Paw Prints - Winter 2014

Paw Prints WINTER 2014

PUBLISHED FOR FRIENDS OF THE ARIZONA HUMANE SOCIETY

PET RESOURCE CENTER Page 2

REMEMBERING MARGE WRIGHT Page 3

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS Page 5

LETTER FROM OUR LEADERSHIP

Dear Friend, It was this time last year, just before the holiday season, that I first arrived at the Arizona Humane Society. I distinctly remember walking through our doors for the very first time and immediately feeling an outpouring of love and compassion for our homeless animals.

From our wonderful animal care team, who makes sure our pets are clean and well fed; and our behavior specialists, who give extra attention to our shy and fearful dogs; to our facilities team, who ensures our animals have a safe place to sleep and play; and our adoption specialists, who are determined to find our pets a forever home; it was clear that every single one of our dogs, cats and critters were loved and cared for by so many.

But it didn’t end with those inside our walls. I quickly learned just how selfless and compassionate our volunteers and foster heroes are and that our Facebook fans and Twitter followers are the best advocates around.

And then there was you – our amazing donors who provide endless kindness and unwavering support, and I knew our animals were in good hands.

I knew I could rely on you to help carry us into a new era.

One that in the past year, has seen us roll out our Waggin’ Wheels Mobile Adoption Vehicle so we can find more animals homes, launch a kitten nursery to save more lives, substantially expand our community cat initiatives, increase our spay/neuter efforts to combat pet overpopulation and implement a new Admissions by Appointment intake model to help keep more animals in their homes.

It has been an unforgettable year, and during this time of thanks, myself, our staff, our Board of Directors and, of course, our animals are so grateful for all that you’ve done.

Thank you for giving so many animals a second chance at life this past year. I can’t wait to see the impact we can make together next year.

Sincerely,

Dr. Steven R. Hansen, AHS President and CEO

Pet Resource Center Focuses on Pets and People As a county that ranks only second to Los Angeles County in pet overpopulation, the need to save thousands of more Valley animals is critical. To achieve that goal, we must implement innovative programs and services that will help us give more second chances and save more lives.

As part of our new Admissions by Appointment model, implemented to provide a better experience for pets and people, AHS’ new Pet Resource Center builds relationships by taking a more proactive approach in helping pet owners keep their furry friends in their homes. This empathetic team of trained professionals conducts one-on-one phone consultations to provide compassionate counseling, helpful resources and possible alternative solutions to individuals considering surrendering their pet to a shelter.

For more information, please visit azhumane.org.

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IN THE NEWS

Dr. Steven Hansen Honored

by Midwestern University AHS’ President and CEO, Dr. Steven Hansen, was honored by Midwestern University with their prestigious “Shooting Star Award”. This award is presented to one individual each year who has shown exemplary commitment to education, health care or community service. “I think of the outstanding work you have already accomplished at AHS, and your many contributions to our community,” said Kathleen H. Goeppinger, Ph.D., Midwestern’s President and CEO. “I can think of no one more deserving of a Shooting Star Award this year, the same year we welcome our inaugural class for the College of Veterinary Medicine.”

Pictured left to right: Ann Damiano, incoming AHS Board Chair; Dr. Steven Hansen, AHS President & CEO; Melinda Gulick, outgoing AHS Board Chair; Dr. Kathleen H. Goeppinger, Midwestern University President and CEO

As you may have read in our last issue of Paw Prints, AHS will partner with the Glendalebased Midwestern University College of Veterinary Medicine to benefit both veterinary students and animals. As a true partner in transforming Maricopa County into the animal welfare community of the future, we will work together to provide educational and service opportunities for veterinary students and staff and increase the number of homeless animals treated.

Remembering Marge Wright It is with very heavy hearts that we remember our beloved Marge Wright, longtime Arizona Humane Society volunteer, supporter and animal advocate, who passed away peacefully in her sleep August 26th.

Marge was a genuine animal lover and legend at AHS, having devoted 56 years of service to homeless pets. She was, most notably, the face of 3TV’s Pets on Parade, the longest running, locally-produced television show in Arizona, for over 40 years, featuring more than 25,000 adoptable pets.

Marge was part of the foundation that built AHS and she made an immeasurable impact over the last five decades – an impact that is evedent daily in the Marge Wright Low-Cost Spay/Neuter and Wellness Clinic located at AHS’ Sunnyslope Campus.

Marge will truly be missed by our staff, volunteers, board and community members and most certainly the Arizona Humane Society animals to whom she devoted her life.

New-Look Adoptable Pet Pages We will soon be rolling out revamped website adoptable animal pages to better feature our adorable pets in hopes of helping them find loving homes faster. The new pages offer a creative, fun look that is customer friendly and focused on driving potential adopters down to our shelter to fall in love with a pet.

Coming soon to azhumane.org!

Somanycats.org Offers Solutions to Cat Overpopulation It is estimated that there may be as many as 250,000 outdoor cats in Maricopa County. That’s so many cats that some of you want to help care for, while others are driven crazy by the vast numbers on our streets. We can’t solve this overpopulation crisis overnight. But through spay/neuter efforts, education, resources and community partnership, we can all work together to find a solution.

Visit somanycats.org to learn more.

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STUFF A STOCKING FOR A PET IN NEED

Stuff a Stocking for a Pet in Need.

The holiday season is the purr-fect time to help those who can’t help themselves. In our shelters, you will find furry friends in many different shapes and sizes. Each of them is grateful for their second chance at life. ‘Tis the season to make their stay a little warmer, a little merrier and a whole lot brighter. As these pets wait patiently for their loving family, your donation will provide food, medicine, blankets, toys and treats. We invite you to make a difference in the life of a homeless animal.

Stuff a stocking for a pet in need this holiday season.

Giving Levels. How Your Holiday Gift Helps. $25

Purchases two feline leukemia virus test kits. FeLV can be lethal and is extremely contagious.

$50

Provides a “mercy groom” for a neglected animal with a painful, severely matted coat.

Letters to Santa Dear Santa,

$100

Finds a forever home for one animal through AHS’ mobile adoption unit, Waggin’ Wheels.

$275

Puts one dog through AHS’ specialized Behavior Modification Program to overcome mild aggression or extreme fearfulness.

$500

Fills the gas tank of one EAMT TM rescue vehicle for one week.

$1000

Saves the life of one severely injured animal through AHS’ Second Chance Animal Hospital™.

My owner used me as a bait dog and I was covered in dog bite wounds when I arrived at AHS. The medical team provided me with extensive treatment and now I have a loving home. This holiday season, please make sure AHS’ trauma center has everything they need to help other pets like me.

Thanks!

Harley Bull Terrier

Dear Santa,

Shelter Wish List Unable to make a monetary donation this year but still want to help the animals who will be spending the holidays with us? You can donate supplies, treats, toys or many of the items on our shelter wishlist and help stuff a stocking for a pet in need. Visit azhumane.org/ shelterwishlist for a complete shelter wishlist.

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I am so lucky to have been rescued in time by AHS’ EAMTs after someone tied me in a plastic bag and threw me in a dumpster. I also had a bad eye injury and had to spend a few weeks recovering in a foster home.

Please put my amazing foster parents on your nice list.

Thank you!

Phoenix Gray tabby cat

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

This holiday season, thousands of pets might be lucky enough to snack on some leftover turkey, enjoy new toys and ring in the new year thanks to your kindness and generosity. These are the stories of just a few of the many animals who will be home for the holidays thanks to you.

Family Grows

By One After Project Active Duty Reunion When Lt. Charles Smith was preparing to deploy out of town for the Army several months ago, he thought he’d have to say goodbye forever to his faithful companion Peanut, a 1-year-old Golden Retriever. But when Smith inquired about surrendering Peanut, he was ecstatic to learn about our Project Active Duty program, which, in partnership with PetSmart, Inc. and Credit Union West, offers temporary foster care for the pets of soldiers who are leaving for a tour of duty.

Smith left Peanut in good hands with one of our compassionate foster hero families for four months before returning for an emotional reunion. Smith was so happy to have his furry friend back in his life that he just had to get another. Smith adopted Marshmallow, a 9-month-old Labrador Retriever, from AHS within days. Smith, Peanut and Marshmallow can now enjoy the holidays together in their Chandler home.

Sydney Home in Oregon When Sydney arrived at AHS, her background was a bit of a mystery.

Through extensive research, our Alternative Placement Department located her original owners over 1,000 miles away in Oregon. Due to an illness in her family, Sydney had to be re-homed by her original family, who thought they would never see Sydney again. When they found out Sydney was now homeless, her original family promised they would come as soon as possible to pick up Sydney. After two years apart, the owners flew to AHS overnight for a tearful reunion with their long-lost friend! She is now back in Oregon loving life.

Little Cylinder Ready to Roll After Being Rescued From Car Engine Cylinder, a 6-month old kitten, was rescued by our Emergency Animal Medical Technicians™ from a car engine this past summer. Cylinder had hitched a ride to a grocery store inside the engine, and it was a miracle that she survived.

Cylinder was extremely overheated and we rushed her to our Second Chance Animal Hospital™, where she was treated for severe dehydration. Cylinder is just one of more than 9,000 ill and injured homeless pets who are treated at Second Chance every year. This playful kitty made a full recovery and is now ready to celebrate the new year at her new home in Phoenix.

Working Over the Holidays Scottsdale jeweler Oliver Smith is no stranger to AHS. When we think of Oliver, we used to think of the gorgeous custom jewelry he donates to our annual Compassion with Fashion silent auction. Now when we think of Oliver, we think of cats, too.

When Oliver and his wife, Aimee, were faced with ground rodents in their backyard, he thought of his days growing up on a Pennsylvania farm when his family enlisted the help of barn cats to control pests. Oliver came across AHS’ Working Cats program on AHS’ website, and the rest is history. Their two adopted cats are now acclimated to their own personal hideaway and are becoming more comfortable and confident patrolling the property and finding lots of adventure.

If you would like to give our working cats a job at your farm, ranch, barn, warehouse or place of business this holiday season, contact 602.997.7585 ext. 2156.

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HOW YOU CAN HELP

Summer to Save Lives Raises More than $525,000 for Homeless Pets This summer, the Arizona Humane Society continued in our mission to rescue, heal, adopt and advocate for thousands of pets in need with one goal in mind - saving more lives. Thanks to the support of generous corporate partners, community members and compassionate supporters like you, the Summer to Save Lives campaign was a triumphant success, raising more than $525,000!

That’s enough to save the lives of 1,605 animals!

The eight-week campaign culminated in the 16th annual Pet Telethon on 3TV, with more than 35,000 viewers tuning in. During the broadcast, VCA Animal Hospitals and Casino Arizona/Talking Stick Resort generously matched all online donations up to $60,000!

Immediately following the broadcast, friends of the Arizona Humane Society, Bob and Renee Parsons generously donated an incredible $100,000, a special $25,000 gift in honor of each of their four furkids – Max, Chief, Ninety-nine, and Eighty-eight.

AHS extends a sincere thank you to all those who made this campaign a success.

Save the Date: Compassion with Fashion 2015 Once Upon a Tail | Sunday, March 29th Help homeless pets find their happily ev-fur after at AHS’ magical 17th annual Compassion with Fashion, Sunday March 29, 2015 at The Phoenician. More than 1,000 royal attendees will enjoy a fanciful seated luncheon feast, a spellbinding silent auction and a fairy-tail fashion show featuring AHS’ charming adoptable pets. An enchanting event for the entire family where dreams really do come true!

Tables, tickets and event sponsorship available. For more information on Compassion with Fashion: Once Upon a Tail, contact Carrie Hughes at 602.323.8831 or chughes@azhumane.org.

Join Circle of Friends and Combat Pet Overpopulation Known as Arizona’s most ardent spay and neuter advocates, AHS’ Circle of Friends help prevent thousands of unwanted animals from suffering on Valley streets. Over the years, their gifts have fixed thousands of animals and undoubtedly reduced the number of homeless pets in our community.

We look forward to celebrating the 2015 Circle at this year’s Compassion with Fashion, and we hope you’ll consider joining this special group.

To learn more and join the 2015 Circle of Friends with a gift of $1,000 or more, contact Lauren Martich-Duhaime at 602.395.3859 or lmartich-duhaime@azhumane.org.

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VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

Mike Slenczka Lends a Hand at AHS Events AHS Volunteer Mike Slenczka has played a key role in many AHS events over the past 18 years. As far back as 1996, Mike has been helping us put our best paw forward during the Arizona Humane Society’s biggest outreach days of the year. For the past decade, Mike has been involved in coordinating pets for our annual Pet Telethon. At Compassion with Fashion, Mike has distinguished himself as a fabulous Humane Eddy, donning our mascot suit and “enjoying the attention of children and very pretty ladies sipping champagne.”

Mike’s day job is as a manager of a roofing company, so what first motivated him to begin spending Mike Slenczka with a portrait of his first his off-time with more of the ruffing dog, Sagan. crowd? His dog Sagan, who showed him “the unconditional love and support that animals offer and can provide to us humans.”

And after watching Marge Wright for years on Pets on Parade, he knew AHS was where he’d go to serve. Thank you, Mike, for all the unconditional love and support you’ve given us for nearly two decades!

Your Teen Can Learn How to Be a Vet Does your teenager dream of becoming a veterinarian?

Your child can learn first-hand about the process of healing injured pets during AHS’ Teen Shelter Medicine Intensive on Saturday, December 6th from 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at our Sunnyslope Campus. The course is designed to acquaint teens ages 13-18 with the many career opportunities in shelter medicine and will be taught

by AHS’ veterinarians, shelter operation staff members and educators. Tuition is $75 and space is limited to 20 students.

To register or for more information, visit azhumane. org/humaneed.

Love at First Sight: Eve Eve arrived at AHS with a condition called Carpal Laxity Syndrome, where the ligaments in her legs were weak and caused her to wobble and fall over every few steps – but Eve always got back up.

Vets knew that with good nutrition and time, Eve’s condition would resolve but she’d need a dedicated family. When the Ruffins saw her adorable face, they knew that Eve was perfect – despite her condition. Eve grows stronger each day in her new home and loves playing fetch with her family, which is committed to providing her whatever she needs for years to come.

Humane Heroes: Emma and Zoe Friese A big high-five to Emma and Zoe Friese! These two compassionate sisters sold handmade bracelets and donated birthday funds to help AHS’ animals. The pair had set a goal to raise $3,270 – AHS’ cost to care for 10 animals from surrender to adoption – and they surpassed it by raising $3,500! Emma and Zoe have been such great animal ambassadors that we invited them to conduct a peer presentation at Camp Compassion 2014!

Emma and Zoe are true Humane Heroes and we are extremely grateful for their support of our animals.

We Want to Hear From You Do you have a great adoption story to share? Do you want to learn more about one of our unique giving programs? Do you have questions or concerns about one of our services?

We want to hear from you! If you have questions or feedback, please email us at giving@azhumane.org or call 602.997.7585 ext. 1057.

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Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Phoenix, AZ Permit No. 456

1521 W. Dobbins Road Phoenix, AZ 85041 azhumane.org

Your Old Stuff Makes the Perfect Holiday Gift for Our Pets Are you cleaning out some old stuff to make room for holiday gifts? Donate old furniture, clothes and other household items to our thrift stores and help our pets in need. Proceeds from thrift store sales help provide care for our pets waiting for their forever homes.

We’ll even pick up your items for free (minimum two bags/boxes of clothes/ items)! Call 480.290.0587 to schedule an appointment.

Choose AHS as Your AmazonSmile Charity Now when you shop on Amazon, you can help out our pets at no additional cost to you! When you select AHS as your charity of choice through the AmazonSmile program, Amazon will donate a portion of your purchase price to our pets every time you shop at Amazon. To register, go to smile.amazon.com, sign in under your Amazon username and then select AHS as your charity. Helping homeless pets has never been easier!

Pet-Friendly Plates Emergency Ambulance EAMT™ Service SICK & INJURED RESCUES REPORT ANIMAL CRUELTY

Daily 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. · 365 days a year 602.997.7585 Ext. 2073

Locations | Services NINA MASON PULLIAM CAMPUS FOR COMPASSION Adoptions · Public Clinic · Pet Emporium 1521 W. Dobbins Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85041 602.997.7585 SUNNYSLOPE CAMPUS Admissions · Adoptions · Public Clinic Thrift Store · Second Chance Animal Hospital™ · EAMT™ 9226 N. 13th Avenue/ 1311 W. Hatcher Road Phoenix, AZ 85021 602.997.7585 TEMPE THRIFT STORE Shop · Donate 755 W. Baseline Road Tempe, AZ 85283 480.366.4617

CAVE CREEK THRIFT STORE Shop · Donate 13401 N. Cave Creek Road Phoenix, AZ 85024 602.765.4497 PETIQUE AT BILTMORE FASHION PARK Adoptions · Retail 2502 E. Camelback Road, Ste. 167 Phoenix, AZ 85016 602.957.3113 PETIQUE AT THE SHOPS AT NORTERRA Adoptions · Retail 2460 W. Happy Valley Road, St. 1149 Phoenix, AZ 85085 623.582.2513

You can help put the brakes on pet overpopulation by purchasing a pet-friendly license plate! Petfriendly Arizona plates are available for only $25 per year, and $17 from each plate helps to pay for spay and neuter services for dogs and cats throughout Arizona. Order your plates at azpetplates.org or call the ADOT Motor Vehicles Division Offices nearest you.

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