No Rest for the Weary

Doll and Connie McCool, longtime friend of Project Hope, completed a transport to Every Creature Counts (ECC) in Denver last week. They arrived last Friday with 51 cats and dogs. Everything went smoothly on the transport and below are a few of the animals who started a new life this week in the Denver area.

Annette


Blondie


Daisy


Juniper


Macaroni

Immediately upon returning from Denver, Doll was called upon to respond to a horse cruelty case involving four horses. The photos below tell the story. These animals were slowing starving to death. Doll negotiated the release of the mare, the placement of another horse with the "guardian's" brother, and the oversight of care for the remaining two horses by Raymond Watkins, Project Hope's farrier.

Slowly starving to death.

After leaving the horses, Doll stopped at the Tillatoba truck stop for tea and discovered a baby wren who'd fallen from a nest high above the fuel stations. There was no way to get the baby back to his nest and he was too young for his parents to care for him on the ground. Doll cared for him until night when she met a friend who is a wildlife rescuer who took the fledgling home for care.

Baby wren rescued from a busy truck stop.

Thumbelina was found badly injured. The vet who attended to her sent her to us without medicine, including painkillers. Her head wound, including her eye became infected. It was after hours, but Doll called our vet, Dr. Anne, and she instructed Doll to remove the stitches, put her on an antibiotic and get her in first thing in the morning. Doll did and Thumbelina is on the mend.

Trying to make Thumbelina comfortable.

The following 10 puppies arrived on Tuesday. The man who dropped them on us said he wouldn't be responsible for what happened to them if we didn't take them. We asked about the mom and his wife called back and left a message saying their mother had been shot and killed. At least these babies are safe now and will go on the next transport to Denver.

"When's supper?"

Finally, Acacia was one of the dogs who made the trip to Every Creature Counts this past weekend. This little darling was in the hospital for weeks after being rescued from the Winona, MS Pound.

Acacia just after arriving back from the vet's.

Doll had gone to the pound to speak with the Charlie Brown, the Animal Control Officer, about issues they were working on correcting. Charlie told her there was a small dog that didn't look well. When I got to her I noticed Acacia's body temperature was already low. She was in bad shape.

Acacia was diagnosed with parvo and would have died at the Pound that night if I hadn't rushed her to Veterinary Associates in Grenada. Dogs who survive parvo usually bounce back within days, but Acacia was so ill and emaciated that she required several weeks of hospitalization.

Saying goodbye to Acacia at Every Creature Counts.

Once she was fully recovered, Acacia took to sanctuary life with gusto. Saying goodbye to the adorable little girl we'd fallen in love with wasn't easy, but she is destined for a rich life of her very own in Denver.

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Weekly Report Ending June 15th - Quick Update

from Doll

We have a transport leaving for Denver tomorrow and will be updating with photos soon.

Sunday was a day of work, work, work, work.

Monday we mainly focused on animal care and preparation for the Mississippi State University “Fix ‘em” team which came Tuesday (6/9). We called in a bunch of foster animals to be spayed/neutered by the team.

Tuesday animal care was handled between spay/neuter shifts. The team altered 15 cats and kittens and 16 dogs and puppies. One of the vet students took a shine to Dee Dee and her interest blossomed to the adoption of Dee Dee, now Cheyenne, on Sunday. Clean up from the spay/neuter event lasted until dusk.

Dee Dee, now adopted and renamed Cheyenne.

Wednesday was recovery day and routine care. It was also Elizabeth's birthday.

Thursday I received several anxious calls regarding a kitten in a storm drain, who was rescued by the Grenada Animal Control Officers; pups found in a dumpster at the Montgomery County dump - Winona, MS. Animal Control Officer, Charlie Brown, went for the pups and I met him to bring them to Project Hope. The pound is full and pups usually succumb to parvo at the facility. I also grabbed Mazie, who had been at the pound for awhile and was now in a run with five much larger dogs. I met with the president of the Winona Humane Society, who is also the editor for the Winona Times, to discuss how we can better publicize the plight of animals at the pound.

Charlie Brown holds one of the six puppies rescued
from a dumpster at the Montgomery County dump.

Linda, friend and fellow cat rescuer, asked me to check if a dog she was interested in was still at the pound - he was, so I grabbed him and she took him home. He’s so shy he won’t come out of his hiding place. If anyone can make him feel at home it's Linda and her wonderful sister Peggy.

Friday was absorbed by animal care and lawn maintenance.

Saturday was work, work, work and rain, rain, rain.

Sunday a young man brought a young skunk and I sent him to Nancy, a wildlife rehabilitator in Yalobusha County. Next Kristie and her mom came to adopt Dee Dee. It was a long day, but well done.

Medical Update

Several dogs were under treatment for mange. Barney has chronic ear trouble and is being treated. Kendall’s bad eye is being medicated and looks better. I gave several kittens penicillin shots for their upper respiratory. Shots and routine preventive meds were administered throughout the week.

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Homeward Bound Transport

We had planned to have two transports this week - one Homeward Bound transport through Mississippi State University (MSU) and one we were doing ourselves to Every Creature Counts (ECC) in Colorado. Unfortunately, we could not secure a second driver for the trip to Colorado, so we were forced to postpone. Not necessarily bad news, as we're planning a bigger trip to Colorado in a couple of weeks. For now, here are some of the lucky dogs that made it on the Homeward Bound transport.

Billy, with us for more than a year.

Jasper, a relative newcomer to Project Hope.

Wednesday, recently rescued from the Winona Pound.

Elaina, recently rescued from the Winona Pound.

Winfield, recently rescued from the Winona Pound.

Alexia and Brock (with tongue out), recently rescued from the Winona Pound.

Fauna, before and after. A hoarder kept her prisoner in a broken-down car.
Later, rescued from the car and at Project Hope

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