Thumbelina was brought to the shelter about six months ago as a stray. Once we took her in, we found a big surprise — Thumbelina was expecting a litter. So, soon she gave birth to the cutest, fuzziest kittens that we had seen in a long time, and she cared for her kittens in Dana’s office until they were old enough to be adopted — the office gave her the room and privacy she needed to care for her kittens like a good mother should.

Thumbelina is sweet, loving and playful.

One by one, once her kittens grew up, they were taken in to loving homes, but day after day, no one came for Thumbelina. She had spent nearly half her life at the shelter, but no one seemed too interested in her until one day, Saturday, October 17, a nice family with two children came in to see all the cats that were available, and Thumbelina turned on her charms.

She showed them how much energy she has and how playful she is, and the family couldn’t resist her. And on top of all that, Thumbelina has an impressive quality that not too many cats can claim: she has thumbs! She also likes to put out both of her arms and hug her human pals. She’s very affectionate.

The family spent about 45 minutes with the cats, and Thumbelina won their hearts. Now Dana’s little office friend is going to a nice home for good. We’re so happy for Thumbelina and we wish her and her family well.

Yoshi was brought to the shelter as a stray.  After a thorough examination, he was found to be a Japanese Chin.  Yoshi was clearly someone’s pet; however, his family never came looking for him. 

When I saw him, I knew he didn’t belong with the big dogs, so I took him to foster until I could find him a home.  As soon as I got him home, I realized that this dog had the best personality.  His breed was created for Japanese royalty, and he fits the breed description to the letter.  Very calm, doesn’t bark a lot, likes to be up high (I find him on the back of the couch all the time), gets along well with others.  Anyway, he went to the beauty shop (BowWow Barbers) and got a shampoo and blow dry. 

Now he was ready to find a new home.  I started emailing my friends and my customers about Yoshi, I even started off a webinar with his picture, just hoping that someone would think he was as cool as I thought he was.    Finally, one of my co-workers from Washington DC saw him and called me.  I described his personality and she thought he would be a perfect match.  So, I started sending pictures on a daily basis and calling his new mother to tell her all of the “cute” things he was doing.  Yoshi’s new family is very excited. 

So, Yoshi and I are off to Washington DC in a couple of weeks to start a new life in our nation’s Capitol with Lori, Peter and Annie Turley!  He will fly with me on Southwest Airlines.  I will stay with them for a few days to help the transition process, but it looks like a match made in Heaven!

You can follow Yoshi’s journey by following us on twitter @EllisCountySPCA.