Friday, February 26, 2010

The calm before the storm

If you have been to the shelter in the last 2 or 3 weeks you may have noticed that things were well, a bit empty. This isn't by accident. Late winter/early spring is our time to prepare. We work hard to get as many animals adopted as possible. We clean, clean and clean again. We start to stockpile supplies. If you've never worked in animal rescue, it is difficult to understand what we're preparing for. We're preparing for a storm that lasts for months. A whirlwind of puppies and kittens that zaps our monetary and emotional resources, that fills our shelter and our few precious foster homes. So we treasure those few weeks of late winter.. because before you know it

There's a box of 10 Pit Bulls puppies outside the front door in the morning

A laundry basket full of terriers in the parking lot

And litters of kittens seem to spontaneously generate

So we take these last few days to take a big breath.. and wait for that first wave to come through our doors. And all we can do is hope that this year's efforts to educate the public on the importance of fixing their pets will make the season a little less crazy.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Precious Lives in Good Hands


Jane's puppies are growing up beautifully thanks to their wonderful foster mother. The smallest of the litter sadly passed away, but the other 5 are getting big and even have their eyes open now! And the best part of all is that their young mother, Jane, has the perfect home waiting for her when her mothering duties are over!


So a big thanks to their great foster home who stepped up to take these precious babies in when they had no other options. We know that their lives are in good hands!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

For the Love of an "Oklahoma Brown Dog"


We are a small shelter located in a small community. We receive no government funding, we receive no funding from organizations like the HSUS. We depend on donors in the community- and we have to be very careful with our money. This means not being able to help every dog that comes in needing expensive medical care- it breaks our hearts, but that is just the reality of the situation. So when a stray Bruno found his way into Stillwater Animal Welfare, the odds weren't really in his favor. An "Oklahoma Brown Dog" with a bad eye, a funny looking lump and a positive heartworm test....what a mess our poor boy was!

Even in such a sorry state, his personality just shone through and we knew we had to make a commitment to saving Bruno. We want to thank everyone who has contributed to our medical fund for letting us make this commitment.

So 6 weeks later, Bruno is heartworm free. His eye has been examined again and again and does not need in treatment but he will never likely regain sight in it. His lump has been biopsied and is just a harmless fatty deposit. He has tried to repay our commitment to him by being the best dog ever- he plays well with others (humans and canines of all sizes and ages), walks well on a leash and will make himself sick before he has an accident inside. Bruno, we're so glad we could help out a good dog who was down on his luck. Now we're just waiting for that perfect family to come along for our perfect boy!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Roses for Rescues update!

Our Roses for Rescues fundraiser was a big success! Over a thousand dollars was raised for the animals!

Volunteers hard at work getting the flowers ready.. if you want to help out with fundraisers, contact us about getting more involved!


Thanks to those of you who came out to buy flowers for your valentine!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Roses for Rescues!



ROSES FOR RESCUES

ON SALE NOW

HUMANE SOCIETY OF STILLWATER

PICK UP ON SATURDAY FEBRUARY 13TH BETWEEN 10:00 a.m - 5:00 p.m.

BEST PRICES IN TOWN!

The Humane Society of Stillwater will be selling roses for Valentine's Day. All proceeds will go to support

the animals at the shelter.

Red, Pink and Yellow Roses Available!

1/2 dozen for $35.00

1 dozen for $60.00

2 dozen for $100.00.

This is a tax deductible contribution!

You can pre-order your roses by calling 405-385-1142 or emailing hsstillwater@hspets.org. Orders may be picked up between 10:00-5:00 on Saturday February 13th, at Cowboy Corner at the 6th & Duck.

Pre-orders would be appreciated but don't feel bad if you don't get that done, just stop by on Saturday and pick up your loved one a rose and you will be helping all the animals at the Stillwater Humane Society at the same time!




Thursday, February 4, 2010

What is the Humane Society of Stillwater?


Across this country there are many groups that use the name 'humane society' that perform different functions. So what does the Humane Society of Stillwater do?
First of all, we are in no way affiliated with the Humane Society of the United States. We do not receive any funding from them. We are not a political organization.
We do not investigate animal cruelty cases. If you want to report an abused or neglected animal, you need to contact your city's animal control department, police department or sheriff.
We cannot accept animals surrendered by the public. To surrender a pet or stray, you need to contact your city's animal control department (here in Stillwater, that is Stillwater Animal Welfare).
We do not offer low cost spay or neuter services to the public. We can refer you to a group in your area that does offer these services. (In Stillwater, contact CAAP)

We do rescue dogs and cats from Stillwater Animal Welfare, Stillwater's animal control department. We do spay or neuter all of the animals in our care prior to placement. We have kept Stillwater Animal Welfare 'no-kill' for adoptable animals for the last couple of years (this is a HUGE accomplishment!). We do constantly strive to expand the definition of adoptable here by placing nursing puppies and kittens in foster care and raising money to treat health issues. We do provide healthy, temperamentally sound animals to the public for adoption at a very reasonable fee. We do provide a safe place and care for these animals until the right home is found. We do provide a place for citizens to complete community service, whether for school or court. We provide a place for families to volunteer together. We provide the community with the security that the stray they find or the pet they surrender will be given the best possible chance at adoption.

Reiley Needs a Sweetheart


Reiley is a 2 year old mixed breed dog who is heartworm positive. We would really like to treat Reiley for his heartworms next week so he can start his road to recovery. In order to do that we need two things: funds for the treatment and a foster home for the next month to recover in.

If you would like to donate to his treatment, please specify with your donation "heartworm treatment". If you are interested in more information on fostering Reiley, please contact us at the shelter. Reiley is a good boy and we really feel like he deserves a chance at life!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

February Cat Sale!


For the month of February, all of our cats are available for adoption of half of our regular adoption fee! That is right, adopt a fully vaccinated, spayed or neutered cat for only 25 dollars this month only!

So give a cat the ultimate gift of love this Valentine's Day season.. give a cat the gift of a forever home!

Another Update on our Cocker Spaniels

In September, a puppymill in Vinco, Oklahoma was shut down by the sheriff. Once the animals were released from court hold later that fall, the Humane Society of Stillwater received many of the dogs, mostly Cocker Spaniels. The most social dogs quickly found homes. And then there were just two. The most timid of the dogs, Cocopuff and Wallflower, remain at the shelter awaiting adoption. Both have spent time in foster homes trying to get accustomed to homelife.

Cocopuff is said to do very well inside a home. She is good with other dogs, kitties, loves to lay on the couch and will go potty outside on walks. Once she is back in the noisy shelter, she just shuts down and hides in the corner.

Wallflower is getting the hang of the whole 'being a puppy' thing a little bit better! She is learning to be a happy girl, even if she is a nervous one. She is currently in a short term foster home to work on housebreaking.


When we take in dogs from a puppymill, our commitment has to last a lot longer than the headlines. These victims of terrible cruelty need lots of work and patience on their road to becoming pets.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Volunteer Spotlight: Hanna Kelley


Hanna Kelley is a student at OSU who comes out to the shelter once a week to take pictures of all of the new critters we rescue from Animal Welfare. Good pictures for the website make a huge difference in how quickly our dogs are adopted! With good pictures, we get lots of out of state interest in our adorable dogs. It is quite a challenge to get good pictures of shelter dogs, so thank you Hanna for spending that extra time with each dog to get great shots!