To the rescue: cats and dogs : Adoptions Gone Bad

To the rescue: cats and dogs

Carol Hawn-Miller and Cindy Liggett are local animal advocates who work to save the lives of homeless cats and dogs. In 2001 they founded Kitty and K-9 Connection, a non-profit rescue/foster/adoption program. In this blog, they will discuss the issues around the numerous homeless cats and dogs in Anchorage, and the process of placement, including animal and human behaviors that lead to success or failure. They are pictured here with Gladys on Carol's knee, Cherri in the middle, and Ambrosia the cat on Cindy's lap.

Contributors

Cindy Liggett

Because she's a "cat person," Cindy concentrates on cat rescues, fosters and adoptions. She faces daily attitudes towards cats as "throw-away pets" and deals with issues regarding "unwanted" cats due to over-population. She has advocated on their behalf for over 20 years and enjoys sharing her knowledge and insights so cats can enjoy their nine lives in the manner they truly deserveas an important member of the family.

Carol Hawn-Miller

Carol loves being the "dog mom" to all kinds and varieties -- small to large; mutts or purebreds. At home she deals with an ever transitional pack as she rescues, fosters and adopts dogs that would not otherwise have a "new leash on life." She has been doing pet rescue for more than 14 years. While loaded with a lap full of dogs, covered in dog hair or accepting K-9 kisses, Carol advocates for permanent, lifetime homes and responsible ownership so rescue will no longer be a necessity.

Sue Wirth

Sue is the other cat mom who takes in fosters and gets them ready for adoption. She has been doing cat rescue since 1998. To help control reproduction of unwanted pets, Sue advocates with a local veterinarian to spay/neuter cats as young as 8 weeks old before they go to their forever homes. She would like to see an end to full Animal Shelters, euthanasia and a home for every pet.

Emily Brand

Emily joins us as a guest blogger from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) to raise awareness about issues affecting companion animals in Anchorage and the surrounding area. She shares the ASPCA�s mission to prevent animal cruelty and provide positive outcomes for at-risk animals across the country. Emily hopes to encourage people to be a voice for animals by doing something to help people understand the importance of treating animals with the love and respect they deserve.

Multimedia

VIDEO

First Aid for pets

Robin Newby of the American Red Cross of Alaska teaches pet first aid. In this video of a recent class, she describes the focus and some of the techniques. Find schedules of ongoing classes at "The Red Cross"

Resources

ALASKA LOCAL

Alaska Dog News

Adoptions Gone Bad

Posted by Cindy

Posted: December 24, 2009 - 1:24 pm

You interview potential adopters by phone, you have them fill out an adoption questionnaire, you do a home visit and everything appears to be on the up and up and it looks like the perfect home. I mean they adopted dogs from you before and now they want to add a couple of cats. What more could you ask for right?

Nothing is more aggravating or frustrating (and I'm being nice here) then when you end up being oh so wrong. It's usually the pet that suffers when you find out the home you thought was too good to be true is.

We got a call from Animal Control that a cat with one of our microchips was picked up DOA on or near Elmore. We went through all of our contacts to find out who the owner was and why this cat had been allowed to roam.

In the meantime we received a call from one of our adopters saying they had adopted two cats from us and one had been peeing all over the house and they wanted us to come and get the cat. When asked how long the peeing had been going on..."a couple of weeks". When asked if they had taken the cat to the vet, their response, "it's Christmas and we don't have money to take him to the vet".

When asked about the other cat, "oh we haven't seen her, she goes outside and she hasn't come back in several days". Yep, by now you have figured it out. The dead cat found by the side of the road was their other cat.

They dropped the other cat off for us to have examined and a urinalysis done and the cat has a raging urinary tract infection. So bad that crystals are forming.

Idiots, these people are idiots. Let's see....vet visit $56, urinalysis $48, meds to treat UTI for 2 weeks, $40. Seems like a no brainer to me.

People go out and buy useless crap all in the name of a holiday, yet when it came to their pet, they ignored all the signs. This cat obviously has a problem, and had obviously been trying to tell them something....for two weeks and instead of taking him in to see what was going on, they dumped him off without a second thought.

My holiday wish for these morons....may you too suffer with a UTI and no one can get you in to be seen for 2 weeks. Oh yeah....and don't adopt anymore cats, you obviously don't give a rat's butt about them.