A cute story about a relinquised basset hound-beagle mix.....

This is a true story.....as told by Nathan, the basset hound-beagle mix.....

I was relinquised.....

There I said it.....Lord knows the humans in my life have said it enough, branding me with the cursed descriptive as if it were I who had to somehow explain the why fors and the what-the-hecks.....

Who knows the real reason I stayed for months behind bars at the Bakersfield SPCA?.....Relinquished.  That was the fancy word posted outside my cell.  It meant I was given up on, turned over to strangers for alleged crimes I cannot fathom.....

Yeah, right.  I'm a dog.  woof.  woof.....Guilty as charged.....

Still, as only a canine can be, I am sensitive about such things.  Never mind the head-line grabbing tricks of my bretheren - ferreting out drugs, explosives, even cadavers for a mere Attaboy!!!!!  I am an expert at sniffing out snobbery, the nuances in a human's carriage and tone.....

Relinquished.  People would tsk tsk after they read that damn word.  Some would wonder aloud why, maybe even ask an employee for the real story on the dashing basset hound-beagle mix.....

But there was no answer, certainly not on that paper outside my cell, probably not even in the cosmos.  It was disheartening to watch the limited human imagination then run its course.  People thought I might not play well with others, even though there were so many mongrels in that cell I could hardly chase my tail.  The humans figured me for a bed wetter, a howler, a digger, you get the idea.....

They thought I must have done something wrong to have landed in the joint and then have stayed there for as long as I had.  Also I was bargained priced, $35 out the door because I had already been neutered.  Don't get me started on what a human will fork over if they think your daddy's got a fancy string of names and the mama's had all her dates arranged.....

So the visitors to the SPCA would inevitably take in my relinqushed status and move on down the cell block, probably looking for a puppy, a canine without a past.  My sensitivity and soulful eyes only got me the cold shoulder and a cold cement floor.....

AND THEN-

Excuse me.  I still get emotional when I recall my liberation day.....

A human lady and her daughter asked for a little face time, just the three of us, in a side yard at the shelter.  Let me tell you, it was all I could do to occasionally lift my snout from the grass so fabulously redolent of those who had gone before me.  There was joy, freedom, one last, glorious piss-off, infusing those blades of grass.  My tail was a metrodome stuck on staccato.....

"Who would relingquish this sweet face?" said the lady to her kid.....

Exactly.  Who indeed?  Lo-ser!

But I don't dwell on the past, as it is not in my nature.  In the present, I answer to Nathan, or Nate, or Nattie, or just sweetheart.  I am loved and I am happy and the humans now in my life are over the moon with delight.....

Nathan's story of liberation from the SPCA shelter is told by Dianna Klein, a freelance writer who lives in Bakersfield.

"HOMEWARD BOUND KITTENS" HAS BEEN INVADED BY A NASTY AIRBORNE BACTERIA......KNOWN AS....."THE RINGWORM"

Debbie, my lovely wife, will explain how to get rid of this nasty bugger and also some "I think its all gone safety tips"

Also some ointments, dips and shampoos, that can clean up the mess.  

DIAGNOSIS RINGWORM!!!!!

For me, it made me feel horribly filthy.....we have several indoor/outdoor adult cats and thats how it got into the sanctuary.....Once the bacteria is in it attacks the old and the very young and the sick or weak.....In order to get rid of this infection you must treat everything.....Not only must you treat your pet but you must also do the following.....

1.  Vacuum carpet and sofa daily

2.  Treat yourslef as needed - use a anti-bacterial soap daily to help prevent infection

3.  Don't let you pet population be too over crowded

4.  Clean and sanitize with a residual cleaner.  (the type that continues protection after drying up.)

5.  Keep your cat boxes clean.  Both clean litter and a clean box. (remember not to use too strong of a cleaner or the cats will shy away from the box.

6.  Change the filters in your heating and cooling system.....

7.  And finally.....Don't stop doing any of this to soon.....Follow the instructions on the soap or dip you decide to use.....and we have used many.....

We have used MALASEB in the past and it is good but we are still searching for sometning better.....

LIMEPLUS DIP is sulfated lime concentrate and works really well.....all you do is dip in your pet, paying special attention to the spots, and then dry your pet.....this treatment is done for 5 days.....

HEALTHGUARD FUNGAL SPOT TREATMENT.....

This is the medicine 'HOMEWARD BOUND KITTENS" is using, and folks, this stuff works as advertised.....

A medication that claims spots cleared within three days.....so we ried it, and by golly it worked.....The HEALTHGUARD has other products like shampoo for all over, a spary that can be used on kittens and puppies as young as two weeks....Our shampoo is on back order.....if it works half as well we are going to celebrate!!!!!

There is also a laundry additive.  Not only for laundry but you can use it to clean your walls, floors, tables.  Add it to your soap for the carpet cleaner or use it in a portable room fogger to disinfect everything in the house.  And the anti-bacterial effect lasts for weeks.....

Its a good rule of thumb to continue treatment of everything for at least 4 weeks after the last dectection of the dredded "Ringworm".

That's about all for now.....hope ya' all learned something....The staff has learned a great deal about this bacteria in the last few weeks, and believe us that it ain't nothing to mess with.....

Ya' all have a great rest of the day.....and a better tomorrow.....ttan.....Reid and Debbie