Bottle babies growing up

Remember the four little kittens brought into the last clinic? They went to a foster for Act V and were lovingly bottle fed for weeks.

Remember the even tinier lonely only that came in to Red Lake Rosie's Rescue a week or so later -- Autumn, now Baxter? He ended up with Feline Rescue at a foster home with another teeny tiny lonely only.

Of the group of four boys, the smaller tabby Moe and the Siamese-looking Simon have been neutered and adopted already! They are resting here after their surgery.

Orange Fezzik and the bigger tabby Larry are waiting for their adopters to appear.
FEZZIK

LARRY

Finally, Baxter and his buddy, Willy, have gained weight and started eating on their own so they are moving to another foster home. It will be another month or two before they are ready for adoption, but all is well.

Feather becomes a caregiver

On Thanksgiving we received a very special photo showing Feather and her little feline friend so very comfy as compared to the first time we saw her.

UPDATE FROM FEATHER'S FOSTER CAREGIVER, JOHN:

Back on August 29th, I was asked if I would bottle feed a little 10-day-old kitten that was brought up to a rural home uninjured by the family dog. Here is a picture of the little kitten perhaps a day after I got her.

Since she was ten days old, I gave her the name "Desi" which is similar to the word for ten in spanish. Desi was so tiny and I was concerned for her survival.

I had another foster momma with much larger kittens, so when I could, I placed Desi in the middle of these kittens as they slept so she could feel the warmth and heartbeat of other kittens.

Feather it really seems to me displayed her "mothering" instinct as she was right by my side whenever I bottle fed little Desi. She always wanted to lick the baby kitten and even wanted to "help" stimulate the baby's bottom to pee and poop. She was a great helper.

Desi did very well and blossomed into a lovely little kitten.

On October 12th, I received another 10-day-old orphan kitten that was the only survivor of her litter. This kitten was named L'il Bear before I got her. Feather responded the same way to this little one. I really think this was the mother in Feather coming out. She was always right there for the kittens. It was very cute to watch.

KAREN SAYS: It was a time to give thanks to the creator, and to all the fine people out there who rescue and support animal rescue. Feather is an example of "nothing is impossible" with love and patience.

Thank you, John, for this miraculous transformation.

Feather: Feral to Foster

In early March 2012, RLRR got a call that there was a very starving, mangey stray dog in a yard in Little Rock. Thankfully she was starving or she would never have been caught as she was a very frightened feral.

She became a resident in a kennel at Red Lake Rosie's Rescuse, but it looked like there was very little hope for this girl which we named Feather.

Thanks to a very compassionate person named John, who traveled all the way from the metro to help get her crated and take on the challenge to help Feather overcome her medical issues of demodex mange and her emotional problems which were even more severe.

The photos show Feather's progress over a period of eight months in John's care. She is mange free and is making little steps toward trust.

Because Feather is very social with the other animals, John used this as a bridge to develop trust with her.

I'll share more of Feather's story tomorrow.

Mamma Mia

Eleven months ago I first posted about Jewels (formerly Pearl, now Mia) on this blog.

She came into Red Lake Rosie's Rescue just days before Christmas, heavy with puppies, and barely made it to her foster home for All Dog Rescue before giving birth. She raised nine beautiful puppies that all found good homes and she found a wonderful home herself.

I haven't met this dog, but she always seems to have a serene happy expression in her photos. She certainly looks comfortable and relaxed!! You can search the blog to see several other posts about her and her pups and her new family.

Zoey Josephine

This elegant tuxedo girl, known as Josephine and now Zoey, also came to Red Lake Rosie's Rescue and then travelled to foster care and adoption through All Dog Rescue.  Her loving family sent in several photos and commented on the first: "Here is a picture of Zoey from earlier today. She is sitting on her chair watching the squirrels out the window - one of her favorite pastimes. :)"

Zoey's family sent in some great pictures of their happy girl!

Happy Endings for a pair of pups

Two pups were found in a box near some railroad tracks. They were nearly bald from mange. First stop was Red Lake Rosie's Rescue, then they joined a Leech Lake Legacy transport to the Twin Cities where they were fostered and adopted out by All Dog Rescue. Here are photos sent in by their new families:

MISHKA (FORMERLY SHAKIRA): Mishka's family sent a photo of their beautiful girl and her new toys! Former foster mom commented, "This gal turned out sooooo gorgeous - her hair was shiny and wavy - very nice young couple adopted her and she has already been introduced to many family members - Mishka means Little Bear in Russian - the young man was originally born in the Ukraine."

ALEX (FORMERLY THOR): Alex's family sent us some photos of their growing boy and said he's doing great! Former foster mom commented, "This guy was in the worst shape - is doing great with his family (including a 7-year-old, 2-legged child and a 7-year-old, 4-legged kid)."

Thanks to those who rescue animals!

The Messenger

by Jim Willis

I dreamed I came upon a meadow

sunlit and fragrant, a small dog at my side.

As we walked on in silence I saw

across the blue ribbon of a river, a field,

where animal spirits licked the morning dew

from brilliant poppies...basked in sunshine...

batted at butterflies.

"Is this Heaven?" I asked.

He nodded yes and as we rounded a bend in the path,

I saw ahead a wondrous garden

surrounded by a halo of mist,

where animals and children lay among the flowers.

Cool breezes rustled leaves

and over all hung an aura of beauty and peace.

"Is this Heaven, too?" I asked.

"An honored place," he said for those who lived

a Hell on Earth -- who died of neglect, torture,

unloved, unwanted and abandoned."

We walked on until we came to a precipice

that overlooked a dark canyon.

Lightning crashed above the horizon

and illuminated iron prisons on the desert floor.

I heard the wails of captive men,

the screams of women imploring for water,

railing against the absence of Light amidst an acrid smoke.

Before I could ask he answered, "These were their tormentors."

We continued solemnly

until the sound of laughter and music greeted us,

and we came upon a village square,

where carefree women, children and men played at games,

or walked arm in arm.

"They are happy," I said.

He agreed and replied, "These were their rescuers.

They are blessed above all."

I spent time among them until I awoke, bathed in a new peace.

For whatever this Earthly day may bring,

I knew that no wrongful deed goes unpunished,

nor is any saving grace without its reward.

I hugged my small dog closer to my chest

and blessed him as a messenger of truth and love.

Adrienne & Bob

Just before the August clinic, Polly was at the Red Lake garbage dump and witnessed people dumping off an injured cat and driving away while the cat tried to chase after them.

Polly brought this beautiful girl to Red Lake Rosie's Rescue. Her large laceration was stitched up at the local vet, but it did not take long for the stitches to come open.

Fortunately, the clinic was on and Dr. Pierce Flemming was volunteering and he took Adrienne into his care. He worked on the wound, cleaned it, closed it up again and gave her his personal attention.

He took her home to his clinic to recuperate and Adrienne has since been adopted to a great family along with her buddy, Bob, the tuxedo cat. Dr. Fleming requested a donation to Pet Haven from the adopters, but they also paid all of the vet bills.

We want to thank Polly, Dr. Pierce and Mary Ann of Pet Haven for helping us with injured cats that come our way.

Karen

Copper Penny aka Flora aka Josie

All Dog Rescue Happy Endings (for dogs from Red Lake Rosie's Rescue):
Update Received November 2012

Here are some pictures of Penny - she weighs about 37 pounds now!

We did a DNA test on Penny and it determined that she is 1/4 German Shepherd, 1/4 Labrador Retriever (probably yellow lab because they can also be copper colored), 1/4 Lhasa Apso (hahaha) and 1/4 undetermined (French bulldog was the largest percentage they could come up with). She looks like a shepherd, acts like a lab and is small like a Lhasa Apso - go figure!

She is doing really well and we're really glad that she is part of our family!

Kahlia aka Fergie aka Tulip

NOTE FROM ADOPTER TO FORMER FOSTER MOM:
Linda-
I wanted to send you some pictures of Kahlia as she is almost 6 months old now!! Sorry, these aren’t the best photos and I will send some more if I get better ones but wanted to give you a peek since I knew you were interested in hearing how she is doing.

She is such a good dog!! Very loving, gentle at times and spunky at times too! We LOVE having her and I think she likes us too! My daughter can’t get enough of her!

The pictures are of Kahlia sitting on a bench in our entryway this morning right beneath her leash which is hanging on a hook above her.

The one of her outside is of her ears standing straight up. Mostly they are down, flopped over but sometimes one or both will stand straight up which makes her look hilarious!!

The other one is her with my daughter on the couch.

We are really enjoying her and thank you and your organization again for letting us adopt her!

We haven’t had her to the vet in over a month so not quite sure of her weight but I am sure it is over 40 lbs by now. She is also getting more coarse hair on her back but is still pretty soft everywhere else. Her incision healed up nicely and she hasn’t had any issues since coming to live with us. Potty training went famously as well!!

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks again!!
P W

Irresistible Isaac

Remember Isaac who was found near the dump by Avis and required surgery to repair his injured hip? He is recovering well and has started hydrotherapy.

He is also learning about love and manners in his foster home.

UPDATES FROM ACT V:
Hi Karen.
Thought you might like some pictures. Isaac is doing great. Everybody loves him so much!
Thanks, Carolyn (ACT V Rescue)

Now doesn't this just warm your heart...! Sent in from his foster mom, Isaac is relaxing on mom's bed before she goes to work. Isaac loves his Golden foster buddy and they get a little chill time before the day starts. How nice...

Cheyenne Alicia checks in

NOTE FROM ADOPTERS OF CHEYENNE ALICIA:
We are writing to just give you an update to let you know how our little Cheyenne formerly known as Alicia is doing. Nearly two years since we adopted her and two years since you rescued her; Cheyenne is still thriving as our little girl. She is still coming out of her protective shell she had been in for so long. In fact, this time we are going to let her write this update. Here she is…

Hi guys, Cheyenne here. I’m fine. My forever mommy and daddy say I can write this update this time. Isn’t that great? I love my forever family. I love living in the country on 18 acres. We have lots of trees where my big brother Damie can pee on. We get to run around with our mommy or daddy or both, but never alone. Mommy and daddy say we can’t just run free into the woods because we might get hurt or hurt other animals. I don’t want to hurt anything, but I do like to sniff. Every night when we go out into our fenced backyard before bedtime we see, hear and smell all kinds of wildlife. There are deer, armadillos, bobcats, foxes, raccoons, rabbits and lots and lots of different kinds of birds. We even have two small birds living on our patio in our rolled up bamboo blind. My mommy and daddy love animals and we have two big deer feeders on our property that shoots out corn for them and small critters that come here. We also have lots of bird feeders and houses. Everyone is welcome. Last night, we heard coyotes yipping out in our woods not too close and not too far away. Last month, I found a turtle in our backyard when we were on our walk with mommy. I didn’t know what it was. I don’t think the turtle was afraid of me; he just kept crawling along while I kept nudging at it. It finally crawled away off into the high grass we keep for small critters to live in. Last month, I also met fireflies. Wow! I was so scared. I didn’t know what they were. They kept buzzing around me and chasing me and their butts were on fire. Finally, I chased them away.

I am such a lucky girl. I never knew there ever could be anything like this. Every morning I get to wake up from my spot at the foot of my mommy and daddy’s big comfy bed with big brother Damon with me. Every night I get to sleep on the big comfy bed with mommy, daddy and Damie and sometimes Princess, when she feels like it. Princess is my very older sister, but she is so small. She is a cat. She says she knows everything. I believe her because she is 18 years old and has been with our mommy and daddy for 18 years. They rescued her from a kill shelter a long, long, long time ago. She is a lucky girl too. Sadly, my older, but little brother Charlie died in late July. He had lung cancer and went quickly and peacefully at home. My mommy and daddy took care of him until he died. He was 17. I miss him so much. He always played with me and Damon. Did I ever tell you that when mommy and daddy first brought me home that Charlie was the first one to greet me? I was so scared. I was so scared to go into the house because I had been outside my whole life. My new mommy and daddy had placed a comfy dog bed near the back door for me. I was so scared that I stayed on that bed. My first five minutes in my new home, Charlie the cat had come up to me and rubbed himself against me and nuzzled me too. He made me feel safe. Now he is gone.

I know how to sit, stay and stop on command. Mommy taught me. I also know how to come when they call me, which mommy and daddy says is really important. I still don’t know how to shake on command, but that is not on my agenda yet. I do know how to do it without being told to. I also know the commands used with only hand signals. Mommy and daddy said I am very smart girl. I am a very happy girl, too. Every day I get to play with my big brother Damon in our yard. He gets really crazy sometimes. He doesn’t know how to relax and conserve his energy. I am an expert at that. Sometimes he gets so rough, but I can hold my own. I yell at him and he stops, for a minute or two. He is great. I just love him. I go everywhere with him. We also get to walk with mommy or daddy or both around our property for exercise. Thanks to Damon, I am learning how to snuggle. Snuggling is great! I love to nuzzle mommy and daddy’s face. I also really, really like belly rubs. They are so great! I also love to chase mommy and daddy when they walk away from me and I sing at them for not to leave me. They are so good to me. They talk to me and tell me how much they love me. My favorite part of the day is when mommy finishes working and hugs me and Damon at the same time. I love that! I love when daddy comes home; mommy lets us go outside and greet daddy when he gets out of his car. I always sing to him. Damon always brings him a present: one of our stuffed toys. We have lots and lots of toys. My favorite is a stuffed football and a stuffed hedgehog. They’re so cushy. I love everything. Mommy and daddy says my eyes open real wide when I see something new because it is new to me. I’m used to riding in the car now and even like it. I especially like to come up front and put my face in between the front seats to get the cool air from the air conditioning on a hot day! I don’t think I’ll ever love car rides as much as my big brother, Damon does, but I’ll always go wherever he does anyway. He is my buddy, my pal and I will go with him anywhere because he is 7 and he knows everything, too. I’m still a baby, mommy and daddy says, because I never had a family before.

I love living down south. The summers are very hot, but I have my very own kiddie pool just for me, but I share it with Damon. We also go to the beach and I love walking along the shore in the sand and going in the water. Don’t drink the water or lick the sand. Yuck! I miss the snow from Minnesota, but I love my forever family more than I miss the snow. Florida is beautiful. My mommy took some photos of me to send with this. I hope you like them. Thank you so much for rescuing me! I am very, very happy now!

Love,

Cheyenne Alicia