Alayne took a truck full of dogs over to our vets in Helena at Montana Veterinary Specialists today.  On board were Shiloh, for his repeat chemotherapy (it went well); blind Dusty, to have sutures removed from the surgery to resect a tumor on his lip (healed up fine); blind and deaf Blanca for a recheck…

Just when you think you’ve got an animal figured out, they start doing something new.  Take Blanca, our blind-and-deaf Great Dane puppy, for example.  Just in the past week I noticed she was beginning to sleep in ways that left her neck and head at peculiar — I would say uncomfortable — angles.  She likes…

Here’s our little old gal who arrived over the weekend … Ellie May the blind-and-deaf Cocker Spaniel.  Ellie May’s owner just died in a small town here in Montana, and Robin M., the personal representative or executor of the estate, called to ask if we could take in this sweet girl.  Given her age and…

Just in case anyone thought there couldn’t be any more wobbliness here than there already is, may we introduce … Smokey and Charlie!  These two young pups just arrived from a humane society in Lima, Ohio.  They are little things — each is about 20 pounds, with small frames and long necks.  The shelter cautioned…

Cody, our three-legged Lab with an incredible survival story, left for his new home in Missoula today.  This has actually been in the works for a while.  Elena C., who had volunteered for us this spring and then began working here in the summer (she replaced Alicia), had fallen in love with Cody and asked…

Little Skipper, our Schipperke with a rare auto-immune skin disorder, was adopted today by a wonderful couple who are long-time supporters of the ranch.  John and Pat O. from Plains, Montana, have had Schipperkes for years and love the breed.  So when they received our fall newsletter with Skipper in it, they contacted us and…

Today was our autumn ‘herd health and dental day," where all the horses and one mule get their fall vaccinations and a dental exam.  Our equine vet, Dr. Erin Taylor of Blue Mountain Veterinary Hospital in Missoula, brought the clinic’s new equine vet, Dr. Angela Langer, out to the ranch to help.  Angela just graduated…

Yesterday morning I heard this commotion outside my office door and looked out to see blind-and-deaf Baron roughhousing with blind-and-deaf Spinner in the living room.  This is the first time I’d seen Baron playing with Spinner, and one of the rare times I’d ever seen Spinner playing like this with anyone.  At first I stood…

In general Dachshunds love to burrow … under blankets, clothing, towels, you name it.  Anything soft and comfortable will do.  A happy Dachshund is a burrowed Dachshund.  But our little Dachshund Bailey, he of the curved back and bent rear legs, takes burrowing to new heights.  (Or is it depths?)  Even if it’s too warm…

When it’s time to put everyone out for the night’s last potty stop, our blind Dachshund Callie is the only dog who pretends not to know what the routine is.  Not only that, she pretends she can’t hear us.  (We call this phenomenon "transitional blind-and-deaf syndrome.")  She rolls over and plays dead. When we approach…