Caturday: Valentine

I'm not sure there's a more appropriate kitty to post this Saturday than the cat all over the news ... and the cat that's part of Joa's Arc (the awesome group I volunteer for): Valentine!

Valentine is recovering well and getting lots of well wishes sent her way too. Thank you to the media and all those who cared enough to get the message out about her. Hopefully with the newly increased reward (now at $1,000 from the NJSPCA) and all the attention she's gotten, we'll finally have some justice for the awful act done to her.


Popular perhaps? Check out some of these articles and media clips on Valentine from just this week:
- KYW: Reward Offered for Villain Who Shot Cat With Blow Dart in NJ
- My Fox Philly: 'Valentine' Hit By Dart, Reward Offered
- Gloucester County Times: Authorities probe case of cat found in Gloucester County with dart stuck in eye
- 6 ABC Action News: Suspect sought after cat shot in the eye
- NBC Philadelphia: Cat Shot In Eye With Dart
- Examiner.Com: Valentine, a cat shot in the head with a dart
- People Magazine's Pet Page: Cat Shot with Dart 'Has a Will to Live'
- Love Meow: Cat Shot with a Dart Recovering
- Examiner.Com: NJSPCA increases reward to $1000 for info on Valentine, cat shot through eye with blow dart

Again thank you, thank you, thank you!

Farm-life Fridays: Horse Killer

Ugh, for the life of me, I do not understand some people ... Valentine and the violence done to her is an excellent example. This story is also of a person who is just plain terrible.

Although you might think I'm misplacing this post about Marion Hulick, who's French bulldog recently made history at the Westminster Dog show, becoming the first of his breed to score top honors in the "Non-Sporting" Group - rest assured, I'm not. This woman's "positive" dog news pales in comparison to her awful, awful farm story - that of murder for money!

Hulick served six months in federal prison for her role in the murder of Charisma, a show horse, on Dec. 15, 1990. Witnesses at Hulick's trial for this awful crime said she met with the killer, offering him a $35,000 cut (for killing Charisma) of the $250,000 insurance money. This is gross, sorry, but I want to be as honest here as possible to convey exactly why I think this woman's actions are unforgivable - no matter how long ago it was. The horse's killer, after being led to the stall by Hulick one witness recalled, then attached a metal clip to the horse's ear and another to his hindquarters and plugged a wire from them to an outlet, electrocuting the poor horse.

20 years ago or two days ago, brainstorming this idea, condoning it, organizing it and, most importantly, being present for it is absolutely unacceptable and something you can never, ever make better or expect to be forgiven for, I feel. Not to mention, how can you treat one animal that way and yet claim to care for another? That is not some stupid mistake of "youth" - that's just awful, cruel and sickening!

Not to mention, with the way I love my "ponies", I can't imagine being able to do anything like that. I find a cut on the horses, I get concerned. They nip at each other, I get worked up. It gets a little cold and I'm sure my parents need to put their blankets on. You get the idea! They're huge, that's for sure, and they don't share my home or bed, but they're in my heart and there's the undeniable fact that horses, just like all other pets/animals, are dependent upon us for their care.


I can't believe you got a standing ovation Monday night, Marion Hulick, you scumbucket! You should have had horse manure thrown at you!!!

More info in these articles...
- Horse Killers Are Welcome at Westminster
- Terrible Person of the Day: Horse Killer and Canine Eugenicist, Marion Hulick

Dogs On Thursday - Good people!

Did you read this post: Stalked?! True story! Awful, uncomfortable, terrifying experience! I wrote in the post towards the bottom, "I'm hoping to borrow or foster a big & barky or scarey looking, but nice dog that doesn't chase cats for the next few days." Well, after posting different versions of my awful experience (short, long, detailed or the quick version) on different social networks, a girl that graduated from high school with my older cousin wrote me and said her dog sounded perfect! How sweet! She even sent me pictures as if just saying he was big wasn't good enough ... and my is this dog really big! He's apparently half Bernese Mountain Dog and half St. Bernard.

When I say this guy is big, I mean he's a really big dog - that mix alone sounds pretty awesome to me and would definitely scare off any creepy guys, I think. What do you think? Here's a picture of the gorgeous dog this wonderful girl spoke of ... and he's pictured next to a man (though I cut him out for his own privacy, of course). Do you see what I mean when I say this dog is huge?! Ok, granted, he's standing on a snow bank, but still. When scared of the creepy plow guy, I just wanted a barky dog to stay in the house with me while I finished up cat sitting ... but a dog big enough to literally eat a man would've work too! Not to mention, what a throw off from the picture of the adorable, rolly poley puppy dog she had pictured on her profile. He was the cutest puppy and he is one handsome big guy now!

Thankfully I didn't need to borrow this big guy. I ended up staying with a friend for the last few days or at home and just visiting the cats a couple times a day to feed them and spend some time with them ... during the day and after a friend's boyfriend dropped off a very "manly" looking jeep in the driveway to make it look like I had company. Although there was one creepy guy, I am so excited about the exceptionally nice people that came forward too - like this wonderful girl who sent me photos of her dog and the former volunteer offering her boyfriend's jeep to leave in the driveway. There are so many things to be thankful for!

Working On it Wednesdays

Hmm, well, I've been a bad girl and skipped a week. Oh well, things were overwhelming.

This week I'm going to stay positive. I'm going to clean my room because I think that'll put me in a better mood. I'm going to embrace the compliments that come my way. I'm going to take some more photos and write a bit so I feel more productive too. That's definitely positive!

I'm going to stay as positive as possible ... which should definitely be a challenge with more snow on its way (cabin fever setting in), friends coming to visit (my mom being more laid back with my dad because there's company) and my sister coming home as well for a bit ... that's a lot to try to stay positive through. Oh well, at least the other half of the week will be in FL where it should be easy enough to stay positive.

~*~

An update from the last Working On it Wednesday? I've got it! Here are some photos I've taken since the February 10th post...

Not So Little Bessie

Recall this post about little miss Bessie, my Gram's new kitty, last year? Well, she's not so little anymore!


She's big, beautiful ... and quite furious when it comes to furniture :)

Caturday: Annie Bonny

Don't be disturbed by his distinguishing facial features, this kitty is just extra special. Special needs and all, I think Annie Bonny is absolutely adorable. She's a real survivor and deserves a person (or family) to call her own. She's available for adoption through North Shore Animal League and you can find more info on her here...

Adoption #: D46312
Gender: Female
Age: Adult

Anne Bonny is a sweet little kitty who has a special trait. Anne Bonny has cleft palate which is a lip condition she was born with. Kittens rarely survive cleft palate because they are unable to suckle properly, so it makes Anne Bonny a very special cat. She is a survivor. Other than a diet of soft food, Anne Bonny is like any other cat. She loves to cuddle and get a good head-scratch. She is extremely friendly and has a bubbly personality as big and beautiful as her gorgeous eyes. Anne Bonny would love to be a cherished member of your family. Won’t you come down to the Animal League today and pay her a little visit? She’s patiently waiting for you.

If you are interested in adopting Annie Bonny, contact christinat@animalleague.org

Wishing you luck and love this Caturday, Annie Bonny. Hopefully you find your purrrfect home soon!

Can you fire aunts???

I'm thinking I'm going to have to fire my aunt. Can you do that? Can you fire aunts? Seriously. "Ahahaha. Call me when you're awake. I have a cat story for you," she wrote in a text to me this morning ... and I'd been up since before 7 AM, by the way, when she sent that at like 9:30!

When I call her back, it's not a funny cat story though. No, no, no , no, no. Of course not! No, it's, "Oh, we heard Lizzie (my aunts' MALE feral Maine Coon mix) coming through the woods this morning to eat and we were shining our flash lights around in the dark as he approaches from the woods. We spotted Lizzie's eyes and then we saw Joanie (another feral - the sweetest weirdest feral you'll meet) ... and then the flash light goes across more eyes." Um, what?!! "Kittens. Kittens!" she says to me all excited.

Shoot me.

First off, I had this lick your face, chew on your hair, bit your toes through your blanket if you dared to shift your legs while sleeping, hide in the Christmas tree and attack you brat for months this past Fall/Winter until she was finally adopted. And when she was, I was sure my aunt was going to hate my forever for not keeping her ... because, you know, I need a 9th cat and that love hog of a kitten wouldn't have been happier in a home where she got all the attention on her instead of her and 8 others. (<--- that's sarcastic by the way. She loves her new home where it's just her and one other cat who's more independent, so Olive, now Olivia, gets to hog all the attention she wants from their mom).

Also, this will be kitten number 2 and 3 that my aunt has had just stroll into her backyard in the last 6 months. I do not like those odds ... and it's not even kitten season yet! Ugh. No more kittens, please!! I don't care how pretty or nice they are. My mom is going to kill me if I bring these two home. If they're as nice as my aunt says they are, I'm seeing if someone else can foster them or something. My big cage is already occupied "re-socializing" one of my own cats. Even if I had another cage, I'm heading off to Florida soon to visit friends and I'm not leaving my mom more work to do/animals to care for. No way!

And my aunt tells me they just strolled right up to her and started head butting her hand. Great! So they're definitely social and not ones we can just catch and fix and leave in my aunts' yard for them to continue to feed & care for. No, no. They're sweeties, my aunt tells me, sweeties shouldn't stay outside!


Not to mention, who leaves babies out in the cold?! Stupid neighbors who probably let these little munchkins out this AM to wander over to my aunts' (my guess since I haven't seen them outside yet while I've been here). Silly aunt for not snatching them up this morning and calling me. In case you don't recall, we have a ridiculous amount of snow right now and more coming! My aunt is lucky I love her, otherwise I'd consider spitting on her too like I want to do to the dang neighbors of her's who keep letting their cats out UNFIXED to reproduce and sneak into my aunts' yard for all of us to spot and then start worrying about. Ugh

Dogs On Thursday - Thank You

What an absolutely tragedy: Killing of shelter animals in Houston raises uproar ~ "Houston police shot and killed all eight remaining cats and dogs lodged at the city's Animal Protection and Safety shelter on Tuesday"...

No this isn't very "new" and it's not strictly about dogs, but I had to find a place to post it somewhere. Absolutely awful that this happened, let a lone in such a brutal manner. I also had to find the place to agree with another fellow blogger in what she had to say as well: "It's not so easy to actually stand up and do that thing. In this economy. In a small town. In a remote state. But this person did it. Whoever you are, I say thank you."

Photos

I've been taking photos recently and plan on selling some when my mom opens her farm stand.


My aunt said this one takes the cake so far. Hooray!

Like it??? I'll be selling framed prints :)

Caturday: Lucy

There's something about Lucy's photo that I just loved. Maybe it's those big, beautiful eyes. Lucy is available for adoption through North Shore Animal League. Here's the info on her...


Adoption #: R92274
Gender: Female
Age: Adult

Lucy is a sweet older cat who loves to just cuddle. She looks for people to make friends with and would love to be in a nice quiet home where she could curl up on the couch with someone. Her pretty face and mesmerizing eyes call out for the perfect home. So if you want a kitty with personality plus lots of love to give, come to the Animal League and adopt Lucy today.

If you are interested in adopting Lucy, contact ChristinaT@AnimalLeague.org

I hope you find love this Valentine's Day, Lucy, and a forever home very soon too.

Farm-life Fridays: Devil

Who can't be fascinated with a beautiful horse named Devil?! Too neat for me to pass by, so I checked out his information and wanted to post him for my Farm-life Friday blog post. Devil is located in NY with Pets Alive.

Devil's Petfinder profile reads as:

Breed: Thoroughbred
Size: Large
Age: Adult

Devil is a young 6-8 year old Thoroughbred off the track. He broke his front sesmoid bone and was retired to us and we see NO sign of injury or discomfort.

He is fully healed. We have not tried to ride Devil, but may start soon. We see no problems at all with his leg or past injuries and other than jumping which you should never do with a horse that has broken this bone, he seems like he would be fine for riding.

Devil is EXTREMELY bright. He is bored to death at the sanctuary and would love a home. He is affectionate, very easily trained and a generally all around good horse. He stands well for the farrier and for any handling.

Stalked?!

I am house sitting and with the snow over the weekend, I had to shovel. I went out repeatedly to make paths to the bird feeders, to the feral set up out back and to the garage where my car was safe inside. I ended up shoveling out most of the driveway myself ... I got maybe 2/3rds of it done when the snow finally stopped too. I came into the house, took off my snow stuff (wet boots, jacket, etc.) and had left the side door open with the glass door shut since the cats were watching the birds eat and I was more concerned about getting my wet stuff off.

Someone knocked at the door behind me. I answered and this guy said he was going around clearing driveways. Chit chatty (freakin IDIOT) me said thank you, but I couldn't pay him because I wasn't the home owner. He suggested I call the home owner and I said no, that it was no big deal because it was mostly done and I'd finish the rest tomorrow ... and with that, he figured out I was alone.

He was inquisitive then. Do you go to school? Where do you go? Hasn't school started? I was lying so he'd think I'd be gone soon ... yes, Stockton (away, but not too far), it was the weekend, etc. He ended up leaving after a few minutes of this. I'll be honest, I was scared. I joked when telling my friend that I was going to sleep with a knife and that I had thrown bird seed down in the snow by the door so if I ended up dead whoever killed me should have bird seed in his boots. I was joking, but I did throw bird seed down and I did grab the biggest knife in the kitchen (home owner loves to cook and has a nice selection) and tucked it under a magazine right next to the night stand where I was sleeping. I was going to jokingly post about all this too on here - haha! Silly girl sleeping with a knife for no reason. Maybe it's good I procrastinate sometimes because this post and the whole situation is no joking matter anymore...

Of course, it snows again, as most of you know, and he came back yesterday morning. The door was open again (habit), so I had to answer since he saw me. I'm in my pj's, he has a flyer for his snow clearing services, said he had been thinking about me (would do the driveway for dinner) and asked to come in. I said no, I didn't need help and that I had learned how to use the snow thrower in the garage. He handed me the flyer anyway and said he lived near by - what a coincidence (he said) and how great would it be to get snowed in together, I'd make him dinner (I said hell no) and we could hang out. "Is there a fireplace there?" He wanted to read poetry! Ugh! I said I was really busy and maybe I'd call him next week when he insisted that we hang out. He became insistent on getting my number then when I wouldn't budge from the "next week" thing. I said I don't give it out as a policy. He kept talking, saying he was trying to get me to change my mind. I said no, that I had his (the flyer) and I'd call him. He only left when I said, "The more you annoyingly insist, the less likely it is I'm going to fucking call at all."

As soon as he turned away, I shut and bolted the side door (the front door already was since I never use it, plus there is still like 4 feet covering the whole front yard up to it). After saying I was busy for the next week and that I'd call him, I think he came back in the afternoon. I honestly don't know because I barely heard the door and was passing out, so I didn't check it. HOWEVER, at about 11 o'clock at night, as I was getting ready to go to bed, there was a knock at the door. I stood in the hallway nervous to move. Aside from the hallway, the house is mostly all windows in half the house, the back half where he was knocking on the side door too. After a minute of so, I hustled to the other side of the house into the bedroom and put my stuff down (pillow and blankets I had with me on the sofa) and went back to stand in the hallway. Say 3 - 5 minutes had gone by since the knock, so I went to the door, pushed the curtain aside just a little and saw him just walking away - at 11 PM, he'd stood in the sleet and snow for like 5 minutes for a stranger who said they were busy and pretty much had dismissed him!! Who does that?!

I called the police after several friends said I should. My cell froze up and wouldn't work, the driveway is untouched (so he could tell I hadn't left and no one had come to join me) and when I told everything to the officer that showed up, the most comforting thing he could tell me was to risk the roads in a state of emergency and leave ... and he insisted on waiting until I got my things together and got in my car. I was so freaked out!!

Petrified does not begin to describe how I felt/still feel. Thankfully, my WONDERFUL friend Robin woke when I called her at midnight and said I could stay with her. She lives like 15 minutes down the road so I figured from where I'm house sitting that was my safest, closest drive. I'm staying with her again tonight and hoping to borrow a big dog (or foster one) for the next few days until my friends are home. I feel bad leaving their cats at night (especially with another storm coming?), but feel petrified staying here alone too.

FRIENDS/RESCUERS - I'm hoping to borrow or foster a big & barky or scarey looking, but nice dog that doesn't chase cats for the next few days (my friends are suppose to return by at least Monday) while I finish up house sitting. Can only have the dog for a few days while I'm here though since I'm pretty much going to FL myself for vacation when I'm done house sitting here. Know of any??? **I'm in Blackwood, NJ**

Dogs On Thursday - Top 10 Reasons A Dog Is The Best Valentine's Day Date + Peanut

This article was too cute not to share with the holiday coming up. One of my favorite ones from it? "2. If you worry your dog will destroy your lovely home four seconds after you step out the door, you can put him in a crate. The authorities frown upon this when it comes to dates." Hehehe. Hope you enjoy the rest too: Top ten reasons a dog makes the best Valentine's Day date

Have a good reason you want to share? Comment below! :)

~*~

Hello to Peanut! Peanut is a beautiful Lab/Shepherd mixed girl available for adoption through Pets Alive in New York state. I don't know what it is, but some Shepherd mixes just steal my heart. I guess I kinda just want to grab them, hug them and bury my face in their fluffy fur coats. I love that! It's also a habit I love to do with my Goldens. :)

Breed: Shepherd, Labrador Retriever [Mix]
Size: Large
Age: Young
Gender: Female

Peanut & Misty are sensitive & sweet Shepherd-Lab-Rottie mix sisters who never knew much about interacting with people when they arrived at Pets Alive. They were very fearful, but have quickly blossomed into loving & sweet dogs under the care of our dog staff. They think cats are for chasing so would do better in a home with no feline friends. Both will make wonderful companions!

Wishing you luck in finding a home and love forever, Peanut!

Working On it Wednesdays

I've been encouraged recently to take photos and try selling them - yay Jersey stuff, you know? :) It's been really nice getting compliments about my photos so far and my new amazing camera is a big help. It feels good!

This week, I'm going to continue to work on my photography (taking photos, getting rid of the bad ones and editing the ones I like to perfection lol) and maybe even frame some of my photos this week.

Here's a taste of the things I've been snapping with my camera...





~*~

Found my gratitude journal and added things to it like...
- Yummy smoothies with Ali
- My patience to keep shoveling
- The fact I got bird seed before all the snow started
- My sister getting her presents on time - and the fact she liked them.
- My luck finally finding and catching the paraplegic cat on the pig farm ... and the kind words I got about catching her

Caturday: Tilly

Tilly is a cat I found out about last Caturday and spent several days returning to a pig farm to look for her. I was giving up after my third visit, when I randomly went back and spotted her! I'm not sure I'll be able to forget her big eyes and then the moment she got up and took off, dragging her back end in an attempt to get away from me. She's a Joa's Arc kitty and I wrote Tilly her very own post there. Tilly is just another example of the amazing spirit and drive to survive that these special needs animals prove to us that they have. The things we can learn from them!

Enjoy the post and enjoy your Caturday! :)

Farm-life Fridays: Pong

It was just recently that my family lost almost all of our beloved ducks to some mysterious dog or dog-like animal. I thought it only appropriate that this week I post this adorable little lady, Pong. I wish Best Friends were closer for us to learn how to better protect our babies and maybe adopt this pretty girl to keep our lone boy company now.

Here's what Pong's page says about her:

Breed: Pekin Duck
Gender: Female
Age: Adult
A pair of snowy white Pekin ducks who very much want to meet you.

Pong came from California to a Utah rescue group, which then had to close down. All these changes have been startling for Pong. She is very sweet - also young and healthy. We think if you met Pong, you would love her. She would love a home to call hers forever.

Good luck, Pong, in finding a new home ... or at least enjoy the rest of your time in Utah :)

Dogs On Thursday - Layla

Snow. Snow. Snow. According to the groundhog, we're in for more snow!

The snow this winter has been anything from out of control to manageable, like the snow we had this weekend. It snowed, it looked pretty and, if it hadn't lightly snowed again the other night, it would all probably be gone by now. I like it like that. I like it to be pretty and then gone, not messy and gross and turn black from dirt or remain in giant ice piles in parking lots for weeks taking up spots. That's just no fun.

If I can make a request though, I'd like a decent amount of snow to go sledding. Not like the ridiculous amount of inches/feet that weekend in December where you can't leave and not the silly inch of fluff the other day. I'd like a handful of inches of packing snow to go sledding and to take some more cute pictures like this one of Sadie. I love Goldens in the snow! They're so adorable. I mean, all dogs are, of course (like Tali the Doberman in her sweaters) ... but there's something about Goldens.

And here's the cute pup I came across on Petfinder for this Dogs On Thursday post: Cute little Layla caught my eye as soon as I saw her while searching Petfinder. Look at that face! She's adorable, young, friendly and working on her crate training - sounds like a perfect pet.

Oddly enough, there's a Layla on the show I have on in the background right now too. Talk about coincidence!! Layla is being adopted out through Faith's Hope rescue out in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Read on for more information on Layla...

Breed: Pit Bull Terrier
Size: medium
Age: Baby
Gender: Female

This gorgeous puppy is Layla, a 3-month-old chocolate and white American Pit Bull Terrier that is sweet and friendly with every human she meets. Like most puppies, she need a home where the humans have the time and energy to devote to raising a young puppy. Formal obedience training is a requirement for adoption.

Layla is perfectly healthy, is crate trained and doing very well with the house training. She is currently being fostered in a home with an adult male pit bull and a kitty and is almost done with puppy kindergarten so she already knows a few obedience commands.

Working On it Wednesdays

Oh my goodness! I just realized how absolutely awful I've been with my gratitude journal. I've missed placed it and it seems it's been "out of sight, out of mind" until just now. We're actually into a new month and I can't believe how far behind I am in what is supposed to be a daily journal.

Along those lines, here is a thought for Working on it Wednesday and to keep in mind for week: Joy is found with simple awareness. What does your joy look like today?

~*~

Update On Last Week's Working On it Wednesday:

Mop
Clean the kitty litter
Write another scene
Straighten my hair
Buy bird seed

All done - and almost all done on Thursday. I'll be honest, it took me a bit longer to get the bird food which I got yesterday, so technically this was all done within a week. I even went out and bought a straightener when I couldn't find mine anywhere. I haven't used it in months. Chances are my sister might have taken it back to school or my mom misplaced it.

I need to start doing this every day though. It was really, really nice to accomplish these things I set out to do and to recognize the accomplishment. 5 small tasks like drink 2 glasses of water, write in my journal or remove the trash from my car. Simple tasks that can be accomplished quickly to give me a little high and a lot of motivation.

Ferals...

I'm sure from reading this, you know my experience with feral cats - that's how I've gotten several of my own house kitties (socialized feral kittens) and, of course, my barn and garage cats. Then there was the post I added here about my shock over the gang of feral chickens that took up living on my parents' farm. Well, over the weekend, I came in contact with ferals of a different sort ... feral goats!

I kid (no pun intended) you not - feral goats!

In search of a disabled kitty that my friend spotted over the weekend, we found ourselves at a pig farm talking to a nice older man who worked there. He told me that there was an older man who bought a bunch of goats about 20 years ago. This man passed away a few years ago and since then, the goats he still had have just been roaming around the area. I'm not sure how many there originally was, but the man said several had died from age and the cold. There are 5 now.

Now, it's not very common knowledge, but goats freak me out. Don't ask me why because I'm honestly not sure, but it's a fact - goats = creeeepy!!! Not to mention, these goats are like the size of dogs too. Oh my goodness!!

I've been to the property several times now and these goats always seem to be there, curled up together next to one of the pig buildings or running off together as soon as I get within 15 or 20 feet of them. They're more skittish than the feral cats on the property! It's so weird. I guess this is better than them approaching me. I might have a heart attack.