Second Chance: Great Balls of Hair

29 Jan Second Chance: Great Balls of Hair

Did you know that 391 Pet Columns have been pawed since the Second Chance adoptable pets began taking to animal-journalism to educate people about the joys and responsibilities, as well as the pertinent and not so pertinent aspects of pet parenting? That all started about seven years ago and yet this is the first Pet Column about hair balls?!?! Outrageous, I know. But fret no more because balls of hair are my topic of the day (as well as how super adoptable I am…).

So, hairballs…otherwise known as furballs or trichobezoar (in the scientific world) are simply part of the feline grooming process and really quite harmless. We lick our fur to clean it, we swallow some hair during the licking process, and fortunately we have evolved a process for our stomach, intestines, and esophagus to avoid being clogged up by hair through a simple vomiting process.

But what I’ll bet you didn’t know is that these fuzzy balls of fun contain other materials our bodies are happy to expel as well. Undigested fat, ash from food products, and mucus which all bond tightly with the unwanted hair – and pop! – out they come – leaving us with clear passageways!

Granted we might have developed a more refined or subtler way to purge these gooey hairy masses. And yes, we often appear to be choking and gagging to death in great agony during fur ball ejection attempts. But this is merely for entertainment purposes as well as to alert our people that there is a gooey hairy mass on the floor that needs to be disposed of.  I mean, if we were more discreet about it a lot more people would be stepping on them rather than deftly and properly disposing of the mess.

So now that you know all about feline hairy balls, I mean hair balls, but please don’t let these minor inconveniences discourage you from saving the life of a homeless kitty like me. Expulsion is typically only a monthly occurrence.

Now let me tell you a bit about myself…

My name is Sunny, because when the sun hits my golden apricot hair, it glows a fiery cascade of 100 different orange hues. That and the fact I like to sun myself in the window. And I have a sunny disposition. And I make people feel like the sun is shining on them. Regardless of all the ways I reflect my name, I would love to come cough up a few hair balls on your floor.  Kidding. What I most would love to do is find my forever home and spread some more sunshine around…

And I would like to introduce my friends Sully & Sebastian, two of the cutest pups at the shelter right now. They came in with their mom, Panchita, as two teeny little scared aliens, but now they are full of fun and life and ready to be adopted. They are Chihuahua mixes and even the cats here at Second Chance like them…

Editor’s note: It’s no secret. The Telluride region is dog heaven. Well, pet heaven. Unless you are one of our furry friends who gets caught in the maw of neglect and abuse. Then heaven is on hold until Second Chance Humane Society comes to the rescue. Second Chance is the region’s nonprofit dedicated to saving animals’ lives and promoting responsible pet parenting and human-animal bond. In her weekly blog, executive director Kelly Goodin profiles at least one, generally two of the many animals now living at the no-kill shelter, Angel Ridge Shelter, a dog and a cat, hoping to find them loving permanent homes. The column is sponsored by Ted Hoff of Cottonwood Ranch & Kennel, who from time to time exercises his skills as a dog whisperer, partnering with Kelly and her staff to help train a particularly challenging animal.

By the by, there is no better place to park your pup than Cottonwood whenever you head out of town (for locals) or are heading to town and staying somewhere that does not allow pets. Consider joining Ted’s Very Important Dog (VID) Club for added benies. (Details on Ted’s website.)

Second Chance Humane Society Animal Resource Center and Thrift Shop are both located in Ridgway, but service San Miguel, Ouray & Montrose Counties. Call the SCHS Helpline at 626-2273 to report a lost pet, learn about adopting a homeless pet, or about the SCHS Spay/Neuter, Volunteer, Feral Cat, or other Programs. View the shelter pets and services online:www.adoptmountainpets.org