Foster on Feather

ALL SMILES AT A RECENT DECK PARTY:

Hi, Karen. Thank you for letting me know about the Red Lake Rosie's Rescue posts featuring my foster dog, Feather. It was very sweet and my immediate reaction was to want to hug her, as I could hear her out in the backyard with the others dogs barking and playing. Of course, she still won't let me pet her, but she is improving and a very happy girl.

I sent some more photos to further display how far this little girl has come. This picture was taken on her second day at my house. Her underside looked incredibly worse than the top her body.

This was also taken the second day she was here. When we arrived the night before, she was so scared and disoriented that all she wanted to do was hide her head.

Within a few weeks, she started to understand that the routine here was not threatening. She was in a loving, caring, consistent environment and she started to start taking little baby steps.

All the while she never displayed the smallest bit of aggression or any tendency to bite out of fear. She was, from the first day, very docile and sweet, just scared and confused.

She got along wonderfully with all my other dogs and was very patient and gentle with the cats too.

After several days of being confined to this spot outside during the day, she started to recognize the play and friendly atmosphere at the house from me and the other dogs and she would sit up and watch intently.

Slowly, she started exploring more than just her little safe spots inside and outside the house. Each day I would try to challenge her a bit with moving out of her comfort zones to realize she was free to go anywhere in the house with the other dogs and outside to move around and play.

I was able after awhile to bring her down to the TV room so she could enjoy everyone's company there and relax with us rather than staying in her safe spot in the kitchen.

Gradually, her world started to expand. Her confidence has continued to grow little by little.

DENISE SAYS: Check out that SMILE!!

All I want for Christmas is more Facebook Likes for Red Lake Rosie's Rescue!

Hi, I'm Denise, the blog/Facebook editor for Red Lake Rosie's Rescue. I believe so strongly in our mission for the animals at the Red Lake Reservation and I think our stories will interest all animal lovers. Please consider inviting your Friends to "Like" our Facebook page. Let's get our number up past 1000 Likes at last!

Autumn/Baxter and She/Willy

Autumn (now Baxter) the very tiny lonely-only kitten from Red Lake Rosie's Rescue and his Feline Rescue lonely-only buddy Willy are off bottlefeeding at last and have moved to a new foster home. They are much loved and Willy apparently still won't stand still for a photo -- s/he's always a blur...

AUTUMN/BAXTER

UPDATES FROM NEW FOSTER MOM
NOV. 29, 2012:
Baxter continues to do fantastic. He has a hard time deciding between his two favorite things, cuddle or eat? Cuddle or eat? We solve that by taking turns. He eats for a few seconds, gets distracted, runs to get cuddles, and then I put him back in front of the food dish. This is sure to cause some major issues when he is older- we will deal with the therapy later.

Willy simply will not sit still. He is so happy when it’s play time, he runs CRAZY all over my blocked off living/dining room, chasing his tail, chasing my dog, chasing Baxter. It makes his life easier to wait until Baxter is not eating to come and get snacks. Bax will sit in the food dish, scoop the food to himself with his teeny paws, and then growl at Willy.

WILLY

Willy has NO time for cuddles. He is at the “GEEZ MOM NO!” stage right now, and struggles when he is picked up. This is what we at Camp Leaf refer to as “Tough Love” as in Tough, Kid. You are GOING to get love. He will suffer about three licks when Boris (the resident cat) is trying to clean him. Baxter on the other hand LOVES uncle Boris, and will sit still happily. I am keeping a watchful eye, because not only is Baxter tiny, he also smells like delicious kitten food (because he crawls in it). I don’t think Boris is cleaning him out of love. He tastes like chicken.

DEC. 5, 2012:
Oh geez. Oh geez oh geez.

Willy is great, 2 lb. 5 OZ. Also Willy is a girl (explains a LOT) I forgot to ask the Vet yesterday (they went yesterday) to sex her for sure, but she appears to have little girl parts and not boy parts. We held up butts for comparison. High culture at our house.

BAXTER

Oh Baxter. Sigh. Baxter has a heart murmur. It’s is serious enough that he is being referred to get an ultrasound so we know what we are dealing with. Dr. Dan heard it yesterday. It is probably not the type that goes away, given his age. He said that is probably the reason Bax is so tiny, and he IS tiny for his age. I called Cathy, and she is making a referral for an expert to do the ultrasound. She said she will set it up for next week. He weighed 1 pound, 6.5 OZ. so he is still gaining, and he eats all the food I can stuff in him.

Bax is doing really well. We decided not to tell him he has a heart condition. He is pretty fearless for one so tiny, and he will investigate the whole living room during playtime. He bops my dog on the nose, and rubs against all the big cats, they LOVE him.

Willy is a bit more persnickety (girl cat). She is now clipped of her evil cat talons of doom. Front and back. My neck looks like I’ve been tortured. She was actually really good about the clipping, too. Baxter, not so much. I had to wait until he was asleep and ambush him.

Thank god for no kill shelters. My husband already threatened to chain himself to something if anyone talks about euthanasia (unless it’s a pain and suffering issue).

Clinic animals in Ecuador

HEATHER AND GRINGO:

Gringo was the sweetest baby, especially for a street dog. We had spayed her the day before and just happened to run in to her at the market the next day. She came up to us right away which is unusual for street dogs. Most are very skittish. I rubbed her belly for a while and was glad to see her incision looked very good. She then followed us 6 blocks back to our hotel. I sat outside with her for a while but eventually had to go in. She laid outside for another hour until another person from our group walked up town to the bus stop. Gringo followed her back to the market area.

If there was any way possible, I would have brought her back with me. I’m trying to take comfort in the fact that she will not have to have anymore unwanted litters and that we were able to provide her a period without worms and fleas.

STREET DOGS PICKED UP FOR THE CLINIC

CAT IN A BIRD CAGE

MOJITO

CUJO

BIG BOY

KITTEN

MOM DOG AND PUP

PILE OF PUPS

PUPPY AND KITTEN

PUPPY LOVE

MORE PUPPY LOVE

RLRR volunteer helps at s/n clinic in Ecuador

KAREN SAYS:
I am so proud of my niece Heather who is a loyal volunteer for Red Lake Rosie's Rescue and recently volunteered on a neuter/spay trip to Ecuador.

She didn't bring a camera, but shared photos she received from others in the group. Because they worked for the majority of the trip there are not a lot of sightseeing pics.

HEATHER SAYS:
I went with a group called World Vets that provides free veterinary assistance in 30+ countries. In a 3 day clinic we altered approximately 210 dogs and cats. We also provided worming and flea treatment. We worked with a local organization called PAE. They were VERY appreciative for our assistance!

I learned a lot and feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend!!!

Tomorrow, the dogs and cats of the clinic...

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.