Things can get crazy fast

We never had time to update after last week's adoption event. It went great! We had so many people come in and got to meet several new people involved in animal welfare of different types. We had a new volunteer join us, Robin, and we're so grateful! She asked some wonderful questions, helped walk dogs, set up and break down crates - she was an absolute blessing!! No adoptions again, but we're still optimistic. We handed out a lot of business cards and people seemed truly interested, but most of all some of the dogs got out of the house and had fun so it was still a good day.

Then the week rolled around and good grief have we been hopping!! The two goats we brought home have been sick. One has a respiratory infection so he's been on medications. The other has a laceration that's being treated as well. We've been treating them both twice a day and feeding the injured one and keeping him comfy while he heals.

We've also been trying to find placement for a dog who's family was in an abuse situation. The mom and boys were in a special home while the domestic violence case was going on. They were told that they could not keep their dog there. It just rips my heart out that a family has had to deal with violence, separation and now they have to lose their dog as well. During stressful or emotional times, a pet can be a huge help for people. That the county will tell her she must give him up - that he and his kids will be separated - just kills me. It's so cold and unfair. I went yesterday afternoon to pick him up and it was torture. You could tell mom was trying so hard to be strong for her two boys, but her eyes were red and puffy and I knew she'd been crying an awful lot. The two boys were a mess. They just sobbed and bawled over losing their dog. Their dog was scared as well, knowing something wasn't right but not able to understand what was going on. It broke my heart filling out that paperwork for her and taking him away. The poor guy got in the back of our car terrified, trembling, wondering what he'd done wrong to be taken from his family. I drove away in tears for all of them.

The good news is he had a home visit that night with a wonderful couple in Nashville. While he was scared, he did great. By the time we left he'd totally loosened up and was playing and being a silly little puppy. They decided they wanted to think about the adoption and talk some before making a decision. The wife has a 15 year old cat that's not used to dogs and they were very worried about how it would work out. The dog had obviously not been around cats either and was afraid of her, barked a couple times out of fear. The good news is that when we got him home he was greeted at our door by three of our cats and even gave one a kiss. He's obviously not cat aggressive and was only reacting to the cat's fear. So I have no doubt that given time they'll be just fine together.

I checked e-mail this morning and found one from them, confirming they want to adopt him! He goes for his vetting tomorrow morning and to his new home on Sunday. He has been about the fastest adoption we've ever had and he deserves it. A complete and total sweetheart and we're thrilled for them!

We also got an application for Barney, one of the four chihuahuas pulled from Jessamine County SAVE Center in Nicholasville, KY. It was approved and his new moms will be meeting us in Nashville tomorrow to pick him up. We couldn't be happier! They also told a lady that works at the shelter they volunteer at about him and she's interested in Goober. We sure hope to see an application. Goober is special needs with his small hips and unsteady gait and it sounds like this would be a great home for him. Our fingers are crossed!

This evening we go pick up a Newfoundland and about 20 chickens that are being surrendered. A co-worker has lost his home and can't keep them. We have a home visit set up for him tomorrow as well, so we'll have a busy day again tomorrow! Vet in the morning, run home to bathe the Newfie, take him and Barney to Nashville for his home visit and to drop Barney to his new parents. We do love this kind of busy though!

Another co-worker's wife called us yesterday about a stray cat that had kittens on the side of their house. It had them the night before (April 13th) and they found them yesterday afternoon. Sadly one of the kittens she had was only a partial body. The mom wasn't doing well at all and we were afraid she still had the remainder of the body inside. She rushed her to several local vets asking them to help her, but none would do anything without at least $500 up front, money they just don't have. As the evening wore on and she continued to beg a vet to help her, it became obvious she wasn't going to survive. Ultimately they had to make the painful decision to euthanize her and put her out of the pain she was in. Her three surviving kittens are at our home now being bottle fed. We're lucky that our 18 year old daughter is out of school this week and is able to care for them while I work. Next week is going to be very interesting when she returns though. We're actively seeking a volunteer with day old kitten bottle feeding experience in our area that can take over for us for a couple weeks. Of them, it looks like we have 3 orange boys and a calico girl. The family that found them will be adopting the calico so if they all make it through bottle feeding we will have two orange boys up for adoption in two months!

Lastly, our adoptions coordinator is on vacation this week. We've been totally lost without her!! She's kept in constant contact with us via text messages though and is having a wonderful time on her much needed and much deserved Florida vacation. As we speak, she is swimming with dolphins! Have a good time Laura - we miss you, as I know your fur kids do too!!