I am very happy to report that Baylee has settled into her new home.

I became acquainted with APA through Pawsitively Texas (PT) on Facebook.  I just happened to be reading the newest posts on PT on Sunday evening before Labor Day when the fires started and the first posts about APA were coming in.  It was all my husband, Patrick could do to keep me from jumping in the truck and heading to Austin.  Because all I could do was pray, that is what I did.  I asked God to please let people know that help was needed and that He would lay it upon folks hearts to go to APA to help.  Those prayers were answered.

Through the next few days, I began calling local vets when the needs lists were posted.  Graciously, several vets donated IV fluids and supplies, bandaging supplies, burn cream, meds, food and bedding.  During those few days, I became acquainted with Emily Moore on Facebook, too.  She was a student at UT now living in Arlington and had volunteered at APA during her time in Austin.

I made arrangements to meet her at I20 Animal Medical Center in Arlington the Friday after Labor Day, and they had donated so much that it was clear that Emily could not get it all to Austin alone.  So, I saw that as my “out” with my husband to plan a trip to Austin.  He was hesitant to bless a trip that far alone, and could not go with me due to work.  So my best friend, Pam agreed to go with me.  After visiting Animal Emergency Hospital of Mansfield and Matlock Oaks Vet clinic, Emily was off with what she could carry.  Sometime that week, I saw the picture of Xanadu and her sister on the shoulders of a volunteer.  Somehow I knew that I had to meet that puppy.  Arrangements were made through APA and I was able to meet her that Saturday prior to delivering supplies to APA and the mobile vet station at the Bastrop Dog Park.

Our love,
Baylee’s Humans…Amy and Patrick

Lefty’s leg had to be amputated, but the loveable boy didn’t let it stop him one bit. He went into a foster home with an adoption counselor and began recovering slowly but surely. Before long, Lefty was healed enough to enter our adoption program full-time. We all assumed he would find his forever home within days and sat in awe when several months passed with no adoption.

Thankfully, on a beautiful April day, Lefty’s people found him. Their three children fell in love with him immediately and he was made a part of their family. We’re happy to report that Lefty is doing well in his new home with this update from his family:

“Lefty is doing great.  He is a great dog and has been an excellent fit for our family.  He thinks it is way too hot outside and sleeps under our bed every night.  Everyone loves him. We’re glad we have him and that you guys rescued him.”

Thank you to all of the Lefty supporters and to everyone who helped him find his forever home. We’re so thrilled to hear he’s doing well!

We featured Slinky and all of her many names (Slanken, Slinks, Sausages, Snaussie, Slankadoo…) in a post we had hoped would find her that one in a million home where she’d be able to meet all of her sausagey potential.  It took a little longer and worked out a little differently than we’d originally thought, but the sausage has landed somewhere amazing that she will be able to call home at least until she’s ready for the next step in her journey!

We will be forever thankful that Best Friends Animal Society was able to take Slinky into their program, offer her their expertise and experience, and put her on the path to being adopted by someone who will love and appreciate her for all of her silly, wonderful, sausageyness.

What follows is a photo journal of Slinky’s last week as an APA! dog.  Just like Slanken, her journey has many names…The Sausage Liberation Front, Mission Save Slinky, A Sausage Goes to Utah, A Weenie Crosses the Desert, Team Snausage Freedom…you get the idea.  The most important thing is that the journey has a happy ending and a bright future!

In the days before Slinky hit the road to Utah, hope had begun to seep out of the meetings we were having about our sausage girl.  It was not for lack of love, or trying, or fighting on her behalf.

APA! is an incredible organization that saves a lot of lives.  We have even become adept at saving extraordinary medical cases and challenging behavior cases.  But we are still a young organization with limited resources, and some behavior challenges fall outside the realm of what we are able to truly support and safely adopt into the community.  We hope and work hard for the day when that isn’t the case but Slinky is an example of a dog whose needs we couldn’t meet without support.

Just like one of the crazy movie cliches, “It’s always darkest before the dawn,” or “Help comes when you least expect it,”  we got a phone call that Slinky had been accepted into the program at Best Friends.

Before the shock had even worn off, we put together The Sausage Liberation Front road trip crew and were ready to leave just a handful of days later to take our girl to her new life in Utah!  Her final slumber party at my house was a much happier occasion.

Slanken hopped into the car like she owned the place and was ready to hit the road!  She dined on goldfish crackers, decimated her new rainbow toy, put lots of doggie nose prints on the windows, and eventually settled in for a nap.

Her very first road trip stop was a picnic in West Texas.  It was also the first time where, moments after this photo was taken, we were reminded why we were making the journey to Best Friends.  Slinky must have overheard us laughing that Best Friends would send us back when they saw this perfect, cuddly weenie dog that we brought with us.  Slank wanted to give us a little reminder lest we get too big for our britches.

After a little walkin’, some “let’s be friends” goldfish, and some well-timed distraction, Slanken settled back in to road trip nap mode.  She aaaaalmost made it all the way to the lovely Desert Aire hotel in Alamogordo, NM where we’d be spending the first night.

Somewhere around Cloudcroft, NM, the elevation got to her and her floppy weenie ears started popping.  It was a long, peanut butter and uh-oh filled last few miles through the beautiful forest of Cloudcroft.  Sadly, peanut butter covered, sausage wrangling fingers were not able to take any photos of beautiful Cloudcroft, NM. And certain other passengers could not move in order to take photos for reasons very clear to all in the car.   But it really was beautiful!  We promise!

Slanken got an excellent evening walk, complete with thunderstorm, in Alamogordo, NM, a great night snuggled sleepily under the covers with her Sam, breakfast, and yet another walk in the morning, before heading over to start the day at White Sands, NM.  White Sands was absolutely beautiful and Slinky had an awesome time exploring the new landscape!

We sniffed far & wide.

Did LOTS of frolicking!

Got some crazy on-leash zoomies!

And even snuggled in the sand.

Then, she went exploring some more with her Sam.

And we took the official photo for “A Sausage in the Desert.”

Slanken then promptly settled down for a road trip nap.

In fact, we discovered an awesome Slanken routine for road trip day 2 called, “FROLIC!  NAP!  FROLIC!  NAP!”  

After White Sands, we noticed a place on the map called Valley of the Fires and decided it sounded like a perfect spot for some more frolicking.   It’s called that because of the nifty black rocks left behind from a volcano eruption many moons ago.

Slanken was pleased.  She is fiery.

After a hearty dose of frolicking, Slanken curled up to nap again on her Sam. (See the pattern?)

I believe this may also have been the stretch of the trip where Snaussie sharked down the rest of the goldfish.  Mary and her fingers would remember.

Next, we noticed something on the map called the Petrified Forest.  This is a place filled with petrified logs and tree remnants dating back to the triassic.  Who doesn’t want to frolic with dinosaur wood, right?!

Slanken sniffed the dino wood.

She paused to commune with her inner T-Rex.

She tasted the triassic in the air.

And she felt pleased again.  Like queen of the triassic tree stump.  Snaussie-Rex.

On the way back to the car, she contemplated a pee on Rexy’s turf.

Then she settled back in for more nap time.

When she woke up, we were in a new state!

We quickly discovered that the doggie restroom accommodations in our new state were very treacherous.

We decided to take a reprieve from frolicking pit stops for a bit and take some moving vehicle photos.  Slanken helped by adding nose prints.  We started hitting some crazy elevation again (remember Cloudcroft, NM?) and Slanken’s little ears were feeling the effects.

The atmosphere in the car began to feel a little dicey and we decided to pull off for some emergency frolicking at what we thought was a dusty little rest stop next to some random bridge.  Sam & I hopped out with Slinky and walked over to the bridge…smack into the north rim of the grand canyon.

It was magical.  All of those adjectives guide books probably use when describing the grand canyon…breathtaking, awe-inspiring, humbling…and all the more incredible because we had absolutely no idea it was even there.  And because Slinky had found it for us.  We would probably have not even stopped were it not for a special little sausage and her poppy, ouchy ears.

Slanken was pleased again.  She couldn’t believe the silly humans had almost driven right by the big canyon place!  It had the very best frolicking!  Thank you, Slanken!

Having accomplished epic frolicking, our Snaussie settled back in for another nap.

By this time, it was starting to get late.  We made it to the Kaibab National Forest and got to watch the sunset there and see some more incredibly beautiful scenery.  Sadly, we didn’t manage any photos.  Slanken slept peacefully and we thought about how awesome it was that we were almost to Kanab and we’d soon be able to do the same.

We also joked about how the guide book told us there was no reason to “hit the breaks” in Fredonia, AZ…a town just over the border from Utah and a scant 7 miles from our destination.  We laughed right up until the lights started flashing in the rear window.

There may not be a reason to actually stop in Fredonia, but a ticket and tricky sausage escape later, we learned there is totally a reason to um, hit the breaks.  Cathy made a quick exit from the vehicle with her hands up in surrender like a naughty sausage smuggling fugitive and explained about our weenie shaped cargo, while I wrangled Slanken out of officer biting range as soon as we were given the go ahead.

Once we made it safely to Kanab, the reality of the next day’s goodbyes set in and I don’t think anyone (except for maybe Slinky) slept very well despite our very long and action packed day.

We arrived at the sanctuary early the next morning.  I’m sorry to say there are no photos from the actual Slanken transition.  I think there was just way too much emotion going on for any of us to have had the presence of mind to take pictures.  It was probably the best possible goodbye and the best possible place for Slinky to be but it was still tough and the start of a new and challenging journey that I think we all really wish we could still be a part of somehow.

First, we checked Slinky into Dog Headquarters and spoke with some of her new Caregivers.  One of the trainers, a very sweet, tall guy named Paul (who we dubbed the “Best Friend’s version of APA! Adoption Counselor, Aaron”) came out and told us he was going to do the hand off.  We explained that Slanken sometimes had some strong feelings about males, especially tall ones, and Paul came back wearing some heavy duty gloves, a relaxed and reassuring smile, and accompanied by two female trainers who would also be working with Slanken.

Sure enough, Slanken hopped out of the car and told Paul she was not about to be his new friend quite so easily.  One of the female trainers and I walked off with Slanken and did the standard filling in the blanks info on our spicy little snausage girl.  From where Cathy, Mary, & Sam watched with Paul and the other female trainer, we stepped behind a bush with Slinky’s leash in my hand and walked out the other side with her leash in the new trainer’s hand.  It was a seamless transfer.

We then took Slinky over to the pens in the assessment area where she’d spend the next 14 days before getting her first placement and official Dogtown address.  Slinky walked in and promptly took a poo to let everyone know the space was hers.  While I went over some more things with the female trainer, Paul came back and asked what some of Slinky’s favorite things were.  A splash pool and multiple stuffed animal toys then appeared like magic.

As we were leaving, we were all really struck by the attitude of Slinky’s new people.  Not only did they seem completely comfortable with her behavior challenges, confident in their ability to help her, and completely relaxed and positive about the whole situation, they also seemed genuinely happy and excited to have this new dog in their care.

As we were leaving, the female trainer who’d taken Slinky’s leash from me said, “We’ll figure it out.”  I believe with all my heart that they will.

After saying goodbye to Sausages, we headed out for a tour of Best Friends.  To say it’s beautiful there is an understatement.  They say the scenery does as much for the animals as the sanctuary itself and I think that’s entirely possible.  It also really gives credence to the word sanctuary.  The care the animals receive, the environment in which they live, the quality present in the attention to detail all combine to make Best Friends a place filled with hope for animals who had very little and an incredible example of what is possible for the rest of the animal welfare community.

After our tour, we walked over to a quick orientation before hitting the awesome vegetarian lunch buffet in the Best Friend’s cafeteria so we’d have plenty of energy to spend the day volunteering!

Of course we wanted to volunteer with doggies!  Sam & I were assigned to a part of Dogtown called The Fairway where we got to spend time with dogs like Gear, April, & Patty!  Cathy & Mary were assigned to a part of Dogtown called The Gardens where they spent time with dogs like Alfie, Glenn,  & Amy!

We’d gotten to see where the cats, dogs, bunnies, birds, and wildlife lived on our tour and had an amazing day volunteering with the pooches…but we still wanted to see where the farm animals lived!  Like sheep!

And donkeys!

And horses!

And pigs!

Especially pigs!!

When our day at Best Friends was done, we spent a very nice night in Kanab, UT before hitting the road the next morning with Mission Save Slanken ACCOMPLISHED!

The next day, we stopped in Monument Valley for some awesome off-road style exploring with huge rocks.

We saw Elephant Butte!

The Three Sisters!

West Mitten!

We also got our Utah sign photo that we kinda missed on the way in!

After some more drivin’, lots more scenery, a stop at The Four Corners (New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, & Colorado) so Sam could go, um, ”tushy up in four states” (a moment I have been banned from posting the photo of), & plenty of Slinky reminiscing, some very tired ladies arrived in beautiful Santa Fe, NM.  There was an awesome dinner where Cathy & I both briefly lost our ability to read (though somehow managed to say “margarita” and “beer”) before guacamole revived us enough to manage a menu, followed by a really wonderful night’s sleep.

The last day home was fairly uneventful and mostly took us through scenic (ahem) West Texas.  We did manage to blow out a tire just before we crossed the border of our fair state though!  Right on that very stretch of highway!

For the record, ALL of the ladies on the trip know how to change a tire.  Getting the tire off the darn Yukon, however, wasn’t quite as easy.  We tried our best!

Sam perservered despite many injuries.  Including a tire iron to the head!

Finally, we were rescued by a real life cowboy!  It was awesome.

Those of us on the trip definitely spent time talking about how amazing it would be to move to Kanab and be part of Best Friends.  I think though, that it is even more amazing to come back here to Austin Pets Alive! and continue working our very hardest to make our own organization better and better each day.  We will keep pushing until dogs like Slinky can get the help they need right here in Austin.

APA! is where our hearts are and where Slinky will always have a place as our little sausage shaped symbol of hope for what is possible if we never, ever give up.

Want to help APA! stay on the path towards saving dogs like Slinky? You can contribute to APA!’s Dog Behavior Team through Louie’s Fund, follow the behavior pups on our Giving Dogs a Fresh Start facebook page, learn about how to volunteer with the behavior team, and consider opening your home to one of our dogs who needs a little bit extra!

Thank you for bringing Nakia to meet us this morning. We’re so excited to have the opportunity to give another senior cat a forever home and look forward to her getting healthier and plumper by the day. She’s settled in remarkably well. We were going to give her some alone time to get acclimated, but she immediately made her way to a bedroom, braving our dogs (including our 80+ pound puppy) who sniffed her curiously but backed off when she growled and swiped at them. She briefly sat on her princess pillow but she’s busy making the rounds – exploring the house, looking out the windows, and eating out of her cat brother and sisters’ bowls. For now, she’s growling at the other cats. Our 19-year old is deaf so he has no idea she’s growling at him and the two girls have left for other parts of the house. But I’m confident they’ll get along fine in a few days, even if that means just staying out of each others way. ;)

Nakia (who we’ve renamed Lola) is already asking for head rubs and eating lots of cat treats. We owe it to you for being such an awesome foster mom and nursing her back to health.

We are moving to a new house around the corner on a canyon. Jason and I have always loved dogs and knew we would get another, larger dog when we found the right fit. I expected to look for at least a month or two.

We loved her biography and that was what really caught my attention, plus her amazing coloring. She sounded perfect so I scouted her out for an hour at an adoption event and then we brought the rest of the family for a meet and greet. By 6pm she was ours! Let’s just say she passed every test with flying colors and already knows some commands.

Asia made herself comfortable on day one. She has slept in a large laundry basket and two couches, she tries to get in our four year old’s bed but it makes him mad because there is no space left for a little boy! She loves her 20 minute walks and is great on a leash, we are following protocol for healing up her heart worms. Later she can be a hiking buddy!

Nakia is a beautiful, declawed, British Shorthair and is 15years old. She was brought to TLAC last year by her owner who wanted her put to sleep because she “pooped out of the box”. There was nothing medically wrong with Nakia and she was sweet as can be (my favorite behavior note on her record – “Level of friendly behavior? High, would lick my hand when I stopped petting her.”) So APA! saved Nakia from euthanasia at TLAC, where I’m happy to report no one has ever seen her “poop out of the box”.

Nakia was adopted, and we thought that was the end of her sad story. Unfortunately, at some point this Spring her owner moved out of state, and just left Nakia outside and alone to fend for herself.

As a declawed, senior cat who was used to a life indoors, this was almost a death sentence. Nakia slowly starved, her liver shut down, and she was found laying on the side of the road in the bushes, barely alive. A wonderful person found her and brought her to TLAC, where she was identified as our sweet Nakia and APA immediately took her in. Thanks to generous donations from the person that found her, and an awesome foster home, we have slowly been nursing Nakia back to health.

So now, at 15yrs old, Nakia is hoping for another miracle. She is doing well, eating, loving and sweet. She is on another a round of antibiotics and then will get some more bloodwork to see how her liver is doing, but it looks like she is on the mend.

Nakia needs a new home, and this time, it needs to be permanent. Never again to be abandoned at the shelter, never again to be left outside to die, she needs someone to love her and give her a true “forever” home to let her live out her senior years in happiness and comfort.

If you’re interested in adopting Nakia please email email hidden; JavaScript is required. Her adoption fee is just $25.

We began the process early of promoting India’s story in the hopes that someone out there would be interested in adopting this sweet black & white kitten who has shown so much resilience that her foster family was almost certain she could actually see.

After a lot of social networking, APA! received an email from a woman named Mary in Houston. Understandably, Mary had a lot of questions: How did this happen? What is her prognosis? Will she get along with other cats? All legitimate questions, but what became clear is that Mary had other reasons for asking.

Mary is in the process of writing a book about her parents, both of whom are blind and have been for her entire life. Mary’s parents have a remarkable story, one that proves true love doesn’t require sight (her parents met at Texas School for the Blind when they were both in 4^th grade), and that success and achievement can be obtained no matter what adversity is faced (both of her parents led successful careers – her dad was even a Judge).

Mary’s own grown daughter saw the messages posted about our little blind kitten and simply said, “Adopting this kitten and what it would mean to our family will be a great addition to your book.”

And there it was.

So began weeks of communication between India’s foster family and her possible future family. Sharing information on her progress, her personality and her surgery, which was just performed on July 20^th. On the morning of July 22^nd, Mary and her daughter made the trip to Austin to meet India for the first time, and as if she knew the spotlight was on her, she showed what she is made of. She sniffed out a catnip mouse in the Courtney Griffin Greeting Room at the APA! Tarrytown Adoption Center, and batted it around playfully. She then found her way into the arms of the family there to meet her and quickly settled in for a cuddly nap.  Aren’t these the things that make anyone love a kitten?

Adoption complete, India settled into her brand new carrier with a handmade blue and white blanket from someone outside of Texas who heard about her story and wanted to give her something special.

And as it happens, emails were exchanged once India was in her new home in Houston. Her adopter wrote:

“We had a very pleasant trip home. India was a super traveler–not a peep! Katie [my daughter] kept looking back to make sure that she was ok, and she was peacefully sleeping. She’s now in her new room, exploring and totally not looking like a blind kitten. On the way home, we had fun coming up with names. At one random point, I thought of Lily.”

“Lily” just so happens to be the name that the foster family called her, but this small detail was never shared between foster and adopter. Sometimes, it just seems that the universe aligns and brings us all a great ending to such a touching story.

Have a great life, little one! We enjoyed being a part of your rescue and your journey to a long, long life.

APA! has several other blind kittens and cats in our care, each waiting for a chance at finding their forever homes, including Neela, Kayless, and Barnabas to name a few. If you are interested in learning more, please email email hidden; JavaScript is required.

Paris had a long history with APA! She was adopted from us as a puppy and returned a year and half later for just being a normal mischievous dog. She was pretty confused and scared when she came back to us, but she quickly came out of her shell and won the hearts of every single volunteer and staff member. After 5 months of living at our shelter, in April, she went home. It’s a story that reminds us how it’s always worth it to wait, to give every dog a chance and indefinite time to find its perfect match, because we can’t imagine Paris in any other love story.

Here’s what the adopter wrote to us:

“I just wanted to take a few minutes to thank you…. you all do so much, every day ….Most of all, I want to thank you for Paris. She has been with me for 3 1/2 months now and I can not tell you what a difference this little girl has made in my life.

From the moment she first got in the car with us to go home, she has just been the best girl. On that car ride home, she showed no visible fear or anxiety, no pacing, no barking no nothing…..I think she was just thinking to herself ‘what the heck is going on???’. When we got home she came in to the house and just stood there. really…she just stood there for hours. She would maybe move a little to the left or a little to the right, and if I left the room she would follow me, but other than that, she just stood there. I guess she just didn’t know what to do….In fact, she stood by the bed for a good part of that first night, until I woke up and realized what she was doing. I felt so bad I slept on the floor with her.

Things have changed a lot since then…..She sure knows what to do now. It took a few weeks, but she is now feeling completely at home..(I think she is anyway…She is not one to show much emotion one way or the other). She slowly started to relax and to figure out how to be herself in her new environment, and soon enough little doggie behaviors and her sweet personality started to emerge…… Now, she doesn’t stand by the bed, she owns the bed…and that’s alright with me :).

I honestly can not figure out why she was hard to place. She is an incredibly well behaved dog. So easy to live with and even easier to love. Maybe that is because of all the love and time and patience you all gave her during her time with you….I don’t know, I just know that she is just the best girl on earth. She is so easygoing….Whatever you want her to do is alright with her….you want her to run with you? She’ll run….You want her to get in the car? She’ll get in the car and just sit there quietly…You want her to get in the crate? She walks right in…You want her to play? She’ll play with you…or even just play by herself with her toys…..You want to take a nap?? She will take a nap with you (she does snore really really loud)… I think she is just happy being a part of our lives.

Selfishly, I am glad that she stayed with you all for as long as she did because it allowed me to find her. Funny how things work out sometimes. I believe that we are exactly what each other needs.

Her favorite time is weekend mornings, because that’s when she gets to go to Walnut Creek and play with her friend Frannie. I let her off leash there after having her for about 6 weeks and again she was perfect. I was a little nervous at first but felt pretty sure she would be OK. and she was. I can not even describe to you what it was like to watch her that first day (really, to watch her every time we go). She was so full of joy at being free to run and sniff. Such a beautiful girl just running through the woods, looking like a thoroughbred and taking joy in being a dog. She really is something to watch.

I just want you to know that she is well cared for, gets lots of belly rubs and exercise and playtime….and is the center of the universe. She is very much loved.

I am grateful for all you did for her, and for you trusting me with her. She is a gift.

Attaching a few pictures of Paris doing her favorite things…..(ok, so maybe there are more than a few..:) )

Thank you so much for all that you.
Laurie and Paris”