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Mugoddai is Still Missing.
Scroll down to hear our story
and learn about my amazing missing cat.
Despite the absence of my beloved
Mugoddai, life has gone on. I'm still helping animals and making new friends.
Scroll down and learn about some of the things I'm doing and keep going to learn more about my beloved Mugoddai.
I was so
surprised when I got an e-mail from a local Washington Post reporter while I was back on Guam in April. Apparently
Steve lives in my neighborhood and he's been aware that Mugoddai has been missing and thought it would be a great human
interest story. I told him okay if he represented me and the issue with respect.
The story
about Mugoddai ran on June 6, 2007. The responses were overwhelming and I finally got around to returning
over 300 e-mails, all but two were supportive. Some were from people who were also missing their pets and
they were heartbroken. Some were from people who offered suggestions, support, prayers, encouragement. Others
included pictures of pets (I'll get around to posting them I promise.) Surprisingly, there were at least
a third from people who had recovered their pets ranging from a few days to as long as 10 years. The stories ranged
from pets who went back to a familiar location to one lady who on a trip to Jamaica over a year after her cat went
missing was approached by a stranger in the street who somehow knew her cat was missing and offered a suggestion that
worked. I have followed up on several leads since then, but Mugoddai remains a mystery.
I must tell you, there is a risk in
doing a story like this. There were bloggers who made nasty and negative comments and consigned me to the
ranks of a crazy, pathetic cat person. If you know me for one hour, you will know that is hardly the case.
I'm a professional person with numerous activities and friends and lots going on aside from Mugoddai. To provide
clarity, I will share that I spend less than an hour a month on my cat hunt at this late stage of his absence. It doesn't
take much to keep the shelters notified and the listserves updated. The mailings referenced in the article were
sent earlier in the search as were the unique search strategies that were recommended by people who had found their
pets using them. Checking Pet Harbor takes about one minute a day. Finally, I believe there is just as much chance
he is alive as dead and I have indeed come to the understanding that I might never see him again. People really like
to take things out of context, but then again, I suspect jumping to conclusions is the only exercise they might
get because they spend so much time blogging. LOL. Please join me in praying that they get away from their
computers and find something else to do but ridicule others. To read the story click on http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/05/AR2007060502437.html
Helping Dogs and Cats on our Nation's Reservations
On August 10,11, & 12, 2007 I had a booth on spay/neuter, humane animal care, and the traditional
place of the dog in Indian Country at the National Museum of the American Indian Pow Wow at the Verizon Center in DC.
The International Fund For Animal Welfare and the Navajo Nation Veterinary and Livestock Program and USDA supported the booth
too. Rez Dog, a Native-owned clothing company wrote a lovely letter of support and donated some t-shirts and a hat for
a raffle. I collected a sizeable amount of money that will be donated to the Navajo vet clinic for elderly Navajos
who want to provide vet care for their animals. And guess who stopped by? Irene Bedard, the beautiful Native actress
who was the voice of Disney's Pocahontas, had a lead role in Spielberg's Into the West, Lakota Woman, Edge of America, and
so many other wonder projects. Irene had participated in a documentary I produced as part of my graduate degree in 1995
and I never had a chance to thank her. I just happened to have one of the macaw feathers I bead on hand, which I gave
her as a thank you gift. The Pow Wow was a great success and already I've had people in Indian Country contact me for
suggestions on how they can humanely control the overpopulation of dogs and cats on their reservations.
Help For the Birds
I love parrots. I am too busy to have one of my own,
but I have been lucky enough to be able to help the Wilson Parrot Foundation. Brian Wilson is the founder of this wonderful
organization that takes in abused, neglected, and homeless parrots and rehabilitates them. Most of them will find caring
forever homes, but some are not able to be placed and they will find their home with Brian. Please click on www.wilsonparrotfoundation.org/ and help this wonderful organization out with a donation.
You can also make a donation to the parrots through your CFC if you work for the government. 55,000 companion birds are abused or neglected in the U.S. every year. Please help
Brian take care of these beautiful animals.
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| Brian Wilson and two of his lovely parrots |
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| My favorite parrot, Shiloh |
Now About Mugoddai
The Adventures of A Long Time Missing Cat Welcome to Mugoddai's Website. Thanks for checking in.
My beloved cat Mugoddai went missing from Takoma Park, MD at Carroll Blvd. and Old Carroll/Sligo Creek Pkwy
two weeks after we had moved from Arlington, VA on December 11, 2003. This event has had a great impact
on my life. Everyone who loses a most beloved pet knows how deeply it can hurt and how little the people you really
counted on to help and understand, really do or even can. Yet you keep hoping, as I and many other lost pet owners do,
that one day your buddy will return or at least you will find out what happened. However, it's not wise to completely
lose hope. The stories of lost cats returning are more than just anecdotal. The one thing that most of the cats
and other pets that come home after many months, even years is that the pet parent didn't quit looking. I want
the word that Mugoddai is still missing to be out there. I hope that perhaps somebody is feeding him or has taken him
in and once they know he has a home, they will contact me. I hope you enjoy Mugoddai's website.
Mugoddai is 11 years old. He is a domestic short haired/Siamese mix. Pointed Siamese
face, light green eyes, black nose and whiskers. Small white wisp at throat. White hairs in ears, a few at belly.
One chipped top incisor. Very small bald mark at nape of neck under fur. Might have tried to get back to Arlington,
VA. Might come to you as a rescue, a stray, or a surrendered pet (if you are a shelter). Please click on "Contact"
for an e-mail address or scroll down for more contact info.
I've heard so many stories from people about their lost pet who returned or thier friend's
or relative's pet who got lost and returned. Some of these are amazing. Like my friend's sister who
happened to see her cat a year later on someone's porch. It had followed a creek bed over a mile down and wound
up at their house. After she showed them she was the original owner, they gave her her cat. An attorney
friend of mine who lives in Gallup, NM told me her cat went missing and she figured a coyote had eaten him. Three years
later he walked up to her in the yard. Another friend of mine on the Navajo Nation tells me her cat returned to her
mother after a three year absence.
More About Mugoddai More Mugoddai Pictures
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