You are reading the second chapter of O’Malley’s story.
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To Be Continued…

Hey everyone! I’m sorry it’s been so long since our first post about O’Malley. It’s been super busy around here with work, the kids, and attending the No More Homeless Pets Conference in Las Vegas this past weekend to help with the Toki Poki booth. I kept wanting to write an update for you all but lack of time and sleep has been getting in the way. Finally, I’m able to write more about him – and at a very important time too.

O’Malley has been doing amazingly well. He is such a strong-willed cat and always such a sweetheart. His open wounds have been healing very nicely. The only one really presenting any problems is the largest one on his hurt leg because he keeps trying to self-heal it by licking and re-opening it, but even that one is so tiny and not at all infected. Other than that, this cat has been awesome. We almost took him to the vet again once, a few days after we got him, because he had not had any bowel movements. We had been told to wait until last weekend and if he hadn’t gone by then, to bring him in. We decided to do so, Nikki went outside to clean his carrier, and when she came back inside, he had gone. Silly boy. I guess he’d decided that he really didn’t feel like a trip to the vet! He’s been doing well since then and he uses the little litter box in his kennel very well. We can’t keep this boy down! Seriously, he won’t stop standing and walking around, on a broken pelvis and dislocated femur! We wish he wouldn’t, of course, but then we also have to admire him for how strong and determined he is. That gives me great hope that he will recover very nicely from his surgery despite his FIV status.

Speaking of which, O’Malley’s surgery is tomorrow (or rather today, now that I look at the clock). When my vet came back I spoke to her on the phone and she was available to do the surgery either last Thursday or this Tuesday. Nikki and I debated for awhile on which to choose. Obviously we wanted him to be fixed and on his way to true recovery as soon as possible but we also wanted to be here for him afterwards. Since we were gone for the weekend, and even though we trust our petsitter completely, we still decided it would be best to wait until we could be here so we could take care of him ourselves. I’m assuming he’ll be on more antibiotics and possibly pain meds but I’ll let you know all the details after the surgery. Again, he’s going to get an FHO, femoral head ostectomy. From what I’ve read about it, it seems like a great option and, as my vet said, “the answer to a more comfortable life”. His recovery should take anywhere from 6 to 8 weeks so we’ll have him for a good time after this but I also hope that with such an inspirational story, he’ll have no trouble finding the perfect forever home.

Still, I am worried about his surgery, as any foster parent would be, so we would very much appreciate all the well-wishes and prayers and healing energies you can send O’Malley’s way. I know he feels it and I know he appreciates it. He is such a sweet, beautiful, loving cat. I can’t believe that after all he’s been through, he still just wants to crawl into your lap and be pet. He deserves the very best and we’re going to do our very best to give it to him. Thanks, friends. I promise it won’t be so long until his next update. I’ll let you all know how his surgery went ASAP!

Filed under: Animals in Need, Personal Stories on October 19th, 2010 | 9 Comments »

A day late, but better that than never right? This week we are showcasing a dog with extremely soulful eyes. Come read Knuke’s story, as told to us by his loving mother, Addie Walters. Thanks for the story, Addie!

Rescue of the Week: Knuke!

Rescue’s Name: Knuke
Species/Breed: Great Pyrenees/Husky mix
Age: 3 months

How did your rescue come to be in your life?

I was volunteering at a local shelter last year when we suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a “puppy emergency.” Someone had dumped a box of three-month-old pups over the shelter’s fence and ran off, and, with our no-kill shelter being overcrowded, our director started calling every available person she knew to see if anyone would be interested in fostering a puppy for awhile. We were worried – without enough foster homes, the dogs would have to go to other local shelters that would most likely euthanize the dogs within days or weeks because they too were overcrowded. So what’s a girl to do? I made an evening run to the shelter and found myself with a squirmy ball of fur in the front seat and a 50lb bag of food in the back. To make things more interesting, my husband and I already had two big dogs at home (a Heeler mix rescue and a Siberian husky puppy mill survivor) – what’s one more dog, right? The thing was…my husband didn’t know of my fantastic plans until he walked in the kitchen and saw me holding the dog. The look on his face was priceless…he started mumbling something about how he knew the dogs would outnumber us the minute I started volunteering at the shelter. In any case, our “foster” turned into an official adoption a couple weeks later – my husband turned to me out of the blue one day and said, “Just go ahead and adopt him.” I wasn’t going to say no to that! So now we have three gigantic dogs, and can’t imagine what life would be like without them.

Tell us more about your rescue kid:
Knuke (slang for knuckleball – my husband is a baseball coach) is a 100lb lapdog. He’s terrified of shoes, empty 12-pack soda boxes and driving with the windows down. He gets noseprints all over the windows, eats our furniture and has regular WWE matches in the living room with our other dogs. He’s a snuggler, and likes to take up most of the bed with his head on my pillow. He thinks it’s a world tragedy if he can’t come in the bathroom with you. He is hyper and loves to play, but will sit as still as a statue with only his tail wagging when our friend’s niece (who has Down’s Syndrome) comes over and throws her arms around his neck. I love him for that.

Your name(s): Addie Walters
Where can you and your pet be found on the internet: Confessions from the Bench, Facebook, and Twitter.

Filed under: Personal Stories, Rescue of the Week on October 12th, 2010 | 3 Comments »

Our newest rescue story comes from our reader Amy Kinard. Thank you Amy for sharing your wonderful story and your adorable pup!

Rescue of the Week: Miss Olive!

Rescue’s Name: Miss Olive
Species/Breed: Shih Tzu
Age: estimated at 4 years

How did your rescue come to be in your life?:
I saw her photo as the featured pet of the week for the Santa Cruz SPCA. I just KNEW we were destined to be best friends. I printed out the adoption forms, filled them out and drove to the shelter and sat in the parking lot and waited for them to open.

Tell us more about your rescue kid:
She has the most amazing personality! She is always doing something hilarious, which is why I keep posting videos of her on YouTube! She wakes me up every morning by sticking her little nose right against mine. Best sight in the world! [ILRA Note: Amy, I hope you don't mind, but you mentioned YouTube and I thought this was an adorable video of Olive! So cute!]

Your Name: Amy Kinard
Where can you and your pet be found on the internet?: Her story has been posted on the Santa Cruz SPCA website under success stories. She is the fourth one down.

Check back next week for another great rescue story! Do you have a story you want to tell? We would love to hear it! Go fill out our form and tell us all about your favorite rescue kid.

Filed under: Personal Stories, Rescue of the Week on September 27th, 2010 | 3 Comments »

Welcome to our second week of “Rescue of the Week!” This week we are featuring Chelsea’s beautiful pup, Azu! Read on to learn more about this fantastic rescue.

Rescue of the Week: Azu!

Rescue’s Name: Azu (Azu Bean, Booboo, Beaners, Sweet Pea, Beanie Weanie, Azubaijan)
Species/Breed: She could be a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, maybe Boxer/Labrador, possibly some Redbone Coonhound in there… Who knows! Whatever her particular cocktail of breeds is, it’s perfect.
Age: About 5 years old.

How did your rescue come to be in your life?
Nick and I had been planning to get dogs for years. Of course we couldn’t have any when we were at university, and doubly so when we lived in Japan. When we returned to the States in 2007, we promised ourselves that, as soon as we had steady income and a dog-friendly apartment, we would take a trip to the Humane Society. And that’s what we did on December 1, 2007! I think Azu was the second or third dog we met, and we fell completely in love with her. Thinking back, it was odd that she wasn’t scared of Nick, since one of her main fears for the first couple years was men. She was especially terrified of hats! And loud noises, traffic, skateboards… basically everything. It’s hard to believe that now, though; after a lot of hard work and training, she’s gotten over all of her fears! She’s still the slightest bit wary around certain strangers, but who can blame her, really? Anyway, back to her adoption! She had apparently been picked up as a stray in Kansas and transferred to the Boulder, CO Humane Society. She had obviously been cared for at some point, though, because she knew “sit”, “shake”, and “down”. She even settled into our routine quickly.

Tell us more about your rescue kid:
Azu is the epitome of “dog”. She’s energetic but loves to lie around and snuggle. She’s sturdy and tough, but is very sensitive to the emotions of those around her. She’s clever and good at problem-solving, but still defers to us when she knows she’s out of her depth. She’s expressive and affectionate, but doesn’t jump all over you for attention. She’s far more subtle than that. She just has to look at you, and you suddenly find yourself lavishing her with affection! Some of Azu’s favorite things to do are, in no particular order: – Chasing tennis balls – Eating… just about anything – Fishing, though she’s only ever caught one bluegill – Resting her soft, warm neck on you when you’ve already been hitting your snooze for 20 minutes, and Azu that really is not helping me wake up, you know. – Hiking – Doing tricks – Giving hugs and kisses – Visiting The Place Where Biscuits Live (the bank) – Carrying toys around in her mouth. She even holds them in her sleep. We are honestly so lucky to have Azu. I’ve never met a dog more loving, and snuggly, and just… perfect than her. She makes us laugh and smile countless times every day. Your Name: Chelsea Conlin and Nick Tausek.

Where can you and your pet be found on the internet?
I think most ILRA regulars know where to find me! Paper Nautilus, my sketchblog, twitter, and deviantArt. Nick can be found on his website and twitter. Azu has been featured on Project DOG!

Let’s Hear Your Story!

Interested in telling your rescue’s story? Head over to our Rescue of the Week page and fill out the form. We look forward to hearing from you!

Filed under: Personal Stories, Rescue of the Week on September 20th, 2010 | 4 Comments »

Hey all! As promised, the very first in a new series here at ILRA: Rescue of the Week! Want to know something funny? This was pretty much supposed to be the whole point of ILRA. It all began as a simple idea to celebrate rescued animals to show that they are just as good as any other animals. In fact, we believe they know how lucky they are and return the love you give them tenfold! We wanted rescue parents to be able to come together and celebrate the wonderful animals that have changed their lives. We hope that you will all join in and share your rescue kids with the rest of the world! Now on to the first ever Rescue of the Week; who better but our very own mascot, Spunky?

Rescue of the Week: SPUNKY!

Rescue’s Name: Spunky (Spunkadoo, Spunkaruffugus)
Species/Breed: Husky/Shepherd/Chow mixed breed dog
Age: 6.5 years

How did your rescue come to be in your life?:
Spunky came into my life my sophomore year of college. I was working an adoption fair trying to get local pound dogs adopted. Spunky was my charge and I fell in love with him right away. An application was filled out before the event was even over! Since then, Spunky and I have been practically inseparable.

Tell us more about your rescue kid:
Spunky has amazing resilience. He has been through three different households, moved all around the country and been an amazing big brother to over thirty siblings. Nikki calls him the rock of our family and I’m inclined to believe her. No matter what, Spunky is always there. Whether it’s tolerating a little kitten thinking he’s mommy, playing gently with the ferrets or being a model for the younger dogs to follow, he is always a patient, loving presence. This wonderful personality makes him pretty irresistible to everyone he meets. Seriously, ask anyone! Because of this, he has his Canine Good Citizen (CGC) certificication and he is in the works of becoming a therapy dog! Hopefully someday soon, he will be able to bring joy and happiness to even more people who are in need of his soft soul. Spunky’s favorite thing to do in the whole world, besides getting love of course, is to run. He is one of the fastest, most agile dogs I’ve ever come across and he loves that he’s always the leader in a game of chase. On the other hand, he can also lounge around like nobody’s business and makes a great partner for sleeping in late. He is also an incredibly photogenic boy (as you can see). Spunky makes an amazing mascot for ILRA because he was the one that really inspired the creation of our site.

Your Name(s): Ashley & Nikki
Where can you and your pet be found on the internet?: Right here! Spunky, as many of you already know, is the mascot of ILRA. He’s so glad he found his forever home that he wants to pay it forward and help other animals in need. You can learn tidbits about him on our twitter account, @RescueAnimals, too. He also has a Dogster profile. But if you really want to get to know him, you’ve got to check out The Family Menagerie, a webcomic based on our crazy, animal filled lives. You’re sure to love it!

Check back next week for another Rescue of the Week!

Filed under: Personal Stories, Rescue of the Week on September 13th, 2010 | 8 Comments »