Mattie's Place, Toronto, ON (2025)

09/06/2025

[ SEND ME YOUR PRAYERS & HOLY WATER! ]

I was only going to trickle in occasional dogs until the end of the year so I could take a bit of a rescue break & focus on work and family, but when the spectacular humans over at One Last Chance Rescue emailed me about this trio - c'mon, y'all know I said yes!

👹 THEY HAVE NAUGHTY PERSONALITIES, BUT THEY'RE MIN PINS & I KNOW MIN PINS & I ALSO KNOW THEY'LL BE PERFECTLY FINE.

They were surrendered to the shelter, when the owner was overwhelmed with too many dogs. Since they are surrenders, I at least have good information on them.

🔴 - MONROE - Male - DOB: June 19, 2023
[I'll be fostering him so get ready for lots of Monroe's posts!]

Fearful with handling / Interactions and handling difficult

Tried to hump a shelter employee & when she tried to move him he attempted to bite. He also has a bite history with the owner.

Dog selective

🔴 - CESAR - MALE - DOB: June 24, 2024

Fearful with handling / Afraid of strangers, tends to freeze

Good with other dogs

Does not seem to know how to walk on leash, freezes

No known biting history but would bite if boundaries not respected

🔴 - BEBE - FEMALE - June 24, 2024

Fearful with handling

Afraid of strangers / will show her teeth and/or bite if someone approaches too quickly and does not respect her boundaries

Good with other dogs

Jumps a lot & can jump high

Walks well on leash, does not pull

They arrived this afternoon via the other awesome humans over at Critter Cabs: Animal Rescue Transports. They are currently admitted to the clinic where they'll receive their spays/neuters and have their medical brought up to date and then they'll join their foster homes with experienced fosters that understand the breed and have great dog experience.

I'm excited to share my home with Monroe and help him be the very best boy he can be. We had a really good talk before I left him at the clinic and I think we already have a good understanding on expectations when he comes home!

Welcome to this gorgeous Miniature Pinscher trio!

📷 photos from the shelter file

SIDE NOTE: though I really don't like their names, their names are all they have left that is theirs. Their lives have been turned upside down being surrendered by their owner & being able to use their given names & having that familiarity will help build a connection even quicker.

09/06/2025

UPDATE: microchipped, but the microchip information is a different name and different phone number than Andrew. Messages were also left with that new information and no response as of the time of this update. 2:55 pm / Sept 6

[ ARE YOU ANDREW OR DO YOU KNOW ANDREW? ]

A Good Samaritan was out bike riding in Tommy Thompson Park and found Atlas.

Sadly, the phone number on his tag goes straight to “customer not available” with no voicemail option.

Atlas is on his way to be scanned for a microchip to see if there’s a secondary number or email and TAS will be contacted for pickup if there’s no owner contact made

If you know Atlas or Andrew email [email protected] and I can help you get reunited.

He’s been out for awhile it appears and was also sprayed by a skunk so he does need to get sorted out quickly.

09/06/2025

[ SCAREDY BOY WYLIE HAS HIS PEOPLE ]

1 year old Wylie joined Mattie's Place 3 months ago after being found as a stray and landed in an Ontario shelter.

He was presented by the shelter as sweet but shy. It's always the dogs you think are going to be easiest, that are the most challenging.

I fostered him initially, and it didn't take long to realize, though he was the sweetest lamb-chop, outside, unfortunately, every bird that flew overhead, every crosswalk that blinked, every car - skateboard - bicycle- streetcar that drove by scared him into a frenzy and immediately into flight mode.

He also had major separation anxiety, had the worst shelter stank I've smelled on a dog in a long time and tested positive for hookworm & whipworm. FUN TIMES!

That aside, he was the sweetest most gentle boy when he was inside, alone with his human.

I found a foster for him, more suited to his needs than I could offer. I originally met Wylie's foster family when they were interested in fostering/adopting Alfie last year, a young Mattie's Place Belgian Malinois. But they had small senior dogs and they also had a young resident Belgian Malinois, Joker, who was the same personality, size, age -- basically a carbon copy of Alfie. I didn't feel that would be the best vibe for all the dogs, so they weren't chosen as a family for Alfie.

With their small senior dogs passing recently, they reached back out and put their hand up to foster Wylie. Absolutely. I knew it was a perfect match.

Wylie has done so well having Joker the Malinois' friendship. Joker has taught him so much and Wylie is learning how to be a much more confident dog. He has a huge pool in his backyard that Joker spends most of his day impressively diving into but that's where Wylie draws the line, but hopefully by next summer he's swimming and not just spending his days poolside!

Yes, Wylie will still be in his foster home next summer, because he's officially adopted by his foster family and is now home!!!

Congratulations Wylie and family! Great, great news!

📷 PHOTOS FROM THE FILE

ADOPTION FEE: $99
MATTIE’S PLACE COST: $1,589.56

WYLIE'S WELCOME POST:
www.facebook.com/share/p/1J7TTevK9S

09/05/2025

[ MORE WOO WOO WUSSELL]

The sweetest boy was back at the vet this morning or at least his urine was. He hasn't urinated much post-op, but what he did urinate was a little too yellow and a little too stinky for me not to follow up on.

Tested his urine and he also has a UTI. He's begun treatment.

If you missed this adorable boys welcome yesterday, you'll find it here: www.facebook.com/share/p/1CK7wnz2mp

09/05/2025

[ A FEW WEEKS AGO ..... ]

The puppies original foster Mom works closely with the Toronto Pearson Fire Department. When she had the pups at work with her, they stopped by for a hello to give the fire fighters some well deserved puppy snuggles.

10/10 ⭐'s

09/04/2025

[ MEDICAL DOGS FIND THEIR WAY TO Mattie's Place ]

I was asked via another rescue to intake a dog from an Ontario shelter that I hadn't had a dog transfer from previously, but from the blurry, behind the kennel bars video it was a yes to this adorable creature. He was found as a stray & never claimed.

Woo Woo Wussell arrived at noon today, with immense thanks to Chanelle, who drove roundtrip door to door 7 hours today (from her home, to the shelter, to me in Toronto, back home) to give this boy a safe, 1 vehicle ride to keep his stress levels to a minimum because I scheduled him for surgery on his arrival this afternoon.

When I met him quickly, to rush him to his surgery appointment, his mouth most certainly looked jacked up, which I wasn't expecting, but he was heading to the vet so the timing couldn't be more perfect to get more answers.

He's estimated to be about 5 years old. He had his neuter today. He had his vaccines brought up to date. We tested him for tick borne disease as he is a rural dog. He had a dental cleaning. He also, as I've spoken about countless times, had surgery to correct his pinched nostrils (stenotic nares) so he could actually breathe more normally as most "flat faced" dogs do require this surgery to enhance their quality of life. If you are adopting or buying a Frenchie, Shih Tzu, Pekinese, Boston, Bulldog or similar, ask if the organizations veterinarian believes they are candidates for stenotic nares or elongated soft palate surgery and ensure you understand the costs of those surgeries if the rescue or breeder is not completing the surgery prior.

Can dogs lived with semi-blocked airways? Yes. Should we enhance that quality of life surgically if possible? 💯 % absolutely yes!

🦷🦷 BACK TO THE JACKED UP MOUTH 🦷🦷

Woo Woo Wussell has a bilateral cleft lip. Dogs with bilateral cleft lip are born this way. The tissue forming the upper lip fails to fuse properly on both sides, leaving an opening that extends from the lip into the nose. He will need surgical closure from a specialist and he'll see Dr Porter at TVEH next Wednesday for a consult and to devise a plan for Woo Woo Wussell.

So a somewhat expensive dog on arrival; nares, neuter, 4dx, vaccines, parasite prevention has become a very expensive dog requiring intervention from a Board Certified Surgeon.

Medical dogs find their way to Mattie's Place, even when I'm absolutely not expecting it, and to be honest, for that I'm thankful because Mattie's Place has an incredible veterinary support system that can always manage the more challenging cases.

BIG welcome to Woo Woo Wussell [ leave me to name a dog & this is what you get, so don't be name shaming me 😁 ]

I'm really happy to have him here with Mattie's Place tonight and a part of our rescue family.

09/03/2025

[ AN UPDATE ON SAHARA ]

🟢 MONTHLY COST: $469.86

Sahara joined Mattie's Place August 14th from an Ontario shelter. She’s not a euthanasia case but she's also, imo, not an adoptable dog mostly due to her medical upkeep and costs to do so monthly. If a unicorn adopter came along that wanted to adopt her I would have the conversation, but without any expectation of that happening, she'll remain in foster care under the direction of Mattie's Place.

Sahara has proven herself to be just the sweetest, friendliest girl with pets and people.

She has seen our veterinarian and we have an ongoing plan in place to keep her most comfortable and we will continue to recheck to ensure we're on the best path for Sahara.

She receives daily ear and eye treatment. We continue to help her weight gain. She receives daily allergy medication. She is on a specialty prescription diet to alleviate her allergy symptoms. Her foster Mama is a groomer so she gets all the soothing, medicated baths and grooming she needs for maxiumum comfort!

She's doing really well and I'm thankful to have her with us. Huge thanks to Hayley for being an exceptional palliative foster to Sahara.

⚕️ WHAT WAS MEDICALLY WRONG ON ARRIVAL ? ⚕️

🟡 Ears - end stage chronic ear infection (reduced hearing, ocular discharge, suspect hematoma)
🟡 Body Condition Score - 3/9, underweight. Ribs, pelvis, spine visible with no body fat.
🟡 Eyes –discharge, red/inflamed eyeballs, ectropion. Neovascularization (new blood vessels forming when they shouldn't causing vision loss), bilateral corneal issues.
🟡 Body - lipoma like masses, multiple firm, pea sized lumps in mammary chains,
🟡 Urogenital – Intact. V***a is enlarged with no current discharge.
🟡 Heart murmur at left heart base

👋 MORE OF HER STORY FROM HER WELCOME POST 👋
www.facebook.com/share/p/168vB4NX2B

09/03/2025

[ QUALITY OF LIFE MEANS EVERYTHING ]

It's so important that medical care that should be given, is given, to dogs (and cats) in rescue prior to adoption.

As you may have noticed, Mattie's Place has welcomed many brachycephalic dogs ("Brachy" means shortened and "Cephalic" means head).

This often leads to dogs having brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS), meaning dogs have airway abnormalities that cause difficulties with breathing.

IMO, it's super important that dogs that struggle to breathe have the necessary surgery to open up their airways as best we can to uptick their breathing, enhancing their quality of life.

Imagine living life with super small nostrils that you can't breathe through or having a flap of tissue at the back of your throat that closes your throat with each breath in?

From bulldogs, to shih tzu's, pugs and boston's, Mattie's Place has always ensured those dog with more severe airway obstructions always receive corrective surgery.

I know it's an added expense for rescues when we're already on tight budgets, but this should be a rescue standard, no matter, prior to adoption.

Peanut joined Mattie's Place last month from a backyard GTA breeder. All of the dogs were removed from the home and joined various other rescues. I'm sure there were 100's & 100's of puppies sold over the years, many of which were genetically disposed with BOAS.

Yesterday Peanut went in for his stenotic nares surgery as he had really small, tightly pinched nostrils and struggled to get air up through his nose.

Significant improvement immediately post-op.

Peanut is a really active boy, so being able to get air through his nostrils when he's out on his walks or having playtime will be so much safer for him and improve his quality of life exponentially.

This great boy is ready for adoption! Check out his profile on the website

Buy from ethical breeders. Adopt from ethical rescues. Not all are created equal.

09/02/2025

[ 4th LITTLE BEAN IS ADOPTED ]

Navy joined Mattie's Place with his Mom, sister and 3 brothers in June.

He arrived just a sweet little 0.58 KG/1.2 pounds that you could hold in the palm of your hand. Yesterday, at his next vaccine/dewormer/health check appointment he weighed in at 2.4 KG/5.4 pounds. Good growing little man!!

Moonbeam and her babes started their foster journey with Ashley and a couple weeks ago, when it was time to wean them from Mom, all 5 pups moved to Deeann and Moonbeam stayed with Ashley.

Ashley has been missing Navy something awful and after a good discussion and moving through the adoption process, Navy was able to return to his foster Mama's home and yesterday, he was officially adopted!

It was such a sweet reunion. Congratulations Navy!

Moonbeam was moved to a new foster and is doing awesome & now ready to find her "for always".

Thank you Deeann for taking over foster puppy duty. You are a champion among foster champions and you show up dog after dog after dog after dog and I appreciate you so much!

ADOPTION FEE: $875
MATTIE'S PLACE COST: $1,103

(includes vaccines/dewormer x's 2 + rabies vaccine, neuter + parasite prevention)

Cost Split Between 5 Puppies: food, toys purchased on arrival, 8 boxes of p*e pads

Added Surgery Cost: If stenotic nares/elongated soft palate surgery is required at their spay/neuters dates in January 2026, Mattie's Place will also cover those costs.

NAVY'S WELCOME POST:
www.facebook.com/share/p/15wUUSA4AJ

09/02/2025

[ DRIVING HELP NEEDED ....]

Can split the trip up around Mississauga if needed.

Please email with your availability to help and we can figure it out from there: [email protected]

09/02/2025

[3RD LITTLE BEAN IS ADOPTED]

Adzuki joined Mattie's Place with his Mom, sister and 3 brothers in June.

He arrived a teeny tiny babe at only 0.61 KG/1.3 pounds. Yesterday, at his next vaccine/dewormer/health check appointment he weighed in at 2.4 KG/5.3 pounds. Growing boy!

Adzuki was the smallest of the litter and he is the sleepy boy that is gentle and kind. His littermates did pick on him most, but he could give it back to them when he gave it his all. The pups, now being 8.5 weeks old, were more than ready to find their for always homes as they were getting quite rough this past week with one another.

When the puppies were made available for adoption, the applications poured in, so there was no shortage of great applications to choose from, which also made it difficult, because there were so many great applications to choose from.

I found the best applicant for Adzuki and he was officially adopted yesterday! There were tears from his new Mom when she was able to hold him in her arms. I love that.

Congratulations Adzuki!

Thank you Ashley for fostering the first 2 weeks and Deeann for the remainder after weaning the kids from their Mom.

ADOPTION FEE: $875
MATTIE'S PLACE COST: $1,103

(includes vaccines/dewormer x's 2 + rabies vaccine, neuter + parasite prevention)

Cost Split Between 5 Puppies: food, toys purchased on arrival, 8 boxes of p*e pads

Added Surgery Cost: If stenotic nares/elongated soft palate surgery is required at their spay/neuters dates in January 2026, Mattie's Place will also cover those costs.

09/01/2025

[ 2nd LITTLE BEAN IS ADOPTED ]

Mung joined Mattie's Place with his Mom, sister and 3 brothers in June.

He arrived a tiny tot at only 0.85 KG/1.9 pounds. Today, at his next vaccine/dewormer/health check appointment he weighed in at 3 KG/6.6 pounds. Hello BIG boy!

Mung is the sweetest soul. All these puppies are. When his profile was made public, no surprise, the applications flooded in. It was overwhelming to be honest. I never had puppies bring in 100's of applications in less than 24 hours.

I found the best applicant for Mung and it's so awesome that today, he is beginning day 1 with his for always family as he's officially adopted!

Congratulations Mung!

Thank you Ashley for fostering the first 2 weeks and Deeann for the remainder after weaning the kids from their Mom.

ADOPTION FEE: $875
MATTIE'S PLACE COST: $1,103
(includes vaccines/dewormer x's 2 + rabies vaccine, neuter + parasite prevention)

Cost Split Between 5 Puppies: food, toys purchased on arrival, 8 boxes of p*e pads

Added Surgery Cost: If stenotic nares/elongated soft palate surgery is required at their spay/neuters dates in January 2026, Mattie's Place will also cover those costs.

MUNG'S WELCOME POST:
www.facebook.com/share/p/15wUUSA4AJ

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