Spring/Summer 2016 Newsletter - PDF file

Newsletter of the North County Humane Society of San Luis Obispo County Spring/Summer 2016
Tails from AFAR
Action for Animals’ Rights | 805-466-5403 | 2300 Ramona Road, Atascadero, CA 93422
www.slonchs.org | Find us on Facebook: Search for “North County Humane Society”
Gumdrop:
Sweet as can be
Gumdrop is a fluffy, longhaired black male cat who
recently arrived at North
County Humane Society.
He really is a handsome
cat with very soft fur and
spectacular golden eyes. He
is a little over a year old, and
he was raised inside since
he was a kitten. His owner
recently lost her home and
could not take him along
when she moved.
Gumdrop is a little shy
at NCHS, as he is not used
to being around so many
other cats. But he is friendly,
enjoys being held and will
be more relaxed at a new
home.
His previous owner says
he is good around dogs.
Gumdrop has been neutered, vaccinated and microchipped, and he is ready to
join his new family today.
Are you the special
person or family to
give this handsome and
“purrsonable” cat a new
home?
Photos by Tom Lott
KITTEN
SEASON!
Spring has sprung at the NCHS adoption center
Though the remodel on the
kitten building is running late,
the kittens are right on time!
We already have a wonderful
bouquet of spring time colors.
In fact, it’s a
fashionable
array of felines: assorted
oranges, yellows, creams,
shades of gray,
light tans to
dark Havana
brown. And of course, the color
for every season: elegant black!
In 2015, we were able to find the
purr-fect homes for 287 adorable
kittens, and we hope to do even
more this season! Before a beautiful kitten can brighten up a new
adopters’ home,
they are spayed
or neutered,
microchipped,
treated for fleas,
ear mites, and
worms, tested for
FELV, FIV and
heartworm.
Kittens also receive their first
vaccine at 8 weeks and return
one month later for their second.
The adoption fee for any kitten
under 6 months is $100, which
also includes a free cardboard
kitty carrier.
We invite you to come and
shop until you drop into a chair
built for two — just you and a
couple of kittens, who will be
just right for you!
North County
Humane Society
Shelter hours: Tuesday
through Saturday from 10 a.m.
to 4:30 p.m. On Wednesdays,
the shelter is open until 6 p.m.
Location: 2300 Ramona
Road, Atascadero, CA
Directions: Take the Del
Rio Road exit off Highway 101.
Board of Directors
President: Martha Pedersen
Vice President: Jan Lynch
Secretary: Terry Miron
Treasurer: Kitty Ressler
Directors: Denise Milardo,
Brenda Tiersma
Have questions?
Call 805-466-5403, email
[email protected],
or visit www.slonchs.org.
NCHS Staff
Shelter Manager:
Sherry Chapman
Donor Development Officer:
Hannah Lowe
Lead Cat Care Technician:
Rachelle Hiser
Senior Cat Technician:
Victoria Moore
Cat Care Technicians:
Brandi Blair and Taryn Visser
Newsletter team: Sherry
Chapman, Tom Lott, Jennifer
Robillard, Hannah Lowe
Photographer: Tom Lott
Adoptions prices
Kittens: $100
Adults: $90
Microchipping
NCHS offers microchipping for
$15. Microchipping is available
on a walk-in basis during the
shelter’s operating hours.
Sign up for the
E-newsletter!
Help us help more cats! Sign up
for our e-newsletter by visiting www.slonchs.org. Instead
of buying stamps, we could be
buying food and toys for all our
kitties. You’ll see all the same
content and cute cat pictures, just
without the paper or postage.
Spay Day
makes a
difference
Spay Day 2016 was Feb. 28 at two local veterinary
clinics: El Camino Veterinary Hospital in Atascadero
and North County Animal Hospital in Paso Robles. Staff and volunteers from the North County Humane Society assisted at both locations. Overall, 120
cats were spayed or neutered in one day.
World Spay Day is held every year in February. In
the North County, local veterinarians provide low- or
no-cost spay/neuter surgery for pets with owners as
well as feral cats that have been trapped. Veterinarians, technicians and shelter staff volunteer their time
to make this day possible. The event was coordinated
by North County Paws Cause, which arranged dozens of volunteers to assist at the clinics.
NCHS staff who participated included Sherry Chapman, Ronny Cyr, Rachelle Hiser and Brandi
Blair. NCHS Board of Directors members Martha
Pedersen and Terry Miron helped check cats in and
out at the clinics. Other NCHS volunteers helped
with check-in and cage management, monitoring cats
after surgery in the recovery room, and capturing the
event in photos.
Under construction: Intake building
gets a much-needed facelift
El Niño proved
to be too much for
the NCHS intake
building. Several
heavy rainstorms
this winter flooded
part of the building, requiring the
staff to “wo-man
the pumps.” The
building, originally a
garage, is a temporary home to adoptable kittens
and permanent home to FIV/
FELV cats in the isolation section.
Fortunately, no cats got their paws
wet in the flooding.
Plans were developed to
dramatically improve the drainage around the building, and to
re-floor, re-paint and add new
cabinets and furniture to the old
building to make it more habitable for the cats, more functional
for the staff, and more attractive
to kitten room visitors.
The project is nearly complete.
The “iso cats” were moved
temporarily — much to their
displeasure — but are now back
in their remodeled room, and the
kitten room is being prepared for
its new inhabitants.
This project was made possible
thanks to a generous donation
from Randy and Sally Knight, a
grant from the Harold J. Miossi
Charitable Trust, and donations
by many of our loyal NCHS cat
supporters.
Local businesses that
treat NCHS like family
We simply could not operate NCHS
year after year without the wonderful
support from our local businesses.
•V
eterinary Medical Center
• Atascadero Pet Hospital and
Emergency Center
• El Camino Veterinary Hospital
• Hart Impressions Printing
• Atascadero Grocery Outlet
• Galaxy Theatres
• U-Haul in Atascadero
• Pavilion on the Lake in
Atascadero
• Kelly’s Casuals in Atascadero
• Ed’s Commercial Appliance
• Heritage Oaks Bank in
Templeton and Atascadero
• Idler’s Home
• Bell’s Plumbing
• Atascadero Hay & Feed
• Kmart in Atascadero
• Mid-State Cruizers Car Club
• Sunset Honda in SLO
• Vons
• Walmart
• Paso Bowl
• Lemos Feed & Pet Supply
• Central Coast wineries
• Short and Sweet Dog Rescue
• Bay Laurel Nursery
• Sherwood Dog Park in Paso
Robles
• Vineyard Dog Park in Templeton
Hot dog! ‘Buck a Chip’ microchips
We microchipped 169 animals in the first
month, and about 75 percent were dogs. Most
owners brought in multiple animals, whether
cats or dogs. The pace has slowed down, but
we continue to have several animals brought in
each day for microchips.
Through mid-April, we have registered 334
microchips or about 100 per month on average, and we have about 66 remaining from our
original grant funding.
Clearly, this program has been well accepted
in the pet-loving community.
NCHS started offering $1 microchips at the
beginning of January. This discount service is
possible thanks to a generous grant from the
Harold J. Miossi Charitable Trust.
The new year started off with a rush as many
pet owners took advantage of this great deal.
The first week in January was almost nonstop
microchips, with a few pet owners bringing in
as many as seven animals at one time.
The NCHS staff worked extra hard to accommodate all the cats and dogs, large and
small, and to get their other chores done, as
well.
MEMORIALS
To donate in memory or in honor of a person or a pet,
call the shelter at 805-466-5403.
• Cheryl Miller, from Gary and
Nancy Heidrich: In memory of
Ann Boyce
• Nancy Tweedie: In memory of
Lillian Wills
• Nancy Tweedie: In memory of
Arlene Soto
• Sandra Rakestraw: In memory of
Daniel Nagle
• Mary Rafa to Kathy Howell: In
memory of Judu, “a very special
boy”
• Sam Yelinek in memory of John
Spanabel
•D
ulcie Taylor and George Williams:
In honor of Dwain and Carole
Morton
•D
ulcie Taylor and George Williams
to Steve Morton: In honor of
Brindle
•B
etsy M Beatty: In memory of
Marilyn Stein, a great social
worker and fun co-worker
•P
enny Coombs: in memory of cat
Samantha, aged 19
• Priscilla Herzog: In memory of
younger brother
• Mary and Anne Woods: In honor of
Marilyn Stein
• Kate and Steve Klein (memorial
plaque from S. Rakestraw)
• Gabrielle Hubbard: In memory of
Elizabeth Koel-Liken
• Sharon Klintworth and Sherry
Chapman: For Bogey
North County humane society adoption Center
Mission statement the NCHS vision
Our mission is to reduce pet overpopulation and to promote responsible
pet ownership through spay/neuter;
feral cat trap/spay-neuter/return;
provide shelter, care and socialization
opportunities for domestic cats awaiting permanent homes; and advocate for
the welfare and humane treatment of
all animals through education efforts in
our communities.
www.slonchs.org
North County Humane Society
Our vision is to live in a world where
all animals receive compassion, respect
and humane treatment from all people.
Spring/Summer 2016
North County
Humane Society
2300 Ramona Road
Atascadero, CA 93422
Nonprofit Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Paso Robles, CA 93446
Permit No. 163
A purrfect place
to volunteer
Have time on Caturdays?
The shelter is always
looking for feline-loving
volunteers to help with its
mission (any day of the
week!). Call us at 4665403 if you can help with:
• Donation jar pickups
• Adoption events
• Grant writing
• Event committees
• Auction solicitations
• Cat socialization at the
shelter
Can I go home with you?
Snowball
will warm
your heart
It is always heartbreaking when an owner
has to surrender their “precious baby” to our
no-kill adoption center, but this handsome
4-year-old had nowhere else to go when his
owner recently lost her home.
She raised Snowball since he was a kitten
and told us everything about him: He’s great
with people, and loves to be held and petted,
and he is always up for a belly rub!
Because of Snowball’s white coloring,
which makes him prone to skin cancer, he
would make an ideal indoor family pet.
If you need any more proof that Snowball
might be the one you’ve been searching for,
we invite you to NCHS to let Snowball melt
your heart — just like he has ours.
LATE BREAKING NEWS! Snowball
has found a great new home. Come to the
NCHS shelter to find your kitty match.
Support the shelter
when you buy online
If you’re stocking up on catnip or
kibble online and using Amazon Smile,
your purchase can support the North
County Humane Society shelter
(registered at smile.amazon.com as
Action for Animals Rights).
And iGive.com is another great way to
support our animal adoption center.
Ready to shop? Go to www.slonchs.org
for more information.