Careful, July 4th is almost here

As a kid July 4th was always one of my favorite holidays. And why wouldn't it be? What could be better for a young boy than big colorful explosions in the sky? Luckily for us, our dog never seemed bothered by the loud percussive explosions, but he may have been the exception.

Many people don't realize that more pets will get loose during the July 4th weekend than any other time of the year because they are afraid of the loud noise of fireworks. Fireworks and loud noises may cause pets to panic, become excited, destructive, and frequently run away from home in fear.

As we all know, fireworks are often set off days before and after the 4^th of July so it is important to consider your pet’s safety now. Last year a dog in Albany ran away from home when fireworks went off in the neighborhood and the dog was hit by a car. Please don’t let your pet be next.

Here are a few tips for your pets on 4th of July:

• Never leave your pet in a car unattended

• Keep your pet indoors in a quite secure place
  

• Don't take your pet to the fireworks events

• For pets with severe anxiety talk to your vet, they may recommend sedatives or herbal remedies

• Make sure that you have a current pet id tag and make sure your microchip information is up to date

• Provide plenty of fresh clean, water as pets may pant excessively when afraid

• Leave a radio on with classical music or a talk radio station. Avoid loud or percussive music.

• Do not leave your pet outside. They may become so afraid that they will escape even though they may never have tried before.

• Do not leave your pet tied or chained up. When pets are afraid, they may try to escape from the chain and either injure themselves or pull the chain loose.

• If your pet is missing check immediately with your local dog control officer and animal shelter.

In order to help reunite pets with their families this year, the Humane Society is offering microchips for only $15 on Thursday July 2^nd and Friday July 3^rd from 10am to 4pm. The microchip is the size of a grain of rice and is implanted by a veterinarian between your pet’s shoulder blades. The chip then serves as a permanent identification for your pet. Even if they loose their collar, shelters and veterinarians will be able to scan the chip and return your pet too you. All dogs coming in for microchips must be on a leash. Cats must be in a carrier.

Volunteer!

On Monday, our new Volunteer Manager, Jennifer Haraburda, started working for the Mohawk and Hudson River Humane Society. We are very excited that Jennifer has joined our team. Jennifer brings great energy and expertise to her new position with a history of running the volunteer program at the Animal Protective Foundation.
You may wonder what Jennifer will be working on, why the new volunteer manager? In the past volunteers were managed by another staff member who had a host of other responsibilities. While our number of volunteers and their programs grew it became clear that this was not a part time job. By shifting around some job responsibilities, we were able add this new full time position without adding any expenses.

Volunteers are essential to our success. Every minute that a volunteer dedicates to the Society helps to save another animal's life. Really? You ask... Yes really. Let's just take one program, our foster care volunteers. Last year over 950 animals were cared for in volunteer foster homes. Most of those animals were kittens that were too young to be adopted, but there were also many animals that were recovering from illness or injuries. It is extremely difficult to care for animals like these in the shelter so without volunteers those animals may not have survived.

Our two satellite adoption centers are 100% volunteer staffed. 7 days a week, 365 days a year, animals in the Petsmarts in Latham and Glenmont are cared for by volunteers. It takes about 45 volunteers at each site to keep those centers running and keep adoptions going. Last year over 550 animals were adopted from the two satelite adoption centers. Those adoptions would not have been possible without volunteers.

The list goes on endlessly, volunteers hlep to feed animals, clean kennels, excersie dogs, care for cats, rabbits and other animals. Our volunteers often spend weekends at community events promoting the society and letting people know about our programs. They stuff envelopes, do office work, serve on our board, repair our plumbing, and so much more.

So if you have some time on your hands, come by and meet Jennifer, or check our website for the latest volunteer opportunites

Honored K9's

On Saturday I had the pleasure and honor of attending the Capital District Police K-9 Training Group's annual ceremony at the Law Enforcement K-9 Memorial. The Memorial is on the grounds of the Mohawk and Hudson River Humane Society and was established in 1999 to honor the dogs who had dedicated their lives to protecting all of us. Three K-9's were honored on Saturday and added to the dozens already in the memorial.
Some dogs are detection specialists, finding accelerants, explosives or narcotics while others are trained in tracking, detection, evidence recovery, criminal detection and apprehension, and officer protection.
While training and working the dogs live with their partners (or handlers) and stay with those partners when the dogs are ready to retire. The dogs maintain a loving and stable home life after their important days of work are done. The dogs are considered officers by their departments and are treated with the great respect that they deserve.

Next time you are at the Humane Society take a moment to stop at the beginning of our driveway by the two flags you will see flying. Take a look at the memories of the animals that have spent their lives protecting us all.

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.

What to do about Mike

The big news of the day in the Capital Region is that the Albany Firebirds have offered Michael Vick a contract with the provision that Vick give $100,000 to the Mohawk and Hudson River Humane Society. At first blush it sounds great for the Society to receive a huge influx of money to support our programs and save more animals' lives, but at what cost?
I believe in redemption. I know that people can change and be better people. I don't believe that you make change by paying someone else any amount of money. Vick has already paid almost a million dollars for the care of the dogs that survived his dog fighting ring. I don't think that anyone would say that changed him as a person. Did going to prison change him? I suppose it might have, but we really don't know.
Rather than money, I would like to see Michael Vick become a member of the Capital Region community who works to prevent animal cruelty and put a stop to dog fighting. I think that his time and proper use of his fame will be a much better indicator of a change in attitude than writing a check, even if it is to a worthy cause.

I would love to know your opinions on this issue. Please click on comments below and let me know what you think.

Ping and another great gala

Friday night was our second annual Around the World for 80 Strays Gala. There was a huge turnout with almost 300 animal lovers coming together at Wolferts Roost to support the Humane Society. Our Emcee, Anya Tucker from Channel 10 News, did a wonderful job keeping the night going and our Auctioneer, Jamie Roberts from 810 WGY's Pet Talk had hands flying up in the air during our live auction.

One of my favorite things about this year was that we had pictures on every table of animals that had been adopted or were available for adoption from the Humane Society. When you first walked into the dining room there was a sea of furry faces looking back at you.

The pictures had all been taken at Picture People in Crossgates Mall over the last several weeks. One of the pictures was of a very special cat named 'Ping'. Ping was brought here with 5 other cats because their family lost their home. Ping is a big beautiful cat, but for some reason all of the other cats in his family have already been adopted. Ping is still waiting.

So the night was fun and everyone had a great time, but Ping is still here on Monday, hopefully he will find a home soon.

Going Around the World!

This Friday night is our second annual Around the World for 80 Strays gala at Wolferts Roost Country club. I am very excited about this year's event. We have plans that will make this a great night for animal lovers in the capital region. Our honorary chair is Bocker the Labradoodle. You can see his website at www.bocker.tv Bocker will be at the gala to meet our guests and congratulate the winners of this year's Humane Awards.

Channel 10's Anya Tucker will be our M.C. and Jamie Roberts, host of 810 WGY's Pet Talk, will be our auctioneer.

We will have some fantastic items up for auction this year including a basketball signed by the entire Siena basketball team and the coach, three baseballs signed by some of the Yankees best pitchers of all time, a fabulous Saratoga get away and of course, the cover of our 2010 cutest pet calendar will be auctioned off.
Please join us for fun, music and dancing at the capital region's number one animal gala!

You can purchase tickets now just click here