I would like to start out by thanking all of the volunteers who have been reading the announcements and reminders and abiding by our guidelines. It is very important that you follow these requests to make your volunteer experience safe and enjoyable. If you ever have any questions or comments about our guidelines or anything else, feel free to contact me at any time. Don't forget to check out the Announcement board in the Volunteer Center when you come in to the humane society - this is a great source of information for you as well.

Great News - Special Animal Adoptions
This has been an amazing month for animal adoptions, as we have seen many of our favorite furry friends find great forever homes! Everyone knows Forrest, the black and white cat - he was housed at Hill Animal Care, in Kitty City, and in our communal cat room. He was placed with a fantastic home! We also said goodbye to Chewbacca the one-eyed cat and that big sweet kitty very aptly named Big Man. Let's not forget about those tail waggers! Sweet little Oaken, the white and tan pit bull mix found a nice family this month. Our dog walkers all know Sammy and Boogie, those two black labs that shared a run for a while. Both dogs found forever homes and are doing very well! Extra thanks to all the volunteers who work with our animals to make them happy and adoptable!

Announcements
* You should have received an e-mail message regarding my schedule just a few days ago. Due to the academic calendar, my work schedule has changed and is currently posted in the Volunteer Center. I will be in the office Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:30pm-4:00pm, most Saturdays and every other Sunday. If you need anything while I am out of the office, speak with Rachel Anderson, our front desk supervisor or Michelle McKnight, our shelter manager.

* Many of our staff are students as well and have changed their schedules to part time hours so they can concentrate on their studies. Due to this change we are looking for additional help with our opening and closing procedures. We are currently seeking cage cleaners in the mornings from 8:00am - 11:00am every day. Duties will include cleaning cat and rodent cages, sweeping, mopping and additional general cleaning duties. When we close for the day we need to make sure all of our animals have clean cages and fresh water. Volunteers are needed for this task from 4:00pm - 6:00pm Monday through Saturday and 2:00pm - 4:00pm on Sundays. Contact Rachel Anderson at adoption@cuhumane.org or 344-7297 for details on both positions.

* We will be closed to the public on September 5th in observance of Labor Day. Volunteers are welcome to walk dogs, socialize cats and help clean cages. Please contact me if you are interested in volunteering on the holiday. See the last announcement in this section for additional days the humane society is closed.

* Our Annual Board of Directors Meeting will be held on September 14th at 6:30pm at the Urbana Civic Center. During this meeting we will hold elections for our board of directors, Executive Director Jason Smith will present a review of the year and speak about the future of the humane society and Treasurer Marlene Walker will give an overview of CCHS finances. You must be a member of CCHS in order to participate in the elections. Contact Jamie Hanoka at jamie@cuhumane.org or 344-7297 for membership information.

* We will be participating in the Petsmart Adoptathon on Friday, September 16th (11:00am-3:00pm), Saturday, September 17th (10:00am-2:00pm) and Sunday, September 18th (10:00am-2:00pm). We will need volunteers in the following shifts to handle dogs and cats, answer questions about the humane society and assist with our booth. Please indicate if you are able to transport supplies and/or animals when you sign up for a shift!

* Friday: 10:30am-1:00pm & 1:00pm-3:30pm.

* Saturday: 9:30am-12:00pm & 12:00pm-2:30pm.

* The humane society is holding a brand new event this year called Mutt Strut on Saturday, October 8th. This event will be held at Crystal Lake Park in Urbana and will involve a fun walk and possibly unique photo opportunities for you and your pet. We will need volunteers to help set up, assist with registration, fill water bowls and clean up at the end of the event. Registration begins at 8:00am so we will need volunteers at 7:00am to begin setting up. The event runs through 11:00am and we have the space
reserved until 11:30am, so all volunteers will be finished working at that time. See our newsletter, Paw Prints or visit our website (www.cuhumane.org) for additional information.

* Mark your calendar for these holidays for the rest of the year. On these holidays, the humane society will be closed to the public. As a reminder, we close at 4:00pm the day before a closed holiday. We would also like to remind you that you are still welcome to volunteer on any holiday - just let me know that you're coming!

* November 24th - Thanksgiving

* December 25th - Christmas

* January 1st - New Year's Day

* Looking ahead a little bit, our annual fundraising auction, "A Fetching Ball" is scheduled for November 11th. More information will beavailable as the date approaches!

Reminders
* Don't forget that if any visitors come in with a stray animal, or are looking for their stray pet, they need to be referred to the Animal Services Facility on the Corner of Art Bartell Drive. The front desk staff can provide you with details.

* Cat socializers: Don't forget that the room off of the main dog adoption room is currently open to visitors! These cats can (and should) be socialized - please remember to go through the hallway entrance when removing cats. NEVER take cats through the dog adoption room. Encourage visitors to view these cats, too!

* When grooming animals, don't forget to sanitize brushes and combs between animals. The combs should be placed in the barbicide solution on the volunteer desk and brushes should be sprayed with Nolvasan solution (provided by the front desk staff upon request). Please do not put brushes in the barbicide solution as it is not large enough to accommodate brushes.

* Please do not remove any supplies from the shelter. All supplies should be returned to where you found them when you are finished for the day to ensure that they are there for the next volunteers.

* We need small animal socializers! Our hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, rabbits and other little guys need play time, too! If you are interested in learning how to handle our small animals, please ask any front desk staff member when it is not busy. They would be happy to show you. (There will not be a socialized marker like the shower curtain rings or dog walking signs.)

* Dog walkers: Please don't forget to pick up after every dog that you walk. We recommend bringing several bags on each walk 'just in case.' Bags can be found in the dog walking area to the left of the laundry room (you should not put used bags in this bin). Don't forget that you must be at least 18 years old to walk dogs.

* If you have been an adult (18 and over) volunteer for at least a month you are eligible to begin training in other areas of the shelter. We have available positions in our medical program (helping medicate animals, assisting with physical exam, etc.), our foster program (giving continuing care to our residents in your home), and at Petsmart (socializing cats at the Petsmart store in Champaign). Contact me if you are interested in any of these programs.

* Junior and Apprentice volunteers: If you need to schedule your volunteer hours, please call and speak with a front desk staff member with your date ready. Please do not call to find out what times are available as our front desk staff is very busy and it is more convenient to schedule hours that are already selected.

* Occasionally our small animals and cats will play with their cage cards and shred them. In order to make sure that our potential adopters have all of the animal information available to them, please inform the front desk staff when you see an animal with a torn, shredded, wet or missing cage card.

Notable Notes

* Don't forget to get your stylish volunteer t-shirt to wear while you are working in the shelter or out and about in the community. We are currently out of small sizes, but we still have shirts available in medium, large and extra large. They are only $5.00 to cover the cost of purchase and you can get them at any time. Ask for me or Michelle to get yours today!

* The Orange-N-Blue Bridge Club is hosting their next scheduled game at the Ginger Creek Facility at 2901B W. Springfield Avenue. They will be donating a portion of their proceeds to the Champaign County Humane Society! Please visit the game and have some fun! For additional information contact Glen Overby at 217-474-1823.

* We would like to thank all of the staff and volunteers who went above and beyond in helping us get ready for our Open House and Adopt-a-thon last month. We had a lot of people here giving everything they have to make sure our facility looked it's best for our visitors. The place looked (and still looks) great and we truly appreciate the camaraderie that we all experienced during our renovations.

Quotable Quotes

Don't forget to enter your quotes each month to see if you can get yours printed in our volunteer newsletter! Remember, we will pick the best animal quote at the end of the year and the winner will get a prize!

**Oops! The same quote that won in March was given another spot in the August newsletter!**

This month's quote comes from Colleen Vojak who comes to help with her youth volunteer children in the mornings!

"Cats rule, dogs drool!" ~ Sassy, Homeward Bound

Volunteers are worth their weight in gold!. ~ Katie Widlacki