The Tattle Tails by rhspca

The Tattle Tails

The Rockingham Harrisonburg SPCA Newsletter

2021.2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Board of Directors Beverly London President Eric Humphries Vice President Michael Sharp Treasurer Anngela Gibson Secretary

Dr. Darnice Pettigrew, DVM Tammy Katsorelos Jennifer Whistleman Brian Kroener Directors

Contact the Shelter 540-434-5270 info@rhspca.org www.rhspca.org 2170 Old Furnace Rd. Follow us on social media to never miss a pupdate! Facebook @rhspca Instagram @rhspca TikTok @therhspca

New logo coming soon...

Table of Contents Letter from the Director ....................................... 03 Shelter Spot-Light ................................................. 04 Events & Services .................................................. 05 Growing Pains ....................................................... 07 Timeline ................................................................. 08 Programming ........................................................ 10 Hopes & Dreams .................................................. 11 Happy Tails ............................................................ 12 Tributes .................................................................. 14

Rubble, featured on our cover, was adopted last month! Read about his story on page 12. 2 RHSPCA Newsletter

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LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

Dear Friends, You’ve heard me say this before and I am so excited to tell you again. Last year was our most successful year in the history of our organization. Our impact in 2021 so far, has included:

1,409 adoptions performed [24% increase from 2020]

409 animals transferred to shelter partners [29% fewer than 2020]

372 animals reunited with owners [31% increase from 2020]

98 barn cat adoptions [180% increase from 2020]

216 community cats altered

2,190 lives saved [20% more than 2020]

We have been on an extraordinary path of growth and accomplishment thanks to you. Nearly fifty years ago, a small handful of individuals dreamt of an organization to provide for the basic needs of the homeless animals in our community. We have achieved that goal and a lot more since then. This newsletter will share with you some of the ways we have done this and our ‘Hopes and Dreams’ for the future. We have big plans for our 50th anniversary next year and I look forward to us celebrating together. Donors like you have made it possible for the RHSPCA to continue to serve the animals and people in our great community for all these years. Your support will ensure that our lifesaving work to fulfill our Vision continues. To create a united community that values animal welfare. I wish you the happiest of holidays this season with your loved ones. Both two and fourlegged. With thanks and appreciation,

Di re

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Huck Nawaz Executive Director

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RHSPCA Newsletter 3

SHELTER SPOT-LIGHT

Staff

Volunteer

Jasper

Bella

Ashley Williams & Candra Hisey These sisters started their journey at the RHSPCA 5 years ago together. Since then, they’ve been a joyous light in each pet’s day. They say their favorite part about their job is getting to know the animals and their unique personalities.

“They’re compassionate and dedicated to caring for all of the critters that come into our care. Both our people and animals are lucky to have two exceptional individuals on our team,” says Animal Team Manager, Shannon.

4 RHSPCA Newsletter

Lisa Spruhan To call Lisa just a volunteer would be seriously underestimating her contributions. You can find Lisa at the shelter almost any day of the week to walk our trickiest dogs. When she’s not here at the shelter, you may find her taking care of her foster pets at home. She says frequently that choosing to volunteer at the shelter was one of the best decisions she ever made.

“Lisa works so hard for our cats and dogs! She is just the kindest soul and absolutely delightful to work with,” says Volunteer Coordinator, Dacia.

EVENTS & SERVICES

Events

Our Services

Since you last heard from us... Empty the Shelters We have hosted 2 more Empty the Shelters events this year in partnership with the BISSELL Pet Foundation. Our lifetime adoption count for these reduced-fee campaigns is 196 pets! That’s 148 cats and 48 dogs adopted thanks to BISSELL’s sponsorships. Our next Empty the Shelters event will run from December 6th-11th. Bob Wade Subaru On October 16th, we participated in Bob Wade Subaru’s 6th Annual Pet Adoption event for the first time and had 10 dogs and 10 kittens get adopted! We are very thankful for our supportive community members that came out and adopted a new pet at our event.

Coming up... Empty the Shelters Our final Empty the Shelters event of 2021 will feature discounted adoption fees for the many animals in our care. View a full list at rhspca.org/adopt. Photos with Santa We will be hosting pet photos with “Santa” (our Director shhh) on Saturday, 12/18, from 12-3pm. Sessions will be $20.

Visit rhspca.org/events to see when our next events are, virtually and in-person.

Adoptions

We always have loving dogs and cats awaiting their forever home. Schedule an appointment to meet them on our website!

Intakes

Whether you found a stray animal or can no longer care for your pet, we will gladly take them in and help get them adoption-ready.

Licensing

We sell county and city animal licenses. All you have to bring is an up-to-date rabies certificate.

Cremation

We offer private cremations for your deceased companion and can give you an imprint of their paw to remember them by.

Kids Club (ON HOLD) Let your kids learn about animals by participating in fun games, crafts, and educational activities.

Outreach Events

We welcome the opportunity to engage the community in animal welfare. We can offer you tours, classroom visits, animals at events, and more.

RHSPCA Newsletter 5

GROWING PAINS

“Sya” 4-year-old pit currently being treated for anxiety and injuries. 6 RHSPCA Newsletter

GROWING PAINS

Growing Pains

The Rockingham Harrisonburg SPCA has experienced exponential growth in recent years. This has also led to an increase in support, allowing us to save more pet lives than ever before. When the Rockingham Harrisonburg SPCA was formed almost 50 years ago, our founders never could have dreamed that it would grow into what it is today- an open-admission shelter with a live release rate of over 90% that cares for thousands of pets each year. In 1972, the shelter was built, brick-by-brick with the intention of helping all lost or abandoned pets find a new loving home. Little did we know just how many animals needed someone to care for them. The RHSPCA was eventually inundated with more displaced animals than we knew what to do with. This led us to build our current facility in 2007. With more space and staff, we were able to expand our reach and help even more pets in need. Yet, RHSPCA intakes continued to steadily increase each year. Being an open-admission shelter contributed to this rise. Taking in all pets, regardless of condition or capacity, is a responsibility that we take very seriously. Our team members treat each pet like their own, with compassion and respect, and do everything within their power to help them. However, in 2019, we saw our largest jump in pet intakes in the last decade with almost 600 more animals entering the shelter than the year prior. The largest increase was cats, specifically small and helpless kittens. We desperately worked to find places to house these additional pets. Our kennels were overflowing and we had to resort to using large dog crates in our conference room to house litters of kittens. This is where our foster program quite literally rescued our rescue. With more passionate community members opening their hearts and their home to our animals, we were able to save hundreds more. The implementation of additional lifesaving programs, such as our Barn Cat and Community Cat programs helped to alleviate the strain on space as well since the majority of our intakes were stray cats. These programs help feral cats find, or stay in, a supportive outdoor environment. However, their capacity for care both fill up very quickly and are, as of now, limited in their reach until we’re able to build their foundations more to allow them to become strong resource pillars for our community. We are extremely grateful for everyone that has helped us get to where we are today: our staff, board of directors, donors, adopters, fosters, volunteers, and all of our other wonderful supporters. To continue being the safe haven that local pets and people rely on, we require continued support. The RHSPCA has yet again begun to outgrow our facility and programming. We long for the day when pet homelessness and animal suffering are a thing of the past. For now, we continue to see a gradual increase in the number of animals that need our assistance and we will always be there for them. Read on to learn how we plan to continue to save pet lives.

THANK

YOU!

RHSPCA Newsletter 7

TIMELINE

Live Release Rate (LRR), is calculated by dividing the number of positive outcomes by the total number of outcomes. We hosted our first Empty the

LRR: Apr. 2019

LRR: May 2020

Shelters adoption event and began focusing on getting all animals adoption-ready by including spay/neuter surgeries

73%

LRR: End of 2018

55%

Our Have a Heart Fund was created to treat pets with special medical needs. The first pet

in our adoption fees.

87%

2019

2020

79%

Intake numbers continued to soar. We needed more space to house the plethora of animals we

saved was Flynn Rider, a beagle

were receiving, so we started to

that needed a leg amputation

build up our foster program to

ive

d ave ss

8 RHSPCA Newsletter

save more pets in need.

200 l

LRR: Dec. 2019

3,000 %

after being hit by a car.

increas ram e g ro

TIMELINE

350 liv

We created a Barn Cat Program

In an effort to get more feline

to find homes for the many feral

LRR: Mar. 2021

colonies altered, we piloted a

cats that come into our care.

Community Cat Program. This

These animals were previously

was desperately needed to help

euthanized. This program has since helped over 200 felines!

93%

2020

2021

92%

Our Waggin' Trail was completed in the spring. This greatly helped dog enrichment

reduce local outdoor cat overpopulation.

LRR: End of 2019

95%

94%

efforts by providing a scenic

LRR: Oct. 2020

walking trail and additional play areas.

LRR: Sept. 2021

A live release rate of 90% is the industry benchmark for lifesaving efforts in shelters. RHSPCA Newsletter 9

PROGRAMMING

Foster Families

As the number of animal lives saved has increased, so has the need for space to house those animals while they await adoption. With limited space available in the shelter, we have increased our capacity for care by utilizing foster homes. The foster program has grown from an average of 5 animals in foster care in 2018 to an average of 155 animals in foster care in 2021! Even with this 3,000% increase over the past three years, the shelter still runs out of open kennels. Because of this, we need to continue pouring effort into growing this lifesaving program even more. A typical foster home may house unweaned kittens with or without their mom, pets recovering from surgery, litters of puppies, under-socialized animals, and pets with medical or behavioral needs. Pets in foster homes are most often the ones that would struggle the most at the shelter. Helping the animals most in need is what the foster program is all about!

Community Cats

So far this year, we’ve taken in more stray cats than we have dogs and puppies combined. This equates to almost 800 felines! With over half of these being kittens, we knew that we had to proactively do something to attempt to manage the local outdoor cat overpopulation crisis. Our Community Cat program focuses on providing vaccines and spay/ neuter surgeries to cat colonies in the area. Since cats are prolific breeders and can get pregnant at as young as 4-months-old, there’s really no time to waste. In the long run, we make sure that these cats are being cared for and ultimately ensure that they cannot reproduce out of control. With these happy and healthy felines staying in their supportive outdoor environment, our kennels at the shelter are able to remain open for other pets in need. The RHSPCA has been able to help 350 cats with this program! We provide these vouchers free of charge and incur the programmatic costs ourselves and are always looking for additional support for this lifesaving program.

10 RHSPCA Newsletter

FUTURE

Hopes & Dreams

The Rockingham Harrisonburg SPCA has big plans in store! We have high hopes for what 2022 has in store for the RHSPCA. To kick off the year, we will be unveiling a new logo in our first quarter. We are currently going through the process of re-branding the shelter to have our identity be more in-line with our current values. We can’t wait to share more. Additionally, to create more lifesaving opportunities, we plan to make big changes to our facility. As we’ve mentioned, our space is extremely limited, so we will be focusing on optimizing the areas that we already have. This includes constructing additional feline housing and removing our industrial incinerator, once used for disposing of mass remains, that we no longer have a use for. How wonderful! The gloomy room that now houses the incinerator will be transformed into an on-site clinic to treat sick and injured shelter pets. Our current “clinic” is hardly fit to be called that at all. A small room that can comfortably accommodate up to two individuals and one pet. The thousands of animals that we serve each year need a more comfortable and spacious environment to receive care in. Our Have a Heart Fund that was started in 2019 has been instrumental in expanding our lifesaving efforts. This program is fully funded by generous donors and allows our shelter to focus on the medical needs of specific pets and provide them the necessary treatment. If you’ve followed along with our social media, you’ll remember Red, Flame, Lady, and Frank are all magnificent pets that have had surgeries paid for by this fund. As of now, more than 200 animals have been able to receive a second chance at life because of the donations made to our Have a Heart Fund. What was once the difficult choice of choosing between amputating a dog’s broken leg or providing basic care for our hundreds of other animals, is a thing of the past. Now, we’re able to do both thanks to this amazing fund. To help even more pets have a fighting chance for a home to call their own, expanding our clinic facility will make a huge impact. We hope that this once dreary space will eventually serve as a beacon of hope for our animals in need. We hope to accomplish these goals, and much more, with your continued support in 2022. RHSPCA Newsletter 11

HAPPY TAILS

Rubble

This little rebel put up quite the fight, but finally submitted to finding his forever home!

Rubble came to the RHSPCA after being surrendered by his owner. Being the troublemaker that he is, Rubble was often running around outside and getting himself into predicaments. His owner feared that their neighborhood posed too many dangers for this free-spirited cat and made the decision to bring him to our shelter. Since Rubble was so friendly and playful, we were confident that we would be able to get him ready for a nice, indoor home. This was no simple feat. Rubble became depressed and began gaining weight. As active as he is, Rubble was used to being able to run around outside any time of day. Transitioning to life in a kennel was very tough for him. He couldn’t be as playful as he wanted to be, and it began negatively affecting his behavior. This lengthened his stay with us and resulted in him being adopted, but then swiftly returned. Taking Rubble back in was bittersweet, but we knew we could find him the perfect home. Our staff and volunteers became Rubble’s biggest supporters in his journey to get adopted. Animal Care Team members made sure to give Rubble extra roaming time during morning cleanings and student volunteers frequently stopped by after class to give him love, attention, and encouragement. And it finally paid off! After 136 days in our care, Rubble, “The Rebel,” was finally adopted by his forever family! Everyone’s favorite lively cat is thriving in his new home. He’s busy climbing curtains and receiving tons of love from his family. They say he is settling in well and they’re learning how to adjust to his enthusiastic play style. We are thrilled that Rubble has retired his tom cat days and has settled into domestic bliss.

12 RHSPCA Newsletter

SECTION TITLE

“Rubble” RHSPCA Newsletter 13

TRIBUTES

Tributes

From July 2021 to October 2021

You can pay tribute to a special person or pet in your life by giving a donation to the RHSPCA in honor, or in memory of them. What better way to recognize an important presence in your life than acknowledging them while also helping animals in need? Each tribute donation allows us to continue providing for the animals that come into our care, thus giving them a second chance to be someone’s loving pet again. To make a tribute donation, please visit our website and click on the “Donate” tab, or mail a check to: 2170 Old Furnace Road, Harrisonburg, VA 22802.

In Honor of our Friends: In honor of Adam Posey Katie Logan In honor of Anngela Gibson Olivia Kohler In honor of Barbara Gould Shirley Hogan In honor of Butch Strawderman Anne Evans Barbara Strawderman Charles & Jo Ann Wenger Christopher & Carole Driver Cynthia Yount Denton Family Charitable Foundation Gary & Cynthia Hepner James Lowe Keith and Yvonne Strawderman Phillip & Christina Updike Sheila Smith Stephen & Gina Hertzenberg 14 RHSPCA Newsletter

Thomas & Jennifer Sowers In honor of Christine’s Kindness Courtney Leach In honor of David & Bonnie Burchfield Mary Louise Long

In honor of Molly Megan Austin In honor of Nilla & Preston Lynn Whitmore In honor of Shiloh Rebecca Cohen

In honor of Gabby Rose Edward & Melinda Rose

In honor of Willow Ronald & Linda Hotinger

In honor of Isaiah Sites Valerie Clem-Brown

In Memory of our Friends:

In honor of Jessica Hiter Linda Hardesty In honor of Kathy Prysock Sara Kiser In honor of Lee A. Norford Mary Whitley In honor of Sophie Sara Ritchie In honor of Sue Mansfield Jan Sutherland

In Honor of our Pets: In honor of Artemis & Topper Jeffrey & Faye Curl In honor of C.C. John & Julia Gilje In honor of Casey Kathleen Wade In honor of Diogi Rodger & Lenore Stallard In honor of Domino Gary & Dixie Smith In honor of Hunter & Amp Allison Kinney In honor of Lady Benjamin & Lisa Charles Candy Hulvey Greg & Betty Coffman Jane and Donnie Shifflett Laurance Russell Omer & Margie Long

In memory of Anna Cherry Russell Anderson In memory of Bill Murphy Tom Melby In memory of Brian G. Puckett Amy Reel Carrie Hensley Cindy Miller David & Debra Jacobs Sentara Rmh Medical Center In memory of Christopher Lockhart Bill and Jyl Gamble Gay Verts John & Kay Dotson LSC Communications In memory of CJ Birckhead Glenna Combs In memory of Claudette Johnson Trout Sherry Sullivan In memory of Dale Phillips Beverly and Terry Eye Michael & Martha Clatterbuck In memory of Dr. & Mrs. Frank Gearing Terri Denton In memory of Dwight Rhodes Tammy Oldham In memory of Ed Forrest Deborah Forrest In memory of Evelyn Washington Jerry & Patricia Ryan Myrna Spitzer

TRIBUTES In memory of Fred Whitmore & Greg Painter Patricia Whitmore

Maynard Sites Ramona Crowe Randy & Janet Sites

In memory of Gail Emswiler Holly Bazzle

In memory of Ronald Batkins Betty Kesterson

In memory of Gary Shifflett Norman & Joyce Bradburn

In memory of Ronald Rohrbaugh Beth Lawler

In memory of Hoy Dove Jr. Benjamin & Lisa Charles

In memory of Ronald Stover Terry & Linda Looney

In memory of James Lewell Norton, Jr. Houff Corporation

In memory of Ronnie Botkins Beth Lawler Gary Summers

In memory of Jean-Nie Staib Shelby Bennett

In memory of Shirley Fulk Conley Turner John & Natalie Dove

In memory of Kathryn Johnson Graham Deborah McCraw Dora and Stephen Buck Janice Wille Jay Schumacher Susan Grant

In memory of Tina Connor Shelly Haskell In memory of Tina Shifflett Bobby & Shirley Shifflett

In memory of Gracie Charles & Dawn Kern In memory of Hallow Joyce Major In memory of Harlee Eugenia Parker In memory of Jack Cody Oliver In memory of Jada Charles Bowden In memory of Kilo, Zulu, and Blue Tina Grove In memory of Lady Karen Miller Rebecca Youngberg In memory of Lexi Linda Showalter In memory of Lola Ashley Renick

In memory of Lucy Floyd Jacob and Vera Floyd

In memory of Travis Knight Delmas & Bonnie Runion Kenneth & Deborah Snyder

In memory of Maya Eric & Jayne Rynar

In memory of Maggie Vickie Dean

In memory of William ‘Bill’ Wine Jo Ann Milander

In memory of Mr. Cat Meghan Chute

In memory of Margaret Ann Jenkins Alexander Nancy Alexander Natelli Communities

In memory of William Seymour Lucy Seymour

In memory of Otis Elena Zimmermann

In Memory of our Pets:

In memory of Penny & Prince Brenda & Rick White

In memory of Mattie Lane Blue Ridge Community College In memory of Melvin Leroy Conley Bowman Fruit Sales, LLC John & Natalie Dove Kelley Flesher Morning With My Friends In memory of Neva Melhorne Greg Mullen In memory of Norman “Ted” Gilbert Norman & Joyce Bradburn In memory of Roger Sites Catherine Chouiniere Charles Smith

In memory of Baby Chrisandra Kufeldt In memory of Bella Debra Reed In memory of Bling Marilee Billhimer In memory of Diogi Rodger & Lenore Stallard In memory of Ella Kristen Printy In memory of Ginger B Russell Anderson

In memory of Pierre Menard Jones Phil Rudd In memory of Ramsey Ashley Taliaferro Richard & Linda Taliaferro In memory of Skylar Margaret Alger In memory of Solo Barbara Mancini In memory of Sophie Edward & Betsy Craun

RHSPCA Newsletter 15

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Harrisonburg, VA Permit No. 9 2170 Old Furnace Rd. Harrisonburg, VA 22802 (540) 434-5270 rhspca.org

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