c/o Lynn R. Baker
356 Mountain Rd.,
Arundel, Maine 04046
Office: 207-284-8515
Cell: 207-205-7945
Fax: 207-209-4772
See a brighter future and how it shines.
Forever Fosters
Some of our foster dogs are never chosen to be adopted. They could be seniors or have a medical problem that is too costly for an adopter to take on. These dogs are offered as permanent fosters for the rest of their lives. The Sheltie has a permanent home that matches his or her needs; and SRofSME's temporary foster homes are freed to care for another incoming Sheltie; and the permanent foster provider is relieved of the veterinary expense of keeping the dog. We will even pay for the dog's food, if it is needed. It's a win-win-win program. If you're interested in participating in this program, please ask. We are always in need of temporary/forever foster homes and volunteers.
​
Michka is a 14-year-old Tri color Shetland Sheepdog (Sheltie) who came to us in November 2019. Her owners unselfishly surrendered her because they felt that it was not safe for her or them in their current situation. Both of them with failing health and limited financial resources; who felt the noise and haste of a third-floor city apartment was no longer the proper setting for this precious companion to spend her golden years. She had given them her love and devotion from the age of 9 weeks; and they felt she deserved better; the ease and serenity and peace and quiet of a country setting was more fitting for her, and we just happen to have a small farm...
Unfortunately, she was a very sick dog, and needed life-sustaining, life-prolonging surgery for Urinary Bladder Stones and in desperate need of a dental cleaning with extractions. And at the time we did not have the $2000.00 needed for this surgery, but everyone pulled together and with fundraisers we were able to get all the funds needed.
She had her surgery in January 2020, the stones were removed and sent out for analysis. The results came back as Struvite Stones. She has been on a prescription diet, and will need to be for the rest of her life. She will need to have urine tests done every 4-5 months to check for UTI's, and urine PH to make sure that the food is doing its job.
Everything had been going great with Michka, since her dental and bladder surgery in January; then in May I noticed that Michka's breath was very bad again. Her breath shouldn’t be bad so soon after having a dental so we had the vet check her out, he found a growth on her gums, right above the right front canine. We scheduled another surgery to remove the growth. This time the surgery was $500.00. We were not sure if it was Cancer, an abscess or what it was going to come back to be. Thankfully the results came back that it "WAS NOT" Cancer. The diagnosis though, was "GINGIVAL HYPERPLASIA with CRONIC ULCERATIVE LYMPHO-PLASMACYTIC STOMATITIS". Basically, she has severe periodontal disease, this means she is going to be needing more frequent dental cleanings, (i.e. every 3-4 months as opposed to annually) this is going to be very costly, but a necessity in order to keep her healthy. Eventually she is going to lose all of her teeth. But for now, if we can keep what teeth she has left as long as possible, she will be better off. This happened to her because of poor dental care from the beginning.
​
Michka continued to thrive every day. She was happy and doing well considering her age. She passed away on July 23, 2021. We will miss her sassy, bossy, funny antics every day. It was an honor to be her mom for almost 3 years. Rest in peace beautiful girl.