Let's see - #1: We get a call the first of February from our Landlord. The home we live in and property we live on is part of an estate, and we pay our rent to the heirs of the estate. However, the heirs would like to get a better return so they asked us to move in 30 days from that date so that they could renovate the home before putting the property up for sale.
This was a very devastating blow to us. Truthfully, we really hadn't recovered from the traumatic move out of Easley a year and a half ago - there's still a lot of stuff in boxes in the basement. Maybe that's not such a bad thing though - saves me having to pack it back up.
The thing is, it's not that simple to move this household. We can't just open the paper, find a property in our price range that has the required amount of square footage and number of bedrooms, put down the deposit and first month's rent, and move in. We have a fair amount of furry baggage by anyone's standards that comes with us.
Call any house for rent, in any price range in your local market, and say the words "Fifty cats" somewhere in the conversation. I dare you. If you get another fifteen seconds on the phone with that person, I'll personally give you a $5 bill.
Owner financing is a better option, but we don't have the money for a down payment, and even then, most people who would do owner financing aren't going to agree to allow an animal rescue to set up either.
What you have to look for is the unique property, the one no one else is looking at....it's most likely non-traditional in some way...maybe an old farmhouse that has been built onto three or four times so that it almost appears to be a series of sheds. Or the storefront building sitting at an intersection in the middle of nowhere that has been empty for five years. Or an old wooden church or school building off the main highway. An old Victorian with Federation columns that has pretensions to a southern mansion that someone started a renovation on years ago and sits still in an unfinished state. The only requirement to any of these properties is that they have some space that can be converted into a rescue cattery. Since that conversion mainly means installing some extra heavy-duty breakers and outlets, installing some additional lighting, laying down linoleum tile and having a nearby water source, you can use anything from an enclosed carport to a metal shed with a concrete floor to an old barn. But finding these properties is tough. I've been at it for well over a month now, so I know. We actually did find a place that would have worked perfectly for our needs, a soon-defunct day care center, but unfortunately it was far out of our price range.
So the search continues, in Oconee, Anderson, and now Greenville counties. We will not return to Pickens County. Our experiences there continue to haunt all of us and I for one refuse to live in fear of jackbooted thugs with badges and guns coming to my door again. The nightmares have stopped, I have no intention of allowing them a way in again.
That being said, I'm willing to look at things outside of that area, but only as a last resort. I'm even willing, for the right property, to give up high speed internet for now. Anyone who knows me knows it will be like a junkie going cold-turkey - my methodone will be my smart phone, but just like a junkie, it won't be the same. But I'll do it for the cats, and pray for U-verse in the meanwhile.
#2 - My search for a full-time job has so far turned up nothing, and cell phone repair has not progressed to the point where I have a steady income from it. It's picking up as people hear about me, but not enough. Our income is now upside down, and if something doesn't happen soon I don't know what we are going to do.
#3: My father is sick again. See a few blogs back about how I feel about that. I'm still working on those feelings, trust me, but it's not going to change anything.
#4: Food Trip To Washington: The last two weeks of February I fundraised like mad to raise $300 to cover gas to and from the DC area to pick up a HUGE load of cat and dog food. Finally, on Friday, March 1st, we had $200 of it raised and I just decided screw it, I'm going anyway. Surely people won't leave me stranded on the side of the road. If I have to I'll go in a truckstop and pass the hat for money. But that wasn't necessary - a few hours later we had what we thought was more than enough for the trip (Denise didn't take into account the heavier load causing a severe reduction in MPG on the return trip) and the next morning I left bright and early for DC. It was an uneventful trip with the exception that I ran into traffic in Richmand, VA. I got there early enough that Chris Haslam with Commonwealth Humane Society and his lovely wife Linda were able to buy me dinner (a luscious bacon cheddar cheeseburger - definitely NOT on my diet!)
They also got me a hotel room donated at a Hyatt in the DC area. The room was very comfortable - my only complaint is that high speed internet cost extra, or you could lug your computer down to the lobby and use it there for free. I didn't think the Hyatt's patrons would appreciate my Pink Floyd oversized tee and men's blue boxers, and I didn't feel like getting dressed, so I watched TV instead. It was hard but I had my phone.
The next morning dawned cloudy and cold, and after a wonderful breakfast we spent the next five hours packing and loading the truck and the trailer. By the time we were done the hitch was about 10" off the ground. I wondered at the time if I were going to leave the transmission someplace on I-95, but that 2000 GMC Sierra performed like a trooper and the trip home, with the exception of some traffic in a couple of different places and a short visit at Sacha Furr's house in Mebane (a fellow rescuer who works with cats and kittens with neurological and genetic disabilities primarily) to drop off cat food, treats and pee pads, get kisses from my Beenie Baby, a handicapped cat I helped transport and fell madly in love with, and take a short nap, was pretty uneventful. I'm still distributing the dog food, treats, toys and bedding to local dog rescues.
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| Check out where the hitch is! |
#5: Found out that we will most likely be losing the loaned rescue vehicle we have been using for the past two years. The person who has kindly allowed us to use their vehicle, as well as paying the insurance and taxes while we used it, is now in need of the vehicle back themselves, and will continue to help us as they can but we need a full-time vehicle for the rescue. If you're reading this and you know of anything, please let me know. We can't afford to buy but if we can find one donated we are a 501-c3 charity so it would be tax deductable. Email me at dotsplaceanimalhaven@gmail.com if you know of anything.
#6: Made a new friend - the one bright spot in all of this is that I have gotten to know a really nice person in the last two weeks and it has made a huge difference in my life, just having that new connection. I've known this person for a while but finally got the chance to have some interesting dialogue and realized what a great individual this is and how lucky I am to have found this out. I look forward to many more spirited discussions in the future and I think that even with all of that above, I may have, for at least two weeks, come out on the positive side for once.
I don't know what the future holds but I can pray for peace, which I do. I don't like all this upheaval. I want my life to be smooth, orderly, even predictable and boring. I would welcome boring for just a little while. But that damn Chinese philosopher keeps raising his ugly head....
