Flabulous Felines Find Families. By the end of January 2008, the Placer SPCA found itself with more than a dozen

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1 150 Corporation Yard Road, Roseville, CA Ph: / Fax: Flabulous Felines Find Families By the end of January 2008, the Placer SPCA found itself with more than a dozen overweight cats. The influx of large, typically older cats impacted our center s capacity to house all felines, as each large cat required a large cage by itself. These cages are usually used for siblings or multiple cats surrendered together. Older cats, especially those with special needs, are hard to place in comparison to the influx of a large kitten population that occurred at the same time. The confinement of shelter cages can be detrimental to a plus-size cat s health by limiting movement and opportunity for exercise. Overweight cats face the same health dangers as overweight humans, such as diabetes and heart disease, and the Placer SPCA staff felt that it was very important that these cats not spend very long at the shelter. In order to encourage adoptions of these special cats, during the month of February we offered Flabulous Felines Free to a Good Home month. We waived the usual $95 adoption fee. Promotion of our special was done through local media outlets and the four local Chambers of Commerce. We received coverage in The Sacramento Bee (attached) and the local Fox network affiliate, and aired an interview on a local radio station. Local author Martha Garvey, upon reading about our Fat Cat special, donated several signed copies of her book My Fat Cat: Ten Simple Steps to Help Your Pet Lose Weight for a Long and Happy Life. In addition to a copy of the book for the first few to adopt, adopters received special counseling to understand the needs of their plump new pets. As a result of our outreach efforts, 11

2 Placer SPCA Page Two of the 12 hard-to-adopt overweight cats were adopted during the promotion, with the twelfth going home a few weeks later. In addition to the overweight cats adopted, the promotion increased awareness of our facility and brought traffic to the center, resulting in an increase in overall cat adoptions. The Placer SPCA, like all animal rescue and sheltering organizations, struggles to place the large number of cats brought in. In October 2008, for instance, our center housed 181 cats, compared to 37 dogs. In order to educate the public about our center and bring in potential adopters, we hold a special each month. Generally, the adoption fee is lowered to $25 for the cats of the month ; in February the adoption fee was waived entirely because of the urgency of the need for these cats to be adopted. Those who adopt at the lower fee receive all the services regularly provided at the usual fee, including spaying or neutering, microchipping, leukemia/feline AIDS testing, and vaccinations. Our actual expenses, not fully covered at the lower fee, are subsidized with donations and other fees for services. We have a partnership with a local radio station to help with the promotions, and members of our staff use their creativity to highlight the specials. For instance, in March a pot of gold was placed in the lobby from which different colored coins were drawn. The different coins represented additional discounts to the adoption fee. We are especially proud of the Flabulous Feline special because of the impact on the animals health that a long stay in the center could have. However, we make a special effort each month for the benefit of the many cats housed here. Overcrowding can seriously impact the center, leading to disease transmission and other problems. We will continue to develop new ideas to adopt all our animals to loving homes.

3 150 Corporation Yard Road, Roseville, CA Ph: / Fax: Meet Cydrick Cydrick, weighing in at 21 pounds, was the largest of the Flabulous Felines at the Placer SPCA in February At his size, his movements were severely restricted even in our largest cat cage. He was adopted as a result of our promotion.

4 150 Corporation Yard Road, Roseville, CA Ph: / Fax: Cat Specials February: March: April: May: June: July: August: September: Flabulous Felines Free to Good Home 11 of 12 overweight cats adopted Kitties at the End of the Rainbow 25 green-eyed cats adopted Spring Showers Bring May Kittens 54 adult cats (over the age of one) adopted Celebrate Mothers 37 female cats adopted (spayed, of course!) Paws for your Pa 17 male cats adopted (neutered, of course!) The Color of Independence 14 tortoiseshell and calico cats adopted Go for the Gold 15 gold-eyed cats adopted Fall Fashions: Everything Goes with Black 64 black cats and kittens adopted

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6 150 Corporation Yard Road, Roseville, CA Ph: / Fax: The Sacramento Bee February 5, 2008 (followup embedded in second column February 7, 2008 please see separate Attachment 5)

7 Lisa Heyamoto: Honeymoon surprise for Yolo couple - Sacramento News - Local and Br... Page 1 of 2 10/31/2008 This story is taken from Sacbee / Our Region / Lisa Heyamoto Lisa Heyamoto: Honeymoon surprise for Yolo couple lheyamoto@sacbee.com Published Thursday, Feb. 07, 2008 Fun fact: In the 1950s, Woodland was said to have had more millionaires per capita than any other city in California. If you lived there, you might know that. But if you live farther afield, you might not even know where Woodland is. Which is pretty much what a Woodland couple on their honeymoon expected when they started chatting up Richard Breedon in Geneva, Switzerland. Breedon was there, as he often is, as part of his job as a high-energy particle physicist for UC Davis. Brian and Shelley Rice were there because their travel agent mistakenly booked them a flight home from Geneva instead of Genoa, Italy, an error that took two countries and a train ride to remedy. Breedon ended up showing the couple around the city, and he and his wife even met up with them back in Sacramento to relive the tale. And you don't have to be a high-energy particle physicist to know that it's a pretty cool one. * * * Adopt an overweight cat from the Placer Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and you won't have to pay per pound. A shame they don't sell cat food that way. But if you're going to take advantage of the free, fat felines that I wrote about Tuesday, New Jersey writer Martha Garvey wants to sweeten the deal for the next three adopters by throwing in an autographed copy of her book, "My Fat Cat: Ten Simple Steps to Help Your Pet Lose Weight For a Long and Happy Life." Speaking of per pound, she'll even pay for the shipping. For further information, go to

8 Lisa Heyamoto: Honeymoon surprise for Yolo couple - Sacramento News - Local and Br... Page 2 of 2 10/31/2008 * * * Perhaps it escaped your attention that Feb. 5 was Shrove Tuesday. Don't feel bad. You had a lot going on. Had you remembered, though, you might have gone out of your way to enjoy some pancakes because folks traditionally use up all their butter and eggs on the eve of Lent. Shrove Tuesday is colloquially known as Pancake Day in more than a few parts of the world. But here in the U.S., it can't compete with The Man, and IHOP accordingly pushed back its celebration of National Pancake Day by a week to give Super Tuesday its day in the sun. So mark your calendars for Feb. 12, when you can get a free short stack at participating IHOP's in an effort to raise awareness for Children's Miracle Network. Why the two Tuesdays should be mutually exclusive is a mystery. Everyone knows 2000 was the year of the buttermilk ballot. * * * Speaking of Super Tuesday, it was a good day to be a Ron Paul fan. The local returns-watching party was off the hook. They, like, totally packed that back room at the Roseville Round Table with celebrities, a DJ and a line out the door. You should have been there, man, it was awesome. Yeah, not really. As the returns crept in, the Paul party had dwindled to three young voters on their last sip of beer, dreaming up a celebration that equaled their passion. None of the TV stations was mentioning Paul's progress. Radio proved much the same. Even the hallowed newspaper, they said, had given their candidate short shrift. "And trust me," 28-year-old Jeremy Plog said, "I'm looking." But lest you fear for Paul's fate the group decidedly did not consider that the physician still delivers babies on the weekend, which is one way to ensure a future vote. Call The Bee's Lisa Heyamoto, (916)