Furry Friday

Story:  Possums have 13 nipples and a prehensile tail. How weird is that? They don't break bilateral symmetry though, since their 13th nipple is found in the middle of the body rather than on the left or right.  Possums are marsupials, not mammals. A baby possum is born very undeveloped and then crawls with its barely functional front legs to the mother's pouch. When the young feed at one of those 13 nipples, it's a semi-permanent arrangement. The nipple enlarges and stays in the baby's throat for about 8 weeks until the baby weans and leaves the pouch.  If the baby is separated from the nipple beforehand, then it will be physically unable to reattach, and so it will die. If a possum has a litter larger than 13 babies, that's very bad news for some of those babies. Those details are some of the many cool things that I learned at the recent Wildlife Rehabilitation Conference out at work.

Animals:  I'm not sure why Pooh is still on the adoption floor these last few weeks.  Zhey is a 5-year-old spayed female. I think longhaired cats may wait longer to find homes, so that may be the reason for the delay.  Pooh has been very personable during our visits together.  Static is seldom a good thing, of course, but purring really makes up for it.  Pooh has lived with children before, so I think zhey would make a welcome addition to a home with people of any age.

Pepper came up to the adoption floor a few days ago.  Zhey is a neutered male, grey furred, and about 3 years old.  I figure Pepper will need a little help in finding a home because the "fear factor" is not usually an attractive quality.  Zhey is actually very friendly, but I had to put my hand in the cage to find out.  Pepper hides in the litter box while keeping zheir ears back and eyes wide, obviously disliking the predicament of being stuck with all these noisy people wandering around.  With very little in the way of coaxing, however, Pepper quickly stepped out of the litterbox and began rubbing my hand and flopping onto the cage floor for more attention.  I think zhey would do very well in a quiet home.

As of this writing, Pooh and Pepper are both available for visitation and adoption in our Golden Valley facility.

How You Can Help:  Our big fundraiser of the year is only a few weeks away.  I will be on site again this year, but I'll have the pager and will be free to roam around when the crisis of the moment doesn't require my attention.  I'm hoping to get to see a lot more of the Walk this time, my 3rd year there.

If you'd like to donate any money to the cause, just click on the image here to reach my personal fundraising webpage.

theme song: till the end

Some 12+ years ago (many years prior to autism diagnosis), I pondered the choice of finding either a boyfriend or a cat. I figured the overall unhappiness in the world would be lowered if I avoided attempts at romance, so I decided on the cat (pictured to the left).

Several years before that, I went through a rough period when I would have begrudged people their companioned bliss.  Once I finally accepted that it was probably not something that I would experience, I got a lot more accommodating. These days, I think it's a good thing. I like to believe that "the story" works out for some people. Happy stories are a good thing. Dreams are nice too.

So here is today's theme song: "Till The End" by Tom Goss.

You lie awake now, and you’re smiling like you do.
Your eyes aglow now, you see my face look back at you.
It's what we know now, it’s for what we’ve always yearned.

Sinking swiftly through those dreams of bittersweet,
You take your fears, and you can lay them at my feet
Cause I swear that I’m here till the end.

I lucked out.  I gave up on the Avenue Q show as too expensive for me.  This guy, though, is performing next month at The Wilde Roast (a local gay establishment) on April 20 Tuesday.  Their prices are closer to my meager means, so I'm looking forward to attending that night.  If any locals are also interested, expect to see me there.  I look forward to hearing this song performed live. :)