Update, 2/18/09: Oh, yays! Seamore has been adopted. I hope you enjoy your new family, lil’ guy!

Meet our last Featured Adoptable of 2008, Seamore the kitty. I chose Seamore for no reason other than the cuteness quotient of his photo. Love that kitty stretch!

Seamore hails from Foxwood Rescue in Kansas City, MO. If you hop on over to their Petfinder listings, you’ll see that the group is currently overwhelmed with cats – in fact, they’re having a “cat overflow adoption sale”:

For a limited time adult cats are $65 and kittens are $75. They are fixed, current on shots, dewormed, felv/fiv tested, and microchipped! We have soooo many great cats looking for homes and they would really love to have a loving forever home!!

So if little Seamore doesn’t strike your fancy, there are oddles and oodles of cats to choose from.

But how can you resist cute Seamore, anyhow?

Name: Seamore
DOB: 3/31/08
Breed: Domestic Shorthair
Color: Gray/White
Sex: Male/Neutered

Contact: Call Dawn at 816-665-2339 (Please leave a message if no answer and I will call you back)

Very sweet and playful kitten.

REQUIREMENTS:

1) We only adopt kittens/cats out to INDOOR ONLY HOMES as they are much safer indoors.

2) Please have at least 2 references verifying that you have been and will be a good pet owner. 1 preferably being from a vet.

3) Your other pets must already be fixed and current on vaccinations.

4) If this cat/kitten doesn’t work out in your home you must agree to bring it back to us, no matter how long it has been, and we will find it another home.

The adoption fee is $75 and that includes a Felv Test for kittens under 3 months and a Felv/Fiv Test for kittens/cats over 4 months, spay/neuter, up to date shots, and all animals are now Microchipped.

You can also meet Seamore – or any of Foxwood’s other rescues – at their adoption events:

Some of our animals are brought to our adoption events on the weekends. If you’d like a certain animal to be there please let us know so we will be sure and bring him/her.

SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS (Noon to 5pm):
***WE ARE NOT THERE THE FIRST SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH***

Petco (Cats can also be viewed daily at this location!)
4802 Noland Road
Kansas City, MO 64133

Saturdays we mainly just bring the cats and a few dogs, Sunday is when we bring most of the dogs. Please call if you’d like a certain animal brought there!

What better way to kick off the New Year than by welcoming 2009 with a furry new friend?

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Update, 2/18/09: I’m absolutely overjoyed to announce that Gramby has FINALLY been adopted! After almost 2 1/2 years at Animal Haven, Gramby has found his forever home. It’s such momentous news that Animal Haven even blogged about it:

Gramby was our longest term dog here at Animal Haven and was recently adopted. Gramby was found as a stray from a city with a breed ban on October 13th, 2006 when he was just a pup. Last week he was adopted out by a fantastic lady from Blue Springs. He has adjusted very well to life with his new mother and is having the time of his life now that he finally has his lifelong home. He even gets to cuddle with his mother’s baby granddaughter for nap time.

And, what a wiggler he is too! Our ants-in-the-pants pal Gramby is always on the lookout for something interesting. Who can blame him? Gramby’s dedicated friends here at Animal taught him a few things before he went to his new lifelong home, and he’ll sit for a treat (though he likes to be sure it’s abundantly tasty).

My heart sings for him! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, anonymous “fantastic lady from Blue Springs,” for giving Gramby another shot at life.

When I started the “Featured Adoptable” series back in April of 2008, it was my hope to help the animal rescue community here in Kansas City by highlighting some of the many wonderful animals available for adoption. In the past seven months, I’ve featured 40 animals, 22 of which have either been adopted – or euthanized (not all area shelters are “no-kill,” and when an animal’s listing has been removed from Petfinder rather than updated, there’s no way of knowing what happened to the animal in question). Through the months, we’ve met dogs, cats, mice, rabbits, pigs, horses, sheep, birds, guinea pigs – even a ferret! But one animal in particular has stuck with me – Gramby the pit bull.

Gramby was the second animal I featured on the KC Freecycle blog, right after One-Eyed Jack. Back in May, Gramby was 18 months old and had been at Animal Haven for more than a year. Despite Animal Haven’s best efforts – he’s been their “featured pet” for quite some time, as also served as the model doggeh for the group’s Tire Marks logo – Gramby still has yet to be adopted. Poor Gramby has spent much of his puppy- and young adult-hood an orphan.

Animal Haven is the largest no-kill shelter in the Kansas City area. In fact, they’re only one of two such shelters in the area:

Animal Haven is a non-profit animal shelter operating with a progressive no-kill philosophy. For over 40 years, Animal Haven has served our community as both an adoption center and as an organization that manages stray animals for up to twelve local municipalities. Animal Haven is the only non-profit animal shelter in Johnson County, Kansas that manages stray animals. In 2007, Animal Haven accepted 3,167 stray, unwanted, orphaned, abandoned and rescued companion animals. Animal Haven is determined to help as many pets as possible find the loving homes they deserve, while working to ensure that animals in our care are both behaviorally and physically healthy. No animal is ever euthanized for space at Animal Haven.

Of the 3,167 animals received in 2007, 1,457 were adopted into great new homes and 1,073 were happily reunited with their original families. Sadly, 637 had to be humanely put to sleep due to illness or aggression. Statistics, such as these qualify Animal Haven as a no-kill shelter. Animal Haven is currently one of two no-kill shelters in the Greater Kansas City Area.

(Clearly, “no-kill” doesn’t really mean “no kill,” but that’s another discussion altogether.)

One consequence of following a “no-kill” philosophy is that some animals – those that, for whatever reason, cannot be adopted out in a timely fashion – are warehoused for indefinite periods of time. Such is the case with Gramby: at 25+ months of age, he’s spent roughly 18+ of those months at Animal Haven. Assuming he hasn’t been placed with a foster family – most of Animal Haven’s animals are housed at the shelter – that’s a long, lonely time to spend in a cage.

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Update, 7/29/09: Wendy’s listing is no longer available on DDB’s website.

Rather than feature an adoptable animal listed on Petfinder, today I’m mixing it up a bit. This week, I’d like to highlight the work of Dogs Deserve Better (DDB), a non-profit group which is “dedicated to freeing the chained dog, and bringing our ‘best friend’ into the home and family.”

DDB works with canine caretakers to educate them about animal behavior and health. Because chaining can prove both physically and psychologically torturous for dogs – who are, after all, pack animals – DDB’s primary goal is to free “outside” dogs from their chains and bring them inside, with the rest of their family.

Dogs Deserve Better, 2003 First Place Winner of the ASPCA/Chase Pet Protector Award, is a voice for chained and penned dogs, whose sadness speaks only through the eyes. As the days become years, many of these dogs sit, lay, eat, and defecate within the same 10-foot radius. Chained by the neck, they exist without respect, love, exercise, social interaction, and sometimes even basic nourishment. They live as prisoners, yet long to be pets.

Chaining is not only inhumane for dogs, but has taken a severe toll on this nation’s children as well. In the period from October 2003 through August 2008, there were at least 239 children killed or seriously injured by chained dogs across the country. Chained dogs, unsocialized with humans, can become very territorial of their tiny space, and any two year old who wanders into this space can be attacked and killed before adults can intervene. A recent attack in Texas in March, 2007 left 2 year old Carolina Sotello dead from head and neck wounds. She was attacked and killed by an unneutered male dog chained in the backyard, next to an unspayed female with puppies.

Would you for one second choose to live the life of these dogs? No matter what reason is given, the bottom line is that it is NOT ok to chain a dog for life. Dogs should not have to live chained or penned as prisoners, yearning for a place in a family, craving acknowledgment, respect, and love. They DESERVE BETTER, and we as caretakers have the obligation to provide it for them.

Through their outreach efforts, DDB helps dog “owners” do right by their charges, for example, by procuring and installing fencing so that tethering is unnecessary or working to solve behavioral issues that might otherwise prevent these dogs from staying inside the home, with the rest of their family. Sometimes, owners opt to surrender their dogs to DDB, who then rehomes the animals. Currently, DDB has three ex-chained dogs up for adoption in Missouri: Cody and Scooby are located in Columbia, while Miss Wendy (my mom’s name is Wendy!) is in Kansas City, MO.

Here’s Wendy’s listing:

Wendy is a Hound mix, 9-10 years old, female, spayed, UTD on shots, good with men, women, children and cats. Must go to a home without other dogs. Dog aggressive. Wendy would be perfect for an elderly person looking for a companion. Totally house-trained. Kennel trained. Location: Kansas City, MO Originally rescued from an Arkansas hoarder; lived chained for 2 years. Wendy is smart and affectionate and is content to sleep all day.

To find out more, visit DDB’s adoption page and scroll about halfway down – Wendy is sandwiched between Max from Georgia and Scooby from Missouri.

If you’d like to volunteer with DDB, or need their help with a chained dog, you can view a list of area representatives here. There are several in the KC area, including Overland Park, KS and Kansas City and Liberty, MO.

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Update, 2/10/10: McLovin’s listing is no longer available on Petfinder.

This week’s featured adoptable kitteh is named McLovin’ – and that’s about all you need to know.

I kid, I kid. Here’s what McLovin’s foster family at Forever Friends Animal League has to say about her:

My name is McLovin’. And that really describes me. I’m very loving and affectionate. And I’m very handsome. Black with a little white on my tummy. Us black cats have a tougher time getting a home because people tend to overlook us because we’re dark. But I’m hoping you’re someone who will just want a great cat with a very long, luxurious tail. My sister and brothers were rescued as kittens along with my beautiful black mama. She just found a new home. She is super friendly and so am I. I like to do things most cats do — play, snuggle and explore. I used to escape from the cattery here at the foster home and climb the ducts up to the first floor and emerge from the uptake vent. My foster mom would freak.

[...]

We will begin having Friday night adoptions again! This time we will be at the Ward Parkway Mall Petsmart, Fridays 5:00 pm to 8:00pm. thru Christmas. Come adopt Friday and spend the whole weekend with your new best friend!

We will continue to be at he Ward Parkway Mall Petsmart Sundays 1:00 to 5:00.

Not every animal attends every adoption so as always, please call ahead to confirm a particular animal will be present.

Won’t you get your bad self to Petsmart and let McLovin’ charm her way into your life, hmmmm?

She’s Superbad, yo.

———————–

Each Wednesday, the Kansas City Freecycle blog will feature one adoptable animal from a local KC rescue group or animal shelter.

We do this for several reasons:

- To highlight the plight of companion animals in the Kansas City area.

- To remind members of our no-animal policy, and provide an alternative venue for members who wish to adopt an unwanted animal.

- To encourage members to adopt a furry friend.

- To help out out local animal rescue groups and animal shelters, many of which are overwhelmed by the sheer number of animals in need.

- To illustrate these animals’ unique personalities and characteristics, thus underscoring the fact that they are not objects and should not be “freecycled”.

Click here to view past Featured Adoptables.

———————–

Tagged: kcfreecycle freecycle kansas ks missouri mo kcmo kcks featured adoptables animal adoption animal rescue petfinder pet companion animal cat feline black cat mclovin’ Forever Friends Animal League mix Domestic Short Hair Siamese superbad