CHAT NOIR

October has been my favorite month for as long as I can remember. Not only is it my birth month, but I happen to love HALLOWEEN! This year however, has been the worst October of my life. Not only did I lose my beloved NIGEL, I just learned that my adopted cat CHAT NOIR has left this earth as well. Chat came into my life about 2.5 years ago. He just appeared one day, I'm guessing he was dumped off. He was about 5 months old, and the most gorgeous pure black kitty I had ever seen. My neighbor at the time had been feeding him and told me that they wanted to keep him. I was thrilled to arrange getting him neutered and up to date on all of his vaccinations, I even provided the trap. Yes, CHAT was a funny little bugger, he would only let the neighbor touch him. Everyday I would ask the neighbor, did you catch him? Finally after about a month of badgering him, he told me that he caught another neighborhood cat. He said that Chat was too smart to go into the trap. I of course knew that was complete bullshit. So one year later the neighbors were getting ready to move and I'm having a conversation with the wife, she admits to me that in fact they did catch CHAT, but the husband felt so guilty that he released him immediately. I was really not surprised by this. First of all, they had an un-neutered dog, as well as a declawed cat that lived outside, they were clearly irresponsible pet owners. Their cat CASEY had become best friends with CHAT, they were always together. This is why my heart was broken when I learned from another neighbor that they had left CHAT behind. They said they were unable to catch him, again, I say BULLSHIT! I decided on that day that CHAT would become part of my family. I provided food and fresh water every day. He eventually began to trust me, he would even let me give him MAD LOVE! Now, one year later, he is gone. Ron, the other neighbor that I mentioned earlier had been looking after CHAT as well. I'm not sure exactly how all of this came about, I just know it ended with CHAT at the Veterinarian diagnosed with FELINE LEUKEMIA! A FATAL disease in cats that is highly contagious. I also want to mention this disease is 100% PREVENTABLE. I blame the idiot former neighbor, you remember the one that "felt sooo guilty" for trapping CHAT. Had he actually taken him to the Vet two years ago when I set it up (FREE) my little CHAT would still be with us. I will miss you terribly, my hansom CHAT NOIR. PLEASE VACCINATE YOUR PETS! THEIR LIFE COULD DEPEND ON IT!

DOUBLE EXPOSURE!

I had the extreme pleasure of shooting two shelters this past weekend. First up was the Humane Society of Manatee County, what an amazing group. I had them on my show back in March so I knew several of the staff/volunteers. The lovely Denise called me and asked if I could help promote the adoptions of several of the LONG- TERM RESIDENTS. HSMC is a NO KILL SHELTER, which is fabulous of course, but unfortunately they have SEVERAL dogs and cats that have been there 1-3 years. This is a very sad situation, some have literally lived at the shelter their entire life. I am specifically going to mention PEPSI, I know the name is ridiculous, and he doesn't even come close to resembling a pepsi. He is very REGAL in fact. He is a Great Dane mix with impeccable manners. I think he is more of an Arthur. KELLEY is another angel that has been at the shelter for a really long time. She is such a sweet girl, it just breaks your heart. Hopefully, someone reading this blog or watching my show will go down and meet these lovely creatures. After my wonderful experience with HSMC, I was on to ANIMAL SERVICES SARASOTA. Sarasota in Defense of Animals were sponsoring their HOWL-O-WEEN ADAPTATHON. They had quite a full house, I can't remember the last time I saw the shelter that packed. There are some wonderful dogs and cats available for adoption. I hope anyone looking for a new family member will go down and meet these wonderful furries. I am happy to report 17 cats and 3 dogs were adopted that day. I also want to take a moment and honor all of the FABULOUS VOLUNTEERS that showed up to help with the adoptathon..YOU ALL ROCK!

MONEY IS NO OBJECT!

I woke up this morning feeling a bit melancholy. Today is the day I pick up my beloved Nigel's cremains. I was horrified when I checked my phone messages from the day before, and there was a message letting me know that Nigel was back from the Crematory. My poor baby had to spend the night at the Vet's office. Not to be a drama queen, but honestly that was very upsetting to me. I arrive at the Vet's office and one of the Vet tech's told me that he really needed my help with a dog that had come in. Basically there was a 7 month old pitbull that had been hit by a car and her leg was broken. The owners were unable to pay for the surgery, and if he did not find a home for her by the end of the business day they were going to euthenize her. Well as you can imagine I was a bit taken aback. I was already mentally drained, now I have to figure out a way to save a puppy's life, and by the way, I had about 2.5 hours! First, I agreed to pitch in $100 for the surgery. One of the vet tech's talked the Dr. Into giving the employee discount for the surgery, which is significant. Everyone at the office pitched in the remainder of the money. Ok, now we come to the hard part, finding a foster home to care for an active puppy with a broken leg. I decided to call the ultra fabulous JULIE ROYAL, she agreed immediately, without hesitation. Can I just say, I love this woman, she is so dedicated to saving the lives of shelter dogs and cats. She and her husband Michael have already fallen in love with the ADORABLE MICHELLE!
Yes, that's right Julie decided to name her after me, I'm extremely honored. Michelle is recovering beautifully, and will be available to go to her new forever home very soon. I do want to mention to those of you feeling badly for the former owners; they were unfit. I will not be able to elaborate, just trust me it was not a healthy environment. In the beginning of this post I mentioned that I started my day feeling melancholy, then I realized by the end of the day that it was NIGEL that made all of this happen. He brought Michelle to me so I could help save her. When I finally met her, I knew that the $100 that I contributed, was the best $100 I have ever spent!

IN LOVING MEMORY

I am sad to report that my little guy NIGEL, has lost his battle with Heart Disease. He had been doing so well, I was lulled into believing he would be around a bit longer. He had a really alarming seizure on Monday morning. I knew in my heart what was about to go down. I rushed him to Dr. Holland, and after what seemed like a lifetime of waiting, he finally came in. He checked his vitals, and even though he had not completely come out of the seizure, he said everything was NORMAL, well except for the MASSIVE heart murmur. Well folks, I have to tell you, at this point I was ready to have a complete MELTDOWN. What do you mean NORMAL? I had resolved myself to the fact that TODAY was the day, now your telling me maybe not. Now this is the part that is MIND BLOWING. Just as I'm ready to lose it, my little ANGEL goes into another seizure, as if he were letting me know, HEY MOM, IT'S TIME! I told Dr. H that I could not allow this to continue. He left the room for a brief moment, and came back with a Vet Tech and the NEEDLE, you know the one with the PINK LIQUID. He told me that once he actually had the vein that he would go within 20 or so seconds. I thought I would have the HEART ATTACK, I was physically ill. I told my angel how much I loved him, and how much joy that he had brought to my life for 15 fabulous years. I held him tight, and just like that... HE WAS GONE..I think that was possibly the saddest day of my life. I look around my home, and even though I have three amazing furies, the house does feel quite empty. Nigel was such a PRESENCE. YOU WILL BE WITH ME FOREVER MY DARLING NIGEL......

FREE TO A GOOD HOME?....DUBIOUS

Has anyone been on this FREECYCLE_SARASOTA website? Great concept, you can put anything, and I mean ANYTHING on the website..as long as it's FREE. So maybe you have a fax machine or DOG that's taking up too much space and you need to get rid of it ASAP. You can place an ad on this website. I am appauled at the number of animals that are showing up on this website. What the hell is wrong with people. I'm not sure that people really understand the danger of placing your pet in an ad (FREE TO A GOOD HOME). I will explain. First, our local University( you know who you are) will give anyone that shows up with a dog or cat $35. They will then be used for LABORATORY TESTING. That's right folks, your beloved pet that you just had to get rid of because you are moving, or whatever BULLSHIT excuse you want to give, could possibly become a test animal. THAT IS NOT A GOOD HOME! Secondly, pitbull fighting is RAMPANT! Guess what you need for pitbull fighting? BAIT. That's right, your beloved pet could become pitbull bait. Normally these losers are looking for small dogs or cats, but I'm sure anything will do. There are humans, and I use this term loosly, that actually do nothing but scour the Newspapers and Internet for animals that are free to a good home. These folks are very good at what they do, trust me. They will make you believe that they want to take your pet and love them forever, when infact their plan is much more sinister. I will just give this advice, for what it's worth (YOUR PET'S LIFE) If you must get rid of your pet, GOD I hate that term....please please please try first to find them a new home with people you trust. After all, you made a CHOICE to get your pet in the first place. The least you can do is make certain that they have a fighting chance to have a HAPPY HOME If this is not possible call your local shelters, and if that doesn't work then place an ad, but NOT FREE TO GOOD HOME. Charge a small adoption fee. That's my 2 cents.