Exciting News!

We are excited to tell that Scout, the kitty we posted about last week, has found a new home.  He will be a resident of Dougherty County now.  We know his new folks are going to give a great home with abundant love.  Hopefully they will keep us posted on his well being and bring him back for a visit from time to time.

New Cat for Adoption

We have this new cat here at the clinic which came from my husband's office, Longleaf Dental, in Albany.  It seems a feral cat colony resides in the undeveloped area between Longleaf and Flint Community Bank.  They are thriving off the garbage from the Mexican Restaurant behind them.  Well, this one kitty, who is not so feral, was trying to come in the front door with their clients.  He is such a friendly cat, we decided to find him a home.  He has been tested for Feline Leukemia and Feline Infectious Virus and both were negative.  He has been castrated, de-wormed and completely vaccinated. I feel he needs to be an outside cat as he has a lot of energy.  He has demonstrated the potential to be a good "mouse.r" I say this because he has murdered several stuffed mice placed in his pen.  Whoever takes home this special cat will have a good friend and a lot of entertainment! Come by and take a peak at him.  As always if you take him home and he does not jive with the rest of the family, he is always welcomed back to our home.  Currently we call him Scout, but I think he will answer to just about anything.

Brrrrrr!

As I sit here by my fire watching the NCHA futurities, thinking how hard it is going to be to get up in the morning at 6 AM to make it to the gym, I am thankful for my warm home.  I have all my critters in the den with me.  Normally they sleep outside, even on a cold night, but knowing it is going to get down to 18 degrees tonight, we decided to let them come in to enjoy the fire with us.  I get asked all the time if animals should be brought inside during the cold weather, and that really is a question which can only be answered after taking into consideration many variables. The truth is, before we domesticated dogs, they lived their life and thrived outside in much more extreme winters than here in South Georgia. Now having said that, I do have to say the wild dog and the typical domesticated dog are two very different dogs. First off, dogs in the wild did not live to be ten or twelve years old, their hair coat was adapted to extreme temperatures, and they certainly did not weigh four pounds. So when I am asked the question of whether or not a dog or a cat should be brought inside the home, these are things I talk to owners about before making that call. Assuming animals have some type of hole or covering to escape the winds such as a dog house, a crate or a barrel and this area is bedded down with a bedding such as wood chips, straw or hay and the animal is a healthy, young to middle aged dog in good body condition, they will be able to sustain the winter temperatures.  Many people like to put a heat lamp on the dog houses, which do increase the temperature substantially, but it can not be ignored the dangers in that. One major fact is that all dogs like to chew on inanimate objects and an electrical cord draped around their dog house makes it very enticing to do a little chewing and chewing on an electrical cord that has electricity flowing can result in electrocution. 

So, I say if in doubt as to whether or not your pets can handle the winter, just bring them inside.  If they are not house broken, close them up in a bathroom or laundry room and allow them to spend the night in the warmth.  Before turning them out in the mornings, feed them a good meal and make sure their water is not frozen.  They will be so grateful.

Does someone feed the animals?

Really? Is this is question worthy of an answer? If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone ask me or one of my employees this question, I could probably add on a new state of the art surgery wing to Leesburg Animal Hospital. 

When someone asks if we feed the animals on the weekends, what I really want to say is "Did you fall on your head today?" "Did you for get to put on your brain when you put on yours shoes this morning?" Or, I consider trying and reasoning with them and explain that it would not make good sense to board and animal at a place that didn't feed the animals...they would be better off just fending for themselves on the streets or locked up in the back yard.  The truth is it somewhat angers me to have to answer this question, but I just smile and politely say "Oh yes, someone comes in twice a day." So, if anyone needs clarity on this question let me try and make sense of it...yes, we do come in twice a day on weekends and holidays to feed, water, walk, and clean the cages. 

Russell Report #2

We are so happy to say....Russell went home today!!! Hopefully he has learned his lesson...probably not. Boys will be boys.

Spirit of Christmas Parade and Festival

We all had such a good time today at the Spirit of Christmas Parade throwing out candy and telling everyone "Fleas Navidad." It is great to be a part of a wonderful, small town in South Georgia.  We love Leesburg, Ga and are so happy to be this year's second place winner of the Christmas Parade.  Our theme was a big hit, however some needed a little help in understanding, but that's OK. 

The doggie fun zone went well.  Fifty eight dogs entered in the obstacle course.  Most had a great time chasing that "rabbit." While others were a little less enticed by it.  It was fun watching how all the dogs responded differently to the rabbit and the athletic abilities of all of them.  Animals never cease to amaze me. At a charge of ten dollars a piece, we raised a good bit of money for our Fifth Friday Foundation Animal Shelter.

The Pet Trick contest was won by one of our very own friends, Spotty. He did a whole routine of different tricks to wow the crowd and win a first place ribbon.

Russell Report

Russell is hanging in there.  He seems to be about the same today.  After an x-ray of his chest, we have found that he is retaining some fluid on his lungs, so we have put him on a diuretic.  His appetite is not voracious, but he still nibbles,secretly.  He ate some cheese with a little bit of vigor.  His wounds continue to drain and he has a terrible odor, but it is getting better.  Our hopes are still high for him, but he is not out of the woods just yet. All we ask for is a little improvement each day.