Champ is gone....

Yes, we lost Champ last night. I had covered him up with a litte piece of fleece with Nemo on it. Then watched an episode of The Office. Before I turned in for bed I went to pet Champ and say good night and found that he had passed away in that amount of time. Ray and I made the decision so have a necropsy done on Champ to find out if more was wrong with him than just his neck. To us it seemed that more was ravaging his body then just that. And our assumptions were right, Dr.Fijas called and reported that Champ had a large clot in his Aorta in his heart. And that was definitely the main reason for all his problems and his ..gulp..death.. *sighs* The X-rays didn't show us this, we only saw the outside of his heart not the inside, plus his heartbeat was still strong and not muffled or irregular when we took him in on Monday which is so strange. I took Melissa our cat in to have her stitches out from her Spay, and dr.Fijas showed me the clot in a jar with Formaldehyde I nearly passed out , it was HUGE! Huge for a little piggy. I can't believe Champ held on as long as he did, now I feel bad that we didn't let him go and have him PTS, but we didn't know that was there. Poor Champ, we miss him. And I know my husband , Ray was just attached to Champ as I am. They let us have Champ back and we buried him. Shed some tears and gave our farewells. He will always be remembered and missed. here is a picture of Champ and Ray, they do go nicely together , don't they? They had a great relationship.

Bonnie pictures, a bit graphic- warning

Here are some pictures I have taken of Bonnie's progress with her eye. They are quite blurry, but you can still see the damage. I didn't take pictures of her when she first arrived, her eye and side of her face was swollen to twice it's normal size. This was from all the puss and the abscess . The pictures are from after Dr.T drained out all the puss so she isn't swollen anymore, but her eye still isn't open and you can see the infection still there and damage. In the one picture you can see the hole from where the abscess was and where it drained. The poor girl, but good news is, she is healing and looking much better.

Champ and Pyro

Champ is doing the same today, but he is developing a URI on top of what is wrong with him already, I feel horrible for him. Now he is on the pain meds and antibiotics too. He still isn't eating or drinking on his own so I am syringe feeding him critical care and baby food. I am also giving him Sub Q fluids under the skin as well as pedialyte. Please continue to send him healing vibes, he is such a great piggy , I hate seeing him feeling so under the weather, he needs to get better quick.
We did get a couple new arrival last week that I didn't post about. One is a little dwarf hamster, a boy by the name of Goober. I like to call him Goofy Goober. he loves his wheel and curling up inside his fleece blanket. We also got a water dragon I named Pyro. Pyro came to us with a fractured leg that had been fractured some time ago and was already pretty much healed. There wasn't anything Dr.T could do to help the leg out. The only indicator that shows he had a fracture is a small bump up by his shoulder area. It is hardly noticeable, and he does have full use of the leg. Dr.T told me he will still be able to grow normally and at a normal rate, because he is a TINY baby. He is actually shedding right now. He is so small and young I can't tell if he is a boy or girl, I am just saying he for the time being. Pyro is up for adoption right now, and Goober will be too once I get him in for a vet check up and all is clear and well.

I am worried about Champ

First off, Bonnie the sugar glider is looking much better. It is still difficult to see the actual eye, but the area surrounding the eyes is improving and is on the mend. I am so happy for her.

Now, our own guinea pig , Champ is very ill. It seems he somehow injured the vertibrae on his neck and has a pinched nerve. He is showing severe neurological symptoms plus he is in a lot of pain. Our vet doesn't want to give up on him nor do I, he recovered completely 3 years ago from being half paralyzed ( in the back legs), a spinal injury then too. ( I adopted him that way 3 years ago and I concluded that the injury was from someone roughly handling him or dropping him, but i do not know how he became injured this time). He is not moving much at all and has muscle tremors, he doesn't have an appetite. he is on pain medicine and I have been feeding him with a syringe and giving him fluids. We are hoping he makes some improvement in a few days, if not, we'll have to discuss Champ's best interests. But I really do not want to give up on him, I didn't 3 years ago, I cared for him the same way I am now and in 2 weeks, his little legs started moving and then miraculously he was walking on them. Please send him healing vibes, I really adore and love Champ. Here is an adorable photo of him before he became critically ill today.

Bonnie

took Bonnie the sugar glider to see Dr.t yesterday because she started to bleed out of the eye! I was scared for her and frantic! It seems she must have poked at her eye with her hand and nail and she did perforate her cornea, she made a small hole into her eye. And that was what bled. She isn't bleeding anymore and Dr.T is sure it will heal as long as she leaves it alone ( he said it is a shame that sugar gliders don't do well wearing an E-collar ( cone) to keep her away from her eye) The abscess is now a large hole under her eye. Which is a good thing , now that it is open, it won't fill up with puss anymore or became a huge and swollen infection. Dr.T told me not to worry, the hole and eye will heal, she may be blind in that eye though once it has all healed up. She'll live a normal life, she has her life long mate and boyfriend, Clyde to guide her. She is still on oral antibiotics and Dr.T added an antibiotic cream.

Oh no

I just saw that Bonnie now has blood coming from that area. Her eye doesn't open so the blood is coming out of that slit. I am so glad I have that appointment at 4:30 for her. Please keep your fingers crossed, I fear something may have happened to her eye. I'll update once I am back from the appt.

Ace and Gizmo, Rollo and Twizzler and Bonnie

I forgot to post about Rollo and Twizzler, the sugar gliders were adopted, also, Ace and Gizmo the guinea pigs were adopted too. Ace and Gizmo are the Peruvian piggies, they look like they are just a ball of long fur.
I am taking Bonnie the sugar glider with the infected eye back to see Dr.T again today. Her eye has a lot of puss coming of it again. Yesterday morning she spit out her medicine too :(. She sis swallow last nights meds and this morning's. I wish she was already better, but it seems like it is going to be a long road to recovery for her.

A sugar glider rescue

We already have 2 adoption stories added to the web site. They are at www.lifelongtails.org under "adoption stories"
Last night we had an urgent call about a female sugar glider. She had an eye problem and the owner was unable to afford the vet bills. She surrendered the girl along with her "life partner" male, their names are Bonnie and Clyde. The poor girl is unable to open her eye, and it swelled up to twice it's normal size. The swelling made that side her head look completely unporportioned. I did get an appointment for her to be seen today by Dr.Tomaschke. Dr.T first started by numbing the area, so it wouldn't be too painful for her. Then he started pushing on the area, immediately a thick, smelly puss started coming out. Dr.T continued evacuating the area of all puss, and it was A LOT for a little girl! He did need to open up some pockets to get the puss out ( sorry if this sounds too graphic) He did his best to get a look at the eye, but through the inflammation, puss and her third eyelid covering the eye, it was tough. Dr.T is fairly certain that the eye is okay, but we will will have to wait for the infection to clear up to see the eye better to make sure their aren't any corneal abrasions or ulcers. Dr.T said she basically has an abscess surrounding her eye, he checked the inside of her mouth to make sure the abscess didn't originate from there, but her mouth and teeth look perfect. She'll probably need the area cleaned out of puss again, and she is on antibiotics. Once I got home with the sick girl , I gave her the first dose of antibiotics then placed her in her cage. I was happy to see her grab a grape slice and munch away. She was probably still numb and pain free :)
If anyone would like to donate to help with medical expenses and care for Bonnie, please e-mail me at rachel@lifelongtails.org and I'll direct you as to how you can donate. My hopes are for her to recover 100 percent and be adoptable.

Adoption stories

I have been thinking, and I think I would like to add a new page to our web site www.lifelongtails.org. I will name it "Adoption Stories" But I will need help from you. What I need is stories and/or pictures of pet (s) you have adopted from us. And you know me, I love pictures and stories, especially about pets we have known and still know. Please send stories and pictures to my e-mail rachel@lifelongtails.org if you have adopted from us. I will add them to the web site for all to see :) Thank you so very much for helping me out.

Neuters coming up and Melissa getting spayed

I went to see Dr.Tomaschke yesterday with Pedro and Pablo the leopard geckos and Fagan and Blaze the guinea pig. Fagan had his abscess check over and Dr.T said I did a great job with it, it is nearly healed and won't need to be surgically removed. That was my first time keeping an abscess open and cleaning it out. I am so happy it went well. And Fagan made it easy for me, he doesn't flinch or squirm, he lies there and lets me do what I have to do for him. I had a fecal sample from Pablo and Pedro and they don't have any intestinal parasites. Pablo is healthy enough to be adopted out, but Pedro will need some time, he is having trouble shedding and lost a portion of his tail. Blaze is in great health, just needs a nail trimming and he'll be ready for his new home.

On the fist week of October we have 4 neuters scheduled. The three boy rats, Jack , Captain and Davy Jones. And also Preston the rabbit.

Tomorrow, our new cat , Melissa will be going to get spayed. She wasn't spayed at the SPCA, but they gave us a voucher for getting it done. I really hope it goes well and she won't be in too much pain or discomfort. She came from the Wyoming County SPCA, they have been in the news recently. They have so many cats and not enough funds and may have to shut down. I really hope they receive the donations they need. Adopting martie and Melissa from there was a wonderful experience and they are great cats.

In the picture that is Melissa on the left and Martie on the right

Some Updates

I wanted to brief, update, everyone on how things are going here. Ava, the young head tilted bunny is doing excellent. Sometimes, her head is straight and there is no sign of a tilt at all, other times the tilt does show, but all in all, I am certain there is great improvement. And she is such a sweetie, so mild mannered, I really adore her. The bunny that was rescued at a park from kids that were throwing sticks at him has settled in and is even using his litter box, I have named him Preston. Rollo and Twizzler the sugar gliders are lapping up some nectar right now. Kodiak the ferret with Lymphoma, despite his prognosis of his cancer having spread to his chest, he is still active as can be and always wants to come out of the cage to play, along with his sister, Americana. Americana remains elusive to me taking a picture of her, every time I have her in view and press the button to get a photo, she moves out of range and all I get is a tail, or a leg, or just a butt shot. One of these days I will get a picture of her. Here is a picture of Kodiak though, he's upstairs running around and he stops to look at the hamster cages. " No , Kodiak , you can't have a hammie, their friends , not food." I know, he says they smell tasty, but alas, in this house hamster are not food, only family. Kodiak will settle for ferret tone, his kibble and other ferret treats. What do you think he is thinking of in this picture?

The Streak has left the building

Let me start out by saying that , today began with me working, and it was a really long, busy, and frustrating day for me. But I got home, sat down and watched a half hour of TV with the cats to calm my nerves a little bit then listened to the messages on the answering machine. There was one message, and it was Amanda , a past hamster adopter(er), looking to adopt another hammie. Called her back and then she stopped by, she wasn't too far from our house. And, wow, we had so much fun with the hamsters and the cats and everyone else, I gave her the tour of who we have right now and their stories. The whole thing and Amanda herself really brightened my day. Now I have the good mood and energy to clean cages and spend time with all the rescues. I'm always afraid that if I am in a foul mood or tired that they will pick up on that and even have it rub off on them in some way. I like to be happy and bushy-tailed and giving off pleasant signals as I am working with the rescues. Work is the only thing that really gets me down and exhausted these days. If only that extra money and pay check wasn't needed, .. one can wish.... maybe some day I could go to part time or even quit and rescue full time, who knows. I take each day at a time.

This story is leading up to Amanda adopting Streak, the male Chinese dwarf hamster. Streak had been bought as a child's pet, and that child lost interest in him and wasn't caring for him anymore, so he wound up here. I know Amanda will always be interested in him, and will care for him, spoil him, and smother him with love :)

Maybe Amanda should visit more often, after a bad day of work, she seems to be the right anecdote to a lousy day at work.

The geckos

a couple days ago we had two leopard geckos dropped off. This is a picture of the healthier one, who beat up and dominated the other ( not pictured) I separated them, the beat up one is in a 20 gallon long and the healthy one is in a 38 gallon reptarium. The beat up one is going through a bad shed , she is malnourished ( I am giving her dusted crickets, I ordered butterworms and silkworms that just came in) thankfully she is eating on her own and probably won't need to be force fed. The healthy gecko more than likely wouldn't allow her to eat. She is also missing half her tail which looks fresh, like it happened recently. As soon as I get a couple poop samples I'll drop them off to Dr.T to check for any parasites. The beat up one should recover well, it'll be slow going, but soon she'll be looking as good as the healthy guy, but her tail won't look as good as the original. Now I need names.

Ava and new cats

Ava the little girl bunny with a head tilt is doing well. I think her tilt may be slightly better, not entirely gone , but better. Which is great! Here is a picture of her showing off her adorableness, she is Precious

Our new kitties , Martie and Melissa have settled in nicely, I think they have realized they are home now. They love to play, they play with just about anything and everything and they run through the house like a stampede. I finally have pictures of them too, Martie is the one with the missing eye, he looks like he is winking. Melissa is the other, they look very much alike since they are brother and sister.

We also have a new arrival rabbit. We aren't certain of boy or girl yet and we don't have a name. A little rex bunny that is white and grey. Someone found this bunny lost and roaming in a park ( where I am sure he was dumped) and little kids were throwing sticks at him. I am happy that this person saved him when she did, and now we can help with finding a good home and also spaying/neutering.

Anthony has a new home:)

Anthony the bunny has been adopted today and has a great , loving home. His new Moms seem like they really understand him and will give him the time he needs. He can be a bit skittish at times, especially when being picked up or held. He is such a cutie, with his one straight ear and one flopped ear.

We do have some new arrivals too. 2 gerbils, Alvin and Simon, Simon has already been adopted. A guinea pig and 2 leopard geckos, I haven't named them yet.

I am still very bummed about Jade. There is a huge emptiness in the house, there is so much missing without her.

here is a picture of Anthony.

It was time

Yesterday, I worked in the morning and afternoon, I called hubby, Ray, on my lunch break. He told me that Jade was having a bad day, she couldn't get up and had peed on herself, I knew by his description of her that it wasn't just a bad day, it was time. Work let me leave early to see just how bad Jade was and for us decide what to do. When I got home and saw her I knew, I just knew. She still was trying to get around, she managed to get up into a somewhat standing position , take a few steps , then collapse on her side again , completely exhausted. The whole side of her was wet with urine. What was shocking was that she was in the bathroom with me that morning and had jumped up on the counter and licked water from the faucet! She deteriorated that quickly. You could tell that she didn't want to be that way, she didn't want to be peeing on herself, she was trying so hard to get up and walk and be okay. Since it was a holiday no other vets were open except the emergency vet, that is where we took her. I wrapped her in a towel and carried her and held her in the car, I felt it wasn't necessary and kind of a cold thing to do to place her in a carrier. We normally have our pets in carrier when we transport them or take them to the vet, but for Jade , I wanted to hold her. She purred and watched out the window, it was heartbreaking , but I knew it was right. In the waiting room Ray and I took turns holding her and kissing her. Then it was time. Right when her head dropped and I knew she was gone, I wanted to take back the decision,I cried.... but for her, it was the right thing, she was no longer happy or had a good quality of life. her kidneys had shut down, she would have only worsened. We went to my parent's house and my Mom and I cried about Jade and for Jade.
I'll make a tribute to Jade when I am up to it.