September 19-25 ushers in “Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet week” brought to you by Petfinder.com.

I thought I would try to feature several of our “extra special cats,” cats that really like their foster homes and are not sure they want to leave (I can’t blame them–they have very cushy lives), during this week on the blog.

As Petfinder.com discovered in a survey, most rescues and shelters find that senior pets and pets with handicaps or special needs (FIV + cats) often have the hardest times finding homes. Additionally, “big black dogs” are hindered by “big black dog syndrome” and often get overlooked by potential adopters. The same is true of black cats.

First up for our “Kitties Who Love their Fosters Too Much” are Bean Bag and Apple Seed.

As you may remember, Bean Bag is the little kitten who came to us back in April with a broken jaw. A friend of ours called us from a construction site and thought someone had hit the tiny kitten in the face with a shovel. Bean Bag’s growth was stunted from the horrible situation he had been living in without enough food and he was half the size of his brother Apple Seed (while he has put on weight, he is still a much smaller version of Apple Seed–he will always look like a kitten).

Both boys are now doing wonderfully. They have really blossomed with love and care and Bean Bag’s jaw is completely healed thanks to the hard work of Dr. Tom Klein of East Hilliard Veterinary Services. The boys have had some ongoing difficulties, however, with diarrhea (they have very sensitive systems) and with watery eyes and noses. Bean Bag’s right eye did suffer trauma from whatever hit him and he cannot see out of that eye. That eye waters some because of that and is a bit clouded over. Although, we’ve had Apple Seed on every medicine known to veterinarians, his eyes also still water and he gets “kitty boogers” in his nose, which just have to be cleaned out on a regular basis. None of these things are major, but it is just going to take the right person who doesn’t mind that the boys have these problems.

On top of that, we really want Apple Seed and Bean Bag to stay together. They have been through so much that we think they deserve to have each forever.

You will not find two sweeter boys. Even though, when they sniff you (which Bean Bag especially likes to do before giving you a lick on the chin), they sound a bit like Darth Vader breathing, they make up for their small differences by how loving they are. Both boys follow me everywhere. They are constantly on my heels as I walk through the house. If I sit down, Bean Bag is in my lap and he will stay there for as long as I let him. One day when I was not feeling well, Bean Bag seemed to sense this and came and found me and sat with me. When I pick him up, he immediately rubs cheeks with me.

Bean Bag and Apple Seed are the most loving cats I have ever met. They adore people and they don’t realize that they are not as handsome as other cats. They just know they love whatever person they are around. They have never met a stranger (and that goes for cats, too–they love all cats). When we’ve taken them to adoption events, Apple Seed always falls over for a belly rub and garners the most attention as he reaches a paw out to grab at his admiring public. Bean Bag lies in one of our laps for the entire two hours.

The boys are now going on a year old. They don’t realize they are less adoptable, but because of Bean Bag’s blind eye and both their runny eye/nose issues, they have been overlooked time and time again. Even though they are the sweetest cats, it is hard to see that personality from a photo without meeting them. They can’t go to PetSmart, however, because of the very issues I’ve described.

Their mom, Cat-cus, who is a Siamese, got adopted very quickly and has already gone to her new home. The boys are part Siamese, even though you cannot tell by their black and white coloring. Apple Seed does look cross-eyed quite often, proving his Siamese heritage. Dr. West (who named the boys and their mom) says Apple Seed is so ugly he is cute. I don’t know if Apple Seed would like to hear that, but what he lacks in appearance, he makes up for in devotion. Dr. West’s other favorite saying about Apple Seed is that he is a “hot mess.”

I know the right person is out there who is just looking for love and doesn’t at all mind a scruffy face or a ‘hot mess.” In fact, it is going to have to be one very, very special person for these boys to leave my foster care. I just love them so, so much. They may be less adoptable, staying in foster care for almost 6 months now, but they are not less lovable. In fact, they are more so.

On Tuesday, August 3, our dear friend and board member, Carol Gaul, lost her kitties and her home in a fire. The only cat to survive this disaster was Carol’s foster, Little Rascal, who was in the adoption center at PetSmart at the time.

On Wednesday, August 4, the day after the fire, I had the following email about Rascal:

“I’m extremely interested in adopting Little Rascal… but I’m not in the area yet.  I’m military, currently deployed. I’ve got about a month left out here before I get to the Dayton, OH area in September.  Can you send me more information on this cute cat, please, and let me know if it’s possible to hold him until I arrive in person?”

Up until that day, we had had no interest in Rascal at all. Not at PetSmart. Not on Petfinder. Then strangely, the day after the fire, someone wanted our boy.

I wrote back and told Jeny, the potential adopter, about Carol and the fire and how lucky Rascal was to have been at PetSmart. She was stunned and saddened. But she also recounted her own tale of living with Murphy’s Law over the past year.

“How sad!  I hope everything works out for Carol. My condolences to her for the loss of her home and the loss of her feline family members. I know how horribly crushing it is to suffer the loss of four-legged children and there’s nothing that really heals except time.

“Yeah, I would say that Little Rascal is one lucky cat. I’ve had a rather difficult year myself. I got divorced prior to coming on this one year deployment. I had orders to Germany with my son, but halfway through my tour, my ex filed for custody and I had to fight it. In the end, I had to cancel my orders to Germany and am instead coming to Ohio, but I retained custody of my son.  Our move to Ohio is the start of a new life for us and we can’t wait!

After reading Jeny’s email about the awful year she had had and her way of beating Murphy’s Law, I knew that all of this had to be happening according to some larger plan. It just seemed so strange how things were working for our boy.

I had an email today from the staff at Noah’s Ark Vet Hospital and when I first saw the photo in the message, I was horrified. What appeared to be some type of unidentifiable dead animal at the bottom of a metal trash can was, in fact, a living puppy. 

Tova, a six-month-old Pit Bull/Great Dane mix, was found in a trash can suffering from severe demondex and skin infection (thus, the horrible loss of hair and red coloring to the skin). Tova is safe now at Noah’s Ark and is being fostered by two of the vet hospital’s staff members. 

Who can put animals in trash cans and act as if they are garbage? We had the same type of thing happen with the two kittens, Tiny and Fat Boy, that Emma Davies rescued from her apartment complex’s trash dumpster. The two survived while their other siblings did not. If Emma had not found them in time, the four-week-old boys would have also died.

I just do not understand this mentality. How can someone treat living, breathing creatures as if they are old coffee grounds or used tissues?

Tova will be staying with her fosters at Noah’s Ark until she is better. However, her vet care is being taken care of by Measle’s Animal Haven in Dublin. Measle’s is a charitable organization that focuses upon helping pit bulls. They could definitely use your help with a donation for Tova’s vet care. To make a donation, visit their web site and donate online: Donate for Tova

Or you can also mail a donation to Measle’s Animal Haven, Inc. at P. O. Box 4142, Dublin, Ohio 43016

We’ll keep you updated on Tova’s progress. Please keep this sweet puppy in your thoughts. 

Enter your rescued pet in a photo contest to show people how super rescued animals are. This contest, which is being sponsored by The Animal Rescue Site, ends tomorrow, September 8 at 11:59 pm. So you still have time to enter, but not much. I know all of you have super pictures of your rescued cats and dogs (many of the cats are former B and O rescues).

So download your photo now for a chance to win a $150 Reward Certificate to The Animal Rescue Site Store for the Grand Prize; a $100 Reward Certificate for 2nd Prize; and a $25 Reward Certificate for the 3rd Prize, 8 Runner Ups.

Check out the contest and submit your photo here: Rescued Pets Photo Contest

I am a True Blood junkie. I watch the show religiously and have read all of Charlaine Harris’ books in the Southern Vampire Mysteries series, upon which the HBO drama is based. I really enjoy the program, not only because of the humor and exceptional writing, but because I have always liked Anna Paquin since watching her in Fly Away Home, the movie about a young girl who teaches orphaned geese how to migrate to warmer climates. Paquin plays the lead character, Sookie Stackhouse, a telepath, in the True Blood series.

Paquin and her True Blood co-star, Stephen Moyer (who plays “Vampire Bill”) recently wed in real life. I was delighted to read that last year, Moyer adopted a dog, Banjo, for Paquin from a rescue organization, Good Dog Animal Rescue, in Santa Monica, California, near where the couple resides.

In fact, last September, the couple hosted “A Night Of Emotion” which benefited Good Dog Animal Rescue and promoted animal adoption.

It is nice to read about celebrities who support animal rescues and adoption. So often the stories that make the news feature stars spending thousands of dollars to purchase dogs or other exotic pets (lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!).

So on behalf of Black and Orange and rescues everywhere, I want to thank Anna and Stephen for using a local rescue to find their canine companion. And I want to tell them that if they are ever thinking of adopting a cat, I’d be more willing to deliver a B and O kitty personally to them on the set of True Blood.

A friend of mine sent me a text yesterday because she was in the same situation I had been in with the little girl and the lab at the vet’s office: she was facing a conundrum and she didn’t know what to do.

My friend, Jeni, was driving down Brand Road when she passed a car and saw something that horrified her. She said as she passed the car, she realized that the dog in the car was about to fall out the open window. She slowed down and looked in her rearview mirror and, sure enough, she saw the dog tumble out of the window and roll into the ditch by the side of the road.

Jeni, of course, stopped, panicked that the dog was dead or gravely injured. Four other cars also saw what happened and stopped, as well. Jeni jumped out of the car and ran over to see if the dog was okay. She said the dog was shaken, but before she could check on the dog any further, the man driving the car grabbed the dog and threw it back in the car. Jeni said he didn’t even look the dog over to see if it was okay or bleeding. Jeni told him he needed to get the dog to a vet and he told her to “Mind her f***ing business.”

As Jeni tried to decide what to do, the man began calling her every foul name he could think of. The dog, Jeni noticed, had a rope tied around its neck.

Jeni wrote down the license tag number of the car and called 9-1-1 as the man drove off. She reported what had happened and asked the dispatcher if someone would please stop by the man’s house and check on the dog. She sent me a text right after that because she was not sure if the police would go see about the dog. She wasn’t sure if that was something they were allowed to do or would have the time to do. She wanted my opinion on what she should do next.

I told her to try calling the Union County Humane Society to see if a humane agent would stop by and see if the dog was okay. So far, I haven’t heard back from Jeni to know how this story ended, but I feel very sad, too, wondering if that little dog was harmed. As I told Jeni, even at thirty-five miles per hour, a tumble from a car could cause a broken neck or a concussion that could lead to death if not treated.

A part of me wishes Jeni had just been able to snatch the dog up and take off with it. I know Jeni would have rushed it to a vet.

I always worry about dogs riding around in the backs of pick up trucks. It is just so easy to be in an accident or stop too suddenly and have the dog tumble on to the pavement.

Please keep this little dog in your thoughts. I doubt if the man took it to the vet and I only hope it is not suffering. If I hear any more from Jeni, I will keep everyone posted.

Here are some nice articles about keeping dogs safe when they do ride in cars: Sit, Stay, Ride Safely and Restrain your Dog

I was picking up a cat yesterday from the Spay Neuter Clinic (another one of super trapper Allen’s catches for an elderly woman on North Avenue) when I encountered a conundrum. There was a lady already in the clinic with two basset hounds. Another lady arrived with her daughter, who was probably only five to six years old, and a young lab dog. The lab was only past puppy stage and like any lab was bouncing all over the place, wanting to visit the basset hounds and just generally excited about everything.

I was standing over in one corner of the waiting room while the woman held on to the dog and tried to fill out paperwork at the counter. She finally got the dog (I’ll call her “Maggie”) to sit quietly beside her while she finished the check-in papers. The woman was standing so that her back and Maggie’s backside were to the little girl. She could not see what the girl was doing. The little girl proceeded to go up to Maggie and pull back her arm and hit the dog as hard as she could right above the tail. She did this several times and after each time, Maggie would begin to bark and jump around again and the mom would yell at Maggie. After each smack, the little girl would move up beside Maggie’s head so her mother could see her and not know that she had caused Maggie’s distress. At one point, the mom seemed to think that Maggie was doing something to the little girl and asked the girl if she was alright, if the dog had hurt her.

I watched all of this in horror along with another man who was standing beside me. I thought, isn’t the mother going to stop her from attacking this dog? But, of course, the little girl was being sneaky and doing it where her mother could not see her.

I also thought, “Isn’t someone going to do anything?” Then, finally, I realized that if someone was going to intercede, it would have to be me.

As I was trying to figure out the best thing to do in such a public place, the little girl then moved back again to Maggie’s tail and began kicking the dog as hard as she could. After the kicks, she started stomping on the dog’s tail. At that point, I could no longer remain a silent observer (in fact, I couldn’t even figure out the correct response at that point–I just acted) and as the child was pulling her hand back to hit the dog again, I grabbed her arm and said, “No, don’t do that.”

Well, Maggie was barking and the mom still had her back to us, so I don’t think she heard or saw the exchange. Or maybe she did and just didn’t care. She did not say anything to me even though I had raised my voice and disciplined her child. The little girl looked up at me as if she suddenly knew she had done something wrong. I stood there trying to decide if I should approach the mother and tell her what happened. I stood there trying to think of the right words. What were they? How do you tell someone that their child is torturing an innocent animal?

The little girl then changed her behavior completely and began petting Maggie and even said aloud, “I’m giving her kisses,” and proceeded to kiss Maggie on the nose, all the while watching me to make sure I saw her. At the time it seemed so manipulative, but this was a small child. Did she have that capability or was she just mimicking things she had watched adults do? Harm Maggie when her parents could not see, love her when someone was watching.

At that point, as I had made my mind up to tell the mother what had happened, the technician came out with my trapped cat and we hurriedly proceeded out the door to keep the kitty from getting stressed with so many dogs in the waiting area.

As soon as I left, I felt that I did not do enough. The whole time I was thinking, is this how the little girl is treated at home? Just the way she pulled back her arm to hit the dog reminded me of a child doing something in imitation of an adult. Had she observed other adults do the same things to the dog and was she just doing what they had done? I can bet that she is hitting and kicking Maggie at home where no one can see and then, perhaps, even claiming the dog has harmed her.

The whole ride home I kept thinking about Maggie and the little girl, wondering if one or both of them went home to an abusive atmosphere. I berated myself for not doing more, for not calling the mother’s attention to what was going on, for not telling her that she needed to teach her daughter to love and respect animals, not beat them.

What if, because I didn’t speak up, Maggie someday bites the child and is euthanized for being a “vicious” dog? What if the child’s abusive nature was the result of her own abuse at the hands of the adults around her? What if, not only Maggie, but the child is in danger?

I have gone over and over all the scenarios in my head and I just keep wishing that I had said something to the mother, even if she did hear me and chose to ignore my confrontation with her daughter.

As I write this, I am worried about Maggie and sadly, about the little girl, too.

In the future, I know that if this happens again, even if I am not sure how to handle the situation, not sure what words to use, I will say something.

I wanted to take a moment and tell everyone about one of the best cat trappers in central Ohio (and probably the state)–and he volunteers with Black and Orange Cat Foundation.

Allen Young first started helping B and O with trapping cats a few years ago after we took a cat in that was hanging around his mom’s apartment. Allen asked if he could trap cats for our weekly clinic appointments and, of course, I said yes. Allen finished trapping the cats out at Crager Brothers Trucking (I had dropped the ball on that because I got too busy with other projects). He also took on the small burg of Arnold since his dad lived there. Additionally, Allen has tackled some of the most heavily cat populated areas in Plain City, including North Avenue, Converse, and Shepper (where he is working right now with his friend, Robin Clay). Allen keeps a running tab on the number of cats he has personally trapped. You’d have to ask him what number he has reached, because I’ve lost count. I am sure he is in the hundreds by now.

Allen does all of this in between working. Sometimes, he will drop cats off to me for clinic appointments late at night when he is getting off work or while he is on a pizza delivery run. I can call Allen any time and ask him to trek around Plain City to help a little old lady trap a cat and he never says no. He just takes off with his traps and some tuna and within hours (sometimes only minutes), he is calling me to tell me he caught the cat. He uses his own gas and his own car to do all of this.

Allen has to be the best cat trapper I know (even better than me and I am pretty good). He gets so excited when he catches that elusive cat. He has such passion about stopping the overpopulation problem and helping feral cats have a better life. I wish we had more cat trappers like Allen.

Not only does Allen trap cats, however, he also gets involved with other activities that B and O participates in (and even things we do not–he is just a good person). Allen helped Carol and Chuck Gaul with the clean up of their burned house and then the very next day attended the Blessing of the Animals in Goodale Park to honor their kitties that were killed in the fire. He also attends our fundraisers and has gone out of his way to help us in any way possible. Additionally, Allen twists a few arms to get donations for us. If he wasn’t a B and O volunteer, he could easily be a Mafia member–people seldom tell him no.

Allen has dropped off pamphlets to people with “Free Kittens” signs. He has lectured people about giving kittens away to people they don’t know. He can tick off a list of why you should get your cat spayed or neutered. He is the walking poster child for the benefits of feline sterilization.

And he loves dogs, too!

Allen has also been a volunteer with the Union County Humane Society, walking dogs, running errands, and just being there whenever they needed his help.

So if you are looking for the best cat trapper and animal lover in the state of Ohio, you don’t have far to look. We have him on the streets of Plain City, watching over our ferals and helping B and O make a difference in the lives of hundreds of cats.