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Shelter News from Shorty the Cat's Point of View (the cat about town)
Happy Birthday TLC and may the best Cat Win!
Hi!
Should we tell everyone that TLC is proudly
celebrating it's 33rd birthday or would it be better to say TLC is celebrating it's 33rd anniversary? I am really in a quandary, which as my people friends would say is "politically correct"?
I think we should say it's the Shelter's 33rd birthday, Shorty.
I was thinking that too Sam, but then a certain someone, who helped to start TLC, says she feels so old when anyone says the shelter is celebrating it's 33rd birthday. She said in almost disbelief, "Oh my has it been that long?" "The years just seemed to fly by."
There certainly isn't any reason she should feel old, after all she told me she was 10 years old when TLC was initially conceived.
Sam, if you believe that, then I have a bridge I would like to sell you. I think when she said that, she was only teasing you. People are so funny about this age thing, I remember when one of the guys here celebrated the same birthday two years in a row.
Shorty, didn't anyone tell him he was wrong?
No, everyone figured why tell him about it. If he was happy being the same age two years in a row why spoil it for him. Heehee!
I have an idea, let's call Sandi since she is going to decorate the cake and see what she is going to write on the top of it.
Good idea Sam!
Wow! Thirty three years, I think that calls for a big celebration!
No Sam, our people friends said they did not want a big party, and that the money that would be spent on a party could be put to a much better use.
Does that mean we should tell Sandi to forget about the cake? Sigh.........and I had such a taste for cake slurrrrrpppf
You are like one of Pavlov's dogs, any mention of food and you drool.
I know what you're going to say, another case of dogs drool and cats rule.
Sam I wasn't even thinking that but now that you mention it, you are so right. What I was going to say is that, if people want to, they could donate money to the Bertha Fund in honor of the Shelter's Red Letter Day.
Good idea!
Now Sam, I have to get the word out to all of my fellow felines about the walkathon. I was so disappointed that not one cat was entered last year, for any of the events.
Heehee us dogs may have drooled but we sure ruled that day!
You don't have to rub it in Sam.
Sorry Shorty, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or make you feel bad. I just meant, we had so much fun last year it was a shame all of your feline buddies missed out. Maybe if I tell them about all of the fun things we did, that might make your buddies want to enter.
You have a good point Sam. How will they know what they missed out on if somebody doesn't tell them.
And who better to tell them than me, so here goes! Even waiting for the walkathon to begin was fun, as lots of barking dogs gave one another a getting to know you sniff. Along the route we noticed many things to stop and smell.
Sam, I really don't think your rendition of a good time will entice many cats to enter.
Just let me finish, Shorty, It gets better.
I sure hope so.
About a mile and a half into the walk some of us started to drool, so we decided to jump in the creek and cool off and..........
Stop! Enough already! How will a bunch of drooling wet dogs shaking the water off of themselves attract any cat to come to the walkathon? UGH!
I was just trying to help.
I better just to do it my way.
Calling all cats! Let's show these dogs that cats truly rule, and sweep all of the events at this years walkathon.
Shorty, You're on!
Okay Sam, and may the best cat win! Well, I better run I think Sandi wants my input on how to decorate the cake, and if I'm lucky she will give me a sampling of frosting!
Love,
Shorty
PS. CONGRATULATIONS TLC for 33 years of caring! You're the best!
TLC is Celebrating 33 Years of Caring!
From left to Right Shirley Boylan, Pat Boylan, and the little girl on the far right is Candace Kent. (We should have put the names on the back of the picture but forgot to, so if anyone knows the identity of the other little girl please let us know, we think her first name is Adair.)
Can you guess what was going on in this picture taken nearly 30 years ago?
A. Planting the Shelter's garden
B. Digging for buried treasure
C. An Adults vs Kids Earth Digging Contest
D. Ground breaking for TLC's permanent home
Ready for the answer? If you picked D, you are correct! This was one of the happiest days in TLC's history, when we acquired the land to enable us to build TLC's forever home. A home that would become a haven for thousands of animals throughout these years, so much better than the run down building we rented with it's faulty furnace, rundown kennels, and let us not forget the tin can lids nailed to the wall to close up rat holes ..... I think you get the picture. We are very proud of our Shelter as I know so many of you are, and we receive compliments every week from people coming in to adopt or just see what TLC is about.
We want to take this time to thank all of our old friends who have been there to help out and watch the shelter grow and also to all of our new friends who want to see the shelter grow. We predict many more good things in store for TLC in the future, and want to thank each and every one of you who have made all of this possible.
So, let's blow out those birthday candles and make a wish for TLC's continued growth and a wonderful future!
Hi,
Just wanted to share another happy ending that started with TLC. On December 15, 2005 I came to TLC on one of my many visits to look. I had both my sister and aunt who were interested in getting a pet for my son, and decided to look and see what was available. Upon arrival to TLC, as always I entered the cat room to see the current occupants. What first caught my eye was a gray long furred paw sticking out between the cage bars, as if waiting for a handshake. As I viewed the other occupants, yet another grey paw came out between the cage bars in the same manner. When I reached the cage I saw the most beautiful little female kitten I have ever laid eyes on!!! Her name was Isabelle. What caught my attention was not only her beautiful long grey fur, but the most sparkling green eyes I had ever seen. I was a little leery at first about spending some time with her, my being allergic to cats, but I just could not help it, something about her was too much to ignore. After about five minutes in the "getting to know you room", I was climbed on, had a tail waved in my face more times than I could count, all the whole constantly being purred to, with NO ALLERGIC REACTIONS AT ALL! After going through the adoption process I brought her home, and waited for my son to come home from school. From the moment he walked in the door, she attached herself to him like super glue. Belle followed him around the house like a little puppy, slept (and still does) at the foot of his bed. The two of them have been inseparable, she even watches him through the window when he walks across the street to go to school. I know I have been going on and on, but I have been so pleased with the entire experience, I just had to share it. I am constantly looking at the updates on the site and considering another playmate for both my son and Belle.
Thank you TLC for everything.
Debi De Pass
Excerpts from "A Cat's Guide to Human Beings"
We hope you get a chuckle out of this little tongue in cheek satire submitted by Sandi O'Brien, who is an avid cat lover.So you have decided to get yourself a human being. In doing so, you've joined the millions of other cats who have acquired these strange and often frustrating creatures. There will be any number of times, during the course of your association with humans, when you will wonder why you have bothered to grace them with your presence.
What's so great about humans anyway? Why not just hang around with other cats? Our greatest philosophers have struggled with this question for centuries, but the answer is actually rather simple: They have opposable thumbs. Which makes them the perfect tools for such tasks as opening doors, getting the lids off of cat food cans, changing television stations and other activities that we, despite our other obvious advantages, find difficult to do ourselves. Chimps, orangutans, and lemurs also have opposable thumbs, but they are nowhere as easy to train.
How and when to get your human's attention. Humans erroneously assume that there are other, more important activities than taking care of your immediate needs, such as conducting business, spending time with their families or even sleeping.
Though this is dreadfully inconvenient, you can make this work to your advantage by pestering your human at the moment it is the busiest. It is usually so flustered that it will do whatever you want it to do, just to get you out of its hair... not coincidentally, human teenagers follow this same practice.
Here are some tried and true methods of getting your human to do what you want. Sitting on paper: an oldie but goodie. If a human has paper in front of it, chances are good it's something they assume is more important that you. They will often offer you a snack to lure you away. Establish your supremacy over this wood pulp product at every opportunity. This practice also works well with computer keyboards, remote controls, car keys and small children.
Waking your human at odd hours: A cat's "golden time" is between 3:30 and 4:30 in the morning. If you paw at your human's sleeping face during this time, you have a better than even chance that it will get up and, in an incoherent haze, do exactly what you want. You may actually have to scratch deep sleepers to get their attention; remember to vary the scratch site to keep the human from getting suspicious.
Punishing your human being: Sometimes despite your best training efforts, your human will stubbornly resist bending to your whim. In these extreme circumstances, you may have to punish your human. Obvious punishments such as scratching furniture or eating household plants, are likely to backfire; the unsophisticated humans are likely to misinterpret the activities and then try to discipline YOU. Instead, we offer these subtle but nonetheless effective alternatives: use the cat box during an important formal dinner. Stare impassively at your human while it is attempting a romantic interlude. Stand over an important piece of electronic equipment and feign a hairball attack. After your human has watched a particularly disturbing horror film, stand by the hall closet and then slowly back away, hissing and yowling. While your human is sleeping, lie on its face.
Rewarding your human. Should your gift still be alive: The cat world is divided over the etiquette of presenting humans with the thoughtful gift of a recently disemboweled animal. Some believe that humans prefer these gifts already dead, while others maintain that humans enjoy a slowly expiring cricket or rodent just as much as we do, given their jumpy and playful movements in picking the creatures up after they've been presented. After much consideration of the human psyche, we recommend the following: cold blooded animals (large insects, frogs, lizards, garden snakes and the occasional earthworm) should be presented dead, while warm blooded animals (birds, rodents, your neighbor's Pomeranian) are better still living. When you see the expression on your human's face, you'll know it's worth it.
How long should you keep your human? You are only obligated to your human for one of your lives. The other eight are up to you. We recommend mixing and matching, though in the end, most humans (at least the ones that are worth living with) are pretty much the same. But what do you expect? They're humans after all. Opposable thumbs will only take you so far.
Fun fun fun was had once again at the Cosmic Candlelight Bowl
It was an evening of fun, fun, fun, for everyone attending TLC's 5th annual Cosmic Candlelight Bowl, at the Strike and Spare II Bowling Alley in Lockport. All 38 lanes were filled with fellow animal lovers, having a great evening. We want to thank everyone who volunteered and helped make the evening a success including: Annie Coleman, Josh and Michele Chalifoux, Mary Ann, Mark and Amy Lukas, Donna Holous, Denny Carter, Paula Bickle, Keith Miller, Vicki Tryjefaczka, Alayson Solie, April Molina, Brandy Gergescz, Dan Zak, Casey Carter and Gary Tippet.Besides two split the pots, we had a number of great raffle prizes donated including a Husky Air Scout Air Compressor donated by the Endebak Family, The Next Generation George Foreman Grill donated by the Endebak Family, a Black & Decker Home Cafe donated by Jo Ann Folkie and Erika Enguita, Pampered Dog Basket donated by Jake's House of Kibble, Cat Lover's Basket donated by Leslee Ala, Dog Lover's Basket by Leslee Ala, Basket full of Jaegermeister and Jaegermeister items donated by Erika and Brian Enguita, Basket filled with Corazon and Corazon items donated by Erika and Brian Enguita, a wine basket donated by Erika and Brian Enguita and a Farber Ware Millenium 6 quart Slow Cooker donated by Bonnie Reinhart. We wish to thank all of the above mentioned people for their generosity. We also want to thank Park Graphic's for donating the printing of the tickets for the event.
Next year's Cosmic Candlelight Bowl is already booked so mark your calendar for Saturday February 16th, 2008. A perfect way to spend an evening with your special Valentine.
Let me tell you about the birds and the bees...
it's that time of year when love is in the air, which means if your pet is not spayed there is a good chance she could get pregnant. But it takes two to tango and one unneutered dog or cat can impregnate numerous females... end result a bumper crop of kittens and puppies... puppies and kittens that may never find a home. If you love your pet, do it a favor and have it spayed or neutered.