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It may still be cold outside, but to our fertile animal friends, SPRING is definitely in the air. It's time once again to talk about the "O" word:
OVERPOPULATION.
When you adopt from ACAC's Adoption Center, your new pet will be spayed or neutered before going home. Yet pet stores, breeders and many individuals still do not routinely spay or neuter a pet before an adoption.The number of unwanted animals filling up shelters and rescues across this country is the most obvious reason to take your animal's reproductive ability out of the realm of chance. Besides the obvious one, consider these other excellent reasons to spay and neuter your pets. A routine procedure will a) R
educe behavioral issues such as straying from home, aggression, and territorial marking (urinating), b)
Eliminate certain cancers of the reproductive organs; testicular, prostate, ovarian, and mammary, c)
Eliminate pyometra disease (uterine infection) and d) Make your cat or dog a calmer, happier companion.
In 2017, ACAC & AC took in 156 unaltered dogs, accounting for nearly 30% of the total number of dog intake that year. Roughly 85% of these dogs came to the shelter as strays. A "fixed" animal generally stays closer to home, reducing the likelihood that he or she will end up at the shelter.
If you cannot afford to have your pet spayed or neutered, and are a resident of Amador County, click
here
to see the amazing programs that A-PAL has to offer.
If you'd like to know more about the benefits of spaying or neutering your pet, check out our links this month.
DON'T LEAVE IT TO LUCK. Spay/neuter it!
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JANUARY
FEBRUARY
ADOPT 'THE ONE'
MARCH
SPAY and NEUTER AWARENESS
APRIL
TRAP/NEUTER/RELEASE
MAY
Find your MISSING PET
WHISKERS & WINE
Friday the 18th at
Jackson Rancheria
JUNE
JULY
ADOPT a SENIOR PET
AUGUST
$9 for 9 LIVES for 9 DAYS
SEPTEMBER
ADOPT your MVP
PAWS & CLAWS (TCWC)
Friday, the 14th
American Legion Hall
Saturday the 29th at
Detert Park, Jackson
OCTOBER
ORANGE & BLACK
All Treats, no Tricks
NOVEMBER
GIVING THANKS
Animals and their people
DECEMBER
Bring JOY to your WORLD
SANTA PAWS
Saturday the 8th
at the Feed Barn
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Need more convincing? See these sites.
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TCWC: The Union Pacific Eagle
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On February 14th, one of TCWC's bird experts, Pat Benik, received an unusual call from California Fish and Wildlife.Warden Brad Mello. They had been alerted that a Golden Eagle was caught in the front grill of a Union Pacific train which had left Nebraska on February 11, arriving in Stockton three days later. Warden Mello and Warden Justin Cisneros responded to the original call. There they found a live, full-grown eagle, its wings pinned and its body trapped in the limited space behind the enormous grill mounted on the front of the locomotive engine.
The grill on a Union Pacific locomotive is immense and heavy, weighing thousands of pounds. It is held on by eight huge bolts. In order to remove the grill, it must be held up by a crane so that the bolts can be pulled out. The process is touchy and dangerous. For over an hour, Union Pacific employees worked carefully to free the eagle. Once it was freed, the bird was lowered to the ground and covered with a blanket to keep it calm. Employees gathered branches and placed them in the large crate brought by the wardens, and the eagle was transported to Tri County Wildlife Care.
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Golden Eagles are comparable in size to the Bald Eagle, though slightly smaller. The Golden Eagle stands just over 3 feet tall and has a wingspan of 6 to 8 feet. We concluded "our" bird was a male, because it was small. Males weigh an average of 9 pounds, while females will weigh as much as 14 pounds. This weight difference is typical of most raptor species. The Golden's diet consists of rabbits, marmots and ground squirrels, as well as
carrion, reptiles, other birds and fish. They have even been known to attack adult deer.
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Removing a trapped and stressed-out Golden Eagle from behind a 2 ton locomotive grill is nothing less than an act of bravery An eagle is incredibly strong. The size of its claws and talons are similar to that of a human hand, but that is where the similarity ends. An adult male human has an average grip strength of 110 pounds per square inch. The Golden Eagle's grip is an estimated 400 psi. The grip of an eagle must be intensely strong so that the bird can catch and kill its prey efficiently. Grip response is activated automatically as the pad touches prey, like a spring trap being triggered. Its release is by choice. So it is important to "catch up" a bird of prey by the legs,
above the claws. If we miss, claws can sink deep into skin and the only way to get loose is to release the bird. This is not a great option, for obvious reasons.
Thanks to the humane handling given by all concerned, this capture went well. Brad transported the bird to Pat, who was able to get it hydrated and examined for injuries. Incredibly, there were scrapes but no other injuries. After a few days in an outdoor medium-sized cage, Pat felt he was ready to go to the large cage. She enlisted the help of Denise Montano, a member of our Education and Raptor teams, to get him quickly and safely caught up and moved.
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They began feeding the eagle its favorite foods--squirrels and rodents--and he responded immediately by flying over to eat. We were astounded that the bird had survived his ordeal. He must have been eating carrion on the track when the train came along and scooped him up, somehow catching him between the "plow" and the front of the locomotive.
It is important that wildlife rehabilitators listen to their patients, and we did. After a few weeks, ours was flying and restless, so we set a date with California Fish and Wildlife to find the best place for his release. Choosing that place is part of our permitted agreement with the agency. The ideal release location must be very much like the bird's original home territory, where it can find food, water and shelter. We had no idea where the best location for this magnificent bird might be.
The first location we inspected turned out to be less than perfect. It was too close to a large body of water and a barbed wire fence. We drove to a second spot that looked ideal; ample open space for hunting with many large trees. Releasing a bird almost never goes exactly as planned, so Pat was ready with gloves and a net.
As soon as his crate was uncovered, our gorgeous Golden Eagle bolted for freedom. He did not fly off at first, instead making a shallow flight up the hill where he stood for several minutes, taking in his new surroundings. We were relieved when, after a few more minutes, he flew up into a tree. Birds are territorial, and our newly released eagle was joined almost immediately by two ravens who followed him, voicing their protest at his intrusion into their space. Once he'd had enough of them, he lunged in their direction to let them know he was Top Predator, thus establishing his place in this new territory.
As we watched the young eagle circling above us, showing us his flight was strong, we believed he would now have a proper second chance to thrive in the wild. We are grateful to all those who dedicated their hard work and expertise to make the rescue and release of this spectacular raptor a success.
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Tri County Wildlife Care
is a non-profit organization founded in 1994 and dedicated to the rescue and release of local wildlife. We work with the public to live in balance with nature and envision a world where people and wildlife thrive together. If you would like more information, please call
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COCO and RON: to the rescue!
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When a Rescue group is willing to take one of our dogs--in this case, Coco, a beautiful Rottweiler--we jump at the chance. What to do, though, when that Rescue is in Bakersfield? Why, call upon "our" pilot--in this case, Ron Candiloro, a skilled volunteer--to fly the beast! We are so fortunate and so grateful to have Ron in our ranks, willing to go that extra mile. Thank you, Ron and thank you, Barbara, our rescue coordinator, for making it possible. Bon Voyage and Happy Landings to all.
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DO YOU HAVE A GREAT ADOPTION STORY FROM OUR SHELTER?
We'd love to hear from you. Send your story, with photos if you have them, to Lisa Peterson.
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| These are the nice folks who own Black's Station Restuarant and Inn (28355 State Highway 88, Pioneer). In January, they decided to donate one day's proceeds from their bar to ACAC & AC. That gesture resulted in $440 cash, which was applied to the Shelter's Amazon wish list, used to supplement the budget for certain supplies (leashes, toys, etc.) available from Amazon. Thank you so much for your thoughtful and generous gift to the animals at the Adoption Center. It is appreciated! |
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Thinking of becoming a VOLUNTEER?
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We are always in need of volunteer help
at Amador County Animal Control & Adoption Center. I
f you think you'd like to join our ranks, drop in to the shelter at 12340 Airport Road in Martell and request a volunteer application. You can review
the
APPLICATION for VOLUNTEER WORKER
form used by the county
.
here
. You will need to fill out a pink copy, available at the shelter.
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PHASE 2 of the original building plan for ACAC & AC's new facility called for a barn. That project has stayed on the shelf since the shelter was completed (in 2005), until a recent endowment from the estate of a local and generous animal benefactor got things moving again. Look for an article in an upcoming Newsletter on the past, present, and future of this project, plus details on how you can help get our barn built.
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