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MISTY EYES ANIMAL CENTER NEWS
Uniting Pets With People
February 2025
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Dear Friends and Supporters,
Wow—what a purr-fect day! The Grand Opening of Kitty City was a huge success, and we couldn’t have done it without you!
A heartfelt thank you to our incredible Room Sponsors, Suite Sponsors, donors, supporters, community members, and our volunteers who came out to celebrate this milestone with us. Your support made this dream a reality, and because of you, hundreds more cats will find safety, love, and forever homes. In fact, it has been great to see our adult cats finding their forever families! The last 2 weekends we adopted more adult cats than kittens!
We are so grateful for this amazing community—thank you for being part of the Misty Eyes family!
With appreciation,
Board of Directors
Misty Eyes Animal Center
Cherie L. Fox, Jennifer McCarty, Sheryl Sackett-Francik,
Angie Coggan, Angela Buhr, Scott Butrum, Renee Harlor (Emeritus)
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Kitty City
Our Open House was an amazing success! We have had cats, kittens and visitors in Kitty City for the past several weekends, and it is going really well. The cats are happy, visitors are impressed with the facility, and we are learning what we still need to tweak to continue to improve our processes.
We have an awesome group of volunteers who take care of the resident cats in Kitty City daily. This has resulted in the socialization of some formerly shy, timid kitties, and we couldn't be more pleased. Thank you to our Kitty City Krew!
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By The Numbers - January 2025 | |
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Adoptions
We're happy that these adoptable pets found loving homes!
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Please Foster!
We are desperately in need of more dog and cat foster families. If you, or someone you know, might be willing to join our Foster Team, please ask them to submit a Foster Application online. The form can be found on our website under the Help Us menu, or use the link below. For more information about our Foster Program, please email Ida@MistyEyes.org.
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Featured Foster
Lauren
Lauren began fostering for Misty Eyes in the summer of 2024, and she has been a wonderful addition to the Misty Eyes family. She fosters just about any type or cat or dog, from a senior dog with health issues, to a mama cat and her litter of adorable kittens. In addition, Lauren volunteers to help out with various tasks and projects throughout the year.
Lauren began her own business last year and is now a Karen Proctor Academy Certified Training Professional. She has worked with animals for about 15 years – from boarding, grooming and daycare to training. She has always wanted to surround herself with animals, and that dream has come true.
Lauren loves hearing the success stories of her foster pets after they're adopted, and truly enjoys getting to learn from them while giving them a safe haven until they find their forever homes. For her, fostering is, in a word, fulfilling!
In her "free" time, Lauren enjoys hiking with her two Golden Retrievers, Ryder and Leo, conducting training classes and helping dogs from various rescues so they can find their forever homes.
Thank you, Lauren, for being a part of the Misty Eyes family and for being the bridge from no home to forever home.
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This is Lauren with her heart dog, Emmie, who, sadly, passed away last October. She leaves a wonderful legacy for all those who will come after her. | |
Junior Volunteers - Misty Eyes Kids Club | |
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The Grade 3-6 Junior Volunteers (Misty Eyes Kids Club) meet on the third Wednesday of the month from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm. In February they were able to read to the Cats in Kitty City and do small chores.
The March meeting will be teaching the Junior Volunteers the importance of what they did in February, and how this
helps the cats to be adopted.
Misty Eyes will be selling Easter Baskets for Easter, and the Junior Volunteers will be helping to fill plastic eggs for the Easter Baskets and a new event this year – ”You Have Been Egged." We will be delivering and hiding eggs in the yards of families who put in an order for this. This will be done the evening before Easter so they are there for the morning egg hunt. These events will help raise money for animal medical care.
If your child is interested in being a part of Misty Eyes Kids Club (Grades 3-6), or Misty Eyes Junior Volunteers (Grades 7-12), please complete an information sheet for each student using the link below. Once we've received your completed information sheet, you will receive emails with links to sign up for upcoming meetings. If you have questions or need assistance with the information sheet, please email JV@MistyEyes.org.
Kathy Taraschke
Youth Outreach Coordinator
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Gus
This very handsome boy is thought to be an English Spaniel mix, around 2 1/2 years old. His is one of those stories we fear – he was dumped on the property of Misty Eyes by an unknown owner. Gus was very traumatized by his experience, and it has taken him a little time to recover. Like many Spaniel-type dogs, he has had ear infection issues, but is on the mend. He is sweet and affectionate once he gets acquainted and enjoys walks, although he tends to pull and bark at other dogs, people and other distractions. He would do best with a family familiar with Spaniel personalities. If you'd like to meet Gus, please submit an adoption application by clicking the button below.
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Peekaboo
Peekaboo lives up to her name. She is a very pretty "Tabico" (calico and tabby). Although she is friendly and seems to like people, she spends a good deal of her time in hiding.
She is living with other cats, as well as dogs, but doesn't really interact with them. There's no aggression toward the other pets, but she isn't interested in becoming buddies, either. It may be that she would be happiest in a quiet home as an only pet. She has great litter box manners and enjoys playing with wand toys occasionally. If you'd like to meet Peekaboo, please submit an adoption application online by clicking the button below.
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Thank You, Troop 5088!
Girl Scout Daisy Troop #5088 (Plainfield) is working on a badge that is about caring for one another and all living things. Kudos to troop leaders Abby Hostetter and Michelle Meador. Several parents told us stories of adopting from Misty Eyes!
The girls helped socialize puppies in the puppy training class and loved on Sully, Leo and Titus in Kitty City. Thank you, too, for donating $19, dog food, treats, toys and cat food!
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Last Sunday's Valentine Mini Photo Session event has been postponed to Sunday, February 23rd. | |
THANK YOU TO OUR LOYAL SUPPORTERS! | |
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Training Tails
Liz Kinkelaar
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“He does it at home! Why won’t my dog listen and behave in public?”
It is important to socialize your pet and take your training beyond your home! Once your dog has mastered desired behaviors in various places around their home, it’s time to take your training on the road. Grab their harness, leash, treat bag, clicker, and mat, then head to any dog-friendly environment. Keep in mind, their training and focus will digress a bit as you build their skills with more distractions in new locations. A few of my favorite places to train are in a back aisle of Lowe’s, Rural King, a local park, or even a baseball game. It's almost Little League season!
Socialization helps dogs feel comfortable in new situations, and it can reduce the risk of behavioral issues. Socialized dogs are more likely to be confident, well-adjusted, and have a strong bond with their owners.
There are several socialization checklists online to help you track your progress and come up with new ideas. Here is one of my favorites:
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Bring Fido is another great tool to utilize when socializing with your pet! You can access it through their website (bringfido.com), or by downloading the app on your phone. There you can explore over 500,000 different places to stay, play, and eat with your dog. Type in your location and find all the pet-friendly businesses near you.
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LuAnn Keyton has been a Certified Training Partner of the Karen Pryor Academy since January 2008. She has been heavily involved in animal rescue for more than 25 years and saw a need to prepare animals for their new homes. She is also a STAR Puppy, Trick Dog and Canine Good Citizen Evaluator for the AKC. Contact LuAnn at LuAnn@MistyEyes.org. | | | | |
