Champaign County Humane Society Volunteer Newsletter -March 2005
Champaign County Humane Society Volunteer Newsletter
We have exciting news this month! For the first time, the humane society is going to have a communal cat room! The room formerly known as Cat Adopts (to the left of Kitty City) is going to be gutted and redecorated to make it a fantasy land for cats! Instead of caged kitties we will have fifteen to twenty free-roaming cats in the room with a new kitty cubby-hole section and some really cool scratching posts! There are going to be some new guidelines for volunteering with our cats because of this new development, so don’t forget to check out the announcement section to get the details!
Great News – Special Animal Adoptions
As usual some of our very favorite animals got great homes this month. Nuter Buter, the German Shepherd Dog mix was here for two months and was adopted, while Kaylee was taken home after some time in foster care. Our big dog story of the month is Sampson, who was a nine year old German Shepherd Dog – we love it when the old guys get forever homes! Let’s not forget about our kitties. Canoe was here for SIX months before going to a fantastic new home with a roommate! Everyone’s favorite Bigs, the big brown tabby with FIV was also adopted – by me! He’s very sweet and has made himself right at home!
Special Announcements ~ Cat Room
CAT ROOM #1: As I mentioned before, the new cat room brings new guidelines. Since the cats in the new room are going to be housed together, we need to make sure that we pay extra attention to the health of those guys. If you notice any cats with signs of an upper respiratory infection (sneezing, discharge, coughing, etc.), diarrhea or any skin problems, it is very important that this information gets placed on the Health Communications Log (always remember to use the Animal ID number so we can tell which cat you are referring to. In the event that an animal develops an illness we will remove the cat immediately to protect the health of the other residents.
CAT ROOM #2: We are asking that if you are planning on socializing the cats in the communal cat room that you do so before going in the other rooms – if you socialize with a cat in another room and then enter the room there is a chance that you may introduce an illness into the room.
CAT ROOM #3: Since there are going to be several cats all sharing supplies, it would be very helpful for everyone to pitch in and clean the litter boxes and replenish water bowls. If you notice any messes in the room, please clean them or alert a staff member.
CAT ROOM #4: Due to the fact that the room will be crowded, we would prefer to have no more than two volunteers in the room at a time. This will ensure that there is enough room to socialize. Along these lines, if potential adopters are interested in entering the room, be mindful of the number of the people in the room. Too many people will be stressful for both the cats and our visitors.
CAT ROOM #5: Since all of the cats are housed together, we will not be using the shower curtain rings to mark that they have been socialized. You can find the cats’ information on the door to the room if you have any questions about them.
CAT ROOM #6: Don’t forget to spend extra time with the cats that aren’t lucky enough to be in the new room – they need you now more than ever. (Don’t forget about the Nursery!)
Since this is a new venture for us, I am sure there will be more updates and announcements as we hammer out the details. Thank you for your patience as we learn together.
Announcements
The Circle of Friends Adult Day Center is interested in having the humane society bring an animal to socialize with their residents once a month and we are looking for a reliable volunteer to do this! If you are interested, just let me know.
VCA Heritage is hosting events throughout National Pet Week and have invited the humane society to take part on May 6th! I know this is early to invite volunteers, but keep this date in mind since we are going to need volunteers for several different shifts throughout the whole day to help with things like showcasing animals, informing people about the shelter, bathing dogs and transporting animals. If you are interested, mark the date on your calendar and look for sign up information in next month’s newsletter.
I know this is short notice, but we need volunteers to help us at the Companion Animals Club’s booth at ExploreACES at the University of Illinois. We will be showcasing animals on March 11th from 9.00-4.00 and on March 12th from 9.00-3.00. We will need volunteers to handle animals and distribute information to visitors. If you are interested in this please send me an e-mail with ‘EXPLOREACES’ in the subject line and let me know what hours you will be available. We need volunteers to commit to two to three hour shifts throughout the day.
The shelter has instated a new program for cat adoptions! The ‘Seniors for Seniors’ program allows for senior citizens (over age 55) to adopt a senior cat (over age 8) at no charge! We feel that everyone deserves some animal companionship, and what better way to get our older cats adopted?
We are getting more and more tour requests from local service groups and schools. If you have experience working with children and are interested in learning how to lead a humane society tour, please let me know! We need reliable volunteers to independently lead tours on a variable schedule.
Check the website (www.cuhumane.org) for new information! The dates have been set for these upcoming events: Bark in the Park, A Fetching Ball and the Giant Garage Sale. More information will come as the dates approach.
Reminders
When socializing cats and dogs, please remember to always close the cage/run door when the animal is out. Our staff will assume that the animal escaped if they see an empty cage with an open door. This will also cut down on injuries from walking into the run doors.
Don’t forget to bring your towel in after walking dogs! There should never be towels at the front door, and you should always put your towel in the laundry room after you are done walking dogs for the day.
As always…we need more volunteers to fold newspapers. Since we use them everyday, this is an ongoing need.
For those of you interested in submitting a recipe for the humane society cook book, the deadline is fast approaching. We need all recipes by March 15th, so get yours in fast. You can e-mail them to me or leave them for me at the shelter. For more information on the cook book, visit our website.
Notable Notes
In order to save the shelter a few dollars in paper and postage, if you are receiving this newsletter by mail and have a viable e-mail address, please let me know so I can e-mail the newsletter to you. I would really appreciate your help on this one!
Our kennel staff has a request: if you use Tidy Cats cat litter in the five gallon container, don’t throw the container out when you are finished! We can use them to give water to our animals and save time by not having to fill up a gallon jug each time. If you are interested in donating a container please be sure to clean and sanitize the jug and just leave it in our kitchen. We need as many as you have!
The humane society held it’s first annual Spay Day in which our shelter veterinarian and students from the College of Veterinary Medicine spayed and neutered twenty-five animals at low cost for those members of our community who needed the help! We also had a featured photograph on the cover of the Daily Illini! We look forward to more successful Spay Days in the future.
The University of Illinois’ Wildlife Medical Clinic is holding its annual Doodle for Wildlife auction on Friday, April 8th. Visit their website http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/wmc/doodle_for_wildlife.htm for more information.
CARE is holding another class through Urbana Adult Education called ‘Selecting the Right Dog for You’ – it should be an interesting class with details on how to choose the right dog for your lifestyle.
The Humane Society of the United States is holding its annual Animal Care Expo in Atlanta, GA in April. More information at http://AnimalSheltering.org/expo
Quotable Quotes
A new section of the volunteer newsletter!
A very entertaining e-mail has inspired this addition to the Champaign County Humane Society’s Volunteer Newsletter! You are all familiar with the Notable Notes section, so here you have the Quotable Quotes! Send in your favorite animal related quotes and each month I will select the best quote to feature in the newsletter. Quotes should be e-mailed to me at 2.volunteer@cuhumane.org with the subject line of ‘QUOTABLE QUOTES.’ Please include the person who said the quote so we can give credit where credit is due! This month’s winner is Dan Wood since it was his great e-mail that started the section!!
“If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” ~ Will Rogers
~Katie Widlacki