Maiya Update

Thank you all so very much for the prayers and good thoughts for Maiya and her family.
Her mom doesn't know what to think, and just continues to feel Maiya is a miracle.

Maiya has been off the feeding tube for nine days now, and has surprised us all. She is doing wonderful with all of her mouth feedings. She is being fed four small meals a day, and held up in the upright position for 20-30 minutes after each meal to allow gravity to help the food pass through her esophagus and make it to her stomach. As of today she has not regurgitated any of her meals, that alone is not normal. Even with the tube feedings, she would still regurgitate some.

So, Maiya continues to surprise us all. She is happy, energetic, and enjoying being able to eat and act like a normal dog.

We still have no idea what tomorrow will bring, with Megaesophagus being such a serious disease, things can change quite drastically overnight, and the care for a Mega-E dog is very individualized. Her family is taking each day they have with Maiya as a blessing.

Maiya, and Megaesophagus

I wrote about Maiya a while back. You can read about her and Megaesophagus here.

Maiya will no longer keep her feeding tubes in. We think they are starting to bother her, as she is constantly pulling them out.

Maiya's family will manage her for as long as they can with mouth feedings; but they don't suspect that will last long. Then again, Maiya is always full of surprises so no telling what will happen. This is a very trying time for Maiya's family, they are now walking into the unknown.

In the end...Maiya will tell them what to do. They are listening. We don't know what tomorrow will bring.

If you believe in the power of prayer, please say a prayer for Maiya and her family.

A few photos taken recently of Maiya playing with her little brother.

Silly girl.

Rabies Vaccine Reaction

I have so much to catch up on, and some updates on all the happenings going on in my world. But something very frightening happened this weekend I need to write about.

We took Jeni to have her Rabies Vaccine Saturday morning. Five hours later she started vomiting. First, 3 piles, then 10 minutes later 2 more piles, about 15 minutes after that another 3 piles. Immediately I was concerned about an allergic reaction to the vaccine. I watched her for a few minutes, then I noticed her face swelling. At that point we grabbed her leash and headed back to the vet, with phone in hand calling them and letting them know we were on our way.

The facial swelling was all around her nose, and mouth and her throat. The vet gave her a steroid shot, and a Benadryl injection, plus a bottle of Benadryl to take for the next five days. He suggested keeping her over night, but left it up to us. We brought her home, as we felt we could manage her and get back to the clinic fast enough if we had to.

I was already well informed with all the reactions dogs can get from the rabies vaccine, and I know more severe reactions can occur as far as a couple months later. I was paranoid getting Jarie's Rabies Vaccine six weeks ago with all her health issues, I felt if any of my dogs were to ever react to the vaccine, it would be Jarie. Never did it occur to me that little Jeni would have a reaction.

Possible rabies Vaccine side effects
Immediately or up to 3 days after the shot:

Vomiting
Facial swelling
Fever or lethargy
Circulatory shock
Loss of consciousness
Death

Days, weeks or months after the shot:

Fibrosarcoma (cancer) at the injection site
Seizures and Epilepsy
Allergies
Autoimmune diseases, including organ disease, allergies and skin problems
Chronic digestive problems
Muscle weakness, especially lack of hind end coordination
Chronic digestive disorders
Skin diseases like Ischemic Dermatopathy / Cutaneous vasculitis
Behavior problems: aggression, destructive behaviors, separation anxiety and odd obsessive behaviors (like tail chasing and paw licking).

Jeni had a rough night last night, and she isn't out of the woods yet, but she is stable at the moment.

Our biggest fear now, is there is a huge possibility that she may still develop one of the more subtle side effects that may occur weeks or even months from now.

Below are a couple of links with valuable information.
Rabies Vaccine - Skin Reactions
Holistic Animal Health: Vaccinosis

Where Has The Time Gone

Oh my, where has the time gone? I have missed so much. Time just flies by when we are having fun, or not. I do need to take the time to catch up on all of the blogs I follow, but what is time? Time is something I just haven't had for myself lately.

I do want to thank all of you wonderful blog friends that took the time to email me and ask if I was okay. I apologize for not replying. I have been so very busy, I have not been logging into my email, and when I did, I was surprised at the dozens of emails waiting for my replies. Those of you who called, THANK YOU, I really needed that break, and our talk.

So what has been taking up so much of my time? Too much to list here for now, but I will say my childcare has been extremely busy. With the new school year came many people looking for childcare/preschool for their little ones. I have spent the past few weeks interviewing potential parents throughout the day and into the early evening hours. By the end of each day, I am too exhausted to do anything but sleep. I now have no more openings in my childcare, and am almost overwhelmed. I tend to take on children that may need a little extra help, and one of the 2 year old boys I took on has really been challenging, but just yesterday, we made a break through, and after 2 weeks, I am seeing some improvement with some challenging behavior.

By the time my children leave in the early evening, I still have to tend to all the dogs, cats, and cook dinner, (if hubby is lucky enough), then sit with him for a few minutes, and off to sleep I go, only to start all over the next morning.

Being so crazy busy means I have neglected a few things. I had 3 cats I was suppose to take to our spay/neuter clinic two weeks ago, and I forgot all about it, until a rescue friend of mine called and asked if I had the three cats trapped and ready for transport. OOPS! This time I marked it on the calender for this month so I don't forget.

I have been trying to help a friend find homes for a litter of kittens and their mama that were born outside, just a few houses down from me, Not easy. The economy has hit this town hard, and all of our rescues here are referring people to take their pets to the shelter. None of our fosters have any room. All we can do, is keep doing what we are doing. Try to save one animal at a time.

I have much more to update on about my crew, but not enough time (there's that word again). For now, here are a few photos I took a couple weeks ago. We had just bought this new bunk bed play toy for the cats, and they all really enjoy it. It is a big hit. Mama Cat loves this, and was the first to try it out. Lacee is the one inside it.











I hope to catch up on everyone's blogs this weekend, and will try and make another post next week, and fill you in on a few important topics that matter to me.

The Phone Call

It all started with a phone call. One I wish I never would have made. Two female German Shepherds needing to be re-homed, the family is moving out of state and won't be taking them along. The black and tan shepherd found a new family right away. That left Belle, a pretty white, almost 2 year old German Shepherd. People don't seem to want the white shepherds as much as they do the others. I know from experience if a home is not found in time, she will end up at our local high kill shelter. All of our rescues are full, as soon as dogs are pulled from the shelter, more are being dropped off.

After several nights listening to hubby ask me "where is my white German Shepherd?", I gave in, and made the call, the call I now regret making. The very nice lady that owns Belle, told me all about her. "She is a little timid and shy at first, but after a few seconds, she will warm up to strangers." She is missing her sister, the other Shepherd they re-homed. We spent a half an hour talking and she filled me in on everything there was to know about Belle. I told her I didn't want to see her go to the shelter, and if she fit in with my family, and no one else came to adopt her, then hubby and I would.

Two days later I get a call, asking me to please come meet Belle, and lets see how things go. Hubby believed we would be leaving her house with Belle that evening. I assured him, we would just be evaluating her. I must admit, we both had our hopes up. We didn't need another dog, and often times we tell each other we don't want another, but then we admit to ourselves that if by chance the right one came along, we would take that opportunity.

On the drive there, we were already discussing how she would be spending the weekends with hubby at work, and weekdays with me. As we approached the driveway, there she was, peaking out from behind her current owner. Long, tall, graceful, beautiful, white Belle, carrying a tennis ball in her mouth, very thin, as she has quit eating since her sister was adopted. She would drop her ball, and hubby and I would take turns throwing it. Never once, would she come close enough to either of us to allow us to pet her. She wouldn't retrieve her ball from our hands, if we didn't throw it. Instead, she would cower with her tail tucked under her, stretch as far as she could, then run and hide behind her owner. She let out a few growls every now and then. After awhile we finally went inside and sat down, hoping if we ignored her she would come to us. She clearly liked men better then women, and that is okay, as she did manage to sneak up to hubby and lick his arm and face very quickly; then just as quickly backed away with her tail tucked, and climbed across the sofa back to hide under her owners legs. This time a few feet away from me, with another low growl.

No matter how long we stayed, she wasn't going to warm up to us. Needless to say, we were very disappointed when we drove away. I know with lots of time and patience, and the right experienced dog owner, she would come around, but sadly, our home and our schedule would not be right for her. She has all the makings of a fear biter. With running the childcare in my home, with me alone with her and the other dogs during the day, we have to admit, she would be too much of a risk here.

I don't know what will happen to her. I don't know what her future holds, or even if she has a future. I just wanted to hold her, and tell her everything was going to be okay, instead, as we drove away, I had this overwhelming feeling that we failed her. I can only hope the right family comes along for her.

He Went Home Today

He had no name. The first sight of him was enough to break my heart into little pieces. His quivering body lay there on the cold cement floor.

Okay, so he is not perfect. His hair was matted, brown and dirty, where it should have been a shiny black and grey, bare patches along his legs and tail, his feet were red and sore; with a grey muzzle that told me he was living his senior days in misery. Too many years of badly bruised bones.

He may have some medical issues, He has some baggage. He may not be able to walk right into a home perfectly well adjusted. He may show his fear in a variety of ways. He may not love everyone immediately.
He may have some idiosyncrasies. He may cower, put his ears back, hide, or tremble. He may look at you with fear, and distrust. It might take several months, before he can begin to trust again. He has many scars; making it impossible to count them all. He is one of society's throwaways. Why then, would anyone possibly want him?

He is the epitome of resilience of a cruel, cruel world handed to him. Anytime someone approached his kennel all they would see is a thin, battered, helpless soul, who seems to have given up on life. People passed by him often, but those that stopped wouldn’t give him a second glance, shook their head and moved on. No one will have him now.

But the thing that was the most disturbing was the look in his eyes. They were quiet eyes, with a look that he had given up. I reached out to stroke his head and he instinctively squinted his eyes shut and dropped his head.

I sat next to him, whispering softly, letting him know there are good people out there, we are not all bad. I kept repeating “you have to perk up, you have to show them you still have lots of love to give”. All the while he just lay there with his head down, never once looking at me, or showing any interest of what was going on around him. He had lost all hope.

Minutes later a child ran to his kennel with the brightest eyes, smiling, and full of excitement yelling "this one mommy, this one". Mommy replied "Oh, no, not that one, its too old and dirty". The child kept pleading to mommy, “ but look mommy, he is so quiet and nice”. She kept tugging at mommies arm, pulling her back, as mommy replied “he is all used up and no good, lets find a puppy”. I didn’t pass judgment because I know he was truly a mess, and worse, in his golden years. However, what a wonderful feeling it was, to witness the only one in the room that could see past all of the horrible scars and grey hairs to find that he was "the one", was a little girl no more then 7 years old.

If only more adults would open their eyes and hearts, and see through a child's eyes once again.

Each day, a repeat of the day before. No one can see with just a good bath, grooming, a little medical care, lots of patience, this old beat up soul, would be a fine companion, and shine again, he just needs help to learn to trust again.

His time was up. Just like so many before him, walking that green mile down the corridor to that dreaded room. I got there just in time, as I knelt down on one knee, put my hands around his neck and kissed the top of his forehead, like I have so many times before, but this time was different, this time he lifted his head, and looked into my eyes; then slowly licked the tears rolling down my cheeks.

I can see the good in him, the heart, the soul, behind all the scars, there is a lot of love and life left in him, and perhaps a little bit of hope.

The old boy that showed up with no name, so many weeks before, went home today, and I couldn’t let him go without a name. The name I have called him for weeks. "PaPa".

Today marks the first day of a new life for PaPa, in his new home.

Where is home? Home is..... RESCUE.

PaPa has been saved and now living in the home of a rescue volunteer.

Pilots N Paws Looking For Rescues

Pilots N Paws is trying to plan a 5,000 Animal Rescue Week to highlight security clearance requirements that may threaten air transport of animals.
The time chosen is roughly Sept. 12 to Sept. 20. THEY NEED RESCUES TO CONTACT THEM!!!!!! From all across the country!!! ASAP!!!

This is a dream for rescues! Let's help PILOTS n PAWS and get our animals to their new homes.

They ask that we choose trips of approximately 200 - 400 miles as that's about a one day trip for most pilots.

If you are a rescue and willing to participate, Please go to their blog and comment.

TO DATE, THEY HAVE HAD FEW RESPONSES FROM RESCUE GROUPS.

Air transport by volunteer pilots is so important. I think rescues would love this!!! The word is simply not getting to them. please pass this information on to rescue groups. CROSS POST like mad. We can't lose these pilots. They also need people to join as volunteer fosters.

They have a great interactive map showing volunteers and where pilots are located. Please help with this. Can you imagine 5,000 animals in the air in one week going to rescue or forever homes?!!!

Obviously, people can't hold dogs, but if enough can be located within a given distance of these airports, then whoever has an animal that needs to get somewhere that week, can participate.