Ovens

That's what cars are - ovens. When it's 101 degrees outside they're really hot ovens. Why can't people understand that.

A few days ago we had a women come to the shelter to surrender a dog that a "friend" had left at her home. We needed an id which she didn't have so she was going to go home and get it.

A short time later we learned there was a dog in a car in the parking lot. We immediately began searching for the car owner. We located her in the play yard - it was the woman who had come to surrender the dog and she had decided before she left that she would just "look" at the puppies.

She had left the dog in her car - at 1:30 in the afternoon - in full sun - with no water - for half an hour!

It was 101 outside that afternoon. The animal was in great distress. When we got him out of the car he was confused and barely able to walk. We carried him into the clinic and AK took his temp - just over 108! Normal is around 102. AK immediately began cooling him down, but not too quickly. Ice packs and cool water brought his temp down. We'll just have to see if there is any brain damage or other side effects.

The woman didn't seem to understand when I told her how quickly a car heats up. The conditions had probably taken the temperature in her car up to 120 degrees. She just didn't get it and was unconcerned, stating the dog was used to being left in the vehicle. I took the animal from her. And now I'm discussing bringing felony cruelty charges against her.

A week ago a woman in another town left her dog in the car while she went out boating. The dog died. Why don't people get the message??

http://www.mydogiscool.com/

Help - a Fox!

The phone rings in dispatch and it's another fox call. A citizen is reporting a fox in the neighborhood. I wish we could say SO, AND YOUR POINT IS?

Why is the appearance of a fox in a neighborhood so alarming? I love have foxes in my neighborhood, they appear in the early morning or the late evening. It's usually just a glimpse and they're gone. We tell them that foxes are not considered a dangerous animal and they should welcome their presence. In other words, we are not coming to get the fox. The one pictured here is a bit unusual. Appearing in daylight and obviously at home in the 'hood.

Chameleons and X-rays

It's been a great week at the shelter - one we've looked forward to for over a year.
We are halfway through our week-long training on our new software. This is going to be such a huge step for our facility - one that will not only improve our efficiency but give me instant access to so much information we don't have now. So many statistics that will help us make better decisions (average length of stay) and be more proactive in the city (reason for owner surrenders). We will escape from the little things (KF - is that a 1 or a 7 or a 9?) as well as the huge things (how did this dog check himself into the shelter in kennel 236A?). Now to get the ENTIRE staff excited about this change!! (Change is good, Change is good, Change is good - you shall be assimilated)

And we took our first x-rays yesterday!! As we continue to move from control to welfare, it becomes more important to improve our diagnostic capabilities. Having the ability to diagnose orthopedic and other problems without having to move the animal to a vet in town we've begged for an x-ray is HUGE! It is also an important tool in our cruelty investigations, giving us more information and ammunition for court cases.

It's a used analog machine that actually uses film that has to be developed but it still takes beautiful pictures. Dr. P and AK x-rayed two dogs with were limping when they came in this week. We found that both have a rear leg that is dislocated from the pelvis. Both of these are serious problems but they can be resolved and we can give a potential adopter much better information. No more guessing. It also allows us to look at options other than immediate euthanasia.

The rest of the week should be fun - just click on the little yellow dog icon!

Last on the agenda

After spending 1 1/2 hours waiting to make a four minute report as the last one on a very long agenda this morning I spent some time with the animals in my office. This is Midnight II, sitting on timecards while I attempt to do payroll. While the same color as Midnight who was with me earlier this year, II is a long hair version. She has the run of the office and whenever she can will head across the hall to JW's office.

Here are the kittens with a curious Hershey. They are very curious whenever he sticks his nose up there to find out what's going on. The kittens spilled a full bowl of water at the end of the day so I let them have the run of the office while I cleaned up the spill, fed them and changed out the litter box. It was hilarious - all four were running all over my desk, darting around the floor. Hershey was totally confused, not knowing what to do. Midnight watched the chaos from my desk, above it all as an adult cat should be.

And this is Waldo who is already in his new home in Colorado. His personality just as sweet as his face. Knowing he is happy warms my heart and makes me smile. We were able to send two animals home with their family today. One had been with us for ten days for rabies observation after biting a meter reader. He was just defending his property and his owner was so excited to get him home. The other was a dog that came to us after the death of his owner. Luckily the owner's family wanted the little pug and came today to get him. I always worry most about the cats and dogs that come to us from loving homes - I worry that the stress of the shelter environment on top of the sudden loss of their person/people must be absolutely crushing.

A group of my friends on FB have been taking the Do animals go to heaven? quiz. The answer of course is YES!!

Blogger slacker

It's been three and half weeks and now I'm being called a blogger slacker on FB! My only excuse is the usual - it's been so busy, both with the good and the bad.

I'm truly worried about what the budget cuts are going to mean to animals in town. Not being called out for Priority One calls is going to have consequences I don't think many people have contemplated. The entire City budget has been slammed, I'm glad I don't have to make the choices our Mayor has to make - what do you do when the money just isn't there? Meanwhile
animals in the field won't be getting the care they need. I'm not worried about those already in our care, once they are in the building we can do what's necessary, but what about our citizens, our animals and their needs? A dilemma I can't see the answer to.

We're climbing kitten mountain these days - that time of year when the graph of kitten intakes climbs fast and furious. So many litters are being brought to us by the public. Kittens under the porch, in the barn, in a box on the side of the road. Some with Mom, most without. Some too young to make it without bottle feeding, others just big enough to make it on their own. Mostly they come in as strays which means we have to hold them for three days in case someone comes in to claim them. But let's be real, you don't "lose" an entire litter of kittens. So many and not enough homes to adopt them all.

Fiona was back in the office last week for the last of her heartworm treatments and she looked great. She came right to my door and practically wagged her tail off when she saw me. She looked wonderful and her family loves her. She'll always be special to me.

We continue sending dogs to Colorado for adoption. We've sent another plane load up as well as another van full. Another volunteer with a SUV was headed up there for another reason and offered to take a few dogs with her. We sent four and all were adopted within hours. A favorite, Waldo, went on the trip - he was a 3 month old black lab with hound ears and the most laid back young lab I've ever seen. He would sleep on a quilt under my desk for hours at a time, was happy to just lay in my lap and would tolerate any other animal in the office - amazing.

The office is getting so full! I have another, yes another, chocolate lab. He came to me with the name Hershey and is a mostly choc lab with some cattle dog mixed in. He has faint white markings on his face and of merled choc and white stockings. He's housebroken and very sweet. Another cat named Midnight, a black (duh) long haired domestic, is living happily with the run of the office. That's because of had four kittens living in the big cage. They were very tiny when they came to me and I've had them about three weeks now. They greet me every morning with a chorus of meows and entertain me no end. As I've said before the cat world is a new one to me and I love to sit back just watch them. They aren't named but I have two black ones and two grey ones with white stockings.

So along with the chattering parakeets, the meowing kittens, Midnight sitting on whatever I'm working on and Hershey demanding a pat on the head, it's a wonder I get any work done at all. And tomorrow is the 16th, that means payroll.

One of my officers who's been out for more than two months is back today, YEAH! Dr. P will back from vacation soon, YEAH! We start training with the new software next week, YEAH!
See, it's not all bad, it's not all bad, it's not all bad. (Just repeat after me!!!)