Kizmet

 a dear demented little shi spun his way into our life a couple of years ago ... we optimistically hoped his issues might be behavioural in nature but it was not to be. Lesions had attached themselves to Kizmet's brain and fogged his mind substantially.  The wonderful Dr Au came up with a bit of a wait and see plan for him. After 2 weeks Kiz could move in a straight line unless he was excited (then the spinning re-emerged). He was no longer always growling when picked up (he was so confused he would both wag his tail and growl and air snap) and he was eating. The last two years were fairly stable. He slept, a lot, and pottered around. He loved his meals and we loved him.
The last couple of weeks the fog seemed to get denser ... he wouldn't always see us, he couldn't always stop himself spinning and he started growling again.
It was hard to do but I feel a deep responsibility to our palliative foster friends not to let them suffer. And Kizmet was approaching suffering. And that sucked.
His death was peaceful and immediate-nearly as soon as the first drip of euthanol touched his vein he was gone. Another good friend will be waiting for us at the Rainbow Bridge.

no foster failure this time either ...

with great sadness

and great common sense

and some delight for the lovely young couple adopting Theorique and

joy for the puppy herself

we will be saying good bye to Theorique on Thursday

what a good puppy she is

Theorique is fitting right in

I'm a striver ...

You're a Striver. Deeply thoughtful and caring, you get a lot of satisfaction from helping others. You are always there for your friends and family. After all, it's those relationships that make life worthwhile. You have tons of infectious energy and lots of natural enthusiasm. You tend to be committed when it comes to achieving your goals in life. You set high standards for yourself and others and like to keep your eye on the prize. Resourcefulness is definitely one of your finest strengths. When you get excited about something, you have the confidence and passion to inspire all those around you. You're feeling comfortable in your own skin at the moment, so life's probably feeling good. Your balanced attitude and positive thinking mean you can take the good with the bad. Sometimes you could do with more help around the house. It's not surprising that things get on top of you now and again. Don't be hard on yourself. You're doing a great job, and remember that no one can be a supermom every second of the day! Life's all about options. Allow yourself to be excited by possibility and potential. Try not to push to know the answer all the time. There will be lots of twists and turns in life. Rather than wishing away the journey, try to live in the moment and enjoy every bump in the road! Challenge yourself to try new experiences and live life to the fullest. Remember that you can't be upbeat and outgoing 100 percent of the time. It's okay to tune out and look inward every now and again. In fact, we encourage it! Reconnecting with nature is a necessity, not a luxury, for you. There's no better way to get the boost you need than to spend some time out in the fresh air.. Your spirit sings when you feel the sun on your face. Be sure to allow yourself that quiet time as often as you can.

TGIF!

no sooner

had parvo buddy beagle Lenny found a more permanent foster home (til mid dec!)  than my phone rang ....

could I find a spot for a little 4 week old husky (maybe? now I think she is more likely keeshound )

well I had already spoken to everybody who dog fosters ... so guess where the little one is??

in my sweater

she is pretty darn photogenic ...

buddy beagle baby

not the greatest picture but he may just be the cutest puppy ever! This little soul is bouncing around foster homes hoping for a home of his own ... he has tested positive for parvo so needs to be away from other dogs for awhile .. but he is feeling FABULOUS!

like many of his breed what he really wants is cuddles, food and great things to smell ...

just a dear little fellow

kiddens getting along ...

geesh Ali is a nice little girl - super shy but so willing to take a little one under her arm ... she is wrestling and snuggling with Louie ..

Louie has yet to hiss at us and he no longer freezes in place but he is not purring nor does he seek attention yet ...

they are awfully cute shy babies tho!

Weirdo ...Edwardo ...Louie ...

One little kitten with a whole lot of names has taken up the emergency extra foster spot in the house. (we will not mention anything about guinea pigs OK?)

Edwardo is a mutation of Weirdo - Louie is for Louie Riel .. as this kitten looks a lot like our Dumont  ... (Dumont the human travelled with Riel the human).

Mighty cute he's currently getting used to the idea that dogs and people aren't monsters. He seems to be getting it. Ali is THRILLED to have a kitten to play with and snuggle again so hopefully we'll have some cute pictures soon.

Sometimes it just sucks ...

Little Lizzie died last night

She had moved onto lapping from dish and had just started  eating canned food well too - she was bright, playful and happy

then yesterday she sneezed after lunch

by midnight she was gone - her breathing was laboured and she was suddenly very congested

I could have raced to emerg and left her in an oxygen tank overnight and hoped she survived for awhile but to be honest, having done it before, I had little faith that she could or would survive. I simply could not leave her to die alone and afraid. This way she faded slowly and peacefully with Ali and I. It was sad, no it was tragic, but Lizzie was never afraid nor was she ever cold. She mostly slept and when she woke up she would nestle in against Ali or I.

We will miss her.

hoping for a little help

Mimzy needs our help ... she is a 10 month old spaniel setter mix. Abandoned as a stray she ended up in a shelter my rescue of choice Project Jessie works with ... We've taken her in - to discover she needs surgery for her hip dysplasia - the rescue will need $ 2,000- 3,000 to make that happen
hoping lots of people are touched by this sweet face and sad story and can help make a real difference in one dogs life

www.projectjessie.ca to donate - or 416-462-9541. Thanks.

if I end up fostering her you know I'll take lots of pictures!

On bottle feeding babies ...

Over the years we have raised hundreds of orphan kittens ...I wish I had kept better track of them all but you'll have to believe me when I say they have ranged from hours old right through to nearly weaned...

always a great day when orphans start lapping formula

Some key points in raising an orphan successfully

• if they aren't warm -DO NOT feed them- they MUST be warm to process the milk properly
• follow the directions for milk replacer carefully -no guessing!
• for the first three weeks (at least) treat your kitten infant  as if it was human - sterilize equipment and keep everything clean
• I always mix up the formula with boiling water- water in first then powder seems to work best for me
• Be very very careful not to force fluid into your baby -they need to control the intake - aspiration pneumonia is no fun and can be deadly (I use a long necked syringe rather than a bottle now)
• kittens need a tummy rub to keep all systems operational -my usual pattern is tummy rub, feed, play (or snuggle), tummy rub again - you may want to use a warm damp face cloth -I use a paper towel quite successfully
• if you are raising litter see if you can break the litter into pairs or trios -kittens will suckle on each other and wake one another up - when really little they do best in small groups when a human has to raise them -as they get closer to weaning age you can put the litter back together
• did I mention keeping baby warm? they don't thermo-regulate well for quite awhile so pay careful attention to environment (my kittens usually have to travel with me - I use a box, many towels and a microwavable Snuggle Safe to create a nice dark, cosy, warm micro climate for the littlest babies
• be very careful about fostering orphans into already nursing litters -mom cats are generous souls - and I often share kitten raising with a cat if I can -but mixing litters can lead to real heartache and needless death
• and, perhaps most importantly, don't beat yourself up if your orphan doesn't survive - I've been doing this since 1994 and I still lose one occasionally - heartbreaking but true.

Maybe just the cutest thing ever ....

Ali cat has a new friend (and a healed nose)

Little Lizzie is only about 20 days old and a very very sad orphan

|She had a couple of scary days - and she may again

but for right now she's a pretty happy little baby

all curled up with her babysitter!



For a non nursing cat Ali is amazingly tolerant

and provides a good source of heat for the baby too!

in love all over again

a new foster baby is here

shy but oh so so sweet ...

something about the Siameesers gets me everytime ...

really just a yawn .. I promise

darling pair of foster kittens

hamster madness ....

Just in case anybody is looking for a small critter  we have many many hamsters in need of a place to lay their short lived heads ... they are darling and super friendly ... all females...

Mighty Cute kittens ... seeking homes ...

This is only two of them - we have plenty of little ones looking for homes at the moment .. check out www.projectjessie.ca for more info!