Liberty Visits the Neurologist...

And gets a pretty good report! While she is neurologically "not normal," at this point, anti-inflammatory medication should take care of her troubles. Her back will probably continue to be a problem as she ages, so it will be important for her to stay on the thin side, and stay as active as possible. We are planning for her to see Dr. Laflin, our holistic veterinarian, after the first of the year for a little acupuncture too!

Oh Liberty...

Running one day, unable to get up the next... that's where we found ourselves with Liberty this weekend. I spent Saturday morning as well as this morning helping her get out of bed. It's off to x-ray tomorrow, as she has significant spinal pain. Fortunately, she's still moving once she's helped up. We'll post the results Monday night, in the meantime, cross your fingers ~ any type of problem which would require rest would really dampen her hole digging routine!

We Said Goodbye to Poppy Today...

After his long battle with IBD, cancer, and pancreatitis. His symptoms had worsened over the last few days, and this morning he didn't want to help feed, or be held, or do any of his favorite activities. We tearfully told MeiLi it was time to help him along in his journey, as she maintained a constant bedside vigil with him, grooming his face and snuggling with him. He passed very peacefully in my arms as Dr. Booman euthanized him.



We also said tearful goodbyes to "Honorary Golden Heart" Murphy, who spent 15 wonderful years caring for his guardian Valerie. He was always welcomed by all of our dogs during his visits with us. He will be deeply missed, and our hearts go out to his mom.

It's never easy to say goodbye, as we have had to do all too often this past year.

Rest in peace, sweet boys. You will always be close to our hearts...

Merry Christmas!

Here's wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas!

Stacy & Steve & the Golden Hearts Critters

Leo's Christmas Angel

Leo had a wonderful package arrive today, just in time for Christmas. His wonderful angel Karen, sent him a box of warm fuzzy blankets to share with his kitty friends, and a terrific book. The story was about the "Christmas Kitten" who was left outside in the cold, then found a purpose and a family to love. As I read the book with Leo, there were tears in my eyes, because it sounded just like him. She also included a Christmas card with a check to pay for his eye surgery ~ a wonderful Christmas surprise! Thank you Karen, for loving this sweet old cat!

Happy Day!

Leo had his sutures removed, and received a great report from Dr. Steele. He's healed great, and his 'bad' eye is comfortable for him at this point. He has another recheck in a month to make sure things continue to improve.

Today was "Leo Liberation Day" as he got to lose the e-collar and doesn't have to stay crated anymore. He's moved into the cat room in the main house, where we can continue to monitor his eye, and he lives where he seems to be the happiest ~ in the house. He really never enjoyed the outdoors as much as I hoped he would. As a matter of fact, when we brought our Christmas tree indoors, he growled at it for a couple of days every time he went past it!

A Break in the Weather...

Is a welcome relief! We've made up our rain deficit for the year within the last 3 days. Our rainfall since Monday comes to a grand total of 3.75", which is practically unheard of in that short amount of time. There are many news stories about the Tijuana River Valley flooding, and unfortunately while a huge number of horses were rescued, 4 still lost their lives; many animals are still unaccounted for. We are located much farther north within the county, so fortunately those flood waters did not affect us. We are, however, looking at potential snowfall with the next storm over Christmas!

And Piggie Is All Nestled...

Snug in her new bed, ready for the coming rainstorms! Today, we were able to finish Piggie's permanent shelter, which has real sides rather than shade cloth. We also added a stall mat, used most often for a comfortable place in horse corrals. Shavings top off the mat, so she can snuggle in to keep cozy. Trying to convince her that she really would enjoy her new house if she'd just go in it took some doing. It's hard to reason with a pig! Once she decided to try it, she curled up where you see her above, and hasn't moved yet!
This was our final big project to get ready for a week of rain, something really needed after a dry year!

Leo and Melody Updates

Leo had a recheck today, and he's healing well. We are able to reduce his eye medications to once a day, something he and I are both happy about!

Melody's labwork was normal. There are many things to rule out within the scope of "brain problems" but the best picture is painted with an MRI of the brain. It's a pretty costly test, something which we need to 'save up' for. In the meantime, we will be doing a trial of Prednisone for a couple of weeks to see if her symptoms improve. She's really enjoying the extra treats!

Recovery's Not So Bad!

Leo is recovering from his eye surgery quite well, thank you! We were able to wean him off of his pain medication about 4 days after surgery, and he is more active and almost back to normal (except for that darned cone on his head!) He sees his opthamologist on Wednesday for a recheck, and if his attitude is any indication, it should be a great report!

Wait for Me!!

It's 4:00, is it dinner time?? Liberty saw the back door open, and was afraid of missing dinner ~ after all, it gets dark early, maybe someone will slip up and think it's late? The poor girl doesn't hear very well, so it generally takes loud hand-clapping to get this kind of reaction from her at any other time of day!

A Post-Thanksgiving Emergency...

Just when we thought things were calming down a little ~ Leo had an emergency. Acutely painful eyes are nothin' to mess around with, and the poor boy became very frightened because he was blind and painful. He began to lash out at everything in fear, including us.

Leo was seen by one of our favorite opthamologists at the Eye Clinic for Animals, Dr. Schorling, who ever so gently looked at Leo. We knew he had entropian eyelids (lids that turn in) that we were hoping would resolve once his skin healed. His skin is looking pretty good, but the eyelid problem persisted and daily medication wasn't enough. Dr. Schorling says he, like Phoenix and MeiLi, has feline herpes virus; herpes cats tend to squint too much, and in Leo's case, caused his misshapen eyelids to rub directly on his eyes. He ruptured one of his corneas as a result.

Leo had emergency surgery to fix his lids, essentially a kitty "face lift". Dr. Schorling also did a corneal graft to try to repair his damaged eye. We will have to wait and see if it will take ~ it may heal or he may lose his eye, but this is the best chance he has to keep it. Tonight Leo is much more comfortable, sporting an Elizabethan collar to keep him from scratching out his sutures. I hope to have a picture of him in the next couple of days - he's a little camera-shy right now!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We wish you and your family the best during this Thanksgiving!

Stacy & Steve & the Golden Hearts Critters

A Pile of Goldens!

Liberty and Pilot and Melody are sharing the same bed ~ the orthopedic mattress with a canine cooler bed on top is the most sought-after space in the house! It's been quite a while since there's been an update on our blog, so here goes:

Pilot is healing great. He has lost weight, and sports an 88lb figure. He's working on muscle-building and range-of-motion in his rehab program.

Melody has had an evaluation by our favorite neurologist Dr. Stevenson. Melody has had some changes in her behavior patterns that are concerning. Knowing that she is already epileptic, there is a worry that something is changing in her brain. We'll keep you updated on what the tests show.

And, let's not forget the cats~

Scooter has had four rectal prolapses in the last 3 weeks. Once again, we're trying to find the right balance of medications to keep this at bay. It's probably due to grooming and too much hair ingestion, so it will hopefully end soon!

MeiLi had a severe episode of respiratory trouble. She became so stuffed up that she actually went into respiratory arrest early one morning ~ and yes, you can rescue breathe for a kitty! Like a newborn animal who needs stimulation to breathe, I gently hung her upside down and swung her (not as violent as it sounds, trust me!) to let gravity help drain her out. She's doing better now, and is recovering from an insect bite on her head!

Poppy is continuing to decline in spite of our best efforts. He is not only battling IBD, but is also dealing with a secondary pancreatitis. Cats don't often do as well as dogs with pancreatitis. Please send healing thoughts his way.

It's been more like living on an "ER" or "MASH" episode over the last couple of months!

It's Melody's Turn!

Melody had her turn at a veterinary work-up recently too. As I was brushing her teeth, I discovered a good-sized mass, about the size of a marble, along her gumline. Most lumps that grow in the mouth are bad news, so we acted quickly. She was into the office with me just a day later.

We sedated her and biopsied the lump, as its base was too large to just lop off and expect it not to bleed much. It was a quick procedure, most of the time was spent with direct pressure on the site to stop the bleeding.

Melody was pampered with canned food for a few days, the down side was ~ no nylabones with such a fresh wound in her mouth! The results are great ~ the lump is epulus,a benign overgrowth of gum tissue. A good explanation of oral cancer and benign lumps can be found here. In her case, it's probably because she spends so much time chewing on rope toys and nylabones. Lucky girl, she never really realized how worried we were!

Good News For Liberty!

Liberty had a recheck two weeks ago with Dr. Steele at the Eye Clinic for Animals, and we're happy to report that the abscess behind her eye has healed! She has some damage to the optic nerve in that same eye resulting in tunnel vision, but she gets to keep her eye.

Today she had a recheck with Dr. Slusser our internist where once again she was anesthetized. This time, she had skull radiographs done, just to make sure that she didn't have a tumor or bone infection as the primary cause of her inability to open her mouth normally. Great news here too ~ everything looks normal and her tempromandibular joints are intact. So, the cause of her inability to open her mouth normally stems from scar tissue that built up over time because of the abscess.

How frustrating ~ this all could have been prevented with some simple routine maintenance ~ foxtail checks or toothbrushing would have unveiled this situation early on, before it became a problem. We worked to break down the scar tissue a little today, but she won't be undergoing ongoing procedures since she can eat and drink just fine.

She's a very happy girl, who has really taken a liking to Maverick!

A Feline's Touch

Not to be outdone by the dog nursing crew, MeiLi decided to join in the recovery of our newest Golden guy. She left people laps and climbed upon his leg, sitting there for probably 10 minutes or so. I believe all of the animals here understand the healing that happens here, and once they are healed mentally and physically, the 'job' I give them is to care for each other.

Whether she was sending healing energy to him or merely admiring his scar, I'll never know for sure. Either way, he didn't seem to mind spending part of his evening with a kitty!

Home From Surgery

Tonight he's home and very sore but doing well. The new guy (still needs a new name) had surgery today at Acacia Animal Hospital in Escondido, and thanks to the generosity of Dr. Carmen Bausone, DVM, one of the practice owners, and Dr. Dennis Aron, DVM, DACVS, this surgery was generously discounted.

We only take in those critters who we know we can support in all ways, including financial support. The sanctuary runs on a shoe-string budget covering the costs of food, litter, and veterinary diagnostics and treatment. This kid's surgery estimate far exceeded the budget, so Steve & I paid for his fracture repair; we pick up where the sanctuary donations leave off.

The four-legged nursing staff has taken over, as you can see above, here's hoping for a speedy recovery!

The Decision...

After thinking it over, talking with our wonderful veterinarians and consulting with a veterinary orthopedic surgeon, we've decided that the "Big Guy" (he still needs a new name) will go to surgery. His surgery is scheduled for this Friday, please keep your fingers crossed!!

Nap Time

Scooter has enjoyed this crate since he was just a little tyke. When he grew up and could move in with the grown up kitties, we put the crate outside on their patio so he could still use it. He rediscovered it today, and invited MeiLi to nap with him!