Simmons, the Toothless Wonder Dog

 The Background…

In July of 2008 I received a desperate plea from a friend to help re-locate a toothless mastiff named Simmons who was facing being turned in to Miami-Dade Animal Control. This would likely have meant death for Simmons. In case you are wondering, Simmons had been on a medication as a puppy that caused all of his teeth to rot away. With no teeth to hold his tongue in, it is permanently hanging out of his mouth!

Back to the story…so, I contacted everyone I knew and asked how we could band together for this sweet boy. Miracles happen when a small but dedicated group of people come together for a common goal! A mastiff rescue in Pennsylvania stepped forward to foster Simmons until a permanent home could be found. Now the REAL challenge: how on earth would we get him up there?! Once again, dedication, commitment and compassion paid off. A rescue transport group came forward and agreed to arrange a free transport for him from Miami to Pennsylvania. Each transporter drove an hour long leg up the east coast and then drove back down to their original starting spot. My sister Christina and I drove the second leg of transport and Simmons eventually made it to his foster home.

I received an update a couple of weeks ago about what Simmons has been up to. I hope this is as touching for you to read as it was for me. It just goes to show you what great things even a small group of people can accomplish and the miracles that lie in store for us when we live our lives with compassion and love.

The Update from Simmons’ ‘Mom’…

“Last week I had to run some antibiotics back over to the personal care home where I work, for a co-worker whose dog was ill. I decided to take Simmons along for the ride and let him visit the residents on the Dementia floor where I work.

This is a picture of Bob with Simmons. Bob has terminal cancer. He has no family that comes in to visit him. Bob is a gifted musician, former pilot, and was in the service. His whole life was packed away in boxes when he came to the home. No one even bothered to unpack any of his belongings. I waited until he went to an activity and I decorated his room with all of his personal items and had polka playing when he came back. He told me that he played the accordion on the cd that was playing.

Bob very rarely talks, very rarely smiles and most of the time sits alone in his room. He was sleeping on his bed when I called to him from out in the hallway and told him that I had someone who wanted to meet him. He sat straight up in bed with a huge grin the minute that he saw Simmons and called him into his room. Bob smiled and laughed for the next 40 minutes!!

Every time that I tried to leave, Simmons would lay back down on the floor next to Bob to have his belly rubbed! Bob kept repeating...."Simmons, my big baby! Yes, you’re a big baby!!", petting him the whole time. I got a feeling that Simmons will be making more trips in the future to the home.”

This is what Jonah’s Place is about. Making a difference - one life at a time…to positively impact our fellow man and God’s precious creatures.

Michelle Brockman for Jonah’s Place, Inc.

P.S. You can get in on this Life-Changing action. We are in great need of partners. Please click on the link below and show that you support what we are doing…

http://jonahsplace.org/partners

Pet Safety 101: Holiday Hazards You *MUST* Avoid

 

While we prepare to spend Thanksgiving Day with friends and family, there are often some hidden dangers to our pets that can be overlooked in the excitement. Below are six hazards to avoid to make sure that ALL members of your family have a safe and happy day. 

#1 - Hot Ranges and Burners. Be sure to keep your pets out of the kitchen and off the counter/stove! With so much cooking going on, a cat or dog is likely to try and investigate the good smells that are tantalizing their taste buds. Soft pads on their feet will burn quickly and easily so this is definitely a big one to keep an eye out for!

#2 - Bones. I can’t emphasize this enough! Some loving pet parents believe that a scrap bone is a kind gesture to include their pets on the festivities and this cannot be any further from the truth. Bone fragments, especially turkey and chicken bones, splinter easily and can cause internal bleeding and other life threatening situations. 

#3 - Table Scraps. It’s a good time of year to remember that animals cannot eat the same foods we do. Many common ingredients used in holiday dishes are poisonous or toxic to pets (onions, garlic, chocolate, raisins, grapes, turkey/chicken skin, etc. etc.). It’s always best to err on the side of caution and avoid table scraps all-together.

#4 - Watch Your Doors. When entertaining guests during the holidays, it’s good to remember that not all pets handle the company or excitement well and often times guests may not have the animals and their safety immediately on their mind. Often times, entry doors get left open for extended periods of time which gives your pet the perfect chance to escape. This actually happened to someone in my family one year – their dog ran out into the street after the front door was left open by a guest and was hit by a car...thankfully her injuries were not life threatening. A scary lesson to learn the hard way!

#5: - Candles. With all the hustle and bustle during holiday gatherings, attention usually isn’t paid to mundane things such as candles. If you have pets and also love candles, holiday events may be a good time to forgo them. It is very easy for a cat or dog…or guest…to knock a lit candle over and cause a fire. Instead, opt for pre-lit electronic candles. 

#6: - Turkey Strings. The string used to wrap and cook turkeys is a cat fantasy come to life. Please immediately discard any string and foil in a tightly closed trash can. Strings can cause choking and intestinal blockage which could be deadly. 

We hope these tips serve as a good reminder. From our home to yours, all of us at Jonah’s Place wish you and your pets a Safe, Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Michelle Brockman, Leslie Mendenhall and Stephanie Perkins

JonahsPlace.org

Reference: Petplace.com

Hoax…or Real Life Mutant?!

It IS a mutant!!!

 

A genetic mutant, that is…

Although there doesn’t seem to be anything special about the cat in this picture her genetic code would suggest otherwise. This orange cat is a…(dun dun dun)….female!! Most orange cats are male due to the genetic requirements that females have to ‘inherit’ the orange color. Ok, so maybe the word mutant is a wee bit strong, it’s really more like genetic lottery winner!

“For a female cat to be orange she must inherit two orange genes — one from her mother (orange, calico, or tortoiseshell) and one from her father (who must be orange). A male cat needs only one orange gene, which he gets from his mother (orange, calico, or tortoiseshell). This is because the gene that codes for orange fur is on the X chromosome, and like humans, females have two Xs and males are XY. Genes on the X chromosome are said to be sex-linked.”, says Dee Walter Kruleski, a professor of biology and cat enthusiast. Dee also says there is additional genetic coding required for the tabby striped pattern in orange cats which makes this kitty even more genetically special!

According to Dee, these are some of the basic genetic codes for determining the color and pattern of a cat’s fur:

• Agouti vs. non-agouti: Provides the lighter fur background with striped cats.
• Black vs. non-black
• Color deposition: Determines how pigment is deposited, and also affects eye color.
• Dilute vs. non-dilute: Gray is a diluted form of black and tan/beige is a diluted form of orange.
• Spotting: If two dominant genes are inherited, a cat will have white on more than 50% of their body. If a cat has one dominant and one recessive gene, then the cat will have white fur on less than 50% of their body. If she gets two recessive genes, there will be no white on the body!
• White vs. non-white: Just one white gene and the whole cat will be white! It is called a masking gene. A white cat could have the genetics to be a calico, black or any color cat but the white gene hides the other genes’ expression and the cat appears all white. White cats are not albinos unless they have red eyes. Albino cats are extremely rare and albinism is the result of color deposition and not the white gene.
• There are also genes for tabby stripping, silver tipping and seal-pointing.

All of this science and biology certainly makes you appreciate the beauty of your fanciful feline a little more, doesn’t it?

Michelle Brockman for

Jonah's Place 

www.JonahsPlace.org

References: Paws-and-Effect.com, Dee Walter Kruleski

The *OTHER* Use for Pumpkin…

Is it a Trick or a Treat?

As a pet owner you may have been faced before with the occasional canine or feline sick tummy. Upset stomachs can be just as uncomfortable for pets as they are for humans except there isn’t an over the counter remedy that is safe for them like there is for us. Or…is there?

One of our rescue kitties, Ruby, had a severe, and I mean severe case of diarrhea. Ruby was dewormed and checked out by the vet to make sure there was nothing else wrong. The vet gave her an injection to help but within 12 hours it returned with a vengeance! Since it was then after hours, I called our local emergency vet to get their suggestion. Since Ruby was stable and did not show signs of dehydration, the vet tech told me to give Ruby a teaspoon of plain canned pumpkin twice a day. Sure enough, by the next morning ‘business’ was getting back to normal!

Come to find out, many people use canned pumpkin for their pets’ digestive upsets – whether it be diarrhea or constipation. The plain canned pumpkin is full of fiber and good stuff that helps to regulate the digestive tract. Of course, if your pet has chronic tummy upsets they need to be seen by a veterinarian asap as this could be a sign of something serious going on. However, for the occasional occurrence or when nothing else seems to be helping, the plain canned pumpkin just might do the trick.

For kitties it is recommended to give 1 teaspoon twice a day until stools start to firm and the recommendation for medium dogs is 1 – 2 tablespoons. A general guideline could be 1 teaspoon per 10-15 lbs. of body weight. Be sure to use PLAIN canned pumpkin, and NOT pumpkin pie filling, there is a big difference.*

The verdict is in - I say Treat!

Michelle Brockman

Jonah’s Place

* Disclaimer: I am not a veterinarian and this article should not be used as a replacement for veterinary care or advice. This article is based solely on my personal experience and is for informational purposes only. This Disclaimer serves as notification of indemnity of Michelle Brockman and Jonah’s Place, Inc. for any results due to following this article and any advice contained therein.

Walking In The Dark

Have you ever had to take a ‘leap’ of faith? Have you ever made a decision that you felt in your gut was the right decision even though you did not fully know what the outcome would be? Have you ever been so downtrodden or distraught that your only option was to take life one minute at a time? I’m sure all of us have been in one of these positions at one point or another on our journey called life.

I like to call this Walking in the Dark. When, figuratively, you can’t see two feet in front of you but you move forward anyway. I had an experience this week that brought this saying to life in real time. I was walking in my backyard with the dogs when suddenly the floodlight that provided ‘night vision’ went out. I stood in my tracks for a moment pondering what the next move was going to be. We have a big yard with a lot of trees and I didn’t want to run into or trip over anything so I was a little hesitant at for a moment. But then a Bible verse came to my mind - We walk by faith, not by sight - and it clicked, “I know the general direction of the house and general location of the trees. I’ll put one foot in front of the other and slowly walk forward.”

Of course, I made it safely to the house with no injury. I was glad that I decided to ‘walk in faith’ instead of standing in the yard until dawn! This is just an illustration to make point but certainly it is this same formula that will lead us to success in most areas of life. When life is hard and we are facing uncertainty, we must put one foot in front of the other and walk, even if they are slow baby steps. The moment we stop walking is the moment we cease to truly live.

Walk On!

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” - 2 Corinthians 5:7

Michelle Brockman

Jonah’s Place

www.JonahsPlace.org