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Have you ever considered what would happen to your pet if you became ill, injured, or were incapacitated? Pets are very important members of our families. It is important to arrange for their care in the event that something unplanned happens to you. Many animals are surrendered to shelters every year when their owners become ill or have an accident and cannot care for them. Animal Care Sanctuary has begun implementing a program called, “If Anything Happened to You, What Would Happen to Me?” This program serves as a guide for assisting in preparing a plan for your pets’ care should something happen to you.

In presenting this program to Guthrie Home Care and Hospice caregivers, we were unexpectedly surprised to find we could provide an additional service by healing hearts twofold. Hazel, a hospice patient, had recently lost her beloved dog of 17 years and the hospice social worker shared with us that animals were Hazel’s life. In August, a perfect match

» IN THIS ISSUESpunky and Hazel / 1

ACS 2011 Adoption Calendar / 2Horses, Horses, Horses / 3

Sensi’s Story / 3Kennel Renovations / 4Cat Activity Centers / 5

New Foster Program / 6ACS Mutt Strut / 6

Volunteers Make a Difference / 7Ways to Donate / 7

Happy Ending for Maggee / 8

P. O. Box A • East Smithfield, PA, 18817 • (570) 596-2200 • www.animalcaresanctuary.org

Animal CareS A N C T U A R Y

FALL 2010 NEWSLETTER

Spunky and Hazel

pets. Having a lifetime care plan will provide peace of mind by ensuring that the animals you love have the kind of life you want to give them – even if you are not around to provide the care. ■

An Unexpectedwas made when our dear 12 year-old Chihuahua mix, Spunky, found a home and friend in Hazel. On a recent visit to her home, Spunky and Hazel were happily sharing a hospital bed. Spunky had again found her doggy smile, as well as a few extra pounds. It was evident that the healing was mutual and they share a strong bond.

Animal Care Sanctuary invites anyone interested to contact us regarding our program “If Anything Happened to You, What Would Happen to Me?” We know how much you care about your beloved

Consent for photography was obtained for this article.

LoveStory

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Animal Care SanctuaryO

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CalendarAnimal Care Sanctuary is celebrating its first year of adoptions with the sale of 2011 calendars. Adoptions at ACS began in August of 2009. In our first year we have had 250 adoptions. Flyers were sent to all adopters requesting that they submit photos of their beloved pets for our calendar. Once all photos were received, visitors, vendors, staff, volunteers, and board members voted on their favorite photos. Although every pet is truly a winner, those with the most votes became one of the 12 month full photos. Then, the winner was placed on the cover of the calendar with his adoption story on the inside cover. The other photos were placed throughout the calendar. All sales of the calendar will benefit our adoption program.

To order, call (570) 596-2200, order online at www.animalcaresanctuary.org, or send us the form below. ■

fundraiser2011

2011 ANIMAL CARE SANCTUARY CALENDAR ORDER FORM

Order by December 15, 2010 and enter the ACS Lucky Draw!

The ACS Lucky Draw Prize will be your choice of a cat or dog basket. The baskets will include a Lupine collar and leash, food, treats and other four-legged friendly items. The drawing will be held on December 30, 2010.PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY

Name: __________________________________________________________________

Shipping Address: _________________________________________________________

City:________________________________State:_________Zip:___________________

Phone: ( ) ___________________E-mail: ____________________________________

Number of Calendars _______ X $15.00 or 3 calendars for $30 (includes shipping)

TOTAL: $ _________ PAYMENT INFORMATION Please check one:__Check or Money Order Enclosed (Made payable to Animal Care Sanctuary)__VISA __Master Card

Card Number: ___ ___ ___ ___ - ___ ___ ___ ___ - ___ ___ ___ ___ - ___ ___ ___ ___

Expiration Date: ___ ___ - ___ ___

Name on card if different from above: ____________________________________________

Authorization Signature: ______________________________________________Date: ___________________

MAIL TO: Animal Care Sanctuary, PO Box A, East Smithfield, PA 18817 FAX TO: (570) 596-2222

Clip ‘n MailClip ‘n Mail Clip ‘n Mail Clip ‘n Mail Clip ‘n Mail Clip ‘n MailClip ‘n Mail Clip ‘n Mail Clip ‘n Mail

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Horses,Horses,

Horses! ACS is proud and excited to announce our equine barn is up and running.

After weeks of hard work by staff and volunteers the barn was gutted, stalls jackhammered and haylofts built. Five large, roomy box stalls, tack-n-feed room and our hay storage are the final result. Not to mention an indoor arena with freshly spread footing. (This will be a great place to dog walk in the winter as well as hold agility and demonstration classes.)

We also have a newly fenced in pasture with plans to fence in a second field in the spring.

We presently have four horses: Dixie, Laddie, Rosie and Scarlett.

ACS is looking forward to placing adoptable horses in appropriate, loving homes in the future! ■

new residents

Laddie, one of our new horses

Sensi’sStory

Sensi is a smooth-coat collie mix who came to Animal Care Sanctuary in the fall of 2009. He was rescued from death in a New York City shelter. He was surrendered by his owners at just four months of age. They claimed that they were moving and he had gotten bigger than they had expected: the family could no longer afford his care.

When a rescue r e p r e s e n t a t i v e walked through the NYC shelter, Sensi lifted his head and one paw. He stared deeply into her eyes as if to say “save me.” At that moment, the woman knew she needed to rescue him. Sensi was severely malnourished due to having been fed a diet of cereal for three months. Malnourished and weak, Sensi was in very poor health. His right front leg had become deformed and painful. He was taken to two veterinarians who both diagnosed him with malnutrition. He was put on a lamb and rice diet to

improve his muscle development. Sensi then lost all of his hair and without any improvement in his leg. Unfortunately, he had been misdiagnosed and was allergic to his prescribed diet.

A third opinion was sought at Laurel Hill Veterinary Clinic who diagnosed

him with angular limb deformity and referred him to Colonial Veterinary Hospital in Ithaca, NY. Finally, after an extensive work-up, the Colonial Veterinary Hospital found a mild

angulation of the wrist. Surgery is not recommended at this time. They hypothesize that Sensi holds his leg up not out of pain, but rather out of habit.

Sensi has overcome many obstacles in his young life: starvation, near death, and physical pain. Additionally, due to his malnourishment Sensi became very food aggressive. With the dedication of his Animal Care Sanctuary caretakers he has overcome this too. Sensi has had

numerous veterinary costs involved in resolving the mystery of his deformed leg, but ACS is now celebrating. Now that Colonial Veterinary Hospital has confirmed that Sensi is healthy, we can begin to help Sensi search for his forever home. After such a rough start, this happy fellow deserves a new life with a loving family. If you would like to contribute to Sensi’s veterinary costs and care, please send a check or donate online through our website with Sensi in the note. Sensi will appreciate it! If you are interested in adopting Sensi , contact our adoptions coordinator. ■

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New

When Cornell University’s School of Veterinary Medicine came to visit in April, one of their recommendations for the dog kennel was to brighten it up on the inside with new paint and lighting. Now that fall is here and the nights are cooler, we have begun the process of painting. We went with their suggestion of a light French vanilla color that would reflect the sunlight and skid-proof paint the color of sand for the floors. We are replacing our old florescent lights

KennelRenovations

with new energy efficient lighting, and installing sky lights in strategic places to let the light come in. All of this comes at a time when we are tightening our belts because we are anticipating the high cost of heating expenses this winter as well as the increases in food and medical expenses. However, in the winter the dogs spend more time inside the kennel and we are eager to make their environment more pleasant. ■

Centers

Cats!Happy

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In our summer newsletter, we introduced you to the exciting changes involving the living arrangements of the ACS cats. ACS currently has 21 social or communal cat housing units that house approximately 150 cats. The cats in the social units are more content as they are able to move freely and socialize with each other. Living in the communal also increases the adoptability of the cats.

Deciding which cats to place in the units has been quite a process

says Patricia “Tricia” Steves, the ACS cat supervisor. Cats are a social species, but are particular about their roommates and living arrangements. To avoid placing undue stress on the cats, Tricia has to match multiple cats’ personalities and then monitors the cats very closely for any signs of stress.

When touring in April, Cornell suggested increasing the functional space in the social living units by going vertical. This would aid in relieving stress as the cats would have additional spaces to sleep and hide. Creating this

facilities improvements

vertical space can be crafted by building the cats activity centers. The cats thrive when they have activity centers which they can sleep in, play on, and simply view the world from varying levels.

The cost to build one activity center is approximately $75-$100. ACS has been very fortunate to find a retired sheet metal contractor, Whitney Warren, who is volunteering his time to build the activity centers. If you would like to enrich the lives of the cats please send your check or donate online with “activity center” in the note. ■

Centers

Cats!

Activity

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Save the date: May 21, 2011! Join us for a doggone fun day to raise money for your four legged friends at Animal Care Sanctuary! Events will include a pledge walk, canine demonstrations, free pet health screenings, vendors, rescue groups, music and entertainment. For more information contact us at email address info@animalcaresanctuary.org or call (570) 596-2200. ■

1st Annual

MuttStrut

programs

Announcing our

Animal Care Sanctuary would like to announce that they now have a foster program for their dogs and cats. We just started this program in September 2010 and already have five animals in foster placement. As a foster parent you would be taking an animal into your home to help socialize them, sometimes housetrain them, offer daily exercise and give them love. You are responsible for the cost of feeding the pet and any other everyday care expenses. ACS will cover the medical costs such as vaccines, veterinary visits, and other medications that they may need. As a perk, and a show of appreciation to our foster parents, ACS will offer a discount in the adoption fee should they choose to adopt a pet from ACS. It is a great opportunity to serve and enrich the lives of the animals. In addition, animals in foster placement are more adoptable having experienced a home environment. If you would like to become a foster parent, please give us a call anytime! ■

FosterProgram

New

Animal Care’s Rachel Higham and her foster pup, named Generic

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IPBoard of Directors

Carrie CarrollChairperson

Rob RedmanVice Chairperson

Eric Chase Treasurer

Ron SheehanBoard Member

Carol Koenecke-GrantBoard Member

Executive Staff

Joan Smith-ReeseExecutive Director

Rachel HighamCommunity Liaison

Contact

jsmithreese@animalcaresanctuary.org(570) 596-2200

Animal Care Sanctuary is a dedicated, nurtur-ing stepping stone for animals of all kinds.

ACS is a non-profit animal shelter located in northeast Pennsylvania. We strive to provide nuturing, healthy homes to cats, dogs, and other animals who are abandoned or abused. We rehabilitate as many of these animals as possible in order to place them into permanent homes. Those that cannot be adopted remain in our care.

We always welcome donations of any kind to help us care for our residents. Some of the ways you can help include:

• Donate online by credit card at www.animalcaresanctuary.org

• Send a check to us at PO Box A, East Smithfield, PA, 18817

• Donate items on our Wish List at www.amazon.com

• Donate a kuranda bed on our web site, Ways to Help tab

• Bequeath a portion of your estate • Come up and walk the dogs• Share this newsletter with others• Create a team for Mutt Strut• Adopt one of our lovable animals

WaysDonate

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ACS would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our volunteers! We trained nine new volunteers at our volunteer training in September. Since then, the volunteers have been busy enriching the lives of the animals in many ways: walking dogs on our gorgeous property, playing fetch with dogs in the newly fenced in dog yard, cuddling with kittens, grooming cats, making comfy beds and tasty treats. The animals appreciate you and so do we! If you are interested in volunteering contact us! We have many opportunities in a variety of areas: working with animals, assisting in the office, or attending public events. ■

Volunteers

giving

make aDifference

The layout, logo designs, and some photos for this newsletter were donated by Randy Heffernan. The copy and remaining photos were provided by Animal Care Sanctuary. The printing was done by USA Printing Online at a significant discount. For more information about Randy Heffernan’s design services, contact randyheffernan@yahoo.com. ■

ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER

Volunteers walking Remus and Tiger

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Happyfor

Ending

In our last newsletter we featured Maggee, the darling dog with an enlarged esophagus. Many of you wrote to us and contributed toward her care. She received her special Bailey Chair to help her eat, and with all of the love and special attention she gained 5.5 pounds and has been able to go out in the dog yard and play like a young dog should. But the real fairy tale ending is that Maggee has been adopted! Her new owners are from Quakertown and have experience caring for dogs with Maggee’s condition as well as specialize in senior care and hospice care for dogs. We have asked them to keep us updated on her throughout the years. Thank you so much for your generous support. Because of you this is truly a happy ending! ■

P.O. Box AEast Smithfield, PA 18817

success story

Maggee

Maggee with her new mom Sherrie and her new little sister, Natalyia.