It's an Adoption Weekend!

Petsmart is having an adopt-a-thon and you are invited!

We will be there!  The dates are May 1-3, the hours vary by which store you go to but we will be there on Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday 10-4.  Come by and pick up a friend!

Click here for more information.

Karma is in her new home!

Karma went to her her new home on Wednesday. I feel very happy about the family who adopted her. I think they will take care of her just like I did. I think she has a very good home! Yay!  Poor Artie misses her though.  We just play with him more since they used to run around and chase each other.  We miss her too but we couldn't keep her.  If we keep every kitty we loved, we would have an apartment full!

Karma Was Adopted and I Freaked Out!

A family came in to adopt a kitty named Duchess.  I brought them to her room and they petted her but for some reason, they didn't seem too impressed with her. Somehow, they did not know she had FIV, even though it says that in her description and there is a special symbol by her name on Petfinder. *shrug*  I talked to them like they knew she had FIV and they said they had not even heard of it before.

As they were leaving because they were no longer interested in adopting Duchess, they saw some pictures of Karma on the table.  They asked about her and I showed them to her her cage which was in the same room.

They ended up wanting to adopt her!  I feel suspicious about someone who comes in for a specific kitty but wants to adopt another one once they get to the shelter.  It tells me that they are not sure of what they want and that worries me.  For example, Duchess is an overweight, older kitty (I think she is around 5), who has FIV.  They ended up saying they wanted a 9 month old kitten who has a history of serious injuries.  There is quite a difference there.  Also, they look nothing like each other.

I gave them a pre-adoption form and saw some things that worried me.  Their previous kitty was front paw declawed and she marked that one of the problems she was *not* willing to work with was litter box problems.  Well, I am very opposed to declawing especially with Karma who already had 2 surgeries.  She was shaking when I brought her to the vet for her check up. I think she thought she was there for another surgery.

Karma sometimes misses the litter box.  I talked to the vet about it and she believes that Karma may have some numbness due to her injuries and surgeries which makes her "aim" off.  The numbness may never go away.  She sometimes defecates right outside the litter box even though she is standing in the box.  Once or twice, she also has urinated outside the box.

The vet said this may never go away so if this woman is is not willing to work with litter box problems, Karma is probably not right for her.

I felt that the children with her were pressuring her to adopt Karma because she is so cute and friendly.

The people ended up leaving, saying they wanted to think about it.  I really did not think they would come back.  I was talking to the other adoption counselors about them, trying to get their perspective about the family. They are removed from the situation so they don't have the emotional bond with Karma that I have that may cloud my judgement.  Also, one of the counselors told me that she had discussed declawing Karma and they both felt that Karma should not be declawed because she had already been through enough trauma.  So, that was good.  I never want my foster kitties to be declawed but if they are under 1 year, the shelter will allow it.  But not with Karma. About 10 minutes before adoptions were over, the family walked in with an empty carrier and smiles on their faces.

I was completely caught off guard.

I started to sweat and shake slightly.  I had already put them out of my mind because generally, people who leave, do not come back for the cat they were thinking about adopting.  So, the family came in and sat down and said they decided that they wanted to adopt her.

I told the mother that I felt Karma was really freaked out because it was her first adoptions and that the kitties around her in the other cages were hissing and growling at each other.  Also, she had received a shot and a microchip just the night before at the shelter and (I think) was scared that she was going to get another one.  We talked about her litter box issues again and I feel that she will be okay with it.  I said that it maybe happens once a week.  We also told her that the "head honcho" of the cat house said that Karma cannot be declawed.

I must have look visibly shaken because the mother offered to wait until later in the week to pick her up. After they left, I was still shaking and I felt embarrassed at how I acted.  Looking back, I feel that I might have overreacted a bit.  I didn't feel that at the time, though.

I told my boyfriend later that night that I guess I wasn't as good at keeping myself a little disconnected from my fosters.  I love them and treat them the same as my own cats but I always believe that I do not get attached to them so it enables me to give them up without causing myself pain.

I guess with Karma anyway, I didn't do that.

When she came to me, she still had a broken leg, two broken hips and a fractured pelvis.  She did not have her first surgery for 4 days.  She was dehydrated, hungry and very thin.  So, we took the weekend to get her rehydrated and give her some food so she would have energy to go through the surgery.  She had one surgery in January to fix her broken leg and one hip.  She had her second surgery in February to fix her other hip and spay her.

We went through a lot with her and I guess I was more concerned about her than I let myself believe.

So, I am preparing myself for her new parents to pick her up Wednesday at 4.

Karma is available for adoption!

I took Karma to the vet yesterday and the vet cleared her for adoption!  Her first adoptions will be this Saturday.

Click here to be taken to her petfinder page!

Soldier Stomps on and Kills Newly Adopted Dog and Breaks Puppy's Leg Before Bringing Him Back to Shelter

Pet Guardian Angel staff members says a Fort Bliss soldier was arrested for killing one dog and hurting another after just adopting them from the facility two weeks before.

"It's hard to believe people can do that to an animal," said Sheila Smith, an administrative assistant at PGA.

Staff members at the nonprofit animal shelter couldn't believe what they heard when a Fort Bliss official arrived at the facility.

"That's very upsetting. We trust these people. We try to screen them as best we can to see if they can be responsible pet owners," said Smith.

Smith, who helps get animals at PGA adopted, said a young military couple adopted two dogs from PGA two weeks ago. Now, they hear the one named Tinkerbelle is dead. And a puppy named Wrigley has a broken leg and was returned to PGA. PGA staff said Wrigley was taken to Eastwood Animal Clinic for a broken leg at the expense of their organization.

The staff said the Fort Bliss soldier, Frank Zimmerman, beat the dogs.

KFOX spoke to the soldier's wife over the phone and she said Zimmerman didn't mean to hurt the animals. She said when the dogs weren't listening he would take his anger out on them. She said, "Frank beat Tinkerbelle with a leash and he stomped on her until she died."

"Not all military people are like that. Again, it's the way they're raised," said Smith, who was active military for years.

It is unclear what charges, if any, were brought against Zimmerman, but PGA staff says animal cruelty needs to be prosecuted better in El Paso.

"They need to be more strict. If someone is willing to harm an animal he's willing to kill a person. That's our concept," said Smith said.

Click here for video.


Sources:
http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/18962490/detail.html

http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/15353/TX/US/

Formerly Chained Rottweiler Saves Family from Fire

A rescued Rottweiler saved a sleeping Livonia family from dying in a fire house Tuesday morning, Livonia Fire Marshal Don Donnelley said.

The dog kept nudging his owner until he got up and saw the smoke in the living room. The home did not have a functioning smoke detector.

Ironically, the family had just adopted the dog from a family in Detroit that no longer wanted it.  The family took Boomer in about a week before Christmas. The dog had been living outside, tied to a chain.

“They rescued him, and now he rescued them,” Donnelley said.

The fire started in a living room wall in the home on Rayburn between Merriman and Middlebelt. The family had had a fire in the fireplace the evening before, and the fire may have spread to the wall space through a hole in the brickwork, Donnelley said.

The 2-year-old Rottweiler, Boomer, alerted owner John Bates at about 5:15 a.m.
“He kept putting his cold nose right into my face. He was bouncing around,” Bates said, adding that that was unusual behavior for Boomer. The family’s other dog, a 1-year-old bull mastiff named Princess, was right behind Boomer.

Read more... 

Lucy was adopted!

Lucy was adopted yesterday!  Yay!

"Second Chance for Love" Valentine's Weekend Adoption Event

PetSmart Charities® "Second Chance for Love" 2009 Valentine's Weekend Adoption Event February 13th thru the 15th

For more information, please visit petsmart.com 

We will be there from 4-7 Friday and 11-4 Saturday.

NW Kansas City (Tiffany Springs)
8970 NW Skyview Ave.
Kansas City, MO 64154
816-746-5392

Little Lucy is doing great!

Lucy is doing great!  I have her in a cage most of the day right now because she is still pretty skittish.  A few times a day, I take her out to get some exercise and put her in the hallway with a bunch of toys. I worry that if I let her out in the whole apartment that she would go right behind the couch when I came up to her to put her back in her cage.  She is letting me pick her up, even though I can tell she is nervous.  She lets me pet her and play with her.  She really likes the company of Artie and Karma.  

Once she gets a little more comfortable with me, I will have her out all day and only put her in her cage at night.  

Lucy will be available for adoption on Feb 13th.  

Cat switch-a-roo!

A lot has been going on in the last few days.

Jackson, Isabella and Daisy have moved to the shelter.  I feel sad about bringing a cat to the shelter every time.  It can be the best thing for them.  I say 'can' because some cats don't adjust very well.  If that happens, I will bring them back.  When I put Isabella in a cage, she seemed to be totally fine with the situation.  She was just smelling around the cage, looking around at everything.  I was very pleased that she seemed to be doing okay.

Jackson was very hissy but I know he will calm down in a few days.  He wants to put up a front so the other cats think he is tough.  haha!

Daisy was so scared, she wouldn't come out of her carrier.  I felt really bad for her.  I tried to make her come out of the carrier but she wouldn't....so I took the door off and left her in the carrier.

I am going to visit them today.

A new cat, Jonathon, who has diabetes and is FIV positive has moved in.  The only way I could take him is if those three moved to the shelter.  Jackson was going to move to the shelter anyway, as soon as a spot opened up in the room he would be in.

Daisy needed to go at some point because she needs a little more socialization and it is good for cats like her to be introduced to many different people who don't hurt them so they start to trust humans in general, rather than just my boyfriend and I.

I had no real plans to bring Isabella to the shelter (I guess) because I thought it would be too much trouble to medicate her.  She just needs ear drops every 3 days and her ears must be cleaned once a week.  Her previous owners neglected her and let ear mites sit in her ears for weeks.  They abandoned her and Jackson in a house with no food for three weeks before anyone realized they were there.  The ear mites caused both of her ear drums to burst.  They burst as a result of the immense infection and ear mites in her ears.  The vet said she can still hear muffled sounds.  Every time she is in a car, she vomits because of her ear problems.


I haven't been able to put a picture of Lucy online yet, so here she is:

Lucy is shy, she was born outside to a feral mother.  I am taming her.  She is just a little hissy and our goal is to have her available for adoption on the weekend of the 14th.  She is adjusting nicely here.  Right now, I have her in the hallway with Karma and they are playing.  I have a baby gate up to keep them in there.  In a few days, Lucy will be able to run around with everyone else.

Gracie was adopted today!

Gracie Mae and her brother, Diego, were adopted today by a very nice, older couple who recently lost their cat due to illness.  Diego was in a different foster home but they were together today for adoptions.  Sorry, I don't have a picture of Diego but he is solid black.

I brought a new kitten home today.  Her name is Lucy and she is actually Gracie and Diego's remaining sibling.  She needs some time to get more used to humans before she can get adopted.  She is beautiful!  She is solid grey with gold eyes.

I will take a picture of her tomorrow and post it.  I don't want to freak her out too much on her first night in her new (foster) home.

Ramses was adopted!!

Ramses was adopted about a week ago but I forgot to blog about it.  A fellow volunteer adopted him.  I am so happy with who adopted him because I know she is a good pet parent.  Ramses now lives with 3 children, 2 other cats and 2 dogs.  He is adjusting nicely to his new home.

We still miss Ramses but because I know the person who adopted him personally, I feel better about him not living with us anymore.  Artie misses him but he has some new friends living here now.

Gracie Mae is available for adoption!

Gracie Mae is available for adoption.  Click here to visit her petfinder page.  She is a sweet, playful kitten who would prefer to live with other cats.  She is spayed, microchipped and up to date on her vaccinations.

No Adoptions at Petsmart...ugh!

We did adoptions at Petsmart today and unfortunately, nobody was adopted.  Nobody even looked seriously at any of the cats!  Some people wanted to hold Gracie but not because they wanted to take her home.  It was the slowest adoption day I have ever helped with.

Gracie did much better than anyone expected. She let strangers hold her, she was curious about what was going on, she didn't hide or hiss at anyone, she did great!  She came to me pretty scared and skittish so I expected her to be a little nervous with strangers and definitely scared of all of the noise of Petsmart but she reacted like a well adjusted kitten.  My hard work has paid off!

Checkers Found Her Forever Home!

Checkers was taken to her new home last Saturday, January 10.  A few days later, her new mother called me and said that she was very shy and she didn't know if it was going to work out.  I explained that transitions take awhile and some cats take longer than others.  I urged her to give it another couple of days.

Thankfully, she took my advice.  Yesterday, she called me and said that Checkers was much better and they love her and want to keep her. Checkers sits on their laps and sleeps with them.  She is getting along well with their other "resident" cat.  They are going to finalize her adoption this week.

Checkers was trapped outside and I tamed her.  I didn't believe that she was fully tamed when she was adopted but I told the prospective adoptive parents that and they still wanted to try it.  I told them that basically, they would have to tame her the rest of the way.  I think it worked our well that they had to tame her the rest of the way because feral cats bond very strongly to one or two humans.  This way, they helped tame her and she will bond to them, too.

Checkers was adopted, Ramses went to live at the shelter and Annie is coming back...

Checkers was adopted yesterday!  A very nice family lost their cat due to illness last month and apparently, Checkers looks just like that cat!  I explained to them that Checkers still had a long way to go to be a normal house cat and they were understanding and receptive to my advice.  She would sit on my lap, let me pick her up (as long as I didn't stand up with her in my arms), I could pet her, and she would roll on her back and let me pet her belly.  She was very social with the other cats here, which is common for cats who have lived outside.  I feel really good about her new family.  I think Checkers will be very happy there.


I also brought Ramses to the shelter to live.  The family that adopted Checkers met Ramses and might come back to adopt him, too!  I told the mother of the family that Ramses and Checkers were very close and would like to live together, if they could.  The mother and son came to get Checkers and the mother said that she would have to talk to her husband because she couldn't come home with 2 cats!  So, we will see if they come back for him.

I brought Ramses to live at the shelter for two reasons.  Ramses wanted to be Gaby's friend and Gaby wanted nothing to do with him.  He would chase her (to play), he would hover over her and she was becoming more isolated because she wanted to hide from him. She hissed at him and swiped at him. Gaby is my cat and I have had her for almost 10 years.  My priority is my own cats, then the foster cats.

The other reason why I brought Ramses to the shelter is because he is now 7 months old and he has more exposure at the shelter.  Sometimes people come into the shelter and want to leave that day with a cat, so all of the cats in foster homes aren't considered.  It makes it easier for him to be adopted because the prospective parents don't have to wait for me to bring him to the shelter.

...on to Annie...

Annie did well when she was at the shelter at first.  Recently, she has withdrawn and is not making progress.  She is actually losing the progress she made at first.  So, she has two options: She can come back here and I can help her some more, or she can go live outside at a barn that we sometimes send cats to.  I haven't fully decided, but I am probably going to just bring her back here.  I want what is best for her...so I haven't made up my mind just yet.

Update on woman living with over 100 dogs in van

Catherine Titus, 71, has received calls from caring animal lovers around the country.  They are asking how they can help her and the 120 dogs she is living with.  10 dogs have been adopted and nearly all of them have been spayed or neutered.  Donations and supplies are appreciated but she really wants homes for her dogs.  

HOW TO HELP

Making a donation

→By mail: Donations can be sent to First Bank and Trust, P.O. Box 700, Healdton, OK 73438. Checks can be made to "In care of First Bank and Trust for the Catherine Titus Account.”

→ In person: Donations can also be made in person to First Bank and Trust branches in Ardmore, Duncan, Healdton, Norman and Waurika, said Melissa Hudson, a financial services representative in the Healdton branch.

Helpful tip

Donations should be made to the trust account and not directly to the feed store where Titus buys her dog food, said a spokeswoman for Whitener Feed and Seed.



If you would like to adopt a dog, please contact Compassion Seeds , a local animal sanctuary helping Titus.


Read more... 

Petco Stops Selling Rabbits!!

NEW YORK -- Petco is now hopping to a different tune, as it announced it will cease rabbit sales, and only facilitate adoptions, after Jan. 1, 2009.

All of the rabbits in Petco stores at the start of the new year will still be eligible to find forever homes, just through an expanded adoption program.

"Moving to an all-adoption approach with rabbits is the right thing to do," Petco CEO Jim Myers said in a Nov. 17 release.

"We believe it's good for the animals, good for our business and is consistent with our Think Adoption First philosophy, in which we encourage prospective pet parents to consider adopting an animal rather than purchasing one."

Petco already has an adoption program instated for dogs and cats at its stores, and has partially worked to facilitate rabbit adoptions, as well.

The policy shift is likely to welcome an increased level of partnership with various animal-welfare agencies and local rescue groups, with which Petco already has partnerships, according to the release.

Rabbits, the third most popular companion animal in the United States, have been available for purchase at roughly a third of Petco's 950 stores in recent years. The remaining rabbits were processed through the company's adoption system, according to The SmallAnimalChannel News Division.

Petco already has "strong relationships" with about 70 rabbit adoption groups, including the Minnesota Companion Rabbit Society and the San Diego House Rabbit Society, according to its release.

The franchise will seek to further these relationships, as well as establishing additional partnerships to assist in facilitating more adoptions.

Petco will also work to provide more habitat housing for adoptable rabbits in store, as well as caring for and feeding them.

The announcement has drawn praise from the Humane Society of the United States, which noted the apt timing of the program, given the spike of rabbit births in the springtime.

"The phaseout of rabbit sales by Petco is a great step forward to help homeless, adoptable rabbits across the country," said Adam Goldfarb, an HSUS issues specialist, in a Dec. 4 HSUS release.

"Rabbits are the third-most commonly surrendered animal to shelters after dogs and cats."

By replacing sales with adoptions, Petco, one of the largest pet supply chains in the country, can serve to curb homelessness and surrender rates, the HSUS said.

http://www.zootoo.com/petnews/forsalenomorepetcoadoptsnewrab-1061 

Pets as presents a good idea? It can be.

Through out this article I refer only to adopting an animal.  I do not believe in buying an animal from a breeder or from a pet store, who usually come from puppy mills or other less than satisfactory circumstances.  (Why reward these people with money for creating a life when millions of animals are killed every year in shelters??)  I guarantee anyone will be able to find an animal they want from an animal shelter or a breed rescue.  There are millions of animals who need good homes, just waiting for their new parent to walk through the door!

Pets as presents can be a good idea-ONLY if the recipient has made the decision to adopt a pet.  Pets can be at least a 20 year commitment.  Someone who doesn't want a pet, may mistreat them, neglect them, fail to care for them, or any number of other things.  It can also cause a problem between the people involved if someone feels obligated to keep a pet they did not want in the first place.

Adopting a pet is a very rewarding experience.  Some shelters allow you to do something called "Foster to Adopt", which means you will foster the animal for a few weeks to make sure it is a good fit.  At the end of that time, or before, you can return the animal if they are not working out.

The best thing for someone to do is to buy a gift certificate for an animal.  The person goes to the shelter, adopts an animal and you pick up the tab!  Petfinder.com offers these and some local shelters do, too.  Many people want to choose their own pet.  The animal will be living with them and it is a big decision.  They might want to wait until after the hectic holiday season when they will have more time to spend with them once they get them home to ease the transition.

Adopting a pet, a kitten or adult, is a big responsibility but it is very rewarding.  Younger animals require more time, more training, more energy.  Older animals (1 year +) are less energetic and can be relaxing members of your family.  That is not to say that older animals won't play.  They can and do!  They just rest eventually and it seems that kittens and puppies don't!

I have read about giving pets as gifts and some sites say that pets given as gifts are kept longer than those people adopted from a shelter or as a stray.  Other sites say the opposite.  I don't know what the truth is but I don't think people should treat a pet a certain way, with a certain commitment based on how they received them.  Pet parents need to take the commitment seriously and keep the animals that they say they are going to keep.  There are very few reasons that I feel are justified for relinquishing an animal.

Adopting a new pet is a wonderful opportunity for parents to teach their children responsibility in the house with taking care of a pet and with keeping commitments.  I hope that parents use the opportunity to raise educated, compassionate children and show them that when you adopt an animal, it is for the rest of their life.  We have too many animals being taken to shelters for ridiculous reasons, such a moving.  You can move with an animal, it just requires effort that some people don't want to deal with.  If that is the case, don't get an animal in the first place.  You get an animal's hopes up, bring them into your home, then bring them back to the shelter when they are inconvenient.

Be responsible and teach your children what it really means to adopt an animal.

Please don't let them kill her!

A 3-legged Senior female shepherd mix is currently at a kill shelter in Independence, MO.

She was dumped in the country.

Won't you adopt this girl form the shelter and give her the love she needs?

Older dogs are great pets and need love too!

Contact Kim at kimtou@yahoo.com if you can help.

PLEASE HURRY!