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![]() Shelter News from Shorty the Cat's Point of View (the cat about town) |
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Shorty for President Hi! ![]() "Shorty what's going on here? Why is the office filled with all these banners and posters saying Shorty for President? Please say it's all a bad dream, and when I awake all this stuff will be gone, just a figment of my imagination." I can explain everything.... "I think an explanation is definitely in order! I go out of town for a couple of days, leaving you in charge, and what do you do, turn my office into your campaign center! On top of it, just a few minutes ago the phone rings, and someone is asking me to confirm the number of campaign buttons we're ordering! What made you decide on the spur of the moment you should run for the presidency?" I'm sorry, I meant to tell you but..... Well as long as things are out in the open, I can feel free to ask you if you could help help me put up campaign posters all over, and I'll also need help passing out my campaign buttons. I'll be so busy greeting people, signing photographs, and kissing babies, that I won't be able to do it all by myself. "Shorty, Whoa! Buttons, banners, flyers, kissing babies, hold on there you can't run for president!" Humph! Give me one good reason why not. You can't use the flimsy excuse that cats can't run for office, because if you remember, Morris went on the campaign trail in 1988. "That's true but Morris had TV ads and newspaper ads that a well renowned cat food company paid for. As it stands right now, your name isn't even on the ballot." Not a problem, I am counting on the write in vote. "Ok, so you have that part figured out but what major issues do you hope to address, if you were elected?" I think I have a very good agenda. I believe what the animals in this country need, is a leader that cares also about animals' needs and problems. If I'm elected, I would like to amend the Constitution, and add to it the "Animals Bill of Rights" which would include freedom from cruel and inhumane treatment, freedom from being used in laboratory experiments, freedom from being overworked ie livery horses, (and although the following issues aren't as weighty, they are important to my fellow cat and dog constituents). Freedom to go to the refrigerator to get whatever you would like to eat whenever you feel like it, freedom to sit on the comfiest chair of the house..... "Okay Shorty, you don't have to go any further. I'll be the first to admit that you have a carefully thought out platform, and for the most part your ideas are very good." Then, can I count on your vote? And while you're at it why not practice addressing me as Mr. President, I like the way it sounds. "Okay Mr. President, if you go to Washington, what are we going to do without you at TLC?" I hadn't thought about that. I know the country will continue to run even if I am not Commander in Chief, but I'm not sure the shelter could run without me being there. "Shorty you have a point, without you the shelter just would not be the same, but if you were to become President, the country would never be the same." Hmmm, I don't know if that was a compliment or a put down. "Definitely a compliment Shorty. Oh before I forget, Sam's been looking for you, something about a photo shoot, where she gives you a big kiss, to help get the dog and the dog lovers vote." Uhoh! I forgot to tell her the photo shoot was cancelled. I better get going before she sees me! Slurrrrrrp! Too late, I've been slimed! Kissing babies isn't bad, but ugh dog lips! On second thought, politics isn't everything I thought it would be, and honestly I have enough to do running the shelter. I think for the time being I'll leave politics alone. Thank goodness, no more dog lips! Love, Shorty PS If you're going to bake for the craft show please don't forget to bring me a sample, as I am the official taste tester. Somebody has to do it, and I am willing to make that sacrifice for the shelter and my country. "SHORTY!" Uhoh gotta run! Note: some of you may remember this article from 4 years ago, but being it's an election year, a couple people thought it was quite funny and suggested we run it again. For our new friends enjoy, and for our old friends we hope you still get a chuckle out of it. If you're wondering what Shorty was doing this issue, he was watching paint dry, but that's another whole story. Happy Endings Your concern for these homeless animals and your donations have helped make these happy endings possible. Happy endings that might have never been possible if it weren't for you! Ali's Story ![]() Now she is a very happy and spoiled girl that loves attention and having her photo taken. (Spoiled? Ali even appears to have her own pumpkin!) Not only are we happy that we were able to adopt her, we have many thanks and praise to offer the people that run the shelter. Words cannot express how much Ali means to us. Thank you very much Shawn, Shar and Ali Hill Riley and Sam's Happy Ending ![]() So off we went to TLC to find the perfect kitten for our family. There were many cats and kittens there but two cats in one cage were especially captivating to us. We asked if we could see both of them out in order to decided which one we would take (at that time, we didn't know they were siblings). I didn't want to split the pair, after all we came in to adopt only one, and I was the adult there that had to put my foot down. I tried to disconnect from them saying I wanted to look at another kitten. When the TLC staff member came back to bring us a different kitten, I said we would take them both! We love them both very much. Riley follows Mallory pretty much every where she goes. He even sits on the ledge of the bathtub when she takes a shower. He is mischievous and playful everything Mallory had hoped for, while Sammy is everything Jake had wanted. She is very affectionate and likes to get as close to your face as possible. She always likes to jump up on our bed to say "good night" and "good morning" but at night she goes to sleep with Jake. We will take good care of them, and never ever give them away. Once we commit to an animal in our family, they are in our home for life. Thank you for sharing these beautiful, wonderful, sweet kitties with us! The Furey Family Distemper Outbreak It came as quite a surprise to hear that Chicago's Animal Control Facility had decided not to adopt out any dogs due to an outbreak of canine distemper. There had been 60 confirmed cases of the deadly disease. Although distemper has always been around, we have not seen an outbreak like this in over 30 years due to more dog owners making sure their dog was vaccinated against the disease. The virus has not been isolated to the Chicagoland area alone, two facilities in the suburbs that voluntarily put a moratorium on taking in any more dogs due to the virus. The origin of this outbreak has not yet been determined. Raccoons can also carry the canine distemper virus, and a few in a local village were found to have had the disease, and subsequently died from it, there may be a connection. Our advise to dog owners, is to keep their pet up on his vaccinations. Don't let your dog come in contact with any stray dogs in your area. When walking your dog, don't let him sniff other animals excrement, and keep your yard picked up of animal waste, (raccoon waste looks similar to dogs waste), which is another way the disease can be spread. Fortunately, canine distemper cannot be spread to cats. If you see a sick animal in your area, contact your local animal control for assistance. CANS for CRITTERS We are still collecting aluminum cans. A load is taken in about once a month by trailer, on the average netting $200.00! We appreciate people taking the time to save the cans and drop them off. But please no garbage, plastic or glass bottles, or tin cans. The recycling center does not accept these things which means we have to sort through them, taking precious time away from caring for the animals. Halloween's Ghosts and Goblins may be too much for our pets. ![]() Leave Halloween night to the ghosts and goblins and keep your pet safely confined to a quiet area of the house, until the last "little goblin" has gone home. Someone you Should Know: Brandy Gergescz ![]() Brandy has been setting up the auctions for TLC, since mid August, and she has raised over $450.00 for the shelter! Fantastic! Brandy's husband Dave, also an animal lover, gets into the act too, by helping Brandy bring them to the post office. We can use more items for the auction, antiques, collectibles, jewelry, etc. if you would like to donate item please give us a call. The Ebay auction site offers a wide variety of items, that attracts buyers from all over the world, as a matter of fact the first item sold on the TLC auction went all the way to Japan! To find the TLC auction site, got to the TLC website (type in www.tlcanimalshelter.org) then click on the Ebay logo and it will take you right to the TLC auction site! It's that easy! Thanks again Brandy! CAR WASH ![]() Special thanks to..... Jennifer Ward and her canine buddy Diamond and Claire Conrath and her canine buddies Bernie and Missy for teaching the children at the Lemont Safety Village how to act safely around animals. They did a great job and deserve a big round of applause! |