Hello Heloise

We weren't planning to add a new family member when we went to PetCo last Tuesday. We were just shopping for pet food. We love to look at the adoptable animals though, so we stopped into the adoption center Kansas City Pet Project has in the store to visit the pets.

We went into one room of dogs where I spotted an old lady named Heloise. She was 11 years old and just broke my heart. I had to leave; it killed me to see her there. We went around to see the rest of the pets then finished our shopping.

Lee ran into her again while a volunteer was taking her out for a bathroom break. The volunteer told him what a sweet dog she was and that if he knew of anybody looking to adopt, to tell them about her. He came back to where I was shopping and said, "We have to adopt that dog." My response? "Okay."

We finished our shopping and took our stuff out to the car. On the way back in, the volunteer was outside with another dog. Lee told her we knew of someone who wanted to adopt the old dog: Us. She was so happy she started to cry. We went back to the KCPP adoption area, asked a few questions (Is she cat safe? Does she like other dogs?) and filled out the paperwork.

We then went shopping some more. This geriatric princess was about to be spoiled. We bought her a bed, a collar and leash, a bowl, some toys, and a pretty pink jacket. She was going home in style.

Freedom Ride

She has settled in nicely at home.

Look at me! I can sit on the furniture!

 She is getting along with the cats and they are accepting her. Stilwell keeps rubbing up against her.

Heloise and Stilwell helping Dad build a fire.

 Harvey is very interested in her, too.

Harvey getting a sniff of the new dog.

All of the cats love her bed.

There's a line to test out the dog bed.

We've already taken her shopping for some new clothes. What girl doesn't need a Hello Kitty hat?

We've all gotten quite comfortable with our new arrangement. Heloise is sweet and friendly. No matter what her life was like before, she will know love and what it's like to have a family for her senior years.

Featured Furry: Bandit

Mom has been telling me about Bandit, a six year old male cat available for adoption from Wayside Waifs in Kansas City. She says he's a very nice boy, but people just don't know about him because he's not in the Cat Adoption area at Wayside.

He's not hidden away because he's been bad or anything-he's quite loving and playful actually! It's just that, well, Bandit likes to think of himself as the only cat. In the world. Ever.

Bandit definitely needs to be a single cat in his new forever home. But with him, one cat is all you need! He'll be happy to snuggle with you or sit on your lap. He'll follow you around the house and keep you company. When you're ready for a good game of "Kitty Fishing" just bring out the wand toy and he'll be ready to chase it!

If you're interested in meeting Bandit, just tell one of the nice people at Wayside that you want to meet him and that he's in the CAT room. Oh, and tell them Sebastian sent you!

Featured Furry: October

This week's featured furry is a sad little kitty named October. She is a 7 year old, domestic shorthair, dilute tortie. She has the saddest eyes I've ever seen on a kitty cat.

Poor October is sad because her family left her at Wayside Waifs as the result of a divorce. Unfortunately, that's something that people don't plan for and they really should. They work out custody arrangements for children, but pets very often are surrendered to shelters.

October is still in the back at Wayside and isn't on the website yet, but she should be available for adoption very soon. When she is, she will make a great addition to a family. She loves to be petted and really needs the attention.

Please send nice thoughts to October to make her time at Wayside Waifs short so she can move on and mend her broken heart.

Featured Furry: Dusty

This week's featured furry is a special needs kitty. Dusty is a sweet girl who needs to go to the perfect home.

Dusty has been at Wayside Waifs since March and although all the volunteers there love her, they know she's been there WAY too long. It's hard to find the right home for a girl like her though. You see, her ribcage never formed correctly, so she has to be handled just so in order to protect her internal organs. There's a sign up on her kennel explaining her unique situation.

Oh, and that little kitty face in the sign? That's a magnet painted by one of the volunteers. Dusty's adopter will get to take that home too! That's quite a deal if you ask me! ME-WOW!

Do you know the right person for Dusty? She does like to play, but shouldn't be around young children or other pets that may accidentally harm her. Make sure to spread the word and let's get her out of that kennel and into her forever home!

Day 3 of Adopt A Less Adoptable Pet Week: Capone

It's the third day of Adopt a Less Adoptable Pet Week and I'm writing about another doggy that I want to #BeTheChange for. His name is Capone and he's a 7 year old Rottweiler mix. He's available for adoption at Wayside Waifs in Kansas City and has been waiting for his forever home since early June. He's got a great video! Check him out in action!

Capone could be considered less adoptable because of his breed, his coat color or his age. But after watching his video, his age clearly isn't a problem! He's as active as a puppy! His former family had glowing things to say about him:


Doesn't Capone look like he would make a great pet? I think so and so does Mom. In fact, she said if we had a house, we would adopt him ourselves. *sigh* I guess he'll have to make a fun pal for someone else.

Adopt A Less Adoptable Pet Week: Jazzy

Today I'm featuring a very special dog for Adopt A Less Adoptable Pet Week! Jazzy is available for adoption from Wayside Waifs in Kansas City. She is a one and a half year old, white Pit Bull who is deaf. (By the way, it's also Deaf Dog Awareness Week!) Not only is she less adoptable because of her special needs, she may be a victim of breed discrimination. It is also noted on her paperwork that she needs to go to a home with older children (kids 12 and older only).

She's lovely, though! Did you notice her different colored eyes? What a beauty!

A dog like Jazzy will need special consideration while training. She may be a good candidate for obedience training through sign language. There are resources out there for owners of deaf dogs. Check out Deaf Dog Education Action Fund.

Who will #BeTheChange for Jazzy?

Lovely Luke

Today I am sending Mom off to Denver to attend Blog Paws 2010 West. She's going out there to learn how to improve my bloggie. I can't wait to see what she learns and how we will change things. I'm hoping to be able to tell more happy stories about kitties at Wayside Waifs that have found their forever homes like I did. This is one of those stories!


Luke is a special kitty who did find his forever home recently. When he first arrived at Wayside, his right eye was kind of messed up. The V-E-Ts at Wayside had to remove it, so now he only has one eye.


When Mom met him he wasn't feeling very good and had a yucky tummy. He seemed so grateful to her to have a lap to cuddle in, rather than laying in his kennel on his towel. Mom sat on the floor and he got right in her lap and napped there for the longest time. Soon, Mom had to go home, but she kept thinking about Luke. She worried about his upset tummy and if the right family would come along to give this one-eyed kitty a good home.


Mom didn't have to worry for long though...she checked in with another volunteer a few days later and learned that Luke had been adopted! This makes me want to purr with joy! There are so many kitties in the shelter and some of them are a little different from other kitties or have special needs. I'm glad there are families out there willing to take in all kinds of kitties, even the one-eyed kitties like Luke!

Thumper the One-Eared Bunny

Mom usually cuddles the kitties when she volunteers as Wayside Waifs in Kansas City. She likes to spend time with them because they don't get as much attention as the doggies do-they have tons of volunteers and always get more volunteer hours than the cats.

Last week, as Mom was going to the back of the shelter to visit the cats not yet available for adoption, she did something a little different. There's a little room on the way where an adoptable bunny, Thumper, is staying. Mom usually walks by and says, "Hi Thumper" then keeps going on about her kitty business. This time was different, though. She decided to go in the little room and hang out with Thumper.


Thumper is a special girl. You see, she only has one ear. Rumor has it that a cat got a hold of her and hurt her ear. The hurt ear ended up having to be removed, but it doesn't seem to bother her. I think it makes her unique! For the record, I, as a cat, would NEVER hurt a little bunny like that.

Mom said Thumper really liked to be petted and sat in front of her enjoying all the stroking Mom would give. She nibbled a bit on Mom's shoes and jeans, but was very sweet. I really hope somebody gives her a good home soon, she would make a great addition to a family!

I think Mom would take her treats this week if she knew more about bunnies and what they like to eat. Do you have any ideas?

Be The Change

This is my little part of Be The Change. If you're not familiar with Be The Change, check out either blogpaws.com, pawcuious.com, my Mom's blog, bosoxamy.blogspot.com or you can search #bethechange on Twitter. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Great, I'm glad you came back.

As you know, I was adopted from Wayside Waifs back in February. I felt so lucky to meet my Mom there. She was a volunteer who came to cuddle with me. I felt bad for all the other animals who had to stay behind while I got to go to my forever home. I am going to take this opportunity to introduce you to some of the animals who are still there. Mom went to volunteer on Wednesday and I asked her to take some pictures for me. Check out some of the cute critters who are waiting for their forever homes! The slideshow from my Picasa album is playing on the right hand side of the page. If you see somebody you want to adopt, go to waysidewaifs.org to see if the pet is still available.

If you aren't in the market for an addition to your family, maybe you can make a donation instead. Be The Change is supporting Pets Without Parents. You can donate from the widget on my page. It's right above the slideshow.

Thanks for stopping by and remember to be the change you want to see in the world!