Humane Society NL

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Return Service Requested NON-PROFIT NO-KILL ANIMAL SHELTER P. O. Box 451205 Grove, OK 74345-1205

CAR RT. SORT U.S. Postage PAID PRESRT STD Permit No. 45 Grove, OK 74344

OF GROVE AND GRAND LAKE, INC.

HUMANE SOCIETY

_____________________________________________________________ 2012 MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION CUT ALONG DOTTED LINE PLEASE LEND A HELPING PAW!

BASIC MEMBERSHIP • Student (16 & Under) $10_______

• Individual

• Family $50_______

• Business

• Annual Angel $100_______

$25_______

$50_______

PAWS MEMBERSHIP • Bronze Paw $200-$499 _______

• Silver Paw $500-$999 ________

• Golden Paw $1,000+ _______

ADDITIONAL DONATION $________________ SPONSORSHIP $_____________on the _______day of each month beginning _____________.

DATE ________________________________________________________________________________ Name ________________________________________________________________________________ Address____________________________________City________________State______Zip __________ Home Phone __________________________________________________________________________ Cell Phone ____________________________________________________________________________ E-mail Address (for E-Newsletters)

________________________________________________________

Make checks payable to: Humane Society of Grove & Grand Lake -

P.O. Box 451205/Grove,OK 74345-1205

JOIN TODAY & BECOME AN EVERYDAY HERO!

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Hidden Holocaust 2012 Membership Drive Second Chance Thrift Shop $5 Feline Adoption Special Bob Carlson-Volunteer Vicki & Tom Richardson“Foster Parents” Transports Humane Society 2011 Stats Wish List Upcoming Events Newsletter Sponsor Ads DIRECTORY HUMANE SOCIETY OF GROVE AND GRAND LAKE, INC. A NON-PROFIT CORPORATION Physical address: 64301 E. 290 Road Grove, OK 74344 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 451205 Grove, OK 74345-1205 Telephone: 918-786-7630 Website: humanesocietyofgrove.com email: hsgrove@att.net Hours of Operation: Tues – Fri: Noon – 5 pm Sat: 10 am - 3 pm Sun & Mon: Closed After Hours: By Appointment BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Lori Skelley-Follis, President Linda Miller, Vice-President Michele Norwood, Secretary Joy Justice, Treasurer Becky West Carol Rice Connie Ruzicka Jerry Ruzicka Marion Metcalf Theresa Swift SHELTER MANAGER: Kim Nelson SECOND CHANCE THRIFT SHOP 33 W. 3rd Street (corner of 3rd and Grand) Marion Metcalf, Manager Hours of Operation: Tuesday – Sat: 10 am – 5 pm

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HUMANE SOCIETY

OF GROVE AND GRAND LAKE, INC. THE OVERPOPULATION CRISIS:

The Humane Society's shelter overpopulation situation is critical. Calls are made daily to our no-kill animal rescue shelter asking that “unwanted” animals be surrendered or reports of abandoned, abused, or severely neglected animals be taken in. The number of reported animals in need tremendously exceeds the capacity of the shelter and the rate which these sheltered animals are placed in adoptive homes, even considering the transport of hundreds of adoptable dogs to partnership shelters and promoting adoption of shelter cats. This results in hundreds of healthy adoptable pets suffering a cruel and miserable existence or ending up at animal shelters where euthanasia of healthy animals is employed to control the size of its shelter population.

THE CAUSE: The source of the problem includes accidental matings, purposeful breeding by those hoping to sell the offspring, and “personal” reasons like, “I want my children to experience the miracle of birth,” and “I feel it's unnatural to castrate my male.” Simple arithmetic illustrates how “just one litter” contributes to the pet overpopulation crisis. Two dogs breed. Six offspring are born. The six offspring reproduce six offspring each within one year, and at the end of ten years just one unaltered dog can be responsible for 4,372 births.

One unaltered cat can be responsible for 420,000 kittens in just seven years!

THE SOLUTION-- SPAY/NEUTER YOUR PET: The problem is simple—too many dogs and cats and too few homes available. To solve the problem, we must prevent animals from being born. Animal rescue groups like ours are doing the public's dirty work. Our group must care for the animals people discard or, as with the city's animal shelter, they must destroy those for whom no homes can be found. As for the public's role in this problem, we find they simply feel “if out of sight, out of mind.”

But not being able to afford sterilization of the family pet should not be the excuse. The Humane Society of Grove and Grand Lake operates an affordable weekly low-cost spay/neuter program for dogs and cats performed by a local veterinarian within their own clinic. Contact the shelter office for details and make an appointment today, or contact your family's veterinarian. Just do it! In 2011, 369 sterilizations were performed through the Humane Society's low-cost spay/neuter program.

2012 MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

HOMELESS PETS NEED YOUR HELP. PLEASE BECOME A SUPPORTING MEMBER. Join the Humane Society of Grove and Grand Lake today.

2012 Membership Application is the last page of this newsletter. Please complete and return along with your tax-deductible check to the Humane Society. Your 2012 Membership Pledge does make a difference in the lives of the many animals that have been abandoned each year to our no-kill shelter.

5 “We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals” Immanual Kant

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Second Chance Thrift Shop From humble beginnings in a storage shed, to a permanent small building next door to the shelter, to a new location in Downtown Grove (33 W. 3rd Street - 3rd & Grand): The Second Chance Thrift Shop has grown and blossomed.

The Second Chance Thrift Shop operates solely for the benefit of all the dogs and cats cared for by the Humane Society of Grove and Grand Lake, Inc. With the move to Downtown Grove, floor space has almost tripled; hours open have increased (10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.); days open have increased (Tuesday through Saturday); volunteer numbers have increased; customer numbers have increased and donations have increased! Whatʼs not to love!

The shop is run by an all-volunteer group who enjoy visiting with customers and having a good time while decorating the shop beautifully to best show off all the wonderful donations. The shop offers an enjoyable shopping experience with music selections playing softly in the background from Bing Crosby to Michael Buble.

Unique items are available, as well as the items always in demand by shoppers such as home décor, linens, menʼs/womenʼs and childrenʼs clothing, artwork, dishes, kitchenware, furniture, collectibles, antiques, rugs, shoes, jewelry, books, movies, toys and gifts galore.

We deliver! As an added bonus, Second Chance will deliver any furniture you purchase from the shop. We will also pick up your gently used furniture donation. Volunteers provide this service for our customers to encourage donations which help support all the animals at the shelter.

Please come, shop and donate gently used items to support our shelter and help the many abused and abandoned dogs and cats in the Grand Lake area. Be sure to tell us about your pet when you come in. We love to hear about dogs and cats that are cherished by their owners. And if you donʼt have a pet, please go to the shelter and adopt one. Hope to see you soon!

Newest Shelter Event - $5 Feline Adoption The cat room at the shelter was overcrowded with cats and kittens of all ages, sizes, colors, and personalities, and the shelter just couldn't take in any more cats.

But the problem was, many stray and homeless cats needed to be taken in and cared for by the shelter in order to save their lives.

So on November 4th, the shelter held its first ever $5 Feline Adoption Promotion. Yes, that's right! Just $5 for a 5 month or older cat. For kittens younger than 5 months, the adoption fee was $20 and families could “super-size” their adoption by adding a mentor adult cat to their kitten adoption for no additional fee. All cats were altered and vaccinated.

Now where could anyone get a wonderful feline companion for just $5. You see, “free” cats are not really free when you consider that the initial veterinary expenses could exceed $200 to cover wellness exam, necessary shots, and of course, the cost to have the cat altered.

But the goal for the Humane Society was not to recover its costs but to bring attention to the need for adoption of shelter cats. Currently, only 10 to 20 percent of all cats who people bring into their homes are adopted from shelter or local rescue groups. By adopting a cat during the $5 Feline Adoption event, the Humane Society was actually saving two lives--the life of the cat that was adopted and the one that space was made for at the shelter.

People came to the shelter and cats of all ages were adopted—young and old and big and small. As it was a successful adoption event, a future $5 Feline Adoption Day will be held soon.

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Retired Conoco Phillips Employee Bob Carlson Making a Difference Volunteer Bob Carlson of Grove is making a difference in the lives of the homeless animals at the Humane Society.

Bob wanted to do more volunteer work for the Grove community. Because of his love for dogs, he decided in 2011 to help socialize and walk the dogs at the Humane Society shelter. He knows all about the importance for shelter animals to learn about human contact so that they have a better chance for adoption. He and his wife Bobbie rescued a shelter dog.

Bob retired from Conoco Phillips in April of 1998. He recently learned about the Volunteer Grant Program called “Dollars for Hours” offered to retired Conoco Phillips employees whereby Conoco Phillips will donate $500 for every 20 hours a retiree volunteers with an eligible 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Bob learned that the Grove Humane Society is eligible for this Grant Program.

In the coming year, Bob plans to walk the shelter dogs on most Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons in order to complete two 20 hour grant requests to raise a total of $1,000 for the Humane Society. All just by having some fun interacting with the wonderful dogs at the Humane Society.

He says that his “job” is so rewarding as the animals are so appreciative of the chance to be outside and to be with people. He just wishes that he could do more and that there would be others that would join him in his efforts to make a difference.

Bob isnʼt the only one in his family to help the animals. His wife Bobbie volunteers one afternoon each week at the Humane Societyʼs Second Chance Thrift Shop. She enjoys

doing the retail sales and meeting the customers--all the while knowing that the proceeds from each sale help pay for the care of all the animals living at the shelter.

Are you interested in volunteering and working with a wonderful group of people? The Humane Society is looking for people to help with its fund raisers, Thrift Shop sales, foster homes, office help--just to name a few opportunities.

Please visit the Humane Society website to view all the volunteer opportunities and how you too can make a difference.

Thank You to Foster Parents Vicki and Tom Richardson Humane Society's Foster Parents Tom and Vicki Richardson of Afton, OK, provide an invaluable service to animals needing special care. Vicki was a veterinarian technician in California for 20 years before she and Tom moved to the Grand Lake area where Vicki now works for the Grove Small Animal Hospital Bed and Breakfast. Because of their love for animals, Vicki and Tom decided to open up their home and their hearts to become foster parents specializing in animals that have a “failure to thrive,” such as newborn puppies.

Vicki says that fostering can be tough but also rewarding. Vicki and Tom fall in love with every animal that has come into their home, and she admits that it is sometimes difficult to give them up when the time comes. They have watched the puppies grow, or have watched a dog go from sad and hurting to healthy, happy and ready to take on the world.

However, Vicki and Tom feel that the job of a foster parent is to nurture and prepare the animals for their adoptive home. To teach them about love and trust, then let them go to their forever families. They feel foster parenting is always worth the effort as there is always the need to help other animals that come

through the shelter doors.

Being a foster parent may not be for everyone. It is not a means to temporarily own or try out a dog or cat. It is an important and often life-saving alternative to shelter life. But we must ask, do you have room in your heart and home to be a foster parent? The Humane Society is in desperate need of foster families for animals that come in nursing their babies and need a quieter environment than the shelter can provide, or a home to care for injured pets that need time to recuperate or a litter that may need bottle feeding.

Without foster homes, we cannot make it happen for some of our furry friends. Foster homes make a tremendous difference in the life of a shelter animal. If you could help, please contact the shelter at 918-786-7630 or email hsgrove@att.net to discuss fostering with the shelter manager.

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Transports - Giving Them A Chance for a Home!!

Once a month starting around 8 pm, there is a busy crew outside the Humane Society's shelter hurriedly walking dogs and hugging each of them before they are loaded into crates for a long, night-time journey to a new destination. Sometimes as many as 30 dogs are loaded into the Humane Society's mini-van for transports to Golden Valley, Minnesota, or Denver, Colorado, where they are virtually guaranteed to find new permanent homes within days, if not mere hours, of their arrival.

Though not a simple process, it is a group effort that quite literally results in lives saved. The concept of transporting animals from our overburdened shelter to one with high adoption rates started out in August of 2010 with a transfer partnership with Golden Valley, Minnesota, Animal Humane Society. In October of 2011, a transfer partnership was also started with Dumb Friends League in Denver, Colorado. Transfers of our shelter dogs have also been with PAWS (Pets Are Worth Saving) of Chicago, Illinois. Transport of dogs from the Grove Humane Society to partnership animal shelters has been the ticket to happily-ever-after for 387 dogs to date with more trips scheduled in 2012.

From the many dogs housed at the shelter, which lucky dogs are selected to go? Guidelines are good health and temperament being primary concern. In the weeks and days leading up to a scheduled transport, dogs that are good candidates are identified. The shelter manager narrows down the selection to a few large dogs, several medium size dogs, and a number of small breeds or puppies – a mix that takes maximum advantage of van space.

On the night of the transport, volunteers exercise the transport dogs, prepare crates, and help shelter staff do a final check to be sure all paperwork is in order. Everyone works quickly to minimize stress for the dogs while helping the drivers get underway for arrival at the partnership shelter the following morning. Two volunteer drivers for each trip make the drive straight through the night,

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stopping at regular intervals to check on the dogs, do clean ups, and make sure everyone has water.

This heartwarming program showcases the best of volunteerism and a determination to truly go the extra mile to save deserving dogs. But it also brings an obvious question to mind: How is it that these areas can take so many dogs from other communities and seemingly effortlessly find them all homes? Those involved in the partnership program agree that the difference can be attributed to the strictly enforced spay/neuter laws.

We at the Humane Society of Grove and Grand Lake are strong advocates that individuals MUST spay/neuter their pets to stop the pet overpopulation and the needless suffering of homeless animals in and around our community. We need the Grand Lake community support as well to contact your city and county elected officials about creating necessary spay/neuter ordinances.

And more volunteers to help this effort are always welcome. We need drivers and extra hands to help with prepping and loading the dogs so we can keep the transports rolling. Anyone interested in participating in the program should contact the shelter at 918-786-7630 or email hsgrove@att.net.

The heart of the transport program lies with the bright eyes, soft ears, and wagging tails of its beneficiaries where their forever families await them. Transports translates into a winning situation for our wonderful dogs that make the journey. So how does this story end? Well, for the foreseeable future it doesn't. As long as there are dogs in need, there will be the need to help them make the trip to a more promising future.

But the expenses to continue transports to partnership shelters are great. Our shelter must bear the cost of the required vaccinations, heartworm testing, and veterinary care, as all dogs must be checked by a veterinarian who will provide a health certificate for each animal prior to transport. The cost of the fuel, motel and food expenses for the two volunteer drivers for the three-day trip is also a cost of the transport.

Funding for transports remains the Humane Society's biggest challenge to continue future transports. If interested in becoming a corporate sponsor or an individual contributor toward this life-saving effort, please contact Lori Follis, Board President, at 918-801-6834, or Kim Nelson, Shelter Manager at 918-786-7630.

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Humane Society Statistics for 2011

Due to limited capacity to care for a dog or cat at the shelter we maintain a waiting list for the animals that need to be taken in to the shelter. If you know of homeless animals needing to be rescued we recommend calling the shelter to put your name on the waiting list. We ask for an intake fee, as we are a privately owned 501c3 organization and operate soley on donations. Intake fees help cover the cost of spay/neuter, vaccinations, heartworm check, feline leukemia check and the everyday care of the animals. It costs us approximately $100.00 per animal to transport or to get that animal ready for adoption.

Dogs/Puppies

Cats/Kittens

No. of Animals Taken In

489

159

648

No. of Adoptions

213

116

329

Transported

246

0

246

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UPCOMING EVENTS! What's one precious resource that our shelter finds itself perpetually short of (aside from enough people to do the job)? Money, of course! That's why our fundraisers have long been a staple of shelter work. We have come to rely on our community events as a proven source of income that can keep our doors open for us to carry out our mission— provide a safe and nurturing environment for the unwanted, abandoned and mistreated animals until they can be placed into a loving home.

Mark your calendars today to attend: 2nd Annual FurBall Dinner, Dance, and Auction on March 31 at Grove Civic Center.

This is the Humane Society's biggest fundraiser of the year. If you have any item to donate for the Auction, contact Carol Rice at 918-786-5750 (email carolr.hs@gmail.com) or Lori Follis at 918-801-6834 (email lsjf@sbcglobal.net).

All donations are tax deductible.

3rd Annual Hoe-Down Dinner and Dance on August 18 at Grove Civic Center Annual Christmas Breakfast on December 8 at Grove Community Center Our fundraisers require a remarkable level of planning and foresight! And we need volunteers to help with this job. Contact the shelter office or email hsgrove@att.net with your name and phone number where you can be reached. All the dogs and cats at the Humane Society say “Woof, Woof and Meeoow!!” which means “Thank you for helping us!!”

WISH LIST Caring for hundreds of animals each year requires a lot of love, patience, and especially PRODUCTS! Below is a partial Wish List.

Please go online to the Humane Society website for a complete list of all the Wish List Items!

Pedigree Adult and Puppy Food (Both Canned and Dry) Iams Adult Cat and Kitten Food (Both Canned and Dry) NOTE: Yes, we are being specific as it is best to feed our animals the same product brand food to not upset their digestive system Kitten Milk Replacement Meat Flavored Baby Food (for our sick and finicky eaters) Cleaning Products: Bleach, Liquid Disinfectant (such as Lysol or Pinesol), Laundry Soap, Dish Soap, Large Heavy Duty Trash Bags, Paper Towels Dog and Cat Toys and Treats, Dog Collars Large Bath Towels and Blankets Be “Green” and recycle your aluminum cans and newspapers for the Humane Society. Cans are sold to a recycling plant for much needed revenue – Newspapers are used to line kennels.

And as always, monetary donations are very much needed and appreciated. All donations are tax-deductible.

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened” - Anatole France

My name is Nash. I have lived my whole life at the shelter, which is 5 years now. I have two sisters that are here with me too, Queenie and Stormy. I wish we could all live the remainder of our days in a forever home!