One of the things we've learned about blind animals is that shedding out their winter coats doesn't always happen at the "right" time.  That's because a key signal for the brain to know when to start shedding a winter coat … and when to start growing it back … is length of daylight. You'd think…

Late yesterday evening the Animal Rescue Site posted the final results of the Shelter Challenge, and … drum roll, please … it's official:  We came in third nationwide and picked up that $3,000 grant! Wow. When this contest started — when was that … early April? — we thought we'd have a good shot at…

The medical news on Teddy is, well, mixed.  Our veterinary team in Helena continues to make progress in treating his diabetes — his glucose levels have dropped from the mid-600s to the 300s and continue to edge downward (goal is to be 100-120).  However, on his abdominal ultrasound our vets discovered both bladder stones and…

Alayne was off the other evening again looking for the Beagle-in-a-hole, blind Austin, when she noticed Oliver the wire-haired Dachshund sitting near an aspen.  She had seen him playing with Austin not long before, so she figured — Inspector Clouseau-like — that the wily Beagle might be near at hand.  Sure enough, as she got…

Barbara Edwards and her husband Scott came by on Friday afternoon so we could hold the drawing for the quilt raffle.  Barbara shuffled the tickets around in a basket, dumped them back in the jar, and then Scott twirled the jar a few more times.  Finally it was time for Alayne to reach in and…

Our vet Dr. Brenda Culver called yesterday afternoon with the first set of test results on Teddy, and the news was not good:  Our little guy is severely diabetic.  His glucose levels should be in the range of 100-120, and Teddy was at 652.  Oh, my. That could explain why he's blind, too. Brenda was…

I walked out the back door the other afternoon and saw blind Callie standing under the beach umbrella Alayne had just set up.  We have this large gravel pad at the south end of the house we call the "beach" — the chair is parked at the edge of it — and Callie looked slightly…

During blind Charlie's eye exam back in May with our vet, Dr. Brenda Culver, we noticed that his pupils reacted to light — which meant his retinas were detecting it somehow, even through his cataracts.  Now, it's not at all uncommon to have fully functioning retinas in eyes that are blinded by cataracts.  But the…

Chennell B. from Bozeman, Montana, contacted us last week about adopting Twist, our Dachshund with the rear leg that juts out at an angle.  Twist has been with us about a year and a half, and is a sweet, lovable guy.  He's a good-sized Dachshund with a very long body.  This handsome boy's only problem…

The director of Missoula Animal Control emailed me last week to ask if we could take an elderly, blind dog they had at the shelter.  Someone had seen a car pull up to the curb, the door open, and a tiny dog deposited on the sidewalk.  Then the car drove off.  Fortunately, the person who…