Back in December of last year a special boy came into the shelter by the name of Chunk. He weighed a whopping 35 lbs and could barely walk. The staff at the shelter decided to make Chunk a project cat and keep him in the office area. Since December, Chunk has lost 5 lbs. He's the first to greet me each time I arrive:
I always tell Chunk that if he doesn't like it there, he can come home with me. But he loves his life there and and gets a ton of attention.There's another cat at the shelter named "Sulton":
There's always sad stories that come in that place, but Sulton's really tugged at my heart. On his cage is a handwritten letter. I took a picture of the letter, but had to block out any personal information from the person who wrote the letter, along with the person being charged for abuse:
So this poor guy was abused. There was video proof, but the person who did it couldn't be charged because Sulton wasn't injured. Geezus. Are you kidding? The cat has to be INJURED before something is done? Sulton is amazing. He's sweet as pie and I'm hopeful somebody will come forward to prove to him that not all humans are cruel.
I neglected to mention in yesterday's blog post that 3 black kittens were rescued too! These little guys are about 4-5 weeks old and were hissin' and spittin'! Nothing is cuter than a kitten trying to act like a bada$$. We had been hopeful a nursing Mom would take them in, but she rejected them. Fortunately, we were able to place these little monkeys in a foster home - My friend Steve came forward (Yes, *that* Steve) and they're happy and partying at the bachelor pad:
I'm always so pleased that folks see me as an inspiration. But behind me, there are so many people that make it possible for me to rescue. Yesterday, for example, there was a volunteer driver that took "Alice" to her new foster home. Behind THAT driver, was a Driver Coordinator who arranged it all. There is someone within the rescue that does the thankless job of paying the bills and dealing with tax issues. Without THAT person, vet bills would not be paid. (Lord knows that are vet bills that need to be paid!)
I received some disappointing news this afternoon that one of our more active foster homes is moving up north. Kate & Garrett - you've saved so many deserving cats and I'll miss you guys so much! With you leaving, who will rescue all the dilute calicos? :)
It was a good week. I'm hesitant to say how many cats were rescued this week, because in my mind it feels like I rescued a lot of cats - but the true number might feel disappointing. I don't want to end my week on that note. Just for today, I want to pretend there were no cats left to euthanize this morning.
Besides....I'm already planning Mondays' rescue....
11 comments:
Sulton has the markings of a Turkish Van Pattern breed. We had one who liked the water and spent time at the lake catching frogs and biting the heads off. Ah...cottage life!
Fingers crossed for Sulton. Poor sweetie.
Beth, would you believe that the SPCA in LA did NOTHING about a case I took to them about three guys who were training their dog to hunt using the kittens in a feral cat colony...then throwing the dead kittens(s) in the trash? I took photos, wrote a detailed letter, got signatures from a witness...and all they did was go to the guys office and leave a note at the door saying there had been a complaint of abuse against him. This was in my first year of being in the US as a student...I'm not sure whether they just put me down as some 'foreign student' and so ignored the complaint, or what it was. I went back three times, and each time they said the guy who dealt with such things was out. I was too new and alone (then) to know what next to do at that point.
Anyway, that's how I got into kitty rescue in the US (see, in a sad way, only good came out of that horror). I decided that at least I could keep the population of that feral colony down (the sheer numbers of kittens being produced there made them an easy target for the dog), so read up about TNR, bought a trap...and got down to it with the help of some like-minded folks.
I still have nightmares about those guys :(. They threatened me when they saw I was watching once, and it was really scary as they owned the building I lived in...so they had the keys to my apartment.
Sounds like animal abuse is just like child abuse. No one does much about that either in my experience. It's sickening!
Chunk is SO adorable - congrats to him on his 5 lb weightloss! Thankfully Sulton had a guardian angel to keep him from getting seriously injured and may that abuser get what they deserve in due time -hopefully before another animal or person is victimized...
Just curious...whatever happened to Chase? Her picture just broke my heart; sitting in that cage waiting for her owner to come get her, not knowing why she's there...*sniff*. That one really got to me...
Anonymous: Chase is still at the shelter and has quickly become a shelter favourite. She's SO sweet, but they can't keep her forever. I can only hope somebody comes forward for her. :(
Whitesocks: Oh...my...gosh. I can't imagine witnessing that. I thought the LA SPCA was much better than that!! (Remember, I'm a California girl) I'm totally shocked that they would allow that to happen. I would've called the news media on those people.
oooooh and YAY for the seniors getting adopted
That just makes me hate the SPCA more, but is not surprising, I know I have had the same experiences with them (and in one case where the cat was brought into a shelter, they said oh well he is in good hands now)
But they really really needed those extra powers including warrantless searches added by Bill 50 didn't they?
I really wish we could have stronger animal protection laws. Stupid whiny "hunters" and "farmers" who kicked up a fuss because the'd be targeted. Pfft.
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