Meet Beau....A big, beautiful, bouncing...should I say baby...boy! He came to us because the older woman who took him in ....though she loved him...just couldn't harness his energy.
She brought him to us and he became part of the feed store...in fact...he created his own job...."greeter of all the customers"!
One day a young woman who just happened to be a "vet tech" saw him and fell head over heels in love! And so...with sadness for our loss but with joy for his new family life we sent him on his way!
Bye Beau....! We miss you and we love you but we know that you have a wonderful new family to dote over you endlessly!
Little Red Puppy Story
You are absolutely not going to believe this!!!!
As you know...today we picked up the momma dog with the 2 pups in Sanford...and they arrived (someone else had to drive my car to get them as my feed store workers could not be here today and I had to tend the store) back here at the feed store at around 11:30ish… scared out of their wits and with poop all over the backseat of my car! We put them in a crate all together and they adjusted pretty quickly to the fact that… "Everything is all better now" …and …oh yeah and the pig's ears didn't hurt either!
Remember the blond one (or the cowering one) has been spoken for since the day I said I would take them..only thing is I have to babysit him 'til the family is back from vacation..Saturday the 18th...he is going with Ginger
Well dig this…! It is now 2:30pm (only 3 hours later) and the little red puppy...has been adopted by a gal who has horses and a farm...she walked in and flipped out over him...!!! We know of her and her friends and they are pretty well off… not a doubt in my mind that he will be doted over and well cared for not to mention in a home where he will have lots of fun… fun… fun!!
Here is a picture of the gal and the little red puppy… How precious is this and what kind of a miracle goes on here regularly… it is absolutely unbelievable! I am so totally elated… and so very thankful I have the opportunity to spend time with some many precious ones! I gave him the biggest hug and kiss and sent him on his new journey with the words that I feel they understand… "Everything is all better now!"
Angel Puff (CiCi)'s story
Meet CiCi...she is our Christmas Calf….She is the cause we have taken up this season (2006) in the spirit of Christmas….
Last January, pit bull dogs (who obviously had uncaring owners that allowed them to wander and gather in packs) attacked CiCi’s herd of calves - many of the calves did not survive and even though CiCi’s injuries were greater then most of the other calves she has displayed a great will to survive….
Her front legs are badly crippled and she has trouble standing and getting around….as she grows this will probably get worse. Her right leg has suffered severe nerve and muscle damage ...she can only use this leg as a crutch and her left leg is breaking down from carrying the brunt of her weight….
Thankfully nature stunts the growth of an animal like this when they are injured...so at this point , it isn’t worse than it is...if it had been she most likely would not have come to us as the dairy farm where she lived would have had already made the decision to euthanize her….
Because of this little calf’s strong desire to live the crew at the dairy farm kept postponing what they thought would be inevitable….they really didn’t want to have to do this….and then somehow… miraculously… her story got to us…..
I immediately called the folks the Dairy and they were elated to have us adopt her and care for her for whatever would be the rest of her life…
We picked her up on December 14th and took her to the University of Florida Veterinary Hospital...about a 2 hour drive from where we are…and after a long day for her and for us….the doctors there felt the best thing to do would be to euthanize her….We thanked them very much for their time and opinion and told them that we would be loading her back on the trailer so we could bring her home. That was the wrong answer...at least for now!
After I paid the bill and I wanted to check in on her in the trailer to make sure she was nestled in the hay before we started to take off so she would not fall….and even though she is a calf that has not been bottle fed... meaning she shies away from people….she reached up over the trailer wall and gave me a great big kiss! I ask you… just what does that tell you! (P.S. this is absolutely true...I have witnesses!)
I must stop my story for a moment and say that in all my life I have never had a Christmas gift as wonderful as the feeling I had in my heart from sharing the day with this calf…offering her love and affection and getting it back from her in so many ways…a kiss from a calf that is afraid of people…it blew my mind and I cried most of the way home…tears of joy...of course…
We want you to know CiCi is not suffering ...she just has trouble getting around, however, if she gets to the point where she can’t get up…we will make whatever decision that is totally to her benefit… (The only suffering that is going on right now is in my heart when I spend time with her as I feel so bad for what she suffered in the attack and even though I am convinced she knows nothing of her plight…I ache for her as I would for a child I might see that is crippled and I wish that I could make her all better…
We have a local large animal’ veterinarian who works with us and says that doing surgery is very difficult on an bovine as she would have to spend quite a bit of time in a sling…We had searched for a facility that could assist us in creating a miracle for her but that hasn’t come about yet… most veterinary facilities for large animals only take horses…”not dirty cows” as one facility explained…
If you know of a place or if you can help us spread this message so we can find a place or a staff of doctors that feel that they can offer a miracle for CiCi….we would be ever so grateful…..
Please envision how precious she is sitting out in the pasture…at mealtimes, when I give her flakes of hay…she stands eating for a while and then she spreads her hay in a little circle and lies down on top and she grazes on her little tuft of hay as she enjoys the breeze and the comings and going of the other critters around her from the cats and the horses to the other cows and the birds and the butterflies that fly by her….
Envisioning this will perhaps help you understand why I have decided to change her name to Angel Puff. Because to me that is what she is…a little angel puff…
Of course...any and all donations you can gather in her behalf would get us one step closer to giving her a Christmas miracle... even if it is a little belated….
Thank you for your current donation...it does wonderful things!
Kendall
Here's a little kitten that was walking around and crying in the parking lot at the Handyway next door to the feed store....in between all the cars and trucks getting gas...getting lunch...etc....
Of course..we scooped her up and brought her to the feed store...
Right away....she made herself at home...
Before closing up at night we always do inventory to make sure all our Angels are here and looking okay...and sometimes to apply eye ointments or administer medicines...
Well...on the first night this little kitty was around we couldn't find her in our first search of the place....at which point we have to sharpen our kitten searching senses and really start to look high and low... under things... between things... slowly and with acute observation... and with flash lights in hand through all the crooks and crannys...and...if you've ever searched for a kitty you know that they can be right in front of you yet somehow hidden from view....after a sweep or two of the place we found her.... nestled snuggly in a box of syringes.... and we also then came up with her name..."Kendall" (Take a look at the writing on the box)
Kendall was quickly adopted by a local family with a farm...we do not see her every day but we get updates on her new life from time to time when her new family shops here at the feed store...
Say hello to Miss Soxy Boots....
She was a drop off by a customer who just didn't want her anymore.... this particular party said that Miss Soxy Boots did not use her litter box regularly and this was the reason she wanted to "get rid of her"!
Typically we do not take animals in this category ....for us... it is all about rescuing those animals in need because they have been abandoned or they are lost or injured...but we make exceptions sometimes if we feel the owner does not care where the animal will end up or if we have a personal relationship with the person and do this as a favor in exchange for favors done for us...
The latter was the case with regard to Miss Soxy Boots ...
She resided at the feed store for quite a while but then (because of her litter box issues) she was relocated to the farm where she is adjusting to her new friends in record speed...
When she came to the feed store...it may have been as much as a month before she really felt comfortable enough to pose like she was in this photo....this was in her final days at the feed store where you can see she pretty much feels like she owns the place....
Her new residence at the farm means that we have some extra clean up duty to do while she aclimates to her new residence before she can be moved outdoors...where no-one will really care if she uses a litter box!
I might add that Miss Soxy Boots was declawed by her previous owner... this makes it a little more of a concern for her to reside outdoors... but the farm is a very safe environment and, as we have seen with our other declawed kitties, all are doing fabulous!
However, this may be a reason to reconsider declawing your cat...as if you can't keep her/him forever...she/he may once again have to reside outdoors or even spend part of her/his time outdoors and being declawed makes this a bit different for them...
Sugar and Spice and everything nice….
At the end of the day…when I’m ready to head to the farm…I find myself at the feed store loading my car…
This would be with real estate paperwork….cameras, palm pilots & other paraphernalia…animal feed…animal laundry to wash…and then….the animals that will be going home with me for the day….….(if a stranger was watching they’d certainly think, by the loads to my car, that I was heading off on a long trip of some sort)
On one particular day…as I was placing the last load into the car, woman pulled up and with tears in her eyes said, “People are horrible! Someone just dropped little kittens out on the road near my home…I can’t keep them and I don’t know what to do!” Even though I had a hunch they were in her car….I inquired, “Where are they?”…“I have them right here in the car…..you can even keep the carrier if you can take them!”
“Let me see them” I said as I walked to her car….I looked in to see 2 precious little ones peering out in wonder….purring so loud I could hear them from my distance….
The good news is that they appeared healthy and that always makes this process so much easier….and, of course….I told her I would take them.
Since the six kittens, the momma kitty, “Snow White” and the aunt kitty, “Alice” in the feed store were still not completely over their upper respiratory virus (the kitty cold) I felt these two needed to needed to go to my home where there wouldn’t be any worry of them catching it….so they got loaded too!!!!
And off we went….As soon as we reached the farm, I brought them into the house and put them in the hall bath….I wanted to observe them for at least the evening before I introduced them to the rest of the kitten population hanging out at my house until they are ready for adoption…just to be sure I didn’t have any health concerns that would be obvious.
Well….these little guys…(actually they are gals) were bursting with love to share….they couldn’t keep their paws off me….they climbed on my lap and they climbed up to my neck…nuzzling all the way…all they wanted was to be held and kissed all the while little motors were going full force…
At first I thought I would call them Frick and Frack….but it didn’t take long for me to reconsider their names as every time I entered the bathroom to spend a little time with them they were simply snuggled on the little “blankie” I gave them waiting for my return….No turning the room upside down, no knocking things off the shelves, no climbing the shower curtain, no spinning the toilet paper rolls onto the floor….as kittens sometimes do…just contently awaiting my return…
”How sweet you are” I said to the two of them and then I told them they were “Sugar and Spice and everything nice“….and so “Sugar” and “Spice” it is….
It all begins with a phone call…
The call that an animal is in need…and I guess you could say it is then that I immediately slip into my animal print wonder woman suit and off I go….to save the day…..
This time the call was about a dog who had been hit by a car…he had been picked up by a couple of gals who were animal lovers and saw what had happened. They took him to a local vet right away and while the vet had the dog they set about trying to locate the dog’s owner…with no success.
The vet treated the dog for what luckily turned out to be only a cut on his leg and some bruises…then the vet called the gals to pick up the dog…..therein came the problem. What on earth were they going to do with him…? Neither of these gals had any additional space in their home as they already had, being, like I said… animal lovers….homes with plenty of pets! In their hearts they certainly had room for him but not in their homes…
They rapidly made calls to everyone they knew but kept coming up with no real answer for where he could go…
In the meanwhile, the vet insisted that regardless of whether or not they had a place for him …he needed to be picked up immediately since their office was not in the dog boarding business! Without a clue on what else they could do …..they did what makes some of us cringe…they called animal control to pick him up…hoping that they would somehow find the owner and get the dog out of the ‘humane society’ before something horrible could happen…
Then someone mentioned our name to them…and the call came….
Even though I really didn’t have the room….when I heard he was picked up by animal control…I knew without a doubt that I had to help him. “Yes…I’ll take him…!” I heard the words coming out of my mouth even though I wasn’t sure how this was all going to fall together! They immediately hung up as to quickly call the animal control officer and miraculously he turned his truck around and brought the dog back!
I suggested that they take him to my feed store and that my employees would figure out where he could fit in….which is not always an easy task…as we probably have too many critters at the store at any given point in time…but we would make it work…after all…he needed us! His life was on the line!
That particular day I was out showing property, as I am a Realtor, and ended up working until after 7pm which is well beyond the feed store closing time of 5:30...I told my employees…which I refer to as “the kids” to tie him up in the feed room….that he would have to deal with that until I got there to take him home for the night…
When I had received the call about this dog…I asked what breed he was…they told me that they did not really know…he sort of looked like a Bulldog….he sort of looked like a Boxer….I asked if the vet had an idea and they said he also did not know….HUMMMM…But they insisted that he was the most beautiful dog they ever saw and that I would think so too…
So around the 7pm hour I made my way back to the feed store and wondered as I drove… what on earth I would find…thinking about how he might get along with all the other furry kids that reside with me on the farm….or would I have trouble fitting him in…what if he didn’t like cats…other dogs…etc.
In the dark…I unlocked the door and entered the store and then proceeded to open the door to the feed room….I was feeling a little unsure and I know he was certainly feeling a little scared as he had no idea where he was or why he was there…and now here comes a figure in the dark…imagine what the poor guy must have been thinking…As I entered, he backed up nervously and looked up at me fearful of what was about to happen next…after all…just think about all he had just been through.
I looked at him in the shadows of the barely lit room and all I could think was….now this is a perfect example of the phrase….”A face only a mother could love!” I spoke softly and reassured him that “It’s okay honey…it’s okay” and without much thought I said to him…“you’re name must be Dutch…that’s what you look like to me…”
Here he was… a very large….brindle and white…muscular as Mike Tyson….unmistakable bottom jaw overbite…American Bulldog! And like they told me… he was beautiful…well okay…actually so ugly he was beautiful!
I touched him and let him know as I always do….that “everything is all better now…I’ve got you” You may think I’m a little nuts…but I do believe ….and completely without a single doubt…that the animals understand all this. I untied him, attached a leash and led him with me to the car….it was time to go home and get some rest….
Somehow…I can sense the nature of the dogs that come our way….and my sensor was telling me …”no problem”…this dog was not going to be any trouble with the cats currently residing in the house…and he wasn’t. We got home and I led him into the living room where we would watch CSI together and get to know each other….
He was an absolute angel….he was graciously happy to share the living room with several kitties who came bounding at him to see what he was all about….and I think he was feeling a huge sense of relaxation after an afternoon of stressful changes…and he looked up at me with his big eyes and….his big bottom teeth sticking up and over his lips and sighed and then he set about getting some long needed sleep!
During the commercials… I crawled down on the floor and laid beside him and massaged him for a bit…as I surely wanted him to know he was safe…
Up and at’em early the next morning….my normal chores include feeding all the animals and getting them ready for their day at the farm, cleaning up after animals and laundry for the animals and today taking time to see that Dutch had breakfast and some time in the yard to do his duties…then off to the feed store we went….
He was a big hit! The regulars marveled at how beautiful he was and of course everyone knows that a home must be found….In Dutch’s case …the applicant was almost immediate…so fast that I had to request that they wait a few days as I kind of had a feeling that with a dog like this the owner was bound to show up. The gals that had rescued him had put up flyers all over the area where his accident had occurred but after about a week and no response…I made the call to the incredible family that wanted to adopt him.
His new family lives on a farm and get this…..they have a female American Bulldog!!!!! I ask you…could things work out any better than this….and…for my sake…they are local and regulars at the feed store…so guess who can come by and visit me often. We have a thing at the feed store….all of our adopted dogs get a free pig’s ear when they stop by to visit…”
The feed store…as feed stores go…is not bringing in riches….actually barely keeping it’s own but the part it plays in the rescue work I do is monumental! And…I am the richest of all when it comes to the fulfillment of a wish and a wonderful feeling in my heart….there are no amounts of money that could buy this kind of feeling…to be able to reach out and help an innocent animal when they need me and to find them a happy and loving home….
