2012 was a great year for us! We took in and adopted more animals that we did last year! Thanks for making ’12 great, and here’s to making ’13 amazing!
Ginger Tails
We rescued Gingerbread in mid-December from a high-volume shelter. We noticed he had a bit of a weird walk, but we thought it could have been due to living in a cramped cage with other cats and/or his recent vaccinations.
It turned out he has been living with a dislocated hip for quite some time. He’s not in any pain; the injury is that old that he’s adapted to it (which is really sad, when you think about it), but obviously he can’t live like that, so our wonderful vet at Blue Cross will be performing his surgery to help restore his mobility and quality of life. Thanks to all the wonderful donations we receive, we have an emergency vet fund for situations like this, so GB will be having his surgery this Tuesday the 8th.
Both GB and all of us here at NBAR appreciate all the help you have provided so that GB can have his surgery so quickly. If you want to continue to help GB out or donate to our fund so that other animals can have these special surgeries you can donate directly to Blue Cross Animal Hospital of RO (http://tinyurl.com/auguqkf).
GB also has promised to keep everyone updated on his condition; he’s expected to make a full recovery but will need about a month or two to recover.
Charlie Boy
Charlie boy is doing just wonderful. Snuggling with everyone in the house any chance he gets. He is just about the happiest little kitten I’ve ever met. Just as you predicted he is fitting it wonderfully with all his new siblings.
Slightly intimidated by size, at first, of his new Maine Coon big brother, Jesse, but now play together constantly and are now the best of friends. Charlie was actually grooming Jesse the other day which is UTTERLY AMAZING. Just about everyone in the house thoroughly under Charlies’ spell from the get-go.
I send an update today with a picture because little Charlie, at last, won over the last skeptic late last night. Waking in the middle of the night for a drink of water I was touched to find Charlie and Elvis (110lb black lab) snuggled up together. His work is complete.
Cutest Adoption Update – EVAR!
Hi New Beginnings,
I’m Andrew Rice and my family adopted Smudge in February. He is an arrogant (which I like), curious, and amazingly cute cat. I’d like to thank you for finding this great cat and letting us adopt him.
Andrew (age 11)
Decisions, Decisions…
We’ve been a little quiet about the building because not a lot has been going on, well, there’s been a lot of talking and waiting but not a lot of action. We’re working with a contractor and focusing on getting quotes for our HVAC system. It turns out we also need a new furnace, despite having a newer furnace already in there. It’s not large enough to handle the amounts of air that will be flowing and circulating in there with the ventilation system we have to have. So it’s going to cost a bit more than we expected. Isn’t that always how it goes?!?!
In the meantime, we’re going to be painting the rooms that we can. Then we’ll have drainage and sinks put into every room, and lastly we’ll have the floors treated and sealed. After all that’s done, we can finally get to the fun part – decorating and catification!
We’re taking our time with this and we know everyone is excited and wants to be involved and wants us to open up like now, and originally we were trying to get everything done ASAP. But we took a step back a realized that we also wanted this stuff done correctly, the first time. And that may take more time but we don’t have to dig stuff up or tear stuff down in a year because of something we shoulda/coulda/woulda done. We have no idea when we will be open to the public, I’m still holding out of March, but we’re hoping to at least have our pantry operating out of our place by January. Finger and paws crossed.
Rudi Tootie, the one-eyed monster cat
It’s me again, Rudi’s mom. It’s been almost a year since Rudi has moved in, and I thought I’d give a quick update.
Well, he snorts, he burps, he farts, he washes his butt on our pillows while we are trying to sleep, he still yells “TAXI!” really loud, and we couldn’t love him more. He definitely doesn’t seem like a big eater, but he’s still a whopping 20 lbs. Our vet at Little Friends of Ferndale says it’s not a huge issue though because his body frame is so massive. (She asked how much he can bench – his shoulders and neck are huge!) He’s getting along good with his brothers, but there’s still an occasional stare-down between our Ham Ham and Rudi over the never-ending quest to be alpha male. Thankfully, it doesn’t amount to anything ferocious.
He also demands, mostly in the middle of the night, for us to turn on the bathtub faucet. If he manages to find some drips of water on his own, he gets his head SOPPING wet, and then jumps back in our bed to headbutt us in our faces — who needs an alarm clock? I think he thinks it’s funny.
I have known SO many cats in my days, and I have never ever known any of them to be anything like Rudi. I swear, he isn’t even a cat. He’s a bulldog mixed with a baby bear mixed with a walrus, but whatever he is, he’s awesome. Thank you so much for placing us with the best one-eyed, FIV positive, crazy guy we’ve ever known!
Have a lovely holiday season!
Rudi’s mom and dad, Kristy and Josh
We’ve Been Adopted!
Finally, a place to call our own!
For nearly 2 years we’ve been searching EVERYWHERE for a building – and we’ve finally found one! Royal Oak will be our home and we’re so happy to be there! Thank you to everyone who gave us good vibes or said kind words at our nerve-wracking meeting. And a big thanks to the RO ZBA for doing what they felt would be best for the neighbourhood, community, and city.
Now that we’ve got a place, the renovations can begin to bring the place up to code so that we can get our license from the Dept. of Agriculture. It will be some time before we are able to adopt any animals out of this place, but it’s ours! Plus we want to make it as cool, modern, and snazzy as we can! We’ll be blogging and updating as we go so you can see the progress!
In the meantime, we’ll continue to hold our adoption events at Napier’s, Pet Supplies Plus, and Community Pet Supply. And we’ll let you know when our grand opening event will take place!
Update – Stormy & Techno
I wanted to send this e-mail back in June, since it was the one year
anniversary of my adopting Stormy and Techno, but got side tracked :/
Both cats are doing really well. Stormy is very energetic and plays a
lot with her toys and even drags her toys in to bed at night She
still goes at her fur sometimes, but is doing really well overall.
Techno isn't very vocal, though sometimes I wish he were, because he
has the most adorable meow ever. He purrs quite a bit, but not nearly
as much as Stormy Stormy is very vocal, and we have full fledged
conversations it seems sometimes. My upstairs neighbors probably think
I'm weird, ha!
I have two cat tree's now, both are Stormy's..lol. I picked up the
second one a few months ago in attempt for Techno to have place to
lounge. Stormy let him play on it for about a week before staking her
claim. He seems content to lay wherever though, usually on the couch
or couch ottoman.
Both cats are spoiled and have lots of toys and things to keep them
busy while I'm at work. Techno's favorite toy's are the little mice
that came with them, when I adopted them. Stormy will pretty much play
(or destroy, lol) with anything you give her.
I just wanted to say again that I am so thankful to have been given
the opportunity to bring Stormy and Techno into my life. They've
brought me a great deal of happiness, love, comfort and companionship
over the last year. Losing my husband was the hardest thing I have
ever had to go through. If not for them, I don't think I would be as
content with how my life has turned out since losing my husband.
All the best to you and the rest of the NBAR family!
Jennifer
The Scariest Days of the Year
The night of the booms-and-bangs is nearly upon us, and while we might enjoy fireworks, the same can’t be said for our pets. For one of my dogs, this is the worst holiday. Ever. I’ve got some tips below to hopefully help your pet make it through the holiday, but the best tip is to keep your pet inside. If you have a dog (or cat) that loves to be outside, this is not the time, sorry tough rocks.
- Tired dog = happy dog
I know it’s quite hot outside, but if you can manage an evening walk…. If you can’t take your dog for a walk find other ways to tire them out – a trip to the dog park, doggie play dates, go swimming, or maybe have them spend an afternoon at a pet boarding place. Try to find ways to really wear your dog out so they’ll be tired by the time the fireworks start in earnest (I know there’s always some yahoo lighting off bottlerockets at 3 in the afternoon). The more tired they are, the better!
- Make some noise of your own
Since it’s so hot, I’m going to assume that everyone who has AC has it turned on, if not, do it! Keeping the house closed will cut down on some of the noise outside, but making some good white noise of your own inside will help too. Run a portable fan, keep the TV or radio on will create background noise and hopefully keep your dog from focusing on the scary noise.
- Find a quiet place
For me, my office and computer are in the basement, which is where my dog and I will be spending our evenings. It’s much quieter down here, plus combined with the fact that she’ll be tired, and I have music on, means she’ll sleep right through the booms with no problems.
- Medicate
If you have a dog who is flat-out terrified, you might want to consider some medication. First off, I’m NOT a vet, so please please please check with your vet before giving your pet ANYTHING.
- Tranq’s – these are best if your dog just can’t handle the fireworks at all. You can get some tranquilizers that will put your dog into a nice sleep for the whole event. You’ll have to get these from your vet.
- Melatonin – I love this stuff. This is a supplement that you can take, it’s what your brain releases that makes you tired. I’ve given this to my dogs before and it works. It won’t make them go to sleep, but if they’re tired and lay down, they’ll fall asleep and stay asleep longer. I’ve used this for bad storms too. It basically takes away that restlessness they get from loud noises, but won’t knock them out like a tranq. Bad news is it take 20-30 mins to work, but good news is it’s not something that you have to “build-up” in their system – you can use it as needed. You can buy this stuff anywhere in the supplement/vitamin aisle, but call your vet for dosage.
- Benadryl – allergy medicines can make dogs sleepy. This works like a tranq, but not as well; it’s kind of a middle ground between tranqs and Melatonin. Please make sure to buy either Benadryl or it’s generic counterpart only and call your vet for dosage amounts.
- Don’t coddle your dog
Oh it’s so tempting – your dog is shaking and terrified so you go over hug them, kiss them, and give them lots of love. Guess what? You’ve just rewarded that behavior. You might not have even realized it, but you may have turn a one-time reaction into a “thing” that they’re going to do over and over again. The best thing to do when your dog is distressed is to re-direct their behavior – in other words, give them something else to do. Try playing with a favorite toy or give them something to eat/chew. I’m not a fan or rawhide, hooves, or pig ears for dogs, but finding things like those that take time to eat are the best. Or you can go purchase a Kong toy and fill it with a frozen treat. I take vanilla yogurt mixed with peanut butter and add fruits, veggies, or their food to the mix, fill the Kong and freeze it over-night. This keeps my girls busy for a long time and properly distracted.
As tempting as it is, remember coddling bad energy only encourages and exacerbates it;
instead, redirect that energy into something more positive and productive!
- Know thy pet
Having worked in a shelter for five-years, many people who called with a lost pet were board-line hysterical. Do you know how many dogs can fit the description of: black lab mix, Shepherd mix, small terrier mix? Take 5 minutes right now and write down at least 5 unique things about your pet. Hopefully you never, ever lose your pet, but if you do, you are prepared because you have a list of things you can tell people that will help them identify your dog amongst the rest. You might also want to take some good, clear, recent pictures of your pet too.
Here’s the example I made of my dog (PS if that face looks familiar it’s because that’s our Adopt shirt model!):
- Tag me
If you have a dog who can escape their collar or hates wearing one, guess what? Tough. They’re going to have to wear one for a little bit or if they escape their collar, try buying a harness put their tags on it! Make sure your tags are current too – you can go to any pet store and for a few bucks make a new tag right there. If your dog is particularly flighty, you might want to take them out on a leash. I also go out with my dogs at night now anyways, just so they feel a little more secure with me out there.
I hope these suggestions and tips help you, and your pet stay safe this holiday. Use them all or just a few – they should be used in tangent with one another. If you’re going out, leave your pet home. If you have a sitter for your dog, make sure they know to be extra-super protective and cautious with your pet, even if they are ok with the noise. This is the busiest time for shelters because so many dogs and cats get spooked and run.
Update – Louis and Ella
We are having a blast with our little furry friends! We had a little
transition, remembering that they were a little shy...
But we have all come to adore each other! They have quite amazing little
personalities and they're so much fun to have around the house! They have
settled into their own routines, found favorite places to perch, windows to
watch birds and chipmunks from, and their own sides of the bed.
We can't believe how lucky we were to find these new friends, and they're
so playful (and chatty!) that we find it hard to believe that they're really
7 years old.
Thanks for your help placing them with us!
Mary Lou
