Vol. 30 No. 3 Fall Issue - Published Quarterly Fall 2013

From the Board President (continued) ............................................... 2

Volunteer Corner .................................................................................. 3

Environmental Enrichment For Kitties .............................................. 4

Pawsitive Dog Prison Program ........................................................4-5

Wrigley Writes ....................................................................................... 5

Baxter’s Blog .......................................................................................... 6

Bark For Life .......................................................................................... 7

From the Executive Director ................................................................ 7

Purrs, Licks and Tailwags .................................................................8-9

What’s Inside: Page What’s Inside: Page

continued on page 2

Successful Summer Events ................................................................ 10

How You Can Help ............................................................................. 11

But My Dog Loves EVERYBODY! .................................................... 12

A Debt Repaid...................................................................................... 12

Win This Custom Dog Home ............................................................ 12

4 Tips for Making New Pet Introductions ....................................... 13

Thank You Pet Sponsors ..................................................................... 13

Stanley Speaks ..................................................................................... 14

In Loving Memory and Honoring Tributes ..................................... 15

Board PresidentChristel Carlson As I personally reflect upon SpokAnimal’s 30 Years of animal control service to the City of Spo-kane and the transfer of the contract at year end to the county shelter it is difficult not to wonder. I won-der about the wisdom of this venture when voters twice said no to this idea and backroom politics said yes. I wonder if an organization that has never han-dled the number of animals we do can handle double their current numbers and of their readiness to do so. I wonder about the future of the animals when they are handled by an organization that makes it clear they are animal control and not a humane society. I wonder about our employees and their families who will lose a job with benefits. I wonder about financial support for humane societies when families are often in fairly dire straits themselves. I wonder whether programs that our director was responsible for de-veloping and implementing (voucher program, barn cats, education in classrooms etc.) will continue to be supported and flourish. I wonder what SpokAni-

Know &

wo

nd

er HoPemal’s future will look like in 5-10 years. I know that for SpokAnimal, your Inland North-west Humane Society that it really is all about the animals. I know our staff is dedicated to saving and enriching the lives of these special creatures we call “companion animals.” I know that many of our em-ployees have dedicated their entire professional ca-reer to SpokAnimal and the support of it’s mission. I know we will remain dedicated to our adoption process and our low cost spay, neuter and vaccina-tion veterinary clinic. I know that we will remain a vibrant influence in our community and across the Northwest for many years to come. I know that our leadership has been hard at work to answer those questions and arrive at a master long term plan. I know that We are supporting employees (ani-mal control officers, license canvassers, dispatch) that

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~ oUr MISSIon ~ SpokAnimal C.A.R.E. is pas-sionately dedicated to the place-ment, protection and health of animals through legislation, education and programs for pets and their people.

Board of directorsPres: Christel Carlson Treas: Barbara Grant

Secretary: Angela Scheres Suzy Dix Kathy Hull Molly Lundberg Carmen Murphy

Cynthia Schwartz

Friends of SpokAnimalKim Kamel Frank Harrison

Regina Winkler

Location:SpokAnimal C.A.R.E.

710 N. Napa • Spokane, WA 99202

Phone:(509) 534-8133 • Fax: (509) 535-9630

Clinic: (509) 534-4253

website:http://www.spokanimal.org

Shelter Hours: 10AM-6:30PM ~ Mon-Fri

Noon-4PM ~ Sat-Sun24-hour Lost Pet Hotline:

232-2230Veterinary Clinic:

Vaccinations, microchips and well-care exams.

Sterilization by appointment.Walk-in Clinic Hours:2:30-4:30PM ~ Monday

10:00AM-6:00PM ~ Tue. & Wed.2:30-4:30PM ~ Thurs.2:30-4:30PM ~ Friday We’re on Facebook! Stay up to

date with all things SpokAnimal and talk to us! Our Companion Animal News quarterly newsletter is available for download on our website at www.spokanimal.org. We hope you will share your paper copy with another animal lover when you have finished reading it - reduce, re-use, recycle! For an up-to-the-minute update, we also

Come See Us Online!

put out a regular e-letter. If you would like to join our email list, you can sub-mit your email address on our website, or email outreach@spokanimal.org to be included.

From the Board President (continued)will lose their job with us as they inter-view elsewhere. I hope that the county may choose to employ many of these fully trained, dedicated individuals. I know we will attempt to work with the county during the transition to ensure as seamless a turnover as possible. We already are, as a matter of fact. We, of course, have no control over their ability or interest in their new work, but if we can mentor them we will. I hope that we can work with county to pull animals as they are ready for adoption and quickly get them into our Inland Northwest Humane Society and thence quickly into a forever home. I know our adoption agents are well trained in behavior evaluation and masters at helping pick the right animal for that individual or family. This is made clear when you tour our shelter and recognize that it is the very rare individual animal that isn’t already reserved for adoption after the mandatory hold period. I know we have made many con-tacts across the Northwest with other animal control, rescues, and humane organizations. We will continue to de-velop and strengthen those ties provid-ing an outlet with us for their animals too. We will continue to utilize our res-cues as we provide a means to find their charges a new forever home. I know that our veterinary clinic will continue to provide excellent care for anyone that wishes to visit. We don’t care where your animal came from, we

just want to be your source for wellness care and spay/neuter. I know we will have more time in our clinic and I hope that the county may choose to utilize our clinic for their animal control spay and neuter needs. I know that there are several as-pects of animal control that we are happy to abandon. I’m quite sure that we will not miss situations where our officers needed armed police escorts. I hope that when we no longer harbor drug dealer’s fighting pit bulls that there won’t be a need to bash in our doors or windows. I know that we will not miss having to euthanize animals that were made vicious and aggressive by people that were misguided and lost themselves. I know that our leadership is poised to make this transition and is looking forward to it. I know that many of our programs that add to our community, like SpokAnimal’s Dog Park at High Bridge, will continue to flourish. I wonder how animal control will look for Spokane in the future. I hope that individuals will continue to sup-port our mission at SpokAnimal and our animals with their hearts and homes, volunteer hours and dollars. I know SpokAnimal will be a force for the future for our community.Christel CarlsonSpokAnimal Board of Directors President** these ideas and comments are entirely my own and not necessarily reflective of the board or organization

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Peter and Peaches

Bridgette, Peter and Peaches

Volunteer Corner

Welcome, Christy - Outreach & Volunteer Coordinator Christy Kruse has joined the Spo-kAnimal team as our Public Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator. Christy has a diverse professional background, hav-ing worked for Habitat for Humanity in Costa Rica as a Volunteer Coordinator, and also as Director of Recruiting for Print Inc. She has also held various hos-pitality management positions. Christy loves talking to animals and to people, both very important to her position. She was responsible for organizing our now infamous “Pup Crawl Party Bus.” We welcome her to the staff!

We want to give a huge thank you to Peter Hamel and honor him as our Volunteer of the Quarter. Peter is a long time dog lover and takes his own pup, Peaches, to visit children at Sacred Heart Hospital as well as the Ronald MacDonald House. Peter and Peaches also participate in Roosevelt Elementa-ry school’s “Reading Rovers” program.

Peter retired two years ago and knew he wanted to do some kind of volunteer work that he would enjoy. It was a very lucky day, a little over a year ago, when Peter became a SpokAnimal Volunteer. It was an even luckier day when he joined our A-Team Training Crew. Kathy Robbins, A-Team Facilitator, says “Peter has a special way with dogs. He never raises his voice or gets upset, he speaks softly and calmly and just expects them to do the right thing. And they do! Dogs of all sizes and shapes respect him, listen to him, and learn from him.” Debbie Walker, who works along-side Peter as an A-Team trainer, says “I am thrilled that Peter is being recog-nized in this way. I believe that he has personally saved more dogs by making them adoptable than any other trainer, and has taken less time to do it. Peter has a natural ability to read dog body language, and this allows him to al-ways handle each dog appropriately. Peter not only studies the dogs, he also communicates what he has learned about each dog to the staff and the other trainers in precise detail. He has infinite patience, and because of this the dogs learn to trust him very quickly. When Peter works with a dog first, he always makes it easier for the rest of us to fol-low up. Peter is truly a pearl of great price, and SpokAnimal is so fortunate

Volunteer of the QuarterAn Angel at SpokAnimal...

to have him as a volunteer trainer!” Peter we can never thank you enough for all you do and for turning so many problem dogs into well behaved, adoptable pets.

Our animals need homes too! Become a Sponsor!Your one-year Sponsor helps us care for the thousands of homeless dogs and cats that come through our doors each year. Every animal is a unique individual with their own hopes and needs. Through our Sponsor-a-Kennel Program you can be part of the work we do and make a difference for our animals. We provide tons of love, and your sponsorship will help to provide food and shelter, vaccinations, treatment and medications, blankets and toys.

$100 to Sponsor a Dog Kennel $100 to Sponsor a Cat Kennel

$250 to Sponsor an Outdoor Play Area $500 to Sponsor a Vehicle

Name ____________________________________________

Address ___________________________________________

City________________________ State_____ Zip _________

Phone ____________________________________________

Email _____________________________________________

Payment Method: Check Cash Visa/MasterCard

Card #________________________ Exp. Date: _________

Signature_______________________ CVV Code: ________

Please print your message below:

Your Inland northwest humane socIetY

710 N. Napa Street miracles@spokanimal.orgSpokane, WA 99202 www.spokanimal.org(509) 534-8133

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More about the Pawsitive Dog Prison Training Program in Wrigley Writes on page 5

Kim Imel, LVT, CPDT-KAMaking life at home that much more fun. Many of us own both dogs and cats. And, for our dogs, we don’t give it a second thought to take them for a walk, to go for a run in the park or a hike in the mountains, or to play games such as fetch and tug. We give our dogs things to chew on and snuggle with and food puzzles to solve. All of this is enriching to our dogs, but, what do we do for our cats? Providing en-richment in our cat’s environment, as we do with our dogs, can actually help keep our cats healthier and happier for a long time.

Cats can express stress in a variety of ways including scratching furniture and urinating in unusual locations (other than the litter box) when there is no medical cause such as a bladder/urinary tract infection. There are some very simple things you can do to help your cats enjoy each day.

Climbing, scratching, and napping:Provide plenty of places for your cats to get to that are up high. Vertical spaces are important to cats. They love to climb and love to be high. So, when your cat jumps up to the top of the kitchen cabi-nets, they are not trying to be bad kitties

environmental enrichment For Kittiesor scare you, they are simply fulfilling their need for tall perches. If you do not want them on all of your cabinets, find an area that is suitable and place a soft plush blanket or small bed there to entice them to that location. Cat climb-ing trees with multiple levels and tex-tures are also a great options for verti-cal space as well as having a place for scratching. Create locations in various rooms in your house. You will find that your cat will enjoy sleeping in his look-outs.

Play:Just as you spend time each day play-ing with your dog, spend time playing with your cat. Some cats actually fetch, while others prefer to chase and pounce feather toys. Not only does this help re-lieve stress, it provides much needed exercise to help keep kitties fit.

Problem solving:Cats are brilliant creatures, so use their brains for good, not for plotting to pounce on your feet from behind the door. Well, that may still happen, but setting up simple food games can help your cat ‘feed’ his need to hunt. There are many commercially available treat balls/toys for cats, but to start off with something simple take a shoe box and

several empty toilet paper rolls to cre-ate a food puzzle. Place the rolls in the shoe box on their ends and fill the box with the tubes. Now, take portions of their kibble or treats and sprinkle them down inside several of the tubes and present it to your cat. Let him watch you place the food inside. To get the food out he will need to reach down and pull the kibbles out with is paw. This will help him slow down his eat-ing, and engage his brain in a great problem solving game. Starting this with a young cat or kitten is easiest, but any age cat can learn to play this game.

These few tips are simple, fairly inex-pensive, and easy to implement. They will provide your cats with wonderful enrichment at home.

Pawsitive dog Prison Program

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Wrigley

Wrigley Writes

Hi all, Wrigs here! In celebration of my one year anniversary of Wrig-ley Writes, I am going to take the day off and turn things over to my human. There are squirrels to chase and bushes to sniff. See you this winter! Greetings everyone. I hope this summer has been one of great joy and fun for you and your family. As you look towards the fall and preparing for the new school year, we at the Pawsi-tive Dog Prison Program are doing just the same. We are saying goodbye to our session five dogs and looking ahead to future dogs while planning for upcom-ing events throughout the next several months. And as we look ahead, we are also looking back to see where this pro-gram has come from and what the im-pact has been thus far. In doing so, a particular conversation with one of the offenders comes to my mind. It was just a couple months ago that I made an additional trip out to the prison to check on the dogs and answer some questions of the offenders. They are always so concerned about the dogs in their care and a simple trip out brings reassurance to them and staff that they are doing a great job. While checking on one of the dogs, one of her handlers stood quietly by watching the training demonstration. When I asked if he had any questions and if the dog was set-tling in well he began to speak quietly.

“You know these dogs? They are not just our dogs to work with. They are the unit’s dogs. When they are not here it affects everyone, not just us in the pro-gram. The dogs are a connection to the outside. They make us feel…..” I could see he was struggling to find the words and I asked “Human?” He looked as if a huge weight had been lifted off of his shoulders as he shook his head and almost whispered, “Yeah, human.” In a place where the men are mere numbers, the dogs have the ability to help them feel human again. The dogs are their teachers helping them to make better decisions, learn compassion, pa-tience, understanding, selflessness and how to communicate positively with each other. Many of these skills were absent in their prior life and behind the crimes that led them to prison. Through their work with the dogs, these men are learning new skills to make better choices when they get out. Through their work with the dogs, the dogs are learning new skills to be better in their homes once adopted. There is amazing change happening at both ends of the leash. And it is an incredible thing to be a part of and witness. But this program does not survive on kindness and car-ing from the dogs and offenders alone. It takes a community effort to help keep this work going, and this is where I call out to all of you for your support. The number one resource in need is financial support. Due to the very specific nature of the items we can and cannot use in the prison, we have to be very specific with any in kind dona-tions. Financial contributions can be used to help acquire the items needed including treats, toys, food, and medi-cal support for all of the dogs (just to scratch the surface). As a non-profit organization, SpokAnimal can often re-ceive special deals on items we need for the program, thus extending the reach of any monetary donation. So, we are asking, I am asking, will you give? Ev-ery little bit does help.

In addition to financial sup-port, here are some ways you can help support this program:• Purchase supplies from our

Amazon Wish List: Pawsitive Dog.

• “Like” the Pawsitive Dog Face-book page to follow the dogs’ stories and to keep up to date on special events and fundrais-ers to benefit the Pawsitive Dog program: www.facebook.com/PawsitiveDogPrisonProgram.

• Spread the word about this program to your family and friends.

• Call, email and write SpokAni-mal staff to let them know how much this program means to you.

• Support local businesses who donate to the program, includ-ing Kritter Cookies, Prairie Dog Pet Mercantile, Shear Heaven Grooming, Haute Paws Groom-ing, Hot Dogz Grooming and Dooky’s Dog Waste Removal and Excel Grooming.

• Participate in upcoming events.

This is really just the begin-ning of the Pawsitive Dog Prison Program. Through your support we will be able to help change the lives of dogs and offenders for years to come!

To make a financial donation on line go to http://spokanimal.org/prisonpups.php and click on the black and white Pawsitive Dog program logo. To donate by mail or in person, please mark donation “prison dogs”. Dona-tions can be mailed to or dropped off at 710. N. Napa, Spokane, WA 99202.

More ways to Help the Pawsitive dogPrison Program

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More about Bark For Life on page 7

Baxter’s Blog

Greetings! Baxter here. Daddy final-ly went to sleep so now I get the com-puter. Normally I would peruse “Dogs in Heat” or “Playpuppy.” But no time for my usual literary excursions. I’ve de-cided to start a blog! I know, you’re say-ing, “A dog can’t blog, it’s just a dumb animal.” First of all, watch who you’re calling “it” pal. A rock is an it, a dog is a he or a she. And “dumb animal?” Let’s think about that. A human brings me home, feeds me, gives me treats, dresses me (ugh!), provides me with toys, takes me to the vet (boy were his hands cold), buys me a bed (I prefer his), and even picks up my poop. And he claims that I’m HIS dog. So let’s dispense with all that dumb animal nonsense. The only reason we let people think they’re in charge is that they control the cats. And don’t get me started on cats. I have more important things to talk about. Daddy is a pretty good guy. Most people call him Stan, but my nickname for him is “soft-touch.” He’s always good for a treat and a belly rub. I can wake him in the middle of the night to go out-side and he doesn’t even get mad. And, I’m just in the mood to explore. Heck, if I needed to go potty, I wouldn’t go out in the cold where I might step in some-thing! I’d just go behind his chair in the living room. He doesn’t seem to like that

very much, though. But he loves me anyway. He’s well trained. And he loves animals. He works for a company called Trupan-ion. They provide medi-cal insurance for dogs and cats (don’t get me started on cats). He goes out and visits vet offices every day and tells them all about Trupanion, how it pays 90% of the vet costs with-out any yearly or lifetime cost limits, and even cov-ers hereditary problems, as long as they’re not pre-existing. In fact, they give a free 30 day policy so people can try it, and they don’t even ask for a credit card. Daddy says that Trupanion is trying to prevent economic eu-thanasia (those are big words for me, they don’t

teach vocabulary in obedience school….obedience school?... who am I kidding!) He tells people to just call Trupanion at 800-569-7913 or go to their website TRU-PANION.COM. Or you can contact him at: stanley.paluch@trupanion.com. OK, OK … so much for daddy. What I really want to talk about is Bark For Life. What is Bark For Life? We all know that dogs (did you realize that dog is God spelled backwards? Food for thought huh? What? You expected some deep philosophical thought?) Where was I? Oh yeah. We all know that dogs bark for attention, bark for greetings, bark for fear, bark for food and that little Sheltie next door barks for NO REASON! But Bark For Life is an event held by the American Cancer Society to raise funds and honor our Canine Caregivers. It presents an opportunity for people to be empowered through their canine com-panion partnerships and to contribute to cancer cures through the mission of the American Cancer Society. Let me bring my sister over here to explain. Sophie….come here. Here she comes. “Hello, I’m Sophia Josephine, the Spokane Bark For Life Spokes-dog.” Baxter, “Oh for goodness sakes!!” Sophia, “Back off Baxter or I’ll let Daddy know who pooped in his

slippers.” Baxter, “OK…OK…go ahead and tell them your story.” Sophia, “When I was a little puppy, my mommy was diagnosed with cancer. I did my best to help her. We cuddled after her surgery, spent nights on the bathroom floor during chemo treatments, and took long naps together when she had radia-tion treatments. Mommy is now cancer free! I think my kisses helped a lot. Now, we fight cancer by volunteering for the American Cancer Society’s Bark For Life event. Won’t you help my mommy and me celebrate more birthdays?” Baxter, “Thanks Sophie.” Bark For Life will take place on October 5 at Whis-pering Pines park in the Eagle Ridge Development. That’s located about 4 miles south of I90 on highway 195. We will have a 5K Take a Bite Out of Cancer Dog Dash (people can participate with or without their dogs) starting at 10:00 a.m. The Bark For Life event starts at 11:00 a.m. and goes until 2:43 p.m. We will have contests such as a “Peanut Butter Lick” (I am so there), “Pawspa-ghetti Eating” (be still my heart), Dance and Costume contests (that has Sophia written all over it). Demonstrations by working dogs such as Spokane Police K-9 Stryder, Explosives Detection K-9 Zion, Spokane Valley Arson K-9 Mako, and many others. There’s also Pet bless-ings, Pilates Plus 4 Pooch and U, and “Dogue” fashion shows (puhleeese). Visit Tanner, Wrigley, Nevus, Sophia and the working dogs in the “Heroes Booth.” We have a Silent auction and inflatables for the kids. SpokAnimal will be there for pet adoptions or temporary rentals. There’ll be vendors, more vendors, and live music. Really, live music from An-gela Marie Project and Redmond. Did you know that I sing? I had a hit titled, “Don’t pet the dog” but that might be a little racey for this crowd. Sunara Agil-ity Dogs will be demonstrating their moves. It’ll be more fun than whizzing on the mailman’s shoe (I didn’t really do that….er….it was just a dog that looked like me). Remember, you can bring your dog. Sorry, no cats (don’t get me started on cats). And all the money goes to the American Cancer Society. Uh Oh! Daddy is moving around. Gotta go. I feel a need to do a little ex-ploring in the back yard. Later….

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october 5, 2013Whispering Pines Park

in Eagle Ridge (off Hwy 195) 11:00 a.m. to 2:43

(24 hours in a dog’s life)$10 per family

5K “Take a Bite Out of Cancer Dog Dash - 10:00 a.m.

$25 per person / $50 per family

Bark For Life is a fun filled event ben-efiting both the American Cancer Soci-ety and area shelters and rescues. Spok-Animal will be there. Will you? Stop by both our booth and the Pawsitive Dog Prison Program booth to say hi! And watch for Wrigley, the official spokes-dog for Pawsitive Dog as he dances with kids to Jail House Rock! It should be a fun day. For more information visit www.relayforlife.org/barkspokanewa.

Bark For LIFE

From the Executive DirectorDear Friends, It is with a sad heart that we say goodbye to many of our long-time staff members who are transitioning to new phases of their lives. Most of our ani-mal control and dispatch staff will all be leaving on or before December 31. Bridgette, Development and Outreach, has moved to Peachtree, Georgia with her partner and pets. Hope has moved to her new dream job after filling many positions at SpokAnimal. We wish them all the best of luck in their new positions. We welcome Christy Kruse, our new Volunteer and Outreach coor-dinator. You may remember her from the very successful and fun Pup Crawl, which she organized as a benefit for SpokAnimal. Shelley Sharp is our new Development Director, who comes to us from Spokane Public Radio. We are ex-cited to have these two new and highly professional new team members. This is the month that our transi-tion team will be evaluating all of our programs. At this time, the Prison Dog Program is about $2k short of being funded for 2014. We have until Decem-ber 31 to fund for next year. I have been to the graduations and see the benefit of the work our team members do there for BOTH the dogs and the trainers. I am committed to the success of this program and hope you will join me in

donating to the program. We will be hosting a special event later in the year at Nectar Wine Tasting Room to benefit the training. I hope you will join us. Another program that has been highly successful for us is Farm Livin’. This program sterilizes and vaccinates feral or at risk cats who are then placed in farm homes. We do anticipate continu-ing this program in cooperation with animal control to ensure successful outcomes. While there is no cost to the farmers, we do ask for donations. So far, the donations have covered the pro-gram. This is one that needs to be self sufficient. Of all our programs, this is one that has, since its inception, saved many lives. In 2012-13, SpokAnimal hosted several trainings that were open to animal welfare personnel, volunteers, dog trainers, and the public. We hope to ramp that training up in 2014. One of the exciting new seminars will be concerning trapping cats and options. It will be funded by the Petco Foun-dation and I am sure it will be highly successful. If there are other trainings you would like to see come to our area, please let us know and we will investi-gate. Our A-Team of shelter dog train-ers will become even more important to us in ensuring that our pets are social-ized and set up for success in their new

homes. We thank Carol Byrnes and Di-amonds in the Ruff for their continued support in staff/volunteer training. We thank those that have guided and supported us during this very stressful and exciting time. We will be closed for the holiday on New Year’s Day. It is our goal to have ALL animals placed on New Year’s Eve. Staff will take a much needed breather and relaxation day. On Jan 2-3 we will be having in service training and rolling out our new program. This will be the time for all the brainstorming from staff and fine tuning the program. The entire program, including clinic will be closed for those two days. We appreciate your patience while we “get it together” and come back with our re-invented SpokAnimal on January 4. We will be having potluck lunches both days as well as light breakfast. Anyone who has anything special to help us cel-ebrate, we would welcome your dona-tions. Thanks again to all who are helping make this happen, especially to all our hardworking staff and volunteers.

Gail B. Mackie, Executive Director

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Purrs, Licks & Tailwags Thank you!Huge thanks to the folks at Help N Hands Estate Sales. They have a donation box out for us at every sale they do and ask for donations for us. We have received $300 from Help N Hands in the past year, almost $700 since 2009 and a donation of 25 dog toys in December 2011!

Purrs to Aslin Finch on Sprague/Fancher for promoting Spo-kAnimal and having a donation box - and to all of their cus-tomers who donate.

Special thanks to Pool World, their Club Rewards Program and especially Greg D. for choosing SpokAnimal to be his charity of choice to receive $100.00 after he purchased a new spa! We were very excited when Crystal from Pool World showed up with the $100.00 check. Thanks so much Greg for thinking of the homeless pets!

Pawsitively Thankful

To Mobius Science Center Kids who invited Carol Byrnes to do a presentation on clicker training - they made rope tugs out of old T-shirts for our prison pups!

Thank you, local groomers! To Shear Heaven Pet Salon on Pines Rd in the Valley for once again offering to groom our fluffy Pawsitive Dog Prison Training dogs to get them ready for their entrance into the program. Sadie looks spectacular! Special thanks to Shear Heaven groomer Cari Haider who has also donated the settle down mats for session 5 & 6! Thanks to Sylvano at Hot Dogz on Shannon just off NW Blvd for do-nating the grooming for Ollie to get him ready for his big en-trance into the Prison Dog training program and to Yuppy Puppy at the North Division Y for their support in helping make Mitzi glamorous for her prison debut.

Woofs and wags to Lucy at Kritter Kookies for her donation of Smack n Snax. The dogs love them! And thanks to Dana Kassel Wilson for donating a case of Soho training treats and to Starmark for their generous donation of Everlasting Treat Balls!

Harvard Park Children’s Center Helps Prison Pups

From Harvard Park’s Leanne Dixon, “A little girl at Harvard Park lost her first tooth yesterday. Today she brought in her tooth fairy money to donate to our SpokAnimal drive. An-other child decided he wanted to bring in his entire piggy bank and convinced his two younger sisters to do the same. He brought in $40 worth of change. I’m so proud of how in-volved these kids are this year!”

Very big thank you’s to Christina Hunt and John and Linda McElhinny for their generous monetary donations to the Pawsitive Dog Prison Program. It is because of the generosity of people like you that this program can continue to help change the lives at both ends of the leash.

Thank you, Gayle & Larry Kiser for your donation to the prison program! Gayle & Larry sold some surplus fencing materials and donated the funds to the prison program fund! Gayle has also donated the “Don’t Shoot the Dog” books that is part of the Pawsitive Dog prison program curriculum. You are part of our prison program every single day!

More Purrs, Licks and Tailwags on page 9

ThanksHarvard

Park Kids. Good Job!

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Huge thanks to SpokAnimal board member Barbara Grant and member Mikaela MacLean for their much needed dona-tions to our prison program!! There are no tax payer dollars to support this amazing program. Please help if you can. Every donation helps keep this program going strong.

Huge thanks to the Airway Heights Corrections Center staff for their hard work and dedication to make the prison training program the best it can be, to our trainers, Kim Imel, CPDT, Carol Byrnes, CPDT and Stacy Hebert of Diamonds in the Ruff for bringing their knowledge to the classroom. To DITR and Paw & Order Canine Behavior Services’ Cathy Fox for conducting the Canine Good Citizen test. And to MJ at SpokAnimal for all her hard work coordinating the Half Way Hounds foster homes and keeping the shelter side of the pro-gram running smoothly, and to all the helpful staff who help her make it happen. This is a wonderful team effort.

Thank you Prairie Dog Pet Mercantile for donating food for our prison pups and for hosting a Treat Drive for the pro-gram. The treat bins are empty and the new group of dogs have just entered the prison. Stop by Prairie Dog and let’s fill those treat jars!

Happy Birthday!

Animal lover Ashlynn Picicci celebrated her 12th birthday on June 4th and in lieu of gifts she asked all her friends and party goers to bring donations for the homeless pets at Spok-Animal. Thanks to Ashlynn and her friends she raised $101.00 and lots of fun toys and treats for the shelter pups.

Huge thanks go to Brandi Hester who celebrated her 10th birthday and donated lots of pet food, treats and toys as well as cash to help all our animals at SpokAnimal until they find their fur ever homes.

Emma Crooks, age 9, and Bethany Merritt, age 10, are two very caring young ladies who had a bake sale to support SpokAnimal. In just two hours these two raised $150.00 at their neighborhood Block Watch party. Neither of the girls have pets, but there was talk that maybe they can start fostering for SpokAnimal–fingers crossed! Thanks, you two, for thinking about the homeless pets and keep up the good work!

We want to thank Summit School student and SpokAnimal Volunteer Kaitlynn D. for once again choosing the shelter to benefit from her community service project. As part of the Zenith Award Kaitlynn is required to do 15 hours of com-munity service and write about her experience. This is the equivalent of a senior project but for 12 year olds! Kaitlynn came in along with her mother and walked dogs as well as did a neighborhood supply drive. Thanks for all the supplies Kaitlynn, we can’t wait to see what you do for the shelter in High School.

This is 8 year old Mia. She attends River Day School here in Spo-kane. She and her dad donated “Re-pur-posed” Feeder Bowls. They made them from items they purchased at Goodwill. They do-nated the bowls for us to sell to raise money for the animals in our care. They are for sale in our retail area.

Katelyn S. who is 9 years old has been saving and collecting change to bring to SpokAnimal for some time. On July 11th Katelyn surprised SpokAnimal with a donation of $39.00 for the homeless pets.

Riley M. is a very giving 7 year old who took it upon herself to have a Lemonade Stand and give her profits to SpokAnimal’s homeless furry kids. Over two and a half hours Riley make $15.00 and presented it to SpokAnimal on August 29th!

Purrs, Licks & Tailwags (continued)

10

Successful Summer EventsThanks to all who helped and donated

Doggy Dip!Another great event at summer’s end as the area pools close. Thanks, Spokane Parks & Rec!

Cruisers & Critters The Gents Car Club and Shakey’s pizza at the North Division Y teamed up for an amazing event on September 7th.

They decided to dive anyway, but we forgave them since they couldn’t read the signs!

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11

HOW YOU CAN HELPSpokAnimal is a non-profit and tax-exempt organization. All contributions, donations and gifts are tax-deductible.

SpokAnimal is “the humane soci-ety with the funny name,” according to Gail Mackie, Executive Director. The organization serves about 6,000 home-less or abandoned animals annually throughout a 13 city and two county spread. They are thrilled to be down to “just” 6,000 animals after serving 12,000 at their high point, with Gail explaining, “Our unique business model considers a decreasing customer load (number of animals) as a true indicator of success.” Since 1984, SpokAnimal has also pro-vided animal control services, but will be giving up that role as of November 31. “We are not closing our doors!” clar-ifies Gail. “We are simply reorganizing in order to focus exclusively on guaran-teed adoptions for our animals.”With 6,000 animals to serve, SpokAni-mal remains wildly busy with these and other programs and services: • Low-Fee Veterinary Clinic for ster-

ilization, vaccinations, and micro-chipping.

• Farm Livin’, which places “Rodent Managers” (i.e. feral or otherwise indoor-unadoptable cats) on farms to control rodent populations. In exchange for their work, the cats re-ceive shelter and all the food they can catch (plus some they don’t). Over 700 cats have been placed to date and other organizations are copying the model.

• The Pawsitive Dog Prison Training Program, where dog trainers coach jailed offenders in rehabilitating dogs with behavioral issues.

• Purina Pet Adoption Progrm, spon-sored by Purina, allows people 55+ to adopt a pet for free.

• SpokAnimal Dog Park at High Bridge

provides 12-acres of play space for up to 100 dogs at a time.

Since the animals come first at Spo-kAnimal, management is grateful to leave insurance-related details in the capable hands of PayneWest’s Kelly Greenwood, who says, “Gail is one of the best insurance agents out there. He and his team are very responsive and helpful whenever we need them.” Find lots more information about SpokAnimal at http://www.spokani-mal.org/, 509-534-8133, or visit these Facebook pages: SpokAnimal, Pawsi-tive Dog Prison Program, and SpokAn-imal Dog Park at High Bridge. Better yet, stop by to see the animals in person at 710 N. Napa St.!

WE NEED - OFFICE SUPPLIES:• Black medium point pens• Colored copy paper• Regular Copy paper• Card Stock paper• Printer Cartridges - 12A, 36A, HP 74-75, HP 901• File folders• Legal pads• Bulletin board• Flash drives• Portable hard drive MISCELLANEOUS:• Wet floor signs• Nails, screws, etc.• Big black trash bags for the dog park• 100 slip leads - $48• Usable human shoes for recycling• Gift cards for gas for the Cruizin Kritters program• Food gift cards for Cruizin Kritters (to feed those people who drive 10-12 hours to deliver and return home)

FOR THE ANIMALS:• Purina dog and cat food• Treats• Peanut butter for stuffing kongs• Toys – kongs• Non-clumping cat litter• Powdered kitten and puppy formula: 28oz Esbilac Powder for nursing puppies $21.88 each 12 oz KMR powder for nursing kittens $11.88 each FOR OUR FOSTER CARE TEAMCLEANING SUPPLIES:• Bleach• Gallon Rubbermaid garbage cans• Bathroom cleanser• String mop heads• 32 gallon bags• Laundry detergent• Paper towels• Tall kitchen bags• Window cleaner• Hand soap scrub• Brushes• Toilet paper• Simple green• Swiffer wet cloths

Sit Up & Beg

Putting your business center stage

Pawsitive Alliance 2nd Annual Statewide ShelterOpen House Event - October 5th Take a field trip to your own community animal shelter on Saturday, October 5, 2013 during Pawsitive Alliance’s 2nd annual Statewide Shelter Open House Event! This event, organized by Pawsitive Alliance, highlights the work that Washington animal shelters are doing on behalf of animals in need. Pawsitive Alliance works with animal shelters across the state in order to promote and help them grow their adopter, donor, and volunteer bases – and to raise awareness of the good work that they do on a daily basis for animals in need!

12

Kim Imel, LVT, CPDT-KAThe other day while walking through the park, I noticed an interaction between two dogs and their owners. At one end of the park was a medium sized mix breed walking on leash with her owner. The dog appeared to be a bit worried about her surroundings but her owner was be-ing very careful to keep her away from the hub-bub of the rest of the park while they were obviously practicing some training behaviors. And then, from the opposite side of the park I heard “Buster! COME! Buster! BUSTER! COME HERE!” and my gaze fell upon a young boister-ous Labrador Retriever racing across the park, off leash, making a bee line to the worried mix breed, his owner chasing after calling him to come to no avail and calling to the other owner “Don’t worry, he is friendly!” As the Lab approached, having no ability to escape, the worried mix breed began barking ferociously while her owner attempted to stop the Lab. When the Lab’s owner arrived she gathered her dog’s collar and said, in re-sponse to a request to have her put him on leash, “Oh, he would not have hurt her.” The other owner informed her that her dog was frightened and there was, in fact, a leash law. “Yeah, but my dog loves everybody!”

This is a scenario that is played out all

But My dog Loves eVerYBodY!too often all over this country. Exuber-ant dogs like Buster and DINOS like the little mixed breed colliding and creating greater problems. “Wait? What did you just say?” “DINOS?” you ask? Yes, the little mix was a DINOS, a Dog In Need Of Space.

Dogs are DINOS for a variety of reasons including:• Service or working dogs• Dogs that are leash reactive• Dogs that are injured or recovering

from surgery• Dogs with illness or physical ailments

that are painful• Dogs in training• Older or aging dogs• Fearful of active dogs• Fearful of unfamiliar people or unfa-

miliar surroundings• Dogs who do not like other animals

And all of these dogs, given space can do quite well out and about. Helping DINOS be successful is the responsibil-ity of all people and dogs out in public, not just their owners.

For owners of DINOS things that can help them feel better and be able to be out include:• Avoiding high traffic areas• Avoid dog parks or areas where off

lead dogs are allowed, especially if there are highly active dogs

• Be your dogs advocate and, gently, let people know that he does not want to say hi

• Pay attention to the environment and be willing to leave if things change that would make your dog uncom-fortable

For owners of dogs ‘who love everyone’, things you can do to help include:• Respect that not all dogs or people

appreciate dogs rushing up to them, even if they are friendly

• Obey all leash laws• Never allow your dog to rush up to

another dog• Ask permission before approaching

another dog to say hi and respect the answer that is given

• Have a solid reliable recall before ever allowing your dog off leash

• When off leash, always be ready with his leash to gather him back up if circumstances change

• Respect everyone’s space

Following these few simple steps can create a safe and enjoyable environment for all people and dogs. For more information about DINOS, and a wealth of resources, visit www.dogsinneedofspace.com.

Does your dog appreciate the finer things in life? If so, maybe your canine com-panion would enjoy some new “digs” in the form of this beautiful custom dog home donated to us by Ann Dubay, Rod & Karen Payne, and Scott & Karen Leinen. This one of a kind dog home, with pillared porch and ce-dar shake roof is on display in our lobby and up for raf-fle! It will eventually be at our booth at the 2013 Home Show on October 11-13 at the

Interstate Fairgrounds. Tickets are $5 apiece, 3 for $10 or 7 for $20 and the winner will be announced the day after the show. All proceeds for this event will go towards Spo-kAnimal. Thank you again Ann, Rod & Karen, and Scott & Karen for this generous donation!

win This Custom dog HomeA debt repaidWe received a grant from the ASPCA to pay for our Cruizin’ Critters transport program. We have partners that accept cats from us, as we are handling more than we can place; so we are doing our part

by accepting and giving dogs a second chance from other shelters and rescues in need. I was on my way back from Yakima, with 22 dogs on board the Transit. I stopped for gas in Richland. A man who was delivering gas came over and asked me what I was doing with all the dogs in the van. I explained it to him and he asked me if I would accept a do-nation. Michael Garbutt gave me a check in memory of his friend who was also a trucker. Mike had borrowed some money but his friend passed before he could repay the loan. The donation was made in memory of his friend, and helped sterilize several of the pets we were transporting that day.

13

by Joanna Moritz, BA, CPDT-KA, CNWI. Fur and Feather Works, LLCReprinted from “Barks from the Guild” quarterly publication of The Pet Profes-sional Guild Trying to introduce another dog, cat, rabbit, or bird to your resident ani-mals? Avoid disaster and lots of stress down the road by following these sim-ple rules. Go slow - if you feel like you’re going too slowly, then slow down. The goal is that by the time the animals meet each other, they are so bored of one an-other that they don’t care to interact. You want their interaction to be, “Oh, hey, it’s you. I’ve seen you around for a while. Have a good day.” Your mantra should be, “are we bored enough yet?” Safety first. Remember that your little lap dog is still a predator at heart. No matter how sweet and trustworthy your dog or cat may seem, you can’t fight nature, and a kill happens in a split second. Use closed doors, baby gates, leashes, ex-pens, crates, and cages to control everyone’s interactions, un-til you are absolutely, completely sure that no one is showing a little too much “interest” in anyone else. See number 1 above. Keep everyone on leash or be-

4 Tips for Making new Pet Introductionshind a gate so that they can’t learn to chase. Dogs only chase cats because it’s so much fun. Cats chase dogs because… wel l , it’s fun. Parrots nip dogs and cats because… it’s fun. The thing is, they don’t know how much fun it is to antagonize their house mates until they try it, and find out. The bottom line is, if you can keep your pets from learning how much fun it is to terrorize each other until they’re REALLY bored with each other, you’re in the home stretch. Don’t be afraid to use a leash in the house. Teach your dog a “gentle” cue. This shouldn’t be something that you shout at your dog after the fact, but rather a reminder to move slowly and calmly, and turn their head away if one of the animals comes up to them. Start with your dog on leash in your home, with the other pet in a cage, crate, or behind a gate. Say “gentle” – calmly – and lure

Thank You, Pet Sponsors!The following animal lovers sponsored pets in our adoption center.Bernice Furukawa x 13Debbie Walker x 4Sean Maione x 1Shirley Alexander x 16Boyce Clark x 8Ruby McNeill x 2Kevin Isherwood x 1Michelle Widner x 1Pam Whitcomb x 3Ruth Dewalt x 2Sandra Long x 1Cindy & Dan Struck x 4 and 2 kennel sponsors!!!Diane Hutchens x 1Ken Norikane x 1Robert & Micaela Sutphin x 2Colette Farley x 1Nancy & Roger Moore x 1James & Joan Katayama x 1

Shannon O’Brien x 1Karen Porter x 1Susan Oglebay x 1Camille VanHorne x 5Ken Adams x 1Truella Stone x 4Kelly Jenkins x 2Kathy Coleman x 1Linda DeGrande x 1Sherrie Martin x 1Mikaela & Scott Maclean x 1Peter & Joann Klager x 1Donald & Rosemarie Rader x 1Darlene Hill x 1Holly Renga x 4Duane Berger x 1Mary Fuget x 4Shannon Griffith x 2Alicia Martinez x 1

Shari Hemmerling x 1Mary Logan x 2Claudia Kuttner x 2Grace Casper x 1Kimberly Strait x 4Ellen Tanaka x 4Thomas & Georgia Davis x 1

your dog’s head away from the other animal with a treat. Reward and praise (calmly) when they’ve moved away. Repeat and practice until when you say “gentle,” your dog moves away from the other animal and looks up at you hopefully. Your bunny comes up to sniff your dog? Excellent time to use “gentle.” Cat sticks her bottom in your dog’s face? “Gentle.” Not only are you helping your dog make a calm, happy emotional association with the other animal, but you’re teaching them how to move away calmly if the other ani-mal is in their space.

Thank You Pet Sponsors!We Love You.

14

Dear Identity, Yes, you can – and maybe should – change your new pet’s name. Unless your new cat or dog was relinquished directly by an owner who gave infor-mation about the animal, no one really knows the names of strays who come into animal shelters. Staff give them names so they don’t have to go by an impersonal book-in number. Staff might have donned your new pet “Lucky” but the animal has no association, good or bad, with that moniker. If the animal came in with a name, we can’t know if your pet has a good or bad association with the name their previous owner gave them. Maybe the name was only hollered when the animal was in trou-ble. In which case, changing it would

Dear Stanley,

I recently adopted a shelter

animal, and I’m wondering if

I can or should change her

name? I really don’t like the

name she came with. What

are the pros and cons and

how should I go about it?

Signed,Identity Crisis

Baffled By Behavior?

be a very good thing. It’s all about associations and expec-tation of good things to follow. If you call “Lucky!” in your happy voice and your dog’s eyes brighten, their ears perk and their tail wags, you have a positive as-sociation. If you call, “Lucky!” and she doesn’t seem to even notice or her ears drop and she looks away, or worse, she avoids you, her name predicts nothing or unpleasant consequences. Regard-less, you can easily change your pet’s name to something that makes you and your pet happy! Pair the word with all the things that you know your new pet loves. “Lucky!” predicts a yummy treat, a walk, dinner, an ear scratch or the ap-pearance of a favorite toy. In no time,

you will call “Lucky!” and your new pet will happily appear to see what wonderful thing you have to offer. Remember, you should not pair your pet’s name (or the word “come”) with unpleasant consequences! Like Pavlov and his bell, we are conditioning happy expectation of good things to come. And a dog who comes running happily whenever he hears his name!

Hope that helps!

Stanley

Is your forever friend waiting for you at Spokanimal?Pay us a visit at 710 N. Napa to find out,

or go to these websites to check out available adoptees: www.spokanimal.org and www.petfinder.com

15

In Loving Memory and Honoring Tributes

✁A Special Memorial or Tribute Gift

Donor’s Full Name: ______________________________

Street Address: _________________________________

City: ___________________State: _____ Zip: _________

Daytime Phone: (_________) ______________________

Amount of Gift $ ________________________________

In Honor of: ____________________________________

In Memory of : __________________________________

Special: _______________________________________

Pet or Person: __________________________________

Send Acknowledgement to: ________________________

Comments: ____________________________________

Cut out this form and send to: SpokAnimal C.A.r.e. at 710 N. Napa • Spokane, WA 99202

of Roxy, may she dance in heaven - Missed by Diane Baker & the Ruff Revue

of Ocean and Blossom- Missed by Nancy Worsham & John Tindley

of Atticus, loved and missed by Ralph & Sandi Gallindo- all of us at Diamonds in the Ruff

of “Ivy,” 3/27/2003-6/23/2013- Jerry and Jennifer King

of Papa (person, not pet)- Laurie Austin

of Lily and Bailey- the English Department at Gonzaga University

of “Hailey,” best friend and family member- Jeanette Murphy

of Ed Inge- Faye Marie Inge

of “Sissy”- Suzanne Beecher

of all the wonderful cats in my life…Merlin, Reuben, Cali, Little White Kitty, Boojum, Dharma, Kaya and Dhina, and for the 70 cats lost due to distemper—may the staff find comfort in knowing they did their best to care for these stray kitties

of “Rocky” & “Rusty”- Cynthia and Shaun Clark

of Chris Saladen- Chris and Kris Mikkelson

of Vern Hinkle & Connie Lovett- Charles Lovett

of Dolores Kegley- Linda Neihart

of Judy Jones- Jon & Charlena Grimes

of Bette Topp- Pat Christensen

of “Kat”- Peter & Zoe Bunin

of Denise Turner- Joan Gilbertson- Harold Meyers- Bill Harrison- James Turner

of Chris Saladen- Donald & Marlene Peters

of ‘Harry’- J. Murphy

of Ben Sonnenberg- Elizabeth Godlewski

In Honor & Tributeof Bab’s- Sheryll Shepard

of Marc & Debbie Connally, the greatest neighbors I’ve ever known- Ellen Sherriffs Hall

of Hope Henning, happy 10th birthday!!- Tracy Adams

of Judy Killin- Alan Kiefer

of Teigen Brill - Happy Birthday!!- Susan Carlsteen

of all our beloved animals, past and present, never forgotten- Susan Kunin

of Leanne Dixon, Happy Birthday!!- Darren Dixon

of Greg Decker- Pool World

of Kathleen Hull & Janet Walker- Diane Colliander- Ann & Jon Sinclair- Randy Sitton & Diane Grecco

of the wedding of Nicole Sheets & Charlie Byers- Mike, Molly, and Jennings- Megan Hershey- Nancy Locke

of the wedding of Janet Walker & Kathy Hull- Susan Beller- Roger & Sunny Hanson

of the wedding of Marnie Schroer and Taylor Harrison- Carol and Dana Byrnes

SpokAnimal C.A.r.e.710 N. NapaSpokane, WA 99202(509) 534-8133

Non-ProfitU.S. Postage

PAIdSpokane, WAPermit 1012

When you finish this newsletter pass it along to a friend !

Mailed quarterly to over 13,000 animal lovers.Editor: Carol A. Byrnes

Executive Director: Gail B. Mackie

Mr/Mrs/Ms _________________________________

Phone ____________________________________

Address __________________________________

City___________________State _______ Zip _____

Email _____________________________________

I’d like to volunteer! Please call me!

Please use the following supporter/donation of $__________________________ in support of SpokAnimal C.A.R.E. in its work with animals and public education.

Yes, I’m a SpokAnimal C.A.R.E. supporter!

Pet Sponsor . . $25

Cat Dog Either

Support/donation FormSpokAnimal C.A.r.eA non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention of cruelty to animals.

(If different from label)

Please send me _____ complimentary copies of Companion Animal News

Enclosed is $ _____ to helpwith the printing and postage costs.

Please make changes belowIs your name correct on our mailing list?Is your mailing address and zip code correct ? (Due to the use of bulk rate for mailings, Companion Animal News cannot be forwarded.)Are you receiving duplicate copies of Companion Animal News?Would you like to receive more than one issue of Companion Animal News? (Companion Animal News makes wonderful reading for office clients or school children.)If so contact Angela Scheres, 534-8133, ext. 210.

We Need To Know !

Looking to adopta cat or dog?Pick up a mouse!

Visit us on the web!www.spokanimal.org

and www.petfinder.com

Upcoming events

Issues of SpokAnimal’s Companion Animal News are now available

for download online at www.spokanimal.org!

For more info, call Christy Kruse at (509) 534-8133, ext. 216 or

email: volunteers@spokanimal.org

TUne In! SpokAnimal is featured on:KREM Ch 2 - Tuesday noon news KXLY Ch 4 - Monday on Good Morning NWKHQ Ch 6 - Live streaming at noon Wednesdays

Volunteer & Foster Orientations - Meetings are held twice per month on the 2nd Saturday at 10:30am and the 4th Thursday at 6:00pm at SpokAnimal, 710 N. Napa.

Pawsitive Alliance 2nd Annual Statewide Shelter Open House October 5th - see page 11 of this newsletter for details.

Bark For Life - October 5th - see page 7 of this newsletter for details.