Saturday - no dogs

I beg your pardon, you will see no pictures of dogs or puppies on the blog tonight.  I made a mistake, I didn't consult our schedule when I said we'd be going to the dogs today.  Tomorrow is dogs, today was cats!

We left Beluga earlier than usual today because we wanted to have lunch at the Angel Village Lunchroom at BF.  We heard really good things about the food and the view and, since they're not open on Sundays, today was the day.  All reviews were spot on.  A tasty vegetarian buffet, complete with delish spice cake served in a glass walled restaurant with wrap around views of Angel Canyon for $5.00!   Who could ask for more.

view from our table

We finished half an hour before we were scheduled to check in at Cat World, so we drove down to Angel's Rest, the Sanctuary's pet cemetery.   I don't know why I wanted to see it, or hear it.   I don't do death very well.   Yes, I know its part of having a pet, or a family for that matter, but I don't do well with the trappings of death.  Cemeteries and funerals don't make me feel better, don't give me closure.   Only time does that for me.   But, Angel's Rest is where we went.

Dave wandered and read, I couldn't move from the entrance

the plaque Dave is reading in the picture above

Angel's rest is absolutely silent except for the wind sighing through the pines and the soft music of  hundreds of wind chimes.

a wall of stone cubbies held ashes and mementos of loved ones.
worn collars, toys, pictures and other unbearably intimate things

Our volunteer duties were pretty light, but pretty important to two sweet girls, I think.
We were asked to "escort" two diva's from the fat farm, uh, I mean the biggest loser building, uh, I mean the weight loss spa, on a al fresco stroll.   First candidate was Millie.   What can I say about Millie.....
She weighed 33 lbs. when she came to BF and couldn't move more than a few inches.  Today she's lost 5 lbs. thanks to tireless work from the staff and volunteers.  For a number of months, she worked out in the aquatic treadmill, but she was ostrasized by the other cats, so she refused to continue her treatment.

Millie wasn't the most personable of kitties.  She waddled over to the tree and plopped down.  We petted her a bit and she turned her back and waddled away.  She waddled away a bit more, scratched in the dirt, pooped, scratched a bit more and went back under the tree to rest.  Thats it.   She is beautiful, but fairly sedentary.

Molly sees a lizard

An unsuspecting lizard scurried right under her nose and she lept up and chased it under a nearby basket.  Sort of lept up,  she got to her feet and with an extremely determined look in her beautiful blue eyes, waddled over to the basket and rooted around with her tiny white paw.    Then, back under the tree for a rest.    I managed to convince her that a tiny stick was another lizard.   For a little while, I had her attention, but soon she waddled away and turned her back on us again.   Oh well, we each enjoy ourselves in different ways.

Tinsley

The next diva to come out for an airing was Tinsley.  Most cats at the Sanctuary are taken out for a walk as often as possible.   Most are on harness and leash, some are placed, gently, in a kiddie stroller and pushed around for a look at the world around them.   Only two can go out au natural.  Millie and Tinsley.   Millie for obvious reasons and Tinsley because she can't really go anywhere too fast.  She seems to have lost one of her tiny white socks.   Her hind foot, that is.  She wandered around, sniffing everything very carefully as we followed her around.

I had to intervene when she wandered over to one of the other cat houses and started a growling, hissing fit with one of the other girls.

After we exhausted the two divas, we went to another house and sat amongst lots of kitties, helping them to get used to strangers and giving out pets, scratches and conversation when needed.

Some cats were sleepy, some were pretending to be sleepy, some watched us with interest from high in the rafters, some rubbed all over us, some chirped with enthusiam, and some were otherwise occupied.

some prefer to observe unseen.
  to accommodate them, litter boxes, beds and food bowls are placed  on the ceiling rafters.

this guy was enormous - he used up two beds!

Hope springs eternal

Our next door neighbors, Harold and Eva from British Columbia, joined us for cocktails and we all talked about our days.    Nice to unwind after such a strenuous work day.    Tomorrow we go to the dogs, really!