Wayside Waifs Visit, August 19, 2011

I took myself--and the iPhone--to Wayside Waifs last Friday. It is so much fun to see all the animals that are ready for adoption, and to see the youngsters as well. Here are some of the photographic results of that visit. Pictured animals may already have been adopted (yay!) so check at www.waysidewaifs.org for the most current listing of available pets.

There were several black kitties ready for adoption of all ages, from young to mature.

Beautiful odd-eyed cat--gorgeous black and white markings.

A pile of kittens, one of two piles there that day. Lots of kittens still available at the shelter.

Believe it or not, this beautiful dog was found as a stray, and tended to by a concerned family until there was room at the shelter for her to stay.

These are dachshunds, incredibly-- I have never seen wiener dogs colored this way. I saw them up later and they looked every bit of the doxy!

Lord only knows what breeds have mixed together here but the results are very appealing.

Me, take me!

Wayside Waifs is in south Kansas City at 3901 Martha Truman Road. On the web at www.waysidewaifs.org. Open 2-8 weekdays except Monday and Tuesday, 12-6 weekends. Call 816-761-8151 for more info.

Adopt-A-Thon on NOW; Over 100 Adopted Already!

Adopt me, but only if you really are ready for all it entails...

First, before we go any further, let me tell you what reasons should stop you from adopting a companion animal:

You should not adopt a pet if you cannot afford it. (It costs roughly $2/day for me to feed my four cats.)

You should not adopt a pet if you are not allowed to have animals where you live.

You should not adopt a pet if you or anyone in your household has a problem with impulsive, explosive anger such that the animal might be in danger.

You should not adopt a pet if you cannot make the pet a true part of your family--this means that the animal spends the majority of its time indoors with you.

You should not adopt a pet if you really don't like animals. (!)

You should not adopt a pet if all members of the household do not agree on the adoption going forward.

You should not adopt a pet if you are not sure you can process the fact that companion animals do not live as long as humans, and eventually, you will have to part ways with your beloved pet due to old age and/or illness.

You should not adopt a pet because the shelter is having a special on adoption fees!!!

With those words of caution, we move forward to talk up the Adoptathon at Wayside Waifs, one of my favorite events evah. Wayside Waifs goes all out to make the adoption experience positive and easy--with lots of people helping out, and fees cut in half.

106.5 The Wolf has been at least a three year sponsor for the adoptathon, coming up and broadcasting from Wayside Waifs. It was pretty busy when I went up to check things out this early afternoon. By 3 p.m., over 100 animals had been adopted out!

There were still some really cute kittens around--but I wouldn't bet on any of these pictured cuties being available the way adoptions were going when I left. You should check the website if you want to see the latest animals ready for adoption.

Don't you just love it when dogs sit this way? This attractive dog has blue eyes!

Handsome orange tabby cat--big grown boy--easy going and sweet.

Wayside Waifs special adoption event will be going on all weekend with special hours and adoption rates. On the web at www.waysidewaifs.org. Wayside Waifs is located at 3901 Martha Truman Road in south Kansas City. Phone 816-761-8151.

Woof!

Editor's Note: The latest number I have on pets adopted is 122 as of about 5:45 pm. Wow! That's a record! Woof woof!

It's Sunday--After a Long Week--Therefore--Kittens!

Wayside Waifs and other animal shelters are full of kittens right now. I stopped in to visit on Friday this past week.

I have to say I have never seen so many cute, energetic and pretty kittens all in one place before.

It was a kittenpalooza there--and it's not just Wayside Waifs. All the shelters in the metro are reporting in with lots of kittens.

Here is the smallest "cone of shame" I have ever seen...probably weighed more then this little girl.

Alert tabby and white beguiles visitors with her charms. Note the ear tufts--nice flourish.

They are better in pairs really--if you have no pets now, and are considering adopting young ones, consider two...

They play with each other, not you so much. Cuts down on the kitten scratches and nibbles.

Wayside also have adorable puppies and grown cat and dogs. Most of the dogs are still very young--this shepherd mix is only two.

Animal rescues and shelters in our area have been helping out in the tornado zones by collecting animals that had been in the shelters and rescues in those areas--particularly Joplin, MO--and bringing them up here to KC for possible adoption. This frees up space in the shelters there for animals that are found in the process of rescue, recovery and clean up. In that way, reuniting owners with their beloved pets is more possible. Also supplies are being given out to pet owners in the damaged areas to help them feed and keep their animals healthy.

Wayside Waifs is at 3901 Martha Truman Road in south KC. On the web at www.waysidewaifs.org. Phone 816-761-8151.

Wayside Waifs Visit

Today was just one of those all around crappy days, where nothing got finished, and everything took longer than expected. After some time of prayer and meditation, I found that a visit to Wayside Waifs was also indicated.

As usual, plenty of wonderful animals were available. This is Pearl. She's blonde like a yellow lab, but has this beautiful black undertone to her coat. It's really soft too. When I first saw here in her kennel, she gave me a smile, then rolled over and showed me her belly.

This is Racquel, a shepherd mix. She was exclusively an outside dog for much of her life, but now sits for treats and pets. She's over two, but still looks like a pup. She is not as big as a full German Shepherd dog but she's not tiny either.

On to cats: This is the aptly named Fluffy, a two year old black medium haired cat. Such pretty eyes!

Kitten (and puppy) season will be upon us soon. These two little guys, grey tabbies, are in the vanguard.
This nifty looking fellow is 3 year old Bubba. Bubba is friendly to people, but somewhat timid at times. He is a beautiful brown tabby and white. While I visited with him, he rolled over and let us rub the really soft fur on his belly!

So now after visiting these critters and others, I have some more cute animal photos, and the faint oder of dog. The latter will dismay the cat crowd at home but that is what soap is for. To see wonderful critters for yourself, in person at 3901 Martha Truman Road in south Kansas City, MO or on line at www.waysidewaifs.org. Phone: 816-761-8151

Wow--Wayside Waifs Open House Wildly Successful!

Merry Christmas from Wayside Waifs!

When I came to the drive way up to Wayside Waifs today to visit the holiday open house, there were cars parked almost all the way down to Martha Truman Road! Wow, what a fabulous turn out! And according to Wayside's FB page, 104 animals found new homes today.

Every where you looked in the shelter, volunteers and staff were helping adopters with the paperwork to adopt pets. It was awesome! The photo above actually was taken after the crowd had thinned some--as you can see everyone is still busy!

This is the sight I saw when I went in to check out the dogs. Empty kennels! I have never seen these front kennels empty during the two or three years I have been visiting Wayside Waifs regularly. There were plenty of empty spaces in the cat section too, although the majority of adopted animals were dogs.

Wayside Waifs is at 3901 Martha Truman Road in south Kansas City. There are always great animals that can be adopted there--some are in foster care or receiving medical care--the place is never really "empty." On the web at www.waysidewaifs.org. for more information, phone number and directions.

There are some more photos over on "F8 and Be There"...

Strutt With Your Mutt This Saturday!

Don't have plans for the weekend? Hey, I can fix that for you!

Wayside Waifs will have the 20th edition of Strutt with Your Mutt this Saturday, September 25th. Come on out and bring your dog to walk, or do a run/walk or just hang out and check out all the fun. More information at www.waysidewaifs.org. This is a major fund raiser for the shelter but it's also an excuse to get together with lots of people who care about animals and have a lot of fun.

Wayside Waifs Opens New Cat House; Has Successful Adoptathon

175 animals were placed in new homes over the Friday-Sunday adoptathon that just finished up at Wayside Waifs. This included pairs of animals that had bonded together and needed to be adopted together. Very exciting and awesome! In addition, the shelter debuted its newly remodeled quarters for cats. The area now includes several rooms where cats can roam outside of cages, a sun room, and all new cages that have plexiglass instead of bars. It's hard to show the area in still photos, but here are a few:

There are still cages--at times they are needed--but now grouped in 4s and all brand new.

Mini poses in one of the cat rooms. Now there's plenty of room for play.

Kittens too, can enjoy being outside of cages in the hug rooms.

Now, instead of one big room with a bunch of cages, the cat area is almost like a maze, with small hug rooms and cages in small groups here and there.

The sunroom provides space for cat play and for potential adopters to meet their possible pets. It also has two sky lights. A wonderful area!

Come check it out for yourself! 3901 Martha Truman Road in South Kansas City, phone 816-761-8151. On the web at www.waysidewaifs.org.

Hoarded Cats

All these cats pictured in this post were in a hoarding situation, in a home crowded with other cats. Despite that they are beautiful friendly cats, although not without quirks. Many of them have modified wedge heads and oriental type coats, suggesting Siamese or Oriental Shorthair heritage.

This orange and white tabby is playful and very active.

This cat is missing one of her back feet--she arrived at the shelter that way. However, she gets around fine, and loves pets and head butts.

Check out this athletic move while playing with a toy mouse!

This beautiful girl has a bobbed tail. She looks like a Burmese with her big yellow eyes and gorgeous soft black coat.

All the cats from this hoarding situation have "bear" in their name somewhere. Check them out on line at www.waysidewaifs.org or go to the shelter at 3901 Martha Truman Road in south Kansas City. The phone number is 816-761-8151.

Checking in at Wayside Waifs

Wayside Waifs is undergoing some renovations right now. The work includes a new gift shop, already open in the reception/adoption center area, as seen below.

The work in the cat zone continues. What is going on is that the cat area will become a collection of rooms in which cats will be able to live out side of cages in groups or "colonies." It is hard to see the work, especially since the floor was refinished and could not be walked on, but you can see how the floor plan has changed. In addition, a glass door is at the end of the hallway...

...which will open into a sun room for the cats! Pretty cool--I've always wanted a sun room for my house!
Here's another look (below), this time from an outside corridor into one of the rooms for cats, and you can see another just behind it. This will be a place where those walking by can see the cats lounging around.
All this is expected to be finished by next Friday, September 10th, in time for an adoptathon. It's quite a change for the cat area, it will be really neat to see. Of course, Wayside Waifs is still finding good homes for dogs and cats, to check out the animals in person, visit them at 3901 Martha Truman Road in south Kansas City, or visit on the web at www.waysidewaifs.org.

News From Wayside Waifs

Last Spring, as you might recall, the dog adoption area at Wayside Waifs was redone. Now, it is the cat area's turn for a sprucing up. The plans are to open the area up a little more to give more light and make things easier for feline and human to get around the space.

Already one of the entryways into the main cat cage area has been changed. The back hallway will have windows put in that look out onto the hallway that runs along side the room, thus letting in more light, letting humans look in and cats look out.

The hug rooms are being improved also, and new cages will be brought in. It's hard to portray what is happening now, as it is not just one big area like the dog kennel room. Word is, it will all be done and ready in three weeks.

Meantime, cats and cages, volunteers and staff have moved to the community room at the shelter. It's cramped, but adoptions are still going on. Here these two twin sisters have just adopted two cats. (See the glowing eye in the carrier?)

Feline Fridays are still going on, with some great deals on cat adoptions. Come on down and visit--you might find someone you can't go home without.

Meanwhile, back in dog land...when you have a Great Dane/Malamute cross, what does that mean? It means it's a big sturdy looking dog with pointy ears and a winsome expression, that what it means.

Wayside Waifs is at 3901 Martha Truman Road in south Kansas City, MO. On the web at www.waysidewaifs.org.

Let's Lighten Up A Bit

Probably begging at the table even as we speak...

Wayside Waifs had their Spring Adoptathon event this past weekend, with reduced adoption fees, special events and on location radio broadcasts, and the results were pretty darn good. 217 animals were adopted out to new homes. Bravo, and congratulations to all the new pet guardians out there!

It's Spring--My ADD Has Kicked In

Oh, it is so pretty outside today! There's a mild breeze, it's about 70, and not a cloud in the sky! There's about 16 things I could be doing, including some important things, like finishing up the yearly report to the IRS. There's the yard, the car, the house, all needing spring cleaning. There's some blogging to do. There's employment related things to do. Do, do, do! So many things my head might explode. So, what happens? Not much of anything--typical! I did wander over to Wayside Waifs to see how things were going with the adoptathon. It was busy, and they'd adopted out quite a few animals, mostly dogs.

See what I mean? Just gorgeous out. So bright it hurts.

The National Geographics are catching some of this sunshine today, to freshen them up a bit. I am looking forward to digging into them and sharing things on the blog. Someone likes to leave old mags at the library; some late 1980s car mags turned up today.

This sort of bloggy prattle could go on, but I'm going to stop now, fold up my computer tent and go home and do something useful. Or, I might just find my golf clubs and see if I can still hit the little dimpled ball at all. Ya never know what could happen. I'll see what catches my wandering attention.

Parting cute dog shot: I think they are Chihuahua/Sitzu mixes.

Wayside Waifs Spring Adoptathon April 9-11

Why, I'm just waiting for you to come on down to Wayside Waifs for the Spring Adoptathon, with half price adoption fees, expanded hours, and all kinds of wonderful animals to look at. What is keeping you? You're so slow, odds are my unique self is already begging at the table in my new home! However, if I'm already gone, I've left lots of buddies behind; dogs of all ages, and cats too. Even some rabbits, and other smaller animals are available. I understand there's this internet thing, where you can type letters and see pictures of us critters. I think if you click right here, you'll go to the place with the pictures and other stuff you might want to know. Oh, you want another cute picture? OK, here's a cat--she's kind of pretty, you know.

Actually, she looks like trouble! And now, some more info for you...

The Adoptathon is sponsored by the kind folks at 106.5 The Wolf--they play that pick up truck dog music stuff--and starts April 9th and ends April 11th. Wayside Waifs will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 12 noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Adoption fees will be half price during those times. Wayside Waifs is at 3901 Martha Truman Road in south KC. Phone: 816-761-8151. On that web thingy at www.waysidewaifs.org.