Apr 27, 2016

Peep and the Case of the Distrustful Leg


Sometimes, it takes a village! Or in this case, some very friendly pool-owning neighbors.

We’ll get back to that in a second, but first, we want you to meet Peep!
Here she is.
But wait—that’s not all—we want you to bring her home too! Peep is a pretty special pup, and we don’t expect her to call the shelter “home” for too long (unfortunate for us, but fortunately for her!), but before she graced us with her lovable presence, Peep had a pretty rough start to her year.

Let’s start from the beginning:
A cute Peep obviously started as a cute Pup
 As you can see, this ain’t Peep’s first rodeo. Five years ago, Peep made her way to us as a stray brought in by a samaritan. She was a scruffy lil’ 2-month-old ball of adorable, and she was adopted out not long after she came to us (as most of our puppies are).

What transpired between then and February of this year when she was picked up by Animal Care Services (ACS) with a broken pelvis and dislocated femur is unknown to us. A stray search was conducted by ACS, but she remained un-reclaimed. Through the information provided on her microchip, Peep was able to be transferred back into the San Antonio Humane Society where she received much needed care and surgery.

But surgery, of course, is only half of the healing process! Rehabilitation of her injured leg was necessary to bring it back to its full strength, and fortunately, this just meant Peep had to put some weight on it. Unfortunately, Peep. . . just didn’t want to put any weight on it.

It was, as her foster parent put it, as though she just didn’t “trust” it enough.

The face of a dog who's been betrayed by her leg one too many times.
So Peep decided hopping was her new way of walking. And her leg decided that if she didn’t need it, it didn’t need her! And by that we mean her leg began to atrophy and waste away. This was clearly a relationship that needed some fixing.

This is where the pool comes in. (That’s right, we’re full-circling it.) For cases like Peep’s, we look to our awesome foster parents for help. Our foster families give their time, love, and home to help not-yet-adoptable pets like Peep (whether their sick, injured, or just too young) earn their stamp of adopt-ability.

Peep had some very resourceful foster parents. Through social media, they were able to get into contact with a dog-loving neighbor willing to allow Peep into their heated pool for some trust-building rehabilitation.

Pool therapy: the best kind of therapy.
With each swim, Peep’s use of her injured leg increased. Although Peep is taking it slow, her trust in her leg has even translated on land: her use of it during leisurely walks is ever increasing.

Guess who's back?

Now, Peeps back at the San Antonio Humane Society and ready to find her forever family. She still hasn’t regained 100% trust back in her leg, so a little bit of walking therapy is still required for this healing pooch. Pools are a definite plus for Peep, but not necessary to continue healing.

Like we said, we don’t expect Peep to stick around long. She’s a wonderful dog with a wonderful personality. Her foster family described her as dog, cat, and people friendly. She enjoys giving affection just as much as she enjoys receiving it, and is also a pretty big fan of play time. Peep is crate trained, potty trained, and can sit on command—especially if you’ve got a treat handy.

Peeps been through a lot this year, but thanks to her very awesome foster family, our very talented clinic staff, and some very generous pool-owning neighbors, she’s in a better place today—and we’re hoping she’ll be in her new forever home tomorrow.

Imagine coming home to this cutie.
Want to become an awesome foster parent too? Visit SAhumane.org/foster for more details.

Can’t foster, but want to help injured pets like Peep get the medical help they need to heal? You can help by donating to Michael’s Medical Rescue Fund

Apr 8, 2016

If You can Feed 'em, You can Fix 'em

                                                    
And It's Free!


You know who I'm talking about: Those free-roaming felines waiting by your door for another helping of tasty charity. They probably sit just close enough to reach the bottom of the food bowl but far away enough to make a dashing escape when you ask for a thank-you pet. 

Close enough for a photo, but far enough away to avoid a snugly smothering of [unwanted] affection. 
They're community cats! Community cats can include friendly stray or abandoned cats as well as feral (unsocialized) cats. They're owner-less and free-roaming felines who live by their own rules--and that can occasionally include rearing a few "free" and stray kittens of their own...

And by a "few" I mean a few hundred to the very conceivable calculation of a few hundred thousand. 

There better only be one of you.

The average, un-spayed or un-neutered cat can have between 1-8 kittens per litter and 2-3 litters per year. That can add up to quite a bit of kittens, and for community cats, that can add up to quite a bit of homeless or un-socialized kittens. 


So what can be done about it? 

Trap-Neuter-Release | Community Cats Campaign

As part of PetSmart Charities®' "Community Cats" spay/neuter campaign, we are granted to do 200 FREE surgeries (including a rabies vaccine) this April for our local community cats. 

That means you can be a responsible community cat "owner" and get your local neighborhood cat fixed!

Trap 'em, Fix 'em, and Release 'em back into the **wild.
T-N-R is one of the most effective ways to reduce the homeless pet population and is safe for kittens as young as 8 weeks old who weigh at least 2 lbs, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

All community cats brought to the San Antonio Humane society must be brought in a humane trap. These can be rented from the San Antonio Humane Society or the Feral Cat Coalition, or even purchased online.

We've already gotten 64 surgeries done this first full week of April (as of April 7th), so don't delay! Surgeries are done on a first-come, first-serve basis starting at 7:30am.

For specific dates, rules or guidelines, and spots left available, please visit SAhumane.org/spayneuter

And BTW, all community cats receiving surgery will be "ear tipped." 
                                                                                                           
I'm missing the tip of my what?*
Eartipping is the universal sign of a neutered/spayed community cat. It's done while the cat is anesthetized for surgery and healing is rapid. This procedure helps avoid further needless trapping and surgery. 

Participating in the "Community Cats" campaign means you are helping to keep our stray and feral populations low; this further ensures that all cats born will have a home waiting for them! 

*BTW:

This cutie with the ear-tip is Tobias. He was a stray community cat brought into the shelter for a little T-N-R, but we dropped the "R" and decided to let him stick around due to his affectionate lovability. He's 2 years old and available for adoption!

**
 This here is Tommy! He's one of our shelter ferals (and favorites). He doesn't mind being a model for the day, but he'd prefer it if you dropped the food already and dilly-daddled away. 



Funding for Community Cats is provided by PetSmart Charities®.


Apr 4, 2016

Just Add Stars: The Big Give SA is just a Month Away

Mark your calendars, set your reminders, and join us May 3 as we go all-out to meet our fundraising goal for this year’s Big Give SA!

We believe all our pets are All-Star material—I mean, honestly, who could argue?
Just add stars.


And we want you to be a part of our all-star team too! Be our champion, be our MVP, be our All-Star and join us online May 3rd and donate towards the pets at the San Antonio Humane Society.

For those of you unfamiliar with it, the Big Give SA is a 24-hour event that brings donors and nonprofits together for an all-day donation celebration!

While we always appreciate your donations throughout the entirety of the year, the Big Give SA is a great opportunity to really maximize your gift. Your donations could help us win additional funds for the pets at the San Antonio Humane Society, culminating in a end-of-the-night prize for bringing in the most donors. So we'll need all the help (i.e. All-Stars) we can get!


More funds for ribbon play-time please.

30 days is plenty of time to mark your calendars, and it’s just enough time to forget about it too. But please don’t!


We will keep you posted, so stay in the loop—especially on the day of (that's May 3rd y'all)! Our partnership with the Big Give SA means we will have dozens of opportunities to maximize your online donation. That means more for the dogs and cats of the San Antonio Humane Society!
I can haz more?
So hurry! Pencil us in, tell your friends, and we'll see you Tuesday, all-day May 3rd!