May 2009

Dear Friends:

Meet Boomer, the blind Rottweiler at Charley’s Strays! He is one of the nicest dogs we have ever had at the Shelter. We have set up an appointment for July 11th with the eye specialist from Massachusetts, Dr. Bachrach. Now we are keeping our fingers crossed that whatever is wrong with his eyes, can be fixed, at least partially.

The month of May was a horrible one for our Shelter: A couple of weeks ago we received a plea from another Shelter to take in a 12+ year old Lab girl, who had just been dropped of because she peed in her sleep. I was pretty hot about that, and said I just hope the owners never have to deal with incontinence in their old age and will be put into a home by their family. Anyway, the old girl was pretty happy and followed everybody around, it seemed like she never had much attention in her life. A few days later she became very ill. Rebecca and Ted transported her to the vet, who diagnosed her with the deadly Parvo virus! He could not save her and had to put her to sleep.

I have the feeling that Reb and Ted were the only people who ever shed tears over that poor dog. Now the worries started: Parvo is a highly contagious virus, and can be spread by flies to other dogs. Thank God we have been practicing something ever since we took over from Charley: Rabies, Distemper and Parvo vaccinations for all the dogs. By state law we need to have them vaccinated for Rabies only, and that only then when we place the animal. But we have always thought much better of the old saying: prevention is the best medicine, than of what the state’s ideas of care taking for animals are. Of course vaccination does not always prevent this terrible sickness, especially in puppies and old dogs.

Anyway, from day one when the Lab had to be put down until several days after, Ted (who had been sick in bed himself all week), Rebecca and all the volunteers including the lady who has adopted our problem child “Chief”, cleaned and bleached everything, and everywhere. The Parvo virus can live in the ground for a year, so even the huge outside premises had to be bleached! 

We bought a two gallon container with a hand pump, and poor Ted’s arm was killing him by the time 1/3 of the grounds were done. But bleach is the only thing, which kills this virus.

Thank God it looks like all of our dogs are okay; but it was one big scare for everybody. If you know anyone who has dogs, please ask them if they also have their Distemper and Parvo shots, because both are killers. And if they can’t afford the vaccination, please help. Thanks!

The cat section of Charley’s Strays fared very badly too; we lost two cats this month. More about that sad news in Mary’s cat report.

Then there was a letter from Martha Beebe, telling me that Bette Beebe, her mother, had died. Bette had been with Charley’s from the beginning, the late 1980s. She was 88 years old, and had a big heart for animals. I remember sending her a tiny mouse, which I had made way back when I did pottery in Germany, for her “mice” collection.  Bette was thrilled over this tiny gift. Martha said: “Many of her favorite moments were spent reading your newsletter every month for many years. She’d always say: Read this, Martha- it’s always so interesting! As the years went by, I ended up having to read it to her, because she went blind . . .” I only knew her via telephone conversations, which I enjoyed very much. Bette was a sweet lady, and she will be missed.

CAT REPORT  – May 2009

May has not been a happy month here: we lost two cats, both to kidney failure, in two days, one with almost no warning. 

I wrote last month that Randall was about to see the vet about why he wasn’t eating much; his blood work showed his kidney function was poor.  I spent a week trying to coax him to eat with little success, and finally took him for his final appointment Monday the 11^th, which was Lisa’s, Black Peter’s and Pooh’s birthday. 

Meanwhile, over the weekend Black Peter stopped eating.  Saturday night when Emery threw up part of his supper Peter was there to help clean up so quickly that he got splashed a bit; but Sunday he barely nibbled his meals, and Monday he wasn’t feeling well.  We skipped the planned birthday party, and Peter went to the vet Tuesday morning.  By then he was so sick, and his blood work was so abnormal, that Nicole saw no point in my bringing him home.

I think Peter’s kidney problem could have a hereditary component, since I’ve always suspected the funny-foots might have invisible problems, so I’m keeping a closer-than-usual eye on Lisa and Pooh and half-brother Christopher, and bringing the younger ones extra canned food to make sure they stay in good appetite.  Some of you who’ve been with us since Charley’s day (or almost) might remember that another half-brother died soon after I found him a forever home, under circumstances that suggested a congenital heart problem.  After his death the ones at my house had chest X-rays, just to check.  So far, my remaining three seem well, and I’m tentatively planning a birthday party for the youngsters before the month is over.

Otherwise, we’re doing fine.  The cats’ friends Alice and Ric brought one of those soft-sided cubes that I gave to Tommy, Buddy and friends; someone is in it ­every time I go into the room.  Those cats used to have several cubes, until a new cat added to the group decided they were his and claimed them in the usual male-cat way.   I left them outdoors all winter to deodorize and haven’t yet made time to finish cleaning them up and bring them back in.  Another cat friend, Jean, brought an elegant two-story hollow scratching post; that replaced a very raggedy one in the room with Chris, Alison, Shy-High and their friends.  I promptly learned that it’s easy to clean: with the entire large room to choose from, some cat deposited a hairball on top of the new scratching post.

Jean and the Charles’ cat, Olivia, sent food, and Jean donated other useful things, like litter, bowls and a couple scoops (one for food and one for the litter box).  I was pleased to get a lot of coupons this month, from Suzanne Belisle, Christel Friedow, Doris Lary, P. A. Lenk, Janice Massaua, Teresa Parent, Willa Rocket, Irma Simon and Judy Smith.  My thanks to them, and as always, to the rest of you who help us take care of our animals.

ADA Fence, Palmyra

Al & Judy Smith, Belmont

Carole Parker, Stoughton

Christel Friedow, Plymouth

Cindy Houston, Woburn

Cristine Cardello, Melrose

Doris Lary, Hartland

Dorothy D’Alessandro, Oss.

Dorothy Eckstein, Medford

Dorothy Watkins, Amesbury

Enid Hayes, Halifax

George Hinds, Cambridge

Iris Martinello, Tewksbury

Irma Simon, S. China

Jackie Lowney, N. Bedford

Janet Heard, Bath

Jean Catignani, Conway

Jon & Barb Anderson, Augusta

Joseph Blake, New Bedford

Joseph D’Alessandro, Tuftonb.

Josephine Ford, Holden

Josephine Smith, Woburn

Judy Rohweder, Northport

Laureen Alden, Stoughton

Linda Merriam, Dresden

Lisa D’Alessandro, Raymond

Lorena & Harry Clark, Beverly

Lynn Frischmann, Los Gatos

Marcia Smith, Bucksport

Marian Delarue, Woburn

Marlene Kaplan, Melrose

Mary Klayda, Winchester