Today’s Throwback Thursday is Taffy! We had the pleasure of having her visit us during open house last weekend. Here she is with her own little girl in the bluebonnets and a picture of her with her family during our open house! It always makes my day to see one of our rescue dogs with their family!
This week’s Success story catch up is Pup. This sweet dog was rescued by her foster home who couldn’t let her be sold by someone who flips dogs for cash. She took her home after rescuing her and adopted her out through True Blue Animal Rescue to be sure she’d have a great forever home. It couldn’t have worked out better. Just look at Pup’s new Mom’s happy face!
True Blue Animal Rescue had the pleasure of hosting the Five Oaks Achievement Center on August 13th and August the 15. From nine am until noon the kids that came out were treated to a number of fun T-bar events. The day started with the introductions to the horses they would be working with along with the many rules about how to behave around a horse. Melanie DeAeth, founder and president of True Blue Animal Rescue made sure the boys and girls that came out got hands on experience working with the animals.
Not only did the horses get one on one attention but so did the kids that came out. Thanks to our wonderful volunteers each student also had a teacher for the day. While one group went off for a nice hay ride around the T-bar ranch the next group was assigned a horse and a volunteer. First they were taught how to groom a horse and the proper brushes to use on what part of a horse’s body. Next was the even tougher lesson of putting on a saddle! That one was a little more involved!
Next the kids got to walk their horse to the round pen to learn very basic ground work skills. Melanie directed the group with first putting on a rope halter, then making sure the horses were okay with the lead line moving near the horse. Also known as desensitization. While doing these skills the teens came out of their shells and had fun asking questions about their horses and even about life.
Once round pen work was over the group then were asked to lead their horses to the True Blue Animal Rescue riding arena. There, with their special volunteer for the day, the kids were able to pick out a riding helmet and then be led around the arena for riding. A few of the kids were not certain they wanted to ride but with a little cheering on everyone gave it a try! By the end of the day all the teens that came out were cowboys or cowgirls. After the riding the volunteers demonstrated how to take a saddle off a horse the proper way and store it. Next the kids rubbed down the horses and all too soon they had to say good-bye.
True Blue Animal Rescue would like to thank the people that sponsor camp horses and the volunteers that came out on the days that Five Oaks was with us on their visit. Without your help and support, events like this would not be possible. Thank you so much and to the kids from Five Oaks, we hope to see you again.
This week’s Pet of the Week is another one of our puppies. Right now Tbar is stacked full of puppies. If you would like a puppy please consider this beautiful little girl. Nebula is a beautiful black lab mix puppy. She is a happy, healthy little girl and ready for someone to love and call your own. Nebula is about 8 weeks old now.She is up to date with her shots and ready to go. If you’d like to meet Nebula or any other puppy we have give us a call or send an email. Tbar is a no-kill rescue. Save a life and adopt instead of buying a pet. Check out all our animals at www.t-bar.org, give us a call at 936-878-2349 and you can email us at [email protected] to make an appointment. Please remember to have all your pets spayed and neutered. It is the right thing to do.
Today’s foster feature is Butch the Dachshund – Part 1 (By Shellie Bellinghausen)
When one of our fosters advised me there was a dachshund at the Columbus city pound, I knew I had to call to see if he was still there. Yes, I’m the crazy dachshund lady…well, maybe a few dogs shy of being crazy.
When I called the city office, the lady I spoke with wasn’t aware of a dachshund but left a message for the Animal Control Officer to contact me. He called a couple days later and said there was, in fact, a young dachshund there, but he was very aggressive. He had bitten the officer, drawing blood on more than one occasion. If this had been anything other than a small town city pound, this dog most likely would have been euthanized right away,
This little guy had been there for over a month, and the ACO, whose name is Butch, was able to get him to at least let him pet him, but he still couldn’t pick him up. I was relieved to find out he was not dog aggressive, as the officer had put him in with another small dog for a little while, and they got along well.
After finding out the requirements for TBAR to be able to pull as a rescue and getting TBAR officer approval, I arranged to pick up this dachshund after our event that weekend. Even though they are closed on the weekends, Butch was willing to meet me there late that Saturday afternoon.
I had no idea how I was going to be able to work with an aggressive dog in my small condo with three other very active dogs (dachshunds, of course). Over the next few days, I kept praying God would somehow cause this little guy to feel completely comfortable with me and remove any aggressive tendencies.
When I arrived in Columbus that Saturday afternoon, I followed Butch to the kennels. As we walked to the gate, we could hear the dachshund barking at us. Once we were inside, he continued barking and growling viciously. Butch told me that several people expressed interest in adopting him, but when they saw how aggressive he was, they weren’t willing to take the chance. To me, there was no choice. This little guy needed help, and at TBAR, it’s what we do.
I brought hot dogs with me (bribery might work, I thought). But when I tried to give him a piece, rather cautiously so as to keep my fingers in-tact, he wasn’t interested. So I gave a little to the other six or eight dogs impounded there. I decided to give it one more shot with the dachshund, and this time he very gently took it from my fingers. That was a good sign, and I was encouraged. Still, I wasn’t sure how I was going to work with this little guy.
Butch was able to get him into the metal crate he had been brought in with, and I had him put a collar and leash on him that I brought with me. I figured this way I’d at least be able to control him when getting him out of the crate later. Into the backseat he went, and we started on our way.
I decided to call him Butch, after the ACO, who was a tough ol’ guy with a kind heart. This little dachshund was definitely tough, but I wasn’t sure how kind he’d be.
I immediately called the vet we use in Bryan, Dr. Thurstin at CCC Animal Clinic, and she graciously agreed to meet me at the clinic as soon as I got back to town that evening. I needed to make sure he didn’t have anything contagious before bringing him home. But how in the world was she going to examine him?!
To be continued…
Happy Friday! Make some plans with your favorite friends!
Today’s Success Story is Roy. He had been with us for years. He had separation anxiety and needed to be inside with people or he’d worry and pace. Being a large dog that made him hard to adopt. Then, a few months ago he met his special people and they knew it was a perfect match. Now Roy lives in a house and sleeps on a bed and has all the comforts he deserves. I ran into him and his owner at the vet for a checkup not too long ago and was amazed at how calm and content he is now. This adoption gives us faith that there is the perfect person for each of our rescue babies! Happy tails Roy! You deserve it!
This week our Pet of the Week is another of our “Guardians of the Galaxy” puppies, who were a surprise litter that came from a rescued senior stray named Sage back in July! Nova Prime is a happy little lab mix who loves playing in a kiddie pool outside, and then coming in and sleeping on a big comfy pillow! She is ready and waiting for her forever family to find her, so help us to help her by passing around this post!
Nova is one of five puppies currently in TBAR. All of them are at that perfect playful age that love to learn new tricks, enjoy toys, and cuddle.
If you are interested in adopting, download our adoption application here: http://bit.ly/TBARadoption
Email it to [email protected] and we will get back to you right away!
Today’s foster feature is our newest rescue horse, Sonador.
The County Livestock Officer in Austin County responded to a call and found her tied, around the neck, to a tree- both back feet tied with a rope- starving, with no food or water anywhere she could reach. He IMMEDIATELY seized her and called for TBAR’s assistance.
She spent 5 days at the vet waiting for a clean coggins report. Since this case was going to court evidence had to be collected too. Even though it was more than obvious to the vet the horse only needed food, he had to run fecal tests, full body exams and assessments to determine that she is a healthy otherwise, underweight, 10 year old mare who’s current condition was due to the lack of food.
We would like to thank Deputy Nathan Hale for removing her from this abusive home and the judge in Austin Co who awarded her to True Blue Animal Rescue on August 20, 2014. Now we can all breath a sigh if relief knowing that this sweet mare will never suffer again!
Sonador will need a few months of foster care with good food and lots of love to recover from her abuse/neglect. She settled nicely in with the other horses in her current foster home but she’ll be ready for an adopter very soon! She’s sweet, gentle, easy to handle and loads easily into a trailer. Please email [email protected] or call 936-878-2349 if you’d like to adopt. If you’d like to donate toward her vet care use True Blue Animal Rescue’s facebook donate button.
Equestrian Market Day was successful for another year. This event was held at the Brazos County Expo and sponsored by The Brazos Valley Driving and Riding Club. It’s a great opportunity for horse enthusiasts to buy things for their equine hobby at bargain prices. Even though it was hot, humid, dusty and a lot of work, at the end of the day, we want to do it again. For Tbar it’s a great opportunity to make money to help the animals. Thanks to the many wonderful people who donated horsey items for us to sell, we did just that. Lots of people stopped by to say hi and to browse through everything Tbar had displayed to sell and to learn more about rescue. This type of exposure is very important for the public as well as a learning experience for our volunteers. Thank you to all who braved the heat and worked hard to make this event a great success. The following pictures show a great turnout both from Tbar and the public. It is events like this that take lots of work and dedication from our volunteers, as well as officers and staff.