Creature Corner: January 7, 2020

Last week in “Days of Our Nine Lives,” ARF cats shared their new year resolutions.

Whiskers: Wow! What a week we had here at the ARF House.
Pepper: We watched the puppies and big boy Buddy go to their forever homes.
Whiskers: And on top of all that, Holly and Willow were both adopted.
Pepper: Holy catnip! I was wondering where those two were.
Sadie: It seems rather quiet in here.
Pepper: It is.
Whiskers: For how long do you anticipate it will stay this way?
Pepper: Not very. But when we do get dogs or cats, they seem to move in and out pretty quickly.
Whiskers: And the ARF humans are also kept pretty busy with lost and found pets.
Sadie: I know. They sigh with relief if the pets are microchipped.
Whiskers: Or if the pet is wearing ID.
Lulu: They really like to get the pet home as quickly as possible.
Sadie: The problem seems to be with holding a found four-legged.
Pepper: Right. People sometimes don’t understand that ARF is not a shelter and depends solely upon fosters for dogs.
Lulu: And cats cannot just be put into the cattery.
Pepper: I wish it were that simple, but mixing an unknown cat requires testing for contagious diseases first.
Whiskers: And not all cats are happy in an open cattery. They sometimes don’t get along with other cats.
Lulu: It’s often a very tricky situation.
Sadie: So, what is the solution?
Lulu: I think the solution is a fairly easy one. All pets need to wear current ID.
Whiskers: Or at least be microchipped, and the chip information must be current.
Pepper: That is the best situation for all.
Be sure to keep up with the animal antics of “Days of our Nine Lives” each week. And please stop in to say hello to the entire adoptable cast at the ARF House, 26890 Highway 243 on Saturdays 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and Sundays 10 a.m.-2 p.m., or by appointment M–F by calling 951-659-1122.
Creature Corner is sponsored by Carole Herman & Sandi Mathers.