Your news & updates from
Animal Care Sanctuary
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YEAR-TO-DATE
STATISTICS
As of June 1, 2020:
Adoptions: 600
Fosters: 113
Fosters-to-Adoptions: 64
Spay/neuter surgeries: 1,101
Wellness appointments: 902
Total clinic visits: 2,003
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With life getting a little more back to normal, our adoptions have been anything but -- 180 cats and dogs have found their forever homes since our last newsletter in late April, bringing the total number of adoptions so far this year to 600! WOW!
We could not have accomplished this incredible feat without the support of our donors and supporters, our amazing staff and wonderful communities. Additionally, our clinic reopened its doors in May and has worked hard to catch up on spay/neuter surgeries -- already performing 235 such operations since reopening!
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Photo courtesy of Rick Hiduk
Endless Mountains Lifestyles
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After being forced to close because of the coronavirus pandemic, our community clinic is back open!
At first, we did a soft reopening so we could catch up on the spay and neuter surgeries that needed to be postponed -- namely cats. Due to the limitations of space inside the clinic, we reduced the number of people allowed inside the facility and maintained social distancing guidelines for those waiting outside. In case of inclement weather, we asked pet owners to stay in their vehicles with their felines until we were ready to admit them.
We're slowing getting back to normal, and we've also opened up our clinic to take dogs again as well!
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CONSTRUCTION HAS RESUMED!
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We are back to work and continuing the construction of the new Kennels and Veterinary Clinic.
The building exterior is nearly complete with the siding being installed along with soffit and fascia installation. The building is looking great and when we finish with the site work, the entrance to the clinic will provide a very professional look.
The interior is painted and suspended ceiling grid is installed waiting for lighting and ductwork installation. Most all flooring has been installed.
One major item that is rarely seen are the state of the art heating and air conditioning systems. Not to take a back seat is a superior water supply and filtration system saving thousands of dollars in testing costs.
During the next few weeks a lot of finishes will be installed including cabinetry, doors and door hardware, and interior viewing windows in the kennels.
In our next report we hope to have some exciting photos for your enjoyment.
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American Shelter Dogs
It's what's on the inside
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Growing up, you may have had a dog that was just “the best.” We all have had that dog. That dog that would jump into the lake with you when you went swimming, or would fetch with a bottomless reserve of energy, or would just curl up next to you and take naps. Maybe it would rest its head on your lap while you watched TV, get super excited to go for walks, and always stuck by your side.
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Maybe that’s the kind of dog your family always aimed for in certain breeds – because it was “the best kind of dog,” according to your parents. Or maybe that’s the dog you’ve been looking for ever since – so you look out for a dog of that breed when you browse through your local shelter or PetFinder.
But you know that it wasn’t really how the canine looked that made it the best. It was its behavior, its personality, its soul. So when looking for a new “best dog,” why is its looks usually a key determining factor?
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FOSTER SPOTLIGHT:
Debby Frisk
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I
n order to say happy Mothers Day
to all the fabulous mom's out there, we wanted to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to Debby Frisk! She is one of our most remarkable and reliable foster moms and has been with the foster program since it's inception.
Within the last year , she has fostered a total of 22 cats most of them being orphaned kittens who required bottle feeding. Debby is a foster mentor who offers advice and tips in support of new foster parents. Thank you for being an amazing cat m
om
and for helping to save animals' lives.
If you are looking for a rewarding experience, join our foster team! You can learn more online
here
.
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FROM OUR VET TEAM!
Flattening the Kitty Curve
With all the focus on flattening the curve during the COVID-19 pandemic, we at ACS are focusing on flattening a different curve – the springtime spike of kitten litters.
When spring is in the air, unplanned and unwanted kitten litters can become rampant. And with the coronavirus pandemic forcing our clinic to shut down for several weeks, this problem can quickly multiply. But thanks to our amazing donors blowing away our Giving Tuesday goal, we’ve officially been able to relaunch our feline spay-neuter transport program to help reach rural communities.
While our clinic is not quite fully operational yet, our veterinary team was able to bring 20 cats from the Delaware Valley Humane Society to our clinic here in East Smithfield, perform spay/neuter surgeries and administer rabies vaccines on all of them, and returned them the next morning. In addition to the humane society, this transport was also coordinated with All Animals Matter.
Originally, this transport program involved our vet teams essentially packing up the clinic in our mobile transport van and doing surgeries all day at central community facilities – such as churches or ranches. But bringing the felines to our clinic – even transporting them ourselves – proved to be much more efficient. At our clinic’s peak, our veterinarians and transportation coordinator can pick up, perform surgeries on and return up to 40 cats in just over 24 hours.
Plans are already in the works to hold several more of these transports throughout the summer, and we are #ACSproud to continue to do what we can to flatten the curve of uncontrolled feline populations.
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Get to know ACS!
Skyler Russell: Adoptions Coordinator
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How long have you been a part of ACS?
I have been at ACS for just about 2 years! I have always had a passion for animals starting at a very young age, I had my grandfather to thank for that. He sent me to DEC camps growing up and because of that I was always surrounded by the nature and the wild animals. Naturally, when I saw ACS was hiring I knew that was somewhere I wanted to be. I originally worked down in our main cattery for about six months until I became a part of the adoptions staff. Ultimately, that was the best decision I ever came to.
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"It's not always you that finds your perfect dog. Sometimes, it's the dog that finds you."
These were inspiring words recently left to us by Koko's dad soon after he adopted her from ACS. Koko was rescued from a high-kill shelter in Mississippi and taken in by ACS on April 8.
Koko was at ACS for approximately two months awaiting her forever home. She was a relatively quiet dog, and watched many other canines find new homes before she did.
But she was waiting for someone special, someone she could help as much as her adopter could help her, and she found him.
Today, Koko enjoys her new home immensely and is her dad's best friend -- helping him with post-traumatic stress disorder and filling his home with love -- making each day a better day.
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Wonderful Roku has been here for about a full year. He came in with 25 of his family members at 1 o'clock in the morning on an emergency transport from a residential area in Wellsboro. They all came in extremely sick and we nursed them back to health. Most of them have found their forever home except a few.
We cannot figure out why this sweet boy hasn't been adopted yet! He loves absolutely everyone -- cats, dogs, kids you name it -- he wants to be friends with it. He loves others so much he carries around a stuffed animal with him to keep him company when no one else is around.
He doesn't trust running water, if you have a sink running he'll sit by the sink and bat at the water. If you're showering he'll sit on the side of the tub watching you like a hawk to make sure the water isn't hurting you. But that is about the meanest this boy gets.
He would love a simple life of wet food, friends and endless love. His favorite spot to be is curled up as close to you or you other pets as he can possibly get, sometimes here he even lays on top of other cats. He isn't always a sleepy boy though when we greet him in the morning he gets so excited he gets the zoomies. He zooms from one end of the office to the other jumping on things and being a silly goose.
We love Roku dearly but we want him to find his forever home to peep on people in the shower, snuggle up with someone and have the zoomies freely in a loving home.
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PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT
Return of the Interns!
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ACS recently welcomed two of its newest interns, Gabrielle Maroulis and Anisa Hinton!
Gabrielle comes to ACS from Flanders, New Jersey, and is attending Kansas State University majoring in Animal Science with a pre-vet option. Anisa lives in Baltimore and is attending Tuskegee University as an animal & poultry sciences major.
For 12 weeks, they will be gaining hands-on experience with all kinds of facets of ACS's daily life, including cattery care, canine care, clinic and veterinary procedures and adoption office operations.
We want to thank them for choosing to come to ACS to continue their education, and wish them the best of luck!
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The ACS Wellsboro Gift Shop is now open!
Now, when you come to our Wellsboro location to adopt a dog or a cat, you can also browse the many assorted items at the gift shop. Open at the same time (12pm to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday) as the adoption office, you can shop for antiques, jewelry, artwork, hemp-based body care products, dog and cat treats and supplies, and clothing for both you and your pet!
With the Wellsboro sanctuary’s farmhouse having the needed space to do this; we are able to sell these unique items to help raise much needed funds to be able to rescue more animals. The gift shop was opened briefly before having to close due to COVID-19.
But now with daily life inching back ever so closer to normal, we are ready and excited to bring this shop to the community as we continue to expand our services in Wellsboro while connecting more pets than ever to their forever homes.
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Thank you Linda Williams for your help in finding us an anonymous sponsor for our driveway repair – and also a special thanks to the USDA for awarding us a grant for the same project!
The driveway has been in dire need of repair for years, and we were finally able to get some new blacktop thanks to these contributions. Funds are still needed to pave the parking lot at the top of the driveway, but the worst of it is finally over!
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As a Monthly Donor, you are providing a gift that can be used for animals in their hour of need. Your donation will help ACS rescue pets from overcrowded kill shelters, inhumane conditions, hoarding situations and puppy mills. Your support will help us make more future animal rescues possible, as well as give us the resources we need to provide those animals with the attention and medical care that they need to be adopted. Monthly donations provide security to assure that ACS always has the resources needed to provide for animals at a moment’s notice. To become a monthly donor, please sign up online at
www.animalcaresanctuary.org
or contact Terry McKendry at [email protected].
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