1.
Two teenagers come up to the counter and one boy says they have a dog that needs medical attention. We find out that she has a prolapsed uterus and practically her entire reproductive system is on the outside. I saw that dog's cervix. Unfortunately, teenagers cannot surrender property to the county, so we had to wait for his dad to arrive and sign the dog over. The surgical team came to check the dog out before they signed her over and told them that the dog would likely have to be euthanized because of the severity. It had been like that for at least a week and was infected. The boy just couldn't afford the surgery the vets had told him she needed. He was heartbroken.
Lucky for her, they had finished surgery for the day and the surgeon was practically giddy for the challenge. It still looks pretty awful but she's healing well. She is currently in a foster home while she finishes her recovery.
UPDATE (4/4): Pepper recovered just fine. I can't remember what finally happened to her, but she went into foster and I believe she was adopted.
2.
If you follow me on Facebook you already know about Nemoy, Sputnik and Capone.
Saturday, a couple walks in to the shelter with a large plastic carrier. The smell of urine immediately fills the lobby. They say an elderly parent was "blessed" with kittens but cannot care for them. The couple lives in a neighboring county so we cannot accept the cats, so the couple leaves. A coworker suspects a dump is about to occur, so I go outside and ask a group of volunteers if one of them could follow the car. About that time, I notice that the couple is putting the carrier in the trunk of their car. Once my mouth is able to close, I wonder if that's illegal. The volunteers tell me that they asked the couple why the kittens were in the trunk and they said they didn't live far. The neighboring county is at least a 45 minute drive.
A few minutes later, a volunteer walks in with the carrier. The couple had turned left out of the parking lot, which is a dead-end. They hit a U-turn at high-speed, certainly sending the kittens in the trunk flying inside the carrier, and the volunteer laid on the horn and commandeered the kittens. I peek into the carrier and see three small, orange tabby kittens huddled together. They reek of piss and I reach in and pluck them out one by one and place them in a transfer cage. The disgusting and decrepit carrier is whisked away to the dumpster.
Upon arrival in receiving the kittens realize what a raw deal they've been dealt and decide they're not gonna take it. They refuse to be handled and are taken to the feral room.
The couple returns later in the day to retrieve their carrier. I cannot find their carrier but promise to let them know if it turns up. Mysteriously, it hasn't.
Two days later, I go in to see if the kittens have changed their minds. They have, and 45 minutes later they are all vaccinated and christened and placed in quarantine to await vet exam. They are underweight, saturated in urine, filthy and under-socialized. I'm in love.
The vet decides that they are not good foster candidates because they are "unthrifty", which means they look like crap and are feeble. They have until close of business to find a rescue or they will be euthanised in the morning. I panic and call the rescue that pulled Zeta, and they assure me all will be well. The volunteer who took possession of the kittens on Saturday graciously offers to foster them and bathe them before they have surgery. They are so filthy that she requests an extra day to clean them up.
This morning the boys show up for surgery bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. They are loved, neutered, then loved some more and go back to foster. The rescue will pick them up on Monday and they will be adopted out to amazing homes. Unless I can convince my husband to let me have them since I love them. I'll keep you posted.
3.
This one is for my coworker.
A woman walks in with her son and a cat in a carrier. She dramatically tells us how she has a debilitating heart condition and simply cannot care for the cat any longer, because cats are so high maintenance and none of her children have hands. At least, that's the only logical explanation we could come up with.
Some people are just so strong and inspiring.
4.
A guy is seen outside the shelter with a skinny dog on a rope, picking the dog up by his hide and beating him because he will not walk on the "leash." A kennel attendant approaches as the man is tying the dog to a table outside. He hands the dog over and comes in to do the paperwork.
I learn that the dog was given to the man when he was 3 months old. It does not have a name, and the owner was "some Mexican guy named Freddy". Freddy left 6 months ago and was supposed to return after one. His phone number has been disconnected. The dog has been in a pen outside for six months. He is skinny because his "caretaker" can't afford to feed both his own dog and Freddy's dog.
I name him Slim Jim and he is put on the adoption floor. He is sweet as pie, severely underweight and dehydrated. He needs foster or rescue, but they decide his chances will be better on the adoption floor.
The cruelty of people never ceases to amaze me.
