Little Life, Big Life

Happy March!

With 11 adoptions to report this week, March really has come in like a lion around here!

Our sleepy-eyed white bunny, Preston, was adopted this week. We may try to bring him back for our calendar shoot (Preston's people--if you're reading this--could we borrow him for a morning?).

Seven cats were adopted! Congratulations to Mia, Charlie (the Snowshoe), Muffin, Abigail, Dudley, Nathan, and Lawrence.

As for dogs, Aussie mix Kya will chase shadows at the dog park from now on. Southern Dachshund Hero has officially become a resident of Vermont, and gentle Shepherd-Lab mix Asa also found a new home.

Our featured adoptee this week went home a long time ago. But we recently had cause to revisit his story, and I've had a fantastic update from his family about the progress he's made.

Topaz was one of the 59 Labs rescued from the puppy mill/hoarding situation we helped bust back in July. We tend to talk about this case quite a lot, because for most of the five HSCC staff people who were involved, this was a first-time experience. And it's not the sort of experience you quickly forget.

To spare those who already know the story, I won't go into too much detail. But in brief, Bakersfield, Vermont resident Karen Maple had been breeding puppies in her backyard for a number of years and advertising them in local newspapers. The police had been fielding complaints about her operation for almost as long; but without strong evidence to obtain a search warrant, nothing could be done.

It was a child--a 15-year-old girl--of incredible courage and conviction who proved the dogs' guardian angel. Sallie Wilson had befriended Karen Maple's daughter, and began spending time at the Maple home. Upon witnessing the conditions the dogs were living in, she knew the situation was wrong, and decided something must be done. So she started to secretly take notes. She drew a chart depicting where each dog lived on the property, as well as the animals' names, history, body conditions--whatever she could glean from the Maple daughter. And then, knowingly sacrficing her friendship for the sake of these dogs (in my adolescent experience, friendship was everything), she turned her handwritten research into the Town Clerk. Who passed it on to the police. Who called in the Humane Society of the United States. Who contacted HSCC, Green Mountain Animal Defenders, and other local people and organizations who could help.

On Tuesday, July 26 the police made a surprise visit to the Maple household, where they found Karen Maple at home. She resisted arrest and attacked an officer, so they removed her from the scene. At that point, we animal welfare folks (who were waiting nearby until the property was secured) were called in to assess the situation. What we found was worse than many of us could have imagined. Over 70 dogs lived in absolute filth--as did the Maple family. Dogs were packed into tiny holding cells in dark sheds with no daylight or air circulation. Dogs lived in pens outside with no shelter, ankle deep in wet mud and feces. Dogs roamed in and out of the decaying house. A dozen dogs were locked into a tiny, airless back room inside the house. Three litters of puppies--very young--scrabbled around in plastic kiddy pools, their coats sticky with urine. Over-taxed mother dogs roamed from pool to pool, nursing whomever cried. None of the dogs had access to clean water or food. Most of the dogs were shockingly underweight, and suffered from eye problems. Some had other unattended medical issues going on, as well.

 

We were indelibly tattooed with the stench of the place, and our eyes burned with the ammonia-saturated air. We were able to remove 59 of the dogs according to the stipulations of the search warrant, which precluded dogs who seemed to be in reasonable health. We deeply regret having left 14 dogs behind.  

(You can watch the HSUS' video of the rescue here.)

The rescued Labs were taken to an emergency shelter (a gorgeous horse barn with 30 empty stalls) in southern Vermont. There, an army of volunteers--overseen by Joanne Bourbeau, the Northeastern Regional Director of State Affairs for Vermont and New Hampshire for the HSUS--tended to the dogs for two months. Joanne recently told us that the price tag for that care--even with volunteer workers--was $60,000. In late September, Karen finally relinquished ownership of the seized dogs, and they were dispersed among several shelters and rescue organizations in Vermont. We received eight of the dogs.

Topaz was among our eight. A one-year-old lanky yellow Lab, he exhibited the same drastic undersocialization of his fellows. He was so terrified of stairs, for instance, that staff had to do an incredible amount of cheerleading just to get him to attempt a step at a time. And house training? Forget it. These dogs had received less than the bare minimum of care for most of their lives. In general, he was very hesitant to interact with people at all when he first arrived at our shelter.

Topaz was adopted in late November by a wonderful couple named Rob and Lori, who changed his name to a masculine "Tazz." Tazz couldn't have found a home more committed to his needs as a puppy mill case. By the time the couple enrolled Tazz in our training classes here at the shelter last January, he was an entirely different dog: outgoing, happy, confident, brave. The trainer, Holly, reports that Tazz picked things up very quickly, and seemed to greatly enjoy learning among fellow canine students. One of the first friends he made in class was a Great Pyrenees, who, Holly says, is very selective about his friends!

Tazz was such a good student that he was often called on to demonstrate new skills for the other dogs and their people. He was especially good at sit, stay, and coming when called.

Rob said that when Tazz first came home, he was terrified of the basement, which is at the bottom of a long staircase. Now, Tazz leads the way down! In fact, this timid, shrinking dog has become a real go-getter. He's fearless when it comes to chasing a ball, Rob says, crashing through brush into the unknown. 

He's also very well-mannered in public. Rob and Lori have no problems when they take him into stores. From a dog who knew nothing of the world outside of four dark walls and a filthy floor, to a dog who embraces new experiences with happy anticipation of good things to come … it's like he's trying to make up for lost time!  

On Wednesday, Feburary 22, HSCC CEO & President Tom Ayres, our Board Chair Helyn Kerr, and I traveled to Montpelier for Humane Lobby Day. Joanne Bourbeau had organized this day as a platform for the general public to urge the Vermont legislature to support a few bills on the table that seek more humane treatment of animals. Among them is a puppy merchant bill that would better regulate breeders who have a certain number of sexually intact dogs. Such legislation would prevent any future cases like the Bakersfield mill from developing. One of the most rewarding aspects of this day occurred at an afternoon press conference, when Tom tearfully presented Sallie Wilson--who was in attendance with her mother--with a Humane Hero Award for her bravery. She thanked her mother for supporting and encouraging her through weak moments in her fortitude. As camera bulbs flashed, the press threw questions at her, and Senators and Representatives shook her hand, we were duly impressed by Sallie's remarkable composure and poise.

Left to right: Joanne, Sallie, Tom, Mrs. Wilson

Karen Maple will be prosecuted on at least 59 counts of animal cruelty later this month. We hope the trial will result in a relinquishment of the remaining Labs--who have since birthed more puppies. When that time comes, we'll help in whatever way we can.

In a case so long in reaching resolution, we're grateful to see resolution in the lives of individual dogs, such as Tazz's. All of the dogs have been adopted, by the way.

We thank this family for taking in a hurt being and refusing to see the damage as irreparable. Far from living life as a broken rescue dog, Tazz has proven that only his former living situation was broken. He is entirely whole.

That's the good news this week!

Until next,

Megan

Angora Allure-a

As we say goodbye to January, we bid adieu to eleven animals, too!

That number may not be as high as what we're used to from December, but it's actually quite a large percentage of our current population, because we're feeling quite empty right now! We've got maybe 15 cats, three dogs, and one guinea pig available. You should see our lobby.

There are usually lots of cats here ... 

Handsome has a room all to himself!

That's about to change, however. Firstly, we've got a lot of cats scheduled to come in in February. Secondly, our canine supervisor, Robyn, will drive to New Hampshire this weekend to meet a transport of young dogs from South Carolina who are being pulled from a high-intake municipal shelter. This shelter receives around 5500-6000 animals every year (by comparison, we take in about 800 a year, and that number is carefully controlled by our intake-by-appointment-only policy, to avoid overcrowding). According to Robyn, the overcrowding they do experience results in 95% of the animals they receive having to be euthanized for lack of space. We're happy to help them lighten that load just a tiny bit ... 

Back to the good news. Fuzzy pittie Dodger (the last of the batch of fuzzy pitties!) found a forever home this week, and his mom has since let us know over Facebook that he's aptly named (he's proven to be quite artful): "Today he has learned how to escape 2 stacked gates, and also how to open a heavy fire-rated door with the lever handle ... and it's not even 2 pm!"

Dodger climbing a ladder to raid his treat stash!

One kitten found a new home: Stevie. As did our last bunny pair: Oreo & Samoa!

Seven cats found new homes! Grover, our last transformed feral kitten, was officially welcomed into a life of domesticity by a smitten young couple. Both Fraidy and Carrie ended their stay on the adoption floor after just a couple of days, and we had another black cat adoption with Sid. Lovely, shy tiger Kylee stole a heart, and two seniors found new homes: Oreo (age 9) and … our featured adoptee … Mya (age 8)!

Mya!

Mya is remarkable in many ways. A lovely Angora, she sports a diluted pink and gray coat, which is nicely set off by her distinctive sap green eyes. And her personality is just as lovely: Mya is outgoing, confident, and sociable with people--and positively enthralled with dogs. But this sweet cat had a long haul here, due first to litter box issues, and secondly to chronic asthma.

Mya was relinquished by her owner in September. She had found Mya as a stray and taken her in to a home that already included a lot of animals: cats, dogs, a ferret, a lizard. When a visit to the vet revealed that Mya had asthma, the owner could no longer afford her care. Furthermore, Mya was having a hard time managing the other animals in the home, who weren't always nice to this newcomer.

It became immediately clear that Mya had trouble with the litter box. By the second day at the shelter, she had gone outside of it, and it happened several more times before we were able to move her into a litter box testing zone (for whatever reason, we've found ourselves up to our elbows in "pee cats" lately: cats who exhibit inconsistent box use. With only four testing zone kennels (and a mandated two-week period in the zone, at least), our pee cats have lately had to wait their turns). By this point, our medical supervisor, Jen, had discovered crystals in her urine (can cause a urinary tract infection in cats, which would definitely cause inconsistent box use). She switched Mya's diet to u/r (prevents crystal formation in the urine) and started her on amoxi to quell an infection. Often, cats develop crystals in their urine when stressed. And from the sound of Mya's contentious relationship with the other animals in her previous home, there's a strong likelihood that stress was the culprit.

This is a good time to mention that Jen and I recently attended a nutrition seminar presented by Drs. Kessler and Berger of Affectionately Cats (Williston). They have groundbreaking new findings on feline nutrition, and the lecture was quite eye-opening. We hope to host them at HSCC in March for a free seminar for the public, so I won't relate everything, but a keystone of their hypothesis is that dry food is the cause of the top three feline medical issues seen by vets (UTI, Gastristis, renal disease). Our house cats descended from wild cats who lived in desert environs, so their bodies are built to store water. Because of this, they don't have high thirst drives (if your cat is in good health, you don't see him/her at the water bowl very often). Take the fact that they don’t drink much, and add it to a diet of dehydrated food … and you get dehydrated cats. This leads to all sorts of issues, particularly with flow and sediment build-up in the urinary tract. To make a long story short, these findings have led the vets to reconsider the usual prescribed UTI dry diets of u/r and c/d. They contend that simply giving the cat a totally wet-food diet would resolve urinary issues. We are taking all of this into consideration as well, here at the shelter. Of course, we're also having to work within a restricted budget.

Back to Mya: in accord with the previous owner's report of asthma, we did notice frequent bouts of coughing and wheezing. Jen started her on prednisone to calm inflammation in her airways, and recommended that she go to a smoke-free home and use a very low-dust litter.

After a full month in the zone, Mya's litter box issues cleared up, thank goodness, and she finally made it out to the adoption floor two months after her arrival, in mid-November. Despite her asthma, special diet, and senior status, we assumed that such a unique-looking cat would get a lot of interest. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

Mya went unnoticed through the rest of November, December, and January. Her coughing seemed to increase with her length of stay in the Tokyo cage. We were careful to try to get her out more often for exercise, and loved watching her interact with our shelter manager's big German Shepherd when she visited the administrative area. She frequently rubbed on his baby gate, inviting a hello. She also quickly became a favorite among the volunteers for her warm personality. Yes, she had a lot working against her. But she had so much more working for her …

Finally, last week, a couple came in whose daughter had worked at HSCC in the past and is starting vet school this fall. They have three senior dogs: a collie and two beagles. And apparently those dogs just love cats. In describing what Mya's life would be like in their home, they wrote, "Our house sprawls and there are cat toys and a cat tower and catnip and dogs and plenty to see. Sunny windows, too." Sounds pretty perfect, no? They were immediately struck by Mya's sweet nature, but a little nervous about their fireplace: would that cause an asthma attack?

It was determined that Mya would go with them on a foster-to-adopt basis: they could have a one-week trial run with her. As we said goodbye to Mya on Tuesday, we crossed our fingers and toes that this home would be the one.The very next day, we received an email from the adopters, entitled, "Mya's first night--splendid!" They reported,

"Just a quick update to let you know that Mya is doing great, seems incredibly happy, is very social & affectionate.  She had one brief coughing episode late last night and another this morning around 7:15, but neither one lasted long - less severe than the one we experienced on Saturday while visiting with her.

She has taken up all of my previous cat's favorite perches, including sleeping next to me on the bed.  She is anxious to explore more of the house, so she'll get expanded territory tonight.

So far, so good!"

Today is the decision day: adopt, or return? We've heard nothing else yet, but are taking that as a good sign. From life as a stray (and who knows what before that), to bad relations with other animals in the home, to transitioning to shelter life, having trouble with the litter box and dealing with asthma … to a rambling, sunny house with people who are just as warm as she is, and all the canine companionship she could wish for. Keep your fingers crossed with us!**

That's the good news this week.

More good news to follow soon (you'll see) … !

Best,
Megan

**UPDATE on Mya: She's been adopted for good! With a $70 donation over and above her adoption fee! Congrats, Mya, for finding such fantastic people :)

A Thousand Words of Love

It takes a lot of talent to photograph animals well.

Those of us who whip out the camera each time our beloved cat or dog pulls a cute stunt, know that. As our smart phones quickly fill up with shot after botched shot of blurry, under-exposed, half-in-the-frame animals, we sigh … and then realize we're now half an hour late for whatever productive thing we're supposed to be doing.

Better to leave it to Kelly Schulze, really. The photographic phenom behind Mountain Dog Photography, Kelly and her husband Ian know what the heck they're doing when it comes to successfully capturing an animal's appeal. 

The photographs of our shelter animals prove it. The quality of an animal's portrait really can determine how quickly that animal finds a new home (if at all, in some shelters), and Kelly's work maximizes our animals' potential for alluring adoptive hearts.

Many of us are familiar with author Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hour rule, which asserts that success in any field is achieved after 10,000 hours of practice (Outliers). It seems Kelly's burgeoning success at such a relatively young age confirms that: she grew up with camera in hand, spending her childhood taking, as she puts it, "really bad pictures of my pets" (she can relate to us!). Her interest in photography got a major boost when she joined the Living/Learning program at UVM, and was housed in the Art of Photography suite, gaining 24/7 access to a darkroom.  

She also grew up working with animals. Throughout high school and continuing into college breaks, Kelly and her sister worked at a shelter in New Milford, CT, where she "did everything": caring for cats, walking dogs, nursing sick animals, grooming, helping with adoptions. As college graduation loomed and she had to choose a career path, she quickly ruled out photography in lieu of working with animals. "I thought professional photographers are like actors," Kelly says. "You had to know someone--have connections--to make it." So she earned a living as a milk tester at local dairy farms.

But while on the job, Kelly often witnessed inhumane treatment of cows. And rather than become desensitized to it (like she assumed she would), she found herself increasingly less tolerant of the abuse. It wasn't long before she realized that working directly with animals--rescue work, grooming, milk testing--would inevitably lead to burn out for her. Which brought her love of photography back into focus.

By 2009, Kelly couldn't ignore the fact any longer that photographing animals was the perfect marriage of her two greatest passions. Furthermore, after doing some research, she discovered that a handful of photographers were actually making a living at animal portraiture! That was enough to convince her to take the leap. She  formed her business, Mountain Dog Photography, that very year. The plan was to pursue it only part time for several years while she built a client base, but by May of 2010, Kelly had had enough of the dairy industry. She left for good six months later, and has been pursuing her business full time ever since.

Kelly's involvement with HSCC began in 2009, too. She had long been missing volunteer work, but felt the shelter had plenty of dog walkers and cat socializers. She wanted to contribute in a unique way. So she stopped by with some 5"x7" snapshots, and two weeks later, the then Executive Director called her back. After an informal interview, Kelly agreed to begin photographing the shelter animals on a volunteer basis every week … and it's continued ever since. When asked if she had any initial sense that she would become such an integral part of the adoption process, Kelly said no. "It was just something I knew I wanted to do. And now, I can't imagine it ever ending."

Kelly and Ian come to the shelter every Thursday morning to photograph that week's newly available cats, dogs, and smallies. She usually sends the finished products by Thursday afternoon--and staff is always excited to see them. Commentary on favorite portraits is a frequent topic of conversation among staff.

I captured a recent session, and took footage of three very different cats. These sessions further attest to the unique individualities of animals: their introversion or extraversion; confidence or shyness; attractions and repulsions; sense of humor or gravity; goofiness or refinement. You'll notice in these videos (rough as they are--more bad camera work with the cell phone!) how adept Ian has become at holding the animals' attention. What also struck me was how well this husband-wife couple work as a team. Kelly gently directs, and Ian happily complies.

 

First up was Moon, a six-year-old female. As you'll see, try as Ian might to woo her with the Da Bird cat toy, all she could think about were the treats in his hand.

Moon lost concentration and got somewhat riled up, so Kelly demonstrated how she gets cats to sit calmly.

Next up was Zen, a three-year old female. As you'll see, she's aptly named. Kelly quickly realized that a "flop" pose would be best for Zen, and Ian attempted to arrange her accordingly.

This cat was not into treats or toys, but a scruff massage made her relax and give Kelly a Zen expression …

Last up was Peaches, an eight-year-old female. Though the oldest of the bunch, she's the most kittenish! Peaches was all about the Da Bird, and gave Kelly photographic gold.

And then we got to see Peaches' softer side …

And now, without further ado, the end results … !

Moon

Zen

Peaches

Okay, so be honest: how many of you are ready to adopt at least one of these fabulous felines based solely on what you see in the photos?

I prove my point.

Kelly and Ian, from the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU.

Ian and Kelly Schulze