Pearl + Babesia

What is Babesia?

You may have heard it before because it's a disease humans can get, yet dogs can get it as well.

Babesia is a blood illness passed usually through ticks and often found in dog fighting rings.

Pearl is a small pit mix that unfortunately has this disease.

She came from a dog fighting ring in Texas where she was more than likely used for breeding instead of fighting. She likes other dogs but can't be with them unless both are muzzled because of her blood illness. Babesia can't be passed from dogs to human but can be passed dog to dog.

Even though she is currently not on any medication, Pearl may have a shorter life span because of this illness. She could possibly have "relapses" which means she could get seizures, or become anemic, or become lethargic, or various other symptoms. 

It's a shame, because Pearl is one of the sweetest dogs I know and she's only hard to place because she's unable to live with other dogs and cats, plus her future medical care could possibly increase depending on what life throws at her.

Do you have a home where Pearl could be an only dog? Maybe your home would be right for her!

We would love to see this wonderful lady in the right and perfect home this year!

Learn more about Pearl and adoption here

Side note: The antler Pearl was playing with in this mini photo shoot will be sanded down before she actually gets to fully enjoy it.

The Garden

It's almost been a full month that I've been working at Best Friends and I can honestly say I love every minute of it.

I seriously have the best job in the world and I'm learning a lot.

I love my section in Dogtown Heights and I love the dogs even more.

I'm still getting use to daily life here in Utah so I really haven't had much to write about but I figured I would share a few snapshots of Dahlia and Porthos (above), two dogs in my area that I did a mini photoshoot with.

Dahlia is a hound mix that came to Best Friend's as an owner surrender. The owner had been using a shock collar on her that did far more damage then good. At Best Friends and in my own personal preference and experience, we never advise using extreme measures like shock collars. Instead we focus on positive training and reinforcements.

Because of the excessive shocking and abuse, Dahlia is extremely leash reactive towards other dogs even though she likes most dogs. She's currently spending time with a young Lab mix puppy named Porthos and they play quite happily together. Both are currently available for adoption.

Adopt Porthos here

Adopt Dahlia here

2015

I'm writing this from my new comfy couch

In my new cozy place

In my new town

In my new state

Where I started my new job on New Years Eve

That brought sparkly new snow.

So much new to start 2015.

Yes, I'm now living in Utah and I'm officially a Dog Caregiver at Best Friends.

The move was harder then I thought, I won't have internet till next week so between getting here and all the holiday festivities I've been extremely busy.

As you can see Murderface has adapted well, he's loving the snow.

You'll notice Jasper doesn't make an appearance in any of these photos as he refuses to come outside in this white wet stuff.

I'm still adjusting to living in a small town, especially a small town that actually gets snow.

Apparently Vegas got a freak snow storm right after I left, go figure.

I miss my family and friends a lot, I really miss my boyfriend and my grandparents.

I've never been this far away from them before so yes... Still adjusting but my new job makes it so worth it.

I'm reunited with my other boyfriend, the beautiful bully Bruno and it's been a magical winter wonderland since my very first day. Everyone has been really kind and welcoming and mostly everyone remembers me so it's been smooth sailing so far as I get back in the swing of things here.

Oh, I also did have a great Christmas with Johnny and both our families...

I have a feeling our relationship might be headed for new things as well, 

we are talking about him possibly moving up here within a few months which would be wonderful.

2014 was a great year and I'm thinking 2015 might be even better.

Thank you all who read this blog and follow along through the years,

it means a lot to me. Truly.

I'm excited to share my adventures at Best Friend's here and you can also see awesome pictures that I don't always post here on my Instagram.

Goodbye Las Vegas

The good news has arrived.

I've gotten a position at Best Friend's Animal Sanctuary working with dogs.

I'm moving to Utah at the end of December, right before New Years Eve.

This is my first time moving out of state, away from all my friends and family.

I'm nervous, stressed, sad, and excited.

The thing that makes it easier is that everyone is so supportive and I'll only be three hours away from Vegas so I can come back often and continue my photography business here.

Still, this is a huge change, a big city girl moving into the tiniest of towns.

It's worth it to be working a dream job that I know tons of people would kill to have.

Now fingers crossed I can find a place to live in two weeks, I've been struggling so prayers are welcome. I also hope you guys will stick with me and enjoy the ride to Utah and the adventures that comes with being a Best Friend's Dog Caregiver. 

It's going to be amazing.

Whiskers

(Grover & Nero)

My internship at Best Friend's Animal Sanctuary officially wrapped up last week however I'm still here for one more week and then head home to Vegas on Saturday with hopefully some big news to share.

However I still have loads of pictures from my last two weeks as an intern, my second to last week was spent in Benton's which is a house for special needs and social cats.

(TJ)

While I'm mostly a dog and horse person, I do have a fondness for cats thanks to the everlasting impression my first cat Siamese (I named her when I was 4) had on me growing up. She loved me, let me put her in baskets, would knead on me when she felt safe, and always slept with me. Sinatra, the cat I have now, is the complete opposite of her but I love him just the same. So I do have quite the soft spot for long whiskers.

(Bob)

In Benton's I met TJ who was completely blind but got around just fine, Slidell who is completely paralyzed in her back legs but can still climb cat towers and doesn't let her backend slow her down. There was Aaron, the champion door dasher who has Manx related issues and Blackjack who loves to go on walks on a leash. 

(Nero)

Inspirational cats.

Jellicle cats.

All these cats are looking for forever homes,

find more info here.

Enjoy these fabulous felines.

 (Tara)

(Hannah)

(Charisma)

(Patti)

(Edward)

(Hobo)

The little cat above is also part of the 12 Cats of Christmas promo which you can find out more about here.

Hooves & Snouts

I'm wrapping up Internship week 2 and 3 in Horse Haven and Piggy Paradise (they are combined areas) and got the chance to give the pigs and horses their own photoshoots. The staff here are unbelievably awesome and have even been posting my work on each area's respective Facebook page! You can see my photos for the pigs here and the horses here.

I've always loved horses as most of you know, I have been riding for almost as long as I could walk. However, I have a new found respect for pigs. I've always liked pigs and have never been a huge pork eater but spending time with them on the day to day made me realize just how smart and social they are. The horses and pigs here are trained in Parelli Natural Horsemanship which focuses on positive training methods and building a positive bond between horse and rider and the pigs learn this way as well. It's something I haven't really gotten a chance to experience yet but I'm hoping to learn more about it before this week is over. 

I encourage everyone to do a little more research when it comes to pigs. There is no such thing as a teacup piggy, these small pigs are starved to keep them small and are even explained in their contracts to underfeed the animals to keep them small and these poor pigs experience many health issues because of it. Pigs also turn vicious when kept in homes if they don't have another pig friend which is why Best Friend's adopts them out in pairs. I'm not a vegetarian by any means, I've tried and failed many times, but I have so much respect for people who are and I have definitely cut down my carnivorous ways since I've been here.

If you get a chance to volunteer at the Sanctuary, make sure you spend some time with the pigs and horses. It's a really great time feeding the horses and giving pigs belly rubs. 

If you want to know more about the pigs at Best Friends, one of the other interns is running a blog specifically about them called Friends With Pigs! She also makes the cutest pig cozies as well as other animal cozies so be sure to check her out!

Dogtown

(Bruno)

So I'm currently writing this from cloudy Kanab UT where I've wrapped up my first week of my internship at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. I spent my first week in Dogtown, learning how to be a dog caregiver and what goes into training and rehabilitating the dogs in my specific section. I have yet to meet someone here that I don't like and I even ran my section, The Gardens, by myself the last morning because of a mix-up which I think happened for a reason so I could perhaps prove to myself and staff that I'm meant to do this. 

(Sinatra)

The dogs here are incredible. There's Bruno, the large gray and white Pit Bull Terrier who is incredibly smart and stubborn and instantly became one of my favorites. There's Sinatra, the Australian Shepherd with beautiful blue eyes (hence the name) whose extremely shy and avoids being petted. He has to be hand fed to help him bond with humans and prove we aren't so bad and he will come up to you and snuffle your hair if he's curious and comfortable enough. Beautiful Pearl, another Pittie, who suffers from Babesia which is a blood disease she contracted from a fighting ring in Texas but is the sweetest little gremlin I've ever met. Then there is Nita, a bouncy and lovable American Bulldog mix who thinks she's part cat. I wish I could take them all home with me.

(Pearl)

I loved every minute of being with the dogs and I'm pretty sad that I can't spend my entire internship there. However the good news is that this week will be spent in horses, my other favorite area, and I also summoned my courage and put in an application to be a Dogtown caregiver. Fingers crossed.

(Nita)

All the dogs seen here are currently for adoption. 

You can find more info/adopt here: Best Friends Adopt a Pet-Animal Sanctuary

Nymeria and the Best Friends Internship

Oh beloved blog, I've been neglecting you! It's been for a good cause though. The week of Father's Day I was out in Utah, volunteering at Best Friend's Animal Sanctuary. It was a great experience and I got a lot of good advice and suggestions from staff members there which encouraged me to apply for a five week internship with them. Well, I got it! I'll be interning at the Sanctuary from late October through November, getting hands on experience caring for the animals. I'm required to spend two weeks on dogs and cats but for the last three weeks I've requested horses, rabbits, and a special request for wildlife. I'm not sure yet what my schedule will be but hope to find out soon.

Besides Best Friends, I've been throwing myself completely in rescue back here at home. God knows Las Vegas needs all the help it can get when it comes to neglected and abandoned animals. Photography has also been keeping me busy, between paid shoots and animal rescue shoots. Not to mention preparing for my London trip which is 2 months away! This year is really turning out fantastic.

In the last few days however, one thing in particular has kept me very busy.

One of the rescues I volunteer with, Animal Network, was notified of a border collie in distress a few days after it was dumped by it's owner at a Nevada Power substation. This poor girl was left at a power plant for five days and severely deteriorated in this short time due to hot weather, summer storms, no shelter, and lack of food and water. Kind workers managed to get her into a building and rescue was called, fearing she wouldn't make it through the night. I personally went to rescue this little girl, she was matted and very very scared. This is what she looked like when I got her.

Once safely in my car, we instantly high tailed it to the vet. She was in bad shape, she had to be put under to be shaved and then assessed. Once the matted fur was removed, a large wound on her side was found that wasn't healing correctly. Her paws were torn up and burnt from walking on hot sand and asphalt. She also had an ear infection in both ears. Two days in the hospital and now she is resting and recovering in my home. Her paws are bandaged for a few days to help with her paws, she has a drain in her wound, she's also recovering from spay sutures. Besides her physical recovery, I'll be working hard to restore her faith in humans and rebuild her confidence. 

We named her Nymeria, she's calm and sweet and has the heart of a dire wolf after everything she's been through. I've had her a couple days and last night she started to come out of her shell a little, trying to roll in the grass and eating actual meals instead of just the treats wrapped around her pills. She is very wary and unsure about men which will be an obstacle she might never get over but we will certainly attempt to face it. 

Nymeria's bills aren't cheap so we would really appreciate any donations that could help us out with her healing process. Please donate here:http://www.animalnetwork-lv.com/index.php/donate (please note it's for Nymeria) or you can directly contact the vet at Ann Road Hospital (702) 579-9111 and make sure to put it under Nymeria's name. You can also donate via Paypal to animalnetwork.lv@gmail.com and note in comment section that it's for Nymeria.

Last you can donate directly though her YouCaring.com page. 

Please share Nymeria's story with your family and friends, you can use the flyer above as well. Every little penny helps us heal the animals already under our care and to help out others in distress.