Champaign County Humane Society Volunteer Newsletter
November 2006
The Champaign County Humane Society has a wonderful volunteer opportunity available and we need your help! Through the holiday season, we will be helping Market Place Mall by greeting their visitors and wrapping holiday gifts! In exchange, MPM has donated $3,000 in monetary funds and $2,500 in gift cards to the humane society! In addition to those generous gifts, this activity will help us reach a large volume of people and spread the word about the humane society. Volunteers are needed on the following dates and times:
December 16th through December 24th
Greeters: 11:00am – 6:00pm
Gift Wrappers: 10:00am – 9:00pm
With the students leaving town, we really need extra help toward the end of that week. Greeters will be stationed at three of the entrances to hand out MPM maps and answer any questions that visitors have. VOLUNTEERS WILL NOT BE EXPECTED TO SELL ANYTHING OR SUGGEST ANY STORES OR PURCHASES.
Gift wrappers will wrap items purchased at MPM stores at no charge to the visitor. All donations that are collected at the gift wrapping table will be donated to CCHS. Keep in mind that the priority job of this activity is greeting so please sign up for a few shifts of greeting in addition to gift wrapping! A few shifts? Why not? For every four hours that you work for this activity you will be entered into a drawing to win one of four $100.00 gift cards for ANY MPM store!
If you have friends or family members interested in participating as well, please give them my contact information! You do not have to be a trained CCHS volunteer to participate. If you have any questions, or if you are a member of a service organization that might like to “adopt” a day, please contact me. You can sign up for your shifts via e-mail (2.volunteer@cuhumane.org) or you can sign up on the sheets in the Volunteer Center. We can’t do this one without you!
(All volunteers for this activity need to be at least 18 years old. Youth volunteers are welcome to sign up, but they must be accompanied by an adult at all times during their shifts at the mall.)
Special Animals – Look who’s been adopted!
It has been another wonderful month for special pet adoptions; especially for the Big Black Dogs (BBDs)…you know those dogs that are obviously mix breeds, maybe a little Labrador, maybe a little German Shepherd, maybe a little Pointer. They are similar in looks and all very sweet, but since shelters tend to have several at once, they don’t usually get the attention from visitors they deserve! This month, BBD adoptions include Shyanne, O.G. and Jack Jack! In addition, these other dogs found great homes: Tanner and Sheba. Don’t forget about those feline friends of ours…Momma Mia, Quarterback, Poofy and Elliot all found their families. Those sweet little guys from the communal room Mouse and Fuzzy were adopted into a home together! I know most of you remember Fatty and Jam Master J, the ‘odd couple’ of rabbits; well they were adopted into the same family and are doing very well together! Remember, these are not all inclusive lists, so ask me about your favorite CCHS resident!
Announcements – What’s New?
We have made a lot of changes within the shelter over the past month, so please be sure to read all of the announcements to stay informed! Thank you.
This month we gave a fond farewell to Michelle McKnight, our shelter manager of three years. After nearly seven years of service with the humane society, Michelle has decided to take some time and return to school. She will be missed by all of us. She was a great shelter manager, a great friend to her employees and a champion for animals everywhere.
Taking on the role of shelter manager is Kate Meghji. Kate has been with the humane society for about a year as a member of our medical staff and as our Facilities Manager. Earning her B.S. in molecular biology and biochemistry at The Evergreen State College in Washington, Kate spent her spare time climbing mountains and hiking to hot springs. While in Washington she worked as a sexual health educator and medical assistant, spending graduate research time on public health and women’s health care. Returning to the CU area to be closer to family, Kate is a member of the board of directors of A Women’s Fund and is the proud mother of Dexter, a CCHS alum.
In addition to Kate, we have another new face at CCHS! We have added a new position to our team, “Humane Investigator and Humane Educator” and it has been filled by Clay Foley! Clay is originally from southeast Iowa but spent the past several years in San Diego where he expanded on his passions for art and music while working in the retail business. These days he spends his time visiting area classrooms, responding to animal welfare concerns and increasing awareness in our community. Clay and his wife, Amanda share their home with their two rescue pets, Halle and Denver. Please feel free to stop into the office and introduce yourself!
DOG WALKING VOLUNTEERS: In order to streamline the foot (and paw) traffic through the shelter, we would like all dog walking volunteers to use the door in the second dog adoption room to take the dogs out of the building through the west exit. Dog walking volunteers should no longer take dogs out through the main entrance to the dog adoption room. There are signs up to direct you to the appropriate door. To accommodate this change, the dog walking supplies (clean up bags and treats) are now located in the hallway nearest the west exit. Please speak to me with any questions. Thank you very much for your cooperation!
DOG WALKING VOLUNTEERS: We have also modified our policy on puppies going outside. Effective immediately, dogs that are under four months of age are not allowed outside (previously it was six months). Those that are four months or older may only go outside if they are fully vaccinated against the pathogens that they may come in contact with by being outdoors. All dogs and puppies that are NOT approved to go outside will be marked with a yellow insert in their cage card. Please speak with me or Kate with any questions.
CAT SOCIALIZING VOLUNTEERS: With the majority of the adoptable cats in communal living, the role of the cat socializer will be changing slightly. As always, we ask that you try to concentrate your socializing time on the cats that are being housed in cages as they do not get as much attention as the communal room cats. In addition to that, we have a few small points for you to consider:
- If you are socializing with a caged cat, take the cat to a get acquainted room, please do not let the cat roam the floor of the adoption room. The doors on the rooms with cages should be open at all times.
- The communal rooms might have cages in them during the adjustment times – cats that are caged within a communal room should not be socialized with. They are caged to help them adjust to the communal lifestyle and should be allowed that time to become accustomed to the room.
- When moving from one communal room to another, please be sure to wash your hands very well to prevent the spread of illness.
- In the coming weeks you will see a job list in each of the communal rooms. Please check this list daily to check on what needs to be done. The jobs on the list will include sweeping, nail trimming, cleaning cat trees among other tasks.
- Don’t forget to always look out for other tasks that need to be completed including: taking donations to the garage, sweeping, laundry, dishes and others. We all need to work together to keep this place clean!
ALL VOLUNTEERS: We have moved a portion of the toys and cleaning supplies to the Volunteer Center. If you need a clean toy or cleaning supplies, please use the ones that are available to you – toys are in bins under the desk and cleaning supplies are in the top left drawer. CCHS volunteers should not be behind the front desk area at any time. This will help us to keep the area clear for staff so they can complete their daily tasks.
With the changes in the weather, please keep the following points in mind. Dog walkers, please be sure to wipe your feet (and your dog’s feet) when you return to the building after a walk in the rain or snow. This will not only help to keep the floors clean, but cleaning the dogs’ paws will give it more traction to walk on the tile. Feel free to leave your towel outside the door while you are volunteering but please take your towel to the laundry room when you are finished walking dogs. Also, if you notice that the hallway is muddy or dirty, brooms and mops are located in the laundry room. Thanks for your cooperation!
We are looking for five experienced adult cat socializers to do some work with some of our special needs cats on a regular basis. If you are interested, please send your cat experiences and humane society experiences to me at 2.volunteer@cuhumane.org to be considered.
Reminders – Don’t forget!
Dog walkers, please remember that the west boundary for walking dogs is the red fire hydrant on the side of the road. Please do not take CCHS dogs any farther west than that hydrant. Thank you!
If you volunteer in the morning hours, please be sure to keep the get acquainted rooms clean. We have noticed recently that the rooms are not staying clean through the mornings and we need your help to be sure they are ready when we open to the public. Any time you use a get acquainted room please remember to clean up after your pet including toys, treats, accidents and fur-balls. We can keep the shelter clean if we all work together.
When you are socializing with cats, please remember that ‘vocal’ does not always mean ‘needy.’ Please be sure to check all of the cages to see if any of the cats need water or need to have their cage cleaned.
Please do not put dangly toys or feather toys in the washing machines. It destroys the toy and could potentially break the machine. Dangly and feather toys should only be used in the communal rooms and should be left in the room.
We really need all of our volunteers to pitch in to keep the front area and the west hallway clean, especially during the change in seasons. Please be sure to sweep and mop these areas if they need it so we can keep the shelter looking nice and clean. Brooms and mops are kept in the laundry room. We really appreciate your extra effort on this one!
Notable Notes – Did you know?
Name That Room! As we continue transitioning our resident cats to ‘communal life’ we are in need of some help! We are holding a contest, giving CCHS staff and volunteers the opportunity to choose the names of our three communal cat rooms. The winner of this contest will not only have their name go down in history as the person who named the communal rooms, but they will also be awarded a wonderful gift! Entry forms should be submitted no later than November 20th at 7:00pm. (Via entry box at CCHS Volunteer Center or e-mail at 2.volunteer@cuhumane.org). Enter today!
CHANGE TO VOLUNTEER HANDBOOK: With our recent change in business hours, we will also be changing our holiday eve closing hours. In the past CCHS has closed at 4:00pm the day before a holiday that we are closed (Christmas Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, New Year’s Day). With the hour change, we will now be closing at 5:00pm the day before a closed holiday. The only exception to this rule is if the holiday lands on a Monday, in which case we will close Sunday at our normal time of 4:00pm. I know this one is a bit confusing, so please come to me if you have any questions.
Check out www.goodsearch.com. The first time you visit, choose the Champaign County Humane Society as your non-profit of choice. After that, every time you conduct an internet search through www.goodsearch.com, they will donate a penny back to our shelter. It may not seem like a lot of money, but if we spread the word, we can raise a few hundred dollars a month and every bit helps!
The World Needs Volunteers…
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” ~ Aesop
Katie Widlacki
Director of Volunteer Programs
Champaign County Humane Society