Search This Blog

Saturday, October 1, 2011

One Very PRECIOUS Reason Not to Adopt Long Distance

My name is Precious, I am a 3 year old tortie, and I have a very important story to share. Late June 2011, I was turned into New York's Animal Control as a stray along with my 5 newborn babies. Then I caught the dreaded cold and I was scheduled to be killed on July 13th. A woman from Michigan was so very determined to adopt me and my babies. Anjellicle Cat Rescue only agreed to help her as she seemed to really care because she drove 10 hours to come pick me up and then 10 hours back to Michigan. 
                       
                     
Sadly 3 of my babies died while in the shelter. Everyone was so happy that it looked liked I had someone who really cared. Little did they know. A few days ago, Anjellicle, was notified that I was dumped at the Michigan Humane Society. I tried to be a good girl but I guess I just wasn't good enough. It's believed that one of my remaining babies died and the other we just don't know where she is. Guess they only wanted me for my babies and nothing else.


When I got dumped at the Michigan shelter I ended up in quarantine because I scratched at someone. They don't know how scared I was. All this traveling from state to state, cages, babies are dead and gone, and I'm in heat again. The nice people at Anjellicle were really upset about me! Someone cared! They couldn't understand why this woman would not have called them rather than dumping me again at a shelter like garbage. They were even going to find someone to come pick me up because I likely would have been killed if I wasn't deemed adoptable.


My quarantine was up September 29th and my new foster family came to get me on September 30th. They live in the same area in Michigan. They made sure that I was spayed before I left, so I wouldn't have to be traumatized much more by going back and forth to the vet's. They already have kitties and doggies in their house! 


Today, I'm sitting in my mom's office at home, with her and my new 23 year old kitty sister, Sammy. My tummy still hurts from my surgery and I'm so scared again. I don't mean to but I hiss and growl only because I'm so afraid something else is going to happen. I can't take much more rejection, cages, traveling and unfamiliar faces that are cold and foreign to me. They gave me a brand new bed that pads my swollen belly. They tell me I'm so special I even get my food and water in Fiestaware bowls! I know the other kitties and doggies want to meet me but they will have to wait a while until I'm feeling much better and have gained some confidence. Somehow, I don't think I'll ever have to leave here. Today I feel so loved, so warm as I bask in the sun, my tummy has been filled with warmed up food, and I know this time I AM safe. 


PLEASE if you ever consider a long distance adoption think twice if not ten times! Precious was lucky only because others cared. Adopt or foster from your own state, there's never a shortage of fuzzlebutts that need help. What happens if they get sick or you don't want them..the rescue in the other state can't get their animals back immediately! This lousy (and I'm being very nice here) adopter cost Anjellicle many hours that could have been put to helping the hundreds of kittens and cats they rescue. This adopter cost them in higher than normal vet fees for being out of state. What you did to Precious and her kittens was nothing short of torture. You only thought of yourself. You only wanted to congratulate yourself on the back for being a hero for saving a cat and her kittens from the e-list. You only wanted a tiny baby to look at. I hate to even think of what happened to this kitten. I suspect nothing good as you refuse to answer anyone's emails. Your refusal to answer much less dumping this girl like yesterday's trash speaks volumes as to your character. Precious has been so traumatized by all of this it will take much time and work to make her feel whole again. May God forgive you for your ignorance. But guess what? Our family is willing and honored to give her this time she needs. We will teach her to feel confident. We will show her what it means to be truly loved. We will deny ourselves in order to make ends meet just to be able to help her. Precious is now HOME!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Twinkle, twinkle little Star. When you go out tonight look for the brightest light in the sky. That will be little Star.


I sell on an ecommerce site. We are a fairly tight knit community of sellers many of whom are one step beyond furbaby lovers. We constantly post about love of furkids, share information and just plain try to help each outside the realm of day to day ecommerce activities.


Last night I was contacted and asked if I could help someone with a kitten they had found. Many others had already jumped in and made many suggestions as the "finder" (and I use that term loosely) was concerned about the kittens health as there were "white things sticking to the fur". By the end of the night we guessed it may be blowfly eggs on the fur and beneath the skin. At all times, I kept in contact with the "finder" who appeared to be germ phobic and obviously not a furbaby person. We tried our damnedest to tread carefully so as not to offend her but yet save this young baby.


The baby was placed in a box out near a barn..alone all night. It's eyes were sealed yet could walk. I can only imagine the pain and grief this little one felt crying for someone to care for him/her. No food, no water, no comfort because someone was too terrified of "white stuff".


I belong to a VERY special group of rescue people. I am so proud to call them my friends. Nothing stops them, nothing. They work their regular jobs and do rescue on top of that. Think of the hours involved. I've watched as they laughed in joy at the conquests of saving one cat. I've wept with them as they lost one baby after another yet they do not stop. You really have to know them to realize the work they do, day in and day out. They save the cats that are to be euthanized in the morning, staying up all night trying to figure out how they can squeeze in just one more kitty. How they work together like a finely tuned engine, no one skips a beat. How they immediately stop everything at a drop of a hat to save a cat or kitten. How they spend literally their entire paychecks on this work. Their reward is the happy little purr and smooshing of happy feet from their wards and the knowledge that this small wee being is going to eventually live in a home where they will never know hunger, fear, cold, or being unloved.

Back to last night. When it became obvious that the "finder" would not do a thing to help this kitten, many of us ran for our FaceBook friends in the business. I contacted my group. In no time flat they were organizing a rescue. Let me explain that this meant they dropped what they were doing, stopped their dinner, their families, and their nightly chores of cat care for so many just help one little Star.


It was a battle to communicate with the finder as she was too worried about how she would look to her children, her fear that the police would be contacted, totally irrational fears of disease. Yet she was HAPPY that her children were able to find a kitten.


One of my rescue friends was willing to drive 2 hours each way to go pick up the kitten if it was still alive. "Finder" had signed off and out for the night to put her kids to bed. Didn't care that people were working their asses off for most of the night. Didn't bother to check on the kitten, alone in the dark and hungry. I finally went to bed around 4am resigned that Star would be in heaven.


Today around noon, I find out the kitten is still alive and "would I get someone out there right away so she didn't look so bad in front of her kids". Again the rescues go full speed ahead to get someone there as fast as they can. Did I mention that "finder" was offered money to cover vet costs if she would only take the kitten in? Did I mention that this group of unbelievable people were willing to cover and fund raise to cover all vetting costs out of their own pocket, to spend their hard earned dollars on the gas expenses, taking the time off of work without pay, that they bartered with yet another rescue within an hours drive time to get the baby picked up sooner. Did I mention that if the baby had survived it already had a home?


I sit here crying my eyes out at their supreme efforts to save Star from a woman who claims to be so worried about her children. So worried that she pointedly stated that this was not her responsibility (wait didn't she ask for help initially?). 3 of us called her. She was begged to please go give the kitten something to eat. She shoved a can of tuna at the kitten (my interpretation). Her response was that she was grossed out because the "white things" hatched into worms and were eating the kitten, that she wished they'd never found it.


In between the emails and activity on both threads in 2 separate places, people were voicing their jubilation that something was being done to help this kitten. No one said a word to the "finder" who had again grown silent, too silent. She finally responded stating that "we all should be ashamed of ourselves for damning her"?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? and then shortly thereafter deleted the thread.


One of the ladies called the "finder" again to ask her to check on the kitten. Baby Star had died alone, cold and in the drizzling rain.


I received this note of THANKS from the "finder":
"she called (meaning the rescue) i checked the kitten it died and she hung up telling me she wished i would have been more responcable with the kitten??!! and wouldnt run away from it, wtf ok i did its not my cat for one I dont have wild cats either ok no pets at all so how am i getting the blame i tried to get the kitten help ok without getting my kids all worked up over it ok they are a fucking mess as well and she said that and hung up the nerve wow should have never asked you bonanza wierded opoinonaters for any help wow soooo annoyed right now!! I mean really"


She's annoyed? Lady, you have NO IDEA what annoyed is even close to. Oh yes this was also directed to me: "THANKS for your help…..and thanks for making me to be an evil no caring bitch much much appreciated :) "


It's OK "finder". Take your shots at me I have nothing but sympathy for you. I do however take great offense that you called one of the ladies back later on screaming "that it was her fault because a rescue didn't get there in time, that she was a fucking (I apologize) bitch for upsetting your children"


How dare you? You could assume no responsibility what so ever in this horrendous mess. People were running like madmen because you wouldn't lift a damn finger. Again HOW DARE YOU? How can you look those children in the eye and blame someone else...you could have taught them how much people really do care. So many valuable lessons to make them stronger in their values. Now they learn to be bitter, run from responsibility and pass the buck. How does one raise their own children if you are so sickened by germs. How do you handle the children that are sick, that vomit, that get diarrhea..are they left on their own as well? I understand not all people are pet people. But at least have the courtesy to be respectful to those that tried to help you.


To my dear rescue friends..words can never convey the sheer admiration and love I have for each and every single one you. Day in and day out you fill my inner self with peace and love by your acts of love and kindness.


To my fellow selling friends...we are a family of crazy fur loving maniacs and I couldn't go a day without you. You care, you share and above all else you give.


To the "finder"...you have to look at yourself in the mirror and live with how you treated an innocent animal that needed your help. You have to look at your children and know the real truth. Karma bites hard..real hard. You have my sincerest sympathy.


Tonight I feel truly blessed as I look into the sky, seeing that one big bright Star. I know you have crossed the bridge and will always be loved and cared for. Please know that despite the fact that we never saw you nor held you, that you were as surely loved as any kitten could have have been been.






Twinkle, twinkle, little star,


How I wonder what you are.


Up above the world so high,


Like a diamond in the sky.


Twinkle, twinkle, little star,


How I wonder what you are!



When the blazing sun is gone,


When he nothing shines upon,


Then you show your little light,


Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.


Twinkle, twinkle, little star,


How I wonder what you are!




Then the traveler in the dark


Thanks you for your tiny spark;


He could not see which way to go,


If you did not twinkle so.


Twinkle, twinkle, little star,


How I wonder what you are!




In the dark blue sky you keep,


While you thro' my window peep,


And you never shut your eye,


Till the sun is in the sky,


Twinkle, twinkle, little star,


How I wonder what you are

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Why Own A Dog?

Why own a dog? There's a danger you know,



You can't own just one, for the craving will grow.


There's no doubt they're addictive, wherein lies the danger.


While living with lots, you'll grow poorer and stranger.






One dog is no trouble, and two are so funny.


The third one is easy, the fourth one's a honey.


The fifth one's delightful, the sixth one's a breeze,


You find you can live with a houseful of ease.






So how 'bout another? Would you really dare?


They're really quite easy but, oh, Lord the hair!


With dogs on the sofa and dogs on the bed,


And crates in the kitchen, it's no bother, you've said.






They're really no trouble, their manners are great.


What's one more dog and just one more crate?


The sofa is hairy, the windows are crusty,


The floor is all footprints, the furniture dusty.






The housekeeping suffers, but what do you care?


Who minds a few noseprints and a little more hair?


So let's keep a puppy, you can always find room,


And a little more time for the dust cloth and broom.






There's hardly a limit to the dogs you can add,


The thought of a cutback sure makes you sad.


Each one is so special, so useful, so funny.


The vet and food bills grows larger, you owe BIG money.






Your folks never visit, few friends come to stay,


Except other "dog folks" who live the same way.


Your lawn has now died, and your shrubs are dead too,


But your weekends are busy, you're off with your crew.






There's dog food and vitamins, training and shots.


And entries and travel and motels which cost lots.


Is it worth it you wonder? Are you caught in a trap?


Then that favorite one comes and climbs in your lap.






His look says you're special and you know that you will


Keep all of the critters in spite of the bill.


Some just for showing and some just to breed.


And some just for loving, they all fill a need.






God, winter's a hassle, the dogs hate it too.


But they must have their walks though they're numb and your blue.


Late evening is awful, you scream and you shout


At the dogs on the sofa who refuse to go out.






The dogs and the dog shows, the travel, the thrills,


The work and the worry, the pressure, the bills.


The whole thing seems worth it, the dogs are your life.


They're charming and funny and offset the strife.






Your life-style has changed. Things won't be the same.


Yes, those dogs are addictive and so is the dog game.






Unknown Poet



Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Pet Food Drive for the Needy was an OVERWHELMING Success...THANK YOU!!!


 Sometimes you just don't know what to say. And this is one of those times. In our last blog, we asked for donations to help feed the needy pets just in our community. Hope Center in Macomb offers a FANTASTIC free food pantry, but the one thing they lacked was pet food. So many people surrender their animals because they cannot afford pet food or they will deny themselves in order to feed their fuzzlebutts.




On March 12, 2011 we set up a chip in on Facebook in the amount of $600.00 to go purchase cat and dog food for Hope. In less than 24 hours our target goal was met and exceeded! We collected 662.00! Paypal removed $23.42 in their fees so we had $638.58 to spend as responsibly as we could.




We decided to look for the smaller 3-5 pound bags so that it would reach more people. In order to make the dollars stretch we had to purchase the cheaper brands, but at least we know a lot of furbabies will have full tummies as will their owners. After going to several different grocery stores, wholesale pet stores and just the dollar stores we scored what we think was a pretty darn good haul!  




On March 15th, in total, we purchased 175 bags of dry pet food or a total of 661 pounds of food. We purchased 94 bags of cat food weighing 315 pounds and 81 bags of dog food that weighed 346 pounds. Total amount spent in all was $677.08




On March 16th, we delivered it to Hope. They were ecstatic and extremely grateful. And oh so surprised with what a bunch of loving FaceBook animal lovers could do in such a short time. They will be featuring this in their newsletter as well.


OOPS, cut off our own heads lol. That big white box is the huge ones you see holding watermelons or pumpkins, just to give you an idea of the amount of food

To say Thank You just doesn't seem enough. We see so many of you day in and night out working to save so many animals with the biggest hearts of gold that we have ever met. To call you our best friends is an honor. We sure love you and we know that all the lives that you have and will touch, will love you just as much.



Kitty Kisses and Puppy Hugs,
Fuzzlebutts

Friday, March 11, 2011

When You Have to Decide on Food/Prescriptions for Yourself or to Feed your Furbaby...This Should Never be an Option!

A growing number of Americans are giving up their dogs and cats to animal shelters or just letting them go outside to fend for themselves as the emotional bonds between people and pets get tested by economic ones. As owners face unemployment, home foreclosures, evictions and other financial hardships they are forced to decide to feed themselves or their pets. They will skip their own prescriptions just so their furbaby can eat.



Fuzzlebutts wants to help owners keep their pets and to prevent more from being sent to shelters, sometimes death and just plain starving to death. We may be small but we can help and make a difference. When income plummets, desperate people find themselves unable to feed and care for their beloved pets, causing heartache for the owners and swelling the population of homeless animals. They're just brokenhearted, because the last thing they want to do is give up their pets.


This hit me like a brick when I found this agency this morning, not 2 miles from our home. Hope Center in Macomb is a "one-stop-shop," also referred to as a "human services mall," that will provide access to services for individuals and families in need. The focal point of the "one-stop-shop" will be the client-choice food pantry, the only client-choice food pantry in Macomb County, which will stand as the cornerstone and main focus of Hope Center in Macomb. The current unemployment rate in Michigan is 15.4%, with Macomb County's rate at 18.4%. According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Macomb County's current level of poverty is at a population of 44,010. Hope Center in Macomb is located within a 10 mile radius of 87.7% of this population. Hope Center in Macomb is located on the main thoroughfare, Groesbeck Highway, just north of 14 Mile Road in central Macomb County, allowing ease of accessibility to those in need. They provide human food but only on a rare occasion receive pet food or litter to be able to give out.


So Fuzzlebutts has decided to take on a mission of their own. We are collecting funds to buy food and litter for this agency to be able to provide! Please help us feed and care for some our local pets by donating to the chip in. I will spend the weekend collecting manufacturers coupons and we will shop responsibly! We are so excited to be able to help as there have been many times that people have helped us when we were down on our luck. Even a dollar will help! If we can raise enough we will let you know what we buy and when it is taken to Hope. If for some God forsaken reason that we cannot raise enough, what monies received will be returned to the donater. This will be our first attempt and if all goes well we will do again in the future.




With all paws crossed,


fuzzlebutts
 


Wednesday, February 9, 2011

You are invited to a VERY Furry Valentine's Party In Howell, Michigan!

You are cordially invited to attend the First Annual Livingston County Animal Control Valentine's Day Party!
Come meet the love of your life - your very own fuzzlebutt! - at Livingston County Animal Control's first ever Valentine's Day Party and Open House.

There will be refreshments, valentines for the animals, cat and kitten adoption specials, and goodie bags.

They are offering a special cat or kitten adoption  -  adopt one furbutt, get one  deal – pay full price for a cat or a kitten and get a pal for that feline for a dollar. Now how cool is that! I love that they offer these deals so cats are not put down!

Even if you can't attend how about contributing to their Kuranda Bed drive? On the floor no more!

Thousands of dogs in animal shelters across the country sleep on cold, wet, concrete floors 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Cats in cages have little alternatives to sleeping in their litter pans. Kuranda beds offer them warm, dryness and comfort.




The party is on Thursday, February 10, 2011 from  noon to 4pm. They are located at 418 S. Highlander Way in Howell, Michigan 48443

Here's just a few of the fuzzlebutts you can adopt as your Valentine!













These sad little souls need you as much as you need them. They cry for the owner that handed over the leash to strangers and left them all alone. They are confused by the unfamiliar sounds and faces that surround them. They long for the touch of a human mom or dad again and maybe some kids to play with. They long for lots of good food and water, a warm home, love and a promise to never be abandoned again no matter what. Can you make that commitment to offer love to a fuzzlebutt? Sure you can :)

Love,
Fuzzlebutts






















                                                                                    

Monday, February 7, 2011

I Am Your Dog..Do you keep me chained like a thing?

I am a dog. I am a living, breathing animal. I feel pain, joy, love, fear and pleasure.



I am not a thing. If I am hit - I will bruise, I will bleed, I will break. I will feel pain. I am not a thing.


I am a dog. I enjoy playtime, walk time, but more than anything, I enjoy time with my pack - my family - my people. I want nothing more than to be by the side of my human. I want to sleep where you sleep and walk where you walk. I am a dog and I feel love...I crave companionship.


I enjoy the touch of a kind hand and the softness of a good bed. I want to be inside of the home with my family, not stuck on the end of a chain or alone in a kennel or fenced yard for hours on end. I was born to be a companion, not to live a life of solitude.


I get too cold and I get too hot. I experience hunger and thirst. I am a living creature, not a thing.


When you leave, I want to go with you. If I stay behind, I will eagerly await your return. I long for the sound of your voice. I will do most anything to please you. I live to be your treasured companion.


I am a dog. My actions are not dictated by money, greed, or hatred. I do not know prejudice. I live in the moment and am ruled by love and loyalty.


Do not mistake me for a mindless object. I can feel and I can think. I can experience more than physical pain, I can feel fear and joy. I can feel love and confusion. I have emotions. I understand perhaps more than you do. I am able to comprehend the words you speak to me, but you are not always able to understand me.


I am a dog. I am not able to care for myself without your help. If you choose to tie me up and refuse to feed me, I will starve. If you abandon me on a rural road, I will experience fear and loneliness. I will search for you and wonder why I have been left behind. I am not a piece of property to be dumped and forgotten.


If you choose to leave me at a shelter, I will be frightened and bewildered. I will watch for your return with every footfall that approaches my kennel run.


I am a dog - a living, breathing creature. If you choose to take me home, please provide me with the things that I need to keep me healthy and happy.


Provide me with good food, clean water, warm shelter and your love. Do not abandon me. Do not kick me. Do not dump me when your life gets too busy. Make a commitment to me for the entirety of my life, or do not take me home in the first place.


If you desert me, I do not have the means to care for myself. I am at the mercy of the kindness of people - if I fall into the wrong hands, my life will be ruined.


I will experience pain, fear and loneliness. If I wind up in an animal shelter, I have only my eyes to implore someone to save me, and my tail to show you that I am a friend. If that is not good enough, I will die.


I am a dog. I want to give and receive love. I want to live. I am not a thing. I am not a piece of property. Please do not discard me. Please treat me with kindness, love and respect. I promise to repay you with unconditional love for as long as I live.

Joey will never be a "thing"




Love.....
The Fuzzlebutts

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Puffy Paws Kitty Haven..Today's Focus on Rescues

                                                                        
Englewood, Florida’s “World’s Greatest Cathouse,“ Puffy Paws Kitty Haven is a 501(c) (3) non-profit, no-kill cat hospice specializing in providing quality and loving care to special needs cats. Owned by Rick & Chrissy & Da Kitties http://www.puffypawskittyhaven.com/index.html



“We care for kitties with feline leukemia, FIV, blind kitties, feral cats, epileptic kitties, kitties with only one eye, senior kitties, kitties that do not use their litter box, kitties with thyroid conditions and more - basically unwanted and unadoptable kitties that would be euthanized elsewhere.”


Puffy Paws Kitty Haven's mission is to provide hospice care for special needs cats. Puffy Paws Kitty Haven will provide quality healthcare, food, water, shelter and most of all, love to all the cats in its care until they cross the Rainbow Bridge. They serves a unique need as a hospice for special needs kitties, but with declining donations and increasing costs, the mighty Cathouse is in danger of eventually closing one day without an guarantee steady stream of working capital.


Dear Fans of the Kitties
Thank you all for your kind donations in keeping the kitties safe and alive this past week.
Without you we can never do what we do
We are so grateful for each and everyone of you.
We are facing another week.
* To take care of 268 kitties.
It costs around $250 dollars a day to for litter, food, and cleaning supplies
WET CAT FOOD
* Friskies - 13 oz Cans - Ocean White Fish & Tuna Dinner (Walmart) We use 4 case a day ( 96 Cans) - $67.20
DRY CAT FOOD
Publixs Dry Food- We use two 18 pound bag a day - $23.98
TIDY CAT LITTER
We use 22 bags / 660 pounds a day - $120.00
CLEANING SUPPLIES
A day - $25.00


At Puffy Paws Kitty Haven they do not put down any animals for behavior problems, space or adopt-ability issues. Yet Puffy Paws Kitty Haven never has and never will let any kitty suffer with any medical condition that only allows pain & suffering and no chance of survival.

No Kill sheltering models, based on innovative, non-lethal programs and services, have already saved the lives of tens of thousands of animals.
But instead of embracing No Kill, many shelters—and their national agency allies—cling to their failed models of the past, models that result in the killing of millions of dogs and cats in U.S. shelters every year.


Puffy Paws Kitty Haven was proud to announce that it has started up a Kitty Adoption Program in the Summer of 2007, and adopted out well over 225 kitties. Currently they have many kitties available for adoption. You may adopt their kitties at PetSmart in Port Charlotte.
Since space is limited and they are expanding their adoption program by seeking foster families. These foster families would provide a temporary home for unwanted kitties that come into Puffy Paws care until forever homes can be found.


Puffy Paws Kitty Haven takes care of the largest amount of special need kitties in the area.
They specialize in taking care of special needs kitties that would have been euthanized elsewhere simply because someone would have deemed them to be unadoptable.
They are set up to handle the different medical concerns the kitties have by separating them into their very own living quarters.
They  have the 2000 sq foot " Haven Home " which houses healthy adoptable kitties, and their permanent residence who have physical, emotional and behavioral problems.
Their  workshop is 800 sq foot which was  nicknamed the " Kitty Angel Club ".
Soon the members of the " Kitty Angel Club ", will be enjoying an out-door, free-standing, backyard fence system thanks to the folks from Purr...fect fence. This portion of the " Haven Home" will be called the Kitty Angel Park .

Each and every day they need your help. If you would like to make a monetary donation please click one of the donate buttons on their web site or click the ChipIn located there. If you are local you may donate goods for the Thrift Shop or kitty supplies for the Haven or food at their Pet Food Bank and or volunteer,  please do.Without your help their will be no Puffy Paws Kitty Haven. Please only give what your heart and budget can afford. If you can donate please do and also please share with all your friends on Facebook and Twitter.
http://www.puffypawskittyhaven.com/index.html



Their back is up against the wall.
Without your help they can not feed the kitties.
So please help if you can and please share with everyone you can on all the Social Networks and Bloggers.

Please feel free to leave comments! The more the better as Google will be more apt to circulate this blog!

If there is a special recue group you would like to see featured here please just let me know! http://www.sofyblu2.com/
       or  fuzzlebutts11@gmail.com
 Thank You For Your Kindness
Love,
The Fuzzlebutts!






















http://www.sofyblu2.com/

Friday, January 21, 2011

A New Year with New Beginnings!

Happy beginnings for a great New Year!  This year will find us doing more and more work on Facebook helping the shelters find home placements for those pets placed on the euthanasia lists. It's not pretty but it's a reality. After all the help we received with Lucy and her babies it's the least we can do to help pay it forward. We will also start blogging about various rescue groups so you can see what they are all about. If you have a group you'd like to see on here please let us know!

Also we look forward to opening our online pet shop..fuzzlebutts on Bonanza.com. fuzzlebutts will not be your ordinary pet store. We are working with some of the best manufacturers to bring you items for the larger dogs that are tough and durable! Cat items that are safe and fun. We offer the Toy Go Round Cat Exercise Wheel! And we will have some of THE coolest pieces of cat furniture you've ever seen. We're not quite ready to open yet but we are diligently plugging along. We will eventually offer items for the smaller dogs too! When we do open we hope you will check it out and let us know if there are items that you would like to see!

And now a short update on Lucy and the babies now known as the B5 (Bengal 5). Lucy has become quite the plump mistress of the house. She still has no desire to go near the doors back outside. Fur has yet to fill in on her nose. She is one happy girl these days :)



And the mascot for fuzzlebutts will be Bailey! One of the B5.


this will be our avatar lol



and in closing we'd like to share this with you..not to upset you but in hopes that you'll spay and neuter your pets, not to take them for granted and to realize above all else how much they depend on us, that they are not disposable!

Kitty Kisses and Doggy Hugs,
fuzzlebutts

Disposable animals..the sad truth

by Pets on Death Row on Thursday, January 20, 2011 at 2:18pm


You can't keep your pet? Really? BY A Shelter Director

I think our society needs a huge "Wake-up" call. As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all...a view from the inside if you will.


First off, all of you people who have ever surrendered a pet to a shelter or humane society should be made to work in the "back" of an animal shelter for just one day. Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would stop flagging the ads on craigslist and help these animals find homes.
That puppy you just bought will most likely end up in my shelter when it's not a cute little puppy anymore. Just so you know there's a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it’s dumped at? Purebred or not! About 25% of all of the dogs that are "owner surrenders" or "strays", that come into a shelter are purebred dogs.


The most common excuses: "We are moving and we can't take our dog (or cat)." Really? Where are you moving too that doesn't allow pets? Or they say "The dog got bigger than we thought it would". How big did you think a German Shepherd would get? "We don't have time for her". Really? I work a 10-12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs! "She's tearing up our yard". How about making her a part of your family? They always tell me "We just don't want to have to stress about finding a place for her we know she'll get adopted, she's a good dog".


Odds are your pet won't get adopted & how stressful do you think being in a shelter is? Well, let me tell you, your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off. Sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn't full and your dog manages to stay completely healthy. If it sniffles, it dies. Your pet will be confined to a small run/kennel in a room with other barking or crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps. It will be depressed and it will cry constantly for the family that abandoned it. If your pet is lucky, I will have enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If I don't, your pet won't get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door and the waste sprayed out of its pen with a high-powered hose. If your dog is big, black or any of the "Bully" breeds (pit bull, rottie, mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door. Those dogs just don't get adopted. It doesn't matter how 'sweet' or 'well behaved' they are.


If your dog doesn't get adopted within its 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed. If the shelter isn't full and your dog is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed it may get a stay of execution, but not for long . Most dogs get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression. Even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment. If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because the shelter gets paid a fee to euthanize each animal and making money is better than spending money to take this animal to the vet.


Here's a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being "put-down". First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash. They always look like they think they are going for a walk happy, wagging their tails. Until they get to "The Room", every one of them freaks out and puts on the brakes when we get to the door. It must smell like death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there, it's strange, but it happens with every one of them. Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 shelter workers depending on the size and how freaked out they are. Then a shelter worker who we call a euthanasia tech (not a vet) find a vein in the front leg and inject a lethal dose of the "pink stuff". Hopefully your pet doesn't panic from being restrained and jerk. I've seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood and been deafened by the yelps and screams. They all don't just "go to sleep", sometimes they spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves. You see shelters are trying to make money to pay employee pay checks and don’t forget the board of directors needs to be paid too, so we don’t spend our funds to tranquilize the animal before injecting them with the lethal drug, we just put the burning lethal drug in the vein and let them suffer until dead. If it were not a “making money issue” and we had to have a licensed vet do this procedure, the animal would be sedated or tranquilized and then euthanized, but to do this procedure correctly would cost more money so we do not follow what is right for the animal, we just follow what is the fastest way we can make a dollar. Shelters do not have to have a vet perform their euthanasia’s so even if it takes our employee 50 pokes with a needle and 3 hours to get the vein that is what we do. Making money is the issue here not loosing money.


Then it all ends, your pets corpse will be stacked like firewood in a large freezer in the back with all of the other animals that were killed waiting to be picked up like garbage. What happens next? Cremated? Taken to the dump? Rendered into pet food? Or used for the schools to dissect and experiment on? You'll never know and it probably won't even cross your mind. It was just an animal and you can always buy another one, right!


I hope that those of you who still have a beating heart and have read this are bawling your eyes out and can't get the pictures out of your head, I deal with this everyday. I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and start educating the public. Do research, do your homework, and know exactly what you are getting into before getting a pet. These shelters and humane societies exist because people just do not care about animals anymore. Animals were not intended to be disposable but somehow that is what they are these days. Animal shelters are an easy way out when you get tired of your dog (or cat), and breeders are the ones blamed for this. Animal shelters and rescue organizations are making a hefty profit by keeping this misconception going.


Between 9 and 11 MILLION animals die every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I just hope I maybe changed one persons mind about taking their dog to a shelter, a humane society, or buying a dog. For those of you that care--- please repost this to at least one other craiglist in another city/state. Let's see if we can get this all around the US and have an impact.


Now you see why fuzzlebutts wants to get involved.....this could have been any of our 11 kids :(