Champaign County Humane Society Volunteer Newsletter -January/February 2005
As we begin 2005 together we will meet many new volunteers and staff, see exciting new programs begin and perhaps see in increase in adoptions to the community, all due in part to the hard work and dedication of our volunteers. Looking back on 2004, you can see that most of the wonderful things that we were able to accomplish were due to the hours logged by volunteers. The 2004 total was an astonishing 9,222 hours!!! We appreciate every hour logged by every volunteer and through monthly calculations we noticed some stars! The following volunteers logged an impressive fifty hours or more throughout the year!
Gold Paw Volunteers (>200 hours): Amanda Charles, Brad Hudson, Nancy Krug. Silver Paw Volunteers (>100 hours): Jodi Peterson, Jackie Abbott, Terry Prinn, Laura Marchiando, Avigail Laird, Judy Henderson, Amanda Talbott, Benjamin Schwarze, Dan Wood, Misti Ford, Amanda Nickens. Bronze Paw Volunteers (>50 hours): Michelle Kohler, John O’Donnell, Debby Jost, Isaac Chambers, Colleen Vojak, Rachel Stout, Kate Moss, Jessica Moyer, Carol Jones, Satwik Rajaram, Stephanie Moy, Meredith MacKay, Brenda Menard, Barbara Garlick, Philip Garnier, Marlene Walker.
Let’s not forget those volunteers that don’t log hours in the shelter! This includes all of our wonderful foster families who spend countless hours caring for our special needs animals. We wouldn’t be able to uphold our adoption rate without the help of these great people! A few other notable volunteers include Vera Hanoka, Harriett Weatherford, Tom Schaefges, Barbara Meyer and Peggy Heilig.
With all of the new orientations and activities that have been going on within the volunteer program, this edition of the newsletter will cover January and February. I apologize for the inconvenience and will have a monthly edition again in March!
Great News – Special Animal Adoptions
It has been another great month for some long-term residents here at CCHS! The sweet little Colonial, Gale and Eddy all went home after a long seven months here with us. Everyone’s favorite, Romero was placed in a rescue group and adopted almost immediately! Cute, cuddly Fed Ex was adopted after five months here. Some great dogs got homes, too! The one and only Uno the one-eyed dog was adopted into a great home after a really rough life and cute little Tiki found a home, too! Big guy Zeus the rottweiler was placed into a rescue group as well! This just goes to show you that a little extra love can perk up our animals and get them adopted into great homes. Keep up the good work!
Announcements
¶ The volunteer Center is FINISHED! Through the donation of a desk and a few bulletin boards we were able to perk up the corner and make it special, just for you! Please be sure to keep the Volunteer Center clean and orderly. If you need a new timesheet for 2005 you can find them hanging in a clear holder on the wall in the Volunteer Center. Also, keep your eye out for new announcements and events on the information boards!
¶ We would like to formally announce Barbara Garlick as the new PhD Program coordinator! With an extensive background in animal training and behavior, we are sure that she will make the program the best it has ever been! We have encouraged Barbara to be creative with her program and approach to training, so look for exciting new changes soon. To contact Barbara, you can e-mail her at bgarlick@sbcglobal.net.
¶ If any volunteers are interested in knitting catnip toys or crocheting blankets for our cats, please feel free to e-mail me and I will forward you the patterns. We use the blankets in our cat cages here and offer the catnip toys to adopters for a small donation.
¶ Coming up this Saturday the 12th is the CARE Pet Lovers’ Expo at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. Here you will have a chance to meet members of CARE (Companion Animal Related Emotions ) Helpline for Pet Loss, visit with humane society pets and watch great demonstrations among other activities. Visit http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/CARE/ for more information!
¶ Annual Spay Week is here again! During the week of February 21st – 25th area veterinarians are offering a 25% discount on spay and neuter surgeries. Contact your local veterinarian or call the shelter to find out if your clinic is participating!
¶ February 15th brings us a special event! Members of CARE and CCHS are getting together to hold a class called CATS 101. This class is free to the public and offers some insight into feline behavior and health. The class will be held at Urbana High School from 6:30pm-8:00pm in room 1152. Visit our website for details.
¶ Mark your calendars for March 5th! The University of Illinois is holding its 7th annual Humane Education Seminar. Visit www.ansci.uiuc/edu/events/companion/humane for details.
¶ The humane society is looking for a volunteer ‘Handy Man (or Woman)’. We are looking for someone with basic knowledge of wood working, plumbing and general shelter maintenance who is willing to commit to approximately ten to fifteen hours a week. Contact Michelle McKnight at michelle@cuhumane.org by February 15th for more information.
¶ One of our volunteers is collecting great stories for our archives and potential publication! If you have a great success story about an adopted animal please contact Ellen at katznkatz@insightbb.com.
¶ We are in the planning process for two kennel enrichment programs. If you have access to painting supplies, building supplies, artistic talents and animal related products, we’d like your help! Contact Michelle McKnight at michelle@cuhumane.org for more information.
Reminders
¶ A note to Junior and Apprentice volunteers: always remember to sign up in advance for your shifts. You can sign up in the shelter or call and speak to any staff member regarding scheduling. My weekday hours are variable so my voicemail is unreliable for scheduling shifts.
¶ We are again in need of folded newspapers! You can fold them at home or in the shelter. If you don’t have any newspapers at home you can feel free to come and get some from the shelter! We ALWAYS need folded newspapers for our cages.
¶ A few reminders for dog walkers: Dogs under the age of six months can not be walked. Also, be conscious of any signs on cages that may inform you of feeding and/or walking restrictions. Don’t forget to bring a towel with you when you walk on rainy/snowy days to clean paws. We also must be sure to clean up after every walk to minimize the spread of intestinal parasites and SANITIZE hands after handling every animal.
¶ As I mentioned before, if you need a new volunteer sign in sheet please look to the right in the Volunteer Center. They are located in the clear hanging file.
¶ A few reminders for cat socializers: Again, don’t forget to SANITIZE hands between animals, especially during the winter season as upper respiratory infections are becoming more common. The shower rings for socialized cats are located next to the volunteer file cabinet – staff removes them each day so we can be sure everyone has been socialized.
Other Notable Notes
¶ Again, my work schedule is always posted at the front desk, so if I am not available when you need to speak with me the front desk staff will be able to tell you when I will be in next. The fastest way to get a hold of me is via e-mail and you can also feel free to leave me a voicemail (ext 24).
¶ You can visit our website at www.cuhumane.org for additional information regarding animal health care, behavior, selection and wildlife resources as well as great adoption stories! You can also link to other community organizations such as CARE, local rescue groups and Prairieland Anti Cruelty Program.
Thank you once more for making 2004 a fantastic year! Let’s work together and make 2005 even better!
~Katie Widlacki