Thank you to Bambi’s foster mom for helping this sweet girl get healthy! Foster homes make all the difference.
“This is a before and today picture of Bambi.. she was the pup we found in a ditch cold and scared. She has come a long way but still has a bit to go. She is the sweetest dog in the world doesn’t bark or jump on the kids or anybody for that matter. SHe loves to be inside in her chair . She is going to be an amazing pet.” – Foster Mom
Winston was found on the streets broken and beaten. Lucky for him he ended up with a foster Mom who is also a nurse. She helped him become physically and mentally healthy and ready for a new home. She was fine with fostering him and loving him until his perfect owner came along but then her health declined and she’s not sure how long she can keep him. Please read what she wrote about Winston and share till his forever home is found. Email [email protected] to adopt Winston
Winston is a definite old soul but loves to chew, gnaw, sun bathe and chase his toys around. He also loves his clothes (sweaters, T shirts, and jerseys) and don’t try to take his collar with tags off, he freaks out. He surely knows how to entertain himself as well. He loves to cuddle, go on walks, car rides and hog any bed.
He absolutely LOVES people. He doesn’t particularly feel safe with other dogs yet but has made long strides with this process. I remove all food, toys/ bones and his lock his crate when other dogs are around to ensure he feels comfortable and not insecure due to his past. He is not good with cats, since he chases them out of my yard. He is a protector for sure, especially within the house and yard.
He will be the perfect home protector and companion with any person that is seeking a single companion or one animal home.
I have had Winston since February 2015. He is up to date on shots, heart worm negative and has been altered. Please note that he loves children however I would say that he would probably be better off with pre teens and older since he does enjoy to play tug of war with his rope toys.
The perfect parent for this fur baby will receive all of his clothing, crate, bowls, portable water bowl for walks, toys, bones, both his beds and food once he is adopted to ease the transition of his FUREVER parent(s) or family.
Read more about Winston:
Has anyone been wondering how Roman is doing? Here he is May 17, 2015, almost four months after coming into True Blue Animal Rescue. He’s gotten lots of love and attention from TBAR volunteers Alissa Cannon and Amy Hemsell. He’s had the pleasure of meeting children who come out on camp days too! The “oohs” and “ahhs” when this big boy is walked out to meet them was priceless. He gives us the chance to teach kids about rescue, proper feeding and dental care for senior horses and having the farrier out to trim up his hooves so they don’t crack and hurt. Coming from a giant like this Percheron boy, this makes a big impact with the kids. He is a senior, but he’s still got a lot to give in his new roll as a TBAR horse ambassador.
Today for #TBARFluff we are sharing an update on Roman! He is the horse that Triple Crown Nutrition, Inc. has generously donated Senior Feed to help rehabilitate, and you can see how the two months have really made a difference for him! He has gotten lots of love and attention at his foster home, and from his sponsor, Alissa!
We are pleased to share with you the latest update on Winston!
It’s been three weeks since Winston went into foster care with Kim and he’s doing very well. His wounds are healing and so is his heart. He is such a well behaved boy that his foster Mom feels sure he must have been someone’s beloved pet before he ended up on the streets and in the hands of people who were not so nice. What does that mean for Winston? It means he has some trust issues with people and other dogs but it also means he remembers the people who treated him well and he wants to trust again. Little by little he’s warming up and feeling safer and more secure. He’s learning to love life again and enjoys lying around, riding in the car and playing with toys again. He’s housebroken and crate trained and walks on a leash too! He’s never offered to hurt anyone or any other animals but his foster Mom monitors him with them all the time for now. Physically his wounds a closing and he’s even putting some pressure on his injured leg now. If you’ve been following Winston’s story keep praying for him to heal. He’ll be going to the vet soon for an update and some vaccinations. He wasn’t healthy enough for those three weeks ago but thanks to a wonderful foster Mom, he is now. Watch for updates after his vet visit giving us a go ahead to put him up for adoption!
Today we have a foster feature from Sophia Morales, who has saved and is fostering Hope and her pups.
I first saw Hope and her pups on a rescue page I follow on facebook, pleading for someone to come rescue her and her babies or they would be euthanized. Hope had sarcoptic mange and the shelter could not treat her or pups. At the time I was unable to foster since I was moving into my new house. Hope had days left, then hours. I finally moved into my new house during this time and saw that still no one had stepped up to rescue her. Since I was settled I contacted the person networking her and volunteered. Hope had such a sweet innocent face. She didn’t ask for any of this. And she definitely did not deserve to die just because she could not get treatment at the shelter. Once I volunteered we then needed donations to pay for her medical expenses and a rescue to tag her. And True Blue Rescue came and saved Hope and her pups. The moment I got her into my car I could see the relief on her face. Hope made sure all pups were by her side then just plopped down and fell asleep until I got her to her new foster home. She was a great mom, very caring and protective of her pups. She was so calm and gentle. She would look at me with her beautiful eyes and I would melt. Hope came to me potty trained, and very well behaved it was such a shame to me to think she would have been put down when she is such a wonderful dog. Once I got her first treatment for her mange she was a different dog no more sad looks the itching had stopped. Her hair began to grow back and the life and light inside of her renewed. When I let her outside I saw her begin to run and play , her ears finally perked up. Now when I come home to Hope I have a happy excited wagging tail beautiful dog waiting for me. She has really come out of her shell. She enjoys playing with her three girls that are left out of her litter (3 other pups have been adopted). Hopes pups Dotty, Mocha and Maddie are adorable. Lively smart little pups. Dotty is the bigger of the three, a beautiful dark brindle shes very adventurous and loves to be held. Mocha loves to play and pull on my pant leg. Maddie is the runt and has her mothers calm demeanor. Maddie prefers to be held and sleep with you then to play with her bigger sisters. Whoever adopts Hope is going to get one of the most special dogs I have ever fostered. She is so loving and gentle. She doesn’t jump on people or children and gets along well with other dogs. I had her and the pups in a crowded clinic with excited dogs and pups and Hope remained calm laying by my feet for her turn to see the vet. That is her personality shes really a big lap dog. Maddie I think will follow in her moms footsteps very calm and gentle, Dotty and Mocha are happy pups loving to play and run around.
Today’s foster feature is Winston. He wandered up to someone’s house hurt and confused. Thankfully the person who saw him sent a picture out to be networked on facebook to give him a chance. Some facebook networking friends started raising funds and searching for a foster home and rescue to take him in. Lucky for this guy, he found both. Now he has an approved foster home and True Blue Animal Rescue to provide rescue support so he’ll be protected and then networked for a new home. Right now he’s on antibiotics and wound care from his wonderful foster Mom who is also a nurse! Here’s an update from his foster Mom:
I am 1.5 to 2 years old per my doctor. I just want constant love and attention. I am a sucker for some belly rubs, Kraft cheese singles, baths; of course I love them and please don’t forget my rawhide bones, Kong ball and toys. This living in leisure is new to me but I sure do LOVE IT. I’m not too keen on other furry friends just yet. I will get better with my social skills; I just need time to know that I am not being under attack any longer. The couch is very comfortable but I also do like to resort to my fancy crate for long naps. I promise I go all on my own too. I am potty trained too! If I have to GO, I just ring the bells on the back door.
I am still recovering from all my boo boos, especially my back leg, with the help of my foster Momma and all the sweet ladies that I have interacted with these past 3 days, of course. Shhh …I think, they think I’m too cute for my own fur! I am…Ruff Woof!
As soon as Winston is healed he will be neutered, vaccinated and put on heartworm preventative and up for adoption.
Houston has a staggering number of strays and many are injured and have no hope. Thanks to social media and some big hearted people many find foster homes and are picked up by rescues. Foster homes are the the key but funding is just as important. The rescues that are taking these animals in are small with no funding other than donations. When the animal is injured and in need of more vet care than usual, donations make all the difference. Winston is thankful that a kind person called the vet and paid for his initial visit and the next visit too! That takes the pressure off the rescue and allows us to focus on the animal and not worry about funds. We cannot thank this kind hearted person enough!
In addition to direct payments to vets there are often giving or caring fund options to donate for the animal. My recommendation for those is not to donate to them but rather to wait till the rescue that picks up the dog posts their link and asks for donations to help care for the animal they have taken in. This will eliminate confusion with trying to find out who donated and how to thank them or how to get the funds transferred to the rescue. Comment and offer to donate but wait till the rescue asks for those funds. That way the funds will go directly into the rescue’s account to be used for the animal. In this case a private person set up the account and it took us days to find out who it was. She is now waiting for the funds to be transferred from the donation account so she can then transfer them to True Blue Animal Rescue. If you wanted to donate but were’t sure where, please donate through Paypal on our web site www.t-bar.org or directly from our face book page. That money goes directly into our account to be used to help Winston.
Thank you on behalf of Winston and the many other dogs we take in each week. True Blue Animal Rescue is a 501c3 non profit organization so all donations made directly to True Blue Animal Rescue or on a True Blue Animal Rescue vet bill account are tax deductible. You will always receive a letter for tax purposes when making a donation to True Blue Animal Rescue.
Imagine being an animal waiting for a foster or forever home. Just for a moment, think about seeing so many nice smelling people come and go and yet, it’s not your turn. Finally one day you think salvation is in your paws. Someone points to not only you, but your friend that you are fond of. Both of you are going to be together in a real home. A safe place were the elements cannot touch you, a quiet place where other dogs or cats crying will not unsettle you. A place where you have your own bowl, bed, spot to nap and yard.
Oliver and Opal in early February believed that they had that kind of salvation, as they waited in Amarillo, Texas, for a special person to find them. But what happened to these two dogs was unbelievable and part of a sad person’s attempt for attention. The dogs were sent to a woman that swore she wanted to foster to adopt. So with hopes high on the rescuer’s part and the dogs, off they went to what was believed to be a fresh start and a happy ever after.
After the woman, that claimed she wanted Oliver and Opal, posted pictures of herself on Facebook of welcoming the dogs into her life, she ran out of use for them. After just one day she placed a call to her local dog pound and claimed that both the dogs, that thought they hit the jackpot, were strays! To add insult to injury, she did this knowing full well the rescuers that she got the two dogs from would have gladly taken them back.
Opal and Oliver could not explain to the animal control officer that responded to the call that it was all a horrible turn of events. They had been saved already once, but now they were heading to a pound as forgotten souls while the woman, that said she wanted them, went looking for more animals to adopt. But thankfully Oliver and Opal, in their own way, could speak. They could tell the animal control people that they were not strays, that they were in fact registered. Opal and Oliver were scanned for a microchip and with that new device their life story was played out.
The dogs were registered to Rhonda Tatum who supports the Amarillo Shelter where these two dogs had been living. Since Oliver and Opal were now in Bryan, Texas, Rhonda and her group now faced the task of getting the dogs back and to safety. Thankfully, Rhonda is very resourceful and found out that the woman who had these dogs had also contacted True Blue Animal Rescue (TBAR). Rhonda contacted Melanie DeAeth and explained the whole story. At that point everyone agreed that these dogs needed to be rescued again! With a lot of team work and networking it was decided the dogs would be placed in TBARs care.
Planning for getting the dogs was a group effort. Transport for the dogs from Bryan to Brenham, Texas, was provided by TBAR volunteer Ellen Spahni. Opal and Oliver came into TBAR care at a time when our foster homes were full. But rather than turn the dogs away, TBAR raised funds to have the dogs housed at K’s Mutt Hut in Brenham. Run by fellow animal lover and rescuer, Kathryn Eyster-Kwiatkowski, K’s Mutt Hut works with rescue groups all year round with a special discount rate for dogs that need a place to go in a hurry. Once Ellen dropped the dogs off, Jason and myself were able to meet the duo and take their pictures. Oliver and Opal were a little shy at first, but once toys were thrown around and we ran around the big play yard at K’s Mutt Hut, they soon got into the swing of things. Oliver is a sweet Shepard mix that loves to run off with toys, while Opal likes to catch a toy and just chew on it. Opal has a beautiful personality and is very calm, yet happy to play. The dogs got extra play time with the photographers because they were too awesome to leave too early.
While Opal and Oliver are now safe, their story could have turned out very differently. With a simple microchip, a dog has a voice that no one can take away. While all rescue groups do their absolute best with screening people that try to find a way to beat the system, every group has been burned; every rescuer has had a person do something that has made them jaded. With the microchip system, dogs and cats are given more security and rescue workers have more peace of mind. It’s why True Blue Animal Rescue will now be microchipping their animals upon intake starting March the first of 2015. It gives them footprints, much like a baby, and it will always lead them home, even when people stack the odds against them.
Oliver and Opal are miracle dogs. Dogs that were saved not once, but twice. Special dogs that were meant to be saved to find their perfect family. If you would like to learn more about Opal and Oliver you can visit them at K’s Mutt Hut. Please call to make an appointment at 979-661-0840
Foster feature, from Star (with help from her foster mom, Gisele Milsaps-Flanigan)
Excuse me, I said excuse me! My name is Star and I’m a True Blue Animal Rescue doggie and I want to tell you my story.
I don’t understand what I did so wrong but I ended up homeless and living on a country road for a long time. It was hard finding food to survive and I was so cold. I don’t know what happen to all my pretty hair either, it just kept falling out! People were not kind to me they would throw things at me, stomp their feet, clap their hands and yell GET! I just wanted someone to help me. My life was miserable and I was losing hope.
Then one day a TBAR volunteer drove by saw me and stopped, I was so scared of her you know, because no one has wanted me close to them for a long time. I kept running away from her but she kept coming back! I’m very now happy that she didn’t give up on me and rescued me because I don’t think I could have made it through another cold night. She is my foster Mom now, and she gave me my name, Star! She said that when I get all fixed up I’m going to shine like a twinkling star.
I now have a soft warm bed, all the food and clean water I want. I feel loved and safe, how cool is that?! When she pets and kisses me it still feels funny, since no one has touched me in a long time. I’m still learning to trust because I’ve been hit and abused. She’s taken me to the doggie doctor and we learned that I have Demodex, also known as red mange. I’m taking medicine to fix it and my hair is slowly coming back. I’ll look totally different in a few more months, you just wait and see! I now also have my pretty figure back, and I weigh a perfect 13 now! My foster Mom and Vet say I’m a Rat Terrier mix, maybe with Chihuahua. I’m living with five kitty cats and one is my new best friend! I like other doggies as long as they are not too big. I really like going for walks in the woods. I do best with going to do my potty business on a leash.
My foster Mom tells me I’m such a quiet sweet little thing. I’m not quite ready to be adopted but I will be soon. Please follow me and watch me shine! I’ll let you know when I’m ready to be part of your family. Until then, will you please consider becoming a foster Mom or Dad? TBAR can only save my fellow brothers and sisters if we have a temporary home to go to to heal! I’m one of the lucky ones I have a loving foster home! Thank you for reading my story, isn’t it a happy one?
Roman had a great life living in a field full of grass. As he got older and his nutritional needs changed and his teeth needed additional care this wasn’t enough to sustain him. He began losing weight and his hooves were in need of special care. Lucky for him his owners turned him over to someone who was willing to take care of a horse during his senior years. Since he was turned over to True Blue Animal Rescue he’s been eating a delicious mash of senior feed and alfalfa cubes three times a day. This mash is made in the house with warm water and then topped off with vitamins and minerals to give Roman all of his nutrition he needs. After a week of that he was ready for his shots. The vet examined him and determined him to be about 20 years old, with a strong heart and all his organs in good working order. That means he will make a full recovery with the right feeding plan. His teeth needed to be floated but he was too thin and undernourished to be sedated to do that yet.
The next thing that needed to be attended to was Roman’s hooves. They were badly cracked with deep cracks that were close to soft tissue. It wouldn’t have been long before he would have been lame and unable to walk. The vet recommended shoes to help keep his hooves together while the cracks grew out. Lucky for us our son, Colton DeAeth, is a professional farrier with the skills and experience to fix Roman’s feet and as you can see, they look great with his new shoes on. It’ll take months for these cracks to grow out but Roman is already walking with more ease in his new shoes.
A week later Roman went to the vet to have his teeth floated. Horse’s teeth are constantly moving and pushing forward and as they chew hay and grain their teeth grind together to keep them worn down. Over time this grinding might not be even so they end up with points or hooks along their teeth. These make it impossible for a horse to grind their feed to get the proper nutrition from it and causes chewing to become painful. The feed starts to drop and the hay and grass can’t be chewed properly. For more information visit http://www.doctorramey.com/does-my-horse-need-to-get-his-teeth-floated/
Roman’s teeth had a lot of hooks and he had even lost one of his front teeth. That’s why we have been feeding him alfalfa cubes and senior feed mash to help him gain weight. This mash doesn’t need to be chewed and offers him a lot of nutrition easily. The vet uses a drill to grind the teeth down and that is unnatural so the horse needs to be sedated to accept it. The vet found another molar that was about to fall out when he was floating Roman’s teeth so he had to pull it out. Now Roman is missing two teeth but the rest are flat and even and will be able to chew hay and grass without any problems.
Roman will continue to need senior feed to provide him with all the nutrition he needs and as you can see he is a very large horse. He currently weighs between 1300 and 1400 pounds but will weigh closer to 1800 pounds when he reaches full weight. To get him to a healthy weight he will need to eat 20 pounds of senior feed a day which is three bags a week. We were blessed when Triple Crown Nutrition Inc offered to supply enough senior feed to bring Roman to full health! That will take 8 – 12 months and up to 200 bags of feed! Roman is a lucky horse and we are blessed to have Triple Crown on board to help with Roman’s rehabilitation!
True Blue Animal Rescue offers an educational program for children. In this program children are able to come out to Tbar Ranch and meet the rescue animals. Tbar volunteers teach the children about proper care and nutrition and what abuse and neglect looks like and what to do. Roman will now be part of that program. The hundreds of children that come to True Blue Animal Rescue each year will have the honor of seeing a draft breed horse and they’ll learn about what these horses can do and what they have been used for in history. They’ll also learn that Roman is a senior horse and has different nutritional needs than younger horses and what can be done to help meet those needs. In addition they will see what a gentle giant he is and how important it is to treat horses with love and compassion. Roman’s story, and huge presence, will make a lasting imprint in the minds of our young people. Through this educational program True Blue Animal Rescue will be making a change in how animals are treated and cared for.
This beautiful horse is thankful for the angels that watch out for horses that need help and do something about it. He is also thankful for companies like Triple Crown Nutrition Inc for providing top of the line feed for his recovery and to True Blue Animal Rescue for providing a safe place for him to live and be loved. Thank you to those who have donated toward his care and to our horse sponsors who make monthly donations to make sure these special horses will have what they need for the rest of their lives. Please help us continue to help horses like Roman by becoming a horse sponsor too!
