Tail Talk

My husband and I have a way with words that’s fun for us but makes everyone around us wonder what the heck is going on in our world.  Our latest kitty kid likes to sit at the top of my recliner, which also happens to be a rocker, so if I’m not careful when I get out of the chair I send her flying across the room.  Tim’s warning to let me know of impending cat doom is to holler out “catapult, catapult” while everyone else sits and looks at him like he’s nuts.  But I know, and I guess that’s the important thing.  I’ve only sent the cat flying across the room a couple of times and so far she’s no worse for wear, so we’re good.  That doesn’t get us into trouble like our code name for our blood pressure medication.  For some reason Tim started referring to it as his “heartworm” medicine, and I picked up on it and have gotten so used to the terminology that I can no longer think in terms of blood pressure, even when I am at the doctor’s office and have to try to speak intelligently about my medical conditions.  However, the defining moment was when we were in Northern Indiana visiting his mother and he suddenly remembered he’d forgotten to bring his medicine with him.  I don’t know what was funnier, the look of shock on his mom’s face when she exclaimed “you don’t have heartworms, do you?” or her expression when he responded “of course not, I take medicine for it.”  Yes, sometimes we forget ourselves.  We have multiple names for each of our pets because the names evolve.  Take Happy Jack for example.  No one ever knows who I’m talking about because when we brought him home from the high kill shelter we named him Happy Jack because he was so happy to be out of the shelter he pooped in the van on his way home.  Then his name evolved into Action Jackson because of the speed with which he ran through the house.  That stuck for a while until we started calling him puppy, because he was compared to our older animals, then we started talking about his cute little puppy toes, and the name Puppito came about.  Then we started calling him Pete.  So 50% of the time we refer to him as Jack and the other 50% of the time we call him Pete, but it’s the same dog.  Everyone thinks we have more animals in the house than we have, and when you have as many as we do that’s quite an impressive number.  We do the same thing with the cats.  Donald was originally Don Cato, but now he’s Donald but with a lot of different pronunciations, like Donowd, it just depends on the occasion.  So you just never know what we’re talking about when you come to our home.  But somehow all the animals and the people involved understand each other and know who is speaking to who and when.  The cats know their names and come when their called, and most of the time the dogs do too.  When they don’t it’s by choice and not because they don’t know any better.  And don’t let any dog or cat pull the wool over your eyes into thinking otherwise.  They’re smart animals and know a lot more than they let on.  The really smart ones have us at their beck and call.  And if you don’t have any really smart animals in your life, well you don’t know what you’re missing out on.  Life just doesn’t get any better than spending an evening at home with your loved ones, the furry ones and the less furry ones.  It just don’t get any better than this.  So if you’re missing out you too can have it, just go to your local shelter and adopt.  Not just one but two or three.  And never forget, it’s only through you that the Randolph County Humane Society continues to save lives one by one.

February is Cat Appreciation Month according to ASPCA.org.  And in honor of Cat Appreciation Month, all cat lovers are asked to show off their cat pride by wearing their favorite cat-centric clothing or accessory.  So girls, if you own any, bring them out and flaunt them.  If you don’t, it’s time to buy some.  How often as dog lovers do we look at what we can do to wear our dog ownership proudly, showing off to others that we indeed are the smart ones that have dogs in our lives, sharing the stories of their antics and how they fulfill our lives with love and laughter.  Our cats, on the other hand, get no recognition for their part in our lives yet the part they play is just as grand.  Who hasn’t laughed while watching their kitten bathe themselves with that back leg straight in the air while wondering how do they do that and wishing we could do the same?  Or get that creepy feeling that someone is watching you but you can’t figure out why, when suddenly you see two little eyeballs staring at you from over the back of the couch just before they slowly back down, out of sight.  Some nights we’re entertained by Donald doing laps around the bottom of the couch as he hangs on with his claws and runs laps around the lowest three inches, creating as much static electricity as he can muster, then zapping the dogs with his new found power.  You never miss out on noticing a bug in the house when you have a cat there because you just follow the gaze and sure enough, there’s one on the wall where they watch, silently waiting the that moment when they can attack.  And God forbid if a mouse invades the household because they’ll be on it.  It’s their job and they take great pride in making sure there are no vermin that live within the confines of their domain.  Our Pearl apparently is able to understand conversation in great detail, because our nephew and his wife were visiting and they mentioned they would love to have our long-haired Black Pearl as their own to be a part of their pack of two male cats, one young and one old.  But their cats are both inside cats and never go outside, where ours go in and out at will as farm cats do, and their cats have had their front claws removed.  Well, Pearl must have decided that she wanted no part of that because while she was part of the family gatherings the entire time right up until it was time for her to leave with them suddenly she was nowhere to be found.  We searched high and low, all through the house and in the barn where she lived when she originally came to us as a barn cat but it was like she vanished into thin air.  We finally gave up looking for her, they went on their way and we got back to regular life.  With the house quiet and back to normal we decided it would be a good time for a nap so we laid down and out of the closet pops Pearl.  I had been in there at least twice looking for her and calling her name, as had Tim, but she didn’t budge an inch until after they were long gone.  You can’t tell me they don’t know and understand what’s happening around them.  She fully understood she was going to their house as a new member of their household and she was putting her paw down and saying she wanted to stay here where she thought she belonged.  And I guess she does.  Anyone that can hide that well has earned themselves a permanent spot until she picks a family she wants to go home with. So I guess she’ll stay right here as number 4 in the cast of cats that are the perfect complement to our pack of three dogs.  If you’re living in a house with dogs, good for you.  But if you don’t have any cats, in honor of February, Cat Appreciation Month, how about going to the shelter and adopting a cat or two.  You won’t be sorry.  Especially if you adopt two to keep each other company and entertained.  As they entertain each other they will entertain you beyond your ability to understand the definition of entertainment.  If you don’t believe me, watch the cartoons on YouTube about Simon’s Cat:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0ffwDYo00Q&list=UUH6vXjt-BA7QHl0KnfL-7RQ&index=19&feature=plcp

because it’s close enough to the truth to give you an idea about the real thing.  If you can’t handle Simon’s Cat then you won’t be able to handle a real life cat, but if you laugh at Simon’s Cat then you’re in for a lifetime of joy beyond your wildest imaginings!

Does anybody out there read what I write week by week?  Most days I wonder.  I know there are some of my blogs that are found by the search engines because I see the stats and I know what people search on.  I know they are interested in reading about Oogy, and it makes me happy to know that his story is being found, but twice a week now I pour my heart and soul into writing about the animals that I love so much and feel so passionately about and I wonder, do I make a difference in the lives of any of the animals out there?  Do I bring comfort, or educate anyone?  Does anyone care?  Did anyone pay attention when I wrote that there is no medication to treat heartworms, so we have to treat our animals with preventative 12 months out of the year now rather than just during the warm months because you can’t take that chance in this environment?  Or the truth of cats and toxoplasmosis.  Even if you’re too old to be pregnant today it’s information you could be sharing with others if you knew about it and understood it, but first you have to read it, and I don’t think anyone paid any attention at all.  So I wonder why I continue to do this.  It’s one thing to be ignored, but to be ignored twice as often, well that’s really insulting.  Then today I again saw on story of the German shepherd that had his face blown off by the boys that tied his mouth shut with firecrackers inside:

German Shepherd with no face

And I remember why I do this.  Twice per week I pour my heart out to whoever will listen to me in the hopes that somehow, someplace, someone will be touched and will do something.  Maybe someone will adopt a cat because they’re no longer afraid of having a cat around pregnant women.  Or they recognize that there is something wrong with those boys that live down the street and the police need to be contacted because their abuse is accelerating and if I don’t intervene, no one will.  But I can’t do this alone.  I need your help.  I’m not asking you to read every Tail Talk I write.  My own family doesn’t even do that.  All I’m asking is that you read what looks interesting to you, take it to heart, then when you see something where you can put it into action, do it.  Don’t sit on the side lines any more.  Be the one that makes the difference.  Make your voice be the one that speaks up and is heard because no one else is speaking up.  We have to stop this abuse.  We have to stop this acceptance of dropping off animals because we’re tired of them.  Let’s hold people’s feet to the fire and make them accountable.

Tail Talk is published bi-weekly http://TailTalk.org or you can find us on facebook by searching for the TailTalk.org page.  Please visit and share with all your friends, and ask them to share with their friends, etc.  Help me get the word out because remember, we’re in this together, and I need your help.  Let me know you’re in this with me and I’m not out here by myself.  Together we can change the world.  Please…

And never forget, it is only through you that the Randolph County Humane Society continues to save lives, one by one.

How many of you have donated to your favorite charity in order to help them during their difficult times?  Have you ever thought about checking into that charity to see if what they presented to the public is the truth, or if they are even, in fact, a charity?  I was confronted with this very issue this past week when a gentleman my husband used to work with contacted me through facebook and asked me, along with other folks that he knew were involved in the rescue of animals, to check out an organization that publicized animals that are available for adoption in shelters across the country.  His daughter had found the picture of a puppy that she fell in love with and she wanted nothing more for her 18^th birthday than to make that puppy her own.  I was only familiar with one website that has the photos and details of animals in shelters across the country and that is Petfinder.com, so I was surprised to hear there was another attempting to fulfill that need but whatever works to get the message out there is a good thing.  I didn’t have much to go on except the name of the puppy, the photo of the puppy, and the name of the website where she found the information.  The first thing I did was go to the website and checked out the “contact us” and “about us” information, and saw that they presented themselves as a 501(c)3 charity, which means any money you donate to them is 100% tax deductable.  Whenever anyone tells you that you don’t have to take them at face value, you can go to the IRS website and check it out for yourself:

http://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/mainSearch.do?mainSearchChoice=pub78&dispatchMethod=selectSearch

Fill out the information and it will return their exemption status.  Imagine my surprise to find out that this organization was not a 501(c)3 charity but instead a public charity with only a 50% deductible so what they presented on their website was incorrect.  I tried to call them, but they had a phone number that was impossible to get through on so I sent them an email, their preferred contact method, but I have yet to hear back from them.  I don’t understand why anyone would do that because I couldn’t find anything else about them that didn’t seem legitimate, but this sends up a serious red flag.  Then I checked with the Better Business Bureau Charity Review website:

http://www.bbb.org/us/Charity-Reviews/

but there was no record of them there so I asked the BBB to investigate them.  There had been no negative report on BBB.org about them before I contacted them so I think they were legit in all other ways except this, but this is a big one.  You can’t fool with people’s money.  There are many organizations out there that are legitimate charities that take your money yet little of what they collect makes it to support what they state.  It is always good to check into their operating costs and ask how much of your donation goes into board member salaries, etc. before you donate.  That’s why I’ve always been impressed with the Randolph County Humane Society.  Their board members donate 100% of their time.  All the monies raised goes to support the animals.  There is no waste.  Before you donate your hard earned dollar, check out where it’s going.  If the charity is taking more than 10-15% for operating costs to support its board before the money is used to support the charity, maybe you should look elsewhere to donate your hard earned money.  I’m not saying they don’t deserve it, I’m only saying it deserves another look.  And then think about sending it to RCHS where all of it goes to the animals.  And never forget, it’s only through you that the RCHS continues to save lives, one by one.

Good new to all the Tail Talk fans out there.  Thanks to the Randolph County Herald Tribune upgrading us to their online edition we’ll now be coming to you twice per week, Tuesdays and Fridays, so if you enjoyed the stories we’ve brought you in the past we’re going to break loose of the confines of a print copy and really get into the nitty gritty of the story.  I am going take this opportunity to do what an online edition can do best, bring you information with links to additional information should you want to pursue it.  I’m excited about the change, and I hope you are too.

One of the most frequent excuses we hear at the shelter as a reason for an owner surrender is because there is a new baby in the house so they just can’t have a dog or a cat any longer.  My thought is why did you bring that animal into your home to begin with if you knew you were going to start your family and you didn’t want to have a baby and a furry friend in the house at the same time, but at this point it’s too late for that.  Perhaps if we educate them in advance of the big event we can bring reason to the family so they will understand they can be happy together as a complete family unit with a pet.  After all, companion animals play an important role in our lives and children raised with pets often have:

•  Higher self-esteem and self-confidence
• More trusting relationships with others
• Improved non-verbal communication skills

Who doesn’t want their kids to grow up with those traits?  Well, start their lives with a companion animal and their chances improve exponentially.  Since it is so important that children are raised with pets, before you throw the animals out with the wash water there is a booklet available from AmericanHumane.org that is packed with helpful, easy to follow tips on everything you need to know to:

•  Prepare your home and your pets’ environment
• Ensure appropriate pets behavior
• Arrange a happy and safe introductory meeting between pets and children
• Raise kids around pets
• Understand health and disease concerns

So before you send your pets packing, download Pets Meets Baby!  Tail Talk can be found on facebook, and there is a link to the downloadable book there, or click on the link here:

http://www.americanhumane.org/assets/pdfs/interaction/pet-meets-babypdf-updated.pdf

for immediate download.  But either way, share it and save the animals because you never know what kind of influence they’ll have on your children and in their lives.  Kids have so many difficulties to face growing up today that I didn’t have, and life was difficult for me so I can’t imagine life in the fast lane as it’s lived now.  In my day we played outside until dark with the neighborhood kids, riding our bikes or walking downtown or to the park, but today you have to be afraid of your kids being snatched right off your doorstep or even from their beds as they sleep.  With a dog there to protect them and sound an alarm should an intruder approach, I’m sure even the most brazen would think twice before grabbing your child with their dog there to intervene on their behalf.  Their companion animals will be there for them no matter what, accepting them as they are, whether they stutter, are mentally challenged, or a straight A student that can’t take the pressure of day to day life after their girlfriend dumps them and they think no life is the only answer.  Today kids are subjected to cyberbullying from the time they can access a computer, something that wasn’t even a science fiction nightmare when I was growing up.  They start school at 3 months old because it takes two parents to just get by in this economy and when you’re not there to give them the affection and attention they need, their companion animal will be happy to step up lick the tears away from whatever hurt they’ve encountered, whether physical or mental, their best friend will be by their side to share their pain and let them know they’ll never be alone or unloved, something we’ll never accomplish as parents no matter how hard we try.  No matter what real life will always get in our way and there will always be something we’ll have to attend to that will take precedence whether we want to admit it or not, so why not give you child the gift of an angel of God from the time they are born to grow with.  You’re giving them an angel to protect them, to care for them, to see that they are safe so we can take care of business providing for them and giving them the best life we can.  It doesn’t make us bad parents, this is just the reality of the days we live in, just like the reality of what kids have to go through just to get through the day compared to what I lived when I was a kid.  Does that make it right, I don’t know.  But I know one thing, I would rather have my sweet angels protecting my children than to leave them to the cold, hard world alone.  So again, if you are thinking of becoming pregnant or if you know of anyone that is thinking of starting a family, please share the booklet with them.  Too many people think babies and animals can’t mix, but with a little education maybe we can change their mind and keep the family intact.  You never know whose life you might save in the process.  And never forget, it’s only through you that the Randolph County Humane Society continues to save lives, one by one.