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A super cute poodle who’s visually impaired

August 23, 2011
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After trying for more than a month to find a foster home for April, the visually impaired miniature poodle, we finally got that little girl out of the shelter and into a foster home! Thank you Lisa and Chris!

Here’s April on her first day out:

April was quiet and calm on the ride home from the shelter. She settled right in to the passenger seat. We walked her around the yard and she strolled along just fine. Once we came into the house, she climbed up into my lap on the sofa and put her head in my lap…within a minute, she was sawing logs…

Trailer has emerged!

August 21, 2011
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You may remember the story from back in March, 2011, of the amazing cat who came across the country from the east coast in a furniture trailer without any food or water for a total of 26 days. Since the temperatures on the east coast at the time were below zero and they were buried in 10′ of snow drifts, we figured the cat must have gone into the trailer for shelter. Once trapped inside, he probably lived on the condensation from the ice on the walls of the trailer as it melted. Here are his pics from the vet clinic while he received fluids:

What we decided from his first vet visit, was that Trailer (then called Transit) was an approximately two year old cat who was FIV+ and probably feral (he did not want to be handled at all!)

For the first few months, Trailer tried hard not to be noticed. I could tell he would come out at night because he used the box and the scratching post and sat on the window perch I made for him, and of course, he ate all his meals, but any time I went in the room, he would hide and bury his face so he could be ‘invisible’.

Finally about a month ago I moved him into the room with Houdini, the deaf, blind, FIV+ cat I had inherited from our late volunteer Sandi when she passed away. He promptly moved under the bed and I didn’t see him for weeks.

But then…Houdini, the most mellow, sweet, senior cat in the world (see prior post to learn about Houdini the amazing survivor), worked his magic on Trailer and the results were amazing! Trailer now comes right out when I bring food in the room. He still doesn’t allow me to approach him, but he’ll stand just a few feet away from me to eat. HUGE progress! I had always suspected that Trailer might also be blind, but couldn’t ever see him long enough to be sure. I have confirmed that much now. Two blind, FIV+ cats are now residing together. Amazing!

Here they are together. Remember, Houdini was also shot in the face and much of his jaw was blown off.

I haven’t caught it in a picture yet, but the two of them hang out on the bed together. I’ll try get a pic of that, too. It makes me feel so good that they have each other and get along so well…

Butters: Doggie Fat Camp Champion!

August 19, 2011
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On April 14th, 2011, we rescued a Yellow Lab from Washington County who came in as a stray and weighed 142lbs. Yes, Butters, as he was named, wasn’t a dog, he was a house! He had probably lived outside in a yard and free fed…all day long. THE POOR GUY! Butters could hardly stay on his feet and had to lay down just to eat. Obviously, no one was going to adopt this giant dog who could hardly move. We wanted to fix that for him!

To top it all off, Butters was missing large patches of hair and was greasy and smelly. It took three of us just to load him up in the car. He was actually slippery!

Here’s a top view of some of his patches of missing fur.  We had blood work done and Dr Mark checked his vital organ function. Everything looked good, so his diet began!

At the ranch, Butters wanted desperately to play with the other dogs, but he had to lay down and wrestle with them on the ground.

There’s not much movement going on here…

This is a video of Butters about half way through his diet when he realized he could actually run!

And a mere four months after we started his diet and fed him measured portions of food and vegetables that Shannon and Bill were vigilant about sticking to, Butters weighed in today at 89lbs! He has lost 53lbs! He has basically lost another large sized dog worth of weight! All of his fur has grown back in and his skin cleared up from eating a good quality diet.

He’s a dog again! At approximately three years old, Butters can run again!

Butters is a happy boy! He may not be super bright, but he’s super sweet…

And he can jump into the car by himself now. Look at his smile!

So lets see that again. Here’s a pic of Butters today, sporting a waistline,

And here’s Butters four months ago!

Wow! What a champ! And another miracle…

Miss Marlena had her surgery yesterday.

August 18, 2011
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Poor little Marlena. She’s in a lot of pain today but she’s been laying in the sun, hopped up on pain meds. Yesterday Marlena had an FHO surgery to repair her mangled hip. Everyone at the clinic adored her, and no surprise! Marlena is the sweetest girl with the best personality, but she could never use her right rear leg. She ran as fast as she could on three legs, but it just isn’t quite the same when you want to play with all your doggie friends. In a few weeks, Marlena will be able to use all four legs without pain for the first time in her short year of life. Hurray! We’re so glad to be able to do that for her!

Here she is sunning in the yard. Her spirits are good and she still wags her tail the minute you talk to her. Sweet girl…

Reuben: Blind and soooo entertaining!


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First, Reuben may be blind, but he is VERY brave. He’s 4 lbs of utterly fearless monkey! He climbs into the toy box and up on to the ottoman, then climbs on to the chair and walks across to the arm of the chair and sits, just as if he’s a little Egyptian statue. He does this every day! I know he knows how high he’s climbed because he hangs his head over the edge as if to verify that he’s definitely up in the air…

He has also decided there are specific toys he likes to play with. He climbs up in the toy box and then digs down to the bottom just to pick out the ones he wants (see pic below). Once he has a toy that suits his taste, he throws it around and shakes it as hard as he can. Some traits are just consistent in puppies no matter what. :o )

When we go outside to go potty, he bounces through the grass just like a jack rabbit. He rolls in the grass and sun bathes, and sniffs, and sniffs and sniffs. When I call him, he runs back to my legs and spins in circles crashing into my legs over and over. He thinks it’s fun!

Don’t let this super mellow pose fool you. It took awhile to get him to stop moving long enough to take this pic!

Dog Wash Fundraiser…lots of soapy, sudsy fun, and some reunions, too!

August 15, 2011
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Thanks to everyone who came out to volunteer or bring your dog to our annual dog wash fundraiser. It was a great day!

We washed 76 dogs. And our terrific volunteer vet techs trimmed toenails on even more!


We got Hakuna back out of the shelter…again…and he needed a bath and a nail trim!

Benny and Kristen’s reunion!


Benny gets a bath

Benny, shiny new penny!

Sasha got the royal treatment. She’s been coming to our dog washes since the beginning and she’s seventeen years old!

The Scrub Tub!Zarynn grew up!

Reuben. A “special” puppy who’s cute, cute, cute!


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This is Reuben.

Reuben is about 12-14 weeks old and he’s a cute little Chihuahua, almost positively mixed with a Double Dapple Doxie. Wanna know how we know? Cuz he’s BLIND! Only a rotten, greedy, selfish breeder would be trying to breed a blue eyed Chihuahua knowing they’re going to breed blind or deaf (and sometimes blind AND deaf) puppies. Aaaaarrrrgghhh!!!

Reuben is playful and sweet, but he’ll need to live in a home that can keep him safe because he has absolutely no idea how to protect himself. Does it slow him down?? No way! If you give Reuben a toy, he’ll throw it up in the air and pounce…next to it. Then he’ll pounce again…on the other side of it (where in the hell did that toy go?) Then he’ll pounce again…and he’s got it…and he’s off! SO CUTE!

He loves to lay on his back and cradle in your arms. Here’s his adorable little toes while snoozing at the dog wash event yesterday…