Volunteer Update

I'm still volunteering at the shelter. Today was a rather fun day. We have a number of tiny kittens and puppies there right now. Without further ado, I show you the animals. Remember, if you're in the DC, MD, VA area and would like to adopt an animal, please check out www.arfusa.org. All the animals are after the jump (thanks Cotter).



Meet Stewie. Stewie is new. He's probably about three weeks old. Some girl found him near her house. His mom abandoned him. He's super tiny and ridiculously cute. He loves to hold on closely to you and doesn't like to be alone in his cage. He's currently alone in his cage until he goes to the doctor for his tests and vaccines. I have a feeling Stewie will be adoped quickly.


The twitter favorite: Sully. Sully is still here - and I don't believe there are any pending adoptions. We spent some good quality time together. He loves to be held - and purrs the instant you pick him up. This guy's face is ridiculous. And by ridiculous, I mean, cute!



Autumn is still here, with her relative (mom?), Fall. She's a nice, calm cat who loves to be pet. Her meow is like a creaky door - I like that:

This is Bubba. Bubba is my husband's favorite teenage cat. He's a little shy at first, but loves to play with the other kittens in his room. His brother, Dickens was adopted a couple of weeks ago. (FYI: I'm the person cleaning those litter boxes in the morning - and you know what they like to do? They like to pee in the cleanest box, right after I'm done... while they're doing it, they stare at me - and laugh. I know they're laughing at me.)

Please, someone adopt Dexter! I shouldn't play favorites, but he is my favorite teenage kitten to play with in the morning. He loves to get into mischief with me, leaves on a plant, or even a roll of paper towels. He's a bundle of energy and loves attention.

The chocolate lab mix puppies are growing! I went into their pen today to pet them a little bit. They're up and walking around, giving a couple of whimpers. These guys are going to be adorable.


I apologize for the following blurry picture. Puppies are not the easiest thing to take pictures of. These guys here are the Lil' Rascals. Not really sure which one is which, but they are all named after characters from the movie. They like to eat my fingers, and love attention.

I met Millie today. She was getting picked on by Riley and Hailey (I didn't get a picture of her, sorry!)

This is Dani (I think). I like him. As soon as you walk into the kitten room, he begins to purr. Clearly, he likes attention and loves to be held. The purring just melts me every time.

Sadie is Sully's and Ladybug's cagemate. Ladybug has a home visit coming up as soon as she's spayed. She found a forever home. Sadie causes quite a bit of mischief around the place. She likes to run places. She also liked holding onto my iPhone while I was trying to take pictures of her. The best I could do was get a half shot of her.

This is Squeaker. He's in the kitten room. He is related to Dani - his other brother was adopted. I had to take this picture because he was giving me such a nice pose. They get sleepy after I feed them.

If you've made it this far, I thank you. All of these animals are great, and they deserve to be in a forever home. If we were homeowners, I believe that we'd be in trouble - because I'd be taking a different animal home each week. There are many other animals (especially more dogs) that you can check out at ARF's website. I don't really write these posts for them - it's more out of my own interest in seeing these animals adopted. Maybe it's something I can bring up to them to do. Maybe ARF needs a twitter page... My wheels are turning.

Read more...

Shelters, Volunteerism, & Really Cute Animals

I've moved. And I felt it necessary to involve myself in the community - basically because I like it here, and feel that it is worthwhile to invest my time here. So since I can't adopt anymore animals (husband said hell no), I thought it would be nice to volunteer at an animal shelter. The shelter I found is a non-profit organization that shelters cats and dogs. They are the Animal Resource Foundation. What I wanted to do today was introduce you to some of my friends that I've met while volunteering there. I volunteer each Friday, and throughout the week I can't wait to go back. Sure, I have to clean out litter boxes, sweep and mop floors - but it's worth it to play with animals that don't have a forever home and a family life that I provide to my own cats. Also, while I'm only there to volunteer to clean the cat rooms, I take the time to spend with some of the dogs (mainly puppies, but I say hi to the older ones too) because well, I always wish I could take a dog home with me as well. Let me tell you, if husband and I owned a house, we'd be in trouble. That place would be a farm of animals.

ARF has a website (see the link above) where you can see the animals that are still up for adoption. Sometimes the pictures do them justice, sometimes you are missing the cuteness that they exude. If you live in the DC/Baltimore area (it's actually closer to B-More, but worth the hour drive up here from the DC area anyway - shit, I do it every week to get to work) I would consider checking these guys out if you want to adopt an animal.

So without further ado, I introduce you to my new friends!

This is Autumn. She is a calico (almost) adult cat - she is one of a mother/daughter combo (I'm not sure if she's the mother or daughter). She is very sweet, and follows me around so that I can pet her. Her meow sounds like a creaky door. I think she'd fit in perfectly in our home, but husband says no.

This is Dexter. Dexter is a kitten who became friends with me this past Sunday. A feisty little guy who wants to play all the time. He resides in the kitten room with 13 other little guys who are ridiculously adorable. I wanted to take Dexter home as a playmate for Mr. Ratman, but husband said no. As much as I hope Dexter gets adopted, I wouldn't mind playing with him again when I go volunteer. He's fun.

This is Mason (left) and (i think) Mooch (right). I don't know too much about the puppies since I don't spend too much time with them - but, if you are looking for puppies there are a bunch of them! These guys are lab mixes and love to play. They would nibble on my hand and just fight for my attention. And, look at those faces! When Mason was loose at the shelter, he liked to chase the cats around. He would often get swatted at - but he kept going.

Sydney is a beautiful and intelligent shepherd mix. On my third day coming into the shelter she began to get used to my presence. I think they said she's a little older than 1 - if you check the website you can get better information. She has a load of energy and loves to play with this block that you put a treat in the middle of. She's pretty smart and can get the treat out fairly quick. You can't see them, but she has beautiful brown eyes. I would like a dog like Sydney.

This is a close up of a mom. I call her mom, because she wasn't named yet. She just came in last Saturday with a litter of 10 puppies. Mom is a chocolate lab and the friendliest thing on earth! She would jump up on the fence to say hello to me with her tail wagging. Just a precious and happy mom. I like her.

These are mom's puppies. They are believed to be Chesapeake Retriever/Chocolate Lab mixes. In this picture they are about a week old. ARF was in the process of building a new room to house mom and the puppies on Sunday. I can't wait to see it!

I think this is Doody. He comes from a crazy litter of puppies - some with terrier hair, another with curly hair, some black, and then Doody. I'm not sure what kind of dog he is, but all I know is that he is adorable. He loves attention, and will whine when you're petting one of his siblings. I think he was being fostered last time I was there - or he found a forever home. But I just wanted to put this up so you could see what a cute guy he was.

And finally, Shortie. Shortie is a kitten that lives in the kitten room with Dexter and 12 other little furballs. If you look at Shortie's tail, you can see that she has a nub tail! Apparently, she was born with a little nub tail. I love it. Like all kittens, Shortie is very curious and also follows you around while you're cleaning their room. This is a shot of her napping after running around and eating. Damn, I love kittens.

There you have it. Those are some photos I've taken of the friends I've made so far at the shelter. There is a huge overpopulation of cats around the area. Husband and I are taking care of a family of ferile kittens that are in the woods across the street from our place. My goal is to catch them and fix them before the cold weather comes. I have a feeling Mr. Ratman was hanging out with them last night. They came pretty close to me when I brought them fresh water.

If you'd like more information on the place I volunteer at, please go to www.arfusa.org. There, you can see the full family of animals looking for a forever home. Read more...