Meet Ariel. Ironic isn't it? We've given such a tragic little dog the name of a Princess. We hope some day she'll be a princess. But right now, we are fighting for her life, literally. She is 6.5 pounds, almost 4 pounds underweight. Four pounds may not seem like much but each 1 pound for a dog her size is like 10 pounds for a human. She is so underweight, she can not even stand up on her own. She is sitting in all her pictures, which gives her the impression of looking "fatter" than she really is.

We know what you're thinking, who is responsible for this? We will never know. She was picked up as a stray. Probably turned out when the family no longer wanted her or could not care for her. How incredibly sad no one took the small amount of time to take her to the shelter or SPCA or Humane Society or call a rescue group. This would not have happened to her.

We think Ariel is about 6 years old but all we can do is guess. She has massive ear infection in both ears. She has an infection in both eyes. Her teeth are rotting in her mouth, but she is far too sick to even think about taking care of her teeth. She is missing most of her fur because she was flea infested and is flea allergic, which caused her fur to fall out. She is so weak that she could not even scratch herself when the fleas were biting her skin. Imagine mosquitoes biting you, making your skin itch terribly, and not being able to swat them away or scratch the bite when it itches. She was so weak she could not walk so she could not search for food or water, or to try and find her way back home. At some point she likely just laid down, wondering where her family was and why they were not coming to save her, just waiting to die in the 90+ degree Florida sun. Thankfully an Animal Control Officer found her in time and then called DARE.

Ariel is on antibiotics for the multiple infections she has. She is being fed soft food (since she can not chew hard food with her rotting teeth) in small increments (too much food at one time could make her throw up since she is so undernourished) many times a day to bring back her strength. She drinks on her own if you help hold her up so she does not fall face first into the bowl. She has an enormous, fluffy bed that she lays on. She sleeps any time she is not eating or drinking. The other dogs in her foster home seem to know she is in trouble. They watch over her, lay near her. We are doing all we can for Ariel. She sees a vet again tomorrow (8/5). Her recovery will be slow and will take time, and money. The sad reality is that if DARE had not taken her she'd have been put to sleep. That is no fault of the shelter, they are more than overflowing as the economy and foreclosures increase the number of pets they are receiving, they have few choices. And so the sick dogs like Ariel go to rescues like DARE.

The plain and simple fact is WE NEED YOU! Ariel needs you. A lot of DARE dogs need you.

It costs us money to take care of them. We stretch the dollars you give us farther than you can imagine. We do so much with very little. But times are hard and that means its even harder for the pets. We use all the money you give for the dogs. We don't pay any of the DARE folks. We don't have a building, all our dogs are fostered in the homes of our volunteers, so there are no fees for rent, electric or water. It ALL goes to the dogs. Please, help Ariel be the Princess we know she is. No donation is too small. All donations are tax deductible. All donors are greatly appreciated, and greatly rewarded when they see the dog they donated money toward recover and go on to be adopted into a great new home to live a happy, healthy, long life.

You can help my making a donation or bidding on our ebay item that we have posted especially for Ariel.

Please make a donation of any size by sending check or money order, made payable to DARE, to the address below. You can also make a donation online via the secure paypal link below at www.DAREtoRescue.com.

DARE
4495-304 Roosevelt Blvd.
PMB 179
Jacksonville, FL 32210