http://www.chihavenofmichigan.com/

ChiHaven of Michigan, 22181 Huron River Drive PO Box 232, Rockwood, MI (2026)

04/12/2026

Hello all. I’ve struggled posting this but I need to. Sadly, ChiHaven lost one of our volunteers recently, Sherry. If you’ve attended one of our fundraisers in the past, you likely met her. Sherry was not only a huge animal lover but she was a Veteran, retired Air Force woman and she was proud big it. Yes, that’s her in her flight suit.
Loosing Sherry hit me especially hard for many personal reasons, but forthright, because she came into my life after I lost my Mom and, well, I needed her. I’ve struggled with the fact that she is gone and for some reason and I haven’t seemed to of grasped it quite yet.
Yesterday, we were contacted about Sherrys three dogs who are now part of our little rescue, because that is what she wanted. Walking into her home for the first time since she passed was very difficult for me, personally, thankfully I had one of our amazing volunteers, Deanna with me to coast me through.
We now have all three with us. The dogs need grooming and vet care, as they are seniors also and were in her home while she was in the hospital, we are not sure if they received all of their medicines etc. it will take some time to get vet records, get them back on track and on medications they need but we’re making it happen.
Sherry, I hope you’re up there smiling, knowing that all three are here, being cared for and loved.
Sherry made a plan, she outlined her wishes for her dogs and left someone in control to make it happen. This is so important and Sherry knew that. I hope we’re making her proud.
We’re gonna miss Sherry, her contagious laugh and her witty sense of humor. We know she’s up there causing havoc, reconnecting with loved ones and all the dogs she gave the best lives to.
Until we meet again, Sherry, you’ll remain in our hearts.
~Leanna

04/05/2026

Happy Easter everyone !
To celebrate, Sophia found her forever family with prior adopters of Mandy !
We love filling homes with ChiHaven dogs.
Congratulations and Happy Easter Sophia !

03/28/2026

Hello everyone !
Just providing an update on Bunny.
Bunny has not had any seizures nor have I witnessed any seizure activity since we got her 3 weeks ago! Yay !
We took Bunny to the vet where we had blood work done and since her pheno levels were almost non-existent our Vet agreed that we should start trying to wean her completely off it, slowly. Just to recap, Bun was not given what was prescribed to begin with so since being with me she’s only been on less then half what she was prescribed.
Since Bun did encounter seizures while in vet care, we know she does have them, we just do not know why or what triggered them to occur on one day, multiple times. It also means, like my personal dog, Josie, they could reoccur at any given time and if they do it doesn’t mean she has epilepsy. My vet and I feel comfortable saying we believe something triggered the seizures and may never know what.
Bunny’s bloodwork is good, she’s doing great and thriving ! Bunny does need a dental so we’re working to schedule that now and once that is completed she will be ready for her forever home.
Until then, I will continue to monitor her closely and spoil her rotten !
Bunnys vet bill came to $511.00 and her dental will be between $600. - $900 more. In addition, we did need to purchase 30 days of pheno to wean her, her microchip, dewormer, heartworm and flea prevention and oh don’t forget we do feed them also. So, when people complain about her adoption fee that will be $300 please consider how much money rescues spend on these dogs while in our care. It is because of donations from people who support us that we can do what we do. Those adoption fees are nothing compared to what we spend on each dog.
So, please continue supporting rescues like ours who are saving dogs and struggling to provide them with the care they deserve. It’s not easy.
Bunny, you’re so worth it ! She’s such a good girl and deserves the best life !
Thank you all !

03/19/2026

Now available for adoption. Meet Oreo. He is a cockapoo (a cocker spaniel and poodle mix) that will be 4 years old in July. He weighs 22 pounds. Oreo is a very sweet boy who loves to be near his people at all times. He is fine with other dogs. Cats unknown. He is nervous with kids so will need a home without smaller children. Oreo likes to go for walks and is good in the car. He is neutered, up to date on vaccines, and microchipped. If you are interested in adopting and live within an hour of Monroe Mi. Please visit our website st www.chihavenofmichigan.com to complete an application. His adoption fee is $300.

03/14/2026

Welcome our new girl, Bunny.
Owner surrender due to having a history of seizures and owner works too much to give meds needed. The owner loved Bunny, has other dogs and they’re well cared for so no bashing her please. Seizures can be scary, we understand that.
She started seizing, owner took to the vet and over a 24 hour period she had roughly 5 seizures. Vet did some bloodwork, diagnosed with epilepsy and sent her home on pheno. Do I agree ? No !
I’ve had her a week, no seizure activity yet but she is on pheno because once you start, it’s difficult to take off. She has an appointment at our vet next week so we can begin the process of proper diagnosis.
Why I disagree ? My experience. I’ve had many seizure dogs including my own dogs Levi who had tremors and Josie who has full blown seizures about twice a year. Does that mean they have epilepsy? NO !
Do I know what epilepsy in dogs looks like ? Absolutely! Holly was full blown epileptic and her seizures were part of our lives, occurring at the drop of a hat, literally. Her seizures were set off by stimulation, new sounds, loud people and more importantly my own anxiety.
Dogs have seizures for many different reasons, especially apple head chis. To diagnose a dog with epilepsy takes more than a 24 hour visit at a vet with episodes of seizures or seizure activity.
Please be sure that if your dog has a seizure, you consult with a good vet who is very familiar with seizures and epilepsy so the difference is identified and treated appropriately.
I hate putting dogs on drugs if they are not necessary, risking their health, behaviors and longevity.
I will not say indefinitely that Bunny is NOT epileptic, since I’ve only observed her a week, but I feel pretty confident saying that I doubt that is the reason for her sudden one day seizures.
I must also add, while these apple heads are cute and everyone wants one , know that this head shape is not a healthy head. Think about it, look at the width, the space between the eyes, not normal. That wide head leaves room for water on the brain and head trauma or injuries. So next time someone says they want an apple head, educate them. My Josie’s skull never closed so she has a permanent “soft spot” and what did we learn about soft spots on heads of babies ? Do not touch !
There’s some education, knowledge and opinion from the one and only, me.
We’ve got you Bunny, we will figure this out.
ChiHaven has the best supporters for special needs and seniors, you’re here where you’re meant to be.

02/17/2026

We are happy to announce that T Bone was adopted ! This lucky dude gets to be an only child but has lots of grandkids to play with who live only 2 blocks away ! It’s a win win for T Bone !
Happy life little fella and keep making your mom smile.

02/12/2026

Yesterday we said goodbye to our sweet Gracie.
If you followed along you know that Gracie was adopted the end of 2024 and she was returned to us almost exactly one year later. The person that adopted her said that she had behavioral problems which was not true. Upon our rescue getting Gracie back, we did realize that something was definitely going on. We took her to the vet, veterinarian and long story short she needed surgery in both back legs. Since our rescue has kind of dissipated over the last two years, we were worried about not having enough money and thanks to all of you who donated we were able to get her first surgery.
In between receiving her back and her first surgery, we did notice a few odd quirks about her just a weird thing she did with her tail and an odd tilt to her head and of course she did not have a normal gait, but after all she needed surgery on both of her knees.
Long story short, she had the first surgery and her foster family started noticing other odd things about her that appeared to have nothing to do with her knees. Of course, we took her back to the veterinarian who referred us to a wonderful neurologist who has seen our dogs in the past. At the neurology appointment, it was determined that there could be two factors so we started with the simple one. We put Gracie on steroids and antibiotics to see if she would improve. Sadly, Gracie declined quite rapidly. I could show you videos, but I’m not going to. There’s no reason to post the videos because they’re absolutely heartbreaking. Gracie lost all control of movement in her body. You could tell on the inside she was still a happy little girl trying so hard to stand up and come say hello but everything became a struggle and even drinking water started to become impossible. Unfortunately she had all the signs of having a tumor at the base of the brain and more or less the tip of spine if you can visualize that area.
Gracie‘s foster family loved her so deeply. We took the chance and even asked the neurologist what else we could do for that situation. He said yeah, there were things we could do treat it just like you treat cancer, and that would maybe give us some more time, but it would not change her inability to control her body and it would not cure her.
The decision to let Gracie go was very, very difficult, not only for myself and Sue, but for her foster family, who honestly would have kept her forever.
We wanted to let you all know the difficult decision that we had to make and also to thank you for supporting us when she was returned and required a very expensive surgery. We were able to use the remaining funds you all donated that we intended to have her second knee surgery with to have Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice come out and allow Gracie to pass comfortably in the arms of her home and a private cremation. Thank you.
We also wanted to ask that you keep her Foster family in your thoughts and prayers as they go through morning her loss .
Here are her final pictures, Gracie, you were loved dearly. Rainbow 🌈

02/09/2026

Would you help us out? This little guy has been in another rescue for quite some time in Toledo Ohio. He needs a specific home and we are hoping to help them out.

Meet King!

He is an 8 year old, 13 pound yorkie mix. King absolutely LOVES people of all ages. He loves them so much that he will protect them from other animals. He needs a home with no cats. It would be preferable no dogs as well. However, he may be ok with a smaller submissive female with a very dog savvy adopter. King also wants to claim all the the objects in your house so will need a patient adopter willing to work on using a belly band with him. If you could share him, that would be great. For all questions or to submit an application please visit the rescue website of Fur Angels at www.furangelsrs.com. Thanks so much!

02/04/2026

Lance 🩵
ChiHaven’s spokesman living the dream

02/04/2026

Hello all !
We’d like to welcome this little guy named T Bone to ChiHaven ! T Bone is a 3 months old, 5 lb, sweet puppy that is bursting with energy ! T Bone needs a home with someone who has time and energy to train, play and keep up with him.
Please do not submit an application if you don’t have time for a puppy. T Bone is super eager to love and learn !
T Bone is vaccinated, sterilized and microchipped.
His adoption fee is $300.00. If interested you can submit an application on our website at www.ChiHavenOfMichigan.com .
A vet check and home visit are required. Adopters MUST be located within an hour of Monroe Mi.
Thank you for supporting us.

01/25/2026

Happy Sunday everyone hope you’re staying warm and hopefully none of you have to go out into this weather for any reason !unless you want to! Just wanna let everybody know that Lance went for his follow up appointment at the veterinarian and everything is good. He’s doing great on his pain meds for his arthritis. His blood work was not bad at all considering his age. Nothing serious was noted. His little bit of respiratory problems or infection were cleared up easily with a little bit of antibiotics and while it didn’t fix his snore, he sounds a lot better when he breathes we’re inquiring about a CPAP for him lol.
Lance is walking around the house a lot better now he’s not dragging his rear legs like he was when we got him and the sassy little attitude. He had way back in 2016 when I first got him is back.
As you can see by this video, he is quite a demanding gentleman and expects to receive what he demands. Usually it’s food take him potty or sit next to him, keeping him warm while rubbing his belly consistently. Thankfully, his little highland cow Sensi, buddy when warmed up, satisfies him briefly allowing me to possibly use the bathroom or make myself something to drink.
if you inquired about Lance and you haven’t heard from me it’s because I honestly just was not sure what I was going to do because of his age and ability to walk his ear infection the breathing I just was a little concerned about what might happen to him if he were to be moved again to a new home. Now that his Vet work is all done and he seems to be doing fairly well. I’m reconsidering providing him a home with someone that can be with him nearly most of the day since I work. While I’m still a little on the cost about it due to his age, I know that when I’m at work, he is not happy. I cannot stand if I log into my cameras and hear him crying. That being said just know that someone does calm once or twice every day while I’m at work and sit with him for about a half hour if not more. Please give us time to reconsider our decision with him and keep in mind that his mama was someone that I became friends with after his adoption, and the two of us share several friends. Our mutual friends have shared with us that her true wish was that if she ever passed, he would be returned to me and that I would keep him until his passing since at his age she figured if she were to pass before him that it wouldn’t be long after that he would go. Unfortunately, life doesn’t always work out the way we expected, and her death was a lot sooner than anybody would’ve thought since she was not old and she was healthy.
rescue isn’t always black and white and sometimes we have to figure out what that color is in between and it’s not always easy.
The primary point of my post was to let you all know that we’re quite pleased to know that the veterinarian feels most of his ailments are simply due to age and that there’s nothing serious wrong with him. In addition, she says he has a very good heart, which is quite surprising for these vintage dogs.
Again we appreciate your continued support and understanding.
Disclosure to add that if you don’t know why there’s spikes on my couch you must not have cats. Do not fear that I’m some kind of weirdo that buys spiked furniture lol if you’re wondering, yup they work !
~Leanna

ChiHaven of Michigan

04/12/2026

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03/28/2026

03/19/2026

03/14/2026

02/17/2026

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