Hootie's Rescue Haven

06/08/2025

The Hootie’s crew is hard at work today planning out our year! Who wants to do trivia in October!? Come join us friends. ❤️ 🐾 ❤️ 🐾

06/08/2025

Hi! Couldn’t seem to find a worthy topic for Science Sunday last week, so rested my typing fingers. BTW, if you have a topic you would like discussed, please suggest it here and I will do my best to bring the facts of the topic to light.

I have many folks at my practice ask me, ‘Why should we pull blood yearly on my pet?’ Let’s look at the benefits for the dog first.

Your dog should be on heartworm preventative monthly to prevent heartworms and internal parasites. But, no medicine is 100% effective. If we can show that your pet has been heartworm tested yearly and you have bought preventative on a yearly basis then, if your pet becomes heartworm positive or GI parasite positive, the manufacturer of your heartworm preventative will pay for testing and treatment which roughly amounts to $100 for GI parasites and $400 to $1000 for heartworms. At my practice, a yearly heartworm test checks for not only heartworms, but common tick borne diseases like ehrlichia, lyme & anaplasmosis.

A yearly blood panel at my hospital tests for the above, but also contains a chemistry which checks in on the liver, kidneys, blood sugar, electrolytes and proteins; a Complete Blood Count (CBC) which checks white blood cells, red blood cells & platelets; a thyroid test and lastly a f***l exam to check for GI parasites. Remember, no medicine is 100% effective.

A case in point. Recently, a 5yo lab came in for his yearly exam. Healthy as per the owner and the gross physical exam. Blood was obtained and the results revealed a marked increase in his red and white blood cell lines. Leukemia and lymphoma came immediately to mind. Sent him for an ultrasound and found lymphoma that had already metastasized. He began to decline and was euthanized a month later.

Another pup was seen in March for her annual exam. Blood was taken and results were completely normal. In May, she began drinking more and urinating more. We rechecked her bloodwork and found her to be diabetic. She is doing well on daily insulin.

An internal change can happen at any moment. Some, if caught early before outward clinical signs are noted, have an increased chance of being treated successfully. Catching kidney disease early may mean a change of diet and possibly medicines or supplements that can slow the progression. Increased liver enzymes can prompt us to order an ultrasound which might find Cushings (which is managed with a daily med), age related changes (which can be managed with daily supplements for liver support) or a cancerous process (which may be treated with chemo or more natural remedies to slow the progression).

The bottom line is, if we don’t know a condition exists, we can’t attempt to manage it. The quicker we know a condition exists, the better our chances of maintaining a good quality of life for your pet.

In cats, yearly blood work has become extremely meaningful with the introduction of a newer test; CardiacProBNP. This test is similar to the test that a hospital would run on you if they suspect you may have had a heart attack. Along with a thyroid test and kidney values, yearly blood work addresses the three most common problems in a cats; heart disease, kidney disease and hyperthyroidism.

While many dogs give you a heart murmur to alert you to a condition that needs further work-up, cats rarely give you a clue. This test has allowed me to diagnose heart disease in very early stages and medicate as needed to help cats maintain a good quality of life. If your vet currently does not include this test in their yearly cat blood panels, please ask for it.

Again, if you have a topic you would like to see discussed, please let me know. Happy Sunday!

06/01/2025

Wally permanently went to his outside enclosure today. He is sharing a divided house with Miss B and Tom. He has his own whirlpool bath and a view of Larry and the chickens. Didn't realize how hard it would be to walk away from him. Am watching him on camera and his is searching and calling for me. Still have to hook up a night light for him for tonight. Can't grow up completely in just one day.

05/27/2025

Wally is getting ready for his big move to his outdoor enclosure next weekend. He and Larry still have a love/hate relationship, but we hope that will sweeten when Wally is spending more time outside near Larry. Today he pecked one of my little stud earrings right out of my ear. We feel he might have eaten it so will be scouring his p**p for a tiny green dinosaur. Never a dull moment.

05/25/2025

Hi! Picking back up with Science Sundays after a short hiatus. Hope this finds you well.

The state of Missouri has mandated that animal shelters reduce their populations before passing inspections.

The St. Louis County Animal Shelter in Olivette, along with a few other smaller rescues, have just been cited by the state of Missouri for improper care of the animals in their facilities. The shelter’s violations include keeping dogs in cages that are too small, failing to clean up dog waste in play yards, and allowing bugs in food storage areas.

Animal shelters apply for a license every year. We are inspected yearly. We have to provide a copy of our animal care plan which includes vaccines, spay/neuter protocol, feeding, parasite preventatives and housing. We must provide adequate space for each animal and cannot house animals in overcrowded conditions. If these criteria are not met, the state has the power to confiscate the animals at the facility and dispose of them as they see fit which often means euthanasia. The folks who own the rescue can also face fines and jail time.

Being a veterinarian makes me even more conscious of maintaining all our rescues in a safe and healthy manner. I will not ‘just find room for 1 more,’ and risk the rescue and every animal in it. If we could take in every animal in need, I would. I would need endless room and endless funding to care for every animal that someone asks us to take. This is why, when animals are dropped off without our consent, such as Drako and the cats that we have had abandoned on our property, that we make such a big deal out of it.

Open Door has a yearly income of $1.2 million and a reserve of $8 million. In comparison, we have a yearly income of $55,000 and a reserve of $30,000. Even with a larger facility and larger budget, Open Door still has the same issues with overcrowding that all rescues face.

I bring this to your attention because every day, we get a minimum of 8 calls to take in animals in need. Each call usually involves taking in multiple animals. Often, these calls end in people venting their frustration on us if we cannot take the animals.

At the end of the day, all rescues, whether they are huge like Open Door or small like our facility, can only take in so many animals. So, the problem begins and must end with the public. Spaying and neutering your pets is a must. Thinking carefully before you adopt a pet to make sure you can provide for them is a must.

Rescues are here because of the poor decisions that people make regarding the care of their animals. We could absorb and rehome animals in need due to owner death, owner homelessness, and many other unforeseeable situations if others would make smarter decisions regarding their animals. Until the general public changes their ways, there will always be overcrowding at shelters and there will always be animals that must suffer.

Please help us help them.

05/12/2025

Well, the second intro of Wally to Larry went much better. Wally was able to spend some time out in his yard without Larry being aggressive. Hopefully we will continue to make progress.

05/09/2025

Thank you to everyone who took the time out to donate to Hootie’s on GiveSTL day: Brenda & Jennifer (in honor of Louie, the best orange cat from Hooties), Gail, Kimberly & Doug, Martha, Cassandra, Lynn, Sandy, Marci, Linda, Carolyn, Nancy (in Memory of Mark Sebourn), Jackie, Rickie (In Memory of Mark Sebourn) and Colleen. A thanks to Anne & Jim who sent us some needed supplies from our Amazon Wishlist. Our grand total is $1866 plus litter, bones, cat food and meal worms. Thank you for remembering the animals. We are always grateful for your support!

05/08/2025

Today is the day! GiveSTL starts today and runs until 10 am tomorrow. Thank you to those who have already donated: Emily, Kate & Kevin, All the folks at McDonnell Caulk, Ginger, Jan & Vicki, Kimberly, Silvana & Beverly. Thanks also to those folks who went to our Wishlist on Amazon and sent some much needed supplies over. Karrie donated in loving memory of Mark Sebourn and Linda & Maggie Claire (one of the kids from the St. Bernard X litter) donated through Amazon. There are so many ways that you can participate today: through the GiveSTL link where a portion of your donation will be matched, through the 'donate' button on our website (hootiesrescue.org), through venmo@HootiesRescue-Haven or visiting our Amazon Wishlist. We are grateful for everyone who supports our mission to save and protect as many of these kids as we can. Each donation helps us save more. Thank You!!

On the Miss B front, Renee and I fitted her for her new harness yesterday. Renee is adding padding to the straps and chest area and altering the back to accomodate her tail feathers. Just like bouncing helps to strengthen a toddler's legs, we hope that this exercise along with massage and range of motion exercises will help her regain her mobility. Will keep you posted.

https://www.givestlday.org/organization/hootiesrescue

05/04/2025

Introduction of Wally to Larry was an epic fail today. Larry was aggressive and hissing and Wally was scared and confused. He did enjoy time outside snuggling with Miss B in her enclosure. Will try and introduce him to one of the chicken flocks so that he can be outside with friends. Their enclosure is not far from Larry's, so maybe Wally will be an acquired taste for Larry. Fingers crossed.

The bouncy swing for Miss B should arrive tomorrow and we can start modifying it so that her rehab can begin. Will keep you posted on everyone's progress with everything.

05/02/2025

Just a reminder that GiveSTL is May 8th. A portion of donations will be matched, so your gift can reach a little further.

A little update on Miss B. Her feet have healed after surgery, the infection is gone and she still has sensation in her feet! Have ordered a child's bouncy swing that we will modify for her so that her rehab can begin. Also trying to find a child's busy walker that we can modify so that we can alternate rehab modalities. Cross your fingers.

Hello!  Hootie's is a 40 acre rescue ranch that specializes in abandoned and abused domestic animals.  We rehabilitate and rehome rescued animals, but also provide sanctuary for those who cannot be rehomed for either physical or emotional reasons.  At this writing, we are...

05/01/2025

At the beginning of July 2024, Hootie’s Rescue Haven got a call looking for space for three 10 week old German Shepherd/German shorthaired pointer puppies. At the time the rescue was full, so these cute little boys came to live at my house. They were beyond energetic, loveable, and crazy, and they really didn’t know anything at all. We cleaned up a lot of messes and did our best to keep them out of trouble.

A Hootie’s volunteer and his wife adopted one boy , and a second puppy went to a fabulous home as well.

Suddenly, the remaining puppy became extremely ill. We took him right away to Dr. Kim Lynch, who is not only a wonderful vet but also runs the shelter with her husband.

An x-ray was taken, and it showed that the puppy had swallowed something and had a foreign body obstruction in his intestine. Dr. Andy Swatek, who is an extremely talented surgeon working at Dr. Lynch’s practice, performed surgery, operating on a very sick little puppy. 1.5 feet of the baby’s intestines had to be removed, but the surgery was successful beyond anyone’s expectations. Unfortunately, a complication occurred, and the puppy had to undergo a second surgery to save his life and was even more at risk than he had been for the first operation. Again, Dr. Swatek performed surgery and removed another 1.5 feet of intestines. The second surgery took place at the beginning of September, and the puppy, who we’ve named Kirby (as in the brand of vacuum), is completely healthy.

He’s just as energetic and happy and loving as any puppy could be, but he would be considered a “foster fail” because he isn’t going anywhere. He is a part of our family. His illness and care were so scary, but we had Hootie’s supporting us through it all. We weren’t looking to adopt a puppy, but it seems that the universe knew better because he is forever in our hearts, and we’re so happy to have his happy, silly, BIG personality in our lives every day.

04/29/2025

Went away for a relaxing weekend in Hermann and while we were gone, a swarm of busy little bees visited the farm. They mowed, trimmed, put up a new pasture gate for the horses, cleaned the chicken coop, cleared brush and walked pups. Many thanks to Karen, Chris, Bryant, John, Julie & Russ for helping us maintain the rescue and entertain the pups. Thanks to Mike and Renee for staying at the farm over the weekend and carrying out the day-to-day chores that never stop so that Tim and I could have a little respite.