The response to my plea for help with Animal Re-homing’s vet bill has been just wonderful. Thank you so much to everyone who dug deep to help out. In addition to donations, the Trade Me auctions have raised $965.00. Many thanks to George for donating four of his beautiful handcrafted dog sculptures for this purpose. Thank you also to Anne, Ems, Carol and Karen for their winning bids. To purchase sculptures of your own, please contact George at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

So far, I have been able to pay exactly $3,000.00 to Forrest Hill Vet Clinic which leaves almost $3,000.00 currently outstanding. This feels a lot more comfortable than owing almost six thousand dollars - but if any of you would like to rattle a donation bucket (see photo of Erin) or have other ideas to further reduce the bill, it would be very much appreciated. I recently rescued a Bichon Fris (see photo of Joey below) who was facing a lethal injection. His delighted new caregiver is organising a gold coin afternoon tea at her workplace. Many thanks Kathleen!

Brie the Golden Lab has just celebrated her 12^th birthday. She enjoyed a special outing and food treat, and to mark the occasion, my dear husband custom-built a gently sloping ramp to assist her passage in and out of the house. Brie is pictured encouraging his construction efforts. Her blood sugar levels were perfect this week – fingers crossed they have finally stabilised.

Chance has recovered beautifully from his urethral surgery thanks to the expertise of his operating surgeon, Kevin O’Meara. This sweet boy has now had his sutures removed and is showing all the signs of being a very happy and healthy puss. The relief from repeated irritation must be the reason he is suddenly leaping on to benches and shelves, smooching and purring non-stop. The photos taken today show him waiting for his dinner and with his friend Milly. [Milly and her four colony mates were living on the large property of an old man. When he passed away, his sons came with guns to shoot the untouched cats. Thankfully we were alerted and the sons allowed us to trap the cats. We had nowhere to relocate them and TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return) wasn't an option, so Milly, Princess, Handsome, Poncho, Trouble and two tiny kittens all came home with us for taming].  

With gratitude for your loyal support,

Love Linda

Last night Lonely Miaow advised me that the verbal information I was given regarding Chance’s rescue varies from some of the information in their vet records. LM has not divulged the differences and will not release a copy of the records to me via the vet clinic. In respect of their claim I have adjusted Chance’s rescue story below to a bare minimum - in the hope that any discrepancies have been addressed. If you are concerned about the well-being of undomesticated homeless cats, we recommend you verify that the rescue organisation you contact has a policy of Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR) or relocation as a possible options. Thank you. 

Dear Friends, 

I need your support please.

Between us we saved the lives of, and/or found ideal caregivers for almost 1,600 homeless, abandoned and unloved animals last year – thank you so much. With your on-going help, I am confident that we will achieve equal success in 2012. Happy New Year to each of you!

This newsflash is primarily a plea for help with the sweet Golden Labrador dog named Brie and with the lovely cat named Chance. Please read their stories below, follow the links to my website for more detail and photos, forward and Facebook the newsflash – and please offer whatever help you can manage. With an outstanding vet bill of $5,796.60, and other animals needing dentistry, de-sexing, etc, I cannot continue without you. In anticipation of your outpouring of assistance, please accept my heartfelt gratitude…

BRIE NEEDS YOUR URGENT HELP PLEASE

This beautiful natured senior citizen was booked in for a lethal injection because her caregiver was going overseas. I couldn’t bear to see this lovely old girl robbed of a happy retirement, so stepped in to rescue her.

It transpired that Brie had multiple, undiagnosed medical conditions that required immediate interventions. She has needed expensive and expert treatments and monitoring because her untreated diabetes and hypothyroidism had left her in a weakened state.

In the thirteen weeks she has been under our umbrella, Brie has had a wealth of joyful outings and as many loving belly rubs as she desires. However, her vet costs have almost reached $4,000.00. This must be paid so that we can complete her rehabilitation.

Please be a part of Brie’s recovery team and happy ending.

• To find out more about Brie, please click here.
• To make a donation, please click here.
• To view the donated sculptures for Brie’s Trade Me fundraising auction and/or to place a generous bid, please click here. 

CHANCE HAS JUST HAD LIFE-SAVING SURGERY – BUT HIS BILL IS UNPAID

Chance has a nervous disposition - although he has now come to trust and adore us and offers a beautiful purr and head-bunts when we cuddle him.

In 2006, along with a group of other homeless felines, he was trapped by Lonely Miaow Association (see note below) and taken to a vet clinic.

The clinic contacted me, advised that Chance appeared to be compliant and asked if I would rescue him. I agreed and brought the frightened young cat home. His submissiveness that day saved his life...and three months later we had tamed him. 

Although he was otherwise in excellent health, eighteen months later we learned that Chance had an extremely narrow urethra and tiny genitals. As a result of this, he regularly suffered from cystitis and a ‘blocked bladder’ which is life-threatening if not quickly recognised. The necessary insertion of a catheter into such a narrow opening caused painful trauma to Chance - both at the surgery site and emotionally.

After repeated local vet and after-hours emergency care, it was recommended that Chance undergo a perineal urethrostomy – which is essentially a gender change. This stops the on-going symptoms. Chance is now recovering from this surgery, which (even discounted) carries a cost of $1,241.48. 

• To make a donation for Chance, please click here.
• Credit card payments may be made directly by phone to Chance’s vet clinic. Please call Auckland (09) 410 5169.
   

NOTE: Although it does wonderful work with friendly cats and with young kittens, to my knowledge, Lonely Miaow (LM) is the only cat rescue organisation that is opposed to TNR and traps and kills undomesticated adult cats who are homeless. For this reason the application by LM for membership in the Auckland SPCA Cat Coalition has been rejected. Wherever possible, other agencies, including Animal Re-homing, practise TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return). TNR involves de-sexing and returning the cats to their environment with daily volunteer feeders in place to manage the health and well-being of the group…until the colony dies out at the end of the cats’ natural lifespans. If you are concerned about undomesticated homeless cats, we recommend you verify that the rescue organisation you contact has a policy of TNR, relocation or taming and adoption as possible options.

HANDSOME YOUNG CASPER NEEDS A REFUGE

It’s never easy to find safe homes for roosters and beautiful, pure white Casper is no exception. He is currently living in our small holding pen awaiting an applicant who will cherish him for the rest of his natural lifespan.  

You will need to check that you are zoned rural, that your neighbours don’t mind the sound of crowing and that you can keep him safe from roaming dogs. If you have hens, you must have a plan in place to stop them from hatching out unexpected clutches – remembering that 50% of chicks are cockerels. 

Casper may be adopted alone or with Sunshine and Shadow - the two rescue hens with whom he is sharing his accommodation. Adoption criteria applies. 

• To read about Casper, to view more photos or to apply for his adoption, please click here. 

OPPOSE HUGE DOG REGISTRATION FEES

If you think Auckland Council’s proposed new dog registration fees are unreasonable, please post in your submission by 23rd March 2012. If the proposal goes ahead, in some cases the registration cost from July this year will be double the fee of 2011. 

• To download a pre-written submission form, to which personal comments may be added, please click here.

IS FEATHER DOWN IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO ALLOW THIS?

Have you ever thought about how the feather down was gathered for your pillow, your duvet or your clothing? Is this something you want to be part of? With warm synthetics such as polar fleece now readily available, will you ban feather down from your life?

• To watch a compelling feather down video and to pledge against this animal abuse, please click here. 

…AND SOMETHING TO SOOTHE YOUR HEART & SOUL…

• To bring beauty to the word ‘pollination’ and to re-assess the meaning of the word AWESOME, please click here.

THANK YOU SO MUCH 

My deep appreciation to each of you

for your on-going support and for forwarding my urgent newsflashes

to your compassionate friends, family and colleagues. The results of your assistance are life-saving.

 With love

Linda Nunn

Animal Re-homing

www.animalrehoming.co.nz

This wee fellow is Danny, a Jack Russell who will be 14 in February.

I re-homed Danny 3 years ago to George, a beneficiary who has just had a serious heart attack and is now hospitalised. When/if he is well enough, George will undergo bypass surgery. This means Danny needs immediate long-term foster care and a possible permanent retirement home.

For the past week, Danny, who has never been alone for more than a couple of hours, has been living at his home alone, with someone going in with food once a day. Danny is not coping, the stress has caused his skin allergy to flair (he is now on prednisone), his barking is causing complaints and he is becoming depressed. Dog boarding facilities are unaffordable and fully booked for the upcoming Christmas and holiday period.

Danny will chase cats and sometimes he challenges big dogs. He enjoys the company of small dogs and loves the company of adults and gentle older children. He enjoys a daily leash walk and a foster home where he is seldom left alone would be best.

Do you know of a suitable foster home for Danny, preferably in the Auckland area? The North Shore would be ideal, but not essential.