R.I.P. Gus

GULFPORT, Fla. – A one-eyed, three-legged dog that won the title of world's ugliest pooch this summer has died. The St. Petersburg Times in Florida reports that Gus, a Chinese crested dog, had cancer. He was 9. Gus was rescued from a bad home and went on to win the annual World's Ugliest Dog contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in northern California.

Gus came from humble origins. According to the fair, his adopted family in Gulfport, Fla., rescued him after learning he was being kept in a crate inside someone's garage.

He had one leg amputated because of a skin tumor and lost an eye in a cat fight.

Gus' owner had said the prize money from the contest would be put toward the dog's radiation treatment.

RIP Baby Meechie

I found myself in a very unusual situation on Tuesday. I was in a vacant house (working) and as I was about to open the door and go out to the backyard I noticed something moving in the middle of the grass. I thought it was a rat and stopped for a moment to observe further. It was squirming. It was a grey color. 'Wait a minute' I thought. That's not a rat. That's a kitten. As I hurriedly opened the door I immediately heard the desperate cries. Here was this little tiny, clearly newborn kitten, in the middle of the backyard crying out for help.

How did it get there? Where could it have come from? It couldn't walk so it didn't bring itself there. I looked all around to see if there was a den somewhere, a mother, other kittens.......nothing. I realized that either the mother didn't want it and brought it there from a neighboring house or maybe some kids decided to play a really dumb trick.

I was so busy that day and the last thing I had time for was to help this poor kitten. For a moment I actually thought "just turn around and walk away and pretend you didn't see it". Then I caught myself. I thought of Audrey, of Jake and of Little Edie. There was NO way I could do that.

I went inside and found a little box, a couple of towels and a plastic baggie. I carefully picked up the kitten, which fit in the palm of my hand, inspected a little - it looked like a boy and still seemed to have the umbilical cord attached. I carefully laid him in the box and wrapped the towel over him. I decided to go to a local rescue and drop it off there. I was sure they would take it in. I made the trip over with the kitten in the box on my passenger seat crying and squirming. The cry was hearty so I thought his chances were good.

Upon arrival the girl there told me they didn't have anyone available who would be able to bottle feed this kitten every two hours to keep it alive. I asked if they had any cats with a little of kittens.....just add one more...... No she said. She pulled out her binder with all her resources and started calling around. "It's kitten season" she said. "It's going to be really hard to find someone".

I was already late for my next appointment and starting to realize this easy solution was not going to be so easy. They wouldn't even let me leave the kitten there. She told me I would have to take it and maybe I should just take it to a shelter but they would most certainly put it down. What??? No way. I was already invested in this and there was no way I was going to hand this kitten over, who was struggling for life, and say "here, go ahead, just kill it."

In a desperate attempt I called Aunt Wanda and explained the situation. She jumped and said her mom could take the kitten in and bottle feed it. She had been wanting a cat so maybe this was meant to be. I raced home with the kitten. The girl at the rescue instructed me to put a heating pad in the box right away because the body temperature was falling and the kitten was really cold. I don't have a heating pad so I put the towel in the dryer and heated up some water which I put in a sturdy zip-lock bag. I but the warmed water in the bottom of the box and wrapped the kitten in the warmed towel. Wanda came and quickly took him and ran to Petco to buy formula.

Phew. Off I went to continue with my day the whole time wondering "why did this happen to me today"?

Wanda called and told me she was sitting in the car at Petco feeding the kitten. 'Ok.....we're off to a good start.' I thought. We all wanted to save this kitten. I told her to keep me updated.

About three hours later Wanda called and told me the kitten didn't make it. She had gotten him home and everyone was there routing for him, fighting over him and they decided to name him Meechi (after me). He ate just a little bit but no more. He died quietly in his sleep wrapped up warmly in a box.

I really don't know he ended up in the backyard of this house or why I found him that day. I'm just happy that we all did what we did. He lived a very short little life but he died surrounded by love instead of laying abandoned on cold, wet grass in the middle of a backyard. We all did our very best to save him and I'm happy for that.

Rest in peace Baby Meechie.......

(This photo is not of baby Meechie. I found it online and it looks very similar to him in color and in size. It is just a representation for this story.)

In Memory of Sophie

I know I'm a little late in catching you up on all the news but I'm sure some of you have not heard that Oprah's first dog, Sophie, passed away. A source at Harpo Studios told Celebrity Dog Watcher that “everyone here is really sad…Sophie was truly part of the Harpo family — as well as Oprah’s.” 13-year-old Sophie suffered from kidney failure. Last year, one of Oprah's other dogs, Grace, died after she choked on a ball.

I think Oprah probably loved Sophie more than she loves Stedman. I'm sure there will be an entire episode of Oprah dedicated to Sophie.......

In Memory.....

Our dear friend, Debra, passed away yesterday after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Debra was a free spirit. She loved life. She had an infectious laugh and a love of animals. She lived for her dogs. They went everywhere with her. That love for her dogs kept her fighting for the last few years. We were all so amazed at her will to live even when the doctors kept telling her there was nothing else they could do. She wouldn't hear it. She pressed on. She wanted to live for her babies.

Debra had four beautiful dogs - Charley Girl, Casey, Romy and Nikki. Debra passed away at home surrounded by her dogs, some friends and family. My thoughts go out to her mother, her sisters, Karen and Patty and to her faithful friends, Cameron, Evan, Karen and Robin who went above and beyond to care for a friend during such a difficult time.