Just for fun: September 2009 Archives

Rescue Ink is a rescue group with a whole different look. It's group of tattooed, motorcycle-riding tough guys who fight animal cruelty, educate abusers and help to resolve situations other rescue groups might not be able to handle.

Some of the guys grew up in the projects or on the streets, and some have had brushes with the law. Like many of the animals they save, the members of Rescue Ink know what it's like to be given a second chance. And they're using theirs to help the animals, no matter what it takes.

Some of the guys from Rescue Ink were at Puppy Mill Awareness Day on Saturday (Sept. 19) in Lancaster County, PA. At one point during the March Against Cruelty, a big, bald guy in a van slowed and was following along beside some of the walkers, glaring at them.

When the driver slowed almost to a stop, two of the big, burly Rescue Ink guys hurried up to the side of his van, shoulder to shoulder, saying (loudly) "Do you have a problem? What's your problem? Get moving." The driver suddenly remembered where his gas pedal was, and left the walkers alone -- for the time being. Later, I saw the guy leaning against a street sign glaring at the walkers as they passed by.

Shortly after that, several of the Rescue Ink guys were seen hurrying back toward the intersection where the guy had been standing, but I never did find out if that's where they were going.

The season premiere of Rescue Ink's show, "Rescue Ink Unleashed" is 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25 on the National Geographic Channel.

Find out more at http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/rescue-ink-unleashed or www.rescueink.org.

The Rescue Ink guys pose with a fan at Puppy Mill Awareness Day
Sept. 19 in Lancaster County, PA.

Henry, the little orange and white kitten, has decided he can't let me out of his sight.

The moment I enter the room, he toddles over and meows loudly until I sit on the floor so he can climb up on my lap to be petted and combed.

When I put him on the floor so I can comb his littermates, he protests loudly and tries to climb up again, even if I'm already holding another kitten.

When I actually leave the room, Henry follows me to the door, and when I close the door he meows loudly for 5 to 10 minutes before finally giving up.

He worries me, though, because he doesn't seem to be growing much.

None of the kittens seem to be interested in nursing from their mom anymore, although they're too young to be weaned. I've been trying to supplement their diet by feeding them KMR formula with a syringe.

So far, the only one who showed any interest in mashed up canned cat food is Pearl, and that was a few days ago. Now she doesn't want it, either.

Pearl, the little white kitten, seems to be the strongest of the litter. She toddles all over the room, and tries to follow me out the door when I leave their room.

Tonight, I took Pearl to visit my next-door neighbor, JoAnn, who's planning to adopt Pearl when she's old enough to be away from her mom, Lucy.

Pearl seemed to enjoy the change of scenery, walking all over the family room and meeting JoAnn's dog and cats. She seemed entranced by the TV for a few minutes, then was off to check out something else.

One thing that's odd about the kittens: although they used to try to wrestle with each other when they first started walking around, they now don't seem to play at all. I hope they're not getting sick, or anemic, or whatever it was that was wrong with Violet.

The surviving calico (who I haven't named yet; isn't that terrible?) has been sneezing, and when she wakes up her eyes are pasted shut. I soak them with a warm, wet washcloth to open them, and then put some antibiotic eye salve in them. But when she sleeps, they get stuck shut again.

On Aug. 19, Lucy had her second litter of five kittens this summer.

There are two calicos (again), a white one with black patches and -- just to be different -- one that is almost all white, with just a bit of black lining the edges of her ears and some black/gray on her tail and back feet. She also has some really faint tan patches on her back, so light you can barely see them.

In mid-August, after two months of trying, I finally caught the mother cat (Lucy) who brought her five kittens under my porch in June.

I had caught the five kittens in June, and catching their mom had become sort of a neighborhood project. People kept coming up with new ideas on how to catch her, but she outsmarted us all. People I didn't even know would call out as they jogged or walked by my front porch, "Did you catch the mom cat yet?" And people were calling me almost daily with Lucy sightings.

No matter what traps we set, or what kind of treats or food we tried to entice her into a humane trap, Lucy never fell for any of it. Once or twice, she would go partially into a trap, but would get back out before the door shut.

We had even gone so far as to put one of her kittens in a small carrier, then set the small carrier inside a large dog crate the neighbors used for their Dalmatian. We then tied a string to the front door of the dog crate, and took turns sitting and waiting for Lucy to enter the crate to see her kitten so we could pull the string to shut the door.

It was a good idea (thanks, Julie), but Lucy was still too smart for us. When the kitten started meowing, Lucy came running and went inside the dog crate ... all but one back leg, which she kept firmly planted on the ground outside the crate. When I pulled the door shut, she managed to keep her leg in the way, which kept the door from closing completely, and she backed out in a flash.

The funny thing was, on the day in mid-August when I finally caught Lucy, it didn't involve any traps, contraptions or sneaky plans.

At this point, she was extremely pregnant again, and looked like she was ready to give birth any day. I was desperate to catch her before she had another litter outside.

When she showed up that day, I tossed a few cat treats on the ground in front of her. She LOVES Friskies Party Mix. While she was eating them, I brought out the top-loading cat carrier and set it on the ground nearby. She looked up, checking to see what I was up to. (She didn't trust me at all after seeing me capture all her kittens.)

I tossed another handful of treats on the ground and, while she was eating those, I just reached down and picked her up, bracing for the shredding I expected to get from claws and teeth. (Lucy was known to swat and even bite occasionally when you tried to touch her.) But to my surprise, all she did was make a small grunt; kind of sounded like "Urk."

I turned around, plopped her in the carrier and shut the lid, and she never even tried to swat at me. I took her inside and got her set up in the former "kitten room," since her first litter of kittens had now moved into the general cat population.

As it turns out, I caught her just in time. A week later, she had another litter of five kittens!

Lorna entertains herself while the other kittens are busy elsewhere.

Chico & Chaz are having fun with the kitty bed, although I don't think they've quite figured out what to do with it.

This video, taken several weeks after I brought the kittens inside,show the formerly wild kittens are now friendly and playing with toys.

That's Chico coming in for an extreme closeup.

In these videos of the litter of kittens found under my porch, taken a week or so after I brought them inside, they had relaxed enough to play while I'm in the room, but at this point they still weren't crazy about my petting or holding them. I still hadn't caught the fifth kitten.

Please excuse the ugly floor; I was in the process of fixing up the room, and had just ripped out the carpet before finding the kittens. Apparently, the former owner didn't believe in using dropcloths when painting.

After catching two more of the five kittens under my porch in June (a total of four kittens caught), there's no hissing and swatting, but they were still frightened.

When downloading some new photos and videos from my camera the other day, I came across some videos I had taken of the kittens I found under my porch in June.

Here's one of the videos, taken just after I caught the first two. Lizzie is on the left, and Chico is on the right. As you can see, they love me and are really thrilled to be in my house...

1/2 cup cooked chicken livers
1/4 cup water
1-1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup cooked carrot, mashed
1 tablespoon soft margarine

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Place well-done livers in a blender with 1/4 cup water. In a bowl, combine flour and margarine. Add liver mixture and carrots and knead dough into a ball. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thick and cut into one-inch sized pieces. Place cookies on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 325 F for 10 minutes. Makes 12 cookies.

Source: PetPlace.com

The top 10 dog breeds, according to PetPlace.com:

Find out more about the breeds at www.petplace.com.

6 ounce can of tuna
1/4 cup water drained from tuna
3 T cooked egg white, chopped
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup whole wheat flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine tuna, egg white and water. Add cornmeal and flour and blend to form a dough. Knead into a ball and roll to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into one-inch sized pieces. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes. Makes 12 cookies.

Source: PetPlace.com

where nothing goes right and you just feel grumpy?

(from cuteoverload.com)

1-1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon soft margarine

Preheat the over to 350 F.

Combine chicken, broth and margarine and blend well. Add flour and cornmeal. Knead dough into a ball and roll to 1/4 inch. Cut into one-inch sized pieces and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Makes 18 cookies.

Source: PetPlace.com

3/4 cup white flour
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
5 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
1/4 cup cornmeal

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine cheeses and yogurt. Add flour and cornmeal. If needed, add a small amount of water to create a nice dough. Knead dough into a ball and roll to 1/4 inch. Cut into one inch sized pieces and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 25 minutes. Makes 2 dozen.

Source: PetPlace.com

Once I was a lonely dog, just looking for a home.
I had no place to go, no one to call my own.
I wandered up and down the streets, in rain in heat and snow.
I ate what ever I could find; I was always on the go.
My skin would itch, my feet were sore, my body ached with pain.
And no one stopped to give a pat, or to gently say my name.
I never saw a loving glance; I was always on the run.
For people thought that hurting me was really lots of fun.

And then one day I heard a voice, so gentle, kind and sweet.
And arms so soft reached down to me and took me off my feet.
"No one again will hurt you," was whispered in my ear.
"You'll have a home to call your own where you will know no fear.
You will be dry, you will be warm, you'll have enough to eat.
And rest assured that when you sleep, your dreams will all be sweet."
I was afraid, I must admit, I've lived so long in fear.
I can't remember when I let a human come so near.
And as she tended to my wounds, and bathed and brushed my fur,
she told me 'bout the rescue group and what it meant to her.

She said, "We are a circle, a line that never ends,
And in the center there is you, protected by new friends.
And all around you are the ones that check the pounds,
And those that share their home after you've been found.
And all the other folks are searching near and far.
To find the perfect home for you, where you can be a star."
She said, "There is a family, that's waiting patiently,
And pretty soon we'll find them, just you wait and see.
And then they'll join our circle; they'll help to make it grow,
So there'll be room for more like you who have no place to go."

I waited patiently. The days they came and went.
Today's the day, I thought, my family will be sent.
Then just when I began to think it wasn't meant to be,
There were people standing there just gazing down at me.
I knew them in a heartbeat. I could tell they felt it, too.
They said, "We have been waiting for a special dog like you."
Now every night I say a prayer to all the gods that be,
"Thank you for the life I live and all you've given me.
But, most of all protect the dogs in the pound and on the street.
And send a Rescue Person to lift them off their feet."

-- Unknown