Second Glances
Second Chance Animal Sanctuaries PO Box
293 Wellsboro, Pa 16901
570-724-7919 secondchanceas@yahoo.com
httP://secondchanceas.tripod.com
Winter 2005 Issue 12
From Casey
Once upon a time, which now seems long ago, a puppy was born. Like all puppies he chased his tail, bathed in mud puddles, and barked at turtles, butterflies, and ants. He loved to romp, run in circles, splash in and out of nearby Pine Creek, and inadvertently get himself into jester like...and not so humorous... circumstances.
As he aged he befriended many many people with his majestic warmth and greeting, sired a line of nobility, and lived, with resolve, a revered "dog's life". Blessed with an active nose and a spark for life he truly sensed his world and indeed possessed a spirit to remember.
He embarked, in his later years, as an ambassador of Life. His daily struggle with age paled to the visible spirit he radiated. The wag of his tail, the lift of his head, his gentle kiss, the pause and struggle to climb a ramp or refetch a dish of ice cream all seemed to repeat his lesson...Live. Live. Live!
Despite the struggle, the aches, the hurdles, blindness and lapses of memory, he used every sense left available to live life to its completeness, its fullness, without questioning its terms. Whenever things went skewered out of control he would lift his head, tilt it in baffled expression as if to say, 'Geez, gotta laugh at this.' Last spring he developed a condition which made him smash his head uncontrollably onto the floor. Sensing the painful crash we would quickly slip a small pillow under his falling head to break the fall. Our compassion was rewarded when we realized he wouldn't start the fall until we were ready to attempt the pillow slide.
Today and for all tomorrows I will miss this friend, who with a
final wag of his tail recently traveled to meet a lost and treasured
friend...and will wait for and greet us when our trail is complete. My loss
however is but a ripple compared to that of his mistress, whose outpouring of
care and compassion allowed his life, his spirit, to be complete... and whose
heart will forever hold his memory and his spirit. His story now told can now be
rekindled and rebuilt and remembered through her.
This is a season of hope and compassion towards all living things. The story of Casey reflects the strength
and lessons each life can give if provided the chance. Without caring we lose the lessons, the love, and the laughter.From Second Chance Animal Sanctuaries
we wish you a year ahead filled with your lessons, your love and your laughter from the animals whose spirit reaches out to touch you!
Dear friends,
As winter is upon us once again and another holiday season is past, we eagerly look forward to a new year, praying for good health, happiness and compassion for all living creatures, large and small. We hope you and your loved ones (furry and otherwise!) enjoyed a safe, happy holiday this year.
As usual, we have been actively involved in finding homes for dogs, cats, kittens, turtles, etc. We have been very successful and we look back at this last quarter of 2004 on a highly positive note. Many of those who contacted us with an animal they needed to find a home for were very helpful by sending or emailing us photos of the pets so that we could place them on our website, which has proven to be very fruitful in finding good homes. Others lived close enough that we were able to go to their homes to take the photos for the site. We also place posters at the Tioga County Courthouse and grocery stores to further advertise those pets. WNBT radio station has been highly supportive in allowing us advertising time to spread our mission. Thank you!
Regarding fundraising, our fall activities found us at various fall craft festivals where we once again sold our homemade pet-related crafts, cookbooks, and biscuits. We enjoyed a very busy day at Dickens and had a BALL at our third annual Pet Photos with Santa. It was held on Saturday, Dec. 11th, at Hampson's Farm & Garden Center in Wellsboro. Craig Hampson generously offered the use of a portion of his building for us to bring our own Santa. Many furry friends and children enjoyed---well, not ALL enjoyed---having their pictures taken with Santa for a small donation. WNBT provided live coverage at this event, as did KC101. Other programs, such as the cartridge recycling program and canisters located throughout the county, have been generating additional funds for our various programs to assist animals and their owners in our county.
Our thanks go to the 'Second Chance Teens' who presented us with a collection of goodies, food and money they collected in Tioga. The Charlotte Lappla Elementary School students once again brought in a HUGE amount of food to donate to animals in need for the holiday season. I also personally want to thank our various foster homes, namely Caprice McCarthy, Peggy Lampman, Billy Nickens, Tammy
Eberly and Kathryn Peters, who have so kindly volunteered to temporarily foster animals whose owners had no other options. They truly saved the lives of these animals.
My goodness, there is never enough space to write everything I want to share! As usual, we welcome any suggestions, volunteers, foster care people, etc. as we begin another year fulfilling our goals. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your continued support and may God bless you in 2005!
Sue Cook, President
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Fall Memberships Steve & Glenda McCarthy
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Fall Memorial George & Genevieve Jutzi in memory of Shelby Young, daughter
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Fall Donations Deborah Jones
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Kasey's Kat Kolony
This is Part 2 of a continuing series on Kasey's Kat Kolony, a care and compassion project of Second Chance Animal Sanctuaries.
In the summer of 2003 when I first found the colony, the kitties were malnourished and the mothers had trouble feeding their kittens. My husband and I found day-old kittens in the middle of the lawn, left to die, because the mother didn't have enough food for all of her litter. We found a little kitten with only one eye living under a pile of boards. We found another kitten with severe diarrhea that died before I could get a hold of him to take him to the vet's.
Surprisingly, when I first found the colony, there was one tortoiseshell cat that had a litter of three kittens. I believe that the momma cat was a drop-off since I could pet her and the fact that she was a different color. Her kittens were semi-friendly, which helped with me trying to doctor their eyes. Once they were old enough I had the notion that I could find homes for these little guys, but before I could start putting the word out, one of the kittens got run over by a car. I decided then that they needed a safe environment so I could get them healthy and find them homes. I took the remaining two kittens to my garage and doctored them for about a month before I found them a good home. Unfortunately, about two weeks after I took the kittens, the mother disappeared, the same time a big red fox was hunting the fields.
After all of the trouble I had with the kittens, I knew I needed to start getting the cats neutered/spayed. I began by calling around to local vets and asking if any of them would be willing to help me. Most of them were willing to give me a discount but still wanted a substantial amount of money. I contacted the SPCA and got a really positive response from Andy McIlvain, our local PSPCA manager, offered a voucher and vaccinations for each cat. I then went back to the various vets and asked if they would accept the voucher as payment in full for the neutering/spaying procedure. One vet said yes. Dr. Kreger has only charged for medication if the cat needs an antibiotic shot, flea medication, or ear mite treatment. Second Chance Animal Sanctuaries is now covering the additional charges. Most times a cat will need flea medication or an antibiotic shot which will cost anywhere from $10 to $20, respectfully.
Dr. Kreger's time and expertise has been free. He and his staff have been very helpful and flexible about trying to get these animals fixed. To identify the cats that have been fixed, Dr. Kreger makes a small triangular cut on the ear so I can tell which kitties have been fixed. At first, trapping the cats was not a difficult procedure. I have a box trap that I bait with yummy soft cat food, and once the cat walks to the food and steps on the 'trigger' the door shuts behind them. The first couple of cats were easy, but after the eighth or ninth cat, the word got out and it began to get difficult. One cat I actually tricked into the trap by basically chasing it into the trap!
We even helped a male cat
that had gotten hurt during the summer with the neighboring farmer's mowing
equipment. His back leg got partially cut off and he was dragging around a dead
leg for months. I finally caught this beautiful cat and Dr. Kreger finished
amputating his leg. He was also neutered and given his shots. Dr. Kreger kept
him for a couple days and some of his staff said he turned out to be a real
sweetheart! When I picked him up from Dr. Kreger's it was pouring rain and I
felt bad about letting him go in the cold rain. My sympathetic husband built a
fire in the wood stove in the garage and Tres (spelling) (Spanish for three)
spent the night cuddled behind the woodstove, had a good meal, used the litter
pan and then let himself out the cat door in the garage! I often saw signs of
him during the winter, when I would see three paw prints in the snow.
Continued in the next issue.
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Get a Puppy...Puppy Not....
Get A Puppy....Puppy....
It's the holiday season again and you may be tempted to get a new dog or cat for the family. All the old greeting cards showing the cute, cuddly puppy or kitten dangling from the Christmas stocking have implied that the holiday season is the perfect time. But this could be a very heartbreaking experience for both humans and pets. Getting a pet should be the end result of a carefully thought-out plan. You should consider exactly why you or your children want a pet, what the best type of pet is (size, temperament, etc), how and who will provide the pet's daily care, how the pet will be trained, exercised, etc. If the green light says to go ahead and the time is right for you to get a pet there are several alternative locations for obtaining a pet.
Holiday pets used to be the proverbial puppy or kitten purchased at the mall or local pet shop. The local SPCA is now a good place to look for puppies, kittens and even older animals. While probably not a purebred or pedigreed pet, SPCA mixed-breed dogs can prove to be excellent companions and friends to you and your family. Be prepared to justify and defend your intentions and commitment to your chosen pet because the SPCA frowns on allowing pet adoptions over the holiday season. Today's SPCA and other animal organizations (like Second Chance) can also provide an excellent opportunity to adopt older pets.
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Adopting older pets can be very rewarding because it allows you to see more clearly what type of pet you are getting (size, temperament, etc). Also, some of the harder work of training the pet may already be done for you. For example, many older pets are already housebroken. Studies of dogs in shelters suggests that as many as 50% of the older pets up for adoption are there due to no fault of the pet itself but rather to changes in the owner's lifestyles (moving, or the owner's inability to have enough time to properly care for the pet).
The first few days that you have to spend with your pet turns
out to be the most important in terms of the pet's learning and development. The
importance of immediately correcting your pet's bad behavior and traits starts
at the very beginning of the time your pet moved in with you. Breeders and
trainers agree that those first few days are so important that if you are
getting a pet during the holidays it might be better to arrange with the
shelter, pet store or owner to keep it until after the holidays and then you can
pick it up later. Breeders say the very best day to pick up a new pet is Friday,
thus allowing you the weekend to adjust to one another.
Happy holidays!
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Still Doing It!?!
Read Puppy Prep 101
* Pour cold apple juice on the carpet in several places and walk around barefoot in the dark.
* Wear a sock to work that has had the toes shredded by a blender.
* Immediately upon waking, stand outside in the rain and dark saying, "Be a good puppy, go potty now - hurry up "come on, lets go!"
* Cover all your best suits with dog hair. Dark suits must use white hair, and light suits must use dark hair.
* Float some hair in your first cup of coffee in the morning.
* Play "catch" with a wet tennis ball.
* Run out in the snow in your bare feet to close the gate.
* Tip over a basket of clean laundry, scatter clothing all over the floor.
* Leave your underwear on the living room floor, because that's where the dog will drag it anyway. (Especially when you have company.)
Jump out of your chair shortly before the end of your favorite TV program and run to the door shouting, "No no! Do that OUTSIDE!" Miss the end of the program.
* Put chocolate pudding on the carpet in the morning, and don't try to clean it up until you return from work that evening.
* Gouge the leg of the dinning room table several times with a screwdriver it's going to get chewed on anyway.
* Take a warm and cuddly blanket out of the dryer and immediately wrap it around yourself. This is the feeling you will get when your puppy falls asleep on your lap.
Our staff of feline royalty
would like to express
their best wishes with precise Haiku Poetry.
AND
Our staff of canines just clipped
some quotes for your enjoyment
| So you want to play Will I claw at dancing string Your ankle's closer |
The food in my bowl |
"When a man's best friend is his dog |
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"In dog year's I'm dead" |
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"Did you ever walk into a room and forget why you
walked in ? I think that is how dogs spend their lives." |
"Anytime you think you have influence, try ordering
around someone else's dog" |
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"I loathe people who keep dogs. They are
cowards who haven't got the guts to bite people themselves" |
"Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive
evidence that you are wonderful" |
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So you call this thing your "Cat Carrier". I call these my "blades of Death" |
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Sometimes humor delivers the chance to welcome a new year and new friends. It opens our hearts to the joys, stories and perspectives animals bring to us each day. From this newsletter's sponsor, The Native Bagel, and Second Chance Animal Sanctuaries have the Happiest New Year |
"There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy
licking you face" |
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I don't mind being teased, anymore that you mind a skin graft of two |
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Am I in your way ? You seem to have it backwards. This pillow is taken |
My affection is conditional, Don't stand up. It's your lap I love |
