My History

I guess I should start at the beginning. As a kid I loved animals but my mother would never allow any pets (except a few short-lived goldfish). When I became an adult I found myself being asked to house/pet sit. I loved it! I sat for cats, dogs, fish, turtles and one really obnoxious parrot (I won't do that again!). The best were the cats and dogs because they are interactive pets. Not much you can do with a fish or a turtle (we won't discuss the parrot... I'm just glad I still have all 10 fingers). And I found myself with friends with pets. I especially and fondly recall all the weekends I spent at Glynn and Bridget's house with their zoo... two newfies (Nick and Nana), one mutt, a pride of cats that kept growing as strays ventured in for a meal, two canaries, a goldfish or two and so on. I especially loved the cats and dogs (can you see a pattern here?). I would sleep on the couch and Nick would sleep on the floor next to me. He was my protector. The cats would sleep with me. I can't express the love I felt with all the animals. When a cat or a dog loves, they love unconditionally. It's not about what are you going to do for them. It's all about pure love. That kind of love is hard to find in humans. We get moody and cranky and turn on each other.

The one thing that didn't happen for me was having a situation where I could have pets of my own. From my earliest memories, I was always dreaming of getting married, having kids, a house, two dogs, two cats, two cars in the garage and a picket fence. I was like every other girl. I wanted the American dream. I didn't get it.

In 2004 I was web surfing and found The Grateful Paw Cat Shelter. I started as a socializer (cat petting). I quickly learned more about the shelter... grooming, clipping nails, doing the laundry, cleaning cages (which are for sick or isolated cats only... all the healthy ones who are up for adopt live in rooms and can roam their rooms freely), medicating, working the office, etc. In 2006 I ran for the Board of Directors and became part of the Board. At that time I decided I should know the dog program as well as I know the cat program so I started volunteering with the dogs. I quickly got over my insecurities with pit bulls and learned to work with dogs who didn't behave like the house pets I had met before. Many of the dogs are strays and don't know what being a well-loved pet is like. Some come from abusive or neglective homes. Some just cannot be cared for by their owners for one reason or another. I have to say, the cats and dogs break my heart every day I see them. I want so much for each of them to get a loving home and be happy. I hate seeing that they haven't all been well cared for. I despise the idea that pets are disposable items that we can treat carelessly then dump or destroy.

Now don't get me wrong. I do believe that a sick animal who is beyond help should be euthanized. I think that it's cruel to make an animal suffer till it dies of a disease. A dangerous, aggressive dog is better off being euthanized as such a dog will never be a housepet and will wither and die in a shelter where no one will want to go near it. For every such dog, there are many more great dogs who need good homes. You save as many as you can but it's impossible to save everyone. I wish it was otherwise, but it isn't.

What keeps me going is feeling that I'm helping the animals one cat or dog at a time.

Oh yes, I did finally get my nerve up and ask my landlady if I could have a cat. A fixed computer, a stack of cash and a promise that the cat wouldn't destroy the apartment and I was able to adopt Sergio and Louie from Grateful Paw.

And if you're wondering if a dog is in my future... not likely. I work a lot of hours and I'm gone a lot on the weekends too. My cats do very well with it and they have a cushy life. When I'm home, they are with me every second and they get tons of love from me. I couldn't subject a dog to this lifestyle though. Dogs are pack animals and need to be with humans. They also need to be walked. If my lifestyle ever changed and my living arrangements too (I have a very tiny apartment), I would love to have a dog. I'm a big dog person and would like a rescued greyhound or maybe a rottweiler.

So now you know a bit about me. Time to talk about the animals.

Oh yes, you will find a link to my old journal for the cats. I'm going to try to update that a bit more often (when I'm working there might be nice, huh?) but this journal will likely be more about the dogs. The dogs we in the League for Animal Protection of Huntington, Inc (Huntington, Long Island, NY) are involved with do not live in a shelter we own (Grateful Paw Cat Shelter is owned and operated by us). The dogs live at the Huntington Town Shelter (East Northport, NY). Where we have total control over the goings on at Grateful Paw, we don't have that much influence at the town shelter. We do as much as we can for the dogs.

I hope people will comment or email if they want. I hope even more that people will check out the cats and dogs and come adopt from us.

Thank you.

PS. Special thanks to Lauren who is our resident photographer and all-around dog lover. Maybe she'll supply a picture of her with one of the dogs. :::hint, hint:::

Tags: cat, cats, dog, dogs, pet, pets, League for Animal Protection, Huntington, NY, New York, shelter, shelters, animal shelter, animal shelters, volunteering, adoption, adopt, rescue, animal protection, East Northport, Grateful Paw, LAP, LAPH, dog training, cat care, dog care

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My History