Saturday, October 29, 2011

Stranger than Fiction

The SPCA opens its doors at 10 a.m., but from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.  there is a buzz of activity as every single kennel is cleaned and sanitized, the animals receive food and medications, and paperwork is updated.  So it was with some surprise that I walked into the shelter on Thursday and found a sense of chaos.

Our 8 a.m. employee had just found out that her uncle passed away.  She was very close to him and it casued her a great deal of sadness.  Bless her heart though, she stayed at the shelter becasue there wasn't anyone there to take over.  When I arrived and found her crying and upset I told her to leave, she needed to be with her family. 

Another employee that was scheduled for 10:30 a.m.  called because she needed to rush her dog to the veterinarian.  She was distraught and not sure if she would make it to work. 

One secretary was unable to come in because she had just lost her mother.

Our other secretary could not come in because she was in the process of moving because she feared for her life.  (Restraining order necessary)

Luckily, I have great employees who were able to step up to the plate and help out.  Our volunteer manager helped customers who came to visit, one of our part time kennel attendants helped with adoptions, and I helped wherever I could.

Our 11:30 a.m.  employee arrived.  Whew!!!  Bult could we hold down the fort with one employee?  What if someone needed to go and pick up an injured animal?  What if someone came in and their pet needed to be put to sleep?  What if the restraining order wasn't enough to keep the boyfriend away?

So I called our wonderful kennel manager and asked her to come in on her day off.  When I told her the state of attendance, she couldn't believe it either.  But then the 10:30 a.m. employee arrived.  Her dog was being treated with an uncertain outcome. (And she still came in!)  Then our 8 a.m. employee came back.  She overcame her grief and came back to help out.  And our kennel manager was very understanding when I told her that we had everything under control but thanks for offering to come in on your day off.

Meanwhile I was on the phone with police worried that an unhappy boyfreind would show up at the shelter and I wanted to take steps to protect our staff.  Hopefully the threat of jail is enough to keep him away.  What this story lacks is all the details that made this day even stranger than described.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

In Memory of Paco

Paco is now buried in my back yard, along with another cat-Screech and two rats.  I have to say that I never chose Paco.  He chose me.  Everyone at the shelter thought of Paco as 'my' cat.  It is funny how that all started.

First off, I am allergic to cats.  (And I work at a shelter full of them.)  So when I started working at the SPCA in 1999, there were four house cats already and then we added Paco.  There were some difficulties to having a house cat at the SPCA. But for the most part, everyone enjoyed seeing them lounging around, sitting on the counters, and teasing the dogs.

Paco was especially popular because he was so friendly and BIG.  He had a huge fluffy tail and long, soft fur.  And he would purr loudly when you pet him.  Children would chase after him so they could pet him or pick him up and he got to a point that when a child was nearby he would walk the other way. 

For some reason, known only to cats, they find their human.  Ask anyone who has taken in a stray cat.  They have a sense about those things.  So Paco chose me.  He would sit on my desk and nudge my hand so that I would pet him or brush him and he would not stop until he was satisfied.  I will miss him but I will have lots of fond memories.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Progress?

So Miss Patient here has been waiting since July to get the cat room addition finished.  I have planned and rescheduled two board meetings at the shelter so that the Board Members could tour the new addition.  Thank goodness I never had to build a house to live in-I'm not sure I would survive it.


At least I can look back and see that there actually is progress since the ground was broken.  All of the rain, flooding, and a back order for the stone work had caused the delays.

So now we have a framed room, windows, a sliding door, electricity, lights, heat and air conditioning.

Next we need a finished floor, shelves for cats to lounge on, and exterior walls.
 So hopefully Miss Patient can report that the cat room will be done in time for Santa Paws.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

I have friends

I am fortunate to have friends.  Friends that I can talk to, get suggestions from, and ask for help.  I talked to two of those friends today.  The first, (the one who suggested I write this blog-yes you) came to the shelter.  When I talked about have 'bloggers block' and the fact that what I really wanted to do was complain about all the difficulties I encounter.  She gave me some good advice.  "Go ahead.  It is your blog and people need to know what it is really like to run a shelter."

The second friend who happens to be a writer for a newspaper (yes you), suggested that I write about the recent loss of Bengal tigers, bears, and other exotic animals.

Good advice from both because I often deal with people who have animals they shouldn't and sometimes the end is sad.  How unfortunate that an endangered species had to be hunted and killed to protect the people who lived nearby.  How unfortunate that all of the animals had to be hunted because of the stupid idiot that released them.  How unfortunate that we can't do unto animal abusers what they do unto poor helpless animals.

So thanks to my friends who gave me some good suggestions.  And thanks to all of you who care about animals.  Someone needs to be there for them.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

The Squeaky Wheel

 You just have to see this noisy little girl.  She meows very loudly AND trys to grab you as you walk by. Abby is just screaming-"Take me home".   And what the photos don't capture is her beautiful markings.  She almost has a bengal look to her.

So if you are looking for a lot of personality Abby would be a feisty little girl to add to your home.






Monday, October 17, 2011

Bloggers Block

When I started my job at the Lycoming County SPCA I was amazed at how much writing I needed to do.  Press releases, newsletters, thank you letters, solicitation letters, web-site updates, memos, e-mails, board minutes, correspondence to the board, employee evaluations, etc.

Now I have this blog.  When I am home I think of dozens of topics to blog about.  Today is Monday and all I can do is try to keep up and try to prevent my desk from disappearing under a mountain of paperwork.  So excuse me if I go and write up the agenda for our next board meeting.  And work on the budget.  And prepare the newsletter.  And think about something to write about.  (How do magazine and newspapers do this all the time?!)

Friday, October 14, 2011

Christmas???!!!

It always aggravates me when I see Christmas before Thanksgiving.  So, with chagrin, I'm hawking our pictures with Santa.  I'm only doing this because I know many of you like to feature your pets and family on your holiday cards.  (And it benefits the shelter animals.)

Have your four legged companion, or two legged family members photographed with Santa.   Your $10 donation will provide you with a 5 x 7 photograph in a holiday card frame and we will e-mail you the photo for your use.   Or, for $15, we can provide you with the photo and a CD of your photo.

So mark your calendars.  Saturday November 19 from 10 AM to 12 noon and 1 PM to 4 PM.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Tall and Small

My scans aren't the greatest but I had to share these pictures.  We had a little Chihuahua at the shelter.  He is the brindle pictured with his new family.  He seems quite at home with the Mastiff, Rottweiler, and Chinese Crested dogs. 

You just gotta love it!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Marcellus Shale Affects Shelter

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many Marcellus Shale workers have come to this area with their dogs and can't find rentals that allow them.  OR They do not provide adequate care and we receive complaints for investigation. 

Not only are we overwhelmed with animals because there are no shelters surrounding us that will take in strays, but now we have them being imported from other states!

No wonder we are busting at the seams.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Fleas, Fleas, and more Fleas!

Fleas have been very bad this year.  We have received so many animals infested with them, and many suffering from hair loss and red, inflamed skin.   There are wonderful products on the market to keep your pets free of these parasites.   There are more issues at stake than just the annoyance of the flea bites.  Flea infested animals suffer from the bites; they will get gastrointestinal worms; and if severe, suffer hair loss; red irritated skin, and anemia.

So please treat your pets, then your house.   Our shelter sells a flea treatment by the box of six treatments, or individual treatments.  Don't let pets suffer.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Hide and Seek

Some of you may know about Geocaching.  It is a worldwide hide and seek game.  I looked into it because I thought it would be fun to do with my grandson.  You can read all about it on http://www.geocaching.com/.  You will need a GPS and a sense of adventure.  Then you look up a cache by longitude and latitude, find it, then sign the log.  It is so fun I put one at the SPCA.  Maybe you should try it, and while you are at it you can visit our animals.