It Was a Mother and Pup Reunion

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1 T E L L TA I L S Inside this issue: News from The Shelter Connection at The Town of North Hempstead Animal Shelter SUMMER 2011 Our Got Series 4 Marvelous Mutts 4 Reaching and Teaching Kindness 5 K-9 Kid Power 5 Paws for Golf 6-7 Freckles Happy Tail Meet Nora. She s one of our Mend-a-Paw dogs. 8 The fund paid for surgery to take care of a common condition called cherry eye. Learn more about our Mend-a-Paw fund at: It Was a Mother and Pup Reunion The young shepherd mix, we named Mandy, started her life without much luck or human kindness. That was clear to John and Rose when they noticed the stray dog hanging out on the street for a couple of days, and it was when her luck began to change. Her first stroke of good fortune was finding herself with such compassionate animal people. It seemed to them that she was waiting for someone to come back for her, but after a couple of days it was clear she d been abandoned. They tried to coax her near to accept food, but she shied away To Greet or Not to Greet Somebody please show me where it says in any law book that your dog has to interact with another dog, or a human for that matter, when you are out for your daily stroll?! Not every dog wants or Three families, a good Samaritan and four lucky pups on our Nature Trail. from any contact. Some- needs the companionship of a fellow canine, nor do they need to be petted by every person they come in contact with every day! Many a dog are what I call, DOG NEUTRAL, they walk nicely, calmly, past people and how she wandered into their garage and they managed to get her in the car and to our shelter more good fortune for her. Not the first time that our shelter has dealt with fearful continued on page 3 dogs, without interest, happily enjoying their OWN human and the sights and smells around them. Along comes that person you know the one that MUST pet your dog, or shoves continued on page 2

2 Page 2 TELL TAILS Greetings...from page 1 their dog in your dog s shelter or labeled aggressive incident. She lived her life face ohhh, he just LOVES even though they neither without any trouble and other dogs! initiated the interaction nor passed away without ever Thing is, maybe your dog would even think of getting wanting or needing to play doesn t like being both- in a tussle with another with another dog. ered yada, yada, yada dog. This does not mean So here it is in a nutshell your dog nips the other dog you have an aggressive enjoy your walk, don t feel and now YOU and your dog you have a dog who is bad if your dog doesn t pooch are the bad guy. just not interested in mak- NEED other people or dogs Dog neutral : walking calmly, nicely past other people and dogs. You, the dog owner, are not obliged to allow your ing new friends. I personally had a DOG and don t be afraid to say hands off! dog to be harassed by every NEUTRAL dog she had no A dog trainer once told us Tom, Dick and Fido. interest in playing with any at a seminar, most people Enjoy your walk, don t In fact, unless you are rock solid sure your dog actually other dog or human but her family. She walked peaceful- don t believe you when you say your dog doesn t like feel bad if your dog enjoys these types of inter- ly on lead, actually stayed in other people or dogs but doesn t NEED other people or dogs and actions, I would make my policy a hands off policy for your sake and that of houses with other dogs and cats all around her, for weekend getaways with they will run for the hills if you say DON T TOUCH ROVER, HE HAS RING- don t be afraid to say your dog. family and never a problem. WORM! A wise tip from a hands off! Would you like to be accosted by strangers on the The other dogs sensed her lack of interest and although wise trainer! Do what you can to protect street? I think not and most her Golden cousin would your canine from the not so dogs feel the same way. retry to engage her in play smart humans in the Some dogs tolerate it better every so often (you know world he is counting on than others. The ones that how those Goldens are!) you for his safety! don t wind up back at the they all co-existed without The Shelter Connection is the 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 dogs at the shelter and increase the adoption through training and socialization. A secondary mission is to 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 To learn more visit our website:

3 SUMMER 2011 Page 3 Puppy Reunion...from page 1 dogs like Mandy, staff and volunteers were ready to work on building her trust in people, but surprise! A vet exam revealed that she was in a family way. On December 5th Mandy gave birth at the shelter to a huge litter of 13 puppies. Three were just too small and weak to survive, but Mandy proved to be a nurturing mom to the rest of her litter. The pups were weaned from mom and began their puppy socialization with our trained volunteers, while still-shy Mandy began to have her own socialization experience. The pups got used to being picked up and handled, meeting new people, and had mouthing and other poor behaviors discouraged. Finally adoption day arrived. The pups had been spayed or neutered, had their basic inoculations, and off they went to their new lives. On May 14th four of the pups, now five months-old, returned to the shelter with their families for a rollicking Puppy Reunion that included meeting momma Mandy through the fence. Mandy is making great progress with stranger fear and will soon, we re sure, be someone s treasured companion just as her puppies are now. Her adoption day will be her luckiest day. Mandy s puppies in our nursery. You can watch them grow from new born to reunion day in a video on our web site: Momma Mandy is making great progress Hi, Mom! Remember me? Look how we ve grown! with her stranger fear, but she really needs a home to call her own. PLEASE Help us help the dogs at our 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 the work of The Shelter Connection. $15 $25 $50 $100 Please make checks payable to: The Shelter Connection Amount: $10 Another Your donation is fully tax-deductible and will be gratefully acknowledged with a receipt. 100 % of your donation goes directly to program services. Amount Mail to: The Shelter Connection PO Box 226 Greenvale, NY Your donations help dogs like Mandy and her puppies by funding our progressive shelter programs.

4 Page 4 TELL TAILS Got Homes? In furtherance of our GOT? series, this season s request is a simple one and it doesn t cost a dime. If each of you tell five people about our wonderful shelter dogs and ask each of them to tell five people, just imagine how we can spread the word about the plethora of pooches waiting for forever homes! Juliet is as young and sweet and gentle as her namesake. She will be a devoted companion...and she s dog friendly! Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~ Roger Caras Dudley may have some Bernese Mountain dog in him. He s one good looking guy.

5 SUMMER 2011 Page 5 Operation Outreach USA Rose visits Powell s Lane. Once again, TSC sponsored a humane literacy matching grant through Operation Outreach USA. This year alone we provided over 150 third grade children at Powell s Lane School in Westbury with books fostering an appreciation and respect for animals and the environment that also encourages a love of reading. Each child received two books to keep and bilingual parent guides that went home with them. Teachers got lesson plans to help incorporate the books (Nigel and William s Story) into their lesson plans. We visited two classes bringing along former shelter dog, Rosie. Getting to meet and speak with the students and share Rosie s story (twice abandoned and badly neglected) was so rewarding for all involved! Nigel is the story of a once abused, neglected dog who becomes a volunteer reading buddy at a local library. TSC ~ Teaching Respect, Responsibility and Kindness. Visit our web site for more How Our Kids for K-9s Contribute TSC s dedicated junior volunteers, Jamie Sall and Caitlin Forsyth, raised money for us by setting up a table outside Stop and Shop selling Shelter Connection rubber bracelets designed by Caitlin and cupcakes and lemonade made by Jamie. Caitlin s dog and former shelter resident, Phooey, was a terrific ambassador for our dogs. Their inspired covolunteer, Michael Greener, custom built a glass inlaid table for our lobby. information about our programs for young people. Another fundraiser was held by local 4th graders, Heather Oleksew, Sophia Mascia, Zoe Basulto, and Micheala and Morgan Gearty. During their Spring vacation they raised money for us selling dog bones and treats with a little help from their pups, Sadie and Buddha. These motivated young people raised not only money, but awareness about our shelter s mission and our unpolished gems waiting to be as lucky as Phooey, Buddha and Sadie! Michael, Caitlin and Jamie Buddha, Sadie and Company Catch us on Facebook thanks to young volunteers, Danny Qiao and Rachel Scheinman.

6 Page 6 TELL TAILS Golf for Paws Fun draiser A dear friend of mine plant- We could not have done shelter director Sue Hassett ed a seed in my head. If this without the backing of and TSC president Bob you want to raise money our local Port Washington Slifkin, We are not just for your organization, have business community and doing this for the money. a golf fundraiser. This may our neighboring townships. What s more important is well be true, but one needs Merchants and businesses to make friends and raise the resources and support from Great Neck, Syosset, awareness of our shelter. Ranger Roc is ready for incoming golf balls at our twilight golf fundraiser. We re not just doing this for the money. What s more important is to make friends and raise awareness of our shelter. within that organization to make it happen. As committee chair, I d first like to express a special thanks to TSC board members and our president, Dr. Bob Slifkin, for giving me the opportunity to start up our first ever Golf for Paws Fundraiser. I d also like to thank all our volunteers who generously devoted their valuable time and energy. Collectively, we made Golf for Paws a successful fundraiser and one we can all be proud of. As always, we are proud to say that 100 percent of the money raised directly benefits our beloved shelter dogs. Huntington, and even NYC and the Bronx, showed their support as major sponsors and contributors. The goal for Golf for Paws was to ensure that we brought in enough money to cover costs, however during those months of planning I hoped and prayed we d do better. Happily we surpassed expectations raising funds well above the cost of the event. I m grateful, (and relieved) it was profitable, but importantly, we achieved recognition within the community and acquired many new friends. I will forever hear the insightful words of We d like to acknowledge all of the kind, generous, warm hearted individuals and merchants whose support made Golf for Paws a howling success. Thank you one and all! Nancy Verdi This very special fundraising event took place on June 10th at the Town of North Hempstead s lovely Harbor Links Golf Course in Port Washington. TSC volunteer Nancy Verdi was the prime mover and shaker of Golf for Paws. We thank her for her enthusiasm and tenacity in making Golf for Paw the enormous success it was. Family fun at Golf for Paws. The band, Decadence, shook up the evening. Dr. Bob, Nancy and Sue

7 SUMMER 2011 Page 7 North Hempstead Town Clerk Leslie Gross and Commissioner, Andy DeMartin, turn out to support our shelter. We d like to acknowledge all the kind, generous, warm hearted individuals and merchants whose support made Golf for Paws a howling success. Ro s Glass World Day-glow golf balls helped out our golfers in our twilight event.

8 We fight for the lives of the real underdogs. Freckles and Amy enjoy a stroll in the vineyard. For more Happy Tails like this visit our web page: Freckles: A Pitty Happy Tail After a stay at our shelter, Freckles was adopted to a loving home. Here s a sweet note from her new owner: Freckles is loving her new, forever home. I feel so lucky to have found a dog as great as she is. Freckles is so affectionate and a total sweetheart. She gets so many compliments when I take her on walks. She also makes a great jogging buddy & we love going down to the water & back. I love Freckles! Thank you so much for taking care of her during her stay. Thank you, Amy, for proving once more that shelter dogs are not damaged goods, but more like hidden treasure in plain sight. Special thanks to Castle Rock Printing for their contribution towards printing this newsletter. Our Board of Directors Robert Slifkin, MD President Jeff Rosen Treasurer Marianne Sikora Secretary Rosanne Wellmaker Director of Training Regina Lagrasta Volunteer Coordinator Denise Waters Special Events Coordinator Paula Hornak Kellner Humane Education, Public Awareness Coordinator Advisory Board Sue Hassett Assistant Director, Town of North Hempstead Animal Shelter Brian Kilcommons Dog Trainer Erica Talb, CPA Financial Advisor The Shelter Connection P.O. Box 226 Greenvale, NY Phone: tsc@theshelterconnection.com We re on the web: