Greetings Volunteers!
Happy first of June! How crazy fast is the year going, right?! Well, today is “National Say Something Nice Day”! This is an easy one for me because I get to work with the most inspiring, compassionate staff and volunteers every day, so it’s easy to find something nice to say :). I’ll get the day started: YOU are doing a great job in your volunteer role; YOU make a difference every day to the shelter animals and people in our community! YOU are so appreciated! Thank you for being YOU!!
Shelter update: We currently have 221 animals in our care: 108 animals in foster and 113 animals in the shelter/Kitty Corner. Our residents include: 24 dogs, 33 cats, 32 kittens, 11 rabbits, 10 guinea pigs, 1 reptile, and 2 birds.
Adoptions update: Happy Wednesday! Three cheers to all of last week’s adopters who brought home snakes, kittens, dogs big & small, and sweet piggies too (that’s guinea pigs :)! Here’s the adoption slideshow to add some joy to your week. And for more details, check out this week’s Adoption Report.
Egg cartons needed for shelter dog enrichment: Did you know that the resident shelter dogs get enrichment activities every day? Of course, the shelter dogs love their walks and snuggles with the 
Dog Pet Pal volunteers, but they also enjoy the fun enrichment activities provided by the Animal Care staff. Enrichment helps reduce stress by providing different experiences for their senses, and provides some mental stimulation to complement their physical outings. One such enrichment activity for our dogs is to “hide” treats or kibble in an egg carton. The dogs can search for the food hidden inside, use their innate talents, and get the food reward. We use A LOT of egg cartons and could use more! Please save and bring us your clean cardboard egg cartons (no Styrofoam, please); you can simply place them in the donation bins in the front of the shelter. Thank you!
Make your pet a star! Our fourth annual Photo Fundraiser Contest is officially underway! You can help us raise funds for the shelter animals while also giving your own beloved pet a shot at stardom in our 2023 calendar. Entering the contest is easy-peasy! Take a photo of your pet, submit it online, then get your family and friends to vote for your pet’s adorable picture by sharing your entry via email or social media. The photo with the most votes will grace the cover of our 2023 calendar and 12 other favorites will grace each month. Plus, EVERY entry will be featured! The contest runs through June 20th so enter your pet’s photo ASAP to start getting those votes! Entry and voting fees all go towards supporting our shelter animals. Find all the contest details, rules, and FAQs here.
Tails of Marin: Since cats and dogs don’t speak the same language, they can easily get off on the wrong paw. If you live with a cat and you’re considering expanding your family to include a dog or if you already have a resident canine and have been thinking about adding a feline, be sure to set up their new relationship for success by reading this week’s Tails of Marin, “Dogs and cats can indeed live harmoniously.”
Volunteer High Five to the Woofstock volunteers: Wow! Just wow! What a fantastic Woofstock! Some say the best ever! The sun was shining, the music was playing, people were dancing, families and their dogs were enjoying the festivities on the lawn, and all seemed right with the world. Although 
the final numbers aren’t ready yet, we know that a record number of people attended Woofstock, with so many bringing their well-behaved dogs to enjoy the day. And we couldn’t have had such an outstanding event without all of the Woofstock volunteers!
There are so many “moving parts” involved in hosting an event the size of Woofstock. From 9am until 7pm, volunteers all were on campus, helping in every area of activity! Thank you to the early shift volunteers who assisted with all the last minute set-up details getting the campus ready for the hundreds of guests as well as assisting the vendors. Thank you to the noon to 5pm volunteers who welcomed and checked-in our guests, sold drinks tickets and concessions, poured beer, sold sodas & beer, persuaded guests to play the Dog Collar Wine Toss game, helped at our amazing raffle, monitored our canine guests (no dog kafuffles!), greeted our VIP guests, helped in the Kids Zone, and, so many other jobs! A special shout-out to all those who stayed until the last song was played and then helped with the breakdown and clean-up. Thank you, also, to the volunteers who distributed Woofstock postcards throughout Marin. Your promotional efforts brought many new guests to Woofstock! Three cheers to all the Woofstock volunteers for all of their time and talents!
Candace
