Pets in the Heat

I never used to pay attention to this sort of thing ... but I stopped off at HEB today, the Hancock center one, and right next to it is a Petco. As I walked down the sidewalk into HEB, I saw a large cage out front of Petco with like six or seven dogs & cats passed out in it. The cage was under a tent (so, marginally in the shade) and it was apparent that they animals had been sprayed with water at some point, but, c'mon -- it's over 100 degrees out today!! The animals were not even remotely moving. The whole scene made me really sad.

A sign out front said they were collecting donations for food for the pets ... maybe they were some sort of charity? I wasn't really sure and I didn't ask. I was appalled that in this day and age someone would subject animals to this sort of treatment. I stood out front there debating whether to go talk to them ... but I'm pretty non-confrontational ... so I didn't say anything.

If I see that again (and that's likely, given that I do most of my grocery shopping there) I will definitely inquire as to what is going on. I'm not the smartest person alive, but even I know that in this heat it's best to minimize your time outside ...

In other news, Bill is doing just fine.

Bill the Cat Arrives

Take a gander at my new cat. I adopted him today from some friends of mine; their daughter brought him back from NYC (adopted from the ASPCA) but they can't keep him, and neither can she. I've been thinking about getting a cat in my new place, and so Bill (that's his name -- I might rename him, though) packed up all his gear and moved in with me a few hours ago.

He's a year old and he's really chill. He's been meowing a lot this evening, but I think that's just because he misses his former owner(s). Hopefully he'll take a shine to me soon enough. He's pretty friendly already though :-)

Speaking of the name Bill, I'm aware that there is a much more famous Bill the Cat. This one and him are no relation though; I'm pretty sure that my friends' daughter, who named him, doesn't read Outlander (neither do I). That's part of the reason I'm thinking about a rename. I've always wanted a pet named "Osgood." Ooh, or "Hobbes!" But I'll kick it around in my head for a few weeks. Actually, now that I'm used to calling him Bill, other names seem weird. So he might not get re-named after all.

Anyway, here are some pics of the man himself:







More here.