Click to see my angels.

Photographic credits: All of the post-surgery photographs on this page (prior to artwork changes) are courtesy of Brian L. Zimmerman, www.BLZphotos.com. Pet Harbor & Balto thank you, Brian!

Please allow me to kiss your hand. Thank you. Now, if you don't mind, I have to run and play for a while. Don't worry. I'll be back. I am filled with grateful kisses, which I could never keep to myself.

My name is Balto. I am very pleased to meet you. I'm a sweetheart, a playful, gentle soul. Sweet and adorable though I may be, I have a sad, sad tale. Can you imagine a playful doll baby who at age 2 has arthritis so badly he can't walk? Yes, I said TWO. Please allow me to tell you my story.

Like my turtle friends, I used to live enshrouded by a shell. My fantastic foster family has released me from that domicile. Pet Harbor doesn't really know what I am beyond the terrific adjectives they can conjure to describe my kind and gentle nature, but they think I am a German Shepherd Dog-Shiba Inu mix.

When I first landed in a kill shelter, a wonderful lady there fell in love with me. She was relentless in ensuring I got rescued. She thought it totally unfair I be killed because of my shell. She saw the real me, my hidden loving side. She knew I was just shaking in my paws because I was scared and that I deserved a chance. I was dumped in the shelter because the people who supposedly loved me were bringing a baby home and were afraid I might harm the baby. Never mind that I was an outside dog. That didn't matter. Nor did it matter that I have no energy in me to harm anybody or anything and especially innocent babies. I don't understand why people think they should love babies and shouldn't love their dogs, but that is another story. Sorry for getting sidetracked a bit. Thankfully, my angel lady at the shelter saw the good in me and saved me. She got me to the safety net of Pet Harbor.

Then I was adopted. Then I met with a tragic accident. I escaped my yard and was hit by a car. My hip was fractured in three places. Unfortunately, my family's vet found only two of the fractures. Then several months later, my family decided to move out of the country and that they couldn't take me. They could take the cat and the kids but not me. Did I kiss them too much? Should I have been not so nice? What did I do wrong? Dumped. Once again. When you adopt a dog from Pet Harbor and can't keep the dog any longer, you must return the dog to Pet Harbor. So back I went. I've sure had a lot of shuffling for a two-year-old who lived in a shell.

Pet Harbor scrambled to find an emergency foster home. A fantastic family who adopted two female Siberians from Pet Harbor came forward to foster me. All four of the members of my foster family rank right up there with the angel from the shelter who saved me. I love them all very much.

While in my foster home, my foster parents discovered I had trouble walking and some pain. Did you ever try to run and play without being able to put weight on your foot? Off to the vet I went. That's when we found out I had to have surgery. The surgery was going to cost around $790 (not including X-rays, office visits, and medication). Rescues can't afford that much money for one dog, but I was so sweet Pet Harbor had to do something. The surgery I had is called Femoral Head Ostectomy (FHO). For some graphic pictures of what this type of surgery looks does, see this page. WARNING: NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH.

Pet Harbor is left with my veterinary bill, which they cannot afford. They understand most people struggle from paycheck to paycheck and can't afford to help with my bills, but if you are someone who has a few extra dollars and can help, Pet Harbor and I would be extremely grateful. If you ever meet me, I will shower you with grateful kisses. Don't worry. If you can't help and meet me, I'll still give you kisses!

My total bill was $955. If you would like to contribute, please send tax-deductible donations to

Please indicate your payment is for the Balto Fund. Pet Harbor is a 501(c)(3) Virginia nonprofit animal rescue organization run by volunteers & donations. For more information about our organization, see our Web site. You will see your name here in my list of angels, and Pet Harbor would be delighted to send you a receipt. As contributions are received, the new balance will be posted here.

And another Way to help: Organic Doggy Kitchen is donating 20% of their sales of Zucchini Flavor Cookies to support the Balto Fund. Organic Doggy Kitchen uses 100% certified organic ingredients, the highest quality of treats your dog can get. They, of course, do not add any artificial preservatives, colorings, sugar, salt, etc. Each bag contains 6 oz. of freshly baked treats, and the price is $5.75 per bag. Virginia residents pay sales tax. Please contact Naomi at bark@organicdogs.com and visit their website at www.organicdogs.com to find out other yummy cookie flavors!

Balto Fund current balance as of January 1, 2005 is $0! PAID IN FULL

BRIAN ZIMMERMAN (donated the photography)
JOHN and PAT KLOKE*
MALUKA and TONKA GLESECKE
GEORGE and THERESA CHIANESE
AMY PERGOSKY in memory of FOXY KOPCZYNSKIE
DAVID LOHSE
ORGANIC DOGGY KITCHEN
KIKI KAWASUMI-LOHSE
ADRIANNE & HUCKLEBERRY BUSCHLING
DEXTER, CAROLINE, & TRAVELER JOE WILSON-ZSCHACK
GEORGE & ELISSA DOLINA
JANE ZIMMERMAN
KATHY WEINER
PAWSITIVE TOUCH
SANDRA BOARD
MIKAELA & BLAZE HEDDINGER

*Part of their donation came from a penny collection John has been saving for years. Pat Kloke hosted a party, "Pennies From Heaven," during which HEATHER & DONNIE EADES, JODI & GREG FENDER, PAT KLOKE, RANDI MAYFIELD, REBA & CAMISHA SEABORNE, & ANGELA SKIDMORE donated their time to wrap the pennies. Also, donating lots of time to prepare for the yard sale were DONNIE & HEATHER EADES, JOHN & PAT KLOKE, & JANE ZIMMERMAN.

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