Bliss! Sheer bliss!

[Haven]

DH and I did some volunteering with our local animal shelter today, and as always, we had to spend some quality time with the furbabies before we went home.

Animal lovers: Can you think of anything more blissful than a room full of affectionate kitties? The minute we sat down they started climbing all over us!

I just had to share these pictures with my fellow animal lovers on PS.

 

[Haven]

Look at all those kitties!!!!

 

[Haven]

These two guys climbed up on me the minute I sat down and did not get off until I stood up to leave much, much later. They literally slid down my jacket.

 

[Haven]

This guy demanded affection! Look at that face!

 

[Haven]

This is about one fifth of the space the kitties have to run around. Look at all those guys.

 

[Haven]

Another of the room, from DH''s phone.

 

[Haven]

And this is Olivia. She stole me heart a couple weeks ago when I handled her at an adoption event. She''s nine-years-old, and we just found out that she has a large tumor on her lung.

I''m working on DH to adopt her, I so want her to spend the rest of her life with a family. She is the sweetest little lovebug.

 

[iheartscience]

Oh my God I would die from kitty snuggle overload! What a bunch of sweet kitties! Although seeing so many loving kitties without homes makes me want to cry!

I would take them all home if I could! (And I bet you would, too!) Thank you for giving them love, seriously.

 

[Haven]

And this is Giles. He''s a boxer puppy, and he stole DH''s heart immediately. We''re considering adopting him, too.

Because we''re crazy people.

I just love spending time with these guys, they are so wonderful.

 

[Haven]

Date: 11/28/2009 7:22:14 PM
Author: thing2of2
Oh my God I would die from kitty snuggle overload! What a bunch of sweet kitties! Although seeing so many loving kitties without homes makes me want to cry!

I would take them all home if I could! (And I bet you would, too!) Thank you for giving them love, seriously.

I know! It was seriously overwhelming. Those kitties are so starved for affection they crawl all over you and demand love the instant you sit down. Ugh, it''s so sad to see so many abandoned cats and dogs.

The shelter currently has 190 dogs, and over 500 cats that need homes.

Our adoption events have been successful lately, we''re getting some harder-to-place pups into good homes.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 11/28/2009 7:22:14 PM
Author: thing2of2
Oh my God I would die from kitty snuggle overload! What a bunch of sweet kitties! Although seeing so many loving kitties without homes makes me want to cry!

I would take them all home if I could! (And I bet you would, too!) Thank you for giving them love, seriously.

Yes, total bliss, but I agree that it''s sad to see so many needing homes.

 

[lilyfoot]

Those pictures make me sad

That is A LOT of cats that need homes

Kudos to you and DH for taking time out of your day to volunteer at the shelter.

I hope you guys get to adopt Olivia & Giles. They look like they would really appreciate it, and they''d make your life a lot more interesting

 

[zoebartlett]

Haven, I love how you and your husband are considering giving these cute little guys a great home. They''re adorable!

Just out of curiosity, how did you end up volunteering at these shelters? I''ve been considering doing something like this for a while.

 

[Iowa Lizzy]

Awww. I'm a little choked up right now. That black cat with the white mittens in the first pic (the one looking right at the camera) looks identical to my cat that went missing a few months ago. I doubt he made it all the way from Iowa!

That's excellent that you two make time to volunteer together. You inspire me.

 

[lulu]

I think it''s interesting that people who are unfamiliar with cats call them aloof. How did the older dog end up at the shelter? My next dog is going to be an older guy that someone abandoned.

 

[MonkeyPie]

Omg! That is seriously the best room ever! I would never want to leave

How awesome of you and your DH for spending time with the kitties.

 

[Lynn B]

Oh, I'm all choked up, too. It's so good that those furbabies have shelter and warmth and food and each other... but they all need FOREVER homes with their own families to love and spoil them.

Bless you and your DH for your volunteer work.

 

[BeachRunner]

Kudos for you and your DH for devoting some time for all those animals. It''s so heartwarming to hear stories like this, but tough at the same time because so many animals are found on the streets. It''d be hard not to take a kitty home each time I visited!

ETA: I see why your DH fell for that boxer; his face is priceless!

 

[Lynn B]

Haven,

Where is this shelter at?

My DH and I talk about getting Boo a brother or sister, and although I love and adore my purebred Ragdoll, I know if we get a second cat, we should adopt from our local shelter. But it makes me really nervous because I''m so afraid of getting a pet with some potentially contagious illness that s/he could pass to Boo. I would just die if that happened.

In our shelter, cats are caged

which makes me sad. But in a shelter like yours, couldn''t one cat with FeLV or FIV pass it to the whole ROOM of cats? Oh, that thought makes me so sad and so nervous.

 

[Haven]

Date: 11/28/2009 7:46:36 PM
Author: ZoeBartlett
Haven, I love how you and your husband are considering giving these cute little guys a great home. They''re adorable!

Just out of curiosity, how did you end up volunteering at these shelters? I''ve been considering doing something like this for a while.

We called up the shelter shortly after we adopted our pup and said we wanted to volunteer. They have an online form that you fill out, and then we were added to the email list that the volunteer coordinator uses to schedule all of our events.
It was super easy, and I''m sure your local shelters need a lot of volunteers. You will get so much more out of it than you put in to it!

 

[Haven]

Date: 11/28/2009 7:47:41 PM
Author: Travel Goddess
Awww. I''m a little choked up right now. That black cat with the white mittens in the first pic (the one looking right at the camera) looks identical to my cat that went missing a few months ago. I doubt he made it all the way from Iowa!

That''s excellent that you two make time to volunteer together. You inspire me.

Oh no! Well, that guy still needs a forever home, and Illinois isn''t too far away . . .

 

[Haven]

Date: 11/28/2009 7:56:25 PM
Author: lulu
I think it's interesting that people who are unfamiliar with cats call them aloof. How did the older dog end up at the shelter? My next dog is going to be an older guy that someone abandoned.

She was abandoned and found as a stray in a neighboring suburb. We're seeing a lot of older abandoned dogs coming to the shelter now, especially from areas with high foreclosure rates. We think that people lose their homes and just leave their dogs behind.

Our shelter has a room just for the older dogs. They aren't caged, they hang out together in their own room, but it is still heartbreaking that they're spending their golden years without a family.

 

[Haven]

Date: 11/28/2009 8:58:25 PM
Author: Lynn B
Haven,

Where is this shelter at?

My DH and I talk about getting Boo a brother or sister, and although I love and adore my purebred Ragdoll, I know if we get a second cat, we should adopt from our local shelter. But it makes me really nervous because I'm so afraid of getting a pet with some potentially contagious illness that s/he could pass to Boo. I would just die if that happened.

In our shelter, cats are caged

which makes me sad. But in a shelter like yours, couldn't one cat with FeLV or FIV pass it to the whole ROOM of cats? Oh, that thought makes me so sad and so nervous.

This is Orphans of the Storm in Riverwoods, IL. They are teamed up with a local vet who checks all of the incoming animals for illness and disease, and then treats them before they enter the shelter. They don't allow cats into the cat room until they are medically cleared, that would be dangerous and irresponsible. It is really important that you have all animals tested (especially cats) before you bring them into your home and introduce them to your other pets.

That is how they found my precious Olivia's lung tumor. She was at the vet for her physical and at first they thought she had a heart murmur, but then they did scans and found the tumor.

If you find a responsible shelter they should have documents on all of their adoptable animals that show their vaccination history and all testing for illness and disease.

Orphans has been around since 1928, I believe, and it is a *huge* and incredibly well run shelter. It is exceptionally clean, and their standard of care is the highest I've seen at any local shelters. We've adopted pets from Orphans, Kay's, and the Anti-Cruelty Society. We've had wonderful experience with all of these places.

ETA: I should add that everything we wore to the shelter today went right into the wash when we got home, including that white down coat. *Even though* we know the kitties are screened and monitored, we always wash our entire outfits before we come into the house, just in case.

 

[Haven]

Date: 11/28/2009 7:29:06 PM
Author: MC

Date: 11/28/2009 7:22:14 PM
Author: thing2of2
Oh my God I would die from kitty snuggle overload! What a bunch of sweet kitties! Although seeing so many loving kitties without homes makes me want to cry!

I would take them all home if I could! (And I bet you would, too!) Thank you for giving them love, seriously.

Yes, total bliss, but I agree that it''s sad to see so many needing homes.

Yes, that is why it is so important that people:
a) are responsible if they choose to adopt pets and spay and neuter their animals
b) only adopt pets if they can commit to a lifetime of care
c) donate their time to help these homeless pets, if they can
d) adopt from shelters or rescues rather than purchase from breeders or pet stores

 

[Haven]

Date: 11/28/2009 8:54:14 PM
Author: BeachRunner
Kudos for you and your DH for devoting some time for all those animals. It''s so heartwarming to hear stories like this, but tough at the same time because so many animals are found on the streets. It''d be hard not to take a kitty home each time I visited!

ETA: I see why your DH fell for that boxer; his face is priceless!

Tell me about it--I''m campaigning hard to adopt two more dogs, and one is very ill! DH knew what he was getting into when he married me, though . . .

 

[Haven]

Date: 11/28/2009 8:41:56 PM
Author: MonkeyPie
Omg! That is seriously the best room ever! I would never want to leave

How awesome of you and your DH for spending time with the kitties.

Isn''t it? It breaks my heart that they are all waiting to find their forever families, but it warms my heart that they are living in a safe environment with warmth, food, and at least some love from humans. We have a serious feral cat problem in my area, so it''s wonderful to see that these guys are at least being cared for.

 

[Haven]

Date: 11/28/2009 7:39:13 PM
Author: lilyfoot
Those pictures make me sad

That is A LOT of cats that need homes

Kudos to you and DH for taking time out of your day to volunteer at the shelter.
I hope you guys get to adopt Olivia & Giles. They look like they would really appreciate it, and they''d make your life a lot more interesting

Me, too! I''m really pushing to take in Olivia just because I think she deserves a loving home for the little time that she has left. I''m not worried about Giles finding a home, he''s so young and handsome that if we don''t adopt him someone else is going to come and snap him up really soon. But my husband sure does love that guy! He''s always had a weakness for boxers, and especially with a mug like Giles, he''s irresistible!

 

[Callisto]

Aw adorable! That does look heavenly. If heaven exists, I''m pretty sure that''s what mine will be like hehe. (with my SO in their too hehe)

I really want to get back into volunteering at a humane society but there really aren''t any good ones around where I am. (not close enough to volunteer with on a regular basis at least). They''re all foster home based and I can''t foster any due to my landlord. They are currently fundraising to build a humane society here to be partially run by the city as a replacement for the pound that currently exists, no volunteering options there though and I don''t know if I''ll still be around here by the time the shelter is done.

I''m gonna keep looking for a way to get involved though.

I hope you end up adopting both of those beautiful dogs!

 

[Italiahaircolor]

Haven...if you don''t take Olivia...I will! Maybe...I''d have to convince the hubs first...if only I lived alone....

I''m such a sucker for a sweet face...and how could Mark possibly say no? Let me know if you ever get any Chihuahua''s in. They are my breed of choice and I''m always willing to foster...

 

[Cind11]

I just have to say that it is WONDERFUL that you go and spend time with the kitties. I know of course about animal overpopulation and overcrowding in shelters but seeing your pictures is pretty heartwrenching. How fabulous would it be if all of those cats got loving homes? At least you are trying to do something to help!