Cat Born Without Eyelids: Surgeries and a Lot of Love Helped Him Get a Second Chance

A cat born without eyelids is getting a second chance and a new owner, according to WESH.

In March, the 11-month-old cat was found roaming the streets of Stuart, Fla. The Humane Society of the Treasure Coast took the cat in and named him Sauron.

Sauron was checked over by veterinarians, who determined that multiple surgeries would be needed to fix his eyelids. His eyelids were damaged and his eyes must have pained him as if he constantly had something in his eyes. The damage to his eyes would continue to get worse, and if he didn’t have the surgeries, he would go blind, the Humane Society was told.

The surgeries would cost thousands of dollars, yet that didn’t stop two of the Humane Society volunteers who fell in love with the young cat. Les Thomas and Roxie Smith decided to foster him until he could be adopted. And they went above and beyond giving him a foster home. They helped save his sight and used their own money to do so.

Sauron was taken to the University of Florida in Gainesville by the volunteers. For the first surgery, Smith said corners of Sauron’s mouth were used to make new eyelids. Two more surgeries followed. The surgeries cost more than a thousand dollars out of their own pockets.

While at the University of Florida, third year veterinary student Chelsea Mendola saw Sauron, and she too fell in love with the cat with the sweet personality. So much so, that Mendola adopted Sauron on Tuesday.

Click HERE to follow the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast on Facebook. If you would like to donate to the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast’s Emergency Medical Care Fund, contact Karen Bellucy at 772-600-3212 or visit their website. http://www.hstc1.org/

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How To Help Animals Affected By Florence

While many families were able to evacuate safely with their pets, many were left behind in their homes or at animal shelters.

Florence was downgraded to a tropical storm late Friday, but heavy rains and life-threatening flooding are still drenching the Carolinas. Florence hasn't just affected humans. Hundreds of animals have been caught up in the deadly storm as well.

While many people safely evacuated with their pets, other animals were left behind either at shelters or in homes. In North Carolina, hundreds of people stood in line to pick up foster dogs from coastal shelters for the weekend before the storm made landfall.

Here's how you can get involved in the efforts to help animals affected by Florence.

Adopt a new furry friend with waived fees
Several shelters outside of the storm's path have already taken in animals from shelters that evacuated. Many of these shelters are now waiving or providing discounted adoption fees for the animals they rescued.

To read more on this story, click here: How To Help Animals Affected By Florence


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Tear Stains in Dogs: Why They Happen and How to Help

When your dog’s otherwise sweet expression is marred by dark, rust-colored tears running down their face, it’s hard to notice anything else. Tear stains can be unsightly and distracting, even mildly repulsive to those who don’t know your dog, and they can be hard to get under control. But there are ways to treat and even eliminate tear stains with a little time and attention.

What Causes Tears Stains in Dogs?
It all stems from your dog’s tearing, a natural process to keep the delicate eye and its membranes lubricated.

Both normal and excessive tearing can cause tear stains, but if you feel like you’re constantly wiping gunk or goobers out of your dog’s eyes, and particularly if it’s thick and has a yellow or green tint, you should take him to the vet. Eye infections, glaucoma, eyelash issues or entropion (where the eyelid is inverted), foreign objects in the eye, and even an ear infection can cause tearing with thicker discharge. These issues require a veterinarian’s help to diagnose and treat.

If the discharge is clear and/or watery but excessive, it could be a blocked tear duct, allergies, or simply due to your dog’s physiology—larger eyes in small breeds or skin folds around the eyes. Some breeds are prone to the issue and require regular attention to keep the area below the eye clean and dry and free of discharge.

To read more on this story, click here: Tear Stains in Dogs: Why They Happen and How to Help

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Dogs And Cats Were Rescued From Flooded Homes In Jacksonville, NC, During Hurricane Florence

On Friday, dogs and cats in Jacksonville, North Carolina, were rescued from flooded homes and brought to safety.

Live video showed dogs being removed from a boat in the flood waters of Hurricane Florence. Later, the same rescue team saved cats who were stranded near a flooded home.

The hurricane made landfall just before 7:30 Friday morning Category 1 storm.







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Beautiful Giant Horse Head Sculptures, "The Kelpies”, by Artist Andy Scott - Transforms the Scottish Skyline

“The Kelpies” is an enormous installation consisting of two giant horse head sculptures by artist Andy Scott. The 100-foot-tall structures, which were eight years in the making, are inspired by a legend from the artist’s Scottish background that tells of a water spirit that takes the shape of a horse. More than just a pair of broncos to Scott, the sculptures serve as monuments of the artist’s national pride.


Long faces: Stunning pictures show 300-tonne steel horse 'Kelpies' glowing in the Scottish night sky as coloured spotlights are pointed towards 30-metre high tribute to country's industrial past

Against the backdrop of a moody Scottish dusk, these towering steel horse heads loom 30 metres tall, aglow with shifting colours.

The 300-tonne statues, called The Kelpies,( watch over the entrance to the ocean, where the Forth and Clyde canal meets the North Sea in Falkirk.

Their patterned skin, made of stainless steel, is held aloft by an intricate steel framework. At night the two statues glow in unison as the glow of upward-pointing spotlights spills out round the gaps in their surface.

They borrow their names from mythological horses which haunt lochs and rivers in Celtic legend. Kelpies were said to be able to transform into beautiful women to ensnare travellers. The massive sculptures, designed by Glaswegian Andy Scott, pay tribute to the working horses which once fired Scotland's economic prosperity by dragging industrial barges along the extensive network of canals.

Construction work on the sculptures was completed in November, and the towering, luminescent artworks will be opened to the public later this month. Mr Scott has said of his sculptures: 'They are the embodiment of the industrial history of Scotland.'

Take a look at these videos:

'The Kelpies' : by Walid Salhab
Using a unique hyperlapse technique, this video features footage captured within a live construction site. Filming under these conditions is rarely possible; filming under these conditions using the hyperlapse technique is close to impossible. Created from over 60 days of stop-motion filming across 7 months, and tracking construction through to completion, this film uses over 12,000 individual photos, none of which have been edited or manipulated beyond settings inside the camera. Walid captured 120,000 individual images to create this seven minute masterpiece.


Aerial shots of The Kelpies
Aerial footage filmed by Alan Corrie, showing The Kelpies with the Forth & Clyde Canal and their surrounding landscape which will be completed by end of April 2014. This amazing footage shows The Kelpies from otherwise unattainable angles and gives a real sense of their scale.

The Kelpies : Artist Statement
The title and theme of The Kelpies as mystical water-borne equine creatures was inherited at the outset of the project, almost eight years ago.  Since then it has evolved dramatically and in the process the ethos and function has shifted from the original concept.   Falkirk was my father’s home town and that inherited link to the town has been one of my driving inspirations.  A sense of deep personal legacy has informed my thinking from the outset, with old family connections anchoring me to the project.   As an artist I frequently tackle the theme of equine sculpture in my practice.  My horse based works are always rooted in a socio-historical relevance or respond to a brief from the client.  In almost every project they are related to the site, the audience, history or a combination of themes.

This is the case with The Kelpies.  The mythological associations behind the original brief have been absorbed by other sources of inspiration in the creative processes, and the ancient ethereal water spirits have been forged into engineered monuments.   The Kelpies are modelled on heavy horses (two Clydesdales of Glasgow City Council actually served as models in the process) and it is this theme of working horses which captured my imagination and drove the project.  Clydesdales, Shires and Percherons, the equus magnus of the north.   They are the embodiment of the industrial history of Scotland and the Falkirk / Grangemouth area.  Heavy horses would once have been the powerhouse of the area, working in the foundries, the fields, farms and of course the canal itself, pulling boats along the Forth & Clyde from coast to coast.  Falkirk was also home to reputedly the worlds biggest horse: in the 1930′s Carnera hauled wagons laden with soft drinks around the town (made in Scotland from girders, of course)

The materials of the sculptures are deliberately those of Scotland’s former industrial heartland, steel construction on an architectural scale:  equitecture   The towering horse heads have an industrial aesthetic with structural columns and beams visible through the riveted laser cut steel plates of the skin, the manes rendered as geometric overlapping slabs of steel.  The entire structures are illuminated inside and out to create a stunning spectacle in hours of darkness.   They elevate Falkirk and Grangemouth to national and international prominence and bring with them a sense of pride and ownership, having achieved global media coverage.  As a canal structure they partner the iconic Falkirk Wheel, and echo its grandeur.  They stand as a testament to the achievements of the past, a paean to artisanship and engineering and a declaration of intent for the future of Scotland.

As with all of my works, they will doubtless create many narratives and the original Kelpie myth will inevitably resurface.  The title will spark a mystical interpretation in many viewers.  That is up to the beholder and of course I welcome the engagement of the widest possible audience in the sculptures.   My intent however is built around a contemporary sculptural monument more than an ancient legend.  Water-borne, towering gateways into the canal system, The Helix park, and the nation, translating the legacy of the area into proud equine guardians.   Andy Scott, November 2013.

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How To Be Your Pet Bird's Best Friend

Think about your best friend. What makes them that? Maybe it’s that you can always talk to them. They know when to be blunt, and when to give you space. They see you at your worst and encourage you to be your best. They’re always there for you, as you are always there for them.

That type of relationship is one you should have with your bird, especially as they get older. (Young parrots need a mentor-student relationship, so they learn how to live in our homes.) To develop a BBFF relationship with your bird, here are several things to do and consider.

Communication is Key
Having a best friend means you have someone you can share all your secrets with. You can do the same with your bird if you really want (they may only repeat their favorite words), but the point is that communication is important. Where this gets complicated is your bird can’t speak and tell us what they like, at least vocally.

Through body language, a parrot speaks volumes, and that’s how they chiefly communicate with us. We’re talking pining eyes, ruffled feathers, tail wags, etc. Each of those movements means different things, and it’s up to us to learn to “speak” parrot. If you don’t learn to understand parrot, the only conversations you’ll be having with your bird will be bites.

While learning body language (or how parrots speak to us), we also need to learn how to communicate with our parrots. Luckily, we can talk through training, where you tell your parrot what you would like it to do through cues. It’ll take some work to get the hang of positive reinforcement training, so do your research and don’t be afraid to reach out to people for guidance. It’ll help create a great relationship with your bird in the long run.

To read more on this story, click here: How To Be Your Pet Bird's Best Friend

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68-Year-Old Man Catches Life-Threatening Disease From Cat

Graphic images are roaming around Twitter after the New England Journal of Medicine is sharing the case of a man who contracted an infectious disease from his cat. According to health experts, the unidentified 68-year-old man caught a rare infectious disease called glandular tularemia. The graphic photo shows the man with bulbous, with red lesions on the right side of his face and neck. The patient visited his primary care doctor after experiencing a week-long fever, followed by two months of pain on the right side of his neck.

According to medical experts, the swelling on his neck turned out to be his lymph nodes, revealing the man had been infected with Francisella Tularensis, a high contagious toxic bacterium. The patient told his doctors that two days before his symptoms began, his outdoor cat had died of what veterans diagnosed as Feline Leukemia. Yet, that diagnosis had never been confirmed with a lab test, which is why doctors suspect the cat was sick from Francisella Tularensis as well.

What is tularemia?
I’ll be honest, I have never heard of this in my life, and frankly, I wish I hadn’t- I mean, just look at those giant boils! But, being the curious person I am, I researched it so you wouldn’t have to, and have the answers to all your questions. Francisella tularensis is actually very rare in humans. In 2016, the most recent year with accurate data available, health experts recorded 230 cases of the disease in the United States. The disease is more common in an animal, mostly in wild rabbits and mice. But, cats can become infected if they attack a sick mouse, which is probably what happened in this case. The disease can also be carried by deer flies and ticks.

To read more on this story, click here: 68-Year-Old Man Catches Life-Threatening Disease From Cat


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Pets Are Becoming Subjects of Contention for Couples Undergoing Divorce - Pets Are Even Included in Prenuptial Arrangements, Also Known as "Pre-Pups."

Can you imagine being separated from your adorable, furry companion? Increasingly, pets are becoming subjects of contention for couples undergoing divorce. In some cases, pets are even included in prenuptial arrangements, also known as "pre-pups."

There are nearly 179 million cats and dogs living in U.S. homes, according to the Human Society of the United States. Pet ownership has surged over the years, and many Americans would rather go to court than leave a bad marriage even more alone.

"It's essential a couple that has a pet deal with these with issues because pets aren't treated in the same way under the laws," said attorney Ann-Margaret Carrozza.

Vicki Ziegler, star of Bravo cable network show "Untying the Knot" about divorce battles, wrote in her July 2 blog: "Conflicts over pets can be just as important to divorcing spouses as any issue when both spouses have developed a special connection to a furry friend that they love and care for day-in and day-out. This feeling can be even greater when the couple has no children and the animal has taken on the role of the couple's 'child'."

She adds that it is becoming increasingly popular for divorcing couples to set up visitation schedules for their pets and negotiating specific agreements on who will be responsible for vet visits, dog park exercise and more.

In late 2013, a landmark divorce case involving a lesbian couple in New York featured a heated pet custody battle.

Trisha Murray and Shannon Travis fought for custody over their two-year-old miniature dachshund Joey, which Murray had bought and given to Travis as a gift, the New York Post reported.

Murray had financially supported the puppy, but Travis argued that the pet belonged to her because she was the initial owner.

The judge in the case decided to set aside property claims, using instead a different "best for all concerned" standard established by the earlier Raymond v. Lachmann court case, which involved pet possession.

Murray's attorney Sherri Donovan said that the divorce case was one of the first to set aside a one-day hearing to gauge to dog's best interests.

The hearing gave a chance for both parties to address important questions regarding the dog's well-being and physical care.

"I think what it makes clear is that animals are not a piece of furniture," Donovan said. Pets are a beloved member of the family. The standard that was set in the case is a good one and I advocate for it."

The case set a precedent for future pet custody battles waged during divorces.

"It's a one-day hearing," Donovan said. "But it does take into account the concerns of all and it does help settle cases. Now there is a standard. Before this case there was no standard, people kept filing litigation."

Many married couples are beginning to take defensive measures to avoid any future litigation over pets. They choose to include stipulations involving pet visitation rights and primary custody as a separate class in their prenuptial agreements, Carrozza said.

"I think it's clear animal right and pets are important to the 21st century family," Donovan said.

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