PAW TALK FALL 2017 Toga adopted October 2017 Cat Corer...2 Dog Erichmet...3 We Have Rabbits!...4 How You Ca Help...5
PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT PAW TALK FALL 2017 2 What is a Commuity Cat? By Patty Rusak, Commuity Cats Maager Commuity Cat is a term that has evolved over the past decade to describe a cat s lifestyle rather tha the temperamet or owership of the cat. Commuity Cats iclude stray ad pet cats i additio to feral-behavig cats. The commoality is that they sped most of their time outside, ad usually less tha 2% are sterilized. Why do we care about Commuity Cats? Kittes bor from Commuity Cats are the biggest cotributio to cat overpopulatio, ad they impact the Humae Society daily. Good Samaritas brig us kittes that they fid outside, but leave the mother of the kittes behid; oftetimes she eds up matig agai. Female cats ca go ito heat at four moths of age ad have multiple litters of kittes i oe year. How ca you help? If you are carig for or kow someoe that is carig for a outdoor cat, please make sure they are aware of Trap-NeuterRetur (TNR). TNR is a process through which free-roamig cats are humaely trapped, sterilized, vacciated, ad retured to their outdoor homes o more ew litters of kittes! For more iformatio o our Commuity Cat Program or the TNR process i geeral, call us at (253) 284-5812 or email pattyr@thehumaesociety.org. A healthy, eutered outdoor cat. COMMUNAL LIVING: FREEDOM FROM FEAR Litter box feg shui Cats cofied to a small space are ofte aggressive due to distress. The wide ope space of our Petuia Louise Cat Coloy Room eases cats ito Humae Society livig, helpig them to feel more at home. By Jerica Marterella, Cattery & Cat Receivig Supervisor Oe of the biggest disagreemets cats have with their owers is where to put that pesky litter box. As humas, we thik about what s most coveiet for us, ad who really wats a toilet i their livig room? Yuck! So we shove the litter box i ooks ad craies so it s out of sight. Little do we kow we are settig ourselves up for disaster! Cat Services icludes, from top left, Stel Lusich, Tabitha Kaup, ad Colto Kitt. Bottom left: Jerica Marterella ad Laura Ifft. Not pictured: Sarah Bosell. Our cat coloy room fit Chatelle to a tee. Here the love bug could socialize through the large, glass widows, ad perch herself o visitors laps, expadig her view of life ad decreasig the likelihood of paic. Imagie this, your cat is usig the restroom, midig his/her ow busiess whe this large metal box starts roarig ad shakig violetly. From that day o your cat may vow to ever set foot i the room its humas call laudry agai. So where does your cat go to the bathroom ow? Perhaps o a lovely pile of clothes or maybe the couch? I thik we ca all agree that we wat to avoid this. By placig the litter box i quiet rooms we ca avoid loud oises such as the washer or a flushig toilet from scarig our cats out of usig their box. Our Cat Foster team: from left, Jei Quates, Patty Litwi, ad Sarah Aderso. Wat to jump right i ad foster cats ad kittes yourself? Visit www.thehumaseociety.org to sig-up today. com o o s ig The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee Cat Coloy Room! Shy Reboud came out of his shell with more room to roam, ad eve took to ruig o a cat exercise wheel, combatig metal sufferig by gettig the blood flowig!
PAW TALK FALL 2017 3 Let s talk dogs By Cecily Joque, Keel Supervisor Humae Societies ca be stressful places for dogs. Dog keel staff ad voluteers work very hard to miimize stress as much as possible while our dogs await ew homes. The Humae Society emphasizes positive reiforcemet methods based o curret scietific research to keep dog-huma iteractios free of fear; staff ad voluteers utilize treats as a reward system ad also as a way of creatig happy associatios i the keels. For some dogs, however, the opportuity to play with a toy or egage with ather dog is more motivatig tha high value hot dogs. It s all about meetig each idividual dog where they re at. To help keep boredom at bay, puzzle toys ad chew boes are offered so dogs i our care have somethig to do i their keels whe they are ot directly egagig with a perso. Keel Erichmet The purpose of erichmet is to reduce stress ad improve well-beig by providig physical ad metal stimulatio, ecouragig speciestypical behaviors (i.e. chewig), ad allowig aimals more cotrol over their eviromet. At the Society, we offer these activities ad more: I the future, the Humae Society hopes to utilize play groups to help dogs develop or maitai sociability as well as offer exercise. Scet-Satio Staff or voluteers spritz a few squirts of calmig spray or pet-safe deodorizig spay while walkig throughout the keel. The scet ad visual stimulatio of sprayig the deodorizer provides a multi-sesory experiece! Dog Services icludes, from top left, Alexader Yeatma, Hailey Warer, ad Natha Va Ness. Bottom left: Brady Bosto ad Cecily Joque. Box o Fu Smaller boxes are stuffed iside larger boxes, ad treats are placed betwee the layers. The pooch is the ecouraged to satisfy their appetite for destructio! Quiet Time To teach a dog to behave i a calm maer, a voluteer may quietly sit o a chair/stool at the mid-poit of the keel, igorig the dog. With raised bed removed, soft beddig is placed towards the frot, ad ay movemet towards this beddig is rewarded with praise ad/or marked with a treat. Oce the dog relaxes o the beddig, the voluteer alterates betwee pettig ad markig with a treat, aimig for icreasig icremets of calm behavior without iteractio. Cookie adopted March 2017 Wigs of Rescue Savig lives with Aimal Trasport By Aubrey Clemet, Aimal Placemet Supervisor ad out-of-state shelters o a daily, weekly, ad mothly basis. The Humae Society for Tacoma & Pierce Couty s Aimal Trasport ad Rescue Placemet Program is i full swig savig lives! The staff members at the Humae Society are o a missio to help save as may aimal lives as possible by collaboratig with ad supportig both local ad out -of-state shelters, rescue groups, ad aimal welfare programs who fid themselves overwhelmed by full keels. Because Washigto State is a leader i educatio ad resources for spay ad euter, our local Humae Societies are seeig a reductio i aimal itake. This reductio i itake meas ope keels, ad ope keels meas we are able to brig i more aimals that eed us. The Humae Society wats to help elimiate the eed for seseless euthaasia due to space or time by supportig our parters ad takig i aimals from both local Because of geerous doatios ad support from our commuity, we are able to give back to some of the groups we work with by ot oly savig the lives of their aimals i eed, but also by providig fudig for spay ad euter, vaccies, ad trasport costs. We are also able to take i medically eedy aimals from groups who lack fudig to provide the medical care eeded to treat their aimals. The Humae Society is also committed to help whe we get the call! Whether it is wildfires i Washigto or hurricaes i Texas, we are ready to help wheever ad however we ca. Thak you to all who support Humae Society programs like Aimal Trasport ad Rescue Placemet. 465 DOGS TRANSPORTED Haah adopted October 2017 Project Freedom Ride 13 CATS TRANSPORTED
PAW TALK FALL 2017 4 Hop time: freedom to express ormal behavior Durig hop time, Cassidy fids mustachioed rabbit Mr. Miyagi to be quite a curious little fellow. erichmet with voluteers ad customers who happe by. It s durig this time that the rabbit s persoality ca really shie. These two are as thick as thieves both i ad outside of hop time. While the rabbits are at play, Shaw ad Juste deep clea cages. Rabbits ca be very particular about the clealiess of their homes. Suday morig hop time crew. From left, Lucida Summerfield, Juste M, Shaw Syder, ad Cassidy Hart. Bottom ceter: Kryste Srail. Every morig, the lobby ad visitatio rooms are a flutter with movemet as residet rabbits take part i hop time. Durig hop time, rabbits are give free reig to explore ad stretch their legs, which is ormal behavior for the Lagomorphs. By providig sufficiet space ad proper facilities for exercise to take place, Humae Society rabbits thrive. While hop time takes place every morig, we do our best to offer exercise sessios throughout the day. Not oly does this afford rabbits a break, keep them slim ad trim, ad allow for metal stimulatio, but it also paves the way for socializatio ad Lookig to adopt? Cosider a rabbit embraces them as such. Some members of our stellar rabbit team. From left, Bryaa Shaw ad voluteers Breda Joes ad Jei Thoma. By Aubrey Clemet, Aimal Placemet Supervisor Rabbits are very social aimals ad make great compaios who are best suited to livig idoors with their families. They ca bod with you, cats, other rabbits, ad eve dogs! Rabbits are sweet, getle souls who show their love i big ways. If you have t had a chace to hop i ad see our buies, we ivite you to do so. For iformatio o our rabbits, please visit our website at www.thehumaesociety.org. Dogs, cats, ad rabbits, oh my! Wait, what rabbits? The Humae Society has rabbits? Yes, that s right, the Humae Society has rabbits! I fact over the last five years, the Humae Society has see 900 rabbits come through its doors with 202 i the last year aloe. Approximately 160 rabbits were adopted i 2016. Log goe are the hutch buies of the past; say hello to the house rabbit of the future! Over the past 10 to 15 years, rabbits have grow i popularity ad ca ow proudly tote the label of third most popular house pet. Ad of course, your local Humae Society Whe a rabbit is truly free ad comfortable with its surroudigs, we ca idetify whether the rabbit is shy, stadoffish, or iterested i iteractio via pettig or holdig. Rabbits have a whole spectrum of persoalities ad ofte form attachmets to certai people. No oe rabbit is alike. Hop time ca be a very peaceful time here at the Humae Society, ad we could always use more helpig hads! Visit www.thehumaesociety.org to see a schedule of Geeral Voluteer Orietatios, ad you ll be well o your way to makig a differece i the lives of our furry frieds. FUN FACTS * Rabbits are called Lagomorphs * Their teeth cotiuously grow, which makes a proper diet very importat * Rabbits ca be traied to use a litter box * They sleep with their eyes ope * They ca reproduce every 28-30 days, hece why spayig ad euterig is vital For Mary Stewart ad her daughter Aie, fosterig is a family effort! Become a small mammal foster yourself by visitig www.thehumaesociety.org. * Rabbit jumps ad twists are called bikies, ad they ca eve purr!
The healig power of a door s gift PAW TALK FALL 2017 5 DID YOU KNOW: By Claudia Tais, Director of Developmet Mimzy is a perfect example of the life-savig work you become part of whe you give a gift to the Veteriary Treatmet Fud. Mimzy came to the Humae Society with a fractured frot leg. Veteriary staff developed a treatmet pla for Mimzy, but they kew it was goig to take time if her leg was goig to heal. That s whe Alexader opeed his heart ad home to foster Mimzy durig her treatmet. Ultimately o amout of treatmet could save Mimzy s leg, ad she had to udergo amputatio surgery. The surgery wet well ad soo she was back to her happy self. There was t a dry eye whe Mimzy s happy happeed. Her ew mom saw her ad just kew it was love at first sight! Mimzy is doig well i her ew home, playig like a ormal oe-year-old pup, soakig up all the attetio she ca get, ad sleepig o the big bed with her ew family. Thak you guys for all your support ad for makig Mimzy s adoptio such a woderful experiece for my mom! Brady It will take more tha survivig a car fire to keep our Mr. Burs dow. Eve while our vet team treated his multiple burs he was friedly, well-maered, ad quickly became a staff favorite, gobblig up all the treats he could. Of course his slight uderbite oly helped his charm. Happy happeed for Mr. Burs whe Star decided to foster him while he healed. Still feelig the loss of her beloved Gussa, who had passed away just four moths ago, Star did t realize that Mr. Burs would provide healig for her heart as well. Mr. Burs has made a full recovery, ad Star made it official by adoptig him ad welcomig the charmer ito her family. You ca doate olie at www.thehumaesociety.org, or retur the eclosed evelope with your gift. I believe it was meat to be. Star $5 ca feed a aimal i our care $10 ca provide prevetative vaccies $25 ca fud a basic health screeig $50 ca offset the cost of diagostic blood work $80 ca support spay/ euter surgery for a cat or small dog $200 ca vacciate, feed, ad cover care for a dog or cat for a week $500 ca help defray the cost of a lifesavig surgery Veteriary Treatmet Fud At the Humae Society, we see may pets who eed medical care, just like Mimzy ad Mr. Burs. They eed treatmet for disease, medicatio to ease their sufferig, or surgery to improve or eve save their lives. That is why we established the Veteriary Treatmet Fud. Not oly does this fud provide medical treatmet of aimals while they are i our care, but it also helps us give every pet the best chace for a permaet, lovig home. The fud has also helped cats like Koby ad Myra. The pair was just seve-weeks-old whe they came to the Humae Society with their other littermates. Durig their itake exam the Society veteriaria quickly determied thigs were t quite right with the two little cuties frot legs. Both kittes had a deformity to oe of their frot legs, ad the veteriary team kew the oly optio was amputatio. ad sailed right through. Withi days, havig oly three legs was the ew ormal, ad they were back to wrestlig like othig ever happeed. After two weeks of recovery they were ready to fid their forever home. Staff kew these two had a special bod ad eeded a home that would keep the tabbies together. It did t take log before the call wet out o the Humae Society itercom that the tiy tripods were beig adopted. Staff ad voluteers came from throughout the buildig to meet the proud ew owers of Koby ad Myra, ad there was o shortage of tears as everyoe said farewell. A message from Dr. Kim Robbis, Director of Veteriary Medicie Dear Frieds, As a Humae Society veteriaria, I see myself as a advocate for all the aimals i eed i our commuity. I have a chace to use my skills daily to ease the sufferig of those aimals that come to us broke, diseased, or sufferig from chroic eglect. My team ad I work to make them comfortable, heal their wouds, treat their illesses, ad make them healthy for adoptio. Noe of these treatmets are possible without support from people like you. I ca assure you that our veteriary team at the Humae Society puts your doatios to good use to serve as may aimals i eed as possible. I hope you will cosider a gift to the Veteriary Treatmet Fud today. Thak you, Dr. Kim Robbis, DVM Despite their challeges these two kittes were thrivig ad displayig the ormal frisky behavior of all healthy kittes. Both kittes uderwet surgery Fosterig Koby ad Myra was the first time I had ever fostered kittes with this type of medical eed. They taught me about overcomig physical limitatios. Robi
Adopt. Foster. Voluteer. Doate. 10 % 2608 Ceter Street, Tacoma 253.383.2733 www.thehumaesociety.org Like us o Facebook @TacomaHumae ig e p ap h e y! ma t u e i h c r So fo l a o c Read t your lo a 2608 Ceter Street Tacoma, WA 98409 s No-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Tacoma, WA Permit No. 429 OFF HS Retail Store Coupo Church adopted October 2017