TELL TAILS. Summer Happy Tails EDITION. Three myths about shelter dogs: INSIDE: Happy Tails President s letter Welcome new volunteers

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1 TELL TAILS Summer 2015 Happy Tails EDITION INSIDE: Happy Tails President s letter Welcome new volunteers Zeus Tag Sale 9/19 Bully Breed Breakfast Prince goes home Napoleon Flexible Leashes NO Got Milk Bone Minis? Hot Weather Safety tips Acorn Paws to Remember pavers are still available. Go to our web site: And click on the paver on the home page. Three myths about shelter dogs: # 1: Shelter dogs are "damaged goods" # 2: It's too sad to go to a shelter to get a dog #3: An older dog won t bond with you the way that a puppy will These Happy Tails from people who have adopted dogs from our shelter speak volumes about these myths. Below and in this newsletter are samples of the many pictures and letters that people send us about our dogs...now their dogs. (Stories inside pages 4, 5 and 6) Blue Belle Hutch Titus Roscoe Teddy Hoagie volunteers and shelter staff strive for a perfect match between dog and potential adopter, rather than just sending dogs out the door. Because we keep the dogs stimulated and exercised while at the shelter we can take the time to ensure that when a dog is placed in a home that fits their needs and the needs of the adopter, both enjoy a life of mutual happiness! is a volunteer organization at the Town of North Hempstead Animal Shelter. Our mission, in partnership with the Town, is to improve the quality of life for the dogs at the shelter and increase adoptions through training and socialization. A secondary mission is public education to shift the public perception about shelters and dispel the myth that shelter dogs are damaged goods. The shelter is located at 75 Marino Avenue, Port Washington, NY 11050

2 Board of Directors Robert Slifkin MD President Jeff Rosen Treasurer Marianne Sikora Secretary Rosanne Palumbo Wellmaker Director of Training Regina Lagrasta Volunteer Coordinator Denise Waters Special Events Coordinator Newsletter Editor Paula Hornak Kellner Education and Public Awareness Coordinator Advisory Board Sue Hassett Asst. Director, North Hempstead Animal Shelter Erik Tallbe, CPA Accountant Chantelle DiLorenzo Attorney President s Letter: Each time Denise Waters and I put the newsletter together it is truly a labor of love. The newsletter, in addition to informing our supportive community of animal lovers about our organization and what we are doing, is an important advertisement for the dogs at the shelter. This Happy Tails edition, passing on the wonderful stories and pictures of the shelter s alumni sent from their adopters was not labor but all love. It gave us a chance to, once again, review the stories of the incredible dogs that we were fortunate enough to have met, cared for, worked with, and loved while they were at the shelter. Personally from my experience at the shelter, I have learned so much and gotten so much from the dogs that I will always be grateful to them. Welcome! Bob Slifkin The shelter would like to welcome our newest volunteer adoption advisors: Bill Becker, Alana Bernstein, Gabe Cohen, Shira Jedian, Debbie Jurrist, Nancy Rogner, Susan Rosenberg, Annie Wang, Isabel Yang. Special Thanks to: CastleRock Printing for their Contribution towards printing This newsletter P.O. Box 226 Greenvale, NY tsc@theshelterconnection.com is an all volunteer nonprofit charitable organization. All contributions are spent on programs and services to improve the quality of life of dogs at the Town of North Hempstead Animal Shelter. All contributions are fully tax deductible. Photography credit: Margaret Tumino Mills Available & waiting patiently: Zeus shelter resident since December, 2011 Zeus has become the favorite of the Progressive Pit Program. He was a wild child when he first came to the shelter, with little self control. Having been with us for several years now has been a blessing but now it is time for him to find a forever home! As much as we love him and he loves us, he needs his own person. Where he was reactive and barking when near another dog, now he is calm and mostly ignores them. When he says hello through a fence he is polite and redirects to the handler as if to say see how good I am, where s my cookie? He knows all his basic commands and is a favorite to take on road trips around town. He is good in the car and polite on a walk in the park. He even ignored a kennel full of cats! Zeus home still needs to be an only pet household but he gives more dog loving than you will ever need! 2

3 Here s how you can Participate: Tell Tails Summer 2015 TAG SALE PLANNED FOR SEPTEMBER wants to help you clean out your attic! If you haven t used it or worn it in two years, perhaps it should go to the dogs funding medical care and improvements at the Town of North Hempstead Animal Shelter. We re holding a tag sale on Saturday, September 19th, at the Congregational Church of Manhasset, 1845 Northern Boulevard (opposite the Apple Store) from 10am to 2pm. DONATE AND SELL YOUR STUFF: Set up is at 8am. Bring and sell your items, donate the proceeds, and receive a tax deduction. Let us know by August 19th if you are coming. Call and leave a message. Please repeat your name and contact number twice and we ll call you back to confirm. KEEP THE CASH: Set up is at 8am. Bring & sell your items, keep the proceeds. Mail your contact information and a $ check by August 26th to, P.O. Box 226, Greenvale, NY Come sell your unwanted items and make some money. VOLUNTEER: We re in need of help to man the doors, help the shoppers, pack and load the merchandise, put up posters and signs, and solicit contributions from merchants. tsc@theshelterconnection.com to coordinate. Items should be new or gently used clean, complete, and in working order. Furniture, art, toys, household goods and brand-name clothing are welcome. No books or outdated electronics please they take up space and often don t sell. AND, OF COURSE, YOU RE WELCOME TO COME AND SHOP! BULLY BREED BREAKFAST On June 14th and the shelter sponsored a brainstorming breakfast for Bully breed rescues. Our goal was to share our Progressive Pit Program, which has been highly successful, with other groups and see what other groups are doing to help promote the large number of Pit Bull type dogs in our shelters. We shared our ideas, goals and programs. The icing on the cake was a fabulous breakfast feast prepared by our own volunteer, John Luca, who put his Boy Scout Leader experience to work in creating a good campfire breakfast. To make it better Prince, a Pit Bull who was one of the long time shelter residents got adopted during the breakfast! Chef John with assistants PRINCE GOES HOME!! Prince at the shelter saying his prayers Last year a potential adopter saw Prince on our web site and fell in love. But he was in the process of buying a home and didn t think it fair to add a dog in all of the confusion. Speed forward a year, the adopter is settled, Prince is still available the rest is history! Saying goodbye to Prince as he gets adopted 3

4 Happy Tails Blue Belle: From Blue Belle's Family: "We want you to know that Belle, our beautiful Sheltie, has made a wonderful adjustment to her new home. She loves following her two buddies, Daisy and Ginger, and has become a real "treat" gal. Belle has the run of the house and is a total sweetheart. Thank you so much for all the care that you gave her. We are all so happy that she is part of our family." Titus: It only took about a month but we finally got Titus to snuggle on the couch with us! He's the perfect dog! We love him, and we think he loves us too. Thank you so much for all the work you did with him! Roscoe: Thank you for taking such wonderful care of Roscoe the Pit Mix while he was there. This great, silly, loving boy is really thriving in his new home in Brooklyn and getting along smashingly with his new sister Lily. We're so happy to have him in our family. Warm regards to every staff member there for the love you gave him when he needed it. And keep up the excellent work for the animals! Sincerely, Roscoe's Family. 4

5 Tell Tails Summer 2015 Hutch: From Hutch's Family: "Dear North Hempstead Animal Shelter, As we are approaching a year since we adopted Hutch we thought it would be fitting to give you an update! He is still growing, almost 75 pounds, and loving life everyday. He loves playing fetch, laying in the sun and cuddling up underneath the covers to our bed. He loves making new dog friends every time we take him for a walk and his trust in humans has tremendously improved. Thank you for taking such good care of him and helping train him before we were blessed to bring him into our lives." Teddy: From Teddy's Family: "Hey Guys- just wanted to give you an update on Teddy--the best dog in the world. He's 4 years old now and living in Brooklyn with me. We commute to Port Washington every day and he's our office dog on Main street. He is still a show stopper and gets tons of attention walking on the street in Brooklyn. Loves kids and having his face rubbed. The best companion I could ever ask for... I don't know how I ever lived without him. Hoagie: From Hoagie's Family: "Hey guys, I know it's been a long time since I adopted "Hoagie" from you, but I wanted to be sure I made the right choice before I went ahead and said it was an official match. He's settled in nicely at my Bushwick apartment. He must have been well trained by the previous owner, because he's been a dream since day one (with a few quirks, but what dog doesn't have those). You guys mentioned you like to see pictures, so I have a few attached to this . Hope all goes well at the shelter. Thanks so much for such a sweet dog." 5

6 Archie: Archie was adopted from the shelter in He moved to Portugal with his family shortly after being adopted. They were kind enough to send us pictures through the years, the last in December 0f 2014 with the message: Here is a picture of Archie at the beach with our son. He is getting old, but he still runs around and is the same goofy and sweet dog. Available & waiting patiently: Napoleon shelter resident since March 2014: Dear sweet Napoleon. He needs a lap and a person to call his own. All he wants to do is curl up with you and be loved. He is a very shy guy but opens up quickly when you love him! His requirements are few a person to love, a fenced back yard as he really doesn t like to go for walks, no other pets since he wants to share his time with you and doesn t want to share his stuff with other animals. If you want a low maintenance yet fabulous companion, you have a relatively quiet lifestyle and your favorite activity is watching TV with a buddy, his head resting in your lap, he is your dream dog! From Smart Dog University : Flexible retractable leashes Flexible, retractable, extendable leashes are one of the inventions dog trainers hate the reasons: - They teach bad habits. They teach your dog to pull on the leash to go anywhere. They encourage pulling. The leash is always tight. If the dog wants to move anywhere, there is tension on the collar and the dog has to pull into the collar to move. It s a recipe for disaster if polite leash manners is your goal. - They are dangerous. The thin cord can amputate your finger! Or your dog s tail or toe. - They are way too long. Some of the leashes extend to 26 feet. If your dog is more than 6 feet away from you there is greater likelihood that your dog could get into trouble. He could run into the street or rush up to another dog who isn t friendly. Just say NO to Flexible leashes. 6

7 GOT MILK BONE MINIS? Tell Tails Summer2015 Continuing the GOT...series, we again ask for your help with mini Milk Bones for the dogs. We go through a lot of treats in our positive reinforcement based training sessions. These are tinier than the smalls and are easily snapped in two to cut down on the calories given. The dogs thank you for helping their training sessions be rewarding, fun and healthy! *These can be purchased through Smile.Amazon.com (name as your charity) and sent directly to the shelter 75 Marino Avenue, Port Washington, NY Hot Weather Safety Tips Never, ever leave your dog in the car Make sure your dog has unlimited access to fresh water Make sure your dog has access to shade when outside Take walks during the cooler hours of the day Try to stay off of hot surfaces like asphalt, it can burn your dog s paws If you think it s hot outside, it s even hotter for your pet make sure your pet has a means of cooling off Apply sunscreen to your dog s skin if he or she has a thin coat Please Help us help the dogs At our local shelter Yes, I want to help improve the quality of life for the dogs at the Town of North Hempstead Animal Shelter. Enclosed is my gift to support : $100 $50 $25 $15 $10 Other $ Please make checks payable to: and mail to: Your donation is fully tax deductible and will be acknowledged with a receipt. 100% of your donation will be applied directly to program services. P.O. Box 226 Greenvale, NY

8 Tell Tails Summer 2015 P.O. Box 226 Greenvale, NY Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Greenvale, NY Permit No. 144 Got Milk Bone Minis? Tell Tails Summer 2015 Available & waiting patiently: Acorn shelter resident since February 2014 Sweet and shy, and so lovable when she knows you that s our Acorn. Life seems to be a bit overwhelming at times but being at the shelter and being loved by so many has helped her see that life can be good. She doesn t care for other dogs so she will need to be an only child. She is in the Progressive Pit Program where she is learning that she can walk by and be near another dog without interaction and be safe with her handlers. If she does get tense we can quickly get her focused back to us. She has come so far that she deserves a home of her own! If you have a quiet home environment, a fenced back yard and want a low energy hangin kind of pal, please come meet our Acorn. She is loved by her Progressive Pit crew and she feels the same about us! Maybe someone out there can be the next love of her life one safe place to call her own!