Sunday, March 25, 2007

Tompkins County SPCA


(Tompkins County SPCA)
Yes, I am somewhat tender hearted and childfree (could it be said I don't like people very much? that couldn't be true, but I love dogs and cats etc, as you may have guessed from looking at my work).
So, I have an application in at the county SPCA to be a volunteer after I saw one of their outreach cats at the hardware store--he looked so depressed. There was a point a few years ago I added a stray pet to the family each year, but when we reached 3 dogs and 2 cats, it seemed like the house was full. Now it is 2 dogs and 2 cats, very elderly, and they DO NOT want a new little brother or sister, so I was thinking I could go to the shelter each week and play with the dogs and cats there. We went to their open house today.....I havn't been to a shelter in a long time, and this is a beautiful place, but gawd, all those sad eyes, and some cats and dogs really come up to you and ask to go home. Was I crying? Nearly. Hard to believe, in such a macho guy, but I am tenderhearted. Anyway, sometime soon I shall go there every week to help, and after Easter I may adopt a bunny for the studio--I figure that wouldn't piss off the dogs and cats too much, being, according to them, a species beneath their notice, and in a cage most of the time, in a seperate part of the house. There were 2 enormous bunnies there today, but I am sure they will find a nice home in the next week or two, and then sadly, after Easter, typically, a lot of bunnies get given then end up at the SPCA. I would like a little one. I had, ahem, 3 at different times in my dorm room at college. Bunnies are easy to care for.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, Gary,
You are soooooo good to be volunteering at the SPCA. I can't wait to hear more aboout it (and see pix.)

My own two cats came from an SPCA-like organization and they are very dear to me. I always stop in when there is a mobile pet adoption station around here in NYC. I figure I'm helping by making a donation (granted $1 doesn't go very far) and by patting some of the critters on their adorable furry little heads, I can coax them out of their shells, if only for a few minutes.

Like you, I've met a few extraordinary creatures I've come thisclose to adopting, but I really can't have any more in my apartment. (And I don't think the kitties here would appreciate it very much, either.) I like to think that by socializing the SPCA animals, I am helping them become more outgoing so that they'll attract lifelong human companions.

Best Wishes, and do share the news!

EH

Anonymous said...

oh man, all those sad eyes....the cats who were in rooms with a bunch of other cats seemed content, but some of the others don't like other cats, just people, like our Sammy cat, and they would come up to the door and they were so lonely and happy to see a person who wanted to talk to them...

Lucia said...

If I volunteered, I'd have a house full of critters after. I just wouldn't be able to leave them there.

Anonymous said...

believe, I am aware of the danger of bringing them all home, and might think of fostering, but I don't think our dogs and cats would like that

Gordo said...

Toby, our first dog was a pound puppy. I had been popping into the humane society shelter for a number of weeks keeping my eyes peeled for a suitable addition and found the whole thing heartbreaking. It was literally a matter of time before one of them came home with me.

meno said...

My daughter and i clean cat cages at a cat shelter. Somedays it's really hard not to come home with one, or two, but our house, with three cats, is cat full.

Last time i cried there was when i read the reason that some IDIOT had given up her cat was that she had gotten a new couch and didn't want hair on it. This for a ten year old cat.

Anonymous said...

there was this sweet old cat up front in a cage by herself (which means she is a hard case) and she has a constant respiratory infection ( a runny nose) but gawd, if I walked by she would just start purring....this place is a no kill shelter, so she will have a life there, but oh, what a sweetie.....I have to go back as a volunteer so she can be my cat away from home

Mother of Invention said...

How noble of my ex-boss (am I still fired?!!) I'd be a mess if I went there and would really want to take them all home...except myy cats wouldn't be too receptive to the idea.
Comment from Meno just made me sadder and madder.