Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Getting Ready to Go to Abaco!
and to get in the mood, we are listening to Seawall Radio Show: "fine Bahamian and Island music for de whole crew!"
http://www.seawallradio.blogspot.com/
http://www.seawallradio.blogspot.com/
Friday, June 12, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
One of the best things that we’ve realized as we’ve gotten deep into the rescue world is the cost savings on various drugs/low cost spay and neuters/low cost vaccinations and we love to share the information with others because really this information should be readily available to everyone. Surprisingly we have gotten this information from vets we’ve worked with over the years, but it may be that some vets do not know about the low cost services/products out there because they have no need to. We firmly believe that all animals should go to the vet for injuries and sickness but there isn’t the need to go there to get flea and heartworm preventatives and annual vaccinations when there are so many cheaper alternatives for you. There are also places you can get low cost spay/neuters along with some basic services (rabies, heartworm test, etc.) and lately there are some animal controls that are doing free spay and neuters. Looking for ways to help with feral cat colonies? Lifeline Animal Project loans out traps and charges a negligible amount to Trap-Spay/Neuter-Release and there is tons of info out there on the benefits of controlling a cat colony.
Low cost vaccinations: www.animalhealth.cc
Low cost spay/neuters and TNR help: Lifeline Animal Project
Low cost flea & tick meds: Deadfleaz.com
Low cost vaccinations: www.animalhealth.cc
Low cost spay/neuters and TNR help: Lifeline Animal Project
Low cost flea & tick meds: Deadfleaz.com
Friday, May 29, 2009
Reflections On My First Year by Sir Cooper Potcake
As I look back on my first year on this earth, I am so grateful to the wonderful Potcake Rescue Group and my new parents for giving me a wonderful life. I was born April 30, 2008 and was found on a chicken farm in Abaco, Bahamas. I was first named Freckles by the rescue group. I liked riding in Janie’s boat with her when I was so little. I always like to see what is going on around me! On August 24, 2008 I came to live with my new parents, Marty & Michelle. When they first came to meet me, I trotted up to Michelle and put my paws around her neck and gave her a big hug. It was love at first sight. She had lost her pointer-lab mix in July and that left a big hole in her heart. I was more than happy to help her through that. It was that day that I became known as Sir Cooper Potcake.
I have been on many trips and seen many things this year. I’ve been to Blue Ridge, GA where we got to stay in a cabin that was on a stream…
Then, I got to go to Nashville to meet my Mom’s mom. She really liked me. They think it’s funny that I when I play I HOP around the yard and then POUNCE on my toys. They wonder if all Potcakes do that, but I’m not telling them.
For Thanksgiving, we went to Harpers Ferry, WV where my Mom’s brother and sister-in-law live. That drive took me through the wonderful states of South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. My parents say that I’m a very good traveler. I’m happy to go in the car anytime that they give me the chance, which is frequent. While we were there I got to go on a hike with my parents and my Uncle Chris. It was fun! I saw some deer and other wildlife that I wanted to chase. We also got to go to Annapolis, Maryland one day. That’s when I learned that I was a US Naval Academy fan … Go Navy, Beat Army!
For Christmas, we went to visit my dad’s family in Binghamton, NY. That was a trip I’ll never forget. I added to my list of states to visit Pennsylvania and New York. As we got closer, it got colder, but I liked it! When we got to the house, there was this white stuff on the ground. I later found out that it was snow, but I wasn’t scared of it. We even found me some fenced in areas where I could run free in the snow. I will have to admit that even though I’m an island dog, I am a big fan of playing in the snow. 
Since then, I have been on many trips – some just to run errands with Mom and some to Nashville to see my Grandma. One trip that I
didn’t enjoy too much was when I had to have a little eye surgery at the vet. I did not like that cone around my head but it didn’t stop me from trying to play!
I’ve made some wonderful friends that helped me to celebrate my birthday. They also come over and see me for play dates. One is a lab-chow mix named Lacey. She’s a few months older than I am, but she’s my girlfriend. The other is a 7-
year-old Weimeraner named Max. He is trying to teach me to be obsessed with the tennis ball like he is, but it hasn’t caught on yet.
All in all, I’ll have to say that I have a very wonderful life and I’m so happy to have been adopted! Now my days are filled with playing, chasing birds and squirrels, disemboweling stuffed animals, and naps!!!
As I look back on my first year on this earth, I am so grateful to the wonderful Potcake Rescue Group and my new parents for giving me a wonderful life. I was born April 30, 2008 and was found on a chicken farm in Abaco, Bahamas. I was first named Freckles by the rescue group. I liked riding in Janie’s boat with her when I was so little. I always like to see what is going on around me! On August 24, 2008 I came to live with my new parents, Marty & Michelle. When they first came to meet me, I trotted up to Michelle and put my paws around her neck and gave her a big hug. It was love at first sight. She had lost her pointer-lab mix in July and that left a big hole in her heart. I was more than happy to help her through that. It was that day that I became known as Sir Cooper Potcake.
I have been on many trips and seen many things this year. I’ve been to Blue Ridge, GA where we got to stay in a cabin that was on a stream…Then, I got to go to Nashville to meet my Mom’s mom. She really liked me. They think it’s funny that I when I play I HOP around the yard and then POUNCE on my toys. They wonder if all Potcakes do that, but I’m not telling them.
For Thanksgiving, we went to Harpers Ferry, WV where my Mom’s brother and sister-in-law live. That drive took me through the wonderful states of South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. My parents say that I’m a very good traveler. I’m happy to go in the car anytime that they give me the chance, which is frequent. While we were there I got to go on a hike with my parents and my Uncle Chris. It was fun! I saw some deer and other wildlife that I wanted to chase. We also got to go to Annapolis, Maryland one day. That’s when I learned that I was a US Naval Academy fan … Go Navy, Beat Army!
For Christmas, we went to visit my dad’s family in Binghamton, NY. That was a trip I’ll never forget. I added to my list of states to visit Pennsylvania and New York. As we got closer, it got colder, but I liked it! When we got to the house, there was this white stuff on the ground. I later found out that it was snow, but I wasn’t scared of it. We even found me some fenced in areas where I could run free in the snow. I will have to admit that even though I’m an island dog, I am a big fan of playing in the snow. 
Since then, I have been on many trips – some just to run errands with Mom and some to Nashville to see my Grandma. One trip that I
didn’t enjoy too much was when I had to have a little eye surgery at the vet. I did not like that cone around my head but it didn’t stop me from trying to play!I’ve made some wonderful friends that helped me to celebrate my birthday. They also come over and see me for play dates. One is a lab-chow mix named Lacey. She’s a few months older than I am, but she’s my girlfriend. The other is a 7-
year-old Weimeraner named Max. He is trying to teach me to be obsessed with the tennis ball like he is, but it hasn’t caught on yet.All in all, I’ll have to say that I have a very wonderful life and I’m so happy to have been adopted! Now my days are filled with playing, chasing birds and squirrels, disemboweling stuffed animals, and naps!!!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Ambulance service gets sick pets to emergency care
By JAMIE GUMBRECHT
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Monday, May 11, 2009
Andrew Zbeeb’s ambulance will never be mistaken for those diesel-powered boxes flying toward Grady Hospital, lights blazing, sirens howling. It’s smaller, first of all, a Chevy Tahoe with the words “Emergency Vehicle” painted in red. Andrew Zbeeb started the service for owners unable to drive their pets and vets moving patients. His van has an amber light like wreckers’. And then there are his patients: Roxy, with her bum shoulder, and Oliver, bloodied and woozy after an attack. Stymie could hardly breathe on his own and little Peanut just couldn’t stop vomiting. The pit bull, the Chihuahua, the one-eyed Solomon Island Eclectus parrot and the short-haired gray cat all needed Zbeeb’s speed and equipment. His ambulance is animals-only. The survival rate on those four: 100 percent.
He started the service for owners unable to drive their pets in times of need, for vets transferring patients into specialized care and animals who might need more than a soft blanket and a chew toy. Things furry, feathered and scaly are what Zbeeb knows best. He’s 28 and has been running Frogs to Dogs, a pet-sitting and training service in Kirkwood, for six years. In the span of a few weeks in 2007, two dogs in his care needed emergency treatment. Pemba, a 13-year-old shepherd mix with white fur and a twisted spleen, lived. Rocky, a boxer with a similar malady, got stuck in Atlanta traffic. As the dying pup whimpered in his back seat, he thought, “I can do better.” She survived only an hour after arriving at the vet.
“Better” cost Zbeeb $20,000, plus emergency vehicle insurance. He bought the Tahoe and retrofitted it with a mastiff-sized steel cage, muzzles, first aid supplies, GPS, oxygen tank and animal-shaped masks. His team doesn’t administer drugs but is trained in CPR and first aid, and veterinary technicians are available to ride along. He’s on-call around the clock, at $50 to $150 per hour.
Among his clients so far: a dog hit by a car, a cat fallen ill while its owner was stuck at work and Stymie, the parrot with an upper respiratory problem. He needed steady oxygen to make it from a Cobb County ER to an avian vet in Decatur. They realized a cat-sized oxygen mask fit nicely on his green feathered face. “We’re all learning,” Zbeeb said, “even the vets.”
Nobody has exactly asked for animal ambulance service but local veterinarians have long struggled with home-care and pick-up requests from car-less pet owners or older clients who couldn’t lift their large animals. So far, Zbeeb says it’s gotten four to 12 calls per month. “Quite honestly, I didn’t think there was going to be much of a niche for it,” said Will Draper, a veterinarian with Animal Emergency Center of Decatur. But he was surprised by the number of clients they have referred to the ambulance and the variety of ways pet owners found it useful.
One Saturday night last summer, Anthy Petropoulos walked her Chihuahuas, Oliver and Elvis, a few blocks from home in Kirkwood. She spotted a loose pit bull moving toward them at a fast clip and within seconds, the larger dog snatched Oliver by his neck and shook him like a toy. Petropoulos screamed and smacked the big dog but it wouldn’t let go. Zbeeb, who lived nearby and heard the commotion, ran outside to help. After they caught the frantic little black dog in a towel, Zbeeb drove to the nearest vet’s office while Petropoulos held an oxygen mask on Oliver’s white snout. “Meltdown,” is how she describes it but she remembers that Zbeeb stayed calm. Her dog was in surgery for hours, as a surgeon cleaned eight puncture wounds to his 10-pound body. “I was in no shape to be driving. I didn’t even know where the emergency vet was,” said Petropoulos, who now keeps the ambulance number in her phone. “It just happened so quickly, there was blood everywhere. When something like this happens, you don’t have common sense.”
At the time, Zbeeb had a temporary emergency light permit, which allowed him to roll through intersections and speed through traffic, just like an ambulance for humans. Then-DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones signed off on the permit, certifying he believed it was in the community’s best interest. The state commissioner of public safety subsequently denied it. Instead, Zbeeb got a permit for an amber light, a caution signal also found on wreckers and salt trucks. “I’m sure it’s a good cause and I know people love their pets but at the end of the day, it’s a dog or it’s a cat. It’s not like another human being,” Georgia State Patrol Lt. Paul Cosper said. “It was not a proven need. They don’t just give these things out willy-nilly.” [Not very compassionate, Lt. Cosper -- ed.]
Few animal ambulances exist in the United States and owners said they’d be surprised to find even one that’s classified like a human ambulance. Andy Berg owns 12 ambulances that serve Southern California’s dogs, cats, llamas, miniature horses and once, a dead Sumatran tiger. Expenses and state restrictions prevent him from seeking out a emergency vehicle permit, he said, and it’s not necessary most of the time. Ben Brainard, an assistant professor of critical care at University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine, said it’s not clear yet whether time spent finding a veterinary ER, loading an animal into the car and driving can mean the difference between life and death. “Until [more ambulance] services exist, we may not have a good idea,” Brainard said. “In the context of … having a trained driver getting you there 15 or 20 minutes faster, veterinary studies are too sparse.”
Zbeeb hasn’t appealed the state’s decision but still believes his experience and equipment keep pets and their owners safer — they don’t have to handle injured animals, drive frantically along unfamiliar routes or find hospitals they’ve never seen. “We’re talking about life, a form of life,” Zbeeb said. “I did prove a need — the state doesn’t agree with my need.”
http://www.frogstodogs.com/
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Monday, May 11, 2009
Andrew Zbeeb’s ambulance will never be mistaken for those diesel-powered boxes flying toward Grady Hospital, lights blazing, sirens howling. It’s smaller, first of all, a Chevy Tahoe with the words “Emergency Vehicle” painted in red. Andrew Zbeeb started the service for owners unable to drive their pets and vets moving patients. His van has an amber light like wreckers’. And then there are his patients: Roxy, with her bum shoulder, and Oliver, bloodied and woozy after an attack. Stymie could hardly breathe on his own and little Peanut just couldn’t stop vomiting. The pit bull, the Chihuahua, the one-eyed Solomon Island Eclectus parrot and the short-haired gray cat all needed Zbeeb’s speed and equipment. His ambulance is animals-only. The survival rate on those four: 100 percent.
He started the service for owners unable to drive their pets in times of need, for vets transferring patients into specialized care and animals who might need more than a soft blanket and a chew toy. Things furry, feathered and scaly are what Zbeeb knows best. He’s 28 and has been running Frogs to Dogs, a pet-sitting and training service in Kirkwood, for six years. In the span of a few weeks in 2007, two dogs in his care needed emergency treatment. Pemba, a 13-year-old shepherd mix with white fur and a twisted spleen, lived. Rocky, a boxer with a similar malady, got stuck in Atlanta traffic. As the dying pup whimpered in his back seat, he thought, “I can do better.” She survived only an hour after arriving at the vet.
“Better” cost Zbeeb $20,000, plus emergency vehicle insurance. He bought the Tahoe and retrofitted it with a mastiff-sized steel cage, muzzles, first aid supplies, GPS, oxygen tank and animal-shaped masks. His team doesn’t administer drugs but is trained in CPR and first aid, and veterinary technicians are available to ride along. He’s on-call around the clock, at $50 to $150 per hour.
Among his clients so far: a dog hit by a car, a cat fallen ill while its owner was stuck at work and Stymie, the parrot with an upper respiratory problem. He needed steady oxygen to make it from a Cobb County ER to an avian vet in Decatur. They realized a cat-sized oxygen mask fit nicely on his green feathered face. “We’re all learning,” Zbeeb said, “even the vets.”
Nobody has exactly asked for animal ambulance service but local veterinarians have long struggled with home-care and pick-up requests from car-less pet owners or older clients who couldn’t lift their large animals. So far, Zbeeb says it’s gotten four to 12 calls per month. “Quite honestly, I didn’t think there was going to be much of a niche for it,” said Will Draper, a veterinarian with Animal Emergency Center of Decatur. But he was surprised by the number of clients they have referred to the ambulance and the variety of ways pet owners found it useful.
One Saturday night last summer, Anthy Petropoulos walked her Chihuahuas, Oliver and Elvis, a few blocks from home in Kirkwood. She spotted a loose pit bull moving toward them at a fast clip and within seconds, the larger dog snatched Oliver by his neck and shook him like a toy. Petropoulos screamed and smacked the big dog but it wouldn’t let go. Zbeeb, who lived nearby and heard the commotion, ran outside to help. After they caught the frantic little black dog in a towel, Zbeeb drove to the nearest vet’s office while Petropoulos held an oxygen mask on Oliver’s white snout. “Meltdown,” is how she describes it but she remembers that Zbeeb stayed calm. Her dog was in surgery for hours, as a surgeon cleaned eight puncture wounds to his 10-pound body. “I was in no shape to be driving. I didn’t even know where the emergency vet was,” said Petropoulos, who now keeps the ambulance number in her phone. “It just happened so quickly, there was blood everywhere. When something like this happens, you don’t have common sense.”
At the time, Zbeeb had a temporary emergency light permit, which allowed him to roll through intersections and speed through traffic, just like an ambulance for humans. Then-DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones signed off on the permit, certifying he believed it was in the community’s best interest. The state commissioner of public safety subsequently denied it. Instead, Zbeeb got a permit for an amber light, a caution signal also found on wreckers and salt trucks. “I’m sure it’s a good cause and I know people love their pets but at the end of the day, it’s a dog or it’s a cat. It’s not like another human being,” Georgia State Patrol Lt. Paul Cosper said. “It was not a proven need. They don’t just give these things out willy-nilly.” [Not very compassionate, Lt. Cosper -- ed.]
Few animal ambulances exist in the United States and owners said they’d be surprised to find even one that’s classified like a human ambulance. Andy Berg owns 12 ambulances that serve Southern California’s dogs, cats, llamas, miniature horses and once, a dead Sumatran tiger. Expenses and state restrictions prevent him from seeking out a emergency vehicle permit, he said, and it’s not necessary most of the time. Ben Brainard, an assistant professor of critical care at University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine, said it’s not clear yet whether time spent finding a veterinary ER, loading an animal into the car and driving can mean the difference between life and death. “Until [more ambulance] services exist, we may not have a good idea,” Brainard said. “In the context of … having a trained driver getting you there 15 or 20 minutes faster, veterinary studies are too sparse.”
Zbeeb hasn’t appealed the state’s decision but still believes his experience and equipment keep pets and their owners safer — they don’t have to handle injured animals, drive frantically along unfamiliar routes or find hospitals they’ve never seen. “We’re talking about life, a form of life,” Zbeeb said. “I did prove a need — the state doesn’t agree with my need.”
http://www.frogstodogs.com/
Friday, May 8, 2009
The Potcake Formerly Known as Avalon
We have not spoke in awhile, not since we saw you at Christmas time, and I wanted to update you on Gussy Mae [Avalon]. She is doing great and has definitely grown up. She is about 50 pounds right now but I think she is at full size now. Her health is great and she is doing fine. She is slowly getting adjusted to the heat, however, I believe Atlanta can actually be hotter than South Florida along the coast. Again, since I work part-time out of the house she is usually inside with me and the A/C during the day. She comes and go as she wants but I have to open and close the porch doors for her. We have a doggie door off the porch but not into the house.
We are slowly getting her used to our boat. She loves the ride and her face into the wind but doesn’t like getting picked up on the dock into the boat. I guess she is afraid of being dropped. The interesting thing on the boat is that after about 15 minutes she falls asleep like a baby. We are planning to take her to the Bahamas on the boat this summer when we go. We have applied for the paperwork for her to come with us. We will be there in late July for a week.
Oh, I almost forget, I have included a recent picture of her. This was taken at the house my wife is temporarily renting in Ft. Myers while she is working out of town. We don’t allow her on the furniture but she got up there when we weren’t looking. Also, she seems to know the difference between our house and the rental.
I will try to continue to keep you updated as she is a sweet girl.
Douglas & Carine Bullock
We are slowly getting her used to our boat. She loves the ride and her face into the wind but doesn’t like getting picked up on the dock into the boat. I guess she is afraid of being dropped. The interesting thing on the boat is that after about 15 minutes she falls asleep like a baby. We are planning to take her to the Bahamas on the boat this summer when we go. We have applied for the paperwork for her to come with us. We will be there in late July for a week.
Oh, I almost forget, I have included a recent picture of her. This was taken at the house my wife is temporarily renting in Ft. Myers while she is working out of town. We don’t allow her on the furniture but she got up there when we weren’t looking. Also, she seems to know the difference between our house and the rental.I will try to continue to keep you updated as she is a sweet girl.
Douglas & Carine Bullock
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Spring has sprung and kitty season is starting up with a vengeance. As I write this, Judy already fell for an abandoned kitty story and took in two little 4-week old kittens (just two so far). Just as we even think about it, they appear on our doorstep – must be karma. If you haven’t had a chance to get a warm fuzzy baby kitten fix, check out this picture of the “stubbular stage” (and read how people dissolve into baby talk). http://cuteoverload.com/2009/01/18/rule-of-cutenes/
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