Rescue Journal

that was a really big group of students.

Carol · Oct. 31, 2013

but we got them all safely thru the tour and they did seem to really enjoy themselves.

I had to laugh..if looks could kill....
ellie mae has a name and "here piggy, piggy, piggy" is not it and she knows that is not it. such contempt in her eyes for new to pig people who can only see the very large pig outside and not the highly intelligent princess person inside. she demonstrated amazingly good manners and gracious restraint for our human inability to remember her name.
I love her.

chevy was a hit. crash cc and tess and of course all of the bed buddies, thoroughly enjoyed the extra attention. riley was traumatized by the herd of almost 40 people all squeezed into his doorway, he is still trying to recover from the shock of it all. rudy enjoyed playing horse-mouthy lips with the students, everyone thought that was fun. the cats that liked company enjoyed the visitors and the cats that don't disappeared until they were gone.

we are having ongoing septic issues..this is going to require some major changes around here...namely the amount of laundry we are doing. there is far too much water overloading our septic system and septic field every day.
so..the staff and I are going to be stripping out the animal areas...there will no longer be layer upon layer of blankets piled on to each and every bed..couches will simply be couches with only one single fleece to protect it that is easy to wash. there will not be beds on top of couches and beds on top of beds and beds every freaking six inches. the ridiculous overuse of bedding has just got to stop..i simply cannot afford the 30 thousand dollars to put in a new septic field that can handle the amount of laundry water from our current linen and bedding use every day that has to be washed. if we put it out..it will be peed, pooped or puked on and if it manages to escape all three, there will be a ton of hair stuck to it that has to be washed off.

the goal is to get both the house and the mp building down to ONLY 2 normal sized loads each, every day. and leaving wet or dirty stuff behind to reach that goal is not an option either. I want the beds they have to be clean..they just do not need us to be stupid and ridiculous with over providing what they actually need.

hopefully careful restraint will save the septic field..if not, we are totally, completely and big time, royally screwed...we just do not have that kind of money available to us for upgrading septic use.

Comments

Toni

Thank-you so much for the tour today. I wish there were more places like SAINTS and people like you, your staff, and volunteers out there.

Bridget

shame you could't get one of those washers that companies use.... or lease one.

Liz

oh rats, you have it all covered! Of course. Guess just subtle little ways are needed to massage an elderly system to keep it happy. Like the critters of SAINTS!

Bridget

it's a shame you can't drain the water from the washer to something other than the septic bed.

in the summer, we used to drain the water from our washer to water the plants. we did this when we had our old dogs, and our nan, too, when laundry was a constant issue.

where it WOULD be diverted to would be an issue- you don't want soapy grey water draining into your pond if the dogs frolic in it.

shame there aren't some good thirsty trees to feed. or are there?
there is the issue of bleach, too.
i don't suppose you could use oxyclean?

Carol

yes I put that bacterial fixer stuff down the toilet regularly.

we have karunda beds but everyone puts down incontinent pads on the vinyl (???..the vinyl is water proof so I never really understood this!) and then fleeces down on top of the incontinent pads...apparently we like multiple layers here.

we had top of the line german front loaders..we wrecked them in the first year so I started getting cheapo replacements...they last just as long and are half of the cost.

Cathy Thomas

Our old SPCA building had problems with drainage. We ended up going to Kuranda beds. They aren't cheap. I have one for my old girl and she loves it. You likely already have some but you may wish to purchase some more. I would be willing to donate towards a couple for you.

Liz

I am sure you have front loading washers? They do use a great deal less water. We are on a septic system and that change has been significantly helpful, and we have always "fed" our septic tank.

Maggie

I have a septic field and once a week flush a enzyme product down the toilet which is loaded with the bacteria needed in the tank.
My neighbour just throws a handful of soil into the toilet which does the same thing.
Brent is correct re the bleach, which kills off the bacteria. No bacteria, problem septic field.

Brent

Hi carol,
Just read your blog about the septic and the wooping $30,000 pricetag (ouch) for a new field. My background and training is in carpentry/cabinetmaking and military engineering, so NO I am not a plumber but I did grow up with a septic field at my parents. My question is? Are we using any additives in the field/tank to build up the bacteria and break "stuff" down. Are the cost of additives just an expense that can not be avoided? and apart from the amount of water being flushed thru the system is the amount of bleachs/cleaners not also a huge factor as it kills the bacteria you must have/need in the system. I am just trying to understand the full picture on this problem and wondering what else can be done, no matter how little it might seem.