Monday, June 29, 2009

The "R.R. of R"

No wonder veteran rescuers call it "The Rollercoaster Ride of Rescue". (Or maybe it's just me that calls it that.) I had a whole gambit of emotions today. At first I thought it was "The Menopausal Ride of Moodiness", but then realized I had good reason to feel the way that I did. It can't ALL be about hormones, right?

Happily, I was able to reunite two sisters that were abandoned at a church, (along with their brother.) At first I thought I would have to split them up, but an adopter came along and took both home at the last minute. (Many thanks to Heather B. who drove in dead stop traffic today to my house in order to bring one of the sisters home with her, only to find that they BOTH went to a forever home.)

Of course, I cried when the sisters went home together. Then I cried some more when I realized their brother was still at the shelter waiting to die. "I won't leave you Simon!"

I hate that Simon saw me take his sisters and leave him.

Then there is "Tuck":

"Tuck"

Tuck was brought into the shelter and was unable to stand. Upon further examination by the shelter staff, they noticed severe swelling and ligature marks around all of Tuck's legs. The staff thinks that 8 month old Tuck had been tortured and hogtied.


When Kim picked up Tuck, he purred and snuggled into her arms. For a cat that had been so brutalized, he shows no signs of distrust. He just wants love and more of it. I took Tuck to the vets today for x-rays.

I can't quite describe the feeling that I had when the realization that this sweet, defenseless cat had been a victim to such a crime. It's the same feeling that I have when I think about someone hurting my children. Yes, I understand how parents can risk everything by pulling a gun at the trial of the man that abused their child.

Give me 5 minutes with the person that hurt Tuck.

I just finished speaking with a lovely sounding lady that came forward to foster "Kaluha":

I'm VERY happy to see Kaluha leave the shelter tomorrow. (Thank you Kathleen for picking him up and saying, "Yes, I can drive!") He's the most macho looking cat I've ever seen. But he's a big fuzzy sweetie inside. He likes to be cradled like a baby and kneads in the air while he looks at you adoringly. I love him. I'm so excited that tonight is his last night in a cage!

I burned dinner tonight and I didn't care. My crappy sons were arguing at dinner and ruined the serenity of the meal, but I didn't care. (Ok, I cared...but I'm trying to make a point here)

The rollercoaster-ride-of-rescue didn't disappoint me. I'm going to bed tonight tired and happy. I've accomplished something important - and for now - that's good enough for me.

11 comments:

janice said...

You did FOUR GREAT things today. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Yep. Cried. Bless you, beth,a nd those sweet, adorable souls!

Anonymous said...

Thank God no one will hurt Tuck like that again, and awesome new beginnings for Kaluha too! He looks like a real character.

tally oh said...

Omg Beth, I love you. When I saw the Craigslist post about Kaluha and his poor shelter photos, it seriously broke my heart. I was trying so hard to convince myself I could foster him too - there are just some cats that really get to you...and he really got to me!

Heather told me about Tuck this afternoon - and I don't really know what to say, my brain can't really process that as a reality. How messed up do you have to be to do that to an animal? :S

Steve Bartlett said...

You could probably trade your sons for a few litters of kittens. I'm sure the shelter has a cage big enough for them :)

Anonymous said...

Beth, I can just see you driving a mini school bus full of cats going to foster homes! The kitty mobile!

Anonymous said...

Hi Beth - Ive been keeping an eye on Kaluha in hopes that he gets out of the shelter. I was so excited to read that he was going to be fostered, but I noticed he is still listed as urgent on Petfinder. Did everything work out with him ?

House of the Discarded said...

Anonymous: Kaluha is safe and sound and being spoiled rotten in his foster home! I have a feeling he could be in a *Forever home* already! :)

Falkosmom said...

Did Simon ever make it out?

House of the Discarded said...

Anonymous: Yes! Simon made it out. In fact, he was adopted about 3 weeks ago. :)

-B

Anonymous said...

More like three months ago -- time flies! ;)

Simon's doing great. We adore him!