It's A Tough Job

It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it. The job being to keep the cats in this residence in order. They have a tendency to run around very aimlessly and in a non-conformist way. I don't like that, hence my job is very challenging and oh too many times incredibly super exhausting. Especially when this one redhead is involved.

The job being the cat-herder extraordinaire in this household comes with perks too. Although I'm slightly worried, does my tummy look big like this?

Beach Party!

Saturday was CASPCA's Midnight Madness Adoptathon. It was a beach party theme and ran from noon to midnight. I took Jeep in on my way to work in the morning, as well as the three pups I was fostering. The pups all got neutered that day. I went back after work to spend time there with Jeep and to check on my pups.

Jeep (Jeeves is his CASPCA name), didn't have a great time at the beach party. He's terribly shy and isn't really a party animal. Apparently he spent most of the day in his run with his back turned towards everyone -- not a great way to be adopted. Of course, Jeep thinks he has a home already and isn't interested in being adopted. He was glad to see me and we spent a couple more hours hanging around the lobby. In a situation like that he is very clingy with me. He sticks close, tries to wrap himself around my legs, gives me lots of kisses, and does what he can to make sure I take him home, which of course I did.

One of the pups came back home with me for another week because they want his skin condition to clear up a bit more prior to adoption. Another pup got adopted almost as soon as he hit the adoption suite. The third one will probably go today.

The one who got adopted went to a very nice young couple. They were nervous but excited to have him. I'm glad I got to meet them and to see him off.


















I hated bringing home just the one pup to be by himself, so I brought home three more to keep him company. They had just come in and are on a stray hold. All four pups will go back next Thursday. I don't know the final count, but it appeared that more than a dozen dogs got adopted at the event, so I'd say it was a big success. These events are a lot of work for everyone involved, both staff and volunteers, so thank you to everyone who made it happen.

And baby makes four

We have recently had a number of calls about people who are wanting to bring us the dog or cat they own because they are pregnant or just had a baby so I thought I would post up my personal story in hopes of helping others.

2-1/2 years ago my son Sam was born. At the time our home already included Parker, our Border Collie. I know that the books tell you to “prepare the dog or cat” with sounds of baby cries, baby-like dolls and articles of clothing and blankets from the hospital. We were concerned about how Parker would interact with the baby, especially when Sam began to grab at things. So, before Sam was born, I decided to take Parker through basic obedience class so that I knew he would listen to me if I needed him to do something like “drop it,” “go lay down” or “move away from the baby.” The only other thing we did was bring home a blanket from the hospital – but honestly, the dog couldn’t care less and it really didn’t make much of a difference.

Once the baby came home, we made sure Parker smelled him, and we would pet Parker, interacting with him in a very positive way when the baby was around. I wanted to make sure Parker had a positive association with the baby. We had no problems with managing the two, but I will prepare all those pregnant mothers out there – the dog will lack attention sometimes because you are so tired and fatigued, but this is only temporary. Do not make any re-homing moves because you feel the pet isn’t receiving enough attention in the early months. I promise this is short lived. We would put Parker outside to go to the bathroom and many a night forgot him and went up to bed only to have to get up in a moment of panic because we remembered he was still outside. I can’t count the number of times I said, “Where is Parker? Is he inside or out?”

When Sam hit 11 months old he became very mobile, and we used baby gates to keep Parker and Sam separated unless we are able to monitor the interactions. Sam quickly learned not to hit or grab Parker because we stopped him when he tried. Parker grew to love licking Sam’s face to hear him giggle, which is the best sound in the world. One of Sam’s first words was DAW (dog), which I might add was before Mama, and the two are living very happily together now that he is 2 ½. Sam feeds Parker, gives him treats and has told him, NO many a time when he is trying to take food from his hand. We are still very careful to monitor them when they are together, especially when Parker is eating food or a treat. And now there are times when I separate Parker from Sam because I can see Parker getting tired of Sam trying to “chase” him. It wasn’t always easy but honestly, my dog is another child to me and I would never want to raise Sam without a pet in the household.

Life Lessons

Walking dogs at the SPCA teaches me valuable life lessons. Last Saturday, I was walking dogs in "healthy hold" and came across Jacob, a 10 month old Boxer mix. The first person to walk him wrote that he was so scared, they'd had to carry him out. I coaxed him out on his own and once he took care of business, I pet him. Though he was shaking with fear, he licked my face. This dog faced his fear and took a risk with me. It made me wonder why I don't take more risks when I'm in an uncomfortable situation (walking into a party where I don't know people or speaking in front of a group). So that's my life lesson for this week. Do other volunteers have life lessons to share?

Foster dog swap

I had an email from CASPCA yesterday offering a 3 for 1 swap. They would take back Julie if I take in three pups with scabies. It doesn't sound like such a good deal, but of course I took it. Julie only has demodex at this point. She isn't contagious and doesn't really need to be here. Back at the shelter she will get more human interaction and she will get to be known by the staff. She's very sweet and I expect that she will be adopted quickly when the demodex is cleared up. Still, I hated to take her back. She wasn't particularly scared, but I felt bad leaving her when she still didn't have a home and wasn't yet ready for adoption.

The three pups I took in have scabies, which is the potentially contagious form of mange-- contagious to both dogs and humans. However, they've already had the Revolution, which will kill the mites rather quickly (I hope), and they can go back on February 21st, making them pretty short termers. Also, they can go in a separate kennel and they don't have to be rotated in and out of the dog yard. With Julie gone, the remaining pack of fosters she was with is down to four, which will make them easier to move from the kennel to the yard, to the pasture, etc. And then there is the whole adorable puppy factor: