The No Kill Zone: The Cat House

The Cat House near Kings River in California's San Joaquin Valley is truly a remarkable sight (though I have yet to see it with my own eyes!). It is one of the largest no kill, no cage, adoption sanctuary for cats and dogs. As of the time I read this article...the property estimates to have between 700 cats, 100 kittens, 15 dogs, and 6 goats. How's that for an enormous litter??
It opened in 1992 by Lynea Lattanzio who got the land as part of a divorce slash "awesome place to retire and have an awesome time with animals"...and has grown to become a well oiled machine and boats paid employees as well as many volunteers.

All the cats who have feline immunodeficiency disease are isolated and have their own area. Older cats have their own special area as well. As for the rest...they're free to roam in and out of the house and land. Lattanzio doesn't even live in her own house anymore since about 65 cats started occupying her living room.

A good retirement plan to all? Well maybe I wouldn't go THAT far...but it certainly wouldn't hurt to have some furry friends around when I'm older.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE STORY AND WATCH A VIDEO FROM LYNEA HERSELF

The Love: Happy Valentine's!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!

Sometimes, it's pretty cool how nature comes up with its own way of showing love. Even know the "heart" shape is a man-invention...eventually nature proves that we simply stole it from her (or him, depending on if you believe the world is a guy or girl)....and BAM! Nature at its best.

So on V-day...whether you have someone or are spending it chillaxing on your own, just know that you're not quite alone. The world's got your back in some way, shape, or form...just gotta know where to look!

p.s. these are Damselflies mating :)

The Friend: How They Make Us Strong

Before I begin...I found out that there is actually a real www.pawcorner.com! Hm...I hope they don't think I'm stealing their name or copy-righting their title! Anyway, it's a place that people can put their animal related things up such as classified ads, blogs, polls, you need to sign up though, so I'm not sure when/if I'll do it.

Anyways, today was sort of one of those days, days you want to put behind you and get over quickly, days that you want to roll into bed as soon as possible (ASAP!!)...but alas, I cannot. There are obligations to fulfill before selfish desires.

HOWEVER, I got the bestest surprise of them all when I had a happy puppy jump into my lap!! My house is house-sitting our neighbor's dog while they go to the gym for a few hours...it's truly amazing how much better animals can make you feel, just when you thought you've slowly run out of happy thoughts.

I'm reminded of their warmth, their "smile", their unconditional excitement to meet you day after day as if it were the first, and their unwavering faith and love in you. With animals, you'll never self-doubt, you'll never feel alone, you'll never feel the need to explain or defend, and best of all, you've got the most awesome lap heater in the world--free of charge!

So take note, animal lovers and haters! No matter how you really feel about an animal, you can't deny that they never stop feeling for you.

Isn't Kona adorable? Definitely got that "puppy eyes" down!