jane's daily blah

Jane, why have you stopped blogging?!

2009-07-04T13:35:00.003-04:00

I get this question a lot. The answer is that I really don't have enough time for blogging right now... between my full time job at the Okefenokee Humane Society, and Brierpatch Cats, the non-profit cat rescue that my mom and I are starting... not to mention a boyfriend, the impending start of classes, and the fact that I don't have internet access at my house... well, there hasn't been much opportunity for blogging recently. Doesn't mean I'm not online though. You can find me online on Facebook every day - my profile is here!

To the animal lovers of Waycross and Ware County

2009-05-14T14:03:00.002-04:00

As many of you know, the Okefenokee Humane Society is under new management. I know that several of you have heard negative stories regarding the previous management... please, allow the current management/staff to look to the future; do not re-hash the past. Things have changed. The current staff love animals and they do everything in their power to euthanize as few animals as possible.

Unfortunately, one thing that has not changed is their facility. OHS is housed in the former office of the old landfill, a facility built in the 1950s which has not been renovated in decades. It is TINY. Any shelter, humane society, or animal rescue in the state of Georgia *must* receive a license from the Georgia Department of Agriculture which specifies how many animals are allowed on the premises. The Department of Agriculture conducts random inspections, and if the facility has more animals than the number for which it is licensed, it will be fined or even shut down.

The new staff at the Okefenokee Humane Society is trying its hardest to limit the number of animals it euthanizes. Additionally, they have been operating at maximum capacity for months. When a shelter is at maximum capacity, they LEGALLY CANNOT ACCEPT ANY OTHER ANIMALS until more space is made. Space is made in two ways: by adoption and by euthanasia. As adoption rates are really low these days, OHS is currently taking in animals by appointment only. This way they know how many animals will be coming in on a given day and can open spaces for them.

To individuals who insist that no humane society is allowed to turn away an animal, I ask: Where exactly are these animals supposed to go? OHS does not have unlimited space. As a HUMANE society, there are only so many animals they can humanely (not to mention legally) fit into one tiny building. To the people of Waycross, Ware County and the surrounding area: if you truly care about the welfare and well-being of the stray and homeless animals in our area, please lobby your local city and county representatives to allocate more funds for the humane society. They desperately need a new and larger facility in order to serve the people and animals of this community. If you find a stray dog or cat, please try to locate its owner. If that fails, ask your friends, family and coworkers if they would consider adopting it. If that doesn’t work, try running an ad in the Waycross Journal Herald or the Waycross Shopper, placing a classified ad on the Green Screen – or even consider opening your hearts and homes to a new pet yourself. Use OHS as your last resort. Remember, for you to bring an animal there, they will have to make space for it... and unless adoption rates rise, the only way they can make space is by euthanasia.

Lastly, please remember this quote from Matthew 25:40 “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” The homeless animals of our community are truly the least of these...

Lots of posts AND a new website!!

2009-04-12T20:53:00.002-04:00

Numerous new posts at Green. Spartan. Life., and I've uploaded version 1.0 of the Brierpatch Cats website. Check them out now!!

A sad update...

2009-04-06T20:42:00.000-04:00

...all the baby possums died :-(

Okefenokee Humane Society at SwampFest 2009!

2009-04-05T18:56:00.004-04:00

The Okefenokee Humane Society (where I work) had a booth at this year's SwampFest. We adopted out one puppy and three cats... all though we still have MANY animals available. Check out the photos from this year's event:

SwampFest: Downtown Waycross, GA

Director Lori Hartmann mans the OHS booth

PLEASE READ!!
Abandoning an animal at a shelter that is closed or full is ILLEGAL, even if this is a stray animal that you have found. This *is* punishable by Georgia law, and you will be charged.

The Disc-Connected K-9s performed several shows at SwampFest, and they were set up directly across from our booth.

Near the end of the festival, our Animal Control Officer received a 911 call:
dead possum with live babies.
So now I have 4 orphaned possums in my bathroom.

(You can't really tell from this photo, but they've taken to the bottle very well.)

Yet another....

2009-04-05T18:44:00.001-04:00

...post at Green. Spartan. Life.

TONS of photograps...

2009-04-02T21:45:00.001-04:00

...all over on Green. Spartan. Life.
Check them out!

Scare crow??

2009-03-19T21:27:00.002-04:00

I was driving down a dirt road in the middle of nowhere today, and in front of a house (which looked unlived in) was a dead crow up in a tree. Not only was it dead, but it was TIED TO THE TREE. Talk about creepy. Like horror movie creepy. I got a close-up of the dead bird. I was going to get a distance shot to show the whole scene, but then this car pulled up and wouldn't drive past my car, so I felt like I had to get out of there right away!

In the news in Waycross, GA (again)

2009-03-14T19:51:00.001-04:00

Koala!

2009-03-13T19:26:00.001-04:00

My baby's growing up!

Beagly is a mutant.

2009-03-13T19:25:00.000-04:00

Normal dogs have five toenails on the front feet and four toenails on the back feet. Then there's Beagly:

See that toenail on the upper left?
That's not supposed to be there.

And check out the weirdness on the bottom of the foot, too.

He is a cutie though.

More kitten cuteness!

2009-03-13T19:23:00.000-04:00

Beagly and Koala

2009-03-12T20:03:00.003-04:00

(Beagly is my mom's beagle.)

In the news in Waycross, GA

2009-03-10T20:11:00.001-04:00

(see large version)

Mucking about in Clough's Bay

2009-03-09T20:29:00.002-04:00

My mom and I went on a rather lengthy horseback ride on Sunday, through a rather swampy area just west of her land known as Clough's Bay. Let me show you some maps of where we went before I get into the pictures. Our route is marked in pink:

It was a very sunny day. I remembered to take photos of my shadow,
but neglected to apply sunscreen...

We took the dogs Blix and Brin with us, and they had a ball.
(A good 40% of the "roads" we followed were underwater.)

We rode into some areas that were burnt during the fires of 2007.
(and yes, that's a "road" there!)

There's a lot of desolate land out here...

And we rode through it!

Some places really looked more like canals than roads...

Dr. Seuss Trees!!!

(At one point, mom decided to give her rear a break...)

This is what comes of not wearing sunscreen!

Unbearable kitten cuteness in my bathroom!

2009-03-09T20:26:00.000-04:00

Tons and tons...

2009-03-06T20:09:00.001-05:00

...of new posts at Green. Spartan. Life.

I hardly need it, but it needs surgery.

2009-03-06T19:18:00.002-05:00

This is a terrible photo, as it was taken at night, without the flash, through my bedroom window. I'm fairly certain that this is my kitten Cally's sister, as it's the same age. She's a feral who eats on my porch every evening, although I haven't yet been able to trap her. Her left eye is dead and is spreading infection down her face. She desperately needs surgery, but she just won't get into the trap....

I have a mamma cat and 5 kittens in my bathroom!

2009-03-04T20:41:00.002-05:00

(Because what I needed was more cats.)

A typical workday...

2009-03-04T20:36:00.001-05:00

In addition...

2009-03-01T14:18:00.004-05:00

In addition to the posts below, there's a whole bunch of new stuff over at Green. Spartan. Life., so be sure to check it out!

Koala is doing well!

2009-03-01T14:15:00.000-05:00

(but I still don't know what kind of dog she will be!)

Just like old times in the 'hood

2009-03-01T10:26:00.002-05:00

It's hard to tell from this photo, but there are five police cars there. That's not including the two others that pulled up after I took this shot. I took this through my window the other night. I saw lights flashing and looked out my window just in time to see a police officer running towards the house with his gun drawn, looking thoroughly amateurish, as though he'd never done anything of the sort before. No idea what this house was raided for... if I see anything in the paper, I'll let you know.

Waycross people - Are you missing a cat??

2009-02-21T16:06:00.004-05:00

Now, those of you who know me or who read my blog regularly know that for me, finding cats is not unusual. However, this one, which I found last night on Walter Rd, in the Hebardville area just north of Waycross, is special in that he's been neutered. This makes me think he probably belongs to somebody. But, given that I found him crying on the side of the road in a wooded area, I thought I should pick him up. Does he belong to you or anyone you know?

I'm calling him Homer.

I put up a sign at the intersection nearest to the spot where I found him.

(I've blacked out my phone number here so I don't get any internet crazies calling me. Also, I currently can't find my cell phone - it's lost in my house somewhere - and apparently its battery is dead, because when I call it, it goes straight to voicemail. So much for borrowing someone's cell and following the ringing until I find the damn thing. But I need to locate it in case someone calls!)

Fire next to the Humane Society!

2009-02-17T20:54:00.002-05:00

Okay, so this post isn't nearly as exciting as its title. The humane society here in Waycross is located next to the old landfill (classy, huh?), and this afternoon the grass covering it up caught fire. Don't know if it was a carelessly tossed cigarette, or something intentional. Anyway, it provided a little entertainment from my place of employment. Luckily, it wasn't serious, and we didn't have to evacuate all the four-legged inhabitants or anything.

That's the Humane Society in the foreground and the landfill/fire in the rear.

Firefighters, smacking at the fire with shovels.