| Big Fin Animal Rescue Project |
| Mucho is our most recent addition to the family. He showed up at our house the opening weekend of duck season in '08...I figured he had gotten away from somebody that was down for duck hunting that weekend. I posted flyers all over town...an ad in the local paper...called all the local vet's offices & animal control to see if somebody was looking for their lost dog. Well...nobody ever claimed him and I couldn't find a good home for him. It didn't take long to fall in love with him...so we stopped looking for a new home for him about 3 weeks later and took him to the Vet to begin his regular veterinary care. The Vet told us he appeared to be about 10 months old. He grew...and grew...and GREW...but his hips just didn't "grow" as much as he did and he began to have trouble walking. He recently had a total hip replacement on one side and will go for surgery on the other side as soon as the first side heals. After the cost of the first surgery (about $5,000)...his name is now officially Mucho Dinero! But we love him more each day! |
| Below are pix of my critters and their stories. I don't have a photo of every animal I have helped...but here are some... |
| "Cha Cha" |
| Cha Cha was scratching on the door of a Circle K convenient store in Corpus one rainy morning as I stopped in for coffee on my way home from taking my husband to the airport in 2000. I just assumed she was waiting for her owner to come out of the store. I got my coffee...ran in the pouring rain back to my truck...hurried to get in...and when I shut the door...this drenched little dog was sitting in the seat next to me. I asked the store clerk about her but she had no idea where she belonged...said she'd been there all morning. I gave the clerk my card & said to call me if somebody came looking for her. I just didn't have the heart to leave her there...in the pouring rain...right next to the freeway. I again went through all the motions of reporting a "found" dog...but again...never heard from a soul. Well...that was about 9 years ago...and Cha Cha remains "Head of the Noling Household." |
| The Cat Family |
| There are several. |
| My husband & I lived in Venezuela for 6 years before we bought a house in Rockport in July of 2000. |
| We ran a sportfishing marina & lodge there. Well...where there's fish...there's gonna be a cat or 2 slipping around! |
| We had 5 we cared for at the marina and 2 living in our condo down the street. |
| Then in December of 1999...a horrible mudslide disaster occurred where we lived...killing more than 50 thousand people...including dear friends we had made while living there. |
| It was absolutely devasting and mandatory evacuation of the area we lived in was neccessary immediately. |
| We had just flown to Texas to be with family for Christmas and the disaster happened 2 days later. |
| The boats that occupied the marina we ran grabbed our cats as they departed & I flew to Aruba to meet them to make the rest of the journey home. Yep...we had 7 cats aboard a 48 foot sportfish boat for 6 weeks as we dodged bad weather all the way to Florida! |
| After living in Florida about 6 months... wondering where our next "home" would be... |
| ...we decided on my hometown of Rockport, Texas. |
| So...we loaded up our 4-Runner with 7 cats & made the 22-hour journey HOME!! |
| Pepper arrived about a year after Cha Cha. She had been taken to the Humane Society by an elderly couple who just couldn't "handle" her. My Vet (Dr. Dana Mercer) decided I needed a buddy for Cha Cha...who until then had been "solo" at our house with all the cats. |
| "Pepper" |
| So...I took her in...and immediately realized the trouble the elderly couple had experienced! She's a very high-strung & "bouncy" dog! |
| BUT...we OF COURSE fell in love with her...took a little longer than most...but we did...and we've loved her for almost 7 years, now! She helps Cha Cha keep the "parimeters patrolled" and the rest of the household under control. |
| "Spike" |
| Spike was sitting in a cage at Dr. Mercer's office (Horizon Veterinary Clinic) after her owner had been placed in a nursing home and she had been taken to the Humane Society. |
| Seeing her quivering in that cage and hearing her sad story just broke my heart. Nobody had taken an interest in her and you could just tell that she missed her owner TERRIBLY after being taken away from him. They had been together almost 3 years. |
| Well...she came home with me that day and we refer to her as the missing "link" we never knew about. |
| She's been with us since 2005 and continues to warm our hearts every day. She's just one of the sweetest dogs in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD! |
| "Chuy" |
| Chuy wandered up to our house the spring of '06. It was Spring Break & I just figured he'd gotten away from someone visiting for vacation. I went thru all the "motions" again...but no luck. I found a home for him with a girl in San Antonio...but 2 months later...she gave him back because he had chewed up her new back porch & howled all day...making the neighbors complain on a daily basis! |
| So...back to Rockport he came. Yes...he chewed...and yes he howled...but that all got better in time and now he's just one of the gang! We now vacuum our house every single day! |
| My niece, Jordy "critter-sits" when I'm away... |
| She worked as an assistant at Horizon Veterinary Clinic for a while...so she's a GREAT "care-giver" when we have to be gone. She loves all of our critters and...as you can see... they all love her too! |
| Well...I'm sure these stories will continue...and I know many of you have stories just like these. I thank you for being kind-hearted and caring...and I thank you for taking the time to read about my critters. |
| In addition to donating to animal rescue efforts & organizations most of my life...I have recently started one of my own. I have probably taken in close to 100 "critters" over the years. My first intent is always to find them a good home...because my place stays pretty crowded...but I've fallen in love with each & every animal I've ever taken in...and even have a few that were returned to me after going to their new homes because the new owners just couldn't "handle" them. Well...I always find a way to "handle" them...whether it's eventually finding them another happy home...or turning my home in to theirs. They get the best care possible...including regular veterinary check-ups, monthly flea, tick & heart worm prevention medication, along with any other medications they may need. All proceeds from Big Fin Video are donations that go towards helping animals and other volunteer efforts, such as the Fulton Volunteer Fire Department and the Lamar Volunteer Fire Department...and this is just the beginning. I believe that any volunteer efforts can use as much help as they can get and Big Fin Video is going to be a "drop in the bucket" for as many organizations as we can help. We & the "critters" thank you for your support!! |
| Cat Daddy |
| Patches |
| Armano |
| Lovey |
| Mr. Kat |
| Choo Choo |
| Mama Cat |
| Henderson |
| Winnie |
| Her owner died 2 months later... |
| Patches |
| Patches |
| ...but he knew she had a new home before he died. |
| We later learned that his previous owners moved away & just left him. They lived.just a couple of streets over from our house. |
| "Mucho" |
| Mucho Update: We lost Mucho on the 8th of June, 2009. I came home & found him laying on our dining room floor. He had gotten in to a bag of dog treats (Beggin' Strips) and had suffocated...the bag was stuck on his head. It was absolutely the worst discovery I've ever had in my life. |
| We miss him so...and will cherish our memories of him forever. We had never spent so much money on an animal before...but would do it all over again. There's just no price to put on the love for an animal...not to me, anyway. Our critters are like family to us...and we'd do ANYTHING for family. I know there are people that disagree with my thoughts...but I thank God for those of you who feel the same way I do about them. |
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