His New Name...

is Sparky! We thought long and hard about a name that would reflect his special spirit, & Sparky won. This is a picture of him out in the backyard, next to one of Melody's "caverns," enjoying the afternoon sun and breeze. He continues to improve daily, taking part in more and more activities with the other dogs, walking and moving slowly but steadily. He's on medication for hypothyroidism now, plus liver support, joint support and Rimadyl as needed. He has quite an assortment of medication, but it's okay, these are his golden years, right?

Buddha On Ice

In San Diego, we certainly can't complain about the weather, our extremes are nothing like those across the country. Our ponds froze over yesterday morning, and Buddha was frozen inside! The goats and the horses patiently waited for the ice to be broken out of their water tanks, and the geese were wondering where the sun was too. 15 & 20 degree temperatures are not letting us live up to our sunny southern California reputation!

Hey Fella, Nice Hat!

The lab results are in for our New Guy, who's still awaiting his new name. His bloodwork was pretty good overall, though his liver has been stressed (which could have been all the medication he was on at the shelter) and his thyroid is a little low, which should probably be supplemented.

He's starting to feel much perkier, Luna & I have been taking him on short walks, and it seems like the more he moves around the better he feels. He's hoping to slim down in time for summer swimwear!

Vet Day!

Today was vet day for some of the sanctuary residents. Our primary care veterinarian, Dr. Booman, came out to see everyone (much easier than asking 12 cats, 2 dogs to ride in the car!)

So much was accomplished in 3 hours ~

~ 7 kitties received their Rabies & FVRCP vaccines. We do vaccinate every 3 years, per the American Association of Feline Practitioners and American Animal Hospital Association's guidelines, those who aren't immune compromised, as so many of our residents come straight from the shelter to us.

~ Melody had the lump on her hip checked. It's a sebaceous cyst, which isn't a medical problem, just a cosmetic one. We'll watch it & remove it if needed.

~ Poppy had a steroid injection, since his IBD is beginning to flare again. I'm not able to find a can or dry cat food that meets his basic beef/potato requirements, so it looks like I'm home cookin' for him for quite a while! (And maybe he needs to quit getting into the trash can!)

~ Ballou had a urinalysis done as part of his exam. He has a low-grade kidney infection, so he's on antibiotics for the next couple of weeks.

~ Austin's exam revealed that he's not 5 - 6 years old as the rescue group was told. The iris atrophy in both eyes is consistent with a cat over 10 years old!

~ Pepper was told she'll need a dental unless she lets me brush her teeth. I'm hoping she agrees, since she doesn't need to floss.

~ The "New Guy" had an exam and bloodwork done. His ears have chronic infections, which will need medication for at least a month. He was treated for tapeworms & fleas; I'm hoping his chronic skin problems are tied into the fleas & will heal over time. His dental tartar isn't bad enough to warrant a dental at this point - I'll start brushing his teeth too. The changes in his eyes put him well over 10 years old, more like 13-14; his elbows, shoulders, hips and hocks are all arthritic. He's started Adequan injections, a medication to increase synovial joint fluid. It will take at least 4 weeks to see any improvement. He was a very brave boy, he even let us trim his toenails, which should help him walk better too. His weight loss program for now will be increased exercise (he follows the other dogs everywhere) and a good quality food (Natural Balance). We'll give him at least a month to see if he's dropped weight before initiating more drastic changes like prescription diet food.

Looking at it all in writing, no wonder everyone wants to go to bed early tonight, including me!

A Second Chance...

Really came to this handsome elder gentleman. The kind folks at the SD South County Animal Shelter plus the hard work of Penny Adams at the Foundation for the Care of Indigent Animals saved his life today.

Known as "Scooter" at the shelter (a new name's coming his way), this old-timer started 2007 off with tragedy in his life. He and his previous animal family found themselves in the shelter after their owner committed suicide. Scooter's huge list of medical problems unfortunately ranked him high on the euthanasia list, low on the adoptability list. His time was up, but Penny pleaded for an extra day; late last night she & I talked, and I agreed to go down to the shelter to meet him this afternoon.

So stiff he could barely get up, he greeted me with a half-hearted tail wag. His ears were oily due to the ear medication he's receiving, his eyes are cloudy, his teeth have some tartar, he's grossly overweight (a whopping 98lbs.!), and he has pressure sores on his hindquarters and his elbows. He also needs assistance getting up due to severe arthritis. How could I say no? If there was ever anyone who deserves a soft bed at the sanctuary....

He enjoyed a meal tonight of Natural Balance canned chicken, as he has difficulty chewing kibble. Introductions with the other dogs went very well, and he's learning about life indoors. It's 7:30pm, and he's already crawled into a bed for the night! He'll have an exam and blood work done on Friday with our veterinarian Dr. Booman, and we'll post the results here.

Happy New Year!

Here's wishing you and your family a festive but safe New Year!

We look forward to sharing more stories about the sanctuary animals in 2007!

Tess' Christmas Present

The animals received extra treats on Christmas day, the kitties had new fuzzy mice to play with, the goats had a special grain "casserole", and the dogs made out like bandits with squeaky toys and tennis balls. Tess goes wild for any ball, or anyone who says the word "ball" so it seemed strange to find her playing with a blanket. Well, there was a tennis ball in the blanket - so I thought, "Poor girl, your ball is caught, let me get that out for you." I pulled the ball out and threw it, went on about my day, and not 5 minutes later, Tess is back chewing on the blanket (with the ball in it). I pulled it out again and threw it, but watched her afterward. She was rolling the ball into the blanket, then working on getting it back out again. Who knew there were that many games to play with a tennis ball?

The Holidays...

bring time to celebrate and share with friends and family. It wasn't a completely quiet time this year, as Waldo began feeling poorly. He ran a low fever and didn't want to eat on Christmas morning, so he spent the morning curled up in a blanket on the couch. He also started antibiotics and received some subcutaneous fluids and baby food too! A little extra TLC had him feeling better by later that night.

Scooter still continues to have intestinal trouble too. We're watching him even closer than before, making sure he stays "regular". He enjoys the extra attention, and he really enjoys sleeping in his crate at night. We only use crates here at feeding time or when introducing a new kitty, but Scooter grew up sleeping in one as a kitten. He's gravitated back to enjoying his own bed complete with water and litter box at night. He really enjoys snuggling down in the blanket until just his head is sticking out!

Merry Christmas!

From our family to yours, we hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

Lily Left Us Today

Sweet Lily quietly passed away today. It's still such a shock. She was a happy, apparently healthy kitty when we left for work this morning, playing with her toy mice. I found her this afternoon when I returned home for work ~ there was no struggle, no injury, it looks like she just lay down for a nap and didn't wake up. It's amazing how someone so young who's been with us such a short time leaves such an imprint on our hearts ~ we're really going to miss her...

Meet Sylvester

A bit camera shy, Sylvester is our semi-feral kitty, the only one who has the run of the property. I finally caught a photo of him, and as you can see, he's a handsome fellow, with beautiful white whiskers against his black fur. He started hanging around the property several years ago, making the mistake one day of investigating a storage room in the garage, which was my opportunity to nab him & neuter him! As you can imagine, when I released him, he left for quite some time.

When he returned and decided it was okay to stay around for mealtime, as I got closer to him, it was obvious he had an eye problem. He didn't seem painful with it, so with time and kitty tuna, we became friends & I was able to catch him for an exam. At some point in his adventures, he sustained a puncture to his eye, a nasty wound which caused the eye to shrivel up and scar over time. Ouch!

Blind in one eye, Sylvester spends his days pretty close to home now; his primary job is that of mouser, as we don't use rodent bait (or any pesticides) on the property. He also helps with watering plants and feeding the other animals too. As he gets older and slows down, he may even settle down enough to live with the Cabana kitties!

Oh, Hot Rod...

Has never had the best coordination, thanks to the neurological damage from early on in kittenhood. His love of heights and his lack of coordination collided 2 weeks ago, and resulted in a good wack to his head and spine. He's pictured above in a cat tree which is about 8 feet off the floor ~ we have since lowered all the cat trees to sit no more than 4 to 5 feet high to help lessen his chances of re-injury.

Medication is on the horizon for Hot Rod now as he's having petit mal seizures; he either stares off in space for long periods or decides to attack all other cats he lives with (even Rocky, who he grew up with). Phenobarbitol is the medication of choice, at a low dose to see how he responds. To his credit, he doesn't realize there's a problem at all, and it certainly hasn't slowed down his appetite!

Oh Those Stunning Blue Eyes!

With new camera in hand, now I can post pictures regularly once again! These are the latest additions to the sanctuary, a couple of handsome blue-eyed guys. There are some "hazards" associated with my job as a veterinary technician, both good & bad. Poppy is the result of one of the good ones - he has the chance for a new life while I have the opportunity to help a really cool kitty. He suffers from IBD (irritable bowel disease) which flares with stress. The household he was in has kitties who liked to beat him up, and with multiple cats his family found it difficult to medicate or do diet trials to help ease his symptoms. Here, he is one big love bug who loves everyone including the dogs (and he kind of likes MeiLi too!) He's eating a boiled hamburger/potato diet now, plus taking supplements, antibiotics and steroids. He appears to be feeling much better!

This is Austin, who also has beautiful blue eyes (trust me on this one, he closed them for every picture I took!) He has a very sad story with a happy ending, thanks to Hannah at New Beginnings for Animals in Orange County. His former owners relinquished him to the Orange County Animal Shelter after they found him injured as a result of being caught in the family car's fanbelt (yes, they threw this poor boy outside in their garage to live). He suffered from burns on his body which healed with lots of TLC from New Beginnings. They noticed that he drooled some too, so he went to the vet to address his dental care. His pre-anesthetic work-up found an enlarged heart. The diagnosis - hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease in which areas of the heart muscle thicken and enlarge. It can be medically managed, but definitely reduces his chances of finding a forever home, so he came to spend his remaining days with us. He takes multiple medications including low-dose aspirin therapy to lower his chances for blood clots in the wrong places. He's living in the Cabana, where Leonard has made sure he feels welcome!

In Or Out?

Here's where two hard-heads meet. Pepper wants outside, Rocky wants inside. This provided quite a stand-off for what seemed like an eternity, until Rocky finally abided by the "ladies first" rule. (What you can't see ~ the main door was open the entire time!)

The Graduate

Here's a picture of Tess at her graduation from her obedience class. She's not only proud of her diploma, but she really liked the biscuit that came with it too! Now that class is over, she's still looking for things to do on weekends, so we've started agility training.

Here she is learning to go through a tunnel, which at first she thought was very scary...

And here she and I are navigating the weave poles.

She goes pretty quickly even on 3 legs (much faster than me!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

From all of us here, we wish you and your families, including your furkids, a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

We count our blessings everyday ~ the wonderful animals that live with us, the celebration of life and spirit that surrounds us, our family, and especially you who believe in a safe haven for all critters, no matter how fast they walk or run, or how many teeth they have left, or how much hair they have.

Thank you for caring, we couldn't do it without your help!

Meet Lily!

Lily came from a litter of kittens a private rescuer was fostering in Santee. She was the only tailess kitten, and the only one with urinary and fecal incontinence too - a definite problem in trying to find her a forever home. So, when asked if we could take her in, how could we say "no" to this cute face? She's been with us for a little while now, and has definitely won over all of our hearts!

We're working on finding a diet and medication combination that will work for her. She's sharing Scooter's prescription I/D (much to his dismay!) and so far, it seems to be helping; she's happy to have fewer baths during the day. She's very sweet and also pretty darned opinionated too. We don't know what other problems she may have, so we'll be watching her closely, and I'm sure she'll have lots to say about that!

We're Back Online!

With some patience and tech support on the phone, finally, the "blue screen of death" is gone and it's back to blogging! So it's time to catch-up with what's happening here at the sanctuary...

The Rancho Bernardo Park Dog Walk event not only gave us the opportunity to receive donations, spread the word about the sanctuary and hospice care, but also put us in contact with a North County Times reporter who wrote up a little about us; you can read the story here ~
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/11/09/news/inland/vc/20_34_5511_8_06.txt

We had one "reporter" day and one "photo" day, so the critters were really excited to have so much attention from visitors!

Watch For Us This Weekend!

Looking for something fun to do with your dog this weekend? Why not take a walk - a Dog Walk, at Rancho Bernardo Park. They are holding their annual dog walk fundraiser this Sunday, from 8am-noon.

There are many rescues and vendors who will be there too - including us! Stop by and say hi to Luna, or pick-up information about animal care and animal hospice, or even sign-up to volunteer.

We look forward to seeing you!

Time To Catch Up...

It's hard to believe so much time has gone by since I last wrote anything about the sanctuary happenings. Now it's time to bring you up to date:

Bob was neutered almost 2 weeks ago. The picture above was taken before surgery (when he's still happy!). He's healing very well!

Waldo is in the small crate, he went to see Dr. Booman the same day for a recheck of his mouth. We're still struggling with getting him to eat. I've been syringe feeding him twice a day, but he's having trouble swallowing. He's on a heavy-duty medication and supplement regime in the hopes his mouth will heal very soon. He's now spending his days in the Cabana with Leonard and friends, which he really enjoys.

Roger Rabbit

Meet Roger Rabbit. He's darn lucky to be here. Remember the last hot spell we had? Well, this poor guy was out back in a cage in at a local feed store basically left to die. As they were trying to sell beautiful tan and grey lops, this guy sat at the back, in a dirty cage, not even under the shade. Who wants an overheated, urine-soaked rabbit? No second thoughts, I "bargained" for his life at a measly $5, hauled buns (pun intended) out of there to get him cooled down, and called animal control; the store got a visit from them, and many of their animals are now gone (yeah!).

He's been with us for a couple of weeks now, gradually starting to trust us, really enjoying fresh produce and fresh hay. He's learning about playing, he loves the dogs and the cats, and as he's shedding out his coat, he's becoming a beautiful grey chinchilla color. He's a real sweetheart, and I'm happy he got a second chance at life!

Wrestle Mania

TV is not the only place you can catch wrestling - I tried to catch these three during their morning wrestling match, but of course they had to stop and look at the camera! Part of the morning and evening routines include a post-meal wrestling match for Maverick, Melody, and Tess. Generally, one is on the ground, upside down, while the other two are tugging on legs or ears. Then they switch, and the game continues until naptime. Hulk Hogan - look out!

Tess Goes To School!

Tess & I started Basic Obedience class today with our favorite trainer Liz Palika of Kindred Spirits Dog Training. Tess was a little unsure of the car ride at first (after all, she did go by herself) but then became very excited when she saw dogs of all shapes and sizes ready to play - at least that's what she thought!

Today was an introductory day, so most of our time was spent sitting and listening (or trying to in a class of 25 excited dogs or so!) We then worked on the "sit" command and did some more talking afterward. Obedience in a group class is an important step in the overall socializing and training process for Tess as she works toward her career as sanctuary ambassador. This last picture is a tired Tess on her way home, where she took an even longer nap!

Where's Waldo?

Sleeping ~ at least for the next couple of days. Waldo went to TriCity Veterinary Clinic yesterday and had a dental. Not just a simple clean and polish, Waldo had all of his teeth removed (yes, every last one!) to effect a cure of his dental troubles. Waldo has all of the symptoms of Lymphocytic-Plasmacytic Gingivitis Stomatitis, in which the body becomes allergic to the plaque around the teeth. You can find more information (and pictures) of it here. Waldo has a very severe case of it - his gums were swollen and his mouth not only had ulcers in the back of it, but on his tongue, causing difficulty eating and swallowing. There was a very poor prognosis when 3 weeks after a steroid injection and antibiotics, all symptoms returned worse than before.

Waldo's spending the next few days with some really good pain medication, a quiet carrier to sleep in, and all of the baby food he'll let me feed him by syringe. He will be on antibiotics for several weeks until his gums are healed too. This picture shows the "recovery ward" with Waldo sleeping behind the towel-covered door. The empty crate next to him is Scooter's dining hall, and dog toy basket is on the other side.

Dental procedure: $263.70 ~ Pain-free life for Waldo: Priceless!!

TV Kitty

MeiLi has found a new location to spend the day - it's clean, free of dogs, and gives her a great perspective on what's going on in the house. The TV! Though I'm not sure why she's watching a Christmas movie (it's way to early to think about that!) she spent most of her morning sleeping up there. I'm hoping she doesn't fall off - that would be a rude awakening! Her favorite part of her new location - she's right by the front door, so she's almost at eye level with anyone walking in. It's quite a surprise the first time she meows at you!

Friends Come In All Sizes

It took some time, but Waldo's finally come to accept there are dogs in his life now. He's even taken to snuggling up with them at naptime too. Here he is with Luna while he waits for breakfast - she doesn't mind, she makes sure that all the canned food is completely cleaned up!
Waldo went to TriCity Veterinary Clinic yesterday to see Dr. Porte. We talked about the best way to deal with his ouchy mouth problems. On Tuesday, Waldo will go in to have his teeth pulled and the growth in his mouth will be evaluated and biopsied. Mouth problems such as his are often remedied by pulling all the teeth, as the body "attacks" them. Aside from "gumming" his food afterward, he should do just fine, without the constant need for steroids. Dr. Porte will also be able to get a close-up look at everything going on in Waldo's mouth without poor Waldo being awake for it!

Vet Day!

Today was vet day for Melody, Tess, and Waldo. The "crew" and I went to see Dr. Booman, our primary care vet. Tess had a rabies vaccination so she can be licensed, and Dr. Booman had the chance to thoroughly look at her deformity. After her physical exam, she determined that Tess is perfectly healthy and shouldn't have any trouble with her leg!

Melody had blood drawn to check her Phenobarbitol blood levels. While Melody thought it was quite unfair she had blood drawn, I thought it was important to make sure she's on an appropriate medication dose for her epilepsy!

Waldo thought it was completely ridiculous to ride in the car with dogs! He had initially responded quite well to the steroid injection, so today was a recheck. We were very sad to see that, while most of his mouth looks good, he has a growth about the size of a kidney bean under his tongue. It may be just irritated gum tissue, worst case scenario is cancer. The most common form of oral cancer is squamous cell carcinoma, which has no treatments that offer a cure. Cancer may have reared its ugly head yet again...

Dr. Booman also found a growth in one eye that may be a tumor too, we have to watch it closely. At his first exam, it just looked like a little color change. The borders of his ears have started to change since he's been with us, so I asked her to look at them too. With pigment changes and small areas of skin starting to disintegrate, Dr. Booman feels it's probably vasculitis, a lack of circulation to the affected area.

Waldo is now in our "Pawspice" care (animal hospice) program. We will provide palliative care to keep him comfortable and make his remaining "golden days" as happy as possible! If you would like to learn more about pawspice care, please click here.

New Friendships

It hasn't taken long for Tess to make friends with everyone. I was afraid a new dog would be a hard sell for Melody, who can be really ugly in new situations. Tess and Melody became fast friends, as did Tess and Maverick, Quincy and Luna too.

Tess can be found running and playing hard or wrestling after breakfast first with Melody, then when she's worn out, Tess moves on to play chase with Maverick. That continues till he's tired, then she grabs a tennis ball and plays fetch with herself - she tosses the ball in the air and then chases it, which rounds out her morning. The whole cycle repeats itself after dinner - boy I wish I had her energy!

The crates in the picture above are used for feeding Scooter and Waldo, in order to make sure each kitty eats only his meal. Tonight, they got a dinnertime show too!

A New Sweetheart

Meet Nessy (new name Tess), a Border Collie/Retriever mix who just arrived from the Humane Society of Utah, via Stacy's dad and his travels. While she looks pretty normal and happy, she was born with a severe deformity to her left front leg.

The ulna and radius (the forearm of a person) didn't grow down and straight with a paw (or hand) at the end. One bone grew too short with one toe, while the other curved, and a partial paw, with 2 pads and 3 toes rests at the end of it.

The wonderful folks at the Humane Society tried for quite a while to place her with no luck. I gave them suggestions of messageboards and forums to post her story which they did, and while many people thought she was cute, no one wanted a young dog who doesn't look normal. When asked if she could come here, of course we said yes! With some time and training, we hope she'll make a wonderful ambassador for the sanctuary and play an important part in our humane education and pet therapy programs that are in development.

We're calling her "Tess" because it's pretty close to Nessy, and we thought it important to have a name not so close to Loch Ness monster fame. She's really brought new life to the other dogs, because at 18 months old, she's still all puppy, and Border Collies can play all day!

A New Name & New Attitude!

Can you believe this is the same kitty who's in our July 29th post? This is Swope, who is now known as Waldo! He's feeling much better, thank you! His response to steroid treatment is amazing, the hole in his tongue is filling in, and the swelling is down in his gums. He's making up for lost time, eating 1 1/2 cans of food a day. (The "D" word is in his future, but I haven't told him yet!)
In the photo, he's trying out one of the dog beds, and while he doesn't mind dogs, he's certainly not planning on befriending them yet. He enjoys spending a good part of the day out in Shiloh's Yard, a small yard designed for newcomers. His favorite activity ~ anything involving people, as he truly wants nothing more than sit next to anyone who will provide continuous attention!

Can You Find The Kitty In This Photo?

Tara & Uno work hard to open the closet that holds both the blankets and the dog food, each with a different goal. As a matter of fact, it's a daily ritual. If at first you don't succeed ~ well, keep on tryin'. Today proved it ~ Tara enjoyed the blankets while Uno tried hard to unscrew the lid to the dog food. The dog food never opened, and all the blankets were on the floor before all was said and done. But they had fun (and needed a nap afterward!)

A New Way to Support the Sanctuary

There's an easy way you can support the sanctuary animals! We've signed up with GoodSearch.com, which allows the sanctuary to earn while you use their Yahoo powered search engine.

I've been trying it out, and it works very well. Just go to www.goodsearch.com, and in the second box down, type in "Golden Hearts Animal Sanctuary" and click "verify". Then, search away. There is a feature that even allows you to track how much the sanctuary has earned.

Every little bit helps, so please, give it a try, and if you like it, spread the word to your friends and family!

Kitty Update!

A couple of the boys have ongoing medical issues that we're hoping are either resolved or will be soon. Here's a run-down on who we're watching ~

Scooter - this afternoon his purse-string suture was removed, and hopefully his rectal prolapse episodes are over. His medication (Lactulose) has been increased, he's back on a low residue diet (which produces low stool volume), and he's spending a good part of his day in the main house so we can keep a close eye on him.

Leonard - has been slowly dropping some weight. He had lab work done last week and an abdominal ultrasound looking for cancer, hyperthyroidism, or a heart-related cause. His heart looks great, the Atenolol dose he's on is working well. That leaves us with the potential diagnoses of intestinal lymphosarcoma (yuck, don't want that one!) or tapeworms that we haven't seen yet (much easier to fix).
As he's the primary groomer of all cats, we're first eliminating the parasite possibility with a dose of Droncit. Reweighing him in a couple of weeks will determine whether we need to proceed with an endoscopy to look for cancer.

Swope - (still working on his name!) had completely quit eating over the weekend, in spite of the antibiotics and pain meds he was taking for his mouth. We began subcutaneous fluids daily as well as force feeding. After much research, and talking with Dr. Booman, we opted to try a steroid injection, treating him as a stomatitis kitty. This is more of a "shotgun" approach to dealing with the problem, but we felt he just wouldn't do well at this point with anesthesia and the subsequent healing from a biopsy.
He got the injection Tuesday afternoon, and now he's feeling great! He's eating, drinking and feeling much more comfortable. There are potential side effects we have to watch for, but the benefits far outweigh them. If he continues to improve, he'll receive a second injection in a few weeks, then start on oral meds which will taper over the next month. He will also stay on antibiotics to combat infection too.

He's Got A Hearty Appetite...

And a pretty big mouth too! This is Ballou quietly requesting his dinnertime meal (not!) Most of the kitties start asking for dinner about 3:30-4:00 in the afternoon, and dinner is at 6pm, which never changes. I believe they're hoping I forget someday and maybe feed twice!

It took Ballou a whole week to figure out the routine, he chimes in during the early afternoon requests, then like everyone else, waits till later. I still don't have pictures yet of his post-meal bath time, he gets embarrassed easily!

A New Face With An Ouchy Problem!

This sweet face belongs to Swope, a kitty first on the euthanasia list at the Grayson County Humane Society in Kentucky. He arrived in California last week on Monday evening, and I picked him up Tuesday afternoon. This is his first photo opportunity since he's been here.

How'd he get cross-country? Does he know where the cheap gas prices are? Does he have a secret transporter device? Kentucky Beth (there are 2 Beths - 1 in Kentucky, 1 in Florida) and I have been e-mailing back and forth about this guy trying to figure out what's going on with him. I told her if there was ever an opportunity for him to come to California, he'd be welcome here. She found one! It turns out that her family friends Robert and Carla had a direct flight from Nashville to Los Angeles, so Swope packed his bags for a whirl-wind day of adventure! They kept him overnight until we could meet the next day so he could come home to the sanctuary.

Swope has inflamed gum tissue and a tongue ulcer that makes it really difficult to eat. He's a senior citizen by all accounts, with a (low) estimated age of 15 years old. He's had lab work and a cardiac ultrasound since he's been here to make sure it's safe for him to have anesthesia ~ and he can!

He's pretty handsome, isn't he? He's not particularly attached to his name either ~ any ideas for a new name?

Wow It's Warm!

Here's wishing everyone cool summer breezes as the weather continues to heat up across the country. At an unseasonable (and unreasonable) 112 degrees today, I found myself praying to the rain gods while trying hard to keep everyone cool. All critters fared pretty well, with the Cabana kitties getting the worst of the weather (if I just had a fan big enough to cool the entire outdoors!) All of the dogs and most of the Cabana cats received cooling baths this afternoon, and the only complaint came from Hot Rod, who thought that was the dumbest idea I'd ever come up with!

How Can Someone This Cute...

Cause such an uproar that dinner is delayed? (Only by a couple of hours!)

Scooter had a rectal prolapse happen late this afternoon, probably an hour or so before dinner tonight. He had an emergency visit to our veterinarian Dr. Booman (who fortunately was available) and we managed to "put everything back" and put in a purse-string suture. This allows stool to pass, but should keep the bowel inside where it belongs.

Scooter will be on antibiotics and subcutaneous fluids for several days. He's also now moved in to an extra large dog crate in the kitchen (where he spent many days as a kitten) so he can be closely monitored and receive 6 small meals a day (he's hatin' that part!) He'll have to have an x-ray or ultrasound in the next 24 hours to make sure that he doesn't have an intussusception, a serious condition in which the bowel telescopes inside of itself.

We're also discussing surgery for him also. This is, unfortunately, the third time this has happened, and the problem is incrementally worse each time. The surgical fix is an abdominal surgery to go in and actually tack the bowel to the abdominal wall so it physically stays in place. With his deformities, general anesthesia and surgery are an especially big concern. We'll keep you updated as we know more information.

A Boy Named Ballou

This handsome boy, Ballou, arrived late this afternoon after a long journey with his rescuer Beth. Their adventure began very early this morning in Florida ~ yes, Ballou has now traveled coast-to-coast, making friends and racking up those "frequent flyer" miles! Thanks to Beth, the folks at Delta airlines, and Beth's friend Paul, Ballou's adventure to his forever home is now complete.

Ballou looks like pretty much any other handsome black cat you would meet, that is, until you watch him eat. Due to an accident earlier in his life, part of his tongue was amputated, leaving him unable to groom himself or eat mashed up canned food (he needs the can shape so he can grab it to eat it!) His forever home in Florida turned out not to be the case, and Feline Friends has been working hard to place him during the heat of kitten season. When asked if he could live here if they could get him here, I said "Why not?" (Maybe Phoenix would consider grooming him instead of herself!)

He's pretty shy, and I'm sure trying to figure out what the last 24 hours we're all about, so here's a picture of him before he left Florida, contentedly "making biscuits" with his paws. I hope that with some time, he will learn there are many friends here who can help him stay clean!

Visitors!

It was a warm yet exciting afternoon for the animals today. One of our Friends of the Sanctuary stopped by to visit, meet the animals, and best of all, deliver chicken jerky treats! Thank you, D.C., the dogs are still wagging their tails!

Thanks For Your Patience...

Our phone troubles are over and you may now leave a message if you need to!

Phone Troubles...

If you've tried to leave a message for us at the sanctuary over the last several days, we're having phone troubles, which should be resolved by tomorrow. If you call our phone number, it will let you know how to reach us. Thanks for your patience!

Fidelity Leaves Us...

But will forever remain in our hearts. Our "Head Dog in Charge of Cats" lost her battle with kidney failure and chronic sinusitis, and passed away at home last night. She was surrounded by her human, canine, and yes, even some of her feline family. The picture above is one of our last trips to the Del Mar dog beach, where she introduced Luna to the ocean and swimming!

She also leaves behind a large void in the daily sanctuary operations, which now takes 3 dogs to fill ~ Maverick, our Aussie, is now in charge of cats, Luna is Sanctuary Ambassador, and Quincy is in charge of keeping me out of trouble.

This morning, as I went out to care for the Cabana Kitties, I noticed all of the Hibiscus I planted along their yard was blooming ~ proof to me that "Diddle" (her nickname) is still watching over all of us, especially her kitties!

San Diego County Fair Pics

Here, finally, are our pictures from this year's booth at the San Diego County Fair. This was taken before the fair opened on Saturday. We had an excellent location near the entrance to this new building, so Luna, pictured in this photo with me, spent a long weekend as Sanctuary Ambassador. She and I had a 12 hour shift, including the early morning set-up. I really thought she'd be exhausted after such a long day, so Scooter took a bath in preparation to work on Sunday. When Sunday morning came, Luna was at the door, ready to go ~ sorry Scooter, how could I say no? This was a wonderful weekend, with the opportunity to share the sanctuary's purpose, stories of the animals, and to answer questions about special needs animals. To those who we met ~ thank you, it was a pleasure!
Special thanks to Sandra, the sanctuary's treasurer, as she and her Aussie Jake spent almost all day of both days helping out in the booth. As a large wind came through the building on Saturday, she even caught the display before the entire row of booths collapsed! Luna thought Jake was a pretty handsome guy too (he's pictured in the crate taking a nap). Both dogs got to see chinchillas for the first time too, which provided endless entertainment!