Friday, June 10, 2011

Update on my life

There have been a lot of changes since I returned from vacation two days ago. Tulsa, Ziggy and Bunny are back home with me. Toby did not come back home. He was staying at a foster home where he got to sleep on the bed and be totally spoiled. He was very happy there and his new foster mom said he could stay, so I reluctantly agreed. Actually I thanked her profusely and was very relieved. That's because this is National Return Month. It happens every year around this time. Adoptions slow down and we get call after call from adopters needing to return their pets. I don't know why the returns don't happen when adoptions are high - it would be so much easier. Instead all of our foster homes are full with fosters that aren't being adopted, and then the returns start coming in. So far this month I've had three calls about returns. First was Target, who was adopted out and then came back while I was on vacation. He's back home with me again and doing great (if you don't count the flip-flops he ate and the accident he had on my bed...sigh). Next is Stormy, a kitten adopted about a month ago who stopped using the litterbox. She will be going to the vet to get checked for a medical condition and then may or may not be returned. And last is Pepsi, a pit bull that I fostered about three years ago. Her family has to give her up and I'll be getting her back in another couple of weeks. Several other foster homes have also been getting returns this past week, so we're all hoping for a good weekend of adoptions. We're going to hold an extra adoption event on Sunday to try to get our foster pets seen by as many people as possible. I'll also be getting my cat Merlin back this weekend, as well as my foster cat Belle and a new foster cat named Lovey. I was supposed to be taking in three kittens as well, but fortunately their temporary foster mom fell in love with them while I was on vacation and is going to keep fostering them. I am not sure where they would go!


As soon as I get my act together, I'll have more pictures and stories for the blog. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these final vacation photos from Waterton Lakes, Yellowstone National Park, and Grand Tetons National Park.

bear

geyser

alien landscape

waterfall

momma and baby bison

elk

mountain lake

19 comments:

Sheltie Times said...

Sorry about the returns. Silly me I thought summer would be a time people had to evaluate if a pet would be a good fit with the kids home, etc.

When I was teaching we waited until summer to adopt Bailey because I knew I'd be home all summer to get him adjusted before I went back to work.

Tucker The Crestie said...

Welcome back! Thanks for the beautiful pictures - must have been an incredible vacation.

So sorry to hear about all the returns - I can't understand what is wrong with people.

Is the kitten who stopped using the litterbox on a grain free canned food diet? If not, that, or a switch to a raw diet, might help.

Anonymous said...

Wowee! It looks like you had a super FANTASTICAL vacation! Those pictures are Most Amazing!

I'm sorry all those pets are being returned. That makes me sad for them. But I hope they end up finding their furever homes lickety split.

Wiggles & Wags,
mayzie

Anonymous said...

Awwww...I just went and looked at your linkie about Pepsi. She's brindle! Like me! Well, I'm sure it won't take her any time at all to find another home. I mean, a home's not a home without a little brindle in it!

Wiggles & Wags,
mayzie

Corbin said...

Welcome back!!! Beautiful pictures! Sorry to hear about the returns... it's never easy when a foster comes back :-(
-Corbin

Two Pitties in the City said...

Why do you think the returns happen this month? At least in Chicago, everyone is so excited to have dogs now because there are so many fun summer things to do. And your photos are gorgeous!

bbes tribe said...

Great vacation pictures. Sorry to hear about the returns of the adopted pups. We have been having some of that with our organization too. I don't understand why either. We are also overloaded and getting another transport in a couple of days.
Ernie,Sasha,Chica,Lucas's Mom Barb

Two Grad Students and a Pittie said...

Why do you think so many people giv eup their pets, there are so many fun things to do in the summer! Check out Two Pitties Friday Contest about summer in cities. Why do you think?

www.twogradstudentsandapittie.blogpsot.com

pibble said...

I guess people don't want something like a silly pet holding them back from all that summer fun. Idiots. At least they bring them back to you instead of leaving them at some unknown shelter or throwing them on the street. That's the upside. And when you run out of room, there's always the roof. How much do you use that space... :)

Pamela said...

Glad you got a well-deserved vacation. The pix are gorgeous.

Good luck dealing with all the returns.

Julie B said...

I always dread this time of year... few adoptions and the chance of several returns. Let's just hope that people skip out on summer vacations this year and opt to adopt a new family member instead! Thanks again for letting me keep the babies - they are getting so big! I will post new pics on FB soon. Hope things get better for our foster critters (and us too)! :)

Kari in Alaska said...

Ugh, people who return pets for dumb reason aggravate me

Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com

meowmeowmans said...

Great pictures! Glad you had such a great vacation!

Sorry to hear about the returns. That makes us so sad.

Lola and also Franklin, too said...

Thank you for sharing those wonderful photos. It looks like you had adventures! I'm so sorry about the returns. It's so wonderful that those pets have you to come back to, though. You know, we keep getting my human brother back....I guess it's somewhat the same.

Stefanie said...

I have a theory that a lot of people adopt pets from rescues because it's "the cool new thing to do" - let's face it, when you say you have a rescue dog, you get a lot of positive feedback and people say how wonderful you are. But eventually, the dog or cat settles in and things become routine and the pet is no longer generating the back-patting and kudos for rescuing and so the novelty wears off and the dog becomes expendable. While I understand why rescues would want their dogs returned to them if it doesn't work out - I also think it makes it way too easy for people to return their dog once it's no longer fresh and new - they have an easy out without the guilt of dropping the dog or cat off at the pound.

Sheltie Times said...

Looking at my two I still rather see people return than neglect/abuse. We would like to think people will suck it up and be responsible, but that is not always the case. In Katy's case if her owners had admitted that they weren't going to do the work earlier her life would have been easier. While I hate that Bailey's family left him almost as soon as they got him, he has spent almost his entire 8 years with us in a home with people who are willing to do the work.

ForPetsSake said...

Sounds like life is pretty hectic for you, but you're taking it in stride as usual. Those pics from the parks are breathtaking. I hope to go someday!

Barb's Cats and Quilts said...

I share your pain, as you know. Your vacation photos look like postcards. They awesome.

Bev said...

Vacation pictures are incredible!