So I write this, on a rainy Sunday afternoon, ready to take a long planned camping vacation on a little island off of the coast. We are taking a canoe, a tent, some books and ponchos. It makes little difference to me whether it rains or not. There is a bell buoy off the tip of the island that clangs and the waves lap on the shore.
I'm leaving you in the capable hands of an awesome staff, and Dr. Jim Meiczinger, whose compassion, competence and sense of humor all leave me secure in leaving my cell phone behind. Jim has a family obligation next Thursday, so rather than get a vet fill in, I have decided to close. Lucerne Veterinary Hospital will be on call for us that day, so if there are any problems call the office and we will give you the number. Many of you know Dr. Miles and Monk, who are awesome vets and people...and they have your back if there is a problem.
I have emptied my inbox, and filled the trunk of the car.
I remembered to pack fixings for Smores, some groceries, a tent, a flame starter and a cork screw. I always forget the corkscrew.
But before I go I wanted to tell you about the inspiration that gave me a smile this week. Last Friday I taped a radio show with Don Hanson of the Woof Meow Show and Suzan Bell of the Bangor Humane Society (it'll be on WVOM tonight at 8:30pm 103.9)
The topic was respiratory disease, which is a devastating contagious illness that is the scourge of shelters because although it is usually not life threatening, it is very contagious and cats can spread the virus for up to 72 days after infection. For most cats it's a passing problem and its easily vaccinated for, but a combination of lack of vaccination and young, stressed cats makes it impossible to eradicate in shelter situations.
So my role was to describe the medical aspects of the disease and how it is treated and prevented. I figured Suzan would outline how it affected their population and the impact it would have on their cats. Although she did that, she also told about how they had developed a foster care program and 'cat enrichment' program that used volunteers to take adult cats with kittens and take them out of the shelter and into a home where not only was the stress level lower, but the exposure to disease was less. They have 40 volunteers that do that and what impressed me most is that they ask the foster homes to keep the mother cats an additional two weeks after the kittens come back to get them some extra time to put on some weight and focus on getting their immune systems back on track after nursing a bunch of kittens.
Furthermore, they are taking donations for a special fund to provide Hepa/Ionizing filters for each cat room to minimize the viral particles and contain the spread of disease. Each filter costs $500 and there are three cat rooms...they are half way there. If any of you can spare a donation or the more substantial commitment of taking on a foster group of cats, give the Humane society a call.
Its easy to complain when faced with an obstacle that essentially can't be overcome. The folks at the Humane Society will never eliminate respiratory disease in cats(sorry guys). But to do everything that is possible to make a difference in the face of that...to use the ideas of a group of caring people to fight in the face of overwhelming odds is a soulful reminder to us all.
Time for me to hit the road.
The bell buoy is calling me.
This week's video is a reminder that its worth a little work for the perfect pleasure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSeBCFh53rU
|
