Share the Love with Your Special Someone this Valentine's Day! |
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Love is in the air and Kitsap Humane Society has the perfect way to celebrate! Join us for our My Furry Valentine fundraiser presented by Dee Fitzgerald Insurance Agency from February 1-14!
Send a Valentine's Day e-card to the animal-lover in your life while supporting animals in need. Your Valentine will instantly receive an e-card with your personalized message, and your donation will help cover the cost of caring for the homeless pets here at the shelter.
Falling head over heels? Donate $150 or more and receive a custom piece of art painted by one of our shelter pets. Keep it for yourself or have us mail it to your special someone!
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Join us for our Ready for Love Adoption Event |
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Looking for some-bunny to love? Find your new fur-ever soulmate just in time for Valentine’s Day at our Ready for Love Adoption Event presented by Eagle Pipe Heating & Air!
On Saturday, February 12, and Sunday, February 13, Kitsap Humane Society will be featuring $14 adoption fees for our Top 14 pets! Our Top 14 will be a selection of both cats and dogs who have yet to find forever homes, who have become staff and volunteer favorites during their time with us.
Throughout the week leading up to the adoption event, we will be featuring our Top 14 pets on our social media pages, so keep an eye out and fall in love with a new best friend! New pets will be added to the list as others get adopted.
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Kittens, Puppies, Chinchillas... Oh my! |
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Just a few weeks ago we welcomed back a species that we haven’t cared for in over a year… Chinchillas!
Eevee, Mew, and Pikachu came to us from our transfer partner Whatcom Humane Society in Bellingham. Whatcom Humane provides care to a wide variety of animals and were no stranger to caring for these lovely creatures. "The chinchillas came to us as an owner surrendered which included a male and pregnant female bonded pair as well as a juvenile female from a previous litter,” said our partner at Whatcom Humane. “In September, the female gave birth to Mew and her male littermate." In order to prevent further breeding, we were happy to accept Eevee, Mew, and Pikachu while Seattle Humane Society took on the two male Chinchillas.
In their time here at KHS, it has been a pleasure to care for these chinchillas. From watching their adorably small hands grab onto their favorite treats, to seeing them enjoy a dust bath, these three have been wonderful guests.
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“Our transfer program allows us to care for pets in need from other communities while also giving them a shot at finding a forever family within our loving community,” said Micah Friend, KHS Transfer Coordinator. “Whether that is a cat, a dog, or a little chinchilla; our Rescue Me Transfer Program aims to connect amazing furry family members with our community of adopters while allowing us to support shelters and animals across the state and county.”
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KHS to Welcome New Volunteers in 2022 |
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Many of you have asked - and we are excited to share that we will soon be welcoming new volunteers onto our shelter campus! We have a variety of needs and positions including foster support, data entry, dog walking, cat socializing, laundry and dishes, adoptions support, and more!
Director of Animal Welfare Sarah Moody-Cook shared, “Volunteers are truly essential to what we do each day to help pets and our community! One of the many wonderful things about volunteers is the unique skills that they each bring to our team, and we are SO excited to launch this focused volunteer recruitment campaign as a way to bring in new volunteers by connecting them directly with roles that match their strengths and interests. This is a different method for recruiting volunteers than we’ve used in the past, and our goal is to get the right people in the right roles quickly in order to allow for the expansion and improvement of multiple key shelter programs this year. We’re lucky to have about 200 amazing current volunteers right now, and I can’t wait to welcome even more talented, dedicated people to our team!”
Please keep an eye on our website and social media for more information!
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February is Spay and Neuter Awareness Month! |
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February is Spay/Neuter Awareness Month! At KHS, we’re advocates for the spaying and neutering of pets as a means to save lives. Spaying and neutering stray and household animals not only improves their health, but it also helps reduce unwanted behaviors and decreases pet overpopulation.
Every year, 1.5 million homeless pets are euthanized in shelters. At KHS, we do not euthanize pets for lack of space or for length of stay. We work hard to partner with high-volume and overcrowded shelters around the country as part of our Rescue Me transfer program, which brings thousands of at-risk pets to our shelter annually. By spaying and neutering your pet, you help give shelter pets an increased chance at finding a home and help decrease the number of pets entering shelters each year.
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In addition to spaying and neutering your pets, you can help support our spay/neuter efforts with the purchase of a “SPAY~NEUTER~ADOPT” Washington State license plate, available for purchase at all Washington State vehicle licensing offices.
Beginning in 2007, The Washington Federation of Animal Care and Control Agencies began to receive revenue from the sales of “We Love Our Pets” specialty license plates. In an effort to be proactive regarding the pet overpopulation problem in our state, these funds were earmarked through an agreement with the State of Washington for spay/neuter surgeries. As of the end of 2018, over $612,000 in grant funds have been awarded by The Federation, enabling the completion of more than 17,000 spay/neuter surgeries in Washington state!
Then, in early 2019, the plates were redesigned to say, “Spay, Neuter, Adopt” (which all KHS vehicles proudly display). The Federation continues to make quarterly grants of up to $5,000 to member organizations for the spay or neuter of dogs, cats, and rabbits.
The Federation is made up of members from all corners of Washington, working together to provide a collective voice for animal welfare, and their Board of Directors is composed of Executive Directors, Managers, and Supervisors of humane societies, animal control agencies, and other non-profit animal welfare agencies.
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Adorable Adoptable
Meet Lulu!
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Adopt Lulu! Lulu is an adorable all-white pittie mix who is the happiest girl around. She loves everyone she meets and will always greet you with a wagging tail and wiggly butt! Lulu loves carrying around her favorite tennis ball and enjoys going for walks and sniffing all the smells along the way. Lulu is a special girl as she is deaf! She is looking for an adopter who's excited to work with a deaf dog and teach her lots of tricks using hand signals. If Lulu sounds like the perfect pup for you, learn more about her on our website! |
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Volunteer Spotlight
Meet Trish Berney!
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Trish has been fostering kittens with KHS since 2013! When asked how she first got started, Trish says, “I got started in 2013 when my friend, who was the Foster Coordinator at the time, said KHS was needing foster parents. I brought home our first group and just fell in love with nurturing these little ones.”
Since taking home her first litter of kittens in 2013, Trish has called herself “foster mom” to over 50 kittens. But it’s not just Trish who cares for these tiny felines, it’s a collaborative effort! Trish says, “our boys also got involved by reading to the kittens and helping socialize. The kids are all adults now, but the kittens still need mothering.”
Trish is known for her socialization skills – she’s a tiny lion tamer! Whenever we get an under-socialized or hissy kitten in, Trish is one of the first people we think of. She’s so patient and gentle with under-socialized kittens and gives them the time needed to decompress and feel comfortable with her. This sometimes slow, but patient, approach makes all the difference with these kittens. Previously hissy or shy kittens return from Trish’s house as well-socialized little purring machines!
Trish is so great because she is willing to do whatever is needed for the kittens in her care. Recently, Trish took in a singlet kitten named Small Fry. Quickly after Trish took home Small Fry, we discovered she needed ongoing medical care, involving surgery, daily care, and monitoring. Part of Small Fry's treatment plan involved administering subcutaneous fluids. Trish jumped right in, learning how to administer fluids to ensure Small Fry had the care she needed!
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Small Fry went on to recover and find her forever home, thanks to Trish’s hard work!
“Fostering brings a unique joy in knowing that you are part of a bigger story in these cats' (and their future families) lives,” said Trish.
Trish is such a joy to work with, we are so fortunate to have her on the KHS foster team! We always get excited when she offers to foster kittens since we know we’ll get to work with her again.
Thank you so much for all your lifesaving work, Trish!
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Staff Spotlight
Meet Tala Chavis!
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Recently celebrating her one-year anniversary at KHS last November, Tala serves KHS and our community as a Life Saving Assistant (LSA)! She describes her role as a “jack of all trades!” As an LSA, she and her fellow LSAs are cross-trained and ready to help out wherever needed, whether it’s supporting foster, behavior and training, veterinary services, transfers, or more.
Her favorite part of the job? “I love being able to directly see how much of a positive impact we have on the health and quality of life of any and all animals that pass through our doors,” she said. “I enjoy being able to connect people and families with their forever fur-babies. Getting update photos and emails from adopters to let us know how well their new pet is doing is the best!”
Tala’s manager shared, “Tala is always going above and beyond to provide excellent customer service. She truly wants to make sure each adopter has a wonderful experience at our shelter and leaves with a new pet that will be a perfect match for their family. She is a wonderful teammate and is always taking initiative on new projects to make our shelter run even better!”
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Not just an animal-lover at work, Tala and her husband have three cats, including two sisters whom she’s had since they could fit in the palm of her hand and Deimos, a kitten treated at KHS for ringworm, whom she adopted around 10 days after she started working at KHS!
Tala is not only an excellent team member, but she takes amazing photos of our shelter pets too! Thank you for everything you do to support KHS, Tala!
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Community Spotlight
Meet Our Furry Valentine Partners!
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We're head over heels for our animal-loving friends at Dee Fitzgerald Insurance Agency located in Port Orchard! State Farm Agent Dee Fitzgerald has been a supporter of Kitsap Humane Society for over 20 years and continues to support our lifesaving efforts by sponsoring our fundraising events. We are thrilled to have them as our Presenting Sponsor for our cutest event of the year, My Furry Valentine.
Dee Fitzgerald Insurance Agency is dedicated to helping people manage the risks of everyday life, recover from the unexpected, and realize their dreams.
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Puppuccino Pal Sponsor Spotlight
Meet Hot Java Cafe!
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This month we would like to thank Hot Java Cafe for being our Puppuccino Pals Sponsor! Located just off of Kitsap Way in Bremerton, this quaint coffee shop offers a comfortable dine-in experience or a convenient drive-thru option. Hot Java has been in business since 1995 and is proud to say that they were the first cafe to serve Dillanos coffee! Hot Java offers a selection of delicious drinks and hand-made treats for people and pups alike.
Hot Java aims to accommodate as many people as possible by offering gluten-free options to their customers. In addition, they offer grain-free, corn-free, gluten-free, vegan, and non-GMO dog treats from Naturally 4 Paws as an alternative to Puppuccinos to keep dog-lovers coming back for more!
“We chose to become a Puppuccino Pal Sponsor because we just love dogs,” said DeeDee Easler, Hot Java Cafe owner.
“I think every animal should have a home and I am so glad that KHS helps them find theirs! I love the humane society and that you help the people in our community who might not be able to afford vet care. We need more of that.”
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Compass & Clock Cover Contest |
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Many Thanks to Our Grand Shelter Sponsor: |
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Kitsap Humane Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization; Tax ID: 91-0728353 |
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