to - Healthcare for Homeless Animals

WINTER 2014
Healthcare for Homeless Animals
Formerly Malibu Pet Companions
Funding Medical Care for Homeless Animals
at the Agoura Animal Shelter
A Special Message from the President
Autumn is traditionally a season of change and transition. It’s nature’s
‘last hoorah’ before retiring into winter. It’s also a time to recount our
blessings and take stock of our year. I want to take this moment to thank
Robin Kahrs. Robin has been our President for the past seven years and
her contributions to HHA and the Agoura Shelter are enormous. When she
became President, Malibu Pet Companions (now HHA) was a tiny grassroots organization. She was on call virtually 24/7 and made MPC/HHA her
life. Under her leadership, we have grown into an organization known
throughout Malibu and the Conejo Valley as a lifeline within the Agoura
Shelter. This has helped our shelter achieve phenomenal adoption statistics in LA County, including the highest rate of senior adoptions! While we
all know that it truly takes a village, Robin has been an exceptional leader
for us all. We are so sad to announce her retirement this year, but happy
that she and her husband, Ken, will have more time to spend with their
family and darling grandchildren. We are truly grateful and hope to carry
on the mission she started for many years to come. We are also grateful
that Robin will continue to volunteer with us from her new home in the
desert. Thank you Robin, from the bottom of our hearts. As I take over as president, I look forward to continuing to serve our
community by supporting the medical needs at the Agoura Shelter and
working with their amazing staff and volunteers.
My warmest holiday wishes and deepest gratitude,
Jenn Commander
It has been my good fortune to serve as president of this amazing organization for the last seven years. I will greatly miss the day-to-day joy of
assuring animals in need of medical care are funded, brought to good
health, and adopted into loving families. My best to Jenn as the incoming
President. I have every confidence she will do a wonderful job bringing
HHA continued great success working with the rest of the HHA board
Tim, Irene, Jan, Tamy, and Angie.
Warm wishes,
Robin Kahrs
We are pleased to announce
Healthcare for Homeless
Animals is the recipient
of a very generous $1000
grant from the Build-ABear Workshop Bear Hugs
Foundation!
The mission of the Build-A-Bear
Workshop Bear Hugs Foundation is to make life more
bearable for children, families
and pets in need. Build-A-Bear
Workshop Bear Hugs Foundation makes grants to qualified
non-profit organizations (either
501(c)(3) organizations or
registered Canadian charities)
that support the health and
wellness of children and families, the care and welfare
of animals and the promotion
of literacy and education.
We thank the Build-A-Bear
Workshop Foundation for
their support of HHA’s mission to fund medical care
for homeless pets at the
Agoura Animal Shelter.
HEALTHCARE FOR HOMELESS ANIMALS
WINTER 2014
Butch . . . Recently Adopted!
Meet Butch (A4443529) who is 2 years old!
Butch was treated for giardia. The treatment
was funded by HHA. Butch is fully recovered
now and recently adopted by humans that have
a very similar hair color . . . seems a match made
in hair heaven!
Ralphs Community Contribution benefits
Healthcare for Homeless Animals!
Go to www.ralphs.com
and be sure to have your Ralphs
Rewards card handy. Click on
Community Rewards and enroll
using our ID number 94307. Follow the easy instructions to
register to support HHA! Don’t have a computer or email?
No worries…call us at 818-483-4228, leave your address,
and we will send you a scanbar letter from Ralphs which will
allow a percentage of your purchases to be donated to HHA!
Canine Classic:
Thank you to Rotary Club of Calabasas for their donation of
$500 to HHA from the annual Canine Classic event. Held at
the Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center, this fun event
included activities for kids, a dog walk and vendors galore!
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Did you know your donation to
Healthcare for Homeless Animals
is tax deductible? We are an IRS approved 501(c)(3). As an all-volunteer
run organization, more than 98%
of donations go directly to funding
medical care for homeless animals
residing at the Agoura Animal Shelter. Brought to good health, these
animals are then adopted into loving homes. Thanks to your generous
support, which allows us to continue
our mission, animals with treatable
conditions are no longer considered for euthanasia. This results in
the Agoura Animal Shelter having
low euthanasia and high adoption
numbers, including the highest
adoption numbers for seniors due
to our Forever Young Wellness
Exam program. To read more about
Healthcare for Homeless Animal’s
Forever Young program please see
page 3 of this newsletter. And thank
you for your continued support of
HHA and homeless animals in need
of medical care!
HEALTHCARE FOR HOMELESS ANIMALS
WINTER 2014
“Forever Young” Program Supports Senior Animals
Founded in loving memory of Matthew Young, beloved son of former
Agoura Animal Shelter volunteers Karla and Thor Halseth, the Forever
Young program is dedicated to funding medical care for senior animals.
Matthew spent most of his growing years helping his mom, Karla,
and his stepdad, Thor, with the many animals that were blessed to
spend time in the Halseth home. His family fostered and adopted
many of the Agoura Animal Shelter’s oldest and most medically needy
animals. Matthew valued animals of all ages – and each and every one,
no matter their age, thrived with his tender loving care.
The Forever Young program provides funds for medical care for senior
animals to afford them a second chance at finding a forever home. The
medical care might be as simple as a Senior Wellness exam to determine an animal’s current
health situation, or something more involved such as a dental cleaning,
or a more challenging condition that requires surgery and prescription
medications. Whatever these precious seniors need, Forever Young will
assure them funding for their care to encourage an adopter to take
a chance on a senior pet.
Forever Young is a lasting tribute to a young man who gave unconditional love to many animals during his life. Please consider donating
to Forever Young...your donation will help a precious senior begin the
journey towards adoption, and will honor Matthew’s lifetime devotion
to the care of the homeless senior animals he cherished.
They Love Lucy!
We featured Shasta in our Spring 2014 newsletter when we were
still looking for a home for her. Shasta, a former humane case,
arrived at the shelter having lost one eye and was found to be
blind in the remaining eye after an exam funded by HHA.
(To read more about Shasta, please visit our website
www.healthcareforhomelessanimals.org and click on newsletters).
Just as we were going to press, Lucy, as she is now known, was
adopted by a Special Education teacher who was specifically looking
for a special needs dog (see pictures at right and below of Lucy with
her new mom and dad).
Lucy, is having a wonderful life with humans that adore her.
She goes with her Mom and Dad everywhere (hikes, the
beach, sightseeing) and even plays fetch on a hard surface
where she can hear the ball on the ground. We could not
have asked for a happier ending for this sweet special
needs pittie mix girl!
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HEALTHCARE FOR HOMELESS ANIMALS
WINTER 2014
Kids helping HHA!
6th grader fundraises once again for HHA!
Grace Berry who is in the 6th grade has been fundraising for Healthcare for
Homeless Animals for a few years. She and her family hold a garage sale each
year which Grace organizes with the help of her family. They also have several other smaller fundraisers, but the biggest one is the garage sale. Heather,
Grace’s Mom, tells us “Every year in September, the Saturday after Labor Day,
our neighborhood has a huge annual garage sale. We have 400-500 families
that participate. A few years ago, my husband made Grace a big HHA poster
and we got a bunch of pamphlets and we talked about HHA to everyone who
came over to support the garage sale. Also, I contacted Kong and a bunch of
other pet supply companies and got donations from all of them. Grace put
together baskets and we raffled them off, earning an extra $100 for HHA!”
Grace with HHA Board member
Heather goes on to say “When Grace was 6 years old, she decided she
Tamy who happily accepted
wanted to raise money for animals in need.” Grace says, “I save my money, Grace’s donation of $314 for HHA!
maybe $20, I’ll buy some cans of food and Mom will match it and then we
go out during Christmas time and give it to the dogs of homeless people. We keep cans of food in our car
and when we are driving around and see homeless people and their dogs, we give them cans of food.”
Heather adds, “Even if the homeless folks have food stamps, they can buy food for themselves but not for
their pets. We purchase cans of dog food and we help by handing out dog food. So we started doing this
and other people Grace knows started doing it, following her lead.”
Grace tells us “I decided to help HHA because I’ve always loved animals and I think how I would feel if it
was my dog.” Heather continues, “And we drive all the way from Oxnard because we really like what HHA
does for the animals at the Agoura Animal Shelter. We think it is really sweet that you take animals that
other people might think to discard or are homeless, and rehab them completely on a volunteer basis
and bring them back to good health to find them homes.” Grace is really committed to helping HHA…
she even asks for donations to HHA in lieu of birthday gifts!
The Board of HHA and all the HHA animals thank Grace for her extraordinary fundraising efforts and
applaud her and her family for their generosity!
Mitzvah Project Benefits HHA
After visiting the Agoura Animal Shelter, Morgan Wank felt really sad about
all the animals waiting for their forever homes and knew she needed to
help. So as part of her mitzvah, “good deed” project, this very special young
lady set out to do something special to help animals get adopted.
As luck would have it, HHA board member Irene Faust knew that Pacific
Coast Pets in Malibu often gets requests from customers asking about pet
adoptions. Knowing Morgan was looking for a project, she quickly put the
two together and a match was made in heaven.
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HEALTHCARE FOR HOMELESS ANIMALS
WINTER 2014
Morgan put her artistic skills to work and created beautiful attention-getting posters featuring HHA pets
available for adoption. Her posters are now up in the window at Pacific Coast Pets for all customers to see.
Morgan has two dogs at home, Rocky, a Bichon rescue, and Star, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel. She wishes
she could have more since there are so many homeless animals. She is excited about helping dogs find
their forever homes and the love they deserve. This delightful young lady plans to continue to help in any
way she can!
Thank you, Morgan, on behalf of HHA and all the homeless animals you help get adopted!
A Father/Son Fantasy NBA Draft
benefits HHA Animals!
Matthew, 10 years old, and his dad, Lou, organize a Fantasy NBA
Draft each year with family and friends as a father/son project.
This year Matthew mentioned to his dad as he petted their rescue
dog that he’d like to do something that would also help animals.
Lou, having been to fundraisers for Healthcare for Homeless
Animals in the past, suggested they turn their Fantasy NBA Draft
into a benefit for HHA and Matthew excitedly agreed! Instead
of buying prizes, they decided to donate all funds to HHA and
this year the total was $650! Lou grew up with a mom who was
always rescuing creatures in need and he has passed his love of
adopting and helping rescue animals on to his children.
The HHA Board and HHA animals give a high five
to Matthew and his dad for their thoughtfulness
and generosity! SWISH!
Lou and Matthew with our Luke
who had an HHA funded Forever
Young Senior Wellness Exam and
care for a severe ear infection.
Nino (A4746786) came to the Agoura Animal Shelter
when it was determined his family was allergic to him.
The sad part about this story is that Nino is 18 years old!
Despite his advanced age, Nino is in good health per his
Forever Young Senior Exam funded by HHA shortly after
he arrived at the shelter. Nino is a sweet senior kitty who
is good with kids and good with other cats, and would
love to find his forever family so he can be home for the
holidays! Please call 818-483-4228 for more information on Nino.
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HEALTHCARE FOR HOMELESS ANIMALS
WINTER 2014
Sweet Labbie Mix is Missing his Lifelong Friend . . .
Six year old Luke (A4759965) and 8 year old Cliff, beautiful lab
mixes, ended up at the shelter when their owner passed away. Just
recently, Cliff unexpectedly passed away, leaving Luke without his
friend. Luke looked to Cliff for guidance, and was a great comfort to
Cliff while the two were in the shelter together. Luke is a bit shy and
will almost certainly be lost without his dear buddy. Luke has had
his Forever Young Senior Wellness Exam which revealed severely infected ears for which he has been treated; otherwise, he is in good
health. Volunteers are brokenhearted over the loss of Cliff and will
be giving Luke extra TLC over the next few weeks. UPDATE: As we
go to press, Luke has found his forever home!!!
A miracle ending for this bonded pair
thanks to PetSmart and loving
Agoura Animal Shelter volunteers!
Eleven year old Michael (left) and 6 year old Coco (right)
arrived at the shelter when their owner passed away.
Michael was taken to Malibu Coast Animal Hospital for
his Forever Young Senior Wellness Exam, and he was
found to be FIV positive. Though very healthy otherwise,
Michael and Coco continued to be overlooked for adoption. Michael had three strikes against him…his age, his
diagnosis (FIV can be contagious to other cats), and his love bond with Coco (who
remains FIV negative). Volunteers were desperate to keep them together and as the months dragged
on, volunteers hoped for a miracle. The first miracle came in the form of an offer from PetSmart to begin
showing shelter cats at the Westlake Village store. Volunteers Sue, Cathy and Joyce jumped in to make
it happen, and with approval from the shelter manager and PetSmart manager Todd, Michael and Coco
joined some other kitties at the PetSmart store for their first event.
The second miracle came in the form of a kindly doctor who saw the cats at PetSmart and decided to
adopt them. When she arrived at the shelter to complete the adoption paperwork, she was called for a
medical emergency and had to leave before the adoption could be completed.
Manager Todd and the staff at PetSmart were determined that this lovely pair should find a home so
they extended their PetSmart stay. Miracle 3? The kindly doctor returned to the store a few weeks later
and seeing that Michael and Coco were still there, adopted them immediately! It took a team and a
determined adopter to achieve this purrfectly happy ending for Michael and Coco! The HHA board
thanks PetSmart and the cat volunteer team for never giving up on this bonded pair!
Looking to adopt and create another miracle for homeless kitties? Please stop by PetSmart at 5766 Lindero
Canyon Rd in Westlake Village today! PetSmart is open 7 days a week staff and volunteers are available to
introduce you to the love of your life.
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HEALTHCARE FOR HOMELESS ANIMALS
WINTER 2014
Holiday ReTail benefits HHA! Saturday December 13th
Get your paws on the purrfect goodies at the Holiday Gift Boutique benefitting HHA.
Make no bones about it, you’ll find pawsitively the right gifts for all the animal lovers on your list,
including:
One-of-a-kind cards featuring our very own shelter animals
Beautifully handcrafted art fashioned from reclaimed wood
by our own Agoura Animal Shelter Volunteer Larry
Gorgeous Jewelry designed by Bernadette Cairins, as well
as scarves and scented candles
Adorable pet themed miniature Christmas trees, pet
ornaments, and other animal themed items by
Arlene Reich
Darling baby and home items by Ashley of Home
*Marriage*Lil Ones
Dog and cat items galore including collars, toys, ceramic
bowls, treat jars, clothing and stockings!
Prices are affordable and proceeds from the sales will go to
HHA to support their mission of funding medical care for
homeless pets at the Agoura Animal Shelter
This is one Tail of a Holiday Sale you won’t
want to miss.
Avoid a real CATastrophe this holiday season: Shop
from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday December
13th at the Agoura Animal Shelter! The Shelter is
located at 29525 Agoura Road in Agoura Hills.
Rain or Shine!
Happy Shopping!
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Healthcare for Homeless Animals
PO Box 7401
Thousand Oaks, CA 91359-7401
If would you like to add an animal lover to our pack or if you prefer
to receive an eNewsletter, please send the name, address and
email address to: [email protected]
How much difference can your gift make?
People often ask if small donations really make a difference. The answer is a resounding
“Yes!” They make a tremendous difference! Your donation, big or small, helps us provide
prescription medications, surgeries (including spaying/neutering), diagnostic testing
and special foods for shelter pets in need.
Other Ways to Give or Help:
• Join I-Give and Conejo Deals and designate Healthcare
for Homeless Animals as your charity of choice.
• Honor a special friend, a special pet or a special occasion
with a Tribute or Memorial Gift to HHA. Acknowledgment
will be sent and, if you wish, the amount can remain
confidential.
• Consider including HHA in your trust or will.
• Consider a monthly contribution to HHA through payroll
deduction.
• Ask if your employer matches donations when you donate.
• Consider keeping an HHA piggy bank on your counter.
You’ll be amazed at how quickly your loose change adds up!
healthcarefor
homelessanimals.org
2015 MPC Board of Directors:
President: Jennifer Commander
2nd VP: Tim Ellis
Treasurer: Angie Garfinkel
Associate Treasurer: Tamy Rieder
Secretary: Irene Faust
Associate Secretary: Jan Halter
Founding Advisory Board Member:
Dr. Dean Graulich
Founding Honorary Board Members:
Mignonne Alman
Jack Alman
Sherman Baylin
Honorary Board Members:
Barbara Applebaum
Maureen Kennedy
Karla Halseth
Robin Kahrs
Lois Koch
Joyce Martin
Susan Mutch
Deanna Silberberg
Pattie Tracy
Christina Villagrana
Trina Watton