Carma's clinic memories: Susan

This is Susan, what a lovely child! She is in 3rd grade and she came to hold the kittens and play with the puppies. She was such a wonderful little one! She sat and visited with me as she held "Kirsten's Orphans". The one she is holding here is 'Simon', a siamese looking baby!

I asked what she would want to be when she grew up. She looked at me quite seriously and said, "I will be a random citizen!". I asked what a 'random citizen' would do? To which she was quick to reply, "Well...I would know when the great idea hit me!". What a breath of fresh air!!! I haven't had a child sit and talk to me without a cell phone for years!!!!! I hope that she will come back, she says that she will!! I won't forget her!

Carma

Carma's clinic memories: Shaving the cat

A couple brought this cat into the October clinic. They were ready to surrender her....the husband was visibly upset because he loves this cat but could not control the matted coat. I was asked if I could clip the matted fur off. I replied "Yes...only if one of them would stay and help". Well....I reached into the kennel and the 'lovely little kitty' tried to kill me!!!! Her 'mother' said that she too was scared to try and get her out and hold her! So....Vet Maria volunteered to tranquilize our 'lovely little kitty'! Her first shot went into the 3 inch mat, attached to her back! The second shot hit paydirt and she was out within minutes!

Her name is BABY!!! She had a coat that was unbelievable! Her whole body was a mat! She must have been so uncomfortable, hurting with move she made. NO WONDER SHE WAS SO CRABBY!!! I quickly shaved her down, it took me about 30 minutes. I combed out her tail and tidied her feet. As I was shaping the fur around her head...she twitched!!!! That was enough for me!!! 'Nice kitty, kitty'!!!! She was telling me that SHE was still in control and I had better finish up fast!!!

Her Mom and Dad took her home in the kennel, which they returned the next day. They are going to bring her in for regular grooming! So....Baby and I will meet again! Hopefully she won't remember from time to time what I am doing to her!!! I think, if she could, she would try to find me.....I'm just not sure if she would thank me or torture me!!!

Carma

October clinic, 2012 finale

Red Lake Rosie's Rescue completed the last spay/neuter clinic of 2012 with 108 animals altered. We took in 70 strays/surrenders at the clinic, so Karen was overwhelmed with animals at the shelter.
JULIE

Late August, September, and October tend to be the busiest months of the year with a high volume of animals coming into Rosie’s. Fortunately, many rescues have stepped up to take animals, so Karen has been busy with transports.
SANDY

Some clinic favorites were the litter of two-week old kittens, who received a lot of syringe-feeding, rear-end stimulation, and attention from their substitute mom, Kristen, as well as others.

There were loads of puppies, some in very poor condition, but most bounced back quickly with the good food, warmth, and attention.

A gentle black and white dog with a damaged shoulder and quills, Bingo, charmed everyone with his sweet nature despite his being very sick.

Dr. Marie was kind enough to volunteer her veterinary expertise again. She helped examine and vaccinate previously altered animals and treated the ill and injured animals. JEAN

Amy, who is a healing touch practitioner (http://healingpetsmn.com/) worked on many of the injured dogs, too. We are very grateful for their dedication to helping the animals. Amy is fostering Bingo, as well, so he is receiving wonderful care.

Many thanks to Claudia who provided the entire vegetarian meal menu again and added some deliciously decadent treats.

Thank you to Dr Lisa and her MN SNAP team.

Thank you to Julie and Carma for grooming the matted and disheveled and for their all-around good-natured help.
ELLEN AND DEB

Thank you to Deb, Kristen, Ellen, Benay, Jean, Nancy, Amy, Marie, Sandy, Jenna, Jenny, and Susan for doing everything else – setting-up, facilitating intake, loading and unloading supplies and animals, cleaning crates/cages, feeding and walking puppies and dogs, caring for kittens and cats, doing dishes and laundry, and cleaning up at the end.

Thank you, Karen.

DeeDee

Riley

Riley was a surrender at the October clinic and went with Sarah to the metro in the care of Luv Me Again Rescue. See the great update and pics. Karen

Hi Karen, just wanted to update you that Riley was adopted today to a nice family with a little boy that couldn't wait to get Riley home so they could watch TV and cuddle.

He is such a nice dog. He and my puppy shared lots of cuddles as you can see! Thank you so much for letting him come my way :)

Happy Birthday, Karen Good!!

From your friends, admirers, and all the animals that owe their lives to you:

Our paths will cross for only a short time,

but while you are in my care I will be devoted to you.

If memories of your former life are painful, I will help erase them.

No longer will you hunger and I will help to heal your wounds.

If your former life was good,

I will promise you an even better future.

One day our time together will come to an end

and you will go off to your new home, healthy, happy and healed.

As a parting gift, I will give you a piece of my heart

to remember me by.

I may shed a tear...not for my loss, but for your gain.

Perhaps our paths may cross again for a fleeting instant

and I will be comforted by the aura of love that surrounds you.

There will always be a bond between us,

though we walk separate paths through this life.

After we reach our heavenly reward our paths may cross again.

You may try to return the piece of my heart

with thanks for all that I did for you.

I will tell you to keep it and thank you

for showing me that I could be better

than I thought I could be,

and that I learned in giving came the greatest gifts.

The pieces of our hearts are like grains of sand.

They are pulled along a current beyond our control

until they come together and form a safe haven.

I, like you, came to understand what it meant to be saved.

The Pieces of My Heart

(On Fostering)

by Jim Willis

Prayers needed for tiny lonely-only Autumn

Before the past 2 days of much needed cold fall rain, Polly and Dan were at the garbage dump in Red Lake and there they found this tiny kitten next to the dumpster. They took the baby and called for help at the Red Lake Rosie's Rescue.

Unable to get the kitten to the shelter for almost a whole day, they bottle fed the little one evaporated milk and kept it warm in Polly's fur hat!

Once at the shelter last evening we got the little one on kitten milk and he eats eagerly in a bottle. We have a heating pad on low temp and check it regularly, as well as help the little one toilet after every feeding.

Riley, our dog has taken a real interest in kittens. Each time we have a kitten, he often lays and guards the kitten 24/7. This time was no different.

We are so thankful to be able to transfer the little one to the foster through Denise and Dr. Vickie on Saturday, October 20th. We will all miss the little one, especially Riley!

A special thanks to Polly and Dan for the rescue, to Geri for helping , and to Act V and Denise for getting the little one a foster home.

Sincerely, Karen

RLRR NOTE FROM DENISE:
This kitten was only about a week old when found at the dump with no other kittens or mother around. Karen and Geri tended to him every three hours round-the-clock for a few days, then he was tenderly transported to the Cities where he spent two nights with the four other orphaned Red Lake "ditch" kittens. However, they were twice his size, so we moved him to another foster who specializes in bottle babies and had another lonely-only closer to his age. Today he is ill, not eating, dehydrated so he made a trip to the vet. Please keep little Autumn in your thoughts.

Heroic efforts for orphan kittens

NOTE FROM DENISE: If you try to get kittens this tiny to eat from a dish, you wind up with papier-mache' kittens.

I received this note from Karen last week:

"We have a clinic going on at Red Lake and a citizen brought in a litter of four 2-week-old kittens currently being syringe-fed at the warehouse by clinic volunteers.

"Three of the kittens were found in a wooded area near the road, but one crawled up onto the road and was discovered. Miracle they survived- been very cold.

"Does anyone have ideas for this little foursome?"

I had an image of a tiny cold kitten crawling away from his siblings in search of help, so I told Karen to send them down and I would figure something out.

I got the word out on Red Lake Rosie's Rescue Facebook page and soon I heard from Act V Rescue & Rehabilitation that they would sponsor the kittens, but they didn't have a foster who could offer the round-the-clock care they would need.

 I got an offer of a nursing mother cat from Feline Rescue (she and her kittens were left behind when her people moved, the realtor called Feline Rescue, but something got in and killed her kittens). Unfortunately this sweet girl didn't take the strange kittens, but we got an offer to foster from a RLRR Facebook Friend!

She had never cared for bottle babies before and I kept expecting her to back out as I explained all that is required, but she took them in. While I've heard she's "exhausted", she is also having a "blast" and the kittens are doing great. Many, many thanks to Kathy!

PHOTOS AND NOTES FROM FOSTER:

Here are some pictures of the kitties from Saturday. They are so cute and getting used to their new home! They are all males, so I call them the brute squad. LOL. They aren't very brutish.

I call the little Siamese Simon. He is the first one to come out and if he isn't the first one fed, he will push his way to the nipple.

Larry is the bigger dark tabby. He loves to wrestle with Simon.

The littlest is Moe. He's pretty cautious, but so loveable.

Last is Fezzik. He's a snuggler, too.

Karen Good's Birthday is October 25!

Send her your well wishes in a comment on the blog, on Facebook, or by snail mail to:

Karen Good
23880 GOOD RD
TRAIL, MN 56684-2276

And, she always appreciates donations to her favorite charity: Red Lake Rosie's Rescue :-)

Milo is on the mend!

RECENT UPDATES ON MILO'S BLOG:

Wednesday, October 17
Transformation

As I knew would happen once Milo was really healing, he is transforming into a different collie.

No longer is he the collie who trots docilely along at the dog park, Tonight not only did I need to intervene during some escalating play, but Milo "forgot" his name and his recall and then needed to be led out of the park by his collar because he wanted to go back in and mix it up! Now he is becoming a REAL collie!

Still has stitches trying to dissolve from the last surgery, so he is not quite there yet, but making good progress!

Thursday, October 11, 2012
Wowsa

This is a FIRST! Milo has never initiated play with Leo in the yard. Cool. I guess someone is feeling more confident and better...

Monday, October 8, 2012
Friends

After a week of human cold/flu illness and subsequent house arrest for the dogs, we went to the dog park where Milo met a little friend with whom he has something in common. Keeyah, a four month old girlie, is also from the Red Lake Indian Reservation.

September 25, 2012

The pillow

Milo is comfortable with cats. And ON cats..... Milo and Mao.

Pluto's progress

NOTES FROM ACT V
OCT 14:
Pluto did not look good when he came in. Pretty much flat on his side and did not want to get up. Sandy and I took x rays and lab work, started him on multiple medications. To give him the best shot at coming around, I decided to take him to the referral center we use for are very sick pups. He will be tested for parvo again by a test called electron microscopy. He's settled in there on iv fluids, etc.

OCT 15:
Pluto was released from the ICU and apparently is feeling MUCH better...! Looking less and less like Parvo. SO, he's sporting the new ACT V "adopt me" neckwear. Whaddya think...?!  

OCT 16: Good news! I brought him home from ICU Monday night and he's really coming around. I'm sure he got really sick from the deer carcass and bones. I'm glad the other pups did ok with it. He spent last night with me on the couch just getting pet. He's a bit shy. Tonight he is trying to socialize with my dogs and being transitioned onto puppy food. He's going to a foster tomorrow.

Vicki and Act V

Loris, Petey, Petra and Pluto go to Act V

Once again Act V Rescue & Rehabilitation really stepped up to help out Red Lake Rosie's Rescue in the aftermath of the clinic last week when at least 58 animals were surrendered.

This tiny twosome- Petey (now Yuri) and Petra, were found homeless and freezing. Now they are eating kibble, lapping water and loving canned foods. They are in a foster home together.

Dear Loris is at a foster home near the vet clinic for easy access to treatment for her heartworm treatment

Pluto came in with a group of black lab mix puppies, but he became very ill. He is in the hospital for round-the-clock treatment. He needs good thoughts from everyone.

Tanner's time at RAGOM

FROM RETRIEVE A GOLDEN OF MINNESOTA (RAGOM) WEBSITE:

September 20, 2012 Welcome to RAGOM sweet Tanner! Tanner’s age is approximated at 10 months to one year old. This lovable gentle guy is a 60 pound GR mix, un-neutered male with a winning GR personality and smile.

He arrived at our house very tired but very happy to be with us. Tanner has had a rough start in life. We wish he could tell us his whole story. This is what we know. He was left with a friend who promised to return for him. They never returned. Tanner was passed around to different homes before finding a GS to care for him. When this GS took him in, he was exhausted, dehydrated and starving. The GS gave him to Red Lake Rosie’s Rescue because she could not afford to buy him food. RLRR sent him on to RAGOM.

Tanner, FM and FD send their thanks to all who helped him find his way to us (including RAGOM temporary foster Nicole and her husband who helped with transport).

As of today, Tanner is UTD and micro chipped. His neuter surgery is scheduled in October. Tanner was diagnosed with two tick borne diseases, Lyme’s Disease and Anaplasmosis, both treatable. He was prescribed Doxcycline to fight both conditions. Tanner came to us with sores and bruises (FM shudders to think of their origin). All are healing fine. His pads are well worn from roaming the highways and byways (looking for a home). They will heal over time.

Tanner was a big hit at the vet’s office. Several staff members came to check this guy out and they said, “He is so gentle and handsome.” Tanner has been with us for four days and this is what we have learned about him: he has the sweet temperament of a GR; he’s a calm and loving young guy who is 100% housebroken; sleeps through the night on a dog bed; loves to be near his people; has free roam when someone is at home; respects baby gates; is a quick learner; knows his name and comes when called; loves belly rubs; walks nicely on a leash without pulling and loves car rides, except he insists on riding in the front passenger seat. Sometimes he is shy when men approach him, but he recovers quickly and accepts their attention with enthusiasm.

Tanner’s fur is the texture of a German Shepherd’s coat and the colors of a GR. His constantly wagging tail has a unique color combination of black, gold and white. His ears are tipped with black. It’s worth saying again, he is an extremely handsome guy!

Tanner settled into our household within five minutes of his arrival. But, this gentle guy, who is so adaptable, deserves to find a permanent loving home. More updates to follow soon.

Tanner is dreaming about his forever home.

09/27/2012: Thank you to all of you who stopped by to say “hi” and give hugs to sweet Tanner at Goldzilla. Tanner did great with all of the new dogs and people that he met.

Tanner was unexpectedly reunited with his brother, Niji, a RAGOM alumnus. Yes, it's true!!! Niji’s owners thought we were holding their dog, when in fact it was Tanner. Tanner’s unique coloring on his tail caught their eye. Niji used to have the same black arrowhead shaped splotch of fur on his tail.

Thanks to Red Lake Rosie’s Rescue, they both found their way to RAGOM. Based on Niji’s age, Tanner is 14 months old. Like his brother, Tanner does not bark. We were told that Niji howls. "Not so with Tanner", we said. No more than five minutes later, when a few GR fosters were synchronizing their barking , Tanner began to softly howl….note the word, softly. J
Tanner’s coat has a top coat that is fairly coarse and an undercoat that is much softer. The texture of his undercoat is not as soft as a GR’s but not as coarse as a Labrador’s coat. Because he is now getting high quality food and is groomed every day, Tanner has “blown” a lot of his undercoat. His shedding has decreased substantially. Tanner’s water drinking technique is a bit goofy. He uses his tongue to lap the water up, but then bites at the water in the dish at the same time, splashing water all over the floor. (His brother drinks water exactly the same way.) To keep some of the water off the floor, FM put down a plastic dog tray that catches most of the water, but not all of it. Expect the floor to get very wet when Tanner’s drinking water.

Tanner is a quiet guy in the house but when he gets outside watch him go. He wants to run and explore. Tanner has a high prey drive for squirrels and chipmunks. Be aware that he can cover a long distance in a short time. His recall is phenomenal and he will come back on command even when he is “hunting”. Good boy! He leaps and bounds like a gazelle when he is running. At times, he bounces and jumps like a fox. He has shown no desire to jump our 4 ft. fence though. One thing is for sure, Tanner needs to have plenty of daily exercise. Off leash daily exercise is a must for this energetic boy.

This happy guy does not know how to play. FM is still trying to find an off leash activity that Tanner likes to do….besides run. FM has thrown a Frisbee, a tennis ball, a squeaky ball and a stick. Tanner showed no interest. This morning he tried to play tug with GRanddog, Bella. He was unsure how to do it, but he tried! Having a playful dog in his forever home might help Tanner learn how to play. Tanner was a good passenger on our 7 hour round trip to Goldzilla, except that he thought he should be sitting in the front passenger seat.
It just looks like I'm driving!

10/04/2012: “A wonderful family picked me out of the crowd at Goldzilla. I think it was love at first sight. One week later, they drove a long way to visit with me. When they were leaving, I jumped into their van, ready to go home with them. I was a little sad after they left. Foster Dad said let’s go fishing (he thought it might help me feel better). It did, even though I almost fell out of the boat into the lake a couple of times. I didn’t know that you can’t sit on the outer edge of the boat, silly me. Once I settled in, I enjoyed the wind in my face and the sun on my back.

On Monday, Foster Mom told me that this wonderful family wants me to live with them forever! I’m adopted!” Note from Foster Mom: We are all thrilled that Tanner has met the family of his dreams. He will be loved unconditionally and he will return their love tenfold. His neutering is scheduled for October 18. His family will pick him up after he has recovered. (I am going to miss this sweet guy!)