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Shelter News from Shorty the Cat's Point of View
Can Shorty Have his Cake and Eat it Too?
Hi! One, two, three, four five, six, seven, eight, nine... "Shorty, what are you doing?"
Good Grief, now I have to start over, my count's off, drats! I was trying to count the number of candles I needed for the shelter's birthday cake.
"Sorry Shorty, we didn't mean to interrupt. But as long as we're here, we can help - we can clean up any frosting that gets in your way."
No Sam, no Tiny, but thanks for the offer. (Besides if there is any frosting to be cleaned up that's my job. A guy's got to have a few perks, right?)
"Okay Shorty we won't bother you, we'll just supervise."
Okay but please be very quiet. One, two, three, four, five, six...
"Shorty is your column done?"
UGH, not again, I'll never get these candles counted, it's been one interruption after another (sigh). I want everything purrrfect for TLC's 28th birthday party.
"I know Shorty, it's a big day for us all, but first we have to get the newsletter out. Our biggest fundraiser of the year, RAFFLEMANIA, is around the corner, and with finances so tight this raffle has to be a BIG SUCCESS, and time is running out."
I know the raffle is important, but it's not until June 8th.
"That's right, Shorty, June 8th, but right now we don't have any prizes, and we must have the prizes guaranteed, in hand/paw at the Shelter by March 15th to allow for the tickets to be printed, and allow our friends enough time to sell them. So let's go in the office and get this done, and then we can enjoy the cake with everyone."
Ok, don't worry, I'll get the word out!
HEAR YE! HEAR YE!
THE SHELTER NEEDS RAFFLE PRIZES!
"Yes, Shorty, that's the ticket! And remind everyone that if they donate a prize, their names will be in the newsletter (unless requested to be anonymous). Maybe our friends could have their business or club donate a prize, that would be great!"
Purrrrsonally I think a truckload of canned cat food would be a great prize!
"Shorty, ugh good idea but I meant prizes more along the lines of something glamorous, like jewelry, or something exciting like a trip to Las Vegas, or something fun and entertaining, like a DVD player or in home theater sound system, and gift certificates for major department stores are always great, let your imagination run WILD! The only stipulation is, the prize must have a monetary value of at least $50.00, other than that the sky is he limit! It stands to reason, the nicer and more valuable the prize, the more chances we can sell, and the more chances sold, the more animals we can help! Think GLITZ, GLAMOUR, PIZZAZZ ,but a truckload of cat food was not exactly what we had in mind, since some of the folks buying chances don't have a pet."
We can remedy that, they can come to the shelter and adopt one.
"Good idea Shorty, but some people can't adopt a pet for one reason or another."
Then they could donate the food to the shelter, since we are running a little low.
"Shorty, I can read between the lines. We can ask our friends for donations of canned cat food and canned dog food. Anyway, since we've got the newsletter wrapped up now, let's go back and count those candles so we can enjoy that cake!"
There's the candles, but where's the cake?
BURRRPP
Oh no Sam you didn't! And Tiny is that frosting I see on your whiskers?
Shorty we cannot tell a lie, we ate it.
You ate what? Don't tell me you ate the whole cake? I knew I shouldn't have left the two of you alone with that cake!
It's like this, we were sitting there looking at the cake, as it got staler by the minute. We agreed nobody likes to eat stale cake, so we thought we were helping you by eating it, and see no mess, we licked up every last crumb!
Help like that I didn't need.
"Shorty don't worry, I'll run down to the bakery and get another cake, and you can count the candles while I'm gone."
Does that mean I can have my cake and eat it too?
"It sure does Shorty."
I've gotta run, I've got candles to count out!
Love, Shorty
P.S.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TLC!!
Caring Friends
We would like to thank these special friends of the shelter for the monies they raised in various ways to help provide care for the animals.
The 9 year old Rebecca Webb who wanted to help the animals and did it in a special way. For her birthday Rebecca asked for food and toys for the animals.
To Donna Holous and Annie Coleman for setting up a table on November 3rd at the Lemont Community Showcase. Donna and Annie distributed newsletters and pamphlets all about TLC, to inform area residents about the shelter.
Dr. Navin and staff at All Pets Hospital for holding a photo with Santa.
We want to thank all these caring people, a great big thanks, for going out of their way to help the animals!
Labor of Love
It was quite apparent that the little dog had not been cared for in a very long time, it was in deplorable condition, to put it mildly the dog was a matted mess. At first glance it was hard to tell one end from the other, and as odd as it may sound, it was even hard to determine whether the dog was a male or a female! No brush would be able to get through this mess, and we knew the only thing that could be done, was to strip her down, which would be time consuming and very tedious.Sue Rowe took on the monumental task. Sue spent hours, clipping away the mats that encased the little dog's body, and after some very careful trimming, we realized our little friend was a female, whom we decided to call Scruffy. After Sue clipped the hair from around the dog's eyes, we could see both of Scruffy's eyes were infected and needed medical treatment. Scruffy's skin was also red and irritated from all the dirt and debris that had been trapped under the thick mats of hair, so Sue gave her a medicated bath.
Throughout this entire ordeal, Scruffy never once went to growl or snap - it was apparent she appreciated Sue's labor of love.
Sue not only volunteers at the shelter on fridays, she is also part of the shelter's VIP program.
Seeking TLC History Buffs
I need your help, as keeper of the website, and now, TLC's official historian, I thought it would be interesting to have a complete history of TLC's past on line, but I have run into a snafu. While attempting to dig up past newsletters, i soon found out that back issues of TLC Paw Prints and Shorty's Shelter News were unavailable. Unfortunately, in TLC's early days, extra issues of the newsletters weren't kept due to lack of storage space. When TLC moved to its permanent home 22 years ago, the few newsletters available at the time were lost in the move.
I would like to create an archive of back issues of the newsletters, plus any other material that relates to the history of TLC. This would be useful to shelter personnel for reference, and an inspiration to see how far they've come from TLC's humble beginnings to today's beautiful facility. All of you who are savers and pack rats, please look through your files for back issues of TLC Paw Prints and Shorty's Shelter News, so we can preserve the shelter's history. If any of you have newsletters, news clippings or photos from TLC's founding to the present, and you would be willing to donate them to us or let us copy them, please contact the shelter during business hours or email me at contentment2@attbi.com. With your help a little bit of history can be preserved.
Photo is of Tiny reading a past issue of Shorty's Shelter news. Hmmmmm could he be critiquing Shorty's column?
Christmas Open House a Delight
I think everyone would have to agree, that this was one of the nicest Christmas Open Houses we have ever held! The shelter was decked out in all of its holiday finest, and a Christmas stocking hung on each and every cage waiting to be filled. The hospitality table was laden with goodies for everyone to enjoy thanks to P.J. Fitzgerald, Elaine Tryjczefka and Annie Coleman.This year as you can see in the picture Sandi O'Brien took, something new was added to the event. Holiday music filled the air thanks to Sue Rowe, Katie Down and Jennifer Smith playing their instruments - it was heavenly! We said we should have music like this every weekend since both the adopters and the animals obviously enjoyed it!
We ant to thank the many kind folks who dropped off goodies for the animals, including members of the Reavis High School Environmental Club, who came by school bus to personally deliver all the food and supplies they had collected. The students had been checking the TLC website out for several weeks and wanted to do something special for the animals, and what a pleasant surprize! Reavis High School is located in Burbank.
We hope everyone had as much fun as we did, and we want to thank everyone who helped fill the animals' stockings and the shelter's cupboards.
Environmental Club members: Amber Shelby, Marisol Barrbera, Allison Pepich, Elina Calvillo, Lissette Chavez, Merideth Anders, Stephanie Hennelly and their sponsors Sandra Bartolotta and Anne MacGlashan (sorry names aren't in the oreder that the club members are pictured). Photo courtesy of Vicki Tryjczefka
New Year, New Look at tlcanimalshelter.org
TLC has one of the nicest websites around thanks to our webmistress Sandi O'Brien, but Sandi is always looking for ways to improve the site, and make it more informative and enjoyable for everyone.If you haven't been to the site lately come take a look at what has been changed and what has been added. Sandi has added a special kids site (TLC Best Buddies) for youngsters and teens to enjoy, and add their own stories and comments to. I think all parents will be glad to see something their children can visit and not have to "worry" about what is there. Parents can also find recommendations on books and movies that are child and animal friendly. There are pictures that can be downloaded for your child to color, and polls for your child to cast their vote on. (For example do you think dogs are smarter than cats or vice versa.) And if your child would like to join the TLC kids club, they can even download their pet's picture to add to the site. We hope to see more kids join and add their input.
As for the website groupies and those looking for a pet to adopt, pictures of animals awaiting adoption are still being taken every friday by Sandi, along with information on the animal. Sandi has also included the reference number of each animal to make contacting us even easier if you want to get more information on one that you would like to adopt.
Sandi has added more pictures than we could ever put in our newsletters of things and events that go on at the shelter, and you can also read articles various newspapers have written about TLC. For those of you who cannot adopt a pet, but contribute to the shelter, you can see for yourself just how many animals your donations are providing care for!
So sit back, enjoy the site, it is fun, informative, and will keep you abreast of what is going on at TLC.
P.S.: I think we should all give Sandi a big round of applause for the great work she is doing! (Picture is of Sandi and Corey Carter positioning pup for the weekly website photo shoot. Picture courtesy of Vicki Tryjczefka.)
Where Are You?
Moving? Please let us know your new address, so we can keep Paw Prints and Shorty's Shelter News coming your way. When we get mail returned, with "moved" written on it, there is not much else we can do but to remove your name from our mailing list. Hope you would miss us as much as we miss you! Don't let that happen, drop us a line with your new address or jot it down when sending your donation in for our furry friends.
Cookbook for Pets could be in the offing with your help
Many of you are familiar with Volume I and Volume II of Cooking with TLC, filled with recipes for our human friends, but this time we would like to compile a cookbook with food and treats you can make for your pets! This would be a good fundraiser for the shelter, and something many animal lovers would like to have.
If you would like to contribute recipes, you may send them to the shelter at our mailing address, or email them to Sandi O'Brien at contentment2@attbi.com. Please do not send us your one and only copy of your recipe, as they cannot be returned.
And for those of you who don't have Volume I and II and would like to have them, Please send $13.00 for each book to our mailing address. They would make great gifts for Mothers Day which is right around the corner.