Animal Talk/News

These portraits that can be of your pets, your kids, your kids and pets, or the entire family make the most treasured Christmas present as well as truly magnificent family heirlooms. There really is something truly classy about a formal photographic portrait and to have one as inexpensive as these can be, you really should make an appointment.

All portrait sittings are by appointment and there are only so many available. You must pay your sitting fee in order to receive an appointment. Credit cards will be accepted.

Why not make this Christmas extra special with the gift of a personal family portrait. Rest assured, your portrait will be a treasured gift, and all at a fraction of what you’d ordinarily expect to pay. For more information, please call our Animal Adoption Center at 639-4771.

Once again, we made our bi monthly trek with Crown Prince Winston, our long haired cat, over to the girls at the Dawg Haus. It took Fran and me a full half hour to get him out from under the bed. We won’t even go into the other half hour it took Fran to get me up off the floor.

Anyway when Fran and I picked him up, Winston again was absolutely beautiful and looked adorable with his little bandana around his neck. The girls went out of their way to repeat what they said when he was last there, that he really was a perfect gentleman and this time he actually enjoyed being with them which indeed was most apparent. Perfect client, maybe; perfect son….NOT! When we got home he came halfway out of his carrier, turned and looked up at me with malice aforethought in his eyes, then looked at the hand still resting on his carrier door. Without saying a word, the little pocket rocket vaulted the rest of the way out of the carrier…….and on the way past, bit the hand that freed him.

Shortly after graduation, Jessica was offered a teaching position in South Korea teaching English to Korean children. Inasmuch as Jessica wouldn’t go anywhere without Aspen and Aurora, she decided to accept the offer only on the proviso she could bring her dogs! This meant she had to find pet friendly accommodations in Korea. This is no easy task to accomplish from half way around the world. To make things incredibly more difficult, Koreans love dogs…….for food!!

Jessica, however, finally completed all necessary travel arrangements (including those for the dogs) and off she went into what was certainly, a great unknown.

Arriving in a small South Korean town, unable to speak the language and even being confronted with extreme difficulty in simply obtaining dog food and good veterinary medical care for the dogs, Jessica finally settled in. Being unable to speak or write Korean or even to easily identify items at a grocery store, life was obviously quite lonely. She was extremely thankful to have Aspen and Aurora. The puppies grew from playfulness to lovingness and before she realized what was happening, she discovered Aurora was pregnant. It wasn’t long before (we’ve stepped up a letter here folks in our city names) Brooklyn, Bronxi and Boston arrived. Needless to say, caring for five dogs left Jessica little time to be lonely.

Knowing that puppies are a dinnertime delicacy in Korea, she tried, as far out as six months from the end of her contract, to find acceptable homes for the three puppies. None, however, met her criteria and she decided that in that case, all the dogs were just going to go home with her!

Arranging to travel with a dog across the Atlantic can be a daunting experience. But to try and travel halfway around the world with five dogs is enough to drive a teatotaler to guzzle Jack Daniels! Just the red tape is unbelievable.

But our intrepid heroine sallied forth……and immediately started getting roadblocks thrown in her path. Then with the help of both the South Korean and American Embassies, she was able to get the necessary clearances. Only then did she realize that all flights from South Korea to the U.S. had a lay over in Japan and she found it impossible to prevent all five dogs going into quarantine upon arrival in Japan. At almost the last minute, Delta announced a non stop flight from Seoul to the United States. Within days Jessica and all five of her dogs were back in Tennessee in good old Greene County.

So you see, while winning our Howl-o-ween Costume Contest might have been a big thrill for Jessica, it was small potatoes for the dogs. After all, how can you excite a family of five Chihuahuas that are already world travelers?

I’ve always said we have the most fantastic volunteers anywhere and they proved it last Saturday for all to see. Dozens of people pitched in and helped in every way imaginable. We owe our success to their unmitigated efforts. Of course we all also owe so much to our employees, several of whom came in on their day off to help out as well.

None of this success would have been possible were it also not for the tremendous public turnout we enjoyed for this year’s Howl-O-Ween. Hands down, we had the largest crowd we’ve ever hosted and we’re so indebted to you, the members of our community, for your support. Finally, we want to thank the guy who pulled it all together and provided such fun filled entertainment throughout the entire event. I’m of course talking about my good friend and Greene County’s most famous entertainer, that unparalleled Master of Ceremonies and unintentionally hilarious DJ, U-Geen Owens. U-Geen traveled all the way in from his new home way out on Horsewallow Creek. We do so appreciate that wonderful woman who picked up U-Geen along the side of the road and transported him and his little red wagon in which he was hauling his equipment, into town in the back of her Pick up truck. If it hadn’t been for his horri…err …beautiful and expensive, leisure suit, I’d never have recognized him with that “windblown” look. But gosh darn, just when is that boy gonna’ see a dentist?!

Finally we end this week’s offering on a sad note. Recently we learned of the death of Jane Dwyer King in Lafayette Louisiana while at the home of her daughter. In addition to all of the organizations listed in her obituary to which she contributed her time and her talents, Jane was also a much loved former President of your Humane Society. She will be sorely missed and we extend our heartfelt sympathies to her family and her many friends in Greeneville.

During 2007, from the public we took in the following: 32 healthy dogs and 33 healthy cats for a total of 65 animals; 134 Treatable-Rehabilitatable dogs and 120 cats for a total of 254 animals. We took in 3Treatable-Manageable dogs and one cat and we took in 2 Unhealthy and untreatable dogs and no cats. Therefore we took in directly from the public 232 dogs and 210 cats for a total of 442 animals.

From organizations within our community/coalition we took in: 31 healthy dogs and 10 cats for a total of 41 healthy animals. We also took in 107 Treatable-Rehabilitatable dogs and 41 cats for a total of 148 animals. Two unhealthy and untreatable dogs were taken in. The total animal intake therefore from organizations with our community/coalition were: 143 dogs and 52 cats for a total of 195.

We took in no animals from outside our Community/Coalition nor did we take in any animals from owners requesting euthanasia.

As regards adoptions, we adopted out 53 dogs and 34 cats that were healthy when we received them for a total of 87 animals. We also adopted out 251 dogs and 162 cats that had been treated or rehabilitated as well as 22 dogs and 16 cats that had been treated and become manageable. That means that a total of 326 dogs, 212 cats for a total of 538 animals found loving homes during 2007!

We had no animals that were transferred outside our Community/Coalition and we were able to return 18 dogs and 6 cats for a total of 24 animals returned to their owners/guardians.

Sadly we had to euthanize 27 unhealthy and untreatable dogs and 29 cats for a total of 56 animals. The overwhelming number of these euthanasias were as a result of horrific injury, many from close-in gunshots. We also had during 2007, 5 dogs and 7 cats in our care die from disease

Therefore, an adjusted total of 376 dogs and 254 cats for a total of 630 animals were processed through ou Animal Adoption Center last year and we ended our totals on December 31, 2007 with 38 dogs and 38 cats for a total of 76 animals. Now you understand how difficult our job is yet how well we perform for the welfare of the animals of Greeneville and Greene County.

I gotta’ tell everyone that honestly, cross my heart and hope to die, we are going to have the grandest Howl-O-Ween celebration we’ve ever thrown. How do I know that? I can confirm that because we have not only the largest number, but also the most committed and hardest working volunteers we’ve ever had planning and setting up this year’s event!

At our last planning meeting, we had so many people attend that I thought we were going to have to adjourn to NPAC just to have enough seats for everyone! Everyone who attends be they young or old, are going to truly have a blast. And in addition, all of the animals that come up in their gorgeous pet costumes are going to have just as good a time.

We’re again this year, privileged to have the world’s most famous Master Of Ceremonies, U-Geen Owens ramrodding the festivities. We are going to have to ask for some volunteers, however, to keep the dogs from attacking the poor man. Seems like every dog in the universe wants a chunk out of Eugene. Maybe it’s because of those buck teeth of his look so scary to them. My heavens, they’re as big as a Timber wolf’s canines! Thankfully, all the kids think he’s wearing a Halloween costume ‘cause if they knew he really looked that way, they’d run screaming in all directions.

So get to work on those costumes for your pets (and yourselves for that matter) and make plans to come out to our Animal Adoption Center at 950 Hal Henard Road on Saturday, October 25^th from Noon until four. It will certainly be not only a fun event but one to remember! ‘Til then, guess I’ll see you today up at the Fairgrounds. I’ll be the guy cookin’!