The story of Pilgrim

So here is the story of Pilgrim.  I was nearing the end of my rope with Animal control. Three years as Vet Tech supervisor and another 3 as rescue foster coordinator. Management just had an overhauled and the city brought in some accountants or such from City Hall that had ZERO animal experience to run the place.  It was a shit show. It had turned total politics and I had been moved to a satellite location to “supervise” which basically made it impossible to do the job I was hired for. 

 The entire operation was being run by an accountant with no animal experience, a vet who was not even smart enough to go to school in the USA with a huge chip on her shoulder and no skills or confidence to get those.  An illiterate redneck with the inability to bath or tell the truth had also been given too much power, but I digress.

A group of 5 emaciated, flea infested, terrified Great Danes had been dumped by an owner who was moving. Not much more info was given because they claimed to not speak English.  One was in such bad shape he was immediately put to sleep.  One was deemed aggressive and put on the “bad” run.  The rest were started on the process of rescue/adoption.  I spent several hours over the course of several days evaluating them & getting them ready.  It took 3 days to get close to the ‘aggressive” one. I spent my lunch and breaks sitting in the front of his run and tossing treats his way. I was met with vicious barking and growling but body language that showed he was terrified.  After about 3 days I was finally able to get a leash on him. Once out of the shelter noise, I realized he was terrified, absolutely terrified with some barrier aggression thrown in.  

 Long story short, I had rescue lined up to evaluate them. The rescue was new and not too experienced but trying.  The day they came to evaluate the dogs I was out “supervising”.  They agreed to take a few of them but decided against the “aggressive” one.  I was not worried; I had 2 other groups interested in him.

I happened to come by the shelter the next day, a Saturday.  I would not usually have been there as I got up early that morning to do a regular spot on the morning news then usually left, however I needed to catch up on some stuff.  I just happened to walk down the hall and there was the “aggressive” Dane being drug toward the euthanasia room on a catch pole. I freaked.  After stopping them I was told that smelly illiterate redneck had ordered him put to sleep when I was not there because she thought I was wasting my time and didn’t want to wait for another group to come. She told them to do it Saturday when I was away "supervising". 

I’ll spare you the details but I took the “aggressive” dog, sent an email to my boss to tell them to “KISS IT” and left without a second thought.  I left the career I had always wanted, civil service &; union benefits, full medical benefits and a great salary and I’ve never regretted it.

Pilgrim has his host of issues, both physical & mental.  He took 6 months to housebreak. He was scared he would not be allowed back in the house. He has eaten nearly every piece of furniture in my house, but I have never seen a dog so grateful.  It took a while but he is happy.  He smiles when he goes to the park. He does a happy dance from the joy of running around outside. (we just need to work on the part where he added body slam to happy dance.)  He has learned to play with toys.  He is gentle and delicate with the smaller animals and cats.  He lets Jelly Legs have treats first.  He waits his turn to eat and go outside.  He walks up to strangers and asks to be petted, so much for being mean.  As for the aggression, it’s gone until it counts.  He guards me where it counts; no one is getting in the house or in his van. 

He is truly a dog happy for the little things in life, a bed, a couch, going for a walk, a romp in the park and a gentle pet on the head.(and maybe a coffee table or a set of blinds)

(www.furrydeviants.blogspot.com)

The story of Moses

Well for lack of anything else to do and because someone told me I should write this stuff down, every few days I’m going to write the story of one of the furry deviants. That way when I’m old and senile, someone can read me the stories and remind me of how I went crazy.

In July 2007 I was still working as rescue, foster & adoption coordinator at Animal Control. The place was in fairly bad shape, severely overcrowded, rampant w/ pest & disease and being destroyed by politics, but we all still plugged on. I was also personally have a very hard time as my beloved Doberman Dog was slipping further into heart failure from dilated cardiomyopathy. I felt as if my soul was dying, but that is another story. A few months before this we had rescued an older Mastiff in poor shape. I fostered her for a bit and we were able to get her into rescue. I had fallen in love with her but the situation wasn’t right for me to keep her.

I was in my office one day when one of the officers came and got me to show me this big brown dog they had picked up just a block from where the female had come from. There in the run was this skinny, scared, unfriendly, broken mangy looking dog. He had apparently been wandering the streets for a very long time and due to having been hit by a car they were able to tranquilize & catch him. He wanted nothing to do with anyone so I signed him up for pain meds and held out that 1/2 % chance someone would come looking for him.

A few days passed & I got busy with other things. Then while making my rounds I came across that brown dog again. No more friendly, he laid staring in the back of his cage. I noticed he only had 2 days left. I went to work networking but with rescues overcrowded and the dog being a mix, even if it was part mastiff, no one had room, especially for a broken mutt.

I thought maybe I could take him for just a few days, find out what was wrong with his leg then perhaps someone would be more willing to take him in. At a mere 88lbs, he was also suffering from several severe lacerations, a skin infection and heartworms. I brought him home to begin rehab (if you’re bored there is a video down there…) Dog could have cared less but I think he was too sick at that point to mind much. The name Moses just came to me on his car trip home, so it stuck. His fun loving, goofy personality came out as soon as he was out of the shelter. He was kind of like the big special kid in class, quite a bit smarter than anyone realized but never really quite sure how to show it.

During all this, Dog suffered a heart attack and died. I was devastated. Yet there was Moses, big goofy Moses was just kind of there, a clam, quiet presence. It was then I realized I didn’t want him to go when he was better… so here he stayed.

He has since healed his broken leg and gained 50lbs. DNA test revealed he wasn’t a mastiff mix but a St Bernard, Irish setter, German shepherd, Rottweiler cross. He’s like the kid my mother always wanted me to have so I could see what it was like. He is super smart and can open pretty much any door or gate, yet he only seems to remember what sit is about ½ the time. He waits until the very last minute to come when he is called, in just enough time so you can’t fuss at him for not listening. He can find a pill hidden in any type of food, yet he has figured out how to get into the pantry, into the garbage and pick out anything resembling food. He wipes out tables and shelves with one wag of his tail, yet he can carry a to go container all over the house without spilling a drop of food. I’ve been able to trim his nails once in 2 years, but he sat on a table for 2 hours so M & I could paint him like a tiger. He has taken down grown men while playing in the park, yet he will lie still on the floor for hours just so Jelly Legs can play with him and not get hurt. I couldn’t ask for a better dog

Snot

I've been full of it for 2 days. No fever so I have assured myself that I don't have swine flu. I was just commenting the other day how I needed another case of the flu so I could stop smoking AGAIN, no breathing, no smoking. It worked for over a year last time. So today will probably suck. We are short staffed, in my area. I have a new girl to train. I don't like people. I loathe stupid. If this one is, she will not survive today. I have to have happy smiley be nice to people today face because we will be busy. I'm going to pull a Japan and wear a mask. I'm already late & I don't care. (on a side note, don't take more nyquil if you wake up at 2am, you'll oversleep) My only hope is how perfect my cappuccino turned out today.... look at the little paw print.

This has to be the cutest thing ever

www.furrydeviants.blogspot.com

Kittens for adoption

Jimmy Hoffa, Big Nose Kate & Clover are all ready to go now. Adolf, Ave & the crew of the 100 Aker Woods will be ready in about 8 weeks.

Dear City of Jacksonville

While I realize that the abandoned houses here are nothing compared to New Orleans, I've come to find the one behind me annoying. I appreciate no humans living there I am not enjoying the mice and flies. I decided tonight to put another complaint in to the city for the excessive nasty mess of something that was year old trash and is now driveway decoration. On another note they estimate compleation of my compaint by February of 2010. Here is a copy of my complaint: Trash and litter. Complaint put in for trash, litter, overgrown yard, abandoned house: The yard has been trimmed, which the neighbors greatly appreciate. However, the trash cans that have been full of garbage for over a year, and also contained stagnant water, were simply dumped over. This occurred after the yard was “cleaned up”, perhaps another neighbors way of attempting to eliminate the mosquito population that had taken them over. The stew of primordial ooze has now spilled over the yard and driveway of the house and along our fence. Apparently this putrid mess is very attractive to flies & every fly from miles around has decided to live there. I'm unable to go into my backyard with a herd of fly’s dive bombing me and this has become excessively annoying. Every time an opportunity arises the flies enter the house and while this provides great entertainment for the cat, they really aren't as easy to hit with a fly swatter as it would seem. The flies make for an unhealthy environment when they accumulate in excess as they have here. It would be great if the homeowners could also be convinced to clean up this trash. http://www.furrydeviants.blogspot.com/

It's raining kittens

So Kanga had her kittens last night. 6 of them. I was thinking more like 4, but there were 6 little ones this morning. She is such a good mommy and is doing great feeding them. 4 girls and 2 boys: Christopher Robins, Winnie the Pooh, Rabbit, Roo, Piglet & Honey. Then long story short a woman brings in 4 “feral” kittens that had been abandoned by their mother to put to sleep because she “had a bad back” and couldn’t feed them for a few more weeks when they would be old enough to give away. Because I’m an emotional disaster lately, I really couldn’t manage to actually put them to sleep… I mean look at those faces. Lucky for me a client offered to foster 2 of them. They are not exactly happy to see me yet but they are eating well. I named them Adolf and Ava, but Jessica said I can’t do that so I’m open to new names. I guess this is what I get when I pray for distractions and something to help me move on and forget. But how can something so cute not bring a smile to your face.