It looks like I need to update our relocation page

It was a great mail day today. It looks like I need to update Addison's story on my relocation web page.

"I went to your website to tell a friend about your organization. I see you still have Addison on your tutorial page on how to relocate feral cats. I still have him 6 years later!! We actually moved 3 miles away from our old place a couple of years ago; he did excellent. We also have another barn cat who adopted us, Orange Kitty. They are best friends. Addison is an amazing cat. He has never tried to bite or scratch me in all the years I have had him. I can pick him up, though he doesn’t really like to be held. He had a terrible wound a couple of years ago and had to be caged for a few weeks to heal. I got right in the cage with him to feed him his pills twice daily and to love him up. He and Orange Kitty hang out on our front porch occasionally too. Just wanted to give you an update on a huge success story J Thanks for all you do.

Renée"

Just let me hug every feline in view, okay? I love messages like this.

Faith gets a home!

I need to send a box of chocolates (or a bag of cat treats) to Susan at Lucky Day Cat Rescue for sending an adopter to me. They were looking for a black-and-white cat, and Susan pointed out that we had little Faith. They came to visit, and Faith will shortly be going to her new home!

You may remember that Faith was abandoned down with the Fast Food Ferals and gave birth to little Hope. We scooped up Hope, and finally nabbed Faith last March. She charmed us for a full year here at Wildrun.





Because she has been here so long, we are taking her off to the vet for a checkup, second FeLV/FIV test, and booster vaccinations.

I know I have been a very poor friend to my readers. Maple, the blocked cat, is doing GREAT, thanks to our wonderful vet and staff at Cornerstone Veterinary Clinic. I'll have more on that later.

When you give a "we'll take them back" guarantee..."

...sometimes you do get them back.



Maple is here. Or rather, he is at the vet. He has a urinary blockage and the long term care was going to be more than the couple who adopted him (and his sister) could afford, due to a recent vet bill for their dog, several house repairs, and a little one on the way. They took him to the emergency clinic last night, but when they learned that just to unblock him with a hospital stay would run $1500 (and perhaps an additional fee for surgery if he reblocked repeatedly), they had to stop at $350. They called me this morning, and I gave my vet a call. The emergency vet had already updated them, so when I said I had a cat returned who needed to come in, they said "You mean Maple?"

So silly, incredibly friendly Maple is at the vet tonight with a cone on his head and a catheter stitched in. Owchy!

Then it was back to the vet at 4:00 with Squeak, one of my personal cats, with a nasty cough. I used the new camera to video him in a coughing fit, since I knew he wouldn't exhibit it for the vet. I'd post it here, but my computer won't save it without me downloading some software. I also have a cute little clip of Maple at the vet.

I have been remiss about posting rescue work. Red Maple Kennels is spay/neutering their feral cats, so we lent them equipment and housed two cats for them, post surgery, before they decided they could do it themselves. So I also lent them a feral cat den, on they are on their way to getting all their barn cats fixed.

And I didn't take a single photo of those two sweet lady cats.

Spencer Community Business Fair

They had an amazing turnout at the Spencer Community Business Fair last weekend. Every year it gets a little bigger, and the crowd get larger as well!



We got a primo corner spot for Wildrun and Petfinder. Next year I need to come up with something vertical to fill up all that space!

Arthur was a sweetheart. He was petted, cuddled, poked, and played with by every human in the place, and for awhile, his cage was THE place for the teenagers to hang out. A few people did take cards, but alas, he has received no inquiries for adoption.

I talked to Karen Frick about advertising in the Broader View Weekly. Tim Schwender (cat caretaker extraordinaire, and Totalily Water Gardens) and his mother came by, and she won one of my Petfinder doorprizes (and I didn't even pick the name, I promise). Carol Ackerman also visited (Lockwood Colony cats). And other people I will need to add later as I remember them all!

At the Petfinder booth, I printed off about five adoptable pet flyers for each of the local shelters. I had planned it just as "color" to show what Petfinder does, but a people fell in love with the pets, came to my with a flyer of a particular pet and said "Can I take this with me?" So I hope maybe a few of those shelters got inquiries on their pets.



And what did I buy? I bought one bunch of tulips from Baker Florists, and this wonderful handbag booth had a handmade bag just the right size for my netbook. And that was my splurge. And alas, I did not get a card so I cannot link them!



This really is a fun event! If you didn't make it this year, you should try next year!

Longfellow does punctuation

I suppose I could have found something to put below him to make him look more like an exclamation point:

Someone had a good cup of coffee this morning!

Posted on the VA ACA Facebook page this morning:

Virginia Animal Control Association ~ Each day we go to work knowing the difficulties we’ll face, the challenges we must overcome. We ask for nothing but will work tirelessly to make a difference in the lives of animals and people. Within our minds and hearts we have a collective strength all across the Commonwealth of Virginia. We are animal care and control professionals and we are a TEAM!

Well, damn. I was sitting on my butt behind my computer and now I want to get up and GO GET SOMETHING DONE!

Save NYS Spay/Neuter Fund

From the Tompkins County SPCA Facebook page!


News:

On page 171 of a 585 page document entitled "Executive Budget Agency Presentations" there is a seemingly innocuous heading "Dog license reform". The suggestion from the Commissioner of Agriculture and Markets and accepted by governor Patterson is to eliminate the State's role in dog licensing and have each city, town and village (about 1,000 across the state) do their own licensing. Sounds like it wouldn't make much difference, you'll still get a dog license and show proof of rabies vaccination at your town clerk. Might not sound much different. There are many issues around decentralizing dog licensing, but that's not my greatest concern.

The problem is what this summary does not say. What the governor left out is that with the elimination of the central dog license database, the governor is also planning to eliminate the State's Animal Population Control Fund (APCF). The APCF gets money from a $3 surcharge on every dog license sold in the state for dogs that are not spayed or neutered as well as those spay/neuter license plates some of you have. The fund then pays for spay/neuter surgeries for low income people and animals adopted from shelters that were not already altered. This fund has subsidized surgeries for over 90,000 animals. By the way, you will still pay extra for those license plates, but there's no plan to spend that money on spay/neuter as you were told it would. This change means millions of animals were never born that would have ended up in shelters and added strain and expense to an unfunded non-profit system. By the way, you will still pay extra for those license plates, but there's no plan to spend that money on spay/neuter as you were told it would.

This is a system that worked, helped animals, helped people and was paid for. In 2008, the governor stole $1 million from the fund and put it in the general fund, who knows where that money went, but it did not go to help animals. Its time we stand up and tell our government to stop taking away service we care about for our companion animals.

We should not allow this important service to disappear in our state. Other states have seen the value and success of similar programs and understand that spaying and neutering animals saves money because the puppies and kittens don't have to go to shelters.

We have recommended to legislators that they create a statewide non-profit entity that will collect funds from the $3 surcharge and give grants to veterinarians and organizations that wish to help low income people spay or neuter their pets. The administration costs for the non-profit would be significantly lower than what the government has spent on the fund and would create a sustainable statewide spay/neuter system, but we need your help now!

YOU CAN DO SOMETHING.

Act now:

Contact your local Senators and Assembly members:

To find out who your senator is click here enter your address and you will be told who your senator is. Then call, write and e-mail and let them know you want the State's Spay and neuter fund to be preserved.

To find out who your assembly member is click here You can enter your zip code and find out who your assembly members is, again, let them know you want the state spay/neuter fund to be saved.

Yes, the governor has a lot going on, but you can still contact him:

David A. Paterson
State Capitol
Albany, NY 12224

518-474-8390

Let him know that he was wrong to suggest eliminating the fund and he she withdraw his recommendation.

Thank you for your support and please speak out for the animals, they have no voices of their own.

Another Friday, another resolution

The cats are lined up to watch the show.

(Note: I believe this is the first photo I've gotten with every single pet in it, except Bear, who was outdoors at the time).

It's a good thing I have no problem remaking the same resolutions over and over. Here comes another weekend, but first I must get through Friday. Resolution #1: empty email inboxes at work so I can move into the weekend with my brain on painting the upstairs of the house, and getting ready for the Spencer Community Business Showcase. Come see Arthur and myself, and our two booths: one for Wildrun, and one for Petfinder!

The Showcase is at the Spencer Middle School from 1 to 4 (that's not much time, so don't miss it!). The weather is supposed to be warm, so there are no excuses for not stopping by. You can find locally made gifts, flowers, food, and all sorts of fun stuff (including ARTHUR!)

Last year, this little barn was for sale at the booth near me for some incredibly low price ($10). It lights up. The sheep I got from an Owego store a few months later. Sorry for the fuzzy photo, but I need to be working in 8 minutes.



Hopefully this time I'll be set up next to a booth that doesn't have cute things I'm tempted to buy!

I'm sure it's a busy day for you-all, too!

Susan