Billings Animal Rescue Kare (B.A.R.K.)

08/26/2024

Here's the latest to arrive. They are rescued from the Re*****on wildfire nearing Ashland.

Ashland is under pre-evacuation orders. These 3 are so lucky to get out before, if, or when the fire reaches Ashland.

After checking in with Eshan to see how the rescues and their critters were doing, we found that the rescues there were doing okay and their rescues haven't indicated any suffering from smoke.

However, this can change as they continue to pull critters from the endangered areas. Please think of ways you can help if the need arises. If the fire isn't contained soon there will be a big need for foster homes, food, and other supplies.

We committed to these three sweet dumplings. Esh pulled them from Ashland this AM. Betsy, Stacy, and Racey drove to Hardin to picked them up this afternoon.

Betsy brought them here. Lulu and Betsy bathed them, Lori dried them, and Sandy vaccinated and dewormed them. They need mange treatment and we'll get that from Vet-To-Go in the AM.

Betsy took them home to foster them. Mama Dixie Dinosaur went with them so they could cuddle up to her and sleep peacefully.

There are 2 boys and one girl. The boys are named Wildfire, Re*****on, and the girl is Ashland.

Betsy sent this pic and said they ate well and then were out like a granny's teeth.

07/10/2024

ADOPTION PENDING! ADOPTION PENDING! ADOPTION PENDING!

Holly here. I'm a five-year-old Japanese Chin; I am not ready to be adopted yet. The BARK people are thinking of some ways to raise money to get my teeth fixed and my girl surgery done.

They were talking about having a picnic in the park event but who wants to go a picnic in the park when it's a 100 degrees out? They'll get it worked out and I'll be ready for a home soon.

I CANNOT leave until I am spayed! Never again will I be used as a living ATM. If you want money ... get a damn job. I know that's a naughty word, but you would curse too; if you were forced to produce babies, have them snatched away, and sold for money.

Last week Everest, the Lab pup, said my story was too long to tell. It is, but I'll give you the short version.

Many months ago a woman brought in three dogs that she claimed were "gently" bred. The woman said that they were the last of her dogs; she said she had stomach problems that couldn't be fixed.

Wilma carried the long-haired Doxie in and she felt some lumps. Wilma brought the dog over for Sandy to look at. Sandy said that Willow, the Doxie, had 8 breast tumors. The other one had a cherry eye and all three had rotting teeth and infected gums.

Sandy read that women the riot act. The best thing Sandy said was, "you use these dogs to support your sorry butt and didn't even bother to give them minimum health care." The woman hobbled out as hot as Hades. Sandy told her co-workers not to get too attached to sweet Willow because she most likely had cancer.

Willow had 8 mastectomies and she did have cancer. Dr. Lamm, her dog doctor, was able to get all of the cancer out and saved Willow's life. Willow has a new hooman mama and takes her to work with her every day.

The BARK people thought they heard the end of dogs suffering at the hands of this evil woman. Boy, were they wrong.

Even the short version of this story is long. I'll have my friend Rosie tell you the rest tomorrow. All of these sad memories is giving me a headache.

Be kind to your dogs,
Holly

07/08/2024

ADOPTED!!! ADOPTED!!! ADOPTED!!!

Good morning!

I am Justin Trudeau, son of Margaret Scratcher. I was born at BARK on April 16.

I was born snow white and my points began to appear when I was about 10-days-old. I am told my true colors will not show until I'm around 1-year-old.

Everyone seems to have an opinion of what breeds I am made of, but since almost all of them stated with a Siamese, the BARK folks just say I am a Siamese mix.

Unlike my mama, me and my brothers have only lived a happy life. Mama loves us very much and the BARK people love us to the moon and back!

Oh my, there is so much cuteness here! Two Japanese Chins and a Maltese mix moved in this weekend. They got to bunk next to us until this morning. Miss Cola's house was across from ours. They are so pretty I couldn't help but stare at them.

The kits in quarantine are all well now, so we can move out as soon as the ones that love us best find us. My brother Winston Churchill and both of April's kits found their person this weekend. I can hardly wait for my person to come.

I will miss mama and my brothers but how exciting will it be to have my own person to wait on me.

Time for breakfast so I must go now.

If you are looking for a handsome kitten to rule your house, call 406-208-2454 and make an appointment to visit me and my friends.

I wish for you that your food dish never gets below half full,
Justin Trudeau.

07/08/2024

Thank you to all that remember this; far too many forget.

07/07/2024

My name is April and I have a story to tell you. Before I tell the story of how I found my way here, I'll tell you a little about myself.

I am just a kitten, about 8-months-old. My story is similar to teenage girls that got pregnant from the 1940s through the 1970s. Yes, I was a pregnant teen and now I'm a teenage mom.

Like them, I became an object of shame. I must say although I was shamed, the shame belongs to my person. It was she that failed me by not getting me spayed. I did not fail her by becoming pregnant.

Because she was ashamed that I had kittens, me and my kits were packed up and dropped off at BARK, just like pregnant teens were shipped off to homes for u***d mothers. I was an embarrassment to my person just like those girls were to their parents.

It's hard enough to deal with being a teenage mom; let alone be being taken out of your home. Not only that, me and my 1-day-old kits were put in a "jail". We had to live separate from the other cats that live here. I now know that was done to keep me and the kits healthy; since we weren't vaccinated or dewormed.

I soon learned the people here weren't ashamed of me. They treated me and my kits with kindness. When my kits were old enough to leave home we were allowed to move downstairs where we have much more freedom.

The woman that brought me and the kits here must have thought these people were as stupid as fence posts to tell them the whopper of a story that she told..

She said that I wasn't her cat. She said I walked right through her door and plopped down and started giving birth. That story made everyone here laugh and shake their heads in wonderment of the audacity of such a lie.

No cat ever did that. No feral cat, no street cat, no lion, no tiger, or even a house cat would do that. Nope, we like a peaceful and quiet place out of sight of prying eyes to give birth. This behavior is instinctual to protect our kits from predators.

The BARK people know that is such a wild lie and they laugh every time they repeat it. They place the shame on my former person and not on me.

I love it here and I am very happy. As much as I do enjoy living here, I want to move forward with my life. I want to live with a person that will love me and be proud to be my human.

If you know anyone like that, please have them call 406-208-2454 to make an appointment to meet me.

From shame to dignity,
April

07/04/2024

Hey every pawdy, my name is Everest. I am a 9-week-old Lab pup. I live here at BARK.

I thought I was living in a rescue but today I learned I am living in an insane asylum! You would not believe the crazy that happened here today. Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the moon, I don't know but it was insane!

The day started as usually. Our houses were cleaned, we got to play in the common area, and then we had a great breakfast. Then holy cow, the doo-doo hit the fan and it flew all day long.

First call was about a 15-year-old pregnant girl dog. Yep, there's nothing wrong with your reading skills,15 and pregnant! Just in case you didn't know, girl dogs don't go through "manypaws" like girl hoomans do and we boys can also make babies until the day we die.

Next was a call about needing space for a little Maltese mix girl dog. To keep the story straight I'll call the woman that made the initial call, Rose. I'll call her tenet, the lady needing help Ida, and the awful woman that caused this whole incident Wicked.

Rose called saying she needed a place for three dogs. Many questions were asked about the dogs and how she came about getting them. I'm going to share the story of the Maltese mix because the other crazy story is much too long for tonight.

Rose said Ida was working and had asked her to call BARK to see if we could help. Rose said, Ida took the little girl dog, Cola, because she was in danger and needed a safe place and the dog was in a create in Rose's garage . Ida couldn't keep her because she already has two dogs. The director said she wouldn't commit to take Cola until she talked with Ida to get the full story of how she got the dog and why she was trying to surrender her.

Ida called as soon as she got out of work. She said agreed to take Cola because her person, Wicked, wanted Cola gone. They got a new puppy and didn't want a 7-year-old any more. She explained that she had all the paper work and said Cola was a great little girl dog and in good health.

Ida also said that Rose couldn't keep Cola because some breeder, who I will call Evil, dumped 10 dogs with Rose. Adding in Rose's 4 dogs that makes 14 dogs living in her house. She also said Rose is 88-years-old.

The cat room lady said she knew Ida and said she was trustworthy. So, the director committed to take in Cola. There's no room at BARK but because Cola is so tiny she could be squeezed in some place in the cattery.

Then the guy that chose to move into an apartment where his dog couldn't live, then the lady with 3 cats was having a baby and didn't want the cats any more, next was the landlord with tenets that made a midnight move and left their two dogs and cat behind, and about 30 other calls concerning critters in need. Yes, this all real.

Add all that in with normal daily stuff like laundry, walks, play time, visitors the day was absolutely wild!

I just wanted to share our day. I am so glad that I am a sweet puppy and I got to sleep and play all day. Tonight isn't so great either. People breaking the law and lighting off fire works that hurt my ears because they are so loud.

I'm just going to try to get on the bottom of the puppy pile and try to forget all about this day.

Sweet dreams and puppy smooches,
Everest

07/03/2024

07/03/2024

We have 8 of these babies looking for a home. One chocolate and 7 black. All super sweet and people loving.

07/03/2024

These fireworks are driving crazy. Please make them stop, they hurt my ears!

My name is McKinley after the famous mountain. I will be 10-weeks-old on Sunday. I am a boy.

My mama is a Lab but we never met papa. Mama was dumped on a big ranch. A ranch hand found her and got her to a vet right-away. She was very skinny and carrying us 9 pups.

My brother that looks like me was adopted by a wonderful family that fosters for BARK. They came to pick up some other pups to foster and Mr. Foster Daddy fell in love with him. I must say my brother is pretty smart; he walked right up to that guy and kissed him right on the cheek. It was love at first lick!

We have been itchy and scratchy. We were treated for mange but we still itch a lot. Now we are going to get baths with a special shampoo to see if that will stop the itching; it might be a fungal infection. Food allergies have been ruled out because we all wouldn't be allergic to the same food. I am so excited to have a bath, I love water. What-ever it is it will get fixed before we can go home.

I am hoping that when the Fourth is over my itching will be gone. Even if I wasn't itching, I couldn't go home until over this noisy holiday is over and done with. Wouldn't be dog awful if a dog went to a new home and the noise scared him so much he bolted out of the door? The poor critter wouldn't even know where he lives! That is why BARK will not let of us leave until this holiday is done with!

Please call 406-208-2454 if you are wanting a Chocolate Lab in your life. BARK is open by appointment so you can get the attention you need to pick out the love of your life.

Sincerely,
McKinley

06/29/2024

Margaret Scratcher here. I cannot believe that my "High Friskies Time" is being interrupted so I can do this interview.

As you can see I am a Siamese of high distinction. However, I find myself in an unplanned predicament of one of the highest crimes in the animal kingdom (abandonment). I wasn't positive I could deal with this at my young age (between 1 -3 years) and superior breeding.

The people responsible for my safety and wellbeing packed their bags and threw me on the streets to fend for myself. Can you just imagine a cat of my stature being forced to live in the streets?! How indignant! No meals on demand, no one to appreciate my preening, and absolutely no vet coverage. How was I to survive?

Truth is I didn't do very well. I found myself pregnant with no where to go. I was so embarrassed that I thought I would faint. I managed to scrounge around for food. The subjects in the (trailer) court were kind and gave me food after much begging.

Two kind ladies-in-waiting noticed my tummy was getting bigger. At first they thought I may have been infested with worms. The indignity of that is worse than an unwanted pregnancy! They went to the cat half-way house and requested deworming medicine. The house mother there gave them some pyrantel for me.

That produced no results, so the ladies-in-waiting determined I might be pregnant. They shared the news with the cat half-way house mother and she said, "we have an empty hammock, bring her in."

I gave birth to three male Prime minister on April 16. They are so handsome; but I am now ready to move on with my life.

If you would love to be associated with a very fine feline member of the aristocrat cat society, please call and make an Audience (appointment) with me, please call 406-208-2454 to make arrangements.

Sincerely,
Margaret Scratcher

06/28/2024

ADOPTED! ADOPTED! ADOPTED! ADOPTED! ADOPTED!

Hi, my name is Catsup. I am one of three 6-month-old boy pups from the condiment litter.

We are from an oops litter. My mama is a 22 pound Pembrooke Corgi and papa is a 5 pound long-hair Chihuahua.

I am ready to move into a new home but I have to stay here until July 5.

I've never seen a Fourth of July before, I hear humans go crazy making flashes of light and loud scary noises. They say I might get scared and run away and not know how to find my way back to my new house.

You can call, 406-208-2454 to make an appointment to see and adopt me now, but I must stay here until July 5.

06/28/2024

It's been a long time since I've written a post. The original thought was not to post until everything settled down, but it never did.

Those that know me well will understand how difficult this post is for me. I do not like being in the spot light and I am forever grateful for my fellow volunteers and friends that helped me through with lots of extra work and very little fanfare and lots of love.

It started with death threats to the "Back The Blue" litter. We ended up changing the litter theme because I was stupid enough to be intimated by street thugs. It won't ever happen again. If a threat like that is ever spoken again I'll round up all the "John Waynes" in this town to stand guard.

Then the mini series with my left leg with long running sequels. Friends drove me all over town from one specialist to another, each doctor sure it was something weird from one of the critters. The pain was unbearable. 12 months later I was diagnosed with a bacterial infection that is common in the intestine and bladders of humans but extremely rare in any other body part. It was not contracted from a critter but most likely from a stay in the hospital for pneumonia. The infection took 10 days to cure with antibiotics but all the lymph system in my leg has been basically destroyed. The unbearable pain has been replaced by frequent discomfort. I can wear shoes and things like pants and sheets no longer causes excruciating pain.

Then there was a short dance with breast cancer. Cancer like to waltz but I'm a tango girl and I won that battle. The dance was brief and I'm in remission.

Now friends and fans be prepared to have your socks blown off with cuteness!