At night, Fate likes to sleep downstairs, by the door, so she can keep an eye on the sheep and the pasture. My dog Rose used to do this. When the sun rises, she comes upstairs and hops onto the bed and sits quietly in the hope we will get up and to out to work.
Maria and I are both early risers, so very often, we do get up when Fate comes, she is a kind of alarm clock.
When the sun bursts through the window, and silhouettes this very special dog, it’s usually time for us to get up.
My territory is usually the little things that people need and that they need help in getting. Sylvie is a passionate letter writer, she reads every letter she gets very seriously and struggles to reply to them all. I try to help her.
She told me yesterday that she needed envelopes and so I brought her some today. Sylvia is the busiest resident in the Mansion, she is always on her cell phone, reading her mail (Sylvie, 11 S. Union Avenue, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816), writing letters, poring over religious texts.
She is one of the most colorful and inventive dressers I know,I love her scarves and flowing skirts and blouses. And I love supporting her letter writing. She is unique.
Envelopes, stamps, seasonal clothes are the things I am most asked to buy, by now, I am an expert at women’s shoe and bra and underwear sizes. I have a network of thrift shops that help me.
If you wish to support the Mansion work, we could use your help. You may, if you wish, send a donation to Jon Katz, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816, or via Paypal, [email protected]. Please mark your contributions “The Mansion.” Thanks.
I’ve been meaning to buy a lava lamp for the Mansion residents, and this week, I finally did. It cost $21.36 and today, I brought it into the Activity Room and plugged it in, it will take two or three hours to warm up a bit and get the lava moving.
I always try to bring color to the Mansion if I can, and this is a simple and inexpensive way to do it.
Lava lamps are believed to be relaxing to the people who look at them, and just colorful and soothing to others. The Mansion residents were happy to see it on their table.
One of the Mansion parakeets died last week, and we are trying to figure out whether we should get another one, or wait until the survivor dies and get two. The parakeets were much loved by the residents, Mary, who cared for the birds, was deeply upset.
We need to gather more information and do more research before we replace one or both.
An aide told me today that one of the residents is walking in and outside of the Mansio with shoes that have large and growing holes in them. She has no family to help her, so I ordered a pair of Clark’s Slip-on loafers from Amazon. A local shoe store had nothing appropriate in her size.
The shoes cost $69.95. As some of you know, I am an advocate of small acts of great kindness. We don’t and can’t perform miracles.We fill the small holes in people’s lives and make sure they are comfortable and have the basic items of dignity – soap, brushes and combs, shoes, underwear, jackets and shirts.
We need your help to continue this work. You can contribute by sending a donation to this address: Jon Katz. P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816, or via Paypal, [email protected].
Please mark your payments “Mansion,” if that’s where you want your money to go. You can also help Sakler Moo with his tuition payments (“Sakler Moo”) or the refugee soccer team (“soccer team”).
Thanks.
This morning, I wrote about Perdita, an (approximately) four-year-old Boston Terrier found starving in the woods in Southern Arkansas. She was found wandering, she is emaciated from hunger and suffering from exposure.
Perdita, named by FOHA rescuer Joyce Johnson after the lost princess in Shakespeare’s “Winter’s Tale”, weighted 9.3 pounds when Carol picked her up and brought her to the Southern Arkansas Veterinary Clinic today.
Her ribs are sticking out.
About fifteen minutes after I wrote about this dog on the blog and my own temptation to adopt her, Debra Otto, a Farm Journal reader from the Minneapolis Area, wrote to me and Carol saying she wanted to adopt Perdita, and would wait as long as it takes.
She said she loves the breed, and she and a friend will be happy to drive as far as necessary to get Perdita and bring her to her home. She has two dogs already.
More good news came this afternoon when Dr. Jonathan Bradshaw, the vet that has treated Bud, the Boston Terrier who is hopefully coming home to us on Saturday, tested Perdita and found she tested negative for heartworm.
She is emaciated and weak, and Carol said she needs some support just to stand up, but Dr. Bradshaw said she was otherwise in good health and ought to be able to go home to Debra soon.
This story – like the Winter’s Tale – has a happy ending. The lost princess finds a good home.
Debra is a passionate dog lover and a gracious person. She said she didn’t want to adopt the dog if I wanted her, and I told her that I couldn’t imagine a better fate for Perdita than living with her in Minnesota.
This makes me quite happy. It is just what I hoped for when Carol first told me of this poor creature over the weekend. I said I wanted to try to help get her adopted, and if I couldn’t, I would consider taking her.
Three dogs is the right amount for me and for Maria. We also have two border collies, sheep and donkeys and barn cats and chickens. That’s enough.
Maria thought this was a bad idea, and I could see her point, but I also knew she would take Perdita in a minute once she saw a photo of her and saw the condition she was in. And if necessary,I know we could have found a good home for her.
This story, this dog, this name all got to me. It got to Debra too, and right away. She experienced that magic moment of hearing about Perdita, and then seeing a photo. It was her dog.
Carol will take Perdita home from the vet in a couple of days and fatten her up. She and Debra will work out the adoption and transportation details. I am standing by to help. Carol cautioned that the rescue group might ask for a lot of money for Perdita.
I told Debra we – the Army Of Good – would help her if she needed financial assistance, she said she could handle the fees.
All told, I’m getting Bud for nearly $900, including the standard application donation of $200 plus medical fees. I don’t think Perdita would cost that much, given that she has no need of heartworm treatment. In any case, Debra doesn’t want or need the help.
FOHA (Friends Of Homeless Animals) usually takes dogs that need expensive medical care, and the fees vary in respect to that. Bud needed a lot of medical care.
This is wonderful new use of the blog, and I am enthusiastic about this. We have added vulnerable and lost cause dogs to our list of good deeds, including the Mansion residents, and the refugee soccer team.
And if feels especially good to have helped getting this poor dog adopted into a loving place. She has suffered plenty. And I love those ears.
I hope Debra will grace us with a photo or two once Perdita gets settled.
And hats off once more to Carol Johnson, one of our Better Angels. She saved another dog, and made another dog lover very happy. Carol and I have become good friends and working partners. We will be making more dog music.
Audio: Saving Perdita
Late September and early October are harvesting time, the farmers get out in their big and smelly and noisy tractors and harvest the corn, the cow corn – they call it sileage – that they will feed the cows all winter.
The stalks are tall and thick this year, they are a kind of art all in themselves, with their curves and turns and distinct lines. In a few weeks, they will all be gone.
