If you live in the Tallahassee area come find your new best friend! Purrs and wagging tails are also free.
Remember: Don’t shop. ADOPT!
Peace, people!
Tag: adoption
A Cat Named Miriam
Miriam and I hung out together in the feline playroom at Tallahassee Animal Services this afternoon. She would definitely be a contender for the Miss Congeniality award at any pageant.
At six months of age, she’s still a kitten–playful and precocious, but with a sweet intelligence that is hard to resist. Her markings are gorgeous–very exotic.
Miriam is available for adoption and would make a terrific addition to any home.
I also played with Avocado, one of the great dogs available at TAS.
From the shelter website: “Avocado (aka “Avie”) is a purebred mutt, most notably showing characteristics of a boxer and black mouth cur (but smaller than both). She is about 2 years old and 45lbs. She came into the shelter as a stray (her owner was never found).
She has been in fostercare for about a month where she recovered from a severe case of noncontagious mange, a skin infection and an ear infection. Avocado has responded great to treatment and is now available for adoption!
She was virtually hairless and appears to be growing in reddish color with a black mask. Her hair is similar to a Lab’s.
Avocado is an active, social girl who enjoys playing with toys (she loves playing with them more than most!) and doggie friends.
She is housebroken, crate trained and alert barks when someone comes to the door. She does well with cats and doesn’t show interest in birds. Avocado travels well in the car and walks ok on leash.
She knows “sit,” “down” and “crate” most days but would definitely benefit from obedience classes. She enjoys going for walks and is respectful of fences (doesn’t jump over a 4 ft fence or try to dig under).
She has been around small kids and does fine with them. If you are looking for a medium sized dog that is active, smart and social but has a remarkable sense of humor, Avocado could be just the fit! Sweet and affectionate this girl is sure to delight any family! Avocado is spayed, vaccinated, dewormed, heartworm negative and microchipped.”
Come check out the wonderful companions available for adoption at Tallahassee Animal Services, and remember,
Peace, people!
A Full Stocking
Our Christmas tree is lovely. As I sit here meditating on its beauty I can’t help but think of all of the wonderful events my family celebrates in December, all the reasons my Christmas stocking is full.
Our oldest grandson, Garrett, celebrated his 13th birthday on December 6. He’s still Nana’s little boy, though.
My mother’s birthday would have been the 7th. She was the undisputed Queen of Christmas and I miss her every day even though we seldom saw eye to eye. She’s probably busy filling stockings for all the angels in heaven. Stockings were her thing, now they’re my thing.
December 19 would have been Mom and Dad’s anniversary. This is my favorite photo of the two of them. They never had much in the way of material wealth; although, they enjoyed some comfortable years.
Another happy day, December 20, 2010, the date Stephen Houzenga adopted our grandchildren. He took on a ready-made family and changed all of our lives for the better.
Of course December 25 is a day of celebration. Last year Studly and I were able to enjoy it with our kids in Nashville. We rented a home there for the holiday and had one of the best Christmases in memory.
Here we are at The Escape Game. What an adventure! We almost escaped. All we needed was another hour or so….
Finally, our middle grandchild, McKayla, celebrates her birthday on the 26th. She’ll be 11 this year. Here she is about to perform in her first band concert. Gorgeous, smart, and talented.
I hope your Christmas stockings are filled with great memories and reasons to celebrate.
Peace, people!
Kitten Cuddling
I missed my last two sessions of kitten cuddling at Tallahassee Animal Services due to our Texas vacation. I was a little concerned that I’d lost my ability to cuddle kittens, but my fears were ungrounded. Kitten cuddling might be my true calling. Studly Doright wishes it was a more lucrative calling; I maintain that happy kittens are reward enough.
This past weekend there was a big adoption event at the shelter, so there were only ten or so kittens available. Once I changed out all the litter boxes and made sure all the felines had fresh food there was plenty of time to play with cats.
This kitten is approximately 4 months old. Her hobbies are purring and snuggling with available humans. The shelter staff named her Sasha Fierce, but I think she should be ‘Stache:
Summer, pictured below, is a demure little lady. She is extremely gentle and has a classy attitude. 
Franco, is fond of being petted. One might say he is addicted to love.
Go check out the online kennel at http://www.talgov.com. And remember, don’t shop, ADOPT!
Peace, people!
I Tawt I Taw a Pudding Cat
Pudding is a beautiful Siamese-mix female with a sweet disposition. The staff at TAS believe she is about a year old. She gets a lot of attention at Tallahassee Animal Services, but the right person hasn’t come along yet.
Yesterday Pudding and I had a long talk. It went something like this:
Me: Hey Pudding baby, what’s going on?
Pudding: Well, I’m still here. In this (sniff) kennel, so how do you THINK it’s going?
Me: I’m sorry. That was really insensitive of me.
Pudding: That’s ok. You’re only human.
Me: True.
Pudding: Listen, would you remind people that cats need homes. I hear people ooh and ahh over all these kittens. Can’t they see I’m worth oohing and aging over, too?
Me: oooooh! Aaaaaaah!
Pudding: (Sniff) Not you silly. REAL people. You’re a volunteer. Unless of course you want to take me home….
Me: (backing away from the kennel) Gotta go Pudding–I’ll steer people your way.
Pudding: Chicken!!! Bok bok bok!
Pudding really is adorable! And she’s ready to be oohed and aahed over!
Remember, adopt, don’t shop! Visit your local shelter today.
Peace, people!
Volunteering at Tallahassee Animal Services
My second shift as a volunteer at Tallahassee Animal Services went well. We were really busy this afternoon with a great many potential adopters coming through the cat lobby.
So far, I have resisted the urge to begin adoption procedures, but I find myself being a cheerleader for certain cats. There are several who’ve been at the center since I first signed up to volunteer.
One of my favorites is a pretty adult female named Kandy. She’s got such a sweet personality and loves to talk. Another is Margarita. What a gorgeous darling! She’s also an adult cat with a friendly nature.
Then there’s Peter Parker. He was surrendered by his owner who became too ill to care for him. Peter loves to be petted, but is nervous about coming out of his kennel. He needs a loving, stable home.
Of course kittens are all the rage, and they’re awfully cute. One sibling pair, Paul and Newman are so playful. I doubt if they’ll still be at the shelter next Wednesday. And that’s a very good thing.
Remember, adopt, don’t shop!
Kittens
I had my first two hour stint as a volunteer at Tallahassee Animal Services this afternoon. I had first date jitters, I was so excited.
First, I have to give props to the extraordinarily organized and thorough volunteer coordinator at Tallahassee Animal Services, Grayson Walters. Ms. Walters conducted a top notch volunteer orientation and followed up today with a great tour of the facility and suggestions on how to best help out during my two hours onsite.
Of course once I saw the kittens I pretty much forgot everything Grayson said. It was like, “Oooooooohhhhhh kitties!” I did manage to fold and put away a load of laundry and sweep under the kitty dorms before I allowed myself to take a few of the cats out for some interaction.
There’s a pair of kitten siblings, mostly black, with beautiful white chests and socks, named Frito and Dorito, that I fell in love with. Holy cow! They are so cute. I honestly couldn’t tell them apart, but one was on the shy side, but loved being cuddled and the other was full of curiosity.
I’d show photos, but I left my phone in Grayson’s office so no pics this week. I promise I’ll do better next time. Instead, I found this message on Pinterest. I think it’s appropriate.
A Family Was Born
December 20, 2014, marks the 4th Anniversary of the birth of the Stephen and Ashley Houzenga family, the day when Stephen formally adopted Garrett and McKayla and forever changed all of our lives for the better. We love Stephen like a son for many reasons–the way he cares for and respects our daughter and the love he has for our grandchildren top the list.
Happy Family Day to Stephen, Ashley, Garrett, and McKayla. (And to Harper who joined the fray some time later)!
Praying for Eyebrowz 