Rolling Dog Farm Blog

The NBC Today Show producer who did the story on the sanctuary called late this afternoon to tell me our segment is now likely to air tomorrow morning, Friday, in the third hour of the program, i.e., sometime after 9 a.m.  This is a change from the earlier schedule, which had our segment airing in the second hour.  And it could change again tomorrow, so you may just have to set your VCR or Tivo and record the entire program to be sure you catch it!

We’re going to be on NBC’s Today Show on Friday morning, January 26th!  Not only are they airing a story they filmed here at the ranch this past Monday, but they’re also flying Alayne out today to New York so she can appear "live" on the program tomorrow morning.  And if that’s not enough, they’re also flying our paralyzed Yorkie, Spirit, and her new adoptive Mom and Dad, Nicci and Glenn Bennett, to New York to appear on the show along with Alayne.  On Tuesday they sent a film crew to Tampa to get footage of Spirit and interview Nicci and Glenn, so that will be part of the story, too.

The producer told me that the segment featuring the ranch is scheduled for 8:15 a.m. Eastern time Friday. Of course, because the program airs at different times depending on what time zone you’re in, you’ll need to check your local listings.  But if they hold to that time — and the producer cautioned that it could definitely change depending on breaking news and other events — the segment should air shortly after the start of the second hour of the 3-hour program, wherever you are.  (The original broadcast in New York runs from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.)  This being television, though, there are no guarantees!

Happy viewing!

I hauled little Brynn — our blind foal with the chronic urinary problem — into Missoula today for a ‘deep cleaning’ at our equine vet clinic.  Because Brynn doesn’t like anyone working around her backside … we need to clean between her thighs, around her vulva, and other sensitive areas … she needs to be sedated so we can wash her and scrub off the urine scalds.  What she has, in effect, is a severe case of equine diaper rash, and when it gets this bad, the only way to get the job done is with sedation.

I took the photo of Linda G., a vet tech who works for Dr. Bill Brown, giving Brynn her ‘spa treatment.’  I had been cleaning the other side of Brynn when I stopped to get the photo of Linda scrubbing away.

After going through this yet again, and seeing how raw and inflamed Brynn’s
skin is, I was so incredibly thankful that we have the money now to pay
for surgery to hopefully fix this once and for all.

Bill discussed Brynn’s case with Dr. Claude Ragle, the surgeon at Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, again today.  I will be calling the equine surgery department tomorrow to schedule Brynn’s appointment.

After we got Brynn cleaned up and while she was still sedated, Bill examined Brynn with an endoscope — an optical tube that allows doctors to see inside the body.  The last time we tried this Brynn was too small and the endoscope too big to use with her.  Today we got a good look inside her plumbing, and that’s what you see us doing in this photo. 

I’m inserting the endoscope while Bill peers in the viewfinder and is giving me directions:  "Move forward … hold it there … come back a bit … hold it … okay, go forward …"  We also found where the ectopic ureter is coming out — not inside her uterus as it had earlier appeared on ultrasound, but actually inside her vagina.  We could watch this little slit in the vaginal wall open and close, and each time small amounts of urine would squirt out.

After nearly two hours of endoscopy, I’m sure Brynn was thinking, "What kind of spa is this, fellas?"

Spirit’s new Mom, Nicci B. in Tampa, Florida, emailed this photo yesterday of Spirit wearing her new Doggles.  Nicci thought Spirit should have the Doggles for cruising in the convertible, but here Spirit is trying them out while she rolls around in the grass.  Folks, notice that the grass is, um, green in January. 

Speaking of colors, Nicci also got Spirit a pair of bright red Doggles, along with the pink ones.  When it comes to fashion accessories like super cool shades, it’s important to have a choice.  Especially when you’re a Yorkie.

This is amazing.  We have the money for Brynn’s surgery!

As of 7 p.m. Sunday evening, we had $2,040 already come in for Brynn’s fund … an amount that in itself was incredible.  I was getting ready to post that figure as the update on the blog and on Brynn’s fund page.  And then the phone rang.  One of the sanctuary’s friends and supporters in Canada was calling to make a $3,000 donation for Brynn’s fund.  I could tell from hearing Alayne’s end of the conversation that something remarkable was happening, but I didn’t know what.  When Alayne got off the phone, she told me about the astonishing gift.  We both just stood there, speechless, looking at each other.

In just four days, so many generous and compassionate people came forward to donate for this little blind foal’s surgery that we have the entire $5,000 to pay for the operation!  Alayne and I are still in a state of shock over it.  It’s hard to describe how we feel right now.  To say we’re grateful doesn’t do it justice.  We are, really, just completely blown away.  It’s truly humbling to see these kinds of gifts come in.  We never imagined that we’d be able to raise the money for Brynn’s surgery this soon.

Thank you!!!

My first call Monday morning will be to our equine vet in Missoula, Dr. Bill Brown, asking him to call Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and make the appointment for Brynn!

Regular readers of the blog will probably recall that our little blind foal Brynn has some screwed up plumbing — one of her kidneys is sending urine to her uterus instead of her bladder.  The result is that she leaks urine constantly, all over her rear end and between her thighs and down her legs.  We have battled for months trying to keep her clean and dry to avoid urine scalds.  We moved her to the heated medical stall in Beauty’s Barn as part of our effort to stay on top of the problem. 

But over the past couple of weeks we’ve finally concluded that we are losing the battle — we can’t keep her as clean as she needs to be.  And the bigger she gets, the more urine she produces, so the bigger the problem.  We’ve realized she needs to have surgery to fix this once and for all.  The operation would be done by a surgeon at Washington State University’s veterinary school in Pullman, Washington, which is about 5 hours from here.  Our equine vet, Dr. Bill Brown, just got the cost esimate for the operation last week … $5,000.  Yikes.

So we are launching today a special fund to raise the money for Brynn’s surgery.  We’re calling it the ‘New Day for Brynn’ fund.  We added a new page to our Web site with more information about Brynn’s condition and her surgery fund.  Please take a look at it here.

We will be grateful for any donations, large or small, to help pay for her operation.  Starting this weekend, we will keep a running total at the bottom of Brynn’s fund page so people can track how we’re doing.

Our farm and ranch supply outfit, Cenex, today delivered a pallet of equine senior grain and a pallet of wood shavings for the horse stalls.  We buy in bulk not only because we use so much, but we also get volume discounts on orders like this.  And you can’t beat having it delivered right to the barn door!

On the left are 40 bags of the grain, for a total of 2,000 pounds.  Alayne is standing in front of the wood shavings; there are 30 bales on that pallet. The wood shavings are compressed so the bales weigh a lot more than you’d think.  Total cost for this delivery:  $587.98.

Alayne and I had just finished the morning barn chores when the delivery arrived, so we unloaded the grain in Lena’s Barn and the wood shavings in Scout’s Barn.  Our work-out for the morning over, we headed inside for a second cup of coffee!

(Click on photo for larger image.)

Not to be outdone by that other undercover Dachshund, Bailey, Miss Daisy wanted to show you her nighttime Bedouin outfit.  Every night when we put her up in her crate, we give her fresh bedding (she has, um, a little incontinent "issue") and throw a clean sheet in on top for her burrowing pleasure.  This is what she looks like right after we’ve given it to her.

And, a minute later, after she’s had a chance to decide whether she’s going to burrow first or burrow later, she does the quick head-toss and off it comes.

By morning, that sheet will have been completely unfolded and then wrapped and unwrapped around her little body a dozen times.  The crate will look like she had a few friends over for the night.

(Click on photos for larger image.)

I was on my way to Lena’s Barn this afternoon to begin feeding horses and bringing them into stalls when I saw blind little Brynn doing her usual "Is anyone in there?" routine.  I went back to the house and got the camera.  The girls all know when it’s time to go into their stalls, and although Brynn spends the night in Beauty’s Barn, we bring her into a stall at Lena’s Barn and feed her some grain while we’re taking care of the other horses. 

While Lena, Nikki and Destiny all line up outside the sliding stall doors, eagerly waiting to go in, Brynn focuses on the human door for some reason.  It sure seems like she’s looking inside the window, except of course she’s blind.  We never take her in through that door either, because it leads to a small tack and tool room.  So what intrigues her about it we haven’t quite figured out yet!

(Click on photo for larger image.)

Spirit’s new Mom, Nicci B., reports that they made it home to Florida safely and Spirit is doing great.  Nicci emailed yesterday to say Spirit "is a little angel and we are so happy she is here.  Right now she is lying next to me in bed snoring up a storm."  I took this photo of Nicci and Spirit in our welcome center on Friday before they left for Florida.

It was 85 degrees yesterday in Tampa, and Nicci said "we have the air conditioning on and are back to wearing shorts."  (Hey, c’mon, it was 22 below zero here at the ranch this morning!)  Spirit spent a good part of the day enjoying the lush grass in the yard and trying out her wheelchair again.  "She has wheeled the driveway 5 times today," Nicci wrote.

Today Nicci took Spirit to meet her new vet and drove her to the clinic in style … in a convertible.  Nicci said, "Not to worry, she was in a doggie car seat all secured in.  But did she LOVE the convertible!  She sniffed the entire way and held her head up high and took in the fresh air.  It is about 85 again today and the sun is bright, feels like a summer day.  So now she likes grass and convertible rides.  She is definitely a Florida gal!!!"

I think the only thing missing from this scene is Jimmy Buffett, right?