A Bit About Me and Ernie!!

I know I haven't really shared too much about my self in my blog, other than my love and adoration for animals. Well, in this entry I'll share a bit about what I'm doing in school as well as my future career plans, or shall we say, hopeful future career plans.

Here we go!

I'm currently in school at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, GA. I suppose I'm technically a senior, but it seems like I'll never finish!! At KSU I'm studying human services with an emphasis on non-profit administration. I originally chose this major with the intent to learn as much as I can about non-profits and hopefully open my own rescue or another similar non-profit. At times I have wavered between a concentration in non-profit and case management with the idea of possibly getting a masters in social work or even doing child welfare law. I feel as though my major and my decision to stick with non-profit has benefited me greatly! This semester I'm taking a class where I will have the ability to develop my own non-profit based upon needs assessments and evaluations, and I am also taking another class in which I will learn about the involvement of the community.

In one of my courses this semester we have been put in groups and told to choose a non-profit that is important to us that we will use throughout the semester as an example for what we are learning. As a group we were all very open to what it is that we end up doing, I mean, a non-profit that is related to the human service field is only going to do good! After some discussion regarding what our interests are and the population we want to help our group decided to find an organization that works with assistance dogs and people who are in need of them.

So. We ended up finding an organization that just happens to be based out of Georgia calledCanine Assistants. Canine Assistants is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1991. Their mission is to provide service animals for adults and children who have physical disabilities or other special needs. Their website also states that their program has helped individuals to not be seen as disabled. I am so excited about learning more about this organization! Canine service dogs have always been such an interesting thing for me and I think what they're doing is awesome!!

**********************************

Critter of the week!!

Please meet Ernie!!!

I found Ernie online at HALO (Helping Animals Live On) Animal Shelter in Arizona. Ernie's a small 1 year old Corgi mix and I think his little legs are just adorable! On their site it says that he likes to play with balls and toys!

UPDATE UPDATE!!!

It has been too long since I last updated! The very last time I wrote on here I briefly mentioned my cat, Bumble, getting sick. Well here is what happened: In the past Chris and I have been out shopping and I've considered getting a plant or some flowers and I've hesitated because I do not always know off the top of my head what Bumble is allergic to and what he is not so I have resisted from buying anything. Well, about 6 weeks ago Chris and I got in a bit of an argument he brought home a bouquet of lily's. I had recently just watched that show Cake Boss and they had discussed how poisonous lily's are. For whatever reason, it never clicked in my brain to worry about Bumble..I simply knew they were poisonous to humans.

Well, that was on a Sunday and on a Tuesday morning Chris notified me that when he had come home from work on Monday Bumble had eaten part of one of the lily's and vomited. Initially I wasn't that worried, and then I began to look up lily toxicity in felines online and immediately started to freak out. By this point Chris has already called the vet and they said to bring him in. Apparently with something like this all you can really do is run blood work and make sure the kidney levels are okay and consistently keep the animal on fluids to help the kidney's flush out any sort of toxicity.

Now let's take a step back. I know I'm writing this weeks later, but this only took place about two weeks after we had to euthanize Midnight. In my mind, I was unable to deal with this, there was NO WAY I was about to euthanize another animal or watch another animal die. I couldn't go through it. Fortunately, the doctor who was on the case knew who I was and knew that Bumble was not going to die because I was unwilling to let it happen.

Long story short, after about 4 days of constant fluids and blood work and urinalysis Bumble went home happy and healthy. I'm writing this because first of all it's my blog and thought I'd provide an update, but secondly when Bumble was at my clinic and I was at home googling and researching this lily toxicity, at no point did I find anything that was positive. I honestly got to the point where I thought he was just going to die 'cause let's face it, all the other cats I read about it died as well. I hope that when someone else has to go through this and is perusing the internet for information, maybe my blog will come up and they'll get a tiny bit of positive information!

On another note, I live at home and typically when my parent's go out of town I stay at home to take care of Midnight. Well, they went out of town this weekend and I feel drawn to stay at home, even though Midnight is no longer here. Call me crazy but I can literally hear her in my house. I miss her so much!! So I have decided I want to get a tattoo on my foot with her paw print on it. When Midnight was euthanized they took a clay paw print and gave it to us. I haven't decided on the exact tattoo and I probably won't be getting it until February or March, but I miss her like crazy and I never want to forget my dog face!

Lastly, yesterday I FINALLY caught Animal Planet's Pitbulls and Parolees and I love it!! The pitbull is one of my favorite breeds. I believe that they are completely misunderstood and 99.9% of the one's that come into my vet are huge baby's! I can't say that about any other breed. Unfortunately, for all the times that Chihuahua's and cocker spaniel's bite the pitbull gets a million times more publicity! Check out this show, it's awesome!

****************************************

CRITTER OF THE DAY

This is MEI!

I decided today to pick a dog from a local shelter here in Atlanta. This is Mei and she comes from the Atlanta Animal Rescue Friends. Mei has been on AARF's site for a long time and it breaks my heart when I see her, she's a beautiful girl! Mei is 5 years old and was picked up as a stray, but clearly had an owner at some point. She appears as though she's had multiple litters and her teeth are worn down from possibly chewing on a chain. Mei is a lap dog and would do best in a home with no kitties. AARF is offering 3 free training sessions for Mei with a certified trainer. I would love to see Ms. Mei go to a good home!!

A Quickie

It's getting late here so this entry's gonna be a short one!

This past week has been an emotional roller coaster with my cat, Bumble. I will promise to update this coming week!

But first I wanted to share with you a book I recently heard about through NPR. The book is titled, Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer (that's right, author of Everything is Illuminated) Apparently Foer is quiet the philosopher and while in the past he switched between being an omnivore and a vegetarian, his recent ownership of a dog made him really question the meat industry.

I have yet to read it, but the second I have a bit of time to read anything other than textbooks I will pick up a copy.

And just because this is a quick entry does not mean we can't include a pet of the day.

***********************

Meet Tuffy a pit bull from Manchester, New Hampshire. I found him at the Manchester Animal Shelter. He's approximately 1 year old. They did not mention anything about his background, but they did state that they'd rather him go home with someone above the age of 21.

Oh and P.S.: I'm learning to knit!! Look forward to future (and I mean, very future) dog and cat sweaters!!!

Difficult Choices...and Wally!!

So this week I have been dealing with this inner-conflict with a decision I made to call Animal Control on a family that lives nearby. I do not know this family at all, so the majority of my decision making was based upon what I observed from driving by their home.

The first sign of neglect began about a year-or-so-ago. This family resides on a major busy road about a mile-and-a-half from my home; a road that I, as well as my other family members I live with, travel very often. My brother was driving down said road when a dog came running out in the road and he accidently hit the dog. My brother, being a caring human being, pulled into the median and witnessed the dog being hit a second time by another moving vehicle, who chose to continue driving. My brother proceeded to pick up the possible chow chow mix and, I'm not sure how he knew what home the dog came from--I think a neighbor may have pointed the way, took the dog to its home. Upon telling the owners that their dog had been struck by a 2 ton car their response was, "....he looks fine!!". The owners were in a hurry to go somewhere and took the dog from my brother and placed him in the yard, carelessly. My brother, confused and a bit stunned, just kinda walked off.

To be honest, I had never really noticed this dog before my brother had the accident with him. Since the accident I look for the dog every time I pass by the house (which is at least 3-4 times per week). This house, as I already stated, is on a main road and the owner's of the home have chosen to fence in the front of the house. Every time I pass by the house this dog is just lying in the middle of the yard or sitting by the door. There is no shelter in the yard for the dog (even though I don't personally believe this makes up for the dog not being indoors) and his thick orange coat appears to be all matted. All of these things are observations I have made over the last year. I don't agree with dog's being left outside--they're a member of your family and you would not leave a child outside over night in a thunderstorm! (I know some people would...but that's a whole different discussion for a different time!)

So recently I was driving by the home and, as always, I looked for orange dog and I saw him walking around the yard...except this time he was on three legs instead of four. That fourth leg he was holding up, appearing as though it was a cruciate tear, but I can't know for sure. At this point, the animal being outside at all hours, the matted coat, and the leg injury made me make the decision to call Animal Control. Is this enough evidence? Should I have attempted to speak to neighbors regarding the dog??

I called Animal Control stating possible animal neglect knowing that if it was nothing, then it was nothing...but if the animal was truly being neglected something could be done! But what is that something?? Would Animal Control take him and he'd merely end up euthanized?? I truly don't see him being adopted, he appeared to be middle age and he looked pretty rough around the edges.

So I'm dealing with this inner-conflict. Did I do the right thing by calling and possibly making this family deal with false allegations? or Did I do the correct thing by looking out for an innocent animal who may really be neglected?? I've called Animal Control since to see if there are results of the case and the owner's of orange dog stated that he's hardly every outside. Who knows!!

I very well could be wrong and orange dog could belong to a very loving family, but I don't think it's wrong to call and be safe if you're concerned.

****************************

Pet of the Day!!!!!

My pet of the day is Wally!!!

I don't have too much info. on Wally because there isn't really anything on the website. But I found Wally at the Louisiana ASPCA and I think he's adorable!!

The HAPPY Act

I try to stay up to date on what's going on in the world, but it can be difficult sometimes with so much on my plate. This past week while checking my Facebook I noticed an update from NPR on a tax break for our four legged friends and it clearly caught my eye.

The article is entitled, "A Four-Figure Tax Break For A Four-Legged Friend?" and it discusses the idea of giving pet owners tax deductions on their animal care expenses. They're calling it the HAPPY Act. Representative McCotter from Michigan is pushing for this to go thru while many others are on the fence or simply against the idea. For example, in the article there is a reaction to the HAPPY Act from a Georgia woman who says, "are you kidding?" "Pets are an option." And she's right, pets are an option...but so are children and no one's complaining about the tax deductions you get for having kids. Obviously when choosing to get an animal, as an owner, you need to be prepared for the worst because pets get sick (like children), pets sometimes need daycare (like children), and pets eat (....like children). But the unexpected happens, we've all seen it! You lose your job and coincidentally the exact same week "Lucy" gets hit by a car.

Maybe those who are against the HAPPY Act should go spend an entire month volunteering at an animal shelter and truly see the vast number of pets who are dropped in the middle of the night at the shelter's doors. There are many pet owner's who find themselves in tough times and are no longer able to care for their furry kids, but maybe if they were able to receive these tax deductions for being a pet owner they'd be able to negate some of the costs and not have to abandon their pets.

I think what bothers me most about this whole thing is the enormous line people place between animals and children. There are some of us who don't necessarily see much of a difference between the two and believe pets are another member of the family.

*********************

Furry Friend of the Day is........... PIRATE!!!

I found Pirate on the Humane Society of Greater Dayton (Ohio) website. He's a 7 month old terrier mix (obviously) who seems to be new to the Humane Society.
I absolutely adore how scruffy he is!!! I love his crazy wired-hair look!

It's the small things...

Today has been one of the most difficult days of my life. It seems as though every little thing is bringing me to tears, sad or not. I went into work for a few hours, unintentionally, a few of my classes were canceled and I needed to pick up my paycheck, and I figured I might as well clock-in and make a bit of cash. I think it helped to simply be around friends and laugh and talk to people who truly understand what it is I'm going through.

What has been the most difficult has been coming home from the clinic and not having her with me. I expect to be greeted with her wagging tail and big grin. I've compared the silence in my home and Midnight's absence to someone who has a limb amputated. I've always heard that amputees experience a phantom leg or hand where there is no limb, and in the early morning when I'm searching for her with my foot at the top of the stairs to make sure I won't step on her and then slowly realize....she's not there. Those little things are what are slowly breaking my heart. Another example is while at work we were signing up to get our dogs the canine influenza vaccine and I thought to myself.."do I need this? $17?" and then realized that I don't have a dog to vaccinate.

This weekend boyfriend and I are going to go up to Brasstown Bald to get away and plus, it's supposed to be really pretty (NO RAIN!!!) and the leaves are now beginning to change so it should be nice. I'm also hoping to hang out with some girlfriend's on Saturday night and hopefully take my mind off of things.

************

Today's critter of the day is:

MOLLY!!!

Molly is a year and a half and I found her online at the Cape Cod Animal Care and Adoption Center in Boston, MA. I personally have a HUGE thing for black and white kitties but the two things I adore about Molly are her big gold eyes and the little black smudge right below her nose.

Midnight 9/15/1995-10/14/2009

I am apparently no good at this whole blogging thing! It's been about two months since I last posted. Eek! With school starting up again, interning this semester, and trying to get some hours in at the clinic I've been wicked busy!! I'm going to try harder--I promise!!

So this post is, in all honesty, going to be all about me and the love of my life.

On Tuesday October 13th we decided to start my 14 year old labx, Midnight, on Tramadol. She had previously been on Rimadyl but after a bought of bloody diarrhea I decided to take her off the drug, knowing the effect it has on a canine's tummy and intestinal tract. We decided to put her on Tramadol at 50mg BID and Meloxicam at 7.5 mg SID. We started the Tramadol Tuesday morning and later in the day noticed she had not eaten her breakfast and seemed quite lethargic. By Tuesday evening we made the choice not to give her the second does of Tramadol due to her severe sedation and lack of ability to walk and obvious discomfort.

By Wednesday morning (today) we realized we needed to take her in. The Tramadol was given on Tuesday at approx. 6 AM and it was now 8AM the following day and the symptoms were persisting. We took her into see my vet and immediately the vet looked at her eyes and gums, something I had done the night before and not noticed anything out of the ordinary, her gums and the white's of her eyes appeared yellow--jaundiced. We decided to hospitalize her for the day and give her fluids as well as run some blood work.

At about 2 PM we received a call from our vet who told us that her blood work results were all over the place and the results of an ultrasound showed her liver which looked terrible. He also stated that she was extremely anemic and the fluids we were giving her weren't doing anything.

We decided as a family to go visit her at the clinic. The second she saw us she began wagging her tail and smiling. We decided to bring her into a room so we would be able to spend time with her and say our goodbyes. Our decision was made by viewing how uncomfortable she was as well as hearing the testimony of the vet, who I trust, saying he would make the same decision if it was his dog.

Today has definitely been an awful day; to say goodbye to the dog that has been with me since I was in the 5th grade is absolutely heart breaking. And the hardest part has been to come home and not have her waiting there for me, wagging her tail.

It's good to know that she wasn't in a lot of pain over a long period of time and that she is happy now.

Tonight I plan on reading through Rainbow Bridge and thinking of my sweet girl.

I know many may not read this, but thanks to all who have supported my family and I.

Today's pet of the day is my sweet girl, Midnight:

She was born approx. September 15, 1995 and she died October 14, 2009. She will be missed!