I'm beginning to see a trend

Usually I start this blog off with what I cleaned but today it's going to be a little different. I'm going to discuss a something that has happened yet again making it three days in a row. What I am talking about is the abandoned animals that keep showing up at our front gate. For the last three days I have seen everything from two chickens on Sunday, a kitten in a box on Monday, and a sweet little chihuahua mix today.

I'm not sure if it's the economy that is fueling this issue or over crowding at other shelters, either way it is a problem. I understand that people can be put into very difficult situations where they are forced to relinquish their animals, but there are the proper ways of doing it. Our shelter being private we are very strict on the animals that we take in and the process can take a while but it is possible. I think if people didn't wait until the last second to find a home for their pets they might not have to leave them all alone hoping that they will be alright.

Now I hope I don't sound like I'm complaining because there are far worse things that these people can do to their animals. At least they are giving them a chance rather than dropping them off on the side of the road, but I'm not sure that these individuals know what they are putting their pets through. When you drop off an animal at our shelter all we do is put them in a kennel with some food and have county pick them up as a stray. I wish they we could keep them all but because we are private and these animals are considered strays it is our job to get them to county. Now just imagine if you were that animal, first you're left all alone in a dark cold box for who knows how long, then you are dragged into this jail like setting where you are put into a kennel, next a truck comes and picks you up to transfer you to yet a smaller "cell". If you knew all of this, would you put in a little more effort to find your pet a new home?

As far as legality goes, it is against the law to abandon your animal with a fine reaching up to 5,000 dollars. The issue than will be actually catching the person that does it and of course prosecuting. I am no legal expert but it might be tough to convict someone when they are abandoning their animal at a safe shelter rather than the middle of the road.

So that is my vent for the day, now on to a great showing I had with our boy Bogey. He is a sweet lab mix who has been at the shelter for some time because of his lupus. It's nothing to serious but when people hear that they tend to veer away. In any case, he seemed like a perfect fit for this potential adopter and hopefully after he talks to his vet about Bogey's condition he will be back to adopt, so cross your fingers everyone.

At least I ended on a good note after my rant about people leaving their animals at the gate these last three days. I hope everyone that reads this, and I have no doubt, realizes the need to adopt shelter animals, not only to save one, but because they make such great pets. Thanks for reading and spread the word about all of the great animals that need a good home. Oh yeah, the picture up top is the latest surprise that was found at our gate.

Another day, another surprise left at the front gate

Today I decided to clean the cattery again to better get aquatinted with our feline friends at the shelter. I always tend to focus on the dogs and really never keep up with new arrivals and adoptions when it comes to cats, well this week I'm changing that.

The nice thing about cleaning cats, in addition to spending time with them, is that your socks don't get wet. Now this is just the added perk since so many of our cats are sociable animals. While I was cleaning Molly in our visitation room, and yes, she gets her own room, she actually jumped on my back while I was scooping her litter box and she started to clean my hair. I have to say I was a little freaked out but she really is such a nice cat. Once I got all of the healthy cats taken care of and fed I headed over to the isolation unit where there are still six cats.

Our medical staff has certainly stayed on top of those sickies and I can now say that they are certainly getting better. I remember when they could barely open their eyes because they were caked with so many eye boogers from their URIs. Now they are up and about and very talkative. It was sad to see a young bonded pair, Laverne and Shirley, separated and just crying out for each other. When I would let one out of their kennel they would immediately go to the other's and just paw at them, it really was sad. Hopefully soon they will be able to go back to the healthy side and to bigger kennels.

Of course once I took care of the cats I headed over to the rabbitat where I made quick work of changing out hay boxes, blankets, and water. Surprisingly enough though for some odd reason my allergies acted up on me and once I was in the small little building that houses our rabbits I couldn't stop sneezing. All I have to say is that I hope it was allergies!

You know it wouldn't be a Monday without taking care of poop buckets. Thank goodness we are running a little short on 150 pound dogs this week! Since we have all little guys it was pretty easy to take care of all of the runs with just two people, but we still had to disinfect the four fake grass yards since we were to be getting some new arrivals later on in the afternoon.

Once we got everything set up for the new arrivals I headed into our break area where I heard the unmistakable cry of a hungry kitten. Sure enough, there was one in a postal box literally covered in fleas. Once again someone had just dropped of this animal in front of our gate hoping that he would be found. Now this is better than the alternative of leaving the animal in a canyon or out in the wild but couldn't you take better care of it in the first place and at least leave it with some water and food. In any case his new name is now Huku, which is apparently Hawaiian for flea or lice, not as cute when you hear the meaning.

With all of the commotion I learned later that there had been a showing with my good buddy Skeeter and Taxi. It turns out the reason I didn't hear about it because it was such a long showing and I had no idea it was going on. Unbelievably it turns out that our staff members were actually introducing them to each other and they ended up getting along great. Because of this the potential adopter is actually going to be adopting both. Not a bad Monday afternoon I have to say. In addition to this great news, another adoption counselor was showing a little poodle named Monty and the family absolutely fell in love and ended up adoption too. Now this adoption is a win/win as well because in all honesty this little guy has a scream that will cut right down to your bones!

Closing the day out the new arrivals came in. After their four hour van ride they were a little shaken up but seemed to be adjusting just fine. Of course there are a few more puppies and several other dogs that for some reason look exactly like ones that we have gotten in the past. In fact one staff member said we should contact the AKC to get these little guys recognized because literally every time we bring dogs from this shelter there is always one that looks like this basset hound, dachshund, chihuahua mix.

Well, hopefully I can give you a better update on the new guys tomorrow and also have some more great adoption stories.

I have to keep telling myself I am not a people hater

Luckily today I got to work a little earlier than usual so I was able to sign up for the cats. Usually I won't say this but it was actually a lot easier and less stinky than taking care of the dogs today. It's a pretty simple philosophy, when we have puppies, make sure you sign up for cats.

I took care of the surrounding rooms in the cattery first and then made my way to the south cattery. I was really surprised to see so many empty kennels. Apparently in the last two days there was a total of about seven cat adoptions which is unheard of. In any case I was not only glad that so many great felines found new homes but that I had less cats to clean up after. I did however have to disinfect about six of the kennels which took some time. Once I finished with that room I headed over to the isolation room. With six cats in here I had my work cut out for me. Apparently one of the rooms broke with URI and that's why we have so many sickies. In any case, there was a whole lot of kitty diarrhea and I was wrong about having to clean up after puppies, it's a lot stinkier cleaning up after six cats with liquid poop.

I went back in to check out if anyone had signed up for the rabbits yet when a volunteer came in to ask for my help. It seemed pretty urgent from the look on her face, when I asked her what she needed I was a little surprised by what came out of her mouth. Apparently a black SUV had pulled up to the front gate and threw out several chickens. I couldn't believe my ears but then again very few things can surprise me at the shelter so I grabbed another staff member, a small cage and headed up to the front. Interestingly enough the chickens were very easy to catch and seemed very socialized. I talked to one of the witness and they said the vehicle came up, opened their door and simply threw the animals out. This is one of those instances that I have to tell myself that I am not a people hater. I mean, how difficult is it to either look online or even open a phonebook to see where you could actually drop off these animals. Rather than taking five minutes out of your day to think about animals you simply throw them out of your car and expect someone else to take care of your problem.

Oh well, we caught the chickens and got them some feed. They seemed pretty content and eating well and we at the shelter were almost tempted to keep them out of our sheer love for all animals. In any case, it wouldn't be feasible for them to stay here but luckily we found them a good home and they are now living with several other chickens who have the full run of about an acre. Good ending to a bad beginning for these little guys, it seems that's kind of a motif around here, starting tough and ending with a smile.

The rest of the day was pretty hectic and seemed to fly by. Another bonded pair of cats that have been at the shelter for some time got adopted and put the total for the last three days at close to ten. Funny how these things come in waves.

I was called to a showing with my girl Chloe, a sweet Jack Russel mix who was actually adopted out of the shelter about a month ago but was returned because of her destructive behavior. Of course the dog was left in an apartment for ten plus hours by herself with nothing to do, but I blame the dog right? Anyways, I am not a people hater. The family that came to look at her today had actually adopted a dog named Wally from us about two months ago and they were looking to add to their family. Immediately they fell in love with Chloe and it came down to the interact with the two dogs. When we all went down to the yard we couldn't believe our eyes, Chloe was playing like we had never seen her play. It was a perfect match and the adoption was a go. This is one that really puts a smile on my face.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. I did get to spend some time with Copernicus and Bogey which will always put a smile on my face. I had a few more showings late in the day but the matches just weren't there. Hopefully the trend will continue for adoptions and these week we will empty out the place. Thanks for reading as always and I truly do appreciate the comments.

A nice phone call and a few new dogs

For some reason, today I was motivated to clean cats. Not sure if it was the fact that I didn't want to get my socks wet or I actually wanted to enjoy a cup of coffee at work but in any case I took care of the felines today.

It had been a while since I cleaned the cattery and I have to say it was pretty nice. There was the instant though when I took care of the kittery and as soon as I changed the litter one of the little guys let out a nice stinky one that took over the whole room. Then of course once I cleaned it again they knocked over their food bowl, hey, kids, what can you do.

Once the cattery was cleaned I headed over to the rabbitat where a volunteer already had out several of the bunnies for a little early morning exercise. I can't even explain how much easier it is to clean when the cages are empty. Since the volunteer was there I was able to knock it out before eleven which is unheard of. Of course there is the laundry, dishes, and garbage to take care of but the four of us working this morning had no trouble getting all of the morning duties taken care of.

I had a few showings today but nothing too exciting and no one overly interested in adopting. I think rather everyone that I spoke to really just wanted to hang out and play with some of the animals. I really don't mind this, especially on slow days, but when there is stuff to do I would rather people who are seriously interested in the animals take the time to interact with them. Oh well, at least the little guys got a little extra loving.

So none of the showings I had panned out today but I did get a phone call from a woman that I had shown a dog to on Sunday. He is our little Shitzu that is going to require eye medicine for the rest of his life. She had come in with her husband and other dog to interact but the humping kind of steered her away. I told her to think about it because there is no rush in making this decision. Surprisingly enough she called back today and said that when she woke up this morning she knew that he was the one. Put another one in the books, a great adoptions for a great dog.

Later I was asked to help out in the med room, without hesitation I went. When I entered the room I saw a large dog that had just been euthanized. I froze and became speechless because he looked exactly like a dog that I have grown close to at the shelter. I also hadn't seen him all day so you know my thought process went quickly to the worst outcome. Of course as soon as the medical staff saw my face they explained to me that this was a euthanasia by request or EBR. Apparently the poor old guy was on his last leg and the owner felt that it was time to stop his suffering. I was just there to help carry him out because he was so large. It was one of those bitter sweet moments if you know what I mean, no matter what it was a horribly sad moment but I was still glad it wasn't the dog that I thought it was.

Trying to close on a good note our behaviorist was able to take in five new dogs from a county shelter today. They were all adorable and well behaved as always but one in particular stood out, as she would to anyone. She is a ten month old Shitzu that apparently had some head trauma as a puppy and the shelter was forced to remove both of her eyes. I know it sounds horrible but she is still a spunky little girl that loves her rawhides, playing with dogs, and sleeping in your lap. I have no doubt that this little angel will find a home as soon as she becomes available. Here is a picture, but be warned, it is a little freaky the first time you see it.

Thanks for reading everyone and to all of the volunteers at any shelter, thank you for the time and love that you give.

Not your typical Monday

It's always fun when you go into work thinking that you are going to be short handed when in reality everyone shows up and you are able to get everything on your plate handled. Well that was the morning in a nut shell. Initially I thought there might be just two of us to take care of everything but ended up having the full four, you want to talk about letting out a sigh of relief.

Now there was still a lot of cleaning to do since yesterday we were so short handed that just about none of the closing duties got done like taking out the trash or even cleaning the dishes. What this meant was that even though we had a full team but the time eleven rolled around everything still wasn't done.

After all the animals were taken care of and the morning chores signed off on one of our staff members headed home. I really don't blame them and in fact I was surprised to see them there in the first place having bronchitis and all. In any case, it was nice that they came in to help us out in the morning because if she hadn't come in we would have been playing catch up all day long.

I can't forget the weekly cleaning duty for Monday's, the dreaded poop buckets. Luckily the weather wasn't too hot and there were three of us to knock it out but no matter how much of a positive spin I put on it it's still doing poop buckets. In any case we were able to get it done pretty quickly and there was only one scary point when one of the staff members tossed a bag into the wagon and the thing ended up splitting open, not a pretty sight for the eyes or the nose.

Once I headed back to the office I was surprised at the flow of people that were making their way through the shelter. In fact as soon as I made it back I was called into a showing. It was with one of my favorite little guys Skeeter, a wiry little guy that has a great temperament. The showing went well and he ended up just lounging on his back and getting his belly rubbed the entire time. Unfortunately the woman still needs her roommate to meet and of course a rental agreement saying the dog is allowed. I was a little disappointed that I didn't see her back later in the afternoon but hopefully she will be back soon.

I ended up have one more showing with the same dog and the same reaction as I expected, the potential adopters absolutely fell in love with him, even with his Rocky Mountain fever, which took some explaining. I'm not going to go into details except that it is of course a tick bourn disease that if treated early gives the best opportunity for the dog. His titer was low so hopefully it was just exposure to the disease but he will have to be tested again in the future after his stint of antibiotics. Anyways, back to the showing, the showing went great but we still had to introduce our guy to their golden retriever. I thought everything would be good to go but the interaction wasn't what we were looking for. Their dog was a bit older and a little more laid back while ours is young and wants to constantly play. Anyways, after a few growls and a lot of ignoring it was decided it wouldn't be the best fit.

No adoptions today but at least we know what type of home would be best for our boy Skeeter. There were a few more showings with other adoption counselors but nothing that panned out. It was good to see that we were having the interest though and that gives you a sigh of release to know that it might take a little time but these animals will be adopted.

Just as an update, Wendy made it to her new home in Arizona and is now romping around with her older brother and sister. Just goes to show you that there is a perfect home for every animal. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments.

Anne, I just want to say thanks for all that you do and the heart that you have.

Back with a bang!

After an interesting week of being sick, today I was ready for anything, or so I thought. Let me start by recapping some things that were of some importance that I ended up missing in the last few days. For one, there were two great long term adoptions that took place. One was our girl Sasha, a huskie mix that had a few problems. She ended up going to a wonderful couple and the family couldn't have been happier. The next big adoption was Wendy, our Weimeriner mix. You would think because this dog was so beautiful that she would have been adopted sooner but because of her "hound deafness" or doggy ADD it has been tough, especially because of her size. She has been in a lot of showings but just hadn't found that right family, until last week that is. It turns out one of our postings on petfinder payed off. A man from another state actually came to visit her with his two dogs and absolutely fell in love. After a two day courtship he had made up his mind that Wendy would be the new addition to his family. There was an obstacle to get over thought, Wendy had actually not been spayed yet and the man had to head back home. Lucky for us we have some great staff members and a great relationship with a local vets office. Typically our surgeries are done at the shelter on Wednesday but we were able to get her done on Friday, now it just left getting her to her new state. I couldn't believe what I heard next, one of our adoption counselors was actually going to drive her out to her new home. Talk about going above and beyond! All I know is that two great dogs that have been at the shelter for far to long finally get to go home.

Now on to today, of course my first day back we are short by two staff members leaving us with three adoptions councilors. What that means for us is a very busy day of cleaning and trying to stay caught up on just about everything. I have to say though that the dogs really didn't make to much of a mess and we were able to take care of them rather quickly, especially with the volunteers help. I really don't know how this place would run without their help and love for the animals.

Anyways, after all of the cleaning it was right to work on adoptions. My first showing was with a dog named Blitzen that the group had already seen yesterday but they still needed their rental agreement. Everything looked good but when I went back over their profile that mentioned that they were thinking about getting a cat in the future as well. Because of this I had to cat test the dog just to make sure that there wouldn't be any problems, and as I expected he did fine with the felines. It was a go after that, we verified his rental agreement and another dog had found his forever home. Of course he would be here until next Thursday so we can "alter" him.

Today I was surprised that any of us were even able to take a lunch. We were so busy with showings that if every one of them had been an adoption I don't think we would have any animals left. Unfortunately lots of them weren't adoptions for one reason or another. With all of the good showings there were a few bad ones as well. By saying bad I mean denials. There was everything from wanting to declaw cats to give animals as gifts which are big no nos here at the shelter. Luckily there were more showings waiting to take your mind of the ones that weren't so great.

My next showing was with a new little shi tzu that was brought to us as a stray from a county shelter because we could better deal with his medical issue. Nothing to serious but would require eye medication for the rest of his life. When I was called to the showing with him I was ready for a quick one because this usually deters people pretty quickly. When I explained to the couple his problems with dry eye that completely understood and recognized it was common with the breed and they would still like to meet him. After only a short time with him in the yard they were hooked. The issues now were cat testing him and introducing him to their 13 year old dog. The cat test went alright, I was a little concerned with his aggression and persistence but the family didn't think it was an issue. Another issue that arose was when we introduced the two dogs, now mind you our little guy hasn't been neutered yet, but he persistently tried to hump. After about ten minutes of this I said my suggestion would be to come back in a few days and try it again because nobody wants to put their dog at home in that situation. Hopefully they will think long and hard about it and come back for another meet and greet.

My last showing for the day was actually with a bunnie. Now I have done a little research online so I didn't totally go into the showing blind but I have to say there were some questions asked that I had to go back to the computer. In any case the family seemed like a good fit and the father came up to the shelter to meet as well and it was a go. My first rabbit adoption was definitely a learning one but I am glad to have it under my belt.

Closing out today a family that was supposed to pick up their dog tomorrow ended up coming in today and cutting their vacation short. They said they couldn't wait to get their girl home. It was so great to see the looks on their faces when I brought their new addition out. This is why I am here.

What a busy, cray, hectic, insane, GREAT day. I know that there are the tough days but those days are far and few between when you are finding loving animals new homes. Thanks for reading everyone and I look forward to your comments.

Wow, hope I start feeling better

If you follow this blog than you might realize that I missed a day yesterday without any explanation, well, here it is. Not sure if it was the flu or not but the docs certainly treated it that way. It began right before my alarm went off for work when immediately I knew something was up when my stomach started turning. I eventually made it out of bed and got ready as usual. I tried eating a little breakfast when I knew something was wrong. For the rest of the day the only time I got up, which was frequently, was to go to the bathroom. In the end it was best for me to stay home and not spread anything, plus I don't think I could have been any help.

That was yesterday, today I decided I was feeling a little better so it was time to go to work. Luckily the staff was very understanding and when it came to cleaning I had what you might call light duty. I helped out with the cats and did a few rabbits as well. Typically I do a lot more but my body was still aching from yesterday.

Once all of the cleaning was done it was time for our weekly meeting. The focus was our annual fundraiser that took place last Saturday. I wasn't able to make it but from what I hear it was a huge success. I hope in the future I can play a role in it because it sounds like it was quite a fun time. I forgot to give credit to everyone for the time and effort that obviously went into this magnificent event.

After all of this I was hit with feeling like crap again. Luckily there were some qualified staff members that could pretty much handle everything and I was able to go home early. Hopefully another nights rest will get me back to par and I can have a normal working day at the shelter where I can have the chance to do some showings and hopefully some adoptions.

Sorry for not writing sooner and I look forward to another day with some more excitement than leaving early. Thanks for reading and keep the comments coming!