Greetings Volunteers!
It’s National Black Cat Day this Friday, October 27th! Black cats need a little positive PR as their reputation as an omen of bad luck is well-known (and unearned, frankly). In the lead-up to Halloween, National Black Cat Day provides the chance for feline fans to show off their love for the oft-maligned, but always iconic animal. BTW, black cats are considered to be good luck in Scotland, England, France, Italy, Northern Europe, and parts of Asia including Japan. If you want to add a good luck charm to your family, check out Riley and other cuties on our website!
Shelter update: We currently have 340 animals in our collective care. 245 are at Marin Humane: 109 animals in foster and 136 animals in the shelter/Kitty Corner, including: 20 dogs, 1 puppy, 65 cats, 25 kittens, 7 rabbits, 11 guinea pigs, 1 reptile, 2 birds and 4 fowl. 95 animals are with Hopalong: 12 animals are in the Oakland office and 83 cats, kittens, dogs, and puppies are in foster or offsite adoption sites!
Adoptions update: Happy Wednesday! Thanks to everyone who helped us #MakeADogsDay on Sunday, and thank you to the ASPCA and Subaru of America, Inc. grant programs who made it possible! Here’s the sweet adoption slideshow you’ve been waiting for all week, right?! There’s still another week of #SubaruLovesPets Month so check out all our available animals here! For more specific info on who was adopted this past week, here’s the Adoption Report.
Hopalong happenings! We had a great time at our adoption event this past Saturday in San Rafael where a handful of adorable pups were adopted! And now we’re looking forward to getting into the Halloween spirit with our next event! Catch us this Saturday having a barking good time at Dog-toberfest at Strawberry Village! Watch dozens of pets and their human accessories strut their stuff onstage in their Halloween costumes – or even better, join them with costumes of your own! Plus there’s plenty of family-friendly fun like face painting and balloon art, live music, pets adoptions, and more. We’ll see you there on October 28 (that’s this weekend!) from noon to 3pm!
Volunteer High Five! A huge High Five to the volunteers who helped at the disaster preparedness events where Marin Humane had a table to educate the public about pet preparedness in a disaster. Thank you to Brian Cooley, Chris Gallagher, and Tracey O’Hare for helping at our booth at “Ember Stomp” in May. Kudos also to Animal Ambassadors Carol Bellero, Dan Freeman, Stephanie Jones, Ellen Stein, and Sean Sullivan for bringing their wonderful dogs to “Ember Stomp”! Next, a round of a-paws to Lee Blackburn and Christina Fisher for helping at “Ready Sausalito” in September. And finally, thank you to Tracey O’Hare, Ellen Stein (and Willow) and Cris Welisch for their terrific assistance at “Get Ready To Go 94920” in Tiburon in October! We’re so appreciative of your interest in and support of these important community outreach events!
Tails of Marin: In this week’s Tails of Marin article, our Behavior & Training team weighs in the variety of collars, leashes, and training tools out there for your dog. How to know what’s best? The answer mostly depends on your dog, read: “Different dogs need different gear.”
Happy ending! Several months ago, Nala came in to Marin Humane as an owner surrender after her family lost their housing. Nala hadn’t experienced much of the world and struggled in the shelter environment. Shelter staff were looking at options to improve Nala’s life. One option we frequently consider is to transform animals to breed-specific or other types of rescue organizations. After much debate about whether or not Nala was a Rhodesian Ridgeback, the Rhodesian Ridgeback rescue folks confirmed she was and agreed to take Nala into their program! Nala was placed into a foster home where she was able to shine. In fact, Nala’s foster mom decided to adopt her – yeah! Here’s a photo of sweet Nala who looks like she is living a wonderful life with her new sibling. 😊
Blessing of the animals: Join us this Saturday, October 28, for a beautiful, non-denominational Blessing of the Animals at Unity In Marin. All are welcome – yes, including pets! (Please bring pets leashed or in carriers for their safety.) Reverend DeeAnn will offer a pet blessing, and we will celebrate the love and joy that animals bring to our lives! This event will be held 10 – 11:30 am at Unity in Marin in Novato.
Advocacy update: With the State Legislative season now wrapped up, we’re pleased to report on our successful advocacy campaigns aimed at improving access to care for California’s pets and their families. This year Marin Humane worked in collaboration with other animal welfare groups and there are significant achievements we wanted to share with you.
We are delighted to announce that Senate Bill 669 (SB 669), which expands the ability of Registered Veterinary Technicians (RVTs) to administer vital vaccines, was signed into law on October 13 by Governor Gavin Newsom, in one of his last approvals of the legislative session. SB 669 will allow trained, educated and experienced RVTs to administer vaccines under the indirect (offsite) supervision of a licensed veterinarian. This legislation will allow RVTs to administer vaccine clinics, expanding access to vaccines at a time when outbreaks like distemper are occurring and providing crucial services to some of California’s most vulnerable pets. We also advocated on behalf of Assembly Bill 1399 (AB 1399), which allows for veterinary telemedicine in California.
Because of California’s outdated laws, pet owners currently are often forced to wait for hard-to-get appointments so that veterinarians can perform in-person physical examinations of an animal as a prerequisite to providing almost any medical advice. This issue is particularly acute for seniors, persons with disabilities, and those without access to transportation or who otherwise find it difficult to get to a veterinary hospital. By addressing those obstacles to care, telemedicine will significantly reduce animal suffering, alleviate some barriers to veterinary care, improve pet retention, and extend the capacity of animal shelters to serve animals and their communities. The Legislative Session was a considerable success with significant gains for animals, and we want to thank all of our supporters and partners who helped support and advocate on behalf of these critical bills. Together, we can make lives happy!
Here’s wishing you a spooky-good week!
Candace
