By: Judy Hamontre, AVHS Vice-chair Every time I attend an Ark-Valley Humane Society event, I am reminded how wonderful our community is to support our shelter. June 28, I joined 2 of our AVHS volunteers and James Bove, our Buena Vista High Country Bank representative for the bank’s annual food drive for the shelter. The Salida branch held their drive on June 21. Because of the generosity of you, our community, the two drives collected an incredible 1,283 pounds of pet food, which helped us meet our match from High Country Bank......

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By: Judy Lore, AVHS Volunteer Columnist We need to be aware of the temperatures when it’s too hot to walk our dogs on pavement or macadam. Also, we need to know how temperatures in a car heat up so quickly – much faster than we realize. If possible, leave your pet at home, but if not, know what temperature is forecasted and plan for it. It was an unusually hot June and July and August will undoubtedly continue in the high temperatures. Friends Don’t Leave Friends Inside Parked Cars. I copied this......

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By: Judy Hamontre, AVHS Vice-chair  Recently posted on the Ark-Valley Humane Society Facebook page is this exciting, Tail Waggin’ News: “After two years in the shelter’s care and several months in a wonderful foster home, King has been adopted!” “His foster mom decided to make it official and adopt King. This is the happiest news we could share. We couldn’t ask for a better ending to King’s journey as he now gets to spend the rest of his years in a home he truly loves.” This post has received over 305 likes......

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By: Judy Hamontre, AVHS Vice-chair  One of the most difficult responsibilities of being a pet owner is evaluating your pet’s quality of life.  My friends recently faced this challenge with their 17 year-old blue point Siamese, Sushi. I have written about “The Sush” in some of my articles. He and his brother, Ming always greeted me at the door and were vocal, wanting me to immediately sit on the sofa and pet them, which would kick their purring machines into high gear. When I visited them in their Illinois home two weeks......

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By: Emy Nettleblad, AVHS Outreach Manager Ark-Valley Humane Society is excited to announce its first ever Community Microchip and Pet ID tag clinic. We will be inviting the public to the shelter on Sunday, July 21st, from 12-3PM for free microchips and pet id tags. Make sure to bring your cats in a carrier and your dogs on a leash. When you arrive please leave your pets in the car and check in at our outdoor table near the front door. Depending on availability, staff will instruct you where to go from......

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By: Judy Hamontre, AVHS Vice-Chair The morning was perfect, cool with a slight breeze and Colorado blue skies. The Arkansas, sparkling in the sunshine was bubbling with rafters. This was the setting for the Ark-Valley Humane Society’s Tails on the Trail 5K walk/run on May 18. The participants were eager to race and included people of all ages and levels of fitness, most with their furry friends. Some humans were running to win, some wanted their dogs to win, some wanted to achieve a personal best, including a few seniors aided by......

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By: Judy Lore, AVHS Volunteer Columnist A copy of PawPrint magazine arrived recently and I will borrow from it liberally. This issue includes articles on planning ahead for pet emergencies that will be costly, your aging dog and what to look for and how to help, pets with special needs, highlighting the Bombay cat, a pup who “talks,” and a kitty who acts as a hearing aid. However, I am going to concentrate on a fun article to see if we can remember or know the breed of celebrity dogs and cats. I’m......

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By: Judy Hamontre, AVHS Vice-chair Our pets are joys any time of year, but that feeling seems even stronger in June, as summer in the mountains settles in. Smiling humans are out walking and biking with their tail-wagging dogs, dog parks are alive with canine energy, cats are intently watching birds, pondering how to get to one, and neighborhood cats are contentedly watching and roaming. “June is bustin’ out all over” with happy pets and pet owners celebrating life to its fullest. Perhaps that is one reason there are so many pet......

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By: Judy Hamontre, AVHS Vice-chair A pup named Bundy escaped from his home on Halloween. The family contacted authorities and searched, but Bundy was not found. The family was heart broken. Several weeks later a pup matching his description was spotted perched on a slab at the edge of a highway. His collar with ID tag was gone, but he was microchipped and joyfully reunited with his family. A pug named Chato was stolen from his family. As time passed, they lost hope of ever seeing him again. Eight years later a truck......

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By: Judy Hamontre, AVHS Vice-chair The Humane Society of the United States estimates there are 30 to 40 million “community” cats living throughout the U.S. Community cats are the feral cats and strays who have no human home. Over the years a friend of mine has trapped-neutered-returned seven of these community adult cats, roaming in her neighborhood. Two cats relocated themselves, and two remained outdoors, usually in her backyard with one of them occasionally coming a few feet away from her but no closer. Over time, the other three entered her house and stayed. The two......

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