Kittens!

I've been working cats for a while. There's only one other KA who likes cats, and I don't mind, so that's what I do.

A while back, I pulled this guy from stray:

They named him Dark Angel and put him in CQ. This is back when we were at capacity and were fighting for every free space.

The front desk offered to put him up front in a kennel with them, so at least people could see him when they walked in. He had a huge sign saying he was available and awesome.

Soon after, a litter of kittens that had been running around behind the front desk were discovered to have panleuk and euthanized. DA was quarantined to his kennel. Probably fine because of age and never actually touching the floor, but at risk because of being a stray and possibly coming into contact with things/people the kittens had touched.

He was adopted anyway =)

That's when I found another kitten in stray but didn't pull him because he was sick. Receiving wanted him checked before they put him in CI for treatment. He waited for vet attention for 3 days. Finally, someone from receiving checked him themselves, and he had sores (indicative of calici). He was euthanized. Had the vets looked at him earlier, he would either have been euthanized or treated, but wouldn't have spent those three days rotting in the feral room. I'm still upset about that.

Week before last, I tried to stay in CQ as much as possible because of recent panleuk "outbreaks." On two separate occasions, about a week apart, kittens were found with panleukopenia. On the second occasion, in an effort to contain the outbreak, a dozen kittens were euthanized. I'm not sure how much about that I can say here, but someone should have been fired, no one has been, and I am still pissed about this.

Despite my best efforts, the past two weeks I've been in CS, the feral room. There were some cats and kittens I was monitoring and thinking of pulling, but luckily someone got to them first.

Mickey So Fine "feral"

Mickey So Fine "available for adoption!"

Poor Mickey. I don't know what happened to him before he got to us, but he has some pretty ugly marks on his face, what looked burns to me. You can kind of see them in the pictures. He was not ready for the floor, in my opinion, but it's better than being in the back. Hopefully he'll come around.

This past Saturday I pulled four kittens:

They named the first one after me, not knowing there were three more on the way.

Rasin & Craisin

First, I just pulled Rasin and requested his name be Raisin. Little spelling error, oh well. Then I decided to pull his brother, Craisin, the wee one in the back, in hopes that some time in CQ would help him out. Miraculously, he decided he wanted to be nice, too, and he got put on the adoption floor.

This is my favorite:

Haymitch "feral"

Haymitch "available?"

Not sure if he made it to the adoption floor yet. He had a pretty nasty booboo on his neck. Said it looked like a pustule. Ick. He is absolutely stunning and a wonderful, snuggly purr box. I was tempted to bring him home, but he needed to be looked at by the vets. I guess he looks like Zsasz to me. We still miss him.

UPDATE: Haymitch went into foster, got very fat, and was adopted by a lovely family.

It's been pretty busy in the cat rooms. We have a new volunteer who has been doing a fantastic job cuddling and adoption counseling. There have been some notable adoptions, but we could always use more.

Now, for another week. We'll see what happens.

Bad day

We were full this morning. Last night, Receiving was scrambling to find places to put incoming animals, both dogs and cats. This morning, they pulled for space. For those who don't know, "pull for space" means: Choose dog and cats to euthanize in order to make space for new ones. It is more "fair" to euthanize those who have had months to find homes than those who have just arrived and never had a chance. Truth is, euthanizing healthy, friendly animals is never "fair". The fact that our facility exists as more than a temporary stop for lost animals is not "fair".

We hold hundreds of animals. If we could hold more, I have no doubt that we would eventually fill again. Every summer, we are full to capacity, and then some. I'm so glad that I don't have the difficult job to not only choose the animals that are sacrificed but also do the sacrificing. To make that decision and then execute it must be excruciating, especially knowing how much those individuals care. This is not a career you enter into lightly. It's one where you know that you can't "win" every day. Some days, you just lose.

Honestly, I wasn't particularly upset about any of the dozen or so dogs that were pulled today. I hate to say it, but I also was not surprised about the ones that I knew. Sad because I know many of them were loved by the volunteers, but not surprised. Pit bulls are adopted far less than other dogs. I would wager that a majority of non-medical euthanasias are pit bulls. I never bought into the breed stereotypes, but my job has made me a full believer that dogs are not defined by their breed, especially one perpetuated by false media reports. But that is a rant for another day.

What upset me were some of the cat choices. Black cats are the pit bulls of cats. Like puppies, they're more adoptable when young, but once they reach adulthood, they are adopted in much lower numbers. Yesterday, I found out that my favorite cat in stray, who had been waiting for a vet exam for three days, had Calici and was euthanized. I went with him and he was out before he knew what was happening. I can't help but wonder if he had been seen earlier, would he have been okay? I know better than to dwell on questions like that, but they still pop up and are troublesome.

I didn't recognize some of the cats, but there were two that stood out. Yesterday, I told Doc that a cat had tapeworms, and she handed me the pill for treatment. I'd never actually pilled a cat, but I didn't tell her that. I knew how, and I did it. Thankfully, he was cooperative. He was euthanized this morning. Another one was China, a fat, older, very sweet and silly cat. Both were large, black, short-hair cats.

We are short staffed. Full past capacity with animals, but short in all departments except the front desk. We have been operating with half kennel staff, about 3/4 receiving, NO full-time vet, one out of two vet techs. It's getting ridiculous. I usually work 4 days with 3 days off. Tomorrow will be my sixth day in a row. I am tired, sore, stressed out, and disheartened.

Worth it

My job is hard. I come home tired and covered in who-knows-what after 10 hours on my feet. I'm sweaty, sticky, stinky, cranky, and did I already say tired? My coworkers bicker like a bunch of children, there's policy that is so out of touch it's not funny, and I constantly encounter the lowest, most sociopathic people in our county.

But Friday I pulled a kitten from stray. A big, handsome 4 month old medium-haired black kitten with huge paws. He was neutered yesterday and went home today! I can't take all the credit for saving him, but I also can't guarantee someone would have noticed him if I hadn't pulled him.

Today I made a new friend in stray. Another medium-haired black kitten, about 3 months old. He's sick, so I didn't pull him. But I gave him a blanket, and he loved it so much he made biscuits.

That made showing up to work totally worth it.

How you do it.

We take on a lot of animals. Not as many as some of the fosters we know, due to time, energy, and space, but we tend to stay at (reasonable) capacity.

Most people, though, aren't shown an animal and told, "If you don't take this home, it will die." It's a hazard of the job. You always have the option to say, "No," and no one will be offended, but it is a very guilt-inducing situation. I have plenty of coworkers who simply don't foster, all for very good reasons*, but I would say 80% routinely foster and 90% have at least once.

We currently have one dog, two kittens, and a rabbit. The dog was in a cell for six months before we took and was losing her mind. We've had her for five months; she can't be adopted out or rescued because of her pending court case, which has been dragged out to the point of foolishness. The kittens were still too young to eat solid food when we got them and would not have survived on their own. The rabbit would have been euthanized two separate times if we hadn't decided to adopt him.  They are all unwelcome here, with no consideration. If a residence is so heartless that it will not give an animal a safe, temporary haven, at no cost to the property, then it is not where we belong.

I would encourage everyone who has space in their heart and home and a little spare time to take in an animal in need. It really does save a life. Letting go is always hard, but there are always more to help.

*One coworker, who works in Receiving, stopped fostering as often when she had to euthanize her own kittens because she was the only one on duty who could do it. I think that is enough to force anyone to take a break, if not permanently.

The ol' switcheroo

Tomorrow, I'll be taking Tiger Lily back to the shelter. I'll be bringing home Petra, fka Peter, an emaciated rabbit.

86082

If you look at the picture, you can see some dark lines on her side. That's where her fur is clinging to her bones. A rabbit has to be pretty skinny to be able to tell through their fur.

Here's her story:

Her previous owner was told by her vet that the rabbit's teeth were overgrown and needed to be trimmed. She was told to bring the rabbit in once a month for trimmings. At one of these trimmings, one of the rabbit's teeth were cracked. That made it painful for her to eat and caused some more vet visits. You can see in her photo how her chin is messy, which is a big sign that the owner tried to feed her a liquid diet (Bailey used to have a strawberry mustache).

In addition, at another visit, the rabbit's gum was cut. The owner was not told, did not know, and the cut got infected. She had to pay to have the abscess treated. She was also told to bring the rabbit in every two weeks. At this point, it became difficult for her to pay for the frequent vet visits and subsequent injuries.

At the time of surrender, the owner was so upset that she sat out in the parking lot and cried for at least half an hour. 

What I don't understand is why, if the lady was so upset, she didn't bother to fill out a surrender form. We know nothing about this sweet girl other than her sob story. I guess we'll just have to get to know her.

Exhausted

As usual, it's been a crazy couple weeks. Roger was adopted, dog at work almost broke my finger, my sweaty feet gravely offended the dog and we adopted a paraplegic rabbit. I think that's more than enough to keep us occupied.

Roger was adopted last Sunday at an adoption event by a couple that drove up from Fayetteville just to meet him. They were first-time rabbit owners, but listened attentively while I told them everything they could ever possibly need to know. They went shopping before they left with him and I'm optimistic that he is living the good life right now.

Last Wednesday morning, I was moving a dog into a new kennel and he somehow jumped in such a way that my right hand, holding the lead, was bent backward over the doorway of the kennel. By the afternoon, it was so swollen and stiff I could hardly move it. I ended up going to Urgent Care where I was told I had hyper-extended the joint and was given a prescription for super Ibuprofen and an ice pack. My husband had a time getting my prescription and had to drive me to work for a few days. I had light duty for almost a week. This Sunday the swelling was finally gone and I could use my hand. I got cleared by the doctor Tuesday.

Wednesday evening I brought home two rabbits. They're a couple of 9 month old bonded siblings, both supposedly spayed and neutered. I brought them home because the owner said she might come back for them in a few days. They were kept in a wire bottom cage barely big enough for one rabbit, much less two, and probably never let out. The bottom was fully saturated with urine and feces and hadn't been changed in at least a few days. The smell was awful and the cage wires were sticky with urine. Their nails are the most overgrown I've ever seen on rabbits. No way in hell I was letting that woman take them back.

I also brought them home to ensure that they got adopted together. I don't think we've ever gotten a pair of bonded, spayed/neutered rabbits at the shelter. They are social animals and, like rats, do much better in pairs. The adoption fee is only $20 each, and the surgery alone would have cost hundreds of dollars apiece. These are expensive rabbits.

That same night, Honey came to bed with me, as usual. My foot made a fart-like sound under the covers, and she totally freaked out and left the room and went downstairs. She could be coaxed back up and onto the bed, but one more squeak and she was off again. My husband had to sweet talk her back and she slept on his side of the bed instead of the middle.

Last night she had the same problem. I ended up holding her all night so that she wouldn't get up and go downstairs. Hopefully this is something that she'll get over; I hate sleeping with the door closed.

Last night is also the night that Sky, the male rabbit, broke his spine. I suspect he and his sister were playing too hard in their new cage, he kicked the wrong way and broke his spine. I'll explain that in the next post. It's not fun but it's also hopefully not life-threatening. His bottom half is paralyzed, but we're doing what we can for him as long as he's up for it. He gives up, we give up, too. Right now, we're all still in the fight.

UPDATE: Sky was eventually rehomed with a family in SC who took great care of him. He only lived for a few more months, but they were probably some of the best months.

Wacky Saturday

The three most ridiculous stories from work yesterday (there were four, but one involves the SPCA and may not be safe to publish):

3. One of our dedicated fosters came in with her family to pick out a new foster. She had her heart set on Hanky Panky, who's been in the shelter for almost a month and doesn't have the sparkling personality to easily win over an adopter. He doesn't even wag.

Hanky Panky

What kind of dog doesn't wag?

The foster wanted him, but her kids were complaining that she always got to pick the dog, so she was letting them come to their own consensus. She was getting mad that they wanted to foster Highly Adoptable animals and that's not the point of fostering. It's not about who's cute, but who needs you.

They finally settled on St. Thomas, a Rottie mix who has about two brain cells, one of which controls his butt shaking. He's sweet, but not too bright.

St. Thomas

He is also being treated for Demodex, a mostly non-contagious mange. When the foster started the process to take him home, she was told that since the vets weren't there to give out the medicine, she couldn't take him until Monday. Even though it is a daily treatment and he had to get it somehow while the vets weren't there anyway, she was told no. Seems a bit fishy to me, but it was 6 and I wanted to go home. Of course, Honey took a half hour nap on the couch first, but still.

2. On Thursday, a woman came in with her mother looking for a dog that would be good with her two-year-old. She had a Rottweiler growing up, so luckily she was open to all breeds. She met Dior and really liked her, so she went home to get her kid so that they could meet before she took the dog home.

Dior

By the time she got back we had already closed, so she came back Saturday afternoon with her child and partner. They looked around, introduced the Dior to the kid (she did great) and went to the front desk to process the adoption. Apparently they (mostly the man) didn't hit it off with the front desk lady who was helping them. When the shit hit the fan, he started cussing up a storm and tried to get his partner to leave.

Apparently, when they got the adoption process started, another family was already halfway through adopting the same dog. That rarely happens, and only with puppies. This dog had been around for a month with no serious inquiries. When they found out they couldn't have the dog, they were understandably upset, but the woman took it much better. She wanted to go look at the other dogs while they guy just wanted to cuss everyone out.

They ended up staying and adopted a different dog, but when it came time to do the paperwork, the guy asked if I could do it because he didn't want to deal with the same lady. I told him to go around to one of the other front desk workers and they could take care of him. He was not a nice man, but I feel kind of proud that we got through it and he still at least liked me. Plus, two dogs got adopted and hopefully they'll be well taken care of.

1. I had a jelly doughnut for lunch.