I recently rescued an 11+ year old newfie/chow mix from our pound. His name is Old Max. He has been to the vet, who said he passes inspection and after treatment for kennel cough, will join Story (my 14 year old newfie girl) and myself in the house. (He is in quarantine at my house for now.) I have watched this old man go from total depression to doing the puppy play position with Story! He lost his missus when she died and the out of state daughter sent him to the pound. No wonder he was depressed. He is a happy little camper and yes, by god, if he does get along with Story in the house, he will live out his days with us.

I am setting up a portion of my property to be used as a foster program for our country pound. I SO loved fostering Max, that I do want to keep doing it. I already volunteer at the cat shelter where I got my one eyed limping kitty, Mr Smitty.

As for the Schnauzer, I think she needs more time to observe you and the pack. She has only been with you a few days, right? When I got Story, who was a kennel dog all her life, she had no idea what to do in the house. I got her when she was 7, so overnite, she lost her home and her pack and was thrown into a family setting. She shut down. She wanted to stay in a corner, away from people and the other dog. She needed time to process and watch. In time, she started coming out of the corner. (Just IMHO)

Thank you all for your responses. I know that time and patience are key, as well as the walks. We leash them all up and off down the road we go! Our neighbors all think we are crazy anyway - we live in an area where pets aren't valued the same as Jess and I do. We experience a lot of "disposable" attitudes. They aren't bad people, but dogs, especially large ones, are often "outside" dogs and we are the only ones who actually walk our dogs. Most people open the door and let them run willy nilly. Makes me nuts.

I am happy to report that Jess says that Sookie has willingly come out of the crate and sat patiently by the door for her leash and has come for affection! (I travel for work 3 days per week). I can't wait to get home tomorrow to see where we are...

saw a kitten on the street the last couple days. we caught her tonite cause some kids said they wanted her. of course dad said no. So now there's a kitten in the spare room for the nite. She goes to a shelter tomorrow unless we find a home asap.

7 weeks old about. But we have 6 including the one we found and kept a few weeks ago. no more room at the inn. I'm tormented. I may need to learn to just walk past them but its so hard.

nyc/brooklyn - come and get her!

here to support turasultana- it can be done!
 

Thanks Volaine!

I live in kensington brooklyn so I'll def. call kensington kitties. Maybe if I give them a donation they can get the kitten a foster home.

boar impaction- perineal sac cleaning-
 

Glad to report that I found two different foster places willing to take the kitten! So depending on who I hear back from when, she either goes to a foster group in brooklyn today, or one in manhattan on Sat.

She's gotten over her fear of humans - this morning she wanted her belly rubbed and to be picked up and cuddled so she should be totally adoptable. I was worried she might be feral, but luckily she's just young enough to still be socialized. She's very cute. :)

We trapped one more feral yesterday. That makes three this week! One came back yesterday and two come back tomorrow. The kitten I am taking to my vet today for his shots etc... After his check up today I will make an appointment for him to be neutered as well. His name is Zachary and he gets along well with my cat so I am adopting him.

Want to give a shout out to:
Brooklyn Animal Foster Network
http://brooklynanimalfosternetwork.org

They not only took in the kitten that I found. They are also supporting Brooklyn Pride with a table (Stray Pride!). AND they're having a benefit at Ginger's in July (dyke bar).

They even have Stray Pride T-shirts for sale on their site! I want one. :)

I am so glad to share that Sookie is coming right out of her shell. Yesterday, we saw a new side of her as she showed us her butt wiggle dance after a day spent being SO social that every time we turned around, her big ole wet nose was by your hand waiting for a pat.

We still haven't heard her make a sound but I think its coming.

Its really nifty to watch her progress and just makes my heart full.

My guy Sherman has come out of his shell a lot. It's been exactly a week today since I pulled him from the shelter. This morning he tentatively came down the hallway to my office. It's the first time since I picked him up. He's following my dogs' lead, so they've taught him to scratch the back door to get me to open it. He's a thief, but he doesn't tear stuff up. I've found a glove, a wooden spoon, a sports bra, a shoe, a bike bag and I can't even remember what else out in the yard. Just sitting there. Last night he actually came in to the living room, as opposed to spending the evening in his crate, even though the door is open. He gently snuck up on the couch that my dogs sleep on. My dogs were begging for ice cream so they didn't know he was there. When they went back to their spots, he hopped down and went back to his crate. He barks to be let out and sleeps in a hole that Rita dug in the back yard. Sunday the transport is running and he'll head up to the rescue. There is a family in Washington waiting for his arrival. He's going to have a great life.

a staff member contacted me this morning from the animal control shelter with regard to a stray red dobe. this is good news [shelter reaching out], but i had already provided dobe rescue contact information- they're [animal shelter] not yet using the numbers on their own. no worries! i sent an e-message to the dobe rescue group, mentioning the dealio about the dobe, and that someone from animal shelter will be telephoning.

:praying:

i just sent an email to a rescue about a dog i saw online that i think will be perfect for me. *crossing fingers*
i've wanted a dog for years and always felt it wasn't the right time. now that i'm sick i've gotten so upset at times that i kept putting off adopting one.
so, i've asked a couple of friends if they would provide a loving home for my dog when the time comes that i can't care properly for him or her. i think that it will a lot to my life to have a dog in it.
i get to meet her tomorrow!

Also note, another option if you want animals but just don't know if you can commit for their lifetime, is to foster. Then you get to help the animal, you get companionship and love, but you pass it on to another when it or you are ready to do so. Sounds like you got it covered though so good luck with your new dog! :)

-- posted in the holistic thread --

check with your vet, but a lot of the time, small animal vets suggest benadryl spray and fish oil capsule for dry skin issues. i've found the spray gets sticky, and causes more scratching! fish oil in small amounts can be ok for treating internally [the benadryl = externally], but there may be better avenues to take, and products to use. i like neem oil over the benadryl spray, and selsun blue small amount [pigs are only 2-3 pounds as adults!].

exotic pets, such as cavies/guinea pigs, are super drug-sensitive, and cannot be treated with many medications used for people, cats, or dogs. i'm caring for a little guinea pig who was quite a while at the shelter. since i've already posted some of his background in the animal rescue thread, so i won't go into all of it here, but i will share some links, please, on neem oil, and essentials not only for humans, but our animal-family members.

here is how i'm treating the pig, toffee- for parasites- even if he is clean because it cannot harm him:

http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/skinp.htm

[sometimes, these sites do not list exactly how much of a vitamin- like i think here on this one, peter does not write the amount of B vitamin for a guinea pig [like toffee!] who is dealing with impaction issues, and that info can be found in the following link].

http://www.guinealynx.info/nutritional_supplements.html

[be sure for guinea pigs to get the capsule B vitamin and open it up- one B complex will provide four servings, and the capsule type does not contain calcium, which can be a serious problem if a pig gets too much in his diet].

i am not fond of breeding pigs, as there are enough who are awaiting homes in fosters/rescues/shelters, but some good info here on natural / holistic care for unwell dogs also:

http://www.broadstoneguineapigs.co.uk/blog/?cat=5

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15261960
[i love pubmed!]

Awwww, softness. We are so sorry to hear this. I know that even in the two weeks, you had obviously grown to love that old boy.

I'm glad he had you for even a short time. Our hearts hurt for you.

Christie & Jess

I'm sorry to hear about Max. We believe that if they can spend their last days in the comfort of a home and receive some love and compassion, we've done our job. I know you thought he was going to get more than he did out of this life, I'm sorry, that's really hard, but thank you for caring about him and making his last days comfortable.

I've volunteered to take on a hospice case. We have two at the rescue right now and they can't afford a third unadoptable dog. This one is a beautiful boy with Wobblers. He's at the shelter, but everyone loves him to death. He's a great dog. He was collapsed when he came in, he couldn't walk. I actually diagnosed him and I've never worked in a vet's office a day in my life. I told them to take neck X-rays and look for Wobblers. They came back and said I was right. They've nursed him back to leap frogging. He won't be adoptable. They have one guy who wants to foster him, if that works great, but I need to know he understands that it's hospice, the dog's probably not getting better or moving on. If that doesn't work, he's coming here. I suspect he's coming here. Wobblers dogs can't be around slick surfaces. My place is carpet and slate. He won't slip here. I had a greyhound who lost his home in his twilight years. Luckily his family worked to find him someplace to go and didn't dump him at the shelter. I took on a red Doberman a few years back who's owner died and the family didn't want her. She lived here for 19 months before the cancer got her. I can do a Wobblers dog until the pain is too much and let him go knowing he was loved.