When I got up, to my surprise, Yoshee greeted me happily at my bedroom door! She had come all the way up all by herself.
As I drove to work after feeding everyone, Sree called me asking about Yoshee. She had discussed it with the vet who examined Yoshee on Saturday and the vet feels Yoshee is ready to be spayed since she appears to be very healthy (and happy too!).
Sree prefers to have Yoshee spayed before taking her back to her mother-in-law's house.
The plan was that I would bring Yoshee in this evening for a night's boarding at the clinic and Yoshee will be spayed tomorrow morning, then I take her back for fostering until Saturday. I said I'd prefer to bring Yoshee in tomorrow instead so that I could feed her supper tonight.
After work, I went to the clinic to speak with the vet to confirm again that Yoshee is fit to be spayed. They vet said yes, as they had done many such cases before. The plan now is that Sree wants to take over Yoshee tomorrow itself as her mother-in-law can look after Yoshee after the spaying. She is home all the time, and it would be better for Yoshee to have someone monitoring her after the spaying.
According to Sree, her mother-in-law loves dogs and have had dogs all her life. Yoshee will be kept indoors as a house pet. The mother-in-law is also lonely in the mornings when her son goes off to work, so having Yoshee will be good company for her. Currently, they have a 4-month old puppy and that puppy is also lonely.
As planned, I will bring Yoshee in tomorrow morning so that I can at least give her one more meal (supper) tonight, probably at about 11pm. Sree has scheduled an early morning spaying for Yoshee tomorrow so I will bring Yoshee in before going to work.
It is also good that Yoshee goes earlier to her forever home. She is bonding really fast with all of us and a change will again require adjustment.
Bonding with Bobby this morning. Yoshee is keen to be friends with everyone. My husband says Yoshee's temperament is almost exactly like Tabs'. Tabs also came and was so keen to bond with everyone.
The gang observing Yoshee from the Clubhouse.
Baggy is a lot more active now, taking part in the gang's activities, like she is a part of the community.
Yoshee wants to join too.
Tiger was hissing, which is unusual, but then again, my cats have not really seen such a big doggie before, so naturally, as expected, they would be cautious.
Yoshee waits for me right outside the grille when I do my work.
She also followed Jia-Wen (my son) up to his room just now. She's just so eager to please, as most dogs are.
Happy as ever and totally at home.
It is good that she will be going to Sree's mother-in-law's soon. That would be her forever home and she should bond with her as soon as possible.
We will miss her, of course.
As you all know, whenever we have any case, I will always blog for help first because I know my own limitations. I'm not a rescuer or a fosterer. That is definitely not my area of expertise. What I can do is to run AnimalCare as a medical fund with the intention of helping the rescuers and caregivers out there. But in running AnimalCare, cases come to us, and I will first blog for help. But when no help is received, and only if I can, I will do my best to help. Sometimes whatever I can provide is not good enough in the eyes of the many seasoned and experienced caregivers and rescuers out there. Then, my only wish is that they would offer their help. If they don't, this is the best I can do, and my conscience is clear.
This afternoon, there is a comment from a reader in this post: http://myanimalcare.org/2012/05/13/thoughts-on-the-bull-terrier-case-from-a-reader/ (scroll to the comments section)
I Glum feels that Baloo and Baggy should never have been rehomed to an office. If you read my reply to I Glum, yes, no place is "ideal" but that was the best I could do at the time. I blogged for adopters every single day and no one responded. Indy was running further and further away from home. The kittens' rescuer could not take them back. My offer was only to foster for a few days, but it soon became weeks. I was left with the responsibility of rehoming them myself, which was not even part of the initial agreement with the rescuer.
Andy Lew was the only person who offered to help by taking in Baloo and Baggy. We visited his office and it looked very safe for us. The kittens would be given a private room by themselves and Andy and Emily asked many questions about cat-care which showed their commitment. Mr Teh, a very experienced cat-owner and caregiver was their partner and he told me he would take care of them as well.
It seemed good enough for me.
And yes, I do not have "stringent standards" as I cannot afford to. I know many rescuers have extremely stringent standards. I salute them, as they can afford to do it. Lydia, for one, has very stringent standards, and I really admire her for that. Koo, also has very stringent standards. Many of you also have very stringent standards, I'm sure.
The bottom line is, when I asked for help for Baloo and Baggy, no one offered any help. There were only a lot of comments asking me to adopt Baloo and Baggy, but I have my limitations too. I could not adopt them at that time since my house was very unsafe and I had already lost 3 cats on that dangerous road outside. My alphas can be very hostile to kittens around the age of 6 months to 1 year. Wolf was chased out by Cleo and he never returned. So, does my house qualify? I think not. Do I qualify? I think not.
If I can find a better place than my house and a better caregiver than me, I will let the kittens go.
I believed Andy and Emily (and Mr Teh) qualified.
So, the kittens went to the office. Andy sent photos and even the readers commented and applauded their efforts at providing the best they could for the kittens. The kittens seemed very happy. We visited a few times. All was well.
No one said anything about not rehoming them in the office. No one offered to provide them a better home. If anyone had felt so strongly about the office being unsuitable, why didn't she offer to take Baloo and Baggy?
Now that an accident has happened and Baloo is gone, people point fingers and say they "should" never have been rehomed to an office in the first place.
Why speak now?
Why didn't they offer to take the kittens when I appealed every day for adopters?
The vet whom we have consulted said it is possible that the cause of death is poisoning. But he also said it was possible that there could be a congenital abscess which had burst, thus causing fever and bleeding in the lungs. Who are we now to say that it was a case of negligence even if the CCTV only showed Baloo entering the toilet? The possible cause is only speculation which cannot even be verified. Can we be so sure to point the finger and say it was due to negligence?
No post-mortem was done. We will never know the most probable cause of death.
Even I who fostered Baloo and Baggy and everyone knows how dear they are to me, am not blaming anyone. Why are others pointing the finger so easily when they are merely onlookers on the case?
So, I am rehoming Yoshee tomorrow, and before anything happens, if anyone can provide a better option for Yoshee, please offer now. If you wish to take over Yoshee, please take over now.
When I blogged for help for Yoshee, no one offered any help. So I picked up Yoshee and I found her an adopter who is very keen to take her tomorrow. To my mind, the elderly lady who is going to adopt Yoshee loves dogs and has had dogs all her life. Her compound is fenced up and Yoshee is going to be indoors. I trust Sree as she is my friend. Sree is a vet assistant. If Yoshee is ill or needs medical treatment, Sree would surely attend to her needs.
That is good enough for me. If may not be good enough for those with stringent conditions, but it is good enough for me, who has to work with so much limitations.
So, again, if anyone can provide a better alternative for Yoshee, please speak now.
Better still, please ACT now.
8 comments:
Very well said!!!
The idea that keeping a cat or a dog in an office is negligence is actually a prejudice. Just as there are many awful offices, there are also many horrible homes. We like to think homes as the place where we spent the most time - this is actually not true. Many people now spend more time in their office than their residence. And when it's time to be home, people try to go out - shopping, movies, dinners, etc. Many often just go home to sleep and then pop out again. And I have seen offices that are better than residences in terms of space, cleanliness, security and comfort. There are cats everywhere and they should be given the chance to make a home where they choose to stay, and we should all be a bit more generous in sharing spaces with them too. Let us not forget about Dewey the library cat who lived a long memorable life serving his community, or Oscar the cat that lives in a nursing home that keeps dying patients company, or Tama the cat train stationmaster in Japan whose tenure as a stationmaster is so successful that she's getting feline assistants. And these are only the recent famous examples!
there is no such thing as perfect place' when we give away our foster or rescue animal to an adopter, its not possible to list down all the risk and potential problems. we also trust the other adopter will take good care of the animal. we cant be checking on them every single day... i personally have my own bad experience. in this case, baloo and baggy were in good hands. accident happens, we cant blame anyone here. and to you yoshee' i might need to visit u in ur new home! wishing you a great life' will pray for a successful operation tomorrow
No worries Kah Yein, we can never satisfy everyone in this world. As long as we do our best and as you said it, did it with a clear conscience, that's all to it. Things happened for certain reasons, it happened, we move on as the road ahead is long and bumpy. There's so many others out there who are calling for help.....
So easy and fast to comment when things go south....So silent when help is needed. All ye who is fast with you mouth, spewing out judgmental words, please take a step back and think of the outcome of your words, for if they brought no good, then tis better you be silent, lest ye be judged yourself..As a an uncompassionate fool.
Here we are doing our best, to the best of our ability...Saving, fostering, loving, rehoming...How dare you judge!
Some people talk without understanding the entire situation. Some people also just talk. As children we used to say NATO = No Action, Talk Only. These people make comments and judgements on the actions of others but where were they when help was required? It's all talk. How many animals have they rescued and rehomed?
Baloo's case was very unfortunate but it was the best decision for them at the time. If I Glum can do better maybe she start by getting my 5 puppies, 3 dogs, 4 guinea pigs 1 kitten and 1 old cat rehomed for me a.s.a.p.
I say again. Talk is cheap. Let these people talk. It just disappears into the wind.
Baloo died due to unforeseen circumstances. Regardless of keeping a cat at home/office, things do happen. I agree with Donovan - No one can predict the future. And Baloo probably was fated to have a short and fulfilled life.
Andy, Emily & Mr. Teh adopting Baloo and Baggy was the best solution for the kitties and all parties involved at that point of time and they all did the best they could.
You have already done so much, as best as you could, even stretching yourself to the limits! It's MORE than good enough and I really salute you! This write-up is most timely for all of us. Thanks once again, Dr Chan!
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