Meadow Lake & District Humane Society

Temperature: -11 (Feels like -16)
Donation Total: $4155

Here is a link to a CBC story about the Extreme Sleepover! I couldn’t find the audio for the Radio interview.

5:30pm Arrive at Shelter. There was a note on the door from a teacher from Jubilee Elementary who had organized a fundraiser for the Extreme Sleepover. Jubilee helped me out last year as well. It is so great to see the community supporting the Humane Society, especially the younger generations, as they’re going to be the ones to carry on this work some day!

5:35pm There is a new arrival I picked up from the vet this afternoon. This handsome male cat was discovered with an injured back leg and brought to the vet by a kind member of the public. X-rays revealed a fractured back leg. He is on cage rest and pain medication.

5:45pm Send Slick off to his new home! I may have shed a tear or two after he left. It’s always bitter sweet to see them go. Fluffernutter was also picked up by a volunteer today to transport to his new home in Alberta. He has been renamed a much more modest “Coco”.

6:00pm Respond to a call about a stray cat. 3 cats in, one cat adopted.

6:30pm Let some cats out and then fall asleep.

6:45pm Paula comes for a cleaning/feeding shift and catches me napping and snaps a picture for evidence.

6:55pm I run to the grocery store a few things.

7:30pm Back at the shelter and have some supper. Osiris would like to share my salad.

And Gremlin finishes off my yogurt.

Thankfully I was able to eat my banana without any interference!

8:30pm Put cats away and head out for a bit.

10:00pm Back at the shelter. Let the dogs outside again.

10:13pm Get a message from my friend/boss Jennifer that Abundant Living will be running a promotion to collect donations for the Extreme Sleepover. Thank you!

10:30pm Decide to have a cat race, because what else do you do with all of these cats?! Jeff and I narrowed it down to the top 4 contenders, Hutch, Squeak, Clara and Poppy. They are all built for speed, or so we think. The amount of time it took to wrangle cats took far longer than the race itself!

11:00pm Let the dogs in and Pick my sleeping buddies for the night. Rocky the dog, along with cats Puff, Clara, Poppy and Selma.

Rocky is a 3 year old Rottweiler cross who was surrendered due to a change in his owners living situation. He was an outdoor dog who was only in the house once in his 3 years of life. He doesn’t seem too sure about this whole bed situation!

11:30pm I cover up River’s cage as he’s growling at everybody. New broken leg kitty thinks that kennel rest sucks. GIVE ME FREEDOM!!

11:40pm Puff and Poppy romp and play all over the bed. Rocky watches with curiosity.

11:50pm Selma is a spider cat. She likes it up high.

Spider cat, spider cat…grumpy neighborhood spider cat, she can purr, she can growl, she can climb, yes she can. Look out! I’m all out of words…

12:00am Rocky goes to the other side of the room. I think he’s scared of the cats. He won’t come on the bed when they’re on it.

2:55am Puff enjoys nibbling on my fingers.

3:00am Puff distracts herself momentarily by gnawing on the fingers of the dummy hand. I am grateful for the reprieve.

3:50am Broken leg cat (I swear I will come up with a better name than that!) is trying to get out of his cage. He knocks down his food dish and I am showered with kibble.

6:30am New intake meows.

6:45am Still meowing. I let him out of his cage. I get up to go pee and Rocky acts so excited to see me like I disappeared all night and magically reappeared. He slept on the other side of the desk all night. That’s the great thing about dogs. Every time you reappear in their lives, whether you go to work, go on vacation, or go to sleep in the same room and they forget you are there, they are genuinely excited to see you when you return!

6:54am Gremlin meows. New intake growls. Puff gnaws on toes. What’s with this cat?!

7:00am Puff and Poppy are running up and down the bed chasing each other. Like the Kentucky Derby, or Nascar, or…really fast spazzy cats.

7:15am Rocky barks and barks. It sounds like he’s far away but turns out he’s just in the bathroom.

7:17am I put Rocky back in his kennel so he can go out the dog door and pee. Maybe he was barking in the bathroom out of frustration because he couldn’t figure out how to use the toilet.

7:19am The dogs sound the morning alarm.

8:00am The dogs snooze alarm feature kicks in. At least I had 40 minutes in between alarms!

8:10am Crawl out of bed like I’m 100 years old. Oh my hip, oh my back! Oh my knee!

8:20am Feed the dogs. Put cats away. Can’t seem to locate the new intake. He is a really good hider, though he is probably watching me as I crawl around on the floor looking for him under things.

8:50am Three cats are dropped off while I have a mild panic attack on trying to figure out where to put them all. I put them into the pink cage temporarily while I relocate Puff into a communal and put them in her condo for now. The lady who dropped them off said they like to stick close together since they are sisters.

 

They are not impressed by their new living situation. Nothing like a little blood bath in the morning!

We are now at capacity for cats again! That didn’t take long!

This is the part where I let you in on a little secret. Last night I received a phone call with the news of an extremely generous anonymous donation of $2000 which put me well over my fundraising goal. I could have technically slept in my own bed last night, but part of me didn’t want to go home. Maybe I’m a sucker for punishment? But there were still some more snuggles to be had, fingers to be chewed, face to be slobbered on, and love to be shared. The shelter really does become my home away from home during these sleepovers, and whenever I am there volunteering or visiting the animals.

As it sits right now, the Fundraising Total is $6155 with more donations rolling in.

I am incredibly grateful for the support that this fundraiser has received. It started 3 years ago as a silly little idea but the amount of support that has grown each year has been overwhelming. Thank you to everyone who has donated, shared blog posts and words of encouragement, and made sure I had everything I needed to be comfortable during my stay at the shelter.

There would be no Humane Society if it weren’t for the hard work of our volunteers. A huge thank you to the volunteers who take care of these animals day in and day out. Volunteering is a labor of love and it takes a huge heart and a lot of work to care for every animal that comes through our doors. Your efforts really do make a difference in the lives of these animals, and in the families that eventually adopt them.

Of course I can’t go without saying thank you to the animals that I shared my bed with. You taught me valuable life lessons, like how to hold my bladder, how to sleep like a pretzel as to not disturb your slumber, and how to howl from the depths of my soul, but most importantly are the lessons on unconditional love and acceptance. The constant content purrs and wagging tails make the lack of sleep worth while.

9:10am Give the dogs and cats a treat before I go.

There’s no place like home for the holidays, but even if some animals don’t find their forever homes before then, we will do our best to make them feel safe, happy, comfortable and at home right where they are…

Because HOME is where the LOVE is.

Temperature: -11 (Feels like -13)
Donation Total: $3055

9:40pm Arrive at shelter. Let the office cats out to stretch their legs.

9:50pm A nice gentleman drops off a donation and a Christmas card. Thank you!

9:55pm I have a pep talk with Gremlin about his meowing. Hopefully it works to keep him quiet tonight!

10:00pm Check out the dogs outside. Start bringing them in.

10:05pm Give everyone a bedtime cookie. Ghost will take a treat from my hand now! Progress!

10:10pm My bed has been moved to the office. Tonight I will try a new sleeping arrangement: Cats AND a dog! Living on the edge! The cats romp and play on the bed. This should be an interesting night!

10:20pm I get into bed and roll over and am startled by a hand under the desk. It’s a prop to help with temperament testing in dogs. Or petting a cat. (Notice the count down from the first Extreme Sleepover! It took 12 nights!!)

10:30pm Bring Bernie to the office and settle into bed. Slick is a snuggler!

10:35pm Lights out!

10:47pm Bernie found the bowl of cat food I put up on the filing cabinet and knocks some onto the floor. Crunch, crunch, crunch.

10:50pm Bernie continues to jump for the food, knocking down more each time. He can get some good height!

11:00pm Puff comes to bed and chews on my fingers and my elbow. What a weirdo.

11:07pm Puff doesn’t know the meaning of personal space.

11:09pm Bernie curls up on my feet.

1:57am Try to roll over but I can’t feel my legs. Bernie is heavy!

2:01am Slick is trying to do his best impression of a scarf. My neck is sweating. I’ve already got the K9 equivalent of a heated blanket on my legs.

4:36am Poppy gnaws on my fingers.

5:51am Poppy and Clara wrestle by my head. This angers Slick who starts hissing.

6:03am Puff plays with my phone cord. I take it away and she grabs my arm and starts gnawing. Brat.

6:30am Bernie hasn’t made a peep all night. And neither has Gremlin! My pep talk must have worked!

7:00am Alarm goes off.

7:05am Roll out of bed. Cats scatter. Turn on the light and discover the cats trashed the bathroom. Clara says “It was the dog!”

7:10am Clean up a bit and put the laundry they knocked in the toilet into the washer.

7:15am Feed and water the dogs. Put Bernie back in his kennel. Put cats back in their cages.

7:30am Start a load of toilet laundry.

7:50am Another donation is dropped off, along with a cat! Thank you!

8:25am Had a radio interview on CBC’s The Morning Edition! I will post a link to the interview once it is available!

Night #7 Complete!

If you’d like to donate to help me reach my fundraising goal of $5000 and so I can get back to my warm bed, here’s how!

Donate by Mail
Box 944 Meadow Lake, SK S9X 1Y7

Or Online
http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?charityID=s83533

Temperature: -10 (Feels like -17)
Donation Total: $2605 (Over half way!)

11:20pm Arrived at shelter a little later than I had anticipated. Fell asleep at a friends house. Randy woke me up and said “Time to wake up and go to sleep somewhere else!”

11:30pm Decide to shake things up and move my bed to one of the communal cat cages. Jeff measures the bed and the floor space and determines it will fit.

11:45pm It doesn’t. Flip it around and and do some finagling and get it in place.

There we go!

11:50pm Check out the newest resident from the north! Piper can do this awesome trick where he looks like he only has 3 legs! Amazing!

12:00am Settle into bed.

12:10am Lights out. Jeff leaves. I will be sharing my bed with 4 cats this evening. Gretchen (Grey), Hutch (Grey and White), Broomhilda (Black) and Gracie (Tabby).

12:15am Gretchen and Broomhilda start crawling all over my head. Why Is my face wet?! That better be drool.

12:20pm Hutch chews on my feet.

12:26pm Gretchen perches on my shoulder and purrs in my ear. I can hear her through my ear plugs. I start going coss-eyed as her rhythmic purr lulls me to sleep. Insta-purr is such a great feature! This cat can be yours for the low low price of $60, and we will throw in the insta-purr for FREE!

12:29am Broomhilda joins the purr party. Surround sound!

12:34am Determined that Broomhilda is the source of drool.

12:45am Somebody poops, but thankfully not in this cage.

1:00am Feeling chilly but realize I forgot to crank up the heat before I went to bed.

2:00am Rosie and Pepper bark from outside. Thankfully none of the other dogs join in.

3:15am Hutch begins to snuggle along with Gretchen. I have the kitty equivalent of a scarf. I realize I’m missing one ear plug.

4:59am Gretchen is in my face purring away.

5:05am Hutch licks the remaining ear plug in my left ear. Makes me wonder if the other one fell out or was it stolen?

5:07am Need to pee. Don’t want to get up.

5:08am Don’t want to wet the bed either. Roll out of bed (I really need to get better at my Kuranda bed dismount) and stumble to the bathroom. The dogs erupt in a chorus of barks as soon as I open the cage door.

5:13am Crank up the heat and go back to the kitties. End up kicking Broomhilda on the way by. Black cat, dark shelter and a blind Jill aren’t the best combo. Hutch is rolling around the bed playing with my earplug. You DID steal it, didn’t you?

5:15pm Gretchen resumes her post as parrot cat. Hutch attacks my feet as I rub them together to warm up. Dogs settle down.

5:19am Gretchen bites my thumb. I let out a swear and Buddy starts barking. Sorry to offend you, my friend!

5:23am Everyone is quiet. For now.

5:25am I yawn and set Buddy off again. Jeez I can’t do anything! I can’t swear, I can’t yawn. These animals run a tight ship!

5:35am The neighbour cats start trying to play through the wall. They keep pawing at it. I knock back. Hutch is playing with my arm…with his claws. I don’t like this game.

5:38am Hutch moved on to using his teeth. I like this game even less. He gnaws on my elbow. Why?!

5:39am I randomly get the hiccups. Fantastic!

5:47pm Everybody poops…sometimes…unless you’re a shelter cat. Then that crap is like clockwork!

6:00am Gremlin meows.

6:15am And meows….

6:27am …and meows…

6:45am … And meows some more….

7:05am …And hasn’t stopped for over an hour.

7:07am Still meowing…

7:10am and still going…

7:11am Somebody pooped… And it’s in my cage. That’s rank!

7:14am Hutch plays with my toe and momentarily gets his claw stuck in my skin. I try not to scream.

7:15am Gretchen plays with the zipper on my sweater.

7:16am A cat next door plays with a jingle toy.

7:17am And Gremlin continues to meow…that’s it! Cats win! I’m going to do my pet sitting rounds early.

Night #6 Complete!

If you’d like to donate to help me reach my fundraising goal of $5000 and so I can get back to my warm bed, here’s how!

Donate by Mail
Box 944 Meadow Lake, SK S9X 1Y7

Or Online
http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?charityID=s83533

Temperature: -20 (Feels like -25)
Donation Total:$2275

Had a great day of donations! I am so grateful to everyone who has donated thus far! We are almost half way to the $5000 goal! I went to the Innovation Credit Union today to check on donation deposits and was tickled to see Extreme Sleepover posters plastered all over the place. It’s a great feeling to see so much support from a local business! They also made a generous donation to Extreme Sleepover. Thank you so much Innovation Credit Union!

9:50pm Arrive at the shelter after a very long day! Thankfully Jeff came to feed the dogs their supper. I get started on litter boxes!! Yay poop!

10:00pm Let the dogs outside and let the cats out to wander while I clean up after them. What a life! Unlimited supply of food and water, warm place to live and humans picking up your poop with little shovel contraptions every day. Us humans have got it all wrong. Cats are the most intelligent species. Biggest scam in history!

10:15pm Watching kitties play while I scoop poop.

10:30pm  Put the cats giant bag of poop outside and Gretchen makes a run for it. She ends up underneath my jeep and then comes running and crying because the snow is cold on her wee little tootsies. Can you see her? Squint, and turn your head sideways. She’s there!

10:35pm I get the bright idea to bring the fun of snow inside. The cats are intrigued by this white mystery substance.

10:45pm Treat time!

10:50pm Start trying to put cats away. I now fully understand the meaning of the phrase “herding cats”. I may lose my mind by the end of this.

11:00pm Making some headway, though every time I open a cage to put a cat in 2 more run out. It’s like herding jello…or water…or…cats.

Or bumble bees! Can you imagine herding bumble bees!?

Oh my god I’m tired…

11:15pm Let the dogs in and give them a bedtime treat. Pick my sleeping buddy for the night…Buddy! Buddy is an 8-9 month old Golden Lab mix who came to our shelter as a stray in September and no one came looking for him. He is a lovable goofball who is crazy about food. He would do just about anything for some kibbles. He is also very generous with slobbery kisses!

11:20pm Buddy slobbers all over my face. Thanks bud.

11:30pm Off to sleep.

11:35pm Buddy starts barking for no reason at all. You’ve got the best bed in the house, be happy! Unless they’re bragging barks “Ha ha! Look at my bed! You guys are LOSERS!” Yeah, I could totally see that.

11:49pm Fluffernutter starts the dogs barking. For someone so tiny he sure has a lot of influence.

1:38am Someone else starts barking. Buddy sniffs my face that’s peeking out from my blanket cocoon. Feeling chilly tonight.

1:45am Kisses from Buddy. Sure is an affectionate pooch!

2:00am Somebody pooped!

6:30am Buddy is stuck to me like glue.

6:46am I don’t want to jinx it but the dogs have been somewhat quiet tonight…or I may have briefly lost consciousness.  They had lots of outside time during the day so maybe that helped? Benefits of exercise, folks! Keeps you healthy and keeps dogs quiet!

6:57am Gremlin begins meowing. At least he waited until a decent hour.

7:02am I hear my name on the radio! I strain to hear but only make out “*muffle muffle* Meadow Lake *muffle muffle* Jillian Doucet *muffle muffle* Shelter”, due to the sounds of the heater, cats, dogs, and Buddy’s tongue in my ear.

I had an interview with CJNS/CJNB earlier this week. Thanks for the coverage!

http://battlefordsnow.com/story/1095/cold-nights-cause-meadow-lake-humane-society

7:09am Buddy found some kibble by my head. Crunch crunch crunch. That stuff is everywhere!

7:30am Morning face bath courtesy of Buddy. I need a shower…

7:36am Dogs are a barking. Grateful for getting 4 solid hours of sleep!

7:45am Roll out of bed and put Buddy back in his kennel. The dogs are barking away. Volunteer Beverlie will be here pretty soon for her morning cleaning shift.

7:50am Good timing! Beverlie is here! I grab some things and head out!

Night #5 Complete!

If you’d like to donate to help me reach my fundraising goal of $5000 and so I can get back to my warm bed, here’s how!

Donate by Mail
Box 944 Meadow Lake, SK S9X 1Y7

Or Online
http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?charityID=s83533

Temperature: -10 (Feels like -14)
Donation Total: $955

4:30pm Arrive at shelter with Fluffernutter. He’s sporting his fancy cone and getting awesome radio reception. There’s a face underneath all that hair, although the beard makes him look like a goat.

5:00pm A lady who was fostering 2 puppies arrives at shelter. Chuck and Ruby are off to another foster home, and Mary is getting adopted!

5:25pm I get supplies ready for the puppies and off they go!  Great to have people willing to foster! We don’t have nearly enough foster homes, but it’s incredibly rewarding to help an animal in need and get them ready for their forever homes!

5:30pm I have a snack and leave the bag of muffins on the desk behind me. I hear a rustling sound, but made the mistake of ignoring it.

5:45pm It turns out the rustling noise was Poppy going into the Ziploc bag, retrieving a muffin, and eating the top. Well played. If that’s not a guilty look I don’t know what is!

6:00pm A couple stops by with a donation! Thank you!

6:15pm Jeff stops by with some supplies from home and to help me with shovelling poop outside. My earlier attempts ended up in a cell phone falling out of my pocket and landing in slushy urine. I don’t think any amount of rice is going to save it.

6:30pm Dogs get supper and let outside. Litter boxes scooped and cats fed and watered. I wonder how many pounds of poop volunteers have to pick up every day. It’s a never ending cycle. Eat, poop, eat, poop.

7:00pm Another donation is dropped off. Yay! Thanks Gail!

7:05pm Leave for supper.

8:05pm Head back to shelter but stop at McDonalds for a treat for the dogs. I will never get over the shame involved with ordering 11 cheeseburgers, so I throw in a hot chocolate for good measure.

8:07pm The lady at the 2nd window says “It’ll be a few minutes” and laughs.

8:15pm Burgers in hand, I head back to the shelter. I’m sure this is what all of the employees thinks will be happening to the burgers tonight. “I CAN has ALL the cheese burgers!”

8:30pm Let all the cats out. 20 kitties are running around and exploring.

8:40pm Introduce the cats to some cat nip. Hilarity ensues.

9:00pm Let the dogs in for their surprise. Cheese burgers for everyone! Get ready for some blurry action shots!!

Ghost isn’t sure what to do with his cheese burger.

And everyone have the same look when they were done. More?

Nelly REALLY wants another cheeseburger!

9:30pm Pick my sleeping buddy for the night. Nelly! She’s a stray from the North who we were boarding for the week so she can go to another rescue tomorrow. She’s a doll!

10:00pm We settle in to bed. She checks out the cats next door.

10:03pm Nelly snuggles in and falls asleep right away. She is so content!

10:09pm A cat screams and scares the bejesus out of me.

10:10pm I sneeze as payback. Check. Mate.

10:12pm Nelly farted. For real…I’m not blaming it on the dog.

1:50am Dogs bark along with Nicky Minaj on the radio. Nelly farted again. Good grief dog!

1:57am Somebody pooped! Nelly gets up and licks my ear  and then lays back down.

3:22am The mystery cat belts out another terrifying solo. I think it’s Gremlin. Why does he sound like a female in heat?!

5:42am Nelly decides to give me a bath. Slobber, lick, slobber, lick. Thank you.

5:48am Neighbour cat is knocking on the wall between us.

Knock, Knock!
Who’s there?
Juan!
Juan who?
Juan day you’ll turn into a crazy cat lady, if you stick around the shelter too long!

I think I’ve got the crazy part down!

5:55am Neighbour cat bangs on the wall between us and scares the crap out of me.
Knock knock
Who’s there?
Heart attack!

Kitty also startled the dogs and they erupt in a chorus of barks.

6:00am I can add “Don’t lick me in the mouth” to the list of things I never thought in would say this early in the morning…or ever.

6:10am Nelly decides to start trying to eat my foot. Why dog, why?! The dogs start barking in excitement; they all want a piece too!

6:19am Everyone settles down again. Just give me one more hour until my alarm goes of or I may not survive my 12 hour shift.

6:23am Nelly starts to chew my cell phone cord. I retrieve it before she gets all the way through.

6:25am Dogs bark some more.

6:26am And some more….

6:27am And even more….

6:29am Either they stopped barking or I went deaf.

6:40am SOMEBODY POOPED! I wonder if there are long term health effects to being exposed to these noxious fumes…

7:30am Alarm goes off. It’s going to be a looooong day.

7:45pm Everyone fed and watered and off I go!

Night #4 Complete!

If you’d like to donate to help me reach my fundraising goal of $5000 and so I can get back to my warm bed, here’s how!

Donate by Mail
Box 944 Meadow Lake, SK S9X 1Y7

Or Online
http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?charityID=s83533

Temperature: -12 (Feels like -19)
Donation Total: $570

6:00pm Arrive at shelter. Let some kitties out and start cleaning litter boxes, feeding and watering cats.

6:10pm Hutch thinks he’s helping…

6:30pm Feed the dogs supper and put outside.

7:00pm Sweep out and mop dog kennels. Pepper helps me clean up wayward kibbles.

7:10pm Found Fluffernutter’s milkbone stash. Sneaky Shih Tzu!

7:15pm Puff takes over Pepper’s bed. Oh the inhumanity of it all!

7:20pm Volunteer Shirley brings treats and comes to visit Pepper and Rosie, though Rosie is busy barking with other dogs outside. Pepper automatically knows she’s in the building and starts to whine with excitement. Shirley is his favourite person! She takes them for walks and road trips and all sorts of fun stuff!

7:30pm Christmas music on the radio. I belt out a duet of the Christmas Song with Michael Buble to the horrified looks from various cats. Sorry guys. Got caught up in the moment!

7:45pm Put cats in their cages and go find something for supper.

9:00pm Come back to shelter. Volunteers Kevin and Kara are visiting with the animals. I bring dogs inside.

9:15pm I take on the least favourite task and clean the floor drain. I extract what feels like 50lbs of sludge. Be thankful smell-o-vision hasn’t been invented. So like any reasonable individual would do…I make a sludge-man. Complete with fancy hat!

9:30pm I start putting up Christmas decorations in the office.

I have some kitty helpers.

 

10:10pm Kara wishes a good sleep to each of the dogs and gives them a treat and heads home. The kitties got lots of playtime tonight! We’ve got some pretty awesome volunteers who make sure the critters in our shelter are well taken care of! No shortage of love in this building!

10:30pm Pick my sleeping buddies for the night. Finnegan and Ghost. This is probably a terrible idea. Finnegan is super hyper but he brings Ghost out of his shell. Finnegan is basically Ghost’s service dog. Ghost is a dog who has been running at large with a leg injury for many months. He was incredibly scared of people and would not allow himself to get caught. After many failed attempts at catching him made by many volunteers and members of the public, by some weird twist of fate he was caught in a snare trap someone had left out for wildlife, and brought to the vet. Finnegan was brought in a couple months ago as a stray and never claimed. He is a lovable goof, though is still a pup so has lots of energy to burn! Ghost has become Finnegan’s shadow. If you need Ghost to go somewhere, let Finnegan go first and he will be two steps behind!

Ghost is skeptical of my plan…

11:00pm I get Ghost and Finn into the kennel. They wander around a bit then Ghost finds the doggy door and slips outside. Finnegan flops down on the bed and rests his front legs on my windpipe. Thanks for the doggy choke hold, Finn. He’s either very clumsy or homicidal. I’ll go with clumsy as a homicidal dog doesn’t really scream “adopt me!”

11:10pm Ghost keeps poking his head in each dog door like a ground hog. Finn climbs under my covers.

11:15pm Rosie keeps growling at Ghost so he’s scared to come in.

11:17pm Ghost finally comes in and sniffs my hand. Progress! Considering this dog is terrified of everything!

11:18pm A cat next door jumps and Ghost gets startled. The dogs are barky and restless tonight.

11:20pm Off to sleep!

11:25pm The dogs bark, and bark, and bark. So I join in. If you can’t beat em…join em!

11:32pm I hear a chewing sound. I think Finn is trying to eat my blanket.

11:37pm Finn crawls under the covers again and curls up behind my knees. He’s a super snuggler!

11:38pm Somebody pooped. Still doesn’t smell as bad as drain sludge.

11:42pm Laundry buzzer goes off. Sets off a dog barking.

11:45pm A vehicle pulls up to the mechanic shop next door with super loud bass and gets the dogs barking. Then he starts screaming at the dogs to shut up. You started it buddy!

12:17am Vehicle next door revs it’s engine. Dogs bark. You suck.

4:00am We interrupt this sleepover for a breaking development…Ghost is on the bed! Finnegan is laying beside me. My blankets appear intact. Good boy!

4:10am My feet are sweating in 2 pairs of socks. I try to take them off without disturbing Ghost. Much harder than it sounds. I completely fail at taking them off with my toes. My monkey forefathers would be so ashamed.

4:37am My life has become a constant state of “somebody pooped”, this time courtesy of my friendly neighbour cats… Again.

6:00am Someone barks.

6:30am Guess what?! Somebody pooped!!!

8:00am Time to get up. Finn and Ghost are sleeping soundly. I am impressed at how well they did overnight. Not a peep from either one. Wish I could say the same for the rest of the barking dogs! I roll onto the floor and Finnegan thinks it’s time to play. No, it’s time to pee, move it bud!

8:10am Put Ghost and Finn back in their kennels and feed everyone breakfast. Rosie follows me around.

8:15am Put my clothes in the dryer and eat breakfast. Rosie Observes, hoping for some muffin crumbs.

….and then turns into a reindeer.

Woah!

8:30am I let Fluffernutter out so I can bring him to the vet. As soon as I turn my back…”The cat did it!” Nice try bud!

8:50am Drop a very happy Fluffernutter off at the vet. Happy neuter day!

9:00am Back at the shelter to wait for some clean clothes. Let the dogs outside to run.

10:00am Dryer buzzer goes. Yay! Clean laundry!

10:30am Bring the dogs inside and head out.

Night #3 Complete!

If you’d like to donate to help me reach my fundraising goal of $5000 and so I can get back to my warm bed, here’s how!

Donate by Mail
Box 944 Meadow Lake, SK S9X 1Y7

Or Online
http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?charityID=s83533

Temperature:  -20 (feels like-30)
Donation Total: $505

5:30pm Arrive at shelter. One of the volunteers brought me a heater. Thanks Lee!

  

5:35pm Feed the dogs their supper. I let the Shih Tzu out (I tentatively named him Fluffernutter…I’m running out of name ideas!) while I clean his kennel and turn around to discover a puddle. I wonder who could have done that?
“Hey lady! I found this!”

5:45pm Shovel some poop outside. What goes in must come out! Over the many years in animal rescue I have learned many lessons, most important of all, when chipping frozen poop, close your mouth. Don’t worry folks, my lips were tightly sealed! Animal rescue isn’t as glamorous as one would think…with all the poop and the pee and all the random fur everywhere. But beyond the mess, it’s rewarding as heck!

6:00pm Scooping poop works up an appetite. My mother always said I had an iron stomach. Leave for supper.

7:30pm Back to the shelter. Let some kitties out to play.

7:50pm Jeff comes to stock the fridge with food. Now I have things to put in the microwave!

He also hands me a handful of ear plugs. I’m sensing a theme with my gifts!

7:55pm Puff goes Gaga over my laundry. I must wash my things in cat nip!

8:00pm Now for some entertainment. Laser pointer! And right out of the package I accidentally pointed it in my eye. Apparently I suck at reading labels. And never trust a laser pointer with two ends. You have a 50/50 chance of blinding yourself.

8:15pm Play with the kitties.

Out damn spot!

8:30pm Random Fuzzy Kitty shots. Just a small sampling of our feline residents!

 
8:45 Pick my sleeping buddy for the night: Sam! The resemblance between Sam and Buster is uncanny! Sam is a 1.5 year old Golden Lab mix. He was adopted as a puppy but returned a year later due to the fact that he had a bit of wanderlust and wouldn’t stay on the acreage. He loves adventure! His owners felt it wasn’t fair to chain him up so they brought him back so we could find him a more suitable home. He was raised with kids and like a typical lab, LOVES his people!

8:50pm Sam meets Puff and they hit it off!

9:00 Rearrange Rosie and Pepper to another cage. They did not want to go willingly, as they laid claim to my bed.

9:10pm Rosie and Pepper give me stink eye. They do not approve of Any other sleeping buddy but them. Oh the guilt.

9:49pm Lights out! Sam is a super snuggler already! He gives great hugs!

10:05pm Someone starts barking. And barking. And barking. But thankfully no one else chimes in.

11:30pm One of the neighbour cats starts hissing.

12:00am Sam finds a bowl under the bed and starts to dig for it. Clang clang clang. Then manages to find a stray kibble. Crunch crunch crunch.

2:15am  One of the cats breaks out in a feline rendition of an opera song.  I would swear the cat was in heat with the notes it’s hitting. Mmmmwwwwrrrooooooowwwwwwwww!
But we don’t have any of those! I think?

4:00am I roll over and Sam lays on my back. He’s stuck to me like glue. Very heavy glue.

6:00am Fluffernutter the Shih Tzu starts barking for no reason. Ok, he needs a better name! Like Poopy Pants, Piddles..or Barky McBark Face…maybe Fluffernutter isn’t so bad.

7:26am Neighbour cat has it’s morning poo. Good thing I’m not setting my alarm to their bowel movements. I’d be late!

7:31am Sam rests his heavy head on my full bladder. Ouch!

7:35am Roll out of bed and set off the dogs. Breakfast time!

7:45am Top off food and water for cats.

7:50am Put Sam back in his kennel and thank him for being such a good boy. Put Rosie and Pepper back in their kennel with the big bed. They are very happy!

8:00am Everyone gets a Milkbone before I go to work.

Night #2 Complete!

If you’d like to donate to help me reach my fundraising goal of $5000 and so I can get back to my warm bed, here’s how!

Donate by Mail
Box 944 Meadow Lake, SK S9X 1Y7

Or Online
http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?charityID=s83533