Friday, December 30, 2011

So Ends Our 2011 Cat Tales Postings...

Hello sweet Saber!
As we come to the end of year 2011, we cannot help look back and marvel at what we accomplished in just 12 months!
 
We are so grateful for the many memorable events we were able to share with you this year.

We welcomed home some amazing animals to the In-Sync Exotics family: Lydia (bobcat) arrived in January; Aasha (tiger cub) in March; Sabu (senior lion) in May, Isaac (bobcat) in June; the Poetry cats, Chloe, Howard, Kane, Spike, Aramis, Aurora, Eve, and Layla; Okemo (senior tiger) in August, Sam and Kodi (cheetahs) in September; and Chance (bobcat cub) in December!  Welcome home, our new friends! 

We shed tearful goodbyes to exceptional animals who called In-Sync Exotics their final home: Gypsy (serval) in January; Brooks (tiger) in February, Midas (tiger) in April, Dinari (lion) in May; Grumpy (tiger) and Kane (cougar) in August; Howard (cougar) in September; and Raja (tiger) in October.  We will forever be grateful that we were given the opportunity to know and adore each one of these precious wild cats whom passed through our lives—they will always hold a special place within our hearts.

We started the In-Sync Exotics Cat Tales blog on July 20th with our opening story titled “Poetry in Motion—Saving 20 Big Cats!”  It’s hard to believe that it was more than five months ago we started this blog with the desire to give our fans a “behind the scenes look” at our sanctuary. 123 blog postings later we continue to shared some amazing happenings at In-Sync Exotics with our readers.  Here are just a few memorable postings for 2011: 

·      In June, Team In-Sync was called on to rescued and cared for 20 big cats that were living in deplorable conditions in Poetry Texas.  After providing the cats with food and medical care for about three weeks, we were able to place 12 big cats and bring home 8 cats back to In-Sync Exotics;

·      The Leona 6 tigers enjoying their new pool, built thanks to some very kind donors, at the end of July;

·      We were selected as a “Top-Rated Animal Welfare Non-profit” by our supporters for the 2nd Annual Great Nonprofits and Guidestar Animal Welfare Campaign in August.  Check out our reviews from donors, visitors, and volunteers at Great Nonprofit;

·     The blog introduced the popular and fun “Who Am I” picture contest featuring some of our most adorable residents in unusual background situations;  

·     We welcomed to new unique cats to In-Sync Exotics--two cheetahs named Sam and Kodi!  

·      Sabu was caught on video tape running by our lead keeper, Mak Ledbetter, in September.  The reason why this is a huge milestone for Sabu is because when he first arrived, he was unable to walk a few steps without falling down due to a severe Vitamin A deficiency; 

·      In September, we paired Sabu and Jynxie together.  Unfortunately, we had to separate Sabu and Jynxie because Jynxie played too rough with Sabu.  After a several nips on Sabu’s hind quarters and tail, it became obvious that Jynxie was too rambunctious for the older male lion;
  
·      We held our 1st Annual “Putting for Paws” golf tournament in October (Columbus Day). We were able to raise a little over $7,035 for the animals thanks to the golfers, our kind sponsors and donors!  

·      Eve and Layla, former Poetry lions, received life-saving surgeries when they went to the vet to be spayed.  Had they not been spayed, we would have learned too late that both cats had serious health issues with their reproductive organs;  

·      Our pumpkin bash was a huge success as 80 pumpkins were given out to our cats for their playing pleasure—and played they did!  

·      We learned all about Harley’s visit with his Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine dentist where he underwent dental surgery on November 1st;  

·      In November we reintroduced two former Poetry lions, Aramis and Aurora, together with success!  

·      Crimson, our cougar, took ill and was transported her vet’s office.  We feared she had Chronic Renal Failure—a devastating kidney disease. Thankfully, her vet now believes Crimson may have had acute renal failure, possibly from a kidney infection! Crimson is doing much better now;  

·     Our volunteers shared with us what they are thankful for this year in a really cute video produced by Robert Saucedo!  

·     Thanks to our wonderful Facebook supporters, In-Sync Exotics placed in the top 100 of non-profits eligible to receive $25k from the Chase Community Giving Program!  We are so grateful for everyone’s support—thank you!!  

·     Our 3rd Annual 5k and 1-mile Tiger Trot event was great this year! We had a lot of participants and their dogs this year raising about $8,490 for the animals!

·      We also held our first-ever Turkey Toss!  42 turkeys, donated by our local Wal-mart, were prepared and “tossed” to our tigers!  The cats had a wonderful time with their Thanksgiving treats and our guests were amazed by the big cats' powerful jaws as they were able to crunch down on their tasty turkeys;  

·      We moved Okemo, former WAO tiger, to Aladdin's Castle at the end of November, so he could be closer to Jasmine.  Both cats are still in the “getting to know you” stage;  

·      We tried to integrate Aramis and Aurora with Eve and Layla into a lion pride. Unfortunately, we were not successful in forming a lion pride as Eve displayed some aggression towards Aramis.  We decided it would be in the best interest of the lions if we paired Aramis and Aurora together and Eve and Layla would be housed together in separate quarters.  So far, all the lions seem happy with this new arrangement; 

·      A fantastic bake sale was held in December raising $4,155 for the animals!  We cannot thank Corby and her baking crew enough for creating and selling so many delectable treats, benefiting the cats of In-Sync Exotics!  

·      Every year our volunteers celebrate Christmas with the cats and each other—and this year was no exception!  Everyone had a wonderful time at this year’s Christmas Party with the Cats!  

·      Our guests enjoyed strolling around our grounds, watching the antics of our wild ones as they play under the illumination of the Christmas lights; and 

·      We received accreditation from American Sanctuary Association and verification status from Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries this year. 

You may recall that we were really concerned about the drop in contributions earlier this year. For the first time ever we issued an emergency appeal in August to our supporters.  Thankfully, you responded and we were able to finish this year on a positive note!  Thank you so much for your support!!  We could not continue or mission of accepting and caring for exotic wild cats that no one can or will care, for the rest of their lives.  

By the way, tomorrow is the last day to make a gift towards our young and young-at-heart cats' care and enrichment programs--please consider making an end-of-year contribution today!  Thank you again on behalf of our wonderful animals! 

We also added a few new ways to contribute gifts towards the animals’ care: Razoo, Leave a Legacy, Albertsons’ Community Partner Cards, and our on-line Gift Shop!  

Below are three successful Razoo projects where the funds raised went directly towards their respective project: 

Give a Special Gift to Save a Life of a Big Cat! – Benefited our Poetry cats as you may recall they required extensive medical treatment (raised $2300); 

Get In-Sync with our Big Cats’ Needs by Donating to Our Hungry Carnivore Cats! – Provided 194 meals for our big cats (raised $1,940);  

Cheetah Home Improvement Project!  We raised $6,651 towards our cheetahs’ new habitat! Thanks to our awesome donors and the monies received from the Chase Community Giving Campaign, we raised enough money to break ground on Kodi and Sam’s new home—construction begins next year!!!  On behalf of Sam and Kodi, we extend our heart felt thanks to our 29 generous donors for helping us make the cheetahs' habitat a reality!

And last, but not least, we held our 2011 "Roar Off" competition!  

You watched the videos of Sabu, White Boys, and Kahn as they roared their hearts out vying for top honor as the "Loudest Roarer," and then you voted!  

There was a clear winner!!



With 63% of the vote…the "Loudest Roarer" at In-Sync Exotics was…Kahn! The White Boys came in second with 25.9% of the vote, and cute adorable Sabu came in third with 11.1% of the vote. 

Here’s what some of you had to say about this epic competition!
They are so loud!   

He has a great roar. White boys were good but there are two of them.  Hey, he's an old man and he holds his own with the young kids.   

Sounds loud and strong - amazing! But then they all did really!  
loved the ending. *gruffy* ....*lick* hehe  

So loud I actually jumped when the sound started.  
Seemed consistently loud...he was really working for it.   

Kahn was the loudest and most talented, but Sabu had the most endearing and meaningful song  

Kahn is just so musical, plus I gotta vote for the guy who sprayed my son! He's family now.  

HOLY COW!! I had to turn it off they were so loud :)  

The White Boys keep going, and going, and.... But they're all superb!  

Because his gal pal is Sheila.....we Sheilas have to stick up for our men! ~Sheila F. 

Not only is he extremely talented, he's also freakin' adorable!!!   

He's as loud as the White Boys together..!    

My handsome Sabu is always "tops" in my book!
Exciting News!  We prepared Kahn's "song" into a Ringtone!  If you would like to add Kahn's "song" to your cell phone, contact us now and we will email you three different versions of the winner's song!  Next year we will be adding additional Ringtones to our main website, so you can enjoy all the "Roar Off" competitors' songs.  Meantime, be the first to have Kahn's mighty roar on your phone today! 

Yesterday, we shared a story about some of our beautiful geriatric wild cats and asked the question  "Who is the oldest exotic wild cat living at In-Sync Exotics"?  1.8% of our voters said Java and Duchess are our oldest cats.  18.2% of our voters said Okemo and Sabu are our oldest cats.  However, with a whopping 60%, our voters guessed correctly that Mercedes is our oldest wild cat living at In-Sync Exotics! 

Mercedes is a 24-year old cougar and she still has a lot of spunk in her.  If you have not met Mercedes, you have to come out for a tour and greet our grand lady cougar--she is truly special! 
 
Happy New Year, Everyone!  

We hope you enjoyed this year's blog postings. We shall resume our postings on January 3rd, 2012…so until next year, be safe, hug your cats and/or dogs, and enjoy your family time together! 
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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Caring for Our "Seasoned" Wild Cats!

Cerella is 15+ years old!
Did you know that In-Sync Exotics has 15 geratric exotic wild cats?  And out of the 15 geratric cats, 7 of them are cougars! 

First off, let's be clear:  old age is not a disease, rather it's a natural process of life! While veterinarians use a cat's age as a measuring stick for longevity (see charts below), age alone is by no means an indicator of the animal's current health status.

With routine wellness exams, we help our cats maintain an excellent level of health while at the same time recognize early warning signs of age related issues before they become harder to manage.

At In-Sync Exotics, we watch for the following common health conditions found in older cats:
  • Arthritis – difficulty jumping and climbing
  • Cancer – sores or swellings that don’t heal, loss of stamina, difficulty eating or exercising
  • Dental disease – bad breath, difficulty eating, red or painful gums, plaque near the gum line
  • Diabetes – excessive drinking, increased urination or urinating in inappropriate places, lethargy, increased appetite coupled with weight loss
  • Hearing Loss – problems hearing the approach of another cat or animal keepers, startling the big cat
  • Heart problems – lethargy, weakness, poor appetite, weight loss, a persistent cough, breathing difficulties
  • Hyperthyroidism – a change in appetite, weight loss, diarrhea, difficulty breathing, heat intolerance, more vocal or restless
  • Kidney failure – increased drinking and urination, lethargy, poor appetite, weight loss
  • Reduced immune system function - susceptibility to diseases or infections
  • Reduced sense of smell – smell plays a big role in a cat's appetite so if the cat cannot smell the food, she may be less inclined to eat
  • Senility – disorientation, forgetfulness, excessive vocalization
  • Weight loss – a close watch of the cats' weight is important to detect other health related issues; under weight may be due to underlying disease, changes in metabolism and hormones with increasing age, and/or a decrease in the ability to adequately digest protein
  • Weight obesity – obesity is a metabolic disease with hormonal, metabolic and inflammatory changes that requires immediate attention. It is a risk factor for diabetes, osteoarthritis (OA), respiratory distress, lower urinary tract diseases and early mortality
In-Sync Exotics is unique in that we take in senior and geriatric cats that no one else will accept, such as our recent rescues,  Okemo and Sabu.  Giving these cats a chance to live a rich and full life, no matter how much time they have left with us, is what we are all about!

Since we have so many senior and geriatric exotic wild cats living at the sanctuary, we have to make sure they receive regular vet care; take their prescribed medicine and vitamins; and continue to exercise in order to avoid muscle atrophy. 

For instance, did you know that Okemo and Sabu are currently taking arthritis medication?  And Keenan, our 15+ year old cougar, takes medicine for his heart  as he was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy and arythmia.  Pretty much all our geratic cats are taking glucosamine.

A couple of our cats require help with their food. Mercedes and Keenan have to have their food cut up for them into small chunks and neither of them will eat regular ground up food and both are pretty lazy about chewing on their bones!

For Sabu and Jasmine, we loosen the meat that is on their bones given to them on "bone night" since neither of them have good teeth to rip the meat off the bones for themselves. We keep the meat on the bone so they can still enjoy the full effect of receiving a "meaty" bone; we just make it easy for them to remove their tasty treat!

All of our senior and geratric cats receive special attention during cold days to ensure they remain toasty warm through some of Texas' worse winter weather.

Cat Years Conversion

Thanks to the diligent care provided by our vet, staff, and volunteers, along with the technological advances of veterinary medicine and care, our cats are leading much healthier and longer lives. 
 
Many people try to convert cat years into human years by a factor of seven for each human year.  This of course is an old wives "tail."   To convert cat age to an equivalent human age, an accepted method is to add 15 years for the first year of life. Then add 10 years for the second year of life. After that, add 4 years for every cat year. This means that by year two, a cat has matured to about the same as a 25 year old human.
 
Using the form below you can compare your cat's age to relative human years. Remember that this conversion is only an approximation; but it is a useful tool to help you understand the physiological changes which your cat undergoes as she ages.

Sadly, the previous calculator posted yesterday (12.29.11) is no longer available as their website is down.  But we found another cat age calculator-- and it works just as great as its predecessor!


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Cat YearsHuman YearsLife Stage
1 year15 yearsAdolescent
2 years25 yearsYoung Adult
5 years37 yearsAdult
7 years45 yearsMiddle Aged
12 years65 yearsSenior 
15 years77 yearsGeratric
18 years89 years
21 years101 years


Oh, and by the way, the answer to the pop quiz at the start of the blog will be revealed on Friday's posting!
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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Katy's Upcoming Surgery

One of our special animals at In-Sync Exotics, a favorite of our volunteers and interns, is undergoing surgery early next year. 

Meet Katy, a six year old black Labrador, who was brought to In-Sync Exotics in the Spring of 2006.  Katy was found abandoned in a graveyard, sitting a top of her doggy pillow with her toys and bowl scattered around her.  One of our volunteers brought Katy to In-Sync Exotics where she now spends most of her days "helping" out our volunteers, guarding the meat "mobile" and chasing off hungry raccoons from from dusk until dawn, seven days a week.

Last year, we became concerned when Katy started limping around the sanctuary.  We took her to the vet where she was x-rayed and placed on Cosequin.  Cosequin for dogs is a joint supplement that contains glucosamine and chondroitin to maintain healthy joints.  Katy's stride improved and she resumed her rambunctious activities, providing us with lots of love and attention at In-Sync Exotics.

We took Katy back to the vet's office last week because she was limping once more.  Another set of x-rays were ordered and this time the vet noticed she had a torn menisci.  To correct the problem, Katy must undergo surgery on January 3, 2012 at her vet's clinic.  A visiting board certified surgeon will perform the surgery by making a cut into the top of the bone, rotate it to change the angle and then a metal plate will be affixed keep the bone in place. Over several months, the bone will heal into its new position and Katy should see a partial improvement within days.  It will take a couple of months for the bone to heal properly; therefore, our challenge will be to keep Katy sedate and off her paws as post operative rest is crucial to her healing process.

Generally, long term prognosis is very good for our Katy, and she should be pain-free once again very soon!  Interesting to note, the metal plate does not need to be removed unless problems occur later.

As with any surgery, complications are possible. So please say a prayer for our Katy next week as she undergoes this surgery.  Needless to say, this surgery is a little more expensive than traditional surgery ($2,000), but we believe Katy deserves the best medical care possible.  She may not be a tiger, but she has the heart of a lion!

Special Note:  The results of the "Roar Off" competition will be announced this Friday along with a special surprise!  Thank you for your patience!!
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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Cats on the Move!

One never knows what to expect when pairing exotic wild cats together--some get along just great while others, not so great. 

You may recall we had high hopes of integrating Aramis, Aurora, Layla, and Eve together.  We started off with reintroducing Aramis and Aurora together last month.  So far, both Aramis and Aurora are getting along just great!  Then we introduced Aramis with the other two girls, Eve and Layla earlier this month

Aramis and Aurora
December 21, 2011
Unfortunately we had to give up our plan to integrate the four lions together because Eve and Layla displayed signs of aggression towards Aramis.  So we decided it would be in the best interest of the lions if we paired Aramis and Aurora together and Eve and Layla would be housed in separate quarters.

So while our best laid lion plan did not work out the way we'd hoped, it turns out that our new plan worked out in such a way that now all four lions are happy!  Interesting enough, not only did our lion pairing plan changed, but so did our cougar pairing plan.

Spike!
Our plan of housing Spike and Chloe together, both former Poetry cougars, also did not work out as we originally hoped.  Even though the cougars came from the same location, they were not actually housed together until they were paired with Howard in the same quarters earlier this year.  When Howard passed away, we hoped Chloe and Spike would live harmoniously together.  Sadly, this was not meant to be.

It became obvious these two cats would not stop hissing and avoiding each other, no matter how much time we gave them together, so we decided to separate the two cougars.

Chloe!
As of last Thursday, we moved Chloe in with Lassiter (male), Sierra (female), and Cherokee (female).  Spike moved in with three cougar siblings Crimson (female), Keenan (male), and Cerella (female).  So far, everyone seems to be getting along just fine.  We are keeping our fingers and toes crossed that their new living arrangements remains permanent! 

Later today we plan to introduce Chance to Issac and Lydia.  All three cats seem interested in each other, so we are hoping the three bobcats will "get along famously!" 
  
  
Our goal in pairing wild cats together is to make sure they are happy and compatible.  We pray our latest pairings work out for our lions, cougars, and bobcats.  We will keep you updated on their progress!

Don't forget, we are on a special holiday schedule!  We are open all week, so come on out and visit our cats!

Monday – Friday (December 26 – 30, 2011) – Open for tours from 11am to 5pm
Saturday – Sunday (December 31 – January 1, 2012) – Open for tours from 11am to 6pm
 
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Thursday, December 22, 2011

Merry Days at In-Sync Exotics!

Okay, Santa's elves, fill 'er up!
In three days it will be Christmas morning and our dedicated volunteers and staff will be caring for the animals at In-Sync Exotics, just like they always do each day!  We truly have the best, dedicated volunteers, willing to care for our wild ones on holidays, cold days, rainy days, and all days in between.  In-Sync Exotics is truly unique as everyone working and volunteering at the sanctuary loves caring for the animals and is willing to come in and help them even if it means sacrificing their time with friends and family.  Thank you so very much for your service, everyone!
 
Have you seen our wild cats illuminated by our Christmas lights yet?  No?  Well, you have one day left—December 23, 2011 (Friday) is the last day you can enjoy a free hot beverage as you stroll around our grounds, watching the antics of our wild ones as they play under the illumination of the Christmas lights.  You don’t want to miss the fun, so come out this Friday night between the hours of 5-7:30pm!

Have you voted on our Great "Roar Off" competition yet?  Vote here today!

Check out our holiday tour schedule as we are open for tours next week!

Saturday (December 24, 2011) – Open for tours
Sunday (December 25, 2011) – Closed to the public
Monday – Friday (December 26 – 30, 2011) – Open for tours from 11am to 5pm
Saturday – Sunday (December 31 – January 1, 2012) – Open for tours from 11am to 6pm

Have you purchased your 2012 In-Sync Exotics’ calendar yet?  If not, we have several available at our on-site Gift Shop!  If you can’t make it to our Gift Shop, you can also purchase one on-line.  Click here for ordering instructions!

Don’t forget to make your tax-deductible gift to In-Sync Exotics before December 31, 2011!  Gifts can be made on-line or by check!

Great news!  Our phones are working again!  Yea!

And finally, all of us at In-Sync Exotics wish you the merriest of Christmas and we hope you will have the opportunity to spend time with family and friends, as well as to relax and reflect upon this true joy of the holiday! 

Join us once again on Tuesday as the blog resumes with funny and interesting postings from In-Sync Exotics. Until then, eat well, live well, love well and be safe! 

Merry Christmas, everyone!
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Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Keeping You Smiling on Wednesday!

Our Telephone Outage:  If you have been trying to reach us by telephone for the last couple of days, you may have noticed our service is not working.  We are in the processing of changing carriers and have run into a few snags!  You can still reach us by email at insyncexotics@aol.com!  Thank you for your patience as we work through these service transitional issues!

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It's safe to say that it isn't truly a 'Very Merry Christmas' without our furry  domestic companions animals providing us with hilarious Christmas tree antics stories which we can share with our friends and families for many years to come!

No doubt as you watch this funny video, you'll remember a few memorable stories of when your cat or dog first met a Christmas Tree!  Ahh, fond memories ~

"O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
your ornaments are his-to-y!"


At In-Sync Exotics, when we watch this video, we have to secretly laugh because when our big cats approach their Christmas trees, they immediately launch themselves at the entire tree, ripping off their branches, and rolling round all the pine needles with such innocent abandon--leaving us to clean up all the pine needles and branches the next day.  Ohh...how cute!

Cougar, meet tree.  Tree, meet Cougar!
 
Tree no more.

Thank you Santa for the tree!

If you have a funny Christmas tree story involving your dog or cat and you'd like to share it with us, please fill out the comment box below.  We'd love to read about your favorite Christmas memory!  Keep the laughs coming folks!

All of us at In-Sync Exotics hope you have a wonderful, happy day today as we are only four days away until Christmas Day!
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Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Let's Rumble! 2011 "Roar Off" Competition!

Ladies and gentlemen and children of all ages, welcome to In-Sync Exotics' final 2011 “Roar Off” competition!  Today we open the voting “booth” for YOU to select the most talented and loudest “roarer” at In-Sync Exotics this year!

If you are just joining our blog, you’re probably wondering what the heck this “Roar Off” competition is all about, so here’s a quick recap:

On October 12, 2011, we held Round 1 of the great “Roar Off” competition where our two former Wild Animal Orphanage lions, Jynxie and Sabu, went head-to-head vying for the title of loudest “roarer.”  The audience voted and Sabu was declared the winner by a large 'roar' of approval!

The Poetry Girls and the White Boys competed for the honor of loudest “roarer” in Round 2 on October 19, 2011, and the White Boys were voted the winners in this competition—'paws' down!

That just leaves Round 3, which was held on November 17, 2011, where our last two contenders, Aramis and Kahn “roared” it out for the title of loudest “roarer.”  Kahn was the audience’s clear choice in this competition by a ‘loud’ margin! 

Thus ends the three rounds of competition.  Now it’s your turn to decide this year’s title winner of In-Sync Exotics’ “Loudest Roarer”!

Okay, now that you're all caught up, let the final "Roar Off" competition begin!

Here's how the final competition works:

You watch the videos of Sabu, White Boys, and Kahn as they roar their hearts out vying for top honor as the "Loudest Roarer," and then you vote!  Voting ends this Friday and we will announce the winner the following Monday!

So, make history today by voting for your favorite sounding lion(s) and then check back with us to see who wins the competition!  We are thinking of creating a special ring tone of the winners’ roar, so be sure to choose the roar that you’d like to hear on your cell phone!

So turn up your speakers and let the final 2011 “Roar Off” competition begin!

Our first competitor is Sabu, our handsome single bachelor lion!



Thank you Sabu for your beautiful lion song--not bad for a 21-year old lion, right?

Next up is our wildly popular duo, Jazz and Shazam, also known as the White Boys!



Let's hear it for the White Boys!  Can they sing or what?

And last but not least, here's Kahn!!  Sing it, Kahn!



Adding Kahn to the mix really makes this a really tough decision for our audience!  They are all great, but we can only have one winner—so choose the one that made your heart sing too!



Thank you for participating in the 2011 great "Roar Off" Competition!  Stay tuned for the results next week!

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Monday, December 19, 2011

Starting the Week With A Smile (or Two)!

We thought you might want to start the holiday week with a few smiles, so allow me to present, once again, Sabu and Chance!

Remember Sabu?  He arrived this year on May 17th and at the time of his arrival, he could only take a few steps before falling down.  Today, 21-year old Sabu is probably the happiest lion we have ever seen at In-Sync Exotics.  When it comes to his turn on the playground, Sabu gets so excited--what a joy it is to see him embrace each new day with excitement!

It's hard not to smile when watching Sabu's antics!  The following videos were taken of him right after he ran on to the playground this weekend!




Run some more Sabu, run some more for us!


We are so thrilled to have been able to give Sabu a second chance at happiness!

Speaking of chances, this next video of Chance will also bring a smile to your face.  This handsome young bobcat is slowing getting accustomed to his new home as he explores his new world:




It's amazing how the simplest things in life can bring you the most joy--as demonstrated by Chance and Moses!


Chance Posing For the Camera!

Chance Wanting His Toy in the Picture!

Got It!

Oops!  Dropped It!

Moses Wants To Keep His Ears Warm!

Time To Stretch!

Must I Come Out Now?

It always makes us happy to participate in exciting events so we share with others why In-Sync Exotics is a special home to special animals:


Meet the volunteers who gift wrapped presents at Barnes and Noble located in the Stonebriar Mall on Thursday, December 15, 2011:  Lisa Williams (Board Director), Elizabeth Chambers, Amy Frank, Annette Creekmore, and Jodi Payson (Board Director)!  These hardworking ladies wrapped presents from 4pm to 10pm!

Barnes and Noble allowed nonprofit organizations to gift wrap for donations near their registers (upstairs and downstairs) during the holidays. On December 2nd, we took the 10-4 pm shift. On that particular day, our volunteers were Lisa Williams, Tom Dillon, Mary Marsh, Kim Morris, and Jodi Payson.

We make just over $150! Since this was our first year participating in this "wrapping event," we had no idea what to expect, but we will be ready for next year!  We may not have earned a lot of donations, but we did receive a decent amount of traffic and a lot of questions about out facility!

With events like these, sometimes it is all about educating the public... the donations are just a little bonus!

Merry Christmas, everyone!
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