Flame the cat who need to take the high road and Holly Berri who is looking for her forever home

Holly Berri is looking for her forever home!

Flame
Our guest blogger today is Joan Funk, artist, engineer and animal lover

The women in my family all have a soft spot for big, beautiful, blue eyes.  My Mom married a man with wonderful blue eyes (my Dad).  My sister married a man with great blue eyes and her first cat also had big blue eyes.  A few of the guys I've  dated have had big blue eyes but I hadn't brought one home for good.

I saw a post on Facebook about a cat that needed a home.  Gorgeous blue eyes…  But I had two cats and didn't need any more.  Time went by…  About six months later I saw a post again with the same picture.  Well I couldn't believe that he hadn't found a home.  So I called about him.  There was a rather lengthy conversation.  Flame was  very shy.  He came from a hoarder's house.  He had been adopted and spent several months under the couch at his new home.  Eventually he was returned to the shelter.  When people came to the shelter he would hide under a cabinet.  Hearing this story I just had to meet him.  We agreed that they would catch him and then let me know that I could come meet him.

When I got to the shelter, Flame was in a big cage and not looking happy about it.  However, I could pet him through the cage.  I asked for the worker to open the door.  She told me that he would run and hide under the cabinet.  Sure enough he did but he paused long enough for him to pet him just for a few seconds.  I took that has a good sign!  I agreed that he would come to my house.  I was advised not to expect that he would let me pet him and just realize it would take along time.

Flame spent the first few weeks in the office which at the time had a cat tree that he could climb.  I couldn't pick him up.  However, I could pet him and he would stretch out and let me scratch his tummy.  He and the other cats where getting to know each other.  Things were going well.

So I let him out into the rest of the house.  And he went under the bed.   And stayed under the bed.  He would come out to eat and use the litter box but that was about it.

Well no animal in my house is going to spend their whole lives being afraid and hiding.  I thought about it and thought about it.  I realized that he needed high places to go, like the cat tree, but one that he would roam - places to be safe.

And so that's how I  came to have a cat highway in my house.  It runs between three rooms and has boxes in the corners for cats to nap and bath in.  A great contractor, Dustin Hoopengardner,  who although thinking I was crazy, got into the spirit of things made it happen.    Flame at first spent all his time on the highway.  Now he is up there several times a day but he is also napping on the back of the chair, lounging in the window, and hanging out on the screened in porch.  (Still not up for getting picked up and hides when strangers come to visit.)

Holly is blossoming into a great dog.  She is still shy and a bit nervous in new situations, but has come a long way from cowering in the back of her kennel at the Athens Pound.  She was out of time, and with her shyness, had no hope of being adopted.

She's a medium sized dog at around 48 lbs.  She's reddish brown with a white chest.  She's very strong, fast, and agile!  She loves to run and is learning to fetch, sit, and shake.  She is learning her leash skills.   She rides well in a vehicle, whether loose or in a crate.  She's great with cats and has done well with children at events and when they come to visit.

Holly is a funny girl too.  She's invented a game called "Get me! Get me!"  She comes up to you, drops down on her front legs, rear end in the air, tail wagging like crazy.  She taunts you into taking a step toward her and when you do, she spins around, tail tucked low, and runs away with an OMG! look on her face!  Then she runs back and starts it all over again.  It is so funny because she's having a ball and so into it!  She also chases her tail from time to time.  That's funny too, because you see her see it out of the corner of her eye and then the twirling begins!  She doesn't do it for long.  Again, it's just her being silly.  

She's a good watch dog.  She hears everything and alerts you to someone pulling into the driveway or kids cutting across the back of the property.  She will stand guard and keep strangers at bay.  She gives warning barks and is just big enough to keep people in place until you let her know they are OK, then she's fine.  

Holly is great with cats and has done very well with children.  She gets along well with other dogs, but does tend to dominate them.  For that reason, I'd recommend she be an only dog or go to someone experienced with introducing a new dog to a house with an existing dog.  

All of a sudden one of Holly Berri's eyes developed cloudiness.  She has a juvenile cataract and needs immediate surgery.

To contribute to Holly Berri's surgery click here  

If you would like to contribute a story to the FOR blog, please mail the contents along with an image or two to blog@forrescue.net.

 At the end of 2014 individuals who submitted content for the FOR blog will be entered in a drawing for a free pet portrait. 


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