
Boy, was I glad to see Jay when he came to get me! Even though I am a really big guy, and I weigh about 80 lb, I climbed right onto Jay's lap and rode all the way to the farm like that, while he was driving!
.
Ricky and Jay told me that I would get a chance to be adopted. But they said it is harder to place pit bulls -- even well behaved ones like me who dont have an aggressive bone in our bodies! They said I would have to be patient until it was my turn.
.
I wish that more rescues would become Adoption Partners with Smiling Dog Farms so that guys like me could have families of our own!
.
I think some people are afraid of me, because of my size. But I am as gentle as they come. I just want to snuggle close to you and be your best friend. I really try hard to be a good boy.


Recently, I met Cathie and Kathy, who came to visit the farm. They spent some time visiting with me and said they would try to help me find a family of my own.
.
Ricky and Jay say I would make a perfect companion dog.
.
If you know somebody who'd like a big guy to love them, please tell them about me. I am patiently waiting for my turn to have a family!

Here's Johnny....

How many of you remember me? I'm Johnny. I came from a shelter in Texas. I had a really bad case of mange. I guess you can tell from this photo. No one wanted me. Because of my mange.
.
A rescue worker named Seanna sent emails to other rescues, begging them to take me so I would not be euthanized at the shelter. She was having no luck finding a rescue willing to take a dog like me.
.
Then she contacted Smiling Dog Farms to see if they would take me, mange and all. And Ricky and Jay said "Yes"!

Here I am getting my first sulphur bath. Ricky and staff members gave me these baths once a week for a couple of months. You can see how bad the mange had gotten. I had open, bleeding sores all over my body. I kept scratching myself to try to alleviate the torment of the mange mites.
.

In addition to the sulphur baths, I got Ivermectin shots once a week, and the sores were treated with Nu Stock sulphur paste every day.
.
At the farm, I was also given Petinic, a liquid vitamin to build up my blood and my immune system. Every day. I am still taking it! Ricky and Jay say it is good for me and will help me to continue to grow stronger.

You can see my progress in this photo. My fur was starting to grow back and I was putting on some weight. I felt a lot better, and I was not scratching much at all. I guess those sulphur baths work!

Well here I am today. Some change, huh? I have a nice coat of fur and no more sores! I am standing in front of one of the new townhouses and play yards, they are building here at the farm. They are really nice! Ricky and Jay tell me there is a Chip In being circulated, trying to raise money to build one of these fancy new townhomes for me!!! I can hardly wait to have one of my own! You can go to my Chip In at http://smilingdogfarms.chipin.com/johnny
.
Jay asked me to pose for this photo below. He wanted to contrast what I look like today, with the sad picture of me at the shelter at the top. I tried to keep a straight face, but I couldn't help but laugh! That's why my tongue is sticking out! Ha ha!! I am just happy that Smiling Dog Farms said "yes" and gave me a second chance at life!
.
Ricky and Jay said that I am adoptable. That means that they are trying to find a family just for me. I'm not really fond of other dogs, and I have to admit that I really don't like cats at all! But I am hoping to find a family where I can be their "only" dog -- and no cats! Ha ha!

Dante Makes a Friend at the Farm!

Hi! My name is Dante! I used to live in Dallas. I really love my mom. That was my problem. I loved her so much, I could not stand it when she left to go to work or go to the store or anywhere! I would get so worried, I would start chewing at the drywall and anything I could get my mouth around. I was trying to find where she went, so I could go join her.
.
She tried all kinds of things to help me not be so fearful -- and destructive! But nothing ever seemed to work.
.
I guess you can see from my photo that I am an energetic guy. I love to run and play and stay active. So when my mom would be gone to work, I would just wreak havoc in her house.
.
And things didn't work out any better in the yard. I would dig and chew on the fence and find a way out. I don't know why I did those things. I just couldn't help myself!
.
Then my mom had her elderly parents come to live with her. They were nice enough, but they weren't my mom. So when she left, I was still as crazy and destructive. Only my mom was worried that I could accidentally hurt one of her elderly parents with my energy when she was gone.
.
Reluctantly, my mom decided I could not stay. But she wanted me to go someplace where I would be safe and would be happy. She called other rescues about finding me a new adoptive home, but none of them would take me.
.
Then she called Smiling Dog Farms to ask if I could come live there, and Ricky and Jay said "yes"!


My mom drove me down to the farm herself. She got to see my townhome and play yard. It was hard for both of us to say, "good bye". I didn't understand why I was staying and she was leaving.
.
But I liked my yard. And the townhouse with the ramp that goes to the upstairs loft is lots of fun. I run up and down and then back up again! My mom bought this place for me!
.
But the best part of coming to live on the farm is Annabeth! She is my new friend. We live in the same yard together. We play and nap in the sunshine together. I like Annabeth a lot.
.
I heard Ricky and Jay saying that Annabeth is a "shelter dog". She came from a shelter where she would have been euthanized, just because they needed the space for another dog. She came to the farm with no funding at all. But because my mom bought me this townhome and play yard, now Annabeth has a really nice place to live with me. And we both have a friend!

John & Yoko Escape Breeder Hell... Need Family

This is John and Yoko... two young shitzus, approximately two years old. They came to us from a rescuer who got them from a breeder.
.
When they arrived, their hair was long and matted. In fact, they smelled so badly, we had to drive them back to the farm with the window down in the car!

Because they had not been socialized, they were skittish and afraid around people. In spite of that, they had to go visit Dan's Waggin' Tails Grooming in Bay City right away. We had to get all the matted, smelly hair off them! Dan and his wife, Jackie, are good friends of Smiling Dog Farms and take good care of our babies who require grooming!

As you can see, they came out looking like real shitzus! They are living with my son at his house, so they are snug and warm during this cold spell. And they are learning to trust humans and not be so fearful.
.

We are hoping to find a family who will take both John and Yoko together. They are brother and sister and have been together their entire lives. The one constant that they could count on was each other. We can't take that away from them!
.

We have Adoption Partners in many different cities across America, so if you know someone who would be interested in adopting these two, please have them contact us at Intake@smilingdogfarms.org .

Oreo and Elvis Need a Family Together!

This is Oreo and Elvis. They are two very committed dogs who love one another. They need a family where they can stay together.
.
They came to us from BARC, Houston's animal shelter. Oreo, the female, had heartworms and we agreed to put her on the holistic heartworm treatment that we use to eliminate her heartworms. Sadly, many rescues will not take a heartworm positive dog. So our job was to eliminate the heartworms so that Oreo could move into a rescue.
.
Elvis, the male, had been accepted by a rescue in New England. He is already heartworm negative. Our job was to get him to the vet so he could be neutered, and then get him to his transport to Vermont.
.
But it didn't quite work out that way.
.
When we took Elvis to the vet for his operation, he stayed overnight.

As soon as he was out of their yard, Oreo began crying long, loud, sorrowful howls. At first, we thought she was hurt in some way! But after checking her out thoroughly, and observing her howling, we concluded she was sad that Elvis was gone!
.
Oreo howled through that night. Her long, mournful cries could be heard throughout the farm. The other dogs who sometimes play or bark at the cats at nighttime were respectfully silent, as Oreo's cries of desperate sorrow were broadcast through the farm.
.
Next day, Elvis returned from the vet, to await his transport.
.
And the happy reunion was beyond description. You just had to be there. It was VJ Day and Christmas morning and every other major occasion all rolled into one giant celebration in that yard!
.
They danced together. Yes. Literally. They danced!
.
They embraced each other, up on their back two legs... I promise I am not making this up!
.
And once again, all the dogs within earshot joined the happy celebration! There was no barking, just happy stares and smiles from dogs all around their play yard! It was uncanny!
.
They danced and embraced and cried happy cries at each other for nearly 30 minutes before they finally settled down together, laying side by side as they always do.
.
That was when we knew that Elvis would not be catching the bus to Vermont. At least not without his best friend, Oreo!
.
We explained their deep commitment to one another, and that we just could not bring ourselves to separate these two. We apologized for changing the plans for Elvis, and hoped that some other dog might be able to have that wonderful opportunity to go to the Vermont rescue.

Our commitment was to give them high priority in our adoption program. My goal was to have them in a home of their own -- together -- by Christmas.

Unfortunately, that has not happened. So we are going to keep featuring them on our website and in our blog until we find a family who has room for two friendly, happy, healthy larger dogs... who clearly love each other! If you know a family who might be right for these two special dogs, please have them contact us so we can get a homestudy going for Oreo and Elvis!

Greater Good and Petfinder Response to the Disputed Contest Results...

********************************************************************
I am publishing my emails to Rosemary Jones at Greater Good, regarding the disputed contest results. I spent over two hours on the phone with her on Dec. 29 explaining why we believe the contest results are incorrect. I thought I had made some progress and that she would review the results as they were posted day by day. Her email reply to me (not printed because I do not have her permission) made it clear that she would continue to parrot the "party line" that BART got more votes than we did -- with no explanation as to HOW that might have so miraculously occurred.

We did FINALLY just receive their $1000 check for being a weekly "high vote" getter. I have included my emails to her and Liz at Petfinder regarding the elusive check.

Unless Greater Good can supply some actual figures to support their contention, I will always believe that it was statistically impossible for Basenji Rescue to get 2.42% in a single day!

I also do not anticipate that we will ever have an adequate response or explanation from Greater Good or Petfinder. I think this entire episode was a disgrace.

Should any of you have any final words for them, their email addresses are: rosemary@greatergood.com, liz@petfinderfoundation.com, and lisa@petfinderfoundation.com. I don't plan to waste any more of my time on this useless endeavor, now that we finally have the $1000 check for weekly winner.

my email sent today to Rosemary Jones....

We finally received your erstwhile check. It was postmarked JAN 6! That is 3 DAYS after my last email to you (below), 8 DAYS after my phone conversation with you and Liz at Petfinder in which she said she would be sending it right out that very day. It is 15 DAYS after you told us the check was mailed on Dec. 22. And it is 24 DAYS after you told one of our friends that the check was mailed Dec. 13.

I think this speaks volumes about why so many of us have troulble believing you and trusting your word!

Your response to my presentation of the actual numbers during the contest (also below) is insultingly vague. The issue is not "inclusiveness". It is that WE WON first place in Texas but the prize was given to someone else.

You have yet to offer any cogent explanation other than "BART had more votes" and that we should simply take you at your word. You completely ignore the central point. As of Sunday morning, your own numbers showed us ahead by 2.42%

During the entire contest, the most movement in a single day was only .23%.

You would ask us to suspend intelligent thinking and just accept on blind faith that BART received 2.42% in a single day! That is 10 TIMES MORE than the best single day either of us posted during the contest!

I don't believe it. Our friends don't believe it. Anyone with a functioning brain will not believe it.

When a miscreant leaves DNA at the scene of a crime, the statistical likelihood that it belongs to the perp is calculated. Let's say it is 1 in 1,000,000 that he left the DNA. In empirical reality, it is possible that there was the 1,000,001st guy who left the DNA and not the perp. But it is not statistically likely. He goes to jail.

It is NOT STATISTICALLY LIKELY that any other group rounded up IN A SINGLE DAY 2.42% of the total votes cast! That is 10 TIMES more than the BEST day of the entire contest. That is 27 TIMES more than the average daily gain throughout the life of the contest.

Unless you can show on paper how the votes came in day-by-day, matching the numbers you were reporting on your website, and how many votes are alleged to have been gained by BART on the last day of the contest, there will always be the conviction that the results are wrong.

And the stories about when the check was mailed simply reinforce this conviction.

jay hellerich


In a message dated 1/3/2011 11:54:22 P.M. Central Standard Time, HELLERICH@aol.com writes:


For what it is worth, we have NEITHER check at this point.

We returned to Wharton last night, late. Went to P.O. Box this afternoon and no check -- not the old one, not the new one...

Checked mail box here at the farm, in case it was mailed to the physical address. No checks there either.

If a check was mailed on Dec 22, it most certainly should be here by now.

If a check was mailed to us on Dec. 29, I would think that four business days would be sufficient time for it to arrive, as well (subtracting Sat, a holiday, and Sunday).

The mailing address that appears in our website is P.O. Box 743, Wharton, TX 77488. I cannot imagine what other mailing address you would be using.

On 12/29/10 2:59 PM, HELLERICH@aol.com wrote:

we are out of town and will not return until monday, Jan 3... we can check the po box then... the confusion over the check was based on one of our supporters being told that the check had been mailed on Monday, Dec 13... since it was not actually mailed until Dec 22, it did not surprise me that it was not there before Christmas...

i do want to recap my conversation with you, rosemary, about the contest results so you will understand the outrage that Smiling Dog Farms supporters feel...

it is NOT that we "lost"... it is the belief that we did not lose, that we had the votes to remain on top in Texas and that statistically it was not possible for us to lose...

we all checked the contest results daily, as they were posted on the Greater Good website... by all, i mean not just ricky and me but countless supporters... the one thing i could count on every day was that i would have several emails telling me the day's statistics by the time i looked at the computer every day!

i wish that you had a way to pull back up every day's bar graphs, nationally and for Texas... i have incomplete results, but i think they will help you understand what we were all seeing daily: (from at least October 25 right up to December 19 we were never out of First Place in Texas... that is what should be noted... while they had days when they closed the gap, they NEVER took over 1st place... and since we cannot see raw votes, but only percentages, we can only speculate as to how many votes each had... what you can see is that even though one day they might do better and the next we might do better, their aggregate votes were NEVER more than us... EVER from Oct 25 forward...)

Date Smiling Dog Basenji Our Pct. Lead Daily Gain/(Loss)
10/25 2.28
10/26 2.43 .15
10/27 2.37 (.06)
10/28 2.29 (.08)
10/29 2.23 (.06)
10/31 2.22 (.01)
11/1 15.52 13.37 2.15 (.07)
11/4 15.47 13.29 2.18 .03
15.30 13.26 2.04 (.14)
15.34 13.23 2.11 .07
15.40 13.20 2.20 .09
15.05 13.08 1.97 (.23)
14.93 13.04 1.89 (.08)
14.87 13.06 1.81 (.08)
14.61 12.97 1.64 (.17)
14.58 12.94 1.64 -----
14.61 12.90 1.71 .07
14.67 12.85 1.82 .11
14.82 12.86 1.96 .14
12/15 14.98 12.80 2.18 .22
12/16 15.09 12.76 2.33 .15
12/17 15.14 12.73 2.41 .08
12/18 15.13 12.71 2.42 .01
12/19 15.12 12.70 2.42 -----


Obviously, I do not have every day in here... on my yellow legal pad, these are my notes... if i go back through my blogs, it will have more data... but here is what is important...

1) At no time... on no day... between Oct 25 and Dec 19 did Basenji Rescue go ahead of us into first place... even if you said, "well you dont have all the days on your chart -- maybe they went ahead on one of the days you dont have tracked", the answer would be that i would have heard it before i ever opened the website that day from at least one of our supporters...

Furthermore, the numbers do not support that... you can see that we stayed between 15.52% of the Texas vote and 14.58%... Basenji stayed between 13.37% and 12.70%...

Their highest number is not greater than our lowest number...

So it is fair to say that from Oct 25 to Dec 19, Smiling Dog was No 1 in Texas and never relinquished that position to Basenji...

2) The single BIGGEST day for either Basenji or us was .23%.. not .50%, not .75% and certainly not as great as 1.00%... check the statistics above... .06 or .14 was the norm...

that is the statistics that were true for the entire contest... no one in Texas ever got 1.00% on a single day, much less 2.42%... that is why we find it impossible to believe that Basenji suddenly got over TEN TIMES the number of votes in a single day than had been reported in the entire contest up to that point!

it is statistically impossible...

here is what i mean... when they test DNA on an accused murdered, and the DNA test comes back with a certainty to within 1,000,000,000... it means that only one guy out of 1,000,000,000 could match this DNA...

now in all of reality, it is possible that it was another guy with that identical DNA... the 1,000,001st guy on the planet...

but the statistical model says that it is just not likely it was anyone else but the accused...

and for us, the numbers show that things moved by .01 or .14 or .23on the biggest single day of movement... to suggest that one group -- even on the last day when everyone is pulling out all the stops -- could garner 10 TIMES MORE votes than all the previous history just does not make sense to a reasonable person...

EITHER... someone in your computing department DOES have a relationship with Basenji and "created" a lot of votes to make them first....

OR... the votes were NEVER accurately reported on the Greater Good website from the start...

those are the only two possibilities in logic and probability... it is just simple math...

we did not drop 2.42% of the TOTAL VOTES in a single day...

think about that a minute... we are not even talking about Basenji betting 2.42% more votes on any given day... we are talking about them getting 2.42% of ALL THE VOTES CAST in the entire contest, from Sept to December 19! all the cumulative votes we had received up to Dec 19 left us 2.42% ahead... so they had to make up 2.42% of the cumulative vote from the entire contest!! Given the typical movement of .01 to .23 per day, it is just ridiculous to suggest that they managed to gain over 10 TIMES the typical vote registered on all the other days of the contest (and that 10 TIMES is based on the only one single day that got .23...
if you average the daily difference from my notes, that number drops to .09 and we are looking at Basenji getting 27 TIMES the average daily vote in a single day!

that is just not believeable...

that is the source of our outrage... i wish you could bring up the daily charts and graphs that we all used to arrive at these numbers... our team was watching them daily, using them as our guide to what was happening...

when your technical people say there was jockeying back and forth between Basenji and us, that may mean that on some days they did better and on some days we did better... that is reflected in my chart...

but the NEVER did enough better to take back first place.. we rode out the last month of the contest in 9th place nationally, and the last TWO MONTHS of the contest in 1st place in Texas...

their TOTAL vote never surpassed our from Oct 25 forward... and if it did, then your graphs and numbers that you presented were in error...

jay hellerich
979-559-1062