Our farrier, Rich Boyle of Simms, Montana, was out here last week trimming the horses’ hooves.  That meant lots of hoof trimmings lying about in the pastures and corrals.  There’s something about these hoof trimmings that dogs just love as chew toys.  Now, most of the dogs stay in our fenced dog yards and don’t…

Here’s a photo I took this afternoon in our living room of Ellie May, the little blind-and-deaf Cocker Spaniel who came to us a couple of weeks ago.  Her eyes were chronically painful and we had to have them removed, but she has recovered just fine from the surgery.  The sutures are still in and…

Blind Lena has taken to doing this ridiculous thing when she’s finished with her grain.  She stands in her feed bucket, both feet firmly planted in the center.  She does this to signal to us that a) "I’m done, thank you," and b) "it’s time to untie me."  There’s really no mistaking this look, is…

One of our supporters, Steffanie G., had seen an appeal from an animal rescue group in Beirut, Lebanon.  The group, called Beirut for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or BETA, was planning to fly a dozen or so cats to the U.S. for placement in mid-October, and they were looking for homes for them.  (Best…

I hauled a trio of blind horses into Missoula today to see Dr. Erin Taylor at Blue Mountain Veterinary Hospital.  Laddie, shown above, was one of the horses making the trip.  He needed to see Erin for a couple of reasons.  He has a lingering lameness problem in his front left leg from an arthritic…

This is three-legged Kasha, our Shepherd pup who arrived a few months ago from Spokane Animal Control after having surgery to remove what was left of her rear leg.  Someone had chopped her foot off.  She recovered well from her surgery and has really blossomed into a beautiful girl.  (Although the ears can be a…

After little Brynn came to us as a blind 5-day old foal in the summer of 2006, we tried to buddy her up with blind Lena, our Queen Bee mare who raises the blind foals that arrive at the ranch each year.  Even though Lena would seek her out and stand next to her, trying…

Here are Tibby and Fibby, the two kittens with deformed back legs who first came to us back in August — and as you can see, they have been growing a lot!  Tibby, the little girl on the left, is still by far the smallest of the pair, but proportionately she is keeping up with…

Although I try hard to maintain a ‘professional environment’ in my office, the fact is it’s widely viewed by the dogs as simply another playroom.  Or bedroom.  Or … wrestling ring.  Not too long ago I posted a video clip of blind Widget roughhousing with blind-and-deaf Baron in my office.  Well, they went at it…

Our small animal vet, Dr. Brenda Culver, called this morning just before going into surgery on Ellie May to let me know that she was about to begin, and would call me once Ellie May was through the operation and recovered from anesthesia.  About 11:30 a.m., the phone rang again and it was Brenda, saying…