Okay, I'm not a cat person! But I tried!!!

Today I received a call from a social worker who is involved in elderly protective services.  An elderly gentleman was admitted to a nursing home and there were cats left behind in his home.  The social worker had put out food and water when she had gone to the home to help the man get to the hospital.  Now nearly a week later and no family member has shown up to help with the man or cats!  So I was asked to come get the cats and take them to a local shelter.  Have you ever tried catching a mad, hissing, howling cat?  The sheriff's office had dispatched an officer to help, but even with his nice long reach we could not catch the critters.  We chased, herded, and prodded the poor cats, but nothing helped.  We could not get them into the carriers.  They climbed the wall, the blinds, the shelves, and anything else that would get them out of our reach. 

Rather than continue to stress to poor scared cats, we decided to remove all the food and return in a day or two with a live trap.  Perhaps if they are hungry enough they will enter the trap and we can get them out of the house with far less stress.  Unfortunately we only saw two of the four that were suppose to be in the house.  A third cat was found dead in the living room. The fourth one is missing in action.  I hope we don't find another dead cat when we return.  There is so much stuff in the house that a cat could hide and we would never find it.

There are three or four more cats that live outside in the shed.  We will also trap those once the inside cats are safe. 

I guess I need to get trained on how to use a catch pole. I have always thought it is so stressful for the animal.  However, chasing these cats around the house was far more stressful than a quick catch and placement in a safe crate.

The main reason for this post is to make everyone aware of the need for elderly people to make arrangements for their pets.  If you have elderly parents, talk to them about the pets in the home.  Make decisions now about what needs to happen to the dog or cat.  Do not leave it up the strangers to come and take your pets away.

Honey the Hero

Earlier this week I had an opportunity to visit with a gentleman who adopted one of our dogs several months ago.   Honey has a wonderful home with Brian and his son. From time to time I would bump into Brian and he was always eager to tell me about Honey's latest adventure.  However, this time, there was a different story.   Honey is now his hero!!  He told his vet about the incident and the vet suggested Brian write a short story about the event and he would forward it on to a few magazines for publication.  Below is the story Brian submitted.

How that phrase of mans best friend is so so true. Let me start of how Honey and I met. Last November while my girlfriend Cindy was visiting from  Florida  we had to make a stop at Petco. usually every weekend is adoption day as was this particular Saturday. There out side was Honey . Now, let me begin that i already have 4 dogs and 4 cats and the last thing i needed was another furry friend. My Vet  Dr. Tony Lobue helps me out quite abit with the abundance of pets and must of that i lost my mind when i was telling him i was thinking of adopting another one , but back to Honey . Honey looks like honey  and with these amazing eyes, ( yes eye's are my weakness Cindy... lol ). I went home and thought about Honey all weekend and decided i wanted to see her again. Now locating her was some problem, she wasn't there with the local animal shelter , Petco  didn't know who she was with and after about 4 days i found the agency that brought her there,  Swampy Paws by Ms Vicki. I went and saw honey again and i already felt the magic again, this was my girl, I decided that i would take her home for the weekend and see how she does with the other 4. She stayed forever . Honey has had and ear infection , a pad infection on her paw, and a skin issue , (a high maintenance girl haha) but never stops wagging that whip which we call a tail. This sweet girl is so happy and she is a blessing to my life .
  Now lets get to the hero part. On Sunday Oct 2nd , my son was home for the weekend and went to bed  with Rusty and Max, so the the other 3 came in and  were going to stay in my room. I was behind in my chores and i decided to do a load of towels. Now i have never ran an appliance when i was going to bed or if i was leaving the house but  i was behind on my household responsibilities and decided to a load of towels. I went to bed and was watching some TV with Ginger , Tucker and of course Honey in the room. the bedroom door was closed. All of a sudden , Honey gets up and starts pacing my room back and forth with her nose straight up in the air . I knew something was wrong as this was not normal behavior at bed time  and she looked like a pointer but with her nose in a vertical position. I opened the door and walked 5 feet and i smelled something burning . I walked to the laundry room  the other side of the house and knew it was the washer , unplugged it and called the fire dept. they came and reported that the washer wasn't throwing off any more heat. What had happened was the transmission locked up  and was burning up. Without Honey's warning, it certainly could have caused an electrical fire and i don't what to think about what could have occurred .
     So, there is  always a reason  why we meet who we meet and  if i  never adopted her  and  listened to my brain saying you have 4 dogs and 4 cats  i may not be typing this , instead  I listened to my heart ! My sweet sweet Honey.........    yours truly , Brian Vecellio    p. s.  yes Honey got a porterhouse steak

Wow!  This makes me so proud of Honey!  She did her job as defender/protector/companion .  Well done Honey!!!

 

Update on dog seized - now known as "Buster" and Adoption Events

I've been checking in "Buster" a couple of times a week. He is gaining weight and doing great. I am trying not to get too emotionally involved because we have 8 more days to go before the owner can come forward and ask the court for the dog.  I don't think that will happen and given the officer's statements, I think he will also try to make sure this man never gets the dog back.  This is just the sweetest dog so I am hopeful we will have a chance to continue his rehab here.  Once he has reached a healthy weight he will go up for adoption.  So heads up everybody. 
Buster is going to need a home in a month or two.

Our event at Cabela's was very successful.  Three dogs found homes!  I was especially happy for Lucky.  He had been here for several months and needed a family of his own.  We also had just received a Bloodhound named Aubry.  He found a home as well.  Then there is Mr. Beagle.  Just a few weeks earlier, Mr. Beagle found a family, but the owner's other dog just would not accept him.  So he was returned to us.  Fortunately, Mr. Beagle now has a home where he will be the only dog.  I have talked to the family this week and they are absolutely in love with him.  He is king of the couch and enjoys the nice big king sized bed!

We did not go to Petco this evening.  We had a 90th birthday party to attend this afternoon.  It really takes a couple of hours to get the dogs ready and load up all the stuff we need.   We just couldn't manage both.  We will be back next week. 

Sunday afternoon I will pick up a dog that has been in a foster home.  Her name is Play.  She is a healer mix, housebroken, and very sweet.  Play got her name because she loves to play.  We hope to find her a home with an active family.  She is crate trained and does well on a leash.

The additional fencing was completed today.  Now with the security flood light and the extra fencing I don't think we will have any problems with my neighbor.  It will also make my life easier.  

I will take more pictures this week and get them posted.  The dogs are really enjoying the cool weather.  They are so frisky in the mornings.  I need to video them running and playing king of the mountain on their dirt pile.  We finished closing in the screen porch with plastic sheeting.  Now that night time temperatures are below 40, the dogs are brought into the porch at night and the heater keeps them warm.  We put lots of fleece bedding in the wire crates and use old blankets to cover the crates as well.  The large dogs with double coats are kept outside where their dog houses have a nice layer of fresh hay for bedding.

Keep passing the word about our dogs. I really need to reduce our numbers before winter.  If temperatures drop below freezing, ALL the dogs have to come onto the porch.  I am running out of space and crates!!!