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When I lived in California, I did a little animal fostering but wasnt able to do more because of heavy work schedules and a young family. Now that I live in Indiana and have no job (I'm on disability) the animals seem to find me!
Two kittens found their way to my home when I lived in town, and I ended up keeping them - first Pidge, who was stuck up a tree by the flower shop. I took her out of the tree and she went back up! The most pitiful whining, pleading help-me kitten! She is a gray tuxedo. The owner of the flower shop told me to take her as all she did was meow and get stuck in that tree! So I took her home, and surprisingly, she hardly ever says a word now, is most cuddly and a great mouser! Plus she's learned about trees!
About a month after Pidge came along, there came Hector. His mommy was feral and lived in a ditch outside a friends house on a busy county road. Mom got squished, sadly, but they caught this little boy and brought him to me - only about 5 weeks old, he was scared and not quite all the way weaned. He's a quiet unassuming gentleman, white and tabby striped.
Then at the end of 2008 I moved to the country. One frigid morning I opened the front door to find a poor, skinny, scared black and tan hound curled up on my boots. Elvis was a character, as all hounds usually are, and with the help of our local animal rescue, Adopt-A-Dog and H.E.L.P., we contacted a black & tan rescue group and he found a wonderful home on 140 acres with a wonderful woman who loves him a lot! Now he was a handful!
Nana came by, scared and cold one winter night, she was under my car. A lovely blue merle aussie, she also found a new loving forever home.
Next came the kittens, a parade of them! A lady posted on a freecycle group that she had some drop off kittens that turned out to be much younger than she guessed - they were about 4 weeks old, if that! A day later, I got a call from Adopt A Dog that someone had dropped a box of kittens off at the shelter - in the cold, in a box, not a soul around! Now I had 4 bottle babies! As it turned out, while they were still nursing and not ready to rehome, I had to go to Texas, so...they made the trip with me! We drove, and my daughter and I would feed them when we stopped, and they got lots of attention!
Speaking of my daughter, she is 18 and thoroughly enjoys helping with stray animals, especially the babies. I could not do it without her and all my love and admiration goes out to her!
A poor starving dirty little asian mix came one night, covered in grease and wheezing with pneumonia. She was a beautiful and loving kitten, about 4 months old, but she was so sick! *So* sick, poor thing. We tried, the vet and I, for weeks, but end the end, we had to help her cross the rainbow bridge. Her condition was so debilitated and her infection so embedded that nothing was working. I was so sad, and so was my father, who was madly in love with her - and he doesn't even like cats! At 92 years old, he helped me dig her resting place, and we hiked around the property a bit until we found a suitable rock and a stick that struck his fancy. Princess Missy was a loving little thing and I had such hopes we could save her. I still miss her.
I didn't have to wait long before I got a litter from Adopt A Dog! Their mother was run over by a tractor, and at 9 days old, these 6 little babies needed someone who could give them the round the clock care they needed. Adopt A Dog in our community has few volunteers and precious little donations, but they do what they can! They helped with the vet bills and formula and I took over the daily care. Unfortunately one kitten didn't make it, but the other 5 are the prettiest most well adjusted kittens you've ever met! Two found forever homes with me and three found homes where they are highly loved and I get regular updates on how they are doing!
In between all this, I helped place two older cats, 6 years old, that for one reason or another were given up by their owners. Im starting to get a reputation for helping the helpless..and they come, they find me, and welcome they are!
It all started with NorCal Boxer Rescue (ncbr.org) and my old girl Dixie, who is going be 10 this year. I fell in love with helping animals and dont think I could ever not help out, even if I have to go hungry to do it! Its my dream to someday visit Best Friends Sanctuary in Utah, the Houston SPCA, and am currently researching how to help change in laws in the state where I live, as the animal protection laws are just pitiful. Awful.
Thats my story, I hope it warms your heart! I hope it inspires you to keep helping, keep trying!
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