Enjoy!

Be sure to scroll all the way down & read the story and thoughts at the end. It's the best part!

A Dog's Purpose? (from a 6-year-old)

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners,Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.

The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's Death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.
Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, ''I know why.''

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation. It has changed the way I try to live.

He said,''People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?''

The Six-year-old continued,''Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.''

Live simply.

Love generously.

Care deeply.

Speak kindly.

Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you're not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.

ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!

  'Animals come into our lives as gifts from God, for companionship, to teach us, and to heal us. They deserve our very best efforts in caring for them'...

April 27th, 2009

Hello and welcome!

This week at RESCUE was a bit slower.  Typically speaking adoptions are slower during late April through September.  I'm hoping that if the economy picks up, adoptions will too.  Fingers crossed.  Summer months are slower for adoption in general due to people being on vacation, out of school, moving and the heat in general makes folks less likely to do things.  Additionally with the heat there are not many options for special events to showcase our dogs and cats.  However we will continue to be at Noble Beast Pet Market each Saturday in an effort to gain additional exposure for our dogs and cats.  

On 4/20 RESCUE dog Misti was spayed.  She has recovered nicely from her surgery and is now up for adoption.  How cute is she?!

On 4/23 RESCUE dog Ariel was adopted.  Ariel's adopters saw her at last weekend's Pride event and fell in love with our little girl.  They had a 10 year old dog at home that had to approve too so we set up an appointment and all went well.  We are hoping to see new photos from her parents soon.  Stay tuned.

RESCUE dog Fozzy has recovered from his doggie cold.  He will be getting his teeth cleaned on Wednesday.  We are expecting many extractions :( unfortunately.  It appears he has never had his teeth cleaned in his life!!! :(

On 4/24 RESCUE dog Shani had her 3 week check up.  You may recall she is the dog we saved back on 3/24 with the horrendous case of demodex.  I am VERY happy to report that Shani is doing fantastic.  She has put on nearly two pounds, she has no more live mites and only a slight infection remaining.  We still have a ways to go with her recovery but our little girl is blazing through this with flying colors.  

On 4/22 RESCUE dog Ringo was neutered.  He had a bit more complicated surgery due to an undescended testicle but was recovering nicely from his surgery.  Unfortunately on 4/24 our bouncy boy did something to his knee!! :0  We're not sure what but he seems painful.  He may have torn his ACL.  We have him on rest and pain meds for a couple of days to see if that helps.  If not, he may need surgery to fix that.  Fingers crossed that it's just a minor muscle injury.  ****Great news!!  Just as I was getting ready to post this blog I received a call from the vet saying the Ringo is doing MUCH better!!!  So it appears that it was just a sore muscle after all!!  AWESOME news!!!  

On 4/25 RESCUE had it's spring mailing party.  Huge thanks to Karen for hosting the event at her house and to the several dozen volunteers that came out to stuff and seal envelopes.  I will be heading out to the post office in a few moments to drop the mailer off to be mailed. Unfortunately I don't have the ability to post the .pdf file online or on our Facebook page.  I'm sure the technology exists so if you know of how we can do that, please email me jennifer@azrescue.org and I'll make sure to get it up asap.  

On 4/26 RESCUE had a pizza party for our cat volunteers and the volunteers that handle our special events.  It was a fun event hosted by RESCUE volunteer and Board Member Debi.  She did an awesome job and we had a great turn out.  We had two special guests -   former RESCUE cat Antonio and little tiny RESCUE kitty Tasha.  Tasha is nearly two pounds now and continues to grow and do very well with her socialization.  All the volunteers fawned, oohed and aahed over our tiny little girl and she took it all in like a brave little girl.  

On 4/26 RESCUE cat Candy moved into foster care with RESCUE volunteer Sheeba.  This is their first pet as a family.  We are very excited for long time cat Candy and Sheeba's family.  It's possible they will end up adopting our beautiful tortie.  I'll keep you posted.

That's it for this week in RESCUE.  Thank you again for following our journey.  Please tell a friend about RESCUE and we hope that you will continue to come back.

Here's to a great week!!!

April 19th, 2009

Hello and welcome,

Another busy week at RESCUE:

On 4/13 RESCUE dog Charlie was adopted by a semi-retired couple who lives here part-time and in Alaska the remainder of the year.  Charlie's adopters found us through a friend of a friend who knew Charlie's foster mom.  It was love at first sight for everyone.  Charlie's parents promise to send photo updates of his journey across the west coast and of his new home in Alaska.  Stay tuned.

On 4/14 RESCUE was privileged to save three dogs lives.  Please welcome Ringo a 2 year old black and tan Chihuahua mix, Jake  is a 4 year old Chesapeake Bay Retriever and Fozzy a 10 year old Shih Tzu.  Both Fozzy and Jake moved into foster care.  Unfortunately Fozzy has come down with a doggie cold but his loving foster mom Khrisann is taking wonderful care of our little patient.  Hopefully he won't be ill for too long.  Jake attended a special event yesterday and today will be heading up to his foster mom Kathy's cabin in Pine for a couple of fun filled days of running and lounging away the days!

On 4/16 RESCUE was thrilled to save five cats lives.  Please welcome CiCi a young black and white kitty with an outgoing personality.  Christian is a long haired gray, declawed boy with stunning green eyes.  Esme is a gorgeous Siamese with lovely blue eyes.  Delaney is a petite Calico young gal with a sweet disposition.  Marley is a young, snuggly brown tabby.  All the kitties are doing well and hopefully won't come down with kitty colds.

RESCUE dog Shani (the dog with the horrendous case of demodex) is making wonderful strides in her recovery.  She feels a world better, has more energy (she even went on a 2 mile walk), is eating well and enjoying all the love and care her fantastic foster parents are giving her.  Shani has a bit more to go but she is definitely on the path to recovery!!  Stay tuned!

On 4/18 and 4/19 RESCUE attended the Phoenix Pride event.  While the event is continuing to go on as I type this, we have received over $700 in donations, the RESCUE dogs are receiving a lot of wonderful exposure and we are hoping that the event will result in some adoptions too.

That's it for this week.  Thanks for following our journey.  We hope to see you next week.

April 11th, 2009

Hello from the world of RESCUE.  Much to update you on!!

On 4/5 RESCUE cat Cassidy was adopted.  Her new home has an older feline brother for her to play with and her new mom already reports that all is going well.

On 4/6 RESCUE dog Alexander was adopted to a single retired woman.  Unfortunately he was quickly returned two days later.  The adopter took Alexander to the vet and when he was in the back with vet, drawing blood, he snapped at the vet.   The adopter was very uncomfortable with this behavior and felt she needed to return him to us.

On 4/6 RESCUE dog Buster was adopted by fellow RESCUE volunteers Jim & Kat.  Jim and Kat have two other spotted boy dogs they adopted from RESCUE over the years and our spotted boy Buster captured all their hearts with his cute personality.  

On 4/7 we moved Sigmund, Kira and Kole over to our doggie day care location.  Kira's eye has healed nicely and she is starting to come out of her shell.

On 4/8 RESCUE cat Sundance was adopted to a retired couple.  Sundance will be an only kitty. She's a bit unsure of her new surroundings at the moment (you may recall Sundance was recently returned to us after 8 years) but hopefully with a bit of time and patience, she'll relax and enjoy the love that her new parents are surrounding her with.

RESCUE dog Misti has come down with a doggie cold.  She has a 5:15am cough :0 at the moment but is eating and starting to feel more comfortable in a home environment.

On 4/9 RESCUE cat Duchess had an adoption appointment with a couple who had recently lost their beloved black kitty.  Unfortunately Duchess was not in the mood for companionship and was a bit swatty with the potential adopters.  They decided that Duchess just wasn't the one for them.  Better luck next time.

On 4/9 we had RESCUE cat Lelah's one month old kitty over to our Feline Care Center.  Lelah's kitten, who is a girl is now named Tasha.  Tasha is at the age when we need to work on her socialization.  She went on her first car ride, in a carrier for the first time, meet lots of other people, had her first nail trimming and meet a couple of new felines.  Tasha's adorable one pound three ounce body was gently passed from volunteer to volunteer. After an hour, our little girl was wiped out and headed back home to see her mom.  While I'm sure Lelah appreciated the reprieve from her never ending motherly tasks, she was happy to have her baby back home.

On 4/9 RESCUE kitty Tommy became ill.  He was lethargic, squinty eyed and had vomited.  By the next afternoon he had a high fever.  We took him to the vet.  His fever persisted for another 12 hours but then was back to normal.  All his bloodwork came back normal so we're a bit perplexed as to what happened.  We'll continue to monitor him and hopefully it was just a bug of some sort.

I'm extremely happy to report that RESCUE dog Shani is doing very well with her skin condition.  All of her scabs are gone, she's eating well, not sleeping as much and even went on a one mile walk!!!  Her foster mom Tamara is doing an excellent job caring for her and we're very hopefully that Shani will continue to recover.

On 4/10 RESCUE dog Brandi was adopted to a young couple.  This is their first dog as adults. They are eager to have a running companion and a canine friend to cuddle with on the couch. Brandi will be the perfect fit for them.  

On 4/11 RESCUE dog Ellie was adopted to a loving retired couple.  They have another Bassett Hound named Molly and an older Spaniel named Cole.  All the canine girls got along famously and Ellie's new parents are just over the moon with joy.  They were madly in love with her before she arrived and so when her floppy ears walked through the door they just couldn't get enough of her!!  We are so happy to all of them!!   

Well that's it for now.  Please continue to come back to follow up on RESCUE's journey.  Here's to great week!!

April 2nd, 2009

Hello Everyone!  I hope you are having a good week.  Here's what's been going on this week in RESCUE:

On 3/29 RESCUE dog Mia was adopted.  Mia's new home is with a young couple.  Her new dad works from home and will be taking Mia along with him if he has errands outside of the home.  Mia's new parents recently lost their dog of 11 years.  Mia is already helping heal their hearts.  They have taken her on tons of walks, to the vet, to meet Grandma and her dog, which Mia played with the instant they meet!  Life is good for Mia and her new family.  They promise to send photos soon.  Stay tuned.  Here are photos from her adoption appointment.

On 3/30 Lelah's kitten weighed 15 ounces.  The kitten is moving around a lot more, exploring the world and Lelah is taking excellent care of her.  The kitten is three weeks old now.

On 3/31 RESCUE cat Harley was adopted.  Harley's new home is a family with a 10 year old boy named Graham.  Harley and Graham are already fast friends.  Graham even got to stay home from school for two days in order to spend extra time with Harley.  Check out the photos on our Facebook page.

On 3/31 RESCUE dog Shani moved into foster care with Tamara.  You may recall that Shani is the dog we recently rescued with the worst case of Demodex that we had ever seen.  Thanks to RESCUE volunteer Tamara, Shani is getting a high quality wholesome diet, regular medication and TONS of love.  We had Shani seen by a second vet, Dr. Dutton on 4/2.  Dr. Dutton also said this was the worst case of Demodex that she had seen too.  :(  She consulted with a skin specialist, Dr. Song who prescribed a very detailed regiment to help our little girl.  She has a secondary infection and while I hate to type this, it is possible that the secondary infection could take hold of her little body, causing her to become septic and sadly this could result in her death.  I'm very hopefully that this will not be the case for Shani.  Qith Tamara's loving care, Dr. Dutton's watchful eye and all our love and support, she will pull through this.  It will be a long, slow process but again I am very optimistic that she will pull through this.  She is in great spirits despite her condition, getting lots of love and enjoying life with her foster family.  I will keep you updated on her condition.  Please keep positive thoughts for Shani.

On 3/31 RESCUE was privileged to save another dog's life.  Misti was on the "kill list" due to her being shy.  Given some quiet time out of the kennel Misti became affectionate and even playful.  Misti moved into foster care with Brent and Heidi who were fostering Mia.  We named our new RESCUE dog Misti, in honor of Mia's new mom Misti.  Misti is doing well in foster care, although it appears that she has never been in a car, in a home, played with toys or walked on a leash!  :(  Sadly this is not the first time we have seen these behaviors in some of the dogs and cats we save.  However, we have found with patience and positive socialization, Misti will come around.  Stay tuned on her progress.

On 4/2 RESCUE had a return.  Former RESCUE cat Sundance, a red 

tabby, was returned to us after 8 years of living in a home with her adopters. They decided they needed to "give her back" to RESCUE.  :(  Basically the adopters have decided they just don't want to care for a cat anymore, despite the fact that she is "no trouble at all."  She is in great health, has no behavior issues and is mild mannered.  Sundance was declawed by the adopters at age 5.  :(  It's very unfortunate that Sundance is being abandoned again, especially at her age.  Now that she is nearly 9 years old, it will be very challenging to find adopters that are interested in adopting a pet that is older than 5 years of age.  Rest assured, RESCUE is committed to Sundance for her entire life.  She will be loved and cared for until a loving home is found for her.  This photo is from the day of her return.

All of the recent cats that we rescued - Tucker, Jonas, Giselle and Sophia are all 100% healthy, have been spayed/neutered and are now ready for adoption.  We have moved them into the main areas of our Feline Care Center and if all goes well, we will be saving some more cats lives soon.  

I think that brings you up to speed on RESCUE events.  I will continue to keep you updated on everyone.  I hope you continue to come back to follow RESCUE's journey!

I hope you have a great weekend!