Shorty's Christmas Lament
I looked at the desk, I looked at the floor"Nothing accomplished, nothing done,
I had tried to make presents for everyone.
For all the good folks who have showed they care
For T.L.C. and all the animals there.
Just saying thank you seems hardly enough,
for all they have done, and all the wonderful stuff...
They made sure we are warm
and not out scrounging a meal
How can two simple words
explain how I feel?
How can a simple thank you begin to say
Just what I feel in my heart today?
I wanted to make each of them
something special it's true,
and now here I am with just
a simple thank you."
Shorty don't worry, it will be all right
Just being you brings people delight
For many people just the giving
is a gift in itself
It makes them feel good,
kind of like Santa's elf!
When they give to the shelter,
they give from the heart,
They are a special breed of people,
that stand apart.
They know the animals can't say thank you
or give in return,
Yet these folks keep on giving
its not glory they yearn.
So maybe to some, it's just a simple thank you
But we truly appreciate all that you do!
love, Shorty
Uh Uhh!
Do you hear what I hear?
Sure enough from the distance and not yet in
sight
I think I hear sleigh bells breaking through the still night!
Santa is coming! But one more thing before I run.....
"I want to wish the merriest of holidays to everyone!"
Rules of Etiquette for inexperienced cats
Thought you might enjoy this little tidbit we ran across in a Dear Abby Column recently. Of course I had to add my personal commentary which you will note is in italics!If you have an upset stomach get into a chair quickly. If you cannot manage this in time, get to an Oriental rug, or shag is good.
*Or for real attention pick a counter top....you want everyone to know your tummy is upset!
Determine quickly which guest hates cats. Sit on their lap during the evening. He or she won't dare push you off, and will even call you "nice kitty". lf you can arrange to have cat food on your breath all the better.
*Then make sure to keep rubbing your chin on their face, and purrrr with delight! By the end of the evening you will have either made a friend, or they will not return, which means you will have your favorite chair back!
For sitting on laps or rubbing against trouser legs, select colors that contrast with your own.
*Hardly a person leaves the shelter without knowing that they have been touched by non other than me!
Always accompany guests to the bathroom. It is not necessary to do anything, just sit there and stare.
*Never could see what all the fuss was about, I can carry on a good conversation anywhere, why stop just because duty calls!
For guests who say, "I just love kitties," be ready with a look of disdain, claws applied to stockings or a quick nip at the ankle.
*The ones that really mean it will think you are playing and love you all the more, and the ones that are just saying it for the benefit ofyour people friends well... need I say more?
Do not allow closed doors in any room. To get one open, stand on your hind legs and hammer with forepaws. Once the door is opened for you, it is not necessary to use it. You can change your mind.
*Okay guys what is everybody laughing at?
When you have ordered an outside door open, stand half in and half out and think about several things. This is very important during very cold weather, or mosquito season.
*Just one more good reason not to let your cat out to begin with!
If one person is busy and the other is idle, sit with the busy one.
*Well, the more helping hands or paws the better right?
For book readers, get in close under the chin,
*you might even flick your tail a time or two that always works for me
unless you can lie across the book itself
*Yes that is by far the better of the two methods if you want to get your humans attention, it works every time!
For ladies knitting, curl up quietly into the lap and pretend to doze. Then reach out and slap knitting needles sharply. This is what is called dropping a stitch. She will try to distract you. Ignore it.
*This is a fun game!
For people doing homework, sit on the paper being worked on. After being removed for the second time, HUMPH push anything movable off the table - pens, pencils, stamps - one a time
*This is especially fun to do when the canine in the house is sleeping below!
Get enough sleep during the daytime so you can be fresh for playing between 2 and 4 a.m. !
*There is nothing quite as much fun as a good game of pounce! You sit patiently watching for the first movement...yes that's the ticket go for the toes, a little pawing at them at first, to make them wiggle a little more, then when the time isjust right, POUNCE!! You will see your people friend get into the game too when they jump a foot in the air. Usually they are so awake at that point they go into the kitchen and get a late night snack. Then you quickly make your move, taking over that nice warm spot on the bed! But a word to the wise, be careful not to play this game on a nightly basis or your people friends will get wise. Take this from an experienced player. My people friend got wise and instead of just going to the kitchen for a late night snack he would revvvv up the can opener and call "oh Shorty" ... Sensing a fine snack awaiting I rushed to the kitchen only to have something whoosh past so fast it made my head spin! In disbelief I watched as my people friend literally pounced into bed! Hey! hey! You stole my spot! Well, I have all the time in the world, I can wait...then it is all out attack no holds barred!
Craft Show Update!
We know you are all anxious to find out how the craft show went, especially you folks that generously gave of your time and talents to make and bake things for the event, and all ofyou who made that extra effort to come out and buy! But as we speak at this time, the newsletter is at the printers, in order to be ready for the holiday mailing. We will have an update for you in the 1999 winter issue, sorry for the delay but it will give you something to look forward to!
SHORTY'S SNEAK PREVIEW !
We know you are anxious to hear about the construction and how it is going. But first, I have to give my people friends a pat on the back for managing to keep the shelter open even through all the commotion, and also to all the construction workers who have managed to work around things! Things did get a little stressful at times, which caused my people friends to pace the floor, and say things that are not taught in English 101! I noticed the regular size bottle of aspirin had run out and been replaced by the large economy size!
Anyway I know nothing about zoning, building codes, or building inspectors, but every time my people friends mentioned that I saw a large bottle of aspirin come out of the drawer! Then I would see the inspector scribble something on a paper that was hanging in the window, and my people friends would breathe a big sigh of relief! Then when the concrete was supposed to be poured, the weather decided not to cooperate. It seemed like every day they wanted to pour the footings and foundation it rained. To make things worse an unexpected storm filled the excavated area in with water, so what the inspector saw the next morning looked like a swimming pool. The inspector took one look and jotted down one word: denied! We finally got past that point, and were told that the septic system would need to be inspected before we could go any further. Uhoh! The past year or so the septic system had been acting up, something that pumping it out didn't solve, so they had another unexpected bill to add to the cost of construction. See guys I told you litter pans are better! At least it would have saved a few thousand dollars. No one appreciated my suggestion.
Before long the bricklayers were there, and had the walls up in no time at all. They installed all the glass block windows that were made up and donated by Hardy Glass Block, things were finally starting to take shape. Now on to the roof!
As Murphy's law would have it, the new roof was to be constructed and the old roof and ceilings were to be taken down from the inside, those were the game plans....wrong! The dogs seemed to be enjoying it but my people friends gasped, when they saw the dogs looking up at the clear blue sky! I didn't see why my people friends were so upset, the weather was nice, and the sky way gorgeous that day, but out came that bottle of aspirin again!
Anyway the workmen really hustled and had the rafters up and the roof sheeted before nightfall.
Now from the inside it was alot of same old same old. The transformation could not really be felt until that inside wall came down. Luckily it was another beautifUl day so the dogs could be outside (had it not been my people friends were going to board the dogs at a local kennel for the day). The walls came down and it was unbelievable! I had to rub my eyes, because I thought I had been dreaming! The room, the light, even though we were now in a very roughed out stage, we could see it would be beautiful!
We were all very excited now, and were anxious to see the walls up. We looked at the roughed in plumbing and checked as the walls were erected....ahem and changed. I have one people friend (names not to be mentioned) that thinks there is nothing that can't be moved. If she wants 2 feet taken off a masonry wall two feet is coming off that wall.... and it did! But I have to admit she was right, it made all the difference in the size of the room. Our carpenter was very patient, and knowing that a certain somebody wanted things just so, built a frame for a wall, but did not anchor it to the floor in case it had to be moved......and it was. This time it was the carpenter asked for the aspirin!
We were truly amazed at the change. The kennels were now moved to the new area, the bathroom, isolation room and storage area were all studded out. The furnace room was ready and the new furnace and cooling coil that C&S Heating and cooling Inc was ready to be installed.
Then there is one more small room my people friends had framed out. Naturally I asked what that was going to be, and was told that it would be a lunchroom for the volunteers where they can grab a quick lunch, without being bothered. Gee, I hope that doesn't pertain to me! I mean I thought when you left your sandwich on the desk you didn't mind if I sampled it. I don't know if I'm going to like this idea!
We know if you come in now to view it, you will still be seeing it in the rough, but you are more than welcome to. We plan on having a ribbon cutting this spring with the finished Phase II part competed, and you will all be invited to attend!
Shorty's Shelter Wish List
Two Special banks of cages for small dogs, that would be placed in the newly redone and enlarged kennel. First off it would give us cats more room in the present cat room, and secondly it sure would save my ear drums when those little guys start barking! lf not I think I will ask for a better pair of ear plugs!
A couple of benches for the new kennel area or money for them I think I know what ones my people friends wanted. Something heavy so they can't move, something sturdy so they hold up, and something that can take being hosed down and washed in case any of the dogs decide that looks like the spot to lift their leg! It would also be a great vantage spot for me to sit when I want to stir things up a bit and make the dogs bark!
An intercom system so if my people friends are all the way in back they don't have to run back and forth if someone needs information up front, and so that I do not miss the whirrrr of the can opener when it is going in the kitchen !
Rubber Maid Garbage Cans the present ones have a hole worn in the bottom which sometimes leaves a trail of kitty litter all the way out the door when my people friends go to dump it.
Potato Chips, and cookies for me!
"SHORTY"!
( I was going to share, honest!)
Please do not gives pets as gifts!
We do not look good sitting under a tree! We would much rather play with it, which usually means Crash! Down comes the tree!
We do not like getting lost in the shuffle when other gifts and toys are opened. We need a special time to get acquainted. Even though you are nice people and I think we are going to get along great, we need a quiet reassuring atmosphere to get to know you.
Since this is all new to us, all this company that has come for the holidays is kind of overwhelming! And if tons of kids mob us yelling and screaming or little Mikie pulls my tail one more time or pulls Bruno's ears, we might bite or scratch!
Lastly, we do hope you have thought this over very very carefully, and not just getting us because we are on someones Christmas list! Clothes, toys and games, are gotten tired of and cast aside, please don't let that happen to us! Although things have gotten a little better in regards to giving pets as gifts, there are still people out there that need to know that this is not a good idea, no matter how good their intentions may seem to be at the time!
