This week started with the monster storms that swept through. Friday night we started watching the news very closely. By Saturday morning it looked like the worst of the storm would be sweeping over Murfreesboro at the height of the adoption event. For the safety of the dogs we decided to cancel for the day. I always hate doing that. They lose an important day that could be the day they find their forever home. But I took some solace in the knowledge that few people are out shopping while tornadoes are blowing around.
So much went on it's hard for me to remember the exact day of everything! So we'll just go as best as memory serves!
The sad news is we lost a very important member of the rescue this week. On Monday night my daughter came to my room to get me. She said our 14 year old cat, Fatboy, had been sleeping on her bed. He stood up real fast and fell over onto the floor and wasn't moving. By the time I got there he was unresponsive. My husband, a former paramedic, said he thinks he had a heart attack. He was gone before we knew it.
Fatboy was a free to good home kitty in a grocery store parking lot many years ago. He was the tiniest of the kittens there, even though he was by far the furriest. Solid long thick black fur on this tiny little boy. Had to have easily been 20 kittens in the dog crate. I chose him but later decided he needed a friend. I went back and picked a short haired black and white boy.
Kitten seemed to not grow for the first year. Spot was massive compared to him. But around his first birthday he all the sudden had a crazy growth spurt. He gained weight like crazy. No medical reason. Nothing we did got the weight off him. Then we moved to TN 4 years ago. Some time on the farm, running outside with us as we went back and forth from the garden to the other areas he started to drop the weight. He finally was down to where he should be. We were thrilled.
Over the years we've used him as our 'tester' cat. Shortly after bringing him home we brought home a mastiff puppy that wound up being 182 pounds. After being raised with her, there just weren't many dogs he was afraid of. Because of his calm nature he was ideal at seeing how dogs would react to cats. His passing leaves a void in the rescue, but an even bigger one in our heart.
Jack went to his new home. We were thrilled. They adored him and were taking pictures as soon as they met him.
We got an e-mail about a sweet 3 year old pure bred tri-color Saint Bernard. We agreed to take her in but found out she was riddled with heartworms. Luckily through donations from the local Humane Society and local people and other rescues, she has begun treatment. She's at a foster home now and will go for her initial treatment at the vet on Monday. They'll release her to us on Friday and will start her recovery in our home. It's going to be a longer, slower treatment because she is so infested. Poor girl. We've got our fingers crossed and prayers have gone up.
We're picking up Ebony today, a Patterdale terrier mix puppy. She'll be going to her foster home and stay with her foster brother, Alvin.
Alvin has two families coming to meet him on Saturday, so we're beyond thrilled!!
Tomorrow we've got Kahlua (calling her Kallie) coming to us. She was pulled from a shelter in west TN. She's a precious little Keeshond mix puppy, around 9 months of age. If all goes well and Alvin is adopted she'll be taking his place.
We got a call yesterday from Rosco's adopters. The husband was at his wits end. Rosco has begun having accidents in the house, barking non-stop, chewing things up, chasing the cat and is not kenneling well at all. He was ready to throw in the towel as it's caused so much chaos in their household. His wife however has talked him into giving him a couple weeks and training. We're praying Rosco picks up the training fast and turns back into the sweet baby boy we know he is. They're wonderful people and do love him very much and I hope he knows that and re-pays them with more appropriate behavior.
We got a call today that Jack's adoptive home wasn't working either. The adopter's sheltie just does not like him. They said he's been to their mother's house and was wonderful and loving with their shih tsu, so they know it's the sheltie and not Jack. After a long family discussion they've decided the best thing for Jack is to return him. Luckily for Jack we did have a second approved adopter and they are still interested. They'll be arranging his transport hopefully this week. Jack will now have a Newfie sister to play with. We're broken hearted for his first family as they were wonderful people and we know how hard it is to be forced to part with a family member, even if it's in their best interest.
Adoptions have finalized for both Lucky the doxie and Goober the chihuahua. They'll be leaving for their new homes on Thursday, May 6th. On the transport up there we will be picking up another dog for a rescue we work with and helping to transport her to her new home as well. We also have a confirmation for Randy, the pitbull puppy. He is being adopted by one of our foster mom's daughters and her children. The youngest daughter has been in love with Randy from day one and we've got photos of her on the floor giving him hugs and him giving her kisses. It was just a match that was meant to be and we couldn't be happier!
I think that's about it for now! We've got our big adoption event this weekend (Saturday) at our Petco in Murfreesboro at the Avenue shopping plaza. In attendance will be:
Trixie, a 3 year old boxer mix girl
Gracie, an 8 year old female husky / golden mix
Murphy, a 2-1/2 year old purebred gorgeous golden retreiver boy
Ebony, a 9 month old Patterdale terrier mix girl
Kallie, an 8 month old adorable Keeshond mix girl
Alvin, an 18 month old beagle / cattle dog mix boy
Gomer, a 7 year old male long hair chihuahua
Andy, an 8 year old male short hair chihuahua
Buffy (pending), a 10-12 year old purebred poodle girl that still acts like a puppy
We may also have some puppies along with us as well. Stop in and say hi!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
The to date post
Just to keep everyone up to speed on the Rural Tennessee Veterinary Assistance Program that HART has launched, we have done the following this past 30 days:
Neutered 2 dogs
Spayed one cat
Provided food for over 15 families
Provided annual vaccinations for over 10 families
Completed one rabies clinic with a second to be scheduled soon
We've adopted Star, Barney, and Roscoe and have pending approvals for Jack and Goober. We've accepted 3 dogs into our program and will be picking up a fourth this afternoon. We will try to set a day / time to get to KY to pull 3 or 4 more dogs off the euthanasia lines and bring them back as well, pending Alvin's adoption.
For us, this has truly been a wonderful month and we're feeling so blessed! We've had many more calls that usual and our website is seeing a tremendous amount of traffic. We're sure this is in thanks to the Petco adoption events. Being so far in the middle of nowhere like we are, our pets just weren't getting seen. We're beyond grateful to both Petco and especially to AARF in Cookeville for helping us get set up with these events.
Neutered 2 dogs
Spayed one cat
Provided food for over 15 families
Provided annual vaccinations for over 10 families
Completed one rabies clinic with a second to be scheduled soon
We've adopted Star, Barney, and Roscoe and have pending approvals for Jack and Goober. We've accepted 3 dogs into our program and will be picking up a fourth this afternoon. We will try to set a day / time to get to KY to pull 3 or 4 more dogs off the euthanasia lines and bring them back as well, pending Alvin's adoption.
For us, this has truly been a wonderful month and we're feeling so blessed! We've had many more calls that usual and our website is seeing a tremendous amount of traffic. We're sure this is in thanks to the Petco adoption events. Being so far in the middle of nowhere like we are, our pets just weren't getting seen. We're beyond grateful to both Petco and especially to AARF in Cookeville for helping us get set up with these events.
What a wonderful life!
This has just been the most incredible week ever!
So, Friday started with me covered in goat poo. That's always a good way to start the day. I got ready to start the day - dropping a dog off for a neuter, picking up the newfie and chickens, etc but had to take care of the goats meds before anything else. I got lazy and held the them wrong and one poo'd right down my side. Gah! So I had to re-shower and change before I could do anything else.
I ran to the Carthage area to get the chickens and the newfie and wound up lost three times. Nothing unusual for me. Finally got there and thougth a bear had gotten stuck in the dog pen for a minute. Um, no, that's just a freaking massive brown newfie!! Holy crud! If that boy ever loses his tail for any reason people will mistake him for a bear, right down to the way he walks!
I decided to get chickens first thinking I'd just grab them and toss them in the crates before having to wrestle what is easily a 150+ pound dog. Well, that didn't really go as planned either. The farm has multiple out buildings and I was there alone. It took a while to find the right building the chickens were in. Now, when I had chickens they were extremely tame and when I went in their pen they came right to me. I'd sit in a chair and be covered with 21 chickens sitting on me. Being born and raised on a very tiny island, I'd never had experience with chickens other than my own. Allow me to let everyone know now, my chickens were unusual. Most don't like sitting on you or letting you hold them. I found this out the hard way. 20 minutes of being outsmarted at every turn by a hen house full of flapping screaming chickens, I'd caught one that had shredded my arm. Hmmmm..... Might need to re-think my strategy! I quickly realized that I alone could not catch these chickens. I gave in and decided to tackle the dog.
I approached the kennel and realized he's probably about my weight, maybe a bit more. His head is double the size of mine at least. Just a massive dog. All I could think was 'please be nice, please be nice, please be nice, please don't eat me'. That wasn't a problem at all. As long as you were there to pay attention to him he was all about the love! I opened his pen thinking 'please have a collar' only to quickly realize he didn't. I didn't know if he's a runner so I had to be extra careful he didn't escape and run off. I looped the leash around him and he came right out, happy as could be! I walked him to the Explorer at which time I realized rides are not his favorite thing. Ok, no problem. I can just pick him up and put him in. We're fine. But as soon as I tried, little 8 pound Barney in the front seat decided to let him know immediately he was not getting in his vehicle!
So here I stand with a 150+ pound dog butt in my arms trying to push him in the SUV while the 8 pound chihuahua in the front seat is scaring him and he's trying to push his way back out toward me. Oh, if only someone had a video camera, we'd be rich right now. It had to have been comical. I did manage to settle Barney down and get Jack loaded up and off we went as fast as humanly possible to meet Barney's moms.
Barney got to meet his new moms soon after and wasn't too sure at first. He's not trusting of strangers right off the bat, and I'm sure because things had been so crazy he was feeling a bit frazzled himself. But as soon as Phyllis picked him up and Kim started petting him you could see him relax immediately. They've got a gift with animals and Barney is headed to his new home with them in Kentucky to live with his very extended doggie and kitty family!! While we will miss him so much (he's a fabulous snuggler) we know he's now in two incredible ladies' hands and they will love him more than anyone else ever could.
Once Barney was settled we headed back to Cookeville to get Roscoe from the clinic and realized we were a bit late. I'd hoped to make it up on the drive, but found I-440 closed. Gah!!! Why today, why me? In a panic, knowing I'd never make it on time, I started calling the other rescues I know to see if anyone could grab him for me and hold him for about 30 minutes. Everyone has a life outside of rescue - who knew? LOL As a last resort I called the clinic to see if they knew of anyone that can hold for them until I get there and was so grateful that Terry offered to hold him for me. She met me right at the interstate with him which was an unbelievable help for me!
So we got him home and settled, settled in the 'big dude' and hit the e-mail account. I sent an e-mail to a rescue that's familiar with the breed and said he must have been very poorly bred as he's brown and gold. Don't get me wrong; he's probably one of the most gorgeous dogs I've ever seen in my life!!! But Newfies are black and he's most definitely not black. She said he's actually very much pure bred Newf, but is a rare brown newfie. Not many of them out there and some people go far and wide to find them. Wow! You learn something new every day!
We sent photos and info to the people who have asked for information. To that point we'd had one application for him that had been approved, pending a home visit. They are still interested and the visit is planned (tentatively) for Thursday. We had another application last night when I got home so we'll check that tomorrow and see what happens Thursday. However, if the visit doesn't go well, his second option is the rescue that's been helping us. They'd offered to take him in but have fallen in love with the big guy and asked to adopt him. Thursday will tell us where he will go! Either way, he's going to be a very lucky guy!
The two goats are finally getting better. The one will probably be blind all his life, but he's learning his way around their acre pen very quickly, and even knows where their 'room' is and where his bed and food and water are in the room. He's navigating steps and sidewalks just fine. The injured goat has rallied quickly and even was walking at a rather quick pace last night when he saw us come out for his evening penicilin injection. Giving them those injections, while we know it saves their lives, is heart breaking. If you've never heard a baby goat cry you'd be surprised. They sound so much like a two year old child crying it's shocking. Once they get them though they get extra yummy treats like carrots and apples and lots of love and petting. We're just thrilled to see them both doing so much better.
The little kittens we took in are doing great as well. They are very eager eaters and strong little fighters, a very good sign. We had to take them to the adoption event with us yesterday as there was no one at home that would be able to care for them. The little calico girl managed to get out of her blankets, out of the container they are in, and out of the kennel and was snuggled up with Star, our foster dog. And Star was thrilled, curled around her to keep her warm. Animals are just incredible!
Speaking of the adoption event, it was out best yet! Star got a home and family all to herself!! A wonderful woman asked about her and we told her she has to go to a home with children. She said she lives by her daughter and her granddaughters are there all the time. They walked her around and she just adored the children. We just couldn't say no! By the time they left she was so happy with them she didn't even look back as she walked out the door. It's a good thing; she didn't have to see our happy tears. Congratulations and huge thank you to the Allen family in Murfreesboro for giving her a home! We love you Star and will miss you, but we know you're in absolute heaven with kids to call your own again!
We have applications pending right now for Alvin and the Golden Retreiver we accepted in our program, Murphy. We'll be working on those this week and hope to have them in their new homes soon too.
In the meantime, we all sit and eagerly await the return of our newly engaged adoptions coordinator!!!! Yay!!!!!!! She had a very romantic proposal on the beach while she was in Florida this week. The e-mail we got of the entire account was so sweet and so romantic it had me in tears! I couldn't be happier for them. Who knows, maybe this time next year we'll have little Adoption Coordinator in Training feet at our adoption events!
So, Friday started with me covered in goat poo. That's always a good way to start the day. I got ready to start the day - dropping a dog off for a neuter, picking up the newfie and chickens, etc but had to take care of the goats meds before anything else. I got lazy and held the them wrong and one poo'd right down my side. Gah! So I had to re-shower and change before I could do anything else.
I ran to the Carthage area to get the chickens and the newfie and wound up lost three times. Nothing unusual for me. Finally got there and thougth a bear had gotten stuck in the dog pen for a minute. Um, no, that's just a freaking massive brown newfie!! Holy crud! If that boy ever loses his tail for any reason people will mistake him for a bear, right down to the way he walks!
I decided to get chickens first thinking I'd just grab them and toss them in the crates before having to wrestle what is easily a 150+ pound dog. Well, that didn't really go as planned either. The farm has multiple out buildings and I was there alone. It took a while to find the right building the chickens were in. Now, when I had chickens they were extremely tame and when I went in their pen they came right to me. I'd sit in a chair and be covered with 21 chickens sitting on me. Being born and raised on a very tiny island, I'd never had experience with chickens other than my own. Allow me to let everyone know now, my chickens were unusual. Most don't like sitting on you or letting you hold them. I found this out the hard way. 20 minutes of being outsmarted at every turn by a hen house full of flapping screaming chickens, I'd caught one that had shredded my arm. Hmmmm..... Might need to re-think my strategy! I quickly realized that I alone could not catch these chickens. I gave in and decided to tackle the dog.
I approached the kennel and realized he's probably about my weight, maybe a bit more. His head is double the size of mine at least. Just a massive dog. All I could think was 'please be nice, please be nice, please be nice, please don't eat me'. That wasn't a problem at all. As long as you were there to pay attention to him he was all about the love! I opened his pen thinking 'please have a collar' only to quickly realize he didn't. I didn't know if he's a runner so I had to be extra careful he didn't escape and run off. I looped the leash around him and he came right out, happy as could be! I walked him to the Explorer at which time I realized rides are not his favorite thing. Ok, no problem. I can just pick him up and put him in. We're fine. But as soon as I tried, little 8 pound Barney in the front seat decided to let him know immediately he was not getting in his vehicle!
So here I stand with a 150+ pound dog butt in my arms trying to push him in the SUV while the 8 pound chihuahua in the front seat is scaring him and he's trying to push his way back out toward me. Oh, if only someone had a video camera, we'd be rich right now. It had to have been comical. I did manage to settle Barney down and get Jack loaded up and off we went as fast as humanly possible to meet Barney's moms.
Barney got to meet his new moms soon after and wasn't too sure at first. He's not trusting of strangers right off the bat, and I'm sure because things had been so crazy he was feeling a bit frazzled himself. But as soon as Phyllis picked him up and Kim started petting him you could see him relax immediately. They've got a gift with animals and Barney is headed to his new home with them in Kentucky to live with his very extended doggie and kitty family!! While we will miss him so much (he's a fabulous snuggler) we know he's now in two incredible ladies' hands and they will love him more than anyone else ever could.
Once Barney was settled we headed back to Cookeville to get Roscoe from the clinic and realized we were a bit late. I'd hoped to make it up on the drive, but found I-440 closed. Gah!!! Why today, why me? In a panic, knowing I'd never make it on time, I started calling the other rescues I know to see if anyone could grab him for me and hold him for about 30 minutes. Everyone has a life outside of rescue - who knew? LOL As a last resort I called the clinic to see if they knew of anyone that can hold for them until I get there and was so grateful that Terry offered to hold him for me. She met me right at the interstate with him which was an unbelievable help for me!
So we got him home and settled, settled in the 'big dude' and hit the e-mail account. I sent an e-mail to a rescue that's familiar with the breed and said he must have been very poorly bred as he's brown and gold. Don't get me wrong; he's probably one of the most gorgeous dogs I've ever seen in my life!!! But Newfies are black and he's most definitely not black. She said he's actually very much pure bred Newf, but is a rare brown newfie. Not many of them out there and some people go far and wide to find them. Wow! You learn something new every day!
We sent photos and info to the people who have asked for information. To that point we'd had one application for him that had been approved, pending a home visit. They are still interested and the visit is planned (tentatively) for Thursday. We had another application last night when I got home so we'll check that tomorrow and see what happens Thursday. However, if the visit doesn't go well, his second option is the rescue that's been helping us. They'd offered to take him in but have fallen in love with the big guy and asked to adopt him. Thursday will tell us where he will go! Either way, he's going to be a very lucky guy!
The two goats are finally getting better. The one will probably be blind all his life, but he's learning his way around their acre pen very quickly, and even knows where their 'room' is and where his bed and food and water are in the room. He's navigating steps and sidewalks just fine. The injured goat has rallied quickly and even was walking at a rather quick pace last night when he saw us come out for his evening penicilin injection. Giving them those injections, while we know it saves their lives, is heart breaking. If you've never heard a baby goat cry you'd be surprised. They sound so much like a two year old child crying it's shocking. Once they get them though they get extra yummy treats like carrots and apples and lots of love and petting. We're just thrilled to see them both doing so much better.
The little kittens we took in are doing great as well. They are very eager eaters and strong little fighters, a very good sign. We had to take them to the adoption event with us yesterday as there was no one at home that would be able to care for them. The little calico girl managed to get out of her blankets, out of the container they are in, and out of the kennel and was snuggled up with Star, our foster dog. And Star was thrilled, curled around her to keep her warm. Animals are just incredible!
Speaking of the adoption event, it was out best yet! Star got a home and family all to herself!! A wonderful woman asked about her and we told her she has to go to a home with children. She said she lives by her daughter and her granddaughters are there all the time. They walked her around and she just adored the children. We just couldn't say no! By the time they left she was so happy with them she didn't even look back as she walked out the door. It's a good thing; she didn't have to see our happy tears. Congratulations and huge thank you to the Allen family in Murfreesboro for giving her a home! We love you Star and will miss you, but we know you're in absolute heaven with kids to call your own again!
We have applications pending right now for Alvin and the Golden Retreiver we accepted in our program, Murphy. We'll be working on those this week and hope to have them in their new homes soon too.
In the meantime, we all sit and eagerly await the return of our newly engaged adoptions coordinator!!!! Yay!!!!!!! She had a very romantic proposal on the beach while she was in Florida this week. The e-mail we got of the entire account was so sweet and so romantic it had me in tears! I couldn't be happier for them. Who knows, maybe this time next year we'll have little Adoption Coordinator in Training feet at our adoption events!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Things can get crazy fast
We never had time to update after last week's adoption event. It went great! We had so many people come in and got to meet several new people involved in animal welfare of different types. We had a new volunteer join us, Robin, and we're so grateful! She asked some wonderful questions, helped walk dogs, set up and break down crates - she was an absolute blessing!! No adoptions again, but we're still optimistic. We handed out a lot of business cards and people seemed truly interested, but most of all some of the dogs got out of the house and had fun so it was still a good day.
Then the week rolled around and good grief have we been hopping!! The two goats we brought home have been sick. One has a respiratory infection so he's been on medications. The other has a laceration that's being treated as well. We've been treating them both twice a day and feeding the injured one and keeping him comfy while he heals.
We've also been trying to find placement for a dog who's family was in an abuse situation. The mom and boys were in a special home while the domestic violence case was going on. They were told that they could not keep their dog there. It just rips my heart out that a family has had to deal with violence, separation and now they have to lose their dog as well. During stressful or emotional times, a pet can be a huge help for people. That the county will tell her she must give him up - that he and his kids will be separated - just kills me. It's so cold and unfair. I went yesterday afternoon to pick him up and it was torture. You could tell mom was trying so hard to be strong for her two boys, but her eyes were red and puffy and I knew she'd been crying an awful lot. The two boys were a mess. They just sobbed and bawled over losing their dog. Their dog was scared as well, knowing something wasn't right but not able to understand what was going on. It broke my heart filling out that paperwork for her and taking him away. The poor guy got in the back of our car terrified, trembling, wondering what he'd done wrong to be taken from his family. I drove away in tears for all of them.
The good news is he had a home visit that night with a wonderful couple in Nashville. While he was scared, he did great. By the time we left he'd totally loosened up and was playing and being a silly little puppy. They decided they wanted to think about the adoption and talk some before making a decision. The wife has a 15 year old cat that's not used to dogs and they were very worried about how it would work out. The dog had obviously not been around cats either and was afraid of her, barked a couple times out of fear. The good news is that when we got him home he was greeted at our door by three of our cats and even gave one a kiss. He's obviously not cat aggressive and was only reacting to the cat's fear. So I have no doubt that given time they'll be just fine together.
I checked e-mail this morning and found one from them, confirming they want to adopt him! He goes for his vetting tomorrow morning and to his new home on Sunday. He has been about the fastest adoption we've ever had and he deserves it. A complete and total sweetheart and we're thrilled for them!
We also got an application for Barney, one of the four chihuahuas pulled from Jessamine County SAVE Center in Nicholasville, KY. It was approved and his new moms will be meeting us in Nashville tomorrow to pick him up. We couldn't be happier! They also told a lady that works at the shelter they volunteer at about him and she's interested in Goober. We sure hope to see an application. Goober is special needs with his small hips and unsteady gait and it sounds like this would be a great home for him. Our fingers are crossed!
This evening we go pick up a Newfoundland and about 20 chickens that are being surrendered. A co-worker has lost his home and can't keep them. We have a home visit set up for him tomorrow as well, so we'll have a busy day again tomorrow! Vet in the morning, run home to bathe the Newfie, take him and Barney to Nashville for his home visit and to drop Barney to his new parents. We do love this kind of busy though!
Another co-worker's wife called us yesterday about a stray cat that had kittens on the side of their house. It had them the night before (April 13th) and they found them yesterday afternoon. Sadly one of the kittens she had was only a partial body. The mom wasn't doing well at all and we were afraid she still had the remainder of the body inside. She rushed her to several local vets asking them to help her, but none would do anything without at least $500 up front, money they just don't have. As the evening wore on and she continued to beg a vet to help her, it became obvious she wasn't going to survive. Ultimately they had to make the painful decision to euthanize her and put her out of the pain she was in. Her three surviving kittens are at our home now being bottle fed. We're lucky that our 18 year old daughter is out of school this week and is able to care for them while I work. Next week is going to be very interesting when she returns though. We're actively seeking a volunteer with day old kitten bottle feeding experience in our area that can take over for us for a couple weeks. Of them, it looks like we have 3 orange boys and a calico girl. The family that found them will be adopting the calico so if they all make it through bottle feeding we will have two orange boys up for adoption in two months!
Lastly, our adoptions coordinator is on vacation this week. We've been totally lost without her!! She's kept in constant contact with us via text messages though and is having a wonderful time on her much needed and much deserved Florida vacation. As we speak, she is swimming with dolphins! Have a good time Laura - we miss you, as I know your fur kids do too!!
Then the week rolled around and good grief have we been hopping!! The two goats we brought home have been sick. One has a respiratory infection so he's been on medications. The other has a laceration that's being treated as well. We've been treating them both twice a day and feeding the injured one and keeping him comfy while he heals.
We've also been trying to find placement for a dog who's family was in an abuse situation. The mom and boys were in a special home while the domestic violence case was going on. They were told that they could not keep their dog there. It just rips my heart out that a family has had to deal with violence, separation and now they have to lose their dog as well. During stressful or emotional times, a pet can be a huge help for people. That the county will tell her she must give him up - that he and his kids will be separated - just kills me. It's so cold and unfair. I went yesterday afternoon to pick him up and it was torture. You could tell mom was trying so hard to be strong for her two boys, but her eyes were red and puffy and I knew she'd been crying an awful lot. The two boys were a mess. They just sobbed and bawled over losing their dog. Their dog was scared as well, knowing something wasn't right but not able to understand what was going on. It broke my heart filling out that paperwork for her and taking him away. The poor guy got in the back of our car terrified, trembling, wondering what he'd done wrong to be taken from his family. I drove away in tears for all of them.
The good news is he had a home visit that night with a wonderful couple in Nashville. While he was scared, he did great. By the time we left he'd totally loosened up and was playing and being a silly little puppy. They decided they wanted to think about the adoption and talk some before making a decision. The wife has a 15 year old cat that's not used to dogs and they were very worried about how it would work out. The dog had obviously not been around cats either and was afraid of her, barked a couple times out of fear. The good news is that when we got him home he was greeted at our door by three of our cats and even gave one a kiss. He's obviously not cat aggressive and was only reacting to the cat's fear. So I have no doubt that given time they'll be just fine together.
I checked e-mail this morning and found one from them, confirming they want to adopt him! He goes for his vetting tomorrow morning and to his new home on Sunday. He has been about the fastest adoption we've ever had and he deserves it. A complete and total sweetheart and we're thrilled for them!
We also got an application for Barney, one of the four chihuahuas pulled from Jessamine County SAVE Center in Nicholasville, KY. It was approved and his new moms will be meeting us in Nashville tomorrow to pick him up. We couldn't be happier! They also told a lady that works at the shelter they volunteer at about him and she's interested in Goober. We sure hope to see an application. Goober is special needs with his small hips and unsteady gait and it sounds like this would be a great home for him. Our fingers are crossed!
This evening we go pick up a Newfoundland and about 20 chickens that are being surrendered. A co-worker has lost his home and can't keep them. We have a home visit set up for him tomorrow as well, so we'll have a busy day again tomorrow! Vet in the morning, run home to bathe the Newfie, take him and Barney to Nashville for his home visit and to drop Barney to his new parents. We do love this kind of busy though!
Another co-worker's wife called us yesterday about a stray cat that had kittens on the side of their house. It had them the night before (April 13th) and they found them yesterday afternoon. Sadly one of the kittens she had was only a partial body. The mom wasn't doing well at all and we were afraid she still had the remainder of the body inside. She rushed her to several local vets asking them to help her, but none would do anything without at least $500 up front, money they just don't have. As the evening wore on and she continued to beg a vet to help her, it became obvious she wasn't going to survive. Ultimately they had to make the painful decision to euthanize her and put her out of the pain she was in. Her three surviving kittens are at our home now being bottle fed. We're lucky that our 18 year old daughter is out of school this week and is able to care for them while I work. Next week is going to be very interesting when she returns though. We're actively seeking a volunteer with day old kitten bottle feeding experience in our area that can take over for us for a couple weeks. Of them, it looks like we have 3 orange boys and a calico girl. The family that found them will be adopting the calico so if they all make it through bottle feeding we will have two orange boys up for adoption in two months!
Lastly, our adoptions coordinator is on vacation this week. We've been totally lost without her!! She's kept in constant contact with us via text messages though and is having a wonderful time on her much needed and much deserved Florida vacation. As we speak, she is swimming with dolphins! Have a good time Laura - we miss you, as I know your fur kids do too!!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
A delivery from the Easter Bunny!
Aside from the rescue / foster pets we have, we've also got our own personal pets, including some exotics. As John was watching them all playing happily in the back yard with the dogs on Easter he mentioned that the grass wasn't being eaten nearly fast enough. Our back yard is fenced for the dogs to safely play in and to ensure we didn't have someone open a gate we didn't install one. This keeps their yard completely safe and secure. It also makes it very difficult to get a lawn mower into!
Some of our exotic pets are grass grazers but they just aren't keeping up this year. John made the mistake of mentioning that a goat would be quite helpful. He's been promising me a goat for seven years. Now, that's just a mean thing to tease about!
Well, he decided he was serious. We needed a goat. I hit the internet and found a pair of 11 week old pygmy goats an hour from us. We went intending to bring home only one, but we couldn't bear to break up the two. They were brothers and quite bonded.
So among our menagerie out back we now have two very tiny little pygmy goats. For the most part most of the dogs ignored them. A couple of the mommas wanted to mother them and spooked them. I"m sure it's going to take them a few days to settle in and relax. A couple dogs thought they wanted to play since they were running. It's taken us a few days of getting the dogs to understand the goats do not want to play! Keep in mind, these are the dogs that welcomed a wild skunk into our yard as if it were one of them. To say they are social dogs is pretty understated!
Updated and photos will follow! Keep an eye out!
Some of our exotic pets are grass grazers but they just aren't keeping up this year. John made the mistake of mentioning that a goat would be quite helpful. He's been promising me a goat for seven years. Now, that's just a mean thing to tease about!
Well, he decided he was serious. We needed a goat. I hit the internet and found a pair of 11 week old pygmy goats an hour from us. We went intending to bring home only one, but we couldn't bear to break up the two. They were brothers and quite bonded.
So among our menagerie out back we now have two very tiny little pygmy goats. For the most part most of the dogs ignored them. A couple of the mommas wanted to mother them and spooked them. I"m sure it's going to take them a few days to settle in and relax. A couple dogs thought they wanted to play since they were running. It's taken us a few days of getting the dogs to understand the goats do not want to play! Keep in mind, these are the dogs that welcomed a wild skunk into our yard as if it were one of them. To say they are social dogs is pretty understated!
Updated and photos will follow! Keep an eye out!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Easter Adoption Event
Happy early Easter to our followers!!
We had our second adoption event today. We arrived to find a greyhound rescue all set up with some wonderful, very sweet greyhounds also looking for homes. Susan, one of our foster mommies has wanted a greyhound for ages and was just ga-ga over them!
We also had Laura, our adoptions coordinator and Bridgette, another of our foster mommies meet us there. Susan brought her granddaughter along and she was a huge help, walking and loving on the dogs!
We had a person volunteer to help us out on adoptions days that came by to meet us. She and her husband have been helping with transports, another phenomenal way to help homeless pets if you don't have room or time for fostering. She will be stopping by next weekend and we're very excited.
On this trip we brought along Randy, Star, Lucky, and Andy and Barney again. Gracie stayed home but Bridgette brought along Alvin, the dog she's been fostering since last fall. Alvin is what I call a Kentucky Brown Dog. We think he's got some beagle and cattle dog in him, but we're not sure what else is in the mix. We've pulled more than half a dozen dogs exactly like him from the same shelter in Kentucky.
We had a lot of interest in Randy and Star again and I was so hopeful that tonight they'd finally be able to spend the night in their own bed, their own home, with their own family, but it just wasn't meant to be.
A lot of people thought the others were all cute and they were taken out and walked and played with quite a bit, but an adoption was not meant to be had today.
We did have a wonderful man come in and donate a large bag of dog food and a large bag of cat food and leave his phone number for us in case we ever needed anything else. He said he'd love to have a dog but his schedule just won't allow it right now so this is his way of helping. What a wonderful guy!!
We're back home and all the dogs are once again settled back in to their places. Dinner has been served, everyone has had a walk. The little dogs are all ready to be put in bed for night-time. The big dogs have found their beds and special places they like to sleep. Mornings always come pretty early for us, so we'll be getting ready to turn the lights out soon. We'll dream that at least a couple fur kids can find their forever homes this week so we can go save some more from the euthanasia lines at the shelters.
We'll be back at the Petco in Murfreesboro in The Avenue shopping plaza next Saturday from 11 through 4. We're bringing along some new dogs next week of all goes well. We've got all sizes and breeds, colors and ages. Stop in and see us!
We had our second adoption event today. We arrived to find a greyhound rescue all set up with some wonderful, very sweet greyhounds also looking for homes. Susan, one of our foster mommies has wanted a greyhound for ages and was just ga-ga over them!
We also had Laura, our adoptions coordinator and Bridgette, another of our foster mommies meet us there. Susan brought her granddaughter along and she was a huge help, walking and loving on the dogs!
We had a person volunteer to help us out on adoptions days that came by to meet us. She and her husband have been helping with transports, another phenomenal way to help homeless pets if you don't have room or time for fostering. She will be stopping by next weekend and we're very excited.
On this trip we brought along Randy, Star, Lucky, and Andy and Barney again. Gracie stayed home but Bridgette brought along Alvin, the dog she's been fostering since last fall. Alvin is what I call a Kentucky Brown Dog. We think he's got some beagle and cattle dog in him, but we're not sure what else is in the mix. We've pulled more than half a dozen dogs exactly like him from the same shelter in Kentucky.
We had a lot of interest in Randy and Star again and I was so hopeful that tonight they'd finally be able to spend the night in their own bed, their own home, with their own family, but it just wasn't meant to be.
A lot of people thought the others were all cute and they were taken out and walked and played with quite a bit, but an adoption was not meant to be had today.
We did have a wonderful man come in and donate a large bag of dog food and a large bag of cat food and leave his phone number for us in case we ever needed anything else. He said he'd love to have a dog but his schedule just won't allow it right now so this is his way of helping. What a wonderful guy!!
We're back home and all the dogs are once again settled back in to their places. Dinner has been served, everyone has had a walk. The little dogs are all ready to be put in bed for night-time. The big dogs have found their beds and special places they like to sleep. Mornings always come pretty early for us, so we'll be getting ready to turn the lights out soon. We'll dream that at least a couple fur kids can find their forever homes this week so we can go save some more from the euthanasia lines at the shelters.
We'll be back at the Petco in Murfreesboro in The Avenue shopping plaza next Saturday from 11 through 4. We're bringing along some new dogs next week of all goes well. We've got all sizes and breeds, colors and ages. Stop in and see us!
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