Listen to Bob Barker

I took the day off yesterday and went up to Whidbey to help the fine folks at Oasis. This is the rescue where we got Sammy and Casper. I am truly amazed at the work they do--they do a ton of work on their own, with very little thanks or praise, and they save cats that would normally be put down. I had a great day, but honestly, it was rough for me emotionally. There are so many great cats there and I wanted to take them all home. I saw the sick room where Sammy recovered from his ringworm and the general room where Caspy created some mayhem (big suprise). When I was doing paperwork, I saw the names and descriptions of those who didn't make it, either because of an uncontrollable hemorrhage or panleuk or something else. Then I saw a spay and neuter ad showing the euth barrels, the disposal area for euthanized cats. Ack.

I volunteer with another organization as well, and one of their policies is to farm out the cats with ringworm. Sammy had that, so had he made it there instead of Oasis, he may have been put down. Knowing what a fabulous little furbaby he is, and that there are plenty of others out there being put down regularly, made me really sad. Like, crying on the way home in the car sad.

I wish people could see the hard work put in at places like Oasis and Paws and then realize, you should spay and neuter your pets. And give money to these organizations. It kills me to hear people talk about how cute kittens and puppies are and they just want to have a litter of their own. Millions of animals are put to death each year, and many of them are the kittens and puppies with weak immune systems. Blarg. We don't need more cats and dogs out there. We need more adopters and responsible pet owners.

I promise a happier post tomorrow.