Final Thought for August (130+ Animal Adoptions and an Earthquake)

I wanted to post one more entry during the month of August, and I didn't know what to write about earlier today. I have some ideas, but they will take longer to write, and I've been grading all day, so I didn't want to write a ton.

I just checked some local news sites and found a great "good news" story, especially for an animal lover like me! The Young-Williams Animal Center, where we volunteer, received a $10,000 donation, which means more than 130 animals can be adopted without adoption fees in Knox County. Once those animals are find good and caring homes, the anonymous donor will give another $10,000 for the same cause.

Read more about it at http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=97501&provider=rss. This donation probably couldn't come at a better time since the shelter has had more than 500 animals, but is designed for around 400. God bless that donor!

In other area news, we experienced a 3.3 magnitude earthquake earlier today. Well, I didn't personally experience it, but it shook neighboring Blount and Loudon counties around 10 a.m. this morning. The epicenter of the quake was six miles from Lousiville (pronounced Louis-ville and not Louie-ville), which is fairly close to Alcoa and Maryville.

In other weather news, we didn't make it out of the 70s today, and we're having lows in the 50s tonight. If you live in Florida, I hope you are very jealous!

Bring on September!

Thinking like a child...

I had to share this brief post that I read on a friend's blog. Her mother's dog died this week, and she wasn't sure how to explain the pet's death to her children. Below is what she wrote about what happened.

I saw an opening, and mentioned that M.T. was very sick, and was probably going to heaven. A and S thought a moment, and then asked, "Well, how will she get there?" I said that I thought she would fly, as heaven is above us. A said, "Oh! So she'll just be sleeping and then she will grow wings and go up with all the other doggies and people in heaven." I said that sounds about right to me. Silence. "Maddie (their dog) is going to miss her friend," S said. "Yes," A replied. "But she'll see her again someday. We all will. Just later. Like when we're 100."

The beauty of being and thinking like a child.

Hitchhiking Cats

I know my recent posts have been about animals, especially cats, but rescuing animals and helping them find new homes is important to our family. So when I learned about an opportunity via Facebook to transport some cats from the Young-Williams Animal Center in Knoxville to the Union County Humane Society, we volunteered. These two adult cats needed a ride to Maynardville in neighboring Union County so they could then hitch another ride to Winchester, Virginia and join a rescue shelter.

David and I were happy to help, and we had never driven to this part of Tennessee, which is about 30 minutes north of Knoxville. The two cats we picked up were a Persian and Himalayan, and they were fairly quiet during the ride.

When we arrived at the Union County Humane Society, I was quite impressed. The society has been around a while, but the current facility where they house the animals recently celebrated a one year anniversary, and it has some very nice accommodations for kittens, puppies, dogs and cats. I especially love the Cat Cottage out back where all the adult cats hang out together. They have little beds on the walls with pillows in each of them. I wish I had taken photos!

The society's vet told us more than 50 animals were on their way last night to rescue shelters in parts of Virginia and Maryland. I hope they all find homes very soon!

Also, here's a shout out to my niece Mia, who hasn't been feeling so great this week and had to visit to the vet's office because of a possible snake bite, but she is feeling better today. Watch out for those snakes Mia and Mattie! :)

13 Reasons to Adopt a Black Cat

1. You can’t tell if they’re dirty, and their teeth always look white!
2. A black cat is a great accessory to any outfit, and they go with everything.
3. Black is very slimming—holding your cat will make you look extra-slender.
4. Save time on date night—you don’t need to use the lint brush on your black dress.
5. Your cat doesn’t care what color YOUR hair is!
6. Black cats are the most fun to play hide and seek with.
7. They have a “black belt” in cuddling.
8. You’ll never need to go shopping for Halloween decorations.
9. In most cultures, a black cat in your home brings good luck!
10. A black cat will help you celebrate your inner “Goth.”
11. They are always in the best-dressed category.
12. They make you look beyond the surface to find true love and beauty.
13. They are the least likely to be adopted and need your love the most!

From http://www.petsunlimited.org/adopt/Black_Cats.htm

It's Time for Your Close-up...

No, the above photo is not another new cat for us, but isn't he cute! That's Mr. Buttons, who I met last Friday. I've started volunteering at the Young-Williams Animal Center in Knoxville, a great organization that tries to find homes for hundreds of animals every day of the year.

I helped with a photography session for the animals available for adoption. My job was to serve as a "runner," or basically getting the cats, dogs, rabbits and rats (yes rats!) out of their cages for photos in the community room and then taking them back to their cages. It was fun, but a lot of hard work!

Most of the cats were scared, and they had font claws, which I'm not used to since Sammie and Cash are front declawed. They didn't scratch me, but I could tell a few of them were less than thrilled about having their photo taken. One of the other volunteers loves rats, so she handled getting them. The dogs were loving and excited but more challenging since they are larger and have tons of energy. I dealt with a boxer mix and a rottweiler mix who wanted to run around and play.

Below are some of the animals I saw Friday. They all need good homes, so please visit knoxpets.org if you are interested and willing to be a responsible pet owner. One of the reasons so many animals end up at the shelter is because their owners are irresponsible. As Bob Barker says, please have your pets spayed or neutered.

Halo the rabbit


Sam the rat


Ingle the dog


T-Rex the dog


Greta the kitten


Gabel the kitten

My New Little Brother

It's Sammie writing here. My parents decided that I was lonely and needed another sibling. I admit I have missed Dolly the past couple of months, and I know my parents have missed her too. Also, there are so many loving animals in the world who need homes, and I used to be one of them, so it's important to share my parents with another feline.

My mom really wanted another cat in the house, but she also wanted to wait until after my parents returned from their Florida trip a few weeks ago. She looked at various animal shelter's web sites, and then a former student (Thanks Tony!) suggested she check out craigslist.com.

Since I don't have front claws, my parents didn't really want a cat with front claws just in case we decided to have a cat fight. She found a few people who were trying to find homes for their declawed cats, so she made some phone calls. I think my mom wanted to get another tabby cat and probably a female, but sometimes you just know something is right even if it's not what you thought would happen. This is how I ended up with my new little brother.

My mom talked to a very nice woman named Amy who had a three-year-old black male cat who is declawed and neutered. She and her husband are middle school teachers, and they have a nine-year-old daughter named Allison. They've recently moved in with her mom who is not a cat person, so they are trying to find new homes for their two cats. Tigger had already been adopted last week, but Ebon was still available. They went over to their house and met him. He was shy but a very handsome cat. Amy was very happy about meeting my parents and felt Ebon would love living with us.

Well, so far, so good. He spent the first few days in the spare bedroom, and we did have a few hissing contests, but he's hissed more than me. Now, we like to sniff noses. My parents have renamed him Cash after the legendary Johnny Cash.

At first, Cash liked to hide under the spare bedroom bed, but he's a lot more active now.



He comes out a lot more and explores our house.



Cash prefers to lay around on the floor and isn't crazy about being a lap kitty, but that's fine with me since my mom's lap belongs to me and only me! He does love to rub up against my parent's legs.



Cash got a special present in the mail from Ryan, the little boy of my mom's friends from college. He picked out a blue animal toy for Cash just like his favorite "Fa" stuffed animal. Thanks Ryan! We both have enjoyed playing with all the toys you sent us, and the treats are very yummy.





Cash is a lot more active than me and quite curious. For instance, on Friday morning my mom noticed the fish net that should be next to the aquarium was on the floor, and the fish food container was nowhere in sight. My dad finally found it Friday afternoon under the spare bedroom bed, and Cash had managed to open it, so there was fish food everywhere under the bed!

He also likes to "sing" like Johnny Cash, especially during the night. Last night he also knocked over my glass of water on my dad's night stand. He loves to sit in the window and watch the birds. He also makes the clicking noise to attract the birds just like Dolly did. I'm making that noise now too, but I'm not as loud as Cash and Dolly.




We're glad Cash has joined our family. I think Dolly would approve of him, but she's probably glad she doesn't have to live with him and can just watch over us.