CFA Guild Personal Pet Story ---- by BJ

This great personal pet story was submitted by EL, the fearless leader of our Crafting for Animals Guild on Artfire, CFA Google group, CFA on facebook and more.
EL didn't have any pictures for her story, but you can see and feel the compassion in her words.


___________ MAGGY -- submitted by EL ___________

In September of 2001, I began volunteering at the Contra Costa Animal Shelter. This is where I adopted my previous cat Micky, a two year old calico at the time of adoption, and Tigger, a two year old feral orange tabby.

When I volunteered I already knew they had a timeline policy. When I was at the shelter before and brought Tigger home, he was meeting his date and volunteers were frantically looking for a home for him. He was a feral cat and an adult, making it hard for him to find a place. With all the attention the kitties got, most people never made their way towards him.

The timeline policy is this - They had (not sure if they do anymore) a policy of placing animals on a timeline where the animals would need to be adopted by a certain date. If the date passed, a certain person/people would re-evaluate the situation depending on the current load of animals in the shelter and the preditability factors that suggest the animal would be adopted soon (basically age and character). For Tigger, this meant two weeks and most volunteers knew he timeline would not be extended. If the timeline isn't extended, the animal gets sent away.

So as I was taking a look around on my first day of volunteering, I noticed a pure black kitty hiding in the back of her cage scared for her life. I took a look at her name card and her stats and noticed that her original caretakers of 10 years had dropped her off at the shelter. I then asked around and was told that the family was made aware of the outcome of the process - that due to her age she would only get 24 hours to be adopted and that this timeline would probably not be extended. I was shocked and sad to find this out. I mean if you have a kitty for ten years wouldn't you do anything to either keep her or find her a home yourself?

Anyways, as soon as I heard that, I quit volunteering and started processing the papers to adopt her. As I got to the counter to pay, the volunteer behind the counter asked me if I was sure I wanted her and asked me if I knew how old she was? I told her yes and I want her (I was getting frustrated with the volunteer because she should know everyone deserves a home!) That day she came home to my two other cats. I named her Magdalena aka Maggy.

She was definitely always shy (her lack of claws could be one of many reasons) and did not want to associate with my other kitties. However, she did finally warm up to me and decided on a specific spot on the bed where she would sleep next to me. (The other kitties would sleep on the other side of me.) She would sleep on the exact same place, making a permanent black mark even when she wasn't there.

She hated litter, maybe because her paws were sensitive, and she preferred the privacy box (litter box with a cover on top). She had her particularities but she had my company for six years!

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As an animal lover, El has always found a place for her animals. Besides the home she shares with her animals, she also donates a percentage of her sales to animal charity. During the holidays El increases her percent donation with the Gift of Giving sale at Bag Makin' Supplies at Tantalizing Stitches, where 10% of sales will be donated to the Elephant Sanctuary. El, an avid supporter of animal loving artisans, is a proud member of EFA Artists Helping Animals and the Crafting for Animals Guild on Artfire.com.
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BJ is a member & blog columnist of Crafting for Animals Guild, posting Our Personal Pet Stories & articles. She is a lover of animals & supports her local Humane Society,Pet Rescue Site and rescues abandoned and neglected cats & kittens. She is the owner & manager of EXPRESSIONS by BJ on Artfire, where she sells handmade jewelry & jewelry supplies.