Gracie Lou

Pictured above is our cat Tottie & her best buddy in crime, Gracie Lou. Gracie is going in for surgery tomorrow. You can see one of the lumps in this picture on the back of her thigh. This one she's had for awhile & it's all squishy like it's filled with water, and it's not the one that scares me. The one that scares me is on her lower belly...about where you'd expect to find her ovaries. Two weeks ago this second lump showed up & we took her to the vet. They are concerned it might be ovarian cancer. Tomorrow morning at 8:30am I'm taking her back to the vet and she's getting both lumps removed & getting spayed, since even if it's not cancer, I don't think it will be safe for her to have anymore puppies.

Needless to say we're all a little scared about tomorrow's outcome. Her blood tests all came back normal, her heart, lungs, and stomach all sounded fine & she doesn't seem to be in any pain...we poke & prod at both lumps regularly just to make sure they aren't changing size & it doesn't even phase her, so we're hoping it's just nothing serious.

So tomorrow morning, or even tonight, if you could say a little prayer for the safety & health of a little dog that would be greatly appreciated...you see she's not just a little dog, she's the best friend of my daughter, mother of four, buddy to a very sweet kitty, and beloved family member.

Letter to the Editor

There's been a lot of complaints in the Letter to Editor section of our local paper The World, here is my response:

Coos County Animal Shelter Does A lot for the Community

There have been a lot of letters lately complaining about the Coos County Animal Shelter and the staff. I have an opinion of CCAS that I’d like to share.

My daughter and I have been volunteering at the animal shelter since last spring. We started as part of my daughter’s Girl Scout’s Bronze Award, but after we’d completed the necessary hours, we realized that we didn’t want to stop. We go out several days a week and walk dogs, socialize with the cats, and recently have been bathing Beagle puppies.

People need to realize that the job that the Shelter Operator and the Animal Control Officers do is not easy. Basically, they spend a lot of time cleaning up other people’s messes. Probably 90% of the animals that end up at the shelter are there through no fault of their own, it comes down to people not taking care of their pets. You want something to complain about? How about complaining about the people that don’t spay or neuter their pets, or about the ones that let them run around at large? Or my favorite, the ones that are physically abusive or neglect their animals to the point that they are starving and dehydrated?

We are fortunate that our shelter is “low kill” for the dogs…well, the dogs are fortunate. But, this also means that the Shelter Operator has to be creative, because the shelter gets full fast. Our Shelter Operator has set up programs for our dogs, and some of our cats, to go to the Oregon Humane Society in Portland. She also has had dogs taken in by rescue groups, FOCCAS, and even by other shelters occasionally. This gives these dogs and cats a second chance at adoption if they don’t get adopted here.

It should also be pointed out that the reason that Oregon Humane Society is a “no kill” is because they can pick and choose what animals they will take, while municipal and county animal shelter have to take everything brought in…including animals that are very ill and injured and can’t be saved. But our shelter does try to save even the ill/injured animals. I can think of several right off the top of my head that received veterinary services for injuries or illnesses…in fact I fostered one of these dogs. Often when the shelter is full, people will be asked to wait a few days or a week for space to open up before leaving their animal. Some people will do this, some won’t.

Unfortunately, our shelter is not yet “low kill” for the cats. Conditions have improved a lot. The new programs have insured that some cats go to rescue groups or to the Oregon Humane Society in Portland, but there are still cats that will get euthanized when the shelter runs out of room. When 27 cats are brought in to the shelter in one day-as happens more often than it ever should-and there’s not enough room, some are unfortunately euthanized. No one who works or volunteers at the shelter wants this to happen, and EVERYONE out there works hard to try to prevent it, but the “pet owners” have to do their part too.

In order to get the shelter to low kill status for the cats everyone in the community has to play their part. Get your cats spayed or neutered. S/nipped will be up and running soon and will offer low cost spay/neuters. They are already out there working on several feral cat colonies making sure that they don’t get any larger. Also, if you get your cat micro-chipped you will save its life. They check for microchips when any animal is brought out in the hopes of reuniting it with its owner.

Another way to help-volunteer. The shelter can always use loving people to foster cats or dogs, or just animals that don’t do well in a shelter situation. Some animals just find the shelter too overwhelming and get stressed. Fostering also gives the animals some extra time to not only find homes, but sometimes just to be socialized. There’s lots of other ways to volunteer if fostering isn’t an option.

Also, if you can’t afford to get your animal spayed or neutered, you can volunteer at the shelter to get it done. It varies for males/females and cats/dogs, but there’s lots of ways to volunteer. You can help clean kennels, walk dogs, laundry, bathing, grounds upkeep…there’s never an end to the work that needs to be done.

Bottom line, before you point your finger at the employees of the animal shelter for something unfortunate happening to your pet, remember that there are three other fingers pointing right back at you. Take responsibility for your pet and then someone else won’t have to.

Michelle Kirby

Gidgett goes home

So, yesterday was the day that I delivered Gidgett to Kristi in Eugene. The day didn't start off well, Riley came immediately home from school sick, so my mom, who was going to go to Eugene with me, picked up Riley instead.

Next, Gidget, who'd always ridden just fine in the car, decided that she didn't like being in the car. I didn't bring a kennel because it'd never been an issue before, but had to stop in Reedsport & get a box from some friends. She didn't like the box either, but it was safer for everyone. It didn't last the whole trip, she finally wore herself out & settled down in my lap.

We arrived at the airport about the same time as Kristi, so that worked out well. We went to Valley River Mall for lunch and sat out on the patio at Chili's with Gidg...she proceeded to ignore poor Kristi. At this point I gotta tell you, this whole family already adores this dog. Kristi's mom had visited them over the weekend and brought her outfits! After lunch we went over to PetCo since Gidg could go there. We walked around the store and then went out to see if she needed to potty.

After this I took Kristi back to the airport. I'm sure that Gidgett will just love this family once she gets over being a little insecure. Kristi texted me later that Gidgett spent the first 20 minutes ignoring her & then slept on her for an hour, so I think we're already on the way there.

I got lost for half an hour after leaving the airport. Everyone who knows me will not be surprised, I always get lost in Eugene, but this time it was because I was trying so hard not to cry, not because I was turned around. I knew I was attached to Gidgett, I didn't realize how attached. I really miss her already. I know she's in a great home with people who want her so much. I know that a very special little girl will love and adore this dog. Plus, there will almost always be someone home with her and she will be beyond spoiled rotten. I just didn't know I'd miss her this much. So while I'm happy she's in such a great home, and I couldn't have chosen a more perfect family for her, I'm a little sad for me. Don't misunderstand me, and Kristi if you're reading this don't feel bad, I always knew she wasn't staying and that she was just ours for a short time & for specific reasons, I just didn't expect it to hit so hard. I'm sure I'll feel better as soon as I get pictures showing how wonderful things are for her & how happy everyone, including her.

And then the vacation was over.

Yesterday was my first day back at work after my vacation...41 minutes into my shift I was ready to go back on vacation. For some reason everyone felt the need to call and do stuff the second I sat down. Today has been better, but still.

I had planned to do all this stuff while on vacation. I got some of it done, but life got in the way of most of it. The house got a good start on the spring cleaning...just a few months late. The back patio got cleaned up...by Gregg & the kids.

I'm so far behind on projects it's not even funny. I've got a blankie bear that has been partially finished for over a month...I'm going to finish it this week come heck or high water. I haven't even started my September Mother Bear Project Bear, so that's gotta get started soon. I have been keeping up w/my Angels for Hope angels, but that's only because they only take about half an hour to do.

This weekend I'm off. Riley & I will probably go out to the animal shelter for a few hours on Saturday. Monday my mom & I are taking the Gidg to Eugene to meet up with Kristi Vega, who will then assume ownership of the little sweetie pie & bring her SoCal for a few days before their exodus back to Arizona. I'm so happy for Gidg & Gabriella. BTW, Gidgett's new name will be Minnie.

I HATE Shopping!

The back to school shopping was finished this week when I finally got both the kids in one place on the same day & took them shoe shopping. I really dread this time of year...I hate shopping. I know that some will think that there's something genetically wrong with me, but I've never enjoyed it.

First you've gotta cruz the ads & find coupons and specials. This is time consuming, but can really be worth it. I got 80% of Doug's back to school clothes in one store and with the sales, in store coupons, and coupon that I got at home, only paid $60. Riley got two pairs of shoes for $16.49. My best was actually shoes for me:I got a pair of $52 Nikes for $21.60...this was after three coupons, one for 20% off any shoe purchase, a $10 off in store coupon for Nikes, and a $10 off any purchase over $50. Bragging aside, I still don't enjoy shopping.

Christmas would pose a special problem, but I figured out YEARS ago how to avoid that...I start Christmas shopping about May, and I make a lot of the Christmas presents we give. This means minimal shopping in the crowds during the holiday season.

Shopping with my husband can be a learning experience also. I have a list when I go shopping, I get the stuff on the list & get out. Gregg must go down every isle & look at every item. Sometimes interesting things are found doing this, but I still haven't changed my shopping style.

Doug is a lot like me about shopping, get in, get what you want, get out. You would think this would make shopping with Doug nice...it's not. For some reason he's a pain to shop with...mostly I think it's a 17 year old boy thing.

Riley is a lot like her dad when it comes to shopping...plus she loves shopping, has a total disregard for sales & coupons, and wants one, possibly two of everything. Shopping with Riley is a special type of hell, and will leave you broke upon leaving the store.