Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Mac's Story


Before at 44 pounds




                       After at 58 pounds



Upon investigation, this Boxer mix was found tied to a dog house, in muddy conditions, with no signs of food or water.  Not visible is a large, open wound on his right buttock.  Officers obtained a warrant and removed the dog named Mac.  To add to the misfortune of this dog, he is completely blind.

While at our shlelter he received care to get his weight back to normal, de-wormed him, gave him inoculations against disease, and had him neutered.  He quickly became a staff favorite becasue of his sweet deameanor.  When we would talk to him he would move his head back and forth as he tried to determine where the voice was coming from.  It took a little bit of work for him and the staff to walk him on a leash due to his blindness.

A lovely family came in to visit with Mac.  They already had a dog but wanted another.  The visit between the two dogs went very well and they decided to adopt. 

This is why we do the work we do.  To see a dog with such deformites go to a good home makes us happy!

Monday, February 27, 2012

Bruno's Excellent Adventure

Bruno is a hound mix who was originally surrendered by his owner because they were moving.  He was adopted but returned within nine months because he loved to escape from his home. 
So on Saturday he was visiting with a potential adopter.  She was clearly told to lock both gates when she took him outside. Somehow, she did not.  And guess what?  Bruno saw an open door and he was off!

I happened along with my dogs in the car and saw two of my employees walking down the road with leashes in hand. Uh-oh.  I knew what that meant.

We drove around for awhile looking for him, but to no avail.  He was long gone.  How could the SPCA have a stray animal at large!  How mortifying.

Luckily for everyone, Bruno came back on his own Saturday evening.  It was cold out after all, and Bruno remembered his warm bed and that dinner was being served. 

I was happy that he didn't get hit by a car or injured on the railroad tracks.  If only he could talk and tell us where he ran off to.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Mardi Gras

Our little community had a Mardi Gras parade this weekend.  What makes it unique is the participation of local food and beverage providers.  Participating businesses choose a King or Queen.  That person works to raise funds for a local non-profit.  The individual who raises the most is crowned King or Queen.

We were contacted by Jenn Tice from the Genetti 4th Street Grill and Ale house who wanted to raise funds for our SPCA.  We were pleased to learn that she raised $1,149.61!

We later learned that The Planet also designated donations for the SPCA. 

We are so blessed to have a community that is both generous and supportive.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Spay Day

Tuesday, February 28, 2012 is National Spay Day.  This is world-wide effort to bring attention to the need to prevent companion animals from reproducing.  This procedure has many health benefits in addition to preventing the birth of unwanted kittens and puppies.

Females are spayed and males are neutered.   The surgical procedure reduces the chance of some types of cancer; it decreases the pet’s urge to roam in search of a mate; it eliminates heat cycles; it helps to reduce aggression; there is less chance of the animals ‘spraying’ or marking their territory; and unwanted litters and subsequent euthanasia is eliminated.  But best of all, your pet has the chance for a happier and healthier life.

Cat reproduction is our biggest challenge. Think about this.  If a male and female are capable of having three litters of kittens, and the average size of the litter is 6, and half of the kittens born are female, and within six months the female kittens are capable of having kittens; how many kittens could be born in one year?

(M + F= one litter of 3 females 3 males) x 3=18 kittens from the original pair. 

3 of the females have at least one litter in the same year=18 kittens.

That is 36 total kittens in one year!

Think about year two with 18 possible females.   This is a worse case scenario because not all litters have six kittens, not all survive, and not all have three litters.  But there is that potential.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Spay Day Photo Contest

Does your pet have what it takes to win this year’s World Spay Day Pet Photo Contest? Enter now to find out! www.humanesociety.org/photocontest

When you enter, you will be asked to select which organization(s) you would like to benefit from votes for your photo. Please choose Lycoming County SPCA to benefit from your pet’s votes. Each vote your pet receives means a $1 donation to our organization, to help us spay or neuter even more pets after World Spay Day (February 28, 2012) is over.  After you enter, please take advantage of the photo contest’s easy features to share your pet's photo and story with your friends and family, and ask them to vote for your pet!

More than 100 people who enter the contest will win prizes ranging from official recognition on the World Spay Day Pet Photo Contest website to an iPad 2 and iPod! Further, the two Grand Prize winners will each win the privilege of awarding a $5,000 grant to the eligible World Spay Day event organizer of their choice. (Hint, hint—choose us!)

The earlier you enter the more time you’ll have to get votes and raise critical spay/neuter funds for our organization. Please upload a photo of your pet now at www.humanesociety.org/photocontest to get started!

Thanks for your support!
Submitted courtesy Missy Black

Monday, February 13, 2012

Peace and Calm

This is a quiet time of year for us at the SPCA as far as animal intakes are concerned.  (Our cruelty investigations never slow down.)

For the most part, animals are content to stay snug and warm at home so we don't have as large a stray population as we do in the summer time.  Plus, cats are not having kittens so that helps keeps the population down.

Now back to investigations.  There is a man who calls us constantly about his neighbor.  They leave the dog out in all kinds of weather.  Plus, when she had puppies, the puppies were out in the weather as well.

So our investigator drives by and does not see any animals outside.  Who do you believe?  The person who complains or the dog owner?

It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words.  So the man who complains about the dog being out brings in pictures of the dog and her 5 month old pup outside in the snow.  He calls the police and the police remove the dogs and bring them to the SPCA.  The dog owner says that he was only gone 1 hour to get dinner.

Now if we took this to a judge for cruelty and neglect, the judge would ask for proof that the dogs were out for long periods of time.  Despite the fact that the neighbor has pictures, the dog owner will testify that the dogs were not out that long.   The pictures do not show how long the dogs were out so how do we prove that?  We do not have the manpower to sit outside the house and keep a log of how long the dogs were outside.  I tried to explain this to the complainant and in response I was told that the SPCA doesn't do anything!  Ouch. 

So despite the fact that we have peace and calm related to the influx of animals, we will always have conflict about cruelty investigations.  There are laws to protect animals but if we want to prosecute, we need to prove that animal cruelty was committed.  And sometimes, even when we prove it, AND the defendant is found guilty; the judge can still give the animal back.  (See post Animals have no rights in Williamsport)

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Valentine Week Special

Find the four-legged love of your life at the SPCA! 

During the week of February 13 to 18, adopters will have the opportunity to choose a valentine heart.  Each heart contains a gift for their adopted pet.  Two of the hearts contain free adoptions!

What a Difference a Year Makes

Last year we made the bold move to pay for the spaying and neutering of every adopted animal.  That added up to a considerable amount of money, so we did raise our adoption fees.  However, we provided some free adoptions to Senior Citizens through Purina, and we discounted adoption fees by 50% for animals that have been at the shelter for more than 30 days.

So as of February 5, 2012 we had 147 adoptions.  Last year during the same time period we had 87 adoptions!  Wow, we more than doubled the adoptions.   I hope the trend continues.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Not Just Cats and Dogs

This is Sweet Pea.  She is a pot bellied pig that was surrendered for adoption due to the owner's health.  She is litter trained and loves snuggling on the sofa with her owner.  She is accustomed to being an indoor pet.

We have had pot bellied pigs before.  People who have had them as pets love them.  What do you think?

Sunday, February 5, 2012

I don't Discriminate Against Cats

I'm sure you have noticed that many of my posts are about dogs.  It's not that I dont' like cats, I'm just allergic.  I have so many allergies it is aggravating.  I'm allergic to dogs too, but if I keep the dander down I can tolerate them.

Sometimes when we have large scale seizures, I will help with  the animals.  Usually I need to wear a mask so that I don't have an asthma attack.

Why wold someone who is allergic to animals work in an animal shelter?  For those of us who love animals,  we know the answer to that question.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Nose Work

I participated in a very interesting dog training class called Nose Work.  If you wonder what bomb sniffing dogs go through, this would be similar.

Silke Wittig taught the class.  She was offering it to the public for a reasonable fee of $120 for 6 classes.  She was unable to fill the class so she offered to teach the class to SPCA dogs and volunteers. 

You had to be there to appreciate the experience.  We had six SPCA dogs with different personalities.  But once you get one in the room and start focusing on the job they do best-smelling-that is all they could focus on.  You could see the dogs relax and get into tracking a scent.

I am not going to do justice to explaining this class.  But I have a little Chihuahua in my office.  She is totally and completely attached to me.  If I leave my office she barks non-stop. NON-STOP.  Just ask my staff.  When I walk into my office she is all over me.  Give her a little nose work to do and she completely ignores me.  I'm serious.  She went from attached at the hip to 'I don't hear you'.

It is a really cool class.  The dog is introduced to treats in a box.  The dog devours the treats.  Then the boxes with treats move around.  The dogs need to use their nose to find the treats.  It is fun to watch, and you can tell the dogs have fun too. 

You really need to observe a class to understand how fun it is for the dogs.  Visit Silke's website at Herocanineconsulting.com.  I'm sure she can do a better job of explaining it than I did.  Or better yet-observe a class.  We will be doing another class at the SPCA on Wednesday.  I bet if you watch one class you will want  to try it with your dog!