It has always been second nature for me to continuously scan the scenery for stay or lost dogs and cats. On this particular afternoon I noticed a few cats gathering in a field not far from our new house. The field was actually a fenced in lot that was up for sale but looked disgusting, overgrown and abandoned. I took a mental note of it and continued on my way home. A few nights later I drove by the same empty lot only this time it was anything BUT empty. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw what must have been 50+ferrell cats all gathered in the corner lot. It was a beautiful sight, seeing all of those free roaming felines all in the same place. There were orange, calico, black, white, long hair, short hair and everything in between! After the true state of aw passed I knew, thanks to the great information I learned at the Best Friends “No More Homeless Pets” conference, that I have a challenge or rather a great opportunity on my hands. I knew I needed to perform TNR (Trap, Neuter, and Return) on these cats. I don’t know exactly how yet… but I knew it had to be done. Otherwise the 50+ cats would turn into 100+ cats right before my eyes.
The next day I googled TNR in Phoenix Arizona and was pleased when the Animal Defense League of Arizona popped up. The website said that they perform TNR for Ferrell cats and there was a hotline to call to receive more information. GREAT! Well that was easy… yes I was sooo wrong. I left a message on the hotline with all of the details, where they are, how many of there are out there, when I saw them and all that jazz. Today, a nice lady from the Animal Defense League of Arizona returned my inquiry about TRN for the cats. She explained to me that they lend out the traps and that I can borrow them, trap the cats (somehow), then they will set up a time to perform the neuter/ spay and I come and pick the cats up and return them to their empty lot. I thought, well that’s not so bad…. Then the kicker…. She gently broke it to me that it was $20 per spay/ neuter. This wouldn’t be a big deal if it was a few cats. But we are talking 50-75 cats!! You do the math!! OK I already did it would be over $1,000 L this was definitely NOT in my budget.
Anyone have a grand lying around that you would like to donate so I can kick this corner lot breeding frenzy?! OR would anyone like to donate $20 for 1 cat to be fixed? Anything will help I will do one at a time if I have to. These cats deserve a safe and healthy life as much as your own pets. This will help the human community AND the cat community in so many ways.
I am going to call the humane society tomorrow and see if they have a free spay/ neuter clinic for situations like these. I will keep you posted on my progress. PLEASE let me know if you think of a sponsor for the TNR of if you have any ideas on how I can go about this. The cats need us and I am here to help!!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Day 1 at the Best Friends No More Homeless Pets Conference
Wake up Call!
The alarm went off at 3am but subconsciously I was already wide awake. Remember that feeling you had when you were a kid the night before Christmas… you may have slept 3 hours but subconsciously you were awake the entire night getting ready for the great morning ahead you! Typically if my alarm went off at 3am I would have a mental and physical war just to get out of bed. On this particular morning I popped right up and started what would be one of the best, most inspiring days of my life to date.
My wonderful husband had the task of “Taxi Cab” this morning so we fueled up on caffeine and at 4:45am off we went to the airport. I hopped out of the car with the biggest smile my face could take and gave my husband a big bear hug and as we started our separate ways he turned and said, “Babe, be the change!” This was my moment; I could feel it in every bone in my body.
Airport Adventures
As I sat at the terminal I was giving everyone the once over to see if there was anyone else from Arizona going to the conference. I was hoping to meet at least one person before I got to the conference just so I know I wouldn’t be there alone. To my surprise there wasn’t anyone wearing a cat shirt or carrying around a canvas bag with dog prints…. I then quickly realized that I myself didn’t have any such attire and realized that I probably had a skewed view of animal lovers.
The First Encounter
I was waiting in line to board the plane when I heard two women talking about rescuing a cat. I instantly turned and asked in what I soon realized was a much too peppy tone for 6am, “are you guys going to the conference?!” One lady gave me a rude look and said yeees and turned back to her friend , just for the record she DID have a canvas bag with a cat on it J. SO I found my seat on the plane and eagerly awaited Sin City.
Madison May
Going 2 years back in time (January of 07) I walked into a petsmart and found the love of my life… at least another one J there she was, lying peacefully in her metal prison. The most beautiful blue Pit Bull I have ever seen. There was a group there I had never heard of before, “Best Friends Animal Sanctuary” from Kanab Utah. They were in Las Vegas the previous weekend and had to take Madison May( then M&M) to the vet for the weekend because so many “thugs” as they called them, tried to steel her right from her cage. At one point they had to zip tie her cage together and they found someone cutting the zip ties off. The next weekend they drove her and the other animal that hadn’t been adopted in Vegas to Tempe Arizona. I hadn’t been to this particular Petsmart in about a year and for some reason I decided to go in to get some treats for my other dog Roxy, our red nose Pit Bull. There she was J I was mesmerized and a nice man named Larry came up to me and said “wow, you really have a connection with this dog.” I guess I was standing there for a while and before I know it I was signing papers to take her on a sleep over. We ended up adopting her and Larry told me that her foster mom would love updates because she really had a connection with her. Connection was an understatement. I found out later that Madison was the last dog she ever fostered because she cried for days, weeks even months about Maddy being adopted.
Anna
Two days before the conference I e-mailed Madison’s foster mom, Anna, to see if she would be at the conference in Vegas. I thought that she probably would because she works for Best Friends. She e-mailed me back letting me know that she would be there and that we had to meet up to talk! It was a done deal, we exchanged phone numbers and were both tickled pink to finally meet each other!
Emotional Waterfall
I arrived at the conference a few minutes after the opening remarks and found a spot against the back wall to stand. They had everyone attending the conference send in a short story about why they are attending the conference with a picture of you and your animals. They started the slide show and being all emotional animal lovers over 650 attendees already started tearing up. They only picked 10 peoples stories/ picture and mine was one of them! I was SO excited that I turned to the woman standing next to me and said, “Those are my kids!!” The woman looked back at me and said, “you have got to be kidding me?! I am Anna! Madison’s foster mom!” Out of over 650 people I was standing right next to her. It was fate. We embraced and instantly starting talking about our favorite Maddy stories.
For the next 12 hours I would be in for the ride of a life time. From lectures to networking it was so overwhelming I had to sit and take it all in for a while. I met some of the most amazing people all of which had the same goal I did, do our part to save the animals for homelessness and death in the shelters. It was the most inspiring and emotionally satisfying crowd I have ever been in. A few people called it the “re-fueling” site. Just when you feel like you are the only one out there we come together and refocus on our common goal. It is a feeling I can’t put into words being around over 600 people who all have the same passion; a true, raw, overflowing passion for living creatures.
The end to a life changing day
As the day came to an end I felt like I had just ran a marathon, yes I have done this so I know what it feels like, physically, mentally and emotionally. As I walked through the casino of the jam packed Rio I felt like I was walking in slow motion, I needed sleep lots of well deserved sleep. I wonder what tomorrow will bring….
The alarm went off at 3am but subconsciously I was already wide awake. Remember that feeling you had when you were a kid the night before Christmas… you may have slept 3 hours but subconsciously you were awake the entire night getting ready for the great morning ahead you! Typically if my alarm went off at 3am I would have a mental and physical war just to get out of bed. On this particular morning I popped right up and started what would be one of the best, most inspiring days of my life to date.
My wonderful husband had the task of “Taxi Cab” this morning so we fueled up on caffeine and at 4:45am off we went to the airport. I hopped out of the car with the biggest smile my face could take and gave my husband a big bear hug and as we started our separate ways he turned and said, “Babe, be the change!” This was my moment; I could feel it in every bone in my body.
Airport Adventures
As I sat at the terminal I was giving everyone the once over to see if there was anyone else from Arizona going to the conference. I was hoping to meet at least one person before I got to the conference just so I know I wouldn’t be there alone. To my surprise there wasn’t anyone wearing a cat shirt or carrying around a canvas bag with dog prints…. I then quickly realized that I myself didn’t have any such attire and realized that I probably had a skewed view of animal lovers.
The First Encounter
I was waiting in line to board the plane when I heard two women talking about rescuing a cat. I instantly turned and asked in what I soon realized was a much too peppy tone for 6am, “are you guys going to the conference?!” One lady gave me a rude look and said yeees and turned back to her friend , just for the record she DID have a canvas bag with a cat on it J. SO I found my seat on the plane and eagerly awaited Sin City.
Madison May
Going 2 years back in time (January of 07) I walked into a petsmart and found the love of my life… at least another one J there she was, lying peacefully in her metal prison. The most beautiful blue Pit Bull I have ever seen. There was a group there I had never heard of before, “Best Friends Animal Sanctuary” from Kanab Utah. They were in Las Vegas the previous weekend and had to take Madison May( then M&M) to the vet for the weekend because so many “thugs” as they called them, tried to steel her right from her cage. At one point they had to zip tie her cage together and they found someone cutting the zip ties off. The next weekend they drove her and the other animal that hadn’t been adopted in Vegas to Tempe Arizona. I hadn’t been to this particular Petsmart in about a year and for some reason I decided to go in to get some treats for my other dog Roxy, our red nose Pit Bull. There she was J I was mesmerized and a nice man named Larry came up to me and said “wow, you really have a connection with this dog.” I guess I was standing there for a while and before I know it I was signing papers to take her on a sleep over. We ended up adopting her and Larry told me that her foster mom would love updates because she really had a connection with her. Connection was an understatement. I found out later that Madison was the last dog she ever fostered because she cried for days, weeks even months about Maddy being adopted.
Anna
Two days before the conference I e-mailed Madison’s foster mom, Anna, to see if she would be at the conference in Vegas. I thought that she probably would because she works for Best Friends. She e-mailed me back letting me know that she would be there and that we had to meet up to talk! It was a done deal, we exchanged phone numbers and were both tickled pink to finally meet each other!
Emotional Waterfall
I arrived at the conference a few minutes after the opening remarks and found a spot against the back wall to stand. They had everyone attending the conference send in a short story about why they are attending the conference with a picture of you and your animals. They started the slide show and being all emotional animal lovers over 650 attendees already started tearing up. They only picked 10 peoples stories/ picture and mine was one of them! I was SO excited that I turned to the woman standing next to me and said, “Those are my kids!!” The woman looked back at me and said, “you have got to be kidding me?! I am Anna! Madison’s foster mom!” Out of over 650 people I was standing right next to her. It was fate. We embraced and instantly starting talking about our favorite Maddy stories.
For the next 12 hours I would be in for the ride of a life time. From lectures to networking it was so overwhelming I had to sit and take it all in for a while. I met some of the most amazing people all of which had the same goal I did, do our part to save the animals for homelessness and death in the shelters. It was the most inspiring and emotionally satisfying crowd I have ever been in. A few people called it the “re-fueling” site. Just when you feel like you are the only one out there we come together and refocus on our common goal. It is a feeling I can’t put into words being around over 600 people who all have the same passion; a true, raw, overflowing passion for living creatures.
The end to a life changing day
As the day came to an end I felt like I had just ran a marathon, yes I have done this so I know what it feels like, physically, mentally and emotionally. As I walked through the casino of the jam packed Rio I felt like I was walking in slow motion, I needed sleep lots of well deserved sleep. I wonder what tomorrow will bring….
Sunday, August 30, 2009
The light bulb
Over the past 48 hours I took a HUGE leap into my new endeavors. I registered for the 2009 No More Homeless Pets conference in Las Vegas and can not wait to learn everything I can get my paws on about helping animals!! As I continue on with my weekend completely elated with my new investment on my and many furry friends future a light bulb comes on! I walk into a PetSmart to get my three dogs a treat and make an exchange when I see there is a shelter adopting out dogs and cats. I am immediately drawn to the booth where a few very nice women and a plethora of adorable dogs and cats are. They seem pleased that I stopped by and I told them that I would like to volunteer to help their cause. They take in animals from families that had to foreclose on their homes or animals that have been left in abandoned homes.
It breaks my heart to look at these animals that had a home and a family and now they have no one; and yet they are still wagging their tails and letting out loud purrs. I sat down to fill out some paper work and a sweet golden retriever decided to set her head down on the paperwork so I would pet her instead of proceeding with the questions. It’s moments like these that make me want to let everyone in the word know that I am going to help these animals. I am going to find someone for this golden retriever to put her head on and she will be with that person forever.
The light bulb: I was talking to one of the shelter managers and mentioned that I will be attending the conference and before I knew it I told her that when I come back I will help them implement some of the new ideas I learn form the speakers. All of a sudden it hit me (I instantly call my husband to bounce this off of him) I will go to the conference and take phenomenal notes and when I come back I will go to all, or as many as I can, the shelters in Arizona and help them make their shelters bigger and stronger and this will indirectly help 100’s of animals. My husband and I talked about it, all the while I am tearing up with excitement, and decided that I could be the “hub” for all the shelters. I could network and find the volunteers and resourced that the shelters need and get them what they need.
My next move: I am going to volunteer every weekend to start networking and get ready for this conference!
It breaks my heart to look at these animals that had a home and a family and now they have no one; and yet they are still wagging their tails and letting out loud purrs. I sat down to fill out some paper work and a sweet golden retriever decided to set her head down on the paperwork so I would pet her instead of proceeding with the questions. It’s moments like these that make me want to let everyone in the word know that I am going to help these animals. I am going to find someone for this golden retriever to put her head on and she will be with that person forever.
The light bulb: I was talking to one of the shelter managers and mentioned that I will be attending the conference and before I knew it I told her that when I come back I will help them implement some of the new ideas I learn form the speakers. All of a sudden it hit me (I instantly call my husband to bounce this off of him) I will go to the conference and take phenomenal notes and when I come back I will go to all, or as many as I can, the shelters in Arizona and help them make their shelters bigger and stronger and this will indirectly help 100’s of animals. My husband and I talked about it, all the while I am tearing up with excitement, and decided that I could be the “hub” for all the shelters. I could network and find the volunteers and resourced that the shelters need and get them what they need.
My next move: I am going to volunteer every weekend to start networking and get ready for this conference!
Friday, August 28, 2009
An end to a CRAZY two weeks
One of my friends came to my work today to say goodbye for 2 years. She is going into the Peace Corps in Nicaragua and she gave her good friends hemp bracelets to wear so when we see them we think about her. I was really sad to se her go but really inspired to do my part in the world and I don’t even have to leave the country! Now every time I see the hemp bracelet I think of Jules and am re-inspired to be the change in the world!
Tomorrow I am going to make my plan. Shelters I will volunteer at, books I will read, jobs I can apply for that will surround me with animals, and my short and long term career goals. This week has been SO long I think I would end up with a bunch of random rubbish if I tried to conquer this task tonight.
Good night!!
P.S. let the dogs on the bed for one night;) They like to snuggle too!!
Tomorrow I am going to make my plan. Shelters I will volunteer at, books I will read, jobs I can apply for that will surround me with animals, and my short and long term career goals. This week has been SO long I think I would end up with a bunch of random rubbish if I tried to conquer this task tonight.
Good night!!
P.S. let the dogs on the bed for one night;) They like to snuggle too!!
The first day of the rest of my life
Have you ever had one of those days, weeks, months or even years that you feel like your day to day work is sucking the life out of you? This week someone asked how I was holding up and my first reaction was to blurb out, “ I feel like they are slowly taking my soul.” Before I knew what I was saying it was already out… and I had just spilled the beans to someone I worked with. Luckily for me she understood.
I knew exactly what I wanted to do, I wanted to save animals, and starting today I will be starting my new quest; the quest of no more homeless or abused pets.
Please join me on my quest to save the innocent pets in this world from hurt and huger. I’m not sure how I will get there but I will find a way and be the change I wish to all in the world, in the words of Gandhi.
Enjoy!!!
Brittany
I knew exactly what I wanted to do, I wanted to save animals, and starting today I will be starting my new quest; the quest of no more homeless or abused pets.
Please join me on my quest to save the innocent pets in this world from hurt and huger. I’m not sure how I will get there but I will find a way and be the change I wish to all in the world, in the words of Gandhi.
Enjoy!!!
Brittany
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