Rolling Dog Ranch #1 winner in Animal Rescue Contest

It’s finally official. The Rolling Dog Ranch in Montana won first place today in the Animal Rescue site contest, along with the $20,000 prize.

It’s great to see Alayne and Steve rewarded for the amazing work that they do for animals with disabilities. They write a blog every week day keeping people updated on what is going on at the Ranch.

http://blog.rollingdogranch.org/

You get to know Alayne and Steve and all the animals so personally–a wonderful way to start the day off. Sometimes the news is wonderful and sometimes sad. But knowing that these animals have found their way to RDR is the biggest reward.

It’s going to be a Happy Christmas in Ovando, Montana.

Formerly blind dog regains sight

Ok.

Here is a very happy tail and a great way to start your day.

http://bit.ly/8HPJV1

Vote for Rolling Dog Ranch until December 20th

There are only 2 weeks left to vote on the Animal Rescue site for Rolling Dog Ranch in Montana.
Rolling Dog is still in first place to win the $20,000, but other organizations are moving in.

If you aren’t familiar with Rolling Dog Ranch, please check out their website www.rollingdogranch.org

They are the very last hope for handicapped dogs, cats and horses and provide them with a loving home for life. Their blog is delightful to read and a great way to start your day.

Please vote for RDR everyday until the contest ends on the 20th of December. It is an easy thing to do for some very well-deserving animals. To vote:

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/shelterchallenge.faces?siteId=3

Henry Beston “The Outermost House”

Very cool quote: “We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature, and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein we err, and greatly err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.”

Taking your dog to work is a growing trend

I just read a really nice article about the advantages from the employers side of letting people bring their dogs to work.

A recent survey conducted by the American Pet Products Association found that the benefits are quite substantial.

* 66 percent of dog owners said they’d work longer hours if their dogs could join them at work. Almost half would switch jobs, and 44 percent would take a salary cut for the perk.

* Great retention tool. Dog-friendly companies hang onto their employees. Since the vast majority of businesses, especially larger ones, don’t permit pooches, those who land jobs with dog-friendly companies tend to stay on.

* Dogs rarely cause problems at work.

* * Dogs at work are stress-busting team-builders. Petting a dog has been shown to lower blood pressure and reduce stress. When dogs show up at work, they tend to be social lubricants that bring people together and attract lots of pats.

Being on the alert for possible dog urinary tract infection

Reading about urinary tract infections in dogs brought up this simple reminder….if your dog seems to want to go for more walks than usual, it may because he or she needs to pee more often. This can be due to a urinary tract infection brewing. So be aware.

Sometimes people get annoyed with their animals when the reality is that they are trying to tell us something. And that something may be that they are not feeling well.

Dogs with urinary tract infections will feel the need to pee even when their bladder is empty or almost empty.

And always make sure there is sufficient fresh water available. That will help to flush out bacteria.

Dogs forming struvite crystals

For some reason, we have been getting more questions than usual from people who’s dogs have a tendency to form crystals in their urine.

Actually it is fairly common for very tiny (microscopic) crystals to be present in dog and cat’s urine, but since they are flushed out in urination, they pose no health risk.

The problem starts when the stones start attaching themselves to each other and become larger.

Genetics cab play a part. It has been shown that dalmations, hounds, beagles and pugs are more susceptible.

The other 2 most common reasons for formation of crystals are:

1. Bacterial infections: they can cause the urine to be more alkaline which increases the risk of forming struvite crystals

2. Diet: foods high in protein can increase the mineral content in the animal’s urine

People who have dogs and cats with tendencies to form crystals pay close attention to diet and urine pH. Like many illnesses, practicing preventative health care and being pro-active can make a world of difference.

19 year old cat finds his forever home

Wonderful adoption story on the Best Friends website about a FIV cat named Cash that has lived at the sanctuary since he was a small kitten.

Fast forward 19 years and see him in his new home.

He waited a long time to find his person.

You can read his story at www.bestfriends.org

Overweight dogs and cats predisposed to diabetes

Back in Fairfield again after almost 2 months on Cape Cod. The garden is very overgrown and there is lots to do to get the house ready for what the Farmer’s Almanac is predicting will be a very cold winter.

I was happy to see that Chloe and Kate look really great. Chloe has put on a little weight though and that is a concern as she was chubby before I left. Overweight dogs and cats are about 4 times more likely to develop diabetes.

She is coming outside with me when I am weeding and hopefully it will stay warm enough for her to get some more outdoor exercise. She really does like to run. Will also see if I can get the harness on her and try that again. We haven’t been too successful with that in the past, but hopefully she will be more agreeable to it now. I really have to get her weight issue under control in the next few months.

Flannel hits the Cape Cod beaches

We walked Lily and her friend Flannel on the beach this morning. Flannel is a beautiful black lab who (of course) loves the water. It was quite warm this morning on the Cape, so we let Flannel go in and out of the water (Lily is not a swimmer) to her heart’s delight.

Afterwards, Flannie had a nice shower and both dogs had a good nap in the living room.

Flannie has also exhibited quite a talent for finding tennis balls. She has an inner radar that allows her to sense when they are under a bush or hidden along a trail. If they are right out in the open, she is not interested….too easy.

She is a wonderful role-model for everything that is fabulous about this breed. There are so many of them in shelters and I can see how hard that must be for them. They love adventure and they love people. (They love their breakfast and dinner too!)