Tears are freely falling over the creativity and kindness wrapped up in this little box 💕
One of these dogs is NOT like the other 4 dogs.
Because he's a lunatic GSP 🤪
PS: for anyone who doesn't know, and before any breed fanatic people come after me, Rupert the GSP is a rescue in my hamster rescue recovering from an illness called Valley Fever. He's not currently available for adoption. His next blood draw isn't until February, so in the meantime I am making the best of things.
He sure does make us laugh every day 🤪
#dog #dogs #dontdumpanimals #properpetcare #thinkadoptionfirst #adoptdontshop #smallpets #smallpetrescue #lunaticdog #smallanimalrescue #animalrescue #animalsanctuary #nonprofit #nonprofitanimalrescue #501c3nonprofit #501c3 #tucson #arizona #rescue #adopt #bekind #kindness #supportrescue #arizonaanimals
I do love every minute of my animal care routines and I really don't mind cleaning up after all the rescue residents here at Home Sweet Hammy Home so I took the time today to do some before and after for you all to demonstrate.
Featured in this collage is the wheel clean for Akari, one of the San Diego transport survivor mice, the feeding station tidy up for Zaria and Surprize, who are the bonded pair of female mice living here in sanctuary, Rupert the GSP who has endless energy even with an illness and always manages to smudge up the sliding glass door inside and out, and Bumble one of the sanctuary guinea pigs who can't help being CUTE despite his sloppy housekeeping skills 😁
This is just a teeny tiny fraction of the larger behind the scenes rescue cleaning that occurs here daily for the rest of the animals. Sure, Akari, Zaria, Surprize, Rupert and Bumble will certainly mess up their space again. AND... I'll come along and clean it up because that's about 88% of operating a rescue, and it's the percentage that most people don't realize occurs hourly.
It's not always about capturing stray animals that people dump off, or taking in tons of animals that people can no longer take care of, or breaking groups of them out of a shelter prison, which don't get me wrong... those acts are very crucial but so is the care and managing of the rescued animals once they are admitted and living in a rescue!
So if anyone ever wonders what behind the scenes is like... it's nothing glamorous, just cleaning... a LOT!
I've posted several cards and notes and $20 bills that have been sent by the wonderful anonymous San Diego mice support person and now I've decided to showcase what I have spent all of their $20 donations on
Yep 😁
Food!
There aren't any great seed mixes sold in stores or online so I have adapted a version of how I make my hamster food mixes for the mice.
Wondering what the full list of ingredients are?
Well... it's taking me hours and hours and hours, but I finally have gotten a page up on my rescue website complete with affiliate links that can be clicked on. (Making purchases will help me operate my rescue but more importantly I feature the products I know and trust to create an ideal seed mix that hamsters and mice can thrive on)!
I've emailed this list to hundreds of people over the years and I finally came to the conclusion I need to just put it up on my rescue website. These days it's much more cost and time effective to create your own hamster and mouse seed mix, and it helps us ensure we are feeding high quality because truly the seed mixes sold in the stores are garbage and have become so overpriced it's ridiculous!
Soooo... again the link is in my profile. Enjoy 💜
Skunky, Caspian, Bumble, Simmy, Twilight and Morning Glory are all very grateful to be piggies who were nominated to participate in the 2024 Secret Santa program!
There is a link in my profile for anyone wishing to sign up to be a Secret Santa for any rescue participants around the world 💜
Thank you Lauren and Jane @guineapigsecretsanta
If you have your volume on you might want to turn it down just a little because this video is LOUD 🤪
Having a dog in my hamster rescue has been one of the biggest time consuming challenges, but... if I had to do it over again, I probably wouldn't change a thing. Even despite the fact Rupert was diagnosed with Valley Fever in August, after he was an adoption return and right before he was to be adopted again. AND this was all after he'd been dumped by his first owner when he was just a puppy, which is how he was admitted into my hamster rescue back in 2023.
Rupert being here means my daily workload involves caring for 5 dogs instead of just 4, as well as all of the other animals in my rescue. But he deserves to have a good life where he can play to his heart's content. He's really just a big overgrown 2-year-old puppy which you see him demonstrating in this video. His endless energy is incredible! Wish he'd share 😅
We are currently awaiting his 2nd valley fever blood draw results, which hopefully come in soon and indicate the fungus is leaving his body. He's certainly on enough meds and supplements so there better be a reduction in his levels at least!
Rupert's care and expenses have taken their toll on my rescue all the way around, but I'm determined to keep doing the best I can for him as well as all the other animals in the rescue. #perseverance
As each day blends into the next and yesterday's challenges become tomorrow's accomplishments... we are all finding joy in the little things here in my rescue home, Zaria and Surprize the female pair of sanctuary mice included!
I gave them a handful of shredded tissue paper and was able to capture Surprize pulling it into their nest. I haven't introduced either of these girls here, but they have the cutest bonding story featured on my rescue Patreon account linked in the profile.
For a monthly contribution of $5, which is tax deductible in the US, patrons can see some of the events happening behind the scenes of Home Sweet Hammy Home and the support is greatly appreciated because in helps me buy our most needed supplies!
Little Zain is having a ton of fun discovering his new donated @sendhamstermail toys each night and I'm having fun watching him play with them!
This little boy is over 1year old now, he is one of the pinky mice sent on the horrible San Diego Humane Society transport to Arizona not to find his forever home as they had broadcasted on the news, but instead he was given to a reptile breeder and was meant to be a meal. It's a miracle he survived that entire situation!
I've gone overboard making sure him and the other transport animals here are happy. It helps a lot that Zain received some awesome items from @tafitpet like the foraging bowl you see in this collage and now he's gotten the send hamster mail gifts. He's quite a lucky little dude! And he deserves it all 💜
To think about what his intended fate was is horrible. Those of us involved deeply have not been able to let it go. I know some will argue that reptiles have to eat too, but not pets. Not innocent animals entrusted over to an animal welfare organization that receives public donations to make sure the animals in their care are given their best lives through adoption. It's deplorable what they did instead.
Visit @justice_for_318 to learn more
Every night when I sneak and put something special in little Fana's cage, she pops out right away to get it! I love that she comes out if I make just a little bit of noise in her cage. She's a big burrower and I need to check on her often because she's developed a tumor on her tummy which is sad because Fana is one of the surviving hamsters from the horrible San Diego Humane Society transport.
For this reason, she gets extra of everything, which is why there are four of these fantastic treats that were donated by @sendhamstermail subscribers
I've had a lot of hamsters in the rescue with tumors, they can live fairly normal lives as long as their tumors do not attach to any major organs and don't grow so big it's difficult for them to move around.
I strive to ensure they have a high quality of life and try to get them to the point where they will pass from old age before their tumor takes them. Fana's tumor is not a fast-growing one, she's not in pain, is still eating and loving exploring, foraging, and running on her wheel. Her quality of life is still high. She hates vet visits like all hamsters do but she recovers quickly from them and I am overall just giving her plenty of treats and love and watching for signs of distress.
This is something all hamster owners and people who rescue hamsters and small animals need to be aware of and prepare for. Tumor removal in such small animals is very rarely successful and often results in an earlier passing so I've come to the conclusion it's better to let them live out their lives with the tumor and just monitor closely. Please note, this conclusion is based on the veterinarian care I personally have access to, which is good but not great. Veterinarians in my area do not have enough surgical clinical experience to remove tumors successfully. There is always going to be the person out there who says their veterinarian performed a miracle and removed a tumor and their hamster went on to live a happy healthy life and that
When it comes to little animals like hamsters and mice, enrichment for them IS crucial!
Akari is one of the 7 mice from the horrid San Diego Humane Society transport and has lived here in my rescue as a sanctuary resident for 13 months now. His age at the time of admittance was unknown, as was his background prior to being placed on that transport. All I really know about him is he's a mellow fellow who has a deformed ear that hasn't affected him. And boy oh boy does he love to Eat! Evidenced by his little bit of weight gain you can see here. Okay maybe we are bordering on a lot of weight gain, but that's okay 😂
I actually love it when mice are a little chubby because most of them come to me malnourished and underweight, and Akari was no exception. He was awfully skinny when I first met him!
Fortunately he has recovered from living at a reptile breeders house for a month, and nearly becoming a meal himself, pretty much from day one of being here and I've made sure that not one day has passed that he hasn't had all of his needs met and lots of treats. Healthy treats of course but he loves anything I give him.
What he is adoring the most these days are the @sendhamstermail donations, I mean truly absolutely having a blast inside of his bin cage, which makes me so grateful to be on the receiving end of these items!
Topped off the hay for all the guinea pigs and an hour later went to do cage checks and didn't see the skunk look alike in any of his hides, but a lot of his hay was spilling out of his litter tray and then had to laugh when I saw where he was and what he was doing 😂
It was too cute to pass up trying to get a little video clip! He's clearly one of those guinea pigs that likes to play with his food as much as he likes eating it. Glad I caught this moment of him, needed the humor today.
Hopefully anyone seeing this smiles too 💜
