Unwittingly promoting AFI

[Vanished]

Yeah it’s the reason I don’t think I’d be able to permanently own an animal. I watched my dog die a few years ago, who I had since I was 7, and it was one of the worst things I think I have ever witnessed. It really makes me contemplate deeply the merciless reality of our universe…

I worked at an animal rescue for two years when I was in college, and we rescued this cat who had been hit by a car. Somehow he managed to survive and after several surgeries and rehabilitation he recovered more or less completely, aside from having a permanent limp. He was so terrified of everyone though, and hid in a corner underneath a chair whenever anyone came in his room. So I laid on the floor every time I worked there, and slowly he came out and wandered freely, and after a while he would come up to me and eventually let me pet him. He got so much better that he was ready to be adopted, but a few days before his new family was going to come and pick him up, he contracted a virus that is fatal to cats. The family adopted him anyway even though we had to break the news to them, and they vowed to care for him in the final days of his life. They called us about a week later to tell us he had passed away.

There were other instances where we had rescued very young (weeks old) kittens who tested positive for feline leukemia and were put down. It’s really a big reason why I can’t be involved in the actual rescuing process anymore, because it’s just way too distressing to me. I love animals, they are innocent creatures, and it’s so unjust in my opinion that in way too many cases, more animals are born because people don’t take care of their pets, and then they suffer and die. In many cases I could say similar things about people, but I won’t go there in this thread.

That being said, the volunteer work I’ve done with animals in more recent years has been a bit more removed, like helping to clean the adoption center and donating things, but I do miss being around animals, so I feel like fostering would be perfect.

[STORMS]

Speaking of… my wife recently rescued a kitten from underneath the hood of a van across the street. My son named her “Phoenix” and now she’s among the family. We have 3 cats now, but that’s enough… lol.

I guess to make this thread still to the topic, perhaps I could say, “I am now living in the Days of the Phoenix”.

[Vanished]

@STORMS

My son named her “Phoenix” and now she’s among the family. We have 3 cats now, but that’s enough… lol.

Oh my. That’s my name, too.

I totally agree that three cats isn’t enough lol. I probably have a nearly unhealthy obsession with cats. If I see a cat in someone’s yard or in the window I immediately abandon whatever else I might be doing and go over and start talking to it and/or trying to pet it. I love dogs too, but cats are like my spirit animal lol. I have a bizarre connection to them. Someone once told me I’m a cat magnet because even cats who don’t like people in general come running to me. I have no idea why.

[Humma]

Though the deaths are difficult for me, the way I see it, and perhaps why it’s possible for me and my family to deal with, is that, though they might suffer, we can ease that through our love and care. We can make them less afraid, we can make it a little better for them. If we get lucky, we can heal them. I need to share photos of Lola. The first ones are hard to look at but she’s healing so well and we are doing emotional therapy with her too so she’s even recovering from (undiagnosed but obvious) PTSD.