itssokawaii:

losers-count-sheep:

Rosie is the luckiest Chihuahua in the world even though she has just about every congenital defect one dog can have – her vision is poor, her immune system compromised, she has scoliosis, fused leg bones, and her jaw is shockingly malformed. Her teeth are crooked, the list goes on… Why is she lucky? Because she is loved.

Rosie was born on Valentine’s Day 2010. At birth, she had congenital deformities of the face, jaw, spine, and legs. By adulthood, twice the amount of teeth was crammed into her long, skinny, misshapen upper jaw. Oversized curved teeth hooked up from a half-sized lower jaw preventing her from closing her mouth. To eat she had to scoop food backward into her mouth and roll it back and forth because her tongue was trapped in the back part of her mouth – there was no room for it to stretch out beyond her teeth in that crowded little mouth and there was no way to chew.

When she was a few months old, her front leg bones stopped growing and fused where they met to compensate. She learned to walk on the first third of her front legs rather than on her foot pads.  Her feet are twisted and her toes curve onto one another but it is unclear if they were always like this or if the malformations are caused by the way she scoots them ahead of her as she moves. It is also unclear if her scoliosis was present at birth or developed as she learned to walk. Inadequate nutrition and dirty living conditions brought on a case of demodex mange that robbed her of most of her fur. Living in darkness all her life, her eyes had trouble adjusting to the sun or even to the light in a bright room.

Despite the severity of her deformities, she managed to survive by crawling across urine soaked floors through years of feces to eat what bits of food the others left behind. Hoping to demonstrate that Rosie was normal intellectually, the breeder told her rescuer that she tended to hide under furniture to avoid being trampled by the other dogs.

Three months after rescue, Rosie has undergone two major surgeries to remove her extra teeth and repair her jaw. She is sprouting fur on about half of her body. Her eyes are adjusting to light normally now, and she is no longer afraid of a squeaky toy – she dives in and gives that toy a good shake. She wiggles when she sees her family enter a room and gets excited at mealtime. She enjoys every day and looks forward to whatever it brings.

When Rosie was rescued  there were several pregnant Chihuahuas. No vet care was ever provided to any of these dogs! The living conditions were deplorable and it is a miracle that any dog – especially one as frail as Rosie – survived there at all. But survive is what she did which is a testament to her spirit.

Rosie is not in pain, and she is a normal, loving girl - who loves begging for treats and getting snuggles and love. Her bone conformation prevents her from fully using her legs. She has adapted, and walks balancing on her forearms and with her hind legs partially bent. She moves quite quickly when she wants to get somewhere. Her legs, chest and jaw configurations are due to genetic issues and there really isn’t any way to repair them. Her physical therapy sessions are primarily for social enrichment and to preserve the level of movement she has now.

Rosie is recovering from mange, and the fur seems to be growing back. Rosie’s caretakers believe she has had it for her most of her life. She has hair on about 75% of her body at this point but it doesn’t appear that she will ever get much on her head, legs, neck, or tummy. Although, her immune system is improving, her skin is still very sensitive and easily scraped. If you look at her photos, you will see that this has been an issue all her life, she has a scar on her forehead and tiny scars on her legs from injuries she received before she was rescued. A tiny scrape for Rosie can turn into a serious issue. To keep her safe, she wears clothing or is wrapped in a blanket when she is out of the house or exposed to any possible “danger” for her.

Please do not support breeders. I don’t care how “humane”, “trustworthy”, “prestigious” they are etc…. because at the end of the day it is about money. You will not convince me otherwise. Why breed at all, no matter how ‘interesting’ it is, when there are thousands of animals who are in shelters needing somebody to look after them? If they care that much about animals, why are they not giving medical care, love and shelter to the many individuals trapped in shelters on death row?

There are thousands of dogs like Rosie and awaiting rescue. Some of them are in need of a little socialization and some good food, others like Rosie need patience, medical care, and lots of love.

Rosie is lucky - she was rescued from negligent conditions and has a family who love her dearly and give her the best possible care. Many dogs never find a home or loving, caring people like her caretakers - and end up dying in misery, or being euthanised.

Adopt, don’t shop.

To learn more about Rosie, visit her website.

Omg ;3; I watched some of the videos of Rosie and my heart ;3;

fotojournalismus:

Not So Long Ago, In Iraq

(via Vanity Fair)

“It hasn’t taken long for the Iraq war to feel like a relic of history. Although U.S. troops withdrew from the conflict a mere 17 months ago, the story of the war already seems set in a bygone era—circumstances that have quickly been buried under an avalanche of newer crises. Photojournalist Michael Kamber, who covered the war for The New York Times from 2003 to 2012, noticed America’s desire to tune out the war while the battles were still raging. Visiting home while on leave during the war’s early years, Kamber grew frustrated that Americans were ill informed about the conflict, leading, he felt, to a public that didn’t care enough about the bloodshed he was documenting. His frustration grew as the conflict wore on, as the U.S. military took an active role in encouraging public indifference by censoring what could be photographed.

Now Kamber has responded with Photojournalists on War: The Untold Stories from Iraq, a riveting account of the conflict as told by three dozen of the war’s most prominent photographers. Kamber’s interviews with his colleagues cover the war as they saw it—their passion for the story, their fears and daily complications, and the trauma they live with still today. Some of their images are among the most iconic of the war, some are previously unpublished, and many are gruesome, shocking, and utterly dispiriting. 

The book is out on May 15, 2013, via University of Texas Press.”

Photographs : 

1. Six weeks before the start of the war, a man sits drinking tea at the Al Zahawi cafe on Rashid Street, Baghdad, February 12, 2003. (Bruno Stevens)

2. An Iraqi woman walks through a plume of smoke rising from a massive fire at a liquid gas factory as she searches for her husband. The fire was allegedly started by looters picking through the factory. Basra, May 26, 2003. (Lynsey Addario)

3. An Iraqi child jumps over remains of victims found in a mass grave south of Baghdad. The victims were killed by Saddam Hussein’s government during a Shiite uprising here following the 1991 Gulf War. Al Musayyib, May 27, 2003. (Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images)

4. Samar Hassan,5, screams moments after her parents were killed by U.S soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division. The troops fired on the Hassan-family car when it unwittingly approached during a dusk patrol in the tense northern town. Tal Afar, January 18, 2005. (Chris Hondros/Getty Images)

5. Soldiers of the First Armored Division swim at Uday Hussein’s abandoned palace. Baghdad, July 11, 2003. (Ed Kashi/VII)

6. 1,215 U.S.-military personnel pray during a massive re-enlistment ceremony in Al Faw Palace, one of Saddam Hussein’s former luxurious homes. Baghdad, July 4, 2008. (Ashley Gilbertson/VII)

7. A U.S. soldier watches an Iraqi man who collapsed while being arrested during a raid. Ramadi, January 24, 2006. (Guy Calaf)

8. A man is arrested by U.S. soldiers on suspicion of corruption and complicity in working with anti-coalition insurgents. Baiji, February 8, 2008. (Eros Hoagland/Redux)

9. A U.S. soldier marks the back of a man’s neck with numbers denoting his neighborhood and home, a system designed to help troops determine if people were moving around the village of Qubah despite a lockdown following a U.S. attack on insurgents. Qubah, March 24, 2007. (Yuri Kozyrev/Noor) 

10. Rena was nine months pregnant and walking with her youngest sister in Sadr City one day in 2008, when a U.S. air strike tore off her leg, killing her unborn infant and her sister. Sadr City, February 2009. (Farah Nosh)