How Cute Am I?

Exhausted after an afternoon round of tennis ball playing, Tess can still find time for a photo session. She squishes all of the blankets on the futon into a little ball and either buries herself under them or pushes them aside so she can stretch out.

We just celebrated her 1 year birthday with us too! (The day someone arrives becomes his or her "birthday" we celebrate every year). We look forward to many more!

Luna

I've been slow to post anything on the blog lately because Luna requires some pretty intensive nursing care. She's been having trouble getting around, so we've been waiting anxiously for her next chiropractic visit, but she also developed a cough, so she went for x-rays. Fortunately, nothing showed on x-ray in her chest, but she was placed on antibiotics for 10 days as a "just in case" measure.

A week ago Monday, she had some blood work done, since it had been last checked in May, and she had some kidney disease at that point. It was quite a shock to see that she is now in renal failure, with very high numbers. She spent last week on IV fluids, coming home on fluids at night, and on them during the day with me at work. Rechecking her blood values after 4 days of diuresis, they really hadn't changed much. Not a good sign for the long haul.

She's now on subcutaneous fluids, plus Chinese herbs, plus Pepcid & Carafate & Slippery Elm (for her GI system), Epakitin and Azodyl. She's also on the "whatever you want to eat" diet, since her appetite has decreased. We rechecked her blood work yesterday and it has indeed improved. The 3 primary blood chemistry values looked at in kidney problems, BUN, creatinine, and phosphorus, have all come down.

I'll update the blog as I can with her progress ~ our current battle is the anemia secondary to the kidney issues. It's hit her pretty hard, so she spends most of the day sleeping. While she's enjoying her newly discovered "maid service" the other dogs are most disappointed it only applies to her!

A Snotty Nose, A Tortoise & A Disagreement

What do these all have in common? They've all happened in the past 10 days!

The Snotty Nose - MeiLi's herpes virus has reared its ugly head again. Poor kitty has been on antibiotics, subcutaneous fluids, antihistamines, lysine, and a regular force-feeding schedule to get her feeling better. Cats tend not to eat when they can't smell their food, and that's certainly the case here. I'll update the blog and let you know how she's feeling, for now, she's pretty unhappy when she sees me, aka the "pill-popping, fluid running, force-feeding" person in her life!

The Tortoise - yes, you guessed it, a tortoise has come to live with us! He (I think) is an African Spurred Tortoise and about 5 lbs. He was found cruising our veterinarian's property. We're trying hard to locate his family, with no luck so far. He's a very well-socialized little guy, who is welcome to stay if his family can't be located.

The Disagreement - the tortoise has definitely sparked interest in all of the dogs, old and young, unfortunately so much so that Maverick decided to make him his own and go after anyone found getting too close. So old, slow-poke Sparky was the first to learn of the new "rules"; fortunately Maverick doesn't know how to "fight" well and Sparky has a lot of hair. Sparky received a couple of puncture wounds & Maverick received a "time out"; he now understands the tortoise is not a new toy just for him!

I'm happy to report Scooter's doing well, and his suture removal is planned for this weekend, when I can keep a close eye on him. Marci is doing great too ~ she's now back out with Ballou and friends. Speaking of Ballou, we celebrated his one year birthday with us on Saturday. He got a special canned food treat which he happily shared with his roommates! We're hangin' in there, hoping everything returns to normal and all are feeling better soon!

Sutures & A Late Night...

For Scooter (& me!). Scooter suffered yet another rectal prolapse tonight. When I knew that I couldn't reduce it alone, I asked our general practitioner Dr. Booman for help. She "put everything back" and then placed a pursestring suture, designed to close up an opening. This was truly the worst episode he's had, and it required a light anesthetic so he was "loopy" enough for us to put everything back in place. A light anesthetic kept Scooter from pushing against us (and his colon) & he's recovering well tonight as I write this.

For Scooter, the pursestring's purpose is to help keep his colon on the inside while all swelling subsides and the motility in his gut returns to normal (for him!). And once again we try to figure out what diet & medication combo will prevent future episodes. (Sigh) It's been a tough road for this little guy!

A Close Call For Marci...

Marci gave us quite a scare last night. She's been doing very well living with Phoenix, Ballou & Waldo in the "House of Ballou", our newest kitty room & yard. Last night's feeding time found her reluctant to come in for dinner. Handling her caused her to pant.

Unsure of the reason behind her difficulty breathing, into the house she went, where she went into a crate with a fan blowing nearby, both to cool if needed & circulate air to make breathing a little easier. She also received a large dose of lactulose (stool softener) and subcutaneous fluids to make sure all systems were working well. A little Healing Touch for Animals and flower essences were used too.

It was a long night, but the dogs sat up with me to keep an eye on her, and around 1am, Marci decided she felt a little better and nibbled at some baby food. She also used her litter box - a good sign! This morning, she was no longer breathing hard, but was at the door of her crate demanding breakfast ~ yeah!

I'm not sure exactly what the cause of this "episode" was, but Marci's feeling back to normal now and wants to play. She'll be living at the house with Scooter & friends for a while until we make sure everything stays cool!

Mel & Ernie...

Get their own yard! These two guys were "hired" to provide protection for the goats and warn of predators. Unfortunately, one of their favorite hobbies is herding the goats. Fun for them, but goaties really didn't find it entertaining; this often meant confining them just to give the goats a break. So, we made the decision to move them beside the goats, giving them their own space, but still leaving them in a prime guard goose location.

They have a 6'x10' shaded "goose" run for cleaning time confinement & afternoon shade, 2 large pools for swimming (and yes, they will often share the same one), a "goose house" for shelter, and a 12'x32' yard to play in.

Now the geese can patrol and the goaties can nap in peace!

Melody vs. the Purple Bucket

Melody thought that wrestling the purple bucket this afternoon may lead to dinner being served quicker. It backfired, since I had to grab the camera and take pictures!

The House of Ballou

Finally, here are some pictures of the "House of Ballou" ~ named of course, for our beautiful Ballou, who really wanted a yard to play in. It's been about 3 weeks now, and he, Phoenix, Marci and Waldo are having a great time! The landscape is a little bleak right now since it's so warm, but they have oak trees for shade and a picnic table with benches too.
I didn't get any pictures of the inside yet, but what other color would you paint it but blue? Because this foursome is able-bodied, we installed ramps inside so they can sit above the window or sleep in the upstairs "bunk". Feeding time involves Ballou eating outside, Waldo inside with the 2 girls inside in crates so they each eat only one meal.

Their yard runs alongside the horse pasture, so our horses can grudgingly watch the cats get fed first!

His Big Heart...

Is getting bigger. Oh Austin! I went out to feed the Cabana kitties this morning, and began to count heads, and came up one short. Uh oh. The search was on to find Austin, who was "missing in action" from the breakfast brigade. I found him, laying in the yard, in the sprinklers. Uh oh...

After a hurried serving of breakfast, a quick search for the "big carrier" (he's no tiny boy) he was off with me to work. This is when my profession comes in handy, as does the generosity of the veterinarians I work with. Dr. Slusser, our Internist & Dr. Farrell his associate, both looked at Austin. We did some bloodwork and a urinalysis, which all looked pretty good.

Nothing explained his sudden change. Until we did an ultrasound of his heart. We know that Austin has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) which is why he's with us. In the back of my mind is the fact that someday, he will be in heart failure as a natural progression of his disease. I did not ever guess it would be so soon. While most of his heart hadn't changed much from the ultrasound of October 2006, his left atrium is now huge. He's on the "brink" of left-sided heart failure.

He now has a new medication regime - one that I'm sure many human heart patients can appreciate. He is taking Enalapril (an ACE inhibitor) twice a day, Diltiazem (a calcium channel blocker) once a day, a small amount of baby aspirin twice a week (to prevent blood clots), and now Lasix (a diuretic) every other day. He'll also be on Clavamox, an antibiotic, for a week just to cover all bases.

I haven't broken the news to him yet, but he also now will need monthly bloodwork for a while to monitor his kidney values, thanks to the addition of Lasix. I'll post updates on the blog as we go along and let you know how he does ~ for now, tonight, after a dose of Lasix, he feels good enough to have dinner and cruise the yard. Whew!

A Tired Scooter & Luna

Want to thank everyone they met for the love and pets they received at the San Diego County Fair today! We had an overwhelming crowd of people of all ages who met myself, Sandra our Treasurer, Luna, Scooter and Jake (Sandra's Aussie).

It was a wonderful opportunity to educate the public about the joys of older and disabled pets and tips for living with them. What a wonderful day!

Watch For Us At The Fair!

Saturday, June 16, please join us at the San Diego County Fair. Scooter and Luna will be graciously accepting hugs and pets, and we will be distributing information about the sanctuary and about caring for senior pets.

We will be in the Wyland building all day ~ we look forward to seeing you there!

Luna & Her Kidneys

Luna has been slowly dropping a little weight again, so we checked her labwork to make sure her thyroid level's holding. Well she surprised us with a major change in her kidney values. She's headed toward kidney failure, with elevated BUN and Creatinine levels. She's also anemic, which goes hand-in-hand with kidney disease.

So Dr. Laflin, our holistic veterinarian, and Dr. Booman, our general practitioner, have developed at treatment plan for her. She will start receiving subcutaneous fluids twice a week, a B vitamin/iron supplement, and Chinese herbs to support her kidneys. Her bloodwork will be monitored closely for changes too.

This certainly won't slow down her public appearances this summer ~ she won't turn away from the opportunity for treats and pets!

Where's Ballou?

While many folks are enjoying Memorial Day picnics and outings, we used it as a weekend to catch up on grooming ~ the bigger projects that take a long time to complete. So, after the dogs were all bathed (it takes 2 hours), Ballou was next up. He stays in a short haircut, called a "lion cut" in order to make his care easier on both of us.

So, his "spa day" starts out with a bath and towel dry, then a brush out, then... the clippers come out! Ballou is pretty patient now and will almost let me complete the entire clip job in one sitting. He did opt out of the final photo after his transformation, so a picture will come later!

The 3 Muskateers

How cute are the "Kentucky 3"? From left to right, Marci, Phoenix, and Waldo seem to enjoy hanging out together. Marci & Phoenix came to us on a cross-country drive, while Waldo flew. Maybe they spend the day swapping stories, maybe they compare travel methods. Either way, wherever one is, the others are sure to follow!

The Pet Food Recall...

Unfortunately has reared its ugly head amongst our sanctuary animals. Someone started vomiting late last week in Poppy & MeiLi's room. It took a day or so to figure out who the culprit was - no one would 'fess up to it! Poppy has been on a diet trial for the last couple of weeks on Royal Canin's HP23, a hypoallergenic diet. He got sick roughly 3 days before the recall of his food...

Vomiting, lethargy, & lack of appetite have been his primary problems. His lab work has been okay so far, but he does have the telltale crystals in his urine which indicate melamine is working its way through his kidneys. He is at home, where our primary care veterinarian Dr. Booman is providing supportive care, which is all we can do for him. He's receiving subcutaneous fluids 3 times daily now, plus B Complex, Reglan (for nausea) and antibiotic injections as needed. He's also taking Pepcid, and Cyproheptadine, which is an appetite stimulant.

While he's feeling perkier and the vomiting has stopped, he still won't eat ~ at least more than a teaspoon a day. That's not much for an 11 pound kitty! We're walking a tight rope now, balancing his IBD problem with finding something he'll eat on his own. I'm hoping that syringe feeding him for a few days will jump-start his appetite.

Please keep Poppy & all of those affected by the pet food recalls in your thoughts & prayers.

Please check the FDA's website for current recall lists ~ don't rely on the news media to keep you up-to-date. You can find the list at www.fda.gov.

An Old Timer Update

Friday brought some "routine maintenance" for a couple of the older furkids here. Luna has an eyelid growth which from time to time begins to grow down and irritate her eye. She's such a patient girl, that with a local and a topical anesthetic and plenty of cookies afterward, our primary care veterinarian Dr. Booman is able to trim off the part that rubs on the eye. Luna gets eye medication at least two to three times daily ongoing now to keep both eyes lubricated and comfortable for her.

Leonard had some dental tartar scraped from his teeth (always a two-person proposition!) plus some blood work done too. The dogs and cats who qualify as "senior" or who have ongoing medical problems have blood panels done yearly (or more often if needed). It was Leonard's turn, and he took it all in stride, purring the entire time!

Results came back for Leonard on Saturday, and he's looking great! He has early kidney disease, which is to be expected at 17 years old. The values are low, however, so coupled with his heart disease, everything's manageable at this point. He actually looks better "on paper" than he did last year!

Happy Easter!

Here's wishing you and your family a wonderful Easter holiday!

Interested in Volunteering?

Please join us on Saturday, April 28, from 10am to noon, for our first monthly volunteer orientation. There are many ways you can help us help the animals from Kitty Cuddling and Dog Hugging to Fundraising to Gardening, and much more. If you would like more information, please send us an e-mail at info@goldenheartsas.org, or leave us a message at 760-749-6122. We look forward to seeing you there!

It's Been A Year...

And she's still going strong! As a matter of fact, she's even gained a pound. Here's wishing MeiLi a happy 1 year birthday! Everyone who comes to live here gets a birthday which we celebrate on his or her arrival date. No one misses out on biscuits or kitty tuna that way!

For a little one who was given only weeks to live, she looks pretty good. In the picture, she's helping me feed the other cats. She always watches to see if anyone gets better canned food, and will steal it if it suits her better. Right now, she's recovering from a bug bite above her eye that we've treated with antibiotics and steroids. She's almost healed now, but insists that lots of kitty tuna speeds the healing process.

Happy birthday little one!

Happy Birthday...

To my "old grey mare" who is 24 years old today! Yes, Osa was born on April Fool's Day, so her registered name is Oh So Foolish (not my idea!) She is pictured with Syd, who's not far behind her at 23 years old. Our "senior" horses are retired now and spend most of their day begging for treats. They're enjoying some wild oats that were growing on another part of the property ~ it's easy to recycle greens waste when there are horses and goats to help!