Wordless Wednesday- Frankie

Shelter cat Frankie looks out the window, hoping for a home.

Love Me Because..

Today was a good day in animal rescue ~ it was one of those heart-warming, tear jerking days, the ones that get us through the sad times and the hard times.

This was one of those days that you volunteer in animal rescue for.

The Love Me Because event is an adoption event to help those animals with special needs find their homes. We implore people not to love them despite their problems, but rather because of their problems. We want them to be loved because they are overweight, have medical issues, are older, are not cuddly, have behavior issues because no one taught them better ~ and sometimes, simply because they are overlooked, for no apparent reason.

Today so many of these animals were adopted out, including many long time residents from the shelter I volunteer for.

Tibby is an adorable calico ~ she is very sweet, despite her constant frowny grumpy face. She has been in our shelter for at least 10 months. Today she found her permanent home, one with kids to love her. They looked beyond her grumpy face to the sweet cat within.

Willa Nelson is a gorgeous orange tabby~ she came into the shelter so full of worms they had infiltrated her bloodstream. We treated the worms, yet the neglect she had suffered prior to us had taken its toll, causing poor Willa to slightly drag her back legs. Today, she found a family that loved her, walking impairments and all.

Some of our long timers were not so lucky ~ poor Quicksilver is still looking for his home. I can't believe this handsome devil is still without a permanent, loving family to call his own. He is a fighter and a survivor, having come to our shelter on death's door, starving and flea ridden. He is a well fed, healthy boy now, and continues to wait for the right family. He is a cool guy who even has his own Facebook page, Quickster McChubbs!

Even though Quicksilver still waits, so many others found their homes - a pair of senior sister tortoiseshells were adopted by two senior sisters, a shy black cat named Ranger was adopted to a quiet home where he will flourish, a beagle recovering from ear surgery went to a great home as well. For all of us volunteers, today was a great day, to see those we worried about and loved find their happily ever afters.

You can view more pictures of the event at the Wyandotte Patch.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Playful Pup

Pound puppy, playing at my feet.

Feline Forum Part I

I just spent the best weekend in Chicago at a conference devoted to all aspects of cat welfare, with 600 other cat advocates from places as far away as Hawaii and Alaska. (or advocats as the ASPCA called it) This sounds like maybe it could have been a little frightening, especially if we all focus on the crazy cat lady stereotype, who do exist, but are not usually the people who are working in rescue. We are crazy, just in a more overzealous, passionate kind of way.

The opening ceremony was emotional, as we all thought it would be. The speakers all had stories to share, with great imagery, such as the family cat being the go-between during the night, uniting a family in sleep with a touch to the nose with its nose. Another woman spoke of a Persian cat, Mrs. Beasly. Mrs. Beasly was the cat for her, the one that woke her up to animal rescue. She met Mrs. Beasly as a child, and Mrs. Beasly was a gorgeous spoiled Persian, who belonged to a friend. Mrs. Beasly had it good- for awhile. Through twists of fate, the her friend had to move to a farm with relatives, and could not bring Mrs. Beasly into the house with her. This fancy cat, who had only ever known love, warmth, and the indoors, was consigned to the barn, with the other barn cats, who had always been barn cats, and were that kind of semi feral cat tough. The speaker told of going to visit her friend, and watching the gradual decline of Mrs. Beasly; her once silky fur became matted and dull, she lost weight, and the life had gone out of her eyes. And then one day, Mrs. Beasly just was not there anymore, and the speaker never found out what happened to her. But she never forgot her, and with every cat she saves now, she honors the memory of that forgotten, mistreated Persian. She mentioned that back when that incident occured, people had different perspectives on animals, and the thought that this was not the way to treat a beloved housecat never entered into their thought processes. It was just a different time, one that we are moving past, a little bit at a time. We still have to work to change attitudes that cats do not belong outside, do need human care and love, that they are not totally independent, and do not really want to roam. But we are getting there, bit by bit.

The workshops I attended were fantastic! I took the creative, marketing track, all about how to promote your cats, dispel misconceptions, even how to "profile" the cats to match your adopters expectations. I was surrounded by such creative energy, that I was inspired, and now have a whole list of adoption promotions that should take me three years to finish!

I learned so much, and I know that the rest of my group, fellow P.A.W.S. of Michigan members and Wyandotte Animal Control Volunteers, had just as much fun, and also gained immensly from this forum. I made many contacts, and talked to many people about things that are working in their shelters and rescued. I feel fully armed with information that will get our cats adopted faster, and into the right homes for them, where they will be well treated and not returned, but instead have a loving home for the rest of their lives.