Truman the Tiger is a household name to almost every Mizzou student and alumni, but what about Sulley the Tiger?

It’s been almost two years since Sulley was rescued from a “photo for money” operation in Louisiana.

“One of those situations where these three [tigers], including Sulley, were in a car and that was a very inappropriate thing because one of them passed away from the heat exposure,” said Pat Craig of the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colo., where Sulley is currently kept.

While people paid $25 each to have their picture taken with the tiger, his malnourishment was starting to take a toll.

“He probably wasn’t fed appropriately during his developmental years,” said MU surgeon Derek Fox. “Bones can be very finicky with respect to their development and growth. If they’re not exposed to the right things, especially nutrition, they can grow very crooked.”

Sulley’s legs started to bow outward when he walked. These deformities were leading to multiple permanent joint malformations, arthritis and pain. That’s when the Wild Animal Sanctuary called the University of Missouri.

When doctors assessed the situation, they were more than willing to lend a hand.

“We tried our best to help Sulley and felt indebted to do so becuase it was really the fault of man and humans of why he has suffered the way he has,” said Fox.

For the past few years, Mizzou surgeons have been studying a technique used in humans to correct similar limb deformities in dogs. With careful planning, Sulley was ready to have this same procedure performed.

Although the surgery went fine, the doctors say it’s going to be a long road ahead for Sulley. It could be almost three months before he is back to his old self again. Considering his past, the doctors think his recovery time shouldn’t be that bad.

Several companies donated both time and money to the effort, including Mizzou Tiger for Tigers, the nation’s first tiger mascot conservation program.

A miracle golden eagle that the National Aviary of Pittsburgh nursed back to health from near-death was released to the wild this morning.

The bird flew off on strong wings from New Creek Mountain near Scherr, W.Va.

The golden eagle has been fitted with a tracking device. It is expected to join other migrating golden eagles on their way to Canada.

Erin Estell, manager of animal programs at the National Aviary, was part of the team that provided round-the-clock care to the bird.

“I feel great, relieved,” she said after the bird’s release. “Lots of stress and anxiety flew away with that bird. It’s good to see him fly so strong.”

The bird’s left leg had been caught on the mountain in a trap meant for coyotes. The bird struggled to free itself for nearly a week. When it was found Jan. 5, it was dying. The trap’s metal jaws wore through its skin and muscle, exposing bone the trap had crushed. An infection in the wound had spread to its blood. It was dehydrated, malnourished, anemic and in liver failure.

The eagle came to the National Aviary, where it underwent surgery. Staffers changed its wound dressings every other day. They force-fed it mice laced with medications; at one point, it received a dozen antibiotics and vitamins.

Golden eagles, though not endangered, are protected under federal law.

Within the next week, the bird’s path will be shown on the aviary’s web site within the next week.

Tom “Bucky” Olguin returned home Saturday after four months of hospitalization from complications of West Nile virus. His illness was difficult to diagnose and in his case even more difficult to recover from, but he had some help from his horse.

Bucky and Jackie Olguin are Casa Grande Valley residents and have two sons, 14-year-old Waylon and 9-year-old Luke.

Jackie was born and raised in Casa Grande. Bucky spent his early childhood in Albuquerque, N.M., where he was born. Around age 9 his family moved to Stanfield, and he spent time between the home in Arizona and the family ranch in New Mexico.

In December Bucky was diagnosed with West Nile virus, known to be contracted from mosquito bites and present in Arizona for a few years.

Before contracting WNV he was a local truck driver and spent his free time roping and with his family.

Olguin took his first trip to the hospital Nov. 6 with severe flu-like symptoms he had been experiencing for a little over a week.

Having been a kidney transplant recipient, he was expected to be more prone to the flu and common cold, and was sent home to recover with bed rest. The illness did not ease, however.

On Nov. 8 he was again admitted to Casa Grande Regional Medical Center after breaking out in sweats, cold chills and experiencing nausea, among other harsh symptoms.

The doctors couldn’t diagnose Olguin and were pressed to find answers. His illness progressed as his doctors ran tests. As it did so he lost his speech and all energy; he became unable to walk or even stand.

The hospital continued to run tests and still could not find a solution to the situation. Olguin became delusional and started talking to himself and hallucinating. He suffered extensive breathing problems, states of severe confusion and began panting with each breath he took.

He began to have difficulty sleeping. One day he was unable to sleep for 24 1/2 hours. To ease his unrest the hospital administered sleeping medication, and he soon went into a coma.

He was transferred to Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix. After the transfer Olguin’s family was forced to leave their home and were welcomed by Bucky’s parents, Rudy and Mary Olguin. They offered to take care of the couple’s two sons while Jackie stayed with Bucky.

Jackie was forced to leave her job at the Arizona City Golf Course so she could continue hospital visits and travel to and from Phoenix daily.

After the transfer, Olguin was kept in a medicated coma for nearly five days while the hospital ran a CAT scan and other tests. Once taken off the medication he did not wake.

Eight days later the doctors had conclusive results and were positive that Olguin had West Nile. Only a short time after the diagnosis he woke from his coma for the first time.

Jackie said it was like he knew what was wrong so he could wake up to face it.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has determined that 15,000 people in the U.S. have been infected with West Nile virus since the first detection in 1999. Of those, 500 have died.

These odds held no relevance in the Olguins’ eyes. Bucky was no quitter and his determination to recover proved advantageous.

From Dec. 29 until Jan. 25 he remained in intensive care at Good Samaritan. He was then moved to a specialized branch of the hospital where he began rehabilitating his bodily functions. This unit incorporates animals into physical and speech therapy in a process called animal assisted therapy. This technique is unique to Banner Good Samaritan.

Olguin, having been raised on a ranch, spent much time working with animals. It only made sense to incorporate his lifestyle into his recovery.

He was first greeted by trained therapy dogs, which he would pet and feed to build strength and flexibility in his arms and hands.

During physical therapy Jackie suggested, “What if we brought his roping horse up?”

The hospital agreed to allow the horse to be incorporated into the daily physical therapy and Coco journeyed to Banner Good Samaritan.

Olguin completed different activities with his horse including brushing, petting and feeding her carrots to build his upper arm and trunk strength and speaking to her to work on his speech therapy. While Bucky was completing these activities he was asked to sit on the edge of a chair and reach for the horse, which helped build his muscles and endurance in his arms. By placing both feet on the ground he was building trunk strength and using his leg muscles.

“Bringing his horse in was a moral boost for Bucky,” said his therapist, Jill Sclease.

After reintroducing the horse into his life his spirits were lifted, he gained strength more rapidly and was more enthusiastic about recovery. He began slowly gaining strength and was more able to control his body.

“I think it jolted something in his brain that said, ‘Hey I have a life at home. This hospital is not my life,’” said Jackie. “It seemed to bring back a sense of control for him.”

The Olguin family owns two other horses, Bandit and Wedo; a pig, Snickers; and a few dogs and cats.

Jackie and Sclease both emphasized the importance of the emotional attachment between ropers and their horses and how animals share compassion and emotion opposed to the harsh mechanical workings of exercise equipment.

Sclease is confident he will continue to improve. She said, “He’s a tough worker and he won’t give up easily.” Bucky’s family extended great thanks to Sclease for her help in his recovery process.

Jackie also thanked Bucky’s parents, Rudy and Mary, sister Taunya Rodriguez, and friends Pascual Careleana and Juan Villar.

Rudy is an auctioneer and Mary is the personnel director for Horizon Human Services. They also operate a small horse-drawn buggy business on the side.

Careleana and Villar organized and directed the Cowboy Bike Run in Bucky’s honor. The proceeds of that was donated to the family to help cover expenses. The amount totaled nearly $5,000. They are also planning a roping benefit in April to help minimize the family’s costs for equipment that will be needed at home.

Now that Bucky has been released and is home, the couple will return to Good Samaritan three times a week for continued physical therapy. However, he will have to have special equipment at home that insurance will not cover.

Anyone wishing to make donations to help Bucky and his family may do so by visiting Helpacowboy.com/Bucky/ or by going to any Wells Fargo Bank and making a donation under the name Tom Bucky Olguin.

A VALUABLE American-bred Bengal cat has been reunited with his owner in Brisbane.

Nicknamed Bruce, after Bruce Springsteen who wrote the hit song Born in the USA, the Bengal had been claimed by his owner Nigel Smythe who was given the cat by his employer, the RSPCA said today.

A breeding pedigree male Bengal cat is estimated to be worth around $3000.

But Bruce, whose real name is Tomahawk, has been neutered.

He was caught in a cat trap by a resident in the southside suburb of Carindale last week and was taken to the RSPCA’s Fairfield shelter, suffering cat flu.

A microchip embedded under its skin showed the cat was registered in the city of Beaufort in South Carolina, although the `chip had been implanted at a vet clinic in Idaho.

Mr Nigel Smythe, said he would be glad to get Tomahawk back to his Brisbane home.

He said the cat had run off after a recent disruptive house move.

“I just thought he had gone for a wander but he had gone for a lot longer than I thought, so I started freaking out about it,” Mr Smythe told Ten News.

Mr Smythe now plans to get a cat enclosure in his yard.

RSPCA veterinary nurse Shannon Whiting said she tracked down Mr Smythe with the help of the internet and the microchip company which told her Tomahawk had had three previous owners.

She also nursed Tomahawk back to health from his bout of cat flu.

A dog in Arkansas is helping to raise an orphaned baby squirrel.

The Maltese mother named Pitty Pat has taken in an orphaned baby squirrel as her own.

It started two weeks ago, when the Wootton family found the squirrel. For the first few days, the Woottons fed the squirrel by bottle. Until one occasion, Kathy Wootton couldn’t believe what she saw!

“When I went to get it, it was nursing with the mother dog,” she said.

Wootton said the squirrel has settled in, just like one of Pitty Pat’s puppies.

She said there’s even some sibling rivalry.

The family said they’re thinking about what to name the little squirrel, and hope to one day release it back into the wild.

Over the past year, unprecedented numbers of African elephants have been slaughtered for their ivory tusks, the Washington Post reported recently. Between August 2005 and August 2006, authorities worldwide seized more than 24 tons of smuggled elephant ivory being shipped to the Far East alone, though actual poaching levels were probably much higher, according to Samuel Wasser, director of the Center for Conservation Biology at the University of Washington. In a new study, Wasser and his colleagues note that because customs agents typically detect only about 10 percent of all contraband, the real figure may have topped 240 tons of ivory, representing 23,000 elephants or roughly 5 percent of Africa’s total elephant population.

Analysts attribute the rising death toll to weak enforcement of the worldwide ban on international ivory sales, adopted in 1989 under the auspices of the United Nations’ Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). In its early years, the ban was largely effective due to heightened public attention to the ivory trade and government funding for anti-poaching efforts. Elephant populations rebounded substantially, especially in southern Africa. But in recent years, as exceptions to the ban have increased and funding has dried up, the illegal killings have resumed.

Ivory markets diminished considerably in the United States and Europe following passage of the ban, but the demand for ivory jewelry and other products remains high in East Asia, with the price of one kilogram of high-quality ivory on the Chinese black market skyrocketing from US$100 in 1989 to US$750 in 2006. According to the Washington Post, organized crime has contributed to the problem, as narcotics and other contraband are often shipped alongside the tusks, raising the stakes and incentives for poachers.

Wasser’s team used DNA analysis to determine the origins of a 6.5-ton illegal ivory shipment (representing 3,000–6,500 poached elephants) confiscated in Singapore in 2002. By examining the tusks and taking random DNA samples to track genetic differences, they were able to prove that the ivory came from a small area in and around Zambia, and not from a variety of locations as was initially assumed. This ability to pinpoint the origin of confiscated ivory is considered critical to future elephant conservation efforts.

According to Wasser, a well-funded anti-poaching program that includes DNA analysis has the potential to dramatically curb illegal killings and related criminal activity, thus preventing ivory from reaching the international market. The World Wildlife Fund reports that conservation efforts are also focusing on “controlling ivory stockpiles, establishing and strengthening the borders of protected areas, preventing poaching, and carefully managing elephants to avoid increased conflict with human populations. Greater outreach to East Asian consumers through campaigns similar to those seeking to stem demand for shark-fin soup is also considered essential for successful elephant conservation.