It was a warm, sunny day in May. A perfect opportunity to get the horses out of their new corral they had moved into during the winter, and have the chance to get familiar with their new surroundings. The footing was good, and the weather was perfect for enjoying a nice leisurely stroll around the neighborhood. And then….tragedy struck! For the full story please check out my blog post at http://www.drqnand.com.
After months of cleansing soaks, bandage changes, antibiotics, pain medications, acupuncture treatments, and solitary confinement. Luckily we received generous donations to help offset the cost of all the treatments. All the while unsure if Oliver would be able to lead any sort of normal, pain free life again.
Today, I am happy to report a Christmas miracle! Not only is Oliver’s hoof completely healed, but he walks, runs, bucks and plays with hardly a limp and only a small deformity in the hoof wall left to tell the terrible tale. I am grateful to my friend who encouraged me not to give up on him, but to give him a chance. Sometimes in life when things seem most hopeless, amazing things happen, and even thousand pound animals who nearly severe their lower limb off can walk normally again. This is why I encourage my children, friends, and clients, to never, ever, give up!christmas-2016-silverthorne
I can hardly believe how quickly this year has passed, and all the positive changes in the practice despite all the extra time it took to love, care for, and nurture sweet Oliver through his injury. Can it really already be the end of the year?!
The year started with me spending 4 days in Vail with a board certified behaviorist continuing to hone my skills and special interest in all things animal behavior. Hiring some much-needed help to implement some changes such as our new on line booking system which will help to serve you, our clients better by no longer having to play ‘phone tag’ to schedule an appointment. To building a brand new website for http://www.resqranch.org to help continue to promote and build our dream for the future. Having our trusty student intern Katie join us to help provide loving care for the horses.katie-and-oliver Getting to travel to South Dakota with my family to see one of my favorite clients and her kitty. Getting my feet wet doing multiple live internet interviews, events, and recording helpful videos, and promoting one of my favorite animal places on the internet, a Facebook group called https://www.facebook.com/groups/PositivePetAdvice/, if you are an animal lover and on Facebook, this is the group to belong to! Attending the VegFest again and getting to speak to all the animal lovers there. As well as being asked to speak at other events, one being the Animal Rights Event in Colorado Springs (although I am not much of a proponent of animal rights, but rather animal welfare). However, the one which honored me the most, was being asked to be the keynote speaker at a vegan Thanksgiving event with over 100 people in attendance. To traveling to California three times on business (twice with my children), for such varied reasons as testifying as a veterinary expert in a court case against Purina, to speaking to the South California fish enthusiasts, to prospective veterinary students at Soka University, and culminating with being invited to speak at SeaWorld San Diego (we were lucky enough to be invited there twice in less than 2 months) to exchange ideas with the aquarists and about my experience with fish medicine practice. Along those lines I was also honored to be contacted this year by the local aquatics wholesaler Tropaquatics, to come in and evaluate their facility and help them provide healthier animals to their clients.
Then in fall of this year, I was asked by a local veterinary hospital if I could lend a hand as they attempted to recover from the sudden loss of a full-time veterinarian. So now I find myself being a new 3 day a week staple at the local Aspen Park Veterinary Hospital, which has been a fascinating learning opportunity to hone and practice my holistic medicine skills, and learn many new modalities I had never even hear of before! All the while of course volunteering on various committee’s at my children’s school, unfortunately attending court more times than I care to mention to defend the children from my ex-husband’s antics, and of course all the while caring for my busy caseload of clients and their pets, YOU!cute-zen-drq-alexzee-and-sox
No wonder the year flew by so fast! Although Oliver’s story ended up a happy tale, we did suffer some tragic losses this year here at the Resqranch. We lost Steve the cat to a urinary blockage, and my beloved TRex the bearded dragon. Few can imagine the deep bond a person can share with a reptile, or the deep cutting pain from their loss….
Overall the year was, what I would call, a success. A strong foundation was set in place for an even stronger year in 2017, with looking forward to finally acquiring 501 3 c status for the http://www.resqranch.org, and pushing ahead with the dream of opening a world-class education center, children’s museum, and animal sanctuary, right here in Colorado.
If you care about the plight of suffering animals’, please subscribe to our updates about the Resqranch here https://funds.gofundme.com/dashboard/w96q4v9w/share/menu.
Thank you to all of you who placed your trust in me in 2016, and donated to the Resqranch. I encourage you to stand with me in 2017 as I bring a first of it’s kind, world class animal rescue facility into existence. After all, they say, if your dreams don’t scare you a little bit, then they are not big enough!
Wishing you all happiness, big dreams, and much success in 2017!
THANK YOU FOR BEING YOU! AND FOR CARING AND HAVING A VOICE FOR THE VOICELESS! BLESS YOU IN ALL IN 2017!
Here is to making it even bigger and better. see you next year!
Much love!
DrQ and the crew at the Resqranch!
