Monday, September 3, 2012

192 shelter cats

Lewis and I have a goal of giving comfort and lap time to 300 shelter cats this year. Our list so far consists of 192. We spend time with kitties to make their wait for a home more bearable. Lewis likes the playful ones and I am a magnet for the fearful or hard to adopt ones. We both love what we are doing and look forward to each visit. The goal is to make the kitties look forward to human interaction. It makes them more likely to be adopted if they are friendly and engage with  guests. Many of them have good social skills all ready and just want a comforting lap or a brushing and some love. Others need trust building and a patient trainer. Some kitties hate being there, but for  many it is a step up from where they were when they were brought in.

Each week on our drive over we discuss who might still be there and who might have gotten lucky and went to there forever home. There is nothing more gratifying than discovering one of kitties on your list is not in there cage when you arrive. It means they have connected with a human in a positive way and been given a second chance for a free and happy life.

 If you love animals please consider volunteering or donating to your local shelter. There is a cool dog walking program at Capital area Humane Society. After a short orientation you can walk a dog of your choice on a very nice trail out behind the facility.  The program is so popular that they expect each caged dog to be walked 3 times a day. What a wonderful thing for the  pups waiting to find their forever humans. The other great thing about being there is that you are surrounded by a small army of animal lovers.

We get way more out of it than we give, and it also demonstrates how one special needs guy can make a very positive impact on animals who are experiencing trauma.  At the same time, Lewis' life is so enriched by the experience and he knows he is achieving something wonderful. This is the foundation of what Downsy Dude Rescue Ranch Project is all about.



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