Hastings SPCA Autumn 2016 News - March 2016

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A H a p p y Ta i l

Autumn 2016

Fo r Tu i . . .

This issue we’re celebrating Tui’s happy tail. Before his new family gave him a new name, Tui was known as Benjamin Button at the Shelter, because our animal care team thought he looked like a little old man!

Tui was found lost and alone on the streets before Christmas, but fortunately made his way to the shelter for some TLC. However, as he wasn’t microchipped, he couldn’t be immediatey reunited with his family, and no one came forward to claim him.

But luckily, the former little Benjamin Button, who’s likely a beagle cross breed, has been adopted into a loving home and lives with his brother Winston, pictured left.

Tui and Winston live just out of town on a large plot of land. They have their own couches to sleep on and spend their days running around eating plums and chasing white butterflies. They get on really well and are very happy together.

We have lots of animals like Tui coming into our care who need loving homes and a second chance to be happy. If you’re considering adding to your family, then we’d love to welcome you to the Shelter.

Our adoption process is individual to each and every applicant. We will ask you lots of questions before sending you home with a pet, and can offer lots of advice about helping your new pet settle into your family.

We want you to think through the decision to adopt a pet very carefully and be fully aware of the commitment, costs, challenges and legal obligations that come with pet ownership. You need to be able to afford both the day-to-day care of your new pet and also any unexpected vet bills should your pet get sick or injured. A more thorough guide to pet ownership can be found on our website.

You will also need to consider what future plans you may have and make sure that you can include your pet in these plans. Adopting a pet means you are making a lifelong commitment to love and care for him or her and ensuring that they become an integral part of your family.

So, if you’re considering adoption or just want to learn more, please talk to us (details on back page).

“ U nt i l o n e h as l o ve d a n a ni m a l , a pa rt o f o n e ’ s s o ul re m ai n s un awake n e d . ”

- A n a t o l e Fr a n c e

Reflect...

Being a member is a valuable way to support the shelter.

Please contact us or visit spcahastings.org.nz for a membership form saying a fond farewell to two of our number. Faye, our Fundraising Manager, and Simon, our Inspector, are both moving on. We wish them well in their future endeavours and offer a sincere vote of gratitude for their contribution to the Hastings SPCA.

We l c o m e

A warm welcome to all of our supporters this year.

Once again we’re busy with an unimaginable number of kittens and pregnant cats that we need to care for and find homes for. This time of year puts tremendous pressure on our finances and staff, and we want to thank those who have assisted us either financially, by volunteering or through any other number of ways.

This is also an opportunity to thank Harcourts for their support of the Hastings SPCA over the last few years. As well as being our Principal Sponsor, they helped us tremendously in a number of events, most notably our Glamourpuss Ball.

The sponsorship arrangement has now finished so we’d like to take this moment to say that we’ve genuinely enjoyed having the Harcourts name sitting beside ours during this time.

We would like to publicly acknowledge the staff who work so hard to ensure the animals are cared for and the public are served well.

This includes them manning our emergency ambulance 24/7.

On the subject of staff, we’re

Thank you to our Grant providers We wish to acknowledge the support and generosity of the following Trusts: Flaxmere Licensing Trust $4195 towards cat desexing for the Flaxmere Community Hastings RSA $478 towards humane cat traps

Flaxmere De-Sexing Campaign

From time to time, we’re fortunate to receive funding to assist pet owners who meet certain criteria.

At the moment, thanks to Flaxmere Licensing Trust, and with the generous support of Vet Services Hastings and Vet Associates Hastings, we’re able to offer a limited number of $20 vouchers for either male or female cat desexing to Flaxmere residents only.

Proof of Flaxmere residency and ID must be presented, and payment made by cash or EFTPOS at the Shelter. Call or visit us to learn more.

FOREVER HOMES WANTED long time

resident

w i l l i a m - Male lab x r i l e y - sweet girl

nikki -playful girl

V I C K Y - kitten

resident e m i t g n o l r a y n a - slight wee girl sapphire-beautiful girl

S T A C E Y - COOL GIRL

W h i s k e r s -affectionate

Thanks to our newsletter sponsor

Proud supporters of local animal welfare Visit our OP-SHOP at 322 Heretaunga Street East • Ph: 878 9385 Open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm • Sat-Sun 10am-4pm

Follow us on Facebook to keep up to date with news and events facebook.com/SPCAHastings

Making Vet Bills More Affordable As a vet I often hear comments about how veterinary care is becoming more expensive. What is in fact happening, is that vets can offer a level of care for pets that in the past was only available for humans. Digital X-Rays, high tech anaesthetic monitoring, ultrasonic dental scalers, fluid pumps, CT scans, 24 hour nursing and radiotherapy are but a few of the tools that vets have available for them that dramatically improve the quality of care provided for animals that are seriously ill.

This comes at a cost. No one wants to have the worry of considering whether they can afford the best for their pets, but this is the reality for many people.

There are two really good options currently available to pet owners which I believe are under utilised. The first is having a relationship with their vet and paying regular payments as credit on their account. We’ve found that when clients pay small amounts regularly, they build up a quite a nest egg that can take pressure off those times when care is needed. The second is pet insurance. Recently, some very good names have come into the pet insurance arena and they offer good options for pet owners.

A .

G .

M .

Southern Cross Pet Insurance is one of those groups and they’ve become a supporter of the RNZSPCA. Getting your pet insured is surprisingly easy and there are some very affordable premiums that mean you can be covered for those larger unexpected expenses such as surgery or major illnesses. If you haven’t considered pet insurance before now, why don’t you take a moment to visit their website and have a look?

You might be surprised how affordable and simple it is. (Details below) We recently had a couple with a puppy who debated over getting insurance, before eventually going ahead with it. Before the ink was even dry on the policy, their dog was poisoned and needed intensive care over a long weekend. The dog was very sick but one worry they didn’t have was how the bill was going to be paid. Wouldn’t that be great!

Sharon Marshall, BVSc

Southern Cross Pet Insurance are proud supporters of the SPCA. When your dog or cat is sick or injured, it’s a stressful time. Vet care can be expensive, you may face hard decisions about what treatment you can afford. Pet insurance can help cover the costs of unexpected illness or pet emergencies.

Southern Cross Pet Insurance have a range of plans to suit your needs and budget. Plus, if your pet is aged 6-16 weeks, they could get free health cover for six weeks! Terms & conditions apply. Get a quote for your pet at www.southerncrosspet.co.nz

Wednesday 30th March, 7pm at Hastings Function Centre (upstairs at Breakers)

This is an important AGM for our membership to attend as we shall be discussing and voting on proposed structural changes at National level. These may have a major impact on our Shelter in the future so it’s important that you come along and be a part of the discussion. So, put the date in your calendars, and if you haven’t renewed your membership, get this done now so you can vote (see side panel).

Don’t forget that you can use the membership form to pop in an extra donation to help the work we do, or offer your time as a volunteer.

We look forward to seeing you at the AGM, and thank Breakers for the use of their great facilities for our AGM again, they’re a great team who look after us so well, so please support them when you’re planning your events too.

We can repair cracked and broken drainage pipes without digging!

Contact Ryan 0274 989 562 • 06 870 3186 • whittaker.ryan@actrix.co.nz

Visit our website spcahastings.org.nz for a membership form, or contact us at contact@spcahastings. org.nz to request a copy to be emailed to you.

Payments can be made by bank transfer, but please remember to send us your form so we can record your generosity.

Thanks to our newsletter sponsor

RJ Plumbing & Drainage Contractors

Thanks to our newsletter sponsor

Veterinary Associates Hastings

Proudly supporting Hastings & Districts RNZSPCA for over 15 years www.vetassoc.co.nz • 06 878 8666 • www.facebook.com/vetassociateshastings

V o l u n t e e r s

n e e d e d !

We’re seeking volunteers to join our dedicated Shelter team. Volunteering is a rewarding and unique experience, and we thoroughly recommend it, whether you have only an hour a week to spare, or much much more!

Our animals require daily housekeeping, excercise, mental stimulation, socialisation, and of course lots of cuddles.

Whether you’d like to get hands on and help with kennel cleaning, are more interested in simply sitting with an animal and giving them some calm one on one attention, or would like to go walking with dogs, we’d love to hear from you.

There’s more information on our website www.spcahastings.org.nz, and we invite you to contact or visit us (details below) to learn more and to arrange a time to visit.

It’s not only the animals who gain, Petful.com share the benefits to you below.

7 Benefi ts o f Vo l u n t e e r i n g a t o u r Sh e lt e r

1. Meet new friends. You’ll be surrounded by people who love animals as much as you do, and they might even become your lifelong friends.

2. Your efforts will help an animal get ready and increase its chances for a new home. Animals coming into the shelter vary according to their needs. A timid cat may need to be socialised, a dog may have mats to brush out or a guinea pig may be underweight. Animals that appear happy and healthy have a higher chance of being adopted, and we need your help to achieve this.

3. Boost your mood — and your health. Volunteering gives us a sense of satisfaction for helping others, can lower stress, make you feel needed and appreciated, increase happiness and so much more. A study reported in 2007 showed that 95 percent of volunteers surveyed said they gained a “helper’s high” — a feeling of euphoria and energy.

Volunteering truly is a feel-good activity, and what better way to spend the day than with cuddly and furry friends?

4. Gain experience. You’re gaining experience in many areas that can have great benefits in other areas of your life.

Young adults can become better acquainted with animals and experience more responsibilities. Working adults may include it on their CV or incorporate animal shelters into their work-related events and charitable causes. Someone who is unemployed can get a boost of self-esteem and confidence by being part of a vital team while looking for work.

5. Trying something new is fun! A new activity can be exciting and a change of pace in a mundane or repetitive schedule. Why not make that something new be volunteering? You will gain a host of other benefits, and the rush of happiness when a pet you helped gets a new “forever home” is nothing short of amazing.

6. Stay active. Being a volunteer keeps your mind, body and emotions active and healthy. Sitting at home on weekends in front of a television can get boring and leave many of your talents unused. Volunteering that time instead keeps you thinking, moving and feeling, and can help increase physical mobility. Besides, playing with a puppy sounds much more fun than being a couch potato!

7. Become part of a very important team. Animal shelters like ours need money and people to stay open. You could be that one extra hand that helps another pet get adopted, shepherds through another donation or encourages a new person to volunteer.

We think these are just some of the reasons to volunteer, so we hope to see you at the Shelter very soon!

“Volunteers don’t necessarily have the time, but they have the heart.” Anon The RNZSPCA is proudly supported by:

Newsletter kindly supported by:

Visit Email 8 Heathcote Road, Hastings contact@spcahastings.org.nz 10am – 4pm daily www.spcahastings.org.nz Write

PO Box 930, Hastings 4156 spcahastings Phone 06 878 8733

Adopt from the SPCA and save a life Our animals are de-sexed, microchipped and have had their first vaccinations