Gorgeous Lyla, who found a forever home!
News & Updates
New for 2010 is our periodic newsletter for people interested in keeping up with the K-9 Hospice and the Humane Society of the Greater River Valley. Check here for news, needs, and announcements!
September 2010
Thank goodness summer is winding down and we can start looking forward to some slightly cooler temps! We've been busy as always, and just finished up our Sept. 18th "All Hands for the Dogs" volunteer work day. Nine people pitched in to do some extra cleaning, repairs, and dog care, including volunteers from Iowa and a new friend from Washington (thanks, Cat!). Many thanks also to Shane (and his friend), Jan, Annie, Terri, Julie, Haley, and Evan for all your hard work!
Word seems to be spreading about our unique canine (and feline!) home here at the HSGRV, and we've been fielding more calls from interested people (hmmm, might that soon translate into more donations and volunteers and adoptions?). People are intrigued with how our dogs live together, with lots of room to run, a pond for swimming on hot days, and afternoon movies during nap time in the big room. One recent visitor even returned in his helicoptor to air-drop a (carefully wrapped) cash donation!
Jan has been busy talking with the good folks at the new Russellville Petsense outlet, and planning for the Oct 2-3 adoption weekend. That will mean extra visits to the vet for the dogs to be adopted, to make sure they're adoption-ready. If anyone can make a small donation to help cover those vet bills it would sure be appreciated!
Fall also means its time to finish getting ready for winter. We are seeking an electrician and plumber who would devote some time to come up and advise us on wiring and pipe needs. We are also still seeking more wire fencing to complete the larger dog run areas. Let us know if you can help us out!
Word seems to be spreading about our unique canine (and feline!) home here at the HSGRV, and we've been fielding more calls from interested people (hmmm, might that soon translate into more donations and volunteers and adoptions?). People are intrigued with how our dogs live together, with lots of room to run, a pond for swimming on hot days, and afternoon movies during nap time in the big room. One recent visitor even returned in his helicoptor to air-drop a (carefully wrapped) cash donation!
Jan has been busy talking with the good folks at the new Russellville Petsense outlet, and planning for the Oct 2-3 adoption weekend. That will mean extra visits to the vet for the dogs to be adopted, to make sure they're adoption-ready. If anyone can make a small donation to help cover those vet bills it would sure be appreciated!
Fall also means its time to finish getting ready for winter. We are seeking an electrician and plumber who would devote some time to come up and advise us on wiring and pipe needs. We are also still seeking more wire fencing to complete the larger dog run areas. Let us know if you can help us out!
Puppy kisses!
This guy loves to sit in buckets and pans!
Jan and Terri make work plans while the dogs head back to the large pen.
Taking advantage of some extra shade by the work table.
July 2010
Well we seem to have missed spring completely here! Spring and summer have been busy 'up on the mountain' . We survived the ice and cold of winter, and are now sweating it out in these hot months of summer. We've had numerous adoptions, and have reduced our dog numbers to approximately 93 right now (combined K-9 Hospice and HSGRV).
Two of our monthly volunteer work days had to be canceled due to bad weather, but we finally got it together in June for a working weekend with extra volunteers here from Iowa and Missouri. That gave us a chance to do some extra cleaning and organizing, repaired some doors and fencing, got some new lights working, checked out some other electrical problems, got the flush pump working again, gave the dogs some extra attention, and just basically had some fun sweating and working hard together!
We continue to work hard to create a haven for these dogs and to promote responsible adoption! The place is still 'rough' but we continue to work on that and could sure use some extra hands for our next work day on Saturday, September 18th! Top priorities are always those things that will help keep our dogs healthier, safer, and happier, but we also want to ultimately get our site more people-friendly and just plain attractive. Lots of work to do!
In July, we were so grateful to receive a donation from Nestle Purina as part of their Pets for People program, of more than 7,000 lbs of Purina Beneful Incredibtiles dry dog food - wow!!! The ASAP helped to coordinate the donation and collection site (thanks, you guys 'n gals!), and HSGRV volunteers Shane and Rosemary organized the trip to Ft Smith to pick up the food and bring it all back (good thing Shane has a large trailer!). The food will go amazingly fast (less than 2 mos), but it's so nice to not have to worry about where most of the food is coming from for a few weeks at least. Thanks, Purina and ASAP!
Finally, want to mention again (for those of you who did not see this) the beautiful dog blankets and dog treats made by the girls of Junior Troop 714 out of Wilmington, DE. With their troop leader Robin Daly, these girls worked hard on creating these blankets and whipping up the biscuits as part of their work for their Pet Care badge; they researched dog rescues, and selected the K-9 Hospice as their recipients! Thank you so much, Girls! (see pictures below)
Two of our monthly volunteer work days had to be canceled due to bad weather, but we finally got it together in June for a working weekend with extra volunteers here from Iowa and Missouri. That gave us a chance to do some extra cleaning and organizing, repaired some doors and fencing, got some new lights working, checked out some other electrical problems, got the flush pump working again, gave the dogs some extra attention, and just basically had some fun sweating and working hard together!
We continue to work hard to create a haven for these dogs and to promote responsible adoption! The place is still 'rough' but we continue to work on that and could sure use some extra hands for our next work day on Saturday, September 18th! Top priorities are always those things that will help keep our dogs healthier, safer, and happier, but we also want to ultimately get our site more people-friendly and just plain attractive. Lots of work to do!
In July, we were so grateful to receive a donation from Nestle Purina as part of their Pets for People program, of more than 7,000 lbs of Purina Beneful Incredibtiles dry dog food - wow!!! The ASAP helped to coordinate the donation and collection site (thanks, you guys 'n gals!), and HSGRV volunteers Shane and Rosemary organized the trip to Ft Smith to pick up the food and bring it all back (good thing Shane has a large trailer!). The food will go amazingly fast (less than 2 mos), but it's so nice to not have to worry about where most of the food is coming from for a few weeks at least. Thanks, Purina and ASAP!
Finally, want to mention again (for those of you who did not see this) the beautiful dog blankets and dog treats made by the girls of Junior Troop 714 out of Wilmington, DE. With their troop leader Robin Daly, these girls worked hard on creating these blankets and whipping up the biscuits as part of their work for their Pet Care badge; they researched dog rescues, and selected the K-9 Hospice as their recipients! Thank you so much, Girls! (see pictures below)
Gerald sits after unwrapping the blankets
Jan distributes treats.
Looking for more treats.
The blankets make a good play area!
Beautiful!
A little guy checks out a blanket close-up.
February 2010
This month, we'd like you to meet Big Foot - a big and somewhat awkward lover of a dog who absolutely loves riding around or even just sitting in a truck. Big Foot is an older adult black lab who gets along well with other dogs, and usually wants to be outside more than in. He's one of Gerald's "original" K-9 Hospice dogs, and though he has a forever home with us, we know he'd love to have his very own yard (and maybe a car or truck to sit in)! If you'd be interested in adopting Big Foot, let us know!
Hard to believe February has pretty much come and gone already! This has been an unexpected winter, and our dogs have had to brave much colder temperatures than usual. We continue to battle water problems, but with spring coming up soon we can hopefully get that taken care of soon (if we can get the manpower and $$ for repairs, of course!). Rick has been a tremendous help, finding a way to bypass the main water line and getting at least some water to the dog rooms. And many thanks also to Shane, who continues to be such a huge help (and who plowed the road to the top when it got so bad!)!
We have no newcomers this month, as we have finally had to say "no" because of our large numbers right now. We have had several adoptions this winter, which has been wonderful! Two of our lab mixes were adopted, and Gretchen, the large German Shephard, found her own forever home. Li'l Abner and Daisy May, two pits who had been abandoned and left on their own to starve before they were rescued, have also found new homes already! We also were able to foster out a family of 6 puppies, and hopefully they'll be finding new forever homes as well very soon!
Many, many thanks to those of you who have donated to our dogs this winter! The dollars, dog food, other supplies and and bedding have, as always, been such a blessing!! Thanks, too, to our volunteers who make it up here to help out as often as they can!
We are getting ready for a 2nd Volunteer Work Day to be held this spring - check back soon for the date and the supplies we most need!
Our current most immediate needs are dog food (of course), cat food (for several cats who have found their way to us) used blankets for bedding, general medical supplies, heat bulbs, and a small electric space heater and long outside extension cord. Let us know if you can help!
Hard to believe February has pretty much come and gone already! This has been an unexpected winter, and our dogs have had to brave much colder temperatures than usual. We continue to battle water problems, but with spring coming up soon we can hopefully get that taken care of soon (if we can get the manpower and $$ for repairs, of course!). Rick has been a tremendous help, finding a way to bypass the main water line and getting at least some water to the dog rooms. And many thanks also to Shane, who continues to be such a huge help (and who plowed the road to the top when it got so bad!)!
We have no newcomers this month, as we have finally had to say "no" because of our large numbers right now. We have had several adoptions this winter, which has been wonderful! Two of our lab mixes were adopted, and Gretchen, the large German Shephard, found her own forever home. Li'l Abner and Daisy May, two pits who had been abandoned and left on their own to starve before they were rescued, have also found new homes already! We also were able to foster out a family of 6 puppies, and hopefully they'll be finding new forever homes as well very soon!
Many, many thanks to those of you who have donated to our dogs this winter! The dollars, dog food, other supplies and and bedding have, as always, been such a blessing!! Thanks, too, to our volunteers who make it up here to help out as often as they can!
We are getting ready for a 2nd Volunteer Work Day to be held this spring - check back soon for the date and the supplies we most need!
Our current most immediate needs are dog food (of course), cat food (for several cats who have found their way to us) used blankets for bedding, general medical supplies, heat bulbs, and a small electric space heater and long outside extension cord. Let us know if you can help!
January
Our big news (besides frozen and broken pipes, of course!) was our spay and neuter clinic held January 3, 2010, at the Davis Vet Clinic in Dardanelle! Dr. John Davis, DVM, donated his time and his staff to spay and neuter 22 dogs at his clinic. Thank you so much, Dr. John! Spaying and neutering your pets is vital to reduce the overpopulation of pets, and to prevent animal cruelty, abuse, and neglect.
Our new foster program is already growing, and we now have several dogs receiving much needed one-on-one care to help resolve health issues and to work on training and socialization of several dogs to increase their adoptability. Thank you, foster parents! And if you would like to become a foster family, please contact us!
Our big news (besides frozen and broken pipes, of course!) was our spay and neuter clinic held January 3, 2010, at the Davis Vet Clinic in Dardanelle! Dr. John Davis, DVM, donated his time and his staff to spay and neuter 22 dogs at his clinic. Thank you so much, Dr. John! Spaying and neutering your pets is vital to reduce the overpopulation of pets, and to prevent animal cruelty, abuse, and neglect.
Our new foster program is already growing, and we now have several dogs receiving much needed one-on-one care to help resolve health issues and to work on training and socialization of several dogs to increase their adoptability. Thank you, foster parents! And if you would like to become a foster family, please contact us!
