Published For Friends of the Arizona Humane Society
WINTER 2020
VIRTUAL ADOPTION SUCCESS PAGE // 3
COVID-19 EVICTION CRISIS PAGE // 4
BELIEVE YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE PAGE // 6
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ASK EDISON Edison is one of our animal teachers who interacts with children at camps, birthday parties and in classrooms. In each issue of Paw Prints, Edison will answer a question we receive from animal lovers like you.
Our Mission We save the most vulnerable animals and enrich the lives of pets and people.
Our Values Innovation. Compassion. Excellence.
Q: What should I know about cat declawing? A few of the kitten friends I’ve met here at AHS arrived in our care already declawed and told me how painful it was for them. It just made me want to cry. I was so grateful to learn that our vets here at AHS do not perform and strongly discourage declawing surgery as it can lead to long-term behavioral issues. But there are ways you can safely harness your cat’s desire to scratch and sharpen their nails. It is recommended that cat owners regularly clip their cat’s nails to limit their scratching. Additionally, Soft Paws® are soft rubber caps that can be placed on a cat’s paws for four to six weeks. Cat scratchers also offer an alternative, but it is important that you research the options available based on your cat’s preference. “We can’t actually deter cats from scratching since it is instinctual and is in their DNA as a way to express both happy and territorial pheromones, therefore, preventative measures are the next best thing,” said AHS’ Feline Welfare Specialist Melissa Graham. Our good friends at VCA Animal Hospitals recently announced they would discontinue cat declawing at all of their veterinary practices. VCA joins a growing list of two thousand veterinary clinics in the U.S. that will no longer provide elective declaw surgeries.
Dr. Steven R. Hansen President & CEO
2020 AHS BOARD OF DIRECTORS Executive Committee Andrea Marconi, Chair Dr. Craig Thatcher, Vice Chair Bryan Albue, Secretary Matthew Waller, Treasurer & Finance Chair Suzanne Pearl, Past Chair & President’s Club Steering Committee Chair Tracey Lyons, Governance Chair & Circle of Friends Co-Chair
Board Members Anthony Alfonso Courtney Beller, Compassion with Fashion Co-Chair Yvonne A Betts Andrea L. Claus, Planned Giving Chair Ann Damiano Debbie DePaoli Dr. Karla Fisher Dyan Getz, Circle of Friends Co-Chair Suzanne Hensing Susie Ingold Julie Johnson Ann-Marie Lee Kerry Milligan Kimberlee Reimann Padilla Ann Siner Patricia Tate Jo Taulbee-Flittie Dr. Linda Groomes Walton
AZHUMANE.ORG
WINTER 2020
COVID-19 Update Virtual Adoption Model a Success The worldwide pandemic has required all of us to change the way we do things, and continuing to find loving homes while ensuring the safety of both our customers and staff was no exception. In March, we rolled out Virtual Adoption Matchmaking – an innovative program in which potential adopters go online to schedule an appointment. They then connect via phone with an adoption specialist to discuss any medical, behavioral and other needs relating to a pet in whom they may be interested in. Once a good match is determined, the adopter schedules an appointment to come down to meet the pet in person to finalize the adoption. Since moving to virtual adoptions in March, we’ve found forever homes for more than 3,000 pets and have seen the number of adoption returns plummet from nine percent to under six percent! We’ve also seen the length of time our pets spend on our adoption floors drop from nearly 12 days to less than four days. This program has been so successful, in fact, that we’ve decided to make it permanent. This means that we will no longer adopt out pets at our Sunnyslope Campus, which will allow us to better serve our pets with medical needs at this location. Adoptions will remain at our Campus for Compassion location as well as our offsite PetSmart locations in Scottsdale and Mesa once they safely reopen.
There’s never been a better time to add a new furry family member to your pack. If you’d like to learn more about virtual adoptions and view our amazing pets looking for forever homes, visit azhumane.org/adopt.
AHS President to Serve on Community Advisory Board AHS President and CEO Dr. Steven Hansen has been named to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Community Advisory Board. The Board is comprised of local non-profit, faith-based, and community leaders that provide the County Attorney with feedback about office policy, criminal justice reform, community interaction and education, and other topics.
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Keeping Pets and People Together Through the COVID-19 Eviction Housing Crisis
The Arizona Humane Society believes pets are family and we are committed to keeping pets and people together. The impact of the pandemic has been felt across the country, and we are currently facing a pending housing crisis both locally and nationally as many households face eviction due to the economic implications of COVID-19.
“ Keeping pets with their families during trying times prevents animals from ever entering our doors, allowing us to continue serving and saving homeless, injured and abused animals� -Dr. Steven Hansen, AHS President and CEO
WINTER 2020
Experts estimate that upwards of 300,000 households in Maricopa County may be at risk of eviction once the eviction moratorium is lifted. These events, paired with a lack of affordable, pet-friendly housing, could mean an influx of pets surrendered to shelters, which would put thousands of pets at risk each month in the Phoenix metro community. To support both the pets and people of our community, AHS and seven local animal welfare partners are collaborating as part of the Pet Housing Help AZ Task Force. This group includes Altered Tails, Arizona Animal Welfare League, Arizona Pet Project, HALO Animal Rescue, Heidi’s Village, Lost Our Home and Maricopa County Animal Care & Control.
• Expanding internal foster care programs to provide temporary housing for pet owners in crisis. Since expansion of this program in August of this year, we have been able to place 17 owned pets into temporary foster and have successfully reunited five with their families thus far. • Enhancing surrender and crisis prevention programs, including the expansion of our real-time solutions fund. This fund assists individuals in crisis by providing financial support for needs such as pet housing deposits or veterinary care. • Increasing partnerships with human and health service agencies to better support pet owners in need. • Launching a community-wide website in the coming weeks featuring resources and a network that connects people in need of help directly with other Valley residents to rehome or find temporary housing for their pets. People need us, pets need us and our commitment to keeping families together has never been stronger.
AHS and our task force partners have identified several key solutions for at-risk families with pets that prevent surrenders and abandonment, keep pets and their loving owners together, and ultimately allow AHS to continue serving the most vulnerable animals in our community. These include:
Pets enrich our lives and make our families stronger,” said Dr. Steven Hansen, AHS President and CEO. “Many Arizonans are struggling and are in danger of losing their beloved furry family members. But with our community’s help and support, we can keep pets with the people who love them. Keeping pets with their families during trying times prevents animals from ever entering our doors, allowing us to continue serving and saving homeless, injured and abused animals.” For more information on how you can help, visit PethousinghelpAZ.org.
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Believe you can make a difference.
Make Holiday Wishes Come True for Pets Like Tiffany Homeless and abused animals need your Give during Tiffany was found as help. an injured stray,now surviving in theour sweltering summer heat. Her jaw had been holiday drive to save lives. broken in two places and her chin hung loosely from her mouth. Luckily, another vet clinic was able to stabilize her jaw before she was transferred atSecond azhumane.org/holiday to AHS’ Chance Animal Trauma Hospital™ for treatment. Our medical team determined that the tiny Yorkshire Terrier mix would need surgery to repair her jaw, which was performed by an outside specialist thanks to generous funding from one of our loyal, steadfast donors and a President’s Club member. Tiffany then spent time in a Foster Hero home to rest and recover. After months of care, Tiffany is now able to eat and drink normally, and soon she’ll be ready to find her forever home.
Donate Now
While stories like Tiffany’s are heartwarming, there are still so many animals in our community who need our help. You can make a difference by giving today to our 2020 Holiday Drive to Save Lives at azhumane.org/holiday.
and spay/neuter initiatives that have helped us save an additional 100,000 lives over the last six years and become a safety net for the Valley’s most vulnerable pets. And thanks to a matching gift from our friends at VCA Animal Hospitals, all gifts received by December 31st up to $30,000 will DOUBLE to save more animals like Tiffany. Thank you for your kindness that makes holiday wishes come true for thousands of animals like Tiffany every year.
Your gift will support the comprehensive medical, behavioral rehabilitation, surrender intervention
Stella Got Her Groove Back At just 3 weeks old, Stella was trapped inside a drain that was more than 20 feet deep and couldn’t get out. Luckily, several Phoenix Police officers heard her tiny cries. With the help of some good Samaritans, they managed to pull her out and brought her to the Arizona Humane Society. The tiny kitten needed round-the-clock care and was placed in our Bottle Baby Kitten ICU where the staff slowly nursed her back to health until she was strong enough to eat on her own. Now Stella is exploring the world in her Foster Hero home until she is big enough to be adopted. Lifesaving programs like our Bottle Baby Kitten ICU, Kitten Nursery, Second Chance Animal Trauma Hospital™, Mutternity Suites and Parvo Puppy ICU save the lives of pets routinely euthanized in shelters.
WINTER 2020
Wheels for Wags Martin Simons will never forget his dad’s reaction the first time Martin drove up in his 2004 Jaguar XJR. “’Nice car, nice car,’” Martin recalls his dad proclaiming. Martin would spend many hours driving around Southern California creating memories with his dad in his Jaguar. So when it finally came time to part with his car, long after his dad had passed away in 2008, Martin wanted to do something special with it. Thanks to the recommendation of friend and Arizona Humane Society Board Member Jo Taulbee-Flittie, Martin was introduced to AHS’ Wheels For Wags Vehicle Donation Program. Wheels for Wags allows individuals to donate any vehicle, running or not, from cars and motorcycles to boats and RVs, to help sick, injured and abused animals. Martin recently adopted a new dog, a 16-month-old mixed breed named Sadie, and this felt like the perfect fit to combine two of his great passions. Sadie, who Martin describes as being “wildly and madly in love with,” loves morning walks, sleeping in bed at night with dad, and, of course, car rides. “They made everything so easy for me,” Martin said of the car donation process. “The whole experience has been a positive one, and what great work the Arizona Humane
Society is doing. I just adopted my first dog in 30 years about a year ago, so that was definitely a motivating factor. It’s really nice to be able to put my little drop in the bucket to help pets.” While many nonprofits accept donated vehicles and sell them through third-party companies, the Arizona Humane Society is one of the few nonprofits in the Valley that skips the middleman and sells donated vehicles in-house, allowing us to avoid third-party fees and maximizing your vehicle donation. This means the money made from vehicle donation sales goes farther to help our homeless animals, and donors get a bigger tax write-off. Do you have a vehicle you no longer need? Don’t trade it, donate it! Visit azhumane.org/wheelsforwags to learn how your vehicle donation can help our community’s most vulnerable pets.
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Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Phoenix, AZ Permit No. 456
1521 W. Dobbins Road Phoenix, AZ 85041 azhumane.org
50/50 Raffle: You Play. Pets Win! You can win cash while helping sick, injured and abused pets win second chances! Purchase tickets for the Arizona Humane Society’s 50/50 raffle for your chance at winning 50 percent of the total jackpot! The lucky winner of our most recent 50/50 Raffle won a whopping $53,205 – half of the $106,410 jackpot! The other half will help us continue to save lives and serve as a safety net for our community’s most vulnerable pets during these challenging times. Thank you to our raffle sponsor OneAZ Credit Union for contributing $7,500 to the kitty! Tickets are 10 for $10, 50 for $20 or 150 for $40 and can be purchased at azhumane.org/5050raffle.
AHS Calendar Makes the Perfect Gift
2021 Calendar
Order your copy of the Valley’s cutest calendar just in time for the holidays! The 2021 AHS Calendar will make the perfect stocking stuffer. Calendars are just $20 (plus $2 shipping and handling) and can be purchased at azhumane.org/calendar2021.