I finally got pictures of Jada, Titan's sister. She is so camera shy!! Here she is at PetSmart for the first time!
Riley was due for a new picture too. She has gotten a new coat since being in foster care and now she's long-haired!!
This is Toledo, a new foster kitty. She just showed up at a cranky old man's house and stayed for a week. It was getting colder so he used that as an excuse to get rid of her for good. She's sweet and tried to rub on his legs, but that just made him annoyed and wanting to get rid of her sooner. Poor baby!
On December 31st, not only did the old year end for Ben, but so did his life.
It wasn't a great life, but it could've been worse. He landed in an animal shelter before he was 8-weeks-old and was loaded with fleas and ear mites. Then he had coccidia and medicine for that. Then he had a cold and medicine for that, then he had ringworm and medicine, baths and isolation for that. Then he had another cold, the first round of medicine didn't knock it out, so he had a second round of stronger medicine. Then more ear mite treatment. Then an eye infection and ointment. And during the moments he was well, he managed to get neutered and actually spent a few days at PetSmart before getting sick again. Over $400 worth of stuff for him and it would've all been worth it if he could've found a good home.
He was supposed to go to PetSmart yesterday and chances are this sweet boy would've found a home. So cute, so soft, so friendly. Such a round little face and deep green eyes and the cutest little white tip on his tail. But I noticed that he wasn't eating quite as much and that his belly was getting bigger. He had every indication of FIP at the vet this morning, so I had to decide if I wanted to bring him home to live out his last few days or to just let him go today. It was so hard trying to decide what was best for him and what was best for me.
I ended up doing what was best for me and hoped it was the best decision for him. He wasn't suffering yet. I hoped that by doing this today I could spare him from that. But really it was the thought of seeing him every day and wondering if today was his last good day, if tomorrow it would be too late and he'd know pain, if tomorrow would be the day that I'd find him dead. His little soft kitten fur was wet from my tears as he fell asleep in my arms, purring until the very end. Poor Jerry, having to face a life without his brother when it was my greatest hope for them to find a home together.
Ben was the one on the right, I wish I had taken a newer picture of him, he's so much cuter than this.
Wow! What a weekend of adoptions! After a slow Saturday we hit the kitty jackpot on Sunday!
Dogs: Dani & Dolly
Cats: Sammy, Litte Buddy, Chevelle, Caprice, Ginny, Cheeto, Dickens, Jimmy, Janice, Tabitha, Carlos, Pink, Freddy, Murphy, Camden, Jersey, Ivy & Mistletoe,
Dani: a jack russell that didn't show well at PetSmart but she found a great home that understands the breed and knows how high energy they are!
Dolly: a border collie/terrier mix that we've had since early summer. I can't believe how long it took her to find a home - she's an awesome dog, but a handful!
Sammy: male kitten light grey and white
Little Buddy: male kitten solid black, got to go home with Sammy to a really nice family!
Chevelle & Caprice: 2 of the classic cars litter also went home together!
Ginny: cool kitty - solid grey female, so petite and pretty and would sit in the front of the shopping cart for her foster mom!
Cheeto: male kitten, orange tabby with white
Dickens: one of mine! got his name through his personality, he was an adorable little black spitfire! Such fluff for a short haired boy.
Jimmy, Janice, Tabitha, Carlos and Pink: all young kittens that came from one foster home. People were on them like vultures and within an hour of getting to PetSmart, all were spoken for!
Freddy & Murphy: they've lived at PetSmart for almost a month now - Freddy is an orange and white tabby, Murphy was a black cat with a heart murmur. Great home with a work-at-home mom and a dad who said sure, let's go for both of them! We love dads like that!
Camden: white with tabby markings, female - to me was one of the most plain kitties we had, but the first one to go home on Sunday! She is a birthday present for an 8-year-old girl who wanted to come and pick out her very own kitten! She went home with a 10-month-old which is perfect for that family of kids!
Jersey: tabby with white, Camden's sister also got adopted by a family that kept coming to look at her but felt bad about splitting them up, once Camden was gone, they jumped at the chance to get Jersey!
Ivy & Mistletoe: used to be Sabrina and Jill when they were adopted before, but got returned in a divorce. Right after our other two pairs of cats got adopted, they came in looking for a pair and we didn't have one, but luckily one of our fosters stopped in and suggested these guys, went home and got them and it was love at first sight!
I do have adoptions to report, but this was more fun. The list of adoptions is wonderfully long, and time tonight is short. We did a couple of cats mid-week, 4 cats and a couple dogs on Saturday and today we did a dog and 11 cats! WOW!
Now on to Mo. 3 of our volunteers went down to a rural shelter a couple of hours south of here and I was the designated driver and supposed to be the voice of reason. We crammed as many crates into my minivan as we could and headed out. The dogs were terribly overcrowded and we spent a lot of time evaluating them and trying to pick the most worthy of them. I still remember a couple of my favorites, a black lab/golden mix named Gallant, a sweet young black lab named Maisy, an ugly little shepard mix with a curly tail named Sheeba, a husky mix named Izzy and I think there may have been more. I know that it seemed like a clown car that day with all the dogs that we fit in. We'd think we were full, but then would figure out how to shuffle them so we could save one more.
One of the fosters just loved this big ox of a dog named Montana (or Mo as he became known to us). His intake information said that he was turned in for killing livestock (but anyone who knows him doubts that was true). That was enough for us to say no, but the foster just saw something she had to save in him. So we stacked the crates and left just enough room in the back for this huge, obnoxious dog to ride loose (in what was then my NEW minivan) for 2 hours when we had no idea if he was housetrained or prone to car sickness. I had voted to leave him behind, but got talked into loading up one more.
The poor big guy had red sores all over his lower body from sleeping on concrete. He'd been there for a year before we took him. Then he spent a long time in foster care, partly because he ended up being heartworm positive and partly because most people were like me and didn't feel an immediate connection with the big lug. Then he finally got adopted and we all cheered. Then he got returned. The family went bankrupt and lost their home (Mo probably ate them out of house and home!). After spending a bit of time being fostered again, he was adopted for good this time. Here are pictures of him. They are heartwarming, but try to imagine this pampered pooch sharing a 4x6 dog run with several other dogs for a year. I'm glad they talked me into cramming one more in my car!
Here's the letter from his new mom.
It was a busy day as lots of dogs and cats went home for the holidays! Next weekend is generally a good one too, so keep your fingers crossed for us!
Dogs: Steve/Mozzarella, Jesse, Lacy, Wizard, Lola, Bubba, Jingle Bell
Cats: Kiernan, Shelby, Kasha, Keyne, Chico, Garfunkle, Gizmo, Bree, Tinkerbell, Eddie, Morris, Gabby & Jiminy Cricket
Steve/Mozzarella: This was one of Millie's puppies from about 2 years ago. He was returned with the name Steve and adopted right back out! I got a picture of Millie today from her new mom and the title of the email was Twas the night before Christmas, and the email had a picture of her 2 Heartland dogs snuggled up on the bed and asleep. Very cute!
Jesse: Another return, this time a bassett hound. She was returned and adopted out the same day! She was too rowdy in her first home, let's hope the new home takes the time to train her!
Lacy: Hopefully the third time is the charm for this pretty American Eskimo girl, who has been passed around too many times in her life.
Wizard: the bichon friese that I pulled from a pound about a month ago! So good to see them go home!
Lola: one of our wheaton/boston mix puppies
Bubba: cute chihuahua will be pampered for the new year!
Jingle Bell: adorable shepard mix puppy that was cold and alone in an outdoor, rural animal control
Kiernan & Keyne: 2 members of the "saints" litter found new homes
Shelby: tabby from the classic cars litter
Kasha: russian blue lookalike that was adopted out as a kitten and ended up in a shelter, now has a forever home again!
Chico: another cat that was returned is having another shot at a wonderful life, very friendly black girl
Figaro & Jiminy Cricket: 2 of the Pinochio litter found homes
Garfunkle: orange tabby kitten
Gizmo: little grey terror of a kitten who spent far too long at PetSmart. Very friendly, but doesn't like to snuggle, so most people passed on him. Who ever adopted him will never be bored again!
Bree & Gabby: 2 from the Desperate Housewives litter found new homes too.
Tinkerbell: solid black female kitten
Edie: medium haired tabby kitten
Morris: adult cat, white with tabby markings charmed his way into a home in the middle of all those Christmas kittens!
I think another 3 cats were adopted out on Sunday, but I don't have the details on them yet.
The whole point of keeping cats
New York Times
21cats.html? ei=5070&en= fbd67708504
f5c51&ex=1198904400 &emc=eta1& pagewanted= print_
(http://www.nytimes. com/2007/ 12/21/nyregion/
21cats.html? ei=5070&en= fbd67708504f5c51 &ex=1198904400& emc=eta1& pa
gewanted=print)
December 21, 2007
To Dismay of Inspectors, Prowling Cats Keep Rodents on the
Run at City Delis
By KATE HAMMER
Across the city, delis and bodegas are a familiar and vital
part of the streetscape, modest places where customers can
pick up necessities, a container of milk, a can of soup, a
loaf of bread.
Amid the goods found in the stores, there is one thing that
many owners and employees say they cannot do without: their
cats. And it goes beyond cuddly companionship. These cats
are workers, tireless and enthusiastic hunters of unwanted
vermin, and they typically do a far better job than
exterminators and poisons.
When a bodega cat is on the prowl, workers say, rats and
mice vanish.
That is the case at a narrow corner store in Williamsburg,
Brooklyn, where a gray long-haired tabby named Halloween
goes on regular patrols when she is not lounging on a plaid
bed tucked behind dusty rows of Schweppes ginger ale and
empty cardboard boxes.
"In the morning she is lazy, it is her nap time," said
Urszula Jawor, 49, the deli´s manager, a Polish immigrant
who smiled with motherly pride at Halloween, adding that
the cat was named for the day she wandered in off the
street and claimed the Bedford Avenue store as her home.
"But in the afternoon she is busy," Ms. Jawor said. "She
spends hours stalking the mice and the rats."
To store owners, the services of cats are indispensable in
a city where the rodent problem is serious enough to be
documented in a still popular two-minute video clip on
YouTube from late February (youtube.com/ watch?v=su0U37w2 tws)
of rats running amok in a KFC/Taco Bell in Greenwich
Village. Store-dwelling cats are so common that there is a
Web site, workingclasscats. com, dedicated to telling their
tales.
But as efficient as the cats may be, their presence in
stores can lead to legal trouble. The city´s health code
and state law forbid animals in places where food or
beverages are sold for human consumption. Fines range from
$300 for a first offense to $2,000 or higher for subsequent
offenses.
"Any animal around food presents a food contamination
threat," said Robert M. Corrigan, a rodentologist and
research scientist for the New York City Department of
Health and Mental Hygiene. "And so that means anything from
animal pieces and parts to hair and excrement could end up
in food, and that alone, of course, is a violation of the
health code."
Mr. Corrigan did concede that some studies have shown that
the smell of cats in an enclosed area will keep mice away.
But he does not endorse cats as a form of pest control
because, he explained, the bacteria, viruses, fungi,
parasites and nematodes carried by rats may infect humans
by secondary transfer through a cat.
Still, many store owners keep cats despite the law, mainly
because other options have failed and the fine for rodent
feces is also $300. "It´s hard for bodega owners because
they´re not supposed to have a cat, but they´re also not
supposed to have rats," said José Fernández, the president
of the Bodega Association of the United States.
Luis Martinez, 42, has managed his brother´s grocery in
East New York, Brooklyn, for two years. At first, despite
weekly visits from an exterminator, the store´s inventory
was ravaged constantly by nibbling vermin.
"Every night I had to put the bread in the freezer," he
said, pointing at shelves filled with bread and hamburger
buns. "I was losing too much inventory. The chips and the
Lipton soups all had holes in them."
Then, last winter, a friend brought Mr. Martinez a
marmalade kitten in need of a home. Mr. Martinez, who was
skeptical of how one slinky kitten could fend off an army
of hungry rats, set up a litter box in the back of the
store, put down an old fleece jacket and named the kitten
Junior.
Within two weeks, Mr. Martinez said, "a miracle."
"Before you´d see giant rats running in off the streets
into the store, but since Junior, no more," he said.
Junior sometimes brings Mr. Martinez mouse carcasses as
gifts, which he said bothers him less than the smell that
permeates his store when the exterminator´ s victims die and
rot under a freezer.
In October, a health inspector fined Mr. Martinez $300 and
warned him that if Junior was still there by the time of
the next inspection he would be fined $2,000.
"He wants me to get rid of the cat, but the rats will take
over if I do," Mr. Martinez said. "I need the cat, and the
cat needs a home."
Because stores do not get advance notification of an
inspection, Mr. Martinez is trying to keep Junior in his
office as much as possible. Many bodega owners reason that
a cat is less of a health threat than an army of nibbling
rats. "If cats live in homes and apartments where people
have food, a cat shouldn´t be a threat in a store if it´s
well maintained," Mr. Fernández said.
Some animal rescue groups, like the Spay and Neuter
Intervention Project, support the legalization and
regulation of store cats so that owners would be required
to provide basic veterinary care and to spay or neuter
their animals.
At a corner store in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Andre Duran, one
of the owners, said he had kept a cat for six years and had
never been fined.
"That´s Oreo," he said, as he lifted a tiny black cat with
white paws into his arms and carried her like a football.
"No one´s ever complained about cat hair in their
sandwiches, and if she weren´t here, you bet there´d be
bigger problems than hair."
As a line formed at Mr. Duran´s cash register and he
excused himself to take orders, Oreo´s ears perked up and
she slunk away toward the back of the store. She was,
perhaps, in pursuit of something.
I have this vivid daydream of my winning the lottery and buying a couple hundred acres of Missouri farmland (partially wooded of course) and setting up a sanctuary like the one in Utah. A more realistic dream is that I'd like to take a vacation to the shelter and experience it for myself.
From the wire, December 18, 2007
New Series Goes Behind the Scenes at Sanctuary for Hundreds
of Dogs in Need, From Puppy Mill Rescues to Canine Medical
Emergencies. /
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In this country alone, between 3 and 4
million unwanted pets are euthanized every year. But there
is one place where man's best friend always has hope:
Dogtown. One of the largest no-kill animal facilities in
the country, Dogtown is located on 33,000 acres of Southern
Utah canyon country. The sanctuary — run by the Best Friends
Animal Society — hosts hundreds of dogs from all around the
country, along with cats, horses, rabbits, goats and
various other farm animals — about 1,500 animals at any one
time. For the lost canine souls that find shelter at this
home in one of 12 lodging facilities, a staff of over 60
oversees their every need — including medical attention,
training and rehabilitation — with the eventual hope of
finding these dogs a new, loving home. Dogtown is often the
last hope for dogs requiring specialized or urgent medical
attention or for abused and neglected animals.
Premiering Friday, January 4, at 9 p.m. ET/PT, each episode
of National Geographic Channel's (NGC) new series Dogtown
takes viewers on a journey inside the bustling grounds to
meet the dogs and the skilled professional team dedicated
to ensuring that even the toughest cases survive. On the
front lines is a dedicated team of experts, including
medical director Dr. Mike Dix; veterinarian Dr. Patti
Iampietro; animal behavior consultant Sherry Woodard;
trainer John Garcia; head vet tech Jeffrey Popowich;
Dogtown manager Michelle Besmehn; and handler Thomas
Foyles.
A Rescue Dog's Christmas Poem
Tis the night before Christmas and all through the town,
every shelter is full - we are lost, but not found,
Our numbers are hung on our kennels so bare,
we hope every minute that someone will care,
They'll come to adopt us and give us the call,
"Come here, Max and Sparkie - come fetch your new ball!!
But now we sit here and think of the days...
we were treated so fondly - we had cute, baby ways,
Once we were little, then we grew and we grew
now we're no longer young and we're no longer new.
So out the back door we were thrown like the trash,
they reacted so quickly - why were they so rash?
We "jump on the children:, "don't come when they call",
we "bark when they leave us", climb over the wall.
We should have been neutered, we should have been spayed,now we suffer the consequence of the errors THEY made. If only they'd trained us, if only we knew...
we'd have done what they asked us and worshiped them, too. We were left in the backyard, or worse -let to roam-
now we're tired and lonely and out of a home.
They dropped us off here and they kissed us good-bye...
"Maybe someone else will give you a try."
So now here we are, all confused and alone...
in a shelter with others who long for a home.
The kind workers come through with a meal and a pat,
with so many to care for, they can't stay to chat ,
They move to the next kennel, giving each of us cheer...
we know that they wonder how long we'll be here.
We lay down to sleep and sweet dreams fill our heads...
of a home filled with love and our own cozy beds.
Then we wake to see sad eyes, brimming with tears -
our friends filled with emptiness, worry, and fear.
If you can't adopt us and there's no room at the Inn -
could you help with the bills and fill our food bin?
We count on your kindness each day of the year -
can you give more than hope to everyone here?
Please make a donation to pay for the heat...
and help get us something special to eat.
The shelter that cares for us wants us to live,
and more of us will, if more people will give.
Smiley was one of Cricket's kittens - born about 4 months ago via C-section. She got her name because the black spots on her back looked like a smiley face. The foster family's dog took a shine to her and acted like Smiley was her very own kitten. Smiley was the runt and unfortuntely was diagnosed with FIP late last week. She wasn't suffering yet, so her foster mom took her home for a few more days of love. Yesterday she knew that the end was near and planned to have her put down today. Smiley was able to greet her boy at the door after school and sleep in bed that night with her family and passed away in her sleep. It was nice that her foster mom didn't have to make that horrible trip to the vet and have to decide if today is the right day to do put her down. Her life was short, but she was certainly loved!
I was at the Rams/Packers game on Sunday and of course I was one of the many cheeseheads that outnumbered Rams fans, so I got a kick out of finding this little joke in my in box. So read it quick, then we'll get back to cats.
John Elway, after living a full life, died. When he got to heaven, God was showing him around. They came to a modest little house with a faded Broncos flag in the window.
"This house is yours for eternity, John," said God. "This is very special; not everyone gets a house up here."
John felt special, indeed, and walked up to his house. On his way up the porch, he noticed another house just around the corner. It was a 3-story mansion with a Green and Gold sidewalk, a 50 foot tall flagpole with an enormous Packers logo flag, and in every window, a Cheesehead!
John looked at God and said "God, I'm not trying to be ungrateful, but I have a question. I was an all-pro QB, I won 2 Super Bowls, and I even went to the Hall of Fame."
God said "So what do you want to know, John?"
"Well, why does Brett Favre get a better house than me?"
God chuckled and said "John, that's not Brett Favre's house, it's mine."
After posting about Calypso this morning, I got another update on the 2 skunk babies that got to go home together. They're doing really well, here's an excerpt from the letter she sent me:
Angie,
I just wanted to send you an update on Lucy and Livy. What a pair
they are. They are growing in all ways...physically, socially, and
emotionally. Livy is quite the "pet" and can immedicately sense that
there is a lap available and comes immediately to be petted and loved
on. Lucy is still a bit more reticent but always joins us after a
bit. They are both sleeping in bed with us, as is Katrina, our dobie.
The three of them get along very well and there has been no
antagonism from any of them. Lucy and Livy play together and sleep
together in a pile during the day. They love to bat things thru the
house and have their own "hockey" rules. You can give them two
objects to play with but they much prefer the game they play with
"one"...taking turns batting it and chasing it. We laugh daily at
their antics and they have brought us so much joy. We are so glad
that we took the two of them. The Christmas tree intrigues them and
they often perch in the window behind it. They casually bat at some
of the ornaments but quickly stop if scolded. I hung things there
that are not breakable so, no harm, if they do manage to knock
something from the tree.
I just love it when people adopt a pair of siblings! They never regret having 2 of them!
I've spent the morning cleaning cat stuff in the basement and I have news about Mary. She did something today that I've never seen her do - she played! I was so happy to see that. Usually on her little jaunts around the basement during exercise time she is wobbly and a bit unsteady, but I think we're finally getting a handle on her blood infection and she is just looking and feeling so much better. In fact, a big part of what I've been doing today is for her. I'm working on doing a big shift in living arrangements so that Mary can have a big walk-in cage and if they'll get along, Uno will move in with her. They're both making such good progress, I'm really pleased! I'm hoping to get new pictures of everyone after the holidays. Mary is looking like a real cat now!
