Peak Pets 2020

A supplement to the

• June 24, 2020

Joining pets

and people

With its own pet population controlled, Jackson Hole comes to the aid of other animals.

See page 3.

KATHRYN ZIESIG / NEWS&GUIDE

Behavior & Training | Health | Life with Pets

2 - PEAK PETS • JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Since life is short, choose the car ride

A HUGE TAIL WAG TO ALL PAWS SUPPORTERS! WE REACHED OUR $200,000 CAMPAIGN GOAL

We missed seeing you this year at our Annual Gala, but we thank everyone who participated in our NON-EVENT CAMPAIGN and made it such a huge success!

Business Sponsors:

Individual Sponsors: Lori Bantekas

Reece Jenkins

Dick & Val Beck

Rachel & Chris Keller

Bowen Family Foundation

Amy & Paul Mower

Michael & Donna Coles

Ann Lurie & Mark Muheim

Charles Engelhard Foundation

Nichols Family Foundation

And a huge PAWS Up to all the individuals who donated to complete the $100,000 Matching Funds! COVID-19 has had a huge impact on our community and has resulted in record high demand for our financial assistance programs. All proceeds from this campaign will go to direct use helping pets and their people in our communities.

COV I D P E T F U N D 379207

I worked as a veterinary technician at Countryside Animal Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado, for a few years before moving to Jackson. You see all sorts of things in a vet clinic and experience a range of emotions with clients: excitement when an owner adopts a new puppy, laughter over something goofy an animal does in the exam room, grief when the doctor has to deliver a bad diagnosis.

I got used to it as a tech. I’m still not used to it as an owner.

It’s different when you hear “cancer” and it applies to the animal that sleeps in your bed, rides in your car, licks your face when you’ve had a rough day. It’s different when you realize the last time you went hiking in the Tetons, camping in the Winds, kayaking at Slide Lake was the last time.

Bentley is my first dog. My family had dogs as I was growing up, but Bentley is the first one I picked out, the one I named, the one I raised from puppyhood into doghood. I taught him to shake on command. I failed to teach him to not bark at strangers. The dog he became is a journey we took together. He’s been my shadow the past eight years, my adventure companion, my travel buddy, my roommate.

Still, the most important part of pet ownership is also the worst. When we bring these amazing fur creatures into our lives, we accept responsibility for both how they live their life and, in most cases, how they exit it. As gray hairs have been sneaking into Bentley’s muzzle I’ve been easing into what I expected would be many years of senior dog living. Recent test results jolted me into a new reality.

At first, tests suggested lymphoma (not a great diagnosis) and most recently, leukemia (even worse). I don’t know

when it will be time to say goodbye, but the time is fast approaching. Medication and chemotherapy may prolong his life and keep him comfortable, but they are no cure. He likely won’t live another year.

He likely won’t live through this one.

After several days of sobbing — and having Bentley show great concern for my sadness, which of course, made me cry harder — I steeled my heart. I’m still sad, and I still cry. But I only have the time I have, and I don’t want to spend it crying. At least, not all of it.

Instead, I choose to spend it appreciating the little moments: A car ride with the windows rolled down, a short walk in the grass, a snuggle on the couch. I put my phone down more and spend more time trying to memorize his exact color markings.

There are parts of this journey that still provoke a laugh, like when his new diet makes him gassy and he sits on the cat and farts. He has the energy to try to break into his treat jar, and he still takes the time to inspect and pull out all his toys, what I call “doing inventory.”

The reality is there too: dulling eyes, paling gums. He has less energy. He sleeps more. He wags less.

I suppose that’s one of the many things animals remind us: Life is short, and we don’t know how short. When it comes to how we spend our time, we have choices. Work longer or play a game of fetch. Finish one more email or go outside. Take another phone call or sit in the grass.

More than ever, Bentley has reminded me to choose the latter. Maybe his story will remind you, too.

Special supplement written, produced and printed by the Jackson Hole News&Guide Publisher: Kevin Olson Associate Publisher: Adam Meyer

We exist to improve lives and help people feel better!

Editor in Chief: Johanna Love Managing Editor: Rebecca Huntington Deputy Editor: Melissa Cassutt Layout and Design: Andy Edwards, Samantha Nock Photographers: Bradly J. Boner, Ryan Dorgan, Kathryn Ziesig Copy Editors: Jennifer Dorsey, Mark Huffman, Addie Henderson Features: Lillian Bissell, Melissa Cassutt, Cody Cottier, Krissi Goetz, Lauren Teruya Advertising Sales: Karen Brennan, Tom Hall, Megan LaTorre, Oliver O’Connor, David Szugyi Advertising Coordinator: Tatum Biciolis Creative Director: Sarah Wilson Advertising Design: Lydia Redzich, Luis Ortiz, Heather Haseltine, Chelsea Robinson Pressroom Manager: Chuck Pate Pre-press Supervisor: Jeff Young Press Supervisor: Dale Fjeldsted Pressmen: Steve Livingston, Lewis Haddock

Teton County Pet Partners does this by registering and matching animal therapy teams to individual and community needs

We miss providing animal therapy to Teton County!

Please stay safe! We’ll be back soon! www.tcpetpartners.org | info@tcpetpartners.com

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PEAK PETS • JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, June 24, 2020 - 3

finding famiilies

KATHRYN ZIESIG / NEWS&GUIDE

Animal Adoption Center staffers grab the five puppies and 8-month old shepherd/mastiff from the car after they were transported to Jackson on May 27. The puppies were rescued

by Lander Pet Connection and the shepherd/mastiff was found roaming Fremont County.

Joining pets and people

With its own pet population controlled, Jackson Hole comes to the aid of other animals.

By Melissa Cassutt

T

he 8-month old shepherd/mastiff thumped her tail and looked out of her crate as the tailgate opened on the gray GMC Denali. The staff of the Animal Adoption Center peered in, greeting the big dog with coos and a few “good girls.”

Her transport, loaded with puppies rescued by the Lander Pet Connection, arrived on a day in late May. Two litters of puppies also traveled in the vehicle, five tiny furballs snuggled in a lump with another puppy next to the driver for extra comfort on the threehour drive.

Not much was known about the big dog, named Brit, which is often the case with dogs moving through the shelter system. What was known is her future was uncertain where she was found roaming around in Fremont County, where she was seen as a bit of a big nuisance.

Arriving in Jackson, she was taken in by the Animal Adoption Center, but stayed at the Broadway location only a few hours. That evening she hopped in another vehicle and went home with potential adopter Danielle Harrity — and “that was it,” Harrity said.

The pup quickly assimilated to her new life in Wilson, making nice with the resident dog, Levi, a 4-year-old greater Swiss mountain dog, two kids and three horses.

She was given a new name by Harrity’s husband, who announced one night at dinner: “I think she’s Stella.”

They all agreed, though in the past few

KATHRYN ZIESIG / NEWS&GUIDE

Jenna Martin and Paige Johnston carry one of the two dogs off the Dog is My CoPilot plane on May 28 at the Driggs-Reed Memorial Airport. The pilot Craig Colton, based in Driggs, began his trip at 6 a.m. and arrived back home with the two final dogs around 5 p.m. “It’s all in a day’s work,” Colton said.

days they’ve also realized that calling the dog spurs a response from their daughter, 9-yearold Ella. But the dual response is one the family is willing to work with and laugh off.

Stella “just seems like an amazing part of the family already,” Harrity said. “She just loves being with us and has such a lovely energy — she just really makes us happy.

“It was sort of an immediate fit. It just feels like she’s always been with our family.”

Problem population

Twenty years ago this type of animal rescue wasn’t a likely one in Teton County, which was battling its own problems with homeless and unwanted pets.

Before the PAWS of Jackson Hole spay/ neuter voucher program, money wasn’t available to neuter the pets that found their way to the Jackson/Teton County Animal Shelter.

The lack of sterilization had animal lovers and advocates worried that even after the hundreds of animals that needed homes found them, the shelter would fill right back up.

For the years that records are available — 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 — that’s essentially what happened, according to PAWS. During those years the shelter cared for an average of about 650 animals annually.

“We had lots of dogs in the shelter, lots of cats in the shelter — and it was hard to place them,” said Ann Smith, who founded

PAWS in 1999. “There were fewer people and most people already had a dog. That was why I wanted to do something to help the shelter.”

Smith, alongside a handful of “dog-loving” women, launched the group around a kitchen table. They “made it up” as they went along, Smith said, raising money to support the shelter through small events and private donations.

Nearly 10 years after its humble beginnings, PAWS — which “doesn’t stand for anything; it’s just something easy to put on a hat or a shirt,” Smith said — rolled out what would become the cornerstone of the nonprofit’s work: spay/neuter vouchers. In the years since the program launched, the homeless animal population in the community has dwindled. In turn, numbers of dogs housed in kennels at the Jackson/Teton County Animal Shelter plummeted.

“Because we are spaying and neutering everything that comes up, the stray population of dogs in Jackson is nonexistent,” PAWS Program Director Jess Farr said.

The same essentially holds true for the feline population, which has also been curbed with the nonprofit’s Trap-Neuter-Release program, which captures feral cats, spays/neuters the animals and returns them to the wild.

The organization has since expanded its spay/neuter work to Star Valley and Teton County, Idaho, issuing about 1,200 vouchers a year among the three communities. Such prevention work has transitioned Jackson Hole from one whose municipal shelter housed upward of 40 dogs and 60 cats to one that cares for a handful of felines and maybe eight canines on any given day, PAWS Executive Director Amy Moore said.

The shelter, located south of town near the Teton County Recycling Center, remains home base for impounded dogs who have been picked up roaming the streets or See AdoptiON on 8

4 - PEAK PETS • JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, June 24, 2020

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PEAK PETS • JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, June 24, 2020 - 5

pet medicine

Blood transfusions save furry friends Donor dogs and skilled vets help sick and injured pups lead longer lives.

tumors causing internal bleeding.

At the Jackson Animal Hospital and the Fish Creek Veterinary Clinic, donor dogs are staff and patient pets.

Most hospitals, clinics and blood banks sedate donor dogs so they don’t experience any discomfort or pain.

When the donor reaches a relaxed, calm state, blood is drawn from the jugular vein. For that reason, not every dog is eligible to give blood.

By Lauren Teruya

J

essyka Larson was three months pregnant when her miniature boxer, Brighton, refused to leave the car to take a familiar walk down Old Pass Road.

For a dog who woke up every day excited to accompany Larson to her lively workplace, Axis Gymnastics, Brighton’s behavior sparked fear in Larson.

By the next morning Brighton was completely immobile. Larson rushed over to the Jackson Animal Hospital, where Dr. Joe Wienman diagnosed Brighton with immune-mediated hemolytic anemia.

Wienman recommended an immediate blood transfusion as the only solution to save Brighton’s life.

For Larson, the decision to go forward with the transfusion was easy: “We wanted her to get better and live long enough to meet the new baby,” she said.

Wienman said dog blood transfusions aren’t that different from those for humans: “There are tests that we do to determine whether or not a donor dog’s blood would be suitable for a recipient dog’s blood,” he said.

According to Wienman, dogs have at least eight blood types.

Dogs are classified as positive or negative for each dog erythrocyte antigen or DEA. According to PetMD, DEA 1 is most medically important because most dogs are DEA 1.1 positive and can give blood safely only to dogs DEA 1.1 positive. Dogs negative for DEA 1 can give to

“Our donors have saved a lot of pets who are really on the brink of nonrecovery.”

— Dr. Theo Schuff Fish Creek Veterinary clinic

COURTESY PHOTO

Jessyka Larson and her 5-month-old daughter, Ru, celebrate Halloween with Brighton last year at Axis Gymnastics. A blood transfusion gave the miniature boxer a new lease on life.

both negative and positive DEA 1.1 and DEA 1.2.

Negative DEA 1.1 blood is the closest type of universal donor blood for dogs.

In most cases, dogs do not seem to have preformed antibodies to any specific blood type. That makes a dog’s first blood transfusion unlikely to cause a reaction — even if the blood is incompatible — because those antibodies have not formed yet.

But Wienman warns that with additional transfusions it becomes critical to crossmatch and type the blood.

So, most veterinarians will give firsttime receivers universal donor blood

from a blood bank or perform a major crossmatch.

At the Jackson Animal Hospital, Wienman does major crossmatches by testing the recipient’s blood plasma and the potential donor’s red blood cells. If clumping does not occur, it’s likely the recipient does not have antibodies that will destroy the donor’s red blood cells and will be an appropriate match.

At Dr. Theo Schuff ’s private clinic on Fish Creek Road, patients most commonly in need of a whole blood transfusion are dogs that have life-threatening anemia, have sustained trauma with blood loss, have consumed a toxic substance or have

The ideal donor dog is up to date on required vaccinations, under the age of 6, relatively friendly and calm, meets basic health and behavioral criteria and is of a proper weight and size to tolerate the amount of blood being collected.

“It’s a nice thing to be able to do,” Schuff said, speaking as a practioner and as the owner of a donor dog himself. “And our donors have saved a lot of pets who are really on the brink of nonrecovery.”

Doing blood donations where donor dogs are contacted, tested, sedated, and ready to donate all within an hour to save another dog in need does not happen without some stress.

See BLOOD on 12

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6 - PEAK PETS • JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, June 24, 2020

living with pets

Fosters add canine shine to Living Center SeniorPaws program gives joy to seniors and helps older dogs find loving homes.

By Cody Cottier

I

n the first few months of this year, Nancy Rufener lost a dog, a partner and a best friend.

To be clear, she said goodbye to three different loved ones — her black Lab, Sammy, her life partner, Danny Gardiner, and a close companion from her pre-Jackson days in San Diego.

As if that tragic triad wasn’t enough, it transpired against a backdrop of virusinduced isolation. The onset of the COVID-19 crisis forced Rufener to grieve in quarantine.

But she didn’t have to grieve alone.

Just in time she found a new friend, one who would sit beside her in her darkest moments, or curl into her lap and lick the tears from her face.

She adopted Laverne, an 8-yearold Jack Russell terrier mix, after they met at St. John’s Living Center, where Rufener visited Gardiner during hospice care. The pup was living there as one of the pioneers of a new program, SeniorPAWS, through which the nursing home fosters dogs while they await adoption, brightening the residents’ world in the process.

Actually, according to Rufener, “Laverne adopted us.” The little dog had already been at the center about a week when Gardiner checked in, but she hadn’t formed a deep bond with any particular person. It seemed she’d been waiting for the newcomers.

RYAN DORGAN / NEWS&GUIDE

Danny Keller walks Joey outside St. John’s Living Center in early June. Keller and the little 8-year-old dog have walked together two to three times a week since she arrived at the Living Center in January as part of the SeniorPAWS fostering program.

“One night she just barged into the room and got on Danny’s bed,” Rufener said, “and that was it. She didn’t want to go with anybody else.”

On another night, around 2 a.m., an alarm for one of Danny’s medications went off. Laverne switched into watch-

dog mode, growled at the alarm, then jumped onto the bed, apparently guarding the human she had taken in her charge. Rufener watched in amazement, thinking, “Dang, I need this dog.”

When Danny died shortly after, several families had already shown interest

in adopting Laverne. But one by one, for one serendipitous reason or another, they all backed out. As soon as Rufener heard, she called Jess Farr, the program director at the nonprofit PAWS of Jackson Hole.

See Living Center on 7

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Living Center Continued from 6

She wasn’t about to argue with fate.

Once Rufener had signed the adoption papers, Farr recalled, “she said something to me that took my breath away: ‘I walked in here with one life partner and I’m walking out with another.’”

The day the two went home together marked the program’s first success. Laverne found a temporary home and rejuvenated the Living Center, where loneliness and boredom are common among residents.

Then she went on to a permanent home, and a home where she made all the difference.

“Animals have a healing power,” Farr said. “They really, really do. And she figured out who needed her most.”

With Laverne, the people behind SeniorPAWS did precisely what they set out to do, and what they hope to replicate.

With Joey they failed.

Failure is a technical term here, though. When a foster family, or nursing home, becomes so hopelessly attached to an animal that they can’t bear to see the creature go, the incident is half-jokingly deemed a “foster failure.”

That was the unsurprising outcome of Joey’s arrival at the Living Center early this year.

The 8-year-old Chihuahuaminiature pinscher mix swaggered in “like she was meant to be there forever,” Farr said.

Without hesitation she cuddled up to her new human roommates, and they, for their part, were smitten.

“Joey brings joy to everybody,” said John Paul Trudelle,

PEAK PETS • JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, June 24, 2020 - 7 a “parade” of residents filed into newest addition being Jack, a the office of Malenda Hoel- 10-year-old Jack Russell terscher, the director of the Living rier-Chihuahua mix from El Center, to let her know Joey had Paso Animal Services. (The small-dog trend is deliberate. to stay.

“We had residents threaten- Farr vets and selects only those ing to leave if we did not adopt animals that will get along with her,” said Connie Hansen, the the elders: not too big, wellcenter’s life enrichment director. behaved, energetic but gentle.)

SeniorPAWS is accepting Kate Wienman, a speech applications pathologist for Jack’s at the Living adoption.

Center who Though devised the the program idea for Seis still fresh, n i o r PAW S , its first sucsaid it’s not cess seems a just the resitribute to its dents who potential to stand to gain, unite people either. and animals She and in a way Farr the rest of the calls “symbistaff have en— Nancy Rufener otic.” Human joyed the dogs adopter of laverne and dog each just as much, offer the other as have visitsomething viing friends and families. Many say a stron- tal to their well-being.

Residents say Joey is a conger sense of community has stant source of happiness at the formed around Joey.

“It feels more like home Living Center. And whenever RYAN DORGAN / NEWS&GUIDE when you have animals around,” Nancy Rufener’s thoughts turn At the request of a number of St. John’s Living Center residents, Joey said Danny Keller, 76, another dark, comfort and laughter are was adopted and now lives there permanently. only as far away as her new resident.

The SeniorPAWS program companion. Even if Laverne is 80, who has lived at the center feed her treats, along with scraps for just over a year. “I think she’s of food from their own meals. also aims to integrate the Liv- a bed hog, even if she seems to the right dog and the right con- Since the pandemic compelled ing Center with the broader be constantly on a mission to ditions. Just perfect.” them to eat in their bedrooms, community of Jackson Hole by trip her human in the kitchen, She’s become a sort of mas- Joey has taken to roaming the giving the residents a role in she has helped Rufener through finding the right home for the this period of loss as only a dog cot, not to mention Employee halls and poking her head in dogs they foster. Once they’ve can. of the Month (a distinction that wherever she can find crumbs, spent two weeks with an ani“Without her I don’t know came with a signed letter from not without encouragement. mal, it’s listed for adoption and what I would have done,” St. John’s Health CEO Paul “She loves to mooch,” residents get to meet and talk Rufener said. “She’s one of the Beaupre, despite the fact that Trudelle said. “She looks at me with prospective families. reasons I get up in the morning Joey barks at him whenever he very sad and hungry. But a pet Coronavirus put a damper on and get on with the day.” comes around). is a pet. What are we supposed the program for a few months, While the staff see to most to do?” as staff debated when it would Contact Cody Cottier of her day-to-day needs, the With canine charms like be safe to bring in more dogs. via 732-7071 or jlove@ residents take her for walks and that, it didn’t take long before But it’s back on track, with the jhnewsandguide.com.​

“She’s one of the reasons I get up in the morning and get on with the day.”

Pet

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Betsy Hesser Connie Kemmerer Angela Kennedy Karen & Amanda Lucas Jim & Barbara Lyons Lisa Marapese Donna Marts Valerie & Mike May Rob & Ruth Peters Leonard Purkis Gretchen Randolph

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Lee Riddell Blanch Robertson Nancy Rufener Tea Sheehan Janice Skinner Ian & Victoria Smith Lisa Vallely Becky Watson Kay & Tom Wilson And all those that donated anonymously

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8 - PEAK PETS • JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Adoption Continued from 3

owner-surrendered animals, Adam Galadima, one of two community service officers who run the shelter.

But even those numbers are declining.

“We have seen a reduction in animals being surrendered, we’ve seen a reduction in our animals being returned and we’ve also seen a reduction in the number being impounded,” Galadima said.

He credits the changes to owner education — a focus for all animal welfare organizations — and the community’s robust spay/neuter programs.

“All animals are spay/neutered now,” he said.

Owners coming to pick up impounded animals are educated on spay/neuter options, Galadima said, and “if an animal becomes part of the Jackson/Teton County Animal Shelter program, the next day the animal gets scheduled for neuter or spay.”

Space for pets in need

Such changes have not only meant fewer problems with stray dogs and cats and homes for local pets in need of one, but also an opportunity for Jackson to aid other communities. Having successfully addressed its own pet overpopulation, it has shifted its sights to providing relief to others.

The Animal Adoption Center serves as a receiving shelter, essentially a place for rescues to transport their animals for adoption.

It partners with PAWS of Jackson Hole and the Jackson/Teton County Animal Shelter to pluck a few animals from nearby and overcrowded shelters — Star Valley or Idaho Falls, for example — that are brought to Jackson for adoption.

Only three or four come in at once, because the shelter is still responsible for holding Teton County animals, and PAWS foots the bill so taxpayer dollars aren’t diverted from the municipal shelter’s base mission.

But by far the leader in this relief effort is the Animal Adoption Center. The nonprofit, which celebrated its 15-year anniversary in 2019, works with state and regional rescues, shelters and organizations to move dozens of dogs and cats into Jackson annually, offering reprieve for overburdened shelters and sanctuary to animals at risk for euthanasia.

“It’s a paw-in-a-paw relationship that we have with the Adoption Center,” Farr said.

KATHRYN ZIESIG / NEWS&GUIDE

Jenna Martin, adoption counselor at the Animal Adoption Center, takes a photo of Pretzel, one of the two rescue dogs delivered via Dog is My CoPilot, in the new AAC van before it left Driggs-Reed Memorial Airport for Jackson. The two dogs were dropped off by pilot Craig Colton, who has been flying for Dog is My CoPilot for about five months.

“They couldn’t have the impact that they have without PAWS getting us to a community that doesn’t face the same problems that the Idaho Falls community or the Lander community faces.

“We have resources out there for people who own animals that aren’t reproducing, and they’re staying with their families.”

More homes than dogs

In mid-March the Animal Adoption Center was forced to close its doors like other businesses trying to weather the pandemic. But its work didn’t slow. If anything, it ramped up.

Since it closed to the public March 14 the Animal Adoption Center received 110 foster applications and 280 adoption applications for dogs and cats. This year has been, by far, its busiest of the past five, with 159 adoptions between January and May, compared to 81 for the same period the year before and 65 between January and May 2018.

“I think COVID has played a huge factor for those who have been thinking of adopting and wanting to adopt but they never had the time,” Executive Director Carrie Boynton

said. “It’s a great time to potty train a puppy.

It’s a great time to introduce a new family member.”

While other rescues and shelters have been hit hard by the pandemic — many seeking financial aid from national funders, some closing their doors entirely — the surge in local interest and support has allowed the Animal Adoption Center to increase its relief of other shelters inundated with too many animals and not enough homes.

“Nationally intake numbers are hugely declined,” Boynton said. “But we’ve taken the opposite approach to try to really help the places that need it most.”

Like PAWS the Animal Adoption Center has also been a heavy hitter in curbing pet overpopulation both locally and statewide.

Since launching Spay/Neuter Wyoming 11 years ago, over 14,000 animals statewide have been spayed or neutered through low-income vouchers honored by a dozen participating veterinarians, as well as biannual spay/neuter clinics on the Wind River Reservation, that perform on average 400 spay/neuter procedures each visit, Boynton said.

With a new “rescue mobile” recently ac-

quired, center staff expect to be of further aid to pets in need, transporting animals to spay/ neuter clinics and moving more dogs and cats into Jackson from overcrowded shelters.

“Transport is the lifeline and the teamwork that it takes to make it happen — it’s truly the essence of rescue work,” Boynton said. “It’s so incredibly important to have trusted partners and to be able to collaborate and do what’s best — not just in our county, our region and our state. but to be able to give animals a second chance.”

The Animal Adoption Center also works to breathe new life into shelters across the state through the Wyoming Shelter Project, which guides other organizations toward lower euthanasia rates through increased spay/ neuter programming. At the Rock Springs Animal Shelter, for example, feline euthanasia dropped to 16% from 70% and canine euthanasia dropped to 2% from 30%. All animals adopted out of the facility are now spayed or neutered and the facility’s intake has reduced by 40% — all since the partnership began in 2014, according to statistics provided by the Animal Adoption Center.

In addition to working with shelters in Wyoming — including the Lander Pet Connection, Animal Humane Association of Star Valley, Paws for Life Animal League in Riverton, Green River Animal Shelter and the aforementioned Rock Springs Animal Shelter — it also receives animals from facilities in Idaho.

When it comes to a long-distance haul, it collaborates with Dog Is My CoPilot to fly in pets from Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas and Utah.

‘Big Dog,’ big flights

Dog Is My CoPilot has been landing in Teton Valley to hand off animals to the Animal Adoption Center since the transport organization first took flight in 2012.

As the years have passed, Dog Is My CoPilot has increased its flights, connecting with nearly 100 municipal shelters and nonprofit organizations to move animals around 15 states. The plane is the “Big Dog,” a retrofitted 12-passenger Cessna 208B Grand Caravan that fits up to 251 animals if Dr. Peter Rork has maxed out his Tetris skills in balancing a mix of dog and cat kennels.

This year is likely to tally up the most flights flown since the organization began, with a Petco Foundation grant allowing for See AdoptiON on 9

RYAN DORGAN / NEWS&GUIDE

Nora Monaghan, 6, and her dad, Sean, get to know a dog named Johnny during a meet and greet a few weeks ago at the Animal Adoption Center. Johnny had arrived the night before on a Dog Is My CoPilot flight from El Paso, Texas.

PEAK PETS • JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, June 24, 2020 - 9

WHERE ‘DOG IS MY COPILOT’ GETS RESCUE DOGS

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Cessna 208B Grand Caravan aka, “The Big Dog,”

the model of plane flown to transport animals for Dog is My CoPilot

Adoption Continued from 8

three additional pilots to join Rork as captains of the Big Dog. More pilots means the Cessna will be in the air more frequently, taking to the skies nearly every day some weeks, said Rork, who founded the organization.

“It’s certainly needed and we’re constantly trying to answer all the calls from all the groups,” he said. “We could fly twice a month for a long list of shelters — there aren’t enough days in the week to get it all done.”

The nonprofit will also be connecting more often with the Animal Adoption Center this year, anticipating two to four flights a month will deliver dogs and cats in Teton Valley for the center to swoop up.

Like the adoption process itself, transporting animals across the country is a bit of a matchmaking puzzle, with Dog is My CoPilot Executive Director Kara Pollard connecting organizations to move animals out of overburdened areas and into ones with more homes.

In Jackson the person picking the pets to come to Teton County is Jenna Martin, the Animal Adoption Center’s Adoption and Communications Coordinator. High on her list are traits associated with the typical Jackson pooch: dog- and people-friendly with the energy for hiking, biking and other outdoor pursuits.

That’s not to say small dogs or giant breeds don’t make it in the mix. While scanning spreadsheets full of as much information as an organization can pack in (which is sometimes not much), she picks animals that best align with the Animal Adoption Center’s applications, aiming to match the community’s wants with the needs of rescues and shelters across the region.

“Right now we have 10 people in line for a certain type of dog,” she said. “We’re taking note of those things. If we see another dog come through that we know so many people are in the market for, we’re going to sign onto that dog.”

KATHRYN ZIESIG / NEWS&GUIDE

Animal Adoption Center employees Paige Johnston, Virginia Faulkner-Monks, Jenna Martin and Carrie Boynton wave and cheer as Craig Colton lands the Dog is My CoPilot plane at Driggs-Reed Memorial Airport. The AAC crew picked up two dogs that afternoon, transporting them to Jackson in their brand new van.

She also doesn’t shy away from dogs or cats that need a little extra medical care. Throughout the year the Animal Adoption Center will also provide care for a handful of pets, if not more, with expensive medical needs.

With all the cats at the Animal Adoption Center living communally in Kitty City, cats brought in must be friendly with other felines. Before COVID restrictions that shuttered the nonprofit’s doors to the public the cats also needed to be open to a lot of visitors.

“When we’re open to the public our door is a revolving one where all walks of life come through to socialize with them. So we couldn’t have a feral cat, for instance. There’s just not the market for that here in Jackson — people want house pets. At least that’s what we see,” Martin said.

The final and most important step for the receiving shelter is finding its new wards forever homes, a process that stems from the nonprofit’s foster program.

Unlike most shelters, all of the Animal Adoption Center’s canines go to a home in the evenings instead of curling up in a kennel.

While some would come back to the center in the daytime (before changes in operations stemming from COVID), where they would greet drop-ins and go for walks and hikes with volunteers, each night they’d pack up for a sleepover with a foster family.

“It makes our matchmaking process a lot easier,” Martin said. “You can’t really get a full personality of a dog sitting in a shelter.”

Information collected by foster families — the nonprofit’s network is up to 500 foster homes — gives Martin a more well-rounded

profile of the pets. Foster parents can often answer if their charges get along well with cats (or shows too much interest); if they’re comfortable with children; if they’re a lazy couch potatoes or always on the go.

On the other end the Animal Adoption Center works closely with adopters, requiring those interested in taking home a pet to do just that — foster the animal they’re interested in as a bit of a trial period. A free one-hour training session with dog trainer Eva Perrigo, who creates training programs for center dogs, is also offered to adopters.

Ultimately the goal is to get the animal into a home where it can live out a full, happy life — and never see a shelter, transport van, plane or foster home again.

“The Animal Adoption Center brings in such an array of animals,” said Farr, who previously worked for the Animal Adoption Center before she moved to her job at PAWS. “They’re doing a really great job bringing in these fabulous animals for people to understand they’re not broken dogs. They’re not broken, they’ve just had bad luck.”

She summed up the heart of adoption work as: “This is this animal’s last time going through the shelter system.”

Animal welfare advocates have seen the community embrace that sentiment, excited to take in a down-on-his-luck pup and proud to share their pet’s rescue story when he comes across another wagging tail in town.

“We have such a supportive network of individual groups that work together here in town,” Pollard said, “And then we have the community. You walk on the streets, you walked up trails and every other person says, ‘I adopted my dog from the Animal Adoption Center,’ ‘I adopted my dog from the town of Jackson animal shelter.’

“We just have a really special place here.

It’s neat that we can come together and supply people with more pets.”

Contact Melissa Cassutt via 732-7071 or jlove@jhnewsandguide.com.​

10 - PEAK PETS • JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, June 24, 2020

On the job

Sleuth Dogs for Conservation Dogs detect invasives and track species of scientific interest

By Lillian Bissell

E

fficient, trustworthy methods of detection are likely not people’s first thought when they look at a dog.

However, a dog’s nose is proving to be a tremendous tool in conservation efforts.

Working Dogs for Conservation had expected to deploy dog and handler teams in July to Shirley Basin, sniffing out black-footed ferrets. Canines can detect ferrets’ presence in their burrows, so conservationists don’t have to wait for them to come above ground to know they’re present.

That’s been put on hold, because the

her dogs Barley and ferrets can get COTobias. They were VID-19. It’s imstationed at waterperative to avoid “They’re living beings, craft checkpoints infecting the endangered species and they’re not machines. for around 14 days, sniffing out potenthat once was at They can get sick, tial invasives faster the brink of extincthan their human tion. But that’s not tear a toenail.” counterparts could the only kind of spot them. projects dogs can — Kayla Fratt A project schedhandle.

Working dogs for conservation uled for August P r e v i o u s l y, aims to detect salt Working Dogs for cedar, an invasive Conservation was contracted by Yellowstone and Grand shrub, along the edges of rivers in WyoTeton national parks to check boats for ming. Handler and dog will paddle down aquatic invasive species, most notably the rivers in search of salt cedar patches.

That project is ideal for using the dogs. zebra mussel.

Kayla Fratt, communications and out- They excel at finding small groups of a reach coordinator for Working Dogs for species rather than a large swath.

“When you’re trying to find either the Conservation, worked in the parks with

last of an invasive species after an eradication attempt or those first pioneers,” Fratt said, “that’s where the dogs are really helpful.”

Acute olfactory senses are responsible for dogs’ accuracy and efficiency on the job.

Dogs have about 300 million receptors in their noses, compared with a mere 6 million in humans, according to a 2012 article by Peter Tyson for the Nova Science Trust.

Plus, dogs have something we don’t: the ability to distinguish pheromones, a chemical substance released by animals and detected by others around them.

That ability to detect pheromones could be helping dogs achieve success at conservation work. Fratt thinks it might help them distinguish between scat of different See Detectives on 11

COURTESY WORKING DOGS FOR CONSERVATION

Working dog Tobias is a pro at sniffing for invasive species. Typically, he is deployed at watercraft check stations in and around Glacier National Park, where he searches for invasive mussels.

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Detectives Continued from 10

species, exemplified in a previous project when they were able to tell black bear scat from grizzly scat. Labs can then analyze the scat to find out what the animal has been eating, what other animals it’s been around and the hormonal levels, Fratt said.

While using dogs in conservation has found great success, it’s important to recognize dogs aren’t infallible.

“They’re living beings, and they’re not machines,” Fratt said.

“They can get sick, tear a toenail.

They can just have a weird day.”

She explained that not every dog is right for the job either, and finding the proper fit can be a challenge.

Working Dogs for Conservation employs rescues for its program, partnering with shelters to pick out dogs with the right personality.

Sometimes dogs are just not the best solution for a problem.

“There are just some targets that don’t have a whole lot of scent,” Fratt said.

That was evident in a pilot study looking for bumblebee nests. She said the dogs would practically need to stand on top of the tiny nest hiding under leaf litter to smell anything.

Risk plays an important role too. The organization doesn’t want to endanger its canine coworkers.

“We were kind of speculating about whether the dogs would be useful for finding these murder hornets coming over from Asia,” Fratt said. “Almost immediately we decided no. They don’t want their dogs going up to a murder hornet.

BRADLY J. BONER / NEWS&GUIDE FILE

Jax, who is trained to sniff out aquatic invasive species, checks out an inflatable watercraft with her handler, Amiee Hurt, last summer in Grand Teton National Park. Hurt and Jax were inspecting watercraft in Grand Teton as part of a partnership between the park and Working Dogs for Conservation. Acute olfactory senses and an ability to detect pheromones make dogs ideal for conservation work.

Methods for monitoring animal species include camera traps, radio collars and spotlighting.

Those approaches fall under various categories of expense, success, time involvement and species interference.

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The biggest benefit to using the dogs versus the other methods, Fratt said, is that they qualify as a noninvasive conservation approach. Much different from having to tranquilize an animal to collar it.

“The advantage of dogs is unlike a camera trap, or a person with a spotlight, you don’t have to be there at the exact same time as the individual animal,” Fratt said.

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More than just a handsome face, Rugar is a lifesaver. The 8-year-old shepherd-spaniel mix, who belongs to one of the vet techs at Fish Creek Veterinary Clinic, has donated blood for transfusions about a half-dozen times.

Donor

Continued from 5

Dr. MJ Forman, a veterinarian and internal medicine specialist at the VCA Spring Creek Animal Hospital, prefers a different method.

Every six weeks VCA Spring Creek Animal Hospital purchases universal donor blood from a bank in Idaho Falls.

To meet the needs of the hospital, Forman feels more comfortable having blood banked in the office rather than reaching out to donors last-minute.

That method, however, comes with a cost: “If it’s not used within 30 days we have to throw it away,” Forman said.

Blood has a short shelf life. As time passes, the blood may start to clot, making the procedure even more dangerous for the animals in need.

According to Forman, it’s very unpredictable. One month she may have a large dog in need of all the banked blood

the animal hospital has available, and the next day another dog may also be in need.

In that case Forman checks with other blood banks or finds an available donor dog.

Other months there may be no need for a whole blood transfusion. However, VCA Spring Creek Animal Hospital does offer regional veterinarians in Teton Valley, Idaho, and Jackson, Alpine, and Thayne the opportunity to buy blood.

In Brighton’s case, Larson sat with her pet and her donor dog during the transfusion. After the transfusion Brighton continued to progress.

“We didn’t know if she would live a week or a month, but it ended up being a year and a half,” she said. And Brighton was there to welcome Larson’s baby girl into the world.

Contact Lauren Teruya via engage@ jhnewsandguide.com.

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Behavior and training

An idea whose time has come: Dogs in Need of Space N

o doubt you’ve noticed, the pandemic has brought dog owners out in full force.

Even my parents have commented that there are lots of canines they’ve never seen before out on walks in their neighborhood.

Indeed, many dogs are just delighted to find their humans home and up for more outdoor outings than in the past — and that could be one of the silver linings of this chaotic situation.

Many of our resident furry friends have seen an improvement in the quality of their life, and many families took this homebound opportunity to foster or adopt a pup who was in a shelter.

Of course, that increased traffic means busier streets, sidewalks, parks, pathways and trails, which can also mean more conflict. And it’s probably safe to say that the main source of friction, at least here in the Jackson area, is off-leash dogs running up to people and other dogs, many of whom are on leash.

Until you’ve had a dog who needs some space it’s hard to imagine what that feels like, how stressful, upsetting, and frustrating it is for both the on-leash dog and the person holding on to that leash. But just because you don’t have one doesn’t mean dogs like this don’t exist, and it doesn’t mean there’s anything “wrong” with these dogs.

The acronym DINOS (Dogs In Need Of Space) was created by professional dog walker Jessica Dolce in 2012 after one too many experiences of having off

leash dogs being allowed to approach well as tension on the leash.

Plus, many dogs know they are unthe dogs she worked with, which put her able to move away from something that in a very tricky position.

She also coined another acronym for bothers them when they are leashed, the offenders: MDIFs, since they so meaning their only option is to up their commonly try to excuse their dog’s inap- defenses. As as a general rule it’s wise to propriate behavior with a happily shout- just not allow an off-leash dog to greet ed “Don’t worry, my dog is friendly!” But an on-leash dog, anytime.

It’s a shame that many folks with of course, for the owner of DINOS it’s DINOS find walking in our town or not OK at all.

Who are Dogs In Need Of Space? Of- on the local pathways and trails totally ten they are injured or sick, perhaps re- stressful, always trying to dodge or ward off out-of-control off-leash covering from surgery. They dogs that come bounding can be elderly, arthritic, frail, up to them, the owners not perhaps blind or deaf. They in sight or, more commonmay be in pain; they may be ly, shouting at their dog to a female in heat. They may “Come!” over and over, even be in training for basic manthough it’s clear to everyone ners, or service work. a mile around that their dog They may just not be into is not trained to come when that sort of thing. The fact called amid the temptation is, dogs do not all love and of another dog. welcome dogs — or people Krissi Goetz I’ve even experienced this — rushing up into their in places that are designated space or touching them.

They may actually be fearful of other leash zones, with owners who behave dogs or people. They may be a puppy like I’m the one in the wrong with an whose owner is trying to build confi- on-leash dog.

It’s due to situations like those that dence. They may be newly adopted and already overwhelmed enough with all the Yellow Dog Project was born, with the goal of educating the public and dog the changes in their life.

They may be perfectly friendly but owners how to identify dogs needing just not comfortable with greeting an- space and promoting appropriate conother dog while on a leash, since dogs tact with those dogs. They encourage meeting on leash is a recipe for miscom- the use of yellow ribbons tied on a dog’s munication. That is due to a dog’s inabil- leash — although yellow bandanas are ity to greet normally, compromised body also used — to identify DINOS as “yellanguage that can be misunderstood, as low dogs” to everyone who encounters

Good Dog

them so they can be given more space.

Perhaps the Yellow Dog Project is a good place for Jackson to start. I’ve heard Park City, Utah, has already launched the concept of “yellow dogs” into its trail system education, with information and yellow bandanas available at trailheads.

While I love the idea behind the Yellow Dog Project, I’d love it even more if this wasn’t necessary. Really, it shouldn’t be up to a dog’s owner to convey normal dog needs to others. It should be common sense and standard etiquette to not allow your off-leash dog/your on-leash dog to rush up/drag you to another dog and for people to not try to interact with a dog unless given permission by both the owner and the dog.

Instead, perhaps a good rule of thumb to start incorporating into the cultural mindset — especially here in Jackson — is to assume people and their dogs don’t want to say hello unless you are specifically invited to do so.

And now may be the perfect time; America has undergone a big change with social norms relating to people and in just a couple of months has morphed into a society where keeping space between people is generally accepted.

So perhaps we’re ready to see this much-needed cultural change regarding dog etiquette as an idea whose time has come.

Krissi Goetz is a trainer with JH Positive Training. Contact her via columnists@jhnewsandguide.com.

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