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.

Four Kittens and a Dog; Update on my fosters

Five of my foster pets were adopted this weekend!  Thunder and Stormy, two kittens from the Tornado litter, were adopted together.  And then Lightning and Raine, the other two kittens from the same litter, were also adopted together!  We always like to adopt out young kittens in pairs if possible, because it gives them a friend to play with in their new home.  So I was really excited to have all four of them go home in pairs.

In addition to the four kittens being adopted, Forrester was also adopted!

It was a great weekend, as several other puppies and dogs were also adopted.  It also gives me a much needed break, since for awhile there I had five foster dogs and eight foster cats.  Four foster dogs and four foster cats is a much easier number.  Here's a quick summary of my remaining fosters, in order of arrival:

Ziggy - Deaf pit bull, he got to stay home on Saturday because there wasn't enough room in the car for everyone to go.  I'm planning to alternate him and Tulsa at adoption events because both of them can be challenging to handle at PetSmart with all the strange dogs and people.

Kira, Kimba and Kona - All three cats are finally ready for adoption.  Kimba and Kona, the two kittens, went to adoptions today, and I don't think they'll take long to be adopted.  Kira, the momma cat, is still recovering from being spayed so she will not be ready for adoption events until next weekend.

Belle - Belle, the FIV positive calico cat, has settled in to life in my bedroom, and she enjoys spending her days looking out the window, and her nights cuddled up with me.  I had planned to take her to the adoption event today but somehow I forgot about her she managed to stay behind.  Adoption events aren't her favorite thing, but they're her best bet for finding a permanent home, so I'll try to take her next weekend.

Target - White and brown mixed breed dog - Target is doing great - he's learned to walk well on a leash, is crate trained and is doing very well with house-training.  He is very popular at adoption events, and I expect that he will soon be finding a home of his own.

Toby - Another white and brown mixed breed dog! - Toby is also doing great, and had a lot of fun at today's adoption event.  He got some great new toys from the lady who was responsible for getting him into foster care, and he loved the new toys and all of the attention from the volunteers and customers at PetSmart.

Tulsa - Deaf Blue Heeler, went to her first All Paws adoption event and did much better than expected.  She met and greeted several dogs without issue, and although she barked at dogs while in her crate, she was very good about not getting too excited when being held on leash.

Tornado Damage

We recently had a tornado that damaged a lot of homes and businesses in a city near us.  Here is a photo (courtesy of KTVI) that shows a satellite picture of some of the damage.  Fortunately no people were killed in this tornado, but some animals were, including one mother cat.  Her four five month old kittens survived, but with their house totally destroyed, the family turned them over to us to find new homes for the kittens.

(click to enlarge)

This is how I came to foster these adorable kittens:

Stormy

Thunder 

Lightning

Raine

I took these pictures within 2 minutes of putting them into their new room, and as you can see, they made themselves right at home.  Thunder, the only boy, is the most active which is why I had such a hard time getting a picture of him.  But you can see him better in this video - he's the one actually playing with the toy while Lightning and Raine are watching.