Coconut RetrieversI Am... A Coconut Retriever
"Little Girl"
St Martin is an island in the French West
Indies, it is so beautiful. But ...there is a dark side. Every where
around the world there are animals that need help, here too. We try our
best to help local animals through Cavan Hills Veterinary Services and
are extremely proud to say that we have helped and saved literally
hundreds of animals from an unknown life. In Canada, we are fortunate
enough to have such organisations or help groups like the humane
society. In french St Martin there used to be an animal rescue centre,
but was closed down, meaning that there was an abundance of animals left
to fend for themselves. WHY did we choose St Martin? Because it is the
ONLY caribbean island that currently has NO FUNDING from the
government. Now thankfully, the french side of St Martin has recently
built a wonderful small shelter, there are also some rescue groups from
the USA who are helping these animals. They are all doing a fantastic
job. These dogs and cats are desperately needing help, some groups are
raising money to help spay and neuter and then return them to either the
city life or beach life that they have been used to, therefore reducing
unwanted litters. Cavan Hills Veterinary Services wants to help too,
we are and will help as many as we can but "We Need Your Help Too"
CoCo Miss
Daisy was dumped at a grocery store parking lot in the caribbean
island of St Martin at a tender age and is probably 1-1/2 to 2 years
old. She was spayed last December by a friend of mine. Since the grocer
didn't claim ownership and my friend was told she was fed
sometimes, Daisy was returned to the property after her operation. (She
couldn't take her because she was already taking 3 rescued puppies home
to the US to adopt out.) My friend asked that I look in on her when I
was here in Feb. I went to feed her once a day. This August I found her
to be a bloody mess. Thinking she had been in a dog fight I took her to a
vet for antibiotics. Her severe wounds turned out to be "hot spots"!
She had just itched and scratched herself until they bled and they never
got a chance to heal. Since I was unable to adopt her (I have 3 island
dogs at home) the vet gave her a shot of cortisone to break the
itching/scratching cycle and a shot for the mange she had developed on
her hind legs. She improved greatly in just 3 days time and her hot
spots began to heal. She's extremely affectionate and nuzzles you with
her nose and the side of her face like a cat! She's playful and
silly...she jumps and leaps and wiggles like a puppy. I kept her with
me for 8 days and attempted to find her a home or foster home in the
U.S. but was unable. I had to return her to the parking lot where she
will at least
Joelle and ourselves were on pins and needles the whole week wondering if we could pull this off...hoping. Les and Rob sent us a text on the day of departure. American Airlines said Daisy would be allowed to fly, we were all ecstatic. The cabin crew even announced that "Daisy was safely now onboard"
Daisy didnt take too
long to become CANADIAN Daisy
meeting Jack and "Petey The Cat" ![]() ............Three weeks Later
![]() Our Happy "Coconut Retriever" We would like to thank so many people who helped us bring our "Daisy CoConut" home
Joelle who is an
absolutely amazing woman, her love for animals is such an inspiration.
She has rescued so many dogs and cats from the island and found them
great homes. Joelle fell in love with this little dog and searched for
someone to love Daisy. Ursula and Tito who fed,watered and gave love to Daisy in the parking lot she called home. Les and Rob who shared their weeks vacation in paradise to help a little dog, they made this dream come true. William and Phillipe for their supportive words and caring hearts.
Daisy will be the first of many CoConut Retrievers that we will bring home, to adopt to "very carefully chosen families". We can only hope that you can open your heart to one of these amazing animals. laura_scouller@hotmail.com You Wont Regret It.....ask Daisy...Say hi to her when you see her at the clinic! Daisy in St Marten August 2007 Daisy in Canada November 2007 ![]() Laura and Richard (Daisy's thrilled mummy and Daddy The story below was sent to us from fellow Coconut Retriever owners William and Phillipe: WARNING : This post contains some sensitive pictures of an abused dog...
When we were finally sure she wasn't going to go away anymore, we started the treatment for the mange. Useless to say that in the meantime the disease had spread largely affecting 90% of her body. It took us about 8 month to fix her, giving her every single day some mange medicine in her food, while we still couldn't touch her, her skin being so sensitive. After few month William managed to touch the top of her forehead for the first time. She let him do so. It
seemed like she liked it. It must had feel good for her. Little by
little again, he manage to pet her almost all over her back. But she was
still a bit skittish. We needed to get her use to it, as we
already found her a home and made all the arrangement for her adoption.
We couldn't take her home with us, as we already have a full house of
family members and are not living in a farmhouse (space wise...) and it
was no way that she was going to stay living at the restaurant and do
not have Finally, when we were sure that she was not infested with mange anymore, about 10 month after seeing her for the first time, Maggie went home with her parents and with her new brother Digger ( a fat little Jack Russel). She became immediately a "princess in her castle" ! She has her own (single) bed (Digger has his...). When Mom and Pop eat stuffed chicken, she eats stuffed chicken... When Mom and Pop eats pork chop, she eats pork chops... what ever they cook for them, both Digger and Maggie eat the same. Mom and Pop travel separately so as to not leave the babies by themselves or being take care of by strangers. She met her "cousins" Caramel, Picolla and Happy and she loves to play on the beach with them and Digger (who is a bit grumpy...) Can you imagine this is the same dog?
Maggie is one of the success stories... William and Phillipe from St Marten didn't give up on her!... We NEED more success stories..... Dec 2007 Guess who we have home in CAVAN!....We found her!!!! and then Lucy our 12 year old dog on January 18th. Our other dog Desi along with Phil and I were very depressed and lonely and started our search for a friend for Desi and a new family member. Phil and I are strong believers in rescuing animals so our search started at the Peterborough Humane Society from there to the Lakefield Animal shelter and even to the Kingston Humane Society. There were some wonderful dogs and puppies at all three locations but for some reason none of them seemed like the right fit for our family. On January 26 we remembered that at Cavan Hills Veterinary Service there were postings for good homes for various animals and decided to try there. We saw a posting for Suzie a coconut retriever from St. Maarten. As we walked to the desk to inquire about her Richard came from one of the examination rooms. Richard expressed his sympathy over our resent loses, and we asked him about Suzie. His eyes lit up just at the mention of her name and he asked us to wait so he could introduce us to her himself. Suzie was a 10 month old street dog that had been hit by a car twice breaking her right front leg both times. She was taken to a Veterinary office both times where her leg was set and then put back out on the street. I guess fate was at work the day Richard and Laura met Suzie because they had room to bring one more dog home with them. Suzie became a fast friend for Desi and within days felt like she had been with us forever, she has even made friends with our 2 cats. Although there can never be a replacement for Lucy , Suzie has helped us through a rough time and is a perfect addition to our family. We are so grateful that Richard, Laura and the staff at Cavan Hills trusted us enough to take Suzie into our home and our lives. We are looking forward to many years of fun and love with Suzie in the years to come. John & Phil ( Lucky Lucky Suzie, she struck GOLD)
ADOPTED By Jennifer and David Perry!!!!!!! ![]() KoKo (Adopted) KoKo & Tiger (Adopted) KoKo (Adopted) Lily (Adopted) Sammy (Adopted) Tiger (Adopted) ![]() Luke (Adopted) Happy (Adopted) Saffron (Adopted) Phillipa (Adopted) Daisy (Adopted) Coconut puppies , Suki and Bailey (Adopted)
LUKE ![]() There has been many many people inquire about Luke photograhed in St Martin above & at HIS forever home!!!! One of our clients Les Latchford, decided to take on herself a project of raising money to help Luke. She managed to save the funds to get him off the island and to contribute towards his high medical bills in St Martin. We wanted to bring him to Canada very badly, but were very afraid that he would not be allowed to enter ,due to his "Pitbull" appearance., which there are very strict laws about. We didnt know what to do if he was turned away. It was a very difficult decision. Our friend Audrey who has helped literally hundreds of dogs find homes fostered Luke at her home on the island and gave him the attention and love he desperately needed. She also found him a fantastic home in the US........Thank you Les and Audrey!!!!! This is from Audrey! Luke is great! He and demo his big brother are getting on famously. He sleeps next to his dad on a big bed. Mac leaves his hand over the edge and luke kisses it during the night. Demo sleeps on a big bed next to his mom. Luke has had play dates, romps in the park and daily play time with demo which constitutes a race around the pool table and playing with toys and balls. In a few weeks he will work with a trainer one on one but already has sit and down. When susan and mac leave for work luke is crated next to demo who is on the couch. Everything is new to luke, he is cautious around new people and situations but soon warms up. It is like he was just born learning to love trust and play, he is a happy puppy. They will love and protect him to the end. He loves to cuddle and wants to be with them. Mac has a big red truck with 4 doors. Demo likes the big back bench seat (demo is a 11 year old 95 lb golden in great shape) and Luke rides up front, so dang cute to see. Demo is perfect for luke. He is sweet yet not a push over and really seems to like his little brother. Luke is already learning from him. Will send pictures when I get them. Thanks everyone for helping get this guy to a safe loving home. Audrey Lilly ![]() It was 2am on April 26/08. My husband Doug and I were sitting in the arrivals section of the Toronto Airport. We were anxiously awaiting the delivery of very important cargo: two coconut retrievers rescued from St. Martin. Lilly and Friendly were about to be fostered by us. On the drive home from the airport, we stopped at Tim Horton's for coffee and donuts. The dogs had no idea what to do with this sweet treat. Lilly was extremely timid and stressed. Friendly was in much better shape, living up to his name.On getting them home, we discovered that Lilly was covered in live as well as dead ticks. She also had mange, the non-infectious type. Loud noises and sudden movements terrified this sweet little girl. We kept the two isolated from the rest of our 6 dogs in a spare room for 2 weeks. We spent alot of one on one time with the coconuts and started to earn their trust. After about 2 months, Friendly went to his forever home. And Lilly had worked her way into our hearts and after getting permission from Dr. Maser and his wife Laura Scouller, we adopted Lilly.She has come such a long way. She now has a beautiful healthy coat and a love for running around the backyard, playing tug of war with the other dogs. She absolutely loves her daddy and snuggles up to him on the couch.She is still somewhat skittish at loud noises and has trust issues with strange people but we think she will overcome this in time. We love her as we do all our four-legged family.Oh yeah, she knows what to do with donuts now! Cindy and Doug Jackson Thank you Cindy and Doug, you have been and continue to be a huge help to us with all of our rescued animals Friendly/Marty....Happily in a GREAT home (more pics to follow) Joe Friendly/Marty
with
Marty
Home....finally found a GREAT home with Jane Potts and her family
COCONUT RETRIEVER PUPPIES
Beau Boots and Tigger (Above) have all found wonderful homes!!!! COMING AS SOON AS WE CAN GET HER HERE... and she is fit to travel "LITTLE APRIL" (ADOPTED)April is a sweet little pup and looking for a great home!!!! She's around 3.5 months old and only 4.5 kilos..... Really sad how someone could abandon this bony little girl on the beach and tie her up with wire around her neck in the hot sun with no water!!! Will you be the ones to love her forever? ? Please contact us..we are hoping to have her in CANADA very soon 1 705 944 5776 1 705 944 5776 Little April with Marty who found her we rented a "Big Van" to pick them all up at the border to pick them up from Audrey who again had escorted them off the island to the USA and on to Canada ![]() looking out the window at CANADA Christopher Robin was very withdrawn But soon they were chewing their chewies on the long ride home ![]() Cat Mazza fostered Foxy and Christopher Robin. giving them a ton of love..........until they found their forever home TOGETHER with Kathleen & Angel Kathleen sent us this wonderful update recently LIFE WITH FOXY AND CHRISTOPHER ROBIN It has been almost a year since we adopted Foxy and Christopher Robin, our two Coconut Retrievers. They are a wonderful asset to our lives! We chose to adopt these two dogs because we were used to having more than one dog and we thought that most folks would be nervous to adopt two dogs at once and these two needed to be adopted together. We believe that keeping Foxy and Robin together made their transition much easier. They had each other to rely on if they were feeling insecure. We usually take them everywhere together, including medical appointments, even if only one of them has to see the vet. This way it keeps their comfort level high. ! They do love going for a walk to check out whats going on in the neighbourhood but are just as content to run around in our enclosed backyard where they don?t have to be on a lead! Both dogs are extremely clean ? they were fully housebroken when they came to us. Their health has improved steadily with a proper diet and care ? their coats have grown lovely and thick. Almost immediately, Foxy bonded with Kathleen ? she?s a ?girls? dog?, and Robin bonded with Hector Angel ? he?s a one-man dog. Although they have their preference, they show their love for both of us. It took a week or so, and a couple of whacks on dog noses, for our cats to lay down the rules of the house. Everyone knows the ?pecking order? and life in the menagerie is quite settled now. Their personalities are dramatically different ? Foxy is outgoing and willing to try any adventure whereas Robin is very shy and likely to hide if he feels insecure. Foxy gobbles down her food like it?s her last meal and we have to coax and cajole Robin to eat! We call Foxy ?the sunshine girl? because she just loves to lie in the sun for hours at a time. Robin will join her for awhile but then needs the security of being under somewhere safe ? a table; a dresser; whatever. Because of this trait, we call him our ?little Osito? (means ?little bear? in Spanish). However, at bedtime he comes alive ? that?s his time for cuddles and play fighting with us. He just loves to jump on the bed for his one-on-one time with us while Foxy looks on in disgust because she wants to go to sleep The main attributes we need and try to have are patience and unconditional love when they become nervous or upset. This applies to any dog that is rescued because we don?t know what trauma they have experienced before coming into our lives. Obviously Robin has been traumatized with different things than Foxy ,and we just accept that. Robin hides when strangers come to the house and is afraid of noises, including the vacuum, whereas these things don?t disturb Foxy at all. The only thing that absolutely freaks both of them out is thunder and lightning storms ? Foxy runs around barking hysterically and Robin quivers and hides anywhere he can find. We haven?t been able to cure them of this insecurity and may never be able to. We just accept this and work around it. They likely have been terrified by storms in St. Maarten and, as stray dogs, had no one to give them reassurance. We love THEM, as they love US, ?warts and all?!
JUDE has a fantastic home with Stephanie McQuade
Lulu after her life saving surgery at CHVS ADOPTED Carly and Marley ADOPTED
Saffron, Sammy, Robbie and Daisy ADOPTED Bijoux ADOPTED
CoCo Little Girl Below are some of the very lucky ones Saffron, Suki & Bailey Cindy with Lilly & Bijoux
Marty
![]() Thank you so much to everyone who has helped by picking dogs up from the airport to helping at the yard sale, fostering these very special dogs, raising funds and contributing in many ways to help bring a coconut home to Canada. We could not do this without you. Our 2nd CoConut Yard Sale at CHVS last July was a HUGE success....THANK YOU to all who helped and provided support We will be accepting more treasures & used items from everyone for this years 3rd Coconut Retriever Yard Sale in July IF you want to help us..or make a donation..Let us know or email us at laura_scouller@hotmail.com for more information This page will continue with updates as soon as we obtain more information in the plight & rescue of these beautiful dogs & cats of St MartaanThank You |
























suzy just arrived












Jude
Arriving inToronto
ADOPTED













