The Girl Scouts Finished Their Projects...

for the Sanctuary animals and they are beautiful! Troop 1230 in Carlsbad earned their Bronze Star Award through helping the animals over this past year. The final big projects were created on the hottest day we've had in Valley Center all year, with temperatures in the upper 90's!

A beautiful play area for the goats, allowing them to jump and climb and nap up high was created, which Bob dutifully helped construct. He then tried it out first, got stuck underneath it, and came out looking for someone to take pity on him. When that didn't work, he just asked for the spaces between the steps to be blocked off!

The second project was the beginnings of a dream we've had here for years - a Memorial Garden to honor those we have loved in their Golden Years. It's beautiful! The building in the background on the right is the Cabana, so the kitties get to enjoy it too!

These girls have learned about the beauty in all creatures, old or young, normal or disfigured. We hope that they continue to spread the message of compassion, and the critters ask that they return for visits anytime. Thank you Troop 1230, you've made all of us smile!

Haircut Day!

A streak of warm weather prompted a little haircut for Austin - and check out the pile of hair left behind! His long, beautiful hair is gorgeous, but tangles as he sheds, and catches every sticker in the yard; brushing is not his favorite form of attention either! I was concerned that a haircut would be a stress to his heart, so this was a decision not taken lightly! However, I crated and carried him in to the bathroom in the house (the unofficial 'salon') and pulled out the clippers. I turned them on cautiously, fully expecting him to freak out. Imagine my surprise when he began purring and leaning in to them! His cheeks got a little more trimmed than I had planned because he wouldn't quit rubbing on them! Of course, this prompted a change in weather, so he needed some clothes. His blue t-shirt really brings out his eyes (although he doesn't appreciate that fact!)

Marci & MeiLi

MeiLi has had trouble off and on with her snotty nose, and what seems to be some asthma too. She has an appointment so see our holistic veterinarian Dr. Laflin at Cardiff Animal Hospital coming soon. She suggested a homeopathic remedy which is working pretty well so far and it, coupled with an albuterol inhaler, seem to be helping. She's gained back some of the weight she lost (it's pretty noticeable when you're only 5lbs) because she couldn't smell her food. And she's back to her crabby self! She's in the picture with Poppy enjoying a little sunshine!

Marci had some breathing problems which after a few days on hairball medication had resolved. She surprised us this weekend with a little abscess on her cheek - probably from playing too rough with claws. She's doing well, it's healing nicely!

Xanadu Left Us...

This handsome boy had such little time with us, but I believe he had a great time while he was here! Xanadu suffered from problems related to old injuries to his spinal cord, giving him upper motor neuron damage. It inhibited his ability to know when he had to urinate or defecate, or for the bladder and bowel to just empty on their own when full - a 'reflex' bladder or bowel. Thanks to his fan club at the Grayson County Humane Society , he had a colectomy and had been deobstipated more than once before he came to us. It had kept him going until he could get here for better veterinary care.


He had trouble off and on with his colon upon his arrival in late January, but then began having trouble with bladder infections also. We fixed one problem, then the other would crop back up. And then he began to have trouble with back pain too. He became unable to empty his bladder on his own, so I would have to express him daily, most of the time with some sedation in an attempt to keep my fingers. Unfortunately, at his last recheck exam (of course with sedation) we emptied his bladder and actually it was improving, but once it was empty, we discovered that his colon had became static too. Big uh oh. Into an emergency laparotomy to see what was going on.


One of the hardest decisions we ever make is that of euthanasia. Are there more bad days than good days? Is this condition painful? Is there quality of life? These are the questions we ask and then tearfully answer. I painfully made the decision that Xan shouldn't wake up from anesthesia. He peacefully crossed the Bridge with lots of love on April 11. His spunky dog-like personality touched everyone who met him.

Rest in peace, sweet prince!

Xanadu & Marci

Xanadu started feeling poorly as the rainstorm moved through Friday night. The poor guy just didn't seem to rally even with extra TLC. He also ran a fever and had an elevated white blood cell count when he went to see our internist on Monday. Prior to getting the labwork finished, we also did a couple of xrays and ultrasounded his abdomen. With his life-long history of bowel troubles, we wanted to make sure that trouble wasn't beginning to brew again. His gut looked okay, but boy his poor spine!

At some point in his life, he did have a traumatic injury (possibly a kick) that damaged 3 ribs and 4 thoracic vertebrae - and they do cause him discomfort. He has two vertebrae over his hips that are fused as one - a birth defect. And, when he had his tail amputated, a piece of vertebrae was left behind - another source of pain. Poor guy! Once he's feeling better, we will work on long-term pain management for him. In the meantime, he's on Amoxicillin and Metronidazole, subcutaneous fluids, and Pepcid to deal with the infection he has going on. He's starting to feel better today, his fever's down and he's eating again.

Marci had some difficulty breathing again, also late last week. Since our cats are doing their springtime shedding, I guessed there was a hairball issue. This pretty girl keeps her long hair stunning all the time! Into the house she came for some close monitoring in a quiet atmosphere. I also gave her a fan, turned on "low" so the air movement would make it easier to breathe. Large doses of laxatone and lactulose to lubricate things through, plus some added fiber in her diet all made a difference. By late Friday night, Marci was feeling better; she was back to normal by Saturday morning.

It's been a busy weekend with these kitties, but slowly we are returning to quiet and normal!

King of the Loft!

Ballou's House of Blues has a loft on one end of it, and most of the kitties find their way up there at bedtime. Today, Ballou claimed the entire loft for himself, perched in such a way as to keep others away and his view of the room at its best! He often prefers one of the crates in the loft, like the one behind him, for bedtime. He picked the perfect place to hang out today, as our sunshine disappeared and we spent the day in heavy drizzly fog.

Summer Tans

Leonard and Pepper decided to spend some time working on their tans, sprawled out in the little bit of sunshine they could find today. Everyone else could be found napping inside. These two are the most senior of our seniors, so afternoon sun opportunities are especially important to them!

Sparky Left Us Today

While his new chemo drug Cytoxan had made him tired, and cause a little diarrhea, Sparky continued to eat and get around pretty well. He was enjoying new-found foods in his diet - home-cooked chicken and rice, baby food, Gerber meat sticks, and sugar cookies! He slept in his old favorite sleeping spot last night, barking once for me to get up and change his bed when he had peed. This morning, he had a 105 fever and could barely walk. Off to work he went with me. He shuffled into the hospital, barely making in the door, and as we were drawing blood and placing an IV catheter, he quietly passed away.

Sparky was with us only a little over a year, but what an amazing year we had together! I'll miss his daily companionship during chore-time and his wonderful warm personality as he greeted visitors. We will all miss his eyes, the windows to his soul and spirit, that after some time and lots of love, began to shine again.... That sweet blonde teddy bear of a dog touched all of our hearts and taught us all about learning to love again....

Rest in peace sweet spirit, you will be missed!

Sparky Week 2

Today he began an oral chemotherapy drug called Cytoxan, given once daily for 4 days. He has a high white blood cell count, so we've added in antibiotics to help fight infection. He had fluid tapped from his chest today, so he's breathing easier. Ultrasound showed that the tumor has reduced in size, and the fluid in his chest is looking better, so this is all very encouraging news.

His energy level is down a little, but he's still getting around to help feed the animals. He continues his Chinese herb regime along with his traditional medications. We'll keep the blog updated!

Sparky Begins Chemotherapy

Sparky's knee is healing pretty well ~ he can put some weight on it and even walk a few steps on a level surface. The fluid cytology came back and confirmed that it is indeed chyle, which is caused by leakage from the thoracic duct or one of the lymph vessels that drain to it. The most common causes are a tumor, a trauma, heartworm disease, or right-sided heart failure.

We know he has a mass - the most common mediastinal (middle of the chest) tumors are either a lymphoma or a thymoma. One can be reduced and managed with chemotherapy while the other one can't; surgery is just not an option for this sweet ol' guy either. So, after quite a bit of discussion with our internist Dr. Slusser, and our holistic veterinarian Dr. Laflin, we've opted to try chemotherapy. If the tumor is due to lymphoma, it should respond to the chemo by reducing in size, which will keep the fluid from building back up in his chest. If it's not, well, we'll cross that bridge when we need to.

Sparky received a dose of vincristine today, a small intervenous injection, and also had his chest tapped again. Today, we removed 1400mls from it, and he was feeling much better afterward! He has a recheck in a week, and we'll evaluate how well it worked.

Just Hangin' Out

Melody decided to spend some quality nap time with Sparky today. He's been pretty bummed out since he can't do his normal daily routine - at least until his knee heals. Just outside the picture on the couches are Quincy and Holly, making it a full living room of blondes!

Hank

A former Kentucky boy, Hank was very surprised to hear that there is sun in San Diego, and today he spent as much time as he could following the sunbeams around. Here he is rolling around on the bench in the kitty room. It's a wonderful day to be a kitten!

A Sparky Update

While Sparky's front leg is healing well, and his knee is healing slowly, we had another blow to his health yesterday ~ he had a little cough as he walked in to work with me, and an x-ray revealed fluid in his lungs. Uh oh. Then an ultrasound of his heart found the cause ~ a tumor in his chest. Big uh oh.

We did a procedure called a thoracocentesis, in which a needle is inserted into the chest cavity and fluid is drained off. After 850 ml's were drained off (a little over a quart) he was feeling much better. And he sat through all the work-up and procedures like a perfect gentleman! An analysis of the fluid we drained from his chest is pending, as it may reveal what type of tumor this is.

Today he saw our holistic veterinarian Dr. Laflin, both to work on his orthopedic issues and deal with his newly diagnosed cancer. He received a chiropractic treatment and energy work, and will be starting some Chinese herbs and nutraceuticals and vitamins to help support his body. Healing Touch, Reiki and a fresh, whole food diet are also in store for him. In the picture above, he's outside in his favorite spot, on a blanket, where he can watch everything going on. The yellow rope handles belong to the sling that I use to assist him as he walks ~ 80lbs is a lot of dog to lift! I'll post updates on the blog, and hope that you will keep him in your thoughts!

Sparky

Poor Sparky! As arthritic as he is, it doesn't take much to cause him trouble. Whether he tried to get up wrong, or too fast, or another dog ran into him we'll never know for sure, but what we do know ~ Sparky has torn a ligament in one of his knees. In addition, the "wrist" of the opposite front leg has been strained too. The result is an 80lb dog with two gimp legs.

Not a super great way to start out the new year.

Sparky saw our orthopedic surgeon Dr. Lenehan on Thursday. We took some x-rays and were relieved to see that the injury to his front leg is just that, and not the beginning of a bone tumor - he's just the right age for that to happen. We are weaning him off the Prednisone that he's been taking for his arthritis in the hopes of starting an NSAID such as Previcox or Metacam which he can use long term without the steroid side effects (he's been drinking like crazy - not fun if you can't easily get up to pee!) Our fingers are crossed that his knee will scar down and heal, but that takes 8 weeks to know for sure. All other issues considered, surgery is not our first choice, as his recovery would be very difficult.

Sparky will be seeing Dr. Laflin, our holistic veterinarian, this coming week, for supportive care - acupuncture and Chinese herbs. In the meantime, he's getting the best maid service one could hope for and he's taken up residence in the living room where he can immediately order room service!

2 New Faces

Two cute feline faces joined us over the weekend. Xanadu and Hank came from the Grayson County Humane Society in Kentucky. Their sweet personalities endeared them to the staff, who tried desperately to find them forever homes. It just wasn't meant to happen.

Xan (as his friends call him) had a spinal cord injury at some point in his pre-shelter life, causing him to have bowel troubles and the inability to carry his tail normally. His veterinarians in Kentucky amputated his tail so it was no longer a source of pain or a place for hygiene troubles. He's had to be "cleaned out" more than once under anesthesia, and even had a colectomy (a partial colon removal) to keep everything moving through. He needs daily monitoring to make sure everything works like it's supposed to!

Hank is a Manx by breed, so his troubles are similar to Scooters, with both fecal and urinary incontinence. He doesn't always know when he needs to urinate, so his bladder has to be checked and expressed when needed. His nerve function to his colon is also lacking, so he needs someone to keep an eye on his rear end too!

These 2 have prompted us to consider building a new kitty room in the future, where all those who are incontinent can live worry-free, named of course "Poo Corner".

Ringing In The New Year!

This is how most of the critters are spending New Year's Day ~ napping because it's so windy outside there's not much else to do! This is also how Holly has been spending most of her time since she's been here. If she's not napping on the floor in the living room, then she's sleeping behind the chairs in the living room or on my side of the bed. She's trying to play a little, but isn't sure how to work into the wrestling matches yet.

We wish you the best in 2008!

Caring For Each Other

The friendships that form amongst animals are amazing and we witness unlikely pairs bond frequently. Several of the animals that live here with us have personalities that make it difficult for them to blend into a normal household, age and disabilities aside. MeiLi is one of those critters ~ always preferring to be the "only cat" in most any situation. She hasn't been feeling well the last few days, suffering from a sinus infection.

Today I found Scooter spending a good part of the morning with her, giving her a bath. He stopped every time he saw the camera, so that's why he's just sitting beside her, trying to look like he doesn't care. As soon as the camera disappeared, he went back to work, making sure her whole body received attention. They spent quiet time napping together afterward too. She looked a little better tonight, wanting to get up and eat with the other cats, so that's a good sign (if you can't smell with a stuffed up nose, why eat?)

I'm hoping that the rainstorms coming in a couple of days will help her out. 50mph+ winds are blowing dirt and pollen around today, so the HEPA filters are running to help us all breathe better. But nothing matches the care that Scooter has given MeiLi today. Who would have thought it?

A Balancing Act

As I'm cleaning the kitty room in the house, I often pile up the laundry and move stuff around in order to mop every nook and cranny, because Scooter tends to leak urine everywhere! I couldn't resist stopping to snap this picture of Tara who somehow managed to climb into one of the cubes for a nap while it's perched precariously on top of several other cat beds. I'm not sure how she did it - this pile easily fell over on me when I went to grab it to wash. She's more agile and lightweight than I thought!

A New Bed

MeiLi got a new bed for Christmas. We purchased a heated kitty bed for her as she's often found sitting so close to the space heater it looks like she wants to climb in it! We've tried shirts and sweaters, but clearly I don't share her sense of fashion! The chair with the bed is MeiLi's domain now, but Uno and Poppy are allowed to sneak in it and Scooter's allowed to sit beside her too!

Home For the Holidays!

We have been very blessed with wonderful donations during this holiday season! As a result, we are able to help a couple of more seniors find a warm bed and love. This sweet girl is here with us as a result of your kindness.

Meet Holly (her new name!) who joined us today. She came from the Riverside county's Coachella shelter, where she was turned in at their front counter as a "stray". She'd been at the shelter for almost a month, and her time was almost up (I didn't know that until I read her paperwork once she was home). The shelter staff was free-feeding her to help her gain weight, but she seemed so depressed when I first met her I'm sure she wasn't eating very well. As I first came across her in the kennels, she was curled up in a little ball, trying her best to stay out of the puddle of water inside her run.

Once she was on a leash, in my hands, she transformed into a little old lady with spring in her step and she ran out of the shelter door, never looking back! This afternoon, she received the "Four B's" - bath, brush, blow dry, and biscuits - and loved them all. She's an incredibly sweet love sponge, who craves constant touch by humans. All of the other dogs have welcomed her, and enjoy the extra biscuits that have come as a result of her moving in.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to provide Holly with the warm bed and love she deserves!

Quincy's Favorite Present...

From the early Christmas we had yesterday is the fuzzy snowman. He loves to carry a fuzzy toy around and sleeps with it too until someone tries to steal it away!Spending the day with his fuzzy wears him out though, as you can see, he needs a nap after a hard day of fuzzy play!

Christmas Came Early...

When our Girl Scout friends visited today. They asked to bring a few presents for the animals, which I gratefully said "yes" to. I had no idea what they had in mind ~ large bags of dog and cat food, cat toys, dog toys, hay for Roger rabbit and so much more! It was so wonderful and so overwhelming ~ we can feed the dogs for over a month and the cats for a couple of months!

Favorites for the dogs include the kong toys with treats inside, the rawhide candy canes, and the biscuits! The cats really enjoyed new flavors of canned food and the catnip mice too. Roger dined on timothy hay and he and the goats and horses enjoyed celery sticks. Roger also has new chew toys. Sparky was the official dog-in-charge of treat distribution!

Thank you girls, you have made Christmas extra special!

Poppy's Tummy Troubles...

Continue. He responded somewhat to the new medication trial, but the "miracle cure" we were hoping for just didn't happen. His medication has been changed to continue the new steroid Budesonide, but also adds in Leukeran, a chemotherapeutic-type drug to suppress his immune system, and Metronidazole, an antibiotic used quite a bit for intestinal infections. We'll also be consulting with our holistic veterinarian Dr. Laflin for her input as well. With any luck, maybe we can avoid the heavy-duty medications with the help of homeopathy or herbs!

Don't Bug Me...

I'm napping! Pepper was the first one to the tallest cat tree after breakfast, the one with the best view and best bed! She's getting along well with the other kitties, and as long as they agree she gets this particular spot for napping, all remains well!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's wishing you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday!

Stacy & Steve & the Animals

The Website...

Has been updated with a fresh look, including better colors and fonts. There is also more information on visiting and volunteering with the animals, plus an updated wish list!

Animal Updates...

Poppy's biopsy results came in ~ he has a moderate/severe case of IBD. Since he no longer responds to Prednisolone, our Internist Dr. Slusser has prescribed a newer steroid called Budesonide. The good side - fewer side effects. The down side - it's pretty expensive, since it has to be formulated by a veterinary compounding pharmacy. We should see some improvement in his symptoms a few days in to treatment, which will last a minimum of 2 weeks.

Scooter is also on a new medication called Cisapride, which helps the GI tract "move along" like it's supposed to, hopefully keeping him from future bowel troubles. This is as a result of his passing stool that was almost as large as he is! He has the potential for developing a condition called megacolon in which the colon becomes static and no longer moves stool through normally. Cisapride also must be formulated by the compounding pharmacy, since it's no longer available (it was originally a human medication).

Mel & Ernie died this week. They bravely fought coyotes that came into the yard, something we haven't had for well over 2 years now; the fires must have disrupted our local ecosystem. They gave their lives to do their job, protect the goats. The goats are doing okay, keeping close to the horses for extra protection. They will be buried in our memorial garden, as is every animal who comes through our door.

Poor Leonard!

Leonard must have had a way to up-close meeting with a spider or bee today, hence the swollen eye! He wasn't very happy about my photographing it, or even medicating him for it for that matter. A quick call to our internist got the correct medication dosages for him ~ with his heart condition, we have to be careful! His cocktail of medication - a small dose of steroids, Benedryl, and Lasix to counteract any side effects of the steroid. By tonight, the swelling had gone down a little bit. He still may get an abscess, but we'll also start antibiotics just to be on the safe side.

Poppy Has An Endoscopy...

And feels incredibly sorry for himself afterward! He's been losing weight and having trouble with diarrhea and gas pains. The steroid injections and diet changes worked for a few months, but seemed to lose their effectiveness. He had an abdominal ultrasound a couple of weeks ago, which was pretty boring (that's good!) and had a fecal culture done too. With all tests negative and normal, endoscopy became the next step.

An endoscopy for cats (and dogs) is done the same as it is for people, under general anesthesia. A flexible endoscope is passed first down the esophagus, looking at the first part of the digestive tract; then, kitty is turned around and the scope goes the other direction! Biopsies are taken along the way in both directions. They've been sent out for a pathologist to read and we should have results by Wednesday.

Poppy hated not having breakfast, and he didn't find an enema much fun either. The pictures were taken after the procedure, when he was awake but probably seeing double, and definitely when he felt sorry for himself! He was a good patient, and spent much of the day hiding under the towels in his cage. I think he was worried we'd come up with other ideas for torture!

All Is Well...

This morning. We have almost no wind this morning, and very little ash overnight, compared to previous nights. That makes it much easier to keep the water clear for horses, goats and geese ~ who wants to drink ash-flavored water?

The animals are returning to more of their regular routines; the air is still smokey but not as bad as it has been, so more kitties are spending some time outside again. The dogs are anxious to spend time outside too, since wonderful new smells have blown in!

Our local feed store is open today, as is our market, so if our evacuation orders are not lifted, at least we can pick-up the fly spray, grain and can cat food we need. As you can see above, Scooter's back to napping outside again!

It's Quiet This Evening...

And we're very grateful! All is still calm on our end of town, and our fingers remain crossed that nothing decides to flare overnight. Here are some photos of our view. You'll notice the shade for the geese is blown down and trash and trash cans are well-scattered. Hopefully it will stay calm as the Santa Ana winds die down and we can start cleaning up a little!

Things are improving, but we're still under evacuation orders, so we can travel the roads, even leave to go into Escondido, but we can't get back home again. So here we sit, patiently, just a little longer, hoping we can restock cat food and horse grain soon!

It's A New Day!

The new morning brings a new opportunity for firefighters to get a handle on all of the fires in San Diego. The fires closest to us are starting to merge, creating a huge fire line. Fortunately, it is still on the outskirts of town. Unfortunately, the quiet winds we had yesterday evening and overnight are now picking up speed again. Sounds like one of those "I've got good news & bad news" situations!

The animals are doing well. The cats have all been let back out into their play yards after I washed and watered them down. The goats and geese and horses are all doing well also. Our biggest chore is keeping clean water available because of the blowing dirt and ash. Inside, the dogs are napping after spending the night watching the latest "visitor" to the household - our neighbor's bunny, who's not quite sure what to make of the situation!

4pm Fire Update

We are doing great this afternoon! The fire to our north is not in town at this point, and the winds have calmed, even stopping for the first time in 2 days. While we have a heavy blanket of smoke to deal with (less than 100 ft. visability), we still have our water & electricity & phone service, so who can complain??

The animals are doing pretty well through this situation. They of course picked up on our stress, but seem to understand the need to just play it cool for a while. The dogs are napping, disappointed they can't go investigate the new smells in the backyard. The cats are wondering why they're locked into their rooms, but aren't complaining too much! The goats & horses are enjoying munching on the leaves that blew into their yards, and the geese are surprisingly quiet! Those with asthma & heart conditions are taking it all in stride.

All is quiet and smokey for now. Roads are closed in to Valley Center, so if we leave, we can't get back in at this point, which won't be a problem until Thursday, when our can cat food supply will be running low. Thank you for all of your support!!

Rapidly Changing Circumstances

We now have a fire on the Indian Reservations slightly to our north and east of us which has caused part of our town to evacuate as in the fires of 2003. Fingers crossed!

We will be here as long as is safely possible. We're fortunate because the power is still on at this point.

Since we still have phone & internet, we can keep updated on changing conditions. Also, we have found our Ham radio network to be invaluable. If you're not a "ham" it's not hard to do and a great way to communicate!

Fire Update

Thank you for your prayers and blessings ~ for the time being, the sanctuary is safe. Winds around us changed to blow from the due east instead of the northeast. However, 4 new fires are being reported in our county, and 2 of them are in the northern portion of the county, where we're located. The link at http://www.sandiegocountyemergency.com/ is pretty up-to-date with fire information.

Steve & I are both at home (with freeways closed) and cat carriers are in every room. All kitties are confined in their rooms for ease of catching them quickly if needed. Our motorhome is loaded with all of the "people stuff" so we can concentrate on the animals should we need to evacuate.

Your offers of help are greatly appreciated & we will let you know if they are needed!

Holy Smoke.....

October often brings "Santa Ana" winds to us ~ dry, hot winds often 40mph or more. We expect it every year... but not this.

This is the view off our patio this Monday morning. There are 7 wildfires burning in San Diego county and they encompass the whole county. We were close to evacuating last night, as one of the fires was headed our way, but fortunately made a turn at the San Diego Wild Animal Park to head due east. There are so many starting so quickly, we may not be out of the woods for long.

Today, with wind gusts over 55 mph, our county's in deep trouble - those wonderful air tankers and helicopters can't fly. Uh oh. Now we're at the mercy of the winds. Keep your fingers crossed & say a prayer or two for us!

Our Day in Rancho Bernardo!

Sparky had a wonderful morning in Rancho Bernardo Park at the Dog Walk! He took the job as ambassador seriously as you can see! It was a very, very windy day as the Santa Ana winds picked up and carried many shade covers away. The picture on the top is our display about 8:15 this morning...

The picture below is our display by 9:30... as you can see, the winds really picked up!

Please Join Us On Sunday!

Sparky & I will be at our sanctuary's booth tomorrow, Sunday, at the Rancho Bernardo Park Dog Walk from 8am-noon. Grab a leash, your dog, and visit wonderful doggie vendor displays while supporting a great park. Please join us, Sparky would love extra pets on the head!

The Girl Scouts Are Coming!

Girl Scout Troop 1230 in Carlsbad came out to meet the sanctuary animals today. They have asked to make the sanctuary their service project for this school year as they work toward their Bronze Award. Sparky held the title of "Official Sanctuary Ambassador" and greeted everyone with enthusiasm! While most kitties thought the whole thing too scary, Scooter and MeiLi made sure to say hello, and Roger was most appreciative of the carrots that appeared!

We are truly blessed to have a group of such compassionate individuals who are full of ideas & ways to help the animals befriend us! We look forward to working with a group of girls who can spread enthusiasm and compassion for animals of all ages and types as they go through life!

Waldo's Woes

Poor Waldo, trouble just seems to seek him out! He's been doing pretty well, enjoying life with Marci, Phoenix & Ballou, but the incredibly hot Labor Day weekend brought another life-threatening health issue to light - Waldo has feline asthma. With a dose of Prednisolone, he felt much better; he's been on a reducing schedule of pred. ever since. He's been drug-free for about a week now, and once again the weather changed on him.

The rainstorm making its way through San Diego county today brought enough wind to once again irritate his lungs ~ so back on Pred. he goes, for now. He's in good company, the rain has brought forth the aches and pains of arthritis for Melody, Sparky, Leonard, Pepper and Violet the goat. In typical So. Cal. style, the rain will soon give way to clear skies and much happier critters!

Luna Left Us...

Last night. What a wonderful friend she's been! She helped me care for many who have come through the doors over the last few years. She was my constant shadow from the time she arrived until her last few days when she could no longer get around.

Renal failure is much, much more difficult to manage in dogs than cats. Large volumes of subcutaneous fluids, phosphate binders, and other appropriate medications are used to keep kidneys working as long as possible. In Luna's case, she rallied for about 6 weeks after severe renal failure was diagnosed; then her blood values began to slowly creep up higher and higher and wouldn't decrease again.

Most dogs never leave the hospital, but Luna was able to initially stay on IV fluids with me at work during the day, then stay on fluids at night at home. She didn't have to be hospitalized at all. We then combined subcutaneous fluids, phosphate binders, BUN/creatinine binders, Pepcid, anti-nausea and ulcer medications with acupuncture & Chinese herbs.

As Sanctuary Ambassador, she leaves behind large shoes to fill. As my shadow, there's now an empty spot at my feet as I sit and watch TV in the evening.

Rest in peace, beautiful spirit, we will miss you!

Mister

If you're an 8 year old bunny with medical problems, where do you go to find sanctuary? Here, of course! Mister came to live with us. He has some chronic eye trouble, and is growing some extra lumps with age. His teeth need to be trimmed as many bunnies need to, and he has also lost some weight with his health issues.

He has a wonderful personality and loves to be held and adored! We're introducing him to alfalfa/molasses, which is finely chopped alfalfa covered in molasses which is easy on his teeth. He's also enjoying dried papaya bits, green leaf lettuce, and banana as we introduce healthier bunny foods to him.

Roger Rabbit knows there's a new guy around, but he's okay with it. After all, new treats have appeared too!

Siamese In A Basket

MeiLi found Scooter's travel basket today, and has claimed it as hers! It sits near the air conditioner, so she has one of the coolest spots in the house. As the daytime temperatures are well over 100 degrees this weekend, I think there may be some arguments over who gets this prime napping spot!