Like cats and dogs, and the occasional small furry whatsit? Hey, me too! You're in good company. But as much as I like the furry creatures of this world, there are population issues in nearly every city. It is a fight most are either blind to or have given up on -- something many feel will never change.
Well, I come bearing good news -- many are still fighting the good fight, including The Humane Society of Tampa Bay. Most people walk into the animal shelter looking for a cat or a dog, leave when they've found the right one, and think that's pretty much all we do. Fair enough -- it's a big part of what we do, but I'd like to give everyone an insider's view over time. This blog will highlight some of our other programs, and I aim to tell the individual stories of cats and dogs that come into our care. I can't always promise a happy ending, but I can promise you the truth, and that is that we try our best even when other humans turn the other cheek.
To start us off, I'd like to introduce you to some very special animals:
Thor's Story
Thor was brought into the shelter in a very dirty old carrier, containing bird food, a carpet piece with feces on it, and one chewed on hot dog. He was approximately 4 weeks old at this time, and had one of the worst cases of Demodex I've ever seen on a dog.
Demodex (canis) is a type of mite that lives in the hair follicles of dogs, and typically only causes patchy hair loss. This is, quite obviously, a rather extreme case. The good news is it's not easily transmittable, and is typically only a concern of mothers transmitting it to suckling pups.
Thor was also malnourished and had so many fleas that the water turned a murky red when I bathed him (from all of their residue). He couldn't help but cry as his open sores were hit by the warm water.
In some other shelters he would have been considered a "euth for health reasons," because he was brought to the shelter in such poor condition. Not the Humane Society of Tampa Bay. Patty, a full time Vet Tech of 14 years, stepped up to take Thor under her wing.
Here is what he looks like today:
He is now a healthy two and a half pounds (he's a chihuahua, so at 2.5 he kind of has a Buddha belly), and is growing his fur back nicely. He is still going through treatments, but making incredible progress under Patty's care. Thor is loving his new chance at life -- so much so that he absolutely refused to sit still for a picture!
Seeing Thor yesterday in such great shape was a sight for sore eyes - what a good beginning to the day.
The ones that make it
Moving on, it was time to do intakes for 10 dogs we rescued from the county animal shelter. Twice a week one of the shelter administrators goes to the local shelter to get as many animals off the chopping block as we have space for . We're a "No-euth-for-space" shelter, so that means once animals come to stay with us, they'll stay however long it takes for them to get adopted.
Upon drawing blood on one of the dogs, we found out she was heartworm positive. The room shared a unanimous groan. Again though, we're not like most shelters. Even though she has a life-threatening infection, she gets another chance -- she will begin treatments later this week.
Snotzilla
And for those cat-lovers out there, I'd like to share a picture of Abraham:
If you already know me, you probably know I have a certain weakness for gray cats. This little man looks much like my own Poe cat. So you can imagine my doting and over-obsessive cooing when I was doing my end-of-day rounds and discovered he had an upper respiratory infection. He was just a big ball of kitty snot, eye goop and was kind enough to sneeze in my face. It's always hard pulling cats off the adoption floor and putting them in the sick cat ward -- it means a longer stay for them while they could be finding their future family. But better that than infect the whole shelter. So I cuddled him for a while, gave him antibiotic eye and nose drops and set him up as comfortably as I could with the other sick kitties. I'm hoping for a speedy recovery.
How long can this moose talk?!
So, if you've stuck with me to this point, kudos! I'm not making you read anymore just yet! I promise my next few posts won't be as long, and they'll be more focused.
Thank you again to Nancy and Sarah, the two sponsors for this day of vet tech work. If you'd like to sponsor a Humane Society animal to give them a special treat, and help me keep gassing up my car to get it to the shelter, please consider adopting a pillow pet. If nothing else, you have a very cute cat/dog toy at the end of the day :)
http://www.etsy.com/shop/mooseinakilt
Next episode - adventures in giving dogs vaccines AND how to not get completely mauled when trimming a cat's claws. Maybe just a slight maiming, really.
Also, just how are we helping the population issue? More on the Trap, Spay/Neuter and Release program!
Vet Tech hours logged for sponsors: 5
Animals treated: 10 dogs, 1 cat
Animals adopted and checked before leaving: 3 cats, lost track of the puppies. SO MANY PUPPIES!
Cans of Tuna still needed: 84 (goal)
Dog treats still needed: 42 (goal)
Your an awesome person !
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