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Happy Endings

By Cathy McCafferty - Shelter Supervisor

You've heard the saying "It takes a village." Well for us it takes a network. Sometimes we receive animals that need a little extra assistance before they find their new forever home. At times we receive pets that have medical and/or behavioral challenges and need more than what we are able to offer. When this happens we rely on our networking partners to find other venues for the sometimes hard-to-place animals.

Recently, we received a little longhaired Dachshund named Koby that liked to leave little "surprises" in his owner's home. Koby was also very shy and didn't do well in the shelter environment. This is when the magic began. Ed Kimball, one of our Animal Health Technicians, sent an email out to several Dachshund rescues throughout the state hoping one of them would be interested in taking little Koby. We got a bite, no pun intended, from Southern California Dachshund Relief, Inc. It was wonderful to learn that Southern California Dachshund Relief has several foster homes in the San Francisco Bay area.

One of the rescue's volunteers who lived locally fostered Koby for a couple of days until he began chasing the family cats. From there Koby was headed to a wonderful foster home in San Jose. Koby got along well with the family's four dachshunds. Koby loved the 12-year old boy in the foster home, but he was ready for his own forever family. In less than a week he was adopted by a terrific family who already had a doxie of their own. Mike and Sue Flowers of Southern California Dachshund Relief, and grandson James, work very hard to place the dachshunds they foster in carefully selected homes.

Koby's new family says, "He is doing great! He has no problems with potty training and he and Rusty are great friends. Koby sleeps under the covers every night and Rusty and he are so playful in the day. Koby even retrieves the balls we throw. He hated a bath in the beginning until he saw that Rusty had one each week and then he barks when Rusty is done so he can have his. He has made our family complete."

Hard work and perseverance pay off when there are some loving hearts behind it. Thanks to all our partners. Together, we are making a difference for Sonoma County animals.

Shelter Story

Microchips Come Through After Hope is Gone

By Melanie McCall-Parker - Account Clerk

One of the happiest moments at the shelter is hearing the beep of the microchip scanner when a lost animal is brought in without tags. But lately, it seems too many of these microchips have out-of-date information. Incorrect or out-of-date information results in delays in returning your pet, which is hard on you and your pet.

Microchips are wonderful tools that allow us to get animals home faster. However, it is imperative that owners keep their information up-to-date on the microchip. When you move or change phone numbers, including cell phone numbers, contact the microchip company and update your information. You can go to your veterinarian's office or a local animal shelter and they will assist you, if you do not know which microchip company to contact. It only takes a moment, and most microchip companies update for free (especially when updates are done online), and it can save you headache or heartache if your pet gets lost.

Recently a Good Samaritan brought in a cat that had been seen in the area for about a week. The finder didn't recognize the cat, so brought her in to the shelter. The lovely blue-cream kitty Peanut had a chip, and because it was up-to-date, we were able to contact her owner, who picked her up within 20 minutes of our call. Peanut's owner said she had been missing for 3 months, and she had stopped looking. Without her microchip, we would not have been able to reunite her with her owner.

Luna

By John Strathman, DVM – Shelter Veterinarian

On the evening of April 29, 2011, Niki Badger observed a small, dark creature creeping out of some bushes outside a local supermarket. The creature turned out to be a tiny Chihuahua dog with crippled rear legs and one blind eye. Niki scooped the pathetic little dog up and drove her to Pet Care Veterinary Hospital. The little black dog arrived at the Sonoma County Animal Shelter the following day. She became known thereafter as "Luna" because she resembles "Bella Luna," a little bat character from a children's book.

Luna had a bunch of medical problems. Her right eye was shriveled, blind, and goopy. She was missing teeth and the remaining ones needed attention. She had inguinal (the groin or in either of the lowest lateral regions of the abdomen) hernias. And her hind legs were severely deformed due to dislocated kneecaps (luxated patellae) so that she could not really stand. The best she could manage was a squatting posture and she creeped around like a crustacean. Niki called the motion Luna's "spider crawl."

Niki contacted the shelter on April 30 and asked if she could adopt Luna if she was not claimed by her guardian. After a mandatory stray hold period, we went to work on Luna to address her problems and get her ready to go live with Niki. Laboratory tests indicated that Luna was basically healthy. We spayed her, repaired her hernias, removed the bad eye, and cleaned her teeth (extracting a couple of abscessed ones).

The deformed rear legs required expertise beyond my surgical capabilities. I referred Luna to veterinary orthopedic surgeon extraordinaire Dr. Russ Gurevitch of Veterinary Referral Surgical Service in Petaluma. Dr. Gurevitch graciously and generously donated his services and repaired Luna's knees. Soon after surgery, Luna was finally able to stand up straight and walk normally! Check out these video clips of Luna before and after knee surgery:

• Luna Before Surgery
• Luna After Surgery

Niki says her dad, who she describes as a "biker dude," adores Luna. He calls Luna "Killer" because she guards Niki when she's asleep and if someone tries to wake her, Luna bares her teeth and growls. Who says you can't be a fearsome guard dog if you only weigh 5 pounds? It's all a matter of attitude, man.

Animal Control

Back to the Wild

By Shirley Zindler – Animal Control Officer

When a resident of Glen Ellen wandered out to pick up her paper on a recent misty morning she was surprised to see a fox lying flat-out on her driveway. The animal appeared near death and the woman hurried inside to contact Sonoma County Animal Control. I usually love wildlife calls but in this case I wasn't looking forward to it. The caller's description sounded like the final stages of distemper with no recourse except euthanasia.

When I arrived, the fox was initially unresponsive but did lift his head as I approached. I did a quick assessment and found that he didn't have the typical signs of distemper but I also didn't see any evidence of trauma. He felt fit and muscular with bright eyes and a glossy coat. I bundled him into a cage, covered him with a warm blanket and puzzled over it for a moment as he lay unmoving.

I called Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue for advice. They told me to bring him in and they would see what they could do. At the wildlife center I lifted the unresisting creature out and laid him on a towel in the isolation ward so a volunteer could examine him. We did find a small laceration to the paw pad but no obvious reason for his condition. As I left him, I glanced back. Only the methodical rise and fall of the chest showed that there was any life at all.

Imagine my surprise when I received a call from Wildlife Rescue a few weeks later, stating that the fox was fully recovered and ready for release. When I arrived to pick him up, he was in a beautiful, spacious enclosure and I was thrilled to see that he appeared perfect in every way. He darted gracefully around the pen, racing up tree trunks and eluding us for several minutes before we were able to net him and put him in a crate for transport. I was told by a volunteer that the veterinarian had sutured the animal's laceration and determined that he was likely hit by a car with some head trauma that resolved with treatment. The initial caller was not available to be there for the release but she was happy to hear that the fox had survived and would be returning to his home in the woods.

I pulled up near a creek, close to where I had found the fox. He had been huddled quietly at the back of his crate during the ride but when I set it down and removed the towel I could see the little button nose poking eagerly through the wire. When I opened the door he rocketed out and raced for the brush. A squirrel scrambled up a tree and a jay called out as he disappeared into the shadows.

Thanks to the kind-hearted citizen and to Wildlife Rescue, for their help in making a happy ending for an animal in need.

Volunteer Spotlight

David Logan

By Greg Mortensen – Volunteer Coordinator

Running an animal shelter is no small feat, and there is much we could not do without the outstanding support of all of our dedicated volunteers. Among our many excellent volunteers, this month we are spotlighting one of our very best - David Logan.

As you have read in past months, we have volunteers who serve in many capacities such as: Animal Health Assistants who work throughout the shelter and in the intake room (where the animals are weighed, vaccinated, wormed, scanned again for a microchip, flea treated and photographed) and in the treatment and surgery rooms; Blanket Makers; Cat Cuddlers; Dog Walkers; Foster Homes; Client Service Assistants who help with adoptions and lost and found; and Website Photographers and Storytellers who take warmer pictures and present our adoptable animals in a more favorable light.

David understands that while these volunteer jobs and others are exciting and fun, allowing volunteers to be with the animals, there are other things to do at the shelter in order to care for and help the animals. One of them includes doing the laundry, and washing and disinfecting the food and water bowls and litter trays.

David comes to the shelter three afternoons a week and does a fantastic job assisting the staff with these housekeeping chores. This affords the staff the time to do their other tasks and to focus even more on our animals. Working hands-on with the animals is great, but David enjoys the rewarding feeling of helping in another way, knowing that our animals are clean, safe and comfortable.

We would like to take a moment and thank David for all that he does to help the animals and staff at the Sonoma County Animal Shelter. Thank you!

If you are interested in volunteering at the shelter, please contact Greg Mortensen at (707) 565-7116 or visit us on-line at www.theanimalshelter.org for more information.