I took my foster dog Miss Lady to the pet adoption event yesterday, and she quickly found a home with a disabled woman — it seems that the woman’s first dog was a border collie named “Lady,” and so she was primed to fall in love with Miss Lady at first sight. While Miss Lady will probably miss going for walks, she will have a large fenced yard in a quiet farming community to run around in, and a sweet collie/Australian shepherd to play with. Plus, her new owner seems to already love her a lot, and promised to always give her a good home. (She had me help her buy Miss Lady a new leash, collar, pet tag, and big bag of dog food, and also get her photo taken with Santa, which seemed to show the proper willingness to give Miss Lady all the good things in life.)
After I finished helping the woman get Miss Lady settled, the adoption event leader asked me if I would consider fostering a dog named Jeep if she didn’t get adopted that day. Flushed with the success of my first fostering effort, I said yes.
So, yesterday afternoon I brought home Jeep (you can see her photo and read about her here). She was rescued from a high-kill pound on Friday by the adoption event leader. Although her rescuer thought that Jeep is a lab/border collie mix, her pricked ears and long legs remind me of a Great Dane. (I was calling her “Scooby-Do” today, and she seems to respond to it.)
Jeep seems to be less than a year old, and has a lovely glossy black coat marked by a few scars. She was quite smelly when I brought her home (even after her rescuer had given her bath), and her nails are overgrown, hinting to me that she was kept chained outside for quite a while. Some experimentation determined that she knows the commands “sit,” “shake,” “fetch,” and “drop it,” and that she LOVES playing ball. (She will chase the ball, bring it back to you, and then drop it for you to throw again – in fact, she will do this about a zillion times, as long as you keep throwing that ball.)
She also appears to have been abused, since if you move your hand quickly anywhere near her head, she cringes and shakes. She won’t go in the backyard unless I go with her, possibly fearing that she will be left out there forever. But despite how humankind has let her down, she remains very sweet and loving. She let me give her a bath, even though she didn’t much care for the experience, and would accept whatever I did to her as long as I kept telling her that she was a good girl. She follows me around the house, and wants to snuggle with I am on the couch. She wants to be loved so very badly that it almost breaks your heart.
I imagine that she was once a happy member of somebody’s family, but then she got big and wasn’t so cute anymore, was left in the backyard and smacked when she tried to get into the house. And then came the day that she was either dropped off at the pound, or found a way to escape, and was picked up by animal control and never claimed.
Right now she is napping in her crate, which is next to my computer(I left the door opened, and she entered it herself when she wanted to rest). And although I had my doubts last night, when she was jumping all over Flossie and Yodie, causing them to hide under the bed; running at full speed around the living room; and refusing to go outside, I think she is going to be okay here for a couple of weeks, which is as long as I can keep her. Hopefully we will find a new, permanent home before then. But since there are so many other deserving dogs needing homes (and many cute puppies also looking for families) the competition is fierce, and so Jeep could easily get overlooked. So, if you have any ideas of how to market Jeep, please let me know.
Oh, and while I’m discussing pet news, thanks to everyone who has bought a copy of the book, bought stuff from Amazon using the Wo’C link, or otherwise contributed to the vast World o’ Crap enterprises . Since I am on a fixed income, this helps allow me to both blog AND raise my vast army of unwanted pets that I will someday use to RULE THE WORLD! And thanks to Anntichrist Coulter for her example of kindness to both the feral cats of her neighborhood, and to the deserving humans of her acquaintance. You people are the best!
After I finished helping the woman get Miss Lady settled, the adoption event leader asked me if I would consider fostering a dog named Jeep if she didn’t get adopted that day. Flushed with the success of my first fostering effort, I said yes.
So, yesterday afternoon I brought home Jeep (you can see her photo and read about her here). She was rescued from a high-kill pound on Friday by the adoption event leader. Although her rescuer thought that Jeep is a lab/border collie mix, her pricked ears and long legs remind me of a Great Dane. (I was calling her “Scooby-Do” today, and she seems to respond to it.)
Jeep seems to be less than a year old, and has a lovely glossy black coat marked by a few scars. She was quite smelly when I brought her home (even after her rescuer had given her bath), and her nails are overgrown, hinting to me that she was kept chained outside for quite a while. Some experimentation determined that she knows the commands “sit,” “shake,” “fetch,” and “drop it,” and that she LOVES playing ball. (She will chase the ball, bring it back to you, and then drop it for you to throw again – in fact, she will do this about a zillion times, as long as you keep throwing that ball.)
She also appears to have been abused, since if you move your hand quickly anywhere near her head, she cringes and shakes. She won’t go in the backyard unless I go with her, possibly fearing that she will be left out there forever. But despite how humankind has let her down, she remains very sweet and loving. She let me give her a bath, even though she didn’t much care for the experience, and would accept whatever I did to her as long as I kept telling her that she was a good girl. She follows me around the house, and wants to snuggle with I am on the couch. She wants to be loved so very badly that it almost breaks your heart.
I imagine that she was once a happy member of somebody’s family, but then she got big and wasn’t so cute anymore, was left in the backyard and smacked when she tried to get into the house. And then came the day that she was either dropped off at the pound, or found a way to escape, and was picked up by animal control and never claimed.
Right now she is napping in her crate, which is next to my computer(I left the door opened, and she entered it herself when she wanted to rest). And although I had my doubts last night, when she was jumping all over Flossie and Yodie, causing them to hide under the bed; running at full speed around the living room; and refusing to go outside, I think she is going to be okay here for a couple of weeks, which is as long as I can keep her. Hopefully we will find a new, permanent home before then. But since there are so many other deserving dogs needing homes (and many cute puppies also looking for families) the competition is fierce, and so Jeep could easily get overlooked. So, if you have any ideas of how to market Jeep, please let me know.
Oh, and while I’m discussing pet news, thanks to everyone who has bought a copy of the book, bought stuff from Amazon using the Wo’C link, or otherwise contributed to the vast World o’ Crap enterprises . Since I am on a fixed income, this helps allow me to both blog AND raise my vast army of unwanted pets that I will someday use to RULE THE WORLD! And thanks to Anntichrist Coulter for her example of kindness to both the feral cats of her neighborhood, and to the deserving humans of her acquaintance. You people are the best!
16 Responses to “Comings And Goings”
You are truly the greatest. Thank you on behalf of all the many needy creatures you’ve comforted.
My cat, Kitty Cheese, is sleeping with her head on my foot as I write this. We saw an ad in the paper for free kittens three and a half years ago, and there she was, a wild little orange tiger, very small and young enough to still have blue eyes. The story of how the family offering the kittens came to have her and her siblings was sad, but interesting.
This nice lady had a teenage daughter, who was out parking with her boyfriend and some other kids in a remote area on the edge of town, as teenagers are wont to do. On this warm summer night, a bedraggled cat suddenly jumped through the car window and into the lap of the girl. She (the cat) was obviously lost and frightened and craving human intervention, so they took her home. Despite having a dog and another child who is allergic to felines, the lady agreed to take her in. Examining her more closely, she saw that the cat was a nursing mother. The next morning, they drove out to where the kids had been parked and searched the ditches, which were strewn with illegally dumped stuff, for the babies, and hearing them mewing, soon found them. She brought the family home, took them all to the vet, and placed the ad. I sometimes call KC my “boxcar kitten”. I expect that until the mama cat was found to be expecting, she was someone’s pet, and then they just dumped her.
Kitty Cheese now lives a life of pampered luxury that Paris Hilton could envy.
My cat, Kitty Cheese, is sleeping with her head on my foot as I write this. We saw an ad in the paper for free kittens three and a half years ago, and there she was, a wild little orange tiger, very small and young enough to still have blue eyes. The story of how the family offering the kittens came to have her and her siblings was sad, but interesting.
This nice lady had a teenage daughter, who was out parking with her boyfriend and some other kids in a remote area on the edge of town, as teenagers are wont to do. On this warm summer night, a bedraggled cat suddenly jumped through the car window and into the lap of the girl. She (the cat) was obviously lost and frightened and craving human intervention, so they took her home. Despite having a dog and another child who is allergic to felines, the lady agreed to take her in. Examining her more closely, she saw that the cat was a nursing mother. The next morning, they drove out to where the kids had been parked and searched the ditches, which were strewn with illegally dumped stuff, for the babies, and hearing them mewing, soon found them. She brought the family home, took them all to the vet, and placed the ad. I sometimes call KC my “boxcar kitten”. I expect that until the mama cat was found to be expecting, she was someone’s pet, and then they just dumped her.
Kitty Cheese now lives a life of pampered luxury that Paris Hilton could envy.
I think you’ve already done the marketing. She couldn’t be more appealing. I hope she finds a home that deserves her.
Perhaps if you name her Scooby-Do?What a nice person you are- I would gladly contribute to a pet fund.
S.Z., you are MY heroine, dammit!
What I wouldn’t GIVE to be able to foster and adopt all of the lucky animals who have been fortunate enough to find you… And that Scooby/Jeep girl is such a beauty… how anyone could neglect/abuse any creature so beautiful and loving and bright, is way the fuck beyond me. Though I would dearly love to track down her previous “owners” and deal a little karma back on their asses with a tire tool…
I think that, once we’ve found out what’s going on with Lee’s new doctors, and which direction the surgical options are going to take, that I’m going to start a pet fund over at my blog, too. I want you to set up a P.O. box, so that we can direct-link to a page where people can send you PetSmart or PetCo gift cards (whichever is more convenient for you) directly, to help in your amazing and huge-hearted rescue efforts.
THEN, I want to get with one of the vets in the area (whichever one will go for it) and see if we can do a fundraiser to have these feral cats around here spayed and neutered (hopefully at cost or only a small profit), so that there will be FEWER feral cats for me to feed.
Not that I don’t love feeding the little bitty things, every day, and two of the braver kittens even let me pet them — but it breaks my heart knowing that I won’t always be here to take care of them, or that they’ll get run-over on that federal highway right by my apartment, or worse. We don’t have an animal shelter here, the SPCA decamped and bailed YEARS ago, and all that we have is a dog pound at the parish jail, but they don’t do bupkis for cats.
SO. That’s the plan of attack. As soon as you can get a P.O. box address for me to get people to send you PetSmart gift cards to, and if you already have an online PetSmart account, I can hook it up on my blog to have people send you the gift cards, and you will NEVER run out of kitty & dog food, k? I’d tell you all of this in e-mail, but I can tell that you’ve been too damned busy to worry with e-mail, so I’m dumping the info here.
Holler at me when you’re ready to set this stuff up, k?
And then I can start trying to find a vet who’ll help me neuter/spay these feral babies… Granted, I can’t afford to do much myself ($600 a month for a full-grown human ain’t even remotely humane), but I try to make sure that the kittens are fed every day. It’s a good thing that canned food is four for a buck, is all I can say about that.
So stop blowing my horn, young missy, and lemme know when we can get started on helping you to feed and care for the many gorgeous critters in your care.
When I can, I’ll post pix on my blog of the babies around L’Hotel du Fucktards over on my blog. But with no digicam, I gots to wait ’til I can go to Wally World to get ‘em developed, so it may be a few weeks. I know, I know, I poor-mouth worse than a crackhead, but those are the realities of fixed incomes, as you well know, m’love.
Keep up the good work, and get ahold of me when we can start the gift-card drive, y’hear?
Love you, S.Z., and you continue to inspire me, every single day.
What I wouldn’t GIVE to be able to foster and adopt all of the lucky animals who have been fortunate enough to find you… And that Scooby/Jeep girl is such a beauty… how anyone could neglect/abuse any creature so beautiful and loving and bright, is way the fuck beyond me. Though I would dearly love to track down her previous “owners” and deal a little karma back on their asses with a tire tool…
I think that, once we’ve found out what’s going on with Lee’s new doctors, and which direction the surgical options are going to take, that I’m going to start a pet fund over at my blog, too. I want you to set up a P.O. box, so that we can direct-link to a page where people can send you PetSmart or PetCo gift cards (whichever is more convenient for you) directly, to help in your amazing and huge-hearted rescue efforts.
THEN, I want to get with one of the vets in the area (whichever one will go for it) and see if we can do a fundraiser to have these feral cats around here spayed and neutered (hopefully at cost or only a small profit), so that there will be FEWER feral cats for me to feed.
Not that I don’t love feeding the little bitty things, every day, and two of the braver kittens even let me pet them — but it breaks my heart knowing that I won’t always be here to take care of them, or that they’ll get run-over on that federal highway right by my apartment, or worse. We don’t have an animal shelter here, the SPCA decamped and bailed YEARS ago, and all that we have is a dog pound at the parish jail, but they don’t do bupkis for cats.
SO. That’s the plan of attack. As soon as you can get a P.O. box address for me to get people to send you PetSmart gift cards to, and if you already have an online PetSmart account, I can hook it up on my blog to have people send you the gift cards, and you will NEVER run out of kitty & dog food, k? I’d tell you all of this in e-mail, but I can tell that you’ve been too damned busy to worry with e-mail, so I’m dumping the info here.
Holler at me when you’re ready to set this stuff up, k?
And then I can start trying to find a vet who’ll help me neuter/spay these feral babies… Granted, I can’t afford to do much myself ($600 a month for a full-grown human ain’t even remotely humane), but I try to make sure that the kittens are fed every day. It’s a good thing that canned food is four for a buck, is all I can say about that.
So stop blowing my horn, young missy, and lemme know when we can get started on helping you to feed and care for the many gorgeous critters in your care.
When I can, I’ll post pix on my blog of the babies around L’Hotel du Fucktards over on my blog. But with no digicam, I gots to wait ’til I can go to Wally World to get ‘em developed, so it may be a few weeks. I know, I know, I poor-mouth worse than a crackhead, but those are the realities of fixed incomes, as you well know, m’love.
Keep up the good work, and get ahold of me when we can start the gift-card drive, y’hear?
Love you, S.Z., and you continue to inspire me, every single day.
Fuckin’ tags.
There is such a thing as TOO MUCH ITALICS.
There is such a thing as TOO MUCH ITALICS.
I second Anntichrist Coulter’s plan. I’d rather send you whatever I have to spare than spend it on Stuff because You Can Have Too Much Stuff. I need Stuff way less than your lucky poopy furries, so set up that P.O. box awreddy, dammit.
I’d think that playing up the fetching and dropping would be a good “marketing” ploy. I think that people who prefer large dogs prefer active dogs, a dog who plays fetch and doesn’t need to be taught sounds great.
Awww… I want a dog!
But they only let us have one pet here.
Unrelated Pet Thought: I just realised how much like my mom’s cat I am: We’re both fat, glutonous, poorly groomed, and prone to rapid mood swings over trivial things.
Although I don’t bite people as much as she does.
I miss my cat. He used to really like to play “fetch” (And still does, with his new owners).
But they only let us have one pet here.
Unrelated Pet Thought: I just realised how much like my mom’s cat I am: We’re both fat, glutonous, poorly groomed, and prone to rapid mood swings over trivial things.
Although I don’t bite people as much as she does.
I miss my cat. He used to really like to play “fetch” (And still does, with his new owners).
Good for you to be such a great foster Mom! I have a cat who was abused as a kitten and he also cringed and shook when I reached out to pet his head (he had a broken nose among other injuries when I got him, so the cringing was completely understandable).
I discovered if I reached out underhanded (ie. with my palm up and coming in from under his head), I could pet him and he would stay relaxed. After awhile, he learned that my reaching out to him was a good thing, so I could start petting him from above with no problems.
Now, after a decade, he only gets upset when I don’t pet him!
You might want to try that with Jeep to see if that makes her less scared. Just a thought. Sounds like you are doing a great job without any advice!
)
I discovered if I reached out underhanded (ie. with my palm up and coming in from under his head), I could pet him and he would stay relaxed. After awhile, he learned that my reaching out to him was a good thing, so I could start petting him from above with no problems.
Now, after a decade, he only gets upset when I don’t pet him!
You might want to try that with Jeep to see if that makes her less scared. Just a thought. Sounds like you are doing a great job without any advice!
) (That was supposed to be a smiley face, but it looks angry).
She’s most likely a Lab/Greyhound mix, given her size and structure. Although you can replace Greyhound with any of the other long legged thin sight hounds.
Good luck s.z. I’ve got my 3 dogs, a Lab, a Gordon Setter rescue and a Jack Russell that keep my home filled with the pitter patter of demanding feet.
Good luck s.z. I’ve got my 3 dogs, a Lab, a Gordon Setter rescue and a Jack Russell that keep my home filled with the pitter patter of demanding feet.
S.Z.,
If you could get a picture of her with ball in her mouth, that would soooooooo cute, and as someone suggested upthread, it would play up the “hey, I know how to fetch” angle.
Also, if you have any kids available to you, you may want to do a test on Jeep’s ability to handle children. Any lab mix–especially one who already plays fetch–is prime material for the “want a dog my 8-10 year old can play with” market.
If you could get a picture of her with ball in her mouth, that would soooooooo cute, and as someone suggested upthread, it would play up the “hey, I know how to fetch” angle.
Also, if you have any kids available to you, you may want to do a test on Jeep’s ability to handle children. Any lab mix–especially one who already plays fetch–is prime material for the “want a dog my 8-10 year old can play with” market.
And that Scooby/Jeep girl is such a beauty… how anyone could neglect/abuse any creature so beautiful and loving and bright, is way the fuck beyond me.
Beyond me as well. About a year or so ago, I went to PetCo/PetSmart (I forget which one) because I needed to buy a new “scoop” for the back yard (a necessity when you have a small yard and two large dogs). One of the local animal shelters had a number of animals there for adoption. One of the animals, a rather smallish black dog (possibly a border collie mix) saw me coming up the aisle carrying my “purchase” and started barking angrily at me. I soon noticed that his anger seemed focused more at the implement in my hand than at me. I put the scoop down and the dog immediately stopped barking and started wagging his tail.
I went over and started petting him and he just relished the attention. I talked to one of the shelter volunteers and she said that the dog had been abused–often by being beaten with a stick. This dog was such a sweetheart, the idea that someone could abuse him like that just turned my stomach.
We’ve only fostered an animal one time: a Jack Russell mix puppy who had come down with Parvo virus and the original owner decided to euthanize him rather than pay for the treatment. Fortunately she took him to our dogs’ vet who refused to destroy the puppy, had the owner sign over ownership of the dog to her, and then treated him out of her own pocket.
My wife and I offered to foster the dog as soon as he had a clean bill of health. By the time they found someone interested in adopting him, he’d stolen our hearts and we just couldn’t let him go.
Beyond me as well. About a year or so ago, I went to PetCo/PetSmart (I forget which one) because I needed to buy a new “scoop” for the back yard (a necessity when you have a small yard and two large dogs). One of the local animal shelters had a number of animals there for adoption. One of the animals, a rather smallish black dog (possibly a border collie mix) saw me coming up the aisle carrying my “purchase” and started barking angrily at me. I soon noticed that his anger seemed focused more at the implement in my hand than at me. I put the scoop down and the dog immediately stopped barking and started wagging his tail.
I went over and started petting him and he just relished the attention. I talked to one of the shelter volunteers and she said that the dog had been abused–often by being beaten with a stick. This dog was such a sweetheart, the idea that someone could abuse him like that just turned my stomach.
We’ve only fostered an animal one time: a Jack Russell mix puppy who had come down with Parvo virus and the original owner decided to euthanize him rather than pay for the treatment. Fortunately she took him to our dogs’ vet who refused to destroy the puppy, had the owner sign over ownership of the dog to her, and then treated him out of her own pocket.
My wife and I offered to foster the dog as soon as he had a clean bill of health. By the time they found someone interested in adopting him, he’d stolen our hearts and we just couldn’t let him go.
I’m with BinkyBoy – I have a retired racing greyhound and something about Jeep’s face (especially the eyes) looks like a greyhound. She’s a cutie!
I think a kid test is a good idea – also, how does she do with the cats? That can be a sticking point with some people. When our old lady goes (she’s almost 9) we intend to adopt another greyhound, but so many of them aren’t able to be in a cat friendly household (though our greyhound is totally comfortable with our two rescued kitties – a brother and sister who are both Siamese mix polydactyls).
Good luck to you (and Jeep!) – you are an inspiration s.z.
I think a kid test is a good idea – also, how does she do with the cats? That can be a sticking point with some people. When our old lady goes (she’s almost 9) we intend to adopt another greyhound, but so many of them aren’t able to be in a cat friendly household (though our greyhound is totally comfortable with our two rescued kitties – a brother and sister who are both Siamese mix polydactyls).
Good luck to you (and Jeep!) – you are an inspiration s.z.
Oh, VOMIT.
Fucking puppy millers.
They ought to all be dragged behind a pickup truck with chains around their necks until their empty selfish heads pop off.
With all of the millions and billions of dogs and cats who are euthanized, or who starve to death or are run over by cars every year — why are people still so selfish and idiotic as to buy from the animal-exploiting MONSTERS who sell animals out of the back of a truck?!??!?!!
I’m still wanting to develop some retroactive birth control, if you get my drift… People that self-centered and narcissistic as to need “pure-bred” animals need to be shipped off of my planet.
Fucking morons.
And I’m so glad that you set up the PayPal button — I guess that is a much easier, more direct way than sending the gift cards — just don’t forget to send thank-you notes!
I’m just so damned proud of you, Sheri, and everything that you have done to save and rehabilitate so many animals… You truly are my heroine.
Like I said upthread, I will be linking to your paypal button as soon as I get home from taking a young lady to the health unit tomorrow.
You nag and nag and lecture and give them flaming examples of WHY protection is so fucking important, and they still go out and do stupid shit with too much vodka and 19-year-old douchebags who don’t care that they’re committing statutory rape on a 15-year-old, and who sure as HELL don’t care enough to wear a RUBBER.
Just when I’ve almost got all of my thick-headed, stubborn-ass uppity-wench NIECES just about raised, here comes a girl that I used to substitute-teach, telling me how she spent last weekend, blacked-out on vodka with a 19-year-old piece of shit who didn’t give a fuck about HER.
*sigh*
Wish us luck. Cross yer fingers, light candles, whatever works for y’all… Candice deserves so much better than what she’s gotten thus far.
I just wish that she & her mother had communicated better BEFORE the fact… and that she’d told one of us about it within 72 hours of it happening, ’cause it’s too damned late for the Plan-B pill now.
*sigh*
I’ll have that link up tomorrow, though, I promise.
Love y’all.
Annti
Fucking puppy millers.
They ought to all be dragged behind a pickup truck with chains around their necks until their empty selfish heads pop off.
With all of the millions and billions of dogs and cats who are euthanized, or who starve to death or are run over by cars every year — why are people still so selfish and idiotic as to buy from the animal-exploiting MONSTERS who sell animals out of the back of a truck?!??!?!!
I’m still wanting to develop some retroactive birth control, if you get my drift… People that self-centered and narcissistic as to need “pure-bred” animals need to be shipped off of my planet.
Fucking morons.
And I’m so glad that you set up the PayPal button — I guess that is a much easier, more direct way than sending the gift cards — just don’t forget to send thank-you notes!
I’m just so damned proud of you, Sheri, and everything that you have done to save and rehabilitate so many animals… You truly are my heroine.
Like I said upthread, I will be linking to your paypal button as soon as I get home from taking a young lady to the health unit tomorrow.
You nag and nag and lecture and give them flaming examples of WHY protection is so fucking important, and they still go out and do stupid shit with too much vodka and 19-year-old douchebags who don’t care that they’re committing statutory rape on a 15-year-old, and who sure as HELL don’t care enough to wear a RUBBER.
Just when I’ve almost got all of my thick-headed, stubborn-ass uppity-wench NIECES just about raised, here comes a girl that I used to substitute-teach, telling me how she spent last weekend, blacked-out on vodka with a 19-year-old piece of shit who didn’t give a fuck about HER.
*sigh*
Wish us luck. Cross yer fingers, light candles, whatever works for y’all… Candice deserves so much better than what she’s gotten thus far.
I just wish that she & her mother had communicated better BEFORE the fact… and that she’d told one of us about it within 72 hours of it happening, ’cause it’s too damned late for the Plan-B pill now.
*sigh*
I’ll have that link up tomorrow, though, I promise.
Love y’all.
Annti
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