At 11:36 AM 2/23/2007, you wrote:
Joannie is great and you will never be let down there. Our first few
visits we stayed at the Rock House which is now used as an office. We
then stay at the cottages. My husband does the horses and I tend to
stay in Benton's House and work.
We have never gone in the middle of Winter though, We usually go in the fall.
Glad you made it.
Kelly
www.kellyscats.zoomshare.com
Hey guys,
I have been trying to write this email since I got
back to work Wednesday, but for some reason, there's
actually work here to do that has kept me away! lol.
Not to mention that my husband and I were caught in a
snow storm on the freeway just south of Flagstaff, AZ,
Monday afternoon, and sat in the car from about 3 pm
to 12 am watching a ton of snow fall as well as our
gas gauge go down. Exciting and scary. We missed our
flight out and didn't get to fly back home until the
next day after spending the night in the rental car!
Crazy! So the workload had piled up when I got back
Wednesday.
Anyway, I wanted to tell you guys about our trip to
the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah
(pronounced Ku-nab, short 'u' and the 'a' like the 'a'
in 'kidnap', instead of ku-knob, which is what I
thought it was all this time). It was great! I
highly recommend it to anyone looking for a little
vacation. They even have cottages on-site, where you
can have a 'sleepover' with one of the dogs they have
there. They like to know how the dogs do out of a
pack situation, and the sleepovers are a great way to
find out.
The sanctuary was better than I expected. I was
afraid I would be let down, because I've always
thought so highly of the organization, but I was not.
One of the exciting things there is the Casa De
Calmar, the FeLV building, built solely for kitties
with FeLV! It houses no more than 15 cats per
section, 3 sections, and then there's about four
'lobby' kitties. So no more than about 50 FeLV
kitties. I volunteered mostly there, and also at the
Kitty Motel, the building for kitties with special
needs. They have FIV kitties, kitties with only two
legs, blind kitties, kitties who have had surgery or a
cast, kitties with allergies, etc. I sponsor a kitty
there named Regina. Casa De Calmar was built with
funds from a man after his wife, an avid cat lover,
passed away. He donated $500,000, I believe, to build
the unit, which I think is fantastic.
Now I know the question that all of you are wanting to
ask, "What protocols do they follow for FeLV." I was
VERY surprised to find that they give intra-MUSCULAR
(not IV or subQ!) injections of ImmunoRegulin every
two weeks. They also give Lysine via syringes in the
mouth, but I forgot how often. They completely change
out the litter boxes (there are a lot) twice a day and
clean them with bleach, twice a day. They said it
cuts down on spreading the corona virus. The kitties
are fed freely, wet and dry. I didn't get the name of
the food, but I think it's a local brand like the dog
food. I imagine it's probably good food. All the
kitties there look very happy and healthy, although we
all know that there are losses because of the FeLV.
However, they actually have a Siamese kitty there who
is 21 YEARS OLD!!! Can you believe that?
I met a lady there who runs Casa De Calmar, who was
the nicest person. Her name is Joanie, I think, and
she is VERY knowledgeable about FeLV. I asked her
lots of questions, and it seems BF is very up-to-date
on FeLV protocol, and doing everything they can for
these kitties. She mentioned Interferon, but I can't
remember what she said about it. I invited her into
this group, so maybe one day she will sign up. Her
knowledge and helpfullness will be of great value.
The buildings are cool. They have 'runs' coming out
of each side. So each inside octagonal unit for the
dogs, there is a big run attached to it that they use
freely. The kitties also have attached, outside
units. Two animal doors per run to cut down on
'bullying' or competitiveness. Inside the kitty's
outside unit are big 'branches' going into the
unfinished rafters. They even have litter boxes up
there! Lots of places to lie in and play. Toys.
Inside, there are little cubbie holes, and there's
always kitties in there. Lots of things to jump on
and climb on; lots of height. While my husband was
filming, this kitty in one of the FIV rooms jumped on
his head. It was hilarious! We met lots of great
kitties there. It's a wonderful place. If I were a
kitty, I'm not sure I'd want to leave! There is a
giant orange, long haired tabby named "Judah". He is
such a love. But my heart went to another. I fell in
love with a kitty there named "Toshie". Have lots of
pics of her. SOOOO playful and beautiful and sweet.
Joanie said she's incredibly smart, too. I would so
adopt her if I didn't already have four negatives
living in the house.
I hope I didn't jump around too much. I wanted to
cover everything, but I know I didn't. If anyone
wants to ask more questions, feel free. We should
plan a group trip there one day.
I have lots of photos if any of you would like to see
them. Does anyone know how many megabytes I can send
out via yahoo email?
:)
Wendy
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