What Happens When Your Dog or Cat Runs Away?

For most of us, it's a nightmare come true.  Fido or Fluffy somehow escaped the yard/house and won't come when called.  We might put posters up, offer rewards, or simply hope that someone will find our pet and return them home safely.

But we didn't microchip our pet, because, you know, the chances of it happening to us?  No way!  And we've heard that it's expensive.  And our pet doesn't have a collar either, because we want our kids to run free, unencumbered by tethers, fences, or leashes.

So what happens?  If you're lucky, the police or a good Samaritan will see Fido/Fluffy wandering down the highway and pick them up.  If they happen to be found in Detroit Lakes, Frazee, Audubon, Lake Park, Waubun, Mahnomen Callaway, or Becker County, they come to The Marshmallow Foundation, which acts as the city pound for these towns.  Scared and alone, they'll spend their first 7-10 days in isolation.  You see, we don't know your Fido/Fluffy.  We don't know that they are a member of your family.  We checked for a microchip and a collar, hoping we could quickly reunite them with their family, but they had neither.

We don't know if Fido/Fluffy has rabies.  Every time we feed them, clean their kennel, or try to interact with them, we face the possibility of getting bit.  And getting bit means a possible trip to the ER for painful rabies shots.

We put the word out as best we can, and hope that a loving, responsible, owner steps forward to claim Fido/Fluffy.  Most often, nobody does, and they become available for adoption.  AFTER we invest in rabies shots, worm them, give them flea medications, and sometimes even a spay or neuter if we happen to have extra funds on hand.

But what happens if you do find that Fido/Fluffy has landed at Marshmallow?  Whoo hoo!  I can go get my baby and bring him/her home, right?

Not necessarily.  By law, we must have proof that Fido/Fluffy is up-to-date on their rabies shots.  That means a certificate signed by your vet.  And depending on what city Fido/Fluffy was found in, there might be a city fine that we have to collect.  Finally, we don't board your baby for free - $20 a day barely pays for food, employee salaries, litter, bleach, and 24 hour care.

Now, if you're a responsible pet owner, you'll be happy to pay for the release of your precious family member.  And you might just get that microchip implanted.

Last weekend, I had a frantic phone call from someone whose kitty had been found and been brought to Marshmallow more than a week before.  This kitty had a collar, but no contact information.  This kitty didn't have a microchip, and hadn't been spayed, so she was in heat.  She was still in isolation, waiting for an opening at the vet to get her rabies shots, preventative vaccines, and wellness exam.

When her owner came, she said "that's my Fluffy", and immediately opened the kennel door to pick her up.  I was glad that Fluffy's owner had arrived, but had to inform her that she couldn't just walk out with Fluffy.  First, did she have a rabies vaccination certificate?  No - Fluffy hadn't been vaccinated.   Okay, so we can't release Fluffy to you until she has her rabies shots, which we will arrange with the local vet as soon as we can get an appointment.  Oh, and you also owe the city a fine, plus there's the boarding fee of $20 a day you need to come up with as well.

Faced with a bill over $200, I offered the owner an option to wait until Fluffy was ready for adoption and then put in an application for her.  The adoption fee is just over $100, and well, I've already told you the money we've already invested in Fluffy by that point.

Sadly, this owner wasn't able to come up with the funds for either option.  She literally threw Fluffy back in the kennel and stormed out.

That microchip doesn't seem so expensive now, does it?

Fostering Saves Lives

 Meet Meep.  She is the poster child for why animal fostering is so important.

Upper Respiratory Infections (URIs) tend to thrive in shelters.  A URI to a healthy adult cat is like a cold; some are worse than others, but rarely fatal.  To a kitten, however, a URI is bad news.  For Meep it meant losing most of the vision in one eye, and stunted growth.  She weighs less than 2 pounds at 7 months of age.

Meep was special to all the workers and volunteers at The Marshmallow Foundation.  And when I started volunteering there she won my heart too.  Meep is the sloth of the kitten world - she doesn't move very fast, and would prefer to sleep upside down in the crook of someone's arm when possible.  I think she's at least part Ragdoll, which accounts for why she goes limp when picked up, although she doesn't have the characteristic blue eyes of a Ragdoll.

I wanted very badly to adopt Meep, but had already pushed the boundaries by adopting Maggie and Leo when still (temporarily) living with my brother and sister-in-law.  Would Meep survive until I moved into my forever home?  Poor Yunger didn't make it through the latest outbreak of URI, and he was much healthier than Meep to begin with.

Enter Cassi, a full-time employee at The Marshmallow Foundation.  Cassi is one of those unsung heroes that you don't hear much about because she prefers it that way.  When an animal has to be put down, Cassi is the one holding them until they pass. When Yunger was failing, Cassi was the one that reached out to try and find a rescue group that could help him.

Cassi knew that Meep wouldn't make it if she had to continue living at the shelter.  Her immune system was too compromised by endless rounds of antibiotics and illness.  The foster families were already full, so Cassi reached out to her mother for help.  If Meep were to have a fighting chance, she needed a quiet, safe environment with lots of tender loving care.  Cassi's Mom took Meep in with no questions asked, and provided me with regular updates on her progress.

One day while chatting with Cassi, I asked where her Mom lived.  Knowing that I probably wouldn't know where it was, Cassi told me it was a gravel road off of Highway 54 just outside of Detroit Lakes.  In one of those rare moments of synchronicity, I laughed and said that my new home was on that very same road.  Cassi lit up - her Mom and I were neighbors!

I'll be moving in to my new home very soon, and Meep will move in shortly after that.  I'll have to retrain her thinking a bit, since she's apparently a Vikings fan, but nobody's perfect.

What Does Hemingway Have to Do With It?

You may have heard the term "Hemingway Cat", and even knew that it had something to do with Ernest Hemingway, the famous author.

Ernest Hemingway lived in Key West, Florida, and was given a 6-toed cat by a ship's captain in the 1930's.  Cats with extra toes, also known as gypsy cats, were considered lucky by seafaring folk since they were considered superior mousers and kept their balance better on a ship.  Cats normally have 5 toes in front, with 4 toes in the back, and when they have more than that they are called "polydactyl".  Other nicknames for them include "snowshoe paws", "pancake feet", or "big-foot cats".  Hemingway's cat went on to parent many polydactyl cats on his estate, the ancestors of which still live and are cared for there today.

Maggie, a kitten I adopted from The Marshmallow Foundation is polydactly, with six toes on all feet.  She's only six months old, and you can see the size of her paw compared to my hand.



So why are they called Hemingway Cats?  In my opinion, because it's much easier to say than polydactyl!

#GivingTuesday is for the Birds (and the Cats, Dogs...)

Today is Giving Tuesday, a new holiday apparently, where we put our money where our mouth is.  Last Thursday, Thanksgiving, we gave thanks for all of our blessings.  Today, we give thanks and pass it forward.

I'm thankful for Leo and Maggie this morning, both of whom still fit nicely in my lap together, and are helping me with this post.  I adopted them both as kittens from The Marshmallow Foundation in Detroit Lakes after my cat Gracie died at the ripe old age of 20.  They have already provided endless hours of laughter, snuggles, and warmth, and I'm sure will continue to do so for many years to come.

If you want to do your part on #GivingTuesday, but don't know who to give to, won't you consider an animal shelter?  Right now at Marshmallow, an upper respiratory infection is going around the cat room, which means lots of visits to veterinary clinics and lots of medical bills.  Cats Cradle in Fargo is another good option - they take the cats that would otherwise be euthanized and give them the care they need in order to find their "furever" homes.

If you don't want to give cash, there are lots of other ways to give.  Smile, an Amazon.com program, allows you to designate a charity of your choice, and every time you shop, a percentage of the money spent is donated to that charity.

Volunteering your time can make an enormous difference, where that time is spent transporting animals, helping keep the kennels clean, or fundraising.

Donating gently used blankets to a shelter means that a dog or cat has a warm comfy bed for the night.  Even better, if you have mad knot or crochet skills, make some soft mats out of that stash of yarn you have in the spare room!  Mats for Cats will give you some ideas on projects and ways to help.

So today, count your blessings, then count your pennies to see how many you can spare to help.  Every bit counts.

Yes, I'm a Crazy Cat Lady (and Proud of It)

We all know the stereotype - single, middle aged, female with cats.  The title of crazy cat lady is not meant to flatter; the emphasis is usually on the adjective "crazy".

I am single, of a certain age, and I do have two cats that I adopted from The Marshmallow Foundation in Detroit Lakes.  What makes me crazy is that I volunteer my time at the very same shelter!

Friends tell me that they don't understand how I can do it.  "It's so sad", they say.

And sometimes it is.  Today was one of those days.  Yunger, one of the more affectionate cats, has been sick for several weeks with what was thought to be an upper respiratory infection, which is very common in shelter cats and equivelent to the common cold.  He's been to the Vet a couple of times and been treated with antibiotics with no improvement.  He has lost a lot of weight, and can no longer stand or sit.  Still, when I opened the door to his kennel, he greeted me with a virtually silent meow, and struggled to find his balance long enough to put his paws on my chest to be picked up.  I held him several times today, walking around the room petting him, scratching him behind the ears and telling him what a good cat he was.  He would push his nose against my cheek telling me that he heard me.

But comforting a dying cat isn't the really sad part.  Knowing that if the foundation had more donations, Yunger would be in the hospital right now getting fluids, medication, and the necessary diagnostic tests is the truly tragic story.  The wonderful employees and volunteers are even now trying to find transport for Yunger to the Twin Cities, which is the closest veterinary clinic found that would offer no cost or low cost emergency treatment.

Yes, today was a sad day.  But knowing that I was there to offer a little kindness to one of God's precious creatures made my decision to volunteer at the animal shelter an easy one.

**Happy Update:  Yunger made it to Gregory's Gift of Hope, in New Richmond, WI  and is in the arms of caring humans who have the funds to help him.  He's not out of the woods, and his vet bill for one night is already $1200.  If you'd like to donate,  they accept Paypal.