Trailer Park Stories....

On Thursday afternoon, I got a call from a relative who is a nurse at a hospital here in town, and she had a patient that had been admitted nearly eight days prior to her finding out that day that he had to leave his dog and cats in the trailer he lived in outside of Monroe County.  She was sketchy with the details, but told me she would find out and call me back after she spoke to the patient - she apparently had gotten third-hand info from the social worker - she called me to ask if I would come to assess the situation with her before we contacted authorities. 

She called me back and related that the sheriff's office had come to take the dog away, and that the cats could get in and out of the trailer through a hole (?), and that the patient had left $20 with a neighbor to buy food for and feed the cats.  So, we met out there on Friday, and I thought I had seen it all where I go each day in the hood feeding cats.  After finally finding this man's trailer - which by the way, the sister had mentioned to the social worker that his trailer and property was worse than any hoarding situation you see on television - we got out and I began to call for the cats.  I saw three very pretty fluffy kitties hanging around, only one being friendly enough to come up to me, timidly.  I saw no food or water around, although it was also mentioned that there was a stream behind the trailer that the cats drank from.  I then began to knock on some pretty scary looking trailers, in hopes that I could find the neighbor that was going to care for these cats - not one was answering, and even if they weren't home, I doubted they would answer the door to me anyway.  Here we were pulling up to this obviously low income little town of its own in a shiny red cadillac, and knocking on doors.   To say this man's property was a mess would be an understatement.  And the smell that was eminating from the trailer was a bit overwhelming in the 90 degree heat we had on Friday.  I placed some bowls down under a table on his property, filled with water and food, and off we went in search of the property manager's office that we saw a sign for as we entered the park.  After speaking with Kathy, the manager, who promised to call me after speaking with the man's neighbor's - she told me they would talk to her, but most likely not to me, and she would let me know.

OK, I have to end here, because I am playing in a hospital golf tournament today, so stay tuned to part two of this story, tomorrow.   Have a great day!

"The secret to happiness is to put the burden of proof on unhappiness."