Pet Expo

Join us for the Pet Expo on Sunday, June 5, from noon til 4 at Indian Park in Montoursville.  In anticipation of working Sunday, the SPCA will be closed.

There will be lots to do at the Expo:

• Professional pet pictures by Crescent Studios.  All proceeds are donated to the SPCA
• Pet Clue Safari for the kids.  They find the clues to questions and get a prize when they find all of the answers. (Free)
• Many vendors with pet related products.
• A Humane Society Police Officer to answer your questions about cruelty, abuse, and neglect.
• Microchips for your pets, just $20 including registration.
• Yummy food.
• Pets for adoption.
• Gifts of Art tent.  The kids can fold an origami cat or dog, plus face painting.
• Nail clips by Oberjoch kennels.  All proceeds donated to the SPCA.
• Numerous rescue groups with pets for adoption.
• Dog Olympics.
• Pet baskets for raffle.
• and more!

Hope to see you there.

Cannon the Agility Dog

On May 23rd I wrote about show quality dogs.  Here is one of them.  His name is Cannon.  And just to clarify; he was one of the top ten Rottweilers in the USA for agility.  He sure looks like he is having fun!

The Latest on Miracle

Meet Miracle.  She was picked up by the side of the road covered in blood.  The individual who called us thought she had been hit by a car.  Upon closer examination, it was found that she had been shot three times.  Her jaw was fractured and needed surgery.  The first bullet was removed from her jaw because it was causing a lot of swelling and drainage.  Her jaw was so damaged that she needed a plate to fill the gap.  She later had the remaining bullets removed, plus some damaged teeth.  You can barely see the shaved patches below her collar where her wounds were.  She is recovering nicely at the shelter thanks to the wonderful care she received at The Animal Hospital, Northwest Veterinary Referral Hospital and her foster Mom.

She is now available for adoption and is spending her time in my office.  Because of her experiences, she is fearful of men and needs to be introduced slowly.  But once she gets to know you she loves you. Big Slurpee kisses are given generously.

She gets along with some dogs but not others.   She is also very playful.  Her favorite thing is to chew, or maybe to run, or it could be long walks.   I guess she just loves being a dog.

It's Raining..........Cats

On Monday we received 22 stray cats and kittens.  And not all from one place. 

The Lycoming County SPCA has been in existence since 1892.  I don't have statistics since that time, but looking back, we had the same problem with puppies.  Now, we rarely see puppies.  Why the difference?  I believe that effective spaying and neutering of owned dogs, and dog licensing have made a huge impact on dog overpopulation. 

Cats frequently run at large because there are no laws regulating cats.  So they get pregnant, have kittens, and those kittens have kittens, etc, etc.

My dream is that our elected officials will listen to me when I say that there needs to be regulations regarding cats at large.  I know that when irresponsible pet owners are required to care for their pets so that they are spayed and neutered and not running at large (aggravating the neighbors and eating small animals) we will not see 22 cats in one day.

Show Quality Dogs Available

There are three dogs that come to mind that have been adopted from the Lycoming County SPCA and have been awarded ribbons, trophies and other prizes.  I must add that it is not necessarily all the dog's doing.  The adopters get the majority of the credit because they were the ones that consistently worked with their adoptee.

Cannon is a Rotweiler who was removed from a severely neglectful situation.  He was tied out to a fence in the coldest part of the winter without shelter, and did not have the comfort of a warm house or companionship of a loving owner.  And that is not the worst of it!  When the investigator attempted to remove the chain it was found to be imbedded into his neck.  The officer had to cut the tie out in order to remove the dog.  He was filthy, very thin, his coat was dull, and he had a chain imbedded in his neck.  Fast forward to the good part.  He was recently recognized by the AKC as one of the top ten agility dogs in the USA!!!!

Two other labrador retrievers that were adopted from the SPCA as puppies (at differnet times), are accomplished dock divers.  If you don't know waht that is, then I encourage you to attend a competition (or view it at dockdogs.com).  The dogs and owners are enthusiastic competitors, and wheter they win or not, they all have a good time.

And to think that they were once unwanted animals.

Triplets?



Danny



Spunky





Fred

Meet Danny, Fred, and Spunky.  We usually have a lot of black dogs, but I found it interesting to have several that had Rottweiler markings.  Working at the Lycoming County SPCA, I get to know a lot of the animals.  Sometimes I see a dog come out of the kennel and I swear I've not seen it before.  I can just imagine how hard it is for people to visit the shelter and see so many animals and try to make a decision on which animal they would like to visit with.  I was having a hard time keeping these three straight so that I could add their pictures and put the correct name with the correct picture.  Never the less, we attempt to learn the animal's personality through staff interaction and temperament tests.  That way when visitors ask, we can provide some information about them.   Our goal is to find our animals forever homes.  If you, or someone you know is ready to open your heart and home to a Danny, Fred, or Spunky, please visit.  We love to see our animals leave us!

Summer Strays

This is the time of year when people and animals enjoy the great outdoors.  Maybe I should say normally because of all the rain.  Anyway, we receive the majority of animals in the warmer months.  My biggest worry is that an owner will not think to look for their pet at the shelter.  I am continually surprised by the number of people who do not know that we exist.  I have an even greater worry now that the Tioga County SPCA is closed.  By Pennsylvania State Law, dogs must be under their owner's control at all times.  When stray, a Pennsylvania dog warden may pick a dog up and take it to the nearest shelter.  Would you believe that we are surrounded by counties that do not have shelters?  Northumberland, Sullivan, Union, and Tioga counties do not have animal shelters. Clinton County and Columbia County do not accept animals when they are full.  As I mentioned before, I worry.........