Easy Reader

In the wake of the tragedy that befel the citizens of and visitors to New Orleans recently, I’ve been amazed at the amount of support and kindness being shown to the survivors (Barbara Bush’s comments notwithstanding). Help has come from the likely places as well as some unlikely ones and I am sure most of you have already donated money, blood and possibly even a room or two in your house/apartment. While a good deal of assistance is still needed for our fellow humans, there are others in need too: their displaced pets.

I received an email from a friend in Florida who has agreed to take in two dogs that made it through OK, but there are thousands more animals that need temporary homes, be they in kennels, animal boarding houses, veterinarian’s offices, animal shelters, foster homes or rescue programs.

From what I understand, there are all breeds of dogs and cats in need of our help. Some are in family groups of 2, 3 and 4 while others are solo. And there are volunteers willing to drive them to you, no matter where you live. The current safe houses for these animals are being inundated and some of these pets will have to be euthanized if they are not moved to make room for the incoming animals.

If you are interested in taking in a dog or cat (or know someone who is), contact Lynda V. on her cell: 203-515-3024 or at home: 203-227-5308 at any time (day or night).

While in Joliet, Il for the WOW Tour, Molly and I ate a few times at the Cracker Barrel across from our hotel. If you’ve ever been in one, you’ve likely experienced the sensory overload that is the store separating the front door from the restaurant. It’s mostly junk, but occasionally you find a gem. I was not really looking for a gem when I decided to pick up How to Toilet-Train Your Cat: 21 Days to a Litter-Free Home as a joke for Kel. You see, our cats have been extremely defiant of late, leaving little presents on the new mattress we just bought from Ikea, so I thought the book might inject some levity into our normally curse-riddled conversations on the matter.

Much to my surprise, Kelly got really into it and she has now embarked on a crusade to “potty train” our two cats. We’d always laughed when we saw other cats do it in movies (most memorably Meet the Parents). I never thought we’d be able to get our cats to follow suit. Some of the information the book provides (beyond the training itself) is remarkable… if you are a cat person or simply interested in how domestication affects a species, it seems worth a read.

Anyway, in ≈19 days we should be litter free and we can start worrying about accidentally interrupting a kitty reading the morning paper. Should be pretty interesting.

So for my birthday, Kel surprised me with a slip of paper. It was a printed copy of the email she received from a local greyhound adoption group talking about needing to place nearly 300 dogs in new homes (a nearby greyhound racetrack had closed). She said we could get one if I wanted one.

I’ve had two greyhounds in my life, both when I was living in Florida. As much as I loved the dogs, I lost both of them tragically and I am not sure I am ready to go that route again.

My first greyhound was Protocol (his racing name). Best we could figure is that he was deaf because he was retired after two races (he never chased the mechanical rabbit) and never seemed to react when you spoke to him. He was aloof and skittish (perhaps because of the deafness or the maltreatment most greyhounds endure on the racing circuit), but an otherwise friendly dog. When we were out of town visiting relatives, we boarded him with the person we adopted him from (the leader of the local rescue). While she was in the backyard with he and her other greyhounds, he apparently jumped a 4-foot fence from a sitting position and ran off. My step-father found him dead on the highway later that week. We’d only had him a few months, but it was heart-wrenching.

The woman who was taking care of him felt horrible and worked to find us another greyhound. We fell in love with Fifi (Firefly was her track name). She was probably around 4 or 5 when she was retired (she had a pretty long run, so I am told) and we brought her home. She was a wonderful dog. She was always so happy to spend time with us and followed us from room to room. It was obvious she was so happy to have a family to love and who loved her back. She was with us for nearly 8 years before her kidneys gave out on her (most likely a result of the steroids they dope the racing dogs with). I came home from college to be with her and could see her suffering. She was all swollen and in such pain she could barely move. We asked our vet if we could take her home so she could be euthanized in a familiar place.

Watching Fifi die was terrible. I’ve had several pets die since her, but few have had the same impact. I don’t know if I can adopt another greyhound right now, because I know I could end up going through the same thing again.

So I am faced with the question of whether I want another dog at all. There are a few breeds that I like (pugs, blue heelers, huskies), but I am not sure what is best for us. We have a nice size home with a small, but decent-sized yard. Of greater concern to me is our two cats and the state of our furniture. I really don’t want a dog that’s going to chew on stuff or get him or herself into a lot of trouble while we’re out.

What are your thoughts?