Give a Penny, Save a Penny

At last, an update! With the Walk behind us, we can all breathe a little easier now. We had a great time at the Walk, by the way--it was lovely to see so many of you there! Some of you have already heard about this year's milestones, but they bear repeating:

·         This year, you all raised $7,000 more than has ever been raised online before.

·         The average amount raised per fundraising page this year was $200 higher than last year's page average!  

·          And 98% of those who created fundraising pages actually obtained donations, which is a 25% increase from last year!

Pretty awesome. The money our community raised will do a ton for our animals!
 

See more fun at the Walk here! Photos by Jared Katz of Black Dog Photos

Speaking of, let's get to the adoptions. We have so many to report since the last update!

Cats: Nuzzi Jade, John, Mike, Sam, Rocky, Taylor, Casper, Odie, Midnite & Seymour (!), Allycat, Garfunkle, Maggie, Pacer, Layla, Malikeye, Colors, Izzy, Zebra, Chowder, Panda, Ella, TJ & Cooper, Kathina, Captain Jack, Costello, Kinslee, Bisque, Paprika, Suzie all went home.

Kittens: Jake, Jill, Jen, Jim, Jack, Neville, Spock, Ronald, Batman & Robin found new homes.

Smalles: Mango the guinea pig; Biscuit and Crumb (hamsters) went home.

Dogs: Tucker, Ohren, Lola, Jackson, Bella, Soleil, Maddy, Maximus, Pugsley, Sterling, Bear, Jake are in new homes.

That's 56 animals in six weeks!

And there's yet one more. Our featured adoptee is … PENNY!

Penny is a young beagle-type mixed breed who came to the shelter in mid-March as a stray. Right off the bat, it was easy to see she was in need of help: Penny had a condition called "cherry eye," in which the gland of the dog's third eyelid becomes inflamed and protrudes over a portion of the eye. Our medical supervisor, Jen, also found an umbilical hernia. Other than that, though, she appeared to be in relatively decent health. And her temperament was downright wonderful. At just 20 pounds, Penny's small stature did nothing to dwarf her big personality. Inquisitive and engaged with her surroundings, Penny had definite thoughts about the world and was not afraid to express them. For instance, if one of our animal care staff asked her to sit, Penny had plenty to say about it. Barking and baying, she would eventually plunk her small rear end down -- but our staff swear she talked back while doing so, retorting something like, "Why don't you sit first!"

At other times, Penny was not about to interrupt her nap in yard if she wasn't ready to. If staff called her in while she was sprawled in the yard enjoying a snooze, she opted to "play dead" instead. Short legs and long ears akimbo in the sun, Penny would grant the flustered animal care person no more than a slightly opened eye before sinking back into slumber.

Yep, Penny was a playful and often silly girl. But because of her eye condition, her time spent at the shelter was definitely not all fun. Penny spent the majority of her residence here in a cone. Anyone who's observed a dog in a cone knows just how enjoyable they find that to be.

In early April, we sent Penny to Green Mountain Animal Hospital to get her spayed, repair her umbilical hernia, and correct the cherry eye. GMAH gave us a fantastic deal: $500 to do everything! The spay and hernia healed well, but unfortunately, Penny's eye did not (not uncommon with cherry eye).  GMAH suggested we try medication rather than revisiting surgery right away--so Penny's cone stayed on for two more weeks, and she was not allowed to roughhouse with other dogs. Penny remained patient and upbeat. But … the meds didn't work either. So we scheduled a consultation for Penny with the only Board-certified vet ophthalmologist in the area, Dr. Hoy of Vermont Veterinary Eye Care.

Penny on her way to a consult with Dr. Hoy. Photo taken by our med supervisor, Jen Parker

Living up to her excellent reputation, Dr. Hoy discovered the cause of inflammation to be a small, sharp piece of cartilage under the swollen gland that was not allowing the eyelid to heal. She told Jen that another surgery was the only fix--otherwise Penny would be destined for a life of chronic eye infections. We sent Penny back a few days later for surgery, not realizing then that if the surgery were a success, we would have to follow it up with eye meds administered four times a day for two weeks straight! Poor Penny. The surgery did go well, and Jen posted signs around the shelter to help staff remember to treat Penny's eye according to the rigorous schedule. Our staff did a fantastic job, and Penny's eyelid dramatically improved over the next two weeks. By the end of that period, Dr. Hoy was satisfied enough with the results to recommend she be made available for adoption.

What a glorious day for Penny! 

Photo by Mountain Dog Photography

The cone finally came off for good for the first time in two months, and Jen and our canine supervisor, Robyn, gave Penny her first official play date in a very long time. They brought her out to our large play yard with Jen's pup, Winnie, and burst into laughter as Winnie and Penny somersaulted over each other, Penny--in typical fashion--telling Winnie exactly what she thought about her rough play as soon as she was right side up again.

Photo by Mountain Dog Photography

Penny went home three days after she was made available--we knew she'd go fast, that cutie! We were so happy to watch her prance out the front doors with her new family, butt a-wiggle and nose held high.

All in all, we'd spent ~$1200 on Penny's two eye surgeries and various medications, hernia repair, and spay surgery--all provided at great discount. We had some outside help, too: Mrs. Heinz's fifth grade class at Orchard School decided to hold a Yankee Candle sale to raise money for HSCC. Would you believe they raised $800 profit in candle sales?! Well, $400 of that covered Penny's second eye surgery. The other half was spent on all kinds of pet supply goodies at Pet Food Warehouse! Such an amazing help.

We have seen so many examples of youth fundraising over the last year: bake sales, candle sales, greeting card sales, art sales, pet supply drives, donations in lieu of birthday gifts … the kids in our community continually show incredible selflessness and compassion. We hope Penny's story shows the impact that hard work makes in the lives of shelter animals! Penny, for one, will now live a life free of chronic eye discomfort. We're sure she'd have PLENTY to say about that!

That's the good news this week. Thanks for your support!

Copper Top Dog

Hello, fellow animal lovers!

I trust you all had lovely Thanksgivings. We're still grateful about the fact that ten formerly homeless animals are now home for the holidays following last week's adoptions, and we hope to add many more to that list between now and the year's end!

Speaking of Home Fur the Holidays, don't miss this Saturday's benefit event, held at Play Dog Play! A bevy of fantastic local pet-themed vendors are signed up to sell their wares (including pet portrait sessions with Mountain Dog Photography, and dog photos with Santa by Northern Greyhound Adoptions!), and 25% of all earnings will be donated to HSCC. Heck, our volunteers are even rolling up their sleeves for a benefit dog wash. Come visit us at 668 Pine Street between 10 & 4 on Saturday.

And now, without further ado, the lucky kitties this week are: Juniper, Kanga, Buddha, Davey and Richard.

And the pooches: siblings Marley and Lua (Bichon-Yorkie mixes) each found new homes, as did Della (Pit bull) and Josie (Golden retriever).

And this week's featured adoptee? … Copper!

Copper is a miniature Beagle. Never heard of a mini Beagle? Neither had we! And yet when all 12 pounds of him arrived with the Colchester ACO (Animal Control Officer), we didn't know what else to call him.

We aged this long-earned wanderer at seven years old, and yet his size wasn't the only puppy-like thing about him. He had absolutely no manners. No training, no house-breaking, no sense of boundaries in a home. It quickly seemed evident to us that this dog may have been either kenneled or tied out most of his life. A seven-year-old dog with no house manners? How well would that bode for adoption?

But Copper was puppy-like in positive ways, too. He was insatiably curious, playful … and a total comedian. Staff chuckled at Copper's antics in his shelter kennel. Daintily lipping at his toys, he'd gently pick one up with just his front teeth--only to shake it mercilessly with a toothy snarl. His quirks in the dog yards had staff rolling with laughter. Copper just LOVED other dogs, and his favorite thing to do was launch his tiny body into the air, land on all four feet on another dog's back, and bounce off again as if leaping from a spring board. The other dog was always far too baffled by this behavior to get offended.

And so, despite the daily accidents in his kennel; his propensities to surf countertops, bolt out doors, and impolitely jump in greeting; his total lack of even basic formal training; Copper won the affections of staff and canine kennel mates alike. One dog, in particular, developed a fondness for Copper. And through their friendship, we gained an even deeper sense of Copper's informal talents.

Payton is a striking black and white Border-Collie mix who is so shy around strangers that it took her relinquisher six weeks to catch this stray girl in a have-a-heart trap, in order to bring her to us. Once here, Payton presented an aloof and skeptical demeanor that required an abundance of cheese and patience simply to coax her to take food from one's hand. Over a few weeks at the shelter, Payton did reach a level of comfort with staff that allowed us to pet her slowly and gently. But cuddly she was not. Payton has been very loathe to trust people.

Somehow, Copper got through to her. Perhaps the difficult backgrounds they came from allowed them to relate; perhaps they attracted each other as opposites often do. Whatever the case, the serious and reserved Payton ultimately fell for Copper the joker. And Peyton's love for him gave her the courage to grow.

First, she began to exhibit playfulness. Animal care and adoptions (ACA) staff person Cara loved to watch the pair play hide and seek in the yard. Payton would hide under the doghouse, and Copper, upon spotting her there, would run excited laps around the structure until she popped out and nipped his back legs out from underneath him.

Eventually, Payton's burgeoning boldness extended to people. ACA staffer Amanda could hardly contain herself one afternoon as she described a scene in which Payton was in the classroom meeting volunteers for the first time. Payton wanted absolutely nothing to do with these new people. Copper was brought into the room, and he characteristically jumped into a lap and began to cuddle. All of a sudden, Amanda watched in amazement as Payton trotted right over to a volunteer and climbed into his lap! Bingo!

From then on, whenever visitors wanted to meet Payton, Copper was brought along with her. As Copper greeted new people with friendliness and trust, Payton followed suit, casually sniffing hands she otherwise would have run from.

Last Tuesday, a woman came in to meet Copper. She was drawn to Copper's playfulness, as her 11-year-old son wanted a dog he could play ball with. Copper's less appealing traits were carefully explained to her: the fact that he would require lots of careful attention (and probably cleaning up after) as he acclimated to a life indoors. But all she could see were his positive qualities--and the rest just didn't matter. Copper went home the next day.

As happy as we are for Copper, the thought of Payton losing a friend does give sad pause. And yet, his good influence lives on. She now relies on other dogs to show her the way when greeting new guests. And a lot of the self-confidence Copper inspired in Payton has stuck permanently.

We were able to give a seven-year-old dog with no manners a second chance. Copper capitalized on it. And then helped a kennel mate with no confidence make the most of her second chance. Just goes to show that sometimes the best leaders come in the least assuming packages.

That's the good news this week!

Until the next round of successes,

Megan Stearns

Director, Development & Outreach