Yard Sale!

Yep, that's right, a yard sale to benefit Grace. The Yorkshire Terrier with mammary tumors needing a very expensive surgery to make her comfortable and to improve her medical quality of life.

Already have numerous items donated and expecting more, plus I have my house to go through and all proceeds of the donated items will benefit Grace and go towards her surgery.

If you live in the Greenville, SC area and wish to donate some items to this yard sale by April 10th, 2013 please notify she i love always @ yahoo dot com (no spaces) or (864) 567-2938 for local pick-up of items or mail to:  Canines & Felines Marketplace , c/o Grace, 215 Pelham Rd., Suite B-103, Greenville, SC 29615

Gargoyles Animal Rescue is applying for it's 501(c) this year and will be able to provide donation receipts for all items donated.

   

Little guy got out!!

So the little guy - Pepper was unleashed (but still harnessed), unto the backyard today with a firm stay inside the fenced area from me. He was outside with Beltania, Lil' Man, Georgia, and Caroline. Paca was inside getting some special attention from mom and dad and Texas was watching the scene outside from the back door. Georgia started thumping on the back door, which I contributed to her wanting some of the same attention Paca was getting from her daddy, so I paid little attention to her noise.

After letting the kitten out about 10 minutes I decided to go check on him and was letting Georgia inside when she didn't want to go inside I was puzzled but told her to go inside anyway as I went on outside. Caroline came from around the big Oak tree and was jumping up and down and just acting the fool, then I looked to see Beltania over in front of the Oak and when she seen me she came running and carrying on verbally like crazy. That's when I looked on past where she was and seen Lil' Man watching the front yard and knew then that the kitten had escaped the confines of the back yard. 

I went back inside to grab a jacket as it was a bit brisk for me to be out trying to locate Pepper. After applying another layer of material I set out the front door and lo and behold guess who is at the bottom step - yep - little guy himself, Pepper.  Some soft talking and lightly stepping close to him, I'm able to reach down and swipe him up and into my jacket - which was met with much resistance.

Once inside I thought about all the actions of the animals and am just slightly amazed that they were all like "Hey, the little guy is out of the yard". I'm just glad that I've developed the ability to understand them as they try so hard to communicate with us. Listening to them enabled me to retrieve the baby of our family without incident, we worked together in a  form of harmony.  

An earlier excursion when on leash.

Grace's Road to Recovery!

Grace's story (for us), starts when she was rescued from abuse and neglect at the hands of a puppy mill where she was used to produce puppies - she was probably kept in a cage and not shown any love from humans. She was no doubt just a puppy factory, a little money maker for the person who laid claim to her ownership (but was never a caretaker).

The rescue who took her in also helped her when she was diagnosed with a mammary tumor after her spay. She went through that surgery without incident and all was looking good until recently. Her momma noticed some hard knots under her skin on her tummy and took her to the vet. The vet told her that Grace now has two mammary tumors - and that this was common for female dogs who were spayed later in life. Quite sure pumping out puppies did add to the possibility of breast cancer.

The veterinarian clinic that Grace goes to has provided an estimate for surgery to remove these tumors - $550.00.

Grace's human mom contacted me last week about help for her baby, said she didn't want her little friend to suffer, but didn't have the funds to perform the surgery and save her life. Her back was against the wall, her heart was breaking, she didn't want to lose her friend, she didn't want her friend to suffer any more pain, she reached out for help!

I went to meet Grace this week, and boy o' boy let me tell you - this is one happy little girl, she gave me some most excellent kisses on my cheek and was such a willing model for a few pictures.

Took her a bag full of goodies from Canines & Felines Marketplace of Greenville, SC - with a few treats in there from us, Gargoyles Animal Rescue! I took her Texas's gemstone collar as a gift, but it was a bit too big - like by 4 inches! We are making her a special healing collar and will present it to her next week, I'm thinking rubies would stand out on this lady, have to check the references on what will help for tumors, cancer, and breast issues - not that the gemstones alone make one well - it doesn't hurt to align your intent and darn sure beats working against nature.

Several people have came together to help little Ms Grace and we are hoping that more will be willing and able to help get her the surgery she so desperately needs.

If you can help us with items for a auction/sale/benefit for this special lady - all is greatly appreciated - so far we have a photo shoot, designer handmade hat and scarf, sterling silver gemstone jewelry, and cash!!! As soon as we have enough items we will decide on a way to offer them for sale/auction, etc. Suggestions appreciated too!

 Such a sweet heart!

For donations please message:

 sheilovealways@yahoo.com 

 Thank You!

We will not contribute...

Yesterday as in most every day, someone was telling me about a young small breed dog needing a new home. I listen intently, I want every animal to know of the love my own furry friends know. Just as I was mentally filing all of his information away a bystander ruined his chances with my help by stating he could be used for breeding. WHAT!!! 

This coming from someone I thought was a bit more aware than this, I was wrong.

Until that moment, Gargoyles would of helped any animal regardless of reproduction altering or not, but now a new policy has been implemented - any animal helped by Gargoyles must not be able to reproduce offspring, unless such a procedure would endanger the animal.  We never wanted to set criteria in place that would tie our hands from helping all animals, but see a potential issue arising in the future.

I'm sure this woman has no idea of how she steered me right away from helping this dog, she probably thought she was increasing his chances by adding yet another function he could provide for his keep. You see animals don't have to fatten my wallet - in this house they do the opposite - true - but whatever, I guess it how you view the world that determines what and how you place value to objects and lives.

So another policy is now in place here at Gargoyles - no reproductive capable animals will be aided by us, there is the clause of life endangering circumstances, but even these animals can not bring forth any more life from themselves. 

One of the biggest cause of animal suffering in our world is the fact that there are too many animals and not enough homes willing and able to house them. So, it makes perfect sense to me to stop the over population problem by not adding any more to the mix. 

Some people can't see past the dollar bill signs, some people really just don't care, all they think about is them, them, them.

Most of these people I can't even be in the same room with, much less try to get them to see from the animal's view, so to save money in the long run (bail bonds, court costs, attorney fees, damages), lets just set the policy and be done with.   

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After the woman spoke her words, that green eyed mean person must of been coming out, cause the owner of the store was ringing me up - real quick like... hmmmm.

Yes people it is probably wise to not mention bringing more animals into this world when I'm doing all I can to save the ones already here.

    

G.A.R. Goals 2013

 Goals 2013

• Purchasing property for rescue/home.
• Applying / Receiving Non Profit status from Internal Revenue Service.
• Buy domain and build website.
• Establish rescue and pulling privileges with shelters.  
• Initiate a network of pulling animals from overcrowded southern shelters and relocating to northern rescues.  
• Build educational program for being a responsible pet care-taker.
• Meeting the correct Veterinarian for this rescue and securing their services.

Five Year Plan

• Facility to house (not cage), up to 50 fatally dis -eased felines, and provide them quality life.
• Rehabilitate 'problem' dogs and give them a purpose, a job, enable them to be the most they can be/ want to be.
• Provide educational entertainment to seniors, children, and anyone else that needs such with Therapy Animals. 
• Working network of individuals providing aid to help animals.    
•  Fleet of transportation vehicles to aid the rescuing of animals.
• Many happy inter-species family connections.

 
 

Lil' Man

Late last week I had noticed Lil' Man spraying urine like a Tom, marking the back yard. As I hadn't ever noticed him doing this inside and there is a neighborhood cat that aggravates our kitties (by coming onto their property), I took it as a means of telling the other cat and all other felines that this is his place - so I let it go.

While refilling the outside water bowls a couple of days later I noticed a spray mark on a container - but this urine had noticeable blood specs in it. So an appointment was made for him at the vets to be checked out. Lil' Man is 8 years old so when a Senior evaluation was recommended I agreed.

On Wednesday (3/6), Lil' Man was weighed before his appointment - 16.7 lbs and was seen by one of the vets. She put her hand on his abdomen and felt around, she checked the inside of his mouth, she stroked his fur and petted his head - the whole time listening to me tell his medical history - how he had been on anti anxiety meds for urinating in his dad's suitcase a couple of years back - how me studying how cat's think through the book The Cat's Mind by Bruce Fogle DVM, taught me the benefit of letting him go outside and that cured the pissing inappropriately situation - so he came off the meds.

The vet states very early on that he probably has FLUTD Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease and the only way to treat that is thru meds or diet and there starts the spill for one of the brands of prescription pet food. We have a issue here - because I study behavior and nutrition and I've worked hard on getting them to a decent point with their diet - not wanting to upset all of that - and especially with not knowing for sure what is going on with Lil' Man.  Not going to go into all that took place - may write about all of that on my own personal blog - this blog is about the animals. But I will state that I truly felt that if I didn't agree to purchase a food from them, she was not going to go any further with Lil' Man's examination, that blood wouldn't be drawn and tested, that Lil' Man would continue to suffer.

Royal Canin Fel Urinary SO 7.7 lb dry     -    $37.50
Royal Canin Fel Urinary SO 5.8 oz can (6) - $11.10

Several things happened in succession concerning this vet's office and a whole feeling of being 'raked' over the coals by them. These things are relevant to this story but not to Lil' Man's health. (last one is relevant to his health)

• The food has Chicken Meal as the first ingredient, the fourth is Corn Meal (any meal should never be your first ingredient - the commercial corn industry is completely dominated by Monsanto - GMO)
• A order placed to 1 800 Pet Meds was denied by the vet's office, so Caroline will run out of her heartworm prevention this month.
• Voicemail from the vet's office informing me of their policy concerning outside Rx suppliers.
• Second voicemail relaying the results of Lil' Man's blood and urine tests, which told of a Urinary Tract Infection - NOT disease, and everything else - and I mean EVERYthing else came up perfect.

Lil' Man was prescribed ORBAX Oral Suspension (orbifloxacin) 1.8 cc once a day for 10 days. The vet stated that she wanted to see Lil' Man back 1 week after he finishes his antibiotics.

Toys on a tight, tight, really tight budget!

A small private rescue that was already on limited funds - lost a major income + was gouged by a local vet, make purchasing toys for the girls a bit daunting. But low and behold I remembered a trick I've used before - stuffed toys from Goodwill.

In the past I've purchased a huge bag full and dispensed one or two at a time per canine, the pickings weren't the most desirable for pet use so we carried nine toys home (3 per). This time we placed the toys in a laundry basket for the dog to get at will and they are loving this technique.

The big blue seal was priced $3.00, but the lady rang it up and all the others for $.50 each - so we spent $4.50 and the girls are happy. Not as good as a some Kong toys that would stand up to rough play, but they are fun to play with and help keep them from chewing on each other.

For Pepper it was a chance to watch the dog's excitement, but this was best observed from the safety of carrier kept 3 1/2 feet off the floor.

Toys provide mental stimulation for the animals, not to mention they absolutely love for us to give them things. After they give us so much - unselfishly - I feel as if it is the very least I can do. It is a shame it usually is the last thing on my list and has been bumped off the list way too many times.

Already have a line of Organic Cat Grass and Organic Catnip going up for sale this week at Canines & Felines Marketplace, but I also need to get a line of dog toys - stuffed at this point is all I can see - has to be Organic - has to be safe.

It is my desire to set up items I would purchase myself - safe and environmental friendly and sale them to raise money for the animals in our rescue.


Paca makes some of the most unusual faces.

Here to help

A couple of days ago my boyfriend and I was shopping in our local Publix grocery store when my cell rings, I answered the call. It is a gentleman looking for help for a stray dog that had been dumped near his home. I give my standard response of contacting the Greenville Humane Society and see if they can take him - I'm full. It always goes on just a bit more, I know each story has merit and each animal has a right to be loved and given a good home, each one matters.

I continue to listen to this gentleman who says that the neighbor's dog was hit by a vehicle the day before and that dog's owners are accusing this stray dog for the accident and are trying to kill him. The gentleman goes on to say that they came out with a shotgun and the gun wouldn't fire (here in my head I say 'thank you', that it didn't work).

"Greenville Humane Society is a no-kill shelter, they may charge you a fee for surrendering this animal, but really sir, what is a life worth to you"? It is my spill, I say it several times a week on the phone to people who call me trying to help an animal.

I listen to every caller, I don't judge - I'm glad they are trying. I try to help each one with as much information as they seem to be searching for. I can't take on the animals - I ran out of room. I have a couple of animals that need to go on to their forever home(s) before I can take on any more.

Animals are my life, I will do everything in my power to protect them, to heal them, to love them, and to show them respect. For the humans who care about animals, I'm here for them, to help them however I can. I'm a simple person with very lofty ideas - and the gumption to go for it!

Sheila and Caroline

Shots

Took half the gang up to the mobile vet clinic and saved a whole bunch of money.  Caroline received her Rabies shot, Paca and Georgia received Rabies and a yearly booster, while Pepper received a Distemper and Rabies shot.  All that for $52.00!

The mobile unit is awesome for saving money but I'm always fearful of taking a cat up there (Pepper), it is located right beside a major roadway.

Waiting on Valley Vet to confirm Caroline's Heartworm preventive Rx and will have that and tapeworm meds on the way for the whole gang. That will be $85.00, these meds aren't cheap but these are the things that are necessary to raise healthy, happy animals.

 Late last night I discovered blood and urine sprayed on a plastic container outside, the only one that comes to mind is Lil' Man, and he is getting a vet appointment scheduled today or first of the week. (Day is already running into overtime and it is just 7:00 a.m.)

Lil' Man has been losing weight - though I put that off to going outside and exercising, there has been issues with him peeing outside of the box - and put that towards his hatred for Beltania (which is mutual). We will get him in and checked out, this is serious stuff - when there is blood in the urine.