All Posts – Page 5

Grieving and Fostering

Grieving is hard. Letting go is harder. Everything in the house reminds me of Cali, but I’m healing slowly. Trying to focus on the happy memories.

A rescue I volunteer for put out a call for fosters yesterday. They needed seven fosters. I looked through all the little faces, all the different colors, and one caught my eye. She wasn’t a chubby little 3 month old puppy. She was a one year old lab mix that looked like she was holding the weight of the world on her little black shoulders.

I knew I wasn’t ready for a puppy, but maybe I could deal with this older dog? I wrote the volunteer coordinator and offered to come meet the dog, but someone had beaten me to it. OK, that’s good I thought, at least she found a foster home.

A couple of hours later, I got a message that the other foster family picked a puppy, and the other dog was still available. I replied right away and said I would come get her. It seemed meant to be!

When I went to pick her up, she was leaning into the legs of the volunteer that brought her out. She seemed so scared. Who knows what this sweet girl has been through in the past year?

I bent down to her and diverted my eyes, eventually she approached and I was able to pat her velvety, soft ears. She was reluctant to leave the safety of the shelter, but she followed me with a little reassurance. We walked outside for a couple of minutes before I tried to convince her to get in the car. She wasn’t interested, but she let me pick her up and put her in.

The drive home was a little chaotic. She was clearly scared and talking to her helped, but not enough. She tried to climb from the backseat to the front, then she climbed in the back. I cracked a window for her and she calmed a little as she sniffed the air.

Once we got home, she got right out of the car, but didn’t want to go in the house. We walked around the yard for 20 minutes or so, sniffing the air, the snow, the mud. Eventually we approached the door again and she followed me inside.

I did what I needed to do while she basically stayed glued to my legs. I fed her dinner, but she seemed too nervous to eat. Eventually we settled in the living room, where she immediately jumped up and snuggled on the couch. We try to keep the couch as a cat safety zone, so I set up a blanket on the floor for her, and sat on the floor with her. I had to correct her a couple of times, but she eventually figured out that the floor was her place. As I put on the TV and relaxed, she stayed close, but sniffed her way around the room, and eventually ate her dinner.

We had a nice quiet night, lots of pats and snuggles. She didn’t want to go into her crate to sleep, but with some treats and coaxing, she went in. She barked a few times and settled down.

This morning we went for a nice walk around the neighborhood. She’s pretty good on a leash, stays right by my side. The hard part is not tripping over her because she wants to be SO close. She’s currently sitting next to me while I type, I think this girl would be an amazing companion for someone who works from home. She’s a perfect medium size, calm and so very sweet.

My heart is so happy to be able to help this girl, and selfishly to have a dog to take care of, and collar tags to jingle in the house. I hope she finds her forever home quickly, but maybe not too quickly!

Updates and a Vet Visit

The house is quiet. I was trying hard to fight the grief, but realized it was a losing battle. I’m giving it its time and place. Cali will always be missed.

My cats had their yearly checkups today and I almost cancelled. I wasn’t sure I was ready to go back to the vet’s office, but I did and it was hard but fine. The staff is so wonderful and caring.

Bean didn’t want to stay on the scale for the vet, but he did like hiding out behind it. Poor little Puck was very shy. He stayed in his carrier until we had to take him out for his exam and then he scurried right back in.

Both cats got clean bills of health, Yay! Their vaccines were updated, and they were checked over. Puck may need his teeth cleaned at some point in the near future, but he is good for now.

Puck’s recovering from his traumatic car ride and vet visit in his cozy crate!

The Dragon enjoyed a sink bath yesterday. Usually she swims around for a bit and then tries to get out of the sink, but she spent a good 20 minutes in there yesterday, and still didn’t want to come out, so I had to just take her out and go do something else. I’ll give her a chance for another bath in a couple of days.

Hector is doing well. She’s such a great comfort. She’s always there to whistle and keep me company.

I’m starting to think about another dog. Part of me was thinking that maybe I wouldn’t get another dog ever, that I’d free myself up to travel, but the truth is I hate not having a dog. I had to walk to the neighbor’s to return a piece of mail that was accidentally delivered to us the other day, and it was so awful to me to go for a walk without a dog. I miss all of it, yes the snuggles, but I even miss taking care of a dog, playing with a dog, the feeding, grooming, putting her out, all of it. I’m not in a rush. I want to make sure I find the right new friend, but I think with some patience, the right rescue will find its way to me. For now, I’ve got kitty, parrot, and dragon friends to keep me busy!

Our Spicy Little Cali Girl

It’s so hard to type this, but we had to say good bye to our Cali this morning. I hate how quiet the house is.

Last week was rough. It was basically a full time job taking care of her, but we made it work, and enjoyed every second we had with her.

She went to the vet every day last week for IV fluids. We tried meds to stimulate her appetite, and even an injection of anti-nausea med on Friday, but nothing was helping.

I tried all her favorite foods, chicken, deli turkey, ice cream, whipped cream, popcorn, gatorade, broth, she didn’t want anything. She ate a spoonful of whipped cream on Saturday and that was about it.

She really enjoyed the fireplace this weekend. On Saturday, she grabbed the closest spot to the fire, so we let her have that spot, and put our chairs next to hers. Yesterday, she slept most of the day, and then got up and walked into the living room and snuggled up by the fireplace, waiting for us to light a fire for her, which of course we did!

Thankfully, she seemed comfortable over the weekend, she was lethargic and slept a lot, but she was able to go outside to pee and enjoyed sniffing the air and walking in the snow.

Last night, I slept in my daughter’s bed with her. When my daughter was home, Cali always slept with her and she was very comfortable there.

We headed to the vet this morning. We talked about rechecking her kidney values, and maybe giving her more fluids, but for what? She wasn’t eating, or even drinking on her own. Her kidneys weren’t coming back. We FaceTimed our daughter who couldn’t be with us, but Cali got to see her and hear her voice, and she got to say goodbye. Goodbye is so freaking hard. With the vet’s help, she passed peacefully snuggled up in my lap.

When we got home, the cats were howling at us, and even Hector the parrot seemed upset. I had to snuggle the cats, and explain to Hector what was going on. She was listening to me so intently, tilting her head to take in every word. I think she understands. I think the cats also know and understand.

As my daughter said, our lab Cheese will no doubt great Cali with open paws, even if she feels the need to chew on his ears like she always used to. Love you Cali girl! Please give all your pets an extra snuggle from me today.

My Cali Girl

I’ll be the first to admit that Cali can be a handful. She bites my husband’s ankles. She barks too much. She growls if you try to move her when she is settled on the couch, and she’s always been a pick eater, but I love her.

She’s not feeling well, and I would appreciate any good, healing energy be sent her way. She stopped eating two weeks ago when I was traveling and she was staying with a friend. I didn’t think too much of it, she can be really picky about her food.

My friend did what she could, tried chicken and rice, the usual things, but when I got home, I found Cali still wasn’t eating. I tried forcing her to eat her normal food because sometimes she just gets sick of something and doesn’t eat it until I changed it up, but this was different.

She absolutely loves popcorn, and when I had some the other night she ate a piece or two and then curled up and went to sleep.

Something wasn’t right. She had a check up scheduled for yesterday anyway, so I didn’t bother calling the vet on Friday. Maybe I should have, but I still wasn’t totally convinced that she wasn’t just being stubborn about her food. She ate treats, she ate some chicken, I waited until Monday.

The vet was very concerned. She had lost a pound and a half and that vet said that was most likely something going on and not just her not eating. We did blood and urine tests and the results came back today. Her kidneys are definitely in distress.

Unfortunately there isn’t a ton that can be done. I brought her right back to the vet, and they are giving her fluids. They want to keep her for 48 hours and give her intense fluids to try and kick start her kidneys. Maybe it’s just a flare up? or maybe the kidneys aren’t working so well, but the intense fluids and another blood test should give us an idea of what is going on.

I hated leaving her this morning. I made the vet promise to call me if she was anxious or upset and I’d come get her and keep her at home tonight and bring her back in the morning for more fluids. I brought her bed and treats to the vet for her, so hopefully she will do OK there.

Please send your healing vibes her way. I’m not ready to lose my bratty little princess.

Update: She’s coming home for the night tonight and going back in the morning for another day of fluids. Vet thinks it would be best for her to sleep in her own house tonight to minimize stress. I’ll be happy to have her home!

Earthquake!

Seems we had a bit of an earthquake this morning. No damage, but it was definitely felt! Interesting to see how the pets reacted.

Hector D. Byrd didn’t seem to care. Cali the dog barked at it. No surprise there.

The cats had different reactions – Puck went into hiding. Bean screamed for pats.

Surprisingly, the Dragon was the one most upset by it. She woke from brumation and is now hanging out giving me dirty looks like it was somehow my fault!

Happy 32nd Hector D. Byrd!

Having this bird in my life is so special. She’s my bestie. We chat all day while I’m working or doing things around the house. She may not be cuddly, but she’s such a good girl. Happy 32nd Birthday Hector!

We are not only celebrating her birthday today, but also the fact that results came back from the test the vet did last week and everything looks good! We are going to continue her “new” diet, and she doesn’t have to go back to the vet for 60 days, and that’s just a quick weight check to make sure she is continuing to do well.

I’m so thankful I found this great Avian vet that is super easy to work with and close to home!

We will be celebrating today with MUSIC – currently playing a bunch of random kids songs, happy birthday songs, the Beatles, and any songs that have whistling, all Hector’s favorites!

She’s having a special breakfast with her normal diet, but some extras of her favorites like sweet potatoes, blueberries, and an extra almond to really celebrate!

Hector Goes to the Vet

Well, I honestly can’t remember if I’ve written about Hector’s vet trips recently, so a brief recap. A couple of months ago, I realized that Hector was drinking more water than usual for her. Hector’s vet was about an hour drive away, so to be honest, she hadn’t been in a long time. It was such a traumatic thing to put her in the car for an hour, deal with the vet, and then have another hour drive back home. Have I mentioned that Hector gets carsick?

The people that adopted one of my foster parrots, recently told me about an avian vet they used that was close to me. Between the excess drinking, and the long time without a check up, I decided to try out the new vet, and he’s awesome!

So Hector went to the vet about 2 months ago. We did an extensive (and expensive) blood work up to get some base lines and figure out what was going on. Overall the blood work looked pretty good for an older lady, but the vet was concerned about her drinking too much.

We started a new diet, low carb, high veggie, low fruit, no seeds, very limited nuts, and plenty of healthy pellets. Hector likes Fruit Zupreem pellets. She went back about a month ago for a weight check, and the vet was happy where she was at.

Today we went back again. Let me tell you that Hector knew what was coming as soon as she saw the cat carrier. I don’t know why, because the cat carrier comes out all the time and doesn’t usually affect her, but she knew.

I had to towel her to get her in the cage. Not the best way to start the journey, but she had to go. She threw up in the carrier on the way. This is the second time this happened and I even made a point of not feeding her breakfast this morning, but apparently it didn’t matter.

The vet said her weight was good and remained stable which is great. I was worried she hasn’t been eating enough, but apparently she is doing just fine. We talked about taking her to a specialist in Boston, but that would be expensive and stressful. The other option was another poop test which he would send out to a bird specialist he knew with better lab equipment. We just needed a sample.

Hector was sitting on a perch on a scale in the vet office clearly listening to everything we were saying. When we were done chatting and she still hadn’t pooped, the vet suggested I bring home a tube and pipette to collect a sample myself. I told the vet I wasn’t in a huge rush and I was happy to wait in the office a little longer to see if she would poop and just make it easy.

Well, as soon as I mentioned waiting around in the vet office, Hector made us a giant poop! The vet was able to collect enough of it to test, and we could head home. I swear she knew she had to poop to get out of there!

Post poop, wondering why we haven’t left the vet yet!

For now, she stays on her special diet. I have a feeling this is her new diet for life, but we are managing. We’ll see what the test results are when they come back in the next week to ten days.

The vet thinks she may have renal issues, hence the special diet. Hoping the test results don’t show anything too serious! Anyone have any experience with birds with renal issues? Let me know!

Getting Big! A Foster Mouse Update

The babies will be 3 weeks old tomorrow, and they are busy! Eyes are open, and they are running around exploring everything. They are even starting to eat solid food!

So fascinating the way Momma mouse had a cozy little nest for the babies that she build before they were born. I woke up one morning, and the nest was gone. She had destroyed it, and made a new nest for the babies that was more open so they could get in and out more easily.

They are all very skittish, but I’m trying to get them a bit used to humans. They run when I reach in to feed or clean them, but they are starting to learn to take treats from my hand. Even Momma was very shy at first, but she has learned about Yogi treats and comes out to get them as soon as she smells them now.

Mice can breed at just four weeks old! So these guys will be heading back to the shelter in a week so that the experts there can verify their sex and split them up. I can’t believe how quickly they are growing up! They have definitely been fun and easy fosters!

Foster Mice – 11 Days Old

Just a super quick update, all 8 babies seem to be doing really well. Their fur is coming in, so I’m starting to see all their different colors. It looks like a couple of them are starting to open their eyes!

Momma mouse is a little less nervous. She happily goes and eats her breakfast while I check the babies and doesn’t seem to care at all. So fun watching these tiny guys grow and change!

Another Foster Update – More mice!

Well, things didn’t go so well with Thelma and Louise. One had her babies, but I never saw them. We believe they were eaten as soon as they were born. I kept the pair for about a week, but it seemed clear that the second mouse wasn’t pregnant, so both mice were returned to the shelter.

When I went to return them, they asked me if I could foster another pregnant mouse, but when they went to get her, she was no longer pregnant. We are guessing her babies met the same fate.

It seems so horrible, but it’s nature. These mice came from a situation where the home had over 1000 pet mice. They were being kept in plastic bins, plant pots, really any kind of container the owner could find. We don’t know what kind of diet they were getting, so there’s a good chance the babies may not have been healthy.

While I was at the shelter returned Thelma and Louise, I was about to leave when I noticed another very round mouse in the “female only” cage. The shelter employees examined her, and believed that she was also pregnant, so she made her way home with me.

Just a couple of days later, she gave birth! At first I thought there were 6 babies, but I wasn’t really sure. The mom is very nervous, so I’m trying to leave her as quiet as I can. I’m cleaning quickly and partially, and refilling food and water. I open the top of the nest quickly to peak and make sure the babies look OK. Mom gets some Yogi treats that she runs and hides, so I get a chance to peak at the babies. This photo is from when they were three days old.

Today the babies are a week old! They are starting to get some fuzzy fur, and starting to show different colors. I also learned that there are actually EIGHT babies, not just six!

One of them has a big white spot on its head that I haven’t been able to get a picture of yet. Those little noses are just so cute!

The mice will be with me until just before Christmas. When they turn four weeks old, the males and females need to be separated so we don’t end up with even more mice! Check back for more photos as these babies blossom!