Jetta, the black(est) cat

Did you know: black cats and dogs are euthanized more often than any other color?

Why? Just because they're black. That's it!

Adopting?.. please choose black.



Jetta arrived two days ago, the same day as Lucky, because they both need a few ringworm dips before they can go to their new homes or adoption events again.



She shied away from us at first and still does sometimes... that is until she realizes you're still friendly. Constant reassurance and quiet is what she needs. But as soon as she realizes who you are again - say goodbye to your privacy! She loooooooves attention. And she made friends with the only nice cat in our house right now, Hermes (our tabby and white.)



We've decided that she can stay with us until she comes out of her shell or gets adopted, whichever comes first. She's so friendly that she'll get along with any other foster that comes through here!

GOOD NEWS: Jetta and George are adopted together! As soon as George is neutered next week, they'll go to their new home. Yay!

Fanta, forget Orange Crush

Another scaredy cat.. she hid for over a month before wanting us to pet her.

After the first month she began to trust us more. She came out in the evenings, only if we were quiet. She hates blenders, doors shutting, loud movies, you name it.

So, we started sending her to adoptions (at the local Petco) on weekends. She hid at first but started showing herself after a while. We were sure she would get adopted.

A space opened up in the adoption center so we decided to let her spend the week there. Boy, that was a mistake. Now all she does is hide!

We're working on finding a home environment for her because clearly she isn't going to get adopted this way. Do you have room in your home? (As previously mentioned, we have ringworm-y fosters right now who will be here for 2 more weeks.)

Isn't she a beauty? She just needs a little understanding.

Her favorite spot to sleep, our closet:

Lucky (generic name, I know)

She's in my bathroom drying off right now. She's been on an anti-fungal medication for almost a month now but her ringworm came back. That's why we're dipping her 3x in the next 15 days (once every 5 days) before sending her to her new home.

Ringworm isn't a big deal - but it's such a hassle!

She was also chosen during our 2-for-1 adoption special so she's got other cats waiting for her at her forever-home. Formerly a stray, found by an older woman and fed for a few months, Lucky was spayed, vaccinated and put up for adoption less than 6-weeks ago.

What a beauty!!

... the first family who swore they wanted her were flakes. And you can't have my cats if you're not 100% truly in love with the cat.

This is Lucky.. putting herself to bed. She really does that! When we can't find her, she's asleep buried under blankets, pillows or anything else she can find. It's absolutely adorable.



A wonderful family adopted Lucky last week. They have 2 kids who are great with cats. But Lucky seemed most taken with the dad. She would run up to him happily when he walked in! And she even walked into their pet carrier on her own.

She was ready to go home!

Sven, a victim of the animal breeding industry

Anyone who buys a dog from a breeder is one of two things:

1) ignorant and doesn't realize they are helping a lazy person make a living off of the breeding, caging and exploitation of an animal or
2) a completely selfish individual who knows what they're doing: buying an animal while thousands, or millions, die every year in animal shelters across the country.

I hope you're not one of them. Or if you are, maybe this blog will help you become a better person.

Sven came to us because a local breeder couldn't sell him. She breeds 4 different breeds of dogs and apparently cross-breeds whenever she feels like it. Sven is half chihuahua and half min-pinscher.

Amazingly, she couldn't sell him!



She even lowered his price and put him on Craigslist. Still, no one answered. It seems that anyone who wants to buy a dog thinks lowered prices = defective dogs. Boy did they miss out! Sven is such a sweetie! He loved our other foster dog, Gigi, even though she was almost 20x his size! He played chase and wrestled with our cat, Hermes.

Sadly, he smelled SO badly when he arrived that it was clear he had been living in his own poo for 6 months, i.e., his entire life. It took several baths to remove or even lessen the smell. It was in his skin. She said "He must've rolled in something this morning" and "he's nearly house-trained." What a load! He had no idea what leashes were, had not been socialized and certainly didn't have any idea what house-training or paper-training was.

Who knows how many other animals are at her property, waiting in filth, all because she can't sell them to make a quick buck? Anyone who buys a puppy should feel the guilt of leaving the parent dogs in these conditions. Shame!

But after a month of training (if you need help with it, just ask) he finally started to learn! And since we couldn't find him a wonderful home here, we actually found him a great home all the way over in San Francisco. So, we sent him on his first airplane ride this weekend - and received happy emails from his new, loving family.

We've never done that before but we're so glad we did! Within hours of his arrival they already took him shopping for new clothes. (San Francisco is a little cold for small dogs with little hair, like Sven.)

Please, please don't breed or buy while homeless animals die.

Gigi, lab/shepherd mix

Can you believe we had a 90lb foster in our 1-bedroom apartment?

Originally, I was just helping someone (who was supposed to foster her until we found Gigi a forever-home) but when the first potential-adopter couldn't keep Gigi they told me to drop her off at the shelter if I couldn't take her. I don't know why but it still amazes me when people just decide that an animal's life isn't worth a little inconvenience.

Lucky for Gigi, the adopter (who knew she couldn't keep such a large dog permanently) fostered Gigi for a few weeks while I made room for her at our place. We can only take-in fosters as we make room - which means we can only rescue when our current fosters get adopted.

She actually behaved better than most of our feline fosters that are a fraction of her size! And as you can see, she loves animals of all sizes. We just had to be careful that Gigi's enormous paws didn't hurt little Sven (the foster in the photo) or our cat Hermes, that Gigi loved to chase around.



What a well-behaved girl. I miss her!.. but I don't really miss walking her at 7:30 am in our freezing winter weather. Brrrrr

Leah, the odd-eyed oddity

She was such a scaredy cat when she first arrived. We actually thought we lost her the first day!

We looked everywhere for her.. at least we thought we did. She wasn't under the bed, in the closet, hiding in a cat bed or under any blankets.

After a few nerve-wrecking hours we realized she had jumped on the fridge, opened the cabinets (that we never use) and hid! She is almost completely silent so we really had no idea she where she was.

Adopted-out last month with Northwest Arkansas Animal Rescue's 2-for-1 adoption specials. Leah loves other cats, so we're so glad she has a friend in her new home!

Intro to fostering

I wish I had thought to keep records of all the fosters we've had over the years... but as a foster home we really try not to get too attached. That's one of the things every good foster home knows how to do - keep a distance while fostering so you're excited when your animal goes to a new home, rather than sad.

That excitement turns to joy every time your foster finds a forever-family!

You get to know them.. and realize just how different every animal is. Cats have fears and interests, just like people do. Dogs aren't all slobbery, ball-catching dummies. Their personalities are just as unique as you or me. Just ask any foster home and they'll be able to tell you which of their past animals liked playing, or loved the quiet, or enjoyed the company of others and which were loners.

There was Steve, the neighborhood stray that everyone knew existed but no one ever bothered to try to pet. When we moved in our neighbors said "Oh he belongs to someone. He has been here for years." When we asked who actually claimed him the answer was always the same, "I don't know. Someone." He was missing most of the hair on his legs, had scars all over his face (some new and some old) and wouldn't get within 20 feet of you. We were pretty sure one of his back legs had most of the hair burned off. Whether it was from warming himself under the hood of someone's car or caused by a cruel person, we'll never know. He was certainly not loved by anyone - until we came along.

Now he lives in Texas with my wonderful parents. Yep. He hated all other cats, was ridiculously unhappy in our rented homes, didn't like moving (which we do every year) so we had to think of something else for him. That's when we decided to drive all the way from Salt Lake City, UT down to Southeast Texas to deliver him. That was over 3 years ago and he's now a happy, healthy, country boy!

From alley cat to couch potato:



There were 4 ringworm-infested siblings (three of them black!)





They were adopted-out in pairs to indoor-only, loving homes. We love it when our kittens/cats are adopted-out in pairs!

Then there was Fang, an aging, semi-blind, mostly-deaf spaniel mix. She was so anemic when we picked her up on the side of the road that her gums were white. We took her home and put her straight into the bathtub. After hand-picking off a few hundred fleas, she fell asleep in my lap while she was still in the tub.



She slept for about two days straight - recovering in a warm home and gaining strength. What a sweetie. She was one of the best foster dogs we ever had.

Of course, foster homes sometimes become permanent homes, too. We adopted T'Oni a few years ago because he was completely blind and toothless. Yep. I just couldn't resist that face. His story is one of the worst I've heard in years. He and another cat (presumably his brother) were picked-up by animal control. Nobody even noticed that T'Oni couldn't see. That is, until his brother was euthanized - either by accident or for a reason that no one wanted to admit to after the fact. Then, suddenly T'Oni started freaking out in his cage, hitting his face against the wall, acting confused. That's when they realized something was very wrong: T'Oni's best friend and guide had been killed!



That's how he ended up with us. Special-needs cats require an attentive family, one that knows vet expenses are expected and you never know what your special kitty will end up needing. He gave us three wonderful years. Last June he died from complications caused by his diabetes and leukemia.



So, you see.. being a foster home doesn't mean you never adopt. But you have to keep in mind that the more animals you adopt, the less room you'll have to foster!

Right now we have two cats of our own (Normal and Hermes) and foster whatever we have room for. Depending on where we live, that could be one cat, two dogs or even more if we have foster cages. So, no matter what your situation is, you can foster. You don't have to foster many - even fostering one at a time saves lives. And lots of them! I honestly can't remember most of them. But knowing we've helped so many 'unwanted' animals gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling all over. Give it a try!

More stories to come. I hope you enjoy them and it inspires you. If we can foster in a 1-bedroom apartment, so can you!

Our furries, Normal (tuxedo) and Hermes (tabby and white):