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Zeus – my husband wanted a German Shepherd puppy for Christmas, so that is how we came upon Zeus in November of 2014.  We found him on Craig’s List and the owner said she needed to get rid of all her puppies at 5 weeks because she needed money, so we have raised Zeus since he was 5 weeks old.  We put him in PetsMart puppy training and had a K-9 trainer come to the house.  We knew if we had a “big boy” that he needed to be well-behaved and manageable.  Zeus is such a good boy and we actually get compliments when he is in the public about how good he behaves.  His favorite toy is the Frisbee, which we throw for him every day and he loves going to the dog park. 

 Unfortunately our other two small dogs passed away recently, just one day apart from each other.  We were heart broken and Zeus was very sad, mopey and had lost weight.  He wanted a new play mate.

So, then Zoe comes in the picture.  My husband and I wanted another dog and we thought Zeus needed another playmate (besides our three cats).  We didn’t have any idea what type of dog we wanted or when.  A friend of a friend said someone was getting rid of a small puppy because her kids were too rough with it and it was just too much.  So we go to meet her (with Zeus) and immediately fall in love.  She is very small (only 5 pounds) but she is part Siberian Husky and part Boston Terrier and should come to weigh about 20-30 pounds.  We brought her home and she and Zeus play well together.  We have to watch Zeus because he is so big, but he is a gentle giant.  I am sure when Zoe gets full grown, they will have hours and hours of fun playing together and Zeus is back to his old happy self.  I am not sure who will rule the house yet, as Zoe certainly has her own little bossy personality.

A special thanks to Tuscawilla Oaks AH as they make our life easier with our cats and dogs.  We don’t know what we would do without them, their care and concern. 

Jack is thrilled to be picked Pet of the Month for May, and he and his Mom and Dad are thrilled too! 

We adopted Jack from the Cat Rescue at PetSmart during the 4^th of July weekend 2014.  The cats were all discounted 50% for a 4^th of July special  J.  Jack was in a cage with his 4 sisters (the only boy in the litter), and they were about 2 ½ months old.  We held many kittens that day, and as most kittens do, they put out their claws to hang on because they are nervous.  When we held Jack, he was just a cuddly kitten who loved to be held like a baby and he never put his claws out.  We brought this little boy home, and he hid in a corner of our spare room, behind a box, for about half a day – then the house was his.  He grew almost overnight.  He was such a little kitty, but he grew into a big cat so fast.  He’s a crazy boy – always on the go, and he thinks everything in the house is his toy.  He likes to taunt Soccer, our 12 year-old Chihuahua/Pekinese mix, and is always chasing him.  Soccer was scared and annoyed at first, but has learned to accept Jack.

Jack started acting sick on April 2^nd.  He had no energy and wasn’t eating or drinking anythings as far as we could tell.  On April 6^th, we took Jack in to see Dr. Janis Fullenwider, and by Wednesday, April 8^th he was having surgery to remove a penny that he had swallowed.  A penny!  Not only was the penny causing an obstruction, he had started to digest it (there were two holes in it when it was removed), and the Zinc in the penny was making him sick.  So after feeding him food and water with a syringe for about a week and half after surgery, and giving him appetite pills and “poop” pills, he is all better now.  Thanks so much to Dr. Janis, and thank you for selecting Jack as the Pet of the Month!

  Shirley and Anthony Cemoni

Charlotte was born in Williamsport Pennsylvania on August 5th 2011.  we went to pick her out from a litter of 7 adorable yellow Labradors.  4 boys and 3 girls.
Charlotte loves to travel and play with all doggies. Cats too! Charlotte plays to win!
Charlotte has had agility classes and obedience class. When our son was in the hospital for a month she was allowed to come and visit him. She was wonderful therapy for him and for her entire family!
Charlotte has a little brother Higgins whom she teases immensely!  She is still the boss though. Our Charlotte is the sweetest most lovable girl ever!
And she adores the TOAH staff and especially Dr. Jan Fullenwider!

We got Toby back February 2006, he was a very sick puppy and we were told he had been hit by a car. We went to Pet Rescue by Judy to see another dog we were thinking about adopting, but the minute we saw his little face the decision was made. He still had stiches and was on medication, we were told he may or may not make it, but it’s now 2015 and he MADE IT.

He is having such a wonderful life, we take him on vacations (he loves room service), loves car rides & going to the park, but his favorite thing to do is swimming in the pool.

We are so blessed to have him in our lives and would do anything for him, he is so precious and we all LOVE him so very much.

Love

Toby’s Family

TRIXIE BOLTON 

Don’t be fooled by the name and the sweet face. Trixie is an English Springer Spaniel(“ESS”) who is passionate and ferocious about hunting birds with her owners. Quail, chukar, grouse, pheasant – you name it: Trixie will smell ‘em, flush ‘em, go get ‘em when her owners shoot ‘em, and will retrieve ‘em back to her owners, even if the birds fall into water.  All harvested birds she retrieves end up in her owners’ freezer and ultimately on their table.  Trixie, at 11 (human) years old, continues to hunt and, when she’s not hunting, she is keeping her people healthy by walking/running with them in the neighborhood at 5:30 each morning. The rest of her time is spent lounging on the couch, playing with her pack mate Badger, and cuddling and playing with her people.  

Over eleven years ago, a friend of Trixie’s owners told them that her ESS was going to have pups and asked if they wanted one.  Never having an ESS before, they did some research and decided that this was the breed for them. They got their first picture of the litter when the pups were just hours old. Weeks later, Trixie’s people-to-be (including two children) picked her out of the litter. As far as they are concerned, they got the pick of the litter. Trixie was named valedictorian when she “graduated” from puppy obedience training!   

Her people noticed that Trixie loved to hunt rabbits in their yard and seemed to have a keen nose.  That observation opened a new door of adventure and fun for the family. As Trixie went through three months of training to hunt birds, her people were getting their own training to be safe and accurate bird hunters. Trixie and her people have hunted in Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.  Trixie’s nose always finds the bird! 

Happy Hunting, Trixie!!!!!!!

I would do well to learn a life lesson or two from my best friend, my hero, my dog, Sam.

Sam is loyal, cheerful, and is happy to do whatever his family is doing, from riding in the car, to going for a walk, to swimming, or just sitting on the sofa with his Dad (me) watching football.

He has had his health issues. Sam had hip surgery when he was not even 2 years old. Lying on the rug on his first day home recovering with staples across his hip area, Sam struggled to get to his feet just so he could greet me at the door coming home from work. Now that is a best friend!

Sam recently lost his vision, just shy of his 10^th birthday. Yet after just a couple of weeks, you would hardly know it. He doesn’t feel sorry for himself, doesn’t ask “why me?” He just adjusted, and now he gets around just fine.

Sam is also dealing with Cushing’s disease and a second bad hip. Yet he just goes on doing the best he can. He’s happy and showing his family how to be cheerful and positive in the face of adversity. Like I said I can learn a lot from my best friend.

-Sam’s Dad

Being a ferret owner and rescue active in the ferret community I was given a once in a lifetime chance to get a private bred ferret from up north. Both his mom and dad come from highly respectable breeders who judge in shows. I did my research and decided that I would welcome him into my family with open arms. He was transported down here with one of my good friends.

HCF’s Raiden (Thunderstruck) is 6 months old now and is a 1/4 Hungarian polecat hybrid. Raiden is suspected to get over 5 pounds. He is a very highly intelligent, funny and faithful boy who loves his family. He loves to run around the house with his friends getting into things and  laughing at us when we tell him not to.  He turns heads and makes new friends wherever he goes. We are honored to be TOAH’s pet of the month for December 🙂

Kim

My name is Chester and I am lucky to be alive. I was rescued twice. Once was in November 2003, I was approximately 6 months old. I was found under a storage unit behind a Publix shopping center and I was very scared. I grew up with three other kittens my age and was an inside cat until 2012. Now I love being outside and on the back porch.

I was just recently rescued for the second time when I managed to get into a chemical that caused burns on my tongue, back legs, tail, and my belly. Thanks to the great care from the doctors and staff at Tuscawilla Oaks Animal Hospital I am as good as new. After resting inside for a month I am back to enjoying the outside life. I still get to come inside to snuggle with my mom though! Life is good!

Bear’s Story:

Bear came into our lives just before the July 4^th holiday weekend.  He was a mere 2 lb. 9-week old rescue from a local animal shelter.  The “runt” of the litter, he seemed to be the unwanted soul; more reason we felt a strong connection to him and knew he needed to be a part of our family where he could be loved and cared for.  Unbeknownst to us, he came with illness.  Within 24 hours of being home he produced a chronic cough that ended up being pneumonia (visit 1).  Bear being such a tiny baby it was challenging to find the right medications and dosage that he could handle, but the wonderful Doctors a TOAH knew just what to do.

As the following days progressed other issues unfolded. These were even more serious than the pneumonia.  Bear had suffered an internal post-op trauma when neutered prior to coming into our care and TOAH (visits 2, 3, 4).  It was touch and go for a while with our little guy, but with surgery that cared for the infected area he was patched up good as new (visits 5, 6).  So much for a puppy to endure; more than some adult dogs and humans could handle but Bear is one tough little cookie.  This all in the first 10 days he was with us!  When you have the best care and a lot of love the odds are in your favor.

Bear is now 5 months old … completely healed, healthy, running and playing like a puppy should. He has a brother and sister, Lucky and Lacey who have welcomed him into the family with open paws.  We love our little furry children very much; they fill our home with happiness, love and energy.  We look forward to a long wonderful life with Bear, Lucky and Lacey!

Dudley’s Story:

Dudley is one of six members of our FF (furred family), and Dudley is known in our home as “the best dog in the universe”!  We adopted him through Florida Great Pyrenees Rescue shortly after losing our first Pyrenees that we had rescued from Pet Rescue by Judy after he ingested nuts from a sago palm.  We know that Dudley was born 12/18/2003 and was put up for adoption after his original family could no longer care for him.  He came to us on 5/30/2005 and has been nothing but a true joy ever since!  So much so that we adopted our female, Molly, sight unseen, from a “pound” in GA in 2009.  Dudley is the patriarch here.  We also have our sweet “mutt” Martha, adopted through Pet Rescue by Judy when she brought her back from New Orleans after hurricane Katrina.  The alpha male is our 7-pound Yorkie rescue, Riley, who joined the family in 2007.   Add our cats, Nellie, who we adopted in 2000, and our newest addition, Gracie, adopted in July from TOAH and we’re a full house!  Dudley has always welcomed (or at least easily tolerated!) each and every addition. We love them all, but he knows he’s my favorite!!