Quick Update
Went to Savannah Tuesday and Wednesday with Jim. Stayed at a great B&B The Green Palm Inn. It was my first time in Savannah. Bumbled around seeing the area on Tuesday and had dinner at jazz'd tapas bar. We wandered around a bit more on Wednesday and drove out to Tybee Island for a quick look see. We had to get back to River Street by 2:15 to catch our boat for a dolphin watching cruise. That was a lot of fun. We saw a lot of active dolphins. After a couple of hours out on the water, it was back to land and then the drive back home. It was a short getaway, but a much-needed one.
I took yesterday off from the shelter since Jim was working Friday, Sunday, and Monday this week. It's been so long since I didn't spend Saturday at the shelter, I kept thinking it was Sunday the entire day. I was all discombobulated. I did go drop off some donations to the Humane Society Thrift Shoppe and then swung by the Humane Society shelter down the street just to check it out. The more shelters I visit, the more I realize just how good my cats at Jacksonville Animal Care & Control have it these days. They've got much nicer cages and, of course, the beds and toys that I make for them. They have real litter boxes and just have much nicer environments. The cats up for adoption at the other shelters I have visited are all in cages like JAC&C has their holding/stray cats in (but even our cats in holding have little pillow beds that Margie and I sew for them). It's always good to visit other shelters. I usually come away with more appreciation for what we do have in Jacksonville. JAC&C is FAR from ideal. The shelter was built to hold 450 animals. As we take in 150 - 200 animals a day, we usually have closer to 700 animals at the shelter on any given day. Any other shelter I have visited has FAR fewer animals than that. So, I feel like when considering the volume in Jacksonville, it's actually pretty good in comparison. Every day is another opportunity to improve just a little bit more and I have seen a LOT of improvement over the last year. Today I was able to complete four more cat beds and start a new batch of catnip pouches. By the time I get there next Saturday I should have doubled the number of beds and have another 30 pouches done.
I'm so happy when I walk into the cat room and see them all resting comfortably in their beds. When I started volunteering there, they didn't have any beds. They had just a pillowcase or something like that on one of their shelves. This would lead to cats laying in their litter boxes. Who wants to adopt a cat that's sleeping in its litter box? They didn't have anything to scratch. Now they all have scratchers. And they certainly didn't have anyone to groom them. I have a grooming table with all sorts of grooming tools up there. I wish they were all in foster homes, but if they have to be in a shelter, their situation is definitely much better than it was a year ago. Gotta feel good about the things that CAN be done.
OK, that's all for now. Gotta get to bed.
I took yesterday off from the shelter since Jim was working Friday, Sunday, and Monday this week. It's been so long since I didn't spend Saturday at the shelter, I kept thinking it was Sunday the entire day. I was all discombobulated. I did go drop off some donations to the Humane Society Thrift Shoppe and then swung by the Humane Society shelter down the street just to check it out. The more shelters I visit, the more I realize just how good my cats at Jacksonville Animal Care & Control have it these days. They've got much nicer cages and, of course, the beds and toys that I make for them. They have real litter boxes and just have much nicer environments. The cats up for adoption at the other shelters I have visited are all in cages like JAC&C has their holding/stray cats in (but even our cats in holding have little pillow beds that Margie and I sew for them). It's always good to visit other shelters. I usually come away with more appreciation for what we do have in Jacksonville. JAC&C is FAR from ideal. The shelter was built to hold 450 animals. As we take in 150 - 200 animals a day, we usually have closer to 700 animals at the shelter on any given day. Any other shelter I have visited has FAR fewer animals than that. So, I feel like when considering the volume in Jacksonville, it's actually pretty good in comparison. Every day is another opportunity to improve just a little bit more and I have seen a LOT of improvement over the last year. Today I was able to complete four more cat beds and start a new batch of catnip pouches. By the time I get there next Saturday I should have doubled the number of beds and have another 30 pouches done.
I'm so happy when I walk into the cat room and see them all resting comfortably in their beds. When I started volunteering there, they didn't have any beds. They had just a pillowcase or something like that on one of their shelves. This would lead to cats laying in their litter boxes. Who wants to adopt a cat that's sleeping in its litter box? They didn't have anything to scratch. Now they all have scratchers. And they certainly didn't have anyone to groom them. I have a grooming table with all sorts of grooming tools up there. I wish they were all in foster homes, but if they have to be in a shelter, their situation is definitely much better than it was a year ago. Gotta feel good about the things that CAN be done.
OK, that's all for now. Gotta get to bed.