Protect Your Pet From Heartworms

Posted on February 10, 2015August 23, 2021 by Jess

It’s almost Valentine’s Day! We love to treat our four-legged furry Valentines on February 14 (and, let’s be honest, every other day too), but we also wanted to take a moment to talk about something serious that relates to your pet’s heart: Heartworms.

At True Blue Animal Rescue every single dog we take in is tested for heartworms and is started on preventative or heartworm treatment (depending on if they tested negative or positive for the disease). When we adopt a dog out we are sure to explain to their new family the importance of keeping them on their preventative or treatment, because heartworms are the silent killer of pets across the country and if the dosage is stopped the dog will suffer.

Heartworms are spread by mosquito bites and affect your pet by infesting their heart and enlarging it. In Texas your dog has a 100% chance of contracting heartworms if they are not on preventative medicine. That means ALL dogs should be given a monthly does of Heartguard (or other prescribed medicines, whether in pill, topical, or injection form) to ward off this terrible condition. If not, it is likely that your dog will contract the disease which results in a slow and painful death unless they are diagnosed and then put on a heartworm treatment regimen.

If your dog is not already on a preventative, we recommend you take them in to your local vet. Heartworm testing can be expensive, but it is worth it to ensure your pet has the proper care.

What are warning signs that your dog might be infected?

A persistent dry cough
Inactivity or lethargy, excessive sleeping, fatigue after simple actions such as eating or going out to go to the bathroom
Weight Loss, refusal to eat, loss of appetite
Labored breathing
Bulging abdomen or chest area
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We know you love your pets, and we want you to have many more Valentine’s Days with them, so make sure you are informed and take them in to your veterinarian to get the best treatment for their heart!

Cats are not the typical host for heartworms, as the parasite does not often make it to adulthood in their bodies. In the case that your cat is infected with adult heartworms, it can be fatal and often goes undiagnosed until it is too late. If you have concerns, talk to your veterinarian.

To read more about heartworm disease, visit The American Heartworm Society

Pet of the Week: Charlie

Posted on February 9, 2015August 23, 2021 by Loretta

Charlie was abandoned and wandering the streets. Sometimes people are mean to street dogs making them shy. That’s what happened to Charlie. All he needs is someone who won’t mind taking the time to teach him to love and trust again. Charlie just wants a home where he will safe and loved. Let’s give this guy what he so despartley needs. Charlie is an adult male and large. Poor Chalie needs a foster home because his current foster home cannot keep him in her small apartment very long. But, if we could give Charlie his own loving home, that might just be you.

T-BAR is a no-kill rescue. Not only do we like having our animals adopted out, we also are in dire need of foster homes. That way we can help more animals out there, who are in perilous times alone on the streets. Please save a life by adopting a pet, instead of buying a pet and please have all your pets spayed and neutered. It is the right thing to do. If you are interested on where you can help or to look at all that is available to either adopt or foster, please go to www.t-bar.org and see all the animals that deserve a second chance and fulfilled life full of love, email help@t-bar.org or call (936)878-2349 and one of our volunteers will get back to you as soon as possible. Adoption Fee: isAdoption Fee: $125. Adoption fee includes neuter or spay, up to date vaccinations, heartworm tested if old enough or started on heartworm prevention as a puppy, deworming and a one year TBAR membership.

Newest Rescue: Roman (thanks to Triple Crown!)

Posted on February 8, 2015August 23, 2021 by True Blue Animal Rescue

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!

Friday Fluff: Macy the Mini Pit

Posted on February 6, 2015August 23, 2021 by True Blue Animal Rescue

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Macy was in a shelter soon to be euthanized. It doesn’t matter that she has a huge smile, because many people only see the sharp teeth and the strong jaws that give bully breeds a bad reputation. Macy, like other well-raised pit bulls, isn’t unruly or vicious though, and she is very thankful to the member of True Blue Animal Rescue who pulled her from the shelter before she was put down. Now Macy can rest easy in this no-kill animal rescue at her foster home until she finds her forever home. If you or anyone you know who is looking for a sweet girl who is dog and cat friendly, leash trained, housebroken, and an all around great dog, please consider Macy! Her personality is just as big as her smile Consider adopting. Email help@t-bar.org or call 936-878-2349 and read more about pitties at http://www.dogster.com/dog-breeds/pitbulls

Success Story: Phoebe / Harley!

Posted on February 4, 2015August 23, 2021 by True Blue Animal Rescue

This is Phoebe and her adopter. She’s the first of our husky / aussie mix pups to find her forever home. Her adoptive family saw her at the chili cookoff event and fell in love. Since they met her at Independence Harley Davidson her new name is going to be Harley!

Newest Rescue: Chip

Posted on February 3, 2015August 23, 2021 by True Blue Animal Rescue

Our newest rescue, Chip, is telling his story today! Thank you to everyone who stepped up to save him, and let’s share his story so we can get him a forever home soon!

Hi my name is Chip. My mom was sick. Sometimes she forgot to feed me.But I love her so much and always waged my tail when I saw her. But my mom left and went to heaven. I miss her very much. My brother went with her too. I think he was weaker than me and couldn’t make it without food. I miss him very much too. He was my other half.

When the police found me, there were discussions about putting my down. Thank God, my friend came over and saved me. She took me home, even though she could have gotten in a lot of trouble. She took me to the nice people at True Blue Animal Rescue as soon as she could get me a spot! I was a little nervous at first. But these people are really nice, and my food bowl is always full.

There are a lot of dogs here and I get a lot of playtime, but I really wish I had a home of my own again. Can you please share my picture and my story and find me someone to love again?

Pet of the Week: Gina

Posted on February 2, 2015August 23, 2021 by Loretta

How many of you love yellow labs? The Pet of the Week is that yellow Lab for you. You will not be able to resist her beautiful face. She is about a year old. Crate trained and house broken. Spayed and vaccinated. She’s very friendly, walks well on a leash, loves to play fetch and gets along with other dogs. Great with kids too. She was on her last days at the Brenham Shelter so we transferred her to K’s Mutt Hut to board till she found a home. Thanks to the Brenham Shelter for letting us know about her and to all the people who donated to pay for her board till she found a home. Sometimes it takes a village to save a dog.

T-BAR is a no-kill rescue. Not only do we like having our animals adopted out, we also are in dire need of foster homes. That way we can help more animals out there, who are in perilous times alone on the streets. Please save a life by adopting a pet, instead of buying a pet and please have all your pets spayed and neutered. It is the right thing to do. If you are interested on where you can help or to look at all that is available to either adopt or foster, please go to www.t-bar.org and see all the animals that deserve a second chance and fulfilled life full of love, email help@t-bar.org or call (936)878-2349 and one of our volunteers will get back to you as soon as possible. Adoption Fee: Please email help@t-bar.org for adoption fee! Adoption fee includes neuter or spay, up to date vaccinations, heartworm tested if old enough or started on heartworm prevention as a puppy, deworming and a one year TBAR membership.

#2 Cavalia Odysseo Ticket Auction Benefiting TBAR

Posted on February 1, 2015August 23, 2021 by True Blue Animal Rescue

ANOTHER pair of tickets for Cavalia Odysseo being auctioned off on ebay for True Blue Animal Rescue! The winner of this pair will get to choose a date to attend through Feb 22nd. They are also VIP tickets! Read the flier for more information. Here is the ebay link for the tickets: Click Here

Do not let this amazing opportunity to see this fabulous show by giving a tax deductible donation to True Blue Animal Rescue!i
PLEASE SHARE!

Recap: Chili Cookoff 2015

Posted on January 31, 2015August 23, 2021 by Olivia

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True Blue Animal Rescue, with the help of the Independence Harley Davidson dealership in College Station, hosted the Iron Horses Chili Cook off on January 24, 2015, to help raise money for their mission of saving hooves, paws and claws. After three days of solid rain the sky finally decided to cut the Brazos Valley a break and the event went off to be a hit.

TBAR volunteers had to quickly regroup once the field we normally use for the cook off was found to be flooded and too muddy. With some fast thinking from Heather Beran the event started on-time with TBAR setting up the silent auction, raffle table, sales area and the dogs that were up for adoption. New things added this year were the kissing booth featuring TBARS’ favorite pup, Stumpy (sometimes called Moose) with our latest volunteer, Kalvin Doyle. We also had wonderful face painting done by volunteer Ellen Spahni! While the cook off was underway TV station KBTX came out and spoke to TBAR president and founder, Melanie Deaeth.

Thanks to many donations the sales table was also a hit selling a number of dog beds, collars and cute dog and cat outfits. While the event helps raise money, it is also a great time to meet potential new volunteers, new fosters or just get the message out about what the TBAR mission is all about.

Not only that but people could eat chili or buy the BBQ sandwiches that TBAR was also selling to raise funds for animals in need. Wonderful live music was provided by the band Leannasaurus Rex, that is a TBAR favorite to have playing. Thanks to all the TBAR volunteers, new and old, this year’s chili cook off was a smashing success. We want to thank all of the people that help us make this happen and thank those who showed up to help support our cause by opening your wallets and hearts.

Everyone’s hard work and time will go a long way for many animals in our care. We hope to see you all again next year.

Pets of the Week: Albert and Jasper

Posted on January 26, 2015August 23, 2021 by Loretta

Pet of the week: This week we have two! Albert and Jasper are donkeys with those lovely velvety long ears who would make great new additions to your family, alone or in the pair.

Albert is an adult donkey. He is friendly and gets along with other animals in the pasture. He is bonded with his pasture buddy, Jasper. It would be great to have both of them adopted together, but they can be separated if needed. His buddy’s name is Jasper. Jasper is also an adult donkey. They are friendly and get along with other animals in the pasture. They are both gelded and current on shots and coggins.

T-BAR is a no-kill rescue. Not only do we like having our animals adopted out, we also are in dire need of foster homes. That way we can help more animals out there, especially with winter here. Please save a life by adopting a pet, instead of buying a pet and please have all your pets spayed and neutered. It is the right thing to do. If you are interested on where you can help or to look at all that is available to either adopt or foster, please go towww.t-bar.org and see all the animals that deserve a second chance and fulfilled life full of love, email help@t-bar.org or call (936)878-2349 and one of our volunteers will get back to you as soon as possible. Adoption Fee: $100.00 each or $150.00 for both. Please email help@t-bar.org. Adoption fee includes neuter or spay, up to date vaccinations, heartworm tested if old enough or started on heartworm prevention as a puppy, deworming and a one year TBAR membership.