Merry Christmas From the Humane Society

This post dedicated to all those who helped make this possible: Debbie Schwartz, Anne aka TheKrazySheep, Rebecca aka AnethemaDevice, Kelsey Howle, Sara Garcia, Sarah Davis, Nancy Torrance aka Schmutzerella, Kelly Nowiki, Victoria aka Affienia, Savio Fernandez, and Patty VanCise. Thank you also to those who read this blog and helped by spreading the word.

Christmas at the Shelter

I got in at about 8:30am and it was business as usual, minus the crowd wanting to adopt. The shelter is closed for Christmas, but since we have animals to take care of it never truly closes. Jerry, a kennel staff member, let me in and lit up when he saw the bags of tuna and dog treats. I think I may be close to my crazy cat lady status now...

The cats went first today since the tuna was supplementing the wet food they normally get in the mornings. I took a big pile of tuna cans and started in the waiting room. I felt 20 pairs of eyes fix on me as soon as I opened the first can (like Children of the Corn, but not creepy and with cats). As soon as they were sure it was tuna, Jerry and I were serenaded by an opera of impatient cats. I have never seen them get so excited. I couldn't help but smile the whole time. As I fed them tuna one by one, each cat would drop out of the choir to eat, until eventually all we could hear was the contented eating of 20 cats. Some of them acted like they had never had tuna before -- one even batted a chunk around a bit before he launched into a full out attack of his food bowl. The cats in the hallway, the real life rooms, the cat ward and the sick cat ward were also very appreciative.

The dogs were equally as excited, but there I had some help. I wasn't the only volunteer that showed up today! There were five other volunteers that came in for the sole purpose of giving the dogs some time out of the kennels on Christmas. Each dog got to go for a walk and spend some time in the play yards, so I gave dog treats to every volunteer as I went around to do medications. It's almost like all the dogs got two treats for Christmas, really. All of our dogs are on Doxycycline to keep them healthy within the shelter environment, so we always make little meat balls out of wet food -- easier to pill this way than to wrench mouths open. Also saves on finger injuries (you'll just have to trust me on this one)! I got so many kisses, and to see all those tails wagging was beyond wonderful.

But enough of my talking, please see for yourself! I tried to take a good amount of pictures, especially as thanks to those who really helped pull this together. I could not have done it without you, and I only wish you could've been there to share the joy with me. I have never seen our animals so happy!

Trixie Waiting Patiently

From Top Left Clockwise: Minerva, Jen, Mya, Tippy - all enjoying their tuna.

Sweetie face down in tuna.

Trixie waited so patiently, and then devoured everything like a Hoover vacuum.

Toi purred the whole time she was eating.

Happy the cat shows his nom face.

Squeaker and Drizzle - pretty part-calico girls

Drizzle sticks her tail straight up when she's happy.

Molly has been feeling awful because she got caught in the fan belt of a car. The tuna perked her right up!

Holly was more interested in my affection than the tuna - she's come a long way in just a few days!

Alice has a drain in her back from an abscess that was removed. Because she feels vulnerable, she's turned her bed into a turtle shell.

Peanut hung out with us in the exam room.
Peanut eating his treat :)
Angel loved her treat - and she's getting better since she started wearing her thunder shirt! (She was very nervous and scared when she came in)
One of our awesome volunteers and Cooper
Olive enjoying the play yard.
Olive loves the volunteers.
One of our volunteers walking Schnitzel the very happy wienie.
Brand new dog (curse me for not remembering her name) - she's loving the treats!
Danny working up a pant in the play yard.

Danny all tired out.

Bear relaxing in his run.
London does the cutest things! Can you tell she liked her treat?
London decided it was nap time.
Wizard is such a happy little dog.
The lone puppy - don't worry, Nala, you'll go home soon!

And then I visited the cats again, to see how life is after tuna...

Sam did his happy stretch.

Lucky did his best Northern Lynx impersonation.

Colton settles down for a post tuna nap.

Rocky and Eva still playing with full bellies.

Gomez says "Thank you!"

Gomez squishes his face a little more, "THAAAAAAAANK YOU!!!"

Carie was giving all the kitties some love!

Minerva just wanted to play.

Faun claimed the free-coupon basket as her own.

Stella Bella says thank you so much!

Squeakers -- two seconds away from passing out.

Drizzle claimed the crocheted penguin - I made these to raise money for the tuna and treats, and instead of keeping hers, Victoria wanted hers to go to a very special cat.

Drizzle says, "Thank you for my new friend!"
Drizzle stretches out with her penguin and full belly of tuna. Quite the happy ending for a once-quarantined cat. Now she just has to find the perfect home. I've left a note that the penguin goes too!

Thank you again to everyone who made this possible! From me and all the animals at the Humane Society, we hope you have a very Merry Christmas :) Love to all!

Left Behind

Before you turn away on me, I'm not trying to tug at heart strings and make you teary right before Christmas. Quite the opposite. I have decided to do a picture spam post just to introduce a few of our babies that did not get homes for the holidays, but I'm hoping maybe someone will see a face here they just can't live without. I know each of these animals personally and have faith they will find a loving home in the new year -- they are each so loving and unique.

Peanut Gets a Bath



Don't you just love puppies? Okay, so maybe Peanut isn't exactly a puppy, but he's as cuddly and gentle as one. He has some skin issues and has a bad flea allergy, so he's not going to be a low maintenance dog, but I can tell he's going to be more than worth it. The skin issues should clear up after a few weeks of medicated baths though, and it just means that you can never skip a month of flea prevention.

When we put Peanut up for adoption, I was kind of hoping we could list him as a small horse instead of a dog. You probably could put a saddle on him. In any case, he's such a sweet dog. He was very curious about the kitten I was holding at the time, and he put his nose right on hers. It was an explosion of cute and I'm still kicking myself that I didn't get it on camera.


Drizzle Doesn't Want to Hold Still for Pictures

If you've read my previous posts, you might recognize this face. Drizzle was on bite quarantine for rough play (though she's so gentle it's hard for me to believe that), and she's out in the cat room now enjoying her freedom. She's still lonely and desperately wants to go home with someone soon. Getting pictures of her was quite the challenge because every time hold my camera at the ready she'd move to rub up against me and vie for my attention. She's such a love, and very full of energy if you want a cat that will play like a kitten. I love this cat and she definitely has that unique spark of intelligence I see in the eyes of some. Drizzle is quite the cat and I'm hoping she goes to a home that appreciates her.

Miffy is a Lot of Cat with a Lot of Love

I love me some Miffy! This poor cat was adopted and got brought back because she was "too bossy." I try and tell everyone that Miffy will be happiest in a home with no other pets, and she is absolutely the perfect companion. Every day when I come in to visit her, she's right there waiting for me at the door, and every day when I leave she's begging me not to go. It really breaks my heart. She is very loving and has a long life ahead of her if someone will just give her a chance. Miffy is healthy as an ox, and despite all the infections that go like waves through the shelter she has never gotten sick. I'm not saying she's super cat and will never have health problems, I'm just saying she's impressed me thus far. If you like big cats, and you want a friend that will truly appreciate you for you, Miffy is definitely the one.

Lucky the Aptly Named Kitten

Lucky came in while I was working in exam, and he may be the cutest little ball of puff I've seen in a while. Poor baby was found in the street, was covered in fleas and had a bit of poop and litter stuck to his paws. It made me think he was a dumped. Quite the image of pitiful, this little guy, but so damn cute!

In any case, he was in desperate need of a bath so I stuck the little fluff ball in a sink. He wasn't too fond of it, but seemed to actually enjoy the warm water a little, especially since I was scrubbing off the fleas. I cleaned out his ears and wrapped him up in the blanket (in the third picture) before I left for the night. He will be getting neutered soon and should have no problems finding a home.

Squeakers - Big Cat with a Tiny Voice

Squeakers is such a perfect cat loaf! She's always so loving and her tiny voice just makes me melt into a cooing, blathering, crazy cat lady. She's been with us for quite some time because she came in pretty sick. It took a while, but we finally beat away the nasty upper respiratory infection and she's been lounging in the cat room ever since. Honestly, we're all quite shocked she hasn't been adopted yet just because she's such a big love, but then again everyone and their mother wants a kitten. Don't get me wrong, kittens are cute, but there's no love quite like the love of an adult cat rescue. They never forget where they came from, and they always appreciate you so much more.

Holly, the Scaredy Cat

I came in to a warning about "that cat in the middle cage." Well, I'm a bit stubborn, so like usual I stuck my whole face in and started talking to our newest resident. Her ears immediately perked up and she cooed at me. I took this as an invite to pet her and show her a little love, and she immediately started rubbing up against me. Vicious, I tell you! I'm sure she was just very scared when she came in and sometimes cats, especially adult cats who came from who knows what background, can be a bit ornery.

A bit later I held Holly so another tech could clean out her cage. At this point I had a revelation -- Holly does not like dogs. She's terrified of them. I don't know what happened to this cat, but a dog came in for a go-home check and she started trembling like a leaf and growling. If you have a dog-free home and want a very very soft and loving kitty, Holly is definitely a cat to keep in mind. I'm crossing my fingers for a happy ending -- she's a sweetheart and I don't want her to stay with us too long. It seems to stress her out.

Vixen the Cross-eyed Kitty

Vixen is very active and loving, but most people pass her by because she is a cross-eyed kitty. There's nothing wrong with her, it's just aesthetic, but when there are so many other cats to choose from why get the one that's been roughed up or born with a defect? Since she did check out completely healthy, our suspicion is that she was dropped or beat up a bit when she was very young -- this is most often the case and frequently causes issues with the eyes. She can see just fine, though, and it's very noticeable if you get out the feather-on-a-stick. I wish people would look past her eyes to see the beautiful cat she is, inside and out. Vixen is a love and I hope she finds a good home soon.

And with all of that, now you know just some of the faces I'll be bringing special treats to this Christmas. Just because other humans pass them by doesn't mean I will. I can't give them all homes, but I can keep coming back for them until their day comes.

Thank you to all who made this possible this Christmas. This post is dedicated to you, and I will have all of your names on the post Christmas day. By helping me help these animals, you have given me the best gift I could've ever asked for.