What do you want to know?

I have many friends and people who have adopted animals from me that keep my email or phone number and years later, they may contact me with questions about their animals' care.  I absolutely love helping people even though I have retired from rescue.  I can give people information about things such as:

how to treat your dogs and cats for heartworms for under $50 a year, regardless of number of pets- and YES cats do die from heartworms- the black and white cat at the bottom died from them and his name was Cookie and it was so traumatic for me.  Most people don't realize that cats can get heartworms too!!

what food will make even the sickest dog eat

how to give sub Q fluids (under the skin for dehydrated animals) this info is not breed specific-  same thing for dogs, cats, squirels etc.

the one vet manual every pet owner needs to buy and have on hand at all times

how to treat for eat mites without going to the vet

how to care for dogs after surgery of any kind, what to do and what not to do and how to avoid problems

common myths about the shots cats and dogs need/vs what your vet may tell you

how to deal with most behavior issues in dogs and cats

how to read your pet's body language for stress, fear, anger, etc.

what should NOT be in your dog or cat food

why to get your dog from a rescue or shelter and not a breeder or a pet store- VERY IMPORTANT

how to know when your animal is sick without any outward symptoms

what a fever is in a dog or cat and how to take their temps

how to pil your dog or cats easily

how to trim your animals nails without all the DRAMA


So if you ever have a question and your vet isn't available, email me at JonAnne@aol.com or post your question here.  I am not a vet, not a vet technician, and I will not advise if I believe the animal should see a vet, but I can answer many questions that can help you determine whether a vet visit is warranted or not.  I have had the same amazing vets for 17 years and I love them dearly- I used to see them once a week almost b/c we had so many rescues and so many issues, but as I have learned more and know how to do more, we see them much less.  I actually miss them and we all get excited when I go in- I have to catch them up on my life and vice versa.  They are listed on the side bar- Augustine Loretto Animal Clinic- (904) 262-4553.  They are hands down the BEST VETS in north Florida.  I also have a mobile vet that I love- Dr. Cheek- Animal Care on Wheels- (904)389-4826.  She helps me with animals that are too large to get into the car (I have really bad lower back issues)  or "mass vaccinations" of cats, which is very neccesary b/c getting six cats in carriers is life threatening.  :)  Enjoy the pictures and let me know if I can help you in any way- no question is too small.  :)

 

Long winter!

Hey everyone -it was a long hard winter here and although I live in Florida, it was still a bad winter. I am just now feeling up to writing again, but feel very rusty. :) Not much to write about now, until I get some pics on my camera- but we are still here and still running the zoo. :) I recently found out about a couple who have a REAL ZOO, and their TV program is called My Life is a Zoo- I thought that was pretty funny, since I have had this blog for years- I'll have to go visit THEIR WEBSITE. :)

What we do when it rains!! :) COW EARS!!!

So what do you do when you have 14 dogs (five boarders for Thanksgiving) and it rains? Bring out the cow ears!!!! COW EARS?? I know, many of you give your dogs pig ears and didn't even know you could buy cow ears. Well, let me tell you what- after giving my dogs cow ears, I won't ever give them pig ears again. I also order "sweet cheeks" from Christi's Canine Cafe and those are the cheeks of cows- they smell like vanilla and the dogs LOVE EM!!!! Cow ears are thin, not greasy at all, low in fat and calories and an average dog like Gracie can take 30 minutes to chew through 1/2 of them. Yes, I buy them and then use loppers to cut them in half. They are so much cheaper than Bully Stix and other chewy treats. Since I am waiting on a shipment from Christi of sweet cheeks and beef tendons, we are happily chewing away this rainy day with our cow ears. There's a link to Christi's Canine Cafe on the first page of my blog on the left- go visit her- she is THE BEST and she inpects everything she ships before it goes out. She does not carry cow ears, but everything she carries is AWESOME. It's less expensive than Petco or Pet Supermarket and I can feed the treats to my dogs without fearing that they'll be dead in the morning b/c something was REALLY made in China and is laden with some bizarre toxin. Gracie and Quinn are shown below, somewhat blurry, I am sorry to say, munching away while it pours.

You can comment as anonymous!

Hey everyone- my sister in law said she couldn't leave a comment b/c she didn't have an account with yahoo. You can always leave a comment!!! Click on the bottom option which says, "Anonymous" and then leave your comment and your name if you want. AND WOW- I see visitors from GREECE ( I love Greece, would love to go back!), China- have friend adopting there as I type, and so many other places- I am thrilled that so many people are reading my blog. I have alot of advice in here about health issues in dogs, so look around or you can email me if you have any questions at JonAnne@aol.com.

It's either feast or famine around here!!

Here is Emily, our oldest daughter on the night of her induction to the National Junior Honor Society. I am biased, but I am telling you, she was the most gorgeous girl there!!! :)

This is Janie, Jane Jane guwl, or just precious to me. She is one of our owner surrenders, who has advanced breast cancer. She is my heart dog. She loves to snuggle up where ever it is warmest and stay there. She is probably 12 by now and has just been the greatest dog.

Yes that is a cat, named Jackie, lying down on Gizmo's back while Cavallino looks on with interest. Wonder why we call it Pharaoh's HAVEN??? They are best buddies!!!
The picture to the right shows Julianna giving Gizmo a bit of sweet tea- yes, he IS a SOUTHERN HORSE!!! Julianna is such a responsible horse owner and we are so proud of how well she takes care of Gizmo.

There's an old saying, " It's either feast or famine." That means, things are either really great or really awful. I am telling you that is the case here at the zoo. We will go months where no one gets sick or dies and then BOOM, out of nowhere, we have weeks that seem they will never end. The past three or four weeks have been "famine" weeks. We had two cats with abcesses, one that I treated and it healed up in 24 hours, and the other that took three vet visits, two surgeries and 10 days of round the clock treatment ( hot wet compresses, eye drops, and antibiotics by mouth- ever pill a cat? NOT EASY AND NOT FUN!) and an Elizabethan collar. I am usually a pretty stoic person but after dealing with blood and pus for 10 days, I literally lost it- physically and emotionally. I don't throw up unless I am pregnant, period. Well that 10 days with the cat's face did me in. Happily, Truffles is all better now and I am getting some sleep. He was such a good baby.

So now is feast time- literally and figuratively. My oldest daughter was inducted into the National Honor Society last night and I am getting some of those kids as volunteers here. HOORAY. The kids will be on a cruise for Thanksgiving week so I will have a week of rest and working with the animals. HOORAY. I will miss them terribly but am so grateful they will have a nice memorable week with their grandparents. Here are some random pics of things here- I am still too tired to match subjects up with names and stories. But I should be able to come up with some good stuff next week while I am having a lighter week! HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!!