Ricardo juarez by Freestyle Academy

Working Title

A Catâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tale Written and Designed By Ricardo Juarez

Dedication A huge thanks to Freestyle Academy for giving me this great opportunity. I want to dedicate this book to everyone who kept me going when i felt like giving up on this project. I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have been able to do it without the help of my classmates and teachers who were always pushing me to finish.

Table of contents Dedication 2-3 Table content 4-5 Foreward 6-7 A Kittyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Journey

10-11

A New Hope

14-15

Are Cats Really Safe?

18-19

No Cats Left Behind

22-23

One Life

26-27

Biography 30

Foreword Writing about the “Nine lives” Foundation came across my mind because I don’t know much about cats and I thought this was the perfect time to research something new and expand my knowledge on Cats. On day one I was hoping to uncover the story of what happens to cats in the shelter. My question was answered right off the bat and sadly its a tragedy that some people don’t have I never would have never guessed what they do to cats who don’t get adopted in a typical shelter/pound.To get people’s attention I started off the book with short story about a cats life if it were to go into a pound, then I introduced the “Nine lives”. After the shelter was introduced I went into what they do and what makes them different from other shelters/pounds and how cats are treated differently from a common shelter. My greatest challenge while working on this book was finding interest on these cats and actually being able to be around them because i wasnt and still arent a big fan of them but i have gained respect for these creatures who have to deal with sick and heartless humans out there.

Introduction A kitty is born along with 7 others, 5 out of those are given away to the owners friends. Now were left with the mother and 2 kittens. Years go by, the kittens are all grown up,one day the owner leaves the window open while they’re out of town. One of the cats sees the chance and slips out. As it roams the streets its get spotted by animal control, its captured and taken into the pound. The pound lets the cat sit in a cage for 5-7 days without even putting the word out. After the 5-7 days are up the cat is put down and stacked in the back 10

shelter seem to believe it but the with the rest of the cats that “Nine lives” Foundation located have also been put down and await for to and that was the in Redwood City, California. life a cat who was just curiously wondering around town. Do cats really have nine lives? Is that the reason why many of them are picked up by pounds and then killed after a week? You would think that cats are safe at a pound or shelter but in reality most of the time they get put down and thats the end of a cats life. Luckily there are people out there that care about animals and have sympathy for this poor creatures .It is said that cats have nine lives, most

WWW

A new hope

he “Nine lives” Shelter was founded by Dr. Monica Rudiger. Growing up Dr.Rudiger was an animal lover and did lots of volunteering in animal shelters around her community. Unfortunately “I did some volunteer work back in 2003, on my very first day I had to deal with the fact that fifty-four cats were being signed down for Euthanasia. So I realized the typical animal shelter that I thought was there to protect the animals was actually in the habit of killing most of them that came in. So,

that really sparked my interest that there was something wrong with that” Rudiger has a policy of no killing cats and taking care of cats even if it’s til the last day that cat lives. The “nine lives” shelter receives at least a hundred cats per month and they all get equally the same treatment when they first come in, they get a full exam done, checked for any type of disease, vaccinated and if any surgery is needed it is given to them. Cats are then given a shelter for as long as they need.The “nine

lives” does not give cats a deadline in which they have to be gone by, this policy is actually what makes this cat shelter different from others.

Are Cats really safe?

ats arent really safe in a pound? NO! Of course not, many cats are dead the instant you walk in the pound or shelter, but if they’re not dead the moment you walk in they’ll most certainly will be in less than a week. According to the humane society most shelters and pound that kill cats usually don’t have the funds or the room to keep cats and plus the state of California only mandates animal shelters to keep the animals for a week or two, after that the shelter is able to do whatever they want with the creature and if they decide to euthanize it they won’t be stopped. Before actually putting the creature down they must check if it has been tagged in anyway, there are some shelters who will put the word out that an animal has been found

and captured but there are others who won’t even try to tell anyone so while the owner might be out looking for its cat out in the streets, the pound might be getting ready to euthanize them.

Luckily the “Nine Lives” is a really well funded shelter and is able to shelter over a hundred cats on a low budget. Its not only the “Nine Lives” shelter who believes that cats should not be killed, there are many other people out there who

should think that cats should not be treated the way they are for example Jolon Wagner a customer at the “Nine lives” “we kind of live in a disposable society and everybody just thinks if we have a problem we can just get rid of the problem, but they didn’t create the problem. Theyre just little innocent bystanders and they, even litten kittens, have the right to live out their lives with some mutual respect for them as little creatures. So, we wanted to give them that opportunity and through Nine Lives we were able to do that.” This foundation has truly become one of the few hopes for any type of cats, not just cats that are given up, but feral and disabled cats as well.

No Cats Left Behind

eral cats are more than welcome to drop in any time meaning they aren’t forced to stay at the shelter. At the “nine lives” foundation they have a “trap,neuter and release” program in where people from the community are welcome to bring in their feral cat to get them spray and neutered. According to an article in “Alley cat allies” when this process is done the cats won’t be able

to have kittens and will be given vaccines, “ear tipped” which means that they are marked so that others know that they have been spayed and neutered then released back to the streets Dave a volunteer at the shelter states “I think the trap neuter and release program while it might be more expensive, and you still have a wild cat population out there is the most ethical and most moral solution to the situation” meaning that although the trap neuter and release program might be more expen-

sive the results make it worth the cost for what it does. This shelter also welcomes disabled cats. Cats that are missing legs,eyes, ears, basically that can’t live on there own and no one wants to take them in. When they first come and are in need of help the shelter provides immediate help just a doing a surgery or maybe just even feeding them.

One Life Just like every human, cats only have one life not nine, they too need someone to love them and care for them. These innocent creatures depend on us. Most of them live off our leftovers that we throw away. People don’t have to adopt a cat to make a change, like at the “Nine Lives” many people donate to them or volunteer, maybe that is too much but even just bringing a feral cat from your community so it can be sprayed and nurtured and released back to the streets.”we kind of live in a disposable society and everybody just thinks if we have a problem we can just get rid of the problem, but they didn’t create the problem. Theyre just little innocent bystanders and they, even litten kittens, have the right to live out their lives with some mutual respect for them as little creatures. So, we wanted to give them that opportunity and through Nine Lives we were able to do that.” 24

Ricardo Juarez is a current Junior at Los Altos High and Freestyle Academy. He is lives in Mountain view city and is involved in various activities in his community such as “Mountain View Youth Advisory Committee “ and “Mountain View Police Explores” and many more. Ricardo is a very outgoing kid and loves meeting new people, one thing about Ricardo is that youll always see him with a smile in his face no matter how bad his day is going because thats just who he is.

Works Cited “Common Questions about Animal Shelters : The Humane Society of the United States.” RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2014. <http://www.humanesociety.org/animal_community/ resources/qa/common_questions_on_shelters.html#Why_arent_all_animal_shelters_ nokill_she>. “David Marks.” Personal interview. 24 Feb. 2014. “Dr. Monica Rudiger.” Personal interview. 16 Feb. 2014. “Hayden Law .” Maddie’s Fund. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2014. <http://www.maddiesfund. org/Maddies_Institute/Articles/Hayden_Law.html>. “How to Conduct Trap-Neuter-Return - Alley Cat Allies.” How to Conduct Trap-NeuterReturn - Alley Cat Allies. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2014. <http://www.alleycat.org/page. aspx?pid=285>. “Jolon Wagner.” Personal interview. 15 Mar. 2014. “Overhauling the Pound System – Action Every Animal Advocate Can Take to Make a Better Future for Pets.” Saving Pets. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. “Why Adopt? Pet Adoption = Instant Friend for Life! Help save a Dogs Life Today. Get M.A.D!” Make a Difference Rescue. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

A Cat’s Tale Ricardo Juarez

Working Title

A Cat’s Tale Written and Designed By Ricardo Juarez