Pet Tips

Dear God, please send me somebody who’ll care! I’m tired of running, I’m sick with despair. My body is aching; it’s so racked with pain, and dear God I pray, as I run in the rain. That someone will love me and give me a home, a warm cozy bed and a big juicy bone. My last owner tied me all day in the yard sometimes with no water, and God that was hard. So I chewed my leash, and I ran away. To rummage in garbage and live as a stray. But now God, I’m red and hungry and cold, and I’m so afraid that I’ll never grow old. They’ve chased me with sticks and hit me with stones, while I run the streets…

The Lake Lure Flowering Bridge is built  atop the historic, three-arch Historic Bridge #7 on North Carolina Highway 9 in Lake Lure, North Carolina. A unique and whimsical city park, the Flowering Bridge contains 30 gardens on and beside a reimagined bridge. One of the most popular features at the bridge is the Rainbow Bridge. Many visitors to the bridge come for the sole purpose of attaching their departed pet’s collar or tag to the Rainbow Bridge handrails. Often there are tears, but mostly it’s a calming place where pet owners can remember their beloved furry friends. You’ll find it at the entrance to the River’s Edge Dog Garden. The Rainbow Bridge is the brain child and creation of local artist Amy Wald. Amy built the…

~ By Jo Anne Benware Fostering dogs has been a joy for my husband and me – and for our dog Kirby! We have three cats who refuse to play with Kirby, although they’re gracious enough to tolerate him. So Kirby gets his fun and socializing from the parade of dogs and puppies that come in and out of our lives. Many of these dogs are strays who were starving – let go by their families to fend for themselves. With no real reason to hope that humans would be kind to them again, but still forever hopeful that someone…perhaps a boy or girl who needs a best friend…will give them their forever home. As much as I would love to adopt each and every…

~ by Rachel Seagrave Have you ever seen a kitten or cat with more toes than you think it should have? If you have, you were probably looking at a Polydactyl cat! Polydactyl simply means that one has more digits than the normal number of five on each paw. Most Polydactyl’s have one or two extra toes. The extra toes can make it appear that the cat has a thumb or is wearing mittens.  While not a trait of a particular breed, Polydactyl’s come in all types and colors, and is genetically inherited. Polydactyl cats have many nicknames such as Mittens, Snowshoes, or Thumbs, but my favorite name—and what I personally call them—are Hemingway Cats, named for the famous author who made his home in…

Jackson is a male Doberman, approximately 7 years old. He was rescued this past December, 2015. He came to us due to medical neglect. Jackson had a large tumor on one hind leg. His owners were going to just let him die from the tumor. THANKFULLY, they agreed to surrender him to the Rutherford County Humane Society. The estimated cost of the surgery was $600. Donations had been requested and received. The problem was that he might have lost the entire leg, not to mention, his life. And the tumor might have been cancerous. He went into surgery to remove the tumor. The surgery was a success and the biopsy was negative. Jackson had physical therapy and time to recover. He was neutered and brought…