Stories

Augie - An urgent email told of a Llasa Apso that was found wandering the streets of a town. Poor thing was completely matted and seemed disoriented. After examination it was discovered he was blinded by not being groomed and the excess hair had irritated his eyes to the point of blinding him. Also he had terrible ear infections which affected his hearing. Off to the vet for a thorough shaving, bath, medical treatment and neutering. Augie is doing well and is on medication to maintain better health. For all that he went through, he has a gentle disposition and is a friend to all!

Comanche - It was an over 100 degree day and while driving to town I spotted a horse in an open field wandering. Knowing this area this horse had been dumped. I notified the sheriff department who sent deputies who informed me that by law he had to be held for 18 days. If no one claimed him he would be sent to auction. Those 18 days were spent at a sale barn. I sent a vet to tend to his health, worm and give shots and I took fresh hay and grain to get badly needed nutrition into him. Auction day finally came and I was determined to be the highest bidder! I named him Comanche after my late husband's plane and because he is a paint! Happy and healthy and living a good life on the farm with the rest of my herd ... as it should be.

Mango - I received an urgent call from a fellow rescuer about a Manx kitten who was found under the hood of a car. He was unable to urinate and needed help. A very long story shortened, Mango endured two long and difficult months of tests and trips to several doctors, including Texas A & M Vet School, trying to determine the issue. Finally a skilled surgeon, Dr. David Altman, during a three and a half hour surgery, was able to "drill" through scar tissue in his urethra (can you imagine the microscopic tools he used on a ten- week- old kitten?) and insert a catheter. Mango had the catheter in place for six months, hoping to keep the urethra open enough to allow urine to pass through. He is now 15 months old and so far so good! Mango wears a diaper and is not thrilled about that at times but is healthy and happy and active. A total joy!!!

Mercedes came to me through a Houston vet clinic with whom I worked before. She had been run over, had both sides of her pelvis with multiple fractures and hernias due to injury. An Austin area surgeon skillfully put Mercedes back together with plates and screws. Eight weeks of crating and limited walks and she recovered remarkably well! She has a bit of a hop as she walks but is happy and healthy!

Tucker - A friend found him along a road, having been hit by a car and left. She rushed him to the vet, lots of blood in his mouth, to discover he had bitten off half of his tongue. The obvious concern was how would he feed himself? Once he felt well enough, he figured out he could put his paw in the food and lift it into his mouth. It makes for some mess around the food bowl, but Tuck does very well, thank you!

Bit - Her full name is "Itty Bitty Kitty" but she goes by Bit most of the time. Bit was the runt of the litter, full of mischief and energy. We were able to place all her siblings with HOPE, a rescue group in Houston, but we kept Bit. She had bonded with us, as we had with her. The funny thing about Bit is that she talks to Bob for about 15 minutes when we first get into bed, vying for his attention. If he isn't home, she never says a thing! I guess she feels I am competition.

Grady - Out of a litter of eight, Grady was the only survivor. China, Grady's mother, came into the local animal shelter very sick. For weeks before delivering we honestly didn't know if she would live. Finally delivery day came and once the babies were born and she had a few days to recover, China's health began to improve. Due to her being so sick, she was unable to nurse her litter. We ended up losing all of them but Grady. He is Denise's cat. Fourteen pounds and glued to her lap.

Blaze - A sweet and sociable cat who came to us from a Houston rescue group. Her foster family loved her but couldn't keep her. She didn't make it at the rescue group's off-site adoption events, just too scared and shy, so they decided she was probably unadoptable in their situation. Since this group had taken many of our bottle babies in the past, we were happy to give Blaze a forever home.

Liberty and Juno - These two beauties came to us because of an industry that collects pregnant mare urine to make a hormone replacement drug, then discards the mares and foals when the drug company contract is up or the rancher no longer wants to continue. Many, if not most, of these healthy mares and their foals do not have happy endings. There is a big market for horse meat overseas. We adopted Liberty from a PMU rescue group and one month later she gave birth to Juno, a stunning filly. Both of these girls will live out their lives with us.

Franklin - Franklin came to us at two days old after a business associate called. Motherless, he needed to be bottle raised. Franklin lived in our house, in a dog crate, until he became too active (and driving the house cats crazy!), at which point we put him in the barn atrium with the cats. Once he was independent enough, Franklin joined our other goats and sheep. He soon fit in with the small herd, although he still runs up and wants attention.

Dave - I got a call from one of our vets, asking if I would do a favor and help with a two-day old pup. Of course was my answer! When I arrived at the vet clinic I found a black cocker/red heeler pup, hungry, small, but in pretty good shape. His mother had gotten separated from him and she would not leave her other pups, which she had moved underneath a deck, to come and get him. Several attempts to reunite them had failed so the vet was called. About one-half pound, the pup was stabilized and started to thrive. What a delight Dave became! He is now a little over one year old, playful, enthusiastic and sweet.

Whiskey - Our local animal shelter called saying they had a two-week old pup who had come in about a week before and was not thriving. Would I be willing to bottle-feed him? The answer was yes. I met the staff person and headed over to the vet clinic with this little bundle. A quick examination determined that the poor little guy probably had a tummy ache going from mother's milk to formula and then back to another nursing mother dog at the shelter. He weighed only four pounds. The doctor gave him a few shots to help ease his discomfort, loaded me up with puppy milk replacement powder and off we went. After a two-hour nap, the pup woke up feeling so much better. He drank all his formula and was off to an encouraging start. By the next day, we had a very active pup. This continued and at four weeks he weighed eight pounds! He looked like black velvet so we named him Whiskey after the brand. Whiskey weighed in at 80 pounds at eight months old and is still growing!