Our friends in the shelter and rescue community have been doing some great things over the last year, so we wanted to share a few highlights (and invite you to send us more!).
Maddie’s legacy: Gone but never forgotten, the Duffields’ late beloved miniature schnauzer continues to do her good work, most notably with the annual Maddie’s Matchmaker Adoptathon. This year’s event found homes 942 dogs—137 seniors, 500 adults and 305 pups. Way to go!
New digs: As we reported earlier this year, Muttville Senior Dog Rescue moved into a place of its own next door to the San Francisco SPCA, where newly arrived mutts can enjoy soft couches and run around in a homelike environment while waiting for their foster homes. There’s also an office, a community room, a vet suite, a kitchen, and other amenities. Come by and check it out!
Meanwhile, Milo Foundation signed a lease on a new space in Point Richmond that will allow them to take in and care for many more dogs (and cats) than they can accommodate at their current adoption center in San Rafael. We’ll keep you posted as things develop.
The next generation: The folks at Napa Humane Society have come up with an innovative humane education program that’s been teaching—and delighting—kids in K-3 classrooms for the last couple of years. A puppet show called “The Right Pet for Princess Penny” follows the princess as she falls prey to a shady salesman and acquires wildly inappropriate pets, including a dragon, before she finds just the right one for her. Along the way she also learns about caring for pets and the fact that they’re family members for life. Each kid also gets an activity and coloring book to reinforce the good lessons.
And at Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA‘s new Humane House, a 400-square foot walk-in kids clubhouse, budding veterinarians and animal lovers can enjoy interactive features, including a dress-up area where they can put on lab coats or humane officers’ uniforms, as well as an X-ray viewing station and a microchip scanner with a demo (plush) dog, among other fun and educational stuff.
Safety net: In an era when all too many dogs end up in shelters because their families lose their homes or jobs, the good folks at Paw Fund don’t believe that lack of funds should keep people from caring for their dogs properly—and are there with the resources to help. Besides holding free vaccination clinics and providing free spay/neuters to many dogs and cats whose owners couldn’t afford the treatment, they’ve also offered a safety net to pets who end up in bad situations. Says founder Jill Posener, “We usually take on tough situations from the community, helping the animals involved, the owners who are desperate for help, and keeping animals from ending up in the shelters.” So when a young homeless man turned to them with a puppy sick with parvo and the shelter could offer no better option than putting the puppy down, he turned to Paw Fund, who provided veterinary care and ultimately found little Cody an awesome home. And when they got a frantic call that Mimi, a 100-pound mastiff, needed a new home, they found a great place for her with breed-savvy folks who already had a mastiff. Kudos to Jill and all her intrepid volunteers and supporters who make this possible!
