“Pops?”

“Yes, Sauerkraut?”

“What does ‘adopt’ mean?”

“Well, when you adopt something, you choose to take it as your own. For example, let’s say I am talking with my neighbor, and they’re telling me about this new way of growing cucumbers. I decide I like it so much, I start to do it the same way, so I’ve adopted their way of growing cucumbers. 

“It can also mean if something is taken in and made a part of you. Like, if the lawmakers decides they want to make it illegal to turn right on a red light, then the state has adopted a new law.

“Finally, it can mean to make someone a part of your family. You remember Uncle Dan, right? He’s adopted into our family.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks, Pops.”

“No problem, kid.”

“…Hey, Pops?”

“Yes, Sauerkraut?”

“I adopt you.”

❤️

A friend of Sauerkraut’s brought a research article to our attention: Sauerkraut Could Be The Secret to Curing Social Anxiety (Chicago Times Post, 6/10/15)

I thought, “Holy Cow!  An article about how awesome our cat is!”  

Well, if you click the link, you’ll see that it’s not about Sauerkraut Kitty, it’s about Sauerkraut the stinky cabbage dish.  When I saw what the article was really about, the juxtaposition to what I expected made it really funny.

But then I got to thinking about it, and I realized… Sauerkraut really can be the cure to my anxiety.  Maybe I should broaden it to say that animals - our pets, the neighbor’s dog (that you like), the petting zoo, or helping out at the animal shelter - can do so much good for us.

HelpGuide.org summarizes the studies that have analyzed the health benefits of having a dog or cat:

• Dog owners are less likely to suffer from depression than those without pets
• People with dogs have lower blood pressure in stressful situations than those without pets. One study even found that when people with borderline hypertension adopted dogs from a shelter, their blood pressure declined significantly within five months
• Playing with a dog or cat can elevate levels of serotonin and dopamine, which calm and relax
• Pet owners have lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels (indicators of heart disease) than those without pets
• Heart attack patients with dogs survive longer than those without
• Pet owners over age 65 make 30 percent fewer visits to their doctors than those without pets

Not to mention, there is a whole class of animals that we so often can’t pet, but so many rely on every day: service animals.  The Delta Society indicates that service animals, from dogs to cats to monkeys and even rats, can assist people with injuries, illness or disabilities including:

• Spinal cord/head trauma from injury or stroke
• Visual or hearing deficits
• Arthritis
• Ataxia/poor balance
• Multiple sclerosis
• Cerebral palsy
• Muscular dystrophy
• Seizure disorders
• Cardio/pulmonary disease
• Psychiatric disabilities

From time to time, when I have to clean the litter boxes ...again... or when I have to take the dogs to the groomer, or go out in the rain to feed our rabbit April, I sometimes think… why do I want all these pets again?  

But then I spend just a few minutes with little Sauerkraut in my arms, and I realize, I would do it all, for even half the benefit and twice the work.  I get so much enjoyment, peace, and entertainment from the cats, the dogs, the kittens we foster, even the rabbit that lives in the back yard, I am positive I would have it no other way.

Social Anxiety, you ain't got nothin' on what a cat can bring you.

It’s the final day of the Sauerkraut Summer “Kraut and About” Road Tour 2015!

The most interesting thing happened this morning: we were driving east along the highways, leaving behind the beautiful red and gold vistas of Utah, and headed toward the deep greens and rich browns of Colorado… and when the RV passed from UT into CO, we totally, completely entered the Twilight Zone.

First, it started to rain.  Then REALLY rain.  Then the GPS suddenly and inexplicably added one hour to the arrival time, even though we’re in the same time zone, so instead of an hour’s grace period, we were cutting it close.  Then Humom got a text, from me… while I was driving (and not texting), that I’d sent over a month ago.  As we were driving through the twisty, up-and-down highways, and you can’t tell if your engine is shifting into high gear because you’re ascending or descending, the rivers seem to flow uphill sometimes.  Then the winds picked up - bad - and the RV was tossed around so much that Sauerkraut’s water bowl spilled.  (It was right above my head, so dribbled down my back.)  Then we went up, up into the mountains and it started snowing.  In June. SNOWING.  It’s bad when the tornado you saw in Utah was the LEAST stressful weather event of the drive!

But we did make it to Fairplay, Colorado!  Today, we were at High Paw Pet Supplies, which hosted our Meet and Greet for Animal Rescue of the Rockies.  It’s also the home of Andre the Giant Cat, and if you don’t know who that gorgeous hunk of cat is, you need to check him out.  He’s, shall we say, a bit bigger than Sauerkraut.

So... this is the last from-the-road Blog Post for the 2015 Kraut and About Tour.  Tomorrow we head back to the Sooner state.  Thank you for being a part of this journey with us!  It’s been an honor, and a lot of fun.  Most importantly, it's been a pleasure to work with so many amazing, fun, dedicated people in each city we’ve visited!

• Dust devils in the desert rise sometimes 40 feet in the air before they spin themselves out into nothingness
• The terrain doesn’t just look like a mountain range when you’re passing it - it appears like it’s been violently thrust up from the earth as if ancient deities battled in the ground below
• Passing through Utah just after crossing over from Nevada, the sands are so white and hot, it looks as though you’re approaching a lake that never gets closer. I can understand the whole mirage in the desert phenomenon better now
• Nevada along Interstate 80 has more prisons than I thought possible - like every miscreant is sent to northern Nevada from every other state

We arrived in Salt Lake City (and for those that don’t know, yes, the Great Salt Lake really is salty), and drove to the Utah Animal Adoption Center.  They hosted today’s Sauerkraut Meet & Greet, and were very excited to have the little stinker in their facility!  There were cupcakes, lemonade, and snacks for everyone that visited.

For those that have never been here, Salt Lake City is mountainous, peaceful, and very relaxing.  I have a special treat in that Humom, Sauerkraut and I are parked at the home of Rachel, my very dearest friend from high school.  A visit from home and a reminder of our childhood always does a heart good.

Tomorrow we are on to Fairplay, Colorado - our last stop before home on the Tour!  See you then, friends!

It’s Day 8 of the Sauerkraut Summer “Kraut and About” Road Tour 2015!

And I’m here to tell you, I thought I knew something about this great land in which we’re raising Sauerkraut.  But I don’t.

First, a correction.  In yesterday’s post, I thought it was azaleas that grow along the sides and in the median along California Highway 99, but they are oleander.  And they are poisonous, so don’t go picking them, eating them, or rolling around in them.

Second, there are mountains in Nevada.  And in New Mexico.  Who knew?!  Heck, now that I’m questioning myself, there just might be mountains in every state in the US.  No, never mind - I used to live in Iowa and I KNOW there are no mountains there. 

Sorry, back to the point.  We left this morning bright and early so we could get to Reno in time for an 8:00 meeting for a radio interview on Alice 96.5 FM.  As we left Sacramento, we kept driving up… and up… and up… 

We passed through some of the most astounding mountain vistas you could imagine.  Tahoe National Forest is up there!  And Donner Lake/Donner Pass!  And… trees!  Lots and lots of trees.  If I ever ask online where I should take a vacation to get some quiet in a beautiful location, remind me of the 120 miles between Sacramento and Reno.

And then remind me to take some geography, history, and botany books with me so I can learn a little bit about where I live.

We made it to the radio station in plenty of time, and met with the three radio hosts, along with Mel from the SPCA of Northern Nevada, who hosted the Meet & Greet this evening.  The radio interview was a lot of fun.  They asked questions about how we came across Sauerkraut, about her condition, our cause, and of course, about her closet full of clothes.  Mel mentioned the Meet & Greet time and location so all our local friends would be there!

And finally - and to be this may be the biggest deal of all - the SPCA really picked up on Sauerkraut’s theme of special needs adoptions.  At the event tonight, they had several of their cats that have special needs there in the room with us, ready for adoption.  It’s sometimes so hard to find a home for a cat who is older, or is FIV-positive, or has a deformity. The best story was one of Elsa, a kitten who has a severely deformed back leg.  One of the dog-walker volunteers came in to the facility when Elsa was first there, and never made it past the little kitten.  She adopted Elsa, and she and her husband were gracious enough to bring her to the event tonight.  Little Elsa was so sweet, with the most adorable ear tufts, and absolutely knew she was just perfect the way she is!

Sauerkraut, who like Elsa would never have passed muster with a breeder, is the most loving, most amazing member of our family, and I could never imagine what life would have been like without her in it.  Special needs pets sometimes make an even more amazing family member because they show you their appreciation with every heartfelt nuzzle.  Pass this message on!

It’s Day 7 of the Sauerkraut Summer “Kraut and About” Road Tour 2015!

As Humom and Sauerkraut and I were heading north from Los Angeles to Sacramento at the kitty poo hole of dawn, driving first through mountains and then through flatlands in the dark, I began thinking about the drought that California has been suffering.  And as the sun started to rise, the true effects of the drought became very evident.  Along the sides of Interstate 5, there are all kinds of crops: pistachios, figs, oranges, lemon, apricot, and marigold. And anywhere that there wasn’t active irrigation, there was… nothing.  It was almost completely barren, the earth so dry it’s cracked.  It made me realize how dependent we are on the wide variety of crops that are grown in California, and how I hope the drought ends very soon.

As we approached Sacramento along California Highway 99, we noticed an amazing thing: the highway is lined along both sides, and sometimes in the median, by the most beautiful flowering bushes - we think it’s azaleas.  In white and red and shades of pink from a dusty rose to a hot-pants pink, it really made the drive amazingly pleasant.  If you’ve never been to Sacramento before, it may be worth it just for that delight.

We arrived at our stop for today, the SPCA of Sacramento, in plenty of time to get set up.  The first group of Sauerkraut visitors was the kids of Camp Kindness, which is a summer program the SPCA of Sacramento was running today.  The kids were absolutely enthralled with little Kraut!  They had painted their faces to look like her, had made a banner and other signs to welcome her, and all had ear scritches and selfies and pictures to go around. Even some of the moms may have taken a snapshot or two!

Throughout the rest of the Meet & Greet, other friends showed up, some having to drive 90 minutes to get there!  We were so fortunate to meet such amazing people, some who brought us food, treats for Sauerkraut, and many, many that made donations to the Sacramento SPCA.  They have a beautiful building, take amazing care of the animals in their facility, and perform a great service to their community.  Humom and I are very thankful to have had such a wonderful Meet & Greet thanks to their hospitality and generosity.

After the SPCA, we checked in to our RV lot, and had a very special visit: Humom’s sister and brother in law live in the Sacramento area, and sister came to the RV site with her three kids.  They LOVE Sauerkraut, and wanted to dote on her, but she was a little worn out from the day and just wanted to nap.  She did wake up long enough to get a photo op in though!

We then had a second very special visit: Sauerkraut’s friend Gary lives just a few miles from where we are staying, and they invited us over for wine and watermelon - the perfect way to end a very (record-breakingly) hot day.  Thanks, Gary, Carlos, Margo and Hank!  …and your Mom and Dad too. :)

Tonight’s post is gonna be a short one - tomorrow we leave Los Angeles for Sacramento at 4am, so it’s early to bed, early to rise for Humom and Pops!

Today Sauerkraut’s humans took two different paths: Humom went to CatCon and a bunch of people were able to come out to the RV and meet Sauerkraut.  She was able to chillax in the relative comfort of the RV and the 75 degree breeze and sunshine of Los Angeles.  Pops, whose brother lives in the LA area, picked him up, and they restocked the RV food stuffs and did a couple loads of laundry.  It’s possible the two of them also laughed a lot.  And had In-n-Out Burger.

After CatCon/shopping/laundry, Sauerkraut and Humom and I went to Blue Plate Taco, the most excellent pick of Sauerkraut’s friend CatsAndFoodie.  It was DELISH!  We were able to visit with many of our cat-people friends, laugh, have a drink or two, and enjoy the beach scene in Santa Monica.

When we left the restaurant and were headed back to the RV to pack things up for the drive up to Santa Monica tomorrow, our friend Lil Adolf pulled their stroller up along side Sauerkraut’s so they could have a private word.  No one understood what they said to each other - they were speaking in German.

I must admit, today was not as much about Sauerkraut raising awareness around issues of animal welfare, or working with a local organization to raise funds.  Today was about celebrating the joy that many, many of us take in having a glorious, unpredictable, beautiful, temperamental, wonderful cat.

CatConLA began this morning, and let me tell you, it was an experience.  We woke up, got ourselves ready, and drove the RV to The Reef in downtown Los Angeles where the event was being held.  The line to get in was around the building!

Once we got in, we were met by hundreds or thousands of people who are of a like mind: that cats are to be celebrated for their humor, intelligence, weirdness, uniqueness, curiosity, and stoic strength.

Not to say there’s anything wrong with dogs - they’re awesome too!  But once in a while it’s good to just become one with your feline side.  And today, we did that!

We got to meet some of the people that have become our friends through social media, or those we have gotten to know, and have gotten to know us through Sauerkraut.  I can’t count the number of times I heard, “There’s Sauerkraut’s Pops!” and Humom got to meet in person a lot of the people who have supported and befriended her over the past year and a half.

Sauerkraut (and most cats) was not allowed into the event, but one very special cat was: the amazing Lil BUB, and her human The Dude!  Personally, this was the highlight of my day.  The work that Lil BUB does, the awareness that she’s raised, and the way she and her people have been so giving and generous to worthy causes has been inspiring to us.

By the end of the evening, Sauerkraut had kind of had enough activity though - we went to a Meow Meet where people were able to bring their cats, but the noise and activity were a bit too much for her, so we brought her back to the RV to hang out and have some dinner.  

All in all, it was a great experience… and there’s more in store for tomorrow!  

It’s Day 4 of the Sauerkraut Summer “Kraut and About” Road Tour 2015!

This morning started out cool and crisp in Flagstaff, and we got on the road at about 6:00 am for our drive into southern California.  Here are my observations for today:

1. If you’ve never had the joy of staying in Flagstaff, seriously consider it. But traveler beware: there is such a thing as pine pollen allergies. Humom can tell you all about it, I’m afraid.
2. If you’ve never had the joy of renting, owning, or driving an RV, you really should consider it.  I’m sure it’s not for everyone, but Humom and I have seen some amazing scenery along the drive - all stuff that would have been “fly-over” if we’d just hopped onto Southwest.
3. If you’ve never had the joy of driving west from Flagstaff on Interstate 40, drivers beware: the roads haven’t been repaired since Eisenhower was in office.

We crossed into California after driving through some of the most wide-open countryside we’ve ever seen… and then it continued even after we were in the sunshine state. I commented that I half expected to see a John Wayne movie being filmed. Humom said it reminded her of Stephen King’s Desperation/The Regulators. The mountains and rolling hills make you realize how amazing - and enormous - our country really is.

We got into Orange County in plenty of time for our Meet & Greet.  Today, we were at the Mission Hills Pet Care Center, who also happened to be celebrating their one year anniversary - what a great way to celebrate! The animal welfare group we’re supporting today is New Beginnings.  We met Dr. McCarthy and her staff, who were all wonderful, friendly, helpful, and had great relationships with their clients.  They had balloons, food, sodas, and desserts for everyone!

Lots of people came to greet Sauerkraut today, and there were a million pictures, selfies, chin scritches, and ear rubs.  We also had the best fund raising of the trip so far… so this is a challenge to all the other cities we’re visiting on our trip next week!  

One of the visitors, Sebastian, after meeting Sauerkraut, wandered off and came back just a moment or two later with a piece of paper and a pencil, and in about one minute drew up this amazing portrait.  Thank you so much, Sebastian!

It’s Day 3 of the Sauerkraut Summer “Kraut and About” Road Tour 2015!

Uh-mazing.  That’s the one word I have for Flagstaff!  Or… is that two words the way I used it?  Anyway…

Since Flagstaff is a short distance from Phoenix, Humom and I got up at a reasonable hour instead of “how will I function through the day”-o’clock.  We got caught up on some paperwork, inventory, social media, and maybe a little time on Words with Friends for me…

The distance from Flagstaff to Phoenix is only about 120 miles, but the ELEVATION difference is astounding.  We pushed this little motor home up some pretty steep grades, and it let me know how it felt about it.  But the Little RV That Could made it up every one of them like a champ.

We drove straight to the Coconino Humane Association about an hour early, which gave us time to get things set up before the festivities began.  And what an amazing facility they have!  It’s high up in the mountains among fir trees, and has an absolutely breath-taking view.  The staff were so inviting and friendly and willing to help get things set up and ready for the Meet and Greet.  The Northern AZ Division of Arizona Animal Foster Coalition was there to hand out some information and share their story.  We got an AMAZING gift basket for Sauerkraut (and her Humom and Pops too!) full of treats, toys and great information.

Before the official Meet and Greet, NAZ Today visited with me and Sauerkraut and filmed a piece which should air probably on Monday, so check out their website early next week!