Denali
Current (1/24/2011)
Denali with her new mommy (Rhonda) and brother (Tundra)!
Denali & Tundra
Denali at her new home!
Before (9/19/2010)
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Success Story - Samson
Samson
Formerly "Kyle"
Current (5/30/2011)
Adoption Day
Samson with his new mommy, Sherri!
Before (8/8/2010)
Success Story - Lilah
Lilah
Formerly "Kora/Delilah"
Current (5/22/2011)
Lilah, originally named Kora, originally came to the rescue in August of last year (2010) with her friend Kyle. They had been picked up as strays from Oklahoma and were literally skin and bones (two of the most underweight babies we ever had--see the picture at the bottom). Additionally, they were covered in fleas, ticks, and other bugs! They went to a foster home together for more than 6 months, where they gained weight, got healthy, and were renamed Samson & Delilah.
At their foster home, Samson tended to bully Delilah around food and wouldn't let her eat; Delilah showed signs of nervousness in some situations especially around some other dogs. Their foster family seriously considered adopting them, but due to their separate issues decided they could not adopt them or foster them any longer, so they came back to the rescue.
We originally thought that Samson & Delilah were a bonded pair who needed to go home together, since they survived the streets together, so we really struggled with what to do when they came back to the rescue. It is much harder to adopt out a "bonded pair," so we ultimately decided that we would attempt a trail separation to see how they both faired apart from each other. Turns out, it was the best thing in the world for them!
Delilah went to a WONDERFUL foster home with Melissa Thede. Melissa adopted one of our furbabies (Jill) and has fostered 3 other dogs for us, one of which she personally paid to have an entropian surgery performed on (Kimble)! Melissa has been absolutely wonderful at finding fabulous and loving homes for all of her foster pups! Well...Lilah (as she is now called) fit right in at Melissa's and stole her heart, so much so that Melissa decided she wasn't letting Lilah leave the family! Lilah is going to be adopted by Melissa's parents!
Her parents have an older dog who they are letting live out the rest of his life, and then Lilah will be going to live with them where she will get more attention than she knows what to do with!!
Since being with Melissa, Lilah has gone to the groomer (and looks very pretty), has gotten along with her foster sisters--Elly & Jill, and has really gained the confidence that she previously relied on Samson for!
Before (8/8/2010)
Friday, July 15, 2011
Pregnant Women and Cat Litter
There is a justified rumor out there that women, while pregnant, shouldn't change cat litter. Few of us really know why. And I know this is a dog site on the whole, but many dog owners are also cat owners.. and they may be wondering about this mysterious rumor.
I had a friend who was pregnant, and she heard the whole 'cat litter thing'. She didn't really know why, but it was a good excuse to get her boyfriend to change the cat litter while she was pregnant! It's a scary thought: are our cats harboring some awful contagion that will affect our offspring, which we never considered until now?
The culprit behind this known fact is a little protozoa called Toxoplasma gondii. While any warm blooded animal can be infested, the oocysts (protozoan eggs) can only be shed by infected cats. That means we can all get it, but only our cats can transmit it. These protozoans are found worldwide, and are shed in our cat's feces. Our cats contract this by eating infected mice. Once infected, they exhibit signs of fever, muscle pain, anorexia, sore throat, and overall have a poor prognosis. Cats are treatable, but exposure to humans needs to be prevented to ensure we are not infected. A pregnant woman puts her fetus at risk of congenital malformation, mental handicap, and even death. Some women have antibodies already formed to fight this protozoa, so that woman's fetus would not be at risk (though she wouldn't know it unless she was tested for the antibodies).
Avoiding exposure to infected feces while pregnant is essential. Your cat can be tested to see if they are positive. If you are pregnant and working outside, say, in a garden or as landscaper, wear gloves and be cautious, as infected stray cats may have defecated there. The thing to really take away, is that there is nothing magical and mystical about your cat or it's litter. Litter itself is not what transmits this condition, nor is a healthy cat. Only a cat who has had the opportunity to be exposed to either infected mice or feces of other infected cats are a concern.
But... if your husband or boyfriend is no wiser, let them believe it's just the cat or the litter.. a 9 month break of scooping poop may be well-deserved!
-SM
I had a friend who was pregnant, and she heard the whole 'cat litter thing'. She didn't really know why, but it was a good excuse to get her boyfriend to change the cat litter while she was pregnant! It's a scary thought: are our cats harboring some awful contagion that will affect our offspring, which we never considered until now?
The culprit behind this known fact is a little protozoa called Toxoplasma gondii. While any warm blooded animal can be infested, the oocysts (protozoan eggs) can only be shed by infected cats. That means we can all get it, but only our cats can transmit it. These protozoans are found worldwide, and are shed in our cat's feces. Our cats contract this by eating infected mice. Once infected, they exhibit signs of fever, muscle pain, anorexia, sore throat, and overall have a poor prognosis. Cats are treatable, but exposure to humans needs to be prevented to ensure we are not infected. A pregnant woman puts her fetus at risk of congenital malformation, mental handicap, and even death. Some women have antibodies already formed to fight this protozoa, so that woman's fetus would not be at risk (though she wouldn't know it unless she was tested for the antibodies).
Avoiding exposure to infected feces while pregnant is essential. Your cat can be tested to see if they are positive. If you are pregnant and working outside, say, in a garden or as landscaper, wear gloves and be cautious, as infected stray cats may have defecated there. The thing to really take away, is that there is nothing magical and mystical about your cat or it's litter. Litter itself is not what transmits this condition, nor is a healthy cat. Only a cat who has had the opportunity to be exposed to either infected mice or feces of other infected cats are a concern.
But... if your husband or boyfriend is no wiser, let them believe it's just the cat or the litter.. a 9 month break of scooping poop may be well-deserved!
-SM
Understanding Diarrhea
Diarrhea and loose stool are probably one of the most common complaints of dog owners. While there are a ton of reasons why your dog may be having issues, this is meant to be informative and should never replace the advice of your veterinarian. Diarrhea can be a very simple issue, but it can also be indicative of potentially serious conditions and if your dog is having some real issues, they need to go to the vet.
Acute diarrhea, or diarrhea that seems to come fast and out of nowhere, is one of the most common types of things seen at a clinic. Often times, it is because we have changed our dogs food either too often or too quickly; our dogs digestive systems are not as tough as ours. If we do not slowly change their food (little by little, over no less than a week), or we change it too often, our dogs may have persistent loose stool or diarrhea. Often owners change their food, and notice symptoms. They panic, and then change it again. They panic once more, and change it again. Thusly the horrific cycle of diarrhea; we need to change their food slowly, and then keep them on it. Switching diet or introducing a ton of new snacks all the time does our dogs' digestive system no justice.
Is your dog on any prescription meds? Is he under stress? Sometimes dogs will get the runs merely because they just took a long car ride that they didn't appreciate. I think more often than not, regarding an adult dog, this tends to be the case. Diet change and stress can do a lot. At adoption events, many of the dogs had the runs during their potty breaks. I always feared a potential adopter would see and think they were sick. Their foster knew their stools were fine at home, but the stress of the car ride and being at the event took it's toll. One of my dogs got the "scoots" because I gave him a new dog snack over a couple of days, which had questionable ingredients. Meaning, they were the "good" snacks that smell great but are really made of junk. His body told me so. His scoots lasted a couple of days and then were done. Christie's dog, Reese, gets the scoots from Colitis flare-ups. Colitis literally just means "inflamed colon", and the general theory regarding Reese is that they were brought on by stress.
There are viral, bacterial, and parasitic reasons for diarrhea, and your veterinarian needs to examine your dog's fecal and give you a diagnosis. Virally, we are most familiar with Parvo, which tends to impact puppies, though it can hit dogs of all ages. Puppies' immune systems are not as great as adult dogs, and it makes them more vulnerable. I heard a case of a 13 year old dog who was diagnosed with Parvo. Distemper, Coronavirus, and feline panleukopenia (kitty parvo) all cause diarrhea. There are many bacterias which cause diarrhea also, as well as protozoas like Giardia. It would take too long to go into all of these separately, but expect more blogs!
On the whole, an adult, healthy dog is likely to have diarrhea due to change of diet or stress. What is recommended is to fast your dog for 2 days. It sounds horrible, but too often we want to feel inclined to keep feeding them in hopes more food will equal solid stool. In reality, their digestive tract needs to be allowed to calm down. Something upset it. If we allow a fast, then we can introduce boiled chicken and rice; something bland which won't upset their GI tract. We will notice a return to "normal" function and then can resume their normal routine. Never do *anything* with your dog until you have spoken with or seen a veterinarian. This fasting/bland suggestion is very general, and each dog has specific needs and underlying health conditions.
Always give your vet a call. Often times you can discuss the symptoms and history of your dog, and they will guide you in the right direction. The behavior of your dog regardless of the diarrhea will likely help your vet make the determination. If everything is fine other than the scoots, they probably have an upset tummy. Changes in behavior, ie. lethargy, vomiting, etc. should all be taken very seriously and your buddy should make a trip to the vet right away.
-SM
Acute diarrhea, or diarrhea that seems to come fast and out of nowhere, is one of the most common types of things seen at a clinic. Often times, it is because we have changed our dogs food either too often or too quickly; our dogs digestive systems are not as tough as ours. If we do not slowly change their food (little by little, over no less than a week), or we change it too often, our dogs may have persistent loose stool or diarrhea. Often owners change their food, and notice symptoms. They panic, and then change it again. They panic once more, and change it again. Thusly the horrific cycle of diarrhea; we need to change their food slowly, and then keep them on it. Switching diet or introducing a ton of new snacks all the time does our dogs' digestive system no justice.
Is your dog on any prescription meds? Is he under stress? Sometimes dogs will get the runs merely because they just took a long car ride that they didn't appreciate. I think more often than not, regarding an adult dog, this tends to be the case. Diet change and stress can do a lot. At adoption events, many of the dogs had the runs during their potty breaks. I always feared a potential adopter would see and think they were sick. Their foster knew their stools were fine at home, but the stress of the car ride and being at the event took it's toll. One of my dogs got the "scoots" because I gave him a new dog snack over a couple of days, which had questionable ingredients. Meaning, they were the "good" snacks that smell great but are really made of junk. His body told me so. His scoots lasted a couple of days and then were done. Christie's dog, Reese, gets the scoots from Colitis flare-ups. Colitis literally just means "inflamed colon", and the general theory regarding Reese is that they were brought on by stress.
There are viral, bacterial, and parasitic reasons for diarrhea, and your veterinarian needs to examine your dog's fecal and give you a diagnosis. Virally, we are most familiar with Parvo, which tends to impact puppies, though it can hit dogs of all ages. Puppies' immune systems are not as great as adult dogs, and it makes them more vulnerable. I heard a case of a 13 year old dog who was diagnosed with Parvo. Distemper, Coronavirus, and feline panleukopenia (kitty parvo) all cause diarrhea. There are many bacterias which cause diarrhea also, as well as protozoas like Giardia. It would take too long to go into all of these separately, but expect more blogs!
On the whole, an adult, healthy dog is likely to have diarrhea due to change of diet or stress. What is recommended is to fast your dog for 2 days. It sounds horrible, but too often we want to feel inclined to keep feeding them in hopes more food will equal solid stool. In reality, their digestive tract needs to be allowed to calm down. Something upset it. If we allow a fast, then we can introduce boiled chicken and rice; something bland which won't upset their GI tract. We will notice a return to "normal" function and then can resume their normal routine. Never do *anything* with your dog until you have spoken with or seen a veterinarian. This fasting/bland suggestion is very general, and each dog has specific needs and underlying health conditions.
Always give your vet a call. Often times you can discuss the symptoms and history of your dog, and they will guide you in the right direction. The behavior of your dog regardless of the diarrhea will likely help your vet make the determination. If everything is fine other than the scoots, they probably have an upset tummy. Changes in behavior, ie. lethargy, vomiting, etc. should all be taken very seriously and your buddy should make a trip to the vet right away.
-SM
Why is My Dog's Leg Shaved?
The forelimb of your pet is shaved for the placement of a catheter. Catheters are placed, ideally, for any procedure under which your animal is anesthetized. This includes procedures as simple as dentals and spay/neuter, and of course larger procedures. The hair is shaved, because dog hair is dirty.. no matter how clean you think your pet is. By shaving it, we can ensure that when the catheter is placed into the vein, no unwanted cooties are also placed into their blood stream. While the area is cleaned & prepped with things like alcohol, the cleanest, most sterile condition is what needs to be achieved.
Catheters are placed because even the simplest of procedures requiring the use of anesthetic gas coupled with any degree of blood loss holds potential risks to your pet. Any degree of blood loss can put your animal at the risk of their blood pressure going down. By administering IV fluids during procedures, we ensure their blood pressure remains optimal. If your animal's body cavity is opened during a procedure, they can be at risk of dehydration due to evaporation of certain body fluids. Administering IV fluids helps prevents dehydration. We never want to imagine something going wrong, but if it did, a catheter will be there to ensure your veterinary team has quick access to a vein to administer the needed meds. Additionally, often when we put our dogs "under", it is not just gases used. Typically IV drugs are administered prior to anesthetic gas, to sedate your animal and possibly give them some pain medications.
Don't freak out if your dog was hospitalized, or had any kind of surgery, and came back with a shaved arm. Additionally, don't be fearful of the shelter or rescue animal with evidence of a procedure; it was likely their spay or neuter. The unsightly loss of a small patch of hair pales in comparison to not placing a catheter. Also, often times your vet or tech will also shave their leg or neck prior to taking blood to run blood work. Again, the same reasons... to reduce the chance of bad things entering their blood stream from the needle picking up cooties from their hair. jkjjj (my cat just typed that as he walked over my laptop. I am leaving it, because it's cute:)
-SM
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