OK Adoption Week but Better Pull Week

   Last week was a little slow but then it usually is in August.  Everyone is going back to school and finishing up their vacation.  This week for the dog section:  Pirtle!, Rochelle, Frampton, Dutch, Josie, Mindy, Randi, and Jag were adopted.  For the Cat section:  Stefani and Kennedy.  The dogs ruled this week for once. 
   This week we were able to pull 8 dogs, 4 kittens and 1 adult cat from several pounds.  Back to usual business!  When we moved we had to combine two shelters and pulling was very limited for a while.  This week all went well and we got some very cute, sweet dogs and cats out.  They will be ready in a few weeks.  We also took in a little dog, Coco, that had been hit by a car.  She is doing much better.  Smooth sailing!

Adopting a Puppy is Hard Work

   This is a perfect example of a cute little puppy being adopted and then returned when he is about 8 months old with no manners.  Try as you might stress to people how important obedience is they do not do it and then the dog gets returned for bad behavior or worse sent to the pound.  This is Cobber when he was a baby.  He was one of the pups found at the daycare in freezing temperatures.

   This is Cobber all grown up.  While he is still a beauty, he is big and a handful.  Not the cute little pup that was adopted.  Alot of dogs in this age range end up at the pound due to bad behavior.  Probably the biggest reason they do.  Luckily, Cobber aka Scotch, is in a foster home that will give him some good training and make him a very good dog.  Something a little obedience training and work would have done.

Coco Was Hit by a Car

We got a call on Friday by the staff at Horseshoe Lake Animal Hospital that a little dog had been hit by a car and could we take over the care of the dog.  The owner did not want the dog and signed her over to Horseshoe Lake Animal Hospital. Coco did not have any fractures but had been hit on the head by the car.  She had a few cuts and seemed to be in pain.  There were no problems with her lungs so she spent the night at Horseshoe and got to come here Sat. afternoon.  She acts like someone that has a severe concussion.  Pretty loopy and not very steady on her feet.  She seemed to have a very bad headache and was given pain meds to help.  Saturday night she didn't seem very with it and I was worried.  After a good nites sleep she was much improved in the AM.  She was sleeping so soundly when I went to check on her I thought she may have died.  Slowly she woke up and was very happy to see me.  She ate a good breakfast and went for a walk to go potty.  Much more steady on her feet and no circling. She seems to be on the mend but may have a headache for a bit.  They said whoever saw her get hit the car was going pretty fast.  Amazing she made it.  She is a very sweet girl.

Poppy Kayaking

Poppy came to us as a very scared, traumatized little dog.  We didn't know his history but something had happened to him.  At the shelter he would run and hide and just looked pretty unhappy.  Somehow, a very kind person saw beyond that and gave him a chance.  Take a look at him now.  Just goes to show what a little TLC and understanding will do.  Way to go Poppy!! Thanks to his new family.

Adoptathon at Petsmart Sept. 10 and 11

This should be a busy weekend with the Troy Fest and Adoptathon all at once.  The Adoptathon will be a big tent event at the Glen Carbon store with 3 rescue groups participating.  The hours will be 11:00 AM til 4:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday.  Please come and meet your new best friend. 

Troy Fest Sept. 10 at Troy Tri-Township Park

Partners For Pets will be at the Troy Fest on Saturday, Sept. 10 from 10:00 AM til 3:00.  We will have dogs there for adoption so please come by and see us!

Commentary on BND article

http://www.bnd.com/2011/08/23/1830941/animal-shelter-seeks-volunteers.html


The City of Collinsville already had a rescue group running WBAS.  Partners For Pets.  P4P took their euthanasia rate from 67% down to 4%,  ran the adoption program, ran a low cost spay/neuter clinic, cleaned the entire shelter, took care of all the animals and paid for all the food including AC, and promoted the shelter to the public. For free. 

The euthanasia rate at WBAS with P4P there from April to June, 2011 was 3.74%.

When the letter of intent to not renew the contract was turned in by P4P on
June 27 there was NO repsonse from Chief Williams, Robert Knable or Lt. Todd Link until July 12 when Adm. Ast. Doug Brimm called.  No one asked why we were leaving or if there was anything they could do to help.  The first question Mr. Brimm asked me was "Can you get out before July 31?"  I did not feel they cared that their euthanasia rate would return to 67%.  That is almost 7 out of 10 animals that come into the building euthanized.  That is 402 out of 600 animals the City takes in a year euthanized.  That is alot of dogs, puppies, cats and kittens. 

If it is truly about the animals, as Chief Williams stated, why did they not support or assist P4P in any way to keep us there?  Why did AC refuse to give us the kittens and momma cat two weeks ago until they were so sick?  Because it IS about the animals, we are still pulling from WBAS.  This week we took all the animals from there-5 cats and a dog. 

The City has 2 full time staff at the shelter.  They do have the time to run an adoption program but they will have to work.  If they are going to be a no kill shelter just don't kill the animals. Pretty simple. Find a place for them to go. Even the turtles.

Heartworm Treatment Alert or Why It Is So Important To Keep Your Dog on Preventative!

There is a serious shortage of the drug, Imiticide, that is used to treat heartworm positive dogs.  One of the makers of the drug was shut down leaving only Merial.  Presently they are not shipping any to the local vets or shelters.  We tried to order today and was told we would be put on a waiting list.  Our vets that we use have a very limited supply and have not been able to get it.  This is the most effective way to treat a heartworm positive dog.  As you can tell we take and treat alot of HW positive dogs and this is really a problem.  We currently have a 100 pound dog, Slade, in need of treatment but we are unable to find anyone with enough heartworm medication to treat him.  There is an alternative treatment but it takes a very long time to work and is not as effective as Imiticide.  So, in short, make sure you are giving you dogs their monthly heartworm preventative.

Good Weekend with Adoptions

We did quite a few adoptions this weekend at Petsmart.  The dogs included Rufus, Gunther, Diddy, Courtney, Glenice, Maggie Moo, and Rooster.  The kitties beat out the dog section again this week and included Marvin, Oreo, Peaches, Garfield, Kota, Stacy, Cookie, Uno, Cayman, Canton, Harlee, Skittles, and Darling. Several dogs went into trials so keep your fingers crossed.  We are finally able to start pulling from the pounds again.  When we moved we had to combine both shelters at the old shelter so we were full especially with larger dogs.  We had quite a few kitties too but we did not want to leave any animals at the Collinsville location when we moved.  So this week, Nev has already gone to a few animal control facilities to see what is available to take.  So far we have our name on 5 dogs and she pulled 4 kitties.  Yea!! 

Rufus Has a Home!

Rufus came into the Collinsville pound very scared and emaciated.  Slowly but surely he and his brother, Rugrat came around and gained weight.  Take a look at the new, happy boy. He's smiling!

Response to Financial Questions in BND

   P4P is a registered 501c)3 charity and all financial records are open for public view.  We have had a audit by an independent CPA for the last 3 years with no problems noted.  We are registered on GuideStar for the public to view financial documents.  I would be more than happy to review any financial documents with anyone that wants to see them. Please call our number at 540-7387 to discuss this. 
   In the 8/17/11 Belleville News Democrat article on the website, there were several comments by the same people that did not want us in the shelter regarding P4P finances.  on March 10th, there was an article in the Edwardsville Intelligencer that stated we were going to have to close the doors due to financial problems. If you read the article you would see that it was actually a call for help. We had spent money to open the spay neuter clinic and the increase in salaries to care for the animals had increased.  People were donating but the donations were going to the City of Collinsville.  The article was to make the public aware that we did need help if we were to stay at the shelter.  It was to make people aware of where their donations were going, events we had scheduled and asked for support from the community.  All donations made to WBAS went to the City of Collinsville.  In response to the article we did receive more donations and the Fur Ball was a big success.  We also had an increase in the number of spay/neuters in the clinic, grants were written and received, and other fund raising events were done to raise funds.  The article did a great job at helping us. 
   From Jan. 1, 2011 to July 31, 2011 we have "broke even" with our finances, which is in line for a charity. Keep in mind that this includes the spay/neuter clinic and salaries to run it also. 

Income:  $200, 105.30                 Expenses:  $200, 580.42

   So in short, we did not leave the Collinsville shelter due to finances as has been stated.  If there are any questions about the finances please don't hesitate to contact us.  We have always been very open about it and for almost ten years now have always operated in the black.  Instead of blowing smoke, the question should be why did they not want us there? Lisa

Belleville News Democrat Article

http://www.bnd.com/2011/08/17/1824643/animal-rescue-group-collinsville.html

Happy Adoption Story!

Hello shelter volunteers!

I wanted to write in order to share with you guys how well our dog is doing.  We first took home "Maribel" (thought to be a golden retriever mix) in May, because our other dog, Shadow, needed a friend to play with and they picked each other out.  They seemed to get along well, with him being the alpha dog and her following after.  When she came home to us, I'd have to say that she was not a dog at all!  This poor baby did not seem to know how to bark, play, beg, did not want to have her tummy scratched-- for such a long time that we wondered if she would recover from whatever she had been through.  For the first month and a half she really didn't seem to mind if we were home or not, she didn't show much affection or come to us when we called her.  We wondered if she could ever be potty trained either--that took a very long time.

Now, around 3 months later, Troy & I are overjoyed at the dog we know and love today!  We've named her Lady, because she's so ladylike & sweet.  She is very affectionate, and makes a great friend for Shadow.  She follows his lead and even howls often when she's playful (thankfully, she has also taken to howling if she needs to go to the bathroom), leading us to believe that she may be part hound (we think she's grayhound/beagle).  Probably one of my favorite things about her personality is how much she wants to be loved and cuddled.  She often comes up and drapes her whole body across me  when I'm sitting at my office desk working--she looks at me with her brown eyes and wants me to love on her.  She's become quite a wonderful companion.

Thank you all so much for helping us find Lady, she is truly a blessing and we love her dearly.  We're glad there are people such as yourselves who volunteer, take time every day, and love these guys until they get caring homes.

--A BIG thanks,

Miranda & Troy Irvin

No, thank you for giving her a new life!  Lisa

P4P 5K Race is Sept. 25th

Partners for Pets invites you to:

5K Walk/Run and 1 Mile Dog Jog

Or Cat Nap for the Cause

September 25

5K @10:00 am

th 2011, Rain or Shine• Dog Jog @10:30 am

Tri-Township Park, Troy IL

ALL PROCEEDS GO TO HELP RESCUED ANIMALS

Find us on Facebook:

Partners for Pets 5K-9 RunFor Questions Email: P4PRace@yahoo.com

Register Online:

http://www.active.com/running/troy-il/partners-for-pets-5k-and-dog-jog-2011

Cat Nap Applicants – $15 – Sleep in, skip the run and still get a race T-shirt!

Registration Fee:

$20 (postmarked before Sept. 10th ) • Late Registration Fee and Race Day Fee: $25

Kids 5k Entry (13 and under):

$15 • Dog Jog: $15 • Sleep-In: $15 • Family fee: $50

Medals will be awarded to top 3 overall and the top three finishers in each age group: Under 13, 13-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, and 50+.

Race officially timed by the Metro Milers with results posted on their website

All early applicants applicants will receive a Partners 4 Pets 5K-9 T-shirt

(shirt size not guaranteed for late entries)

All dogs entering the dog jog will receive a gourmet dog treat

***Packet pickup and Race Day Registration September 25

***Early Packet pickup September 24

th, 2011 8:00am-10:00am***th 7:00pm-8:00pm***

Partners For Pets volunteers regularly visit rural animal shelters and rescue animals that have used up their time, need medical care and/or are

too fragile for shelter life. Partners for Pets provides care to each animal prior to adoption. This includes, depending on their age: booster

shots, worming, heartworm check, & monthly preventative, rabies shot, spay/neuter, grooming, flea/tick prevention, and other necessary care.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entry Form

Shirt Sizes Please Indicate ADULT S M L XL 2X or YOUTH S M L XL

(All entry fees are non-refundable)

____________________________________ ______________________________ _____ ______________

Mailing Address City State Zip Code

_______________________ ______________________________________________________

Phone Number Email Address

I have enclosed $________ for my race entry fees and $_______ as a donation to Partners 4 Pets to help save animals

Waiver of Liability

administrators, waive and release any and all claims for damages, actions and causes against Partners for Pets and Troy Tri-Township Park, all sponsors and

any individual or group associated with this event from all claims and liabilities resulting in my participation. I attest and verify that I am physically fit and have

sufficiently trained for this event. I assume all risks in this event including, but not limited to falls, contact with other participants, effects of the weather, road/path

conditions, all such risks being known and appreciated by me. Further, I hereby grant permission for the free use of my name and/or any photographs,

videotapes, motion pictures, recording or any other record of this event for any legitimate purpose. (Participants under 18 must have parental signature)

: In consideration of accepting this entry, I, the undersigned, intending to be legally bound, hereby, for myself, my heirs, executors and

Signature ___________________________________________ Date _______________

Make checks payable to: Partners for Pets

‐‐ Mail to: Partners for Pets 909 Augustana Way Fairview Heights, IL 62208

For additional information:

Laura Parker ‐‐ P4Prace@yahoo.com

Participating In M/F Dog Name

Full Name Age Shirts size

(See Above)

5K Dog Jog Sleep-

In

For Questions Email: P4PRace@yahoo.com

Collinsville Herald Article

http://www.stltoday.com/suburban-journals/illinois/news/article_531d443d-7d22-5d8f-a2ac-562170b6b196.html

All is Well

We have been moved back to the old shelter since July 31 and everything is going well.  All the dogs and cats fit in very nicely.  They all seem very happy to be home.  They are enjoying the yards to play in and getting along pretty well.  We are still working on getting things back in place although for the most part it is.  The shed is still a bit of a mess but it was too hot to do much in there.  Hopefully this week we can get that accomplished.  Anyone with good organization skills would be appreciated to get it in shape.  We still have a few too many large dogs so if anyone is available to foster a bigger pooch please let Nev know.  We made sure to take all the dogs and cats from the other shelter and there were quite a few big dogs.  Dog adoptions last weekend were not so good.  It always seems right before school starts adoptions are low.  Adoptathon at Petsmart is Sept 10 and 11th so that should be a good weekend. 

Mandy

Got to meet Mandy today for the first time today to change her bandage on her leg.  Ouch!  Her new best friend, Angie, brought her up to the shelter for the dressing change. The gunshot wound is looking good though.  It is deep to the bone but very clean and healthy looking if a wound can look healthy.  Although it had to have really hurt to get the bandage changed she was really a trooper.  I would have bit me if I was her but she didn't and was a very good patient.  Looks like it should start healing now as the wet to dry dressing did the trick and got all the gunk out.  It is always amazing how a bad wound like that can heal. She goes to Horseshoe Lake AH tommorow for a check up.