Svengali Vet

Earlier this week Matt took me to the......VET.... for my annual check-up, shots, documentation, and....wow...much smaller bill. Hmmm. It's a different vet than usual, and the trip was shorter (only 7 minutes by car, rather than 2 hours). Sometimes you just gotta try something new, I guess.

One reason it was cheaper is that there was no gas induction. I didn't have to be "put under" in order to be examined. You see, usually I get so riled up when I hear the dogs barking in the waiting area, and I smell their doggy stink, that I emit a long, low growl that gets everyone's attention, and when I'm taken into the examination room I refuse to leave my kennel. So Matt has to pick it up and gently dump me out of it, and I run to the corner of the room and hiss a lot. So the other vets had to give me a shot or put me in a small, clear box and gas me so I lay still while they poke, grope, insert (yeeooooww), and stick me with needles.

But this new Dr. was very patient and gentle and calmed me down with some kinda Svengali-like petting and talking to where I didn't feel threatened. She somehow checked my eyes, ears, throat, thyroid, back and belly, and even.... back there... without me scratching anyone. And she did all this in front of Matt. No taking me to the back room for unspeakable crimes and torture, everything was in plain view. Matt says she's our new vet from now on. Not that the last vet was so horrible. He wasn't. He was actually quite thorough, but too expensive for today's budget. So in spite of the fact he did me some good, it was time for a change. We even got a new pharmacist that compounded a bacon flavored prednisone at a third of the price of the old one. All in all it was a very successful trip, and I am quite happy. So is Matt.

Now if work would only start to pick up again....

Cats Who Look Like Hitler

Okay, back to humor...

This little kitty has high aspirations of invading Poland someday. Perhaps he'll merely saunter past the border guards with his tail in the air... without inflicting any casualties or collateral damage. But what a great Hitler-look-alike! This one and others are known as "Kitlers," and have their own website (see link below). Some have called ME a kitler, too, but I don't think I qualify with a white mustache which is off-centered, anyway.

For this and other "kitlers," click HERE. Bring your sense of humor, and leave your righteous indignation at the door, please!

Time To Get Serious For A Moment... Pile Of Dead Cats

I got this from a Facebook friend. This needs to be reposted so people realize what's happening out there. Most animal shelters are not "no-kill" shelters like mine was, and this pile-up of beautiful cats is typical. Why anyone would not adopt a cat from a shelter, if they wanted a cat, is beyond my little kitty brain to fathom... And why anyone would dump a cat at a shelter when we cats have such great uses is also a mystery. I was at my shelter for over 11 months before I was adopted by Matt. Most other shelters would have killed me long before then. And if you haven't figured it out, the cats in this photo are not sleeping. They only look that way.

A Letter from a Shelter Manager - anonymous in North Carolina

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 breeders/sellers 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 change your mind about breeding and selling to people you don't even know.

That puppy you just sold will most likely end up in my shelter when it's not a cute little puppy anymore. So how would you feel if you knew that there's about a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it is going to be dumped at? Purebred or not! About 50% of all of the dogs that are "owner surrenders" or "strays", that come into my shelter are purebred dogs.

The most common excuses I hear are; "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 about 25 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 shelters just don't have the funds to pay for even a $100 treatment.

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 vet techs depending on the size and how freaked out they are. Then a euthanasia tech or a vet will start the process. They will 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.

When 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? 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 that have read this are bawling your eyes out and can't get the pictures out of your head I deal with everyday on the way home from work.

I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and realize that the lives you are affecting go much farther than the pets you dump at a shelter.

Between 9 and 11 MILLION animals die every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I do my best to save every life I can but rescues are always full, and there are more animals coming in everyday than there are homes.

My point to all of this DON'T BREED OR BUY WHILE SHELTER PETS DIE!

Hate me if you want to. The truth hurts and reality is what it is. I just hope I maybe changed one persons mind about breeding their dog, taking their loving pet to a shelter, or buying a dog. I hope that someone will walk into my shelter and say "I saw this and it made me want to adopt". THAT WOULD MAKE IT WORTH IT.

— with Jeff Hartman, Michele Sawyer Credle, aura nomz, Jerry Hartman, Tony N Budda, Perez Pillo and Joel Darby.

From Nevada To California To Washington State

Matt took a couple of pictures on our load (trip) out West. One is a burning mountain in Nevada, where the grass is very dry and catches fire quickly these days. The other is a rather ominous Mt. Shasta (?) or some mountain very near Mt. Shasta. Matt told me about a soda drink called Shasta from years ago. He said they had these commercials on TV where people blew the foam off their drinks into each other's faces, and that it was supposed to be funny. I'd scratch anyone who did that to me.

6 Years On The Road And We're Gonna Make It Home...In 3 Weeks Or So

It has been 6 years since I was adopted from the Northampton SPCA by Matt, as of yesterday. We were too busy to post on it then, and don't have much time now. We are on a load to Northern California, which is a place we don't often go to these days. But just so you know, we both celebrated briefly this milestone.

So, gotta run!!!

DENVER!

Matt and I went to Denver, CO today and saw lots of mountains and tall buildings. But since Matt and I have been there so many times, he didn't bother to take any pictures of them. He did take a picture of me trying to play with the buttons on the radio. He keeps playing Bach organ music over and over again. It sounds kinda scary to me, but he loves it so I gotta listen, too. I think he called it Tobacco and Fudge in D Minor or something. I'm partial to the Fudge, myself. See below!

It was very hot today once the sun came out, and Matt found it welcome news that we were picking up a load at Coors in Golden, CO. Unfortunately it wasn't beer, but bottle caps we picked up....thousands and thousands of bottle caps -- about 44,000 pounds of them. Well, those will make someone happy, I guess.

Not much else to report, I guess--- except that I savaged a couple of flies today who foolishly flew into the truck through the window. They're slightly crunchy and chewy at the same time, and the blood, oh the blood, from many an unfortunate host. Hey, I'm starting to love this Bach. It's very intense!

Hot Days and Cool Treats

Well, here you have it. NO! These aren't pictures of anything Matt did. Just something he and I saw a few VERY HOT days ago in Sanger, TX at a Walmart Distribution Center.

Apparently, some OTHER truck driver forgot how important it was to line up the trailer's landing gear with the cement landing PAD provided, especially when it's nearly 102 degrees outside and the trailer is loaded with heavy freight. It sank into the asphalt like a hot knife through butter.

It is known as a career ender, because some very heavy machinery will be required to lift the lowered end and put some sort of support under the gear so a bobtail truck can get under it and pull it on out of there. Also, now no one will hire the driver because he is uninsurable. How awful.

In other news,... the weeks following our vacation have been very productive indeed, as Matt and I have averaged over 2,900 miles each week. Unfortunately Matt has also gained 5 lbs during this same time frame.

Also, at a local vet Matt discovered several bags of Hill's prescription diet Hypoallergenic treats for sale, which he promptly purchased. They taste really great and not like diet or skim or anything like that. I look forward to them everyday, and best of all.... they don't make me puke!

A Much Needed Update On A Few Things...

It would appear that I have not been blogging in a while. It's NOT MY FAULT! Blame Matt!

Okay, now that's settled. Time to update on a few things:

First, I finished Matt's taxes just in the nick of time and figured a refund of about $87,798,909.59. Matt asked me to do them again, thinking I made some sort of error. So I did and calculated a refund of $97,798,909.59. So Matt allowed me to send it in to the IRS, in spite of the fact that this figure is almost twice Matt's annual income. So far we've not heard from the IRS, but Matt is ever hopeful of receiving a check soon.

On Matt's birthday, which he graciously shares with me (just not the cake),...he got a cake. And I got a tin of albacore tuna. I guess we were both happy with that.

Today, Matt and I are on vacation in an undisclosed location in the Chicago area where I am held up in a car in the shade, and Matt is touring various churches downtown. He'll have pictures on his own blog as the days progress.

Sorry it's been so long since anyone has heard from me. Matt and I will try to do better...

Buster The Bean-Counter

I love driving down to Texas in the winter. The further south, the better. It gets warmer, so I don't sneeze as much. And my fur stops looking all clumpy from something Matt calls sta...staticl...uh...something lectircity or something. Makes my fur stand up and things cling to me, like my kitty litter, lint, and small strips of paper.

So I have something to be happy about. This is good, because Matt says I have to do our taxes this year. I've never done them before because I don't have thumbs and can't add and stuff. I can subtract okay, like when I eat and the pieces of cereal disappear. Sometimes I count them. Anyway Matt says I better do them right or the IRS will take me away and turn me into dog food. Does anyone know if they can really do that? Even under Obama it seems a bit extreme. I can't find the calculator either. Maybe someone can help me with this. Matt started doing them and then got mad when I wouldn't stop meowing because I was hungry, and told me to do them myself.

Anyway, Matt and I are in Waco, TX sitting leisurely for the day because freight is slow. He's in the Flying Hook playing with the computer and I'm in the truck enjoying ME-time, laying about on the dashboard and dreaming of fish.