Dear Readers,
Please forgive us for not writing to you last week, but we have a good reason and an important message.
Last Tuesday we were in the car on an early morning errand and at the end of our road we saw three tiny tiny kittens, just sitting by the side of the road looking terrified. It was still dark out. We were able to catch one of them right then, but the other two ran off and would not come near. We left some food for them, thinking they would at least stay near a food source.
Buster, the first little guy, was thin, and we soon realized that he didn’t seem to know how to eat kitten food. He was only about five to six weeks old and we think he had been taken from his mother before he was weaned. But as soon as he figured out what kitten chow is he devoured a whole bowl of it. We got him to a foster home right away and he settled right in.
We forgot all about writing our column and instead spent hours combing the woods trying to find the other two kittens, but there was no sign of them, and they never touched the food that we had left. We were heartsick. They were so tiny and it was so cold at night. We kept looking that night and talked to all the neighbors to be on the lookout for them, but we never expected them to survive the night. Imagine our surprise when a neighbor called us on Wednesday night to say she had seen them again.We started to put out a humane trap whenever it was warm enough but it was getting even colder every night and we still had little hope.
On Friday morning another neighbor called us to say one of the kittens was sitting on top of the trap! He was able to get him in the trap until we could get there. Thumper was even more thin and more terrified, but he was safe. Within hours we caught Bambi and he too was safe and warm, and eating kitten chow as fast as he could. Both soon joined Buster in foster care.
We don’t usually have pictures in this column but here (above) is a picture of Buster, all snuggly and warm in his foster home. So this story, thanks to sheer luck and the kindness of our neighbors, has a happy ending. But here is the important message. And we try hard never to rant, but just this once we are going to do it.
DON’T ABANDON ANIMALS ON COUNTRY ROADS OR ANYWHERE! IT IS A CRIME! YOU COULD GO TO JAIL! MORE IMPORTANT, IT IS DESPICABLE AND CRUEL!
There, we had to say that. We doubt that people who read this column would do such a thing anyway, but if you see what you think is an act of animal abandonment, try to get a license plate number or a description and call 911. Don’t tolerate it. Not for a minute. People who abandon animals are not saving them from euthanasia at a shelter, they are killing them by letting them starve to death, or freeze to death, or be eaten by wild animals, or be hit by cars. Sure, a few lucky ones survive. But most do not.
On a happier note, Buster is a survivor and he already has a new home. But you can meet Thumper and Bambi at our next Home 4 the Holidays Adoption Day on Saturday, December 5th from 11 to 2 at the YMCA Armory, 265 West First Street, in Oswego. We, (Porky & Buddy), will be there in person to meet you too. There will be holiday treats for kids and lots of other pets who would like to have their own stocking for the holidays at your house. You can find out more about our pets for adoption at www.oswegohumane.org.
The Oswego County Humane Society provides spay/neuter services and assistance, fostering and adoption of animals in urgent need, humane education programs, and information and referrals to animal lovers throughout Oswego County. Our office is located at 265 West First Street, Oswego, New York. Phone (315) 207-1070. Email:
[email protected]. Website: www.oswegohumane.org.
