Welcome to 2006!  The past twelve months have been great.  We have had several successful adoption events, our fundraising events were a hit and the shelter has never looked better.  Thank you to all of the volunteers who worked with us this year, we couldn’t have done it without you.  We have had a wonderful year together, and I look forward to another fantastic year!  There are a lot of important announcements in this month’s newsletter, so please read carefully.
 
Great News – Special Animal Adoptions
 
December was an unbelievable month for adoptions!  Everyone knows our great cats - Datura, Gatana, Mixie, Cat-in-a-box, and Owen…well, they all found forever homes this month!  Mixie and Cat-in-a-box were even adopted together – what a great way to start a holiday season!  Some of our favorite dogs are also in homes now, too!  Jack, Hoopla and Wrigley are all settling nicely into their new families.  Some long term residents that were adopted include Bear, Thelma and Louise!  Sometimes it’s hard to see them go, but we know they are all members of loving families now.  Keep up the good work!
 
Announcements

• From now until January 1st there will be a community time sheet for all volunteers to use together.  After the 1st, you should start a new individual time sheet.  The blank sheets can be found on the west wall of the Volunteer Center.  Please read and fill them out carefully as they have changed slightly.
  
• Please file your timesheets alphabetically according to your last name.
  
• Lets all work together to keep the Volunteer Center clean and neat.  Use the time sheet books carefully so they last longer and refrain from sticking nametags to the desk top.
  
• Junior and Apprentice volunteers: You have a new binder to replace the sign up sheets that were kept on the clip boards in your drawer.  Both programs have schedule sheets in the same binder – just find your section, select your week and write your times in, just like before.  Please let me know if you have any questions.
  
• We have started offering our Seniors for Seniors program to those community members interested in adopting a dog!  Senior people (over 55 years old) can adopt a senior dog (7 years old) at no charge.  Speak with our front desk staff for details on the program.
  
• Volunteer and adoption totals for 2005 will not be available until next month’s newsletter…sorry to keep you waiting.  We’re all excited to see how we did!

 
Reminders

• Don’t forget that in order to remain an active volunteer in our program, you must volunteer at least one hour every four months.  This helps us make sure that our volunteers are keeping up to date with all humane society information.
• We still have volunteer t-shirts available for the low price of $5.00 in small, large, extra large, 2XL and 3XL.  Don’t forget to get yours today!  These shirts are very stylish and help to keep your street clothes clean and fur-free.
• Don’t forget, if you are walking dogs before we open at 11:00am, you should always go in and out of the west door, not the front door.  If you have any questions, just talk to me or our front desk staff.
• As it gets colder, it’s very important that you clear ice off of the dogs’ paws and stomachs when you return from a walk.  If the ice is left in their fur, they might get irritated – they also might try to clean it out by biting at their paws, which may lead to an injury.  Thanks so much for helping us make sure all of our dogs are happy and healthy!
• When you are finished walking dogs for the day, you must remember to bring your towel in to the laundry room to be washed.  The towels should not be left in the vestibules.
• Thank you so much to all of you that have been using the Animal Information Update sheets to help us keep accurate information on our cage cards.  The information provided is very helpful when our adopters are selecting an animal to play with!
• Please keep in mind that all medical concerns (diarrhea, eye discharge, etc.) should be marked on the Health Communication Log located next to the medical lab.  Any grooming concerns (matted, needs bath, etc.) that you have should be marked on the Grooming List, also located next to the medical lab.  If you write these concerns on the Animal Information Update sheets, our medical staff and grooming volunteers will not see them right away.  Thanks for your cooperation!
• Laundry volunteers:  Thank you so much for your help in keeping our laundry pile down.  I have heard many compliments from our staff thanking all of you for your help.  Please keep in mind that you should not use dryer sheets when doing laundry at the humane society.  If the sheets are not removed from the blankets, they are quite dangerous if an animal were to ingest one of them.  Also, they tend to aggravate asthma in animals. 
• We understand that it is interesting when a new animal comes into the humane society, but please be sure to allow our staff and visitors privacy when an animal is being relinquished.  This makes it easier for our staff to get accurate information from the pet’s owner, and it also reduces the number of other visitors that assemble near the incoming counter.  Please feel free to talk to any front desk staff member if you have questions.

We would like to thank all of our volunteers that answer questions and assist visitors with their animals.  Many of our guests visit a humane society only once or twice in their lifetime and good customer service helps to make that a positive experience for them.  Our goal is to make each visit memorable to each visitor.

Notable Notes

A HUGE thank you to all of the volunteers who were able to help us during our Home for the Holidays Adopt-a-thon in December.  The event was absolutely fantastic!  We were able to get the shelter looking great with extra help cleaning in the morning and we also found homes for 48 of our resident pets.  Thanks so much!

Our quotable quotes contest is officially over! Thanks again to all of you who submitted quotes, and also to those who voted in the end of the year contest.  Our quotable quotes winner is…

Judi Nordstrom
 
“To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring – it was peace.” ~ Milan Kundera
 
Judi has been awarded a volunteer t-shirt for winning this contest.  Thanks again to all of you who voted for your favorite quote!
 
 
 
 
 
We couldn’t do it without you! ~ Katie Widlacki
 
 
Katie Widlacki
Volunteer Coordinator
Champaign County Humane Society
1911 East Main Street
Urbana, Il 61802
2.volunteer@cuhumane.org ~ www.cuhumane.org
Phone: (217) 344-7297 ~ Fax: (217) 344-7299