Making Tracks, Spring 2014

Spring 2014

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ove at first sight Blind mother & puppy find forever home together, Page 4

Walk. Wag. Bark.

27th Annual Bark In The Park, Page 6

Photo: Krista Sparkman

ANIMEALS Keeping families together, Page 9

Letter from the E.D.

Spring 2014

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Since May of 2013, we have been waiting to begin another life-saving Community Cat Program in partnership with Hillsborough County Animal Services (HCAS). As you may remember, this initiative was part of the “Be the Way Home Plan” aimed at reducing euthanasia in our community.

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9 Letter from the Executive director 2 Bunny love 3 Love at first sight 4 Blind mother and puppy find a forever home together Critter Camp 5 Walk. Wag. Bark. 6 27th Annual Bark in the Park Volunteer of the quarter / Littermates / Remember me 8 animeals 9 Feeding the hungry Successful Adoptions 10 Thank You 11 information / events 12

On December 18th, the Board of County Commissioners approved (six out of seven voted yes) to amend the Hillsborough County Animal Control Ordinance to accommodate the practice of TNR (trap/neuter/return) and to include exceptions for “ear-tipped” cats from certain provisions.

This action gave us the green light to begin the two-year pilot program with HCAS that allows for 2,000 stray cats (per year) to be returned to their neighborhoods after being vaccinated and sterilized, rather than being euthanized. Not only will this save the lives of thousands of cats, it will also be a cost savings for taxpayers. The Humane Society of Tampa Bay was critical in helping to make this a reality. On Sunday, January 19th, the first 25 cats were transferred to us to be sterilized and vaccinated and those cats were returned to their neighborhoods the following day. Without this initiative, those cats would have been put to death. TNVR Manager, Darlene Esposito, and the HCAS volunteer who delivered the cats.

A very special thank you to Cat Crusaders, Animal Based Charities, Animal Coalition of Tampa, Fostering is Cool, St. Francis, South Shore Felines, Alley Cat Allies and Best Friends Animal Society, as well as hundreds of cat lovers, who came together for the good of the cats. It takes all of us to move the community forward to save more lives.

For the Animals,

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Spring 2014 Making Tracks

Sherry Silk Executive Director

Jack Talman helps us welcome the first 25 cats.

v o e L Bunny The next time you visit our shelter you will notice we have a new rabbit enclosure for our bunnies who are waiting to find homes.

Rabbits are becoming more popular at shelters as many people buy them from pet stores and do not realize the work that is involved in caring for them. They are wonderful pets and can be litter trained, but they do require maintenance and patience.

Some of our rabbits have had to wait months before the right people came in to adopt them. The staff was not happy with the small cages that the rabbits were being kept in while they patiently waited for their families. So, an outdoor, covered habitat was added to the front of the building. Now, for the first time, our bunny friends can run, play, jump and thoroughly enjoy life at the shelter. Plus, our birthday parties and summer Critter Camp will allow children to visit the bunnies and get a first hand look at these gentle creatures. Stop by and check it out!

Photos: Dave Backer Humane Society of Tampa Bay

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ove at first sight

When Lilly arrived at our Animal Health Center, she was immediately rushed into emergency surgery. Her owners had bred her and she was unable to deliver her three puppies. Sadly, two of the puppies did not make it and the third, Lulu, was born in very bad shape. Both dogs were in dire straights and their owners did not have the money or resources to care for them, so they agreed to pass ownership over to the HSTB. One of our technicians volunteered to take the tiny pair home and nursed them back to health until they were well enough to be adopted. Lilly is blind, the result of a congenital birth defect called micro-opthalmia, and it was soon evident that Lulu had been born with the same condition. As the weeks went by, Lulu became strongly bonded to her mother and faithfully followed her everywhere.

The two got around so easily together that it was sometimes difficult to tell that they couldn’t see!

When the time came for them to be adopted we wanted to keep them together, so we featured them on FOX News’ Pet of The Week segment one Sunday. That same morning Kelly Evans was preparing for a day of celebration, her birthday, when she happened to see the segment. The instant she laid eyes on the dogs she decided to adopt them. She knew that keeping these two precious pups together would be the best present she could get ... and the greatest she could give.

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Spring 2014

Making Tracks

Photos: Krista Sparkman

Cr i e r C p t t am Growing tomorrow’s animal advocates!

Summer may feel like it’s many moons away, but it is never too early to plan for those lazy, hazy days! We hope your children will spend some of their hard-earned vacation with us at Critter Camp! One of Tampa Bay’s favorite summer activities for kids, Critter Camp is a one-week camp for animal lovers between the ages of 8 and 12. Under the supervision of a State of Florida certified teacher, campers will:

Learn about humane animal care

Hear from guest speakers about animal careers

Engage in fun, creative and educational activities

Help our staff give love to and care for our animals

Get visits from many furry friends

Have LOTS of fun

2014 Dates JUNE June 16 – 20 June 23 – 27

JULY AUGUST July 7 – 11 August 4 – 8 July 14 – 18 July 21 – 25 July 28 – August 1

Registration is now open!

Visit humanesocietytampa.org/crittercamp to download the registration form or call 813.774.4344 for more information. (Registration is $175 per week/child. This includes all activities, materials, snacks and drinks. A bag lunch is required.

A $75 non-refundable deposit is required to register.)

Humane Society of Tampa Bay

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New Look new location new time

M ORE AWE S O M E

Schedule Vendors & Festivities: Noon – 4:00pm Registration: 12:00pm Costume Contest Sign-Up: 12:00pm One-Mile Walk: 1:30pm

March 29, 2014

Cotanchobee Fort Brooke Park

12:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Walk. Wag. Bark. Walk. Wag. Bark. Walk. Wag. Bark. Walk. Wag. Bark. Walk. Wag. Bark. Walk. Wag. Bark. Walk. Wag. Bark.

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Spring 2014

Making Tracks

Photos: Krista Sparkman

FOOD & VENDORS

BEER DOGGY FUN ZONE

LIVE MUSIC

BY HALCYON PET COSTUME CONTEST PARADE OF RESCUES

Celebrities

Our friends from FOX 13 will join us again this year!

Charley Belcher will emcee the event while Lindsay Milbourne and Jennifer Epstein lead our Fundraising Walk for the Animals!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE FUNDRAISE AND WALK

To help raise funds for our animals and walk at the event, you can register as: A Pack Leader- Create a team to walk and fundraise!

A Pack Member- Join a team to walk and fundraise!

A Lone Wolf- Walk and fundraise as an individual!

All fundraisers receive an event T-shirt and other prizes! The more money you raise, the more goodies you’ll get and the more homeless animals you’ll help.

WALK ONLY If you are unable to raise funds but still want to attend our event and walk, you can register as: A Participant- A $25 donation is required for all nonfundraising participants. You will receive a T-shirt and wristband to gain access to the walk/event. Children under age 12 are free. Participants can register on site the day of the event.

Register Now:

BarkInTheParkTampa.com

Walk. Wag. Bark. Walk. Wag. Bark. Walk. Wag. Bark. Walk. Wag. Bark. Walk. Wag. Bark. Walk. Wag. Bark. Walk. Wag. Bark A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE, WITHIN THE STATE, REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.” 1 800-435-7352 SC-00284

Humane Society of Tampa Bay

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VOLUNTEER

of the quarter

SHIRLEY BARGER

Shirley has been a dedicated volunteer since 2010. She comes in every week to help out in the administration office and has nearly 500 volunteer hours under her belt!

From stuffing envelopes to filing paperwork, Shirley is up for any task that is put before her. She always has a smile on her face and the staff enjoys the day more when Shirley is around. She even adopted her cat, Cassie, from HSTB. Thank you, Shirley, for all that you do to help the staff of HSTB!

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Littermates

Did you know when you surrender a litter of kittens or puppies to The Humane Society of Tampa Bay, the mom and dad are eligible for free spaying and neutering? HSTB recognizes the only way to reduce the pet overpopulation in our community is through spay and neuter. Not only are all of the babies spayed and neutered before being adopted, when mom and dad are altered they can’t have any future litters.

Stacey Beauchamp recognized the importance of spaying when she found a pregnant cat. When the kittens were old enough, she brought them in for adoption and made an appointment for mom to be spayed. The kittens found great homes and Momma Cat is quite happy to be done with babies!

If you have a litter of kittens or puppies to surrender and are interested in our Halo, Hanna, Hoover & Herman found homes through HSTB & Momma Cat was spayed for free!

Littermates program, please call 813.876.7138 for more information.

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Many of you will remember Casper, the Boxer who was rescued from his own backyard, emaciated and neglected. After HSTB nursed Casper back to health, he found a wonderful home and shares his life with Oshi, his Shar Pei sister, and Simba, the cat. We were happy to receive a Christmas card from Casper’s mom celebrating five years together! Never underestimate the healing power of love!

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Spring 2014

Making Tracks

Animeals, started in 2000, is a “Meals on Wheels” program for people who are disabled or homebound and need help feeding their pets. Many senior citizens in our community share their homes with a dog or cat, sometimes their only companion, but are unable to leave the house to purchase pet food.

HSTB found that many recipients who received their food from Meals on Wheels were sacrificing their own nutrition by sharing their meals with their beloved pets. Through our partnership with Meals on Wheels, we are notified when recipients need help feeding their animals. We then arrange for HSTB volunteers to deliver pet food to these homes once a month so that we can help people in need feed their pets and maintain their own personal health.

Additionally, we provide free sterilizations and veterinary services to those animals who need care. Our volunteer Animeals drivers transport recipient pets to our Animal Health Center for their needed treatment then return them to their homes.

Animeals is just one of the many programs we have to help keep Tampa Bay’s pets in their loving homes and out of the shelters.

Animeals drivers Ben Dundas and Jennifer Masters deliver pet food to the needy.

Volunteer driver Ben with Animeals recipient Amelia Hicks. “I find driving my Animeals route really rewarding because you help not only animals, but people as well.”

ANIMEALS Feeding The Hungry In Our Community One of the recipients gives an up close and personal, “thank you”.

In some cases, when the owners can no longer stay at home, we take the animals and put them in our adoption program. These Corgi mixes had no place to go after their owner was hospitalized and unable to return home. All three of these dogs found loving homes.

If you would like more information or to help with Animeals, contact our Volunteer Department: 813.774.4344 or volunteer@humanesocietytampa.org Humane Society of Tampa Bay 9

Baby Blue

I just wanted to let you know how happy our Baby Blue is. Formerly known as Pauly, we adopted Blue when he was about 8 weeks old. We had lost our best friend Scooby in December and, in February, I saw the cutest puppies I could imagine on the website. I asked my husband if we could go look at them. He agreed, so we loaded up the kids and headed over to visit you guys. We were looking at the whole litter when my son pointed out this cute little bundle of joy that just fit into our hands weighing in at 4 lbs. He was so small. Now he weighs 35 lbs and is the highlight of our days. He loves to hide his toys and greets me every afternoon when I get home. He loves his cookies and walks on the beach.

We have a new best friend now and he is just as much part of our family as our kids. Thank you so much for the joy you helped bring to our family.

- Meredith Catterton

Thank you so much for your help with adopting my little Shih Tzu, previously named Snuggles.

I’ve renamed her Barbara Streisand and she has become the center of my world. She’s made lots of furry friends in the apartment complex and has become best friends with Mark Twain, the cat.

I never thought I could love something so much. She is completely spoiled rotten and now lives in the lap of luxury with me. Thank you so much for all of your assistance. I can’t tell you how grateful I am when I come home every day to a bouncy little Shih Tzu that’s just so happy to see me. She’s become quite accustomed to her daily brushings and has a little extra bounce in her step when she gets to wear her hair bows. I’m so glad I’ve found my best furry friend.

- Leigh Wilson

Barbara Streisand

I just wanted to thank you all for taking care of my baby Barkley (Baxter was his original name) before I met him. He was my birthday present back in September, and we couldn’t be any happier!

He is a joy. He cuddles and plays so much we get the best of both worlds. I love him so much and, if it wasn’t for everything that you do, he wouldn’t be a part of our lives.

- Katie Chachula

Barkley In June we lost our only child - our beautiful calico. We were heartbroken and the house was so empty without that little ball of fur. We had loved her so much we couldn’t even imagine having another pet that would come close to having such a big part of our hearts. And there wasn’t....there were two!

We saw Rosie and Bogart online and knew we had to come see them immediately.

We drove over after work and within two minutes of being in the room with them, I asked my husband what he thought. His reply was “I think they are pretty much perfect”. That was the beginning of the new loves of our lives. We cannot express our appreciation for all that your organization does. We are all truly blessed to have you.

- Chris & Mari Campbell 10 Spring 2014 Making Tracks

Rosie & Bogart

Thank you to the following businesses and individuals for your generous support 12 Bars of Tampa

Norman Mark Photography

ASPCA

Petco

Banfield Veterinary Hospital, Dale Mabry

PetSmart Charities

Best Friends

Dwight and Laurie Raines

Betty’s

LM Satcher

Amy Jo Blevens

Shear Pawfection 2

Brandon Running Association

Sickles High School

CNN Latino

Tampa Bay Society

Downtown Dogs

Tyson Foods

John & Charlene Hargett

USF Students

Jim McCook

Wag Natural Pet Boutique

Jeffrey McCullers

Whole Foods – Carrollwood

Krista Sparkman Photography

Whole Foods – South Tampa

Many Thanks

Wags, Purrs and

Thank you Mastro Subaru for again hosting a,“Share the Love” event. Eight animals found their forever homes and HSTB received many donations!

A big thank you to Alpha Phi Omega from USF. This service group has volunteered at the shelter multiple times and is always happy to do whatever needs to be done for our animals.

Thank you to Fox 13 Meteorologist Lindsay Milbourne and Board Member Linda Reitz for judging the Tampa Bay Society Chili Cook Off!

Thank you to Santa and Mrs. Claus for taking time out of their busy schedule for photos with pets. They helped raise over $800 for HSTB!

Thank you Lance Becatti of Ameriprise and John and Mary Birrell, for donating 3,000 pounds of pet food, toys, treats and litter!

Thank you to Nortrax for hosting a holiday supply drive for our animals!

Humane Society of Tampa Bay

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MARCH

APRIL

Kick Off Tampa Bay Beer Week March 1, 2014 Café Dufrain 3:00-5:00pm

ESTATE PLANNING FOR PET OWNERS April 23, 2014 5:30pm-6:30pm HSTB Conference Center

Bark in the Park March 29, 2014 Cotanchobee Fort Brooke Park 12:00pm-4:00pm

MAY Passion for Pets May 15, 2014 11:30am-12:30pm Hilton Tampa Downtown

ATE! D E H T

SAV E

EVENTS

Event details and more events can be found on our online calendar: humanesocietytampa.org/events

Humane Society of Tampa Bay 3607 N. Armenia Ave. Tampa, FL 33607 (813) 876-7138

Animal Health Center 3809 N. Armenia Ave. Tampa, FL 33607 (813) 870-3304

Adoption Hours: Monday: Closed Tuesday - Friday: Noon - 7:00pm Saturday - Sunday: 10:00am - 5:00pm

Spay/Neuter Monday - Friday: 7:00am - 5:00pm

Making Tracks is a newsletter published quarterly, free of charge, for donors of the Humane Society of Tampa Bay located at 3607 N Armenia Ave, Tampa FL 33607. For more information, please contact the Editor: 813-367-2078 .

Veterinary Services Monday: Noon - 7:00pm Tuesday-Sunday: 8:30am - 3:00pm Call for an appointment.

Walk-ins also accepted until 2:00pm (5:30pm on Mondays)

TUXES & TAILS OCTOBER 11, 2014 6:00pm – 11:00pm Marriott Waterside

Sherry Silk Executive Director SherryS@humanesocietytampa.org (813) 774-4309 Board of Directors President Mary Birrell Vice President Chris Bauer Treasurer Laura Tatem Secretary Diane Homa Member At Large Michael Neff Mike Gratz Mary Kate Harrison Lyda Tymiak Lindell, MD Kimberly Mello Linda Reitz Cindy Sarff Mary Scott Advisory Board: Victoria J. Alvarez, P.A. Pat Antinori City Councilwoman Yvonne Yolie Capin John Dingfelder Carol Funk Richard Gonzmart Bobby Harris Stephanie Mastro Dominique Mellow County Commissioner Sandy Murman Judge Tracy Sheehan Cathy Smith

Our Vision

Leading The Way Because Every Life Counts™

Our Mission

Dedicated to ending animal homelessness and providing care and comfort for companion animals in need.

humanesocietytampa.org

Editor: Lisa Knight lknight@humanesocietytampa.org (813) 367-2078 Contributors: Danyelle Ho Lisa Knight Nancy McCall Holly Rennell Sherry Silk Ornella Varchi Layout & Design: Nash McCutchen