A Kitten Rescue

A friend of mine called me last night to inform me that his aunt had found a tiny kitten at his grandparents house, and that they were going to call animal control this morning to come pick him up.

Knowing the policies, I knew the kitten would be put down automatically as he wasn't old enough to be adopted out yet. I asked my friend to tell them to hold him until morning, as I knew someone that could foster him until he was old enough TO be adopted, and then take it to the SPCA where his chances of adoption would be fairly high as he is a precious little kitten (and most people want kittens over elderly pets).

SO, of course, I documented this rescue today, and here are a few pics for your enjoyment. Elden (as we named him since he was found in an elderly neighborhood) is very young still, but is able to open his eyes and walk a bit. My friend who is going to foster him was able to promptly bottle feed him and give him a bath (as he was COVERED in fleas) upon his arrival.

This shows his size next to me

help me please!

tiny paw on my face <3

bottle feeding

bath time! he was a good boy :)

all clean, time for sleep

I am so thankful a friends aunt found this precious baby as he probably would have died otherwise. She found him laying down in tall grass, after a storm. He was matted, pussy eyes, and hungry. We have no clue what happened to his momma, or if he has any brothers or sisters, but thankfully he is now being fostered where he is safe and warm.

Bath Time

Bullseye got his 1st bath yesterday. Yes, I've had him since March... Eep. That's a long time to go without a bath. BUT, he didn't stink or have issues with fleas, so it wasn't necessarily needed. I felt he needed a bath yesterday because he seems to be developing skin allergies. The vet had him on prednisone last week to help with his little rashes and she said August is a bad month for skin allergies and they've seen a lot of cases. SO, that all led up to Bullseyes 1st bath :) Of course, proud "fur parents" we are: we documented it:

Daddy taking off his collar

...please don't put me in the water...

...oh no.... what is going on?!

scrub a dub dub

okay... this isn't too bad. I'm getting attention! and a massage

And of course, what one puppy has, the other does too... We didn't let Chico miss out on the action.

Chico's an expert at baths by now

all clean!

Well, the dogs were clean! Me on the other hand, Phew! I smelled like wet dog. All things considered, I think Bullseye enjoyed his bath, and I think he'd like swimming. I wish we had a pool for him to play in!

Dog mourns death of his owner, a NAVY SEAL

As I watched the news this morning, I was brought to tears when this story aired. You may have already seen it on TV, or online, but I am sharing as well. What a precious bond this sweet puppy had with his owner, Jon Tumilson, a NAVY SEAL who was killed in an Afghanistan attack on August 6th.

Photo by Jon's cousin, Lisa Pembleton

The photo above shows that when one dies in combat, not only do family and friends mourn the loss. Beloved pets do too. Hawkeye, Jon's Lab, led the family down to the services, before plopping down with a sigh next to his fallen master. Jon's cousin Lisa said the following about the photo above: "Hawkeye is/was his loyal “son”. To say that he was an amazing man doesn’t do him justice. The loss of Jon to his family, military family and friends is immeasurable. I hadn’t planned on taking any pictures other than with family. However, from my seat at the funeral, I felt compelled to take one photo to share with family members that couldn’t make it or couldn’t see what I could from the aisile. This is that photo…"

 

.photo credit.

Of course, many have asked "What will happen to Hawkeye?". Because of his close relationship with his owner, he was often referred to as Jon's "son". Hawkeye was willed to one of Jon's good friends, the same guy that would often care for Hawkeye while Jon was overseas.

Here is a video that aired on KIMT in Iowa:

May Jon Tumilson rest in peace and know just how much he was loved not only by his family and friends, but his precious furbaby as well. Thank you for serving our great country.

Fish Oil & Seizures

Thank you Jesus, it has been just over a year since my precious Chico has had his last seizure.

I strongly believe giving him fish oil once daily has helped. Last year when I was googling like crazy, trying to find causes of seizures, ways to prevent them, etc, I found one person that mentioned fish oil worked for her dog. She went on to make sure everyone knew she was NOT a doctor, just sharing info on something that helped her dog. Well, I was willing to try anything so I went out to our local Petco and bought a bottle of Omega 3 for dogs.

It says:
* a concentrated source of EPA & DHA fatty acids
*for healthy skin and glossy coat

Suggested Use:
One gel cap for each 15lbs of body weight, per day.

There are MANY benefits of fish oil for dogs:

Benefits of Fish Oil for Dogs.

Some of the conditions or disorders that positively react to fish oil for dogs:

• Allergies and autoimmune conditions. Specially, many skin conditions have their root in the lack of omega 3.
• Arthritis. "EPA can reduce damage to the tissue that lines the joint surface (cartilage) by decreasing the activity of enzymes in arthritis." University of Liverpool. EPA (from fish oil) shown to be key for healthy joint cartilage.
• Different Inflammatory disorders like, ulcerative colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, and rheumatoid arthritis may respond to the anti-inflammatory effects of Omega 3 essential fatty acids.
• Dull Hair Coats and seborrhea. Better skin, beautiful coat.
• Yeast Infection in the skin and ears of dogs and cats.
• Cardiovascular problems like sudden cardiac death or arrhythmias, blood clots and hypertension.
• High triglycerides. This is one of the conditions that best react to fish oil for dogs. It is important when you feed a high omega 6 diet like dry pet food provides.
• Cholesterol profile. HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) rises with fish oil for dogs, providing a better cholesterol profile.
• Renal damage.
• Brain and mental decline. Younger or older dogs, active or less active dogs -- it is never too late to supplement your pets with omega-3 essential fatty acids, that is fish oil for dogs.
• Avoid fetal brain and eye underdevelopment of poppy. DHA (from fish oil) has been shown to be key in neural development.Recent research shows that the essential fatty acid, DHA, as found in omega-3 fish oil, has training and learning enhancing properties for your pets!. The research shows "that puppies nourished with enhanced (high) levels of dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were smarter, more trainable than typical-DHA (low-DHA) nourished puppies.".
• Cancer cells proliferation. Studies show that pets fed high doses of fish oil also have better control of cancer.
• Bad mood.
• Learning difficulties.

There are just SO many benefits of giving one small pill a day, that why NOT? I started giving Chico fish oil on July 29th 2010 and PRAISE GOD it has been over a year and he is doing well.

Here's some pictures of our daily regimen. 

Omega 3 for doggies :)

I use this to keep track of his daily pill

Pill Pockets to give him the pill in

pill next to a packet

tore off a part of the packet, and squashed it down.

finished. pill wrapped in packet.

"Please give my my yummy pill Momma!"

He looks forward to his pill every morning. He beats ME to the counter where the pill packets are. He considers it a treat. I definitely recommend tearing off pieces of the packet as it will go A LOT farther. I'd say I get at least 3-4 uses out of each packet. I would not even try to give the fish oil without the pill packet. Good luck!