After twenty six years of  being a Veterinary Assistant and owning many pets, I aquired a beautiful German Shepherd pup to add to my family.  I have had Shepherds before and they were always very easy to train.  Well, not this one!  He could get the basic commands but could not concentrate for more than a few seconds and was very stubborn.

  Jason and Erin of Highland Caning Training took my dog to boot camp for three weeks and when I picked him up I thought they brought  the wrong dog out.  My dog is so well trained that I am amazed.  He will place (stay) and not move until given my command to move no matter what is going on around him.  I can walk him off leash and the list goes on and on.

  I highly recommend Jason and Erin.  Their e-mail address isjpurgason@highlandcanine.com  and their website is www.highlandcanine.com

Our group has received yet another e-mail with a family wanting to give up their family pets.  The family will be having a new addition of a baby.  I have never understood why you would give up a pet just because you are starting a family.  I have always had pets and raised three children at the same time and, by the way I was not a stay at home mother.

Other than the usual reasons for giving up a pet such as, I lost my job, the dog is bigger than I thought it would be, I can't housetrain it...etc. the two most common reasons are having children or getting a divorce and can't keep the kids and a pet too. 

I wish people would think through all of these scenarios before adopting or purchasing a pet.  It is a lifetime committment.

So....if you have the child first and then see a cute pup or kitten and want to take it in, do you put your child up for adoption?   Just a thought...

I am a wildlife rehabilitator so I have a love for these little critters.  The opossum hideouts are located in a variety of areas including stumps, haystacks, vine tangles, atics, garages, road culverts, hollow trees, rock piles, under buildings and in the abandoned burrows of other animals.  Opossums are not territorial and do not maintain separate home ranges.

They are exceptionally non-aggressive and non-destructive. They will not harm people or pets. They are more immune to many diseases than other animals and are far less likely to carry rabies.

Opossums are beneficial to the environment because they eat insects pests, snails and slugs.  They have a remarkable resistance to poisonous snakebite such as the rattlesnake, cottonmouth and Asiatic cobra.

Opossums do not hibernate and they are active at night.

I have acquired most of my baby opossums because of kind people who see a opossum that has been hit by a car and they go into the pouch, if it is a female and scoop out the babies.

This is a tearjerker.  It was sent to the Dr. Diana Bowman Center and although I've read it several times over the years, I cry everytime.  Unfortunately, this happens way too much.





By Jim Willis, 2001
How Could You?

When I was a puppy, I entertained you with my antics and made you laugh. You called
me your child, and despite a number of chewed shoes and a couple of murdered throw
pillows, I became your best friend. ...
Whenever I was "bad," you'd shake your finger at me and ask "How could you?" -- but
then you'd relent and roll me over for a belly rub.
My housebreaking took a little longer than expected, because you were terribly busy,
but we worked on that together. I remember those nights of nuzzling you in bed and
listening to your confidences and secret dreams, and I believed that life could not
be any more perfect.
We went for long walks and runs in the park, car rides, stops for ice cream (I only
got the cone because "ice cream is bad for dogs" you said), and I took long naps in
the sun waiting for you to come home at the end of the day.
Gradually, you began spending more time at work and on your career, and more time
searching for a human mate. I waited for you patiently, comforted you through
heartbreaks and disappointments, never chided you about bad decisions, and romped
with glee at your homecomings, and when you fell in love.
She, now your wife, is not a "dog person" -- still I welcomed her into our home,
tried to show her affection, and obeyed her. I was happy because you were happy.
Then the human babies came along and I shared your excitement. I was fascinated by
their pinkness, how they smelled, and I wanted to mother them, too. Only she and you
worried that I might hurt them, and I spent most of my time banished to another
room, or to a dog crate. Oh, how I wanted to love them, but I became a prisoner of
love."
As they began to grow, I became their friend. They clung to my fur and pulled
themselves up on wobbly legs, poked fingers in my eyes, investigated my ears, and
gave me kisses on my nose. I loved everything about them and their touch -- because
your touch was now so infrequent -- and I would've defended them with my life if
need be. I would sneak into their beds and listen to their worries and secret
dreams, and together we waited for the sound of your car in the driveway.
There had been a time, when others asked you if you had a dog, that you produced a
photo of me from your wallet and told them stories about me. These past few years,
you just answered "yes" and changed the subject. I had gone from being "your dog" to
"just a dog," and you resented every expenditure on my behalf.
Now, you have a new career opportunity in another city, and you and they will be
moving to an apartment that does not allow pets. You've made the right decision for
your "family," but there was a time when I was your only family.

I was excited about the car ride until we arrived at the animal shelter. It smelled
of dogs and cats, of fear, of hopelessness. You filled out the paperwork and said "I
know you will find a good home for her." They shrugged and gave you a pained look.
They understand the realities facing a middle-aged dog, even one with "papers."
You had to pry your son's fingers loose from my collar as he screamed, "No, Daddy!
Please don't let them take my dog!" And I worried for him, and what lessons you had
just taught him about friendship and loyalty, about love and responsibility, and
about respect for all life.
You gave me a good-bye pat on the head, avoided my eyes, and politely refused to
take my collar and leash with you. You had a deadline to meet and now I have one,
too. After you left, the two nice ladies said you probably knew about your upcoming
move months ago and made no attempt to find me another good home. They shook their
heads and asked "How could you?"

They are as attentive to us here in the shelter as their busy schedules allow. They
feed us, of course, but I lost my appetite days ago.
At first, whenever anyone passed my pen, I rushed to the front, hoping it was you
that you had changed your mind -- that this was all a bad dream... or I hoped it
would at least be someone who cared, anyone who might save me.
When I realized I could not compete with the frolicking for attention of happy
puppies, oblivious to their own fate, I retreated to a far corner and waited. I
heard her footsteps as she came for me at the end of the day, and I padded along the
aisle after her to a separate room. A blissfully quiet room.
She placed me on the table and rubbed my ears, and told me not to worry. My heart
pounded in anticipation of what was to come, but there was also a sense of relief.
The prisoner of love had run out of days.
As is my nature, I was more concerned about her. The burden which she bears weighs
heavily on her, and I know that, the same way I knew your every mood.

She gently placed a tourniquet around my foreleg as a tear ran down her cheek. I
licked her hand in the same way I used to comfort you so many years ago.
She expertly slid the hypodermic needle into my vein. As I felt the sting and the
cool liquid coursing through my body, I lay down sleepily, looked into her kind eyes
and murmured "How could you?"
Perhaps because she understood my dogspeak, she said "I'm so sorry." She hugged me,
and hurriedly explained it was her job to make sure I went to a better place, where
I wouldn't be ignored or abused or abandoned, or have to fend for myself --a place
of love and light so very different from this earthly place.
And with my last bit of energy, I tried to convey to her with a thump of my tail
that my "How could you?" was not directed at her. It was directed at you, My Beloved
Master, I was thinking of you. I will think of you and wait for you forever. May
everyone in your life continue to show you so much loyalty.

------------ --------- -------
A Note from the Author:
------------ --------- -------

If "How Could You?" brought tears to your eyes as you read it, as it did to mine as
I wrote it, it is because it is the composite story of the millions of formerly
"owned" pets who die each year in American and Canadian animal shelters. Anyone is
welcome to distribute the essay for a noncommercial purpose, as long as it is
properly attributed with the copyright notice. Please use it to help educate, on
your websites, in newsletters, on animal shelter and vet office bulletin boards.
Tell the public that the decision to add a pet to the family is an important one for
life, that animals deserve our love and sensible care, that finding another
appropriate home for your animal is your responsibility and any local humane society
or animal welfare league can offer you good advice, and that all life is precious.
Please do your part to stop the killing, and encourage all spay and neuter campaigns
in order to prevent unwanted animals. Jim Willis

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Hope to see you soon.

In Iredell County there were 360 dogs and cats euthanized in January of this year.  Multiply that by twelve.  This has to stop!

A note to parents... Your children do not need to witness the birth of a litter.  This is the number one excuse I hear about why people do not want to spay or neuter their pet right now.  Second excuse..."My dog is so cute and friendly that my friends want me to have a litter so I can give them a pup/kitten.  Well, sorry to say but in the U.S. one out of six in a litter will be euthanized and one will be abandoned only to be abused or hit by a car.  Third excuse... "I heard that they should go through at least one heat cycle or that the male should breed one time before getting fixed.  Truth... no, they don't need to go through labor or breed!

If you would like to take on the responsibility of owning a pet, remember that it is a responsibility, just like having a child.  They have to be fed, bathed, sheltered and taken to the Vet.  Please adopt from an animal shelter or a rescue group.  The adoption fee usually covers the first set of vaccines and the cost of the spay or neuter surgery.

If you adopt from the shelter or  an animal rescue group you are saving a life!

As usual, at 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon, I get a call from someone who desperately needs to find a home for their purbreed, expensive pet who they can no longer keep because of a landlord, because they're moving, or whatever reason they come up with.  Of course they  have only until 6 p.m. to take care of this problem. 

I guess they didn't know yesterday or even a week ago that they could know longer have this pet.  They threaten that they will take it to the shelter if they can't find it a home and all the rescue groups are unable to help them at this short notice.

All I can say is that I hope they call the rescue group for that breed that I have given them the number for and that for the animals sake, it goes to a home with a responsible owner.  I also hope that they never take on another pet.  I wonder if people like this would give up their children so fast?  I hate to think of the answer.