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| | From:  LitaBonita (Original Message) | Sent: 2/8/2006 10:43 PM |
Have you ever given money or volunteered or whatever and felt like it wasn't enough OR felt like you weren't sure how that was helping the cause? I feel like that sometimes. Anyhoot after that unfortunate dog death I witnessed it hit me like a ton of bricks and how dumb that I didn't think of this sooner! I decided that I am going to "steal" one stray dog at a time and bring it home, take it to the vet and incur all charges - you know vaccinations, spay/neuter, grooming whatever. I am going to create a website - probably not going to be too cute, will pay about $20 for web-hosting lol - I am going to then place the dog up for adoption. I have two friends so far willing to help in the event I want to bring more than one so they can keep one at their house. But for now just one since it is for sure only me. lol I was thinking, if everyone would do this that maybe the pet over-population could be controlled. I mean not all places have it as bad as we do. But I don't know how to get others to since I am not friends with Oprah. Any hoot - that is my new mission. Any ideas or whatever would help greatly! Saving one little pooch at a time... |
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You have to see the area I was in. There are just as many crackheads wandering around as there are strays. That makes me more sad for the dogs - however I did see a crackhead cruise by with a dog that looked to be his best bud. Hopefully the dog doesn't smoke crack too.  Anyway, as I was saying, the area of town is really bad. My husband gets really mad at me for lurking there. lol Traffic is super fast and if a blonde were to get out of a car at night (it was dark) she would definitely stand out and most likely be attacked...or hit in a drive by.  So, yeah, I need to leave work earlier. But soon it will get dark much later and I will be able to scoop more up. Oh, the receptionist called me the other day (they all know about my dog love lol) and told me there are two labs that look to be puppies that she sees running by every once in a while and said she will call me next time she spots them so I can nab them! lol OH - and I went out Friday night and this guy I hadn't seen in a while was telling me about his sister's decrepid Basset Hound and he said he feels so sorry for it but can't take it (he has a dog and only has room for that one) and he said his sister got another dog - ugh - and ignores the other. He said she doesn't know who to call or what to do with it because is afraid a shelter will put it to sleep. I said GIVE IT TO ME! He said she is really embarassed at the shape it is in... I am scared bless it's heart. He said it is HUGE! He is supposed to call me this week... hopefully he wasn't too drunk and remembers. lol I can get you at least $5,000! And remember, rent free. Jason is leaving so I just need someone to keep me company and play with the dogs. lol |
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OH! And one of my BEST FRIENDS called me yesterday to tell me that her husband bought her a puppy for V-Day. From a puppy mill.  |
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| | | From: Conrad | Sent: 2/14/2006 6:17 PM |
Lita, I really admire what you are doing. It's so sad the way the animals are treated buy the no brainerz. I always think of the quote from Ghandi. "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." So what does that say about our country? |
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Having grown up where I am, I've seen and still see a lot of "crackheads" and their ilk and really, the ones that have pets are really, really into their pets and take pretty good care of 'em. Not that I know them all, lol, so who knows? Maybe I just happen to gravitate towards people who are good with animals, lol.... I'm really sorry to hear about the Basset, but she needs to get over her embarrassment and just think about the freakin' dog for a minute. That just kills me... |
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Aww thanks Conrad. Same here Smig - It always looks like the dogs are so well taken care of and they are VERY well behaved. They just sit there and make only the moves the owners make. I have had a homeless man ask me for food for his dog before. Can you imagine? OK there have been two little dogs running around work in the grassy part out front. They are teeny tiny mini pinscher (sp?) looking dogs. A male and female. We have been trying to catch them. The female has a bad front left leg and keeps it up at all times. She tried to play with me last night then got spooked when a car came flying by! Today the guys in maintenance caught the male and said someone is taking it home to keep - hope they know what they are in for! I brought a crate today and we put cheese in it but this little girl is not dumb. She runs over and streeeeetches in, grabs the cheese and runs off. lol Right now she is out there lying right next to the crate. She is adorable! I have got to catch her!! |
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The homeless guy that lives at the closest freeway offramp - which happens to be just a few feet away from where my friend lives - had a dog for a while, one he had found and 'rescued'. My friend would buy food and treats for him, just to help out. It lasted a while, then one day the dog suddenly ran off and homey just couldn't catch him. But this friend of mine, damn....he has taken care of so many people's pets. Besides that homeless dude, there was this old couple around the corner that had a ton (a TON) of cats, mostly ferel. They didn't know what they were doing, but they wanted so badly to help those kitties....anyway, my friend was constantly buying food for them. And then his next-door neighbor (long story short here) was neglecting his pittie, so my friend ended up taking him in after the last big storm (the dog was relegated to a very, very small patch of land and it was all flooded - the dog didn't sleep for 3 days cuz he couldn't even lie down anywhere....that's when my friend finally stepped in). He had been feeding the guy's dog for him, but now he just took him in completely. Now it's another story though, cuz his wife didn't want to keep him (she's easily intimidated by big dogs and this one is huge....although when I met him, we were hugging and romping immediately, he's such a sweetheart!) - and they already have 2 dogs, 4 cats and an iguana in a very small duplex, so I sorta get that. Anyway, she wanted her uncle to take him, but my friend was so against it, cuz the uncle is a drug abuser (even though he's clean now, that ain't gonna last). But the wife was getting pissed, so my friend had to acquiesce - she wants to trust her uncle and there's no arguing with her. So the uncle is moving to Texas and should be leaving soon. My friend is so concerned that uncle is going to lose interest, or get back on the crack or something. He told me yesterday that he regrets giving in and feels he should've just argued with her over it, and kept the damn dog. (They really bonded in less than a few weeks - the uncle has had the dog for 2 weeks...and he's sleeping inside, going in the car with uncle everywhere he goes, etc., so he is being treated very well - but when my friend stopped by, the dog went right past uncle and straight to my friend.) My friend is really upset about all this. I don't know why I went on and on about that, lol. Sorry, just sharing...  |
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OK we cannot find that little dog I mentioned above so I hope it is ok. As you read on the other board I am getting Ishka back. Then I am going to get a Basset Hound that is being chained in a friend of a friend's sister's backyard. It is not taken care of (obviously) and is in pretty bad shape from what he is telling me. That sucker is about 70lbs! I am going to go and get him in about a week. He is going to be my first rescue (well besides the IGs). |
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The Basset Hound Rescue rep is going to pick up the poor fella - Moses - and bring to the rescue. Pray that he does not have heartworms. He is 9 years old and I doubt their rescue vet will treat him at that age. It is very expensive and it is also hard on older dogs. I hope he makes it. He deserves to.  |
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| Whenever I hear basset, I can't help but think about my sister's old dog that just recently passed. He's the one I dressed up in our picture album.  |
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Still struggling for help with rescuing the Basset Hound. With Ishka back it is tough. The Basset Hound rescue rep totally sucked. Not a fan of her AT ALL. |
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| hey, lita. i was wondering if you have caught any now? unless i have misread. i am doing something smiliar with cats. i am catching them and then keeping/or finding them homes. some people i know even help them and put them back where they were if they feel it is safe enough. but i bet cats are easier b/c they are smaller and more prevelant. i use the humane traps. do they have them big enough for dogs? |
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| | | From: ·ãléx· | Sent: 11/2/2006 8:11 PM |
Lita, people like you give me hope. I've been rescuing strays since I was a kid, and I wish more people were willing to do the same. My family has five cats and one dog because I can't stop adopting them...I feel like I have a "stray animal" beacon or something-- they're always crossing my path.
Oh, and you're right btw-- trying to catch stray animals is definitely hard work. It takes a lot of patience, a willingness to totally stop your day until you succeed. A few months ago I spent two hours sitting quietly near a pitbull puppy until I was finally able to slide a leash around his neck. He was very, very skittish up until that point, so I just kept following him quietly from a decent distance, talking to him calmly and encouragining him to come closer. Once I had him leashed he stuck to me like I was his best friend-- even sat in my lap while I drove him to the shelter. Turned out he had a microchip (one reason why it's a good idea to get them scanned, although I confess that I did get a little indignant in a "what kind of owners don't have collars and tags on their puppy??" kind of way). If it weren't for the chip, I know I would have kept him.
On Friday I left work and saw a stray dog and cat running around in the parking lot across the street. I tried to get the dog to come over, but he wouldn't have it-- ran off before I even crossed the street. I figured the cat was a lost cause because they're usually completely unwilling to come near humans, but when I turned around she was sitting a few feet away. I started talking to her and meowing (which must have been hysterical for any passerby), and eventually I sat down and she started circling me, closer and closer, until she let me start petting her. Once I had her hooked on the affection I stood up and started walking towards my car-- I knew if I tried to pick her up she'd freak-- and kept talking to see if she'd follow me. I was honestly surprised when she did, but she trotted right after me and even stopped at the street to make sure it was safe before she crossed.
Once we got to my car it took a little more time, but eventually she jumped in on her own accord and I was able to shut the doors. She calmed down after I pet her some more and curled up in my lap for most of the trip home. Now she's sleeping in my bathroom, rotating rooms with my other cat (who has a huge personality for such a tiny animal, and can be very stubborn and territorial). I'll be bringing the stray to the vet tomorrow morning..she's got some owwies and scabs, possible an abcess that burst as well, but on the whole she's been acclimating very well to being indoors and is just as sweet as can be. She's also very, very pretty-- kind of a maine coone/tabby coloring, longer fur. Loves to be petted, loves sleeping in the sink-- just a real sweetheart all around. She also doesn't seem to care at all when my cat gets huffy, so I'm kinda sorta hoping that we might be able to keep her too. If not, we'll wait till we can find a good home, but in the meantime I'm planning on loving her to pieces.
My fiance always jokes that he doesn't have to worry about me getting baby cravings-- just animal cravings. Occasionally he'll come home and I'll be staring longingly at petfinder.com, all teary and wishing I could adopt them all. I know that instead of having children we're going to wind up with a foster organization or shelter of our own.... For now, like you guys, I'll just keep trying to rescue as many strays as I can. |
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Animal cravings....yup. :) It is always good to hear of other people trying to help the stray animals, too. I know that there are so many human problems alone, that it is sometimes overwhelming to begin the process of helping animal life, too.
I catch a lot of strays, too....and they are all different. Some are so shy and take a long time...if ever...to become tame. Others are friendly and warm up fairly quickly after their initial fear has subsided. And some ....have been abandoned..so they just want to have a home, again.
We have six cats so far...(well, I have 7...but one lives with my dad since she has been there all her life....) and we have 2 strays that we are in the process of finding homes for...I think I am going to be making a new application instead of using the rescue group form. I really want to stress that we will take the animal back at anytime...even when they are old!(if they can still contact us or find us in some way.) I have just had so many friends who are excited about getting a pet and then that ceases and they decide to just up and give the animal to the humane society. Even animals that they have spent alot of money on.
I love doing it so much.....my boyfriend nearly considers it my job b/c i work more with the animals than i actually work in our field, which is working with individuals that have developmental disabilities. The job is actually more frustrating b/c there are so many dead-ends where your hands are really tied to make a difference. Also, most of my income does end up going to towards helping with animals and catching strays, etc. I was quite sad yesterday b/c one of the many strays around town that I have seen from a distance a few times...was hit on the road yesterday...it was just a kitten and I felt so bad for it. I wished I could have gone back in time and just tried to catch it...somehow. I even hate leaving them in the middle of the road when they are dead...but alot of the times...it is the safer thing to do...tyler gets so mad when I nearly risk my life to remove a dead animal from the road. Sometime I want to make sure they truly are dead...occassionally they are not...but you usually have some hint. I have saved a few bunnies that way..but usually they do end up dying...but at least they haven't been completely miserable the whole time(at least I hope not), but I hate it when I see a badly injured animal..usually squirrels...that I stop to help ...but all the traffic behind me does not stop... most actually seem to run over it on purpose. That happens all the time with groundhogs around here....even if they have not already been hit. Oh, since I have entered a tangent....there is movie called "All the Little Animals" that is interesting and is about burying the animals that have been hit and left on the side of the road.
Well, here is the picture of the newest strays that we have. We have two other strays, as welll, but we considered those ours now since we intend to keep them. But these two are adorable. One is nearly all black and the other is white with some black and it has a bushy black and white tail. They do come out of their cage...but they can't be around our other cats until they have had all of their shots. They are very active, too, and will not stay still for a picture yet unless they are in the cage wanting me to open the door. |
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God bless both of you. I love you both!  |
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