Don’t forget, it’s not too soon to be thinking about the GIANT CCHS Garage Sale.  We need volunteers from May 15^th through May 28^th to accept drop-offs, organize merchandise and work the sale days.  Info sheets and schedules are at the shelter; just pick one up at the front desk.  Schedule sheets should be returned to me.  If you have questions, feel free to contact me or the event coordinator at mlpayne@uiuc.edu.

 

Great News – Special Animal Adoptions

Spring has sprung and with the onset of the great weather, we have seen some very special animals get forever homes!  Fluff, that 11-year-old orange kitty finally found a great place to live.  Remember Goliath?  He won 9^th place in the Illini Cat Club’s Domestic Cat Competition and won a place in the heart of a great family.  The GIANT rottweiler mix named Sheba found a great home, too (and should be on a diet now).  We would not be able to do so many adoptions without the help of our faithful volunteers!

 

Announcements

¶    As I mentioned above, don’t forget to sign up for your shift at Bark in the Park – A Canine Carnival on May 7^th.  We need volunteers all day in order to make this a successful event.  Send me an e-mail or leave me a voicemail message if you are free to work on that day.

¶    We are still looking for volunteers for the GIANT CCHS Garage Sale.  You can volunteer specifically to accept drop-offs, organize merchandise, work on sale days, or all three!  To sign up, pick up an information packet from the shelter.  The schedule sheet in the packet should be filled out and returned to me.

¶    We will be holding an offsite mini adopt-a-thon on May 14^th at Country Arbors Nursery in Urbana.  We will need five volunteers to transport animals, showcase animals and sell items to benefit the humane society!  We will be at the nursery from 12:00pm to 4:00pm.  The shifts available are 11:00am – 2:00pm, 2:00pm – 5:00pm or all day from 11:00am – 5:00pm.  Let me know if you have any questions or want to volunteer your time at this event.

¶    I will be out of the office from May 30^th through June 5^th, if you have general questions or need to sign up for junior/apprentice hours you can speak with a front desk staff member.  If you have urgent problems your contact person is Michelle McKnight.  She can be reached at the shelter by phone or by e-mail at michelle@cuhumane.org.

¶    Our adoption fees will be changing as of May 1^st, 2005.  Cat and dog adoption fees will remain the same ($75.00 & $85.00 respectively).  The adoption fee for kittens and puppies (under five months) will be $100.00.  The increase in the fee helps to supplement the time and resources we apply to animals in this age group.  If you have any questions about this, feel free to ask us!

¶    As you may know, we have a room in the shelter referred to as the Isolation Ward.  The cats that are in this room are sick with things like upper respiratory infections, ringworm or eye infections.  We need to keep these animals separate to give them a quiet place to recover and to protect the health of the general shelter population.  These cats are in need of grooming and socializing.  If you are interested in volunteering in our ISO ward, please let me know.  We are looking for ten volunteers to train to work with these special needs cats.  You will be trained to handle sick cats, prevent cross-contamination and look for signs of illness.  Keep in mind that on the days that you work with these cats you should not interact with any other cats in the shelter.  This volunteer opportunity requires a set schedule.

¶    We are again keeping adoptable cats at the Petsmart Luv-a-Pet center at the Petsmart store in Champaign.  We need volunteers to socialize those cats and do adoption counseling there.  You will be trained in socializing and general adoption counseling information will be distributed.  If you are interested in this, please let me know and I will have Rachel Anderson, our Petsmart Coordinator give you the necessary information.  As with the ISO cats, this volunteer opportunity requires a set schedule.

¶    Many of you have asked me about the sign that was up on the garage door for a few days while I was out of the office in April.  We had a member of the public enter the garage and shelter staff wanted to ensure that it did not happen again so they hung a sign that said ‘staff only’.  The sign has since been amended to include volunteers.  You are welcome to enter the garage to pick up or drop off newspapers and to pick up or drop off carriers.  The animals in the garage should not be handled unless you have been specifically approved and trained to do so by a staff member.

 

Reminders

¶    As always, we need more folded newspapers!  Feel free to take unfolded paper home and bring it back to the shelter.  With the onset of spring, kitten and puppy season are just around the corner, and we need to make sure we have plenty of papers ready at all times.

¶    If you use towels while you are walking dogs, please remember to bring your towel in when you are finished for the day. 

¶    The animals in the hallway (near the restrooms) are not available for adoption and should not be handled by members of the public or by untrained volunteers.  There are specific guidelines for handling those cats.  Please do not take visitors to these animals and if you see members of the public handling them, please inform them that the cats should not be handled and instruct them to wash/sanitize their hands before handling other cats.

¶    When you are volunteering please make an effort to encourage our visitors to sanitize their hands between animals.  The more sanitizing we do, the lower the risk of cross-contamination.

¶    Please remember to help the staff keep the building clean.  We want to make this a pleasant environment for everyone, animals included!  If you see a messy cage, please pitch in and freshen it up.  This includes sweeping, cleaning windows and get acquainted rooms and laundry!

¶    Don’t forget to keep your volunteer areas clean, too!  Remember to put the nametag roll and sign in book back into the correct drawer when you are finished.  Do not leave leashes and brushes on the desk; put them back where you found them.  We would also appreciate it if you would also make an effort to keep your nametags off of the volunteer desk when you are finished with them.  They are unattractive to visitors and difficult to remove when stuck to the desk surface.

¶    Save the date: Don’t forget that we have scheduled the Kitten Shower for July 16^th at Lincoln Square Mall and we will need LOTS of volunteer help not only on the day of the event, but in the weeks before to trim nails, groom and make signs!  Mark your calendar and keep your eyes open for more information!

 

Notable Notes

¶    The humane society held its first small animal adopt-a-thon on April 23^rd.  The event was organized by Girl Scout Heather Stewart and allowed us to showcase our critters, which sometimes don’t get enough attention because of all of the dogs and cats.  Heather prepared several pamphlets about the different species and we got thirteen little guys adopted!

¶    We would like to give special thanks to the members of Alpha Gamma Delta for their incredible philanthropy event.  The members made 12 cat blankets, folded almost five hundred pounds of newspapers and made ribbons for us to use at our winter fundraiser!

¶    As the weather gets warmer we need your help to make sure each animal has clean, fresh water at all times.  We also need you to keep your eyes out for signs of exhaustion which include open-mouth panting, listlessness and erratic behavior.  Open-mouth panting in dogs is common after walks outside, but if you notice them doing it for longer than a few minutes after returning inside, alert a staff member.  If a cat does ANY open-mouth panting alert a staff member immediately.

¶    We would like to inform you of a program called Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP).  This program is offered by Family Service and allows for seniors to make a difference in their community.  If you 55 or better, you should think about becoming a member of this organization.  Nothing will change about your volunteer experience here, you will just keep additional records and we will submit them to the RSVP offices.  There are several RSVP volunteer stations around our community, including the humane society.  Logging hours as a part of the RSVP program allows them to raise funding to help other seniors in our community.  For more information about this program contact the RSVP office at 359-6500 or visit at 48 Main Street in Champaign.  There are information pamphlets in the Volunteer Center.

 

Quotable Quotes

Don’t forget to send me your favorite quotes for a chance to have yours entered into our newsletter.  At the end of the year we will choose the best quote of the year and provide a small prize!  Your quotable quote for the month comes from a very devoted volunteer, Queenie Tsui!

 

 “It was the first time I remember feeling truly happy.  It’s selfish, really, but if I can make them feel safe for just one day, then it makes me feel good, you know, happy, in my heart, and it’s only in the company of animals that I feel that way.” ~ Randy Grimm, Stray Rescue of St. Louis

 

Thanks for all that you do ~ Katie Widlacki