RESCUE - The BEST in Phoenix?

RESCUE has been nominated to be the "Best" in Phoenix for animal shelters/rescue groups!

The "Best" is hosted by azcentral.com . This is their second year for this and it is a Reader's Choice poll. Readers nominate their favorite local businesses from a number of categories. These include favorite people, recreation areas and activities, Valley attractions, arts and entertainment, food and dining, various services, and even pets! The top ten are selected for each category and then readers can vote on their favorite from that list of 10.

The winners for each category will receive plenty of media exposure and then of course they will be awarded the title – THE BEST for 2008!!!

Voting is simple. Head on over to the azcentral.com Best website and then click on Pets. A new window will pop up which asks you to enter the characters you see (this is just a security check). Then you will be taken to the poll page. The default category will be Best Animal Shelter (on the left side of the screen). You can also choose other categories by clicking on them, which will then open a new list of nominees. Click the radio button next to RESCUE to select us, then click Vote down at the bottom of the list. That will tabulate the votes to date and show you the current results.

You can vote once a day from now until April 17th. So please tell a friend (or 10)! And be sure to log on every day to cast your vote. You can help RESCUE with your vote by giving us a chance to show the community who we are and what we do to help homeless dogs and cats in Maricopa County.

Thanks for reading. See you at the Dog Park!

Should I Stay or Should I Go? (The Poo Chronicles)

Well, its all about the poo this week at the house of L. Yes, I said poo. Its something you get frighteningly comfortable with when you have a multi-pet household with critters of all ages.

Really, that goes for all pet messes. For example, on our wedding day, one of our cats had thrown up on the living room carpet (guess he wanted to let us know how he felt about missing out on cake). When we got home that night I was seen on my hands and knees cleaning it up, still in my wedding gown. If that's not commitment to one's animals, I don't know what is.

But I digress. Our elderly cat, Reggie, has been suffering from bouts of constipation. We have special medication to give him for this problem. Its supposed to taste like chicken. If the smell is anything to go by, that's a chicken I do not want to eat. He hates it, and I don't really blame him. But he tolerates it well enough, considering. Our nightly ritual now involves wrapping him in a towel (to keep my husband's hands safe from the talons-of-death), I hold Reggie like a baby, my husband fills up the syringe and then squirts it into Reggie's mouth. Yes, we do end up wearing some of it. Then we get out the pillow and some cat food, and he gets his sub-Q fluids. I've become quite tolerant of sticking a one inch long 18 gauge needle into my cat, and it disturbs me slightly. But it part of owning an elderly cat with hyperthyroidism and damaged kidneys I guess. Oh, he also suffers from a slight heart murmur, has high blood pressue, and his vision is diminishing day by day. My cat is on more prescriptions (including his food) than I am. And his cost more. But he's still an affectionate cat who can hold his own with a large, enthusiastic, young dog (and in our household, that's a valuable trait).

Back to the whole constipation issue. He's backed up. But we had poo on Monday night, which I announced to the entire household. I had to hold myself back from rushing on here and annoucing it then. So its getting better.

We have a new foster right now, and I will tell you much more about him in another post. His name is Romeo and he is a boxer (mix?). Anywho, he was only supposed to be with us over the weekend (our boarding facility was going to be closed and we had an adoption event, so I took him in so he could be at the event), but he'll be sticking around for a bit. He had some diarrhea last weekend I'm told. We noticed on Friday night when I got him home, that he still had some intestinal issues. By Saturday evening, it was worse. He was quite lethargic as well. He woke us up in the early morning hours on Sunday, twice, needing to go out. He repeated this Monday and Tuesday mornings. Its very pretty outside at 3am. You can see lots of stars from our backyard. This morning however, he only got me up around 5am. I do so appreciate that. The poor guy though, he held it until we heard him whimpering and let him out. He's such a good dog!!

Turns out that our little (well, not too little, he is boxer afterall) guy has a bacterial infection. I picked up some meds for him yesterday. He gets them three days this week, then we wait seven days and give it to him for three more days. We already noticed a difference this morning. I was out in the backyard with both him and our Min Pin, Marie. He tried to get her to play, though she's not having it. He gave her a couple of enthusiastic play bows, let out a few goofy grrrs, jumped around, ran to the grass and back to the patio. She just turned her back. But I was laughing at him. And happy to see he is starting to get back some energy. When we got back inside, he actually tried to get Reggie to play with him (which is saying something, seeing as how his basically terrified of Reggie). He play bowed, then pawed at Reggie. Then Reggie swatted him, and poor Romeo cowered and crawled backwards to hide behind me. ;D

He's lost some weight from all the runs (and I don't mean around the block), so we'll be working to get some meat on him on the next week or so. Eggs and rice (with some medication hidden in it) along with Wellness dry dog food should help.

Well, thanks for reading (despite the topic). See you at the dog park!

Beauty to the RESCUE!

Its that time of year again, time for the annual Beauty to the RESCUE fundraiser event!

This event takes place on Sunday, March 9th, from 9am-3pm at the Mane Attraction Salon in Phoenix. The address is 3156 E. Camelback Road.

The beauty of this event isn't just the customers after a service, but also in the fact that Mane Attraction is open on a day it would normally be closed. They also donate all the proceeds from the day to RESCUE. How great is that?!

The event will include beauty time, food from Seven's Heaven, items for auction, dog grooming services by Animal Attractions, and of course, the lovely dogs of RESCUE. You can partake in all of this as you rock out to the musical stylings of Sistah Blue.

And to top off the festivities, we will have be holding a raffle drawing at the end of the day for a $1000 grand prize. You can purchase raffle tickets for only $5 from the RESCUE website. And you do not need to be present to win!

So hurry over to the site, buy your tickets and then go mark you calendar for Beauty to the RESCUE!

Thanks for reading. See you at the Dog Park!

A Min Pin's New Years Resolutions

My Min Pin Marie finally wrote down her 2008 New Year's Resolutions. Since she can't type (or turn on the computer), she asked me to share them with you all. She thinks that maybe, if she puts them out there on the internet for all to see, this will give her some accountability and might just help her keep them. So, here they are, in no particular order.

Marie's New Years Resolutions for 2008

• Be nicer to my foster brothers and sisters


• Try not to destroy my stuffed toys (that way Mom won't take them away from me when she spots my stashes of stuffing all over the house)


• Try to eat slower so I don't choke


• Lose 3 pounds (Mom says I'm becoming a little fatty)


• Convince my Siamese cat sister Neika that I'm a nice dog who really wants nothing to do with her anyway and that she doesn't need to hiss at me and run every time she sees me. (I'm not one of my nosy foster siblings after all.)


• Figure out a way to get into the cats' litter closet so I can raid that litter box.


• Convince Mom to put the giant stuffed dog on the floor so I can gnaw on it and tell it who is boss.


• Be much more sneaky when I get up to Mom's workbench to steal anything that smells good. (I really enjoyed that last spool of thread).


• Continue to sit on the floor and stare up at Dad when he's eating in the hopes that he'll either drop a tasty morsel, or he'll break down and share with me. (Sharing is the nice thing to do after all, its so rude to eat in front of others.)

Well, there you have it. I'm not sure if I approve of some of those, but I do agree, she needs to lose a couple of pounds.

Well, that's all for this time. Thanks for reading. See you at the Dog Park!

Pet Podcast Reviews Part 1 - Dog Cast Radio

I am a podcast addict (the first step is to admit you have problem, right?). I listen to a huge variety of podcasts and have found a number of great pet podcasts that I just have to share! I plan to make this a regular feature of the blog as I discover more great podcasts to share. If you know of any, be sure to share them with me. I'll check them out and review them here. Same goes for get pet blogs!

Today I'd like to highlight my new favorite podcast, Dog Cast Radio. If you use iTunes to subscribe (and you don't need to have a Mac or an iPod to use iTunes, speaking from experience), search for Dog Cast Radio. There should be 56 episodes in there. But they don't go in any particular order, so you can start with the newest one, or be anal like me and go all the way back to the first episode and listen to them all. If you prefer to download them manually, or you use some other feed, you can find them at the Dog Cast Radio website.

Now, I'm only somewhere in the teens with this one (like I said, I love to go back and listen to podcasts from the very beginning), but I love, love, LOVE this podcast! Its a UK based cast and the host has a truly wonderful accent. And she says "Smashing!", which just makes me smile. The show is quite professional sounding in format and style, and something you might think could be syndicated and picked up by NPR. They do news from the pet world, short stories and poems, interviews, and even have a kids' segment called "Puppy Playtime" (love that). Some of the interviews have included folks at the Crufts dog show, breeders, dog trainers and behaviorists, shelter/rescue group workers, authors, dog owners and more. Its interesting to listen to the UK perspective on issues such as training, shelters and rescue, breeding, showing, etc. She does talk with folks from the US and Canada as well, but it predominantly UK. They also include great internet resources for you to look into as well.

One of the best segments that they do each episode is the excerpt from Buddy's Diary. Buddy is their black lab and he has a lovely perspective on life.

New episodes come out on the second and fourth Saturday of each month. They're usually about 45 minutes long (give or take). The format flows well and makes for a nice listen. And its definitely a family friendly podcast that anyone can enjoy.

So, if you're a dog lover (and you likely are if you're bothering to read my blog), this is one podcast you need to listen to.

Thanks for reading. See you at the Dog Park! (And we can discuss the latest episode of Dog Cast Radio while we're there)

Meet Kyle!

We have a new foster in the house. His name is Kyle and he is a Cocker Spaniel.

Kyle is a sweet, lovable little guy. He's about a year old and weighs under 20 lbs. He is very much a puppy still in that he is playful, mouths a bit, and is not completely house trained yet. But we're really working with him on that last one.

Kyle loves a good tummy rub. If you get just the right spot, you have the joy of watching him move that back leg at top speed. And sometimes, you'll get both back legs going!

He's an amiable pooch. He warms up quickly and seems to like everyone he meets. He gets a little over excited sometimes with new people, and sometimes he'll piddle a bit (but that's not overly unusual for Cocker Spaniels). He does fine with other dogs, but he's really all about the people and would therefore do fine in a home as the only dog. He is cat-safe as well. He is interested in cats, he'll sniff them and try to check them out, but if they let him know they don't want his attentions, he'll back right off.

How would Kyle do with kids you ask? I'd say he'd be great with kids! I wouldn't recommend him with children under 7, only because he needs consistent training and in a household with real young children, that may not always be possible. But he allows you to handle every inch of him without a care. You can play with his stub of a tail, flop his floppy ears, play with his muzzle and mouth, hold his paws and even pull at his fur! So he's a kid-friendly dog.

Kyle loves a good stuffed toy to play with. He enjoys chewing on it, making it squeak, and rolling around with it. He also loves to play with his people and have a gentle little "wrestling match" on the floor. Afterwards, he's happy to curl with his people on the couch and take a snooze. (We even took a nap together on the couch over the weekend.)

Kyle is a quiet soul for the most part. He doesn't bark at every sound or movement or falling leaf. But he did bark at our neighbor's dog when it was out in its own backyard. And when my husband was bringing the trash can back in through the back gate, Kyle barked at him until he realized who it was. So he can be a good little guard dog when the situation calls for it. Though I'm sure if an intruder came into the house, that Kyle would happily direct him towards the television in exchange for a good belly rub. ;D

Kyle does need some training. And a very patient adopter. He does not know any commands, at all. He is starting to learn our command for no (we make an "eh-eh" sound rather than saying "No") and he does at least know his name. I believe he can learn, but it will take time and patience. But what he lacks in smarts he more than makes up for with his utter cuteness. He is getting better about being constantly under foot, but he still wants to be right near his people, so his adopters will need to be aware that he might be snoozing at your feet when you're cooking dinner. He also needs a little work still on leash, but he's not bad. I think he may not have had much training in his previous home. But he obviously did receive a lot of interaction with people and is well socialized. He's just never had any sort of training whether it be potty training or leash manners.

Kyle is not yet completely housebroken, but we've made some progress in that department and managed to have an accident free weekend. Kyle has only been with us for a week now, so I'd say that's pretty darn good progress.

He's not a picky eater at all, and eats very well. He enjoys both dry and canned foods and loves the Mother Hubbard peanut butter treats.

Bath-time with Kyle is a joy. I've had fosters that whine, growl and struggle at bath time. And unfortunately, a bath is often called for when they first come to stay. Kyle has a tendency to pee on his front legs sometimes when he does his business. So his legs smelled less than sweet when we brought him home. I gave him a bath and he did beautifully! He acted like it was an every day occurrence for him. No whining, no struggling, no growling, and no fear of the faucet or the shower head! He just stood still and let me shampoo him and rinse him and then wring him out. And he loved, absolutely loved, the drying process. He charged into the towel I was holding and rolled and grrr'd and rolled some more. He was having too much fun being towel-dried.

Kyle is not yet available to the public. He still needs to be neutered. But he has his appointment for later this week so he should be visible on the website this coming weekend or early next week. If you're interested in Kyle, you can look for him this weekend at our website and fill out an application for him.


Thanks for reading. See you at the Dog Park!

Become a RESCUE Volunteer!

Later this month I hope to post an entry on becoming a volunteer and how to choose the organization that's right for you. But I just wanted to let any interested readers know that this Thursday, December 6th, RESCUE will be having a New Volunteer Orientation session. (Follow the link for more details)

This will be a general info session so you can learn more about RESCUE, what we do, don't do, and the volunteer opportunities available. Can't make the orientation but interested in becoming a volunteer? Then let us know at VolunteerMatch. Just put in your zip code and look for RESCUE under the Organization Name column. We have plenty of opportunities available, whether it be as a RESCUE Ambassador who speaks to the public, walking dogs during the week, taking dogs on outings on the weekend, or working with our cats. So go and check that out. When you submit your information, a volunteer coordinator will be contacting you in a couple of days.

Thanks for reading. See you at the dog park!