I’m back in California!!

I know the blog hasn’t been updated in a while, but a lot has been going on! I am now going to be an Animal Control Officer for San Diego County and my first day is this Friday. I will be continuing my blog so be sure to check back and here about my adventures in San Diego, although the first 10 weeks I will be in training/academy. My last day in Pinal County was on the 9th and it was sad leaving, especially having to bring my foster kitties back before their time and leaving Buddy behind at the shelter. Well…actually he didn’t get left behind, another wonderful officer is bringing him home every night so he still gets lots of love! My parents came out that Tuesday and helped me pack everything up. Between the caravan of a U-haul, the suburban w/ flatbed trailer, and my car (hauling the 4-legged ones), we made it from Queen Creek to La Mesa on the 11th. It’s nice having family so close because I got LOTS of help getting unloaded and unpacked.

Where to Start!

I guess I'll start with the latest in foster updates… Buddy is doing awesome! He has no more scabs unless you count the healing from getting neutered and he has finally figured out the doggy door. Buddy attended a candlelight vigil for Crime Victim's Week. The Animal Cruelty Taskforce had a booth at the event and Buddy and I walked around to share his story and his bright future! He is currently available for adoption which I am going to try and do while still fostering him as he does not thrive in the shelter environment. Maybe I can bring him there during the day and take him home at night. I'm sure he will find a loving home very soon! I have also brought in two more kitties. I was asked to euthanize one of the kitties, but he was sweet and healthy so I said I would foster him. Then my supervisor asked about fostering a 2^nd, younger kitten, or it would be euthanized as well. I got suckered into that one, but I'm glad the other has a friend closer to his size. The young kitten is still bottle feeding so I am back to making bottles, but I'm hoping he'll be transitioning to regular food in the next few weeks.

So it's been a while since my last post, but I've been busy! I had my first dead body call. The coroner opened the front door for me and I walked into the trailer and approached the Sheriff's Deputy who was on the phone. While waiting for some direction I looked around and saw that the woman was been lying face down on the other side of the front door, I had walked right past her. Her skin looked dark, but I didn't think too much of it. The deputy (who was wearing heavy duty gloves and a respirator mask) showed me where the dog was as it had passed away as well. After picking up the dog, the deputy and I were talking, he said that the woman was a white woman, but she had been there about 2 weeks. He said that he had been on several scenes like this, but when they rolled the body over this was the first time he felt ill. He asked if I wanted to see a picture, but unfortunately (or possibly fortunately) the glare outside made it difficult to see. The saddest part was that the poor lady had been left in that condition for so long; I can only hope that when that time comes for me, or anyone I know, someone realizes it a little sooner.

Then I got called out by Florence PD because one of their K-9 officers had passed away unexpectedly. DPS was conducting the investigation and I had to get the body from the back of a police car and brought it to the shelter until she could get taken to the lab for a necropsy to find the cause of death. It was a pretty somber event with the other officers nearby. The dog, "Vysta" was only about 3 1/2 and they all said she was the greatest dog. Here is an article written in the local paper: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20315205&BRD=1817&PAG=461&dept_id=68561&rfi=6

So keeping in mind that I got home at about 2:30am from that last call, I was paged at 5:30am to pick up a dog that was in a home where a search warrant was issued. When I arrived there was a special Sheriff's unit on scene. They were all in jeans and shirts and drove unmarked trucks. Some were wearing a ski mask type thing that only revealed their eyes. Last but not least they all had bullet proof vests and big guns (some were shotguns). I felt a little underdressed for the occasion. They said that they did not think the owner was home and had secured part of the trailer. The dog was in the living room and they wanted me to get it. I went around to the back door and about 5 guys with vests and guns followed me in. They pointed out where the dog was. It was dark in the room and I had my flashlight out. I spotted the dog, but she was very scared and did not approach me. While scanning the area with my flashlight I saw a person lying under a blanket pulling the blanket up over their head. All I remember is saying, "Ummm…," and being pushed out of the room. The guys raised their guns at the suspect and began yelling at him repeatedly to stand up or they would shoot. Needless to say I got out of there pretty quickly. Unfortunately while getting the suspect out of the home the dog followed and began running around loose on the property. The dog ran behind one of the men and he spun around and aimed his gun directly at the dog's head. I wanted to yell "don't shoot" so bad. The dog was not growling, barking or anything; just running around very scared. She ended up running under the trailer and I wasn't able to get her out, but fortunately a family member came by and said he would take responsibility for the animal.

And after that long day at work, I drove out to San Diego. A very big thank you to my mom and sister, Stacy, for coming to rescue me in Yuma to get me the rest of the way home! Sorry, I know that was a long blog, but that is just some of the exciting stuff that has been going on.

So much better!

I took these pictures of "Buddy" two days ago and just look at the difference! He is healing so well and his personality really came out just a few days ago. He would always just lay around and stay away from all the animals. He wasn't interested in treats or toys either. Well, a few days ago I noticed him playing with a cat toy, picking it up and flipping it in the air to pick up again. Then I saw him chewing on a bone, of course he stopped as soon as he realized I was watching! He even loves treats and will follow me around if I have one in my hand. He was always so funny about the treats though. He has always eaten his food faster than Kahlua, so I know he liked to eat, but he would never eat any treats I would leave in his kennel. Now he snatches them right up. I have to be careful about what I leave around the house now! He is running all over the place and will run around with Zoey and Kahlua. Zoey even lets him jump on her to play. It was hard to even get pictures because he can barely stay still! He absolutely loves getting attention and enjoys his belly rubs as well. It's still a little awkward to hold him and love on him because of the injuries, but it is so awesome to see him so happy! Currently we are working on using the doggy door, but he'll only use it if I hold the flap up and I call him through. He hesitates at the door each time as if he is scared. I wonder if the flap bothers his back coming in and out. Until then he is good about going outside to go potty outside and will run out on his own when I open the door. Buddy has also received an invitation from our Animal Cruelty Taskforce to attend a meeting, so next month he's gonna be a little star!

The more pathetic the better

I began fostering yet another dog over the last couple weeks. I brought him in last month and I was under the impression that he was going to be euthanized that day due to wounds that covered his back. About a week or so later I saw that he was still in the vet room at work. I was told that his treatment was simple enough that we were trying to treat him at the shelter. The poor thing had been left in a 4’x2’ kennel for a few weeks. That made me sad so of course I had to offer to foster him! He is doing great and his injuries continue to get better and better. The little guy is even gaining some weight and looking really good! These pictures are from the day that he came in, I will post more pictures of how it's healing soon.

Also, going along with pathetic, take a look at my poor cat’s haircut! I’m not a big fan of medium or long hair on my animals so I have wanted to give Oscar a haircut for a while. I have tried scissors in the past, but my mom got me some clippers so I gave it my best shot! It’s definitely not perfect, but I don’t think I did too bad for my first shave down, especially considering it was on a cat!

A celebration of life - two ways…

First of all, I want to wish a very Happy Birthday to Kahlua. She turns 4 years old today! I feel like I’m failing on my birthday party planning though, I didn’t make her a cake, get doggy ice cream, or anything. Maybe we’ll just go for a nice walk and give lots of lovin’! She even got to be my K-9 again today, riding along with me on a call with her little pink birthday shirt! On our way back home, 2 girls from down the street wished Kahlua a very Happy Birthday by making birthday cards and giving her a treat. How cute!

The second celebration will be for Nugget as he was put to sleep yesterday afternoon. I had received a call on Wednesday from the rescue stating that his liver was not functioning properly and he was not doing very well. I guess his liver functioning was off the charts. The director of MinPin Haven had been fostering him herself and said she would try some homeopathic remedies including Milk Thistle which is supposed to help the liver. Despite all her hard work and love trying to save little Nugget, his condition worsened and he began having grand mal seizures. Having seen dogs have seizures, it is still hard for me to imagine a small, frail Nugget to me shaking with such severity. The guess of why he was so sick is that there was some kind of toxin in his body that his liver was trying to remove, but there was too much and the toxins went to his brain, causing the seizures. We are not sure on the exact cause of his illness, but they are completing a biopsy so we are hoping to find out what caused it. They are thinking that he may have gotten to a mushroom, a frog, or pesticides. Unfortunately, living where I do, I could not rule out the mushrooms or frogs. I am comforted to know that the director was there when he was put to sleep and he passed being held in her arms, knowing that he was loved. She was actually going to keep the little guy as he was getting along so well with her and her family of min pins. Now, Nugget will soon have a legacy on her website, where she hopes that people will see it and decide against abandoning their dogs in their backyard. It may not seem much of a celebration, but Nugget ended his life with the best of care and more love than a lot of dogs see in a lifetime. He is now in a better place running around on all four of his legs and being a typical min pin; sniffing out every corner of doggy heaven!

Just received a message from the director of Min Pin Haven as I was about to post:
"You all know how I anguished over the decision to put Nugget to sleep yesterday. The biopsy came back and I now know in my heart it was the right decision in considering Nugget's best interests for living a healthy life.

There was a malformation on his liver - the vein that moved blood to the liver for detoxing was significantly deformed and he was being posioned as the amonia and other chemicals built up in his brain, poisoning him, and causing him to have violent seizures. I loved Nugget and it broke my heart to put him to sleep - - but he was in pain and there was no prognosis for a healthy life for him. Dr. Winston and his staff were VERY helpful before, during and after this painful decision.

Marcy thank you for finding MinPinHaven - you and I got to love Nugget for a little while. He is at Rainbow Bridge without pain, waiting for us."

Rescues, Roosters, and Rainforests

First of all, little Nugget, made it to a rescue and was at a vet appointment the very next day. Here we are pictured just before leaving to meet the rescue lady. She said the lil' guy is going to have surgery to fix his leg, so I am hoping for a happy ending to that. I can't wait to see his personality come out post surgery. Once he is done having to go to the doctor he may even come back to my houseto be fostered until he is adopted!

So there has been some excitement at my job over the last week, but fortunately I only had to contact the Sheriff's Department once. I had gone out to find two stray pit bulls that had attacked someone's dog and were still running loose. We had gotten 2 calls regarding the dogs and I was flagged down by a citizen who said two people from her home had gotten nipped at by the dogs. She pointed out the dog owner's home and said that some of her family was down there. I went to the home and tried to get the family to go back home so I could talk to the dog owner. All but one had gone home and she got into an argument with the owner. I explained that if I couldn't do my job that I was going to call the Sheriff. Well neither one made an effort to stop so I called for the Sheriff, while I was calling they started fighting by punching and hair pulling. I stayed in my truck, but that was certainly a site to see. I hope these dogs never get out again!
Then on Tuesday we found out we were changing areas. I was going to switch from the South part of the county to the North. As I left work Tuesday I said goodbye to the South and was kind of bummed. Well at about 9pm I was paged back out, I guess the area wasn't done with me yet. While I was on my way to pick up the sick cat I was paged again for a busted cockfighting ring and the police wanted someone to pick up all the birds. Both my supervisor's met me out there and we worked at getting a search warrant to search the house for knives and other items that they use for cockfighting. Unfortunately, we waited for nothing. The owner admitted to the fighting, but said that he didn’t use any knives (they attach to rooster’s legs for fighting). Hard to believe when there was blood on the ground and an injured rooster (pictures attached). Anyway we waited around from about 10:30pm till about 1:30am before we were told we wouldn't get a search warrant. The owner did surrender the birds at least, so after all that waiting we impounded all of them less than 10 minutes with the help of the owner's son. I even picked up one of the birds myself and put it a carrier, I was proud of myself as I had never handled any animals like this. After closing the latch, I picked up the carrier and it was broken. The top and bottom separated and my hen started running around the yard. Oops!

Last but not least, I worked a license/rabies clinic in Oracle, AZ yesterday. On our way back we stopped at the Biosphere. I was told that the place was closed, but it is very much open. We were able to go back and at least take some pictures of the place, but I am hoping to go back soon and get a tour of the inside. The pictures of the glass building are the Rainforest area. There is also a Ocean, Sahara, and Desert area. Then there are little domes called Lungs, I assume that is for air.

Double Trouble!

Last Wednesday I was helping out with some of the laundry at the shelter when one of the inmates carried in a chocolate min pin. I pretty much snatched the dog out of his arms and knew the doggy needed to be cared for. The dog had an injured leg and he didn’t like his owwee messed with. I fell in love instantly and carried him around any chance I got that day. I talked with the officer that had brought him in and the poor guy had been abandoned in someone’s backyard. The neighbor said that the owners had 6 min pins and she saw them take dogs with them when they moved. She also said this one’s name was Nugget, he had a collar on, but the neighbor said he used to have tags as well. Poor thing had been left in the backyard with no food, no water, no shelter, and an injured back leg. I got permission that day to take him home and foster him. I was hoping that his leg would not be broken and he would recover quickly and come back to be adopted. That night he let me put ointment on his owwee and by morning he trusted me to feel along his leg. No major broken bones at least! One of my concerns for the dog is that we have had the lil’ guy for over a week and he’s still not putting weight on the leg. I saw him lean on the leg twice, but he still goes out of his way to avoid putting weight on it. He isn’t holding his leg as high up as he was and now when he is standing he is even resting his foot on his other back foot. Good signs I suppose, but I can’t stop thinking that something is really wrong with his leg. The shelter does not have a vet on site, nor the money to send him to a vet, so I am going to speak with the adoption coordinator to see if I can send him to a rescue. There is a neat Miniature Pincher Rescue called “Min Pin Haven” based out of Phoenix. Maybe they’ll even continue to let me foster :p

And I know I'm not really posting much about my animal control adventures, but my calls have been pretty boring lately. Although, one of the other officers had some excitement last weekend when he impounded a Ring Tailed Lemur! He's really cute and I'm hoping one of the local zoos takes him. I offered to drive him to San Diego, but realized that probably wouldn't go over well at the border checkpoint! Here he is cuddling in his blanket. Right now he's just in a bird cage, but it is not nearly big enough for him and I know he's bored. I did some research on enrichment for lemurs so I'm hoping to have some fun stuff for him this week!