2021 SUMMER NEWSLETTER
MISSION STATEMENT Founded in 1874, the Morris Animal Refuge is a pioneer in Animal Welfare. The Philadelphia-based life saving organization is committed to adoption, education, and high-quality care with the goal of finding positive and humane outcomes for animals in need.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Josh Vieth Matthew E. Pilecki Anne Evans Sally Wirts Stephen A. Kwaszkiewicz Britt J. Carpenter Sarah Bergstein Kylie Flett Chris Hansen Wayne D. Humphrey III Donielle Powell Lars Schless Jordan Strokovsky Sarah Theobald
NEWSLETTER EDITOR Emmy Homan Morris Animal Refuge 1242 Lombard Street Philadelphia PA 19147
WELCOME TO OUR 2021 SUMMER NEWSLETTER! The warming weather and a busier shelter can only mean one thing: summer is here! Like everyone else, our last year was far from normal, and it presented many new challenges. But the team at Morris Animal Refuge took it all in stride, and I’m happy to report we ended 2020 with a 96% save rate! This year’s newsletter highlights some of the great new programs, projects, and partnerships we developed over the past year to further our mission and save more lives. With your help, we can continue to grow and improve the lives of each and every animal that comes to us in need.
Tel 215.735.9570 Fax 215.735.6398 info@morrisanimalrefuge.org www.MorrisAnimalRefuge.org
Lewis P. Checchia Executive Director
HAPPY TAILS: BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE LIFESAVER FUND WHAT IS THE LIFESAVER FUND? The LifeSaver Fund is for animals that need extra medical care or behavioral rehabilitation prior to adoption. When an animal in need comes to Morris these funds are ready and waiting, allowing us to provide immediate care and get the animal ready for their new furever homes as quickly as possible. Want to learn more? Visit www.MorrisAnimalRefuge.org/program/the-life-saver-fund.
Coco’s Hunt for a Home
placing him in a new home was a challenge. Most families who expressed interest either had another pet in the home or lived in an area with lots of dogs. Coco’s By Darryl Moore, Director of Operations severe prey drive meant he would require a large yard Coco, a 5 year old black lab, was brought to the and very restricted access to other dogs or small refuge in September of 2020. He was surrendered when animals. While we were working hard to find a home his family moved and could not take him with them. that would be a good fit for him, his days in the shelter Friendly, lovable, and affectionate even in the often were getting longer and longer, and poor Coco was stressful shelter environment, Coco soon became a staff entering his fifth month at Morris. favorite. Coco was only in the We placed him into foster care shelter for 7 days before he to give him some time out of the found an adopter who fell in love shelter. Coco was on his best, with him as quickly as we did. We most lovable behavior with his thought this would be Coco’s foster, but unfortunately he had happy ending, but unfortunately, another run in with a dog, which this is just when his true Morris ultimately brought him back to story begins. Morris. After a month in his home, Coco found himself back at the refuge due to new found aggression issues with small dogs. Even though Coco was the only dog in his home, he lived in an area surrounded by other dogs and their families. Coco had serious agitation when he was near other dogs and even developed leash aggression while pulling towards them. The adopter knew he could not provide Coco the best home environment due to these challenges and despite his best efforts to rehome him to a new family (bypassing the shelter system), he was unsuccessful, and Coco found himself back at the refuge. With this information in mind, we began the search for Coco’s new home. Despite his lovable demeanor,
After his return from foster and many unsuccessful adoption meets, we decided to turn to social media for help. In a heartfelt post and with assistance from his extremely dedicated foster mom, we made a plea to the public which got hundreds of shares. The post outlined Coco’s ideal home environment: a place outside of the city where he would have space to run and play without encountering any other dogs or small animals. Finally in February 2021, thanks to the help of so many supporters, we found the perfect home for Coco. Coco continues to live his best life with his new family and large yard in New Jersey, and we couldn’t be happier about this happy ending.
Community Cats By Aislinn Whittaker, Veterinary Technician According to the Humane Society of the United States, it is estimated that 30 - 40 million cats in the US are considered to be a “Community Cat”. A community cat is a label given to a cat that lives outside, and more often than not, are feral/under socialized. Some of these cats may be animals that were born in the wild, while others unfortunately can be pets that slipped through the door and didn’t find their way home, or even pets that were no longer wanted. More and more shelters and rescues across the country are A special thanks to Mac’s Fund for implementing programs to help humanely care for these cats, providing the grant funding needed to popularly referred to as a “Community Cat Program” or “Trapsupport our Community Cat’s Program! Neuter-Return (TNR) Program”. Most, if not all, of these programs include: spay/neuter, rabies vaccination, feline distemper vaccination, an ear tip on the left ear, and even a dose of flea and tick control is sometimes included. While it seems to be a strange alteration, the ear tip is now known as a sign that the animal is already sterilized and taken care of and therefore does not need to be bothered. Community Cats are usually apprehensive about human interaction, but there are some outdoor cats that enjoy the company of humans. While there’s been some debate over whether or not cats living outdoors is humane or not, it seems the general consensus among shelter staff and volunteers is that some cats just simply enjoy free-roaming more than being domesticated. After all, it wasn’t until the 1940’s that we started to really live with cats in our homes. There’s many benefits of having a Community Cat program, but by far the best is that it helps keep our feline friends safe by offering veterinary care and reducing overpopulation in the domestic animal world. All in all, outdoor cats are all around us and with programs like our Community Cat Program we can help keep even more of our animal friends safe and happy with the help of our cat trappers and the local community who take care of them outdoors.
The Fur Ball Goes Virtual By Carly Gove, Community Engagement Manager For the last 24 years, Morris Animal Refuge has held an annual gala, the Fur Ball, to gather our community, celebrate our team (furry and human alike!), and of course, raise funds for our lifesaving mission. But this year, for the very first time, Morris had to rise to the challenge of holding this iconic event entirely online. Throughout the entire month of April, Morris ran an all-virtual Fur Ball campaign including interactive events each Friday, a trivia competition, raffles, a silent auction, and even specially made Fur Ball shirts! With the invaluable support of the Morris community, we were able to raise $37,198.32—more than double our goal. The funds raised by the Fur Ball each spring help us care for pets in need all year long. This year, they will be instrumental in our efforts to expand our medical department to include a full time veterinarian for the first time ever! While we are extremely proud of the medical support we’ve been able to provide in the past with a topnotch support staff and a part-time veterinarian, the ability to hire a full-time veterinarian will mean an even greater ability to save pets in need.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the virtual Fur Ball! We can’t wait to see you next year. The 25th Annual Fur Ball will be held on March 25th, 2022 at The Bellevue Hotel!
Families Who Foster Together Stay Together By Spike Dougherty, Lifesaving Manager Foster families help us save countless lives by caring for our most needy animals and opening up kennel space for more animals in need. As kitten season ramps up, we’d like to highlight two all-star foster families, who have taken on the scrappiest and loveliest kit-kats in our population!
Kids and Kittens
Betty Wasey began her foster journey last kitten season with her son and daughter. The kids even brought home the same observation sheets our kennel staff use, so they could monitor their foster siblings just as closely! Here’s what
the perfect way to get your feet wet with a first pet. It took less than a week for my dad (the now retired mailman) to realize he absolutely loves cats and now needs a cat around at all times. … He can't be bothered with names since we've had so many, so he calls every cat "my baby" and lights up whenever he comes down in the morning to see our foster cat!” Jude described his favorite foster cat to date, saying, “Carrot was a six-month-old, semi-feral kitten that was... feisty when I got him. By the time he was adopted, he was such a sweetheart that he's currently living as an emotional support cat. It was kind of like sending your kid away to cat Harvard. I was proud of the little guy.”
Jude and Annie both spoke to the mental health benefits of fostering, especially given the past year we’ve all shared. Jude said, “Helping animals is great, don't get me wrong, but man did fostering help with getting through that pandemic. Things are easier to get through with an animal around.” Annie added, “[It’s Betty had to say about fostering: rewarding] knowing that I'm able to take care of somebody that needs it until they find their perfect “The most rewarding part of fostering is watching the home. Seeing the cats decompress and become kittens grow independent and strong. Some show up comfortable again to show their personalities in a home with ringworm or barely able to eat/walk, some are terrified of people. So seeing them overcome all these setting made me happy with each new foster. Plus like battles and turn into springy, bright-eyed, big kittens is a Jude mentioned, having a foster pet really helped with mental health. I feel genuinely happier since I started joy. The kids love this too. They also said, ‘It feels good fostering.” to foster kittens because otherwise they would be on the street, and hungry and sad.’ … It’s wonderful hearing back from the new families and seeing that the Thank you, Jude, Annie, and Mailman Busarello, for kitten(s) are adjusting and happy in their new homes. It opening your hearts to so many kittens and cats in need! I’m not sure where Carrot would be without brings me joy to think that I helped bring those furry Jude’s reform school, and I know our golden girls were balls of love into people’s lives.” so much happier in your home than in a kennel. Thank you, Betty and the Wasey kids, for taking in all those ringworm kitties and turning them into adorable furballs! We are so grateful for the care and love you showered these (sometimes smelly) babies with.
A Family of Mailmen Siblings Annie and Jude Busarello found an unexpected animal lover in their dad when they began fostering. Jude is a mentor to young cats with a ‘tude, while Annie and her dad tend to the often overlooked senior ladies. Annie said, “I grew up always begging for a dog, but we're from a family of mailmen so a dog was a no-go. When Jude started fostering a few months into the pandemic, I convinced my parents to let me foster a senior cat, since with fostering you have resources to help with any issues or questions that come up, and it's
If you’re interested in fostering, fill out our app (www.morrisanimalrefuge.org/fostering) and send a message to foster@morrisanimalrefuge.org!
A Doggone Good Time: Adventure Tails Program Gives Dogs a Break From the Kennels Alisa Rubinstein, Adoptions and Enrichment Coordinator The shelter kennel can be a tough place to be, even for the most well-adjusted dogs. It’s loud and the air is full of unfamiliar scents and sounds. This environment can cause frustration and anxious behaviors like excessive barking, jumping and mouthing, and loss of appetite. Even with daily enrichment (i.e. boredom busters like food puzzles, playtime, and toys -- all of which are crucial to our dogs’ mental health while in the shelter!) there’s no replacement for a break from the kennels. To address this, our team is piloting a brand new initiative: Adventure Tails. This program allows volunteers to take a shelter dog out and about for the day, or even overnight! This also allows us to learn more about our dogs and take amazing photos to help showcase our dogs’ best qualities to adopters. This is especially helpful for our large and senior dogs who might need an extra push to find their perfect match. So far our pups have visited places like Fairmont Park and the Rocky Steps, Wissahickon Valley Park, Starbucks (for a puppuccino!), and the Schuylkill River Trail, in addition to several “stay-cations” at volunteers’ homes.
London’s Day Out ….
London the 7-year-old pittie mix was found as a stray, so we didn’t know much about her when we pulled her from ACCT. She was incredibly affectionate with staff, but she cried in her crate the whole car ride from ACCT, so we were nervous she wasn’t used to being in the car (a trait that’s important to many adopters). Thankfully, Leah, an Adventure Tails volunteer, took London out in her car and reported “[London] was excited to get in the car every time we drove somewhere. She was calm in the car… and had fun going on a walk and hike.” It turns out she just didn’t like being crated for car rides! London was adopted soon after her day out, and currently enjoys snoozing on the couch and cuddling with her adopter! We’re so grateful to the volunteers who make this program possible!
If you’re interested in signing up to take a dog out on an Adventure Tail, fill out our Volunteer Application: www.morrisanimalrefuge.org/volunteering.
Final Thoughts By Lewis Checchia, Executive Director In March of 2020 no one knew what to expect in the coming months, but thanks to the support of people like you Morris Animal Refuge was able to continue our mission. Last year we were able to place over 600 animals in new forever homes, expand our foster care program, create a Community Cat Program and more, and so far this year we’ve already found new families for over 250 furry friends. With the world returning to normal, kitten season in full force, and the typical increase of summer intakes we know we have a busy few months ahead of us. You can help us continue to carry out our mission by opening your heart and making a contribution, becoming a foster, or joining our team as a volunteer. Thank you for all that you do and have a wonderful and safe summer!
Please consider making a donation today using the enclosed envelope or by going to our website, www.morrisanimalrefuge.org/donate.
2021 SUMMER NEWSLETTER
Want to help us continue this lifesaving work?
Make a donation at
www.morrisanimalrefuge.org/donate
THANK YOU!