Animals!

We call her "77", originally uploaded by Claudia Snell.

Thin and pregnant, this young cat was left at our complex. After hanging around for a few days, she's been temporarily "adopted" by the folks in this quad - we're calling her 77 for the street address. Her new home is a box placed outside by a nice little boy along with the food we've given her.

Sadly, there are a lot of cats that end up homeless around here. This little sweetie is about a year old and super affectionate. She likes children. She was clearly someone's pet. One of my neighbors thought she saw some former residents with her in their window - in other words, they moved, this little cat did not. As I said, it's really common around here. People leave but don't take their cats. They just put them outside in the hopes that someone will take them in or something.

This guy here is my cat, Chuck, he was one of the left-behinds. We took him in a few years back as a 6-month-old. He and his 2 sisters were left, locked in an empty apartment - no food, no water... nothing. He has turned out to be one of the best pets I've ever had. He's sweet, gentle, loyal. Great with kids. Good thing the maintenance man and landlady here are animal lovers. They made sure that Chuck and his sisters found homes with tenants here.

Some are not so lucky. We've had left-behinds killed by cars. The last one I tried to help became infected with feline leukemia before we could coax him inside. I tried to save him but in the end it didn't work out. He was a pet that had been dumped because he got too big and ended up being put to sleep because his "owners" didn't do the right thing.

I guess my point is; please, when you get a pet, expect to take care of it for its whole life. With cats that can be 15 or more years. If you can't make that commitment, please don't get a pet.

If you do find yourself in a situation where you unexpectedly cannot keep a pet - find somewhere for it to go. They deserve at least that.

My last point, adopt someone! I know, you want a a kitten or a puppy but please consider someone a little older. There are lots of 6-month to 1-year-olds out there. They have been left or dumped after their "cuteness" wears off - but they are great pets -and they need you.

And, for some solutions - I"m not just going to complain and not offer any help.

Pet Rock is a festival and ongoing project of Charlene Arsenault. I'm sure if you check their site, you can find lots of advise on how to adopt a pet or how to find a home if you cannot keep a pet. Pet Rock is having it's annual event on September 9, check it out. OR, visit their site to learn how you can support Pet Rock: http://www.petrockfest.com/

Here's another site that can help you find an adoptable pet:
Pet Finder. You can find info. about adoptions, pet care, adoptable pets - you get the picture.