T he Vo lu n teer and Foster Newsle tte r for Gre enhill Hu mane Socie ty and 1 st Avenue She l te r Department Spotlight 1st Avenue Shelter Kennel By Katie Barnett, 1st Avenue Assistant Kennel Manager I never knew you could love working at a place so much until I got the job in the kennel here at the 1 st Avenue Animal Shelter. A lot of people call the kennel doggy jail but to those of us who get to spend their days here know it s far from that. Once a dog enters the building and is put into our care that dog immediately becomes one of ours and we treat them as if they are our very own but not everyone understand what happens after they leave a dog with us. When a person brings a dog to the shelter as a stray the first thing we do is give them a quick medical assessment. If they need any immediate medical attention we will send them off to the emergency vet before taking them in after they ve received treatment. If they are healthy then we have the finder fill out a brief paper giving us some information and we impound the dog into our system. Putting the dog into our system gives us a way to track the dog s history with us and helps us post the dog several places so an owner has a chance of seeing them. We want all of these dogs to find their homes. After impounding the dog we give a more thorough exam. If they are comfortable with us handling them we look at their teeth, in their ears, at their eyes, legs, paws, hair, nails, how they walk, and we listen to their chest/heart/ lungs. If it s on the dog and we can look at it we do, and we make notes about anything abnormal. We copy any problems we see onto our medical board and move to the next step and weigh them. Once they ve been medically examined and weighed by a kennel staff member we prepare to vaccinate them. Upon intake we vaccinate all of our dogs for kennel cough and distemper. The vaccines are followed up with Katie with Duke Continued on Page 4 Volume 2, Issue 12 December 2016 Inside this issue: Department Spotlight 1 Volunteer of the Month 2 On Good Behavior 3 Foster of the Month 4 Speaking out Fur the Animals 5 Happy Tails! 6 Greenhill Humane Society 1st Avenue Shelter Volunteer Department Amy Harris, Manager Lauren Eshom, Assistant Phone: 541-844-8824 Volunteer@green-hill.org Foster Care Department Kristi Chizacky, Manager Samantha Maumary, Assist. Phone: 541-689-1503 ext. 114 or 116 Foster@green-hill.org
Page 2 Lisa C. Volunteer of the Month: Destiny F. Meet Destiny F.- our Volunteer of the Month for December! Destiny has been cleaning kennels at 1 st Avenue for a little over a year now. She said, Cleaning kennels is oddly meditative. I spend most of my days sitting at a computer, so there is something deeply satisfying about completing a physical task. Also, it is always fun to see the dogs rolling in their new clean beds. She is currently a student at the UO studying Physics and when she isn t busy with school, she said, Hubby and I like to go hiking with our pups and visit local wineries when the weather is nice. I like to garden as well. When asked what she s learned from volunteering at Meet the Staff! Greenhill, she replied, There are a lot of wonderful pets in need of forever homes. Every time I come in I wish I could take one home with me :) Some other fun and interesting facts about Destiny; I am a Eugene native, living with my hubby, two small dogs, and three cats. I was previously a software programmer, but I am currently back in school studying physics. I like to spend time out in my garden growing fruits and veggies and watching my chickens. Destiny has contributed almost 200 hours of service to the 1 st Avenue Kennel since the end of 2015! Her 1 year anniversary is THIS MONTH and we are so grateful for her compassionate and loving heart to give so much of her time to our animals! She is a natural leader and has the sincere ability to brighten everyone s day! Foster kittens by: Cilria A. Kathy C. Name: Lisa Pool What do you do? Animal Care Technician, 1st Ave Kennel How long have you worked at Greenhill / 1st Avenue? 1 Week What s your favorite part of your job? Feeding! And making a difference in each dogs life, of course. A bit about your background.. I used to work in the hospitality industry and most recently I helped my sister run her kale chip business, Pacific Superfood Snacks. I studied Journalism at U of O, graduate of 2008. I am from Bend, OR. I have been a volunteer at Greenhill from June 2016 until I got hired! What are your hobbies? Movies, puzzles, swimming, running, traveling when I can, hanging with my animals! Do you have any pets? Yes! 3! A Chihuahua, Trixy, she's 12yrs (almost 13!), a domestic medium hair (I swear he is a main coon mix!), Gizmo, he's 2yrs and 17lbs, a rescue from Central Oregon Humane Society, and a domestic short hair, Fergy, 5yrs, rescued from Oregon Humane Society, she's a whopping 7lbs. What s your favorite book and /or movie? All 7 Harry Potter books! Current favorite movie is the Revenant What is something nobody knows about you? I have no secrets! LOL
Volume 2, Issue 12 On Good Behavior By Micaela Frank, Behavior Coordinator, CPDT-KA Overarousal Lately I ve had a behavior topic on my mind that anyone who works in the dog kennels has probably seen, but some may not have known it: over-arousal. Or maybe you ve seen dogs exhibiting over-aroused behaviors, but you may not have known the full implications of these behaviors. I actually explored this topic with some Dog Enrichment Volunteers in our Focus Session in November. The topic could probably take up many Focus Sessions and it is an interesting one, so I thought I would begin to explore it here. Lots of dogs in the kennel exhibit overaroused behaviors, and dogs in homes do as well. You may see dogs jumping excessively, body slamming, barking excessively, grabbing toys, or leash biting. If you ve ever started to play with a dog who is relatively calm, and they escalate quickly, it can almost feel out of the blue. They ve gone from 0-10 so quickly that you didn t expect it. What some folks don t realize is that overarousal can lead to aggression. The dog may start playing with you in a relaxed state, then get a little bit grabby for the toy, then jump on you a few times, and then start grabbing your sleeve, and then start grabbing your hand, and then bite down way too hard and suddenly you are injured, all because the dog did not have the skills to calm themselves before they went too far. These dogs have trouble controlling their impulses and what starts as a fun game can quickly become actually dangerous even if the dog doesn t mean for it to. I ll give you an example that happened to me a while back, and really taught me about overarousal. I was working with a dog in a yard, and he kept humping me. It was annoying, but he was being friendly otherwise, and was fairly responsive to my attempts to redirect him. It felt like a successful training session, and I went to put him back in his kennel. As we entered, he started reacting at the dog next to him. I moved him away from the dog with the leash, and as I did, he turned towards me and bit my arm very hard, leaving two puncture wounds. So where did I go wrong? How did I not see this coming? At the time, I was not thinking of the over-aroused humping behavior he exhibited as the precursor to aggression. But it was. He was too out of control in the yard to be able to be in control of himself when put back in his kennel. The sight of the other dog sent him over the edge, and being moved away caused the overt aggression biting to surface. What would have happened if he had been in a completely calm state when I put him back in his kennel? We ll never know, but there is a better chance he would not have bitten. Another mistake we can make, besides not recognizing this important link, is to think that dogs are just being hyper and need exercise in order to burn off steam. This can only escalate the problem, because it keeps the dog in an over-aroused state, and does nothing to help teach them to be in control. So what can we do? There are many training techniques and management solutions to help us help dogs who need to learn self-control. One key thing to remember is to never remove a dog from their kennel if they are in an overaroused state: barking excessively, panting, eyes dilated, jumping, and unable to be calm. It is up to us to help them calm first so we can safely remove them, using techniques we learn in the Dog Enrichment Program. We can also set up training exercises to teach dogs to get a bit excited, and then to calm themselves. One exercise I love involves playing a short, controlled game of tug with a dog, and then having them lie down on their mat and get treats. Then the tug game can be started again, and then they can lie on their mat again. This exercise teaches them to rile up, but not too much, and then to calm down again, and repeat. In this way they can actually learn to calm themselves on their own when things get too exciting. One last thing: Being in an over-aroused, uncontrolled state is actually not comfortable for the dog. If you ve ever felt your emotions get the best of you, and feel like it is hard to calm down, you know what it s like. So the best thing we can do is help dogs learn to be calm on their own. It is safest, it is kindest, and it allows us to have the most fun with the dogs! Need ideas on how to keep your favorite dog in the kennel calm? Come chat with me and we ll put our heads together! Page 3 Bruiser and foster parent Tim B. Sarah S. These beautiful creatures may not be able to speak our language but somehow they will let you know how happy and thankful they are. -Mari A., volunteer
Page 4 Foster of the Month: Cirila Appelloff Nanouk M. Meet Cirila Appelloff, our Foster of the Month for December! Cirila says, I can't take all of the credit; fostering is a family affair! We started fostering a little less than a year ago. Initially, my husband and I decided to start fostering in order to help instill a sense of social responsibility in our children. And also, because puppies and kitties! One of Cirila s favorite foster moments is when she met her soon to be new member of the family for the first time. I was called to 1st Avenue to pick up a foster kitten. She was so tiny that I was afraid to touch her, and she was so terrified that she had an accident as she was being brought out. We bottle-fed her initially, bought her a modified litter box, and she spent her 'cozy time' nestled in a child-sized fleece hat. When it came time to say goodbye, we couldn't bring ourselves to do it. So we adopted her! Izzy (along with her new buddy Frizzy) now has the run of our home and our hearts, as well! When Cirila isn t hanging out with her foster animals or her own cats she is a stay at home mom but, also volunteers at Harrison Elementary during the week and she loves it! Her husband is an Army vet who now works at Lithia Motors. She has four crazy, kind, active, quirky, funny, lovable kids at home as well! We have two boys and two girls between the ages of 6 and 16. Cirila says. There are so many reasons to foster that I could never touch on them all, but here are some: It's easier to get started than you'd think. The process was so easy! By providing a healthy and nurturing home environment, you're also providing the opportunity for social interactions that your little buddy might not otherwise have. This gives your furry/ feathered/scaly friend a better chance at being adopted and also reduces the chance that they will be returned to the shelter after adoption. You will fall in love and you will shed goodbye tears, but both you and your foster baby will be better for having met! Squeek by: Angie S. Sam C. Department Spotlight from Page 1 dewormer and flea control. Its right around this time that we steal cuddles and loves before putting the dogs into their kennels. Each dog has their own kennel. In that kennel are a bed, blankets, water bucket, and some toys. They have a front and back to their kennels and can move back and forth as they please. We take the dogs our several times a day to go potty, they get walks with volunteers, and of course they get lots of staff love (that s the whole reason we re here you know, puppy love is hard to pass up!). Hopefully an owner and dog are reunited but if not then we will adopt them out to new a loving home. It s a job with its ups and down like all jobs, but the ups tend to take us a lot higher. There s nothing else in the world like seeing a dog see its owner again or getting to go home with a new family. There s nothing else in the whole world I d rather be doing. Ashley with a stray
Volume 2, Issue 12 Page 5 Speaking Out Fur the Animals Paw Print Outreach Reaches Out for Volunteers Personals! By Lauren Merge, Communications and Events Manager, Greenhill / 1st Ave. We wanted to give a big shout out to everyone who helped us at Art for Animals! Because of your help, we were able to raise $60,311.50! (!!!) That s over $4,000 more than last year. We also had over 400 people in attendance last year we had about 320. This event keeps growing and improving, and we re so excited with how this year turned out. This was also one of our smoothest years yet, with few major issues minus the excitement of some lights turning off unexpectedly! For me, the highlight was the paddle raise video. It was so inspiring to see the story of the animals we ve cared for this year on the big screen, and to know that the hard work our volunteers and staff put into caring for each and every one of them was being acknowledged. Thank you all so much for your help and support. We ll do it again next year! -Lauren and the Outreach Team Carrie Sweet and beautiful female looking for a home where she can be the only shining star! Come see me at Greenhill! Cooper Beautiful loving male looking for a mellow home that he can live out his long kitty days! I m waiting for you at 1st Avenue! Lilah Soft and friendly rabbit waiting at Greenhill for her perfect family to come along! Are you it?
Page 6 Upcoming Events & Classes: *Pet Photos with Santa - Dec. 3rd at 5th Street Market *Pet Photos with Santa - Dec. 5 & 12 at Valley River Center Happy Tails! Maudie already owns the place! She fits right in with our male Chihuahua mix and Izzy, our female Yorkie mix. She learns quickly from the other dogs, our daily walks and routines. I met her at the Chamber of Commerce greeters breakfast and spent time with her. The very next day I went out to Greenhill and adopted her! Maudie Happy Tails! Lizette V. We have to think long term about what is best for the animal. I can t adopt them all but I can help others to adopt! - Moira M., foster Faye (was Sahara) Happy Tails! We renamed her Clover. She's awesome! She's really playful, really fun, loves our other dog (a pug), loves pretty much everyone. She's starting to get more socialized. She gets really excited but, we found she was pretty well trained. The two dogs play constantly! There hasn't been any issue! Faye loves her new home. She got acquainted very quickly. She never hid behind the couch or underneath the bed like other adopted animals I have gotten in the past. She loves belly rubs and string - it seems to be her favorite toy so far. She made a great addition to our little family! Clover (was Kiko)