LOUIE ADOPTED OCT 28, 2012

Louie, the beagle mix, got adopted during the open house.  Ellie and Ralf found him on the internet and fell in love.  He has moved to Farmington.  Louie took to them immediately.  

Here is the first update on Louie:  We got to our house, and Louie is doing great. We had to separate our cats from him because he was getting too excited and the cats were a little scared. So for now the cats will have to sleep in the second bedroom but I feel everyone will get along. :)  Thank you for today, we are so happy and blessed he is now in our lives. :)   The picture of the dog in the bed is Louie at his new home.

OPEN HOUSE

We had a good turn out. It seemed like everyone that came to the open house had a good time. Sally was there with her new mom, Jeanie. I did not get their picture today but Sally is so very happy in her new life. Lambchop came with her family, Richard and Zina. Here are a few pictures of the visitors including one of Karla holding two puppies. The puppies have opened their eyes today. Mama, Madonna, is now allowed to come out and be a free time dog every once in a while. She can’t stay out very long because she must get back and feed the puppies. She is a very good mom. Thanks to those that came. It was fun visiting with everyone and showing them around to see the improvements made here and how happy all the animals are.

We want to thank all the volunteers that came to help us out -- Kristen McCain, Jann Collins, Troylyn Zimmerly, Maryanne Zimmerly, Anny Chen and Ashley Corley. (Oops, no pictures of people walking dogs.) Thanks also to Carolanne that came all the way from Mexico to help us out for ten days. Also, thank you to our regular people that help us so very much like Sarah, Rhea, Cathy, Deb, Zina and of course, Clay. We’re sorry to say that Rhea is moving to Idaho and we will miss her very much.

 Thanks so much to all of you that made financial donations and donations of supplies and toys for the animals at the open house. Also thank you very much to those that sent us donations in the last week or so. Every penny goes to the care of the animals here. It is the wonderful people that are so generous to us that keeps us going.  

Rocky update from Oct 17

Rocky has already staked out the left side of the couch- it gives him a view of the rest of the house, and he feels sheltered by the soft pillows and covers.

I have to get rid of a lot of weeds that have stickers and gummy seeds before I can let him roam my yard, but I'm working on that.

My house is tiny, about 380 square feet, so Rocky is the perfect size dog for me.

He loves the front porch, where there are some fake grass carpets and good views of the comings and goings on the little street where we live. Today he spent some time on the porch with me, listening to my neighbors talking, and their little dogs barking. He hasn't barked yet!

Does he bark? He's really quiet and he does "talk" all the time instead of barking. What a great dog! He sure likes to just be near me, so I will try to make sure I take him everywhere I can. He says "Hello ! " --- Kristine & Rocky 

Rocky Update

Rocky and I had a lovely ride - he sat so nicely in the passenger seat, and after a while, he stretched out and napped.

I took pictures of Pie Town scenery as we went through town, and took more pictures of him in the car.

We visited The Very Large Array, where a very nice man offered to take our picture. It's not every day that we can visit something as awesome as that.

Some poor soul and their car all jacked up and was doing some pretty serious car repair there on the side of the road. What a place to pick! 

As we got toward Socorro, it was getting to be near sunset, so we took a room 

He was perfectly at home with his little rug that I brought in from the van, He had water in a bowl and I brought the treats in so he could have a little snack.

He was totally well behaved and obviously thrilled to be with his very own human again.  We watched a little TV and I put him up on the bedspread with me, and he was acting like we had been together for years. 

Someone next door made a little noise outside our door, and he was instantly on the alert and on guard duty. But he does that quietly. ( SO GLAD !!!!) 

So he got his belly rubbed and made all those little erf noises. Later, he was back on the floor, where he curled up on his little rug. It was lights out time.

He talks in his sleep, which is pretty funny. I can only imagine what he was dreaming. 

We got up in the morning, and I gave him a much needed bath in the hotel sink. Well, no dog is too fond of baths, and he was no exception, but the water was nice and warm and full of the tearless puppy shampoo.     I was going to take a picture of the water, which was almost black!

I think he lost at least 3 pounds right there!  He cleaned up real nice, and his coat is just soft and shiny and gorgeous now!!!  ( I did clean up so the hotel wouldn't be mad, and I left a nice tip for the housekeeper. ) 

We got to my house just a little while ago. I stopped and got a grilled chicken salad at McDonald's and we shared the chicken together at home. 

I better not spoil him..... but couldn't resist giving him a little bite or 2 of chicken. 

He is just the sweetest dog.  I can't imagine that he hadn't been adopted sooner.  But maybe it was because he was waiting for me. 

I am so happy with him.  Rocky now has a forever home with me!  I want to thank you so much for all the items you let me have, and for taking such good care of Rocky.   You have such a way with dogs and cats! I  have never been to such a relaxed shelter. There are so many wonderful dogs there.

I will make sure I spread the word so that more can find good homes. Thank you so much!  I will always keep in touch with you about Rocky. 

P.S.  I will send pictures - I need to download them. 

ROCKY ADOPTED October 15, 2012

Kristine found Rocky on the internet and fell in love. We often have this happen. He has moved to Elephant Butte. Kristine is home on disability so Rocky will have all the cuddles he wants. Rocky has had a rough life and only has one eye but was very happy at FFAA. He was all smiles as he and Kristine drove away yesterday.

Dandee Adopted

Dandee was adopted on Monday, Oct 15, 2012. He has moved to Reserve and will be going along when Sara goes horse back riding. The same day, Sara adopted another dog named Chico from Maggie Sweenie and the Grizz project in Magdalena. I spoke with Sara on Tuesday and the two dogs had a quiet drive home and seem to be getting along. Dandee is trying to be alpha but it hasn’t yet been decided. All went well over night.  

Sadie Update

Gosh, I finally got some pictures, one with Bibs. 

 Sadie is not easy to take a picture of unless you bribe her. : ) You'll see with the next pictures what I mean, Ha!

Needless to say, all is still going just great and Sadie is fitting in just great!

She has trimmed down some, lost 1/2 " on her neck and her belly doesn't swing as much! : ) Has more energy too! Still does her wiggles and smiling.......... but I'll probably never get a picture of that, Ha! And super loves the belly rubs.

Gale & Sadie

SOCORRO FEST OCTOBER 13, 2012

Fur and Feather Animal Assistance would like to thank all the volunteers who made the Socorro Fest, a special "Thank You" to Deb Pinza, she always makes any event a great one!!  Thanks, Deb.

Here's what Deb had to report on the event:

Thank you all for your time and help today! While the wind didn't cooperate today, many people did. We raised $190.46 for Fur and Feather today!

From the treats to scarves to mice to tugs and fabulous organizational skills (special thanks to Troy), we were able to make it a success. People were very receptive to the Fur and Feather mission and loved the dogs (thank you Dulce, Ellis, Winslow, Tango, Dancer and Rueben for representing Fur and Feather well).

Peggy - thank you for your patience and "let's get it going" attitude. Setting up this morning was so much easier with you there. Thank you!

Nancy - baking with you was a pleasure and the scarves you made were so cool. I loved telling people that the best ingredients were used - that comment had dog lovers grabbing them from my hand! Your smiling face is both calming and encouraging - thank you for being there.

Chad - just having you there to spread the word about Fur and Feather and the work they do was great. Your first-hand experience with Fur and Feather is insightful and sharing that with people struck a chord in a few (they dropped dollars into the box - goal accomplished!).

Katie and Tyler - Wow, I don't know what we would've have done without your tireless dog-walking (while always looking happy) and working the crowd. You stayed until the last inning and helped until the very end - we cannot thank you enough! Katie, the treats were also a big hit and thanks for the eagle eye and help finding my keys.

Y'all Rock! Deb

PS - Laurie is going to look at the dates for two other shows this year and we also (almost for sure) have space at Festival of the Cranes so we will again ask for volunteers. :-)

Deborah Pindzia

MADONNA HAS PUPPIES ON 0CT 13, 2012

On October 10 someone found an abandoned pregnant dog north of Pie Town about 3 miles up SR 603 near what locals call the Y. They brought her to FFAA. Laurie named her Madonna. She is very friendly but looked ready to have the puppies.

On October 13, Laurie had planned to go to Socorro Fest so she had Sharon on call to come help Brad and Clay if Madonna went into labor. Sharon got the call about 4:45 and headed right down. After Sharon arrived Clay told her the first puppy was born about 4:30. Madonna was not nervous when Sharon talked to her and petted her, and actually picked up the puppy. Laurie and Clay had built a birthing area for Madonna in one of the smaller pens and had put boards around the perimeter so the other dogs couldn't bother her. Sharon got a pink and black polka dot blanket to cover the dog house to help keep it warm. Later Clay brought a heat lamp and set that up because we are getting below freezing here at night. After birthing was over there was another cover put over the dog house. It is getting below freezing at night around here.

Madonna did a great job. After the second puppy was born she kept popping them out. She was done by 6:45. As I write this, we think there were nine puppies including one that was stillborn. Sharon tried hard to revive it. She massaged it and pumped it up and down and gave mouth to mouth to no avail. Sharon kept getting the message that it wasn't meant to be.

All the puppies are dark colored. At birth they look like black and dark brown with varying white marks on their bodies. Madonna allowed Sharon to take some of the puppies and put them in a towel to check them. After the one stillborn puppy Sharon checked any that weren't real active. Madonna took care of all the chores. She cut the umbilical cord and cleaned them constantly. Sharon could see when another one was about to be born when Madonna started straining and licking herself.

This was Sharon's first experience with whelping and truly enjoyed the adventure. She took notes about the white markings and after a couple of days will try to match up the puppies with their birth order.

All this was unexpected. Madonna will be spayed as soon as it will be healthy for her.

It was quite cute how many of the dogs came to see what was going on.   

Chipper Update

Hello Again!

 

Thought you might like a couple of photos of our favorite doggy! Chipper is really settling in. He loves going on walks everyday and riding in the car. He also gets to meet new "people" at the pet store and dog park. Thought you might like a little holiday pic and one of this crazy guy jumping on the trampoline. Such a sweet guy!

 

all our best to you and yours,

Bonnie

Sally Update

My darling Miss Sally is doing wonderful.  I'm so in love with her and she's a dream companion.  She does go to the office with me.  Brett and Treva have 2 dogs and a lot of kittens and cats, so she still has plenty of company who seem to not only tolerate her, but adore her.  She and my 19 yr old cat, Peanut are funny together, Peanut has tried to play with her, but she is hesitant sometimes, although, she does try to get into the cat treats or food.  She has helped me through my after surgery healing process, just as if she knew I was in great pain and distress.  WHAT A JOY, I can not thank you enough for giving me this fabulous creature to complete my life.  Can I bring her with me to the open house if I get to come?  Mostly she goes everywhere with me.  I'm sorry I haven't updated you but have been so swamped at the office and at night seem to run out of steam.  Will try to do better after this nightmare week is over....Jeanie  PS Forgot to tell that Peanut is actually larger than Miss Sally.

2012 FALL OPEN HOUSE - OCT 27th

FUR AND FEATHER ANIMAL ASSISTANCE, INC.

PIE TOWN, NEW MEXICO

Those of you that are close to our efforts know how many special cases we have taken in this spring and summer so keeping up has been quite difficult. We are very proud of all the animals we have brought into the fold here, many lives saved and many great adoptions sending our kids off into the world as better citizens after their stay here.

Fur and Feather is also making great strides in improving the facility itself. Our biggest job in place right now is creating more indoor space to keep everyone warm this winter and more large exercise areas to keep the dogs busy and happy.

We would love to have you come out and see all that is going on here. We are having an Open House so we can show you where your support is going. 

Please join us on the 27^th of this month between 11:00 and 3:00 for a tour, and a chance to see some of our animals that live here in Pie Town. We always gratefully accept any donations but that is not a criteria for your visit.

For directions and more information please call Sharon @575-772-2543 or Laurie @ 575-772-2661 or email us and we’ll send them by email.. Hope to see you!!

Georgie Update

Hi Laurie and Sharon.  A quick update on Miss Georgie.  She is starting to play a little, getting all wiggly and jumping around, and making those wonderful little grumbly rumbly noises.  She was really goofy last night and had us all in stitches.  This morning she was an absolute loon doing her circles around the yard, talking and jumping around.  Then she would dig a little fox hole and plop down in it, roll around, and talk talk talk.  Such a goofball!  When I took our older son to "work" this morning, Gizmo went into his crate and I put Miss Georgie to the "alone" test - she had the run of the house - and she passed with flying colors.  I never doubted it.  I'm sure we'll find a few bumps in the road at some point, but so far she has only shown her very best behavior.  She is very patient and sweet with her pia little brother, and even plays with him a little.  What a great role model!  Will be sending new pictures soon, thanks again for finding such a great pupola for our family!  She sends hugs and howls to her old pack!  Jody

Dusty, Swizzle and Zia Update

Swizzle is a joy. She has learned how to jump even over a 5 1/2' foot wall when she sees a 'friend' being walked by. She has had to be brought home a couple of times when she did that when I or mom was in the shower and no one else was home. She has gotten better after the last time. There were 4 of the morning walkers with 7 dogs....walking her home from the park that is 5 houses away. It was quite a site. I think it embarrassed her a little and she has not left since even with us putting up a but more room. I have gotten a few small bruises from her bouncing but of all she is calming down. She and Zia are becoming very good buddies and she has her own dog food now. She is on a sensitive stomach formula, while the others are on a senior mix. She has allergies from time to time and we found out she does not like being in water at all. She runs inside if she feels even a drop of rain or tries to get under trees, cars, or whatever is closest even on a walk if it started to sprinkle. So we got her a raincoat. We are thinking of boots too but I didn't like the colors that had there so may think about making her some homemade ones (would be a first for me, which makes the Maybe a bit bigger). She sleeps with me but comes and goes in the morning with walks and playing with the others. She is a begger most of the time during meals, but we all get a giggle out of it since she moves from person to person even though she knows any treats will be given at the end of the meal in their food dishes. She keeps trying. She has a awful habit of pulling all the stuffing out of the toys, especially while we are gone, and we keep getting more for Dusty. Swizzle has her own 'yogurt' cup now. She really likes milk and cream and dairy, Since most of it has higher sugar or sweetener than I would like, I get her plain yogurt and put it in an older yogurt cup and 'freeze' a bit (not solid) and let her nibble the top off before licking it clean. It keeps her busy about 20 minutes or so. It's a nice little treat for her so she doesn't try to take the treats from the others who are more picky and slower eaters.

Dusty has had a few bad days. She and Zia got into in the middle of night and well Zia got the worse end of it and took a couple of days to really want to move around the house. She had a pretty bad wound right above her eye and forehead. It's a dreadful looking scar right now even with the stitches to close it up sooner. :( Dusty seemed to realize though that behavior will not be tolerated. She was being put up in Mom's room every night and not allowed to roam the house. It was about a week even though Zia tried to make friends again in a couple of days, Dusty was fussy with her. We been working it out and it seems they have finally 'found' their place with each other. Dusty is on arthritis medication now. Her right front paw and lower leg was quite puffy one morning. It didn't got away so we took her to the vets and it was just really just the damage to her leg. Also found out she has arthritis in her jaw so she gets the small bites senior food. So she has been more playful and has lost a bit of weight still but doesn't look like it really. Everyone loves her big brown eyes and when she is happy she runs around with a pull rope and tosses it around until someone joins in. She is a blast. She is up to walking 1 1/2 each morning with Byron and get a mile or so in with mom. Chris and I been trying to get them to the other dog park in the evenings so they all can play and run as they feel like it. The one we go to has a lot of older dogs so dusty even usually can find someone to play or walk with. She is actually very social with the people more so but has made a few 'dog' friends too. Swizzle will follow Zia or hangout with me. She gets pretty nervous if the dogs start barking. Dusty has been good about checking in on her if she seems too nervous. It is nice to see Dusty's maternal side.

They got to see the foothill last week for the first time. They loved it. Swizzle has got to the van each time we say it's time for a walk... Only to have to settle for the parks instead. Oh, we got a newer van and Dusty loves it. It has higher seats so Swizzle doesn't have to sit in a lap... but still decides too if she can't be co-pilot. it doesn't have the smaller windows so they all can't stick the muzzle out but it has pop-out windows for the 3rd row and they go there to sniff out. Swizzle locked us out of the older van once when we were getting take out. They like the newer van. Dusty brought her blanket to it when I asked her if she was ready for a ride. It was super cute. I wish I had gotten a photos of it. We are planning on taking them on a few road trips over the fall and winter so they should be able to enjoy it a bit more in the cooler weather.

On a side note, the 1st UU church in Albuquerque has a 'coins of change' which is where the coins in the coffer plate is given to a organization. We select 4 for a year and each get 3 months to help the charity out. Usually it's only a few hundred dollars with but I was thinking of picking up the paperwork to submit and seeing about asking for Fur and Feather to be put on it. It gets voted on in the meeting in the spring. I was wondering if it would be okay or if you or Laurie would mind? I am not sure of what they do ask on the paperwork so I might need to contact you two for information that I do not have. Thought I would ask before I got the paperwork. :)

Hope all is well,
Samara

Georgie

Georgie was adopted on 29 Sep and has moved to the Rio Rancho area.

Here's her first update:
Thanks Sharon and Laurie.  The pictures are wonderful!  Thanks for sharing them.  Georgie girl is settling in real well.  She did GREAT on the ride home!  We stopped a couple of times so she could stretch a little and have a drink, and she was calm the rest of the time - sight seeing out all the windows and napping.  The family was very excited to welcome her home and she seemed pretty excited to be here.  Very wiggly!  Little pia Gizmo tried to set HIS pecking order but Miss Georgie calmly but firmly put him in his place.  We worked with them inside and outside and by bedtime everyone was fine.  Georgie slept in Kayla's room on her blanket, she and Kayla sat together half the ride home, so they are pretty bonded.  Kayla wants to take her to Petsmart so she can pick out her new bed and Georgie said ok.  She wasn't interested in her crate but we will leave it there in case she ever wants to use it.  Somehow I think her bed in Kayla's room will over ride. Ha-

Georgie has enjoyed exploring the back yard.  She ran around a few times yesterday and again this morning, wiggling and doing her happy little grumble noise.  She is nibbling at her food, but doesn't seem super hungry.  Drinking well, peeing well, and pooping well - both ends work!  She is a great addition to our family and we are grateful to you for rescuing her and keeping her safe until we could find her.  And who knows, she might even teach young Gizmo a thing or two!

We will send updates and pictures often.  Thanks again for all your help and all you do.  You have a truly amazing operation and an awesome pack!  Jody