Not that anyone cares or even reads this blog anymore besides my mom but....
Work is really good and really, REALLY busy.
School is really, really great and super DUPER busy. I wish I could afford to quit working and just be a full time student for the rest of my life. I doubt I'd ever run out of interesting classes to take because my curiosity is sparked by each new thing I learn and I want to be an expert on all of it!
(Becker and I spent about six hours last weekend drinking beers and discussing turn of the century history through the cold war and it was awesome. The most fun I've had with him in AGES!)
Right now I'm working on my research paper on Charlotte Perkin's Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper", and how women's repressed and restricted roles in the early twentieth century had a hugely negative impact on their creativity and mental-health. It's fascinating, but it's hard and I tend to freak under the pressure of deadlines, therefore, I'm a bit of a stress ball at the moment. A happy stress ball though!
Also - The
SF Public Library is so ruling! I'm still loving books on cd. I just finished
SURVIVOR which is a great/hilarious book but the reader sucked so I hated it. Currently I'm "reading"
Ethan Frome again and I love it and the reader is really good too. Next I'm "reading"
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. I've got a buttload lined up after that too so hopefully I'll get to finish them all before I croak.
The
SPCA is still awesome and we've had lots of adoptions and lots of great cats I just haven't had time to spotlight. I'm on vacation next week to work on my paper and spend Thanksgiving with the kitties though, so hopefully I'll have time to spotlight a few winners.
And before I forget -
Happy Birthday, Mama! Your gift should arrive by tomorrow on your official BDay. I love you! I hope it's wonderful and followed by an amazing year!
posted 6:34 pm at sinister girl
I started a new blog dedicated to Mabel and volunteering at the SFSPCA. If you're interested, you can find it
here.
posted 4:06 pm at sinister girl
What a wonderful weekend! I
finally managed to catch up on my sleep and I feel 9 million times better.
I thought I was going to spend some time at the shelter on Saturday but I kept falling asleep instead. I think including naps and everything, I got around 16 hours of sleep and it was pure bliss.
Yesterday, I was up early and filled with two days worth of rest so the kitties got more focused attention. I was even able to help match a very nice family with a sweet little one year old tabby named Misty, who reminded me of Ms. Mabel.
Many of my favorites (Tasha, Samantha, and Leo!) were adopted last week so I added a few new kitties to my rounds. One of the sweetest is
Cleo:
She's really sweet and affectionate and playful. And I just have this thing about the black and white ones with funny markings on their face. What can I say? She's a little love and I love her!
And the latest on the greatest:
Samantha - Arrival 5.18.07 ADOPTED!Smitty - Arrival 5.26.07Danielle - Arrival 6.1.07Trista - Arrival 6.2.07Droopy - Arrival 6.7.07Cleo - Arrival 6.7.07Nova - Arrival 6.8.07Benny - Arrival 6.9.09Brandon - Arrival 6.9.07Steve - Arrival 6.9.07Tammy - Arrival 6.21.07Tasha - Arrival 6.23.07 ADOPTED!Figaro - Arrival 6.24.07Baccio - Arrival 6.24.07Leo - Arrival 6.27.07 ADOPTED!Mystic - Arrival 6.28.07Lilo - Arrival 7.2.07 ADOPTED!Wesley - Arrival 7.5.07 ADOPTED!Stormy - Arrival 7.5.07Lemur - Arrival 7.6.07Hippo - Arrival 7.6.07Tega - Arrival 7.11.07Pia - Arrival 7.14.07Renata - Arrival 7.18.07posted 8:28 am at sinister girl
We had a great weekend with a total of 43 cats and kittens finding new homes. Huzzah!
I'm spotlighting
Stormy this week coz she's a gorgeous little spitfire and I think of my mama and her old dog (who was named Stormy) everytime I say her name.
Isn't she the cutest? Look at those eyes! And that super shiny, silky coat! She's fantastic!
You're probably wondering why she hasn't been adopted yet since she's so amazing and I'll tell ya. It's because she has this bad habit of hissing at everyone who approaches her cage.
It's kind of hilarious because she's just a kitten and she's usually sitting in that tiny green chair that's behind her, looking incredibly cute, but everytime you walk up to her she gives this ominous little hiss, exposing the whitest teeth and the cutest little pink tongue you've ever seen. Needless to say, she's one of the behavior kittens we're working with to get her to greet people with a purr or at least a
silent stink eye and none of the scary hissing. I've got faith in her so I'll keep you all posted on her progress.
And the latest on the greatest:
Geneva - Arrival 5.9.07 ADOPTED!Samantha - Arrival 5.18.07Duck - Arrival 5.26.07 ADOPTED!Smitty - Arrival 5.26.07Cisco - Arrival 6.7.07 ADOPTED!Droopy - Arrival 6.7.07Shirley - Arrival 6.8.07 ADOPTED!Nova - Arrival 6.8.07Scotia - Arrival 6.8.07 ADOPTED!Benny - Arrival 6.9.09Brandon - Arrival 6.9.07Steve - Arrival 6.9.07Otis - Arrival 6.17.07 ADOPTED!Redding - Arrival 6.17.07 ADOPTED!Mateo - Arrival 6.22.07 ADOPTED!Tasha - Arrival 6.23.07Leo - Arrival 6.27.07Nutmeg - Arrival 6.28.07 ADOPTED!Mugsy - Arrival 6.28.07 ADOPTED!Willie - Arrival 6.28.07 ADOPTED!Hayden - Arrival 6.30.07 ADOPTED!Lilo - Arrival 7.2.07Hamilton - Arrival 7.3.07 ADOPTED!Mimi - Arrival 7.5.07 ADOPTED!Wesley - Arrival 7.5.07Stormy - Arrival 7.5.07Lemur - Arrival 7.6.07Hippo - Arrival 7.6.07Tega - Arrival 7.11.07posted 8:08 am at sinister girl
It was crazy busy and I was there a lot longer than I expected so I'm kind of beat. It was a great turnout though and lots of sweetie babies found homes with lots of really lovely people. (Murdock's mommy, I'm talking to you!)
I'll post more deets on Monday coz I'll be back at the shelter tomorrow. It was my goal to get
Tasha adopted today but she's still there so there's still work to be done.
I'm exhausted so I'm just going to copy and paste the Cat Behavior Group email and call it a day.
Thanks to everyone who helped out with the event today. It was a great success with 34 animals finding new homes.
22 social kittens went home, as well as adults ELLIE, DUDLEY, TIFFANY and behavior kitties LENA, OZZY and TREASURE!
6 dogs also found homes today!
Congratulations to all the happy new guardians and adoptees!
posted 9:53 pm at sinister girl
Okay, I'll admit it, I'm partial to tabbies. I can't help myself. I love ALL cats, but I want to KEEP every single tabby I meet. And
Tasha is no exception:
She's still really shy but she's slowly warming up. When you reach for her she gives a little hiss, but as soon as she's in your hands her motor's fully runnin'. I think she'll be really sweet and a wonderful, loyal companion with just a little more socialization and TLC. I figure that by this time next week she'll be a little show off, strutting her stuff and flirting her way to adoption. You can't really tell from this photo, but she's just gorgeous and has these lovely silver markings and the cutest little striped belly. I LOVE HER SO MUCH!!!
And the latest on the greatest:
Geneva - Arrival 5.9.07Samantha - Arrival 5.18.07Duck - Arrival 5.26.07Smitty - Arrival 5.26.07Cisco - Arrival 6.7.07 ADOPTED!Droopy - Arrival 6.7.07Shirley - Arrival 6.8.07 ADOPTED!Nova - Arrival 6.8.07Scotia - Arrival 6.8.07Benny - Arrival 6.9.09Otis - Arrival 6.17.07Redding - Arrival 6.17.07Mateo - Arrival 6.22.07Tasha - Arrival 6.23.07Leo - Arrival 6.27.07Nutmeg - Arrival 6.28.07 ADOPTED!Mugsy - Arrival 6.28.07Willie - Arrival 6.28.07 ADOPTED!Hayden - Arrival 6.30.07 ADOPTED!Hamilton - Arrival 7.3.07Mimi - Arrival 7.5.07 ADOPTED!Stormy - Arrival 7.5.07Lemur - Arrival 7.6.07Hippo - Arrival 7.6.07Tega - Arrival 7.11.07posted 9:18 am at sinister girl
I was accepted to the Cat Behaviorist Program so I'll get to start working with the more "difficult to place" kitties. Generally they're more difficult to place because they're really shy or aggressive so we try to work with them to improve their behavior so that they're more appealing to the general public.
My dear old Maude had some behavior problems and I was crazy about her anyway so my heart goes out to the "problem children" in the shelter. I wanna do whatever I can to comfort them and get them to trust people so they can be placed in loving homes with patient caretakers.
Since I haven't started the training for the cat behavior program yet, I've mostly been working with the "troubled" kittens. They're mostly just really shy so they need extra patience and gentle handling. They really evolve rapidly though and it's amazing how they blossom and come out of their shells. Case in point is
Scotia, this week's spotlight:
Isn't he precious? He used to be really shy and would give a little hiss if you tried to pet him, but now he's a little loverboy and is just filled with energy and bouncing off the walls. He loves to play and cuddle and would make a great addition to an active home. He's a difficult one to wear out so you'd better be too!
And the latest on the greatest:
Geneva - Arrival 5.9.07Samantha - Arrival 5.18.07Duck - Arrival 5.26.07Smitty - Arrival 5.26.07Amalia - Arrival 6.2.07 ADOPTED!Cisco - Arrival 6.7.07Droopy - Arrival 6.7.07Shirley - Arrival 6.8.07Nova - Arrival 6.8.07Scotia - Arrival 6.8.07Benny - Arrival 6.9.09Vinny - Arrival 6.15.07 ADOPTED!Otis - Arrival 6.17.07Redding - Arrival 6.17.07Tasha - Arrival 6.23.07Leo - Arrival 6.27.07Cinnamon - Arrival 6.28.07 ADOPTED!Nutmeg - Arrival 6.28.07Willie - Arrival 6.28.07Hayden - Arrival 6.30.07Mimi - Arrival 7.5.07 Returned. (I don't know what happened. She's so sweet!)posted 10:27 am at sinister girl
I just got back from the shelter a little while ago and I can tell ya, the kittens are arriving in force! We've now got over 115 furry felines awaiting adoption.
We've still got lots of golden oldies, but we're also just crawling with the cutest, squirmiest, cuddliest, most precious little baby cats you've ever seen. We're off to a good start though, with over 26 cats and kittens already taken home in July. (Two of them being sweet Miranda and my loverboy, Linus.) Woohoo! Lets hope it keeps up!
This week I'm shining the spotlight on
Cisco:
I matched him with this sweet little girl and her dad a few weeks ago, but apparently the kitty they already had didn't take too kindly to him so they brought him back. He's such a sweetie-pie, snuggle-bunny that I know some great family will fall in love with him and take him home any day now. He's a gem!
And the latest on the greatest:
Miranda - Arrival 2.26.07 ADOPTED!Geneva - Arrival 5.9.07Samantha - Arrival 5.18.07Duck - Arrival 5.26.07Smitty - Arrival 5.26.07Linus - Arrival 5.29.07 ADOPTED!Boots - Arrival 5.30.07 ADOPTED!Amalia - Arrival 6.2.07Cisco - Arrival 6.7.07Shirley - Arrival 6.8.07 Returned.Nova - Arrival 6.8.07Scotia - Arrival 6.8.07Tot - Arrival 6.12.07 ADOPTED!Fiesta - Arrival 6.14.07 ADOPTED!Vinny - Arrival 6.15.07Petunia - Arrival 6.16.07 ADOPTED!Otis - Arrival 6.17.07Redding - Arrival 6.17.07Tasha - Arrival 6.23.07Cinnamon - Arrival 6.28.07Nutmeg - Arrival 6.28.07Willie - Arrival 6.28.07(BTW, have you taken a peek at Otis and Redding? OMG! They're gorgeous! I swear they should be show cats, not shelter cats. They're these giant (the size of a small bobcat, I swear!) brown tabbies with incredible eyes and beautiful markings. Hurry and click 'em before they're gone!)posted 5:33 pm at sinister girl
The weekend started with some great news:
CALIFORNIA - Court says city can ban declawingCities in California can prohibit cat declawing without running afoul of state law, which contains no such prohibition for house pets, a state appeals court ruled Friday.
The court reinstated an ordinance in the city of West Hollywood, the only one of its kind in the state. San Francisco, where the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution in 2003 condemning the declawing of cats, filed legal arguments in support of West Hollywood.
Woohoo! So now we actually have a leg to stand on with getting similar legislation passed in San Francisco. Dolly and I've got that ball rolling with emails to our district supervisors so I'll keep you posted with any new developments.
This week I'm spotlighting sweet
Amalia:
Isn't she gorgeous? And you won't believe it, but she was actually "surrendered" (read: abandoned) by her owners after
seven years of companionship. Can you believe that shit? I was totally mortified and amazed that someone could
willingly part with a pet after so many years.
She's a great cat, although a bit shy and scared right now but who can blame her? She's probably still totally confused and wondering when her people are coming back for her, which is
never because they thought she was "too needy" and she "cries a lot" when she doesn't get attention and they just couldn't handle the responsibility of taking care of her anymore. Can you believe that shit?
I even tried to scare them by telling them there was a chance she'd be put to sleep if she didn't make it through the Animal Control screening process (which is true) and they both kind of casually shrugged their shoulders and said, "Oh gosh, I hope not." But they didn't care enough to turn right around and take her back home. It's just as well, they don't deserve a sweet, loving girl like Amalia, or any other for that matter!
And the latest on the greatest:
Sylvester - Arrival 7.29.06 ADOPTED!Miranda - Arrival 2.26.07Hindrich - Arrival 5.4.07 ADOPTED!Garfield - Arrival 5.8.07 ADOPTED!Geneva - Arrival 5.9.07Samantha - Arrival 5.18.07Carly - Arrival 5.22.07 ADOPTED!Linus - Arrival 5.29.07Boots - Arrival 5.30.07Amalia - Arrival 6.2.07Adeline - Arrival 6.2.07 ADOPTED!Inca - Arrival 6.4.07 ADOPTED!Cisco - Arrival 6.7.07 Returned.Shirley - Arrival 6.8.07 ADOPTED!Panda Bear - Arrival 6.8.07 ADOPTED!Tot - Arrival 6.12.07Fiesta - Arrival 6.14.07Petunia - Arrival 6.16.07Otis - Arrival 6.17.07Redding - Arrival 6.17.07posted 10:22 am at sinister girl
