Pet Dish for April 27, 2010

In this issue:

• A few days from an incredible day for animals
• Your chance to win an iPad
• From homeless to loved
• Volunteers make a difference at Animal Humane Society
• Swift rabbits, shark songs and air-conditioned squirrels
• Don’t forget to send us your training questions
• More Treats
• Scratching Posts

A few days from an incredible day for animals

Be Kind to Animals Week is May 2–8. Many of you have shown incredible kindness to animals by raising funds for Animal Humane Society’s 36^th annual Walk for Animals held this Saturday, May 1. All of us at Animal Humane Society are incredibly appreciative of your hard work and can’t wait to celebrate your achievements for animals on Saturday.

It’s not too late to join us. There is still time for you to be a part of the celebration. Set up your own personal Walk page—it’s simple and takes very little time to raise a few funds. And this year, your efforts could put a new iPad in your hands!

From homeless to loved
The story of Biscuit

The streets can be a sad, lonely place for dogs, cats, puppies and kittens without homes. Hunger gnaws at empty bellies. No soothing voice or gentle hand offers comfort. Fear becomes a way of life. Fortunately, with help from friends like you, Animal Humane Society offers a safe haven and medical care for homeless animals.

But what these animals really need is a loving home they can call their own.

Biscuit is a yellow lab puppy that was found running down Highway 55.  She had multiple abrasions and sores probably caused by minor traumas and also a few serious infections.  With medical treatment and loving care, she recovered fully and was adopted by her new caring family.

You’ve been such a wonderful friend to the Animal Humane Society.  Could you find it in your heart to give a gift today to help animals like Biscuit find loving homes?

Your kind gift will help provide shelter, love and medical care while they wait — and will even support spaying and neutering to reduce the number of unwanted cats and dogs.

Are you looking to help homeless vulnerable animals like Biscuit? Consider making a donation at www.animalhumanesociety.org/loved. You will provide shelter and medical care while they wait — and will even support spaying and neutering to reduce the number of unwanted cats and dogs.

Volunteers make a difference at Animal Humane Society

Last year, 1,676 volunteers contributed more than 165,000 hours to the work of Animal Humane Society. That's a lot of people power! On the heels of National Volunteer Appreciation Week, we'd like to recognize a few of our very special volunteers whose hard work and dedication contribute to the well-being of our animals and the success of our mission.

With five sites around the Twin Cities, volunteers are able to select the location that works best for them. Some even help out at more than one location. Martin Husby volunteers at Buffalo and Coon Rapids where his main role is socializing with the cats. When Martin retired, he wanted to find a place where he could spend time helping animals. Animal Humane Society was an easy choice because, as Martin says, "these animals really need attention while they are here so I like to spend time with them until they find homes."

With thousands of animals coming through our doors each year, you can imagine the dirty dishes and laundry that pile up! Thankfully, volunteers like Tom Miller make sure the animals always have clean bowls and bedding. Tom does laundry and dishes at St. Paul where the washing machine occasionally breaks down. But that doesn't stop him; he just takes it home to wash! The staff love him, and that feeling is mutual - Tom says his favorite part of volunteering at Animal Humane Society is "the people; they are really good, hardworking people."

Everyone has their own reason for volunteering at Animal Humane Society. For Leslie Dodd, it's a nice change of pace from her regular job. She works with people and computers all day, so working with animals is a whole different world for her. Leslie walks the dogs and socializes with the cats at Coon Rapids. She likes spending her free time at Animal Humane Society because she knows how crucial volunteers are to the organization's success and to the animals. "I like helping and supporting animals at a critical time in their lives when they need love and support the most," says Leslie.

We'd like to thank all of our wonderful volunteers for their commitment to Animal Humane Society. We could not do all that we do without them.

Click here if you are interested in volunteering at Animal Humane Society. You will find information about the requirements and steps to take to become a volunteer.

Swift rabbits, shark songs and air-conditioned squirrels

All eyes are on Alice the lop-eared rabbit as she swiftly obeys each of her handler's commands, "Jump, jump, teeter." Children from Animal Humane Society's Unleashed Camp cheer Alice on as she effortlessly clears the high jumps, dives through a tire swing and glides over a teeter totter. As she finishes the obstacle course, the kids erupt in applause. Afterwards, while petting and holding the rabbits, the group asks questions about how to care for rabbits and how they learn the commands.

Ten- year-old Rachel Peterson was excited that today's program included the rabbits because she wanted to see how fast they could finish the agility course. "I like rabbits because they're smart and fun and don't take up a lot of space," says camper Rachel Peterson.

The rabbit program was just one of a flurry of interactive activities these busy campers experienced on this day. Rachel and a couple dozen other children played games, learned about domestic and wild animals, learned a fun song about sharks and interacted with a variety of pets.

In the morning, the group broke into teams for a competition similar to Jeopardy with all animal-related questions. "I learned some facts about some animals I never knew, like a squirrel has a built-in air conditioning system. Their tail helps them stay cool," says 11-year-old camper Kalley Carlson. "I'm one of those people who likes animals a lot and since the Animal Humane Society is all about animals, I wanted to see what it's all about.

The Unleashed Summer Camp is a week-long program for children going into grades 3-12. The program is offered at all Animal Humane Society locations. It's been going on at the Golden Valley location for almost 30 years.

"It changes every year. We have kids that come back year after year because it's never the same experience," says AHS Education Manager Tammy Noack. "It's a fun, alternative camp program. A lot of kids get a kick out of it because they learn about a variety of animals. We hope they come away from it having learned about what it takes to be a responsible owner."

In addition to time with the shelter animals, the campers also go on field trips, listen to guest speakers and create service projects that help animals.

The kids rave about all the different activities, but they especially cherish their time with the animals. "Yesterday we took the dogs out on the run. I don't have a dog but I love dogs so this was a chance to play with them and work with them," Rachel says. "I just learned a lot about animals and it was in a fun way. I definitely would attend it again. Anyone who likes animals would like this camp," Kalley says.

Don’t forget to send us your training questions

Is your pet itching to add a few tricks to his repertoire? Do you have questions about your pet’s behavior and what you can do to help her be a better family pet? In each upcoming issue of Pet Dish, Animal Humane Society Training School Manager Paula Zukoff will provide video answers to your questions—whether it is about your dog, cat, guinea pig, or rabbit. Let us know your training question by emailing petdishideas@animalhumanesociety.org.

AHS’s Golden Valley boarding facility is now called Animal House!

Do your dogs love to party? Bring them to AHS’s Yappy Hour!

Gelding Project offers free horse castration clinic for Minnesota horses

Comfort felines by donating Stretch and Scratch kennel scratchers to AHS

Wildlife in need of assistance? Call the AHS Wildlife Team for assistance

Spread the word when your pet goes missing with the AHS Online Lost & Found Bulletin Board

Learn how buying stamps can help feed 1 million shelter animals (Buy the stamps at the Walk for Animals!)

 

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