The Blueberry Patch Litter

These gorgeous babies will be ready for new homes in about three weeks! There are four boys (Spartan, Chandler, Duke & Elliot) and two girls (Brigitta & Jersey).

Introducing . . .

. . . the newest addition to the foster house! Renny is a Great Pyrenees / Golden Retriever mix, certain to break my heart when his adoption day arrives. He is a great dog. Renny is mellow, loving and totally housetrained. He has no problems with other dogs or cats and loves people of all sizes. And, he's quickly become my big shadow. He follows me everywhere and I always have a big head to pet when sitting at my desk. Renny loves to snuggle and will "jump" up on you for hugs, but despite his size, he does it so gently, you just can't help but hug him right back. I suspect it will not take long for Renny to find his forever home . . .

Whoo Hooo !!!

GINGER FOUND A HOME!!!!

Last weekend, during our weekly adoption event at PetSmart, I was looking at poor Ginger in her PetSmart cage and feeling sorry for her -- and myself.

Ginger is one of my very first fosters. And, so far, she is the foster animal I've had the longest. She's a beautiful kitty, but not easy to find a placement for. She is older. She has lots of what we call "Torti-tude." She hisses and nips and smacks with her paw. She HATES other cats and thinks dogs are beneath her -- humans too, for that matter. She is a true Diva.

She also loves attention, purrs like crazy and will lay on your lap, rub up against you and soak up affection as long as you are willing to give it.

For several months, I've secretly wished a sweet older lady would fall in love with Ginger and take her home to be her couch companion.

And, today, that is exactly what happened!

Tonight, Ginger has a whole house to roam and a new "Mom" who intends to spoil her rotten for the rest of her life. Who knows, with such a great new life ahead of her, she may even lose some of that torti-tude!

Bosley Finds a Home ; Strange Houseguests

I miss the little guy terribly, but he found a GREAT home with people who fell in love with him at first sight. They were kind enough to call with an update the first night, and Bosley had come out of his shell and was having great fun running around the house with his new little boy. I love hearing an update the first night. Without it, I have a hard time sleeping wondering how my foster dog or cat is doing in his/her new environment while I get used to them not being here with me. Here's to a great life, Bosley!

I had some interesting house guests this week; a litter of fuzzy little newborns, but not the kind I am used to. While I am used to people bringing me critters, these were a first for me: a litter of possum babies! I'll be honest here and tell you that possums really creep me out. I have rehabbed rabbit babies, squirrels, turtles, birds and even raccoons, so I could have done this too, but the thought of them getting big? Ack! With several litters of kittens currently here, I had a good excuse not to take on the possums. Still, at their little size, they were sort of cute in a helpless sort of way. And I felt badly for them. Their mother had been hit by a car and they were saved when someone saw them crawling from her pouch. So, I inspected them, made a makeshift pouch out of an old knitted cap and placed them in a cat crate on a heated disk to keep them warm. And then we headed to The Wildlife Center of Missouri, where experienced and licensed wildlife rehabbers will care for them until they can be released.

With Bosley in a new home, I do have room for another foster dog. So, last night, Bella joined our pack here. She's an adorable little thing - a beagle mix. My best guess is that she is mixed with husky -- she inherited a darling curly tail. She'd been here a whole 12 hours, when I got a call from the volunteer who brought her to Heartland telling me she already has a meeting with potential adopters! So, it's quite possible Bella will be my quickest turn-around ever!

I'll keep you posted!

Postscript: Bella did find a new home tonight, with wonderful people who will spoil her rotten. I am happy for Bella, but a little disappointed her time with me was so incredibly short!

Finally, An Update . . .

I know, I know, I've been neglecting my blog. It's not for lack of rescue news. It is because of rescue! I told a foster friend recently that rescue has a way of sucking your entire life into its vortex. That really isn't much of an exaggeration; it's quite true. Oh, how I wish all I was doing was playing with and caring for cute little critters, but there is so much more involved.

I love every minute of it though. I just wish I had more time for writing.

So, to catch everyone up to speed on the happenings here, a recap of the last couple weeks:

POGO

My sweet, funny pocket-sized affenpinscher mix was returned. His new mommy faced some unexpected medical issues and knew she was dealing with too much to take on a new puppy. Bringing Pogo back was the last thing she wanted to do, so it was a very sad experience for both of us -- and Pogo too, I imagine.

Pogo came right back into the fold of our routine here though, happy to see his old friends. I have discovered my biggest weakness seems to be returns. I get more attached when they come back and it becomes easy to imagine them staying forever. Pogo found a new home in no time at all and it was tough saying goodbye a second time.

MARLEY

Marley found himself a terrific home. His new Mommy works in a retirement home and Marley will be going to school to learn how to be a therapy dog!

MORE FOO-FOO!

I've taken in another Bichon Frise. Bosley is a little doll, all full of mischief. Although I've sworn I wasn't a "little dog" person, I do love the personality of this breed. They just exude happiness. I swear they smile at you, and their whole bodies wiggle when they see you. Bosley was a gift to an elderly couple and, as often happens when animals are gifted to people not necessarily expecting them, he was too much to handle. It took Bosley a couple days to brave all the dogs here and join our routine. The poor guy was so scared and confused, my heart just broke for him.


Finally though, he had his big breakthrough and joined everyone in a romp through the house. Since all the dogs here right now are young, we endure lots of puppy activity on a daily basis. This includes what I call "thundering." That means five dogs, all wrestling each other while moving about the house. They sort of look like one blurry dog in a swirl of hair and tails and paws, bouncing off walls and furniture. It's total chaos while it happens, but it makes me belly laugh! I guess it is sort of like a hazing ritual to them because, once Bosley decided to join the fun, the other dogs decided he belongs here and now they are all buddies.

AHHH-CHOOO!

Riley, my darling lab/border collie puppy, has been on hiatus from adoption events. He had a case of the sniffles and needed a course of antibiotics. Of course, I haven't minded spending more time with him; he is darling and growing into such a good dog. He is growing fast though and I so want him to find a home before he becomes a hard-to-place Big Black Dog.

CATS, CATS and MORE CATS

Actually, it's kittens, kittens and more kittens!

Nala's babies are much bigger and have just entered the playful stage. They can now escape their little nursing area and run about the room, wrestling with each other and generally driving Nala crazy as they get into mischief. Kismet (a little boy) and Mojo (a little girl) got their names because I am not sure they would have survived had Heartland not stepped in before they were born.



And, Zira finally had her babies, which became a very traumatic experience for all involved, especially her. She showed no pre-labor signs at all. When I went in to randomly check on her one morning, she was curled up with Nala and her babies. As I lifted one of Nala's babies out, I found a tiny kitten underneath, who did not survive the birthing process. A frantic check of the area produced two live kittens, just born and still wet.


No matter what I did, Zira showed no interest in mothering her new babies. In fact, she would intentionally lay on her stomach to prevent them from nursing. Eventually, she left the nest entirely. Fortunately, Nala stepped in as nursemaid right away. I checked and re-checked Zira to make sure she wasn't still laboring and saw no signs of distress -- until the next morning.

I found her straining in the litterbox and knew right away there'd just been a long lapse between kittens and she was now in trouble. We were at the vet's before they opened. X-Rays confirmed she had a baby stuck in the birth canal and another baby still to come. A C-section saved one of those babies. So, we have three brand new babies in what has now become a maternity room of sorts. It took Zira a few days to recover from the shock and pain of the surgery, but when she did, she went straight to her babies and began caring for them -- much to Nala's relief!

AND the CUTEST KITTENS AWARD GOES TO . . .

Days old and in freezing temperatures, they were found in a dumpster behind a Wal-Mart store. Fortunately, the woman who found them knew exactly how to care for neonates and managed to nurse the surviving kittens through the first night. For six weeks, she cared for them, and then they got to come to my house. And, I am so happy about that! They are the most darling things I've ever seen -- and sweet beyond compare. My favorite part of the day is going downstairs late in the evening for some quality kitten time and letting these three little fluffballs crawl all over me.

More Soon!