Mary Ann

About a month after an article was published that had a little paragraph on me in the Democrat & Chronicle - the subject being Civility (and kindness) written by Mark Hare - this woman called me - turns out her name is Mary Ann and she saw the article just then because she uses newspapers for her litter, given to her by her neighbor, so my name was just about to be pooped on until she saw it, and decided she had to find my number somehow (I didn't ask) and call me. She had a squawky voice (I have listed to Howard Stern radio show on occasion, and there is a woman caller by the same name that calls in and sounds like a crow - they even use a crow sound bite when she does), and was very loud. She told me what a good person I was to do what I do but that she didn't believe in me taking a cat to the shelter and that she would take a cat in if necessary. Let me just say that Mary Ann has a beautiful heart, she cares for animals, there is no doubt, but the poor woman just didn't sound like all her crayons were sharpened, so to speak. Sometimes mine aren't too sharp, but I get them sharpened a lot when they begin to dull. ha ha. She just didn't sound right. Anyways, I thanked Mary Ann and told her how much I appreciated her call and that yes, I would consider her for homes for cats in an emergency situation. Well, she called me again Sunday and asked if I was ever in her area, to stop by and see the way her place is set up and if I ever had the need to bring a cat over. I was going into work for a few hours, and she lives near the hospital, so I did go over. At first I pulled up into a somewhat modest little home, all fenced in, normal looking. As I went through the gate I heard many many many barks. She apparently rescues dogs, and as I peered through the slats in the back yard, I saw maybe 5 to 10 dogs, all barking in various ferociousness. She came out and Mary Ann's face was all different colors! Just like a box of crayons! Not sure about that, but she is a very petite little woman, and immediately proceeded to show me a few dog houses in the front with bowls of food placed in there for the stray cats she sometimes gets. She then brought me into her house and I was bowled over by the odor. I then saw that she had about 10 small dogs in her kitchen area, all rooms blocked by doors. She herded most out into the back and brought me to the kitchen area, where I saw one cat on the stove that had drool coming out of its mouth and three legs. Her two very small back bedrooms had about 4 cats each in them. My point of this story is that there are sweet people out there that have a good heart. I am not too sure if I would ever bring an animal there, actually I know I wouldn't, but there are good people. If I felt the conditions of her home was inhumane, I would certainly report, but I do hope she has enough sharpness to continue trying to adopt out some of those dogs. They were very cute actually, but elderly most of them, you could tell. Just another day in the life of me!! ha!