daily dose of dogs (aka cats with your coffee)

Eleven, Eleven, Eleven

I had been planning to do an 11/11/11 post for over a week.  I planned to talk about the number eleven in terms of how my daughters and I view it.  And then an odd (great!) thing happened - just in time to be included in this post.

I can’t remember how far back it goes.  At some point, one of the girls (or maybe it was me) read that the number eleven is supposed to be used as an attention-getter.  And not just any attention-getter.  The small article said that when you see the number eleven, you should take a quick moment to think about something good.  Maybe something good you’d like to do.  Maybe something good that has recently happened to you.  Maybe some good luck coming your way that you aren’t even expecting.  The article said that if you see an eleven, you should shift your focus to something positive because seeing the eleven will magnify or intensify your thought. 

Now, when my daughters or I see the number eleven somewhere, we quickly adjust our thinking to something positive.  We think of something good we could do or that something good is headed our way.  I now LOVE the number eleven because regardless of whether or not the article was based in any type of “facts”, the shift to good thoughts, good deeds, or the anticipation of good can only work in our favor.  Let’s face it - thinking good things creates an immediate shift in the energy around you.  I believe the world can use more good energy.

On Wednesday, I received a $25.00 donation from Sparkle the Designer Cat.  In celebration of Sparkle’s 1000th post, a random drawing would send the donation to some lucky rescue.  The rescues had to be mentioned in the comments on that post to be entered into the drawing.  These are the blogs that nominated OUR private rescue operation: Abby, Hannah and Lucy, Milo & Alfie, and The Island Cats.  I read all of the comments, and let me say that not only was I honored to be mentioned at all, but the folks (and furries) at those blogs said really nice things about us.  THANK YOU Abby, Hannah and Lucy, Milo & Alfie, and The Island Cats!!  Because you nominated us, we were entered into the drawing.  AND WE WON!!  Every dollar that comes in here is desperately needed and deeply appreciated.  And THANK YOU Sparkle the Designer Cat for celebrating in such a giving way!!  Folks doing good things for us, and us being able to do good things for the animals because of those folks.  It  won’t be hard to focus my thinking on those things today. 

In addition, I’ve decided to set a goal.  In honor of 11/11/11, I will set a goal of obtaining ELEVEN brick orders in our upcoming Second Installment of the Winnie’s Wish Walkway Fundraiser.  I will be launching that on Monday.  AND - I’m going to really go out on a limb here, but why not?  There are 16 cats still in our cathouse.  Fourteen of those are adoptable.  How about mustering up all the positive thinking we can create, Blogosphere, and setting our sights on ELEVEN adoptions in ELEVEN months.  If we ALL think about just how GOOD that would be, it’s just possible we could create it.  Besides, sending all of that GOOD out into the Blogosphere can only increase the positive energy in our world.  Anyway you look at it, it’s gotta be a good thing.

Eleven, eleven, eleven.  Here’s wishing you good thoughts, good deeds, and good luck.

And . . . Happy Veteran’s Day.  We don’t want to leave that unmentioned.  See you Monday.

Older Daughter's Furry Family

Older Daughter’s first family member was not an animal that she specifically adopted.  This little furry adopted Older Daughter.  Blossom was a kitten that Older Daughter found and rescued.  But I was the one who fell completely in love with Blossom.  I tried really hard to make Blossom into the replacement kitty for Sofie, my heart cat.  It was not to be.  Blossom “chose” Older Daughter.  In fact, Blossom didn’t just choose her; she was her constant companion, sitting on her, following her, love-facing at her.  There was a definitive bond between the two, and I gave in to the clarity that Blossom belonged with Older Daughter.  Older Daughter started talking about Blossom going with her someday when she moved out.  She couldn’t see how she could be without her.  I knew Blossom felt the same way.


Two little puppies came into the shelter where Older Daughter works.  They were found by a sanitation worker, on the trash pile in the truck, tied into a trash bag.  Older Daughter brought them here for us to foster for a while.  Their names were Rue and Rolly.  Rolly was SO afraid of people that he would not look at us for a long while.  Their story has been told.  Rue was adopted by a fellow college student of Older Daughter’s.  Rolly was adopted by Older Daughter.




As I was reading back through Blossom and Rolly’s rescue stories, I discovered a perfect story for today’s post.  On April 20, I posted about both Blossom AND Rolly.  It’s a great post to read in concert with today’s post because it introduces the beginning of Older Daughter’s furry family, but it also refers to Younger Daughter’s one and only at the time, with a teaser about the Stormy cat to come.  It is a  post that sort of summed up, at that time, the Furry Families of my daughters.  Click here.

Older Daughter would take a Blossom kitty and a Rolly dog out into her adult life at some point in the future.  But it wasn’t long before we all realized that Rolly was the ONLY PUPPY in our household.  Our dogs weren’t youngsters anymore.  In fact, we had all middle-aged to ancient ones, but nobody anywhere close in age to Rolly.  The more Older Daughter thought about it, the more she felt she needed to adopt another youngster for Rolly to grow up with, frolic with, get into mischief with, and sleep with.  I was NOT a fan.  And then the Chinese water torture began.  Before long, she had convinced me that this temporary circumstance of having TWO puppies in our household would end as soon as she moved out.  That’s when Trace became one of Older Daughter’s “children”.  Trace came in as one of a litter of puppies to the shelter.  When he was old enough, he moved in with us.  He and Rolly have been inseparable ever since.








That made three.  But a fourth would join the family.  That fourth furry family member is the fifth and final foster kitten in the group I made the BIG mistake with.  Joe and Thomas went to PetsMart and got adopted.  Hansel and Samuel were adopted by Younger Daughter.  Jazzy was the one remaining.  But Jazzy was never going anywhere.  Older Daughter, with Younger Daughter’s help, had saved Jazzy from the jaws of death.  There have been many that those two girls have saved, but Jazzy stole Older Daughter’s heart.  She is the feline sister for Blossom.



                                     Jazzy with Samuel (before Samuel's BFF Hansel came along).

The full crew . . . .

Blossom, Jazzy, Rolly, and Trace - Older Daughter’s Family.

As 2012 races towards me, I face the move of BOTH of my daughters out of this house for the first time since I brought them into this world.  That is something I cannot even really wrap my mind around yet.  But as they’ve made their plans, and formed their own furry families, I’ve come to see that the emptiness left behind by the absence of my girls will be multiplied by the absence of their “children”.  We have NO room for these animals that my girls have adopted.  As they’ve added to their families, it has been with the knowledge that this “overcrowding” in our home will soon be alleviated.  We will not be reduced to anything like a “normal” number of animals in our household, but we WILL return to something more along the lines of “somewhat crazy” as opposed to our current “absolute chaos”.  

If, at the time of my daughters’ moves, our FIV+ kitty Daphne has not been adopted, I will bring her into my home.  I have never been able to stand the thought of her going to an FIV shelter.  The only thing that would have been good enough would have been a wonderful home with one of you.  If that doesn’t happen by MOVE OUT day, Daphne will become one of my own.  

Younger Daughter's Furry Family

A HUGE change is coming to my life next year.  BOTH of my daughters are moving out.  That is a story in itself.  They are a BIG help to me in this rescue work.  Of course, I’ll miss their help. But that aspect pales in comparison to the other parts.  Anyway, what I plan to do today and tomorrow is introduce you to each daughter’s animal family.  Certain dogs and cats in this household are the “children” of my children.

For a long time, each daughter had ONE pet to call her own.  All of the rest of the animals were part of our family of four (people) and our very large animal family.  Over the past few months, however, as future plans have been discussed and decisions have been made, the girls have “grown” their families.  Today, I’ll share Younger Daughter’s crew with you.  Her ready-made family will move with her into her new independent world.  Did I mention Younger Daughter loves black cats?

In my Halloween post, you might have noticed that I mentioned our giant black cat Magic.  Younger Daughter “adopted” him on the spot when we found him in a tree at our vet’s clinic.  We took him home ONLY with the understanding that he would someday go with Younger Daughter into her adult life.  Magic has been Younger Daughter’s cat since the day he arrived in our home.  (You can read his story here.)  And that was that.


Then last Spring, after months of Chinese water torture, Younger Daughter convinced me that a certain black cat at Older Daughter’s shelter needed to become a family member, too.  Stormy had been living in a small cage for as long as we could remember.  (You can read that story here.)  Younger Daughter not only felt extremely sorry for Stormy, but she felt a special connection to her as well.  Stormy moved in as Younger Daughter’s second “child”.  Now there were two black cats which would move out with Younger Daughter some day.  And that was that.


Except that very recently, I brought it to your attention that I made a really big mistake with a certain five foster kittens.  Jazzy, Joe, Thomas, Samuel, and Hansel had become like our own, living and romping throughout our house.  I was extremely pleased to announce to you that when a couple of spots opened up for Joe and Thomas at the shelter, they were chosen to go to an event at PetsMart and BOTH got adopted.  That left only Jazzy, Samuel, and Hansel in our home.  Do you happen to remember what Samuel and Hansel look like?




Well, they LOVE each other, and guess who else they love?  Younger Daughter.  Samuel and Hansel, for reasons we can’t come up with, have completely and totally “chosen” Younger Daughter.  When she is lying on the couch reading her Chemistry textbook, they play with each other in the small space between the book and her body.  When she is sitting at the computer typing college papers or doing research, they are rolling with each other on the floor at her feet.  And when they are tucked away in the upstairs bathroom at night, Samuel and Hansel curl up together - EVERY time.  

So the full crew . . . .

Magic, Stormy, Samuel, and Hansel - Younger Daughter’s Family.


Stormy (up high) and giant Magic.

                                                     Left to right:  Hansel, Samuel,  Stormy.

 

Tomorrow, Older Daughter's Crew.  See you then.

The Slimmer Cats?

I know you all know The Slimmer Pugs (always in my Blogroll).  But I’m about to introduce you to a group of cats who have all touched Mindy Slimmer in a special way during the course of her life.  I have chosen to do Mindy’s bricks last for a very special reason.  Mindy is the one who suggested we do the brick stories to begin with.  I had planned to put pictures of the bricks on the blog.  Then Mindy suggested to me that maybe folks would like to read the stories behind those bricks.  It was a WONDERFUL idea.  The stories have added a flavor to this blog that is simply delightful.  The bricks in the Walkway are deeply meaningful commemorations of special pets.  The stories have added a richness that enhances the Walkway even more.   Now, here are Mindy’s bricks followed by Mindy’s words, honoring SEVEN kitties.  Yep.  She bought SEVEN bricks.  Wow! 

Rambo - this cat and my dad would share a beer out in the garage. Dad with his bottle...and a tip of the bottle in the saucer for Rambo. That kitty was always happy after the beer. Will never let dad do that with another cat...but it was a bonding experience. He actually belonged to my parent's neighbors...the man neighbor died while I was a baby and the lady neighbor thought Dad and Rambo got along pretty well so she asked Dad if we would take Rambo...and of course we did. That cat sure didn't like us kids though. He was definently a man's man kitty.He had stripes like a tiger...and when I was little I was afraid of him since he did like to lash out at us kiddos.

Socks Lucyfur - this is the cat that I think will never die. She is just too fiesty. She loves to take first blood...and she loves tormenting the pugs...especially Lily Jayne. She has her own "apartment" aka my dad's bedroom with a baby gate so that she can hop over but the pugs can't get in...and that drives them bonkers. Secretly, I think she laughs about that fact...probably in a high pitched evil laugh. She's more of my dad's cat than anyone's but she likes to come in nightly at bedtime for her special rubbins' and scratch'ums. She is black and white, with white feet, of course!

Smokey Joe - this cat was mine. I was 3 years old and this was my boy. And he felt I was his girl. He was the family's furry alarm clock because he would use his wet, sandpaper tongue to lick us awake before, during, or after the alarm clock did its business. He was super sweet. He was the only long hair kitty I have ever had the privelege of having as my brother, and his soul was wonderful. His coat was a smokey color...hence the name.

Tabitha Marie - this cat was just beautiful Gray and white and with sparkling green eyes. She was such a beautiful cat and we thought her personality was that of a queen that deserved respect and extra brushing. She was a medium hair and required and encouraged extra brushing.

Sasha Buttercup - this cat lived a very brief life...but oh..what a life. She was like orange marmalade in looks and soul. She loved to drink out of the birdbath and watch the birds. She had FeLV and she died horribly and too early for us to have enjoyed her more in our lives.

Bo - this cat was such a lover. He could never get enough of anything especially love and attention. We called him and Mo the "brothers" as we got Bo from a person who's kitty had a litter of cats and while at his vet appointment our kitty vet showed us Mo, who was found on the streets and about the same age of Bo, and he was scheduled for death row. I'm so glad that the stars aligned...both boys were wonderful and I couldn't have asked for better kitty brothers. All black cat with yellow/green eyes.

 Mo - this cat was my heart cat. He was infamous for escaping or entering rooms in which he was supposed to stay in or stay away. He had a white tuft on his chest and otherwise he was black. He cuddled with me at night and claimed my bed as his own. I had a nervous breakdown when he passed away the summer I turned 19.


Mindy ~ THANK YOU.

And that concludes the stories of the animals so far set in stone in the Winnie’s Wish Walkway.  But this is not the end.  The Walkway is about one-third completed.  Many of you sent me emails and left comments that you would like to be part of the second brick fundraiser.  I announced that we would do another round before the holidays, especially in case someone wanted to give a brick as a holiday gift.  Next week, I’ll launch the second Winnie’s Wish Walkway brick fundraiser.  If it is even half as successful as the first one, it will bring in needed funds to our rescue efforts, and it will fill in a greater area of the Walkway.  And of course - we will do the stories behind the bricks for anyone who wishes to have their stories told.  I have certainly enjoyed the stories so far as have the readers of this blog.  For that, we can thank Miss Mindy.

See you tomorrow.

 

Bagheera's Transport Day

On Saturday, I loaded one beautiful black panther into my vehicle, and Husband and I started Bagheera on his journey home.  Our part was to get Bagheera to approximately the Illinois/Indiana line near Terre Haute where we would meet up with Jeanne (Random Felines). **GIGANTIC thanks to Jeanne for helping with this transport.**   She took Bagheera from there back across the state of Indiana to a meeting place in Ohio where she would turn Bagheera over to Cat (Cat’s Cats).  Cat and Robert would then make the long, into-the-night journey across the border to Canada and home. 

Bagheera was a great traveler.  (We STILL have not had a bad traveler - knock on wood.)  During the ride, Bagheera was at first shy about coming out of his crate.  He eventually ventured out, and ended up cuddling for a large part of the trip.







When I woke up on Sunday morning, I rushed to the computer.  Yep.  There was an email from Cat (sent from her iphone during the night) saying they had crossed the border.    Late yesterday, I heard from Cat again.  She said that Bagheera had been a great traveler, cuddling and pitting on the way home.  But when he was introduced into his living quarters, he went under the bed and stayed there.  All day.  However, Bagheera was finally tempted out of his hiding place when Ben (one of Cat’s other kitties) spoke to Bagheera from the other side of the door.  With that, and a Ben paw offering a greeting, Bagheera spoke back and spent some time hanging out near that opening from whence came the white paw.




Bagheera’s transport day was November FIFTH.  Exactly one month before, on October FIFTH, Elfin went to his forever home in Pennsylvania.  I went back and read what I had written about Deb in Pennsylvania adopting Elfin.  Elfin’s story and Bagheera’s are nearly identical.  Elfin and Bagheera were little feral kittens, born in the wild, destined for lives of starvation, sickness, and breeding.  The littermates (Elfin, Bagheera, Charms, and Monkey) were rescued when they were very young.  In fact, Elfin and Bagheera were in the trap at the same time on the same night.  Elfin now lives in a real home with a family who loves him.  Bagheera has been given that same gift.  I wrote about my feelings when Elfin got adopted.  They are the same feelings I have now about Bagheera.  

Here is almost exactly what I wrote one month ago when Elfin went to his new home. 

I can’t begin to describe the joy of getting a Winnie’s Wish kitty into a forever home.  There is just no way to express what that feels like.  It has happened numerous times, STARTING with Ash (Jimmy) going all the way to Cat in Canada.  Fifteen more followed.  And on Saturday - number sixteen.  That sixteenth Winnie’s Wish kitty went to Cat (again!), one year after she jumpstarted the whole thing for us.  That is special beyond description - because of the circumstances, and because another kitty gets a real home.    Every single time, I have lived off of that “high” for days.  Every single time, I am reminded of why I do this.  Every single time, I am grateful in a way that knows no expression.  To everyone who has taken a Winnie’s Wish kitty (or two or three) into your home - thank you from the bottom of my heart. 

To Cat and Robert in Canada - THANK YOU for giving Bagheera what every kitty in the world deserves - a forever home.  But more than that - thank you SO MUCH for choosing that new family member from OUR group.  As I’ve said before, you just saved TWO kitties - Bagheera,  and the one you opened a spot for.  It never ceases to amaze me that there are people out there who will go to such lengths to give a home to a Winnie's Wish kitty.  Many of you have said to me that you felt a need to help in some way, and so you opted to open your home to one of our kitties.  You've been willing to wait patiently as plans were made, and help out any way possible to get that "chosen one" into your arms.  As long as I receive these wonderful offers of homes for these precious sweethearts in my care, I'll be able to keep on rescuing.  Because of that, homeless kitties will have homes.  Forever homes.  It doesn't get any better than that!




I have another happy thing to share.  Joe and Thomas have homes.  They went to a PetsMart event through the shelter and each of them was adopted.  I couldn’t be happier about that.  Those two fosters had lived in our home, running around with our own crew, and I had become TOO attached.  I’m glad they won’t spend their lives in cages.


Let me leave you with a thought about Winnie’s Wish adoptions.  I don’t have the privilege of showing kitties at PetsMart or Petco, etc.  I also don’t have a community shelter that is a charitable organization with publicity and outside help.  I depend on people to choose a kitty from us almost exclusively from this blog.  (And I now have the additional exposure that I hope Petfinder will provide.)  I am still in REAL NEED of homes.  There are still SIXTEEN kitties living in our cathouse.  If you are considering a new feline family member, won’t you please consider a Winnie’s Wish kitty.  We have some of the best little personalities ever.  Also there is Tulip, who needs a special home and person of her own.   And Cashmere, who needs to live someplace where she can begin to blossom.  Elfin’s transport day was October Fifth.  Bagheera’s transport day was November Fifth.  Can we set up a transport day for December Fifth?


Tomorow - the last brick story in this first batch.  It’s last for a reason.  Tune in and see why.   

Winnie's Wish SPECIAL REQUEST

Cat Blogosphere, I need you again.  I have screamed for help a few times before and you guys have come through.  I’m doing it again today.

We have an “issue” in the cathouse.  I need to get ONE or the OTHER of these two kitties adopted ASAP.  I’ve already written about various kitty personalities numerous times.  But we’ve reached a critical point now.  I really, really, really need help here.

Tulip is a cat who started out as one of the sweetest we’d ever met.  She loved us and showed it.  But when she moved into the cathouse, she was ugly to some of the other cats.  We hoped this was a defense mechanism and that she would stop growling and hissing at the others when she started to feel safe.  She has simply NOT adjusted to being with the other cats.  She STILL growls, hisses, and pops the other kitties when they try to eat or drink out of the same bowl or play with the same toy, sometimes even when all they do is walk by her.  Tulip might eventually adjust to one or two kitties in a household.  Apparently, she would do best in a home with just people.  The REAL problem now is that we have clapped at her and pushed her away from the victim kitties over and over.  She is losing her love of people (of us) because all she ever gets now is negative feedback.  We see what has started happening with her so we have changed our behavior to ignoring her when she is ugly, and just trying to give reassurance to whatever cat she has just offended.  I don’t want her to start believing people are mean.  I would feel SO MUCH BETTER if somebody out there would consider taking on the challenge of giving Miss Tulip a home.  We are reaching the point where she might have to start living in a cage, which is no life for a cat.

She can get along with others; she just doesn't always choose to.  (That's her on the right.)


The second issue is Cashmere.  You might remember that Cashmere is a normal-toed sibling to our group of polydactls.  She has sisters Glitter, Spritz, and Mitts in the cathouse with her now.  Siblings Leo and Tuxie/Trixie went to wonderful homes.  Cashmere is a shy, sweet (really sweet) cat who will do really well in a home if she is given patience and allowed to adjust at her own pace.  We’ve always known Cashmere would need a special home where she would be given lots of love and time to come around.  She has lived well in the cathouse - UNTIL NOW.  Cashmere is majorly stressed over something - we’re not sure what.  We suspect it could be Tulip.  Cashmere now does only one of two things.  She stays out on one of the cat decks OR she sits on top of the cage that is in the corner in Winnie’s Room.  These are the only two places she will go, and she looks miserable.  She is also losing weight.  Because of the weight loss, I took her to the vet.  She has absolutely NOTHING wrong with her physically.  I kept her in a cage in my kennel office for several days just to watch her more closely.  Her personality blossomed.  She talked to me, rubbed on my legs, jumped onto the desk to investigate, and purred, purred, purred.  Cashmere’s problem is the cathouse.  Since moving her back in, she has gone back to living on that deck or on top of that cage.  I feel SO sorry for her.  Is there anyone out there who would take on a very sweet, but shy, Miss Cashmere?

Cat Blogosphere, you’ve done things for me before.  Could you please get this out on Facebook and Twitter and anywhere else you can think of.  And would you PLEASE search your own hearts.  Is it possible there is someone out there reading this right now who would adopt Tulip or Cashmere?      

HELP!  



Tomorrow is Bagheera's transport day.  See you Monday.

Padan and Parker

I have a friend who has been in my life for close to 25 years now.  She stays behind the scene, but helps me out when she can.  Her dogs are her children.   In her words:

My little dog Padan was the result of an accidental union of 2 pure breeds—a Chihuahua and a Shih Tzu. He started out as a baby and lived that way for his 17 years. I never had kids, so was more than willing to let him rule my world. His first years were spent as part of a dog pack of sorts and he was the boss. If anyone in my people pack got sick for any reason he would act as a nursemaid, lying right beside them for the duration. Otherwise, he was truly the “outside” dog, spending hours in our fenced yard monitoring the social comings & goings of the neighborhood squirrels, chipmunks, deer & anyone walking a dog. We used to joke that he needed a tiny igloo dog house because he was out more than in. At the last call of the night the other dogs came in quickly for their night snack & bed. Padan had to be coaxed and coaxed. We always said he must be out playing poker with the boys.


Can you see a Padan?

                                                                                  There he is.

When Padan was 8, I came across a dog who was near death from starvation & heart worms. With great help from a friend who nursed him back to life I actually stole him. Parker has been the very best dog ANYONE could ever have. He seems to be a pure bred Black Lab, but we're pretty sure he's really more couch & goof ball than Lab. He is truly the gift I didn't know I needed. He defines the word loyalty. I have never seen such a laid-back, loving being in all my life. The only time he barks is when I pull out my walking shoes each morning & his sound is more like a baby seal than wolf. The most wonderful thing is that Padan went into his nursemaid mode and acted as his mother for the duration of Padan's life. They were 2 peas in a lopsided pod. I absolutely could not be blessed more from these 2 dogs being part of my life. I live in perpetual wonder and gratitude for these two. We lost Padan a year ago and that is still hard, but Parker & I have only grown closer.


Parker on a rug.

                                                                     Parker on a table.

Kari ~ THANK YOU.



Tomorrow I have a SPECIAL REQUEST post.  Please tune in.  I need your help.

Monday, I’ll post about Bagheera’s transport day (which is this Saturday!).

On Tuesday, I will display the LAST of the bricks that are part of this first push to make a Winnie’s Wish Walkway.  I saved Tuesday’s bricks until last for a reason. You’ll see why.

Serenity, Harmony, and a Flower

A dose of dogs today for sure . . . .

Not too long ago, I introduced you to a mom dog and her four pups.  Mom was found hanging by her collar, unable to get to food and unable to feed her puppies.  We slowly weaned the pups from Mom Serenity and she finally started to put on a little weight. A little “exchange” was arranged at the shelter, and Serenity is now there, waiting for a forever home.  The four puppies are still with us and are doing great!  We don’t want to send them back to the shelter yet due to the danger of contracting parvo.  They will receive puppy vacs here first.  Then we’ll see about when to return them.


Binky.

                                                                                  Dinky.


Scooby.

                                                                            Sam (Samantha).

Now meet Harmony.

Nearly two weeks ago, Older Daughter was working at the shelter when the dog catcher came in with a pit bull with two broken back legs.  This is a prime candidate for euthanasia.  But for some reason, he stopped by the shelter before taking her back to the pound where she would have been “put down” immediately.  The dog catcher talked to Older Daughter about this dog.  She had been found by the interstate, unable to walk.  He said he never would have stopped by with her except that she had one of the best personalities he’d ever seen.  He wondered if this one was worth saving.  He said he thought she had a broken leg, but wondered if it might be worth investing in vet care for this one. 

Older Daughter examined the pit bull and said it couldn’t be just one broken leg.  Either both legs were broken, or her back was broken.  She did several quick tests and determined that it was more likely broken legs than a broken back.  While she examined the dog, she started understanding why the dog catcher would think she might be save-able.  Older Daughter said that even at this level of unimaginable pain, this dog was a sweetheart who looked deep into your eyes and begged to stay.  With this personality, she would be adoptable.  But when the dog catcher heard Older Daughter say that it was TWO broken legs, he said - I’m sorry I brought her by.  That’s too much of an investment.  I’ll take her right now and “put her down”.  Older Daughter said - No.  I’ll take her to our vets and see what they say.

At the clinic, Older Daughter said that if she was wrong and this dog had a broken back, then euthanasia was the only humane option.  But the X-rays showed no damage to the back or hips.  Two broken legs.  The clinic said they could humanely euthanize to prevent the shelter from having the expense of the surgery.  Older Daughter said no. 

Harmony is recovering from her surgery in a run in our kennel.  A sweetheart that my girls call a “love bull”. 


                                                                                Harmony.

I started this post by telling you that Serenity went back to the shelter as part of an “exchange”.  Younger Daughter found out that a mom beagle and a litter of one-day-old pups came into the shelter - saved at the last minute from the pound.  She immediately reminded her older sister of the parvo problem at the shelter.  Shouldn’t we bring them here?  Older Daughter said that if we moved mom and pups to our kennel, Serenity could move into the pen that this group would vacate.  That would give Serenity a chance at adoption, and mom beagle a safe place for her and her tiny puppies.  So on Saturday, Younger Daughter and I loaded Serenity into my vehicle and headed to the shelter.  Mom beagle (she was named Flower at the shelter) and puppies came back with us. 


Serenity, before.

                                               Serenity, just before she returned to the shelter.


Flower.

Tomorrow, another brick story.  And on Friday, a SPECIAL REQUEST.

Goodbye to Some Long-Time Fosters and a Sad Farewell

We have had SO many foster kittens from the shelter this Kitten Season that I feel certain you won’t remember any particular ones.  Let me refresh your memory concerning a certain five.  Way, way back, a little dying kitten by the name of Jazzy came to us.  She shouldn’t have lived, but my daughters worked hard to keep alive everybody they could of the group we had at that time.  Jazzy made it.   At some point, we took in Oliver, Thomas, and Samuel.  Oliver didn’t make it.  Thomas and Samuel did.  You might remember Joe.  He was given a definitive will-die prognosis.  He did NOT die.  And there was a tiny kitten in a cage in the kennel with his siblings.  This little guy had an eye we were pretty sure was blind.  So when that group got better and went back to the shelter, we kept Hansel here to see what was going to happen with his eye.

Now let me describe a BIG mistake I made concerning these five.  Jazzy and some other kittens moved into our upstairs bathroom while the girls were force-feeding and medicating and attempting to keep them alive.  Some of these were kittens from the Fantastic Fifteen so they eventually went to the cathouse.  (I promised those kittens they wouldn’t go back to the shelter if they lived.)  Any kittens that originally started out at the shelter went back once they recovered and had a first vaccination.  Jazzy didn't go back because she continued to be up and down in terms of recovery.  Off and on, our kennel storage room (which had been turned into a makeshift quarantine room) was full.  At some point, in came Oliver, Samuel, and Thomas.  Samuel and Thomas survived but were so tiny that even after they started becoming healthier, they were too young for a vaccination.  So they continued to live in the downstairs bathroom (because quarantine was full).  When Joe came in, SO sick and with very little hope of survival, he needed a place to stay.  The kennel storage room was still full.  We ended up moving Samuel and Thomas into the upstairs bathroom with Jazzy so that Joe could have the downstairs bathroom.  When Hansel’s siblings went back to the shelter, and new sick ones came in, Hansel couldn’t stay in the kennel storage quarantine.  So he moved into the upstairs bathroom, too. 

What did I do wrong in terms of these five kittens?  They became healthier and healthier and more and more active.  I couldn’t move them to cages in the kennel because of the sick ones there.  They couldn’t go back to the shelter because of all of the sickness there.  So they kept living in my bathrooms.  The fatal mistake was letting them out of the those rooms.  Once these guys were completely healthy, active, and bored, we started letting them come out into the rest of the house.  They ran, bounced, played, introduced themselves to Our Gang, curled up on our laps, and made themselves at home.  I can never do that again. 

On Friday, a spot opened up and Joe was chosen to fill it.  He left with Older Daughter that morning when she headed off to work.   A second spot has opened up.  Older Daughter took Thomas along with her today.  It is tearing my heart out.  These had become like our own.  I must remember in the future never to let a foster cat stay in any area other than a bathroom (full-time) or a cage at the kennel.  I am hoping and praying for fantastic homes for these two.

                                                                                      Joe

                                                                                        Thomas.
    
Last Friday I introduced you to the latest foster kittens - three very sick little babies, found one at a time, in the middle of a street. The first two were found on our last warm, sunny day.  Then the weather turned cold and rainy overnight.  The third kitten was brought in the next day - cold, wet, limp, virtually lifeless. The two found on the first day are both boys.  There names are Zeke and Royce.  Our coma kitty, found the second day, was the one girl.  We named her Mariela.  Here are the three, sleeping in a pile.


They all showed signs of improvement throughout the day on Friday, but Mariela did not eat on her own.    There was blood in her urine early Saturday morning, so she was taken to the vet.  On Saturday afternoon, it seemed that all three might make it.  But on Sunday, Mariela began to fail.  I had been the one force-feeding Mariela and medicating this group.  I spent most of Sunday in tears.  I felt a special bond with little Mariela.  Who knows why?  By late on Sunday, she was showing some neurological signs that were definitely bad news.  Of course, I wasn’t ready to give up on her.  We did everything we could throughout the day and night.   But yesterday morning, it was clear she wasn’t going to pull through.  Older Daughter took over when it came time to help Mariela out of that failed body - she took her in to be assisted to The Bridge.  Mariela was a foster and so she was taken to the clinic that the shelter uses rather than our own.  Older Daughter held her through the transition.

It was with such a heavy heart that I published my Halloween post yesterday.  I was extremely grateful that I had pre-written that post at the start of the weekend.  I sure couldn’t have pulled off a “happy” post if I’d had to have written it yesterday morning.  I wanted the Halloween post to be fun and Halloween-ish and I didn’t want to distract from the wonderful news of Bagheera going to Cat.  So I published that post yesterday morning and then I said goodbye to Mariela.  She will surely look after her brothers from The Bridge.  And I will surely miss that precious face for a long time to come. 


Zeke.


Royce.

                                                                        Farewell Mariela.