Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Long Time Lexi


Lexi has been with us for an entire year. She came to us from the stockton shelter as a youngster - an energetic and crazy youngster! While Lexi was at the office, she would hang from the top of one of our two story cages and howl to get out. It was obvious that she had been in the shelter for a while before we came to get her. But we figured that some time and stretching room in a foster home would help quell some of that energy and that she would be quickly adopted; who can resist her princess-like beauty?

Lexi went into a foster home where she eventually had the run of the house. She could often be found climbing the curtains and taking flying leaps off of the refrigerator. It became very obvious that it would take a while before she was ready to go into a cage again at one of our sites or for a mobile adoption event. But then her foster got a job offer in another state and had to move. Luckily one of the foster's friends decided to take on the "Lexi Challenge". Again, lexi would be found in places she shouldn't and also got a little fiesty from time to time - what woman in her right mind wouldn't? And so it was that Lexi became a long termer. She was quite happy in her foster house and the foster family was glad to have her - but we weren't ready to give up on her yet.

Its funny how things work out in the end: One of our staff member's family was visiting the office on the day that Lexi came in - and she regulary asked about her. Lexi just stuck in her mind as something special - despite her caged craziness. The staff member figured that Lexi would be too much cat and tried to steer her towards calmer/older cats to no avail! After a lot of discussion and preperation, the family member decided it was time to bring lexi home and to make it work.

Lexi - renamed Frankie - spent the next two weeks in the office where she was able to get used to the house's sounds and smells. . . and the pitter-patter of little doggie feet. Eventally she was given more and more freedom and introduced to the rest of the pack. Frankie is enjoying her canine companions more then any of us thought possible. Frankie's mom even had a cat-safe fence built so she can romp and play with the dogs safely in the yard. It seems to be doing her a world of good because she hasn't not climbed the curtains once! (does it still count if they are verticle blinds???)