Thursday, August 23, 2007

This one's for you, Honi

Hi Honi,

I read your comments about the fawn, and how you wanted to stop and save it. You're probably right. The other car was probably going too fast to stop, even if the driver wanted to.

Our neighborhood has always had feral cats move through it. We have a creek and a floodplain just a few lots away. We have a huge abundance of squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits and probably woodrats. We have some resident hawks and owls that pass through. And how does this relate? Well, I've always been a softy who feeds the birds, squirrels and to a much lesser extent those feral cats. Last fall there were a couple of gorgeous orange ones living across the street. One of them is Momcat, who has been spayed & rabies vaccinated. As I headed off to work on one of the few very cold days we had this past winter, I saw one of the other orange cats dead in the road. I hate seeing roadkill, and I especially hate seeing them on my street. I went to work in a more subdued state of mind. Now remember, this was a very cold day. As I drove home that night, I saw the cat was still in the road, and luckily no one else had run over it. (You know how gross roadkill can get.) I stopped. Just what would I do? I had a box in the car, and I picked up the poor guy. He was frozen solid. It would have been like a cartoon except for the fact he was a very real, great looking, very dead cat. I took him home. When Keith got home, I told him what I had done. He said he had seen the cat also on his way out that morning, and hadn't wanted to tell me. He said he would bury him just as soon as the ground thawed out enough.

I've had to learn the hard way I can't save every animal that I would like to. Even if I won the lottery, there are too many out there that need help. However, if everyone made an effort, even a small one, we can make a difference. That may mean not going 20 miles over the speed limit in an area were there a deer. It may mean get your pet spayed or neutered. And donate to your local no-kill shelter. Even if it's only a small amount it will help.

Need some ideas? Check out Alley Cat Allies on the sidebar, and they can direct you to a local shelter in your area.

1 comment:

Honi said...

Ohh Eve that hit home to me.. I was driving to work today just praying they had scooped him or her up... and lo and behold they had.. I felt so badly and it still bothers me... I just keep thinking that it never had a chance.. to survive... even on its own.. which if it was orphaned like I think it was.. it probably would not have survived.. As I said you NEVER see fawns around or if you do .. they are with group of deer.. oh well.. We are going to the big flea market this sunday in the wee hours of the morning ..Mountain Top Flea in Atalla..going on a puppy hunt ... most probably we will postpone actually getting a puppy until after the wedding... but we love to look...I know that if we went to the humane society ... we would be leaving with 3 or 4 dogs.. thats one of the reasons we dont do that anymore... They have kittens out at the flea but they usually are just giving them away.. occasionally you will some being sold not often.. and occasionally we find that special free puppy... we are certain we saved Cookies life.. she was so sick when we got her there.. it was amazing she survived.. she was loaded with parasites... but after some good vet care she turned into such a wonderful creature... always a blessing to rescue an animal..