A weird day in rescue

 *a post from the mom

For anyone in rescue, you know it can be a total up and down adventure.

Friday was totally one of those days. The alarm went off and when I turned it off I discovered a text from another volunteer that the family that adopted Annatto who was here as a foster in August 2017. For new readers, he was surrendered to a local vet. When they tested him they discovered he was FIV+ and sent him to rescue. Of course Colony Cats believes FIV+ and negative cats can live together, so I took him to foster and introduced him to the spice kittens and when they were adopted, he met Goldfish.

Well his name is now Roe and his family adores him. 

So that's a pretty great way to start the morning. 

However, later that morning I got a text from the director of the rescue. I had done an adoption on Wednesday to a family of two cats - one went home and the other we kept back when we realized she had a big bump over her spay incision. She was seen by the vet the next day. Friday morning the volunteers came in and found she had passed away over night. She was 3 years old and super sweet. I had to call the family who was waiting for an update on when they could take her home only to have to tell them that she had died. (before you judge, I offered to contact them since I had met them all on Wednesday) Fortunately the family was very understanding and will be coming in next week to see if they meet another cat to adopt.

About her ear

**a post by the mom

As most of you know, Goldfish came here as a foster and failed to leave. In her case it was a behavioral thing as she was (and kind of still is) very skittish and it would have been a hard sell to find her a family when most people look for the super social cat to adopt.

She was spayed and ear tipped as a kitten as at that point we weren’t sure about her final destination. I hadn’t made the decision yet to keep her and if she needed to move to a barn she needed the ear tip.

Over the last year or so I have heard several people make negative comments about ear tipping, generally that is changes the way they appear. I try my best to explain why it is done. Many years ago it started as a universal signal that a feral or community cat has been spayed or neutered. The alternative before that was to take the cat back to vet, which would include transport, sedation and potential unnecessary surgery if a spay scar could not be found. With ear tipping, if you see a cat with it, all you have to do is open the trap and release them. It is easier on the cat and easier on the trapper.

One woman got a little snippy and I honestly told her that I view it as a badge of honor. The ear tipped cats living in homes or at our adoption center looking for homes survived the outdoors and proved to be friendly enough to be adoptable.

I also have Allie who is truly feral. I call her my garage panther. She is ear tipped and in fact has been caught and released at least twice since she was originally spayed.

I had one woman tell me that no cat should be tipped and be kept inside. I had to bite my tongue to keep from asking how big her house is if she plans to house all those feral cats.

I believe they deserve the best life they can have without the stress of fighting and breeding. Spay/neuter solves both of those problems. 

measure of character

**a post by the mom

The Friday that I left Best Friends, I stopped by the medical clinic (Hope House) in Cat World where a friend of mine now works (she volunteered with me, took her family back out and now she and her husband both live and work out there). She grabbed a chair and took me back to her desk. Another chair was back there with two cats curled up asleep - both evident from their appearance to be pretty old.

I sat down and the black cat heaved himself to his feet, walked between the arm and the back of the chair and on to my lap. From there he wiggled his way up to my shoulder and then made himself quite comfortable as I crossed my arms to give him a place to lay down. He rumbled a deep throaty purr and sighed. My friend and I chatted for about 40 minutes - he lay curled on my arms the entire time. She got called away to do something and another employee walked in and saw Darius lounging in my arms. She told me thank you for loving on their boy. I just nodded as I really hadn't thought anything about letting him climb up on me and snooze.

My friend and I continued to talk and she told me about Darius and his friend (whose name escapes me). Come to find out the sanctuary pulled them both from a kill shelter. They had been living in Hope House for about 3 months as the vet staff tried to give them some quality of life....Darius was about 16 years old and his friend a year younger. Darius wasn't doing any better and had begun to decline....the staff had made the decision to help him cross Rainbow Bridge - and in fact were going to do it that afternoon. I didn't know that when I sat down and honestly, it wouldn't have made any difference to me.

I had to get going, hugged my friend and put Darius back with his buddy - kissing his head and wishing him a safe and gentle journey over the Bridge. I got packed, got a shower and headed south on the freeway back to Las Vegas. As I glanced at the clock in the car, I realized Darius had left this world, and I admit I shed a few tears for him and the people who loved him at Hope House.

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

As I drove, I got to thinking about things. I have heard some version of the quote above several times. But what if a measure of character isn't just how people react in times of adversity but how they react when others are in need of comfort? What if a measure of character happens in those quiet between moments when nothing is expected of us but "being"?

Darius was old....he was so very thin....he had patches of missing fur....he had scabs on his ears.

I thought through the people I know. Would everyone have been willing to sit with him curled up in their arms? If I am completely honest, the answer is no. There are people I know that would have taken one look at him and made sure he didn't get any where near them. In my mind, I was just sitting there, why not let him snooze on me if that is what he wanted.

I'm not writing this for applause or self congratulations. But it made me give serious thought to the people I have in my life.

It isn't that hard to sit quietly and allow an animal some comfort in a warm lap. And yet not everyone would have been open to the experience. Now...some may have changed their minds when they found out the additional information about him, but I think that disregards the original premise - that comfort should not have requirements or restrictions. It should be freely given regardless of circumstance.

Sometimes we have people in our lives that give voice to their opinions about what WE should be doing with our OWN lives. The thing I want this to make you...and me...think about is how we let those outside voices affect our decisions. And maybe start to limit the effect those voices have on how WE choose to live our lives.

the cats of CalMar

**a post by the mom

Casa de CalMar was funded by a wonderful couple named Cal and Martha. They wanted to make sure that the Feline Leukemia cats at Best Friends had a home of their own and started the funding to make it happen.

Feline Leukemia can be a heartbreaker. It can be spread through common contact, so these cats cannot be housed with cats that test negative. For most cats, this is a death sentence. Fortunately, Best Friends is able to house some of these cats and give them the best life possible. Unfortunately, they can only be adopted by those with no other cats or other positive cats....and FeLV will shorten their lives.

When my niece and I went to Best Friends two years ago, I made it a point of making sure we volunteered in CalMar. I had been there before, and despite everything that most people think, these cats live wonderful lives. I wanted my niece to be exposed to that. We had long talks about FeLV and what that meant for the cats. And every cat we took on sleepovers that time and this past week were all from CalMar. When we got to Best Friends this trip, our first stop was Cats....I asked her where she wanted to go to volunteer and without any hesitation, she said CalMar.

Swanson (born 2012)

He is super sweet and is a lap is available, he is on it. 

Unless Pearlene is around....then he is gone. 

Pearlene (born 2014)

She is the queen of the room - and the smallest cat in it.

But if there is an available lap, she would much rather snuggle.

Fanta (born 2015)

She was great on the sleep over and so playful.

Bo (Barney's brother) (born 2011)

He isn't as brave as his brother, but if you sit down, 

he will haul his very large self all over you.

On our last trip, we did two sleep overs with Harper (here) and one with Foley. About 4 days after we got home from our last trip, my friend who works there called to let me know that Harper had crossed Rainbow Bridge. Telling my niece was one of the hardest things I have done. When we got to CalMar this trip, we learned that in the year following our trip in 2014, Harper's sister Bronte crossed, Foley crossed, and the four kittens (Hewy, Dewy, Louie and Murray) that came in to CalMar on our last day there all crossed as well. FeLV is a heart breaking disease....and yet my niece embraced loving these cats with no hesitation.

All animals that cross at Best Friends at buried at Angel's Rest or Angel's Crossing. I knew on this trip that I wanted to make a stop to find Harper's marker. On Sunday, we checked in as volunteers and got my parents off on the tour. And to my surprise, the kid point blank asked me if we could find out where Harper was buried and visit the spot. I had never once mentioned to her that I was going to do that very thing - this was completely her idea. We spoke to an employee, got the information and a map and set off. To keep things from getting too serious, the map wasn't overly helpful and we ended up wandering aimlessly trying to figure out the system.

We finally found the right spot. Each site has a stone and a nameplate. Someone (I'm not sure if it is staff or a volunteer) has been making stones with their names. And the colored stones are left by those who visit as a remembrance that these lives will not be forgotten.

As you look around Angel's Rest and Angel's Crossing, there are windchimes every where. It is said that as an animal crosses, the chimes ring to announce it. I've heard stories of days when it is completely calm with no wind and as an animal is remembered, chimes will start to ring. That happened for me on that Sunday. There was no breeze as all, but as my niece and I stood and took a picture, the chimes started to softly ring.

Dog Bite Prevention Week

*a post by the mom

A few weeks ago a post was made on Facebook by a mother whose child had been bitten by a dog that went to work with it's owner. I don't know enough to make any judgments about the incident, but it did get several bloggers talking about dog bites and safety issues. Four bloggers have joined together to write separate posts about it this week. It does seem appropriate since this is Dog Bite Prevention Week.

I’m lucky that the rescue that I currently volunteer for is no-kill. In fact, our rescue pulls dogs from the kill list at our local county dog shelter. I also still work with dogs doing transports. That being said, I am not a trainer and I am not an expert. But I do have experience and that perspective is where this post starts.

bloodhound on the way from a high kill shelter 

to a foster home through breed rescue

Prior to this rescue, I volunteered for the local humane society. I didn’t work with the adoptable dogs on the floor unless it was to go out in public to an adoption event or special event (which I did a lot). At the shelter itself, I worked with the dogs in the back of the building. These could be dogs that just came in to the shelter, they could be dogs with issues or they could be dogs that were part of humane cases based on abuse, neglect or dog fighting.

What I don’t think a lot of people realize about certain organizations is that they mostly have a “one strike” policy for dogs and aggression. If these groups even suspect a dog is even a little aggressive, they won’t be deemed adoptable and will more than likely be put down. What this means for dogs that are “adoptable” and taken to events is that they MUST be on their best behavior. One misstep and their lives can be forfeit.

When I take a dog out from our rescue to an event, my first priority is ALWAYS going to be the safety of the dog. And knowing this, the public is by extension safer. This means keeping an eye on body language but also keeping a close eye on the public and making sure there are safe interactions. Keeping my dog safe keeps everyone safe.

I have had to ask more than one person to not touch a dog that we have had out because of something that I have seen from the dog while out in public (and yes, I reported that back to the shelter to make sure the behavior was noted and no one was caught off guard in the future).

Yes, asking people not to pet a dog at an event can be irritating for all involved. However, it is to protect the public from a possible bite. It is also to protect that dog from the consequences of what could happen if a bite occurs. I have taken dogs out of events if they act frighten or overwhelmed. Again – my priority is the safety and well being of the dog. That is my job as a volunteer. And honestly, the behavior of a dog at a public event is not an indicator of how the dog will do in a home. Most of these events had several rescue groups, with LOTS of people and LOTS of dogs.

That being said, as a member of the public at any event, please keep some things in mind:
1. Don’t approach a dog without making yourself known first. I don’t care if it is your friend’s dog or a dog with a rescue. Startling any animal puts everyone at risk.
2. Ask the handler if you can approach and pet the dog.
3. If the handler says no, PLEASE respect that. It is for your safety and the well being of the dog. I’ve had more than one person respond with “I have a dog” or “I work with dogs”. That’s great. But not with THIS dog. All animals are individuals and deserve to be respected and treated as such.

All this being said, please don't ever think that a dog that acts nervous in public or at an event is less than adoptable. I will be the first to admit that crowds make me nervous as well.

Additional reading: Safety First by Debby McMullen

This post is part of a collaboration between bloggers. Please check out the following blogs for additional posts this week:
Monday - Fidose of Reality; Wednesday - Mr N the Terrier; Thursday - Miss Molly Says; Friday - Savannah's Paw Tracks