Juma...

the runaway ridgeback, has been found! He had wandered into a family's backyard on Sunday or Monday. They had fed and watered him but were unable to touch him. Two volunteers and Juma's mother went over and were able to convince him to let them put a leash on him. They then loaded him into a crate and took him to the vet clinic. He popped a couple of stitches, had a couple of ticks and is stiff and sore but he is now safe. My understanding is that he is now on his way back to Iowa to be fostered. I love happy endings. :)

Minor Rant...

1st Rant: On Saturday, a three year old child threw a rock and managed to hit one of the Lion exhibit windows. One of the brand new Lion exhibit windows. The ones that have only been in the exhibit for three weeks. No big deal, right? Except that it shattered one of the three panes that make up the windows. Yes. Each one of those windows are three panes of glass thick. This is to ensure that it can handle a lion or tiger pawing, jumping or otherwise putting pressure on it. It does not, however, protect against rocks. Luckily, it worked the way it was supposed to. When the rock hit the window, the first pane of glass (remember, the window is three panes thick) shattered. Since it is safety glass it did not send glass on to the ground. Instead, it was kept contained and simply created a nice spiderweb across the whole pane. It really looks kind of pretty, actually...until you realize that just one window costs $5000.00. And that's just for the window. Including labor the total cost to replace it will be closer to $8000.00.

None of us blame the child. A three year old can not be expected to know that throwing a rock at a window is not something it should do. The parents, however, should have been keeping a closer eye on their child.

Okay....ranting is done....For those of you interested, here are two pictures of the window.



Like I said...rather pretty when you don't think about how much it cost...or the fact that it had only been installed for three weeks...

Earlier today or sometime yesterday a 9 month old Rhodesian Ridgeback
puppy, male, on his way to his foster home escaped during transport. He
is now running loose in Athens, GA. He is ~80 pounds and, I believe,
ridged. He was recently neutered (neither of his testicles had descended
so this was a more major surgery than most neuters). Most importantly,
this puppy is rescue from a puppymill. He has had almost no interaction
with people and has had no training. He is scared, skittish and will
bolt at the slightest hint of something scary. Please do not chase him
or try to grab him.

He is related to the foster girl I just recently took in (which was a
rescue accomplished via cooperation between the two National Ridgeback
rescue groups). If anyone sees him, please contact me and I will pass
the information onto the person coordinating his re-capture.

My new foster dog...

Ain't she pretty? :) Her name is Annie and she is ~1 1/2 years old. She knows nothing. The person who had her before housed her with several other dogs and free fed them all together. He didn't even name her. She was kept outside and had no training. She also does not appear to have had much human interaction. Luckily, she is also interested in everything. She has come a long way in the short time she's been in my house (she arrived late last night). I am so impressed and very proud of her. She will make someone a wonderful companion. :)

Her rescue is thanks to the two National Ridgeback Rescues working together. Both RRUS and RRRI took in the dogs this guy had.

New foster....

coming!!! She is not here yet but she will be on late Thursday. On the 13th (Thursday) morning, bright and early, I will be leaving my home and driving up to Savanna, OK. (No, I've never been there....have no idea, really, where it is beyond what Mapquest is telling me! All I know is that it's ~ 6 1/2 hours from my house). The reason this place was chosen was because it's somewhere between me and the person who will bringing me my foster dog. lol She is currently being boarded in IA and, as she is an undersocialized dog we thought one car transfer was better than two or more. So....one of RRUS' volunteers will be driving her from IA to Savanna, OK (an ~10 hour one way trip) where I will meet up with him. I will then bring her home. She is going to be one well traveled dog by the end of this. :) She is a livernosed rhodesian ridgeback. She is 1 1/2 years old and very timid/shy/scared. She was kept in a backyard/pasture type area with 6 or 7 other dogs. She did not have much interaction with people nor with other animals beyond the dogs she lived with. She is now up-to-date on shots, microchipped, and wormed (apparently she has whipworms so that'll be fun!). I will get her spayed once she gets here as I can have that done for ~$60 at the low-cost spay and neuter clinic I volunteer at. I've already got the appointment made for her! I will post pictures as soon as I get some. Currently, the only one I have is of her behind a chainlink fence...