Category Archives: animal rescue

Jessie Lea, Den Mom

Posted on by
4

jessie leaHi, I’m Jessie Lea, and I’m temping at the bookstore. It’s a grant-funded position, I believe, because they keep telling me I’ll be moving on when the last of the kittens have been adopted.

Excuse me, won’t be a moment–

JACK AND MAC! GET DOWN FROM THERE THIS INSTANT!!!

Sorry, as I was saying, I came here about two weeks ago, and they put me in what they call the mystery room, and wouldn’t you know there were three motherless tykes in there, poor souls, all confused and nervous. Never been in a house before, dry food a mystery to them. Well, I’d just had a little procedure following my own kittens, and perhaps I was feeling a wee bit nostalgic because I just set right in. They needed a good seeing too – washing behind the ears, teaching paw maintenance, the works. I soon had them shipshape but no sooner were we on an even keel than the door opened and here came the cat carrier again!

All I heard from inside the carrier was hissing and spitting, so I stuck my head inside and the fuzzy wee lad struck at me! Really, these foster children. They just need a bit of loving-kindness and a reassuring lick. So I talked him and his brother out of the carrier, showed them ’round the place, introduced them to the others here.

Oh, excuse me–

IS THAT ANY WAY TO TALK TO YOUR BROTHER?! I DON’T CARE WHO STARTED IT! APOLOGIZE AT ONCE.

Sorry, where was I? Oh, yes, the new arrivals. Soon they were all using the playground nicely, taking turns on the catnip slide and having a nice game of jingle ball soccer. And then the door opened AGAIN!

This time, to my joy, a lovely wee girl was in the mix. Three kittens; two didn’t actually stay long; some adoptions are faster than others, but when Rita’s brother Dexter left, she stayed here. I played jacks with her to keep her mind off things. And just this morning we’ve gotten another little fellow, Giacomo. (Really, who comes up with these names?) He was hissing and spitting at the back of the crate, so I just climbed in and sat with him awhile until he calmed down. Now he’s having a game of chase on the jungle gym with Fforde – oh dear….

jessie 6YES YOU DID PUSH HIM. I WATCHED YOU. DON’T MAKE ME PUT YOU IN TIME OUT.

Of course, some kittens take longer to learn manners than others. Take the Feral Brothers; they really were raised in a barn. So of course the litter box was a new thing, but I’m pleased to say they’ve made all their box targets today.

Yes, it’s cozy here in our little corner of the bookstore, the six – er seven – no six, one was adopted, that’s right – kittens and me. In the mornings I help them with their wet food etiquette, and about lunchtime we have a plate of crunchies. Mid-afternoon I read them a story before their naps, and then after supper we have some extra playtime so they tire out before bed. It’s all quite simple to manage and I’m sure the nice people who run the shop could do it themselves, but I understand the lady’s husband is about to leave for Scotland, so I’m just staying on a bit longer before my own adoption comes through. I don’t think she could do without me.jessie resting

Now, the kittens are all down for their naps and I’m just going to have ten minutes of me time. Let me just put the kettle on; would you care for some catnip tea?

Zora’s Advice to Human Puppies as they Graduate

Posted on by
Reply

image004We run Zora’s guest post each May as a tribute to all those graduating, and their families. Zora’s words are wise.

At this time every year, humans come in looking for graduation gifts. Apparently their puppies, or their sister’s puppies, or the puppies of a friend–humans have such odd kinship systems–are doing something called graduating. It is a time of great consternation for the whole human pack.

It all seems a bit artificial to me. Take that kinship system of who has to buy presents for whom: we canines have instincts for a reason, and we’re not much bothered beyond that. You either smell good or you don’t; you wag your tail and are friendly, or you’re a growler. Blood doesn’t matter, unless it’s about to get spilled.

But then, I’m a dog, so maybe I haven’t had enough of that “schooling” stuff.

Still, the “graduation” ritual strikes me as odd. I understand that the human puppies have done something that took a lot of time and was quite expensive, but we canines know that it takes a whole lifetime to absorb the learning that goes with being alive. In my experience, those that don’t keep learning get run over on the highway. Or left behind in a move. You have to stay ahead of those noises you hear in the distance: Ears up, nose into the wind.

The ritual seems to mark a day when it is acceptable for the pack to tell the human puppies how much they love them. We bitches love our babies all the time; they get licks and snuggles and we sing them lullabies. I know humans love their puppies too, so why wait for special occasions to say so? Every day alive is a special occasion for us. We call it “every dog has his day.”

Perhaps this is related to that weird thing humans do where they run around each other–or run away from each other–looking for love. In my experience, love comes when you’re sitting down minding your own business. Someone scratches you behind the ears, you look into each others’ eyes, and you got a home. Just don’t go messing it up by barking when a little kiss will do the trick.

One last thing. There are no books that will stuff into a pup’s head in one sitting all the things they haven’t got by now. In our world, we say “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” The time to tell ’em what they need to hear is all those years you’ve got ’em around the food bowl – kitchen table, I think y’all call it. Those toss-off evenings that tick by one by one, racing past ’cause you’ve got places to go: THOSE are the nights that count. Once they get old enough to go out on their own, they aren’t gonna listen any more. So get their ears full while they’re still wet behind ’em.

That’s what I’d say if humans could hear me. But y’know, they usually can’t, so never mind. And to all you puppies out there leaving the school, here’s my advice: keep your ears up, scratch when it itches, stick with the love you find, and don’t get run over.