As recently as five years ago, UP TO 20 HEALTHY AND ADOPTABLE PETS WERE EUTHANIZED EACH WEEK. Our sheltering philosophy has changed for the better since that time, and we are proud to now be able to call ourselves a no kill shelter. Because we see many more cats than dogs at the MJHS, cats like the two in the story below most likely would have been casualties on death row, since that was the way that shelter numbers were controlled, rather than by the fostering, free-range, and barn buddies alternatives that we now employ. Our pound keeping contract negotiations with the City of Moose Jaw have stalled; we have asked for an increase to cover the cost of providing these services because currently, they fall far short of what it truly costs to provide care to impounded animals in those first 72 hours. The money raised through our events and donated by our supporters should go to this time of after care, post-impound, not used to subsidize the shortcomings of a city contract. Please take a moment to read the story of these two cats’ success story, which was written by our staff and their adoptive family for our 2011telethon – thank you!

Jared and Checkers

At the Moose Jaw Humane Society, the staff has learned that beauty comes in many different packages, and often, inner beauty may only be apparent to those who work with the animals on a daily basis. The other thing that they have learned is not to judge a book by its cover!

Jared, an older male black cat, had spent a good deal of time in and out of the shelter as a stray since November of 2008. The staff always knew it was Jared because of his crossed eyes and crooked teeth. Eventually after being turned in to the pound so many times as a stray, his owner ceased coming in to claim him.

As Jared was a senior feline and because he was a regular at the shelter, he was a member of the “at-large” cat population at the humane society. His quirky face greeted everyone, whether he was sitting up front on the counter, or prowling the garage looking for mischief. Due to his mature age (that was “old as dirt” as one staff member recalls), Jared was given a little more leeway with his sometimes grouchy attitude, and the staff really began to love this crotchety old fellow and all of his personality quirks.

Along the lines of the saying that beauty is only skin deep, the shelter was introduced Checkers, an extremely attractive cat that arrived as a stray in September of 2009. With the beautiful white and black markings on Checkers’ long-haired coat, this cat instantly captured everyone’s attention. The only thing was, due to this very same coat, the staff had a difficult time judging whether Checkers was a female cat, or a neutered male! After several discreet investigations and conferences amongst staff members, it was mutually decided that Checkers was indeed a girl. With her gender identified, and information card now completely filled in, Checkers was placed up for adoption in the main cat room to await her own happily-ever-after.

Ashley and her husband Marc had been volunteering with the Moose Jaw Humane Society for just over six months when they first met Checkers. That day was a rainy, cold September day and they had decided not to walk dogs, but to socialize with the cats instead. Right away Marc was drawn to Checkers, but not because the cat was cute, but because Checkers was big! Ashley and Marc then took Checkers into “Bobby’s” room (one of the shelter’s communal cat rooms) and instantly fell in love with the fluffy feline. However, because they still had their eighteen year old cat, Clyde, at home who hated anything but humans, they knew this addition could never work.

To Ashley and Marc’s dismay, that week Clyde succumbed to his advanced kidney failure and passed away. That night when they arrived home without Clyde there to greet them, they knew that the house could not be empty for too long without the pitter patter of a cat.

The next morning they decided that they would go the Humane Society and perform their weekly Saturday volunteering duties. Ashley entered the cat room and was abruptly stopped by Jared, whom she had encountered a few times before when she was bringing dogs back in from a walk, only to have him hiss and run. Jared literally ran in front of Ashley, sat down, glared at her with his crossed eyes and screamed. Ashley instantly picked him up, told him he was handsome, kissed and hugged him and knew right then and there he was there to heal her and Marc with the death of Clyde. Marc followed shortly after, and asked if Checkers was still in the cage? They both looked up and to both of their joy, she was. Marc went over, got Checkers out of the cage, held and petted her.

Ashley and Marc asked if they could take the cats into Bobby’s room to see if they got along. Luckily for everyone, they did! And within an hour they had finished up the paperwork and both cats came home to stay.

Within two days it became clear that Jared was an extremely sensitive boy. Every time, he would sense that Ashley and Marc were getting upset about the passing of Clyde, he would scream bloody murder, jump up on one of them, began to purr as loudly as possible, and give many love nibbles. He quickly realized that this instantly calmed them down, and to this day whether Marc and Ashley have a fight, if there is something bothering them or they are just having a bad day, he uses this little “magic trick” to calm them down.

Checkers, on the other side was the totally opposite – this feline was a true cat! After taking Checkers to be spayed, Ashley and Marc were surprised to discover to learn their “she” was in fact a neutered “he” - so much for outward appearances! Once settled in, Checkers wanted to be petted, snuggled, loved, and most importantly, fed. With Checkers, it soon became apparent that his previous home may have not been very pleasant. He was afraid of your hand if you moved it too fast towards or away from his head, and was quick to paw and scratch. However, they quickly learned that if you made Checkers aware that you going to put your hand slowly and gently to or away from his face, that he would not paw you. With much work and love, Checkers has not scratched anyone in years.

Months passed with Checkers and Jared and with every passing minute, Ashley and Marc grew to love them more and more. They learned that Jared could hold a conversation for hours and that his favourite pastime was talking to anyone that would listen. With Checkers, they learned that he loved them just simply because they were gentle and loving. The four of them began to figure out all of each other’s little quirks.

In the last few years, since Jared and Checkers were adopted, Ashley and Marc have received more love from them than they had ever thought was possible to receive from two cats. They both wonder sometimes what they did to deserve the chance to live their lives with Jared and Checkers, the most wonderful cats in the world.

Ashley and Marc sincerely thank the Moose Jaw Humane Society for bringing these two wonder cats into their lives. And the shelter thanks Ashley and Marc for their dedication to two very different cats, whose distinct combination of personality and appearance make them the truly unique and fantastic felines they are, inside and out.
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