Moving Day

This mornings post is not going to be a pretty one.

So, I have not heard back from the city on the citations posted on some of my shelters (4) that were either on city property, or private property (not sure why city gets involved with private property unless they are not maintained?) but I am hoping for a good outcome there.  I sent a nice note to the inspector with some information, along with names of the officials from the Mayors office we had meetings with in 2016 after all the ruckus when city workers destroyed my shelters on city lots.  But the outcomes from these notices that were sent to the owners of these private properties, are that I’ve been told to move the shelters.  They will be fined if they are not moved.  And you just can’t reason with people that don’t understand the plight these city cats are in, if the people don’t know, or don’t care.  Its usually not caring that is the issue.  Both properties are vacant – one is the building at Niagara that has been vacant for years, and the other is just down the street that are three vacant lots owned by a corporation.  I tried to reach the contact person that called me and left a message yesterday, but did not receive a call back. And to be honest, its so hard to explain to people the reason the shelter is there, and the importance of it being there.  So I decided to just get the shelter out of there so that I wouldn’t find it gone the next day.   So I put out an urgent plea for help in moving these heavy shelters to another location – to be moved at 4:30 am. this morning.  Three people offered, but one showed up to help.  Thank you so much Elisabeth.  She saw a very dark side of what I do, something that is not an everyday occurrence, and happens usually only in the spring, when people are out and start nosing around.

There are so many sick and injured cats on
our streets of Rochester - how can we make their lives
more miserable by removing their shelters?

These cats are there through no fault of their own.  To blame are the human beings that allowed or turned the other way when it came to cats reproducing here in the city.  City officials should have done more to step up to fixing this problem.  In fact, they should be helping me, someone that is out there doing a job FOR the city.  For free.  And I am broke, and tired from doing it after all these years.  But no one is going to tell me I can’t feed a hungry cat.  No one.  And not only is it a travesty to remove the only safe sleeping quarters that these cats have, it also takes away a trusted ground to TNR.  Trap neuter return.  New cats come upon these colonies that are not spayed and neutered, and those are the ones I trap for.  The others, all eartipped, have been vaccinated against rabies and distemper.  And are not reproducing.  Did you ever hear a cat screaming in the middle of the night?  That cat is not fixed, and is fighting with other cats.  Its because it is not fixed. 

So now I have lost not only Melville #1, but now Parsells #1, Parsells #2, Niagara, and could be more if the city decides to turn against me.  Today TWENTY (20) cats are displaced.  The homeless are more homeless.  And all for what.  Vacant land that sits there year after year.   But I’ll be damned if I don’t continue to place food down for these cats.  You can count on that.

Banjo

In other news from this morning – a dog was left abandoned on Short Street.  A beautiful, sweet young German Sheppard.  Its ‘leash’ was wrapped on someone’s porch (they have moved out) with no food or water, as it quietly sat there watching me, until I noticed it.  I brought it food and water (it was left there without), and called 911.  A very kind officer called me back to get more information a while later.  I thanked him for his obvious kindness after we spoke about it for a while.  It did appear to be dumped there.  I told the officer of Banjo, a dog that was left abandoned on this very street tied to a pole three or so years ago.  I rescued him and he lives the life in the country now.   People can be so cruel.  The officer was calling Animal control.  I said to the officer, who agreed, if someone is looking for him, they will find him, but don’t leave him there.  Poor thing.  It had barely room to move at all the way the leash was wrapped.  If I wasn't so involved in rescue, I would have taken him myself.  I miss Thunder.  My baby boy.  

Thunder

And finally, at one of my locations, I saw the usual raccoon, but this one wasn’t running away from me as fast.  As I got closer, I could see something wasn’t right.  It started to move away from me, and kept falling over.  The poor thing.  If there was an officer around, I would have asked that they humanely shoot it.  I know they do deer that are hit and very hurt, why not a raccoon.  The suffering this animal will go through until it dies. 

WHY don’t people care????  This has to be the saddest week I’ve ever experience doing this ‘job.‘  I have to pray for strength for all that I endure, and see the cats endure.  I am not a crazy person, I am a compassionate person who owns a house, was brought up in a good family, went to college, I have a good job, and I have a decent life outside of cats.  But I just could not rest knowing these 20 something cats are not fed and cared for.  We have to shed light on this plight, and I just don’t know how to do it without help from others.

That’s it.

Have a nice day.

“We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that the animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect them and love them as we love ourselves.” ― César Chávez