| Daytona Beach Real Estate & Community Events blog. By Lisa C. Hill, "THE SMART CHOICE!" |
Here on the Active Rain Real Estate Network, with over 100,000 members blogging about real estate, there's never a shortage of real estate information. And there's even plenty of information about areas where people might like to live, with or without accompanying real estate data. Most of us can always find things to blog about that will provide people with information about our cities and counties, to include on the Localism real estate network. This is why on Active Rain, I created the Things to Do/Places to Visit group. Posts to that group contain information that appeals to both locals, and people from other parts of the country or even the world, who are looking for what different parts of the U.S. has to offer. They're gathering information to support where they might buy real estate some day. And of course, many of these people will need to sell real estate in order to make their move to a new location.
No matter what the real estate (or even the political) happenings in each of our areas, the one thing that almost everyone can agree on is how many animals need loving homes. And unfortunately, in the real estate industry, all REALTORS will eventually find themselves in a house where they find neglected or even abandoned animals. Thank goodness for animal shelters, and for people who are willing to take in and care for the animals whose voices cannot be heard.
In the Daytona Beach area, we have a wonderful animal shelter at the Halifax Humane Society. As a child, my parents always took us to the Halifax Humane Society when we were looking for a new pet. And sometimes we went just to visit with the animals there =) . As an adult, I've continued that tradition with my own family. Of our current little home zoo, we got one of our cats from 
the Halifax (Daytona Beach) Humane Society about 10 years ago. Of all the cats we saw that day, Kiara was Miss Personality Plus! And she immediately deemed herself to be the princess of our entire household.
As I stated above, in the real estate industry all REALTORS will eventually find themselves in a house where they find neglected or even abandoned animals. And that is how we ended up with our second cat. I found Whiskers living in an empty barn, behind a vacant house in the Daytona Beach area. The home owners had moved out and left the cat behind. At the time, I really didn't want another cat since I also had a guinea pig and a rabbit. So I would drive out to this vacant house every couple of days to check on "Whiskers", and feed and sit with him. He wasn't feral, but he was heading in that direction. I had been leaving him dry food since I couldn't go to that house every day, but the ants kept taking control of that dish. So I would 
bring him canned food and sit with him on the days when I had some extra time. To be honest, it was really enjoyable since this house was on 10 acres. He would sit beside me, or walk around with me, while we looked at the cows, horses, and ducks in the neighboring pastures. (OK. So obviously I just love all animals.) Anyway, my plan was for someone to eventually buy the house, and the cat would convey. (Hey, it could happen.) But after a couple of weeks of our visits, wild fires broke out in the area where that house and more importantly, the abandoned kitty were located. And I knew I couldn't just leave him there. So I ended up with another cat. You don't even want to know how I caught him and got him into 
a carrier!
It's amazing sometimes, when you think back over events in your life, and realize God had a hand in things, when you didn't even have a clue. It's like God knew exactly what I needed, even when I didn't have a clue. Whiskers is my little friend who wants to be with me almost all the time. I think God was helping both me and this little kitty.
Whiskers now meows outside my bedroom door to wake me up, so he can get in bed with me. He also has his own "bed" (3 folded blankets) on the back of the couch in my home office. He will follow me all over the house, just waiting for me to sit at my desk, so he can sleep on his bed. At a time 
when my only child would soon be heading off to college, and my bunny was getting old (she died last year) along came this kitty who makes me feel special and needed =^.^= (And I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual.) My daughter has now officially started college. And of course a cat can't take her place, but at least I still feel needed. Any parent whose children have left the nest will relate to that feeling of being left with an empty space inside, and wondering how to fill it. Pets are perfect for helping to fill those empty spots =)
Now remember, the kitty I just described was not the one we got from the Halifax Humane Society. He's the one that was abandoned by people who moved out of their house and left him behind. The cat we got from the Halifax Humane Society is the princess of our house. She was still a kitten when we got her....
10 years ago, we made a trip to the Humane Society to choose a cat. And one stood out from the rest. This littly kitty flopped over my shoulder and started purring, then started craning her neck to see out the only window in the room. When I backed toward the window for her, she then put both paws on the window and started flicking her tail at anything that moved. Then she sniffed all over my face, while I scrunched up my nose and laughed because her whiskers tickled. She then reached a paw out toward my daughter and flopped over backward toward her. She had more personality than any other cat in the "cat's room" at the Daytona Beach Humane Society. At that time, my daughter had been begging me for years to get a cat. We had promised her that 
when we bought a bigger house, she would get her cat. Obviosly we did, and she did =^.^= To this day, even though 'Princess' Kiara has had to deal with the fact that the entire household doesn't revolve around her, (or maybe she just thinks she has one more loyal subject, with Whiskers in the family), she is still Miss Personality Plus; not to mention some serious cattitude! And any time someone rings the doorbell, she's the first one to answer the door. She sits in front of the door, looking out the glass at whoever is standing on the other side, or paces back and forth, rubbing against the door, just waiting for the visitor to come in and pet her. Because of course they're here just to see 
her. Why else would anyone be here, other than to visit Princess Kiara?
Well, now that you know about my kitties, my guinea pig, my dead rabbit who now haunts the house..... Just Kidding! LOL. (But she is buried right outside my bedroom window.) I encourage you to get your pets from your local Humane Society or ASPCA for your next pet. (Or if you have enough love in your heart for an extra family member, and enough money to care for it, if you find an abandoned pet, please don't just leave it.)
Did you know that this month is "Adopt A Shelter Dog Month"? I don't have a dog, but my parents have a dog and a cat. The most fun to be had is when we put the dogs and cats together (if they get along) and watch them play. It's hilarious!
In honor of their Adopt A Shelter Dog Month, the ASPCA is having a Photo Contest for the Best Dressed Dog! I love it! So if you have a dog, I'd love to see blogs with photos of your furry family member, dressed for it's 15 minutes of photo-op fame. While you're at it, a couple of months ago, I created a new group that I really haven't tried to promote. But this might be a good opportunity to get it rolling. So feel free to subscribe and insert your best-dressed-doggies in the Photo MeMe's group. And feel free to insert your pet photos with your comments on this post =)
If you're a pet lover, who is buying or selling real estate in the Daytona Beach area, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill for all your real estate needs. Lisa Hill is a Daytona Beach native, listing and selling real estate from Ormond Beach to Edgewater (covering 35 miles of Volusia County coastline).
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