PAW PRINTS People Helping Animals, Animals Helping People

Transcription

1 PAW PRINTS People Helping Animals, Animals Helping People "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." Mahatma Gandhi Mission To enrich the lives of both animals and people as a solution-based community resource for animal welfare by providing high-volume and high-quality spay and neuter, rescue and adoption services, volunteer opportunities, outreach, and education. Vision To be the regional leader for animal welfare in adoption, spay and neuter, outreach, and education to ultimately create a No-Kill Community. PAWS Humane... The goal of the Best Friends Animal Society is unequivocal. It is reflected in the organiza>on s tag line, Together We Can Save Them All. It has been a long hard fight to get to where we are now. Too many animal welfare workers have fallen, beaten by physical and emo>onal fa>gue. Others survive emo>onally by clinging to the belief that we are already doing the best we can. S>ll others channel their anger toward other animal welfare groups who they believe are not doing enough, or are not doing it the right way. Several months ago, PAWS Humane joined five other animal welfare organiza>ons to form the Pet Coali>on of Muscogee and Harris Coun>es. Our first official project is a large breed dog adop>on program funded by Best Friends Animal Society and hosted by PetSmart in Columbus. Every week, Monday through Friday, from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm, we take turns transpor>ng dogs to PetSmart and providing volunteers to help with off-site adop>ons. Large breed dogs are most at risk of all companion animals in our region. We are raising awareness through increased marke>ng and presence in the community. Large breed dogs make great running and hiking companions. They can be wonderful family dogs. They tend to have higher ac>vity levels and will get you off the couch and into the great outdoors this spring. Come visit us at PetSmart and find your next BIG LOVE. 1

2 Board of Directors Tom Moore - President Lori Turner - Vice President John "Butch" Barwick - Treasurer Sherry Goodrum - Secretary Thomas Bryan Becky Miller Stephanie Pezold Privette Katherine Turner Gloria Woods Missi Murray Smith Janice Watson Bobbi Yeo - CEO Drale Short - Ex-Officio Contact Us Address: 4900 Milgen Road Columbus, GA office@pawshumane.org (706) Vet Clinic phone number (706) Shelter Hours Adoption Hours Monday-Friday 10am - 6pm Saturday 10am - 5pm Sunday 12pm - 5pm Clinic Hours Monday-Friday 7:30am - 6pm March/April 2016 Will you be our Running Buddy? Spring is finally here, and it is a great >me to get involved at PAWS. All of our dogs love to be outside in the fresh air and what bewer way to do that than to take them to the park for a few hours. One way we do this is through our Running Buddies Program. Our longest resident, SylveWe, is a favorite among our Running Buddies team. SylveWe is a Labrador/Bulldog mix that can out run all of our staff and volunteers alike. She can easily run a 5k without a problem and look at you wan>ng to go again. SylveWe is a great example of how Running Buddies can truly change the life of a shelter dog. Sylvette Volunteers have an amazing opportunity to break her out of her daily rou>ne and give her an experience that will make her tail wag for days. Running Buddies is also a great way for the staff to learn more about the personali>es of the dogs. When the dogs are taken out of the shelter for a few hours, it gives them >me to relax and show some of their personality that we would not normally get to see. Just last week, Daisy was taken to Flat Rock Park for a few hours and we found out that she loves to swim and play in the water. Now we know another fun fact to share with poten>al adopters. It's so simple to get involved in this program and make a big impact on a dog's life. A`er comple>ng volunteer orienta>on and filling out Running Buddies paperwork you can start the next day! Running Buddies gives our dogs a chance to get out of the shelter, relax, see new places, smell new smells, see poten>al adopters, and have a lot of fun. We hope to see you soon in our Running Buddies program and we are excited to see all the tails that will be wagging just for you. We will patiently wait for you.. Daisy 2

3 My Furever Home..From Scout March/April 2016 Why hello there! Please let me introduce myself, because my trainer says that shows good manners. My name is Scout, and I live at PAWS Humane. I have been at PAWS for 175 days. They say I am one of their longest residents, whatever that means. The humans here at PAWS are really nice and they all follow my schedule each day. It's really not so bad once you get used to it. The humans that work here talk about finding me my "furever family. Between you and me, I don't know what a furever family is. Do you know what a family is? Can you teach me? My humans keep saying they don't know why I haven't found my family yet. They say things like: "Scout is so awesome, I don't understand why no one has adopted him," or "Scout is so smart, I just know his family will find him today. I wonder what a family feels like. Does it feel squishy like wet grass? Is it warm and cozy like the blankets the humans give me? Anyways, I get up each day at 7:00 a.m. I go to the door of my house to watch the small dogs walk by, some of them seem scared so I try to say "Good morning!" Most of them ignore me. Maybe they aren't morning dogs? The best part of my morning is gehng to go outside and sit in my chair. The human lets me out at 8:00 and I go to the second run on the right, because that is my spot. I jump in my chair and enjoy the morning sunshine. Some>mes, if the human is new, they don't know that the chair is my favorite, so I train them. I love sihng in my chair and feeling the sun on my face. It is amazing. From there, I go back in and say "Good morning!" to all of the other dogs. I feel like it is my job to cheer them up since I am the longest resident of PAWS. Some of them seem sad and say that they miss their family. Again with that word! I don't understand...what does it mean to miss a family? I do my best to cheer them up before ea>ng breakfast and taking my midmorning nap. Some>mes it is so noisy in there that I can't nap. Maybe a family would let me have a quiet spot to nap? That sure would be nice. Later in the day I get to go outside into the play yard. I love being outside and I love for humans to take me on walks. They are really good on a leash. I've trained most of them really well, since I've been here so long. Most days humans come and press their noses to my window, I'm really not sure what that is about. They say how cute I am and keep walking. Kinda weird if you ask me. The humans at PAWS think it is really important for me to find this "furever family" thing. I'm not sure why, but I'm open to trying new things. Speaking of new things, new TOYS are my absolute favorite. New toys, old toys, so` toys, hard toys, squishy toys, squeaky toys, rope toys, rubber toys...i could go on and on. The trainers say I am toy possessive. Uh...duh! If you had a toy, wouldn't you be possessive of it? The humans think that I am so smart that I get bored (true) and that maybe if I had a family that kept me busy I wouldn't be so possessive of the toys. I'm not sure, they are the only things here that are really mine. I am working on having bewer manners with my toys, but some>mes I forget myself. Surely a furever family would have toys, right? Maybe they could help me with my manners. Well, it's about >me for my evening Kong filled with frozen peanut buwer, so I'll have to say goodbye now. Maybe you can come and meet me and teach me what a furever family is. See you soon! 3

4 Pet First Aid Tips Do you know what to do if your dog gets in to chocolate? What about if your cat eats a plant that you think is toxic? What about if your pet gets overheated? Or has a seizure? Our pets are important members of our families and they depend on us to keep them safe. April is National Pet First Aid Awareness Month and is the perfect >me to ensure that you have the skills to take care of your pet during an emergency. As a pet owner, you need to make sure to have basic first aid supplies for the pets in your household. Carefully puhng together a well-provisioned first aid kit will make you more ready to deal with a medical emergency. The kit should include things like gauze and bandage material for wounds, ac>vated charcoal and hydrogen peroxide in case of toxin inges>on, and a digital thermometer. Here are some basic emergency >ps: PAWS Humane Vet Clinic To determine if your cat or dog is dehydrated, pull up on the skin between the shoulder blades. It should spring right back; if it stays tented this is a sign of dehydra>on. Signs of pet poisoning include bleeding externally or internally, dilated pupils, drooling or foaming at the mouth, seizures or other abnormal mental state or behavior. If your pet has a seizure, make sure it is in a safe place, but do not restrain the animal. Keep your hands away from its mouth as your pet may not know who you are during a seizure and could bite you. Signs of heat stroke or heat exhaus>on include collapse; body temperature of 104 degrees F or above; bloody diarrhea or vomi>ng; wobbliness; excessive pan>ng or difficulty breathing; increased heart rate; mucous membranes very red; and increased saliva>on. Pets biwen by other animals need veterinary awen>on to prevent the wound (even if minor) from becoming infected and to check for internal wounds. Never break up a dogfight yourself because you could be biwen. Always remember that any first aid administered to your pet should be followed by immediate veterinary care. First aid care is not a subs>tute for veterinary care, but it may save your pet's life un>l he/she receives veterinary treatment. For more tips on what to do in case of an emergency with your pet, please consider attending Southeastern Remote Medical s Pet First Aid/CPR classes taught at Paws Humane. To sign up, call or southeasternremotemedical@gmail.com. 4

5 Vet Clinic Volunteering Our organiza>on u>lizes volunteers in many capaci>es. From cleaning and laundry to socializa>on and enrichment, volunteers play a vital role in the success of PAWS Humane. For volunteers with a serious interest in veterinary medicine or spay/neuter, the PAWS Humane Spay/Neuter Clinic provides an opportunity for exposure to all aspects of a veterinary clinic. Du>es are performed under staff supervision and include clinic sanita>on, front desk responsibili>es, cleaning and wrapping surgery packs, laundry, assis>ng with recovery, and helping out with events. This volunteer posi>on is fast paced and requires someone who is a quick learner with great awen>on to detail. Volunteers in the veterinary clinic must be 18 and have awended a general volunteer orienta>on. Jane is a student who has logged over 250 hours in the clinic. She helps out any>me she has a break from school and does laundry, cleans cages and carriers, wraps packs, helps with recovery, and helps the front desk staff with filing and phone calls. She truly goes above and beyond to help out in our clinic. It is volunteers like Jane who make PAWS a bewer place every day. Thank you Jane for all that you have done and con>nue to do for PAWS Humane. For more informa>on about volunteering at PAWS, please contact our Volunteer/ Community Outreach Coordinator at ext. 234 or volunteer@pawshumane.org. PAW PRINTS People Helping Animals, Animals Helping People PAWS Humane 4900 Milgen Road Columbus, GA (706) Adoptions (706) Clinic 5