Cakes to the (animal) rescue!

Ever since we adopted Cal from the Lake County shelter, I've wanted to give back to them in some way. This shelter is located in a very rural area; shelters like this receive lots of stray and unwanted pets, but get a low volume of foot traffic in to adopt. So in order to facilitate adoption, some volunteers have made an effort to get the word out about Lake County pets. That is how I found out about Cal; he was listed on craigslist with a beautiful picture of him (just try and resist that hang-dog look and those ears):


The three of us are so grateful for the work these volunteers put in; they often post until 2 in the morning on craigslist, trying to stave off what for half of these dogs (and more than 80% of the cats) is inevitable. The volunteers for the shelter also post to request transport assistance. Often the best prospect for these animals is to get them into no-kill rescues in areas that are more populated. When I saw their post on Tuesday asking for transport from Lake County to the town I live in, I jumped on it. I've been wanting to see the shelter for so long. Since we got Cal I've been sending up a monthly care package of flea meds, treats, food, toys, chews, blankets, and whatever else I could afford. I've stayed in touch with the shelter manager and she loves getting updates on Cal. I knew this was my opportunity to help out even more and also to meet the wonderful Paula.

The ride up was uneventful; Cal hung out in the back seat and hung his face out the window when he felt like it. It rained a bit, and there was some construction, but for the most part, it was fine.

I got to the shelter, met everyone, loaded up the animals (6 cats and a dog) and headed out quickly. Cal was miserable being at the shelter. I thought he might feel comfortable there, having been there for 3 weeks, but his personality changed completely. He completely shut down, crouching low to the ground, ears down on his head, eyes darting around. Paula gave him some hugs and some goodies and we set off.

Our first stop was to drop off a dog in Cotati. He was a 14-year-old dachshund that had been surrendered by his owners. They just didn't want him anymore. Fortunately for Oscar, a doxie rescue in Los Angeles heard about him and requested that he begin his trip home with me.

When I dropped off Oscar, I realized that one of the cats had wet herself. Another cat had chewed a hole in his cardboard carrier and his big fat face was sticking out of it. I put out those fires and hopped back in the car on my way to Oakland.

A half hour later, after some scratching, meowing, hissing, and pawing, I saw a tiny little cat running around in the back of the car. This tiny little peanut of a kitten had chewed her way out of her carrier and was having some fun. First she pooped in the car, then she tormented the crated cats with her kitten antics. When we arrived in Oakland, we found that her brown tabby friend had vomited and pooped in his crate. I dropped off three cats in Oakland; a black kitten, a big black male, and a beautiful female Siamese.

After walking Cal and cleaning up all the disasters in the back seat, I was finally on my way home. I almost ran out of gas in Fremont, but I narrowly averted crisis. I got to the rescue in my hometown and dropped off the remaining three cats. I helped the rescuer wipe off the big 20-pound girl who had wet herself. Then I helped the little brown tabby boy settle in. He cried and stuck his face through his cage where he had to spend the night (the rescue is cageless but in order to allow new cats to settle in, they spend their first few nights in a cage). The big boy who'd chewed his face out of his carrier settled in well too, with a little bit of sneezing.

I got home and was completely spent. I haven't felt that tired in a while. But I saved 7 animals from euthanasia and that is a great feeling at the end of the day. And if you count Cal...8. Below are pictures of Cal with the new love of his life, his stuffed toy from Paula.