I took this photo today when I was in the cat house cleaning the litterboxes.  You think that would be a straightforward enough task, except for the fact that blind Herbie loves to climb up my legs when I'm doing this.  He swirls around my ankles, then stands on his hind legs and reaches up…

I was over at Widget's House this morning, scooping after letting the dogs out, and noticed blind Brody standing on bare ground.  I thought, wow, it's been a long time coming.  Brody seemed to be enjoying the change.  Just in the past couple of days the last few inches of snow and crusty ice have…

Callie had her MRI this morning at WSU's veterinary teaching hospital, followed by a spinal tap for analysis of her cerebrospinal fluid.  I took this photo of Dr. Fidel, the oncologist, holding Callie after she had recovered from the anesthesia.  You can tell she is still pretty much out of it, bless her little heart. …

Callie and I left the ranch early this morning and headed to Pullman, Washington, to see specialists at the WSU veterinary teaching hospital for her brain tumor.  In the photo above, veterinary oncologist Dr. Janean Fidel is listening to Callie's heart during the initial exam, along with 4th year vet student Jen K.  Dr. Fidel…

The Animal Rescue Site is holding another Shelter Challenge online contest with prizes worth $100,000.  Last year, because of your votes, we won the contest for the state of Montana and a $1,000 grant.  We need your help to do it again! And remember, this is the contest where you can vote every day!  The…

Last Friday was the blind Poodle sisters' first-year anniversary since coming to the ranch, and I took Molly and Priscilla to the groomers in Missoula for their usual make-over from what we call "Montana ranch Poodle" to "Westminster diva."  (In between there's a style we call their "Tina Turner look.")  They actually needed to be…

I got this photo of blind Moose, our new arrival, at the breakfast table this morning.  This big fellow has turned out to be a perfect gentleman with impeccable house manners — that flickering tongue notwithstanding.  In fact, he is one of just a handful of dogs who are granted "sleep-over" privileges and allowed to…

We've often said that disabled animals are inspirational, and Frankie — a Dachshund who became paralyzed after a spinal injury — is certainly proof of that.  Frankie's spirit and tenacity in overcoming her disability inspired her Mom, Barbara Techel, to write a children's book, "Frankie the Walk 'N Roll Dog." As Barbara describes it, "Teaching…

I always tell blind Widget her nose reminds me of a black olive.  Alayne saw her sleeping like this, that little nose pressing down the edge of the bed, and got the photo.  And there it is … my black olive. I know I've mentioned this before, but for any new-to-the-blog folks, this is normal…

Alayne got this shot of little Dexter the other evening after feeding the dogs.  Every time Dexter has finished eating, he licks his bowl clean until it's spotless.  Actually, until the final spot of food ends up on the tip of his nose.  Then he saunters into the kitchen and stares up at Alayne like…