Kirin Kirin, a gorgeous and mellow 3 year old yellow lab with liquid browneyes is slowly going blind. He was hoping for a home where his new family would understand his special needs and give him the security he deserves and needs.

Sherie and Troy had been planning on getting a dog for awhile, and recently decided now was the right time. We got their application right after Kirin joined our program.

Sherie and Troy have a very special home. They have a 7 year old son, Dillon, who is legally blind. Kirin and Dillon will both be sharing a home that is set up for the special needs of the visually impaired.

Brian, their 17 year old son, took a particular shine to Kirin and has promised to exercise him daily. Kirin has truly found the perfect home of his dreams!

Since its founding in 2002, Safe Harbor has placed over 800 Labs into loving homes and many of these Labs have been helped with medical problems through SHLR's Lab Life Line Fund. Thank you for you generous donations.

Heartworm disease is a serious and potentially fatal disease. Heartworms are found in the heart and blood vessels of infected dogs. One dog can have up to 300 adult worms.

Heartworms can only be transmitted by mosquitoes. A mosquito must first bite an infected dog and ingest microfilaria, which are microscopic offspring. The microfilaria undergo several larval stages in the mosquito. This takes between 10 and 30 days. After these transformations, the mosquito is able to transmit the advanced larval stages to a new host.

Once the new host is infected, the advanced larval stage takes six to seven months to reach adulthood. At this stage they can reproduce and create new microfilaria to start the cycle over again.

Adult heartworms cause disease by obstructing the major blood vessels in the body, resulting in reduced blood flow to vital organs and eventual organ damage. Most infected dogs will not show any signs of the disease until several years have passed. The most common signs of heartworm disease are coughing, weakness, lethargy and exercise intolerance.

Heartworm is usually diagnosed by a blood test that tests for antigens specific to adult female heartworms. Dogs less than 7 months of age should not be heartworm tested because there is no way for adult heartworms to be present yet. Dogs infected with less than five female heartworms will test negative, as will dogs with all male heartworm infections.

Heartworm positive dogs are worked up further to stage the disease and help veterinarians make a more definitive treatment plan. About 95% of heartworm positive dogs can be treated successfully.

Heartworm disease is easily prevented with a number of commonly used preventatives. Puppies over 6 weeks of age can be started on heartworm preventative. Any dog over 7 months of age should be heartworm tested before starting heartworm medications. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Ever wonder where our wonderful rescued Labs come from? Thanks to the dedicated efforts of our Intake Coordinators, Kristy Middleton and Kathy Hollister, every year many Labs find their Safe Harbor with us. Our Labs come from a variety of sources: shelters throughout the state, Good Samaritans who have found a Lab, veterinary clinics, transfers from other rescues and owners surrendering a Lab they can no longer keep.

Kristy, a long time SHLR volunteer and past SHLR President, is primarily responsible for shelter Labs as our Shelter Intake Coordinator. She has a wonderful relationship with shelters throughout the metro area and around the state who call for our assistance. Kathy, also a long time volunteer, is our Owner Surrender Intake Coordinator who handles many dozens of applications from folks who can no longer keep their Lab.

Both Kristy and Kathy evaluate requests for rescue assistance to assure they are congruent with ou mission.They rely on support from other operational team members as needed, such as the Medical Coordinator for health concerns and Foster Coordinator for program space availability.

The number of requests these two incredible volunteers handle is considerable as you can imagine since Labs still top the list of favorite breeds. Thanks to Kristy's and Kathy's incredible and compassionate dedication, we hope that in 2008 we will help close to 200 Labs find their way from unwanted to wonderful forever homes through Safe Harbor!