It's all about cats and dogs It's all about cats and dogs (December 17, 2004)

Valley Humane Society is committed to finding homes for pets
by Teresa C. Brown

A young orange kitten named Pyro was silently suffering. He had a life-threatening obstruction in his intestines, but that was all the veterinarian could determine without surgery.

The kitten's owners could not afford to pay for the medical expense and Pyro's life was in limbo until the veterinarian's office called the Just Like New Fund, a program at the Valley Humane Society.

A nonprofit no-kill animal shelter, the Humane Society has saved hundreds of animals since it was formed in 1985. This year alone, the shelter has rescued 50 dogs and 162 cats, said Wendy McNelley, the shelter's operations director.

"Most of the animals are owner-relinquished," McNelley said. Because the organization is a no-kill shelter, there is a demand for space. In fact, it has a waiting list.

Currently there are six to seven cats whose owners are waiting to hand over their felines to the shelter's care when space becomes available, she explained.

"There's all sorts of different reasons," McNelley said of why owners give up their pets.

A new baby in the house is forcing one owner to give up Sadie, a buoyant 5-year-old shepherd mix.

Lucy, a shy collie/cattle dog mix, is getting a second chance. Someone had abandoned her at a Martinez shelter when she was 12 days old along with her littermates and mother. The dogs were scheduled for euthanasia until Valley Humane took them in.

The mother dog and all of the puppies were adopted, but 14-month-old Lucy came back. The adoption did not work out.

While most animals are owner-relinquished, some are not; 8-week-old Chili was one of five feral kittens trapped. She has come a long way in socialization, McNelley said as she held the shy kitten. She is not as outgoing as her littermates, who mischievously run and pounce on each other in a nearby oversized crate.

The shelter, at its small facility at 273 Spring St., provides care for a limited number of animals. While it can house about 20 cats, there is no room for dogs, McNelley said, explaining that dogs must be placed with foster families. "We're always looking for foster homes," she added.

Sometimes the foster homes succumb to a bittersweet syndrome she called "foster failure." The foster family takes in a dog, and they become so attached to the dog, they adopt it. While the shelter has succeeded in placing the dog in a permanent home, it loses a foster family for future dogs, which is critical given the facility's inability to house dogs on site.

The shelter hopes to one day increase its capacity. Last year, the organization purchased land on Nevada Street, where it plans to build a new facility. The new site will enable them to house twice as many animals and will include dog kennels, McNelley said.

But until the new facility is built, the organization helps as many animals as it can within its limited space. There is no average time cats or dogs stay at the shelter, McNelley said. It may be a week or a year or any amount of time in between, she added.

While under their care, the shelter pays the entire cost of the animals' food and medical care, which includes being spayed or neutered plus all vaccinations.

The adoption fees, $100 for a cat and $125 for a dog, help to offset part of the animal's expense. The shelter bears the remainder.

The financial burden can be heavy, especially because the shelter is funded entirely through community generosity and a few small grants.

The shelter appeals to regular donors for help and holds several fundraisers annually. Plus, McNelley said, it raises awareness in the community through Just Like New and its Pet Therapy program, where animals visit residents of nursing homes, senior daycare facilities and hospitals.

The need for donations is paramount to saving animals lives. Without the shelter, the 200-plus animals taken in this year would probably have been euthanized, McNelley said.

In Pyro's case, with the Just Like New Fund paying half and Amador Valley Veterinary Hospital absorbing the other half, the 8-month-old kitten had its surgery and the culprit was revealed.

A length of thread was lodged inside the kitten's body. One end was wrapped around the feline's tongue, and the other end was entangled with his intestine.

With the surgery less than two weeks old, Linda Wolfe of the veterinarian's office reported the kitten is playful and energetic and is recuperating nicely.

And someday soon, the Humane Society hopes to find a permanent home for the little feline fireball named Pyro.

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