There are Volunteers and then there are VOLUNTEERS!

I first met Maggie when I started fostering.  I took home a cat with an Upper Respiratory Infection so he could get better, but instead of getting better, he got worse, and stopped eating.  In a panic, I got in touch with the staff at TLAC, and they introduced me to Maggie, who taught me how to force feed the cat so that he wouldn’t get even sicker.  She was kind, friendly and capable and got me through the first crisis of my volunteering with TLAC.

Since then, I’ve learned that Maggie is pretty amazing, although I doubt she’d tell you that herself. It’s not just that she’s been a volunteer for 9 years.  It’s also that she’s a super foster parent.  Most of the time, she has at least half a dozen foster cats at home, and they’re not easy fosters.  They’re sick cats, or cats that have stopped eating, or need extra-special care for one reason or another.  I’ve never heard of her turning down a needy foster, and she often asks to take home cats with a very dim prognosis.  Usually she and her husband Mike manage to pull them through, but she’s lost several and keeps taking more cats, even though she cries over each cat that doesn’t make it. Her husband even maintains a blog about the trials and tribulations at Mike and Maggie's B&B "Tangent Oaks"

Just her fostering would make her special enough, but Maggie is also very actively involved with two other programs.  She helped create and co-manages the Nebulization and Special Feeding teams that care for the cats with URIs and cats that have stopped eating in the shelter environment.  She also created and co-manages the Desperate Housecats adoption event which showcases cats that need extra help getting adopted because of age, medical condition or lengthy stays at the shelter.  Maggie attends the events, helps photograph the cats, and writes a marketing flyer for every cat in the program.  In the year that it has been in operation, Desperate Housecats has placed about 120 cats at events alone, and countless others have been adopted from foster or the shelter due to Desperate Housecats marketing.

I’m so glad that I get to work with Maggie.  She’s an inspiration, and the very definition of what makes the volunteers at TLAC so special.


Fellow Volunteer and Foster Mom, 
R.E.

Adventures in Fostering

Around the time I turned 30 I started fostering kitties as I felt the need to give back in some way plus I love animals.  At first I usually fostered just one or 2 cats/kittens at a time and eventually it turned into litters of kittens.  Over ten years later there have been many many kittens come through my door and I have loved every second of it.  I adopted my own 2 cats, Tigger and Tabitha, from Town Lake 4 years ago and 3 years ago respectively and they are great "foster parents".  I can only imagine what they are thinking when a new litter comes home-"oh no not again!"

I've had all kinds of kittens-terrified kitties, sickly kitties, crazy kitties and just plain love bugs and through it all I've managed to not adopt anymore but I have been tempted many times. I've even lost a few along the way and it's always heartbreaking but I keep on fostering.  I've mastered the neb box, administered all kinds of meds and eyedrops and just recently I had to force feed one of my kittens.

My one hope for each one of my "kids" is that they have as good or better home than I've given them and that they live long, happy lives like my own cat Magic who lived to be 22 years old. She's still the apple of my eye-RIP sweet girl.

I can't imagine fostering not being a part of my life and when someone asks me about it I'm always hoping to recruit another foster parent.  It's so rewarding to watch scared kittens come out of their shell and really blossom into great kitties.  Helping the sick ones overcome their illness and turn into wonderful kittens is also very gratifying.

I even created a Facebook Page to keep up with my little charges - Heathers Fabulous Foster Kittens

I still shed many tears each time my kitties are adopted or when I return them to the shelter to get adopted. I have been asked many times how do I give them up and  it's very hard every time.  A few tears is a small price to pay for saving the life of those that have no voice.

Happens to the Best of Us . . .

I've been volunteering with my kids for five years, and my husband joined us
four years ago. We started volunteering because the kids loved the animals
but we had too many already in our house. Over the years we fell in love
with many dogs at TLAC.

The first dog who touched my heart was Misty, a five-month-old spaniel mix
puppy who looked at us with big pleading brown eyes and melted when we
gently scratched behind her ears. But when my son drew back his hand to
throw a ball for her to fetch, she cowered in a corner of the pen in
anticipation of a blow. That was the first time I realized that, austere and
noisy and crowded as it was, the shelter could be the best home some of the
dogs had ever known. Over the weeks we watched Misty blossom into a
confident and happy pup, hopping up into our laps and chasing balls with a
carefree heart. By the end of the month, she had been adopted and we knew
the volunteer's curious combination of happiness and heartbreak when we
learn that an animal we had looked forward to seeing has finally found a
forever home.

Over the years we¹ve had a series of favorites, including Jack, Jellybean,
Princess, Roxy, Sam, and many more. Some of them have been at the shelter
for a week or two, many for much longer. But one thing I've learned there is
that I can always find a special connection with some dog, even when I¹m not
looking for one.

That was the case three springs ago when we were grieving at the sudden loss
of our dog, Shadow. She had "trained" me to go for long walks every morning,
no matter the weather. And as regular dog-walkers know, once you're used to
walking with a leash, trying to walk without one feels wrong. There's
nothing to do with your hands, not to mention no one to talk to along the
way.

Fortunately, I was a Trail Dog volunteer. I replaced my regular strolls
through the neighborhood with walks along the hike and bike trail with
friends from TLAC. One particular dog‹a German shepherd mix with a light
step and a permanently cocked right ear‹became my favorite companion. Each
time I left her, I prepared myself for never seeing her again. And every
time I came back, I was surprised to see her there waiting for me to take
her for a walk.

You know what happened next. After a month of long walks, romping with the
family in Pen 3, and friendly flirting, Scamp came home with us. Her bright
eyes and joyful heart have brought us great happiness.  Just like so many
TLAC dogs have brought love to families all over town.

Is it weird to have TWO 3 legged kittens? Heck NO!

So to begin this blog one must rewind the clock back the morning of September 3rd.  I was up early and just happened to be having coffee with my landlady Aundrea, when pet of the week came on KVUE.  

Angus as Pet of the Week

That morning Sarah had brought this cute black and white three legged kitten named Angus, and as soon as she mentioned that he liked other cats and dogs I said to Aundrea I want that kitten. That day was also the first time that they were doing Critter Café down at Whole Foods on 6^th street. Aundrea says you better get yourself down there so you can get him before he’s gone, I said I can’t go right this minute. So I waited until I was taking Aundrea who is blind out to run errands. We were getting ready to leave and says want to stop by and see if he's there, I was like sure we can and by now I'm thinking this little cute kitten is long gone.  Once we arrived at Whole Foods we parked and went over to where the kittens were, and at first I didn't  see little man so we started looking at the kittens that were right where we were standing and than this nice volunteer who was sitting down says hello to us and just than I saw him and said to the nice lady is that the kitten who was on tv this morning and she says yes.  I said i really want to adopt him and she says really and I say yes.  She goes over to ask Sarah to come over so she can take him out of his crate to see if he would even like us.  Aundrea held him first and he seemed to take to her and than I just had this feeling that he would like me and I was right as soon as I held him he started purring.  I said that's it we will take him.  What happened next will make you smile and laugh just a little see Sarah had been fostering him she says oh this will be the last time I will hold him and see him, we have to get a picture, one was taken of Aundrea, Sarah and myself. Sarah mentioned that she was going to post it on the TLAC Facebook page  later today, Aundrea says make sure you tell them that “the blind lady” adopted the three legged cat.

Little man comes home at first he was a little shy for about 5 seconds than he starts running around and talking and playing with his toys and is just as happy as can be.  Aundrea my landlady has an older cat named Honey who just doesn't really play much.  

Now one must fast forward to about the 6th of September I was sitting talking with Aundrea after work and said I think Angus needs a playmate as he's so active and Honey just doesn't want to play with him.  I was going to contact Sarah to see if she might know of a kitten that might get along with Angus. Aundrea gets in contact with Sarah and she let’s us know that there’s this cute little girl kitten about the same age, thing is  she too has lost one of her legs. Sarah says would it be too weird to have two three legged kittens.  I was like let’s go see her and see if she even likes us. As soon as we meet her I was like she has to come home to meet Angus, I  was almost certain they will get along and she was just so dang cute. Little miss comes home with us as a foster kitten to make sure that little man Angus even likes her of she likes him. As the days go by little miss kitten is named Gracie and she starts coming out of her shell. She needed to return to TLAC about ten days after we brought her home to have her staples removed, that same day I let them know that I wanted to adopt her.

It’s a match made in heaven Angus and Gracie have become best friends they run around like little wild kittens, playing on there condo’s and with all there toys. Odin my dog who was adopted from TLAC in 2004  tolerates the kittens as they lick on him or play with his tail. Aundrea’s cat Honey was adopted from TLAC in 2003 seems to enjoy watching the kittens just so they don’t try to jump on her and they  keep there distance from her.

Even though Aundrea did go with me to Critter Café she’ll tell you Angus and Gracie are Diana’s kittens and I just visit them. I’m so blessed to have found them both and to have meet some really awesome people one who has become a new friend. Thank You for all that you do down at TLAC.  I'm happy that i was watching the news that day and saw pet of the week!

Misty Meets Her Match

Texas Hearing and Service Dogs trains dogs to assist Texans living with hearing or mobility challenges. They provide the dogs and training free of charge.

THSD is dedicated to educating the public about Hearing and Service Dogs.

Texas Hearing and Service Dogs uses positive training methods. They use fun, rewards and lots of surprises to keep their  dogs motivated and eager to please

More about what they do and how they can do it visit: http://www.servicedogs.org/

They do an intensive "Matching Process" when they introduce possible "partners" or teams of dog and person in need of a service dog. They practice a few simple behaviors, and try to determine whether they are a compatible team.  Once matched, they begin intensive training with the dog for the specific services their new partners need.  Here is a truly touching story of one of their fabulous "Matches" written by Janet Duke of THSD.

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Intrepid was a beautiful black lab we pulled from TLAC and Misty had been waiting for the right service dog  match for a while. Touchingly, I learned that Misty had been watching Intrepid on our site for some time and always hoped he might be assigned to her.  She saw he was brought to matching with two prior recipients and thought he had been teamed.  When we called and invited her to matching, she asked who the dog was.  When we told her Intrepid, she burst into tears.  She even brought him a greeting present, as you'll see.

This video shows Intrepid, who we got from TLAC, meeting his new partner Misty at matching.


Intrepid, abandoned at the city shelter turned into an excellent assistance dog and throughout training we have used him at public events as he is so steady and well-behaved.

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We love ALL our Rescue Partners and sometimes, the magic that happens after our animals leave the shelter is truly amazing.

Sadie's Story

I'm Jane A. I've been volunteering at TLAC since July 2011. 

My TLAC dog is Sadie. 

I have another dog, Nigel, from another rescue. 

I'd like to tell the story of bringing Sadie home four years ago. I looked all over TLAC for a small dog. They all had wait lists. So I looked at the red stop sign dogs and there she was on the front side, between buildings A and B. Her name was Winnie, and she was sooo skinny. I got permission and opened the kennel.

She was timid and didn't walk up to the gate, but when I went into the kennel she was happy to have company and happy to walk out with me. She was very attentive, looking at me, wagging her tail and body, waiting to see where we would go. I took her to one of the front pens (#8 I think). She raced up and down the little pen. When I crouched down, she came up to me for pets and calmed down and rolled over. I stood up to through a ball she whipped herself up and ran after it. 

Love at first leash walk. 

She hadn't been spayed so I had to wait a couple days to pick her up. I couldn't get back to TLAC on the days in between. I wonder if she remembered me when I returned. I went to her kennel and she was happy to see me again, happy to walk on the leash. I walked through the breezeway out to the parking lot, Sadie by my side. We reached the opening and the leash was suddenly seemed attached to a rock. She had put on the breaks and could not be lured from the spot. I don't really know what was going through her head, and at the time I didn't have any idea! I cajoled for a moment and then picked her up.  She was shaking like a leaf. She was even more worried about the car. I put her in the front seat where she made herself as small as possible and drooled profusely. Poor thing. I talked to her in a sweet voice all the way home. 

At my home she was afraid. She glued herself to me. I went about my work. We went for a walk that night. After a couple days she was very comfortable. 

Today she is overjoyed to get into the car, but still drools sometimes and doesn't like rides over two hours. She knows sit, down, stay, come, leave it, get it. She'll jump through my arms walk around and jump through my arms on the other side. She can leap a four foot chain link fence in a single bound. And she pops herself three feet in the air at the back door when guests arrive and she is not inside to greet them. When she's inside, she's all wiggles, but doesn't jump on guests - mostly. Amazingly she will not jump the baby gate, but I don't know why not. 

She's a Jack Russell Terrier mix so she sheds something fierce. We call the dog hair tumble weeds our other dogs. She loves to snuggle in a pile of blankets and has been found in half-full laundry hampers. I'm so happy I found her. She ties Nigel for best dog ever. 

Honey for Thanksgiving!

Honey at the Shelter

We adopted "Honey" 7 years ago from TLAC on Thanksgiving day.  She's a pitbull/lab mix and has been the light of our lives ever since! She was in need of socializing and is still sometimes shy around men (who knows what happened to her before we got to her) but she has been the best dog we've ever owned.  She is sweet, affectionate, loves her daily walks and rawhide chews.  She's gentle around children and lets our kids climb all over her.  We moved up north to snow country for a few years and she even let them hook her to their sled to pull them! 

Honey in the SNOW!

She has shown us that pitbulls are such an awesome and misunderstood breed and that shelter animals really are the best.  We're so grateful she came into our lives and we can't imagine being without her!

Beautiful Honey!

Aaron & Kelly