Wednesday, August 10, 2011

In praise of an incredible journey

I love the techs at the Berwick Animal Hospital!    They are sensible and helpful ... and unfailingly polite no matter what sort of foolishness spouts out of the customers' mouths.  
More courteous than I could possibly be for sure!  The clinic is a busy spot ... in no small part because their fees are somewhat lower than some of the competition. ( The topic of how the clinic owner, Dr Bohaker, is one of my personal heroes because he keeps his spay neuter rates reasonable is a separate subject worthy of a spot of its own some day :)
I was in there recently with Andy, when a woman came in with a cat carrier full of kittens.   In the course of casual conversation while we were waiting, she proudly announced to me that she had allowed their cat to have a litter of kittens before being spayed.   She went on to explain that this was all part of a plan to provide her child with an important life experience!
Now the bearded, burly, flannel coated lads I keep company with have a rather rude expression that seemed particularly suited to the situation .... Starry Eyed A**holes!
Tempting ... but out of respect for the hard working techs who would likely take the flak for me and my big mouth, I took another tack.    Instead, I mentioned that another way to do that would be to foster on of the many pregnant cats that regularly come into rescue.
Sheesh ... she had never thought of that!  Nor had anyone else in the waiting room!   Perhaps it was a day late and a dollar short for Mrs S.E.A. ... but one can only hope that perhaps the seed germinated elsewhere.
Why can I be so confident that there are no shortage of pregnant cats coming into rescue?  How can I be so sure the supply won't run out anytime soon?
Gosh ... I would be a woman of wealth if I had a loonie for every little mommy cat who comes into rescue here in NS.  Make that a quarter for every litter that is 'free to a good home' on Kijiji!
Did you know the old adage is true?  That if you want to get anything done, for best results ask a busy woman?
A friend of mine has her own business and a family ... and wears a variety of volunteer hats with CAPS.   Simply maintaining the multitude of Petfinder listings would be a herculean task in itself!
Yet Deb also finds time to foster!    On the 31st of July, her foster kitty Reba gave birth to four beautiful kittens!   What better person to ask for pics for this topic, eh?
Fostering a litter of kittens offers any kind heart the best of both worlds.  No question about it, birth is a pretty amazing experience!  My daughter has never forgotten the time she saw a calf being born while visiting my parents!
The beautiful thing about fostering is that all one has to provide is the love!  One doesn't have to budget for the vet bill.  There is no worrying about how to pay for the food!   Best of all, there is none of the stress of finding homes for the kittens!
What time is it?  It is always a beautiful thing when such an incredible journey can do double duty by saving lives!
If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito.  Betty Reese.







2 comments:

Deb said...

the little babies are called Martina, Faith, Dixie and JT. They are almost 3 weeks old now and doing great. We have other foster homes bottle feeding babies too. Volunteers cam help in many different ways. Cheers to all animal lovers,

Anonymous said...

You told the story wonderfully...and unfortunately it plays out in every vet waiting room EVERYWHERE...just wanted to correct one tiny thing...The vet is Dr. Bowker(he's a wonderful vet..we take all our animals to see him)...and by the way I foster for CAPS as well and the experience of fostering rescues is one of the MOST rewarding things anyone can do..thank you for telling this story.