On Thursday morning, as I was still absorbing the news about Wobbles, we had yet more medical issues to cope with.  The evening before, as I was heading back to Missoula from Orlando, Alayne had called our equine vet, Dr. Erin Taylor, to tell her that our old mule Roy needed some attention.  He’s had…

Our adorable cat Wobbles died suddenly yesterday, while I was flying back from Orlando.  Alayne told me the news after I got home.  He was found dead in the cat house, lying in a litterbox.  We have no idea what happened.  We are, as you can imagine, devastated by the sudden loss of our little…

Although it seems Alayne and I spend much of our day being nothing more than glorified doormen (doorpeople?), constantly letting dogs in and out, we do have one dog who hardly ever needs or wants to use our service.  That’s blind-and-deaf Spinner, seen here snoozing away at 1:45 p.m.  Yes, that’s right, it’s nearly 2…

I took these photos last week, after I noticed blind-and-deaf Baron and our old boy, Dillon, taking turns resting their heads on each other while sleeping off and on over the course of a couple of days.  So there’s Dillon above, using Baron as a head-rest. Not to be outdone, here’s Baron using his uncle…

We’re in Orlando at the annual convention of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP), which is all the horse vets in the country.  (I don’t know why they call themselves ‘practitioners’ instead of ‘veterinarians.’)  The AAEP also has members from around the world, including about 400 from Canada and about 800 from other countries. …

Today we hosted Dr. Heather Kaese, a veterinarian and ophthalmology researcher who is working to understand the genetic links between uveitis and Appaloosas.  As we documented in our new Web site, BlindAppaloosas.org, Appaloosas are much more likely to get uveitis, the leading cause of blindness in horses, than other breeds.  Consequently, blindness in Appaloosas is,…

A new Web site devoted to all things dog, called appropriately enough DogTime, just published a story on the sanctuary this week.  The writer, Leslie Smith, and her husband Mike had come out to the ranch for a visit this past summer, so Leslie is writing from first-hand experience.  As you’ll see, Leslie features blind…

One of the things we do is spend a lot of time emailing or on the phone answering questions and helping folks who have disabled animals.  This is particularly true when it comes to blind horses.  A few months ago we were contacted by a couple in Maine who had just decided to take a…

I was feeding the dogs at Widget’s House yesterday evening when I looked across the room and deaf Tyler doing his pathetic routine.  He is one of the original ‘drama queens’ at the ranch … a dog who can look tragic in an instant, simply to get you to envelop him in your arms out…

I took this photo of blind Emmy Lou late this afternoon when I was at Widget’s House, our main dog building.  I didn’t have a particular subject in mind when I headed over with the camera, but Emmy Lou clearly had herself in mind.  She would not leave me alone.  She followed me all over…