Enjoy the greatest party you’ve NEVER attended!

 Live it up!  Stay home and support Rude Ranch! Let us know how you will be virtually spending the 4th of July & win a copy of The Best Little Cat House In Maryland!

When:

Starting at Noon on Saturday, July 3  & Ending at 11:59 PM (PST), Sunday, July 4

Where

Rude Ranch’s FaceBook Page!  Click  here! (www.facebook.com/notes/rude-ranch-animal-rescue/the-rude-ranch-ninth-annual-no-show-4th-of-july-picnic-and-contest/401466351506)

To Enter :

Goto Our FaceBook Virtual Party  here! (www.facebook.com/notes/rude-ranch-animal-rescue/the-rude-ranch-ninth-annual-no-show-4th-of-july-picnic-and-contest/401466351506) 3 prizes total will be awarded in the following categories:   1. Funniest  2. Most original or inspiring  3. Best overall Let us know what you will be doing to avoid:    Cooking hot dogs or hamburgers    The softball/volleyball game     Beach traffic   Mosquitoes    Your choice of irritant  Help the Rude Ranch animals through another long, hot summer!  DONATE HERE! (Our Paypal Account Name is Donate@RudeRanch.org)  (You do not need to donate to submit a comment or win a prize) Thank you for your support!

   ]]> http://www.ruderanch.org/Rudeblog/?feed=rss2&p=68 0 http://www.ruderanch.org/Rudeblog/?p=66 http://www.ruderanch.org/Rudeblog/?p=66#comments Tue, 15 Jun 2010 18:47:25 +0000 ruderanch http://www.ruderanch.org/Rudeblog/?p=66 Hi Everyone!

There is so much happening here, I almost don’t know where to start! 

We are still in the running for the Nationwide Shelter Challenge!  To help us out, vote for Rude Ranch everyday.  To vote, goto www.theanimalrescuesite.com and click on shelter challenge.  From there enter Rude Ranch Animal Rescue and follow the directions.

Scruffy, the little black terrier that tore the meniscus and crutiate ligaments in both hind legs is doing great!  Its been almost 4 weeks since his surgery.  He is starting to go up and down steps.  He’s not up to playing frisbee yet, but then again, he never was very good at frisbee.

We have two new residents!  One is “the most deformed cat ever”!  Actually he’s an all white bunny that was abandoned a few days ago.  We had initial sitings of him for a couple of days before we could catch him.  Once we caught him, we found a really bad infection in his stomach.  After a few trips to the vet, he is doing well and getting frisky!  He has started trying to headbutt his way out of taking  his medicine and dumped a food bowl on a cat.

Our other new resident arrived by way of Prince Georges County Animal Control after he was hit by a car.  Unfortunately, he will have to have one leg amputated, but seems healthy.  We will have more updates on him as he recovers. 

I also had a minor adventure with driving in a small circle, multiple times in Annapolis.  It all started on a Sunday at the beginning of June.  We were scheduled to participate in 1St Sunday Annapolis, an arts and crafts festival held on the first Sunday (hence the name) in Annapolis.  What happens is that two blocks of the heart of down town Annapolis is closed off to traffic and the whole street becomes a walk way.  Crafters, animal groups (like us) set up booths along the way.  There is usually a few musicians playing and a dance troup.  Overall its a nice event for a Sunday afternoon. 

For this particular Sunday, I had people lined up to help for the event, the car (a station wagon) was loaded and ready to go.  I was running ahead of schedule…. should’ve known I was in big trouble.  It all started ok, I got out to the car, the car started and I started out of the driveway.  Then I noticed a problem:  the car was not convinced that all the doors were closed and would not turn off any of the interior lights.  We’d run into this problem before, a sensor in one of the car doors had dust in it and wasn’t functiong.  The problem was that until the sensor was fixed the car would think the door was open and keep all the lights on.  If I took the car, parked it for 8 hours with all the lights on, I would have a dead battery at quitting time. 

At this point I tried to get Bob involved to help fix the sensor.  He couldn’t remember what to do.  (he only sort of remembered the problem)  His solution was to move everything to our back up car and use it.  At this point I should point out that the backup car is a hulking, huge, full size 15 passenger van.  Its so big you need docking procedures to park it.  I hate driving it.  I was stuck with it.  (either that or call someone to jump start the other car at 7 pm on a Sunday night.)  Now my carefully arranged and packed stuff was being stuffed into the van on top of other crap in the van.  Bob smashed his finger on a table and blamed me.  (not sure why, I was busy cussing out the van)   

The whole endeavor took long enough to put me behind schedule.  I got further behind schedule when I got within 8 blocks of the festival and the road was closed.  (Navy/Marine corps marathon)  Made it past that and another two blocks to find another road closed (dedication of the Fire and Police Memorial).  At this point I can see where I need to go to check in, but missed the turn.  That required me to go over 3 blocks, around Church Circle (really historic traffic circle in historic Annapolis)  to go around to the check in point.  (Did I mention that I had a really really big vehicle on really small, double parked streets?  I ran over a lot of curbs)   Finally got  to the check in point to find I now had to “thread the needle” of two blocks (one way) of other vehicles being unloaded to get to our assigned spot.  At least I didn’t run over anyone’s feet.

As soon as I got unloaded it came time to find parking, for an oversized vehicle in a town that was originally designed for horse and buggies.  I tried street parking.  I went around the historic  Church circle several times.  Everywhere I went, the roads were blocked off.  To get back to try another street, I had to go around the Church circle again.  I went around Church circle so many times the pigeons were starting to wave at me.  I finally made it to a parking garage.  The maximum height for vehicles was 6 feet.  The van is 6′ 3″ with no air in the tires.  Figured that wouldn’t work.  The next garage was the same.  Langauge inside the van was getting colorful.  

Eventually I cam across a guy driving an RV.  He as also using colorful langauge.  I figured he was also looking for parking.   I followed him to a surface parking lot.  The nice guard there let him in, but said my van wasn’t big enough.  However, a police officer assured me that I could fit into a parking garage around the corner.  I guess I was looking blond and frazzled enough that he felt he had to lead me to the garage.  I thanked him profusely and high tailed it back to the festival. 

Things were rolling along really nicely when Bob called to let me know that a tornado was headed our way and we should probably start packing up.  He didn’t seem impressed when I said that the van was 7 blocks away and I couldn’t pull it up to pack up.  He suggested we carry everything to the van (did I mention that we had a tent, two 6 foot tables, and 5 bins, totes, suitcases, etc)  Being the decisive type I decided to grab what I could and head to the van, hoping that the streets would be open when I got back. 

Once again, I had to go around the traffic circle to get anywhere close to our stuff.  Just as I pulled up close to our stuff, the rain really started to come down.  We got drenched as we tried to get all our stuff into the van.  As we got the last thing loaded in, the rain stopped. 

As I pulled out into the now dry road I realized I had to once again go around the historic Church circle to get out of the city.  By now if I totaled up the mileage I spent driving around that stupid traffic circle, I figure I could probably have made it to Ohio.

As usual, it seems that more time passes between my updates than I would like.  As usual, we’ve got all kinds of stuff going on!  First off, we are still in the Nationwide Shelter Challenge.   This contest allows shelters in the USA and Canada to compete for grants up to $100,000.  The shelter that gets the most votes between now and July 14 wins the $100,000.  There are $10,000 prizes for the shelter in each state that gets the most votes.  Right now we are in 5th place in Maryland… we need more votes!   You can vote once a day, every day.  To vote, goto to www.theanimalrescuesite.com and click on “Shelter Challenge” on the right side.  From there just type in Rude Ranch Animal Rescue, and MD for the state.  Follow the directions from there. 

June is also “National Adopt a Shelter Cat Month”!   During June adopt any cat from Rude Ranch for $20!  We will spotlight different cats on Facebook.

Lastly, I have to talk about Boomer and Scruffy’s big adventure to Wisconsin. 

We were scheduled to do a book signing in Wisconsin.  Boomer, our fundraising miniature pinscher has been having weird health problems so we decided to take him along.  Then Scruffy (aka Sir Barks aLot)  tore the cruciate and minincus ligaments in one leg and the cruciate in the other leg 6 days before we were scheduled to leave.  Thanks to Dr Harrison at Belair Vet, (Dr H agreed to surgically repair both legs on a really busy day)   the Scruffinator was patched up enough to walk again.  However, he needed extra supervision, had to be carried up and down steps, extra pain meds (yeah we wanted some of them for our backs after schlepping him around at least he’s not a mastiff), and the infamous conehead to keep him from messing with his incisions.  Ergo, he was going on the trip with us.  We just needed to figure out a way to transport him as he was only supposed to walk 100 yards or less a day.    This also meant alot of rearranging before we were even out of the driveway.  For one thing we needed a bigger car.  Ok we had the bohemoth, the 15 passenger Rude Ranch van.  However, that was loaded up for our next event.  However, that car needed an oil change, general check up, and help for the transmission that didn’t like to go into reverse.  (We figured reverse might be helpful at some point during the trip)  Fortunately, our mechanic (promotional hype:  Phipps Automotive) fit us in, let us bring the van back to load it while he was waiting for parts, and fix the transmission.   Now we just had to get everything else ready, pack, hope we remembered stuff, etc, etc, etc. 

On the day of our departure, Bob woke up a little after midnight.  Normally this is kind of a bathroom run, but he figured what the heck, we woke the dogs up (all were very confused except Scruffy, who is normally confused anyway, and with the meds, was just knocked out)  got ourselves dressed and headed out.  Scruf settled in right away.  (The meds probably helped with that)  Boomer was a pain in the a$$.  Fortunately, he conked out by the time we hit the big tunned on the PA turnpike.  Rest stops were interesting:  we pottied ourselves, the dogs, then gassed up the car and took off.  Both dogs had a hard time hitting all the trees they felt necessary at each stop. 

Things were going good until we hit Chicago.  Just when we were in the heart of downtown, navigating around “The Loop”, our cell phones went crazy, Boomer decided he had to be held, and both our bladders hit thier limit.  Fortunately, we all survived and 7 hours later arrived at our destination. 

Both dogs got unloaded and settled reasonable fast:  Boomer promptly marked the corner going into the kitchen.  (Did I mention we were staying in Bob’s sister’s condo and she wasn’t thrilled with the whole dog thing?)  Scruf was just confused. 

The next morning I was a little confused.  After all we were staying in a condo complex, which was next to an apartment complex.  There was a housing development on the other side.  The whole neighborhood backed up to a really nice lake.  There were lots of geese and baby geese there.  The squirrels were delightfully playing.  I even was ok with the chipmunk.  It was the other animal that showed up that had me doubting my sanity.  It was in the middle of Boomer’s 6:30 am walk that it happened.  I looked up towards the the apartment complex next to ours and saw it coming toward me…. a 300 pound black bear decided to pass through.  At this point I grabbed Boomer (even if the bear was interested in him, at 7 pounds, Boomer would hardly be an appetizer)  and stood looking at the bear, not quite believing I was standing there looking at a wild bear.  Then I started to think that no one was going to believe that I saw a bear loping along the edge of the lake.  Fortunately, at that point Bob noticed a large black animal and realized it was a bear.  I was hoping he would back me up on this one.  Fortunately, the bear loped along and didn’t even realize he had an audience. 

We solved Scruffy’s mobility problem with a baby stroller.  Turns out Scruffy loved it!  Afterall, normally he is about the height of everyone’s knees.  In the stroller he was at waist height.  Everyone thought he was really cute, except one guy thought Scruf was the hairiest baby he’d every seen.  Scruffy and Boomer when to the rose gardens in Duluth, MN, the Chippewa Falls Zoo, and the Rice Lake WI parks.  Here’s a picture of is a recreation of our encounter with the bear!

Scruffy and Boomer visit the bears at the Chippewa Falls Zoo

That means you can help Rude Ranch win $10,000 or more! Just click on the picture below!

Remember, you have to vote everyday!

Normally I try to focus on the funnier and positive stuff that happens around here. However, the last few days we’ve set a record for the number of people wanting to dump their pets: Our give up email had 47 messages in just over 24 hours. The phone rang so much yesterday the phone battery died after 6 hours! We counted: 64 distinct phone numbers called to “get rid” of an animal. Someone felt obligated to start calling at 6:27 in the morning. While we realize that there are some situations that can not be avoided, such as a serious illness, or the death of the pet’s owner, some of the excuses were priceless:

We’re moving to California and can’t take a cat into the state. Last time I checked it was still legal to have a cat in California.

My baby is starting to crawl and might get into the litter box. I’m pretty sure that is not the grossest thing your kid will do.

Won’t play with my 3 year old. If your 3 year old was pulling my ears and tugging my tail I wouldn’t play either.

I didn’t realize a bull mastiff would get so big: DUH!!!

I didn’t want to spend the money to get my cat fixed now I have 12. See above comment

My new girlfriend/boyfriend /significant other is allergic. Chances are the relationship with the cat/dog/hamster(insert pet here) will last longer.

The dogs here at Rude Ranch have suffered a couple of injuries. Boomer the miniature pinscher suffered sudden onset glaucoma in his right eye. When this happens the eye suddenly starts producing excess fluid far faster than it can drain off. The pressure inside the eye starts to rise and in addition to becoming increasingly painful, if not remedied quickly the eye itself can burst. (Talk about gross!) Unfortunately, Boomers age (18 years) made him a bad anesthesia risk, meaning the eye could not be repaired surgically. As he had already lost sight in that eye, it was chemically enucliated…. a fancy way of saying the eye was removed. As most people know Boomer isn’t the best patient. Once again, he lived up to his reputation and was asked to leave the vet clinic as soon as medically feasible. (He has a habit of driving vet techs insane)

Scruffy, the little black terrier also had an incident. While running across the yard he managed to step into a hole and tear the anterior cruciate ligament in both hind legs. He will have double knee replacement surgery tomorrow. In the meantime Scruf’s been busy trying to figure out how to pee with someone holding his back end up.

It’s been awhile again, mostly because we’ve been trying to catch up with all the spring maintenance and repairs around here!   We also after 2 years finally finished the outside murals!   (Not sure why the pics are showing up twice, but I’m going with it) 

In other news, we will be at the Annual Walk for the Animals this Sunday from 8 – noon.  It will be at Quiet Waters Park.  Its actually a fundraiser for the Local SPCA, but they invite alot of other groups to come also.  (If only they would split the money!)

Hope everyone had a great Easter/Passover holiday! 

We are happy to report that spring is finally here at Rude Ranch!  Flowers are starting to bloom, the leaves are growing on the trees, and unfortunately, our snapping turtles are back.

These two turtles moved in two years ago.  They are pretty big (and hard to photograph)  The male’s shell is about 24 inches in diameter.  The females is about 18.  Last year they just sort of disappeared in October.  We weren’t sure if they moved on or went down to the bottom of the pond to hibernate.  Although it was neat to have such big turtles, they were hard on the plants in the pond. 

Because we didn’t know if the turtles actually left the pond last fall, it was with great trepidation that Bob jumped in the pond on Monday to pull up the water lilies.  At one point Bob felt something crash into his leg and he jumped high enough he almost cleared the pond!  We were happy to see that although the turtles had eaten and tore up alot of the ponds plants last year, the water lilies were starting to come back this year.  It was with great irony that we noticed the turtles in the pond the next day…..

Remember the last couple of weeks we’ve been saying that Channel 5 News was coming to the shelter?  Remember how each time we all got up and started extra early too make sure that all the little messes the furballs make were cleaned up before the TV crew showed up at 11 am?   Well…. they scheduled and rescheduled 4 more times.  The last time they called 15 minutes before scheduled arrival and said the news crew was called away.  So far we’ve been stood up by a homicide, a prison escape, and an accident.  We’re not holding our breath for a rescheduled time.

In other news, surprisingly, we’ve had a series of mousal incidents.  Nine to be exact.  The first one was last week.  First off I’ll say that when 4 cats are cooperating and sitting outside of one of your kitchen cabinents, staring intently, there is a 98.34% chance that nothing good can come out of opening the door.  This time Stewie emerged with a mouse in his mouth.  This set the other cats, Bob, myself and a couple of other people off in different directions through out the house trying to separate Stewie from the mouse, the mouse from the other cats and removal of said mouse in general.  At one point the mouse was running/jumping in the kitchen and headed down the steps towards another 3 rooms of cats.  Bob was in hot pursuit and finally caught him at the bottom of the steps.  At some point the mouse bit Bob.  However, Bob’s had all his shots, so I don’t think we have to worry about the mouse catching anything from him.

We found another mouse in one of the cat beds, underneath of Ziggy, one of the older cats in the intake room.  This kind of violates one of our cardinal rules:  the furballs aren’t allowed to keep thier own pets.

Its been a while since we checked in with the happenings here at Rude Ranch!

First off, we’ve got another book signing tomorrow!   This time its at the Mall in Annapolis!

Michele’s Book Lounge

Between Macy’s and Borders in the Mall.

We won’t have Bunny and Tommy with us but Bob and I will be there between 11 am and 3 pm.

In other news, the snow is finally gone!  The last little banks of snow that were along the driveway finally disappeared at 7:34 am this morning.  Granted, last nite’s rain helped alot.  In addition to finding the grass, bushes, and assorted doggy presents, our spring flowers are starting to come up!

We also still hope to be on WTTG Channel 5 News!  They rescheduled to come by again this week, but when an inmate escaped from jail yesterday, we got bumped again.  Hoping for next week!