My Life in a Mitten

I volunteer at an animal shelter on the weekends and sometimes during the week…

This past weekend we had a pet adoption like we do every weekend.

This weekend was different and special because we adopted out at least 4 … probably more that I’m forgetting … adult or near adult dogs – including a couple who have been with us for a very long time. We also adopted out 4 older cats – one who I thought would NEVER be adopted.

Buddah was brought in feral and just did not trust people at ALL! She would hiss and swat at people and scratch and everything. She just didn’t like anyone! Well this couple was adopting another cat, a little orange tabby female who is the sweetest thing and the man told the volunteer who was helping them that he wanted to give a second chance to a cat who may not otherwise get adopted. WOW! The volunteer immediately showed them Buddah and told them about her short comings. And they decided to adopt her as well.

There are still good people out there. And that was TRULY a Christmas Miracle if I’ve ever seen one…I have tears as I type this…and I had tears on Saturday too.

I wonder what Buddah is doing right now in her new home.

Thing about the weekend that was so cool…we had two litters of puppies there, and although a couple puppies did get adopted, it was mostly older dogs and the cats.

Just.Wow.

H

So much for posting to this blog, eh? LOL

Ok, so I’m no good at this everyday stuff. I feel like I’m talking to myself. Maybe one day someone will stumble across this pile and think…oh there’s an intelligent mind at work…heh, yeah right.

Ok…so I decided to revisit this blog because although I do have other dog issues to write about today, I’d like to keep the other blog strictly about the seizures and although related, not quite seizure topic.

So…raw foods. Yeah, I believe will will be going that route. Who woulda thunk it?? Not I said the fly!!

I got the information on both sides…good and bad. I read info till my eyes glazed over. Shit, I even dreamed of raw foods last night!! Totally bizarre! But I feel like I have been well educated and ready to give it the ole college try.

I think it’s the control over the food. I will know EXACTLY what’s going into those dogs. No additives, nothing not natural, no preservatives. None of those bad things the seizure dog shouldn’t have and then let’s see how he does. Shoot, how they both do because the little girl dog has her own issues…hair loss, alopecia. So maybe it will help her as well. It should!!!

So people…the adventures with RAW start on Thursday…well, Friday we’ll start feeding it. Won’t that be fun? lol

Till next time…H

This is brought over from my other blog about the seizure dog….

My husband and I volunteer on a regular basis at a local animal shelter. This weekend was the grand opening of the pet store that’s located inside the shelter building. The pet store is called “The Pet Beastro” and they sell holistic, natural and raw pet foods and treats as well as some quality toys, collars, and beds. On Sunday I sat in on a talk about pet food nutrition. Now I know that since all of the pet food recalls last year and earlier this year, I for one, have been paying more attention to what is in the food I’m feeding our animals.

The dogs have been getting Canidae and the cats, unfortunately, are still getting a mixture of the crap that you buy at the grocery store. I have one cat, the little female, here that will NOT eat premium foods…however, we may just buy a bag of it…replace the junk in the feeder and not give her a choice BUT to eat the premium food. I think we’re going to do that this week and see how it goes. I want to feed them all the best we can.

Ok, so this brings me to the little seminar/talk I sat through and the whole RAW diet thing.

It was really interesting…i mean what she was saying made sense and I really have to wonder if it would help Topaz. We’re just about out of dry food, so we’re due to buy some more. The 40lb bag of Canidae lasted us just about a month…a few days shy is how it will come out. But we free feed, so I don’t know who’s been eating what and if we fed at certain times, certain amounts I am sure that it probably would have lasted a little bit longer.

Anyway…so now we have to buy food this week. I am seriously considering giving raw a try. I never ever in my life thought I’d say that, but it doesn’t seem as awful as it all sounds. I mean it’s gross sounding to me and it will probably take me some time to get used to the whole fact that I am feeding my dogs raw meat, but I think we’re going to give it a month and see how it goes.

I am worried about Topaz with his meds and the seizures and everything and unfortunately the internet is not the best place to get information about all of that because you do get such differing opinions and everything. I almost need to just stop reading the net, think about it, get my questions answered and go from there. I’d be better off.

And I do have a TON of questions: How to get a dog that gulps and doesn’t chew to chew the bones? What about vitamin supplements? Do we need to go cold turkey and just jump into it? Will there be side effects to look for? What about Topaz and his medication, what effect will the food change have on him? How do I know how much 8 ounces is? Do I need a scale? What about veggies and fruits? Will this make them sick in the beginning?…and well, the list goes on and on!!

So… I will need to chat a bit with the Pet Beastro lady and see what she says. And well, we may be venturing into the scary world of RAW food. I don’t know yet…I have a few days to figure it out.

Here are some links:
http://www.barfworld.com/html/barf_diet/barfdiet_specific.shtml
http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm

Here’s a site that talks about what is in pet food:
http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04/Perhach/PetFood/Processing.htm

The jury is still out on this one. I don’t know what to think about it all.

Later…H