Tag Archives: True Blue Animal Rescue

Roman Update March 2015: Switch your Senior Animal to Senior Food

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True-Blue-Animal-Rescue-Triple-Crown-Nutrition-Roman-Update-March-2015-2Roman is doing great on Triple Crown Senior!

Roman has now been on Triple Crown Senior feed for 5 weeks now and is showing great improvement. With all of the recent rainy weather, he has enjoyed rolling and getting all muddy. His foster home is suspicious that he does it on purpose because he knows he’ll get brushed afterwards and he enjoys all of the love and attention!

Since Roman is so large, and also so malnourished, he is fed a bit more than the recommended 6 pounds of senior feed per day (half in the morning, half at night). He is benefiting from the higher nutrient content to make up for his older (and less efficient) digestive system. Triple Crown Senior has a higher fat content for extra energy, enough bulk fiber to make up for any lack of hay or grass, and it is also softer, which makes it easier on Roman’s system. In addition to his Triple Crown Senior feed, Roman is also given quality hay, access to pasture grass and clean, fresh water.

Roman is doing great, but in honor of him, and every other animal in his situation, we’d like to take a moment to explain what you need to watch out for, and what you can do to help your horse as they get older! Before Roman got to the state he was in, he could have been identified as malnourished by early weight loss, topline muscle loss, graying of the coat, and hollowing of the grooves around his eyes, as well as decreased hoof and hair coat quality. The following three things should be done for each aging horse, to ensure they have the best quality of life in their senior years.

Teeth Floating

The tool used to smooth down your horse’s teeth is a file, called a float (hence the term, teeth floating). Horse teeth never stop growing, and over time they can become sharp and uneven or fractured, making it hard for them to chew and even causing discomfort and pain. In this situation it is hard for your horse to eat feed, grass, and hay, and you may notice quids around their eating area. Quidding is when your horse tries to eat hay, but can’t properly chew and swallow it, so they essentially just wad it up in their mouth and spit it out, leaving behind quids on the ground as evidence of the teeth issues.

You can feed your senior horse a mix of senior feed and water to make a mash that is easy for them to swallow and digest while you are waiting to get their teeth floated.

Get Bloodwork done

As horses age they become at risk for metabolic issues, such as Cushings. If your horse has hormone imbalances, or organ failure, the only way to tell for sure is to get bloodwork done by your veterinarian. When you are caring for your senior pets, bloodwork is an essential step before you simply switch them to senior feed and assume all will be well.

Switch Your Horse to Senior Feed

Giving your older horse more of the same feed isn’t the answer. The feed just goes through them without the proper digestion and nutrient absorption. Proof of this can be seen if you examine your horses manure and see undigested grain.

Senior feed is softer, making it more easily digestible, and it is also specially formulated with high-quality ingredients to make up for your senior horse’s decreased ability for nutrient absorption and digestion.

As your horse ages their bodies are less able to break down their food into the essential elements that they need for proper nutrition. Senior feed has extra high-quality vitamins and minerals, such as protein, fiber, and phosphorus, and calcium, which is easier for your senior horse’s body to process. Senior feed has high quality nutrients for better absorption, added vitamins for the immune system, and pre- and pro-biotics to help with digestive efficiency and overall health.

When is Your Horse a Senior?

Generally, 15 years and older is considered a senior horse, but it varies for each animal. The best person to advise you on what is best for your horse’s health is your veterinarian.

Pet of the Week: Oliver

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opal2A German Shepherd/Catahoula Leopord Dog: wow that makes for a very handsome and loyal dog! Oliver is a sweet shepherd mix dog. He is gentle and plays well with other dogs. He’s friendly and walks well on a leash too. Oliver is an large adult male. 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[email protected] or call (936)878-2349 and one of our volunteers will get back to you as soon as possible. Adoption Fee: Please email[email protected] 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.

Success Story: Gina!

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True Blue Animal Rescue Success Story GinaToday’s success story is Gina!

Gina was the year-old yellow lab who was rescued from the Brenham shelter when they called to alert us that she was on her last days. K’s Mutt Hutt board her, and many people donated to help pay the boarding fees while she waited for her forever home.

We are now happy to share that Gina has found a wonderful forever home with a nice lady and two other dogs. Gina is well-loved and couldn’t be happier!

We are very grateful for the shelter manager who called us, for K’s Mutt Hut for taking care of her, for the donors who paid for her boarding, and to the volunteers who transported her around to her vet appointments. Lastly, and most importantly, we are thankful for Gina’s new forever family, for opening their hearts and homes to her! Gina is certainly our “it takes a village” story!

Pet of the Week: Sadie!

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True Blue Animal Rescue Pet of the Week: Sadie!Pet of the week for 03/09/15  Sadie is a sweet and loving Min Pin. She is crate trained, house trained, walks well on a leash and loves to play and then snuggle when she’s tired and ready to rest. She’s very friendly and gets along with other animals and children. Young, Female, Small Miniature Pinscher Up-to-date with routine shots Spayed/Neutered.

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 [email protected] or call (936)878-2349 and one of our volunteers will get back to you as soon as possible. Adoption Fee: Please email [email protected] 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.

Foster Feature: Winston

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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.

Throwback Success Story: Fabio!

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True-Blue-Animal-Rescue-Throwback-Success-FabioLast week we received an update on Fabio!

His family tells us:

 “I don’t know if you will remember Fabio but he was debilitating shy when we first got him. I remember your husband asking me to please be patient with him. While he is still a tad shy around us and hides from strangers, he has also recognized his forever home and family! Our alpha (jealous) male still rules the roost but even he shares his garage chair with Fabio!”

We are so happy Fabio has such a great forever home! He was one of a litter of puppies who were stuffed in a plastic container and illegally dumped off in front of a country home when they were 7-8 weeks old in 2011. We couldn’t be happier to hear updates like these. It gives us the energy we need to refuel our passion and continue to help animals in need!

Please send us updates on YOUR TBAR animal! Email [email protected] and we would love to feature your pet’s update on our site!

Microchip Your Pet!

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This week we shared a story about Oliver and Opal. If it weren’t for the fact that they were microchipped, the terrible person who took them from a rescue just to dump them in a shelter would have gotten away with it. Thankfully, the shelter scanned them and were able to take action to ensure they could have a happy ending!

To follow up on their story, we wanted to discuss microchipping. In some cities, microchipping is either mandatory or strongly encouraged. In rural areas, it is not as common, but the benefits are the same. Think about the RFID ear-tages that farmers use on their livestock to ensure their safe return if they ever get loose. Microchipping your pets is just as important!

A microchip is an electronic device that contains information connected to a database that helps to identify your pet if it lost or stolen. Unlike collars, which can be lost, removed, or worn down with age, a microchip is an identification tool that lasts the life of your pet and gives you the unquestionable ability to prove your pet is yours if you need to. All pets can be microchipped, including cats, dogs, and horses. People also regularly register their birds, and it is possible to microchip animals as small as fish or as large as whales.

Microchipping is done most commonly at your veterinarian’s office, although some shelters and rescues are able to do it as well. When your pet is chipped you must complete an enrollment form. You will receive a registration certificate which serves as your ownership document, similar to an automobile title. This document must accompany the pet if it transfers ownership. You also must keep your contact information up-to-date if you move.

It is not difficult or expensive to get your pet microchipped. The chip itself is about the size of a grain of rice and is inserted under the skin of your pet (on the side of the neck or between the shoulderblades). It usually costs between $25-50, is not invasive, and requires no anesthesia. Your pet will experience no lasting pain or irritation, and while you will be able to feel a small bump where it is located, they will not notice.

The chip can then be scanned with a hand-held device (many vets run this scan at each annual exam to ensure it is still working). Pets who are found (or turned over to a shelter or rescue) are routinely scanned on intake to ensure they do not have a chip that is registered. If a stray is chipped, their owners are immediately notified. Registrations usually not only have the owner’s information, but also an emergency contact (sometimes the vet). This ensures that there is a network available to help work at getting the pet back to the rightful owners.

For such a low cost and small bother, it is more than worth it to chip your pet and live with the peace of mind that they can and will be returned to you if you ever get separated!

Pet of the Week: Puppies!

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True-Blue-Animal-Rescue-Puppies-For-Adoption-March-2015Did someone say “give me puppies”? Well for the Pet of the week for this week, we have 5 females and 1 male. He/Or She will come with a certificate for neuter and rabies shots They are all American Staffordshire Terriers, will be large and are up to date with routine shots.

For more information, please email [email protected] or call (936)878-2349 and leave a voice mail. A TBAR volunteer will return your call at their earliest convenience. If you would like to adopt an animal, please download and submit via email or regular mail an adoption application (www.t-bar.org/about/forms) so that the foster home can arrange a meet and greet with your family.

So, check them out and pick up your puppy today. 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[email protected] or call (936)878-2349 and one of our volunteers will get back to you as soon as possible. Adoption Fee: Please email [email protected] 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