Hope for Smokey

When I pulled up to the shelter this morning, I was so pleased to see Smokey, a gorgeous Husky, jumping onboard of an Eastbound S.U.V.

Smokey had been returned to CCHS by a heart-broken couple who did not feel that they could cope with Smokey's separation anxiety. True Separation Anxiety is a very challenging behavioral problem to deal with and most people who adopt a canine companion are not prepared to handle an issue so intense. (Separation Anxiety rarely shows up when a dog is residing at the shelter, so we have no way of predicting the condition prior to adoption).

With a diagnosis of Separation Anxiety, Smokey's chances for adoption from our shelter were grim, but we couldn't give up on him. Phone calls were made and within a few days, a representative of Northern Lights Sled Dog Rescue came out to meet Smokey. A few days later, the Rescue made a commitment and today Smokey was on his way to foster care. We have our fingers crossed for Smokey and thank the good people with Sled Dog Rescue who have opened their hearts and their homes to this beautiful dog.

We are also grateful to the volunteers who drove Smokey to Indy this morning! It made my Friday morning to know that Smokey was on his way.

Frustrations on a Monday

Trying to reach someone at the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulations is an exercise in futility! The problem is not that you have to wait on hold, listening to obnoxious music or recorded messages thanking you for your patience. That, I could deal with. The problem is that you get a busy signal! All day long, everytime you call, a busy signal. And it's not due to a freakish system failure. This is just the way it is.

I know this from experience.

Meanwhile, the paper piles on my desk grew larger today, not smaller.

And so it seems like a good time to revisit a favorite poem of mine,

by Dilys Laing:

I put down my book

The Meaning of Zen

And see the cat smiling into her fur

as she delicately combs it with her rough pink tongue.

'Cat, I would lend you this book to study

but it appears that you have already read it.'

She looks up and gives me her full gaze.

'Don't be ridiculous,' she purrs. 'I wrote it.'

Random Notes on a Friday

A busy week comes to an end, and I look forward to spending some quality time with the pets at home. So often I'm not at home, and so often when I am at home my mind is swirling with work-related thoughts. It's hard to let go of the mental "To Do" lists, the ideas for making things better, the planning, strategizing, rehashing and self-judging. Do my dogs and cats know when I'm distracted? Do they feel short-changed when I'm physically present but not fully engaged?

I have this notion that when the weather warms up it'll be easier to make the transition from working to living. If I can come home and play with the dogs in the yard, or dig in the garden a little bit, I'll be able to let go of all that "stuff" and revel in the moment. That's what I look forward to on this Friday in February . . . with another weekend of snow and bitter cold in the forecast.

But, back to my original plan for this post . . . random notes on the week gone by. By the end of this week, we were getting lots of phone calls about a certain little puppy who had been in foster care until a few days ago. Apparently his foster mom had posted his photo on Facebook and sent it to some friends via email. Is this what it means for something to go "viral?" This little puppy's photo sure made an impression on a lot of people. I hope we can generate this kind of buzz for other animals in the future. Of course, this pup is a small mixed breed (Chihuahua/Pug?) and there is always a higher demand for the little dogs.

I'm grateful for two of our most dedicated and stalwart volunteers this week. A long time friend of our organization passed away earlier this month. She didn't have much when she died, but the people responsible for her estate knew that she would want our organization to receive the benefit of any valuable items she left behind, which included quite a large doll collection. H and M gave up an afternoon to sort through the belongings and move the valuable things to storage until our Giant Garage Sale.

Journalism students! This week, we received multiple requests for interviews from journalism students. They all want to report on how the economic downturn is causing more pets to be surrendered to our shelter. It's a compelling topic for sure, but as of this date, we don't have the data to back up any such claim. We have not yet seen an increase in owner-surrenders (compared to the same months in previous years). The top three reasons for relinquishment have always been, "cost," "no time," and "moving." While we've had a handful of relinquishers state that they were recently laid off, we don't have sufficient evidence to claim that more surrenders have been due to financial hardship than in the past. My fingers are crossed that this continues to be the case!

Donation income is actually a bigger concern for me than animal intakes. Our holiday mailer brought in less than we had hoped and when donations dropped off after January first, they dropped LIKE A ROCK. Nevertheless, I'm not going to despair. We had a very productive Development Committee meeting last Saturday and a number of things are in the works. This time of year is always slow for donation revenue.

To wrap up on a happy note . . . Boogie went home this week! I envision her curled up on the sofa with her new adoring people.

Now It's Chloe's Turn

It was nice to see Chloe behind the front desk this afternoon. Like Charlie, Chloe has been with us since October. Today she was eager to greet anyone who came up to the counter. Chloe was clearly having a blast today--playing with toys and enjoying the attention she received from staff and volunteers.

A Blue Dot for Charlie

I'm delighted that my first post on "More Blue Dots" is to celebrate Charlie's good fortune. Charlie, an adolescent mixed-breed dog, nearly black in color, had been at our shelter since October. At the end of last week, Charlie left the shelter for his new home with his new family. Our staff and volunteers had come to know Charlie quite well and we're all so very happy for him now.

Good luck, Charlie! I hope you have a long and wonderful life.