Should I buy that license plate?

For several years the State of New York has had money set aside for the Animal Population Control Fund. The fund is managed by the Agriculture and Markets Department. People on public assistance could apply to the department for a voucher which could be taken to a limited number of veterinarians who would perform the surgery for a $20 co-pay.
Last year, the governor 'swept' $1 million out of that fund (meaning that the governor took it for the general fund and it will never come back). The money comes from several sources including dog license fees, unused spay/neuter deposits from shelters and sales of special license plates that support spay/neuter.
Now the Agriculture and Markets Department has announced that they are running low on funds. If the current trend of shrinking reserves continues, they are predicting that by October several counties will no longer have a program available to them. The program has a provision to give priority to counties where the most money is coming from when funds get low.
The fund currently has just under $500,000 in reserves. If the governor had left the money where it belonged and used it for what was promised, essential spay and neuter services would still be available throughout the state. Unfortunately now, less than half the state will have these services available to low income people. This is a sad and unnecessary state of affairs. The money that was designated for the fund, should have stayed there.
So, should you pay $20 extra every year to have a spay/neuter license plate? The DMV's website says that the money goes to the animal population control fund, and it does until the governor decides to take it away. I would love to be able to recommend that everyone proudly display their support of the spay/neuter fund on their cars, but the promise of where the money will go, may not be kept by New York State.

Hoosick Breeder Closes Her Doors

We are having an especially busy couple of days here at the Humane Society. A tip was called in to State Police that a woman living in a single wide trailer was selling puppies that were too young to be separated from their mothers. The State Police called us for help. When they called, the Police believed that there were over 20 dogs and ten cats in the home. When Humane Society investigators and staff arrived at home, there was still a sign outside offering puppies for sale.

The owner turned over 55 dogs and puppies- including 4 mothers nursing litters -and 14 cats. The dogs include Pomeranians, Chihuahuas, Dachshunds and others. It took most of the day to catch them all, identify them and get them back to the Humane Society’s Animal Center in Menands. They have all been examined and treated by the our Veterinarian and some will be spayed and neutered today and tomorrow.

The dogs and cats are in varying degrees of health, but seem to be social and friendly. Some of the animals may be available for adoption as early as Friday afternoon or Saturday morning. The younger puppies will need weeks in one of our volunteer foster homes before they can be adopted. All of these animals are really putting a strain on our space and resources so we are hoping to do a lot of adoptions this weekend.

We don’t know how many dogs have been sold by this woman over the years, but now at least one supply of puppies in the area has been closed, hopefully if we can get more breeders to close, we can start to control the problem of pet overpopulation .

Beanie Babies, Not Bunnies

These are just two of the Rabbits at the Humane Society need homes, and will be spayed or neutered before leaving.

Every year, people around the country go out and buy baby bunnies and chicks for Easter. Sometimes the little babies are dyed pastel colors for the season. They are often impulse purchases for excited children who may think that these babies are the most exciting things they have ever seen, so mom and dad give in and bring one home. But then what happens?
Baby chicks become chickens and little baby bunnies become full grown rabbits. Most people don't have an appropriate place to keep a chicken and they often wind up abandoned or given up to farm rescues right away.
Many people make a go of keeping the rabbits they have purchased, but children may soon lose interest and parents come up against the reality of how much care a rabbit really needs. In just a few months, people who bought more than one bunny may find out that they start reproducing at a very young age (yes that reputation is well earned). Soon there may be many bunnies, more than anyone planned for.
So, after a few months of good efforts, the rabbit ends up at the Humane Society, or maybe at a rabbit rescue like the rabbit resource http://www.therabbitresource.org/. We are preparing for an influx of these baby bunnies, but we are really hoping that people will forgo their Easter baby bunny and chick purchase to begin with.
To discourage the purchase of live bunnies and chicks, the Mohawk and Hudson River Humane Society will give away a free beanie baby to any child who comes in and pledges that they will not get a baby bunny or chick this Easter. The give away starts today and will continue through Easter or while supplies last.
Let's choose stuffed toys this year, not live animals.

The Bobble Head has been chosen

Bubba the Akita and I just got back from a press conference at the Holiday Inn Express downtown to announce the winner of the Valley Cat's weatherman bobble head contest. I am happy to say that Steve Caporizzo from WTEN won the voting so a bobble head of Steve will be produced and given away this summer.
Steve was competing against 3 other Capital Region weathermen for the honor of having bobble head made in his image. Voters could go online and pick their favorite. Each weatherman chose a their favorite charity and Steve chose us! That means that the Vally Cats gave us $500 plus tickets that we can sell as a fundraiser to a Valley Cats on August 12th. The contest was sponsored by the Holiday Inn Express. The bobble heads will be given out at the Valley Cats game on August 22nd.
At the press conference Steve Caporizzo surprised everyone when he announced that The Pet Connection was going to give an additional $1,000 to the Humane Society to support our programs. As if that wasn't enough, Steve and the Pet Connection are going to purchase an additional 500 bobble heads to sell as a fundraiser for homeless animals.
The event was a lot of fun. One of our orphaned dogs, Bubba, was there and did a great job. Everyone loved him and he showed off how well he sits and shakes hands (with both paws). Hoprefully in addition to all of the great support we've gotten, Bubba will find a home.

Welcome

Hello everyone, and welcome to the official blog of the Mohawk and Hudson River Humane Society. This month marks my second full year as Executive Director of the Society and I thought that it was about time to share up to date information about the Society online.

This blog will be a place where you can come and learn about the latest happenings at the Society, news about animals in our community and tips about animal care. I will have friends, volunteers and other Society staff guest blogging from time to time as well so that you can learn directly from their expertise.

Today I spent most of the day at Paws for a Cause in the Empire State Plaza. It was great to see all of the different vendors, animal protection groups, and veterinarians out together educating the public about animal care.
My favorite presentation of the day had to be the dancing Corgis. Really, they dance.

Paws for a Cause continues tomorrow and the Purina Dog Team will be there for several performances throughout the day.
I will be on 810 WGY's Pet Talk tomorrow from 11am to noon along with other guests talking about animals and animal health. Please listen in.

That's it for the first post, please check back often for news and updates.