Fall 2018 Fall 2018 A Newsletter from The Humane Society of Genesee County Upcoming events: Holiday of Hope Saturday, Dec. 1 Santa Dog in Ortonville Dec. 12-15 Santa Dog in Flushing Dec.17-23 Volunteer Orientation Jan.12 Volunteer Meeting Jan. 12 New Happenings at The Humane Society of Genesee County What a season it has been! We ve had lots of changes, and one of them includes the opening of our Lile Memorial Dog Park. We had a dedication ceremony on September 29th that included speakers, ribbon cutting and our guest of honor, Muriel Lile. Another change you may notice has been the transformation of lighting in our shelter. Through a grant obtained from the Whiting Foundation, we were able to change all of our existing lighting to LED. This will save us thousands of dollars over the course of time. Through the kindness and generosity of the Nartel Family Foundation and our Ties & Tails Reverse Auction, we will be able to retrofit our Cruelty Investigation van with secured cages for comfortable transportation. This creates a much calmer way to pick up an animal in need of transport from a cruelty situation, or if they need to be taken for medical care at the veterinarian. A special thank you to our friends at Wells Fargo Advisors, The Gleaner s Club, and Barette Outdoor Living for their business-wide food and money drive they did for us this fall...you guys are amazing! Looking forward, our dreams are big. We will keep you updated with our Happy Tails Newsletter each quarter, that will include upcoming events, animal success stories and other newsworthy items. Thank you for being a part of our Happy Tails family! Adoptions What an amazing year it has been for adoptions! This year so far, we have done 1,300 adoptions of dogs, cats, birds, guinea pigs and more and also reunited some families who had lost their beloved pet. All of our dogs and cats are vaccinated, microchipped tested for illnesses and now we are also vaccinating our dogs for canine flu. All of our cats are also tested for feline heartworm, feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency. Thank you to all who adopted!
Page 2 Muriel Lile Ribbon cutting Ceremony Lile Memorial Dog Park Dedication More than a hundred local shelter dogs will have a safe, open place to exercise and play thanks to the efforts of Muriel Lile, a generous donor, and dozens of animal advocates across Genesee County. Ms. Lile gave thousands of dollars to fund the new dog park at the Humane Society of Genesee County. Her contribution, along with Think Pawsitive Award with proceeds from a reverse-auction at the annual Paws on Parade event, have made this dream a reality for our animals. This keeps our shelter dogs healthy, as sometimes our dogs can be with us for weeks, even months. The celebration and dedication ceremony was held September 29th with many of Muriel s closest friends, volunteers, HSGC staff and Board Members. Friends and HSGC Board Members thank Muriel Mari Brooks Congratulations to our very own Mari Brooks for winning the award for her Bright Idea at the Great Lakes Animal Welfare Conference in Battle Creek, MI. Sponsored by Michigan Humane Society, Mari was one of five recipients for the Think Pawsitive program that is in place at The Humane Society of Genesee County. The program was implemented to help reduce stress in the workplace by taking animals to your place of business for a Pet Break. The employees get a chance to take a break during their work day to interact with the animals, and it has also resulted in multiple adoptions at the Humane Society. Thank you to Mari Brooks for her Bright Idea! Blessing of the Animals Event Reverend Sue On October 5th Reverend Sue and her Deacon from St. Dunston s Episcopal Church in Davison blessed each and every one of our animals. Every animal was held or touched during the ceremony...even our resident tortoise! Reverend Sue donates her time to ensure the animals are happy and peaceful while they are in our care here at HSGC. Many thanks Reverend Sue! Photos courtesy of John M. Galloway
Shop at VG s and support HSGC! Do you shop at VG s grocery store? They have an excellent program called Direct your Dollars that turn in to money, Money, MON- EY for The Humane Society of Genesee County! Every time you shop at VG s, save your entire receipt (don t clip it off...they won t accept an altered receipt). Save em up and drop them off in our VG s dropbox in our Lobby! Kroger Community Rewards Program Did you know you can support The Humane Society of Genesee County just by shopping at Kroger? It's easy when you enroll in Kroger Community Rewards! To get started, sign up at www.kroger.com/ communityrewards and select Humane Society of Genesee County. Once you re enrolled, you ll be donating to The Humane Society every time you use your Plus Card! Amazon Smile supports HSGC! Corporate Sponsorship Marketing Opportunities This is a great way to show the community you are affiliated with one of the most trusted and respected organizations in our area, The Humane Society of Genesee County. Through these sponsorships, you will build a more comprehensive marketing mix, increase awareness among a broader demographic, generate positive PR for your company and provide financial support to HSGC. To find out how your business can benefit from a partnership with HSGC, contact us at corp@geneseehumane.org. Fall 2018 Page 3 Wells Fargo Advisors The Gleaner s Club Mott Middle College You shop. Amazon gives. Barrette Outdoor Living Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the Humane Society of Genesee County AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same service. Support The Humane Society of Genesee County by starting your shopping at smile.amazon.com
Page 4 The Story of Santa Dog (coming to Ortonville and Flushing!) Event Founder and Board Member Carl Liepmann with Santa Dog You ve all seen Santa Dog and his Reindogs at the holidays, but did you know the story of how Santa Dog came to be? The concept of Santa Dog began when Dog Lover and Dog Show Judge Carl Liepmann, a Board Member at The Humane Society of Genesee County, had an epiphany in 1982 while on his travels. Liepmann, who was in California judging a show, checked into his hotel. Upon unpacking his suitcase he realized he was missing some necessities. A grocery store was within sight across the parking lot of the hotel, so he walked to the store to pick up his items. As he entered the store, he saw a wooden wishing well in the lobby. As he got closer to it, he read a sign on the wishing well that read When you are shopping, please buy some dog or cat food to put in our well. The well was empty. Heartless, non-caring people? No but there was nothing to attract anyone to the lonely wishing well that sat there stagnant every single day. Customers would pass it by without a thought, because there was nothing drawing their attention to it. When Liepmann returned to his hometown of Flushing, MI, he approached his good friend Phil Bueche, the owner of Bueche s Food World with an idea. Carl proposed that he could do that same concept, but could bring his dog with him to the store. Who doesn t want to pet a dog? What better way to bring awareness to the plight of homeless animals? Phil and Carl decided that the holidays would be a great time of the year as people bustled to get their holiday cooking done. They set up a booth in the grocery store lobby where people could donate pet food to be distributed to The Humane Society of Genesee County, and the very first Santa Dog was started. What started as a weekend event has now turned in to a week-long event at both Bueche s Grocery stores in Flushing and Ortonville. Thousands of dollars have been raised over the 36 years Carl and with his many Santa Dogs. The program has expanded to provide not only pet food to the shelter, but also critical other needs such as cleaning supplies, cat litter and detergent. Carl Liepmann is known simply as The Dog Guy in Flushing, and as one person said so perfectly, It just wouldn t be Christmas without Santa Dog. Santa Dog will be in Ortonville Dec.12-15 and Flushing, Dec. 18-23. Hours are 9: 00 am-7:00 pm For locations, please visit www.bueches.com
Upcoming Events Fall 2018 Page 5 Holiday of Hope Mark your calendars for Saturday, December 1 from 10:00 am-4:00 pm. We ll have pictures with Santa, our traditional cookie walk, vendors, and more! This is a much anticipated event to kick off the holiday season, and the lines to get your pooches picture taken with Santa fills quickly. It s a fun and festive atmosphere with the aroma of cookies in the air...so don t miss out! To be a vendor or for more information, please contact events@geneseehumane.org. Hope to see you! Thank you to our Board of Directors Cathy O. Blight, MD Jonathan E. Burroughs Deborah Cummings Donna Dodds-Hamm Jeffrey Fuert Service Saturdays Beginning in January 2019, we will be having monthly service days for students needing service hours, but have not done a formal orientation at HSGC. The tasks will include making adoption folders, washing windows, un- Planning a Fundraiser for HSGC? First of all...awesome! We are fully funded through your kind donations and grants, and every bit you do for us makes a difference! Beginning in January 2019, we will have a Fundraising Packet for you to help with your fundraising efforts. With folding newspapers, decorating the shelter for upcoming events, and counting receipts. Students under the age of 15 years must be accompanied by a parent/ guardian, and preregistration is required (limit of 15 students) this packet, you ll receive the necessary materials to accredit your project including flyers, logo links and more. We will assist you in any way possible, including a tour of our facility for you and your guests, learning the history of HSGC, and possibly a visit to your Stay tuned for more information on our website at Students from Mott Middle College help with Garden Clean-up fundraising event with a shelter pet from our Humane Education Expert. To start, please contact our coordinator at volunteer@geneseehumane.org. Let s get this party started!!! Jane Johnson, CPA Carl G. Liepmann Mark L. Lippincott Debra Loader Cheri Mys, DO Thomas P. Price Norman Purdy Mark G. Plucer, DO R. Brace Reid David Roeser John L. Snell, DVM Susan Tolbert Leslie Toldo Nicole Yambrick, MS, LVT
Page 6 Volunteers Make the Difference! People choose to volunteer for a variety of reasons. For some, it offers the chance to give something back or make a difference to the people around them. For others, it provides an opportunity to develop new skills or build on existing experience and knowledge. At The Humane Society of Genesee County, we rely on volunteers for multitude of duties. Walking our dogs, comforting our cats, unfolding newspapers and participating in community events are all needed resources that our volunteers provide. We are currently looking for volunteers that have knowledge or skillset in event planning and being on fundraising committees. We host 2 large fundraisers a year, and are looking to expand our outreach with more volunteers. This would be a great opportunity for a communications internship, where you could gain and share skills, all while getting school credit. For more information on how you can be a volunteer in 2019, contact us at volunteer@ geneseehumane.org Volunteer Orientations & Meetings To be a volunteer at HSGC, we need to teach you what we are all about! We d love to have you join our team in 2019. To start this process, we ask you to fill out a volunteer application. You can visit our website for more information and orientation dates at *HSGC Volunteer Meeting Dates: All meet on Saturdays at 1:00 2:00 pm in the Conference Room! Jan. 12 March 9 May 11 (*For current HSGC Volunteers) Volunteer Deb Schultz gives an Orientation to new Vol- Workshops and Training Workshops: Workshops are free and offered to the public. Pre-registration is required by calling 810.275.0432 Rabbit care Workshop: 10:00 am-12:00 pm Check out all of the different ways you can volunteer! Volunteer Melanie Jillson speaks on cat care Saturday 1/26/19 Saturday 4/13/19 Instructor Heather Neu
Shelter updates Fall 2018 Page 7 Cruelty Investigator Dave Schmieder is busy delivering doghouses to Genesee County residents in need. Olivia the Cat With funding received through the Community Foundation of Greater Flint, we are able to purchase the lumber, paint and straw needed to construct these shelters for dogs who otherwise would have little resources. HSGC has found that in some cases, this is the only housing that the animal may have. If you know of a dog that is in need of shelter, please contact us at cruelty@geneseehumane. org. It is on a first come, first served basis, so please contact us before the need is desperate. Our wonderful cat Foster Mom, Melanie, sent us updates along the way with her foster, Olivia. Here are just some of her updates! Sweet Olivia has settled in her new digs nicely. She was very thin when we got her but has been eating really well, particularly wet food. She gets all she wants and has plumped up noticeably. I m attaching a pic of her little house. It overlooks the garden so she can watch chipmunks and squirrels. When she s not on the bench looking outside, she s perched on her tree, surveying the area. There are several comfy/hide-y places nearer the floor and she sleeps in those. I d guess she ll choose one of them when it s time for kittening. Just wanted to send a quick update to let you know how things are working out for Olivia. We re really enjoying having her! Another update: Just wanted to send some pics and an update on my little foster crew. Olivia s family of 5 is now six weeks old and just as energetic and healthy as they can be. There are 4 little orange boys and a tiny tiger-the only girl. The smallest one is 23 ounces and the largest one is 28oz. ) We re enjoying having them and will be perfectly happy to keep them until they re big enough to be spay/ neutered, but I wanted to check in with you to be sure that it s ok for us to continue to keep them. Our kitty coop has worked out wonderfully, giving the kittens and mama space to climb and play and us ample space to visit and socialize with them! We thank our Melanie and all of our volunteers in working so hard to help the animals both inside and outside of our HSGC shelter. Your dedication and loyalty go far above and beyond the call of duty, and we are tremendously grateful for all that you do! Here is pregnant Olivia the day that Melanie picked her up to foster for us Olivia s kittens at 5 weeks old
Wow...now THAT S a Great Gift! Garden of Reflection Paver Bricks The Humane Society of Genesee County offers beautifully engraved paver bricks that are permanently installed in our Garden of Reflection amongst all of the beautiful gardens. Viewed by hundreds of people that visit our gardens yearly, your loved one will have a special place for all to see and appreciate. The pavers (fully engraved and installed) start at $100 for a 4 x 8. Upon ordering, you will receive a beautiful certificate to present for gift giving. Please be sure to let us know if it is for a gift. Garden of Reflection pavers could be used to celebrate an event, promote a business, birthday, anniversary or honor your person or pet. Installationating of the pavers will resume in Spring 2019. For more information on these and other great gifts, contact us at volunteer@geneseehumane org or visit our website at www.geneseehumane.or g, and look under ways to donate. H U M A N E S O C I E T Y O F G E N E S E E C O U N T Y Thank you to these Marketing Partners! G-3325 S. Dort Hwy Burton, MI 48529 Phone: 810.744.0511 Fax: 810.744.3370 This could be YOU! Contact us at corp@geneseehumane.org for more information!