Eros and D*g content: my day at the humane society

Part I: Dog content

I had a 9am meeting today, so I drove to work earlier than usual. As I
was pulling into the parking lot, a full-grown golden retriever trotted
in front my car. Not good. Not only is this a high-traffic area, but
the snow on the ground makes traction iffy.

As I parked, I had a brief battle of my own wits. Maybe his owner was just
around the corner, and would be upset at me for interfering. But whatever.
His owner shouldn't have left him in a freaking parking lot. I got out of the
car and located the dog, who had wandered to another corner of the lot. He
seemed friendly. I know that strange animals can be unpredictable and
dangerous, but somehow I'm never as cautious about such things as maybe I
should be, so I approached him, got my hand into his collar, and checked for
tags. Rabies vaccination, but no name tag. Ugh.

Bringing a strange dog into the office seemed like a bad idea, so I put him in
my back seat, hoping he wouldn't eat anything. He didn't seem to mind being
left in the car as I let my bosses know the situation, and they agreed I
should take him to the humane society that, conveniently, is just down the
street. I got in the car -- everything seemed in order -- and drove him to
the shelter. I probably should have been nervous with a large dog of unknown
history behind me as I drove, but fortunately, I'm short on common sense.

Anyway, the shelter proper doesn't open till 11am, but their vet is open at
seven, and they were able to let me into the shelter and get me set up. The
dog had no ID chip, but the shelter worker apparently went through a list of
lost dogs and called a name out. The dog responded enthusiastically, although
it seemed to me he might just have been happy for attention. We brought him
to a kennel, and the presumed owner was called. I hope that's truly his
owner, and I hope that owner gets a nice lecture on at *least* putting a name
tag on his dog. Sheesh.

Oscar's going to the vet on Friday, and I've decided she'll be getting an ID
chip then. So much can go wrong, and even if she's wearing her collar, it's
of the easy-break variety ...

Part II: Eros content

After several meetings and lunch, I finally steeled my nerves enough to go
visit Eros at the same shelter. (I asked about the dog; they haven't heard
from the owner yet. Probably still at work.) Well, I'm glad I did. This
shelter is awesome. Granted, most of the cats are in little cages, but those
who can get along with others are put in "kitty condos." These are
large-closet-sized rooms with all sorts of cat amenities, clearly designed by
someone with a sensitivity to feline needs. Cats stay in there until/unless
they show signs of stress from living with other cats in close quarters.

Eros shares a condo with a tiny, adorable kitten named Tucker:

http://www.boulderhumane.org//adopt/...s/A122242.html

The front wall is glass, not metal bars, with a nice ledge to sit on and
watch the outside world. There are rugs on the floor. Steps/ledges are
built into the wall from the viewing ledge to the top of a six-foot
scratching post, and the steps even have little carpets. They have
mousies and two litterboxes. It's awesome.

I got some time in a "meeting room" with Eros. Tucker escaped while we were
getting Eros, but no big deal, as the cat area is well-enclosed. I convinced
Tucker to return to his room, then joined Eros in a glassed-in room with two
chairs, a table, and a few mousies. Eros allowed me to pet him, and he was
all about the purrs, but he was far more interested in rubbing his face on the
chairs and playing with the mousie than he was in me.

But then something unexpected happened. He figured out where Tucker was, and
stared at him for a while. Tucker stared back, little nose pressed to the
glass. Eros kept playing a bit, then looked for Tucker again. "Okay," I told
Eros. "I can see you miss your kitten." I saw a lady glancing at Eros' fact
sheet and looking for the missing black cat in Tucker's condo, so I picked up
Eros and brought him over. Aware that I shouldn't give her the hard sell, I
merely introduced them and tried to put Eros back in his condo. Of course,
Tucker made a break for it again. A shelter worker put down the rat-in-a-box
she was carrying to help us retrieve Tucker, for whom a rat in a box was quite
the bait.

After we got the cats safely back to their condo, I watched them. They
played on their own; they played together. A perfect match. Just adorable.
Maybe they will be adopted together.

I spoke for quite a while with the lady who was looking around, as well as
with others who were browsing. We were mostly just talking cats. Again, I
made it clear that I was Eros' old owner, but didn't push the hard sell. If
they asked, I answered. If something came up naturally, I mentioned it.
Anyway, Eros can sell himself. What a wonderful cat.

I feel much better, now. This kitty condo is a billion times better for him
than the kennel cage he was in before. The cats are well-loved, and he looks
good and is still a happy cat. Before I left, I got some info on having
monthly contributions deducted from my account ...

--
monique

"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
...

You did two very hard, but very good things. I'm glad the dog is safe,
and with luck it will be reunited with its owners soon.

It is good to know that Eros is happy where he is and he has a friend to
play with. I hope someone will soon fall in love with both of them and
adopt them together.

Joy

In article , "Yoj"
wrote:



"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
. ..

You did two very hard, but very good things. I'm glad the dog is safe,
and with luck it will be reunited with its owners soon.

It is good to know that Eros is happy where he is and he has a friend to
play with. I hope someone will soon fall in love with both of them and
adopt them together.

Joy



I'm sending adoption together purrs for Eros & Tucker.
Suz
Macmoosette
=^..^= =^..^= =^..^= =^..^= =^..^= =^..^=

"People that hate cats will come back as mice in their next life."
--Faith Resnick



|\__/|
(=':'=)
(")_(")

On 2004-12-01, Yoj penned:
"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
...

You did two very hard, but very good things. I'm glad the dog is safe, and
with luck it will be reunited with its owners soon.

It is good to know that Eros is happy where he is and he has a friend to
play with. I hope someone will soon fall in love with both of them and
adopt them together.

Joy

Thanks! I hope so, too. I'll settle for Eros getting adopted by a loving and
responsible person, though.

Honestly, bringing the dog to the humane society was new for me, but not that
tough. I love dogs, especially big fluffy golden retrievers old enough to
have that white clown-face thing going on. Or little fluffy golden retrievers
that bounce around ... or um ... well, most dogs, really, with the exception
of small yippy ones. Dachshunds are cool, though. I suspect that I should be
a lot more cautious about strange dogs. My brain knows that they can be
dangerous, but my heart is less educated. I wouldn't pet a strange dog
without getting at least a visual confirmation from the owner, but that's a
habit I have to force myself to maintain.

The tough part was curtailing fantasies of bringing the golden home and
keeping him ...

--
monique

On 2004-12-02, SUQKRT penned:

I'm sending adoption together purrs for Eros & Tucker.

Suz Macmoosette

Thank you! I'll let them know next time I visit.

I showed Eric a picture of Tucker, and he felt the need to remind me that we
can't adopt the pair. I guess I was experiencing kitten fever over the little
guy, just a little. It's too bad Oscar is such an insecure, timid girl that
she can't stand the presence of another cat. She's been fine with two
different dogs, but I think that's because the dogs weren't allowed everywhere
she was, so she had some ability to escape.

--
monique

"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
...
On 2004-12-02, SUQKRT penned:

I'm sending adoption together purrs for Eros & Tucker.

Suz Macmoosette

Thank you! I'll let them know next time I visit.

I showed Eric a picture of Tucker, and he felt the need to remind me that
we
can't adopt the pair. I guess I was experiencing kitten fever over the
little
guy, just a little. It's too bad Oscar is such an insecure, timid girl
that
she can't stand the presence of another cat. She's been fine with two
different dogs, but I think that's because the dogs weren't allowed
everywhere
she was, so she had some ability to escape.

--
monique

This isn't going to help, but I was thinking, gee, since Eros has a buddy,
they might just leave Oscar completely alone. That often happens. Are you
sure you can't take them both?

On 2004-12-02, Karen penned:

This isn't going to help, but I was thinking, gee, since Eros has a buddy,
they might just leave Oscar completely alone. That often happens. Are you
sure you can't take them both?

Diabolical!

No, even if I bought your theory, Eric is still allergic to Eros. In
addition to obvious allergy symptoms, Eric caught at least three
illnesses in the month we had Eros, one of which resulted in a hospital
stay. The hospital stay was mostly precautionary while they did some
tests, but still. We love Eros, but the risk that he depresses Eric's
immune system and paves the way for other problems is just too great.
Maybe it was just coincidental, but it didn't seem like it. Maybe it's
not the allergies themselves, but lack of rest from coughing all night
that screws his ability to resist sickness. And if his allergies
require multiple cats to crop up, having three instead of one isn't
going to help =/

--
monique

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:
snip
Oscar's going to the vet on Friday, and I've decided she'll be
getting an ID chip then. So much can go wrong, and even if she's
wearing her collar, it's of the easy-break variety ...

I had Bagheera chipped a few weeks ago, he had a new type of chip which
can take his temerature as well as ID. It cost the same as a standard
chip, you may find it worth asking if they're available where you are,
if I hadn't asked I would have got a standard one.

I hope the d*g is soon reunited with his owner. And I hop[e Eros soon
finds his foreverhome.
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy & Bagheera)
A house is not a home, without a cat.

On 2004-12-03, Adrian penned:
Monique Y. Mudama wrote:
snip
Oscar's going to the vet on Friday, and I've decided she'll be getting an
ID chip then. So much can go wrong, and even if she's wearing her collar,
it's of the easy-break variety ...

I had Bagheera chipped a few weeks ago, he had a new type of chip which can
take his temerature as well as ID. It cost the same as a standard chip, you
may find it worth asking if they're available where you are, if I hadn't
asked I would have got a standard one.

Doh. I didn't ask while I was there, but I think our vet would have mentioned
if it had been an option.

I hope the d*g is soon reunited with his owner. And I hop[e Eros soon finds
his foreverhome.

Thank you! Me too.


--
monique, caretaker of Oscar