Hush Little Baby

Happy News:

Talula is coming home tomorrow.  She's been in boarding (and with Cindy) since I pulled her from South LA shelter and now she's finally ready to come home.  I've been visiting her everyday for at least 3-4 hours, but she needs to be house-trained and acclimate to a true home environment.  Lulu is on the generic version of Clomicalm, which is called clomipramine.  Her yodeling is cute for awhile, but then it becomes a constant crying.  I'll keep everyone updated on her progress.  The clomipramine has definitely curbed her anxiety about abandonment and the general distress that she's had adjusting to a new environment.
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Sad News:

Cindy helped a low-income family's dog today after it sustained a bad allergic reaction to an insect bite.  Cindy has spayed/neutered three dogs from this family in the past.  Today they brought in yet another dog and she had to be spayed (as well as treated for her allergic reaction).  During her spay surgery, the vet found her to be in the third stage of pregnancy, but the only option at that point was to abort the litter.  Cindy felt like she was responsible for their deaths, which is horrible because all she wanted was to prevent an unwanted litter in the first place.  How do we spread the word about free spay/neuter surgeries for low-income families???

Comments

[Liz]

When I read, "How do we spread the word about free spay/neuter surgeries for low-income families?" I thought I could give you an idea. I am a teacher for a low-income school, and I brought people from the animal humane shelter and society to our school to talk to all of the classrooms about dog safety and health. They taught my kids and all the others in the school about many things like overheating (making sure their dogs have water in summer), about the dangers of chaining dogs up, and the importance of spaying and neutering. I know that these people talked to 500 kids, which is a start. I don’t know if you have, but you should go and educate these kids on the reasons why we should spay and neuter, teachers love to have guests come and educate their kids because they take this information with them long term. Schools are a good place to start. Also walking around in low-income areas talking to people with dogs, and giving them fliers about free spaying and neutering and the reasons why they should do this. Good Luck!!!

[Jon]

Thank you so much for the suggestion. I think starting at schools is a great idea--I'm going to look into it.

[SpayNeuter]

This is my thing! Liz nailed it with guest speakers at schools and walking low-income neighborhoods with flyers.

Just try not to fall into the trap of getting involved in too many issues--you are doing awesome work with your internet efforts and dog rescue. You know there is so much need out there, and it can be overwhelming if you allow it to be.

Especially for Cindy, who is like so many of my friends, Neutress of the Night has a very helpful, supportive, and humorous website and chat group that offers so many simple suggestions. She also gives reasonable responses to comments like:
"I just love cute little kittens! Besides, I'm good at finding good homes for all the kittens our cats have."
"I'm planning on breeding (my pitbull mix, etc.). Lots of my friends said they want the puppies."

I'll try to email you more resources (between designing new $30 coupons and flyers, writing a grant, updating the websites, clipping 6 pair of nails, giving 4 baths, and working through emails!) If somehow I forget and you still want the info, please send me an email reminder!

There's great help out there for you and Cindy!