Weekend Update

Konnichiwa! I hope everyone has had an awesome weekend!

Saturday was our day at the Newbern Fall Festival. I got there about 8 o'clock and found that Joanne, husband George, Laura, and Jeff had already started setting up. Anita and Tammy arrived shortly after I did. Tammy brought many cans of colored hairspray, and I believe she made our first "sale." She barely had the table set up before a little girl arrived wanting pink hair. I had to leave at 9:30 to cover the office, and didn't get back until about 3:30, but I hope we made lots of money for the animals. Credit to Joanne, George, Laura, and Anita who stayed all day!

Meanwhile, back at the shelter, Judith and Tasha were finishing up the condo when I arrived. The new cat cages have arrived and are assembled in the condo.

We have a few new residents this weekend. A lady brought in a big semi-feral tuxedo; she has been catching cats that have been dropped at her house. A sheriff's deputy brought in a small dog who was recognized by the inmates, Keely, and Joyce as having been a resident before. Evidently, the owner did not learn from the first experience when her dog was picked up stray. He is very sweet and will sit up and beg for a treat. A nice couple brought in a mama dog and 3 puppies; the dogs were dumped on them by an irresponsible family member. The mama dog is a small wire-haired mix who weighs less than 10 lbs. The puppies are 3-4 months old and are already as big or bigger than mama, so who knows what dad is!

Two of the aforementioned puppies were adopted within half an hour. They seemed like very good homes; new dog owners were interested in all the information I gave them about behavior and house training and making sure the get proper vet care. We also gave them the "free Pedigree for a month" forms. If you are doing an adoption or are present when an adoption is occurring, please try to educate the adopters about house training, behavior, vet care, etc. There are some handouts in the education room, and I'm sure we can get more. Hopefully, a little education will help keep these animals from being returned to the shelter for minor problems that could easily be resolved with a little work.

Keely and I both did many shelter tours on Saturday. Hopefully, some of the families will return to adopt a dog on Monday.

Mama dog and the remaining puppy got a bath and ear cleaning today. I used the conditioning spray (thanks Nicole!), but still couldn't get a comb through them! They are still very pretty and smell very nice! Billy helped me for a couple of hours this morning, but then he ran off to go kayaking, leaving me to play with the kitties all by myself!

Has everyone met Bailey? If you haven't, you are really missing out! She has got to be one of the sweetest, most well-mannered dogs that has ever been through the shelter. She walks good on the leash, is very calm, likes being brushed, and nudges you with her nose when she wants to be petted. She has already passed SAFER, but has a fatty growth on her tummy that needs to be removed, so she could not go on the Waggin'. She is PERFECT, and would be a great dog for any family--kids included! A new volunteer brought her son (maybe 2 or 3 years old) to the shelter, and he was just hugging and squeezing on Bailey's head and she was lovin' it! (I think our new volunteer has her heart set on adopting Justin, however). Why is this wonderful dog still at the shelter, you ask? Very good question! Sadly, she is a big black dog, and she can't do the nose-nudge thing through the bars. I tied one of our walk-a-thon bandanas around her neck as an eye-catcher, but this "plain Jane" will need some heavy-duty promotion if she is to be adopted before the next Waggin'.

October 16th is National Feral Cat Day. This website has lots of good information and resources, including printable pages and important information that has nothing to do with feral cats, such as info on working with the media. You can also sign up for the "Feral Power!" newsletter. Check it out!

Well, gosh, I'm tired. See you homies later!