Good things happen in 5s (plus a Nikolas update!)

The last time we posted an adoption update, we had five critters who had headed home. And today, we have another five to tell you about!

First of all, we've got great news about Bernie. The shy little pomeranian has really started to really come out of his shell, thanks to his foster mom Sara Jones and other friends! He worked really hard to learn to trust people, and he was rewarded with a forever family: Angela and Anthony of Iron Mountain, Mich. Bernie now has two human sisters named Elizabeth and Victoria, a doggy brother named Puddles and a cat sister named Cuddles-A-Lot! Yay for Bernie!

Zeus, the standard poodle mix, went home to James, a Green Bay resident who is retired and can spend all day playing with him! Zeus is the only dog in James' house, so he's getting lots of love and attention.

Charlotte left the PetSmart Adoption Center in time to spend Valentine's Day with her new family in Fond du Lac. Doug and his daughter are spoiling Charlotte (and her kitty brother Tiger Tom) rotten!! (Charlotte is the orange cat in the forefront of the picture above.)

Our sweet little pooches Cricket and Dawn found a home together! They are now living with Jeff & Cheryl of Green Bay, along with two doggy brothers. Jeff and Cheryl look forward to loving the girls for however long they have left (as they are senior dogs). Cheryl is especially thrilled because the numbers of boys and girls in the house are finally evened out!

Of course, many of you are probably also wondering about our little pal Nikolas. The famous three-legged kitty has made some great improvements since Amanda brought him home from the vet last week. As of Saturday, he's sitting up on his own and trying to groom himself! He's also eating on his own most of the time. Amanda has noticed some spasms in his back leg, so she'll ask about that when she brings him in for a vet check-up this week. Keep those prayers and good thoughts coming his way! He's certainly responding to them!

The latest on Nikolas...

Our little man, Nikolas, is pretty much the same. He was examined by the vet again yesterday, and when she pinched his front toes, he did pull his legs back so that could be a good sign! Today, Amanda thought she saw him put some pressure/use one of his front legs for leverage while eating, though his leg may have just ended up in that position.

He is able to eat on his own if Amanda puts the dish in front of him and positions him just the right way, but he still prefers if she holds him and the dish. He woke her up this morning by biting her in the arm because he wanted to eat. He's clearly getting more and more bossy, and his eyes are definitely brighter - hopefully these are all signs that his legs will start working soon!

We've had some requests to repost information about how to donate to Nikolas' medical care, so here it is again:

There are two ways to donate:

1) You can send monetary donations to HEA, E5714 Bork Road, Marion WI 54950

2) Visit the donation page of our website www.happilyeverafterinfo.org/donate and click on the JustGive Donate Now button.

Thanks to all of Nikolas' friends for caring about him!

Update on Nikolas

HEA decided to bring Nikolas back to the sanctuary - well, sort of! He is living with Amanda...imagine that! Amanda is very experienced with supportive care and is taking care of Nikolas around the clock...no kidding, he wakes her up every few hours in the night to tell her that he is hungry or that he wants his paws massaged! If he makes it through this, he will know no other life than being spoiled. He is taking all of his medications like a champ, under the skin fluids (no more iv's, which is good), and is officially eating on his own, although this is pretty messy yet as he sticks his whole head in the dish, but then again he did that when he was healthy to keep the other kittens from getting any food! He kicks Amanda with his back leg, the only leg that works when he is mad/frustrated with her. The hardest thing for Nikolas at this point is that when he hears noises or wants something he can't get it on his own, but he is learning to communicate his thoughts very well with Amanda. Continue to pray for progress. Nikolas says thanks for caring about him!

Support needed for Nikolas

We love sharing good news here on the HEA blog, but unfortunately tonight we have some sad/scary news about one of our critters. Last Thursday afternoon, Nikolas, an 8-month-old kitten born with a congenital deformity of only having 3 legs, was observed acting listless and under the weather. Originally it was believed he may have something as simple as an upper respiratory infection. However, when separated for observation, Nikolas' condition worsened, which included paralysis.

Sunday at 2 a.m., Nikolas was rushed to the Green Bay Animal Emergency Center where they immediately placed a catheter for an IV and injectable antibiotic as well as did bloodwork and x-rays. Bloodwork came back with nothing significantly wrong. and x-rays showed a perfect spine. You would think that would be good, however it's not, because they still don't know what's wrong with him. That makes "treating" anything difficult.

On Sunday, they tried antibiotics, but he showed no immediate response. Because of this and Nikolas being born with a physical abnormality, they are under the impression that it is most likely a congenital defect that may or may not respond to steroids.

HEA has decided to continue his round the clock veterinary care as well as steroid injections, IV fluids and pain medications. He refuses to eat for the nurses so they are syringe feeding him (but he did eat some for Amanda when she went and spent time with him). He is also basically non-responsive to them, but did purr and try to put his head up for Amanda when she visited this afternoon.

The prognosis given by the veterinarians is "guarded." This means Nikolas needs your support. Please "say a little prayer" for our sweet boy in hopes of a recovery.

As many of you know the cost of veterinary care adds up quickly, especially emergency vet care. Nikolas may not recover, but on the other hand he may. The only way of knowing is by giving his mind, body, and soul a chance to respond to the medications and the power of love that is surrounding him. The body can take several days to respond to the steroids, which means round-the-clock veterinary care will have to continue to be provided. If you would be willing to help in Nikolas' care and show him that we all care and love him, please send monetary donations to HEA, E5714 Bork Road, Marion WI 54950 or go to the donation page of our website www.happilyeverafterinfo.org/donate and click on the JustGive Donate Now button.

HEA and Nikolas thank you for the support. We will continue to share with you Nikolas' condition...hopefully good news!

Five More Head Home!

January has been a terrific month so far! In the last week alone, five wonderful and well-deserving critters found their forever homes.

Handsome Dusty, the dog who authored his own post here on the HEA blog back on Thanksgiving, has made AMAZING progress with his foster parents. So much so, in fact, that he was ready to go to a permanent home! And that would be with a neat lady named Carla, who lives in Oneida with one other dog. Dusty is already loving his new family and is getting spoiled - he had potato pancakes for breakfast on his first morning in his new home! (Dusty is the top picture here.)

Our gal Lisa (pictured 2nd from the top) had a great day last Saturday - a family from Oshkosh came out to visit and fell in love with this great dog. Her adoption paperwork was processed, and she was able to go home that same day. Now Lisa lives with her new mom Sara, her dad Dan, and their 5-year-old daughter Alicia. Alicia is homeschooled and is very excited to have Lisa as her new classmate!

Sweet, sweet Sally - a favorite of many HEA volunteers - got her happily ever after last week, too. Her new home is in Sturgeon Bay, where she resides with her mom Sarah, dad Greg, a doggie sister Pearl, and two cats. Sally loves them all...but ESPECIALLY the cats! Sarah reported, "Our cat Tullah came right up to her when Sally first walked in the door, and Sally gave her a huge kiss that made her fur stand up in all directions!" We weren't surprised to hear that, as Sally is definitely a lover of ALL creatures! You see Sally lying on the couch in her new home above.

But dogs weren't the only lucky ones this week - two cats made their way home, too! Kevin and his 6-year-old son, Elias, adopted both Randy (2nd to bottom picture) and Thomas the Tank (bottom picture). They live in Marion, so they didn't have to go too far from the Sanctuary to find a super family! Kevin and Elias already had one cat who was looking for some buddies. He'll definitely have that in these two boys!

Congrats to all these families and all these animals. We couldn't be happier for you!

2010: Kick-Started!

Yesterday, HEA held its first-ever Kick Start Meeting at the Ashwaubenon Community Center. We planned this meeting because we suspected many of our loyal volunteers and supporters might be interested in knowing more about where we came from, the year that was 2009, and where we hope to go in 2010 and beyond. And boy, were we right! About 65 folks came out in full force - and with yummy dishes to pass.

The enthusiasm and energy in the room was palpable from the moment folks started walking in the door, as friends of HEA chatted with each other and enjoyed getting to know more about the fellow animal lovers in the room. When the presentation began, everyone was extremely engaged and eager to hear what Sanctuary president Amanda Reitz, treasurer Lois Reitz and volunteer coordinator Erin Elliott had to share. The Q&A session wrapped up the day, with many fabulous queries and even more fabulous ideas for bringing the long-range vision for HEA into reality. (We'll be discussing many of them soon and will be in touch with next steps.)

If you missed the meeting (or just want to relive it!), be sure to check out our photo album of the day on Facebook and view our presentation slides, which you can find here. We did have sign up sheets out for the various events, regular volunteer opportunities and new monthly orientations available, but don't worry - if you'd like to participate in ANYTHING this year, just make sure you e-mail Erin Elliott (erinelliott@hotmail.com) and ask to be added to the Active Volunteer e-mail list. Then you'll be sure to get the scoop!

A most sincere thanks to all those who came out to share in this special day. With your help, 2010 is gonna be our best year yet!

2010: Off and running!

We may be only 13 days into the new year, but already it's been a busy one! First of all, we have to thank the volunteers who have come to the Sanctuary the first two weekends of the month. Thanks to them, we've made tremendous progress in our quest to remodel the dog rooms and hallway with new wall/door paint, new side panels and new flooring. And the dogs are thrilled!! They can't wait for us to finish. We'll get there - sooner rather than later.

Also, we're doing lots of prep work in advance of this Sunday's first annual HEA Kick-Start Meeting. If you haven't already heard, ALL friends and supporters of HEA are invited to this very special get-together, which will start at 11:30 a.m. and go until about 2. It's at the Ashwaubenon Community Center, 936 Anderson Drive. And it's not too late to RSVP - just contact our volunteer coordinator Erin Elliott at erinelliott@hotmail.com. Let her know what dish you'd like to pass, too - we have LOTS of yummy stuff to look forward to, as well as good company and GREAT info about our accomplishments in 2009 and all that's planned for 2010 (and beyond).

And of course, we've been busy sending lots of animals to their forever homes! The pictures at the top are just a few of them. The stories are below. Enjoy their happy tales! And we hope to see you on Sunday!

SNICKERS & TUX (the first two cats pictured at the top): These are two cats we've had for quite a while...only because they love each other so much that we could only send them home to a family who could take both. And they found that in Kris and Deb Larsen of Denmark. Their fun tribe includes 5 kids, 2 dogs and some birds - and word has it that the kitties LOVE to watch the parakeet and quickly learned to snuggle with the dogs. We're thrilled these guys are settling in so nicely in such a wonderful home.

REAGAN: A sweet kitty who was adopted by Craig and Lori of Green Bay, who lost their cat two months ago and were looking for a new baby to love. Reagan was a perfect choice as she LOVES to be loved. They will definitely give her the care she deserves.

WIGGY: This is a case of a foster home turning into a forever home! Natalie and Eric of Green Bay just couldn't give Wiggy up and are adding her to their brood. Wiggy now has kitty brothers and a human sister on the way!

GOLD BOY (the only dog pictured above): Terri and Anton of Waukesha lucked out when they brought this wonderful doggy home to share the house with his new doggy sister, Nelle. His new mom says that things are going well and that he's very eager to please - she's confident he'll learn and adapt quickly to his new home.

SHANIA: Another long distance adoption! This kitty went home with Erin Greene and her boyfriend Mitch, who live in Wisconsin Rapids. Erin already had a kitty at home named Casper, and Shania and Casper are already best of friends. Shania is less sure of Erin and Mitch's dog Koga, but we know Shania will learn how neat dogs can be after a while!

BOOMER (the big white kitty above): We're so happy to report that our big Boomer was able to go home to the family who originally adopted him a few years back. They had to return him to us after a short 8 months due to some life circumstances, but when life turned around, his family came right back for him! He was so happy to see his mom and brother again that you could hear him purring all the way across the room!

All these, plus, Nikita, Kipling, Tempo and Anya both found forever homes early in 2010, too! What a great start to a new year! Let's keep this momentum going!