I figured since this is a animal/pet community an animal theme would be most appropriate, but if anybody has any other suggestions feel free to comment and let me know! This is for our new default theme, not just seasonal. :)

Hi guys, I'm so sorry its been so long without an update! Between school and work I essentially forgot about the community haha. *worst mod ever*

But anyway, I do have a few hours free today, so I'm going to work on prettifying the layout and working on a new users guideline post for introducing pets like I had discussed in the past! :) If anybody else has any suggestions for what they'd like to see feel free to let me know, and for everybody still here, thanks so much for sticking around~

I decided to do some revising of the community rules, and since I got positive feedback about having a central theme to the community I changed the profile to reflect as such. Posts about any and all kinds of animals are still allowed, but I'll be trying to focus on small animals from here on out.

I'd definitely recommend members reading over the new rules and letting me know what you think. :D I don't want them to be overwhelming or too constricting, and really the posting of shock imagery or deliberate animal abuse is the only one I can think of that would require an immediate banning. Most other things I feel are just common sense and only need the guidelines so I can act appropriately if I see rude behavior.

Let me know if there's anything else you feel could be essential or written better though please! Currently the only other idea I have is maybe setting up a guideline for people to do introductory posts about their pets when they become members here. It would be optional of course, but perhaps it could provide encouragement for people to be active and get to know each other (and our pets) better. =u=

Sorry I didn't make a post sooner, just been a little busy with finals and whatnot. Things should be calming down after this upcoming week and I can start being a lot more active here.

In short though I do have some new ideas for the community, and wanted to bounce them off of you guys to see if anybody had an opinion about it. I do want to start having themed weekly posts for different things, and want to keep the community open to posts about all animals, but I'm thinking of giving it a main theme of small/pocket pets. The name critter_country seems to fit well with this, but if you all are watching because of its really open theme I don't want to lose the interest of current members. I personally own rats and chinchillas, so you'd be seeing a lot more of them if this was to happen, and I'd try to get in touch with some large rat tumblrs I watch to get some more members here etc~

There will also be a revision of the community rules just to make them shorter and clean up the page.

Would anybody have any objections to this, or any other ideas to try and liven up the place a bit? I'm definitely open to any C&C. :)

Axel doing what he does best, lazing around and sleeping haha.

And start posting here more myself haha. Hi everybody!

I figure I can do a few introductory posts about all my pets to both liven things up here and personally be more active while I try to help get more attention to the community. Since I have 8 I think that would be too much for one post, so I'll spread them out over a few different posts every few days. n_n For those curious, I have 2 dogs, 2 cats (1 of which belongs to my boyfriend Eric), 2 rats, and 2 chinchillas.

Today I'd like to introduce Axel (left) and Bella (right)! Axel is roughly 3 years old, and Bella is around 4.



( Sleepy cuteness under the cut~Collapse )

A huge thank you goes out to guineapigpeanut for sharing Lily's story.

Lily got to see a vet today and has had an exam, bloodwork and x-rays. She's been vaccinated and tested negative for FLV. All good things. Despite her injured leg, she is a healthy and incredibly friendly kitten. My sister said the vet had a hard time hearing her heartbeat because she was purring so loudly.

Now, here's the crazy part.

If you get angry easily, you better sit down for this.

The problem with her leg?

She was shot. Her tiny leg is full of shrapnel from the elbow joint down. It's likely she'll have to have it amputated.

I have no words. A kitten. SHOT.

She will have a consultation with an orthopedic surgeons soon to see what, if anything, can be done for her leg. The current estimate for surgery is $1500. That is just the surgery and does not include today's exam and tests or having her spayed, which sounds like it will have to be after her leg has healed.

In defiance of the completely heartless idiot did this to her, we will do our best to put this right. My sister and her husband are keeping Lily. She has a good home, now we just need to help her get the care she needs. I have pledged to help my sister and her hubby in any way I can so we can help Lily get better and have a healthier, happier life. Altogether, her fees look to be in the $2000 range. She is young, and other than her injury, she is healthy, and she is undeniably a people cat and is already responding well to the love and care she's receiving.

To every single person that has already donated to help Lily, I thank you and my sister sends her thanks. I can't even begin to express in words how much your generosity means to us. We've already raised $140 towards Lily's care, and that is in less than 24 hours. YOU ALL ROCK.

If you're just now finding this story and want to hear the beginning OR make a donation, you can click here for more information.


I'd like to come up with some other ways to help Lily. If you have a suggestion of something that we can do, please let me know.