Today we're joined by Vicky Davison from Kindred Tails Sanctuary,
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:a passionate advocate for animals and
the heart behind a rescue dedicated
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:to giving animals a safe place to
land, heal, and find loving homes.
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:We'll be talking rescue, compassion,
and the incredible stories that come
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:with saving lives one animal at a time.
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:Hi, Vicky.
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:Welcome to the show.
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:Vicki: Thank you so much.
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:Dixie: I am interested in hearing
all about your sanctuary and rescue.
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:So before we get started, why don't you
just tell me a little bit about yourself?
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:Vicki: About me is I obviously love
animals, and I've always wanted a
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:lot of animals when I was growing up.
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:I actually wanted to be a veterinarian,
but instead I went to nursing school.
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:So back when I wanted to
go to veterinarian school,
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:It's not like being a veterinarian
today, as far as dogs that bite or,
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:and not being able to be controlled
away from their human parents.
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:So I chose to go toward the human side.
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:But as soon as we found our place that we
have now, I knew exactly what was gonna
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:happen and it started with two feral cats.
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:That's all it took, was two
feral cats looking hungry.
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:Dixie: Tell me about the place that you
have and I guess when you got your place,
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:was this the intention for it or did you
just happen to go in another direction?
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:Vicki: When…
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:It kinda happened to go in that direction
because like I said, it started with
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:two feral cats that we were feeding
and and then it's like they went and
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:passed out a memo, to neighboring feral
cats, and before we knew it, there
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:was a lot of them on the property.
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:And we took them in to get them spayed
and neutered, and some of them were
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:very friendly and I'm like, "It's, it's
too bad we couldn't find them a home."
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:So then I just, I started looking
into what it would take to become a
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:501[c][3] nonprofit and also getting
my license through the Department of
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:Agriculture for a shelter license.
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:What is your property like?
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:Do you have like acreage?
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:Is it in the country?
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:It is in the country.
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:We have five acres.
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:Currently on our property
roaming the property, which
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:is our sanctuary, is 40 cats.
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:And then .. someone
surrendered three goats to us.
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:Two of them were pregnant.
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:Now we have nine goats.
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:We have chickens, we have livestock
guardian dogs, and then of course we
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:have eight rescue dogs on the property.
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:Dixie: That's awesome.
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:I did a similar thing.
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:I would like to ask you too
about your setup for your cats,
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:because we have country property.
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:We purchased the property.
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:It's a lot of acreage.
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:And I always wanted to have
an animal sanctuary too.
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:We found this piece of property.
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:It was perfect.
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:It's in the country.
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:It's in a very rural
area here in Louisiana.
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:And we've got a lot of work to
do still to put it all together,
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:but . it's in the works.
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:It's in the beginning stages,
but we're working towards that.
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:What is the setup do you, that you
use for the cats roaming your property
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:to keep them safe from predators
like coyotes and stuff like that?
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:Vicki: With feral cats,
you can't really…
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:unless you fence in, which
a cat can climb a fence.
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:We tried putting them in a
catio, and they did not like it.
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:So the one thing about feral cats, they
usually have colonies, and it's better
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:to just leave them alone, let them go
about their business on the property.
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:We do put out places for them to sleep.
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:So if you're gonna do that, I would
put them kinda high up, and that
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:helps keep them off the ground and
not so accessible to a predator.
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:But most of our feral cats
will lay on our porch.
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:We have some that are just letting
us start touching them, 'cause
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:it's "Look, you either let me
touch you or you don't get fed."
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:But I love it just to see
the cats walking around.
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:We've not had a problem in four years
with any of our feral cats disappearing
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:Dixie: That's great.
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:Yeah, and it's funny, like you said,
how you had the two feral cats show
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:up, and it just started it for you
because the first time that we went
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:out to our property after we got it, I
went and got some game cameras 'cause
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:I'm from the city I'm hoping to catch
some deer and raccoons and possums
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:and all kinds of wildlife on camera.
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:And, the first creature that
I caught on camera was a cat.
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:Vicki: Aw.
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:Dixie: And I'm like, "Go figure," we're
out in the middle of nowhere 'cause I
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:think the closest neighbor is about a
half a mile away, and I'm like, "Here's
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:a cat showing up on our property," right?
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:Vicki: Yeah.
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:There's a sign.
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:What's really cool, too, is some
nights when we put out the cat food
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:for the feral cats if it's kinda
getting dark, we can look out our
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:window, and there will be a possum
sitting right next to the cat eating
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:Dixie: Yeah, they seem to all
get along with each other.
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:I know that'll happen even out
in the city, 'cause we do get
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:a lot of possums in the city.
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:And, people say that the cats are
such predators, but you'll see them
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:sitting next to possums eating.
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:Sometimes you'll even see them
with a raccoon eating, and they all
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:seem to get along with each other
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:Vicki: Yeah, I think they have an
understanding between each other,
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:and now I do know that a possum and
a raccoon will go after a kitten, but
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:they won't bother a full-grown cat.
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:But yeah, it's nice to watch, and then
we have, I think it's a 10 by 20 building
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:that we enclosed and put a pet door, and
it goes out into a catio, and that's what
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:we've done with some of the tamer cats so
that we can keep them safe and healthy.
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:Because with the feral cats, we were
able to set the live traps to catch
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:them, but you can't approach them
to do flea treatments or anything,
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:so that makes it harder on them, and
that's the only thing I wish I could
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:figure out a system on how to do
that, because fleas are bad this year.
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:Really bad.
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:Dixie: When the feral cats showed up
and you trapped them for the TNR has
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:your colony stabilized after that?
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:Or do you grow your colony by
helping people that need to find
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:a home for their feral cats?
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:Or do you have any more
feral cats showing up?
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:Vicki: We do have some that show up
but they don't stay on the property.
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:It's just like they're passing
by and grabbing a bite to eat.
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:And some people, when they surrender
their cats to us, after we evaluate
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:the cat and see, how the cat is or
whatever, it may not be 100% feral,
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:but that feral instinct is still in the
cat, so they go out in the building.
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:And we can work with them better and
get them used to being around humans
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:and, it seems to work that way.
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:But that's-- When I take a surrendered
cat, if , an adoptable one, I'm very
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:picky about where they go, and my
thought process, if they don't get
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:adopted, they can stay on the sanctuary.
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:I don't care, i'd like to find them
a home, of course, to where they can
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:have their own home and humans to
bond with, but and we've got so many
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:cats that are just so lovable and
I'm like, "Why are y'all still here?"
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:Dixie: Yeah.
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:It's crazy that people
overlook a nice adult cat.
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:Everybody goes after the kittens
and I do kitten rescue, I do bottle
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:babies, and kittens are cute.
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:I'll admit kittens are cute, but
kittens are so messy, and it's like-
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:Yeah … and I tell people this all
the time, you never know what that
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:kitten is gonna grow up to be like.
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:It doesn't matter like how you raise them.
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:They could be the sweetest kitten and then
they grow up to be a very aloof adult.
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:Or it might be a kitten that has
nothing to do with you and then when
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:they reach six months old, all they
wanna do is sit in your lap now.
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:And I always tell people when you--
if you know what you want in a pet
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:or in a cat, pick an adult because
you know what their personality is.
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:There's so many of them that are so great.
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:They're so easy to integrate into
your house, provided of course
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:that you do it the right way.
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:You don't wanna just throw them
in the middle of your house and
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:say, "Here's your new home."
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:But if you integrate them in and acclimate
them to it, they just settle in nicely
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:and you have a really wonderful pet.
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:They do.
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:Vicki: And I do the neonatal kittens.
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:I think we've got like two of
our incubators full right now.
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:And it's just people bring in kittens.
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:They're telling me they found them on
the side of the road and I said you
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:have to go through animal control.
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:We can't take in strays."
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:And then they finally tell the truth.
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:My cat had kittens and I
can't deal with kittens."
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:I'm like technically your mama cat
would be dealing with the kitten and
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:that's the best place for your kitten
to be is with mama," but then when we
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:go to look at the kitten, they're just
covered in fleas and it's like, how
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:long has this kitten been like this?
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:And they're like, "Oh, about a week."
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:I'm like, "It can take 10 fleas
to take out a kitten this young,
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:from anemia and they would crash."
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:And that's the side that people don't
realize as a rescuer that, that when
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:we take in these bottle babies, yes,
they are cute, yes, it's fun feeding
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:them, but that doesn't mean that
they're gonna be tame their whole life.
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:It doesn't mean they're instantly
gonna bond to any human either.
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:And that's what a lot of people don't
understand is and you said it it's get
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:the adult cat because they've already went
through all of the other stuff and the
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:way they are now is pretty much the way
they're gonna be the rest of their life.
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:Dixie: Yeah.
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:And I, I just wish people would
consider that, but it's hard to
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:really reach people about that.
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:And it's funny because people, when they
go looking for a dog, they will gravitate
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:towards a dog, not necessarily a puppy.
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:But when it comes to a cat, it
seems, the majority of people
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:just wanna have a kitten.
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:Vicki: Yeah.
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:I can see both sides of it, but then,
with being in rescue, nine times out of
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:10, in about six to seven months, they're
gonna wanna bring that kitten back,
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:because they didn't really listen to you.
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:There, there is the newborn, there is the
toddler, there is the teenager, and then
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:there's the adult, as far as in cats.
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:And the toddler and the teenage
phase that cats go through, that's
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:when they usually bring them back.
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:It's "I didn't realize they were
gonna be climbing my curtains."
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:They'll climb a lot of stuff.
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:So I still have my very first
bottle baby Stormy, and I will
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:never put Stormy up for adoption.
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:Because I know how Stormy is.
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:Stormy was the cute, cuddly
kitten that all he wanted to do
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:was lay on me drink a bottle.
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:He didn't like to see
other kittens drinking.
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:And when I go in there into the
kitten room, and he's in there,
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:he'll come up, and if I'm looking
at something else, he'll take his
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:paw and push my face to look at him.
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:And I'm like, "Stingy much?"
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:But other people that come in
there, he is very skittish.
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:Even though he's been around
humans his whole entire life,
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:but he's still skittish.
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:And that just goes back to what you said.
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:It, they can change.
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:Their, not only can their personalities
change, but their hair length, the
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:hair color, and most people, when
they see kittens, they have blue eyes.
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:Guess what?
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:Their eyes aren't gonna stay blue.
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:Dixie: Yeah, that's my
favorite, the blue eyes.
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:And I'm like, "Oh, those
eyes aren't gonna stay blue."
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:"Oh, no, they're gonna stay blue."
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:And it's "Yeah, you can tell me that
in a few more weeks, and we'll see
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:what color their eyes are then."
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:Vicki: Yeah, they don't stay blue at all.
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:Dixie: Now, surprisingly- I just
got some orange kittens in, and-
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:Oh, wow … I have been waiting
and waiting for the eyes to change.
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:They're eight weeks old now.
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:So one of them, her eyes are green,
so she's orange, green eyes, and
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:then I have a buff, blue eyes,
and I have a orange and blue eyes.
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:So that's their natural color and which
is very odd 'cause I've never seen an
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:orange cat with the blue eyes like that.
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:Vicki: That kind of tells me there
might be some Siamese in that cat.
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:Dixie: Yeah, I was thinking
the same thing, especially the
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:little buff one 'cause he just
has that little Siamese attitude.
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:Vicki: Yeah.
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:No, we have a solid black cat.
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:We call her Sabrina, and she has the
prettiest, almost neon green eyes on a
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:cat, but I've never seen that color on
a cat before, and it's just her eyes.
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:And she's a good cat.
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:There's this huge thing going
around about shelters and humane
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:societies wanting to be a no-kill.
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:And which is fine, but before
you can get to a no-kill, we
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:need to start with no birth.
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:Because these people, they're not
having their animals spayed and
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:neutered, and they come to the rescues.
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:People are smart.
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:They know not to take them to animal
control or humane society because they
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:will more than likely just euthanize them.
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:So they bring them to rescues,
and we're overcrowded.
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:We're not funded by anybody.
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:Like animal s- animal control and humane
society, we're not funded by anybody.
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:And I don't know about you, but a
lot of our, the rescues that I'm in
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:touch with, a lot of this money is
coming out of our personal pocket.
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:Dixie: Yeah, absolutely.
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:Absolutely.
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:And I've been seeing this, the trend
too, like you said, with the people that
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:, they'll get the kittens, and then they
wait until they're reproductive age and
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:causing a whole bunch of problems because
they're not spayed or neutered, and that's
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:when they wanna find a home for them.
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:And- … and right now, I
have room at my rescue at our
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:adoption center for some adults.
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:And so I had somebody contact me
today 'cause they have two of them,
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:but they're not spayed or neutered.
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:And I'm like, by the time I can get
them spayed or neutered and have
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:them, healed enough in time to be at
the adoption center, all my kittens
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:that I have are gonna be ready."
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:I have room now, but I don't
have room next week, and I'm
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:sure you understand that.
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:Vicki: Oh, yeah.
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:Yeah, we are currently closed for intake
because, like I said, we've got two
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:incubators we've got the kitten room, and
and my adult room is full I I even have
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:some kennels set up in my living room.
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:Me and my husband at this point, we
just pay the bills and sleep here.
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:We no longer occupy the
house, the animals do.
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:It's just, he knows
how I am about animals.
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:He travels for a living, so he's
come home to chickens in the house.
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:They wear diapers.
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:But because they aren't mixing in with
the flocks that we have, and most chickens
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:don't like white chickens that are of
different colors, and Autumn happens
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:to be white, so she gets bullied a lot.
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:I've got a piglet that walks around
in the house with a diaper on
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:until he gets ready to go outside.
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:My concern is he doesn't know he's a
piglet anymore because he's hanging out
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:with four, or with two of our kittens.
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:And they're fine.
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:It's really sad because, what's
going on right now, we cannot rescue
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:our way out of overpopulation.
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:We can't.
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:And at some point, commissioners,
governors, and they're gonna
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:have to understand that.
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:Department of Agriculture in Georgia
will not let you get one of their spay
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:and neuter grants until you've held a
license for one year you're putting a
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:whole year gap, to where I'm getting
all these animals in and I'm sitting
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:on $3,500 worth of vet bills right now.
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:And it's like they don't
consider these cats feral.
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:They consider them abandoned, and
I'm like, "They're not abandoned.
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:They're feral cats."
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:So it's hard.
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:It's just hard all the way around.
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:But, I'm not gonna give up
on them, that's for sure.
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:Dixie: Yeah, it is.
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:It definitely is.
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:Now, in your area, what do you think is
the reason for the lack of spay/neuter?
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:What do you think is causing people to
not go out and get spay and neuter done?
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:Vicki: We do not have a local vet.
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:They either have to drive 45 minutes
to an hour to have to have the cats
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:spayed or neutered, and the cost of it.
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:Because we have one place in
Statesboro that already does it at
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:a really good price for feral cats
that have to be brought in traps.
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:I think you can get like the
full package deal where they get
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:spayed/neutered, they get their rabies,
and they get the feline for the upper
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:respiratory and AIDS for 85 bucks.
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:And some of the people in this area don't
have the 85 bucks, much less don't want
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:to make that drive there, 'cause you
have to drop them off and then go back
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:later about 3:30, 4:00 to pick them up.
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:So that's one of the biggest problems
here is just not having a local vet
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:and the community not having the money.
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:Now they're quick to build the population,
and I've always said there's more cats
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:in Screven County than there are humans.
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:I've never been in a county
where there's many stray cats.
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:But again, we can't rescue
our way out of overpopulation.
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:Something's gonna have to be done.
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:Dixie: Yeah, and in my area, we have
some really good low-cost programs.
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:Very low cost.
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:And we still can't get
people on board here.
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:We don't have counties here in
Louisiana, we have parishes.
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:The parish that I'm in Jefferson
Parish, it's actually free to
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:go get a feral cat fixed Wow.
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:Yeah.
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:And then when you talk about Orleans,
where New Orleans is and Jefferson Parish,
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:we have both really low cost to go get
a spay/neuter done for an owned cat.
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:And we still have a difficult time
getting people on board with it.
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:And I don't know what the issue is there.
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:I know, I always get the word out.
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:Whenever I talk to somebody, whether
I'm at an adoption event or a market
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:and they bring up their animals,
the first question I always ask is,
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:"Okay, are they spayed and neutered,
and what city do you live in?
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:Because if they're not, I'm gonna tell
you where you have to go to get it done."
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:And it's sad because some
people are receptive to it
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:and just other people are not.
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:So we have the access to it here, but it's
like you still can't get people on board.
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:So , it's a struggle.
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:Vicki: It is a struggle.
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:And even if it's the only animal in
your home and they don't go outside,
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:there's health issues that come with
a cat or a female dog going through
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:a heat cycle and nothing happening.
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:And they don't go through menopause.
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:Like they will have babies
up until the day they die.
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:When we done an event, we
took, plastic kitten figurines.
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:We got like 200 of them off of Temu.
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:And every time somebody walked up, we
would give them a kitten, and we would
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:explain to them about spay and neuter and
why it was so important and what one cat
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:could do the the first year of their life.
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:Because they can get pregnant
as early as four months.
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:And they don't know what to do at four
months if they're gonna get pregnant.
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:It's like I wouldn't know what to do.
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:So we gave out all but
25 of our cat figurines.
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:That's how many people
we were able to talk to.
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:Now, did it go in one
ear and out the other?
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:Probably.
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:I don't know why people are so against
spaying and neuter-neutering their
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:animal, but there is absolutely no
medical reason why they need to stay
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:intact and have reproductive organs
if they're just your house cat.
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:There's just no sense in it.
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:One person was gonna go have their
cat neutered and they said , 'cause
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:I'm tired of it spraying."
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:Neutering is not gonna keep
your cat from spraying.
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:They also spray from stress.
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:So you know, you're not gonna stop that.
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:So I don't know.
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:What I'm trying to put together is kinda
I don't know how about when you grew
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:up, there used to be a bus that come
around to try and encourage kids to ride
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:the bus to church, and so I'm trying to
come up with a way that we can do that.
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:I've got someone working on a grant
for me to get a transport vehicle.
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:And if they want their cat spayed
or neutered, we will come pick
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:the cat up, we will take the cat,
and we will bring the cat back.
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:So that eliminates that part of
it, the transportation part of it.
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:And we've got a connection with
a vet in North Carolina that if I
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:bring in 30 cats, they would get
all of their necessary vaccines,
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:rabies, plus be spayed or neutered.
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:And 30 cats are…
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:It's only gonna cost me $2,500 for
30 cats, and that's pretty good.
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:So that's what I'm working on, 'cause
I'm thinking 30 cats to begin with.
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:If it goes good, then
I do another 30 cats.
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:Because between March and
October is kitten season
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:Dixie: Yeah, that would
definitely help put a dent in it.
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:30 cats, that's a good bit.
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:Vicki: Yeah, that is a good bit.
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:And a lot of people, they're,
hear lately their excuse is
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:the cat's already pregnant."
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:It still needs to go get spayed.
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:Yes.
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:Why, the people are so against that.
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:They think it's so cruel to spay,
abort, and I'm like, "But why?
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:What are you gonna do with the six,
eight kittens that cat might have?"
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:What are you gonna do with them?
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:They're gonna end up in rescue.
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:They're gonna end up outside
and turn into a feral cat.
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:So now is the time to
have your cat spayed.
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:Dixie: Yeah and another thing with that
is the people that do that and they don't
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:wanna have these litters of kittens,
they have these litters of kittens, and
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:they wanna get rid of them right away.
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:So they'll look for a rescue to
take them, but, rescues are swamped.
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:We're all full.
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:Once kitten- … season starts running
in, coming in, y- you don't have room.
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:You have to go find a foster.
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:And finding a foster takes a while.
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:You don't just find a
foster in a few hours.
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:Sometimes it takes a few
weeks to find a foster.
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:So you try to help people out.
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:You try to tell them look,
you take care of them.
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:When the kittens are big enough, then
we can go ahead and try to get the
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:kittens spayed and neutered, and then
try to help you place them, but at
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:least they'll be spayed or neutered."
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:But they don't wanna even
wait, and it's like you're
402
:irresponsible with your animals.
403
:You let your animals reproduce.
404
:Your animals get pregnant.
405
:They have kittens.
406
:Now you wanna give them away,
and you don't wanna wait.
407
:So what they'll do is they'll just go
find random people to give them to.
408
:And- … you're lucky if the kittens
don't end up in a bad situation,
409
:'cause there's plenty of bad
situations that they can end up in.
410
:But- Yeah … if they do go to a home
with somebody that actually wants a
411
:kitten and is gonna take care of them,
it's the same situation and the same
412
:cycle over because if they don't get
that kitten fixed by the time it's four
413
:months old, it's reproducing again.
414
:And so then it just never ends.
415
:And I just really wish that people
would be, receptive to that because
416
:it's like that's the offer I always try
to make them when I don't have room.
417
:Just hold onto them until
they're eight to 10 weeks old.
418
:When they're two pounds, we'll go ahead
and we'll get them spayed or neutered.
419
:But it's like they want the problem gone
right away, and they just don't care.
420
:Vicki: And I always try and convince
somebody too, can you foster in place?
421
:All the medical will be taken care of.
422
:We will send you food.
423
:You have to pull nothing
out of your pocket.
424
:You just provide the place for,
the kitten and just foster in
425
:place until we can get room.
426
:They don't wanna do that either
427
:Because in this area I cannot find
any fosters or volunteers, period.
428
:I don't know why.
429
:I have a puppy that has Jack Russell
in it that desperately needs a foster
430
:because it needs to have more one-on-one
time to teach, the puppy manners and
431
:not to do this and not to do that.
432
:And I don't have that time because
there's so many other animals.
433
:It takes us about three and a half
hours to do our morning routine
434
:And it's, that's going through and
cleaning kennels, cleaning litter boxes,
435
:shoving everybody out into their run so
we can clean the floors and the walls
436
:to help prevent any kind of disease or
infection spread, and picking up the
437
:bowls and cleaning them, cleaning water
containers, refilling them, walking the
438
:dogs to get them out to stretch their
legs a little bit and playing with them.
439
:And then when you get done,
you get two or three hours and
440
:it's time to start over again.
441
:That's the side people don't see.
442
:They just think we're just
sitting here collecting animals
443
:and think we make a profit.
444
:I know my rescue personally
does not make a profit at all.
445
:I lose money.
446
:I definitely lose money
with my adoption fees.
447
:Dixie: Yeah.
448
:When they see an adoption fee, they
see the adoption fee as the spay,
449
:neuter, and the vaccines, and that's it.
450
:They don't see the back end of
that adoption fee, which would be
451
:all the food and litter that you
have to use to get them ready.
452
:All the medical, because babies get sick.
453
:You can't help it.
454
:It's sometimes it's like nursery school.
455
:They're gonna get sick.
456
:They're gonna get upper
respiratory infections, and
457
:they're gonna- … need meds.
458
:They're gonna need fluids sometimes.
459
:They need to go to the vet.
460
:And people don't see that side of it,
and instead they think that you're
461
:you're making money off of an adoption.
462
:Vicki: No.
463
:No way.
464
:You're losing money because I, we go
through 600 pounds of cat litter a month
465
:So I do have a company that I partnered
with that will send me 50 pounds of cat
466
:litter for free, and then the concept
is if, when someone adopts a cat, I
467
:give them the link and they go sign up.
468
:They get a free 20 pound bag of
that litter if they like it, which,
469
:all of the cats use the litter.
470
:It's all natural.
471
:And they can sign up to get litter
delivered to their house and from
472
:each person who purchases basically
a subscription, our rescue gets $20.
473
:But it's just, we decided to go all
natural because we have so many kittens.
474
:You're not, with as many cats as
we have inside of our house, you're
475
:not gonna get rid of that smell.
476
:I don't care what kind of litter,
I don't care what it promises.
477
:No, it's not gonna happen
478
:Dixie: How do you handle your adoptions?
479
:What venues do you use
to get them adopted?
480
:Vicki: I use Petfinder.
481
:I think I'm on
482
:Oh, I can't remember the name of it.
483
:I think rescue.org,
484
:and then just advertising
them on the Facebook page
485
:and hoping people will share.
486
:I…
487
:But I have OJ.
488
:He's completely ready, to go.
489
:He's been completely ready to go.
490
:And he's one of the ones that
him and his brother PJ is like,
491
:"Why are y'all still here?
492
:Y'all are real cute.
493
:You're real loving.
494
:You don't mess up anything.
495
:They're not messy with
their litter box at all.
496
:You're a dream cat."
497
:And they're still here.
498
:So we're gonna start doing adoption events
I think next month and just taking the
499
:cats and some of the dogs and letting
people interact with them and stuff.
500
:And if they want to adopt, they have to
go fill out the adoption application.
501
:They have to sign the adoption contract,
which in our contract states they
502
:cannot surrender the dog or cat to
animal control or humane society.
503
:They have to bring the animal back to us.
504
:They cannot rehome the cat or dog.
505
:They have to bring it back to us, and they
can't have the animal euthanized unless
506
:it is medically necessary deemed by a
veterinarian, and we have to see that.
507
:And if they break any of those rules,
. they can be fined up to $15,000 Because I
508
:don't want you adopting an animal from me
just to later re-home it because it was
509
:doing something you didn't agree with.
510
:Bring it back, tell us what's wrong,
let us work it out, so that we can
511
:be transparent for the next person.
512
:But I had just found out by luck that
one of the people who adopted one of
513
:my Siamese re-homed it for 25 bucks.
514
:Dixie: Oh, wow.
515
:Vicki: And yeah, the lady reached
out to me, and I was gonna be
516
:ugly and mean, but after doing
her reference checks and her…
517
:I was like, "Okay, this cat
is gonna be in a good home."
518
:I let it go.
519
:I-- And I know the person that
that adopted from me, she wouldn't
520
:have been able to pay a fine.
521
:I just mainly put that in there,
because I hope people realize that it's
522
:okay if you have to bring them back.
523
:Just tell us why.
524
:You don't be scared to.
525
:I would much rather them come back to
me than end up in an animal shelter
526
:or humane society, or in the wrong
hands of somebody- Yeah … that
527
:does awful things to kittens.
528
:Dixie: Yeah.
529
:All of the rescues that are in our area,
they all have that in their contract,
530
:that if you can't keep the animal for
any reason, they ask you bring it back.
531
:And I run a couple of lost pets
and rehoming sites on social media.
532
:Sure.
533
:And I see people all the time, they're
giving away cats and adult cats.
534
:It just seems it seems like everybody
is giving away adult cats right now.
535
:And so I'll always ask them,
where did the cat come from?"
536
:And sometimes they'll say, "Oh, I
got it from such and such a place."
537
:And I'm like, "Okay, then if you got
it over here, that's this rescue.
538
:You need to call them up.
539
:They're gonna take their cats back."
540
:And, sometimes they
won't even contact them.
541
:So if it's somebody that I notice or
somebody I have contacts with, I'll alert
542
:them to the post so they can get involved.
543
:But "You're desperately looking
for somebody to take your cat.
544
:The rescue's gonna take your
cat back, but you don't wanna
545
:call the rescue and tell them?"
546
:Vicki: Yeah, that's what gets me.
547
:That's what gets me is why do you
wanna get rid of it and giving it away
548
:for free when you know the rescue…
549
:And most rescues will come pick 'em back
up, if they're within a certain distance.
550
:Don't, you don't even
have to bring it to us.
551
:We'll come get it.
552
:I just, I really, I don't
understand people with animals.
553
:I really don't.
554
:A lot of this is common sense.
555
:I don't understand people.
556
:We have a Yorkie.
557
:He's intact, and the only
reason he's intact is 'cause he
558
:cannot be anesthetized at all.
559
:He was sedated to be groomed, and he had
such a bad reaction to that, the vet was
560
:like, "He can never be anesthetized."
561
:And he's 10 years old now
I don't have any females.
562
:But these people giving away adult
cats right now, if it's a female, it's
563
:because she's walking around doing
her mating call or spraying to try
564
:and get the attention of a male cat.
565
:Or if it's a male cat that they have
and not neutered, they don't realize
566
:even though that cat's inside your
house, it can still smell a cat in heat.
567
:And so now he's going around
marking because he's trying
568
:to get to the cat in heat.
569
:Dixie: Yeah, I just saw a video
a few minutes before the call,
570
:and it was this girl, and she
said her cat had gotten outside.
571
:So she brought the cat back in the house,
572
:he's standing at the
window, and he's howling.
573
:And so she's looking for
veterinary help online.
574
:"Why is my cat making this noise?
575
:I took him to the vet.
576
:The vet said he's fine, but I need some
help because my cat is at the door,
577
:at the window making all this noise.
578
:He's walking around the house doing this."
579
:So I knew what it was right away.
580
:I'm like, "Oh, he's not neutered."
581
:It turns out, of course,
that's what it was.
582
:He was not neutered.
583
:Vicki: And that's why a lot of
people go and have kittens fixed
584
:when they are of the right weight.
585
:Because if you don't let them experience
that manhood or the womanhood then
586
:they won't react when they get older
to, especially the male cats, will
587
:not react to a female being in heat
'cause they won't know what that
588
:is, 'cause they've never they've
never had hormones go through them.
589
:And so a lot of people don't realize
that either, and it's like just they
590
:think that two pounds is too small.
591
:Okay.
592
:Wait till your two-pound kitten that
you decided not to have fixed starts
593
:giving birth in a couple of months.
594
:They're too young to have babies, too.
595
:But I try and get all of these
kittens fixed as soon as the vet
596
:says, "Okay, they can be fixed."
597
:And 'cause she's not gonna fix
them if they're on a medication
598
:for a URI or, anything else.
599
:She wants to get them better
because she knows kittens
600
:that young can crash quickly.
601
:Blood sugars can drop, blood
pressure can drop, while they're
602
:anesthetized to be fixed.
603
:So she wants them healthy before
she does it, which is fine with
604
:me, as long as it gets done
605
:It's just, to me it's just putting
them in, like we have the man
606
:cave and we have the woman cave.
607
:So we keep them separated, the
ones that aren't fixed, and we
608
:slowly get them in to get fixed
609
:But yeah people don't even know these,
how female cats, it's not like dogs where
610
:they go in heat every three to six months.
611
:There is actually a kitten season
that run from March to October.
612
:In that one season, that mama
can have a at least, at tops,
613
:probably three litters, if not more
614
:Dixie: Yeah, it's an astronomical
number when you look at it.
615
:Oh, yeah … by the time those
kittens are four months old.
616
:So it's like the mom cat will give
birth to the kittens, have kittens.
617
:Those kittens are weaned, the mom
cat gets pregnant, and by the time
618
:the mom cat has that litter of
kittens, the first batch of kittens
619
:is probably having its own kittens.
620
:Vicki: Yep, and that's
621
:The cycle's easy to be broke.
622
:You just have to go and spay and neuter
623
:and I don't know why that's so scary or
hard for people to un- to understand,
624
:but I get the ones that don't have
transportation or the finances, but,
625
:for all the other people who are
living in extremely nice homes and
626
:driving nice cars and have their nails
done every week, what's your excuse?
627
:Dixie: Yeah, that's a good question.
628
:Vicki: Go one week without
having your nails done.
629
:That'll cover a spay.
630
:Dixie: Do you find that you do
more sanctuary than compared
631
:to your actual adoptions?
632
:Vicki: Yes.
633
:Yes, I do.
634
:Also mainly, any animal I also take
in or is taken in under the sanctuary.
635
:You don't have to have a shelter
license to run a sanctuary.
636
:So not knowing the situation of the animal
coming in, I bring them in under the
637
:sanctuary to where they can go through
all the medical checks, get vaccines
638
:and whatever, and then I start…
639
:I put them on the rescue side of it,
where I start posting their pictures
640
:on our website and advertising them.
641
:But like we got two German shepherds
from a court case where it was a police
642
:officer who actually was train- had a K9
business and was training these dogs, and
643
:it's like how do you spend so much time
training these dogs who know good commands
644
:and then turn around and starve them?
645
:Because when they come to
us, they were 30 pounds.
646
:Dixie: Oh, wow.
647
:Vicki: And we've got them at their
ideal weight of 72 pounds now.
648
:But I can tell you right now, these
two German shepherds, I'm not gonna
649
:feel comfortable adopting them
out because Faith will not make
650
:eye contact with you at all, so
you know, I'm worried about her.
651
:And Florence just, she's got
a lot of built-up energy.
652
:Somebody would have to really convince
me that they are very experienced
653
:in the GSD, and they understand
their activity level and that they
654
:need a job and how to handle them.
655
:They would not be able to go into
a home that had cats or other dogs.
656
:If you have small children, these
dogs are gonna have to be kenneled,
657
:and you're going to have to teach
your child not to stick their finger
658
:in it, and that's not fair to them.
659
:So with all the stipulations that
I have on these two shepherds,
660
:they're not gonna get adopted.
661
:Dixie: Now, with you being with you
being primarily a sanctuary, do you think
662
:that limits your opportunity at grants?
663
:Vicki: No, because I apply
for grants under the rescue.
664
:It's just we've only had our shelter
license come this October for a year,
665
:and I have found it's very hard when
you don't have a revenue to show some
666
:of these places that are doing the
grants and you don't have that intake
667
:to adoption ratio to show them because
you're just beginning and you've
668
:only had your shelter license a year.
669
:That's what makes it hard to get a grant.
670
:Dixie: Yeah, that's actually what I
meant, was the actual adoption numbers.
671
:'Cause I've heard this from another lady
that does primarily just all sanctuary,
672
:and she does a lot of adult cats and adult
dogs and more special needs type cases,
673
:so ones that are difficult to adopt.
674
:Vicki: Yep.
675
:Dixie: And so she does have a
hard time sometimes getting grants
676
:because she doesn't have those
numbers showing all these adoptions.
677
:And I know that a lot of the times that
is a requirement, is that you have to show
678
:that you have so many adoptions before
you're even eligible to get a grant.
679
:Vicki: Oh, yeah.
680
:And that's what makes it hard on the
small rescues, and then there's also
681
:that gatekeeping from, rescues that
have been open for a while, and they
682
:have contacts and, but they gatekeep it.
683
:It's a competitive thing
in this area with rescues.
684
:And it's like we should all have the
same goal at the end of the day, which
685
:is to either provide a, a happy, safe,
lovable place for this animal to live
686
:or be able to adopt them out to a
happy, safe, lovable place to live.
687
:There should be no
competitive or whatever.
688
:And I share other rescues because
if I see them sharing a dog three or
689
:four times, I'm gonna start sharing it
because maybe my reach and my area is
690
:looking for that type of dog, and it's
just wherever that rescue's at, maybe
691
:that's not the type of dog people like.
692
:'Cause there is that the designer
dogs, of course, get adopted really
693
:quick, the little small designer dogs.
694
:And of course your nanny
dogs, which is what I refer to
695
:them, but they're pit bulls.
696
:Anything mixed with a pit
bull is not gonna get adopted.
697
:That's just, plain and simple, and
I don't know why other than the
698
:horror stories of what's been put
on the news of what pit bull's done.
699
:But it's why can't we talk to the owner
and find out how did you raise this dog?
700
:What was the purpose of this
dog when you got it and then
701
:turned around and had a child?
702
:'Cause if you were raising that dog
to be, aggressive and to guard your
703
:house, then you should have never
let your child around that dog.
704
:That's just common sense.
705
:We had shepherds growing up, and
my dad would keep, Smokey put
706
:up, and he only come out of his
kennel at night because he…
707
:That's what he done.
708
:He'd guard the house, but we were
never around him when he was out
709
:because he was an aggressive dog.
710
:So it's just common sense.
711
:It does not exist anymore.
712
:I've never attempted to get a grant
for the sanctuary, but I know you could
713
:probably Google grants for sanctuaries.
714
:Because again, that's
where common sense come in.
715
:The people doing the grants, if
they advertise rescue shelters and
716
:sanctuaries, then they should know if
you call in, you're a sanctuary, you're
717
:not gonna have those adoption numbers.
718
:Because you're a sanctuary, which
means that animal's gonna live their
719
:life out there, not get adopted.
720
:So I don't know.
721
:I have the mayor of our town helping
me with a couple of grants right now,
722
:'cause she's good at grant writing.
723
:Oh, that's wonderful.
724
:We're gonna try and get
a transportation van.
725
:I really wanna help the community by being
the bus, trying to take some excuses away.
726
:If I can remove your excuses,
then will you allow me to do this?
727
:And that's what I'm going for.
728
:'Cause like I said, this is, it's
just my favorite tagline now is we…
729
:You can't rescue your way
out of overpopulation.
730
:You just can't
731
:And the hardest part is saying no
732
:Dixie: It is.
733
:It is, especially when you see
so many of them that you do wanna
734
:help 'cause you know that they
might be in a bad situation, but if
735
:you're full, it is very difficult.
736
:Vicki: It is.
737
:It's very difficult.
738
:Dixie: Before we end the call, can
you tell people how they can find
739
:out about Kindred Tail Sanctuary?
740
:Vicki: Yes, we have a Facebook page
which i- would be listed as Kindred
741
:Tails Sanctuary CO, and then our
website is kindredtailsanctuary.org
742
:Dixie: Okay, great.
743
:I'm gonna
744
:Vicki: include
745
:Dixie: those in the show notes too,
so people can go to your links.
746
:Vicki: Okay.
747
:That would be awesome.
748
:And if, someone wants to make donations
or sign up to volunteer or foster
749
:and they're within the area you can
find all of those applications on
750
:the website and the donation site.
751
:Volunteering if it's somebody in another
state, we have a couple of openings
752
:for remote volunteers that we need.
753
:So we could use some volunteers.
754
:Dixie: And I know you said
you're in Georgia, but what
755
:actually what city are you in?
756
:Vicki: We are in Newington, Georgia.
757
:So we are about an hour
from Savannah, Georgia.
758
:Dixie: All right.
759
:Thank you so much for coming on the show
today to talk about what you do and,
760
:Yeah … good luck on getting that grant.
761
:I really hope you get it.
762
:Vicki: Thank you for having me,
and I enjoyed being on the show,
763
:and I'll keep you posted about it.
764
:Dixie: Yeah, please do.
765
:Please do, 'cause we would love to put an
update in on, on the air or something, or
766
:just in the show notes if you do get it.
767
:That would be a great update to add.
768
:So I would love to find out.
769
:Vicki: Thank you so much.