Cool cat

Always something happening to make you realize the world is just a little weirder than you thought.

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Dogs and cats

Just go read Monica Chen's article in the HS this morning.
Here's the money quote:

A previously little-known ordinance that charges pet owners $10 per spayed and neutered cat and dog and $75 per unaltered animal is being collected by the Durham County Tax Administration Office this year, meaning higher penalties for those who get caught not paying the bill.

It's 2009, people. Durham is a growing urban community. How in the hell does the notion that you need to pay a licensing fee for your pet remain "little-known" this deep into the 21st Century?

What are we, fucking Mayberry?

License your dogs and cats, keep their rabies and distemper shots up to date, give them adequate food, water and shelter, take them for a walk once in a while, and get 'em spayed and neutered.

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Cats

I finally figured out that my cats are receiving their behavioral instructions from a radio tower located somewhere in Rocky Mount. It's the only explanation for why the two of them both wake up many nights at 3 am from sound sleep needing, more than anything else in the world, to be outside.

I wonder if anyone else's cats are receiving the same communications?

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The $20 fix

From the Herald Sun:

'THE $20 FIX' offered for pets

DURHAM -- AnimalKind's "THE $20 FIX" program, The Animal Protection Society of Durham, the Spay-Neuter Assistance Program of NC and the city Parks and Recreation Department are collaborating to prevent accidental pet pregnancies this summer.

"THE $20 FIX" provides financial assistance to residents who otherwise would not be able to afford the cost of spaying or neutering their pets -- specifically, adult Medicaid participants and households below specific income thresholds -- $13,000 to $25,000 gross, depending on the number of people in each household.

Durham residents can request an application for THE $20 FIX financial assistance program by calling (919) 870-1660, online at www.animalkind.org, at the APS of Durham shelter on East Club Boulevard, or at either Durham County Social Services location.

THE $20 FIX also can finance rabies vaccinations.

I suspect that my readership is probably not the target audience for this program (just a hunch, i'm not using any supersecret DHS software to figure out who's actually on the other end of the screen), but you can probably post this around to local listservs, neighborhood newsletters, etc. That's what i'll be doing.

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