Daisy, my most recent rescued dog from GA, was adopted out last weekend. Sounds like she's doing wonderfully, aside from missing me. She's been abandoned before though, so the girl is allowed to be a little anxious. Pretty much as soon as Daisy is out of the house, I've got more "visitors": Finn & Jack came for a sleepover while their parents went to NY for the weekend. Here are my much-missed boys begging for post-Thanksgiving food:
I can't tell you how much I love them ... even though they bark like lunatics way too early in the morning!! Ah! They are beautiful boys. All my mom kept saying is, "You are so pretty, Finn." And their mom was nice enough to bring me really nice photos of them. I wish every adopter was as amazing as that couple. They're phenomenal to their dogs and so kind to me long past the usual time period. Normally, after a couple months (or even days), people forget about the rescuers and I love my animals. I let them go to the best homes I can find for them, but it still hurts every time.
I noticed it first when Daisy was sometimes with my parents during the week and now that she's officially not here, I can't deny my cats new, snugglely spot to nap. My beautiful baby boy, Little Dani, has taken to curling up in my now empty dog crate! Makes no sense to me since he hates his carrier and feeling cornered, but here he is:
He is such a cutie! I really do just flat out adore him. He makes these sweet little chirping noises and today he was just so excited to see me that he was running all over the place, following me and maybe almost breaking my neck as well while darting around my feet.
Flashing forward to something different: my family! Every weekend there is something different at that house. They've been expanding their farm all the time and over the summer, they decided to get chickens - hens to be exact. My parents got several hens in order to have their own fresh eggs. I don't think any chickens can be considered spoiled after what my aunts did for theirs, but these chickens are definitely well off! Ok, personally, I'd love for them to be free-roaming, but there are too many predators - owls and hawks especially (the barn cats have shown them no attention). Anyway, shortly after my parents got the baby chicks and they grew big enough to be outside, something else showed up ...
I can't help but laugh every time I recall this fact, but the fact remains the same - my parents have feral chickens!
That's right, my parents have feral chickens! It's a gang of chickens that just randomly showed up. First they were by the road, then the front field, then they found their way around the lake and now they live in the front field. It's just too weird that they showed up. Stranger in general is how they really are wild - beautiful, but not domesticated. They eat on their own, roost in the trees at night and are their own pleasant, little family. There is even a rooster! A rooster that I freakin heard crow loud as heck the other morning ... I don't like rooster, but he is handsome though.
For some reason, Jan just comes to mind when I think of fall - maybe it's her coloring. This girl comes off very shy (and she's definitely not a "petite" cat), but she's wonderful! I know this because she's another cat at my work place. Read a bit more about her and enjoy your holiday!
Jan is a mix of calico and tabby in most unusual markings, including a couple of sizable patches of orange. The effect is quite beautiful, as you might guess. Jan is a young cat, too---about two years old, we believe.
We don't know much about Jan's past, but she was one of four kitties we have who were abandoned in a carrier outside a vet's office. Jan was very frightened of us for some time, but she has made excellent progress here and now comes over for attention readily, which is delightful. She's a sweet, chunky little girl, and we're hoping to find her a home soon. Come in to see our furry "patchwork quilt"!
Update: Jan continues to make good progress. She's in our weight management room now, as she's really too chunky. But she's doing well with the cats in there, and, while still on the shy side, wants to find out what you're doing there whenever you come in. Jan has asthma, but it's very mild in nature (she requires no medication for it now), and we're hoping her symptoms will lessen still further as she loses weight.
I had planned to write today's post about my new foster kitten ... however, I found out that the little kitten I planned to foster was adopted!
That's right, my girl was adopted - straight from surgery too! Good news? Indeed! But I've got to think that my "bad luck" streak of fostering is continued here because I don't get her for any time at all. Selfish response? Yup. I won't deny that either :-)
Sabrina, pre-naming, came in with a horribly stripped and mangled front foot. Just looking at that foot created a literal gut reaction: the urge to up-chuck! I mean, she was rushed off to an emergency medical facility so quickly that the picture above is the only one of her, I think, and it's only because of my sick curiosity once seeing her injury. Her injury was so horrific that I blocked it out in the photo for your own sake. The top half of her one little leg was stripped of fur & skin. The bottom half was twisted all the way around & I don't think it was attached in any way.
She was named ("Sabrina" by the staff there) once at the emergency vet facility and apparently the one vet just kept repeating, "She's so sweet," over and over again about the kitten. Once it was determined that Sabrina definitely needed her leg surgically removed, I decided I'd foster her. I mean, she needed her leg removed and she is just a little baby - I figured foster care with me was better than in a cage where her muscles definitely wouldn't be given much of a chance to adjust.
Happy ending is, of course, before Sabrina was even out of surgery, she was adopted! A vet tech adopted her, so she gets to recover and adjust to her new home at the same time. So, Sabrina is this week's Sundays Are For Cats entry ... even if she's already adopted.
Daisy went home today. She was adopted and placed into a wonderful home where she'll be super spoiled and the only pet. Her adopter had a cute "seasonal" collar ready for her with a heart-shaped name tag on it, a big crate set up for Daisy for when her adopter's at work, lots of new toys and big, fun-shaped biscuits. I know more presents and meeting new friends are also in the near future for Daisy too. These are all good things and Daisy is a lucky girl, but I still cried a bit ...
My sister will be home from school this week. She is yet to be home since Cheyenne has passed away. I'm nervous for her, sad still for myself too. I still look for Chy. I'll catch Sadie out of the corner of my eye curled up and look quickly thinking it's Cheyenne. And then it's that awful, heart-squeezing feeling when it registers that it can't be her.
I've been thinking about writing recently. Honestly, it's felt more like I need to write ... but nothing seems to be coming out. I have ideas - so many ideas, but none of them seem to spill out of me and I just can't seem to concentrate/get passionate.
I've also been reading books of short stories on rescues. My aunt always tells me that I could write something like that, but these people have incredible stories about sweet animals in extraordinarily awful circumstances that they rescue. I've done my fair share of rescue, but I don't think I come close to what these other people.
I need to lay down or something, maybe try to concentrate, brainstorm or go through some work up's to try to get myself motivated.
Not all dogs are like my aunts' easily distracted babies ... but then again, a weekend away for a convention can't nearly compare to 14 months away for service, I guess.
Nobody loves us quite like our furbabies. Though I can't take the credit for that entry nor do I know the family, I still had to share it ... and a dogs on thursday post is best for this, I believe.
Several years ago, within a little over a month I lost my two dogs pretty unexpectedly: Honey Dew, our 12 year old Golden Retriever to cancer, and Ellie, my Doberman who was not even two and fought 6 months and several surgeries before dying from multiple bouts with Peritinitis. Honey I made the decision to have put to sleep when it was too late and Ellie passed at home on simply an "off" day while I was at college. We were left with this cute, tiny, lonely puppy, Kyleigh, who ran around in a yard that seemed so empty with just her in it after so recently having 3 dogs around.
I looked at two different litters and picked the one litter who's "grandmother dog" was still very much alive and then I picked this one puffy, fuzzball of a pup, the lighter of the two so that she was nothing like Honey because I wasn't replacing her. Then I waited for a weekend when my family wasn't home and brought Cheyenne home. She was beautiful and adorable and Kyleigh, after getting passed just flat out confusion over this little thing chewing on her toys and running around, loved her too. My family came home and they all loved her too, of course. She was so cute! And it was winter, so my aunt knitted a beautiful sweater for her - a white one! Imagine it: a fluffy white puppy, snow on the ground and a white sweater!
Kyleigh & baby Cheyenne: From the paragraph above, I think you've made the safe assumption that I went to a breeder. Yes, I did what rescuers don't do and bought a puppy from a breeder. I've had Goldens my whole life! I was sad and I wanted a perfect Golden puppy. I can't regret that decision because I got Cheyenne out of it, but no more breeders (ever, ever, ever) ... there are enough dogs dying and a "purebred" dog who's parents you can look at while you pick out a puppy is no way better than a dog you can save from a shelter or rescue. Maybe if Cheyenne had been a "mostly Golden" mutt, she'd still be here too. :(
Cheyenne was my epileptic Golden. Though she had more than me, even when on seizure meds, Cheyenne had seizures on the exact same days I did for the few I had. She was definitely the most "special" out of our three dogs. There is Kyleigh, who is just a few months older then Cheyenne, and then we got Sadie as well a couple years after ... a more "normal" looking Golden compared to gigantic Cheyenne. It seems like as Chy grew, she got her dad's huge body and her mom's normal Golden legs. She also has this, as you can see in these few pictures, super thick hair which it almost white underneath - it was the combination of her light coat and huge size (about 110 lbs) that had us all joking she was part polar bear. Out of the three, Cheyenne was also the most laid back and all the cats loved her. Peanut, our buff tabby, when playing with Cheyenne almost completely blended in! Though Kye and Sadie would sometimes fight awfully when they got excited over guests, the biggest threat Cheyenne was was if she jumped up because of her size.
Cheyenne & baby Sadie:
My Cheyenne died over the weekend. My purebred, "perfect", polar bear of a dog died at just 6 years of age from a heart attack. I'm crushed and bitter and sad. I just keep thinking "If only I was there" or "If we didn't have Sadie, Kye would be all alone again" and "I paid for the "perfect puppy" not to die of cancer when she was old and instead she dies at only 6 of a heart attack" or "I should have hugged her goodbye last weekend. When did I stop hugging them goodbye?" and, then, I keep thinking about how much I was dreading listening to mom gripe about all the dogs in the house and all the work when Jack & Finn would be coming to visit after Thanksgiving (it would have been Kye, Sadie, Chy plus Jack & Finn in the house then) - what I wouldn't give to have Cheyenne here still...
We had this big, plastic pond at the house I grew up in. When we moved, we brought it with us and put it in the backyard. My dad never got around to digging a hole for it though, so it remained, bottom up, on the ground in our backyard. Cheyenne took up the habit of laying on top of the thing (I have no idea how it held her weight!) ... again, a polar bear resting on rocks came to mind! And with her size, can you imagine a dog like that getting excited and pouncing around - ridiculous! When she was resting, if there was something nearby to rest her head on, she would, and she'd slowly (half cause of her size), innocently climb up on the sofa. Out of our three dogs, let's talk about destruction! Kye grabs and eats everything - underwear, blankets, dog beds, pants, etc. Even if she's just innocently sucking on a blankie for a week, eventually it's got a huge hole in it, then several and then it's in pieces. Napkins and tissues last about 5 seconds with Sadie too. Cheyenne though would walk passed you with a sock very obviously hanging out of her mouth and she'd look up at you just with her big eyes. You'd say "Cheyenne..." and she'd drop it like, "Oh, how'd that get in my mouth?". And if you gave her treats, oh god! She'd never eat them, she'd just sit there with one in her mouth, drooling all over, until it got soft and broke and then, she'd hold the pieces until finally she'd eat them ... jealous Kye and selfish Sadie, of course, always gobbled theirs down and we were like guarding Chy the whole time she had treats!
I miss my girl, I miss my girl. There are so many things I could say, so much I want to write down, but I just can't. There's not enough good to write about her right now ... I'm just so sad. I don't want to think about it anymore...
Meet Purdy - another dog in rescue looking for their forever home and a loving family. She's got a bit more to her story though than just showing up a rescue. She had a family and the one good deed they did for her was the wife getting rid of Purdy before the husband shot this poor dog. Purdy is out at Best Friends Animal Society in Utah and here's what Purdy's page says:
Purdy just loves to sleep on her doggie bed, and is so mellow, she promises she wouldn't be any trouble to you at all.
But her last family wouldn't give her a couch - and much worse! She was kept chained in the back yard, and one day, the husband decided to go out and shoot her cause he just didn't want her anymore. The wife had a friend smuggle Purdy to safety just in time. Poor Purdy - all she ever wanted was to be somebody's sleepy snuggle love.
Purdy is very delightful with everyone she meets. And while she's not wild about other female dogs, she's very nice to boy dogs.
Could there be an extra doggie bed at your house for a girl who's only ever wanted somebody to love her and a place she can snooze and call home?
I've had my job for a year!! How awesome is that?! I love it here. Love, love, love it here. There's just never a "bad" day and it's never a sad job like even some days at a "no kill" shelter can be.
The entry I wrote the day before starting, I hashed out my worries in and showed off some of the best parts of my apartment. Since moving in and setting, here are just a few more fun things around my apartment...
wall rack with 3 print pieces I like, a photo I took of Ali in a cornfield and one of me & Kate from my senior prom
a wall lamp my dad put together
important photos to me and a chunk of one of the shawls I have up on my walls
my wall of friendly reminders: an old, super nice pick-me-up from Ali including Bruce, my favorite flower and drawings of s'mores, including one that looks like a turkey lol, there's also an email from Livingston Taylor and a happy phrase to wake up to
a few of my favorite things: angel ornament with a good quote, the necklace I got in Belize with the symbol I got tattooed on me, another good quote and a note from Ali when I decided to move here
uh, yea, talk about character! My dresser is the one from when I was a baby ... and definitely has little baby lambs on it
Ahhh, I think this has been a good "Sundays Are For Cats" post. :)
**Though it seems a bit silly to shorten my work place to "TP", I try to keep my personal life and work life as separate as possible ... including in my blog. The title of my work isn't shortened out of lack of respect, just to keep my blog from coming up any more than it already might in search engines for my work place.
Eight years ago there was a high percentage of the U.S. population that refused to vote or even get involved in major politics because the general understanding was that “the man” would do whatever they wanted despite what the voters said. Events like the mix up in FL are perfect proof of this, I think, and was a sad, violent shake to anyone that had any hope left in our system at the time. And so 4 years ago, the same lack of activity from the public was repeated. It was heartbreaking - even after all those programs to raise awareness, like "Rock The Vote", and educate younger generations.
After the last two elections and 8 years of a wide range of questionable acts, realizing the large amount of lies used to manipulate us and failure (and collapses) on so many levels of our world and lives by George W Bush, it was with bated breath that I waited for the results on the general election for 2008. Sure, the one promising hope, change for the better, so many good things and the one I was voting for certainly looked like he was going to win. However, my history from the past two elections had been that just because people had good/positive/different ideas, did not mean that they would win. Somehow the status quo always disappointed me in the end.
Obama won though. He won! It seems that if any good came from that last 8 years it would be the evidence that at least Bush has the ability to unite a nation to clean up after his failed experiments with democracy.
"It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America."
(if you can’t see the above, please go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otA7tjinFX4)
No matter who you voted for, it is an undeniable fact that we have made history, that we are living in incredible times (whether they frighten or joyously excite you). Out walking the day after the election, I looked up and saw something beautiful – the weather, the sky that day. All day here it was gloomy out. It didn’t actually rain and when I went outside the sky was gray, a thin layer of clouds covering the entire sky … but there was the sun, still shining through. I thought that was such a beautiful, simple sign – dark times but the sun still shining through all the same.
" I congratulate {McCain} and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead."
(if you can’t see the above, please go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxuo91L5f9Q)
For the first time in a very long time, I can openly and honestly say, I'm damn proud to be an American and my faith in the majority of our people is restored. We're no longer giving in to fear and have proven we can stand up against “the man”. It's a good time to be alive now. Cheers to Obama and Biden … high-five to all the people that made it possible and to the ones who may have voted for someone else, but are still embracing the possibilities of the outcome of the 2008 election.
His speech was wonderful and moving ... keep watching the bits I have in this entry. When Obama mentioned McCain in his speech (it's in the bit above, actually), the crowd still cheered. And, yes, they lost, but when McCain mentioned Obama in his speech before that there were sections of the crowd that boo'ed. I thought that was awful.
"This victory alone is not the change we seek, it is only the chance for us to make that change."
(if you can’t see the above, please go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHCRqX6-zXw)
I hope my friends in the military will no longer by subject to fighting illegitimate wars, but fighting for the good, for the betterment of all that we believe in and defending the honor the president soon ending his terms has tarnished. I have hope for all the hard working and middle-class people who will soon, if all goes well, no longer be screwed by an unfair tax system. I hope Obama can live up to his promises and am looking forward to a bright future ahead that he has in mind. I hope a breath of fresh air is what we need and does make a difference.
"that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can"
(if you can’t see the above, please go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9Th4eiZ_c8)
My old college friend, Phil put it beautifully- To everyone who voted with hate in their hearts...let me just say this: no, you couldn't.
To everyone who didn't vote against Obama but instead voted against "the black one," no. You couldn't.
To everyone who spread lies about our new president, and about his family, and to everyone who believed that this was the honorable way to compete for leadership of our nation and the world...no, you couldn't.
To everyone who spent eight years gloating over the disenfranchisement of the youth vote...no, you couldn't.
To everyone who voted in hypocrisy, decrying Obama as inexperienced but perfectly happy to have an incompetent hockey mom as next in line to lead...no, you couldn't.
To everyone who turned the presidential campaign of a war hero into a disgusting spiral of venom and accusations...no, you couldn't.
To everyone who exhausted every resource, be it physical, verbal, digital, to keep young people and minorities home on election day...no, you couldn't.
To everyone who felt that our biggest obligation on Election Day was to maintain the status quo...no, you couldn't.
But to everyone who voted for McCain because they sincerely felt he was the better man for the job: welcome aboard. Yesterday we all had different presidents in mind. Today we only have one. We can do this together. And you won't be disappointed.
"Yes We Can Obama Song by will.i.am"
if you can't see the above, please go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fZHou18Cdk
Gender: Female Age: Adult Location: Kanab, Utah All purrs and cuddles! You'd never know the pain that Kira has endured. Kira was born in a crowded animal shelter. Her eye infections and respiratory problems never got treated - and they hurt something awful. She must have thought pain was just a part of life.
Once, she got adopted, but her infections had let to worse and worse problems, and her new family just couldn't treat her. That's why she's at Best Friends.
Today, Kira is on soothing eye drops, and of course, the most important - "love therapy". She has ulcers on her eyes from all the infections of the past. But she's feeling a lot better. She is one of the friendliest cats. She always has a cuddle and purr for you when you visit. Would anyone like to take her home? She has special needs, but she still hopes.
Look at that adorable face! I tell you, if I lived near Kanab, UT, I'd be spending my time with this girl as much as I could.
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