Pet Watch from the director- 11/21/10

As the cold weather rolls in so do many animals looking for their Forever Homes. If you are looking for a friend to cuddle with on these cold nights, come to the Humane Society and meet some wonderful animals that would fit that spot on your couch perfectly. Which is what the following family did and from the sounds of their happy tail story, it was a perfect fit for all of them.

“About a year and a half ago, I was perusing through Petfinder and stumbled upon one-year-old James. Not being much of a cat person, I went to the Humane Society just to see if he was as sweet as the picture. Lo and behold, when we went up to him, he reached out his paw through the cage, almost as if to say, "I'm here! I'm yours!" We fell in love with him immediately and took him home that day. We loved the organization so much that we went back a few months later and adopted a new sister kitty for him! They are the best of friends and as sweet as can be. I may have not been a cat person to begin with, but James and his sister have certainly converted me!”

Our shelter has many other cats, kittens, puppies and dogs that are looking to fall in love with their new families. Chloe, a special feline, is our longest resident cat. She has been at the Humane Society since April and though she is doing well in our cat playroom with the other cats, she would blossom in a new home. She is a 2 year old dilute tortoiseshell mix. She is spayed, negative for FELV and FIV, current on her vaccines and only $10 to adopt.

Dylan, a two and a half year old black Lab/Great Dane mix, is super sweet. Even though he is over 50 pounds, he thinks he should be a lap dog. He loves to sit on the picnic table behind the shelter and supervise all of the other dogs. He has a lot of energy and loves children. He is neutered, heartworm negative, current on his vaccines and $50 to adopt.

Pet Watch from the director- 11/14/10

The Humane Society of Stillwater has wonderful foster families that help out for many different reasons. Here are the different kinds of Foster Homes we currently have:

• Serial Short Term: This involves an animal that needs to learn either some manners and/or how to become a proper member of a household.
• Long Term: This involves animals owned by the Humane Society for more than one year.
• Medical Care: This involves animals with medical problems in need of a stress-free environment until the medical problem is alleviated.
• Mothers with Nursing Babies: These animals are kept until the babies are weaned from the mother.
• Bottle-Fed Babies: This involves either puppies or kittens that are still nursing but either don’t have a mother or the mother isn’t able to provide the proper care for them.
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• Behavior Problems: This involves an animal that has a behavioral problem anywhere from being scared of human or animal contact to being overly dominant with either people or other animals. This is typically a long foster period.
• Emergency Stand-by Fostering: These are short-term foster homes for Humane Society animals to make room for animals that are set to be euthanized by City Animal Welfare. These foster homes last until the next available space comes open at the shelter.

Another type of Fostering is Holiday Foster Homes. It’s always rewarding to know that our wonderful animals aren’t spending the Holidays in Kennels so we are looking for some families that would like to take an animal home for Thanksgiving or Christmas. If you are interested please stop in the shelter or email us at shelter@hspets.org

Pet Watch from the director- 11/7/10

Did you know that there is a place in our community where the hungry are fed, the homeless are sheltered, and the abandoned are given care? It’s your local Humane Society animal shelter. The shelter provides comfort and care for our community’s unwanted animals.

We also offer many other services for pets and their owners and even for people without pets. Animal adoptions, a foster home program, a volunteer/community service program, and off-site adoptions, at various local businesses, are all programs we offer. To do all of this, we rely on the support of people like you. Here are a few ways you can help the animals at your local Humane Society shelter:

· Give a little bit. Donate bleach, kitty litter, old blankets and towels, paper towels, dog treats or other items on our current needs list.

· Lend a hand. Volunteer your time at our local shelter. Bathe and groom animals, walk dogs, or play with cats.

· Find that special someone. Choose your next pet from your local shelter. We have many wonderful dogs and cats of different shapes and sizes just waiting for a permanent, loving home.

· Help spread the word. Tell your friends about the Humane Society’s services. Promote animal spaying and neutering, animal safety, and responsible pet ownership.

· Be a responsible pet owner. Keep current identification on your dog or cat at all times. Spay or neuter your pet. Always keep your dog or cat properly confined or supervised. In addition to the basics – food, water, shelter, and veterinary care – give your pet lots of love and attention.

· Vote for the animals. Support legislation to protect animals. Contact government officials about animal issues and urge them to support pro-animal legislation.

· Be a hero. Report animal cruelty and neglect as well as injured or stray animals. You may prevent suffering and even save a life.

· Teach your children well. Instruct children in how to care for animals properly and how to treat them with kindness. Set an example by doing the same.

Cat playroom gets a new look

A speech class from OSU decided to make our cat playroom their project. They did a great job and here are some pictures of the finished product!

We love the paint job but the cat's favorite part is definitely the new carpet

Come check out the great new look! Thanks again to all of the groups that choose us for community service and volunteer work.

Pet Watch from the director- 10/31/10

The Humane Society of Stillwater gets many phone calls and one of the most frequent is, “What kind of animals do you have?” It’s hard to tell someone over the phone about all of our wonderful animals so we usually start by telling them that you can begin your search by coming to the shelter or by taking a look at all of our animals that are available for adoption at our website www.hspets.org or on www.petfinder.com.

Roxy is one of those great dogs. Roxy is an American Staghound, Greyhound mix. She is really beautiful. She is very shy at the shelter but loves other dogs. She had a run in with some wild hogs in her previous life so she has a slight limp but she doesn't let it slow her down. She is ready for a loving home and a new life of luxury. She is about 4 years old. She is working on being house broken. When fostered overnight with a young cat she was gentle and even gave the cat kisses. One of our young volunteers put it best when she said "Roxy rocks!" If you want to meet Roxy please some to the shelter any time that we are open.