Sassy comes home...

We were due to leave on vacation August 6th and in the middle of packing, I called the ARK and asked if there was any way they could hold her until we returned from vacation around the 27th.  I was told that wasn't possible.  They weren't a boarding facility and if someone came in to adopt her, they needed the space too badly to refuse.  So, I thought about that for a day and the next day called and said I wanted to adopt her but we had to pick her up before the 6th.  The ARK had just taken a van full of cats to the vet for treatment and it was possible she could get the fluffy cat which they called Sundae in when she picked up the others.  We were to be at the ARK the next day at 11:00 am to pick her up.  The next day we discovered that they had been unable to get her to the vet but if we were to drive her to the ARK's vet and be there by noon which we did, we could take her home after the vet visit.  Her examination consisted of a chip, shots and spaying which is where we got lucky because she had already been spayed and her front claws had been removed (I would never have this done to a cat, but was relieved it had been done already).

So on August 2nd, we took her to her new home with a new name, Sassy, and gained a new vet in the deal.  The Wyoming Veterinary Service is filled with caring vets.  At the Chillicothe Veterinary Clinic they always took our cat into the back room to do whatever they did to her.  Frequently we could hear her howl.  In Wyoming, they do everything right in front of you.  They encourage you to keep contact with your pet to help alleviate their fears.  I am totally in love with the way they have worked with Sassy.

Our nightmare with her started right away.  On August 3rd I came down to the family room with my cup of coffee, sat down and immediately smelled something bad.  I got up and walked around the family room but didn't see anything.  I ultimately discovered she had pooped in my chair and I sat in it.  Luckily (???) it was pretty solid and stuck to my robe so I was able to wash everything including the chair cushion.  On August 4th she did it again so we had to take the cushion to the cleaner and once more on August 5th.  By this time we had accumulated a collection of cleaning supplies from PetSmart.  On the 6th we left her with our sitter and headed to Washington and Oregon for three weeks.  I had been uncomfortable with leaving her so soon after adopting her but that was the way things worked out.