It’s a wrap. Almost. Wow, it was so close to being a wrap. We were all packed up, rolling down the driveway, trying to avoid running over Ali, Molly, and Thumper, when a harried-looking woman in a Subaru flagged us down. She said she had a cat for ‘the people who run this place.’ Animal drop-offs generally happen after 2pm but she was clearly agitated so I went to find Susan for her. As I looked around, the woman followed me asking,’who are you, can i give you the cat? where are the people in charge?’
Susan emerged and explained to the woman (who had not called or announced her arrival but said a couple hundred times that she’d driven a long way) that the cat is healthy and Susan doesn’t take in healthy cats. If she did, she wouldn’t have the time nor the room to take on the sick and handicapped cats for whom she founded Angel’s Gate. It’s a hospice and rehab center, not a pet depository. Only she said that in a much nicer way.
The woman, however, was having none of it and screamed at Susan (who was now holding the fluffy, confused kitty) that she’d done enough! That she’d taken it to the vet! She’d watched it for a day! What the bleep was she supposed to do with it now! She then told us she was going to leave the cat at the end of Susan’s driveway and let it wander back up to Angel’s Gate. Susan kindly requested she not do that. The woman shouted FINE, snatched the cat from Susan’s arms, threw open her back door, and literally chucked the terrified cat in the backseat. Before I could give the woman a piece of my mind, Tracey had planted herself behind the Subaru (nearly getting run over), and told the woman to give her the cat. The woman screeched to a halt and squawked, ‘fine!! Take her!!’, heaved the poor cat into Tracey’s arms, and peeled away.

And now Tracey has a loving, de-clawed, fluffy, adorable cat who desperately needs a home. Followers of this blog, fans of Angel’s Gate, and animals lovers everywhere, please help us find her a forever home. Simply comment on this post on Facebook if you are interested or know anyone who might be (remember to mention the de-clawed part). Thanks so much.

Speaking of thank you. As Tracey and I depart from our shoot, we realize there is no way we can repay Susan and her staff for letting us barge into their lives for six weeks. But here goes. Thank you Justin, Alicia, Kari, Kyle, Katie, Heather, Audrey, Nick, Matt, Sandy, Maggie, and most of all, Susan. We have no idea how you tolerated us for so long. But maybe it will help to know that we abandoned our plan to actually sleep over in your room for a night or two. Yes, it’s hard to believe, but we actually could have been more intrusive. Thank you thank you thank you!

Thank you.

Thank you.

don't let the door hit you on the way out!

kyle with stowaway kitteh

NOW we can leave

All of Susan’s kids (+ a couple significant others) came up for a few days. Tracey and I tagged along to any event they’d let us. Taste of the Catskills, check. Family Bonfire, check. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Check, check, we didn’t have lunch actually.  We were entertained, fed, and even given interviews. The family got nothing in return. Tracey wouldn’t even make them the brunch she’d promised.

We have a secret. A hostage. A stowaway.  Last Wednesday, the New York City Mayor’s Alliance dropped off a carload of animals. A Chihuahua who walked in circles, a former guard dog who snarled and growled at everyone (not so much anymore), Mizu the Cat who is not feeling well AT ALL, and Tumbles, a teeny tiny kitten with a neurological disease called Cerebellar Hypolasia. I took one look at that kitten, renamed her Camper, and she’s been sleeping with us ever since. While Tracey and I fought over which one of us would take her back to Brooklyn, Janine, a Vet Tech student at Delhi started working at Angel’s Gate. She has two CH cats of her own and Tracey and I had to admit, our little Camper would be better off staying with her. Tracey cried and cried yesterday over having to let her go (or was that me), but we finally packed up her little blankets and her little box, and her favorite toy (a chopstick wrapper), and handed her over. We are going to miss her like crazy. Check it.

Angel’s Gate had its annual Blessing of the Animals this weekend. It fell on the first sunny day in a long time so all the animals had a little more spring in their step.  Frankie zipped around in his wheel chair, Lacey charmed the pants off an unsuspecting youngster, and they all waited patiently to be blessed for one more year.  First Minister Jeff Staples and Pastor Martha Vink gave a short service complete with Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself.  Then Susan spoke some very generous words about her dear friend Joan who recently passed, and we all spread Joan’s ashes across the lawn as she’d requested. After the ceremony and the blessing of individual animals, The Honest Mistakes played two solid sets. Jazzy the Pug shamelessly hit on the drummer the whole time. 

I think I could turn and live with animals. They are so placid and self contained. I stand and look at them long and long. They do not sweat and whine about their conditions. They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins. They do not make me sick discussing their duty to god. No one is dissatisfied. Not one is demented with the mania of owning things. Not one kneels to another nor to his kind that lived thousand of years ago.  Not one is respectable or industrious over the whole earth.

WW

The Honest Mistakes tear the roof off Angel's Gate.

Tyson, a yorkie with cancer, died this morning. A few weeks ago, Tyson was found wandering the streets near Yankee Stadium and delivered to Angel’s Gate. He spent the last moments of his life running around with Logan, Max, and Casey in the back bedroom. And while his cancer-ridden mouth emitted a pretty foul smell, none of the other dogs seemed to notice. When it looked like the cancer was finally taking over for good, Susan tucked him into an infrared bed, lit some candles, and stood by his side until he passed.

In the afternoon, I lost Tracey. Advised by a friend to ‘follow the trail of stupid’, I found her in the cat room playing with her favorite Persian. ‘Chippy’ suffers from seizures, the last of which left her very weak. But she’s still as affectionate and beautiful as ever and likely headed for Park Slope, Brooklyn next week if Tracey has anything to say about it.

Tucker (beagle puppy with hydrochephalus) is officially rejecting his shunt. It’s literally making a break for it out of the top of his head. Tracey and I were making our weekly trip to NYC so Susan bandaged his little head, wrapped him in a couple blankets, and apprehensively handed him over to the film crew.  We dropped him off with Kara Sessums at VERG late last night and we’ll pick him up later this afternoon.  Unfortunately, without a shunt, Tucker is going to have a hard time keeping fluids from going to the wrong place in his little body. Susan will have to keep a close eye on him.

That’s right. Angel’s Gate will be on Oprah. TOMORROW, Monday Oct 4th. 4pm on ABC. Frankly, Oprah is old news for some of the animals here at Angel’s Gate. They’ve been on before and tomorrow is a ‘where are they now’ episode. But it’s pretty exciting for the rest of us (most of the animals here and tracey).  So yeah.  Oprah. Tomorrow. 4pm.  I could tell you about the 20 volunteers that were here yesterday. Or the scrap Lexie and Sadie got into (everyone’s fine). Or the new infirmary cat that was rescued from a fire in an apartment and probably just needs a good home. But Angel’s Gate is going to be on Oprah tomorrow. At 4pm. Oprah.  As in Winfrey.

it's all very exciting.

Rescue Ink came all the way from the Big Apple this morning.  Six gigantic, menacing, tattoo-covered guys sauntered into the garage and everyone here fell in love with them. They’re on a mission to rescue animals in danger and they’re not shy about ‘educating’ the people who put them there. It’s no wonder they had their own show on National Geographic. They’re smart, they’re dedicated, they have riveting stories, and they’ll stop at nothing to protect those that can’t protect themselves.

i wouldn't kill a mosquito in front of these guys.

Many of the animals they rescue are victims of dog fighting. It’s a beautiful thing when dog-fighting rings are broken up, but all of those dogs need a place to go. Enter Eric B. He and his fiance run Rescue Ink’s ‘halfway home’ up in the Catskills. It’s called Pack Ethic and if you want to see some very happy, healthy, adoptable pit bulls, just watch this video. It’s amazing.

While the crowd gathered around Rescue Ink, Cal Crary, a photographer from Brooklyn, set up a canvas and took portraits of the animals. Turns out dog wheelchairs do not come with brakes. Only Mimi, the miniature horse, stood perfectly still so Cal could take her picture. Everyone else was more interested in the cheese they’d been promised afterwards.

Two more volunteers, Hector and Melissa, came up from Brooklyn last night.  They rescued a leukemia cat a couple weeks ago and brought him to Angel’s Gate. Now they’re back to tile the entire first floor. They are not your standard droppers off.  The contractors are back to finish up constructing the new reception building. They are working so fast, we’re having a hard time catching it on camera. Rescue Ink shows up on their Harleys tomorrow to help with all of it. At this rate we expect the place to be entirely transformed by Saturday. Which is going to cause us some serious continuity problems. Damn you, progress.

Amidst all the chaos, Susan tried once again to fit Casey (paralyzed St. Benard puppy) for a wheelchair. Casey did take a few steps (mostly towards Melissa’s outstretched bbq tofu sandwich) but the cart still doesn’t fit perfectly. Good thing Casey has a fairy godfather (Scott Messenger from Pilots N Paws) so she should be back on her (front) feet in no time.

pre rehab bath

Claude, an ailing Shih Tzu, got into a skirmish with Hoover (paralyzed Dachshund) and Darla (French Bulldog). Claude is a little too old to be horsing around and he took a turn for the worse. Susan packed him in the car for her ride to VERG in Brooklyn yesterday. She gave him fluids the whole time but he didn’t make it.

In a tragic coincidence, Baraka (aging Beagle with a failing liver) died this weekend of liver failure. The old guy had been recovering from a leg injury in his crib in the living room and was just getting back to his old self when his illness caught up with him. He will be missed.

There was one bright spot in all the sadness. Two volunteers who came all the way here from Tampa and Baltimore.  Jackie and Diane are passionate about animals and spent three solid days helping out, learning about animal hospice, and piling as many animals on top of themselves as possible. They especially liked the leukemia cat house right next to our camper. One of my personal favorites.

jackie and diane.

My grand scheme to get Joy (infirmary kitten) and Sugar (diaper kitten) to live happily ever after is backfiring. Rumor has it Sugar beats up Joy on the reg and Joy’s eyes are now red, raw, and infected. Susan says it’s not that bad and a little antibiotic cream will clear her right up. But if this cat goes blind, it’s on me.

Lucky for us, the Delhi Harvest Festival was this weekend. We met Mac, Sophie, Stanley and their owners who had either heard of or met Susan and admired what she did. Although they all said there’s no way they could do it themselves. We also ate some funnel cake and enjoyed the sounds of a very enthusiastic (mostly) zeppelin cover band.

Late in the afternoon, we experienced our first Angel’s Gate change of heart. Barbara and John Zimmerman found Decker in their barn in Pennsylvania. She had no tail and was covered in pee and poop. A friend told them about Angel’s Gate and they dropped her off here last Wednesday. Barbara was in tears when she when they left and very reluctant to say goodbye. Four days later, they showed up to take Decker home. Barbara couldn’t live without her. Even if it means a lifetime of cat diapers.

infirmary kitty suddenly belongs there.

stairway to heaven/gilligan's island mash up. unplugged.

Redo Kitty