June saw the arrival of the 7 angora rabbits from another rescue. They had been seized from a hoarding situation and were in pretty bad shape. Some were pregnant, and they all desperately needed the vet visit they received, at which time they were shaved to remove the horrible matting of their fur. 7 gerbils also arrived, as well as Chip the love bird and Earl the turtle.
As per usual, all of the animals were checked out at the vet. Other notable vet visits include the spay/neuter visit for Flander, Hudson, and Ohana the rabbits and Buddy the guinea pig's eye removal surgery. Sadly, Buddy passed not long after h
is surgery. In happier news, however, Malary, Vasari, and Prima the rats were adopted, as was Pablo the guinea pig. At the end of June, Florence the angora rabbit gave birth to 6 babies, 5 of which survived. There were more births to follow...
July proved to be an incredibly busy month. To start off, the rest of the angora babies were born. This proved to be bittersweet. On the 2nd, 6 babies were born to an unknown mother. Unfortunately, none of them survived, as they were ignored completely by their mother and the other females. On the 6th, both Magenta and Marylin had 8 babies. None of Magenta's babies survived, and only 4 of Marylin's babies survived. It's assumed that a combination of the deplorable conditions and constant moving from place to place played a role in the low survival rate of the babies. Fortunately, the 9 that did survive ap
pear to be in good health.
A bit later on in the month, Lifelong Tails became Small Pets-Big Hearts, Inc. and was able to begin the process of becoming a tax-exempt not-for-profit organization. This is HUGE news, as it means the name is now protected, and there are far more opportunities. As the name gets out there, we can reach more potential adopters and foster parents.
A large group of rats were surrendered when their family had to move and couldn't take them. Burrito, Zack, Gormy, Potter, Lilly, Gypsy, Janet, Dot, Bellatrix, Tempe, and Darlene are all very friendly and were obviously well cared for before coming to SP-BH. A group of Zebra finches, named after the cast of Firefly, was surrendered shortly before 8 gerbils, named for the cast of Law and Order were surrendered. Two rats, Charity and Dee Dee were placed in a foster home.
Luckily, the influx of animals was counterbalanced
by a long list of adoptions. Mimi, Momo, and Hopper the gerbils, Edger the (female) guinea pig, Milton and Cleo the rats, Sofia, Mabel, and Marigold the angora rabbits, Coco and Annabelle the guinea pigs, Hawthorne and Flynt the rats, Chip the lovebird, Gary and Doug the dwarf hamsters, Katarina the one-eyed hamster, Ginger and Fonda the gerbils, and Picasso and Potter the rats all went to their forever homes. Whew!
There were 3 routine vet visits, and sadly, Shaft the mouse died of old age. He and the other mice from his surrender had been previously taken off of PetFinder because of their age.
Things have calmed down this month. Despite a few setbacks, like the unfortunate deaths of Hendrix the one-eyed African Soft Furred rat, Book the one-footed zebra finch, and Mars the elderly mouse, this month has been a fairly good one. The
re was a much smaller influx of animals, mostly due to the already-crowded conditions of Small Pets-Big Hearts headquarters. The surrenders were Leonna and Luke the sugar gliders, Charlie Brown the ferret, Cleopatra the (ENORMOUS) turtle, and Abby and Juno the guinea pigs. 7 of the 18 African Soft Furred rats were fostered, as were Gibbs, McGee, and DiNozzo the dwarf hamsters. While they have been suffering from umbilical infections and one nasty case of "hair ring" (a rather unpleasant condition involving male parts and debris), they are still incredibly friendly.
Christopher the rabbit was adopted this month, as were S'Mores the guinea pig, Pumpkin the rabbit, Meela and Keesha the gerbils, and as of today, Lilly the rat.
In other happy news, SP-BH has officially opened a bank account! This means that Rachel and Ray will have a much easier time accepting donations and adoption fees. Here, take a look at this check:
We're all incredibly excited about this.
All in all, 62 animals entered Small Pets-Big Hearts this summer, not counting the babies that were born. A total of 31 animals were adopted, and 12 went to foster homes. Though 5 adult and 15 baby animals passed away, it's obvious that SP-BH has been incredibly successful.
There are still two days left in August, so I'd love to have to come back and edit this post to add more fosters and adoptions. As it stands, Emma and Tessa the dwarf hamsters are adoption pending. Let's hope they go to their forever homes within the next two days.
Enjoy the rest of your summer, everyone!
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