so Red Heron Essentials is about to get it's very own store mascot.. a little kitty cat! Of course, Dave the Cat has stipulated that if he is going to have a cousin who gets to spend time with his mommy, the kitty must be a red head.. why break from tradition.
We're now canvassing for name suggestions.. Scarlett was deemed too obvious (sorry Dreamer!) by some of our staff...
Anyone?
Auntie Aan thoughts?
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posted the pics of the kitties I wanted... I guess this will have to do for now!
I have had the pleasure of meeting Janmac in person and look forward to doing so again!
Has anyone ever tried grey poupon with chicken? I did this evening and it was delicious!
[B]But it is not necessary. All is right with the world. Are you stopping by for the Kimberley Seldon event? [/B]
Does this mean you can get the kitties? OR are you getting 2 somewhere else ? :)
I have marked it on my calendar.
But it is not necessary. All is right with the world. Are you stopping by for the Kimberley Seldon event?
Let me know. I'll go tomorrow if necessary.
okay what are the names of the kitties. That is what the thread was all about. Do we have names?
This has turned into the thread of whether or not Red said the CORRECT thing or whether or not it is a good idea for street thugs to have a pitbull!!! Geez!
No Comment.
you look like the canary who swallowed the cat!
Are your staff out and about??
L
:D
Why is it that people with less credentials to parent than Red has to be a responsible pet owner can bring children into this world? How do you think they'd react to a "blanket statement"? Hummph!
The real "policy" is a policy which does not allow for the exercise of discretion. Hence the "blanket" restriction. It is a cop out.
If the Society trusted their employees to consider each application independently and to exercise REASON, there would be a set of guidelines, not a blanket restriction. Guidelines which would, presumably, allow the employees to consider the circumstances, for example the purpose for which the animal is being adopted (ie - is it a pet or a mouser?), the type of business, etc... and then to allow or deny the application.
I have been in many businesses with pets in residence. One is a high brow "art jewelry" shop on a busy corner in downtown Edmonton. I always pat the resident dogs, and they seem to love the attention. My own dogs are home alone for hours every day! I think cats are particularly suited to being "workplace" pets - their physiology is such that they spend so much time sleeping, that I am certain a cat would be content even if left alone every night .
It would appear that the Toronto Humane Society is too frightened or too lazy to establish some appropriate guidelines, and as a result there will be pets left lonely in little cages - pets that might otherwise enjoy a ton of attention and a stimulating life. Shame on the Society!
just my two cents, which i was not thinking about until reading DBD's post......i think unfortunately some folks have likely done things that make it hard for the ones like red who truly will be good to her cats. I do recall an incident here where a garage had a dog and believe me, that dog did live in a nasty situation. I do want red to have her kitty as i do feel it will be a good home and i do understand what dbd is saying also....and dbd did have a good point about the allergy that some folks have to cats, but as long as her customers that frequent the shop are aware that cats are there and its not a problem than hopefully that will be okay too. I think we all seem to be animal lovers here and just want what is best for the kitty. I was judging as well picturing what our animal shelter is like here....it is horrid, the stinch will make you ill within minutes...the lack of space and funds is just horrible for those animals...I hope all works out! Oh red got your post about the JANET'S lol not the janet's lol
smiles
janetc
I think it is safe to say that everyone here thinks that red is an excellent pet owner, loves Dave and would love the new cats too.
I think that DBD is just trying to make the point that most places don't just choose policies with the purpose of making people crazy, that, instead, there is often a rational behind the policy - even if it doesn't apply in this case. I don't think she is trying to say that anyone else isn't an animal lover or protector.
While we may or may not disagree with some of the THS' policies, I don't think that we can make blanket statements or guarantees about those who ARE allowed to adopt, anymore than we can generalize against those who AREN'T. We can't guarantee that the 'punks' are going to abuse the animal. All we know is that the THS has an unfortunate blanket policy that is preventing two cats from getting a good home.
We all care about animals. Many of us have adopted our beloved family members from shelters. Let's not cast aspersions at each other.
Lore
i'm with you mdesign...:D
start making the "Free Rufus and Lola" buttons and pickets??
blanket statement...
NO WORKPLACE ADOPTIONS.
I feel discriminated against.
DBD in an ideal world, all your arguments make a lot of sense. But having dealt with the ThS and know others that have, it is not ideal. In principle I agree but know that it doesn't work at the THS. Sorry. And I love animals.
to red's message, didn't she say THS has a blanket policy against any and all workplace adoptions? So it wasn't anything she said or didn't say, or anything to do with her particular work environment? Perhaps I've misunderstood, but I think that's what she said...
one of the brownie point check marks with the THS is getting a pet because of the benefits that cat or other will give you.
In addition, I did so happen to have my vet bills in my bag and I not only whipped those out to show them to them (OUCH.. they were at least two pairs of Manolos that won't happen) and I also told them the pet food I buy for my animals - bye bye Jimmy Choos...
I explained that my staff were all cat people and it was apparent the the eyes had already shut down to both the staff member and her supervisor. She even stopped writing.
It was a done deal.
As for a no-kill shelter. Next time you're in Toronto I encourage you to visit the THS. There are dogs in there with 3 legs, half their faces missing etc etc. It's not pretty. Nor is it pretty to know that their lives are to live in a 4x6 cage 23.5 hours a day - 7 days a week.
Makes me think Bob Barker is a saint. For goodness sakes' get your pets spayed and neutered!
but maybe i did jump the gun when reading...but that's how i felt and i always express how i feel...sometimes it's not always in a good way...but that's what i do and the kind of person i am...it felt to me that you were saying that Red's store was not an appropriate place for the cats for those reasons...and i was wrong...please accept my appologizes...but i got a lil upset...and that is why i said if that were the case then none of us should have cats...and i personally think that if that IS the way THS thinks then how is it that again ANYONE gets to take a cat home?....
as for the fellows that got to take that dog home...i can absolutely guarantee that that dog will not be taken care even though they regard it as a symbol...to be an aggressive dog the way they want it to be...it WILL be starved...guaranteed...that makes them angrier...it will be beaten...that makes them angrier..not to their abusers...but towards others. they will know what the result will be if they direct their anger to their owners...more abuse...so they will take it out on other indiviuals...and that's how innocent people get attacked by them...wrong place wrong time...very soon you will be hearing about that dog on the news....
DBD maybe you wouldn't be an advocate of a "No kill shelter" if you saw how quickly some of these animals become crazy. I watched a documentary which followed the lives of several shelter animals and they quickly developed severe psychologial problems. The cats at Red's store would be working cats...so what? Doesn't mean they wouldn't be cared for. People use cats at farms, we have seeing eye dogs, we ride horses ect....Oh, I also consider myself an animal lover and advocate. My darling poochy is from the humane society. She is now 9 years old.
equestrian shop in Perth that has a resident Jack Russell - so adorable, and I can never get DD to leave the store... that JR will play fetch for hours. In some parts of the world, even pubs, etc., have resident pets...
DH and I both have had run-ins with pit bull, etc. that were owned by drug dealers - through work in case you are wondering. ;) The animals I saw were not well cared for by their owners - rather, they were trained to attack and scare. Some were probably even abused. :( I am highly doubtful that the "punks" that walked out with that dog would be the "ideal" pet owners, just from my own actual experiences.
Seems that those who have had actual dealings - not theoretical - with THS - find some problems with the organization. They certainly seem to be run by different principles than my local SPCA.
it seems from what I mentioned 'maybe' being on their minds to assuming it was the reason. As far as we know from what has been said here, we don't know what their reasons were. It's all speculation at this point without having more information.
We also only know what Red said she said which wasn't anything about how she has cared for her other cat. Maybe the THS is a weird organization, but assuming what a reasonable person/policy might be is what I am operating from.
As for people who leave their cats for 2 weeks I bet you wouldn't find any humane society people or animal advocates agreeing that is a good situation. As I mentioned, there are lots of well meaning people who should not have pets. Good intentions aren't good enough when it comes to taking responsibility for a pet and I don't blame anyone for not turning over an animal if they are not sure.
It really does seem to me, from what has been written here, that they didn't hear what they needed to hear. If those thug kids got the dog, they may have gone in and told them what they wanted to hear... again lieing probably which is what my beef is with lieing. We can only hope that somehow that dog is well cared for and it could well be that since they value the animal as a symbol, they will take care of it. We just don't know what happened there.
Meanwhile, how is a well meaning worker to decide if all they know is what they see and are told in those few minutes they have to interview? Unless they get a good sense and good info, they can only go with what they have before them.
As for the comments I've read here about a no kill shelter, well that's what most animal lovers want to hear. They hope and assume that a rescue or some other person will eventually save the dog/cat/bunny/etc. Whether it's right or not, it's the prefered option and the way most pounds and societies are running. If THS is overrun with pits, well that's thanks to that stupid legislation that just went through and I bet it got passed without regard to extra funding for the keepers of disgarded animals. If the place is overrun, the cages awful, the staff strained and over stressed to the point of not functioning, you can bet not having money is at the bottom of it.
I was in a meeting with someone today and they had an office cat. He was sooo cute and cuddly, I drank my coffee and ate my cookies and paid more attention to the cat than the meeting itself!!! Office pets DOES get more love!
and maybe you could show them your vet bill for lil Dave...maybe then they will see your love and appreciation for cats....the sleepless nights...running to the vet...setting up a litter box in your living room....personally i don't think those cats would go WITHOUT affection at you store...as for feeding them...that's why they have those feeders that hold 2 lbs of food....oh but those are only for people that have cats and go away for a week or 2...but if you had one there i guess that's a no no....so basically if you have new furniture or drapes or wood or fine china...you should not be allowed to have a cat...i'm sorry that BS...if that were the case then i don't think any of us should have cats or any animals for matter....
unfortunately those ''punks'' are the reason that those dogs get a bad name...and that's the reason that i had to give my MIL back my pitbull puppy...i adored that dog and i still do i give her big hugs and belly rubs when i see her at the in-laws place...they bred those dogs for over 15 years...and never ever have their dogs attacked anyone or my kids for that matter...i worry more about my JR snipping at my kids then i am about my in-laws pitbulls...THS is a terrible place...and i refuse to go to them or donate to them...never have...i think they are cruel people and ignorant...i hope you get your babies and i know you will get your babies...one way or another...:)
If that's what you told them, I don't see that you told them what was in it for the cats. First rule, give a person the WIIFM, or in this case, whats in it for the cats (WWIFC).
Again, devil's advocate, how does your stress reduction benefit a cat? How does your being a workaholic benefit a cat? You'll be around, but busy. The cats' job will be to take away stress which could lead to them getting their cortisol levels up on a constant basis and bang you have a very serious medical condition (I'm guessing about cats... I know dogs get it). Mainly it sounds like a frenzied place to be if that is how it was described. Did you mention anything that had to do with their quality of life? It may have only been a matter of presentation.
The THS person might have been thinking, cats, furniture, claws....what happens when a piece of merchandise or seven get ruined? What happens when some big ticket item gets stained, broken, damaged? What happens if an allergic person buys something and it has to be returned? All of these things effect bottom line profits and could make the owner reconsider the value of cats in the business. Then what? A return to the THS?
If the place is so busy, what happens during busy periods when no one has time to pay attention to the cats? How long a period might that be? If the owner isn't around, who feeds or tends to the cats?
They may have been thinking that if everyone is busy there won't be a lot of play time. I presume without adequate play time, you get cats looking for entertainment in other ways and you have fabrics, china, wood, and all manner of things they could get busy with I bet and then they are in trouble.
They may have been thinking a whole bunch of things and it's really knowing what those things are that could help you make the sale so to speak. Again, if they are responsible animal advocates, they shouldn't give a rat's a$$ what you want, they should only be concerned with whether the animal will have an appropriate home. You can't fault them for that, it's their job. They know there are lots of well meaning people who just shouldn't have pets and they see them drop them off every day.
If someone came to me and told me they could give my dog a great home because they are busy and need stress relief...well, sorry, not sounding like someplace my dog would appreciate. Now if they told me they would be with the dog most of the day because they'd have it at work and the dog would get lots of walks and pets (if not by them, then the other 6 people around) as it's great stress relief for the staff so doggy gets lots of attention, then I'm on side. Both descriptions are pretty much the same thing when you think a bit about it, it's all in the presentation.
So maybe it's not the actual situation you have for the cats, it's just the way they saw it from what they were told and thier desire to find suitable permanent placements. If humane society workers are hard nosed it's only because they see nightmares everyday and have very little desire to see adoptions go wrong or animals not get the best environment possible. If they have to stay in their cages a little longer to get that, well that's the trade off and better than having the animals returned or worse at a later date.
one more thing - THS has been criticized for their policy against euthanasia. Right now there are dozens of pitbulls and similar dogs rotting away in cages - which they deem to be a more humane way of living than putting them to sleep. Other animal rescue programs refuse to send animals to THS because their practices are deemed inhumane.
Last night when I was there, there were three young punks waiting to adopt one of these aggressive dogs. As I sat there beside them hearing how the other "gangs" would get a whoppin' if they set the dog on them.. etc etc... I pleaded that the staff would turn them down.
They walked out with a dog.