Look who's headed home today!. We finally got the text we've been waiting for this morning... that the puppies were eating well enough and that Brenda's kidney values had dropped enough until they thought they should come home. The entire staff at TVS came out to tell them goodbye and to give us their suggestions on what they seem to prefer to eat, which ranged from Vienna sausages to Science Diet Cat food. They also sent a to go bag along with them of food that they'd had success with. So now it's our job to keep them on what's going to be a very slow climb towards being healthy puppies. They sure have a long way to go to catch up with their siblings. Dr Talley says it's not going to be overnight but they're headed in the right direction and we know she's just a phone call away if we have any concerns. Once again I can't thank the Wags and Menace Makes a Difference Foundation. We have so many animals right now and have had so many medical cases this year until if they hadn't stepped up, we wouldn't have been able to attempt to save these little ones. 💙
Yesterday we were lucky. The heavy rain held off long enough that we could go out to the farm where the remainder of the puppies were and collect them. The farmer had put together a pen after our first visit when we told him that it was important that the puppies not be allowed to roam. Although he continued to have escapes, he was keeping most of them contained. There were five in the pen when we arrived but catching the three that had escaped was quite a circus and we never did catch the last female. First thing this morning though, the farmer texted me and said that they caught her when she returned to the pen to eat. The pen was just four sides with cyclone fence and no covering it all. That's why it was so important we got there before the heavy rains arrived. We really didn't have any place to put them but we evicted three of the male bunnies who had been in a kennel in the garage. They went into a smaller 5x5 kennel and we revamped their old enclosure for the pups. We were drenched transferring the pups from the van to the garage last evening but everybody settled in safe and sound and it sure didn't hurt their appetites.
The farmer mentioned to us that the two sisters that we intaked last week (because they were so debilitated) were always the smallest and were pushed away from the food when he fed them. That's why he removed them from the kennel and fed them separately. As I said before, I truly believe this man was doing the best he could with the knowledge and resources that he had. Don't be so quick to judge unless you've lived here. But to end on a good note, the report from Dr Talley this morning is encouraging as both puppies are eating a bit more even though they still are getting IV nutrition. Neither are out of the woods yet and we worry about Brenda especially, who's x-ray showed a slightly enlarged heart and elevated kidney values. But we are happy with just a little encouragement for these two. Keep those good thoughts coming.
A big shout o
Gosh, we shouldn't have to say this. We have two little babies that have been fighting for their lives since Sunday. All because of what we call benign neglect but what some might call stupidity. If you have a question about your medication, do you ask your pharmacist or your doctor or do you ask a golfing buddy or someone you go hunting with? Shouldn't you give your pets the same consideration and consult a veterinarian when it comes to their care? We recently checked on a litter of puppies that had been born to a stray mama dog who showed up at a home. The owner contacted us and said they couldn't stay but did agree to keep them until we made a place for them. In the meantime, he noticed that they had a really bad flea problem so rather than checking with us or his veterinarian he asked a friend who suggested that he dip the puppies in pine oil. When that didn't work the first day, rather than decide on something else, he dipped them again. After no success the second time he decided to dip them a third day but added insecticide to the mixture too. I know he meant well but we found the two weakest puppies in such bad shape until we brought them home with us. We don't know if they will make it or not. They do not want to eat or drink and have not had bowel movements the entire time they've been here. They have been getting fluids and are being syringe fed and finally today they seem a little bit interested in drinking and what's going on around them. Granted, they were likely already malnourished and anemic from the fleas but double dosing them with toxic chemicals certainly didn't help. If the situation arises and you need advice on caring for your pets, is social media or the opinion of a non-professional friend really the best source? For gosh sakes, ask an animal care expert. Puppies shouldn't have to suffer like this. I don't know one veterinarian (and I believe that I know all of them) in the surrounding parishes, that wouldn't give you advice if you asked.
Milli, found on the median strip on Interstate I-20, Alison rescued in Winnsboro with her brother Boyd and her friend wink, who are still with us. Rem the poodle, Juju and Princess.
Chiquita, found on a sandbar in Big Creek. She had to be rescued by boat. She has been with us for 3 years while she went through heartworm treatment and learned how to be a trusting family member. We are so excited for her to finally get her chance.
The three culvert puppies dumped in a culvert the night before flooding rains from Hurricane Francine.
Well, we didn't have things figured out quite as good as we thought. Back in July when we intaked the 10 bunnies and the baby goat from the farm animal situation in Franklin parish, we knew that since the bunnies had escaped their cages and were running loose together we would likely have some pregnancies. We took a crash course in bunny husbantry and how to tell males from females. (It is way different than puppies. I can tell you that!) Unfortunately we had to euthanize two bunnies whose health was just too bad to survive. There were 4 females and 4 males left. We separated them according to sex as soon as possible but within a month, three of the females had litters. We still had one male in with the females because he was tiny and the other males picked on him. We figured all the females are nursing babies so what can it hurt? We did remove the female that didn't have babies just to be safe. We also had all of the males neutered this past week. We thought we were home free. After a total of 16 babies being born in the space of two weeks we thought the population explosion was over and we were celebrating. But we didn't read the fine print that said "Rabbits can become pregnant again within hours of giving birth" Duh!!!
So, after giving ourself a big pat on the back for having had all the males neutered and not having to worry about any more babies, we found this yesterday morning. Just goes to prove that you should never get too smug and that whoever you recognize as your supreme being, really does have a sense of humor! Mine has a way of knocking me down a peg when I get too high on myself. So the bunny count is officially now 22 babies.
October 8th was our first ever Bunny Ball Blaster day. Thanks to your generous donations, we were able to neuter all the adult male bunnies we seized in July as well as spaying a female who slipped by us (determining the gender of a bunny is a little more complicated than dogs) Thankfully, even though she had been living with the boys for the last 2 weeks, she wasn't pregnant. These friendly male bunnies will soon be available for adoption. We are also looking into the possibility of placing some in the enclosed courtyard of a local nursing home. According to the staff there, even the residents that don't get out much will be able to see their antics from their windows. We think this would be a wonderful solution (I know I spend way too much time watching their antics; especially of the babies) but we have to check into all aspects of it first as this is unchartered ground for us.
It's been awhile since we've given a bunny update. Thank heavens that we think we've stopped the population explosion and the numbers haven't changed since our last update. We have 16 babies and eight adults. Thanks to your donations and Dr Harper's kindness at All Creatures Veterinary Clinic, October 8th is going to be our 💥 Bunny Ball Buster💥 day when all the males will be neutered. We still aren't certain when any of these babies will be available for adoption. But until then enjoy this video from this morning when we fed them some of the windfall pears from an old tree here at the DHS foster farm.
We wanted to give a quick shout out to everyone that donated puppy food. Puppies go through a lot of food although just like toddlers, not all of it is eaten. For instance, the Fed Ex litter spends a lot of time sleeping, walking, rolling in and pooping on kibble but they are fat little fellas so we know they're eating the most of it. Thanks so much for looking out for them!
We got through the storm pretty much unscathed, especially considering the flooding that's going on just east of us.
We are pretty soggy but none of the outside kennels flooded so much that the dogs had to be brought inside. We want to give a shout out to PK, Edna, Will and Phillip who really hustled yesterday to clean out a storage area of the garage and set up crates just in case.
After doing an early morning reconnaissance by flashlight, we only saw a couple of kennel covers that will need to be replaced. So we feel very lucky. The four little hound babies that were abandoned the night before the storm spent the night in our garage rather than likely drowning in the culvert we found them in.
Please send good thoughts and help in any way you can to the rescues in Mississippi that are being impacted.
And for those of you locally, there is still a chance of flooding today. Please look after the animals that depend on you.
We shouldn't have to say this but we always do. There's bad weather coming. You've had plenty of warning. Please make arrangements to keep your animals safe and dry. That doesn't mean a trash barrel lying on its side!
And to the people that put out these four little hound puppies by a culvert, knowing that heavy rain was coming, you'll learn the meaning of cosmic balance soon, I hope.
