Last year around this time, I found out that my grandmother had non-hodgkin's lymphoma.  She's in remission now, thankfully.  A year later, on my birthday, just a few days ago, I found out that they found a mass in my grandfather's lungs.  He had went to the doctor several times over the last few months for pain and constantly feeling ill, like he had the flu, chills, and fever.  We all have watched him loose weight and he's aged years in a matter of months.  The doctor said he had high blood pressure and bursitis.  The day after Christmas he went to the emergency room.  Now this might not be a big deal to most people but my grandpa doesn't even go to the doctor unless the pain is unbearable, he has to be really sick to go to the emergency room.  They then waited over five hours until they were even taken into an emergency room.  Thankfully, they took my grandfather seriously when he said he was sick.  They did a blood work up and took x-rays.  That's when they found a 3 inch mass in his lungs.  Now no one has said for sure it's cancer but really what else could it be.  Our family has been through so much.  We don't deserve to go through anymore.  My grandparents definitely don't deserve this.  They're good people and they've had more than their fair share.  Yes, I'm thinking it's not fair.  Hell, in my head I'm screaming that it's not fair.  I love my grandparents more than anything.  I don't want to watch him give up.  I don't want to watch him die.  I don't want to go to his funeral.  And I definitely don't want to pretend everything is ok anymore. 

Ellie's home

My little senegal is home.  Her name is Elaina, or Ellie.  She's fairly sweet.  It's hard to tell how sweet she is until she settles in.  Right now she's too nervous to be able to see the true her.  The picture above isn't her but it is a senegal parrot.  Just to give you an idea of what she looks like.  And believe or not, she's not much bigger than a cockatiel. 

We got in 3 ferrets at work.  They're all very cute.  I would never own a ferret because I think they stink but there's a lot of people out there that absolutely love them.  To each his own.  We got in a lab puppy and it was adopted out before the ink was even dry on his incoming papers.  We also took in 2 horses from a lady that saves them and then gives them to adoption agency's to find them a good home.  Horses usually don't stay with us long before they've found a home.  There's two new adorable kittens.  I would definitely bring these two home if I didn't have seven of my own.  They're just too cute.  I hope they find a home together. 

Happy Holidays!!

Well, I've been a little busy lately.  Not with work though.  On the 28th I will be going to pick up my Senegal parrot in Michigan!!!  I can't wait!  She's going to be so spoiled.  My birthday is on the 27th so it's kind of like a birthday present to myself!  Yippy!

I've been sending out my xmas presents and buying the last minute presents as well.  The holidays are always a busy time.  We've been baking goodies to take over to friends houses.  Sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, fudge and peanut butter balls.  Our house has smelled quite nicely this last week.  Tomorrow is going to be really busy.  It's Christmas Eve so of course, everyone wants us over.  I have things to do with my mom in the morning, shopping.  Then I have to run to my dad's to exchange gifts with him.  Run back home and have our xmas dinner.  I think we're trying to start a new tradition.  We never really had a tradition to begin with.  We're going to have dinner, ham, potatoes and rolls.  Then I am going to make my family famous milkshakes and we're all going to sit down and watch Rudolf and Frosty the snowman.  We'll see how long it takes before we're all fighting and slamming doors.  Knowing my family, it won't take us long. 

We did the gift exchange at the shelter.  We got in 3 new guinea pigs and tomorrow we're getting a little goat.  Sometime soon we'll be going to pick up a couple of horses as well.  We adopted out a mini horse and a goat last week.  It was sad knowing the horse was going.  He was everyone's little sweetheart. 

I found an ad in the paper for turkey's for sale.  I'd really like to buy two and keep them here at my home but no one likes that idea.  I really just want MY turkey back but that's not going to happen.  I'm determined to someday owning a couple of male turkeys.  They're such nice sweet boys.  I just wish people could see that here.  I miss my turk turk. 

Merry Christmas everyone and Happy Holidays. 

Been a While

Yes, I know, it's been a while since I last typed.  It's been a long and very sad week for us at the rescue.  My favorite turkey died.  It broke my heart.  I never thought I'd love a turkey but this one was my little protector and just a sweet little boy.  He went before his time but not without all the love we could give him.

My very good friend and one of the owner's of the rescue had to go to the hospital.  She was having severe chest pains.  She had an angioplasty and they found a 90% blockage.  They said if she hadn't come into the hospital, she would probably have had a massive heart attack and died.  We were all very worried and upset while she was away.  The day she went into the hospital I babysat our little baby goat, Jonah.  He stayed the night at my house and played with my animals the next day.  He was able to go home that day though, where he knew everything and was comfortable and happy.  Unfortunately, the night before my friend had her angioplasty, Jonah passed away.  He fell and broke his neck, it was just one of those accidents.  It was a very sad day.  He was a sweet and wonderful little goat.  He was ornery as hell at times but you just had to laugh at him.  Our little Jonah will always be missed but he'll be waiting for us all over the bridge.  I love you Jonah, sleep well.

What is Sleep??

Well, I have insomnia, many people are unaware of that but I do and because of that, I've decided to boycott sleep for the next 24 hours.  I'm going to work on no sleep and I'll spend the day with the animals.  I don't see the point in going to sleep and wasting my entire day sleeping.  I haven't been able to fall asleep before 10am in weeks and haven't been waking up before 6am in the same amount of time.  Maybe I'll have stories for you all later about the animals.  At the very least, you can hear about my day, which I'm sure after the first few hours without sleep will turn out to be a very long day.

Watch You Claws

I had the kitten out today that I'm fostering.  She was running around playing by herself, happy as a clam... for a while anyways.  Eventually she started to get bored and climbed up on the recliner behind my head and I figured she wanted to be petted.  Well, I was wrong, VERY wrong.  Within minutes she started chewing on my fingers and then suddenly, she attacked.  And I almost ended up in the hospital from a very tiny little kitten.  She clawed down my face and her nail caught on my lower eyelid... on the inside.  I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw there was no major damage in the mirror!  That kitten has some very short nails now. 

I WILL BE RETURNING TO WORK!!!!  FINALLY!!!!  I am so sick of this sitting around and waiting to feel better!  I can get back to actually having a life.  It's funny, when you're sick that long, you can become everyone's tv guide, because you've be stuck on the couch watching anything and everything that catches your eye.  I'm sure I'll have some cute baby goat stories after Monday for everyone. 

Animal Cruelty Article

This is the article on animal cruelty that I was speaking of earlier.  My greatest thanks goes out to the South Bend Tribune and Stan Maddux for writing and printing this article and hopefully they won't sue me for reprinting it in hopes of getting the word out on animal cruelty and the need to stricter laws in the state of Indiana and all states.  I had to split the article into two parts due to AOL's lack of space for each journal entry.

MICHIGAN CITY -- At times, Don McSpadden's stomach turned from a putrid odor drifting from his neighbor's property.But he never imagined that the smell was from dozens of rotting animal carcasses, some reduced to skeletons."I always thought she had a lot of animals over there. We didn't know about the dead ones," said McSpadden, a resident of Springfield Township.On Sunday, 49 dead cats along with several dead birds and rabbits were removed by LaPorte County authorities from a garage in the 3700 block of West County Road 625 North near Michigan City.All of the carcasses, in various stages of decomposition, were in tiny cages stacked high on top of each other throughout the detached garage also filled with urine, feces, maggots and flies, said LaPorte County Animal Control Director Jane Bernard.Just a few feet away was a ranch-style modular home that contained 29 live animals, mostly beagles, along with a few dead rats.Although well-fed, the surviving animals were living inside cages or locked in rooms with floors soaked in waste, Bernard said.The urine and feces left many of the animals with burns and other skin conditions, Bernard said."There was not a clean spot without stepping into urine or stool. That's the worst I've ever seen," Bernard said.The property owner, Kathy Shotsberger, 45, is now charged with neglect of a vertebrate animal.Her home in a former agricultural area that's now heavily residential was also condemned by the LaPorte County Health Department because of the unsanitary conditions, police said.An elderly woman reportedly lived with Shotsberger, but she has not been charged at this time.

Animal Cruelty Article

Police were first called to the property Friday afternoon by a neighbor who heard yelling from inside the home while looking for a missing dog.Officers detected a foul odor and feces on the front porch and said they heard barking and howling from inside the dwelling. Police left, though, when nobody answered the door.The next day, police were called back by the same person, who feared the missing pet might have wandered onto the property.About 24 hours later, the gruesome discovery was made when Shotsberger was served with a search warrant, said police.The odor was so powerful that authorities inside the home breathed through masks attached to oxygen tanks strapped to their backs.McSpadden, 71, said the smell, more noticeable on hot days, existed for a couple of years.According to McSpadden, he and his neighbors just suspected the smell was from waste not being cleaned up because they couldn't imagine anyone living among dead animals."It just boggles my mind," he said.According to police, Shotsberger described herself as an animal lover.Her only explanation was having a problem that became so out of control "she didn't know how to handle the situation," police said.Bernard said some of the cages belonged to animal control authorities in Jasper County, who gave her dogs and cats under the belief she was finding them new homes. Instead, though, Bernard said it appears she merely stockpiled many of the animals without providing food or water."She was just bringing them into the garage and basically letting them die," Bernard said.Shotsberger is charged in LaPorte Superior Court 4 with seven counts of Class B misdemeanor neglect of a vertebrate animal. Each count is punishable by up to six months in jail and a $5,000 fine, LaPorte County Prosecutor Rob Beckman said.

Whew!

Well, I spent yesterday throwing up allll day long, so I spent the night on the couch so DH could get some sleep and I could be close to the bathroom.  Today, I'm feeling better, just a little dizzy and congested.  I can't wait till this is all over.

We have gotten in 3 donations in the last couple of days!  Woohoo!  That's quite a few for us in such a short time.  Might have a couple of small and furries adopted out soon.  Poor little Jonah, the new little boy goat, none of the mommy goats want him.  He's a house goat for now until he can eat on his own and survive outside.  I really don't think he minds all that much though.  He gets to stay inside where it's warm and he gets spoiled rotten, who would mind that?!  I can't wait for Home For The Holidays!!!!  We'll be able to get our name out there a little bit more than usual!!  My little Bubby is still hanging in there I hear.  He's not perfect and probably not feeling real great but he's still fighting.  I know, most people think, 'Turkey? Supper?'  I think on the other hand that Turkey's are very smart, loyal and extremely sweet animals.  Own a turkey as a pet and you might understand a little bit more.  My foster kitties are very upset with me, they've had no time outside of their cages this past week and no pettings or anything because I've been sick.  Looks like I'm gonna end up giving everyone a big ole treat soon. 

There was a thing on the news tonight about a lady who had done what they called animal neglect.  She took 49 cats from a shelter, under the impression that she would adopt them out to good homes and she just let them starve to death in her garage.  Keep in mind, it wasn't OUR shelter, we would've checked up on our animals personally but this shelter says they were shorthanded and couldn't check up on them.  She also had some beagles and I believe some of them had to be euthanized.  In Indiana for animal cruelty you basically get slapped on the wrist, if it were up to me I'd let HER starve to death and see how she felt about doing it to all 49 of those cats.  Ok, Ok, I'm done now, gotta send the article I was just talking about to my aunt who is also an animal rescuer.

Sick sick sick

Ok, I promise I'm not going to say I think I'm getting over it this time!  I now have a sinus infection!!!  Ugh, will it ever end?  I have a huge adoption event coming up next weekend that I cannot be sick for!  It seems like ever since I've started this journal I haven't had much to tell because I haven't been able to make to the rescue!  AND my humidifier just broke!  For once I actually need the stupid thing and it won't produce any steam, and yes I cleaned it out.

Not much in the way of news right now.  We have a new volunteer.  Sounds nice but we'll see if she actually lasts.  A lot of people want to volunteer but they don't realize how stressful it really is until they start and then they just quit after one day.  Which I guess I can understand, volunteering isn't for everyone but there's other ways of volunteering than actually having to be there and see the animals come and go.  Oh well, I just need to realize that not everyone is like me and was made for animal rescue.  We have actually started turning people down when they ask us if we have room for their pets.  I thought it might never happen but we've gotten just THAT full.  It's crazy how many homeless small and furry's we have right now.  How hard is it to take care of a rabbit or guinea pig???  Some of the small and furry's we got in came to us because the people REALLY wanted the best for their animal but most come to us because the people see a little animal in the pet store and think awww that's so cute I'm gonna take it home but then they decide that taking care of it is too much work.  If it were up to me, all pet stores wouldn't be allowed to sell pets, only food, toys and the things that pets use.  There's enough homeless animals out there right now, we don't need to create more.  And that's my rantings for the day.

Another one?!?!

We have yet another baby goat!!!  This one is a little boy.  He's a cutie!  His mother has decided that she doesn't want him nursing so he's staying in the house for now and being bottle fed.  The other mother was more than willing to take him on as her own and she just might get her way in a few days.  He was born just 3 days after his "sister."  What a week! 

I think I'm finally starting to get over this cold or whatever it is or else I'm just taking enough cold medicine now that I can't feel anything anymore.  I hope I'm getting over it, I can't take much more coughing this week.

Went and did some day after Thanksgiving shopping.  What a mess.  Those people are nuts!!!  I don't know if I'll ever, EVER get up to go shopping the day after again.  We had left the house by 6am and there were already people lined up at stores that didn't open until 8am.  Of course we thought we were the smart ones, staying nice and warm in our car but then once we got inside, which was immediately after the doors were opened, all the items that we wanted were gone.  So we went to Walmart and got basically the same thing, just not on sale.  Well, that's enough from me tonight, going to go sit in front of the humidifier and hope for sleep. 

We have a baby!

Well, we got a Thanksgiving surprise!!!  Yesterday I got an email from the shelter, we have a baby goat!  We were unsure as to whether or not some of our goats were pregnant and I guess we got out answer!  She's a lovely little white doe.  Mother and baby are doing very well.

I had a relapse with this being sick thing and didn't get to go to the shelter yesterday.  I awoke feeling like my chest was caving in.  I think I'm finally getting over it now though.  On Monday I got to meet the new arrival, Trace the border collie.  He's adorable and so sweet!  Absolutely not what we were expecting.  He just needs to be taught how to be a dog now since he's been in shelter's all his short little life.  I also met the black kitty that came in over the weekend.  I've never seen a more beautiful black cat.  He looks like a little panther.  I am definitely going to the shelter tomorrow (thanksgiving day) no matter how horrible I'm feeling.  If I can make it to my grandma's house for Thanksgiving then I can make it to the shelter.  I just wish this 'cold' would go away already so I can get back to everyday life.  Off to bed now!

Animal Radar

I swear, sometimes I think I have kitty cat radar or something.  They always seem to find me some how or another.  DH went to the gas station this evening and on his way home, he called my cell phone.  He said that there was a tabby striped kitty living at the gas station and that he gave the lady that works at the gas station my cell phone number in case she needed to find a shelter for him.  *Sigh*  I was on my way out the door at that time to make a run to Walmart.  All the way there I kept feeling more and more guilty for not immediately running up to the gas station to take this little kitty.  You see, it's rather nice in Indiana right now and we haven't yet had any REALLY cold weather, so the animals don't have much of a winter coat on yet but by Thanksgiving it's supposed to get really cold out, snow and all that good stuff.  On the way back I told my mom that we were gonna make a stop at the gas station just so I could talk to the lady.  We get there and I told her I was worried about the upcoming freeze and she agreed and I told her I'd be more than happy to take him tonight and then take him to the shelter tomorrow.  She said that'd be great, except I don't know where he is right now and haven't seen him for a few hours.  No sooner does she say that than a customer pulls into the station.  As he walks up to the door, out of nowhere, here's this stray kitty.  The guy tries his hardest not to let the cat get in and just when he thinks he's home free, he sneaks in the door.  I grab him up before he can get five feet into the store.  I told the lady that she could call me if she wanted to know how he was doing and if he'd been adopted or not and then I was on my way.  Thankfully, the only thing that's not great about this cat is that he hasn't been neutered.  Well, that's easily fixable, literally.  He's actually a HUGE cat, you just can't tell from the pictures.   Now, I'm off to bed, I actually get to go into work tomorrow so I'm sure I'll have stories to tell tomorrow.

A Calm Day

Not much new today.  Spent the day Christmas shopping and relaxing!  I don't care for the Christmas shopping part though.  I'm not much fun in a crowd of people.  I went to clean out the foster kitties kitty litter boxes and decided to move things around in their inclosure, only to find out that they've been spilling their water repeatedly and now there's mold under the litter box.  I spent a lot longer cleaning out that cage than I thought I would need to.  The girls were happy though, they got to roam around while I was busy.  We bought some kitty toys for them as well today.  They're growing so fast!  Even the momma kitty seems to have gotten bigger.  She has an eye infection right now that isn't clearing up very quickly.  The first picture above is Claire and the second is Minka.  Minka is the momma cat.  Can you see the runny eye?  My youngest foster, whom was feral when I first took her in, has ringworm.  I don't know why I always end up with the ones that have ringworm.  This is my third cat in a row that has ended up with it though.  All of them had it on their ears.  Poor baby is loosing hair on her ears like crazy.  I hope everything is going well at the shelter.  We were supposed to get in a dog and a cat today but I haven't yet spoken to anyone at work so I have no idea how that went.  When I'm not there I'm always wondering how things are going and when I am there I'm wondering how MY animals are doing at home.  I have this deep fear that one day I'm going to leave home for work only to come home later on that night to find out my house has caught on fire and all my animals were stuck in the house.  I'm constantly wanting to call the house just to hear the answering machine so I know that everything is still ok.  For all you people out there, adopt an animal!  Things are going so slowly right now and not just at my shelter.  I've noticed a lot of the area shelters are moving animals slower than usual.  When  you're in rescue you keep up with all the other rescues around you and you try to keep a good relationship with all of them.  Well, I'm going to relax some more and maybe even play some video games, which I don't do very often but what the hell, it's a weekend.

Just another Day

Well, I made it into the shelter today for a little visit.  One of our dogs is going home tomorrow.  Unfortunately, he got into a fight with one of our permanent dogs and now has a rather large gash right next to his eye.  His new owners aren't worried though and will probably take him to the vet first thing Monday morning.  We got in two new geese.  I'm not real fond of geese myself.  The ones we have right now are rather mean but the two new ones don't seem so bad... yet.  We moved our rabbits into the barn while I was sickly.  It's going to be a pain to feed and water them come winter though.  The turkey seems to be doing a little better.  He's getting around on that foot a little better than he was on Monday.  I just hope he keeps getting better and doesn't suddenly go downhill.  That's my boy up above.  We're getting a new volunteer on Sunday.  She does parrot rescues.  I would love to have an African Grey myself.  In other words I'm going to be kissing this lady's butt the entire time she's volunteering for us.  (the reason I say the entire time, is because most of our "volunteers" come once a year and then we don't hear from them for another year)  DH would kill me if one day I came home and said 'Hi honey, look at the rather large bird I've brought with me.'  He's not real in love with my cockatiel as is. 

We won't be taking in the yorkie or one of the border collie's now.  The border collie is being fostered somewhere else and the yorkie's owners decided that they wanted to try and make their relationship with the dog work.  We will still be getting the black cat.  He's the same cat that the people said just to run it over.  Hopefully, his little sob story will get him adopted quicker. 

I'm trying to learn how to cross stitch.  We have a raffle coming up in December and I was going to donate two of these things to it but I have no idea what I'm doing.  Hopefully by the middle of Dec. I'll have figured it out and have them both finished.  I'm off to bed now.  Christmas shopping tomorrow.

Much better now

Well, I'm feeling much better this evening.  I think I had a very bad cold.  I could hardly get up out of bed yesterday and then poof, today I'm feeling almost 100%.  The body is a very strange thing, that's for sure.

At any rate, at the shelter it's going to be getting busy.  This weekend we'll be getting in 3 dogs, one yorkie and two border collies.  Lucky for us, one of the border collie's is a little on the crazy side.  We always end up with the nutty ones.  I think we'll be taking in that black cat as well.  I'm going to try and get up there sometime this weekend. I don't think there's anything else new.  Oh well, until next time...

I'm sick

Ok, I woke up from my very long (13 hours) nap and I'm definitely coming down with something.  You ever wake up not feeling well and no matter how old you are, your first thoughts are 'I want my mommy?'  That's how I'm feeling today.  I just want someone to do everything that needs to be done for me and then feed me while they're at it.  Hey, a girl can dream can't she?

Onto another matter, DH decided to call the vet himself today, apparently my explanation wasn't good enough for him.  They were very rude to him, claiming that he is not taking good care of his dog.  Um, excuse me?!?!  My animals all get the best care possible.  Most of the time they're fed better than I am.  It was one of the older woman at the clinic and she always seems to be in a mood so whatever.

Tomorrow, because of this cold or whatever it is, I will not be able to go to the shelter.  So, unfortunately, there will be no shelter news from me tomorrow.  Hope all is going well where ever you are and that you're not feeling sick like myself! 

UGH!

Well, I just got off the phone with the vet's office.  Why didn't they try and tell me something I didn't already know???  Here's how the conversation went.... Office: Blah Blah Vet Clinic How can I help you? Me: Hi, I have a question, my dog was in there for a spay last Wednesday and she seems to have some swelling.  I'm not sure if it's a cause for concern or not.  It's at least the size of a golf ball. Office: Has she lost any stitches? Me: Yes, she lost 3 just yesterday.  I've been counting them everyday and she had seven up until I got home from work. Office: Sounds like she's been too active.  You should bring her in today.  I don't know if they'll replace the staples or not though. Me: Well, it's not the staples that I'm worried about, it's the swelling.  I've had dogs loose their staples before.  Office: Yes, well if she's lost her staples that could cause tearing inside.  You should definitely bring her in today. Me: Ok thank you. End of conversation.... Tell me something I didn't already know!  And how exactly am I supposed to that lady when my DH is at work with the only vehicle we own?  Hmmm, are you gonna come pick me up?  Now I have to find a way to get Mia to the vet today.  It's almost 8am and I STILL haven't been to sleep.  I'm mentally kicking myself for taking her to the nice cheap vet.  Ok, ok, so it's probably NOT the vet's fault.  *Sigh* How the HELL do you keep a border collie calm???  Someone please tell me that. And to add to my lovely morning, I think I'm getting sick.  I'm hoping my lungs are just playing a nice little trick on me and I'll wake up feeling tired but halfway healthy.  Otherwise, from the sound of those babies, I'm in for a nice run with bronchitis soon.  Don't you just love winter in Indiana?  For those of you who live in nice warm places and wish you got snow where you live, don't.  It's pretty for all of two and a half seconds and then it's just cold, wet, frozen rain drops.  Ok, I'm done ranting now.  Maybe DH will call me back soon so I can finally get some sleep!

Not Enough Time in a Day

Some days there should be more hours in a day, you know?  I have so much to do and I know I'll never get around to doing half of it.  DH's 8 month old border collie, Mia, got spayed last Wednesday.  When I left to go take care of the turkey, she had 7 staples, when I got home she had 4 1/2.  I say a half because I had to remove one that basically just hanging there and causing more damage than anything.  They said, 'try and keep her calm.'  Anyone that has ever owned a border collie knows that there's no way in hell to keep them "calm."  There is no calm for a BC.  There's run, jump, attack, play and eventually sleep but there's definitely NO CALM!!!  Now, I have to call the vet in the morning because she has a bulge at the surgical site that's at least the size of a golf ball.  We have enough money for gas in the bank right now and I have to take the damned dog to the vet.  See, even an animal rescuer is allowed to call it a damned dog.  I'm hoping it's the dog's fault (aka MY fault) because if not, the vet is going to hear about it over and over again.  After I call the vet, there's kitty litter pans that need cleaned, animals that need fed, bunny pans that need cleaned and a cockatiel that has a dirty cage at the moment.  And that's MY house, not the shelter!  I'm sure I'll find some excuse to put the less important things off till the next day.  I'm the queen of "I'll do it later."  Right now though I have to go tell DH that his darling puppy (puleeezzze!  hey who you calling jealous?) needs to go back to the vet's office. 

Why?

Why must there be such idiots in this world when it comes to animals?  We got an email today from a woman who found a cat.  She happened to find this cat at another person's house, asked the person, is that your cat.  They said no and she asked if she could take it.  They told her that she could run it over for all they cared.  They didn't want it on their property because it was a BLACK cat.  Stupid superstitious people!  Thankfully, she took the cat home with her.  He is the cat pictured above.  Unfortunately for us, if we decide to take this cat, there's the small problem that it IS a black cat.  Most people overlook black cats for the flashier kitties and many black cats end up at shelters for years, despite how wonderful of pets they could actually make.  I should know, I'm fostering 2 black cats right now and haven't gotten one damned application on them yet. 

Turkey day

Last night, I got an IM from one of my co-workers, we'll call her BDB.  The turkey has an abcess and someone should watch over him throughout the night.  I grabbed a pillow and a change of clothes and waited for my ride.  Did I happen to mention it was 2am?  I spent the night watching over little Bubby and writing bios for the shelter's website.  They had cut open his foot earlier in the day to let some of the yucky stuff drain and hopefully allow him to heal.  Morning comes after being woken a thousand times by the howling dogs, and poor Bubby has an abcess on the top of his foot as well.  So, me and let's call her Raot, decide to open up the top of his foot as well.  A very nasty, smelly chunk of puss came out of the poor babies foot.  Unfortunately, Bubby never felt the incision, not a good sign.  He should have been screaming like crazy.  We'll have to wait and see if my poor little turkey will make it through.